I went from morbidly obese to 6 pack abs! Ask me Anything
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Congrats on your losses so far! As for the stall, it's only been 2.5 weeks. I'd give it more time. Your weight is clearly still trending down. As time progresses weight loss becomes less linear. You may go several weeks without losing any weight then all of a sudden lose 2-3 lbs almost overnight. A good thing to do is to weigh daily and then track those daily weights @ trendweight.com. This creates a rolling average of your weights and can help you know when a stall is real vs temporary. If your trend is not going down then you aren't in a deficit. The other thing I would advise is weighing your food. I know you said you allow extra calories to make up for potential miscalculations but it's entirely possibly that unweighted food could be adding many more calories than you think. This picture for instance:philfinallyfit wrote: »Vismal, I have used your thread as my tutorial into my fitness objectives, started this summer with a bout of spondylolesthesis. After consulting with my orthopedic surgeon and taking pregnizone for 5 days, I went from hardly walking to working out. My weight was fluctuating between 218-228, way too much for my 5'9" frame, at 60 years old. Part of the problem was eating Low_carb, which is fool's gold to me. I lose, then gain through craving stuff that was not low-carb. Anything but sustainable...plus the running was not good for my back issue.
On July 17th I went on a 1700 calorie daily regimen, having lost a lot of weight back in 2012 that way, using MFP for the diet monitoring. I set my activity so that it would not factor into my calorie objective, and have been pretty darn faithful on that front, with the lower calories allowing for not measuring food for exactness. (hence maybe I am at 2000 some days) I have lost down to 205 as of yesterday.
Based primarily on this great thread, which I have read all 75 pages of, I took your advice and started lifting (SL 5x5 faithfully, and am finishing the 5th week there. My physique has changed noticeably in terms of musculature. I've never been a big weights guy, but have an athletic base. (albeit fat) I want to get down to 180, for health reasons related to my age, height, etc.
I would appreciate your general comments on what you read above, as I think you've got a good head on your shoulders, not to mention the training, and even a sense of calling, with regard to helping others in these matters.
Plus I have two questions:
1) I have hit a bit of a plateau the last 2.5 weeks, only losing 1 lb. That is a victory, in that I am sustaining my previous losses, plus feeling like I am committed to this program. But I have no room to reduce my calories 10%, per your advice, in that I started so low already. I did this because of the past success in 2012, but am wondering how to manage the sense of stalling, which I guess could be water or maybe muscle, which I am seeing in the mirror, how clothes fit, etc.
2) Yesterday I did "Workout B", which was squats (done every workout), deadlift, and overhead press. On the squats, along with bench and rows from "Workout A", I see no stopping the addition of 5 lb. increments per exercise. But I am reaching the point where I am maxed out on the overhead press. Prior to yesterday, I even stayed with the same total as the time before...not adding 5 lbs. again until yesterday. That actually worked. But then when went to the deadlift, I could hardly do that lift at the new weight. Just holding on the weight (my grip) was even more problematic than the weight itself being lifted, and I will buy gloves for that. But the question is: how do I manage hitting my max, given the 12 week nature of this program (also Bonus Question: what to do after 12 weeks, which for me is October 21st?)
Thank you, as one who shares your heart and calling in the helping professions, for being great help to so many!
As far as increasing in weight on your lifts, stronglifts, and just about all the other beginner programs are written assuming the lifter's primary goal is muscle/strength gain and not fat loss. While those new to training always are able to gain strength while losing fat (calorie deficit), this becomes more and more difficult and eventually almost impossible. Some suggestions are to reduce the lifts from 5x5 to 4x5 and eventually down to 3x5 while you maintain your deficit. Another option is to buy some fractional plates that weigh 1.25lbs and increase lifts by 2.5lbs rather than 5. Finally, you just shift your mentality from gaining strength to maintaining strength until your weight loss phase is complete.
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This is a common occurrence. Many times our accessory muscles are the limiting factor in increasing weight on more compound lifts. Doing more accessory work to bring up these weak points is a fine idea. I will note that at a certain point too much accessory work actually exacerbates the problem rather than correcting it. How much accessory work to do will depend on your overall program, goals, and calorie intake.VeronicaA76 wrote: »Question:
Probably an obvious answer... But;
When lifting sometimes I go to failure on a lift but not for the main part I'm working, but associated muscle. Example on a barbell or T-bar row, my biceps give out well before my back. Recently, what I've been doing is increasing bicep work from twice a week to three times with a day off in between for rest to help catch my arms up to my back. Any advice? Is this okay? Should I be doing something else?
