The Fysical Phitness Thread

[User 40136]

To stathakis, Lee, or any other runner:

My mile time right now, at the fastest that I can do, is 6:50 seconds.

What I want to know is by August, can I have a mile time down to 6:00?


Also, what are some tips on doing cross country? I'm going to start it in August.

 

[Stylish Interval]

@Delta

Why did you stop doing SL 5x5?

art-of-tennis said everything i would have said. cardio isn't going to hurt your lifts as long as you're eating enough. "rugger" on the SL forum (if you're registered there) and "strong4rugby" are monsters that play rugby, even lifting during the season (could you even imagine doing all those windsprints and then coming home to lift omg). they're my example and inspiration when i run after lifting and on my off days.

also i've got two-a-days coming up with lifting and i'm scared out of my mind lol so i understand your concern with not making gains and doing cardio at the same time.

 

[Adm. Empoleon]

well here's my status for the time being:

so i'm about 5'9". weighing almost 95 KG, and i'm going back to the gym. i used to lift weights and what not, but exams came, and i quit to focus, but i almost failed. second semester, i didn't go to the gym, but i think i did well.

my goal? to become thinner, and build muscle along the way. i don't care how long it takes.
all my life i was the chubby one in my class. sure i rock chubby and chunky, but i'm tired of being the guy who gets picked on because of his weight.

um, i'm ignorant when it comes to terms such as "set", and i don't know what a "deadlift" or a "lat pulldown" is.

help?

 

[Stylish Interval]

oh my gosh it's a gold mine today. and all these people are dedicated (i hope) :D :D :D

@Adm. Empoleon

Stronglifts + some cardio will do you great good. Diet change as well. I reccomend reading these:

http://stronglifts.com/stronglifts-5x5-beginner-strength-training-program/
http://stronglifts.com/stronglifts-diet-muscle-gains-strength-building-fat-loss/

and pay attention to the success stories on the left sidebar in the first link. those aren't bs. those are real people who kept logs of their success and had tons of people motivating them and helping them.

also in the second link you'll see on the left side a section called "Must Read Guides". Those contain guides to the exercises in the program.

for a little more in depth (as well as to see the progress you'll make in eight weeks), check this post.


ALSO, i get where you're coming from. i've always been the big kid who at pools felt embarrassed because of weight problems, sucked in his stomach when he sat down to look thinner, etc. and i hated it. now i'm still bigger than most people but i've steadily worked down from 233 to 204 in a year (managing co-captain of the soccer team :D until academic probation anyway lol). everyone in this thread is a great resource and i reccomend posting any questions here for tons of people (lee, stat, venom (if he ever shows up again he's cool), pope, me, and some others) to answer.


oh also today i found out i had scoliosis soooooooooooooo the doctor didn't really tell me much about it so i'm kind of looking into long term effects. this has been the summer of diseases / sicknesses for me (not sure if hyper gag / silent reflux / ibs / scoliosis are diseases or not but i take medication for all of them but scoliosis!)

 

[Adm. Empoleon]

where to start reading and when to stop! i'm quite busy at the moment, so i bookmarked them for later. now can someone explain some fitness terms for me? like what a "set" is, for example? thanks in advance.

 

[Blackhawk11]

sharma: i don't think you can get to 6 flat by august, but I'm sure you could get there by the end of XC season. to reduce your mile time, you should do speedwork like 400s/800s, with long run conditioning thrown in. to be able to run 5 miles at a 7:30/mile pace, you should do a lot of long run conditioning with speedwork thrown in. the two are somewhat separate goals. I suggest you work on running 5 miles (and longer) this summer. That will be your base for XC, so that you won't be struggling to complete one race. Then once you start cross country you can focus on speedwork to lower your mile time.

Some cross country (not running necessarily) tips:
- Don't waste money on a pair of spikes this year. They only shave off a small bit of time and effort, so i don't think you'll need them.
- Do all the workouts your coaches say. If they say do 50 sit ups, do them all. If they say do 10 laps, do them all. Skipping out on workouts is a short term gain (feels good) long term loss (not in the best possible shape). If you get a 6:01 mile and know you could have worked harder it will suck. (my XC personal best of 17:03 agrees with this)

 

[Stylish Interval]

where to start reading and when to stop! i'm quite busy at the moment, so i bookmarked them for later. now can someone explain some fitness terms for me? like what a "set" is, for example? thanks in advance.

