I thought we should take the discussion from the pop thread to new one......
I was reading that an "inactive" man should target 13 calories per pound of weight to maintain where they are at. An "active" man should target 15 calories per pound. Now, I know that those are just estimates, but it is interesting to see how much someone can actually eat an not gain weight. Of course this assumes they aren't eating a ton of salt or other water retaining substance, and probably dozens of other factors, but it is interesting.
I am 6'1", and according to the BMI thing, I should weigh between 144-189. Holy crap! I've got a ways to go. I weigh 30 pounds more than a guy that I work with who is 10 years younger than me, but he looks in worse shape than I do.
Well, time for some good breakfast and more water...
I fall under the same BMI index as you and I haven't weighed less than 189 since I was 16yrs old. BMI is only a guide and if you are a larger frame you can usually add 10-20 lbs to the index and still be healthy. The bigger concern is percentage of fat, I would shoot for less than 20%, ideally around 10%, lowest I have been was 208 and 8% while I was playing football about 17years of age till I was 22 when I gave up the football career at 217. My best was at 40years of age and 207lb and 11% BF a couple of years ago and I am now back up to 235lbs and I haven't bothered checking my BF as I know it is way too high
.
I use a Tanita BF bathroom scale now and it has been checked to be with in 2% of BF when used correctly. I would highly recommend anyone seriously trying to loose weight to get one as it helps you realize that the weight gains are either muscle or fat.
BMI is totally bogus. So are those silly bathroom scales with body fat indicators. The only way to truly measure body fat is get dunked in water (Hydrodensitometry Weighing).
Personally, I wouldn’t worry about what your body fat % is unless you have it accurately tested annually. The best method for monitoring body fat is a tape around the gut, the mirror, and monitor your weight on a weekly basis. I use Arnold’s method. Jump up and down in front of a mirror and see what jiggles. If it jiggles, it’s time to make a change. (That's Jiggle - Peter / Tom, not bounce)
I also wouldn’t put too much weight in all these recommended caloretic intake charts that are all over the place. There’s simply too many variables to take into consideration when calorie counting. Until an individual knows their body well enough to see and feel changes from what they eat and what they do, it’s only guess work.
Keep it simple. Do the math on everything you eat. Look at the calorie count on the item / thing you want to eat and figure out caloretic fat percentage. Keep fat intake under 25%, protein at 50% and carbs at 25%. If you want to put on muscle, you need to consume one – one and half grams of protein for every pound of lean bodyweight. If you are a very active person (biking, running, hiking, etc) then bump up the carbs to 50% and lower protein to 25%. Eat small portions every three to four hours a day. A portion should be no larger than the size of your fist. Exercise for at least 20 minutes in the morning before eating anything at least three times a week. If you’re trying to tone up, start out at 10 calories per pound of body weight. Monitor your weight at this calorie intake for two weeks and adjust as needed. Shoot for one pound of weight loss per week, and no more. You want to loose fat gradually, and if you cut back too far, your body will cannibalize muscle mass.
Fitness and health is a way of life, not a program. If you are saying to yourself, “I don’t have time to work out”, you’ve already lost the game and admitted defeat. You need to get into the frame of mind that everything else comes after your health. It’s OK to be selfish. It’s the only body you will get and if you can’t take care of yourself, you can’t take care of anyone else, and eventually, you end up killing yourself prematurely if you don’t take care of yourself.
BMI is totally bogus. So are those silly bathroom scales with body fat indicators. The only way to truly measure body fat is get dunked in water (Hydrodensitometry Weighing).
I will try to find the U of C article where they tested the Tanita scale against the dunking method, this is where it was discovered to be quite accurate.
The gripping ones are bogus so far as accuracy but they will give you an indication of going up or down. Key thing to remember with any of the electronic ones is to use them at the same time of day and average out readings over a week.
As for the rest of what you said I totally agree.
BTW, my coloric intake wasn't based on a chart it was based on VO2/Co2 test I took a few years back.
Yeah - I don't worry about that stuff anymore. I'm 61 years old (and STILL younger than Jack). I am 6'3" tall and weigh 255lbs.
With all of that, I can STILL do the 40 yd. dash in 4.4 minutes!
Just returned from the Doctor yesterday regarding my annual blood test results. My weight is good, my bad HDL cholesterol is great but she was concerned that my LDL (good cholesteral) has been creeping down every year.
I think she was looking for more of a concerned response when I said "YAY! I get to eat more peanuts!". She then said something else to me but my brain was stuck on "MMmmhhhh, more barbecued salmon...."
Being unhealthy can have it's benefits.
I agree that people should "keep it simple". I am decresing calories, but that doesn't mean that I just eat candy bars or scoops of lard. I've been really looking at the mix of carbs, proteins, fats, etc. I've been eating healthier for all of my meals, and drinking water. I used to have a 22oz pop in the morning, another around lunch time, and then milk or water at night. Now, I am 44 ounces less on the pop, and no more "monster" glasses of milk at night. Instead of fast food lunches or hitting the local Chinese buffet, I am a 2 tuna or chicken sandwich guy on 45 calorie per slice bread with my 1 spoon of Miracle Whip (I hate mayonase anyway). Breakfast is no longer a couple of donuts or some other breakfast sandwhich from the conveinience store a block from my office, but it something from home with similar characteristics as my lunch, in fact some times it is another tuna or chicken sandwhich. Then I have a mid afternoon sandwhich again (lots of sandwhiches).
One sandwhich is 195 calories and when it is the tuna, I get my Omega 3's as well. Sure, I could have something else, but this is a step in the right direction I think.
No more fast food dinner either. That used to be what I did about 3 nights a week because our family is so busy running around everywhere, we rarely have sit down meals. Now, I opt for something a little better.
I am only a couple of weeks into this, and I need to come up with some more ideas for daily lunches and snacks.
What are some things that others are doing for their foods that are quick and easy to make and take to work?
Ray and I are roughly the same size. The question is, where is he keeping the 30 extra pounds he has over me?
I take carrots (precut, because I'm lazy) and a PB&J sandwich to work, along with a piece of fruit. At work, I have a bag of chips or other carb type snacks that I pour into the sandwich container until it's about half-3/4 full. I drink water and juice with my lunch (well, I did until the office ran out of juice). It takes me 5-10 minutes to make the lunch at home in the morning, and I'm usually making a sandwich for my wife as well.
OTOH, I don't really have to watch my weight. Sorry, guys.
Guys, this is a board DEDICATED to pursuits that require sitting on the couch. I've notified the moderators of your transgressions.
. . .says Tom as he opens another bag of potato chips. . with beer.
Like Nick and Ken, I make myself a sandwich for lunch. I started this a few years ago mainly as a way to cut my monthly expenditures. The upside is that I have almost completely lost my desire for greasy food (although I still get an occasional hankerin' for chilli cheese fries).
Nick, I don't have much in the way of lunch ideas--I'll rotate between lunch meats and PB&J. I'll usually throw in a granola bar and a little applesauce container and/or a piece of fruit.
I'm not a health nut by any stretch of the imagination, but these small differences in my diet--no more soda, and less greasy foods--has had a great impact on how much better I feel.
I've been blessed with a good metabolism that still works well for me. I'm 32 and have worn the same size pants since high school. Hopefully that'll stay the same.
I work out 6 times a week, and eat 6 daily meals, intaking an average of 200 grams of protein a day. On top of this I am also training in Hapkido...So what the heck is this thread about anyway? Just work out, eat right, lots of protein, don't forget that omega 3! and you'll be pretty darn fit!
Ray and I are roughly the same size. The question is, where is he keeping the 30 extra pounds he has over me?
This might explain it...
Nice Hutz. I had to Wikki Hapkido. It looks like a very interesting martial art. I did nine years of Chito Ryu Karate and Kobujitsu (traditional Okinawan weaponry) before I wrecked my knee.
Depending on the school, martial arts are one of the best full body & cardio activities you can do. It also doesn't have to be violent, dangerous or knee blowing if you don't want it to be. Our School believed in teaching both students who were just looking for an interesting way to learn & stay in shape and also catered to the very competitive spirit.
I don't enjoy non competitive exercise as I get bored easily. A Martial Art keeps your interest because there is always more to learn. I truly miss it.
"MMmmhhhh, more barbecued salmon...."
Wild salmon. The farmed stuff is a lot lower in Omega three fats because of diet.
I agree that BMI is a crock. At 5'9.5" on an extremely good day I used to weight in at 185lb of pure muscle and I was not 'bulked up'. I'm supposed to weigh 155. I suppose I could get down to 170 if I really tried to get rid of those last few reserves of fat, but at 175 I am in very good shape. Well, was... Got promoted back to a desk job and have probably gained 5lb in the last two months.
FWIW, you can carry up to 20% body fat withought bad health effects. My brother spent 20 years as a medical research lab tech and did a lot of reading on stuff like this.
Keep active, eat sensibly, don't worry, be happy...
Nick,
For quick lunches and snacks, I slam protein shakes with skim milk. For my mid day meal, I blend up an EAS Myoplex shake and use EAS Whey Protein shakes for my mid morning and mid afternoon shakes. My first meal of the day is some sort of hot oat or wheat cereal to help keep the plumbing working right. When I get tired of the shakes (which is more and more lately), I eat a can of white tuna with just enough mayo to moisten it up along with relish or dill weed, and sometimes horseradish. I’ve learned to get real creative with tuna over the years. I do not eat bread, ever. I use low fat, whole wheat crackers with my tuna. I also keep a few high protein bars around for when I’m on the run. They typically have too much fat, but there are some that aren’t bad and taste pretty good. I’ve been lifting for about 25 years quite religiously and need to consume 200 grams of protein a day (I’m 5’10, 210 pounds and hover around 10% body-fat). I can’t do that without supplementing with shakes. Another thing to do is grill up a bunch of boneless, skinless chicken breasts and take them to work. Spice the crap out them and they aren’t bad with some wild rice. Brown rice is better, but I can’t stand the stuff…. I don’t eat potatoes unless they are yams or sweet potatoes. I don’t eat pasta either. I know that sounds like a dismal diet, but after eating like this for years, one does get used to it and I really appreciate the natural flavor and tastes of different foods that butter, oil and salt hide (including girl scout cookies). I also splurge one night a week and eat whatever the hell I want. It makes that meal soooo much better.
Good thread,
I just got home from the gym and had my Whey shake and a can of tuna for lunch. 6 months ago my wife and I decided to get back into the whole fitness thing, we both pretty much relaxed on it for around 6 years until both boys were in school, I've lifted weights or taken Martial arts most my adult life so other than finally quitting smoking its been an easy transition. I'm 6'0" 179 pounds so my goal is just to maintain my weight while cutting up.
The difficult part for us is finding healthy meals that are enjoyable for the whole family, and keeping to one glass of wine at night. Turkey Chili has become one of our big family favorites.
As was mentioned to be successful it has to be viewed as a lifestyle rather than a diet. Sure, when we are on vacation we will do some splurging on meals and drinks but that's an exception. I haven't felt better in years and watching my wife at the beach trying on new bikinis over Easter made it that much better.
Mike, I'm very impressed you stuck with it for so long!
Your diet has a very familiar ring to it when I was actually trying to get back into shape, and you and I are about the same size I'm 5'11. When I was much younger I used to eat everything under the sun, I tried one day to figure out how many calories I used to eat and it worked out to be anywhere from 7000 - 9000 calories and I had a very hard time making any gains at the time. Unfortunately I continued eating that way after I stopped my workouts due nagging injuries and work demands. You can sure pile on the pounds much easier at my age with out the work outs, and its so true, you are what you eat.
I usually take salads and chicken breast for lunches, with lots of carrot sticks and celery for nibbles. One trick I found is if you are out at fast food restaurants is to order a grilled chicken breast sandwich and just don't eat the bun.
One more factor we haven't touched on is a good nights sleep is also very important.
Sleep is something I don't very much of, but I wouldn't trade the time with my kids for an extra hour or 2 of sleep. The youngest will be in school full time in another year and a half, then I can start to really concentrate on the work outs and sleep routines once again.
Sleep? What's this "sleep" that you speak of?
I go to bed at around 12:30AM, some times 1AM, and I am up at 6AM for my day. On the occassional Saturday, I sleep in to about 9AM, but most of the time I am up at 7:30AM. Sundays, Up at 8AM. I have a hard time getting to sleep, but once asleep, I have a hard time waking up. (night owl)
Part of the problem is that I feel "guilty" going to bed when my wife is still up. I think that I need to talk to her about adding some sleep to my "fitness" plan.
Sleep, it does a body good!
Just got back from the gym as well. (small gym at my work.) Made it mostly a cardio today with a small amount of weights. Usually it is the other way around.
I drink protein shakes typically after my workout and try and eat somewhat healthy. I drink maybe 1 or 2 cokes a week at most. I cut out fried food some time ago too. I have been trying to eat less red meat and more chicken instead. I weigh aprox. 175-180 and am 5'11". When I had access to the huge gym at OSU in Stillwater OK I was benching about 235 or so... Prolly MUCH less than that now because my workout are now by my self and I do less weight and more reps.
I don't add salt to anything but find a lot of items arleady come pre-loaded with sodium.
Good thread- Maybe you guys can post some good healthy meals that you like to make. (Cans of tuna don't count as a meal!)
This site might be worth checking out for recipes:
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/healthy-recipes/RE99999
Sleep? If I get five hours, I’m doing good. It’s usually four or less.
Michael,
My girlfriend has been cooking dinners from Cooking Light magazine. She just picks the meals out that have a fat content of less than 30%. I drink a protein shake before bed to make up for any lack there may be with those meals. I’ve been very impressed with how good some of the recipes are in that magazine.
Glad to hear you kicked the smoking habit. I kicked chewing tobacco last year after going through a can ever two or three days for the past thirty years or so. What a bitch it’s been to not cave. I made a deal with my girlfriend’s sister who got in a bad car accident. She broke her neck and was paralyzed from the neck down. I made a deal that if she could shake my hand, I’d quit. Four months later she shook my hand. She’s walking on her own now. She’ll probably be running marathons again in another year, knowing her.
Jason,
That’s why I say it’s a way of life and not a program. I’m in my 40’s now and I can feel the effect. I don’t recover as fast anymore and I can’t lift near as much or run as fast, but I still give it a hell of go. I have no choice to keep it up or start sporting a set of moobs. Plus, when I’m out of shape, I feel horrible and my demeanor turns horrible for anyone around me. If my cloths don’t fit, I’m uncomfortable and I just feel like crap all around. The downside is it’s a down right pain in the ass to find cloths that fit. I can’t imagine how hard it must be for the pro body builders….
She broke her neck and was paralyzed from the neck down. I made a deal that if she could shake my hand, I’d quit. Four months later she shook my hand. She’s walking on her own now. She’ll probably be running marathons again in another year, knowing her.
Mike, I'm glad to hear she is doing better! Also, kudos to you for giving up the chewing tobacco.
Sleep? If I get five hours, I’m doing good. It’s usually four or less.
Try to make it 6 and see if it helps with the recovery or are you like me and it just can't happen. I know on the odd day I do get about 6 I feel great.
Four months later she shook my hand. She’s walking on her own now. She’ll probably be running marathons again in another year, knowing her.
If that isn't incentive to push yourself to be a better all around person, I don't know what would be. Glad to hear she has come that far.
That’s why I say it’s a way of life and not a program. I’m in my 40’s now and I can feel the effect. I don’t recover as fast anymore and I can’t lift near as much or run as fast, but I still give it a hell of go. I have no choice to keep it up or start sporting a set of moobs. Plus, when I’m out of shape, I feel horrible and my demeanor turns horrible for anyone around me. If my cloths don’t fit, I’m uncomfortable and I just feel like crap all around. The downside is it’s a down right pain in the ass to find cloths that fit. I can’t imagine how hard it must be for the pro body builders….
You hit the nail on the head. You have described how I have felt for about a year now(luckily no moobs yet) and the nagging shoulder injuries just won't go away, partial rotator cuff tears numerous times over the years. Now when I push the shoulders a little too hard they swell up and it just won't go away. I have also been having trouble with my feet and as a mechanic they get no rest what so ever, well except when posting
. I am lucky in that I really have no need for good fitting clothes, jeans and T-shirt are about as good as I need. Pro-body builders can get away with being in sweat pants and T-shirts 95% of the time and the rest is tailored to fit, they have it easy, at least until they retire
.
I was extremely active until about 10 years ago. I trained most of my life in Choy Lee Fut & Chut Sing Tong Long although I did try Eagle Claw and Northern Dragon styles and didn't take to them very well. Then job stress got to me and I went down hill.
I am surprised that no one has mentioned the terrible effects of job-related stress. Since I quit my job I've been feeling and looking a lot better. And I've managed to get back into working out. Maybe some day I'll have the energy to pick up the weapons again and start swinging
.
I have some Bose speakers you could practice with
But you are correct, stress is a problem as well, which relates back to the whole sleep theme, as the body reacts to sleep deprivation pretty much the same way as job stress or any other stressors. It can, and usually will add fat especially when not eating in a healthy manner.
Mike, I'm so happy to hear of Lisa's recovery. When you told us of her terrible accident and that the surgeon stated that she was paralyzed from the neck down and that there was little chance that she'd ever walk again, it was certainly distressing news about such an active young woman. You requested our prayers, and I certainly remembered Lisa in my prayers at Mass, as I'm sure that many more of our members did as well. Great to hear that her fighting spirit and God's help has brought her through this.
I am surprised that no one has mentioned the terrible effects of job-related stress.
Stress effects people differently. I lead a high stess life for 15 years and it burned me out.
My grandmother, on the other hand, survived the second world war in Germany as a jew, somehow mannaged to avoid concentration camps, stole food from the Russian army and laughed her ass of telling us about it when we were kids.
I now enjoy 8 hours of blessed sleap a night. If stuff dosn't get done, it dosn't get done. I managed to put myself in a job that I can leave behind completely every day. I am a mucho happy person now.
On all that food stuff, I'm surprised that Jason is about the only one that talked about veggies. I remember reading about some research where the diet consisted of fruit vegies and nuts period. Cholesterol levels in all the subjects dropped to low levels within two weeks of starting the diet and most reported having much more energy... and gas
small nicks cuts and bruises also healed much more quickly. We need to have a high vegitable intake to get all those micro-nutrients and anti-oxidents that we need so much to remain healthy.
Now 'scuse me pfffft... I have a hankering for some carrots.
mmmmmm.....veggies.....
I actually like veggies, even brussel sprouts. My family, however, likes fruits. So there is a conflict there. It isn't that I don't like some fruits, but they are things like apples, oranges, watermelon, and bananas. My youngest is pretty much a carrot and corn (from my wife's uncle's farm) eater. My oldest will eat a little more veggies, like some green beans. Everyone likes starchy potatoes. My wife is corn, green beans, and maybe peas.
I usually finish off the veggies that others don't eat.
I love fruits but I usually wont take the time to peel and orange or chew on an apple so I usually toss them into the blender with my protein shakes. Veggies we try to eat a serving with every meal.
Many of you have taken coffee out of your diets and that's not necessarily a good thing, coffee and tea are great antioxidants as well as stimulants to help kick your metabolism into fat burning mode, I drink a max of 2 cups a day of either and it has really helped me on those hard start days.
We had a great meal last night, I love BLT's so we subsitituted bacon with Turkey bacon (50% of the fat) low fat miracle whip, lettuce, avocado ( if your going to eat fat avocado is one of the best sources) tomato, jalapeno rings, low fat provolone cheese on toasted 1 gram of fat whole wheat bread.
Absolutely delicious, as a side we had a can of Campbell's Tomato soup with some extra oregano and pepper mixed in. The whole family loved it and it's not a gut buster.
Last nights supper: Lentil stew, big salad
Night before: Stir fry, 1/2 green pepper, small onion, handful of baby carrots, bok choy, 1/2 portabello mushroom a little chicken and a little rice.
My favourite chilly has maybe 2oz of ground beef per serving consisting mostly of carrots, corn, peas, zuchini...
I love veggies!!
I have also been having trouble with my feet and as a mechanic they get no rest what so ever, well except when posting
.
Back before I lost my sanity and moved into management, I was an industrial mechanic and pipewelder. I spent many long days on concrete and know what you are talking about. I ended up buy a set of White’s Boots after some of my co-workers talked me into it. After a few tough weeks breaking them in (or they broke my feet in), my feet problems went away. My lower back also started to feel relieved. They are expensive, and difficult to break in, but they do work. I use them for hunting now. They have excellent ankle support for stomping around hillsides and the tundra.
http://www.whitesoutdoor.com/
Back before I lost my sanity and moved into management,
The insanity plea, it works for everything!
Thanks for the tip, unfortunately I have an aversion to anything with any sort of a heel on them, so I am stuck with hiker style or walking shoe style. I did see some hikers on there but are not available for online purchase
I am due for a new set of work shoes and it usually takes me a couple of months to find THE right pair as it seems the manufaturers always change up the fit just enough each year. What a PITA.
Hey, when you girls are done talking about shoes maybe we can get back to the manly diet talk again. . .
Seriously, shoes make a big difference. On a smaller scale, even buying a good pair of expensive socks, like Thorlos, make your feet feel great!
I need some.... sensible shoes.
For those of us with Wii's, Wii fit will be out May 21.
Wii Fit
Ok, now I really need a Wii. We've been looking for a piece of exercise equipment that will fit in our smallish house and not gather dust.
When does this thread degenerate into a discussion about draperies?
When does this thread degenerate into a discussion about draperies?
Three posts from now...
Thanks for the tip, unfortunately I have an aversion to anything with any sort of a heel on them, so I am stuck with hiker style or walking shoe style. I did see some hikers on there but are not available for online purchase
I am due for a new set of work shoes and it usually takes me a couple of months to find THE right pair as it seems the manufaturers always change up the fit just enough each year. What a PITA.
Ignoring Tom and the other comedians…..
White’s are truly unique. If you look at the heel area, they look weird. They are designed to force the foot into a resting position, which is why they are so good for folks who spend a lot of time on their feet. If you cross one leg over the other knee, that is the position the boots force your feet into. I am surprised they sell anything on-line. When I bought mine about ten years ago, I had to either go to the factory in Spokane, or go to one of their dealers. At the factory they make a mold of your feet and at the dealer, they take measurements of both feet (all kinds of weird measurements). The dealer then sends those to the factory and they custom build the boots for you. Mine are two separate sizes and widths. It takes about four months to get them, and then another four months or so to break them in. But, after you do, they’re great and you can even send them back in and have them rebuilt. But if you can’t stand any heel, they may not be for you….. I would give them a serious look if you are having troubles with your feet though. Most of the electricians, mechanics, machinist and welders in my department wear them.
When does this thread degenerate into a discussion about draperies?
I couldn't wait.
Draperies
Ugh. I'm not putting those anywhere near my M80s. Funny you should mention draperies Tom as that is on the list of things I need to add to my livinroom so that I can move the display out there.
Just so happens my daughter is taking a sewing course and I hear that drapes are the one of the easiest things to make.
Who wants to help me pick out fabric? ... besides Tom that is.
I took Mike's advice and went to Cooking Lights recipes online, I made this tonight and it was awesome.
Chicken-Cashew Stir Fry They've got tons of great light recipes, I plan on trying at least one new recipe a week, the boys love helping prepare the meals, so it's that much more enjoyable when the meal tastes great and they tell mommy they helped.
We had a subscription to Cooking Light for a year or so. We liked all the recipes that we tried, and a couple of them -- both are soups -- are now in our regular repertoire.
Spicy chicken mulligatawny is good stuff.
We serve it over rice.
I recommend the Moosewood Lodge series of cookbooks. They're vegetarian (generally) and do list the nutrition info. Very tasty stuff!
