Questions about Fitness and Health?

[Hardkill]

Hey everyone, so I've decided to make a thread here for anyone on this forum who wants to ask me any questions pertaining to fitness and health. Now, I am not a licensed personal trainer yet or a certified dietician; however, I actually has vast amount of knowledge and understanding on diet and exercise after several years of  learning and practicing both of these areas religiously. I've also practiced and studied sports of various kinds throughout my whole my life including running, swimming, soccer, tennis, martial arts, yoga, pilates, powerlifting, etc. 

So, let me know what your questions are and I'll try to answer them as best as I can.

[fridjonk]

Favorite "soccer" player?  

[Superfluo]

@Hardkill

What's the physical activity/sport/type of training/etc. that can provide strength, speed of movements, fast metabolism, joint and body flexibility, completeness (every part of the body is trained), longevity of the body and the mind, little execution time (something that I could do in as little time as possible), vitality, health to the fullest and/or with the optimal balance between these factors?

A full package, so to speak.

[The0Self]

@Superfluo A novice program that maximizes protein synthesis uptime, such as Starting Strength 3x5 or Jason Blaha 3x5 ICF 2.0.

A complete program includes squat, deadlift, press, bench, and a scapular retraction exercise (row or weighted chin-ups). If you care about aesthetics, throw in lateral raises as well. Body can only support a gain of ~0.5 lb muscle per week, so eat a calorie excess of 100-300 per day -- 3500 cals per pound only refers to fat; 1 lb muscle consists of 600 calories, so you only need an excess of 100-300 a day (less than 100 may seem like it can maximize it, but it can't, since some weight gain will be fat, unless already overweight). Consume an absolute bare minimum of 100g protein per day, but 1g per lb of bodyweight is quite a bit better, albeit expensive -- egg white cartons seem to be a pretty good value -- and whole eggs. It will only be mostly muscle if you're getting stronger and following the 10 percent reset rule so you're always training at 90+ percent capacity, which leads to maximal adaptation. Relentlessly continue adding 5 lb to your 3x5 squat whenever you get all 15 reps. Even from rep 1, explode with the weight as fast as possible, especially in the midst of a reset -- this is the main thing that, if neglected, leads one to have lackluster progress. Eventually you will end up missing reps, while using good form. You'll make your 15 reps and add 5 lb, then miss it next session so keep it the same weight, then make it next session... Eventually you'll miss for 2-3 sessions in a row, at which point you can reduce weight by 10% -- the purpose of this is so you know you're always training at 90+ % capacity, which produces the same adaptation as 100%, so resets are not a waste of time (unless you reset prematurely; before missing reps on 2 sessions in a row for an exercise). On a reset you should time the increases such that you are training at the weight you failed on last in exactly 14 days, then you add beyond it and keep the linear progress going until another reset is warranted.

3-9 months in, minimum effective volume will have increased, you will actually be so strong that you have the capacity to overtrain, and 3-day-per-week-full-body will no longer be optimal. This often, but not always, occurs somewhere around 135 press, 225 bench, 315 squat, 405 deadlift.... for 5 reps... At this point, it is generally best for the remainder of an athlete's career to switch to a 4 day a week upper/lower. Many studies have shown max muscle growth (after the novice phase) to correspond to 5-10 limit-set-equivalents per muscle per session and 10-20 per muscle per week, so hitting them twice weekly with upper/lower allows you to conveniently meet both of those ranges. By limit set equivalents, I mean 4 sets of bench press for 5-10 reps (taken near failure) would count as 4 for pectorals, perhaps 4 for front deltoids, but only 2 for triceps as they are heavily but not maximally stimulated by the bench press, for instance. On an upper/lower, the majority of volume should come from exercises with a high stimulus to fatigue ratio, such as hip thrust, good morning, glute ham raise, reverse hyper, etc, rather than squats, deadlifts, etc. Though you should still at least do a 1 rep max for the squat and deadlift every week.

If you feel utterly beat-up and have stalled hard on all lifts at once, take 1 deload week, wherein you reduce weights to 50-80% and reduce sets to 1-2 -- for all exercises... Maybe scrap the deadlift entirely, perhaps replacing it with rows for that week. Then pick up where you left off or slightly under it.

