Impressive, but the bar barely moved. Let's see her do that with a flat-back. Not likely.

Although I agree with you, she is a powerlifter and by those standards it is acceptable.
Plus I would like to see someone twice her age at the same weight she is lift that much.

She is going to grow up to be quite the fierce young man.

I know...I just find it significantly less impressive (albeit still very impressive) because of the ridiculous power-lifting stance.



Bahahaha

Yeah I know, I was mainly impressed that it was done raw, most competitive power lifters these days are using shirts, which I think is just ridiculous.

So I am pretty sure I have been suffering from overtraining for the past few weeks, so wondering what you guys do.
My goal is to just stop for the week and see how monday goes, but I think I am going to go crazy if I don't do my morning workout.
Any ideas on something else I could do.
I was thinking about just doing a deload week, and stick to half my usual.

Hey Bryan,

I've been lifting now for about 22 years. I also do a lot of soccer and power walking.

If you're overtraining...you aren't doing yourself ANY favours. I hope that you're not going every day, but are mindful of the "Healing periods" for the body parts in question.

I usually work in a routine on a six week cycle.
On the seventh I rest fully. No "nothing". Complete healing.

Then I start with week one again.

I do go crazy that one week, and the first day back is a b!tch, but your body needs to heal. Use the week to stretch and meditate.

I also change my routine every season. As soon as June 21st hits, I'm on a new set of targets. I like to write down my targets for the cycle, and see how far I can push myself.

Thanks Steve.
Yeah, see I can't just do nothing so maybe doing some of my kung fu that I keep telling myself I am going to get back into would be a good thing to do, nice way to start the morning but not as physically punishing as my workout would be.
Cause I can't just do nothing in the morning, my workout basically sets the tone for the rest of my day.

Do you know all the movements to Tai Chi Bryan?

I've taken martial arts for 23 years. I practice in my basement, teach my kids, but can't remember all 109 movements..lol. That would be perfect for you.

I can't stress enough that you NEED to give it a rest. You'll grow old real fast if you don't. I've had tears and months of rehabilitation. I can't do squats with weights anymore due to overtraining (and then bad posture).

I even stop the isometrics during my rest period.

Do Tai Chi, stretch your body, have sex, etc. It's only a week!! And you'll be stronger and more focused after that rest period.

^^^ What he said.

Also, for you to be feeling the effects of overtraining you must really be pushing hard.

That or you're eating wrong, or just not taking any days off. You have to have a rest day here and there if you're pushing that hard.

The body can take a lot, but you shouldn't be killing yourself.

Steve> what have you been training in all these years?

Mike,

Been training in GoJu karate. Our style was more garnered towards street fighting, with a bit of tradition. My Sensei, the indomitable Sensei Dixon always believed that learning something practical would save lives. And we had a number of stories from the Dojo that would confirm his beliefs.

Through GoJu, I also did some WWF style wrestling. It was the greatest of FUN! I continued with that until a major back injury took me out. I had the luck to brush up on the wrestling skills a few years ago. Unfortunately, having three kids, the money wasn't there...although the yearning was!

For weight lifting I concentrate on power lifting. I've settled down a bit, attempting to get to my goals the smart way. Like you said above...eating is a big part as well as resting. But also technique. It's great to be able to bench 350lbs, but if you do it wrong...it's not going to last!

My overall goal is to be the 8/10 body at the old folks home so that I can have threesomes with the young 70 years olds. LOL.

That's great! Old coworker of mine took Goju, but made the switch to Muay Thai fairly recently, about a year ago.
Sweet stuff, I bet your body's a wreck from all that wrestling!

Hm, my old boss is taking Tai Chi and loves it, maybe I will give it a go.
I always enjoyed doing Hung Gar (The form of Kung Fu I do) or Tiger Crane, which ever you prefer to call it, cause that's how I meditate.
I was lucky enough to find a really old tape of a guy doing the same form and use that as reference when I forget the moves.
When I was practicing weekly when I was in school I pretty much had it all memorized but it's been so long since then.
Michael, I have been successfully bulking (I say that cause I never had much luck in the past) for a few months now. I have been pushing myself pretty hard lately and have upped the weight in a few of my exercises.
Today I was exhausted half way through my workout and yesterday I couldn't even do the same amount of sets after lowering the weight.

Might've just been an off day.

If this continues, then back it off for a while.

I think I am just going to relax for the rest of the week and see how it goes on monday.
I started taking Craze a few weeks back and that really helped with bringing my lifts up, but it seems it's caught up with me.

Bryan!

