Post: #26

(03-13-2013 10:57 AM)Nascimento Wrote:  I started a cut mid January and up until mid February, I was making steady progress, I had lost 4-5 pounds. Then lately past 2-3 weeks, very negligible progress.

So I decided to cut for just 3 more weeks - no more, no less. After that it will be over. First few days since I started this have been extremely solid.

Just set yourself a date, make sure you count calories, drink lots of water.. and be strict on yourself.

I am in the same boat as you. I lift 5 days per week, crossfit 2-3 times, soccer twice per week, and now softball once per week but am only seeing minor changes.

I was very consistent with my calorie countng but have fallen off a bit.. need to get back on it. Usually aim for about 200g of protein, 150g of carbs, and 60g of fats which amounts to about 2000 calories. I used to chow down on pita chips as a significant portion of my carbs so I am substituting those with fruits for pre/post workouts.

Gotta stay motivated.

Post: #27

Don't cold showers increase metabolism and promote weight loss?

Post: #28

(03-13-2013 01:36 PM)_GQ_ Wrote:  Don't cold showers increase metabolism and promote weight loss?

The effects are probably negligible.

Post: #29

When I started lifting 6 months ago I was 5'10'' 130lb.. I began on stronglifts 5x5, but now do my own regime that is based around the 20 rep squat programme. If you need to build mass I highly recommend 20 rep squats. I'm 170lb now, aiming for 176. I just can't decide whether i'm going to cut over summer and lose some of my size or keep my size but be less defined..

Post: #30

(03-13-2013 02:12 PM)Flying20pCoins Wrote:  When I started lifting 6 months ago I was 5'10'' 130lb.. I began on stronglifts 5x5, but now do my own regime that is based around the 20 rep squat programme. If you need to build mass I highly recommend 20 rep squats. I'm 170lb now, aiming for 176. I just can't decide whether i'm going to cut over summer and lose some of my size or keep my size but be less defined..

what is your body fat before & after? also, what and how much did you eat and what supps did you take? impressive gains.

Post: #31

(03-13-2013 02:30 PM)juice Wrote:  

(03-13-2013 02:12 PM)Flying20pCoins Wrote:  When I started lifting 6 months ago I was 5'10'' 130lb.. I began on stronglifts 5x5, but now do my own regime that is based around the 20 rep squat programme. If you need to build mass I highly recommend 20 rep squats. I'm 170lb now, aiming for 176. I just can't decide whether i'm going to cut over summer and lose some of my size or keep my size but be less defined..

what is your body fat before & after? also, what and how much did you eat and what supps did you take? impressive gains.

Before I was around 10%, now I'm around 16% which is pretty high I guess. I never counted calories I just ate a load of eggs, chicken, tuna, beef and drank loads of whole milk.. in terms of supps I use creatine, whey and Craze pre-workout..

Post: #32

my guess is that when most of you say your body fat is "around" whatever number...just add 3-5% to it for the real number.

everyone, and I mean everyone, under estimates their bodyfat.

I have a body metrix scanner which I use weekly to do a sonogram measurement of fat levels that tells me I am 23% BF. which is very high. but i do crossfit 5 days a week and lots of power/oly lifting etc..you'd think it be lower.

even just using calipers is easy to screw up.

if you are serious about tracking this stuff you have to invest in DEXA scanning or buy this body metrix thing, its pretty sweet.

Post: #33

oh and re the OP:

current - goal

deadlift 445 - 500
squat 345 - 400
overhead press 185-225
powerclean 235 - 275
clean and jerk 230 - 275
snatch 185 - 225

i dont bench right now but my max was 235 i think. pretty low

Post: #34

Current:
5'6'' 152lbs bf% somewhere between 10-15%
Deadlift Max: 385lbs
Bench Max: 225lbs
Squat Max: 330lbs
Overhead Press Max: 140lbs

Goal 145lbs at sub 10%BF
Deadlift: 405
Bench: 225 for 8 reps
Squat: 315 for 8 reps
Overhead Press: 185

Post: #35

(03-12-2013 11:01 PM)Nascimento Wrote:  I am currently weighing in at 149lbs, ~18% body fat, 5'7. Once I get to about 145lbs in a few weeks, I will finish this cut and start adding muscle slowly.

