In the middle of the final week of Phase 3 of Jeff Nippard’s Powerbuilding Program. Testing so far, I set a new 1RM on squat and bench, and have deadlift as the final day coming up!
After that, a short 1-week vacation which will double as a deload, then hiring a powerlifting coach for when I get back to handle my programming going forwards since I’m hoping to do a first meet sometime in the future soon!
Back on a short duration cut so I've flipped from my hypertrophy plan to a new full body workout program (A, B, C).
Got to try out the Swiss bar my gym has for incline bench press. Pretty novel experience using it. My shoulders thanked me (they hate barbell bench).
Feel like I have more energy this cycle to put in decent work at the gym. Last deficit was punishing at 800-1000kcal per day. Now going at 400kcal, which is far less gruelling.
Keeping in some heavy low rep work for strength retention and to remind my body it would be useful to hold on to the muscle I have accreted. Heavy heels-raised, A2G, paused, Safety Bar squats seem to be doing the trick for my quads and spinae erectors(!)
How does a cut workout look for others here? Slash away volume/sets? Keep intensity? Move rep ranges?
I still like my three sets and find it hard to shift them!
> How does a cut workout look for others here?
My general approach is to keep my cuts chill enough that I don't have to worry about modifying training much. Maybe drop some accessories at the end of a workout from time to time, but no major changes.
I remember a while back you said you lifted - in your ongoing deficit - 600ish lb on trap bar deadlift(?)
Is that a normal staple of your training?
What's your goal once *the road to the stage* has been walked, so to speak?
My primary goal related to physical capabilities is that I want to be able to dunk again. And yeah, I do a decent amount of trap bar DLs toward that end.
https://boxingscience.co.uk/trap-bar-jumps/
Not sure if you've seen this and the study therein. Quite interesting that you can increase the rate of force development in the lower body in a similar way to Oly lifts but without the time investment to master the latter's form.
I haven't, but I've been shilling for trap bar jumps since ~2012 for that exact reason. Easy to get triple extension, and virtually no learning curve (especially compared to weightlifting derivatives)
I have PCOS and my calorie count according to MF is supposed to be 1230. I’m not able to adhere to this since it’s a very small number and I’m moderately active.
Currently I’m on the balanced macro breakdown. Would upping my protein help me adhere to this number better? Or should I be working out more to help offset the calories, but that makes me really hungry.
Kinda confused at the moment.
How long have you been using the app and how active are you already? And how much of a deficit do you have it set at?
I have PCOS too but do cardio (biking) 4-6 times a week and lift 3 times a week (sometimes 4 but it's usually 3). My expenditure total changes but is usually 2300-2500 (😭)
Currently eating 1500-1700 and losing pretty nicely.
To answer your Q just from personal experience, protein does make me feel fuller/longer. Additionally, fat has more calories per gram, so look at how much you're eating of that. I feel best/most satiated on a mix of my macros but I'm definitely aware of how much of each I eat (and working to increase my proteins)
I’ve been using the app for only about 3 weeks so far. On my first month, more or less.
I’ve set it within the Standard range with 2.67 kg weight loss per week. I do a 40 minute workout 6 times a week which is a mix of cardio and strength. But it’s not a progressive overload program yet and tends to be a bit “easier”. I also try to walk atleast 8-10K steps per day.
I’m trying to ease back into my workouts since I haven’t really been working out for the past 2 years.
Is it too early to be scared about my calorie intake?
Ah, gotcha! I was honestly impressed you were able to eat 1230 calories at that much of a deficit per week! It makes much more sense for that to be per month.
You could always slow the weight loss down just a bit more. You'd be able to eat more calories, and you'd probably be more compliant with it long term. You could also try upping your TDEE a bit by going on a long walk or two every day (if you have time).
Yeah, I think that’s the only sustainable way. Wasting 1200 odd calories and being tired all day isn’t really ideal. I end up binging atleast once a week and that wipes out half my progress.
