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[Mr.City]

Cap, do you know of any good flexibility exercises? A childhood composed mostly of staying inside and sitting has come back to haunt me. I have poor flexibility in my hams, hips, and shoulders. I worry that lead to some potential injuries while lifting.

Also, there's something else I've wondering about and this goes out to anyone who has experienced something similar. Growing up, I was a fat little kid, eventually reaching a weight of around 270. I dieted and lost a good deal of weight, however I have what is known as loose skin. In other words, the skin around the areas where I was the fattest have been stretched out. I don't suppose there's anyway to tone or gain muscle to counteract this, is there?

 

[Onemic]

Thanks for the advice. Is it at all possible however for me to lose as much as I did initially?(meaning about 10 pounds a week) or is it not possible at this point?

 

[brocke]

You guys have got to help me out. I'm getting ready to just lose it and eat like a pig again. I've been working out 6 days a week for the last 2 months. I went from 215 pounds to 198 pounds.

I'm not the type of person who can keep coming up with healthy things to eat. Can someone for the good of me and maybe others confused on gaf come up with a chart that tells exactly what to eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner with minimal to no cooking involved?

I will stick by whatever you tell me like a hawk. I just need someone to tell me specifically what to eat at each meal. Please help me out. I don't want to be an ugly fatass anymore.

 

[Captain Glanton]

Cap, do you know of any good flexibility exercises? A childhood composed mostly of staying inside and sitting has come back to haunt me. I have poor flexibility in my hams, hips, and shoulders. I worry that lead to some potential injuries while lifting.

Also, there's something else I've wondering about and this goes out to anyone who has experienced something similar. Growing up, I was a fat little kid, eventually reaching a weight of around 270. I dieted and lost a good deal of weight, however I have what is known as loose skin. In other words, the skin around the areas where I was the fattest have been stretched out. I don't suppose there's anyway to tone or gain muscle to counteract this, is there?

Hips: Hands against the wall or whatever. Stand on one leg, and swing the other to and fro as far as you can, for a 10 count. Repeat other leg, for a few sets.

Shoulders: Stand up straight, back to the wall. Put your hands against the wall over your head, and slide them down flat to the wall by pulling your elbows down toward your sides. 10 count, a few sets.

Shoulders at the gym: In between my warmup sets for my presses, I will take a 5 lb plate in each hand, hold my arms out with my elbows up at 90 so my palms are overhead and facing the mirror. Then I swing them down to the 'palms down' position and back up, for a 8 or 10 count.

Legs, Lower Back: Hold onto something solid at waist level, and drop down and back into a deep squat position and 'bounce' that up and down. Then raise up a little and stretch your lower back by sticking your ass out as far as you can. Repeat as necessary.

Hips, Legs, Ankles: This is easy. Feet a little wider than shoulder width, toes out at 30 degrees. Drop down to an Ass to Grass squat, forearms resting on your knees. Hold that as long as you can.

Wrists: Palms together, fingers facing up, press together. Now put the backs of your hands together, fingers facing down, and press again. You can also spread your fingers out as you do this for a little extra.

I forgot: the loose skin is something for a plastic surgeon, to the best of my knowledge.

Thanks for the advice. Is it at all possible however for me to lose as much as I did initially?(meaning about 10 pounds a week) or is it not possible at this point?

10 pounds is great for even your first week. You won't hit that and keep it off again. You might hit something like that on a yo-yo, where you lose a bunch of weight in a week and then it comes back, but that's not the same.

You guys have got to help me out. I'm getting ready to just lose it and eat like a pig again. I've been working out 6 days a week for the last 2 months. I went from 215 pounds to 198 pounds.

I'm not the type of person who can keep coming up with healthy things to eat. Can someone for the good of me and maybe others confused on gaf come up with a chart that tells exactly what to eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner with minimal to no cooking involved?

I will stick by whatever you tell me like a hawk. I just need someone to tell me specifically what to eat at each meal. Please help me out. I don't want to be an ugly fatass anymore.

If you think of it like a diet, then you won't last. Eating clean is a way to live your life.

