I went from morbidly obese to 6 pack abs! Ask me Anything

philfinallyfit

Vismal, Thank you again for your second follow-up. You really helped me distinguish between volume and frequency vs. the all-important intensity. (weight on the bar)

Shortly after my initial entry of Aug. 31st and with the plateau broken, I increased my calories for 4 weeks. This was unsettling, but as I was thriving on the lifting, I wanted to get through the entire SL 5x5 12-week program.

I have now done this, and ended up with some pretty impressive totals as a result, at least for me. Some of this was incorporating your helpful suggestions in your two September responses.

Now that I have arrived at Week 13, I am going back to cutting. I have only picked up 2 lbs. on the scale, and am anxious to banish those 2 lbs, plus a whole lot more. The plan is to eat 1800 calories for a second 7 week cycle.

Is it safe to assume that, given rigorous calorie adherence, that I will: 1) lose 2 lbs. plus per week (lost 20 lbs. in the first 7 week cycle in July/Aug), and 2) be able to maintain the intensity totals (weight on the bar) from SL 5x5?

And as a side note, I actually anticipate being able to continue to add (for at least a few more 5-lb. increments) to the squat and row and MAYBE bench, and let me know if this is advisable. Good luck on your grad school work by the way. It's a challenge which I am also facing...again!

kimber0607

wow...congrats!
your results are amazing!!!!

Im not sure what I'm doing 'wrong'
but (I dont know if having 2 kids and being 44, is a big fat excuse) but i just can't get as toned as I would like to me
Even when i keep my diet low card and really clean....
any tips?
I dont go to the gym but i have equip/machines/weight and lots of videos at home
I do cardio but a lot of yoga and weight (which I keep around 5 pounds..nothing crazy)

kim

vismal

philfinallyfit wrote: »

Vismal, Thank you again for your second follow-up. You really helped me distinguish between volume and frequency vs. the all-important intensity. (weight on the bar)

Shortly after my initial entry of Aug. 31st and with the plateau broken, I increased my calories for 4 weeks. This was unsettling, but as I was thriving on the lifting, I wanted to get through the entire SL 5x5 12-week program.

I have now done this, and ended up with some pretty impressive totals as a result, at least for me. Some of this was incorporating your helpful suggestions in your two September responses.

Now that I have arrived at Week 13, I am going back to cutting. I have only picked up 2 lbs. on the scale, and am anxious to banish those 2 lbs, plus a whole lot more. The plan is to eat 1800 calories for a second 7 week cycle.

Is it safe to assume that, given rigorous calorie adherence, that I will: 1) lose 2 lbs. plus per week (lost 20 lbs. in the first 7 week cycle in July/Aug), and 2) be able to maintain the intensity totals (weight on the bar) from SL 5x5?

And as a side note, I actually anticipate being able to continue to add (for at least a few more 5-lb. increments) to the squat and row and MAYBE bench, and let me know if this is advisable. Good luck on your grad school work by the way. It's a challenge which I am also facing...again!

If you are able to maintain roughly a 1000 calorie per day deficit then you should ultimately be losing about 2 lbs a week. Note that the scale will almost never reflect this in a linear pattern. That's a pretty hefty deficit to maintain and the leaner you become the more you risk dips in strength with large deficits. When you have ample weight to lose, big deficits are not really that problematic and I usually encourage them. Just monitor your performance in the gym and if strength really starts to slip maybe adjust your goals for 1.5 or 1 lbs per week losses.

kimber0607 wrote: »

wow...congrats!
your results are amazing!!!!

Im not sure what I'm doing 'wrong'
but (I dont know if having 2 kids and being 44, is a big fat excuse) but i just can't get as toned as I would like to me
Even when i keep my diet low card and really clean....
any tips?
I dont go to the gym but i have equip/machines/weight and lots of videos at home
I do cardio but a lot of yoga and weight (which I keep around 5 pounds..nothing crazy)

kim

So being 44 will make it harder to get lean than being 24 but certainly not impossible. Having two children certainly might have created some loose skin in the abdomen as well but again, still not impossible to get lean. You cannot "tone" muscles, muscles either get bigger or get smaller. To achieve a toned look 2 conditions must be met. The first is that a muscular base exists. Most women do not have this muscular base naturally (neither do most men honestly) and you have to build it up through strength training, more on that in a minute. The second thing that is required is that enough fat is lost so you are lean enough to expose that muscular base. Without both of those conditions you won't look toned. You also cannot work towards both conditions simultaneously, at least not efficiently. So let's break down how to achieve each.

