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Fitness |OT8| Dad Bods, Bulge Swelfies, and Wait...Do you even lift bro?

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Pachimari

Member
I ordered this Duronic KS865 weight. Hopefully this can do.

CpY0I3E.jpg
 

SeanR1221

Member
191 yesterday. 189 today. Like cooter magic.

Although I'm having some bad shits/stomach pains. Not used to going all out like that.
 

SeanR1221

Member
My version:

Hah! Nice one.

Knew squats would be shit today when I just wasn't feeling it driving to the gym. Hit 285x5 (on 3s week) and decided on no joker sets realistically that should have been closer to 8

Ah well shit workout is better than none.
 
Running was my #1 goal last year. I started off by barely being able to run a half mile. I ran 6 races including a half marathon by the end of the year. I went through many challenging injuries.

Running absolutely will challenge you constantly. Your body will adapt and have issues often. You just need to not panic and go with the flow knowing you will overcome them with time. More importantly, don't run too much, especially if you are in pain. Take time to heal and try cycling or something low impact if needed several times a week.

As for lower leg tightness, i get this if I'm running at a faster than usual pace without having stretched my lower legs first. Try sitting on the floor with your legs folded underneath you (butt pressing on your calves), toes pointed behind you, for at least 30-60 seconds to stretch your shins. It always helps me with shin tightness.

Running really takes patience!

I will definitely try this. The huge poster at the gym didn't have any stretches for shins so thanks.

Yeah, It is really challenging and frustrating at times, especially since I never ran before due to being fat and running not being my preferred cardio. But I've been trying to lose some weight to get into the military and I need to be able to run. (already lost 45lbs, need about 20 more). However during the summer I did get some work in on conditioning my legs, I would walk about 10 miles, mowing grass for about 6 hours in hilly terrain.

Also, any tips on running a slower pace? I just feel so weird going slower, i feel like i use the same amount of energy compared to my regular pace but without covering the same distance. I noticed that I need to go slower because the other joggers at the gym are slower but can ran way longer. Idk, it just feels weird going slower than my regular pace, I'm not even going full speed sprinting, just kinda average.


How often are you running? You may be pushing yourself too soon, too often.

Shin splints are usually caused by your shoes, especially since you're on a track so incline isn't a factor.

I go about 3 times a week, sometimes 4. About 30 minutes of running/walking laps and then a 30 minutes cool down walk with the occasional random sprint depending on how I feel.

Yeah I used to get shin splints way more often but these new shoes have helped. Recently though its been more painful on my Soleus muscle on just one leg.
 

mdsfx

Member
Also, any tips on running a slower pace? I just feel so weird going slower, i feel like i use the same amount of energy compared to my regular pace but without covering the same distance. I noticed that I need to go slower because the other joggers at the gym are slower but can ran way longer. Idk, it just feels weird going slower than my regular pace, I'm not even going full speed sprinting, just kinda average.

I only run slower if my goal is to run for a longer distance. I do get more injuries running slower, though. Try keeping your cadence the same (high turnover) so that you aren't taking long, lumbering steps that might do more damage. Try to land your foot underneath you more so than extending it out in front of you. There is no "perfect" way to run for everyone. Every is different mechanically and each person has their strengths and weaknesses (I have to watch my IT bad and other tendons/ligaments). Pay attention to what feels more natural/fluid with the least amount of impact.
 
so i'm tasting PB&Co's White Chocolate wonderful. I'm unsure of the flavor of this and the weird texture. hopefully the dark chocolate one is better.
 
I only run slower if my goal is to run for a longer distance. I do get more injuries running slower, though. Try keeping your cadence the same (high turnover) so that you aren't taking long, lumbering steps that might do more damage. Try to land your foot underneath you more so than extending it out in front of you. There is no "perfect" way to run for everyone. Every is different mechanically and each person has their strengths and weaknesses (I have to watch my IT bad and other tendons/ligaments). Pay attention to what feels more natural/fluid with the least amount of impact.


Yeah, I just want to be able to run a mile at a decent pace to get started. I'll try going a bit slower today and just see how what works. When i go slow i feel like I impact too much so I'll keep what you said in mind.
 

Zoe

Member
Yeah I used to get shin splints way more often but these new shoes have helped. Recently though its been more painful on my Soleus muscle on just one leg.

Isn't the soleus more the back of your leg? That's different from a shin split.

Sounds like you need to do more calf/achilles stretches. The one that really does it for me is to crouch down, place one knee on the ground, and place your other foot right next to your knee with the heel all the way down. Lean forward for a deeper and deeper stretch.

The Stick helps too.
 

SeanR1221

Member
When you guys have a bad gym day do you shrug it off or just let it bother you?

