Author Topic: Strength & Fitness 2016  (Read 402448 times)

flan

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #1200 on: July 07, 2016, 06:52:12 AM »
Try the 7 minute workout! http://perigee.se/apps/seven/

Hey, thanks! I'm gonna try this. I'm all about low activation energy to build a habit ;)

Bracken_Joy

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #1201 on: July 07, 2016, 07:16:03 AM »
Jordan, thank you. I was feeling pretty shitty based on the other responses. I really don't think I needed the face punches I was given. I'm a woman with ~15% BF and visible abs (thank you for the 1% comment Jordan!), I don't think I've been making a ton of excuses on my output. (As an aside, non scale victory: was recently measured for a bridesmaid dress. 37" booty, 26" waist. I'll take it). My schedule recently went from 24 hrs/week (30hrs with driving) across two days, to 32 hours per week (41 hours with driving) across 3 days. I had a similar schedule earlier this year (a couple more hours work), and found it incredibly draining. So I'm trying to be proactive and ask for advice at the beginning of the transition, rather than being reactionary.

I had typed up a section essentially describing and defending my career to you, but you know what? Fuck it. Go and talk to *any* nurse working a string of 12s and ask her if she wants to work out tomorrow morning and sacrifice sleep to do it. Prepare to run away. I don't need to play penis measuring that nursing is a hard fucking career. And no, being a CNA is not the same thing (have been one), because while physically draining, you don't have the added layer of "this child is on a ventilator and I work independently, there is no one but me to do all care and keep them alive"

The not showering one is just because I *have* to shower after work (helloooo active MRSA cases!), and my skin dries out too much if I shower more than once per day.

Excuses? Sure, quite possibly. Just because something is an excuse though, doesn't mean it isn't valid or doesn't have an impact on my life. Rather than doing the whole "man up, overcome" thing, how about help me brainstorm solutions? "Just Do It" obviously doesn't work, or I would have DONE it last time I had this schedule. I am far from being a lazy person. If it was a matter of putting my head down and cranking out a few weeks, that would be one thing. But this is *always* my schedule now. I have 4 days off, I still work out my other days- I was entertaining the possibility of spreading activity more evenly, including my work days. And frankly, the face punching, more than encouraging me, has made me go, "you know what? My job IS physical, it IS demanding, and fuck anyone who thinks I need to do more". So that kinda backfired there you guys. Think of the context of the face punches rather than just giving them out willy-nilly. This thread isn't just a RAAHHHHR WORKOUT thread, it's community and support and all that jazz.

That being said, I downloaded Monsterx2s 7 minute app, and will try it out when I'm back to daily life and not trying to balance going to work (leaving in 30 min) and seeing my MIL at the hospital (all day yesterday).

big_owl

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #1202 on: July 07, 2016, 07:40:20 AM »
Jordan, thank you. I was feeling pretty shitty based on the other responses. I really don't think I needed the face punches I was given. I'm a woman with ~15% BF and visible abs (thank you for the 1% comment Jordan!), I don't think I've been making a ton of excuses on my output. (As an aside, non scale victory: was recently measured for a bridesmaid dress. 37" booty, 26" waist. I'll take it). My schedule recently went from 24 hrs/week (30hrs with driving) across two days, to 32 hours per week (41 hours with driving) across 3 days. I had a similar schedule earlier this year (a couple more hours work), and found it incredibly draining. So I'm trying to be proactive and ask for advice at the beginning of the transition, rather than being reactionary.

I had typed up a section essentially describing and defending my career to you, but you know what? Fuck it. Go and talk to *any* nurse working a string of 12s and ask her if she wants to work out tomorrow morning and sacrifice sleep to do it. Prepare to run away. I don't need to play penis measuring that nursing is a hard fucking career. And no, being a CNA is not the same thing (have been one), because while physically draining, you don't have the added layer of "this child is on a ventilator and I work independently, there is no one but me to do all care and keep them alive"

The not showering one is just because I *have* to shower after work (helloooo active MRSA cases!), and my skin dries out too much if I shower more than once per day.

Excuses? Sure, quite possibly. Just because something is an excuse though, doesn't mean it isn't valid or doesn't have an impact on my life. Rather than doing the whole "man up, overcome" thing, how about help me brainstorm solutions? "Just Do It" obviously doesn't work, or I would have DONE it last time I had this schedule. I am far from being a lazy person. If it was a matter of putting my head down and cranking out a few weeks, that would be one thing. But this is *always* my schedule now. I have 4 days off, I still work out my other days- I was entertaining the possibility of spreading activity more evenly, including my work days. And frankly, the face punching, more than encouraging me, has made me go, "you know what? My job IS physical, it IS demanding, and fuck anyone who thinks I need to do more". So that kinda backfired there you guys. Think of the context of the face punches rather than just giving them out willy-nilly. This thread isn't just a RAAHHHHR WORKOUT thread, it's community and support and all that jazz.

That being said, I downloaded Monsterx2s 7 minute app, and will try it out when I'm back to daily life and not trying to balance going to work (leaving in 30 min) and seeing my MIL at the hospital (all day yesterday).

Sorry, wasn't intending to come across as a punk.  Sounds like a case of me misreading your post and coming across shitty in response.  All the best in your goals. 

brute

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #1203 on: July 07, 2016, 07:42:48 AM »
So, back from the honeymoon. As promised, I ate everything. Drank everything. But also played outside a lot. Gained 9 pounds.

Now, that might sound like a lot, but I traditionally gain 25 from 2 weeks of eating like a maniac. I'm back down 6 of the 9, and will be heading to 275 soon. (307 today)

2Birds1Stone

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #1204 on: July 07, 2016, 08:25:06 AM »
Started logging some workout highlights in my journal but figured I would post here for accountability.

When I started my current job I also started using the gym facility at the office and let my gym membership expire. While this made financial/logistical sense......I lost my lifting partner and a large part of my motivation.

Well, a few weeks ago he got a job working for my company and we are reunited in the gym. I'm on my 12th workout in 15 days since he's been working here and feel great, like a good amount of my strength has come back.

Now that I have a good baseline for my strength, after the initial jump up over the past two weeks I figured I would post here for motivation and accountability.

Day 1

Current weight  - 217.2
Goal Weight - ~198

Recent Big 3 Highlights

Today - Barbell Bench 265 5x5
Yesterday - Barbell Deadlift 375 3x5
Monday - Barbell Squat 295 5x5
Saturday - OHP 95 3x5 (super weak on these)


Jon_Snow

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #1205 on: July 07, 2016, 08:37:42 AM »
Bracken Joy....your post made my morning. Reading it, I found myself nodding to myself...and upon finishing it I did a mental "fist pump". The "face punches" you received were unfortunate - and not fair. Even though I am a vessel for testosterone (a dude), I will say that when I was in the midst of my career (also very physically demanding) I had absolutely nothing left for workouts on top of that - the mental stress as much the culprit as the physical grind. I have friends in nursing and what I know of their experiences leads me to believe that what you are currently doing is pretty amazing. Any notion that you need to defend yourself is ludicrous.

