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[Dwayne]

Using the exercycle during your free time would be a good place to start. As you build up your endurance, you might start going out and running--you're better off running hard in shorter bursts than going at a slower pace over a longer period of time.

Your diet looks pretty bad, frankly. It doesn't look like you are getting any fruits and vegetables and very little protein. To lose weight properly you need to eat properly, and that means giving your body all the nutrients and calories that it needs. You will lose more weight, more quickly, and in a healthier way by eating a full diet of the right foods than you will by cutting your calories down as far as you can stand. I've seen people try to lose weight on the type of diet you're on now, and they work very hard and make themselves very miserable for very small results.

Thanks for your advice. I should have elaborated more on diet, shake =protien powder, banana, avocado, soymilk. Tofu sandwich includes lettuce & tomarto. Most days I'll have some nuts in the afternoon. Its not so much a diet, this is just how I eat.

I'll try the Exercycle a bit. I have a problem with my knees (osgood slatters disease) which in turn gives me some hassle when it comes to running (intense pain), so I'll skip that for now.

 

[beelzebozo]

the road to recovery is long and hard. the first day back to my running routine after three days of being nearly bedridden and things were hard going, but i did the entire thing--even if i drug my ass here and there

 

[Captain Glanton]

Thanks for your advice. I should have elaborated more on diet, shake =protien powder, banana, avocado, soymilk. Tofu sandwich includes lettuce & tomarto. Most days I'll have some nuts in the afternoon. Its not so much a diet, this is just how I eat.

I'll try the Exercycle a bit. I have a problem with my knees (osgood slatters disease) which in turn gives me some hassle when it comes to running (intense pain), so I'll skip that for now.

Are you a vegetarian? If not, I'd buy some small cans of tuna and try to get one in each day. If you are, then soy is probably your bet. I still think you want to get more protein, but I'm not sure how vegetarians do it.

Your fruit and veggie load looks pretty good, then. I always use the word 'diet' to mean how you eat each day--people are always on a diet of one kind or another, it's just a matter of how much self-control you have in the process.

the road to recovery is long and hard. the first day back to my running routine after three days of being nearly bedridden and things were hard going, but i did the entire thing--even if i drug my ass here and there

Good on you, man. Coming back from an illness sucks for a long time. Even when you feel okay in your everyday life, you still have that 'gack!' when you start pushing yourself for a long time.

 

[Mash]

Cool. Close grip bench presses are a great triceps exercise. As far as weight used, I usually pick something I can do for 3 sets of 10 reps. Close grip doesn't necessarily mean your grip is touching. My hands are about 8 inches apart.

BE CAREFUL. Mechanical compliance is an issue with CGBP's, as you may be fine on rep 9, but rep 10 isn't doing it. Because your pecs are not contributing greatly to the movement, once your triceps give out, the movement is DONE. Can be dangerous as you get up to heavy weight, which does NOT mean don't use heavy weight, but just be careful, and get a spotter for your last set if you start feeling it.

Close grip benches and some extensions with an EZ curl really worked my triceps well today. I think I've got my basic routine sorted again now, thanks for the advice.

 

[Captain Glanton]

Close grip benches and some extensions with an EZ curl really worked my triceps well today. I think I've got my basic routine sorted again now, thanks for the advice.

^^^Dips, man. Dips. And then weighted dips.

Did Max Effort weighted pullups today. 120lb dumbbell, 3 reps. <flexes> Did a bunch of other stuff too. For anyone who saw my thread last night, let's just say I was feeling very motivated today and leave it at that.

I'm thinking I might possibly go buy a digital camera in the next week or so, so I might at some point start posting some pics from the gym [assuming no more creepy folks show up around here].

 

[-viper-]

What should I eat pre-workout for a quick energy fix?

Usually I have a banana and a whey shake, but I feel very tired within 20 minutes of my workout :\

 

[Captain Glanton]

What should I eat pre-workout for a quick energy fix?

Usually I have a banana and a whey shake, but I feel very tired within 20 minutes of my workout :\

t-nation.com sells Spike, which does the job pretty well. I sometimes just chug a cup of coffee before I leave home.

 

[BlueTsunami]

What should I eat pre-workout for a quick energy fix?

Usually I have a banana and a whey shake, but I feel very tired within 20 minutes of my workout :\

I just eat an apple and drink some water. Make sure your consuming the right amount (and correct) food the day before and leading up to the workout. I've been eating like I should (High Calories, High Carbohydrates and High Protein) and I'm a monster in the Gym with the amount of energy I have.

 

[YYZ]

I'm thinking I might possibly go buy a digital camera in the next week or so, so I might at some point start posting some pics from the gym [assuming no more creepy folks show up around here].

