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Lifestyle physical health/fitness thread
- Thread starter Ninahaza
- Start date
When I was younger I used to hate exercise, but since I've started running regularly I've never felt better. It should have been obvious, but it really just never occurred to me that exercise was such a fundamental part of being alive. For me, it wasn't so much about losing weight as it was about just wanting to do what was good for myself as a whole - though running is great for shaping up the legs, I have to admit. I love the limber feeling you get right after a good workout, and I'm so much more energetic everyday now. I have no idea if it has anything to do with exercise, but for some reason my hay fever in the spring has completely disappeared,too. But that could be because my immune system's naturally changed over time, I suppose.
Err, I guess this is more of a thread for guys who do lifting (sorry, guys~), but for the other girls that might be reading this thread, I think I should mention that exercise also helps immensely with keeping you regular and light. No more cramps, either - it's fantastic. So if you're like me a few years ago and are looking for the motivation to start exercising, this one's really a dealbreaker. (≖ᴗ≖✿)
Err, I guess this is more of a thread for guys who do lifting (sorry, guys~), but for the other girls that might be reading this thread, I think I should mention that exercise also helps immensely with keeping you regular and light. No more cramps, either - it's fantastic. So if you're like me a few years ago and are looking for the motivation to start exercising, this one's really a dealbreaker. (≖ᴗ≖✿)
Hey all,
I've been lifting for about 4 years (currently 5'9, 187 lbs, pretty lean) and started a bulk for the winter because I really wanted to up some of my lifts. Everything's been going well with the exception of my squat; it's been plateauing for a long time now (part of the reason I started a bulk was to improve it) to the point where my bench is almost approaching it. I can rep 255 x 5 on bench now but am only at 285 x 5 on squats. It's not that I'm just flat out top heavy, as I can deadlift a little over 4.5 plates.
Anyone have any advice on breaking through this plateau?
I've been lifting for about 4 years (currently 5'9, 187 lbs, pretty lean) and started a bulk for the winter because I really wanted to up some of my lifts. Everything's been going well with the exception of my squat; it's been plateauing for a long time now (part of the reason I started a bulk was to improve it) to the point where my bench is almost approaching it. I can rep 255 x 5 on bench now but am only at 285 x 5 on squats. It's not that I'm just flat out top heavy, as I can deadlift a little over 4.5 plates.
Anyone have any advice on breaking through this plateau?
In which way are you training right now?
If you wanna brake it up you should do a cycle of Strenght, but the best moment during the year to start that is at the end of february / start of march. Since this moment i suggest you 1 month and an half of rest pause.
If your deadlift is that much better than your squat then it has to be technique and muscle imbalances, not a standard plateau.
Weak abs, lats, hip flexors or glutes could be reasons for a bad squat compare to deadlift.
I can't really tell you what you're doing wrong for form w/o seeing it, but common things are not sitting back on the heels or not engaging the abs.
That would make sense, as I spent 3 months in physical therapy for hip flexor problems about a year ago :P I struggle a lot in the pocket as well, which is where they'd really be engaged. I guess I just have to keep taking it slow and let them gradually strengthen. Cheers.
can someone rate my diet?
what i ate today: http://puu.sh/623hL.png. 2900 calories, 190g protein, 167g fat, 170g carbs. 5'8, 145 lbs, 66 kg, bulking on starting strength. was lifting ~6 months ago, and i was at it for nearly 4 months solidly. had some back issues, stopped, started a month ago to be in shape for summer.
what i ate today: http://puu.sh/623hL.png. 2900 calories, 190g protein, 167g fat, 170g carbs. 5'8, 145 lbs, 66 kg, bulking on starting strength. was lifting ~6 months ago, and i was at it for nearly 4 months solidly. had some back issues, stopped, started a month ago to be in shape for summer.
That looks like a pretty dirty bulk. I know it's cheaper eating but I'd cut back on the fat in favor of more carbs; if you're bulking there's not any reason to limit carbohydrate intake so much as long as it's not all coming from shitty food sources. Fruit here and there, occasional grains are fine (think stuff like brown rice, etching) to fill in some calories in place of the fat isn't the worst idea IMO.
If you don't mind me asking, how long were you out of the gym due to your back issues? Similarly, I recently partially dislocated my shoulder and am rearing to go but I wanna be healthy before I start, and wanna know the typical "wait-time".
