RECowgill Member

Having real goals. Actual progress. Accomplishing PRs or new achievements every single workout. Constantly being a better lifter and athlete than I was 6 months ago. Never ever going backwards. I never go because I have to or go just to go. Those are among the worst reasons. I think if a person finds themselves in that…

I came out INTP. But I tested barely marginal for each of those, so I can easily flip to ESFJ just as well.

If you do it right it's slow going, full of experimentation, you must do your own research, you must put in the effort and be smart about it. I guarantee you it will take you much longer than you want. You must be prepared to do this for real and for the long-haul. If you don't you're just messing around.

I just don't eat. If I'm not hungry, I don't eat food.

Well right off I disagree with the article. I'm somewhere between 22-23% bodyfat, and that article just assumes I'm on meds and I'm gonna drop dead any day now because of my BF %. Couldn't be further from the truth. I've never been healthier, more athletic, more physically capable in my life. It's cause I'm physically…

oh good grief.

I know women smaller than me who can outlift me in every way. But thanks to you, I now know I am physically superior. I feel so much better now! :p :*

Personally I think the warmup ideas promoted by StrongLifts works best and that's what I do. If I squat or bench that day, I do 1-2 sets of empty bar lifts. I may also do a few no-weight wall squats, messing with foot placement, focusing on form etc. Warmups are brief but directed, I'm focusing on the full range of motion…

https://youtube.com/watch?v=BH11j4kSQ8E Alan Thrall's warmup routine. It's a long video but worth watching. Couple of notes- you shouldn't be doing this much warmup/cooldown with every workout. Be selective about it, maybe only do some foam rolling one day and maybe only do leg related stretches another day. I believe he…

You should work out doing the thing that you like the most. If you dont know what you like, try different things till something clicks. The most important thing with exercise is to find something you will stay motivated to do and can be consistent with. You will make no progress towards your goals if it doesn't work for…

You don't have to have ambitions in powerlifting to try different deadlifting forms. I basically train all of the deadlifting forms and I do it because each technique works the muscles differently. Sumos work the inner thigh more. Jeffersons train the legs in a completely different way. RDLs are less of a deadlift and more…

In my experience A2G squats are the only ones that count. I started training above parallel, moved on to A2G and in the process had to reduce the weight, but it was so very worth it. As I was discovering real strength is only possible when you do a full range of motion, moving to your maximum flexibility. When you train…

Don't get so caught up in the numbers. I saw this pro bodybuilder woman talk about how she eats 6000+ cals a day in her bulk phase. If you're not gaining eat more, don't fiddle around the margins. And lift heavy while you do this, try to turn as much of that weight gain into lean mass as you possibly can.

Also excessive ibuprofen use can cause other problems like liver damage. Take BCAA powder, get extra protein, stretch, walk, Epsom baths, hot/cold packs if need be, IMO those are all preferred to pain meds.

I don't agree with much of anything funchords said, I don't know if this is his personal experience or just a lot of theory. Either way I don't think it should be applied to most people. Just weight train, expect to add some weight in the short term (it's good weight gain though, not from fat) and do your own research.…

Deadlifts and squats (especially deadlifts). I never do crunches or sit-ups, and my core has never been in better shape,

I think you need to clarify for yourself whether your goal is weight loss or fat loss. A lot of people say they want to lose weight when what they really mean is they want to lose fat. I'm guessing what you mean is you want to lose fat because you also say you want to build strength. With the twin goals of building…

Sounds like your situation is kind of similar to me except you haven't identified your path just yet. It sounds like too much body fat is what's concerning you the most and you say you're goal is to look good with your shirt off. I don't think there is any mystery to what you need to do to achieve that, simply weight train…

Working out daily for 6 weeks is overtraining. Its getting harder because you are burning yourself out. Stop working out so much! This is a big mistake a lot of people make. They think frequency = success. That's not at all true. Quality = success. Reduce your frequency, make the few workouts you do count. And yes be…

It's not possible for you to put on 8lbs of muscle that rapidly. Further you are female, at best you could put on 8lbs of muscle in a year or 2 of intense strength training exercises. You cannot gain muscle from cardio. A rapid weight gain is food related, like say water. If you started a new routine and you're drinking…

You'll want to alternate your mixed grip in order to maintain strength balance. If you always do one side, you'll be training your muscles to perform in a lopsided way. I prefer also doing it one way over the other, but training is training. You get used to alternating.

Food should never be torture, or difficult. Find things that are good for you, that are filling, that also taste good to you. If you're forcing yourself to do this, you won't stick with it, you won't make that change you want. Not in a real way, not long term. The last thing anyone should have is a difficult or unhealthy…

That's just your ignorance talking.

There's no such thing. No you don't.

Yes I truly enjoy eating and living healthy, that's because I found healthy foods I can have in reasonable portions that I actually enjoy eating. They exist, you have to look for them. This is a plate I really enjoy: This is also a plate I really enjoy: So is this: I used to eat junk food all the time. I still have junk…

It's true weight loss is mostly about food. Stop eating so much and you will lose weight, but don't eat too little either, that's unhealthy. You want to eat the right amount, hence the slight deficit. Strength train and control your calories, that's the magic formula. It's possible that cardio you did actually didn't help…

Since your goal is healthy weight loss, you should weight train 3x a week for 45mins per session. Eat at a slight deficit (you will need to learn all about macros, caloric deficits, reading labels, and counting calories). Forget cardio, unless you really enjoy it. You will need time and patience. Don't expect overnight…

Yeah mix your grip and lift only according to what your whole body can handle. If the weight is still too heavy for your hands, lift more weight with your hands. Don't worry about increasing your deadlifting weight in that circumstance, drop the weight and build up that grip strength. I hit the same roadblocks before, but…

I have a herniated disc, so actually I may be nearing the limit of what I can do with my deadlift. But my bench can still go up quite a bit.