A decent article for those of you needing tips on fat loss, these are just some generic tips but good to get you started:

http://www.elitefts.com/documents/tips_to_lose_weight.htm

What kind of routine are you on right now? Perhaps post what you're eating too and let us see if perhaps there's any aspect you need to improve on?

Life got in the way. Blame university. I hate it.

Glad to see I'm remembered though haha

Like Noel said, you seem to be on a bulking diet rather than a cutting diet. I understand you do not want to reduce your intake and result in losing muscle. Based on your bodyweight (191lbs) you should be taking about 1 gram per pound of bodyweight for cutting, so your calculations are correct.

Have you thought that maybe the reason your weight is coming down so little is because of the fact that the muscle you put on replaced the fat that you lost? It is certainly a possibility given the way you're eating.

What about your workout plan? What kind of exercises and setsxreps scheme are you doing. Are you doing enough cardio too?

Jamis,

HVT is a very good program in terms of putting on muscle, especially if you are past the beginner level and have a good strength foundation.

That being said, it does have a metabolic effect on the body. 12-15 reps coupled with short rest periods can produce a fat burning effect on the body.

Based on what you are telling me, that fact that you see veins popping and some lining on your abs, coupled with a little weight loss probably shows that you are indeed losing fat.

The reason your scale is not moving is because of 2 things:

1) You are putting on muscle. Simple as that. If you looked more 'ripped' but your weight doesn't go down much, and unless you're holding in a week's worth of poop, that's the only explanation. The diet you are consuming further strengthens this argument. You're eating a huge amount of food, you're not putting on weight, and you lost a little weight. There's nothing wrong with that though.

2) With that being said, the reason you are not achieving the leanness that you want is very simple - you're not doing your cardio. Please read this:

http://www.tmuscle.com/free_online_article...nt_want_to_hear

At least read the first point of the article. It talks about cardio, and also how to prevent muscle loss

Reducing your rest period will only help to a certain extent. It will probably increase your CONDITIONING, but that does not necessarily correlates to an increase in fat burning.

I hope this helps.

Lunge and single leg squats are quite different.

Lunge works much more of the 'other muscles' that the squat doesn't work much of. Muscles such as the abductors, hip flexors etc.

Most people can't even do a proper bodyweight single leg squat, let alone squat 50kg on one leg.

It's very hard to answer the question on whether or not a 50kg lunge can equal to a 100kg squat. This is because the squat depends on too many biomechanical factors such as femur length etc.

But working on your lunge will definitely improve your squat, that's for sure.

Oh those squats. Yeah they're bulgarian leg squats, I thought you were talking about single leg pistol squats.

I never used a barbell for that, always used dumbbells instead.

If you really do them in full ROM i can guarantee you that you will run of swear words during each set.

The normal way of doing bulgarian split squats means that you front foot is on the floor and when you go down your back knee almost touches the ground. Should be about 3 feet away from the bench. I have long legs so I'm close to 4 feet away.

Adding a platform increases the range of motion, just thinking of it gives me the shivers. Damn i hate them.

The soreness they cause the next day makes me walk around like half a clown who's lost and looking for a circus.

Let me just try and settle this whole 'raw eggs or not' issue.

Yes, eating your eggs raw will ensure that you get 100% of the nutrients from the egg.

Yes, half boiling or cooking your eggs may result in some loss of protein.

The point is, does it matter? When making a decision in every aspect of your life, it's always about balancing the risks versus benefits.

There is a very real risk of getting salmonella from raw eggs, and God knows what else. Is it really worth that risk to your health for an extra gram of protein?

See here's the thing, almost all of us here are not professional bodybuilders. We do not make a living from bodybuilding. Most of us have a day job which bring in the income, and lifting is more of a hobby or passion. So I implore you to think, use some common sense.

You will not die if you get a few grams less of protein, you will not die if you fail to put on that extra quarter inch on your biceps, because after all, it's not your living.

Most of here (at least I do) pride ourselves in the fact that we maintain a much more healthy lifestyle than others out there. We eat a proper diet, we exercise, we rest well, we take supplements (multivitamims and fish oil etc).