I can also weigh in on this one, as I spent a while in PT with a shoulder injury as well. I'd really go to a physical therapist or the like and have them evaluate you before you go back. If for whatever reason you can't do this, I'd wait at least two weeks after you feel that's it's fully healed, and after that it's a good idea to spend another week or two doing some rehab strengthening exercises to ease back into it (there's a nice list here: http://www.svl.ch/files/shoulder_strengthening.pdf). Waiting sucks but hurting it again would be a lot worse; better safe than sorry.
I was wondering what kind of gains people are making that are trying to bulk. Mostly because I have a training client that gained 8+ lbs in his first week(157>165+). I know it isn't typical, but I'm not sure if that is even close to normal lol.
He isn't making homself sick or putting himself in danger or anything, just following the plan.
He isn't making homself sick or putting himself in danger or anything, just following the plan.
i pretty much waited until it completely stopped hurting, and then waited another 2 months or so (because it felt pretty bad). it was 7 months total, for the first 4 months i tried periodically doing pretty light squats (95ish lbs) and if it still hurt, i stopped. but keep in mind every injury/person is different, just wait it out until it feels normal and then wait a little more.
Ash Borer
I've heard they're short of room in hell
oh man, back issues are something very serious. I have been struggling with spine issues for years now, but mine are chronic and dont go away. I can't offer much to a conventional back injury, but if its serious you want to see a sports medicine physician. Just sitting on a spinal issue wont help enough you have to do real rehabilitation though.
I'm glad a thread like this exists on Smogon!
Three years ago (age 17), I was 241 lbs and felt horrible. Even though I'm 6'4" I was still pretty thick, had a bad diet, wasn't great with exercise (though I did get out a decent amount), etc. Then I got mono and lost 10 lbs from not eating since I lost my appetite, but when it came back I gained again and when I hit 241 on our bathroom scale, I had finally had enough after numerous "I've had enough" moments that weren't real.
But this time I wrote down everything I ate in a Wordpad file on my computer. I highlighted unhealthy foods with red, healthy foods or substitutes for unhealthy foods in green, and "neutral" foods (something like peanut butter crackers or chocolate milk) in gray. It wasn't perfect, especially my classifications, but every night I had to be accountable to myself. I also had what I weighed in at each night under it. I dropped the first six pounds quickly--I suspect some of that was water weight or weight that I hadn't entirely "packed on" yet, if I may be unscientific about it--but then stagnated. Even so, I kept with it and steadily had mostly green reports, with the only red thing usually being a sugary frozen snack I let myself have every day or two.
Eventually, I started making progress, as 235 lbs turned to 233 which turned to 229, and once I got into the 220s, the weight started falling off almost effortlessly. I started during the winter (and was still recovering from mono!), so I didn't exercise much, but once I did it only accelerated things. By the NBA playoffs that year (weird I know, but I associate different weights with specific times and I remember weighing 224 lbs when the Mavs-Blazers series was on at a local restaurant, lol), I had made real progress and was feeling great. I was at 217 lbs during the thoroughly depressing Celtics-Heat series and finished off the school year at 212 lbs. By then I had sort of stopped trying--over the summer I exercised a lot and it just kept coming off until around 190 lbs. By then I had long since stopped being so strict with my diet. I could afford it.
Losing a whopping fifty pounds was huge for my self-confidence. Besides looking better, it just felt awesome to finally slay that dragon, as I can remember being self-aware about my weight back in third grade. My target had always been 180 lbs though, which was arbitrary but still a real goal. After a few years of taking it easy and holding steady, I decided to go for it and started running, watching my diet again, and even counting calories. I had a ton of success, becoming a much more proficient runner and trimming down to 176 lbs before getting plantar fasciitis in my right foot, which shut me down not just from running but also from basketball, a major hobby over the summer.
It's still not entirely better, mostly because I've been very lazy rehabbing it. I've taken to using the pseudo-bikes in my school's gym and lifting for my club sport for exercise. Lifting has been interesting--I've always been very very weak, so adding legit strength has been…an experience. Even though I'm still pretty weak, it's really awesome to see incremental progress in much the same way I described above. (Hopefully the details weren't too dull.) Tomorrow night is legs day...can't wait for more lunges...