Repetition- The number of times an exercise is repeated within a single exercise “set.”

Set- A basic unit of a workout containing the number of times (repetitions) a specific exercise is done (e.g. do 3 sets of 5 repetitions with 100 pounds).

Plateau or Stall- Point in an exercise program where no additional progress is being made (gains in strength, weight loss, increased endurance, etc).

One-Rep Max (1 RM)- The amount of weight/resistance that can be lifted or moved once, but not twice; a common measure of strength.

DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness)- Muscle soreness or discomfort that appears 12 to 48 hours after exercise. It is most likely due to microscopic tears in the muscle tissue, and it usually requires a couple of days for the repair and rebuilding process to be completed. The muscle tissue grows back stronger, leading to increased muscle mass and strength.

all terms that i see or use daily.

 

[popemobile]

thank you for doing all of the work, S_I :P

In other news, I actually got my brother to start doing SL 5x5. He basically had no muscle before he started and he was like "teach me how to lift" so naturally I was like "FUCKING FINALLY YOU TWIG" and he's been going strong for about 3 weeks now. Already over 100lbs on Squats 5x5 (great form too as I drilled it into him as hard as I could that form is the single most important aspect of the lifts) and 85 on Bench 5x5, when he could only do the bar before, and if he can do it, y'all can too.

 

[Delta 2777]

@Delta

Why did you stop doing SL 5x5?

art-of-tennis said everything i would have said. cardio isn't going to hurt your lifts as long as you're eating enough. "rugger" on the SL forum (if you're registered there) and "strong4rugby" are monsters that play rugby, even lifting during the season (could you even imagine doing all those windsprints and then coming home to lift omg). they're my example and inspiration when i run after lifting and on my off days.

also i've got two-a-days coming up with lifting and i'm scared out of my mind lol so i understand your concern with not making gains and doing cardio at the same time.

I "kind of" do stronglifts (except for biceps); I try to do a 1-2 rep max weight first to see where I'm at (after warmup of course). After that I do the remaining four sets with a more reasonable weight. It's probably counterproductive so I guess I may just do 5x5. (So in essence its a 1x2 + 5x4) Also I'm not registered on the StrongLifts forum but I may check that out, thanks!

(Thanks art-of-tennis too you cleared some stuff up for me)

 

[Stylish Interval]

thank you for doing all of the work, S_I :P

In other news, I actually got my brother to start doing SL 5x5. He basically had no muscle before he started and he was like "teach me how to lift" so naturally I was like "FUCKING FINALLY YOU TWIG" and he's been going strong for about 3 weeks now. Already over 100lbs on Squats 5x5 (great form too as I drilled it into him as hard as I could that form is the single most important aspect of the lifts) and 85 on Bench 5x5, when he could only do the bar before, and if he can do it, y'all can too.

Haha not a problem. I love debunking ridiculous weight lifting myths and encouraging others to take up lifting! (i mean seriously....who still believes that lifting stunts your growth ugh.)

I've also got my brother lifting with my now, this is the end of our first week. He can't squat, row, or deadlift (he is the most inflexible lacrosse player I think I've ever known) so I've got him doing stretches (warrior / shoulder dislocations / basic static / dynamic) and doing bw squats. bench and OHP are coming along well for him though! i enjoy having someone else with me as well. he can give me feedback on form and i'm transforming him into a monster for next season. after all, he's got 9 months before practice to get big (he's going into 8th grade). one of my other brothers is reluctant to lift even though i'm showing him how it helps with soccer. and once my other brother (yeah i have three) turns 12 i'm going to start working on him. i refuse to let my family be anything but buff, plus i enjoy company when i workout! haha

I "kind of" do stronglifts (except for biceps); I try to do a 1-2 rep max weight first to see where I'm at (after warmup of course). After that I do the remaining four sets with a more reasonable weight. It's probably counterproductive so I guess I may just do 5x5. (So in essence its a 1x2 + 5x4) Also I'm not registered on the StrongLifts forum but I may check that out, thanks!

(Thanks art-of-tennis too you cleared some stuff up for me)

well the forums are actually closed i just kind of thought that maybe you registered xD (i still don't get why he closed them, he's even considering making it a pay forum [he just doesn't want to get an actual job >,>]) but yeah i would recommend taking back up 5x5 (probably drop 20% on all lifts) and work your way up through 5x5, 3x5, and 1x5. there is one guy on the forum (damn i wish you could see these people) who does either 5x5 or 3x5 still on a ~700lbs squat. and he's like 43. it's insane.

