Support NeoGAF

[Sadetar]

I had a great time with my niece and sis even if I ate like a pig for couple days during their visit.

Hey FitGAF, I think I'm finally done the intense phase of my cut. I'd gotten flabby over christmas and my birthday and other people's birthdays, so I decided I'd go on a diet to end all diets. Or so I hope. Told everyone to buzz off for the better part of 6-8 weeks (although I ended up cheating a couple times due to friends stopping in from out of town). Here's the photos from today cause the gym lighting is generous as always:

http://imgur.com/a/WxGe3

No before photos, sorry. Let's just say the muscles were getting a little blurry. Still a little lower belly flab, but it's not rolling out when I sit down anymore lol. Actually I can barely grab it when I'm sitting. There's also no arm pump since it's leg day. I think the rest is gonna be slow and steady with a pretty minor deficit, and more focus on improving the lifts. Can't be that much more to go right? In regards to stats:

Body weight: 191.2 lbs -> 175.8
Calorie intake: 900-1100 (rest days), 1900-2300 (training days)
Lifts:
Deads - 415x4 -> 415x2 (actually added an extra lower weight set to get more volume in lol)
Squats (High bar) - 335x7 -> 335x5
Bench - 165x8 - 195x7
OHP - 115x8 - 150x7

Hopefully eating closer to maintenance will prevent me from getting tunnel vision and seeing stars right from the get-go on squats and deads.

Looking good!

This happened Friday(my 38th birthday):

Happy birthday you glorius disappointment!

...
Here's pretty much week 0, week 50 and today, 66 and 2 days weighing 196.8

Part of me wants to keep going just so I can say I did it and the other part of me is super comfy being right where I'm at as it gives me a good balance of "lean" with strength. I suppose one could always be more lean and have more abs but that really doesn't bother me much.

Seriously, you look absolutely awesome at the moment! I personally prefer your body type over totally lean one to be honest so I am there with your wife.

This place is THE best. Much appreciated everyone. Thank you. Work blows today but soon all will be made right.

Happy very late birthday to a fellow leo!

Hey FitFam, Bum's going to be a daddy again!!!

Oooh! Contratulations! ^_^

 

[MrOogieBoogie]

Been training my SO for the last two months and she's made some insane progress. She started at around 145lbs, and she may have lost a pound or two on the scale but she's trimmed a LOT of fat. She's just been gaining a lot of muscle in the meanwhile. In just two months here's her progress (the last time she consistently exercised was in dance as a kid):

- Climbs V2s and 3s at the local climbing gym
- Deadlifts 145x5
- Squats 150lbs 3x5
- Has gone from barely being able to hang from a pull-up to doing reps of slow negatives and holds at the bottom

My goals for her from the beginning have been to do a least one full range of motion pull-up, ten deep push-ups, 165lb squat, 185lb deadlift, and consistent V3 climbing grades, and after only a couple of months she's making awesome progress.

Really fun watching someone change every part of their body and fitness.

 

[Jason's Ultimatum]

Uuuuh, don't go to the petty revenge ex thread. MTP just made it weirder. 😂

 

[Joey Fox]

My first week of Texas Method ended fine. Next week will be a challenge to complete:

Squats - 245 lbs x 5
Bench - 195 lbs x 5 (PR)
Deadlift - 290 x 1 (this was supposed to be five, need to figure out what I can do after heavy squats)

 

[zswordsman]

So I have a funky question.

Been running a lot now thanks to this thread. Went from zero miles to 7:45 min mile :v this year so far.

Now for the grossness. I was on accutane so it dried out my nose super badly, and even now that I'm off it I still get a ton of buggers and I try to clean it all out in the shower and be ready for a run but man do they get in the way. I'm thinking maybe shoving some aquafor in my nose will help, anyone have a similar experience?

Also phlegm or spit idk what is it, getting stuck near the back of my roar when i run, anybody have any good tips for that? I drink a ton of water so I don't know what's up. Shit gets annoying when I'm running and it starts blocking the air flow.

 

[nilbog21]

hi guys, my brother bought some creatine and i'm thinking about trying some.. is this stuff OK to take on top of protein supplements?

 

[velociraptor]

hi guys, my brother bought some creatine and i'm thinking about trying some.. is this stuff OK to take on top of protein supplements?

