The Official Gym & Fitness Thread

I'm right there with you. Most days I barely get 1800 calories. If I eat over that I will start gaining weight. Right now I'm around 185 and 12% but I have always had a slow metabolism so its real hard for me to lose weight unless I'm very calorie restricted.

 

Ha I meant to say pre-bed.

Thanks. Even the wife said something last night. She likes the way I look so much better lean, so I promised her I won't bulk again until I have a 6-pack, so I may never be bulking again

I'm all about dat IIFYM life, so I keep foods in my diet that keep me sane. 3-4 years ago, my macros were on point, but I was drinking Coke's, eating hamburger helper, candy, etc. I felt like shit all the time. Now, I kinda go by the 80% clean, 20% dirty rule. Micronutrients are much more important to me now

I always keep vegetables on standby on a cut because you can eat a big-ass bowl of salad when you're starving and it'll be like 30 calories. I would look like a cancer patient at 1800 calories.

 

Also,

 

I eat only clean food, well I'll have some chips or a cookie or something every now and then. I'd have to look again at what my macros are but I eat around 4000 calories a day, not on a bulk and not on a cut. If I eat less, I lose weight. I cut back my simple carbs since breaking my wrist, because I started getting some belly fat so I'm probably down in the 3700 calories range right now but I've also lost 8 pounds in the past 10 weeks.

My every day diet .....

6 AM breakfast:
2 waffles with a small amount of non high fructose corn syrup, syrup
1/2 pound of chicken breast, steak, fish or turkey
1 cup blueberries
2 cups of fresh spinach and kale
1 scoop of bcaas
Water to drink

9 AM break:
1 banana
2 cups of mixed fruit (strawberries, mango, pineapple, grapes)
1 cup of pistachios or cashews
Water to drink

12 PM lunch:
3/4 pound of steak, chicken breast, fish or turkey
2 cups of brown rice or sweet potatos
Water to drink

4 - 5 PM get home from work snack:
3 cups of cereal with vanilla almond milk
1/4 pound of steak, grilled chicken, fish or turkey
Water to drink

6ish PM pre workout meal:
1 cup of oatmeal
1 banana

20 mins before workout:
Preworkout
A handful of gummy lifesavers
1 scoop of bcaas

8 pm post workout meal/dinner:
3/4 pound of steak grilled chicken, fish or turkey
1 cup of rice or sweet potatos
2 cups of fresh spinach
1 cup of fresh kale
Water to drink, a beer maybe 2 days a week.

I use a lot of hot sauce on all my meats, rice and sweet potatos. Occasionally bbq sauce and light seasoning.

Sat is usually a "cheat" day as I'll go to BWW or just get a burger at wendys or something.

I might just die within a few days with that low of a calorie intake. I'd damn sure have no fuckin energy. Imy starving if I go more then 3 hours without eating. Like the starving feeling where you get light headed and you damn near can't walk straight up cause your stomach cramps. Funny Dragon Ball Z was mentioned the other day, I'm like baby Goku when I'm hungry.

 

Damn, I forgot about waffles! I'm gonna definitely incorporate those into my bulk. My absolute favorite bulking food is hamburger helper

I'm the same way about eating. If I don't eat every 2 hrs or so, I get super light-headed and tired. I literally take food with me everywhere I go.

 

I have always been a big eater but have never had trouble cutting my food. Not sure if that's from growing up a wrestler, being starved in the military, or just born that way but I wont complain. I am just gonna keep it up and maybe add one "cheat meal" aka something still healthy but maybe 600-800 calories for the whole meal. That should jump me up into the 2200-2500 range.

That said, this weekend my dad and I are entering a BBQ contest. I have came to terms with Saturday being the day I go back to 205lbs...

 

I don't mind eating on a cut, either, as long as I can stay full. If I miss a meal and get lethargic, I'll pig out on whatever I can get my hands on. I'm kinda the same with cheat meals, but not really lol. I usually go for a steak, but I also love my pizza, hot wings, and fries....and of course, beer.

My best friend and his cousin used to cook bbq professionally in the Southeast. I loved tagging along for all the free samples Good luck!

 

What's this "cut" bullshit y'all always talk about?

 

Get fat trying to put on muscle and you'll find out

 

So you guys bulk, then cut...bulking includes eating a lot of cals to gain weight and (muscle?) the cut to get fergie ferg? Which is eating less and losing the fat but keeping carbs to keep energy high? I'm new at this and I'm just trying to understand the lingo, not because I'm going to do it, but just so I'm on the same page. Maybe when I grow up I'll do something like this. Lol.