Do you look like Kratos?

 

[Captain Glanton]

Do you look like Kratos?

If Kratos was a 5'9 English teacher, yes. :lol :lol

How'd you become a Junior, man?

 

[Cauliflower of Love]

What should I eat pre-workout for a quick energy fix?

Usually I have a banana and a whey shake, but I feel very tired within 20 minutes of my workout :\

Peanut butter has always helped me keep some sustained energy.

 

[beelzebozo]

I just eat an apple and drink some water. Make sure your consuming the right amount (and correct) food the day before and leading up to the workout. I've been eating like I should (High Calories, High Carbohydrates and High Protein) and I'm a monster in the Gym with the amount of energy I have.

apple and water has worked wonders for me, too. but i do massive amounts of that evil, evil cardio--i guess weight lifters may find their needs to be drastically different.

 

[YYZ]

If Kratos was a 5'9 English teacher, yes. :lol :lol

How'd you become a Junior, man?

err, you don't wanna know


What I mean is are you built like Kratos?

 

[Captain Glanton]

err, you don't wanna know


What I mean is are you built like Kratos?

Eh, Kratos is pretty long. I did snap a few cellphone shots in the mirror when I got home from the gym [one thing I've learned is that you can lose perspective on what you look like just going by shaving, etc in the mirror every day] and I'd say I probably looked more like Mark Coleman:

If I was considerably leaner, of course.

Edit: I will post this. I'm the one under the bar, naturally. This was over a year ago; I don't squat this heavy anymore, but I'm definitely larger and leaner now than I was then. People have to just keep after it and eat right week after week.

 

[TEH-CJ]

Eh, Kratos is pretty long. I did snap a few cellphone shots in the mirror when I got home from the gym [one thing I've learned is that you can lose perspective on what you look like just going by shaving, etc in the mirror every day] and I'd say I probably looked more like Mark Coleman:

If I was considerably leaner, of course.

Edit: I will post this. I'm the one under the bar, naturally. This was over a year ago; I don't squat this heavy anymore, but I'm definitely larger and leaner now than I was then. People have to just keep after it and eat right week after week.

You have an awesome physique dude. very impressive

and holy shit at the amount on that bar O_O. i can only do 3 plates each side of 8x3 and i wont walk for 3 days.

you have a kratos avatar, into fitness, and you bodybuild.

we are officially good friends :lol

edit: oh and excellent thread.

 

[YYZ]

holy shit that's close to 600lbs if I'm not mistaken, you've earned the seal of OMFG

 

[Captain Glanton]

Thanks, guys.

holy shit that's close to 600lbs if I'm not mistaken

585, yeah. I did four that day, but I wasn't very happy with my depth. The next week I did 605 for 1 in that rack, but I was an inch or two from smashing my fingers on the safety bars at the bottom, so I was much happier with my depth.

 

[Vanish]

so ive been wanting to increase my muscle mass and lose most of my fat for a while now and im just wondering if this regimen is good for that:

just turned 21 today
only 135-137 pounds
5 feet, 9 inches tall
work out my biceps, triceps, abs, and legs 2-3 times a week
bench press three times a week, i can only do 120-130 pounds
walk/jog 3-4 times a week, each time burning about 500 calories
i drink protein shakes and eat this bar after a workout: http://tinyurl.com/5po6kg

i can feel my abs but it cant be seen. i have like no fat whatsoever on my body other than some right on my stomach
and a little on my thighs. any muscles i have now are pretty small.
i try to avoid as much junk food as possible but it cant be helped sometimes.

like i said, i want to gain enough muscle mass for it to be noticeable
and toned, but i want my abs to be as visible as possible.
is this an efficient process to reach that goal?
thanks to any help at all, i really appreciate it

 

[Captain Glanton]

so ive been wanting to increase my muscle mass and lose most of my fat for a while now and im just wondering if this regimen is good for that:

just turned 21 today
only 135-137 pounds
5 feet, 9 inches tall
work out my biceps, triceps, abs, and legs 2-3 times a week
bench press three times a week, i can only do 120-130 pounds
walk/jog 3-4 times a week, each time burning about 500 calories
i drink protein shakes and eat this bar after a workout: http://tinyurl.com/5po6kg

i can feel my abs but it cant be seen. i have like no fat whatsoever on my body other than some right on my stomach
and a little on my thighs. any muscles i have now are pretty small.
i try to avoid as much junk food as possible but it cant be helped sometimes.

like i said, i want to gain enough muscle mass for it to be noticeable
and toned, but i want my abs to be as visible as possible.
is this an efficient process to reach that goal?
thanks to any help at all, i really appreciate it

