workouts - nutrition

[liquidstayce]

People who do workout.. What's your routine? Cardio + lifting? Other activities? If you lift, how often? Anyone loose a significant amt of weight over the last few years? Anyone trying to get into shape for summer or a special event? I still struggle with sticking to a routine daily. I have my good days and bad. I still need to burn some serious fat. I've been shooting for 6-7 days a week. I want to be a buff bride! This past week I had 5 good solid days of lifting - traditional split with Mop and doing assorted cardio - spinning, arc trainer, incline walking, or some sort of step and bosu ball aerobic intervals that I make up in the aerobics studio.
Believe it or not this anti-dieter actually started Jenny Craig for the convience of having some prepared meals. I had to do something. I had been stagnant in my progress for a while. It's been pretty good. Food is much better than it was 10 yrs ago. It is by no means health food. Just smaller portions and it is working slowly.

Ironic thing is my Jenny Craig counselor is whacked. She convinced me to go out drinking with her last night.... sigh. We went to an Irish pub and then a shady local live music bar. I staggered in at 11:30pm - not late but vry much intoxicated and sick. I had 4 large shots of sambuca, 4 capt morgan and diet cokes, and 2 black & tans. Matter of fact I was sick for most of yesterday. Last time I drank was New Yrs and before that it was even longer so no tolerance. NO SELF CONTROL!!!!!

My boards are quiet these days - we mostly have a core handful of people that drop by weekly. I still post in the log section daily - http://p073.ezboard.com/beqpowerfulbodiesandminds
Anyone from here is welcome to join us or read up on past posts. Lots of good info. I could use the extra company right about now. Some new blood would be nice.

[Minrott]

I'd been a pure believer in hardcore anerobic weight training through highschool and college. But have had rotator cuff and back problems the whole time. Now I just follow simple body weight resistence exercises. Hindu squats, hindu pushups, regular pushups, some handstand work. I've never felt like I was in better shape. To each his own, but I'll never go back to weights or cardio.

[Thon]

i tried doing a search about these hindu pushups an shit and all i see is people saying how great they are, not much demonstration apart from like a picture or two. can you explain how to do hindu pushups/squats, or give a link to a good site that does?

[KaiineTN]

I find Hindu pushups kind of easy, maybe it's just me, but I'm going more for mass, so should I stick to free weights til I burn out on the heavy stuff and then do hindu pushups til my chest is dead? Either way, I can't give up free weight flys~

[liquidstayce]

yes pls show the hindu stuffs - Wonder if Dana knows about these. For chest I tend to use the pt ball so I can contract my abs at the same time, balance my back on that, and then use 25lb dumbells. We do decine chest as well as a bunch of others. Sometimes use the cybex eagle machines or the free motion too.

I've built a lot of good muscle and keep getting stronger with lifting. I do use my body weight for certain things and mix in regular push ups as well as other stuff but I think I would get bored if I would just do that. I'm all about the variety. Every single workout changes. Even the style of my workouts change every few weeks - i.e. traditional split working specific muscle groups each day or doing full body workouts - cross training - etc

When we had leg day last week Dana had us do a mountain for squats - my sets were:

20 squats no weight
10 squats 45 lb bar only
8 squats 45 lbs bar + 15 lbs plates added to each side
8 squats 45 lbs bar + 15 lbs plates added to each side
10 squats 45 lbs bar only
20 squats no weight

also did ball crunches between those sets but wont do that next time - he says its not really good because it exhausts your core too fast and your getting enough for your core during that squat when your just stabalizing alone. I have to tell ya by the time I got to that last 20 I was getting pretty tired. By the time we finished with leg press and several other types of leg sets I was wiped. It was fun and dif from the usual super or giant sets or just regular squats. actually we have not used giant sets in a while. I miss them. Great for full body weeks. Sometimes we just use the squat machine too. Never use the smith machine anymore - too easy to cheat.

I really like dead lifts too. Sometimes I stand up on the bench to force my legs to stay together and go past my feet and just use a straight bar. This week just stood on the floor and used 35lbs dumbells. Just a few weeks ago I could only do 25's.

