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Fitness |OT9|...You looked better before

P

Pyrokai

Member
Chocobro said:
Everyone won't know how many calories they're burning without tracking and learning a bit more about their body over time. Go with whatever the calculator says; don't need to follow the pie chart, just keep the calories and macros the same for every day. Eat the calories every day for a few weeks while weighing yourself. If your weight isn't going towards your goal, then adjust the calories.

I'll use myself as an example. My goal is to bulk.
I was eating 2700 calories for a month, average weight per week was dropping. Increased it to 2800 for a month, average weight per week didn't change all that much, so that must be my maintenance calories. Increased it to 2900 for a month, average weight per week was increasing. Increase was pretty decent per week so I stick with it.

Takes time and patience.
Click to expand...

Bah! I literally just sent you a PM. Ignore! Haha.

I understand I should follow the calculator, but I don't know which calories to follow since it gives you two results. Also, I commute to work on a bike for 7 miles, so that's why it's crucial for me to know whether to include my "lifting" workout calories as an exercise in MyFitnessPal + bikiing calories burned, then eat at either a surplus or deficit. I guess if I were to sum it up: Which calorie amount do you follow that pops up in the calculator? And on days you work out, do you input those calories burned into your MyFitnessPal tracking?
 
P

Psychotext

Member
frontieruk said:
Car sped through a gap in traffic, wiped me out, fractured vertebrae, both knees fucked, took 8 months to get my back into a comfortable situation, another 18 months to get my knees sorted followed by 4 months of intensive physio to sort out all the imbalances the injuries left and still find it hard to tuck in as my back doesn't move how it used too.
Click to expand...

Sorry to hear that man. Riding on the road terrifies me, and that's coming from someone that hurls themselves down rock filled hillsides at barely controllable speeds.

Pyrokai said:
I understand I should follow the calculator, butbi don't know which calories to follow since it gives you two results. Also, I commute to work on a bike for 7 miles, so that's why it's crucial for me to know whether o include my "lifting" workout calories as an exercise in MyFitnessPal + booking calories burned, then eat at either a surplus or deficit. I guess ifbj were to sum it up: which calorie amount do you follow that pops up in the calculator and one days you work out, do you input those calories burned into your MyFitnessPal tracking?
Click to expand...

This is going to sound short... but it's really not that complicated; I think you're stressing over nothing.

Pick a number. Lets say... 2,500kcal. Do all the shit you do, eat the macros you think fit best... and get to the end of the week. Did you lose weight (I assume you're trying to lose weight)? Yes? Great, carry on at that level. Lose more than you liked? Add a few calories every day. Didn't lose anything? Drop the calories a bit. It's really that simple.

If you absolutely have to, choose to eat say, 300kcal more on a lifting day, and 300kcal less on a rest day (so 2,500 plus or minus 300kcal). Keep all your macros the same other than carbs (which either go up or down to cover the calorie difference, ensuring you always get enough protein and fat). Job done. Do exactly the same as above at the end of each week.

...and final option. Go with what MFP told you was your target calorie intake. Put your workouts in it, eat what it tells you to eat. Don't like what happened to your weight that week? See above, then put the new number in as your MFP target.

You're overthinking it. The calculators are almost entirely bollocks anyway. When I started my metabolism was so completely fucked that I couldn't lose weight until I got down to the 1,400kcal a day levels. I was later able to bulk on only 2,000kcal a day. People can be very different.
 
C

Chocobro

Member
Pyrokai said:
Bah! I literally just sent you a PM. Ignore! Haha.

I understand I should follow the calculator, but I don't know which calories to follow since it gives you two results. Also, I commute to work on a bike for 7 miles, so that's why it's crucial for me to know whether to include my "lifting" workout calories as an exercise in MyFitnessPal + bikiing calories burned, then eat at either a surplus or deficit. I guess if I were to sum it up: Which calorie amount do you follow that pops up in the calculator? And on days you work out, do you input those calories burned into your MyFitnessPal tracking?
Click to expand...

What I would do if I were you is go back to the calculator and put the activity to "Moderately Active" if you commute to work on a bike on top of lifting. Use the calories in the workout day, that's your starting calories to learn more about your body. Eat that and track your weight every day that for several weeks. Are you gaining/losing/maintaining weight? Adjust to your goal. If you're trying to cut, decrease the calories. Eat your new calories for several weeks more and repeat.

I wouldn't input your activity into MFP; use it only to track your calories and food.


