April Q and A thread
Replies
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Also regarding Susan (the first person I posted, not the shredded one) -- the after photo is 15+lbs heavier -- just pulled stats and she's 158 in the before photo and ~174 in the after.0
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So her before photo is before her cut?, so she must had got pretty lean before starting her bulk. Results are fantastic though.
But this is all in line with what I was thinking..., someone who is very lean probably wouldn't benefit from recomp like someone with a higher BF% would.
Yes, the before was when she first contacted me. She was already lean but wanted to get leaner before moving into a surplus. We cut from 137 to 129 then did a really patient and small surplus and we are still at it.
But it's worth noting that a lot people CALL a really small surplus a "recomp" even though by definition it's really not.
Regarding Jen above, she hasn't gained any noticeable fat. Now, I'm sure she DID gain SOME fat SOMEWHERE, since you're not going to get perfect nutrient partitioning obviously. It's just not really noticeable.1 -
So her before photo is before her cut?, so she must had got pretty lean before starting her bulk. Results are fantastic though.
But this is all in line with what I was thinking..., someone who is very lean probably wouldn't benefit from recomp like someone with a higher BF% would.
Yes, the before was when she first contacted me. She was already lean but wanted to get leaner before moving into a surplus. We cut from 137 to 129 then did a really patient and small surplus and we are still at it.
But it's worth noting that a lot people CALL a really small surplus a "recomp" even though by definition it's really not.
Regarding Jen above, she hasn't gained any noticeable fat. Now, I'm sure she DID gain SOME fat SOMEWHERE, since you're not going to get perfect nutrient partitioning obviously. It's just not really noticeable.
Yea I am just getting out of a very slow bulk, but ya I wouldn't call it a recomp because I have gained 12 lbs over 8 months. I have definitely gained fat, but I don't look bad.. just.. bigger. My first bulk was similar to hers where I really didn't have to cut after (but I did). But I also started really low weight the first time.
Her results are amazing, she definitely responds well to whatever you are doing
I just see women who get super lean and frustrated with that last bit of fat.. (I was/am one of them) and all you want to do is cut.. but you know that isn't going to help...and then I felt like recomp was just not for me because of how little fat I had to work with.. so I ended up bulking. And I definitely made the right decision.. for me at least.0 -
As an amusing addendum to my previous posts regarding RTS and TRAC: according to the TRAC interpretation of my data, I recover far worse from squatting than I do from deadlifting, even though I hammer my pulls much harder, just because I can.
Apparently I live in opposite world.1 -
Gallowmere1984 wrote: »As an amusing addendum to my previous posts regarding RTS and TRAC: according to the TRAC interpretation of my data, I recover far worse from squatting than I do from deadlifting, even though I hammer my pulls much harder, just because I can.
Apparently I live in opposite world.
ETP's very own special snowflake?1 -
Gallowmere1984 wrote: »As an amusing addendum to my previous posts regarding RTS and TRAC: according to the TRAC interpretation of my data, I recover far worse from squatting than I do from deadlifting, even though I hammer my pulls much harder, just because I can.
Apparently I live in opposite world.
ETP's very own special snowflake?
Not necessarily. Apparently guys like Konstantinovs, who have a notably better pull than squat have similar outcomes. Hell, Bob Peoples deadlifted roughly four to five times per week, and it was in the pre-roid era, but gave very few *kitten* about training any other lifts.
Makes me wonder if it's something psychological (you think squats are going to *kitten* with you so they do), or physiological (the posterior chain somehow recovers at a stronger rate than quadriceps in some), or if it's just how the wave is running due to a relatively small data sample, and that it will smooth out between the two over more time.0 -
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Gallowmere1984 wrote: »Gallowmere1984 wrote: »As an amusing addendum to my previous posts regarding RTS and TRAC: according to the TRAC interpretation of my data, I recover far worse from squatting than I do from deadlifting, even though I hammer my pulls much harder, just because I can.
Apparently I live in opposite world.
ETP's very own special snowflake?
