Weightlifting & Fitness - Everything old is new again!

[MacReady]

I've just added unflavored powder:

Creatine (pre-workout)
BCAA (Pre and two hours post)
Beta-Alanine
MCT Oil
 

Capsules:

HMB.
Testosterone.
B12
Glucosamine
Glutamine.
Omega-3.
Vitamin D.

Before the only supplements I had ever taken were my mixture of unflavored whey mixed with collagen peptides and unflavored pea protein.

Going to give it three months and see if supplements make much of a difference. I've never gotten into the supplement game. Ever. Except for a brief stint of creatine when I was vegan 12 years ago and had noodle arms.

Any advice? Am I wasting my money? Am I not spending enough? What am I missing?

Before this it was literally a cup of coffee before my workout and then my whey/pea/collagen peptides protein shake post-workout.

[jetsfan4life51]

On 11/4/2023 at 4:48 PM, MacReady said:

I've just added unflavored powder:

Creatine (pre-workout)
BCAA (Pre and two hours post)
Beta-Alanine
MCT Oil
 

Capsules:

HMB.
Testosterone.
B12
Glucosamine
Glutamine.
Omega-3.
Vitamin D.

Before the only supplements I had ever taken were my mixture of unflavored whey mixed with collagen peptides and unflavored pea protein.

Going to give it three months and see if supplements make much of a difference. I've never gotten into the supplement game. Ever. Except for a brief stint of creatine when I was vegan 12 years ago and had noodle arms.

Any advice? Am I wasting my money? Am I not spending enough? What am I missing?

Before this it was literally a cup of coffee before my workout and then my whey/pea/collagen peptides protein shake post-workout.

Depends on your goal and also where you get your supplements. The ones you mentioned are all good. 
 

I like EAA over BCAA. I take them preworkout then immediately post workout (faster than whey and easier on the stomach). Then I can eat a meal or have a shake when I’m hungry 30-60 mins later. 

[AkronsWitness]

So its the time of year to get back on the horse for next spring lol He is my yearly post about exercise and diet and what I had in mind if those more intellegent than I am (good luck) if you have any small tweaks or easy suggestions::::

*I never eat breakfast and instead eat 4th meals, sue me. I have the eating schedule of a 16 year old goin on 34 and nothing can change it. Im a nite owl so 4th meals at 10-11pm are just apart of my life and 2 cups of coffee has been my breakfast for 15 years. The interwebs say not eating until noon qualifies as intermittent fasting, so I got that going for me....which is nice*

Breakfast: Coffee and my dog needing to be let outside while the child screams at me

Lunch: Eggs/greek yogurt parfait OR eggs/protein shake 

Dinner: Whatever, just no overindulging and drink a protein shake as desert if I didnt have one for lunch. I cant make every meal a diet meal or else I will quit after 2 months of mental torture from all of the chicken/rice consumed.

4th meal: Celery/Carrots/Peppers/Cucumbers with a high protein cottage cheese dip. I saw a recipe from a guy on social media that lost tons of weight basically eating unlimited amount of veggies w/ cottage cheese dips he would make. I feel like I could do this because I am a dip fiend.

Drink: 1 gallon of water a day. No beer on weekend, only Titos + sodies when necessary 

My question is....is there such thing as too much protein and not enough calories. Im sure eating 'normal' not crazy diet dinners each night will get me a large chunk of 'good' calories you need to have to function but I didnt know if there was such thing where having 125-160g of protein a day from eggs, yogurt, protein shake, cottage cheese, ect would work against the diet at some point. Is there a invisible line not to cross with the protein/calories ratio?

Tagging you @jetsfan4life51 because you helped me in the past lol

Edited November 7, 2023 by AkronsWitness

[Sugashane]

7 hours ago, AkronsWitness said:

My question is....is there such thing as too much protein and not enough calories. Im sure eating 'normal' not crazy diet dinners each night will get me a large chunk of 'good' calories you need to have to function but I didnt know if there was such thing where having 125-160g of protein a day from eggs, yogurt, protein shake, cottage cheese, ect would work against the diet at some point. Is there a invisible line not to cross with the protein/calories ratio?

Tagging you @jetsfan4life51 because you helped me in the past lol

Depends on your interpretation of "too much" for protein. When I first got on forums it was for weightlifting and bodybuilding. I followed some of the "enhanced" lifter's protocols which was super high protein - 2g per pound of bodyweight. I physically couldn't put that much down without shakes, I have a wimpy stomach. But I did it. I didn't have any health issues after doing it for 5-6 years,  but I will say I was pretty chronically uncomfortable and I 100% believe I wasted  a lot of protein.

Once you get to 1.2g or more I do believe you can have additional benefits but the diminishing returns are pretty big. If you werent natural that would be a different thing but still. But with you putting down 160g or less I see zero issues with that. Especially from such solid sources. That being said if you don't have enough carbs or fats you're going to have troule cutting calories. You don't want to go bottom out in calories and have nothing to do but keep adding more cardio.

