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Lifestyle physical health/fitness thread
- Thread starter Ninahaza
- Start date
Oh, I should probably clarify that I didn't run the whole race like that, just kinda did it for the picture.
I'll have to look into GOMAD because I could use the extra weight. Thanks!
I'll have to look into GOMAD because I could use the extra weight. Thanks!
So I was worried that I'd lost quite a bit of strength on my cut - and today was my first really heavy chest session since I'd begun it.
3rd set of a pyramid set of BB chest press and I crank out 3 reps at 220 pounds (100 kilos). Feels fucking great, 3 reps at 1.3 x my body weight :D
3rd set of a pyramid set of BB chest press and I crank out 3 reps at 220 pounds (100 kilos). Feels fucking great, 3 reps at 1.3 x my body weight :D
Hi, it's about time I posted here after lurking for a while =v)
I looked into GOMAD myself and the thought of drinking a whole gallon of milk kinda freaks me out @_@. I've recently gotten back into working out since spring semester ended for me after slacking a shitton during the winter. I myself am rather puny, but I've made a concerted effort to eat a lot more and go the gym nearly every day. Since May I've gained about 10 lbs, some of that is attributed to the fact that I'm a rather frugal person when eating in NYC during college--and now that I'm back home in NJ, I've been eating a lot more. I am 5'7" and was 125 at the beginning of May and now I'm weighing in at about 135. I'm pretty pleased at the results, but I'm still on the lower end of the BMI scale. My goal is to hit about 150, though I don't expect that to happen for about another year or two. I don't expect any instant results; I'm just trying to make this a regular part of my life that I hopefully won't slack on again.
I've read that GOMAD is best suited for scrawny-ass teenage males (which I suppose I am) and while you will definitely gain some bulk and strength, that weight isn't necessarily going to the right places. I drink 2 glasses of milk a day (and I mix a scoop of whey into one of those glasses post-workout) and I feel that my calorie / protein intake is sufficient enough. While I don't want to go ham drinking a gallon of milk a day, I am still considering upping my milk consumption to maybe 3 glasses, but I don't want to completely overload on fats and sugar and I want to gain weight the right way =x.
I looked into GOMAD myself and the thought of drinking a whole gallon of milk kinda freaks me out @_@. I've recently gotten back into working out since spring semester ended for me after slacking a shitton during the winter. I myself am rather puny, but I've made a concerted effort to eat a lot more and go the gym nearly every day. Since May I've gained about 10 lbs, some of that is attributed to the fact that I'm a rather frugal person when eating in NYC during college--and now that I'm back home in NJ, I've been eating a lot more. I am 5'7" and was 125 at the beginning of May and now I'm weighing in at about 135. I'm pretty pleased at the results, but I'm still on the lower end of the BMI scale. My goal is to hit about 150, though I don't expect that to happen for about another year or two. I don't expect any instant results; I'm just trying to make this a regular part of my life that I hopefully won't slack on again.
I've read that GOMAD is best suited for scrawny-ass teenage males (which I suppose I am) and while you will definitely gain some bulk and strength, that weight isn't necessarily going to the right places. I drink 2 glasses of milk a day (and I mix a scoop of whey into one of those glasses post-workout) and I feel that my calorie / protein intake is sufficient enough. While I don't want to go ham drinking a gallon of milk a day, I am still considering upping my milk consumption to maybe 3 glasses, but I don't want to completely overload on fats and sugar and I want to gain weight the right way =x.
i've been doing the steak and eggs diet for a cut recently (about 1 week in, though I cheat and add veggies and cheese because Greek salad is delicious, still not too many carbs so im good)
so far so good, more energy than I've ever had on any cutting diet and my lifts are going up. hopefully in 6 weeks time or so, i'll come show you guys awesome progress pictures.
really im just posting here to give myself motivation to not disappoint you all.
re: gomad - I did it once in high school and I am lactose intolerant. it got me from 105 lbs to 135 lbs in under a year. if you are serious about gaining weight, you will do it; if not you'll find an excuse. you'll gain some fat but this plan is second to none for fixing scrawniness
so far so good, more energy than I've ever had on any cutting diet and my lifts are going up. hopefully in 6 weeks time or so, i'll come show you guys awesome progress pictures.
really im just posting here to give myself motivation to not disappoint you all.
re: gomad - I did it once in high school and I am lactose intolerant. it got me from 105 lbs to 135 lbs in under a year. if you are serious about gaining weight, you will do it; if not you'll find an excuse. you'll gain some fat but this plan is second to none for fixing scrawniness
I'm just posting to let y'all know that I'm no longer competing. I found out a week ago that for my new job I'll have to be travelling interstate on almost a weekly basis. Combine that with working two other jobs nearly full time atm and not being happy with my size, or having the energy to do what I do on a cut and I've decided to do a bulk instead.
