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[m_shortpants]

Gluten FreeGAF I need your help.

So back in my 3rd year of college I really started working out and eating more, and I went from 125 lbs to 150 lbs.

In my 4th year at college I basically stayed at 150 lbs and I couldn't figure out why. Thought it was a bad diet or bad workout routine.

Finally this year I was diagnosed with celiac's disease, which is a real pain as it makes eating a chore. In the last 4 months since my diagnosis I've gone down to 130 lbs. It stinks.

What would GlutenFreeGAF members, if you guys exist, recommend for bulking? I acn only eat so much rice and chicken @_@

And corn tortillas...ugh.

 

[agrajag]

High five!

checking in!

D:

 

[ILoveBish]

I just finished cooking 40lbs of chicken, cutting it, portion sizing it, bagging it and freezing it. Ready for the next step in my food journey. Alfredo Spinach Chicken! Going to try out 3 different alfredo sauce recipes this week and see which one im going to go with, then figure out the macros i'll need to hit.

 

[Caelus]

What's your guy's experience with creatine? Does it really have a direct impact on muscle growth or does it just help get the most out of your workouts leading to better gains? I've been taking 5g a day for a week now, and I've been feeling the latter but that just might be placebo.

 

[agrajag]

What's your guy's experience with creatine? Does it really have a direct impact on muscle growth or does it just help get the most out of your workouts leading to better gains? I've been taking 5g a day for a week now, and I've been feeling the latter but that just might be placebo.

well, it definitely doesn't hurt

 

[FUME5]

Representing for the chicken leg crew myself...

 

[Sadetar]

Starting Strength is all about adding weight every workout, so no, it wouldn't be a good program at this time. It will help you learn the correct form, however.

SS doesn't use pull-ups, but there is a variant called Practical Programming that swaps out the power cleans for pull-ups. Since power cleans may not be a good idea for you, you might want to do that with weight assists on the pull-ups (either with resistance bands or a pull-up machine).

As for yoga, I would really recommend you take a class rather than do a home video. It's way too easy to do things incorrectly and injure yourself.

Thanks for the reply! I was under this impression after reading about it, but I just needed to make sure. I think I am still going to buy the book and read it if I just find a good place since it will be good for the form like you said.

I know about resistance bands but I haven't never even heard of a pull-up machine. I am fairly sure our gym doesn't have one.

I am going to check the yoga classes and see does university gym offer any this semester. I think I will just switch between yoga and pilates classes and see what I think works best for me and my schedules.

Crazily enough it was fine.

First two sets of bench I felt a tad sick but after that whatever wall was there got knocked down and completed the workout.

Did loaf up heavy on carbs and protein before the workout to compensate for the poor sleep and that seemed to help it seems.

Great to hear. That happens sometimes. My training was also extremely splendid back then, even if I didn't expect that much out of it.

Kickboxing today, but it wasn't great...my belly hurts oh well. Still did it!

Sads, you should do yoga! I agree with Zoe, definitely go to a class, though. I do mine at home because I'm cheap, but I was going to classes so I kind of have a general idea how to do things without hurting myself haha.

Good for you for doing it!

I am going to check the yoga classes and do either it or pilates. I think I am going to switch between them to be honest. At least pilates has worked really well for me this far.

General question for all. I brought up a couple months ago my calf seizing up. People suggest magnesium. I have been taking magnesium everyday and...the calf thing is getting more frequent

I had one last month, then another this month last week, then ANOTHER last night (on my opposite leg).

Wtf. And I don't even do it when I'm exercising. It always happens when I'm asleep and it wakes me up half-screaming

Suggestions? Time to just see a doctor and see if they will recommend anything other than magnesium? It's not like I don't stretch my calves, they get a pretty decent amount when I do my yoga, and every work out except the kickboxing has seated leg stretches at the end. :/

Are you drinking enough and making sure you get enough salt as well? Also I think it can be if your blood circulation in your legs is bad. Then it happens especially during night when you are sleeping and/or laying down. You could try to get up to the ball of your feet and down again 30-50 times quite quickly before bed. Some people say it helps. Try to keep your legs warm too.

