Anyone else workout here?

Yeah, donut is generic, for me, for whatever is bad for me. Usually sweets. I should move to Viking land, and wish I had more donuts. I'd probably lose weight, heh.

 

been lifting pretty seriously for about 2 years now. i finally found what i feel like is the best strength program or at least one of the best called west side barbell. it's a powerlifting routine that concentrates on increasing your one rep maxes for bench, squat and deadlift. the routine is quite complex to set up and understand so i bought a book about it called 'maximum strength' by eric cressey.

it has improved my posture and confidence as well. even though the programs main concentration is on power instead of physique, the results are pretty aesthetic anyway.

 

I'm about to start another bulking phase and I'm doing a testosterone boost cycle with it as well. I'm going to be upping to around 4k calories and 150+g of protein per day for around 3 weeks. When I'm in a bulk phase I do drop sets. I found that the drop sets are phenomenal for me as far as increasing muscle mass.

samcol - lookin' good (not in a gay way either). I know some guys that are doing the same sort of routine that you are using and it definitely gives results. Those guys are more of the serious builders who are competitors and they seem to cycle the west side routine with the drop set routine. Of course they switch up to cut & def routine before the competitions.

For anyone trying to build muscle, I think the most important thing I learned other than how to eat properly, is that squats are god and deadlifts are king.

 

I was doing some 5x5 and low rep stuff, but kept getting hurt when doing so. I've switched to higher volume and am happier with the results. Max lifts are sexy, and all, but I like being able to move more.

 

I'm entering month #2 of working out and I've yet to see any reduction in my belly fat. Do I need to do aerobics or something? tia

 

Eddie, have you changed your diet at all? If you don't change your diet as well, working out alone has very little effect on losing fat, although you may be building muscle.

 

Yes, I've cut out all junk food and a lot of sugar. I'm not eating ice cream, cake, donuts, candy, soda, fried foods, Big Macs etc.

 

Thanks. My issue is that I don't have the energy to do weight training and cardio...so I picked one to go with. My muscles are getting bigger but my belly fat is still there. I think you're right, one month isn't going to do it. I need to stay with it.

 

Are you taking any sort of N.O. boosters or thermogenic supplements? What is your diet like and how often are you eating? Baraka_Guru is right on the money with eating every 2-3 hours. However, if you are only doing weight training, then you are not going to see the results you want to see unless you enter into a cut phase. With you developing and growing muscle, it's highly unlikely that you'll lose the fat you want to lose. Most people I train with will tell you that you can't have it both ways. You're either bulking or cutting. You just have to decide on when you want to perform these stages and how to go about them. However, I think it's quite possible to do both HIIT training as well as weight training. Why do I say it's possible? Because I do it. Yeah it's fucking brutal. It sucks. I get that part, but it's possible and it's really no different than when you committed to weight training. You just have to commit to changing up your routine.

I can give you some killer supplements to aid you, but first I want to know what your diet consists of and your actual routine and any supplements you're taking. Two supplements that you should be taking no matter what if you're weight training is Enteric Fish Oil and a good multi-vitamin. I use Optimum Multi-Men and Enteric Fish Oil. Weight training is brutal on your joints, so take care of them.

So pop that diet and supplementation in here (including protein) -- I'm curious to see what you're doing. That will help us try to point you in the right direction.

 

i would recommend tracking calories with a website like fatsecret. then find a site that calculates how many calories your body requires in a day at age/sex/activity level then subtract 500 calories from it. 1 lbs of fat has approx 3500 calories in it so you would lose approx 1 lbs of fat a week. if you are very over weight you can increase your daily calorie deficit to 700 or a 1000 or more.

for example at my age/activity level i need approx 2700-3000 calories to maintain my bodyweight. so, i'd have to eat around 2000-2000 calories a day to lose about 1 lbs a week. where these calories comes from isn't really important.

if you're not losing body fat, it's because you dont know where you stand on calories in vs calories out. that's the key.

i think strength training and running a calorie deficit yields the best result physique wise compared to people who only do cardio.
--- merged: Oct 23, 2011 12:20 AM ---
also belly fat is usually the last to go for men and hips for the ladies. you just have to stick with it

 

Thanks for the responses fellas. Um, my diet. Well, I eat 3 meals a day, really only two. I start the day off with coffee and a nutrigrain bar. Then I eat a lunch of some sort of wrap or bagel samwich. For dinner I usually make tacos or I order sushi, spring rolls, sweet and sour pork/chicken, etc.. I'm not a big red meat eater. I do snack a little bit...apples or granola bars.

For supplements I'm taking Wheybolic once a day after my workout. Pre-workout I'm drinking an FRS with a scoop of jack3d in it. I don't like the jack3d very much, it makes me a little nauseous.

 

Fuck jack3d. Assault and/or Juggernaut is way better.

 

Can I find those at GNC? They have creatine, right?

 

I've heard a lot of good things about StringLifts 5x5, and I personally do HIIT, which if you did short-distance running you're almost certainly familiar with. SL doesn't take much time if you have weights at home, and HIIT can take as much time as you're willing to commit.

 

bodybuilding.com is your friend.

Not all creatine is created equal either. Just like not all protein is created equal. For me, I use 3 different types of protein. I use Optimum Gold Standard in the Mornings/Snacks and Optimum Hydrobuilder before/after workout and Optimum Casein right before bed on an empty stomach. I know GNC carries some MusclePharm products (they make assault, battle fuel, combat powder etc) but I'm not sure which particular products they carry. Combat Powder is great because it combines all 3 types of protein into one shake but for me, I just like to break it down.

Creatine comes in many different formats. You'll need to do a load phase before a maintain phase if you're going to do it. I've found that I prefer the creatine pills more than the powder because Creatine is hard to mix, doesn't matter if you have a blender or not, you'll always leave some in the bottom of the shaker bottle.

 

Thanks. I like the Wheybolic. It seems to be a pretty comprehensive protein drink. I will look into the assault, however the people at both GNCs that I go to highly recommended the jack3d. They said they sell more of that than anything else. I'm not a big online buyer so I think I'll stick to GNC. I like to look a person in the eye when they're selling me something. Before I settled on my purchases I asked a lot of questions and the GNC guys really knew their stuff, and it was apparent that they worked out.

 

Whatever blows your skirt.

 

Or gym shorts