The Official Gym & Fitness Thread

life is good! Hiring in for this new job now. They may kick me to nights later on which won’t work for us as we are trying to have a kid so I can’t be leaving a pregnant wife alone every night. Other than that, I’m loving Virginia and the people here.

what’s your goal numbers for the next meet? Still loving it?

You’re a beast. You got this. Do you use ammonia often? And if you’re feeling stronger then I wouldn’t worry about it. That should make ya more confident.

Why no practice with that stone? Don’t have one or just too heavy?

It’s about time you got your shit together! You’ve been talking about it for a while. Stay on it this time man. You got this.

 

Nope never used ammonia.

 

Any reason why? It seems so popular these days. Like everyone uses it.

 

Just never have. I don't think it would be good for this comp since these are medleys and not just one time max lifts. I would try it on a max deadlift or max log event but I need to try it in training first.

 

I use it on 1RM attempts. I've got an old Tylenol bottle in my bag I filled with ammonia tabs. I like those better than the powder. I crack one, give it a good whiff, and then get in position and give it one more big rip before beginning the lift. It may be a placebo effect, but it works for me, and it really clears up the sinuses

The only negative is that when competing, you can't use it 'in eye sight' of the audience. Which means, you can't go stand on the platform, take a rip, and then hit the lift. You have to use it before you walk up and tests show that any actual benefits wear off within 7 seconds, which is way shorter than the time it takes to approach the platform, complete any pre lift rituals, and actually hit the lift

 

My last BP reading was 144/100.

Yours is pretty solid.

 

Interesting.

I may give it a shot in training after this comp.

 

Jesus lol. For someone is as health minded as you... that just sucks

 

Mine is always 118-120/78. Had it done the other day after some caffeine and it was 140/78... Kind of scared me but I am on some "enhancements" so I expect it.

I bought an at home checker and this morning I was at 133/77 so I am not mad at that with being on gear and over 300lbs.

 

Yea man I’m still loving it. It’s frustrating when I can’t push like I want due to nagging injuries. I’ve learned it’s best to take the time to deal with them though.

it’s still way too far out to have any idea of reasonable goals. However, more than last time is the goal.

 

I’ve been pretty good with the fasting, I just haven’t been tracking it though.
My eating habits were pretty good over the holidays, but gym time was non-existent and my sleep schedule was fucked. Really I was pretty healthy for the holidays.

 

I Love you, but I need you to be hurt for a little longer so I can have a better chance.

 

I am sitting at 6'4 187.4 and fairly lean right now. My goal is to hit 195 by September and to at least maintain my current BF%. I think I am somewhere around 17-18% if I had to guess based on pictures. I would love to drop some body fat as well, but if I can maintain that % and gain 7 pounds of muscle I will definitely be happy.

My current program (AX-1) will finish up in mid April assuming I am able to keep up with the assessments moving through and don't feel like I need to repeat some weeks. This program is my introduction to deadlifts and bench so I am hoping for some newbie gains lol.

Depending on how happy I am with this program I will either do another AthleanX program (maybe total body) or jump in on my friend's program. He just started Mark Rippetoe's starting strength.

 

Its not consistently high yet. This past month its been mostly low but here and there it spikes up.

I have hyperthyroid. Elevated HR and BP are side effects of that. Plus family history. My mom has been on HBP meds since 37 and my aunt since 30.

I’m hoping my spikes are controllable by controlling my carbs. I’m reading more and more that carb intake controls electrolyte balance and thus blood volume which helps control all that.

I’m not wanting to go on any meds as they trash your physical performance. But we’re not there yet since I’m not consistently high.

I need to get an at home device to monitor it. Especially see if its correlated with diet/activity/sleep/stress.

 

6'4" 187??? Jesus you must be a stick... Are you sure you you're 17-18?

Or are you fat skinny?

 

The dude I’ve been working out with sounds similar to your build. He’s got those skinny abs. This was him on leg day idk how you say 17-18%. Probably way less.

 

I like this one but I'm not sure how accurate it is for me. The cuff is for 9-16.5in upper arms, but mine are 20.5in.... So its just barely on there lol The sit down machines at stores don't work cause I can only get it to my forearm. I have to actually go to a Dr. or clinic just to check BP, it sucks. I may try a larger cuff but this brand doesn't have any and I'm not sure if a random large cuff will work on this machine.

I am also not sure how tight to put it on before I start the test. The first few times I did it I had fairly tight and the machine wouldn't even read, it just kept cycling the pressure. Then I loosened it up as much as I could and I got two readings around 130-133/80

 

He's cute, y'all should hook up.

 

Fair question lol. I really don't know tbh as this is all new to me. I base the BF% guess entirely off of what my core and chest look like compared to pictures of percentages online. I have visible/fairly defined obliques and transverse abdominus. I am also 19% according to one of the shitty scales that checks it lol. I was 23% on that same scale before I started keto and exercise back in July. As I mentioned before I stopped Keto in October. So the 17-18 is a guess purely based on those things.

I am not skinny fat at least to the extent I see in most pictures. Having said that, I am definitely too skinny for my own liking. Hence why I am starting to venture into programs with heavier weights, more compound movements, and more recovery time.

 

eh too skinny. Not thicc