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Messages - T0ddday

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406
Progress Journals & Experimental Routines / Re: Age vs Vertical
« on: January 13, 2016, 07:32:12 pm »
Quote from: vag on January 07, 2016, 06:42:22 pm
Very interesting and insightful as always.
Yes, we are not far off. Gaining strength and muscle with minimum fat gain was the idea. And then use more activity to both lean-out and get more 'functional' when the weather is better. I do hate indoor cardio stuff, you got me. Silly excuse, I know, but I do. Willing to try to fight through it it though. Already did a start with stationary bike if you noticed, no HIIT yet though, just LISS as a finisher after weights.

I wasn't suggesting indoor cardio.  I don't do any cardio because it all sucks.  I don't like LISS stuff for athletes.  Lactate work is good but it doesn't have to be boring.  My suggestion was to do a whole body intense lifting split that will allow you to recomp and keep that fat off - basically what I have all my lower level athletes do to turn them into beasts.   Idea is similar to german volume training in that the volume is great enough to keep you from gaining fat - only I try to mix it up so you can still train dynamically.   Here is the whole body split I have people doing that works really well.  I aim to go back on it when my knee is healed as well.   

Requirements: (1) A squat pad and a squat rack and weights.   Weight suggestions given for a bench/squat/dead of 225/315/405 and should be adjusted.

Set 1:
* Set up a bar on the inside of the rack and a bar on the outside of the rack. 

Superset Squats/Military Press:   4x6 & 4x8 @ 225,135

Set 2:

* Using the hex bar and and the squat pad as a fulcrum do the following superset:

Bulgarian Split Squats/Pullups:   4x8 each leg, 4x10

Set 3: 

* If you have a slant bench you can use that for leg raises otherwise stick with pullup bar for leg raises:

Glute Thrusts/Leg raises:  4x20,15,10,5  &  4x20

Set 4:

If you have an energy after this is done do band squats with 135-225 for two sets of 30 seconds each as many reps as possible.  This will induce lactate and cramping.   

This  workout should take 1 hour. 


Quote
As for the leanness, i was never really lean indeed but i don't know if i can be. My point about the 20s era was that i should be ripped back then. I would go to the gym ( which had a track and a swimming pool ) and i would do ~4km jog, then lift and then do 20-40x50m swim tempos. 2-3 hours. 4 to 5 times a week. And yet i wasn't ripped. I was lean, but average lean. Bringing it further back, in my teenage years, i was a roadkill, around 15yo i would be about 5'9''/175cm and weigh... 52kg/115lbs. Even then, no abs! I am the definition of skinny fat, got tiny wrists and ankles, yet never ever looked really lean. So the point was i don't think it is realistic to expect some serious leanness. But yeah, all that history doesn't mean anything. Ok, i can't look lean. So what? looking lean does not mean the same with being lean. I gotta get as lean as i can and that is all to it, it does not matter what it looks like. Do i have excess fat to lose? Yes i do, i should try to lose it, period.

Well swimming and leanness are about the worst combination ever.  Their is a wealth of data about their paradoxically high bodyfat.  I dont think you can't look lean.   You might not look as lean as some people but if you stay away from swimming and train right you can look leaner than ever before.


Quote
So I ( you ) already made up my mind, i will adjust my diet with the goal of maintaining current weight for now, or even lose a little. I trust i can achieve both as you say, keep gain some good strength and muscle and lose some fat too. I do like being on caloric surplus when i lift. Makes me feel more confident. Maybe it is placebo but it works, as soon as i restrict calories on workout days, strength suffers. My daily program fits well for daily zig-zag AND same-day overfeeding too. I train late (9pm or so ) , so i can have a heavy lunch ( 1000+kcal ) 7-8 hours earlier, a pre-workout snack ( ~500kcal ) 1-2 hours earlier and then a big post-workout meal ( 1500+ ). No-gym days is the same plan but adjusted portions to get to the desired kcal deficit ( numbers mentioned are just indicative ). And i have been on that daily zig-zag with good results in the past, so it is trustworthy. +500/-500 is a cut scheme for me, i will go for something like +300/-300 to keep it steady and adjust on the way.
I do reckon that cut-bulk-cut would be a better choice than recomp-cut that i am set to do, the latter just feels/fits better currently. And i do feel i want to push strength for a while currently and don't feel at all like going in a cut. I don't think the difference will be serious. Let's see, is that a fact so i am up to some serious shit, or is it just wishful thinking & no-reason stubbornness so i will just spin my wheels?  :P