Anyway, here's what I eat:
Breakfast
3 eggs
a banana

Lunch
tuna or chicken salad
plain lettuce

Afternoon
protein mix and water
a few spoonfuls of natural peanut butter
maybe some dry oatmeal

Postworkout Shake
Surge, Skim Milk, and Vault Zero [it fucking rocks]

Dinner
chicken breast and rice
OR
half pound of ground beef with some taco sauce and a raw tomato

 

[brocke]

do you eat 3 eggs every day? I made a thread about that a while back and heard it was bad for you to eat that often. And how much chicken salad for lunch?

 

[Captain Glanton]

do you eat 3 eggs every day? I made a thread about that a while back and heard it was bad for you to eat that often. And how much chicken salad for lunch?

3 eggs every morning, and I haven't died yet. So we can conlude that they're perfectly safe.

About 1 cup of tuna or chicken salad equals 30 grams of protein. Good rule of thumb.

 

[brocke]

3 eggs every morning, and I haven't died yet. So we can conlude that they're perfectly safe.

About 1 cup of tuna or chicken salad equals 30 grams of protein. Good rule of thumb.

I always thought there was a lot of fat in tuna or chicken salad?

 

[Captain Glanton]

I always thought there was a lot of fat in tuna or chicken salad?

Homemade. Meat + relish + a dab of zero or low fat mayo.

 

[Christopher]

I always thought there was a lot of fat in tuna or chicken salad?

um no?

Grilled - balsamic vinager you're all set throw some spniach and tomatoes in there too

 

[brocke]

Homemade. Meat + relish + a dab of zero or low fat mayo.

So for tuna salad you just put a can of tuna fish + relish + dab of low fat mayo?

And chicken salad you put chicken + relish + dab of low fat mayo?

 

[Captain Glanton]

So for tuna salad you just put a can of tuna fish + relish + dab of low fat mayo?

And chicken salad you put chicken + relish + dab of low fat mayo?

Yup. For the chicken I use canned chicken, not breasts. Although I mix up about a week's worth at once and stick it in a glass bowl in the fridge.

 

[brocke]

Yup. For the chicken I use canned chicken, not breasts. Although I mix up about a week's worth at once and stick it in a glass bowl in the fridge.

Sounds awesome. And it stays good for a week?

 

[Captain Glanton]

Sounds awesome. And it stays good for a week?

Oh yeah. I'd put a lid on it, but a week in the fridge is fine for anything.

Anyone else got questions? I got half an hour on the dryer before I can go to bed.

 

[Christopher]

Yup. For the chicken I use canned chicken, not breasts. Although I mix up about a week's worth at once and stick it in a glass bowl in the fridge.

What is this canned chicken?

 

[deadbeef]

What is this canned chicken?

You can find it with the canned tuna. It is cooked, chopped up chicken. Good stuff.

Example:

Serving Size 2 oz. (56g)
Serv. Per Container About 5
Amount Per Serving
Calories 60
Total Fat 0.5g
Total Carbohydrate 0g
Protein 13g

 

[Captain Glanton]

What is this canned chicken?

Sam's Club sells 'em by the stack of five cans. Chunks of chicken pressed into cans with some water = proteins for the glorious masses.

 

[RumblingRosco]

Postworkout Shake
Surge, Skim Milk, and Vault Zero [it fucking rocks]

What? DO TELL!

 

[Captain Glanton]

What? DO TELL!

Surge is the postworkout mix from www.t-nation.com, aka Biotest. BCAAs, proteins, fats, etc. Get the Original Flavor. The milk makes it creamy, and the Value Zero makes it awesome. Mix it all together with creatine as soon as you get home from the gym. Seriously, I do sets of squats over 500 pounds, and I do weighted dips and pullups for 4 minutes straight, and I don't even feel sore anymore since I started drinking this stuff.

 

[brocke]

Surge is the postworkout mix from www.t-nation.com, aka Biotest. BCAAs, proteins, fats, etc. Get the Original Flavor. The milk makes it creamy, and the Value Zero makes it awesome. Mix it all together with creatine as soon as you get home from the gym. Seriously, I do sets of squats over 500 pounds, and I do weighted dips and pullups for 4 minutes straight, and I don't even feel sore anymore since I started drinking this stuff.

