JAYxMSxPES Member

There's a restaurant here in town called Claim Jumpers. I use to go there about 7 years ago and they had a Chicken Salad sandwhich that I really liked. One day I found their nutrition facts and the sandwhich was like 2100 calories or something. That was an oh-*kitten* moment. But it explained a few things. LOL

Well, that's not what I expected when you mentioned leg press. I assumed a more general leg press device but that looks like you can achieve a full range of motion of hip flexion and hip extension. It actually looks more like a hack-squat machine. If that's all you have to work with then use it. With DB's you can do things…

Your coach doesn't seem to be concerned then, so I wouldn't worry much about it either. Generally speaking, people are going to pull more than they squat; it's just a greater mechanical advantage. Now should one's squat be within "x" percent of their conventional DL or sumo DL or oly squat... who's to say. People are built…

No, not questioning why your coach has you doing what you're doing. I'm asking if your coach was able to explain why your sumo is so much greater than your squat? I would expect the typical person to pull more than they can squat but why such a variance exists I couldn't say without training with you. Like I said earlier,…

Cool that you have PL coach. What has he / she said about the variance? Some of it comes from how your built, some people are just natural deadlifters. Look at Dan Green, his sumo squat is insane and I think he's about 5'8" if I recall. It may just be a genetic thing for you. If your sumo DL is that strong, your posterior…

What's your conventional deadlift 1RM? Not to get into a high-bar / low-bar debate, but how do you squat?

If the diet has an official name or copyright, it's probably a gimmick or too restrictive to manage in the long-run.

Soreness is relative to what the individual can handle. If the soreness is prohibitive to good movement or inhibits performance too much, definitely don't hit that same muscle again. Mild soreness without any negative impact to movement or performance is a different situation. You don't need to hammer your abs into…

SL's is fine to stick with as-is, but there's no reason not to add something like hip thrusts, RLD's, or something else to focus your hamstrings, glutes, and lower back. Don't have to a ton of work either. Do the three main lifts for the day and then do your hip thrusts for a couple sets of 10-12 reps per say. But use a…

Trail mix. Cheaper, easier to consume, easier on your gut (generally speaking). Depending on your store and the bags they sell, you might get a bag that is a tad over 1,000 calories so it makes it easy to portion out and consume over the course of a day.

No problem, I wasn't trying to be a smart-*kitten* either; I'm sensitive to matters of the lower back. :smile: One comment mentioned rounding of the lower-back and I found it hard that Bret would make such a suggestion in relation to that exercise.

Make sure you watch that video before just proceeding. Bret was very clear to keep a neutral spine and not overextend. I did not notice any rounding of the lower back / lumbar spine and again, he was clear that the back should remain neutral throughout. The "rounding" is actually in the thoracic spine area and not the…

RE Squats vs. Leg Press Here's my opinion if you look at it from a pure standpoint of human kinematics. What do the glutes do? Basically they extend the hip & thigh and support lumbar extension to some degree. Keeping that in-mind, look at this picture of a common leg press machine. The hips get into a pretty flexed…

First, understand what your goals are. If weight management is your only goal, then find a form of exercise that you find enjoyable and can stick to consistently. Exercise can help with weight loss but the primary focus for weight loss would be within your nutrition plan. If you don't have any specific exercise goals…

Gotcha'. Just make sure you nutrition plan over the course of the day and week is where it needs to be and you shouldn't have problems. I listened to a lecture from a couple Sports Physios about a year ago now, and basically they were discussing some of the research related to fasted training and the positive response on…

It's a tough thing to manage, but if it's important enough you'll find a way. Early morning is a great time to exercises once you get use to getting up a little early. When I was working on my MS degree I was also working 45 to 50 hours a week plus on-call 24/7 and I was able to keep it up. You can do it! :smile:

Research on eggs is a funny thing; you'll find some research saying they're bad, some saying they're good. In the end, I would say don't worry too much about it and focus on the entirety of your nutrition plan. One can only eat so many eggs everyday anyway before you get sick of it. :smiley: You can also buy liquid egg…

Not sure how much an egg is going to help for energy anyway, little bit of fat might help a little I guess but I wouldn't expect much from it. I train early morning and don't have time to eat and I'm generally fine, perform well and hit PR's. Days where I don't feel great I focus on what's most important and forget about…

You really need to wait for the MRI results and course of action from the doctor. The Meniscus helps stabilize and cushion the bones that meet at that point. Any exercise that requires knee flexion and extension is probably not a good idea right now.

Other than a picture I didn't see it on their site. Here's the link they sent me via email, it might work for you.…

If only I got some kickbacks. LOL

Yoga is good form of exercise. If you stick with that consistently you'll improve your Core strength and mobility as well. If you like Yoga and dislike the gym, then stick with the Yoga. No point in trying to do something you'll have trouble finding the motivation to do. ;)

Hylete is releasing their new exercise shoe and it looks great, ships in Feb and they're giving pre-orders a big discount. Their exercise clothes are excellent, imagine their shoes will be too.

I agree, a traditional Pilates is a good means of improving one's Core strength. Avoid the ones that tell you they'll elongate your muscles and other nonsense. If you can join a gym, a NASM certified trainer can work with you on a specific Core Strength & Stabilization program. If neither are an option, you can probably…

Sure, it's possible. I've had a few friends in CrossFit and similar to Trainers; some of the CF coaches are good and some are bad. It just depends.

From my perspective and probably the same for @ninerbuff , we've seen enough people that have various imbalances such as knee valgus, underactive lats, underactive glutes, etc., that some development to help improve those deficiencies is needed for getting into something like CrossFit or even basic compound lifts.

Correct. There are longitudinal studies on individuals with healthy renal function and the studies strongly suggest no negative impact to renal function. Now, in the case of somebody that has problems with their kidneys; Creatine might very well be a bad decision. Unfortunately we will probably never see a study done on…

I second @ninerbuff on that one. CrossFit is a fine modality of exercise if it's working towards your goals. However, as being new to training a proper assessment from a good trainer would be my recommendation. Perhaps you're ready to jump right in and do it, but my thoughts would be to start with a trainer and work with…

Trust me, I get that; spent 18-months studying it and years in the gym hitting PR's. Re-read the OP's post, it's non-specific and she doesn't even know her TDEE. She may not even need to eat in a surplus, she may just need to eat at her TDEE at this point. We don't know, not enough information to prescribe or recommend…

The person I referenced specifically said lifting heavy. Notice the OP never mentioned what type of weight gain she's looking for? If her metabolism is truly over-active, exercise plus a slight calorie surplus might be enough. I've met enough individuals that have claimed to have a fast metabolism when simply they're just…