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RECAP: Over the past 14 months I have been re-honing my powerlifting skills and followed a moderate long-term weight loss plan (total of about 45 lb thus far). I'm very happy with the progress I've made, I'd like to continue building on the solid foundation I have. CHALLENGE GOALS: 1. Weight training 4x per week - continuing a PL training program I have been running for a few mesocycles now (https://rippedbody.com/intermediate-powerlifting-program/) 2. Nutrition - using Macro Factor app with great success for the past few months, continue logging daily 3. Lose 4 lb (trend weight) - may or may not happen by the end of this challenge but I think 4 lb in 5 weeks is pretty reasonable to aim for 4. Yardwork day on Sunday mornings - I gotta stop putting this off and this is the best time of the week to do it!

Looking for a wee bit of advice and guidance. I'm 28 year old male. 5ft 8. 82.58 kg. Around 19% body fat. I've dropped down from 91kg 4 months ago. But the weight drop was in the first month and a half. I've been aiming for 75kg for the next 2 months but would settle at 77kg. Training 3/4 times a week. 5 minutes cardio warm up. Day 1 - Chest and biceps, day 2 - back and tri and day 3 - leg, shoulders and abs. At the end of each workout I do either 15 minute HIIT cardio or LISS cardio for 30 mins. In-between that I work and I'm on my feet doing around 8000 steps minimum per day. I'm using progressive overload approach and finishing of my exercises with form dropping and doing 6-8 reps. I started eating roughly 1710 calories a day occasionally breaking to 1850. With a protein intake of at least 140 grams per day. For the first 3 months. Having not really lost any weight (gaining strength and dropping some body fat). Spoke to a guy in the gym advised to up it to 2000 at least a day and again increased my protein intake to around 160grams per day. With more water intake. I've been doing this for the last two weeks stepped on the scale again No change!! I've heard all the Trust the process and just keep going. But I'm feeling my motivation has taking a bit of a hit. Was at the gym today and felt low in energy that I didn't finish half my leg day exercises and end up leaving early. Feeling a bit fatigued and low in motivation. Anyone have similar experiences or advice on how to progress? Is that delay in weight loss for body recomp normal? Any guidance would be really appreciated.

Happy biiiiiirthday, Nerd Fitness, happy biiiiirthday to yooooooouuuuu! I’m excited about this challenge. I have not been here for 10 years, but my plan is to start getting back to my body comp of 10 years ago. Professionally things have taken off for me since that time, which is great-but-hectic. So my goals for this challenge are not really day-job-related, but I fully expect the obstacles will be. Food: Track everything caloric. Shoot for ~250 to 300 cal deficit. Protein for brekkie and veggies at every meal (or if I miss one, then veggies for snack). No alcohol. Exercise: Close all 3 Applewatch rings 5 days/week (I realize this is meaningless to people not embedded in the appleverse). 2 or more yoga sessions each week. 2 or more weights workouts each week. *Can sub out these for an hour at the trampoline park, because the trampoline park rocks my world, or dancing if the opportunity presents, because likewise. So, you know. 4 workouts. Barding: Practice piano 3 days/week. Practice vocals or choreo 3 days/week (I’m in an awesome show choir, which I love but man it takes work) Looking fly: Shooting for 2-3 of the following per day: Blowdry hair // Makeup on (at least brow gel and lipstick) // Boss outfit (I’ll know it when I see it; pass/fail // Something self-carey, eg bath, hair mask, face mask, puts the lotion on its skin Sleep: Screens OFF by 10 pm. OK, it looks a little, ah, maximal, but it’s actually pared way down from its original rangery extravagance. I have found that things go soooo much better for me when I’m doing a challenge and stick with it, so please feel free to call me out if I go several days without posting!

