*** The 2016 Gym Rats Thread ***

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Oh I certainly wouldn't expect progress in OHP if you're cutting at the moment. Maintaining is good enough! It's such a temperamental lift, even being tired at the gym can make you fail the lifts you'd normally do with ease.

A good assistance exercises for me is seated DB Press, reclined two notches. So it's a very steep incline. Takes the stress out of the delts during the deepest part of the rep, and the slight increase of pec usage allows you to get some more volume out.
 
MoNkeE said:
Oh I certainly wouldn't expect progress in OHP if you're cutting at the moment. Maintaining is good enough! It's such a temperamental lift, even being tired at the gym can make you fail the lifts you'd normally do with ease.
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I've just had a false sense of progress the last few months. As i started to lose weight near the end of January, I took all my compounds back to low weights and then progressed at 2.5kg a session. I've really just hit my old limits.

Bench is stalled at 67.5kg, deads at 90kg, squat still going up slowly, currently at 70kg and BOR is at 55kg. Think my focus should just be to maintain while I continue to drop weight.

Motivationally it's great to see lifts going up as weight drops down but that luxury is now past :)
 
No reason why you can't reload 10 - 15% on your lifts and start progressing again, might give you the push you need.

Motivation wise, I get pushed by the results in the mirror (especially during a cut) rather than the weights in the gym.
 
MoNkeE said:
Biggest thing for shoulder press for me when standing: keep your core tight and your glutes squeezed. Makes the world of difference and saves your lower back from taking the load.
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Yes completely agree, i think that anyone lifting heavy OHP should ensure them glutes are tensed.

MoNkeE said:
Martyn, I don't tend to believe in deloads as most people aren't training to a standard that requires one. What I would recommend is spending a week eating a lot more calories.
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See I just try and go by what my body is telling me, and now it's saying I need to rest. Not because my muscles are sore etc but I have a few minor nagging injuries that won't go away, eating certainly helps but for me it isn't quite enough, I find my body heals fairly slowly. Some days i'll hit just shy of 4k calories, which is a lot at my weight. I have no doubt I could hit the gym and either do the same or more, but it means carrying my injuries a little longer.

NarChaDBaueR said:
Cool, thanks for all the info! Upped my calorie intake to 2200 on Friday, already feel less hangry all the time which is good! Hoping my lifts go up like yours have, 5/3/1 has been a struggle whilst in a deficit.
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They will do i'm sure, providing you are consistent. Out of interest how do you find 5/3/1? How long have you been doing it? Have you progressed to that from a different program?
 
There's a couple of schools of thought with deloads. You have the 'go by feel' camp where it's auto-regulated, with something the beginner linear periodisation programs having it built in to coincide with stalls or more experienced lifters just deciding they feel beat up and need a light week.
Then you have the 'plan them into your training' camp where the idea is you're preempting cumulative fatigue/overreaching in order to progress for longer and avoid grinding yourself into the ground. A lot of intermediate programs do this, e.g. Lyle McDonald's GBR has you aim to progress as much as you can for 6-8 weeks then back cycle your weights 20% and start again and Eric Helms likes using a 4 week wave loaded linear progression pattern for bodybuilders where you spend 3 weeks upping the weights but working down a rep range, the 4th week uses the week 1 weights with slightly reduced volume, then the 5th week starts the progression again at the top of the rep range except you're now using the weights from the 2nd week.

I quite like this approach as my self-awareness tends to go AWOL in terms of when I'm just grinding sets out v.s. quality work, shift work makes how I feel v.s. performance a bit unpredictable, and it's still training at a % that will stimulate muscle protein synthesis and be productive, so they're not needlessly wasted weeks of training.
 
MartynB85 said:
They will do i'm sure, providing you are consistent. Out of interest how do you find 5/3/1? How long have you been doing it? Have you progressed to that from a different program?
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I've only been doing it for 3 cycles/months so far... But I am enjoying it, I've got the app so I can see what's coming up in the next work outs and what my projected 1RM's will be at the end of each cycle. Before that it was just a mixed bag of different splits with no real structure.
 
Hi all

I've used the iifym calculator to see what my macros should be to try and cut some fat. I estimate to be around the late 20s and would like to get down below 20%. How do these macros look?

CARBS PROTEIN FAT FIBER CALORIES
GRAMS per day 170.6 180.2 57.7 40 - 50 1922
 
Depends on what you're doing? Age, activity etc.

