I get it. I've been a kilo or two above 70 for the last month or so and even though this is a weight I would have killed to have gotten back down to three years ago, it still feels uncomfortable somehow. The worst part is I look fine. My pants are getting tight though.Related, I started losing weight since new year (co-incidence, no New Year's Resolution or anything) as I'm reasonably happy that my hip socket has mostly healed after my accident / surgery. Going OK so far, though there have been a few "go to bed hungry" moments.
Hoping to be back at sub 70kg around the end of the month. It's a meaningless figure, but psychologically I DO NOT LIKE being above 70kg again.
It's surprising to find the closest Planet Fitness to me doesn't have even one squat cage.
It has four Smith machines though, but this still bothers me.Weird, I have been to at least 3 in my area and they have at least 4 each. I do not have a membership there but I know someone who has a pass that gets me in free, so I go largely for the massage chair/bed lol. Was at one today and finished off my workout sets I missed yesterday plus some cardio.
thanks
Great workI finally did 180 on the bench press today without a spotter. I weigh 145. So, I think that is pretty good.
Is there anyway to reduce how sore I get after working out? It keeps sidelining me and I don't want to keep having to stop.
I run about 3 miles every other day. I started going to spinning class and also doing some strength training. Running alone was fine but after spinning I was sore as hell and couldn't run or go to the gym for 3 days. Well, I kept running and skipped spinning class on Monday but on Thursday I went to my first HIIT class and now I'm sore as hell again and couldn't run today and I'm not sure about tomorrow.
Am I doing something wrong or is this natural? Is there anything I can do to limit the intensity of the soreness or how long it last? I am stretching and eating well enough, mostly just chicken and vegetables. I'm also getting 8 hours of sleep a night so I don't know what's up.
Thanks.
I've increased my water consumption 10 fold. I'm drinking it primarily now. I can't take baths unfortunately but I will look into magnesium supplements and maybe sign up for a yoga class at the gym.Ibuprofen, drinking lots of water, magnesium supplements, Epson salt bath, foam rolling, stretching/yoga.
I've increased my water consumption 10 fold. I'm drinking it primarily now. I can't take baths unfortunately but I will look into magnesium supplements and maybe sign up for a yoga class at the gym.
Thanks.
Well, I know I can do more than 180 with the safety of a spotter to rescue me. This had been a very slow build to doing it without a spotter.I never do more than warmup on the bench without a spotter (or at least spotter arms / bars).
Just not worth the risk to me. Though I generally bench alone, so obviously different story to most.
Awesome. Thanks for all of this. I'm gonna order some today. Looking at amazon it's not too expensive.If you are looking for magnesium, go for magnesium malate or magnesium orotate (generally want chelated) and there is also magnesium glycinate which is good for sleep. Avoid mg citrate (mostly absorbs in your GI tract, so leads to bathroom issues) and mg oxide (cheap and will absorb as low as 4%). I am not actually sure if magnesium itself will help with DOMs but malic acid (in magnesium malate) may. Supplementing magnesium is a good idea in general since it is difficult to obtain magnesium from food these days, but getting enough of it from whole foods is certainly possible and probably healthier overall, assuming it is in a bioavailable form in quality food.
I use magnesium malate myself. I take about 200mg an hour or so before exercise with my preworkout minerals (sodium, potassium, magnesium). The timing is not super important, but getting an extra boost before exercise could be beneficial since magnesium does not sit around for very long. Otherwise I take around 300mg at night. Your dosages may be smaller or larger.
I find that epsom salt baths are kind of relaxing but I do not think the science supports the magnesium in epsom salt being particularly impactful through the skin. And taking it orally is basically for constipation. So I think epsom salt is like a pretty minor thing. Maybe it works for some people though.
Well, dumbbells, barbells, there is a lone squat rack where people love to occupy to do anything but squats. I think I am a bit dissatisfied because I've been at it for 2 years and I see posts of people achieving more in months, but I guess I'm not actually giving my all so I shouldn't be complaining, I should do more if I want more.What is the equipment? Only dumbbells? If you have a barbell and a rack you can do most beginner programs. If your current program is "working for you" then keep at it. Your previous post made it seem like you were dissatisfied with your progress.
You didn't mention it in your reply so I'm going to reiterate just in case. My recommendation for cutting the peanut butter sandwich was under the specific condition that what you are eating currently is your maintenance.
Alright, I'll start tracking, thanks! Time to get serious. I want to push myself to be the best I can be.If you want results... track. your. calories. and. protein.
the fact that you aren't and are saying "I'm not seeing results" immediately answers 90% of your problem. I track all my stuff and ate at a calorie deficit but reduced that deficit each month between August through today. That's how I got my results above on my cut. If I want to bulk I'd eat at a small surplus.
Of the 185-200 days I've been doing this, I've eaten 1g or more of protein per lb of body weight. I think I've missed like 4 days total through the whole process. And missed as in I ate maybe .8g per lb of body weight.
I track it all.
download myfitnesspal. That's what I use.
Well, I don't think it's largely wasting time as I haven't gone back to my fat self and still I'm enjoying eating a lot but I still look good, but I guess ultimately you're right. I should invest now, put more effort, reap the results sooner, and just maintain it. I don't want to look like a bodybuilder, anyway.Yeah, there's definite truth to that.
I do understand that people don't want to go through all of that shit... it's a real pain. But at the end of the day, if you're putting literally hours of effort in and not seeing results... you're largely wasting that time. Better to cut 15 mins off your exercise and get your nutrition right than not get the results you're looking for.
More often than not, when people say they aren't getting results, the reason is that they're not accurately tracking their input.