Losing the fat is the easy part. Simply eat less per day than you burn. That's literally all you need to do to lose fat. Low carb doesn't matter, eating "clean" doesn't matter. It's calories in vs out that determines weight loss. While losing weight you should do weight training to preserve lean muscle tissue. This way the weight you lose will be mostly fat and not muscle, losing muscle is counterproductive because it means you'll have to work even harder during the muscle building phase.

Building the muscular base a bit more of a complicated process. You need to eat slightly above the number of calories per day that you burn. Maybe only by 100-200 for a female. That's a tight margin. Additionally you need to do strength training but low weight/high rep training is probably not going to get the job done. In order to build muscle you must incorporate progressive tension overload into your training. Progressive tension overload means lifting more weight as time goes by. If you continuously use the same weight for an exercise you won't gain muscle. All the good beginner programs incorporate progressive tension overload in them. SL 5x5, Greyskull LP, and starting strength are all great, free, programs that you can google. They are based around compound lifts like barbell squat, deadlifts, and bench press. These moves build muscle more effectively in beginners than do machines. Also, do not worry about becoming "bulky". This really doesn't happen to women without the use of male hormones (steroids).

So to recap, get on a proven beginners lifting program, choose whether you will first focus on fat loss or muscle gain, if you choose fat loss, do it until you are relatively lean and you feel that losing more weight will result in a skinny/scrawny look. At that point switch to muscle building and spend at least 6 months doing it. Muscle building takes a VERY LONG TIME, especially for women. After the muscle building phase is complete you can switch back to a fat loss phase. Remember to keep up the lifting the entire process. You also need to think in terms of a year, not months. This process is slow but rewarding. In one year's time you can be quite lean with a decent muscular base that should achieve the "toned" look.

delgrand

Hi

Amazing transformation

I wanted to lose weight last year but I did not unfortunately. I still remember your thread and I was motivated by your transformation. But I lost my motivation after 1 month.

However, I started again 2 months ago and this time I am more serious.

I was 273 lbs and now I am 251 lbs. (5'10)

I want to incorporate weight lifting . I read in one of your replies that you recommend Ice Cream 5X5 program. I searched this program and I found that one of its principle is that I have to increase weight every other week. As what I understand lately that is it difficult to gain muscle/strength and lose weight at the same time, so how am I gonna apply the progression in weight principle ? I know about the noob gains, but what do I do after the noob gains? Do I keep doing the program week after week without increasing the weight ?

How long shall I do this Ice cream program ? Do I keep doing it until I reach my goal which is 160 lbs ? What shall I do next after reaching my weight goal "hopefully" .

I am sorry if those questions were answered previously, but I can't search in 75 pages.

Thank you so much in advance.

vismal

delgrand wrote: »

Hi

Amazing transformation

I wanted to lose weight last year but I did not unfortunately. I still remember your thread and I was motivated by your transformation. But I lost my motivation after 1 month.

However, I started again 2 months ago and this time I am more serious.

I was 273 lbs and now I am 251 lbs. (5'10)

I want to incorporate weight lifting . I read in one of your replies that you recommend Ice Cream 5X5 program. I searched this program and I found that one of its principle is that I have to increase weight every other week. As what I understand lately that is it difficult to gain muscle/strength and lose weight at the same time, so how am I gonna apply the progression in weight principle ? I know about the noob gains, but what do I do after the noob gains? Do I keep doing the program week after week without increasing the weight ?

How long shall I do this Ice cream program ? Do I keep doing it until I reach my goal which is 160 lbs ? What shall I do next after reaching my weight goal "hopefully" .

I am sorry if those questions were answered previously, but I can't search in 75 pages.

Thank you so much in advance.

This is a good question. I'll start by saying that the Ice Cream Fitness 5x5 is no longer my preferred beginner program for 2 reasons. One, the creator of the program is no longer someone I want to support (many reasons why, not really interested into getting into them unless someone really wants me to). Two, I prefer the Greyskull LP to this program for beginners. All that said, ICF 5x5 is still a functionally sound program and you should still have good results doing it.

