I bulked and just got fat.
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I'm going easy on the lifting - haven't done deadlifts, and I had a light squat day yesterday (used the bands during the work set, managed to keep them from dropping! That said, I might be 'cheating' a little as I can't put them around my knees directly, it kind of subluxes the kneecap if I do). Didn't make me feel ill/induce nosebleeds, though I feel the deadlifts might have, hence why I skipped them.
I'm booking an appointment soon, will probably get one within the week unless I say it's urgent. In the meantime, my mother in law has lent me her blood pressure monitor, suggesting I check it three times a day so I can take the results when I see the doctor. Just hope this doesn't seem paranoid, lol.
Josueg123 - Page 2. And thank you for the tips. I'm doing better with my attitude towards lifting nowadays - it does make a difference.0 -
lucygoesrawr wrote: »Apparently I'm supposed to go and try again now. So, just a quick answer for now - I'm not terribly overweight and have a medical condition which means gaining the muscle is a lot more important at the moment than losing fat. Thank you for the replies, I'll read them in a bit.
- After I fail at pressing. Hooray.
First, I'd like to know what medical condition it is that you have? I have never heard of anything that requires you to bulk up while you are overweight.
I can already tell why you are failing at the gym. You don't believe you can actually do the workouts. You'd be surprised at how powerful your mind really is. If you tell yourself that you will fail. YOU WILL. Quit beating yourself up because you can't do something. Having a hard time with squats? Lower the weight, can't lower the weight anymore? Do body weight squats, can't do those? Get on the leg press machine. Work your way up slowly and you will be successful.
Right before you go to the gym, tell yourself that you will accomplish whatever goal you have for the day. If you fail, take a break and try again. Can't get it this week? Try next. Negative attitudes will cause negative results.
This is great advice.
Due to a SI-Joint injury, I had to go back to bodyweight squats for a while, then moved up to goblets, then double kettlebell squats and finally got back under the bar.
Took months.
Now I aim to get myself back to where I was pre-injury, weight on the bar wise. I've given myself 4-6 months on a slow progression to get there. I mean, what's the rush? The ultimate result of strength training is to get stronger. The ultimate result of hypertrophy training is to add quality mass. Neither of these goals is obtainable if you're injured. Keeping yourself injury-free and progressing (even by means of regression) is ultimately what the game's about.
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I have a new video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGntbiREKw8&feature=youtu.be
Apparently the other sets were better with my knees, but we didn't record those. What do you think? Also, I'm not sure about the depth, but my husband checked my depth from the side with the others and apparently they were fine in regards to that. I keep forgetting to adjust arm position to get the bar straight across my back
Oh, and I got better in the end - did see the doctor, he said my blood pressure was really good. The weight loss had stopped by then so I didn't mention it. He gave me the choice of having blood tests but we decided it might be better to give it a few months and see what happens, since I have a tendency to faint during those. Apparently I'm most likely fine, though. He said a lot of young people have problems with fainting and it would stop when I 'bulked up' as I got older. So, that was good news.
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Just bumping this in case it was missed over Easter... completely understand if there isn't anyone who has time to check the video though. Won't bump it again.0
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Do you have any videos from the side of you squatting?
These are my opinions.....
1. Bar is too low, even for a "low-bar" squat
2. Your elbows should be more perpendicular to the ground (shoulder flexiblity issue)
3. Hip mobility issues.....this is causing you to "lean" foward during the up movement of the squat. Focus on keeping your knees "pushed out" during the lift.
4. Depth looks good0 -
Jmule24 -
Thanks for the feedback.
There was one earlier in the thread, but not of my latest squats (I'm assuming you viewed the one above?). I can find the link if you like, but it was taken before improvements were made...
1. Okay, my husband keeps trying to get me to put it higher too - but it feels completely comfortable and supported where it is. Doesn't feel 'right' higher.
2. You mean they should be pointed at the floor more? I could do that, but I thought the idea was to have them up so you can support the bar better... and again, they do feel comfortable where they are, and the bar doesn't move (or not that I notice).
3. Well, I'm trying to keep them out. I feel they are improving over time, though that's mainly why I posted the video (so if anyone who has seen the other videos can tell if they're getting better).
From what I understand, you are meant to lean over during low bar squats to help balance? My hips are plenty flexible, so that's not causing it.
4. Good Thanks! 0 -
I am doing a cut right now and gaining strength in my lifts. I make sure I eat protein and a good slow absorbing carb one hr before I lift and abt 30 mins before I take a pre-workout drink it keeps me focused and in the gym a little longer. I am losing fat and maintaining most of my muscle. I believe 1800 is maintanence cals for me and I am doing 1500 right now. I plan on doing this for another month then I will start a slow bulk to get some more lean muscle built. One thing that has helped me lately is weighing my food.I think the key here is eat less lift more. I hope you find your sweet spot it takes time. It does sound to me that you should probably be cutting right now. Make sure you eat an hr before you workout and take a protein shake with you in case you get sluggish it will help keep your strength up.Good luck and hang in there 0
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Lots of improvement from the earlier videos; you seem to do better at keeping the knees out, and your back is tight. But, it looks like the bar is still crazy tilted to the left. Like a lot. I'm wondering if this is a camera angle thing because it seems like it would be difficult to keep balanced leaning over so much.
