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[narcosis219]

Hi fitness gaf

I'm a 21 year old skinny Asian kid who decidedto start on starting strength.

I did 3x5 squats with the bar itself (45 lbs?) and I felt stiff afterward. Felt okay for a few hours but then now I can't sit down without my thighs going on fire.

I'm supposed to do 3x5 after 1 day of rest. Is this even possible? I just attempted a squat at home and nearly killed myself. Do I just wake up next day and turn off my pain receptors? I read all about working through the DOMS and this seems near impossible. Going to bed now, and tomorrow is the rest day, so I'll spend most of the day moving my legs around and stretching. I just want to know if I'll injure myself if I can't even do a non weighted squat even 30% down with all this pain

 

[Chittagong]

New goal, 10-11% body fat while remaining over 200lbs.

gonna be swole and ripped all at one go then!

My goal is 185lbs @ 13BF, I am 6 feet 2 tall.

I'm supposed to do 3x5 after 1 day of rest. Is this even possible? I just attempted a squat at home and nearly killed myself. Do I just wake up next day and turn off my pain receptors? I read all about working through the DOMS and this seems near impossible. Going to bed now, and tomorrow is the rest day, so I'll spend most of the day moving my legs around and stretching. I just want to know if I'll injure myself if I can't even do a non weighted squat even 30% down with all this pain

Whatever you do your first squats will result in massive quads and hamstring DOMS. Embrace the feeling, if you are on the program and don't take breaks longer than 2 weeks you won't feel it ever again. It will be a good 2-4 days of rolling sideways up from sofa and collapsing to the toilet seat. Your squat weights will quickly improve, just make sure you always go low, parallel or below.

 

[Darren870]

It will be a good 2-4 days of rolling sideways up from sofa and collapsing to the toilet seat.

Best feeling in the world! Always fun to get after a vacation with no squats. Haha the looks I get trying to get around the office or walk down stairs.

 

[Kyaw]

Hi fitness gaf

I'm a 21 year old skinny Asian kid who decidedto start on starting strength.

I did 3x5 squats with the bar itself (45 lbs?) and I felt stiff afterward. Felt okay for a few hours but then now I can't sit down without my thighs going on fire.

I'm supposed to do 3x5 after 1 day of rest. Is this even possible? I just attempted a squat at home and nearly killed myself. Do I just wake up next day and turn off my pain receptors? I read all about working through the DOMS and this seems near impossible. Going to bed now, and tomorrow is the rest day, so I'll spend most of the day moving my legs around and stretching. I just want to know if I'll injure myself if I can't even do a non weighted squat even 30% down with all this pain

First couple of times it's going to hurt but you are squatting so frequently that DOMS become almost non existent after a couple of weeks. And yes, you can push through the soreness when you do the actual workout. Keep going man.

 

[Szu]

Hi fitness gaf

I'm a 21 year old skinny Asian kid who decidedto start on starting strength.

I did 3x5 squats with the bar itself (45 lbs?) and I felt stiff afterward. Felt okay for a few hours but then now I can't sit down without my thighs going on fire.

I'm supposed to do 3x5 after 1 day of rest. Is this even possible? I just attempted a squat at home and nearly killed myself. Do I just wake up next day and turn off my pain receptors? I read all about working through the DOMS and this seems near impossible. Going to bed now, and tomorrow is the rest day, so I'll spend most of the day moving my legs around and stretching. I just want to know if I'll injure myself if I can't even do a non weighted squat even 30% down with all this pain

You'll be fine.

 

[Tash]

Best feeling in the world! Always fun to get after a vacation with no squats. Haha the looks I get trying to get around the office or walk down stairs.

And here I thought I was the only one. The day after the first day I started I literally could not work up and down stairs or sit down and get up again. Lasted for a few days. Has never been so bad again, which is kinda sad. I always like having DOMs as kind of conformation (even though I know they (or lack of them) are not proof of much)

 

[FallingEdge]

New goal, 10-11% body fat while remaining over 200lbs.

This is my goal as well. I want to try to stay over 220 but we will see. My cut won't end in a month. I think I will prolong it throughout the summer before starting a slow bulk in August/September.

 

[Deleted member 47027]

I was talking to FE yesterday in NerdChat and I discussed my plan of finishing SS until my gains dry up, then cut weight for a month or two while maintaining my lifts, then moving on to 5/3/1 and CONSUME mode for diet.

Sounds good? It sounds good to me.

 

[abuC]

This is my goal as well. I want to try to stay over 220 but we will see. My cut won't end in a month. I think I will prolong it throughout the summer before starting a slow bulk in August/September.

If my abs are noticeable at 220lbs I'll stay there, I like being north of 210lbs.




Completely unrelated, a few weeks ago I mentioned someone at my gym uses garden/work gloves, well today I got the pic without him noticing since he was looking at his phone -

 

[MrOogieBoogie]

lol, I meant kind of like a hollywood super hero, you are not butch or bulky but have nice definition and look strong and healthy. It definitely was a compliment.

