Get Fit: I want a folding vegetable.

[Tvtyrant]

So I did a 15 mile hike 2 weeks ago, tweaked my back a bit and it twinges from time to time. Makes certain postures painful, especially hunched sitting (the best kind!)

Anyone have any suggestions for persistent backache (besides losing weight, doing that as fast as I can).

On the plus side, I finally dropped to 360 and managed to do a 15 mile hike in five hours, so major improvements there.

[AMFV]

32'? That seems fairly impossible for anyone with a naturally large frame. Like the large foot test, just seems unreasonable. (I am a size 15 for shoes btw).

That's why the US uses that neck to waist rather than a straight waist. So like if you're a dude with naturally larger bone structure he you can do better because your neck will be bigger. I don't know how they do it wherever he's from but that seems like a really kooky way to do it.

Edit: apparently the USAF doesn't do neck measurements which is really odd. That seems bad since it's a DOD standard.

[Jormengand]

Yes, my nutritionist told me to.

I should point out that you might need to be careful here - I don't know what country you're from, but in some countries such as the United Kingdom the title "Nutritionist" isn't a protected title. I won't get into the legal details for mutliple reasons, but basically it means that anyone can call themselves a nutritionist. That is, I could just as easily call myself a nutritionist, and so could a ten-year-old. This doesn't necessarily mean that the person you're seeing isn't qualified, but it's something to watch out for.

[Tvtyrant]

I should point out that you might need to be careful here - I don't know what country you're from, but in some countries such as the United Kingdom the title "Nutritionist" isn't a protected title. I won't get into the legal details for mutliple reasons, but basically it means that anyone can call themselves a nutritionist. That is, I could just as easily call myself a nutritionist, and so could a ten-year-old. This doesn't necessarily mean that the person you're seeing isn't qualified, but it's something to watch out for.

No worries. Mine was recommended by my doctor, things have worked extremely well with the diet, and I double check everything with my doctor before making major changes.

[Jormengand]

No worries. Mine was recommended by my doctor, things have worked extremely well with the diet, and I double check everything with my doctor before making major changes.

That's fair enough. It's just something I want to make certain people are aware of, particularly because I've seen people duped by it before.

[Douglas]

That's why the US uses that neck to waist rather than a straight waist. So like if you're a dude with naturally larger bone structure he you can do better because your neck will be bigger. I don't know how they do it wherever he's from but that seems like a really kooky way to do it.

Edit: apparently the USAF doesn't do neck measurements which is really odd. That seems bad since it's a DOD standard.

For the Air Force, it might be partly a matter of whether you can physically fit into the pilot seat and (if necessary) safely go through the ejection opening, etc., rather than just how physically fit you are. That kind of requirement would be an absolute measurement, not relative.

[Knaight]

I should point out that you might need to be careful here - I don't know what country you're from, but in some countries such as the United Kingdom the title "Nutritionist" isn't a protected title. I won't get into the legal details for mutliple reasons, but basically it means that anyone can call themselves a nutritionist. That is, I could just as easily call myself a nutritionist, and so could a ten-year-old. This doesn't necessarily mean that the person you're seeing isn't qualified, but it's something to watch out for.

"Dietitian is the legally protected term - dietitian is like dentist; nutritionist is like toothiologist", to quote (or possibly paraphrase, this is from memory) Dara O'Brian's comedy.

[Grey_Wolf_c]

"Dietitian is the legally protected term - dietitian is like dentist; nutritionist is like toothiologist", to quote (or possibly paraphrase, this is from memory) Dara O'Brian's comedy.

Excellent memory. Practically word for word (I'd have put in a few ellipsis to indicate his pauses, but that's style, not substance)

I suspect all three of us were thinking, in fact, of the same exact skit:

(skip to 3:53)


Grey Wolf

[Jormengand]

I suspect all three of us were thinking, in fact, of the same exact skit

I wasn't: I was thinking of Ben Goldacre's excellent book Bad Science, where he goes into faux-nutrition, and other examples of pseudoscience, in great detail.

[Knaight]

Excellent memory. Practically word for word (I'd have put in a few ellipsis to indicate his pauses, but that's style, not substance)

I might have seen that particular skit a few times.

[AMFV]

For the Air Force, it might be partly a matter of whether you can physically fit into the pilot seat and (if necessary) safely go through the ejection opening, etc., rather than just how physically fit you are. That kind of requirement would be an absolute measurement, not relative.

Nope they have a sub requirements that are job-specific for people that have job specific requirements. But like if you're an Air Force Security Officer or an Air Force admin clerk you don't have to fit through the Jackson Hole cover any more than like an admin person in your local office might have to


It's probably because of whatever whoever is in charge of the Air Force thinks looks best in uniform.

[Tvtyrant]

Before and after progress. First two are at my heaviest, third one is today (been working outside and have helmet hair so hat.) Apologies about the picture quality, my phone has a crappy camera.

