Dradis

Eugh, I'm tempted again. Haven't weighed myself for 2 months and have been enjoying bulking a little too much I feel. I'll weigh tomorrow and then decide. Good luck everyone regardless.

My American fiancé came packaged with this stereotype. She has since changed her mind having visited here a number of times. Anywhere where "cheese" includes that plastic burger crap should not be allowed to look down on any cuisine

Barely with the food, luckily having had a body scan thing last week I haven't done much damage, about 3lbs, some of which might be muscle. Been rubbish at updating this thread, as per usual! Kept up with the swings and get ups and have been to chiropractor 3 times now. I think I'm starting to see improvement in the shoulder which is great as that seemed to have stalled for a long time. My back is still whack (thanks for that phrase Alan Thrall), It just needs some rest and for some better glutes I think. I left my job yesterday. Got a month to go til I emigrate. Gonna dial in the food from Monday onwards and continue to hit the gym. First off its my stag-do (bachelor's party) this weekend. Exciting few months coming up I think

Its impossible to get full on ice cream from personal experience. Also, google the youtube video of Alan Thrall's 10,000 calorie per day diet. Great watch and will give you some ideas.

Have you only got 50lb weights? It's pretty normal to be able to handle less weight unilaterally. My guess would be core yeah. Can either drop the weight and build back up or look into core training. I have a rubbish core so I'm not the best person to ask. Check out jdanger's "do your damn and" routine.

Excellent job of using the word "twunts". Really does need to be popularized that

Very wise. I've been off heavy deads for 2 months because something wasn't quite right with my technique and i tweaked my back. Nothing kills gainz like getting injured.

I like greyskull too. The added benefit over SS and SL (which i did for a while) is that the deloads are less demoralising because you get to smash your rep records when you drop the weight down so you get the motivation of making progress rather than spending 2 weeks redoing weights and reps you've already done. Greyskull, imo, is both a beginner and an intermediate program. I'm planning on going back to in in the new year once i'm (hopefully) injury free. You could take greyskull a long way i think. The other thing with greyskulll with regards to the topic is that it sets out the main lifts and the assistance stuff is basically left up to you. There are set "plug-ins" you can use but you can also just add stuff at the end to fit your particular goals. I think Mehdi's recommendations on how strong you can get on SL are either exaggerated or aimed at people eating a caloric surplus (he does say to eat to be fair). I did SL on a long cut and i got nowhere near 135kg squat. I did drop 17kg of bodyweight though.

As someone on my first bulk I'm not gonna wade too much into this discussion. However, on the subject of muscle loss I was reading this the other day and the thing I took away from it is that muscle loss during a cut might not be the end of the world as it should return quickly once you go back to a slight surplus http://www.strengtheory.com/grow-like-a-new-lifter-again/

I asked about the weak position, let's see if I can explain it using just words.... There are 2 ligaments on the front of the shoulder. When you move into that position they sort of rotate so they are on top. Therefore there is a lot less support at the front of the shoulder. It's a weak position for anyone, but more so if you've had previous ligament issues or a dislocation. One of the easiest ways to dislocate a shoulder is to put someone in that position then hit their shoulder from behind due to the lack of ligament support on the front as they've rotated upwards. Clear as mud, right?

Have you considered doing them unilaterally? That way you'll have a free hand to help you. It will also be a good test of your core to keep you in position.

You've just ruined deadlifting for me ;-P

Why would you hope for that??? It's the only thing that gets me through the day. Nothing stops people trying to get you to do their jobs better than a bit of passive aggressive humiliation on a group email that includes superiors

There is nothing to be angry about here. All devkat was saying was the satisfaction of a bunch of PRs through hard work would be more satisfactory than 40kg of magic bullet improvement.

but but but, if i stop believing that then i have to admit i'm weak!

