Post: #251

(08-28-2013 06:10 AM)RioNomad Wrote:  GOMAD I think is only recommended for very skinny people and teenagers. I don't know how well it works. I know as a 28 year old male I wouldn't do GOMAD, I'd get fat as fuck. However, if I were a 16 year old kid, it may work great.

at 34 I did gomad for 16 weeks, went from 14% - 25% BF, and put on 15lbs of LBM. Sure, the fat came with it, but that can be lost pretty quickly with an aggressive fat loss diet.

Starting Strength is not a bodybuilding program. And I have very little respect for recreational bodybuilders in the gym that look all big and swole, and can only lift the weight of a novice weightlifter on Starting Strength. I love seeing these big huge guys with fake muscles quarter squatting 300#, acting like they are strong, its fucking hilarious. Or watching them struggle with a 315 bench while a typical high school athlete can do that no problem. To me a skinny strong person is way more impressive than a puffed up David Barton leotard wearing gym rat. Big fake water filled muscles are useless. This is not the program for this. Its really only for people who care about being strong.

Post: #252

I did GOMAD when I was 20 and it helped but I gained a ton of bodyfat from it.

I agree with Rio, I don't think the downsides warrant doing it unless you're a teenager.

Knowing what I know about nutrition now, I'd much rather do it clean/slowly with the right macros vs put it on quick then having to take time to drop bodyfat.

You feel bloated and generally feel like shit drinking vast quantities of milk.

25% bodyfat is a quarter of your whole mass, that's huge. You are right, losing fat doesn't have to take a long time but the endless cardio is horrible.

It would be interesting to measure individuals who did a GOMAD diet in the time it takes them to gain weight then drop the fat against someone who eats clean and gains.

Post: #253

(08-29-2013 09:12 AM)puckman Wrote:  at 34 I did gomad for 16 weeks, went from 14% - 25% BF, and put on 15lbs of LBM. Sure, the fat came with it, but that can be lost pretty quickly with an aggressive fat loss diet.

What diet did you use to drop the weight? I'm in my mid 30s now and having a hell of a time cutting. I used to be able to do it by just reducing calories and the fat would melt off. Now when I try and cut calories and my metabolism plummets and I just want to sleep all day.

Post: #254

(08-30-2013 08:10 AM)Ensam Wrote:  What diet did you use to drop the weight? I'm in my mid 30s now and having a hell of a time cutting. I used to be able to do it by just reducing calories and the fat would melt off. Now when I try and cut calories and my metabolism plummets and I just want to sleep all day.

Have you tried carb cycling?

Post: #255

Still waiting for them measurements..
It really doesn't matter because an ectomorph isn't gonna get really bulky and when they do, they look terrible when they lose shape later on in age. Think Val Kilmer and Travolta. Both were lean and then got overweight and couldn't make movies for a while.
OP isn't technically skinny because he isn't underweight for his body type and height. Skinny also implies shapeless..but as we see OP has A LOT of shape. Hes got a muscular athletic build.
I still think he should add weight to his push ups though, because they will be un proportional with back and shoulders. pull ups and those shoulder presses you do are impressive and body weight is A LOT for those muscles, more than most people do in the gym. But push ups become so easy, quickly that more challenge is needed. I would say the pecs are one of the hardest muscles to stimulate long term with body weight exercises. You can easily add weight to pull ups, chin ups and dips but NOT to push ups.
I also think it gets unhealthy for bf to get under 6 % indefinitely.

Post: #256

(08-30-2013 08:43 AM)TheKantian Wrote:  

(08-30-2013 08:10 AM)Ensam Wrote:  What diet did you use to drop the weight? I'm in my mid 30s now and having a hell of a time cutting. I used to be able to do it by just reducing calories and the fat would melt off. Now when I try and cut calories and my metabolism plummets and I just want to sleep all day.

Have you tried carb cycling?

I have not. I'm currently in the low 20s for BF%. Isn't carb cutting more for people around 10% who want to get to 6%? Currently my work schedule is to be in the gym 90 minutes 4 times a week. Two days are heavy and 2 days are assistance exercises. On three of those days I do HIIT cardio with sleds and prowlers for ~20-30 minutes at the end of the work out.

