thread of getting sw0le

cof dehydrates u tho

i wld have a small bowl of fiber cereal (anything that helps you poop ftw!) some milk and a banana

amt shld be something yr comfortable with and not something that will make u throw it all up which prob depends on yr weight/body fat tbh

hi all, just the resident meathead here chiming in to brag about his 315 x 5 deadlifts, 245 x 5 squats and 245 x 5 bench. peace

Attaboy

thanks,
chad

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DYa19scVMAETDuY.jpg:large

Am starting weights for basically the first time in my life. I am mostly limited to an annoying all-in-one cable machine thingy and an incomplete set of dumbbells in the gym utility closet at work. Things have been going pretty well. Making incremental improvements over the last two months or so and avoiding injury.

I’m comin after you map.

It’s amazing how different standards are IRL at the average gym/ on here with normal non lying people vs in “lifter” forums where they will be like “lol your squat is nothing 2x body weight is the minimum to call yourself a man”

Even those “strength standards” websites where they say you are “stronger than x% of lifters” if you can lift y. I forget sometimes that that’s out of people who lift, not out of everyone.

Uh 245 x 5 bench is super impressive by any standard.

map that's nuts. your numbers, not the chad meme, but that is too really

just made the switch from machines to free weights and all I have to say is OWWWWW

i run 2x wk because... i like it? i mean not really, but i like the process of it, getting out in my neighborhood, time to listen to something uninterrupted, all that. i run outside even in winter -- with bouts of extreme cold, snow, ice, i've probably been going more like 1x/wk since december

sleep is probably my biggest problem. it's something i've been trying to address for a while, not very well, and my job has been uncooperative. i get probably 7 hours avg?

so yes i'm probably carrying a lot more fatigue, esp in my butt and legs, than i should be, into the workout.

i think my warmup progression is fine: x3 50%, x1 75%, x1 90%. which at those low weights is pretty much nothing.

there is something mental, about fearing for my low back, that magnifies all the (relatively minor) stresses of squatting. like i said, it's not completing the rep but committing to the descent where i'm failing. i've tried to rebuild confidence by resetting but it hasn't done the trick :/

i think rather than just doing squats only 1x a week, i'll put them in my B workout (i was doing some light fronts). just making the attempt more often is probably good.

When you say x3 do you mean three reps or three sets? Because if that's reps I think it's way too little of a warmup/build.

cof dehydrates u tho

i wld have a small bowl of fiber cereal (anything that helps you poop ftw!) some milk and a banana

amt shld be something yr comfortable with and not something that will make u throw it all up which prob depends on yr weight/body fat tbh

― F# A# (∞), Tuesday, March 20, 2018 6:07 PM (yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Cof is a diuretic. It increases how much you pee. I don't think half a cup or so right before a workout is going to dehydrate you to a significant degree.

right, i think like all things food/exercise, it depends on your age, body and your eating habits

many many years go i used to run a lot and i found it dehydrated me very fast (weather is an important factor as well), so anything would exacerbate it

while i actually love running, i haven't done it in years because i found it hindered most of my performance and gains, even when i was running twice a week. i spoke with a marathon runner turned sw0le bro a few years ago and he was in the same situation i was in but he told me to dramatically reduce my cardio and increase my weights and i would get better results, which it did

for the last few years or so i'll run a few miles maybe once every few months, but i do hike and do light forefoot jogs up mountains (one of my favourite things to do) every once in a while

cardio in general is not a priority for me, exactly because it affects my weight lifting, but i love that it makes my lungs/heart feel better and helps my breathing (similar to yoga)

tbc, btw, I was saying map's numbers are irl impressive. Whereas I have been on lifting forums where people act like that's nbd. Also the strength "standards" sites can be deceptive. For example, they put me at "novice" in bench for my bodyweight and say that I am "stronger than 40% of lifters" in my category. But that category is not all men, it's men who lift. So approaching even the middle of the pack for lifters feels like an achievement.

whatever you have to tell yourself breh..

