spazofthedead Member

Look for weights and benches on Craigslist - you can get them really cheap there. I'd recommend a set that goes up to about 300lbs - probably more than you'll need, but it'll give you room to grow. I'd get an Olympic barbell (25kg/45lbs) and plates to go with it, or a set of adjustable dumbells, or both... Compound…

You can lose weight through diet alone. Cardio and weights help it along, and weights help shape your body.

A squat is only a squat if you do 1/4 ROM, on your toes, staring at the ceiling, in the Smith Machine.

It sounds like that trainer is a big fan of the paleo diet (except the bread and cottage cheese thing is kinda weird, usually it's just high protein, no dairy and no carbs except from fruits/veggies). It's not necessary to follow something so extreme in order to see your abs. If you're training right and maintaining a…

I disagree with this one on a technicality - free weights can be better than machines because they're more often than not multi-joint and multi-muscle exercises, teaching major muscles and stabilizing muscles to work together to create a more functional strength. Machines more often isolate muscle groups which leaves out…

This is what I did. I read Starting Strength but followed Stronglifts because I didn't have anywhere to do cleans at my gym. Mehdi is completely insane, so ignoring him is best for pretty much anyone.

1800-2200 a day depending on my activity level. I'm 5'6" and 153lbs for reference.

Women can do SL just fine, even as utter beginners. We may have to start out using less than the 45lb bar to begin with, but *because* of the progressive loading we make very quick progress and see a lot of strength gains. Being a woman myself, I started out doing SL and the only hangups I had were with upper body lifts. I…

I do cardio and weights on separate days, mostly because if I do my cardio first my lifts suck, and if I do my lifts first I'm completely trashed and have nothing left for cardio after. My lifts are heavy enough now that, for me, it's not worth trying to to both on the same day anymore.

Look into Starting Strength or Stronglifts 5x5. Both are very similar and very effective beginner lifting programs. I'd recommend reading Starting Strength regardless of the program you choose, however. There's a lot of good information in there. This might help?…

Push ups, bench press and variations (dumbbell, barbell, incline), and chest dips, to start.

Pretty sure the strength training section is more for keeping track of weight used, lifts performed and sets/reps for each workout. And it's also really really difficult to determine calories burned during lifting sessions as it tends to be highly individual, so it just doesn't track them.

Stronglifts since January. On a bit of a break until I start a more intermediate, lower-set program. My numbers will probably go down after my break, but this is what they are at the moment: Bench Press: 85lbs Shoulder Press: 70lbs Wide Grip Lat Pulldown: 110lbs Barbell Row: 90lbs Squats: 170lbs Deadlift: 200lbs Leg Press:…

12lbs in 5 months. Sloooooooowly. 15-20lbs left to go.

I think this is my new favorite metaphor ever.

I'm built like that. I'm 5'6", 156lbs, hourglass shape and can squat 170 and leg press over 300 and put on muscle easily for a woman. I want to clarify that I do not build muscle like a man. I build it like a woman, just... faster. When I was rowing in college I ate at a caloric surplus and packed on muscle faster than…

This makes me think your muscles were retaining water from a new workout program and the stress you were putting your body through. Stopping the program signaled your body to let it go, so you lost weight.

I like my men like I like my coffee - covered in bees! and.. I like my men like I like my coffee - in a plastic cup. (edit: if no one gets these I might just cry)

That could be part of it. I think a larger part of it was her trying to survive on two cheese sticks, half a chicken breast and some lettuce every day. Years of this and little exercise and her metabolism slowed down to the point where some days she wasn't even hungry at all.

For a while. Until your body isn't getting enough nutrients to support itself. My mom's a perfect example of this - she weighed the same for years (175), eating less than 1200 calories a day. I finally broke down and started helping her eat more, bit by bit. She gained a few pounds at first, but once that hurdle was passed…

I agree with this. I'm going through the pages frowning a little because my diet consists of a lot of the things people are saying are unhealthy. My diet is high fat, high protein, moderate carbs and I love things like eggs, bacon, beef, 2% milk, peanut butter and cheese and eat them on a regular basis. I feel great and am…

When I was 22 three separate doctors and PAs told me that the lump on my cheek was just a calcium deposit and I should just use a heat compress and it'll clear right up. Two months later I got a new doctor. She took one look at it and sent me to an ENT. Turns out it was a rare form of cancer of the salivary gland. Oops. I…

I agree with MzBug on seeing a dermatologist. Maybe you have some sort of allergy. You could also wear a hat outside if it's primarily on your face. I have a part of my neck that under no circumstances can get burned, so if I'm not in a position to slap sunscreen on I'll wear a hat with a goofy wide brim.

Depends. Short runs and some lifting sessions leave me feeling less than hungry. But I ran a 12k last weekend and after that I felt like I could eat a zoo.

Same thing happened to me when I was applying to the Army's officer training program. I weighed in just at the requirement for someone my height and age, and even though my body fat and fitness levels were well within acceptable ranges I was told I needed to lose weight before I could get in. They didn't even bother to…

I've lost about 3% bodyfat, 10lbs, and two dress sizes in the four or so months I've been doing StrongLifts. I'm eating close to maintenance so my lifts don't suffer so my loss might be slower than someone eating less, but it's still made a huge difference in how my body looks and feels. In regards to upping your lift…

Sounds like that class is more cardio-oriented and less strength-oriented. If you really wanted to get into strength training, you'd shoot for 3-5 sets of 3-6 reps, ideally. If you can go higher than 8-10 reps, it's too light. I know everyone's different, but I've been focusing on heavy lifts for a few months and I'd be…

Most compound lifts will. Squats, deadlifts, OHP, bench press. Those, if done right, will heavily engage your core to keep you stabilized. Squats and deadlifts are particularly effective.

For the squats (and pretty much everything except bench press) just keep at it and you'll improve. The rack and safety rails are there to catch the bar should you need to dump it, so don't worry about that. As for bench press, if you really think you're going to be dropping it on yourself (sounds like 45lbs is a heavy…

Your assumptions preclude anyone that actually *is* attracted to overweight people. To ban them entirely just seems absurd. If someone doesn't fit your bill, don't check their name off. No need to ban an entire subset of the population. That's like saying "sorry, no one with glasses at this dating event because I don't…