 

[uragg]

Ok since we're talking about SL now I might as well report on what I've been doing. So I've done four workouts now, starting last Friday up til today. Life has been tiring as fuck with swim practice 5:30-7, lifting 7-7:30, internship 8-4:30, and reading textbooks for my internship for another hour or two after I get home, but lifting is something I really look forward to every day.

I gotta admit, I haven't been following the SL routine. I just can't deal with doing 5x5 starting out with like 45 lbs on bench because it would've taken like 5-6 weeks before I even approached an actual workout. For lifts I've never done before like barbell row and overhead press I'm starting low and increasing gradually, but for the rest I just bumped them up to something reasonable. Most recently I did:

105 bench
85 barbell row (I have to really go back work out the technique on this, it doesn't feel right)
65 OHP
125 deadlift
85 squat

Squats are becoming a bitch to do. But that's more because a) the shitty pool weight room doesn't have a power rack and b) I don't have a lifting partner most of the time than because it's getting to hard. Because of this, I've been power cleaning and doing some awkward over-the-head lift to put the bar on my back. I'm p sure it's dangerous and that I shouldn't be doing it for heavier weights, and because of this inconvenience I've been doing 1x25 rather than 5x5 (lol). So yeah this might be a problem since squats are so big a part of the SL workout, I guess I'll just have to convince my friend to come lift every day that I do, but he's a college sophomore who dgf about coming regularly to the pool, so it's not too reliable. If he's there he could act as my power rack I guess, but for now I'll just make do with whatever...

Rest of the lifts feel pretty good, just gotta get the technique down pat for BBR, lifting feels good and at least I'm not stuck at home doing sets of 3x50 squats with two 20-lb dumbbells anymore lol

 

[Stylish Interval]

I know exactly what you mean lol. I got up to 80 on bench and I said "Man, i was doing 5x5 135 when I started this." So instead of waiting another 8 weeks to get back to where I started I skipped up to 110. Just came in from my own workout (squat 90, bench 115, bbr 110).

that sucks about squatting man :( have you mentioned to the owners the benefits of a rack? maybe you can change their minds ;) i'm glad you look forward to lifting, it's something i wish i could do every day but my stupid body needs to recover 6.6 keep up the good work!

i posted like 15 times today ._.

 

[art-of-tennis]

I gotta say, the one reason I don't really do stronglifts is because I think it's a bit odd that you have to start so low. I don't know about you guys, but squatting and deadlifting has come pretty easy for me so far. I started at about 135 on both and moved up to 155 in less than a month (could have upped faster, but I wanted a PT at my gym to form check me)

Now when you guys do stronglifts do you add any iso's in there too or not? It seems like you all just row, bench, squat, and deadlift. Is that because 5x5 takes longer or something? I generally do a about 3x8-10 normally and 3x12 for abs. There's this guy at my gym who does 5x5 sometimes and is absolutely huge, but he stays there for like 5 hours lol (not even exaggerating).

 

[popemobile]

you don't have to start low, but it's really really REALLY important to get the form down for the lifts, therefore starting with lower weights is usually a good idea. If you can squat 135 5x5 with fantastic form, then there's no problem. BUT, if you have shit form (and trust me, there are a LOT of things you can do, and probably are doing, wrong with squats and deadlifts) then the weight you're lifting is useless as you're probably hurting yourself more than you're helping yourself. A lot of PTs don't know what they're talking about and will give you bad advice. Make sure you're going AT LEAST parallel on squats, and preferably lower. Work on your flexibility if you have to.

For my brother, who started 5x5 3 weeks ago, I had him doing a few isolation exercises because a little aesthetics never hurt anyone. This is basically what I told him to do (might be a little off because I outlined the program 4 weeks ago):

Workout A:
5x5 Squat
5x5 Bench
3xF Chinups/Pullups (He can only do one per set but it's getting better)
3x8 Biceps
3x8 Triceps
3x12 Reverse Crunch

Workout B:
5x5 Squat
5x5 Overhead Press
5x5 Inverted Row
3xF Pushups
3xF Planks

You might notice that he isn't doing deadlifts. Personally I'm awful at deadlifts, and I don't do them because I have actually tweaked my back pretty badly before and don't feel like risking it. Since I'm bad at them, I can't teach him proper form so I don't want him hurting himself either. HOWEVER, If you can learn deadlifts with proper form, they are an excellent lift to put on a bunch of muscle.