As to your question, you are correct in thinking that the programmed progression of ICF 5x5 or any beginners program will stall, and somewhat quickly, if you add weight as directed and are also in a calorie deficit. These programs are designed for someone in a calorie surplus. This is another reason I prefer Greyskull. It's method of progression is better for someone in a deficit IMO. It uses fractional plates so you can increase by 2.5 lbs a week instead of 5 and has a method to "reset" when you are unable to progress on a particular lift. If you still want to use ICF just know that you will probably stall and ultimately have to reduce volume. That means doing 4x5 and eventually 3x5 on the big lifts as you progress. When you do stall you can either reduce weight and restart of just maintain strength until you are finished with your weight loss phase and can concentrate on a strength gaining phase. Again, give the Greyskull LP a look as it think it's a superior program for someone in a calorie deficit.

delgrand

vismal wrote: »

delgrand wrote: »

Hi

Amazing transformation

I wanted to lose weight last year but I did not unfortunately. I still remember your thread and I was motivated by your transformation. But I lost my motivation after 1 month.

However, I started again 2 months ago and this time I am more serious.

I was 273 lbs and now I am 251 lbs. (5'10)

I want to incorporate weight lifting . I read in one of your replies that you recommend Ice Cream 5X5 program. I searched this program and I found that one of its principle is that I have to increase weight every other week. As what I understand lately that is it difficult to gain muscle/strength and lose weight at the same time, so how am I gonna apply the progression in weight principle ? I know about the noob gains, but what do I do after the noob gains? Do I keep doing the program week after week without increasing the weight ?

How long shall I do this Ice cream program ? Do I keep doing it until I reach my goal which is 160 lbs ? What shall I do next after reaching my weight goal "hopefully" .

I am sorry if those questions were answered previously, but I can't search in 75 pages.

Thank you so much in advance.

This is a good question. I'll start by saying that the Ice Cream Fitness 5x5 is no longer my preferred beginner program for 2 reasons. One, the creator of the program is no longer someone I want to support (many reasons why, not really interested into getting into them unless someone really wants me to). Two, I prefer the Greyskull LP to this program for beginners. All that said, ICF 5x5 is still a functionally sound program and you should still have good results doing it.

As to your question, you are correct in thinking that the programmed progression of ICF 5x5 or any beginners program will stall, and somewhat quickly, if you add weight as directed and are also in a calorie deficit. These programs are designed for someone in a calorie surplus. This is another reason I prefer Greyskull. It's method of progression is better for someone in a deficit IMO. It uses fractional plates so you can increase by 2.5 lbs a week instead of 5 and has a method to "reset" when you are unable to progress on a particular lift. If you still want to use ICF just know that you will probably stall and ultimately have to reduce volume. That means doing 4x5 and eventually 3x5 on the big lifts as you progress. When you do stall you can either reduce weight and restart of just maintain strength until you are finished with your weight loss phase and can concentrate on a strength gaining phase. Again, give the Greyskull LP a look as it think it's a superior program for someone in a calorie deficit.

Thank you for your reply.

My biggest problem with all the beginner programs is that they either have 3 days per week squatting or they have some body weight exercise like chin ups (in Greyskull LP for example).I think that squatting 3x/week for someone who is 250 lbs will hurt my knees I already have knee pain when I walk more than 60 minutes. I was unable to do any form of bodyweight exercises when I was 170 lbs, so I am pretty sure that I am not gonna be able to do them now. I am having difficult time to find a program that takes into account that not all beginners are skinny or a program that is directed toward obese people who are in calorie deficits.

hcdo

Hi Vismal,

This kind of piggy backs on the previous question. How long do you suggest sticking with a specific weight lifting routine before switching things up? I'm currently doing PHAT, which is okay, but I don't love it. I've been doing it for about 8 weeks, and before that I did PHUL for about a year. I really liked PHUL, but felt I wasn't really progressing after a certain point and figured a change in routine would help. I believe you mentioned that you change your workouts depending on whether you're bulking or cutting. Could someone potentially stick with the same routine and still benefit? I understand the mental benefits of not getting bored/in a rut, I'm just curious about the physical aspect.