What about fruit? Should I be eating fruit too? And how much water per day do you drink?

 

[Captain Glanton]

What about fruit? Should I be eating fruit too? And how much water per day do you drink?

Fruit is good. Probably keep it in the first half of the day.

I drink water with lunch, while I teach, and with my pills, plus with the protein mix.

 

[Gruco]

Anyway, here's what I eat:
[meals]

Presumably there are a few more veggies in there?

 

[brocke]

Fruit is good. Probably keep it in the first half of the day.

I drink water with lunch, while I teach, and with my pills, plus with the protein mix.

Are you teaching in Japan?

 

[Captain Glanton]

Presumably there are a few more veggies in there?

Do as I say, not as I do. Eat your veggies.

Are you teaching in Japan?

What? No. Grad school. Big Ten.

Edit: Aaaand, the dryer's done. Time for a little sleep and then a long weekend of fucking dissertation work.

 

[Joe]

will i gain muscle mass if i'm not getting enough calories (avg about 2,000 a day, should be eating 3,000 from what i'm reading) but i get enough protein?

 

[Odrion]

Is there any sort of beginner bibles for muscle building?

 

[NZer]

Hey, I was wondering - does anyone have any routines to improve balance? Along with flexibilty, balance is something of mine that is very poor. As my cardiovascular fitness has improved from sport and my appearance has improved with going to the gym, I am starting to broaden my goals for self-improvement. I like to make short-term goals (things I will achieve in, say, under a month) for improvement, and while I was previously unfit and small, these things were just too far into the future.

I am not actually looking to be very muscular or strong - that is not something I am keen on at all - but I know that flexibility and balance are very important, and should help me in the sports I play. Ideally, I'm looking for a night-time routine, that I could do, say, before bed in sort of a yoga way to help me sleep - maybe something with a swisss ball - but of course, I can't just imagine these things and they'll exist!

I'd like to train my body for flexibility and balance in muntes a day! Help me GAF!

 

[Captain Glanton]

will i gain muscle mass if i'm not getting enough calories (avg about 2,000 a day, should be eating 3,000 from what i'm reading) but i get enough protein?

Short answer, no. You have to be eating more calories than you burn to gain muscle, and if you're exercising very hard, 2,000 a day probably won't cut it.

Is there any sort of beginner bibles for muscle building?

Lots of people like this one.

 

[Love To Love You Baby]

do you eat 3 eggs every day? I made a thread about that a while back and heard it was bad for you to eat that often. And how much chicken salad for lunch?

One egg alone contains a significant portion of your daily limit of cholesterol, so yeah eating three of them in one sitting isn't the greatest idea.

However, if you remove the egg yolk you pretty much remove the cholesterol (and some iron - but men don't need iron as much as women do, it's easy to get in meat and actually too much iron can be a bad thing for men, which is why most men's multivitamins don't contain iron). The egg white retains the protein so you'll get the benefits of an egg if you just eat the white.

 

[Slo]

www.askcaptglanton.com!

:lol

 

[Onemic]

Lost 2 pounds in 2 days, putting my net weight loss to 22 pounds in 3 weeks.

 

[Anton Sugar]

Thanks for the advice. What I'm doing is my school basic weight training workout that students of all sports use. Do you suggest I Military Press twice a week or once. I believe my best option would be to Board Bench on Friday, rest for a few minutes, and then do Military Press. Do you believe Nose Crunches are necessary on Friday or should I just do some Dips, Pullups, and triceps extensions?

Sorry for the late reply, I just moved states and have been internet ganked.

Military press, if you are unsure, you could just alternate. Do it once one week and twice the next.

The thing that bothers me about these school sports programs is the absence of pressing. Not only does this create an imbalance of strength in the posterior shoulder and rotator cuff, but the press is like the upper body squat--it works everything from the barbell down. The kinetic chain starts at the feet and everything between the feet and the barbell is worked. Pressing strengthens/builds your neck, traps, rhomboids, deltoids, triceps, parts of your lats, costals, spinal erectors, abs, and numerous other supportive muscles. You CAN move more weight with a bench press, but for athletic/sport ability, pressing is better.

