Random Fitness Questions

the baby bull elephant · 15-01-2020 1:32pm

taxdummy wrote: »

Hi Guys,

I know this topic has been asked thousands of times so doesn't need it's own thread plus don't want to resurrect an old thread so thought this be best place to ask question.

I am currently going to a PT 2/3 times a week - in order to get in shape/leaner - mainly weight training. I also run a fair bit - training for half marathon in April, and try to get 10k+ steps everyday. So basically I only have 1/2 rest days a week - which are basically rest days.

My food is fairly clean - over last week average intake (per day) of P/C/F has been 132/210/50g and my calorie intake is approx. 1900 calories a day. My weight is approx. 175lbs and body fat of 20%. Water intake of approx. 3litres a day.

Given that I'm running a lot I think I need the high intake of carbs.

The only supplements that I take are fish oil capsules and Vit C. No shakes or whey, as I don't think I need them to hit protein goals. I may also have some sort of low/zero calorie energy drink prior to workout/long run - for example monster ultra (half before/after), but that would be it (I don't drink coffee)

However should I be taking creatine. I'm very reluctant to just take something (as prefer to just eat good clean food) - will it just accelerate the process of building muscle, or is it actually needed. Like does it accelerate the process marginally, or what you could build in 6 months, might only take 5 months for instance?.

Will it have any negative impact on my running? And/or is there anything I need to consider when taking creatine?

https://www.strongerbyscience.com/creatine/

Is as comprehensive a guide as you'll find on the internet.

Loading is largely unnecessary.

shutup · 19-01-2020 11:42am

Any concerns about someone going from occasional push ups to a 100 per day push up challenge. Should you make sure to counter all those push ups with an opposite exercise?
This would be as part of a program that has push ups, inverted rows, dips and pull ups.
The push ups would have by far the most reps if I were going for 100 a day.

Alf Veedersane · 19-01-2020 1:13pm

shutup wrote: »

Any concerns about someone going from occasional push ups to a 100 per day push up challenge. Should you make sure to counter all those push ups with an opposite exercise?
This would be as part of a program that has push ups, inverted rows, dips and pull ups.
The push ups would have by far the most reps if I were going for 100 a day.

There is a balance of pushing and pulling in terms of exercises but if the volume of push ups is much higher then Id look to add in things like band pull-aparts etc for a bit of balance.

Minime2.5 · 19-01-2020 5:26pm

Male
6ft 0 Tall
41

Weight 20.5 Stone

I'm very overweight but I've done some training in the past so I have a good bit of muscle

I'm looking to eat 2400 calories a day with 200g being protein with the rest of the calories being split between fats and carbs, some days will be lower carb others will be higher fat

Exercise wise Ill be doing an upper/lower body weight-training split 4 days a week
Also going to try and hit 10k steps every day for the extra calorie burn

My long term goal is 14 stone but initially I'm focused on getting to 16.5 stone

How long do you think It should take

colm_c · 19-01-2020 11:43pm

Minime2.5 wrote: »

Male
6ft 0 Tall
41

Weight 20.5 Stone

I'm very overweight but I've done some training in the past so I have a good bit of muscle

I'm looking to eat 2400 calories a day with 200g being protein with the rest of the calories being split between fats and carbs, some days will be lower carb others will be higher fat

Exercise wise Ill be doing an upper/lower body weight-training split 4 days a week
Also going to try and hit 10k steps every day for the extra calorie burn

My long term goal is 14 stone but initially I'm focused on getting to 16.5 stone

How long do you think It should take

Can't give you an answer on how long, but fair play giving it a go!

I would also say, that if you are not active at the moment, you will loose weight very quickly with diet an exercise.

And make sure whatever diet/gym/exercise you do, that it's sustainable and a change of how you live, otherwise you won't be able to maintain it long term, which you need to do to keep the weight off.

Alf Veedersane · 19-01-2020 11:47pm

Minime2.5 wrote: »

Male
6ft 0 Tall
41

Weight 20.5 Stone

I'm very overweight but I've done some training in the past so I have a good bit of muscle

I'm looking to eat 2400 calories a day with 200g being protein with the rest of the calories being split between fats and carbs, some days will be lower carb others will be higher fat

Exercise wise Ill be doing an upper/lower body weight-training split 4 days a week
Also going to try and hit 10k steps every day for the extra calorie burn

My long term goal is 14 stone but initially I'm focused on getting to 16.5 stone

How long do you think It should take

It really depends on what your actual Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) is because that determines the level of deficit that 2400 kcals is.

Just do what you've planned, see how it goes and adjust as necessary.