Edit: Psycho, I wish I can bulk on 2000 calories :( Saves me a lot of pain in meal planning and eating. I feel like I'm eating full-time with 2900 calories.
 
T

Team Jones

Member
Faith said:
As a man, can you get an ass that's too big? Everyone is already calling me Mr. Booty.
Click to expand...


I want a more pronounced ass, but my hamstrings take over. I have to isolate my glutes to work them. The thickness of my lower body simply over-shadows my ass.
 
J

Jacksinthe

Banned
No shit. Went up in BB curls by 10lbs this week. First week of a cut, no less.

I AM SO AMAZING AT THIS GAME

Edit: except for the final boss. Losing that game right now. Drop sets are like the Dark Souls of lifting.
 
S

S.Holmes

Banned
I have a question to the more experienced and knowledged members in here.

What's the best way to burn belly fat ? I am fairly thin but have a bit of a belly and need a way of burning this. Going out to fitness isn't an option. I was considering of buying an equipment for this as I'm having trouble losing belly fat with just doing rope skipping (legs and leg bones hurt to the point where I can't properly jump after a while) and it takes a while to recover and by then it's pointless (maybe I need special shoes ?) so is there a perfect equipment for this ?

I was thinking of buying a treadmill but they're fairly expensive but an elliptical trainer is a bit cheaper and less of a hassle setting up but does that work as well as getting rid of belly fat as a treadmill ? Are there any other equipments for burning belly fat (rowing trainer, cycle trainer etc.) ? Cycle trainer seems to fairly cheap too and setting up is easy and doesn't take too much space. Is one or the other device here much better in terms of losing fat or do they all do the job fairly well ?
 
P

Psychotext

Member
There is no way to actively target fat burning at a particular body part. Where you get fat is almost entirely genetic. It's why when I get to low body fat levels I look like I'm dying of a horrible disease, because I carry virtually no fat in my face or arms.

All you can do is lose fat everywhere, and the best way to do that is a good diet.

(There are of course options like liposuction... but that's a whole other ball game.)
 
S

Subtle

Member
S.Holmes said:
I have a question to the more experienced and knowledged members in here.

What's the best way to burn belly fat ? I am fairly thin but have a bit of a belly and need a way of burning this. Going out to fitness isn't an option. I was considering of buying an equipment for this as I'm having trouble losing belly fat with just doing rope skipping (legs and leg bones hurt to the point where I can't properly jump after a while) and it takes a while to recover and by then it's pointless (maybe I need special shoes ?) so is there a perfect equipment for this ?

I was thinking of buying a treadmill but they're fairly expensive but an elliptical trainer is a bit cheaper and less of a hassle setting up but does that work as well as getting rid of belly fat as a treadmill ? Are there any other equipments for burning belly fat (rowing trainer, cycle trainer etc.) ? Cycle trainer seems to fairly cheap too and setting up is easy and doesn't take too much space. Is one or the other device here much better in terms of losing fat or do they all do the job fairly well ?
Click to expand...

Eat less if you can't exercise more. There's a calorie calculator in the OP you can use where you put in your weight, age, height, etc and it'll calculate how much you need to eat to lose weight. There's no such thing as spot fat removal. You either lose fat all over or none at all.
 
frontieruk

frontieruk

Member
Psychotext said:
Sorry to hear that man. Riding on the road terrifies me, and that's coming from someone that hurls themselves down rock filled hillsides at barely controllable speeds.
Click to expand...

Shit happens, you just pick yourself up and get on with it. I've dirt tracked a few times on my hard tail, was still quick, but always ended up in shock after the ride, will keep doing it though can only get better.
 
D

Dead Prince

Banned
I think I'm lactose intolerant. Just had some milk based ice cream and it gave me gas. Haven't had any for awhile and fart didn't have a smell. Rip
 
P

Psychotext

Member
lol... if I worried about foods that gave me gas I'd never eat anything. If I'm honest, since I started actively trying to build muscle... I've not smelt so good (I assume because of all the protein).
 
D

Dead Prince

Banned
Lol I was cutting out dairy for Accutane. But that ice cream looked good I think it's been a few months since consumed anything dairy so. I'll just take some lactaid pills next time lol
 
C

Cooter

Lacks the power of instantaneous movement
Jacksinthe said:
No shit. Went up in BB curls by 10lbs this week. First week of a cut, no less.

I AM SO AMAZING AT THIS GAME

Edit: except for the final boss. Losing that game right now. Drop sets are like the Dark Souls of lifting.
Click to expand...
How's it going on the cut so far? Probably noticing your body tightening up I'd imagine.
 
