Since changing my diet - reducing fat and calories while also starting to eat a little more carbs - I’ve lost 10 lbs in around 2 weeks. And my energy level in general is much higher. Might seem obvious to some, but the whole keto diet “you can eat whatever you want as long as it’s not carbs” thing is BS, and terrible for your heart. Don’t do this.
In terms of lifting goals, I am aiming to hit by the end of 2025:
125lbs clean and jerk
75lbs snatch
I am currently at 85lbs and 20 lbs respectively. Both of these lifts are extremely technical, and going up in weight is gonna risk injury. So I’m gonna work heavily on form rather than numbers for the time being.
I also matched my 300lbs deadlift PB, but this time without and belt, and it went up A LOT easier. Got too confident and went for 320 right after, but this was after like 30 reps of 85lbs clean and jerk. Did not go, did not want to force it.
I also changed gyms, and I’m now using a proper athletic gym that has all the equipment I need. I was using Crunch, but someone with rocks for brains decided that they would close off the space with all the free weights and squat racks for classes literally 5 days a week, Mon-Thurs, during peak hours. This effectively killed my ability to stick with my routines, so I sent them a letter saying I was done, and why I left. Then they begged me to stay and promised they’d rethink the class schedules. Uh… Cool? Except y’all told me you had no intention of changing them when I complained BEFORE I left. So save the crocodile tears please.
My new gym has a pool with lanes you can book by the hour, which is actually something I had wanted to start for cardio. When I was on high school, I was actually invited to the swim team because I was explosive off the start line… I just lacked the endurance and needed training. I declined because teenaged me thought it was “gay” to be a swimmer. I want to smack that stupid kid. Now, I get to right that wrong, at least a little bit.
This is kind of a trigger sentence for me, so apologies in advance.
That’s just not true. There are no absolutes in nutrition, or life for that matter. Some of my best blood tests came while I had been walking around in ketosis (over 1 mmol/L tested with blood strips) for months. Eggs, chicken, grass fed beef, and lots of vegetables cooked in quite a bit of butter and oil were my diet. It can be a great tool for someone struggling with metabolic disease and nothing else has worked for them. I’m not saying people should eat a keto diet all the time by any stretch, but it’s just wrong to outright say it’s terrible for people. You can be healthy on high carb diets and you can be healthy on low carb diets. You can get strong on high carb diets and you can get strong on low carb diets. I personally think people should cycle back and forth between high and low carb diets. Our bodies are incredibly cyclical, but the world is not built to account for that anymore.
I should clarify - what you’re doing is actual ketosis dieting. Like that does have some positive effects, especially for short-term weight loss.
Trouble is, there’s this idea in a lot of fitness and body building forums that you can literally eat as much fat and protein as you want, no limits, as long as the carb count is low. Some people wind up eating lots of cheese and fatty cuts of beef, and some people even encourage doing so. This is really, really bad for your health, especially for your heart and cardiovascular health.
The reality is that bodies are complex and having a balanced diet that fits your activity level is key. There is no magic wand solution. Everyone has different nutritional needs, and it really irks me to see people ignoring the science and claiming there’s a one size fits all solution.
In my particular case, my calories and fat intake were both way too high. Reducing the fat intake also reduced the calories overall, and the result was weight loss and improved energy levels during the day. Tracking your macro and micronutrients can be very instructive. For some people, that’s overwhelming and stressful. It used to be for me. Now, I think it’s a valuable tool in the toolbelt.
Totally agree. I should have put in my response that in general I can’t stand the “keto” industry. Almost any product in a box that has the word keto on it is probably some weirdly processed form of junky protein smushed together with a bunch of non soluble corn fiber and sweetened with something like allulose (which isn’t terrible really, but it’s still a sugar that requires processing to get out of figs).
Do you have a coach for the olympic lifts? Based on your deadlift, you could probably muscle snatch that 75 pounds already. If you ever want any help or pointers, you can shoot me some messages or videos. I used to coach olympic weightlifting and had a USAW coaching certification at one point.
I do have a personal trainer, yeah. Like I’m confident I can hit these lifts, but I know my catch on the clean and jerk needs work and I don’t yet have the balance figured out for the snatch yet. I work a really physical job too, so I am hypercautious about injuring myself and missing wages.