MDrew or anyone who has input really. I am 300lb and 6ft 1. i have been exercising consistantly since Jan. putting at least 3-5 days a week. My workout consists of 35-50 minutes of cardio to start then i will do my weight training i seperate it push (chest,shoulders,Tri's) pull (Bi's, Back) Abs & Legs on different days. I usually do 2 excercises per muscle group 4 sets x 10-14 reps. Now to my question, since weight loss is my current goal should i be doing more of an all in one type workout. For instance doing all bodyparts 3 times a week with maybe extra cardio on non weight training days? Thanks for any input. In caase it matters for the answer I'm 34.
I would suggest keeping the work out about the same as you are doing, only do a light warm up run, 10-15min., or something like that before the weights, then do another 20-30 min. after the weights. This way you can keep the intensity high on the weights which is more beneficial than the runs, as the weights are what build the muscle that will burn more calories in the long run. On non lifting days, just do the 20-30 min. of cardio and as always when one of the exercisies gets to easy, increase the weight or the sets or the reps. or time in the case of cardio. You can do an hour of it on non weight training days if you so desire, I would also suggest deloading, not working as hard, for 1 week every 6-8 weeks as well. This can help break plateaus and it gives your body a chance to recover. Once you resume the full out onslaught try changing the sequence you do the exercises or even just do a different exercise, it really keeps things moving.
And don't forget to eat 200-300 clean calories every 2-3 hrs to keep the blood sugar levels even to avoid getting too hungry.
One you wash down with alcohol?
Your workout and schedule seems fine, the cardio and high rep workouts should be great for burning calories.
More important is your diet and eating habits. As mentioned before try to get in 6 smaller meals a day. Breakfast is your most important meal, and avoid eating a couple hours before going to bed.
There are a ton of things to know about nutrition and what types of foods are great and what should be avoided.
Most people don't realize things like artificial sweeteners used in most diet soft drinks and many non-calorie foods actually promote obesity, hunger and fullness cues rely on food sweetness to regulate food intake, artificial sweeteners break this link, which tends to make people consume more calories.
I would also suggest getting a good book on nutrition or even picking up a magazine like Fitness RX for men at the store.
No/very low fats and NO sugars- simple carbs. ie breads, other starchy foods and the obvious plain 'ol sugar.
I'm lost - doesn't sugar have sugar in it?
I think I see the problem - you meant that first dash as a slash and that period as a comma.
You got it, or at least used an equal sign for the hyphen. I should have read it myself first.
Hate to say it, but starch doesn't qualify as a simple sugar. Simple sugars are sucrose, glucose, fructose, galactose, maltose, etc. I'd say it stops at dimers. Starch is definitely a long polymer. Easier to digest into simple sugars than, say, chitin, but...
I bet Ken's the kind of guy who lets a Saltine cracker sit in his mouth until his saliva breaks down all the starches into simple sugars, then says, "Mmmm, sweet!"
Hate to say it, but starch doesn't qualify as a simple sugar. Simple sugars are sucrose, glucose, fructose, galactose, maltose, etc. I'd say it stops at dimers. Starch is definitely a long polymer. Easier to digest into simple sugars than, say, chitin, but...
Don't hate to say when you're right. I should have been more specific and said simple carbs
and starches, but I lump them together as they essentially end up doing the same thing within the body.
But, I adore simple carbs! I'm seriously not sure I see the sense in living if I have to give up potatoes, rice and bread.
See, Tom, that's how I feel about cheese! I'd rather go the rest of my life without rice if it means that I can eat cheese and still fit into my skinny jeans
Life without cheese seems cold and cruel to me. Now, to fit cheese into the 200 calorie mini meal . . . not sure how to manage that
Chacun a son goût I guess!
Giving up cheese is completely out of the question. "cold and cruel" indeed! I wouldn't need the bread without the cheese.
Good advice so far. Here’s some more ideas for you that have worked for me in the past when I want to cut up….
If your primary goal is to loose fat, your workouts will be slightly different than maintenance or muscle mass increase workouts (you need to keep intensity up and do higher reps, more sets with lighter weight). If you can, I’d split your workouts to where you do cardio first thing in the morning before you eat or drink anything and do your weight training in the evenings. Shorter times in the gym are better for me as I can’t concentrate on my work outs if I’m thinking about all the other stuff I need to accomplish that day. Also, cardio or weight training in the AM after fasting will almost double the amount of fat burning than if you were to do it later in the day. I would continue in this manor for as long as it takes to get your body fat where you want it so that you have a base line. After you reach that goal, re-structure your workouts to build muscle mass. At this point, you will want to do less cardio and lift with heavier weight. If you do too much cardio, you will not be able to pack on the muscle because you will be burning too many protein calories for fuel. But for now, you need to dump fat and build muscle mass later.
Some rules of thumb for burning fat are: cardio for at least 30 minutes without pause (preferably running), four times a week and increase intensity each work out to maintain a heart rate between 140 – 160 (for your age). As you get more wind you will have to increase intensity to keep your heart rate up. Because you will be working out fairly intensely, do cardio every other day to give your legs a day to recover. I have found that for weight training, a schedule where I lift Monday and Tuesday, off Wed, and work out again on Thursday and Friday, with the weekend off works best for me. I work each body part once per week when just maintaining or putting on mass, and I keep a log when I am trying to gain mass. If I don’t keep a log, I have no goals to shoot for, so I tend to get lazy. The log keeps me motivated. I’d suggest you do the same.
When cutting up (with the goal to loose fat), it’s best to stick with basic, whole body exercises because you will burn more calories doing so. Squats and dead lifts are excellent for this. Stay away from isolation exercises like flys or dumbbell curls. Straight barbell curls, flat bench press, V-grip or barbell bent over rows, standing military press are all good exercises. I’d recommend that you do upper body on Monday and again on Thursday and lower body on Tuesday and Friday. Again, stick to the big exercises. Keep the reps between 12 and 15 and do a combination of sets to where you are doing about 20 sets per work out. Do a push / pull superset work out with little rest between sets to keep your heart rate up. You should be able to do your work outs in less than 45 minutes. Vary the exercises to keep things interesting. An example work out would be:
Monday-
AM – Jog
PM - weights
Flat Bench / V-grip pull superset – five sets of 12-15 reps.
Bar bell curl / tri push down superset – five sets of 12 -15 reps.
Tuesday-
AM - weights
Squats – five sets / 12 – 15 reps
Straight leg dead lift – five sets / 12 – 15 reps
Seated calf raises / crunches supersets – five sets 20 reps each. (calf and abs require higher reps)
Wednesday-
AM - Jog
No lifting
Thursday –
AM - weights
Incline press / Bent over rows superset - four sets of 12-15 reps.
Military press / dumbbell shrugs superset - four sets of 12-15 reps.
Easy bar curls / close grip bench press superset - four sets of 12-15 reps.
Friday-
AM – Jog
PM - Weights
Leg Press / hamstring curls superset – six sets of 15 reps.
Calf extensions (on the press) / abdominal leg raise supersets – six sets 20 reps.
Saturday
OFF
Sunday
AM – Jog
No lifting
The following week, change things a bit. Make sure to take plenty of Creatine and if your legs hurt too much to run after leg days, ride a bike or hop on the elliptical.
And always remember that the last rep you do for every set, should be at 100% maximum effort. Add / subtract weight as needed to reach the target rep.
Record your weight and measurements to track results. Avoid idle overeating when sitting in front of the boob tube……. TV is the #1 reason for obesity. Slam a non-fat protein shake (mixed with water) before you go to bed.
My trick back in the day was 1cup low fat cottage cheese before bed, it takes longer to digest so you get the benefit of protein in the system for longer periods while sleeping.
Soy and Casein protein shakes are good for that also.
That is what cottage cheese is Casein protein, only I get to eat it and not drink it. When I am in that fit lifestyle mode, I really savor eating as many of my foods as possible and not drinking them.
That is my one deadly sin, I love to eat.
I love to eat also, that's the worst thing about drinking protein shakes, I still get big cravings for solid foods.
I only do shakes right after my work outs, the rest of the time I eat solid foods, well as solid as salad, fish and egg whites get. Chicken breast becomes heavenly at some point in the lifestyle change process, such nice firm texture and flavor,MMMMmmmm.
I took Jason's advice and I've replaced bread with oatmeal for breakfast. No raisins, no milk, no brown sugar, no dates. Just oatmeal, water and cinnamon. I feel a heck of a lot better now. With the bread, I'd puff up like I just consumed a case of beer.
I also took Mike's advice this morning and worked out early before I had anything to eat or drink. I was able to increase my 5.5 mph pace to 7 mph with some headroom to spare
. While this doesn't sound tremendous, I started out with a pace of 3.4 mph two-and-a-half months ago. After finishing my treadmill and step machine routine, I was able to go back to the treadmill and do an 8 minute mile (my heart rate was at my maximum though for the last 3 minutes). Nothing was sloshing around while I was working out and it felt great.
Has anyone researched shake powders? What should I be looking for keeping in mind that my interest right now is to cut down rather than bulk up?
Any good Whey Isolate protein with branched chain amino acids would work well, the whey protein is not just for bulking up but for fueling your muscles and aiding in recovery with amino acids during and after workouts.
Another supplement that I think is a must as Mike also mentioned is a good creatine. It provides more energy to the muscles while working out and is said to have some recovery benefits after workouts.
That's pretty impressive what you have gained on the treadmill, if you you really want to burn some additional calories, try varying the incline while running, that really will melt the calories away.
I went through a month-and-a-half of hell with multiple injuries. Nothing ripped but painful nonetheless. My therapy consisted of heat, cold, massage, acupuncture, TENS and special exercises. Nevertheless, I kept going every day for my cardio work-out which I'm not sure is a good thing. I've been told that muscles can recover from daily cardio but that certainly hasn't been the case for me even though I stretch before and after. Maybe the stuff you suggested above will help me out.
@ mojo - training with injures is generally a bad idea unless you are very experienced and know your body well, or are training under the guidance of a doctor or exercise physiologist who can advise you. Training cardio daily is fine as long as it’s not to intense for your fitness level.
I’m going to have to play the devils advocate to the creatine suggestions. Most people will realize little to no benefit from supplementing creatine because they are not pushing their muscles to their anaerobic limit every workout. Nor should they as this is advanced training that most professional athletes only use sparingly by cycling their workouts.
Going to temporary muscular failure on every set is a good way to hurt oneself and the efficacy of this training as a best practice is mixed at best. If someone finds it works best for them then stick with it, but advocating it as a routine practice to others without caveat is dangerous.
Evidence does indicate creatine helps with maximal anaerobic effort and when properly hydrated causes water retention but that’s about it. Limited research indicates it might help increase the lactate threshold by buffering lactic acid but this isn’t conclusive. Also, most people exercising just to loose weight aren’t likely to be doing enough work at or above their lactate threshold to see much benefit anyway.
I’m not suggesting people don’t supplement creatine only that they understand what it does and how to use it before putting it into their bodies. Also long term effects of creatine supplementation are still unknown.
If they already eat a healthy diet and get enough sleep then about the only thing most people who exercise need to supplement is water. Those who are working out at their anaerobic limit will likely see some benefit from proper creatine supplementation. Anyone involved in intense exercise anaerobic or aerobic will likely see some performance benefits from caffeine, however most people probably get to much of this already. Anything else likely to significantly enhance performance is illegal and/or dangerous.
Mojo, you can also try L-glutamine in the recovery shake, when I was training for my half marathon I used it and felt I recovered a little faster. You need to take the runs outside now, the wind resisitance and hills out in nature are the best.
I will add to drink lots more water if you decide to supplement with creatine for the reasons grunt stated, water retention, etc.
I think for most of us around that 40yr old mark and I will guess most of us are not competing in anything any more, that just eating right and doing what we can to stay fit is all we really need to do.
.
If they already eat a healthy diet and get enough sleep then about the only thing most people who exercise need to supplement is water.
I'll wholeheartedly agree there, but Imo the problem is most of us don't have the time or the knowledge to always stay within a properly balanced nutritional plan.
I know that BCAAs such as valine, leucine and isoleucine have been proven to reduce post exercise muscle damage, what better and easier way to insure I'm getting at least enough through supplements or vitamins.
Whey protein with some fruit added is an easy low fat and low calorie way for me to have pre and post workout snacks, and get many of my much needed amino acids.
Eating real food with some supplementation I can assure myself I'm getting most of what my body needs, and that makes planning healthy meals and watching caloric intake an easier task.
Whey protein with some fruit added is an easy low fat and low calorie way for me to have pre and post workout snacks, and get many of my much needed amino acids.
Eating real food with some supplementation I can assure myself I'm getting most of what my body needs, and that makes planning healthy meals and watching caloric intake an easier task.
Sounds like you have a good fitness plan going and no doubt various forms of supplementation are likely going to be effective for you and other people with very active lifestyles. I’m not trying to trash supplements or promote some form of dietary naturalism, I was only pointing out to most of those reading who aren’t likely to be fitness fanatics like us that most forms of supplementation won’t buy them much more than more expensive urine. I should also throw in for them that it’s wise to consult their doctor before starting any sort of supplement program.
I used all sorts of supplements until I started working out with a member of the Marine Corps power lifting team in New Zealand in the mid 80s. He taught me that proper diet and rest were just as important as the workout, and that I like most people was using supplements for and excuse to not eat right. From then on I’ve cooked all my meals for the whole week except dinner on one of my days off. I carry packs of salmon, tuna, oatmeal, even baby food with me as emergency backups.
He also taught me to stop following other people’s workout routines and take the time to figure out what worked best for me by experimenting and keeping logs.
Now I eat 5 meals and drink 3 shakes a day. The only supplements I take are a multi-vitamin (peace of mind) and exercise/climate specific potassium and sodium. Well and beer (or is that a necessary food group?)
You make some very good points. I'd like to also add that eating slowly makes a considerable difference too.
most people was using supplements for and excuse to not eat right
You've got that exactly right. I have always taken my vitamins etc. the old fashioned way. I have also, for most of my life, taken the time to get good sleep.
I don't get sick and for the most part feel pretty good. I felt my worst for the period of time where I was in a high stress job and probably not sleeping and eating as well as I could have. It was also the only period in my life where I had a cold that was anything more than sniffles for a few days.
Its funny how so many people ignore the simple (though not always easy) solution and look for the magic bullet.
I'd like to also add that eating slowly makes a considerable difference too.
Absolutely Mojo, eating slowly can really help keep your appetite under control. Also as mentioned by someone earlier eating small meals every few hours really helps. Also don’t make the mistake of going “no fat” for meals. Healthy fats help the food taste better and can help you feel full a little longer.
Another thing to try to do is just increase your daily activity. Walk, jog or bike rather than drive. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Wash your car before watching the movie. Do yoga or stretching while listening to music. Anything that increases your general level of activity pays great dividends in the long run.
I felt my worst for the period of time where I was in a high stress job and probably not sleeping and eating as well as I could have.
You just played the healthy lifestyle trump card. Reducing chronic stress is likely the single most important thing anyone in a developed country can do to improve their health.
P.S. Sorry about the grammar in that in my previous post and any other times it’s happened. I’m not trying to be insulting by not proofreading. When I put dyslexia as the reason for editing a post I’m not kidding around. For the record I once misspelled the word “of” in a paper at university back when people still used manual typewriters. I spelled it “ov.” Thank heavens for spell-check.
An interesting free resource is fitday.com. You can enter all your food and exercise for the week and it will let you know what nutrients you're low on, if you're meeting your custom goals, if you are burning more calories than you are eating. The nutrition report lets you know if you really need vitamins or if your eating is covering it off. Not than anyone here is into charts and graphs, I'm sure!!
Wow! Thanks for that, Amie.
I have used a free work out routine site when I get bored sometimes. It has some interesting things and a forum that may or may not help with motivation etc.
Free Trainers
I’m going to have to play the devils advocate to the creatine suggestions. Most people will realize little to no benefit from supplementing creatine because they are not pushing their muscles to their anaerobic limit every workout. Nor should they as this is advanced training that most professional athletes only use sparingly by cycling their workouts.
Going to temporary muscular failure on every set is a good way to hurt oneself and the efficacy of this training as a best practice is mixed at best. If someone finds it works best for them then stick with it, but advocating it as a routine practice to others without caveat is dangerous.
Grunt,
I’ve been in this game for a long time…. at least 25 years. While I understand where you are coming from with your post full of words of caution, others who read them may not understand where you are coming from. You sound like an attorney or a doctor who has been in court before to me.
When I recommend creatine, it is under the assumption that folks will also follow my work out advice and that they will in fact put forth the effort and discipline that I do, and have done these past two and half decades. In other words, if you are just going to go through the motions, creatine will do you no good whatsoever. However, if a person pushes their body as hard as I do, creatine not only works, but it’s absolutely essential. When I don’t take the stuff, I notice a dramatic effect. I can not lift as much, run as fast and my recovery is much slower. I have done extensive experiments with the stuff over the years and speak from personal experience. Out of the tens of thousands that I have spent on different supplements over the years, creatine is the ONLY supplement I take religiously. No other supplement has worked for me with undeniable benefits.
You also caution against going to failure on each set. I’m not sure if you are cautioning against what I have wrote earlier, but if you are, I do not, nor did I make that recommendation. Complete failure would require a spotter who assists with the last rep or reps in a set. To go that far is silly and destructive without using steroids (which is also silly). A natural body builder can not do this. I do however stand by what I wrote earlier, and that is…..the last rep should be at, or as close to as possible, to 100% max effort as possible. To further explain what that means, it means that the last rep is all you can physically complete without the aid of a spotter. It takes time and experience to gauge what you can do and if you should go for one more rep or not. Obviously, working out with some nearby to catch the bar is advisable if you are just starting out. Not only does it hurt like hell to get pinned under a bar with several hundred pounds on it, but it’s down right embarrassing…. You have to know your body and your limitations and work out with caution if you work out alone and work out hard. Keep a log so you can smartly gauge what you do next workout, and most importantly, be careful. Torn muscles and ligaments take a long time to heal and most never heal completely (speaking from experience). I dislocated my shoulder after eating dirt on my dirt bike ten years ago and it’s never been the same.
Mdrew,
Sorry if I misunderstood your post about 100% maximum effort and creatine use, but even rereading that post it sounds like you were advocating some advanced training techniques to people seeking to just shape up and loose weight. I also wasn’t sure others reading your post would understand the assumptions you were making which was why I put up the caution flag.
No, I’m not a doctor or lawyer, just and aircraft mechanic. I too have been in the game for awhile about 33 years now. Started in High School and then got real serious about it as a fitness instructor in the Marine Corps. The reason I’m so cautious is that a part of my job was to help rehab Marines who injured themselves by pushing their workouts to much before they were ready for it.
As for me I gave up power lifting and took up running again about 5 years ago when I quit firefighting. While lifting I tried creatine but didn’t feel it was worth it for me but I know many people who it has helped so I have nothing against it being used by experienced people who are serious about their training. Now I’m back into ultra-running (also not for the inexperienced). The only supplements I use are potassium and sodium for any runs over 50k and for shorter runs when the temperature starts hitting the 100s.
Again sorry for the misunderstanding as I too share a passion for fitness and like to see others interested in joining us.
50K run? You're my fitness hero (next to my mutant neighbor who I swear has 4 lungs and twin hearts
).
Yeah, that's what I was thinking. Some of you people are freaks. I'm just happy to be moving around a little more like I used to.
An interesting free resource is fitday.com. You can enter all your food and exercise for the week and it will let you know what nutrients you're low on, if you're meeting your custom goals ...
I went to fitday.com, typed in my food intake, and this hand came out of my monitor, slapped me around, shoved my cookies off my desk, shook a finger at me, and then pointed at the patient waiting in the lobby. Sheesh.
My experience was a little different. It told me that if I eat three meals of 1/3 cup oatmeal a day and run 10 miles a day, in a month I'll weigh 2 pounds
.
Good advice so far. Here’s some more ideas for you that have worked for me in the past when I want to cut up….
If your primary goal is to loose fat, your workouts will be slightly different than maintenance or muscle mass increase workouts (you need to keep intensity up and do higher reps, more sets with lighter weight). If you can, I’d split your workouts to where you do cardio first thing in the morning before you eat or drink anything and do your weight training in the evenings.
2 questions on this lets assume that right now my schedule does not permit the split workout do you think i should be doing my cardio first then weights?Also I have very bad experiences when working out in the morning on an empty stomache so would my best option be protein shake or oatmeal? Shorter times in the gym are better for me as I can’t concentrate on my work outs if I’m thinking about all the other stuff I need to accomplish that day. Also, cardio or weight training in the AM after fasting will almost double the amount of fat burning than if you were to do it later in the day.
Some rules of thumb for burning fat are: cardio for at least 30 minutes without pause (preferably running), four times a week and increase intensity each work out to maintain a heart rate between 140 – 160 (for your age). As you get more wind you will have to increase intensity to keep your heart rate up. Because you will be working out fairly intensely, do cardio every other day to give your legs a day to recover. I have found that for weight training, a schedule where I lift Monday and Tuesday, off Wed, and work out again on Thursday and Friday, with the weekend off works best for me. I work each body part once per week when just maintaining or putting on mass, and I keep a log when I am trying to gain mass. If I don’t keep a log, I have no goals to shoot for, so I tend to get lazy. The log keeps me motivated. I’d suggest you do the same.
When cutting up (with the goal to loose fat), it’s best to stick with basic, whole body exercises because you will burn more calories doing so. Squats and dead lifts are excellent for this. Stay away from isolation exercises like flys or dumbbell curls. Straight barbell curls, flat bench press, V-grip or barbell bent over rows, standing military press are all good exercises. I’d recommend that you do upper body on Monday and again on Thursday and lower body on Tuesday and Friday. Again, stick to the big exercises. Keep the reps between 12 and 15 and do a combination of sets to where you are doing about 20 sets per work out. Do a push / pull superset work out with little rest between sets to keep your heart rate up. You should be able to do your work outs in less than 45 minutes. Vary the exercises to keep things interesting. An example work out would be:
Just for clarification when you say superset you mean instead of resting do a set of the other exercise? Also Thank You to you and all who have given input so far. Monday-
AM – Jog
PM - weights
Flat Bench / V-grip pull superset – five sets of 12-15 reps.
Bar bell curl / tri push down superset – five sets of 12 -15 reps.
Tuesday-
AM - weights
Squats – five sets / 12 – 15 reps
Straight leg dead lift – five sets / 12 – 15 reps
Seated calf raises / crunches supersets – five sets 20 reps each. (calf and abs require higher reps)
Wednesday-
AM - Jog
No lifting
Thursday –
AM - weights
Incline press / Bent over rows superset - four sets of 12-15 reps.
Military press / dumbbell shrugs superset - four sets of 12-15 reps.
Easy bar curls / close grip bench press superset - four sets of 12-15 reps.
Friday-
AM – Jog
PM - Weights
Leg Press / hamstring curls superset – six sets of 15 reps.
Calf extensions (on the press) / abdominal leg raise supersets – six sets 20 reps.
Saturday
OFF
Sunday
AM – Jog
No lifting
The following week, change things a bit. Make sure to take plenty of Creatine and if your legs hurt too much to run after leg days, ride a bike or hop on the elliptical.
And always remember that the last rep you do for every set, should be at 100% maximum effort. Add / subtract weight as needed to reach the target rep.
Record your weight and measurements to track results. Avoid idle overeating when sitting in front of the boob tube……. TV is the #1 reason for obesity. Slam a non-fat protein shake
Most of the protein powders i have seen have at least 2Grams fat per scoop is there a non-fat powder you would recomend?i was looking at getting This (mixed with water) before you go to bed.
