• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Fitness |OT6| Defying gravity, Quest madness, and Muscle Shaming

Status
Not open for further replies.

Brolic Gaoler

formerly Alienshogun
So meant to say this the other day. Finally managed to use my lats on bench last time. Now I get the feeling my bench is about to explode.


Did LTEs yesterday following the form in the ripptoe vid and made are the DOMS killer today!

Next time superset them with JM press. When I do them I do the exact number of reps I did on LTE. So finish LTE for 10 lock the weight above you, go straight into Jmpress for 10. Feel the gains.
 

grumble

Member
Quick question on switching from mass-gain to fat-loss efficiently.

As a new years resolution I started going to the gym in 2013. I've been keeping it up, though not following a particular program, just did exercises I was familiar with and tried to hit all the major groups. In December a friend of mine wanted to do this 16-week muscle-building program (mensworkoutguide.com), as he in turn knew a bunch of guys who'd had great success adding mass using it. It's been 4 workouts per week, 2 upper body, 2 lower. This is in addition to 2x90m martial arts practice I do regardless (i.e. cardio).

So I've been doing that since (had to take a few weeks off due to the flu just now, though), and while my mass isn't exactly skyrocketing, I have noticed definite improvements (currently at week 9), and for most of the exercises I'm steadily progressing and increasing weights/reps. My vegetarianism isn't exactly helping with the protein intake, though.

Anyway, as I approach the end of this program, I figure that while I have made some progress, what I really want is just to get a bit of definition going into summer. Throughout my adult life I've always been in the "skinny-fat" body type, and I figure I don't have to lose more than maybe 6-8lb of fat to get where I want to be. This time around, then focus on building mass starting in August again.

First I figured I'd just switch the 4 sets into cardio instead of the weight training (or perhaps 2 or 3 longer sessions), running, biking, rowing, elliptical and punching bag. But I'm worried about losing muscle mass where I've built it up if I remove the weight training.

Would going with some combo of straight cardio and moving the weight training into lower-weight, high-rep, high-tempo versions of my a regular weight-regime work? Or would that just break it down further?

Also: just in case someone follows the link to my current regime, I am aware that it's far from balanced, but I'm getting results I'm happy with for the moment, so I'm gonna see it through.

If you stop weight training and jack up the cardio you'll lose muscle mass. Lift weights throughout, give your body a compelling reason to hold into every scrap of muscle. Instead of increasing your cardio further, just cut non-protein calories. If your vegetarianism allows, supplement with whey protein powder and eat eggs and dairy.

As for your program, I'm glad you're seeing results but I'd question if it's right for you considering that you yourself said you could get better results on a different one.
 

Des0lar

will learn eventually
Hi, have another question regarding pull-ups: if you are not strong enough to do them, is it ok for another person to help you do them? I know about resistance straps but I don't have those at the moment.
 

despire

Member
So meant to say this the other day. Finally managed to use my lats on bench last time. Now I get the feeling my bench is about to explode.




Next time superset them with JM press. When I do them I do the exact number of reps I did on LTE. So finish LTE for 10 lock the weight above you, go straight into Jmpress for 10. Feel the gains.

Do you have a good video on the JM press?
 

demon

I don't mean to alarm you but you have dogs on your face
I read somewhere recently that not all barbells you find at gyms are necessarily 45lbs, some more more (up to 50) and some may be a little less. Is there any truth to this? I've been going on the assumption all this time that every barbell I use at the gym is exactly 45lbs.
 
I read somewhere recently that not all barbells you find at gyms are necessarily 45lbs, some more more (up to 50) and some may be a little less. Is there any truth to this? I've been going on the assumption all this time that every barbell I use at the gym is exactly 45lbs.

I've seen several 44 lbs (I guess to compensate for two half pound clips?) but in my experience they're usually 45 lbs. Definitely, non-standsrd bars exist but they seem uncommon. When in doubt, ask an attendant or just set the damn bar upright on a scale.
 

Cooter

Lacks the power of instantaneous movement
I read somewhere recently that not all barbells you find at gyms are necessarily 45lbs, some more more (up to 50) and some may be a little less. Is there any truth to this? I've been going on the assumption all this time that every barbell I use at the gym is exactly 45lbs.

Correct. I have weighed most of the BBs at my gym and they range from 40-48lbs. It's ridiculous.
 
If you stop weight training and jack up the cardio you'll lose muscle mass. Lift weights throughout, give your body a compelling reason to hold into every scrap of muscle. Instead of increasing your cardio further, just cut non-protein calories. If your vegetarianism allows, supplement with whey protein powder and eat eggs and dairy.

I'll try to do that anyway, but I was hoping there was some way to change the routine to help facilitate that loss.

Just to be clear about my two intuitive, albeit amateur guesses/plans:

Going low-weight high rep with roughly the same routine in order to up heart rate wouldn't be any benefit in terms of maintaining mass/upping calorie loss?

