Weightlifting & Fitness - Everything old is new again!

[MWil23]

Just now, Sugashane said:

I'm dying lol 😂  Pork was the intended word.

 

Definitely take the recipe. PorK - especially bacon - with fruit has been paired better than I ever expected. Mango and cherries worked great and I still think it's wrong that it was so delicious. Didn't know about this until a few years ago, the first 30 years of my life was surprisingly unfulfilled.

I've gotten super into pairings lately. Smokey/Sweet is great, and apple and pork is fantastic. My use of fruit that's been cooked has really stepped up, and I highly recommend.

[ET80]

1 hour ago, Sugashane said:

Honestly I wouldn't trade deer for cows, but venison steaks, deer jerky, and deer chili (looking DIRECTLY at you @ET80) and I'm in heaven for a week at least.

I'm assuming no beans.

[Sugashane]

17 minutes ago, ET80 said:

I'm assuming no beans.

You assume wrong

 

Chili

Pinto

AND

Kidney

 

I'ma name the recipe after you!

 

[ET80]

7 minutes ago, Sugashane said:

You assume wrong

Your face is wrong.

[Sugashane]

1 hour ago, ET80 said:

Your face is wrong.

 

Haters gonna hate.

 

 

[biggie.]

Getting cllser to finding my 1RM on the squat. 3x3 420 lbs is making me feel completely miserable.

[jetsfan4life51]

If any of you have a home gym and want to spend a little money I highly recommend checking out Watson Gym Equipment.

I got the Arm Package and a Neutral Grip Barbell which is pretty sick and great for the shoulders.

Arm Package - Watson Gym Equipment

Frame Log Bar - Type II - Watson Gym Equipment

[biggie.]

Law of diminishing returns is REALLY kicking in for squats. One rep of 425 lbs after warm ups (includes a single 400 lbs) and I just had nothing left. I can increase the weight next time but it looks like it's one single heavy rep here on out until I fail on that.

Need to get a mouth guard too cuz when you squat heavy, you're gonna bite down hard.

Edited November 23, 2022 by biggie.

[minutemancl]

I think I said this before in here, but man, sympathy weight is very, very real.

I got my first body scan in a year last week, and I'm up 10 pounds total while also losing about a pound of muscle, so definitely not great. But that's what happens when you have a kid I guess, even when you are just the dad. Starting a new job doesn't help either. I was super inconsistent in the gym for a while and it caught up to me.

Good news is my coaches, and I, think I should bounce back quickly, and early returns are already promising. I think I'm already down 2.5-3 pounds in 1.5 weeks thanks to going back consistently to the gym. Eating habits have remained exactly the same, but I'm not drinking during the week anymore (Monday-Thursday). Just cutting out those few beers (I'd only drink like 1, max 2, on any given weeknight) has helped a lot as well. The cycle we are working on now involves lots of ski erg, gymnastics movements under fatigue (so cardio kind of superset with handstand pushups, pull ups, etc), and tempo front squats.

Short term goal is to lose 5 pounds, longer term goal is to get back to my weight from a year ago, and long term goal is to get probably around 5 pounds even less than that and get my consistent muscle ups back.

What really helps is that my wife and I go to the same gym, and we bring the kid when we go and work out together. He's such a good kid and loves watching us work out and is honestly more comfortable around loud music than when it is quiet. He passes out regularly at the gym. If I were to not see them from the time I leave for work until the time I get back from the gym, I'd hardly ever get to spend time with them, especially the kid, so this works out great.

[Sugashane]

So am I may be an ***hole here too, or maybe it seem justified. You can tell me. Rant incoming. 

My nephew is 20 and is tall and skinny, 6'0", and was 154 but he started out around 141 earlier this year and was skinny-fat. He now has abs outlined and has put on 13 pounds, so maybe 15-17 pounds of muscle added. Been awesome. So I let him know when I will be lifting and he shows up when he can, and does the workout I gave him when I'm not. 