I'd say that you need to incorporate a lot more compound and olympic lifts into your workout: pullups, deadlifts, squats, power cleans, and also throw in overhead presses in addition to or instead of flat bench presses. You are most likely doing the same exercises too many times a week as well; you might go to what's called an upper/lower split, or a total body workout. If you were to do a total body workout, you might do this:

Day 1
Squats
Pullups
Overhead Presses
Dips

Day 2
Front Squats
Barbell Rows
Flat Benches
Barbell Curls
Side Raises

Day 3
Deadlifts
Walking Dumbbell Lunges
Incline Bench Presses
Dips
Hammer Curls

Now, this is a lot of work for someone just starting out. Make sure that you don't use too much weight at first--work on form and on building up your strength and your endurance. Total body workouts can be killers. You also need to make sure that you're eating all the clean food that you can stand. Protein bars are better than nothing, but the refining they go through to be able to hold their form on the shelf will wreck much of the ingredients' value. You might look around for a good postwork shake, or just make sure you eat some solid food right away.

Edit: Those are 3 workout days spread over a 7 day week, of course.

 

[Anton Sugar]

It's nice having Glanton around, because we both basically say the same thing.

 

[BlueTsunami]

I've recently switched off Designer Whey and trying out SNI Pro Mass (purchased at my local Vitamin shop). Heres the label on the back...



You get a large dosage of Carbohydrates, Protein and Calories but the Cholestrol level looks to be dangerously high...any thoughts on that?

Your supposed to take it twice a day with 2 scoops per drink (not the 4 recommended). So essentially cut all the supplement dosages in half for each true serving.

Now, is ingesting that high amount of Carbohydrates in one sitting doing anything for you? I would imagine that theres only so much the body can process in one sitting.

Edit: Calculating the split in serving per cup...your getting 50 Carbs per drink which is actually the recommended amount per serving when I calculated my daily meal plan...not bad at all...

If not, this shake would really help with me meeting my daily goal of Calories, Carbs and Protein.

 

[Brendonia]

Using the exercycle during your free time would be a good place to start. As you build up your endurance, you might start going out and running--you're better off running hard in shorter bursts than going at a slower pace over a longer period of time.

Your diet looks pretty bad, frankly. It doesn't look like you are getting any fruits and vegetables and very little protein. To lose weight properly you need to eat properly, and that means giving your body all the nutrients and calories that it needs. You will lose more weight, more quickly, and in a healthier way by eating a full diet of the right foods than you will by cutting your calories down as far as you can stand. I've seen people try to lose weight on the type of diet you're on now, and they work very hard and make themselves very miserable for very small results.


Looks great.

Less great. Keep the greens, up the amount of chicken ["some" sounds like very little], drop the cheese.


OR

Sandwich using that lite low-carb wheat bread w/ ham, turkey, or tuna
Small salad
Orange or Apple or both
Diet Coke


The sticks are great, but drop the granola bar [unless you're cooking them yourself] and the cheese. Keep the whey shake, of course. Here's my midafternoon shake: skim milk, raw oatmeal, natural peanut butter, whey, 1/2 a Diet Cherry Coke.


Looks great.



Not every day. The occasional low fat microwave popcorn is fine, and it can be a great solution to the "pizza/subway/ice cream" jonseing we all get. But it's a sometimes thing; you don't need a snack every night.


I'm just giving you some tweaks, in part so that others can see what diet tweaking looks like. You're already most of the way there, and it's great to see someone taking their chicken, greens, and fruits and veggies so seriously.

Cool, thanks bud. I did decide to ditch the cheese and have definitely cut out the granola bar as well. I have been eating pretty horribly the last couple days because I had ridiculously long work days (quarter end at a major corporation, and i'm in the finance department) so I was at work from 8AM-midnight on Friday and almost the entire day yesterday as well, and I don't feel too great today. Oh and some chicken means at least a full chicken breast, didn't really specify that, but when I eat things like chicken it's almost always a good sized portion.

 

[Chichikov]

I've recently switched off Designer Whey and trying out SNI Pro Mass (purchased at my local Vitamin shop). Heres the label on the back...

http://www.imageox.com/image/218858-snipro4.jpg

You get a large dosage of Carbohydrates, Protein and Calories but the Cholestrol level looks to be dangerously high...any thoughts on that?

Your supposed to take it twice a day with 2 scoops per drink (not the 4 recommended). So essentially cut all the supplement dosages in half for each true serving.

Now, is ingesting that high amount of Carbohydrates in one sitting doing anything for you? I would imagine that theres only so much the body can process in one sitting.

Edit: Calculating the split in serving per cup...your getting 50 Carbs per drink which is actually the recommended amount per serving when I calculated my daily meal plan...not bad at all...