Frankly, the whole reason for working out in the AM, is to do so on an empty stomach. When you work out after a fasting period, fat is burnt for fuel at a much higher rate than possible doing so any other way. I do not recall the exact figures, but I seem to recall fat burning is more than doubled. Normally, your metabolism burns carbohydrates for fuel and when it runs out them, it starts using protein, then it starts using fat. After a fast, it turns to fat for fuel first. But if you can not work out on an empty stomach, I’d recommend you stick with just enough oatmeal to ease the discomfort. You may even be able to get away with a cup of coffee……
If you can not split your workouts into two times per day, I personally would rather do cardio first (and I do when I do both in one session). When I’m done with the weights, I don’t have the energy for cardio. I just want to go home and relax for a while.
Supersets are doing two exercises back to back without rest. Normally a short rest period is needed between sets. When you do supersets, you pair up two different exercises from two different muscle groups and do them back to back without rest. That is where “push-pull” comes into play. You do a chest exercise first, then immediately do a back exercise. You can get away without resting because you are using two different “prime” muscle groups. By working out without rest, your heart rate remains higher, which will ultimately burn more calories. Anaerobic exercise (weight training) is not a very efficient method for weight reduction, but needed. Supersets help in this regards. I always do supersets when I work out with the exception of the days I work legs. When I work legs I’m too exhausted between sets to do anything else. I’ve actually spent quite a bit of time hugging porcelain on leg days after doing some heavy squats. But for all other body parts, I prefer to do supersets because I get out the gym quicker.
I’ve tried many different brands and types of protein and I always migrate back to EAS products. I really liked their Precision Protein, but I can’t find it anymore. I think they stopped making the stuff. It was / is expensive, but damn that stuff worked great. – It mixed perfectly too…. Well anyway, I have been using the same thing you posted a link to. - EAS 100% Whey Protein. It mixes well, tastes good (for protein anyway) and has a fat content of less than 20%.
There’s two books that I rather like, and the only two that I recommend (and I’ve read dozens). One for folks new to weight training is Body for Life, by Bill Philips. Philips is the owner of EAS and there’s a lot of differing opinions about him and his marketing, but I think Body for Life is an outstanding book for folks just getting into this. He also has a couple more books out, but I have not read them. The second book, and my all time favorite, is Arnold Schwarzenegger’s New Encyclopedia of Modern Body Building. He revised it in 99 and I have yet to find a book with more useful information in it than this one.
http://www.amazon.com/Body-Life-Mental-P...08210405&sr=8-2 http://www.amazon.com/New-Encyclopedia-M...08210540&sr=1-1
You must attempt to work out first thing in the morning before you have anything to eat or drink. I don't even have water. I am simply amazed with how much more stamina I have. Also I've found that my appetite throughout the day is tremendously suppressed.
When I first read Mike's post about this, I thought "There's no way I can do this". I thought I'd have a heck of a time with it but I've been surprised to find out that I'm not even hungry early in the morning. I think I just ate because...well...that's what you're supposed to do! After the work-out, I have a third of a cup of oatmeal, a fruit, a coffee and sometimes a slice or two of turkey.
Mike thanks for you follow-up you hit all the points perfectly. As for the AM workout when i used to work out on an empty stomache i would have to stop do nausea (sp?) and a few times puked. Though I wonder if drinking the protein shake before i go to bed will take care of that problem.Anyway Thanks for the help and i do know what superset is i just get confused between that and when you start at your max weight do one set and with no rest do another set at lower weight. i forget what that is called.
Jake
Do you mean pyramiding? I don’t recall mentioning them or dropping weight. Sorry if I confused you.
Pyramids are what I do for the most part, but I don’t think that’s what you should be doing if fat loss is your primary goal. Pyramid sets are where you start out with a lighter weight for the first set and do higher reps. The next set you put on more weight and do fewer reps and continue that way for five or six sets. The last set you drop a bunch of weight and shoot for a high rep set. A pyramid for me would like this…
Incline press:
Two warm up sets – 135 X 15
Set 1 – 225 X 10
Set 2 – 275 X 8
Set 3 – 315 X 5
Set 4 – 335 X 2
Set 5 – 225 X 8
My goals have changed over the years. I no longer desire to gain size, but just keep what I have and do my best to keep it from turning to fat. I find that pyramiding gives me a well rounded series of sets that hit both fast and slow twitch fibers and also give my joints some time to warm up before hitting them with heavy weight. Ten years ago I could do a warm up set and then throw on a lot of weight for a target rep of two or three. I can’t do that anymore without injuring myself. Leg press is another good example where pyramids work well. Most folks can leg press at least three times their body weight, but that amount of weight is pretty tough on the knees. By throwing a plate on each side for each set, you give your knees time to warm up and you can also gauge when you need to stop if your knees start to pop or grind.
As far as you’re bought of nausea, that is normal for novice lifters, and also for experience lifters when working legs (I still puke). It’s just something you will have to work through. You’ll also be sore as hell for a few weeks as you push lactic acid out of your muscle fibers when first starting to weight train. It is normal and not to worry about too much. Don’t give up and work through it. Within a month to six weeks, that soreness will reduce dramatically. If you are working out with the right amount of intensity, you should be sore, but it will not be as painful as you will be while working the lactic acid out.
Thanks for the help and i do know what superset is i just get confused between that and when you start at your max weight do one set and with no rest do another set at lower weight. i forget what that is called.
If you are talking about when you do a heavy set and pause just long enough for your partner to strip some weight off and then you do another set and so forth it’s called “drop sets.”
As for the AM workout when i used to work out on an empty stomache i would have to stop do nausea (sp?) and a few times puked. Though I wonder if drinking the protein shake before i go to bed will take care of that problem
If working out on an empty stomach makes you sick then by all means eat something. This issue of whether or not to work out on an empty stomach is very hotly debated just do an internet search and you will see. Everyone’s body responds differently so just do what works for you.
I doubt if drinking a shake before bed will help but you can try it, however probably not the best idea to have to many calories just before bed as your body is resting and more likely to try and store them as fat.
Ah Drop sets thats what they are called thanks. Yeah the eating in the morning thing has always been a problem for me. I've always had a sour stomach in the morning that's why I have to force myself to eat something within the first hour of waking up or else my body won't tell me its hungry until 1 or 2 in the afternoon. It must be hereditary because my daughter has the same thing but i now know how important breakfast is so i force her to at least eat a little something to get the metabolism working. I think if i just stick to cardio when i first wake up i'll be fine with out eating it's more the weight training that puts me over the edge.
Finally found an article verifying the Tanita Body Fat scales are reasonably accurate. It is not the one I originally read from the University of Calgary a few years ago but the same results were found.
http://minds.wisconsin.edu/bitstream/handle/1793/23611/kins474bruflatetalfall2005.pdf?sequence=1
I've always hated doing weights.
1) Cuz I got no upper body strength.
2) I've always found it mind numbingly boring.
I've been doing crossfit for the last 6 weeks and we do a lot of weights, amongst other things. It's amazing how much form makes a difference, in addition to the fact that good form is actually quite hard. Fortunately for me, crossfit adds just the right amount of variety to make it interesting. And painful, in a good way.
I thought I’d resurrect this thread since with the new year approaching I imagine some people will be making resolutions.
Mine came early when I got sick about 2 months ago and lost 15lbs. I decided that since I’m getting up there in the years I had better try to put some muscle on while I still can.
15 years ago I use to powerlift but I figured I should take it easy to start slow so I opted for a program I found called “Hypertophy-Specific Training” (HST) which seems to be just a more programmed way of progressive loading.
http://thinkmuscle.com/The thing I like the most about doing this is that rather than blasting each body part one sometimes twice a week and sitting on my backside most days I can split up my routine and do a full body workout 5-6 days a week if I want. Most people do 3 days a week and do an AM/PM split if they want 6 workouts a week but I prefer to exercise every day.
Some things I’ve noticed:
I can do a full body workout 5-6 days a week w/o feeling over-trained by spreading out the sets I would normally do on one day for each body part over a whole week.
Though I originally had some DOMS it faded quickly being replaced by only a general tightness and feeling that I had worked my body.
I can do a full body workout in under 30 minutes if I superset antagonistic exercises. Though I have all my own equipment at home so I don’t have to wait for anything at the gym.
I can get the same feeling of effort/tiredness in 30 minutes of weights that would have taken me 3 hours of running.
My sleeping has gone from 5-6 hours a night to 8-10.
Dead lifting almost immediately stopped my sciatica. Now not only can I bend over w/o pain I can pick things up w/o supporting my back.
I realized I should have been eating a lot more back when I was powerlifting.
Broccoli, Cottage Cheese, Oatmeal, Chocolate Whey Protein Powder, Liquid Egg White, Walnut, Olive Oil, Coco, and Cinnamon shakes don’t taste nearly as bad as they sound.
I can gain 1lb a week with a reasonable proportion of that going to muscle. Most people don’t know I’ve stopped running and started lifting but have several have already commented that I look like I’m getting bigger (despite having lost the weight) but not gaining any weight. Another customer at a health-food store miss-overestimated my weight at 175lbs and was shocked when I told him I was only 145lbs.
I will probably try this program for another cycle when I’m done with this one and then switch to a strength program, but I’ll see how it goes.
Get motivated to train now if you’re not and good luck with your continuing programs and any new programs for the new year.
Cheers,
Dean
Pathetic by comparison, but I've at least been running home from work every weekday. I told my coworker I would run the Jingle Bell 5k (work-related) with her if she wanted to do it, since she mentioned it, and that was today. So that's why I'd been doing the little running I'd been doing. I've never been good at pacing myself for any significant distance, so in these runs home I would always be gasping like an idiot, and I estimate it's only like 3/4 of a mile. Thankfully, my coworker's pace is a lot slower than the pace I usually try to run at, so the 5k was essentially painless. I wasn't winded in the least, and we both felt like we could have done twice the distance without any strain. She should be a regular running buddy so I don't try to kill myself.
While I don't yet love running, I am glad to know I'm not a TOTAL wuss, even if I'm not doing ultra distance running. I'm going to try to continue to run home every day and see if I can motivate myself to do at least 3 mile stretches of more reasonably paced running on the weekends.
Only 145 lbs? For some reason I thought you were heavier. I don't know why. Right now I'm at around 160, which is about as heavy as I get. I think I've been up to 164. I feel much tighter when I'm about 152. I don't know if I'll try to slim down to that or not.
In any case, nice job on the new workout.
Good to hear you’re running. I found it addicting but for many it’s an acquired taste. Having a workout partner can always be helpful in maintaining any program. You’re already ahead of most Americans who couldn’t do a 5k to save their lives.
Many people think I weigh more than I really do probably because my body fat is so low I tend to look more muscular than I really am. Also people always picture Marines as huge which most are larger than me since I was the smallest guy in my platoon at bootcamp. Out in the FMF the guys use to call me “Adam Ant” because they said my full kit I looked like a little ant carrying a big leaf.
When I joined the Corps I only weighed 113lb (2lb under weight). Eight years later I was only 125lbs when I got out. I didn’t really put on any weight until I became a firefighter. I was strong enough to pick up anything we used but w/o any body weight I didn’t really have enough mass to get the traction to pull a charged hose-line over snowy or muddy (which you find a lot at fire scenes) ground. That’s when I started powerlifting and eventually got up to 165lbs at my heaviest. I’m shooting for 165 again but with a little lower body fat than last time.
Keep it up Charles. Once they get use to it most people like to run or do other exercises. I know I’d go nuts if I couldn’t.
I've been running on and off in the past two years. 5K is the most distance I can tolerate. Buffalo, NY is impossible in the winter of course (27" of snow this week) unless you can find an indoor track.
My sport of choice now is tennis. My younger son introduced this game to me four years ago and find it to be a massive workout for 1 to 1.5 hours. Although, at times, I find it as frustrating as golf, you are able to experience the "sweet spot" feeling most of the time. Like hitting a softball for a triple down the line with the good part of the bat.
BTW Grunt (sidebar)...I'm really getting into Therion. Just picked up "Theli" and now have on the way "Lemuria/Sirius B. Incredible band that has vaulted to my top 5 of all time list. That's not easy to do.
Any exercise is usually good exercise. The only time I’ve liked tennis is when I lived in West Africa and could pay a couple local kits 25 cents to chase balls which at my skill level was way to often.
Actually Therion is something I often listen to when working out. Metal and various EBM are great for workout music. The nice thing about working out at home is I don’t have to wear a “walkman” but can crank my Axioms. Since my one of my M80s and my EP500 are right near the double doorway into my workout room (suppose to be the master bedroom) I can feel the music instead of just listening to it. Much more motivating for workouts.
This may be a problem of mine. I don't own any music that makes me want to work out. The xx certainly isn't going to cut it.
I only listen to music when I’m lifting and then only if I can play it on speakers. I don’t like wearing headphones/earbuds when I’m doing things.
I made an attempt at running today, used my treadmill for the first time in a year. Made a few attempts earlier in the year outside but never really felt like I wanted to. I can't believe it is now over 6yrs ago when I ran my one and only half marathon, time does go by way too quickly.
If I am not running and/or weight lifting I struggle to keep my weight below 220.
Let's see how long I can keep this up, tomorrow should be a light weight day, don't want to be too stiff/sore/tired to head into work later that night nor the next day.
Jay, you need some motivation. They say getting a dog helps to keep their owners fit....maybe get a pit bull and take him with you. Tie a steak to your butt for extra motivation....
Crossfit! I'm a recent convert.
It's amazing how many of us are considered overweight when you figure out your
BMI I'm in the normal range at the moment, but tend to be right on the overweight/normal mark, and don't consider myself to be heavy at all, especially compared to most people. At 5' 11", I try to stay at 175lb.
Cam, if you stop fitting into your chair, it's what you'd be lacking.
Cam, if you stop fitting into your chair, it's what you'd be lacking.
If Cam gets too big(for his chair), he can always step up to the
BIG BOUNDER BARIATRIC POWER WHEELCHAIR. 
He could get one of those anyway, so his caregiver can go cruising with him.
That's just crazy.
He could get one of those anyway, so his caregiver can go cruising with him.
Adrian, that's a great idea! Only thing is that I get lots of ladies riding around on my lap or standing on the wheelie wheels behind me, in which case I can use their chest as a headrest
. One of the perks of being handicapped
.
At 5'11 and 160 I try hard to gain weight whenever I can. I lift weights 3-4 times a week and try and take in a lot of protein (shakes, bars, etc.) after my work outs. I try to keep up ok my cardio buy it's easy to convince myself to skip when I'm trying not to lose weight. I'd like to gain an extra 10-12 pounds but it's pretty hard. People at work are always commenting on how often I eat too. I snack throughout the day (protein bars, tuna, peanu butter and jelly, yogurt, etc) to try and keep my calorie intake up but perhaps still not eating enough.
You have no idea how lucky you are David.
Sigh, looking back at my last post in this thread in '08, I've gained a 'little'. I shed a couple of pounds this fall, probably cumulative from my gentle golf exercise program over the summer, but I will struggle over the winter. Just can't get motivated to run or do fitness in a gym.
I am motivated to read this thread over the winter thought.
Hey CV, how is it all your co-workers turn out to be women? You overseeing someone's harem?
Hey CV, how is it all your co-workers turn out to be women? You overseeing someone's harem?
Actually, now that our boss is a female, our department, which has been historically overwhelmingly female is now tipping to the male side. I simply haven't gotten that close with my male coworkers yet.Not enough to hang out with outside of work, anyway. My best friend is the female coworker I've worked with the longest, so she's who I do a lot of stuff with.
David your last comment hit the nail on the head:
but perhaps still not eating enough.
The equation is simple. Eat 500kCal/day more than you burn and you will gain a pound a week. Since I started working out again I’ve gained exactly a pound a week for a total of 7 pounds. I will work out for another 3 weeks gaining 3 more pounds before taking a one week break at which point I will start again for 10 weeks and 10 more pounds at which point I’ll evaluate how I want to continue.
I use to think of myself as a “hardgainer.” After I started powerlifing I realized that is an often overused excuse. “Hardgainers” are almost always over/under-trainers and/or under-eaters and it’s usually the latter, since 3500kCal a week equals a pound. Training will just help more of that be muscle than would have otherwise. If you are not gaining weight you aren’t eating enough plain and simple.
When I started power lifting I gained 40lbs from 125 to 165 in one year and never had my body fat go over 12%.
In order to get enough calories I eat 8 meals a day about 3 hours apart (including whenever I wake up during the night). 4 of those are shakes one every 6 hours. In between are normal meals except for workout time when it’s a pre and post workout shake. If not for the shakes it would be hard to eat the 2500-3000kCal/day I need to stay 500kCal above maintenance. The 2500-3000kCal range takes into account whether I work and or work out on a given day which both up my requirements which I adjust for accordingly.
One advantage of doing the 4 really 5 shakes if you count pre/post workout is that gives me a set number of kCal/day, about 1700 so I only have to count the extra I need to make up the difference.
It can take some time to dial in exactly how much you need to gain a set amount so when in doubt eat more and monitor your weight gain adjusting down or up as needed. If you don’t already have one Amazon sells some inexpensive skin calipers under $10 so you can monitor your body fat.
As for workout what do you do? Can you squat 1.5 x your body weight or better? I ask because you may not be doing a good workout for bulking. Just eating a lot w/o the right exercises means more of what you gain will be fat if you start eating more.
Cheers,
Dean
Yeah, I think my workout routine is pretty rigorous, or at least has been in the past with somewhat of a slowdown lately. Generally I combine chest and triceps one day, back and biceps another, and legs and shoulders. The fourth day I'll repeat one. Used to do each twice but work schedule hasn't really allowed 6 days in the gym but I could try to squeeze it in. Occasionally I'll just focus hard on one of the planned two muscle groups a day but with a typical 3 workouts a day that hasn't been happening. Workouts used to be an hour and a half with 15 minutes of Light cardio warm up but now they have shrunk to an hour with little to elliptical or treadmill warm up.
I think it boils down to calorie intake like you said. Part of my probably got frustrated over lack of gains so i think my workouts have been trimmed into "staying in shape" instead of "building strength".
What type of shakes do you consume?
Also:
I'd be open to specific workout routines or food/shake suggestions and I'd consider re-attempting to bulk up a little.
This website is the best workout resource IMO. There's lots of videos (this workout is really extreme).
Enjoy, guys.
Yeah. Nice rack....on the wall too.
I'd be open to specific workout routines or food/shake suggestions and I'd consider re-attempting to bulk up a little.
The basic rule if you are trying to bulk is to eat more and simplify your workout. Stick to compound exercises. Squat, Dead Lift, Bench Press (various types), Shoulder Presses (various types), Pull Ups/Chin Ups, Rowing movements (various types). Cut out virtually all isolation movements. Here is a very good exercise directory which describes what each exercise targets and how:
http://exrx.net/Lists/Directory.htmlIdeally you want to keep it as simple as possible and do full body workouts every time you exercise. One simple way is to pick two pushing movements, two pulling movements and two squatting movements alternating between them each workout. For example right now my workout is 5 sets of 5 reps:
A/B
Dead Lift / Squat
Flat Bench Press / Standing Shoulder Press
Pull Ups / Cable Rows
If you are looking for a complete plan here is a similar one you could follow:
http://stronglifts.com/stronglifts-5x5-beginner-strength-training-program/The eBook covering this is free and linked at the bottom of the page:
http://stronglifts.com/stronglifts-5x5-ebook-download/Here are the FAQs:
http://stronglifts.com/forum/f6/stronglifts-5x5-faq-read-before-asking-questions-3141.htmlThat is just one of many strength programs but all should revolve around the same basic principle of a few compound exercises preferably done as whole body workouts 3 or more times a week.
Here are some more:
http://www.hypertrophy-specific.com/hst_index.html (a modified version of which I am doing right now combined with the program above)
http://doubleyourgains.com/doubleyourgains-3-5-beginners-strength-training-programhttp://exrx.net/Lists/WorkoutMenu.htmlAnd there are many more out there but the basic concept is the same a few basic compound exercises, working out the whole body 2-3 times a week minimum either whole body every workout or A/B splits, progressive loading (increase what you lift every workout/week), cycling weights when you plateau and most important eating and resting enough.
I actually have to work out now so I’ll hit nutrition when I get back.
There’s lots of info on exercise nutrition out there here are a couple sources:
http://www.nowloss.com/how-to-lose-weight-keep-it-off-permanently.htmhttp://stronglifts.com/how-to-gain-weight-for-skinny-guys/I drink 4-5 shakes a day because I know from the past that I can’t get enough quality calories in solid food each day while exercising. Plus by doing the shakes I know I’m getting at least some good balanced nutrition throughout the day and that about 3/4s of my daily calories are already accounted for meaning I only have to worry about under/over eating for about 1/4 of them.
Pre Workout Shake one hour before workout:
-Nonfat Milk (both slow and fast absorbing proteins and carbs)
-Liquid Egg Whites (medium absorbing proteins)
-Olive Oil (fats to help testosterone production)
Post Workout Shake immediately after workout:
Apple Juice (high sugar to spike insulin speeding nutrition uptake into muscles)
When Protein (fast absorbing protein)
Regular Shake one half an hour after workout and every 6 hours after that:
-Whey Protein powder (because it’s fast absorbing protein)
-Liquid egg whites (because they are medium absorbing protein and being pasteurized don’t need to be cooked)
-Cottage Cheese (because they contain mostly slow absorbing protein)
-Oat Meal (slow absorbing carbs, and lots of fiber)
-Olive Oil (healthy fats which your body needs for making testosterone)
-Walnuts (healthy fats good for the heart)
-Broccoli (antioxidants and contain a chemical that lowers estrogen levels)
-Cinnamon (reduces insulin spike from eating causing slower absorption of carbs)
-Coco (Flavour, elevates mood)
Various solid meals half hour between each shake.
I always keep food with me everywhere I go so there is no way I will miss a meal. packets of salmon and tuna, jerky, meal replacement drinks come in handy if you cant cart your shakes around with you. I’ve know many guys that carried around jars of baby food.
I eat the same 4 main shakes every day because it’s simple to make the same ones all the time for 8-16 days at a shot and store them in a chest freezer. I then mix them in water or tea and blend them as needed. However, be aware that if you eat a lot of the same things all the time any low grade food allergies you may not know that you have could manifest and you will have to find the offending food and cut it back. Milk, fish and nut proteins are common ones.
Also if you are going to try bulking do a couple of things first. Take pictures. Pictures don’t lie mirrors do. Buy a skin caliper and tape measure:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002VAPHXW/ref=ord_cart_shr?ie=UTF8&m=A1JOKHZE1W04XWIf you find yourself going above about 15% body fat do some cutting before you try to bulk anymore.
Also understand that nothing I’m saying is written in stone. Ultimately the best way to find out what works for you is to find a simple easy to stick with program of working out and eating. Eventually tweak a little bit here and there to see what effect it has and you will be able to customize what works best for you and your lifestyle.
P.S. If you want to get bigger/heavier then Dead Lift and Squat.
I used to weight train up till 3 yrs ago...had to move my universal to the garage after installing hardwood flooring. I did several of the excercises mentioned such as leg presses, pull downs, flys, curls ect. It bulked me up pretty quick and gained a lot of strength but I always had a problem with the abs. Anyway, I much prefer cardio exercises like bike riding which are far more beneficial to your health, imho.
To gain mass a general rule of thumb is at LEAST 1 gram of protein /lb of body weight I used to do more like 1.5-2 times my body weight and I ate a ton of food between 6000-10000 calories a day and still had to work extrememly hard to gain some mass. Getting lean mass is not as easy as many try to make it sound.
Hey be careful of the tuna intake lads.
Mercury and all.
And be wary of those nuts too.
Aflatoxins.
And watch your beef count, which contains everything else under the sun.
Salmon? Wild or farmed?
Actually it doesn't matter much.
They all have PCBs and pesticide residues.
Be as healthy as you try, we're all contaminated already.
I'm OK with that as long as those PCBs are from a natural source.