As always, thank you for this thread!

vismal

delgrand wrote: »

vismal wrote: »

delgrand wrote: »

Hi

Amazing transformation

I wanted to lose weight last year but I did not unfortunately. I still remember your thread and I was motivated by your transformation. But I lost my motivation after 1 month.

However, I started again 2 months ago and this time I am more serious.

I was 273 lbs and now I am 251 lbs. (5'10)

I want to incorporate weight lifting . I read in one of your replies that you recommend Ice Cream 5X5 program. I searched this program and I found that one of its principle is that I have to increase weight every other week. As what I understand lately that is it difficult to gain muscle/strength and lose weight at the same time, so how am I gonna apply the progression in weight principle ? I know about the noob gains, but what do I do after the noob gains? Do I keep doing the program week after week without increasing the weight ?

How long shall I do this Ice cream program ? Do I keep doing it until I reach my goal which is 160 lbs ? What shall I do next after reaching my weight goal "hopefully" .

I am sorry if those questions were answered previously, but I can't search in 75 pages.

Thank you so much in advance.

This is a good question. I'll start by saying that the Ice Cream Fitness 5x5 is no longer my preferred beginner program for 2 reasons. One, the creator of the program is no longer someone I want to support (many reasons why, not really interested into getting into them unless someone really wants me to). Two, I prefer the Greyskull LP to this program for beginners. All that said, ICF 5x5 is still a functionally sound program and you should still have good results doing it.

As to your question, you are correct in thinking that the programmed progression of ICF 5x5 or any beginners program will stall, and somewhat quickly, if you add weight as directed and are also in a calorie deficit. These programs are designed for someone in a calorie surplus. This is another reason I prefer Greyskull. It's method of progression is better for someone in a deficit IMO. It uses fractional plates so you can increase by 2.5 lbs a week instead of 5 and has a method to "reset" when you are unable to progress on a particular lift. If you still want to use ICF just know that you will probably stall and ultimately have to reduce volume. That means doing 4x5 and eventually 3x5 on the big lifts as you progress. When you do stall you can either reduce weight and restart of just maintain strength until you are finished with your weight loss phase and can concentrate on a strength gaining phase. Again, give the Greyskull LP a look as it think it's a superior program for someone in a calorie deficit.

Thank you for your reply.

My biggest problem with all the beginner programs is that they either have 3 days per week squatting or they have some body weight exercise like chin ups (in Greyskull LP for example).I think that squatting 3x/week for someone who is 250 lbs will hurt my knees I already have knee pain when I walk more than 60 minutes. I was unable to do any form of bodyweight exercises when I was 170 lbs, so I am pretty sure that I am not gonna be able to do them now. I am having difficult time to find a program that takes into account that not all beginners are skinny or a program that is directed toward obese people who are in calorie deficits.

If you squat with correct form it should not cause knee pain. Typically when the weight is too heavy and the depth is short, the knees can hurt. In your situation if you want to avoid 3x a week squats and bodyweight exercises I'd still do greyskull but swap chins for rows or lat pull down or any other back exercise. If you exercise at a gym the has a chinup/pullup assist machine then this is an option. The assist machine allows you to progress from a negative weight, to eventually bodyweight. It took me a very long time before I could do 3x5 of full ROM chinups.

hcdo wrote: »

Hi Vismal,

This kind of piggy backs on the previous question. How long do you suggest sticking with a specific weight lifting routine before switching things up? I'm currently doing PHAT, which is okay, but I don't love it. I've been doing it for about 8 weeks, and before that I did PHUL for about a year. I really liked PHUL, but felt I wasn't really progressing after a certain point and figured a change in routine would help. I believe you mentioned that you change your workouts depending on whether you're bulking or cutting. Could someone potentially stick with the same routine and still benefit? I understand the mental benefits of not getting bored/in a rut, I'm just curious about the physical aspect.

As always, thank you for this thread!