The gains I make every week in the gym - amt of weight, # of sets, heart rate recovery, or general endurance have helped my self esteem a ton. It's worth being a little bit sore (sometimes a lot a bit=)
ever couple days).

Today I need to do arms - biceps, triceps. I have not boxed in a while so might finish up with some intervals on the heavy bag. Then will do my cardio - bleh. Lately I have not been as happy to do cardio but trust me I need to the most. Interval stuff seems to work best for me so I don't get bored. I go into the empty spin studio and can spin for 30 min and then I use a variety of the cardio equip for the rest - step mill (like a moving escalator you have to walk up), arc trainer (love this one), if I'm tired eliptical, tried to do sprints last week after that leg workout but no way was that happening.

Believe it or not even doing all this - I am still probably a good 7 - 12 months away from dropping the majority of b/f that needs to come off my body.
I've gotten the fitness part down pat really well over the past 3 yrs but eating a close to perfect clean diet has been vry difficult. I cheat too much. Weekends are the worst.

Actually just finding the right combo of foods that give me the needed energy for my workouts while still allow me to drop weight has been hard as hell. I've gone anywhere from 3000 calories (which was way to much) down to 1500 - 1800 calories on Jenny Craig which is questonibly low since according to my polar heart rate monitor I burn 600 toping off at 1000 for a workout. Avg arond 750 most days though.

I'm hoping to drop about another 70lbs and be around 16% b/f. I'm still over 200 right now and only 5'4. I've lost around 50lbs over the last 3 yrs and at only one point gained a few lbs back during the holidays but that is back off again.

[Diekan]

The following is meant for everyone:

Diet is 90% of the battle. You can work out 4 hours a day, seven days a week (although I wouldn't recommend it) - and if you're not eating right - you're wasting your time.

My 'advice' is to first and foremost see your doctor and get a check up before starting anything serious. A lot of people make the mistake of ‘jumping in with both feet’ without consulting a doctor first and end up with an injury. For example: a friend of mine wanted to get into shape… thought running would be the ticket… but, complained that his left knee ached now and then. Rather than getting a check up before starting a routine he just hit the track on a daily basis… now he has a nice new shiny stainless steel knee. So, definitely go in for a check up, it doesn’t cost much and will take a couple of hours of your time.

Secondly, you might want to speak with a nutritionist. A real nutritionist, not the college kid (working at the gym between classes) who ‘thinks’ he/she has all the answers. As I said above, diet is 90% of the battle. Also keep in mind that for losing weight, or staying in shape isn’t just about making yourself eat right – it’s about changing your lifestyle. I eat very little red meat, almost no sugar (e.g. candy, regular soda, etc), and very little ‘snack foods’ (e.g. chips). I’d be wasting my time detailing my diet for you; because you are not me… we’re different people with different bodies. Thus, you need a diet plan that’s designed especially for YOU and no one else. However, once you have the right diet plan – it’s not a matter of sticking to it till you lose the weight, tone up, or reach whatever goal you’ve set for yourself, but a matter of sticking to it for good.

Thirdly, avoid fad diets, or the ‘lose 20 pounds in one week by eating dung!” diets – that INCLUDES the Atkins diet. The Atkins diet starves your brain of essential carbohydrates and jacks the Ketone levels in your blood sky high – which in turns takes a serious toll on your kidneys. There are some people with serious obesity issues in which the harms of using Atkins are less than the harm caused by being severally obese. It’s ironic that people will jeopardize their health in a quest to be healthier. The problem is that people (Americans in particular) are impatient. They… we… want results NOW, and aren’t really willing to invest the time and energy it takes to get those results the ‘right way.’ To really lose weight right, and keep it off for good, takes more than a super protein only / ultra low carb diet that last for a couple of months… it’s takes a real change in the person wanting to reach their goals. And, most importantly – it takes patients. Being a biologist (irl) I know a couple of things about the human body… and the fad diets (including that stupid Atkins plan) can do more harm in the long term than good in the short. There are doctors out there who do prescribe this diet, and they should know better… again unless you are grossly obese and the health problems you are developing are worse than the health problems you can develop with Atkins – it’s not worth the risk – in my opinion. There are people out there who lost a good bit of weight with Atkins in a relatively short period of time, and with no ‘side effects.’ Great for them, I hope they continue to maintain their goals and remain healthy… but, again as a matter of personal opinion I just don’t think that diet… well any fad type diet… is worth the risks… just because they didn’t develop any problems, doesn’t mean you wont.