Lol all I will reiterate is by any standard 245 x 5 bench is impressive (that’s probably a near 285 1RM). The other numbers are all good too, but I know very few lifters who regularly bench that amount and I’ve lifted for years now and am nowhere near nor do I have aspirations to that weight.

i run 2x wk because... i like it? i mean not really, but i like the process of it, getting out in my neighborhood, time to listen to something uninterrupted, all that. i run outside even in winter -- with bouts of extreme cold, snow, ice, i've probably been going more like 1x/wk since december

sleep is probably my biggest problem. it's something i've been trying to address for a while, not very well, and my job has been uncooperative. i get probably 7 hours avg?

so yes i'm probably carrying a lot more fatigue, esp in my butt and legs, than i should be, into the workout.

i think my warmup progression is fine: x3 50%, x1 75%, x1 90%. which at those low weights is pretty much nothing.

there is something mental, about fearing for my low back, that magnifies all the (relatively minor) stresses of squatting. like i said, it's not completing the rep but committing to the descent where i'm failing. i've tried to rebuild confidence by resetting but it hasn't done the trick :/

i think rather than just doing squats only 1x a week, i'll put them in my B workout (i was doing some light fronts). just making the attempt more often is probably good.

As somebody with recurring lower back issues, I (literally) feel your pain. I also run, and I also don't get enough sleep. I still don't see why if you're consistent in all of those things you shouldn't be able to make gains. I used to be wary of running/cardio while lifting, but I missed running and decided to prioritize it higher. I don't think doing this has hurt my ability to make gains with my squat, because I'm consistent. If I can finish my reps, and I can add weight to the lift as my program requires, then it can only be a good thing.

Without knowing any specifics about your lower back problems (or mine, actually, since neither doctor I've had since has never been able to solidly diagnose anything), I will just say that one thing I did to build back confidence after recovering from injury was doing paused-breathing squats as an assistance movement. Start with just the bar and work up to what you feel comfortable with. Drop down, keeping all of your muscles tense and flexed, and take ten or so deep breaths from the belly without losing your tightness. I still do a few of these while warming up to get myself in the zone mentally. I also personally favor a lighter higher-rep warmup. Even if it's with a 25 pound bar; more reps = more practice and I think it goes further to limber up than low rep heavy warmups do.

Lol all I will reiterate is by any standard 245 x 5 bench is impressive

https://imgur.com/a/azc9R

i'm done with my work thing and i actually slept last night so i'm ready to be back in the gymm and eating real foods. my knee is still kinda iffy. i'm just gonna work on chin-ups and butt stuff and benching for a while.

Just signed back up at the gym yesterday and did my first workout in like 8 months? It felt so good! I'm starting REALLY light (and i'm still fairly sore) but I'm really excited to be back. Also have a ton of protein powder and an unopened thingy of creatine that map told me to get. I just kinda dicked around with a few diff things yesterday but I also wanna develop a new workout routine and I'm excited abt that too, the gym is cool

i'm going much lighter on weights and trying to do more flexibility / leg stuff good for running, because i'm moving to MOAB in two weeks!

is protein powder etc worth it if you're not exactly going in with the big weights? I'm pretty much machines and dumbells and cardio for now but it would be nice to improve and get better

protein powder is good for helping you hit your daily protein target, especially if you are a moron like me and aim for the scientifically unsupported meathead standard 1g/lb. i have stockholm syndromed myself into enjoying a few flavors as well as the gritty undissolving creatine texture but i recommend assessing your goals and nutritional needs to see if it's necessary.

(fwiw i am 6'3" and 200 lbs and getting down 200g of protein a day is kind of a chore so putting a bunch of it in a shake and chugging it down really helps)

moab!

fair enough. i eat fairly healthily and have eggs every morning etc so probably don't need much more protein than I already get for now

protein powder is also really good if you want to shit a lot

oh yeah def wanna do that

then get some asap!

guys i know this is the sw0le thread but... creatine? really?