Not necessarily. Apparently guys like Konstantinovs, who have a notably better pull than squat have similar outcomes. Hell, Bob Peoples deadlifted roughly four to five times per week, and it was in the pre-roid era, but gave very few *kitten* about training any other lifts.
Makes me wonder if it's something psychological (you think squats are going to *kitten* with you so they do), or physiological (the posterior chain somehow recovers at a stronger rate than quadriceps in some), or if it's just how the wave is running due to a relatively small data sample, and that it will smooth out between the two over more time.
Adding even more fuel to the confusion fire, what if deadlift recovery is hampering your squats?
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Loving the recomp info and pics, since that is my goal (starting after my race on 5/13) and I'm not sure what to expect or how patient I can manage to be. (Hopefully it will help that I very much want to get stronger and care more about that than about aesthetics, though aesthetic changes would be great, too. And since I've never been very strong, there is loads of room for improvement.
) 0 -
I love seeing progress pics, inspiration in a photo, and I can always use a bit more of that!1
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Gallowmere1984 wrote: »Gallowmere1984 wrote: »As an amusing addendum to my previous posts regarding RTS and TRAC: according to the TRAC interpretation of my data, I recover far worse from squatting than I do from deadlifting, even though I hammer my pulls much harder, just because I can.
Apparently I live in opposite world.
ETP's very own special snowflake?
Not necessarily. Apparently guys like Konstantinovs, who have a notably better pull than squat have similar outcomes. Hell, Bob Peoples deadlifted roughly four to five times per week, and it was in the pre-roid era, but gave very few *kitten* about training any other lifts.
Makes me wonder if it's something psychological (you think squats are going to *kitten* with you so they do), or physiological (the posterior chain somehow recovers at a stronger rate than quadriceps in some), or if it's just how the wave is running due to a relatively small data sample, and that it will smooth out between the two over more time.
Adding even more fuel to the confusion fire, what if deadlift recovery is hampering your squats?
I wondering if this is the case for me. My DL is making some really good improvements but my squat is very slow to make progress.0 -
Gallowmere1984 wrote: »Gallowmere1984 wrote: »As an amusing addendum to my previous posts regarding RTS and TRAC: according to the TRAC interpretation of my data, I recover far worse from squatting than I do from deadlifting, even though I hammer my pulls much harder, just because I can.
Apparently I live in opposite world.
ETP's very own special snowflake?
Not necessarily. Apparently guys like Konstantinovs, who have a notably better pull than squat have similar outcomes. Hell, Bob Peoples deadlifted roughly four to five times per week, and it was in the pre-roid era, but gave very few *kitten* about training any other lifts.
Makes me wonder if it's something psychological (you think squats are going to *kitten* with you so they do), or physiological (the posterior chain somehow recovers at a stronger rate than quadriceps in some), or if it's just how the wave is running due to a relatively small data sample, and that it will smooth out between the two over more time.
Adding even more fuel to the confusion fire, what if deadlift recovery is hampering your squats?
That's entirely possible, though honestly, if my recovery capabilities ever put me in a position to have to choose between the two, the squat can die in a fire. I love deadlifts more than a parent could love a child. Squats...ehhh, not so much.
I suppose it's just the "real world application" obsession that I've always had. The deadlift gets used by most people on a daily basis. The loaded squat? Pretty much never. The bench? Eh, maybe if your friend needed help getting a transaxle into his car, and was too cheap to buy another jack?3 -
@SideSteel
Didn't one of your Ambers do an unintentional recomp too?0 -
_benjammin wrote: »@SideSteel
Didn't one of your Ambers do an unintentional recomp too?
Yep. I don't have before/after photos but I'm pretty sure she had some pretty significant measurement changes at the same BW.
I'm of the opinion that unless you're highly advanced you're very likely to successfully recomp to some extent if you keep training and making progress and you don't have a completely idiotic diet.
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Gallowmere1984 wrote: »Gallowmere1984 wrote: »Gallowmere1984 wrote: »As an amusing addendum to my previous posts regarding RTS and TRAC: according to the TRAC interpretation of my data, I recover far worse from squatting than I do from deadlifting, even though I hammer my pulls much harder, just because I can.
