KC4, a 'deload' doesn't hurt! It's a subject thats touched on in both stronglifts and starting strength programming. Drop down to 135 and work your way back up if everything feels alright.

(03-17-2015 05:03 PM)Cr33pin Wrote:  

(03-14-2015 07:35 PM)Ingocnito Wrote:  Just performed the same dumb exercise that I pulled a trap, doing last year around the same time of year. I'll wrist strap on a smith machine and load it down pretty heavy for traps. I've found no other exercise that comes close to the size I get from doing this.

There's a lot of key things you have to think about when doing that to avoid injury. Angle of pull, foot placement, hand placement, even pull resistance (right at moment of unracking...very imporant!).

Last year I pulled my left trap.. took about 5 days to heal, stiff for another 3. This time same shit on the right side.

Once I unracked the weight without even resistance on the unracking pull, I knew I pulled the muscle. Here's to a stiff neck for a week . cheers.

I have been doing this for traps ever since I joined a gym. I feel like I can use more weight on the smith machine. Lately I also started doing seated shrugs with heavy dumbells, my grip usually gives out before my traps... I do some shrugs with the calf raise machine to but I think it kind of sucks.

Traps are strong no? I can shrug heavy weight easier then I can push it around with other muscles really.

yea man, I usually shrug between 405-475 lbs on smith machine strapped up.. like 10-20 reps for 3-4 sets. Nothing blows them up better. So pretty f-ing strong. Just found out at chiropractor, I had a pinched nerve, and mild familial degen disc in the cervicals. Got corrected, but still some soreness. So taking most of this week off from lifting to be sure. I'll probably go lighter going forward.

I'd never been to a chiropractor before as to some level, there always seems to be a bit of quackery in chiropractics. However, after taking x-rays, and watching the reflex failure on my left side, what he said made sense. Despite being one of the area's leading chiropractors, his used care salesman flair didn't amuse me 1 bit.

I noticed how 90% of their customers seemed to be women & girls who apparently get chiropractics referred from their family doc, covered by insurance, and in essence treat as another form of "spa day."

Was doing a post-workout cardio today and talked to twenty-something guy who told me he lost 40 kilos during last year with weightlifting + cardio (from 125kg to 85 kg, he's around 5'8), very impressive.

Surprised he isn't somewhere on my gym's poster, he posted his "pre" and "after" pictures on Facebook though.

(03-17-2015 02:11 PM)H1N1 Wrote:  

(03-17-2015 01:17 PM)tattiemasher Wrote:  

(03-17-2015 12:59 PM)H1N1 Wrote:  [quote='tattiemasher' pid='981555' dateline='1426613235']

I used to have wrist problems all the time, to the point where I couldn't do a pushup, and to attempt to do so would have made the hand unusable for weeks. I switched to doing all pressing movements with a fat bar, all dumbbell movements with a fat handle, and wrist roller every night. I've not had a flair up in 6 months, that represents extreme, and extraordinary progress for me, and a degree of normality in that hand that I never thought I'd have again.

Thanks for the quick reply. My gym is fairly bare-bones here and doesn't have much of any non-essential equipment, but I'll find a roller (or a suitable replacement) and give it a try.

You could take some pipe insulation and electrical tape and make your own fat bar, or at least that's how I've made mine.

You could use fatgripz.

http://www.fatgripz.com/

I may have "brushed up against" my current limits on the box jumps today.

   

(03-20-2015 07:29 PM)samsamsam Wrote:  

(03-17-2015 02:11 PM)H1N1 Wrote:  

(03-17-2015 01:17 PM)tattiemasher Wrote:  

(03-17-2015 12:59 PM)H1N1 Wrote:  [quote='tattiemasher' pid='981555' dateline='1426613235']

I used to have wrist problems all the time, to the point where I couldn't do a pushup, and to attempt to do so would have made the hand unusable for weeks. I switched to doing all pressing movements with a fat bar, all dumbbell movements with a fat handle, and wrist roller every night. I've not had a flair up in 6 months, that represents extreme, and extraordinary progress for me, and a degree of normality in that hand that I never thought I'd have again.

