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Fitness |OT9|...You looked better before

I'd still consider eating after a workout important, especially if your goal is to gain some muscle, it's just the window of time to consume food after a workout is less important.
Alright, thanks! I ate at least ten chicken pieces today, hopefully it won't make me fat tomorrow.

On the plus side, ya girl benched 135lbs for 4 reps. Aka I'm benching 1 plate. Aka I'm benching my own bodyweight. Aka I'm fuckin excited
Indeed very impressive, I can't even lift the 20 kilo barbell stick yet. Great job.
 

MrToughPants

Brian Burke punched my mom
I'm eating like MTP tonight. ELECTION NIGHT.

ROMNOMNOM

🙄👊

I ate like shit yesterday, must have consumed 2 pounds of sugar from food and liquids. 😳

Lower back and knee were bugging me today from work but said fuck it and added a little weight to my volume day. Did 415x8 then 405 x8 beltless high bar followed by 90s 5x8 shoulder press. Did 100s last week and it bugged my shoulder so I dropped the weight to keep it healthy. I did paused squats 405 2x5 Monday and may have to scrap that for a light day so my body can recover.
 

LogicStep

Member
So I started feeling pain, which I think is in my sciatic nerve, around my left butt cheek, right around where the butt starts into the center of the left butt cheek. I only feel it with specific movements. It doesn't hurt when I work out but it does bother me after I'm done with a squat set or dead lift set. The pain started about a week ago. Is this normal? I'm thinking on taking a week or two off from the gym and focus on stretching.
So.. does anyone have any first hand experience with this?
 

BlueTsunami

there is joy in sucking dick
Been doing a lot of posterior chain work to strengthen my deadlift and squat. You know youre doing good when your butt keeps trying to eat your boxer briefs. I've been pulling out more wedgies than I ever have in my life.

Today 531 90% effort deadlifts, 5x10 pause squats, and 5x10 hip thrusts
 

.....

Member
I really should start posting here considering how obsessed i am with fitness.
Met a fellow student at my gym that was reppin out 3 pl8 squats like it was nothing. Got to talking/spotting and he mentioned he wants arms my similar to my size yet im over here miring his goddamn squat. My cut then went to shit over these past three days because of a cold but since i ate like a pig and did nothing all day i miraculously recovered enough to get back to the gym today.
Uni finished up this week so i'll have nothing to do but hit gym and play video games.
 

KillerBEA

Member
Been doing a lot of posterior chain work to strengthen my deadlift and squat. You know youre doing good when your butt keeps trying to eat your boxer briefs. I've been pulling out more wedgies than I ever have in my life.

Today 531 90% effort deadlifts, 5x10 pause squats, and 5x10 hip thrusts
Holy shit 5 x 10 Pause Squats 😲

And no wonder. Your glutes must be huge.
 

Violet_0

Banned
so what do you do if you're skinny, have a BMI of 17.9 (<18,5 is underweight) and still have a (small) gut and no visible abs? Still too much fat %? From what I've read you don't so much train your ab muscles but get rid of the extra body fat

anyway, I'm willing to start a proper training regime. Right now I have no access to a gym for the next couple months. Just a pair of dumbbells, pushup bars and a boxing sack stand that was given to me recently, a lake 10 mins from my place and plenty of time. I'm going to purchase a barbell once I move at the end of Summer. I'll take a look at the training programs in the OP in a moment, I was just wondering if someone could give me some general tips
 
so what do you do if you're skinny, have a BMI of 17.9 (<18,5 is underweight) and still have a (small) gut and no visible abs? Still too much fat %? From what I've read you don't so much train your ab muscles but get rid of the extra body fat

anyway, I'm willing to start a proper training regime. Right now I have no access to a gym for the next couple months. Just a pair of dumbbells, pushup bars and a boxing sack stand that was given to me recently, a lake 10 mins from my place and plenty of time. I'm going to purchase a barbell once I move at the end of Summer. I'll take a look at the training programs in the OP in a moment, I was just wondering if someone could give me some general tips

To put things in perspective, There are lots of Navy Seals and even world class athletes that dont have six packs, i dont think that's something you should get real hung up about.

If you're skinny i would focus on building muscle, find out how many calories your body needs to maintain its weight, then add 250-500 calories to that number. Look up home work outs on youtube, there's lots of ways to work out your muscles without weights. That's just my advice though, if you really want to lose weight then take away 250-500 calories from that number you need to maintain your weight.
 

Violet_0

Banned
To put things in perspective, There are lots of Navy Seals and even world class athletes that dont have six packs, i dont think that's something you should get real hung up about.