If you have never seen Stephen King's cocaine inspired masterpiece "Maximum Overdrive." You really should. It is next level bonkers. If you don't enjoy watching terrible movies but like making fun of them "How Did This Get Made?" did a great episode about it. Bonus points for Andy Daly involvement. The goals this time around are: 1. Nutrition and Recomposition I hired a nutrition coach at the beginning of February to help me lose body fat and drop down a weight class. I started at 224, which represents the heaviest but also muscliest I have ever been. I would estimate about 38% BF based on tape measurements. Today I am 213 and I have lost 1" off my hips and 0.5" off my thighs. I am very happy with that progress. Long term goal is to compete in the 198 weight class, so in terms of nutrition plan I just keep eating what she tells me to eat. 2. Hypertrophy Mesocycle I am going to compete in a PL meet June 17th (also my 5th wedding anniversary, husband has mixed feelings about this). Starting a new 12 week prep cycle so the first 4 weeks is hypertrophy city. I have the next month planned out as 65-80% range with lots of reps. I am well aware that actual muscle growth while on a cut/recomposition/deficit will be minimal. If I can maintain my strength and still hit the same numbers after dropping 2 weight classes I will consider that a smashing success. 3. Pharmacy Career Goals I found out yesterday that I did not match with any residency programs. This really bummed me out because I liked the places I interviewed with, and I thought they liked me and would rank me high on their list of candidates. Alas, only 60% of candidates will be accepted to a program because there are 7000+ people fighting for 2500 hundred spots nationwide. The good news is there is a "Phase 2" second attempt for all the people like me to match with a program with unfilled positions. There are 140 spots left. So there is still a chance but the odds are even worse. And we have 3 weeks to scout the remaining options and submit all our application materials again. So yeah.

For those I haven't met yet, I'm a grad student who typically spends 8-10 hours a day at a computer and is stressed out most of the time from watching my vitality wither away as I try to make the next deadline. To combat my life behind the desk, I'm investing the metabolic/muscle gains from weightlifting. I've been training with the warriors here on NF. I dove into Nerd Fitness over the summer and completed my first challenge in September. I started doing Stronglifts 5x5 during the first challenge and have been focusing on making strength gains in the gym. So far, it has worked, but I'm realizing that to fuel my workouts, and be simplistic about it, I need to eat MOAR. I started my first challenge 6 ft tall at 255 and got down to 248 by the end of it. By the start of my second challenge I started stalling a bit on my gains, losing sleep, and fatiguing fast during my workouts. So, I increased my calorie and protein intakes. Now I'm back up to 255-260 lbs. Its a stronger and leaner 255 than before my first challenge, but I still put an inch or two back on my waist. So, that's not gonna work for me. Going forward I want to be torching the fat from by body and converting it to muscle. To do this, I need to take some serious steps to figure out my exact nutritional demands and balance that with the strength training I'm doing. I'm also going to be setting more medium term lifting goals here. What I can't do in 6 weeks, but maybe in 3-4 months. That's what this battle log is about. Its going to take me more time than a six week challenge to figure it all out, so I'm going to be posting this for quite some time, tracking macros, workouts, and measurements, experimenting with new parameters and just figuring things out. I am going to start with something simple. A 40/30/30% CHO/PRO/FAT daily macro split and continuing with stronglifts 5x5, plus a few extra exercises to supplement SL when needed.

