*** The 2019 Gym Rats Thread ***

@DrToffnar Good job on finishing your 9 month deficit!

When i finished my 9 month deficit I found that it took a lot of effort to hit my calorie aims daily as my eating habits changed (eating cleaner, constant protein rich and lean foods).

I was also worried about packing on weight as i switched to a surplus after such a long deficit. That said, i continued to lift often and as heavy as i could and found that fat was still slowly going while my strength shot up after what was months of very little to no progress. I ended up increasing my daily intake far above what i originally thought i needed.

I found that my metabolism was generally much higher. I don't put this down to any increase in lean mass i obtained in my first 10 months of proper gyming but rather i had 10 months of decent practice and now i was working at decent intensities, with much better form and solid consistency.
 
@Avenged7Fold Ahhh cheers my man! It's been a long and frustrating journey and whilst I haven't shifted as much as I'd have liked, I just wanna get mighty big and strong now xD

Thanks to you and everyone else here for the advise as well! It's been a real big help to actually have a few different real world perspectives on it all as apposed to just spurious articles on the net.
 
I think I've hit a plateau on gains with my calorie deficit, I'm not really able to up any weight or reps at the mo. I know I need to start eating more to get stronger but still have a bit I want to lose...decisions.

I've gone from 74kg - 69kg since February. I don't really want to be much lighter, just want the fat gone. :p
 
If you're still losing, and want to lose, keep going

Going up weights while losing weight is a tightrope of nutrition, you'll find focusing on one goal will be far easier.
You can always lift more later :P
 
Hi,

Just been reading up on some of your experiences with herniated discs and training through/with the condition. I herniated my disc around July 2017 position L4 and L5, the physiotherapist at the time said it was just down to bad luck as opposed to anything I did in the gym. Despite that I stopped any kind of training and martial arts which was also advised by my spinal consultant at the time. Fast forward to August 2018 and through physiotherapy I was able to sit again for longer than a couple of hours and I also returned to the gym. No more heavy lifting for me though, for some reason (im guessing its my form) after a squat session I end up with pain in the soles of my feet, I seem to be ok with DL's, Shoulder Press, Chest Press and pull ups but not wanting to aggravate anything my workouts are only twice a week and limited to the following -

Day 1 -

8x8 wide chin-ups (not weighted)
12x8 tricep extension (35kg)
1.5-2 minutes rest in between sets
8x8 chest press (60kg)
10x8 barbell curl (22.5kg)
1.5-2 minutes rest in between sets

Day 2
8x8 lateral pull downs (54kg either side)
10x8 tricep extension (35kg)
1.5-2 minutes rest in between sets
8x8 Dumbbell incline press (25kg either side)
10x8 standing dumbbell curls (10kg either side)

Nothing great I know but Ive been getting some good results and Im not looking for massive gains as Im neither a bodybuilder or powerlifter, plus I can only go to the gym in my lunch hour therefore very limited on time. Ive gone down in weight from 95kg to 90kg which is great, would like to work on my stomach more but doing crunches or sit-ups feels like im stretching or putting some kind of strain in the lower back area where my issue is. How do those of you with this condition work on your abs? Is it even possible?
 
CLAWS said:
Ive gone down in weight from 95kg to 90kg which is great, would like to work on my stomach more but doing crunches or sit-ups feels like im stretching or putting some kind of strain in the lower back area where my issue is. How do those of you with this condition work on your abs? Is it even possible?
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Abs require low fat more than anything to show through. Having larger ab muscles help obviously and the almighty internet suggests that these are trained like any other muscle and at similar rep ranges. This means doing sit-ups and crunches of silly amounts of reps wont really help and will likely end up aggravating your back quite a bit.

I can't recommend exercises as i don't know anything about your injury but i have added a few ab exercises to my routine and have seen some noticeable results over the last few months (though that could likely be a result of fat loss).

I've been doing cable crunches, cable wood chop and hanging leg raises, upping the weight on the cables or straightening my legs on raises to keep the rep range at 8-15. You might find hanging raises better than sit-ups, as you wont have the hard floor against your back but i'd imagine all these exercises will put some sort of strain on your back.

