The Health, Wellness, weight loss, and fitness thread

[Jwar]

You know what sucks is I actually have a rotator injury right now as well as a few other injuries around the joint and all the way up to my neck.

After my show, I am going to schedule a visit to the doc and get an MRI. I injured it about 3 months ago now, have had ART therapy (active release) probably 20 times, chiropractor worked on it, massage...etc. It will NOT get better in the neck up near the base of my skull. It's slightly better than it was, but it could be from nerve damage. I have a lot of nerve damage already, so it's hard to tell.

I'm afraid I'm going to need surgery, which I don't want to do. I'm left without many options.

Benching that much, may become a thing of the past for me, which sucks because I just hit three hundred this year at the age of 33. Before that, I could barely bench over 225! LOL!! Sigh.

[snipelfritz]

Is it ok if one of my ears produces more earwax than the other?

[Jwar]

Is it ok if one of my ears produces more earwax than the other?

Maybe? I dunno. LOL!!! You could see an ENT doc.

[gunslinger_burrito]

jwar, I've injured myself a number of times in the last couple years.... including that bout of tendonitis you may or may not remember. Right now, one of my shoulders is giving me trouble -lots of soreness with overhead pressing, which, being that I practice gymnastic stuff, is kind of a big problem- I'll take an extra couple days off, it'll feel fine, and then I'll try something in the gym and it'll blow up again. I've been giving it the hot/cold treatment and I'm going to take it easy for at least a few days after it stops being sore at all. Shit is frustrating. Every time I get injured I try to be more careful with my intensity and volume, and something always comes up. It's dumb.
Edit: I should add that it's not very painful, I can still use the arm fine for every day stuff. It's the workouts that aggravate it.

I hope you're not trying to push through pain. I've done that more times that I'd care to admit and it's only gotten me more annoying injuries.

On the topic of workout/diet nerding.... I'm not sure this would even be a good fit for me, I'm mostly just curious here, but does anyone have any opinions or experience with intermittent fasting? The type I'm wondering about is the one where you only eat during an 8 hour period.... So it would be during the day sometime. It seems like it would be tough to get enough calories.

On the note of me being worn out a lot, and working out 4 1/2 days a week (the 1/2 is a stretch/prehab day)... is it possible I'm simply just not eating enough? I haven't lost much mass (see my previous post about abs and shit..... ) but I haven't gained much strength either. I have the endurance to get a lot of work done in my workouts, but I haven't seen that much of a gain in strength either.... not in a loooooong time. Should I try modulating my food intake first, or my training volume....? Both ? Thoughts?

[gunslinger_burrito]

on the note of food intake, I've wanted to find out just how many calories and macros I'm actually getting..... do any of you use a calorie/nutrient tracker? I don't want something that calculates weight gain/loss or anything fancy.... I just want something that will keep track of the numbers easily.

[echoraven]

on the note of food intake, I've wanted to find out just how many calories and macros I'm actually getting..... do any of you use a calorie/nutrient tracker? I don't want something that calculates weight gain/loss or anything fancy.... I just want something that will keep track of the numbers easily.

I'm on the myfitnesspal.com site (and app) after inputting your vitals, you can set your goals (in your case maintain) and the app/site will tell you what balance of fats+protein+carbs=calories you need to achieve your goal. It has a massive database of food and will calculate the foods you consume.
Been using it for a month and down about 9lbs (my first 5 were probably water...)
If you hop on add me as a friend "2011rocket3touring"

[wsas3]

MyFitnessPal is great, so many people use it that you can find pretty accurate macros for anything, especially if you use a bit of intuition. Had a sandwich on a hero? Heroes normally ~ 50C, 3-4P hardly any fat, ounce of lean cold cuts are usually 8 P a few grams of F, 1-2. Once you get good you can just look up a turkey and cheese sandwich and have a good estimate from the listings.

I've done IF I find it really helpful, but some people seem to believe you can gain a lot of mass while losing BF% on it. There are diminishing returns and yes, when and how you ingest your food can dictate what those calories are put towards, but overall it's not a miracle. People complain about working out fasted but I liked it. Wouldn't do it if you're looking to increase strength. I'm a fat kid at heart so it's actually easier to just put up with it in the morning/ throughout the day then eat a lot in that window than it is to nibble crumbs throughout the day.

If you're injured eat more. It'll be tough to recover alone at a huge deficit yet alone continuing to aggravate the injury.

