Post: #4776

(04-01-2019 01:51 PM)godfather dust Wrote:  Burning calories really ain't shit... Just don't eat the calories in the first place.

Yeah. During fat loss process, weightlifting will help preserve muscles, maybe even add some strength (of course, hard while on deficite) but the the main process happens in the kitchen.

Post: #4777

After a "jumpers knee" injury I rebooted my weight lifting program round christmas last year. I opted for Stronglifts. I got back where I was at the point before my jumpers knee but when nearing my previous limits I again encountered problems. I had three deload phases but still have knee pain. Perhaps my form is wrong, that is a possibility (I lift at home) or I just have bad knees.

I'm thinking about switching to another program that doesn't put so much pressure on my knees every work out. I got some ideas but would like to hear some other opinions too. Any suggestions how I proceed from here? thx in advance!

Post: #4778

(04-01-2019 01:16 PM)sterling_archer Wrote:  I always knew lifting is not really burning fat, but I didn't imagine it was so low!

Does he go into the afterburn?

That larger muscles burn more calories at rest?

That food cravings can be different when lifting vs not?

Post: #4779

(04-02-2019 05:28 AM)Meliorare93 Wrote:  I'm thinking about switching to another program that doesn't put so much pressure on my knees every work out. I got some ideas but would like to hear some other opinions too. Any suggestions how I proceed from here? thx in advance!

I am doing Bigger, Leaner, Stronger - 5 days a week and only one leg day - plus some light cardio

google it

Post: #4780

I am trying to be mindful of weak points on the body and build them up. I had a sobering gym session the other week with a broad whom has blown me a few times (bad timing if it's her rag or me getting whisky dick for round 2).

We work out now and then each month as she likes to do compound movements and she has a medical background as a trained nurse so I enjoy her feedback about the body and muscle groups as I am very mindful to prevent injuries. She likes working out with me as I push her hard but I don't bring any ego or try to show off.

It was a leg day and she wanted to do hip thrusts before she went off to go do her lady booty shit like cable work and other stuff I have no interest in. I have done hip-thursts a few times but I don't make it a focus as I find it a hassle to set up for.

Very sobering as this slim white girl with a booty is crushing 275 and I was struggling to get up 135. This did not seem correct as I have done much more in the past, but with strict form, it revealed weak points, especially with my glutes and to an extent my hamstrings. I started to wonder if this weak point is impact other lifts, such as my deadlift and my squat. I became very self-aware of this and did I deep dive into hip-thrusts and started to put into my routines.

It turns out that the glutes as a foundation piece, if weak will impact your other points big time. So now, twice a week now for about a month. I also have a workaround with form as I realized my body composition makes it awkward for me to do hip thrusts and standard benches (I have a short torso). So, a workaround is I use a decline bench (I somehow thought this was cheating) which is still fine as long as you can achieve the 90 degree lockout it does not matter what you use.

So in a few weeks, I have raced up with power and I now sit at 365 and hope to get to 400 before the end of summer.

The hip thrust has become more mainstream now as I see people doing it more in the gym. When I first started doing it people would give this look like I was strange. It has become mandatory for women who want to grow the booty and you'll see more women doing it versus men. For us men in adding strength and stability to your glutes region will help out with lifts and life in general as that is the key point of stability, many say even more than the core itself.

(03-27-2019 10:38 AM)Zagor Wrote:  Come on, don't bash the press, its one of the most badass exercises out there. It's arguably not the most optimal exercise for any head of the delts, but it sure does work every one of them, with heavy weigth. I press heavy and often and rarely do anything else for my delts are they are one of my best developed body parts. Plus it works your upper chest and triceps, which initiate the movement along with the front delt, side delt goes for the ride and you finish with yout rear delts and traps, bracing your core throughout the movement. That's a lot of muscle worked with one exercise.

You get lots of the benefits when the form gets cleaned up. Locked in, with the core braced, with a fluid big press you will get crazy work with the front shoulders, upper chest, and triceps. Also, the press helps my flat bench press more than the actual flat bench press.

Post: #4781

(03-27-2019 10:38 AM)Zagor Wrote:  Come on, don't bash the press, its one of the most badass exercises out there. It's arguably not the most optimal exercise for any head of the delts, but it sure does work every one of them, with heavy weigth. I press heavy and often and rarely do anything else for my delts are they are one of my best developed body parts. Plus it works your upper chest and triceps, which initiate the movement along with the front delt, side delt goes for the ride and you finish with yout rear delts and traps, bracing your core throughout the movement. That's a lot of muscle worked with one exercise.