I know quite a bit about training as well@Hardkill

Edited March 27, 2021 by The0Self

[Hardkill]

4 hours ago, fridjonk said:

Favorite "soccer" player?  

You know, I've never thought about that because I actually don't really watch soccer games. Though, if I was forced to choose, then I guess it would have to be David Beckham. IDK. Sorry. lol

[Hardkill]

4 hours ago, Michael569 said:

My second toe is bigger than my first, what can i do  ?

lol. The shape and size of each of your toes are due to your own genetics.  The only thing that can be done to change any of them is surgery. 

[Hardkill]

3 hours ago, Superfluo said:

@Hardkill

What's the physical activity/sport/type of training/etc. that can provide strength, speed of movements, fast metabolism, joint and body flexibility, completeness (every part of the body is trained), longevity of the body and the mind, little execution time (something that I could do in as little time as possible), vitality, health to the fullest and/or with the optimal balance between these factors?

A full package, so to speak.

There isn't exactly one sport activity or specific type of training regimen that would be the best at improving all of those physical abilities together. However, I would personally recommend you join any martial arts class, program, style that's physically demanding like Karate, Taekwondo, Shaolin Kung-fu, Hapkido, boxing, kicking boxing, BJJ, etc. Styles of martial arts like train speed of movements, power, fast metabolism, joint and body flexibility, and your overall energy systems to the max. They also build some degree of raw strength, but usually not to a sufficient level. That's why you still need to lift moderate to heavy weights to really build above average strength and solid muscle mass. Also, no exercise regimen itself will ever be enough to effectively improve both your metabolism and your management of your bodyweight. That's why nutrition is at least half the battle.

[The0Self]

@Hardkill Have you made any intuitive connections with protein intake? Protein sources are notoriously expensive, so I always try to just get at least the amount at which diminishing returns present themselves, which seems to be about 100g per day (as in, every little bit below this seems to produce much worse results). But... I can't help but notice: the higher the protein, the better my body composition and recovery. Like all the way up to 240g/d... I want to optimize fitness without needlessly over-consuming protein, so I'm wondering, where do you see diminishing returns? A good balance for me is just aiming for the standard 1g / lb bw.

Also, what do you eat? I eat 4 meals a day, each in the ballpark of 50-100g C / 45g P / <20g fat, so C>P>F cals. Oats, eggs, milk, meat, white rice, fruit, vegetables, whey protein, lots of fat-free Greek yogurt with stevia added, lots of potatoes, and occasional peanut butter.

Edited March 28, 2021 by The0Self

[Michael569]

On 27/03/2021 at 2:30 PM, Superfluo said:

What's the physical activity/sport/type of training/etc. that can provide strength, speed of movements, fast metabolism, joint and body flexibility, completeness (every part of the body is trained), longevity of the body and the mind, little execution time (something that I could do in as little time as possible), vitality, health to the fullest and/or with the optimal balance between these factors?

A full package, so to speak.

ah so you're looking for a shortcut to perfect health  "Pssst hey kid, wanna buy some steroids", organic, vegan, non-GMO, soy-free, soil association certified (not from China )

[Superfluo]

@Michael569

"What mommy told you to do when a stranger asks you if you want steroids?"

 

 

Edited March 29, 2021 by Superfluo

[Superfluo]

@Hardkill

Thank you so much.

 

On 27/3/2021 at 11:02 PM, Hardkill said:

That's why you still need to lift moderate to heavy weights to really build above average strength and solid muscle mass.

What about bodyweigth training or calisthenics?

On 27/3/2021 at 11:02 PM, Hardkill said:

That's why nutrition is at least half the battle.

Yes!

 

@Michael569

What's your take on this?

[Hardkill]

On 3/28/2021 at 8:43 AM, The0Self said:

@Hardkill Have you made any intuitive connections with protein intake? Protein sources are notoriously expensive, so I always try to just get at least the amount at which diminishing returns present themselves, which seems to be about 100g per day (as in, every little bit below this seems to produce much worse results). But... I can't help but notice: the higher the protein, the better my body composition and recovery. Like all the way up to 240g/d... I want to optimize fitness without needlessly over-consuming protein, so I'm wondering, where do you see diminishing returns? A good balance for me is just aiming for the standard 1g / lb bw.

