General Q and A thread for May.

2

Replies

  • nossmf
    nossmf Posts: 8,688 Member
    Huh, I can't edit. Ok, I just wanted to add my cardio and rest periods:

    Day 1 Cardio
    20 min treadmill HIIT, 1:2 ratio fast/slow

    Day 2 Cardio
    30 min steady jog on treadmill

    Rest periods are 2-3 min between heavy sets, 60-90 sec between all others.
  • nossmf
    nossmf Posts: 8,688 Member
    Disregard, I just found out my gym doesn't open until 5am.
  • AbsoluteTara79
    AbsoluteTara79 Posts: 266 Member
    Great opportunity here, thanks!

    I started SL at the start of the year. I've been pretty consistent hitting my 3x a week and progressing on weights. My latest squats have been around 105lbs and I'm noticing a bit of a stress on my lower back. It feels like I'm hyper-extending on the way up and I find myself doing a bit of a "good morning" and I'm wondering how to address? Do I deload? Are there other cues I might think about that may address this breakdown/back stress? Or does this point a certain muscle group weakness (abs?) that I might work on with some other lift?

    Thanks!
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
    Great opportunity here, thanks!

    I started SL at the start of the year. I've been pretty consistent hitting my 3x a week and progressing on weights. My latest squats have been around 105lbs and I'm noticing a bit of a stress on my lower back. It feels like I'm hyper-extending on the way up and I find myself doing a bit of a "good morning" and I'm wondering how to address? Do I deload? Are there other cues I might think about that may address this breakdown/back stress? Or does this point a certain muscle group weakness (abs?) that I might work on with some other lift?

    Thanks!

    Can you post a video of your squat?
  • AbsoluteTara79
    AbsoluteTara79 Posts: 266 Member
    Sarauk2sf wrote: »
    Great opportunity here, thanks!

    I started SL at the start of the year. I've been pretty consistent hitting my 3x a week and progressing on weights. My latest squats have been around 105lbs and I'm noticing a bit of a stress on my lower back. It feels like I'm hyper-extending on the way up and I find myself doing a bit of a "good morning" and I'm wondering how to address? Do I deload? Are there other cues I might think about that may address this breakdown/back stress? Or does this point a certain muscle group weakness (abs?) that I might work on with some other lift?

    Thanks!

    Can you post a video of your squat?

    I had a feeling you'd ask. Can I privately PM a Dropbox link rather than post in the forums?
  • kguerriere
    kguerriere Posts: 34 Member
    SideSteel wrote: »
    kguerriere wrote: »
    Hi Sarah and Patrick! Thanks for taking time to answer questions, you two are awesome!

    I started Stronglifts about 7 weeks ago and I am wondering what I need to know about deload weeks. Since I am a newbie, do I need to worry about deload weeks? If so, how do I properly incorporate them into my training?

    Thanks!

    On something like SL and being new to training I would expect that your need to deload would become evident because your lifts will stall at which point you would deload by reducing load by 10% or so (see SL website for specifics) and ramp back up.

    If you're starting to feel beat up, getting joint aches, losing training motivation, having sleep issues, etc, then it's possible you could need a larger deload -- taking a week where you reduce load by 50% or so isn't a bad idea. Could also reduce volume, or both.

    Point being, you are making a reduction in output to reduce fatigue/systemic stress.

    Deload frequency is going to be pretty variable depending on the person, their ability to recover, the aggressiveness of the program.

    Let me know if this gives you a starting point.

    Thanks SS! This is very helpful.

    The SL app forced me to deload on OHP after I failed to get 5x5 three times in a row but other than that I have consistently been adding 5 lbs to each lift every time I train. Very happy with progress but the sentence I bolded above hits the proverbial nail on the head regarding the reason I asked this question.

    Thanks again for the advice, it is very helpful! I believe I will try a deload week starting with my training on Monday. Between the barbell, plates and my set of adjustable dumbbells I will have enough equipment to deload by 50% as you suggest.

    Best,
    KGuerriere

  • SideSteel
    SideSteel Posts: 11,068 Member
    Sarauk2sf wrote: »
    Great opportunity here, thanks!

    I started SL at the start of the year. I've been pretty consistent hitting my 3x a week and progressing on weights. My latest squats have been around 105lbs and I'm noticing a bit of a stress on my lower back. It feels like I'm hyper-extending on the way up and I find myself doing a bit of a "good morning" and I'm wondering how to address? Do I deload? Are there other cues I might think about that may address this breakdown/back stress? Or does this point a certain muscle group weakness (abs?) that I might work on with some other lift?

    Thanks!

    Can you post a video of your squat?

    I had a feeling you'd ask. Can I privately PM a Dropbox link rather than post in the forums?