I'm OK with that as long as those PCBs are from a natural source.
Well man did create them from all natural ingredients.
I'm OK with that as long as those PCBs are from a natural source.
I prefer mine from Bell transformers. Top grade, they are.
Hey be careful of the tuna intake lads.
Mercury and all.
And be wary of those nuts too.
Aflatoxins.
And watch your beef count, which contains everything else under the sun.
Salmon? Wild or farmed?
Actually it doesn't matter much.
They all have PCBs and pesticide residues.
Be as healthy as you try, we're all contaminated already.
OMG. He's channeling Rachel Carson! We should try get him to do someone else. See what we get.
Oooh!!..me...me...get him to do Shemp Howard!!
Yesterday I finished my first 8 week “bulking” cycle and started a proscribed 1-2 week rest. I’m thinking closer to 1 week or I’ll go nuts.
I’m quite happy with the results. My body weight went from 140lbs to 148lbs, exactly a pound a week as I planned. My body fat is at 8%. Unfortunately I didn’t have a caliper or measuring tape when I started so I can’t give exact gains however I have made noticeable gains everywhere except my legs which were already in good shape from running mountains. The best progress seems to be my shoulders and triceps so I’m adjusting my next cycle accordingly and adding more pulling movements. Numerous people have made unsolicited comments that I appear to be getting bigger but don’t look like I‘ve gained weight.
Also my strength is returning even though the program I am using is designed to put on muscle mass and not focus on strength gains. Despite pulling a muscle in my thigh, requiring a nearly 2 week leg layoff, my Dead Lifts squeaked back above 300lbs and my Squats are closing in on that. My bench has always sucked but it’s almost up to 200lbs with 225lbs being the max I ever got when power lifting.
I think the key to me make as much progress in 8 weeks as it took me 8 months to do 15 years ago is attributable to 3 things. One, having been previously conditioned from power lifting. Two, much improved nutrition. Three, 6 day/week full body workouts but maintaining the same volume I would have had I been blasting each body part once a week as I did back in my power lifting days. Can’t say which is the most significant factor but I’m quite surprised at the gains I’ve made at 50 years old considering I never did this well at 35.
Quite impressive. I am pretty sure I never made gains like that back when I was young, I can't even make gains like that now.
I managed a 5K saunter on the treadmill today. That was the fourth time I managed to hit the treadmill this week; only hit the weights twice
My wife is off this week and next week, so my routine (if I can call it that) will be disrupted once again.
I think Dean has gained superhuman powers.
Quite impressive. I am pretty sure I never made gains like that back when I was young, I can't even make gains like that now.
I managed a 5K saunter on the treadmill today. That was the fourth time I managed to hit the treadmill this week; only hit the weights twice
My wife is off this week and next week, so my routine (if I can call it that) will be disrupted once again.
Funny Jason you’ve run more than I have in one week than I have in the last 8. Actually I went from running 10-12 miles a day to no running at all when I started lifting again 8 weeks ago. I think another reason I’ve had such success is I’ve put as much fanaticism into lifting as I had running.
I think Dean has gained superhuman powers.
Naw it’s just because I watched “Iron Man 2” the other night.
I didn't get that kinda bonus with
my disc!
Wrong power supply I bet.
Serves me right for buying it on VHS.
*sigh*
I figured out the workout routine for my next cycle. Based on how things went I added some more pulling movements specifically designed to target the biceps more. The routine is quite simple and looks like this:
A. Sumo Dead Lift / Incline Bench Press / Wide Grip Pull Up
B. Barbell Calf Raise / Flat Bench Press / Parallel Grip Chin Ups
C. Back Squats / Standing Shoulder Press / Close Grip Chin Ups
D. Barbell Calf Raise / Dips / Cable Rows
I’ll do this workout starting on Saturdays with Friday off so the split will look like: A, B, C, D, A, B, Off, C, D, A, B, C, D, Off, (Repeat). Each exercise will have one primary work set of 20-25 reps most done in a “Maximum Stimulation” (Max-Stim) style. This involves doing a rep then unloading the weight for 5-30 seconds depending on how heavy and reloading and doing another rep. It’s sort of half way between doing “Rest Pause” and “Singles” which allows the progression to heavy weights while maintaining a high rep count without having to manage using multiple sets or “Clustering.” In other words I should be able to do 20 reps with my 5 rep maximum in less time than if I tried to do 4 sets of 5. Additionally I will include one “Burn Set” of 15 reps for each exercise to enhance metabolic activity.
One exception is the Dead Lift. When they start getting hard to recover from doing 20 reps I will switch to pyramiding pushing for a higher 1 rep max each workout.
Each exercise will start the cycle at 60% of my 1 rep maximum progressing in 10lb increments (except the shoulder press 5lb) until I can’t progress any more which should be about 9 increments or 6 weeks. At that point I will switch to doing negatives or other techniques to continue progressing the load another 2 weeks or longer if I can.
Additionally I will monitor the progress of each body part and around the half way point add in addition specialization exercises for anything I feel is lagging behind.
This is only really a slight variation from my previous very successful cycle I just completed. Only real difference is switching from traditional set/reps to the Max-Stim style.
My goal is another 8lb of body weight while keeping my body fat under 10%.
I figured I’d bump this thread to see if anyone else has been working out or planning to with the new year.
I’m 3 weeks into the 2nd cycle of the program I started about 12 weeks ago. So far I’ve gained 13lbs and hope to add 7-10 more depending on how long I can keep this cycle going. I’ve also been working out every day except for New Years Day since I was feeling a little to hung over to be lifting.
I’ve stuck with the workout plan above but added Shrugs in with the Barbell Calf Raises since the bar is already set up for them anyway.
I’m really enjoying the “Max-Stim” way of dong reps instead of grouping them into multiple sets. Each rep gets much more focus making it feel like I’m getting more out of it than ever before when using straight sets.
I’m really enjoying the “Max-Stim” way of dong reps
Do those make you longer or girthier?
I’m really enjoying the “Max-Stim” way of dong reps
Do those make you longer or girthier?
Umm, let me check . . . yup just as I thought both.
I really liked Stimpy’s booger collection.
Dean, do you you take nutritional supplements or make your own juice? I'm devoted to nutrition and spend a good amount of coin on vitamins and minerals etc. I don't have time now, but I'll compose the list tomorrow. You may find interest in a couple of them.
Dean, do you you take nutritional supplements or make your own juice? I'm devoted to nutrition and spend a good amount of coin on vitamins and minerals etc. I don't have time now, but I'll compose the list tomorrow. You may find interest in a couple of them.
I’d be interested in knowing what your taking and your opinion of them. I don’t take to many supplements, these are the ones right now:
Multivitamin - just in case
CLA - a fatty acid that helps your body metabolize fat for energy better making it less likely you’ll store it in fat cells. It also increases insulin sensitivity increasing uptake of nutrients into cells. Increases basal metabolic rate.
EFAs - like fish oil and flax oil.
DIM - a chemical found in vegetables like broccoli that takes estrogen out of your system increasing testosterone to estrogen balance.
Red Yeast Rice - suggested by my doctor to keep my borderline cholesterol down.
I also try to get natural sources of all the above. Plus I use Whey protein power simply because it’s the cheapest protein I can find per gram.
The wife and I decided to start "eating better" and hitting the gym about 3 months ago. We have really cut down our bad fats, and have moderate carb intake (<1g per lb). Upped the protein intake to about 1.5g per lb. So far, we've been hitting the gym about 5-6 days a week, but the last month or so has just been terrible with all of the New Year's resolution people. Hoping it will calm down in a bit. So far things have been going well. I've lost about 20 lbs of fat, and gained about 10 lbs of muscle (went from 36" to 30" jeans). My wife has lost about 5 lbs of fat, and gained 2 lbs of muscle.
I've enjoyed this thread and thought I'd share my story.
My wife and I joined a local gym last month, me moreso for weights and her for yoga. I enjoy yoga as well, but most of the classes are during my work hours.
Included in the membership is a free consultation with a personal trainer. I met with one mainly to help me get started, i.e. to get advice on a fitness plan to lose weight - especially my carb-craving belly - and shape up in general. I typically am inactive: desk job, little to no regular exercise over the last few years. I am 6'4" and 245 pounds, which is the heaviest I have been. To follow-up on Ray and Peter's banter above, I guess I'm only a
1/4 horse. Anyway, I was 175 as a senior in high school, 215 when I graduated from college. I spent my 20s in the 220s, my 30s in the 230s, and this disturbing trend had led to my 40s getting me to the 240s.
After taking some history from me and talking over my goals, he gave me three takehome points:
1. Always eat a good breakfast
2. Get plenty of water
3. Build muscle
OK, I think - this is not rocket science, and tell me something that I don't know, but I guess it was good to get the reminders.
The recommended workout: 5-10 minutes warmup on a treadmill or bike (I prefer the bike due to a propensity to shin splints), then three cycles of three exercises ("LEG/PUSH/PULL"), followed by an optional cooldown on the cycle for a few minutes.
These are on machines of the Nautilus/Cybex style. The exercises are, in the usual order:
Leg Press
Bench Press
Back Row
---
Leg Extension
Military Press
Abdominal Rotation
---
Leg Curl
Triceps Press
Biceps Curl
To start, he suggested two sets of 15 reps for each exercise, starting at a low/comfortable weight and increasing the weight as needed to ensure I was getting towards that 100% effort on the last rep like MDrew was referring to. Once I get to the point that I'm not adding weight resistance, I am to lower the reps to 10-12 and increase the weight. Then try 8-10 reps with higher weight, and finally 6-8 reps. Always do at least 6 reps. At least every four to six weeks, alternate high reps/low reps.
Because I rotate through the exercises - eg one set of leg press, then one set of bench press, then one set of row, then the second sets of each to complete the first cycle - my heart rate stays up and I can complete the workout in 45 minutes.
I've completed two weeks of every-other day workouts, and I am already feeling better. I go before work. I don't have to get up that much earlier, since I've got my shower and prep routine down to a science, and it's easier to get ready when not dealing with the distractions of wife, child, and pets.
I am working out fasting, with breakfast thereafter. I'm going pretty low-carb for a couple of weeks (just short of full South Beach style) to accelerate the weight loss around the midsection. I'm down 6 pounds so far. I have successfully resisted a dozen donuts sitting two feet in front of me during a two-hour meeting. I can tell that I was eating way too much junk, and I am eating much less overall, and much more protein.
I'll keep you posted ...
SRoode, you inspire me. I had my post on hold for a while this AM and didn't see yours until after I posted mine. Those are some awesome results you've gotten!
The wife and I decided to start "eating better" and hitting the gym about 3 months ago. We have really cut down our bad fats, and have moderate carb intake (<1g per lb). Upped the protein intake to about 1.5g per lb. So far, we've been hitting the gym about 5-6 days a week, but the last month or so has just been terrible with all of the New Year's resolution people. Hoping it will calm down in a bit. So far things have been going well. I've lost about 20 lbs of fat, and gained about 10 lbs of muscle (went from 36" to 30" jeans). My wife has lost about 5 lbs of fat, and gained 2 lbs of muscle.
That’s some fantastic progress Steve, keep up the good work and keep us posted. I agree that gyms can suck this time of year especially if you work during the day and have to hit the gyms when everybody else does.
Looks like your making good progress too Doc. Sounds like you have a solid plan. I especially like doing supersets they way you are to speed things up so your not just sitting around killing time to do the second set of the same exercise.
I’m glad I don’t have a desk job, planed it that way. Not sure what I’m going to do when I retire in 6 years since I’m likely to sit down and grow roots in my HT.
At morning and supper I take the following-
-all round "Essentials" supplement by
Usana (two multimineral and two antioxidant pills). I did extensive research to find the best supplement on the market, and Usana was recommended on many sites. The best thing about the company is that they mail you the supplements (they can't be purchased in store) automatically, based on when you are ready for a refill. The supplements aren't cheap, but they are extremely high quality; I highly recommend them.
-Evening primrose oil, which contains GLA (Gamma Linoleic Acid). It's an EFA that is claimed to have many benefits, but like all EFA's, it's basic function has to do with cells.
-an additional 600 mg of vitamin C. Yes I know, 400 mg is the RDA, and we excrete the rest out in our urine. However, Linus Pauling was a pioneer in the use of macro amounts of vitamin C. I currently take approximately 1600 mg a day.
-Grapefruit seed extract. It's one of, if not the best natural supplement that acts as an antibiotic. One of its main uses is in the treatment of urinary tract infections, and it's proven to be more effective than cranberry.
-Phytoberry (two capsules, three times daily) . I started taking this about three months ago and highly recommend it. I take it in capsule form, but I have tried the powder, and it tastes really really good. It's a highly concentrated antioxidant and fruit supplement.
Here's some information on it.
And at lunch I take zinc along with the two capsules of Phytoberry.
I used to take flax seed oil, then added fish oil (NutriSea herring oil), but now solely take hemp oil. From my research, it's the best non-animal oil that you can take.
I also have completely removed bovine milk from my diet, as there are no benefits to it whatsoever, other than potassium which you can safely get from bananas. I'm a huge opponent of bovine milk as it is the cause of many ailments; most notably osteoporosis and allergies. It's really disgusting once you know what you are drinking. Heck, I'm a country boy, I grew up on the stuff, including drinking it right from the milking parlor.
Instead, I drink almond milk. I used to drink soy milk, but it can mess around with your thyroid, so then I switched to rice milk, but again did extensive research and concluded that almond milk is the healthiest.
So, my drinks consist of alternating between almond milk (I always had a little bit of Knudsen Farms organic cranberry juice that's 100% Juice), orange juice with pulp, and a mixed commercial vegetable juice like V8.
As far as my juicing goes, I have a Champion Juicer (one of the best) and make my own vegetable Clamato cocktail once a week. Because fresh juice doesn't last long if it's not sealed properly, thus adding the risk of botulism, I purchased a vacuum sealable container that is purposely used to preserve freshly made juice for up to three days.
I also make salsa, almond butter, and many other things with my juicer.
I too take a whey protein shake supplement, but only very occasionally because I'm obviously not active to work it off. I originally started taking it in the hopes that it would assist with healing my sores, but no such luck.
Let me know if you have any questions or suggestions.
Let me know if you have any questions or suggestions.
Can I stop by and use your juicer to make onion juice for sliders ?
Thanks guys, it's really shocked me too. I didn't expect to get this much change in a short amount of time, but I probably did because I was so out of shape for my age. As far as the supplements go, the main supplement I take is protein powder. I just can't eat enough protein naturally, so I need the supplement. It's harder for my wife because asians do not typically eat a high protein diet. We've limited our red meat intake to about once a week (or less) and we're eating a lot of chicken, turkey and pork loin. Of course we also both take our multi-vitamins.
I've been tracking my progress on the bodybuilding.com bodyshape website for anyone interested in how it's coming along. Warning, the before picture is NOT pretty...
http://bodyspace.bodybuilding.com/DamageControla4d/
Awesome results in such a short time Steve.
Very impressive.
Keep up the good work!
Thanks guys, it's really shocked me too. I didn't expect to get this much change in a short amount of time, but I probably did because I was so out of shape for my age. As far as the supplements go, the main supplement I take is protein powder. I just can't eat enough protein naturally, so I need the supplement. It's harder for my wife because asians do not typically eat a high protein diet. We've limited our red meat intake to about once a week (or less) and we're eating a lot of chicken, turkey and pork loin. Of course we also both take our multi-vitamins.
I've been tracking my progress on the bodybuilding.com bodyshape website for anyone interested in how it's coming along. Warning, the before picture is NOT pretty...
http://bodyspace.bodybuilding.com/DamageControla4d/ Looking good Steve. Based on your after picture your body fat looks lower than 14% to me.
Thanks grunt,
I have one of those scales that measures your fat and skeletal muscle using impedance (both feet and hands at the same time). These types of scales are not the most accurate, but it's the best I can do for now. I used the same scale before I started up to now so at least I'm hoping the delta is accurate.
Cam - You have a couple of options for the protein powder with limited activity. The Whey protein I use is very low in calories (60g of protein and only 260 calories). It's Optimun Nutrition Pro Complex. Also, you can opt for a Casein based protein which takes twice as long as Whey based protein to digest. It's the protein that I take at night for a constant slow absorption while I'm inactive, 24g of protein and only 120 calories. It's Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard Casein. Both of the products are linked on my Bodyspace page.
I have one of those scales that measures your fat and skeletal muscle using impedance (both feet and hands at the same time). These types of scales are not the most accurate, but it's the best I can do for now. I used the same scale before I started up to now so at least I'm hoping the delta is accurate.
I have one of those scales too (only measures feet though) and when I tried it said my body fat was 24%. But as long as you are following the same procedures when measuring, like wet feet, then the change should be ok.
I picked up one of these based on a recommendation of a site I visit.
http://www.amazon.com/AccuMeasure-MyoTape-AM-3000-Fitness-Personal/dp/B002VAPHXWThe calipers only come with a single measurement point chart but there are many internet sites that have 3-7 site calculator you can plug your numbers into. May not be perfect but IMO more accurate than most scales. And again if your primarily measuring change it should give consistent results.
What? Bovine milk causes osteoporosis? May I see the data that helped you reach this conclusion?
If you cite the fact that countries where milk consumption is much lower than the US tend to have lower rates of osteoporosis (which is true), you must remember that correlation is not causation. Lifestyle, diet, and genetic differences cannot be ignored.
I've read about this and I'm not really seeing a hard link. It's true that milk is totally unnecessary for good health, but to pass on unverified claims is irresponsible.
Let me know if you have any questions or suggestions.
Can I stop by and use your juicer to make onion juice for sliders ?
You sure can, bud; come on over
. One caveat-you have to give me one are two of them!
Cam - You have a couple of options for the protein powder with limited activity. The Whey protein I use is very low in calories (60g of protein and only 260 calories). It's Optimun Nutrition Pro Complex. Also, you can opt for a Casein based protein which takes twice as long as Whey based protein to digest. It's the protein that I take at night for a constant slow absorption while I'm inactive, 24g of protein and only 120 calories. It's Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard Casein. Both of the products are linked on my Bodyspace page.
Scott, thanks for the advice, I'll definitely look for a protein supplement with less calories. Surprisingly enough, I've honestly never considered getting protein powder with the least amount of calories, which would obviously be best for me.
Regarding casein, I highly recommend that everyone steers clear of it. Casein is a naturally occurring protein found in milk from mammals, and is used as a bonding agent in many foods and products such as paint, cosmetics, and all types of adhesives. It's the protein in cow's milk that's widely believed to cause osteoporosis, as it leaches calcium from our bones.
I'm not being critical of your suggestion, but rather concerned for your health or others that may consume it; especially in such large quantities. There's lots of information that expounds on the negative effects of casein. It just warrants some serious consideration, that's all.
Cam, I'd also like to warn you about taking too many supplements. Studies have shown that some antioxidants, when isolated from the whole foods they come from, cease to work at all. In some cases, they can even
increase your cancer risk.
This piece by Michael Pollan is eye-opening. It's long, but worth reading.
What? Bovine milk causes osteoporosis? May I see the data that helped you reach this conclusion?
If you cite the fact that countries where milk consumption is much lower than the US tend to have lower rates of osteoporosis (which is true), you must remember that correlation is not causation. Lifestyle, diet, and genetic differences cannot be ignored.
I've read about this and I'm not really seeing a hard link. It's true that milk is totally unnecessary for good health, but to pass on unverified claims is irresponsible.
Peter, unfortunately I was writing up my reply well you posted. As you'll see in my post above, I did say that it's "widely believed", and that it warrants some consideration.
Here's one study that I pulled up in a pinch-
link .
On another note, it's generally accepted that the Mediterranean diet is the healthiest diet, or one of the healthiest diets that you can follow. I don't know if you would consider this as fact, but if you apply the same standards that you aforementioned - "you must remember that correlation is not causation. Lifestyle,
diet, and genetic differences cannot be ignored.", then it would wholly discredit any data collected on the advantage of the Mediterranean diet, no?
Cam, I'd also like to warn you about taking too many supplements. Studies have shown that some antioxidants, when isolated from the whole foods they come from, cease to work at all. In some cases, they can even
increase your cancer risk.
This piece by Michael Pollan is eye-opening. It's long, but worth reading.
I'll definitely give that a read, Peter; thanks. I have a huge respect for Michael Pollan (and you
) and his work.
I just read
this lengthy article. Although casein isn't explicitly mentioned, it does say milk.
Thought I’d bump this thread with an update since I’m 7 weeks in to this 8 week cycle, might push it farther if I’m still making strength gains in my Dead Lift, Squat or Bench.
Good news is that I’ve gained 9lbs, however at the inevitable cost of a little more body fat.
So far my gains are:
Chest +3.5”
Shoulders +1.5”
Neck +1”
Thighs +1”
Upper Arms +.75”
Hips +.5”
Forearms no change
Calves no change
I got increases about where I expected based on my exercise selection. Though several of the exercises Dead Lift, Squat and Calf Raises target my legs I made smaller gains there because of running hills I never lost that much from when I use to lift before.
Although this program is designed more on building muscle mass than just strength my main lifts are improving:
Dead Lift 285 lbs x 10
Full Squat 235 lbs x 5
Flat Bench 180 x 10
I’d like to hit 300, 250 and 200 in those lifts respectively before starting a new cycle so I may extend this one past 8 weeks.
Most of the gains in my chest measurement are actually from my upper back as my Pecs suck as do my Arms. My next cycle will focus more on developing these lagging areas now that I’m building up a base to work from and can see where the “big” lifts just aren’t helping.
As an update, I've really been enjoying my early AM workouts 3x/week. I've been able to gradually increase my weights/resistance and am definitely gaining muscle in the chest and arms. My legs were already plenty big, but they are leaner and stronger. Haven't dropped any pants sizes yet, but the pants that were too tight are now loose. I'm down about an inch on the belt.
That's funny - I clicked "Who's Online" and saw that you were reading this thread, so I decided to update. I saw a patient and then later submitted my post before reading yours. Consider mine the Cliff's Notes version, ha.
Seeing your regimen made me want to share mine, and reflect on my progress. These are my exercises, with (starting weight, lb) and current weight, on Cybex/LifeFitness equipment, in the order that I do them, in groups of three "supersets":
Leg Press (190) 280
Bench press (130) 200
Row (60) 120
Leg Extension (110) 195
Shoulder press (40) 65
Torso rotation (30) 60
Leg curl (60) 100
Tricep extension (50) 90
Bicep Curl (50) 90
Two sets of each, most still at 15 reps, except bench at 10 reps each.
Again, it's turned into a real treat, some "me" time to start the day.
Very nice progress you’ve made there and good exercise selection and order. I love doing supersets and started my present cycle that way. It’s a real time saver. However, as the weights have gotten heavier for me I’ve had to stop doing super sets and concentrate on each exercise individually.
For my next cycle I plan to keep doing the major exercises but will add in some isolation exercises for my lagging body parts, mainly my arms which are just pathetic. My back sure is getting big from the Dead Lifts though.
Lets keep this thread alive and maybe we can get others to join in.
Hey, thanks.
It's paying off already - a friend and I moved a bed from our second floor to the basement, and it was no sweat. Then, I carried my 5 year old up the stairs by the ankles (at his request - Whee@!), also no sweat. Plus, the wife is noticing that I am turning into an apple shape rather than a pear shape.
Awesome, so you'll help us all move when we're ready?
Do you have a truck, or do we need to call Adrian too?
I've noticed that, at the moment, the thread immediately below this one is the "beer thread." Do we have an oxymoronic (did I just make up a word?
) conflict of interest here?
It's just symbolic that most of us lift weights of 12oz at a time!
Ah, the "other" bicep curl.