I always have moments after where I wanna go back and try the lift again. I never would, but I dwell on it.
 
It's actually rare I get a good gym day. Maybe 1 in 20 (likely a side effect of primary training for cycling). I just get on with it, not really much I can do to change the situation.
 
When you guys have a bad gym day do you shrug it off or just let it bother you?

I always have moments after where I wanna go back and try the lift again. I never would, but I dwell on it.
Just let it go and go back to hitting it hard the next day. It's one day, not gonna make or break you.

I get down about bad days, sure. However I'm over it after a few hours. I don't let the bad mood linger.
 
Thanks! Any tips for along the way? Besides eat?
Eat + train + patience. A lot of the weight won't look like much at first, imo. I didn't start feeling thicker until recently hitting 220. Still feel thin :|

When you guys have a bad gym day do you shrug it off or just let it bother you?

I always have moments after where I wanna go back and try the lift again. I never would, but I dwell on it.
It gets to me. Yesterday was a shit chest day. 1st set bench was 100% on all 10 reps. Second set I hit 4 just right then lost it at rep 5. Like I just spent everything I had on my first set when I sailed through the week before like I was on fire moving weight around.

I know what the culprit is but yeah, it gets to me.
 
Isn't the soleus more the back of your leg? That's different from a shin split.

Sounds like you need to do more calf/achilles stretches. The one that really does it for me is to crouch down, place one knee on the ground, and place your other foot right next to your knee with the heel all the way down. Lean forward for a deeper and deeper stretch.

The Stick helps too.

Will do this stretch as well. The other stretch mdsfx told me helped out today.

Yeah, last week I was getting shin splints plus the back of the leg. Today no shin splints however the back of the leg was a bit there and near the end of the run on both sides.

Idk I need to figure out how to run, I did my 1 mile at a slower pace but changed the recovery from 1.5 laps to 1 walking lap. And it was ok, I got that back leg pain after running lap 4 but I managed to get through it till the end.

However after that I walked for 30 min and then tried sprints. Damn did it feel good. I sprinted 1 lap (1/12 mile) as fast as I could and then walked until I recovered. Managed to do 5.5 sprint laps until I was pooped. No leg pain either, I guess it's how I run that messes me up or the impact.
 

Dinjooh

Member
I ordered this Duronic KS865 weight. Hopefully this can do.

Just FYI, any kitchen weight will most likely do the trick, it shouldn't be difficult at all to find one.

I'm pretty sure you're danish, so here's a shopping tip from another dane: There's an offer in Lidl tomorrow for kitchen scales for 59,- dkk, Which have a maximum capacity of 5kg, with 1g intervals, should be plenty fine for what you're trying to do.

But really, I just use a cheap something from Netto I bought years back and it's fine.
 

Szu

Member
When you guys have a bad gym day do you shrug it off or just let it bother you?

I always have moments after where I wanna go back and try the lift again. I never would, but I dwell on it.

That's pretty much been every gym day for the last four months for me. Nagging injuries limit me from pushing too hard. At the same time, I have to keep my ego in check because I'm not as young and stupid as I used to be. Now, I'm just old and stupid.

I don't dwell on it anymore. I just try my best to stay somewhat fit.
 
Your posture seems off. Looks like your bending at the knees before the movemeny begins. Your wrists look too far back as well. This is a good gif on wrist placement.


http://www.exrx.net/AnimatedEx/Quadriceps/BBSquatHigh.gif

Yeah, I've been trying to work on bending at the hips first (though I didn't film it) but it hasn't been easy. I feel like I'm unbalanced and on the verge of falling over when I try to squat that way. Idk if it's just a matter of getting used to it, or if I'm doing something wrong. I'll try to get it on video next time I go to the gym.

As for the wrists, I'll take what you said into account, but I think you posted the wrong gif, heh.

Got it. Thanks, Psycho.
 

ILoveBish

Member
Been 42+ hours since I ate and not hungry at all, but breaking my fast tonight just cause I'll be with my fiance. Start the PSMF protocol tonight. So excited.

Today at the gym went great, deload week but got 39 pull ups and had an amazing pump. I look really lean right now but still have that fatty syndrome where I'm not confident. Oh wells.

That's pretty much been every gym day for the last four months for me. Nagging injuries limit me from pushing too hard. At the same time, I have to keep my ego in check because I'm not as young and stupid as I used to be. Now, I'm just old and stupid.

I don't dwell on it anymore. I just try my best to stay somewhat fit.

At least you're in there putting in work. That's the main thing. We all have off days. Just gotta keep going.
 
Okay guys, I need some advice. I just joined a decent gym and would like to start taking bodybuilding seriously.