Oh wow, that's very kind of you to say. Thanks, man, I appreciate it very much.

 

[Mr.City]

Hi fitness gaf

I'm a 21 year old skinny Asian kid who decidedto start on starting strength.

I did 3x5 squats with the bar itself (45 lbs?) and I felt stiff afterward. Felt okay for a few hours but then now I can't sit down without my thighs going on fire.

I'm supposed to do 3x5 after 1 day of rest. Is this even possible? I just attempted a squat at home and nearly killed myself. Do I just wake up next day and turn off my pain receptors? I read all about working through the DOMS and this seems near impossible. Going to bed now, and tomorrow is the rest day, so I'll spend most of the day moving my legs around and stretching. I just want to know if I'll injure myself if I can't even do a non weighted squat even 30% down with all this pain

If you're going hell, keep going. Sorry, buddy, but you'll have to push until you get to the other side. Trust me, it's well worth the effort.

 

[grumble]

If you're going hell, keep going. Sorry, buddy, but you'll have to push until you get to the other side. Trust me, it's well worth the effort.

To be honest I'll go against the tide here and recommend against fighting through severe doms. It can give you nasty muscle spasms if it's really bad, and first time squats give legendary doms. Mild to moderate? Sure. Severe? Just do upper body that day until you've 'broken in' your muscles.

 

[HisshouBuraiKen]

New goal, 10-11% body fat while remaining over 200lbs.

This is my goal as well. I want to try to stay over 220 but we will see. My cut won't end in a month. I think I will prolong it throughout the summer before starting a slow bulk in August/September.

Sheezus. How tall are you guys?

 

[abuC]

Sheezus. How tall are you guys?

6'1", I was 17.5% @ 248lbs.

 

[FallingEdge]

Sheezus. How tall are you guys?

6'2. 6'3 on a good day.

Was 240 lbs @ 17.3 %

 

[blackflag]

Sheezus. How tall are you guys?

This is my goal should hit it in September....if all goes to keikaku.

 

[blackflag]

Down 7 lbs since last Thursday..between 4-5 of that is water but man it feels good. I think this cut is going to turn out amazing.

 

[Zozobra]

Think I'm going to try working out first thing in the morning before work, because I can't stand waiting for the squat rack.

Anybody else doing SS or an equally intense program do this? I mean, what's the routine? Do you get up an hour or so before actually waking up and try to choke down a shake or something while you're half asleep?

I'd like to be able to make this work, but I don't know how practical it is in terms of having the energy to do heavy lifts that early in the morning.

 

[Captain Knutsman]

Hey fitnessgaf. Been working out in periods for many years but just recently started with squats and deadlifts, partially due to this thread (thanks guys). I started reading Starting Strength and in the squat chapter (not done yet, so the explanation might come?) Mark talks about "reflexes" and "bounce". I've always been told you should never e.g. bounce the weight of your chest in a benchpress, as you should always posess full control of the weight and that quick reversals like that could harm your muscles. Has that been all bullshit or is the squat a special case?

In other news, just got PRs in squat (120) and deadlift (140) which was awesome - I never realized I would be able to carry, let alone lift such weights

 

[Noema]

Hey fitnessgaf. Been working out in periods for many years but just recently started with squats and deadlifts, partially due to this thread (thanks guys). I started reading Starting Strength and in the squat chapter (not done yet, so the explanation might come?) Mark talks about "reflexes" and "bounce". I've always been told you should never e.g. bounce the weight of your chest in a benchpress, as you should always posess full control of the weight and that quick reversals like that could harm your muscles. Has that been all bullshit or is the squat a special case?

In other news, just got PRs in squat (120) and deadlift (140) which was awesome - I never realized I would be able to carry, let alone lift such weights

It's a different type of bounce. Rippetoe actually discourages people from bouncing the barbell off the chest on bench, or off the floor on deadlifts, since they are basically cheating: you are using the energy of the barbell traveling down as it bounces off another surface.

The bounce he's referring to in the case of the squat is also known as the stretch reflex. You are not bouncing the bar off anything; you are bouncing off your own muscles to help you drive the way up. When you squat down (the excentric part of the lift) your glutes, hamstrings and adductors stretch, mostly the hamstrings on the low bar squat since the angle of the back and the knees pushes the hips back. As they stretch, the hamstrings accumulate energy since they are viscoelastic tissue: they will act like Rubber bands. Not only does this stretch reflex allow you to move more weight more efficiently; this bounce signals the CNS that a concentric contraction is about to follow. Think of a vertical jump. You'll instinctively squat down and then jump up, and the idea is to create a bounce off your hamstrings that will allow you to jump higher.

This is incidentally why deadlifts differ from squats at a fundamental level. Because every rep on the deadlift starts from a dead stop (hence the name) there's essentially no excentric component and thus no stretch reflex; no bounce. Unless you bounce the plates off the floor. That's they type of bounce we don't want.

 

[blackflag]

Think I'm going to try working out first thing in the morning before work, because I can't stand waiting for the squat rack.