J

Jacksinthe

Banned
Cooter said:
How's it going on the cut so far? Probably noticing your body tightening up I'd imagine.
Click to expand...
Definitely need to hit a few more warmup sets to get going. Noticed it more on back yesterday. Hunger bouts and grumbling here and there.

Glucose is also good. Today I wanted to fly close to the sun and see how low I can go and fly steady. Mid 70s all day no problem. Lowered my basal (base rate, steady drip) during my lifts and cardio to offset the burn a bit. Came out high 70s when I finished which was good. I was aiming 80-120 this week but I know the tighter it is, the more beneficial nutrients become. So I'm keeping both my eyes on it like a hawk and trying for extra tight control.

Feel tighter, right now especially arms. Moving towards 5x5 for all of the main lifts over the next two weeks and keeping accessories 6-10, alternating weeks low/high. Lowered rest periods to 80 seconds. That has the largest effect on my follow up sets.

Cardio is going good, too. 10 minute light jog on the mill for warmup, then 10 minutes of sprinting back and forth in the yard. One way is 90-100% speed, way back is light jog. Then heavy bag for 10. 30s light, 30s fast and heavy, 30s real real light - alternating arms/legs each round.

First few days were kind of a pain energy wise but I felt good yesterday and today. Been making sure to get my sleep in. Once this week is over the initial shock of "where'd my food go?" will be easier. Going to take extra care of the weight drops as I don't want strength to fall off too much so I'm documenting everything pretty hard, especially with my glucose control. A lot of this is new to me without a working thyroid so I have no idea what to expect day in day out. Energy management was a thing for me bulking and I'm treating this the same. Keeping my logs and reviewing every week. If I have an "off day" I'll analyze what I did, ate, how much sleep I got, etc. So I know to avoid pitfalls. That is much worse than diabetes, IMO. Thyroid med absorption is picky.

Probably overkill but so is half the shit I code. I blame the programmer side of me.
 
Q

Quasar

Member
Finally starting to see reviews of the Garmin Vivoactive HR trickle out.

http://youtu.be/6RJIpXvHs_Q

Maybe I'll finally bite the bullet and buy a tracker. Seems to have the features I want at a not too expensive price. Still a bit annoyed that you can't get a android wear watch with this kind of feature set.
 
T

Teggy

Member
Well, I tried the new Quest chips, and while they are definitely better, for me that's saying they've gone from "kinda gross" to "edible". It's a shame, because the macros are pretty awesome. I don't care for flavored chips so I've only had the sea salt ones. I would say if they doubled the salt that might finally make them acceptable.
 
D

Dinjooh

Member
Tried front squats for the first time today. While I was doing it I felt pretty sore in my wrist, almost to the point where I wondered if I should stop, but now 30 mins after - I have no soreness or pain at all.

Usual stuff or?
 
Kanhir

Kanhir

Member
Hey, FitGAF! Newbie here at 185cm/125kg. Emphatically not a healthy place to be.

This year I hi kind of a low point emotionally, and decided it was about time to get serious about losing weight. Since I'm shit at keeping track of things, I decided to leverage technology to help me out (i.e. make something else count my stats for me), so I'm tracking all of my intake on MFP and have a Fitbit Charge HR keeping track of my movements.

There's a gym between me and work that I pass every day (that I'm even a member of - I went for a while a few years ago), but I constantly lack the motivation to drop in. I'm not even sure why, it's just like every time I walk past it I say "yes, must go in some day" and then never do. Is there any kind of fake courage anyone can offer?
(As penance, I use the stairs instead of the lifts at work - I'm on the 12th floor, so that adds up to about 50+ floors per day. It's something.)

I tried taking up running back in 2012, but the concrete on my route ended up giving me shin splints which I never really recovered from - I can't take any impact, whether running or jumping, without shooting pains in my shins. Any recommendations on how to deal with this?
 
P

Psychotext

Member
Three days of cycling ahead, anywhere from 8 hours to 12 hours a day. Any bets on how much weight (probably muscle) I'll lose by the end of it?

I'm going for 5lbs.
 
J

Jacksinthe

Banned
TheFlow said:
Starting next week.

Thought I responded back earlier
Click to expand...
My apologies, I may have missed it. It might be OK if it's mostly water retention. But losing that much per week is too much, IMO. However, I've seen people do it and those that usually do ha e been bulking/cutting for many cycles so they know their ins/outs of their bodies.