Today we are lifting (he is doing WS4SB) and I'm doing DC, so completely different workouts and weights. I'v been lifting consistently since high school outside of COVID, BMT, and injury breaks, maybe 3 years off in the last 20. I was 313 in Jan (got fat for my lifting leverages) and I'm slowly working it down to try and keep my weights up, and am 273. Nowhere near the biggest or strongest at my gym, but I can wear whatever baggy crap I want and people know immediately I lift and am not JUST fat. lol

So nephew gets done with his first set of bench and this older guy jumps in and does it 10-15 times then goes back to his exercise. No issue, dude was just working in I thought and was kinda a jerk by not saying anything. But the guy does his set and then goes to other lifts. My nephew goes to do incline DB press, he gets up to the working weight and the guy does it AGAIN but curls his weights. Call my nephew over and he is pissed because he says the guy mentioned something about "warming up" or "light weight" or some crap. 

So I am pissed because he was mocking the kid, who literally started benching at 85 pounds for 8 reps, (and they were really garbage too  lol). Now he is doing 145 for his sets of 5, and this prick is mocking him. So I told him to just shut up and do his workout and I start following this guy and doing the same to him. I follow him on the deadlift platform machine and do his weight for 20, and thank him for letting me warm up. Then add a plate to each side after his next set. He leaves and goes to lat pulldowns, so I put up my weights and follow. He does 12 reps, I add weight and do 20. He goes to do preacher curls with 85lbs (bar included), I do hammer curls next to him with 75s. He is pissed and leaves after the first set knowing I'm going to keep following him. I cut off my workout there since I know ego lifting is stupid and today was a wasted workout. I just watched and coached up my nephew for his last two exercises. 

I don't care if that makes me an ***hole too. I'm usually a teddy bear in the gym between sets, I'll answer questions all day and spot anyone, but I remember feeling super inadequate around these guys throwing up 3 and 4 plates on their lifts while I was starting, I've literally more than doubled my bodyweight from when I started (clearly not all lean, still have 30-40 lbs to lose but I've added a HELL of a lot of beef to my frame) and I struggled like hell the first 4-5 years. To get bigger/stronger I lived on bodybuilding/powerlifting forums, bought books like Arnold's Encyclopedia to Bodybuilding, Starting Strength, all the used Powerlifting USA mags I could get my hands on from eBay, the bodybuilding mags that ended up being a total waste, etc. Eventually I hired Ken "Skip" Hill to help me learn about nutrition and training, I worked with two guys online that became real-life friends who went by Guardian on another board and then paid to have online consulting Iron Addict on another board (RIP to both of them, fantastic guys I miss talking to). So I felt like my nephew was being degraded I took it way more personally than he did. So I have invested thousands of dollars and hours to learn and train even ignoring how much food I've had to slam down that I absolutely did not want to eat. And I'll be the first to say I'm far from a guru but clearly I learned at least something from these guys that are way more advanced than I ever will be. Through all that I STILL think about how pathetic I felt.

Now I'm 35 and just trying to maintain what I made and slowly work the fat off to maintain at a damn solid 225-245 for the next 20-30 years (IDK what I'll get down too, been a long time since I've been under 270 so I'm going by what I hope will make me happy in the mirror and with my bloodwork to be great) and longevity is becoming my main focus, because there's no way I could maintain 300+ for another 4-5 more years due to the sleep apnea being at that weight caused. Its been miserable for me for the last 4 years so I said this year I was ready to lean out. I want to live to see my grandkids and be George DeFranco when I'm 70. 

Long story short, don't be a **** in the gym. People are trying to better themselves, some may struggle with even showing up to a gym because they feel judged or that they are being mocked - regardless if real or imagined - and most people starting are feeling COMPLETELY vulnerable. People are lost, some get news that they've earned themselves medical issues so there is an urgency added to their stress.  Its human nature to compare yourself to others and when you see advanced guys/girls it can make you feel like crap even if they are nice as most are or can be, so crapping on a person who is trying to better themselves and their health makes you some of the lowest piles of scum in society before illegal activities come into play.

End of rant. 

[twslhs20]

I need to bite the bullet and get a guy membership. I desperately need to physically go somewhere that isn't this apartment "gym", an get into a proper routine.

24/Hr fitness had a black friday bogo deal I should have take advantage of. Now its gone. I'm gonna see what deals filter out for the new year.

[jetsfan4life51]

18 hours ago, twslhs20 said:

I need to bite the bullet and get a guy membership. I desperately need to physically go somewhere that isn't this apartment "gym", an get into a proper routine.