Point is, yes, you can add isolation lifts to 5x5 as long as you focus on the big lifts because those are the lifts that will be adding most of the muscle on your body.

 

[Stylish Interval]

I agree that it's weird to start so low, but I figured I might as well do it because it couldn't hurt since it helped reinforce form. For the next couple of workouts I'm going to be moving my Squats and Deadlifts up by ten pounds each. Before stronglifts I had done 205 10x10 on Deadlift (and in my log every post with deadlifts includes "deadlifts still aren't challenging" for that reason lol).

I've been doing some pull-ups, ab work, and some dumbbell curls on my left arm because you can tell it's a lot weaker (it goes up about 2 seconds after my right on bench and i'm not waiting for that to even out). and a lot of people add some iso work into their routines that i've seen, although they generally wait to do that until they're at 1.5x bw for their exercises. i think it's okay to add them as long as you do them after your main lifts (as well as any assistance exercise).

tennis, are you saying that you do all the lifts 3x8-10? that's pretty awesome, not gonna lie. you might considering doing 5x5 and moving up by 10 lbs per workout until it gets tough. some people do that, then drop by 10 pounds when they get to the tough weight and start working up by 5 again.

also you guys might find this humorous: i had been using 3 tbsp of whey in my mix and it always seemed thin. today i found the scoop in the bottom of the damn thing (which i had been looking for) and it actually is 7 tbsp. todays shake tasted so damn good @_@ also i realized i'd been missing protein T_T

edit: pope the ninja. i also try and record myself every couple of workouts to check my form. i just use my phone camera. never hurts! also pope maybe you could practice your deadlift form with just the bar (like stack a whole bunch of plates and try it out with your brother helping you, maybe reading the sheet on deadlift technique from SL)

 

[popemobile]

nah fuck it I just do more squats

 

[art-of-tennis]

you don't have to start low, but it's really really REALLY important to get the form down for the lifts, therefore starting with lower weights is usually a good idea. If you can squat 135 5x5 with fantastic form, then there's no problem. BUT, if you have shit form (and trust me, there are a LOT of things you can do, and probably are doing, wrong with squats and deadlifts) then the weight you're lifting is useless as you're probably hurting yourself more than you're helping yourself. A lot of PTs don't know what they're talking about and will give you bad advice. Make sure you're going AT LEAST parallel on squats, and preferably lower. Work on your flexibility if you have to.

For my brother, who started 5x5 3 weeks ago, I had him doing a few isolation exercises because a little aesthetics never hurt anyone. This is basically what I told him to do (might be a little off because I outlined the program 4 weeks ago):

Workout A:
5x5 Squat
5x5 Bench
3xF Chinups/Pullups (He can only do one per set but it's getting better)
3x8 Biceps
3x8 Triceps
3x12 Reverse Crunch

Workout B:
5x5 Squat
5x5 Overhead Press
5x5 Inverted Row
3xF Pushups
3xF Planks

You might notice that he isn't doing deadlifts. Personally I'm awful at deadlifts, and I don't do them because I have actually tweaked my back pretty badly before and don't feel like risking it. Since I'm bad at them, I can't teach him proper form so I don't want him hurting himself either. HOWEVER, If you can learn deadlifts with proper form, they are an excellent lift to put on a bunch of muscle.

Point is, yes, you can add isolation lifts to 5x5 as long as you focus on the big lifts because those are the lifts that will be adding most of the muscle on your body.

What I fail to see though is that if you have shit form to begin with, how will doing tons of shit form squats/deads at lower weights help you as you're building up? Aside from being less likely to kill yourself I mean. I don't know about you guys, but I've been watching rippetoe vids on form. Where do you guys look? Iirc, the SL vids are only like seconds long. I'm sure you guys are looking at other places too.

But yeah, I try to go to about parallel when squatting. I don't like to go below that though, because I've read that can kill your knees.

tennis, are you saying that you do all the lifts 3x8-10? that's pretty awesome, not gonna lie.

Pretty much, yeah. For some reason I do 3x12 or more on core, don't quite know why. On the rare occasion that I leg press I do 3x12-15 also. Sometimes if I feel like using the tubing at my gym I'll do 3x40, but other than those exceptions I stick to 3x8-10 for the rest.

