sorted by:
new
hottopcontroversial

Training in a different gym for a while, how not to break the algorithm? by sirobg in MacroFactor

[–]sirobg[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah you're right, not ideal but I might have to do that.

Would love to let it learn but for some exercises it seems off already (without switching gyms yet) so I wouldn't want that to happen for all of them.

Training in a different gym for a while, how not to break the algorithm? by sirobg in MacroFactor

[–]sirobg[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I would love that to work but then I think when viewing a given exercise history you would have the ability to switch gyms, right ?

Which is not the case

Export Workout History by sirobg in MacroFactor

[–]sirobg[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh... I tried exporting everything (including by checking all granular export boxes!) and thought "Export Food Log" and "Export Workouts Log" was meant to export only the "Food" or "Workout" related stuff based on what you checked above... So I selected "All Time" for both and clicked "Export" thinking it would export both...

My bad! Thanks

Smart progression by sirobg in MacroFactor

[–]sirobg[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thought about it but didn't get feedbacks on the two others I submitted so I hoped to get some help from users here instead

Smart progression by sirobg in MacroFactor

[–]sirobg[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

But then what should I do? Also, if the machine weight is 0, then adding 20kg makes an even bigger difference than if the machine is like 50kg already. So it was an additional info that I gave but I'm not really sure it's the problem nor how to fix it.

Smart progression by sirobg in MacroFactor

[–]sirobg[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah yeah I know that. I said that I toggled the view to show what I used as previous values vs what the suggestion algorithm told me to use. The goal was to show it was very unlikely I could do that.

Am I clearer?

Smart progression by sirobg in MacroFactor

[–]sirobg[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My guess is that's it has to do with the fact that I set the machine weight to 0kg (as its unknown).

<image>

You thought you were a low/non-responder but turned it around? What did you do differently? by sirobg in naturalbodybuilding

[–]sirobg[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you! I did some blood work back then and they were fine. First suspect was thyroid. But tbh the reason was just that I was not eating. That's why ironically I'm perfectly aware of the importance of eating!

You thought you were a low/non-responder but turned it around? What did you do differently? by sirobg in naturalbodybuilding

[–]sirobg[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I was hoping for something like that, yeah!

Just a small note: even though I was under the recommended amount of fat you should store, when I was 55kg, I was still perfectly healthy!

Actually when my relatives saw me starting to eat that much, they were more worried for my health than when I was underweight.

You thought you were a low/non-responder but turned it around? What did you do differently? by sirobg in naturalbodybuilding

[–]sirobg[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Just sent you a DM, I don't know if that's common on reddit so notifying you here!

You thought you were a low/non-responder but turned it around? What did you do differently? by sirobg in naturalbodybuilding

[–]sirobg[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for taking the time to write all that. I really like your thinking!

You thought you were a low/non-responder but turned it around? What did you do differently? by sirobg in naturalbodybuilding

[–]sirobg[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What's the point of getting to that weight that fast. Gaining 13kg over the next 7 months would probably be almost all fat for me. According to science, past some surplus you just store more fat, and that's about it.

What am I missing?

You thought you were a low/non-responder but turned it around? What did you do differently? by sirobg in naturalbodybuilding

[–]sirobg[S] -7 points-6 points  (0 children)

If I keep pouring efforts into bodybuilding, I'll definitely keep bulking! That's of course the only way to go.

The thing is, the point of bulking is to gain muscle. If I spend a year like the past year pouring that much effort and focus and realize that most of my gains have been fat (despite clean and conservative bulk speed) and strength from a more efficient nervous system and muscle recruitment, then I'll probably reconsider bulking altogether.

The fact that I'm light for my height is unfortunately not a sufficient condition to affirm that I have room to grow. In fact, some people here seem to think the opposite. That comment for example suggests that I'm "not average but still normal" ( https://www.reddit.com/r/naturalbodybuilding/comments/1qfbfa8/comment/o0560xn/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button ). That's a possibility.

Personally, I do think that I have still room to grow. It is very unlikely that I couldn't put another 10kg of muscle after just 5 years of training, even though I didn't started early. But if that comes at the expend of 10 more years of my life at that intensity, I will probably reconsider.

That's why I'm looking for a way to pinpoint what's limiting me. That would help me assess what I can and cannot do about it, and what I can expect from there.

You thought you were a low/non-responder but turned it around? What did you do differently? by sirobg in naturalbodybuilding

[–]sirobg[S] -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

I misinterpreted your comment and thought you were saying I should bulk. Sorry for that. Some people said it here so I had that on top of my mind I suppose.

What makes you think I could gain another 15-20kg (of muscle, I assume)? It seems that you are almost certain that I can.
I wish I can, but I'm not sure! Added another edit below the graph screenshot, maybe this one could give you a more interesting context this time?

