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[blackflag]

I'm by no means an expert, just going off of the info I've stumbled across. Everything I read was saying that our bodies hold onto fat stores no matter the cost, and muscle is what it goes for first when the body needs energy. That seemed to be the common point across all of the various resources I found.

You will lose very little muscle if you are above 10% bodyfat and you are cutting right. When you start dipping in to single digits and you are natural, that's when you are gonna start having issues.

 

[blackflag]

You figure your basal metabolic rate based on age, height, weight, etc. Let's say that comes out to needing around 1,900 calories a day to maintain your weight. If you want to lose weight, you would eat less than 1,900 (maybe 1,500 or more or less depending on your goals/time frame). If you go jogging and it burns ~400 calories, then yes, you'd need to eat 400 extra calories that day. So if you were eating 1,500 but went jogging and burned 400 more, you'd want 1900 for that day. You should still be on the path to weight loss. Basically, if you don't add more calories to compensate for extra calories burned on particularly active days, you're going to lose weight too rapidly and end up losing excessive amounts of muscle.

That's my understanding, anyway.

That's not exactly right. Bmr is what you would burn if you were in a coma. You need to multiply your bmr by your estimated activity level. Then if you want to lose weight subtract 500 cals or if you are bulking add 300-500.

Light activity multiply by 1.2
Moderate 1.4
Heavy 1.6

 

[RumblingRosco]

That's not exactly right. Bmr is what you would burn if you were in a coma. You need to multiply your bmr by your estimated activity level. Then if you want to lose weight subtract 500 cals air if you are bulking add 300-500.

Light activity multiply by 1.2
Moderate 1.4
Heavy 1.6

Sorry, I was mostly trying to address the question of "do I consider extra calories burned by additional exercise" and not really going into the entirety of weight loss, but I'll clarify in my post just to avoid confusion for anyone else seeing it. Thanks for the correction though.

 

[blackflag]

Sorry, I was mostly trying to address the question of "do I consider extra calories burned by additional exercise" and not really going into the entirety of weight loss, but I'll clarify in my post just to avoid confusion for anyone else seeing it. Thanks for the correction though.

Oh ok cool just didn't want anyone trying to eat below bmr I mighta misunderstood.

 

[MarkMclovin]

How many calories would you say you burn on a weights session? Would you say that a 3 mile run, then a weights session (say a chest day) and then a desk job / rest all day would count as light, moderate or heavy?

I once strapped a HRM on and then done a shoulder workout a few months back. Apparently I burnt nearly 900 calories. I mean, I do a get a sweat on and work myself pretty hard, but 900 calories? That can't be right.

 

[Psychotext]

900kcal seems pretty damn unlikely. I've seen many HRMs / exercise trackers that are ridiculously optimistic on how much you would have burned.

 

[MarkMclovin]

When I was long distance running last year I would use my phone with Runkeeper, and the HRM strapped on too, and they were pretty close. So as I've been calorie counting for the last few months, I thought I'd find out and was shocked to see those numbers. It was more than 900 on a leg day.

 

[ILoveBish]

Gym went a lot better then I expected tonight. I actually did pretty great on bench and had enough in the tank for some good accessory's. I hope it's just my body adapting to fewer calories.

 

[Pakoe]

The sun is shining again and the gyms are all packed, yesterday some guy was asking me how to get a sixpack real quick. Asked him if he watches his diet, he said "no, but i do a shitload of crunches on a daily basis. That should work too right?". Had no energy to react and just told him to keep it up, shouldn't be long now.

 

[Zoe]

How many calories would you say you burn on a weights session? Would you say that a 3 mile run, then a weights session (say a chest day) and then a desk job / rest all day would count as light, moderate or heavy?

I once strapped a HRM on and then done a shoulder workout a few months back. Apparently I burnt nearly 900 calories. I mean, I do a get a sweat on and work myself pretty hard, but 900 calories? That can't be right.

If something seems off, check the average heart rate for the workout. Sometimes mine goes on the fritz and starts registering 200+/minute.