Thanks for the quick reply. My gym is fairly bare-bones here and doesn't have much of any non-essential equipment, but I'll find a roller (or a suitable replacement) and give it a try.

You could take some pipe insulation and electrical tape and make your own fat bar, or at least that's how I've made mine.

You could use fatgripz.

http://www.fatgripz.com/

Check out this book by Ross Enamit, I wrote a review here -
http://www.rooshvforum.com/thread-43134.html

I like watching Ross' videos. That guy is a beast.

Hey forum bros. Has anyone here ever actually fixed their APT? how did you do it? I've always had shit posture, but the last few months we've been crunching at work (big deadline coming up) and I find myself spending a lot more time in a chair, and less in the gym. To compensate I try to get out of my chair every hour or so and walk around, and stretch three times per day - when I wake up, midday, and then at the end of the day before or after I hit the weights or do some other form of exercise. I do my basic martial arts stretched (various toe touches, cat/camel stretch, butterfly stretch, etc.), plus I hold the lung stretch for thirty seconds on each side.

But still, my APT has been causing me lower back pain that flares up when I squat. I deloaded and fixed my form on the squat, which helped me not actually feel pain in my back while lifting, but throughout the rest of the day it still comes and goes. I am getting tired of having a skinny guy gut from my pelvis being tilted forward due to the APT, and having my lower back feel like I am 30 years old going on 90. The computer guy slouch and walking with my ass sticking back all the time rather than under me is also a bit of a confidence-killer. My dancing instructor even commented on it, saying I need to stand up straighter, "like a man!"

Any tips would help, both for fixing my posture in my daily activities, and long-term strategies for fixing APT.

(03-21-2015 06:38 AM)Buddydowrongright Wrote:  Any tips would help, both for fixing my posture in my daily activities, and long-term strategies for fixing APT.

I used to have APT, it's related to muscles being tight and weak in the wrong places. I don't know what you're squatting, but it would be a good idea to do some stiff legged deadlifts to strengthen your glutes and hamstrings. They need to do job they're meant to do, the one that's currently occupied by your lower back.

Focus on stretching out your hip flexors and quads, I don't recommend doing toe touches because a little tightness in the hamstrings might actually help our your APT at this point.

Do lots of ab work. I like ab wheel rollouts. Planks and weighted hip thrusts are good, too.

I don't like pushing dragondoor products, but learning how to do kettlebell swings helps a lot. You can use a dumbbell or a T handle.

When you're walking around, focus on tensing your abs with your shoulders back, looking straight ahead or slightly up. Take your time when you're walking. I see a lot of guys at work with almost a swayback look to them, bubble ass sticking out, hunched over, looking down, and shambling fucking everywhere. It looks bad and it's terrible for you.

If you don't want to do all that, read this article and watch this video on how to achieve the hollow body position. You can learn a lot from gymnasts, they take form nazi to the next level.

Just got back from vacation I was too lazy to find the time to exercise even though I clearly had enough time, on the bright side I put on some pounds (something I needed) from all the massive amounts of food I ate

Just started a new gym. Super pumped. My routine was as follows:

1. Woke up late.
2. Had to download and email workout program to phone.
3. Charge mp3 player.
4. Forgot pre-workout shake.
5. Had to stand like a bitch in the gym for 10 minutes trying to get my workout out of .rtf and into .pdf.
6. Couldn't find half of the machines, got tired of walking around.
7. Said fuckit and cut it short.

It'll take a few days to workout the bugs. I'm still motivated and have already started losing weight.

On the upside, I'm in the development stages of a 'Mega Men's Monster Beast Maker Shake'. Gonna market this shit and make Nutella sales look paltry.

