Lifter problems
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I suffer from depression, and am (probably) at the high-functioning end of the autistic spectrum, so I see a psychologist every couple of months. My last session was on Wednesday.
Anyway, I raised a concern about body dysmorphia issues, and that I was worried I might slip into bigorexia. His suggestion was to track gym activity, and get a baseline. If it starts to increase, then I know I have a problem.
I just realised that I've been to the gym every day for the last week. Ah well, I'll be fine!
:o 
My PT had a better suggestion: Do I want to look like Phil Heath? I replied no, and she said that I wouldn't have a problem in that case.
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Other lifter problems:
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You get your diet under control, and drop a shirt size. This causes you to spend loads of money on Iron Heart gear to replace all the stuff that no longer fits.
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Then you build muscle, and put an inch or so onto your chest. All your shirts feel a bit snug. So you have to replace them all. Again.
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Other lifter problems:
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You get your diet under control, and drop a shirt size. This causes you to spend loads of money on Iron Heart gear to replace all the stuff that no longer fits.
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Then you build muscle, and put an inch or so onto your chest. All your shirts feel a bit snug. So you have to replace them all. Again.
so true! I can totally relate to this.
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@TrickHell:
How do you guys calculate calories burned by lifting for your macros / caloric intake during a cut?
With difficulty. I used to rely on My Fitness App which gives a fixed calorie sum per minute but its bullshit. I now use a calorie sum based on a Very Active level for someone if my size/age and don't count exercise at all. It works.
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@TrickHell:
How do you guys calculate calories burned by lifting for your macros / caloric intake during a cut?
What is this "cut" you speak of?
#gainzfolife
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With difficulty. I used to really on My Fitness App which gives a fixed calorie sum per minute but its bullshit. I now use a calorie sum based on a Very Active level for someone if my size/age and don't count exercise at all. It works.
What @neph93 said.
Estimating calories in and out isn't that accurate, so I'd start with a number that looks about right, and adjust from there.
I've heard figures of around 12 calories per pound as a rule of thumb.
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That's probably not miles off, depending on how long a session you do. But that's the problem, I do a 50min leg work out with heavy squats, bulgarian split squats and leg press work followed by high rep isolation exercises and I bet it burns more calories than my 60min + upper body workout.
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yeah calories burned during a gym session can vary, mainly depending on how long you are resting between sets. Like @TrickHell I rest 45 seconds between each set which is basically enough time to load/unload weights and on leg days this can be brutal but I burn more calories that way by keeping the heart rate up. I sweat like a mofo too but I literally do zero cardio because I don't need to when I'm working out at that pace. That is my cardio.
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@TrickHell:
My current goal is to lower my BF to around 12 mostly through diet. I fucking hate cardio.
I've also heard that lifting burns calories even after you stop, but that might be Bro Science (TM).
I've lost 11 kg while lifting, with no cardio over the space og 6 months. If you know your calorie sum for maintennece and eat on average about 400-500 cal. under that while training at maintennce level you'll strip body fat at the rate of about 500g a week. Just don't expect to keep hitting PB's until you start eating again. I tried that a couple of years ago and ended up out of the game for a year with injury.
Cardio is shit but one thing that works (at least for me) while cutting is jogging slowly on a heavy incline for 20 min. Vary speed but regularly increase the incline. Burns calories like a mofo.
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yeah calories burned during a gym session can vary, mainly depending on how long you are resting between sets. Like @TrickHell I rest 45 seconds between each set which is basically enough time to load/unload weights and on leg days this can be brutal but I burn more calories that way by keeping the heart rate up.
Explain that to me please as I don't understand the logic.
(Also, Rippetoe would argue that you're not fully rested and therefore are lifting less than if you took longer rest, but maybe that's not your goal.)
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yeah calories burned during a gym session can vary, mainly depending on how long you are resting between sets. Like @TrickHell I rest 45 seconds between each set which is basically enough time to load/unload weights and on leg days this can be brutal but I burn more calories that way by keeping the heart rate up.
Explain that to me please as I don't understand the logic.
(Also, Rippetoe would argue that you're not fully rested and therefore are lifting less than if you took longer rest, but maybe that's not your goal.)
when you only rest 45 seconds between each set your heart rate increases, stays increased, therefore burning calories. It's the same principle as HIIT (high intensity interval training) cardio where you run at an all out sprint for 30 seconds then walk for a minute, repeat.
You are absolutely right, you will not be able to lift as much weight because you are not resting as long which is exactly the point. Your muscles don't know weight, they know resistance. You will work your muscles harder this way even though by the third, fourth, fifth set you are lifting less weight than you would be if you rested longer. The best results I have ever seen personally in my weightlifting life have been from training like this. You will get great pumps and your muscles will be stimulated in a way that isn't the same as resting longer between sets.
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I'll also ad that after training like this for a couple months or so I did get stronger in the long run and I hit new PR's on all of my lifts.
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@TrickHell:
My current goal is to lower my BF to around 12 mostly through diet. I fucking hate cardio.
I've also heard that lifting burns calories even after you stop, but that might be Bro Science (TM).
Diet is really the only way of losing weight, as exercise doesn't burn a huge amount of calories.
Yes, your body will burn more calories after training, this is popularly known as Afterburn (because it sounds cool), or EPOC (Excess Post exercise Oxygen Consumption) if you want to go full nerd. Unfortunately this article suggests that the effect is overstated, and that people tend to eat more after a session, which counteracts it!
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In my experience if you run a deficit for more then 8 weeks then your gains dry up. The deficit will strip fat but you will not build more muscle and after a while you'll lose muscle. The key is both with bulking and cutting, to take the long view. About 400cal over or under maintainence depending on which direction you want to go and look for results after about 4 weeks.
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Muscle, Smoke, Mirrors is an interesting article about the psychological problems and myth-making that surrounds bodybuilders.
It doesn't mention whether getting punched in the face by another muscleman is an occupational hazard for lifters though.
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@TrickHell:
I do Madcow 5x5 and basically my only rest period is loading weight onto the bar, though I take three minutes before my Friday PR squat.
It has been years since I've lifted but madcow 5x5 is what I ran. Went from 143#s to 168#s in 10 weeks, it wasn't the gym work that was hard, it was all the god damn eating. At the end of the 10 weeks my jeans went from comfortably loose to squeezing in tight. I quit training and lost everything in about 4 weeks. I just don't have to dedication to the amount of eating required to make staying in the gym worth it.