I would say that living a healthy lifestyle has changed my life in very positive ways. First, the self-confidence from exercising a degree of control over my physical fitness and appearance is empowering. Furthermore, I just feel better, probably because healthy food rarely makes you feel like crap, even though I'm not nearly as strict as I should be anymore. Lastly, a more recent transformation has been that now I feel like I can be a positive influence on my family, especially my parents. I feel especially useful with my father, who is overweight and very much at risk for ailments (or whatever the case may be) that comes with that, whether it be a heart attack, diabetes, etc. Over the past week we have moved all of the cookies and chocolate, unthinkably plentiful around Christmas, out. Baked chips have replaced fattier ones. Soda is being banned. Unfortunately, I'll have to leave soon, but "I don't want to end up like Dad" was a main motivator three years ago and now I hope to be a small positive force for change. I have no idea if I'll be helpful or just annoying, but I hope I be be positive in some way.
Anyway, I hope this wasn't too out of place, but I just wanted to share my experience with the subject matter of this thread. Maybe it will be a nugget of encouragement to anyone who struggles with this stuff--even now, it's still a struggle for me. I suspect it is to some degree for everyone.
(Wow, that was wordy.)
Three years ago (age 17), I was 241 lbs and felt horrible. Even though I'm 6'4" I was still pretty thick, had a bad diet, wasn't great with exercise (though I did get out a decent amount), etc. Then I got mono and lost 10 lbs from not eating since I lost my appetite, but when it came back I gained again and when I hit 241 on our bathroom scale, I had finally had enough after numerous "I've had enough" moments that weren't real.
But this time I wrote down everything I ate in a Wordpad file on my computer. I highlighted unhealthy foods with red, healthy foods or substitutes for unhealthy foods in green, and "neutral" foods (something like peanut butter crackers or chocolate milk) in gray. It wasn't perfect, especially my classifications, but every night I had to be accountable to myself. I also had what I weighed in at each night under it. I dropped the first six pounds quickly--I suspect some of that was water weight or weight that I hadn't entirely "packed on" yet, if I may be unscientific about it--but then stagnated. Even so, I kept with it and steadily had mostly green reports, with the only red thing usually being a sugary frozen snack I let myself have every day or two.
Eventually, I started making progress, as 235 lbs turned to 233 which turned to 229, and once I got into the 220s, the weight started falling off almost effortlessly. I started during the winter (and was still recovering from mono!), so I didn't exercise much, but once I did it only accelerated things. By the NBA playoffs that year (weird I know, but I associate different weights with specific times and I remember weighing 224 lbs when the Mavs-Blazers series was on at a local restaurant, lol), I had made real progress and was feeling great. I was at 217 lbs during the thoroughly depressing Celtics-Heat series and finished off the school year at 212 lbs. By then I had sort of stopped trying--over the summer I exercised a lot and it just kept coming off until around 190 lbs. By then I had long since stopped being so strict with my diet. I could afford it.
Losing a whopping fifty pounds was huge for my self-confidence. Besides looking better, it just felt awesome to finally slay that dragon, as I can remember being self-aware about my weight back in third grade. My target had always been 180 lbs though, which was arbitrary but still a real goal. After a few years of taking it easy and holding steady, I decided to go for it and started running, watching my diet again, and even counting calories. I had a ton of success, becoming a much more proficient runner and trimming down to 176 lbs before getting plantar fasciitis in my right foot, which shut me down not just from running but also from basketball, a major hobby over the summer.
It's still not entirely better, mostly because I've been very lazy rehabbing it. I've taken to using the pseudo-bikes in my school's gym and lifting for my club sport for exercise. Lifting has been interesting--I've always been very very weak, so adding legit strength has been…an experience. Even though I'm still pretty weak, it's really awesome to see incremental progress in much the same way I described above. (Hopefully the details weren't too dull.) Tomorrow night is legs day...can't wait for more lunges...