Also, it seems like you're still leaning over and rising from the hips and ending with more of a good morning. Try focusing on the hip drive through the movement and keeping your chest up. (Yes, I know it's a huge list of things you actively have to think about, and I feel your pain. It does get easier as you lock in form and repeatedly get x right, allowing you to spend more time fixing y, hopefully without x going to crap when you change y...)0 -
Auddii -
Thanks for looking at the video I'm glad it's improving. Yeah, I don't know what to think about the bar. It really doesn't feel that tilted, and my husband doesn't seem to notice, so maybe the camera is making it look worse.
To be honest, I'm trying to keep my chest up so much it makes clicking noises. I'll see if I can improve it, though.
Thanks again for your help.0 -
I think there's loads of improvement - the hip sway thingy isn't as pronounced, told you - mine went away itself too XD
The bar is still a bit squeegee but seems to be what you're comfortable with. Stick the knees out and if you find it getting uncomfortable/feel your form is off - deload again.
I'm not much help, my own squat sucks!0 -
3laine75 -
Thanks! Yeah, I'll keep an eye on the knee situation.0 -
Thought I'd update.
I'm coming up to the end of my linear progress. Unfortunately, I maintained this month by accident, which might be why my lifts are stalling earlier than they probably should... but, what's done is done. I'm adding 200 calories and going to see whether I can manage my squat weight next week, and go from there.
So, how did the bulk go?
well, calling it a bulk might be a bit strong. I put on a total of 6.6lbs since the beginning of December, and around 2% body fat (assuming calliper readings are accurate). 2lbs of that was put on over Christmas week (who counts calories on Christmas day/New years? Certainly not I!), and another 2lbs happened on my husband's birthday (all you can eat buffet place, and there was a LOT of cream involved). I've had about two months where I accidentally maintained. However, I have put on visible muscle mass and am quite pleased with the results.
The improvements in my lifts:
Squats: 29kg to 55kg (interrupted by a deload)
Overhead press: 18kg to 25.5 kg
Bench press: 22kg to 33kg
Deadlift: 40kg to 62kg (also interrupted by a deload)
And I can do chin-ups with light bands now!
So, I wouldn't exactly say it went brilliantly, and if I do it again I'd hope to do better. Despite this, I did get what I wanted out of it (well, other than massive muscles
) : stable joints (very few subluxions, too), hip got better, no longer seeing any sort of decline in my body, more muscle mass. I even lost a little flexibility in my hamstrings. In regards to the overweight-ness - my blood pressure is good (116/74 average), my resting heart rate is usually around 65 beats per minute, and the doctor seems pleased that I'm the same weight as a year ago. So despite the bulk, I'm not about to have a heart attack.
I would like to thank all of you who have been so much help. It really is appreciated and means a lot.
Hopefully, I still might get a few more weeks out of it - but we'll see.0 -
any reason not to up the calories and just drive on? 6 pounds in 4 months - is.... not much.
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lucygoesrawr wrote: »I have a new video:
Oh, and I got better in the end - Apparently I'm most likely fine, though. He said a lot of young people have problems with fainting and it would stop when I 'bulked up' as I got older. So, that was good news.
So your doctor wants to you to gain weight? Are you currently underweight?0 -
lucygoesrawr wrote: »Thought I'd update.
The improvements in my lifts:
Squats: 29kg to 55kg (interrupted by a deload)
Overhead press: 18kg to 25.5 kg
Bench press: 22kg to 33kg
Deadlift: 40kg to 62kg (also interrupted by a deload)
And I can do chin-ups with light bands now!
Wow! You should be very proud of your progression of lifts! Remember it's a long game and any progress is progress none the less. Apologies that I haven't read the past 7 pages + what was your primary focus with the bulk? Add weight or add to your lifts? I find that when I focus only one of those two I get the best results.
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JoRocka -
Well, I'm not sure how much linear progress I'd have left anyway - I've been lifting (including when I was trying to lose) since about September last year. Also, I'm getting tired of eating at a surplus - I'm always full and don't really enjoy food much anymore. Though that isn't really a good reason... Do you think I should carry on?
(Just to clarify, I'm not going to stop lifting, just would be moving to some sort of intermediate program like the Texas Method (although apparently that one in particular might not be good for cutting)).