I'm sorry I just assumed you train in the morning...  I can't fathom how people don't train in the morning BUT if you don't then sure you should eat during the day.  My mistake.  I train in the morning so what I eat sunday night fuels my squats on monday morning...   But in your case that wouldn't work.  I think you are totally on the right track and that recomping is the way to go.   You are fat enough and small enough that you should recomp rather than worry about cutting exclusively...  Just don't bulk!

407
Progress Journals & Experimental Routines / Re: chasing athleticism
« on: January 13, 2016, 07:18:50 pm »
Glad to see you persevering...  As far as some of the questions you posed.

1) I like when you say things like  "Lots more running and jumping .. i need to re-program my body to think it's that of an athlete as opposed to a sedentary person who sometimes lifts a few times a week."

I cringe when you say: "i was never wired up genetically to be athletic and be able to express my power in a game situation; you never have that much time to set up and launch for a dunk of two when you're as slow as I am. I never got a single game time dunk and as far as i am concerned I never will either."

You simply don't know that?  Did you have your genome sequenced and figure out exactly where this allele that makes people explosive is?  Or are you just giving yourself a ridiculous excuse?   All this talk about "slow" jumping is mostly nonsense.  You are hardly above 6'ft and you can tomahawk.  You jump close to 40'' off the ground.  That is explosive.  When you jump you are going just as fast off the ground as the next guy who jumps that height...  The concept of a "quick" jumper is mostly myth and an inability to tell proficiency and skill from power and speed...

You and I are in the same boat in a lot of regards.  We are the same age, both don't get much carryover from squats, both sprint, both are double leg jumpers and have the worst plant for dunking (I am LR and R handed you are RL and L handed), both get injured from too much ME jumping...  I have played probably 50 games of pickup basketball in the last 6 months and have gotten exactly 1 in-game non-tip dunk and it came on a perfect cut around the baseline when everything lined up right.  I don't even try to dunk on the fastbreak because unless the nearest guy is near half court I'm afraid I slow down too much to plant that I will get undercut or bothered enough to miss a dunk...  Despite this I'm not going to make some excuse that involves me genetically unable to do something... That type of negative belief is paralyzing...  I know I need to learn the opposite plant and become good enough with the ball to shield it and bring it up in a fashion where I can't get stripped on dunk attempts.   I know you need to drop the negativity about how your a "slow" jumper from your head and just go nuts.   Lots of ways to get over it.  Get a weight vest and take it off after awhile and feel light...   Go to a gym where you are alone and just scream as loud as you can and run around as fast as you can once in awhile.  Get out of your head and you will realize the untapped potential you have when you let go of paralyzing ideas.  Or do something that makes you feel explosive.  Go do some backflips.  When I'm feeling slow I go do some outdoor gymnastics where I know I have to fire quickly or I will end up on my head.   Nothing like it for reminding yourself that you can move quickly...

2) As far as your diet/recomp goals.   Your disciplined cutting is the stuff of legend.  I've cut down to 208 from 230 while recovering my knee and your diet log is hugely inspirational.   You are officially lean now.  I'm not gonna tell you to bulk but I am gonna tell you to start pushing yourself in the gym.  Part of the reason you feel slow is probably because you fluctuate from fat and slow and lean and depleted.  Settle in at 185 and let yourself eat a bit more but reduce rest intervals and do the whole body split that I advocate...  You will recomp and stay lean but you will be a stronger, more muscular, primed and explosive lean.

Despite my criticism your progress is some of the best I have seen.  If I could get you out of your head you would be a great athlete to train. 




