colors_fade Member

Oh, and as for splitting up cardio and lifting... I do that on lifting days. I walk in the AM, usually on an empty stomach. So I get some fasted cardio in first thing in the morning. I always lift in the afternoon. I have more energy and I've had a chance to get 2.5 meals in me before proceeding with heavy lifts. I've…

This is what I've read: You want to do your strength training before any cardio. Theory is: as you lift, you're going to use up your glycogen stores for energy. Once depleted, as you start your cardio, you're going to trigger fat loss from reserves. Now, I'm no biologist, so I have no idea how accurate that information…

NPR had a thing on polyester and the fact that bacteria likes it better. I always wondered why my "sports" shirts, which were polyester, stunk way more after one workout than my cotton stuff. So, I stopped wearing polyester. I now just wear cotton T-shirts from Old Navy, and then a pair of gym shorts.

Contreras is the man for glutes. Definitely look into his stuff.

Or you could just do the accessory work and not worry about following some plan to a "T". I did SL 5x5 verbatim for about half a year. Then I started switching things up - listening to my body mostly. I started doing ladders instead of straight 5x5, I started doing some days super-heavy with 2-3 reps, some days lighter…

Actually, considering it's only been a month, your pictures are pretty impressive. There's a substantial difference there. I've been lifting for two years and sometimes I feel, looking in the mirror, like I haven't changed a bit. I know it's not true - but our brains do funny things when we're standing in front of a…

Nope. Not within biological reality. Dunno why people are always trying to shortcut science...

+1 My job is more mentally demanding than any physical job I've ever had (and I was military). Mentally draining jobs can fatigue a person just as much as physical ones. I feel for you folks who work in an office. I work from home; a nap does wonders for concentration and recharging the batteries in the afternoon. But very…

I walk in the mornings for 45-60 minutes, and then lift 3x per week. Obviously, the calorie deficit through food is the biggest component, but I find it's easier to make the deficit if I walk. Those extra calories burned add up.

My rest days are rest days from lifting. Everything else is fair game.

You missed the point of the sarcasm. There's no such thing as "clean eating."

I don't and am unaware of any awesome app that does it. The folks at my gym who I see with complicated routines, they all have the same thing: pad and paper, and everything is written down. For me: in MFP, I just log the minutes I spent lifting and MFP converts that to calories (rough estimate; good enough for me). I don't…

Agreed, you should lift. Without the lifting, if you maintain a caloric deficit, yeah, you'll lose weight, but not just fat - you'll lose muscle. The muscle is what you want to hang on to, so lift. Cardio? I hate it. So I don't do it. But I walk, and walking is easy and really helps a ton. A simple fasted walk in the…

Lover - Alter Bridge

That's pretty much my issue with CrossFit. A deadlift, for instance, is an exercise that, if done even slightly wrong, results in injury. And here comes CrossFit, trying to superset deadlifts with some other exercises, and putting a time limit on the whole thing (do as many rounds as you can in X minutes). It's…

Everything you need to know about Crossfit.

Best advice I got when I started on my fitness journey was to pick an exercise I enjoyed, because I'd stick with it. I ran for two years before I started lifting weights. I hated the running, and it did nothing for me. I love lifting.

The heavier the load, the less perfect form you are going to have. This is just a fact of lifting heavy. The only people I've seen with great form on very heavy lifts are folks who have been doing it for years. As you progress in StrongLifts, it's going to get harder, and your form is going fall apart a bit. At that point…

Well, if folks do one thing... I'd recommend at least pulling off the hardest lift in the gym.

I've been doing StrongLifts, and variations off of it, for almost two years. I've been lifting my current program since March on a cut. It can be done. You have to listen to your body... My feeling, having been cutting pretty consistency since March, is that when you're lifting really heavy and cutting calories, you tend…

I feel you. I've been lifting hard for two years, making gains, and have started cutting pretty hard since March. There's a fine line to walk (and there are a lot of body recomp threads out there that might help you). You absolutely shouldn't stop lifting. Lifting is crucial to maintaining muscle during a cut, so the…

Oh good god man. She's going to the gym FOR THE FIRST TIME. Don't give her YOUR list. Give her a list she can actually deal with. Listen, you don't need to take much of anything with you. Wear clothes you're comfortable with, and take a good attitude. That's it. If your gym doesn't provide towels, take one of those to wipe…

Yeah, you have to give StrongLifts time, if you are going to do it "by the book". I skipped about the first 6 weeks of the program. I'd lifted many years ago, and knew correct form for most of the lifts. I just started with a weight I was comfortable with, but not too heavy so I wouldn't get doms in that first week. Once…

Bret Contreras wrote this a while ago, and I think it's true: For every four workouts you do, one will be great, one will suck and two others will be merely okay. Also, realize, you're eventually going to hit your ceiling with StrongLifts.

Agree with this. You already know you need to lose fat. So start down that road. If the man-boobs don't change when you reach your goal weight, then talk to a doctor.

My first wife was stronger than me when we first met. I was 20 years old and skinny. She was athletic and went to college on sports scholarships. It bothered me, but not enough to affect the relationship. Then we both got fat and divorced. Now I'm two years into strength training. I'm married to a woman who is ripped. I'm…

Damn! Dropping the science on the thread! Well done sir, well done! I had to look that up...

When I started StrongLifts 2 years ago, I hurt myself deadlifting after about 16 weeks. I was enthusiastic about PR's and I tried to do too much. It took a month before I could deadlift without pain again (I never stopped going to the gym though; just didn't deadlift heavy). About a year later I hurt myself again…

I like PR's in the weight room, because they are tangible evidence. That motivates me. Wanting to rid myself of man-boobs motivates me, to a lesser extent. To the OP: I, too, notice changes in my physique over time (shoulders, especially trap definition, where I had none before; yay deadlifts). Unfortunately, there's still…