colors_fade Member

There are a few such studies floating around. If you couldn't build muscle while in a calorie deficit, body-recomp wouldn't be a "thing". It can be done; it's just more difficult and a slower process due to the drastic decrease in protein synthesis while in a calorie deficit. And anyway... while you were jumping all over…

They could have dysmorphia. Might want to look that up. It's a real thing.

It's all movement; it's all good.

Agreed. The scale can (and will) fluctuate quite a bit from day-to-day and week-to-week. It can be a very aggravating metric for a lot of people. Don't get wrapped up in it. Just be consistent with your goals and understand that this process takes time. Get a bodyfat measurement done. I know there are a lot of people who…

Well, the first clue is probably people telling you how they perceive how you look (you look so thin!), and those comments no meshing with how you perceive yourself (I am a fat cow). Pictures usually are another clue. You see yourself in a picture someone else took and you're, like, "Wait a second... I feel huge, but I…

All the normal stuff. 1) My wife is incredibly fit. Ripped. We were at an archery tournament one summer a few years ago, newly married, and she had a tank-top and I was teaching her how to shoot for the first time. Some guys were standing behind us watching, and finally one of them got up the courage to ask her, flat-out,…

I think it depends on how you feel after the rest day. I know StrongLifts 5x5 says start with the bar, but I didn't. I did the math to figure out how many days I would have had to lift before I got a weight that felt like I was actually doing some work. I essentially skipped the first 6 weeks; I basically started on week 7…

Well, that's a complicated answer... A lot happened over those two years as I learned more about lifting and calories and got more science/fact based information to work from. When I started, I read Medhi's posts, and he touts the idea that StrongLifts can make you lean. He talks sparingly about diet, and doesn't really…

I just started doing this. I read that study: 30-second sprints with 4-6 minute rest intervals. 4-6 sets. Learned real fast: sprinting works an area of the upper quad that nothing else I've been doing works as hard. So sore after a couple days of this. But yeah, the studies have shown, this sort of HIIT training is most…

As long as you don't have dismorphia... The mirror is a big lie to a lot of people.

Thanks for this description Leslie. I've always wondered what that entailed. Neat to know some clubs actually do it for a reasonable fee.

This is great advice. See, here's the thing about losing weight: it's a slow process. There are no magic pills or magic diets. At best, at the VERY BEST, if you can somehow manage the hunger associated with it, a large calorie deficit is going to net you 3 lbs. per week weight loss. A more reasonable expectation is about 1…

This is the way I learned it: Lifting heavy means lifting about 80% of your 1-rep max for reps (typically 5 reps). So if you can reliably squat 200 lbs, for instance, for a single rep, then when you're doing a routine, like 5x5, you should be lifting about 160 lbs for five reps. In order to know what your 5-rep weight is,…

Eat what you want, and just control the portions. There's nothing compelling you to eat the whole thing. I enjoy Hot and Spicy Beef or Chicken with white rice; it's usually loaded with veggies. Although the local place makes a great chicken & asparagus when it's in season, and that can't be beat... so delicious. If you're…

Correct 132 lbs. X .6 = 79g You're close. You could shoot for a couple more grams of protein. In fact, I think @sixxpoint has great dietary advice for you in the post above. I'd follow it if I were you. And as the other poster above said, if you're not lifting, it's not doing you any good anyway. You need to lift heavy in…

+1

I said that where?

Yeah, that's a recomp strategy. Not really applicable here. Dude, everyone who wants to gain muscle mass has to deal with losing the abs for a while. If you want to get bigger, you have to bulk, and you're going to lose the ab definition. This is why bodybuilders cut later - to get the abs back. If you want to put on…

Turning fat into muscle is biologically impossible :) But I know that's not what the guy meant. It is possible to increase muscle mass while losing fat on a deficit; it's not "impossible", or else "recomp" wouldn't be a thing. It's just very difficult to do, in particular because while you're in a calorie deficit, protein…

I would think anything that causes your body to move is a good thing. Exercise of any kind will aid you in creating a wider calorie deficit. And then there's the host of other reasons why exercise is a good thing. Skipping sounds fine to me. And fun. I recently added jump rope to my regimen. I say go for it :)

Those sorts of routines are called "splits", and are generally reserved for advanced lifters who have built a strong based by doing years of compound lifts. Generally, beginner/intermediate lifting routines will have you focus on the big compound lifts (lifts that work more than one muscle group at a time). As a beginner,…

I have a zip. It is basically a glorified pedometer. The nice thing is, it does sync to MFP, so the steps get counted as exercise calories automatically and I don't have to hand-enter the data myself. In addition, the FitBit dashboard (webpage) has some nice metrics on it by default. I like looking at my overall calorie…

It's not a "belief" dear. It's science. You might want to stow your ignorance on this one.

I started StrongLifts almost two years ago. Results: For the first 16 weeks or so, I progressed in a linear fashion according to the prescribed programming. That is, I increased weight 5 lbs. every session, on all lifts. The overhead press and row maxed out first in a matter of a few weeks. Then the bench press. Squats and…

Yep. Basically same thing here. I make a breakfast burrito. Eggs, bacon, tortilla, salsa. While the eggs are cooking, everything else gets prepped in about 90 seconds. The bacon I prep for the week (usually longer) in a glass 13x9 pan (kitchen tip: cooking bacon in the oven in a glass pan is way cleaner than splattering it…

How to use the Smith Machine

Impatient much? People who cut their calories in a significant manner often lose excess water weight the first week. This is why the 6 lb. weight loss happens. But it's not all fat loss. That's the part you need to understand. Remember the math of fat loss: 3,500 calorie deficit for a 1-pound-per-week weight loss. 7,000…

Agreed. My wife calls cereal the "worst breakfast ever". I agree. I make a breakfast burrito just about every day. Eggs, bacon, salsa in a simple tortilla. Easy, takes 5 minutes to make (if that) and filling; last until lunch time easy.

You're welcome. I found that via James Fell. I remember being told that 1g/lb. thing when I started lifting. I weighed about 250 lbs at the time. I started looking at my diary and realizing, wow, do people have any idea how much freakin' chicken you have to eat to get to 250g of protein in a single day? And when you're…