As for a work out routine? Well, again, we’re all unique… people respond differently to different types of regimes. I perform better when I do my cardio after my lifting, some people are the opposite. You’re best bet is to talk with an instructor, tell them your goals, and have them help you design a good routine that fits your goals. Next time you go the gym, take a few moments and just look around. Watch the people around you and you’ll notice that while, yes, everyone is doing the ‘same things’ their all doing it in different sequences, in different degrees of difficulty, different combinations of sets and reps… that’s because they’ve found a routine that works great for them.

So, I guess to sum this all up.

1. Hit the doc’s office – tell him/her what you are wanting to do and get a check up – getting their ‘ok’ is the first thing you should do.

2. Talk with a nutritionist and get a good diet plan (I mean diet as in eating scheme) that works for you that will accommodate your specific goals.

3. Get one of the gym’s instructors to help you design a good routine that works for you. If you don’t have instructors at your gym ask them if they can point you in the right direction to finding one. You don’t need to have the person on your pay roll (meaning paying them a monthly fee for continuing services), but just to have them help you develop a good routine.

It will cost a few bucks to get started, but you’re investing in your health and life – you should be worth a few of your own dollars to invest in yourself.

Of course probably 90% of the people out there won’t listen and will do what they want. Some will be successful. Some will hurt themselves (by stressing an injury they didn’t know / forgot they had). Some will get bored and completely stop working out. Some will go on the fad diets – lose a lot of weight quickly and end up putting it right back on again.

Anyway, that’s just my advice. It’s really difficult to help someone ‘online’ with workout routines and diets.

[Minrott]

k, I will scan and post pics soon as I can.

[Aryylas]

Play DDR, you will lose weight very fast.

[liquidstayce]

DDR won't do it cause
as was mentioned

Diet is 90% of the battle. You can work out 4 hours a day, seven days a week (although I wouldn't recommend it) - and if you're not eating right - you're wasting your time.

I know this to be true from experience. Even though I am healthy and can probably lift more then 95% of the women in my gym along with having really good cardio/endruance the fat isnt going to get off my body if I dont follow eating healthy all the time along with maintaining portion control.

Some people are fortunate (or younger) and the body responds more favorably so you can get away with more. I use to be like that. I HATE YOU PEOPLE! As a 33 year old female who has screwed up her metabolism over the years I don't get a whole lot of room to mess around anymore. At this point its basically eat clean close to 100% of the time, monitor and record intake/calories, and stop making "life happens" excuses why I can't eat clean. Even one or two days is enough to mess up my whole week and cancel out all the work I did the rest of the week. I used up all my free days long ago!!!! Now its time to go at it 100%.

[Aryylas]

Odd, The first week of playing DDR I lost about 15 pounds. Maybe it was due to the thing you said such as age etc.

[mappatazee]

I'm sure if you pounded a man in the ass for a few hours every day you'd lose those 15 lbs. too.

[KaiineTN]

Wow.. these hindu pushups really are great, after a while.. I mean.. well, I could bench a ton of weight until I burned out and I never really felt it in my chest, mostly in my arms, but these pushups just make your chest explode.. I think it's because it somewhat resembles a decline bench press, but backwards.. and that's a part of the pecs that almost never gets targeted.. It really is a great exercise.. My chest got rock hard and throbbing in less than 20 pushups.. My pecs have never felt like this from any free weights, I'll be doing these at least every other day now, forever.

The squats are incredible too, you can have a complete full body strength workout and be sweating in less than 5 minutes, seriously.. You're supposed to do the pushups right after the squats, but my legs were shaking too bad, I had to wait lol.. good shit I'm tellin ya..