If you're skinny i would focus on building muscle, find out how many calories your body needs to maintain its weight, then add 250-500 calories to that number. Look up home work outs on youtube, there's lots of ways to work out your muscles without weights. That's just my advice though, if you really want to lose weight then take away 250-500 calories from that number you need to maintain your weight.
much obliged. Is there any easy way to figure out my daily caloric requirement?

I'm just wondering, it can't be physically impossible for me to have a six pack, right? Pretty much all the fat I have left is around my gut
 

Poison-

Neo Member
much obliged. Is there any easy way to figure out my daily caloric requirement?

I'm just wondering, it can't be physically impossible for me to have a six pack, right? Pretty much all the fat I have left is around my gut

Depends on your genetics. Some people can only have a 4 pack, some can have 6, some with even 8.

Lower belly fat is usually the hardest to lose as a man though. It just takes time. Keep at it and you'll eventually get it off!
 
much obliged. Is there any easy way to figure out my daily caloric requirement?

I'm just wondering, it can't be physically impossible for me to have a six pack, right? Pretty much all the fat I have left is around my gut

I always recommend downloading myfitnesspal and logging everything you eat (everything, including ketchup) after a few weeks you should have a pretty good idea of the number.

Some people's body stores fat in different places, one of the people i follow on youtube named Alan Thrall has visible abs despite being 20% body fat, because all of his fat is in his lower body. Your body seems to have decided to put most of your fat over your abs. It's not a big deal. Look at pictures of Muhammad Ali, he doesnt look shredded but he was in better shape than people with great looking abs.
 
According to Men's Health, 3 hours before you plan on going to bed.

http://www.menshealth.com/nutrition/worst-things-to-eat-before-bed/

The jist is: It doesn't effect what your body does to store the stuff you eat, but it can make it harder to have a sound night of sleep.

Awesome, thanks.

Should definitely make an attempt to see what's needed for you (as far as calories / day) and then track a few of your days to see how you're doing. It's possible you're just under, even if you think you're eating a lot.

yep, MFP says I should be shooting for 1700 a day and I think I am on target for that. I will be wasting an entire afternoon this sunday to measure what i am cooking to do all that math.
 

Violet_0

Banned
Depends on your genetics. Some people can only have a 4 pack, some can have 6, some with even 8.

Lower belly fat is usually the hardest to lose as a man though. It just takes time. Keep at it and you'll eventually get it off!
I always recommend downloading myfitnesspal and logging everything you eat (everything, including ketchup) after a few weeks you should have a pretty good idea of the number.

Some people's body stores fat in different places, one of the people i follow on youtube named Alan Thrall has visible abs despite being 20% body fat, because all of his fat is in his lower body. Your body seems to have decided to put most of your fat over your abs. It's not a big deal. Look at pictures of Muhammad Ali, he doesnt look shredded but he was in better shape than people with great looking abs.
thanks!

I mostly just want to work out for a nicer-looking body, health benefits are just secondary for me. If all else fails, I'm might contact a personal trainer sometimes down the road. I mean, really want those damn abs
 
feeling t h i c c

GPq7LTv.jpg
 
Stairs are excellent conditioning work, but they can mess up your lower legs if you do a lot of them.
I only do it when it rains and the road is too wet, so it's not a regular thing. Thanks for the warning!

Anyway I went to the gym earlier and it's closed on Sundays apparently. I ate like a king today so I'm quite sad.
 
Got 1 rep @ 410 lbs for squats. Beltless and shoeless. Haven't squatted heavy since March where I got 440 with a belt and lifting shoes. Might try to do more heavy squats but they suck so much lol.
 
Define "fit".

It's virtually impossible to stay at peak physical levels for a long time. That's why athletes arrange their training so that they peak at the right time of year (for competitions).

However, maintaining some level of recreational fitness requires next to no effort. But that said, getting there doesn't require a great deal more.
 

GrapeApes

Member
I've read somewhere that it is harder to get fit than it is to stay fit. Thoughts?
Seems about right. It's easier to maintain than to start a new in most things. I don't find myself being confused when it comes to exercise and nutrition. Lots of people find that daunting and give up. The people who are fit didn't give up in the first place.
 

Pixeluh

Member
I've read somewhere that it is harder to get fit than it is to stay fit. Thoughts?

I believe that 100%. Starting something is very difficult. Fitness took me around 2-3 attempts to really stick to it. Once you start it is very easy to just get up and go to the gym and eat healthy, it is addicting in a good way. The benefits outweigh any feeling of "I don't want to do this", "I'm lazy" that I might feel every once in a while.