A little history: I started with bodyweight exercises a few months back and then graduated to replace those bodyweight exercises with dumbbell exercises and machines about a month ago. Now my current workout schedule is mostly upper body focused and I really like the results so far. People have commented about the changes too.

I usually do:

machine lat pulls or pull ups (5x8)
Hammer curls or alternating curls (5x8)
Machine chest press or dumbell chest presses (5x8)
Tricep dips/ two arm dumbbell extension (5x8)
Shoulder presses (5x8)

All these stuff are using progressive increases in weight over the last 3 to four week time period so far. All done three times a week (M, W, F).

For lower body, I usually just climb up the hill near me two to three times a week on the days I don't work out my upper body. I know that's not enough.

I started reading about the beginner programs like Stronglift 5x5 and Icecream Fitness and I think those programs are a good fit for me. My question is, is it okay for me to add in a little extra upper upper body exercises or are the ones in those programs enough? I'm just a little scared all that hard work over the last few weeks will just go to waste as I start with lower weights again in the aforementioned beginner's program.

Another question I have is how long should I be doing the beginner's program before I can start tweaking it? Six months? A year?

Thanks for any tips you can impart!!
 

Nelo Ice

Banned
So started to do preacher curls more consistently in my routine for the past few months and now I'm starting to fill my shirts. Awww yeahhh.
 
My question is, is it okay for me to add in a little extra upper upper body exercises or are the ones in those programs enough? I'm just a little scared all that hard work over the last few weeks will just go to waste as I start with lower weights again in the aforementioned beginner's program.

Another question I have is how long should I be doing the beginner's program before I can start tweaking it? Six months? A year?

Thanks for any tips you can impart!!

What you're talking about are partly what's referred to as accessory lifts, and yes, they're fine as long as you don't go to the point where they weaken you for the main lifts (do them after your main lifts, and don't go crazy). They're generally focussed on improving the main lifts, but plenty here do them purely for aesthetics too. For me, it's mostly additional chest and shoulder work (can't be arsed with big arms, they're useless to me), which I do for OHP / bench improvements... he says, like he ever improves in OHP or bench.

Almost all of these programs specify when you should move on. It's common to deload three times and then change your methods or program. If you don't know what a deload is, you haven't read enough on the programs.

Edit - Oh, and you wont be decreasing the weights you've been using for your upper body work on the whole, because almost none of the beginner programs specify those particular lifts anyway.
 
What you're talking about are partly what's referred to as accessory lifts, and yes, they're fine as long as you don't go to the point where they weaken you for the main lifts (do them after your main lifts, and don't go crazy). They're generally focussed on improving the main lifts, but plenty here do them purely for aesthetics too. For me, it's mostly additional chest and shoulder work (can't be arsed with big arms, they're useless to me), which I do for OHP / bench improvements... he says, like he ever improves in OHP or bench.

Almost all of these programs specify when you should move on. It's common to deload three times and then change your methods or program. If you don't know what a deload is, you haven't read enough on the programs.

Edit - Oh, and you wont be decreasing the weights you've been using for your upper body work on the whole, because almost none of the beginner programs specify those particular lifts anyway.

Awesome, thanks. So from what I understand, I can still do the same accessory lifts I've been doing for the upper body, but I just need to reduce the number of sets, and do them after the main workouts. By how much though? Can you provide an example of the number of sets and reps you do for the accessory lifts? And yeah, I mostly want to keep doing them for aesthetic reasons.
 
There really isn't a right answer to that. Most of us tend to do accessory stuff in the higher rep ranges (8+ reps). Sets really comes down more to time than anything (getting through the main lifts takes a while once you factor in breaks).
 

Fox318

Member
Could you expound on this one? Are we talking people avoiding vegetables or something more systemic?
Think things with cell walls that they body can't digest.

Like whole grain bread, veggies, and fruits. This can also help to create a sludge in your digestion system to make you feel fuller and make your bodywork harder to get more out of your food. Processed foods tend to break down faster so your body can't get much out of it.

I get 40 grams a day now.
 

mdsfx

Member
Eating celery and carrots right now because I already hit my 1900cal for the day. It tastes so fucking good. I must be starving lol
 

justjim89

Member
What do y'all eat on an average day?

Before factoring in exercise, myfitnesspal recommends 1590 calories a day. I usually try and leave a few hundred calories on the table so to speak to help with my weight loss, because my momentum has stalled and I've been hovering around the mid 190's for like a month. When I was running outside, I'd typically have anywhere from 2500 to 3000 calories to work with, cause I was running 90 minutes or two hours every day. But now that I'm going to the gym and trying to balance my cardio more with weight training, I'm usually at about 2100 calories.