If these doesn't help I suggest you to contact a doctor.

Washing dishes and my wife comes up from behind and says, "your calves look sexy." I don't train calves! SMH. Got a lot more work to do so she notices the right parts

Hahah, congratulations for the compliment!

Edit, I actually realized that I have been told the same two years ago when a total stranger in the city stalked me for quite some time and then came up to me and said that my calves look great and asked me what I am doing for them. (Nothing really back then, just being fat and biking to work.)

 

[monome]

Power tower, yay or nay?

 

[Spiritreaver]

Count me in for having toothpick calves.

If they're made for the teeth of an ogre.

Hoho.

Ahhhh eating like shit for a week and seeing my cut still going smoothly. Good feeling. Not quite where I want to be for my NYC trip next week, but I'm looking good. Also I just have to say, being able to play Hearthstone while doing cardio is AMAZING. It flies by.

 

[Pakoe]

So pissed off, fuckin injured myself doing plyo jumps. Sprained my knee near MCL area by landing weird on 180 degree squat jumps. It's not THAT bad I can wobble around but it's going to take a few weeks to heal. ughhhh

Ouch, that sucks bro. Hope it heals fast!

 

[SeanR1221]

Romaleos come in today!

Another week of SS down.

205 squat, 80 ohp and 185 deadlift all felt great

 

[RumblingRosco]

My fiancée wants to cut calories just a bit, so for her usual breakfast which includes two whole eggs, she wants just one whole egg and two whites... My scrambled egg breakfasts gladly accept her two so are yolks. Scrambled eggs with three whole eggs plus two extra yolks is the fucking bomb.

 

[Zero2kz]

Local market near me is selling their own freshly made almond butter for $5 a pound. I am in heaven.

 

[Faiz]

I strained my groin muscle on my right side. Guess I'm not doing squats for a couple weeks. Do you guys think bench, ohp, bb rows and deadlifts are safe to do? And what can I do to replace squats until I can do them pain free?

Went though this about a month ago. It depends greatly on the severity of YOUR strain. I kept up with bench and OHP only for about the first week. The second week I tested the waters with the other three - rows and deadlift were causing me no problems but squats were still out. After the second week squats came back in but I started low again.

 

[Cooter]

I just finished cooking 40lbs of chicken, cutting it, portion sizing it, bagging it and freezing it. Ready for the next step in my food journey. Alfredo Spinach Chicken! Going to try out 3 different alfredo sauce recipes this week and see which one im going to go with, then figure out the macros i'll need to hit.

Sounds great! I just had fried chicken last night. Raising Cain's is my sanity. Once a week I have it and it's heaven. Easily fit it into my 1900-2200 calorie day and it sooo feels like a cheat. Can't get enough! Downed 7 chicken fingers last night with a huge plate of green beans.

 

[Zoe]

I am going to check the yoga classes and see does university gym offer any this semester. I think I will just switch between yoga and pilates classes and see what I think works best for me and my schedules.

The only thing I would recommend against is any kind of heated classes--I think they're bunk. I can sweat buckets even in a room actively being cooled.

 

[TangerineCloud]

So on Wednesday I kinda rushed with my workout and didn't warm-up before squatting so I could get to school on time. Since then, I've been experiencing a bit of pain in my inner thighs/groin when I squat. I think I already know the answer, but this is bad, right? I went easy on the squats today and just tried 3 sets with no weights before skipping them. Should I just avoid doing squats for a little while?

 

[RumblingRosco]

Preface: I only have a few gay friends and to my knowledge they don't use steroids (or HGH or gear or juice or whatever you want to call it/them) of any form... hell, only one of them lifts at all as far as I know. So, my personal experience is limited. Anyway, to get to the point, there is a short blog from a writer for the Huffington Post about steroid usage by gay men. Basically, it mentions what I believe a few people in here have observed: a disproportionate amount of gay men also use steroids.