By nose crunches, what do you mean? Regardless, I like dips, pullsups, and tri exts as assistance work, haha.

 

[Anton Sugar]

I'm naturally a little pudgy. I'm at 5'9", 164 right now. I topped out at 191 freshman year of college. I'm now a senior.

I do exercise 9 sessions a week, but the intensity is not so high that I am overtraining. I only do weights and cardio on the same day, twice a week. My weightlifting program is very basic, and only takes me about 30 minutes every day. I do 2 Chest/2 Triceps on Monday and Thursday. I do 2 Biceps/2 Back on Tuesday and Friday. Each workout involves 4 sets of 8-10 reps.

When I run, I run 2 miles max. I switch off between interval and straight-pace.

I eat 90% clean. I do a small meal every 2-3 hours. Mostly, I'm trying to lose the last 5-10 lbs of fat I have left.. Does this plan seem effective?

Training Schedule:
Monday - Lift/Run straight pace
Tuesday - Lift
Wednesday - Run HIIT 15 Minutes
Thursday - Lift/Run straight pace
Friday - Lift
Saturday - Run Straight pace
Sunday - Run HIIT 15 minutes

I know this is late, but I'm going to echo what Glanton said. Too many people think they can "work" their legs with running and strength train upper body exclusively. It doesn't work that way. Why would you train such huge groups of muscles in such vastly different ways?

Add in some squats, cut your upper body workouts by half.

 

[Anton Sugar]

To work on my chest Ive been doing bench pressing in 3 positions. Decline, stright and inclined. 12 reps, 4 series each position.

Is that routine good enough for the chest area? Should I add or remove anything?

I think I'm just going to play as Glanton's Yes man for this round and agree. Squats have helped my body grow more than anything else. I just do 3-5 sets of bench for chest, maybe some dips.

Similarly, I don't do incline or decline squats to hit "different parts" of my legs. Worry about getting a big chest, then you can pick out your "trouble spots" with specific exercises.

 

[Anton Sugar]

Is there any sort of beginner bibles for muscle building?

Starting Strength

Some other classics:
The Strongest Shall Survive, by Bill Starr (Rippetoe's mentor)
Stuart McRobert has the ol' Beyond Brawn series

 

[Joe]

ok, there's my very normal intake for a week, how does it look? i am 6'2", 182lbs and i'm looking to build muscle but also lose body fat % (all of my fat is in my gut and i have very little muscle in my upper body).

what needs tweaking? less carbs? also i've read B-6 can lead to sleepinesses is that true because i'm at 300% and i always have trouble sleeping.

can anyone suggest some supplements? i have been reading about power drive on t-nation. creatine maybe? i am already drinking protein powder.


thanks to everyone who is sharing information and offering guidance in this thread. it's really been helping a lot. hopefully i will be able to help out soon enough :lol

 

[djtiesto]

Been going for a week now, still taking it lightly with the weights but overall it's coming good... I think I'm gonna go for a couple more weeks to get my body used to weight training, before trying to build mass. Maybe right now I'll settle for some definition.

 

[Anton Sugar]

Been going for a week now, still taking it lightly with the weights but overall it's coming good... I think I'm gonna go for a couple more weeks to get my body used to weight training, before trying to build mass. Maybe right now I'll settle for some definition.

What do you mean by definition? Definition is purely a byproduct of the type of training you do and your bodyfat.

 

[Anton Sugar]

ok, there's my very normal intake for a week, how does it look? i am 6'2", 182lbs and i'm looking to build muscle but also lose body fat % (all of my fat is in my gut and i have very little muscle in my upper body).

what needs tweaking? less carbs? also i've read B-6 can lead to sleepinesses is that true because i'm at 300% and i always have trouble sleeping.

can anyone suggest some supplements? i have been reading about power drive on t-nation. creatine maybe? i am already drinking protein powder.


thanks to everyone who is sharing information and offering guidance in this thread. it's really been helping a lot. hopefully i will be able to help out soon enough :lol

If you're trying to build mass, you need more protein. AT LEAST 180g, shoot for 200g. I'd up your total caloric intake by about 1000. Add more fat and carbs. Always remember its easier to lose fat than it is to gain muscle. For most people.