I've been on this thread from the beginning, as well as the previous iterations and I have noticed that quite a few previous participants have left. Seems to have coincided with the arrival of more "hardcore" members...not saying 600 pound calf raises aren't impressive. I do fear that this sort of thing may have proved a bit intimidating to participants who have left.

Not sure if a separate bodybuilder/strong(wo)man thread is the answer - actually, I don't really like that idea - as long as "Strength" is part of the thread title, these folks should be included. I'm just looking to for a way to bring this thread back to it's fun, supportive past.... for EVERYONE.

Then again, I may be alone in reading things in this way. I'm just not FEELING this thread of late. Bracken Joy's post just brought these thoughts to the surface.

mm1970

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #1206 on: July 07, 2016, 09:46:17 AM »
Quote
(As an aside, non scale victory: was recently measured for a bridesmaid dress. 37" booty, 26" waist. I'll take it).

This is pretty badass, I must say.  I think it was probably >20 years ago when I last had those measurements (in my 20s and pre-kids).

I also wanted to note that some of the earlier comments were a bit out of line and maybe misunderstood.

I don't work a physical job *anymore*.  But there were times when I was on the manufacturing floor on my feet for 10-12 hours a day.  For our regular technicians, they had a 12 hour shift.  Most of them lived an hour away.  They got one 30 min break and two 15 min breaks.

So the day for a tech would be: Get up at 4-4:30 am.  Get on the bus or in the car at 5 am.  Start work at 6 am.  Work until 6 pm (on your feet, though not requiring heavy lifting).  Take the bus home.  Get home around 7 or 7:30 pm.  Eat dinner, pass out.

This was a 3 on 4 off, 4 on 3 off schedule.  Sounds great, but everyone I know who ever did it said that on those 4 day work weeks, it took an entire day to recover.  (Even worse if you were on the night shift).  Squeezing in a workout was near impossible, especially if you had kids.

When you have a physical job it's just tougher.  I have many relatives in physical jobs and they are pretty wrecked by 50.  Shoulders, back, knees, you name it.  I can afford to risk pulling a back muscle because I sit behind a computer.  I'm not expected to actually lift patients.

That said, I think any amount of exercise is worth it.  I've had a good month, but I've had a few tough travel days where I did literally nothing.  If I can even squeeze in 10 minutes of pushups and squats before getting on a plane, I consider it good.  I think it's great for people who have #goals (my niece is a power lifter with #goals who competes in her state.  So far her records are 120 kg for squat, 55 kg for bench, 157.5 kg for deadlift, though I think she mentioned breaking 405 lb for deadlift recently at the gym).

I admire people with #goals, but some of us are just happy enough to be fit enough to play with our kids without getting injured.

brute

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #1207 on: July 07, 2016, 09:56:54 AM »
Since I'm one of the people with big strength goals, I want to apologize if I did anything to make people feel uncomfortable. Not everyone has the same goals as I do, and honestly this thread would be boring if everyone were the same. I keep most of my detailed lifting things on forums specifically for that, but wanted to join in the conversation here because so many of my lifting associates are terrible with money, and so many people who are smart and good with money don't try to stay in shape. Lots of exceptions on both sides, but I liked the idea of a place where I could talk about strength of body and strength of frugality.

So, here's where I'm at today. I'm about to be working from home 3 days a week. That is REALLY going to help out for lifting for me. I've been down to 3 days a week since I started the new job. Weekends and one day during the week. It's been driving me crazy. I need 4 days a week to feel ok about myself. The strongman community is a weird one. I lot of us got into it because of some really horrible things that have happened in our lives, and decided to spend time under the bar instead of at one. I'm excited to get stronger, fitter, and better looking.

So, if you're having a hard time, can't fit in much gym time because of work or other commitments, you're hurt, or anything else, don't worry about gym time. Worry about taking the best care of yourself that you can. If you're having trouble talking yourself into getting off the couch and away from the 3rd hour of tv today, then I'll happily offer some motivation. But the last thing I want to do is push ANY of you wonderful people out of this thread. I'm a meathead, a scientist, and just a little socially awkward sometimes. So apologies for anyone I offended.

monstermonster

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #1208 on: July 07, 2016, 10:54:55 AM »
Funny you should mention testosterone though.  Just a month ago I had a blood test done for another unrelated medical problem and they checked testosterone.  I came in at the lower 20% of normal range, sigh.  So apparently the secret isn't high test levels.  And I'm an ancient 36yo, not some mid-twenties young thing like bracken.

Just a reminder that the average adult male range for testosterone is 270-1,070 ng/dL and the average adult female range 15-70 ng/dL. So even at 20%, you're still juicing at the high end compared to an adult (non-pregnant) female.

So check your T-privilege ;-P

(Good natured ribbing.)

monstermonster

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #1209 on: July 07, 2016, 10:59:38 AM »
Jordan, thank you. I was feeling pretty shitty based on the other responses. I really don't think I needed the face punches I was given. I'm a woman with ~15% BF and visible abs (thank you for the 1% comment Jordan!), I don't think I've been making a ton of excuses on my output.
Hopefully my response conveyed what a badass I think you are AND that I don't think working out on 12 hour work days is necessary- I've been struggling with that myself about that and I sit at a desk all fucking day taking care of politician's careers not actual real Human Child lives.

I still think finding a way to emphasize strength training that isn't just Big Lifts will help with your fitness goals without resulting in soreness on workdays - especially since you also like yoga :-)

meerkat

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #1210 on: July 07, 2016, 01:01:36 PM »
When I was pumping I didn't worry about exercise at all - my day was chopped up enough as it was with the pumping sessions and I'm usually not the type to get antsy if I don't go to the gym for a few days. And I don't have a physically demanding job!

SoccerLounge

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #1211 on: July 07, 2016, 02:06:28 PM »
Man. If making two posts advocating short workouts counts as being too mean and facepunchy, I'm not sure I should further contribute to this thread. And I hope that doesn't come off as pouty. I'm just not out to hurt people's feelings.
« Last Edit: July 07, 2016, 02:11:38 PM by SoccerLounge »

EngineerYogi

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #1212 on: July 07, 2016, 03:43:57 PM »
I love this thread and everyone in it and we usually do a really good job of all getting along. I think we just had a rough patch, I hope everyone is feeling better about it now.

The best workout plan/program is one you can stick with. If that is 20 minutes 2 times a week that's awesome and certainly better than nothing!

EngineerYogi

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #1213 on: July 07, 2016, 03:48:01 PM »
For my goals, I completed 20 yoga classes! I think I'm actually at 22 complete and I've taught 3. :)

Me and my bicycle did not meet last month :/ so we'll keep that goal listed and I will see what I need to do work on it. My sleep schedule is being impacted by current yoga teacher training schedule and personally sleep is a priority for me.

New yoga goal, 40 more classes!