Anybody else doing SS or an equally intense program do this? I mean, what's the routine? Do you get up an hour or so before actually waking up and try to choke down a shake or something while you're half asleep?

I'd like to be able to make this work, but I don't know how practical it is in terms of having the energy to do heavy lifts that early in the morning.

I used to wait until like 10 or 11pm or just squat from home, now I go to my forever empty gym at work.

 

[sphinx]

out of the main moves in SS, the overhead press is easily the most challenging exercise. It was the last main compound I added some weeks ago so I don't have the stabilty I have in bench press and specially the squat but damn...

it blows my mind to see I begin getting a bit exhausted by the 10th warm-up rep with an empty bar and doing 3x5 with 10 kgs added (that's 2 fucking miniplates) isn't guaranteed... as a small guy with a small frame, I've come to terms with the fact that my numbers have never and will never raise any eyebrows, but this is ridiculous.

 

[ILoveBish]

Hey guys.

Ive been lurking gaf for 4+ years and finally got approved today LOL.

My first post has to be in this thread, since it helped me so much. A little over a year ago, someone prophetic told me that i was to go to the gym and train to be strong. I've never really been one for fitness, overweight most of my life, typical gamer who kept putting on the pounds over the years and not looking in the mirror. I was 33 years old and 337.5lbs, and i looked 5'8 when im near 6', due to slouching and bad posture.

Never having gone to the gym seriously (when i was 18 i used to go just do cardio and light stuff, no clue what i was doing), i asked my cousin who has been working out for years, if i could go with him to the gym. My first 6 months were training with my cousin who had no real routine but the typical broscience style of chest day, back day, arms day (NO LEG DAY). I was incredibly weak and had to fight off the women at the gym to use the 5lb dumbbells every day. I didn't know any better, so i trained with him and i didn't lose much weight in those 6 months, maybe 5lbs or so, i did lose fat and slimmed down a bit, while slowly getting stronger. During these 6 months, my cousin was a flake and i missed the gym often, so i got tired of it, decided to go on my own and went solo.

After i went by myself to a different gym, i discovered the fitgaf thread. I read the OP several times, read up on SS, then stronglifts, and decided i was going to do compound exercises. I went on a rather extreme crash diet and didn't work out for about 6 weeks, was brown rice, chicken and salsa everyday just to get my weight down. I went from 337.5 to 292 in that time. Since then, ive kept my weight there but been losing fat and gaining a lot of muscle at the gym. Pants size falls, but the scales were always about the same.

For the next 6 months, i did a modified stronglifts program. First time i tried to squat was horrible. But i kept watching form videos and learning, and in 6 months i went from squating 45lb bar 1x5, to now 315lbs 3x5. I haven't hit a max yet, since i am still hitting new PR's every time i go to the gym. I've stopped doing SS currently do work on my chest, as my chest/triceps are my weakest points, but will soon return to SS soon. I've also started the Carb Nite diet as of 2 weeks ago and im already down to 285lbs with no strength loss at the gym yet, still lifting PRs everytime i go. When i started, i was wearing size 48 pants, currently wearing size 40 very comfy.

So thanks to everyone at fitgaf, i've been reading everything here for a long time, and i really enjoy this community quite a bit.

p.s. - chocolate chip cookie dough quest bars are really good.

 

[Captain Knutsman]

It's a different type of bounce. Rippetoe actually discourages people from bouncing the barbell off the chest on bench, or off the floor on deadlifts, since they are basically cheating: you are using the energy of the barbell traveling down as it bounces off another surface.

The bounce he's referring to in the case of the squat is also known as the stretch reflex. You are not bouncing the bar off anything; you are bouncing off your own muscles to help you drive the way up. When you squat down (the excentric part of the lift) your glutes, hamstrings and adductors stretch, mostly the hamstrings on the low bar squat since the angle of the back and the knees pushes the hips back. As they stretch, the hamstrings accumulate energy since they are viscoelastic tissue: they will act like Rubber bands. Not only does this stretch reflex allow you to move more weight more efficiently; this bounce signals the CNS that a concentric contraction is about to follow. Think of a vertical jump. You'll instinctively squat down and then jump up, and the idea is to create a bounce off your hamstrings that will allow you to jump higher.

This is incidentally why deadlifts differ from squats at a fundamental level. Because every rep on the deadlift starts from a dead stop (hence the name) there's essentially no excentric component and thus no stretch reflex; no bounce. Unless you bounce the plates off the floor. That's they type of bounce we don't want.

Thanks for the indepth answer. So bouncing in the squat doesn't impose a risk of injury?There isn't a chance that I'll rip something or the like? If not then I think a new PR is within reach

Nice story CountChocula, sounds like you are only halfway on your quest though, lots of experiences in the gym left to have - keep it up all the way!

 

[Tash]

Hey guys.

Ive been lurking gaf for 4+ years and finally got approved today LOL.