I had two ridiculous days (4600 cals) just to get the excitement of "eating bad" out of my system after 7 weeks of a cut, and I'm currently on a bulk of around 3100-3200 cals where I eat 235 g protein, 320 g carbs and 100 g fat....with the option of dropping my protein anywhere from 1 - ~50 and increasing my carbs accordingly on days where I feel lethargic. Already feeling stronger and healthier. The way I see it, if I put too much fat on during this bulk (and I accept that I'll put on a little), if I give myself 6 weeks before summer I'm sure I can cut down to good levels of bf!
I had two ridiculous days (4600 cals) just to get the excitement of "eating bad" out of my system after 7 weeks of a cut, and I'm currently on a bulk of around 3100-3200 cals where I eat 235 g protein, 320 g carbs and 100 g fat....with the option of dropping my protein anywhere from 1 - ~50 and increasing my carbs accordingly on days where I feel lethargic. Already feeling stronger and healthier. The way I see it, if I put too much fat on during this bulk (and I accept that I'll put on a little), if I give myself 6 weeks before summer I'm sure I can cut down to good levels of bf!
life, the greatest enemy of fitness there is. never mind though, this just gives you some extra time to ensure you SMASH it next time. it seemed as though your expectations for this one was dropping anyway, i bet there were times where you wished youhad a bit longer to prepare? well, now you do! don't lose the drive, bro.
Sorry to hear about your set-back mate. Don't sweat it too much -- you've got your head in the right space and during this time of the year (winter) that's can be a tough feat. I completely hear you re: work, it kills me sometimes but you gotta persevere and I find the running/rowing I do keeps my head clear!
14km run (City2Surf) is on in a month almost, did 10km tonight and not sure how I'll go but gotta stick with it. Kind of excited and nervous at the same time as it's my first attempt!
ms i'm worse
i haven't gone to the gym in 3 weeks because of a niggling pain in my right testicle :( My doctor checked to see if I possibly have hernia but could detect any lumps. I also did a urine test to see if I have any infections but it came out negative.
i have an ultrasound tomorrow and i hope i'm all good so i can go back to lifting.
i haven't gone to the gym in 3 weeks because of a niggling pain in my right testicle :( My doctor checked to see if I possibly have hernia but could detect any lumps. I also did a urine test to see if I have any infections but it came out negative.
i have an ultrasound tomorrow and i hope i'm all good so i can go back to lifting.
Hey guys, not really looking for the standard type of advice I assume this thread normally holds.
This is more something I've always wondered (and done the appropriate research on myself, so not looking for google-PHD lectures plz :P)...how do you guys approach your nutrition on non workout days?
A lot of my friends tend to make these their cheat meal (or in some cases, cheat days lol) days; others just pack on carbs and protein as normal for the next day's workout. Others don't make any changes. Some say that make changes simply because they're too lazy to make the standard 5-8 small meals on off days.
Mostly looking for anecdotal experiences more than advice.
This is more something I've always wondered (and done the appropriate research on myself, so not looking for google-PHD lectures plz :P)...how do you guys approach your nutrition on non workout days?
A lot of my friends tend to make these their cheat meal (or in some cases, cheat days lol) days; others just pack on carbs and protein as normal for the next day's workout. Others don't make any changes. Some say that make changes simply because they're too lazy to make the standard 5-8 small meals on off days.
Mostly looking for anecdotal experiences more than advice.
Um guys I have a weird problem. I have 4 visible and defined abs (yay Ramadan cheat code!) but the last two are...covered in a weird bloat. I'd say its a grossly misplaced fat but then underneath it is well defined bladder. It's just a suspended bloat between my upper abs and bladder area. I seem to get more and more definition as I go by, but this thing is just there, staring and mocking me...
Do I have cancer or something?
Do I have cancer or something?
Nop it's called stubborn fat deposits. It usually means a place in your body where the last 'big' resources of fat are stored. Many people have them.... I for instance seem to have to work harder in my chest routines because my pecs are hard to define because of the same reason. (still working on them)
Ask your trainer for some muscle group specific routine or look it up on the internet...
edit: just saying from the work out aspect it's explainable, it might very well be something else. Please don't not seek medical opinion based on this post.
Ask your trainer for some muscle group specific routine or look it up on the internet...
edit: just saying from the work out aspect it's explainable, it might very well be something else. Please don't not seek medical opinion based on this post.
Ok, so this might not bake sense or be a little information overload but here is hoping it's coherent...and make sense. Appreciate any guidance or constructive feedback that can be provided.
So, i've been a bit patchy with really being on-top of my daily intake (caloric,kJ, etc). I've got a pretty good understanding of what i'm consuming contains but with it being winter and all I've found things sneaking in here and there and decided that for a week, I am going to resume the whole recording what I consume from a food (myfitnesspal) and exercise (GPS HRM).
So, i've prepared my meal for tomorrow which will be a standard day, work and then a gym visit (1hr med-high intensity cardio. 5km row and 10km run).