Bakari

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #1214 on: July 07, 2016, 08:12:05 PM »
2. I can't be *too* sore, because I have to be able to reposition a 75lb+ client, and haul over 100lbs of gear in a little cart, etc etc. Very physical job.
The days I take a refrigerator up a flight of stairs single handedly, (or move an apartment's worth of furniture, or recycle 2000 lbs of broken concrete or shovel 2 yards of soil...) I generally consider that my workout for the day.I workout much more in the winter, when work is slower, primarily so that I'll be capable of doing my job again next season.I doubt our pre-electricity and internal combustion ancestors had any great need to "work out", just like most animals don't bother.  You just live, and that's sometimes a challenge.


Or like today: 2 full size refrigerators and 2 stoves, up 3 flights of stairs each.
I don't think I need to "workout" today.  I got my exercise.


If whatever you do leaves you tired and/or sore and/or sweaty, I think it counts, it doesn't have to be plates on a bar to be exercise.

...my workouts are ridiculously easy and short.  Literally my wife and I did shoulders today in the gym and it took less than 20min for both of us.


...



5. I spend my days at work - after working out - crawling all over large heavy equipment outside that could kill you in a second.  Just last year I literally carried a 200lb man down three large flights of stairs by myself (a mile offshore in the summertime) because he was in diabetic shock and all the old slackasses I work with were too out of shape to assist.


Would you consider the possibility that at least one part of why you are able to stay in good shape with such short workouts is because you have a physical job which means you are essentially working out 10 hours a day?






I'd also like to point out, it was really just big_owl that gave a facepunch, and he put in plenty of disclaimers and made clear he didn't intend it that way. 
« Last Edit: July 07, 2016, 09:21:51 PM by Bakari »

jordanread

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #1215 on: July 07, 2016, 08:24:03 PM »
For my goals, I completed 20 yoga classes! I think I'm actually at 22 complete and I've taught 3. :)

Me and my bicycle did not meet last month :/ so we'll keep that goal listed and I will see what I need to do work on it. My sleep schedule is being impacted by current yoga teacher training schedule and personally sleep is a priority for me.

New yoga goal, 40 more classes!

Got your goal marked as complete, and the new one entered. Way to kick ass!


Holy crap Bakari. Tiny text...

jordanread

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #1216 on: July 07, 2016, 09:12:50 PM »
All right, so this turned into a situation, and I figured I'd add my perspective. Obviously, this thread means a fair amount to me, and I absolutely love managing it. On occasion, things take a turn and updates, suggestions, and the like take a back seat to a misunderstanding, that has the potential of getting taken out of context, or escalating. I can say with 100% confidence that there never been a malicious comment made here. An assumption was made, and probably safely, but as the year goes on, the safety of that assumption goes down. That assumption is that the participants read the entire thread, and while that is true for the majority, it isn't true for everyone. In this particular situation, context surrounding Bracken_Joy's comment was missed, and I can see how. Since we are a community of people who challenge beliefs, challenge assumptions, and share our own experiences, sometimes the idea of challenging/facepunching becomes a default reaction. This is fair enough, and it's kind of to be expected in this community as a whole. However, since the context was missed, the facepunch response can easily be taken as an attack, even when it was not meant to be. I saw that, and that's why I commented earlier. No fault of anyone, and the quotes below confirm that for me.

Sorry, wasn't intending to come across as a punk.  Sounds like a case of me misreading your post and coming across shitty in response.
I'm just not out to hurt people's feelings.
I want to apologize if I did anything to make people feel uncomfortable.

This is the kind of community we have. This thread is a bit of a special case, because we kind of bypass the facepunches and go straight to mutual support and solution-oriented discussions, but it's not always obvious from the get go. I'll make sure I add that to the first thread for next year. You all rock!!

I've been on this thread from the beginning, as well as the previous iterations and I have noticed that quite a few previous participants have left. Seems to have coincided with the arrival of more "hardcore" members...not saying 600 pound calf raises aren't impressive. I do fear that this sort of thing may have proved a bit intimidating to participants who have left.

Not sure if a separate bodybuilder/strong(wo)man thread is the answer - actually, I don't really like that idea - as long as "Strength" is part of the thread title, these folks should be included. I'm just looking to for a way to bring this thread back to it's fun, supportive past.... for EVERYONE.

Then again, I may be alone in reading things in this way. I'm just not FEELING this thread of late. Bracken Joy's post just brought these thoughts to the surface.

I understand that sentiment, but based on what happened last year, that is kind of the evolution of it. We constantly have new people coming in, and not all of them are as crazy as I am and insist on catching up before posting. And that's totally fine. Last year, a similar thing happened, except it was less folks focusing on body-building, and more body-weight/outdoor activities people joining in the middle. I think it may have come across as focused on that, simply because the things involved in power-lifting and body-building are a lot more specific than those of us who do things like yoga, kayaking, slacklining, hiking, climbing etc. It'd be something amazing to see someone who just gets that type of workout based on their day-to-day adventures and activities (a tow truck driver who doesn't have a truck?)

I don't think a separate thread is the answer, but I might be a little more specific in the future as far as guidelines and the sense of community this specific thread cultivates. Also, the entire concept of competing against past you is an integral part of this, and making sure that it's mentioned to new participants should reduce the intimidation factor.

So yeah, things got off track a bit, feelings were felt, responses were thought of and made, clarification was achieved, and we all seem pretty damn good now.

Soon, we'll be able to make a comment like I can regarding JS and JoRocka. "You remember that time when JoRocka thought that Jon_Snow was being racist because he commented about Mexicans in the gym? That was pretty damn funny. I love this place!"

Lagom

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #1217 on: July 07, 2016, 09:28:03 PM »
Agree with brute 100%. I love this thread and hope I never came across badly with regards to my own lifting goals (which are still a ways behind brute's!). If it's any consolation, I can barely run a (slow) mile without keeling over and doubt I could survive a single yoga class. Every athletic discipline is challenging and impressive in its own right and beyond that, sticking to a program is doubly impressive, no matter what your goals are. I personally started and stopped a half dozen times before I finally got into working out regularly a couple years ago. At that point benching the bar more than a few times was a challenge at 6'4" 190lbs! Crossfit was my entry point as an extremely out of shape skinny-fat guy, but for whatever reason, powerlifting is what ultimately resonated with me and has kept me motivated, especially as I have found resources like this one to help make myself more accountable.

Well done everyone! Literally every single person on this thread is amazing and has been doing amazing things. Keep it up!

Bracken_Joy

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #1218 on: July 08, 2016, 07:41:12 AM »
Just wanted to drop in and clarify I wasn't off being grumpy- I was working one of those stupidly long days I posted about =) And about to work another.