I don't know, man.

My shoulders are possibly one of my strongest (looks wise) bodyparts and I find that when I do barbell overhead presses with super strict and decent weight my triceps and front delts get most of the work. I've found greater success doing the various raises and flyes (pulls) than I have doing barbell overhead presses.

I'm not discouraging anyone from doing what they think works best, I just haven't seen much out of that movement. I mostly prefer dumbbell variants if I must do it since I feel like they place less emphasis on the triceps and more on the delt heads.

I will concede that overhead presses, clean and presses, power cleans, and all those things are unparalleled for strength. They also look cool and feel cool.

However, I'm not fully convinced on the actual hypertrophy benefits of those movements.

I wouldn't say I'm super strong on them, though. I am about 80kg and can OHP about 85KG cleanly without any hitching or anything.

Post: #4782

(04-02-2019 07:35 AM)nomadbrah Wrote:  

(04-01-2019 01:16 PM)sterling_archer Wrote:  I always knew lifting is not really burning fat, but I didn't imagine it was so low!

Does he go into the afterburn?

That larger muscles burn more calories at rest?

That food cravings can be different when lifting vs not?

Upon further reflection that guy is an idiot.

I don't know anyone who lifts weights to burn calories, and it increases metabolism at rest like you say.

Usually when I'm at the gym the treadmills are full of fat and weak people, the best shape people are in the weight room. (Anecdotal, I can't be the only one who's been to gyms where this is the case however.)

Also going all out just to burn calories makes me feel famished and want to eat a horse.

Again, just don't eat too many calories in the first place.

Post: #4783

Ya it's usually the fatties on the treadmills but if they can be on that thing sweating away it's better than nothing I guess, even if they go through the drive thru on the way home.

Post: #4784

When you've lifted for twenty years or so, you tend to get a bit bored now and again. Some of you, like me will have had days where you walked into the gym (or garage in my case) and just couldn't face doing another arm curl or bench-press! It happens, and it's only temporary and you always come back stronger.

Anyway, this happened to me yesterday and instead of just giving it a miss like I've done in the past, I suddenly reaslised that there were loads of exercises that I haven't even tried! (see my 'Sissy Squat' post a while back). So, instead of wasting a workout, I resolved to pick a few weird exercises that I've never done before and give them a shot just for fun.

So I tried; Dumbell Front Raises, Triceps Kickbacks and 'Back Extensions' (Hypextensions?) among others. I had a great time and learnt a lot. I'm going to keep all three of these now, will just add them on the end of shoulder, arm and back days. The first two are 'finishers' and as long as you are doing the main mass-builders there's no harm in trying them to 'pop' out that all important definition that makes even small muscles look bigger. The back extensions just make my old back feel great.

Post: #4785

(04-03-2019 04:00 AM)Richard Turpin Wrote:  When you've lifted for twenty years or so, you tend to get a bit bored now and again. Some of you, like me will have had days where you walked into the gym (or garage in my case) and just couldn't face doing another arm curl or bench-press! It happens, and it's only temporary and you always come back stronger.

Anyway, this happened to me yesterday and instead of just giving it a miss like I've done in the past, I suddenly reaslised that there were loads of exercises that I haven't even tried! (see my 'Sissy Squat' post a while back). So, instead of wasting a workout, I resolved to pick a few weird exercises that I've never done before and give them a shot just for fun.

So I tried; Dumbell Front Raises, Triceps Kickbacks and 'Back Extensions' (Hypextensions?) among others. I had a great time and learnt a lot. I'm going to keep all three of these now, will just add them on the end of shoulder, arm and back days. The first two are 'finishers' and as long as you are doing the main mass-builders there's no harm in trying them to 'pop' out that all important definition that makes even small muscles look bigger. The back extensions just make my old back feel great.

how did you determine what weight you were going to lift with a new exercise?

Post: #4786

(04-03-2019 04:16 AM)Meliorare93 Wrote:  

(04-03-2019 04:00 AM)Richard Turpin Wrote:  When you've lifted for twenty years or so, you tend to get a bit bored now and again. Some of you, like me will have had days where you walked into the gym (or garage in my case) and just couldn't face doing another arm curl or bench-press! It happens, and it's only temporary and you always come back stronger.

Anyway, this happened to me yesterday and instead of just giving it a miss like I've done in the past, I suddenly reaslised that there were loads of exercises that I haven't even tried! (see my 'Sissy Squat' post a while back). So, instead of wasting a workout, I resolved to pick a few weird exercises that I've never done before and give them a shot just for fun.

