Down about 9 lbs in a month after starting my first ever cut. Was attempting to lose only a 1/2 lb a week on a slow cut, but I may have set my calorie difference a bit lower from my real TDEE. Still, I feel MUCH better. My joints aren't sore/worn down after workouts and I feel more energetic. I've maybe run 3-4 times during the month, but have kept up my linear progression strength training routine. Ran 2 days ago and felt fucking fantastic for about 2 miles before gassing. My end goal is to keep it up this routine for another 2 months then up my calorie allowance to eat at maintenance for a while. Then I may start a slow bulk when Dec rolls around.

8/31/2017 8:21:24 AM

Did a 7 minute 10 second mile yesterday I know that for true runners that's still not fast, but a personal record, one I couldn't even get to in high school.

At that pace I still couldn't finish a 5k, but I'm still happy. It looks like my solid 5k pace is about 8:30

8/31/2017 1:07:53 PM

^ nice!!!!

8/31/2017 9:17:58 PM

Great job! ^^ keep working at it.

9/11/2017 2:23:48 AM

Currently training to be able to hit:

100lbs Chin Up
200lbs OH Press
300lbs Bench
400lbs Squat
500lbs Deadlift
6:00 Minute Mile

I've hit all the strength lifts in the past, and can probably hit them all right now if I tested.
Running that mile is a different story

I put together a pretty solid training program for it and really like it because it gives me enough bodybuilding + strength work + conditioning that it meets my gymbro needs. I'm calling it the 'Centurion Method"

If I can stay consistent thru October with my running/conditioning; I should be able to hit all those numbers in 1 week. Once I hit it all inside 1 week, I'll try to be able to do it all in 1 day.

Once I test and see the results, I'll be releasing the program for a nominal fee if anyone is interested



[Edited on September 16, 2017 at 3:50 PM. Reason : wordz]

9/16/2017 3:45:59 PM

Can't load image but I cut 30 lbs woohoo

[Edited on September 17, 2017 at 3:00 AM. Reason : A]

9/17/2017 2:50:38 AM

Anyone ever deal with a sports hernia? If so, did a rehab program help or did you need surgery?

9/23/2017 1:36:00 PM

For maximal hypertrophy:

1 - What is the optimal number of reps [till failure] per set?

Some sources says 6-8, some say 6-10, some 8-10, some 8-12. I end up with anywhere between 5 and 10 depending on exercise, weight, set number, etc.

2 - What is the optimal number of sets I should do per main mover in a workout?

I do anywhere between 6 and 9, depending on the muscle worked, how I feel, and how much time I have.

3 - What is the number of times I should workout a body part per week?

Currently I am doing the whole body just once in a 3-day split over a whole week.


Any personal anecdotes which show that changing number of reps/sets/workouts increased/decreased rate of hypertrophy would be great!

Even better is if there are studies which somewhat settle those debates one way or another.

Thank you!

9/25/2017 8:59:52 PM

^^ I'm just feeling recovered from a sports hernia from about 4-5 months ago. It took awhile, like 6-8 weeks, to stop being blatantly noticeable. I kept lifting and just stayed away from anything that bothered it. For the next ~4-6weeks i started doing more ab centric exercises before I could comfortably do unweighted lunges. After that everything seems pretty healed.

My understanding, and what my Dr said, is that surgically repairing is controversial as to efficacy. My experience was a long lingering tenderness, but it did eventually heal on its own.

9/25/2017 9:40:03 PM

Thanks for the info, I’ve been dealing with mine since the start of the year and it is driving me crazy. I have rested a whole lot, only doing light chest and shoulder workouts for the most part and anytime it starts to feel better it hurts again as soon as I do the slightest thing that aggravates it. Unfortunately having a toddler makes it near impossible to avoid those things.

9/26/2017 2:32:52 PM

Is simply maintaining weight/body composition for a year an accomplishment?

11/6/2017 7:10:13 AM

^ As you get older, have kids, more responsibilities, less time to workout, and your metabolism and body changes....yes...it's a huge accomplishment. Well...mainly if you're in shape and you manage to stay in shape.