If not, this shake would really help with me meeting my daily goal of Calories, Carbs and Protein.

Dietary cholesterol does not translate directly to serum cholesterol, but this sounds a tad high for me.
But I'm far from a supplement expert, nor am I a huge fan, and this is part of the reason why - I just don't have the time to research and understand the products throughly.

And generally, I feel that the risks and benefits of a chicken breast is much better understood than those of extracted Oligosaccharide and Acesulfame Potassium.

So whenever I felt I needed to augment my diet, I tried to keep it as simple as possible.

 

[teh_pwn]

26 pages, you know the drill, no time reader, first time poster...

So I got some gut. The rest of my odd bodily shape is skinny, skinny arms, legs, like that.

Anyhow, I just wanna eliminate that. I eat very simply most days, a shake for breakfast, a nashi sometime before lunch, and a tofu sandwich and yogurt at lunch. Most days I might have a bit of toast and some soy milk for dinner. Occasionally i'll have a full meal for dinner, and occasionally (like, 2-3 times a week) i'll have a sweet of some sort, dessert you know.

Currently I do zero exercise, and have an open half an hour at 7am on Tues, Weds, and Thurs, and could probably find another half an hour sometime on a Saturday afternoon.

So what can you suggest? I read OP but it seems to be more for building muscles and like that, while i'm just trying to look like a skinny nerd. Clues please!

Edit : oh and I have access to an exercycle.

Don't worry, you aren't going to gain so much muscle magically that you'll have to be concerned about not having a lean V shaped body. Even that takes a lot of consistency and hard work.

1. Lift weights.
2. Cut all soy out of your diet, with the exception of fermented soy. Unfermented soy's protein is very hard for the body to use, and the plant estrogens in it are similar enough to bind estrogen receptors to cause estrogenic effects, like muscle loss.

If you're an omnivore you have all of the best options: Lean meat, eggs, fish, milk protein isolate.

If you're a vegetarian: Eggs and milk protein isolate.

If that yogurt you're eating is some vegan soy shit: Lentils, beans, rice, quinoa.

3. Sleep 8 hours a night. Critical time for your body to replace damaged muscle tissue and add on more. It also optimizes hormone production. Not just androgens, but it also keeps hormones like leptin from increasing, which is the hormone that'll give you cravings for some counterproductive food.

 

[Captain Glanton]

I've recently switched off Designer Whey and trying out SNI Pro Mass (purchased at my local Vitamin shop). Heres the label on the back...



You get a large dosage of Carbohydrates, Protein and Calories but the Cholestrol level looks to be dangerously high...any thoughts on that?

Your supposed to take it twice a day with 2 scoops per drink (not the 4 recommended). So essentially cut all the supplement dosages in half for each true serving.

Now, is ingesting that high amount of Carbohydrates in one sitting doing anything for you? I would imagine that theres only so much the body can process in one sitting.

Edit: Calculating the split in serving per cup...your getting 50 Carbs per drink which is actually the recommended amount per serving when I calculated my daily meal plan...not bad at all...

If not, this shake would really help with me meeting my daily goal of Calories, Carbs and Protein.

Like Chichikov said, Cholesterol on the label doesn't necessarily translate to bad blood work. At the same time, you have to realize that doing the things that the "big and bad" guys you might see on tv do [UFC is on Spike right now, so that's probably a good example] is going to contradict the advice people like the AMA will give. I'm not talking about steroids at all here. I mean that eating the food and supplements you need to look and, more importantly, act anything like, say, a top combat sport or similar athlete is going to give you different blood work than what you'd get living like someone who lives on water and broccoli. You're not going to have a heart attack at 40, and I'd rather look and move like an MMA fighter than a yoga guru, but we have to realize that that difference is there.

It's nice having Glanton around, because we both basically say the same thing.

:lol I do what I can. :lol

 

[Funky Papa]

Against my better judgement I recently started to take L-Arginine to increase muscle congestion. I am not sure about how much it will improve the absorption of nutrients, but I feel much more motivated. Pecs and biceps are ROCK HARD after a few minutes.

On a sidenote, it has the typical side effects of most potent vasodilators. Which means raging, uncontrolable erections whenever my little friends feels slightly aroused. Which happens quite oftenly considering that I train with a stupidly hot brunette from the next block. Someday I'm going to get myself in trouble.

 

[Ace 8095]

I just purchased Starting Strength 2nd Edition. I've been lifting since November but I decided that I might as well make sure I'm doing the lifts properly. I will post on how much my form changes as I move to the correct way. I hope its money well spent.

 

[ejdonk]

Ok, so I started to go to the gym for the first time ever a week ago. Before I didn't do any sports or anything else exhausting for around 12 years.
My current weight is 194 pounds (88kg), height 5.8-5.9 (179cm). My goal is to lose some weight and shaping what is left.