Oh here's the site with the explanation/diagrams I'm using...

http://www.combatwrestling.com/newsletter_sample.pdf

[liquidstayce]

Seems like a lot of men over work chest and don't pay enough attention to legs. I see alot of guys that have blown up chests and biceps but skinny legs. Why do you think this is?

Dana wasn't familar with Hindu pushups but he hasnt seen the pictures. I wasn't aware that is what they were called but do know the movement.

With regards to bridges - I love them and have notices much more flexibility in my back. Following any ab work I lay on top of a PT Ball and start my bridge. THen lift my body off it and get up on my tip toes. Good stuff -give it a try.

Dana is required by his gym to get a Body Pump cert this weekend. It's actually a really good class and is tearing the crap out of all the personal trainers and staff taking it. They are giving it rave reviews. He has to do a chest demo today. Kinda funny b/c I helped him prepare I pretty much have the whole routine down in my head as well and know all the music cues. THe music is actually really quite good.
Program was developed in New Zealand. You can review the site here if curious:
http://www.bodypump.com/

I'm all excited to start taking the classes now.

They do pushups with the chest demo. One of the positions is having your hands in line with your nipples - much harder then out in front of you.

[Shannan]

Stacy, What kind of diet plan are you on now?
(or what one you considering)
I ask because I have been trying to tone myself and diet but am having a really hard time trying to find a diet that suits me. Cant do low carb, I crave carbs too much for a Atkins diet. I dont like much meat either so dont really know what to look for. I have been trying to just eat healthy but soooooo hard to stick to it when my hubby comes home with pizza or hamburgers :x Also, what machines are the best for butt, upper thigh area? I have a year membership to our gym but look like a lost puppy in there trying to find what machines I need to use, lol.

[liquidstayce]

Stacy, What kind of diet plan are you on now?
(or what one you considering)
I ask because I have been trying to tone myself and diet but am having a really hard time trying to find a diet that suits me. Cant do low carb, I crave carbs too much for a Atkins diet. I dont like much meat either so dont really know what to look for. I have been trying to just eat healthy but soooooo hard to stick to it when my hubby comes home with pizza or hamburgers :x Also, what machines are the best for butt, upper thigh area? I have a year membership to our gym but look like a lost puppy in there trying to find what machines I need to use, lol.

I dont like to suggest comercial diets to most people. I rather just teach them about nutrition, portion control, the right combos of foods, and eating clean/healthy. However, I needed some more structure b/c nothing was getting me off the plateu I was on. I did the South Beach thing and it made me feel sluggish. I think I lasted just a few weeks on that. Now I'm doing Jenny Craig but more for the fact that the prepackaged meals are making my life easier right now and I enjoy the one on one counseling sessions with the weigh in accoutability. The food happens to be delicious although I'm sure it isnt the optimal healthy foods that I was eating before. Before I was doing as much organic and whole foods as possible while balancing out my macronutrient ratios (carbs, protein, fat). I think I was just getting to obsessive with the numbers game so I stopped doing that. Too much work doing all those calculations. JC has given me a bit more freedom to not have to think as hard. They give you deserts and everything but you do need to add in your own additional fresh fruits and veggies. I like that they encourage eating every 3 hrs/ 3 meals - 3 snacks. My greatest challenge has not really been eating the wrong foods but more of a portion control deal. I like to eat a lot of food. ON JC I've been learning how to eat more realistic portions again. It works on the weeks I follow it 100%. However, if I just go off one day it can screw up the whole week. I've lost inches and lbs over the last couple months I've been on it. Some weeks I stay the same.

Butt/thigh stuff - Cardio gets the fat off your body - resistance training helps you tone and grow muscle - more muscle is good because it helps you burn more fat. Don't fear getting big huge muscles like the guys. You would have to eat tons of food for that to happen.