Thank you.
The other thing to consider is your form. How you actually move the weight can affect how much of what muscles you use. On rows keeping your chest forward and shoulder blades pinned back can sometimes help keep the weight on the back muscles. Part of it is mental too. Focusing on the muscles you want activated helps. As with most lifts, when the weight gets heavy, form degrades. It's actually quite difficult to maintain perfect form on max or near max effort so it's extra important to make sure form is great when effort is not at maximum. It takes 100's of 1000's of reps to ingrain good form into your brain.
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This is a common occurrence. Many times our accessory muscles are the limiting factor in increasing weight on more compound lifts. Doing more accessory work to bring up these weak points is a fine idea. I will note that at a certain point too much accessory work actually exacerbates the problem rather than correcting it. How much accessory work to do will depend on your overall program, goals, and calorie intake.VeronicaA76 wrote: »Question:
Probably an obvious answer... But;
When lifting sometimes I go to failure on a lift but not for the main part I'm working, but associated muscle. Example on a barbell or T-bar row, my biceps give out well before my back. Recently, what I've been doing is increasing bicep work from twice a week to three times with a day off in between for rest to help catch my arms up to my back. Any advice? Is this okay? Should I be doing something else?
Thank you.
The other thing to consider is your form. How you actually move the weight can affect how much of what muscles you use. On rows keeping your chest forward and shoulder blades pinned back can sometimes help keep the weight on the back muscles. Part of it is mental too. Focusing on the muscles you want activated helps. As with most lifts, when the weight gets heavy, form degrades. It's actually quite difficult to maintain perfect form on max or near max effort so it's extra important to make sure form is great when effort is not at maximum. It takes 100's of 1000's of reps to ingrain good form into your brain.
Thank you. I will take note.0 -
Vismal, you never disappoint...not that I can see anyway. Thank you for great suggestions here on trendweight.com, going from 5x5 to 4x5 or 3x5, monitoring calories accurately, plus the all-important logic of what it is that I am doing at present: cutting fat vs. gaining strength.
Going forward, it's been a few days since I checked in here, and this morning I broke the plateau I had been on. It's just as you said, really, and the fact is, the trend these last three weeks now shows 1 lb per week, which while slower than before, something that I will gladly take!
I will be even more exacting on my calorie intake measuring, and otherwise keep doing what I am doing. It's working, as I am about to get under 200 lbs. for the first time in many years.
Three questions:
1) Along with your idea of increasing with 1.25 fractional plates, do I hurt myself with repeating the same weight 2) and not increasing? (given the reality of my fat loss vs. strength gain mode at present)
2) My big challenge being the deadlift (where I am either stuck or going backwards on the 10 lb/week increase if not even going backwards), do I sacrifice grip strength for the overall body comp workout you teach by using either a hex bar, or straps, or a pronated right and supinated left-hand grip? (helicopter danger!)
3) How do I know when I have gone far enough on the weight? My instincts are to go back to what I weighed in college when I was at my fittest, but that was 160 lbs.
Thanks for this Vismal.0 -
You look really great! It's very inspiring to read about real people who haven't cheated with surgery but worked hard to get the body they have. Thank you for sharing0
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I've always wanted to do an AMA so I thought I'd set one up here. The basics about my story are that I went from 315lbs to 195 and have been making small gains in muscles/losses to fat ever since. Ask me anything, anything at all!
Add me as a friend on here too!
How do I get rid of this belly fat. I already do cardio every day so anything in addition to that will be appreciated.0 -
philfinallyfit wrote: »Vismal, you never disappoint...not that I can see anyway. Thank you for great suggestions here on trendweight.com, going from 5x5 to 4x5 or 3x5, monitoring calories accurately, plus the all-important logic of what it is that I am doing at present: cutting fat vs. gaining strength.
Going forward, it's been a few days since I checked in here, and this morning I broke the plateau I had been on. It's just as you said, really, and the fact is, the trend these last three weeks now shows 1 lb per week, which while slower than before, something that I will gladly take!
