I take Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard 100% whey protein after my workouts. Sal pointed it to me and it's great stuff for the price.

I ran today using my roommate's heart rate monitor. It was kind of interesting to know my heart rate but I don't see much use in training with one. At a 7 min 45 second mile pace my heart rate was pretty stable at 155 on flat ground. I got as high as 175 after running up a steep hill for two minutes. I lifted lower body this morning before my run. I increased squats to 4 sets of 8 at 275lbs. Does anyone use a towel on their neck to prevent it from hurting your neck? I'm looking for a way to prevent the bar from hurting my neck.

It doesn't have a ton of the junk (fillers, sweeteners, fat) that most protein products contain. When I'm done with this tub, I might look into something else. I'm thinking of a whey/creatine combo.



Why is the bar hurting your neck? The bar shouldn't be supported by your neck, it's supported by the upper portion of your back. Post a vid of your setup and form.

that's pretty big weight. at my gym they have this padded thing you can wrap around the bar and it attaches to itself via velcro. you can maybe buy one and bring it to the gym?

I take an Ultimate Nutrition product called iso sensation 93. mixes with water, i 3 scoop it and shake it up. Bam! it's ready to drink. very light, it's almost like drinking water. I can get 90g's of protein this way. I do at least 6 scoops a day sometimes 9.

Have you looked into Animal Stak? I'm thinking of getting some.

I guess I don't mean my neck. I'm talking about the upper portion of my back. My c3/c4 vertebrae stick out a little bit and that's what hurts.


That's a good idea about the padding. I used to use one at my high school gym but forgot about it.

I've heard of Animal Stak. I haven't looked into it much but isn't it basically an pre workout energy boost? I've been going with 2-3 cups of coffee and that seems to be working fine for me.

I just opened up a membership on Thursday and am wondering what is the best way to burn fat? Jogged for 30 minutes on Thurs, then about an hr today. Also, I took a protein shake afterwards, followed by a small lo-carb personal veggie pizza from work.

Assuming I jog for about an hr 4-5 times a week and limit my calorie in-take, how long would it take to lose 10 lbs?



*** FYI - 23 yrs old, 5, 10" 192 lbs ***

Thanks

You'd be much better served doing interval training. Sprints are better than jogging.

But if you jog for an hour 4 times a week, your body will be a turbo-furnace, and you'll be pretty much unable to keep weight on. Seriously, you'll drop 10 pounds in 2 weeks max, and that's if you eat the same way, and aren't gaining any weight right now.

I did mix in some sprinting in my 4.0 speed walk and felt more of a burn. What interval routine would you suggest?

When I ran (long ago, before I relied upon cigarettes and self-loathing), I would run as many 200s as I could, with 30 second to 60 second breaks in between. Your workout will be done faster, and you will be able to eat whatever you want and never gain an ounce. If you ran 10 200s a day, you'd be a fucking machine. And thin.

Had BJJ for an hour this morning, rolled for a while and was pretty spent at the end.

Losing weight is all about calories in calories out. 3,500 calories is a pound so to lose a pound a week you need to have a 500 calorie deficit each day. They say you can safely lose 2 pounds a week so it will take you 5 weeks to lose 10 pounds.

Nice work on starting to work out. That's the easy part. The hardest part is to continue to work out after you've been going a few weeks.

Well, it's that simple, but it's also not. There are lots of ways to create that calorie deficit. You can starve yourself -- in which case your body will go into starvation mode, store fat, and burn muscle. The best way to do it? Eat 5-7 small, healthy meals a day (call it 400 calories/meal on average), taper (more calories earlier in the day, and fewer in the evening), and make sure your body is getting the nutrients it needs when it needs them (sugars after workouts; protein at the right times; fewer carbs in the evening), while finding other ways to burn more calories than you consume. The best way is to get your metabolism cooking? High-intensity weight training for the big muscle groups (muscle burns calories), and interval training.

Not all weight loss is the same.

Does anybody in here take fish oil?

I used to take Omega 3 gel capsules, but then I adopted a very Inuit-like diet with lots of fish.

Yeah I have had stints in the past but this time I'm motivated to get in shape for this summer. So basically the first 5-10 pounds are easy to shed but beyond that it takes some commitment. Now assuming I'm creating a 500 calorie deficit via diet, cardio / weight lifting will enhance the process, no?

@ tactical - rather than waste your precious self-loathing time, I'll google 200's

Half-a-lap on a track. It's about 1/8 of a mile.

My gym is located in a strip mall, so obv there is no track. Rather not sprint around my neighborhood.

Googles 'interval cardio training'...

You can do HIIT on a treadmill, bicycle, rower. (I don't want to say elliptical because that has no practical application to real life)

I'm confused. You can't sprint on whatever surface you jog on?

And you can't do sprints in the neighborhood?

