[curiousgeorge01]

BTW what's your goal? Everybody here probably has a different regiment to suit their own needs.

Personally I only do body weight exercises is b/c I want a strong strength to weight ratio. I find that if you just want general fitness, something like Crossfit or one of those type of programs will do fine.

[Typhon]

	Originally Posted by John01 To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
	I was told by an orthopedic doctor (when I was having tendonitis) that squats in general were hard on the knees, and that doing squats beyond 90 degrees was worse. He said that the hyper-flexion would over stress them. So I stick to shallow squats.

While I’m not qualified to speak about your individual medical needs and issues, I’d say that it’s mostly a myth that squats are bad for your knees. Squats can hurt you knees, if you do them wrong, but that is true with any free-weight exercise. The real risk is with your lower back, however, since most people can’t maintain a neutral posture while squatting. These articles talk about squatting in more detail:


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But really your doctor is right, in that if you don’t get taught proper form then squatting is bad for your knees. Just something to ponder.

	Originally Posted by Uriel To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
	I don't fill myself with the main course, so there's always room for dessert. To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. I can probably get toned more quickly and get my abs to show again by avoiding carbs and sugars and ...dairy(?). That's a bit difficult for me, so I just increase my exercise. It seems to be working for the most part.

Too much carbs, sugars, and dairy in general can increase a person’s body fat percentage which would cover up your abs. People who stick to a purist paleo-diet tend to have a low body fat, so I guess there is some truth in that idea. I can’t give up dairy myself though I love cheese and milk too much. Everything in moderation though, right?

	Originally Posted by Haumea To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
	I've concluded that whole grain carbs aren't really that bad. What really kills you is the refined carbs (including sugar.)

Yep, the further you stray from whole (read: natural) foods the worse it seems to get. In that vein:


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	Originally Posted by curiousgeorge01 To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
	BTW what's your goal? Everybody here probably has a different regiment to suit their own needs. Personally I only do body weight exercises is b/c I want a strong strength to weight ratio. I find that if you just want general fitness, something like Crossfit or one of those type of programs will do fine.

Personally my goal is gain my functional strength back while losing excess body fat. I’d wager that I’m at about 13% body fat and that is too much for my preference. I also can only do half as many pull-ups as I could a year ago and that disgusts me. I’m slowly reaching my goals and I can’t expect to undo ten months of weakness with a month of strength-training, but I still beat myself up about it.

Also: how do y'all feel about the BMI? I don't buy it myself, as it doesn't factor in muscle mass. How do you otherwise calculate body fat percentage?

[curiousgeorge01]

Originally Posted by Typhon To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

Personally my goal is gain my functional strength back while losing excess body fat. I’d wager that I’m at about 13% body fat and that is too much for my preference. I also can only do half as many pull-ups as I could a year ago and that disgusts me. I’m slowly reaching my goals and I can’t expect to undo ten months of weakness with a month of strength-training, but I still beat myself up about it. Also: how do y'all feel about the BMI? I don't buy it myself, as it doesn't factor in muscle mass. How do you otherwise calculate body fat percentage?

A lot of people build their bodies for a particular sport but you seem to want that general fitness. I sort of equate general fitness with functional fitness as I do not know what people mean by that, is it fighting, climbing, running fast? If that's the case isn't it more like some specialization in those rather than general fitness? Like I said earlier I know a lot of people who do Crossfit and it works well enough for them or just pick out like 10 exercises and do them very well.

13% is pretty low since 5-9% is considered ripped. 13% you should be somewhat able to see your abs.

I like to use this site to measure body fat. It gives you a lot of choices on how to do it, but the easiest one is the bodyweight, height, neck size, waist size one on the right:


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Yes BMI is BS. My body fat is around 14% which is considered fit, but the BMI says I'm borderline fat. Currently I'm 5'10, 190lbs with a 33 inch waist and a 31inch pant size.

[John01]

Originally Posted by Typhon To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

While I’m not qualified to speak about your individual medical needs and issues, I’d say that it’s mostly a myth that squats are bad for your knees. Squats can hurt you knees, if you do them wrong, but that is true with any free-weight exercise. The real risk is with your lower back, however, since most people can’t maintain a neutral posture while squatting. These articles talk about squatting in more detail:

Perhaps my doctor's warning had more to do with my own condition. At the time I was already feeling the aches and pains of osteoarthritis and tendonitis. I used to do so much ladder climbing on a daily basis (work related) and long hikes on the weekends. And in my situation, I was advised to fully rest my knees for two weeks (impossible at the time) while maintaining a stretching routine through the day (this did help, but I must keep it up as my tendonitis flairs up quite a bit).