Been reading some material on Arnold (before he came to the US - which I think is when he began using steroids, but I could be wrong) when he was in his teens, and he mentions that he worked out twice a day, often for several hours. I realize that I've never done this and after my current four week workout cycle (to keep my body guessing, I change my approach frequently), I might try this for a few weeks.

What was also odd is that he mentions how everyone warned him that working out twice a day would lead to overtraining, but he didn't care and it didn't seem to affect him. In fact, he indicates that he ignored how sore his body was and would workout to the point that he couldn't ride his bike home without falling over multiple times. It's almost like he mocked the idea of rest, though I think to a certain degree that borders on unhealthy (he is Arnold and I am not, so take that for what it's worth).

Just curious, has anyone here ever tried multiple times a day working out and did you see any positives or negatives?

PS - Been a good read so far. For instance, today at the gym while I was doing a set, I realized that toward the end my muscles weren't sore enough, so I remembered one of the things he wrote about making sure the muscles were brought to the point of extreme failure. I got through the set feeling awful, though now I feel great. He's right about pain in the moment, pleasure later; highly recommend it (hat tip to Roosh for suggesting the book).

Just started a new routine. Moving away from Victor Pride's Body of a Spartan and starting Jason Blaha's 5x5 which comes highly reviewed & recommended. http://www.muscleandstrength.com/workout...out?page=2

(03-24-2015 05:36 PM)The Reactionary Tree Wrote:  Just started a new routine. Moving away from Victor Pride's Body of a Spartan and starting Jason Blaha's 5x5 which comes highly reviewed & recommended. http://www.muscleandstrength.com/workout...out?page=2

Its a great program man, found out about through one of Mike CF's articles

(03-24-2015 05:27 PM)AhabTravel Wrote:  Just curious, has anyone here ever tried multiple times a day working out and did you see any positives or negatives?

Yeah I do it at work. I don't use weights though, the only things I can use are what I can fit into a small bag, so an ab wheel, resistance bands, and crush grippers (gotta work grip somehow). I hit legs by grabbing something heavy at work (heavy is 30 lbs) and performing one legged squats. Obviously a large portion of this routine involves beginner level gymnastic shit (planches, front levers etc) and strandpulling. I would love to use weights for this kind of routine, but I don't work at a gym.

When I work out several times a day with an over all extremely high volume, I find that I make very very fast gains in strength and size. I don't have a progression, I'll alternate as heavy as possible (1-5 rep maxes) to relatively light 12-30 rep range. Routines I make up as I go. You have to eat a lot, at least four big meals a day.

With high volume and high frequency, you get kind of an all day pump. You also don't get nearly as sore as you'd think. The biggest thing to watch out for is doing enough lighter weight accessory stuff to balance out the heavier lifting, lift heavy all the time and you'll start developing overuse problems like elbow tendonitis. Also since I don't keep track of how much I do, every single time I do a press I pair it with a pull to balance out the shoulder.

In order to keep up such a routine, you just work what isn't sore. It's mentally exhausting to do the same shit over and over, so the real problem is simply finding new things to do so you don't quit out of boredom.

My gym closed two weeks ago and I'm on the lookout for another one. I've been doing this routine on and off for the last five months, mostly because it's so fucking boring where I work (graveyard night shifts at a factory). I've gotten a lot more definition in places I care about, like my shoulders and arms. My one rep max on the clean and press went up 10 pounds since I started this routine, so that's a good sign. Is it the most effective thing to do? Who knows? I don't have anything better to do at work so that's what I occupy my time with. Give it a shot.

(03-25-2015 12:53 AM)Hannibal Wrote:  When I work out several times a day with an over all extremely high volume, I find that I make very very fast gains in strength and size. I don't have a progression, I'll alternate as heavy as possible (1-5 rep maxes) to relatively light 12-30 rep range. Routines I make up as I go. You have to eat a lot, at least four big meals a day.

