What would happen if u stayed on the same calories?

[headtrainer]

There’s nothing wrong with eating at maintenance level and taking just enough hormones to create a recomp effect. That’s what many of us older guys are doing as someone stated above. We don’t care about getting stronger and seeing our weight increase in the scales because we can more easily tear tendons and cartilage than young people and our blood pressure gets out of control if we increase our body weight. We’ve learned to appreciate staying lean year round and just feeling good and being healthy. In fact, I believe this approach is best for the masses who aren’t serious competitors.

 

[OuchThatHurts]

I think maintenance calories are what we're trying to achieve at all times. Whether it be enough to maintain body processes at a mega-high activity level or maintenance calories for a low activity period.

So if someone is taking in an identical amount of good calories per day with or without PEDs, an amount that is not causing them to lose or gain weight day to day, isn't it a bit presumptuous to assume that all of those calories are just disappearing as a result of energy expenditure and waste removal? Surely some of those calories continue on inside the body retained as muscle, fat, and other tissue if that person is training properly.

My question is if you're taking in maintenance calories, why would hypertrophy not be maintained? Your cuts and bruises are still going to heal, your kidney and liver will still continue their cell replacement, you're going to continue to replace blood, why wouldn't your muscles continue to repair and adapt? Is skeletal muscle exempt from the body's natural maintenance?

This is why I never subscribed to the 'calories in calories out' philosophy which sounds like pretty heavy broscience. Calories are used in tissue repair, even growth, not just as energy. Calories go in, but not all those calories come out. Obviously surplus calories are going to assist growth and a deficit is going to stop or reverse growth but aren't maintenance calories ideally what we're trying to achieve at all times? Even if it's 6000cals/day with heavy training, cardio, and sauce?

 

[qbkilla]

I think maintenance calories are what we're trying to achieve at all times. Whether it be enough to maintain body processes at a mega-high activity level or maintenance calories for a low activity period.

So if someone is taking in an identical amount of good calories per day with or without PEDs, an amount that is not causing them to lose or gain weight day to day, isn't it a bit presumptuous to assume that all of those calories are just disappearing as a result of energy expenditure and waste removal? Surely some of those calories continue on inside the body retained as muscle, fat, and other tissue if that person is training properly.

My question is if you're taking in maintenance calories, why would hypertrophy not be maintained? Your cuts and bruises are still going to heal, your kidney and liver will still continue their cell replacement, you're going to continue to replace blood, why wouldn't your muscles continue to repair and adapt? Is skeletal muscle exempt from the body's natural maintenance?

This is why I never subscribed to the 'calories in calories out' philosophy which sounds like pretty heavy broscience. Calories are used in tissue repair, even growth, not just as energy. Calories go in, but not all those calories come out. Obviously surplus calories are going to assist growth and a deficit is going to stop or reverse growth but aren't maintenance calories ideally what we're trying to achieve at all times? Even if it's 6000cals/day with heavy training, cardio, and sauce?

My response would be, if your not gaining weight at maintenance

Your not building muscle...or
You are building muscle but your losing fat

The second one would be recomposition which IMO is a goal many try for but becomes more difficult the longer someone has been training and the lower their bodyfat

A guy at 20 percent can recomposition, but a guy at 7 percent not so much. It would require perfect training, nutrition, a good dose of ped and still would be difficult.

In that person's case I'd think going a bit above maintenance might be ideal so calories are there to grow but not enough to be stored as fat.

Interested in your thoughts.

 

[juggy38]

It’s also how far away are you from baseline?

Are you 70” tall 190lbs @13% BF?
Same height 210lbs @ 13% BF?
Same height 235lbs @ 13% BF?

Those are all VERY different humans. Can the first grow tissue and hold BF or drop a little? Yes. The second? Yea with GH and tren. The third? Will definitely require periods of overfeeding and periods of dieting to make changes.

 

[OuchThatHurts]

Certainly I'm going to eat above maintenance while growing bc it makes it that much easier. But my point above about maintenance is that calories req'd are relative. Related to metabolic rate, training frequency, cardio, digestion, stress levels, etc. For example, if you're eating above maintenance even while on a major bulker you're going to gain fat. Even though the calories req'd to sustain your growth and energy at that point is 6000 calories/day, don't eat 7000 thinking "Even better!".. If you break an ankle and are couch-ridden your maintenance calories might then be 2000/day.

