Weightlifting & Fitness - Everything old is new again!

[MWil23]

On 1/1/2023 at 9:28 AM, LETSGOBROWNIES said:

Hot take here, so cover your butts….

Idgif what you do in the squat rack as long as you’re exercising and the rack is necessary for the lift. Those curls, squats, whatever.  
 

Squat bro mad because he wants to squat?  Get the the rack first. Or better yet, buy your own so you never have to concern yourself with what others are doing.

The main character syndrome with some people in some gyms is insane.

Tagging @AFlaccoSeagulls to spruce up this thread a bit.

[AFlaccoSeagulls]

@MWil23Nope. Not gonna do it. Not gonna engage. I refuse. I won't stoop to that level. Must.....resist....urge.....to.....eng-

I'm sorry, but I believe I just read someone saying that people who want to squat in the racks designed for squatting have "main character syndrome", but not the people who want to do curls in the squat racks? Nothing says "I'm the main character here" like doing curls in the goddamn squat racks.

You can do curls literally anywhere in the gym that's not the squat rack. The squat racks are there so people can safely squat without dropping weight on themselves and causing serious injury. In every gym, there's like 5+ benches you can use to curl, along with at least two actual machines or stations dedicated for curls. If you find yourself curling in the squat rack, the only reasonable conclusion is that you're an *******.

[biggie.]

I always tell gym staff about people curling in the squat rack. Don't do it.

Speaking of squatting, if you want true torture, do 1x20 squats. Trying to do it at 295 the past two weeks and got to 15 and 12 respectively. I felt like a ran a marathon.

Edited January 5, 2023 by biggie.

[AkronsWitness]

17 hours ago, MWil23 said:

It’s super tough. Lentils like beans (black beans especially) are a good source, as are certain nuts, but be careful.

I would highly recommend focusing on your calorie deficit and eating clean, trying to eat more lean protein, good fats, fiber, and lower carbs with very little dairy.

Healthy starches like sweet potatoes and potatoes are good stuff too.

After you get through your “cut” cycle, then I’d up your protein intake for muscle mass.

I shoot for 1800-2200 calories per day with 5-6 workouts a week. If I’m at 1800 calories then I’ll drop a pound or 2 per week. 2200 is closer to 2 pounds a month. 2300-2400 is maintenance…past that is holiday contentment weight. 

Yeah, what Im doing is blending Keto with just regular healthy eating buying a bunch of low calorie stuff. Low calorie tortillas, using ground turkey instead of beef, low fat plain greek yogurt instead of sour cream, low fat cheese, fish, tuna fish sandwiches, shrimp, salads, chicken breast, white rice, ect. The snacks I have are all Keto because they are low calorie/carb + high protein like these chips called Wisps.

I even made at home Chipotle burritos. Took 10 low calorie tortillas, white rice, cilatro, 5 chx breast, ect and made 10 of them in a air fryer to put in the freezer. 450 cal for a burrito so that was nice and its what I eat for lunch almost every day (and tuna fish sandwiches)

The problem is, with breakfast/lunch I notice Im only at like.....650 calories by dinner and after dinner Im still only at like 1,100-1,300 while also drinking a gallon of water a day w/ a protein shake. So its this constant battle of 'am I not consuming enough and is 1,300 calories too low' or 'how do I get to 120g protein without eating way too much'.

Not to mention my fasting days (Mon + Thu) where I only eat like 4 eggs at dinner time and thats it (under 600 cal/day)

Trying to find that balance is hard of what is helping me and what might actually be hurting.

[MWil23]

4 minutes ago, AkronsWitness said:

Yeah, what Im doing is blending Keto with just regular healthy eating buying a bunch of low calorie stuff. Low calorie tortillas, using ground turkey instead of beef, low fat plain greek yogurt instead of sour cream, low fat cheese, fish, tuna fish sandwiches, shrimp, salads, chicken breast, white rice, ect. The snacks I have are all Keto because they are low calorie/carb + high protein like these chips called Wisps.

