Absolutely this. As a parent, I know exactly where they are coming from. As an adult, this is a prime time for you to learn the skill of politely agreeing with people and then doing what you want to do anyway.
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Hey man Iāve heard for 10 years from my family that Iām killing myself and destroying my body with what I do in the gym. Best bet is to arm yourself with facts (well-researched) and always be respectful. They come from a place of caring and are trying to protect you. Simoās and Pwnās posts are gold.
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Hey guys. Iāll post the rest of the week 5 sessions soon. Iāve been pretty busy this entire week. Yesterday I went to a scholarship luncheon. Me and a really good friend of mine were the two recipients of the scholarship. Well besides that, this morning I decided to take some progress photos of just my torso.
My thoughts:
Honestly I think I can look better than this. I kinda hate the way I look. I despise my chestā¦ still have pubertal gyno and probably some chest fat. I also hate my love handles. I canāt tell if I have a lack of muscle mass or I have too much bodyfat. Lol maybe even both lmao. No, I am not knocking deep water whatsoever. I just kinda hate myself for my eating habits before deepwater.
Well anyway Iāll obviously be running the intermediate one during college. So I should look better than I do.
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Congrats man, thatās awesome!
Keep on pushing the weights and food dude, do the program justice.
I think everyone that posts here has a bit of body dysmorphia. Youāre looking good man, and strong.
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Congrats, man. Nice to read about your success outside the weight room too.
And yes, what @boilerman says.
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Congrats on the scholarship dude. Thatās huge. Working for your future is big. Start saving now too. You can learn a lot from lifting, and one of those lessons is that just a little bit every day pays off huge after a long enough time. Iāve been lifting for 21 years. I spent a LOT of time spinning my wheels, regressing, making mistakes, etc etc, but just by putting in that work Iāve achieved a lot, and Iām at the point now where it will take a LOT to UNDO all the work Iāve done. Wealth can be the same way: you get enough of it and suddenly itās hard to get wiped out. And in the same regard, just a LITTLE bit of savings every month will add up over time.
Itās good you recognize that itās eating HABITS that get us where we are. A 6 month diet wonāt mean anything if itās followed by a 2 year binge. Itās about establishing patterns that are healthy and sustainable. Iām honestly at the point where ācheatingā on my diet is tough: I just plain donāt want bad food any more. Itās not a sacrifice or martyrdom: it doesnāt appeal to me.
Thereās a solid chance your body will respond well to a low carb approach based on what youāve posted. And hell, if nothing else, itās worth trying SOMETHING different. Aim for those quality nutrition sources.
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I think my body will respond well. I think carbs make me fatter. I guess I should just keep eating clean/anti carb, stick with deepwater, and do my conditioning. I should look better right?
Hey Pwn, uhh did u add more conditioning when u did the intermediate version. I couldāve sworn u had like a whole write up or something.
This approach has historically proven very effective in transforming physiques. The āsecretā is time and patience.
The first time I did intermediate, I did it as written. This is the write up I did recently on my second round on it
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Lol my bench is stinky poopoo
Decided to test bench today because Iām gonna cancel my membership because I go back to college next week. Might as well since I have spotters around me.
Got 225 for 1 and 1/2
Yikes and wtf
Thatās like 1.5 reps weaker than what I got in fall 2020(last time I benched). Well I mean I didnāt bench in a long time so I guess it isnāt just gonna get magically stronger.
Iām pretty sure u can tell by the paragraphs Iām pretty disappointed.
Note to self (Gotta keep this in mind. Deepwater worked. Deepwater worked. Youāre just weak. I mean it kinda makes sense since u did 3 x 10 with 155 so I guess it kinda adds up. What u wanted was 225 for reps and if u were able to do 185 3 x 10 then it would be realistic)
Dude, how do you have this much negativity after reading Jonās stuff?
You gotta fix this.
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I had high expectations and I guess they werenāt realistic.
So what are you going to do nowā¦
Thatās a completely different narrative. You can have unrealistic expectations without calling yourself weak or denigrating your bench press.
Youāre running a program built to improve your size. Expecting your 1rm strength to show an immediate improvement is, indeed, unrealistic. Strength athletes donāt get bigger when theyāre peaking: they get bigger in the off season. This is the off season. This is also when athletes get STRONGER. Peaking is not getting stronger: itās realizing strength potential.
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So I should expect size and not necessarily strength
But since Iām making my muscles bigger that allows for more potential to get stronger?
Expect size and strength.
Donāt equate 1rms with strength. I can improve my 1rm without getting stronger.
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When youāre no longer a beginner (which youāre not) you have to start prioritizing your training. When you focus on one thing, others will decline a bit. Work to develop the maturity to be ok with this, as well as the confidence in your ability to quickly regain whatever skills decline.
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Hey Pwn whatās peaking?
I think Iām starting to understand what youāre saying.
Iām imagining two guys lifting behind a brick wall. There are two separate walls. One of keeps on lifting and then suddenly the other one stops and wallops the wall and it shatters in pieces. There are other walls behind those ones. The one whoās been lifting longer lifts for days and days and finally he stops. Then he wallops 20 walls. The one that broke one wall keeps trying to the punch the 2nd wall in frustration and stops lifting.
Is this what youāre trying to explain to me?
The way I worded it sounds stupid but yeah.
Peaking is a process where a lifter increases the intensity (percentage of their 1rm) they are lifting and, in turn, reduces the volume. The goal of peaking is to improve oneās ability at handling loads close to the 1rm, because thatās a specific skillet. This is something you see powerlifters do. Dave Tate goes over this very well here
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Thank you Pwn. I honestly never knew this. It gives me a more positive outlook. So I should expect size and strength from deepwater. If I really want to see how much my one rm is then I would have to do a peaking program because I would have to get used to lifting heavy. I will get stronger from this training but I canāt really gauge my strength potential.
Is that what I should take away from this lesson?
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It would be presumptuous of me to ever say what you should/should not do. When in doubt, I think LESS. Often, our lizardbrain is smarter than our mammalbrain.
In nature, we know that big is strong. Itās why, when faced with a predator, and animal tries to make itself look bigger. Itās why bears are scary as f**k.
Making muscles bigger is how we make them stronger. Itās why we have weight classes in sports: because all things being equal, a bigger athlete is a stronger athlete.
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