24/Hr fitness had a black friday bogo deal I should have take advantage of. Now its gone. I'm gonna see what deals filter out for the new year.

The gym is an investment not an expense 😉

 

@Sugashanethose guys are the worst. You need Joey Swole to tear him a new one on IG. 

[ramssuperbowl99]

20 hours ago, Sugashane said:

So am I may be an ***hole here too, or maybe it seem justified. You can tell me. Rant incoming. 

My nephew is 20 and is tall and skinny, 6'0", and was 154 but he started out around 141 earlier this year and was skinny-fat. He now has abs outlined and has put on 13 pounds, so maybe 15-17 pounds of muscle added. Been awesome. So I let him know when I will be lifting and he shows up when he can, and does the workout I gave him when I'm not. 

Today we are lifting (he is doing WS4SB) and I'm doing DC, so completely different workouts and weights. I'v been lifting consistently since high school outside of COVID, BMT, and injury breaks, maybe 3 years off in the last 20. I was 313 in Jan (got fat for my lifting leverages) and I'm slowly working it down to try and keep my weights up, and am 273. Nowhere near the biggest or strongest at my gym, but I can wear whatever baggy crap I want and people know immediately I lift and am not JUST fat. lol

So nephew gets done with his first set of bench and this older guy jumps in and does it 10-15 times then goes back to his exercise. No issue, dude was just working in I thought and was kinda a jerk by not saying anything. But the guy does his set and then goes to other lifts. My nephew goes to do incline DB press, he gets up to the working weight and the guy does it AGAIN but curls his weights. Call my nephew over and he is pissed because he says the guy mentioned something about "warming up" or "light weight" or some crap. 

So I am pissed because he was mocking the kid, who literally started benching at 85 pounds for 8 reps, (and they were really garbage too  lol). Now he is doing 145 for his sets of 5, and this prick is mocking him. So I told him to just shut up and do his workout and I start following this guy and doing the same to him. I follow him on the deadlift platform machine and do his weight for 20, and thank him for letting me warm up. Then add a plate to each side after his next set. He leaves and goes to lat pulldowns, so I put up my weights and follow. He does 12 reps, I add weight and do 20. He goes to do preacher curls with 85lbs (bar included), I do hammer curls next to him with 75s. He is pissed and leaves after the first set knowing I'm going to keep following him. I cut off my workout there since I know ego lifting is stupid and today was a wasted workout. I just watched and coached up my nephew for his last two exercises. 

I don't care if that makes me an ***hole too. I'm usually a teddy bear in the gym between sets, I'll answer questions all day and spot anyone, but I remember feeling super inadequate around these guys throwing up 3 and 4 plates on their lifts while I was starting, I've literally more than doubled my bodyweight from when I started (clearly not all lean, still have 30-40 lbs to lose but I've added a HELL of a lot of beef to my frame) and I struggled like hell the first 4-5 years. To get bigger/stronger I lived on bodybuilding/powerlifting forums, bought books like Arnold's Encyclopedia to Bodybuilding, Starting Strength, all the used Powerlifting USA mags I could get my hands on from eBay, the bodybuilding mags that ended up being a total waste, etc. Eventually I hired Ken "Skip" Hill to help me learn about nutrition and training, I worked with two guys online that became real-life friends who went by Guardian on another board and then paid to have online consulting Iron Addict on another board (RIP to both of them, fantastic guys I miss talking to). So I felt like my nephew was being degraded I took it way more personally than he did. So I have invested thousands of dollars and hours to learn and train even ignoring how much food I've had to slam down that I absolutely did not want to eat. And I'll be the first to say I'm far from a guru but clearly I learned at least something from these guys that are way more advanced than I ever will be. Through all that I STILL think about how pathetic I felt.

Now I'm 35 and just trying to maintain what I made and slowly work the fat off to maintain at a damn solid 225-245 for the next 20-30 years (IDK what I'll get down too, been a long time since I've been under 270 so I'm going by what I hope will make me happy in the mirror and with my bloodwork to be great) and longevity is becoming my main focus, because there's no way I could maintain 300+ for another 4-5 more years due to the sleep apnea being at that weight caused. Its been miserable for me for the last 4 years so I said this year I was ready to lean out. I want to live to see my grandkids and be George DeFranco when I'm 70. 