D'Agger · 20-01-2020 8:50pm

Any recommendations for apps for tracking workout sessions, goals etc

Have used Google sheets in my phone before but found it a bit annoying

Alf Veedersane · 20-01-2020 9:21pm

D'Agger wrote: »

Any recommendations for apps for tracking workout sessions, goals etc

Have used Google sheets in my phone before but found it a bit annoying

Fitnotes is supposed to be good.

SuprSi · 20-01-2020 11:01pm

I attended Britains Strongest Man in Sheffield on Saturday evening. First time at something like that and it was very enjoyable. Do those guys use steroids? I mean, Tom Stoltman is 6 foot 8, 160kg and 25 years old.

Could he get that big naturally?

Phil.x · 20-01-2020 11:16pm

SuprSi wrote: »

I attended Britains Strongest Man in Sheffield on Saturday evening. First time at something like that and it was very enjoyable. Do those guys use steroids? I mean, Tom Stoltman is 6 foot 8, 160kg and 25 years old.

Could he get that big naturally?

All strongmen and competing bodybuilders use steroids unless they enter the naturals competition.

the baby bull elephant · 20-01-2020 11:24pm

SuprSi wrote: »

I attended Britains Strongest Man in Sheffield on Saturday evening. First time at something like that and it was very enjoyable. Do those guys use steroids? I mean, Tom Stoltman is 6 foot 8, 160kg and 25 years old.

Could he get that big naturally?

It may be possible to get that big naturally but it's highly unlikely. Especially giving the testing or lack thereof it's safe to assume the majority of top level strongmen are using some form of PEDs. There was however apparently a handful of guys in the early 2000s who apparently competed as naturals.

I don't think the gear usage really takes away from what they can accomplish though.

Alf Veedersane · 20-01-2020 11:27pm

Thor said he's taken steroids. If he's taken/taking them, well...you can draw your own conclusions about the world level competitors

Reps4jesus · 21-01-2020 9:50am

there is basically no chance any of the top strongmen in the world have not been on steroids

Mr. CooL ICE · 21-01-2020 10:24am

IIRC, most strongman feds state they are drug free but never drug test. So...

D'Agger · 21-01-2020 10:57am

Alf Veedersane wrote: »

Fitnotes is supposed to be good.

Working away with that now, thanks Alf

Bredabe · 24-01-2020 1:43am

I found all the machines I needed access to from before, in terms of beginning strengthening/fat burning, how many reps/time should I spend on each machine do people recommend?

Mellor · 24-01-2020 8:01am

the baby bull elephant wrote: »

It may be possible to get that big naturally but it's highly unlikely.

It’s definitely possible to get that big naturally.
He’s not 6’8” because of steroids.
Historical strongmen have by bigger and taller without steroids.

...but he’s also on steroids for other obvious reasons.

silverharp · 24-01-2020 10:16am

I remember watching a few debunking natural vegan bodybuilders videos, my takeaway was apart from someone making gainz too quickly was that you “cant” be big and ripped, that there is a trade off?

silverharp · 26-01-2020 3:38pm

anyone ever donate blood and notice their aerobic capacity reduce? donated on Thur, had Thurs and Friday as rest days, kind of bonked doing the concept 2 Sat morning , strength stuff was fine, didn't notice anything there.

Alf Veedersane · 26-01-2020 4:04pm

silverharp wrote: »

anyone ever donate blood and notice their aerobic capacity reduce? donated on Thur, had Thurs and Friday as rest days, kind of bonked doing the concept 2 Sat morning , strength stuff was fine, didn't notice anything there.

Yeah but it's to be expected. Red blood cells carry oxygen. You've donated a chunk of your blood so takes time to recover that.

I never gave blood during the season cos of it

silverharp · 26-01-2020 9:09pm

Alf Veedersane wrote: »

Yeah but it's to be expected. Red blood cells carry oxygen. You've donated a chunk of your blood so takes time to recover that.

I never gave blood during the season cos of it

its an odd feeling when your body doesn't do what you expect it to do. I basically did 1000m at the same split I'd do a 2000m. The other conditioning seemed normal.

Alf Veedersane · 26-01-2020 9:36pm

silverharp wrote: »

its an odd feeling when your body doesn't do what you expect it to do. I basically did 1000m at the same split I'd do a 2000m. The other conditioning seemed normal.

RBCs take longest to recover to pre donation levels. At an elite level, where tiny margins matter, you're looking at weeks for that recovery.

lcstress2012 · 28-01-2020 8:13pm

Does the FlyeFit in drumcondra have private shower cubicles (not open showers)? Thinking of joining! What do you all think of this gym ?

Mellor · 29-01-2020 12:16am

Alf Veedersane wrote: »

At an elite level, where tiny margins matter, you're looking at weeks for that recovery.