Owl, thank you especially for clarifying the misunderstanding there. If there's one place you shouldn't be judged for a little self-admitted social awkward, it is certainly the internet. I've had positive interactions with both you and Brute on the forums (and even this thread) before, and I'm not looking for bad vibes here. I do think there ends up being a big split between the "feel" of the forum at large (case studies, etc) and the more "community" sections (journals, gauntlets). I expect face punches on the forum at large, that's part of why I go there. I guess I just expect a lot more context in the community oriented sections, so I didn't put nearly as much context in my post that caused the controversy as I would have if I had thought through what Jordan brought up- not everyone is going to read through or remember the beginning of this mega thread. Not everyone is a weirdo like me with approximately 17 bajillion posts. ;)

Anyway, I do think a few things happened. Context was missed, I was in a FOUL fucking mood (up at 5am, after a late night, and taking work off the day before to advocate for my MIL in the hospital who fell off a dock, broke her neck, and nicked an artery, staying at the in laws who have a cat I'm allergic to, etc... Short version, Bracken was hardcore grumpy). A funny thing, we studied group behavior stuff in nursing school (BSN= you wanna be a manager, RIGHT?). And while I hated that section, it is shockingly useful for how groups evolve and change. Clashes of ideology are how you refine and clarify your group vision and identity. So guys, we're GROWING. *sniff, sniff*. So proud of us.

I have zero issues with meat heads, arguably being one myself, and my husband definitely being one. There is certainly a place for the push of a lifting buddy. (Case in point: last week, tired Bracken. Husband: we need to go workout. Me: I can't. Him: why? Me: my arms are noodles. They aren't arms. Just noodles. I'm guessing angel hair pasta. Him: rolls eyes, throws socks at me. NO SYMPATHY FOR NOODLE ARMS. Sigh). I think I just wasn't ready for  the push in this context.

Bringing all of this around to my initial questions. And guess what guys? While my patient slept in yesterday, I did some pushups and planks at work =P There's a novel approach, haha. Sadly, she sleeps on my shift very rarely, so I don't foresee that as an ongoing thing. Just thought it was funny, given this whole hubbabaloo.

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #1219 on: July 08, 2016, 07:45:30 AM »
So I weighed myself again this morning. I'm down to 167lbs with 17.9% body fat. This is kind of entertaining, especially considering technically I met two of my goals*. I wrote a bunch of goals for people this year, and I always rephrased weight loss goals to either "Weigh XXlbs" or "Lose XXlbs of fat". Since my progress this year did not move in a linear(ish) fashion like I somewhat expected, I find myself curious about the experience of other people who did progress more linearly.

I know this makes sense to me in my brain, but I'm not sure I'm explaining it properly. I expected to progress a bit more evenly, across different metrics. I expected my weight to kind of stay steady, or at least drop a lot slower as I continued on my workouts. I suppose I was expecting my body fat to drop as I worked out, but my weight to remain the same. With the shifting relationship with food I've written about, plus my schedule/attitude/commute shifted, and it's been a rough transition (now these are some excuses, kind of) and my workout schedule has suffered...by that I mean I haven't worked out consistently in more than a month. So I've been losing weight, and losing fat, but I haven't been increasing strength. So my steps were all different. It was more like 1st lose fat, 2nd gain muscle, 3rd dress like a damn stripper because Spartana is sneaky like that :P. Totally different than what I expected.


*I am debating as to whether or not I should mark them off, rephrase them to specify maintaining that weight loss, creating new ones and taking the win for these ones, or whatever. Thoughts are welcome.

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #1220 on: July 08, 2016, 09:03:06 AM »
So I weighed myself again this morning. I'm down to 167lbs with 17.9% body fat. This is kind of entertaining, especially considering technically I met two of my goals*. I wrote a bunch of goals for people this year, and I always rephrased weight loss goals to either "Weigh XXlbs" or "Lose XXlbs of fat". Since my progress this year did not move in a linear(ish) fashion like I somewhat expected, I find myself curious about the experience of other people who did progress more linearly.

I know this makes sense to me in my brain, but I'm not sure I'm explaining it properly. I expected to progress a bit more evenly, across different metrics. I expected my weight to kind of stay steady, or at least drop a lot slower as I continued on my workouts. I suppose I was expecting my body fat to drop as I worked out, but my weight to remain the same. With the shifting relationship with food I've written about, plus my schedule/attitude/commute shifted, and it's been a rough transition (now these are some excuses, kind of) and my workout schedule has suffered...by that I mean I haven't worked out consistently in more than a month. So I've been losing weight, and losing fat, but I haven't been increasing strength. So my steps were all different. It was more like 1st lose fat, 2nd gain muscle, 3rd dress like a damn stripper because Spartana is sneaky like that :P. Totally different than what I expected.


*I am debating as to whether or not I should mark them off, rephrase them to specify maintaining that weight loss, creating new ones and taking the win for these ones, or whatever. Thoughts are welcome.

Augh! Dude. Dude, bro. Please. Mark those fucker off, and set new goals. Ever changing, moving goalposts annoy every neuron in my brain, creating a mass of electrical irritability the likes of which nature rarely experiences. Mark them off, for the Samuels.

ALSO GOOD JOB.

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #1221 on: July 08, 2016, 09:08:33 AM »
Augh! Dude. Dude, bro. Please. Mark those fucker off, and set new goals. Ever changing, moving goalposts annoy every neuron in my brain, creating a mass of electrical irritability the likes of which nature rarely experiences. Mark them off, for the Samuels.

ALSO GOOD JOB.

Thanks! Although now that I know how much it bugs you, I want to mark one as complete, but then change the other one. I could see some Samuel Brain Explosions happening. :)

Feedback accepted, and I don't really have a preference either way. I'll update my goals and add new ones.

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #1222 on: July 08, 2016, 09:20:24 AM »
So I weighed myself again this morning. I'm down to 167lbs with 17.9% body fat. This is kind of entertaining, especially considering technically I met two of my goals*. I wrote a bunch of goals for people this year, and I always rephrased weight loss goals to either "Weigh XXlbs" or "Lose XXlbs of fat". Since my progress this year did not move in a linear(ish) fashion like I somewhat expected, I find myself curious about the experience of other people who did progress more linearly.

I know this makes sense to me in my brain, but I'm not sure I'm explaining it properly. I expected to progress a bit more evenly, across different metrics. I expected my weight to kind of stay steady, or at least drop a lot slower as I continued on my workouts. I suppose I was expecting my body fat to drop as I worked out, but my weight to remain the same. With the shifting relationship with food I've written about, plus my schedule/attitude/commute shifted, and it's been a rough transition (now these are some excuses, kind of) and my workout schedule has suffered...by that I mean I haven't worked out consistently in more than a month. So I've been losing weight, and losing fat, but I haven't been increasing strength. So my steps were all different. It was more like 1st lose fat, 2nd gain muscle, 3rd dress like a damn stripper because Spartana is sneaky like that :P. Totally different than what I expected.


*I am debating as to whether or not I should mark them off, rephrase them to specify maintaining that weight loss, creating new ones and taking the win for these ones, or whatever. Thoughts are welcome.