Main Goal: Recomposition I WANT IT ALL. I want to get stronger, much stronger, and lose weight at the same time. Strap yourself in and watch me chase what some might consider a Holy Grail of bodybuilding. I started this week on a long term goal of doing recomposition. This will be no easy task and require some serious commitments to making it work. It will require that I very finely tune my nutrition to my workout/life schedules. Timing of meals, macronutrients, workouts, stress, sleep, fluids... these are all going to be factors that I need to tune up. This thread will skip most of the details, and will mostly serve as a venue for friends to cheer me on, and for me to post the landmarks related specifically to my goals. If you want more detail on the plan, I started a battle log yesterday Here: http://rebellion.nerdfitness.com/index.php?/topic/39161-darwinian-fitness-the-demon-takes-on-recomposition/ This challenge is coming early in the effort, so I'll be laying some of the ground work here. Just a few simple goals to get started. Like I mentioned, there are a lot of factors, so I'm going to start simple and develop a baseline. Also, I should give a nod to Donar, a NF warrior who has demonstrated that this is possible and whose example I'm following. Goal 1: Nail the macros daily Everyday I have to eat within 10g of my macronutrient goals and within 50 calories of my total caloric intake. And no alcohol for the first two weeks... period. If all is going well when the two weeks are up, I may celebrate that fact with one or two Guinesses (155 cal a can). I'll also need a plan for T-day. Maybe try to nail all my macros in one meal? (ehh, that'd be counterproductive) For grading I'll do a simple 3 points a day, 1 for each macro category, and use the percentage to determine the grade. Goal 2: Workout 3 times a week and be consistent on progression/programming. I am doing stronglifts 5x5, and am currently planning a switch to starting strength (almost the same, but a little more variety). A couple times I've gotten cocky and done extra increases, added things on the spur of the moment, or started overtraining something. During this challenge, I will stick to the following plan throughout. Do either workout A or B depending which day it is. Then do one, and only one, accessory workout or practice a form. Then, outside the gym, no other exercises. I need be consistent because I am going to be honing my nutrition program based on my workout program. For the moment I will be practicing power cleans as my accessory. I haven't learned these yet and they're part of starting strength. Once I have them down, I'll move them into my regular workouts and do other accessory work. Grading: percentage of total points. 1 point per workout, 1 point for being consistent (4 exercises as planned, no excess, no slack). Goal 3: Track measurements, calculate body fat, weekly and adjust to maintain body weight. Recomp is all about turning fat into muscle. I'm overweight, but I feel healthy. I need to figure out my metabolism. Later I can try burning off the weight as needed. Adjust as needed. If weight goes up, cut 100 cals/day. If body fat does not go down while weight stays the same, cut 100 cals/day. Stalls in progress, more protein? more calories? (depends on what's going on with weight/BF) I'll get my official starting weight on day one of the challenge. There's a bunch of stuff to adjust. I'll deal with it when I get there depending on the problem. Grading: Lots of variables. Basically, I pass with good effort, taking all measurements, and making sensible adjustments, and things don't go off the rails. A: 3/3 (regular strength increases, body fat loss, no change in weight) B: 2/3 C: 1/3 D: some weight loss >5 lbs, but no strength loss, and I at least got closer to figuring out the balance F: off the rails, 5lbs. gained/lost, loss of strength, body fat increases Life Goal: Become a thriftier shopper -- especially for food I spend way too much on food, and drinks. Mainly, I don't take the time to look for deals, buy whatever, and spend extra on convenience. This is getting especially important as I'm trying to eat healthier. But I've got to be careful not to buy unhealthy foods. Some strategies: by as many sale items as possible coupons? I need to find some of these go to farmer's market more often for vegetables/stick to seasonal choices bus to larger grocery stores and buy in bulk take advantage of free food opportunities (but only if its stuff other than junk food, which is rare) etc. Grading: save food receipts, for all food including restaurants etc., for the 6 week challenge A: under $300 spent B: under $350 C: under $400 D: under $450 F: over $450 Since this is all a big experiment, for your entertainment: SCIENCE! http://news.sciencemag.org/biology/2013/10/mouse-impervious-scorpions-sting