I usually do some stretching and then use the treadmill or a stepper for 5 mins to warm up. Then I'm lifting weights for around 40-60 min and afterwards back to treadmill or stepper for 30 min (trying to burn around 250-350 calories). I have two different programs for lifting weights, so that I let my muscles always rest a day before getting back to the same routine.

What I did last week was to go to the gym every day from monday to friday, then on saturday only 1 hour of basketball, racquettball or soccer and then using sunday as a resting day.

Would you recommend me to go on like this or should I adjust anything? I'm feeling fine after that first week and I can already see and feel great progress with my stamina during cardio.

I'm just not sure, if I should do cardio first and then weights or the other way around. Also I'm not sure if I should do more cardio and less weights or if 30 minutes cardio a day are sufficient.

 

[Captain Glanton]

Ok, so I started to go to the gym for the first time ever a week ago. Before I didn't do any sports or anything else exhausting for around 12 years.
My current weight is 194 pounds (88kg), height 5.8-5.9 (179cm). My goal is to lose some weight and shaping what is left.

I usually do some stretching and then use the treadmill or a stepper for 5 mins to warm up. Then I'm lifting weights for around 40-60 min and afterwards back to treadmill or stepper for 30 min (trying to burn around 250-350 calories). I have two different programs for lifting weights, so that I let my muscles always rest a day before getting back to the same routine.

What I did last week was to go to the gym every day from monday to friday, then on saturday only 1 hour of basketball, racquettball or soccer and then using sunday as a resting day.

Would you recommend me to go on like this or should I adjust anything? I'm feeling fine after that first week and I can already see and feel great progress with my stamina during cardio.

I'm just not sure, if I should do cardio first and then weights or the other way around. Also I'm not sure if I should do more cardio and less weights or if 30 minutes cardio a day are sufficient.

We really need to see your specific exercise routine to judge it effectively. But, if you're lifting weights Mon-Fri, and you're lifting for the first time ever and not feeling terrible, then you either need to up the intensity or just hitting a bit of beginner's enthusiasm. I'd recommend trying a routine similar to the one I made in Post 1274. I'd do only weights 3 days a week, and then only cardio for the remaining days that you're feeling up to it. The best way to go about is to be as intense with the weights as you can for 3 days a week, rather than to 'take it easy' and lift 5 days a week.

 

[RumblingRosco]

I've started working on adding HIIT into my exercise routine, which currently consists of 3-4 days of lifting a day (basically, lifting every other day).

So, I've decided I'd like to work HIIT into my routine 2-3 days a week (making sure I get atleast 1 day with no HIIT or lifting every 7 days), on the days I'm not lifting. Conveniently, I live in a 4 story dorm, thus, stairs it is!

I just started today, and I timed myself. I start with stretching, and then walking up and down all 4 flights once just to get a bit of a warm up. After that, I began essentially sprinting up and down 2 full sets of stairs (so, up 4 levels, down 4, up 4, down 4), and then would spend 1 full set of stairs at a slower, almost walking, pace (so, up 4 levels, down 4 levels). I did this for 20 minutes and ended up doing 15 full sets (up 4 levels, down 4 levels, 15 times each). Afterwards, I walked up and down all 4 flights once to cool down and did a little more stretching.

Basically, I'm wondering if this seems like a reasonable start for a HIIT routine? I'm concerned only going for 20 minutes is kind of short, but then again, I'm not sure exactly what's a good estimated time for a full HIIT routine. I did notice by the end of it that I felt like my legs were about to collapse, but my heart/cardiovascular system, while pumping like mad, didn't feel like it was ready to give out yet. I hope that description makes sense, if it's any help.

If I eventually get in shape for it, I'm going to add weights to myself for this routine, but being a cheap bastard, I'm thinking of just taking my sturdy backpack and tossing textbooks or whatever else I can find that's heavy and putting that on while doing this. That isn't an unreasonable idea, is it? It's farther down the road, just thought I'd ask.

Any advice or suggestions would be awesome. Thanks.

i drink protein shakes and eat this bar after a workout: http://tinyurl.com/5po6kg

I'm by no means an expert on this stuff, but I'd say that protein bar from GNC isn't a great option as a food, working-out related or otherwise. It's loaded with sugar, fat, sodium, and calories, and being a protein bar, it's so heavily synthesized in order to keep it together as one gooey bar that I'm not sure your body is even getting all the nutritional components that it says it contains. Not to mention, it's $3.00 a bar!

I never have really found a good alternative to the taste/texture/proposed nutritional value of most protein bars though, unfortunately, so I don't really have a suggestion as to what to eat instead. Just mentioning that the one you're currently eating isn't something I'd personally want.