Fascinating; it definitely sounds like something worth testing at least. I had always assumed that multiples times a day by default would be overtraining, yet it's interesting that someone like Arnold did that with success. Solid evidence to question and challenge assumptions!

(03-24-2015 05:27 PM)AhabTravel Wrote:  Been reading some material on Arnold (before he came to the US - which I think is when he began using steroids, but I could be wrong) when he was in his teens, and he mentions that he worked out twice a day, often for several hours. I realize that I've never done this and after my current four week workout cycle (to keep my body guessing, I change my approach frequently), I might try this for a few weeks.

What was also odd is that he mentions how everyone warned him that working out twice a day would lead to overtraining, but he didn't care and it didn't seem to affect him. In fact, he indicates that he ignored how sore his body was and would workout to the point that he couldn't ride his bike home without falling over multiple times. It's almost like he mocked the idea of rest, though I think to a certain degree that borders on unhealthy (he is Arnold and I am not, so take that for what it's worth).

Just curious, has anyone here ever tried multiple times a day working out and did you see any positives or negatives?

PS - Been a good read so far. For instance, today at the gym while I was doing a set, I realized that toward the end my muscles weren't sore enough, so I remembered one of the things he wrote about making sure the muscles were brought to the point of extreme failure. I got through the set feeling awful, though now I feel great. He's right about pain in the moment, pleasure later; highly recommend it (hat tip to Roosh for suggesting the book).

I've been doing 2x workouts a day, and intermittent fasting for the last 6 weeks. I think I've accidentally got to near single digit body fat (started around 12% so not a massive drop overall).

I run in the morning 5 days a week, 3x distance 3-5miles, 2x intervals (ask Aer for running advice if you need it, the guy knows his stuff). Then I do 5/3/1 with a strongman style set up in the evenings (main lift, a weighted odd object carry or odd object clean, and one or two exercises to work upper body support muscles (I am leg dominant, always have been)), and then if I feel like it I may also do some minute drills or other metcon style training - usually limited to about 10 minutes, or some light shadowboxing.

On the days I don't lift weights, I do a bit of skill work, some muscular endurance stuff, and some ab/neck/grip work.

For example, yesterday I didn't lift weights, so in the evening I did:

3 x 40 pushups, 1 x 50 8-count bodybuilders, 270 situps, 10 HSPUs (working on increasing ROM), 130 neck curls (all directions), 4 reps with my wrist roller, and 6x max effort holds using a captains of crush gripper to pick up a rope with a weight on it.

One day a week I will just run a few miles in the morning at a gentle pace, and then do nothing in the evening.

I currently eat two reasonable meals a day - eg:

1 large bowl of chicken soup (home-made stock, some pasta, vegetables, whole chunks of chicken, etc)
4 egg omlette with 100g cheese and some chorizo or other meat
3 rice crackers with cheese or some sort of meat on them

This is typically around 1200 calories.

Then for dinner something like:

12oz fish in some sort of homemade sauce (lime, chilli, coriander, that sort of stuff)
5 medium sized potatoes, cut into chips and baked in olive oil
half a large head of broccoli

And I'll typically follow that up with a protein shake in water, some fish oil Zinc, and vitamin D.

Obviously given my level of activity, this is a cutting diet, and I can tell progress on my lifts is slowing, but I'll probably maintain this level of calories for another two weeks, one of which I'll take as a deload week anyway, and then I'll start my next cycle of weights with a calorie increase.

Quick question for those who do some cardio. I'm looking to add two half hour sessions of cardio a week, any thoughts on what's the most efficient method? My gym is limited and the city I live in is not good for running around outside, so my usual go-to of HIIT isn't an option. I've got a basic treadmill I can jog on or do inclines, I can use skipping ropes, or I can do some sort of workout-based cardio.