. Sarrlac digestion Intermittent fasting: only eat in the five hours between 11:00 AM and 4:00 PM -Studies suggest that intermittent fasting - independent of calorie restriction - can prolong life, though the mechanism is not entirely understood. The working theory is somewhere between "Maybe it's free radicals," and "Meh?" The results are fairly conclusive, though so I think it's worth a try. This also hopefully make me feel hungry before I eat, as I've gotten into the bad habit of never, ever letting myself get hungry. Grading: Fairly binary. Will detract points by percentage of daily calories consumed outside of hours. Sta +1, Con +2, Wis +1 Han Swolo -Continuing Rippetoe's Starting Strength 3x, a week. Looking to maintain mostly linear gains in strength. Starting at deadlift: 275, bench 150, shoulder press 115, squat 265 Grading: By days in which the full series of lifts are completed +1 str, +1 con, +1 cha Run, Luke! Now stand on your head. -More zombierun, 3x a week, even though it's cold. I have the North in my veins. -stretching: 15min in the mornings, focus on legs -50 pushups, 25 pullups in the morning Dex +2, Sta +2 --- Life Quest: Face the Dark Side I've spent too long not trying because I'm afraid that my best won't be good enough, and I can't afford to do that anymore, so for this challenge, I'll try to tackle that by... 1) Writing out my fears and the things that make me unhappy. (by Nov. 29th) (30%) 2) Figuring out what will change/fix those things. (by Dec. 6th) (30%) 3) Plan a process and begin? Grade by completion at each date. +2 Wis, +2 Cha I'll return to document as I progress. EDIT: Dec. 1st: Progressed well until Wednesday - turns out the hotel gym wasn't very well-equipped, so I swapped out Rippetoe's Starting Strength for a progression of bodyweight exercises. I can now do three one-arm pushups in a row on each arm with good form before I tank out, so I'll count that as progress. Stretching has been spot on; I'm starting to notice progress. Watched The Expendables 2 again; was disappointed by Van Damme's lack of doing anything cool. Diet didn't tank as badly as I feared it would over thanksgiving; my macros were around 40fat/35 protein/25 carbs, instead of 60/35/5, but that's still not up to snuff. As for the fasting, it was oddly successful, given when my family eats meals. I feel compelled to subtract points because of the sheer volume of food I ate. As for my life quest, I've got a good working theory; I think I'll have some ideas by the 6th. Eating: 75% Lifting: 100% Running/calisthenics/stretching: 85% Life quest: 100% Misc stuff: -weight went up 10(!) lbs. Forgot my calipers at school, so no bf% this week, but I'd estimate 16% -Benched 75lb dumbells this week -Got my workout playlist up and running; it's full of nerdy stuff.

Hey Everyone, I had caught myself looking at Nerd Fitness a few times via Google searches on various healthy topics. Specifically I saw that the owner of the site is a fan of Henry Rollins - Iron and the Soul piece which is a big plus in my book. What really drew me in though is unlike other forums (T-Nation, BB.com, etc...) the commenters seemed more human and "everyman-esque". After wrestling with the idea a little bit I've joined my first fitness forum! A brief background on myself: In October 2012 I found myself recently single, broke, and grossly out of shape. I'm roughly 5'9" and weighed 281lbs. I won't bore you with the details but long story short is much like "Saint" I made some bets with my buddies for competitive purposes and started taking steps to improve my health. By March 2013 I was 250lbs and by May 2013 I was 225lbs. It's now November 2013 and I've done more strength building than cutting but my weight is a trimmer looking 220 lbs. I'm still a work in progress and I'd like to be an exceptionally strong 200lb - 205lb monster when my goals are met! I was wondering if anyone can recommend a good place to start contributing to this site. I love heavy lifting and I'm not afraid to do cardio either. My eating habits are relatively clean and I have some good all around insight into people trying to lose weight and gain strength. I've prepared routines for my friends and have lists of clean foods as well. More than anything I am always interested in learning from other people and would love to share ideas. Also what are these guilds I've been seeing? Can someone point me in the direction of the powerlifting nerds who love shows like Firefly and Game of Thrones? Loving the book Beowulf is a huge draw as well I believe that's a banner I could march under!

The moment I demolished my knee 2 years ago.....I knew I would never be the same.... Turns out I was right for all the wrong reasons.

TL;DR: Doing a Leangains recomp and the numbers seem a bit insane. Is this newbie eyes, or am I about to buy a catering quantity of steak and lamb mince? Backstory: I've been lifting heavy for strength, and eating ad libitum, and so I've got big and strong and fat. I don't want to lose the strength. I'm patient enough. The 16/8 fast/feed window study with mice impressed me and the logic behind it is at least as convincing as paleo without any of the "but eskimos don't have sweet potatoes" problems. So, I'm going for a recomposition, which I've calculated as something like: BW 112kg; TDEE 3400cal; estimated LBM 80kg Training days: 4080 cals: protein 264g, carb 567g, fat 84g Rest days: 2720 cals: protien 264g, carb 104g, fa 139g This is the first time I've paid attention to macros. It's a bit daunting. Am I in the right ball-park?