    Yep
  • cajuntank
    cajuntank Posts: 924 Member
    So tonight after I had eaten supper and I was satiated and content, I found that I was under calories by a fair amount and had not met my protein goals for the day. I ate a Greek yogurt which put me pretty close, but it got me thinking about why did I eat this? I have been reading a little on homeostatic and hedonic eating. Growing up mostly obese in my lifetime, I have evidently given over more to hedonic eating and was wondering if by trying to change my "behavior" to that of homestatic eating, that it would help correct future eating patterns or at least, create more of a balance.

    Thoughts?
  • SideSteel
    SideSteel Posts: 11,068 Member
    cajuntank wrote: »
    So tonight after I had eaten supper and I was satiated and content, I found that I was under calories by a fair amount and had not met my protein goals for the day. I ate a Greek yogurt which put me pretty close, but it got me thinking about why did I eat this? I have been reading a little on homeostatic and hedonic eating. Growing up mostly obese in my lifetime, I have evidently given over more to hedonic eating and was wondering if by trying to change my "behavior" to that of homestatic eating, that it would help correct future eating patterns or at least, create more of a balance.

    Thoughts?

    I do have some thoughts.

    I'll either reply tomorrow or video this. Great question.

  • bonniejo
    bonniejo Posts: 787 Member
    edited May 2015
    SideSteel wrote: »
    cajuntank wrote: »
    So tonight after I had eaten supper and I was satiated and content, I found that I was under calories by a fair amount and had not met my protein goals for the day. I ate a Greek yogurt which put me pretty close, but it got me thinking about why did I eat this? I have been reading a little on homeostatic and hedonic eating. Growing up mostly obese in my lifetime, I have evidently given over more to hedonic eating and was wondering if by trying to change my "behavior" to that of homestatic eating, that it would help correct future eating patterns or at least, create more of a balance.

    Thoughts?

    I do have some thoughts.

    I'll either reply tomorrow or video this. Great question.

    I'm excited to hear the answer to that. I do the same thing myself sometimes, although right now I'm on a reverse diet so I figure I really should eat just about all of my calories or there is no point in doing it....
  • nossmf
    nossmf Posts: 8,688 Member
    This is where the magic of MFP comes into play when used as a planning tool rather than simply a logging tool. Every time I go to the grocery store I know what my dinners are going to be for the next week, and can plug them into MFP in advance. This will tell me ahead of time what my lunch should look like... heavy on protein because dinner is light, easy on calories because dinner is large, etc. I can usually have figured out days ahead of time what my calories and protein outlooks are for any given day.

    Of course, any given day can be subject to change, sometimes on the spot if my wife suddenly decides she wants to eat out, or one of the kids gets sick and this dinner was his/her favorite so we're going to postpone it for another day, etc. There are days when I don't meet my goals, but as long as those days are isolated and not a pattern I don't mind (much).
  • SideSteel
    SideSteel Posts: 11,068 Member
    cajuntank wrote: »
    So tonight after I had eaten supper and I was satiated and content, I found that I was under calories by a fair amount and had not met my protein goals for the day. I ate a Greek yogurt which put me pretty close, but it got me thinking about why did I eat this? I have been reading a little on homeostatic and hedonic eating. Growing up mostly obese in my lifetime, I have evidently given over more to hedonic eating and was wondering if by trying to change my "behavior" to that of homestatic eating, that it would help correct future eating patterns or at least, create more of a balance.

    Thoughts?

    https://youtu.be/GAW1WNHSKG4
  • Rayman79
    Rayman79 Posts: 2,009 Member
    This question really resonates with me, and I appreciate the vid reply Patrick. I agree with your thoughts on trying to become more in-tune with your own hunger cues and not rely too heavily on the numbers. This is particularly true for people who are typically 'all or nothing' thinkers, like myself.

    This is yet another reason that 'clean eating' or 'bro spec' diet is so successful for many people. By removing the temptation of the calorie dense foods your reward becomes satiation, not gratification (flavour).

    Of course I think there is a more reasonable compromise to be had, and that there is still a place for most foods. Personally, it has taken me years and I'm still working through how this best works for me long term.

    Learning to balance nutrition with enjoyment; listening to your body vs the output of a spreadsheet; over analysing vs living - I'm sure these are things we've all struggled with at times :)
  • SideSteel
    SideSteel Posts: 11,068 Member
    Rayman79 wrote: »
    This question really resonates with me, and I appreciate the vid reply Patrick. I agree with your thoughts on trying to become more in-tune with your own hunger cues and not rely too heavily on the numbers. This is particularly true for people who are typically 'all or nothing' thinkers, like myself.

    This is yet another reason that 'clean eating' or 'bro spec' diet is so successful for many people. By removing the temptation of the calorie dense foods your reward becomes satiation, not gratification (flavour).