So I tried; Dumbell Front Raises, Triceps Kickbacks and 'Back Extensions' (Hypextensions?) among others. I had a great time and learnt a lot. I'm going to keep all three of these now, will just add them on the end of shoulder, arm and back days. The first two are 'finishers' and as long as you are doing the main mass-builders there's no harm in trying them to 'pop' out that all important definition that makes even small muscles look bigger. The back extensions just make my old back feel great.

how did you determine what weight you were going to lift with a new exercise?

Just nice and light to start off with mate (especially with shoulders!). I have some dumbells loaded ready for side laterals (essential for men in my view) and these were perfect for now. After a few sets and pumped, I was seeing muscles I've never seen before despite the light weights. There's actually loads of stuff I've never tried, my routine has been very conservative for years (cut and paste barbell heavy lifts that everyone recommends, you'll know the deal).

Post: #4787

(04-03-2019 04:00 AM)Richard Turpin Wrote:  When you've lifted for twenty years or so, you tend to get a bit bored now and again. Some of you, like me will have had days where you walked into the gym (or garage in my case) and just couldn't face doing another arm curl or bench-press! It happens, and it's only temporary and you always come back stronger.

Anyway, this happened to me yesterday and instead of just giving it a miss like I've done in the past, I suddenly reaslised that there were loads of exercises that I haven't even tried! (see my 'Sissy Squat' post a while back). So, instead of wasting a workout, I resolved to pick a few weird exercises that I've never done before and give them a shot just for fun.

So I tried; Dumbell Front Raises, Triceps Kickbacks and 'Back Extensions' (Hypextensions?) among others. I had a great time and learnt a lot. I'm going to keep all three of these now, will just add them on the end of shoulder, arm and back days. The first two are 'finishers' and as long as you are doing the main mass-builders there's no harm in trying them to 'pop' out that all important definition that makes even small muscles look bigger. The back extensions just make my old back feel great.

Try out the French Press or the JM press if you want something interesting for the triceps that aren't skull crushers (which are fun) or pullovers.

Post: #4788

(04-03-2019 12:34 AM)godfather dust Wrote:  Upon further reflection that guy is an idiot.

Omar Isuf an idiot? Cmon, arent't you a bit too harsh? He is one the rare natural lifters on youtube with shitload of good advice, backed with humor. He also walks the walk and is strong as hell in every lift he does.

Post: #4789

Yesterday for some stupid reason I got hammer drunk, it was totally unplanned and up until now I was extremely hungover. What is funny though that I had a workout around today 13 o' clock. Whole morning I dreaded the workout and I readied myself for disappointment in the gym. Not only I didn't disappoint, I crushed every exercise I had to do and this really surprised me. I thought I would be severely weaker because of hangover but I was not.

Anyone experienced the same?

Post: #4790

@Omar's video

The idea that lifting weights is not a great way to burn calories is not news. Everyone knows if you are trying to burn calories and lose fat then eating in a deficit and supplementing with aerobic exercise is the most efficient method.

What I don't agree with is his line about how people eating a lot after a workout session are somehow doing themselves a disservice just because they didn't burn a lot of calories. Eating a shitload for resistance training has got nothing to do with calorie replacement and everything to do with muscle growth and energy stores. If you want your muscles to grow, then eating at a surplus is the best way to do it. I can't speak for everyone, but from my personal experience and from what I've seen, read, and heard spoken from others who workout is that going to the gym after a day of light eating does not do well for your work potential or capacity and it's very hard to grow just eating 100-200 calories over your maintenance.

Want to get big and strong? Eat big and strong.

Quote:Anyone experienced the same?

A shining example of how no matter how well you have your diet, sleep, and training dialed in there will always be days that defy what you think you know about basic biology. Slept for 4 hours, and came to the gym unmotivated but crushed it? No explanation. Same reason some days you ate your face off, got 9 hours of sleep, and feel ultra energized and ready to kill the weights and you choke bigtime on your working sets. It happens.

You have good days and bad days sometimes, but it's important to remember that these are outliers. Think of it like the stock market - sometimes its a bull market and shit is up 12%, then a few years later it's tanked and everything is in the red. The important thing is that you know over time it trends up around ~7%. As long as you are adding weight to the bar overtime, and your showing consistent improvement that is the real result to focus on.

Post: #4791

(04-02-2019 11:01 PM)Fortis Wrote:  I wouldn't say I'm super strong on them, though. I am about 80kg and can OHP about 85KG cleanly without any hitching or anything.