Definitely not linear. I've read you can really only add about 2lbs of muscle per month and that is only if you're a newbie to lifting it's less if you've been lifting for longer. I'm sure there are plenty of anecdotal studies saying more or less but it's a good rule of thumb. Now this is in contrast to the fact that a person can pretty easily shed 8-10lbs of fat in a month. So, add muscle lose fat will not happen at the same rate unless you're losing fat really slowly. (this is all very simplified, if you want studies I can dig for you)

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #1223 on: July 08, 2016, 09:35:39 AM »
So I weighed myself again this morning. I'm down to 167lbs with 17.9% body fat. This is kind of entertaining, especially considering technically I met two of my goals*. I wrote a bunch of goals for people this year, and I always rephrased weight loss goals to either "Weigh XXlbs" or "Lose XXlbs of fat". Since my progress this year did not move in a linear(ish) fashion like I somewhat expected, I find myself curious about the experience of other people who did progress more linearly.
[...]

Definitely not linear. I've read you can really only add about 2lbs of muscle per month and that is only if you're a newbie to lifting it's less if you've been lifting for longer. I'm sure there are plenty of anecdotal studies saying more or less but it's a good rule of thumb. Now this is in contrast to the fact that a person can pretty easily shed 8-10lbs of fat in a month. So, add muscle lose fat will not happen at the same rate unless you're losing fat really slowly. (this is all very simplified, if you want studies I can dig for you)

That is quite helpful. So even my expectations were totally off. I didn't realize it was that low as far as muscle growth. I might hit you up later for the studies, but since it would be for the knowledge only and it wouldn't change what I do right now, I don't need it.

So I suppose I'm curious about the experience of people who did gain muscle and lose fat at the same time.

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #1224 on: July 08, 2016, 10:02:30 AM »
From what I've read, only noobs can gain muscle and lose fat at the same time. However, I can't quote any studies for you, it's just one of those things 'everyone knows.' Like slaves fighting for the Confederacy, or the idea that you'll explode if you sneeze, burp and fart all at the same time. Urban wisdom.

Okay, actually, there's a recent study from McMasters University, showing it can be done. However, I'm inferring that the young men studied were not physically fit to begin with, based on the quote about being in 'rough shape.' Thus, I'm not sure if we've proved experienced lifters can gain lean body mass, while dropping adipose body mass.

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #1225 on: July 08, 2016, 10:06:00 AM »
*I am debating as to whether or not I should mark them off, rephrase them to specify maintaining that weight loss, creating new ones and taking the win for these ones, or whatever. Thoughts are welcome.

Take the win and create new ones if you want something else to work for. This is what goals are for. If you are always changing your goals, you will never reach them, and even with constant improvement, you will have nothing concrete to look back on.

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #1226 on: July 08, 2016, 10:08:06 AM »
Okay, so I guess I will keep posting after all. I'm quite self-centered so obviously I just assumed that folks were all mad at JUST ME ONLY and that I'd said the WRONGEST THINGS EVER and stuff. :D

So, add muscle lose fat will not happen at the same rate unless you're losing fat really slowly.

Yep, in fact the reason my goal above was specifically stated as 'convert 10% body fat into muscle' is that I'm trying to pace myself to go pretty slowly. Ideally my scale weight should stay about the same until that goal has been reached; the only thing changing should be my BF%.

EDIT @ Sailor Sam - even at my fittest I could gain muscle and lose fat at the same time, just not gaining muscle as fast as you can when bulking or losing fat as fast as you can when cutting. I'm not looking to appear on stage any time soon (i.e. ever) so just keeping my nutrition and exercise relatively consistent all year is what works best for me. I don't like bulking and I REALLY loathe aggressive cutting. YMMV of course!
« Last Edit: July 08, 2016, 10:11:18 AM by SoccerLounge »

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #1227 on: July 08, 2016, 10:51:10 AM »
Okay, so I guess I will keep posting after all. I'm quite self-centered so obviously I just assumed that folks were all mad at JUST ME ONLY and that I'd said the WRONGEST THINGS EVER and stuff. :D

So, add muscle lose fat will not happen at the same rate unless you're losing fat really slowly.

Yep, in fact the reason my goal above was specifically stated as 'convert 10% body fat into muscle' is that I'm trying to pace myself to go pretty slowly. Ideally my scale weight should stay about the same until that goal has been reached; the only thing changing should be my BF%.

EDIT @ Sailor Sam - even at my fittest I could gain muscle and lose fat at the same time, just not gaining muscle as fast as you can when bulking or losing fat as fast as you can when cutting. I'm not looking to appear on stage any time soon (i.e. ever) so just keeping my nutrition and exercise relatively consistent all year is what works best for me. I don't like bulking and I REALLY loathe aggressive cutting. YMMV of course!

I am very performance oriented and not really into body building-style training (other than I do enjoy getting bigger, along with stronger), but I agree that it's possible to gain muscle while losing fat, and also that it's pretty much impossible to do it as quickly as if you don't mind adding some dead weight in the bulking process. I am waaaayyy too lazy to track nutrition, etc., but my transition from pretty lanky to relatively muscular (I'm told, although I still have body image issues over it), has mostly followed a pattern of eating like a horse until I get to a target weight, with up to 50% of the gains being fat, then cutting back a bit (mostly just not eating until I feel sick, but otherwise not paying attention) and more or less maintaining that weight as the fat slowly is burned off/more muscle is gained.

I've only done this once so far, netting about 15lbs of lean mass in just over a year. Doubt I'll repeat that this year as those were noob gains. I'm currently back at the slightly chubby end of things, another 15lbs up, and debating when I want to scale back the eating. I think this process worked fairly well, even without being crazy about tracking everything. I'm sure I could be more optimal, but since I am not concerned about things like swimsuit season, competing, etc., this has been a good approach for me.


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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #1228 on: July 08, 2016, 12:05:28 PM »
You can gain muscle and lose fat until you start reaching your genetic potential. After a certain point it's no longer really possible.

The top bodybuilders in the world, with their gallons of steroids, growth hormone, and insulin, can't even retain all their muscle when they drop fat, let alone add more. They are also at their genetic max pretty much, with the steroids.

The generally agreed fastest way is to bulk hard gaining muscle and fat, then slowly drop the fat, repeat. The other alternative is to slowly build muscle, and add minimal fat. As mentioned - after a certain level, people adding muscle and losing fat is pretty much off the table. I would venture a guess that few people on this forum (or in general) have reached that point.

What's funny is at the gym I've been getting comments from people I've never really talked to that I look "way bigger" even though I'm down about 35 lbs this year. I guarantee I had more muscle at 220 than I do now at 185-190. However now I'm probably 7-8% BF vs the 12-14% I was at. My skin looks paper thin, muscles far more defined, and way more vascular. It only gives the "appearance" that I look bigger. It's been very interesting for me as someone who has always ate like a horse to be at 220ish.