EDIT: whoops, flipped my stair sets with the time spent. Fixed it now, if it matters.

 

[TEH-CJ]

Glanton my man

whats your opinion on the Keto diet ?

 

[Sol..]

I've started working on adding HIIT into my exercise routine, which currently consists of 3-4 days of lifting a day (basically, lifting every other day).

So, I've decided I'd like to work HIIT into my routine 2-3 days a week (making sure I get atleast 1 day with no HIIT or lifting every 7 days), on the days I'm not lifting. Conveniently, I live in a 4 story dorm, thus, stairs it is!

I just started today, and I timed myself. I start with stretching, and then walking up and down all 4 flights once just to get a bit of a warm up. After that, I began essentially sprinting up and down 2 full sets of stairs (so, up 4 levels, down 4, up 4, down 4), and then would spend 1 full set of stairs at a slower, almost walking, pace (so, up 4 levels, down 4 levels). I did this for 15 minutes and ended up doing 20 full sets (up 4 levels, down 4 levels, 20 times each). Afterwards, I walked up and down all 4 flights once to cool down and did a little more stretching.

Basically, I'm wondering if this seems like a reasonable start for a HIIT routine? I'm concerned only going for 15 minutes is kind of short, but then again, I'm not sure exactly what's a good estimated time for a full HIIT routine. I did notice by the end of it that I felt like my legs were about to collapse, but my heart/cardiovascular system, while pumping like mad, didn't feel like it was ready to give out yet. I hope that description makes sense, if it's any help.

If I eventually get in shape for it, I'm going to add weights to myself for this routine, but being a cheap bastard, I'm thinking of just taking my sturdy backpack and tossing textbooks or whatever else I can find that's heavy and putting that on while doing this. That isn't an unreasonable idea, is it? It's farther down the road, just thought I'd ask.

Any advice or suggestions would be awesome. Thanks.

I'm very curious about this myself. I tried looking up HIIT for a stationary bike, and i generally found alot of examples that went with like 15 to 20 minutes time. That seems a lil short.

 

[Slo]

If 15 minutes of HIIT doesn't make you want to die, you're not doing it hard enough.

 

[Sol..]

If 15 minutes of HIIT doesn't make you want to die, you're not doing it hard enough.

rofl well thats a helluva answer.

 

[Captain Glanton]

Glanton my man

whats your opinion on the Keto diet ?

I just read up on this from Bodybuilding.com. In its broad strokes, it's no different from what I do: as much protein as I can, as few carbs as I can, and fats as they come in. This version advocates "full fat cheese" and Slim Jims, neither of which I care for. But I do let myself eat 3 real eggs every morning, and I'm fine with it even though many would probably say to do fake eggs or just a whey shake instead. It might be worth noting that the guy in the 'author's pic' for that article looks like total shit.

For people wondering about HIIT intensity: I agree with Slo. I have recently found a man-made hill here in town, made for winter sledding. Friday, I was sprinting up and coming down as fast as I can. After a few, I was standing with hands on hips between bouts, and after about 6 I was bent down gasping.

 

[RumblingRosco]

Alright, thanks for the comments guys. Sounds like I'm about where I need to be with it, just need to keep pushing myself to go as fast as possible on the faster phases, and maybe make sure I'm not taking the slow phases too slow.

 

[Captain Glanton]

Alright, thanks for the comments guys. Sounds like I'm about where I need to be with it, just need to keep pushing myself to go as fast as possible on the faster phases, and maybe make sure I'm not taking the slow phases too slow.

I forgot to mention: I ran so, so many stairs two summers ago. I got into amazing shape, but it totally fucked up the bottoms of my feet. That tendon that runs down your arch? It seizes up if I try to run more than a few flights of stairs now.

That's why I've switched to carrying weights when I do stairs--more work with less wear on the feet and joints. A backpack sounds fine, so long as you keep it tight to your back.

 

[RumblingRosco]

I forgot to mention: I ran so, so many stairs two summers ago. I got into amazing shape, but it totally fucked up the bottoms of my feet. That tendon that runs down your arch? It seizes up if I try to run more than a few flights of stairs now.

That's why I've switched to carrying weights when I do stairs--more work with less wear on the feet and joints. A backpack sounds fine, so long as you keep it tight to your back.

Well, I think I'm at less of a risk than you were for injuring your feet. I don't actually know how much you weigh, but just looking at how much you're capable of squatting from your photo, you running up stairs puts a lot more weight on your arches than my rather measly 170lbs. Of course, I'll keep your advice in mind regardless and make sure I keep my socks and shoes in good condition to avoid any additional risk, and once I get more in shape I was intending on stacking on weights anyway.

