Anyone here into bodybuilding or powerlifting?

[Azael]

How do you guys combine the rigorus diet and workouts with full time university studies??

I used to live for lifting. Was planning to compete this winter.
But this year I really had to back down to have time for university. So now, instead of beeing in competition shape, I am in the worst shape of my life. Complete with a set of manboobs and lovehandels(the genetic fairy granted me with get fat easily genetics:yuck: ).

Going to try and ditch 30-35 ibs this spring to get back into shape. Regulary this is a piece of cake but this spring will be extremely rough when it comes to university.

So if other people here are into this let's here how you manage it Especialy when cutting

 

[JasonRox]

I wanted to compete in powerlifting this year, but I took the time like you for school.

Thanks to my genes, I still look great. I lost weight (muscle), and that's about it.

Note: Bulking and cutting are the dumbest terms I've ever heard.

 

[Azael]

Im the opposit. I gain fat but I never lose much muscles so I guess I should be gratefull for that :) I have the slowest metabolism imaginable.

Whats wrong with bulking and cutting??

 

[meteor]

I use to exercise biceps 30-45 minutes daily with a dumbbell of 53 kg. With a single hand

 

[TheStatutoryApe]

People are talking about body building on PF?! There must be something in the TOS prohibiting this!? :tongue:

I have both a lose weight easily gene and a get fat easily gene. My weight fluctuates pretty wildly because of this. Well that and because I don't really try to keep it at any particular level.

 

[Danger]

I have a very heavy beer mug that I try to lift at least 100 times per day.

 

[Cyrus]

Im a hard gainer, e.g thin. So I don't eat/sleep/lift right during the semeseter. Lost all my strength, trying to get it back, weight too. You just have to go, and do ur work when u get back. If your 30lbs over weight that's a serious problem. Loose it, fast. My target weight is around 185-190. But I don't gain weight for $hi7, so I have a long road ahead of me, which is even longer thanks to school. You just gota suck it up and do it. For me, the hard part is eating enough during school. Thankfully, I have breaks between classes this semsester to run and put some food in me before my body starts eating my muscles for energy. My body fat has to be ridiculously low. (P.S don't take Roids, I know ALOT of guys on roids...its a fux'in stupid thing to do!)

 

[Plastic Photon]

I can only manage time for a few runs a day between school and work, but now I substitute that for a good 2hrs drumming. I could always go on roids and get the bench back up to 260, but my friend does roids and I agree with cyrusabdollahi: it is stupid, even if you become cut like a gorilla or if someone tells you they are safe because they are from Mexico (my burro they are safe if you are smuggling them across the border from Mexico!)

 

[Azael]

People are talking about body building on PF?! There must be something in the TOS prohibiting this!? :tongue:
I have both a lose weight easily gene and a get fat easily gene. My weight fluctuates pretty wildly because of this. Well that and because I don't really try to keep it at any particular level.

:rofl:
I hear you on fluctuations. I regulary ditch 30-40 ibs each spring and gain it back each fall. Losing them is a ***** though, but gaining them back is pure joy until I look into the mirror:grumpy:

Im a hard gainer, e.g thin. So I don't eat/sleep/lift right during the semeseter. Lost all my strength, trying to get it back, weight too. You just have to go, and do ur work when u get back. If your 30lbs over weight that's a serious problem. Loose it, fast. My target weight is around 185-190. But I don't gain weight for $hi7, so I have a long road ahead of me, which is even longer thanks to school. You just gota suck it up and do it. For me, the hard part is eating enough during school. Thankfully, I have breaks between classes this semsester to run and put some food in me before my body starts eating my muscles for energy. My body fat has to be ridiculously low. (P.S don't take Roids, I know ALOT of guys on roids...its a fux'in stupid thing to do!)

Eating is fortunaly not the problem for me. Whats hard is to force myself to the gym when I have been at uni from 8-18. Funny thing, hitting the weights used to be the highlight of each day for me. I guess I need to find the fun in it again. Get back there and gain some strenght so I am sucked in again
Try a cortisol lowering supplement to combat the catabolism. Sounds like it would help you out.

