*** The 2019 Gym Rats Thread ***

[neoboy]

Not so much a read but Cronometer made a big difference for me. Has a far bigger nutritional breakdown than MyFitnessPal (which is is also good for a quick scan of food) from vitamins to minerals and breaks your protein down into subgroups too (Levine, lysine, etc).

Found out I was eating silly levels of selenium (those Brazil nuts) and low on calcium, after little tweaking for initial couple of weeks everything looks solid now. Being someone who mostly ate what he wanted all his life, my idea of portion control has always been much bigger to your regular person.

Those apps help you visualise what food looks like in calories, if I don't deviate too much from the weekly diet then don't even need to use it. I just make sure I hit my calorie target for the cut and my protein goal.

I would echo what Chong Warrior said though about diet making a huge difference in how you feel and inflammation, which is even more important as I've hit my early 30s

 

[Skidder]

Early 30s I wish! I'm 44. Will check out Cronometer. Thanks for that, wasn't aware of it.

I eat well compared to many people I guess, in that we largely eat home cooked fresh food, good quality ingredients. I've never been interested in biscuits and crisps and stuff like that but I have always been greedy when it comes to portion size! I've always had a gut even when I was running 5 times a week. I think that is largely portions, booze and predisposition. I drink so much less than I did and don't really want to cut it out all together. If I'm not travelling with work I only drink on weekends and it is generally a bottle of wine shared with the wife rather than being properly on the smash as it was.

I think though that I'm putting too much effort into my workouts to leave it to chance and need to focus a bit. I went for a slash yesterday when I had my squat belt on and the flab over the belt was not a good look! Stronglifts is certainly doing its job though, I am definitely stronger and feel like my posture is improving as well. I had a play fight with an old mate recently and he commented that my punch was markedly improved which is a nice bonus!

Just grabbed a smoothie blender on amazon. Figure I may as well make some tasty protein drinks rather than just shakes and can look to fruit and veg content there.

 

[neoboy]

Yeah the Ninja blender I got a while back has been a life saver, when I can't be bothered chewing through my round of steamed broccoli and green beans I just blitz them into a quick smoothie

Diet definitely becomes more important with age, I can get away with less every year it seems. The apps do help you visualise what your required calories look like and nice way of helping plan things as well.

Only thing to note with Cronometer is that when you're selecting ingredients try to use the ones from the NCCBD database as much as possible as generally they have all 76 listed nutrients.

So for example instead of selecting a specific brand of raspberries from Tesco that comes from the community database (basically what's on the back of the packaging), that will only have 9 nutrients listed, go for the generic NCCBD listing with all 76. Be just about the same anyway and have a complete nutrition profile.

 

[CaptainRAVE]

Nutribullet here. It transformed my nutrition throughout most of my gym time. Funny thing is now, apart from the occasional shake before bed, I have moved away from them focusing more on actual food. Perhaps that is why I have lost strength in some areas?

 

[mrthingyx]

Nutribullet here. It transformed my nutrition throughout most of my gym time. Funny thing is now, apart from the occasional shake before bed, I have moved away from them focusing more on actual food. Perhaps that is why I have lost strength in some areas?

If you are eating less, then it could be a factor...

If your calorie/nutrient intake is constant, however, then there is something else...

 

[Skidder]

Nutribullet here. It transformed my nutrition throughout most of my gym time. Funny thing is now, apart from the occasional shake before bed, I have moved away from them focusing more on actual food. Perhaps that is why I have lost strength in some areas?

That's what I ordered

Have to look up some recipes.

Any favourites or resources for smoothies?

 

[CaptainRAVE]

If you are eating less, then it could be a factor...

If your calorie/nutrient intake is constant, however, then there is something else...

It is possible that my calorie intake has dropped I guess, or perhaps my workout demand has gone up slightly. Mainly chest/arm strength that I seem to have lost. My leg strength is still progressing. Deadlifts mostly there, will test tomorrow. I wondered whether it was overtraining, but a week off and then most of the second week off haven't helped. I have been strangely tired about 1-2 hours sooner than usual for a good few weeks now. Many of my symptoms would point to overtaining I guess.

That's what I ordered

Have to look up some recipes.

