Fitness And Nutrition General

I dont exactly wanna spend half my day in the gym,although I do wanna start swimming again . And considering what i want the end product a long way down the line to be,ill be needed to do both seperately anyways
And chicken is the best! I eat it 5 or 6 times a day :D

My palate can't handle that- I need red meat!

guess its in my favour that its my favourite meat then. I do also have 2 grilled steaks a week as well. Usually every 3 days. And a cheat meal at sunday dinner now,as recommended by a bunch of people here

Eat a horse.

Can I eat Junk Food/Fast Food and Get ripped???



Common sense, but I still see a lot of people mimic other people's dietseating habits thinking they'll achieve the exact same results. So thought I'd repost.

Also for those that keep track of their sets/reps using their iphone/android. I found something a lot better than GymNotebook.

It's called Jefit. It's free it allows you to customize workouts online and it syncs them to your device. Your lifts is also synced back to the website. Also keeps track of BF%, weight, and measurements for progress.

Here's a screenshot

Any noticeable diff? Probably early to ask, but hoping to pick up some newbie gains from never hitting calves at all to hitting them twice a week.

6-7 weeks in for twice a week, add another 2-3 for once a week prior to that

The def. is noticeable, I can't really discern a size difference though, but it could just be the pics. Then again who wants popeye calves anyway :P . Though, keeping them in top shape is good for sprinting since you run on your toes. I only really do calf raises during leg day to keep them in shape, and it works for me. If you wanna get crazy and try something advanced, jump squats are good too. If you've never tried them before use a light weight to get your form down. you basically just do a normal squat (or box squat, or atg squat) and begin pushing up fast at the bottom of the lift and jump at the top of the lift and once you land slowly bring the weight back down to the bottom. It should be one fluid motion.

I've done jump squats, usually with 135 lbs as my warmup for my back squats, but lately I've swapped that up to front squats to hit my core as well

Question

Trying to lose quite a bit of weight that I gained over fall semester and winter break so I started going to the gym to work out this past week. Workout consisted of 50 pushups, squats, situps and 5k run. I haven't really worked out before so my body was unbelievably sore the day after that I couldn't do the same regiment. Is there something that I can do about that?

Keep doing it. Gotta work through that initial soreness. Also, to me that seems like quite a bit of running to start off with. I can't run everyday, calves seem to need extra rest the older i get. I would recommend mixing in some other type of cardio just to keep it interesting for yourself. You will get results quick if you are just beginning and results are addictive. The trick is getting yourself to stick with it long enough to see those results. I promise you it won't take long though. Drag yourself there for two weeks and you won't regret it.

A nice long walk is good cardio. Don't underestimate the calories you burn in a casual 40 minutes with your favorite music on. Walking was how I began to get back into shape after years or being a lazy ***.

Make sure the day after a workout to keep active, it's the best way to avoid DOMS(Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness)

That's a lot of work for a first workout. It's not an amount I'm opposed to, but you will likely need to take 1-2 days off with proper rest/diet to recover well enough to do it again. You will be able to though, it just won't seem like it and it will be harder.

Lots of this.

If you get really sore after your workout, make sure to go do something, even if it's a quick mile run or something. If you just sit there thinking "***, I'm sore, I don't want to move" you're going to stay sore much longer.

I'd also (if you're trying to build muscle don't listen to this, you probably wouldn't want to get used to a routine) switch up workout days... like run 5k one day, next day work your upper body, next day work legs, next day run 5k, etc. Especially if you're working/have class/whatever, doing something (even if it's quick) every day helps. Also make sure you're working out at least twice a week, otherwise you're going to lose whatever you gained. Even if you're really busy one week, just get in there and do something for 45 minutes.

And... if you're trying to lose weight, working out really isn't enough. You're going to have to watch what you're eating. That doesn't always mean eating incredibly healthy (that's not me saying to go eat like ***and you'll still lose weight)... it just means making sure you don't eat more than you're burning off.

For the soreness I'd recommend

Vitamin C 3000-5000mg daily.
Men's Multivitamin
Fish or Flax Oil (doesn't matter which aim for 2000-3000mg daily).

If your diet is on-key you really don't need these to help out with immune system.

Like Rearden said that is a lot to do if you haven't workout in some time. The soreness is your friend :) Try taking hot showers then switching the temperature to cold that also helps me when I'm super sore.