408
Progress Journals & Experimental Routines / Re: Age vs Vertical
« on: January 07, 2016, 06:14:03 pm »
Quote from: vag on January 04, 2016, 05:33:09 pm
Very nice reply, thanks!
I don't disagree with anything. Also my bad for mentioning 'bulk', it is not called bulk that i have in mind, it is rather re-composition. Eating a little above TDEE on gym days and a little below all other days. Keeping it at +500kcal on gym days and -500 all other days has proven to lead me to a steady weight loss, while adding some muscle mass too. It is like a repeated bulk-cut daily micro-cycle. Not even sure if such a thing exists, just something i have done in the past and works great for me. So for the GPP period i would just up the off-days kcals a bit ( still keeping it below or at most equal to TDEE ) to lead to a small weight gain. I am willing to change that plan though if it is nonsense.
As for the bodyfat numbers, yes, i am very well aware that bulking while being over 15% is considered nonsense. However, 15% is pretty much very lean for me. I do my cuts, I eat very clean, high protein, i keep active, yet those calculators and BI scale wont give me under 15%. To be honest and play the devil's advocate on myself, i never went under 80kg the recent years to see what would happen. But back in my mid 20s, being extremely active ( working out 4-5 times a week, running, swimming, playing basketball ) and weighing around 75kg, i never ever saw more than a faint 4-pack, the same that i can do now when i cut. I was leaner than ever last year at 82kg, felt an looked like 14% and calculators agreed.
So, if we forget the number per se ( 17% ) and just suppose i am around 3% more than my very-lean status, would you still be against doing that 'recomp' thing during my upcoming GPP phase? And going on a cut to reach 'as lean as possible' right after that? Note that all this planning is also very well timed with the weather here ( aka ability to go out and run ).

Sorry for not getting back to this for a bit...  A few points:

1) Yeah, if your just using BMI calculators and such you don't really know your bodyfat %.  If you have the means and it's possible to get hydrostatic or MRI done I suggest you do it; but if you don't then any estimate is pretty much guesswork...  Funny, how people you and people on this board (entropy) seem to overestimate bodyfat pretty considerably.   To be totally honest I don't even think bodyfat % is as useful as total fat mass...  The dangers of low bodyfat are primarily hormonal - really important hormones like leptin circulate in proportion to the amount of bodyfat we have - someone who suffers from low leptin with moderate amounts of fat will need to maintain higher fat mass than someone who can empty a larger proportion of their fat cells without leptin being affected.  But really this is in accordance to fat mass rather than bodyfat (athletes should store very little intramuscular fat).  For myself I know that i suffer if I start to go near 10 10lbs of fat.   But this means if I can get down to 180 my I need to keep my bodyfat above 5.5% but if I get muscular enough to be 225 my bodyfat should above 4.5%...  It's not a huge difference but it matters especially if you are less lean...

2) That said if you have never gotten really lean there is no time better to do it now... Well, in your case I guess when the weather warms up would be more ideal...   It's easier to get back to being really lean when you have been really  lean before - so if you plan on going bulk - lean it would be easier to go lean - bulk - lean...

3) The bottom line is now that you have clarified your "bulk" I don't think your programming is way off base.   It looks like you have the right idea IMO.   It's not ideally what I would have you do if I was training you*** but it's the right idea.  Everyone's body is different so if you feel like you perform best at +500 plus cals on training days and -500 cals on rest days then by all means do it - however, while I have often seen this type of diet/training approach recommended and called a "zig-zag" diet - I see no evidence that it works.  I put it in the same class I meal timing and the necessity of postworkout nutrition.  It's sensible but research shows the body doesn't actually respond differently to short-term dietary manipulation on a day to day basis...   If anything upping the calories on the day before you do something like heavy squats is probably going to be more beneficial than upping them the day you do squats and restricting them the day before you train...

***If I was training you I would write a program that involved shorter rest intervals, higher volume and gradually increasing weight - if you are 17% bodyfat you could recomp (lose fat and gain muscle/strength) and if not you could at least gain muscle and strength while gaining as little fat as possible!  Remember there are ways to get into lactate without being outdoors, they just are not as fun!

409
Progress Journals & Experimental Routines / Re: Age vs Vertical
« on: January 04, 2016, 04:34:35 pm »
Quote from: vag on January 04, 2016, 05:35:26 am
Back, happy new year everyone!

The aftermath of the xmas holidays was not that bad, i am around 85,5kg(188,5lbs) morning net weight, 90cm(35,5'') waist. Online and BI scale estimate around 17% bodyfat. That is how it looks too, no changes in mirror test except from an increase at the love handles ( yup, alcohol ).

