The Fitness Thread

[SCWolf]

Originally Posted by mnnicol

What do your arms measure?

I don't know because I don't really care all that much lol

[mnnicol]

Looking good, Reach! Should be able to pull 405 on DL by the end of the year easily

SC, pls. Arm measurements are practically on par with penis size.

[Reach]

16.5 inch arms. Will shoot for 17+ on this bulk, hopefully not because of fatceps though.

16.5 inch calves. sweet baby jesus I've been BLASTING calves since June (switched to training them 4x a week) and can't believe that it has been working that well, they were 16.00. I mean, I've felt like they were growing, since they look way better, but nice to have confirmation especially now that calves and arms have finally evened out 8) (a year ago I was at about 15 arms 14.25 calves )

If you wanna cripple yourself try this exciting calf routine: 10 sets of 10 on the standing calf raise machine or smith machine. you're required to squeeze each rep at the very top, slow negative without a bounce.

Superset with 10 sets of 10 standing body weight calf raises. No stopping or resting ever here, but you can keep the rests fast and explosive.

Do not drop the weight on the weighted sets until you fail to hit 10 reps.


OK it's not exciting at all, it's actually extremely painful albeit quick and effective. My calves feel like they're gonna blow right out of my leg by set 16 or so. Urg.

[Reincarnate]

So it's been over a year since I started this thread and I am still a fatty fat fatfat

wompwompwomp

current weight: ~230

[Reach]

Rubix, defining fuckarounditis since 8/12/2012

In all seriousness, you and the rest of us all know you could lose weight without any exercise at all if you stuck with a proper diet.


My girlfriend started lifting with me, doing my routine 3 months ago. She also changed her diet to pretty much what I cook, which is mostly clean foods and about 1500 cal a day for her.

She has lost 15 lbs and currently reps: Deadlift 145x5, Squat 115x8, Incline Bench 70x8

[Reincarnate]

At least for me I think a big problem is not having someone to do stuff with. Any time I do anything diet/exercise-related, I have no idea if I'm doing it right and I start second-guessing myself and losing motivation to keep with anything simply because I have too many questions at every step of the process.

[Arch0wl]

Rubix: just do extra exercises to compensate for the possible mistakes you could be making, lol. You can also watch Scott Herman's tutorials and make sure to use the mirrors at the gym.

[Poison-]

Originally Posted by Reincarnate

At least for me I think a big problem is not having someone to do stuff with. Any time I do anything diet/exercise-related, I have no idea if I'm doing it right and I start second-guessing myself and losing motivation to keep with anything simply because I have too many questions at every step of the process.

Just cut out processed and fast food. Keep your diet clean and stay at a calorie defecit.

[Reincarnate]

Originally Posted by Arch0wl

Rubix: just do extra exercises to compensate for the possible mistakes you could be making, lol. You can also watch Scott Herman's tutorials and make sure to use the mirrors at the gym.

In my messed-up mind, that won't work at all: A big problem for me is wasting time. Here in NYC, work is exhausting and so when I get home, I don't want to put all that effort into doing something that's only like shit% efficient. I don't want to spend an hour in the gym only to find that I'm not burning many calories and not working the right muscle groups or developing bad habits that'll lead to injury later, etc.

You might argue "Well it's been a year and you're still fat," and this is true -- but the difference is that I didn't "waste" any time (since the past year I've largely spent getting better at CS/math-related stuff instead).

I'm also a very all-or-nothing thinker, so there's always that. I'm not the "just go to the gym and lift a bunch of shit and run a lot" type. I want to make sure I'm not making any dumb mistakes and that I'm doing the best I could be doing given any given situation.

Originally Posted by Poison-

Just cut out processed and fast food. Keep your diet clean and stay at a calorie defecit.

Thing is I don't eat unhealthy most of the time. Maybe on weekends, but during the workweek, I've been sticking to turkey-wraps (just turkey + cheese + lettuce p. much) and water. Dinner is usually chicken + veggies.

[Poison-]

All you have to do is keep yourself at a calorie defecit and you'll lose weight though. You won't even have to step foot in a gym.

[Reach]

I get the mindset, Rubix. You're a smart guy and are used to doing things precisely and settling for nothing but perfection (I remember when you tried to learn poker, lmao).

The thing with fitness though is that training is, for the most part, mindbogglingly simple. You just fucking move shit around and stimulate your muscles/burn calories.

The rest comes down to energy balance and

Most importantly consistency. Above all else, consistency matters more than anything in fitness. It's about a lifestyle change.

I see idiots all the time that barely know what the fuck they're doing in the gym, let alone in the kitchen, and make progress. How? They don't skip gym sessions and continue to go, month after month, year after year.

Is it optimal? Not even close. Does it work? Yes!

[Reincarnate]

But what someone achieves month after month could be, instead, week after week if they *did* know what they were doing with a few changes, and that thought puts me in such agony and frustration. I *hate* half-assing things, especially if there's an obviously better way to do it.

[Arch0wl]

if you're truly worried about being sub-optimal then find a steroid dealer, I guess. there is nothing more optimal than that, technically.

