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Fitness |OT9|...You looked better before

Guys, whats the general advice on gaining weight doing starting strength and the massive gut it produces? my stomach is getting so bloated, so fast. Is this something that can come from diet, as in will cutting back on milk and changing those calories to solids, help?

Im a skinnyfat guy. tall and lanky, tiny wrists and ankles but the biggest of guts. I feel like if i bulk at this rate ill look like im housing an elephant in my belly.

Yeah dude I tried to bulk twice as a sort of skinny fat (skinny with somewhat of a gut) dude, and went to full blown fat each time lol. Gaining strength was addictive as fuck, but I couldn't stand how blubbery my gut got.

This time I'm dropping as much fat as I can, and then build muscle. I've read all kinds of shit about recomp and whatnot, but honestly I would just suck it up and lose the gut while mainting the muscle you currently have before straight up bulking. It'll make the cut after your bulk much easier imo.
 
Getting enough protein continues to be the bane of my existence. But I found this in the store the other day. I think I'm in love.

fQIMyP5.jpg



They have Greek varieties that have more protein overall, 64g, but it's 32 ounces. More servings, also more sugar. It's more economical, though. But these pictured above are excellent.

Instant update. Mixed berry: very good. Vanilla: awful.
 

_Nemo

Member
You should definitely lift. Do a program like Starting Strength and eat a lot. Hard to suggest what you could eat without knowing what you enjoy.

Edit: also, how many calories do you consume daily, now?

I'm willing to eat anything really, whether I enjoy it or not lol. Right now I'm probably eating like 1700 calories a day which is pretty bad. I just eat so slow and feel full so fast.

I was looking up high calorie smoothies and came across this 2000 calorie smoothie. Would one of these per day be good? http://smoothiegains.com/2000-calorie-smoothie/
 

BumRush

Member
I'm willing to eat anything really, whether I enjoy it or not lol. Right now I'm probably eating like 1700 calories a day which is pretty bad. I just eat so slow and feel full so fast.

I was looking up high calorie smoothies and came across this 2000 calorie smoothie. Would one of these per day be good? http://smoothiegains.com/2000-calorie-smoothie/

High cal smoothies would be excellent for you, but shouldn't replace solid foods entirely. Chicken can be done a million different ways and starting your days with eggs is never a bad idea.

In that shake, lose the ice cream and replace with yogurt if you don't want to have ice cream every single day.

Once you start increasing your intake, you'll get used to it somewhat.
 

_Isaac

Member
Heel thing I remember trying a few years ago to pretty decent success. Worry about tripping on them or having some kind of injury as I add weight though. Also just pretty determined to take off the training wheels and be able to do proper squats eventually. Really had no idea where to start though since stretching the lower body is pretty tricky! From that video above it looks like ankle mobility is a major weakness and something I don't think I ever worked on.


Since the heel thing worked for you, after you work on ankle mobility stuff, you might want to look into getting lifting shoes that have a generous heel. It's not training wheels, and you feel secure in your footing so you don't have to worry about tripping.
 

mdsfx

Member
I finished a full marathon. Never again, my god
Awesome!!! You were part of my motivation to sign up for next year :)

Unrelated, only two people at work will even get this, and it's admittedly somewhat lazy, but....
New Year's Eve Massacre 1958
MdXVLXll.jpg

Also, drinking coffee is hard.
 

_Nemo

Member
High cal smoothies would be excellent for you, but shouldn't replace solid foods entirely. Chicken can be done a million different ways and starting your days with eggs is never a bad idea.

In that shake, lose the ice cream and replace with yogurt if you don't want to have ice cream every single day.

Once you start increasing your intake, you'll get used to it somewhat.

Thanks a lot! By the way, the OP states that the recommended protein intake is 0.6 to 1g per LBS of bodyweight. but a lot of places online say 0.8 per KG not LBS (0.8g/kg would be 0.36g/lb, which is a lot less than what's recommended in the OP). Which one is more accurate? I'm being a bit careful and don't want to end up consuming too much protein since that can be bad for you and whatnot.
 

BumRush

Member
Thanks a lot! By the way, the OP states that the recommended protein intake is 0.6 to 1g per LBS of bodyweight. but a lot of places online say 0.8 per KG not LBS (0.8g/kg would be 0.36g/lb, which is a lot less than what's recommended in the OP). Which one is more accurate? I'm being a bit careful and don't want to end up consuming too much protein since that can be bad for you and whatnot.