That being said, I would love to send you some videos when I get some so you can have a look at form.
In general, my lift from the ground is strong and my split-jerk is downright explosive. My trainer has no idea how I figured it out so fast… The truth is I just watched competitive lifts and somehow my brain strung it together. But the catch and front rack need work.
For the snatch, I am PRETTY SURE I’ve got it with my 20 lbs practice bar, but my timing on jumping out into the catch needs work.
So basically yeah. I can do the lift, it’s the catch and switch that needs to develop on both lifts. But I can also hit 30 lifts at 85 in a single session comfortably, so if I just went and slammed 125 on there and gave 'er… Could probably do it. Don’t wanna try without a spotter.
Everything you wrote sounds good and makes sense. What do you mean by spotter though? Do not use a spotter for olympic lifts. That is a sure fire way to hurt someone else or yourself. Learn how to bail out correctly. I don’t even really like people to have a spotter for squats, and if they do, use 2 people that are standing to either side of the bar to pull up on the weights themselves. I much prefer to just jump forward and shove the bar backwards.
I don’t mean spotter as in the guys that are practically holding the bar. XD Not quite that hardcore with any lift now. It’s more a matter of having someone watching form and telling me what’s a good lift and when to bail. But for the immediate future, I like my personal trainer’s advice - “If you can’t front squat it, you can’t catch it”. So my game plan is to develop the front squat and other component lifts, then try whole hog.
But ngl, I’m probably just gonna try a hundo at my next gym session, 85 was too easy.
I should do some exercise, I’m in a really bad shape.
Aside from food (fortunately I like almost every ingredient, vegetables included) I do almost zero exercise. Lately, I have been walking around three hours every week, but that’s not enough.
Walking is a really good start, even just walking to the corner store a few times a week. Ultimately, cardio acts as a bit of a cap on how much other fitness you can do… If your cardio fitness is really poor, doing any kind of weightlifting becomes harder to do sustainably.
One option, if it’s affordable, is getting a personal trainer. I pay $55 bi-weekly for mine, and I frankly need him to keep me on track and keep my routines evolving. I basically went from never having gone to a gym before to seriously considering competing locally in Oly lifts one day in the span of about a year.
If that’s not affordable, there’s lots of really good (and really bad) coaching available online. Zack Tealander is one I have watched quite a bit, and his coaching style and philosophy works well for me. Lots of, “You’re not this specific pro lifter, you’re you, so learn how your body works and roll with it.”
I personally need a gym to stay focused on my routines, but if you’re able to focus at home, there’s a lot of bodyweight exercises you can do. I’ll list some so you can look them up:
split squats (hard at first, but super worth it)
lunges
dead bug
hip thrusts
shoulder tap
plank
bird dog
conventional squats and jiangshi squats (this is what I call a deep squat with your arms held in front of you like a zombie, dunno the actual name XD)
Because I do a lot of barbell work, I strongly recommend getting a 6 foot length of PVC pipe too. I literally took a couple from the scrap pile at a job site I was working on, but you can get em at Home Depot for like 4 bucks. Having one of these is great for shoulder mobility exercises, and a great tool for weightless back squats, front squats, overhead presses, etc. Very cheap purchase, has SO many uses.
I can walk a lot. On holidays trips I walk around 20.000 steps every day and I’m fine, but my cardio health is really bad. I even thought I may have some more seroius health issue, but I guess it’s more reasonable that I’m just in a very bad shape in that manner.
I don’t think I would be able to go to a gym or with a personal trainer, I don’t think I could be brave enough to do that. However, I’m not someone persevering enough to do too much exercise by my own.
I know this looks like a poor excuse and nothing more. It’s my health, though, so I should do something about that before it’s too late.
I have to thank you for that extensive information. Today is not a good day and your kindness made me smile. I’ll definitely check it and find something even I can do.
It took my dad dying of a sudden heart attack for me to get my ass in gear regarding fitness. I don’t want to die at 62 with absolutely no warning. And he wasn’t even out of shape per se, he just didn’t take care of himself. He ate lots of crappy food, he smoked, and he was just in this constant state of anger because of all this conspiracy theory crap he started believing.