I will be even more exacting on my calorie intake measuring, and otherwise keep doing what I am doing. It's working, as I am about to get under 200 lbs. for the first time in many years.
Three questions:
1) Along with your idea of increasing with 1.25 fractional plates, do I hurt myself with repeating the same weight 2) and not increasing? (given the reality of my fat loss vs. strength gain mode at present)
Not at all. You want to do everything you can to not reduce weight on the bar, even if that means staying at the same weight or even reducing volume and frequency. For muscle retention, intensity (weight on the bar) is the most important factor.
2) My big challenge being the deadlift (where I am either stuck or going backwards on the 10 lb/week increase if not even going backwards), do I sacrifice grip strength for the overall body comp workout you teach by using either a hex bar, or straps, or a pronated right and supinated left-hand grip? (helicopter danger!)
Straps are fine. Eventually most people find that their deadlift strength exceeds their grip strength. Only use them when you absolutely need them so that you continue to build grip strength but don't let your hands limit the many, many, muscles utilized in a deadlift.
3) How do I know when I have gone far enough on the weight? My instincts are to go back to what I weighed in college when I was at my fittest, but that was 160 lbs.
Impossible to answer. Basically once you achieve a healthy weight it's all about aesthetics after that. Aesthetics have a lot to do with personal preference. When you are as lean as you want to be, or you feel like getting leaner will actually make you look worse (scrawny, skinny-fat, etc), then a transition to a bulking phase is indicated. I can't tell you what that number will be. Just use the mirror.
Thanks for this Vismal.
Answers above in bold0 -
You cannot target any specific region of the body for fat loss. Fat is lost systemically. To lose belly fat you must simply lose fat. Eventually it will come from your belly. Cardio is fine but it is not the most important factor to fat loss, diet is. The only way to lose fat is to consume less calories per day then you burn. Cardio helps increase the burn number but unless you are an endurance athlete it doesn't increase it by a ton. Carefully monitor your calorie intake and if you are not losing fat/weight over the long run (weeks and months, not day to day) then you are eating more then you are burning. The only solution to that problem is to burn more (increase activity), eat less, or a combination of both.I've always wanted to do an AMA so I thought I'd set one up here. The basics about my story are that I went from 315lbs to 195 and have been making small gains in muscles/losses to fat ever since. Ask me anything, anything at all!
Add me as a friend on here too!
How do I get rid of this belly fat. I already do cardio every day so anything in addition to that will be appreciated.
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I watched one of your videos on Feeding Fitness you tube channel about supplements. I started taking multivitamin, vitamin D3 and fish oil. Does it matter if I take them all together or separately and is it OK to take them with empty stomach first thing in the morning or take them with meals?1
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Taking them together is fine but I'd take the vitamins with a meal for better absorption. I will also note that since I made that video, I'm no longer sold on multivitamins necessarily being worth the money. Unless you have a specific deficiency, there isn't any evidence that a multivitamin is of any value whatsoever. If you do have a deficiency, it's probably better to just supplement what that deficiency is. Many people say they take a multi "just in case" so that they don't develop a deficiency, and multi's tend to be pretty inexpensive, so I guess that is fine, but I would advise against taking expensive multi's and if budget is a concern, I'd make the multi the first thing to cut. I'll also note that if you are a female planning on having a child or pregnant, there is evidence to support taking prenatal vitamins.I watched one of your videos on Feeding Fitness you tube channel about supplements. I started taking multivitamin, vitamin D3 and fish oil. Does it matter if I take them all together or separately and is it OK to take them with empty stomach first thing in the morning or take them with meals?
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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!0 -
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)
kim0 -
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.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!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.7 -
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.
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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.4 -
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.1 -
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!0 -
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.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.
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.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!
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Thank you!0
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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.4
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You look awesome! Definitely an inspiration! Thanx for sharing0
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Wow! Great job! Reading some of the comments, you have a realistic approach.0
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Great work! You look awesome0
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Bkind2meAli wrote: »You look awesome! Definitely an inspiration! Thanx for sharingChanda2BFit wrote: »Wow! Great job! Reading some of the comments, you have a realistic approach.
Thanks all for the kind words!khalikhoopri wrote: »Great work! You look awesome
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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.
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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.0 -
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...
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!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.
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