In your case, I would suggest throwing macros out the window for the next 3 months or so. Eat a ton of food. Your goal is to consume over 3K cals a day, and by doing that, you will most likely be above 1.0 / 1.0 g/lbs. Also, it's definitely 0.6 - 0.8 g/lbs though, not kg, if you are lifting.
 
Awesome!!! You were part of my motivation to sign up for next year :)
Thanks, The first 20 miles are actually pretty good(low to mid 8 minute miles), the last 6 were like slowly watching my legs dies(10 to 13 minute miles) . Both my legs cramped out on me(Left leg mile 21, and right leg mile 23), had to walk on and off from mile 21-25, finished the last 1.2 strong though. 4 hour marathon time, I wish you the best of luck man, shit was hard.
 

Tekniqs

Member
How do I go about balancing basketball and lifting weights? I used to follow (sorta still do) the stronglifts program but would only play basketball once or twice a week. Nowadays though I'm playing basketball pretty much every day. I'm not looking to bulk or improve my lifts at this current time. Basically I just want to maintain what I have for the meantime lol.

I was reading a thread on bodybuilding forums and a guy suggested just lifting 1-2x a week if basketball is a daily thing. Is that sound advice?
 

Kastrioti

Persecution Complex
Anyone have any recommended apps for keeping track of workout regiment/routines?

Not really sure what I'm looking for, just something to help me keep track of workouts or goals.
 
Hi fitgaf - this is mostly a ramble because I just spent way too long refining my caloric deficit strategy and want to yell about it.

So, I've been following a leangains/intermittent fasting/cut approach for the past 2 and a half months with -200cal from BMR(which is about 1350cal) on my 4 rest days a week, and +300 from BMR on my 3 training days a week. It's gone well but has been very slow (as to be expected with such a low overall net deficit.) I've lost about 5 pounds and have increased lifts by about 15lbs.

But fat loss has stalled a little, and is honestly too slow, so I'm moving to -300cal from BMR on my 4 rest days a week, and just BMR for my 3 training days a week.

So, that's 1200cal deficit a week, with negative 3000cal from BMR resulting in (basically) 1 pound of fat loss = 0.4lbs a week. I should be at my goal in 7.5 months, which seems so far away still :(

This might not make any sense and I don't expect anyone to read this lol I'm just blabbing since I don't have any fitness friends to talk to about this.
 
I'm confused... unless you're like, five foot tall, how can you possibly be down at those sort of calorie levels and not losing weight? 1350 already quite low. I genuinely don't think I could deal with eating such a tiny amount (especially as it would need to be about half protein) for any length of time.

I'm only 5' 10", but I've never needed to drop below 1700 thankfully. I can't imagine how insanely strict I'd need to be to live at 1250.

Kudos to you for sticking with it though.
 

AnAnole

Member
Hi fitgaf - this is mostly a ramble because I just spent way too long refining my caloric deficit strategy and want to yell about it.

So, I've been following a leangains/intermittent fasting/cut approach for the past 2 and a half months with -200cal from BMR(which is about 1350cal) on my 4 rest days a week, and +300 from BMR on my 3 training days a week. It's gone well but has been very slow (as to be expected with such a low overall net deficit.) I've lost about 5 pounds and have increased lifts by about 15lbs.

But fat loss has stalled a little, and is honestly too slow, so I'm moving to -300cal from BMR on my 4 rest days a week, and just BMR for my 3 training days a week.

So, that's 1200cal deficit a week, with negative 3000cal from BMR resulting in (basically) 1 pound of fat loss = 0.4lbs a week. I should be at my goal in 7.5 months, which seems so far away still :(

This might not make any sense and I don't expect anyone to read this lol I'm just blabbing since I don't have any fitness friends to talk to about this.

Why are you subtracting from your BMR and not your TEE? Im 5' 10" 175 lbs and eat 4,000 kcals on lifting days and 2400 on rest days.
 

ironmang

Member
Switching over to the power rack for bb benching from db benching that I used to do has been amazing. For whatever reason I never put 2+2 together and realized that's the best way to bench if I don't have a spotter ready. Getting the dbs into position was becoming a major problem and probably the reason my shoulders weren't feeling too great. Only downside is the spaces between the safeties is awkward and it barely touches my chest even if I have a pretty good mid back arch. Might try tossing a mat under the bench to elevate it a little bit. Looking forward to making that climb from 160 x 5 to 225.
 