Taking whey and creatine is one thing, but taking raw eggs 'just to gain that extra gram of protein that may or may not matter in order to put on that quarter inch of muscle' at the risk of damaging your health is not something that would be a smart move in my opinion.

But if you make a living from being a professional bodybuilder, competing in events, scoring endorsement contracts etc, then the entire situation is different.

So I urge you, to please balance out the benefits versus the risks of anything you do, ESPECIALLY when it has to do with your health.

The point of my post wasn't about being technical, it was more about the big picture of balancing risks and benefits.

But thank you for pointing that out

I was just slightly concerned that people were debating about losing a little nutrients but missing out on the big picture.

Once again, thank you

In my opinion, there are better option for triceps.

Close grip bench press, floor press, decline tricep extensions would work better than this.

Speaks the truth

Which gym is this? It's rare to see a leg press and lat pulldown machine being broken for some time, cause they're amongst the most popular equipments behind the cardio machines

Pulldowns dont help much.

Do negative pullups instead. What you do is jump up and grab the bar in the 'up' position, then slowly lower yourself down (about 5-7 seconds). That's if you cannot do a single pullup.

When you can, the best way to improve is to take the number of pullups you can do, divide it by 2. So if you can do 6, you would want to do 10 sets of 3. This is assuming that's your main focus.

This post has been edited by Desvaro: Jun 30 2009, 09:14 AM

Everytime I go HEAVY on snatch grip deadlifts, my a$$ really really hurts for the next few days, especially when sitting on the toilet bowl. This is further compounded by the fact that I have to take a dump more often due to the increased protein intake etc etc. Even worse, I do them while standing on plates, so larger range of motion etc.

But holy sh*t 150kg for 5 triples.

Anyway mofonyx, I'm experiencing the same thing as you. Currently on Jim Wendler's 5/3/1 program, everything gets done in around 45 minutes or so, yet I'm seeing nice progress. I remember the reason he designed this program was because he had just became a father, so he needed more time for his family and all, thus having to keep it short yet still be able to progress.

Works well for busy people.

I've just finished one cycle and I am in love with it (no homo).

What are your maxes for squat, deadlift, bench and overhead?

There's nothing wrong with this.

What I do is take a protein shake immediately after I finish lifting, then wait for about 10 minutes and start doing cardio. Of course, that leaves you open to the possibility of puking

To those of you who asked about creatine, I strongly recommend you read this article:

http://www.tmuscle.com/free_online_article..._up_on_creatine

As a football player who plays league matches weekly, I've had more than my fair share of ankle 'injuries' if you want to call it that.

If you can walk properly without much of a limp, then you most probably can squat and deadlift. If it is rather painful, then obviously it's out of the question.

HOWEVER, do not do bulgarian split squats while having ankle injuries. Because you only have one leg on the ground, there is a significant demand to balance yourself. An injured ankle almost always means that your balance (the proper word would be PROPRIOCEPTION) is screwed.

Try balancing yourself on your right leg, then your left, you'll notice a significant difference.

Long story short - if its nothing serious - squat and deadlift yes. If serious, then no. But whatever it is, no bulgarian split squat for you definitely.

2 things you need to do.

First - regain your balance on the injured leg. There are 4 stages to this:

i) Stand on the injured leg with arms spread out (the typical way to balance) with eyes open

ii) Stand on the injured leg with arms folded and eyes open

iii) Stand on the injured leg with arms spread out BUT EYES CLOSED

iv) Stand on the injured leg with arms folded BUT EYES CLOSED

Set aside 5 minutes, and start balancing yourself. Of course you will have to set your other foot down in between, I highly doubt anyone can do 5 minutes straight balancing haha. No need to be so calculative and only count the time you're on one foot, just put 5 minutes and balance yourself as long as possible.

Second - regain mobility on the injured ankle

To achieve this, do wall ankle mobilisations. http://www.tmuscle.com/free_online_article...mobility_drills It's drill number two in the article.

Try to get in 5 sets of 10 throughout the day.