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[Deleted member 17706]

FallingEdge, that is some inspirational stuff. Definitely shows the value in persistence over the long term. Your first year (year and four months) transformation in particular is just huge.

I just wrapped up my 8th session in the gym, marking a complete two weeks since I began. Now that I've read most of Starting Strength (I said it earlier, but holy shit does this book make me feel like an idiot--I probably fully understand like half of what's being said) and watched a bunch of videos of Rippetoe instructing proper form, I decided to kind of reset my exercises and find my real starting weight again, because I had been kind of fudging my technique in the last few sessions. I really want to focus on getting form right.

The result was that I had to drop the weight in my squats and overhead presses a little bit to finish my work sets with good form. I still don't know if I'm doing the exercises 100% correctly, but I'm definitely improving my form compared to the last couple of sessions.

So, anyway, here's my progress (or lack of progress) over the last two weeks:

Squat: 95 -> 125
Bench Press: 95 -> 105
Deadlift: 105 -> 145
Overhead Presses: 55 -> 55

I do squats and deadlifts every session, but bench presses and overhead presses are alternating. I'm particularly disappointed with my overhead presses. I was up to 60 lbs. but had to drop it to 55 lbs. to do full work sets with good form today. I don't know what it is about them, but they are just hard as hell. I must have really weak shoulders or something. Oh well, going to keep on trying.

I'm also a bit disappointed with my grip on the squat. Rippetoe recommends you get a really narrow grip, but I must lack the flexibility, because it feels like something's going to break if I try copying the form he shows in his videos. Hopefully my shoulders will loosen up over time.

 

[despire]

Pretty amazing progress right there FE. I wish I could do the same What/how much did you eat and how did your lifts go?

 

[Caramello]

FallingEdge, that is some inspirational stuff. Definitely shows the value in persistence over the long term. Your first year (year and four months) transformation in particular is just huge.

I just wrapped up my 8th session in the gym, marking a complete two weeks since I began. Now that I've read most of Starting Strength (I said it earlier, but holy shit does this book make me feel like an idiot--I probably fully understand like half of what's being said) and watched a bunch of videos of Rippetoe instructing proper form, I decided to kind of reset my exercises and find my real starting weight again, because I had been kind of fudging my technique in the last few sessions. I really want to focus on getting form right.

The result was that I had to drop the weight in my squats and overhead presses a little bit to finish my work sets with good form. I still don't know if I'm doing the exercises 100% correctly, but I'm definitely improving my form compared to the last couple of sessions.

So, anyway, here's my progress (or lack of progress) over the last two weeks:

Squat: 95 -> 125
Bench Press: 95 -> 105
Deadlift: 105 -> 145
Overhead Presses: 55 -> 55

I do squats and deadlifts every session, but bench presses and overhead presses are alternating. I'm particularly disappointed with my overhead presses. I was up to 60 lbs. but had to drop it to 55 lbs. to do full work sets with good form today. I don't know what it is about them, but they are just hard as hell. I must have really weak shoulders or something. Oh well, going to keep on trying.

I'm also a bit disappointed with my grip on the squat. Rippetoe recommends you get a really narrow grip, but I must lack the flexibility, because it feels like something's going to break if I try copying the form he shows in his videos. Hopefully my shoulders will loosen up over time.

I had this problem, they will loosen up. Just go as narrow as you can without pain on your first warm up set and try to get narrower with each set.

You can do mobility work for your shoulders too if you want but that strategy worked best for me.

 

[Deleted member 17706]

I had this problem, they will loosen up. Just go as narrow as you can without pain on your first warm up set and try to get narrower with each set.

You can do mobility work for your shoulders too if you want but that strategy worked best for me.

Thanks for the tip. Happen to have a link to a good place where I can learn more about mobility work?

 

[Nelo Ice]

So after about a month of SS, I think I'm going to take a week off. Went to a parkour gym today them gym just now and I could tell my form was off doin the last day of SS from the OP routine. Also was the first time I couldn't increase my squat by another 10 lbs. Stopped after doin deadlifts and realizing I shouldn't even try bent over rows. Was prolly exhaustion from running and flipping but figure this week I'll read through SS cover to cover,anyway get my form on point them start month 2 strong.

edit:this a good idea or should I just deload on Tuesday? then go back up on Thursday/Saturday?

 

[Bam Bam Baklava]

Hell man I'm trying to get feb 2011 falling edge's body.