The problem is, I've kinda gotten used to splurging more and my old appetite has kinda come back. Once I start eating I find it hard to stay under 1000 calories for a meal. Not to mention becoming hungry before bed and having a snack that ends up being another 600-800 calories. Some days I'll go for a 24 hour fast to even things out, but then I get into a habit of only eating one big meal a day.

Typical things I'll eat:
-Flatout wraps with lunchmeat
-PB&J sandwiches (usually two at a time
-Oscar Meyer hot dogs (in bun with mustard, usually three or four at a time)
-Honey Bunches of Oats with Almonds (with 2% milk, usually 3 servings)
-I also eat a fair amount of apples and bananas
-Lately I've been eating fast food and sweets way too regularly, but that's more from family.

For a while I was on a Slim Fast kick, but I ended up not wanting those calories in the morning figuring I could save them for later on something more substantial. I try to eat a lot of fruit, because I don't eat vegetables or lettuce or anything like that. I know I need to eat better and control my portions more, but what sort of advice do y'all have? Anything I'm really screwing up?
 
Think I finally got over my hurdle in OHP \o/ ... just to stall on BP :( . I need to add another accessory lift to help with the BP. Do you guys have any suggestions on that? I've been doing incline dumbbell flys, but I think they're doing more for aesthetics rather than helping out with the lift. What else should I add?
 
Think I finally got over my hurdle in OHP o/ ... just to stall on BP :( . I need to add another accessory lift to help with the BP. Do you guys have any suggestions on that? I've been doing incline dumbbell flys, but I think they're doing more for aesthetics rather than helping out with the lift. What else should I add?
Incline bp, decline bp, close grip bp, flyes, cable crossovers, pushups, dips, etc.

I generally switch my primary press based on incline for 3 weeks in a row, change incline, 3 more weeks, change incline, etc. Sometimes it's just 15 degrees, sometimes 30. Minor changes in execution are a big help for me.
 

despire

Member
Been 42+ hours since I ate and not hungry at all, but breaking my fast tonight just cause I'll be with my fiance. Start the PSMF protocol tonight. So excited.

Today at the gym went great, deload week but got 39 pull ups and had an amazing pump. I look really lean right now but still have that fatty syndrome where I'm not confident. Oh wells.



At least you're in there putting in work. That's the main thing. We all have off days. Just gotta keep going.

Are you doing Lyle's RFLD? It works great when you are fat but the Category 1 program is pretty bullshit. I once tried it and it was over +1300kcal of pure protein per day. The Cat 2 prescription is much more doable. Anyway I've done PSMF in the past many times and not going through that again. I'd rather eat more and enjoy it than save a few weeks in time.


Anyway I had a great back workout. Deadlifts, heavy chins and dumbbell rows, kelso shrugs for dat lower trapezius and some latv pulldowns for last. Noice.
 

Pachimari

Member
Just FYI, any kitchen weight will most likely do the trick, it shouldn't be difficult at all to find one.

I'm pretty sure you're danish, so here's a shopping tip from another dane: There's an offer in Lidl tomorrow for kitchen scales for 59,- dkk, Which have a maximum capacity of 5kg, with 1g intervals, should be plenty fine for what you're trying to do.

But really, I just use a cheap something from Netto I bought years back and it's fine.

How convenient and funny, because I were planning to take my bike to Lidl for a chocolate milk today. Thought the weight from Amazon have already been shipped, so maybe I should just wait for it to arrive on Feb 16.

I got all of Endomondo, MyFitnessPal and Withing's HealthMate installed on my phone. 10.000 steps a day seems like a lot to me.
 
Incline bp, decline bp, close grip bp, flyes, cable crossovers, pushups, dips, etc.

I generally switch my primary press based on incline for 3 weeks in a row, change incline, 3 more weeks, change incline, etc. Sometimes it's just 15 degrees, sometimes 30. Minor changes in execution are a big help for me.

So, instead of just a flat BP being the main press, you replace it with incline BP and change the incline 3 weeks at a time? And aren't the close grip BP and dip more of a triceps exercise, is there some modification that makes them more a chest exercise (I suppose the BP is still a chest exercise)
 

ILoveBish

Member
Are you doing Lyle's RFLD? It works great when you are fat but the Category 1 program is pretty bullshit. I once tried it and it was over +1300kcal of pure protein per day. The Cat 2 prescription is much more doable. Anyway I've done PSMF in the past many times and not going through that again. I'd rather eat more and enjoy it than save a few weeks in time.

I'm just getting my protein (150g) and some peppers for fiber. Thats it. Around 750 calories or so a day. Its insanely easy for me to stick to this. I had to force myself to eat today, my body is beyond ready to take things to the max right now. I not only hit the gym after fasting 40+ hours, i hit the beach and walked from balboa to newport pier, totaling almost 19k steps. And i have so much energy right now i can run through a wall. Love being this way.
 
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