There is no amount of time you should stay on a program. If the program is good it should work you completely through a "phase" of your lifting career (begginer, intermediate, etc). A good beginner's program should be able to be run for an entire year, at which point you should no longer be a beginner if you followed the program correctly. PHAT is an advanced lifting program. I see far too many beginners and intermediates running it. It's a fine program but if you aren't an advanced lifter, there are more optimal choices. I ran a version of Lyle McDonald's "generic bulking routine" for 2+ years. I modified it when I was cutting to reduce volume but basically did that program for quite a while. I prefer the generic bulking routine for intermediates as it can be run for virtually ever but allows for the periodic changing of exercises in case you become bored or undermotivated or if you want to bring up certain weak points. Frequently changing exercise programs is actually counterproductive IMO. The minimum I'd run a program is for 6 months but ideally, a well designed program with built in progression can be run much longer.

hcdo

Thank you!

bisonpitcher

This thread has been a great inspiration to me. Last Dec. I was almost 290 lbs. Similar build to where you started (I'm 6'0"). I found this thread and took some of your advice and lost 45 lbs. by mid-March. Life and work kinda got in my way at that point and I stopped going to the gym, tracking calories etc. Gained 15-20 over the next 6 months. Started back Oct. 16 and have lost 8 lbs. since then. Currently at 255. Wanting to get down to where I feel good about my body fat before bulking. I'm thinking this will be around 190-195 but I'm not sure and will go more off the mirror than the scale when it comes to this. Whenever I don't feel like going to workout...I read about your transformation and it makes me feel like I can do it too. Thanks for telling your story as it has helped me and I'm sure many others out there.

maddotube

maddotube

Bkind2meAli

You look awesome! Definitely an inspiration! Thanx for sharing

Chanda2BFit

Wow! Great job! Reading some of the comments, you have a realistic approach.

khalikhoopri

Great work! You look awesome

vismal

Bkind2meAli wrote: »

You look awesome! Definitely an inspiration! Thanx for sharing

Chanda2BFit wrote: »

Wow! Great job! Reading some of the comments, you have a realistic approach.

khalikhoopri wrote: »

Great work! You look awesome

Thanks all for the kind words!

Jezreel12

vismal wrote: »

delgrand wrote: »

Hi

Amazing transformation

I wanted to lose weight last year but I did not unfortunately. I still remember your thread and I was motivated by your transformation. But I lost my motivation after 1 month.

However, I started again 2 months ago and this time I am more serious.

I was 273 lbs and now I am 251 lbs. (5'10)

I want to incorporate weight lifting . I read in one of your replies that you recommend Ice Cream 5X5 program. I searched this program and I found that one of its principle is that I have to increase weight every other week. As what I understand lately that is it difficult to gain muscle/strength and lose weight at the same time, so how am I gonna apply the progression in weight principle ? I know about the noob gains, but what do I do after the noob gains? Do I keep doing the program week after week without increasing the weight ?

How long shall I do this Ice cream program ? Do I keep doing it until I reach my goal which is 160 lbs ? What shall I do next after reaching my weight goal "hopefully" .

I am sorry if those questions were answered previously, but I can't search in 75 pages.

Thank you so much in advance.

This is a good question. I'll start by saying that the Ice Cream Fitness 5x5 is no longer my preferred beginner program for 2 reasons. One, the creator of the program is no longer someone I want to support (many reasons why, not really interested into getting into them unless someone really wants me to). Two, I prefer the Greyskull LP to this program for beginners. All that said, ICF 5x5 is still a functionally sound program and you should still have good results doing it.

As to your question, you are correct in thinking that the programmed progression of ICF 5x5 or any beginners program will stall, and somewhat quickly, if you add weight as directed and are also in a calorie deficit. These programs are designed for someone in a calorie surplus. This is another reason I prefer Greyskull. It's method of progression is better for someone in a deficit IMO. It uses fractional plates so you can increase by 2.5 lbs a week instead of 5 and has a method to "reset" when you are unable to progress on a particular lift. If you still want to use ICF just know that you will probably stall and ultimately have to reduce volume. That means doing 4x5 and eventually 3x5 on the big lifts as you progress. When you do stall you can either reduce weight and restart of just maintain strength until you are finished with your weight loss phase and can concentrate on a strength gaining phase. Again, give the Greyskull LP a look as it think it's a superior program for someone in a calorie deficit.