Vcorz -
I'm not entirely sure what he meant. He didn't say I needed to (I'm not underweight - my BMI says overweight, body fat percentage says just about healthy), though I think he was implying I'd 'naturally' put on a bit of weight over the years and have fewer problems with fainting/dizziness. I don't really get how that works.
Jmule24 -
It was both, really. I see how it would be easier to just focus on one, but I really needed to improve both.0 -
lucygoesrawr wrote: »JoRocka -
Well, I'm not sure how much linear progress I'd have left anyway - I've been lifting (including when I was trying to lose) since about September last year. Also, I'm getting tired of eating at a surplus - I'm always full and don't really enjoy food much anymore. Though that isn't really a good reason... Do you think I should carry on?
(Just to clarify, I'm not going to stop lifting, just would be moving to some sort of intermediate program like the Texas Method (although apparently that one in particular might not be good for cutting)).
Vcorz -
I'm not entirely sure what he meant. He didn't say I needed to (I'm not underweight - my BMI says overweight, body fat percentage says just about healthy), though I think he was implying I'd 'naturally' put on a bit of weight over the years and have fewer problems with fainting/dizziness. I don't really get how that works.
Jmule24 -
It was both, really. I see how it would be easier to just focus on one, but I really needed to improve both.
If it was ME. I would. at least for another month- I would up my calories some more- actually significantly and keep it for for 1-2 more months. 6 pounds is more like a quick recomp/painfully slow bulk.
But- the struggle is real with being uncomfortable. I found my best growth came in that the time between month 4-5- my goal is usually 6 months- and by 3-3.5 I'm sick of it. But that's why I always recommend a max/min window (like 4-6 months) so if you MUST bail- you reached the minimum goal line.
If you really are completely fed up with it- either try going for even higher calorie foods (do you drink soda/beer?) or- go ahead and eat at maintenance for a while and switch programming.
No harm either way honestly- totally up to you- I just think you have more growth to do and you don't know it!0 -
First off, throw out that stupid scale....Go to a gym and have a fitness professional measure you with Fat Calipers, You may actually be getting some gains but because you are overweight you can't see them. I'm doing Body Beast and I started the program at 220, too k my measurements and Fat Caliper test and I've allready lost -2% body fat, dropped some pounds, and slowly firming up. Some of your post does not make sense to me or the other posters. If you set your expectations too high you will surely disappoint yourself. Take small steps and gains as a step closer to where you want to be. There will be BIG differences when you measure with a scale, a tape measure or Fat Calipers. I have found those little calipers worth their weight in gold. You will also need to be eating "clean" healthy nutritious foods. With your health issues, speak with your doctor and if possible and Dietician to get you pointed in the right direction! Good luck on your journey!
no, OP won't need to do that...
clean eating has nothing to do with weight loss.
and good luck trying to bulk on chicken and vegetables ....
the amount she would have to eat while bulking makes me want to vomit
can you OD on chicken and vegetables?
I'm gonna say no, you can't, because if you could, I would probably be dead. Here where I live, chicken is the cheapest meat by far at 99 cents/pound (whole chicken) so when the budget is tight, we are pretty much living on chicken and frozen broccoli. It does get boring. When the next paycheck comes in I run over to the store and see if any of the beef is on special.0 -
lucygoesrawr wrote: »
Vcorz -
I'm not entirely sure what he meant. He didn't say I needed to (I'm not underweight - my BMI says overweight, body fat percentage says just about healthy), though I think he was implying I'd 'naturally' put on a bit of weight over the years.
Ah. Yeah that "natural weight gain" is a thing...I was 135 pounds at 36, now I'm 206 pounds at 39....it happens so quick....but if youre already lifting you stand a great chance of avoiding it!0 -
JoRocka -
Okay, thanks for the advice. Well, I'll up my calories by 300 or so and see if my lifting improves. I should probably mention that I suspect I'm going to stall on the lifts sooner than usual because of a slight recovery problem - my husband has a sleeping condition, which basically means his sleep/wake cycle kind of rotates around all the time (so awake from 3pm to 3am one day, then a few days later it'll be 10pm to 10am, one day he might not be able to sleep for 24 hours completely turning it around, etc - completely unpredictable). I am unemployed/looking for freelance work so I follow along with his sleep cycles, and while I feel used to it, it probably still affects my body, and thus recovery.
I do have a lot of calorie dense foods, I suppose it's just that I have large amounts of the same food every day. Eggs, pork, unflavoured whey, milk, cheese, whatever vegetable was on offer when we went for the weekly shop. Some sort of treat every day, like home made ice cream, which I do look forward to... I'll just have to have more of that.
Gothchiq -
I'm so jealous. Chicken is really expensive here.0 -
yeah stop making it a treat- it should be a regular food product you're consuming- if you like it and it's got the calories- no reason to waste calories trying to stuff more chicken down your gullet. You don't get bonus points for bulking "healthier" it's just harder.
