Support NeoGAF

[BocoDragon]

Since this thread started a year ago or whatever... I've gone from a fat blob ending his first relationship... to being in excellent shape. Now that I look great, I can admit how much looks really do matter in dating/sexuality, even for men. I have been slightly overweight my whole life until now (23)... and it's funny how I'm now the center of attention for at least 5+ girls at this new job I have. It's real love triangle stuff I have no idea how to deal with :lol

^ This is meant to be an inspiring post. It's NEVER too late. And it's easy! Just gradual progress all the time. Also working out is great, but cleaning up my diet was probably one of the main catalysts. Cut down on carbs/calories, sure, but most importantly eat clean, real food. Avoid food in packages or cans. Eat around the edge of the grocery store (produce, meat, etc), where the real food is, as opposed to the center of the store where all the food is really marketed up junk meant to make corporations more money off raw food materials. All this processed/preserved food is just really bad for you.. and it's probably the real reason for our obesity crisis... not just "too much fat" or "fast food" or whatever. A good rule of thumb is, if your grandmother wouldn't have been familiar with the food, don't eat it. Even high fat, high calories foods are sometimes just fine if they're real, because your body will actually know what to do with the energy instead of storing it.

Good luck everyone.

 

[Omne]

RICE - Rest, Ice, Compress, Elevate. I'd say wait at least a week before you do vigorous exercise again. Does it hurt in any way? (I'm in a similar situation, I pulled my quad a week or so ago.)

Also do some light stretching pretty soon. If you don't, there's the risk that your muscle heals in a shortened position.

I don't think it's a full blown pull, more of a tweak, because I'm not really in much pain and can walk around easily. I imagine I'll be back into things in a couple of days. I'm icing and just loafing around for the meantime, though :lol .

My hamstring has been a nagging thing all summer, and I really need to get it healed before my track season starts. Hopefully a more intense stretching/plyometrics regimen will help heal it up when I start running again.

 

[MrToughPants]

ok, my squats just do not seem to be improving at all. I just started doing full squats about 6 weeks ago, and I only do them once or twice a week (I do a 3 day split but w/o 5 times a week), but I feel like I've had almost zero improvement on them at all..

Should I start incorporating them into other days to get 3 times in a week, or what? I had been trying to add a small amount of weight each set, but I just can't get past a certain point. I STRUGGLE to get 185 for 5. Usually I can only do 4 or so. To put this in a little bit of perspective, my last deadlift session was 245 for 5 and I'm at 225 for 5 on bench. So my squat is definitely lagging..


help strong-gaf!

You should start training your legs more often and I don't mean once a week for 30minutes. You should be spending as much time, if not more, on lowerbody exercises as your upper body.

Quads
Hams
Glutes
Hips
Calves
lowerback

 

[Anton Sugar]

ok, my squats just do not seem to be improving at all. I just started doing full squats about 6 weeks ago, and I only do them once or twice a week (I do a 3 day split but w/o 5 times a week), but I feel like I've had almost zero improvement on them at all..

Should I start incorporating them into other days to get 3 times in a week, or what? I had been trying to add a small amount of weight each set, but I just can't get past a certain point. I STRUGGLE to get 185 for 5. Usually I can only do 4 or so. To put this in a little bit of perspective, my last deadlift session was 245 for 5 and I'm at 225 for 5 on bench. So my squat is definitely lagging..


help strong-gaf!

Are you eating enough? What type of squat workout are you doing? How often are you squatting? What else are you doing for your legs?

 

[Anton Sugar]

 

[joeblackisback]

You should start training your legs more often and I don't mean once a week for 30minutes. You should be spending as much time, if not more, on lowerbody exercises as your upper body.

I will have to look into upping my leg workouts, I guess. As of now it gets pretty close to equal time I think

Are you eating enough? What type of squat workout are you doing? How often are you squatting? What else are you doing for your legs?

I'm pretty sure I'm eating enough, although I don't really track it. 3 eggs for breakfast, tuna or chicken for lunch, a protein shake after lifting and then something like chicken/rice for dinner. I've had no problem making some (nothing spectacular) gains in other areas, though. I'm still trying to lose a little weight (I'm 203-205, trying to get to the mid/high 190's) so I'm not pouring calories down my throat. I guess that could be a reason.