Post: #257

5'7 155 lb 10% bf
1 rep max (done, not calculated)
bench 200
squat 225
deadlift 315

Any suggestions on improving squat?

Post: #258

(08-30-2013 08:10 AM)Ensam Wrote:  

(08-29-2013 09:12 AM)puckman Wrote:  at 34 I did gomad for 16 weeks, went from 14% - 25% BF, and put on 15lbs of LBM. Sure, the fat came with it, but that can be lost pretty quickly with an aggressive fat loss diet.

What diet did you use to drop the weight? I'm in my mid 30s now and having a hell of a time cutting. I used to be able to do it by just reducing calories and the fat would melt off. Now when I try and cut calories and my metabolism plummets and I just want to sleep all day.

I like Slow Carb. Its easiest to do, but takes some work. This last round of slow carb I started on Aug 5th at 197lbs(20%BF) and am down to 185lbs, in roughly 25 days. The only other diet that works this well for me is the Zone, but requires way more work weighing and measuring all food. If I keep going with Slow Carb, do the supplements, cold baths, etc, I could probably get to 10% BF in another 4 weeks. The trade off is the training, where I have scaled back my training intensity while I eat less.

Post: #259

I think I mentioned this somewhere on the forum. I did GOMAD and went from 5'10" 125 to 190 in 6 months, then cut down to 160 with a six pack over the next 6 months. Cutting was easy - I just cut out the milk, did about 50 burpees every morning, and continued going to BJJ a few times a week. I could probably have lost the fat more quickly if I had been more aggressive about calorie deficits and added more cardio sessions, but I wanted to keep as much of my strength gains as possible.

Strength gains (3 x 5, except for deadlifts at 1 x 5)
Squat: 95 > 230
Press: 50 > 105
Bench: 115 > 150
Deadlift: 135 > 250

I probably could have made even more lifting progress, but training BJJ at the same time fucks w/ my recovery and dealt me a few injuries I had to contend with during this period.

Post: #260

I appreciate the knowledge shared in this thread even if this is not a dedicated lifting forum. Maybe a post/reply is only a starting point for digging deeper elsewhere, but I think it's good to ask questions and have a discussion amongst guys with different approaches, opinions, experiences. On the dedicated fitness/lifting forums I know the answer I get is probably going to depend on which forum I go to, depending on whether it's a more bb'ing crowd, or powerlifting-oriented, or cross-fit, or whatever.

I plan to stick with this for at least a few more months before making any changes. My preference is to keep making strength gains before worrying about looks-- I'd just like to avoid gaining too much extra fat, given that I have plenty already. Clearly there's not too much point in cutting if I'm weak and there will be nothing for me to cut down to…

"Just eat more" is an oversimplification, obviously. I probably just have to find the right balance-- an excess of calories is needed but not too much, too soon. I'm not doing GOMAD but I did add in a bunch of milk (1-2 cups a day), eggs, and protein powder to my diet.

FWIW, I did notice it was easier to hit my bar weight targets and rep counts in the last workouts after gaining a bunch of weight. I bet if I simply avoided stepping on scales and looking in mirrors I would be enjoying the progress (getting stronger) so far a lot more.

Post: #261

(08-30-2013 12:20 PM)Ensam Wrote:  I have not. I'm currently in the low 20s for BF%. Isn't carb cutting more for people around 10% who want to get to 6%? Currently my work schedule is to be in the gym 90 minutes 4 times a week. Two days are heavy and 2 days are assistance exercises. On three of those days I do HIIT cardio with sleds and prowlers for ~20-30 minutes at the end of the work out.

Carb cycling is for anyone regardless of their body fat percentage.

Add some fish oil and sesamin and the fat should fly off.

Post: #262

(09-03-2013 09:29 AM)RexImperator Wrote:  FWIW, I did notice it was easier to hit my bar weight targets and rep counts in the last workouts after gaining a bunch of weight. I bet if I simply avoided stepping on scales and looking in mirrors I would be enjoying the progress (getting stronger) so far a lot more.