Also, what do you eat? I eat 4 meals a day, each in the ballpark of 50-100g C / 45g P / <20g fat, so C>P>F cals. Oats, eggs, milk, meat, white rice, fruit, vegetables, whey protein, lots of fat-free Greek yogurt with stevia added, lots of potatoes, and occasional peanut butter.

You need need about 1g per lbs. of bodweight at the most. Consuming anymore protein than that for myself will only be useless for our body. Even the the top athletes and fitness models in the world rarely if ever need to consume more 1g of protein per lbs. of bodweight. In fact, consuming more than that might put your kidneys and liver at risk of being damaged. Plus, a lot of excess protein usually gets converted and stored as fat in the body. The only individuals in the world who may need to consume way more than that for their own bodies would possibly be those who are truly desiring to achieve monstrous or freakish levels of muscle mass and strength like those pro bodybuilders or the strongest heavyweight to super heavy weight competitors in pro strongman competitions, elite level olympic weightlifting, powerlifting, etc.

Usually eat low sugar cereal or oatmeal everyday for breakfast, a flax muffin. For lunch, I usually have some pieces of some kind of lean meat or turkey like along with one or two pieces of fruit and low saturated fat and low sugar yogurt. For dinner, I sometimes have chicken, fish, pasta, whole foods. For dessert, I usually have low fat yogurt or sugar free popsicles. Before the COVID pandemic, I used to buy nuts at grocery that were very low in saturated fat and very low in sugars, but pretty high in unsaturated fats with moderate levels of protein. Also, I like to eat another bowl of cereal at night.

[Hardkill]

On 3/29/2021 at 4:47 AM, Superfluo said:

@Hardkill

Thank you so much.

 

What about bodyweigth training or calisthenics?

Yes!

 

@Michael569

What's your take on this?

Bodyweight training and calisthenics definitely can built significant muscle mass especially when done in very challenging positions with good form and full ROM. However, you are going to need at least some kind of equipment that will be conducive to building considerable muscle mass and strength. Watch gymnasts and others like those barstarzz trainees:

However, I think that the most effective way to build solid muscle in your legs, hips, and lower back is through moderate to heavy barbell or dumbbell training such as any of the barbell or dumbbell squat variations, any barbell or dumbbell deadlift variations, any of the barbell or dumbbell lunge variations, etc.

[The0Self]

The simplest-while-still-optimal training split for maximum strength and muscle growth, ime, fwiw:

Mon/Wed/Fri (3 nonconsecutive days)

Squat 3x5

Bench 3x5 (Or Weighted Dip, if you anticipate being unable to always have a spotter, since you will NEED to go to failure at least twice every month or so -- the ONLY possible way around this is having a coach tell you whether you can get another rep and when and how much to reset based on bar speed alone)

Deadlift 1x5 / Row 3x5 (Alternate each training session, so you do each 3 times every 2 weeks)

Press 3x5

Chin 2x8 (band-assisted or weighted, depending on current fitness) / Curl 2x8 (Again... Alternate each session, such that you perform Chin on Deadlift day; Curl on Row day)

Facepull 1x20

Abs 1x20 (standing cable crunches are preferred, hanging leg raises are also great, other exercises work though)

Lateral 3x10-20 (optional, but this 3x/week is extremely effective for aesthetics)

 

(Warm-up sets not listed)

3 minutes rest between sets usually leads to the most growth. Never go outside the 1-5min range.

10% reset method is required -- search info on proper progression.

 

With bare minimum 120g protein per day, and enough calories, this can put up to 0.5 lb muscle on you per week (max possible for humans not chemically-assisted) but you'd have to research programming and protein synthesis uptime. Bridge the gap to optimize further by doing GPP/MetCon on Saturday and Tuesday... and you're golden. Essentially, this is the fastest possible route to getting very strong... and having a powerful looking physique as well.

 

THE KEY is to simply never miss a session. Same goes for meditation. Just show up. Even if you go easy, within a week or two you might just be ready to get back in there and ramp up the effort, but you won't regress if you just show up. The days where you show up despite lack of motivation will function as deloads. Foolproof 

Anticipate the fact that you will want to quit. Squats are HARD and there's NO way around it.

