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[Psychotext]

Yeah you deserved all that. I literally did nothing all weekend except sleep and be sick.

Can't really do much about being sick though, not worth beating yourself up over it. In reality you probably just gave your body a bit of what it needed to make it feel better.

What the hell.. I was 195.6 on Friday when I weighed in and now I'm suddenly 203.2. I know your weight fluctuates and I didn't have the cleanest Saturday, but almost an 8lb difference doesnt really make sense to me. Kind fucks with my confidence pretty badly after working pretty hard to break through 197. Makes me feel like I shouldn't even go out because this shit will happen again and ends up feeling like I'm working for nothing.

Don't weigh yourself more than once a week. Misery lies that way (not to mention potentially making stupid diet choices as overreaction).

 

[BlueTsunami]

Any chances of seeing photo comparisons since they are always totally cool?

I'm hoping to do one two months out. Still have unsightly body fat. Ever since I reigned in my calories its been accelerating though.

Don't weigh yourself more than once a week. Misery lies that way (not to mention potentially making stupid diet choices as overreaction).

The mirror doesn't lie. I've been hovering around 176-180lbs for a good month but my body fat is shrinking. I agree that weighing yourself constantly can be frustrating if you base all your success on what the numbers read.

 

[Coriolanus]

What the hell.. I was 195.6 on Friday when I weighed in and now I'm suddenly 203.2. I know your weight fluctuates and I didn't have the cleanest Saturday, but almost an 8lb difference doesnt really make sense to me. Kind fucks with my confidence pretty badly after working pretty hard to break through 197. Makes me feel like I shouldn't even go out because this shit will happen again and ends up feeling like I'm working for nothing.

Water retention + solid/liquid waste. It'll come off during the week. It's why people recommend weighting in only once a week.

 

[ILoveBish]

What the hell.. I was 195.6 on Friday when I weighed in and now I'm suddenly 203.2. I know your weight fluctuates and I didn't have the cleanest Saturday, but almost an 8lb difference doesnt really make sense to me. Kind fucks with my confidence pretty badly after working pretty hard to break through 197. Makes me feel like I shouldn't even go out because this shit will happen again and ends up feeling like I'm working for nothing.

Every lb of fat is 3500 calories, so unless you ate 28000 calories OVER your maintenance level, then just know its water weight and fluctuation. Knowing that helped me to deal with weight bouncing up/down so often, it doesn't bother me as much anymore, although i do note to see what causes it.

 

[sphinx]

Don't weigh yourself more than once a week. Misery lies that way (not to mention potentially making stupid diet choices as overreaction).

The mirror doesn't lie. I've been hovering around 176-180lbs for a good month but my body fat is shrinking. I agree that weighing yourself constantly can be frustrating if you base all your success on what the numbers read.

agree with this.

I weight myself way too often, couple of times a week but the offical number is the one I get once a week.

 

[ShadowgeistX]

Don't weigh yourself more than once a week. Misery lies that way (not to mention potentially making stupid diet choices as overreaction).

The mirror doesn't lie. I've been hovering around 176-180lbs for a good month but my body fat is shrinking. I agree that weighing yourself constantly can be frustrating if you base all your success on what the numbers read.

Agree with this. On the other hand, if you're obsessed about weighing yourself every day (I know I am), then you NEED to take the emotion out of the daily weigh-in. Track it on a spreadsheet 5-7 days out of the week and average it. Looking at the average loss from week to week will give you a much better look at how you're progressing.

 

[Zoe]

Don't weigh yourself more than once a week. Misery lies that way (not to mention potentially making stupid diet choices as overreaction).

I disagree. If you only weigh yourself once a week (or less), you can catch yourself on a bloated day like he did.

Daily measurements can show you the overall trend and helps you understand where slight deviations may come from.

 

[SeanR1221]

I'm also on the weigh yourself more side. Your body weight will fluctuate up to 2% and if you're on the higher end of that on one weigh in it can really throw your results.

You don't have to do every day, but I think 3-4 times a week is a solid plan

 

[ILoveBish]

In reality, i don't think once a day is a problem, just make sure its the same time everyday. And log it all so you can keep track and make notes of what you ate. Being emotional about it is the worst thing you can do. Takes time and effort.

 

[BumRush]

I never weigh myself, whether I'm bulking or cutting. I know that's not a popular strategy but I'd much rather trust the way I feel and what the mirror says.