So adjust accordingly and freely.

I wasn't trying to confuse the issue, only say that instead of calories in, calories out, maybe we should say, "as much as you need and no more."

In my estimation, only insulin is going to drive more calories into cells but that will be fat cells too. In fact, your body may want to store fat preferably to growing more calorie-hungry muscle tissue.

Just some thoughts. None of this is backed by anything other than my own experiences in dieters.

 

[headtrainer]

Certainly I'm going to eat above maintenance while growing bc it makes it that much easier. But my point above about maintenance is that calories req'd are relative. Related to metabolic rate, training frequency, cardio, digestion, stress levels, etc. For example, if you're eating above maintenance even while on a major bulker you're going to gain fat. Even though the calories req'd to sustain your growth and energy at that point is 6000 calories/day, don't eat 7000 thinking "Even better!".. If you break an ankle and are couch-ridden your maintenance calories might then be 2000/day.

So adjust accordingly and freely.

I wasn't trying to confuse the issue, only say that instead of calories in, calories out, maybe we should say, "as much as you need and no more."

In my estimation, only insulin is going to drive more calories into cells but that will be fat cells too. In fact, your body may want to store fat preferably to growing more calorie-hungry muscle tissue.

Just some thoughts. None of this is backed by anything other than my own experiences in dieters.

Another way of looking at it is if a 50 year old is able to maintain his physique until he reaches 70 years of age by eating at maintenance level, he’s actually made additional gains for the past 20 years by not regressing backwards—in terms of not losing muscle, maintaining strength, and not gaining body fat.

 

[Love_to_Bodybuild]

This is actually what I’ve done for the past 10 months. My goal was to drop body fat, drop body weight, and get my blood pressure into normal range. The results have been slow and steady which is exactly what I want. I keep improving. Progress is faster when I do cardio. At some points I was doing almost daily cardio for 30-50 minutes. Other times I wasn’t doing cardio. I have degenerative disk disease as I’m sure many of us older guys here have from too many years of compressing our spines with heavy leg day squats, hacks, leg press, etc. When I do cardio too frequently my sciatica acts up. Long hill walks give too much pounding on my spine and I pay the price.

Hacks aren't supposed to load the spine , no where near as much as squats, as the bar is directly on the spine. Hacks is right and left side usually. Unless it's that butt pad hack squat. Anyways, if I go too high in poundage on hacks, my lower back and spine seem to feel compressed. Again, from a biomechanics standpoint, if I used that word correctly correctly, a hack squat isn't supposed to load the spine but I feel it compresses vertebras esp lower ones, so I'll use it very sparingly or avoid it altogether.

 

[astrosfan123]

Awesome comments to start my day. Nah, I’m quitting bb . Stopped and haven’t trained in a week and a half . Too stressed, severely depressed. Just sleeping when I’m able to and trying to restore some joy in my life by playing old school GBA games lol

best thing you could do, or atleast quit gear. You are Probably stressed because you stay so lean year round but hey thats this new age social media for you. Have to be able to have abs year round because everyone on the gram looks the same year round and lean.

 

[MasteroniPepperoni]

best thing you could do, or atleast quit gear. You are Probably stressed because you stay so lean year round but hey thats this new age social media for you. Have to be able to have abs year round because everyone on the gram looks the same year round and lean.

Nothing to do with that lmao. I’m in a very bad life situation currently.literally nothing to do with fitness .., for fuck sake… and don’t get excited , I may have been being sarcastic about training you seem intrigued with social media

Highly doubt the doses I ran did anything at all.

 

[headtrainer]

Hacks aren't supposed to load the spine , no where near as much as squats, as the bar is directly on the spine. Hacks is right and left side usually. Unless it's that butt pad hack squat. Anyways, if I go too high in poundage on hacks, my lower back and spine seem to feel compressed. Again, from a biomechanics standpoint, if I used that word correctly correctly, a hack squat isn't supposed to load the spine but I feel it compresses vertebras esp lower ones, so I'll use it very sparingly or avoid it altogether.

The Hack squat machine kills my lower back. Just using the machine without any weight compresses my spine. I only do dumbbell lunges and Bulgarian splits squats.