As far as how often, it's usually every third day. So that usually equates to once or twice a week. I'll do full squats, calf raises, hack squats (machine) and then weighted step-ups. All told, it usually takes me b/w 45 minutes and an hour, which is about what the other major body parts take me.

I've been thinking about trying front squats as well, but I'd need to experiment to get my form down and I don't feel like I have that kind of time right now.

 

[Struct09]

Pretty good so far Snrub.

1 correction:

While each have their strong points, compound exercises are more useful than isolation exercises. Keep in mind that your goals will dictate importance...but compound exercises:

1 suggestion:

While we know specifically which exercises are compound and which are isolations, your average newbie might not. I'd suggest giving some examples of specific compound and isolation exercises to better define what you mean.

 

[lil smoke]

Has to be morning for me, I generally have much more energy and it makes me feel better during the day. Plus the feeling of getting up at the buttcrack of dawn and going on a run while the world feels still and the air is crisp is such an amazing feeling.

You nailed that one. I feel a step ahead of the rest of the world when I jog and work out in the AM.

Snrub- I like the style of this new OP. The Q:A is a great idea too.

 

[Baker]

This is my first time coming into this thread, so just wanted to say 'hi.'

I don't know how to explain, but for the past week, I can just feel that my body has decided it's time for me to become fat. I don't like it one bit. My whole adult life, I've been the same 6'0" 175lbs average dude with skinny arms and the slightest of slight beer gut. Like I said, I still don't look fat, but I can feel the events being set into motion.

So, I guess I'll see you guys at the butt crack of dawn tomorrow morning.

Quick Edit: I have tried starting workout routines twice previously and each time they only lasted a max of three months. Night time is really "special" to me, so I have a horrid time forcing myself to go to bed early. Any tips for that?

 

[lil smoke]

Quick Edit: I have tried starting workout routines twice previously and each time they only lasted a max of three months. Night time is really "special" to me, so I have a horrid time forcing myself to go to bed early. Any tips for that?

Took me a long time to adjust to my AM workouts, mainly as you suggest, getting in that bed.

After time, I realized that I was simply too damn tired during the day. 5-6 hours of sleep, then gym, then work, then home to eat and play... It leaves you drained. Your body should tell you that it needs more rest. I made sacrifices. I cut the Mets game off at the 6th inning every night. And Fuck them if they were up and lost that fucking game last night to Philly. WTF. But, any habit (good or bad) gets easy after awhile. Prioritize what's right for you. The great thing about this stuff is that when you start to see and feel improvement, you'll become addicted to the entire process.

 

[beelzebozo]

my dad gets up at 5:15am, works all day in a refinery, and goes for 8 mile runs after work at 5pm. the man is an animal (figure that one out). whenever i start to feel sorry for myself for how hard my workout is, or whatever, i always think that if he can do it, so can i.

that said, i'll always take the morning workout over the evening; it's much tougher on him to do it after the rigmarole of an entire day's work.

 

[J. M. Romeo]

Well, it appears that after almost one month of going to the gym, my pecs and arms are beginning to grow visibly. It's a small difference (duh) but it's there, since now I can fill my Portal t-shirt better. So awesome. I think I might give squats a shot tomorrow, if I can get one of the instructors to babysit me for a few minutes.

 

[Anton Sugar]

While we know specifically which exercises are compound and which are isolations, your average newbie might not. I'd suggest giving some examples of specific compound and isolation exercises to better define what you mean.

Good call, definitely will do that.

 

[reilo]

Those are my tips, and that's what works for me. Let me know if you have any questions.

Yep, I've been doing that, I just think the weight I was working with last night was too heavy. The previous session it went a lot better with the lighter weight.

 

[reilo]

Also, if you are going to go work out... don't wear some goddamn Gucci sun glasses inside.

And don't just sit on one of the work stations and don't lift more than 20 fucking lbs.

There was a guy at the gym last night that literally wore expensive sun glasses inside, had his hair done up, and sat around doing nothing.

 

[Troblin]

Also, if you are going to go work out... don't wear some goddamn Gucci sun glasses inside.

And don't just sit on one of the work stations and don't lift more than 20 fucking lbs.

There was a guy at the gym last night that literally wore expensive sun glasses inside, had his hair done up, and sat around doing nothing.