My concerns are, and would appreciate thoughts on:
- At a glance, and from preparing the food, I feel that this is a sufficient amount of food so that I am not looking for food. Reaching for 'junk' is a different issue, but when it comes to 'satiety' I feel this should be sufficient.
- Totals, Sodium (under) and Protein (over), given unused protein can be held on the body as 'fat' (IIRC), is it an issue to be that far over? Additionally, I do add a little salt and pepper to meals so I guess it wouldn't be that low, but certainly I feel that the setting for my height, weight, etc is quite generous.
- Post exercise; what would be ideal to have? I know AFTER the gym tomorrow evening I'll be fired up and hungry (hopefully dinner should be sufficient). However, whats the consensus on protein supplements even if its just after cardio? When I do take supplements (typically after a weights session) I generally bounce between a WPI (Horleys ICE or Crossfire) or if its more of a meal replacement/additional 'meal' i'll have Musashi Muscle Defence (Casein blend) w/ milk to fill me up.
So, i've been a bit patchy with really being on-top of my daily intake (caloric,kJ, etc). I've got a pretty good understanding of what i'm consuming contains but with it being winter and all I've found things sneaking in here and there and decided that for a week, I am going to resume the whole recording what I consume from a food (myfitnesspal) and exercise (GPS HRM).
So, i've prepared my meal for tomorrow which will be a standard day, work and then a gym visit (1hr med-high intensity cardio. 5km row and 10km run).
My concerns are, and would appreciate thoughts on:
- At a glance, and from preparing the food, I feel that this is a sufficient amount of food so that I am not looking for food. Reaching for 'junk' is a different issue, but when it comes to 'satiety' I feel this should be sufficient.
- Totals, Sodium (under) and Protein (over), given unused protein can be held on the body as 'fat' (IIRC), is it an issue to be that far over? Additionally, I do add a little salt and pepper to meals so I guess it wouldn't be that low, but certainly I feel that the setting for my height, weight, etc is quite generous.
- Post exercise; what would be ideal to have? I know AFTER the gym tomorrow evening I'll be fired up and hungry (hopefully dinner should be sufficient). However, whats the consensus on protein supplements even if its just after cardio? When I do take supplements (typically after a weights session) I generally bounce between a WPI (Horleys ICE or Crossfire) or if its more of a meal replacement/additional 'meal' i'll have Musashi Muscle Defence (Casein blend) w/ milk to fill me up.
I'll do my best tackling your concerns in order. Sources: got an A in university level Nutrition.
If calories in = calories out, there won't be any weight change. If 1600 calories is what you need to get you through your day, that's fine. Depending on what your end goal is, you can adjust your meal and exercise plan to gain or lose weight.
Your protein levels are pretty high though, an extra 50% of what you should need according to that plan. Extra proteins will be stored as fat, but so will extra carbs and anything else. However, high levels of protein will cause kidney damage and require lots of extra water to digest properly.
The easiest way to find out if you're eating enough is if you're hungry or not throughout the day. If you're already on myfitnesspal, you should see if they have an exercise tool that lets you see how many calories you burn throughout the day.
If calories in = calories out, there won't be any weight change. If 1600 calories is what you need to get you through your day, that's fine. Depending on what your end goal is, you can adjust your meal and exercise plan to gain or lose weight.
Don't worry about your sodium, 1200 mg is great. The amount of salt added to foods as preservatives, flavor enhancers, and water sinks is already ridiculous; no one needs to add more sodium to their diet.
Your protein levels are pretty high though, an extra 50% of what you should need according to that plan. Extra proteins will be stored as fat, but so will extra carbs and anything else. However, high levels of protein will cause kidney damage and require lots of extra water to digest properly.
You can take advice from someone else for this one if you want. I've never taken supplements and never will unless I have to for medical reasons. Supplements are a great way for companies to make millions off the recent fitness/gym craze. In reality, they're completely unnecessary; bodybuilders might need them to compete with other bodybuilders but the kidney damage will catch up eventually. It's just not worth it.
Regarding hunger, I disagree completely. I'm hungry if I eat anything less than 4500 calories, but I know for a fact that even on a bulk I don't need that much lol. The human mind can be a tricky thing.
In regards to your comment about protein, while the AMA recommendations are 0.36 g per pound of bodyweight... a significant number of journals that I've read (links coming soon) have quoted a minimum of 0.8-1.2g per pound of bodyweight for gym going individuals, and that number is as high as 1.5 if they're on a calorie deficit / cut to preserve lean muscle mass. I find that most of the stuff that you'll have read in textbooks will have some merit, but is useless when applying it to people who train a lot, as it is more geared towards the masses. Source: was training to be a fitness model and have been through all this before.
Not to mention that it is excess calories which are stored as fat, not excess protein. Excess protein is just pissed away. Somebody eating 1,600 calories a day while doing an hours exercise isn't going to gain body fat because of 'high' protein consumption; like Stallion alluded to, high protein consumption should be encouraged.
