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Kettlebell Simple goal reached, strong but still fat :/

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Smile-n-Nod said:
I used to know a guy who was an avid bicycle rider, logging perhaps 30 to 100 miles a week. While most of the men he rode with had physiques like Lance Armstrong, he himself looked more like the store owner from Toy Story 2. Same workouts, but different DNA.
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Interesting, it reminds me of a great video online by some Youtube guys who run a channel dedicated to fitness, they talked about guys who were just getting absolutely shredded in prison, and they they said in no uncertain terms it was genetics that played the largest factor, considering everyone had access to those weights and everyone was fed the same salty, starchy diet.
 
I've got lean using a variety of diets and a variety of exercise modalities - all work if they lead to a calorie deficit and enough stimulus to hold onto muscle whilst in that deficit.

The best diet/exercise is one that allows you to maintain the above for a long period of time and you can be consistent with.

In terms of exercise all energy system challenging exercises whether the focus is alactic, glycolytic pr aerobic have pros and cons and personally I like a smidgen of each so im active as much as possible throughout the day/week. Dont forget non exercise movement as well - just keep busy.

Personally with people who dont want to follow a rigid diet I like to get them to focus on proactive eating habits - rather than cutting things out focus on positive habits which naturally curb higher calorie consumption - for example

* consume X amount of water per day before your allowed any calorie containing drinks - still allowed it but high possibility you wont consume it regularly if the volume of water is challenging (likely to curb snacking too)
* consume X amount of green veg per day - same as above
*aim to consume one/two new fruits per day you havent tried before

Also reward yourself for consistency of habit - its the long term pay off which counts.
 
LejonBrames said:
Interesting, it reminds me of a great video online by some Youtube guys who run a channel dedicated to fitness, they talked about guys who were just getting absolutely shredded in prison, and they they said in no uncertain terms it was genetics that played the largest factor, considering everyone had access to those weights and everyone was fed the same salty, starchy diet.
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@Smile-n-Nod , there was no reference to the bicyclists diet or other lifestyle habits compared to that of his fellow riders---a huge factor in body comp

@LejonBrames , there is no reference to the methods and dedication that the shredded crowd used as opposed to the non-shredded crowd---yet again a huge factor in body comp.

It surprises my how often people on a forums dedicated to fitness and health (and often body comp as well) decide that "it's mostly genetics" and still participate.
 
For myself there is a simple method I use, aside from just plain watching my portion sizes.

When I want to gain weight I go to bed full, when I want to lose weight I go to bed hungry. It won't work like magic, but is a simple formula - no snacks after dinner, or have some protein after dinner.

I don't buy a lot of the genetics explanation. At the high end of any sport, yes, or in terms of overall body proportions such as a dancer. For the rest of us, most anyone can be shredded, or bulk, etc etc. Follow the lead of folks who have done it, and stay with it.
 
I intermittently fast overnight. Starving yourself all day is not a diet. You have to eat. That is how we are designed.

Walking upon waking in the morning on black coffee, in a fasted state, always helped me cut fat without losing too much strength. Cutting unneeded flour and sugar, eating meat with veggies and cutting out brown rice and potato is as close as I get to a diet. I am overweight and I don't really care, I am enjoying lifting and food.
 
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Epigenetics takes DNA away as an excuse....thousands of genetic components switch on and off, or are expressed differently with different triggers. Everyone has to figure out how to do the best they can to achieve whatever they want.
 
kodo kb said:
@Smile-n-Nod , there was no reference to the bicyclists diet or other lifestyle habits compared to that of his fellow riders---a huge factor in body comp

@LejonBrames , there is no reference to the methods and dedication that the shredded crowd used as opposed to the non-shredded crowd---yet again a huge factor in body comp.

It surprises my how often people on a forums dedicated to fitness and health (and often body comp as well) decide that "it's mostly genetics" and still participate.
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Sure, I'm not saying it was ALL genetics, but they were just talking about why some people make really crazy gains and others don't, even if they attempt the same methodology.
 
LejonBrames said:
why some people make really crazy gains and others don't, even if they attempt the same methodology.
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Technique. I was just telling a trainee this yesterday; she does group physical training in her military unit and we were talking about this -- Why do some people get results from it and some don't, when everyone's doing the same thing? I said it's the things you may not see --- everyone's doing flutter kicks, but who is actually contracting the abs and moving the legs with purpose, vs. lazily flopping the legs with the hip flexors? Everyone's doing bodyweight squats, but who is going down farther, using body resistance, fully extending the hips at the top vs. just mindlessly pogo-ing the body up and down? Planks, push-ups, and running... same things. Technique accounts for squeezing multitudes more effectiveness out of what you're doing. That's one reason that I keep going back for more StrongFirst classes/certs. I have no doubt it has turbocharged the results I see from the reps and sets that I do.