Women do it too. Cake-on a bunch of makeup and squeezing into that skin tight sports bra prior to hitting up the elliptical at 30% intensity.

Not that I mind...

 

[Emerson]

So I did martial arts classes 2-3 times a week for several years, but it got to be too expensive and I was too busy, so I dropped it. That was my only exercise but I was still out and about at school and work so I figured I'd be okay.

However now school is out and I'm taking a month off work before it starts again so I decided to just run a mile every day. Started Monday. Few things:

1) I'm surprised at how good shape I'm in. I haven't run in years but I ran the first mile without the need to stop at any time. My mile time was pathetic, but as days 2-3 showed me, that was because I was simply running too slow. My day 3 time was 4:10 shorter than my day 1 time :lol I expect tomorrow's to be shorter again.

2) My legs are quite sore, I guess I'll get past that with some more running

3) I always hear runners creaming all over themselves about how great it is. I feel good about running because I'm trying to keep myself healthy and maybe drop a few pounds, but I absolutely loathe running every second I do it, and I don't have any "runner's high" afterwards either. Might just be me.

4) Is it really important to run more? Like I said I hate it and I figure if I run a mile a day I'm doing a hell of a lot more exercise than I was before. If I do that and try and eat a little less that's good enough for me I suppose.

 

[Chichikov]

So I did martial arts classes 2-3 times a week for several years, but it got to be too expensive and I was too busy, so I dropped it. That was my only exercise but I was still out and about at school and work so I figured I'd be okay.

However now school is out and I'm taking a month off work before it starts again so I decided to just run a mile every day. Started Monday. Few things:

1) I'm surprised at how good shape I'm in. I haven't run in years but I ran the first mile without the need to stop at any time. My mile time was pathetic, but as days 2-3 showed me, that was because I was simply running too slow. My day 3 time was 4:10 shorter than my day 1 time :lol I expect tomorrow's to be shorter again.

2) My legs are quite sore, I guess I'll get past that with some more running

3) I always hear runners creaming all over themselves about how great it is. I feel good about running because I'm trying to keep myself healthy and maybe drop a few pounds, but I absolutely loathe running every second I do it, and I don't have any "runner's high" afterwards either. Might just be me.

4) Is it really important to run more? Like I said I hate it and I figure if I run a mile a day I'm doing a hell of a lot more exercise than I was before. If I do that and try and eat a little less that's good enough for me I suppose.

Runners high is absolutely real, and it's pretty much better than anything, and trust me, I did pretty much everything.
But you're going to need to run a bit more than one mile to get it (and to be honest, being able to run a mile without stopping is not an indication of being in great shape).
As to how important running is, it depends on what your goals are, if you absolutely hate running you can (and probably should) find other ways to get your cardio, and in any case, running a mile a day is not going to get you far.

 

[Emerson]

Let me be more clear: I don't think I'm actually in great shape, I was surprised that I wasn't in terrible shape.

I do believe runner's high exists, I was just saying I hadn't experienced it. Makes sense I'd need to run more though.

As far as my goals, I have none other than maybe dropping 5-10 pounds eventually and mostly: not getting fat. I'm thin enough now and have decent muscle structure, I don't feel compelled to run mile after mile or spend hours working out. My main question is whether running a mile a day will keep me from gaining weight as long as I don't go nuts on food.

 

["God's Beard!"]

Runners high is absolutely real, and it's pretty much better than anything, and trust me, I did pretty much everything.
But you're going to need to run a bit more than one mile to get it (and to be honest, being able to run a mile without stopping is not an indication of being in great shape).
As to how important running is, it depends on what your goals are, if you absolutely hate running you can (and probably should) find other ways to get your cardio, and in any case, running a mile a day is not going to get you far.

Yeah, I used to run 5-6 miles a day on the track for almost a year without a ton of progress. But I did get runners high, and it was awesome. It's strange how after an hour of running you feel like you should be dancing and hugging people and singing. Maybe that's just me, though.

I've moved from just running to alternating lifting/jogging days with HIIT running days 6 days a week, and I feel a lot better already. Only a month or so of lifting, and I just started HIIT last week.