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #1229 on: July 08, 2016, 12:26:45 PM »
As others have pointed out, while it is possible to gain lean mass and burn adipose simultaneously it is much easier for untrained or undertrained individuals, especially in the first 6-24 months of training and proper nutrition.

Once you get past those "golden gains" it becomes much more difficult.

I've been on both ends of the spectrum, and the human body is a fascinating thing......often bending the "rules" of science/logic.

Adding lean body mass is not the same as adding muscle tissue. You can increase carb sensitivity and increase LBM through improved muscle fullness/saturation, without actually growing/increasing the number of muscle fibers.

Same goes for losing LBM, it's very easy to look flat/lose lean body mass without actually losing muscle tissue. Just stop lifting for a week and become very dehydrated and you will see what I mean.

Interesting conversation folks, this was a huge interest of mine for nearly a decade, both as an athlete and coach.

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #1230 on: July 08, 2016, 01:06:52 PM »
[...]
I have also already completed my target of 5 walks or hikes of greater than 5 miles. 

I am a bit behind on individual exercise sessions, but can get back on track by adding daily walks around the neighborhood to supplement gym workouts.  I also haven't done anything with weight training or additional low carb recipes -- will work on that while in China this summer (DH has been wanting to work with me on weight routines anyway).

Glad I had the guts to tally things up and get back on here.  Now I need to get my butt to the gym....

Kicking ass on the progress lhamo!! I've got the one goal crossed off. And as of today, we are 52.05% of the way through the year. Did you wind up scheduling a 5K yet, or you just going to time yourself in a solo run? Also, how many new meals have you done total this year? You said you haven't done anything with them, does that mean you've been sticking to repeats?

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #1231 on: July 10, 2016, 02:53:16 PM »
My husband came up with a very wicked arms day for me. A- I will be very sore tomorrow B- you can visually distinguish my triceps! Miracle. I have very small arms, and even though I'm pretty lean, they just aren't defined. So this is exciting for me.
Related downside: Dress problems. I already had to move last year to only sleeveless dresses, because my shoulders are too broad relative to my size otherwise. But just yesterday I wore my favorite dress, and my arms started to go a bit numb after a couple hours =( The arm holes are just too tight on my arms now. At least I have a couple dresses that are stretchy fabric... and thankfully my scrubs all still fit!

Also cool: met someone through my local Buy Nothing Project who wanted to see people's home gyms for ideas. He came over and took a look at our set up. DH especially had fun NerdBroing out with him about the details... they're both engineers. Yet another reason I'm sad we're moving next month. DH's collection of NerdBros is growing, and now we are moving. Hope we find plenty of NerdBros in our new area!

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #1232 on: July 10, 2016, 03:02:07 PM »
My husband came up with a very wicked arms day for me. A- I will be very sore tomorrow B- you can visually distinguish my triceps! Miracle. I have very small arms, and even though I'm pretty lean, they just aren't defined. So this is exciting for me.
Related downside: Dress problems. I already had to move last year to only sleeveless dresses, because my shoulders are too broad relative to my size otherwise. But just yesterday I wore my favorite dress, and my arms started to go a bit numb after a couple hours =( The arm holes are just too tight on my arms now. At least I have a couple dresses that are stretchy fabric... and thankfully my scrubs all still fit!

Also cool: met someone through my local Buy Nothing Project who wanted to see people's home gyms for ideas. He came over and took a look at our set up. DH especially had fun NerdBroing out with him about the details... they're both engineers. Yet another reason I'm sad we're moving next month. DH's collection of NerdBros is growing, and now we are moving. Hope we find plenty of NerdBros in our new area!

Argh, fucking sleeves! I have the same problem with uniform blouses. My shoulder's aren't properly in the shoulder part, where the yoke seam meets the sleeve seam. Plus the arms themselves are uncomfortably tight.

I have to get everything above the least-fancy uniform tailored. Which makes me look astoundingly sexy, of course. Still, it's a pain.


I should probably go to the gym today. It's a scheduled day. But the fucks, they don't seem to exist.


ETA: I went to the gym. 2x25, then 1x9 for each exercise in Convict Conditioning. The shoulderstand squats are making something in my thoracic spine mighty unhappy. I may drop them, in favour of doing the jacknife squats. I know there's wisdom in being faithful to my beginner status, but there's no wisdom in blowing out a spinal disc.
« Last Edit: July 10, 2016, 10:43:30 PM by Sailor Sam »

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #1233 on: July 10, 2016, 05:43:21 PM »
My husband came up with a very wicked arms day for me. A- I will be very sore tomorrow B- you can visually distinguish my triceps! Miracle. I have very small arms, and even though I'm pretty lean, they just aren't defined. So this is exciting for me.
Related downside: Dress problems. I already had to move last year to only sleeveless dresses, because my shoulders are too broad relative to my size otherwise. But just yesterday I wore my favorite dress, and my arms started to go a bit numb after a couple hours =( The arm holes are just too tight on my arms now. At least I have a couple dresses that are stretchy fabric... and thankfully my scrubs all still fit!

Also cool: met someone through my local Buy Nothing Project who wanted to see people's home gyms for ideas. He came over and took a look at our set up. DH especially had fun NerdBroing out with him about the details... they're both engineers. Yet another reason I'm sad we're moving next month. DH's collection of NerdBros is growing, and now we are moving. Hope we find plenty of NerdBros in our new area!

Argh, fucking sleeves! I have the same problem with uniform blouses. My shoulder's aren't properly in the shoulder part, where the yoke seam meets the sleeve seam. Plus the arms themselves are uncomfortably tight.

I have to get everything above the least-fancy uniform tailored. Which makes me look astoundingly sexy, of course. Still, it's a pain.


I should probably go to the gym today. It's a scheduled day. But the fucks, they don't seem to exist.

I cannot wear button down shirts or most blouses because the fabric is not stretchy enough to fit my shoulders or they look terrible because I have massive shoulders to a small waist and large hips ratio thing going.

I am facing the conundrum of wanting to go full tilt into the pull-up focused stage of new rules of lifting for women, but also just had the fitting for alterations of the bridesmaid dress for a wedding happening in a month. Not *tons* of time, but the fit is close enough that I don't want to gain muscle or fat there.
I"m thinking stepping back the weights for the workouts and doing some more interval training/intense cardio of some kind. Any suggestions?

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #1234 on: July 12, 2016, 07:15:52 AM »
Lifting updates from the past few sessions.

BW = 215lbs
BB Bench - 275 x 5, 5, 5
BB Dead -  405 x 5, 5, 5
BB Squat - 315 x 5, 5, 5

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #1235 on: July 12, 2016, 12:49:52 PM »
My husband came up with a very wicked arms day for me. A- I will be very sore tomorrow B- you can visually distinguish my triceps! Miracle. I have very small arms, and even though I'm pretty lean, they just aren't defined. So this is exciting for me.
Related downside: Dress problems. I already had to move last year to only sleeveless dresses, because my shoulders are too broad relative to my size otherwise. But just yesterday I wore my favorite dress, and my arms started to go a bit numb after a couple hours =( The arm holes are just too tight on my arms now. At least I have a couple dresses that are stretchy fabric... and thankfully my scrubs all still fit!