I would say that living a healthy lifestyle has changed my life in very positive ways. First, the self-confidence from exercising a degree of control over my physical fitness and appearance is empowering. Furthermore, I just feel better, probably because healthy food rarely makes you feel like crap, even though I'm not nearly as strict as I should be anymore. Lastly, a more recent transformation has been that now I feel like I can be a positive influence on my family, especially my parents. I feel especially useful with my father, who is overweight and very much at risk for ailments (or whatever the case may be) that comes with that, whether it be a heart attack, diabetes, etc. Over the past week we have moved all of the cookies and chocolate, unthinkably plentiful around Christmas, out. Baked chips have replaced fattier ones. Soda is being banned. Unfortunately, I'll have to leave soon, but "I don't want to end up like Dad" was a main motivator three years ago and now I hope to be a small positive force for change. I have no idea if I'll be helpful or just annoying, but I hope I be be positive in some way.
Anyway, I hope this wasn't too out of place, but I just wanted to share my experience with the subject matter of this thread. Maybe it will be a nugget of encouragement to anyone who struggles with this stuff--even now, it's still a struggle for me. I suspect it is to some degree for everyone.
(Wow, that was wordy.)
After recovering from kissing disease(mono) for a month. I have decided to get in shape again. I'm almost 184cm, and weigh around 73kg. I'm planning to cut to around 62kg and then start bulking up again. I know most people would suggest to bulk up at my weight, but I have around 20-25% bodyfat and would look like a fatass if I were to gain 20+ pounds. My goal is by the end of the year I have 5-7% and weight about 64-68 kg maybe a little more. I'm not looking to get big at all, just going to for the skinny supper ripped look. On bodybuilding.com there is one transformation that caught my eye and the was Bobby Parker's how he went from skinny fat to super shredded and he didnt have much mass. I have a pretty good diet, very little carbs, mostly protein and some healthly fat. I'm shooting around 160 grams daily, mostly from salmon, tofu, and whey and beans. About 6 small meals throughtout the day seems to be ideal with a lot of water. As for for supplements I'm taking Omega3s, Coenzyme Q10, Multivitamin, L-arginine, and Vitamin-C and will soon being taking Glutamine, and Creatine. A few other supplements I'm looking at are CLA and Bcaas. I'm starting my workouts relatively easy and increasing intensity. I will be amping the cardio to since that is important to the oxidation of fat. I have a couple questions, though how fast Should I cut? (I'm aiming for almost a kilo per week) and Does lifting at near maximal levels when cutting help prevent muscle loss?
At your height and weight (for scum like me who use imperial, 6'1 and 160) aiming for 1 kg a week may be a little bit fast; it could be done conceivably but at that rate you are definitely going to see some muscle loss. Also, cutting down to 62 kg at your height? That seems like a really low weight. I know you said it yourself, but I'm not sure doing such a big cut right after having mono is in your best interests.
With regard to your other question, lifting at near maximal levels while cutting may prevent muscle loss to an extent, but it's also when you're most likely to get yourself hurt (again, this is especially true since you were just sick). Pushing yourself is important, but pushing yourself too much at this particular time may not be great for your particular situation. This is, of course, just my two cents.
i was benching the other day and i realised that my arms are getting quite dimorphic (for lack of a better term). i had 85kg on the bar which is a standard 8-10 rep bench for me usually, but i could only manage a complete 7. this was because my left arm couldn't lift the weight even though my right arm could. i could've probably repped to ten with my right arm. when i took the bar off the rack i was convinced that my gym buddy had put the weight on wrong because the left side felt heavier.
its never been like this before, so i was wondering if this could be due to the fact that i've been out of the gym for a couple of months due to injury. my left side seems to atrophied a lot faster than my right, which i find bizarre. anyone got any good methods to solve this? i reckon i could put more weight onto my lifts if my left arm could keep up.
its never been like this before, so i was wondering if this could be due to the fact that i've been out of the gym for a couple of months due to injury. my left side seems to atrophied a lot faster than my right, which i find bizarre. anyone got any good methods to solve this? i reckon i could put more weight onto my lifts if my left arm could keep up.
Dumbbells dumbbells dumbbells. My left was always way weaker than my right but I trained almost exclusively with dumbbells until they got equal. Even if that means slowing down with your right arms progress a bit it'll be worth it in the long run.
My words exactly. It might take a week or two to "level the playing field" but you should be fine after that.
Speaking of fitness, we had fitness testing for our last week of gym and jesus FUCK I'm happy with how much improvement I had.