I may have missed it, but does anyone take a
green superfood powder? I'm going to try
Vitamineral Green, as it's regarded as one of the best on numerous websites (including the first page I linked to) that I've come across over the last 3 hours of researching.
I just hope I don't S*#t myself because it has probiotic properties, and I've gone that route before.
Cam, according to
this guy, it has a cumulative
opposite problem. First you crap big, then you stop being able to crap.
I read that yesterday, Peter. In the posts that follow the article, users state many criticisms, from the way he used the product, how his experience can be a normal cleansing process side effect, to how each of our digestive systems will react differently.
P.S. I honesty had a feeling you would cite that website to help me understand the product further, my friend
.
In any case, everyone's digestive tract is populated by a different mix of bacteria, so how will affect you won't be known until you try it. Keep us posted.
Keep us posted.
My mom is picking me some up as we speak.
I figure that my digestive track is better than most, and somewhat acclimated because I juice my own veggie juice weekly.
At $60 a bottle, and no samples, here's hoping!
Get ready for the gag factor.
I know
. I'm adding a scoop of a very yummy tasting fruit powder to it, so hopefully it will help.
My regular kale, carrot, yam, broccoli, and garlic juice wouldn't be considered potable to anyone I know, so here's hoping I'm at least semi-prepared.
T minus 30 minutes until ingestion....
Today I finished up my last Dead Lift session for this cycle and got to 315 lbs before calling it quits. Not a personal best compared to my power lifting days but it’s getting up there and is almost exactly 2x my body weight. Not to shabby for an old man with a ruptured lumbar disk. Next stop 350 lbs.
I’m also on track to make my goals of 250 lbs Full Squat and 200 lbs Flat Bench this week. Though I’m not going to make my goal of 160 lbs body weight, probably only going to make 159 but got close.
Nice work Dean. I always liked to be able to lift double my body weight as I thought that it was a nice benchmark to achieve
Sadly, I have been mostly just jogging, having a hard time with allowing myself enough me time to get in 3 runs a week let alone weights.
Thanks Jay, it is a nice benchmark and with the added “coolness” factor of being 3 x 45 lbs plates on each side. One of my “rewards” for make it is to go out and buy another set of 45s though I actually have enough miscellaneous weights to go over 400 right now.
Well you’re doing much more running than me. I’ve only put foot to pavement about 3 times in the last four months and re-realized quickly that my body still won’t tolerate lifting and running at the same time. I’m trying to incorporate a little HIIT at the end of each workout to keep my cardio from totally tanking, and to help get the blood flowing through my muscles again. Seems to be working even though I’m doing a very limited amount. So far my heart rate and BP haven’t gone up which is a good sign.
I figure I have one more bulking cycle left in me before I might have to start to cut. I just wish most of my body fat didn’t have to make it’s way to my belly.
I’m trying to incorporate a little HIIT at the end of each workout to keep my cardio from totally tanking, and to help get the blood flowing through my muscles again. Seems to be working even though I’m doing a very limited amount. So far my heart rate and BP haven’t gone up which is a good sign.
I figure I have one more bulking cycle left in me before I might have to start to cut. I just wish most of my body fat didn’t have to make it’s way to my belly.
Bulking and running don't mix but the HIIT is an excellent substitute for endurance conditioning while trying to bulk up. I can relate all to well to the fat concern
Well I made my strength goals for this cycle by getting the Hat Trick, Triple Crown . . . 315 lbs Dead Lift, yesterday 200 lbs Bench and today 250 lbs Full Squat. I’ve already figured out the exercises for my next cycle, just have to decide on how to organize them for the best results. Now time for a much needed 7-10 days off to let my poor tendons and ligaments in my arms catch up and recover. I’ll take measurements again tomorrow to see if I’ve gained anything since I measured a couple weeks ago.
The only goal I didn’t make was total body weight. I was shooting for 160 lbs but will only make 159 lbs by the end of this week.
I found when I was lifting weights, I also had a problem with my wasteline. Ended up really bulking up around the shoulders, pecs arms ect...but the waste never changed much, probably should have targeted it more I guess.
I know
. I'm adding a scoop of a very yummy tasting fruit powder to it, so hopefully it will help.
My regular kale, carrot, yam, broccoli, and garlic juice wouldn't be considered potable to anyone I know, so here's hoping I'm at least semi-prepared.
T minus 30 minutes until ingestion....
Cam, I've been experimenting with juicing lately. From what I'm reading you have a good juicer (the screw type, not the centrifugal blade juicer) so the juice doesn't heat up and oxygen doesn't get beat into the pulp. They can also juice greens better...
I have a centrifugal, started doing beets, carrots, celery, apples, etc. It was great. But...I had to set aside 15-20 minutes to clean, chop, juice, drink, then clean 8 juicer parts in the sink. Started to get fed up with that, especially since I wanted to juice a few times a day.
I was looking at green smoothies that keep all the fiber so it actually fills you up (juice makes me even hungrier). So then I saw the Blendtec and Vitamix's. A friends dad had a vitamix, showed it to me, tasted some good stuff. So I found a deal on a referb Blendtec unit and TADA! I love it, very easy to clean and use. Dump everything in, and press a button. Smoothie!
Do you juice only weekly and do something crazy (like your garlic juice?!) or do you juice daily? Perhaps we could swap some recipes
I used to have some German juicer that sounded like a jet turbine when it wound up to 10,000 rpm. It was great fun but eventually I grew tired of cleaning the thing and put it away to gather dust. (I don't want to discourage anyone from juicing.)
Lately I'm thinking of doing pistacio nuts. Apparently they're very heart-healthy, according to Consumer Reports.
I never lift anything other than heavy speakers and subwoofers (the EP500 is the maximum; I had to rest for a day after unpacking and packing an EP600. . .).
Jogging is great for keeping weight off and I did it until I was in my early forties. Knee problems arose so I stopped, but my heartbeat at rest was 52 per minute back then.
Now I'm trying to walk 6 miles per week, which is hard to do in the winter. An obese friend of mine (a car and AV journalist in his early forties) is thinking of moving to California so he can walk and excercise more.
Cheers,
Alan
Ch
I used to have some German juicer that sounded like a jet turbine when it wound up to 10,000 rpm. It was great fun but eventually I grew tired of cleaning the thing and put it away to gather dust.
People have names, ya know!
Snappy comment # 2: That brings objectification to a whole new low.
Ha! I started a reply to that effect --
Alan, it's not nice to take advantage of alcoholics.
-- but decided against it.
And what possible good reason could have caused that?
An excellent one, still!
I think it was AEG, or is that a corrupt insurance company? Maybe it was "Dieter".
pmuko: LOL!
I knew some wit would respond with that setup line. . .
You are correct, sir! AEG made small power tools and home appliances. I had a rather $$ cordless drill that lasted 6 months. His name was Angelo.
Cam, I've been experimenting with juicing lately. From what I'm reading you have a good juicer (the screw type, not the centrifugal blade juicer) so the juice doesn't heat up and oxygen doesn't get beat into the pulp. They can also juice greens better...
Hey Dan, great to hear that you are enjoying juicing! Yes, I do have a very good juicer, that cost a pretty penny, but it's multipurpose and worth it. Here's a video of the exact model that I have-
Champion Juicer .
Do you juice only weekly and do something crazy (like your garlic juice?!) or do you juice daily? Perhaps we could swap some recipes
Because the cleanup is a time consuming process, I recently found
this vacuum sealed container that will preserve my juice for up to three days. I use to only juice once in a while because the cleanup, as mentioned, can be a turnoff. Now that I use this container, I juice once a week (enough to last me three days).
Regarding recipes, I pretty much always make them up on my own, but I do have a few websites bookmarked that have juicing recipes, and I can pass them along if you want.
I used to have some German juicer that sounded like a jet turbine when it wound up to 10,000 rpm. It was great fun but eventually I grew tired of cleaning the thing and put it away to gather dust. (I don't want to discourage anyone from juicing.)
Lately I'm thinking of doing pistacio nuts. Apparently they're very heart-healthy, according to Consumer Reports.
Alan, maybe the vacuum sealed container that I linked to above, would get you back into juicing
.
I've wanted to make pistachio butter, but haven't got around to it. I have made cashew butter with my juicer many times (I actually started a little side business and sold it for a while), and it is very good. When I do it, I always make at least two pounds for myself, and a pound for each of my friends and family that want some, because I only do it once in a while, as cleanup is a very arduous process.
A little tip when making any nut butter-add a little bit of extra virgin olive oil to the bag of nut's and make sure that they are thinly coated. Even though they have their own natural occurring oils, they do have a tendency to burn in the juicer because of the rotation of the blade.
Dan, will your juicer homogenize foods, too? I've made ice cream, as well as salsa (with my home grown organic vegetables).
I'm pretty sure my grandma has/had a Champion juicer. They're really built to last.
Yeppers, my friend; the motor is a beast.
I forgot to mention that I keep the pulp in a resealable bag and use it on sandwiches. Maybe something to try, Dan
.
I keep the pulp in a resealable bag and use it on sandwiches.
That doesn't sound realistic.
Yup. I'm guessing it's pulp fiction.
I forgot to mention that I keep the pulp in a resealable bag and use it on sandwiches. Maybe something to try, Dan
.
I compost the pulp. I'm a NW hippie now.
Yeah, the blender I have is this thing:
http://www.juiceman.com/ which is decent. The Blendtec rocks though. I made soup the other day. And it was heated up from the blade friction of the blender.
I keep the pulp in a resealable bag and use it on sandwiches.
That doesn't sound realistic.
Yup. I'm guessing it's pulp fiction.
HEHEHEHE
[quote=wheelz999]
I forgot to mention that I keep the pulp in a resealable bag and use it on sandwiches. Maybe something to try, Dan
.
I compost the pulp. I'm a NW hippie now.[quote]
Do you eat the compost
? You're missing all that nutrition from the pulp, if not.
Thats why I make juice smoothies in the blender now
Thats why I make juice smoothies in the blender now
Same here. I’ve always used a blender and finally got a powerful industrial model that liquefies everything including seeds. So much simpler than using a juicer.
Hey wheelz, that pistacio butter or other nut butters might just get me back into juicing.
Thanks.
Alan
Well...that's just plain nutty, imo.
Thats why I make juice smoothies in the blender now
Thats why I make juice smoothies in the blender now
Same here. I’ve always used a blender and finally got a powerful industrial model that liquefies everything including seeds. So much simpler than using a juicer.
I'm handicapped, but you guys are the lazy ones
.
Thats why I make juice smoothies in the blender now
Thats why I make juice smoothies in the blender now
Same here. I’ve always used a blender and finally got a powerful industrial model that liquefies everything including seeds. So much simpler than using a juicer.
I'm handicapped, but you guys are the lazy ones
.
Economy cost Cam, because the days ahead are shorter for me than the days behind.
I judge most routine things in my life by their economy cost, in other words what could I better be doing with my time. The vast majority of my meal preparation is streamlined to use the least amount of time while maintaining a healthy cost effective diet.
Here’s a good one that baffles my coworkers. Being aircraft mechanics most of my buddies pride themselves in taking car of their vehicles like changing the oil, filters washing etc. . . . I found a long time ago that it’s more cost effective to have someone else do those things for me. I drop off my car in half an hour to 45 minutes it someone else does all the preventive maintenance for me at a cost of less than $15 a visit. While they are working I’m out running or sitting watching a show on my portable DVD player. If I want to work I will sign up for overtime and make either $55/hour in OT pay or usually 2-4 to 1 in comp time. So why the hell would I change my own oil, filters, rotate tires or wash my car. BTW if I did want to do those things I could just do them at work during down time.
Gotta love government jobs.
Well, I signed up for the first annual
Badger Mountain Challenge. I'll be doing the 15k (of course) with my coworker. We did a 5k together, and it didn't tax either of us (at her sane pace, versus my inability to pace myself), so we're going to try for this 15k. Dean, you should come run the 100 mile one.
Charles I’m so out of running shape right now I’d probably kill myself doing a 15k. Since I started lifting again about 4 months ago I’ve gained 20lbs and the most I’ve run, really jogged, was 4 miles and I was sucking wind. I don’t plan to stop bulking until my body fat goes north of 15% probably closer to 20%. When I started lifting it was about 8% and now it’s up to about 12%. So hopefully I can keep bulking for another 4 months or so before I need to cut. That’s when I will start getting some running back in.
Endurance goes a lot faster than strength if you don’t maintain it, keep that in mind if you start improving. Took me a while to get back up to speed when I stopped power lifting. And I never quite got back to optimal running weight because I didn’t want to loose all the weight I had gained so I ended up only dropping about 20 of the 40 lbs I gained while lifting before.
I sure hope you enjoy yourself doing it. Looks like a nice place to run. I use to enjoy running in Corvallis when I attended Oregon State. That area is really beautiful as long as you like cold and cloudy a lot of the year.
I had an interesting experience Squatting yesterday. After besting my 1RM from last cycle I had an epic fail on the 6th rep of Squats. While coming back up I felt an intense pop in the core of my body and simultaneous loss of stability. Didn’t even think to try and save the rep, just dumped the bar. When I finished standing up I looked down and saw my lifting belt laying at my feet with the roller blown clean out of it. Scared the crap out of me but no damage as far as I can tell.
Checked the internet and though it doesn’t seem to common it does happen and even to a few people during competitions. Moral, inspect your gear before each use . . . .
P. S. I knew I was getting stronger but my belly???
I had an interesting experience Squatting yesterday.
I seriously can't believe I kept reading after this point...
Now that's damn funny!
Dean, Mark's toilet humor nonwithstanding, I'm glad to hear that the "pop" was the belt and not you. I kind of avoided your post for a while for fear of what I might read.
Terry's nasty foot picture has me skittish, I guess.
Speaking of Terry's nasty foot. I went to Toronto this weekend for my buddies birthday party. When we were leaving the bar to head back to the hotel, my buddies girl friend decided to jump on top of me. Well, we found out the following morning that she broke my foot rest right off ($80 bucks a pop), and mangled my right foot up pretty bad.
I'm guessing she used my foot as a step to get on top of me
. 'Tis not my preferred method!
Hey, I wouldn't complain, that's not a bad price at all.
Ohhhh, you meant the price of replacing the foot rest.
My bad.
Hey, I wouldn't complain, that's not a bad price at all.
Ohhhh, you meant the price of replacing the foot rest.
My bad.
As my friends say.....It must have been a good night if Cam broke his foot rest
.
I am on day 2 of my green smoothie diet.
Wish me luck.
I feel like I'm floating now...it's a very weird feeling. What do they put in these fruits and veggies, anyways?
Hey, I wouldn't complain, that's not a bad price at all.
Those dollarbucks go quickly.
Cam, you should definitely retaliate by climbing back on top of her. You won't need foot rests so you get to use your hands a lot more. Only fair.
Good point. And it's called an involuntary spasm, anyway. Not sexual assault!
I did the 15k Badger Mountain Challenge hike/run with my coworker today. It was pretty fun. My legs feel it a bit, but not bad. I'd say we only actually ran maybe a third of it, or at least only a third of the time. Not sure on what the breakup of the distance would be. She'd been working on hills, but we still didn't do much running up them. Still, I think we had a nice, brisk walking pace. I'm glad she kept the pace sane, because I know I would have killed myself if I was trying it on my own. I feel like I had a good workout, but I'm not destroyed. I'd do it again, and at least we have a good idea of the trail now so we can push ourselves a little harder at certain parts.
While you guys have been off at extreme events like Badger chasing and weight belt popping, I have been on a much more modest quest for fitness: relieving my back pain.
Since November, I have teamed up with a sports medicine oriented chiropractor and have started a simple routine to increase core strength and flexibility and also to relieve the many, many knotted and seized muscles in my back.
So far, I have shed a modest 5 lb, significantly increased flexibility and eliminated enough back pain that I can sleep well and not worry about back spasms after a tough day at the office.
Random piece of trivia: did you know your butt is part of your back?
Random piece of trivia: did you know your butt is part of your back?
Fred, are you talking about the coccyx (tailbone), which is the base of our spine/back (it's part of our butt if I'm not mistaken)?
Nope, I was being more obscure than that. I was referring to the interconnectedness of musculature and that what many people feel is lower back pain actually has its roots in the glutes. Your butt.
My doctor never believed me when I told here my back issues affected, um , other things.
Pretty much any point of the body where you can bend has overlaping muscle/connective tissue and a problem on one side can and usually will affect the other
Well, I signed up for a 12k run, again with my coworker. I had fun with the 15k, so this should be another good time, even if the towns we'll be near have gang activity. Ha ha.
They posted pictures of the 15k, so here are a couple of me and my coworker.
OneTwoThreeI think my coworker said we were in there more, but I'm too lazy to try to go through them. Those ones were the easiest to find.
Oh, this is the 12k we're going to do:
Sage Rat Run
. . . even if the towns we'll be near have gang activity. Ha ha.
That should make you run faster.
All the good runs have "rat" in the name and are run through gang-infested neighborhoods.
They posted pictures of the 15k, so here are a couple of me and my coworker.
You look pleased and enthused. She looks pained. If you hadn't told us, it'd look like she were trying to get away from you.
Is chasing down women one of your dating techniques?
All the good runs have "rat" in the name and are run through gang-infested neighborhoods.
Hey, hey, hey!
even if the towns we'll be near have gang activity
Just don't tell them their coffee tastes like Starbucks and you'll be fine.
That is what sets Washington gangs off, right?
You look pleased and enthused. She looks pained. If you hadn't told us, it'd look like she were trying to get away from you.
Is chasing down women one of your dating techniques?
That could explain a lot.
Just don't tell them their coffee tastes like Starbucks and you'll be fine.
That is what sets Washington gangs off, right?
That and seeing the San Diego weather reports on TV.
Is chasing down women one of your dating techniques?
At least then I'd have a technique, right?
But yeah, that picture sums up our friendship. I get a lot more out of it than she does. Ha ha.
Just don't tell them their coffee tastes like Starbucks and you'll be fine.
That is what sets Washington gangs off, right?
That's the other side of the state. Dang, I don't even know what platform our gangs run on.
Besides the gang activity, my coworker informs me that women have disappeared on the path we'll be running on. Safety in numbers, so I'm not concerned, but still, kind of creepy.
And the creepy part is that you haven't been named an obvious subject of interest?
And the creepy part is that you haven't been named an obvious subject of interest?
Why did I let this question hang in the air? It's not like the delay in addressing it makes for great comedic effect.
The Sage Rat Run was today, which I ran with the same friend. I ran in front of her for a lot of it today, first to be less creepy, and second, to try to motivate her a little. It didn't work. She usually settles into a nice rhythm, with her breathing evening out a couple miles in, but today she was fighting the whole way. She's had a cold, so I think that contributed. I haven't kept up on my running, but thankfully I was still in good enough shape for it to not be a strain. I actually feel pretty decent right now.
The run itself was the least impressive of the ones we've done. Almost entirely flat ground, and basically alongside the freeway. It's hard to feel like you're making progress when the terrain stays the same. Not a stimulating environment. Still, I'm glad we did another run together.
One of these days I should learn to swim. That would probably be more enjoyable than running during the summer months.
The Sage Rat Run was today, which I ran with the same friend. I ran in front of her for a lot of it today, first to be less creepy, and second, to try to motivate her a little. It didn't work.
That bean burrito you had for lunch probably didn't help.
When CV enters a race, he always signs up as Gassy McBoomboom.
The run itself was the least impressive of the ones we've done. Almost entirely flat ground, and basically alongside the freeway. It's hard to feel like you're making progress when the terrain stays the same.
One of these days I should learn to swim. That would probably be more enjoyable than running during the summer months drowning.
So, Charles. Does that mean you're be looking for a pool with a 15% grade sitting on a moving freight car? Even they often run alongside a freeway.
So, Charles. Does that mean you're be looking for a pool with a 15% grade sitting on a moving freight car? Even they often run alongside a freeway.
I would suggest swimming against a strong river, say like the Niagara River(just above the falls for extra incentive).
A bigger bean burrito may definitely help in that scenario.
You guys are like Rocky music for me.
Got tired of waiting for the sun and went for a three hour paddle yesterday. 3 hours is a bit too long for the first day out. Triceps and shoulders are quiet stiff today.
Of course, if you were a noisy stiff, you'd be a zombie.
All part of my test of peoples knowledge that it it is Zombie Awareness Month. You pass Adrian!
Well I finished another cycle last week and stayed on target gaining 1lb./week reaching 166, up from 159 after 7 weeks. I stopped the cycle at 6 weeks, 2 weeks short, for my upper body since I’m starting to feel some tendonitis in my elbows and didn’t want to push it, though I continued my lower body workouts into week 7 and getting 330lbs. on the deadlift and 285lbs. on the squat up 15 lbs. and 35 lbs. respectively. I’m 95% sure I would have made 340 and maybe 350 on the deadlift had I jumped right from 320 lbs. but I wimped out. I’m going to try hard for 405 on the deadlift and 315 on the squat this time around since big plates = cool and I’m finding that as I get in better “lifting shape” I can deadlift and squat more than once a week each now.
I also started jogging a few times a week again. When I started this last cycle I was trying out some high rep work, 25 rep range which though it didn’t seem to cause much if any strength/size gains sure got me back into cardio shape. So I wouldn’t lose that I decided to do some jogging which seems to be maintaining my cardio w/o hampering my leg work, although I’m not that sure if my knees are liking it.
Although the mirror can lie the scale doesn’t and 166 lbs. is the most I’ve ever weighed. I topped out at 165 lbs. when I was a firefighter. Pretty much everyone I know and many people at work I didn’t even realize knew me have commented on how much bigger I look. I guess hanging 26 lbs. on a 140 lb. frame in 6 months while maintaining the same pant size is noticeable. If you don’t think so go to the grocery store and stack up 26 lbs. of steak and look at how much it is. Ok some of my gains are fat, muscle glycogen and water but even 20 lbs. of steak is a nice visual.
It’s not without its downside however. Despite stretching regularly I can no longer reach the middle of my back to scratch it, outer wall corners are my newfound friends. My thighs now chafe even when jogging a couple of miles (TMI?). I’ve had to buy new “large” instead of medium T-shirts as it was starting to look like every day was “tight T-shirt Tuesday.” Even using shakes eating 3,200 calories a day while limiting fat to 25-30%, is a chore. Eating 4,000 quality calories a day as I approach 200 lbs. is going to downright suck.
Some things I’m thankful for. That I’ve always bought loose fit jeans even when I was skinny though I’m starting to run out of gluteus maximus room in them. Air Force dress uniforms aren’t tailored to fit like Marine Corps ones. Deadlifting eliminated all the lower back pain and sciatica I’ve suffered from since rupturing a lumbar disk, so now I can sit doing marathon HT sessions in comfort. I’m not married and can use the master bedroom as a weight room. That although imperfect the internet is around now so I can get training information from sources other than “supplement selling” magazines.
I’m not sure if I stated them but just so everyone who isn’t sure about it yet knows that I’m crazy I do have some long term goals. To reach a body weight of 200 lbs. with a body fat <= 15% while Bench Pressing 300 lbs. Squatting 400 lbs. and Deadlifting 600 lbs. in 5 ½ more years or less.
You'd be an inspiration if I could even remotely see myself accomplishing goals like that. Ha ha. Awesome progress.
People who hadn't seen me in a little while commented on Monday that I was looking bigger/more muscular, but I think they were putting me on. I certainly haven't been working out like you.
I'm afraid I'm slipping. Our spring has been nothing but rain, cold, cloud and wind. There have been two nice sunny days in the last two months almost. I've been kayaking a few times because I have good gear to keep myself dry and when you are half enclosed in a boat and wearing a jacket with rubber cuffs and neoprene gloves, you don't even notice the rain. However, I need to start biking again soon before the beer starts to overtake the belt.