 

[JasonRox]

People are talking about body building on PF?! There must be something in the TOS prohibiting this!? :tongue:
I have both a lose weight easily gene and a get fat easily gene. My weight fluctuates pretty wildly because of this. Well that and because I don't really try to keep it at any particular level.

Fluctuating body weight is not healthy.

You may wan to see your doctor about this because it surely isn't genetic.

It's very dangerous to have fluctuating body weight as much as you say, so do yourself a favour and see a doctor about the problem. You treat it like it's some sort of joke, but it's actually serious.

 

[JasonRox]

Try a cortisol lowering supplement to combat the catabolism. Sounds like it would help you out.

This is unecessary.

To the hard gainer who posted above... who said your body is eating away muscles? You have so much carbohydrate stores that it will take almost a full day of no eating before your body turns to your muscles for energy. I think you are thinking about this far too much. Your worried about a 2-3 hours of no eating well that's just ridiculous. As long as you don't stretch a span of 4 hours of no eating, you are fine. You can span up to 6-7 hours with just eating 2-3 small snackes without any problems at all. Just be sure to get back on track once you get home.

I'm a "hard gainer" myself. I put it in quotes because it's misused a lot and I don't like the term. The problem is with most hard gainers, or almost anybody at the gym, is that they do not know how to train and diet properly. They do not eat according to their energy expenditures and their body type, or even their bodily needs.

All I can say is, keep reading outside of trendy websites and magazines.

 

[Azael]

Fluctuating body weight is not healthy.
You may wan to see your doctor about this because it surely isn't genetic.
It's very dangerous to have fluctuating body weight as much as you say, so do yourself a favour and see a doctor about the problem. You treat it like it's some sort of joke, but it's actually serious.

is it a sign of something potentialy dangerous or is the practice of losing and gaining weight dangerous in itself?(I know it isn't exactly the healthiest thing but I have never figured out what the danger really is. Bodybuilders have been doing it for a long time now).

I intentionaly drop around 12-15kg(25-33 ibs or so) each spring over a period of 5 months and get down to around 8-9% bodyfat. Then when fall hits I usualy gain that weight back. Offcourse with more muscle and less fat otherwise it would be pointless. I guess my bodyfat creeps up to around 17-18% when I am bulked up.

My weight gain isn't totaly intentional(not the fat part ). But I don't have the will power to stick to very clean food year round and I easily gain weight at 3000kcal even though I weight above 200 most of the year.

 

[Azael]

This is unecessary.
All I can say is, keep reading outside of trendy websites and magazines.

that is the quote of the century. Flex mag and other bull**** mags spread the most idiotic bull**** I have ever read.

 

[Azael]

btw when I say cortisol lower supplement I obviously mean something like high dosage vitamin c. Not cytadren or anything along those lines.

I agree that hard gainers usualy don't have a clue when it comes to proper nutrition and workouts. But if someone have trouble keeping proper diet because of time constrains small tricks like that can go a long way in keeping/gaining some muscle.

 

[JasonRox]

is it a sign of something potentialy dangerous or is the practice of losing and gaining weight dangerous in itself?(I know it isn't exactly the healthiest thing but I have never figured out what the danger really is. Bodybuilders have been doing it for a long time now).
I intentionaly drop around 12-15kg(25-33 ibs or so) each spring over a period of 5 months and get down to around 8-9% bodyfat. Then when fall hits I usualy gain that weight back. Offcourse with more muscle and less fat otherwise it would be pointless. I guess my bodyfat creeps up to around 17-18% when I am bulked up.
My weight gain isn't totaly intentional(not the fat part ). But I don't have the will power to stick to very clean food year round and I easily gain weight at 3000kcal even though I weight above 200 most of the year.

1 - Why not aim for 11-12% year round?

2 - May I ask what your "cutting" and "bulking" diet consists of? I mean everything, even most cheats... please be honest too.

3 - Who said bodybuilders are healthy?

4 - Fluctating body weight is a symptom for diabetes. That's one. I'm not sure of others, but they are not good at all. Something in your body isn't working properly. Humans are meant to stay at a consistent bodyweight.

