Had about 4 low carb ice cream cones with low carb mint chocolate ice cream today, along with low carb tabooleh made with hemp seeds I think (this turned out incredible) and lots of corned beef brisket and sauerkraut. Ate well today.
This may be shallow, but I really want to compare the physical appearance of everyone protesting this ad to those who don't care. Something tells me a pattern would emerge.
Trying to fast until dinner today. This is not going to be easy with a family. Making everyone bacon, eggs, and pancakes at this very moment. This is torture!
Trying to fast until dinner today. This is not going to be easy with a family. Making everyone bacon, eggs, and pancakes at this very moment. This is torture!
First of all, thank you so much to everyone who commented and wished me luck! I really appreciate it. I have been lurking in here the past couple weeks even if I haven't been commenting.
(And thanks to Cooter's and FE's pics I have been here quite often to be honest.)
Oooh, I am on the wall of shame. ^_^ (I have a good excuse since I haven't been able to lift, right?) Also the new OT is great.
Some update of the current situation: I have now met two neurosurgeons ( two because this wasn't as straightforward as first thought) and my physiotherapist. According to the MRI pics I shouldn't be able to walk properly let alone bike and I should be in great pain, but things are actually looking up. When both of the neurosurgeons looked at the MRI results they thought I need an acute surgery, but against of all odds, I am actually showing signs of recovery! I am like some sort of regenerating mutant lizard. Nobody knows what is really going on because what I have so shouldn't be getting any better on its own, but it seems I am actually healing at least for the time being. I am back to the gym two times a week. Even if I can't do any leg movements or leg stretches, it feels so great to be back on track! I can carefully bike (meaning I move around the city biking) and I can use crosstrainer if it doesn't hurt (it didn't so I did 40 minutes on Friday). Friday was my first lifting session (with machines though) in two months and I love the feeling of a work out in my muscles. My strenght is down a bit and I can't do the work outs with full power anyways because of the back, but it is still progress. I also do core mucle training again and my usual nordic walking.
I have a 24/7 phone number where I can call if I have any troubles with the back and I can still get an acute surgery and go past the lines if it starts to hurt of if I have any severe symptoms. A neurosurgeon will call me after a month and we will discuss how I have been doing and also I will meet my physiotherapist (last time) on mid August. I am eating powerful medication to help with the recovery. I have noticed some side effects (weight gain, loss of sense of smell and tiredness), but nothing too bad that I would need to stop taking it. I try not to worry about the weight and just concentrade on recovery and deal with the fat/bloat later on.
Now I need to just find a new gym. I should be getting my master's degree within two weeks so after that I can't use the university gym anymore. Also I am worried about my legs and ass since I can't do leg exercises at all for at least 4-6 months in total. Hopefully biking and crosstrainer will help me at least a bit to maintain the muscle mass. But all in all I am so relieved and happy. Hopefully this will just continue and that I don't need to go the surgery at all. So far so good.
Oh and just as a sidenote when people have been talking about the awesome mkenyon's bionic wife, since it seems I am not getting the surgery (I so hope so), I have been drooling these.
Cro-Magnon, you are looking absolutely awesome. I also need to add that the body control that doing calisthenics provides is damn cool.
Brolic Gaoler, congrats for the medal! I need to add that you look leaner but as beastly as always. Also your new position and work is seriouly great!
SeanR1221. loved the pics of you and your missus (in this thread and in the previous). <3
Silurus, I am truly hoping he will stay and continues to post pics. Just saying.
Welp, not unseeing that. Paging Sadetar to the thread.
Oh come on, you are waaaayyyy too modest. Goofy wouldn't be the word I would be using (I try to be proper and don't say anything about your other pics either). Also the muscle-up was awesome.
Leeness, great to see you back! Trust me, you are using more weight than I am at the moment. You can also do squats and deadlifts so I am just jealous. Keep us posted.
This may be shallow, but I really want to compare the physical appearance of everyone protesting this ad to those who don't care. Something tells me a pattern would emerge.
Agreed. I popped in there for a minute last night and defended the ad, but was told I had poor reading comprehension and no idea what I was talking about so I bounced.
What's the reasoning behind most of the exercises in the OP being around 5 reps? It's been too long since I went to the gym, but when I did my more well built friends were all about longer sets (10-12 reps). Also, I have no f-ing idea how I'm going to eat 1g protein per lb and I barely weigh anything D: being vegetarian probably doesn't help.
What's the reasoning behind most of the exercises in the OP being around 5 reps? It's been too long since I went to the gym, but when I did my more well built friends were all about longer sets (10-12 reps). Also, I have no f-ing idea how I'm going to eat 1g protein per lb and I barely weigh anything D: being vegetarian probably doesn't help.