My first post has to be in this thread, since it helped me so much. A little over a year ago, someone prophetic told me that i was to go to the gym and train to be strong. I've never really been one for fitness, overweight most of my life, typical gamer who kept putting on the pounds over the years and not looking in the mirror. I was 33 years old and 337.5lbs, and i looked 5'8 when im near 6', due to slouching and bad posture.

Never having gone to the gym seriously (when i was 18 i used to go just do cardio and light stuff, no clue what i was doing), i asked my cousin who has been working out for years, if i could go with him to the gym. My first 6 months were training with my cousin who had no real routine but the typical broscience style of chest day, back day, arms day (NO LEG DAY). I was incredibly weak and had to fight off the women at the gym to use the 5lb dumbbells every day. I didn't know any better, so i trained with him and i didn't lose much weight in those 6 months, maybe 5lbs or so, i did lose fat and slimmed down a bit, while slowly getting stronger. During these 6 months, my cousin was a flake and i missed the gym often, so i got tired of it, decided to go on my own and went solo.

After i went by myself to a different gym, i discovered the fitgaf thread. I read the OP several times, read up on SS, then stronglifts, and decided i was going to do compound exercises. I went on a rather extreme crash diet and didn't work out for about 6 weeks, was brown rice, chicken and salsa everyday just to get my weight down. I went from 337.5 to 292 in that time. Since then, ive kept my weight there but been losing fat and gaining a lot of muscle at the gym. Pants size falls, but the scales were always about the same.

For the next 6 months, i did a modified stronglifts program. First time i tried to squat was horrible. But i kept watching form videos and learning, and in 6 months i went from squating 45lb bar 1x5, to now 315lbs 3x5. I haven't hit a max yet, since i am still hitting new PR's every time i go to the gym. I've stopped doing SS currently do work on my chest, as my chest/triceps are my weakest points, but will soon return to SS soon. I've also started the Carb Nite diet as of 2 weeks ago and im already down to 285lbs with no strength loss at the gym yet, still lifting PRs everytime i go. When i started, i was wearing size 48 pants, currently wearing size 40 very comfy.

So thanks to everyone at fitgaf, i've been reading everything here for a long time, and i really enjoy this community quite a bit.

p.s. - chocolate chip cookie dough quest bars are really good.

Great post, grats on your progress

 

[PKrockin]

Hey guys.

Ive been lurking gaf for 4+ years and finally got approved today LOL.

My first post has to be in this thread, since it helped me so much. A little over a year ago, someone prophetic told me that i was to go to the gym and train to be strong. I've never really been one for fitness, overweight most of my life, typical gamer who kept putting on the pounds over the years and not looking in the mirror. I was 33 years old and 337.5lbs, and i looked 5'8 when im near 6', due to slouching and bad posture.

Never having gone to the gym seriously (when i was 18 i used to go just do cardio and light stuff, no clue what i was doing), i asked my cousin who has been working out for years, if i could go with him to the gym. My first 6 months were training with my cousin who had no real routine but the typical broscience style of chest day, back day, arms day (NO LEG DAY). I was incredibly weak and had to fight off the women at the gym to use the 5lb dumbbells every day. I didn't know any better, so i trained with him and i didn't lose much weight in those 6 months, maybe 5lbs or so, i did lose fat and slimmed down a bit, while slowly getting stronger. During these 6 months, my cousin was a flake and i missed the gym often, so i got tired of it, decided to go on my own and went solo.

After i went by myself to a different gym, i discovered the fitgaf thread. I read the OP several times, read up on SS, then stronglifts, and decided i was going to do compound exercises. I went on a rather extreme crash diet and didn't work out for about 6 weeks, was brown rice, chicken and salsa everyday just to get my weight down. I went from 337.5 to 292 in that time. Since then, ive kept my weight there but been losing fat and gaining a lot of muscle at the gym. Pants size falls, but the scales were always about the same.

For the next 6 months, i did a modified stronglifts program. First time i tried to squat was horrible. But i kept watching form videos and learning, and in 6 months i went from squating 45lb bar 1x5, to now 315lbs 3x5. I haven't hit a max yet, since i am still hitting new PR's every time i go to the gym. I've stopped doing SS currently do work on my chest, as my chest/triceps are my weakest points, but will soon return to SS soon. I've also started the Carb Nite diet as of 2 weeks ago and im already down to 285lbs with no strength loss at the gym yet, still lifting PRs everytime i go. When i started, i was wearing size 48 pants, currently wearing size 40 very comfy.

So thanks to everyone at fitgaf, i've been reading everything here for a long time, and i really enjoy this community quite a bit.

p.s. - chocolate chip cookie dough quest bars are really good.

daaaaayum.gif

Major props man, keep it up.

 

[Szu]

Hey guys.

Ive been lurking gaf for 4+ years and finally got approved today LOL.

My first post has to be in this thread, since it helped me so much. A little over a year ago, someone prophetic told me that i was to go to the gym and train to be strong. I've never really been one for fitness, overweight most of my life, typical gamer who kept putting on the pounds over the years and not looking in the mirror. I was 33 years old and 337.5lbs, and i looked 5'8 when im near 6', due to slouching and bad posture.