 

[Imm0rt4l]

After having a pretty shitty couple of last workouts I killed today's leg day. 405 atg squat exploding off the floor in my first working set, I underestimated my speed enough that the bar went airborne on my ascent. Only broke parallel for the other 2 sets though.

I caught the meanest fucking cramp in my post workout static stretching as I was touching my toes. My top left abdominal muscle was tense as a motherfucker, thought I had a hernia, would have been the wackest way to get one. I didn't bother working out abs because of the persisting pain.





Good shit to shogun, I saw a video of him deadlifting 505 for a triple. I'd link it but I'm on my phone.

 

[ILoveBish]

Damnit, i am a hairy man. I got myself nair'd, but the part where the barbell sits on my back was still tender, and the nair inflamed it quite a bit. Wont be able to do a squat for a few days while i heal. Going in tonight for another triceps day, still feeling the burn from the last one.

So I think I'm pretty much done with my cut for now.


Thanks to FitGAF for all the help and for putting up with my BS and various pic spamming. You guys are a great group of people.

FE, you look absolutely AMAZING man. One of the staples of fitgaf. Keep on keepin on, always inspiring me.

 

[TurtleSnatcher]

Assortment I bought earlier today. Going to see which 2-3 I enjoy most and stick with those.

 

[roosters93]

Went to do 225x5x3 today for squats but I'm having problem with my wrists and getting into position well.
My wrist and shoulder flexibility is poor and I can't get the bar tight on my back without having my wrists being in an uncomfortable position resting the weight on them and it's now become untenable at this weight. :/
Anyone got some good tips?

Might have pulled an Evilore at the gym today and overworked my knees

lol what is this in reference to?

Been in the hospital for the past 3 days due to my UC and only on a liquid diet to give my colon a rest. About 800 calories a day and pumped full of cortosteroids. So many gains lost.

fak, get better bro.

Guys, I'm needing a bit of help with my bulking diet. My muscles aren't growing and have had enough with this plateau. There are a couple of problems:

1. Trying to meet 3300 calories a day.
2. Getting roughly 160 grams of protein (don't want to use protein shakes, whey, casein, etc.)
3. When to eat meals.

On meal timing, I'd say don't worry too much about it. Getting the right amount of calories and macros are the most important things. Just time your meals such that you don't over/undereat.

So I think I'm pretty much done with my cut for now.

Holy shit FE. I looked at your first pic without looking at the caption and thought 'damn he looks kinda small' lol. You've come a long way!

But after the ride: I indulged like I haven't indulged in two months.

9oz beef burger with blue cheese and crispy, smoked bacon + a big serving of sweet potato fries
3 beers (16oz each)
Coffee-flavored Oreo ice cream shake from Carvel
.

Damn that sounds delicious. Mad jelly.

I decided to kind of reset my exercises and find my real starting weight again, because I had been kind of fudging my technique in the last few sessions. I really want to focus on getting form right..

This is the right attitude to have, good work! Leave your ego at the door, don't focus on how much/little weight you think you're doing and get form down pat.

 

[Detox]

Some of you might remember I'll be recording my dead lifts today for analysis of where I'm going wrong with them, I was curious what angle should I record them in?

 

[Illithid Dude]

I guess I'll post some photos of my supple, naked flesh, since that seems to be the hot thing to do right now. A couple notes:

- I'm going for lean, athletic, and defined, not huge and Ah-nold-y.
- I just had dinner
- I have a crazy high metabolism
- I have no obliques, but as of tonight, I'm working on fixing that.
- The lighting in the bathroom I'm in washes shit out

Enjoy! (you perverts)

First one is no flexing, second one is flexing.

 

[AdventureRacing]

You could dedicate your whole life to trying to look Ah-nold-y and never even come close so i wouldn't worry about that. Personally i think you could easily add some more mass and still look very athletic. Right now i think you look more on the skinny than athletic side but i guess it's also personal preference.

 

[Illithid Dude]

You could dedicate your whole life to trying to look Ah-nold-y and never even come close so i wouldn't worry about that. Personally i think you could easily add some more mass and still look very athletic. Right now i think you look more on the skinny than athletic side but i guess it's also personal preference.

Don't worry, I'm still working on my ideal physique.

 

[TurtleSnatcher]

Don't worry, I'm still working on my ideal physique.