To press more than your bodyweigth overhead is impressive. That numbers would actually put you somewhere between advanced and elite according to most strength standards for that lift.

Post: #4792

(04-03-2019 11:27 AM)sterling_archer Wrote:  

(04-03-2019 12:34 AM)godfather dust Wrote:  Upon further reflection that guy is an idiot.

Omar Isuf an idiot? Cmon, arent't you a bit too harsh? He is one the rare natural lifters on youtube with shitload of good advice, backed with humor. He also walks the walk and is strong as hell in every lift he does.

Distance runners and joggers tend to look like cancer patients after a while, so while they are able to create larger energy deficits through hours and hours of LISS cardio, it's not muscle sparing to do something like that, so over time they lose muscle and their base metabolic rate plummets through the floor. They have to eat less and less to avoid getting skinny fat and gross as hell.

Lifters, on the other hand, keep their BMR high by keeping or gaining muscle mass and tend to lean out over time through mechanisms unrelated to creating a huge energy deficit like a distance runner.

You want the best of both worlds then lift and do cardio. Bodybuilders tend to be objective-oriented and do everything based on observational evidence (meaning they're right way more often than the keyboard scientists), so nerds like Nuckols and the clickbaiters like Omar Isuf who quote their research papers can just screw off.

Post: #4793

I just tried to do push-ups for a song that was a minute 45 seconds. Got to a minute and a few seconds. (Benched yesterday.)

There was a Russian roid freak in the 80s (forget his name) who benched by time not reps and was doing 10-15 minutes or something crazy.

Post: #4794

I've been lifting consistently for about 4 years now. I made a thread down the page if anyone cares to see, but I'm struggling. I started out at 6' 140 lbs - skinnyfat and weak as fuck. I was a hardgainer as well.

After reaching a near-intermediate strength level and stagnating for over year, I got impatient and did a "dirty bulk", gained about 40 lbs in 6 months or so and reached my highest ever weight around 220 lbs. I got quite strong but my BF% was easily over 20%, and my bodyweight to strength ratio was bad.

Then I did a keto cut, got down to about 175lbs at my leanest and had somewhat visible abs (though not a 6pack) so maybe like 16% BF? I never measured. However, I lost quite a bit of strength which once again made it very bad tradeoff.

Now I'm 190lbs again, probably 20% BF (again just a liberal visual estimate, I've never known my actual BF levels), comparatively stronger than ever at this weight, but my BF% is still wayyy too high.

At this point I'm getting really fucking frustrated because it seems like I cannot get stronger without gaining excessive fat, and cannot lose fat without losing considerable strength. After 4 years I feel like I have almost nothing to show - some people have even me skinny (though I'm considerably stronger than I look).

I've been struggling to know what sort of workout program to follow. Does it matter at this point? Should I focus more on diet?

I'm thinking of doing a very strict IM fasting schedule of perhaps only 4-6 hrs of eating per day. As far as working out, I've always followed the "every other day" routine of doing full-body, heavy compound lifts that leave me feeling like I got beat up and necessitate a full rest day. Perhaps I should try doing more isolated/split routines with some HIIT/cardio thrown in on recovery days? The problem I have with isolation/split routines is that they're so complex, time consuming, and harder to track progress. I can do a simple workout of deadlifts, chin ups, and dips, hit every major muscle group and leave the gym feeling exhausted.

Post: #4795

You are faced with the unfortunate reality that you are not especially cut out for lifting massive weights, like 90% of us. I posted a similar comment in General Stalin's log the other day. Most of us are in the same camp.

If you're in it for the long haul, there comes a point where the reps should get a little higher, the weights a little lighter, and more focus should be given to a rounded and nutritious diet. Maybe you're there, maybe not - it took me a few cycles of getting fatter and getting skinnier - over the space of many years - to settle on a lifting and eating strategy that works for me.

The key really is just to relax and let lifting compliment your life, rather than it being a frustration and a disappointment. Maybe train a bit less, focus on quality and form, and just eat good balanced meals. You'd probably find yourself making decent progress.

Post: #4796

Batman, I saw your thread. It's not you or your genetics. Your programming was bad. Same volume (too low) for too much time. No autoregulation so you leave the gym exhausted.

You will get stronger if you do more volume. More. Volume. At tolerable intensity so your fatigue doesn't get too high. Don't train less, train more.

Post: #4797

(04-04-2019 03:29 PM)Lermontov Wrote:  Batman, I saw your thread. It's not you or your genetics. Your programming was bad. Same volume (too low) for too much time. No autoregulation so you leave the gym exhausted.