Never having gone to the gym seriously (when i was 18 i used to go just do cardio and light stuff, no clue what i was doing), i asked my cousin who has been working out for years, if i could go with him to the gym. My first 6 months were training with my cousin who had no real routine but the typical broscience style of chest day, back day, arms day (NO LEG DAY). I was incredibly weak and had to fight off the women at the gym to use the 5lb dumbbells every day. I didn't know any better, so i trained with him and i didn't lose much weight in those 6 months, maybe 5lbs or so, i did lose fat and slimmed down a bit, while slowly getting stronger. During these 6 months, my cousin was a flake and i missed the gym often, so i got tired of it, decided to go on my own and went solo.

After i went by myself to a different gym, i discovered the fitgaf thread. I read the OP several times, read up on SS, then stronglifts, and decided i was going to do compound exercises. I went on a rather extreme crash diet and didn't work out for about 6 weeks, was brown rice, chicken and salsa everyday just to get my weight down. I went from 337.5 to 292 in that time. Since then, ive kept my weight there but been losing fat and gaining a lot of muscle at the gym. Pants size falls, but the scales were always about the same.

For the next 6 months, i did a modified stronglifts program. First time i tried to squat was horrible. But i kept watching form videos and learning, and in 6 months i went from squating 45lb bar 1x5, to now 315lbs 3x5. I haven't hit a max yet, since i am still hitting new PR's every time i go to the gym. I've stopped doing SS currently do work on my chest, as my chest/triceps are my weakest points, but will soon return to SS soon. I've also started the Carb Nite diet as of 2 weeks ago and im already down to 285lbs with no strength loss at the gym yet, still lifting PRs everytime i go. When i started, i was wearing size 48 pants, currently wearing size 40 very comfy.

So thanks to everyone at fitgaf, i've been reading everything here for a long time, and i really enjoy this community quite a bit.

p.s. - chocolate chip cookie dough quest bars are really good.

Welcome to FitGaf!!!!

 

[Nelo Ice]

Hey guys.

Ive been lurking gaf for 4+ years and finally got approved today LOL.

My first post has to be in this thread, since it helped me so much. A little over a year ago, someone prophetic told me that i was to go to the gym and train to be strong. I've never really been one for fitness, overweight most of my life, typical gamer who kept putting on the pounds over the years and not looking in the mirror. I was 33 years old and 337.5lbs, and i looked 5'8 when im near 6', due to slouching and bad posture.

Never having gone to the gym seriously (when i was 18 i used to go just do cardio and light stuff, no clue what i was doing), i asked my cousin who has been working out for years, if i could go with him to the gym. My first 6 months were training with my cousin who had no real routine but the typical broscience style of chest day, back day, arms day (NO LEG DAY). I was incredibly weak and had to fight off the women at the gym to use the 5lb dumbbells every day. I didn't know any better, so i trained with him and i didn't lose much weight in those 6 months, maybe 5lbs or so, i did lose fat and slimmed down a bit, while slowly getting stronger. During these 6 months, my cousin was a flake and i missed the gym often, so i got tired of it, decided to go on my own and went solo.

After i went by myself to a different gym, i discovered the fitgaf thread. I read the OP several times, read up on SS, then stronglifts, and decided i was going to do compound exercises. I went on a rather extreme crash diet and didn't work out for about 6 weeks, was brown rice, chicken and salsa everyday just to get my weight down. I went from 337.5 to 292 in that time. Since then, ive kept my weight there but been losing fat and gaining a lot of muscle at the gym. Pants size falls, but the scales were always about the same.

For the next 6 months, i did a modified stronglifts program. First time i tried to squat was horrible. But i kept watching form videos and learning, and in 6 months i went from squating 45lb bar 1x5, to now 315lbs 3x5. I haven't hit a max yet, since i am still hitting new PR's every time i go to the gym. I've stopped doing SS currently do work on my chest, as my chest/triceps are my weakest points, but will soon return to SS soon. I've also started the Carb Nite diet as of 2 weeks ago and im already down to 285lbs with no strength loss at the gym yet, still lifting PRs everytime i go. When i started, i was wearing size 48 pants, currently wearing size 40 very comfy.

So thanks to everyone at fitgaf, i've been reading everything here for a long time, and i really enjoy this community quite a bit.

p.s. - chocolate chip cookie dough quest bars are really good.

Well damn, I need to start going to the gym by myself too. Been goin with friends but now I'm sure they are all broscience since they ignore me or brush off anything I say when I show them all the info from the OP. Have not seen any meaningful gains since they don't have a set routine and like your cousin no leg day and a bunch of iso exercises. Had a feeling Gaf was right but was mostly paranoid about my form for squats, deadlifts, etc so I never followed through on doin SS. But screw it gonna start the beginner routine like I wanted to and of course just realized I need proper weightlifting shoes, so I guess I should buy some cheap chucks somewhere.

 

[Deleted member 47027]

Hey guys.

Ive been lurking gaf for 4+ years and finally got approved today LOL.