I would actually suggest picking a beginner routine and sticking with it rather than listening to me or trying to piece something together yourself. But i'll write a load of stuff regardless, as you asked As you mentioned dumbbells...... My fave row the unilateral (one side at a time) bent over dumbbell row. I find i feel it in the right places (your middle upper back, between your scapulas) more than others. For an added bonus you get an ok anti-rotational core workout keeping your body still from the lopsided load. Another good option to save some time is to do both arms at a time. With that i've found i have to think "pull with elbows, not with hands", then i try and touch my elbows together at the top and hold for a second or 2. For vertical pressing you really only have 2 options. Handstands/handstand pushups or the overhead press, the latter you can do with dumbbells. For added shoulderness do rear/lateral/front delt raises with dumbbells. In terms of making it all around balanced you need something from these categories: Legs - eg, squat Posterior chain - eg, deadlift, kettlebell swings, bridges Horizontal press - (dumbbell) bench press, press/push ups Horizontal pull - your rows Vertical press - Handstand things, overhead press Vertical pull - chin/pull-ups, lat pulldown. You'll find that what that is pretty much what the beginner strength routines are based on (eg, stronglifts, starting strength). They usually use barbells but pretty much any of the lifts used can be substituted for a dumbbell/bodyweight version. The key is to keep progressing. I'd recommend using youtube to check form for all exercises before you start. And getting your own form checked in the 'form check' forum especially if you embark on any of the big compound lifts (squat, deadlift, bench, ohp)

Thank you. This is a HUGE discovery for me. I've been doing it wrong in both exercises this whole time, and i have been having back issues recently.

For me... Protein powder, lean meats, lean fish, fatty meats, fatty fish, liver, eggs, greek yoghurt, quinoa. Bacon, all the bacon. Bacon is the king of food. A rule of thumb i've made for myself is that if the food has calories/10 in grams of protein it is a pretty good protein source. Eg, 200cal, 20g protein = good. That kinda rules out a few of the things above (the last 3 i think) but they're tasty and useful additions to your power house meats, fishes and powders.

Pick a beginners routine and stick with it. Don't complicate it, don't add to it. Concentrate on form, build your foundations. It might seem easy, thats ok, stick with the program. The 2 most popular ones seem to be: Stronglifts Starting strength Personally i did stronglifts and loved it. The app makes it super easy. I picked it because barbell row seemed easier than power cleans (the rest of the lifts are the same). If i was to have my time again though i would pick starting strength because i enjoy power cleans. At first you will get stronger regardless of your calories. So i wouldn't complicate your lifting with that for at least 3 months. Eat for whether you want to lose fat or not and let the lifts take care of themselves.

Any form of row will define your back. If you want to widen your back then pull/chin-ups/lat-pulldowns. For shoulders do some form form of vertical pressing movement and/or front/side/rear raises with a dumbbell or similar. However, you do really want to be doing a well balanced routine rather than just hitting a few spots. By all means concentrate on specific weak areas a bit more, but try and hit everything somewhere in your routine

Hmm, i didn't know it was meant to be at the hip. I do it lower leg too with "screw the feet". Is that the same for squats too?

45lb =~ 20kg. They'll be the same size, or as close as that it makes little difference. I've got similar 20kg plates to those in the gym i go to, and also weightlifting bumpers. I also go to a gym in the States where things are all in lbs. I've never noticed a diameter difference between any of them. Your deadlift is very similar to how mine used to be and TM's "squat the bar" is exactly what i was told by a PT. More legs=more weight. Also better for back, i believe. Looks like you could do with keeping your upper back tighter too, again something i struggled with. Get rowing, lots. Other than those i don't feel qualified to comment further.

Fats are the most calorie dense of the macronutrients. 9 cals per gram compared to 4 for protein and carbs. They're also the tastiest. So as long as you are getting adequate protein (that should be your no1 consideration IMO) then if you don't like the feeling of eating and eating the best way is to add fats to, well, anything. Mayo, butter, olive oil etc. My fave is coconut oil. Its considered fairly healthy and it adds nice flavor to things too. Nuts are also very calorific. Avocados are surprisingly high in calories, and darn tasty IMO Also, consider smoothies. Easy to add calories without feeling like you are eating like a hippo. Blend in fats, milk, bananas, avocado, whatever really. Experiment.

You also need to consider age. People tend to need less sleep as they get older. Also, waking up mid-night is not necessarily a thing to worry about, in fact some studies suggest this is the natural way we used to sleep before the introduction of artificial lighting. Lots of people stress about waking in the night and that causes their issues getting back to sleep. I like this article on it. Hopefully it works for non-UKers. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-16964783

I will ask next time as I had thought that too. Will check out urgan's thread too. In terms of my actual challenge, which is kinda a sideshow..... I've done swings and TGUs every day. I've started working in more row variations to every workout. Morning routine has slipped a bit but I figure the extra rowing makes up for that.