 

Something us skinny guys can't really do. Haha

 

Also, went to the gym last night, (big mistake) and everything was being used pretty much. Hate when the bench is being used by 3 or 4 guys and take like an 1 hr for all them to finish their set then the go to incline lol. Fak! Lemme use it!

Anyways, I like being sore the next day. I get a satisfaction being sore that means I worked hard enough. Are you guys always sore? I've gotten to a point where my muscles won't be sore the next day (like biceps) even if I hit them hard the day before. Does that mean no more gains or does that mean I have to go higher in weight?

Wife likes the bod, but my hams look weak in the mirror lol. I like being proportionate. I climb ladders everyday so my calves are ok but I still work them out.

Do you guys have any favorite YouTube channels you like watching for proper form/technique/benefits? I like athleanx for all around and alan thrall for legs. I used to watch a lot of sixpackshortcuts but I don't like the generic responses. I like the workouts but Jeff Cavalier on athleanx explains why you do this movement, what it works, and how its supposed to work.

 

I used to follow Elliot Hulse for tips/tricks. He seems to always have something decent to say and I learned a bit more about things other than lifting.

 

Yeah waffles are the bomb no doubt.

Wait what happened?

It shouldn't just be eating more and eating less but it depends on what you wanna do. If you wanna gain weight then the best way is to eat a bunch of shitty food that's high in sugar and fat. Problem with that is its not only unhealthy but you then have to try and lose all that fat. Eating healthy but just more of it is a much better way to bulk without adding a lot of excess fat. Also when cutting, drop the same things, sugars and fat. Specifically carbs in the form of simple sugars and saturated fats. Just lower your intake of them while keeping your protein intake high and you'll maintain most muscle mass while loosing the unwanted body fat. Or you can not bulk and cut and just always eat healthy and look the way you want to year round. It's harder to put on mass but I personally would rather be cut year round and feel great and only gain 3 pounds of muscle versus get "fat" then get "skinney" and gain 6 pounds of muscle (obviously these numbers are just made up but you get the concept). Some people, like me, also have a very hard time gaining fat weight without just eating like pure shit so a lot of it comes down to your bodies composition

 

Starting 5/3/1 and carb cycling next week. The adjustment to keto this time around has been pretty brutal. Plus, I want to start getting some of my strength back. Going to have "high" carb days MWF, take in about 200g those days. Those are the days I lift (well, and Saturday). Thursday and Friday will still be no/light carb days, >50g. Saturday and Sunday will be medium carb days, between 50 and 100 carbs. This will give me a little wiggle room on the weekends.... Going to stick with it for at least a few weeks. Hopefully this will keep my brain sharp for school and work will still helping me lean out a bit. I have read a lot on the subject, and I believe it will work out well with 5/3/1 and my lifting schedule.

I wish I could eat 200g of carbs everyday, but the truth is I would blow up like a whale if I did. I am so jealous of you guys/girls who can do that and not have the same adverse results - in fact, fuck you guys! Just goes to show how different all of our bodies are. When my focus was only on strength, I didn't care. But now, approaching my 30th birthday, I want to get leaner before it becomes too difficult. These past few months leading up to my wedding were my first "cut," which I hate calling it that, but I actually liked the results I saw and the compliments I got.

 

If you are chasing the sore feeling, switch up the weight you are doing or the rep schemes. Lack of soreness means your body is adapting to the changes you are forcing it to undergo. Switch up your workouts every 4-6 weeks. I can tell you though, even if you stick with it, you won't ever be able to match the soreness you get after those first few workouts when you start out. I still remember the feeling.

As far as videos go, this guy is awesome: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqKhLR1zRaU.

 

Easy for me to gain fat, harder to lose it, but decent at gaining muscle. Metabolism has slowed down a lot but I've been eating healthier for The most part and eating less portions of the junk food. Still haven't started taking the protein shakes and creatine but will start next week. Just haven't gotten around to buying stuff.
I like being leaner, more than bulky because that means I can jump higher haha.

 

Hahaha that's awesome, the dude in those videos is Justin lascek, he is a stud. We went through the SFQC together. Man has quads the size of my frickin torso

 

Leg day today. Last couple days I've done 10 sets of squats then deadlifts. Might change it up today and go heavier on squats and lighter on deads.

Or it might be one of those days that I stay in the squat rack for 90 mins doing different squat variations. Not really sure yet.

 

Hey bro. How many sets you got left