Here are some improvements I had. The first test was all the way back at September 4th 2013. Second test on Jan 21st/22nd 2014. I'm actually chuckling at most of my September records, but then again I had some bad insomnia weeks in September.
# of Pushups in 60 seconds = 14
# of Situps in 60 seconds = 15
Beep Test: 7.4
Mile Run(1600m): 7:47
Vertical Jump:+30cm(12in)
Bench Press(max):100lbs
Leg Press(max):160lbs
Squat(max):75lbs
Sit-and-Reach:+24cm(9.4in past the toes)
# of Situps in 60 seconds = 15
Beep Test: 7.4
Mile Run(1600m): 7:47
Vertical Jump:+30cm(12in)
Bench Press(max):100lbs
Leg Press(max):160lbs
Squat(max):75lbs
Sit-and-Reach:+24cm(9.4in past the toes)
# of Pushups in 60 seconds=53
# of Situps in 60 seconds = 37
Beep Test: 9.6
Mile Run(1600m): 6:15(we didn't test that in this shit weather, so this was my best before the cold snap)
Vertical Jump: +40cm(16in, actually touched the basketball rim right after I did the test to the surprise of everyone)
Bench Press(max):145lbs
Leg Press(max):320lbs
Squat(max): 135 lbs
Sit-and-Reach:+32cm(12.5in past the toes, and the absolute record at my school)
# of Situps in 60 seconds = 37
Beep Test: 9.6
Mile Run(1600m): 6:15(we didn't test that in this shit weather, so this was my best before the cold snap)
Vertical Jump: +40cm(16in, actually touched the basketball rim right after I did the test to the surprise of everyone)
Bench Press(max):145lbs
Leg Press(max):320lbs
Squat(max): 135 lbs
Sit-and-Reach:+32cm(12.5in past the toes, and the absolute record at my school)
I gotta say, the one that shocks me the most is my Leg Press doubling since most of my leg exercises were Leg Curls, Squat and running. Still though, I've never felt more proud of myself in my life!
Read an article somewhere about muscular hypertrophy and got these takeaways from it
1. The paper breaks rep ranges into 3: 1-5 reps, 6-12, 12+ with the recommendation of 6-12 reps being optimal
2. Research showed that Testosterone and GH increase was not noticed during the first 3 sets but was noticeable with 4+ sets
3. Tempo of the lift should be explosive on the way up (concentric) and 2-3 seconds on the eccentric for maximum growth (TUT)
4. Ideal rest period for hypertrophy between sets is 60-90 seconds
5. Use of compound movements is most beneficial, but should use isolation work as well to bring up the weak parts
6. The paper recommends split routine over full body routine to reduce the number of sets performed per session. This also gives the body parts time to recover more
7. Training to failure is more productive on the short run, but detrimental if done every week. The paper suggest cycling the workouts that you do to failure every week. That way you do not train all body parts to failure every week. If training to failure, it is best to have a deload period
8. The paper recommends cycling the workouts and not doing the same workout every week
1. The paper breaks rep ranges into 3: 1-5 reps, 6-12, 12+ with the recommendation of 6-12 reps being optimal
2. Research showed that Testosterone and GH increase was not noticed during the first 3 sets but was noticeable with 4+ sets
3. Tempo of the lift should be explosive on the way up (concentric) and 2-3 seconds on the eccentric for maximum growth (TUT)
4. Ideal rest period for hypertrophy between sets is 60-90 seconds
5. Use of compound movements is most beneficial, but should use isolation work as well to bring up the weak parts
6. The paper recommends split routine over full body routine to reduce the number of sets performed per session. This also gives the body parts time to recover more
7. Training to failure is more productive on the short run, but detrimental if done every week. The paper suggest cycling the workouts that you do to failure every week. That way you do not train all body parts to failure every week. If training to failure, it is best to have a deload period
8. The paper recommends cycling the workouts and not doing the same workout every week
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Got it from this thread http://anabolicminds.com/forum/exercise-science/191446-mechanisms-muscle-hypertrophy.html.
And no I don't juice but they have some really cool stuff on those forums.
My chest is nowhere near as big as it should be for the amount that I bench, and I finally have figured out why. I'll edit the post with the article later (phone being a bitch currently) but pretty much I learnt that my benching technique engaged my shoulders and triceps too much. Interesting stuff.