 

[demon]

One egg alone contains a significant portion of your daily limit of cholesterol, so yeah eating three of them in one sitting isn't the greatest idea.

Completely outdated nutritional advice. Dietary cholesterol is not bad for you. I wish I could find it, but there was a study of people who ate a few eggs a day for a while and it actually had a slightly positive effect on their cholesterol. There has never been a study that shows otherwise.

EGGS AREN'T BAD FOR CHOLESTEROL.

 

[haunts]

wat are good protien bars?

I need something to eat through out the day at work to keep me full of protien... i got some protien bars, trying some out now but need more suggestions..

 

[Captain Glanton]

wat are good protien bars?

I need something to eat through out the day at work to keep me full of protien... i got some protien bars, trying some out now but need more suggestions..

Meh. Most protein bars aren't good--they have to process the shit out of the ingredients to get them to hold their form in those wrappers, on shelves, etc. My rec would be to buy a glass water bottle and put protein mix in it each morning. At work, fill with water, and shake it up. That and a piece of fruit would be a lot better and cheaper than eating a bar every day.

chart

What Mr. Snrub said. Most people need to increase the amount of good food [that's good food, not just any ol' stuff] they get, not decrease it.

 

[kathode]

Generally I find the rule of thumb for protein bars is that the worse they taste, the better they are for you I could not find one that I could bear to eat for more than a few days in a row, and the ones that taste good were more like candy bars with some protein in them than real nutrition bars. If anyone has any suggestions I'd love to hear them. I ended up just going with bringing powder to work in a big shaker bottle, adding water, and drinking it.

Another nutritional question - I work out early before work. Usually I'm in the gym starting my warm-ups just under an hour after I get out of bed. Right now I've just been downing a basic protein + water shake before my workout. Is there something better I should be eating? Should I be looking to take in some carbs as well? Oh, I also take NO Xplode right before I leave, as well.

 

[Anton Sugar]

Haha, yeah, forgot to mention. Eat the good stuff. Most people don't need carbs, but if you're trying to bulk, get some carbs and fat. Avoid trans fats and pure sugar.

 

[beelzebozo]

EGGS AREN'T BAD FOR CHOLESTEROL.

so one of those egg council creeps got to you too, huh?

 

[Wraith]

So I decided to try soy milk since I believe it has a better fat profile than 2% milk along with way fewer carbs. WOW! Soy milk is GREAT for making protein shakes. It gives the shakes a real shake-like body. I was afraid I wouldn't like it, but I'm glad I took the plunge and gave it a try. I tried the Silk Unsweetened variety.

I would recommend that anyone who is used to 2% give soy milk, which has 2/3s of the overall calories and about 8 fewer carbs per cup, a shot.

 

[Onemic]

Can you recommend to me any type of fat loss type dumbell exercises? Basically any dumbell exercise where the priority is weight loss....Or maybe a bit of muscle gain and weight loss. Any dumbell exercises that aim for the stomach/abs sector would be much appreciated as well.

Also does fibre cont as carbs? Since I'm on a low carb diet, I just wanted to know.

 

[Captain Glanton]

Can you recommend to me any type of fat loss type dumbell exercises? Basically any dumbell exercise where the priority is weight loss....Or maybe a bit of muscle gain and weight loss. Any dumbell exercises that aim for the stomach/abs sector would be much appreciated as well.

Also does fibre cont as carbs? Since I'm on a low carb diet, I just wanted to know.

Fiber [note proper, non-metric spelling] does count as carbs, but the carbs from whole grains and fiber are definitely better for you than those from white flour. Don't skip your oatmeal because you're at your carbs limit for the day.

For fat loss, you might try picking light 'bells and doing very high rep exercises. I'm thinking walking lunges with dumbbells, or going back and forth with curls and triceps extensions, for five minutes or ten minutes straight.

 

[Mr.City]

I've been noticing that my feet cramp when I do squats or lunges. What can I do to stop that?

 

[beelzebozo]

being healthy is damn hard work, and consumes so much mental energy.

 

[Captain Glanton]

I've been noticing that my feet cramp when I do squats or lunges. What can I do to stop that?

Stop being weird?