Wobbly Lifter

I had the same experience with squatting heavy 3 times a week. It lessened as I got stronger and never became a problem. Stretch more and get stronger. take a day or two off if it gets really bad. But as long as it's soreness and not acute pain you should be find. Honestly I had a very small amount of acute pain in the hip flexor during the hardest part of the squat at times, but I just ignored it and was fine. not sure if that is good advice or not, but it never felt like the pain in the hip flexor was a risk or injury to me. My philosophy is if it hurts or is uncomfortable that's ok, but if you feel like there is a risk or harming yourself then back off. being uncomfortable is a normal and healthy part of life, injuries are not.

2 liters of juice sounds like a lot, but it's only half a cup every waking hour, which is pretty much unnoticable when spaced out that way. anyways good luck.

Sorry to have sounded like an asshole, but with 8 meals I'd assume the portions would be pretty small. Are you measuring what you eat and actually figuring out the calories. I know I used to very much overestimate how much I ate, until I really looked at it. With a bad ankle I don't really know how to help with leg workouts, which are a key driver of weight gain. I guess just keep everything as heavy as you can manage. Other advice is get the easy calories where and when you can. I may get flak for this, but don't worry about health after a point. When I last had a successful bulk(15 pounds in 3 months) I made sure I had a normal amount of healthy food(like 2000 calories), but after that it was whatever. A 270 gram bag of chips(9 oz) and a container of store bought hummus is 1800 calories about, and can be easily finished off watching Colbert before bed. Don't drink water, drink juice it still hydrates you(albeit slightly less) but 2 liters of apple juice, for example, is almost 1000 calories. add lots of oil to what you cook, it makes food more palatable, in general, and can add lots of calories(1 tablespoon is 120 calories). Add oil to shakes. Add peanut butter to shakes. etc. Even just an extra tablespoon of oil at each meal, and juice over water, would mean an increase of almost 2000 calories a day.

Dude, you are eating what seems like a small amount. Increase the amount of food and the calorie density of what you consume. xjohanx has given lots of great tips. also like Adena said lift heavier weights on deadlifts and squats. honestly 100 pound deadlift isn't going to do much for any but the very beginner. I'm sure you can do far more. One last thing, that worker really well for me, was to keep track of calories. in is a lot of work which can be a major downside, but if you have the engery it's a surefire way to control your weight.

The back is looking a bit thicker there. The deadlifts are working!

Good work setting a PR. Don't be surprised if it keeps shooting up. Back when I was doing a strong lifts style program I added 70kg to my deadlift in just under a year. Keep up the good work.

Also a video taken form the side would help us tell if there were any form issues to sort out.

Better then sex... But to answer your question for real. It sounds like things are fine. The lower back is worked by the deadlift as well as the hamstrings and glutes. As long as you aren't feeling it only in your lower back, and your form is good, there should be nothing to worry about. Your going to feel things most in the weakest muscle. Given your history as a marathoner it's no surprise your glutes and hamstrings are quite strong compared to your lower back.

Over 7 years now as a vegan. Was never a vegetarian before.

haha. I love the anti-hipster stuff. where's that coming from? I thought we were talking about smoking...

Wow... using the force and violence of the state to stop the smoking of a plant. that's not a little much I value freedom above health. I mean what good is being healthy if you can't choose your own life?

Great work

Wait, how does smoking(or other drug use) in your home or outside harm others? No one else has to inhale or ingest your drugs if you are respectful about use. And how would you make it "no longer an option" without "dire consequences"? Hell their are already potentially dire consequences for using most drugs(like jail), why not add another drug....

Nobody is saying smoking is good. We are saying freedom of choice is better then being a purist control freak. Some people enjoy smoking despite it's possible health consequences. Nobody can make the choice of weather that is worthwhile except the person doing it. Many of the sports here may be bad for long term health, and many people die doing sports. Rarely but regularly. All choices have risks and rewards, it's up to each of us to balance that for our selves. It's not up to Ryofire.

I'm sorry but I got to disagree with you on this chewybars. Deadlifts are a great leg exercise, hitting the glutes and hamstrings harder then squatting would, while squatting is more quad dominant. I'd suggest doing them on different days for best effect, but you can do them during the same work out and still get great results. Lunges also focus more on the hamstring then a squat does, I believe, so deadlifts should be a good replacement. I'd say deadlifts are even better overall. Good Luck!