Rep ranges change what muscle fibers are targeted. The elevator explanation is that your body is going to get better at whatever you are training it to do.
You can load pretty heavy weight for a 5 rep set, and its going to use the anaerobic fibers that are capable of short intense bursts.
When you deload weight to do it with 15-20 reps you are moving toward the more aerobic fueled fibers.
Doing higher rep ranges tends to build up the muscles size(hypertrophy) marginally more than lower rep. If you are new then it really doesn't matter as long as you are pushing yourself.
Most people I know that lift weight religiously don't do one or the other exclusively. Long term heavy weights put more strain on your joints, so they rotate out of that for a few weeks at a time.
Higher rep ranges put the muscle under tension for longer so they will burn a bit more calorically, which is why they are more popular routines for folks who are cutting.
I have started on higher rep stuff and I think it has helped me out because most of my issues have been with stabilizers and using the lower weights on sets have helped me improve there.
What's the reasoning behind most of the exercises in the OP being around 5 reps? It's been too long since I went to the gym, but when I did my more well built friends were all about longer sets (10-12 reps). Also, I have no f-ing idea how I'm going to eat 1g protein per lb and I barely weigh anything D: being vegetarian probably doesn't help.
It's about being able to lift more weight per rep, which can break down muscle more efficiently than high reps at a weight your body can easily handle. That's not to say high reps have no place...I do all of my accessories with 8-12 rep schemes whereas I do my compounds with 531.
Eggs and whey for you, mister. Also, three bean salad is high in everything and great for vegetarian lifting.
Rep ranges change what muscle fibers are targeted. The elevator explanation is that your body is going to get better at whatever you are training it to do.
You can load pretty heavy weight for a 5 rep set, and its going to use the anaerobic fibers that are capable of short intense bursts.
When you deload weight to do it with 15-20 reps you are moving toward the more aerobic fueled fibers.
Doing higher rep ranges tends to build up the muscles size(hypertrophy) marginally more than lower rep. If you are new then it really doesn't matter as long as you are pushing yourself.
Most people I know that lift weight religiously don't do one or the other exclusively. Long term heavy weights put more strain on your joints, so they rotate out of that for a few weeks at a time.
Higher rep ranges put the muscle under tension for longer so they will burn a bit more calorically, which is why they are more popular routines for folks who are cutting.
Trying to fast until dinner today. This is not going to be easy with a family. Making everyone bacon, eggs, and pancakes at this very moment. This is torture!
Been playing around with my diet in terms of timing. Wanted to try IF to see what's it's like to be Brolic. Of course that means I will have to eat my weight in food for dinner
God, this calories stuff. I feel like I have to become a food monster. Never counted them before, so I just tried to do an estimate and it came out to about 1200-1300 kCal (per day), which umm is low I guess. I'm about 130 lbs so apparently I need to eat about twice that.
Alright, thanks for the replies. Might try to mix it up a bit then.
God, this calories stuff. I feel like I have to become a food monster. Never counted them before, so I just tried to do an estimate and it came out to about 1200-1300 kCal (per day), which umm is low I guess. I'm about 130 lbs so apparently I need to eat about twice that.
The way you go about it without being crazy is by getting a meal plan set up. You do your caloric calculations and divide that up into whatever frequency you want, whatever macro you want, etc.
Eat that for a few weeks/ a month and stick to your exercise routine, then see what your weight is. Start adjusting based on results.
If you feel yourself going off the rails then stop early but getting too prescriptive about it makes me crazy, i always adjust tail end.
You definitely want to eat at least your BMR, that is a reliable #, its getting the additional TDEE calories in that is harder to estimate.
Depends what it's got in it. 10g of BCAA on its own wont technically break a fast (though it will temporarily increase your insulin levels, not by enough to be concerned about). The whole idea of using BCAA whilst fasted (and working out) is to protect against muscle loss.
Been playing around with my diet in terms of timing. Wanted to try IF to see what's it's like to be Brolic. Of course that means I will have to eat my weight in food for dinner
Depends what it's got in it. 10g of BCAA on its own wont technically break a fast (though it will temporarily increase your insulin levels, not by enough to be concerned about). The whole idea of using BCAA whilst fasted (and working out) is to protect against muscle loss.
Hey FitGAF, I'm in the market for a new belt and was wondering if y'all had specific recommendations? My old gyms had communal belts which I relied heavily on, but I moved recently and my current spot doesn't have anything of the sort. I've gotten into the habit of squatting and deadlifting beltless, but my numbers for each are high enough that I feel that I should be getting back into belt-land.
So, what are some of the popular choices around here?