My goal weight in the near future will be somewhere between 160-170 lbs, lean with anywhere from 10-15% body fat.

What are your current stats, and what is your ideal goal weight and why? I feel my goal weight allows me to have a great build, without giving too much of a meathead look. Also, I play soccer on and off throughout the year and can't sacrifice speed for weight.

What about you?

Op do you have hardly any muscle? because 150lbs for someone 5'7'' is a pretty lean weight and if your at 18% bf you would have to have a small amount of muscle to be at that weight

Post: #36

Some of the guys here are throwing some serious iron. I don't think I'll be able to get to that level for another year.
What do you guys do to break 225 on the bench? Benching pyramids or just make sure to hit chest twice a week?

(03-13-2013 12:40 PM)WesternCancer Wrote:  

(03-13-2013 01:48 AM)Jaylow Wrote:  Pretty nice lifting stats Western, especially for this board. Your bench is insanely low compared to your sq and DL. Your plateau questions were for bench? What are your tri exercises?

Quote:I prefer food over the dedication it would take to get single digit bf.

Same. I love food so much, especially fast food and sour candy. Ive had all my abs visible once in my life for about half a year. Its really hard to get to that point and then maintain. I am working a heavy intensive labour job for the next 7 months so getting low BF will be easy. Keeping most of my muscle is going to be very hard on the other hand.

I used to have a bunch of limiting beliefs about the bench and a ton of excuses. Hardly trained it cuz I was a pussy haha. Now I ask for spots so I'm not afraid of failure, I'm doing tons of volume to work on form. As for tricep stuff I do jm presses then close grips.

Same here. I still hate bench but I'm benching more now than I've ever done, which is great.
I have found that getting my press up, doing weighted dips (still doing low reps because weak) and that kind of thing have great carryover to the bench. I have also noticed that some people here are doing intermediate to somewhat advanced level overhead pressing (kind of jealous to be honest ), this is great since it's such an underrated but important lift.

Post: #37

I used to lift more in high school but I ate like shit and drank a lot first two years of university which made me gain weight. Right now Im at 265 35% bf. Short term goal is 200 lbs single digit bf. Im starting to eat more of a paleo type diet, the only modification i made is one serving of grains in the morning.

My workout plan for the summer

Supplements

1 fish oil 1000mg, 1 b complex, 1 ginko biloba, 1 vitamin D 2000 iu in the morning. One 1000 mg fish oil at night. I also have one protein shake with whey isolate protein only one scoop.

Workout

Thursdays: 3 reps x 6 sets dead lifts, 3 sets of dips each set to failure, 3 sets overhead press

Friday: HIIT

Saturday: 10 reps x 3 sets for flat bench, incline bench, lat pull down, seated row, bicep curls, concentration curls, triceps extensions, skull crushes and shrugs but I do my shrugs with dumbbells. I do farmers carries with dumbbells and then I do lateral and forward raises for shoulders. and then 3 different body weight ab workouts

Sunday: HIIT

Monday: 3x6 front squats, 2 variations of pull ups. 3 sets per variation and each set to failure.

I also go for a walk every morning on an empty stomach for one hour and I may start doing bjj again but Im not sure just yet.

Ill keep a record of my results and let you guys know how this works out.

Post: #38

(03-14-2013 12:37 AM)Hades Wrote:  Some of the guys here are throwing some serious iron. I don't think I'll be able to get to that level for another year.
What do you guys do to break 225 on the bench? Benching pyramids or just make sure to hit chest twice a week?

For my bench sets I pyramid up in weights and down in reps as it gets heavier. then I do 5 sets of a moderate weight to add more quality volume because typically heavier sets that are 1-5 reps and really dont burn out the muscle enough. Then each month I add about 5lbs to my weight for every set.

