How is everyone's training going?

[Dak]

I really hate the "I don't want to bulk up" thing. It's like you're saying you think you'll pile on muscle so fast that it'll be out of control, like your genetics are so amazing that you'll lift heavy for a couple weeks and suddenly you're Ronnie Coleman.

Here's a hot tip: if somehow you have the magical DNA that has you piling on muscle like there's no tomorrow, you can always just scale back the lifting. Or don't use the whole "I don't wanna bulk up" excuse to get out of actually putting the effort in the weight room. Fuck.

lol, on that note: We had this putz in my unit who never exercised etc, and he had a gym-rat for a roommate. So we are both trying to get the guy to get to the gym instead of eating Cheetos and he is all "Well I'm not trying to be Rambo or anything". He would have needed years.....

 

[SomeGuyDude]

Haha, exactly. I had a kid ask me about squats and as soon as I started talking he went "I don't want my legs to get too big though." My response: "they won't." Look at the guys in the Olympics in the lower weight classes. The gold medal winner in the 69kg (152lb) weight class had a 200kg (440) clean and jerk, which means he can do a full front squat with at LEAST 440lb. If a guy can get his legs strong enough that he's front squatting in the mid/high 400s and still weigh under 155lb, I'm pretty sure no one else has to worry about getting "bulky".

 

[wandering_taco]

This. At least some squats, man.

Eh, I really hate squats. I'll probably go back to incorporating deadlifts as well as clean and jerks once school starts back up.

 

[Satanstoenail]

Cheers for the replies. Went for my first session with the trainer a couple of hours ago. He did a fitness test on the bike and then drew up a beginning routine using bursts on the bike and finishing off on the rowing machine. It's baby steps, but it felt like a really good workout. My legs are jelly. Next time he's going to get me on the weights.

Don't run if you hate running and are injured! Lift weights - more muscle = more calories burned in day to day living = your metabolism goes ^^^ = less total time needed in the gym.

Yeah I only mentioned the running as something I can't do at the moment. Once my ankle is all good I might give the treadmills a crack, but for now it's bikes & rowing machines.

It sounds like your plan is going to work, caloric deficit alone with no activity will result in weight loss.

Cool. As long as I look better naked by summer I'll be happy.

Welcome to the thread STN.

First: What Lora said.

If you don't want to bulk up that doesn't mean skip the weights, that just means less weight/more reps, or focus on exercises utilizing body weight etc. Things like Crossfit, P90X, Kettlebells, etc.

Muscle burns calories even when you aren't doing anything, which makes it a major asset for fat loss. Just cutting calories will actually sabotage your existing muscle mass first. Start eating lean meats and complex carbs, avoid sugar/processed food/simple carbs and exercise to funnel that quality caloric intake to your muscles. You will start seeing results.

Yeah the food thing is going to be hard. I'm used to eating a lot. Cutting out junk food is easy, but eating less takes some self control. The trainer advised me to eat more during the day and less large dinners at night.

I really hate the "I don't want to bulk up" thing. It's like you're saying you think you'll pile on muscle so fast that it'll be out of control, like your genetics are so amazing that you'll lift heavy for a couple weeks and suddenly you're Ronnie Coleman.

Here's a hot tip: if somehow you have the magical DNA that has you piling on muscle like there's no tomorrow, you can always just scale back the lifting. Or don't use the whole "I don't wanna bulk up" excuse to get out of actually putting the effort in the weight room. Fuck.

All I was saying is that my focus at this point is on losing weight, no need to get all shoving your 'tude up in my grill. My understanding of all of this is extremely limited. I've never even walked into a gym before.

 

[divine_torture]

I've never even walked into a gym before.

The fact that you have actually moved past that step is commendable.

 

[Dak]

Yeah the food thing is going to be hard. I'm used to eating a lot. Cutting out junk food is easy, but eating less takes some self control. The trainer advised me to eat more during the day and less large dinners at night.

I have never counted calories, only tried to insure the calories I were eating were as little sugar/simple carbs as possible.

If you get active, and feed your body right, the fat will start shedding and muscle tone will develop. Your actual weight may not change at all or even increase. When I was running 3 miles 3x a week, plus lifting two days a week, plus everything else, my body weight never budged. The composition just morphed from flab to muscle and I even dropped a couple of pant sizes, all without any movement on the scale.

When you eat is important too. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, as it gets your metabolism going. Eating late in the day/big dinners is the worst thing to do. Grilled/baked chicken, eggs, and protein shakes are the best/cheapest things to eat for losing fat/refueling muscles. I particularly love eggs, and don't buy all that bullshit about eating only the whites. The whole thing is good for you. You need saturated fats to burn fat, and cholesterol in food has a negligible affect on body cholesterol.\

As far as getting to them gym, just about anyone can tell you that's always the hardest part of working out/exercising.

