jasonheyd Member

10 RM = 10 repetition max, which is the most weight you can lift for 10 reps (while maintaining good form) and no more. Ideally, that's the weight you want to start at. If you started well below your 10 RM for one or more exercises, then yes, you should consider finding your 10 RM for each exercise, and then start -- with…

Sara's write-up over there matches my understanding. Rounding the lower back, even at a deficit, doesn't seem like the greatest idea, but -- in that scenario -- it's almost guaranteed to happen for all but the most flexible & strongest of lifters... which leads me to believe that pretty much no one should be attempting…

It may be more subtle for you, but I agree that it could be part of the cause. When it happens, my understanding is that you end up using your knees both to absorb the bottom of the squat "rest" weight, as well as for the work of pushing up out of the squat since, in that position, your hips can't really "drive". Mark…

Yup, good call... Don't fudge the 5th week of a cycle. If you're not finishing it with proper form, or if you've got pain somewhere, stick with the weight you're at and repeat the cycle. If you have pain, I'd also suggest that you skip a week, rest / heal up, and pick up where you left off. If you have to take more than a…

I think AP actually said to warm up for the 1st four in one place, and in another said that even the 4th was optional. I doubt one exercise makes a huge difference, but I've been doing the first three only since my third cycles (and my 1st cycle was more a semi-cycle that I used to zero in on my 10 RM).

I'm sure my wife would agree with you. Unfortunately she's out of luck except for window-shopping. ;-)

A few things to watch: 1. Make sure you're resting 60 seconds between warm-up sets and 90 seconds between work sets. 2. Only do warm-up sets for the first 3 exercises. Doing more than that -- especially at a calorie deficit -- will seriously increase your gross lift load, and can easily impair progress. 3. Make sure you're…

Thanks. :) Probably still have a bit to go, but I'm mostly at maintenance & doing more lifting / less running. We'll see how it goes. Yeah, me neither. I probably missed that boat by about 10 years. ;-) It's not uncommon to drop a big chunk the first week or few of cutting... Water retention changes can cause all sorts of…

Oops... Fixed link: http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/maki2.htm I'm no expert in estimating body composition by any means but yeah, I'd guess 20% or a little under based on the picture. Someone's got a thread in one of MFP's forums where, if you post a couple of pictures of yourself, they'll give you an estimate... I don't…

Nothing wrong with dumbbell routines! I actually use dumbbells for parts of SBR... There're pros and cons. On the pro side, it helps strengthen stabilizers and it can be good for evening things out if one arm's stronger than the other. On the con side, eventually it gets !@#$ed difficult to stage a really heavy dumbbell…

Almost forgot... Honestly, I'm not sure how easy it would be to go from 20% to 12% BF in 10-15 weeks on ANY plan. As pandorakick said, it's going to be mostly diet, but 20 to 12% isn't typically a 10-15 week trip. If you're 175 lbs, then your LBM is a little over 140 lbs and 12% BF would put you at 154 lbs LBM. That's a 15…

Short-ish answer: Yeah, you can use this routine to see some gains in 10-15 weeks, BUT... it may be more or less depending on the nature of what you were doing before. It sounds like you've been doing some lifting already, so it doesn't sound like you're going to go from flab to tight in 10-15 weeks. I was doing some other…

That's actually fine (to go that low) as long as you can maintain the correct arch in your lower back. I can touch my toes, but my back arches the wrong way when I do. :) I've seen guys do the SLDL while standing on a box & lowering the bar below the level of their feet. Pretty sure I'd tear something & plant my face into…

Nice stats & nice progress. Good luck with the new addition & your new routine(s). ;-)

You might want to check out the program that's outlined here: http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=4195843&page=1 Some of what you've been doing and a bit more, plus some built-in structure to help you progress. There's also an MFP group where some folks following the program "hang out."…

Technically, the light and medium days are intended to be a built-in deload, but... It's going to get much harder as you progress in exercises, and it's going to be VERY hard when you're actually lifting at your 10 RM for every exercise. I think a lot of people don't expect that because a lot of 'em actually underestimate…

Once you actually start lifting at your 10 RM, week 4 gets HARD. If you're not eating close to maintenance calories, it's going to be a bit harder. If you're not getting enough sleep (for me, that's 7-8 hours), it's going to be a LOT harder. I just came off a weekend away, eating pretty crappy food and sitting in a car for…

Good luck with the new routine, and the lack of sleep as well. ;-)

If I find out, you'll be the second to know. ;-)

Yeah, I've been there as well. Best remedy for that is probably a little more sleep, assuming work stress isn't waking you up in the middle of the night. Winning lotto ticket might be a better bet. ;-)

If you're still cutting then you're also at the point where it's going to be much harder and take much longer to progress. It'll still happen, but especially once your 10 RM (week 3) feels hard for every exercise, this program gets brutal at a calorie deficit. :)

No problem at all! AP's original post had warm-ups for all exercises but he clarified shortly after that they were optional for the later exercises. I usually do them all, unless I'm pressed for the extra 15m of time they take, but they are purely optional.

Thanks... There's s still a bit of a glitch in what it does with warm-up weights for barbell exercises where the warm-up or medium/light days drop below the baseline bar weight (e.g. 45 lbs. for an Olympic bar). I think I need to make it use 10 lb. increments for weights below 45 lbs. so that it switches you over to using…

I need to find a good timer for my iPhone. :) Even the Jefit timer's just a pre-configured rest time between exercises, but I tend to do 60s between warm-up sets, 90s between work sets, and 2m between exercises. Would be nice to just tape the button I need & have it give me a 5-10s countdown as it expires. Yep, I'm a…

Jefti's definitely a good app & they have a pretty solid web site to go along with it. I used it for quite a while, but I did find the lack of integration (e.g. with MFP, RunKeeper, etc.) and the lack of data export functionality to be irritating. Right now I'm using Gym Hero, which does sync exercise data to RunKeeper,…

I have trouble remembering no matter which week of the cycle I'm on. :P

The only way that weighing in every day will work is if you can manage to not let the swings drive you crazy. :) I have a Fitbit Aria, which I've linked to http://www.trendweight.com/ ... That lets me weight in every day, but I ignore the actual readings & focus on the trend lines for weight and lean body mass. If you…

Yep, jimmmer's summed it all up pretty well. Typically the 5x5 programs are geared towards pure strength gains, and they are typically NOT cutting-friendly. AP's SBR is intended to blend strength gains, endurance gains, and size gains. It's a more "all around" program. It's also more forgiving if you're running at a…

Yeah, there's definitely some discrepancy at play when you figure in activity level, TDEE, etc. My "cut" target using TDEE @ sedentary is 1810 - 15% = 1538. AP's formula puts me very close to the same place (157 * 10 = 1570). But, if I use TDEE @ 3-5 hrs/wk of exercise that = 2338 - 15% = 1987, much higher than AP's…

Yeah, I'm no where near my LBM target (well... closer than I was, but still a ways off) so I know I'll be repeating a lot of exercises for a lot of cycles while I'm still at a deficit. You might consider going to two heavy days a week every three or four days, just to keep things up & not lose ground.