Re: supplements. Whey protein is certainly appropriate to take after cardio to speed up recovery times/protect against injury development etc. Protein isn't just for meatheads!
Re: supplements. Whey protein is certainly appropriate to take after cardio to speed up recovery times/protect against injury development etc. Protein isn't just for meatheads!
Thanks CPrime , Lee and Stallion.
CPrime -- thanks for your thoughts on the macronutrients. Normally when I am more rigid with my eating, I find you get to a point where you can 'feel' what your body needs and when you're eating clean you know its aiight to have some sugar when you need it (from the right source, of course), etc. However, I know with how i've been over the past fortnight and also the last weekend (long weekend away, too much booze, food, sugar and sat fats) it'll be a good week or so until i'm past the cravings for shit food and sugar. Re protein, I understand it is high (thats just how it came out when i put together my meals) however I feel that when i'm trying to go down a more leaner path it does really well at filling you up when you know what daily intake of kJ/cal you're working to. I'm very active at the moment with the prep for my run in less than a month and i constantly feel the need to eat -- best way I could describe it is rampantly hungry after exercise. So, i'm trying to shift a bit more in pre-exercise to fuel me for it all. Also, I always try and get everything I can from natural sources (often, i'll even use my vitamix to make stuff easier to consume as opposed to eating and its convenient on the run) however, i dont mind the cleaner sources of protein in powder forms. Similarly, I love chocolate but nowadays, rather than eating like dairy milk, I keep 90%+ cocao solid chocolate handy. It is bitter but it still hits the spot with less fat.
Stallion -- lookin good. I hear you, Winter has been horrible this year. We've been getting -1 degree mornings for the past 2 weeks, BTW - I was down your neck of the woods the other week visiting some friends and it was f%cking freezing. I went rowing with them and then some kayaking and none of it could keep me warm!!! Glad you're getting the results you want -- i'm waiting till September then I wanna work more on strength/muscle mass - nothing ridiculous but I wanna get extremely lean and ripped. Made excellent progress over the past year but its too hard to maintain, especially with the amount of cardio stuff i've been doing this year. Half marathon and now City2Surf.
Lee -- thanks for the clarification. I wasn't 100% certain what'd actually happen or be worse however, I don't want to under-eat due to a) lack of energy for exercise b) fall in to the trap of over eating because i've under eaten and just really not support my body during all this. I prefer the Whey as I find it a bit more pure and less of all that shit like what your ones designed for bulk have. Helps with recovery and i've found it to take the edge off after some heavy sessions. Not sure if it's placebo but at the end of the day, I find it helps and gets me to reach new outcomes.
Cheers, guys -- appreciate your time! I'll let y'all know how my run goes in August -- bought a six pack of my favourite beer for after it :D
CPrime -- thanks for your thoughts on the macronutrients. Normally when I am more rigid with my eating, I find you get to a point where you can 'feel' what your body needs and when you're eating clean you know its aiight to have some sugar when you need it (from the right source, of course), etc. However, I know with how i've been over the past fortnight and also the last weekend (long weekend away, too much booze, food, sugar and sat fats) it'll be a good week or so until i'm past the cravings for shit food and sugar. Re protein, I understand it is high (thats just how it came out when i put together my meals) however I feel that when i'm trying to go down a more leaner path it does really well at filling you up when you know what daily intake of kJ/cal you're working to. I'm very active at the moment with the prep for my run in less than a month and i constantly feel the need to eat -- best way I could describe it is rampantly hungry after exercise. So, i'm trying to shift a bit more in pre-exercise to fuel me for it all. Also, I always try and get everything I can from natural sources (often, i'll even use my vitamix to make stuff easier to consume as opposed to eating and its convenient on the run) however, i dont mind the cleaner sources of protein in powder forms. Similarly, I love chocolate but nowadays, rather than eating like dairy milk, I keep 90%+ cocao solid chocolate handy. It is bitter but it still hits the spot with less fat.
Stallion -- lookin good. I hear you, Winter has been horrible this year. We've been getting -1 degree mornings for the past 2 weeks, BTW - I was down your neck of the woods the other week visiting some friends and it was f%cking freezing. I went rowing with them and then some kayaking and none of it could keep me warm!!! Glad you're getting the results you want -- i'm waiting till September then I wanna work more on strength/muscle mass - nothing ridiculous but I wanna get extremely lean and ripped. Made excellent progress over the past year but its too hard to maintain, especially with the amount of cardio stuff i've been doing this year. Half marathon and now City2Surf.
Lee -- thanks for the clarification. I wasn't 100% certain what'd actually happen or be worse however, I don't want to under-eat due to a) lack of energy for exercise b) fall in to the trap of over eating because i've under eaten and just really not support my body during all this. I prefer the Whey as I find it a bit more pure and less of all that shit like what your ones designed for bulk have. Helps with recovery and i've found it to take the edge off after some heavy sessions. Not sure if it's placebo but at the end of the day, I find it helps and gets me to reach new outcomes.