Running over 5 miles a day was killing my knee, so I had to find something else either way. Most of the things I know about excersize come from this thread, yoga classes and my one bodybuilding book with pretty pictures :lol

So thanks guys for helping me lose 10 pounds this past month

 

[demon]

I miss runner's high. Back when I started exercising during the fall of 2003 I ran almost every night along the local lakeshore path, and by the time I got back I felt fucking fantastic. I kinda miss doing that. But running like that would kill my muscle mass, as it did back then.

 

[BronzeWolf]

I just came back from my "test day" at the gym. It was basically like this:

Me: hi I would like to take a look at the gym
Cute Girl: OK that's cool, just talk to the trainer over there
Me: Kthnx zomg can I have your number?
--
Me: Hey man, I would like to take a look at the place
Trainer: Oh cool, have you lift before?
Me: A long time ago yeah
Trainer: Nice, well sit in these pec machine and do 3x15 reps
Me: uhm, I would like you to know that I already have a program I would...
*Trainer darts out to train some other newbie*

OK I think, I'll just do the sets and be done with this test day and then ask for him to help me improve my workout.

So I did all the stupid workouts:
-Bicep curls
-Tricep Pulls
-"pec" pulls (machine that has a lever which you pull)
-Shin Pulls (there is a machine for that >_<)
-Leg Curls

I basically did them just to see where the real lifting was, and I found it and it's nice and it seems nobody cares about it (I saw two guys doing squats very nicely and another one doing military presses pretty well too)

So I'm considering it.

At the end of the workout I told the trainer I wanted to focus more on the deadlifting and squatting and it would be nice that he would look at my form and stuff.
He pressed on giving me a personal workout and told me I needed to go through a "conditioning" 2 weeks period before that, but he agreed that I could use none of that "silly equipment" as he put it. Seems we are on the same page.

He also told me they change workouts every 6 weeks which I found silly, but he said it was not a requirement.

In the end I think I would be quite happy with this place as long as they keep their "get into shape after 3 months of stupid workout" routine plan away from me

I don't blame them! In order to keep most people interested in the gym they have to give this placebo stuff and constant change. The trainers are huge though and some other people that I see not caring about that have very good form.

It is also like 3 blocks from home so that's cool (HiIT in the way home anyone? lol)

 

[Anton Sugar]

I also think it would be great if someone (lil smoke?) could actually make section titles into images in a similar style to the title image. By section titles, I mean an image that say, "Exercises", "Nutrition", etc. Anyone up for this?

 

[Zapten]

I've only started getting serious about lifting about a month ago and have since then completely changed my diet and routine but I have a question on whether pre/post workout shakes are a must.

My normal routine is cereal 8am, banana 10:30am, turkey/cucumber/brown bread sandwich 12noon, cereal bar 2pm, apple 4pm and dinner at 6:30pm consisting of meat (chicken/turkey/salmon) with 2 vegetables (cabbage/broccoli/spinnach/carrots) and small portion of new potatoes.

After reading a fair bit I decided on working out 5 days a week legs, chest/tri, back/bi, shoulders/traps, cardio. I normally work out for 30 mins to an hour before dinner. I have worked out before but only started a regular program about a month ago so I'm just getting into the routine.

Would shakes (whey, creatine or a mix?) really help me that much and can they be substituted with regular foods. For instance would eating an extra chicken breast give me all the protein I need? For those of you in the UK where would you buy them from?

One other question I have is how much meat and potatoes should I be eating (in weight), having changed my diet from mainly pre-packaged foods I'm trying to work out if I'm eating too much of either.

 

[joeblackisback]

I think it would be pretty important if we could have a section politely asking people not to wear homemade v-neck shirts that expose half of your bird chest. It appears that not everyone at my gym knows that this makes you look like a complete d-bag.

 

[lil smoke]

I also think it would be great if someone (lil smoke?) could actually make section titles into images in a similar style to the title image. By section titles, I mean an image that say, "Exercises", "Nutrition", etc. Anyone up for this?

Yeah man, lets do it up! I think I'll change the style up. Start fresh and all.

Waiting for the pics... uh Jimotron! You wanted to see some strong negroes :lol

 

[lil smoke]

Also, if you are going to go work out... don't wear some goddamn Gucci sun glasses inside.

And don't just sit on one of the work stations and don't lift more than 20 fucking lbs.