It might sound thats not a lot but if your consistent adding 20lbs to your bench in 4 months is a pretty solid gain especially if your stuck at a plateau

too increase your weights you just have to be patient and consistently increase the weight and make sure your eating enough food to gain muscle

Post: #39

(03-14-2013 12:32 AM)AlphaEnchantment Wrote:  Op do you have hardly any muscle? because 150lbs for someone 5'7'' is a pretty lean weight and if your at 18% bf you would have to have a small amount of muscle to be at that weight

I think you've been watching too much football. 150 at 5'7" sounds fairly normal if you have an average to slender build (or would have been prior to Americans becoming pigs). 18% isn't athletic but is towards the lower end of average for a guy. Probably the typical stats of a shorter guy in the 1950s.

Nate Diaz is 6' and fights at 155 (probably 170 walking around) and has low but not bodybuilder level bf%. Probably an idealized example of what someone with a thin build who works out for tone and low fat rather than bulk might strive for.

Post: #40

Quote:Op do you have hardly any muscle? because 150lbs for someone 5'7'' is a pretty lean weight and if your at 18% bf you would have to have a small amount of muscle to be at that weight

I think it's really subjective. If I were to post a picture and go for feedback on the bodybuilding forums, everyone would say I am too skinny and to bulk up. However, my friends that don't lift/do so casually, and girls sometimes refer to me as having a good build and athletic frame.

Personally, I know I'm quite lean, and don't have that much lean muscle mass. But I am at a great starting point. My arms are skinny but still have a decent build. My back, chest, and lower body muscle groups are decently shaped. With ~15 body fat and a bit more 'tone' than I have now, I would probably be classified by many people as having an athletic, multisport frame over 'jacked' frame.

It might have something to do with my age group, though, not sure. All the feedback I mentioned I hear from people that are very close to my age (19).

Post: #41

To break my plateau I worked around the bench. I improved my shoulder/military press, did dips, and did incline/decline free weights and machines. Shoulder strength, especially rotator cuff is important for the bench.

Post: #42

I'm 6'2" 260lbs and about 20%-21% body fat. My goal is to get down and maintain a weight below 230lbs. I have no doubts I will be able to accomplish this.

I have always been naturally strong but never really worked out until about a year ago with a garbage routine. Finally this past September I found Intermittent Fasting and Strong Lifts 5x5 and started both at the same time. The results have been good so far with some setbacks due to bad form.
Starting Current Goal
Squat 135 405 500+
Bench Press 135 225 315+
Overhead Press 85 165 225+
Barbell Row 105 245 285+
Dead lift 160 415 550+


Even though I could technically move the weight I forced myself to lower the working weight of my overhead press and barbell row twice to regain proper form and I have only not made weight once for both squat and deadlift. The bench press is another story though. I cant seem to break 230lbs no matter how hard I try. I'll keep chipping away at it until I break the wall.

Post: #43

Any suggestions on the cheapest way to measure body fat accurately. I have a scale that purports to measure body fat%, but looking at the numbers overtime it's obvious 90% of the figure it spits out is dependent on a age/height/weight formula rather than the electrical current it is supposedly monitoring.

Calipers are the only economical alternative I can think of. Anyone have any experience with them? Is it VERY easy to mess up the measurements?

Post: #44

(03-14-2013 11:39 AM)Bad Hussar Wrote:  Any suggestions on the cheapest way to measure body fat accurately. I have a scale that purports to measure body fat%, but looking at the numbers overtime it's obvious 90% of the figure it spits out is dependent on a age/height/weight formula rather than the electrical current it is supposedly monitoring.

Calipers are the only economical alternative I can think of. Anyone have any experience with them? Is it VERY easy to mess up the measurements?

I use calipers. They're not the end all in accuracy but by taking multiple measurements and calculating the average I believe you can get relativity close to actual % body fat.