Cheers, guys -- appreciate your time! I'll let y'all know how my run goes in August -- bought a six pack of my favourite beer for after it :D
just gonna go ahead and steal the 1000th post of this thread with a longer update than my usual:
so life and laziness got in the way of my fitness for a while and nagging joint pains just made it all the easier to neglect what I was doing. squatting? knee and lower back pains. benching? elbow and shoulder pains. pull-ups to a bar? MASSIVE elbow pains. so before even finishing to exhaust my early strength gains, I pretty much stopped and gave up and spent a long time rapidly losing fitness. with hard semester after hard semester, lifting gingerly through these joint issues became more of a chore than it was worth. fast forward some months of wheel-spinning and I have quickly gone from competitive athlete to fat bum scientist. I guess priorities have shifted...
Now that summer has arrived i have had a chance to think more about my fitness goals. I realized a few things
1. I am lifting for health primarily so if I destroy my joints in exchange for muscular strength I have failed at my #1 goal
2. I enjoy running, especially running track-style workouts, a lot more than I enjoy lifting, and even when I was a 110 lb weakling cardiovascular fitness made everything, especially other sports, much more enjoyable.
3. strict dieting and especially low carb detracts from my academic and lab work because the associated dizziness just doesn't go away even after weeks of adjustment, so it has a very high opportunity cost life-wise.
4. if I want to train hard and consistently, I should probably include things I enjoy even if they are a bit sub-optimal, because as long as my program is balanced I will still make gains and if the slightly less optimal lift keeps me in the gym more consistently by lowering the opportunity cost of lifting, then it is well worth the "lost" extra gains that a more optimal but higher opportunity cost lift would get me.
for those who don't know, achilles issues make it very difficult for me to jog or do any kind of endurance running, but for some reason fast running (6:00/mi or faster probably) does not bother me at all. I suspect it is due to the different running mechanics of going fast allowing my muscles to bear more of the load than my connective tissues, but this is more broscience than actual fact. at any rate, I am able to do sprints training without joint pains, and I enjoy it more than long running anyway, and muscleheads say it is better, so perhaps I am lucky. I will continue until I feel joint pains.
with all this in mind I made a new plan, with a main goal of running fast 400m and 800m times (relative to my current state.... lord knows I would kill to be able to run like I did 2-3 years ago), and secondary goals of being strong and athletic overall. the main points you'll see are a complete lack of barbell exercises. I feel the opportunity cost joint-wise is too high and while I know I'm missing out on a lot of strength, I think I will be safer and ultimately happier without them. I've also replaced all pull-ups with ring pull-ups which I find much easier on my elbows due to the freedom of motion that my hands have. they are also a harder exercise overall. also in the running you will see drills done every day. I find them to be the most relaxing and enjoyable part of my day, and they have done wonders for strengthening my lower legs and achilles overall. maybe some day I will be able to add endurance work back if I can successfully rehabilitate my ankles, and then chase after that 1:50 800m that I posted about a while back... lol
I would love to hear critiques especially on the lifting days. I am still progressing quickly on the weights since I started from the smallest ones possible. I have tried to model it similarly to basic barbell training in that I do 3x/week full body with a press, a pull, and two lower body exercises. I include the ab wheel rollouts but I could probably get away with planks instead. the ab wheel rollout is fun though. I am thinking of including bent over barbell rows just to get some stimulus on my lower back, though I do the glute-ham raises with a back extension to get to the bottom of the GHR rep and then do the GHR. having 2 pulls for each press is probably not a bad idea anyway. I really want to do something like snatch grip high pulls from a hang to simulate olympic lifting without the hard-to-learn joint-unfriendly racking motion but I'm not sure what days to add them in. And naturally, bent-over rows and snatch grip high pulls both use a barbell so though they are relatively joint-friendly I am still hesitant to include them. my main fear is that I am not doing enough in the way of lifting, but after so many issues with joints I hope you guys understand my trepidation. I am also thinking of throwing in some assistance exercises just for fun and because I enjoy being in the gym, but I have no idea what to do about that.
I did a week of this on a mon-fri schedule but I like a sun-thurs better because that allows me to party friday and saturday without repercussions and going to the gym sun/tues/thurs is much more pleasant crowd-wise than going mon/wed/fri.
mid term goals are I guess a sub 55s 400 and sub 2:10 800 by 2015 and long-term hopefully sub 52 and 2:00 by summer 2015. mainly I just want to progress to the full versions of the workouts that I discuss in the comments of each day. as far as lifting I don't really know strength standards for dumbbells so I will just continue to progress until I can't anymore. I'd like to get to 20 ring pull-ups eventually (though once I get to 4x8 I will start adding weight instead of doing more reps), as well as something like dumbbell benching 85+, shoulder pressing 65+, and split squatting the biggest dumbbells in the gym (I think they go up to 100?).