Apparently I live in opposite world.
ETP's very own special snowflake?
Not necessarily. Apparently guys like Konstantinovs, who have a notably better pull than squat have similar outcomes. Hell, Bob Peoples deadlifted roughly four to five times per week, and it was in the pre-roid era, but gave very few *kitten* about training any other lifts.
Makes me wonder if it's something psychological (you think squats are going to *kitten* with you so they do), or physiological (the posterior chain somehow recovers at a stronger rate than quadriceps in some), or if it's just how the wave is running due to a relatively small data sample, and that it will smooth out between the two over more time.
Adding even more fuel to the confusion fire, what if deadlift recovery is hampering your squats?
That's entirely possible, though honestly, if my recovery capabilities ever put me in a position to have to choose between the two, the squat can die in a fire. I love deadlifts more than a parent could love a child. Squats...ehhh, not so much.
I suppose it's just the "real world application" obsession that I've always had. The deadlift gets used by most people on a daily basis. The loaded squat? Pretty much never. The bench? Eh, maybe if your friend needed help getting a transaxle into his car, and was too cheap to buy another jack?
Absolutely. Deadlifts and loaded carries of any kind have pretty much the best carryover I can think of. What do we do in real life? Pick up heavy sh1t and carry it around.
I still believe squats can have carryover to my deadlifts and I also don't want to be that pusssy that can't squat 405 so Imma keep working on them.1 -
Gallowmere1984 wrote: »Gallowmere1984 wrote: »Gallowmere1984 wrote: »As an amusing addendum to my previous posts regarding RTS and TRAC: according to the TRAC interpretation of my data, I recover far worse from squatting than I do from deadlifting, even though I hammer my pulls much harder, just because I can.
Apparently I live in opposite world.
ETP's very own special snowflake?
Not necessarily. Apparently guys like Konstantinovs, who have a notably better pull than squat have similar outcomes. Hell, Bob Peoples deadlifted roughly four to five times per week, and it was in the pre-roid era, but gave very few *kitten* about training any other lifts.
Makes me wonder if it's something psychological (you think squats are going to *kitten* with you so they do), or physiological (the posterior chain somehow recovers at a stronger rate than quadriceps in some), or if it's just how the wave is running due to a relatively small data sample, and that it will smooth out between the two over more time.
Adding even more fuel to the confusion fire, what if deadlift recovery is hampering your squats?
That's entirely possible, though honestly, if my recovery capabilities ever put me in a position to have to choose between the two, the squat can die in a fire. I love deadlifts more than a parent could love a child. Squats...ehhh, not so much.
I suppose it's just the "real world application" obsession that I've always had. The deadlift gets used by most people on a daily basis. The loaded squat? Pretty much never. The bench? Eh, maybe if your friend needed help getting a transaxle into his car, and was too cheap to buy another jack?
Absolutely. Deadlifts and loaded carries of any kind have pretty much the best carryover I can think of. What do we do in real life? Pick up heavy sh1t and carry it around.
I still believe squats can have carryover to my deadlifts and I also don't want to be that pusssy that can't squat 405 so Imma keep working on them.
Most definitely. My squat to dead ratio is way out of balance (295:435, bodyweight: 169.1), but since I'm still only at 8.5 months of lifting, I expect as much. My lifestyle prior to last summer wasn't exactly conducive to quad strength. There were many years of sitting on my *kitten* in a truck all day. Frankly, I'm lucky that I never developed a nasty pelvic tilt to contend with.0 -
Was just diagnosed with achilles tendinitis, and knowledge is limited to google. Any tips on how to continue lifting with achilles tendinitis? My instructions as of now are ice, anti-inflammatory and stretching for aprox. two weeks. Since full recovery can take a long time, I do not want my progress to fall behind, and want to work within my limitations. Any recommendations on intake and lifting.0
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Was just diagnosed with achilles tendinitis, and knowledge is limited to google. Any tips on how to continue lifting with achilles tendinitis? My instructions as of now are ice, anti-inflammatory and stretching for aprox. two weeks. Since full recovery can take a long time, I do not want my progress to fall behind, and want to work within my limitations. Any recommendations on intake and lifting.