On a cold Friday afternoon, I had come home from school. I had been thinking of the gym all day. I was hungry, didn't have any lunch. In fact, I didn't eat because I spent the money. For the past month I was saving up for something. Something special which I bought at GNC. I was surprised they didn't ask for ID; I was pretty sure the cashier noticed how nervous I was. Anyways, my mom asked my how my day was when I got home, but I ignored her. I have more important things to do. I run to the bathroom and unpack my bag. In my school bag is a white plastic bag from GNC. I open the bag, first removing the receipt and flushing it down the toilet to get rid of the evidence. My heart was racing now. I unpack the creatine monster from the bag.

I wonder what people will be asking me when they see that I will be 50lbs heavier. Should I say I was just eating a lot? I remove the label from the tub and tear it into a thousand small pieces. I flush that down the toilet, too. It is time now. I run up to my room when my mom ask me what I am holding. I panic, sweat drips down my forehead and my teeth chatter. "Mom, it's just for a school project". "What project?" "I don't know mom I just started it!". A tear runs down my cheek. I run upstairs and open the creatine, scooping upservings into a clear water bottle. What have I gotten myself into? I fill it with water and drink it. There is no turning back now. The creatine monster is inside me now, it will control me. What should I do if I die? I cant let my family know about this.

I open the creatine tub and throw it all out the window; a white cloud of mysterious dust sparkles into the wind so graciously. I feel the substance taking control of me; I am now the monster. I walk downstairs, its time to work out; time to get big. Now I worry, I don't want to get too big; people will think I use steroids. I do use steroids. No I don't. Creatine. All I see is the weights now, I am almost downstairs when I hear "Do you want a cookie I just baked". I know I do not have time for this **** now. "No mom I do not want a cookie" I walk in the basement and drop to my knees before the weights, tears running down my cheeks. I turn to the right and look at myself in the mirror. Oh god, what have I done?

 

[entremet]

So I had a pretty crazy cheat day yesterday and I lost .8 pounds

😂😂😂

Human body is so crazy sometimes lol.

 

[velociraptor]

So I had a pretty crazy cheat day yesterday and I lost .8 pounds

��

Human body is so crazy sometimes lol.

How crazy are we talking about? I had two donuts yesterday. That was my 'cheat day' right there. Lmao.

 

[entremet]

How crazy are we talking about? I had two donuts yesterday. That was my 'cheat day' right there. Lmao.

1 cheeseburger and onion rings for lunch plus 4 fig newtons.

1 fried chicken sandwich, a corn dog, and a tall IPA for dinner.

1 jelly sandwich for dessert. Out of peanut butter

 

[Joey Fox]

My weightlifting belt no longer tightens, and thus no longer fits. Guess I have a small waist now, even if it doesn't feel like it!

 

[bchamba]

I'll never be lean enough to have abs so I'll keep doing a lot of front squats and conventional deadlifts to make my back abs bigger

 

[bidguy]

how do you roll the weights off your body without injuring yourself while bench pressing ?

im finally nearing 225lbs but still scared since my gyms usually really really empty.

 

[Cooter]

1 cheeseburger and onion rings for lunch plus 4 fig newtons.

1 fried chicken sandwich, a corn dog, and a tall IPA for dinner.

1 jelly sandwich for dessert. Out of peanut butter

I might dial down crazy and change it to solid. I'll have that many calories in the first 30 minutes of my cheat day.

 

[Arrowgigantic]

how do you roll the weights off your body without injuring yourself while bench pressing ?

im finally nearing 225lbs but still scared since my gyms usually really really empty.

If it's empty, bench in a power rack or a squat rack.

But what I've read is that if you are in a bad place you are going to want to tilt the bar to the left or right and try and get the plates on one side to slide off.

 

[VenomousCoffee]

how do you roll the weights off your body without injuring yourself while bench pressing ?

im finally nearing 225lbs but still scared since my gyms usually really really empty.

You can put the bar on your chest, roll it down to your thighs, and sit up. I remember doing that a few times as a teen, using weights in the ol' garage.

But get an employee to spot you. Part of their job.

 

[God Dayumm]

You can put the bar on your chest, roll it down to your thighs, and sit up. I remember doing that a few times as a teen, using weights in the ol' garage.

But get an employee to spot you. Part of their job.

