bUt hEr vEiNs wOn’T sHoW AnYmOrE
Haha sorry @anna_5588, you know we’re all coming from a good place.
1 Like
TBH, I’m convinced my vascularity is genetic. I often have “ab veins” even when my abs don’t show 
1 Like
The heavier im training the hungrier I am, absolutely invariably. It’s a sign your body needs nutrients for recovery and you aren’t getting them.
2 Likes
No it has everything to do with a heavy deadlift workout, followed by cardio instead of food.
7 Likes
Well, again, what behaviour would be most self-serving with regards to reaching your strength goals and health goals? Continuing to exercise after your training session (I use these words specifically as opposed to “workout”) lies tantamount to your stated goals of strength and health.
Hell, it even lies tantamount to your leanness goal, as by not bringing cortisol down after your workout by feeding you’ll continue to have elevated cortisol levels.
Here are some undesirable consequences that follow,
Cortisol, testosterone and estrogen (among other hormones) are fabricated from the mother hormone “pregnenolone”. The more cortisol you need to produce, the less testosterone (or estrogen) you can produce due to a lack of “raw material”.
While acute (short term) cortisol increases can help you lose fat (by mobilizing stored energy) if cortisol levels are constantly elevated the conversion of the T4 (inactive thyroid hormone) to T3 (active thyroid hormone) is decreased. Meaning that if cortisol is constantly elevated, it can slow down metabolic rate making it harder to lose fat and build muscle.
Low levels of T3 are also associated with low energy, muscle weakness and an increase in muscle aches, among other things.
Cortisol also increases the production of the anti-diuretic hormone. This will increase water retention, making you look fatter than you really are.
Constantly elevated cortisol levels make it very hard to replenish muscle glycogen and build muscle. As such if your cortisol levels are always high you will have “flat” muscles, have a hard time recovering from workouts and building muscle will be a very slow and arduous process.
I understand and can relate. I don’t know how intense this feeling is for you and what the consequences are if you eat. I’m not sure it’ll work for you, but, one of the worst things I know in the gym is slow eccentric squats. It burns everywhere, I lose my rep count before even half the set is over and have others count it out, and lay down on the floor afterwards to muster the willpower to do the next set. When I don’t want to eat, I think about those sets, and that I can muster the willpower to put myself through that and then I look at my food and say to myself that I’m exercising my willpower again to get my body to do something I don’t feel like to attain a goal I want to achieve and let that override my feelings in the moment. Once the chewing starts, things tend to take care of themselves.
I also try to view going to the gym as a privilege. I get to exercise. I’m whole enough that I can do whatever I want in the gym. And I want to get the most out of that. I want to optimise, within reason, that all the choices that are within my control have a positive effect on my performance in the gym and my recovery thereafter. This is one of the reconditionings I’m using to get myself to change my dietary habits to serve me in the future, than me in the now. I hope you find a way forward too.
1 Like
Yeah, but does your masters degree fart in your missus face and laugh?
Thought not.
3 Likes
Thought I might modify the wording here slightly.
1 Like
No but why is that a bad thing
I just needed an example that didn’t sound like bragging. No-one wants to hear how awesome my kids are, I assume because it makes them jealous.
1 Like
Training hard puts you in a catabolic state (as in muscle breakdown), and even more so if you train fasted. Then not eating for hours after and going on a walk-a-thon on top of that, it would be better if you just stayed in bed. It’s like going straight to the casino on payday and you didn’t even cash your check yet.
That’s a very dumb thing to say.
1 Like
I thought about using the same exact word, with emphasis, but didn’t for some reason. Double-edged sword that word.
1 Like
I agree with you in spirit but hasn’t Anna proven that you (or at least she) can get stronger from training despite doing all of these things? I actually haven’t graphed her numbers but I recall there being a PR rather recently.
That’s not to say she wouldn’t have made an even bigger PR if she hadn’t done those things
Her own words:
And she failed all her 1rm attempts.
You can make progress while doing a lot of suboptimal stuff at first, but it won’t get you far. Plus if you do a ton of cardio and starve yourself on top of training like a powerlifter you are going to end up with health problems at some point.
4 Likes
Double-edged (s)word*
Touché my friend
I can do that myself!
2 Likes
Getting stronger and building new muscle are not the same thing. High frequency on a training pattern can increase your displayed strength with no underlying adaptation, improving muscle recruitment and skill in the movement. She will (or did) get stronger for a period, but without some underlying growth she will (or has) plateau.
5 Likes
I stand twice corrected!
You can get pretty far on neural adaptations, but you need a significant amount of muscle for it to count for anything. Otherwise the ceiling is going to be very low.
3 Likes
Exactly
1 Like