my diet atm is a bunch of chicken, steak, eggs, rice, and vegetables 2x/day especially cucumbers peppers onions etc the stuff you find in Greek salads, as well as the god-tier snack of Greek yogurt+honey+berries, everything cooked from home to save money but it's also quite healthy. I did low carb (basically just steak and eggs and a few veggies) for a while but the dizziness cut into my efficiency academically and in the lab even though I had higher energy. I figure the fact just about everything that goes into my mouth is cooked in olive oil instead of butter or cooking oil, as well as the fact that I am training like a competitive sprinter, should take care of getting lean. my appetite has gone up significantly while on this training program (past 3 weeks so far) and though I have been eating more I think I'm getting leaner. I hope I can still grow on a program like this. I drink beer on the weekends but don't really get shitfaced anymore since that was kind of a dumb college phase and is really more hassle than its worth.
sorry if this is tl;dr idgaf anyway just thought I would share since i havent updated in months and have been sort of spinning my wheels for a while but I think I've started to make some good progress and eliminate most of my problems. also really looking for advice on joint-friendly lifts.
so life and laziness got in the way of my fitness for a while and nagging joint pains just made it all the easier to neglect what I was doing. squatting? knee and lower back pains. benching? elbow and shoulder pains. pull-ups to a bar? MASSIVE elbow pains. so before even finishing to exhaust my early strength gains, I pretty much stopped and gave up and spent a long time rapidly losing fitness. with hard semester after hard semester, lifting gingerly through these joint issues became more of a chore than it was worth. fast forward some months of wheel-spinning and I have quickly gone from competitive athlete to fat bum scientist. I guess priorities have shifted...
Now that summer has arrived i have had a chance to think more about my fitness goals. I realized a few things
1. I am lifting for health primarily so if I destroy my joints in exchange for muscular strength I have failed at my #1 goal
2. I enjoy running, especially running track-style workouts, a lot more than I enjoy lifting, and even when I was a 110 lb weakling cardiovascular fitness made everything, especially other sports, much more enjoyable.
3. strict dieting and especially low carb detracts from my academic and lab work because the associated dizziness just doesn't go away even after weeks of adjustment, so it has a very high opportunity cost life-wise.
4. if I want to train hard and consistently, I should probably include things I enjoy even if they are a bit sub-optimal, because as long as my program is balanced I will still make gains and if the slightly less optimal lift keeps me in the gym more consistently by lowering the opportunity cost of lifting, then it is well worth the "lost" extra gains that a more optimal but higher opportunity cost lift would get me.
for those who don't know, achilles issues make it very difficult for me to jog or do any kind of endurance running, but for some reason fast running (6:00/mi or faster probably) does not bother me at all. I suspect it is due to the different running mechanics of going fast allowing my muscles to bear more of the load than my connective tissues, but this is more broscience than actual fact. at any rate, I am able to do sprints training without joint pains, and I enjoy it more than long running anyway, and muscleheads say it is better, so perhaps I am lucky. I will continue until I feel joint pains.
with all this in mind I made a new plan, with a main goal of running fast 400m and 800m times (relative to my current state.... lord knows I would kill to be able to run like I did 2-3 years ago), and secondary goals of being strong and athletic overall. the main points you'll see are a complete lack of barbell exercises. I feel the opportunity cost joint-wise is too high and while I know I'm missing out on a lot of strength, I think I will be safer and ultimately happier without them. I've also replaced all pull-ups with ring pull-ups which I find much easier on my elbows due to the freedom of motion that my hands have. they are also a harder exercise overall. also in the running you will see drills done every day. I find them to be the most relaxing and enjoyable part of my day, and they have done wonders for strengthening my lower legs and achilles overall. maybe some day I will be able to add endurance work back if I can successfully rehabilitate my ankles, and then chase after that 1:50 800m that I posted about a while back... lol
SUN running (AM): 800m pace work
4x100m strides warmup with 100m walk in between
3x50m A-skips, 3x50m B-skips, 3x50m bounding, 3x50m backwards running. long rest between all
16x100m at goal 800m race pace, 300m walk recovery
4x100m slow-ish cool down, 100m walk in between
(currently running the 100s in 15s each, no faster and no slower. after a few months depending on how strong I feel I intend to progress this workout to 4x200 gradually increasing to 10x200, then again to 10x300 and if I can do those at 2:00 800m pace then I will be close. when I want to peak or time trial this day will start looking like 2-3x600 aka the most grueling 800m workout in existence)
SUN lifting (PM): full body
3x8 dumbbell flat bench (currently at 50s)
4xfailure ring pull-ups (currently getting 2 or 3 reps each set)
3x12 glute-ham raise (just got 3x12, going to start adding weight by holding a dumbbell to my chest)
3x8 dumbbell split squat (currently doing 40lbs in each hand... this exercise is deceptively hard)
3x8 ab wheel rollouts (not sure how to progress on this yet but I just hit 8 reps as it was 3xfailure before 8 reps until last week)
MON running (AM): hills day
4x100m strides warmup with 100m walk in between
3x50m A-skips, 3x50m B-skips, 3x50m bounding, 3x50m backwards running. long rest between all
4x40m uphill, all-out pace. full standing recovery
4x100m slow-ish cool down, 100m walk in between
(plan to start adding sets until I get to 3x5x40m. for as little work as it looks like this day is suprisingly taxing)
MON lifting: day off
TUES running (AM): interval tempo endurance sprinter-style
4x100m strides warmup with 100m walk in between
3x50m A-skips, 3x50m B-skips, 3x50m bounding, 3x50m backwards running. long rest between all
10x100m in 20 seconds, 30 second rest.