5 - You should not gain or lose more than 2-3 pounds a month. If you starting losing weight or gaining weight, then 5-6 pounds for the first month or two can be fine, since it's usually the result of water weight being lost or gained.

 

[JasonRox]

btw when I say cortisol lower supplement I obviously mean something like high dosage vitamin c. Not cytadren or anything along those lines.
I agree that hard gainers usualy don't have a clue when it comes to proper nutrition and workouts. But if someone have trouble keeping proper diet because of time constrains small tricks like that can go a long way in keeping/gaining some muscle.

Well, I hope your Vitamin C is up, regardless of who you are.

It benefits everyone, from bodybuilders to couch potatoes.

Heals the wounds into nice scars real fast. Girls like that.

 

[Azael]

1 - Why not aim for 11-12% year round?

It takes a tremendous effort and tremendous ammounts of cardio on less thant 200kcal/day for me to get down and stay at 10% or below.

2 - May I ask what your "cutting" and "bulking" diet consists of? I mean everything, even most cheats... please be honest too.

When I cut I get 300+ grams of protein, on rest days around 70g carbs(mostly beans and lentils) and on workout days around 150g carbs and fat somewhere around 50-70 grams. Most of them from olive oil and avacado and 10 grams or so from flax/fish oil. The rest is saturated meat fats.

Bulking I eat "regular" stuff. Dont count anything and eat maby 5 meals a day. Oatmeal and egg breakfast. A few whey shakes. Ground beef, soybeans, lean meats ect. I don't eat dirty stuff like burgers or pizza unless its my cheat day that I have once a week. Then everything is allowed:tongue2:

3 - Who said bodybuilders are healthy?

Well I didnt mean that its a overly healthy lifestyle but not many bodybuilders seems to "suffer" from the gain and lose of weight. Not even the higher level amatures that munch down more pills than your general retirement home

4 - Fluctating body weight is a symptom for diabetes. That's one. I'm not sure of others, but they are not good at all. Something in your body isn't working properly. Humans are meant to stay at a consistent bodyweight.

My blood sugar, liver, kidneys, heart, cholesterol, bloodpressure ect is tiptop I do checkups every once in a while since heart disease ect run in my family.

5 - You should not gain or lose more than 2-3 pounds a month. If you starting losing weight or gaining weight, then 5-6 pounds for the first month or two can be fine, since it's usually the result of water weight being lost or gained.

Well if I allow myself to satisfi my apetite with whatever after I have cut down I can gain 20+ ibs in 5 weeks without any problem what so ever. So when I get down to a desired bf% I need to be strickt to stay there. Even if I ease into higher kcal I gain to much weight over a few months. Its very anoying. This fall I haven't gained much however since I have only eaten twice a day and been lasy. but I have gotten fat and lost muscle so not a good tradeoff.

 

[Azael]

Well, I hope your Vitamin C is up, regardless of who you are.
It benefits everyone, from bodybuilders to couch potatoes.
Heals the wounds into nice scars real fast. Girls like that.

Im toying with Linus Paulings and Tom levys ideas about high vitamin c dosages. So I consume around 15-20 grams each day. Most would scream kidney stones lol but I am pretty confident when it comes to this and I have noticed a host of benefits so far that I can't explain away with placebo or similar.

 

[JasonRox]

I'm not talking about your bodyweight. Yous fluctuates yearly. :P

Also, your brain needs 125 grams of carbs a day. You might want to re-think that cutting diet.

 

[Azael]

well in the abscense of carbs the body produces ketones so don't se the cause for worry??
But the funny thing is that I get more energy, more explositivity and just generaly feel a lot better when I restrict carbs. No foggy mind or anything like most people get from low carbs. Havent figured it out yet why I respond so good to low carbs.

What kind of diet do you follow usualy by the way?? Do you bodybuild or powerlift or just generaly stay in shape??

 

[JasonRox]

well in the abscense of carbs the body produces ketones so don't se the cause for worry??
But the funny thing is that I get more energy, more explositivity and just generaly feel a lot better when I restrict carbs. No foggy mind or anything like most people get from low carbs. Havent figured it out yet why I respond so good to low carbs.
What kind of diet do you follow usualy by the way?? Do you bodybuild or powerlift or just generaly stay in shape??