Long story short, don't be a **** in the gym. People are trying to better themselves, some may struggle with even showing up to a gym because they feel judged or that they are being mocked - regardless if real or imagined - and most people starting are feeling COMPLETELY vulnerable. People are lost, some get news that they've earned themselves medical issues so there is an urgency added to their stress.  Its human nature to compare yourself to others and when you see advanced guys/girls it can make you feel like crap even if they are nice as most are or can be, so crapping on a person who is trying to better themselves and their health makes you some of the lowest piles of scum in society before illegal activities come into play.

End of rant. 

That's insanely insecure. I don't even know how I'd react in the moment, so there's no way I'm gonna be directly critical of what you did. If you only want justification, you've got it.

If you're looking for someone to tell you that you kinda ****ed up, I'll say yes, technically, but at a 1.5/10 or 2/10 at most. It's the classic parenting conundrum where you're stuck between not giving the bully the reward of attention, or kicking the **** out of him one time to send a message. Tough line to ride.

Your posts' justification was like 10% "my nephew was pissed" and 90% "separate to the specific incident, this is something that bothered me for a while because of my self-image/gym intimidation issues which we all have". Could be how you wrote the story and not what it was, but that'd be the kind of thing where I'd feel prone to going over the top or not letting it go quickly enough compared to something where I don't have any previous investment. So if you want to beat yourself up for any of it, that's probably the angle.

Putting myself in the situation, I think the best thing you could do would be to make fun of the guy if he does it again or laugh at him. That way, some onlooker/staff member isn't seeing him running away from you machine to machine as you one up him.

[MWil23]

20 hours ago, Sugashane said:

So am I may be an ***hole here too, or maybe it seem justified. You can tell me. Rant incoming. 

My nephew is 20 and is tall and skinny, 6'0", and was 154 but he started out around 141 earlier this year and was skinny-fat. He now has abs outlined and has put on 13 pounds, so maybe 15-17 pounds of muscle added. Been awesome. So I let him know when I will be lifting and he shows up when he can, and does the workout I gave him when I'm not. 

Today we are lifting (he is doing WS4SB) and I'm doing DC, so completely different workouts and weights. I'v been lifting consistently since high school outside of COVID, BMT, and injury breaks, maybe 3 years off in the last 20. I was 313 in Jan (got fat for my lifting leverages) and I'm slowly working it down to try and keep my weights up, and am 273. Nowhere near the biggest or strongest at my gym, but I can wear whatever baggy crap I want and people know immediately I lift and am not JUST fat. lol

So nephew gets done with his first set of bench and this older guy jumps in and does it 10-15 times then goes back to his exercise. No issue, dude was just working in I thought and was kinda a jerk by not saying anything. But the guy does his set and then goes to other lifts. My nephew goes to do incline DB press, he gets up to the working weight and the guy does it AGAIN but curls his weights. Call my nephew over and he is pissed because he says the guy mentioned something about "warming up" or "light weight" or some crap. 

So I am pissed because he was mocking the kid, who literally started benching at 85 pounds for 8 reps, (and they were really garbage too  lol). Now he is doing 145 for his sets of 5, and this prick is mocking him. So I told him to just shut up and do his workout and I start following this guy and doing the same to him. I follow him on the deadlift platform machine and do his weight for 20, and thank him for letting me warm up. Then add a plate to each side after his next set. He leaves and goes to lat pulldowns, so I put up my weights and follow. He does 12 reps, I add weight and do 20. He goes to do preacher curls with 85lbs (bar included), I do hammer curls next to him with 75s. He is pissed and leaves after the first set knowing I'm going to keep following him. I cut off my workout there since I know ego lifting is stupid and today was a wasted workout. I just watched and coached up my nephew for his last two exercises. 