There was a guy at the gym last night that literally wore expensive sun glasses inside, had his hair done up, and sat around doing nothing.

Yes sir, we have em too. Wearing those g-unit tanks (2-xist), or wearing matching gym stuff with brand names. Jewelry and shit.

Actually at my old gym half the guys there were in the closet. These guys are there everyday, they are fairly big (but not cut), you never see them doing much but talking to someone. These guys are usually very loud about the ladies in the gym to fake everyone out. oooooh look at her ass! Did you see that man?? But they never ever talk to the women, it's always some other dude. And these guys go back and forth to the locker room but don't really do anything. And they always, always want to help spot or "watch" your form.

 

[Struct09]

I've only started getting serious about lifting about a month ago and have since then completely changed my diet and routine but I have a question on whether pre/post workout shakes are a must.

My normal routine is cereal 8am, banana 10:30am, turkey/cucumber/brown bread sandwich 12noon, cereal bar 2pm, apple 4pm and dinner at 6:30pm consisting of meat (chicken/turkey/salmon) with 2 vegetables (cabbage/broccoli/spinnach/carrots) and small portion of new potatoes.

After reading a fair bit I decided on working out 5 days a week legs, chest/tri, back/bi, shoulders/traps, cardio. I normally work out for 30 mins to an hour before dinner. I have worked out before but only started a regular program about a month ago so I'm just getting into the routine.

Would shakes (whey, creatine or a mix?) really help me that much and can they be substituted with regular foods. For instance would eating an extra chicken breast give me all the protein I need? For those of you in the UK where would you buy them from?

One other question I have is how much meat and potatoes should I be eating (in weight), having changed my diet from mainly pre-packaged foods I'm trying to work out if I'm eating too much of either.

What are your goals?

Whey is never a "must", but it's definitely helpful when trying to gain and/or promote lean mass. You could substitute whole food sources of protein for it and probably not notice any difference.

 

[Troblin]

I've only started getting serious about lifting about a month ago and have since then completely changed my diet and routine but I have a question on whether pre/post workout shakes are a must.

My normal routine is cereal 8am, banana 10:30am, turkey/cucumber/brown bread sandwich 12noon, cereal bar 2pm, apple 4pm and dinner at 6:30pm consisting of meat (chicken/turkey/salmon) with 2 vegetables (cabbage/broccoli/spinnach/carrots) and small portion of new potatoes.

After reading a fair bit I decided on working out 5 days a week legs, chest/tri, back/bi, shoulders/traps, cardio. I normally work out for 30 mins to an hour before dinner. I have worked out before but only started a regular program about a month ago so I'm just getting into the routine.

Would shakes (whey, creatine or a mix?) really help me that much and can they be substituted with regular foods. For instance would eating an extra chicken breast give me all the protein I need? For those of you in the UK where would you buy them from?

One other question I have is how much meat and potatoes should I be eating (in weight), having changed my diet from mainly pre-packaged foods I'm trying to work out if I'm eating too much of either.

I think you need more calories:

My nutrition is pretty on point:
Here’s my sample diet:
at BW: 180-185

Meal 1 : 1 cup oatmeal + 3 small scoops Whey
Meal 2: 1/2 cup ( uncooked) brown rice + chicken breast
Meal 3: 1/2 cup ( uncooked) brown rice + chicken breast
Meal 4: 1 cup of pasta + Tuna/Lean Meat
Meal 5: Steak, Chicken + Almonds, Veggies…. Basically something with high protein/moderate fat
Meal 6: Casein Protein of some sort… Shake, milk, cottage cheese + almonds, peanuts, et. al
Calorie range is usually ~ 3000-3100 calories

On workout days, I'll usually add ~500-600 calories via protein shake w/ dextrose+ oatmeal
Hope this helps.

 

[Zapten]

What are your goals?

I could lose a bit of weight, not much though, I'm 6'1 BW 190. I'm mainly looking to bulk up. Problem I have with adding more meals/food is that 9-5 I'm at the office so something easy with no prep/mess is great, is mainly why I chose fruit and cereal bars.

I've never really liked nuts by themselves otherwise that could be a good snack.