Vismal,
What happened with Jason’s Blaha’s videos and opinions ? I’m interested to know what is the controversy about him online from your perspective please ! I have done his program and I like it but he seems to have become critical of everyone on his videos. This is my observation now please give me your honest opinion about him.
Thanks.

jofjltncb6

jofjltncb6 wrote: »

I hate to disagree with OP, but a sufficient home setup doesn't *have* to cost a lot of money. A decent cage can be had for $350ish (http://www.newyorkbarbells.com/92563.html) and a cheap bar and iron plates for a couple hundred. Add a flat bench for another hundred and you have a workable setup for $700 that will give you decades of use (or at least mine has...and yeah, that cage I linked is the one I bought ~20 years ago). Pick some of this up on craigslist, garage sales, or a secondhand store and it's even cheaper.

That said, there are things you can do in a gym that you can't do at home...and some people really prefer the atmosphere of a gym compared to lifting alone in their basement...so I'm not saying a gym membership is the *wrong* approach...but just saying that many may find a home setup preferable for a lot of reasons.

(Also, if you go the home route, you may find yourself buying a dozen horse stall mats and an expensive set of bumper plates and a better bar...and lighting and a better sound system and on and on. Hypothetically speaking, of course...not like I'm actually actively shopping for these things currently. =\ )


ETA: I do agree about the dumbbell comment. I wish I would have went with a pair of oly dumbbell handles and a stack of 5s and 10s instead of the fixed hex dumbbells. Sure, there are variations I can still use to make the 55s work, but some 60s would be nice (~$100)...and then some 65s (>$100)...and each jump is another not-insignificant chunk of change. With the handles, I could just add a couple of 2.5s/5s and have the next increment.

Update:

I added a pair of oly handles and a stack of 5s and 10s and they are awesome! Well, *were* awesome. When we moved to a new tiny place in Boston area, I gifted those (and the rack and barbell and other equipment) to my younger brother. Nonetheless, highly recommend going the oly handle route instead of hex db if cost is a factor...or even if cost isn't a factor.

vismal

Jezreel12 wrote: »

vismal wrote: »

delgrand wrote: »

Hi

Amazing transformation

I wanted to lose weight last year but I did not unfortunately. I still remember your thread and I was motivated by your transformation. But I lost my motivation after 1 month.

However, I started again 2 months ago and this time I am more serious.

I was 273 lbs and now I am 251 lbs. (5'10)

I want to incorporate weight lifting . I read in one of your replies that you recommend Ice Cream 5X5 program. I searched this program and I found that one of its principle is that I have to increase weight every other week. As what I understand lately that is it difficult to gain muscle/strength and lose weight at the same time, so how am I gonna apply the progression in weight principle ? I know about the noob gains, but what do I do after the noob gains? Do I keep doing the program week after week without increasing the weight ?

How long shall I do this Ice cream program ? Do I keep doing it until I reach my goal which is 160 lbs ? What shall I do next after reaching my weight goal "hopefully" .

I am sorry if those questions were answered previously, but I can't search in 75 pages.

Thank you so much in advance.

This is a good question. I'll start by saying that the Ice Cream Fitness 5x5 is no longer my preferred beginner program for 2 reasons. One, the creator of the program is no longer someone I want to support (many reasons why, not really interested into getting into them unless someone really wants me to). Two, I prefer the Greyskull LP to this program for beginners. All that said, ICF 5x5 is still a functionally sound program and you should still have good results doing it.

As to your question, you are correct in thinking that the programmed progression of ICF 5x5 or any beginners program will stall, and somewhat quickly, if you add weight as directed and are also in a calorie deficit. These programs are designed for someone in a calorie surplus. This is another reason I prefer Greyskull. It's method of progression is better for someone in a deficit IMO. It uses fractional plates so you can increase by 2.5 lbs a week instead of 5 and has a method to "reset" when you are unable to progress on a particular lift. If you still want to use ICF just know that you will probably stall and ultimately have to reduce volume. That means doing 4x5 and eventually 3x5 on the big lifts as you progress. When you do stall you can either reduce weight and restart of just maintain strength until you are finished with your weight loss phase and can concentrate on a strength gaining phase. Again, give the Greyskull LP a look as it think it's a superior program for someone in a calorie deficit.