Lighten the load. You may not sustain your total strength, but it's better than worsening the condition...2 -
I've dealt with achilles tendinitis. My doctor and PT (physical therapist, not personal trainer) both told me to keep lifting and only back off on activity if it got to a 4 out of 10, pain-wise. I was able to keep lifting throughout it and the only thing I had to do was not wear high heels (though my squat shoes didn't bother me) and not sprint.
Are you feeling it all the time? Are you doing any PT for it? I had 4-5 weeks of PT and still do several of the exercises at home.1 -
The area is swollen 24/7, I've been taking the anti-inflammatory before bed and in the morning I can actually see my ankles BUT by the time I'm finished getting ready for work, swollen again. She did recommend PT, but had such a bad experience I'm putting that on hold and doing the stretching exercises at home.
I like my heels
Did you limit walking and/or cardio, how long till you resumed lifting, how long till the swelling subsisted for you?
Will definitely lighten the load at first. I was imagining months to recuperate, you both made me feel better!0 -
The area is swollen 24/7, I've been taking the anti-inflammatory before bed and in the morning I can actually see my ankles BUT by the time I'm finished getting ready for work, swollen again. She did recommend PT, but had such a bad experience I'm putting that on hold and doing the stretching exercises at home.
I like my heels
Did you limit walking and/or cardio, how long till you resumed lifting, how long till the swelling subsisted for you?
Will definitely lighten the load at first. I was imagining months to recuperate, you both made me feel better!
I never stopped lifting. My pain would only show up when I was walking in heels or on a decline (even a minor decline.) I did limit walking somewhat because even slight grades made it hurt.
My main PT exercises were:- calf stretches with a towel (towel around foot, pull back toward body, hold 20 seconds, repeat 3x)
- calf raises (stand on affected foot on block, lower, raise up on toes, 3 sets of 20)
- 3x20 leg press
- 3x15-20 calf raise on leg press
- balance board stretching (stand on one leg, flex toes down/heels down 20x, flex ankle side to side 20x, do 20 clockwise ankle rotations, do 20 counterclockwise ankle rotations)
- belt pulls (connect belt to a cable machine, put it on and face away from machine, walk out to further point, back up gently, repeat 10 x walking that direction, walking backward away from machine, and walking sideways each side away from machine)
I didn't have a ton of swelling but I jumped into PT fairly quickly. I did ice my foot each evening and after every PT session (2x/week.)1 -
The area is swollen 24/7, I've been taking the anti-inflammatory before bed and in the morning I can actually see my ankles BUT by the time I'm finished getting ready for work, swollen again. She did recommend PT, but had such a bad experience I'm putting that on hold and doing the stretching exercises at home.
I like my heels
Did you limit walking and/or cardio, how long till you resumed lifting, how long till the swelling subsisted for you?
Will definitely lighten the load at first. I was imagining months to recuperate, you both made me feel better!
With any tendinitis you can do ice massage. Put water in a dixie cup and freeze then tear away part of the cup to expose the ice. Move in small circles around the tendon for 3-5 minutes or until the skin is numb. You can also just use an icecube and a paper towel, but dixie cups are cooler.2 -
I had to be very careful on DL's and squats that balance was never comprised on the ankle bend such that weight would shift forward requiring way more calf usage.
Actually one injury to achilles was indeed after ankle surgery when one didn't bend like it used to.
Squat had been causing a forward roll at bottom on one side, actually combined with a side movement putting even more weight on it because other ankle really didn't bend as much anymore.
That took probably 6 months to recover from, many weeks even to narrow down why in the world I had an issue, because of course I tried to keep going.
Of course I attempted to still run a half and training for it, and tri training all summer long with less running - that probably extended the recovery time.
I have to use 1/4" heel lift now so that doesn't happen.1 -
Thank you all!
All the input has helped me tremendously, and feel more confident moving forward.0 -
Since @SideSteel is dropping the ball on May, I figured i would ask here.