 

[Captain Glanton]

Well, I think I'm at less of a risk than you were for injuring your feet. I don't actually know how much you weigh, but just looking at how much you're capable of squatting from your photo, you running up stairs puts a lot more weight on your arches than my rather measly 170lbs. Of course, I'll keep your advice in mind regardless and make sure I keep my socks and shoes in good condition to avoid any additional risk, and once I get more in shape I was intending on stacking on weights anyway.

I usually hover between 210 and 215. Not as much as many, but the pounding adds up. Good shoes matter so much more than I thought they did [I am buying a new pair of running shoes in a few days, actually]. Double socks help, too. Once you screw up your lower legs, ain't no goin' back.

 

[Vanish]

I'm by no means an expert on this stuff, but I'd say that protein bar from GNC isn't a great option as a food, working-out related or otherwise. It's loaded with sugar, fat, sodium, and calories, and being a protein bar, it's so heavily synthesized in order to keep it together as one gooey bar that I'm not sure your body is even getting all the nutritional components that it says it contains. Not to mention, it's $3.00 a bar!

I never have really found a good alternative to the taste/texture/proposed nutritional value of most protein bars though, unfortunately, so I don't really have a suggestion as to what to eat instead. Just mentioning that the one you're currently eating isn't something I'd personally want.

if this is true, then what protein bar would you guys recommend? this is the protein bar he was talking about: http://tinyurl.com/5po6kg Like i said in post 1273, i want build muscle and lose any fat i have left so my abs can finally show. im probably overdoing it trying to do both at the same time...

 

[Captain Glanton]

if this is true, then what protein bar would you guys recommend? this is the protein bar he was talking about: http://tinyurl.com/5po6kg Like i said in post 1273, i want build muscle and lose any fat i have left so my abs can finally show. im probably overdoing it trying to do both at the same time...

Protein bars should be for emergencies only. If you are eating them regularly, you really need to just plan ahead better and have, say, a water bottle with some whey protein mix in it, so you can add water, shake, and drink when necessary.

 

[Mr.City]

What kind of music do you listen while you work out, Glaton? I've been trying to incorporate music into my workouts, but it seems to be distracting.

 

[Captain Glanton]

What kind of music do you listen while you work out, Glaton? I've been trying to incorporate music into my workouts, but it seems to be distracting.

Fast and hard, but not to the point that it doesn't have some kind of melody.

Right now, the top of the iPod Shuffle list is Rage ... Machine, stuff from the God of War II SDTK, stuff from the Rocky GH SDTK [or whatever], Slipknot, Drowning Pool, Chimaira, G n R. But the real trick is to find that stuff that really sets you off personally. The last few days, Eminem's "Lose Yourself" has been that song. Sometimes it's something like the "Firefly" theme.

You also gotta pace stuff out. I'll listen to Pantera, Soundgarden, Biohazard for regular sets. But for when things get most intense, I have a sequence of this, this, and this. If I go through that part of the Shuffle list while getting ready for something big, I get so ready it's hard to contain myself. It's like I can walk through walls. That's what I was probably listening to in the pic above, and to do stuff like that you have to be ready to walk through some walls.

 

[buckfutter]

What kind of music do you listen while you work out, Glaton? I've been trying to incorporate music into my workouts, but it seems to be distracting.

Personally, I just put on an entire album of something vaguely upbeat, doesn't really matter what but anything electronic usually does the job.

Of course I'm too lazy to make a proper album playlist so I'll be halfway through my running and Leonard Cohen's "Songs From a Room" or some Jacques Brel will inevitably start playing. Then I look around nervously because I'm convinced someone is going to find out I'm listening to a 1950's French singer-songwriter whilst I pump iron and they'll all turn and point at me like in Invasion of the Body Snatchers.

Oh, and I must stress that good quality shoes are really, really important. Now jogging is almost sort of enjoyable, it makes that much of a difference. No more back pains, no more knee aches.

 

[TEH-CJ]

I just read up on this from Bodybuilding.com. In its broad strokes, it's no different from what I do: as much protein as I can, as few carbs as I can, and fats as they come in. This version advocates "full fat cheese" and Slim Jims, neither of which I care for. But I do let myself eat 3 real eggs every morning, and I'm fine with it even though many would probably say to do fake eggs or just a whey shake instead. It might be worth noting that the guy in the 'author's pic' for that article looks like total shit.

For people wondering about HIIT intensity: I agree with Slo. I have recently found a man-made hill here in town, made for winter sledding. Friday, I was sprinting up and coming down as fast as I can. After a few, I was standing with hands on hips between bouts, and after about 6 I was bent down gasping.

