Posts by solid555

The first step is to use paragraphs and capitalization!

The second step is to get yourself on a healthy diet. You are starving yourself. This is not healthy. Is it worth it to ruin your health to lose some weight? Would you be happy if you starve your organs and lose muscle, but retain the fat?

Figure out how many calories you should eat to maintain your weight. Then eat that for a month. Eat whole foods with plenty of carbs, protein, and fats. After a month you will feel better and be healthier. Then you can get yourself started on a sensible fat loss and exercise program.

Original Post by heathersmether:

You say Mark Rippetoe's name like I should know who that is.  Should I? And I've never heard of high bar and low-bar squats.  I do the "I wish I had a back muscle to set this bar on because it really hurts my protruding spine bones" squat. 

 

So does the ass actually have to touch the ground?  I'm pretty flexible and can easily squat all the way down without rounding my lower back (without weights, maybe it will be different with a heavy bar), but my rear just doesn't touch it. 

Mark Rippetoe is a well known strength trainer that specializes in training beginners. The high-bar and low-bar squats refer to where the bar is on your back. High-bar is often referred to as an "Olympic squat", and low-bar is often called a "Powerlifting squat". As the bar position changes, so does your back angle. Your torso is more vertical for a high-bar squat than for a low-bar squat. Your ass does not touch the ground on a high-bar squat.

If the bar is hurting your spine, you are probably not holding the bar properly. You should pull your shoulders back and pull your upper back muscles together to create a flat wall of muscle. The bar will rest against your upper back and rear deltoid muscles. A lower bar position might help.

Original Post by heathersmether:

I just googled ATG squats; should I be doing those?

It is a fine lift, but not necessary. They require a high-bar position and are sort of between a low-bar back squat and a front squat. Many people do not have the flexibility to do them, I don't. The most important thing at the bottom of the squat is that you do not round your lower back. If you are able to go ATG with a flat lower back, then you might want to add them to your routine. Note that Mark Rippetoe is not a big fan of the high-bar squat, particularly for beginners.

He may have been hitting on you, or he may have liked the squats, or both. But guys that really like to lift do notice good lifting. There is a girl in my gym that probably weighs about 120, and she squats 175 ATG with perfect form. It is fantastic!

All decent weightlifting programs have a period they call deload, where you take some time off. A beginner can often go for a long time without rest, but as you get stronger you will need a little time off. It ought to be a planned event. You can either not lift at all, or lift very light weights. On my current program I lift for 6 weeks, and then take one week without lifting.

Original Post by noelkara:

Look, logic isn't your strong point, we get it.  There are a number of things you *could* have said in response, and that was probably the most daft. 

I guess you didn't get my point. Saying that a woman with 19% body fat and a BMI of 20.2 is at a healthy weight is not controversial. Do I need to be a "medical professional" or cite a bunch of scientific studies to make a statement that is just common sense?

19% is borderline healthy? That's nonsense. A lot of very healthy women are lower than 19%. Most athletes are under 19%, and many are under 15%. 19% is not unhealthy, particularly since she is at a healthy BMI.

How do you measure your body fat? If you are not really 19%, then you probably have less muscle than you think and you ought to keep lifting and trying to drop fat.

But if you really are 19%, then I am not sure your goal of dropping more fat is a good idea. 19% is pretty good for a woman, and as you drop more body fat your muscles will actually become more pronounced and appear larger.

You ought to be able to lift more weight with a barbell than with a dumbbell. This is one of the main advantages. I do almost all my lifting with a barbell, but I think it is good to do both.

1000 calories of lean meat is not the same as a 1000 calorie Whopper in terms of nutrition. However, in terms of whether or not you will gain weight, they are basically the same. But nutrition is important. I don't think you want to meet your calorie goals by introducing a bunch of junk into your diet. There are lots of calorie dense nutritious foods, so go that route. Nuts and oils contain fats which have a lot of calories. Also complex carbs like whole grain bread, yams, potatoes, corn, beans, rice, etc. 

Everyone is different in terms of the amount of calories they need. I am also 5'9", but I weigh 183 pounds and have 146 pounds of lean mass. Despite being heavier than you, I only need 2500 calories/day to maintain my weight. This is because I am 20 years older and do a lot less cardio.