Thanks for the tips guys, ran (ok i drove) to GNC and got some Men's Multivitamin and some fish oil, and I'm probably gonna do that regiment for one day and do some light cardio for the following two and repeat. Trying to lose some of the fat before working on the body building.

I don't think doing front jump squats would be the best idea. Sounds painful and a good risk to drop the weight unless you are using a tool. Lunges are good for stabilization/core too. If you want to add in some core work on back day, you can do some Romanian deadlifts.


@althyk

That's delayed onset muscle soreness - or DOMS. Those supplements might help, but rest is going to help most. The supplements that would help most is protein, and BCAAs (load up on them). Eventually it will take more and more work for your muscles to get sore as the adapt to the trauma you are putting them through. One thing to be careful of is overtraining, which can have the opposite effect and put you into a catabolic state which can lead to muscle loss.

I didn't recommend BCAAs because I think its just a waste of money for him. He's not at that point yet. He's trying to loose weight mainly and he's not doing any heavy lifting from I can see.

Vitamin C will help with muscle repair ask any builder. It helps with immune system. Every builder knows immune system is key to the repair process.What Is Vitamin C Who Needs It? - Bodybuilding.com.

Using Fats to aid recovery - bodybuilding.com Good article explaining how fatty acids EPA's assist in muscle recovery.

What would you recommend for leg/lower body workout if squats and lunges are not an option? No heavy weights either, well, I guess not any weights worth mentioning by the scale of all you bodybuilders. ;) I got a gym plan from physical therapist using approx 20 pounds weights (10 kg, the minimum the gym machines had), but I kept passing out the moment I got home, sleeping the whole day and barely being able to move the next 2-3 days (if it wasn't obvious enough, I'm chronically ill, but I'd like to do what I can to be in better shape).

Now I work with gymstick, cycling through the workout programs throughout the week (http://gymstick.net/index.php?menu=16), but my knees keep giving way with squats and lunges after only a few reps. :(

As reference: 30 year old, female, about normal weight (could lose a couple pounds according to the BMI, but I look slim, and lately with diet changes I've gained weight while getting slimmer, so go figure).

Sharain, do you have access to a pool? Treading water in the deep end can really work out your legs as does walking laps in the shallow end.

Water would work, a weighted jacket while running, or climbing steep stairs.


@bacon I wasn't knocking those supplements, I take them too and they help. I think BCAAs are underrated and have helped me tremendously with doms. and without enough protein, you simply wont grow.

I would like to put some input of some of people's concern regarding health and nutrition.

I've been a health and gym junky since the summer of 2006(16years old) and I am still going strong. As well as a professional boxer and a street fighter for years.(professional boxer for 9 years) and a street fighter for 3 years.

Also, I've helped a lot of men and women reach there goals over the years so if anyone needs advice, you can send me a PM.

On topic:

Growing needs more carbs, not protein. Think of it this way; Protein gives your muscles that lean look and full body composure, as for carbs, it gives you SIZE and that extra push you want in your daily life such as working out, working, and everything else. Basically what you need is a mixture of both of them to have a complete body. Ignore one, and your body collapses.

And for everyone out here who wants to do the same workout as The Rock or any professional athlete's. But that's just wrong. Those exercise routine's are done by professionals or people with experience and already have a built body. It is never meant to be done for starters or novice athlete's. Those kind of people should just stick to the basics until they get the feeling of the gym and working out 5-6 days a week and having a fix schedule.

As for the diet schedule. A person can't be on a diet for months and months(I know people who have been on a diet for YEARS), in fact, people should schedule a ON season and a OFF season and decide when do they wanna bulk up or lean up. As for the people who wanna train casually, should just aim for eating healthy overall and quit the junk food, soda's and etc...

Edit: Another tip would be is to stay away from "machines" and to stick to free weights and bars. Machines are used for toning that specific muscle, nothing more.

Calves and forearms should NEVER be ignored, because trust me, it does make a difference when you give it that extra attention.

quick question. How long should you wait after eating should you work out? Does it depend what you are doing or is it about the same for all? Today i was doing some interval training and even though i had eaten 1.5 hours earlier i was burping and my stomach felt a bit tight. Any suggestions? Anything i should take or eat that might help with it? whats your general rule about it?

