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Exercise and Fitness: bro science debunked


Iskaral Pust

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3 hours ago, Iskaral Pust said:

 

@Starkess It might just be the winter that has triggered your appetite.  I found that colder winters in NJ and Chicago (compared to Seattle and Ireland) really triggered my appetite for calories.  I'm not exactly starving, but I feel the urge to eat, and feel much greater satisfaction after calorific food.  I try to manage it by making sure I get plenty of fiber intake for slow digestion, and rely on unsaturated fats as much as possible: I eat half an avocado with breakfast (alongside oatmeal, fruit and protein shake) and I eat almonds at lunch (alongside vegetables and protein shake).

Yeah that definitely could be it. Chicago definitely triggers my "hibernate" mode!! I think I will try to increase my protein/fat. I do tend to eat pretty high-carb.

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What helps with me is food that fills up space. For instance, I'll eat a pound of strawberries. Its only like 170 cals, but it's hard to not feel full afterwards. Between that and protein you can be pretty sated without actually having a lot of calories. 

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10 hours ago, Iskaral Pust said:

@baxus congratulations.  Really impressive that you're sustaining that progress with a baby at home.
I've also noticed that my weight is persistently higher than before (now 183-185lbs), but I'm still visibly lean everywhere.  I may be a hard gainer but eventually I gain something.  Only downside is that additional muscle mass is ruining the drape of expensive custom made suits.  They were custom made for my shape as a soccer player.
I would still like to shed a couple of pounds, but I'm not obsessing over it.

Thanks, man. What can I say, baby is very open for cooperation and so is my wife. :lol:

No custom made suits for me, but I have noticed my clothes fit differently lately. I'd always preferred my pants a bit baggy and they are a bit too snug for my liking. The weirdest part is that even my hoodies fit differently and sleeves seem a bit shorter. Never would've expected that.

Yeah, that 85-86kgs seems to have been holiday weight, since I'm down to 83.5 this morning. Still would like to drop to around 80kgs but that would require either adding some more cardio (running, most likely) or paying very close attention to what I'm eating and I must admit I have no inclination to do either at this point. :D 

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We just had a long weekend in the US, which meant I could go to the gym for three consecutive days.  I still struggle to make time on a workday for the gym. 

Aside from that I’ve noticed a new circadian rhythm: morning - ripped, after gym - pumped, late evening - bloated, walrus-like.

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On 1/26/2019 at 4:52 PM, Triskele said:

Something I was certainly guilty of when I was younger was focusing on things like bench and bis but not doing enough back stuff.  Not so much today.  One lift I've been loving for a while is the upright row which gives me the feeling that I'm getting a really nice back pump.  Another that I've only just very recently discovered though is using the TRX suspension bands to do inverted rows.  I like to do the variation where one is all the way horizontal which kills the back but also can hit the bis pretty hard too.    

Those are some great exercises, but the entire time I was watching that video my head was screaming TUCK YOUR TAILBONE!!!  

Baby is due in the next week and I've successfully put on 15 lbs of sympathy weight which has me feeling pretty terrible about my physique.  Since I'll be cooking all our meals for the next month, I think I'm going to focus on tasty vegetarian low carb meals to get my body ready for my next keto cycle and maybe convince my wife to try it with me.

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On 1/26/2019 at 4:52 PM, Triskele said:

Something I was certainly guilty of when I was younger was focusing on things like bench and bis but not doing enough back stuff.  Not so much today.  One lift I've been loving for a while is the upright row which gives me the feeling that I'm getting a really nice back pump.  Another that I've only just very recently discovered though is using the TRX suspension bands to do inverted rows.  I like to do the variation where one is all the way horizontal which kills the back but also can hit the bis pretty hard too.    

Upright rows get a lot of criticism for putting inappropriate stress on your joints.  I think it's better to do shrugs instead.

I might try inverted rows, although I'm worried that they would need a lot of reps to get any impact.  The first version in that video would mean you are rowing less than half of your body weight.  The bent knee version is probably more of a challenge, but still only ~60% of your body weight.  Similar to a push-up.

But I agree that back exercises are important.  I do some in every session: cable row and barbell row and shrugs one day, pull-ups another day, and deadlifts on the other.

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This weekend had good exercise and bad eating.  Friday was bench press, rowing and shrugs.  Saturday was squats, dead lifts and calf press.  Sunday was shoulder press and pull-ups.

But it was also time for my wife's PMS food cravings, which manifested this time in spicy, salty Korean food and an overwhelming (even by my gluttonous standards) quantity of chocolate cake.  As a modern, empathetic husband I supported her fully by participating fully, but now I regret the indulgence.

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14 hours ago, aceluby said:

Baby is due in the next week and I've successfully put on 15 lbs of sympathy weight which has me feeling pretty terrible about my physique.  Since I'll be cooking all our meals for the next month, I think I'm going to focus on tasty vegetarian low carb meals to get my body ready for my next keto cycle and maybe convince my wife to try it with me.