Spoiler

Show

May:


August: (started dieting in June)


Today:

Waist size dropped from 52 to 44, my tummy isn't shrinking as much.

[Douglas]

Looks like some good progress, the third picture doesn't have nearly the obvious bulge that the first one does. It's still there, but it doesn't stick out as much.

For some reason the second one looks a great deal fatter than either of the other two. Maybe it's because of the viewing angle or posture?

[Tvtyrant]

Looks like some good progress, the third picture doesn't have nearly the obvious bulge that the first one does. It's still there, but it doesn't stick out as much.

For some reason the second one looks a great deal fatter than either of the other two. Maybe it's because of the viewing angle or posture?

I think I put them in the wrong order. Picture 2 was in May, 1 was August and 3 is today. So by picture one you can see improvements. I will rearrange them as such.

In order now.

[Douglas]

In that case your progress is quite a bit more pronounced than I had thought. Good work!

[Sivarias]

I'm digging this thread. TvTyrant do you mind if we turn this into a general fitness thread. For questions/support?

I've been looking for one for a while, and I bet others are too.

[Tvtyrant]

I'm digging this thread. TvTyrant do you mind if we turn this into a general fitness thread. For questions/support?

I've been looking for one for a while, and I bet others are too.

Not at all! The more the merrier!

[Sivarias]

Not at all! The more the merrier!

Well, with that endorsement I think I might jump in here.

I'm going to start trying to phase into better eating habits.

My ultimate health goals are

---

No more sugary drinks
Cook all my meals
Gym 5x a week lifting heavy
180g protein / day
100g carbs / day
1500-1800 Calories / day

I've been able to dial all those in before, and the results were great. Unfortunately I had a bad reaction to some meds and it all went out the window.

I'm on new meds now and I've been told flat out that I'm going to be really moody for 3 weeks, high on dopamine and feeling like a greek god for 3 weeks, and I should float back down to normal after that and stabilize.

The plan is to start dialing in the first two goals in the next 3 weeks or so, then start working out around week 3. Once I'm working out and I have the energy back I'll be able to start worrying about macros and making sure I'm hitting actual calorie goals besides "eat healthier".

[Vinyadan]

Five heavy workouts a week look like a lot to me. What is your aim?

[Sivarias]

I'm still young so I wanna build heavy muscle, use it as a base for martial arts

I'm also currently 42% BF so there's a bit of multitasking.

[Tvtyrant]

I'm still young so I wanna build heavy muscle, use it as a base for martial arts

I'm also currently 42% BF so there's a bit of multitasking.

I think you are going to burn out fast. Usually you want three x week, look into ppl.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.red...l_program_for/

[Sivarias]

I think you are going to burn out fast. Usually you want three x week, look into ppl.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.red...l_program_for/

The 5x a week is for my mental health, not just physical. I would actually be doing a modified PPL or a PPL P/P L if you will.

[Tvtyrant]

The 5x a week is for my mental health, not just physical. I would actually be doing a modified PPL or a PPL P/P L if you will.

Fair enough. I would do 3x weights, 2x cardio so you dont overwork your muscles though. If pure cardio is boring get some people for basketball or soccer.

[Knaight]

The 5x a week is for my mental health, not just physical. I would actually be doing a modified PPL or a PPL P/P L if you will.

Five times a week is enough to damage your physical health if you're not careful - recovery time is important.

[Sivarias]

Five times a week is enough to damage your physical health if you're not careful - recovery time is important.

This is the first I've heard of it. Are you assuming a total body workout 5 days a week? Because I'll be seperating all the major muscle groups. Each group will only get worked twice a week.

[MrZJunior]

For what it's worth the thing that really helped me loose weight was when I started biking to work. It's a twenty mile round trip.

I've also been doing calisthenics and chin-ups/pull-ups.

I've been doing largely the same calisthenic exercises for the last couple months. Do you guys know where I could find some resources to help me vary my workout?

[Tvtyrant]

This is the first I've heard of it. Are you assuming a total body workout 5 days a week? Because I'll be seperating all the major muscle groups. Each group will only get worked twice a week.

The answer I was given it because you can only build so much muscle at a time (half a pound a week). You do that by converting protein into muscle, but your body has a limited amount it can do at once. So working out more often can burn calories but not build muscle.

For what it's worth the thing that really helped me loose weight was when I started biking to work. It's a twenty mile round trip.

I've also been doing calisthenics and chin-ups/pull-ups.

I've been doing largely the same calisthenic exercises for the last couple months. Do you guys know where I could find some resources to help me vary my workout?

Anything to do with military exercises should work, that is their primary focus.

gymnasticbodies.com/forum
antranik.org/bodyweight-training
globalbodyweighttraining.com
/r/bodyweightfitness
fitloop.co

[AMFV]

I'm still young so I wanna build heavy muscle, use it as a base for martial arts

I'm also currently 42% BF so there's a bit of multitasking.