Sooo, where do we go from here? What do i do now?
I think of changing things up a bit, doing something different. I think i have been attached to being 'jump-ready' for too many years. Always having some kind of reactive stuff in, MSEM, trying to create room for freshness/peak each week etc. Which is not bad, ok, but want to go a different road:
-I am going to chase strength for a couple of months. Really challenge my legs. Not with a neural gains method ( 5-3-1/RSR ), those work great for me but i seem to lose the gains pretty fast after. I will go the hypertrophy road, increased frequency AND volume.  I need some GPP now anyway, since i got derailed mid-December, so it fits. For squats i am thinking of alternating between 4x10 and heavy 3s+MEBM days.
-After that block comes the change. I will lay off the strength road for a while. Will go 'functional', make sprinting and bounding a priority, see if i can get some juice out of this rusting body. Of course i will still be squatting to preserve whatever leg strength i can, but i will be taking it easier. MSEM, maybe some LTMP, stuff like that, also lots of o-lifts.
-Nutrition will follow the above plan, bulk while is strength mode, and then go for a big cut. Willing to go down to 80kg ( 176lbs ) or even lower, in the high 70s ( low 170s ).
It is pretty simple, it is actually a two-step periodization, peak strength and then taper on it. With the extra element of bounding that i have never done so far.
Ok, let's see how it goes. Objections/opinions always welcomed.

It seems sensible if the bodyfat measurement is off...   However, I don't like the sound of this if the bodyfat is accurate..   IMO a male who is 17% bodyfat shouldn't go on a bulking diet ever.  Period - (tbh I don't think any power athlete should go on a short term bulking phase).  Not if they care about strength to weight ratios (dunking, sprinting, etc - sure it's different if your an NFL long snapper).   At 17% bodyfat it's feasible to gain muscle and strength while you lose muscle.  I've been through two major injuries and subsequent layoffs and gotten to around 20% bodyfat...   Once I get the past the initial soreness accompanied with a return IF you can stop dwelling on what you used to be capable of it's honestly the funnest time to train.  Training at that bodyfat is like being on the best drugs ever...  Every week things get better!  You get stronger, you get leaner, you get faster, BW things like pullups go from hard to extremely easy, you feel better, etc.   It's the training in the single digits that can be a drag where you find yourself choosing between getting really strong and heavy and fat OR feeling lethargic and light...    OF course while relative gains are great when your fat... Your performance surely won't be maximized...

As I said above - I don't like the idea of short term bulking/hypertrophy.  IMO there are really only three phases to being a relative strength power athlete.

1) Get lean enough for you.   This might be 6% bf, it might be 12% bf.   It does depend on the individual - but it's highly unlikely it's 17% for most men.   IF you play a dynamic sport frequently and competitively (basketball, soccer, track - not powerlifting) then chances are you are already at this level even if you don't love how you look in the mirror.   If you don't play a sport but used to play one then you can aim to weigh about what you did when you were highly competitive in your sport (plus a bit more for added muscle).    If you have never played a sport you can clean up your diet and do 16 weeks of high-intensity GPP with interval running to figure out where you sort yourself out.   Ideally we achieve this "lean enough for you" without extremely restrictive dieting and moreso through training. 

Now that you are lean enough there are two phases:

A) Minor growing and improving.  You should be in this phase for 90% of the time.   This is the phase where you make improvements - you get stronger, more flexible, improve mobility, add muscle, etc.  This phase has some periodization and allows for increases in fat that don't radically affect body composition...   Your diet should be clean but you should eat to make gains**.   Maybe you are 180 and 10% bodyfat and squat 350.  You get to 185 and 11% bodyfat and squat 400, and then 190 and 12% bf and squat 430, and then you keeping eating to make gains and get to 450 but start to see your bodyweight pushing 205+ and your bodyfat creeping up...  You stop.  It's not worth it.  We don't want to return to that first phase.  Maybe you won't ever squat more than 450 as a relative strength athlete...  Maybe you will but not by increasing leverage by adding weight - maybe years later when axillary lifts have been increased you can slowly push past...   