You will get stronger if you do more volume. More. Volume. At tolerable intensity so your fatigue doesn't get too high. Don't train less, train more.

Madcow wasn't high volume??? Day 1 and day 3 had you doing three compound lifts at 5x5 each. Day 5 had three compound lifts with each doing 4x5, 1x3, 1x8 for a total of nearly 100 reps between all the lifts! Most people actually don't like madcow because they complain the volume is too high and it takes too long. Also, there was autoregulation built in; if you failed to complete your reps you were supposed to deload (just like Stronglifts). Lastly, day 3 used lighter weights.

I haven't looked through the details of the bridge program you suggested yet, but I can give it a try. But remember I don't care about getting stronger now, I care about getting leaner. I guess I'm failing to understand why a high volume workout would help me - i'd be more exhausted and need to eat more to recover. Unless the program isn't designed for bulking or using heavy weights.

To me I suspect that diet matters a lot more than the program itself - I'd probably look decent if I could shred ~15 lbs of fat without losing any muscle.

Post: #4798

(04-04-2019 02:36 PM)H1N1 Wrote:  You are faced with the unfortunate reality that you are not especially cut out for lifting massive weights, like 90% of us. I posted a similar comment in General Stalin's log the other day. Most of us are in the same camp.

If you're in it for the long haul, there comes a point where the reps should get a little higher, the weights a little lighter, and more focus should be given to a rounded and nutritious diet. Maybe you're there, maybe not - it took me a few cycles of getting fatter and getting skinnier - over the space of many years - to settle on a lifting and eating strategy that works for me.

The key really is just to relax and let lifting compliment your life, rather than it being a frustration and a disappointment. Maybe train a bit less, focus on quality and form, and just eat good balanced meals. You'd probably find yourself making decent progress.

Yeah, I can see why this might be true. At this point any additional strength I gain is not worth if if my BF% increases. I should figure out an optimal diet strategy.

I feel like I take 1 step forward and 2 steps back and it's just infuriating. I don't understand how people make these huge strength gains and somehow get more shredded at the same time. Maybe nattys just can't compete.

Post: #4799

(04-04-2019 04:02 PM)Batman_ Wrote:  

(04-04-2019 03:29 PM)Lermontov Wrote:  Batman, I saw your thread. It's not you or your genetics. Your programming was bad. Same volume (too low) for too much time. No autoregulation so you leave the gym exhausted.

You will get stronger if you do more volume. More. Volume. At tolerable intensity so your fatigue doesn't get too high. Don't train less, train more.

Madcow wasn't high volume??? Day 1 and day 3 had you doing three compound lifts at 5x5 each. Day 5 had three compound lifts with each doing 4x5, 1x3, 1x8 for a total of nearly 100 reps between all the lifts! Most people actually don't like madcow because they complain the volume is too high and it takes too long. Also, there was autoregulation built in; if you failed to complete your reps you were supposed to deload (just like Stronglifts). Lastly, day 3 used lighter weights.

I haven't looked through the details of the bridge program you suggested yet, but I can give it a try. But remember I don't care about getting stronger now, I care about getting leaner. I guess I'm failing to understand why a high volume workout would help me - i'd be more exhausted and need to eat more to recover. Unless the program isn't designed for bulking or using heavy weights.

To me I suspect that diet matters a lot more than the program itself - I'd probably look decent if I could shred ~15 lbs of fat without losing any muscle.

I keep posting this link when people have this sort of question, Strikeback's thread is about the most usefull I've seen anywhere in terms of practical advice.

/thread-49176.html

Post: #4800

I'm a 40 year old guy and over the past two years I've had a few periods of anxiety and panic attacks, and I always put it down to spending too much time on my own and in my head (I work for myself) and having a few episodes of drama with a girl I happen to be dating. But last night a friend hinted at overtraining being a possible cause of this and a light bulb went off in my head.

I am quite lean and have very low body fat, but I am toned and lift very hard at the gym. I go through periods where I hit it extra hard and spend 5 days a week in the gym for around 90 minutes each time. I am probably not eating enough to compensate for this.

I can almost confidently say now that this contributes to a feeling of heightened anxiety in me that culminates in a panic attack followed by weeks of mild IBS symptoms. I had been going hard at the gym and my body reacted in a very strange way to a mild amount of drama I was having with a girl. I was permanently on edge, nervous, and couldn't sleep. I was also having night sweats.

I've taken a break from the gym and now feel much better, but I'm wondering what to do? Just take it easy from now on? I'm not interested in bulking, just being toned.

Has anybody else experienced this?