 

[bumpkin]

You figure your basal metabolic rate based on age, height, weight, etc. Let's say that comes out to needing around 1,900 calories a day to maintain your weight. If you want to lose weight, you would eat less than 1,900 (maybe 1,500 or more or less depending on your goals/time frame). If you go jogging and it burns ~400 calories, then yes, you'd need to eat 400 extra calories that day. So if you were eating 1,500 but went jogging and burned 400 more, you'd want 1900 for that day. You should still be on the path to weight loss. Basically, if you don't add more calories to compensate for extra calories burned on particularly active days, you're going to lose weight too rapidly and end up losing excessive amounts of muscle.

That's my understanding, anyway.

EDIT: You also need to account for your general activity level, so please see this post for some clarification.

So if my BMR is around 1900 and I'm burning roughly 450 calories at the gym every day (cardio at a medium/"fat burning" heart rate), I should be eating at/around 2350 calories to lose weight (e.g. body fat)?

That just sounds weird/odd to me. I mean if that's how it works, that's how it works, it just contradicts the whole idea of a "caloric deficit" in my mind.

 

[Zoe]

So if my BMR is around 1900 and I'm burning roughly 450 calories at the gym every day (cardio at a medium/"fat burning" heart rate), I should be eating at/around 2350 calories to lose weight (e.g. body fat)?

That just sounds weird/odd to me. I mean if that's how it works, that's how it works, it just contradicts the whole idea of a "caloric deficit" in my mind.

BMR is what you need to survive, so it's really not a number you want to go below.

You do want to go below your maintenance number.

 

[keezy]

I need tips on a good post workout/fourth meal shake. Something with a ton of calories i can blend up and drink. Its gotta be cheap though. Im thinking peanut butter and ice cream and a banana but what else can i add?

I wouldn't add fats to your post workout meal. I usually eat ground buffalo/white rice post workout(Yes, I know buffalo has fat). If you add a lot of fats to the mix in your post workout meal you're going to slow down your body's ability to shuttle nutrients to the muscles you just used in your workout. You basically want to utilize a carb that will spike your insulin to trigger that surge of nutrients and spike your bodys natural GH levels. I'd save the fats for the meal after.

 

[SeanR1221]

Despite being bummed out post surgery, I had two nice ego boosting moments.

I ran into an old buddy from high school. He was asking how surgery went and I was telling him the full recovery is 4-6 weeks. He then said to let him know when I get back to it. He wants to learn to deadlift and squat and that I "got big fast."

My wife was talking to her nurse co workers last night and one was talking about how she wants to get stronger. Another chimed in (never met me, I guess sees pictures on Facebook) and said you should talk to Cassie's husband, he's huge.

Dem feels ;___; it's the first time non-family has commented. I know it's completely superficial but damn if it doesn't feel good.

 

[despire]

Despite being bummed out post surgery, I had two nice ego boosting moments.

I ran into an old buddy from high school. He was asking how surgery went and I was telling him the full recovery is 4-6 weeks. He then said to let him know when I get back to it. He wants to learn to deadlift and squat and that I "got big fast."

My wife was talking to her nurse co workers last night and one was talking about how she wants to get stronger. Another chimed in (never met me, I guess sees pictures on Facebook) and said you should talk to Cassie's husband, he's huge.

Dem feels ;___; it's the first time non-family has commented. I know it's completely superficial but damn if it doesn't feel good.

You've earned it

 

[Barzul]

Despite being bummed out post surgery, I had two nice ego boosting moments.

I ran into an old buddy from high school. He was asking how surgery went and I was telling him the full recovery is 4-6 weeks. He then said to let him know when I get back to it. He wants to learn to deadlift and squat and that I "got big fast."

My wife was talking to her nurse co workers last night and one was talking about how she wants to get stronger. Another chimed in (never met me, I guess sees pictures on Facebook) and said you should talk to Cassie's husband, he's huge.

Dem feels ;___; it's the first time non-family has commented. I know it's completely superficial but damn if it doesn't feel good.