Also, lol at psycho complaining about eating 5K calories one day...You deserve it man!

 

[Fox318]

2 best things I did to lose weight was to get a pedometer and write a diary of what I eat.

It's amazing how much sodium I cut out of my diet just from reading the labels.

 

[FallingEdge]

I weigh myself once every morning after using the bathroom. I like to look at the numbers.

253 lbs as of this morning.

 

[J. Bravo]

I think it's time to add cardio and cut out the unlimited pizza and hot dogs from work. my only problem is I do not like eating leftover chicken. I'm good on breakfast and lunch (oatmeal, fruit, cottage cheese for breakfast. lunch is either more of the same or sandwiches). What do I eat for dinner? I work 2-10 m-f. Where can I get fish not produced in china? I love fish. Chicken not so much. I also love pork. And beef. Maybe I just need more practice making chicken lol...

 

[Psychotext]

Saturday was actually a good example of rapid fluctuation for me. I had to weigh myself after every section, and my weight fluctuated from 75.1k at its highest to 72.0kg at its lowest. That's a 3.1kg range (nearly 7lbs) in a single day.

 

[MrMuscle]

Im also in the "weigh and measure yourself more" camp. I step on the scale every morning and calculate a average each friday, and from that number (and the mirror, other body measurments and how my workouts have been) i make alterations to my diet and training if needed.

 

[Psychotext]

Not really sure what happened to my post there. Daily weighing with a rolling average is technically the best way of doing it, but you need to be sure not to obsess about the numbers you're seeing daily (many people mess with their diets all the time without giving their body a chance to adjust). For people that can't do that (and who don't have someone else to do it for them), I'd go longer.

 

[Chocobro]

I must be crazy for weighing myself every morning after clearing my bowels and all (to be consistent for every weighing). It might be because I come from a STEM field, but I like having more data points to work with and making notes of what I did the previous day for work (internship work might be a desk job or operating a pilot plant. Sedentary vs light to heavy exercise). But I only really care about the morning weight at the end of the week.

I don't react to fluctuations. I follow my meal plan to a T. I'm currently trying to find my maintenance calories so I add some foods to my meal plan every one to two weeks if the general trend doesn't show I am maintaining the same weight.

 

[H3xum]

Anyone use Top Secrets Pump Igniter?

I was complaining to a guy at the gym last week about being tired during my life and I bumped into him again Saturday morning and he had a shake mixed up and gave it to me. I felt a jolt about 15 minutes later then about 5 minutes after that my muscles started feeling tingly.

It was great, but, the tingle seems worrisome.

 

[FallingEdge]

Tingling prolly has to do with Beta Alanine. Nothing wrong with that.

 

[Psychotext]

I must be crazy for weighing myself every morning after clearing my bowels and all (to be consistent for every weighing).

Some here would only be able to weigh themselves a couple of times a week.

Tingling prolly has to do with Beta Alanine. Nothing wrong with that.

Yup, just good old pins and needles.

 

[Coriolanus]

Anyone use Top Secrets Pump Igniter?

I was complaining to a guy at the gym last week about being tired during my life and I bumped into him again Saturday morning and he had a shake mixed up and gave it to me. I felt a jolt about 15 minutes later then about 5 minutes after that my muscles started feeling tingly.

It was great, but, the tingle seems worrisome.

You sure that thing dont got DMAA? Because that's pretty much exactly how DMAA/Jack3d feels.

But yeah, the main ingredient is Beta-Alanine.

 

[H3xum]

Tingling prolly has to do with Beta Alanine. Nothing wrong with that.

You sure that thing dont got DMAA? Because that's pretty much exactly how DMAA/Jack3d feels.

But yeah, the main ingredient is Beta-Alanine.

Yeah that was displayed prominently on the label but I didn't think twice about it because I used to do n.o.x and I never got that feeling. Either way, I enjoyed it and it appears to be on sale at Amazon right now if anyone else is interested. I'm grabbing a bottle. 30 Count raspberry for 12 bucks (other flavors are a few bucks more)

 

[Hiz_95]

I see. Would you say there's a bias towards triceps or biceps in the program I'm on? http://i.stack.imgur.com/OUcEY.png Doing only Day 1 and 2 though, going to add Day 3 soon with only bench/OHP and f.squats due to time constraints.