Post: #45

The only part of my workout I really monitor closely is benchpress. It's always been my favourite, but I dropped off lifting weights for a couple years, so I had been struggling to get to where I was. I'm repping on bench at 205 (3X10), and maxing out at about 270 right now, but I'd like to get to 225 (3X10) and max out at 300+ by middle/late April. Have been moving up steadily in my bench over the last couple of weeks so I don't see why I can't do it. I also want to be able to do 10 wide grip pullups in sets. Right now I'm at 3X8.

Post: #46

(03-14-2013 11:58 AM)Frontenac Wrote:  The only part of my workout I really monitor closely is benchpress. It's always been my favourite, but I dropped off lifting weights for a couple years, so I had been struggling to get to where I was. I'm repping on bench at 205 (3X10), and maxing out at about 270 right now, but I'd like to get to 225 (3X10) and max out at 300+ by middle/late April. Have been moving up steadily in my bench over the last couple of weeks so I don't see why I can't do it. I also want to be able to do 10 wide grip pullups in sets. Right now I'm at 3X8.

Is that reps x sets or sets x reps?
If you want your bench to grow quickly I'd advise dropping the reps to 3-4 and upping the sets, unless I'm reading your rep scheme wrong and you're doing that already.

Post: #47

Just started lifting in the last month and I'm following the stronglifts 5X5 program. Current is listed first, goal for July 1st is listed 2nd;

Deadlift 175 305
Squat 160 255
Overhead Press 70 155
Bench Press 130 180
Barbell Row 90 150


These are weak compared to most people, but up until about a month ago I'd never visited the free weights section of the gym before. I'm currently at 5'10" and about 200 lbs. My goal is to get down to 170 lbs or so at <10% body fat, but I realize this is a long term plan.

Post: #48

About 6 foot 1 and 180 lbs at 10-15% bodyfat. I don't have any accurate measurement system for bodyfat percentage, I used probably 4 or 5 different testers on the internet and got anywhere from 8-20% bodyfat. To conclude my guesstimate, I googled "bodyfat percentage" pictures on the internet and found something like this.





I most closely resemble somewhere between 15 and 12%. Shitty college food does not help. The percentage is probably even higher than that, but I know I'll be dropping fat once I graduate because I'll have to cook my own meals.

It also depends on how bloated I am that day, which seems to happen more often than not because I'm a brokeass college student who drinks lots of milk because the meal plans here are lacking in protein. I might get 150 grams on a good day. I started working earlier this month to buy whey protein, so that should help alleviate the problem.

Current weights are something like
115 lb shoulderpress for reps
160lb benchpress for reps
300 lb deadlift for reps
205 lb squat for reps

I've always given more attention to the deadlift and the shoulderpress.

I lifted last year on and off for about eight months (somewhat aimlessly), then over the summer I did calisthenics when I got home from the factory. I continued the calisthenics when I went overseas for a semester. I lost a lot of good strength when I went overseas and had to do a calisthenic program and, in spite of all those pushups, I never improved my bench all that much. I did cut down to about 173 lbs.
My lifts aren't as high as I'd like them to be, but I've been pounding ass in the gym since January.

Post: #49

(03-14-2013 07:07 AM)Nascimento Wrote:  

Quote:Op do you have hardly any muscle? because 150lbs for someone 5'7'' is a pretty lean weight and if your at 18% bf you would have to have a small amount of muscle to be at that weight

I think it's really subjective. If I were to post a picture and go for feedback on the bodybuilding forums, everyone would say I am too skinny and to bulk up. However, my friends that don't lift/do so casually, and girls sometimes refer to me as having a good build and athletic frame.

Personally, I know I'm quite lean, and don't have that much lean muscle mass. But I am at a great starting point. My arms are skinny but still have a decent build. My back, chest, and lower body muscle groups are decently shaped. With ~15 body fat and a bit more 'tone' than I have now, I would probably be classified by many people as having an athletic, multisport frame over 'jacked' frame.

It might have something to do with my age group, though, not sure. All the feedback I mentioned I hear from people that are very close to my age (19).

yea Im not criticizing you at all I just think you might have over estimated your bf% slightly. you should get it checked to see where your at and then you can better gauge your results later on