P.S. This thread has a great title... :)
 
kodo kb said:
It surprises my how often people on a forums dedicated to fitness and health (and often body comp as well) decide that "it's mostly genetics" and still participate.
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Genetics plays a huge role AND I'm a big advocate of maximizing whatever you've got. I don't see them as contradictory. One of my brothers plays hockey. He is VERY athletic and pretty strong. On and off on simple goal when he trains it. Cranks out weighted pullups. All sorts of stuff. Another one of my brothers plays computer games all day. He doesn't exercise. I mean, a few minutes of basketball has him winded. He's never touched a barbell. BUT, he is lean and shredded. He sits at his computer 14 hours a day eating hawaiian bread and cheezits with his knees pulled up under his chin. One day he came up stairs and saw my other brother and I training with kettlebells doing bottom up presses. He picked up a 24kg and easily bottom up pressed it. It was his first time doing any kind of overhead press. He's 27. I'm not going to suggest his lifestyle and activity to someone who wants to work on a 1/3 body weight bottom up press. He is stronger than me and the hockey playing brother, and we both train every week.
Naturally, people at the extremes are the "exceptions" and 80% of people are going to be in that area where their results mostly depend on what they put in, but I don't like when a naturally strong or naturally athletic trainer thinks their abilities are proof that their method works for anyone. "If I can do it, so can you." That's too bold of a claim. How do you know? That's why its so important to have tried and tested methods like StrongFirst, because any naturally gifted person can advertise a method that "worked for them," but its the depth of experience, research, and refinement of mature programs like StrongFirsts, or other famous powerlifting templates, that speak for themselves.
 
@jca17 , I don't deny that there are some genetic freaks (in the kindest sense of the phrase) like your 27-year-old brother, but those people are quite exceptional. What I am speaking against is the idea that genetics predetermine that some of us cannot use tried-and-true systems/methodologies to get the fitness and body-comp we desire. That perspective is laziness in thinking that justifies laziness in action (i.e. inaction).

(Qualifying caveat and nod to medical conditions that interfere with the ability to follow such regimens and/or interfere with the normal adaptions that the healthy achieve with dedication to good systems/methodologies.)
 
Modern genetics and epigenetics doesn't teach everyone's identical, but that genes are not fatalistic or predeterminative, but that everyone has a range of possibilities. Sometimes people like the gifted brother may be one thing at 27, but quite another at 37 or 47...live long enough and you see many of those cases. I hope he gets better and better! Good programs, good nutrition, good sleep, etc. all seem to play some role. Re: the subject of the thread, buildup of bodyfat, especially around the waist, doesn't seem optimal for long-term health for most.

And, sometimes when people say somebody (especially a movie star) made incredible mass gains really quickly they say "You can't do that because you're not as genetically gifted!" when they mean "No, we're not going to admit to anything illegal and we won't tell you what the secret stack is."
 
Hey

What really works (for me) is doing a boring amount of swings daily for a period of time. Say, 300 a day for 2 weeks. Made me lose about 4kg bf last year and really made the abs visible.

One nice thing about intermittent fasting is that it reduces the feel of hunger. Unsure how to describe what i mean. But intermittent fasting is very do-able. You feel 'less' hungry when you got used to it. And you reach satiety much earlier when having a normal meal.

I recently discovered that eating more vegetables for dinner reduces the craving for snacks aswell later in the evening. For me at least.

Hope you find this helpful. Gratz on the simple goal
 
Genetics are an interesting discussion. Personally I always like to discount it for two reasons

A) you can't do anything about it
B) if you think of limits it becomes self imposed and will slow down your progress regardless of your genetics

One thing I do also think is what some attribute to genetics is actually history/developmental issues. Quite often what is done with someone when they are young lays foundations for later on. However many people can get to those levels it just takes longer and might take some added foundation work to put them in a similar position to reap the rewards of a given program.

Think about the above and the number of things which go into fitness and it might not be genetics at all but rather the thousands of different developments each person has undertaken over their life which forms their current self - clearly you can see im in the nurture camp :)
 
Genetics to me are a bit of a cop-out... certainly they limit the absolute possible outcome, but that is a far cry from what most people achieve anyway. To get to your genetic potential requires enormous amounts of dedication and focus (and trial and error to find out what you're good or bad at in the first place)

Somewhere on the forum here someone said that what we do is try to be the best possible version of ourselves (it's the path that counts not the end), and I fully subscribe to that!
 
My genetics held me back until I went on a strict very low carb plan along with intermittent fasting for 4 months. The next 4 months I would have one VERY high carb day per week and the fat kept melting off. I went from 238 lbs >20% BF to 6.1% at 188, measured by Al Ciampa on the bodpod.

I was 49 at the time, had not seen my six pack in 30 years.

The true game changer as far as movement?? Heavy farmers' walks. Farmers' Walks added muscle, dropped fat, and made me feel noticeably stronger/better.

Eat what you want, but accept the consequences. Might as well, because the consequences will be there.
 
WxHerk said:
My genetics held me back until I went on a strict very low carb plan along with intermittent fasting for 4 months. The next 4 months I would have one VERY high carb day per week and the fat kept melting off. I went from 238 lbs >20% BF to 6.1% at 188, measured by Al Ciampa on the bodpod.

I was 49 at the time, had not seen my six pack in 30 years.

The true game changer as far as movement?? Heavy farmers' walks. Farmers' Walks added muscle, dropped fat, and made me feel noticeably stronger/better.

Eat what you want, but accept the consequences. Might as well, because the consequences will be there.
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Agreed, it is not about changing what you eat forever, it's about changing how your body reacts to food. Fasting and periods of low carbs will facilitate this.
 
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