Keeping the weight training but putting it down to one upper and one lower and two cardios rather than all weights, would likely result in some muscle loss?

Or could that be a middle ground, since you said "if you stop weight training"? I mean, if I still hit them as hard as I can once a week (Tuesday/Wednesday)? But make Saturday/Sunday cardio-focused?

As for your program, I'm glad you're seeing results but I'd question if it's right for you considering that you yourself said you could get better results on a different one.

My issues with it is mainly that I can see how it focuses mainly on just the large muscle groups. However, I've added some exercises (mainly core) that I've done previously and felt that it lacked. I'm not sure I could "get better results", I just noticed "hey, there's nothing in here for the obliques…"

However, the added benefit of having a friend doing the same program has really upped my motivation to hit the gym, keep good form and improve, so that benefit outweighs any imbalances. The social dimension is pretty important. Also, the improvement in the exercises/groups it does work out has been pretty substantial. In 7 weeks I'll be done and I'll have learned a lot of techniques I can integrate into my personal routine. I'm not that worried about finding the "perfect" routine just yet, as much as I am interested in keeping motivated and learning new stuff.
 

demon

I don't mean to alarm you but you have dogs on your face
Correct. I have weighed most of the BBs at my gym and they range from 40-48lbs. It's ridiculous.

Shit. I wonder if this accounts for days when a doing a lift at a particular weight seems inexplicably easier or harder than it should be.
 

Cooter

Lacks the power of instantaneous movement
Shit. I wonder if this accounts for days when a doing a lift at a particular weight seems inexplicably easier or harder than it should be.

Entirely possible. Especially on lifts like OHP and bench press. I will track down the only true 45lb BB at my gym at every opportunity.
 
Shit. I wonder if this accounts for days when a doing a lift at a particular weight seems inexplicably easier or harder than it should be.

My gym has all the usual plates (25s, 35s, 45s) but also 2 x 33 pounders (15kgs). We try to keep they away, but every once in a while someone will mix one of them in with the 35s, and they basically look identical - they're all old plates from back in the 80s.
Two lbs is enough to cause some balance issues.
 

Cooter

Lacks the power of instantaneous movement
Gonna attempt some low weight RDLs in 10 minutes. I've watched the Rip video 3 times but still a little nervous.
 

Chocobro

Member
Hi, have another question regarding pull-ups: if you are not strong enough to do them, is it ok for another person to help you do them? I know about resistance straps but I don't have those at the moment.

What you can do is negative pull-ups. You grab the pull-up bar like you normally would and jump up to where you would be at the top and slowly lower yourself down for a few seconds. Repeat for multiple reps.
 

Go_Ly_Dow

Member
Question - Now playing soccer twice a week which is a increase in cardio. If I increase calorie and protein intake will that offset any potential muscle loss?

Next time superset them with JM press. When I do them I do the exact number of reps I did on LTE. So finish LTE for 10 lock the weight above you, go straight into Jmpress for 10. Feel the gains.

awesome

just looked up a vid for it. gonna have to learn it first!
 

Cooter

Lacks the power of instantaneous movement
All done. I think it went well. My hamstrings are definitely worked. Tried to keep my upper back from rounding.

Only did,

6x135
6x135
5x185
5x225
5x275

Next exercises to add are rack pulls and snatch grip high pulls!
 

agrajag

Banned
Nope. I actually was doing them without knowing it had a name. It's basically a CGBP.

I looked up a video on bodybuilding.com and it basically looks like a very narrow CGBP without letting the bar touch the chest in order to keep the tris under constant tension. Does that sound about right?
 

despire

Member
Nope. I actually was doing them without knowing it had a name. It's basically a CGBP.

I looked up a video on bodybuilding.com and it basically looks like a very narrow CGBP without letting the bar touch the chest in order to keep the tris under constant tension. Does that sound about right?

Have to try these sometimes when I have LTE's in my programming properly. As a finisher on the last set I guess..
 

Pyrokai

Member
Mother effing hell.

How much did I screw myself up? Yesterday I had a killer workout and was on my schedule and everything...everything was great. Went to bed early, too.

Then I tossed and turned for nearly the whole
night. I'd be surprised if I got one hour of sleep total.

How much did this render my workout worthless? I know sleeping super important, but I just couldn't effing sleep last night. I'm so incredibly pissed. And now I have to go to work.

:(
 

SeanR1221

Member
Mother effing hell.

How much did I screw myself up? Yesterday I had a killer workout and was on my schedule and everything...everything was great. Went to bed early, too.

Then I tossed and turned for nearly the whole
night. I'd be surprised if I got one hour of sleep total.

How much did this render my workout worthless? I know sleeping super important, but I just couldn't effing sleep last night. I'm so incredibly pissed. And now I have to go to work.

:(

One night of bad sleep?

That's not even a blip on the big deal radar. Just don't make it a habit
 
Mother effing hell.