Any favourites or resources for smoothies?

Milk, banana, peanut butter, 1 scoop of chocolate whey, 1 scoop of plain whey, honey. Super healthy (also usually with Chia seeds and Goji berries).

 

[Skidder]

Sounds pretty tasty to be fair

 

[CaptainRAVE]

Sounds pretty tasty to be fair

Delicious

Much better than when I started in the gym and mixed the protein powder with water

I might also throw in a Centrum Advanced Multivitamin for good measure if before bed.

Now that I mention it, I probably need to start having these again

 

[neoboy]

Make a similar smoothie, basically a combination of peanut butter, banana, chocolate and whey (occasionally with oats too). All the staples you're suppose to be eating, made in under 30 seconds and consumed in 1 minute

Milk/water 300ml
50g oats
10g of cocoa powder
30g Peanut butter
Scoop of whey (35g)
Banana

 

[CaptainRAVE]

Make a similar smoothie, basically a combination of peanut butter, banana, chocolate and whey (occasionally with oats too). All the staples you're suppose to be eating, made in under 30 seconds and consumed in 1 minute

Yup, sometimes with oats if I need a boost in the morning before a workout.

 

[Skidder]

Make a similar smoothie, basically a combination of peanut butter, banana, chocolate and whey (occasionally with oats too). All the staples you're suppose to be eating, made in under 30 seconds and consumed in 1 minute

Milk/water 300ml
50g oats
10g of cocoa powder
30g Peanut butter
Scoop of whey (35g)
Banana

Is the cocoa powder just for flavour?

 

[neoboy]

Yeah just adds that chocolate flavour to the whole thing and it's pretty good for you in general so win win.

 

[Skidder]

Is oats just porridge oats?

 

[neoboy]

Yeah I just normally grab the cheapest bag at a supermarket, think it's around £2 for 2kg bag in Tesco. It's get pulverized in the blender anyway so type doesn't make much of a difference hence go for cheapest.

 

[Skidder]

ta

 

[ShortWarning]

Monday was squat day so I tried again bearing in mind what you guys have said. Facing the correct way in the rack p), I've taken my shoes off, widened my stance a little (I'm not flexible enough in my groin to go much wider) and I've also been trying to concentrate on engaging my core which I haven't really been doing.

Spoiler

Anymore advice you can give? I might look into investing in lifting shoes.

 

[mrthingyx]

Monday was squat day so I tried again bearing in mind what you guys have said. Facing the correct way in the rack p), I've taken my shoes off, widened my stance a little (I'm not flexible enough in my groin to go much wider) and I've also been trying to concentrate on engaging my core which I haven't really been doing.

Spoiler

Anymore advice you can give? I might look into investing in lifting shoes.

Get more flexible.

It looked better, but I can't really see your heels and whether they're coming off the floor. How did it feel?

And take your belt off. As you're still learning *how* to squat, you need to let your body work unassisted so that you get your bracing right in the first place. Then, once you're pushing intensities that try to crush you, you can strap up and carry on.

Lifting shoes are a lot cheaper nowadays; practically, they make a big difference if you spend a lot of time squatting or Olympic lifting. If you have money to burn, then it's simply a question of build quality - I've got a pair of PowerPerfect 2s and they've lasted the torture I've put them through for seven years without flinching (until recently, when a lace eye threatened to break).

 

[ShortWarning]

Get more flexible.

It looked better, but I can't really see your heels and whether they're coming off the floor. How did it feel?

And take your belt off. As you're still learning *how* to squat, you need to let your body work unassisted so that you get your bracing right in the first place. Then, once you're pushing intensities that try to crush you, you can strap up and carry on.

It felt a lot better this week.

When you say take the belt off... I wear it because I have a problem with my lower back (I've got an MRI on it tomorrow) so I want to do everything possible to help prevent further injury. At what point should I start wearing a belt? I'm 70kg and currently going for 3x8 at 90kg.

 

[Skidder]

I videoed my squats for the first time this week and it was really interesting. As I've mentioned on here I've been concerned I'm losing depth on heavier lifts and it was justified. Have deloaded from 147.5 back to 130kg and practising form and making sure I get the depth.