Squats and lunges are a great exercise to hit those areas. If you have never done a squat before then first start out by just trying ball squats or using your gyms squat machine which will help automatically put you into the correct form.
Check here: http://p073.ezboard.com/feqpowerfulbodi ... =207.topic

and here:
http://p073.ezboard.com/feqpowerfulbodi ... D=86.topic

article about women and weights -
http://p073.ezboard.com/feqpowerfulbodi ... =208.topic

Most gyms give you an orientation session. Take advantage of it or ask the staff to assist. Might want to look into hiring a personal trainer for a few sessions.

[brinstar]

eat well exercise regularly die anyway

[Adivina]

nt

[Aryylas]

I'm sure if you pounded a man in the ass for a few hours every day you'd lose those 15 lbs. too.

I'm sure you know all about that too.

[Hordace Coldfire]

Well how about a diet plan for those of us that want to gain some weight? I'm about 5'10" and weigh 142lbs(finally!). I'd like to be more around 170ish, but just can't seem to keep the weight on. The past 4 years I have maintained a weight between 120 and 130 even though I eat constantly and not a lot of it being junk food. I'm a carboholic, gotta have that linguine with clam sauce. Steak every now and then, hamburgers often, raw 93% lean chopped beef more often. To top it off, my job is pretty much a workout in and of itself working both my legs as well as my arms and chest. I'm fairly strong for my weight and definitely don't look it. Already have a girlfriend so not looking to impress anyone other than myself. I don't go for those commercial bullshit supplements and whatnot like creatine or the stacker line, it's just not my gig. I've thought of going to a nutritionist, but being that I'm trying to put myself through college, money is in short order and even 50 bucks makes me cringe. So if anybody has any advice, I'd certainly like to hear it.....other than the expected "enjoy it now while you can" that I hear from everybody already.

[Hordace Coldfire]

Oh, and while I'm not at work I sit around doing nothing except school work and fuck around with the computer......

[Metranon]

i play frisbee golf and walk to class

[liquidstayce]

to gain weight (im sure you prefer muscle)you need to eat a clean healthy diet as well - balanced meals all day long. If you increase your protein make sure you drink lots of water so you dont end up with kidney stones. Sitck with good protiens sources like eggs, tuna, cottage cheese - lean meats, smuckers natrual Peanut Butter - great source of fat and protein. Other good fats - olive oil, Udo's blended oil (can be found in natrual food stores). Make sure to down plenty of rich fiberous green veggie carbs - broccoli is one of the best. Check into Whey protein or blends - they can be pricey though if you are on a budget - eggs and cottage cheese are not~ Good complex carb is oatmeal - not the stuff loaded with sugar.. the Quaker Oats that come in the big circular canister.
Again read up on pre and post workout nutrition.
Also try eating a meal before bed and as soon as you wake up and make sure to do resistance training (weights, manuals) along with at least 20 min of cardio.

[Goose_Man]

In the past 12 months I have put on 35lbs..

I was 6'2" @ 180lbs. I am now 6'2" 215 lbs

I started at 10% Body fat and I’m now at 13.5% body fat.. sure I gained some fat but it comes with the territory.

How did I do it? Eat a FUCK TON of food, train your ass off, and get LOTS OF REST.

Food is the most anabolic substance known to man so don’t think you can put on muscle without eating lots.

For supplements I take Whey protein, creatine, glutamine, and a multi vitamin. The rest comes from good clean food.

I now eat close to 4500 calories a day in order to gain weight (I’m a hard gainer). With a 30% protein, 40% carbs, and 30% fat. I’m shoving food in my face as I type this.

I lift weights 3 times a week and I'll do HIIT cardio 2 times a week and I might do some regular low impact cardio 1-2 times a week depending how I feel.

Squats and dead lifts are your friend

[Minrott]

If you're trying to gain weight, aside from the diet advice given here, you will probably get better results if you alter your training regimen a little bit. For example, when working the larger muscles of your body, pecs, hams, quads, do fewer reps at higher resistence. Burning out large muscle groups with high rep exercises requires higher amounts of caloric intake to be burned up as energy, rather than being used in the muscle rebuilding process during your day off.

[Zanchief]

eat well exercise regularly die anyway

Much wisdom.