I have never been able to roll the bar without pain when it presses on my bladder and dick. I prefer to lean the bar to the side and let the plates fall off

 

[VenomousCoffee]

I have never been able to roll the bar without pain when it presses on my bladder and dick. I prefer to lean the bar to the side and let the plates fall off

That's the best part!

 

[Jacksinthe]

I might dial down crazy and change it to solid. I'll have that many calories in the first 30 minutes of my cheat day.

Cooter understands how to cheat.

-

Anniversary. 12 years. Going to eat everything in the restaursnt tonight. Super excited!

 

[VenomousCoffee]

Back in the day, I remember one of my cheat meals was: 8 hot dogs, a bag of doritos, a box of those little donuts, and a 2 liter of diet coke.

I'm 40 now. Those days are gone!

 

[Randolph Freelander]

All this food talk reminds me how I hate the stuff.


OHP is still killing me. Failed again today, probably going to need to deload. The 5x5 program calls for 3 consecutive failures and it's only been 2, but they haven't even been close (only getting 5 reps on the first set, a blend of 4 and 3 for the rest of them). I want to give a nod to Alan Thrall's suggestion and switch it up for a session or two and see if more volume will help me break through.

 

[BumRush]

Cooter understands how to cheat.

-

Anniversary. 12 years. Going to eat everything in the restaursnt tonight. Super excited!

Happy anniversary man!! Crush it. Let us know how it goes.

 

[MrToughPants]

1 cheeseburger and onion rings for lunch plus 4 fig newtons.

1 fried chicken sandwich, a corn dog, and a tall IPA for dinner.

1 jelly sandwich for dessert. Out of peanut butter

I might dial down crazy and change it to solid. I'll have that many calories in the first 30 minutes of my cheat day.

Cooter understands how to cheat.

-

Anniversary. 12 years. Going to eat everything in the restaursnt tonight. Super excited!

 

[Psychotext]

I've missed bro splits. So much nicer to just blast a couple of body parts with next to no rest vs smashing the low reps on full body and standing around waiting for rest periods.

Enjoying NY btw... Even though it's pretty much bankrupting me.

 

[FreddieQuell]

Speaking of food, I've increased my calories by around 600 per day as I've started lifting and running again. I'm planning on maintaining my current weight but strength progress will be what really determines how much I'll be eating. So far (2 weeks) everything is going as planned. The calorie bump is real nice after close to a year of aggressively losing weight.

 

[Jacksinthe]

I had a great time with my niece and sis even if I ate like a pig for couple days during their visit.

Seriously, you look absolutely awesome at the moment! I personally prefer your body type over totally lean one to be honest so I am there with your wife.

Missed this, Sade. Thank you and glad you had a great time!

Happy anniversary man!! Crush it. Let us know how it goes.

Thanks brother.

Just got home about to make some popcorn and grab some Red Vines to watch BvS with the wife.

Appetizers:
Whatever bread they brought to the table. Probably equivalent to roughly 5 standard slices and the butter that came with it
French Onion soup
Entree size chicken Caesar

Dinner:
12oz filet
Family portion of lyonnaise potatoes. Said it served 2-3 but I don't believe them.

Not bad for dinner. I can eat more for sure but that's where ppopcorn and red vines come in during the movie

Have some Reese's on the side - just in case

 

[Ixian]

Been training my SO for the last two months and she's made some insane progress. She started at around 145lbs, and she may have lost a pound or two on the scale but she's trimmed a LOT of fat. She's just been gaining a lot of muscle in the meanwhile. In just two months here's her progress (the last time she consistently exercised was in dance as a kid):

...

Is she on a calorie surplus or a calorie deficit? I assume surplus but just wondering since she's in newb gains mode still!

 

[BumRush]

I've missed bro splits. So much nicer to just blast a couple of body parts with next to no rest vs smashing the low reps on full body and standing around waiting for rest periods.

Enjoying NY btw... Even though it's pretty much bankrupting me.

Good to hear dude!! What have you done so far?

__________________

Jack, that's not a bad meal at all. Also, anniversary doesn't need to be about overeating. Gotta save room for dessert *wink*

 

[buy teh haloz]

how do you roll the weights off your body without injuring yourself while bench pressing ?

im finally nearing 225lbs but still scared since my gyms usually really really empty.

It helps if you lower it down to your stomach, rather than your chest, then you can just scoot it onto your hips and sit up. It's been a while since I've done it though

 

[entremet]

I might dial down crazy and change it to solid. I'll have that many calories in the first 30 minutes of my cheat day.