I even made at home Chipotle burritos. Took 10 low calorie tortillas, white rice, cilatro, 5 chx breast, ect and made 10 of them in a air fryer to put in the freezer. 450 cal for a burrito so that was nice and its what I eat for lunch almost every day (and tuna fish sandwiches)

The problem is, with breakfast/lunch I notice Im only at like.....650 calories by dinner and after dinner Im still only at like 1,100-1,300 while also drinking a gallon of water a day w/ a protein shake. So its this constant battle of 'am I not consuming enough and is 1,300 calories too low' or 'how do I get to 120g protein without eating way too much'.

Not to mention my fasting days (Mon + Thu) where I only eat like 4 eggs at dinner time and thats it (under 600 cal/day)

Trying to find that balance is hard of what is helping me and what might actually be hurting.

Totally get it. @ramssuperbowl99 and I had a nice conversation about this as well, and some other dudes like @ET80 @LETSGOBROWNIES and @AFlaccoSeagulls were great about weighing in.

For me, I track, and don't be afraid to use your body as a "control" to figure out the method that works for you.

I've found that a "fourth meal" that's good for me since I fast is post lift (I do afternoons or else lift on a fast then eat "brunch") is something like a shake, oatmeal with apples and cinnamon, some dates, or even sometimes a few more eggs.

Oatmeal really helps me take the edge off, and even with a TBSP of honey is only like 150 calories. The 1 minute oats may not be "the best", but they're still pretty healthy and really made me see a difference.

I had 1,000 calories for lunch today, so a lighter dinner, but usually I flip it...but today is leg day, so I'll need all the help that I can get to crush my lift.

Tomorrow and Saturday are my cardio days, which I try to sync after 3-4 good lift days as well as when I know that I'll use a cheat meal or two (on the weekends).

[AkronsWitness]

28 minutes ago, MWil23 said:

Totally get it. @ramssuperbowl99 and I had a nice conversation about this as well, and some other dudes like @ET80 @LETSGOBROWNIES and @AFlaccoSeagulls were great about weighing in.

For me, I track, and don't be afraid to use your body as a "control" to figure out the method that works for you.

I've found that a "fourth meal" that's good for me since I fast is post lift (I do afternoons or else lift on a fast then eat "brunch") is something like a shake, oatmeal with apples and cinnamon, some dates, or even sometimes a few more eggs.

Oatmeal really helps me take the edge off, and even with a TBSP of honey is only like 150 calories. The 1 minute oats may not be "the best", but they're still pretty healthy and really made me see a difference.

I had 1,000 calories for lunch today, so a lighter dinner, but usually I flip it...but today is leg day, so I'll need all the help that I can get to crush my lift.

Tomorrow and Saturday are my cardio days, which I try to sync after 3-4 good lift days as well as when I know that I'll use a cheat meal or two (on the weekends).

Good to know, Ive heard those quaker oats instant oatmeal pouches are horrible for you--we have a box or two of them--is that true? I assume from all the sugar in them. Would be nice for breakfast since Im getting really tired of eating plain greek yogurt + granola everyday lol

For sustainability Im limiting all my workouts to 20-25 min a day focused on 1 thing--treadmill or weights. I feel like the hardest part of getting in shape is the mental side and grinding away for an hour in the gym all week takes a toll on the mental after 2 months and its easy to fall off. So instead of doing that like I used to, I'm trying shorter workouts, 5 days a week to hopefully keep my mental in it longer and making it through 5-6 months.

Its a lot easier to motivate yourself (personally) to go down in the basement and get a workout in when you know its a 20-25 min session to get a mile+ in on the treadmill or do 100 reps of freeweights. We shall see!