It may be a bit off-topic, but I thought it was interesting enough to share as I figured at least a few people here would like to read it and some of the links contained to studies within; p.s. if anyone wants access to the full PDFs of any of those studies, shoot me a PM.

 

[FallingEdge]

A fair amount of people I know at the gym are doing TRT. Some by choice, some because they legit have low T. I myself am debating it cause I am borderline but I don't really feel like I have any symptoms.

*shrug*

gonna hop on that train eventually when my test levels are low enough.

 

[CrankyJay]

A fair amount of people I know at the gym are doing TRT. Some by choice, some because they legit have low T. I myself am debating it cause I am borderline but I don't really feel like I have any symptoms.

*shrug*

gonna hop on that train eventually when my test levels are low enough.

What are the symptoms of low T?

 

[yogloo]

Do you guys ever feel lazy to go to the gym? I have been feeling that way lately. I've been forcing myself to go.

 

[Deleted member 47027]

What are the symptoms of low T?

Fatigue, especially in afternoons
decreased libido
Mood issues, depression
Dick problems

Thankfully I didn't have any dick problems, but I felt the first 3 pretty severely, and it turned out I was lower than the average. I used a place called the Low T center which had a spot in Tulsa. Check and see if they have a station where you live.

 

[FallingEdge]

Yeah, the blood work came back low but not low enough. They wanna gauge it for at least 6-12 months then check it out again. Fatigue gets me bad in the afternoon and real bad at nights. Sometimes I just wanna sleep at like 10 or 11 even after getting 8 or so hours of sleep. The moodiness is there at times but that is about it.

 

[MBR]

So, I did some fairly light deadlifts at the end of my workout today, and recorded the first couple of them.

Let's see how it went:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hOL8l5YJWo&feature=youtu.be
The lowering part looks a bit like I'm lowering too fast/like I let my waist collapse for a moment, and it felt like I fixed it for the following set. Anything that looks dangerous now otherwise?

 

[CrankyJay]

Fatigue, especially in afternoons
decreased libido
Mood issues, depression
Dick problems

Thankfully I didn't have any dick problems, but I felt the first 3 pretty severely, and it turned out I was lower than the average. I used a place called the Low T center which had a spot in Tulsa. Check and see if they have a station where you live.

actually, I gotta mention this...started going to the gym regularly 3x a week since the beginning of july...and my libido has gone through the roof.

has anyone else who has recently started working our or started back up notice this?

 

[kirblar]

actually, I gotta mention this...started going to the gym regularly 3x a week since the beginning of july...and my libido has gone through the roof.

has anyone else who has recently started working our or started back up notice this?

Yeah, that's normal, it gets increased by lifting/physical activity naturally. Sleep Apnea also leads to issues with it.

 

[God Dayumm]

actually, I gotta mention this...started going to the gym regularly 3x a week since the beginning of july...and my libido has gone through the roof.

has anyone else who has recently started working our or started back up notice this?

Strength training does increase testosterone, that is one of the advantages. It's a brief increase but that can make a huge difference. That, and eating properly after fasting or dieting hard take me from zero libido to horndog.

I may have low testosterone, most of the time I'm fatigued and my latest blood results did not give any indication of high blood sugar or related metabolism issues other than a bit high blood pressure. So it's either that or more likely my fucked up sleep habits. I need to work on that first before even considering doing stuff with hormones.

 

[Deleted member 47027]

I wonder how low my test would have been had I got it measured before I'd been lifting for a year and a half. Jeezus.

 

[CrankyJay]

Strength training does increase testosterone, that is one of the advantages. It's a brief increase but that can make a huge difference. That, and eating properly after fasting or dieting hard take me from zero libido to horndog.