 

[GHG]

I could lose a bit of weight, not much though, I'm 6'1 BW 190. I'm mainly looking to bulk up. Problem I have with adding more meals/food is that 9-5 I'm at the office so something easy with no prep/mess is great, is mainly why I chose fruit and cereal bars.

I've never really liked nuts by themselves otherwise that could be a good snack.

Nuts... learn to love 'em. I never really liked eggs before either but I've grown accustomed to them.

I'd say you need to add some eggs and milk to your diet, never underestimate the quality of protein that you get from those 2. If you really can't eat more then add the protein shakes in as well, they will help.

As for buying chicken breast in the UK, look in the frozen sections of tesco/sainsburies/asda. You can usually buy a bag of chicken breasts for about a fiver (maybe nearer 6 pounds now though with this stupid recession). Also try Iceland which will probably be the cheaper option.

 

[dabig2]

I also think it would be great if someone (lil smoke?) could actually make section titles into images in a similar style to the title image. By section titles, I mean an image that say, "Exercises", "Nutrition", etc. Anyone up for this?

Absolutely! Definitely procure those before finishing the thread. It'll make everything look much more segmented and organized in what will probably be a massive post, and it'll be visually cool as well.

I've only started getting serious about lifting about a month ago and have since then completely changed my diet and routine but I have a question on whether pre/post workout shakes are a must.

My normal routine is cereal 8am, banana 10:30am, turkey/cucumber/brown bread sandwich 12noon, cereal bar 2pm, apple 4pm and dinner at 6:30pm consisting of meat (chicken/turkey/salmon) with 2 vegetables (cabbage/broccoli/spinnach/carrots) and small portion of new potatoes.

After reading a fair bit I decided on working out 5 days a week legs, chest/tri, back/bi, shoulders/traps, cardio. I normally work out for 30 mins to an hour before dinner. I have worked out before but only started a regular program about a month ago so I'm just getting into the routine.

Would shakes (whey, creatine or a mix?) really help me that much and can they be substituted with regular foods. For instance would eating an extra chicken breast give me all the protein I need? For those of you in the UK where would you buy them from?

One other question I have is how much meat and potatoes should I be eating (in weight), having changed my diet from mainly pre-packaged foods I'm trying to work out if I'm eating too much of either.

That's kind've a light diet for a 5 day workout I think. For instance, at 8 am, you could throw in a piece of fruit such as grapes or strawberries. Your next meal, add a (all-natural) peanut butter sandwich and have it go with your banana. Your next meal looks alright, but on some days (lifting days), I'd see if I could make a tuna sandwich (tuna is one of the kings of protein foods and its easy to make).

At 2 p.m, maybe add in some sort of chicken there (like a very small chicken breast) along with rice. For your next meal at 4 pm., I'd eat some variety of fruits, almonds, and veggies. Because this is the meal you'd have before your workout, and the sugar provided by these foods will keep your energy up throughout your workout.

Now, I do strongly suggest some whey protein. It'll maximize the efficiency of your lifting workouts beautifully. Consume it right after your weight-lifting workouts (within the hour after you finish). On non-lifting days, consume it whenever you feel like it. Will it take the place of a meal? Ehhh, I don't know. What I do is I drink my protein concoction right after my workout, and I have a couple strawberries to go with it. I then wait a half-hour before consuming dinner to let my body digest the protein and direct it to my muscles as quickly as possible.

 

[Ace 8095]

Zapten, I suggest not doing a body part split. Beginners can make much better gains on full body routines or upper/lower splits. I'm sure Snrub will be here soon telling you the same thing. I'm a fan of Mark Rippetoe's beginner program Starting Strength. You can learn more about it here http://startingstrength.wikia.com/wiki/Starting_Strength_Wiki. Also don't underestimate the value of milk. Yesterday I drank a gallon of 2% and will drink at least 10 cups today. Milk is by far the easiest way for me to get the calories I need to put on weight.

 

[Anton Sugar]

Zapten, I suggest not doing a body part split. Beginners can make much better gains on full body routines or upper/lower splits. I'm sure Snrub will be here soon telling you the same thing. I'm a fan of Mark Rippetoe's beginner program Starting Strength. You can learn more about it here http://startingstrength.wikia.com/wiki/Starting_Strength_Wiki. Also don't underestimate the value of milk. Yesterday I drank a gallon of 2% and will drink at least 10 cups today. Milk is by far the easiest way for me to get the calories I need to put on weight.