Here is an interesting article which seems to confirm some things you mentioned as well as what my doctor mentioned to me:

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Of particular note is the final paragraph:

"In conclusion, there is scant evidence to show that deep squats are contraindicated in those with healthy knee function. The decision as to how low to squat should therefore be based on an individual's performance-oriented goals and considered in conjunction with any pathological issues that may be apparent. Those with PCL disorders should refrain from squatting below 50 to 60 degrees until the injury is fully healed. Disorders such as chondromalacia, osteoarthritis, and osteochondritis may also contraindicate the performance of deep squats (Schoenfeld)."

[Typhon]

Originally Posted by John01 To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

"In conclusion, there is scant evidence to show that deep squats are contraindicated in those with healthy knee function. The decision as to how low to squat should therefore be based on an individual's performance-oriented goals and considered in conjunction with any pathological issues that may be apparent. Those with PCL disorders should refrain from squatting below 50 to 60 degrees until the injury is fully healed. Disorders such as chondromalacia, osteoarthritis, and osteochondritis may also contraindicate the performance of deep squats (Schoenfeld)."

Makes sense; squat as deep as you feel comfortable and able to safely perform. I wish I had some recent personal experience to share with this but it’s been more than a year since I’ve been to a gym so I haven’t squatted at all lately. Kettlebell front squats are awesome though, been doing those lately and even though the weights are lighter it still makes for a good exercise.

Originally Posted by curiousgeorge01 To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

A lot of people build their bodies for a particular sport but you seem to want that general fitness. I sort of equate general fitness with functional fitness as I do not know what people mean by that, is it fighting, climbing, running fast? If that's the case isn't it more like some specialization in those rather than general fitness? Like I said earlier I know a lot of people who do Crossfit and it works well enough for them or just pick out like 10 exercises and do them very well.

I like the idea of picking out 10 exercises and perfecting them. I think I may just do that in addition to my hill sprinting and rock climbing. A good mix of kettlebell, Indian club, and chest expander exercises with ever-increasing skill could do just the trick…at least until I do end up getting a cheap gym membership anyway.

Originally Posted by curiousgeorge01 To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

13% is pretty low since 5-9% is considered ripped. 13% you should be somewhat able to see your abs. I like to use this site to measure body fat. It gives you a lot of choices on how to do it, but the easiest one is the bodyweight, height, neck size, waist size one on the right: To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. Yes BMI is BS. My body fat is around 14% which is considered fit, but the BMI says I'm borderline fat. Currently I'm 5'10, 190lbs with a 33 inch waist and a 31inch pant size.

I found what appears to be a visual representation of the fat ranges on the site you posted:


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I did one of the calculators on the site and got a 17%. I also did a wrist-minus-waist calculation which put me at 15%. Looking at the pictures of the men at 14% and at 20%, a body fat range of 15% to 17% seems pretty spot on. I do have visible abs but they are not nearly as well defined as they could be. But either way at 5’10 and 170 pounds, the BMI says I’m obese. Hah!

[Alderamin]

The weightlifting book I am reading is called Starting Strength, by Mark Rippetoe, and is available on Amazon. It addresses squats and instructs the reader to maintain a perfectly vertical relationship between the location of the bar across the back (it should rest just immediately under the bone at the top of the shoulder blades, which is called the spine of the scapula) and the middle of the feet. This vertical relationship must be maintained throughout the entire squat. The bottom of the squat must be sufficiently deep to where the femur bone - not the thigh muscles - is actually parallel to the floor, the knees are slightly ahead of the toes, and the back is bent at about a 45 degree angle to keep the bar's location on the back vertically aligned over the middle of the feet. This movement fully engages and strengthens the hamstring muscles. Coming out of the bottom of the squat requires sufficient hip drive and this is done by visualizing your butt moving up vertically through the air, not by visualizing your legs pushing down on the ground.

These actions equalize the forces being placed upon the knees in order to prevent injury.

[curiousgeorge01]

	Originally Posted by Typhon To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
	I did one of the calculators on the site and got a 17%. I also did a wrist-minus-waist calculation which put me at 15%. Looking at the pictures of the men at 14% and at 20%, a body fat range of 15% to 17% seems pretty spot on. I do have visible abs but they are not nearly as well defined as they could be. But either way at 5’10 and 170 pounds, the BMI says I’m obese. Hah!

Sounds like you're in somewhat good shape already then. BMI doesn't take into account muscle mass, I think it's just a proportion of height and weight so body builders are going to be labelled as obese based on BMI b/c they're so friggin heavy.

I heard around 13-15% body fat, it becomes hard to cut down to 10% and even harder to get below 7%. That's why 5-7% is competition-ready for body builders. So cut down another 5% and you should be fairly ripped!

I wish I could do rock climbing, sounds like an awesome and grueling sport.

Hell this guy only did two exercises an insane number of times everyday to become the greatest wrestler in India:


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