At an elite level, they simply don't donate I imagine

Alf Veedersane · 29-01-2020 12:35am

Mellor wrote: »

At an elite level, they simply don't donate I imagine

I doubt it. I wasn't suggesting they did, per se.

Mellor · 29-01-2020 1:40am

Alf Veedersane wrote: »

I doubt it. I wasn't suggesting they did, per se.

Or actually, they donate...to themselves at a later date.

el Fenomeno · 30-01-2020 8:16am

When doing bicep curls using a preacher bench / stand / whatever it's called, I find my lower arms (between my elbow and wrist) hurt. Am I doing them wrong?

This is with a barbell. Would dumbbells be better?

I don't get that pain when doing standing barbell curls. Only seems to be with the preacher.

Alf Veedersane · 30-01-2020 9:20am

el Fenomeno wrote: »

When doing bicep curls using a preacher bench / stand / whatever it's called, I find my lower arms (between my elbow and wrist) hurt. Am I doing them wrong?

This is with a barbell. Would dumbbells be better?

I don't get that pain when doing standing barbell curls. Only seems to be with the preacher.

Try with an EZ Bar or dumbbells and see. It feels uncomfortable when I use a strsight bar so I never do.

silverharp · 30-01-2020 11:39am

As well as the EZ bar another tip that might help is add bands to the exercise, might smooth it out and possibly allow you to drop the weight a little bit , still with more bang for your buck

Brian? · 30-01-2020 1:26pm

el Fenomeno wrote: »

When doing bicep curls using a preacher bench / stand / whatever it's called, I find my lower arms (between my elbow and wrist) hurt. Am I doing them wrong?

This is with a barbell. Would dumbbells be better?

I don't get that pain when doing standing barbell curls. Only seems to be with the preacher.

I’d stop doing them. They’re not really needed if you do plenty of pulling and some ez bar curls.

Brian? · 30-01-2020 1:29pm

silverharp wrote: »

As well as the EZ bar another tip that might help is add bands to the exercise, might smooth it out and possibly allow you to drop the weight a little bit , still with more bang for your buck

Why would you add bands? If you want to make it harder you add more weight.

I understand using bands for things like benching or deadlifts to train through sticking points in the movement. Curls, I don’t see the point.

Alf Veedersane · 30-01-2020 1:31pm

Brian? wrote: »

Why would you add bands?

WESTSIDE DENIER!!!

silverharp · 30-01-2020 3:38pm

Brian? wrote: »

Why would you add bands? If you want to make it harder you add more weight.

I understand using bands for things like benching or deadlifts to train through sticking points in the movement. Curls, I don’t see the point.

because I was told to :pac: . I assume the benefit is more constant tension , all circular movements drop off tension near the top

Alf Veedersane · 30-01-2020 3:48pm

silverharp wrote: »

because I was told to :pac: . I assume the benefit is more constant tension , all circular movements drop off tension near the top

Yeah but the same will be true with a band. Tension will be greater at the top than without but there will be a drop off.

And anyway, there's a trade off between constant tension and reduced intensity...so how do you know that band plus lower intensity is better than no band with higher intensity.

Brian? · 30-01-2020 5:34pm

Alf Veedersane wrote: »

WESTSIDE DENIER!!!

I was once a Westside acolyte. But I've been deporgrammed by inactivity.

Brian? · 30-01-2020 5:35pm

silverharp wrote: »

because I was told to :pac: . I assume the benefit is more constant tension , all circular movements drop off tension near the top

You do you man, but it seems like unneccesary farting around to me.

I'm a traditionalist. I believe in lifting a weight from A to B is the answer to everything.

lcstress2012 · 30-01-2020 10:56pm

Joined FLYEFIT but haven’t been yet. When you swipe your card at the turnstiles going in, do you have to swipe the card again going out???

Alf Veedersane · 30-01-2020 11:00pm

lcstress2012 wrote: »

Joined FLYEFIT but haven’t been yet. When you swipe your card at the turnstiles going in, do you have to swipe the card again going out???

No. There's a button on the gate...

Mellor · 31-01-2020 1:07am

Alf Veedersane wrote: »

Yeah but the same will be true with a band. Tension will be greater at the top than without but there will be a drop off.

I think the logic is that the increased band tension at the top, offsets the reduced leverage of the weight at the top. Net affect being more uniform force throughout.

Alf Veedersane · 31-01-2020 8:17am

Mellor wrote: »

I think the logic is that the increased band tension at the top, offsets the reduced leverage of the weight at the top. Net affect being more uniform force throughout.

I butchered what I was trying to say there and yeah the resistance increases as the muscle in a stronger position but the point still applies that it's not necessarily better than just a heavier weight.

Also, it's just a bicep curl...