(03-24-2015 10:57 PM)Avon Barksdale Wrote:  

(03-24-2015 05:36 PM)The Reactionary Tree Wrote:  Just started a new routine. Moving away from Victor Pride's Body of a Spartan and starting Jason Blaha's 5x5 which comes highly reviewed & recommended. http://www.muscleandstrength.com/workout...out?page=2

Its a great program man, found out about through one of Mike CF's articles

Yea I can already feel the difference in volume. It covers everything. I added facepulls to workout B. Other than that, I am going to run the program as is.

I like it a lot so far.

(03-25-2015 08:16 AM)tattiemasher Wrote:  Quick question for those who do some cardio. I'm looking to add two half hour sessions of cardio a week, any thoughts on what's the most efficient method? My gym is limited and the city I live in is not good for running around outside, so my usual go-to of HIIT isn't an option. I've got a basic treadmill I can jog on or do inclines, I can use skipping ropes, or I can do some sort of workout-based cardio.

Personally I'd go for metcon circuits and jumping rope. My view is that running on a treadmill, like an elliptical, is almost worthless for anyone with athletic goals, unless you are injured/returning from injury. If your sole reason for doing it is to burn calories you would be better served by eating less.

(03-25-2015 08:57 AM)H1N1 Wrote:  

(03-25-2015 08:16 AM)tattiemasher Wrote:  Quick question for those who do some cardio. I'm looking to add two half hour sessions of cardio a week, any thoughts on what's the most efficient method? My gym is limited and the city I live in is not good for running around outside, so my usual go-to of HIIT isn't an option. I've got a basic treadmill I can jog on or do inclines, I can use skipping ropes, or I can do some sort of workout-based cardio.

Personally I'd go for metcon circuits and jumping rope. My view is that running on a treadmill, like an elliptical, is almost worthless for anyone with athletic goals, unless you are injured/returning from injury. If your sole reason for doing it is to burn calories you would be better served by eating less.

I guess it depends on his goals, ultimately.

If he's looking to lose some lbs, he should do both; train and diet.

(03-25-2015 09:41 AM)CrashBangWallop Wrote:  

(03-25-2015 08:57 AM)H1N1 Wrote:  

(03-25-2015 08:16 AM)tattiemasher Wrote:  Quick question for those who do some cardio. I'm looking to add two half hour sessions of cardio a week, any thoughts on what's the most efficient method? My gym is limited and the city I live in is not good for running around outside, so my usual go-to of HIIT isn't an option. I've got a basic treadmill I can jog on or do inclines, I can use skipping ropes, or I can do some sort of workout-based cardio.

Personally I'd go for metcon circuits and jumping rope. My view is that running on a treadmill, like an elliptical, is almost worthless for anyone with athletic goals, unless you are injured/returning from injury. If your sole reason for doing it is to burn calories you would be better served by eating less.

I guess it depends on his goals, ultimately.

If he's looking to lose some lbs, he should do both; train and diet.

Agreed, although I would say that conditioning tends to amp up the hunger levels in most people, and most often that can be counter productive when trying to maintain a calorie deficit. A lot of people, in my purely anecdotal experience, do conditioning on top of lifting and without realising it overeat, or use the increased hunger to justify a snack or some other deviation from the diet.

As you may know from other threads/posts of mine, I encourage people to pick performance goals and eat to fuel that performance. I see this as the best way of combining aesthetics with athletic ability.

Based on the post, I assumed (perhaps a mistake) that the poster is primarily interested in aesthetics (can't run outside, no rowing machine/pool etc at the gym) as it doesn't sound like he has set up his training to deliver performance-based results. The difference 2x cardio sessions (unfasted)on a treadmill are likely to have on body composition are negligible in my opinion. That said, I do recognise that some people just want the CV health without having to make much of an investment in their physical ability, so in such a situation the treadmill is a perfectly acceptable bit of kit, and I would be wrong to dismiss it.