I agree with Ace. A few things, Zapten:

At 6'1" and 190lbs., you're definitely not overweight and this is a decent base for starting to gain weight. In a year, with consistent, hard ass work, you could probably be at a lean 200lbs., easy.

However, your diet does look a little light. As Ace said and it can be echoed by me: milk is probably the easiest thing to key into a routine to gain weight. Cheaper than steaks, chicken, etc., consuming close to a gallon of milk a day will give you calories and protein necessary to grow. As has also been stated, a whey protein shake is great--I have a shake every day, and mix two scoops in with milk to drink while working out.

For the routine, I and others have had best results on full body routines. From October of 07 to about March 08, I gained 20 lbs with very little bodyfat increase. Gains have slowed, but overall, I've probably gained around 25 lbs doing the Starting Strength routine and full body routines. I list the reasons for doing them in the rough draft OP above. If you must do a split, I recommend an upper/lower body split--that's what I'm on now, but only because I have to incorporate some conditioning workouts as well.

 

[Anton Sugar]

Also guys, a reminder:

Keep an eye on post #5360 for updates!

I'm continually updating it, prepping it for the new OP. I'll have a (semi)-completed list of subject headings for lil smoke to work on soon, as well.

 

[Anton Sugar]

Serge Nubret (classic bodybuilder):

 

[Anton Sugar]

Damn. I may have already hit the limit for amount of text in a post?

Great, now when I try to edit it, it comes up as blank. Uh oh.

 

[Zapten]

Thanks for the advice fellas. I did miss a couple bits out of my diet earlier, I normally have a banana around 8am and a glass of milk in the evenings but that's about it. I guess I will try to eat some nuts, see how it goes, almonds my best bet here? Will look at upping my intake with some other things as well.

When I started my health kick about a month ago I was working out 2 days a week and doing a upper/lower split as this was the activity level I was used to till the MMA club I was going to for around 4-5 years closed down. I found on my workout days I finished too late to have a proper dinner after and I always got to sleep far later than I wanted. So I split it into 4 days (fifth day I added in cardio as that was missing from my original plan), this worked out much better as I can have a quick workout, shower, eat and have the rest of the evening free to do whatever.

Can anyone recommend any good shake brands/types and where to get them in the UK? Thanks.

 

["God's Beard!"]

Damn. I may have already hit the limit for amount of text in a post?

Great, now when I try to edit it, it comes up as blank. Uh oh.

split it into multiple posts when you make the new thread. If I can get the internet on my new computer working, I'd be happy to make the extra banners for you.

 

[Cyan]

Hey guys, got a nutrition/diet question.

I've really never paid much attention to my diet, beyond avoiding stuff that's obviously bad for you (sodas, sugary crap in general, fast food, etc). Now I'm planning to start training for a marathon that takes place next February.

Can anyone give me some pointers on what I should be eating/avoiding in general, what to drink during long runs, and so on? Even a link or two would be helpful. I seriously know almost nothing about diet and nutrition at all, let alone as they relate to exercise and marathon training.

I know that there are already a few posts on nutrition, but those are aimed at weight-lifters rather than runners. I'm guessing the dietary requirements are significantly different.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Ace 8095]

Thanks for the advice fellas. I did miss a couple bits out of my diet earlier, I normally have a banana around 8am and a glass of milk in the evenings but that's about it. I guess I will try to eat some nuts, see how it goes, almonds my best bet here? Will look at upping my intake with some other things as well.

When I started my health kick about a month ago I was working out 2 days a week and doing a upper/lower split as this was the activity level I was used to till the MMA club I was going to for around 4-5 years closed down. I found on my workout days I finished too late to have a proper dinner after and I always got to sleep far later than I wanted. So I split it into 4 days (fifth day I added in cardio as that was missing from my original plan), this worked out much better as I can have a quick workout, shower, eat and have the rest of the evening free to do whatever.

Can anyone recommend any good shake brands/types and where to get them in the UK? Thanks.

EAS and Optimum Nutrition are usually regarded as the best protein shakes. I would suggest looking at websites as they usually have better deals than stores.