Honestly, I think becoming fit is a life style change. You can't just become fit for a beach body and then shrug it off, it's a lifetime thing. I think that is why a lot of people have a hard time sticking to it, they give up once they think "ok this is enough for now" and never come back to it, or they do it half assed.

Like I said about the benefits, those are enough to keep me going. I've come to realize how important eating right and exercising is for my body and mind.

Of course, maybe I interpreted your question the wrong way. Do you mean, ''once you become strong, it is easier to continue being strong''?
 
I've read somewhere that it is harder to get fit than it is to stay fit. Thoughts?

Well, yes... your body has to progress under physical stress, recover, then adapt compared to staying in the current shape it is in. So of course building muscle takes more energy than it does to not build muscle. With that said I don't think it's that hard to get fit. Many people can get fairly fit in 3 months on a strength training program like starting strength provided they are not missing work outs, doing them properly and eating and sleeping enough.

Man I tried to squat 5x5 for 95lbs the other day and could not finish all my reps.. :(
I will be trying again this morning.

you should take off 10% of the weight for your next sets. if you can't finish all those or if your form is real bad for the later sets you may need to take off more.

make sure you are warming up properly with warm up sets and you're taking the proper amount of time to rest between sets. you're not going to progress as easily or efficiently as you could be if you're not resting enough between sets or lifting weight that keeps you from finishing the sets for your program.
 

mdsfx

Member
Not sure who still posts here that would remember, but just over a year ago I started training to eventually participate in a triathlon and today it finally happened. I was more excited than nervous and glided through the swim, which was my Achilles heel. Averaged 19mph on the bike and 7:19/mi on the run, placing 125th of 395. It was so much damn fun.

For relevancy: Squats and swimming tomorrow

 

poppabk

Cheeks Spread for Digital Only Future
I've read somewhere that it is harder to get fit than it is to stay fit. Thoughts?
Depending on your definition of 'get fit', I would say it is harder to stay fit than get fit. Seeing the progression week to week as you improve in fitness is a great motivator, seeing no difference week to week can easily lead to complacency and back sliding. Its why most diets long term fail, even though people are very successful at losing weight at first. You'll notice that a lot of people on this forum are constantly progressing, never just trying to maintain.
 

Marz

Member
My back kind of hurts in the middle upper part after doing deadlifts yesterday. I had proper form and it wasn't too heavy so wtf. Then I jammed my finger playing basketball today smh
 
My back kind of hurts in the middle upper part after doing deadlifts yesterday. I had proper form and it wasn't too heavy so wtf. Then I jammed my finger playing basketball today smh

Are you sure you had good form? That is not a good sign, you need to be careful with deadlifts especially.
 
Been lifting for a couple of years, and I kind of have the same problem with deadlifts and squats, only that my lower back gets sore temporarily (not DOMS). Granted, I do have knee problems where my upper body would lean forward when I straighten my knees, which might be why I can't lift as heavy compared to something like my bench press.
 
I'm finally trying to set some fitness goals and get on a plan. I was looking at bodybuilding.com and was reading the "James Grage Rewired 9-Week Fitness Trainer." It seemed pretty good as I watched the videos, but I want to make sure I'm not getting into a bad plan. Any recommendations or pitfalls I should be aware of?
 

Szu

Member
Not sure who still posts here that would remember, but just over a year ago I started training to eventually participate in a triathlon and today it finally happened. I was more excited than nervous and glided through the swim, which was my Achilles heel. Averaged 19mph on the bike and 7:19/mi on the run, placing 125th of 395. It was so much damn fun.

For relevancy: Squats and swimming tomorrow

Ah yes, if I recall you got some training from an Olympic swimmer.
 

BlueTsunami

there is joy in sucking dick
My back kind of hurts in the middle upper part after doing deadlifts yesterday. I had proper form and it wasn't too heavy so wtf. Then I jammed my finger playing basketball today smh

The muscle? Could be general soreness? Your mid to upper back is supposed to be taut when deadlifting. Outside of that, the upper back will round first with bad back form.
 
My back kind of hurts in the middle upper part after doing deadlifts yesterday. I had proper form and it wasn't too heavy so wtf. Then I jammed my finger playing basketball today smh

Sounds like regular DOMS in the middle trap area, which is where I usually feel it after DL'ing.
 

Natural

Member
Man, having a break from squats for just under two weeks then going heavy last week gave my legs DOMS I haven't felt in ages.- was planning on doing some light cardio over the weekend but yeah, no chance.