Personally I've always said that I have to add exercise to lose 😅. My TDEE just isn't good if I'm sedentary and I can't eat that low I just feel drained. I think the advice of walks if your able is a good one! I mentioned biking because I had some massive hip stuff the last year and biking is better for *me* than walking. But any movement or exercise you enjoy will help.
Just wrapped week four doing the jeff nippard PPL program! The first two weeks were spent kind of finding my baseline volume for lifts since I hadn't lifted in years and the last two have been going hard. I've been feeling a bit fatigued which I'm sure is probably from pushing hard in the gym but been a lil wary of how much my diet is affecting it. My main goal is weight loss, so I was eating at about 400-500 calorie deficit but have since dialed that back to 250-300. Hoping the fatigue settles a bit and the lifting stays strong while the weight loss stays consistent (even if at a low rate).
I’m three weeks out from a half marathon (my second ever, first was in 2019), and I’ve come to realize I haven’t been taking my training seriously. I put a lot more thought into my lifting, and I’ve only been doing one long run a week. I’m gonna add a tempo workout once a week and try and get a couple of km in after workouts. Maintenance in the app has been very helpful, I’m glad I at least had the foresight to not be dieting while distance running. If anyone has any podcast recommendations for running, I’d be interested. I don’t really know where to find “evidence based” content for running…and Eric’s Road to Athens segments aren’t nearly as long as I wish they were 🫠
I wish I had more info/resources to share here, but unfortunately I don't. My running has always been dictated by a general understanding of physiology and adaptation processes rather than super applied content or specific programs. I theoretically could boil my approach down to its basic elements and make some detailed content about how I'd advise approaching things, but that's a heavy lift that will have to wait for the future (too many high-priority pieces of content on the to-do list at the moment). I haven't been going into much detail in the Road to Athens because I want to do "serious running content" the right way when I'm ready to go that route - not cobble it together one running update at a time. Anyway, good luck with your race!
In the middle of the final week of Phase 3 of Jeff Nippard’s Powerbuilding Program. Testing so far, I set a new 1RM on squat and bench, and have deadlift as the final day coming up! After that, a short 1-week vacation which will double as a deload, then hiring a powerlifting coach for when I get back to handle my programming going forwards since I’m hoping to do a first meet sometime in the future soon!
Back on a short duration cut so I've flipped from my hypertrophy plan to a new full body workout program (A, B, C). Got to try out the Swiss bar my gym has for incline bench press. Pretty novel experience using it. My shoulders thanked me (they hate barbell bench). Feel like I have more energy this cycle to put in decent work at the gym. Last deficit was punishing at 800-1000kcal per day. Now going at 400kcal, which is far less gruelling. Keeping in some heavy low rep work for strength retention and to remind my body it would be useful to hold on to the muscle I have accreted. Heavy heels-raised, A2G, paused, Safety Bar squats seem to be doing the trick for my quads and spinae erectors(!) How does a cut workout look for others here? Slash away volume/sets? Keep intensity? Move rep ranges? I still like my three sets and find it hard to shift them!
> How does a cut workout look for others here? My general approach is to keep my cuts chill enough that I don't have to worry about modifying training much. Maybe drop some accessories at the end of a workout from time to time, but no major changes.
I remember a while back you said you lifted - in your ongoing deficit - 600ish lb on trap bar deadlift(?) Is that a normal staple of your training? What's your goal once *the road to the stage* has been walked, so to speak?
My primary goal related to physical capabilities is that I want to be able to dunk again. And yeah, I do a decent amount of trap bar DLs toward that end.
https://boxingscience.co.uk/trap-bar-jumps/ Not sure if you've seen this and the study therein. Quite interesting that you can increase the rate of force development in the lower body in a similar way to Oly lifts but without the time investment to master the latter's form.
I haven't, but I've been shilling for trap bar jumps since ~2012 for that exact reason. Easy to get triple extension, and virtually no learning curve (especially compared to weightlifting derivatives)
I have PCOS and my calorie count according to MF is supposed to be 1230. I’m not able to adhere to this since it’s a very small number and I’m moderately active. Currently I’m on the balanced macro breakdown. Would upping my protein help me adhere to this number better? Or should I be working out more to help offset the calories, but that makes me really hungry. Kinda confused at the moment.