Yea i thought so dude

i have a similar diet, altho i add abit more complex carbs to my diet other wise i find my energy levels low and my muscles don't feel "full" so to speak

 

[Squall5042]

Any resources for those of us lowly enough to not afford a gym? I have a set of dumbbells and I want to start dedicating days of the week to different muscle groups, but need help identifying which muscle groups get their own days and their appropriate work outs (remember: no gym, just dumbbells, an exercise ball, and a pull up bar...)

 

[Shoho]

I have made some good progress with my weight loss, but each time I have shitty or a rough day, I just feel like eating alot of junk food(bagles, sandwhiches, shawaramas, thai box), and stuff like orange juice and chocolate milk... I guess because I crave sugar and sweet taste.
I also want to eat like 4-5 protein bars with caramel..... its like I am not satisfied until I am so full that it would be impossible to get more down.

I hate this. its my eating problems that slows my progress towards a weight loss. I thought I could still loose weight if I just did excessive amounts of cardio each day... but I cant.

I just always fall of the wagon on bad days. its like I need these foods and liquids to heal myself.
I work at a school full of spoiled children... im so bombed and stressed when I get home. I really need to find a new job, but... its really taking its toll on me. frack

It's stupid because I know it will be over quickly. I'll just eat these things, and be satisfied for the night, and then wake up the next day feeling bad because I took in 3 times as many calories as I should have. Part of my problem is perhaps habit... but its always on bad days in particularly that I get these urges.
Im at the point right now where I almost cant stop me for going down to the supermarked and feast on all these bad foods. damn damn damn.
I have been on and off diets for the last 8-9 years. I dont even remember what its like to have a normal relationship with food.

 

[BlueTsunami]

Any resources for those of us lowly enough to not afford a gym? I have a set of dumbbells and I want to start dedicating days of the week to different muscle groups, but need help identifying which muscle groups get their own days and their appropriate work outs (remember: no gym, just dumbbells, an exercise ball, and a pull up bar...)

You should be able to make due with a Pullup Bar you install in a doorway, a dumbell and straight bar, a bench (thats able to incline and decline if possible) and a set of weights.

I believe you can use the exercise ball as a sort of bench but I'm not sure if that would be good for the back (possibly round it off when it needs to be straight).

 

[JasoNsider]

I have made some good progress with my weight loss, but each time I have shitty or a rough day, I just feel like eating alot of junk food(bagles, sandwhiches, shawaramas, thai box), and stuff like orange juice and chocolate milk... I guess because I crave sugar and sweet taste.
I also want to eat like 4-5 protein bars with caramel..... its like I am not satisfied until I am so full that it would be impossible to get more down.

I hate this. its my eating problems that slows my progress towards a weight loss. I thought I could still loose weight if I just did excessive amounts of cardio each day... but I cant.

I just always fall of the wagon on bad days. its like I need these foods and liquids to heal myself.
I work at a school full of spoiled children... im so bombed and stressed when I get home. I really need to find a new job, but... its really taking its toll on me. frack

It's stupid because I know it will be over quickly. I'll just eat these things, and be satisfied for the night, and then wake up the next day feeling bad because I took in 3 times as many calories as I should have. Part of my problem is perhaps habit... but its always on bad days in particularly that I get these urges.
Im at the point right now where I almost cant stop me for going down to the supermarked and feast on all these bad foods. damn damn damn.
I have been on and off diets for the last 8-9 years. I dont even remember what its like to have a normal relationship with food.

The words you wrote could have fallen out of my own mouth, that's how close it is to my situation. What I'm doing to combat this is (and related to another thread on the OT) drinking water like a madman.

Also, start developing a distinguished palette might work. Start with water and drop juice and pop. Also, stick to things that are lighter tasting in your food and you actually start developing a taste for "subtle" tastes.

At least it seems this way. I haven't had coke in forever, and when I tasted it the other day it tasted ridiculously sweet to the point of gross. Same with incredibly strong tasting foods. Eat enough subtle tasting, less greasy foods like salads and soups and you'll start looking at double patty beef burgers like they are gross.

...But start with water. I can't even stress how much of a difference it's made for me in only like 2 months. Binge eating is pretty much impossible if you're sipping on water all the time.

 

[Google]

I just always fall of the wagon on bad days. its like I need these foods and liquids to heal myself.

I was like this on the weekend, so I binged on not-so-bad stuff.

I ate some popcorn, I made a sandwich and I drank 600ml of water with some crystal light.

I was full up, my craving for sugar had been lessened and I'd had a treat in the popcorn and the sandwich.

None of it was particularly terrible for me, and when in the past I might have ordered a Pizza or spent $10 on candy, I instead had a standard meal that I wouldnt normally eat.