For BG fitness fanatics, a question..

[Diamicles]

Some lighter dead lifts and light lunges. Lunges are the best way to get your legs warmed up, if you aren't doing cadio before hand.

[Meat]

One thing I find with doing warm up sets, especially with squats, is that when I get to my working sets, my legs are already tired and I can't see progress/increase my weight. Since I've started StartingStrength and been doing 1x5 @ 45lb, 1x3 @95lb &115lb, and then 1x2 @ 135lb, and then doing 3x5 @ 140-145lb, I have basically stalled and can't even do a clean third set.... Is there something I'm doing wrong? Should I reduce my weight (say, go back to 115lb) and increase slowly again? Should I re-evaluate my eating habits? What exactly am I doing wrong? When I was doing stronglifts 5x5, I only did a warm up set of 1x5 at 85lb and then did my 5x5 @140-145lb fine.

I understand the advantages of warm up sets but... I wonder if I'm tiring myself ahead of time, in a way? >_> Any help appreciated.

That's a lot of warmup imo, I do 5-7 mins on the recumbent bike then superset some light leg extensions|lying leg curls to get some blood flow\warm up my knees. warmup would be like 2 sets of 1x5 @ 75 1X4 @115

[Feedmenow]

My usual trip to the gym:

5-10 minute walk to the gym.

Cardio:
Full hour of walking at 7.0 incline at 4.0-4.2 miles per hour

Then in the weight room, I alternate between legs/abs and upper body. Weight lifting is 3 sets of 10 reps, abs exercises are basically do it until I collapse once or twice.
Leg Press machine
Leg extension machine
Leg curl machine
Bicycle crunches
Calf raises
Planks and side planks

Upper body:
Pec fly (machine)
Pull over (machine)
Seated row
Shoulder raise
Lateral raise (machine)

Walk back to dorm.
drink ~4 cups of fat free milk (it's about a quarter the cost of one of those protein shakes for me, and it gives the same amount of protein)

I usually go to the gym 3-5 times a week. Normally, my legs just get too stiff to do more than that.

What are some good changes that I can make to this? Planning on switching to freeweights at some point for training the balancing muscles involved. I'd really like to avoid doing exercises that require a spotter, though it looks like most upper-body exercises that do require a spotter can just be replicated with dumbbells.

[Meat]

do cardio afterward

[Serif]

So up to 240 atm and did back and tris yesterday. Woke up this morning and feel like dog shit, don't think I am sick. Getting a little bit of chills here and there but nothing too bad. I think it is more just my back is killing me overall and allergies kicking in. Contemplating going to do legs today, think I am, seeing how the next two days I am off.

Not sure if I am shooting for 260-280 first before I start to cut back down. Will wait until I get another 20 on me before I figure what I want to do.

Anyone else on here use Shaker Cups instead of blenders? Any pros or cons or suggestions if I were to go this route?

[Daemien]

To the people asking about stretching: Here

This is specifically talking about stretching before running, so extrapolate the results at your own risk.

[Zoolander]

Most of us don't go to UT-Austin.

Shaker cups work fine with Whey protein, I use one. Casein protein remains kinda clumpy with it, still works but not the most pleasant. Just have to clean it, the thing will stink to high hell if you have a shake and dont wash it out quickly afterwards. When I go to the gym I put in some powder into my empty shaker cup and then just fill it with water once I'm done with my workout.

[Caiyuo]

I tried a shaker from bb.com that used a small metal spring-ball and found it to be pretty terrible. Mostly the gaps in the ball just trapped a lot of clumped powder and didn't do as good a job as a spoon and some patience would've. Maybe there are other types, but from that experience and not wanting to clean the blender every day I just mix it manually at this point.

[Caiyuo]

Has anyone else read this post (http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog...diet-solution/) or the book The Paleo Solution? The post is an excerpt from the book talking about glutens' many effects on the body and if accurate, is kind of scary, especially what it can lead to later on. My mom was recently diagnosed with celiac disease and so some of this is pretty worrisome as I know she's on-and-off with how closely she adheres to gluten-free foods. It seems quinoa isn't even completely in the clear with concern to saponins, which may or may not be removed to a safe extent from rinsing and washing. What do you guys think? Some of the comments make sensical arguments for and against Paleo diets in general and it's interesting to see whether this is truly legitimate and worth looking into or not.

[Daemien]

Most of us don't go to UT-Austin.