[Kiwibrown]

Lifts 

Bench 85kg x3 x3

Squats 110kg x3 going to go for a one rep max this week. Aiming for 120 kg or maybe 125 kg 

Dead lifts 135 kg x3 x3 or 140 kg x2 

 

 

 

[jetsfan4life51]

22 hours ago, AkronsWitness said:

So its the time of year to get back on the horse for next spring lol He is my yearly post about exercise and diet and what I had in mind if those more intellegent than I am (good luck) if you have any small tweaks or easy suggestions::::

*I never eat breakfast and instead eat 4th meals, sue me. I have the eating schedule of a 16 year old goin on 34 and nothing can change it. Im a nite owl so 4th meals at 10-11pm are just apart of my life and 2 cups of coffee has been my breakfast for 15 years. The interwebs say not eating until noon qualifies as intermittent fasting, so I got that going for me....which is nice*

Breakfast: Coffee and my dog needing to be let outside while the child screams at me

Lunch: Eggs/greek yogurt parfait OR eggs/protein shake 

Dinner: Whatever, just no overindulging and drink a protein shake as desert if I didnt have one for lunch. I cant make every meal a diet meal or else I will quit after 2 months of mental torture from all of the chicken/rice consumed.

4th meal: Celery/Carrots/Peppers/Cucumbers with a high protein cottage cheese dip. I saw a recipe from a guy on social media that lost tons of weight basically eating unlimited amount of veggies w/ cottage cheese dips he would make. I feel like I could do this because I am a dip fiend.

Drink: 1 gallon of water a day. No beer on weekend, only Titos + sodies when necessary 

My question is....is there such thing as too much protein and not enough calories. Im sure eating 'normal' not crazy diet dinners each night will get me a large chunk of 'good' calories you need to have to function but I didnt know if there was such thing where having 125-160g of protein a day from eggs, yogurt, protein shake, cottage cheese, ect would work against the diet at some point. Is there a invisible line not to cross with the protein/calories ratio?

Tagging you @jetsfan4life51 because you helped me in the past lol

I wouldn’t say there’s too much protein and not enough calories. But that’s all preference. If that helps you stay away from junk and keeps you full then that’s your best plan of attack. 
 

On my days off from lifting I eat more protein and less carbs. Lots of veggies on those days. I did a Greens week (last month) but added in unlimited Eggs and dropped 5-6 lbs. Gave myself a break from all the food I’ve been eating and now I’m down 9 lbs overall even though I went back to eating the same amount I was before. Experimenting with different training. 
 

But back to your question. If I go moderate protein and allow for higher carbs I get fluffy. I stick to high protein to stop myself from overeating. 

[AkronsWitness]

1 hour ago, jetsfan4life51 said:

I wouldn’t say there’s too much protein and not enough calories. But that’s all preference. If that helps you stay away from junk and keeps you full then that’s your best plan of attack. 
 

On my days off from lifting I eat more protein and less carbs. Lots of veggies on those days. I did a Greens week (last month) but added in unlimited Eggs and dropped 5-6 lbs. Gave myself a break from all the food I’ve been eating and now I’m down 9 lbs overall even though I went back to eating the same amount I was before. Experimenting with different training. 
 

But back to your question. If I go moderate protein and allow for higher carbs I get fluffy. I stick to high protein to stop myself from overeating. 

Got it, I thought I heard that if you consume too much protein then the excess gets stored as fat so it made me a bit worried to go to crazy with the protein/calorie ratio

[jetsfan4life51]

4 hours ago, AkronsWitness said:

Got it, I thought I heard that if you consume too much protein then the excess gets stored as fat so it made me a bit worried to go to crazy with the protein/calorie ratio

Protein is very hard to store as fat, especially if you are eating animal protein alone. Now if you’re eating a lot of protein then combine that with excess carbs/fats then that could be an issue. 

Also depends on activity level. If you’re a slug on the couch that’s different than being active. 

[MacReady]

On 11/6/2023 at 6:02 AM, jetsfan4life51 said:

Depends on your goal and also where you get your supplements. The ones you mentioned are all good. 
 

I like EAA over BCAA. I take them preworkout then immediately post workout (faster than whey and easier on the stomach). Then I can eat a meal or have a shake when I’m hungry 30-60 mins later. 

I’m currently 6’, 180 at about 14% body fat. My goal is to get to 200 and about 12% body fat.

I’ve gotten down to 12% before. I’ve gotten up to 200 plenty of times before. Never at the same time.

I am committed to my no sugar no grains diet because of my personal animosity towards sugar. I have a cheat day on grains once a month.

I struggle with leg workouts not because of a lack of motivation, but because of bad knees and a history of hernias.

I can drop weight so easily people on here have doubted the accuracy of my claims. Putting on muscle has always been a struggle for me.

I am currently on a 6 day workout week.

Triceps (5x5, 4x8, 3x12, 2x15) forearms (5x5, 3x12) on Monday.

Shoulders/Back same set/reps on Tuesday.

Rest Wednesday.

Chest/Biceps Thursday.

Legs/Triceps Friday.

Back/shoulders Saturday.

Biceps/Chest Sunday.

I take an hour long extremely light pace walk each day after work.

I get roughly 40 grams of protein each meal. My meals are post-workout shake, breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks. The snacks meal comes from nuts/seeds/deli meats.