2 lbs shy of my target weight. Currently 153 lbs. I'm 5'7" with 16" arms. Working to get my legs more toned. Mostly using machines for my legs due to former knee issues. Wish me luck fitgaf
 

AnAnole

Member
You would need some heavy work all day to reach 4k, what do you do?

I walk several miles at work but even if I didn't I wouldn't go below 2,000 kcals. Either way I'm using TDEE to determine my intake, not my BMR. Your BMR is your energy expenditure if you lay in bed all day and don't move. Also, if you eat below your BMR, you're much more likely to lose muscle mass.
 

ACE 1991

Member
Alright, haven't been to the gym in months and I miss it. What 4 day splits do you guys recommend that are mass-oriented? Honestly don't care about strength very much.
 
Just did a HIIT session of my own design. 20 seconds on, 20 seconds off... but instead of the usual "go fast and hard" this was "everything you have, till you feel like you're going to die".

Turns out... 20 seconds isn't enough time to recover from feeling like you're going to die.
 

BumRush

Member
Just did a HIIT session of my own design. 20 seconds on, 20 seconds off... but instead of the usual "go fast and hard" this was "everything you have, till you feel like you're going to die".

Turns out... 20 seconds isn't enough time to recover from feeling like you're going to die.

Agreed. That's how I do 4 minute tabatas and sometimes the feeling stays with me for 5-6 hours afterwards.
 

mdsfx

Member
Messing with my IF meals. Seeing if 2 'bigger' meals keeps me satiated better than 3-4 smaller meals. I hope my kidney's do ok with this much protein at once. I know when I hit 250g per day total before things were not good.


In before MTP's "PFFFFF" lol
 

mdsfx

Member
So I signed up for 4 indoor and 3 outdoor Triathlons for next year (my wife is going to kill me). I'm trying to figure out if the full marathon would be too much on top of that in terms of training or if I should just go for it and decide what my realistic goals should be.


Swam like a freakin dolphin today. Didn't even feel phased after 45 at a moderate pace. I think getting comfortable in the water is everything. Gliding/pausing your front hand between strokes really helps you stay relaxed and gives you plenty of time to breathe comfortably.
 

The Lamp

Member
So, during the last couple of squats in my set, my core gave in and my lumbar curved a bit on the last reps. No pain until after, with some mild tightness and pain in the lower part of my spine.

A week later I tried light squats and the pain returned afterward.

Went to a PT and they think I sprained it. No compression or leg exercises around my back for 2 weeks.

Any tips on recovery?

I didn't really agree with the PT. He said he doesn't like squats, or kettlebells, or barbell exercises. He said it puts awful pressure on the spine. He suggested I do one of those squat machines where you load up on your shoulders and push a plate upward with your legs. This conflicts with everything I have ever read or researched, but I'm not a PT, so not sure what to think. I thought if you keep your core strong, barbell squats are great for your strength?

He recommended I get into sprints once I heal. But I want to build mass and I'm not sure sprints do that as well as squats?

Messing with my IF meals. Seeing if 2 'bigger' meals keeps me satiated better than 3-4 smaller meals. I hope my kidney's do ok with this much protein at once. I know when I hit 250g per day total before things were not good.



In before MTP's "PFFFFF" lol

What happened when you hit 250g?

My doctor isn't worried about my protein intake. I got urine tests and I'm fine. I've been eating about 180-200g of protein a day. All the research I've read has said healthy kidneys with good water intake don't get kidney damage with high protein diets. It is a concern if you have kidney disease, though.
 

mdsfx

Member
There is a history of kidney stones in my family. I've gotten them before, not from protein, but too much spinach will do it. If I have too much protein i do get some kidney pain and foamy urine, even drinking 1+ gallons of water per day.
 

KillerBEA

Member
So, during the last couple of squats in my set, my core gave in and my lumbar curved a bit on the last reps. No pain until after, with some mild tightness and pain in the lower part of my spine.

A week later I tried light squats and the pain returned afterward.

Went to a PT and they think I sprained it. No compression or leg exercises around my back for 2 weeks.

Any tips on recovery?

I didn't really agree with the PT. He said he doesn't like squats, or kettlebells, or barbell exercises. He said it puts awful pressure on the spine. He suggested I do one of those squat machines where you load up on your shoulders and push a plate upward with your legs. This conflicts with everything I have ever read or researched, but I'm not a PT, so not sure what to think. I thought if you keep your core strong, barbell squats are great for your strength?

He recommended I get into sprints once I heal. But I want to build mass and I'm not sure sprints do that as well as squats?
Some PTs think weights are the devil and they are wrong.

