March Q and A thread
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SideSteel
Posts: 11,068 Member
Hey everyone!
I regularly run Q and A threads here for people who would prefer to not start their own thread. If you have any questions, feel free to post them in this thread and I will answer what I can. I will make video replies on occasion to these as well.
Got any questions? Post them below!
Patrick
I regularly run Q and A threads here for people who would prefer to not start their own thread. If you have any questions, feel free to post them in this thread and I will answer what I can. I will make video replies on occasion to these as well.
Got any questions? Post them below!
Patrick
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Replies
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I recently tested out 16:8 Intermittent Fasting, eating from noon to 8:00 pm. My body liked it well enough (I don't like solid food in the morning anyway) but I was concerned about doing strength training or cardio in the morning and then not being able to eat for several hours. How important is it to eat after working out?1
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I am a VERY obese 43 year old busy mom. I do have problem with my left shoulder and bad knees. In Februray I went to the gym 13 out of 26 days (due to starting a new week the last 2 days of Feb on my calendar are going to be on March). I lost 2 1/2 pounds. I lost a total of 5 1/2". (1.5 from chest, 2 from waist, 1 from hips and 1 from thigh). I will be 100% honest in saying that my eating and exercise were both only about 50% committed. I am going to work on that for March.
A typical gym day is 5-10 minutes on the arc machine then 3 sets of arm exercise on machines (fly @ 25, delts @ 25, overhead press @ 5, lat pull @ 30, arm extension @ 30, row @ 30, arm curl @ 25 and 1 plank) and then a cool down on the bike. OR 5-10 minutes on the arc then 3 sets of leg machines (hip abductor @ 55, calf raise @ 45, glute machine @ 40, leg curl @ 55 then some back and ab machines and 1 plank). I repeat this altering days. When I finish I feel like I am tired, but then not much after that.
Do you think I am on a good plan to ease into trying get more fit or do you think I should be doing something different?0 -
PinkNinjaLaura wrote: »I recently tested out 16:8 Intermittent Fasting, eating from noon to 8:00 pm. My body liked it well enough (I don't like solid food in the morning anyway) but I was concerned about doing strength training or cardio in the morning and then not being able to eat for several hours. How important is it to eat after working out?
Good question.
I think the importance scales relative to the goals and level of advancement of the individual.
Just for example: A contest level bodybuilder or a very serious physique oriented athlete (this could be recreational in nature) is probably going to want to capture as much progress as possible. It would be a mistake to train fasted and then fast after training and consume nutrients later because you're likely missing out on some small component to nutrient timing that could collectively add up to making a significant difference in progress.
The main purpose of nutrient timing from a muscle accretion standpoint is to provide enough amino acids to upregulate protein synthesis and to elevate insulin levels sufficiently to blunt muscle protein breakdown.
You can see a summary of literature here: https://jissn.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1550-2783-10-5
On the flipside lets suppose someone with a history of obesity had the goal of weight loss, and they found an IF schedule that worked VERY well for them. They had limited exercise time and could only do so in the AM. I wouldn't necessarily tell this person that they must change their eating or training schedule because of the benefits of good nutrient timing.
In your particular case I'd be curious whether or not you could simply supplement with some whey protein to see if you can retain the satiety benefits of IF while simultaneously address the issue of lacking amino acids around training.
Finally, there's an added potential concern of exercise performance. Many people are fine training fasted but in my opinion many people think they are fine not realizing they are actually better off training with something in their system for performance reasons.1 -
PinkNinjaLaura wrote: »I recently tested out 16:8 Intermittent Fasting, eating from noon to 8:00 pm. My body liked it well enough (I don't like solid food in the morning anyway) but I was concerned about doing strength training or cardio in the morning and then not being able to eat for several hours. How important is it to eat after working out?
Good question.
I think the importance scales relative to the goals and level of advancement of the individual.
Just for example: A contest level bodybuilder or a very serious physique oriented athlete (this could be recreational in nature) is probably going to want to capture as much progress as possible. It would be a mistake to train fasted and then fast after training and consume nutrients later because you're likely missing out on some small component to nutrient timing that could collectively add up to making a significant difference in progress.
The main purpose of nutrient timing from a muscle accretion standpoint is to provide enough amino acids to upregulate protein synthesis and to elevate insulin levels sufficiently to blunt muscle protein breakdown.