Haha.

See, you do ice cream. I'm not really a big ice cream fan. But ice cream does pack on the calories.

 

[KmA]

I got bicep veins when I was working out today... that is all.

 

[Psychotext]

Good to hear dude!! What have you done so far?

Eaten, mostly. Various restaurants and whatnot. Wedding food too. Mini bulk going well.

Other than that, we walked the Brooklyn bridge (ehh), saw the empire state building and just generally walked around (central park, wall street etc). Only really has the one day for touristy stuff so far.

Every day up at 7am for my workout though. lol

 

[Zero²]

Found a video of some chick that weights 132 and can bench 300 lbs:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-7aKrO6bIM

Turns out she is a 4x World Bench Press champion and he has a fantastic series of videos on how to Bench Press:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34XRmd3a8_0

Holy crap! I was plateauing on my Bench Press for 3 weeks. After applying her techniques and principles today I hit my Bench Numbers like butter. It was even easy today. It really opened my eyes. I thought I had mastered the Bench Press by contracting my scalpula but I never knew about driving the heels through the floor or flaring the lats.

My chest is super sore and I almost never get sore from Chest days. Damn

Nice i'll try it out!

 

[Cooter]

One of my daughter's first goals when she stared lifting was squatting 135x3 and the reward will be sushi. Tomorrow she's going for it and I'm fairly certain she'll get it. Pretty cool that 7 months ago she could barley squat the bar and now she's here.

 

[Psychotext]

Amazing. High five her from GAF when she hits it.

 

[BumRush]

One of my daughter's first goals when she stared lifting was squatting 135x3 and the reward will be sushi. Tomorrow she's going for it and I'm fairly certain she'll get it. Pretty cool that 7 months ago she could barley squat the bar and now she's here.

Damn dude. Congrats!

_____________________

Psycho, sounds like you're having a good time! Did you do the bridge at night? It's actually beautiful at night!

 

[Psychotext]

No, was daytime. Was actually told to avoid it at night (guy who told me that is a bit of a pussy though; he also told me to wear shades on the subway so as not to make eye contact.)

 

[goldlion054]

I work for a pretty small company and the owner is pretty big into lifting. So I'm pretty fortunate that I have a proper weight room at my workplace that gives me access to all a boy could ask for (except a row machine, which we're working on). I keep a membership to Planet Fitness, though, because it is convenient for cardio when the weather isn't fantastic (like it tends to be several months of the year in Michigan). Today was one of those days, so I boogied over to PF and played cardio bunny today. While I was cooling down on a stationary bike, I noticed another member was putting on a pretty heavy load on the Smith machine to squat with. So I naturally watched. He was looking good until I realized he was lifting up off his toes, which we know is a no-no. I really pondered for a while if I should try and help him with form or not. He has deloaded and left by the time I looked back and I didn't see him again.

TLDR; Guy had poor form on Smith machine for squats and I didn't say anything. Should I approach him next time?

PS. He had much more weight on the smith machine than I'm capable of squatting right now

 

[BumRush]

No, was daytime. Was actually told to avoid it at night (guy who told me that is a bit of a pussy though; he also told me to wear shades on the subway so as not to make eye contact.)

Lol it's one of the safest places to be in the city at night. Tons of lights and lots of people doing the same. I know at least 7-8 people that have proposed there!!

 

[Raxus]

It has been ages since I posted here.

I am starting out again after being gone a couple years due to school and I need some basic workouts split up into 3 days to get up to speed again so I can start pushing myself to get into shape.

Any suggestions.

 

[BumRush]

It has been ages since I posted here.

I am starting out again after being gone a couple years due to school and I need some basic workouts split up into 3 days to get up to speed again so I can start pushing myself to get into shape.

Any suggestions.

M: squat 5x5 and 2-3 leg accesories
W: bench 5x5 and 1 chest accessory, OHP 5x5 and 1 shoulder accessory
F: DL 3x5 and 2-3 back accesories

 

[witness]

Going back to the gym for the first time in basically two years. In a 2 1/2 year period I went from 285 to 205. In 2014 I dropped about 25lbs over the summer and completely burnt out on exercise. In the two years since I only exercised a handful of times and have gotten back up to 245. I hate myself that I let this happen and just was so lazy. I felt so amazing at 205 and I need that feeling back. I remember being so proud going from a XXL to a large and dropping from a 42 to 36 waist. My ultimate goal is 185ish (6'0 tall). I'm excited because my wife is ready to go and exercise with me. Any tips for getting started again? We are gonna go 4 days a week, after work during the week and once on weekends.