Edited April 2, 2021 by The0Self

[Opo]

@Hardkill Saturated fats aren't bad if you have a healthy gut. 

3 hours ago, The0Self said:

THE KEY is to simply never miss a session. Same goes for meditation. Just show up. Even if you go easy, within a week or two you might just be ready to get back in there and ramp up the effort, but you won't regress if you just show up. The days where you show up despite lack of motivation will function as deloads. Foolproof 

I wish I could remember this better but some bodybuilder said that if you don't have enough energy for a training session it's because your body is still recovering and that you should rest. 

Idn if that would work in other spots besides bodybuilding. 

[Superfluo]

@The0Self Thanks dude

@Hardkill So... calisthenics for the upper body and heavy weights (or even heavy weights + calisthenics) for the lower body?

[The0Self]

6 hours ago, Superfluo said:

@The0Self Thanks dude

@Hardkill So... calisthenics for the upper body and heavy weights (or even heavy weights + calisthenics) for the lower body?

I know you didn't ask me, but I'm qualified to answer. Technically, as long as you're progressing on at least one of each of the following, you're at least doing the bare minimum: a pushing movement (such as weighted dips), a pulling movement (such as weighted chins), and a leg dominant movement (such as squats... or even sprints, or... stair-climbing with a heavy pack/vest, lol).

But the program format I listed the other day is complete, at least for a novice -- on average, you're likely a novice if press/bench/squat/deadlift hasn't yet hit 135/225/315/405 for 5 reps each, but really a novice is someone who can steadily progress every session or at least every week.

And by the way, if your numbers aren't yet at 95/135/225/315 for 5 reps each, progress may be very slow unless you maximally recruit your (necessarily sparse at these weights) fast-twitch fibers -- you need to treat every rep like a 1 rep max; explode with maximum bar speed even from rep 1 -- this is why some novice programs are 5x5 instead of 3x5. 5x5 is WAY too much to do 3x/week if you're reasonably strong, but if you're a "hardgainer" (small proportion of fast-twitch fibers), you'll benefit from the additional volume, but it isn't necessary to go above 3x5 if you focus on exploding under the bar with maximum acceleration on ever single work-set.

IME, you will be "jacked" by the time your 5 rep chin/press/bench/squat/deadlift get to 85/170/255/340/425 lb, but you'll need more advanced/intermediate programming to reach those numbers. In case anyone cares, lol.

9 hours ago, Opo said:

@Hardkill Saturated fats aren't bad if you have a healthy gut. 

I wish I could remember this better but some bodybuilder said that if you don't have enough energy for a training session it's because your body is still recovering and that you should rest. 

Idn if that would work in other spots besides bodybuilding. 

Just show up to every session no matter what. If you need to rest, reduce the weights by up to 50% and only do 1 set per exercise, or just screw around, but show up to the damn gym lol. If you don't, that's dangerous for your consistency. You'll fall off the wagon unless you're obsessed, and most people are not obsessed -- at least not every week for years on end.

Get resistance bands to prepare for potential times when the gyms close, so you can train at home and continue to maintain or even build your hard-earned strength and muscle mass consistently. Or build a home gym if you're super dedicated.

Edited April 1, 2021 by The0Self

[Superfluo]

@The0Self Thanks again 

[Hardkill]

15 hours ago, Superfluo said:

@The0Self Thanks dude

@Hardkill So... calisthenics for the upper body and heavy weights (or even heavy weights + calisthenics) for the lower body?

Eventually yes, imo. I mean I am not saying that calisthenics for the lower body and hips are totally useless. In fact, someone who is a complete newbie or is totally untrained and out of shape should definitely start out just doing a good full body calisthenics workout program. However, I don't think that calisthenics alone is going to get you far in the long-run with building muscle mass and strength in the hips and lower body.

 

 

[fridjonk]

10 hours ago, Hardkill said:

I don't think that calisthenics alone is going to get you far in the long-run with building muscle mass and strength in the hips and lower body.

It most definitely can. But you must start doing weighted calisthenics with perfect form if you want some decent size.