Yeah it feels great when my buddies ask me for fitness advice now. Even though I only got serious with working out at he start of this year. Good job man.

 

[bumpkin]

BMR is what you need to survive, so it's really not a number you want to go below.

You do want to go below your maintenance number.

That all makes sense. I guess I'm just thrown off by what the TDEE calculators tell me. Based off my BMR and how many calories I burn at the gym, I'm at that 2350 calorie maintenance number. But if I look at what the TDEE calcs tell me for someone who works out every day (like I'm doing now), that tells me 3100-ish.

I dunno, maybe I'm just weak and want whatever leeway I can get for my daily calories w/o compromising my fat burn. My wife likes to cook homemade meals, and it's almost impossible to *know* the caloric impact of any given dinner. There's some stuff that I'm sure even a modest portion is a calorie bomb. :-/

 

[Matugi]

Cutting fatigue is real. Two weeks ago I got 3x295 no problem on squats, no pain good form etc. Today I lost it on my fifth rep at 275, lost my form a little so I took a 6 minute rest before attempting 295. Couldn't even push a single rep.

Had a guy record me and it looks like I'm clearing my hips all right but I'm losing tightness as I get about 40% through so when I get to the bottom I'm not able to fully activate my glutes and hams. Is this a core/flute/ham steelngth issue?

 

[Deleted member 47027]

Cutting fatigue is real. Two weeks ago I got 3x295 no problem on squats, no pain good form etc. Today I lost it on my fifth rep at 275, lost my form a little so I took a 6 minute rest before attempting 295. Couldn't even push a single rep.

Yes sir. I've been losing some strength, a little, but keeping my size. It's humbling. Might be cutting too aggressively.

I was throwing up 280 on bench for ten reps a month ago, now I'm down to 8s at 270 and boy is it tough.

 

[Matugi]

Yes sir. I've been losing some strength, a little, but keeping my size. It's humbling. Might be cutting too aggressively.

I was throwing up 280 on bench for ten reps a month ago, now I'm down to 8s at 270 and boy is it tough.

I'm just completely out now. That fifth rep took everything I had to get it up, compromising my form on the way up. I was able to effectively keep tightness in my core and glutes for the first four reps, right now I'm losing tightness even on low weights. Just gonna give it a rest and keep it at 3x275 till I get some of my strength back. I think one of the issues is I was going past parallel which I understand isn't necessary for low bar, so I guess I just took it a little too far too

For reference this is low bar squat, before school ended I threw up 1x375 onbhigh bar juuuuuuust breaking parallel

 

[MarkMclovin]

Cutting fatigue is real.

Urgh tell me about it.

I'm just barely keeping the same strength let alone progressing on the 5/3/1 program I'm doing. Legwork seems fine, but presses? Ain't going nowhere.

 

[FallingEdge]

I think I max out at 300 lbs for bench now. Meh, haven't heavy flat benched in a long while. Just been doing incline BB and DB. Lots of wide grip BB presses too.

 

[Deleted member 47027]

I think I max out at 300 lbs for bench now. Meh, haven't heavy flat benched in a long while. Just been doing incline BB and DB. Lots of wide grip BB presses too.

I keep my volume high because I want aesthetics. It feels like a fool's errand but...I gotta get that volume!

Step by step towards the goal! Love his chest separation.

 

[FallingEdge]

I keep my volume high because I want aesthetics. It feels like a fool's errand but...I gotta get that volume!

Step by step towards the goal! Love his chest separation.

i love it too

Don't get me wrong, if I could bench 10 reps @ 280 I would. So you being able to do that is fucking impressive. Especially at your height.

 

[Deleted member 47027]

i love it too

Don't get me wrong, if I could bench 10 reps @ 280 I would. So you being able to do that is fucking impressive. Especially at your height.

It's not that crazy - keep in mind I weigh 270 so it's just a shade above my bodyweight. Still, I can shove small cars over which is nice. My shoving game in on point. anyone bucks to me I can put them a block away.

 

[Matugi]

Urgh tell me about it.