**Eat to make gains is just what it is - you eat just enough to make gains in stength/performance.   It sounds harder than it is when your lean and it is harder than it sounds when your fat.   This is why you must be lean enough.  When your lean enough you can squat and tell pretty quickly how helpful food is - you can see the benefit of a bowl of rice the night before a squat session.  You feel it.  You can also see it's unnecessary to add two bowls of rice.  So you don't.   This is the benefit to clean eating and maintaining leaness...  When you are fat and try and bulk you are simply eating more and most likely overeating.   

B) Peaking and Cutting.  The second phase is the phase where we realize our gains.  In the first phase we avoid things that make performance better but derail improvement - we don't cut and deplete glycogen, we don't get dehydrated, we don't stop resistance training to have better performances in races, etc.   Depending on our sport this phase might have to involve some semi-extreme dieting.  But it's short.  We do this a couple times a year to optimize performance and rest our bodies from the work they put in the most of the year...

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

That said if you are 17% I would get into phase A as soon as possible.   I would recommend you do a GPP type training program - I have one for my athletes that works wonders - and do not attempt to nutritionally bulk.  Clean your diet up but don't go crazy on cutting and watch the fat melt off.  You will probably gain some strength too even if you won't be lifting massive weights during the session.  3-4 months of this and you will be ready to see major improvement by summer that you didn't think was possible...

410
Progress Journals & Experimental Routines / Re: a fast and explosive donkey!
« on: December 30, 2015, 04:54:52 pm »
Quote from: LBSS on December 29, 2015, 08:24:24 pm
some vids from today:
DL bounds w/vest (about 11 yards)

SL bound w/vest

As far as the bounds...  I realize doing them with the weight vest may challenge you more... but you are doing semi inbetween bounds.   For both bounds I would rather see either a full cycle through (use a 1 arm drive for SL for now) with legs brought up and actively down OR see something like rudiment hops or kangaroo hops but nothing in between...  I think you can do full bounds cause I have seen you do them before - but if you can't do active standing in place single leg bounds with full cycle and active landing - don't do them for distance - that falling over stuff doesn't work...

I have now had another friend do hypergravity with decent results so it's not n = 3 for my experience.   Basically, i would describe hypergravity as simple as this.  Everyone knows things get harder.  That's life.  We get better, it gets harder.   Going from 25-30 inch jump not so hard.  Going from 30-35 hard.  Going from 35-40 is REALLY hard.   But what if after we go from 30-35 we could just go from 30-35 again instead?  Much easier...  So basically, we know exactly what we are gonna get out of the weightvest and its basically how close we get to pre-weight vest numbers..  We make do this easier by losing weight at the same time of course.   But basically, imagine you have a 35'' jump.  (a simple calculation says that at 15lbs heavier you should have a 32.5 inch jump.  You put the vest on and go down to 31''.   This is why the vest is bad in the short term.  The weight messes you up and you actually produce less power than before.... But... assuming you adapt and get back to 32.5'' you are even...  Now if you can get to 33 or 34'' you will see gains...  Basically that simple - that's also why I recommend you take it off as little as possible.  Don't take it off when your training or for tests until you have achieved your marks...

411
Progress Journals & Experimental Routines / Re: a fast and explosive donkey!
« on: December 30, 2015, 04:33:52 pm »
Quote from: LBSS on December 29, 2015, 08:24:24 pm
some vids from today:

(EDIT: all should work now but the timed start isn't working for the first two)

MB throw w/vest (about 10.5-11 yards here, not my longest throw of the day


It's hard to analyze from that angle but it looks your jumping the ball into the air which is killing your hip pop.   This is similar to when people learn the powerclean and they learn to literally jump the weight into the air...  While your feet may (will) leave the ground you have to remember that it's not an active jump in either case - it's a hip pop and extension where you transfer the power into the bar/ball and after release (on the catch) your feet may leave the ground/travel back...   I prefer ball tosses to powerclean because it's about 100x easier to teach BUT it's still not a super simple move and there is some technical things to be aware of.   Three tips to help you learn are:  (1) Do some kneeling tosses where all you can use are your hips.  (2) Actively throw the ball down so your hip hinge is elastic - the ball is forced down between your legs and as momentum brings it up we fire our hips (3) Distance is a great measure of power but as we get too competitive for distance we sometimes end up throwing it backwards with arms - so do a few tosses where you focus on maximal height...  usually to get a great backward toss I will first do 2-3 tosses as high as possible and about 3 yards less far than my best backwards toss - then I do my best.   