Basically the only time I don't do 3x8-10 is when what I'm doing is ridiculously easy for me and I don't feel like adding giant amounts of weight to it. To me it's just awkward trying to do weighted core work for anything more than holding a 45lb weight. The leg press at my gym is one of those weird ones that you push yourself back with a weighted seat, so I have it on almost 350 (the highest weight possible)








On a side note to both of you though, when you squat do you have your feet facing outwards? I did before and my PT told me that it hurts your knees so now I keep them straight.

EDIT: Just looked at SL squat form and it seems they believe the feet should be angled.

 

[zukirin]

So like I just started doing SL5x5 about a month and a half ago, and I was wondering just how important the protein intake is. I don't have a steady and calculated intake of protein so I was wondering if I should really start doing that and maybe add in some whey or something like that.

Current loads:
Squat - 130
Bench Press - 105
Deadlifts - 130
Overhead Press - 85 <--stalled really quick here

Also, normally what is the average amount of muscle mass that you can gain in a month doing SL? I've gained about 5-8 Ibs and I've been eating just about the same amount, and I'm extremely doubtful that that is all muscle.

 

[art-of-tennis]

So like I just started doing SL5x5 about a month and a half ago, and I was wondering just how important the protein intake is. I don't have a steady and calculated intake of protein so I was wondering if I should really start doing that and maybe add in some whey or something like that.

Current loads:
Squat - 130
Bench Press - 105
Deadlifts - 130
Overhead Press - 85 <--stalled really quick here

Also, normally what is the average amount of muscle mass that you can gain in a month doing SL? I've gained about 5-8 Ibs and I've been eating just about the same amount, and I'm extremely doubtful that that is all muscle.

Have you been making gains? I don't really know about SL, as I don't follow it at all, but if you're increasing your weights higher than you could do before, you should start to weigh more. I gained about 4.4lb in around a month and a half from what I do. 150 > 154.4 :D I'm 5'10" for the record...

 

[Stylish Interval]

@tennis

Yeah I tend to watch rippetoe too for form. I use the SL sheets for just reading it to know it and then I watch various videos to see it in action. It's also interesting that you do 3x8-10, I mean I know it's essentially the same volume but I wonder just how different it is... :hmm:

When I squat / dead I do have my feet slightly pointed outward, but I keep them shoulder width and not wider. I don't think I could even keep mine straight.

@zukirin

glad to have another SLer on board. I try and keep my protein to at least 90g per day but I shoot for 140g. I just put stuff into fitday to see what's in it and then I eat it. I like to have at least double protein in grams compared to fat (since fat is 9 cal and protein is 4). whey is good for PWO but don't supplement food with it. i get a cheap brand of chicken (it's a tyson variant) that is .5g fat / 22 g protein (12 servings for 7 bucks :D) and you can put down two servings in a meal or eat it throughout the day for an easy 45g. eggs are easy too. 3 large eggs in the morning = 19g protein (albeit with a decent amount of fat unless you just eat egg whites). and cottage cheese is the greatest thing invented (i mean really eat this stuff like there is no tomorrow lol).

don't forget that you might have gained some water weight (easy to pick up 2-3 pounds) and you might have had a large dump waiting when you weighed yourself last (again, could add 2 pounds). but if you're skinny it could be easy to have gained a solid amount of muscle. 4 lbs isn't out of that range. and 2 lbs of fat isn't bad either. (also be sure to drink plenty of water)

 

[Lee]

man, stop talking about SL...you're making me sad because I wanna do it but 5/6 exercises are a no-go knee-wise :( I did do 5x5 on the bench yesterday at 200lbs as opposed to my normal 10x10 at 155lbs and I enjoyed it enough that I'll probably work it in on a more regular/permanent basis but that looks like my only option with regards to SL. Unless, Stylish or Pope have seen any alternative SL programmes around aimed at cripples like me? I can do any exercise that doesn't target the lower body or involve carrying weight whilst standing upright...so i know it's gonna be impossible to simulate the reccomended exercises but meh, I want some advice from the legendary SI/Pope combination. Just suggest any good compound strength-building exercises that I could actually do safely.