(03-25-2015 10:01 AM)H1N1 Wrote:  

(03-25-2015 09:41 AM)CrashBangWallop Wrote:  

(03-25-2015 08:57 AM)H1N1 Wrote:  

(03-25-2015 08:16 AM)tattiemasher Wrote:  Quick question for those who do some cardio. I'm looking to add two half hour sessions of cardio a week, any thoughts on what's the most efficient method? My gym is limited and the city I live in is not good for running around outside, so my usual go-to of HIIT isn't an option. I've got a basic treadmill I can jog on or do inclines, I can use skipping ropes, or I can do some sort of workout-based cardio.

Personally I'd go for metcon circuits and jumping rope. My view is that running on a treadmill, like an elliptical, is almost worthless for anyone with athletic goals, unless you are injured/returning from injury. If your sole reason for doing it is to burn calories you would be better served by eating less.

I guess it depends on his goals, ultimately.

If he's looking to lose some lbs, he should do both; train and diet.

Agreed, although I would say that conditioning tends to amp up the hunger levels in most people, and most often that can be counter productive when trying to maintain a calorie deficit. A lot of people, in my purely anecdotal experience, do conditioning on top of lifting and without realising it overeat, or use the increased hunger to justify a snack or some other deviation from the diet.

As you may know from other threads/posts of mine, I encourage people to pick performance goals and eat to fuel that performance. I see this as the best way of combining aesthetics with athletic ability.

Based on the post, I assumed (perhaps a mistake) that the poster is primarily interested in aesthetics (can't run outside, no rowing machine/pool etc at the gym) as it doesn't sound like he has set up his training to deliver performance-based results. The difference 2x cardio sessions (unfasted)on a treadmill are likely to have on body composition are negligible in my opinion. That said, I do recognise that some people just want the CV health without having to make much of an investment in their physical ability, so in such a situation the treadmill is a perfectly acceptable bit of kit, and I would be wrong to dismiss it.

I guess I should clarify my current situation. I'm using a university gym in the far east of Russia, it's basically one room in the building, bare-bones stuff. Bars, weights, some benches, a couple of run-down machines and a bit of floor space. There's some cardio stuff but it's mostly used by women for the whole two hours the gym is open. My strength has been steadily increasing, but as I get stronger I eat more. Call it lack of willpower, but I've reached a bare minimum intake that I don't feel comfortable going below or it just gets distracting. My body fat hasn't increased either thankfully, it's hovering around 17-18% consistently. I'm hoping maybe a couple of extra sessions just doing basic cardio and bodyweight will start to bring my body fat down a bit.

To give an idea of my diet, most days it's about 500g of meat (chicken, beef, salmon, pork etc), a piece of fruit, handful of walnuts, 2-3 portions of green veg, 100g of dried fish, a couple of scoops of ice-cream, maybe a glass of milk, the occasional 100g of potatoes/rice/bread/noodles, and a bit of butter or sesame oil for cooking. Being in the university area I have about two nights out a week with plenty of alcohol. There's the occasional restaurant visit, but we're talking once a fortnight and I avoid unhealthy stuff.

My last experience of cutting body fat was as a beginner when i was really overweight, and it was an easier step, so my experience is limited. However if dropping a few more % of body fat means I have no option but to cut my intake, and the cardio will be useless, then fair enough, it's up to me to build up the willpower to make it happen.

(03-25-2015 10:43 AM)tattiemasher Wrote:  

(03-25-2015 10:01 AM)H1N1 Wrote:  

(03-25-2015 09:41 AM)CrashBangWallop Wrote:  

(03-25-2015 08:57 AM)H1N1 Wrote:  

(03-25-2015 08:16 AM)tattiemasher Wrote:  Quick question for those who do some cardio. I'm looking to add two half hour sessions of cardio a week, any thoughts on what's the most efficient method? My gym is limited and the city I live in is not good for running around outside, so my usual go-to of HIIT isn't an option. I've got a basic treadmill I can jog on or do inclines, I can use skipping ropes, or I can do some sort of workout-based cardio.

Personally I'd go for metcon circuits and jumping rope. My view is that running on a treadmill, like an elliptical, is almost worthless for anyone with athletic goals, unless you are injured/returning from injury. If your sole reason for doing it is to burn calories you would be better served by eating less.