Here is an example of the frames that show me going into hip extension on the release of the ball... You should see the ball come out with a pop.  Also a few videos.  I have more practice than you at this...  But I am throwing the ball 20 yards standing and 10-12 yards kneeling - I'm in no way that much stronger than you, getting the technique right will have you "feel" your hips in a way that you are unfamiliar with but it will help...



<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5oVGb5J4f5M" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5oVGb5J4f5M</a>

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCVDgqcKfoc" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCVDgqcKfoc</a>

412
Progress Journals & Experimental Routines / Re: Dreyth's New Journal
« on: December 25, 2015, 03:24:10 am »
Quote from: gukl on December 23, 2015, 09:05:35 pm
in regards to stretching hip flexors before jumping - surely you cannot avoid stretching the rec fem which is a 'quad' and a 'hip flexor' and if static stretching reduces peak power output, is it wise to stretch 'hip flexors' (of which one is a knee extensor) before attempting maximal vj?
perhaps a period of time between stretching and jumping sufficient to still have the greater hip extension from the stretching but not the reduced power output? i have no idea what kind of time this would be.

Interesting point about the rectus femoris.  Might depend how one jumps.  A hip-dominant jumper doesn't use much knee extension to jump but can definitely be hurt by tight hip flexors.   A few tricks are to do a non-rectus hip flexor release (it's a massage technique called psoas release) and to stretch the hip flexors dynamically (foot toes down and elevated on a box and deep single leg weightless squats will stretch hip flexors while toes of rear foot on higher box and high squats with front leg push with put you into hip hyperextension and really get your hips loose).  Two of the best ways to prep for a jump.

413
Progress Journals & Experimental Routines / Re: Dreyth's New Journal
« on: December 25, 2015, 03:19:30 am »
Quote from: Dreyth on December 23, 2015, 01:03:48 pm
^^ I have a bit more fat now, and extra water weight too. One thing not to forget: depending on if you're carbed up or not, your water weight and glycogen can fluctuate by 5lbs or so.

By 5lbs or if you carry a little more muscle by close to 20lbs.  I've been 202 before a thanksgiving meal and woken up the next day at 225 (some of this is food and added fat - but it's mostly just glycogen refill). 

414
Peer Reviewed Studies Discussion / Re: icing
« on: December 25, 2015, 03:15:46 am »
Quote from: gukl on December 24, 2015, 05:07:55 am
some support for icing in here, although a lot of it comes down to 'icing succesfully reduced inflammation'. well yeah, but is that desirable anyway? interestingly a few comments on icing resulting in analgesia allowing earlier/more aggressive exercise + better healing.

I think it really depends.  I'm not sold on the benefits of icing repetitive trauma injuries (eg jumpers knee - patellar tendinitis).  However, icing clearly reduces inflammation and sometimes that's clearly desired!  For example after spinal trauma head injuries there are new therapies which essentially involve freezing the spinal column with ice...  Stopping this inflammation in it's tracks can result in someone who can still walk rather than someone who is paralyzed...  Additionally, post surgery when the swelling is so great - compression and ice can bring it down to manageable levels and allow the athlete to begin rehabbing much earlier..

I think the basic rule is if the inflammation is extreme and acutely caused by irregular trauma then the benefits of icing far outweigh the risks.  The way to think of it is that surgery causes an overreaction in inflammation - the goal is only to repair a single ligament but unfortunately cutting someone open sterility involves inflaming a great deal of nerves and surrounding tissue.  Cutting short this natural healing mechanism can allow us to start rehabbing turned off muscles and moving again which is worth it...   Non-inflammation mediated pain from tenditinis  is a little different...  Ice can disrupt healing for the benefit of a lack of perception of pain...  Might not be worth it.

415
Progress Journals & Experimental Routines / Re: a fast and explosive donkey!
« on: December 24, 2015, 01:32:15 pm »
Quote from: gukl on December 23, 2015, 09:19:30 pm
http://propanefitness.com/iifym-alcohol-stay-alcobolic/

more geared towards body comp than performance but i try and go by this kind of strategy. 'alcobolic' lol.

I'll stop hijacking this journal with alcohol posts but this post made me think of one interesting point (I guess it's a counterpoint to my own as well). 
My original point (which is agreed with my the article) is that alcohol in and of itself is not a positive thing for an athlete...   However, there are a few cases where it's negativity can far greater or far less. 