Also cool: met someone through my local Buy Nothing Project who wanted to see people's home gyms for ideas. He came over and took a look at our set up. DH especially had fun NerdBroing out with him about the details... they're both engineers. Yet another reason I'm sad we're moving next month. DH's collection of NerdBros is growing, and now we are moving. Hope we find plenty of NerdBros in our new area!

Argh, fucking sleeves! I have the same problem with uniform blouses. My shoulder's aren't properly in the shoulder part, where the yoke seam meets the sleeve seam. Plus the arms themselves are uncomfortably tight.

I have to get everything above the least-fancy uniform tailored. Which makes me look astoundingly sexy, of course. Still, it's a pain.


I should probably go to the gym today. It's a scheduled day. But the fucks, they don't seem to exist.

I cannot wear button down shirts or most blouses because the fabric is not stretchy enough to fit my shoulders or they look terrible because I have massive shoulders to a small waist and large hips ratio thing going.

I am facing the conundrum of wanting to go full tilt into the pull-up focused stage of new rules of lifting for women, but also just had the fitting for alterations of the bridesmaid dress for a wedding happening in a month. Not *tons* of time, but the fit is close enough that I don't want to gain muscle or fat there.
I"m thinking stepping back the weights for the workouts and doing some more interval training/intense cardio of some kind. Any suggestions?

Odds are very little will change in a month- I would eat at maintenance and keep on keeping on. You'll be fine- and unless the dress has a very restrictive shoulder thing going on (many are off the shoulder/halter) with like a chiffon- you're probably totally fine. :)

Congrats on the shoulders arms/shirt problem.

I have a hard time with certain shirts- but I'm really annoyed my shoulders are not bigger- NEEDS BIGGER!

JoRocka

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #1236 on: July 12, 2016, 12:52:36 PM »
I apologize for not touching base more.
I've been struggling with a lot of things. Work's been kicking my ass all day.

Today's motto was "you will not cry at your desk- and you will not go to your car to cry" so here I sit. repeating Fide Nemini to myself.

But in good news. On the "keep being fabulous front"
the gains- they are happening- I'm up from 245 to 265 in the squat department. Solid work and solid results. I am pleased. Could have a 1/2" more depth- but compared to the really 2" to short 260 squat- this is a brilliant squat for me. I'm proud of this.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BHvUzb7AQMl/

SoccerLounge

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #1237 on: July 12, 2016, 02:59:37 PM »
the gains- they are happening- I'm up from 245 to 265 in the squat department. Solid work and solid results. I am pleased. Could have a 1/2" more depth- but compared to the really 2" to short 260 squat- this is a brilliant squat for me. I'm proud of this.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BHvUzb7AQMl/

Nice form! I hear you about depth. I've always been a natural squatter (relative to other movements, not in absolute terms!) and in flexibility terms I'm physically capable of going pretty much all the way butt-to-ground... but we just don't have the long-term data on cartilage and meniscus health to know whether or not that's okay done regularly with weight. As opposed to the argued-over conflicting studies on ligaments etc. which are a whole different thing :) So as long as I'm going a touch below parallel, I don't worry about it. I figure there are more important training goals than squatting as deep as possible, at least for me. (EDIT: I know you don't have to go that low powerlifting... just sayin' :) )

Also, seconding lhamo's comment about uphill walking. One of the reasons I love to hike so much is that slogging on those uphill grades is just an absolute killer cardio exercise, plus bonus Nature and stuff! Of course, when you hike on real hills, you then must also come downhill. But "hike up, run or jog down" works for that for me.
« Last Edit: July 12, 2016, 06:15:43 PM by SoccerLounge »

brute

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #1238 on: July 12, 2016, 05:59:32 PM »
I apologize for not touching base more.
I've been struggling with a lot of things. Work's been kicking my ass all day.

Today's motto was "you will not cry at your desk- and you will not go to your car to cry" so here I sit. repeating Fide Nemini to myself.

But in good news. On the "keep being fabulous front"
the gains- they are happening- I'm up from 245 to 265 in the squat department. Solid work and solid results. I am pleased. Could have a 1/2" more depth- but compared to the really 2" to short 260 squat- this is a brilliant squat for me. I'm proud of this.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BHvUzb7AQMl/

Nice work on the squat. Honestly, you probably would have gotten 2 whites for that. Only a picky side judge would call that most of the time. Fantastic effort on staying tight and not dropping forward. Hope work starts going better soon.

So, news flash. I'm still fat. I was supposed to eat better last week but completely failed. The good news is most of my meals were cooked at home, the bad news is I got a stand mixer amongst the wedding presents, so I made a ton of bread. Not great for losing weight, but I will say it was the best pizza I've made to date. I have quit drinking for the rest of the month, and probably next month. I think I'm going to take a run at state championships in illinois this fall for strongman, but I need to come in lighter and faster this year.

Sailor Sam

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #1239 on: July 12, 2016, 07:37:08 PM »
I apologize for not touching base more.
I've been struggling with a lot of things. Work's been kicking my ass all day.

Today's motto was "you will not cry at your desk- and you will not go to your car to cry" so here I sit. repeating Fide Nemini to myself.

But in good news. On the "keep being fabulous front"
the gains- they are happening- I'm up from 245 to 265 in the squat department. Solid work and solid results. I am pleased. Could have a 1/2" more depth- but compared to the really 2" to short 260 squat- this is a brilliant squat for me. I'm proud of this.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BHvUzb7AQMl/

I'm impressed.

Was the guy behind you acting as a spotter, or to help you power up if you got caught in the hole? Just curious. Having someone stand that close behind me would freak me out, and distract me from the lift. And the safety bars have rescued me frequently enough that I trust them to catch the weight.

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #1240 on: July 13, 2016, 08:47:18 AM »
Checking in. Finally got into the gym yesterday for the first time in weeks (vacation plus all the before/after details ate up all my spare time and the gym is usually the first thing I cut when I need more hours in a day). I made myself work until muscle failure instead of slacking and I'm actually a little sore today, which is nice. I was also able to do four hanging knee raises, which makes me happy. I almost did five before vacation. I need to buckle down if I'm ever going to actually try taking the Fit Ranx test again like I said I was going to.

Non-gym fitness - now that I've had my FitBit for a while it's become obvious that I've done a lot more walking on the weekends than I realized and I'm also doing more because of my FitBit (I haven't got the 10k steps in a day badge and I want it. I almost had it Saturday but didn't event realize it!). The dog is certainly seeing the benefits of it. That reminds me, I should walk around my building real quick to do the 250 steps in an hour thing.

I don't comment much in response to the ongoing conversation but I enjoy reading along. :)

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #1241 on: July 13, 2016, 09:10:08 AM »
Checking in because I failed to work out this morning and I don't think I'll be able to tonight after work. I've been consistently working out 6 days/week for the past 7 months and failing to make time on a Wednesday morning sucks. Really screws up my rhythm.

