That's pretty close to textbook. I doubt blood px (or lack thereof) is a prob for you.


I'll have to upload my video of me in the g-training centrifuge...it's a sad sight, haha

5/24/2011 2:04:41 PM

I'll just leave this here

http://thehealthyskeptic.org/the-healthy-skeptic-podcast-episode-10

5/24/2011 5:28:30 PM

for a description of how to visually judge bodyfat percentages, the descriptions and pictures on these webpages can be helpful. For most guys, it's hard to judge bodyfat compositions above 12-15%. Once you get to 12% and start dropping from there, the changes are drastic.

I try to use these guidelines as a quick reference because bio-impedance tests don't work at all on me and I just don't feel like messing with calipers. My bio-impedance scale currently says I'm 60% body fat.

http://www.uk-muscle.co.uk/losing-weight/36424-examples-bodyfat-levels.html


http://www.leighpeele.com/body-fat-pictures-and-percentages

5/24/2011 6:30:40 PM

Wow. Those are some good guides.

5/24/2011 6:36:41 PM

^^ @ the "sliced" guy

5/24/2011 6:49:29 PM

so, I've been doing the gym thing for 3 months now. is there a point where I should stop increasing the amount of weight and then do more reps, or more sets, or what?

Right now I do 3 sets of 10-12 reps to failure on the weights, though I'm probably not going to failure any more and instead going up to 80-90% of it, except when I "level up."

I'm certainly not pushing any major amount of weight, except on the leg press, and my main limiter on that is cardio, as I am absolutely gassed after them. I know, yall like squats, but those intimidate me, and I've also heard they can give your knees problems.

5/24/2011 7:30:22 PM

Quote :

"I know, yall like squats, but those intimidate me, and I've also heard they can give your knees problems."

Goddamnit. I could have made this exact post verbatim a month ago. Two words: Starting Strength

http://www.amazon.com/Starting-Strength-2nd-Mark-Rippetoe/dp/0976805421

a preview of the writing and maybe a clue to addressing your concerns:

Quote :

"In a partial squat, which fails to provide a full stretch for the hamstrings, most of the force against the tibia is upward and forward, from the quardirceps and their attachment to the front of the tibia below the knee. This produces an anterior shear, a forward-directed sliding force, on the knee, with the tiba being pulled forward from the patellar tendon and without a balancing pull from the opposing hamstrings. This shearing force--and the resulting unbalanced strain on the prepatellar area--may be the biggest problem with partial squats. Many spectacular cases of tendinitis have been produced this way, with "squats" getting the blame. "

[Edited on May 24, 2011 at 7:39 PM. Reason : asdfadsf]

5/24/2011 7:36:53 PM

The Leigh Peele examples are spot on ... That 11% chick has a sick bod ...def contest shape there. I wonder what she is during off season? 15%?

5/24/2011 7:53:16 PM

Using eleusis's first link I am at cut with the goal of being defined. Beyond that just looks

5/24/2011 8:02:08 PM

^ agreed. Defined is nice but the more extreme examples are scary.

I fluctuate btwn 13 and 15 percent, but have less muscle than the 15 percent girl bc I rarely lift and do a ton of cardio bc of work. The level of definition is about right tho.

5/24/2011 8:07:38 PM

I thought the girl at 20percent looked in good health

5/24/2011 8:30:32 PM

^ hay boo


dat 20% is closer to me

heres a few immediate updates while im at it (excuse ze poor quality)





ill get one with my bigg ass and thighs later ahahaha



[Edited on May 24, 2011 at 8:57 PM. Reason : V i totally hear you babe]

5/24/2011 8:37:43 PM

Anyone else find that you feel worse about yourself the more you progress? I have never been very critical of my own body but I'm finding that the more progress I make the more issues I seem to notice. Not like "OMG my thighs are huge" but more things like after I eat my stomach expands and then I feel bad about it, or as one part of me gets harder another part gets softer and I seem to dwell on the softer part. This is very new to me and I hope it goes away.

5/24/2011 8:53:37 PM

Quote :

"like after I eat my stomach expands and then I feel bad about it"

I've had this thought from time to time but use it as a reminder to keep eating small(er) portions.