You can see a summary of literature here: https://jissn.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1550-2783-10-5
On the flipside lets suppose someone with a history of obesity had the goal of weight loss, and they found an IF schedule that worked VERY well for them. They had limited exercise time and could only do so in the AM. I wouldn't necessarily tell this person that they must change their eating or training schedule because of the benefits of good nutrient timing.
In your particular case I'd be curious whether or not you could simply supplement with some whey protein to see if you can retain the satiety benefits of IF while simultaneously address the issue of lacking amino acids around training.
Finally, there's an added potential concern of exercise performance. Many people are fine training fasted but in my opinion many people think they are fine not realizing they are actually better off training with something in their system for performance reasons.
I will go for a short run fasted, but typically try to take in calories shortly after. For a longer run I take in calories before (like a gel), during and some kind of recovery drink after with a mix of protein & carbs. I'm training for a half marathon in June and will be doing at least my long runs in the morning, so this may be a non-issue for me anyway as my mileage increases. Running tends to kill my appetite for the remainder of the day, but if I don't take in calories during a longer run I wilt pretty fast.
I've always taken in calories before I strength train, even if it's something light. If I strength train early in the morning I've also found I need to take in a decent amount of protein shortly after or I'll be extra hungry all day. I don't have that problem if I lift later in the day.
I joined a Facebook group (Fierce Fit Fearless 2.0) where they tell you not to take in protein or carbs during the fast period or it breaks it. The general advice on there is to take in fewer than 50 calories, if you take in any. On the topic of weight lifting fasted, several people say they take in BCAAs (which I haven't researched at all). I'm lifting for general health and weight loss; not for competition.0 -
Any opinions on The Strength Athlete free intermediate powerlifting program? http://thestrengthathlete.com/freebies/
As background, I'm a 37 year old female, lifting for about 1.25 years. Not sure I would consider myself beginner or intermediate. I don't have any competitive powerlifting goals at the moment, but I still like to make progress. I don't have any impressive totals.
I've previously done the entire book Strong (sequel to NROLFW) and Strong Curves, so this is more powerlifting based, but I think it may be interesting.
I also like to run 3x/week and wondering if I can fit that in with this 4/day a week program (I currently fit in a 2.5 mile run with an upper body only day), since this is full body 4x/week.0 -
Any opinions on The Strength Athlete free intermediate powerlifting program? http://thestrengthathlete.com/freebies/
As background, I'm a 37 year old female, lifting for about 1.25 years. Not sure I would consider myself beginner or intermediate. I don't have any competitive powerlifting goals at the moment, but I still like to make progress. I don't have any impressive totals.
I've previously done the entire book Strong (sequel to NROLFW) and Strong Curves, so this is more powerlifting based, but I think it may be interesting.
I also like to run 3x/week and wondering if I can fit that in with this 4/day a week program (I currently fit in a 2.5 mile run with an upper body only day), since this is full body 4x/week.
I just looked at the TSA 9-week intermediate program (I assume this is what you were talking about). It looks pretty good to me, lots of big compound movements, plenty of volume and weight, etc.. Having said that, you're training 4x a week, training everything 2x a week and if you're gonna run 3x a week on top of that you might run into trouble. There is zero chance I'd try it myself, you'd have to try it for you to really know but ...yeah. You're gonna need that recovery with that kind of workload. I guess it depends on far and how fast you're running really. If you're just doing an easy couple miles here and there it might be okay. But if you're actually trying to train for something I'd probably forget it.
PS: Not taking any responsibility if your uterus falls out after you try this program + running.1 -
Any opinions on The Strength Athlete free intermediate powerlifting program? http://thestrengthathlete.com/freebies/
As background, I'm a 37 year old female, lifting for about 1.25 years. Not sure I would consider myself beginner or intermediate. I don't have any competitive powerlifting goals at the moment, but I still like to make progress. I don't have any impressive totals.
I've previously done the entire book Strong (sequel to NROLFW) and Strong Curves, so this is more powerlifting based, but I think it may be interesting.
I also like to run 3x/week and wondering if I can fit that in with this 4/day a week program (I currently fit in a 2.5 mile run with an upper body only day), since this is full body 4x/week.