Being able to do a workout in under 30 minutes is not an indication that it's a good workout. Body part splits have no place in a beginners program. If your serious about getting stronger and building muscle your program must be top notch. The best advice you will obtain in your training career is to learn how to squat, deadlift, power clean, press, and bench press with proper form, and follow a program that maximizes your ability to grow on these exercises. Trust Snrub and me on this one.

 

[BronzeWolf]

Should I feel this shitty after two days of not working out?

I mean, in weekends is kind of different, it's expected, but yesterday, due to my search for a new gym and today due to unforeseen work related schedule issues, I couldn't either lift heavy or go to the track and do cardio.

And now I feel like shit. My friends want to go out to party but I really don't feel like doing much but sleep.

This is BS, I will go jogging tomorrow there be thunders or storm...

I feel crappy

 

[Chichikov]

Hey guys, got a nutrition/diet question.

I've really never paid much attention to my diet, beyond avoiding stuff that's obviously bad for you (sodas, sugary crap in general, fast food, etc). Now I'm planning to start training for a marathon that takes place next February.

Can anyone give me some pointers on what I should be eating/avoiding in general, what to drink during long runs, and so on? Even a link or two would be helpful. I seriously know almost nothing about diet and nutrition at all, let alone as they relate to exercise and marathon training.

I know that there are already a few posts on nutrition, but those are aimed at weight-lifters rather than runners. I'm guessing the dietary requirements are significantly different.

Thanks in advance.

There are two parts here, marathon training diet and marathon running diet (i.e. the week before the race and the race itself).
The latter can wait, as for marathon training itself, the general rule is to eat clean, and get much more calories from carbs as you would probably do otherwise -
You need available energy, and 60% of protein ain't gonna cut it.
Must runners suggest around 65-70% of calories from carbs.
When you're building up your miles, that's probably enough, but as you get into the 'meat' of your program you need to get a bit more specific, mainly maintaining a good caloric balance as to not lose weight, this can be tricky at first, and many first time marathoners end up losing way too much muscle mass, don't be one of those guys.

Other general advices -
If you can try to avoid caffeinated drinks, and as you get closer to the race, unfortunately, also alcohol.
Drink plenty of liquids, gatorade (or other energy drinks) is fine for running, try to find something that works for you and doesn't taste like shit.
If your feel your body can't recover in time for your training, you may not get enough protein, be careful about that, overtraining is a bitch.

 

[daw840]

Alright, so I joined 24 hour fitness today. My plan is to work out my upper body and abs MWF and work my legs out TTH. My workout has consisted solely of the machines that they have. I feel like I don't have the proper form to be using the free weights. I have been doing cardio everyday, usually 20 minutes on the stairs. Right now I am about 5'11'' 165 lbs and I would really like to gain some weight and muscle mass. What would the experts in this thread recommend on the diet side. Just so you know, I hate pretty much all vegetables. I have tried and tried and tried and tried to acquire a taste for them, but I just can't. My vegetable intake consists of corn, green beans, and peas. Also, what is the general consensus on protein supplements?

 

[The Take Out Bandit]

Tried jumping rope for the first time in my life today. Holy crap! What a workout.

After a good five minutes of that and slapping my shins, I just opted to go for a swim.

It's been a good 10 years since I last went for a swim. Nice to see I've still got the basics down. Boy are my arms tired. >:O

 

[BlueTsunami]

Serge Nubret (classic bodybuilder):

I love a Bodybuilder that not only pays attention to getting big but also pays attention to symmetry. Serge Nubret is so greatly proportioned, I love it!

 

[Meier]

Quick question... how does fat content affect losing weight? Like if it's all about calories and losing x number to drop a pound, where does fat come into play? In other words, let's say something had 1,000 calories but 0 grams of fat versus something with 250 calories and 40 grams of fat (just examples), is the one with a shitload of fat 'better' for you if you want to lose weight?

 

[perryfarrell]

Serget Nubret has been posting in a thread on BB.com. He's pretty old and lives in Paris. At first everybody was calling shenanigans, but it ended up being the real deal. He's been giving advice etc.

 

[daw840]

Anyone know why Captain Glanton got banned?

 

[The Take Out Bandit]

Anyone know why Captain Glanton got banned?

Stupid GAF Internet drama shit. :\

Spoiler

Apparently some spat with Amyrox and Glanton on gaming side.