Post: #51

(07-14-2017 12:04 PM)DimeBait Wrote:  Down another 5lbs.

5x5 Stronglifts is getting hard AF! I feel the burn much more now than ever before and I'm struggling. Is this normal, should back down a bit?

Drop the weight by 5-10% and stay there for a couple weeks. You cannot progress linearly forever.

You are also in a caloric deficit, which is stalling your progress. At your size it's a necessary evil. If you're a novice, you will build strength on a caloric deficit simply through practicing the lifts over and over. The gains will come slow, just give it time and keep focusing on getting leaner.

I recommend caffeine pills or a decent preworkout to keep your lifting motivation high during the workout. Lifting on a deficit sucks, especially as a beginner.

The OP doesn't need static training or anything yet, he just has to continue doing what he's doing and lose the weight, as he weighs 280ish lbs.

Post: #52

(07-17-2017 05:11 PM)Hannibal Wrote:  

(07-14-2017 12:04 PM)DimeBait Wrote:  Down another 5lbs.

5x5 Stronglifts is getting hard AF! I feel the burn much more now than ever before and I'm struggling. Is this normal, should back down a bit?

Drop the weight by 5-10% and stay there for a couple weeks. You cannot progress linearly forever.

You are also in a caloric deficit, which is stalling your progress. At your size it's a necessary evil. If you're a novice, you will build strength on a caloric deficit simply through practicing the lifts over and over. The gains will come slow, just give it time and keep focusing on getting leaner.

I recommend caffeine pills or a decent preworkout to keep your lifting motivation high during the workout. Lifting on a deficit sucks, especially as a beginner.

The OP doesn't need static training or anything yet, he just has to continue doing what he's doing and lose the weight, as he weighs 280ish lbs.

Thank you very much for the informative information. As I sated, I'm working out 6-days a week. (Lifting 3 days, cardio 3 days) This is much more easier to manage and gives me 1-day off to go out.

Couple other facts, if this helps.
I'm doing Intermittent Fasting (16hrs)
Ketogenic diet with 1 carb-up (cheat) day every other week
I do not drink any alcohol.
I drink a BCAA pre-workout drink before lifting
I drink whatever generic pre-workout drink on hand before doing cardio.
I drink a post-workout protein shake only on my weight lifting days.



My follow up question(s) are,
Should I be drinking protein shakes more frequently?
Should I reduce the weights on ALL workouts or just the ones giving me the most trouble (squats & overhead press)
Do I just stick with a static weight (-10%) and just stay there for a couple weeks?

Post: #53

(07-17-2017 05:47 PM)DimeBait Wrote:  My follow up question(s) are,
Should I be drinking protein shakes more frequently?
Should I reduce the weights on ALL workouts or just the ones giving me the most trouble (squats & overhead press)
Do I just stick with a static weight (-10%) and just stay there for a couple weeks?

More protein never hurt. Protein won't make you fat and it will help you preserve lean body mass (ie muscle) while you're dieting. Most folks recommend 1 gram per pound of bodyweight, but this is much more important as you get leaner.

Just reduce the weight on the squat and overheadpress by 5 or 10% and stay at the other current weights for a couple weeks. If the weights are fairly low (I have no idea what they're at) you could probably just take like 10 pounds off the overhead press and 20 off the squat.

It looks like you've been sticking to it for about two and a half months so good on that. Cruise on the current weight for your exercises and get comfortable for a few weeks. Take this time to really focus on the form if you're having any issues anywhere.


edit: I'd say your diet and supplement regiment looks very solid, although if you start to have issues with the 16 hour intermittent fasts, just stick to a plain keto diet with like two meals a day and a protein shake here and there.

Post: #54

I've tried many different methods through the past 5 years of working out. But in terms of beginner routines, nothing has been better for me than Starting Strength by Mark Rippetoe. The workouts required are only the big lifts types to gain the most muscle mass. And you don't need to lift THAT heavy either, technique over who despite the book talking about gaining strength.

I am doing starting strength now as someone with a bit more experience and it's worked really well for me so I can only imagine it as a beginner.

Post: #55

Down to 266lbs and counting . . .