I just looked at the TSA 9-week intermediate program (I assume this is what you were talking about). It looks pretty good to me, lots of big compound movements, plenty of volume and weight, etc.. Having said that, you're training 4x a week, training everything 2x a week and if you're gonna run 3x a week on top of that you might run into trouble. There is zero chance I'd try it myself, you'd have to try it for you to really know but ...yeah. You're gonna need that recovery with that kind of workload. I guess it depends on far and how fast you're running really. If you're just doing an easy couple miles here and there it might be okay. But if you're actually trying to train for something I'd probably forget it.
PS: Not taking any responsibility if your uterus falls out after you try this program + running.
Ha! If my uterus falls out it will be my children's fault, not running ;-)
I usually run 2-2.5m, 4.0m, and 5-7 miles long run on the weekend. Not particularly fast (10 min/mile). Not training for anything specific. Just like to have a nice base of cardiovascular endurance, like being outside, and getting to eat a little bit more food. I do currently lift 4x/week and run 3x/week but only upper body lifting on the combined day.0 -
Someone asked a similar question, but would like to rephrase it to fit my situation...
I recently changed my schedule from lifting after dinner to mornings (5:30 am) before work. I'm one of those people who can't stomach food, other than coffee, till 9/10. By that time I'm in the office and usually eat yogurt with some granola and fruit. But since this new schedule my stomach is growling by 9:00 but I still can't look at food. I've tried putting unflavored whey protein into my water but it taste nasty, and tried adding whey protein to my coffee, but it gets lumpy.
Any suggestions...something light I can drink while getting ready for work or on my drive to work.0 -
Someone asked a similar question, but would like to rephrase it to fit my situation...
I recently changed my schedule from lifting after dinner to mornings (5:30 am) before work. I'm one of those people who can't stomach food, other than coffee, till 9/10. By that time I'm in the office and usually eat yogurt with some granola and fruit. But since this new schedule my stomach is growling by 9:00 but I still can't look at food. I've tried putting unflavored whey protein into my water but it taste nasty, and tried adding whey protein to my coffee, but it gets lumpy.
Any suggestions...something light I can drink while getting ready for work or on my drive to work.
Mix the whey protein with milk first. Shake it thoroughly until it isn't lumpy, then pour that in your coffee like creamer. If you're using a good quality whey and you do it this way it shouldn't clump. Putting powder directly into the coffee will make it clumpy and nasty.2 -
Or, if you like iced coffee at all, it usually blends well with whey.1
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Colts324ever wrote: »I am a VERY obese 43 year old busy mom. I do have problem with my left shoulder and bad knees. In Februray I went to the gym 13 out of 26 days (due to starting a new week the last 2 days of Feb on my calendar are going to be on March). I lost 2 1/2 pounds. I lost a total of 5 1/2". (1.5 from chest, 2 from waist, 1 from hips and 1 from thigh). I will be 100% honest in saying that my eating and exercise were both only about 50% committed. I am going to work on that for March.
A typical gym day is 5-10 minutes on the arc machine then 3 sets of arm exercise on machines (fly @ 25, delts @ 25, overhead press @ 5, lat pull @ 30, arm extension @ 30, row @ 30, arm curl @ 25 and 1 plank) and then a cool down on the bike. OR 5-10 minutes on the arc then 3 sets of leg machines (hip abductor @ 55, calf raise @ 45, glute machine @ 40, leg curl @ 55 then some back and ab machines and 1 plank). I repeat this altering days. When I finish I feel like I am tired, but then not much after that.
Do you think I am on a good plan to ease into trying get more fit or do you think I should be doing something different?
I think that the most important things are to be consistent in getting to the gym multiple days per week, and executing your diet plan to the best of your ability. 13/26 days is pretty good in my opinion.
It's also important to very gradually increase the training stimulus you're providing. So for example, if you are doing 12 repetitions this week, doing 13 repetitions the following week.
There are other minor things for example training larger movements first would be a good idea.
Generally if you are going to do a machine based upper lower I would probably do something like this:
Lower:
Leg press or hack squat if your knee allows it. Only use a range of motion and load that causes no knee pain.
Some kind of glute exercise or some method of hinging the hips through flexion and extension
Leg Curls
Could do leg extensions if these are more knee friendly than pressing.
Abduction and Adduction
Calves
Upper:
A horizontal press and a vertical press
A horizontal pull and a vertical pull
Some kind of rear delt fly isn't a bad idea if you have the machine for it otherwise look up face pulls
Then of slightly less importance something like a lateral raise and direct arm work
Point being though the above list GENERALLY goes from compound movements (multi joint exercises) to isolation movements (single joint exercises).