I may have low testosterone, most of the time I'm fatigued and my latest blood results did not give any indication of high blood sugar or related metabolism issues other than a bit high blood pressure. So it's either that or more likely my fucked up sleep habits. I need to work on that first before even considering doing stuff with hormones.

i have a hard time telling about my fatigue since i have a very young child...lol

 

[Beer Monkey]

Missed gym session #2 of 3 this week already due to illness. Serious strength training, basically HIIT/Crossfit. Very draining and very rewarding.

Started antibiotics yesterday. Fever is gone, but I'm still coughing some and still feel somewhat fatigued.

Should I go to the gym today when I'm just starting to fight off a respiratory infection with antibiotics, or hold off a few more days?

 

[Deleted member 17706]

Personally, I wouldn't fuck around if you had a fever and were on antibiotics. Make sure you're fully rested up. The gym will be there when you're recovered.

 

[Joey Fox]

I have finally in my life done a set of 5 squats at 225. Looking forward to doing three sets of that and further gains.

At about what squat weight did your legs start looking really good? I'm 5'9", if that helps

 

[J. Bravo]

I have finally in my life done a set of 5 squats at 225. Looking forward to doing three sets of that and further gains.

At about what squat weight did your legs start looking really good? I'm 5'9", if that helps

my squat is at 375 for 1 and all i've accomplished is my legs and ass are big. thats all haha.

 

[Petrie]

I have finally in my life done a set of 5 squats at 225. Looking forward to doing three sets of that and further gains.

At about what squat weight did your legs start looking really good? I'm 5'9", if that helps

You're a guy? Your legs will always look like shit. Accept it.

Missed gym session #2 of 3 this week already due to illness. Serious strength training, basically HIIT/Crossfit. Very draining and very rewarding.

You are either doing HIIT/Crossfit or you are doing serious strength training. You are not doing both because these are opposites.

 

[Beer Monkey]

You are either doing HIIT/Crossfit or you are doing serious strength training. You are not doing both because these are opposites.

My trainer has come up with this whole regimen that I'm always trying to describe to people, obviously I'm failing. It doesn't fit anything, quite, that I've ever read about. Anyhow, I'll be doing deadlifts and squats to the point of muscle fatigue every class plus a bunch of other things that rotate in and out. I've been at it for 3 months.

Regardless, I'm just looking for advice on training when recovering from a respiratory infection.

 

[Cooter]

My trainer has come up with this whole regimen that I'm always trying to describe to people, obviously I'm failing. It doesn't fit anything, quite, that I've ever read about. Anyhow, I'll be doing deadlifts and squats to the point of muscle fatigue every class plus a bunch of other things that rotate in and out. I've been at it for 3 months.

Regardless, I'm just looking for advice on training when recovering from a respiratory infection.

Sounds like something a trainer puts together so his clients feel like they are getting something unique and thus continue to need them. Regardless, I don't see how it's optimal for strength training. Separate strength training and cardio if you seek to maximum your progress for each.

 

[Beer Monkey]

Sounds like something a trainer puts together so his clients feel like they are getting something unique and thus continue to need them. Regardless, I don't see how it's optimal for strength training. Separate strength training and cardio if you seek to maximum your progress for each.

Thanks for not answering my question.

For what it's worth, there's almost no cardio in this specific program. A few minutes of jumping rope in warmup but everything else is lifting, carrying, pushing, etc. But I didn't come here to debate, I came to ask for advice regarding illness and training.

 

[Cooter]

Thanks for not answering my question.

I train when sick. Go for it.

 

[CrankyJay]

Depending on the illness, training can make you feel better.

 

[braves01]

Did squat today for the first time in years...felt good, even though I went really light.

I'm glad I decided to do several weeks of leg press and lunges first to build up some base strength first.