 

[damnromulans]

I respectfully and completely disagree with Dakryn. I eat all my food between 2 PM and ~9 PM and find it totally controls my hunger and I get to eat HUGE meals. I guess technically that means I practice Intermittent Fasting.

http://www.leangains.com/ is all about IF, though it doesn't really take rocket science to figure out that not everyone's hunger patterns are the same. HOWEVER in my opinion forcing yourself to eat many mini-meals starting early when you prefer big meals later, or vice versa, is stupid and makes it harder for yourself than it has to be. As long as you eat good food in reasonable amounts (low-fat is a conspiracy theory!) it doesn't matter when you eat it.

But the important thing is just to do what works for you and you can keep up forever. No point following a plan you only view as temporary. Also, no excuse is valid, if I can get in shape, anyone can get in shape.

around my UM join date, ~155 lbs, smoker, can run 1-2 minutes

coupla weeks ago, ~125 lbs, nonsmoker, can run 5-6 miles

 

[Dak]

I usually only eat two "meals" with a snack. Usually a breakfast of eggs and some beef or chicken with cheese as soon as I can once awake, a snack for lunch, and then a chicken breast or steak for supper early around 4-5.

But on the fat thing, not all fats are equal, and natural saturated fats are actually good for you. We use a lot of organic butter, cheese, and fatty oils.

 

[SomeGuyDude]

That's some damn excellent progress, DR! Although, full disclosure, you were pretty hot even in the first picture, haha.

Meals? I'm a 4-5 a day guy. First at around 9am, last around 10pm. If I don't eat steadily throughout the day I'm a wreck. Metabolism after years of lunatic exercise has spiked up pretty hard, I can get away with around 4000 a day before I start softening up. And the Paleo/Primal diet I'm on right now is REALLY tough to adhere to.

 

[Dak]

I think the Paleo diet has a lot of merit, but yeah it's extremely hard to do. I guess I'm about halfway there lol.

I had to take "Weight Lifting" to fill out some electives in my AA, and that starts tomorrow. Waiting to see how it goes.

 

[SomeGuyDude]

I'm a little torn on Paleo overall. I think it's a little tricky to completely eschew all dairy and grain, but there's merit to severely limiting it.

 

[Dak]

I'm a little torn on Paleo overall. I think it's a little tricky to completely eschew all dairy and grain, but there's merit to severely limiting it.

Well I think the dairy thing is misguided. Dairy is good for you, particularly byproducts/fermented/etc products like butter, yogurt, etc.

 

[Dak]

Speaking of bullshit about egg yolks:

http://thechart.blogs.cnn.com/2012/08/15/is-eating-egg-yolks-as-bad-as-smoking/?hpt=hp_c2

and a response:

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/are-eggs-really-as-bad-for-your-arteries-as-cigarettes/#axzz23cVNHV8S

 

[SomeGuyDude]

All I know is I'm a heavy egg eater and get occasional bloodwork done and my numbers are always spotless. Maybe it can't be called universal, but as long as everything's going well, why switch it up?

Also, some axle pressing.

 

[wandering_taco]

is that you?

 

[divine_torture]

I'm a little torn on Paleo overall. I think it's a little tricky to completely eschew all dairy and grain, but there's merit to severely limiting it.

I eat cheese, yogurt, eggs, and whole grain bread every day. Seems to have been working fine for me. Also, whole grain is very filling with less calories and is fantastic for fueling a workout (along with a banana).

 

[wandering_taco]

My ex did paleo for a while, it worked well for weight loss, though not extremely quickly. And it was really hard to stick to it.

 

[damnromulans]

Haha SomeGuyDude is gay, blush blush blush. Nice axle pressing! O_O I can probably axle press slices of pie and cookies to my face, but that's about it.

My bud is doing Paleo + IF to maintain a pretty underweight figure (5'3, 95 lbs). More power to her I guess, after years of having a binge eating problem with bread and Nutella she's "cured." She went to the doctor and all her stats were great except for genetic high cholesterol.

I'm a big Greek yogurt lover, have a hard time limiting myself to one per day. Something like 90% of East Asians are lactose intolerant/resistant, and I'm definitely not among them.

20 minutes of horrible intervals on the elliptical this morning, and then I ran out of time. I have a wedding to attend tonight and my dress gaps horribly in the front so I have to pin/duct tape it to myself. Ouch

 

[Dak]

I've read a lot of stuff saying that most people who are "lactose intolerant" are really just reacting to the Pasteurized milk products, and would have no problem with raw/organic milk products.

 

[Krigloch the Furious]

I've been eating the shit out of eggs.
That girl has been making me breakfast all week.
Hard to beat a breakfast with eggs.
I need to get some ham instead of sausage or bacon