I get zero calories from liquid other than coffee/half and half and my post-workout shake. Gallon or more of water every day. I don’t like eating. Eating is my biggest struggle. I genuinely dislike having to eat and I see it as an obligation. 

Edited November 9, 2023 by MacReady

[jetsfan4life51]

4 hours ago, MacReady said:

I’m currently 6’, 180 at about 14% body fat. My goal is to get to 200 and about 12% body fat.

I’ve gotten down to 12% before. I’ve gotten up to 200 plenty of times before. Never at the same time.

I am committed to my no sugar no grains diet because of my personal animosity towards sugar. I have a cheat day on grains once a month.

I struggle with leg workouts not because of a lack of motivation, but because of bad knees and a history of hernias.

I can drop weight so easily people on here have doubted the accuracy of my claims. Putting on muscle has always been a struggle for me.

I am currently on a 6 day workout week.

Triceps (5x5, 4x8, 3x12, 2x15) forearms (5x5, 3x12) on Monday.

Shoulders/Back same set/reps on Tuesday.

Rest Wednesday.

Chest/Biceps Thursday.

Legs/Triceps Friday.

Back/shoulders Saturday.

Biceps/Chest Sunday.

I take an hour long extremely light pace walk each day after work.

I get roughly 40 grams of protein each meal. My meals are post-workout shake, breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks. The snacks meal comes from nuts/seeds/deli meats.

I get zero calories from liquid other than coffee/half and half and my post-workout shake. Gallon or more of water every day. I don’t like eating. Eating is my biggest struggle. I genuinely dislike having to eat and I see it as an obligation. 

How often do you change your routines?

4 exercises per body part in a workout is a lot. The intensity spread is also pretty wide. Starting with 5x5 which is 85% and then ending with 2x15 which is 66% is sending two different signals to the brain/muscles. 

I’d alternate each month for example

Month 1 - 3-4 x 12 then 3 x 15 for more volume 

Month 2 - 5 x 5 then 4 x 8 for a higher intensity

Triceps could look like

Month 1 
A) DB Skull Crushers 4 x 12

B) Triceps Rope 3 x 15

Month 2

A) Dips/Close Grip Bench 5 x 5

B) EZ Bar Decline Skull Crushers 4 x 8

[MacReady]

19 hours ago, jetsfan4life51 said:

How often do you change your routines?

4 exercises per body part in a workout is a lot. The intensity spread is also pretty wide. Starting with 5x5 which is 85% and then ending with 2x15 which is 66% is sending two different signals to the brain/muscles.

Yeah, I was a little concerned about that too. The 2x15 at the end I only do if I'm able to get all my reps on all the previous sets without struggling. I've been adding enough weight weekly that I usually start to fail somewhere in the 3x12 exercise. I'll get 9 or 10, track which rep I failed and then add weight only once I comfortably complete each rep. I also keep the 2x15 exercise on the workouts I'm not completely confident in. Like Zottman Curls I'm not fully convinced on/not confident I'm doing it right.

I'm also limited on equipment since I workout in my basement.

 

 

[naptownskinsfan]

On 11/7/2023 at 12:06 PM, AkronsWitness said:

 

*I never eat breakfast and instead eat 4th meals, sue me. I have the eating schedule of a 16 year old goin on 34 and nothing can change it. Im a nite owl so 4th meals at 10-11pm are just apart of my life and 2 cups of coffee has been my breakfast for 15 years. The interwebs say not eating until noon qualifies as intermittent fasting, so I got that going for me....which is nice*

Lunch: Eggs/greek yogurt parfait OR eggs/protein shake 

 

This sounds a lot like breakfast 

[AkronsWitness]

4 hours ago, naptownskinsfan said:

This sounds a lot like breakfast 

😂 It's breakfast, just at lunch time. Skip the turkey sandwich and pretzels.

[jetsfan4life51]

23 hours ago, MacReady said:

Yeah, I was a little concerned about that too. The 2x15 at the end I only do if I'm able to get all my reps on all the previous sets without struggling. I've been adding enough weight weekly that I usually start to fail somewhere in the 3x12 exercise. I'll get 9 or 10, track which rep I failed and then add weight only once I comfortably complete each rep. I also keep the 2x15 exercise on the workouts I'm not completely confident in. Like Zottman Curls I'm not fully convinced on/not confident I'm doing it right.

I'm also limited on equipment since I workout in my basement.

 

 

https://cleanhealth.edu.au/blog/other/undulating-periodization-for-strength-and-performance/#:~:text=An accumulation phase also gives,being more on neurological adaptations.
 

Very basic but this is generally how I’ve been working out for the past 5 years and it’s worked wonders. Let’s you throw in Eccentric methods, isometric methods, fun hypertrophy methods throughout the year without burning out or getting injured. 

Im also working on a Seasonal training model with my buddy that I’m excited about. 

[MWil23]

I’ve hit some really good numbers on some lifts I’ve never really embraced before like incline straight bar bench the past week or two after about a 10 day lifting break that my body asked for. I needed to up my rest days apparently and it’s worked wonders.