[Reach]

Originally Posted by Arch0wl

if you're truly worried about being sub-optimal then find a steroid dealer, I guess. there is nothing more optimal than that, technically.

That's a bit extreme.

He's too fat to take steroids anyway. If he was going to take shit for weight loss, it would be fat burners. Not to mention if he can't exercise consistently he can't even dream of injecting himself with things responsibly.


Fitness is all about half assing it, because nobody really knows what is optimal anyway. All you have is a bunch of guys going around doing stuff that *works*, not stuff that is optimal.

[Kraezymann]

Originally Posted by Reincarnate

At least for me I think a big problem is not having someone to do stuff with. Any time I do anything diet/exercise-related, I have no idea if I'm doing it right and I start second-guessing myself and losing motivation to keep with anything simply because I have too many questions at every step of the process.

I'll work out with you! We can be pen-pal correspondence work-out buddies!

Yes, really.

[SCWolf]

Rubix, think of how much time you've wasted doing nothing and making no progress, when you could have been in there doing everything terribly and making more progress. Stop wasting time because you're too worried about your form. If you're really worried about your form, get a smart phone, bring it to the gym with you and watch instructional videos before you do the exercise. Some exercises are going to take more work than others to get down, but you WILL get it. My first program for the gym was ridiculous, but did I make gains? Absolutely, because my diet was there.

If you're looking to lose weight, just go to the gym and do cardio. You don't HAVE to weight train. If you do want to weight train though, I have something for you, and hopefully you consider it.

This program was done up by my friend. The dietary advice is from me.

Monday
Skwat - 5/3/1
Stiff Leg / RDL / Goodmorning - 3x10
Abs - 3x10
Supersetted with
Unilateral (Step ups, walking lunges, etc) - 3x10

Tuesday
Flat Bench - 5/3/1
Incline Bench - 5x10
Pulldowns - 5x10
Dumbbell Row - 5x10
Triceps - 3x10

Thursday
Deadlift - 5/3/1
Front Squat - 3x8
Abs - 3x10
Supersetted with
Back Raise - 3x10

Friday
Overhead Press - 5/3/1
Dips / Close Grip Bench - 5x10
Horizontal Pull - 5x10
Upper back - 5x10
Bicepticons - 3x10
On lower days, you would do Agile 8 before you start lifting. Here's a link to Agile 8. http://www.defrancostraining.com/ask..._08-10-03.html

5/3/1 works like this
Find your maxes for all the lifts in the program that are listed 5/3/1
Your training max is 90% of your max
You base these percentages on your training maxes
Week one is your 5's week. 5,5,5+
65%,75%,85%
3's week. 3,3,3+
70%,80%,90%
5/3/1+
75%, 85%,95%
Lower body lifts progress by 10lbs per 5/3/1 cycle, upper body lifts progress by 5lbs
When you plateau in strength, you deload.

As for diet, read this over.

Chicken breast in bulk from Costco. Get freezer bags, tupperware containers and as much chicken as you think you'll need before you can get back out to get more.

Put chicken in freezer bags, then into tupperware containers. Put the containers in the deep freeze until you're ready to eat them. Take 3 breasts out per day, basically as a way of forcing yourself not to slack on getting in lean proteins.

When you cook your chicken (this is really beneficial for lazy people) on your George Foreman grill (if you have one), put tin foil over the grill before you put the chicken on it. This will prevent any type of cleaning on the grill. Saves lots of time.

Getting a food scale would be incredibly beneficial to make sure you're not going over your caloric goals. Most information is listed on the nutrition facts, but lean, whole foods usually don't come with nutrition facts unless they're boxed.

10 Minute brown rice will work wonders for being a complex carb source. Also it's low in calories, so that's beneficial. If you're mega lazy, Mr. Noodle should even suffice. It has a relatively high carb count and low caloric density.

Vector cereal in the mornings. High carbs, protein and calories. Perfect for starting off the day. Also oatmeal.

Peanut butter sandwiches, lots of boiled eggs and fish is amazing if you actually like it. Tuna especially.

You know how to find your BMR and TDEE, so the math is nothing you have to worry about, it's the consistency you fail at. You have to stop worrying about what you COULD do, and just fucking DO it. you will get there eventually. The only person stopping you, is literally you.

[Reincarnate]

Any recs on which GF grill?

http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&key...l_43acjut34i_b

Unfortunately no Vector cereal here in the states, otherwise I'd be all over that

[Cavernio]

"nobody really knows what is optimal anyway"

yup

Exercise hates you because you seem unable to turn off your brain to do it. You can't think your way out of doing it if you want whatever body you're after, so stop trying. If it hurts like a bitch you're doing it wrong. If it doesn't hurt at all you're doing it wrong. Explained.

[SCWolf]

Originally Posted by Reincarnate

Any recs on which GF grill?

http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&key...l_43acjut34i_b

Unfortunately no Vector cereal here in the states, otherwise I'd be all over that

They all work, I have no real recommendation.

[Reincarnate]

Do you have any thoughts on pre/post workout stretches to improve flexibility/help prevent injury/etc? Dynamic pre, static post?