Arkk's Weight Lifting / Fitness Thread

Crunches are worthless and should never be done by anyone.

I somehow hurt my lower back 3 years ago (no clue how, maybe falling on my side off of my bike slipping on ice during a ride at about 3mph) and it's just been getting worse while I've been doing nothing too strenuous to it.

I've been doing Pallof Presses for core work... and my lower back still hurts doing that.

I think something is seriously fucked up with me. Fucking PTs saying to do core exercises, all that shit hurts including sitting, standing some days, and laying in bed.

Kill me now.

Did you ever get a MRI done?

Leadsalad_sl said:

Fucking PTs saying to do core exercises, all that shit hurts including sitting, standing some days, and laying in bed.

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Your PT's either don't care (get a new one), or you're not telling them (speak up). Go see your doctor for an MRI and a referral to an Orthopod, and stop doing exercises that don't help/make it worse.

Edit: I'm in PT now, and they're constantly nagging me to let them know if anything hurts. Just so we're clear, you do mean Physical Therapist, correct? Going to a personal trainer to resolve a chronic orthopedic issue is stupid and potentially dangerous.

I haven't done an actual ab workout in so long. Squats and deadlifts take care of that.

PT is a therapist, yeah.

I had an MRI as well, but it's Kaiser so I don't even know if I can get a copy of the results to take to a third party. The spine specialist said I looked fine. The PT was part of Kaiser as well, so no clue how good or bad they are in general.

I'm really close to just trying a chiro to complete my wall of things thrown at this problem.

I like doing squats, but they hurt as well so, yeah.

I saw your 150+ mile ride photos Kuriin and got sad that I can barely manage 40 flat before I need to stop and fight the urge to throw the bike off a cliff along with myself.

I would avoid chiro, lol. Ah, you're HMO. You should still be able to get your MRI results regardless if you're HMO or PPO. What did your physical therapist say it was? I can recommend a pretty good PT that's in the area (Embarcadero).

I'd also get a second opinion on the ortho.


It hurts that much to ride on the bike? ;\

Chiro's are bad unless you actually get permission from an ortho to see one.

Kuriin_sl said:

I would avoid chiro, lol. Ah, you're HMO. You should still be able to get your MRI results regardless if you're HMO or PPO. What did your physical therapist say it was? I can recommend a pretty good PT that's in the area (Embarcadero).

I'd also get a second opinion on the ortho.


It hurts that much to ride on the bike? ;\

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She said it was a core strength issue and told me to do single leg bridges. Those aggravated me within 30 seconds. Same with planks and side planks. All of the non-crunch core exercises are high on the discomfort scale.

Which frustrates me. Should I keep doing them anyhow? I spent a month solid 3-4 days a week doing 3 sets a night of 2:30-3min planks and never felt myself get any better.

Dude, nearly everything is discomfort->pain now. Went for a hike up Mission peak, sore/pain 2 miles in. Mega sore/pain for the following two days. Something in my biomechanics is all fucked up now and nobody knows how to fix it.

If your PT can get my MRIs from Kaiser and diagnose me, I'd be down for it.

Staring at my bikes everyday is eating me alive now.

Call and make an appointment with Allen Carpenter:

http://www.yelp.com/biz/physiotherap...an-francisco-2


He was my physical therapist for my knee problems. Tell him Mark's partner sent you and that you're HMO and need a second opinion.

Who's your ortho, btw?


edit: If you can't reach him via the reception area, tell them that Mark sent you.

I'm looking for advice and I've asked in a few places, I figure why not throw my hat in the ring here too.

For reference, my stats as of 2 minutes ago:
33 Years old
6'4"
178lbs
31% BF according to one of those "smart scales" (skinny guy fat ftw)

My currently exercise regimine is mostly cardio based as I am working towards doing my first half marathon later this year but I want to start putting muscle on as I am also into OCR's (Obstacle Course Races) and other non straight weightlifting hobbies (hockey, hiking, climbing, etc).

I've done Kris Gethin's 12 week workout and honestly sticking to the food is the hardest part for me. It's so fucking bland and boring I just fizzle out after awhile. I could do it with some alterations maybe but I am a sucker for junk food from time to time so I fall off the horse quickly. My goal is to just have definition to my body. I don't need huge guns and pecs, but I can also see the mid-30's chub starting to crowd into my chest, gut, and lower back/love handles.