I think you look lean/athletic.

 

[Jack_AG]

So I think I'm pretty much done with my cut for now. April 1 - July 7. 3 months. Started @ 239.5 lbs @ 17.3 % bf. Ended @ 225 lbs @ ~12% bf. The bf% numbers could be wrong but with the tests I have been using since the start, that is what I am sticking with.

Feb 2011


July 2012


April 2013


July 2013


The second "after" pic is prolly what I just look like most of the time. Could be leaner as seen here but could also be bigger. What I ate, carbs, water retention, etc.

Final stats are as follows:
OHP: 3 reps @ 180 lbs
Decline Bench: 6 reps @ 265 lbs
Deadlifts: 5 reps @ 385 lbs
Squats: 6 reps @ 375 lbs

I could have lost more fat but too many cheat days, out with friends, etc. Yeah, yeah, I can do better. I find that I like myself more @ 225 than I do @ 240. Less fat and just feel better. That being said, I would love to get to 240 lbs next year and be at the same bf%. I think I can do it but we will see. The plan for the rest of the summer is to maintain, maybe try to lose a bit more fat. I might post a few more pics at the end of summer to see where I "officially" have ended up. In any case, I am not as big as the doods in here, not as lean as the guys in here but for now, I'm just going to enjoy what I have accomplished.

Thanks to FitGAF for all the help and for putting up with my BS and various pic spamming. You guys are a great group of people.

Fucking A you look awesome, Edge! Amazing transformation over the years, brother. Inspiring!

 

[SeanR1221]

.
Good shit to shogun, I saw a video of him deadlifting 505 for a triple. I'd link it but I'm on my phone.

http://youtu.be/K-3GzkXMp4w

 

[Petrie]

I guess I'll post some photos of my supple, naked flesh, since that seems to be the hot thing to do right now. A couple notes:

- I'm going for lean, athletic, and defined, not huge and Ah-nold-y.

I have to agree with those who said you look more skinny than athletic. If I saw that, my first assumption would be untrained with minimal physical activity. Eat more man! Some biceps with no chest/shoulder/etc doesn't scream athletic!

 

[SquiddyCracker]

Yup. What are the best exercises for those that don't involve going to the gym?

Sideplank with a twist and just oblique crunches should probably do it for you:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSoWKDfdZwU (love this one)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxaKQG-gmPY

Great progress, FE!

 

[Illithid Dude]

I have to agree with those who said you look more skinny than athletic. If I saw that, my first assumption would be untrained with minimal physical activity. Eat more man! Some biceps with no chest/shoulder/etc doesn't scream athletic!

I eat so much. I just finished having two containers of Whole Foods sushi, a carton of almond milk, and cereal, which would be the fourth time tonight I've had the equivalent of dinner. My metabolism is just jaw-dropingly crazy fast.

Sideplank with a twist and just oblique crunches should probably do it for you:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSoWKDfdZwU (love this one)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxaKQG-gmPY

Great progress, FE!

Thanks man, and everyone else who recommended things to me! I'll be putting these two good use.

 

[SeanR1221]

I eat so much. I just finished having two containers of Whole Foods sushi, a carton of almond milk, and cereal, which would be the fourth time tonight I've had the equivalent of dinner. My metabolism is just jaw-dropingly crazy fast.




Thanks man, and everyone else who recommended excersizes to me! I'll be putting these two good use.

Can you post what a normal day of eating looks like for you? What's your calorie/macro breakdown?

 

[Petrie]

I eat so much. I just finished having two containers of Whole Foods sushi, a carton of almond milk, and cereal, which would be the fourth time tonight I've had the equivalent of dinner. My metabolism is just jaw-dropingly crazy fast.

Then eat more calorie dense foods man! Forget the sushi and almond milk, get full fat whole milk, beef, pork, nuts, and other high protein high calorie foods. Track your calories and I bet you'd be shocked how low they actually are.

 

[SeanR1221]

Then eat more calorie dense foods man! Forget the sushi and almond milk, get full fat whole milk, beef, pork, nuts, and other high protein high calorie foods. Track your calories and I bet you'd be shocked how low they actually are.

Yeah, that's usually the case. I wonder if he's using something like myfitnesspal or just winging it.

 

[Petrie]

Yeah, that's usually the case. I wonder if he's using something like myfitnesspal or just winging it.