How much did I screw myself up? Yesterday I had a killer workout and was on my schedule and everything...everything was great. Went to bed early, too.

Then I tossed and turned for nearly the whole
night. I'd be surprised if I got one hour of sleep total.

How much did this render my workout worthless? I know sleeping super important, but I just couldn't effing sleep last night. I'm so incredibly pissed. And now I have to go to work.

:(

Youre overthinking it. One bad night of sleeping won't suddenly exterminate all your gainz.

It happens. Just remain loyal to the iron.
 
Calculators are not necessarily that accurate.

Yes, but the YMCA equation some of them use is supposed to give a pessimistic result. I would rather find one that gives me a 25% result and have plenty of room for improvement than knowing I have to go single digits to start looking semi decent.
 

Pete Rock

Member
...than knowing I have to go single digits to start looking semi decent.
That's not true for anybody, so I wouldn't worry about it. From my experience a 7 point caliper test is the best legitimate estimation most of us have access to, but you need a partner to get a good read on three of those points.
 

Cooter

Lacks the power of instantaneous movement
Some calculators are giving me a BF% of 13-15% from my weight and waist size, yet I look fat still. What is wrong with me?
F numbers and trust the mirror. You may be 16 right now or 11? Who cares? Your body is a work in progress. Be patient and don't get discouraged.
 
These RDLs are no joke on your hammys! This soreness is normal, right guys?

Would you describe it as "crippling?" If so you did them right. It's not as bad the second time though. What'd you do weight/rep wise?

Yes, but the YMCA equation some of them use is supposed to give a pessimistic result. I would rather find one that gives me a 25% result and have plenty of room for improvement than knowing I have to go single digits to start looking semi decent.

god dayumm it man, think about that for a moment. If you were 180 lbs you'd rather be told you had 45 lbs of fat on you than 25? You want consistency. Use calipers and keep track of the measurements, if they're going down you're losing fat. Eventually the mirror will be enough. But if you don't look the way you want at your current BF% (whatever it may be) you gotta keep cutting regardless, so don't let the number get to you.

You'll get there eventually and the strategies to lose fat/overcome stalls don't change. If you're seeing results just keep going.
 

Cooter

Lacks the power of instantaneous movement
Would you describe it as "crippling?" If so you did them right. It's not as bad the second time though. What'd you do weight/rep

I posted it up a few posts on this page. It was pretty light. Didn't go over 6 reps. Crippling? I wouldn't go that far.
 

blackflag

Member
Some calculators are giving me a BF% of 13-15% from my weight and waist size, yet I look fat still. What is wrong with me?

If you still look fat, the calculators are wrong, as they usually are. As Cooter said, trust the mirror. If you really need to know where you are, there are some photo comparisons of people at different bf% that can help.
 
oh man, that crossfit thread made me chuckle, not including the usual gifs.

i definitely pulled a muscle in my lower back last week doing db rows, so i had to take a week and a half off. looking forward to getting back to it tomorrow at 5am. si joint also feels a bit better with rest, stretching and various yoga poses, so i'm looking forward to squatting and DL'ing this week, albeit lightly.
 

blackflag

Member
Been mostly out of the game for about a month with my recurring back problem.

I have done chest and shoulders only the last couple weeks and yoga.

I think I can try back and legs this week. Kinda scared but I gotta do something. When I don't workout a lot, I start eating like crap.

Gonna deload my deadlift a lot I guess...or something. I'm not even sure it's even worth doing anymore with all of my back issues.
 

Szu

Member
Tomorrow I do reps on OHP them I begin a week of 1rm checks again. Should be he week and a half I make my 405 BP. Getting excited.

Cool, it'll be nice to see 8 plates going down and up.

On a side note, yesterday, I saw a guy from a distance at my gym knock out a 225 lbs OHP. I had to do a double take to make sure it wasn't you.

I knew it wasn't because he only did 1 rep. But the lack of beard was what gave it away.
 

DarthWoo

I'm glad Grandpa porked a Chinese Muslim
So what is everyone's opinion on weight vests? Would wearing one all day at work and at home be at all helpful or would it just damage my joints in the long run?
 

rokkerkory

Member
Beasting delts with gf yesterday:

1958375_10152244378793758_582281719_n.jpg


10015643_227039980829631_527173617_n.jpg
 

Brolic Gaoler

formerly Alienshogun
Cool, it'll be nice to see 8 plates going down and up.

On a side note, yesterday, I saw a guy from a distance at my gym knock out a 225 lbs OHP. I had to do a double take to make sure it wasn't you.

I knew it wasn't because he only did 1 rep. But the lack of beard was what gave it away.

Thanks man. Trying to decide what to do. Do I go for the first PR of 395lbs then 405. Or go straight for 405. I'm getting anxious and excited.

So what is everyone's opinion on weight vests? Would wearing one all day at work and at home be at all helpful or would it just damage my joints in the long run?


I wouldn't wear one for extended times. I have one and walk with it every once in a while.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top Bottom