5/24/2011 8:58:11 PM

That part has been particularly bad the last week or so. I don't eat that much at a time normally, but this week sometimes I eat my normal amount and then I really feel like I'm preggo. Maybe I've just been eating slightly different foods or something that make me bloat more. I'll try changing that up and see what happens.

5/24/2011 9:01:07 PM

Quote :

"Using eleusis's first link I am at cut with the goal of being defined. Beyond that just looks"

i 100% agree btw

5/24/2011 9:03:22 PM

Miss (for now) Joie, I am sure the last thing you need is another e-guy telling you that your progress looks great, but, your progress looks great!

5/24/2011 9:05:31 PM

lol thanks.

funny enough, im not really progressing, im kinda staying the same, which is fine with me (im not really trying).


i have lost a bit of fat, but unfortunately muscle too.
pretty much the only thing i have done for the past few weeks or so is run about 4x a week (if im lucky, some weeks its only 1 or 2)


ehhh oh well, i will post more full body stuff later, closer to the wedding probably....


btw, i totally was being a little ummmm, confident? haha and showing off (im prouder of my midsection than i have been in a while), but i was not fishing for compliments,
so thank you very much!



[Edited on May 24, 2011 at 9:10 PM. Reason : ]

5/24/2011 9:08:25 PM

Haven't posted in this thread for a while. Just wanted to tell you guys how excited I am with my progress.

Since my change to the Power90 Master Series (one between Power90 and P90X), I've started seeing a lot more results. I haven't changed a ton on the scale, and of course the two places that I measure (abdomen and neck) haven't changed a whole ton, but it's like I'm losing weight everywhere else. I'll have to take some pictures here soon, because I know that there is a big difference in me everywhere else. I've only gone down 1/2 an inch on the abdomen in the past month, but I'm down to 208 lbs (from at my heaviest 248), and starting to be able to do my workouts with more ease.

I don't know if I've mentioned the competition to lose body fat percentage that my friends and I are having over here in Budapest, but as of right now I'm winning. I've gone from ~35% to 27.4% and I'm determined to win this thing.

Stay healthy.

5/25/2011 1:33:43 AM

Fuckin' A MorphineBoy, good job.

Did circuit training this am and got my ads kicked. Almost vomited

5/25/2011 7:49:28 AM

skwinkle : I think the body image problems will remain. I know large people who slim down who still feel big and vise versa. I know I still feel skinny and probably always will.

I'm blaming porcha for breaking my scale......it says 163, work shipping scale says 170, golds says 165, and old gym says 168. Hahaaha and I advocate avoiding scales

btw hi joie . Haven't seen you wandering around the cary streets lately hahaha

[Edited on May 25, 2011 at 8:04 AM. Reason : .]

5/25/2011 8:02:40 AM

That's unfortunate. The people I know who have lost a lot of weight do definitely still see themselves as bigger, I think. I hope that I'm in a slightly different situation because it's not that I lost a ton of weight or anything, just that I have gotten in much better shape. I'm probably just in a funk. Maybe I'm just feeling that way because I haven't seen my boyfriend in a month

5/25/2011 9:23:14 AM

awwwww. yeah iirc you looked pretty damn good in the thread previous to this one so i wouldn't worry too much

5/25/2011 10:37:16 AM

Skinny girls who think they're still fat are the bane of my existence. Please don't make them any less insecure.

5/25/2011 10:48:04 AM

^^ Swinks i feel the same way - i think it's a mental thing. i'm definitely pushing myself into the best shape i've ever been but i still have my moments where i'm like, "ugh is that a muffin top??? what is this?!?!" i think a lot of it has to do with female's bodies changing so much in our mid to late 20s. i know i've always had wide hips but they've definitely gotten wider since i was 24/25.

5/25/2011 10:58:16 AM

Morphine Boy - your story sounds like mine, I was 256 and got down to 164, but then I looked like I had caught the AIDS. I am now up to about 175 and 13% body fat.