A lot of people swear by it. Science on it is... inconclusive but it’s not obviously harmful either.

protein powder is nice for hitting your target, esp when cutting calories

I consume a silly amount of whey protein products now. I really like the kirkland protein bars -- they are tasty and also have a lot of fiber. I also really like the premier protein drinks (available at costco). They come to a little over $1 per serving, which is pricier than protein powder, but they are good on the go. For a while I was using muscle milk brand protein powder, but it's gross on its own and adding it to "shakes" was packing on too many calories. Plus I'm pretty sure it made me smell bad. I just started using this super-organic Vega brand plant protein powder. Doesn't taste as weird and artificial and doesn't make me stink, but it's a little bit grainy and doesn't blend as well.

this is what i used when i did shakes
https://www.pinksun.co.uk/whey-protein-grass-fed-hormone-free

it was oddly hard to find one that was actually organic, hormone-free etc

I eat an RX bar post workout because they seem to not be filled with garbage and drink 16oz of whole milk cuz milk is great. Admittedly I’m not exactly going to appear on cover of Men’s Health but I make small but significant gains.

which Kirkland flavor is your favorite?

xp

i bought some of those kirkland bars, got sick of them, let them sit for a couple months. i tried to eat one last week and it was completely petrified.

creatine is cheap and may have some benefit so why not.

i do two scoops of myprotein brand "strawberry cream" in some unsweetened almond milk when i get home from the gym, along with a bowl of oatmeal. it's fine.

the real secret to any lifting success i have is boar's head brand turkey pepperoni and axelrod nonfat cottage cheese. together. alternating bites. it is my favorite meal of the day.

whenever i hear "creatine" i think of mark mcgwire and his bulging neck, it's like pavlovian for me

i mean from what i can tell it helps, doesn't hurt, and is affordable alongside (or in!) protein powder so why not.

Re the Kirkland bars -- they've introduced new softer versions.

Cookies and Cream > Chocolate Peanut Butter > Chocolate > Cinnamon Roll imo. Those are the ones I've had, don't know if there are others.

just fwiw the vast majority of ppl don't need more than 1g/kg/day of protein, and definitely no more than 1.5g/kg/day for sw0leitude

yr just gonna pee out most of it

do ppl do shakes etc even on days they don't work out?

too true jeeb my man

the thing to look out for in all these whey powders/bars is sugar intake

look for the ones with the least amount of sugar because they add up if you are consuming them twice a day and could prevent from getting rid of excess fat

whey powder works in my experience but with caveats, i stopped using it about 3 years ago -- i was using a cheap one, eas vanilla flavoured for the most part

everyone's body is different but it was always by the fourth month of consecutive use, i would get crazy side effects

i tried the 6 eggs a day thing and got bad side effects as well

both are good for gains but i found as soon as i stopped the powder i would lose some gains quickly, with eggs not so much loss

anyway i know it's pricey and time consuming but after that i decided the best way to consume protein is naturally especially with natural meats with animal fats -- it helps your body absorb the protein better, because as gbx said, the body doesn't absorb synthetic protein very well

there are highly quality isolates like the one tracer hand mentioned, but those were too expensive for what i was going after or just not worth it

i'd rather enjoy a good piece of meat

I can't seem to find definitive science on the whole how much protein you can digest in a sitting/day thing. It sort of *seems* logical that you might retain protein better from a steak than from a powder dissolved in liquid, but then with steak you are getting a lot of fat too.

xp to tracer

depends how much you're working out

if you've done a hard work out muscles can take more than a day to recover, so theoretically if you're resting the day after you work out, your muscles still need protein to regenerate protein tissue, so depending on how much recovery you need, you probably still need at least body percent amount of protein -- thing is lots of people overestimate how much protein they need to recover, so ya, maybe a little more protein than your muscle mass is needed, but not as much as a normal work out day, because on work out days you have to account for low sugar levels that lifting depletes rather quickly

xp

fat is does not make you fat, right?

also you're googling the wrong terms

there is a growing amount of cases where the small intestine is observed absorbing hydrolyzed protein at a lower rate

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2211428

the concept is not specific to protein but any hydrolyzed material or isolates

too lazy to search for a better source but that'll get you started

it should be said though that food science is really at its infancy so a lot of this is recent research based on smaller studies

over the last 6 weeks or so i went up 7 pounds and then 7 back down but i feel/look noticeably leaner/more defined, and i think counting macros, eating what sometimes feels like too much (lol), plus the protein powder/creatine deserve the credit. i'm p small framed so i'm happy with how this plan played out for me.