The Official Gym & Fitness Thread

Are you able to keep that schedule of 9am-12 though? I know that's a typical working hour, so that's why I ask. I have worked out at all hours and my best for me is about 5pm. Allows me to get in 4 solid meals and once I am off work I go home, change, then straight to gym.

 

I work really, really weird shifts so it works out for me. I moved cardio to nighttime and get one good meal in for my morning workouts.

 

I have worked out the majority of my life in the AM. Usually around 5-6am before work.

This year in efforts to help my sleep patterns (its hard AF to fall asleep at 8 to get up at 4:30 in the summer lol) I switched to working out in the evenings and I just work earlier in the day.
I had to force the habbit but now I enjoy it.

I sleep better too.

 

I enjoy going in the middle of the day. I find that’s when I have the most energy.

 

Time to clean up the diet. Planned to start Jan 1, but got the stomach bug and haven’t been able to eat much since then. So, it starts this week. I got fat. Oops.

 

Dang, stomach bug and fat? I just about hit my weight goal after having that bug lol. Weighed in 169 yesterday.

 

My Fitness Pal is a fucking junk ass app

Edit: It appears to be working now

 

They changed.
Instead of having a like “most recent” library like they used to its split by meal.

I’m not a fan anymore.

Does anyone use anything else?

 

I am back on keto for the New Year. Hoping to go 3-4 months then go back to limited complex carbs only. Already down 6.8 pounds. I know most of it is water wight, but still cool to see immediate results on the scale.

 

Yea I hit a PR on squats Sunday, then Monday at 3 am I ran to the bathroom and proceeded to live there all of Monday. Lost 5 lbs last Monday alone.

 

I’m going to do low carb, but not keto. Not yet anyway. I’m just cleaning up a little. No junk food. No sugar (aside from natural sugars like fruits). Only carbs from taters, rice, and veggies.

 

That will be my plan from whenever I bail on keto.

 

I spent 4 weeks attempting to go into ketosis. Average of 23g net carbs per day. Still couldn’t get into ketosis.
Said fuck this. I do low carb and really enjoy it.

It was one thing to give up carbs... but once I basically couldn’t eat a salad it was too many carbs I was out LOL

 

I have such an opinion on keto... Let's just say if you workout at all and are not #350+ keto is not as optimal. Run low carbs, cycle them on leg days... You will make the changes. Low carbs are 100/day and high carb 250/day. You will make better progress than keto, especially at such low weights.

 

Plus getting off keto is when people gain weight

 

I cannot explain very well how I felt during those 4 weeks other than to say I didn’t feel I had lack of energy but I had more neuropathy type issues.
If I was sprinting on a treadmill I felt I was going to fall off. Or like towards the end of a bench press set I felt like I was just going to let go of the weight. Not because I was tired but because I felt my muscles weren’t doing what I wanted them to do.

But not being in ketosis I likely was just severly carb depleted and not using fat for energy.

It was odd and went away with more carbs (I still net under 75g per day).

Of the bodybuilders and powerlifters that I know that do keto do like an intermittent keto where its 7-10 days keto, 1 day refeed.

The only ones I know do it for a prolonged period do it in a cut and do it to cut fat but more importantly to improve insulin sensitivity post competition for bulking. They are physicians and get ultra scientific about their nutrition.

 

I think unless you're obese at 300+ keto is unnecessary and even unhealthy compared to something like a paleo diet combined with intermittent fasting.

When I was into bodybuilding hardcore a few years ago in college, I was stuffing my face with junk food like crazy and weighed in at 205lbs. Pretty solid but I definitely looked a little puffed up. Decided to keep lifting the same but cut out all sugar and do low carb/paleo and not eat after 5pm. Dropped down to 165lbs almost immediately because I was literally eating like a horse beforehand. My lifts are the same as when I was 205lbs, except now I can run for miles without getting tired and am down to 9% bodyfat. I almost look bigger being cut at 165 than I did bulked up at 205. It's not that hard to lose weight all you need is to cut out bad foods and have self control. Yeah I go to sleep a little hungry once in a while but it's not an excuse to stuff my face at 12am

 

I would respectfully disagree, or at least say that is not the case for everyone. I have tried carb cycling, back loading, you name it, and keto has been the most effective for me. However, I definitely have higher body fat than the average lifter in this thread, I am about 90 pounds short of 350.

It's certainly not for everybody. Something is off with either your calculations or your body if you couldn't get into ketosis at 23g of carbs.

 

My last response as a keto apologist:

I don't think you're properly accounting for the difference in people's metabolisms. Even when I was 18-22, I would gain weight if I ate junk food. I weighed 220, worked out 3-4x a week and played Rugby, practicing 3x a week and had games on Saturdays. Even with that level of activity, if I ate poorly, I would gain weight, and quickly.

What may work for you may not work for everyone.

@Newlife and I always chuckle at the bolded comment.

 

I spoke with a few experienced guys on it and they said some people have to get LOW to trigger ketosis.
Now once you did it typically made it easier to stay there and you could increase your carbs a bit slowly and you’d be OK.
They didn’t seem to find it hard to believe I was struggling as they said most lean and athetic people struggle more with it initially.

I don’t doubt the diet works I just was not willing to do what it took.
I tried keto because I felt it would be easier than counting cals and macros. Well it was more tedious and frustrating for me.

Also my favorite thing in life is beer. Make it too hard for me to see benefits from giving up my brews and I’m out.