The road may seem long, but best part is people complimenting you for years. It took me about 3 years to lose all that weight and I have been getting compliments on it for 5 years and counting, which for me fuels the healthy routine. Sounds a little narcissistic maybe, but since I'm always reminded that I used to be fat, I always remember to work to not get fat again.

I think a massively overlooked part of your story is that you are managing to lose weight in Hungary, where all the food is pork, fat, pork fat, lángos, and alcohol. Quite a feat.

Sok szerencét.

Oh, also, if you are looking for an exercise partner, Johnny Gold is there:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNzQL1Yud-8

[Edited on May 25, 2011 at 11:07 AM. Reason : johnny gold is here]

5/25/2011 11:01:28 AM

I'm much more attracted to the chicks with 17-20% BF. They still look very slim.

5/25/2011 11:27:29 AM

any tips for keeping my weight back more on squats? was thinking of trying front squats or something. been realizing i've slowly crept up on my toes more, instead of driving from the heels for the most part. I feel like what's happening is that as i get later into the set and end of sets and am tiring, my form breaks down. which is probably somewhat normal. however, what im worried about is the last rep it seems like i'm not bringing it up right. on the ascent, my ass comes up too early and while keeping the back straight turns into a fucked up half good morning half squat that's going to get me hurt. this is when i quit. been doing the "third world squat" hip mobility exercise here and there to try and train the motion while not exercising, but just started that and could tell a difference yesterday. any other tips?

also, i'm 5'10", and occasionally will hit the squat rack safety stops with the bar when i squat deep. is this too far, or should i look into doing it in a power rack or something where i can adjust the pins?

i guess i need to purchase starting strength.


[Edited on May 25, 2011 at 11:49 AM. Reason : i've deloaded down while trying to get the form right.]

5/25/2011 11:40:31 AM

^^ True story.

5/25/2011 12:04:37 PM

^^ relearn to squat using a box.

Move to the power rack. Depth deemed too low, is depth at which your lower back looses integrity.

5/25/2011 12:23:36 PM

So, when I was going to school, I didn't really make much use of the gym. I live very close to campus now, and was considering joining the Alumni association and paying for a gym membership. How's the equipment? Isn't there some new stuff (within the past couple of years)? Do they have squat racks and things like that? I'm like a lot of guys that aren't too confident in that area.

5/25/2011 1:15:15 PM

I think I have reached my first plateau doing p90x. I don't think my BF is under 10 percent even though the method I use says so. I want to lose just a little more fat on my midsection. If I am going to train this hard then I want to see results. Diet is crucial as I saw most of my results by cutting out carbs in the first place.

I am thinking about not eating very much on days that I do no training. I fast until about 1pm everyday but it was easy because I drank 2 cups of coffee. I gave up coffee so I have been starving in the morning. Maybe I should drink a gallon of water.

5/25/2011 7:14:31 PM

Curl your toes when you squat and that'll force you to keep the weight on your heels.

5/25/2011 7:29:00 PM

Quote :

"So, when I was going to school, I didn't really make much use of the gym. I live very close to campus now, and was considering joining the Alumni association and paying for a gym membership. How's the equipment? Isn't there some new stuff (within the past couple of years)? Do they have squat racks and things like that? I'm like a lot of guys that aren't too confident in that area."

Equipment is pretty good. There's the new gym which is nice and the old gym which is... old, but weights are still weights and both are pretty well equipped. The new gym is just more crowded and has a lot more cardio stuff.

Yes, they have squat racks in both gyms.

5/25/2011 7:37:01 PM

Is there any particular reason you gave up coffee ViolentMAW?

5/26/2011 6:38:20 AM

Well I used to think that I had bad sinus congestion for no reason. I quit drinking coffee for a week and my headaches went away. It could be that the coffee is making me congested or just flat out gives me a headache. I tried drinking decaf this week and my headaches returned. I'm not sure what is going on. I swear I used to be able to drink coffee and feel fine. Some brands like 8 o'clock give me immediate headaches.

5/26/2011 11:09:16 AM

pilgrimshoes - what shoes (lol) do you wear when you're doing squats?