Don't know if that's a rule but I've lost 5kgs over the first month-month and a half after my daughter was born. I put it all back on since then, though. :lol: 

Kidding aside, your new schedule is likely to keep you pretty busy, at least until you get used to all the new stuff that needs to be done. And don't underestimate the effect of carrying 3-4kgs (I hope for your wife's sake that the baby won't be bigger :lol:) of pure cuteness around all day. Either way, you will probably have things you'll enjoy doing more than focusing on tasty vegetarian low carb meals and just enjoy it.

I hope your baby lets you sleep as much as mine lets us. :thumbsup:

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On ‎1‎/‎28‎/‎2019 at 5:46 PM, aceluby said:

Those are some great exercises, but the entire time I was watching that video my head was screaming TUCK YOUR TAILBONE!!!  

Baby is due in the next week and I've successfully put on 15 lbs of sympathy weight which has me feeling pretty terrible about my physique.  Since I'll be cooking all our meals for the next month, I think I'm going to focus on tasty vegetarian low carb meals to get my body ready for my next keto cycle and maybe convince my wife to try it with me.

Under no circumstances suggest this to the mother of a new baby.  They can be incredibly self conscious about their bodies and they will not hear what you think you are saying. 

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On 1/28/2019 at 11:46 AM, aceluby said:

Those are some great exercises, but the entire time I was watching that video my head was screaming TUCK YOUR TAILBONE!!!  

Baby is due in the next week and I've successfully put on 15 lbs of sympathy weight which has me feeling pretty terrible about my physique.  Since I'll be cooking all our meals for the next month, I think I'm going to focus on tasty vegetarian low carb meals to get my body ready for my next keto cycle and maybe convince my wife to try it with me.

This just reminded me that you joined these threads 2-3 years ago after a difficult break-up, feeling overweight and in a funk, when you wanted to lose weight, get back in shape and start a new chapter of your life.  Now you're fit, healthy & lot slimmer, taking and teaching exercise classes most days of the week, happily married, and have a baby arriving any minute.  That sounds like one of the most successful new chapters I've ever heard of.  You should start on the motivational speaking circuit next.

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I was lazy last weekend.  I did bench press and rows on Saturday but nothing else.  The Super Bowl cost me my legs day on Sunday.  But this evening I did a good session of shoulder press and pull-ups at the pitiful hotel gym.  

Of the three sessions I do, this one demands the least equipment so it’s a good fit for travel.  Most hotel gyms have dumbbells up to 50lbs, and I can just do lots of sets to get the same volume of work.  And most have pull-up handles on their cable machine. 

I feel better for doing something. 

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This morning I went to a later workout and only two of us showed up, opposed to around ten that usually show up. It just felt weird. The fact I prefer working out in bigger groups did not surprise me at all but I never knew how much that was the case.

I know that some of you guys workout alone and I understand the upsides of doing it that way, but it's just not for me.

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6 hours ago, baxus said:

This morning I went to a later workout and only two of us showed up, opposed to around ten that usually show up. It just felt weird. The fact I prefer working out in bigger groups did not surprise me at all but I never knew how much that was the case.

I know that some of you guys workout alone and I understand the upsides of doing it that way, but it's just not for me.

I always enjoyed the social aspect of team sports, but I generally prefer weight lifting alone.  I’ll exchange brief chit-chat with some of the gym-goers I know, but I’m mostly focused on what I’m doing or listening to my body to decide when I’m ready for another set and how hard to push.

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I hate working out with other people. I have a friend who keeps being like "I'll go to the gym with you!" and I feel bad because I just do not want to do that. I know for her (and many people) it's more fun and motivating to go with someone. For me, it makes me less likely to go (having to plan with another person's schedule), makes my workout less productive, and usually ends up taking longer. Plus this friend isn't a huge gym goer so she's happy to just do whatever I am doing, which makes me feel like I ought to be coming up with routines that would be good for both of us. Anyway, I finally just allowed myself to not worry about it because it was honestly making me go to the gym less frequently.

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I see your points and agree with them. Having a "workout buddy" usually gets really annoying very quickly. It's just that I find group workouts much more fun than working out alone or with a buddy.

That's the best part about crossfit for me - you have your time slot and you get to the gym in time, do what's on the board with whoever turns up and you're done in an hour. There's no fitting in anyone's schedules, no time for too much chatter and you get people to push you to go stronger when you need it.

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On 2/7/2019 at 9:36 PM, Starkess said:

I hate working out with other people. I have a friend who keeps being like "I'll go to the gym with you!" and I feel bad because I just do not want to do that. I know for her (and many people) it's more fun and motivating to go with someone. For me, it makes me less likely to go (having to plan with another person's schedule), makes my workout less productive, and usually ends up taking longer. Plus this friend isn't a huge gym goer so she's happy to just do whatever I am doing, which makes me feel like I ought to be coming up with routines that would be good for both of us. Anyway, I finally just allowed myself to not worry about it because it was honestly making me go to the gym less frequently.

You should just be honest with her about preferring to go it alone and then pivot and invite her to some athletically themed event (whether it be a 5k mud run or a game of tennis, etc.). That way everybody wins. 

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