My first post has to be in this thread, since it helped me so much. A little over a year ago, someone prophetic told me that i was to go to the gym and train to be strong. I've never really been one for fitness, overweight most of my life, typical gamer who kept putting on the pounds over the years and not looking in the mirror. I was 33 years old and 337.5lbs, and i looked 5'8 when im near 6', due to slouching and bad posture.

Never having gone to the gym seriously (when i was 18 i used to go just do cardio and light stuff, no clue what i was doing), i asked my cousin who has been working out for years, if i could go with him to the gym. My first 6 months were training with my cousin who had no real routine but the typical broscience style of chest day, back day, arms day (NO LEG DAY). I was incredibly weak and had to fight off the women at the gym to use the 5lb dumbbells every day. I didn't know any better, so i trained with him and i didn't lose much weight in those 6 months, maybe 5lbs or so, i did lose fat and slimmed down a bit, while slowly getting stronger. During these 6 months, my cousin was a flake and i missed the gym often, so i got tired of it, decided to go on my own and went solo.

After i went by myself to a different gym, i discovered the fitgaf thread. I read the OP several times, read up on SS, then stronglifts, and decided i was going to do compound exercises. I went on a rather extreme crash diet and didn't work out for about 6 weeks, was brown rice, chicken and salsa everyday just to get my weight down. I went from 337.5 to 292 in that time. Since then, ive kept my weight there but been losing fat and gaining a lot of muscle at the gym. Pants size falls, but the scales were always about the same.

For the next 6 months, i did a modified stronglifts program. First time i tried to squat was horrible. But i kept watching form videos and learning, and in 6 months i went from squating 45lb bar 1x5, to now 315lbs 3x5. I haven't hit a max yet, since i am still hitting new PR's every time i go to the gym. I've stopped doing SS currently do work on my chest, as my chest/triceps are my weakest points, but will soon return to SS soon. I've also started the Carb Nite diet as of 2 weeks ago and im already down to 285lbs with no strength loss at the gym yet, still lifting PRs everytime i go. When i started, i was wearing size 48 pants, currently wearing size 40 very comfy.

So thanks to everyone at fitgaf, i've been reading everything here for a long time, and i really enjoy this community quite a bit.

p.s. - chocolate chip cookie dough quest bars are really good.

Welcome brah, glad to see things working for you and you're on the journey with us all! You'll never find a better place for good folks and great advice.

 

[grumble]

Think I'm going to try working out first thing in the morning before work, because I can't stand waiting for the squat rack.

Anybody else doing SS or an equally intense program do this? I mean, what's the routine? Do you get up an hour or so before actually waking up and try to choke down a shake or something while you're half asleep?

I'd like to be able to make this work, but I don't know how practical it is in terms of having the energy to do heavy lifts that early in the morning.

Hey, I work out in the mornings. I like it a lot more, since you get it out of the way and it's unlikely that anything will interfere with going. The first few times are rough but once you get in the groove and sleep a bit earlier it's no problem. I drink a protein shake as soon as I get moving, I make it to the gym an hour later and I'm done by 830. Also no waiting for equipment, usually. It's way better.

 

[ReadingRambo]

Sunflower stop with the Cena ass gif (in another thread). It makes me feel funny.

 

[Mr.City]

Hey guys.

Ive been lurking gaf for 4+ years and finally got approved today LOL.

My first post has to be in this thread, since it helped me so much. A little over a year ago, someone prophetic told me that i was to go to the gym and train to be strong. I've never really been one for fitness, overweight most of my life, typical gamer who kept putting on the pounds over the years and not looking in the mirror. I was 33 years old and 337.5lbs, and i looked 5'8 when im near 6', due to slouching and bad posture.

Never having gone to the gym seriously (when i was 18 i used to go just do cardio and light stuff, no clue what i was doing), i asked my cousin who has been working out for years, if i could go with him to the gym. My first 6 months were training with my cousin who had no real routine but the typical broscience style of chest day, back day, arms day (NO LEG DAY). I was incredibly weak and had to fight off the women at the gym to use the 5lb dumbbells every day. I didn't know any better, so i trained with him and i didn't lose much weight in those 6 months, maybe 5lbs or so, i did lose fat and slimmed down a bit, while slowly getting stronger. During these 6 months, my cousin was a flake and i missed the gym often, so i got tired of it, decided to go on my own and went solo.

After i went by myself to a different gym, i discovered the fitgaf thread. I read the OP several times, read up on SS, then stronglifts, and decided i was going to do compound exercises. I went on a rather extreme crash diet and didn't work out for about 6 weeks, was brown rice, chicken and salsa everyday just to get my weight down. I went from 337.5 to 292 in that time. Since then, ive kept my weight there but been losing fat and gaining a lot of muscle at the gym. Pants size falls, but the scales were always about the same.