Vismal,
What happened with Jason’s Blaha’s videos and opinions ? I’m interested to know what is the controversy about him online from your perspective please ! I have done his program and I like it but he seems to have become critical of everyone on his videos. This is my observation now please give me your honest opinion about him.
Thanks.

I'll be honest, since I stopped making my own YouTube videos due to time constraints (though I still intend to return to YouTube in the future) I've really fallen out of the loop with what's going on. While I can't make any specific comments as I'm not fully educated on the situation, I will make some generalizations. People who make a living via YouTube have to remain relevant. Drama helps you stay relevant. YouTube doesn't care if people love you or hate you, they care if people watch your content. Picking fights with other YouTubers is a way to drive views to your own channel as well as the person you are fighting with. I'm fully convinced some YouTube drama is fabricated for the benefit of all parties involved. Controversial videos are always going to draw more views then instructive/informative videos. How many videos do we need of people showing you how to squat? At some point someone has already made "the best" squat tutorial and every other one is going to be as good or worse. If you can't come out with cutting edge informational content then you are essentially rehashing something that already exists. At that point, as a fitness YouTuber you are left with "full day of eating" or recipe videos, training videos, or vlogs of your life that aren't entirely fitness related. Some people do very well with these types of videos due to their personalities, others don't. When you depend on YouTube to pay your rent you do what you must to get the views.

In contrast, I started making YouTube videos originally because I was constantly being asked the same questions over and over. It was easier for me to link a video any time someone asked how I did my macros for fat loss versus typing it out each time. I did "day of eating" videos mostly because they were the most popular. I did recipes and reviews if I thought they'd benefit others. I made very little money and never depended on it. YouTube was a hobby, not a living and it didn't matter if my video got 100,000 views or 100. Hope that makes some sense...

jofjltncb6 wrote: »

jofjltncb6 wrote: »

I hate to disagree with OP, but a sufficient home setup doesn't *have* to cost a lot of money. A decent cage can be had for $350ish (http://www.newyorkbarbells.com/92563.html) and a cheap bar and iron plates for a couple hundred. Add a flat bench for another hundred and you have a workable setup for $700 that will give you decades of use (or at least mine has...and yeah, that cage I linked is the one I bought ~20 years ago). Pick some of this up on craigslist, garage sales, or a secondhand store and it's even cheaper.

That said, there are things you can do in a gym that you can't do at home...and some people really prefer the atmosphere of a gym compared to lifting alone in their basement...so I'm not saying a gym membership is the *wrong* approach...but just saying that many may find a home setup preferable for a lot of reasons.

(Also, if you go the home route, you may find yourself buying a dozen horse stall mats and an expensive set of bumper plates and a better bar...and lighting and a better sound system and on and on. Hypothetically speaking, of course...not like I'm actually actively shopping for these things currently. =\ )


ETA: I do agree about the dumbbell comment. I wish I would have went with a pair of oly dumbbell handles and a stack of 5s and 10s instead of the fixed hex dumbbells. Sure, there are variations I can still use to make the 55s work, but some 60s would be nice (~$100)...and then some 65s (>$100)...and each jump is another not-insignificant chunk of change. With the handles, I could just add a couple of 2.5s/5s and have the next increment.

Update:

I added a pair of oly handles and a stack of 5s and 10s and they are awesome! Well, *were* awesome. When we moved to a new tiny place in Boston area, I gifted those (and the rack and barbell and other equipment) to my younger brother. Nonetheless, highly recommend going the oly handle route instead of hex db if cost is a factor...or even if cost isn't a factor.

That is for certain the most economical way of doing dumbbells. You can often find them used for a very decent price. The downside for me was that you can't rest them on your legs. When I am going to do dumbbell bench or incline with 100 lbs I need to use my legs to get the weights in position. This is especially true as I'm almost always lifting by myself so there's no spotter to help. With flat dumbbells I rest the weight on my thighs while sitting up, then lay back on the bench using my thighs to put the weights in place. The same is true for overhead press. For curls, triceps, rows, etc oly handles are perfect and much more reasonably priced. I don't do any heavy dumbbell work specifically because of the reason I described above but barbell bench/incline and OHP is good enough. If I had heavier dumbbells I'd probably do more heavy dumbbell work. That might be the thing I miss most about the commercial gym I went to. multiple sets of dumbbells up to 130lbs!