Either way, he needs more calorie dense foods. Crap like sushi and almond milk isn't going to do shit for gaining mass.

 

[SquiddyCracker]

Also important you make that healthy high-calorie/high-protein foods.
Feel free to continue eating sushi though, but it's really more of a treat as its calorie and protein content is miniscule.

 

[Petrie]

Also important you make that healthy high-calorie/high-protein foods.
Feel free to continue eating sushi though, but it's really more of a treat as its calorie and protein content is miniscule.

Yep, that's why I suggested things like nuts, beef, pork, milk, and other high calorie good choices.

You're right about sushi though, same with almond milk and cereal, these aren't the things someone looking to gain mass needs at all.

 

[SeanR1221]

Yep, that's why I suggested things like nuts, beef, pork, milk, and other high calorie good choices.

You're right about sushi though, same with almond milk and cereal, these aren't the things someone looking to gain mass needs at all.

Side note but what's funny is if you suggested those foods in other threads you'd get shit on since they're all low carb and "wouldn't make him gain weight"

 

[Petrie]

Side note but what's funny is if you suggested those foods in other threads you'd get shit on since they're all low carb and "wouldn't make him gain weight"

I suppose I see a difference between gaining mass and gaining "weight". These foods are for MASS!!!!!

 

[Tash]

Back from my vacation but so stressed I am currently gobbling down chips and lost any small progres I had before

We got our new house on Friday but the seller did not clean the house at all. It is a god damn disgrace and super disgusting..

Way too stressed out to work out and I was really looking forward to get back into the gym.

 

[Hypereides]

Feeling pumped. Preppin to squat and deadlift 87,5 kg today. I'm rubbing my hands with glee! mwuahaha

Can't wait to go 37,5 kg on OHP on wednesday either!

So I think I'm pretty much done with my cut for now. April 1 - July 7. 3 months. Started @ 239.5 lbs @ 17.3 % bf. Ended @ 225 lbs @ ~12% bf. The bf% numbers could be wrong but with the tests I have been using since the start, that is what I am sticking with.

Feb 2011


July 2012


April 2013


July 2013


The second "after" pic is prolly what I just look like most of the time. Could be leaner as seen here but could also be bigger. What I ate, carbs, water retention, etc.

Final stats are as follows:
OHP: 3 reps @ 180 lbs
Decline Bench: 6 reps @ 265 lbs
Deadlifts: 5 reps @ 385 lbs
Squats: 6 reps @ 375 lbs

I could have lost more fat but too many cheat days, out with friends, etc. Yeah, yeah, I can do better. I find that I like myself more @ 225 than I do @ 240. Less fat and just feel better. That being said, I would love to get to 240 lbs next year and be at the same bf%. I think I can do it but we will see. The plan for the rest of the summer is to maintain, maybe try to lose a bit more fat. I might post a few more pics at the end of summer to see where I "officially" have ended up. In any case, I am not as big as the doods in here, not as lean as the guys in here but for now, I'm just going to enjoy what I have accomplished.

Thanks to FitGAF for all the help and for putting up with my BS and various pic spamming. You guys are a great group of people.

That's an ultra awesome transformation! Amazing work FE!

 

[Jack_AG]

I have a situation, guys n gals... I only have 300lbs for my Olympic set and calf raises are getting too easy with this. I have 100lbs in standard size for my dumbbells... Should I:

A) Pack up my standards in a backpack then get under that sucker?
B) Get some more 45lb olympic plates?
C) McGuyver it and hang them from the Olympic bar?
D) Tell the wife to get on my back then get under the bar?
E) Quit lifting and start playing an MMO?
G) Where the fuck did F go?

I'd almost take the backpack route since 50lbs per dumbbell isn't enough for most exercises for me. I wouldn't mind picking up 4x25lb plates for them.

Decisions.

 

[Jack_AG]

Back from my vacation but so stressed I am currently gobbling down chips and lost any small progres I had before

We got our new house on Friday but the seller did not clean the house at all. It is a god damn disgrace and super disgusting..

Way too stressed out to work out and I was really looking forward to get back into the gym.

Grats on the house and I know that feel. When we first moved in to our home in 06 - spackling before painting looked like a shotgun hit the damn walls there was so much to patch. Cleaning crayon off of brick from the fireplace wasnt fun, either. The basement carpet got replaced immediately following a steam cleaning since that's apparently where the previous owner's dog liked to pee. That wetness just brought it all out... Etc.

