cs2thecox Member

I took them before and after workout for 3 months as part of a bonkers HITT and weights plan, where I was doing most of the workouts fasted in the morning. They did seem to help minimize DOMs for me. Since then, with a bit more research and now I workout at lunchtime instead, I don't take them any more. I'm generally ok…

Normally, yes, to keep your overall net calories for the day in a safe range for fuelling your body's vital functions! Basically (gross over simplification coming up), unless you're under medical supervision, net calories shouldn't come in under 1,200 for most people.

This. I thought it just sounded like a little blood vessel. They do sometimes stay pink if the chicken is only just cooked. Made sense to me that it might go darker on later microwaving too. Whenever I cook chicken, I just slice into the biggest piece and check that it's grained all the way through. If it's not, it all…

I'd see the "only work out sitting down" thing as a total challenge. I bet you CAN get super buff from working out sitting down, and I bet you'll find a way. I mean, you might need a bit of lateral thinking - sitting down for overhead press, using swiss balls to sit on but still making it hard, things like that. A seated…

1kg of fat takes up more space than 1kg of muscle, because it's less dense. So two people weighing the same but with different body fat percentages will be different sizes - the person with a higher percentage of body fat will be larger. You can shed fat through dieting alone (i.e. no exercise), but you will also reduce…

I think recomp is the way forward. I've had great success in toning up my thighs, bum and stomach with a decent lifting programme and targeted macros. I find getting the protein quite hard though - I'm on about 150g a day - and have to use shakes and bars to cram it in without actually turning into a chicken. Snacks have…

Yep, happy to! I've been doing it for a year or so now. I have a trainer who sets my macros for me, but I really like it as an approach to eating. (I had some food and weight issues in the past, but I've found a macro approach to be really liberating and hasn't lead me back in to obsessive behavior which is a total win!)

So you started this thread to argue with people who literally had no beef with you and basically agree with you that it's a compound exercise? Riiight. Moving on...

It's come up on other threads, but there are apps you can use that emphasis the trend of your loss rather than daily/weekly fluctuations. HappyScale is one I think? Something like that. Quite a lot of people seem to find them helpful for the affirmation that a few fluctuations aren't throwing the long term trend off. Might…

Mine's open so my trainer can see it, and nag me occasionally! I've not had any randoms give me grief over it, and frankly I don't care if the world knows what I eat. It's hardly a state secret.

I find dumbbell presses harder because the weight is less stable, so if you *know* your bench press barbell weight, then your dumbbell weight would probably be a bit less than half. If you're just starting out, and can do half the suggested weight, then go for it and just be consistent about whether you're using dumbbells…

Also desk job. I keep a relatively small bottle of water on my desk, which means I have to walk over to the kitchen to fill it up quite often, and also to the bathroom because I'm drinking a lot of water! I make sure I get out at lunchtime to get steps in, even if I bring my lunch with me, and also make sure my commute…

I always thought it was easy... - Put bowl on scales - Turn scales on - Zap barcode on ice-cream with MFP on my phone and check it matches the packet - Weigh out ice-cream until I hit the calories or macros I was willing and able to use on ice-cream - Enjoy Always in grammes because of the density point as mentioned by…

It all depends what you've put in the TDEE calculator like @TavistockToad said. If you told the TDEE calculator that you worked out 3-5 times a week, then you do NOT need to change the calories you get from that to account for your exercise. (You might want to try a few different TDEE calculators to see if they give you…

I have premium for the ability to set macros by gramme and also to have different goals on different days (training days/rest days). Massively worth it for me, as I'm more about the macros than the calories. I feel like it's good value for money in the context of my other health and fitness spending - gym membership,…

Log it but don't feel guilty. Life's too short. But it is better to log it and be honest with yourself, than not log it and kid yourself that a half-logged day meant you were good! I find that honest logging helps me to make better choices if, for example, I'm faced with multiple meals out in the same week. If I went all…

Bin it. Makes me gag too. I just... can't. Otherwise... Zero fat Greek yogurt Skyr (basically zero fat Greek yogurt but Icelandic) Quark (ditto but German - technically cheese apparently, but really not)

Definitely clean for OHP. I've started with the bar on the end of a bench press bench before, just to avoid having to bend all the way down to the floor when I only have tiny plates on it! You don't rack it between reps anyway, and if you can OHP the weight 5 times, you can clean it once, right? Waiting for squats is…

I file my callouses and use liquid chalk to help with grip. I'm contemplating wraps for things like deadlifts where my grip is the weakest link in the chain, and prevents me lifting as heavy as my legs could do, but my trainer warned me that wraps/grips/gloves just take up space in your grip and so actually leave you with…

My guess is that the Fry Light is maybe under-counting the fat grams? Also zero cals in the Glutamine? Not something I'm familiar with, but is that right? And the buffalo wing sauce seems super low cal... also may be right, but that surprised me. If it's super important, then you could do the multiplication for each line…

I went through a phase of swimming, including open water races a few years ago, and found a structured training plan really helped me to improve, including improvements to my technique through drills like high elbows and catch-ups. I used the swim4fitness plan which is free from the Zoggs website. (Disclaimer: Not…

I heard it was best to do weights first, then cardio. (Assuming that's within the same session.) Apparently you lift better before your muscles have been glycogen-depleted by the cardio. However, I was always too tired after weights to then go and do cardio, and always preferred to do it the other way round when I did…

This week's annoyance... A lady who leaves two massive bags on the bench in the locker room while she's in the gym. There are LOADS of lockers available, but not much bench space, so we all try and only use the benches when we're actually there. She does this every time she's in the gym - drives me mad. Although thankfully…

^^ This. Just keeping a diary for a week (without trying to change anything) is a really valuable starting point, as it may highlight some uncomfortable truths, or show where cutting back would be relatively easy. (NB oil on Greek salad... take your portion out before adding oil for everyone else? Spray lightly if needed,…

I basically quit Starbucks chai lattes because of the sugar content. I miss them LOADS! :( I wasn't a big coffee person either, but here's what hits the spot these days... Iced latte Grande Skinny Single shot Sugar free vanilla It tastes luxurious and yummy, but the Starbucks nutrition chart (UK) think it comes in at about…

Another vote for Nuun. Also High Five Zero - same idea.

This. (I'm anti kale...) But pork fat might make it taste like, well, pork instead of kale. I'd try that for sure! :p

Is it wrong that I see this as a challenge?! :D (Yeah, so today's lunch was boring dry chicken and some protein yogurt, and dinner will probably be totally unexciting, because I *kitten* wanted that latte and iced Belgian bun for breakfast... And I don't like vegetables all that much, so...)

On the basis of calories-in-calories-out (CICO), then a switch from normal to diet soda can only be a good thing. There are quite a lot of threads on the wonders of Diet Coke (other caffeinated sugar free beverages are available :) ) so it's basically safe to assume that there are a LOT of people on here who find success…

This. I 100% believe that chasing a fairly arbitrary number isn't a great way of assessing when you're "done". As you get into the healthy range, body composition becomes a much bigger factor in the weight v size balance. I obsessed with a fairly arbitrary number (although sports weight category related) for YEARS before…