I'm not complaining about our depressing but fully livable weather considering all the tragic floods and killer weather across the world in the last bit but it does have it's own creeping negative effects on moral and health.
Impressive goals Dean, good luck achieving them.
The wife and are pretty obsessed w/ Crossfit.
The Crossfit Games Regionals were held locally and it was impressive to see the massive power of the men and women. Cool to also have a woman in our box (gym)qualify, more impressive since she's only been doing it for 4 months.
http://games.crossfit.com/regions/northern-california
You'd be an inspiration if I could even remotely see myself accomplishing goals like that. Ha ha. Awesome progress.
Ditto.
People who hadn't seen me in a little while commented on Monday that I was looking bigger/more muscular, but I think they were putting me on. I certainly haven't been working out like you.
I get that as well, dude. It's a daily occurrence for me, though.
That's the reason I stopped working out entirely.
Very impressive Dean. I'm inspired.
I'm gonna start doing two circuits around the livingroom on the way to the fridge.
I'm about to start using the rowing machine at work regularly. A guy that plays on my league basketball team sent out an email to a few people titled "It's lonely at the top". There's a leaderboard in the gym at work where people post their best 1k, 2k, and 5k rowing times. He's topped all three lists and is looking for better competition.
Apparently he identified me as a potentially worthy competitor. It's just the thing I needed to get off my lazy butt and start working out regularly now that our basketball season is over.
Very impressive Dean. I'm inspired.
I'm gonna start doing two circuits around the livingroom on the way to the fridge.
Just remember to alternate arms when you do the 12oz curls.
I'm about to start using the rowing machine at work regularly. A guy that plays on my league basketball team sent out an email to a few people titled "It's lonely at the top". There's a leaderboard in the gym at work where people post their best 1k, 2k, and 5k rowing times. He's topped all three lists and is looking for better competition.
Apparently he identified me as a potentially worthy competitor. It's just the thing I needed to get off my lazy butt and start working out regularly now that our basketball season is over.
I hope it helps motivate you Peter. Sometimes having a little competition can help you bring out more than you realized you had.
I've got my work cut out for me. I tried rowing 1000m for the first time today. I started out too fast so first 500m interval was much faster than my second. I got 3:34. The record here is 3:08.
I barely broke a sweat, but my lungs and the tendons on the elbow sides of my biceps were aching when I finished. My heart rate is still up one hour later. That's a lot of fallout from a < 4min workout.
Needless to say, I pushed myself pretty hard.
Nice job, I think.
Quick question - will this interfere with your 12 ounce bicep curls?
Observation: you only have to shave a little over 12% off your time to beat the record.
Very impressive Dean. I'm inspired.
I'm gonna start doing two circuits around the living room on the way to the fridge.
Just remember to alternate arms when you do the 12oz curls.
Noted!
On a more serious note, my own modest exercise program has netted me another 1 lb loss over the last two months. With the summer here I will be getting out more and increasing my exercise. I hope to drop 5-7 lb. over the summer. That should get me to a reasonable long term weight.
From there I need to keep moving to keep the back pain at bay.
I've got my work cut out for me. I tried rowing 1000m for the first time today. I started out too fast so first 500m interval was much faster than my second. I got 3:34. The record here is 3:08.
I barely broke a sweat, but my lungs and the tendons on the elbow sides of my biceps were aching when I finished. My heart rate is still up one hour later. That's a lot of fallout from a < 4min workout.
Needless to say, I pushed myself pretty hard.
That's impressive, at least to me. In Crossfit, we have certification levels and at Level One, you have to do 1K under 8:10. During my workout last month, I did it (not under testing) at 8:10:02. Argh.
Then yesterday we did a workout called Jackie for time. I did it in March at 13:31 but I used a red elastic band to help me complete the pull ups.
1K row
50 thrusters with a bare 45 lb bar
30 pull ups
Yesterday I did the same workout w/o a band, which is huge for me, since in Aug last year, I couldn't even do one pull up. I tried to keep my row pace below 2 min/500 m but that failed after time. I think my row was above 4:10 or so. But I ended up with 13:28. Beat my time slightly, but w/ a harder workout.
I need your row karma.
Surprising how much a 2K row takes out of you, huh?
I figured I’d update since I finished another cycle which included a cut of 7 lbs of fat during the middle portion. The cut went well since measurements and strength tests seem to indicate I didn’t lose much if any muscle even though I cut by using a Protein Sparing Modified Fast (PSMF) and lost the weight in 14 days. The net difference between bulking and cutting now has me at 170 lbs. up from 140 lbs. about 7 months ago.
In the last month I’ve gotten so many comments from people about how “thick,” “big,” and even “huge” I look. People have even started to ask if I’m using steroids (no I’m not).
So far the only drawbacks are some tendonitis, probably due to my muscles growing bigger and stronger than my tendons can keep up. Also, carrying an extra 30 lbs. plus the associated extra food I must eat (and metabolize) to grow is making 110F feel a hell of a lot hotter than it did last year.
I didn’t’ test my 1RMs this time around but I felt I probably added about 5-10% to them based on how 95% of my 1RM felt.
I’m nearing the end of a programed week off and will start another bulking cycle next Monday. After that I will have to decide whether to cut again or continue bulking.
I had to put off the gym for a few weeks after slipping on the stairs and straining my patellar tendon. The time away from the gym was kind of nice for a recharge and allowed me to hit the gym with a vengeance upon my return. I've really noticed increased upper body mass the last couple of weeks, though I have not measured. I can move furniture more easily, which pleases Mrs. Medic8r as we redecorate Medic8r Manor.
My bench press has increased from 200 to 220, doing a power set of 6 reps today. Have not tried to determine absolute max (one rep). Ha, it may be 225, but still, I was never even able to crack the "200 club" in high school. Most other sets are using about 10-20% more weight than when I last checked in, at 10-15 reps each.
The "light bulb" moments in terms of body awareness are part of what keeps me going. My favorite moment was on a bike ride in the neighborhood last week. There's one hill on the last half of the ride that has always seemed impossibly tough - even in a low gear, I'd have to walk it some times. On the last ride, however, I charged up it easily in a medium gear. The feeling of my quadriceps powering me up the hill was really something else.
You health nuts drive me crazy.
How, exactly, does your post help me to eat more chocolate and cheese cake?
I just make up for it by eating more M&M's. That way, I get all of the colors I need.
I had to put off the gym for a few weeks after slipping on the stairs and straining my patellar tendon. The time away from the gym was kind of nice for a recharge and allowed me to hit the gym with a vengeance upon my return. I've really noticed increased upper body mass the last couple of weeks, though I have not measured. I can move furniture more easily, which pleases Mrs. Medic8r as we redecorate Medic8r Manor.
My bench press has increased from 200 to 220, doing a power set of 6 reps today. Have not tried to determine absolute max (one rep). Ha, it may be 225, but still, I was never even able to crack the "200 club" in high school. Most other sets are using about 10-20% more weight than when I last checked in, at 10-15 reps each.
The "light bulb" moments in terms of body awareness are part of what keeps me going. My favorite moment was on a bike ride in the neighborhood last week. There's one hill on the last half of the ride that has always seemed impossibly tough - even in a low gear, I'd have to walk it some times. On the last ride, however, I charged up it easily in a medium gear. The feeling of my quadriceps powering me up the hill was really something else.
Hey doc you’ve discovered on your own what research has been showing . . . that taking periodic time off actually enhances muscle growth and does not hamper but often improves strength. Unfortunately old paradigms die hard especially when people have invested a lot of time and belief in them.
I’ve been following a protocol called Hypertrophic Specific Training (HST) incorporates 4 basic principles one of which you just dicoverd:
http://thinkmuscle.com/forum/showthread.php?12726-Strategic-Deconditioning
Granted, any form of exercise will alter patterns of protein synthesis and degradation. But a muscle cell can only grow significantly if some degree of tissue microtrauma occurs. This is brought about when the load is sufficient to strain the cell membrane and its integral structural and contractile protein structures. This signals cellular messengers of various kinds including calcineurin and MAPKs and their associated nuclear counterparts.
Now, if you are training without the aid of exogenous hormones, you will eventually come to the limit of your voluntary strength if you have used the principle of progressive overload. Obviously, at this limit you will be training at 100% effort. And essence, your progress has also reached its pinnacle. The muscle is absolutely tuff as shoe leather (so to speak) and you can no longer add more weight to get it to grow further. What do you do? Well, you can do what thousands of people do and simply beat your brains out using the same weight workout after workout for months or even years on end. As long as your level of conditioning (resistance to microtrauma) stays the same, and the level of weight you use stays the same, your muscles will stay the same. Big or small, they will stay the same.
SD is simply a method that allows (not “tricks”) your muscles to continue to grow, using weights that your muscles have seen before. The method is simple, the science is complicated, the results are significant.
P.S. If you are afraid of using baby weights, check your ego at the door, or use the heaviest weights you can lift from day one an be satisfied with your results, in other words, stop looking for anything better.
I have never claimed that a period of Strategic Deconditioning lasting 7-12 days would completely revert your muscles to an "untrained" state. I have spoken frequently of the rapid training effect or repeated bout effect. Some protection seems to last for a very long time. Still, 7-12 days of complete rest does appear to cause some reversal of the adaptations to training. And from the application, it appears it is sufficient to allow one to start growing again, once gains have stopped with a given weight. Hopefully through the forum and other articles and interviews people have come to learn that SD is more than just a break from training.
A summary of all the principles:
http://thinkmuscle.com/forum/showthread.php?14333-Summary-of-HST-principles
4) Strategic Deconditioning
Before each cycle, in order to make the muscles responsive to the light weights in the beginning, a period of 9-14 days is taken off from all training. This reverses some of the effects of the RBE. It allows HST-users to experience rapid and sustainable progress.
This is one of the reasons why newbies experience such great initial gains. They have had such long deconditioning periods. Trained individuals also notice this; when coming off of a planned or unplanned layoff they often experience a renewal of gains.
Not trying to sound like a fan-boy but this system works. In 8 months at 50 years old I’ve exceeded the gains I made at 35 years old when I was a firefighter and powerlifting for 3 years. I just had to retire my medium T-shirts and switch to large because I’ve put on so much muscle the mediums don’t fit anymore. All of my powerlifts are better in 8 months training than they were in 3 years previously, and I’m not even specializing in power training but muscle building instead.
I highly recommend anyone who wants to put on muscle or break through a training plateau consider applying the principles behind HST. Note that following the exact program is not necessary, as I have not followed it since my 1st cycle. But I do apply all 4 principles.
I just had to retire my medium T-shirts and switch to large...
Pffft.
I wear an extra large, and eating cake is SOOO much easier.
Today I buy XXL, and by the time I wash them a few times, they become XL and L.
See? We're BOTH smarter than Dean, with all his fancy-pants routines to increase shirt size!
Ok I finally got over (well somewhat) the comfortableness of feeling all “emo” about taking a self-portrait in the mirror so I could post an actual picture of the progress I’m making. I took this picture from while standing inside my power rack after doing some weighted Triceps Dips. Sorry it’s so blurry but if I use the flash I look like Casper the Friendly Ghost.
P.S. I prefer cupcakes.
Thanks for sharing the pic, muscle man!
I printed out the HST material and am going to give it a whirl.
Cool to hear that Doc! If you have any questions I’m more than happy to help. Also, though it’s not a very active forum over at HST we all try to be helpful.
Don’t get too caught up in some of the details of the 15s, 10s, 5s, which are just a way of organizing things. Some people who think the 15s are too easy but want to stick the general template do 12s, 8s, 3s instead.
I’ve dumped all of that and just shoot for a number of target reps generally between 40-60 per body part and get there however I think is best for that body part and amount of weight. I’ve really seen some great benefits from using techniques called M-Time (heavy timed singles), any Myo-reps (a lighter “pre-exhaust” style where all the follow on groups of reps after the first are done in a certain amount of time). Both are great for getting the maximum out of each rep, though you might want to stick with a more vanilla scheme first time through.
Since you’re trying HST I’m guess that building muscle is your priority. It also sounds like functional strength, like moving furniture is also important, as such I agree with and would suggest the following:
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/hardgainer18.htm
I believe the following are the best basic free-weight movements: deadlift, squat, chin (supinated grip), press, dip, row (with a dumbbell), shrug and bench press. Beyond this are the best assistance movements: side bend, crunch sit-up, back extension and L-fly-these help protect the back and shoulders. The order these exercises are written in, in my opinion, is the order of their importance in building strength.
You health nuts drive me crazy.
How, exactly, does your post help me to eat more chocolate and cheese cake?
This might help you. True story. I went biking (cycling) on the Confederation Trail last week and there is one spot where you pass by an old farm where the yard is full of chickens, ducks goats, you name it. They are all free range and there isn't even a fence. The trail is old railway line so it's built up on a hill above the lower farmland but for some reason a chicken was up by the trail. When we spooked it, it acted like a dumb deer and jumped into the trail instead of away from it and I ended up hitting it with my bike.
I didn't run it over but there was a light impact and feathers were flying. It seemed fine and walked back to the farm at an amusingly casual pace.
The lesson here is that exercise is dangerous to wildlife. If you love nature, you should remain home with your cheesecake!
Always trying to help a friend,
Murph
Murph, I'm printing this to show to my doctor! Thanks!
Any of you guys gone the paleo route? I haven't swallowed the whole 'pill' but I'm going w/ the spirit of it for the past 2 weeks. Pretty much limited my beer intake to about 2 or 3 beers/week. No more grains/carbs, which is hard cuz I like my cheese and bread. No more processed foods, sugars, etc.
I've been eating a HUGE amount of protein to make up for the loss of carb volume. Lots of vegetables. We have a Sodastream soda maker at home so I use that to make plain soda water which curbs the beer thirst and 'some' of the snack desires. My breakfast is pretty much some version of 2 eggs w/ some other meat and a double espresso. Works great since it's carries me to my lunch time crossfit workout. Been having a lot of bun-less burgers, which turns out to be pretty easy, since removing the bun (and cheese, which I usually don't) makes it paleo.
I can't say if I necessarily feel better. BUT, when ever I have anything more than 1 serving of carbs (rice/tortillas/bread/etc) I feel bloated for the next few hours. W/o all the carbs, I tend to feel a bit lighter on my feet, more alert. I never did the Atkins years ago, too many bad stories. I saw WAY too many friends lose TONS of weight, only to gain it back and more since that was not a lifelong, sustainable diet.
The only “diets” I’ve tried are a protein sparing modified fast (PSMF) and the Ultimate Diet 2 (UD2). I tried both of them (UD2 only for a week) to cut 7 lbs. of body fat over 17 days (14 total days of dieting). As far as regular eating or even doing a slow cut (200-500 kCal/day restriction) I don’t see doing Paleo as it just doesn’t fit my lifestyle so I don’t think I would find it sustainable.
Atkins or any other low carb/high protein diet(I don't like Atkins, it allows too much fatty food) should be used to drop weight but once the weight is off you have to follow the program to a 'T', which is to bring back in the carbs slowly to find that threshhold amount that starts the body adding pounds again, once that point is reached you are no longer dieting but on a sensible eating regime that should be followed for a lifetime; most people never do this so the weight piles back on.
Jason, I agree w/ you on the Atkins. I never saw anyone on that for long periods.
However, paleo is a much more sustainable diet, granted it's only become more popular in the last few years. It's a huge component of the crossfit community. The problem w/ the Atkins is that there was no restrictions on processed foods, sugars and alcohol. BTW I don't follow paleo completely, but I do adhere more to the spirit.
If you're interested, my obsessive blogging friends write a lot about it.
http://www.fitbomb.com/p/why-i-eat-paleo.htmlAnd his wife shows that eating this way can actually be tasty as opposed to restrictive.
http://nomnompaleo.com/The purpose of Atkins was to lose weight. Paleo aims to have you eat better by eliminating processed foods. Will you lose weigh eating paleo? Not on it's own but you may lose weight and you'll definitely feel better.
Wow - it's hard to click off the fitbomb site! What a great introduction to paleo dieting.
Incidentally, I've been doing 'Protein Power' for 7 years. (Your friend mentions the authors in his post). I think Jakewash's got it exactly right - if you think short-term, it's never going to work out for you. But if you learn about the fundamentals behind why the program works, and make the lifelong adjustment once you understand what your body needs, it can work beautifully.
Like oldskoolboarder, I don't follow the program completely (a girl needs a little chocolate now and then!) but I do work on keeping our house stocked with 'food that doesn't have ingredients'. And my cholesterol check in January rocked my doc on his heels - best cholesterol they'd seen in 6 months
I've been incorporating some of the workout stuff from Tim Ferris's '4 Hour Body' into my workouts this year - have any of you heard of it / tried it? It's incredible how quickly kettlebell swings bring definition and strength from your toes to your fingertips! Okay, I don't look like Grunt, but . . . loving it anyway!
But what does this have to do with lawnmowers?
Ah, wrong thread.
Once a thread hijacker . . . Hey Chess!
Ooooh, look. Its a non-faded Amie. Welcome back.
...Okay, I don't look like Grunt, but . . . loving it anyway!
That's probably a good thing.
Hi Fred! I *do* have those cool little grooves in the front of my shoulders, though. It's a start!
That,s cool. It was the, um, overall look I was worried about. There should only be one grunt.
For the record, I have never been that well muscled. I'm satisfied with being fit enough for a round of golf and two rounds in the bar afterward.
Okay, I don't look like Grunt, but . . . loving it anyway
I concur with Fred! In fact if you did look like Grunt it would be a tad disturbing.
I haven’t ever tried them but one of the most fit looking guys I know at work exclusively uses kettlebells rather than traditional weights.
For the record Fred, I’ve never been that well muscled until recently. In the Marine Corps I never got above about 134 lbs. , and even as a firefighter though I got up to 165 lbs. I never looked as big as I do now at about 172 lbs. I’ve still got about 30 lbs. to go to reach my genetic muscular potential lifting natural but the easy gains are dropping off so the ratio of fat to muscle I’m gaining is going up meaning I will have to start cutting more often or buy a separate set of “fat pants.”
I’ve already gotten to the point where my loose fit jeans are rubbing bald spots on the front of my thighs because of how big my quads and hams have gotten. It helps that I started out so skinny at about 140 lbs. this time around because of all the running I was doing but everyone I know has commented on how big I’ve gotten in such a short time.
On a side not I finally upped my max Bench to 225 lbs. and my max Deadlift to 350 lbs. I’m going to try for a 300 lb. Squat Thursday. However, I’m not sure if I’ll be able to gain much more strength in the coming two months since I’m just now starting slow cut (about 200-500 kCal deficit/day).
Jason, I agree w/ you on the Atkins. I never saw anyone on that for long periods.
However, paleo is a much more sustainable diet, granted it's only become more popular in the last few years. It's a huge component of the crossfit community. The problem w/ the Atkins is that there was no restrictions on processed foods, sugars and alcohol. BTW I don't follow paleo completely, but I do adhere more to the spirit.
If you're interested, my obsessive blogging friends write a lot about it.
http://www.fitbomb.com/p/why-i-eat-paleo.htmlAnd his wife shows that eating this way can actually be tasty as opposed to restrictive.
http://nomnompaleo.com/The purpose of Atkins was to lose weight. Paleo aims to have you eat better by eliminating processed foods. Will you lose weigh eating paleo? Not on it's own but you may lose weight and you'll definitely feel better.
Glad you liked his site. Yeah, he and his wife are avid bloggers and great writers. I've definitely noticed increased strength and more alertness going paleo-like. Still can't give up my fancy cheese, beer, and ice cream, though. But I did hit at least 3 personal records in strength (deadlift, jerk and front squat) this month alone, which is a first.
Nomnompaleo brought some primal cookies to our Labor Day BBQ. Those cookies were DELICIOUS and had no refined sugar or wheat. Most of those 'fake' cookies taste like REALLY bad power bars, but not these. Highly recommend that primal recipe.
http://nomnompaleo.com/post/9911253784/paleo-eats-9-5-11Agree w/ you on the kettlebells. I've been doing that for a year in Crossfit and I'm amazed how much you get out of it.
BTW, Crossfit Muskoka isn't that far from Axiom...
http://www.crossfitmuskoka.com/
Thanks for the find on Crossfit Muskoka - I'm definitely going to read up on it this weekend. I only workout at home (hard to find an excuse not to, since the living room is always right where I left it . . .) but it looks like some of those moves could easily be incorporated.
The kettlebell swings are the only kettlebell exercise we do here but it's really effective just the same. I started out by making a kettlebell with plumbing parts and weights, to get an idea of what my best weight would be, and then I bought one I could grow into. After years of Jane Fonda, it's sure a change!
I made 300 lbs. on the Power Squat today and probably could have gotten 315 lbs. if I hadn’t pissed around at 300, but leaving some in the tank gives me an easy goal to shoot for in another week or so. This was despite still feeling like I’d been in a train wreck from the max effort Deadlift two days ago, and getting a bug up my butt and going jogging a couple miles before work yesterday.
Lots to do w/ kettlebells
Turkish get ups are surprisingly challenging and effective.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kceqruSY64And there's the kettlebell snatch.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLx0GcWi2-I&feature=relatedIf you have interest in watching Crossfit and ESPN2 is available in Canada, they're replaying the 2011 Crossfit games. Men's, women's and masters (including over 60 yrs) divisions. Inspiring.
http://eon.businesswire.com/news/eon/20110907007322/en/CrossFit/Reebok-CrossFit-Games/ESPN2
Whoa! I use a 30lb kettlebell (that's embarrassing to say after Grunt made 300lbs!) - I don't think I could even get the first step done in the Turkish snatch. But I'll give it a try! I tried a back bridge this morning (shown on one of the links you sent) and stretched some muscles that hadn't been stretched since 5th grade. Gonna try that one again for sure!
ESPN2 isn't available in Canada.
Bummer for Canada.
You can still watch events from the website though.
http://games.crossfit.com/features/videos
...After years of Jane Fonda, it's sure a change!
Jane Fonda Thanks you.
I heard an interview with her a couple of days ago. Cool lady! From what she said, those videos made her a lot of $$
Yes, I just read an interview with her in our nation's gossip rag (Macleans) and she does seem cool. Of course, a lot of $$ is probably relative when you're married to Ted Turner!
I remember the first day I had to switch over to doing aerobics on the projection screen, after we ditched the old big-screen TV. Whoa! Those aerobics people all wear tights! That's why their legs don't jiggle when they jog! LOL.
Whoa! Those aerobics people all wear tights! That's why their legs don't jiggle when they jog! LOL.
How many people here have parts that jiggle even when they DON'T jog?
Come on now, everyone raise their hands...
I use a couple velcro straps -- one around the upper thigh and one closer to the knee -- to take care of that issue.
Even though it's normal for the testicles to descend as a man ages, you may want to get that checked out.
Even though it's normal for the testicles to descend as a man ages, you may want to get that checked out.
Did someone edit their post after you posted this or did you think you were on a different board just curious doc?
While we’re on the topic of jiggling and the family jewels I did make the mistake once of running ten miles w/o support . . . spent about an hour doubled over in pain afterwards. I can’t imagine prehistoric “man” did much distance running.
Reread pmbuko's post about the velcro. This time, remember that he likes dirty innuendo.
Then reread mine, remembering that I like to twist dirty innuendos around.
Reread pmbuko's post about the velcro. This time, remember that he likes dirty innuendo.
Then reread mine, remembering that I like to twist dirty innuendos around.
If that wasn't a seriously cerebral joke for a Friday afternoon, i don't know what is.
Actually i think i do.
This horrible Taiwan beer someone left in my fridge.
EEech.
Now you having me picturing a world record winning prolapsed rectum. You jerk.
Even though it's normal for the testicles to descend as a man ages, you may want to get that checked out.
Did someone edit their post after you posted this or did you think you were on a different board just curious doc?