We knew most of this going in so the house was plenty under its current value but man there was a LOT more to do then met the eye. I feel you, bro.

 

[SeanR1221]

I can relate to the house thing. When my wife and I got ours it threw off our gym and eating schedule for a couple weeks.

 

[andycapps]

Finally returned home after that 60-mile bike ride. Was probably closer to 63 or 64, but whatever.

During the ride I had two Quest bars, a banana, two Gatorades, and lots of water.

But after the ride: I indulged like I haven't indulged in two months.

9oz beef burger with blue cheese and crispy, smoked bacon + a big serving of sweet potato fries
3 beers (16oz each)
Coffee-flavored Oreo ice cream shake from Carvel

Haven't had any of that crap in so long, and my god did it ever taste delicious. I could have honestly eaten two 9oz burgers back-to-back.

Had to be like 2500 calories right there, basically what I expended during the bike ride. Step on the scale: lost two pounds. LOL

Man, I need bike shorts. My ass and scrotum are SORE, goddamn.

I can't imagine doing a 60 mile ride without cycling shorts. I bet you can hardly sit down right now. I recommend lots of ice. I have cycling shorts and it still hurts. Though I don't do 60 mile rides because I have a single speed, my max so far is about 20.

I'd say you burned a lot more than 2500 calories on a 60+ mile ride, honestly.

 

[Tash]

So I think I'm pretty much done with my cut for now. April 1 - July 7. 3 months. Started @ 239.5 lbs @ 17.3 % bf. Ended @ 225 lbs @ ~12% bf. The bf% numbers could be wrong but with the tests I have been using since the start, that is what I am sticking with.

Feb 2011


July 2012


April 2013


July 2013


The second "after" pic is prolly what I just look like most of the time. Could be leaner as seen here but could also be bigger. What I ate, carbs, water retention, etc.

Final stats are as follows:
OHP: 3 reps @ 180 lbs
Decline Bench: 6 reps @ 265 lbs
Deadlifts: 5 reps @ 385 lbs
Squats: 6 reps @ 375 lbs

I could have lost more fat but too many cheat days, out with friends, etc. Yeah, yeah, I can do better. I find that I like myself more @ 225 than I do @ 240. Less fat and just feel better. That being said, I would love to get to 240 lbs next year and be at the same bf%. I think I can do it but we will see. The plan for the rest of the summer is to maintain, maybe try to lose a bit more fat. I might post a few more pics at the end of summer to see where I "officially" have ended up. In any case, I am not as big as the doods in here, not as lean as the guys in here but for now, I'm just going to enjoy what I have accomplished.

Thanks to FitGAF for all the help and for putting up with my BS and various pic spamming. You guys are a great group of people.

Wow, grats. Kickass progress

 

[Deleted member 47027]

Sunday's gym trip was bad times. My brother (who I take with me, who has been interested ever since he started seeing me change) injured his shoulder on OHP so that's a severe bummer.

I had a rough workout myself, and today I'm just crawling around at work half-dead. Need...energy...need...carbs...
but no! Keto keto keto. I will survive.

 

[Warrior_Keoni]

Sunday's gym trip was bad times. My brother (who I take with me, who has been interested ever since he started seeing me change) injured his shoulder on OHP so that's a severe bummer.

I had a rough workout myself, and today I'm just crawling around at work half-dead. Need...energy...need...carbs...
but no! Keto keto keto. I will survive.

Aww you'll be fine dude, hope your brother gets well soon!

Personal achievement is VERY close...hit a PR of 195 lbs! *gasp*

My true ultimate goal is to one day bench TWO, yes just two plates. I'll get there, eventually.

I've eaten like 4 days worth of crap thanks to the holiday weekend. Time to get back on track.

 

[Gruco]

31 y.o. 6 ft 1, 170 lbs. I'd like to get stronger and maybe another 15 lbs of muscle...although I may want more once I see how that looks. Obvious I need to start taking barbells seriously after spending most of my time either running or doing some variety of misc dumb bells and chins. Running is very important to me so I want whatever program I use to help me at least maintain if not improve my conditioning.