Your program does have an emphasis on biceps, but adding 3 sets of curls a workout should fix it and negligibly affect your recovery.

 

[BlueTsunami]

Y'all convinced me. Just downloaded a weight tracker app to input daily weigh ins. Just out of curiosity since I'm consistent with caloric intake.

 

[J. Bravo]

finally nice enough for me to stop making excuses and start doing some cardio haha. mid 60s all week so hype.

 

[Psychotext]

Yeah that was displayed prominently on the label but I didn't think twice about it because I used to do n.o.x and I never got that feeling.

Usually due to dosing. I don't really get any tingles at sub 2g now. Many of them don't give their ingredient dosages at all though, which means I wouldn't touch them with a barge pole.

Even for the ones that do, there's only really a handful of pre-workouts out there that use the sort of dosages that you'd actually require to get the benefits seen in the clinical study figures that are often put out there as proof of their efficacy. I'm assuming mostly because it's cheaper to just pack out the product with flavouring and bulking powder.

 

[Bowser]

Y'all convinced me. Just downloaded a weight tracker app to input daily weigh ins. Just out of curiosity since I'm consistent with caloric intake.

Speaking of which, what's the best iPhone app to just track your weight? Simple, nice interface to input your daily weight and see a graph? Any suggestions?

 

[Fox318]

Speaking of which, what's the best iPhone app to just track your weight? Simple, nice interface to input your daily weight and see a graph? Any suggestions?

myfitnesspal has a nice chart.

Jefit also lets me enter body measurements.

I think I'm gonna do a post on some of the gym trackers on the android scene.

 

[despire]

Sean, what's this stuff about StevieP's advice for not concentrating on the arch during the deadlift? I read the article but could you elaborate a bit? What do you do differently and how did it help you?

 

[Visceir]

It's amazing how much sodium I cut out of my diet just from reading the labels.

Sodium is harmless though.

Edit: I'm also in the weigh every morning right after waking up club.

 

[entremet]

Sodium is harmless though.

Basically, unless you're diagnosed at hypertensive.

Drinking more water and eating bananas--rich in potassium--helps offset any additional sodium.

 

[BumRush]

Sodium is harmless though.

Edit: I'm also in the weigh every morning right after waking up club.

Sodium is not harmless at all...what are you talking about?

 

[Visceir]

Sodium is not harmless at all...what are you talking about?

Guess you can just check out this thread and the various links to articles in it

Other than all those articles linked in that thread -- I can lose weight at a high sodium diet and it has no impact on my weight loss. I only gain water weight and get bloated when my sodium levels fluctuate.

 

[MrToughPants]

425x4

Didn't get 5 reps. I think I'll reset now. My lower back is really tight but the adductors didn't explode so that's good

 

[Zoe]

myfitnesspal has a nice chart.

Jefit also lets me enter body measurements.

I think I'm gonna do a post on some of the gym trackers on the android scene.

If you have a bodyfat % scale, Withings is better because you can input that all on the same entry. Then you can set up Withings to sync with myfitnesspal.

 

[BumRush]

Guess you can just check out this thread and the various links to articles in it

Other than all those articles linked in that thread -- I can lose weight at a high sodium diet and it has no impact on my weight loss. I only gain water weight and get bloated when my sodium levels fluctuate.

Just be careful saying it's completely harmless. This is not true at all. If you feel adamant that it is, please call my doctors and explain to them that reducing my sodium intake had nothing to do with the 15 point drop in BP I've seen in the last 5 weeks.

 

[bchamba]

Anybody ever have the bar uneven on your back when squatting? I have poor mobility in my right shoulder so I can't get the bar as low as it is on my left shoulder causing it to be uneven. I've never noticed until I started to film myself because it's always felt even on me. I've tried having my brother even it out on my back before unracking and when he does only then does it feel uneven. It's never affected me on warmups like this or on 90%+ lifts. Think it's worth spending extra time stretching out my right shoulder before squatting?

Also that bottom right pic isn't from the bottom of my squat.

 

[ILoveBish]

Good start to 5s week today. Got 5x170 on ohp. Last few reps weren't really hard but wasn't easy either. My sleep hasn't been good so that might have been part of it. Anyway, still strong and feeling confident as ever in my lifts.