While we’re on the topic of jiggling and the family jewels I did make the mistake once of running ten miles w/o support . . . spent about an hour doubled over in pain afterwards. I can’t imagine prehistoric “man” did much distance running.
Why do you think the guy that ran the original marathon in ancient Greece died right after he gave the message?
Even though it's normal for the testicles to descend as a man ages, you may want to get that checked out.
Did someone edit their post after you posted this or did you think you were on a different board just curious doc?
While we’re on the topic of jiggling and the family jewels I did make the mistake once of running ten miles w/o support . . . spent about an hour doubled over in pain afterwards. I can’t imagine prehistoric “man” did much distance running.
Why do you think the guy that ran the original marathon in ancient Greece died right after he gave the message?
Hurts even thinking about it . . . .
I was going to wait until next week when I try for a new max Deadlift to post but I’m just too stoked. Two days ago I tried for a new max on the Bench Press but only added +5 lbs. for 230 lbs. But today I tried for a new max Squat and jumped from 300 lbs. up to 350 lbs., a 50 lbs. increase in 5 weeks.
I attribute most of that to improved form from using the Westside Barbell program for powerlifting. If you want to improve your powerlifts their program works. Another thing that may have helped is I finally got a real powerlifting belt instead of one of those thin bodybuilding ones. I used it for the first time today and it made a huge difference in stabilizing my core which likely translated to a better lift, since a stable core helps transfer energy to the bar more efficiently.
I really can’t believe I Squated 350 lbs. a year ago that would have crushed me, I mean just stapled to the floor. Not to mention that when I “thought I was powerlifting” for 3 years in my mid 30’s I never got above 300 lbs. and now in less than a year in my 50s, I hit it with a little left in the tank.
Just for the record I’ve pretty much made the transition over to powerlifting for right now. For the first half of the year I was exclusively bodybuilding with great success, gaining 32 lbs. in 7 months. However, for the last 4 months while my goal was ostensibly cutting I’ve really been just sort of flailing around. So to regain focus I decided to switch over to powerlifting now that I’ve build up a decent base of size to work from. The advantage of powerlifting for now will be more tangible short and medium term goals, especially with the Westside program that has you chasing max’s in some lifts twice a week. I’ll try to stick with this for a while until I plateau or get bored and need to switch to something else.
You're an inspiration Dean.
I used the Westside program more or less about 7 years ago I guess, as my youngest son was still a baby (holy crap where have the years gone!!) and it brought me from barely able to squat 200lbs back to my max lifts of when I was a 20 year old (close to 400lbs max) in about 8-10 weeks time, IIRC. I really need to get this basement finished so I can start doing this stuff again........
Thanks for the kind words Jason,
I’m glad to see that the Westside program worked for you too. Doubling your Squat from 200 to 400 lbs. in 8-10 weeks is awesome even if some muscle memory was involved. I wasn’t totally shocked when I hit 350 lbs. only because week ago I was able to Low Box Squat 295 lbs. which I figured translated to 50-60 lbs. more on a regulation Squat. However, I was pretty amazed the weight didn’t just pin me to the floor since I’m quite sure 5 weeks ago I couldn’t even have done a Walk Out with that much weight on my back. I’m curious if you did their vanilla program or did you make any adjustments.
Even though I ‘ve only been doing their program for about 4 weeks I’ve already been tweaking it based on things I’ve been reading. Their standard template focuses on lifters using assistance gear like suits where I only use a belt. So I’ve read to change some of the upper body emphasis away from Triceps work and more to Pecs, Delts, and even Lats. Similarly since I don’t Squat with a suit they recommend not using such an exaggerated wide stance as they do, though for some training lifts I have been to emphasize my hamstrings which I realized were much weaker than I thought when I realized I couldn’t do even one Glute Ham Raise with help.
Another public thanks to Dean (grunt) for letting me know about
Hypertrophy Specific Training.
Last week was my week of Strategic Deconditioning, so this week starts another cycle with progressive loads. After the first cycle, I was able to determine my true 15RM, 10RM, and 5RM and start at the right weight for each exercise.
I'm definitely seeing muscle growth and definition. Don't have measurements or pics (yet).
It was kind of wild to see that on some machines, I was approaching the maximum weight available at the end of the last cycle. We'll see if I can actually max out any of them this go 'round.
So, JP, should I stop texting you photos of desserts? 'Cuz I'm going out to eat shortly.....
Send him texts of deserts. It'll make him sweat more.
7 years ago is a long time to try to remember the details of what I did. I believe I pretty much followed the plan for the first 4-6 weeks then adjusted a little as I felt I needed to, ie. a little extra time off from weights and I do remember around this time I did hill sprints as well as an occasional 5k jog to the gym, hit the legs for their workout and then a slow jog back home in a more direct route for about 2k.
I think I deserted my dessert in the desert. But that's probably what I deserved.
Another public thanks to Dean (grunt) for letting me know about
Hypertrophy Specific Training.
Last week was my week of Strategic Deconditioning, so this week starts another cycle with progressive loads. After the first cycle, I was able to determine my true 15RM, 10RM, and 5RM and start at the right weight for each exercise.
I'm definitely seeing muscle growth and definition. Don't have measurements or pics (yet).
It was kind of wild to see that on some machines, I was approaching the maximum weight available at the end of the last cycle. We'll see if I can actually max out any of them this go 'round.
Great to hear it’s working for you Doc! I got my best results during the second and third cycles since I was adapted to the exercises and was able to better estimate my RMs. Once you get a cycle or two under your belt there are some techniques like Myo-reps and M-Time reps that I’ve found can really push your size and strength gains by allowing you to push to the limit while still managing fatigue so you can recover between workouts.
I usually hate SD since I’m a bit of an exercise junky but after finishing the heavy part of the cycle my arms welcome it. Don’t shortchange your SD either. Most people find the sweet spot is a 9 day SD (one full week plus a weekend).
You should post a YouTube video when you max out one of the machines.
7 years ago is a long time to try to remember the details of what I did. I believe I pretty much followed the plan for the first 4-6 weeks then adjusted a little as I felt I needed to, ie. a little extra time off from weights and I do remember around this time I did hill sprints as well as an occasional 5k jog to the gym, hit the legs for their workout and then a slow jog back home in a more direct route for about 2k.
I’ve just started to be able to include hill sprints on some of my days off, I can’t imagine jogging 5k and then doing a leg workout. In the past I could never train legs and run at the same time but it seems to be working doing Westside.
I can remember there were somedays I had to walk home from the gym and barely made it back, my legs were pretty weak and wobbly.
Well no-joy on the max Deadlift today as I failed at 365 lbs. which was only 15 lbs. more than my last max. I’m just too burned out from the last 5 weeks. I overreached by trying to jump right into the Westside program’s Dynamic and Max Effort work while maintain the same intensity with my Repetition (Bodybuilding) work . . . lesson learned.
On the bright side at least I Deadlifted heavy today and sure feel it. Only 30 minutes out from my workout and I’m already sore from my ankles to the base of my skull and all I want to do right now is crawl in bed and take a nap. Yup, that’s heavy Deadlifting for ya.
One thing I sure can say from doing Westside for a month is that I have learned one hell of a lot about how to powerlift better. Now it’s just a matter of stepping back and easing into the program so it’s sustainable and slowly build my tolerance to the higher intensity.
Sounds like me when i get home from work.
Well here are the results of my first year of lifting. The results of the cycle were the following. The first number is the change in the last 6 week cycle and the number in () is the change since 12 months ago.
Bench Press +5 lbs. (+120 lbs.)
Squat +5 lbs. (+220 lbs.)
Deadlift no change (+215 lbs.)
Body Weight 172 lbs. +2 lbs. (+23 lbs.)
BF % 13 +.5% (+5%)
Chest 42 +.75” (+5.5”)
Upper Arms (relaxed/flexed) 12.75”/14.75” +.25”/+.25” (+1.25”)
Lower Arms (relaxed/flexed) 11.25”/11.75” +.25”/+.25” (+1”)
Neck 16” +.5” (1.5”)
Thighs 23” +.5” (+2) – This is very close to my theoretical genetic maximum, all that hill running I guess.
Calves 14.25” no change (+.5”)
Hips 38” +1” (+2”)
Shoulders 48” +.75” (+3.5”)
Waist 31.5 no change (+3.5”)
I just started a new cycle today with an awesome workout.
Okay, I've been horrible for quite a while, eating crap (or stuff that tastes good, however you want to define it) and not really exercising. New Year, blah blah blah, and with our hospital moving to a new health plan, we're being insistently pushed toward health screenings. As in, if we don't do the screening, we automatically pay $50 more per pay period (every two weeks), if memory serves. My screening is scheduled for February 6th, so I have a month to make myself pretty. That's also my best friend's birthday, so it would be a nice birthday present to her to not be an eyesore for once. Ha ha.
In any case, I bought a couple of Kinect games, so we'll see if I can get into either of those. Just Dance 3 and Your Shape: Fitness Evolved 2012. I was actually pretty happy with how lean and tight I was getting with Dance Dance Revolution, so here's hoping I can get to that same feeling with this new software. The great thing about Kinect is that I'm not wearing out a dance pad. Replacement costs add up if you play regularly.
I also think I need to run more. I'm really impressed with how trim and toned one of my high school classmates is looking now, and she simply added running (albeit to a consciousness of what she's eating). I just bought a SanDisk Sansa Clip Zip 8 GB to replace my Clip+ 2 GB, since I'm passing that one on to my friend, Cari, who is without an MP3 player at the moment. I also got a pair of Koss PortaPro headphones, and I think they'll be fine for running. They seem to sit comfortably and sound decent.
I have no real goals beyond feeling better and seeing an improvement in my physique. Hopefully that translates to looking better on paper, too.
I just checked out
Your Shape - that's very cool! I'll be interested to hear how you like it. I remember when you were trimming down so quickly with DDR.
After learning about Cross-Training here I got interested in really juicing up my workout by doing interval training, and I was told to check out BodyRock.tv. I've been working on the 550-Rep-Massacre for just under a month, alternating it in with other workouts. It is killer! But so fast. Time yesterday was 22:51. Turns out a lot of men I know watch her workouts . . . haven't met one who actually does them yet, though!
http://www.bodyrock.tv/2010/11/19/550-rep-fat-massacre/ if you want a killer workout!!
Oh goodness, Amie...she looks like a tranny!
I'd love to be fit...but not THAT fit! LOL!
I think she is a porn star too. LOL
We love you both just the way you are!!!!
That is the correct response right?
Ooooh, very suave! Charmer!
Time this morning 21:51!! Woot Woot!
Time to resurrect this thread.
I finally made one of my powerlifting goals today by Squatting 375 lbs. Add that to my 240 lbs. Bench and 385 lbs. Deadlift and I’ve got a 1,000 lbs. total. I know it really doesn’t count since I didn’t do all the lifts the same day as in a competition but I’m getting closer to being able to do that. I had set a goal for myself that I would enter my first competition once I felt I could get a 1000 lbs. total so I’m going to start looking for a local competition I can enter a few months after I get back from my upcoming deployment.
On a hypertrophy note I’m up to 180 lbs. and must be getting noticeably bigger. In the last three weeks I’ve gotten more comments than I can count. One supervisor started calling me “muscle man.” Another commented I should get bigger pants since my “A$$” is too big for the current ones (Squatters Butt), and these are my “FAT” pants. Another coworker commented on how “jacked” I looked.
Add to that I had to wear my dress uniform (fitted when I weighed 165 about 9 years ago before I dropped down to 140 lbs. ultra-running) and it was a chore. I couldn’t button the collar and had to hide that with my tie since I didn’t have one of those button extenders. My thighs barely fit in the pants and were so tight that you couldn’t see the crease where they were ironed. Luckily there was a table between me and the board members so that wasn’t obvious. On the plus side I forced me to sit up very straight since the coat was pretty tight. Also work related I just had to buy a new utility blouse since I almost couldn’t button the ones I have.
However, the most motivating thing that happened was when I stopped at Wallyworld (Wal Mart) on the way home from work last Wednesday after switching back into my workout shorts and tank top. Within 2 minutes of walking in the door I already lost count of how many women/girls did double takes or just outright eyef****d me. That’s sure as hell never happened before. Kind of disturbing though was a few of the girls were IMO a little too young to be showing that sort of interest. Changing times. . . .
Off to do some Hill Sprints.
What kind of lifting program are you working on and how often are you lifting?
I've been dabbling in lifting for a few years, but haven't been able to put on much muscle due to all the other extracurricular stuff going on in my life. I do Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu 3/4 times and play soccer once a week . . . so really only have time/strength to do lifting two days most weeks.
I'm currently doing a 5x5 routine of either:
Squats, Bench, Rows or
Cleans, Military Press, Deadlifts
Makes me want to have my TV recalibrated!
However, the most motivating thing that happened was when I stopped at Wallyworld (Wal Mart) on the way home from work last Wednesday after switching back into my workout shorts and tank top. Within 2 minutes of walking in the door I already lost count of how many women/girls did double takes or just outright eyef****d me.
Okay, grunt...I'd like some pictures please!
What kind of lifting program are you working on and how often are you lifting?
I've been dabbling in lifting for a few years, but haven't been able to put on much muscle due to all the other extracurricular stuff going on in my life. I do Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu 3/4 times and play soccer once a week . . . so really only have time/strength to do lifting two days most weeks.
I'm currently doing a 5x5 routine of either:
Squats, Bench, Rows or
Cleans, Military Press, Deadlifts
When I stopped ultra-running about 2 years ago I started with a bulking program called HST:
Their website:
http://thinkmuscle.com/The Principles:
http://www.hypertrophy-specific.com/hst_index.htmlA better explanation of some of them:
http://thinkmuscle.com/forum/showthread.php?19280-HST-Summed-Up-By-LyleAbout 6 months ago I decided to switch to a Powerlifting specific program which is what I do now:
Their website:
http://www.westside-barbell.com/Their basic template:
http://www.elitefitness.com/forum/weight...ate-469668.htmlI like a couple of things about both these programs. They both seem to work the best of anything I’ve found at what they aim for HST = max muscle size gains, and Westside = max powerlifting gains. Also both programs are very based on simple principles which are easy to tweak to individual needs. Westside is so flexible that 7 months in I’m still trying to figure it out, but it’s exactly that individual customization that makes it work so well.
5x5 routines are great for starting out and up to the intermediate level if your goal is to gain both size and strength (the do go hand in hand but there are ways to prioritize one over the other). Another good routine once you get to the intermediate level is Wendler’s 5/3/1 something you might consider if you’ve stalled out on 5x5. Westside is generally considered an advanced program not that you can’t start right out with it and equally good success with other strength programs like 5x5 or 5/3/1 but because in its basic form it’s Powerlifting specific and you really do have to pay attention to what you’re doing so you can figure out what works best for you. Because of the high level of customization the implementation can become very complicated. I’ve read that 6 months is about the minimum time it takes to get it down so it’s probably best left to use after stalling out on less complicated programs.
You’ve got a nice simple program going there with compound lifts that hit all the body parts that matter for building bulk. That coupled with your Jiu-Jitsu and even soccer you might want to consider giving Westside a try since it’s easily customized to any sport that emphasizes both strength and speed because of the Dynamic Effort and General Physical Preparedness work done each week. So let me know if you’re interested in it and I can post some other links that help explain it in greater detail.
Being only 5’6” I fancy myself taking after Franco Columbu rather than Lou, besides “it isn’t easy being green.”
http://www.strongandfit.net/2009/04/franco-columbu.html
However, the most motivating thing that happened was when I stopped at Wallyworld (Wal Mart) on the way home from work last Wednesday after switching back into my workout shorts and tank top. Within 2 minutes of walking in the door I already lost count of how many women/girls did double takes or just outright eyef****d me.
Okay, grunt...I'd like some pictures please!
I’ll see what my witness protection case officer says . . . oops!
This reminds me that I haven't gotten my routine from my trainer yet this week.
I've been going to the gym for a few months now and working with a trainer.
My nascent spare tire is no more and I actually have a little bit of muscle. It's novel.
You’ve got a nice simple program going there with compound lifts that hit all the body parts that matter for building bulk. That coupled with your Jiu-Jitsu and even soccer you might want to consider giving Westside a try since it’s easily customized to any sport that emphasizes both strength and speed because of the Dynamic Effort and General Physical Preparedness work done each week. So let me know if you’re interested in it and I can post some other links that help explain it in greater detail.
Yeah thanks, if you can post some links I'd be interested in checking something else out. I seem to have stalled on my current routine.
Do you work out with a trainer every time Ken, or just once a week and then on your own the rest of the time?
I meet with the trainer once every two weeks and I go through the routine she gives me the other times.
I met with one twice this winter and now she reviews my exercise logs monthly and suggests improvements, but I think it would be much better to have someone there teaching you new moves and convincing you to go a few more reps. Glad to hear it's working for you!
It would help if I went to the gym more often, but it is working. I can bench maybe 40 pounds now!
Sigh.
Realizing it is not for everyone, I personally found that martial arts were the best way possible for me to stay in shape. I've always played some form of sports, not always well but I played. Many built up cardio and certain muscles but I either felt lacking in strength, flexibility or some other aspect. I tried the gym a few times but routine is the ultimate de-motivator for me.
Karate proved to be just the thing. It involved a very challenging, total body workout. It built strength and flexibility. Best of all, I could go three nights a week and never, ever did I feel boredom. Every class had something new and never felt repetitive.
Our club had exceptional instructors who inspired as well as taught. It catered to those who wanted to compete but they also welcomed and encouraged those who were just there for exercise. No matter which way you focused, it equated to a very cardio centric and muscle burning workout that challenged you to improve yourself and often had your mind working as hard as your body.
Classes varied greatly from night to night. You never knew what the focus might be or when something new would be taught. For me and my particular personality, this equalled motivation.
Sadly, due to a badly damaged knee, I can no longer participate in anything that involves leg impact. I struggle to keep my otherwise thin body from developing a beergut every winter. Nothing worse than a skinny guy with a beer gut. You look like the aliens from Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
Just thought I'd mention it for those people like me who have trouble with gym workouts. Although, I recognize most programs are wayyy better than they used to be to add variety. But if you are like me and need to always have something new thrown at you, consider a martial art as a self-motivating form of exercise. The key is to find a club that suits your goals. It doesn't have to be about physical combat. Many clubs welcome those who are just there for the exercise.
I get tired just reading what everyone else does, ha1
I keep it very simple - I go for a 1/1.5 hour walk daily through our local nearby parks & forest, sometimes stopping to smell the roses & talk to our urban deer. No membership fees required.
After I experienced a long, steady rise in my blood sugar levels (Type 2 diabetes since 1980, based on my extensive net research since last December I've limited my daily carb intake to 100 grams or less per day. I supplement my calorie intake with increased protein & fats. From what I've been able ascertain from the net, fats are generally not a problem if carb intake is reduced to a reasonable level. My sugar levels now have dropped dramatically to almost normal levels.
If you are overweight, by limiting carbs to a reasonable level you will lose weight & keep it off (I do not have that problem). Furthermore, the long term benefits are that epidemic of diabetes in our society can be largely arrested.
Excessive carb intake - both from sugar intake & especially from refined grains - is largely the cause of obesity in North America.
BTW, I can only power lift a large mug of beer...
TAM
I get tired just reading what everyone else does, ha1
I keep it very simple - I go for a 1/1.5 hour walk daily through our local nearby parks & forest, sometimes stopping to smell the roses & talk to our urban deer. No membership fees required.
After I experienced a long, steady rise in my blood sugar levels (Type 2 diabetes since 1980, based on my extensive net research since last December I've limited my daily carb intake to 100 grams or less per day. I supplement my calorie intake with increased protein & fats. From what I've been able ascertain from the net, fats are generally not a problem if carb intake is reduced to a reasonable level. My sugar levels now have dropped dramatically to almost normal levels.
If you are overweight, by limiting carbs to a reasonable level you will lose weight & keep it off (I do not have that problem). Furthermore, the long term benefits are that epidemic of diabetes in our society can be largely arrested.
Excessive carb intake - both from sugar intake & especially from refined grains - is largely the cause of obesity in North America.
BTW, I can only power lift a large mug of beer...
TAM
You are 100% correct in what you have stated here, others in this world could learn from what you have spoken here about. My wife is also afflicted by this disease and had to alter the way she eats, and exercises as well.
I know that large mug of beer you're lifting, must be full of Lite Beer... Right.
A caveat before you read the following - I'm not a so-called 'expert' on this stuff; however, I've done my homework, applied common sense & it works for me. Your mileage may vary. Before doing anything rash, check with your medical professional first.
Gary: There are a lot of misunderstandings out there wrt to diets, especially in the mainstream medical community. I'll list a couple:
I cannot get my doctors nor nutritionists to get on side with the idea of lower carbs supplemented with protein & fats. The 'official' line from our government agencies is that we need 300+ gms of carbs per day & minimal fats. For a diabetic (& perhaps for most people), this is plain lunacy. Fat has been a dirty word since the 70s & undeservedly so IMHO - excessive carbs are the real culprit & when combined with fats, then fat does become a problem.
Search 'Dr Bernstein'(a rogue US doctor who suffers from Type 1 diabetes - not the Canadian weight-loss doc). He lives with this condition every day & his writings got me on to this regime. I admire him greatly.
Beer/alcohol - for years I went to a local pub here for my weekly live Blues Night. I would drink six or so normal beers over the course of the evening & eat a dozen hot wings with a few raw vegetables & dip on the side. I'd blissfully wander home & take my sugar reading - always normal (certainly way better than if I had eaten a plate of pasta). My doc couldn't believe it! The official word is still no alcohol for diabetics - BS IMHO, at least in my case.
An interesting parallel can be drawn with the way that we've been feeding our pet cats. They are carnivores. When dry cat food was invented 30+ years ago, it was a wonderfully convenient way to feed them. The trouble is, dry cat food was mostly grains & they become addicted to these heavy doses of carbs. Some years down the road many cats started developing obesity, diabetes, thyroid problems (my oldest cat has this), etc - just like humans can. These high carb products caused a lot of needless health problems for cats. Ten years ago I finally woke up to this fact & my 4 cats now eat only protein, low carb foods. They are thriving except for our old girl (18 yrs old) who we switched over too late in her life - the damage was already done.
We really have to start rethinking some of this stuff because diabetes, heart ailments, thyroid issues, etc are natural consequences of our overall sedentary lifestyle & excessive carb consumption. I wish that I'd had known about this stuff 30 or 40 years ago & I hope that our medical professionals become more open-minded.
The sad fact is, diabetes alone with all of its devastating side effects is going to cost our counties billions in health expenditures - money that we don't have...
TAM
exlab, that diet sounds 'similar' to Paleo. I've gone about 80% Paleo since last August and noticed a big difference. I still like my occasional beer and desert, hence I'm not 100%. And there are occasions when I cheat with sugar or carbs, but when I do, I do so with only quality options. If I'm going to eat a pizza, it's an artisan pizza, not Round Table. No more junk food or processed food. It's made a big diff with lost weight (and kept it off) and feeling less bloated. And, it's helped increase my strength, speed and muscle growth when combined w/ Crossfit that I do 3x a week. The nice thing is that this is more of a lifestyle, not a diet. Hence, it's something I can live with for the rest of my life vs waiting for the diet to end.
http://www.fitbomb.com/p/why-i-eat-paleo.html
Like you guys, I've been watching refined carbs for almost a decade, for the most part under the plan Protein Power which is also aimed at reducing processed foods and grains and increasing your plant and protein intake. It was written by two doctors, husband and wife, and almost a third of the book is just medical evidence about the positive affect low-carb eating has on cholesterol, diabetes, heart disease . . . on and on. For my body, it was definitely the right decision. I don't know if it is for everyone's, but like oldskool, I just feel better eating this way than any other. It is very interesting to watch the science unfold around it. Although it must have been in favor of copious amounts of Oat Bran in the 80s, so who knows? {grin}
oldskool: I've never heard of 'Paleo' but it does look similar to what diabetics should follow. I too am not a fanatic about counting carbs & I really don't care about calories. Occasionally I indulge in desserts, etc & treats like ice cream cones/bars generally have little effect on me. Interestingly, straight sugar doesn't bother me much unless it is in a ridiculously large dose as in a standard soda - average 40 gms per can. Diet soda is 0 grams. I use 'Splenda' as a sweetener for coffee, etc.