I've started putting the bread to the fridge, also I think mine has 64 calories, I guess I'll look for lower stuff. I think I should also look for a reliable peanut butter as I just use Skippies.A couple things on bread...
1. If you're not already, store it in the fridge and it will keep way longer. You can throw it in the toaster for a bit if you want to warm it up to eat a sandwhich immediately at home, and if packing lunch for work in the morning it will be fine by the time you eat it.
2. There's some lower calorie wheat bread options. As one example, Nature's Own makes a "Lite" version of some of theirs that is 40 calories a slice instead of 100-110 like most. It's just kind of "fluffier" and not as dense. But it's a way to still pack sandwiches for lunch and cut a good bit of calories.
Anyone use red light therapy? Apparently there is some science backed uses behind it being able to release fat from fat cells and increase ATP production and something about sex hormones. The shit is way too expensive I think to buy, at least for me, but I think planet fitness has red light therapy now although it is called something else which is why I have not checked it out yet. I wish my gym had it so I could check it out, but I do occasionally go to PF as a guest and get access.
So just over 2 months ago I decided enough is enough, I'm coming up on 29 and have been very skinny my whole life. I wanted a change, wanted to feel comfortable in my body because I haven't really ever since puberty hit and I just stayed skinny.
My starting point was 63kg, basically no muscle and just some fat around the waste.
Now I'm creeping up on 70kg, usually around 69 when I weigh myself.
Here's from the first day at the gym:
And here's from today:
I'm really happy with my progress so far, the thing most noticeable to me in person is that my chest isn't completely flat anymore.
I started with full body 3 times per week, switched over to push, pull, legs about 3 weeks ago.
So I just started an 8 week fitness program and just wanted to ask if its ok to stop my strict keto diet I've been on for almost a year. I dropped a lot weight but am struggling with stubborn excess stomach flab and thought this program, which mixes high intensity cardio with resistance training, would help with that. But the meal plans include carbs and I have this irrational fear since it's been so long I'm just gonna blow up as soon as I leave ketosis.
Thanks, this was really helpful. I think I'll stick with a low-carb diet for the duration of the challenge then.The meal plan itself isn't particularly carb rich anyways so it wouldn't be much of an issue making some adjustments. I've conditioned myself for keto long enough now where even a minor deviation feels like it'd be catastrophic so I just needed someone to assuage my fears a bit.Hey, I have been keto for a solid year as well.
You can stop keto safely. You will gain some water weight back. But you definitely do not need to stop keto to exercise. If you are an athlete training for performance, then it would depend on what your sport is and what your goals for training are. Some serious athletes only reintroduce carbs around times they need to ramp up performance, but otherwise train either standard keto diet or targeted keto diet.
First, if you do decide to go off keto, I would advise some caution when you first start reintroducing carbs, just stick to low glycemic though and you should be fine. Do not go downing sugary sodas, for instance, since your body may not be used to digesting a lot of simple sugars. You should not be worried, just do not go crazy. I have gone off keto for short periods three times now. I gained somewhere between 10-15 lbs each time, but it is not like I suddenly got any fatter and my waist barely changed if at all. I also lost all the water weight going back on keto in about a week each time.
That said, my personal experience and knowledge about keto and training would lead me to believe that you are probably fine doing keto with your program, especially since you are well fat adapted by now. Fat adapted means your body is good at using fats instead of glycogen as your primary fuel (but when you really need it, glycogen is used). Basically dual fueled. It is more complex than that but that is the basics.
I suggest checking out this wiki https://www.reddit.com/r/ketogains/wiki/index#wiki_carbohydrates_and_the_ketogenic_diet. There is a lot of solid information there, including training protocols for adding carbs around exercise called targeted ketogenic diet. I have not tried this yet, but I might in the future. I full body strength train 3 times a week and 1 time for cardio (cardio is more of a pleasure/relaxation thing than anything else tbh).
Also, you do not need carbs to build muscle. Not sure if this is obvious or not. Targeted keto diet is more about performance. If you think you might get more results from better performance, then maybe it is worth trying out. I am not sure if that is necessarily true since muscle growth is still somewhat of a grey area. Personally I may try TKD when I get stuck, plateau, or otherwise get bored enough to want to experiment.
Wouldn't worry about it too much especially if you took in a bunch of carbs. Just a bunch of glucose built up that will dissipate. I gained 1.5lbs but I know itll be gone by tomorrow or the next day :PI put on 1.5kg after Superbowl night... didn't even go particularly nuts.
I hate the way my body overreacts when I have a cheat day after cutting for a while.
Completed my first resistance training class. Never done anything like that before so my form needed correcting constantly. The trainers basically babysat my ass through the whole circuit.
My main struggle is with keeping my shoulders back during lifts, I have terrible posture in general so it feels like I'm fighting against my body whenever I try to correct my form. Also, the tremor in my legs didn't make things easier.
It's only the second day and I've never done HIT before now, so hopefully my body adapts quickly. The trainer recommended I get some magnesium supplements to help with post-workout soreness.
You ever consider Ironmaster? Tend to trust this guys reviews.Not sure if this is the right place to ask this, but I've been researching some of the adjustable dumbbell sets for use at home. It's largely between the Bowflex models and the Powerblock ones, although I don't particularly like the design/functionality of the Powerblocks. Do any of you guys have experience with the Bowflex 552s or 1090s?
Watching that... I definitely wouldn't be doing drop sets with them. That, or I do drop sets far quicker than you're supposed to. lolYou ever consider Ironmaster? Tend to trust this guys reviews.
DXA was unable to accurately detect changes in lean mass in response to resistance exercise. These findings suggest that future studies must give strong consideration to their selection of modalities for assessing lean mass. Further, these findings strongly question the recent suggestion that DXA be considered the "reference standard" for measuring muscle.