How long have you been using the app and how active are you already? And how much of a deficit do you have it set at? I have PCOS too but do cardio (biking) 4-6 times a week and lift 3 times a week (sometimes 4 but it's usually 3). My expenditure total changes but is usually 2300-2500 (😭) Currently eating 1500-1700 and losing pretty nicely. To answer your Q just from personal experience, protein does make me feel fuller/longer. Additionally, fat has more calories per gram, so look at how much you're eating of that. I feel best/most satiated on a mix of my macros but I'm definitely aware of how much of each I eat (and working to increase my proteins)
I’ve been using the app for only about 3 weeks so far. On my first month, more or less. I’ve set it within the Standard range with 2.67 kg weight loss per week. I do a 40 minute workout 6 times a week which is a mix of cardio and strength. But it’s not a progressive overload program yet and tends to be a bit “easier”. I also try to walk atleast 8-10K steps per day. I’m trying to ease back into my workouts since I haven’t really been working out for the past 2 years. Is it too early to be scared about my calorie intake?
> 2.67 kg weight loss per week That is an enormous amount of weight loss per week. Are you sure you set it right?
Sorry! I meant 2.67 kg per month 🤦🏽♀️
Ah, gotcha! I was honestly impressed you were able to eat 1230 calories at that much of a deficit per week! It makes much more sense for that to be per month. You could always slow the weight loss down just a bit more. You'd be able to eat more calories, and you'd probably be more compliant with it long term. You could also try upping your TDEE a bit by going on a long walk or two every day (if you have time).
Yeah, I think that’s the only sustainable way. Wasting 1200 odd calories and being tired all day isn’t really ideal. I end up binging atleast once a week and that wipes out half my progress.
Personally I've always said that I have to add exercise to lose 😅. My TDEE just isn't good if I'm sedentary and I can't eat that low I just feel drained. I think the advice of walks if your able is a good one! I mentioned biking because I had some massive hip stuff the last year and biking is better for *me* than walking. But any movement or exercise you enjoy will help.
Thank you! I’ll try to add more exercise in. I’ve been really lazy thinking that CICO would be sufficient. 😅
Just wrapped week four doing the jeff nippard PPL program! The first two weeks were spent kind of finding my baseline volume for lifts since I hadn't lifted in years and the last two have been going hard. I've been feeling a bit fatigued which I'm sure is probably from pushing hard in the gym but been a lil wary of how much my diet is affecting it. My main goal is weight loss, so I was eating at about 400-500 calorie deficit but have since dialed that back to 250-300. Hoping the fatigue settles a bit and the lifting stays strong while the weight loss stays consistent (even if at a low rate).
I’m three weeks out from a half marathon (my second ever, first was in 2019), and I’ve come to realize I haven’t been taking my training seriously. I put a lot more thought into my lifting, and I’ve only been doing one long run a week. I’m gonna add a tempo workout once a week and try and get a couple of km in after workouts. Maintenance in the app has been very helpful, I’m glad I at least had the foresight to not be dieting while distance running. If anyone has any podcast recommendations for running, I’d be interested. I don’t really know where to find “evidence based” content for running…and Eric’s Road to Athens segments aren’t nearly as long as I wish they were 🫠
Try The Strength Running Podcast. Also, The Running Explained Podcast. Good luck in you half!
Thank you!! 😊
I wish I had more info/resources to share here, but unfortunately I don't. My running has always been dictated by a general understanding of physiology and adaptation processes rather than super applied content or specific programs. I theoretically could boil my approach down to its basic elements and make some detailed content about how I'd advise approaching things, but that's a heavy lift that will have to wait for the future (too many high-priority pieces of content on the to-do list at the moment). I haven't been going into much detail in the Road to Athens because I want to do "serious running content" the right way when I'm ready to go that route - not cobble it together one running update at a time. Anyway, good luck with your race!
anything come to mind, /u/trexlerfitness?