Edited January 5, 2023 by AkronsWitness

[ramssuperbowl99]

34 minutes ago, AkronsWitness said:

Yeah, what Im doing is blending Keto with just regular healthy eating buying a bunch of low calorie stuff. Low calorie tortillas, using ground turkey instead of beef, low fat plain greek yogurt instead of sour cream, low fat cheese, fish, tuna fish sandwiches, shrimp, salads, chicken breast, white rice, ect. The snacks I have are all Keto because they are low calorie/carb + high protein like these chips called Wisps.

I even made at home Chipotle burritos. Took 10 low calorie tortillas, white rice, cilatro, 5 chx breast, ect and made 10 of them in a air fryer to put in the freezer. 450 cal for a burrito so that was nice and its what I eat for lunch almost every day (and tuna fish sandwiches)

The problem is, with breakfast/lunch I notice Im only at like.....650 calories by dinner and after dinner Im still only at like 1,100-1,300 while also drinking a gallon of water a day w/ a protein shake. So its this constant battle of 'am I not consuming enough and is 1,300 calories too low' or 'how do I get to 120g protein without eating way too much'.

Not to mention my fasting days (Mon + Thu) where I only eat like 4 eggs at dinner time and thats it (under 600 cal/day)

Trying to find that balance is hard of what is helping me and what might actually be hurting.

You're doing a whole lot of calorie counting, but are you paying attention to how your body is responding on fast days compared to normally?

Signs of your body not getting nutrients can be energy levels, irritability/emotional regulation issues, skin issues, hair falling out, stuff like that. Any of those signs?

Personally, I have no problem fasting for a full day, or having a few days where I get 500 cal/day, so I think of my total calorie allowance on a weekly basis rather than worrying about a 1500 cal/day minimum because the people who think I should eat 2/3rds carbs said so.

[AkronsWitness]

15 minutes ago, ramssuperbowl99 said:

You're doing a whole lot of calorie counting, but are you paying attention to how your body is responding on fast days compared to normally?

Signs of your body not getting nutrients can be energy levels, irritability/emotional regulation issues, skin issues, hair falling out, stuff like that. Any of those signs?

Personally, I have no problem fasting for a full day, or having a few days where I get 500 cal/day, so I think of my total calorie allowance on a weekly basis rather than worrying about a 1500 cal/day minimum because the people who think I should eat 2/3rds carbs said so.

Ive always been weird with the times I eat. Im 34 and still eat like a 18 year old. Meaning, Ive never liked breakfast--ever, the thought of food before 11am has just never appealed to me so I often skip it replacing it with '4th meal' since I'm a night owl. However, Im starting to change that and maybe just have a little snack at 9pm to get me through and not reheating the entire leftover meal from dinner lol

I say that to say this: The only thing on fast days Ive noticed is energy levels being lower and yeah, I feel hungry in the late afternoon. Since my body never really ate breakfast in the first place, I typically have no issue making it from 8a-5p with nothing but a gallon of water but once 5-6pm hits Im really hungry. Having a post workout protein shake + 4 eggs typically helps satisfy the hunger but then around 8:30-10pm it comes back again and that is usually when I go to sleep to avoid scavenging the kitchen on fasting days.

Like right now, its 2:45 on a fast day and Ive had nothing to eat, so Im actually pretty hungry but I just keep downing giant gulps of this water bottle hoping to make it to dinner where I can have my 4 eggs and a granola bar for 500 cal lol

Edited January 5, 2023 by AkronsWitness

[MWil23]

27 minutes ago, AkronsWitness said:

Good to know, Ive heard those quaker oats instant oatmeal pouches are horrible for you--we have a box or two of them--is that true? I assume from all the sugar in them. Would be nice for breakfast since Im getting really tired of eating plain greek yogurt + granola everyday lol

These are not the packets, they’re the 1 minute regular oats. Try apples, cinnamon, and a tablespoon of honey. Trust me, it hits the spot!