I guess it depends on his goals, ultimately.

If he's looking to lose some lbs, he should do both; train and diet.

Agreed, although I would say that conditioning tends to amp up the hunger levels in most people, and most often that can be counter productive when trying to maintain a calorie deficit. A lot of people, in my purely anecdotal experience, do conditioning on top of lifting and without realising it overeat, or use the increased hunger to justify a snack or some other deviation from the diet.

As you may know from other threads/posts of mine, I encourage people to pick performance goals and eat to fuel that performance. I see this as the best way of combining aesthetics with athletic ability.

Based on the post, I assumed (perhaps a mistake) that the poster is primarily interested in aesthetics (can't run outside, no rowing machine/pool etc at the gym) as it doesn't sound like he has set up his training to deliver performance-based results. The difference 2x cardio sessions (unfasted)on a treadmill are likely to have on body composition are negligible in my opinion. That said, I do recognise that some people just want the CV health without having to make much of an investment in their physical ability, so in such a situation the treadmill is a perfectly acceptable bit of kit, and I would be wrong to dismiss it.

I guess I should clarify my current situation. I'm using a university gym in the far east of Russia, it's basically one room in the building, bare-bones stuff. Bars, weights, some benches, a couple of run-down machines and a bit of floor space. There's some cardio stuff but it's mostly used by women for the whole two hours the gym is open. My strength has been steadily increasing, but as I get stronger I eat more. Call it lack of willpower, but I've reached a bare minimum intake that I don't feel comfortable going below or it just gets distracting. My body fat hasn't increased either thankfully, it's hovering around 17-18% consistently. I'm hoping maybe a couple of extra sessions just doing basic cardio and bodyweight will start to bring my body fat down a bit.

To give an idea of my diet, most days it's about 500g of meat (chicken, beef, salmon, pork etc), a piece of fruit, handful of walnuts, 2-3 portions of green veg, 100g of dried fish, a couple of scoops of ice-cream, maybe a glass of milk, the occasional 100g of potatoes/rice/bread/noodles, and a bit of butter or sesame oil for cooking. Being in the university area I have about two nights out a week with plenty of alcohol. There's the occasional restaurant visit, but we're talking once a fortnight and I avoid unhealthy stuff.

My last experience of cutting body fat was as a beginner when i was really overweight, and it was an easier step, so my experience is limited. However if dropping a few more % of body fat means I have no option but to cut my intake, and the cardio will be useless, then fair enough, it's up to me to build up the willpower to make it happen.

That's a perfectly reasonable goal. I would say that there is a lot of room in your diet to improve without actually cutting total calorie intake, although by making better food choices you may find you slightly reduce intake without actually doing so intentionally.

I've gone from ~15% down to ~12% before simply by cutting all processed sugar, bread, and milk. You would probably feel better, and drop some fat, simply by cutting the ice cream, bread and milk, and replacing them with rice or potatoes, or even a piece of fruit if it's a sweet thing. It seems like tightening up food choices for a few weeks and seeing what happens would be a better starting point than cutting any more calories but keeping ice cream etc.

Russia can be a deceptively hard place to lose weight as a foreigner I think. When I lived and worked there, I used to eat cured meat and cheese for breakfast every day. It's also hard to find western style cuts of meat in supermarkets, or was 5 years ago, so it can be easy to resort to poorer food choices through lack of familiarity.

(03-25-2015 11:07 AM)H1N1 Wrote:  

(03-25-2015 10:43 AM)tattiemasher Wrote:  

(03-25-2015 10:01 AM)H1N1 Wrote:  

(03-25-2015 09:41 AM)CrashBangWallop Wrote:  

(03-25-2015 08:57 AM)H1N1 Wrote:  Personally I'd go for metcon circuits and jumping rope. My view is that running on a treadmill, like an elliptical, is almost worthless for anyone with athletic goals, unless you are injured/returning from injury. If your sole reason for doing it is to burn calories you would be better served by eating less.