Medman I'm not suggesting one avoid cardio, but he asked which was better for his goals, and I think getting adequate sleep is far more likely to improve muscle retention and fat loss then extra cardio, assuming an already active lifestyle. Weightlifting is of course far better for both then cardio and still has some or most of the benefits to the heart and lungs depending on the intensity. Anyways I'm not against cardio, I walk for hours a day at work, up to 20km some days.

looking good. But you shoulders are rotated in. Do some pec stretches and bent over rows, plus lay off the bench press for awhile

Sprinting Towards Single Digit Body Fat is what you need. But at your size there is no reason to 'cut.'

Are you tired? It sounds like you're getting enough sleep for most people. Hell I consider 6 and a half a damn good sleep. If you're tired, and can sleep the extra hour do it. If you're not tired, or are tired but can't sleep more, try the cardio. In general cardio isn't great for either of your goals, sleep is good for both. Lifting weights, or other anaerobic work would be better. Try multiple sets of sprints if you hate weights.

That is a smith machine. It is not the same. I'd would discourage it's use in any circumstance.

Well it's pretty simple to me. Humans are both physically and intellectually capable of choosing a vegan diet. If you have a pet that is physically capable of living as a healthy herbivore, great, feed it just plants. However if you have an obligate carnivore then feeding it only plants is simply abuse, and one is left with the difficult choice of euthanizing the pet, letting it go(which is usually a death sentence for domestic animals, especially in Edmonton where I live), feeding it other animals or slowly starving it by not feeding it animals. Now I'd ask anyone not to buy or otherwise purposely acquire an obligate carnivore as a pet, and the number of vegans who buy cats annoys me, but it's not always that simple, many carnivores exist that are bought or breed by irresponsible or abusive people. Should an animal rescue(many run by vegans) simply turn away carnivores, kill them, release them, abuse them or care for them? Personally I don't have pets and I'm not interested in getting any but I wouldn't be getting a carnivore if I did.

I think the issue is we have very different values. I place personal agency and choice have above health in my concerns in this world. I think we need to let people do what they want to themselves. Some people enjoy smoking for stress relief, to relax, or a buzz, or even just the sensation and taste. We have to respect people to balance competing desires such as health, enjoyment, success, etc - and not place our own values over theirs. Just becuase is unhealthy unhealthy doesn't mean it's un-vegan? Is being obese un-vegan. Is playing football un-vegan(pro football players have very short lifespans due to head injuries)? etc? Or course trying to find a good company to buy tobacco found can be difficult, but this is really no different then another product. also buying non-related products will support tobacco companies due to inter-investing. Phillip Morris owns kraft. so if you every buy kraft products you are supporting one of the worst tobacco companies in terms of public deception, animal testing, adding toxic additives, etc. But this goes for any number of products, and likewise many people own Phillip Morris and those people also own parts of many other companies. Buying anything could very well be supporting the same people that get rich from unethical tobacco companies. That's the nature of global capitalism. I see your issues with how tobacco companies act. But there isn't anything un-vegan about growing a plant in your back yard and smoking it. Buying tobacco is about as vegan as buying most other things, you'll probably need to look to find something not tested on animals but it can be done. What's un-vegan is the capitalist system, not smoking a plant. To respond to your question I would not use those poisons as I prefer to remain alive at this time. However I have felt suicidal in the past and if I do again, well thanks for the link ps. I am a non smoker. maybe have a bit sheesha every couple years, but no tobacco beyond that.

To me veganism is nothing about health or keeping "garbage" out of my body. It's about not commodifying, oppressing, and exploiting animals. Yes, tobacco companies have engaged in unethical behavior, much like many other companies. Hell capitalism has turned corn producers into an dietary evil empire, damaging our health in many ways, but corn isn't wrong. People are going to use a plants a wide variety of reasons - nice to look at, eat, in religious ceremonies, as medicine, to get high, maybe even smoke. saying that smoking a plant is un-vegan or hypocritical is just silly. are you going to bust into sheesha lounges and yell at people for having a relaxing time. maybe shut down a Cree Sacred Pipe ceremony As long as the tobacco isn't tested on animals it's as vegan as rice and beans.

As long as the tobacco is not tested on animals there is nothing hypocritical about it. Most major brands do use animal tests but I'm told it's pretty easy to find tobacco that isn't. It's unhealthy and may be a bad idea but nothing un-vegan about it. I think one tension is those coming at it solely from a moral position, or animal rights position, such as myself, don't see the same problem with smoking, as people who's veganism is also informed from a health perspective.

135-140 would be a good place to stop. if you're anything like me it should only take 2-3 weeks to cut.