 

[johnjuanb1]

Hacks aren't supposed to load the spine , no where near as much as squats, as the bar is directly on the spine. Hacks is right and left side usually. Unless it's that butt pad hack squat. Anyways, if I go too high in poundage on hacks, my lower back and spine seem to feel compressed. Again, from a biomechanics standpoint, if I used that word correctly correctly, a hack squat isn't supposed to load the spine but I feel it compresses vertebras esp lower ones, so I'll use it very sparingly or avoid it altogether.

Hacks are one exercise I’ve never cared for. I feel like the disks in my lower back are going to squirt out the left or right side of the vertebrae. I also feel way too much stress on my meniscus depending on the angle of the machine. I think genetically it’s just not a safe exercise for me. It works great for a lot of people.
I always loved various leg press machines. I’m sure a lot of spine issues I have came from going way too deep and heavy on leg press. I have always had this stupid mind set that if I don’t go all the way down on an exercise then I’m half assing it. It’s part of my OCD.

 

[luki7788]

The Hack squat machine kills my lower back. Just using the machine without any weight compresses my spine. I only do dumbbell lunges and Bulgarian splits squats.

try to use the roller like in this video and you will forget the back pain and knee pain on the hacks

Łukasz Modzelewski on Instagram: "Revers band squats 5x350kg - było do zrobienia „na 7” spokojnie ale dodałem 15kg względem ostatniego treningu wiec trochę siedziało w głowie. Oczywiście @extreme_woman asekuruje i bez niej naprawdę nie dałbym rady. K

427 likes, 13 comments - modzelewskilukasz on February 9, 2021: "Revers band squats 5x350kg - było do zrobienia „na 7” spokojnie ale dodałem 15kg względem ..."

www.instagram.com

 

[OuchThatHurts]

try to use the roller like in this video and you will forget the back pain and knee pain on the hacks

Łukasz Modzelewski on Instagram: "Revers band squats 5x350kg - było do zrobienia „na 7” spokojnie ale dodałem 15kg względem ostatniego treningu wiec trochę siedziało w głowie. Oczywiście @extreme_woman asekuruje i bez niej naprawdę nie dałbym rady. K

427 likes, 13 comments - modzelewskilukasz on February 9, 2021: "Revers band squats 5x350kg - było do zrobienia „na 7” spokojnie ale dodałem 15kg względem ..."

www.instagram.com

Thank you for this. Because hacks my knees just hate em.

 

[Love_to_Bodybuild]

Hacks are one exercise I’ve never cared for. I feel like the disks in my lower back are going to squirt out the left or right side of the vertebrae. I also feel way too much stress on my meniscus depending on the angle of the machine. I think genetically it’s just not a safe exercise for me. It works great for a lot of people.
I always loved various leg press machines. I’m sure a lot of spine issues I have came from going way too deep and heavy on leg press. I have always had this stupid mind set that if I don’t go all the way down on an exercise then I’m half assing it. It’s part of my OCD.

I did hack squats for twenty years, and do think they've contributed to my quad development. That said , you hit the nail right on the head, feels like the disk in my lower back are going to squirt. This is where mine get tight.

I ve been putting my feet low and lower on hacks. I could be wrong but didn't seem to have low back compression, and tightness when I put my feet high up, which is safer on knees. I injured left knee doing five plates per side, with a spotter lifting up the positive , after five or eight reps and did an addition five like this, it's gotten better, but high up is safer, but I just use less weight and try and use it like Tom Platz did feet on bottom or low and like a sissy squat motion.

I work a job on my feet and have felt lower back feeling not normal the next day, last few times after doing hacks with feet lowest, and lower on pad.

 

[headtrainer]

Hacks are one exercise I’ve never cared for. I feel like the disks in my lower back are going to squirt out the left or right side of the vertebrae. I also feel way too much stress on my meniscus depending on the angle of the machine. I think genetically it’s just not a safe exercise for me. It works great for a lot of people.
I always loved various leg press machines. I’m sure a lot of spine issues I have came from going way too deep and heavy on leg press. I have always had this stupid mind set that if I don’t go all the way down on an exercise then I’m half assing it. It’s part of my OCD.

I agree that most hack squat machines Ive used put excessive compression on the knees. It’s almost like doing sissy squats with a load on your back. Going down too deep can easily destroy the cartilage in the knees and the discs in the lower back, especially the S-1/L-5.

 

[JerBear420]

Eat the same,
Train the same,
Stay the same.