Do active recovery. RICE (rest, ice, compression, elevation) and general taking it easy isn't for lifter and athletes it's for people who don't really need to work those damaged pieces. Especially with tendinitis. Look up Glaston technique, Buy a lacrosse ball and rub it into your joints, tendons that are injured. It's very painful but works miracles. Once you're back to working out do a lot of mobility and thorough warmup, shoulder dislocations etc. You can come back much stronger from injuries in lifting/gymnastics/ sports on general but just resting isn't the way to do it and in fact is counter-productive. with tendinitis you need to break down scar tissue that can accumulate over time when you re-aggravate.

What kind of strength are you looking to put on? For gymnastics eating more can work against you, but for barbell movements you'll generally have an easier time, but strength can be maintained/gained on a deficit if you're not advanced. if you're squatting 135 you can absolutely gain strength. Just depends where you're at.

[gunslinger_burrito]

Thanks man!

There's no way I could ever just sit around to recover. I tend to do the opposite and start to train again too hard too early. I can't stand not being able to work out but know that I need to let things recover properly.

Mobility is huge in gymnastics, so that's not an issue, but as far my strength.... A lot of elements have just been plateaued for like a year or more. For example, my handstand pushups.... I still can't get more than a few good clean reps from a headstand, much less a handstand (with more ROM). And there are a number of gymnastic specific elements that I've not gotten any closer to. I know that some of this could be my training programming. Basically, when I notice that I'm not making any strength gains where I need them, I think I need to work out a bit harder (like, maybe I'm not pushing hard enough...?) and then an injury comes up. So I have to take it easy on the injured spot, and then by the time I get back to baseline, I'm nowhere further along. I'm doing almost the exact same programming as other dudes in the gym who I've seen get stronger, so it's frustrating.

On a diet note, I actually used MYFitnessPal today, to try it out, and made sure to get about 3500 calories... I usually get tired throughout the day, but today I was almost hyper at times. I worked out this morning, some more intense stuff like weighted dips, but not much volume.

Edit: I do need to state that whatever I'm doing needs to be performance based first, and aesthetics based second. Form should follow function. THAT being said, I get interested in all the different diet styles out there because a lot of them claim to help with growth hormone, testosterone, etc.... and if those things will help me heal faster, then I'll be all about trying them out.

[wsas3]

No worries, I love talking about this stuff and love to help ILF bros

Have you done other supplemental exercises like OHP for handstand pushups? Anything involving heavier loads with lighter weight to add volume should see some progression. Hop on a strength program and press twice a week, some cable exercises to build muscle and protect you and then hold hands as long as you can at lockout/ other weak point? Tie a band on top of a pull up bar with a loop you can put your foot into (but can easily get out) to hold some of your weight and make it easier at the bottom of the movement?

I really don't know of barbell training being used in gymnastic but I know being able to handle heavier loads makes it easier to handle lighter for longer etc... Would be interesting to look that up once I'm done with finals.

How are you working out 'harder'? Don't raise your intensity to the point that you're hurting yourself, just increase the volume and you'll see good strength gains. That's why powerlifters hog a bench or power rack fro an hour lol. They'll do low rep work at submaximal loads but they'll do ten sets. The volume is there. Stop short on your handstands but take a long break and do a fuck ton of sets, I think you'll see good returns. Pushing too hard is the gains goblin of smart programming, at least frequently. Stop spinning your wheels!

Don't compare yourself to other people, at certain points specificity needs to be accounted for.
As to diet, I think at 3500 calories you're eating enough to recover and not worry too much about keto or what you had been considering

[Jwar]

jwar, I've injured myself a number of times in the last couple years.... including that bout of tendonitis you may or may not remember. Right now, one of my shoulders is giving me trouble -lots of soreness with overhead pressing, which, being that I practice gymnastic stuff, is kind of a big problem- I'll take an extra couple days off, it'll feel fine, and then I'll try something in the gym and it'll blow up again. I've been giving it the hot/cold treatment and I'm going to take it easy for at least a few days after it stops being sore at all. Shit is frustrating. Every time I get injured I try to be more careful with my intensity and volume, and something always comes up. It's dumb.
Edit: I should add that it's not very painful, I can still use the arm fine for every day stuff. It's the workouts that aggravate it.

I hope you're not trying to push through pain. I've done that more times that I'd care to admit and it's only gotten me more annoying injuries.

On the topic of workout/diet nerding.... I'm not sure this would even be a good fit for me, I'm mostly just curious here, but does anyone have any opinions or experience with intermittent fasting? The type I'm wondering about is the one where you only eat during an 8 hour period.... So it would be during the day sometime. It seems like it would be tough to get enough calories.