What people can and can't do even with similar injuries seem to vary. I personally would talk to a medical professional and ask their opinion.
 
First time I've ever had DOM's in my lats this morning. Tis amazing how much harder you can push yourself when you eventually climb out of that calorie deficit. First time I've been able to do 4 sets of wide gip pulldowns without my form breaking down towards the end.
 
I might have full body DOMS tomorrow, first time back in the gym for over two years.

Hopefully playing tennis during that time will minimise the pain suffered when sitting down on the toilet, navigating stairs and walking.
 
ShortWarning said:
I think I've hit a plateau on gains with my calorie deficit, I'm not really able to up any weight or reps at the mo. I know I need to start eating more to get stronger but still have a bit I want to lose...decisions.

I've gone from 74kg - 69kg since February. I don't really want to be much lighter, just want the fat gone. :p
Click to expand...

People tend to underestimate how much they need to lose to get to the level of leanness they're after, which isn't surprising given 454g of fat is about 3500 calories worth of energy and that it never goes from the places we want in the order we want.

One way to reframe the inevitable plateau in your lifts is as an improvement in your strength to bodyweight ratio as the latter goes down. I remember hitting my double bodyweight deadlift for the first time not because I'd been able to keep adding weight, but that I'd got lighter and met it on the way down. :D A few weeks of aggressive dieting is less dispiriting when you think you could then spend many, many months in a well-fed state getting bigger and stronger as your weight trickles up very slowly.
 
Pigeon_Killer said:
I might have full body DOMS tomorrow, first time back in the gym for over two years.

Hopefully playing tennis during that time will minimise the pain suffered when sitting down on the toilet, navigating stairs and walking.
Click to expand...

Welcome back. :cool:

And hope you did all your toileting today. ;)
 
Somnambulist said:
People tend to underestimate how much they need to lose to get to the level of leanness they're after, which isn't surprising given 454g of fat is about 3500 calories worth of energy and that it never goes from the places we want in the order we want.

One way to reframe the inevitable plateau in your lifts is as an improvement in your strength to bodyweight ratio as the latter goes down. I remember hitting my double bodyweight deadlift for the first time not because I'd been able to keep adding weight, but that I'd got lighter and met it on the way down. :D A few weeks of aggressive dieting is less dispiriting when you think you could then spend many, many months in a well-fed state getting bigger and stronger as your weight trickles up very slowly.
Click to expand...

I guess that's true, just need to lose another 8kg then I can reach my my double bodyweight DL. :p

Yea, I did underestimate. I'm glad I decided to do this now rather pack on a few more kgs first.

I'm struggling with my deadlifts now. I'm pretty sure it's a weakness in my lats. I'll start from a good bracing position but my shoulders roll forward as soon as I make the lift.
 
Managed a 200 pull yesterday, it wasn't planned as I have only been back deadlifting for a few weeks and still working on refining my form and movement pattern. But yea, went for it to see how it was. It felt and looked **** which I'm not surprised about, went up quick enough.

Also not been following any strength specific training either so that's promising.

 
Managed to escape any serious DOMS from the gym but man are my legs killing after tennis this morning. Lasted about an hour before I started to tighten up and then it was an absolute battle to move :D
 
I bruised my wrist badly and aggravated an old skateboarding injury a week ago (play fighting with brother in law :( who is too punchable). I've had a week off stronglifts and it is far better but still feels like I would hurt myself pulling. I reckon squat may be OK but don't really want to make it worse finding out. Any suggestions of what to do instead for a few days while it heals more? It is my right wrist and my left arm is weaker. May be do a load of left armed dumbell stuff for another week? What to do, don't want to do nothing.
 
Get on the treadmill as penance for your daftness.

I did something similar a few years ago: strained my shoulder doing an arm wrestle. Just accept the time off and remember that as aesthetic as getting huge is, the mindset required to achieve it is an athlete's one: you have to train to hit your goals, and anything that disrupts your training should be minimised or avoided.

So I don't arm-wrestle anymore.
 
I think you have to take a little time off. I managed to further aggravate my back and push myself even further back by not taking a rest and not appreciating my limitations. It's really frustrating but I think it's the best thing to do.
 
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