    Of course I think there is a more reasonable compromise to be had, and that there is still a place for most foods. Personally, it has taken me years and I'm still working through how this best works for me long term.

    Learning to balance nutrition with enjoyment; listening to your body vs the output of a spreadsheet; over analysing vs living - I'm sure these are things we've all struggled with at times :)

    Yup, I agree with all of this.
  • HelenWater
    HelenWater Posts: 232 Member
    edited May 2015
    I'm wondering how many times per week I should be doing strength training and if something like dragon boat paddling or boxing training counts as strength training? I have lost over 25kg and still have around 35kg to go. I thought it was time I incorporated strength training. I used kettle bells for the first time and liked the idea that they help with functional strength. Am I understanding kettle bells correctly or are dumb bells just as good? Your help is much appreciated.
  • SideSteel
    SideSteel Posts: 11,068 Member
    HelenWater wrote: »
    I'm wondering how many times per week I should be doing strength training and if something like dragon boat paddling or boxing training counts as strength training? I have lost over 25kg and still have around 35kg to go. I thought it was time I incorporated strength training. I used kettle bells for the first time and liked the idea that they help with functional strength. Am I understanding kettle bells correctly or are dumb bells just as good? Your help is much appreciated.

    A lot of this depends on your goals and your training experience.

    What are your goals?
  • giusa
    giusa Posts: 577 Member
    I would like some help to make sure I covered the basics before I pursue seeing a doctor. My weight has yo-yo for about 4 yrs since a thyroid/lymph nodes infection. Follow-up showed no signs of long-term issues (#’s were good/biopsy was negative…no other signs). I totally take the blame for the yoyo, bottom line - lack of consistency. Since Jan when I hit 131, I’ve been trying to lose weight but finding it more difficult than previous years (using 1200 cals with 30 min of HIIT 6x). My scale weight has consistently increased from Jan 18 (131) to April 18 (137). April 20 up’d my deficit from 10% to 15% and began checking my weight on a weekly basis. April 24 (136), May 1 (135.5), May 8 (135.5), May 15 (135.5). It’s now been three consecutive weeks with no change. I’ve cleaned up intake as much as humanly possible…measuring and logging more consistently but other than the 1.5 lost, there has been no change.

    Stats: Female, 52 yrs old, 1350 cals, 135g c/45g f/101g p
    Goal: Small frame, carry weight/fat between waist and knees…so add muscle to upper body, lose lower body fat
    Exercise: Started SL in March (last week a lot going on…death in family/other family related commitments so did quick cardio dvds when time allowed (3x), starting SL back tonight)

    My first question is, I’m wondering if my TDEE is still too high, is there a way to determine my TDEE using my food diary, so as not to rely on the calculators? Or should I just drop to a 20% deficit? Is it possible that I have stubborn fat and not solely rely on a calorie deficit, should I consider adding cardio since it worked in the past?

    I initially wanted to give the 15% deficit a chance until the end of May then pursue seeing a doctor. I don’t believe there’s been a thyroid flare up, but it’s difficult to know if it is premenopausal or thyroid related, since some of the symptoms are similar.

    Hope this makes sense. Is there anything else I can do or try, any input would be greatly appreciated!
  • giusa
    giusa Posts: 577 Member
    so sorry, i'm losing it...didn't mean to include may 15, that's my next checkin. and wanted to mention that my measurements also increased. A total of 1 inch in the stomach (belly button) are, and one inch in thigh area (i've only been tracking my trouble areas)...thanks again. since health/fitness is not my forte, want to make sure i've covered all areas...
  • SideSteel
    SideSteel Posts: 11,068 Member
    giusa wrote: »
    so sorry, i'm losing it...didn't mean to include may 15, that's my next checkin. and wanted to mention that my measurements also increased. A total of 1 inch in the stomach (belly button) are, and one inch in thigh area (i've only been tracking my trouble areas)...thanks again. since health/fitness is not my forte, want to make sure i've covered all areas...

    I'll try to reply to this today if possible. I did go over your information and I have some thoughts.
  • HelenWater
    HelenWater Posts: 232 Member
    My goals are to strengthen all of my body so that I don't get injured while increasing exercise. I walk most days, dragon boat 1-3 days per week, some cycling, some rowing, and some hiking. In recent years I've had plantar fasciitis which is now fairly well healed, and I have had greater trochanteric pain syndrome for six months which still feels a bit painful. I'm 48 and have been losing weight since January 2014. I would like to have a body that functions well, for example being able to carry and lift a row boat above my head. Both injuries have happened when I increased the intensity of exercise, and I want to ensure that I don't continue to injure myself every time I try to increase my exercise.