I think Cooter does massive bulk/cut cycles and he is always on point every time but he knows his body and how it reacts.

Paging Cooter...

Psychotext said:
Three days of cycling ahead, anywhere from 8 hours to 12 hours a day. Any bets on how much weight (probably muscle) I'll lose by the end of it?

I'm going for 5lbs.
Click to expand...
I'll take the under with 4.2
 
T

TheFlow

Banned
Jacksinthe said:
My apologies, I may have missed it. It might be OK if it's mostly water retention. But losing that much per week is too much, IMO. However, I've seen people do it and those that usually do ha e been bulking/cutting for many cycles so they know their ins/outs of their bodies.

I think Cooter does massive bulk/cut cycles and he is always on point every time but he knows his body and how it reacts.

Paging Cooter...


I'll take the under with 4.2
Click to expand...
Ahh gotcha
 
D

Deleted member 17706

Unconfirmed Member
Kanhir said:
Hey, FitGAF! Newbie here at 185cm/125kg. Emphatically not a healthy place to be.

This year I hi kind of a low point emotionally, and decided it was about time to get serious about losing weight. Since I'm shit at keeping track of things, I decided to leverage technology to help me out (i.e. make something else count my stats for me), so I'm tracking all of my intake on MFP and have a Fitbit Charge HR keeping track of my movements.

There's a gym between me and work that I pass every day (that I'm even a member of - I went for a while a few years ago), but I constantly lack the motivation to drop in. I'm not even sure why, it's just like every time I walk past it I say "yes, must go in some day" and then never do. Is there any kind of fake courage anyone can offer?
(As penance, I use the stairs instead of the lifts at work - I'm on the 12th floor, so that adds up to about 50+ floors per day. It's something.)

I tried taking up running back in 2012, but the concrete on my route ended up giving me shin splints which I never really recovered from - I can't take any impact, whether running or jumping, without shooting pains in my shins. Any recommendations on how to deal with this?
Click to expand...

If you weigh 125 kg and not on purpose (from body building for many years), then you have no business running at all in my opinion. Not only will it be miserable, but you'll probably do short and long-term damage from all of that impact.

If you like running, lose the weight first then get into it.
 
T

Tater Tot

"My God... it's full of Starch!"
Was waiting for the 32.5 lb DBs today to do lateral raises with but they were in use. So i got the 35 lb DBs and set the on the floor. As I was writing in my workout journal that I was going to use 35 instead of 32.5 some guy came over and starting doing dumbbell curls with them. I looked at him and walked over and said "I am using those" and he just said "yeah" and did 6 more reps and then threw them on the floor. It was pretty embarassing as other people were looking at me and laughing. I got really fucking pissed off but I felt more embarassed about myself for not doing anything about it.

Just wanted to vent.
 
J

Jacksinthe

Banned
Aaaaand a little too close to the sun tonight. 57 mg/DL on my glucose. But I'm learning how my body responds on a cut so that's good. I'll have this down in another week for sure.
 
S

SeanR1221

Member
Tomorrow I'm going in to end my gym membership at retro. Not looking forward to it as I'm pretty friendly with the owner.

I've heard from other past members they try and persuade you anyway they can.

I'll tell them if they get a power rack and bumper plates I'll stay ;/
 
T

TheFlow

Banned
Tater Tot said:
Was waiting for the 32.5 lb DBs today to do lateral raises with but they were in use. So i got the 35 lb DBs and set the on the floor. As I was writing in my workout journal that I was going to use 35 instead of 32.5 some guy came over and starting doing dumbbell curls with them. I looked at him and walked over and said "I am using those" and he just said "yeah" and did 6 more reps and then threw them on the floor. It was pretty embarassing as other people were looking at me and laughing. I got really fucking pissed off but I felt more embarassed about myself for not doing anything about it.

Just wanted to vent.
Click to expand...
Not worth a fist fight.

Did you call him an asshole at least. Throwing weights on the floor is a dick move
 
F

Faith

Member
My arms are growing so slow :(

Over the last 8 months my bodyweight went up from 72 kg to 88 kg. I got pretty strong in a short time, but also gained a lot of fat (hopefully not more than 8kg).