Intention here isn't to say "do the above, it's a great program", this is just napkin programming to give you some ideas.
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Tagging to follow..0
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I so badly want to be able to do an unassisted pull-up.
I'm currently working on dead hangs (record: 20 seconds) and I want to do negatives, but I am on the shorter side and even standing on the bench and on a step, I can't get high enough to get into the correct position. I use the top of a cable machine to do this.
Any advice for shorties like me? I'm 5'3" with short limbs.
Would the bar from the smith machine work or is that too low off the ground?
Any pointers towards a good progression program would be helpful as well.
Thanks!0 -
sammyliftsandeats wrote: »I so badly want to be able to do an unassisted pull-up.
I'm currently working on dead hangs (record: 20 seconds) and I want to do negatives, but I am on the shorter side and even standing on the bench and on a step, I can't get high enough to get into the correct position. I use the top of a cable machine to do this.
Any advice for shorties like me? I'm 5'3" with short limbs.
Would the bar from the smith machine work or is that too low off the ground?
Any pointers towards a good progression program would be helpful as well.
Thanks!
The Smith bar would work fine for negatives. Just set it so your knees don't hit the ground at full extension of the arms.0 -
Gallowmere1984 wrote: »sammyliftsandeats wrote: »I so badly want to be able to do an unassisted pull-up.
I'm currently working on dead hangs (record: 20 seconds) and I want to do negatives, but I am on the shorter side and even standing on the bench and on a step, I can't get high enough to get into the correct position. I use the top of a cable machine to do this.
Any advice for shorties like me? I'm 5'3" with short limbs.
Would the bar from the smith machine work or is that too low off the ground?
Any pointers towards a good progression program would be helpful as well.
Thanks!
The Smith bar would work fine for negatives. Just set it so your knees don't hit the ground at full extension of the arms.
Yeah I used the smith machine at work for a while, it's really the only good use for a smith machine that I'm aware of in fact.
Having said that, the biggest thing that helped my pull-ups was band-assisted pullups. It's the same exact motion just with a little assistance and will help you work up to unassisted pullups pretty definitively.1 -
Gallowmere1984 wrote: »sammyliftsandeats wrote: »I so badly want to be able to do an unassisted pull-up.
I'm currently working on dead hangs (record: 20 seconds) and I want to do negatives, but I am on the shorter side and even standing on the bench and on a step, I can't get high enough to get into the correct position. I use the top of a cable machine to do this.
Any advice for shorties like me? I'm 5'3" with short limbs.
Would the bar from the smith machine work or is that too low off the ground?
Any pointers towards a good progression program would be helpful as well.
Thanks!
The Smith bar would work fine for negatives. Just set it so your knees don't hit the ground at full extension of the arms.
Yeah I used the smith machine at work for a while, it's really the only good use for a smith machine that I'm aware of in fact.
Having said that, the biggest thing that helped my pull-ups was band-assisted pullups. It's the same exact motion just with a little assistance and will help you work up to unassisted pullups pretty definitively.
What worked for me was bands with a door attachment. My first round of pull ups was 3 sets of 5, after working with bands for awhile.1 -
Gallowmere1984 wrote: »sammyliftsandeats wrote: »I so badly want to be able to do an unassisted pull-up.
I'm currently working on dead hangs (record: 20 seconds) and I want to do negatives, but I am on the shorter side and even standing on the bench and on a step, I can't get high enough to get into the correct position. I use the top of a cable machine to do this.
Any advice for shorties like me? I'm 5'3" with short limbs.
Would the bar from the smith machine work or is that too low off the ground?
Any pointers towards a good progression program would be helpful as well.
Thanks!
The Smith bar would work fine for negatives. Just set it so your knees don't hit the ground at full extension of the arms.
Yeah I used the smith machine at work for a while, it's really the only good use for a smith machine that I'm aware of in fact.
Having said that, the biggest thing that helped my pull-ups was band-assisted pullups. It's the same exact motion just with a little assistance and will help you work up to unassisted pullups pretty definitively.Gallowmere1984 wrote: »sammyliftsandeats wrote: »I so badly want to be able to do an unassisted pull-up.
