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OT: Summer Fitness Thread

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Breakfast is definitely the most important meal of the day. It will dictate your blood sugar and set your neurotransmitters for the day. If you start the day with carbs your blood sugar won't be as stable and you will produce more serotonin which may make you feel sluggish and crave/need more carbs. Starting with proteins and fats stabilizes blood sugar, leads to better eating decisions and increases dopamine and acetylcholine production which will improve focus and drive.
 
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Chytilmania said:
Breakfast is definitely the most important meal of the day. It will dictate your blood sugar and set your neurotransmitters for the day. If you start the day with carbs your blood sugar won't be as stable and you will produce more serotonin which may make you feel sluggish and crave/need more carbs. Starting with proteins and fats stabilizes blood sugar, leads to better eating decisions and increases dopamine and acetylcholine production which will improve focus and drive.
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Agree, just substitute “breakfast” with the “first meal of a day”.
 
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Chytilmania said:
Breakfast is definitely the most important meal of the day. It will dictate your blood sugar and set your neurotransmitters for the day. If you start the day with carbs your blood sugar won't be as stable and you will produce more serotonin which may make you feel sluggish and crave/need more carbs. Starting with proteins and fats stabilizes blood sugar, leads to better eating decisions and increases dopamine and acetylcholine production which will improve focus and drive.
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Agree I started doing protein shakes in the morning and I feel better as the day moves on.
 
So I have two questions. Let's for a moment take muscle building out of the equation. I definitely need to gain muscle, but I think it's tricky for me build-wise. I'm at 145 and I think I need to stop losing weight soon. Maybe at like 140. At that point, I think according to BMI I'll be normal weight. (5'3 is 140, 5'4 is 145, and I'm 5'3.5). How do I go about maintaining a certain weight rather than losing it? Do I re-introduce a bit more carbs? Second, related question. I do quasi IF on the weekdays. Can I start eating breakfast again without regaining weight? The one I think about is a bit carb and sugar heavy. Would it help to start with two weekdays at first and then doing five? I introduced that breakfast on weekends and it didn't have an adverse effect as far as I can tell.
 
SnowblindNYR said:
So I have two questions. Let's for a moment take muscle building out of the equation. I definitely need to gain muscle, but I think it's tricky for me build-wise. I'm at 145 and I think I need to stop losing weight soon. Maybe at like 140. At that point, I think according to BMI I'll be normal weight. (5'3 is 140, 5'4 is 145, and I'm 5'3.5). How do I go about maintaining a certain weight rather than losing it? Do I re-introduce a bit more carbs? l.
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Eat at or close to maintenance calories or TDEE.

SnowblindNYR said:
So I have two questions. Let's for a moment take muscle building out of the equation. I definitely need to gain muscle, but I think it's tricky for me build-wise. I'm at 145 and I think I need to stop losing weight soon. Maybe at like 140. At that point, I think according to BMI I'll be normal weight. (5'3 is 140, 5'4 is 145, and I'm 5'3.5). How do I go about maintaining a certain weight rather than losing it? Do I re-introduce a bit more carbs? Second, related question. I do quasi IF on the weekdays. Can I start eating breakfast again without regaining weight? The one I think about is a bit carb and sugar heavy. Would it help to start with two weekdays at first and then doing five? I introduced that breakfast on weekends and it didn't have an adverse effect as far as I can tell.
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It all circles back to Calories again. IF works not because of some crazy metabolic effect it has like some people believe, but because you simply take in less calories.

So Calories, calories, calories....CICO
 
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How do y'all feel about intermittent fasting? I was doing it pretty frequently at my prior job which was a 15 minute commute and I was at the gym 3-6 times a week. I started noticing a difference and I was getting toned like Bruce Lee style (not that I'm Bruce Lee lol but when I'm going through a period when I'm at the gym and lifting/running 3-6 times a week I get tone). New job has periods where long days are required and my gym time is down plus the amount of time to prepare meals is less. That will change in early May. It's tougher to stay disciplined.
 
SnowblindNYR said:
So I have two questions. Let's for a moment take muscle building out of the equation. I definitely need to gain muscle, but I think it's tricky for me build-wise. I'm at 145 and I think I need to stop losing weight soon. Maybe at like 140. At that point, I think according to BMI I'll be normal weight. (5'3 is 140, 5'4 is 145, and I'm 5'3.5). How do I go about maintaining a certain weight rather than losing it? Do I re-introduce a bit more carbs? Second, related question. I do quasi IF on the weekdays. Can I start eating breakfast again without regaining weight? The one I think about is a bit carb and sugar heavy. Would it help to start with two weekdays at first and then doing five? I introduced that breakfast on weekends and it didn't have an adverse effect as far as I can tell.
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You are overthinking it. training and eating. Seriously, squat and eat.
 
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Skjeikspeare said:
How do y'all feel about intermittent fasting? I was doing it pretty frequently at my prior job which was a 15 minute commute and I was at the gym 3-6 times a week. I started noticing a difference and I was getting toned like Bruce Lee style (not that I'm Bruce Lee lol but when I'm going through a period when I'm at the gym and lifting/running 3-6 times a week I get tone). New job has periods where long days are required and my gym time is down plus the amount of time to prepare meals is less. That will change in early May. It's tougher to stay disciplined.
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It works because it keeps you from overeating.


kovazub94 said:
Agree, just substitute “breakfast” with the “first meal of a day”.
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This X1000000000.
 