Well building muscle for martial arts isn't usually accomplished by what I might call "lifting heavy" normally at fairly moderate weights you run into a point of diminishing returns. Also if you're that heavy you're probably going to run into a point where you want to cut and a heavy lifting habit may not help that much. Although to be fair I might have a different perspective than most folks here do on what should be considered "lifting heavy".

Also 1800 calories is definitely not enough to support lifting heavy, especially if you're a heavier chap. It just isn't. The best you'll manage is moderate lifting without the significant weight improvements you might see with better caloric intake.

The 5x a week is for my mental health, not just physical. I would actually be doing a modified PPL or a PPL P/P L if you will.

After the very initial stages I've seen that programs especially those with linear increases can be limiting rather than helpful. That's why you see all those folks on Reddit Fitness talking about how they bench 225, squat 310, and deadlift just over 400, after several years of training. Because a program reduces heavily the amount of actual thinking you're doing.

Five times a week is definitely not enough for the average person to overtrain. I would say if you are around 200-300 lbs, and you aren't benching 400+, squatting 500-600, and deadlifting around 6 or 7, overtraining is probably not a serious risk, although training more times does increase the risk of injury simply because you're doing the thing that risks injury more often.

Fair enough. I would do 3x weights, 2x cardio so you dont overwork your muscles though. If pure cardio is boring get some people for basketball or soccer.

Well if he's doing a good split that shouldn't be an issue, and even if not, his body will let him know if he's overworking it just fine.

Five times a week is enough to damage your physical health if you're not careful - recovery time is important.

For most people five times a week is just fine, especially if they're doing a reasonable split. And you can recover from a lot more than you would think. I mean there are athletes who do intense workouts everyday of the week and they wind up alright.

The answer I was given it because you can only build so much muscle at a time (half a pound a week). You do that by converting protein into muscle, but your body has a limited amount it can do at once. So working out more often can burn calories but not build muscle.

That's not strictly speaking true, and it varies for every single person. I mean you had guys like Arnold who worked out 6-7 days a week and you could certainly not argue that they weren't building muscle. And that was during the bulking season, and no that isn't just because of chemical assistance. I've known and had experience with training with and without, the main difference is in speed of results not anything else.

The thing is that if you're working out more times a week you're burning more energy. Like a Deadlift, say you're deadlifting 800 lbs, it takes a LOT of caloric energy to pull that bar up, so if you're doing that more times a week, you're going to either have to eat a lot more to compensate or you're going to wind up losing weight rather than building muscle. There's a reason strongmen eat like 10,000 calories a day.

[Sivarias]

Five times a week is definitely not enough for the average person to overtrain. I would say if you are around 200-300 lbs, and you aren't benching 400+, squatting 500-600, and deadlifting around 6 or 7, overtraining is probably not a serious risk, although training more times does increase the risk of injury simply because you're doing the thing that risks injury more often.

My goals are to get to 1.5xBW Bench 2x Squat, and 2.5x Deadlift. (These are minimums for what I consider "lifting heavy").

My soft goal weight is ~185lbs and/or sub 15% BF as that's the recommended lb for my height. I'll fine tune once I get closer as I am a large framed guy, and ultimately the mirror will be my guide to dialing it in. I just needed some soft number so I can track my progress more empirically rather than by "feeling it".

[AMFV]

My goals are to get to 1.5xBW Bench 2x Squat, and 2.5x Deadlift. (These are minimums for what I consider "lifting heavy").

Well if you aren't really close already you probably aren't going to hit that on 1800-2000 calories on a cut. I mean it's possible but not very likely. You would probably have to periodize somewhat to get that sort of thing. Also for martial arts stuff that's probably some wasted effort on your part. Since most of that is probably more than what you need for most martial arts stuff and getting to some of that is going to require effort and training that is counterproductive for martial arts stuff. I mean if lifting is your goal those are very good beginner steps, but if martial arts is your goal, you may be overreaching depending on your natural lifting talent and what-not.

My soft goal weight is ~185lbs and/or sub 15% BF as that's the recommended lb for my height. I'll fine tune once I get closer as I am a large framed guy, and ultimately the mirror will be my guide to dialing it in. I just needed some soft number so I can track my progress more empirically rather than by "feeling it".

Well weight can be a good or bad metric, depending on your goals, if you're aiming to compete in your martial art of choice then you need to start looking at how competitive particular weight classes are and how tall you have to be in those classes to be successful. Also most fighters are very cut, so like if 185 would be where you'd be at to be a good looking dude, and you were a fighter you'd probably weigh in at 160 (at most).

So pretty much everything here is goal dependent. I would say though that trying to lift heavy at a deficit like that is going to not give good results from the lifting and what-not. I mean you could maintain what you already have, maybe gain a little bit from CNS adaptation and improved form work, but there's no miracles there really.