 

[Brolic Gaoler]

So I definitely think I'm keeping rackpulls in my training. Not only will they help lockout, but being able to go heavier with them obviously works me different. My ass, legs, and all over my back are still sore I'm ways I've not felt in a long time.


Plus if I hit that 700lb rackpull maybe a 700lb deadlift will slowly follow.

425x4

Didn't get 5 reps. I think I'll reset now. My lower back is really tight but the adductors didn't explode so that's good

Sucks, slow and steady though.

 

[MrToughPants]

So I definitely think I'm keeping rackpulls in my training. Not only will they help lockout, but being able to go heavier with them obviously works me different. My ass, legs, and all over my back are still sore I'm ways I've not felt in a long time.


Plus if I hit that 700lb rackpull maybe a 700lb deadlift will slowly follow.



Sucks, slow and steady though.

I'm sure with your frame and genetics you're good for it.

And I'm just glad I can train legs, even if it takes a while to get back where I once was.

 

[Sadetar]

I have no idea am I hurting really or not since the pain medication is superb at the moment. Feels so odd since I think I should be hurting, especially while doing the stretches, but I don't. I have hard time controlling how much to flex not to overdo it to be honest.

Good luck on the diet Sean and Sadetar.

I just had a horrible weekend. Ate buffalo wild wings on Saturday then a burger and fries on Sunday. Didn't meet my calories since I wasn't feeling good and have no real food till my paycheck comes Tuesday.I feel super small and insecure right now, and I hate how much 30 grams of almond butter actually turns out to be. Sorry for the pity party.

Does anyone have a good pre workout to recommend without creatine? If not I'm just going to buy caffeine and beta alanine separate.

Awww, thanks.

And don't you worry. I am certain that you look super hot and not even half as small as you think you do.

I ate like complete shit yesterday. Was feeling terrible after Saturday's charity event and there was no way I was going to stick to eating to macros / calories for the day.

Had a full large bag of potato chips in about half an hour. That's about 1,000kcal on its own and probably about three days worth of salt. Also ate a share size bag of peanut M&Ms, had a huge (more than one plate) Chinese meal and finished it all off with an ice cream.

All told, I'd be very surprised if I didn't hit 5k or 6k calories... but then I did burn nearly 8.5k calories the day before so I'm not going to feel too bad about it.

You totally deserved all of it and even more!

Hope everybody had a great weekend.

My slow cut is going great and after getting rid of my leg fur, my quads has started popping as well. My weight hasnt really moved much, but ive lost a couple of cm on my waist and a couple of mm on the calipers all over. Strength still keep increasing on everything except some pressing movements. That has always been my weakness with these long ass limbs.

Legs looking super awesome. <3

I have been happy myself that I can see the seperation between the front and back big muscles on my thighs when I squat. Not perhaps the same level awesomeness, but at least makes me smile.

2 best things I did to lose weight was to get a pedometer and write a diary of what I eat.

I have no idea what that is...

Spoiler

So the logical solution is to google that image and not what it is. I still have no idea.

I'm hoping to do one two months out. Still have unsightly body fat. Ever since I reigned in my calories its been accelerating though.

I will be waiting. ^_^

 

[Fox318]

Picked up starting strength from the library.

I really want to get my form down.

 

[Sadetar]

Forgot to mention I bought Zero Point's compression socks to use with my compression leg sleeves. Awesome combination I must say, totally loving it.

I think I'm gonna do a post on some of the gym trackers on the android scene.

I would really appreciate this!

 

[Vaporak]

Hey fitness GAF I'm new and could use some advice. After being fat my whole life I decided it was time to get in shape so I've signed up for the weight training course offered at my college. After a few weeks introduction with some dumbell work I've started on the bigger barbell exercises. So far I've been shown the Bench Press, the Deadlift, and the Squat. I started with just the bar on all of them and have been working my way up because I have no idea how much I can lift and it's good practice. That's where I've hit my first problem, no matter what weight I use the bar wobbles a lot on my Bench Press. I've been doing 3 sets of 5 for the exercises and have tried up to 135 pounds without having to really struggle to finish; at which point the instructor told me I should stop adding weight for now and should try higher reps to try to improve my stability. Last time I did 3x8@135 which was a lot harder, and I'm supposed to try and work up to 3x10@135 before trying heavier weight.