(Most of my suits are too baggy and look like shit, but I can't afford new ones right now lol, but it's all good)

I backed my squats and OH Lifts back down 15% and have been holding it there steady for the past 5 workouts. It feels much more comfortable. We'll see what happens. Thinking about ceasing the Keto diet in lieu of 5:2 Intermittent fasting.

When doing cardio on the elliptical after I put my weight, age and duration I'm told my heart rate should be 144bpm. For whatever reason it takes longer to reach and maintain. Does this mean my endurance is higher or something else?

Post: #56

Well done mate.

Regarding diet, IF is the biggest factor for me in terms of loosing weight. Really works, and makes you more productive in the mornings to boot.

Post: #57

(07-26-2017 11:18 AM)DimeBait Wrote:  When doing cardio on the elliptical after I put my weight, age and duration I'm told my heart rate should be 144bpm. For whatever reason it takes longer to reach and maintain. Does this mean my endurance is higher or something else?

Good work.

I have no real studies to back this up, but I believe that past a certain weight, fitness equipment companies simply guess at what the heart rate is supposed to be.

Fat guys generally have decent cardio if they don't spend all day on the couch. This is from lugging around all that extra weight.

Walking around with extra weight is one of the best forms of cardio you can do, this is why mailmen have the best cardiovascular endurance out of any profession.

Of course, this is not to encourage you to keep the weight, just to explain that your cardio is probably "better" than it should be when measured against the machine.

I wouldn't think too much about it, just keep plugging away.

Post: #58

Down to to 261 lbs
Kind of Plateaued the past month but still going at it 6 days a week.
I kept my 5x5 weight about the same for last 5 weeks because of injury and stalling out. Just upped the weights yesterday and it seemed like nothing! I've incorporated some machine weight routines on my cardio days cuz I'm really trying to completely eliminate these man boobs.

Post: #59

Down to about 255lbs
Started picking up on the weights again after the current stagnation got really easy. My damn wrist/forearm injury from barbell row's has been slow to heal so I've been doing some machine sets that target the same muscles without as much pressure on the wrists.
Changed from a keto/16:8 IF diet to a strictly 16:8/5:2 Intermittent Fasting. Dropped about 5lbs in 10 days and broke the Keto stall-out. I'm really cognizant of my caloric intake, cutting kCals everywhere I can. My appetite is almost non-existent and the desire to over indulge is all but gone.

Post: #60

Would you recommend the 5 X 5 for someone approaching 60?

Post: #61

(10-27-2017 09:05 PM)ColSpanker Wrote:  Would you recommend the 5 X 5 for someone approaching 60?

I would recommend The Barbell Prescription: Strength Training for Life After 40

Post: #62

Just to update, I'm down to about 232 lbs now. Was stalled at 245#'s for awhile but switched to fasted cardio and weightlifting and the weight started to drop fast.
I'm also on HGC for 6 weeks to see if I can naturally boost my testosterone along with the traditional supplements (i.e., zinc, magnesium, vitamin D etc). I found a clinic to treat my Low T and it's all billed through insurance. Admittedly, I was hesitant to go straight to TRT injections so I opted to give this HGC a try first. A friend of mine (who told me about the clinic) was able to raise his testosterone from the 300's to the 800's from HGC alone.

Unfortunately, I'm not able to put on muscle and lose fat at the same time because of the deficit and poor diet. Once I hit my target weight (within the BMI index), I'm going for heavy weights to see what I can put on.

Post: #63

In all likelihood, you are probably putting on some muscle but having a hard time seeing it. Putting on muscle takes a long time and it's very dense, meaning it takes up less space per pound than fat.

If your lifts are going up, like you go from benching 205# to 225# or you once benched 205# for a set of 5 and can now do a set of 9, and your belt is getting smaller while the scale is going down (or staying the same), you are gaining muscle and losing fat.

Post: #64

(10-27-2017 09:35 PM)MOVSM Wrote:  

(10-27-2017 09:05 PM)ColSpanker Wrote:  Would you recommend the 5 X 5 for someone approaching 60?

I would recommend The Barbell Prescription: Strength Training for Life After 40

This is the thread where I learned about this book. Excellent program, which I strive to follow. I have a question about it over in "Lifters' Lounge".