On the note of me being worn out a lot, and working out 4 1/2 days a week (the 1/2 is a stretch/prehab day)... is it possible I'm simply just not eating enough? I haven't lost much mass (see my previous post about abs and shit..... ) but I haven't gained much strength either. I have the endurance to get a lot of work done in my workouts, but I haven't seen that much of a gain in strength either.... not in a loooooong time. Should I try modulating my food intake first, or my training volume....? Both ? Thoughts?

Unfortunately for me this injury couldn't have come at a worse time. Not only was I already in a show prep, but I've invested a few grand into it as well. So I can't lose that money due to this damn thing. I have to push through the best I can. I'm close to the finish line, so I think I'll be ok. Just may need a pain killer to pose on stage. That's ok though! Last time I had to do the same thing because a chiro fucked my hip up the week before my show!!! Gotta love that approaching mid 30's feeling. Sigh. LOL.

I'm not a fan of intermittent fasting personally but I know it works for some people. However, when I'm not in a show prep, I'm a fan of flexible dieting. Which is basically an 80/20 rule. 80% good foods, 20% whatever the hell I want. That way life isn't torture all the time. LOL.

If I were you, I'd look into seeing what you're intake is like. Maybe calculate it over a few days and if it's low, which is subjective obviously depending on a LOT of factors, but if it's under let's say, 3k calories (that's about average for males around 20's-30's), then up it a bit and see how you feel. Try eating more good fats if you can. That could help energy levels as well. I'm not sure what you're eating now, but that can definitely help. Also, sometimes, increasing fats and removing some carbs help. Carbs can make certain people almost lethargic. It does that shit to me. Sigh.

[Jwar]

Just saw your caloric intake. Again, I'd modify the foods if you feel like you're up to it. The hormone regulation through dieting is an odd concept to me. I'm sure it helps to a certain extent, IE broccoli for estrogen blockage, but as a man on HRT, I think it's all bs. The only way to change hormone levels is with hormones. Maca however is an amazing supplement, I'd look into that if you're interested. It tells the body what to do instead of producing what it needs for it.

Also just to note. Sometimes we push ourselves way too hard and actually impede our progress. I've done it many, many times. Perhaps it's time for deload week. Take a week and still workout but at a much lower intensity. That can help enormously.

[gunslinger_burrito]

Yeah I do maca from time to time, though I don't think I notice much of a difference.

Soooo, I tried eating within about an 8 hour window yesterday, stopped eating around 6ish. Today, I got up at 5 to go to gym at 6, and only had some MCT oil in my coffee. I felt like a million bucks....! My shoulder was a little bit sore, but energy was fantastic. Eating breakfast right now at about 930-10. I'm going to really try to up my carbs. According to the tracker I used, some 55% of my diet yesterday was fats. I'm going to feel real stupid if all I had to do to get my energy levels back up was increase carbs

Also, jwar, I am 100% guilty of pushing too hard. It's a stupid double-edged sword. I can push through a long and brutal workout but I think I end up doing it too often. Somewhere in my upbringing I got a deeply ingrained notion that I have to feel absolutely annihilated after a workout. I'm having to reprogram myself....

[Jwar]

Dude I am 100% guilty of pushing too hard too! LOL! I'm doing 60 minutes of lifting, 20 minutes on the stair climber, then 10-15 minutes of HIIT cardio on the spin bike. PLUS like 30 minutes of cardio before bed. UGH! Fuck bodybuilding! For real! If I don't place high in this show, I'm going to lose my mind! haha

I just worked out for almost 2 hours on 2 hours of sleep. I'm toast. Plus I'm having ART therapy this afternoon because I can no longer deal with the pain. Sigh.

[gunslinger_burrito]

Damn dude. That's like....what I wish I could get away with without being toast. I really wish I had the time, means, and recovery capability to go running. I miss running. But if I did run, I would have almost zero time for music.

Heal/rest up man!!! that cardio before bed doesn't fuck up your sleep at all?

[Jwar]

Yea I think the cardio before bed did fuck up my sleep. I didn't do it yesterday because I just didn't have it in me. Still dropped a pound. What's annoying about me is I fluctuate water like crazy. Woke up at 184 this morning, need to be about 180 before I'm comfortable. I can pull the rest in water for my show if need be.

The point of the cardio before bed though is to shed some of the unwanted water weight and burn a few extra calories. So I'll keep doing it while I can! I'm so close to the end, so it's no biggie.

Oh and my ART therapy went great yesterday! Help a lot! I'll have one more session before my show, then afterwards it's time to get aggressive with that damn shoulder.