I'm just barely keeping the same strength let alone progressing on the 5/3/1 program I'm doing. Legwork seems fine, but presses? Ain't going nowhere.

It's basically the opposite for me. Presses are fine, maintaining about 3x8 at 225 on bench and 3x6 at 135 on OHP. Deadlifts have gone down but that's partially due to an injury encouraging bad form, and I've since corrected. Squats had been fine, just down a little, until I lost my form on that last rep. I think my ego is getting in my way; I shouldn't be doing all 5 reps at 275 while cutting, but I want to to make it seem like I haven't lost strength. The strength loss in inevitable. I'll I'm doing is setting myself up to have bad form because I'm doing everything I can to hit an ultimately meaningless rep.

I looked at some things through the course of the rest of my workout and determined that it was just a complete loss of tightness during that last rep so I had to flex my lower back more to get it up. Obviously not good. Got home and took a tennis ball to the area and I'm fine now. Gonna drop down to about 225 next week, probably 8-10 reps, and just focus on keeping my glutes and hams tight throughout the lift.

In other news, some people on r/fitness disagreed with my position on proper powerlifting form for bench pressing in which there's an arch in your back and the upper part of your glutes are off the bench, but obviously not moving, so as to decrease the distance the bar travels during the lift, and they've been going through my profile and downvoting everything I've been posting in other subreddits. Obviously there's different techniques but the most common is to maintain that arch in the back. These salty children disagree I guess. Probably would've received more love in r/weightroom

 

[FallingEdge]

It's not that crazy - keep in mind I weigh 270 so it's just a shade above my bodyweight. Still, I can shove small cars over which is nice. My shoving game in on point. anyone bucks to me I can put them a block away.

Ah. I forgot about that. Don't matter. Big weights are big weights.

 

[God Dayumm]

You're exaggerating two things: 1)the forward bend at your hips at set up and 2)the actual hip breaking motion. You need to be a lot more upright than you currently are before your descend into the squat. Right now you are bending way too far over at the waist, which is causing you to put a lot of stress on your lower back and is turning the lift into a goodmorning as you come up. Unlocking the hips does not mean to bend over at the waist, but rather to roll the hips back so you can open them up and descend down into the squat. When it comes to clearing your hips, it looks as if you're doing this by flexing your lumbar spine. As I said above, you need to roll your hips back and brace your core. It looks like you pretty well understand the general concept but imagine you are trying to sit down in a chair. Would you flex your lumbar spine to sit? No, you'd shift your weight back onto your heels as you use your entire spine to guide your butt into the seat. As you are currently doing you aren't maintaining a strong, neutral spine angle.

The main reason why you aren't breaking parallel is because of these two things. You aren't clearing your hips properly which limits how far you can descend into the squat, and when you actually do descend your spine angle is all kinds of fucked up which is causing you to essentially fold in half at the waist as you can see at about :36 in your second video. The folding in half thing also tells me that your weight is likely towards the balls of your feet as opposed to middle/back. It's bringing the entire lift forward which is another reason why you're essentially being hindered by the presence of your quads in the path of your descent

Thanks Matugi, perfect explanation. I'll try to pull this off tomorrow

 

[Bjern Fita]

Hi all, long time reader hoping for a bit of input.

My wife and I have been hitting the diet and gym really well for the last few months (about 65 pounds down collectively), and I'm cooking up a bit of a birthday dinner for her tomorrow. We're using a raclette:

and I'm wondering if anyone has some suggestions of things that'd reasonably suit a strength training focused diet. (It's a birthday celebration so doesn't have to be super restrictive).

Thinking along the lines of:
- bacon wrapped asparagus
- corrizo/sausages
- steak/pork medalions
- capsicum, onions etc.

any other ideas anyone might have? Going to have a bit of cheese and chocolate as well.

Cheers in advance

 

[Psychotext]

Chicken skewers done on one of those would probably be pretty tasty.

 

[kevo_huevo]

bulgogi/brisket and other kbbq staples

 

[RumblingRosco]

Hi all, long time reader hoping for a bit of input.