11/6/2017 9:31:33 AM

^^ when you can maintain the same weight +- 7% for 21 years of your adult life, let us know

11/6/2017 1:14:48 PM

Had to spend a week at Rex hospital due to a bowel obstruction, haven't been running since

I really need to get back into the swing.

11/6/2017 3:51:54 PM

I ran the Savannah Rock 'n' Roll marathon this past weekend. It was too warm and the last 6 miles in the sun were painful, but I still managed to cut three minutes off my time from last year.

11/6/2017 4:05:35 PM

^^ damn dude how did that happen???

11/6/2017 4:24:47 PM

...the hell? ^^^

[Edited on November 6, 2017 at 11:18 PM. Reason : ^]

11/6/2017 11:18:34 PM

Well, in 2009 I had an umbilical hernia. To repair it, they went in and placed a mesh there. According to the doctors, scar tissue has been growing up around the mesh and my small intestine adhered to the scar tissue, causing a kink.

It was extremely unpleasant. They wanted to go the non-surgical route to fix it because surgery would just generate more scar tissue. So they used what's called an NG tube - basically a stomach pump, to relieve pressure on my small intestine. The problem was they insert the tube through your nose, down your throat to your stomach.

While you're awake.

It was one of the worst sensations I think I've ever had. And they left it there for 5 days.

I know lots of people out there have had much worse done to them in the hospital, but it was awful.

11/7/2017 8:49:20 PM

Damn, sorry to hear that bro

How did the umbilical hernia occur?

11/7/2017 10:48:41 PM

^^Goodness...that sounds horrible.

11/8/2017 9:05:39 AM

The hernia was from me lifting something heavy the incorrect way I guess. It just kinda happened.

11/8/2017 11:23:59 AM

^ damn I better be careful... i squat and deadlift heavy with free weights and don't have health insurance

11/8/2017 12:34:10 PM

another fad diet, the potato diet

https://potatohack.com/

11/26/2017 12:16:44 PM

Sooooooo much easier just to download MyFitnessPal and track your cals/macros

11/26/2017 1:23:34 PM

^^ Penn Jillette lost a whole lot of weight eating basically just potatoes, though I have no idea if it is in any way related to the linked fad diet.

http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/health/diet-nutrition/news/a39697/penn-jillette-weight-loss-potato-diet/

11/28/2017 9:35:48 AM

Quote :

""While there's no doubt that potatoes — just like all vegetables— are supremely nutritious,"

Wut

11/28/2017 11:58:59 AM

got out of going to the gym when I left Triangle Rock Club (friend got married and wanted to reexamine his finances) - was also dealing with some shoulder and elbow issues. I thought that infrequent running (~3 miles or so) would keep me in shape but realized as I approached Thanksgiving that I really needed to make some changes and get back in the gym.

In the year or so it's been, my bench max went from 295 to what I can only guess would be about 175 right now (I got 135x9 and then decreased from there). I went from like 178 lbs @ 11-12% body fat to 193 and ?% bf right after Thanksgiving weekend.

Quit drinking altogether, started a keto diet, calorie counting, lift at least 3-4x a week (Starting Strength 4-Week Program) and start/end each workout with cardio, run distance a few times a week on days I'm not lifting. I'm not interested in power lifting so much anymore, but just general fitness/tone/posture.

I'm curious to see how much weight I can take off by Christmas and to see if I really lost my lifting ability or if I'll rebound somewhat quickly when my muscle memory kicks back in? This may be a suicide regiment but I kinda want to see what will happen.

Going back to State gym yesterday with all of these kids in their prime was humbling, to say the least.

tl;dr - don't stop a good routine once you have one.

[Edited on November 28, 2017 at 12:19 PM. Reason : .]

11/28/2017 12:17:53 PM

Nice weather has me back on my running game. 10 month old loves being in his BOB stroller and the dog is running well along side. Been knocking out 3 and 4 mile runs at about 7:30/mile...feel like I could do better without the humans and animals tied to me...but we'll see at the next 5k. Still eating light for breakfast and lunch, then having a solid dinner. Also still drinking almost every night...two or three drinks during the week...maybe add a couple more on the weekend. But feeling great and maintaining my ideal weight. Suck it Mid 30s.