Squats are the king of exercises. The physiological benefits of doing Squats are astounding, best overall exercise for producing mass (deadlifts are second). Accidents happen, and that's how we learn.

Take some time off the exercise as suggested. Come back to it in a few weeks, start light make sure you are staying tight. You don't need to hit the absolute bottom of your possible rom, just right above it is fine. Going lower than your other joints will let you go will lead to the lower back compensating. I would recommend doing some lower back exercises to pump blood into the area as blood heals for a while. Reverse Hypers or Back Raises. No need to add weight to these exercises as that might aggravate, just get blood flowing to the muscles.

Sprints can cause a hypertrophic response and have and ideal physiological response as opposed to walking or jogging. It is honestly the best form of cardio for lifters who are trying to maximize gains
 

The Lamp

Member
Some PTs think weights are the devil and they are wrong.

Squats are the king of exercises. The physiological benefits of doing Squats are astounding, best overall exercise for producing mass (deadlifts are second). Accidents happen, and that's how we learn.

Take some time off the exercise as suggested. Come back to it in a few weeks, start light make sure you are staying tight. You don't need to hit the absolute bottom of your possible rom, just right above it is fine. Going lower than your other joints will let you go will lead to the lower back compensating. I would recommend doing some lower back exercises to pump blood into the area as blood heals for a while. Reverse Hypers or Back Raises. No need to add weight to these exercises as that might aggravate, just get blood flowing to the muscles.

Sprints can cause a hypertrophic response and have and ideal physiological response as opposed to walking or jogging. It is honestly the best form of cardio for lifters who are trying to maximize gains


Thanks for your insight. How should I start sprints, and where in my work out should I implement them (before/after?)

I love squats. They have given me a lot of changes in my legs. I hope I can return to full squats in a few weeks. PT said he thinks if I abstain from exercises that vertically compress the spine for 2 weeks, I'll be healed.
 

MMarston

Was getting caught part of your plan?
Okay, so I think I plateau'd hard in my lifting and it's definitely because I've skipping a lot of days - hell, including a whole week or two - due to work/school stuff. I'm still able to pick up the appropriate weight but it's weight I've been stuck in for a long time that but haven't been able to progress due to time management (I've been squatting 144 pounds for ages). Apart from that, today I've started failing a bunch of sets even though the weight technically hasn't gotten that heavier.

Hm, should I do something like de-load the weight by 1/3 or something like that? Again, this is my first year lifting.
 

ILoveBish

Member
Got home after being at work for almost 11 hours, tired and hungry, didn't want to lift at all. But forced myself and loved every minute of it. Hit 150x4 on OHP, felt really good. Hooked up the dip bars and did little baby dips, I haven't done dips in well over 6 months, so didn't want to go super deep, just ease back into it.

Feels really damn good to be lifting again. Going to try and lift 4 days strait like these old days.
 

NEO0MJ

Member
Had to stop going to the gym for a month due to tearing my shoulders but now I'm so scared of doing anything heavy. Any tips on how to exercise after an injury?
 
It's happened before. Yes.
"Excuse me, can you move my garage over like 3 feet? Lift from the slab, please. Don't mind the car, it's just an Escalade."

-

I have been crashing hard since weather snapped. Need to have my meds adjusted. Feeling like utter poop. Been doing everything I can to just make it through work and lifting and right after, bam, I just crash. Even my brain slows. Hoping to sneak into my thyroid endo in the coming weeks after I get a blood test. It's been delaying some work but I'm hoping to get you guys pixelated like I asked a while back sometime early next year. Ive just been too fatigued to push through development the past month.
 
It might be a placebo (though there is a study saying it dramatically increases testosterone) but I've been feeling much better since I've added an hour in front of a SAD lamp every morning.

Crazy how much more energy I have vs the last few weeks.
 

BumRush

Member
"Excuse me, can you move my garage over like 3 feet? Lift from the slab, please. Don't mind the car, it's just an Escalade."

-

I have been crashing hard since weather snapped. Need to have my meds adjusted. Feeling like utter poop. Been doing everything I can to just make it through work and lifting and right after, bam, I just crash. Even my brain slows. Hoping to sneak into my thyroid endo in the coming weeks after I get a blood test. It's been delaying some work but I'm hoping to get you guys pixelated like I asked a while back sometime early next year. Ive just been too fatigued to push through development the past month.

Feel better dude. Does that happen to you every year when the weather changes?
 
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