Shaker cups work fine with Whey protein, I use one. Casein protein remains kinda clumpy with it, still works but not the most pleasant. Just have to clean it, the thing will stink to high hell if you have a shake and dont wash it out quickly afterwards. When I go to the gym I put in some powder into my empty shaker cup and then just fill it with water once I'm done with my workout.

Sorry about that. Forgot I was logged into the libraries system. Should work fine now.

[Weiing]

Has anyone else read this post (http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog...diet-solution/) or the book The Paleo Solution? The post is an excerpt from the book talking about glutens' many effects on the body and if accurate, is kind of scary, especially what it can lead to later on. My mom was recently diagnosed with celiac disease and so some of this is pretty worrisome as I know she's on-and-off with how closely she adheres to gluten-free foods. It seems quinoa isn't even completely in the clear with concern to saponins, which may or may not be removed to a safe extent from rinsing and washing. What do you guys think? Some of the comments make sensical arguments for and against Paleo diets in general and it's interesting to see whether this is truly legitimate and worth looking into or not.

yeah I've been reading about it... really into the paleo/primal lifestyle though currently not as rigorous about it as I was for awhile. I feel like I should go back to it though, because I felt a lot better when on that sort of macro breakdown. I like MDA, though...

@Meat - yeah... I really hate doing so many warm up sets but I'm even doing 1 less warm up set than what Rippetoe advises. I don't do 2-5 minute warmup on bike though. I may just cut down to 3 warm up sets and see if that helps anyway. I start off with my squats though... I'll get back to it!

[Darlantan]

@Weiing: Started a month ago with SS myself. I also feel the advised warm up sets are just too many. At the moment I am just doing: 1x5 @ 25% of goal weight, 1x5 @ 50%, 1x5 @ 75% and then the actual exercise. It seems like its good enough to get the form and body going and ready to suffer the final weight in a not too killer manner. Maybe its because I recently started and am not in uber heavy weights, but I get to the exercise fine and am able to get some gains basically every day.

Two things that may be hindering you:

Are you resting enough between sets? And between warm-up sets? If you are not, it may have something to do with the problems you are having. Keep in mind SS is mostly focused on strenght/power and they advise to rest until you are basically 100% good, not like in most routines where after a minute and a half you should have already finished the next reps. Taken directly from the FAQ:

Spoiler: show

"This is a strength program first, and a "mass and conditioning program" second. As such, you rest as long as necessary between sets.

During the warmup, rest between sets will be minimal. You want to get blood into the area, raise the temperature of the associated musculature and connective tissue, take some time to practice the exercise with lighter weights, and increase tissue elasticity. With the usage of light(er) weights during your warmups, you can use a shortened rest period. Usually you need only rest as long as it takes to switch out the plates. However, once you get to the "meat and potatoes" of your workout (i.e. the "3x5 work sets"), you rest as long as necessary.

At first you can probably get by with no more than 2-3 minutes between sets. However, once the weights start getting heavier, you may take upward of 5 minutes between sets. Near the end of your training cycle, especially when you are setting PRs (personal records) in the squat, deadlift, and power clean you could be resting upward of 7 minutes.

Resting between exercises is not something you really need to worry about. You will need to change weights, change stations, get a bench set up (or a power rack set up) or whatever. The exercises are chosen so that you are alternating primary areas of work, so that you don't really need to overthink this aspect of resting.

For example, you are trashed from your squats, and you have bench presses next. Well glory be to God, you get to lie your happy ass down on a bench and do some light warmup benches with an empty bar! While your legs (and possibly breathing and overall body) recover from the squats, you are lying down on the bench, happy as a pea in a pod.

Again, don't overthink rest periods between sets or exercises. Move between exercises as quickly as you can, however, DO NOT compromise your performance. If you can get 5 reps after resting 2 minutes, but only 4 reps if you rest 90 seconds, then rest 2 minutes. If you need to rest 3 minutes in order to get that 5 rep set, then rest 3 minutes. If you need 7 minutes of rest before you can reasonably get the 5th rep, then take all 7 minutes. Strength and weight-on-the-bar increases are more important than your heart rate/body temp while lifting weights. "

Are you adding exercises you are not supposed to be doing during the program? They also say if you do this, you risk overdoing some of the muscles or not letting them rest properly, thus having problems during the next workout.

I am sure you are putting effort in it and doing your best, so if you are resting enough between sets, are eating well, sleeping enough, adding weight properly and following the program closely (not adding exercises you feel or think benefit you), its possible that you are already too advanced for the program and could use some variations to stimulate your muscles in different ways, or something. Pretty sure when you get up to some muscle development point and closer to your genetics limit, this routine is obsolete.