Hopefully I'll be able to make it up this weekend, but it's still a bummer. Can't complain about it at work because it sounds like #humblebragging but I figured y'all would understand.


SoccerLounge

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #1242 on: July 13, 2016, 06:51:44 PM »
Update! Still on track. In fact, I achieved a hiking PR today: completing two connected trails, comprising significant elevation gain in short distances, in one go non-stop. I've done these trails a lot of times but never without stopping; there are a few nasty combination grade changes that tend to take the wind out of the sails of most hikers, and pausing briefly is common. I didn't pause at all. I have a feeling my calves are going to let me know all about this in a day or two, though...

Migrator Soul

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #1243 on: July 14, 2016, 05:18:52 PM »
So, I finally ran a sub 13:00 2 mile on a record APFT, so that is one goal down.

I have gained about 10 pounds so far this year, and have seen fairly steady gains in the lifting department. I am currently staying at about 180 on my squat, and 205 on the deadlift. I seemed to have plateaued. Pull ups are at about 10 until muscle failure. I am still maxing the pushup and sit up events on the APFT, so no change there.

Sailor Sam

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #1244 on: July 14, 2016, 09:57:16 PM »
Big victory at casa Samuel! I went to a Tabata class at the gym, the instructor called for curtsey squats, which I don't do very frequently. The move was a lot easier than it was a month ago, and I could feel I could feel that I've gained strength in my abs, glutes, and quads. It was a really nice moment of validation.

JoRocka

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #1245 on: July 15, 2016, 06:46:32 AM »
the gains- they are happening- I'm up from 245 to 265 in the squat department. Solid work and solid results. I am pleased. Could have a 1/2" more depth- but compared to the really 2" to short 260 squat- this is a brilliant squat for me. I'm proud of this.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BHvUzb7AQMl/

Nice form! I hear you about depth. I've always been a natural squatter (relative to other movements, not in absolute terms!) and in flexibility terms I'm physically capable of going pretty much all the way butt-to-ground... but we just don't have the long-term data on cartilage and meniscus health to know whether or not that's okay done regularly with weight. As opposed to the argued-over conflicting studies on ligaments etc. which are a whole different thing :) So as long as I'm going a touch below parallel, I don't worry about it. I figure there are more important training goals than squatting as deep as possible, at least for me. (EDIT: I know you don't have to go that low powerlifting... just sayin' :) )

Also, seconding lhamo's comment about uphill walking. One of the reasons I love to hike so much is that slogging on those uphill grades is just an absolute killer cardio exercise, plus bonus Nature and stuff! Of course, when you hike on real hills, you then must also come downhill. But "hike up, run or jog down" works for that for me.

I had a REALLY interesting conversation with one of the guys at my gym regarding hip sockets and how the head of the femur sits in the pelvis.  There is a fundamental reasons Eastern European folks have dominated the lifting world and have such great squats at such depths- and it's because the socket that the head of the femur sits in is very shallow so it gives them more ROM.  There is an expression- you can google it "The Scottish hip" and people who are more West of that region (I'm full blood Scot- so I thought this was mighty interesting) have a deeper socket- so there is essentially less ROM for a full ATG squat.
So- I WILL and can squat ATG- but only up to like 155-165. After that- I break parallel and I'm done. I get stuck in the whole in a bad way otherwise.

2Birds1Stone

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #1246 on: July 15, 2016, 07:13:20 AM »
Damn it feels good to start lifting heavy again!

My lifting partner really pushed me this morning on deadlifts

315 x 5
365 x 5
405 x 5
435 x 5
455 x 5 Boom! Haven't deadlifted that weight/reps since 2013

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #1247 on: July 15, 2016, 07:26:11 AM »
So, I finally ran a sub 13:00 2 mile on a record APFT, so that is one goal down.

I have gained about 10 pounds so far this year, and have seen fairly steady gains in the lifting department. I am currently staying at about 180 on my squat, and 205 on the deadlift. I seemed to have plateaued. Pull ups are at about 10 until muscle failure. I am still maxing the pushup and sit up events on the APFT, so no change there.

I've got that goal marked as complete. Awesome!! Are there pullup events in the APFT (I'm assuming that stands for Army Physical Fitness Test...I know I put it on the goal description post, but I'm really lazy).

Big victory at casa Samuel! I went to a Tabata class at the gym, the instructor called for curtsey squats, which I don't do very frequently. The move was a lot easier than it was a month ago, and I could feel I could feel that I've gained strength in my abs, glutes, and quads. It was a really nice moment of validation.

Hell yeah!

Damn it feels good to start lifting heavy again!

My lifting partner really pushed me this morning on deadlifts

315 x 5
365 x 5
405 x 5
435 x 5
455 x 5 Boom! Haven't deadlifted that weight/reps since 2013

You realize that you just quintupled your goal? Unless I wrote it down incorrectly, you were going for a 455lb 1RM on deadlifts!! I marked it off for you.
« Last Edit: July 15, 2016, 08:12:38 AM by jordanread »

SoccerLounge

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #1248 on: July 15, 2016, 11:50:43 AM »
I had a REALLY interesting conversation with one of the guys at my gym regarding hip sockets and how the head of the femur sits in the pelvis...

This is all good and interesting stuff! I think sometimes people forget that 'genetic potential' doesn't just mean restrictions like IF UR MUSELS GRO WIKED BIG BRO!!!! (ahem :D ), but also just basic stuff like 'what your skeleton is shaped like'.

Weight room today was pretty nice. I'm starting to really see some effects on my calves from the combination of frequent hikes outside the weight room and structured calf work within it. I don't need the elusive Big Calves, but I do want calves that are both strong and have decent endurance. I'm a big fan of muscular endurance because real-life strength tasks don't usually involve only lifting something very heavy for three seconds :)

TL;DR - I'm really starting to see the effects from the work I'm doing right now and that's always a nice feeling. Also congrats to 2Birds1Stone and Coastie Colby... I mean Sailor Sam :) on their recent successes!)

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #1249 on: July 15, 2016, 01:04:24 PM »
I had a REALLY interesting conversation with one of the guys at my gym regarding hip sockets and how the head of the femur sits in the pelvis...

This is all good and interesting stuff! I think sometimes people forget that 'genetic potential' doesn't just mean restrictions like IF UR MUSELS GRO WIKED BIG BRO!!!! (ahem :D ), but also just basic stuff like 'what your skeleton is shaped like'.

There's a trainer who works at my gym, I think 50% of his time just consists of hanging out in case people have questions while they work out (he works full time hourly so he's not on the private training session schedule a lot of trainers are). The first time I talked to him he was able to tell me that I probably had stiffness/pain [here] on a regular basis because of how I was standing and the weakness in my posture [here] and [there]. He was also incredibly helpful when I was pregnant and my skeleton and center of gravity were shifting week by week.