I don't care if that makes me an ***hole too. I'm usually a teddy bear in the gym between sets, I'll answer questions all day and spot anyone, but I remember feeling super inadequate around these guys throwing up 3 and 4 plates on their lifts while I was starting, I've literally more than doubled my bodyweight from when I started (clearly not all lean, still have 30-40 lbs to lose but I've added a HELL of a lot of beef to my frame) and I struggled like hell the first 4-5 years. To get bigger/stronger I lived on bodybuilding/powerlifting forums, bought books like Arnold's Encyclopedia to Bodybuilding, Starting Strength, all the used Powerlifting USA mags I could get my hands on from eBay, the bodybuilding mags that ended up being a total waste, etc. Eventually I hired Ken "Skip" Hill to help me learn about nutrition and training, I worked with two guys online that became real-life friends who went by Guardian on another board and then paid to have online consulting Iron Addict on another board (RIP to both of them, fantastic guys I miss talking to). So I felt like my nephew was being degraded I took it way more personally than he did. So I have invested thousands of dollars and hours to learn and train even ignoring how much food I've had to slam down that I absolutely did not want to eat. And I'll be the first to say I'm far from a guru but clearly I learned at least something from these guys that are way more advanced than I ever will be. Through all that I STILL think about how pathetic I felt.

Now I'm 35 and just trying to maintain what I made and slowly work the fat off to maintain at a damn solid 225-245 for the next 20-30 years (IDK what I'll get down too, been a long time since I've been under 270 so I'm going by what I hope will make me happy in the mirror and with my bloodwork to be great) and longevity is becoming my main focus, because there's no way I could maintain 300+ for another 4-5 more years due to the sleep apnea being at that weight caused. Its been miserable for me for the last 4 years so I said this year I was ready to lean out. I want to live to see my grandkids and be George DeFranco when I'm 70. 

Long story short, don't be a **** in the gym. People are trying to better themselves, some may struggle with even showing up to a gym because they feel judged or that they are being mocked - regardless if real or imagined - and most people starting are feeling COMPLETELY vulnerable. People are lost, some get news that they've earned themselves medical issues so there is an urgency added to their stress.  Its human nature to compare yourself to others and when you see advanced guys/girls it can make you feel like crap even if they are nice as most are or can be, so crapping on a person who is trying to better themselves and their health makes you some of the lowest piles of scum in society before illegal activities come into play.

End of rant. 

Not all heroes wear capes. Well done!

10/10 move defending your nephew and I would about guarantee it's something he won't forget for the rest of his life. That gym bro had it coming, and there's zero call for that.

What are people supposed to do, get stronger by looking at the weights? Good for you and for your nephew.

[MWil23]

21 minutes ago, ramssuperbowl99 said:

That's insanely insecure. I don't even know how I'd react in the moment, so there's no way I'm gonna be directly critical of what you did. If you only want justification, you've got it.

If you're looking for someone to tell you that you kinda ****ed up, I'll say yes, technically, but at a 1.5/10 or 2/10 at most. It's the classic parenting conundrum where you're stuck between not giving the bully the reward of attention, or kicking the **** out of him one time to send a message. Tough line to ride.

Your posts' justification was like 10% "my nephew was pissed" and 90% "separate to the specific incident, this is something that bothered me for a while because of my self-image/gym intimidation issues which we all have". Could be how you wrote the story and not what it was, but that'd be the kind of thing where I'd feel prone to going over the top or not letting it go quickly enough compared to something where I don't have any previous investment. So if you want to beat yourself up for any of it, that's probably the angle.

Putting myself in the situation, I think the best thing you could do would be to make fun of the guy if he does it again or laugh at him. That way, some onlooker/staff member isn't seeing him running away from you machine to machine as you one up him.

All good points for sure. I immediately went into "coach/dad" mode, and so emasculating a gym bro like that is something that I used to do to players who would make fun of some of their weaker teammates. It's that old alpha "I'm stronger and more athletic than you, how would you feel by me adding 2 anchor chains and cranking out 50 push ups as I'm making excessive angry eye contact with you as you struggle" mindset. Then you stand up for that "weaker" kid and explain to the guys how strength/gains work and what being a good teammate looks like.

Yeah, in hindsight my motives weren't always there 100%, but I'd like to think that the message rang true and I really won over some of those kids I stuck up for...while teaching young men some valuable leadership lessons about sticking up for those weaker than ourselves, in whatever capacity that may be.

In this case, I suppose you run out some tool bag, which isn't all bad either. Hopefully he learns and evolves from it.