[ramssuperbowl99]

18 minutes ago, AkronsWitness said:

Ive always been weird with the times I eat. Im 34 and still eat like a 18 year old. Meaning, Ive never liked breakfast--ever, the thought of food before 11am has just never appealed to me so I often skip it replacing it with '4th meal' since I'm a night owl. However, Im starting to change that and maybe just have a little snack at 9pm to get me through and not reheating the entire leftover meal from dinner lol

I say that to say this: The only thing on fast days Ive noticed is energy levels being lower and yeah, I feel hungry. Since my body never really ate breakfast in the first place, I typically have no issue making it from 8a-5p with nothing but a gallon of water but once 5-6pm hits Im really hungry. Having a post workout protein shake + 4 eggs typically helps satisfy the hunger but then around 8:30-10pm it comes back again and that is usually when I go to sleep to avoid scavenging the kitchen on fasting days.

Like right now, its 2:45 on a fast day and Ive had nothing to eat, so Im actually pretty hungry but I just keep downing giant gulps of this water bottle hoping to make it to dinner where I can have my 4 eggs and a granola bar for 500 cal lol

If you're having to grind out hours like that, it's not good long term. You're either gonna push too hard and need a break to give it back, or lose your mind and develop steadily less healthy coping mechanisms.

I'm the same way that a regular 3 squares a day approach doesn't work, so I don't eat breakfast. But I'm not clock watching when I do it.

1 hour ago, AkronsWitness said:

Yeah, what Im doing is blending Keto with just regular healthy eating buying a bunch of low calorie stuff

1 hour ago, AkronsWitness said:

I even made at home Chipotle burritos. Took 10 low calorie tortillas, white rice, cilatro, 5 chx breast, ect and made 10 of them in a air fryer to put in the freezer. 450 cal for a burrito so that was nice and its what I eat for lunch almost every day (and tuna fish sandwiches)

1 hour ago, AkronsWitness said:

Yeah, what Im doing is blending Keto with just regular healthy eating buying a bunch of low calorie stuff

My take reading this is that you're grinding too hard and expecting perfection.

I do the exact same thing if/when I keep a food diary. I either eat like Captain ******* America or I eat like a human garbage disposal, with no in between. I say give yourself a break a little bit. The full fat Chipotle burrito is like 1200 calories, and less than 1000 if you mix it up and get the bowl. 500 cals isn't gonna kill you.

Edited January 5, 2023 by ramssuperbowl99

[AkronsWitness]

5 minutes ago, ramssuperbowl99 said:

If you're having to grind out hours like that, it's not good long term. You're either gonna push too hard and need a break to give it back, or lose your mind and develop steadily less healthy coping mechanisms.

I'm the same way that a regular 3 squares a day approach doesn't work, so I don't eat breakfast. But I'm not clock watching when I do it.

My take reading this is that you're grinding too hard and expecting perfection.

I do the exact same thing when if I keep a food diary. I either eat like Captain ******* America or I eat like a human garbage disposal, with no in between. I say give yourself a break a little bit. The full fat Chipotle burrito is like 1200 calories, and less than 1000 if you mix it up and get the bowl. 500 cals isn't gonna kill you.

I do feel like that too on fasting days, maybe a good approach would be to eat a bit throughout the day to curb the appetite and not just have my whole 500 cal at one time during dinner. 

Non fasting days are easy IMO because even trying to keep it under 2000 cal, Im still eating plenty and Im never hungry. Like I mentioned earlier, even after dinner Im at 1,300 most of the time which leaves me room to have a '4th meal' at 9p. 

Cheat meals are different, we travel so much for family that its impossible to avoid them. So usually once or twice on the weekends Ill still order pizza/wings for football or go out to dinner and get a big burger/fries. Im not trying to rob myself completely but there is a line where I dont want to fall off the wagon  and go back to consistently eating like trash

[ramssuperbowl99]

1 minute ago, AkronsWitness said:

I do feel like that too on fasting days, maybe a good approach would be to eat a bit throughout the day to curb the appetite and not just have my whole 500 cal at one time during dinner. 

