Going from Skinny to Defined/Muscly - Need Nutrition and Exercise Advice :)

[slothpomba]

The amount of protein you need is probably less than you think (certainly less than the package recommends as well). When i had a look awhile back, there was conflicting evidence whether large extra doses of protein, particularly in young people who eat a standard healthy diet, were any more beneficial than eating a few eggs or a steak. Your body is actually rather good at doing so much with so little. We don't have photographs or anything but i can assure you stretching back through human history people got ripped just fine without a protein shake (not to say that you shouldn't use it either). I honestly think everyone should stick to the old adage, all good things in moderation. Even things we think good for us are harmful if we take it far enough, a few weeks ago they reported large doses of Vitamin E speed up the growth of cancer for instance.

If you tend to eat less protein or are less able to absorb it for whatever reason (vegetarian, vegan, poor diet (this should be fixed though), some other absorption problem, etc) then the evidence is a bit more clear cut.

Also when you're buying protein, don't just look at the dry weight, not all of that is protein, particularly if it isn't the more expensive concentrated stuff. Bulk nutrients WPI has 91.6g of protein per 100g of product. You'd think it'd be an obvious thing but you'd be surprised how often people neglect to do the basic math like this when they buy stuff.

[swagsxcboi]

Why do you dread leg day? What about it?

pretty much everything about my leg workout; from squats to leg curls/extensions

not a massive fan of squatting in general and I tend to make excuses to try and justify not doing legs lol
Like today I did arms instead because my lower back and traps were too sore (pathetic I know)

really need to break this habit.
have you had a similar issue and had a breakthrough?
I know i'm not the only one that dreads leg day but that doesn't make it any better.

[brenden]

Yeah actually... Interestingly though, I've never been the type to 'dread leg day'. I thrive on the pain. A while ago, I encountered a front squat and tried to do one and couldn't because of a lack of flexibility. My #1 rule is, if you can't do a movement, you better be able to do the movement really soon (I train predominantly for functionality), and yeah when I started front squatting it was just... brutal. I didn't go to gym for three days because I was just so fatigued, so I started to squat less and, quite "conveniently" decided maybe my other muscle groups needed more work . But then I saw a YouTube video whose premise was basically "do what you're afraid of, don't let anything beat you", and I realised what I'd been doing and hated myself for it a little bit. It's like, you get conditioned into disliking squats because the consequences (total nervous system fatigue, muscle fatigue) are horrible. So yeah I got really mad and started stronglifts, which tells you to squat three times a week at the start of every session, and that's exactly what I did until my 5x5 FS was at 60kg. And yeah now I'm not doing stronglifts 'cause I stopped going to gym for like six weeks *cry*, and now that I'm starting back up and I've broken the 'fear' I'll just squat once or twice a week.
So, yeah, I've had a similar experience and a 'breakthrough' but the breakthrough is basically realising the habit and not letting it control you.

What I meant by "What about it" is like... what is it that's making you not a big fan? Is it the pain? The fatigue? The DOMS?

[swagsxcboi]

ahh functionality haha my PE teachers are constantly condemning me for focusing on mostly on hypertrophy (and lack of cardio)

 "do what you're afraid of, don't let anything beat you" - that's good! I'll use that 

yeah exactly right about the consequences,
deadlifts, bench, OHP, basically everything else feels so good, but going down and coming up on squats is so taxing and IMO it's a bad sort of pain   total nervous system fatigue is a major factor (by the end of my set I can barely see properly lol)
don't get me wrong, I LOVE the DOMS and I guess I like the pain to a certain extent. squats just scare me a little since I'd look like a clown if I dropped the weight, if I can't complete my set. no other exercise compares, I could just drop the weight.

I squatted on Monday, but was still sore on Thursday so I deadlifted/did back then, promising myself to do legs on Friday.. anndddd I ditched it because I made excuses. (almost as bad as my study habits    )

wow six weeks? well at least you'll be extremely sore after getting back into it, since you love pain that should be a bonus 

[brenden]

Indeed, I made sure my proper session back (today) was legs, and I could barely walk home. Wonderful.
I really think you should drop the weight and perhaps reexamine your form. Not being able to see is really kinda extreme. Don't worry about lifting lighter weights. The way I see it there's two options:

Potentially have people think you're a dickhead for lifting lighter weights.
OR
Being a dickhead for not lifting lighter weights.



But yeah I think you should just take it a bit easier so that you can do it more consistently.

[swagsxcboi]

Indeed, I made sure my proper session back (today) was legs, and I could barely walk home. Wonderful.
I really think you should drop the weight and perhaps reexamine your form. Not being able to see is really kinda extreme. Don't worry about lifting lighter weights. The way I see it there's two options:

Potentially have people think you're a dickhead for lifting lighter weights.
OR
Being a dickhead for not lifting lighter weights.



But yeah I think you should just take it a bit easier so that you can do it more consistently.

not being able to see is okay, I know people who throw up! LOL but yes I agree, that's a better idea, i'd be able to recover quicker too.
I love not being able to walk, especially up/down stairs! best

how low do you go? ass to grass or parallel or in between? I was doing ATG at 80kg but at 90kg even parallel was a struggle by the last few reps.

no one in my gym will judge me on lifting light weights (I go to my school gym and being a year 12 has it's perks )
but they will give me shit if I drop the bar on a squat so the latter of your two options is ideal.

all this talk has made me keen for squats!!

[hobbitle]

Ah, front squats. I used to own them back in the Crossfit days.  Girls are known to be better at them than guys (more flexibility), at least at first.

[brenden]

Ah, front squats. I used to own them back in the Crossfit days.  Girls are known to be better at them than guys (more flexibility), at least at first.

Yeah, and guys are probably more likely to have a fucked up structure that a FS will punish.

not being able to see is okay, I know people who throw up! LOL but yes I agree, that's a better idea, i'd be able to recover quicker too.
I love not being able to walk, especially up/down stairs! best

how low do you go? ass to grass or parallel or in between? I was doing ATG at 80kg but at 90kg even parallel was a struggle by the last few reps.

no one in my gym will judge me on lifting light weights (I go to my school gym and being a year 12 has it's perks )
but they will give me shit if I drop the bar on a squat so the latter of your two options is ideal.

all this talk has made me keen for squats!!

Throw up? Geez, tell them to take in some more oxygen lol. Always ATG though.
Woo! GOOD! Now keep the excitement

[swagsxcboi]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BrNLVng8r3k