For the next 6 months, i did a modified stronglifts program. First time i tried to squat was horrible. But i kept watching form videos and learning, and in 6 months i went from squating 45lb bar 1x5, to now 315lbs 3x5. I haven't hit a max yet, since i am still hitting new PR's every time i go to the gym. I've stopped doing SS currently do work on my chest, as my chest/triceps are my weakest points, but will soon return to SS soon. I've also started the Carb Nite diet as of 2 weeks ago and im already down to 285lbs with no strength loss at the gym yet, still lifting PRs everytime i go. When i started, i was wearing size 48 pants, currently wearing size 40 very comfy.

So thanks to everyone at fitgaf, i've been reading everything here for a long time, and i really enjoy this community quite a bit.

p.s. - chocolate chip cookie dough quest bars are really good.

 

[Deleted member 47027]

Sunflower stop with the Cena ass gif (in another thread). It makes me feel funny.

 

[ReadingRambo]

^lol
It's been 5 1/2 weeks since I started the OP routine. Friends/family are starting to notice and comment on my gainz. This shit is changing my life. Also I finally landed a full-time teaching job this morning and I could probably deadlift my car.

 

[grumble]

^lol
It's been 5 1/2 weeks since I started the OP routine. Friends/family are starting to notice and comment on my gainz. This shit is changing my life. Also I finally landed a full-time teaching job this morning and I could probably deadlift my car.

Nice! Keep everyone posted on how it's going, and congrats on the new job.

 

[FallingEdge]

snip.

huzzah! Congrats dood. Glad to hear your success story! Keep it up!

 

[Deleted member 47027]

^lol
It's been 5 1/2 weeks since I started the OP routine. Friends/family are starting to notice and comment on my gainz. This shit is changing my life. Also I finally landed a full-time teaching job this morning and I could probably deadlift my car.

Badass. I remember months ago when you were frustrated and down. This is some good shit to hear.

 

[SeanR1221]

Help me feel better Fitgaf

First cycle, 3s week of deads today. I knew something was up when my second to last set felt heavy.

I go to put up 305 3+ and can only manage 3, when I've done 315 2x5 before.

I dunno if it's sleep (was on dog duty last night) or BBB is getting to me (Knees are so stiff I can barely bend them when I walk, lower back is so sore it's uncomfortable to sit up).

And then I remembered, and someone correct me if I'm wrong, Wendler says if you're doing BBB don't go for the + just do your minimum reps. Is that right?

 

[FallingEdge]

Help me feel better Fitgaf

First cycle, 3s week of deads today. I knew something was up when my second to last set felt heavy.

I go to put up 305 3+ and can only manage 3, when I've done 315 2x5 before.

I dunno if it's sleep (was on dog duty last night) or BBB is getting to me (Knees are so stiff I can barely bend them when I walk, lower back is so sore it's uncomfortable to sit up).

And then I remembered, and someone correct me if I'm wrong, Wendler says if you're doing BBB don't go for the + just do your minimum reps. Is that right?

Been there, done that. One week, I only got 5 x 330 lbs on my 5+ week. The next month I was able to get 8 or 9 x 335 lbs for 5+ week.

So yeah, don't worry.

As for BBB, I go for the + all the time. I don't recall him saying just do the minimum reps. The BBB Challenge says to just do min reps. Could be wrong though.

 

[grumble]

Help me feel better Fitgaf

First cycle, 3s week of deads today. I knew something was up when my second to last set felt heavy.

I go to put up 305 3+ and can only manage 3, when I've done 315 2x5 before.

I dunno if it's sleep (was on dog duty last night) or BBB is getting to me (Knees are so stiff I can barely bend them when I walk, lower back is so sore it's uncomfortable to sit up).

And then I remembered, and someone correct me if I'm wrong, Wendler says if you're doing BBB don't go for the + just do your minimum reps. Is that right?

Sounds to me like you're adapting to the routine (particularly the compound volume), and the degree of adaptation required might be impacting your recovery for this first cycle. If you made the 3 reps, then you seem to be doing okay to me!

 

[Jack_AG]

Man. After my initial body's reaction of "welcome back, here's some gains" I feel like its coming on slow. I know average lean is 0.5-1 lb per month but I am having a hard time bulking without eating more. I would have to grossly adjust my meds to compensate but i don't want to chance a high A1C. Any other diabetics on insulin here with input? Or should I just stick with slow and steady and play it safe. I'm in no rush but hot damn this is a different ball game from years ago when I wasn't diabetic. I need to be careful.

 

[CrankyJay]

Old?

Someone on the LEFT hasn't skipped leg day

 

[Szu]

Sunflower stop with the Cena ass gif (in another thread). It makes me feel funny.

 

[Ekdrm2d1]

Complaint/rant about GNC and the Quest Bars.

Store Stock! GNC can never keep them on the shelves. The stores in my city receive a new shipment every week. What they order only lasts -5 days, and the premium flavors (CCCD, PBSP, etc.) sell out within days.

I just called 4 different stores in my city and neither had the CCCD or PBSP. Their shipments came in yesterday and they're unpacking and shelving them this morning.
One store told me to call back in a few hours after they pack them, but if they already checked their order and received nothing I don't think the outcome will change.