I'm currently working on dead hangs (record: 20 seconds) and I want to do negatives, but I am on the shorter side and even standing on the bench and on a step, I can't get high enough to get into the correct position. I use the top of a cable machine to do this.
Any advice for shorties like me? I'm 5'3" with short limbs.
Would the bar from the smith machine work or is that too low off the ground?
Any pointers towards a good progression program would be helpful as well.
Thanks!
The Smith bar would work fine for negatives. Just set it so your knees don't hit the ground at full extension of the arms.
Yeah I used the smith machine at work for a while, it's really the only good use for a smith machine that I'm aware of in fact.
Having said that, the biggest thing that helped my pull-ups was band-assisted pullups. It's the same exact motion just with a little assistance and will help you work up to unassisted pullups pretty definitively.
What worked for me was bands with a door attachment. My first round of pull ups was 3 sets of 5, after working with bands for awhile.
Is using bands better than using the assisted pull-up/dip machine?
What kind of resistance should I look for?0 -
sammyliftsandeats wrote: »Gallowmere1984 wrote: »sammyliftsandeats wrote: »I so badly want to be able to do an unassisted pull-up.
I'm currently working on dead hangs (record: 20 seconds) and I want to do negatives, but I am on the shorter side and even standing on the bench and on a step, I can't get high enough to get into the correct position. I use the top of a cable machine to do this.
Any advice for shorties like me? I'm 5'3" with short limbs.
Would the bar from the smith machine work or is that too low off the ground?
Any pointers towards a good progression program would be helpful as well.
Thanks!
The Smith bar would work fine for negatives. Just set it so your knees don't hit the ground at full extension of the arms.
Yeah I used the smith machine at work for a while, it's really the only good use for a smith machine that I'm aware of in fact.
Having said that, the biggest thing that helped my pull-ups was band-assisted pullups. It's the same exact motion just with a little assistance and will help you work up to unassisted pullups pretty definitively.Gallowmere1984 wrote: »sammyliftsandeats wrote: »I so badly want to be able to do an unassisted pull-up.
I'm currently working on dead hangs (record: 20 seconds) and I want to do negatives, but I am on the shorter side and even standing on the bench and on a step, I can't get high enough to get into the correct position. I use the top of a cable machine to do this.
Any advice for shorties like me? I'm 5'3" with short limbs.
Would the bar from the smith machine work or is that too low off the ground?
Any pointers towards a good progression program would be helpful as well.
Thanks!
The Smith bar would work fine for negatives. Just set it so your knees don't hit the ground at full extension of the arms.
Yeah I used the smith machine at work for a while, it's really the only good use for a smith machine that I'm aware of in fact.
Having said that, the biggest thing that helped my pull-ups was band-assisted pullups. It's the same exact motion just with a little assistance and will help you work up to unassisted pullups pretty definitively.
What worked for me was bands with a door attachment. My first round of pull ups was 3 sets of 5, after working with bands for awhile.
Is using bands better than using the assisted pull-up/dip machine?
What kind of resistance should I look for?
Wouldn't say its necessarily better or worse.. and bands range in tension. I used a dip machine for about 4 weeks on chinups when i started and now i do weighted ones. I largely used bands based on availability.0 -
Gallowmere1984 wrote: »sammyliftsandeats wrote: »I so badly want to be able to do an unassisted pull-up.
I'm currently working on dead hangs (record: 20 seconds) and I want to do negatives, but I am on the shorter side and even standing on the bench and on a step, I can't get high enough to get into the correct position. I use the top of a cable machine to do this.
Any advice for shorties like me? I'm 5'3" with short limbs.
Would the bar from the smith machine work or is that too low off the ground?
Any pointers towards a good progression program would be helpful as well.
Thanks!
The Smith bar would work fine for negatives. Just set it so your knees don't hit the ground at full extension of the arms.
Yeah I used the smith machine at work for a while, it's really the only good use for a smith machine that I'm aware of in fact.
Having said that, the biggest thing that helped my pull-ups was band-assisted pullups. It's the same exact motion just with a little assistance and will help you work up to unassisted pullups pretty definitively.
What worked for me was bands with a door attachment. My first round of pull ups was 3 sets of 5, after working with bands for awhile.
Haha yup, same idea. The first time I tried it unassisted I got 4. I still remember that feeling of levitating myself off the ground for the first time. It was like magic.0