My original plan was to use the Practical Programming routine as outlined in the OP, and just add in a day of hard sprints. After rereading the OP I also saw the CFWF program, which basically looks like two days of SS combined with two days of conditioning. This basically looks like the perfect program for my goals. So here's how I see my options

1) Two/Three months of Practical Programming, then switch to CFWF. This would let me learn the Squat, Press, Bench and dead before adding on Cleans and kettlebells. It would also force me to make more of a mental commitment to just getting big for a while, which might be a challenge for me since I've always been lean.

2) Just start with CFWF. I'll still probably get all the strength gains I want, and I'll have less reason to get stressed about my conditioning. Plus it's the program I am probably more excited about.

 

[Future PhaZe]

Guys, I'm needing a bit of help with my bulking diet. My muscles aren't growing and have had enough with this plateau. There are a couple of problems:

1. Trying to meet 3300 calories a day.
2. Getting roughly 160 grams of protein (don't want to use protein shakes, whey, casein, etc.)
3. When to eat meals.

I've started buying some tubs of low fat Greek yogurt to help with the protein. I'm going to be taking 2-3 boiled eggs some mornings. Also, eating more meat or fish.

I'd always suggest whey with milk on a bulk...just makes it really easy to hit your protein goals and beefs up the calories too.

If you want to go completely natural though then know that a standard skinless chicken breast at 8oz is about 45 grams of protein and 400 calories. That'll get you to 135 grams and 1200 calories. Throw some egg whites, a little peanut butter, etc in there and you can hit your numbers pretty easily.

 

[despire]

Sometimes I just hate myself and I need to vent. I'm still a skinny fat (~25 BF%) with too little to show for lifting 1,5 years. I've made no progress this last year. Or I made but I lost it during the last weeks of my cut. Just failed both my bench press and squat with GSLP, didn't even get past my old PR's.

I know it's because I'm not eating enough and that's the problem. I'm skinny fat. I can't cut and I can't bulk. If I cut I'll just look like I've escaped concentration camp and if I bulk I'll just get even fatter. Last time I really bulked I just got fat and my lifts didn't even progress that well. I've tried recomping but haven't gotten anywhere really.

I'm not ignorant about lifting and nutrition, I could even say that I know a lot more than the average gym-goer, but I can't seem to be able to apply this stuff to myself very well. This is just so frustrating. I've been lifting long enough that I should have a little more to show for it.

What should I do? I've been thinking about adding fasted walking and biking in addition to lifting since lifting is the only thing I've been doing for the last couple of years. I'm not sure if I should be in a slight caloric surplus and balance that off with the conditioning or should I aim for under maintenance? I'm not sure anymore if I should eat carbs or not. Everyone says a different thing. I've been doing keto/Carb Back-Loading. Did IF last year.

I guess I have a thing in common with Sean in that I don't seem to lose weight on a "unrestricted" low carb. Today session was so shitty that I decided to cut my CBL reorientation short and get my carbs today instead of wednesday.

 

[Petrie]

Sometimes I just hate myself and I need to vent. I'm still a skinny fat (~25 BF%) with too little to show for lifting 1,5 years. Just failed both my bench press and squat with GSLP, didn't even get past my old PR's.

I know it's because I'm not eating enough and that's the problem. I'm skinny fat. I can't cut and I can't bulk. If I cut I'll just look like I've escaped concentration camp and if I bulk I'll just get even fatter. Last time I really bulked I just got fat and my lifts didn't even progress that well. I've tried recomping but haven't gotten anywhere really.

I'm not ignorant about lifting and nutrition, I could even say that I know a lot more than the average gym-goer, but I can't seem to be able to apply this stuff to myself very well. This is just so frustrating. I've been lifting long enough that I should have a little more to show for it.

What should I do? I've been thinking about adding fasted walking and biking in addition to lifting since lifting is the only thing I've been doing for the last couple of years. I'm not sure if I should be in a slight caloric surplus and balance that off with the conditioning or should I aim for under maintenance? I'm not sure anymore if I should eat carbs or not. I've been doing keto/Carb Back-Loading. I guess I have a thing in common with SeanR1221 in that I don't seem to lose weight on a "unrestricted" low carb.

Have you tried any HiiT?

 

[balddemon]

31 y.o. 6 ft 1, 170 lbs. I'd like to get stronger and maybe another 15 lbs of muscle...although I may want more once I see how that looks. Obvious I need to start taking barbells seriously after spending most of my time either running or doing some variety of misc dumb bells and chins. Running is very important to me so I want whatever program I use to help me at least maintain if not improve my conditioning.