Not sure what company is behind the shortage of the product. If GNC is not ordering enough to fill the large demand or Quest Bars has a limited ordering procedure. Why not stock 100 boxes of each flavor a week so the store never runs out? If they don't sell 100 boxes in a week then keep them on-hand so they never sell out. Doubt they expire in -2 months.

They're losing money! I want to go buy $50 worth of Quest Bars right now but they're out. I'm only 1 person out of millions in my city. I'm sure Quest Bar's Houston revenue would spike if they kept them in-stock.

I guess to stop my bitching I can order online.. It's just I have like 4 GNC stores within 5 miles of me. So much easier to go 0.5 miles from my house and pickup a box.

That's my rant

Edit: Just called another store. They are completely out of Quest Bars! Not one flavor in stock :lol

 

[Vio-Lence]

speaking of team decline, i went to the gym late last night around 10 pm and there was a cute girl doing decline bench. long story short she gets pinned under the bar and i watched for a second before i ran over to teabag her/curl the bar.

 

[Szu]

speaking of team decline, i went to the gym late last night around 10 pm and there was a cute girl doing decline bench. long story short she gets pinned under the bar and i watched for a second before i ran over to teabag her/curl the bar.

Next time, impress her by doing it with one hand.

Even better, no hands.

 

[FallingEdge]

#teamdecline

1+ reps for squats today. 365 lbs.

Did HIIT on the bike on Monday. Alternated the resistance. Was much more spent at the end of the session.

Insanity abs today.

 

[Petrie]

Complaint/rant about GNC and the Quest Bars.

Store Stock! GNC can never keep them on the shelves. The stores in my city receive a new shipment every week. What they order only lasts -5 days, and the premium flavors (CCCD, PBSP, etc.) sell out within days.

I just called 4 different stores in my city and neither had the CCCD or PBSP. Their shipments came in yesterday and they're unpacking and shelving them this morning.
One store told me to call back in a few hours after they pack them, but if they already checked their order and received nothing I don't think the outcome will change.

Not sure what company is behind the shortage of the product. If GNC is not ordering enough to fill the large demand or Quest Bars has a limited ordering procedure. Why not stock 100 boxes of each flavor a week so the store never runs out? If they don't sell 100 boxes in a week then keep them on-hand so they never sell out. Doubt they expire in -2 months.

They're losing money! I want to go buy $50 worth of Quest Bars right now but they're out. I'm only 1 person out of millions in my city. I'm sure Quest Bar's Houston revenue would spike if they kept them in-stock.

I guess to stop my bitching I can order online.. It's just I have like 4 GNC stores within 5 miles of me. So much easier to go 0.5 miles from my house and pickup a box.

That's my rant

Edit: Just called another store. They are completely out of Quest Bars! Not one flavor in stock :lol

My work is done here.

 

[cpp_is_king]

Two questions, one of which will probably be controversial.

1) How can I decrease my recovery time? I'd like to work out every MWF but it seems like when I work out Monday, I'm not really that sore on Tuesday and then REALLY sore on Wednesday, and then fine on Thursday. So currently I can only work out Monday and Thursday. What's even stranger is that during my workout on Monday, my legs tend to get the least exhausted, but they are the sorest on Wednesday, whereas my upper body feels completely destroyed after the workout, yet it's fine on Wednesday.


2) What is the best substitute for vegetables for someone who cannot eat vegetables? I'm sure everyone's first response is going to be "nothing. Eat vegetables", but for certain reasons this literally isn't possible. So I am interested the best of the set of inferior substitutes / supplements. There's tons of vegetable supplements, but I don't know what all these ingredients are or how to choose one. This one seems to get a bunch of recommendations, but still, looking for more opinions. And again, I know supplements are designed to supplement, not replace, but I think my choices are either an inferior solution or no solution.

 

[Szu]

Two questions, one of which will probably be controversial.

1) How can I decrease my recovery time? I'd like to work out every MWF but it seems like when I work out Monday, I'm not really that sore on Tuesday and then REALLY sore on Wednesday, and then fine on Thursday. So currently I can only work out Monday and Thursday. What's even stranger is that during my workout on Monday, my legs tend to get the least exhausted, but they are the sorest on Wednesday, whereas my upper body feels completely destroyed after the workout, yet it's fine on Wednesday.


2) What is the best substitute for vegetables for someone who cannot eat vegetables? I'm sure everyone's first response is going to be "nothing. Eat vegetables", but for certain reasons this literally isn't possible. So I am interested the best of the set of inferior substitutes / supplements. There's tons of vegetable supplements, but I don't know what all these ingredients are or how to choose one. This one seems to get a bunch of recommendations, but still, looking for more opinions. And again, I know supplements are designed to supplement, not replace, but I think my choices are either an inferior solution or no solution.

1) The only ways to "speed" up recovery time is to get more rest during your rest days, but it's minimal at best. Even if you feel sore, unless you extremely fatigued, you should be able to get through the workout. Now, I don't know the specific of your routine, but if you want to do the MWF schedule, your body can adjust to it.

2) Have you considered juicing them?