Brian? · 31-01-2020 4:41pm

Mellor wrote: »

I think the logic is that the increased band tension at the top, offsets the reduced leverage of the weight at the top. Net affect being more uniform force throughout.

That's true.

But IMO, it's also true that it's a waste of time.

It's good example of people making things complicated when they don't need to be.

caviardreams · 31-01-2020 9:50pm

lcstress2012 wrote: »

Joined FLYEFIT but haven’t been yet. When you swipe your card at the turnstiles going in, do you have to swipe the card again going out???

In my branch you do, so it might depend which one it is.

Mellor · 01-02-2020 4:49am

Brian? wrote: »

That's true.

But IMO, it's also true that it's a waste of time.

It's good example of people making things complicated when they don't need to be.

Completely agree. Not saying it’s worth it, just pointing out the logic behind the set up.

I do t see the need for uniform force. But if somebody does, then would be a lot easier to just use bicep curl machine. The pulley set up means there’s no leverage changes.

lcstress2012 · 01-02-2020 11:47am

caviardreams wrote: »

In my branch you do, so it might depend which one it is.

It’s the one in Drumcondra

Alf Veedersane · 01-02-2020 12:26pm

lcstress2012 wrote: »

It’s the one in Drumcondra

If you have your card to get in then you'll have it to get out.

Try emailing them if it matters. I found them to be good at getting back when i contacted them.

el Fenomeno · 08-02-2020 7:38am

el Fenomeno wrote: »

When doing bicep curls using a preacher bench / stand / whatever it's called, I find my lower arms (between my elbow and wrist) hurt. Am I doing them wrong?

This is with a barbell. Would dumbbells be better?

I don't get that pain when doing standing barbell curls. Only seems to be with the preacher.

Ugh, this is getting the better of me. Getting too much pain to power through, doing any variation of barbell, dumbbell or ez bar curl.

Going to give them a break for a couple of weeks and see how I feel. Interestingly, no pain whatsoever during seated hammer dumbbell curls, so might just stick to them for a bit.

Is there any other exercises recommended for biceps, even if only complimentary?

Brian? · 08-02-2020 8:04am

el Fenomeno wrote: »

Ugh, this is getting the better of me. Getting too much pain to power through, doing any variation of barbell, dumbbell or ez bar curl.

Going to give them a break for a couple of weeks and see how I feel. Interestingly, no pain whatsoever during seated hammer dumbbell curls, so might just stick to them for a bit.

Is there any other exercises recommended for biceps, even if only complimentary?

You need to go to a medical professional. Curls shouldn't hurt.

Alf Veedersane · 08-02-2020 9:10am

el Fenomeno wrote: »

Ugh, this is getting the better of me. Getting too much pain to power through, doing any variation of barbell, dumbbell or ez bar curl.

Going to give them a break for a couple of weeks and see how I feel. Interestingly, no pain whatsoever during seated hammer dumbbell curls, so might just stick to them for a bit.

Is there any other exercises recommended for biceps, even if only complimentary?

Is it the inside of your forearm that hurts?

el Fenomeno · 08-02-2020 10:17am

Brian? wrote: »

You need to go to a medical professional. Curls shouldn't hurt.

Oh yeah I know it's not normal. I've done them before without pain, I think I must have just sprained/pulled something. I'm going to get it checked out if the pain is still there after a couple of weeks off the curls.

Alf Veedersane wrote: »

Is it the inside of your forearm that hurts?

If you put your left hand out in front of you, palm facing flat down to the ground, it's the very left/outside of it that hurts. No pain at all until I get up to the "top" of a curl.

Didn't think too much of it until it started impacting other parts of my workout - i.e. even lifting up dumbbells onto knees/legs before lying down flat for chest press.

Just going to lay off them, see how I feel after a fortnight and if it's still there - get it checked out.

Just wondering if there's anything I could (apart from hammers) so I'm not completely neglecting biceps.

Alf Veedersane · 08-02-2020 11:00am

el Fenomeno wrote: »

Oh yeah I know it's not normal. I've done them before without pain, I think I must have just sprained/pulled something. I'm going to get it checked out if the pain is still there after a couple of weeks off the curls.

If you put your left hand out in front of you, palm facing flat down to the ground, it's the very left/outside of it that hurts. No pain at all until I get up to the "top" of a curl.

Didn't think too much of it until it started impacting other parts of my workout - i.e. even lifting up dumbbells onto knees/legs before lying down flat for chest press.

Just going to lay off them, see how I feel after a fortnight and if it's still there - get it checked out.

Just wondering if there's anything I could (apart from hammers) so I'm not completely neglecting biceps.

If hammers don't hurt, then they'll do.

Random Fitness Questions

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