[Atreides]

1x5 x75% is probably going to really tire you out once you start getting heavy on your squat/deadlift

you can also download a warmup calculator spreadsheet here, it's what I use and I never get too tired from warmup sets:
http://startingstrength.wikia.com/wi...-Up_Calculator


Usually I do 1x2 x75% for my last warmup before the exercise. The idea is just to get your body/nervous system used to moving a heavier weight, without tiring you out before you get to the main sets

[BerenTebogo]

Has anyone else read this post (http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog...diet-solution/) or the book The Paleo Solution? The post is an excerpt from the book talking about glutens' many effects on the body and if accurate, is kind of scary, especially what it can lead to later on. My mom was recently diagnosed with celiac disease and so some of this is pretty worrisome as I know she's on-and-off with how closely she adheres to gluten-free foods. It seems quinoa isn't even completely in the clear with concern to saponins, which may or may not be removed to a safe extent from rinsing and washing. What do you guys think? Some of the comments make sensical arguments for and against Paleo diets in general and it's interesting to see whether this is truly legitimate and worth looking into or not.

Quality of life, duration of life, and overall health in the western world (where are diets are the most distantly removed from pre-societal forms) has increased almost exponentially with respect to advancements in food technology and all the shit that comes along with it (preservatives, horomones, trans fats, etc). While there are harmful effects in many of these things that are known, there is nothing necessary about reverting to such a removed and far-flung diet.

Bottom line? If the effects were so malignant, so wide-spread, even the advancements in medical technology would not be able to keep out in front of them, as far and away the advancements in medical technology are multiple steps behind advancements in making life easier for the lazy. Obesity, heart disease, etc, they are prevalent problems, yet someone weighing 700lbs can easily live to a longer life expectancy of a healthy adult male 200 years ago - discounting any disease-based causes for illness or death.

Removing some of the more recognizable and prevalent nasties from your diet is obviously good for you, no question. "Paleo" diets? It's as bullshit as homeopathy and acupuncture. Just another bullshit pseudo-science peddled as a quick cure to the mortality we all face.

If it makes you happy to live by it, go for it, but never sacrifice your happiness for scams like this. It's no more worth it than throwing salt over your left shoulder after spilling it to avoid rampant bouts of bad luck. It's all hocus pocus.

[Atreides]

I agree. The general nutritional principles of eating simpler foods are one thing, but "diets" of any kind should only be taken at face value

[Weiing]

@Darlantan - Yeah... I may see if decreasing my warmup sets may help. I also would not do 5 reps @75% because I think that would tire me out. I do get ample rest inbetween: about 1minute during warmup sets and 2 minutes during my working sets. Maybe I have to rest more...I don't know. I don't have the luxury of time. However, if I decrease my warm up sets, maybe I'll have more time..hmm. I may just have to start at 125-135lbs and work back up and see if that will help. I don't add anything to the program that would hinder my squats. I am currently following the most basic program + added chinups/pull-ups on workout A and planks on workout B...which I don't think would be too bad considering he adds chinups to his variations.

[Caiyuo]

Thanks for the replies, very reassuring if anything. Mostly the legitimacy of the information was what worried me in regards to my mom, so my mind's a little more at ease now, but it serves as a good reminder to keep nagging her about what's she eating.

[Lane]

I managed to steal some Alli from Walgreens, apparently there's a gap behind the security plastic that you can stick your hand in and grab that shit, woo! Say goodbye to 30% of the fat in any food I eat. I don't need to lose any weight, but it should help nicely in maintaining it.

[Diamicles]

I managed to steal some Alli from Walgreens, apparently there's a gap behind the security plastic that you can stick your hand in and grab that shit, woo! Say goodbye to 30% of the fat in any food I eat. I don't need to lose any weight, but it should help nicely in maintaining it.

the only thing this post says is 'HAI GAIZ IM A GIGANTIC DOUCHEBAG'

[Daemien]

I managed to steal some Alli from Walgreens, apparently there's a gap behind the security plastic that you can stick your hand in and grab that shit, woo! Say goodbye to 30% of the fat in any food I eat. I don't need to lose any weight, but it should help nicely in maintaining it.

The best way to take full advantage of Alli is to just stick with your previous diet. Don't make any changes at first, and if you don't get the results you want you can change it up. It's a great feeling to know that you can go down and eat a double quarter pounder with cheese and not worry all that much about fat intake though. Maybe you should try that