BigWill722

My gym has a shirt that says "1,000 lb club" on it, I have been striving to get it just so I can have the shirt . I haven't done a legit 1RM since high school because in college the coaches wouldn't let us for "safety reasons". I haven't had the gym staff watch me on the big 3 lifts but here are the numbers: Squat-335lbs Bench-275, I did it for a set a 2 yesterday so I know I can lift a little more Dead lift-455lbs 1,065 total! I'm barely over but it's cool to know I can do it. edit: I am also 298 lbs according to the scale yesterday morning. I'm in the process of losing weight.

Currently I'm reading a book written by a friend it's called Devil's Halo. It's about fighting demons, it reminds me of Supernatural. I'm also reading The Expectant Father, my wife is 12 weeks pregnant with our first child!

I like to use avocado in tuna salad instead of mayonnaise, very good.

Personally, I think it's a waste of money. Reaching your protein goal is important, the absorption rate of the protein not so much. But if it works for you by all means continue taking it, you're getting results!

I am also lactose intolerant so I feel your pain . Although I stay away from milk you can try to drink lactose free milk, I'm not sure if it has the same macros but I don't see why it would be different.

Pretty cool experimenting with protein powders. I've only used 3 brands so far: BSN Syntha-6, ON Cookies N Creme and Double Rich Chocolate, and Vitamin Shoppe's brand. I've been wanting to try MTS Whey because I've heard good things about it. If you get a chance to try it please let us know your thoughts!

Dang I double posted

I also use MyFitness Pal. I do check the label as well to double check. I eat a lot of the same thing so I don't worry about too many foods being wrong. I also use a scale everyday to weigh everything but liquids.

To me it seems that the oats are causing the problem. Oats soak u liquid like a sponge. Try using only 1 cup of oats to see if that helps. Increasing the liquid is also an option but using ice will make it more slush like so I think a little water would help.

I eat egg whites almost everyday. They are pretty bland so sometimes I thrown in a whole egg with pepper and garlic.

My workplace has recently started making healthier snacks available to workers. They somehow struck a deal to where they sell the snacks at cost so they are cheaper than at the store! We have beef jerky, protein bars, Kind bars, air popped chips and protein shakes. It's nice to see a company looking out for their employees. I don't think you can go wrong nuts and jerky.

I am also lactose intolerant and whey protein doesn't bother me, have you tried it to see its effect on you? Also, whey protein isolate has a very low amount, if any, lactose in it but the down side is that they are more expensive.

Whey is a good source of protein, use it!

I've always done lettering in flat side out, it was just the way I was taught. I do think that it helps with grip though.

Nuts are a great snack. If you don't like the texture of fruits, why not make a smoothie out of it? I have a bag of frozen berries that only have 21 carbs with 9 grams of fiber per serving. Mix it with some liquid ( I prefer almond milk, unsweetened), ice and maybe some kale or spinach and bam! nice snack with vitamins and minerals.

I have the eco ball and it still gets particles everywhere. I have this cloud of dust around me and when it settles the particles are everywhere. It is not really that clean but it does help with grip. YMMV

Congrats!

I know some on here condemn protein bars but I like Quest bars, they are tasty.

You gotta eat more, simple as that. Chicken , fish and turkey are some good sources of protein. You should track what you eat to see how many calories you are taking in. Greek yogurt is a good snack option, I have a store brand with 18 grams in it in a 8 oz container!

My grip fails at 315 so if I want to do reps I either use straps or use the alternate grip. I use the Metolius ecoball chalk alternative to help with grip.

Almond milk for me, any brand that is on sale and it is mine! I drink it because I'm lactose intolerant and I had to find that out the hard way ( waking up in the middle of the night sweating profusely with terrible stomach pain ). I do prefer a sweetened version over unsweet but both go great in a protein shake, which is my preferred method of using almond milk.

Nice lifts and good luck with your challenge.

Very interesting challenge. I might give it a shot but first I gotta get my form right, I've been on a smith machine for a while but now I have access to a squat rack.

Great news to hear that the leg brace is gone, I always hated braces. I can totally relate to the sympathy pains, anytime I see a knee injury I cringe. Good progress and keep up the work! You'll be back in no time.

I'm finally getting a chance to review my challenge, the wife and I have been sick. This challenge wasn't easy and to me it shows the importance of meal planning and looking at nutrition of the foods that I eat. While I tried to get my macros withing 10 grams +/- in the end I counted 30 out of the 42 days that I did not reach that range. So reluctantly I have to give myself an F in results but an A in effort in hitting my macros. I missed 5 days doing cardio or strength training so an A for both of those! ( Sta 2, Dex 2 & Str 2 ) As for my side quests I think I did great! Going by my first weigh in of the challenge I lost 8 pounds but this year in total has been 17 pounds! I probably did lose 10 pounds but I forgot to weigh myself the day before the challenge started. I'm giving myself a B. I have no clue about the fat loss because I didn't have the calipers until halfway through the challenge so that is inconclusive. I have been taking pictures of myself and I do look a little better than I did in November. My performance in the gym didn't suffer much if at all. I was doing the SL 5x5 and was at 235 lbs doing bench press. During the challenge I did more of a pyramid and repped out 235 a few times, I only got to do chest once a week, not much room for growth. Dead lifts were down to 365 doing multiple reps and sets. Squats on the smith machine were being repped at 335 lbs but I consider those unimpressive since I was being assisted. Now that I have access to a squat rack it's going to get interesting I'm still going to count my macros and I'm going to adjust them since I've dropped so much weight. I hope you all enjoyed my challenge.