Why does my body hate squats soo much.. 3 days later and I still hurt, lol.0 -
Since @SideSteel is dropping the ball on May, I figured i would ask here.
Why does my body hate squats soo much.. 3 days later and I still hurt, lol.
Have you tried more recovery work? I have found that a combination of Agile 8, recumbent bike LISS and contrast showers have almost completely obliterated all of my DOMS, even when pushing stupid hard.0 -
Since @SideSteel is dropping the ball on May, I figured i would ask here.
Why does my body hate squats soo much.. 3 days later and I still hurt, lol.
What does your programming look like?
I'd like to know squat frequency, volume and approximate RPE.0 -
Since @SideSteel is dropping the ball on May, I figured i would ask here.
Why does my body hate squats soo much.. 3 days later and I still hurt, lol.
What does your programming look like?
I'd like to know squat frequency, volume and approximate RPE.
Generally program design:
It's Bigger Lean Strong - 4 day. It's and upper/lower split. Generally 1 core lift per session with accessories. Lifts at ~ 85% of 1 RM. Rep range is 4-6. Once I hit 6 reps, I add 10 lbs.
Where I am at:
This round, it's 6 sets of 6 (a bit of high volume but I only have 1 accessory move (DB lunge for 3sets of 6 reps)). Last session I was able to do 235lbs x 6 reps x 4 sets; 235x4x2; 235x3x1. I do high bar squat. I don't really have a good understanding of the RPE ranges, but most I most sets, I wouldn't be able to squat more than 6 reps, even in the first sets.
If needed, I can load the program to a google drive or email you the program and results (excel nerding it up).
Overall routine
Monday: Upper - Bench + chest accessories (dumbbell press, incline press (or DB version))
Tuesday: Lower - Deadlift + back accessories (Sitting Row, T Bar Row)
Wednesday: Cycle (~ 12-15 miles) or if weather is bad, flexibility/core training.
Thursday: Upper - OHP + shoulder accessories (DB press, Shoulder raises)
Friday: Lower - Squat + leg accessories (lunge/db lunge)
Saturday: Golf (generally walk 18 holes with push cart)
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Gallowmere1984 wrote: »Since @SideSteel is dropping the ball on May, I figured i would ask here.
Why does my body hate squats soo much.. 3 days later and I still hurt, lol.
Have you tried more recovery work? I have found that a combination of Agile 8, recumbent bike LISS and contrast showers have almost completely obliterated all of my DOMS, even when pushing stupid hard.
I suspect I need a bit more time with recovery work, especially a foam roller which in the past has seemed helpful. In the past, I have always gotten bad DOMS on squat days (even when I was doing dumbbells). Additionally, I time nutrients pre- workout most of the time and have dinner after.0 -
Gallowmere1984 wrote: »Since @SideSteel is dropping the ball on May, I figured i would ask here.
Why does my body hate squats soo much.. 3 days later and I still hurt, lol.
Have you tried more recovery work? I have found that a combination of Agile 8, recumbent bike LISS and contrast showers have almost completely obliterated all of my DOMS, even when pushing stupid hard.
I suspect I need a bit more time with recovery work, especially a foam roller which in the past has seemed helpful. In the past, I have always gotten bad DOMS on squat days (even when I was doing dumbbells). Additionally, I time nutrients pre- workout most of the time and have dinner after.
That was the area that I was shortchanging myself the most in. Honestly, I don't know how I made as much progress as I have, without my body coming unglued these past few months.
I was sleeping 4-5 hours per night, doing literally zero mobility work, no forms of active or passive recovery, nothing. Since then I finally listened to reason and implemented this:
*Sleeping 6.5-8 hours, and catching a nap when I can.
*3-4 30 minute LISS recumbent sessions per week.
*3-4 contrast showers (1 minute hot, 30 seconds cold for five minutes) per week.
*Agile 8 twice per week.
Since I started doing those, my fatigue and soreness levels are non-existent to the point where if not for closely monitoring my progress, I'd just think that I wasn't doing anywhere near enough work.0
This discussion has been closed.