I have access to a gym anytime and work 4x10 days so I have 3 full days off and hours each day to dedicate to training. What would folks suggest as a way to cut down on my body fat, while at the same time increasing muscle mass and still allowing myself to run? I've heard a lot of conflicting posts about people saying running while gaining muscle is impossible blah blah, but it seems like its mainly just for heavy lifters which I am not.

cut down on my body fat, while at the same time increasing muscle mass and still allowing myself to run?

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You need to choose one. If you've never really lifted before (unlikely since you said you've done Gethin's 12 week trainer) you MIGHT (big might) be able to pick up some newbie muscle gains, but what you're asking is impossible.

Holy shit, how are you 6'4", 178 lbs, and 31% body fat? Those are some crazy sounding stats. You should take pictures and define skinny fat for everyone, cause that's amazing.

You really need to probably cut out the running altogether and pack on some muscle. 122 pounds of LBM on your frame is scary low. You seriously need to find a 5x5 program and start counting your calories/macros. Your running is very likely burning up all your muscle for fuel. It seems strange that it wouldn't tap into some of that fat, but if you lost any fat you'd be anorexic skinny.

Elurin_sl said:

Holy shit, how are you 6'4", 178 lbs, and 31% body fat? Those are some crazy sounding stats. You should take pictures and define skinny fat for everyone, cause that's amazing.

You really need to probably cut out the running altogether and pack on some muscle. 122 pounds of LBM on your frame is scary low. You seriously need to find a 5x5 program and start counting your calories/macros. Your running is very likely burning up all your muscle for fuel. It seems strange that it wouldn't tap into some of that fat, but if you lost any fat you'd be anorexic skinny.

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Well that's what one of those bodycentric scales says. Not sure I entirely believe it myself. I don't have a caliper or anything to test for sure.

As I said, my goal isn't to "pack on" muscle, it's more just to keep tone with some definition. I don't have the body type or metabolism to support being 230lbs and ripping lines everywhere. If I had to choose an idea physique it would look something like below. Toned, but not huge by any means:



I need to read more on what would be ideal calorie counts and "macros" for someone in my shape as I definitely haven't gotten into the nutrition side heavily at all.

You can't build toned muscles. Muscles grow or shrink, that's it. Based on what you are describing you should diet, that seems to be your desired look.

And that guy in the picture looks one step better than Auschwitz.

arkktheseaotter_sl said:

You can't build toned muscles. Muscles grow or shrink, that's it. Based on what you are describing you should diet, that seems to be your desired look.

And that guy in the picture looks one step better than Auschwitz.

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Build wise yea, maybe not that thin but more that level of definition. Trying to make the point that I am not going for overall muscle mass by any means but still want actual definition between my body and muscles. I'l post some pics later and you all can decide what you think of the BF% mark.

If your body fat is even close to 30%, you don't have to worry about getting muscular.

You sound like one of the people that is actually effected by the margin of error on body fat calculations. This is what I tried to argue with Ossoi about in the Weight Loss thread, but he doesn't listen. Depending on what you're using, they can have a good 7-8% margin of error. That still puts you at mid-20's body fat which is high. Even at 15-17% body fat you're going to look a bit chubby (I've been hovering in that area for a while bulking). It really sounds to me like you need to pack on a good 20 pounds of muscle though.

If your measurement is accurate:
31% body fat = 123 pounds LBM
Adding 20 pounds of LBM and getting down to the low teen's body fat, you'd be like 165 pounds. Doesn't sound right, does it? Cause I'm 5'10" and 165 and I'm definitely not a big guy.

If you're really like 20% body fat:
142 pounds LBM. If you put on another 20 pounds of muscle here, drop below 15% body fat, you're looking at 180-185 pounds. Definitely not big still.

Just to give you an idea, if you were to body build at your height, you'd probably need to get up into the 230+ pound bodyweight range at 8-10% bodyfat.

With your stats I guarantee you can make big newbie gains in strength and muscle mass while also running. Can you post a pic? I'm insanely curious what you look like with those kinda of stats.

6'4 178 and 31% body fat? Lmfao. Literally impossible.