The book and the SS community will tell you to not care about weight, but for most of us here that is simply NOT an option. It is the most effective though for strength training. I use Daily Burn everyday to record everything I eat, to make sure I get about 225g of protein per day, and continue to eat slow carb while I gain. Fat goes down, muscle goes up. Tracking your nutrition is probably the most important thing when lifting and trying not to get fat.

Here is what I do to strength gain now;

- Slow Carb Diet
- Protein/day - >1.25x lean body mass weight per day. I am 165lbs lean body mass, times 1.25 = 206g protein per day.
Post Workout - Either a chocolate milk or an Afterburner shake
Zinc supps

If I were only concerned with fat loss and maintaining muscle, I would cut out the post workout stuff, and not increase weight as fast. Typically its 15-30lbs per lift per week. If I am maintaining it may be 5-10, or no increase at all.

Post: #263

As recommended in the book, I bought some fractional plates so I can make smaller incremental weight increases for each workout. Went to the gym today and found the Olympic bar is way too thick...WTF. I didn't realise there was such variety in sizes. I'm thinking it is probably gonna be tough to find any that fit this bar it's too damn thick! Any other suggestions on how to increase weight by only 0.5/1kg per workout? Would be really helpful for bench and overhead press where a 2.5kg increase every time gets tough quickly.

Post: #264

I was considering these but the description says not for imported Olympic bars:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B004QJ2ZOK...646&sr=8-2

Post: #265

(09-08-2013 01:35 AM)dreambig Wrote:  As recommended in the book, I bought some fractional plates so I can make smaller incremental weight increases for each workout. Went to the gym today and found the Olympic bar is way too thick...WTF. I didn't realise there was such variety in sizes. I'm thinking it is probably gonna be tough to find any that fit this bar it's too damn thick! Any other suggestions on how to increase weight by only 0.5/1kg per workout? Would be really helpful for bench and overhead press where a 2.5kg increase every time gets tough quickly.

I used plate mates years ago after reading about them in one of Stuart McRobert's books. I had two magnetic .6kg ones that you just stuck on the plates/dumbells. They worked great at the time and microloading got me up over a 1.5 x BW bench. Unfortunately, I gave them away because I stopped working out for a period in my mid twenties (it had began to run my life with me being more concerned about where my next protein serving was coming from, and getting to bed early, than actually enjoying my life).

I've been back in the gym a few years now though, but rather than pay for plate mates which are quite expensive in the UK, I just got some diving ankle weights which I strap on to the end of the barbell (or around the handle of the dumbell). Diving ankle weights were the only ones I could find that were .6kg (all the fitness ones were .5kg or 1kg).

I definitely recommend loading in small increments though. I need to keep my bodyweight down for my sport so it's difficult to add much weight, but these have helped a lot. They work great with dumbells too, not just barbells. I tend to add weight every session, so first session I'll use just the dumbell, the next session the dumbell plus the .6kg ankle weight, then the dumbell plus a 1.25kg plate tied on using an off cut from an old hand wrap, the next week the dumbell, the 1.25 plate, and the ankle weight, and then onto the next dumbell. I get the odd strange look from people, but it's got my 45 degree incline dumbell press up loads and my upper chest looks much better for it (still somewhat of a weakness for me though).

Post: #266

Can buy some chains and cut them to the right weight and use those. Close them around the bar with a carabiner.

Post: #267

Thanks guys. I was really pissed about this yesterday and fed up of stalling on my bench press.

Post: #268

check out this routine its supposed to be very good for improving your squat. Im currently doing a different routine but deffinitely plan on trying this later on.

http://stronglifts.com/how-to-add-100-po...at-smolov/

Edit: I forgot to add that this would be for people who are more advanced and are starting to see a plateau.

Post: #269

(08-26-2013 04:17 AM)RioNomad Wrote:  After a killer squat workout I always feel like beating the shit out of somebody, but in a good way. Anyone else get that feeling?

I don't, but I do have a noticeable increase in libido and a general feeling of "awesomeness" after doing some heavy DeadLifts. I guess I'm a "lover not a fighter" at heart...

Note: I think that's likely because I'm a newb and my squats just aren't heavy enough yet...my squat bar weight gains at this point are probably more from CNS adaption, increased coordination, and joints working better etc. rather than "blasting" muscles.