My wife and I have been hitting the diet and gym really well for the last few months (about 65 pounds down collectively), and I'm cooking up a bit of a birthday dinner for her tomorrow. We're using a raclette:

and I'm wondering if anyone has some suggestions of things that'd reasonably suit a strength training focused diet. (It's a birthday celebration so doesn't have to be super restrictive).

Thinking along the lines of:
- bacon wrapped asparagus
- corrizo/sausages
- steak/pork medalions
- capsicum, onions etc.

any other ideas anyone might have? Going to have a bit of cheese and chocolate as well.

Cheers in advance

Definitely kabobs of some sort. Also, maybe some grilled zucchini that have marinated in Italian dressing? Otherwise what you already listed looks good.

 

[BeautifulMemory]

What do you guys do if you are really tired and you are supposed to work out that day? Do you do some kind of modification or alternative exercises?

Also, any tips on working out in the morning? I really want to try it but it seems like I have to wake up extra early to eat, wait for digestion, then hit the gym.

 

[Deleted member 47027]

What do you guys do if you are really tired and you are supposed to work out that day? Do you do some kind of modification or alternative exercises?

Also, any tips on working out in the morning? I really want to try it but it seems like I have to wake up extra early to eat, wait for digestion, then hit the gym.

You get your ass out there and do the work, even if you don't want to. DBAB - Don't Be A Baby!

Most of the days when I feel like dogshit and have to work out, I end up having some of my best days. Even if you don't want to do it, go get your work in. Do the work of your life.

 

[FallingEdge]

On top of that, after it is all said and done, you never regret going and are always glad that you did.

 

[kevo_huevo]

What do you guys do if you are really tired and you are supposed to work out that day? Do you do some kind of modification or alternative exercises?

Also, any tips on working out in the morning? I really want to try it but it seems like I have to wake up extra early to eat, wait for digestion, then hit the gym.

i go to the gym at 5am, fasted, 3-4x a week. it's not so bad, and you definitely don't need to eat in the morning if your food game is on point the night before. i usually have a small cup of black coffee or a couple sips of sugarfree red bull and i'm good.

 

[God Dayumm]

5 minutes warmup in the treadmill will get you going

 

[Bowser]

i go to the gym at 5am, fasted, 3-4x a week. it's not so bad, and you definitely don't need to eat in the morning if your food game is on point the night before. i usually have a small cup of black coffee or a couple sips of sugarfree red bull and i'm good.

I can do fasted cardio no problem. Fasted weight lifting in the morning is a dangerous game for me haha, early AM pushing heavy weights on no fuel is dicey. I'll usually take a scoop of protein and pre-workout 20 minutes before I head to the gym if I'm doing weights in the morning.

 

[Bjern Fita]

Definitely kabobs of some sort. Also, maybe some grilled zucchini that have marinated in Italian dressing? Otherwise what you already listed looks good.

Cheers, never actually done kabobs, some nice spiced lamb with tzarziki would be amazing. Definitely going to have to do that!

Have to be better at taking and posting pictures, as my wife has got into the healthy cooking and is whipping up all sorts of mad desserts with stevia. Wish I had a photo of the raw food 'cheesecake' she made. Date and almond base. Avocado and banana 'cheese' with vanilla kesam (think it's known as quark internationally). Amazing!

 

[BeautifulMemory]

Ditto on everything said then the next question is for AM workouts (lifting weights) how long do you guys wait after you eat or drink something? I know Bowser mentioned 30 minutes of a shake and maybe I can do that. Or doing in fasted.

 

[Bjern Fita]

Sweet potatoe based chocolate icecream, was ok but not amazing.

 

[RumblingRosco]

Cheers, never actually done kabobs, some nice spiced lamb with tzarziki would be amazing. Definitely going to have to do that!

Have to be better at taking and posting pictures, as my wife has got into the healthy cooking and is whipping up all sorts of mad desserts with stevia. Wish I had a photo of the raw food 'cheesecake' she made. Date and almond base. Avocado and banana 'cheese' with vanilla kesam (think it's known as quark internationally). Amazing!