4x100m slow-ish cool down, 100m walk in between.
(gonna progress in volume and eventually get this day up to like 20x200 [probably like 4x5x200 with 2min between sets] with 30s rest but that's a long way off)
TUES lifting (PM): full body
3x8 dumbbell incline bench (currently at 35s)
4xfailure ring pull-ups
3x12 glute-ham raise
3x8 dumbbell split squat
3x8 ab wheel rollouts
WED running (AM): long intervals
4x100m strides warmup with 100m walk in between
3x50m A-skips, 3x50m B-skips, 3x50m bounding, 3x50m backwards running. long rest between all
3x400m at current 3k pace, 200m walk rest
(gonna gradually up the length until I am doing 6x1000 at current 5k pace, but I want to take it easy with the long reps until my lower legs are definitely fully ready for it, as jumping in too soon has had disastrous effects in the past. I'm currently running the 400s in 95 seconds which is definitely quite slow but I hope to lengthen them to 1k in <4min, do the 6x1000 workout a few times at that pace, and then work on getting it down to reps in like 3:15 or so but that's reeeeeeaaaally long term like months from now)
WED lifting: rest day
THURS running (AM): hills again
4x100m strides warmup with 100m walk in between
3x50m A-skips, 3x50m B-skips, 3x50m bounding, 3x50m backwards running. long rest between all
4x40m uphill, all-out pace. full standing recovery
4x100m slow-ish cool down, 100m walk in between
THURS lifting: full body
3x8 dumbbell shoulder press (currently at 30s)
4xfailure ring pull-ups
3x12 glute-ham raise
3x8 dumbbell split squat
3x8 ab wheel rollouts
(identical running day to monday because I enjoy it and I ought to be putting some emphasis on pure speed if I want to drop a fast 400)
FRI: Full day off
(eventually once my legs adjust to all the extra training I will probably add another running day with no lifting, probably similar to tuesday but an easier version, or maybe just have friday for other sports / fun)
SAT: Full day off
4x100m strides warmup with 100m walk in between
3x50m A-skips, 3x50m B-skips, 3x50m bounding, 3x50m backwards running. long rest between all
16x100m at goal 800m race pace, 300m walk recovery
4x100m slow-ish cool down, 100m walk in between
(currently running the 100s in 15s each, no faster and no slower. after a few months depending on how strong I feel I intend to progress this workout to 4x200 gradually increasing to 10x200, then again to 10x300 and if I can do those at 2:00 800m pace then I will be close. when I want to peak or time trial this day will start looking like 2-3x600 aka the most grueling 800m workout in existence)
SUN lifting (PM): full body
3x8 dumbbell flat bench (currently at 50s)
4xfailure ring pull-ups (currently getting 2 or 3 reps each set)
3x12 glute-ham raise (just got 3x12, going to start adding weight by holding a dumbbell to my chest)
3x8 dumbbell split squat (currently doing 40lbs in each hand... this exercise is deceptively hard)
3x8 ab wheel rollouts (not sure how to progress on this yet but I just hit 8 reps as it was 3xfailure before 8 reps until last week)
MON running (AM): hills day
4x100m strides warmup with 100m walk in between
3x50m A-skips, 3x50m B-skips, 3x50m bounding, 3x50m backwards running. long rest between all
4x40m uphill, all-out pace. full standing recovery
4x100m slow-ish cool down, 100m walk in between
(plan to start adding sets until I get to 3x5x40m. for as little work as it looks like this day is suprisingly taxing)
MON lifting: day off
TUES running (AM): interval tempo endurance sprinter-style
4x100m strides warmup with 100m walk in between
3x50m A-skips, 3x50m B-skips, 3x50m bounding, 3x50m backwards running. long rest between all
10x100m in 20 seconds, 30 second rest.
4x100m slow-ish cool down, 100m walk in between.