 

[Cindi Mayweather]

Found a video of some chick that weights 132 and can bench 300 lbs:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-7aKrO6bIM

Turns out she is a 4x World Bench Press champion and he has a fantastic series of videos on how to Bench Press:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34XRmd3a8_0

Holy crap! I was plateauing on my Bench Press for 3 weeks. After applying her techniques and principles today I hit my Bench Numbers like butter. It was even easy today. It really opened my eyes. I thought I had mastered the Bench Press by contracting my scalpula but I never knew about driving the heels through the floor or flaring the lats.

My chest is super sore and I almost never get sore from Chest days. Damn

Amazing

 

[MMarston]

So after five months of newbie weightlifting 3x a week (albeit with 1 month vacation in Europe), I'm feeling a lot more energetic now and it definitely feels a little more satisfying than running even though that's what I predominantly do.

That said, I seem to still be dun' goofing at overhead presses. It's the only exercise where I can't seem to finish a 5x5 circuit - I buckle at around 4.3. Not just that, but it's the one routine where I'm still stalling a lot at in terms of weight progression. I''ve been stuck at just 70lbs total barbell weight doing that for a while now. Guess I need to figure out which part of my posture is messy.

 

[WoodWERD]

Once you're past the 'beginner phase,' how indicative is soreness for an effective workout? I rarely feel really sore these days, even though I feel like jelly at the end of my workouts. I'm assuming if I'm not sore, I'm not working hard enough to tear muscle fibers and therefore stalling. Is it time to change things up from my current routine, or is my thinking off base?

/edit - Thanks for that plateau video below, gives me some direction.

 

[Randolph Freelander]

So after five months of newbie weightlifting 3x a week (albeit with 1 month vacation in Europe), I'm feeling a lot more energetic now and it definitely feels a little more satisfying than running even though that's what I predominantly do.

That said, I seem to still be dun' goofing at overhead presses. It's the only exercise where I can't seem to finish a 5x5 circuit - I buckle at around 4.3. Not just that, but it's the one routine where I'm still stalling a lot at in terms of weight progression. I''ve been stuck at just 70lbs total barbell weight doing that for a while now. Guess I need to figure out which part of my posture is messy.

I'm right there with you on OHP. Have you deloaded? The program would suggest going back 10% if you've been stuck 3+ workouts and working back up. Another approach, which from my linked post, I'm keen to follow, is to increase volume at a lower weight. Alan Thrall's suggestion if you've hit a 3x5/5x5 plateau is to maybe go 75% of your 5rm for 50 reps split over as many sets as you need to get there. He calls that out specifically for OHP here, and he has a general video for plateaus here.

I'm stuck at 90. I think it's probably well too early for both of us to think of plateaus in a general sense, but I'm open to switching it up for a brief period because OHP has been my hardest exercise to show progress, for sure.

 

[Greddleok]

Anyone have tips for increasing shoulder stability?

I did some snatches and OH squats over the weekend, and the only part of me that was constantly failing was my right shoulder. I can't seem to stabilise the weight over my head without it feeling like it's going to pop my shoulder out the socket.

Any ideas for shoulder stability exercises (other than doing more OH squats)?

 

[JoeNut]

You could try with Dumbbells instead of bar so it helps you concentrate on the weakness I guess

 

[KillerBEA]

Anyone have tips for increasing shoulder stability?

I did some snatches and OH squats over the weekend, and the only part of me that was constantly failing was my right shoulder. I can't seem to stabilise the weight over my head without it feeling like it's going to pop my shoulder out the socket.

Any ideas for shoulder stability exercises (other than doing more OH squats)?

Pressing with unstable weight. Using some bands or rope tie a kettlebell or plate and hang that off the barbell, press it. You could squat like this too. For this though make you go light.

Like this but without the specialty bar.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMcsVbdxQOQ

 

[Arrowgigantic]

5/3/1 is great for improving OHP. Doing one set of as many reps as possible plus the 5x12 inclines on bench day is crazy good.