Definitely start taking pictures. Lifting is our main hobby in here, but I suspect most would agree with me when I say eating is our second favorite hobby.

Also, I am looking at buying a punching bag and speed bag from Craigslist as I think they're fun and would be a good workout / stress release. Does anyone have any advice when shopping around for one or have a training routine that would help me learn how to use either bag effectively?

 

[Cooter]

What do you guys do if you are really tired and you are supposed to work out that day? Do you do some kind of modification or alternative exercises?

Also, any tips on working out in the morning? I really want to try it but it seems like I have to wake up extra early to eat, wait for digestion, then hit the gym.

Load up on caffeine and push through. There are no other options.

 

[Psychotext]

Load up on caffeine and push through. There are no other options.

Yeah, I usually go for a quad espresso and just force my way through it.

Also not convinced about: "On top of that, after it is all said and done, you never regret going and are always glad that you did.". I've lost count of the times I'd really regretted forcing myself.

 

[DoktorEvil]

Hello FitGAF-

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=4195843

What do you guys think of that? Is that a good way to "hypertrophy"?

I'd really like to get bigger, quickly. My BMR is 1100 and I'm a skinny girl. Would this routine work for me?

Right now I go to the gym 2 to 3x a week, and only hit one muscle set a week. I feel like that's not going to help. I'm stronger, but I want to *look* bigger.

Help !

Why don't you read the OP, guy?

Anyways you have to eat more calories than your body is burning.

a +500-600 caloric increase should be good enough.

You have to keep lifting AND eating more food to look bigger.

 

[Pete Rock]

Also, I am looking at buying a punching bag and speed bag from Craigslist as I think they're fun and would be a good workout / stress release. Does anyone have any advice when shopping around for one or have a training routine that would help me learn how to use either bag effectively?

All I know is my friend who grew up hanging around boxing gyms loves the heavy bag and recently bought one to put in his garage. Even with a heavy duty steel support frame and the bag tied down on the bottom he still had to drill holes and bolt it to the concrete. You could probably get around this if you had a bunch of super heavy things (like two extra 45 lb plates) that you could set on top of either leg of the U. That would be my only initial concern, I don't know anything about using them other than securing them in some fashion though.

I also know that the one time he jokingly punched me in the side of my arm (I was totally asking for it by being a nuisance) I had a bruise for two weeks, so heavy bags do make your punching game strong as fuck.

Help !

If you want to get bigger "quickly" (ahem) ditch the split workouts, read the OP and begin the process of grinding out Starting Strength beginning with the bar like, yesterday. What you posted seems unnecessarily complex and counter-intuitive for a novice.

I can personally vouch for SS as the official juicy booty program of all time!

 

[Pizoxuat]

Due to my schedule and the timing surrounding my medications, I have no choice but to workout at 6am, fasted and without caffeine. I am always tired right before I start my workout. 5 minutes on the treadmill gets me alert, warm-up squats get me focused and then I just go and go hard. Getting home and finally fueling up feels like manna from heaven, man.

 

[paradise_circus]

My heart rate seems to be in the lower 50bpms, shouldn't it be around the 60bpm?. Am I going to die?

 

[Brolic Gaoler]

What do you guys do if you are really tired and you are supposed to work out that day? Do you do some kind of modification or alternative exercises?

Also, any tips on working out in the morning? I really want to try it but it seems like I have to wake up extra early to eat, wait for digestion, then hit the gym.

Whenever I don't feel like going I say fuck it. Stay home, watch tv and collect unemployment. Motivation and intestinal fortitude is overrated.

 

[BeautifulMemory]

Whenever I don't feel like going I say fuck it. Stay home, watch tv and collect unemployment. Motivation and intestinal fortitude is overrated.

Hey I appreciate the feedback but I wasn't saying "I don't feel like going." I was curious about what you and other people do when you feel tired and exhausted. If it's a matter of "tough it out" then so be it, but that was my question.