I notice a big difference when I'm wearing my nike shox vs my vibrams.

5/26/2011 11:37:50 AM

ive been meaning to get a pair of chuck taylors but i end up going in a pair of brooks running shoes.

probably a contributing factor to going up on the toes. tonight ill try to remember to wear a pair of flat diesel tennis shoes, that are the flattest sole shoes i have. im worried though because they're worn out and kinda slick. idk.

i read several articles on box squatting. looks really interesting and likely beneficial, but ive never seen anyone do it at my gym, or really anywhere. wonder how it'd go over. also, there definitely aren't boxes around. i guess i could use one of the plyo jump boxes or something... suggestions?

5/26/2011 12:32:32 PM

i usually move a bench into the power rack for really heavy box squats, not sure if your gym has any benches that can be easily moved.

side note... anyone else doing the doughman relay in durham this weekend?

5/26/2011 12:39:57 PM

I box squat onto the stairstepper platforms. you don't want to completely sit down with the bar on your shoulders; you just want to sit back and touch the box before ascending.

I box squatted to 4 steps yesterday, and it felt really good to squat that deep. I think I'm going to make a routine of box squatting that deep about twice a month.

5/26/2011 7:42:30 PM

Yeop, the aerobic steps will work.

Don't squat in running shoes. Squat in socks if you have to.

5/26/2011 10:21:51 PM

For the month, I've only dropped 3lbs but went from 19.5% body fat to 16.5%.

5/26/2011 10:41:05 PM

^DAMN

5/26/2011 10:43:09 PM

*sigh*


I was all ready to get back into my workout routine.. and I tore a flippin ligament in my foot.

5/26/2011 11:53:27 PM

I've been working out by myself for a while, with very little direction. I've got a partner now who is already in good shape and knows what he's doing, and I think he's trying to kill me. Maybe I'll make some real progress now.

5/27/2011 5:38:27 AM

Dear Sam,

You can still work on the gunshow.

5/27/2011 9:26:57 AM

last night went for squatz/deadlifts/shoulder press/tricep work

didnt wear running shoes, but went with some of these, which are the flattest sole shoe i have. It's nice to not feel your foot moving and and squishing the soles. i'm just worried about the slickness of these particular shoes. Going to pick up some chucks this afternoon.

http://www.streetsense.com.au/media/catalog/product/cache/4/image/5e06319eda06f020e43594a9c230972d/r/e/remy-orion.jpg

the movable bench was too high i think, and the step boxes were in use in a class. i usually go at 5am, but had to go last night at 7pm. i detest doing that, didnt try the box squats yet. actually looking forward to them.

was really concentrating on engaging the hips more and trying to enact things ive been reading. kinda distracting. not loading more until i get it right though.

personal happy point, first time i've done with working weight sets of 225lbs for deadlifts. i know it's not much, but considering i started really getting into these types of lifts like, less than three months ago, i'm pretty ok with this.

some guy last night was doing this exercise that looked awkward, possibly dangerous and quite comical. i couldnt help but stare. he had a "spotter" and i hate talking people and it didnt seem as if he was about to really hurt himself. it looked hard though... had the bar out from a squat rack, with 45# plates loaded, on the bottom hooks for a rack pull... except he laid on the ground on his back, unracked with a wide grip, then was holding the bar up, and swinging his legs up... from laying flat, knees straight, side to side where he'd kick the plates in alternating order with both feet. a couple of times he'd kick the plate and damn near drop the bar on himself. he was not small enough to be able to ditch and just lay under the bar with the plates holding it high enough. is this something common or in any way known? swinging back jerky bicep curls on the squat rack were next. i was pretty happy to be finishing up my stuff when he was working.

5/27/2011 12:13:45 PM

^ Sounds like windshield wipers

pretty sure the common meathead started doing those when the movie 300 came out and their "exercise" program" was released

5/27/2011 12:36:38 PM

I thought they were called floor wipers?

5/27/2011 12:49:09 PM

^shortly after my post I passed the fuck out


yes, they're called floor wipers


WTF was I talking about...haha, windshield wipers...yeesh

5/27/2011 4:38:16 PM