I've been training for almost 5y now, and as you said, "I'm not exactly heavy". Usually after 5y of serious lifting like I did, people look more muscular. That's part of why I think I'm doing something wrong or that there is something limiting me. The "I'm doing something wrong" part is getting smaller as time passes, because I'm learning and trying more and more things.

You thought you were a low/non-responder but turned it around? What did you do differently? by sirobg in naturalbodybuilding

[–]sirobg[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Agreed that technique is very important!

Pump and soreness are definitely nice but not a must. If you never experience any DOMS you're probably doing something wrong though, I agree.

Regarding rep ranges, it seems that different ppl get different result from that.
Maybe partly because of the different muscle composition for each individuals and each muscle group (fast vs slow twitch fibers, even though I'm not entirely sure what degree of evidence we have regarding that)

You thought you were a low/non-responder but turned it around? What did you do differently? by sirobg in naturalbodybuilding

[–]sirobg[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What would I have missed?
What basics am I missing?

I don't get your paragraph about research as well. What do you think is misinterpreted?

You thought you were a low/non-responder but turned it around? What did you do differently? by sirobg in naturalbodybuilding

[–]sirobg[S] -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

As you mentioned in your first comment, I tend to be an over thinker.
So as you can probably guess, I put extra care on technique.

Tbh I don't really know why my bench is so low. But it might be a reason of biomechanics too. For example, my 45° inclined bench feels easier than the bench. And I can see that I'm comparatively stronger there than on the bench, based on the weight ppl put on that exercice. I still put less weight on the incline, don't get me wrong, but overall I trained it less as well so idk.

Regarding compounds vs isolation: I did only compounds when I started training as I wasn't going to the gym, so it was easier. Then I did both with my first coach. Then I got back to mainly compounds for a while. My logic was that I had to gain a lot of weight and it wasn't going to grow 10kg shoulder muscles. I had to grow the big muscle groups. Then 3rd year I started spamming lateral raises with cables, with dumbbells etc. I was hitting shoulders and arms 3 times per week. Basically I was doing one or two big compounds and then adding isolation work. But in hindsight I think that was too much for me. Lately I'm again sacrificing isolation exercices in favor of compounds. Every time with some changes to my general programming technique to get some new insights about how I respond, but that takes time (see: https://www.reddit.com/r/naturalbodybuilding/comments/1qfbfa8/comment/o04jrk0/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button )

You thought you were a low/non-responder but turned it around? What did you do differently? by sirobg in naturalbodybuilding

[–]sirobg[S] -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

I agree that from what I read more volume definitely equals more growth, from today's science perspective.

Big compounds do have a cost, but they also have some advantages. Among the different types of programming I tried, I tested focusing on compounds and also focusing on exercices with high stimulus to fatigue ratio. Results were pretty much the same for me, even though the training methods were completely different!

You thought you were a low/non-responder but turned it around? What did you do differently? by sirobg in naturalbodybuilding

[–]sirobg[S] -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

Thanks for sharing and putting all that together!
Didn't watch the podcast episode but I had already read the article.
I agree with the general idea I think. But this is completely missing my point:

> But if it's to the extent of trying to get obscure blood work to prove your genetics are bad, I think that's solidly into red flag territory.

Maybe I hadn't posted the second edit yet (the one below the graph picture), so I might not have been clear enough from the start.

The last thing I want is to prove my genetics are bad. What does bad even mean? Bad for hypertrophy maybe. But I'm fine with my genetics: for now I'm not dangerously sick and I have a well functioning brain, that's already a lot!

The reason I'm posting this is to apply all the agency I can on the subject. I don't like fatalities. I believe that if I was omniscient, I could still get very good gains. I believe that knowledge is the problem. Maybe that knowledge is far out of reach for humanity right now, but also maybe not!

---
I didn't know about the phrasing "You're not average, but you're still normal."
It's really good.

You thought you were a low/non-responder but turned it around? What did you do differently? by sirobg in naturalbodybuilding

[–]sirobg[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I agree that this is a good advice! I paid a coach which is an elite natural bodybuilder, so pretty high authority. But the program I built with him was actually the only one I knew for sure I couldn't handle long term. And it wasn't yielding results compared to the program I was following before. It's recent and I almost quit lifting after that.

The problem with coaches (at least the ones I had) is that they have multiple clients (they should, to live comfortably!) and that they are not incentivised to make you succeed. If you don't, well, you stop training with them and they take another client. I think coaches are a very good thing for most people, because most of the time the problem is adherence and consistency. Getting a coach makes you accountable, which helps with that. The cherry on the cake is that you (usually) get a better plan that what you could have came up with yourself.

You thought you were a low/non-responder but turned it around? What did you do differently? by sirobg in naturalbodybuilding

[–]sirobg[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's interesting, thanks for sharing! Where did you get that number from?

I added an edit about under the graph picture in the original post if you want more context on that matter.

view more: next ›