(gonna progress in volume and eventually get this day up to like 20x200 [probably like 4x5x200 with 2min between sets] with 30s rest but that's a long way off)
TUES lifting (PM): full body
3x8 dumbbell incline bench (currently at 35s)
4xfailure ring pull-ups
3x12 glute-ham raise
3x8 dumbbell split squat
3x8 ab wheel rollouts
WED running (AM): long intervals
4x100m strides warmup with 100m walk in between
3x50m A-skips, 3x50m B-skips, 3x50m bounding, 3x50m backwards running. long rest between all
3x400m at current 3k pace, 200m walk rest
(gonna gradually up the length until I am doing 6x1000 at current 5k pace, but I want to take it easy with the long reps until my lower legs are definitely fully ready for it, as jumping in too soon has had disastrous effects in the past. I'm currently running the 400s in 95 seconds which is definitely quite slow but I hope to lengthen them to 1k in <4min, do the 6x1000 workout a few times at that pace, and then work on getting it down to reps in like 3:15 or so but that's reeeeeeaaaally long term like months from now)
WED lifting: rest day
THURS running (AM): hills again
4x100m strides warmup with 100m walk in between
3x50m A-skips, 3x50m B-skips, 3x50m bounding, 3x50m backwards running. long rest between all
4x40m uphill, all-out pace. full standing recovery
4x100m slow-ish cool down, 100m walk in between
THURS lifting: full body
3x8 dumbbell shoulder press (currently at 30s)
4xfailure ring pull-ups
3x12 glute-ham raise
3x8 dumbbell split squat
3x8 ab wheel rollouts
(identical running day to monday because I enjoy it and I ought to be putting some emphasis on pure speed if I want to drop a fast 400)
FRI: Full day off
(eventually once my legs adjust to all the extra training I will probably add another running day with no lifting, probably similar to tuesday but an easier version, or maybe just have friday for other sports / fun)
SAT: Full day off
I would love to hear critiques especially on the lifting days. I am still progressing quickly on the weights since I started from the smallest ones possible. I have tried to model it similarly to basic barbell training in that I do 3x/week full body with a press, a pull, and two lower body exercises. I include the ab wheel rollouts but I could probably get away with planks instead. the ab wheel rollout is fun though. I am thinking of including bent over barbell rows just to get some stimulus on my lower back, though I do the glute-ham raises with a back extension to get to the bottom of the GHR rep and then do the GHR. having 2 pulls for each press is probably not a bad idea anyway. I really want to do something like snatch grip high pulls from a hang to simulate olympic lifting without the hard-to-learn joint-unfriendly racking motion but I'm not sure what days to add them in. And naturally, bent-over rows and snatch grip high pulls both use a barbell so though they are relatively joint-friendly I am still hesitant to include them. my main fear is that I am not doing enough in the way of lifting, but after so many issues with joints I hope you guys understand my trepidation. I am also thinking of throwing in some assistance exercises just for fun and because I enjoy being in the gym, but I have no idea what to do about that.
I did a week of this on a mon-fri schedule but I like a sun-thurs better because that allows me to party friday and saturday without repercussions and going to the gym sun/tues/thurs is much more pleasant crowd-wise than going mon/wed/fri.
mid term goals are I guess a sub 55s 400 and sub 2:10 800 by 2015 and long-term hopefully sub 52 and 2:00 by summer 2015. mainly I just want to progress to the full versions of the workouts that I discuss in the comments of each day. as far as lifting I don't really know strength standards for dumbbells so I will just continue to progress until I can't anymore. I'd like to get to 20 ring pull-ups eventually (though once I get to 4x8 I will start adding weight instead of doing more reps), as well as something like dumbbell benching 85+, shoulder pressing 65+, and split squatting the biggest dumbbells in the gym (I think they go up to 100?).
my diet atm is a bunch of chicken, steak, eggs, rice, and vegetables 2x/day especially cucumbers peppers onions etc the stuff you find in Greek salads, as well as the god-tier snack of Greek yogurt+honey+berries, everything cooked from home to save money but it's also quite healthy. I did low carb (basically just steak and eggs and a few veggies) for a while but the dizziness cut into my efficiency academically and in the lab even though I had higher energy. I figure the fact just about everything that goes into my mouth is cooked in olive oil instead of butter or cooking oil, as well as the fact that I am training like a competitive sprinter, should take care of getting lean. my appetite has gone up significantly while on this training program (past 3 weeks so far) and though I have been eating more I think I'm getting leaner. I hope I can still grow on a program like this. I drink beer on the weekends but don't really get shitfaced anymore since that was kind of a dumb college phase and is really more hassle than its worth.
sorry if this is tl;dr idgaf anyway just thought I would share since i havent updated in months and have been sort of spinning my wheels for a while but I think I've started to make some good progress and eliminate most of my problems. also really looking for advice on joint-friendly lifts.
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grinding out a solid finish at a tough mountain race a few weeks back. as the facial expressions show, i was dying. the DOMS the following day made Leg Day look like a rest day.
and i recently found out i'm carrying 17% body fat so first order of business is to trim down to my traditional 7-8%, losing about 5kg in the process. should be fun, i've never had to do a cut before as i've always been very lean without consciously making the effort but seems the previous year's extravagancies have caught me up ho-hum...