I just redid mine due to upping my cycling and getting back into a weights routine, so added more calories/ activity gave me:

I weigh 196lbs, I'm 5'10 - desk job but an hour of cycling 6 days a week and 4 weights sessions.
at a 20% deficit, I get 2326cal and broke it to: P206 F90 C174
 
Somnambulist said:
I quite like this approach as my self-awareness tends to go AWOL in terms of when I'm just grinding sets out v.s. quality work, shift work makes how I feel v.s. performance a bit unpredictable, and it's still training at a % that will stimulate muscle protein synthesis and be productive, so they're not needlessly wasted weeks of training.
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During my cut I made sure I deloaded every 8-10 weeks, which seemed to work well. But I was a complete newb with newb gainz on my side. Now I'm lifting decent amounts for my body weight, I'm beginning think it is important (especially when natty, oh and getting on a bit) to schedule in deload/rest.

NarChaDBaueR said:
I've only been doing it for 3 cycles/months so far... But I am enjoying it, I've got the app so I can see what's coming up in the next work outs and what my projected 1RM's will be at the end of each cycle. Before that it was just a mixed bag of different splits with no real structure.
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Yeah I find using an app does help, thats what I like about doing stronglifts. You don't have to think about anything, just go to the gym and get on with it and then track your progress. Hope them gainz come on strong now your coming out of your cut.

Jon33 said:
Hi all

I've used the iifym calculator to see what my macros should be to try and cut some fat. I estimate to be around the late 20s and would like to get down below 20%. How do these macros look?

CARBS PROTEIN FAT FIBER CALORIES
GRAMS per day 170.6 180.2 57.7 40 - 50 1922
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It doesn't mean much if you don't say your weight, activity levels etc. Your aiming for your TDEE minus 20%. You will have to re-adjust as your weight drops too.
 
I put my age etc into the calculator for it but if it helps for advice on here; I'm 29, about 6ft and weight is around 90-92kg. TDEE came out around 2500 which is how I got the daily at 2000.

Been looking at some pics to try and estimate current body fat, maybe I'm not late 20s but closer to 25 if that makes any difference.
 
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Passed my BW on deadlift last night, 82.5KG for 7 reps (i'm currently 81KG), really happy with that considering i'm on a meager 1800/cal a day and dropped 4KG in the last 5/6 weeks.

It's small potatoes compared to a lot of you but it's made me really happy.

This is the most consistent i've ever been with my lifting. Always had something get in the way in the past whenever I started to make any progress (injury, sickness, shift pattern tiredness, personal problems, busy gym, laziness). Now i'm on a set work pattern, own all my equipment in the garage, have my nutrition on point. Did a complete reset at the start of the year and feeling good!

Aiming to be about 75KG @ 13-15% bf in the next 3 months. Then i'll increase the calories so i'm at the slightest deficit until my holiday in September. Following that, it's slow bulk all winter and repeat next year.
 
Man down!

I have my first lifting related injury and its bad one!

Was deadlifting today, wasn't really feeling great, grip felt week all through my warm up sets and my first two working sets. Last rep of my final working set, grinds up slowly but gets there as I'm lowering her down my grip just gives and the bar rolls in my hand, completely stripping off one of my callouses! Considering its such a minor thing it bled like you wouldn't believe, thought I was going to need a blood transfusion (I might be exaggerating a little now) - but god does it hurt.

Think it'll be a good few days off from anything that is going to aggravate it though, pain in the bum!
 
Rids said:
Man down!

I have my first lifting related injury and its bad one!

Was deadlifting today, wasn't really feeling great, grip felt week all through my warm up sets and my first two working sets. Last rep of my final working set, grinds up slowly but gets there as I'm lowering her down my grip just gives and the bar rolls in my hand, completely stripping off one of my callouses! Considering its such a minor thing it bled like you wouldn't believe, thought I was going to need a blood transfusion (I might be exaggerating a little now) - but god does it hurt.

Think it'll be a good few days off from anything that is going to aggravate it though, pain in the bum!
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Put a piece of duct tape over it and keep going. Get it regularly pfft. Reiyushin must do sommat similar with his monster lifts
 
I tend to not get bad rips often but recently I picked up a really nasty one so I've been pulling the bulk of my lifts with straps.

They do tend to happen when you either misgrip the bar or your grip isn't strong enough.
 
reiyushin said:
I tend to not get bad rips often but recently I picked up a really nasty one so I've been pulling the bulk of my lifts with straps.

They do tend to happen when you either misgrip the bar or your grip isn't strong enough.
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Hmmm only ever happens with 3+ reps with me. Singles has never happened. Had my worst burst coming on reps near the bottom of the pyramid, burst callous on hand and also finger by it on the next one up from little finger, felt like someone lanced my hand and finger. Duct tape on and next few sets to finish
 
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