Hey FitGAF, I'm in the market for a new belt and was wondering if y'all had specific recommendations? My old gyms had communal belts which I relied heavily on, but I moved recently and my current spot doesn't have anything of the sort. I've gotten into the habit of squatting and deadlifting beltless, but my numbers for each are high enough that I feel that I should be getting back into belt-land.
So, what are some of the popular choices around here?
Are there any differences?
I don't take coffee too well, sometimes it aggravates my stomach. I tried it today because I felt I might need an extra boost after my miserable last attempt.
But the boost is real, I am amazed.
Anyone having any experience with going from double overhand grip to hook grip on deadlifts? My grip strength is starting to fail me at 30 % over bodyweight (don't know whether this is early or not), but I don't want to do the over-under grip as it seems to be bad for the back.
If someone started using the hook grip how did you transition into that? Just went directly to using it or lowered the weight a bit at first to get used to it? I tried the hook grip today for my lighter, high-rep sets.
Also, any other specific pointers for how use the hook grip?
Are there any differences?
I don't take coffee too well, sometimes it aggravates my stomach. I tried it today because I felt I might need an extra boost after my miserable last attempt.
But the boost is real, I am amazed.
If coffee aggravates your stomach, a pre workout will probably annihilate it. Pre workouts contain a few ingredients on top of caffeine, often including beta-alanine, creatine, and sometimes even pepper extract.
Are there any differences?
I don't take coffee too well, sometimes it aggravates my stomach. I tried it today because I felt I might need an extra boost after my miserable last attempt.
But the boost is real, I am amazed.
Add some heavy cream or half-and-half. Based on what I discussed with my coworker, the acidity of the coffee might be messing with your stomach so adding either of those two should neutralize the coffee. Normally I would have the runs after drinking coffee but I've been drinking bulletproof coffee the last week or so and had no problems.
If someone started using the hook grip how did you transition into that? Just went directly to using it or lowered the weight a bit at first to get used to it? I tried the hook grip today for my lighter, high-rep sets.
Also, any other specific pointers for how use the hook grip?
Doesn't seem early. But if you switch grip you stop building grip strength, so make sure you are doing things to build it, like using the normal grip for warm-up sets, chinups/pullups, etc. Also, consider using chalk or chalk substitute to help stay double overhand.
but I don't want to do the over-under grip as it seems to be bad for the back.
Thanks, I'll try lowering the weight to get used to it. I'm not sure if I was doing it wrong, because I didn't really feel any pain in my thumb today when I was using it for my high rep sets. But that may just be because the weight was not very high.
Doesn't seem early. But if you switch grip you stop building grip strength, so make sure you are doing things to build it, like using the normal grip for warm-up sets, chinups/pullups, etc. Also, consider using chalk or chalk substitute to help stay double overhand.
I have never seen anyone else in my gym use chalk, so I'm not sure if it's permitted. I need to talk to some of the staff about it to find out.
Good thinking on using the normal grip for warm-up sets to keep building grip strength. Other exercises I'm doing that may train grip strength are (assisted) (hammer grip) pullups, lat pulldowns and cable rows. But I do all of these in rather high rep ranges, so it may not be heavy enough for gaining grip strength. But it should help at least, as I often feel like my grip is failing me on my cable rows and lat pulldowns. I do those the same day I do heavy deadlifts, so it may just be because I've already exhausted my grip from the deadlifts, but still. I also do quite a bit of high rep deadlifts (because I fucking love doing deadlifts) so I may keep with using the normal grip here to train grip strength.
Welcome back, Sadetar. Good to hear you are back to the gym and making progress with your recovery too.
Sunday is my leg day so did some squats today. I wish I could quote ILoveBish and say that I felt strong but never have that feeling when I'm squatting. I did three sets of five with 120 kg (265 lb) and was barely able to make the last rep on my third set. This cut is killing my squat numbers and it probably wasn't that wise to do my first rollerblading session (ca 7 miles) in two years yesterday evening. Would have probably felt much fresher today without that even though I didn't go that fast. Well, at least my weight is going down. I was 101,6 kg (224 lb) this morning which means I'm only 1,6 kg from my minimum goal and still have four weeks left to cut.
Yeah, that's another possible approach. I have never used straps myself. I have the last session with my PT this week, so I'm gonna get his input on this stuff too.
I am back to the gym two times a week. Even if I can't do any leg movements or leg stretches, it feels so great to be back on track! I can carefully bike (meaning I move around the city biking) and I can use crosstrainer if it doesn't hurt (it didn't so I did 40 minutes on Friday). Friday was my first lifting session (with machines though) in two months and I love the feeling of a work out in my muscles. My strenght is down a bit and I can't do the work outs with full power anyways because of the back, but it is still progress. I also do core mucle training again and my usual nordic walking.