1) First there is a huge genetic variation for how bad alcohol is on the body...  I think it's important to consider ones background when making the choice to drink or not...  If you have had your genome sequenced or are knowledgeable about your ancestry you can make a much more informed decision about alcohol.  I have african and european admixture in my background and for this reason probably don't tolerate alcohol as well as a Eastern European whose ancestors have been using alcohol for 5-10k years.   I would probably be especially bad at the beer mile when compared to someone whose ancestry (and practice) allows them to be less negatively affected by alcohol.     

2) The other big variable for alcohol is your body composition and goals.  If your trying to cut or stay maximally lean (and most sprinters or jumpers are) then alcohol is far worse than for someone moving up a weightclass as a lifter for example.   This is true about alcohol just as it is about all junk food.   Basically, if you are already trying to stay in negative calorie balance and restrict calories to some level (say 1500 kcal) then adding 3 beers and 600 calories to your daily diet means you now have only 900 calories to get adequate protein and fat - something that's going to be a lot more difficult now...

However, if your naturally really skinny and don't add fat mass easily and want to move up a weight-class...   This is far less a problem.  In fact I have had ONE experience where an athlete got worse when they gave up alcohol (that is ONE out of many) but it's still one example...   I was training a 6'6 185 pound eastern-european thrower/lifter who was trying to add strength and mass.  With the initial dietary advice of "eat a bit more" I got his powerclean to 235 and squat to 300 and bodyweight to 195 (I tend to not get overcomplicated with athletes and first get their initial neural strength gains up).   What's interesting is when logging diet I noticed that this guy would repeatedly drink 6+ beers (usually dark IPAs) at night time after work (finishing around 11pm and he would train at 8am).   They usually went along with some type of meal.   He stopped drinking (I advised it but he already thought it would be helpful) and his numbers in the gym plummeted...   It was really confusing but when I looked over his diet logs and sleep logs it started to make sense....  The change was as follows:

Basic Lifestyle with alcohol:

0) 7am: wake, caffeine.
1) 8am:  Train Weightlifting (post workout alcohol-free meal)
2) 10am-7pm: Work a stressful job (lunch break meal without alcohol, coffee break as well)
3) 8pm: Get home and medicate anxiety with 6+ beers and a large meal.
4) 11pm: sleep

After step 2 the athlete was probably at around 1500 calories.  His morning cafffiene use reduced his appetite.  Taking out the alcohol was a reduction of close to 1000 calories AND as he was someone who was pretty adrenergic without alcohol and used a lot of caffeine his evening appetite was smaller.  He also couldn't get to sleep as well.   So with alcohol we are talking about 3500+ calories and a non-ideal sleep and without we are talking about 2500 calories and even less sleep...  The difference was clear.   The fact that he used alcohol as a sedative anxiolytic probably doesn't bode well for his future ability to stay out of alcoholism but removing it in the short term had disastrous affects on his training...   

So, there you go! An athlete who got worse when alcohol was removed from his diet!  However, the exception rather than the rule!  For most of us less alcohol is probably a good thing!

416
Nature, Wilderness, Hiking, Travel, and Misc Outdoorsy stuff / Re: Random landscape of the day
« on: December 24, 2015, 01:07:44 pm »
Quote from: Raptor on December 23, 2015, 04:23:15 pm
Maybe it's a matter of being pre-programmed to recognize a great environment to live in - so when we see these vivid colors etc we recognize that as being an environment rich in nutrients/a place that increases your chances of living/reproducing, and makes you "naturally like it". I think that's the explanation.


Eh...  Maybe but why do we see such beauty is barrenness?  An image of a desert at night, the salt flats in Utah, even a moonscape or martian scape is so beautiful but really are not rich in nutrients (well perhaps we crave salt for the salt flats lol).   I think humans are have been social enough that the most attractive area is one with friendly humans.  I think I feel this as well - for me there is some comfort to being an metropolitan setting at night - the sounds of Rome or Manhattan outside of the window or walking along the streets of these cities gives a good feeling as I feel safe around all these humans (I think most humans are pretty nice and cool), while being alone in a rural landscape can be pretty scary as you can imagine a wild animal or some other danger coming your way with nobody to insulate you...   Just my thoughts though on why things are beautiful which really is not that important because beauty is awesome for whatever reason!