I guess it depends on his goals, ultimately.

If he's looking to lose some lbs, he should do both; train and diet.

Agreed, although I would say that conditioning tends to amp up the hunger levels in most people, and most often that can be counter productive when trying to maintain a calorie deficit. A lot of people, in my purely anecdotal experience, do conditioning on top of lifting and without realising it overeat, or use the increased hunger to justify a snack or some other deviation from the diet.

As you may know from other threads/posts of mine, I encourage people to pick performance goals and eat to fuel that performance. I see this as the best way of combining aesthetics with athletic ability.

Based on the post, I assumed (perhaps a mistake) that the poster is primarily interested in aesthetics (can't run outside, no rowing machine/pool etc at the gym) as it doesn't sound like he has set up his training to deliver performance-based results. The difference 2x cardio sessions (unfasted)on a treadmill are likely to have on body composition are negligible in my opinion. That said, I do recognise that some people just want the CV health without having to make much of an investment in their physical ability, so in such a situation the treadmill is a perfectly acceptable bit of kit, and I would be wrong to dismiss it.

I guess I should clarify my current situation. I'm using a university gym in the far east of Russia, it's basically one room in the building, bare-bones stuff. Bars, weights, some benches, a couple of run-down machines and a bit of floor space. There's some cardio stuff but it's mostly used by women for the whole two hours the gym is open. My strength has been steadily increasing, but as I get stronger I eat more. Call it lack of willpower, but I've reached a bare minimum intake that I don't feel comfortable going below or it just gets distracting. My body fat hasn't increased either thankfully, it's hovering around 17-18% consistently. I'm hoping maybe a couple of extra sessions just doing basic cardio and bodyweight will start to bring my body fat down a bit.

To give an idea of my diet, most days it's about 500g of meat (chicken, beef, salmon, pork etc), a piece of fruit, handful of walnuts, 2-3 portions of green veg, 100g of dried fish, a couple of scoops of ice-cream, maybe a glass of milk, the occasional 100g of potatoes/rice/bread/noodles, and a bit of butter or sesame oil for cooking. Being in the university area I have about two nights out a week with plenty of alcohol. There's the occasional restaurant visit, but we're talking once a fortnight and I avoid unhealthy stuff.

My last experience of cutting body fat was as a beginner when i was really overweight, and it was an easier step, so my experience is limited. However if dropping a few more % of body fat means I have no option but to cut my intake, and the cardio will be useless, then fair enough, it's up to me to build up the willpower to make it happen.

That's a perfectly reasonable goal. I would say that there is a lot of room in your diet to improve without actually cutting total calorie intake, although by making better food choices you may find you slightly reduce intake without actually doing so intentionally.

I've gone from ~15% down to ~12% before simply by cutting all processed sugar, bread, and milk. You would probably feel better, and drop some fat, simply by cutting the ice cream, bread and milk, and replacing them with rice or potatoes, or even a piece of fruit if it's a sweet thing. It seems like tightening up food choices for a few weeks and seeing what happens would be a better starting point than cutting any more calories but keeping ice cream etc.

Russia can be a deceptively hard place to lose weight as a foreigner I think. When I lived and worked there, I used to eat cured meat and cheese for breakfast every day. It's also hard to find western style cuts of meat in supermarkets, or was 5 years ago, so it can be easy to resort to poorer food choices through lack of familiarity.

Thanks for the quick replies, definitely appreciated. I guess when you're out in this part of the country you rely on sporadic supermarket deliveries of fresh fruit, the second half of the month just gets worse and worse. I couldn't even find a lime in two supermarkets today. I'll try to tighten it up and find a replacement that's lower in sugar and empty carbs.

I may try the metcon circuits though regardless, as you suggested. If nothing else it'll let me reinforce the basics and work up a sweat.