Post: #65

Post HCG update: The good news, I'm down to about 226lbs. My goal weight was 225, but I'm determined to get a flat stomach so I'm still cutting.
The bad news is that HGC didn't do shit for my testosterone levels. It went from 412 to 430
I'm officially going on the TRT injections and my insurance is paying for it.
I'll probably continue the HCG though to prevent my nuts from shrinking and continue the weight loss.
Starting to see a bit of definition as my body fat continues to decrease which only motivates me more.

Post: #66

With this 5x5 routine that requires you to add weight every time.... from experience, at some point you cannot lift the weight anymore. So what's the advice? Should you go back down a weight and just keep doing reps to build general strength? Maybe add more reps, then try adding more weight again later?

Also, I'd like to add calisthenics (body-weight) to my routine too for mad strength and flexibility - would be this be taking on too much and not allowing enough rest time?

I've not hit a gym for several years and I'm feeling weak! Aged 42 but don't feel any different to 30s or even 20s tbh, other than some fat around belly creeping in... Skinny fat kinda guy.

PS - no idea what my T levels are, really curious to find out. Might pay a doctor to test me in London before I head off to the Philippines.

Post: #67

@sandstorm I've maxed out in 5x5 a couple times an at the advice of someone here, cut the load 15-20% and started over.
I just can't crush the heavy weights on such a deficit.

Post: #68

(05-03-2018 03:56 AM)Sandstorm Wrote:  With this 5x5 routine that requires you to add weight every time.... from experience, at some point you cannot lift the weight anymore. So what's the advice? Should you go back down a weight and just keep doing reps to build general strength? Maybe add more reps, then try adding more weight again later?

Also, I'd like to add calisthenics (body-weight) to my routine too for mad strength and flexibility - would be this be taking on too much and not allowing enough rest time?

I've not hit a gym for several years and I'm feeling weak! Aged 42 but don't feel any different to 30s or even 20s tbh, other than some fat around belly creeping in... Skinny fat kinda guy.

PS - no idea what my T levels are, really curious to find out. Might pay a doctor to test me in London before I head off to the Philippines.

If you're run up a linear progression like that a couple of times, it might be time to look at something more advanced like wender's 5/3/1 that progresses more slowly.

Post: #69

Well, I had my first TRT injection in my ass cheek today. Vitamin B injection in the other. It was painless, after the next office visit, I will insist on doing it myself at home to spare the trip and $25 office visit copay.
They also told me I was low on DHEA and Vitamin D.
I'm told it should take up to six weeks to see results.

Post: #70

Get ready to think of your life in two eras:

Pre-TRT and Post-TRT.

Enjoy man.

Also, consider posting your experiences in my TRT thread. I'd love to here how it goes for you.

Post: #71

Thx bro. I've been browsing your thread and will definitely add my .02 when I can see it.

I know you've posted extensively about it, but if you had to sum up the two eras of your life you mentioned in a sentence or two, what would that be?

Post: #72

Pre-trt: Life was uninteresting and I was nihilistic.
Post-trt: My efforts to lIve on my own terms seem to have meaningful and positive consequences.

Post: #73

Yup Pre-TRT pretty much sums it up for me. I know I should be, and am capable of doing so much more than what I've been doing.
Looking forward to the change!

Post: #74

Beginner here. Used to workout in the past, but injured myself due to going too hard.

I'm starting to do some exercises again after five years off.

I'm fifty, and thin, very fast metabolism I guess. I do squats at home with a couple of dumbells ( I don't have room for a barbell ).

I make sure my form is absolutely perfect, if it isn't, two days after working out my knees will ache, even with a very very light weight. If my form is perfect, I won't get the ache two days later.

However, I do get mild aches in my knees and butt. Nothing intense, but, enough to wake me up which is really annoying.

Question for the experienced. What is the ache? bones, lactic acid? some combination of the both? can I eat something to reduce the ache? gelatin?

I stretch as much as I can before and after the squats, doesn't matter, I still get the aches.

Thanks in advance for any help.

Post: #75

Officially in my 7th week of TRT injections. Noticeable differences include:
I sleep MUCH better
Belly fat is shrinking
Consistent Morning wood
Random rock hard erections
Last night was the first night I was horny enough to actually do something about it, called over a sure bang.

I suspect (and hope) this is the beginning of my libido returning.
Blood work says my T level at 1005. Estrogen was 50 something and got prescribed an estrogen blocker and instructed to take half a pill a week before injecting