MonsterToBe Member

I used to do something similar, and handled it by creating custom foods. I'd suggest: Set your goal to 1800. Create custom foods named for the days of the week you'll use them. M-W Goal Adjustment would be a 600 calorie food, Thurs Goal Adjustment would be a 300 calorie food. On Monday thru Thursday, just log the…

I'm 43, and a couple of years ago I had plantar fasciitis so badly that I had a handicapped parking permit. Walking as a form of exercise was out of the question. I was diabetic, though, and desperately needed to get my weight under control to keep the disease from worsening. I bought a FitDesk (look on Amazon) and would…

In addition, female athletes that sustain bodyfat percentages lower than 16% for any length of time need to be aware of the associated risks. Amenorrhea is one of them, as reaching such low bf % can potentially involve incurring such extreme energy deficits that normal reproductive function cannot be sustained. And if the…

This made me laugh the hardest... TL;DW?

It's true! My friend's sister's cousin did the mini trampoline, fell off, and her ankle was all kinds of swole!!!!!

Special MUSCULAR snowflake status!

Now I wish that had been my intent. LOL But here's the real video!! http://tinyurl.com/liftingmakesyoulooklikeaman

Your progress is fantastic, but I really love how you describe your passion for the iron! ... The wavy hands work for me, too. I heard movie flashback music in my head.

^^ This.

Love it!! Of course, my favorite is still the one in my PP.

Or I could just be lazy and post this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ingress_(game) ;o)

All of the above is true IF the knees are traveling forward. That's not where you want your knees to go during a squat. The knees need to go OUT. That is why Rippetoe advises people to get down in the bottom squat position, stick their elbows against the inside of their knees, and physically shove them apart in order to…

I just discovered it. And I was watching my scanner today as we were driving through campus and saw a bunch of unclaimed portals I'm going to have to go nab...

... Or instead of loading it up with a ridiculously heavy weight, push it up against something that won't let it move any further (but probably not a wall since that might not give enough clearance for your head during setup). :o)

Something that might prove useful: load up the bar with a ridiculously heavy weight that you will NOT pull, heavy enough not to roll easily. Make sure that you can bang your shins up against it and it still won't go anywhere. Practice your setup with it till you've figured out how to get set up without that bar being able…

For me, the limiting factor in squat has never yet been leg strength. It's always been something else -- not understanding how to keep my upper back tight, letting my shoulders round forward (which lets my elbows fly up behind me like I'm a chicken or something and compromises upper back position), having an arch in my…

We bigger squishy people can absolutely do squats with proper form!! I've come a long way in the weight loss department, but I'm still pretty hefty. Take a look: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-5ENG6kVXk My form in this video isn't perfect, but it's fairly decent. Watch where my knees go. They don't go forward in front of…

Other people have made some excellent observations. I just have one thing I'd add -- during your first two sets you mostly get your back into a good neutral position (except the neck when you look up) before you begin pulling, but on your top set most of the time your lumbar spine is rounded before you even begin to pull.…

I think it'd partly depend on how many weeks you have left in this cycle. If it's only one or two more weeks, might as well finish and then test. Switching pulling style mid-cycle makes it hard to know what's going on -- it could be that once you got in some good practice with sumo, you've discovered that you're stronger…

Florida? Well then. It's not soft-serve, but... Publix Premium Lemon Sugar Cookie ice cream. YOU'RE WELCOME.

You're not wrong. Someone who wants to bulk should be doing hypertrophic programs.

^This. Which cue you use isn't really what matters -- it's what it cues you to do. For some people, one cue will make things click and they'll figure out what they need to do to make it work, while other people will hear that same cue and think they're doing it but then someone explains it in a different way and suddenly…

Agreed. Here's a cue that might help... when you're setting up, before you pull, try to put your shoulder blades in your back pockets. Then move your weight back to your heels and drive your heels through the floor to stand up. We talk about deadlifts as pulls, but that leads some people to think they need to pull from…

You can absolutely squat more!! It is NOT strength holding you back. That is very clear from your videos. :o)

Lydia, I do see a couple of things in your squats that could be addressed, but overall it looks good. :o) As bumblebums was saying, your knees are very far forward. They're also too far in, which is why they're sliding forward. Get down into your bottom-of-the-squat position, stick your elbows into the insides of your…

Sounds excellent, and you should definitely keep following up with Sara and SideSteel. The only thing I'd add to what's been said here is that for putting on muscle, you'd do well to incorporate into your program some sets of 8 at 70% of your 1RM on the core lifts. That's the lower end of the rep range for hypertrophic…

We're very close in age. I'm 42, and started lifting in January. It's hard for a female in our age group to get a trainer to take us seriously. Even if his head is screwed on straight and he knows how much more beneficial free weights are than machines, he may very well be afraid that if he starts you on free weights, that…

I love threads like this -- they keep me humble. My PR so far is 330 lbs. :o)

Don't fall into the trap of thinking you need to be able to put up certain numbers before you're "good enough" to compete! Competing is its own skill. Lifting on the platform is not the same as lifting in the gym, and you'll benefit by going and competing at least once BEFORE you are lifting at a level you think is…

I'm at a deficit right now too, but I'm not having any regression on my lifts -- in fact, last week I hit a new rep PR for squats at 245 and today I'm aiming for another one at 255. That hasn't always been the case when in a deficit, though. I've previously had a lot of trouble recovering and training just felt awful. The…