Shoulders: 117 -> 127 cm
Chest: 99 -> 111 cm
Waist: 78 -> 84 cm
Belly: 79 -> 86.5 cm
Tights 55.5 -> 64 cm
Calfes: 36 -> 39.5 cm
Arms: 33.5 -> 37 cm
Forearms: 30 -> 32 cm

Bad arm genetics or do I need patience? I mean if I would diet and loose all the fat I gained, I think I would go back to 35cm. So +1.5cm in my first bulking year :/
 
J

Jacksinthe

Banned
Down 3 lbs even. I'm going to say that's a lot of water weight. Will continue to monitor the next week and if I need to, up some calories to slow the cut down.

Faith said:
My arms are growing so slow :(

Over the last 8 months my bodyweight went up from 72 kg to 88 kg. I got pretty strong in a short time, but also gained a lot of fat (hopefully not more than 8kg).

Shoulders: 117 -> 127 cm
Chest: 99 -> 111 cm
Waist: 78 -> 84 cm
Belly: 79 -> 86.5 cm
Tights 55.5 -> 64 cm
Calfes: 36 -> 39.5 cm
Arms: 33.5 -> 37 cm
Forearms: 30 -> 32 cm

Bad arm genetics or do I need patience? I mean if I would diet and loose all the fat I gained, I think I would go back to 35cm. So +1.5cm in my first bulking year :/
Click to expand...

What muscle group first comes to mind when thinking of arms? If it's not Tris - you are missing out.

Tris are a huge part of arms. I don't know your rep range but def aim for hypertrophy with them over strength.

Lots of weighted dips. Underhand pushdown with bar or single hand work amazingly well for me. Skull crushers with dumbbells - go past the head and to keep tension on the press up, don't go perpendicular to the floor - rotate your shoulder up your arm is 30-45 degrees on the squeeze as there is little tension on the Tris when fully contracted if they are kept perpendicular to the floor.

I have a hard time with bis - they get strong but not wide or tall so I focus on tris for arm size.

Otherwise if your Tris are stacked and your bicep is failing to grow I would look into form and wrist pronation/supination during these exercises. I would make sure to keep them supinated as possible with a wider grip on a straight bar, holding dumbbells off-center to force more needed force to supinate, eliminate supported lifts like preacher, drag-style curling and spider curls. Keep dem elbows back when doing a standard BB curl. Forearm should never be perpendicular on the contraction.

Other than that - you may just have smaller arms or they may take more/less volume to grow. Evryone is different.

Judging by your progress since you started I doubt it's form tho. You are on point with a lot of stuff so I can't see you passing this up, honestly.
 
F

Faith

Member
Yeah it's my non-existing triceps. I'm usually doing everything in the 8-15 rep range except my main lifts.
 
X

Xun

Member
Xun said:
I'm not what I would call overweight at all (I get called slim at times), but how exactly can I lose fat in my face/neck?

I want to look a bit more chiselled, preferably without surgery...
Click to expand...
Anyone?

I know I can't target losing weight in my face/neck, but will getting fitter help or is it pretty much a loss cause? I know a lot of it is hereditary (which is why I assume some fatter people than me have less neck fat).
 
D

Deleted member 17706

Unconfirmed Member
Xun said:
Anyone?

I know I can't target losing weight in my face/neck, but will getting fitter help or is it pretty much a loss cause? I know a lot of it is hereditary (which is why I assume some fatter people than me have less neck fat).
Click to expand...

Reducing your body fat % will improve this, yes. I've never seen a fit person with low body fat that had a fat face/neck.
 
X

Xun

Member
Zefah said:
Reducing your body fat % will improve this, yes. I've never seen a fit person with low body fat that had a fat face/neck.
Click to expand...
Cheers.

I just find it strange since I'm not really fat at all, even if I do have a little bit of fat here and there.

I mostly get called thin!

I just hope I can lose the neck fat since I'm incredibly self-conscious about it (I even try and suck it in, which seems to work believe it or not).
 
A

AudioNoir

Banned
So this'll be my first time posting...

Can anyone tell me what would be a better option when cutting out alcohol? My situation is this-- I count calories using MyFitnessPal, and track excercise and whatnot with a Fitbit. So far, things have been REALLY good. Losing weight at a healthy rate, building a little muscle, and I'm definitely seeing changes for the better. My only vice is alcohol, which I restrict to weekends unless I happen to go out for dinner during the week, which isn't too often.

Two reasons I want to cut the booze is because 1) obviously it'll help with my weight loss goals, and 2) I feel like shit after drinking alcohol, no matter how much or little I have.

I already drink a lot of water, tea, and some coffee. I guess I'm looking for a treat to have on weekends in the evening when my husband is having a beer or three. Should I go with diet pop, or would it be too much to just have regular pop?

Thanks, fitness guys.
 
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