Take it from experience. You're body is telling you something. Imagine ignoring your wife for that long...and the repercussions. Same thing here. I can't stress it enough. Don't make me come over to your Goodlife and beat on you! LOL.

Seriously dude...you're demolishing all your gains. I take a rest every six weeks (it's actually the seventh week) and I actually feel better. You're going to get some engine cut soon!

What I would also recommend, Bryan, is to take a day and do some Massage Therapy. One hour to do legs, chest, arms, traps...it's the perfect companion to the recovery week.

Mike:
Yeah, I did most of my injuries during my wrestling mode. Almost did permanent damage to my lower back "showing off" curling 140lbs. Wrecked my ankle and right foot in a wrestling mishap. When I finally saw a chiropractor 15 years later, he almost cried to see what this wreck of a body was. Bent spine, neck. But it was tonnes of fun! And after five years at the chiro, I'm feeling like I was 20 again.

LOL my gym is in my basement which makes it even harder for me to stop

Ok will do, it has been a while since I have gone for a massage, maybe now would be a good time.

Also, all those energy providing drinks and shakes, aside from protein shakes, I'm not a fan of, because it gives you that extra boost, but if you're not feeding your body enough nutrients to keep up with the boost, you're doing damage to your body.

No gains there.

It's like a stimpack in Starcraft for marines. Yeah they attack faster, and move faster, but it takes their life away.

*nerd alert*

Haha Michael, "Ah! That's the stuff!"

Here is the issue, as soon as you start taking them you don't want to stop.
The amount of energy and the amount of pump you get from taking them is amazing, if you find the right one.

When I first started I took protein, over a year I did research on creatine cause at first all I heard was bad things about it then started taking that, then when I came home I decide to start taking preworkouts.

Seems like I am back, I am worried that the heat is not helping as when it's cold out I keep my house pretty cool.
As soon as the weather gets hot again I am hoping that it doesn't kill my stamina.

Other thing I never asked you Bryan...

Do you give your various body parts enough time to rest? The average healing time is 48 hours. But in my research, I've found (not that it's true) that certain parts have higher recovery than others. Some are 24 hours. Some are 72 hours.

I tend to shock my body in that six week cycle. One week where I almost overdo it. But then I stick to my plan for the other weeks, and rest on the 7th.

May be good to get a second opinion on your schedule from a few knowledgable people. Everybody is different!

Monday: Shoulders
Tuesday: Back and Biceps
Wednesday: Chest and Triceps
Thursday: Legs
Friday: Chest and Back

Some days I don't workout on Thursday so Legs gets moved to Friday and I do a weak version of Friday on top of that.

My routine:

Monday: Back
Tuesday: Chest
Wednesday: Arms
Thursday: Legs
Friday: Shoulders

And, if time allows, I'll throw in core 2-3 times a week on any of Mon/Tues/Wed/Fri, just not 2 days in a row. (E.g. M/W/F or Tu/F, etc.)

Keep in mind, I also do other sports/activities as time allows.

I will be getting back into climbing again full-time soon, and also back on the bike (road and mountain) as well as swimming here and there. Hopefully a bit of running as well but I'd rather climb/bike than run. And random games of basketball/etc.

My goal is to road bike 3 mornings/week before work and mountain bike/climb on weekends. Strength training takes place after work/evenings. If the gym was closer I'd consider morning workouts, but I hate them with a passion.

Wow you keep busy, I am pretty lazy it seems. I do my workout and sometimes play dance central and go for walks. Other than that I don't do much physical activity. I will say that morning workouts are my fav!!

Wanted to see how everyone's PR are coming. I did my deadlift today and was pretty happy with that. Going to find my bench next week. I switched my stance for squat to wider so my PR is pretty low right now (I was having knee pain with narrow stance).

I think I take the cake for being the most lazy haha. Apart from work I do nothing physical lately.

Once the baby is born I'm gonna go hard at it again.

I think you mean once the kid is grown up and moved.

Yeah man, I have to agree with Sal.
Honestly it's one of the things I am most worried about for when I have kids. I don't care if I stop working on my talon, but am really worried that I won't have time for the gym, that I cannot live without!

No, I think he means going hard at it by chasing the kid around once able to walk, hehe

Haha maybe.

So I am still waiting to here how everyones goals are coming along. I broke another PR today so super pumped about that!

Steve man, I don't know how you do it. I had a week off and have been back for week two and it has been insane painful and difficult.
I am struggling to get back into it now and my lifts don't seem to be as strong as they were before

Really? I find after a week or two off every now and then I come back pushing as good or better than ever. Body is refreshed and healed and I'm pumped to be back at it.