11/28/2017 9:33:00 PM

Ending the year with all my lifts being the same and trying to focus more on volume and hitting the BF goals.

JP Said in Feb:

Quote :

"I'd keep at SS until you feel like you're hitting a plateau. I didn't start doing SS, but I've always heard it's a pretty good beginner program to learn the basic mechanics for your main lifts. But I hear once you start pushing serious weight, it's better to move onto something else. I've done the Wendler 5/3/1 program and have seen some pretty decent gains by pushing my maxes. It has its drawbacks (not enough volume, can be boring, accessory lifts), but I think if you keep the core programming of your 4 main lifts (OHP, Deadlift, Bench, Squats) supplemented with volume work you can pretty much do any kind of accessory lifts that can help aid in getting you stronger for those lifts."

I've felt like I'm plateauing for like 1.5 years. I can't push anything beyond what I listed back then which has been pretty frustrating. Started over 20% less and went back up a bunch, got actual SS coaching, and still can't break it.

Started a new program about 12 weeks ago, more volume, accessories, and drop sets to try and change it up.

12/27/2017 2:47:19 PM

how is your diet? are you eating at a surplus?

getting enough sleep? water?

[Edited on December 27, 2017 at 3:08 PM. Reason : ]

12/27/2017 3:07:51 PM

So since the beginning of the year I've been slowly losing weight but still making gains. I hit 156 in early October and had started to plateau on most of my major lifts. Obvious reason being I was trying to lose weight.

Man the holidays hit and I'm up to 162 but have made some awesome gains.

12/28/2017 1:55:08 PM

Got a new scale for Christmas so I can stop using the excuse that I don't know how much I weigh anymore. Back to regular weigh-ins in 2018!

12/30/2017 11:52:54 AM

How much weight did everyone gain over the holidays?

Between Thanksgiving and New Years I gained 7 lbs. No regrets. Still closed out the year 43 lbs lighter than my starting weight for 2017.

Back to eating right and strength training as of the 1rst.

1/3/2018 6:45:49 AM

my plan above failed miserably. I did keto from the Monday after Thanksgiving until Christmas and lost pretty much nothing except the water weight (5 pounds maybe that came off the first 3 days) despite exercising 3-5 days a week and eating under 2,000 calories. Gained it all back and then some over Christmas.

Also, with the intensity of running and lifting, I ended up getting severe tendinitis in both legs, runner's knee, and now have to wait 8 weeks to run on hard surfaces again and get orthotics made. It was dumb as fuck and I regret trying it. Definitely feeling the effects of age - can't do a crash program like I could in my 20s.

plan moving forward is to just do Weight Watcher's, lift three days a week since that's going alright, and just do whatever cardio I can do that won't hurt my legs (eliptical, swimming, rowing, cycling, etc.) and just be patient and go slow. I really love to run and it sucks that I can no longer do that for the time being, and it also sucks giving up all of the muscle gains I had worked so hard for a couple of years ago. it's been a depressing year for fitness and I feel like a fool.

1/3/2018 11:52:03 AM

Quote :

"plan moving forward is to just do Weight Watcher's"

do My Fitness Pal...much better than Weight Watchers IMHO


I fluctuated a lot during the holidays (weee sodium bloat!), but got back down to pre-holiday weight this morning. So I plan to stick to the normal routine to see if I can continue my slow cut. If not, I may have to rebalance my macros to reach my goal weight.

[Edited on January 3, 2018 at 12:21 PM. Reason : ]

1/3/2018 12:13:29 PM

Eleusis:

Expensive meaning $5k? $10k? $20k?

1/7/2018 7:59:44 PM

So are we starting a new thread for 2018 or just continuing this one?

1/8/2018 4:02:03 PM

Quote :

" How much weight did everyone gain over the holidays? "

For once I actually lost weight. Got back into the gym and started a diet around Thanksgiving. Down about 9lbs. Needed to lose weight figured there was no reason not to get started

1/8/2018 8:51:44 PM