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ZuccsFluffierFluffer said:
It works because it keeps you from overeating.




This X1000000000.
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Pretty much. I am a foodie. I find when I eat breakfast, whether its a protein rich breakfast or a bowl of cereal, my hunger level is significantly higher throughout the day and I tend to over eat at lunch and dinner. When I consistently do IF, I've noticed I eat less during other meals.

If anyone is looking for a nice routine to ease back in to weight lifting, I would highly recommend this four week starter plan: The Complete 4-Week Beginner's Workout Program

There is an app called Strong, and it is a nifty little weight tracker. You can have up to three custom routines and it makes tracking your progress a lot easier. It has almost all of the exercise in the four week routine from M&F.
 
will1066 said:
First time in gym after 4 weeks
SUCKS
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Right after we talked about it, I got a cold. Actually took one day off and then went right back it it. Amazing how it just kills your lung capacity. Try doing burpee box jumps as the stuff is just coming out of your chest as you cough.
 
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True Blue said:
Right after we talked about it, I got a cold. Actually took one day off and then went right back it it. Amazing how it just kills your lung capacity. Try doing burpee box jumps as the stuff is just coming out of your chest as you cough.
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Sorry I jinxed ya. Yeah, I can't imagine that was fun at all, with the congestion.
 
True Blue said:
The worst part is that it just never ended. That was a looooooong 10 minutes.
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Yeah even the most simple of movements become torturous when you’re hitting them at a semi decent volume over that much time. That box jump makes the workout.

I have a kettlebell circuit that requires a single 35 pound bell that is the ass kicker of all ass kickers. I don’t want to crap on some more complex programs that require a decent amount of equipment because there are great ones out there, but You don’t need access to a bunch of weights in order to get a great workout in.
 
ZuccsFluffierFluffer said:
I don’t want to crap on some more complex programs that require a decent amount of equipment because there are great ones out there, but You don’t need access to a bunch of weights in order to get a great workout in.
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A good workout can happen anywhere. The variations of Murph are evidence of that.

I find that I need the variation of combination. Power lifting, Olympic lifting, with other Monostructural movements, kettles. I such at the gymnastics part but it keeps my body guessing. Though I do go on cycles where for several months I will concentrate on the strength with power lifting or the lifts with Olympic lifting. Only wish that I discovered it earlier.
 
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I'm about 5-6 weeks in and have lost about 10 lbs. I started weighing myself every morning and focusing on weekly averages rather than my daily #. So far I'm losing on average 1.38 lbs per week.
I started at 224 lbs and now im down to 214(avg last week) and 21-22% body fat(via online calculator and electric scale).

I know the 1-2 lbs thing is the safest way to lose weight but I also want to be up around 2lbs a week. I'm definitely making strength gains in the gym so maybe I'm gaining muscle too? Whats the best way to measure muscle gains? arm measurements?
 
Vinny DeAngelo said:
I'm definitely making strength gains in the gym so maybe I'm gaining muscle too? Whats the best way to measure muscle gains? arm measurements?
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The truest measure of gainz is how heavy you can go for 1 rep. Say for back squat, overhead press and deadlift. Those lifts will encompass most of your muscles. Test what your 1 RM is and then periodically retest it. Just remember, you need to factor in some weeks for de-loads.
 
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So my arms look smaller and I don't know if my diet had the side effect of losing muscle or if what I used to think was muscle was actually fat. I lift, pretty regularly (twice a week usually) but not too much weight and honestly not in the last week and a half or so. I also eat a lot of protein and low carbs. So maybe it IS fat, but I used to have some arms are now they're pretty skinny.
 
SnowblindNYR said:
So my arms look smaller and I don't know if my diet had the side effect of losing muscle or if what I used to think was muscle was actually fat. I lift, pretty regularly (twice a week usually) but not too much weight and honestly not in the last week and a half or so. I also eat a lot of protein and low carbs. So maybe it IS fat, but I used to have some arms are now they're pretty skinny.
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Only my experience of course, but the only way to get bigger gainz and bigger body parts are to constantly push the weight. I would recommend Starting Strength. 3 warm up sets, 3 working sets. The working sets are all at a set weight. However, they increase by 5 pounds from the previous times you have done it.

Again, this is from a guy that has truly learned about weights and fitness later in life. I am 48 now and only wish that I started to do the kind of programming I am doing now in my 20s. But an an age where most are starting to bloat, I have gotten fitter and stronger (I set PRs in all my lifts this past year). And that incorporates weighing more.

When I say constantly push the weight, that meas for stretches of time. You need deload weeks. You also need to test yourself and then reset to a lighter weight and begin to build again.
 
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You can train directly for "gains" but unless you're a body builder, I would advise against it.

If you just get stronger doing a bunch of compound/functional movements, the gains will come along with time and won't just be bloated slabs of meat ready to break down.

Like @Trueblue said, focus on progressive overload, the rest will take care of it self.
 
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