Glad to say I hit my cutting weight goal a couple weeks ago - 89kg, which is roughly a 10kg drop since Feb. Still got around 2% bf to lose before I hit the 10-12% mark so i'll likely drop down to 85kg-ish at some point for a little while. Just under 4 weeks till I can ease up on everything for a while - can't wait.
 

lenovox1

Member
Man, having a break from squats for just under two weeks then going heavy last week gave my legs DOMS I haven't felt in ages.- was planning on doing some light cardio over the weekend but yeah, no chance.

Glad to say I hit my cutting weight goal a couple weeks ago - 89kg, which is roughly a 10kg drop since Feb. Still got around 2% bf to lose before I hit the 10-12% mark so i'll likely drop down to 85kg-ish at some point for a little while. Just under 4 weeks till I can ease up on everything for a while - can't wait.

Light cardio will make your legs feel better.
 
Define "fit".

It's virtually impossible to stay at peak physical levels for a long time. That's why athletes arrange their training so that they peak at the right time of year (for competitions).

However, maintaining some level of recreational fitness requires next to no effort. But that said, getting there doesn't require a great deal more.
Fit as in not being over or underweight. Looking goof, and feeling good. What is recreational fitness?

Seems about right. It's easier to maintain than to start a new in most things. I don't find myself being confused when it comes to exercise and nutrition. Lots of people find that daunting and give up. The people who are fit didn't give up in the first place.
Believe it or not, a lot of people have been inspired by what I managed to do in just a month or two, and now I'm on the position of telling people what I did to be where I am now. I greatly enjoy motivating and inspiring people and I hope it pays off for at least one of them. I never stop telling people to try now. I am as lazy as lazy people come, and yet I managed to do what I did.

I believe that 100%. Starting something is very difficult. Fitness took me around 2-3 attempts to really stick to it. Once you start it is very easy to just get up and go to the gym and eat healthy, it is addicting in a good way. The benefits outweigh any feeling of "I don't want to do this", "I'm lazy" that I might feel every once in a while.

Honestly, I think becoming fit is a life style change. You can't just become fit for a beach body and then shrug it off, it's a lifetime thing. I think that is why a lot of people have a hard time sticking to it, they give up once they think "ok this is enough for now" and never come back to it, or they do it half assed.

Like I said about the benefits, those are enough to keep me going. I've come to realize how important eating right and exercising is for my body and mind.

Of course, maybe I interpreted your question the wrong way. Do you mean, ''once you become strong, it is easier to continue being strong''?
You've interpreted the question correctly. I agree it's a lifestyle change, so it's quite disheartening when some people want me to become fat again just because they're not used to what I look like right now. I think I've been fat for more than half of my years so I guess it's quite jarring for them. They tell me to stop doing exercises and eating healthily because I've already reached a good body, they don't realize it's a lifestyle change. Oh by the way, I was able to attain a beach body just in time for the summer :)

Well, yes... your body has to progress under physical stress, recover, then adapt compared to staying in the current shape it is in. So of course building muscle takes more energy than it does to not build muscle. With that said I don't think it's that hard to get fit. Many people can get fairly fit in 3 months on a strength training program like starting strength provided they are not missing work outs, doing them properly and eating and sleeping enough.
I think most people right before even trying think it's impossible for them to get fit. I was just lucky because I didn't think of getting fit when I started, I just thought to myself I need stronger legs so I can do better on hikes. In a month, people noticed changes, and on the second month, people were shocked with how I lost a lot of weight. So yeah, losing weight is definitely doable in 3 months. Consistency is indeed key. And proper nutrition and sleep.

Depending on your definition of 'get fit', I would say it is harder to stay fit than get fit. Seeing the progression week to week as you improve in fitness is a great motivator, seeing no difference week to week can easily lead to complacency and back sliding. Its why most diets long term fail, even though people are very successful at losing weight at first. You'll notice that a lot of people on this forum are constantly progressing, never just trying to maintain.
I'm afraid of losing motivation and sliding back to what I was before. I am trying hard to keep to my routine and I hope I'll keep at it always. Sadly, my three days on the gym thing still hasn't come to fruition since Sundays always throw a wrench to my plans. I will do my best so that I can be the best that I can be in all my power.

Thanks for all the responses, everyone :)

PS: is there a dedicated running/jogging thread?
 
Fit as in not being over or underweight. Looking goof, and feeling good. What is recreational fitness?

Yeah... see that whole looking good and feeling good thing? It's a massive moving spectrum.

When you start, you figure you just want some abs, or some bigger guns, or to be able to complete that 10k. Then in a couple of years, your obliques aren't popping like they should, and you need more of a taper from your lats, and you're still pissed off that you're not squatting three plates. Worse, your last marathon time was three and a half hours, which is shit really.

...and recreational fitness is basically being able to do what you want to do without dying, and not looking like a couch potato. :)
 
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