I haven't been in great shape for awhile now.

I did look into powerlifting, but school took over, and I'm glad it did.

My diet at the time was consisting of one cheat snack a day, usually Ice Cream. I got most of my protein from, in order, Protein Powder, Bread, Fish, Eggs, Yogurt, and that's about it. I didn't drink milk, and very seldomly ate red meat or white meat. My diet was a large part carbohydrates, but I ate my fats as well, hence the fish and ice cream. I ate 8-9 meals a day, which boosted my metabolism, which then brought my bodyfat from 12% to about 10% without even doing any cardio. The only cardio that I did was play basketball for a bit before working out because it's great for warming up the shoulders.

At a weight of 158 pounds, I ate only 150 grams of protein a day. It worked very well, and my recovery had no problems. (I think you eat far too much.)

My goal was to bench press 300 pounds raw weighing only 165 pounds or less. I was already benching 240 (max.) pounds raw without even training for powerlifting, which wasn't bad. I just need a spotter I can trust, and an experienced one. My dumbbell press was much more impressive. Being only 158 pounds, I picked up the 90-95 pound dumbbells for the flat bench (6-10 reps). I liked doing that because most guys twice my size only did like 75-85 pounds.

Anyways, with a good spotter I could have made it to 250-260 pound bench (max.) without any trouble.

Well, in the end, school took over. :tongue:

Note: My bench press was also probably lower than it should be because of my shoulders. My shoulders are not that great, and definitely need work. The bench puts a lot of stress on the shoulders, and dumbbells do not... hence explaining why I can only bench 240 pounds, but racking up 90 pound dumbbells for reps.

 

[Azael]

I mostly eat so much protein for the thermic effect of it. I have gone periods with only 150g protein without loosing any so I tend to agree that people overemphasis(excuse my poor spelling) the importance of protein :)
I usualy don't eat that much meat either mostly because meat is freaking expensive here in sweden :( soybeans and whey concentrate is my saviors.

Thats a awsome dumbell press. Do you do any rotator cuff exercises? it might help the shoulders.

Pressing exercises has always been my worst exercises. I am a good deadlifter though. I pull 500 at a bodyweight of 184(when I am the most cut, bulk weight is above 200). My goal to this summer is to get down to 80kg(176ibs) and oull 240kg in the dead(528ibs).
I want to squat 200+kg aswell(450+ibs). I haven't been able to squat seriously for a year because of my knees but now they are good again.

If my grip strenght wasnt so phatetic I would probably give a pl competition a try.

 

[JasonRox]

I mostly eat so much protein for the thermic effect of it. I have gone periods with only 150g protein without loosing any so I tend to agree that people overemphasis(excuse my poor spelling) the importance of protein :)
I usualy don't eat that much meat either mostly because meat is freaking expensive here in sweden :( soybeans and whey concentrate is my saviors.
Thats a awsome dumbell press. Do you do any rotator cuff exercises? it might help the shoulders.
Pressing exercises has always been my worst exercises. I am a good deadlifter though. I pull 500 at a bodyweight of 184(when I am the most cut, bulk weight is above 200). My goal to this summer is to get down to 80kg(176ibs) and oull 240kg in the dead(528ibs).
I want to squat 200+kg aswell(450+ibs). I haven't been able to squat seriously for a year because of my knees but now they are good again.
If my grip strenght wasnt so phatetic I would probably give a pl competition a try.

Yes, I did do rotator cuff exercises. It works wonders too.

Although I wasn't a good deadlifter or squatter, I still had good grip. One of the little things I'd do it weight flipping. Can't really explain it, but it keep the grip up.

My favourite part is the back, hence why I need better grip. Doing lots of weight on the low row, or lateral pulldowns, needs good grip.

I loved my lats.

 

[Azael]

ohh hell yeah back workout rocks :) My lats are my second best muscle group only beaten by quads. For some funny reason my quads grows easily even though I mostly work hams.

Have you ever tried westside powerlifting??

 

[Azael]

weight flipping. is it when you hold on to a weight, give it a spin and grip it again after it has spun around one time?