417
Nature, Wilderness, Hiking, Travel, and Misc Outdoorsy stuff / Re: Random landscape of the day
« on: December 23, 2015, 01:58:51 am »
Quote from: LBSS on December 22, 2015, 01:25:30 pm
Quote from: T0ddday on December 22, 2015, 12:33:56 pm
Quote from: Raptor on December 22, 2015, 11:31:31 am
Makes me think of Minecraft for whatever reason, lol

I wonder what's up with the human fascination with landscapes?

I heard someone claim that men like unconquered (virgin) land for the same reason they like single women.  The original is a bit more sexist but I modified it...

Maybe we see land that hasn't been claimed by any man and imagine coming up on that beauty for ourselves.   For me a landscape or beach at night or any of these things just remind me of the size of things and how small I am in the world which is comforting...

i don't buy the first at all. i do buy the second, that is huge for me.

Yeah its crazy how comforting insignificance is for some people!  But it really really is for me. I had a talk with a friend who said that things like this makes him depressed and nihlisitic and unable to achieve his goals because there is no point..

For me realizing that I dont matter also comes along with realizing that we all dont... Something I wasnt sure I would succeed at moves from daunting to "why not?". 

418
Progress Journals & Experimental Routines / Re: a fast and explosive donkey!
« on: December 23, 2015, 01:52:02 am »
Quote from: Coges on December 23, 2015, 01:23:55 am

It wasn't the admitting you are imperfect. You admitted you PRd around days of alcohol use. LBSS PRd or equal PRd the day after drinking. Hmmmm interesting.

This is a stupid conversation anyway. I don't endorse alcohol when you're chasing large goals. I just thought you came off a bit over the top

LOL.  Funny miscommunication.  I PRed in trips to vegas meaning I have never been to vegas as many times as this year.  I went to Vegas and partied far too much this year, probably because coming off of surgery and not being able to train with any intensity caused me to lose my motivation to keep myself healthy...   I realize it was especially stupid to give up on diet and such when I wasnt able to train because I was especially susceptible to gaining weight... to be sure I didnt hit any athletic PRs from alcohol use!  I hit only negative unproductive ones! 

Anyway sorry if I came off as over the top, I can get frustrated when I train high level clients and try to work on theit body composition and they obey my modifications but absolutely refuse to stop consuming large amounts of beer on the weekend... they act like its a sacred right and it annoys me to have a client who goes hard all week but then when I check in with them on Monday they have drunk all weekend and their progress stalls...

Bottom line I think we both agree.  Alcohol is a training negative.  Adding it to your training will not help and may hurt.  Lots of things are training negatives (like having children or taking care of your parents) but it doesnt mean we shouldnt do them because there is more to life than training!  So by all means if your friend is getting married - toast with him!  Drink when you feel its worth it but realize that to reach difficult goals there are going to be some nights you abstain, hard goals require some (not all) sacrifices!  Ill have a drink when I throw down a legit reverse double pump, 360 or windmill.  Promise. 

419
Progress Journals & Experimental Routines / Re: ADARQ's journal
« on: December 23, 2015, 12:48:44 am »
Quote from: adarqui on December 22, 2015, 11:59:37 pm
high jump shoes update:

SUPER FAIL. Absolutely no way to jump in those shoes... not sure how people would jump in those even on a proper track. The bottom isn't the problem. The shoes themselves are 'warped'. They are beyond stiff on the bottom, which is what I wanted... however, it's so thick in one spot that you don't walk properly; you either roll backward or forward. So, for this experiment, complete fail. Had I picked a shoe with a 'flat bottom', it might have been possible. These shoes are just really weird, never wore anything like them. Don't feel good at all.

(Nike Zoom HJ III)

Lol.  Yeah I probably should have warned you...

420
Progress Journals & Experimental Routines / Re: a fast and explosive donkey!
« on: December 23, 2015, 12:47:35 am »
DL bounds are not bad at all...  if anything your trying to be too quick off the ground!

SL jumps needs some work.  They are good for you.  While your jumping off one quad you can still load hips and glutes, learning this will help a lot!

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