 

[Beer Monkey]

I'm gonna give it another day and try to hit it hard if I feel good in the morning. Been reading some articles.

http://www.mensfitness.com/training/training-qa-should-you-exercise-when-you’re-sick

Also keep in mind the above-the-neck rule: if your symptoms include a runny nose, dry cough or sneezing you should be fine to exercise. Rest if your symptoms are below the neck, such a chest congestion, muscle aches, upset stomach, etc.

Thanks for the input and for helping a visitor out.

 

[SeanR1221]

My trainer has come up with this whole regimen that I'm always trying to describe to people, obviously I'm failing. It doesn't fit anything, quite, that I've ever read about. Anyhow, I'll be doing deadlifts and squats to the point of muscle fatigue every class plus a bunch of other things that rotate in and out. I've been at it for 3 months.

Regardless, I'm just looking for advice on training when recovering from a respiratory infection.

Squat, overhead press, bench for 3x5. Add weight every session

Deadlift 1x5. Add weight every session.

Eat a lot.

Sleep a lot.

Tell your trainer I'm sorry I replaced him

 

[CrankyJay]

Squat, overhead press, bench for 3x5. Add weight every session

Deadlift 1x5. Add weight every session.

Eat a lot.

Sleep a lot.

Tell your trainer I'm sorry I replaced him

I deloaded my squats and OHP...


Was getting lower back stiffness on squats, dropped down to 95lb and just do 8-10 reps.

Deloaded OHP...not for any pain, but I felt I was flaring out my elbows too far to the side when pressing upward (it's my understanding the correct form is to keep elbows under the wrist in both side/fwd-back directions)...feels like a step backward but I know it's necessary.

Bench still going well tho...200 x 3

 

[Levi]

Squat, overhead press, bench for 3x5. Add weight every session

Deadlift 1x5. Add weight every session.

Eat a lot.

Sleep a lot.

Tell your trainer I'm sorry I replaced him

Very close to what I do. 5x5 Squat, Bench, and Pendlay rows Mon and Fri, 5x5 squat, OHP and 1x5 deadlifts every Wednesday.

 

[Cooter]

For what it's worth, there's almost no cardio in this specific program. A few minutes of jumping rope in warmup but everything else is lifting, carrying, pushing, etc. But I didn't come here to debate, I came to ask for advice regarding illness and training.

Ok. God forbid you get other opinions on this special one of a kind program your trainer has you doing. It's not possible that it may be counter productive to what your goals might be. Entirely out of the question.

 

[Szu]

In light of all the recent deadlift videos, here's Hugh Jackman's deadlift with signifigantly less top hair.

 

[CrankyJay]

In light of all the recent deadlift videos, here's Hugh Jackman's deadlift with signifigantly less top hair.

Working on those legs finally?

 

[Zero2kz]

I can't blame him though. When he has to bulk up for roles (aka Wolverine) and get shredded, the time spent on legs could be spent on what will actually be seen on camera ( more upper body!). With the deadlines they usually have to work with, I think it is reasonable for him to skip leg day.



I am so looking forward to this weekend. Just going to be doing a lot of laying. Doctors appointment on Wednesday for my back. For some reason today it has flared up a lot and every inch of me is sore. About to leave work and just go straight to bed.

 

[Matugi]

You're a guy? Your legs will always look like shit. Accept it.
.

I'm blessed with gigantic legs. Not super cut or anything, but from the side my quads extend out farther than my knees lol.

First week of 5x5 was successful. Everything was pretty light so I'm gonna stick with the progression for another week or so then ramp it up a big. Finished the week with 1x3 at 200 on bench and squat and 1x5 at 215 on DL. The bench is on a decent progression for now but in two weeks time I'll up the squat 1x3 to 255 or so and the DL 1x5 to around the same.

 

[Szu]

I can't blame him though. When he has to bulk up for roles (aka Wolverine) and get shredded, the time spent on legs could be spent on what will actually be seen on camera ( more upper body!). With the deadlines they usually have to work with, I think it is reasonable for him to skip leg day.

Sounds true, except he probably devoted a good amount of leg days for his butt scene in X-Men DOFP.