Amie: Have you tried 'hemp hearts'? They are a product of Manitoba & I get them at Costco for $14 a bag - pricey but they are very dense & go a long, long way. They are mostly protein & effectively no carbs. I sprinkle some on my low carb cereal for enhanced protein to carb ratio & add them to my 'Spelt Flour' bread that I bake in my breadmaker. I have a great bread recipe if anyone wants it.
Find out about hemp hearts here:
http://www.manitobaharvest.com/TAM
Interesting product - I've never heard of them before, but they sure do pack a ton of protein! Could you put them on salad? Or is the taste too strong?
Chia seeds are also very good.
To Amie's point, yes it is interesting to see the Paleo movement get some science behind it.
http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2011/11/03/healthwatch-what%E2%80%99s-in-the-paleo-diet/
In full disclosure, Paleo is part of the 'cult' that is Crossfit. And I am an active member.
You’ve got a nice simple program going there with compound lifts that hit all the body parts that matter for building bulk. That coupled with your Jiu-Jitsu and even soccer you might want to consider giving Westside a try since it’s easily customized to any sport that emphasizes both strength and speed because of the Dynamic Effort and General Physical Preparedness work done each week. So let me know if you’re interested in it and I can post some other links that help explain it in greater detail.
Yeah thanks, if you can post some links I'd be interested in checking something else out. I seem to have stalled on my current routine.
I looked back and saw that with your present schedule you only have 2 days to workout each week which sort of sucks. If that’s the case any there’s no way you can change that then you will have to stick with full-body workouts like you’re doing now. However, there are a couple things that might help.
First is a system called Myo-reps:
http://borgefagerli.com/myo-reps-in-english/It’s really just a programed form of clustering but it allows you to maximize muscle fiber activation with the minimum amount of reps for a given weight plus since you only wait 10-20 seconds between clusters you’re not wasting a lot of time sitting around the gym waiting to do the next set. I can easily get a Myo-rep workout consisting or Incline Bench, Chins, Military Press, Rows, Triceps Pressdowns and Cable Curls in 20 minutes. So you might consider doing a heavy light/medium split, doing a heavy day 5x5 style and a light/medium day Myo-rep style.
Another possible option is to use the Cressey Performance take on the “conjugate method which follows the same principles as Westside but with a different implementation.
http://www.syattfitness.com/6-principles-from-westside-barbell-and-cressey-performance/Cressey also relies on Max Effort, Dynamic Effort and Repetition Effort training but the Dynamic Effort is done as a warmup to the Max Effort and the Max Effort uses a set/rep range of 3-4 sets for 3-6 reps rather than going for a max single like Westside. The Main difference it Cressey is training athletes for other sports so no need to focus on max singles as Westside does since their main focus is powerlifting.
So you could do a full body workout on each of your two days but basically add in the Dynamic Effort exercises to improve your rate of force development which should pay dividends in both soccer and martial arts which both emphasize speed at times.
Additionally if you can find the time after your martial arts training you could fit in some extra workouts using Myo-reps. These could be optional as long as you’re hitting your two main lifting days and could be used to bring up lagging muscles.
Amie:
I've never used them on a salad but I certainly will try it. I would think that the would be excellent as they have a mild nutty flavour. Just try a little to start to see if it meets your taste. As I said before, a little goes a long way
On the news out here on their nutritional segment last week, the 'expert guest' raved about the benefits of this product.
BTW, I'm presently baking a 'Spelt Loaf' with some hemp hearts added in. It should be smelling good here in about an hour...
TAM
Amie:
BTW, I'm presently baking a 'Spelt Loaf' with some hemp hearts added in. It should be smelling good here in about an hour...
TAM
I vote for Christmas Bread for all Forum Members. Is anybody with me?
Well this just happened to me, no I didn’t turn green, well at least not yet but I trashed a coat jacket. I needed to try on my suits for something coming up and shouldn’t have pushed the issue and forced it on over my shoulders. I got stuck and couldn’t get it back off so I did a “most muscular pose” and ripped the seam in the back apart. There was no point in saving it to let it out since the bottom of the lapels were a good 5” apart.
Additionally I relegated the large T-shirts I bought just a while ago to the rag pile and switched to XL since they are now too small for my shoulders and upper back.
Is everyone here dieting? Ever since I started bulking again I’ve been on the good old see-food-diet but will probably cut back while deployed.
No diet here. Although, I am trying to eat healthier than I have historically. No plan, just thinking about my choices more.
No plan, just thinking about my choices more.
Me: Ring Dings? Chocolate Chip Cookies? Hmmm... Ring Dings or Chocolate Chip Cookies?
I'm thinking about getting one of these. Ultega F-Bike. Sit in front of tv and exercise, then put away in closet.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005UD5Y3A/ref=ox_sc_act_image_1?ie=UTF8&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER
Those types of things end up being poor quality. Because of that, most people tend not to use it. If you really want a bike trainer, I'd just use a bike you already have and put it on a quality trainer like these.
http://www.cycleops.com/products/trainers.htmlI picked mine up for ~$100 on craigslist from someone who barely used it.
Honestly, you're better off doing your own interval cardio training if want something during TV. Body weight would even work. Watch TV, then during a commercial break, do as many situps/pushups/etc as you can without a break, or ride the bike at high intensity. (This is AKA AMRAP, as many reps as possible). The key is HIGH intensity, don't baby it since it's only 2 minutes. As you get better, you can stretch out that 2 minutes.
Or you can do a tabata workout while watching TV, though I doubt you'll even be able to concentrate on TV after the 2nd round. I've done these with pushups, situps, air squats, weights, box jumps, etc (just pick one exercise BTW). And yes, you can get a full workout in 4 minutes, wherein only 2/3 of the time is actual effort. Some workouts have left their mark on me for days, but the benefits did appear.
http://tabatatraining.org/?p=18Just be mindful of heart rate with these types of exercise. Your HR will max, so you need to make sure you can handle it. But the point here is training efficiency. Instead of spending what's called 'garbage miles/minutes' training, you spend less time training harder. Granted, any exercise is better than none at all in the end.
I'm not a young pup anymore and the situp, pushup, highspeed bike thing is out of the question. That's for younger, in-shape people. I have an irrepairable hernia that would not work with this kind of a workout.
I also need something that I can fold up and put in a very small coat closet when not in use. So, for me anyway. I think what I picked out is probably the best choice.
I've looked over the page you listed, and I still haven't been able to figure out what these things are. I don't see anyplace to sit, etc. I definitely don't want to have to purchase something that's non-portable, causing me to have to also purchase a bike and have this mess all sitting in my living room in front of the TV forever.
For me, there are no commercials.
That link was interesting - I didn't know what Tabata was, other than a word I keep seeing. One of the videos on the site has a 4x4 session but from your text and the text on the site it looks like the actual session can be just 4 minutes. I imagine you don't need to do cardio if you're working all-out like this!
I'm not a young pup anymore and the situp, pushup, highspeed bike thing is out of the question. That's for younger, in-shape people. I have an irrepairable hernia that would not work with this kind of a workout.
I also need something that I can fold up and put in a very small coat closet when not in use. So, for me anyway. I think what I picked out is probably the best choice.
I've looked over the page you listed, and I still haven't been able to figure out what these things are. I don't see anyplace to sit, etc. I definitely don't want to have to purchase something that's non-portable, causing me to have to also purchase a bike and have this mess all sitting in my living room in front of the TV forever.
For me, there are no commercials.
Oops, my bad. Those are trainers used with your existing bike. You attach it to your bike's rear wheel, turning your own bike into a trainer. So you have a bike, it allows to repurpose your bike for indoor training use. You can adjust the resistance to make it harder/easier, in addition to using the gears on your bike.
That link was interesting - I didn't know what Tabata was, other than a word I keep seeing. One of the videos on the site has a 4x4 session but from your text and the text on the site it looks like the actual session can be just 4 minutes. I imagine you don't need to do cardio if you're working all-out like this!
Correct, the whole workout is 4:00 long. No need for cardio, it already is.
Here's a squat example. The Asian woman in the white sweater is doing them with full extension at the top and bottom. She's Annie Sakamoto, a Crossfit legend. 20s of squats/10s of rest in the bottom position, done 8 times. Then you're done, literally and figuratively.
Your 'score' is the lowest amount of reps in a 20s period. The idea is to keep a rep number and maintain it. You don't want to start out with 20 squats at the 1st round because you may end up with 5 squats on the 8th round, making your score 5. Anyone, of any ability can do it, you scale it to your existing ability. If you can't squat all the way, just go as low as possible, keeping good form w/ knees over toes and back in proper alignment. The hardest part? Walking afterwards...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ku-eOGXScOQ
You could always try this
Ace Power exerciser, but you might need to import it.
[steps on soapbox]
Here’s an article about “Tabata” training (in quotes because as the article points out almost no one doing “Tabata” are actually following the protocol used in the study).
http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/researc...nd-vo2-max.html
My Comments
First and foremost, there’s no doubt that while the steady state group only improved VO2 max, it did not improve anaerobic capacity; this is no shock based on the training effect to be expected. And while the Tabata protocol certainly improved both, not only did the Tabata group still end up with a lower VO2 at the end of the study, they only made progress for 3 weeks before plateauing on VO2 max and 4 weeks for anaerobic capacity.
Interestingly, the running coach Arthur Lydiard made this observation half a century ago; after months of base training, he found that only 3 weeks of interval work were necessary to sharpen his athletes. More than that was neither necessary nor desirable. Other studies using cycling have found similar results: intervals improve certain parameters of athletic performance for about 3 weeks or 6 sessions and then they stop having any further benefit.
I’ve asked this question before but for all of the ‘All interval all the time’ folks, if intervals stop working after 3-4 weeks, what are people supposed to do for the other 48-49 weeks of the year. Should they keep busting their nuts with supra-maximal interval training for no meaningful results?
On that note, it’s worth mentioning that the Tabata group actually did a single steady state workout per week. Is it at all possible that this contributed to the overall training effect (given that 70% VO2 max training improved VO2 max in the steady state only group)? Does anybody else find it weird that the Tabata promoters ignore the fact that the Tabata group was doing steady state work too?
It’s also relevant to note that the study used a bike for training. This is important and here’s why: on a stationary bike, when you start to get exhausted and fall apart from fatigue, the worst that happens is that you stop pedalling. You don’t fall off, you don’t get hurt, nothing bad happens. The folks suggesting high skill movements for a ‘Tabata’ workout might want to consider that. Because when form goes bad on cleans near the end of the ‘Tabata’ workout, some really bad things can happen. Things that don’t happen on a stationary bike.
As well, I want to make a related comment: as you can see above the protocol used was VERY specific. The interval group used 170% of VO2 max for the high intensity bits and the wattage was increased by a specific amount when the workout was completed. Let me put this into real world perspective.
My VO2 max occurs somewhere between 300-330watts on my power bike, I can usually handle that for repeat sets of 3 minutes and maybe 1 all out-set of 5-8 minutes if I’m willing to really suffer. That’s how hard it is, it’s a maximal effort across that time span.
For a proper Tabata workout, 170% of that wattage would be 510 watts (for perspective, Tour De France cyclists may maintain 400 watts for an hour). This is an absolutely grueling workload. I suspect that most reading this, unless they are a trained cyclist, couldn’t turn the pedals at that wattage, that’s how much resistance there is.
If you don’t believe me, find someone with a bike with a powermeter and see how much effort it takes to generate that kind of power output. Now do it for 20 seconds. Now repeat that 8 times with a 10 second break. You might learn something about what a Tabata workout actually is.
My point is that to get the benefits of the Tabata protocol, the workload has to be that supra-maximal for it to be effective. Doing thrusters or KB swings or front squats with 65 lbs fo 20 seconds doesn’t generate nearly the workload that was used during the actual study. Nor will it generate the benefits (which I’d note again stop accruing after a mere 3 weeks). You can call them Tabatas all you want but they assuredly aren’t.
Finally, I’d note that, as I discussed in Predictors of Endurance Performance VO2 max is only one of many components of overall performance, and it’s not even the most important one. Of more relevance here, VO2 max and aerobic endurance are not at all synonymous, many people confuse the two because they don’t understand the difference between aerobic power (VO2 max) and aerobic capacity (determined primarily by enzyme activity and mitochondrial density within the muscle). Other studies have shown clearly that interval work and steady state work generate different results in this regards, intervals improve VO2 max but can actually decrease aerobic enzyme activity (citrate synthase) within skeletal muscle.
The basic point being that even if the Tabata group improved VO2 max and anaerobic capacity to a greater degree than the steady state group, those are not the only parameters of relevance for overall performance.
Note that like the author I’m not knocking HIIT I’ve done it for decades (long before it became fashionable) in moderation and for what it’s good at developing. I’m just trying to prevent more people from thinking it’s a fitness panacea causing them to forgo or unduly cut back on other fitness methods.
Now if 4 minutes of HIIT is all that your schedule allows for, then hell yes it’s better than nothing. However, for those too busy to exercise I submit the cartoon in this article (sorry too lazy to log into photobucket and make a link).
http://www.military.com/military-fitness/spouse-and-family/attitude-adjustment[/steps off soapbox]
Ooooh my . . . at last, I've found my signature file. Thank you, Peter!
"Live longer for now"
That's awesome!!!!
Just finished reading the article. I think what he's saying about form is almost as important as the rest of the article in its entirety. I was noticing that in the squats video earlier. Looks like mixing it up is a good thing!
grunt/amie, I would tend to agree w/ the article sentiments.
Intervals, tabatas, etc all have their place in regards to training. But that alone is not a good plan. Any everyone should have a plan. It should be mixed in with your sports-specific training for sure.
The comment on form is also correct. Don't give up on form just to make a number. Granted that's a big knock on Crossfit but that's discussion for another thread. This is why I've become a big convert for having a coach/trainer. I've always thought it was luxury, not necessarily a need. A good one will correct your form continuously, making sure you don't progress to more advanced moves or heavier weights w/o it. Bad form will cause injury and slow improvement for sure.
I figured I’d bump this thread to see how people’s routines are going . . . or not.
Well I came back from overseas in ok shape strength-wise but in the worst cardio shape of the last 10 years. It’s too stress for me to run and do a powerlifting workout at the same time so I was planning to buy an elliptical. However, when I post in the HST forum looking for feedback someone suggested a specific brand of rowing machine. So after a little research it was a no brainer to get a Concept 2 Model D Rowing Machine. While it did cost 900 USD that was a far cry from the 2500 USD the elliptical was going to be so with the savings I also bought a mountain bike and still had over 1000 USD left over.
When I bought the bike I also got some riding shorts. Luckily they had some that button because the pullover ones small enough for my waist wouldn’t fit over my backside because of all the Squats/Deadlifts I’ve been doing.
Another word about the Concept 2 Rower, it’s a great piece of equipment. Not only does it get great reviews IMO it stands up to them in real life. To use it you need about a 4 x 9 space but it’s got caster wheels on one end so you can move it around easily. Plus it easily breaks in half for storage, you could even stand the two pieces in a corner. By breaks in half easy I mean all you have to do is pick it up in the middle as gravity holds it together. If you’re so inclined you an even compete against other people in real time by hooking it up to a computer via USB or submit times/distance for competitions with other people on the internet.
I also got a Concept 2 Model D w/ PM3 last month on Craigslist for $750. Almost brand new, previous owner had it for a month and traded it in to a gym equipment rental house. Much better workout vs an elliptical for sure.
Sweet you found a deal. I searched around here but only one was for sale for more than $800 so I went with a new one for $900 from Amazon, free delivery, and got it the next day. It’s very cool having an Amazon distribution center here.
Yeah, I almost did the Amazon deal too w/ free shipping just before the California tax kicked in. When I was about to bite the bullet, Amazon added $90 for shipping... But I got lucky and found that one locally on Craigslist. I tried to pay on the phone because all the crossfitters (like me) have been trolling CL to find that same model. When I went to pick it up 1 hour after calling, he had 3 new offers.
I also found it interesting how much technique is involved.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wn6ZYAnSYhUOne thing our coach has us do for practice is to row w/o your feet in the straps. That way your not lifting your heels so much and relying the straps to hold your feet, which you'll tend to do if you squat too much (like I do) instead of using your core. You'll last longer using your core more vs your legs in a 'squat' focused style.
If you want a blinged on, Rogue's black ones are REALLY nice. $1200 IIRC.
http://www.roguefitness.com/black-concept-2-model-d-rower.phpRight now I've got my 2K PR @ 7:41 and 500m @ 1:40.
Thanks for the crossfit video. I’ve never practiced or been coached rowing but that is exactly how I settled into doing it because it felt the most natural. I’m going to keep checking out videos because the one thing that is messing me up is the breathing rhythm. I’m so use to either breathing on footfalls running or inhaling on the eccentric and exhaling on the concentric part of a lift I keep trying to sync my breathing with the stroke but I’m find that’s not enough O2 and need to breath faster which is screwing up my rowing rhythm.
I actually looked at the black ones because one of the bonuses of the rower is that I can sit below the screen in my HT and watch something while rowing so I thought black would be best, however I then figured I probably wouldn’t be too worried about immersion if I’m sitting there rowing my butt off and ordering from Amazon is just easier. But the black ones do look cool.
Well I have been sitting at a desk more than turning wrenches for the past year and a half so I decided it was time to start with the weights again. I am doing a very simple 5x5 routine to get back into it.
Warm up consists of 15min on the treadmill about 1.5 miles then some stretching followed by the weights.
Week 1
Monday
Squats
Bench press
Bent over barbell rows
Wed
Squats
Standing Press
Deadlift 1x5(not 5x5 here)
Friday same as Monday
Week 2
Monday
Squats
Standing press
Deadlift 1x5
Wed
Squats
Bench
bent rows
Friday same as Monday
I have been increasing my weights every day by 5lbs except on the deadlifts I go 10 pounds
I am into week 7 and squats are up to 235lbs, bench 185lbs, row 155lbs, press 130lbs and pulled 285 yesterday. I came down with a severe cold Friday night so the past 2 workouts have been a little tough. By the end of week 12 I should be back to 300+ on my squats, benching 235 + and pulling 350+ on the DL. My overhead press will still be terrible, far too many shoulder injuries over the years but the strength will come eventually.
I plan to drop to 3x5 and then 1x5 as I miss reps at certain weights. I give myself 3 workouts at a weight and if I still can't get it, I drop back down for one work out and then bump back up, if I still fail I will drop to 3x5 for that excersize.
Just finished week 12 on the 5x5 and had some good gains:
DL - 350lbs
Squats 305
Bench 220
Rows 195
Press 135
I am going to take this week off, came down with another cold, but I planned to take this week off for a recovery week anyway. I am not sure if I will continue with this 5x5 routine or drop to 3x5. I may just change things up and go with 4x12 and cut the heavy squats back to twice a week with the middle squat day a light day.
Well done Jason, those are some impressive numbers.
Nice numbers Jason!
5x5 is a great way to either get started or get back into shape. It’s nice to see you kept the exercise selection nice and basic.
Just another thought on the Squats would be to just Squat on Monday and Friday and Deadlift on Wednesday.
Funny you mention that switch, I think that is what I have decided on for my next round. I realized as the weights got heavier, the squats were starting to wear me out and at 46 yrs old I need more time to recover. Not to mention my knees were starting to get a little sore as well, they are pretty chewed up to begin with. I had never done a full 5x5 routine before this, most times it was more 3x5 with the max weight, a full 5x5 at max weight adds a lot more strain on the body.
I should be starting this next round Saturday or Sunday, after a week off I think I will start lower than those previous maxes, say drop 20% off and go up from there.
For my aged/damaged body it’s my lower back that can’t handle Deadlifting and Squatting back-to-back if I do anything in the way of reps.
As far as the number of reps you do if you haven’t already I would check out Prilepin’s Table:
This gives a history of how it was developed and one method of applying it:
http://articles.elitefts.com/training-articles/sports-training/prilepin%E2%80%99s-chart/
This attempts to expand it for use by bodybuilders rather than strength athletes:
http://www.t-nation.com/readArticle.do?id=4677737Use this calculator to estimate your 1 rep maxes if you don’t want to take the time or risk actually testing them.
http://www.exrx.net/Calculators/OneRepMax.htmlThe advantage to following the total rep guidelines of the table is that it ensures you get enough reps to have a positive training effect without doing more reps than necessary thus needlessly tiring yourself.
By following these rep guidelines and other training principles I’ve found I’ve been able to jumpstart my Squats and Deadlifts which were stagnant for some time at around 265 lbs. and 315 lbs. respectively until last March, and are now both at 390 lbs. and still climbing.
Something else I’m religious about is that I never do Deadlifts for reps as IMO that is one of the best possible ways you can screw up your back. No rep after the first one, and often not even the first one (about 70% of realistic 1RM attempt failures are due to technique, 20% a sticking point and 10% mental), is going to be perfect. Instead I set a number of reps as a target based on prilepin’s table and do a series of singles.
I’m a stone’s throw away from 52 so believe me I’ve researched all the best ways I can find achieve the optimal balance between muscle and or strength gains and fatigue management. Myo-reps is another very effective method but geared more toward bodybuilding.
Thanks for those links, according to the calculator, my max for DL is 394 and squat is 343. I'd like to think because I am doing sets of 5 at the weights I put into the calculator my squat max might even be a little higher as I usually have energy left over after the first 3 sets, it is the last 2 that drain me.
If you are leaving something in the tank your 1RM may be more. Also calculators like that tend to be more accurate the closer to 1 you plug in for the number of reps. 5 and below usually give a pretty good estimate but once your rep count gets up into the 6-10 range the estimates become progressively more problematic.
Ironman Gravity 1000 Inversion Table is best for all pains..
I got a Fitbit One to replace my Fitbit Zip. I wanted the rechargeable battery, and the tracking of floors climbed was a bonus, although the accuracy of that seems to be lacking. It's supposed to do sleep monitoring, too, but I won't utilize that feature since you need to strap it to your wrist to get that, and the reason I got the One was to keep my fitness tracking as a pocket endeavor. I'm not into the bracelet thing. In any case, I think I'm happy enough with the upgrade, if only for the battery.
I'm not doing anything special to actually get into better shape. My job still keeps me active (25-30k steps on normal work days), and I do try to do a couple of walks on the weekends as well. I should really get an ab workout into my schedule.
I ran a half-marathon back in September with zero training. As in, absolutely no runs leading up to it. Forced myself to run the whole thing, despite my body complaining early on. An hour and 53 minutes, which I was happy with. I beat the two people from work who I knew were running it. Of course, I couldn't walk well for a couple of days, while they were fine. But yeah, I'd say a half-marathon is the most I can do without training. This makes me think a marathon is certainly doable for me if I can get into the habit of running. That's a big if.
One of my coworkers wants to take me to her gym to compete on the stairs. She's pretty cocky, thinking she'll mop the floor with me. She is 14 years younger, so maybe. I'm giving her my decommissioned Fitbit Zip tomorrow so we can do challenges on there, too.
What are you guys doing for physical activity in 2017?
...
What are you guys doing for physical activity in 2017?
Getting out of bed every morning.
I've been an avid golfer for a number of years, but my knees have been giving me problems lately.
Getting old sucks sometimes. I'm not sure what I'm going to replace that with.