Personally i eat a medium sized meal around an hour before i go workout. Generally i hear everywhere between 45 mins and 2 hours. I dont know how right or wrong that is though

Im sure its down to your metabolism + what you eat

A lot of misleading and/or flat out wrong statements there. carbs are important yes, but they do not lead to muscle growth. I somewhat agree with the on/off diet, but your diet should always suit your goals - IE if you want to gain mass, more muscles etc. you need to take in more calories (especially protein) than you are spending to workout on. Also staying away from junk and soda especially is an absolute must (I switched to cherry coke zero and haven't looked back since). I do think that free weights are best (goes along with my no smith machine mantra) but barbells and machines aren't necessarily terrible and many times the only thing available. Cable machines are still way better than a smith machine, which I have said before can actually promote injury.

Forearms especially as they help with shrugs, deadlifts and curls. Otherwise you have to use a strap. I do grip work but I still have to use a strap because i just can't hold on to 405 without slipping.

Where on earth did you pick up this piece of information.

Don't get me wrong, I'm against machines as primary movements, and even then, only use a handful of them as secondary, or even tertiary movements (like after weighted pull ups, I may do a lat pull down, or after dumbbell bench and barbell bench, may do machine bench, etc.), and would under no circumstance recommend any machine as a primary movement, but the toning muscle thing is just 100% off base.


Carbs are good because you need them as an energy source, and those no carb diets, will use proteins as an energy source when you don't have any carbs to pull from. That said, it's not carbs that are giving you size @.@ and again w/ the lean thing, 100% wrong. Proteins are great for you know, protein synthesis. When your muscle fibers are repairing from the damage you did to it.

I still come to the same general conclusion, get both carbs and proteins, but entirely for a different reason


With this specific example, it's because he's using steroids, not because he's already built. Roids give you insane proteins synthesis, so your recovery is so much faster and you can work longer as well. Which is why natural people can never come to a competing level with people on roids (who are actually putting in effort to get the full use of them)

To expound on that, overhead cable curls are one of my favorite lifts.

carbs are necessary, but a lack of them will cause catobolizm of your protein and can negate muscle growth.

Steroids are a whole different animal and probably shouldn't be discussed in an open forum. you can shoot me a pm with any questions for role playing purposes if you desire. Though its a huge jump from natural training and can possibly wreck your body if done incorrectly.

I got all weirded out earlier today when Rafaras made his post,I questioned almost everything I had learned about gaining/losing muscle/size/weight then I realized the world cant be wrong and it must just be him. I had come up with a semi elaborate plan to PM to tiger since he's the OP about some basics of everything but the replies to Rafaras' post made me realize its not needed,because others are actually aware of the right things.

On topic,the way I understand it (these may be wrong,and if so please correct me so I learn and to help others) is this...

Calories are the main part of the "weight" you put on when eating/drinking,since 3500 calories = 1 pound of fat.This is gauged for weight loss with a caloric deficit, and also used in creating muscle size when combined with proper workouts.

Carbs are essentially your body's main source of fuel/energy to keep you going. I'm not exactly sure how they translate for gaining weight/muscle but I'd assume too many carbs that aren't burned off are bad and add to weight somehow?

Protein (in the main sense of this forum) is mainly designed for your muscles and helping them recover and repair from your workout.


Now onto my own part~

Come the start of march my workout will be ending and I'll be moving to a proper bulking phase.I've been looking around and asking around here/RT.But I just have a quick few more questions.

Compound or isolated? Assuming compound. And if so,how many groups? Or full body?

Low reps with heavy weight is the way to go for bulking right?

Main concern is diet. I know I have to eat alot more calories than I'm burning off (according to the calculator someone on here provided I'm using around 3500 a day) and was looking for suggestions/recommendations.

My current meal plan is grilled chicken and brown rice 5-6 times a day.From the infomation I've found it looks like I'd be moving to mostly mashed potatoes instead of rice with meals,some butter and gravy,with several servings of mashed or baked potatoes during the day to add additional calories.Would anyone recommend this as a sound bulking diet? Or could give me recommendations maybe

Remember to do the right exercises for building muscle, it's equally as important if not more than calorie intake. Low reps, slow movements, heavy weights.