baxus Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 The old thread will likely be closed soon, since it has exceeded 400 posts count. Carry on here, if you please. Tell us your stories of hardship and triumph! ;) EDIT:From previous thread: I'm in a bit of a lull with no specific race I'm training for, so I decided it would be a good time to get my body fat % down. I'm not really sure what I'm at, but I can just see my abs and I want to get down to a point where they really show. I'm thinking 5-10lbs lost would put me at a pretty good %, but I'm just going to go until I'm aesthetically satisfied. All I've done is cut out junk food and started estimating my daily calories, and it's made me realize just how much I've relied on garbage to get my intake to match my expenditure (which is not inconsiderable with the amount of miles I run). For now cutting the junk puts me at the deficit I want to be at, once I get back to eating to maintain my weight I'm going to need to find some alternatives, because I know I shouldn't return to the junk. Losing 2,5-4,5kg of body fat might be a bit more than I'd suggest you go for if you run a lot which has presumably put your body fat percentage at 10-15%.My previous medical report states that "normal" range for body fat percentage is 10-20% and though I doubt you'd have some health issues if you dropped to 8-9% I wouldn't like to risk dropping below that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eponine Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 Half marathon this weekend with no time at all to catch up. You may remember that I had a sprained ankle from soccer, so I didn't really get to train for the half, which I didn't have a lot of time to prep for to begin with. However, I think the people I'm going with are ~10 min/mile runners. I'm still a little worried about the ankle, but I'm sure I can run 7-8 10 min miles, and if I have a lot of ankle pain, I'll just drop out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aceluby Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 Haven't missed a day of working out in 3 weeks, and the week before that I only missed one day. Also been trying to eat better, though I think I've had too many binge eating/drinking days; because after it's all said and done I lost 10 lbs almost immediately, and have now slowly gained 5 back. Just not seeing the results that I want after a month and it's kind of disappointing. I'm still going to keep it up, because I can feel that I'm getting stronger, I just wish some of this belly fat would start melting off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balefont Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 Haven't missed a day of working out in 3 weeks, and the week before that I only missed one day. Also been trying to eat better, though I think I've had too many binge eating/drinking days; because after it's all said and done I lost 10 lbs almost immediately, and have now slowly gained 5 back. Just not seeing the results that I want after a month and it's kind of disappointing. I'm still going to keep it up, because I can feel that I'm getting stronger, I just wish some of this belly fat would start melting off. My coach always says, "Six pack abs are born in the kitchen, not in the gym." Not that he's pushing us for six pack abs but anyone who is really looking for fat loss results needs to take a very close look at their diets. (My love of Moscow Mules, Mezcal Mules, and Kentucky Mules have not been kind so I've cut way back and started using diet ginger beer more often.) Also, you should be incorporating active recovery days and rest days. Keep things varied - your body is always fighting for equalibrium and too much routine leads to plateau. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OnionAhaiReborn Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 Losing 2,5-4,5kg of body fat might be a bit more than I'd suggest you go for if you run a lot which has presumably put your body fat percentage at 10-15%. My previous medical report states that "normal" range for body fat percentage is 10-20% and though I doubt you'd have some health issues if you dropped to 8-9% I wouldn't like to risk dropping below that. By eyeball and feel, I've guessed my body fat to be 15/16%, but that could be way off the mark. Health-wise I'm satisfied with that, but I'm definitely carrying fat in my lower torso that I'd like to get rid of for vanity purposes. Plus any reduced weight should translate into improved running pace! Based on my guess, 5 lbs would put me around 12% and I probably won't feel the need to go beyond that. But if I'm already lower than I think, maybe I won't have to do this as long/lose as much as I thought to get the look I want, which would be great. Only if I'm higher than I think will I end up needing to drop 10. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aceluby Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 My coach always says, "Six pack abs are born in the kitchen, not in the gym." Not that he's pushing us for six pack abs but anyone who is really looking for fat loss results needs to take a very close look at their diets. (My love of Moscow Mules, Mezcal Mules, and Kentucky Mules have not been kind so I've cut way back and started using diet ginger beer more often.) Also, you should be incorporating active recovery days and rest days. Keep things varied - your body is always fighting for equalibrium and too much routine leads to plateau. I have two active recovery days a week where I don't use weights, but still do some HIIT; but I think you're right. I need to be even more mindful of my diet and cut out the little cheats here and there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balefont Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 And try a real day off once in a while. You come back repaired and rested and ready to explode! :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabronius Maximus Posted March 19, 2015 Share Posted March 19, 2015 I've been on the 'If it fits your macros' (IIFYM) diet for 2 months and have lost 15lbs. Well, not exactly IIFYM because I've been eating clean (chicken breast, veggies, lean beef, beans, etc) to meet my daily goals. What I love is that all my lifts have either stayed the same or increased. And now some abs are finally starting to shine through, so I'm going to keep going until I get to my goal weight of 175lbs (halfway there!). If you guys do cheat, is it a cheat day or just a meal? Also how often? I can only hold back my urge for donairs and burgers for so long. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baxus Posted March 19, 2015 Author Share Posted March 19, 2015 By eyeball and feel, I've guessed my body fat to be 15/16%, but that could be way off the mark. Health-wise I'm satisfied with that, but I'm definitely carrying fat in my lower torso that I'd like to get rid of for vanity purposes. Plus any reduced weight should translate into improved running pace! Based on my guess, 5 lbs would put me around 12% and I probably won't feel the need to go beyond that. But if I'm already lower than I think, maybe I won't have to do this as long/lose as much as I thought to get the look I want, which would be great. Only if I'm higher than I think will I end up needing to drop 10. Eyeball and feel may be waaaay off the mark. We were all shocked when some of our rowing teammates came back from the medical with over 20% body fat and they certainly don't look that way. 12-13% is my goal for the next medical, planned for end of April or beginning of May. I'll see how that goes. :D We did some pyramid lifts on Tuesday. My bench-press and bench-pull has remained about the same as at the beginning of winter training, but my squat, deadlift and shoulder-press weights have improved A LOT! I mean, it's not as if I'll be giving Luke a run for his money (though if it were about running, I'm rather confident I could beat him ;)) but I'm quite happy with my results. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Datepalm Posted March 19, 2015 Share Posted March 19, 2015 Got properly back to lifting this week, after six months or so, and my numbers aren't quite as awful as I thought they were from last week, but not great - it's odd, my bench, which was where I was stuck, is now at 27.5 and I think 30 was in reach, where it was at 32.5-35, but on squats I was pushing 55-60 last year, and thats now down to 30. Althought I put a bit of weight back on so it might be contributing, or maybe it's just a confidence thing? :dunno: I really need a cold and the cold weather to go away so I can feel comfortable swimming again thought. Not having that for cardio means i've pushed myself a bit doing some jog/walking on a treadmill and my endurance is coming back a bit too, but it's still not the same as swimming. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greywolf2375 Posted March 19, 2015 Share Posted March 19, 2015 I've been on the 'If it fits your macros' (IIFYM) diet for 2 months and have lost 15lbs. Well, not exactly IIFYM because I've been eating clean (chicken breast, veggies, lean beef, beans, etc) to meet my daily goals. What I love is that all my lifts have either stayed the same or increased. And now some abs are finally starting to shine through, so I'm going to keep going until I get to my goal weight of 175lbs (halfway there!).If you guys do cheat, is it a cheat day or just a meal? Also how often? I can only hold back my urge for donairs and burgers for so long.depends on the person - when I've been disciplined about it, it has been a day once a week. The funny thing is what "cheat" starts out to be and then several months/6 months later what "cheat" turns into as your tastes change. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eponine Posted March 19, 2015 Share Posted March 19, 2015 Does anyone use some kind of padding for back squats and overhead squats? Apparently I have a funny place where my spine sticks out below my neck that keeps the bar from resting where it should. Even if I look all the way up at the ceiling, it still sticks out and the coach said that if I had bigger traps it could help a little, but basically it sticks out unrealistically far where even if I had huge shoulders and traps, it would still hit a little, so he'd look into getting a pad for the bar. According to the always-reliable internet, a minority of people simply have an oddly curved spine. I have good posture, my neck doesn't stick out oddly, and I don't have back pain. (ETA: Although now that I think about it, my windpipe also sticks out really far in front, possibly because I have no neck fat. Squats are