So anyone want to share any advice? If it matters I'm male, almost 5'10 and probably around 230 pounds. Never done anything like this before, but I really enjoy it so far. In terms of the big 3 I learned, I like the Deadlift the most.

 

[Coriolanus]

That wobbling sounds weird. Could you record yourself doing a set?

 

[fredrancour]

Hey fitness GAF I'm new and could use some advice. After being fat my whole life I decided it was time to get in shape so I've signed up for the weight training course offered at my college. After a few weeks introduction with some dumbell work I've started on the bigger barbell exercises. So far I've been shown the Bench Press, the Deadlift, and the Squat. I started with just the bar on all of them and have been working my way up because I have no idea how much I can lift and it's good practice. That's where I've hit my first problem, no matter what weight I use the bar wobbles a lot on my Bench Press. I've been doing 3 sets of 5 for the exercises and have tried up to 135 pounds without having to really struggle to finish; at which point the instructor told me I should stop adding weight for now and should try higher reps to try to improve my stability. Last time I did 3x8@135 which was a lot harder, and I'm supposed to try and work up to 3x10@135 before trying heavier weight.

So anyone want to share any advice? If it matters I'm male, almost 5'10 and probably around 230 pounds. Never done anything like this before, but I really enjoy it so far. In terms of the big 3 I learned, I like the Deadlift the most.

Back strength can make a difference for bench stability. maybe some kind of upper back or rear deltoid move would help you build the strength to feel more stable. Do you pull your shoulder blades tight while benching?

 

[bchamba]

Wobbling is normal if you're a beginner. You're using stabilizer muscles that have probably never been used in anything you've done so they're not strong enough to keep up with your chest. They'll catch up and you will become more stable over time.

 

[Vaporak]

That wobbling sounds weird. Could you record yourself doing a set?

Maybe I can get someone to record me on my phone.

Back strength can make a difference for bench stability. maybe some kind of upper back or rear deltoid move would help you build the strength to feel more stable. Do you pull your shoulder blades tight while benching?

I'm not sure what you mean by pulling them tight. Descending the bar to my chest makes my shoulder blades move towards each other if that's what you mean.

Wobbling is normal if you're a beginner. You're using stabilizer muscles that have probably never been used in anything you've done so they're not strong enough to keep up with your chest. They'll catch up and you will become more stable over time.

Good to know. Would you agree with my instructor that I should stay at the same weight and increase reps? Or do you think it's not really much of a problem and I should go back to 3x5 and increase weight.

 

[A More Normal Bird]

Hey fitness GAF I'm new and could use some advice. After being fat my whole life I decided it was time to get in shape so I've signed up for the weight training course offered at my college. After a few weeks introduction with some dumbell work I've started on the bigger barbell exercises. So far I've been shown the Bench Press, the Deadlift, and the Squat. I started with just the bar on all of them and have been working my way up because I have no idea how much I can lift and it's good practice. That's where I've hit my first problem, no matter what weight I use the bar wobbles a lot on my Bench Press. I've been doing 3 sets of 5 for the exercises and have tried up to 135 pounds without having to really struggle to finish; at which point the instructor told me I should stop adding weight for now and should try higher reps to try to improve my stability. Last time I did 3x8@135 which was a lot harder, and I'm supposed to try and work up to 3x10@135 before trying heavier weight.

So anyone want to share any advice? If it matters I'm male, almost 5'10 and probably around 230 pounds. Never done anything like this before, but I really enjoy it so far. In terms of the big 3 I learned, I like the Deadlift the most.

Sounds like the instructor is right and it's a matter of stability. It might be worth adding some push-ups to your routine, either after benching or on days where you're not benching. The bench press is an "open chain" exercise; you are applying force to an external object (the bar) and moving it through space, whereas the squat and deadlift are "closed chain" exercises where the bar is only providing resistance to you moving your body through space. Push-ups are basically the closed chain version of the bench press and will help with stability and co-ordination of the upper body. Your weight may make them difficult; focus on maintaining stability, position and control rather than speed or number of reps (that doesn't mean do them as slow as possible though, just don't rush).

Paying close attention to your upper-body mobility and bench press form will also help but are more constant processes; as a beginner your most immediate benefits will come from the extra volume your instructor has recommended and accessory work like push-ups.

 

[Cooter]

Pull ups are substantially easier after just 2 weeks on a cut. It always surprises me.