Non fasting days are easy IMO because even trying to keep it under 2000 cal, Im still eating plenty and Im never hungry. Like I mentioned earlier, even after dinner Im at 1,300 most of the time which leaves me room to have a '4th meal' at 9p. 

Cheat meals are different, we travel so much for family that its impossible to avoid them. So usually once or twice on the weekends Ill still order pizza/wings for football or go out to dinner and get a big burger/fries. Im not trying to rob myself completely but there is a line where I dont want to fall off the wagon  and go back to consistently eating like trash

Yeah we're pretty similar. I 100% need a weekly cheat meal, because that's the mental schedule I'm on, so if there's nothing on the calendar I'm thinking about how I'll never eat anything delicious again. Not a good recipe for disciplined eating. But since I need one cheat meal per week, that means I'm also going to be sensitive to holidays and stuff because if Thanksgiving is on Thursday but I'm getting pizza on Saturday it can get out of control quick. So biggest thing is I'd really watch that second weekend cheat meal, and I get the family side, but that's gonna be tough to battle back from.

If you can take 500 cals off the cheat meal - and be honest with yourself here, even if it's not every time, you could shift those around to your fasting days. If you need the extra food for that "my stomach is bursting" feeling (and no judgement, I love that feeling), be smart and eat a round of celery before the wings come. Or don't eat none of the fries with the burger, but don't get the Five Guys large. Definitely some ways to take the cheat meals from 2k-3k back to something you can work in easier.

One other way you could work it would be to push a bit on your non-fasting days. Depending on how you feel, one of them could be a 1,200-1,500 day, and that'd take the edge off the fasting days.

[LETSGOBROWNIES]

On 1/4/2023 at 11:57 PM, AFlaccoSeagulls said:

@MWil23Nope. Not gonna do it. Not gonna engage. I refuse. I won't stoop to that level. Must.....resist....urge.....to.....eng-

I'm sorry, but I believe I just read someone saying that people who want to squat in the racks designed for squatting have "main character syndrome", but not the people who want to do curls in the squat racks? Nothing says "I'm the main character here" like doing curls in the goddamn squat racks.

You can do curls literally anywhere in the gym that's not the squat rack. The squat racks are there so people can safely squat without dropping weight on themselves and causing serious injury. In every gym, there's like 5+ benches you can use to curl, along with at least two actual machines or stations dedicated for curls. If you find yourself curling in the squat rack, the only reasonable conclusion is that you're an *******.

Pal, friend, amigo…. That’s not what I said.  I said if you want to use the rack to do THOSE curls where you’re using the rack for a specific purpose as it relates to the exercise I don’t see an issue.

If you’re just doing curls do them elsewhere, agreed.

And not to pick nits, but that’s not a squat rack, that’s a power rack.  It’s not specifically for squats, you can use it for a number of exercises.  It’s commonly referred to as a squat rack because that’s what most commercial gyms buy for squats as they’re more versatile and safer.

[MWil23]

3 minutes ago, LETSGOBROWNIES said:

Pal, friend, amigo…. That’s not what I said.  I said if you want to use the rack to do THOSE curls where you’re using the rack for a specific purpose as it relates to the exercise I don’t see an issue.

If you’re just doing curls do them elsewhere, agreed.

And not to pick nits, but that’s not a squat rack, that’s a power rack.  It’s not specifically for squats, you can use it for a number of exercises.  It’s commonly referred to as a squat rack because that’s what most commercial gyms buy for squats as they’re more versatile and safer.

Guy who occupies 3-4 places at once to do his cycle workout is the worst IMO.

[MWil23]

1 minute ago, MWil23 said:

Guy who occupies 3-4 places at once to do his cycle workout is the worst IMO.

And this is coming from a guy who does a lot of Olympic cycle circuit work. Save your Olympic lift spot and be prepared to audible out of common courtesy on the other stations.