Health & Fitness Thread

[Handlogten's Heros]

Yearly bump, how's everyone doing?

I think I'm about 2.5-3 years into lifting/fitness at this point. Before that, I was obese but lost the weight using unhealthy practices/didn't go to gym at all. My progress has slown down quite a bit even with increased knowledge, but I think that's just the nature of being more advanced and getting also getting old The good news is that for anyone thinking about starting, those newbie gains are incredible!

I have gotten stronger on all my lifts, just at a much slower pace. I took a diet break for the holidays, but before that I was about 160 lbs at around 15-17% body fat, probably about 10 lbs of fat away from being shredded. My bench press E1RM is about 240 lbs at the moment. In the new year I will try to cut down, but at the same time I just love food and drinks so much lol. If I get there, I get there....but I'd like to be shredded one time in my life. I think I will be shifting more to a powerlifting style, get back to squatting and maybe even try deadlifting for the first time (cries in lower back pain).

Hoping everyone has been able to stay on track of their goals. If not, it's always a good time to get back at it!

On deadlift use the trap bar if you are afraid of low back pain. Help with hitting the right form. Deadlift with the bar is always a struggle for me to maintain the right form and make sure my back is safe.

 

[Saint Cy of JFC]

I cut down to 195 at my lowest. Was pretty cut (estimating 14% body fat). Stopped at the end of October and back to bulking. 210 now.

Haven't tested my maxes, but I hit a 480 deadlift a couple of weeks ago, which was tied for my max when I was about 20 lbs heavier. Have mostly been putting DL'ing on the backburner as Im trying to have a more respectable squat. 330 max, but anything over 315 feels crazy heavy. Hit 285 for 8 last week, which is my rep max.

Hit a comfortable 260 close grip bench press on Thursday but probably could have maxed out at 275.

Just started a OHP program, trying to get my max to 225. Currently it sits at 180.

 

[KqWIN]

On deadlift use the trap bar if you are afraid of low back pain. Help with hitting the right form. Deadlift with the bar is always a struggle for me to maintain the right form and make sure my back is safe.

Probably not a bad idea to start with at least. One day, I'd like to be a part of this club:

OHP - 1 plate (done)
Bench Press - 2 plates (done)
Squat - 3 Plates (Never go under 5 reps or too close to failure, but can probably get there reasonably quick if I tried)
Deadlift - 4 Plates (Never deadlifted)

 

[KqWIN]

I cut down to 195 at my lowest. Was pretty cut (estimating 14% body fat). Stopped at the end of October and back to bulking. 210 now.

Haven't tested my maxes, but I hit a 480 deadlift a couple of weeks ago, which was tied for my max when I was about 20 lbs heavier. Have mostly been putting DL'ing on the backburner as Im trying to have a more respectable squat. 330 max, but anything over 315 feels crazy heavy. Hit 285 for 8 last week, which is my rep max.

Hit a comfortable 260 close grip bench press on Thursday but probably could have maxed out at 275.

Just started a OHP program, trying to get my max to 225. Currently it sits at 180.

How tall are you? 195 at 14% body fat is a great accomplishment. Impressive lifts as well.

 

[Saint Cy of JFC]

How tall are you? 195 at 14% body fat is a great accomplishment. Impressive lifts as well.

6'2. This summer will be 4th year of consistent/serious lifting. I've always worked out prior, but very sporadically with weights, like 3 months a year every year.

 

[Saint Cy of JFC]

And yeah, cutting is the worst. I wasnt even extremely lean (like the people who go sub 12%), and I was getting cravings for Chinese food constantly.

 

[KqWIN]

Cutting is definitely the worst. My success rate in turning down drinks, dinner, or doordash is like a Collier jumpshot. But hey, we're all gonna make it.

 

[Saint Cy of JFC]

Cutting is definitely the worst. My success rate in turning down drinks, dinner, or doordash is like a Collier jumpshot. But hey, we're all gonna make it.

I can cut fairly easily, but I cant do the efficient cuts (well at least I couldnt, it was my first real attempt at cutting). So I just end up in a longer period of cutting than I want to. It took me about 10 months to lose 40 pounds when I thought I could do it in 4-5 months.

 

[Al-O-Meter]

It took me about 10 months to lose 40 pounds when I thought I could do it in 4-5 months.

Cutting 40 pounds in one go is really impressive, and there is nothing wrong with that rate.

 

[Saint Cy of JFC]

Cutting 40 pounds in one go is really impressive, and there is nothing wrong with that rate.

Yeah, nothing wrong, but it takes away from my progress on the strength focused front. Ideally you want to lose around 2lbs per week, but that's tough to maintain that level of discipline for 4 straight months.

 

[KqWIN]

I can cut fairly easily, but I cant do the efficient cuts (well at least I couldnt, it was my first real attempt at cutting). So I just end up in a longer period of cutting than I want to. It took me about 10 months to lose 40 pounds when I thought I could do it in 4-5 months.

Been there haha. I've lost a lot of weight over the years including that initial 50-60 lbs. By this point I've learned of simple it is to lose weight, but I didn't get fat without an appetite and that's never left lol. I recently lost about 15 lbs in about 15 weeks and maintained/gained on all my lifts, but that was with having cheat meals/cheat days like 3-4 times a week. I'm ok with sizable calorie deficits, but I have a hard time sacrificing my social life which almost always includes food/drinks. Realistically I was cheating almost half the days, sometimes just a meal but sometimes the whole day.

I'd be done cutting with more discipline, but I would be without so many epic feasts so I'm alright with it. Going 100% into fitness just isn't sustainable for me, especially when cutting. I feel refreshed after the holidays and am ready to get back at it starting tomorrow.

 

[infection]

My formal physical activity is confined to running once a week (not my only physical activity, just “formal” physical activity). There are different times where I try to run (a much smaller amount) on a Wednesday morning or other times, but the big one is running an hour on Saturday morning, then following it up with 30-35 minutes total of sauna at 230-240 degrees. I’ll do maybe 18 minutes or so before getting out for a few minutes and then getting back in for the balance. I used to play basketball regularly up until about 12 years ago, and my highest peak in terms of strength was when I worked in a steel yard and steel warehouse, so right now with all my other commitments, the running on Saturdays is my most efficient way to do it. For the past few months, I’ve been at a point where I’ll do 8 miles in an hour, or a bit more. At some point I may try to push that to 9 in an hour but it may be pretty brutal.

One of my jobs just ended as of 12/31, so I will have some amount of increased availability, at least for the time being. I may try to break into some strength training but we’ll see.