almost smushing something.) I need to get into more of a schedule. Between soccer and running and skiing, I haven't had time to be at Crossfit too regularly. I'll have a lot fewer things going on in the summer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balefont Posted March 19, 2015 Share Posted March 19, 2015 Ep, we have a small foam thinging you can slip onto the bar which would cushion the bar against you spine. :) It's like a small pool noodle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aceluby Posted March 19, 2015 Share Posted March 19, 2015 Does anyone use some kind of padding for back squats and overhead squats? Apparently I have a funny place where my spine sticks out below my neck that keeps the bar from resting where it should. Even if I look all the way up at the ceiling, it still sticks out and the coach said that if I had bigger traps it could help a little, but basically it sticks out unrealistically far where even if I had huge shoulders and traps, it would still hit a little, so he'd look into getting a pad for the bar. According to the always-reliable internet, a minority of people simply have an oddly curved spine. I have good posture, my neck doesn't stick out oddly, and I don't have back pain. (ETA: Although now that I think about it, my windpipe also sticks out really far in front, possibly because I have no neck fat. Squats are almost smushing something.) I need to get into more of a schedule. Between soccer and running and skiing, I haven't had time to be at Crossfit too regularly. I'll have a lot fewer things going on in the summer. Easiest solution is to just wrap a towel around the bar. That's what I did when I was lifting heavy in hs & college and it helps a lot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baxus Posted March 20, 2015 Author Share Posted March 20, 2015 Does anyone use some kind of padding for back squats and overhead squats? Apparently I have a funny place where my spine sticks out below my neck that keeps the bar from resting where it should. Even if I look all the way up at the ceiling, it still sticks out and the coach said that if I had bigger traps it could help a little, but basically it sticks out unrealistically far where even if I had huge shoulders and traps, it would still hit a little, so he'd look into getting a pad for the bar. According to the always-reliable internet, a minority of people simply have an oddly curved spine. I have good posture, my neck doesn't stick out oddly, and I don't have back pain. (ETA: Although now that I think about it, my windpipe also sticks out really far in front, possibly because I have no neck fat. Squats are almost smushing something.) I need to get into more of a schedule. Between soccer and running and skiing, I haven't had time to be at Crossfit too regularly. I'll have a lot fewer things going on in the summer. I usually don't put anything, but when I go for heavier weights I sometimes do the towel thing aceluby mentioned. My shoulders and traps are a bit muscular but I would not call them big by any standards, so the spine curve thing might be a bigger factor than shoulder/traps muscle size. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greywolf2375 Posted March 20, 2015 Share Posted March 20, 2015 Yep, a towel, noodle, the pad from a BMX bike (though not really recommended) - even a wrapped up shirt if nothing else is available. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rubies & Jade Posted March 20, 2015 Share Posted March 20, 2015 Does anyone use some kind of padding for back squats and overhead squats? Apparently I have a funny place where my spine sticks ... Ep, like others mention, the noodle or a towel. I have a spine very much like you describe, no matter how big I get my shoulders and traps (I'm far from huge but I don't see them getting significantly bigger at this point!), I have a bone there sticking out. the noodle at my gym usually is sweaty, dusty and fairly nasty so I always use a towel. I also can get the bar down lower in a way that it keeps from pressing directly down on that bone, so you can see if that can help you, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aceluby Posted March 20, 2015 Share Posted March 20, 2015 Well, started the IIFYM diet as someone here had some success cutting w/ it while also taking a couples days of rest. I like the IIFYM because it gets away from calorie counting and focuses instead on the impact the food you're eating has on those macro #'s. Figure I'll try this for a few weeks while integrating a couple of rest days per week to see if that helps w/ the weight loss. Tomorrow I'm planning on hitting it hard though after a couple days of rest. I'm actually pretty excited :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egalitarianism Always Posted March 20, 2015 Share Posted March 20, 2015 Please stop doing this. Find a tree and do some pull-ups. @Stego, oh Stego with a gob like yours haha, I can do about 10 pullups last time I did them I did 12 iirc, but then again my legs are the size of your chest so there's your answer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egalitarianism Always Posted March 20, 2015 Share Posted March 20, 2015 And get some squats in. Sheesh. @Balefont, pick you up and squat you, there you go . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.