Go for it- eat up. (NOMNOMNOMNOM)0 -
Glad you're happy with your results - who knew throwing heavy stuff about could make you feel so good?! I'm with Jo, if you can stand it, try to stick with it for a wee while longer (I'm losing strength on this cut which is rubbish) 0
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Well, when I said a 'treat', I meant something tasty I have calories for while still meeting all other nutritional requirements. These often take up 300-500 calories.
The extra calories do seem to be working! It could be too early to tell, mind you. The bench press I failed on the first rep last time, I managed for 5 sets of 3 yesterday (so sore though!) and I managed all the squats I previously failed the last set on. So, thank you! 0 -
I know this probably sounds a bit paranoid, but does anyone else think it doesn't seem right that I can maintain at 2550 calories at 5'1, 148lbs (sedentary other than lifting, some walking and interval running once a week)?0
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Well, I failed my squats and bench press today. I think that might be it now. I'm going to continue to bulk until I've done the next two workouts - so until Monday - and then cut. Hopefully I'll at least manage to get the squat I failed today (as I managed three sets) and increase my deadlift. Do you guys have any suggestions about strength training while cutting? My husband says because I've finished linear progress it will be hard/impossible to make any strength gains while cutting so it's better to just lift the same weights for the duration of the cut. He believes there's a risk of over training by trying to increase the weights and actually losing strength?0
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lucygoesrawr wrote: »Well, I failed my squats and bench press today. I think that might be it now. I'm going to continue to bulk until I've done the next two workouts - so until Monday - and then cut. Hopefully I'll at least manage to get the squat I failed today (as I managed three sets) and increase my deadlift. Do you guys have any suggestions about strength training while cutting? My husband says because I've finished linear progress it will be hard/impossible to make any strength gains while cutting so it's better to just lift the same weights for the duration of the cut. He believes there's a risk of over training by trying to increase the weights and actually losing strength?
It will become more difficult, but it doesn't mean that it is not possible. You may need to end up dropping volume as you progress more deeply into your cut. I would stick it the programming as is and assess later on.
What programming are you you looking to move to now that you've finished linear progression? Texas Method?0 -
LyndseyLovesToLift wrote: »Why are you bulking if you're overweight?BusyRaeNOTBusty wrote: »Why are you bulking when already overweight? Most people would suggest you wait until you are at a healthy weight before you bulk, maybe even the lower end of healthy.
Bodyfat scales are NOT accurate. Do not rely on that. The few pounds you are up are most likely water weight and bloating.
Your lifting issues are apparently not related to your food intake. Are you trying to increase weight too quickly? How's your form? Have you had someone check it?
Yeah agreed...it's better to just cut and then bulk0 -
LolBroScience wrote: »lucygoesrawr wrote: »Well, I failed my squats and bench press today. I think that might be it now. I'm going to continue to bulk until I've done the next two workouts - so until Monday - and then cut. Hopefully I'll at least manage to get the squat I failed today (as I managed three sets) and increase my deadlift. Do you guys have any suggestions about strength training while cutting? My husband says because I've finished linear progress it will be hard/impossible to make any strength gains while cutting so it's better to just lift the same weights for the duration of the cut. He believes there's a risk of over training by trying to increase the weights and actually losing strength?
It will become more difficult, but it doesn't mean that it is not possible. You may need to end up dropping volume as you progress more deeply into your cut. I would stick it the programming as is and assess later on.
What programming are you you looking to move to now that you've finished linear progression? Texas Method?
Just keep lifting heavy even when cutting. It's all in the mind, even if your carbs are lower your motivation should see you through each session. Keep your protein high even on a cut and train like your on a bulk. Just advice.
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I couldn't give a flying *kitten* weather I'm on a cut or a bulk or how many cals I had yesterday or that day when I'm in the gym. One way or another I'm going to try to move the weight and I wont let weather I'm on a cut or a bulk get in my head.0
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lucygoesrawr wrote: »I know this probably sounds a bit paranoid, but does anyone else think it doesn't seem right that I can maintain at 2550 calories at 5'1, 148lbs (sedentary other than lifting, some walking and interval running once a week)?
Don't be paranoid - I'm jealous At my best I was able to maintain at roughly 2400 but I'm a little taller. Unfortunately I've also been dieting down for the better part of 2 years now (lost about 80 lbs total, put a bit back on) so my metabolism is very probably somewhat depressed. If you have the muscle mass you should be able to eat more food! don't knock it, believe me, it's NICE when you don't have to starve to lose weight! (and by starve I mean anything under 1800 because that's what I'm stuck on atm) and congratulations on your improvement!
There's a lot of great advice in this thread which I will be happy to apply to my squat journey that I have just had to re-start due to an accident which has pretty well left me unable to do a whole lot for the past 7 months.
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