My original plan was to use the Practical Programming routine as outlined in the OP, and just add in a day of hard sprints. After rereading the OP I also saw the CFWF program, which basically looks like two days of SS combined with two days of conditioning. This basically looks like the perfect program for my goals. So here's how I see my options

1) Two/Three months of Practical Programming, then switch to CFWF. This would let me learn the Squat, Press, Bench and dead before adding on Cleans and kettlebells. It would also force me to make more of a mental commitment to just getting big for a while, which might be a challenge for me since I've always been lean.

2) Just start with CFWF. I'll still probably get all the strength gains I want, and I'll have less reason to get stressed about my conditioning. Plus it's the program I am probably more excited about.

I would do 3 days SS and 2 days conditioning. if you were younger (like my age, 21), I'd say do 3 days SS and conditioning every other day haha but I don't know how well you recover, so do what you can. I'm 6' 185 and about 11% body fat. you will want more muscle, I promise you. however, I'm somewhat atypical, and most of my muscle is in my legs from all the cross country and track I ran in HS + mostly squatting and deadlifting. my upper body is average strength imo, and doesn't really look all that muscled. I might post a progress picture soon, just to get something logged on here.

 

[despire]

Have you tried any HiiT?

A couple of times last year. Problem is that my asthma makes it pretty horrible since my conditioning is so poor. Just jumping straight into HIIT makes my throat/lungs hurt pretty fast.

But I'm up for anything at this point.

Edit:
Added a couple of things to the first post.

 

[Petrie]

A couple of times last year. Problem is that my asthma makes it pretty horrible since my conditioning is so poor. Just jumping straight into HIIT makes my throat/lungs hurt pretty fast.

But I'm up for anything at this point.

Edit:
Added a couple of things to the first post.

Ease into it if you can. Get yourself some Dance Dance Revolution, my personal favorite form of HiiT!

Outside of that, I'd say fasted cardio could help, but could hurt the amount of muscle as well.

 

[sphinx]

Dude, didn't you show some progress pics several weeks ago? You looked damn well, specially for having been lifting for 1.5 years.

You are the guy from Finland, right? Don't know, maybe I Am mistaking you.

 

[ILoveBish]

Sunday's gym trip was bad times. My brother (who I take with me, who has been interested ever since he started seeing me change) injured his shoulder on OHP so that's a severe bummer.

I had a rough workout myself, and today I'm just crawling around at work half-dead. Need...energy...need...carbs...
but no! Keto keto keto. I will survive.

Sorry to hear about your brothers injury. Its more of a reason for me personally to go solo and concentrate on myself.

How long have you been on this latest keto? I swear i have 10x the energy now and im much more razor sharp on keto then ive ever been on normal diets. I just hit new PR's at the gym this morning, and ive got enough energy to ram through 10 walls right now. I just dont know, my carbs have to be at below 20g a day for sure. I tried to use the myfitnesspal but it seems very confusing for me, and im incredibly computer literate. I want to track macros. About the only thing i eat a day that has carbs is the greek yogurt. And its less then 2 tablespoons a day.

 

[Rabbitweed]

Oh man... it's a bad idea for me to do any grip intensive work before my deadlift day. I did some hang cleans on Saturday and even though I was supposed to have a rest day on Sunday I went to the gym anyway and did a bunch of pullups and some ab work too. Last week I managed to do 4 x 310lb but today my grip failed already at 287 and could do only two reps. Fucking hell, feels bad man... Well, gotta prioritize DL from now on and keep my hands fresh for those DL sessions.

 

[Future PhaZe]

Would anyone else from fitness gaf be interested in a "Beard and Bulk" season during the winter?

Off the top of my head rules would be: No shaving a good chunk of winter and obviously bulking and lifting to gain maximum size.

 

[Petrie]

Would anyone else from fitness gaf be interested in a "Beard and Bulk" season during the winter?

Off the top of my head rules would be: No shaving a good chunk of winter and obviously bulking and lifting to gain maximum size.

Some of us only grow silly looking patchy facial hair.

So no.

 

[Matugi]

Would anyone else from fitness gaf be interested in a "Beard and Bulk" season during the winter?

Off the top of my head rules would be: No shaving a good chunk of winter and obviously bulking and lifting to gain maximum size.

not sure how my girlfriend will take the beard part but i'm down. Kick it off with no shave November and maybe end it sometime in January or February?