So far I'm finding strength training extremely enjoyable and I can even see where it could be addictive (*provided I don't get injured, I'm quite aware...). More so than any other kind of physical exercise I've done.

Post: #270

(08-30-2013 02:37 PM)awkward Wrote:  5'7 155 lb 10% bf
1 rep max (done, not calculated)
bench 200
squat 225
deadlift 315

Any suggestions on improving squat?

Try doing front squats along as well as single leg curls. The deadlifts you're already doing will also improve that squat strength. The front squats have helped improve my squat form as well as strength gains so I recommend them. Also, try going 6-8 weeks with 3-4 sets of 6-8 reps. After that cycle is over, go 8 sets of 2-3 with heavier weight for another 6-8 weeks.

Do the same thing for your other lifts. Most important thing is to keep a log and record what you do each time you hit the gym. Also, make sure you always move up in weight with at least one exercise each time you go to the gym.

Post: #271

(09-03-2013 11:17 AM)TheKantian Wrote:  Add some fish oil and sesamin and the fat should fly off.

Fuck I love this board, learn something useful every day.

Is there a level where too many different supplements a day would overwork your organs? I only taking a multi right now. But once I stop my super low carb mode (and shed a couple more pounds), I plan to start using the supplements I have. I will be taking CoQ10, CLA, Fish Oil, ALA, collagen, and probably sesamin after just reading about it.

Thanks to the board, I got back into lifting hard a few months ago but I didn't watch the calories as well and gained some unneeded weight, so I am getting leaner by the day, but once I hit my body tone I am looking for, I'd like to maintain it without having to be totally no carb. I will take a look into slow carb diet.

Thanks.

Post: #272

(08-30-2013 02:37 PM)awkward Wrote:  5'7 155 lb 10% bf
1 rep max (done, not calculated)
bench 200
squat 225
deadlift 315

Any suggestions on improving squat?

Squat more in various styles. Front squat, high/low bar, overhead etc.
Make sure you've tightened every muscle in your body.

My squat has been plateaued for what seems like forever. Starting strength and stronglifts are good to get used to lifting and to build a base of strength. I got injured so I've been playing around with what works for me and have realized a 5x5 just doesn't have enough volume. I was doing madcow and it felt like I was doing shit all at the gym. The other day I easily hit 365 after barely being able to do doubles of 315

I'm experimenting right now. I pick one lift for a day (squat,bench,row,press,dead) and try to lift as much total weight as I can in an hour over a few different variations of the lift. I work up relatively quickly to a one rep max and go down from there.

eg. Last week's deadlift day: I hadn't been able to deadlift without pain for a few months. I dropped the weight significantly and made sure to keep everything tight. I'd been doing tons of volume for the past few weeks and last session was my heavy day. On the first day I struggled to do 275lb.

Last week I crushed out 365, repped 315 and 275 for a while then finished everything off with snatch grip DL and RDL. In an hour I lifted something like 15000lbs, half being singles and the rest being 3-8 reps.

Same thing with bench. I've always had trouble with my bench. I obliterated 205 yesterday which is almost a 30lb pr.

You might respond differently, but I can feel when my time in the gym is over and I've had a good session. Its usually after an hour and training strength singles mixed with lots of lower weight volume just makes sense to me.

Post: #273

Overhead squats are killer for breaking squat plateaus. Start light and don't be surprised if you almost eat it a few times getting the balance right. I also recommend glute ham raises and pistol squats. If you can't do a pistol squat do a rear leg elevated single leg squat.

Post: #274

Have you moved on to Madcow 5x5 yet? If not, that is a very good next step in improving your squat after SS or SL, assuming you've milked that for all it's worth, but most people don't and move on way too soon.

I took my squat from 300x5 to 355x3 at 185ish pounds bodyweight in just shy of three months on Madcow.

Week 12 I started to fail, or I would have been at 365x5. That was just the other week. Think I just need a deload after doing 3 months solid of increasing the weight weekly.

Post: #275

man

i just tried doing a session of SS at my current numbers, it was wack

eased up up on the squats and started 275x5x3

but then shoulder press i could only manage 155x3x3
and power clean 215x3x5

and i was wrecked

i can shoulder press 200 and power clean 270 for reference

it ruined my other lifts for the day