I’m a big believer in everyone being comfortable in their skin. Some people are really happy and perfectly okay living a sedentary life, but lots of other people feel trapped in that kind of life and aspire to be something better. I don’t think either thing is wrong, but we have to be honest with ourselves with what we want. We can make excuses all day long, and make justifications, but only within our own hearts do we know what our best path is. If your body is screaming at you and saying your fitness isn’t where it needs to be, listening to your instinct is a good call.
Believe me when I say the hardest part is starting, but once you get on track, you’ll spite your past self for not starting sooner.
Well, I’m pretty sedentary myself, but it’s more a matter of entertainment than anything. When I have to go somewhere, I want to go walking if possible. I’m weak, but I’ve never felt I’m bad of shape until I had to suddenly run around 10 minutes. It’s not even too much, so that’s why I got worried.
I’m not the sportish type, but I want to be… healthy. Just enough to live a normal life. I need strong reasons to get out of my house, though.
Something that really surprised me about gym rats is that a lot of the people that are there for fitness are pretty isolated people. Like the ones who are there to do their routine, focus on their task, and get really good at what they do are usually pretty introverted people. The ones who are there for aesthetics and bodybuilding are a bit of a different story.
I’m kind of a weird case because I’ve always been a nerdy guy in the video games and stuff, but I also played sports in high school. I was on the soccer and football teams. That sentence is going to confuse the fuck out of Europeans.
I think the key is just finding what your specific motivation is. For me, the idea of being really good at what I do and potentially competing is a big motivator. If you’re not a sporty person, and you’re not a competitive sort, your motivation is going to be different. I would point to studies that show even limited muscle maintenance both in earlier years and in old age are exceptionally beneficial for your quality of life in your senior years. The goal isn’t really to have big muscles, the goal is to make sure that your muscles are able to carry your body for years to come.
But you’ll also find that as you get into better shape, your energy level will be higher, and your mood will improve. No matter what your body shape is or what your interests are, it’s exceptionally beneficial for both your physical health and your mental health to maintain some degree of physical activity. Even if it’s just developing a routine of bodyweight exercises in your own home.
Yep, that sounds like the best. A healthier body in the future and a better mood today.
In order to get that, I have to find an exercise I can introduce in my routine. Concerning that, I have two main problems:
I don’t like “pointless” exercises. In enjoy walking, playing tennis or I would enjoy a fun sport if I have someone to play with. If I hate the time I use to that, it will be harder to make it a routine.
I’m pretty obsessed with time myself. I have so many things to enjoy that I can’t imagine “losing” a daily hour in something I won’t enjoy.
I can relate to not liking to do things I don’t enjoy. If you want to practice sports, join a public group, there are plenty of those everywhere in the world about most sports and for every level. That’s how I did boxing, tennis, football, padel, and most of the things you can hardly do by your own.
The other thing that helped me quite a bit was getting a bike and commuting that way.
Don’t feel bad! Most people I know, including myself when I first started, could not run for 10 minutes without getting tired. I remember my first run with my girlfriend and how I was so embarrassed since I was exhausted after a few minutes while she hasn’t even broken a sweat.
But the thing with fitness is that most people can achieve great success in it as long as they stay consistent. Take it from me. I have asthma, and I was actually hospitalized for 8months back when I lived in the Philippines because my lungs were so bad. So growing up, I consigned myself to the fate that I’ll never have good cardio. Fast forward to today, I can run for two hours without stopping. It might be a slow pace, but still, it is something I never imagined I would be able to do.
Like Pyramid said, just start small and learn to consistently do that small thing every day or as frequently as possible. You’ll be amazed at how much progress you can make. I’m rooting for you! If you have a VR headset, I’ve found that to be a good way to get some fun cardio in!
Around here there are no sports groups if you are not in primary school, sadly…
I wanted to play volley, since this city’s team was a good national team when I was child, but that’s no longer an option.
Today I did a little exercise in my room, but I don’t think I will remember to actually do it every day.
I have an VR headset. I remember playing Wizards challenges felt like an exercise. However, I can use it just in Winter, and I have headache if I use intensely more than one hour (not because the exercise, but because I get dizzy)
Uh… Cool? Except y’all told me you had no intention of changing them when I complained BEFORE I left. So save the crocodile tears please.