Should be back into things this week...really fell off the train the past month, especially with the eating too.

Abs to flabs

Yeah, also DOMS is much worse in my first week back.
I am bulking so other than trying to eat as much as I can I haven't really been doing much.
When I was in Mexico I tried out paleo and that was nice, unfortunately I had a long hard look at what I eat at home and it would be a bitch to do it. Also Paleo isn't great for bulking.

I really need to get back on the horse.
I'm not evening eating 3 meals a day, I feel like crap and always hungry!!!

Time to make some serious changes!

I just stumbled across this thread and browsed through a few pages. Good stuff in here! Figured I'd ask a few questions seeing as I'd like to lose more body fat and gain definition and/or muscle while still dropping the excess weight.

So here's a bit of background info on my situation. I'm 6'3" and in October 2012, I weighed 240 pounds and was carrying a good deal of flab. I got fed up with myself and changed my eating habits, so I completely understand what people mean when they say that it's not a diet, it's a lifestyle change. By simply modifying my consumption habits, I'm just under 200 pounds as of this morning with far less flab. I'm feeling better than I have in what seems like at least a decade. It's an awesome feeling and I'd like to build on that.

I'm feeling pretty motivated and I'd be interested in seeing what kind of results I could get from training. I can admit that I don't know the first thing about proper form, rest periods for muscle groups and all that jazz, so some guidance would be appreciated. I don't necessarily want to have to go to a gym or see a personal trainer since prices for those things around here are flat out ridiculous and I'd rather spend that money on the Talon anyway.

I'd also be interested to know what specific things I could do to target my stomach since that's my problem area. I have some free weights and an 80 pound punching bag which I plan on using now that the nice weather is here. That, mixed with some rollerblading and biking every now and then, should help me reach my goals. I set myself small ones so that I stay on track and meet them rather than losing motivation while struggling to reach a far-off goal.

I noticed that a few of you have your diet down like a science. Though I now eat "well", I don't know much about nutrition or the difference between simple and complex carbs nor how that can affect me. I checked that Daily Apple link and couldn't find any free stuff regarding healthy eating and honestly felt overwhelmed by the "buy, buy, BUY!" marketing there.

Do any of you have any good free weight workout plans, tips or resources for any of the above that you wouldn't mind sharing (or have already shared and I missed while skimming through)? Many thanks in advance!

Gates, do you have a gym membership of any sort and/or do you partake in any kind of sports (or vigorous activities) besides the occasional workout?

Also, if you can, write out what a sample day (or week, ideally) would look like for you in terms of your diet.

The first thing I tell people, before getting to exercise, etc. is to make a detailed diet log of EVERYTHING they eat and drink, ideally for a week. I mean everything down to a grain of rice or a half cup of water. If possible, weigh out all the portions, measure all the sauces (how many tablespoons, etc.), as that is really the only way to accurately assess and improve upon a diet that's already somewhat healthy. You'd be surprised how little of something can be sooooo many calories.

Salomon has you on the right track for diet. You can decide how much dedication you have and then I think that's the best way to choose what diet you like. I personally don't have the dedication for paleo, but I do have enough dedication for iifym (if it fits your macros) and intermitent fasting, so I stick to those two.

I personally only got into diet within the last year or so, which would probably explain why I haven't plateaued since.

I have been wanting to be a personal trainer for a while and would love to have you as my first non family client. As my first client it would all be free, and all I would ask that you give lots of feedback.
We can do skype calls too if you like and I can walk you through the tools I use.

You don't wanna be a calorie counter though.

And that's awesome stuff Gates!

I'm still struggling with my "flab" around the mid section, because of my poor eating habits. I just love food!

I've shrunk quite a bit, but more importantly, I'm MUCH stronger, and cardio is there.

That's what's most important to me. So I'll keep on with my occasional icecream waffle cone (Strawberry, mmmm), and keep training hard.

Oh, recently passed my intermediate test at my Muay Thai gym, and have been sparring, which is loads of fun.

Hrmm, I may have mentioned this already. Just wanted to share, cause it's awesomesauce!

Definitely don't want to be a calorie counter - this is for sure, but if you're actively trying to cut, you DO need to calorie count (to a relatively accurate degree) and even if not, you should still do a precise diet log so you KNOW how much you're actually getting. People often think they're only using 1 serving of something when it's often many times more than that...sauces and dressings are the worst for it. Knowing what serving sizes actually look like will help be a smarter eater.

For salads I use a very simple unit of measurement called "douse"