 

[Taylor]

pretty simple really, just increase your calorie intake (and make sure it takes your training program into account) and put an emphasis on protein. I think they're saying 1.5g of protein per kg of body weight these days so that's um...90g of protein a day? Also, the best advice I can give is EAT REGULARLY. don't stick solely to breakfast/dinner/tea 'cos it's not enough - snack away. Another thing is make sure you're not smoking in place of eating...i know my mam does that a lot. congrats on the cut-down as well...good man.



Swimrunning is going well, it feels great to be doing cardio again after all this time!

i eat protein/carb/fibre bars/cereals at around 400 calories 5 times a day, and a meal of some sort. egg sandwhiches might be worth a try. i metabolize sugar well and dont gain a ounce of weight... but fats and high proteins will help bulk me up i reckon? but i need to get it right ;/

 

[Cordyceps]

So, uh, hey.

I've recently been trying to work out again. I'm pretty chubby, 5' 11" and about 240 lbs, but I really do love working out, and a fitness center is like Heaven to me (seriously, it's been about 4 or 5 years since I've been in a weight room and got a chance to lift, but I freaking love it). I usually end up failing to do so though thanks to a myriad of other, unrelated problems, but meh. So I decided I'd try again during the summer. I have no access to a gym, sadly, so I can only do exercises that involve no weights/can be performed in a small room. So far, I've only been doing push-ups and various abs exercises. I've always wanted stronger pecs, as my upper body strength is non-existent (or maybe not, but it doesn't support my weight, which is problematic), so if there's anything else I can do besides push-ups, feel free to suggest it. I'm currently doing 5 sets of varying reps, and I try to increase my reps by a small amount every time I work out. I'm like on 53 reps total, which is fine progress for me; my only qualm is that I can never get through the 4th and 5th set without having to pause a couple of times for very brief moments, otherwise I can't continue. So yeah.

As far as abs go, well, I have a gut, so I figure why not? I do some 5-minute routine, with like 10 different exercises for 30 seconds each. I'd say it's produced decent results thus far; my fat has an extremely difficult time folding over onto itself when I bend now (sometimes it won't fold at all), so at least some of the flab has tightened.

I've only been at it a couple of weeks, and I work out every other day. However, I'm no longer brutally whipped after working out, which s kind of worrisome. Haha I'm of the opinion that if you can move around without feeling your muscles ache, then you haven't worked out hard enough. But anyway, I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions as to what to do to step my game up. It should be noted that I am beyond broke, so I can't purchase anything, and I can't run because my 'hood isn't too safe. SO I have to make do with my body alone, lol.

 

[ToF]

a good rule of thumb for dieting purposes and lifting is to eat 1.5x your bodyweight in protein (grams) (lee it's not per kg, its per pound, so a 150 pound dude should be getting 200+ grams of protein), and about half your bodyweight in fat, again in pounds (so like the average guy should be getting at least 75 grams of high quality omega-3's. the rest of your diet can be filled with carbs. carbs aren't bad for any diet contrary to what people may think, either bulking or cutting. nutrient timing is also basically a myth, as the only real thing that matters when dieting is eating less than your maintenance calories. the reason the above spread of macronutrients is suggested is because it gives you the best chance at achieving a real good body recomposition.

so, basically, if you want to lose weight, eat less than your maintenance calories. google how to find it, i'm too lazy to type it out, and eat something like 300-500 calories less. i recommend 500 less a day to total a pound of weight loss a week. keep hitting the gym hard with a 5x5 routine and you should lose barely any muscle mass.

there's really no secret to getting in shape. its 90% diet and 10% lifting. get the diet in check and you can look good without lifting tbh. lifting gives you the mass that the girls wanna see, and provided you do it right (aka you cut down the fat first, then gradually bulk as you increase the weights and reps you do), you'll see results, although they don't happen overnight. you gotta stick with a goal and plan like this over the course of years to see a fat to fit transformation. and if you're already skinny, you can bulk up in a matter of a year and look much bigger and better.

 

[uragg]

man gaining weight is like fukin IMPOSSIBLE lol. I've been doing SL for 2 full weeks now, trying to eat more shiz every day and getting increased amounts of protein (I even bought cottage cheese smh), and haven't gained an ounce. I really do think I have built up an incredibly fast metabolism from swimming extensively for 4+ years, idk could be wrong though and will keep eating. Don't wanna resort to GOMAD or crazy shiznit like that yet because I'm not that desperate to gain weight, but yeah it's getting a little irritating.