And there's... no local track or field or deserted parking lot in the area?

Meh @ padding, as you increase shoulder flexibility you'll be able to position the bar lower and lower. Your upper back should be pulled back and held in extension such that the bar rests on your deltoids? (Somebody help me there). Also, 275 is super sick, what's your depth like?


I do.

for hockey I suggest side lunges with body weight, dumbbells or a barbell. This is the best general form description; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCz6XNWe8k4 an example with not as proper form in regard to foot placement with dumbbells; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzhEkzoTcZ4 an a example with a barbell, again feet placement not as good as first video; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WuBVD_I-fwU btw this is a bread and butter exercise for pro teams.

For grip strength, upper body strength, balance and stick handling I suggest macebell training; http://www.scientificwrestling.com/products/item30.cfm I am ahead of the hockey club trainers with this tip.

I think you are doing too much. 40 minutes of cardio is a complete workout by itself. You need to think of your workout as a whole (cardio and exercises) and get the entire workout time around 60-40minutes. could you post me an example of your complete workout program. if you don't want to I understand.

2-3 cups of coffee is perfect for improving performance. Creatine is very safe. You of course do not need to take creatine. If you do. Take 5 grams of creatine monohydrate per day. I use twin labs creatine monohydrate. I have used German micronized creatine from Optimum Nutrtion. I just always forget to order it. So I end up just buying Twin labs product at my grocery store. The simple creatine rules are. Take it after your workout in your post workout shake I suggest this shake have 50 grams of protein and 50 grams of carbs for best results. I use 3 cups of non fat milk with 5 grams of creatine monohydrate and one scoop of metrx protein plus. you don't need to load creatine nor do you have to cycle it. it will take a few weeks to work though. You must increase your water intake when using creatine many ppl complain of feeling tired and dehydrated when they take it. That is because they are not consuming enough water. You see creatine pulls water into your muscles. so your bodies demand for water goes way up. On your non workout days you can take 5 grams of creatine with water in the morning with breakfast as your body is most prepared for nutrients first thing when you get up.

all this aside. Creatine can bloat you so if you are more concerned with slimming down than performace or size gains I would suggest not taking it.

The things I put in bold concern me. If you are interested in what I have to say could you please post your workout program. If not Please just ignore me. Off Hand my concerns are; WHy are you working out sore? When you workout you break down muscle which makes you sore. you rest and that is when the muscle rebuilds itself and gains are made. If you don't allow your body to fully rest you will overtrain and gains will slow or cease. Why are you doing exercises like pec dec and decline cabke rows? this are very detail oriented work exercises that most ppl should not do without good reason. and judging from the post I read here It seems to me your time would be best spent focusing on the compound exercise.

Supplements I take

A simple one a day mens health. I prefer Twin labs multi but I get the one a day on sale at costco. and yes capsules are superior to tablets
Vitamin E sofgell 400 I.U.
Twin labs V itamin B-100 a B complex. I avoid the sun so this helps with B vitamin deprivation as well as energy for my workouts.
500mg vitamin C
FisH Oil soft gels. I take enough to get 3 grams EPA and DHA a day. The Epa and Dha are the things that matter in fish oils.
Glucosamine and Chondritin. I have Plantar facitis and this helps relieve the pain.
5 grams of Cretaine monhydrate
I use a scoop of Metrx protein plus a day.. I mix this with 3 cups of non fat milk and my creatine.

a simple multi is really enough. They will do everything to convince you other wise but a simple multi truly will meet your needs. Whey protein is excellent after a workout. Casein protein is superior at night or any time that isn't after a workout. Non fat milk Does it all. Whey is a fast absorbing protein being adsorbed in a few hours so the availability of this protein is short term. Which is why it is good post workout. Casein protein takes several hours to absorb so it has long term availability to the body for use which is why it is wonderful before bedtime. Casein and whey come from milk which has a perfect balance of both whey and casein.

Milk; http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/catmilk.htm

I do. I make sure I get 3 grams of EPA and DHA a day.

Is this about lat pull down form?

Squats, and Grinder is pretty right on.

I take Salba which contains omega 3's, protein, fibre and antioxidants. It's also a bit filling so I eat slightly less.
I'm thinking of just taking omega 3 capsules though because it's the main thing that's good for you in the salba. omega 3's generally improve your cardiovascular health and may have a anticancer effect.



275 is super sick. my legs are so weak. I only squat 135 lol. my thighs go to parallel though and in my defense I've only just started doing squats about 2 weeks ago.
I find the padding really helps. The thick bar just hurts the soft tissue it rests on.



I usually don't do pec dec and cable rows but since my right shoulder was sore, I didn't want to dumbell presses or inclines that I usually do, so I just did light weight on the pec deck and cables. better than doing nothing i was thinking. My shoulder feels better now. Also, Serge Hubret saids its fine to workout with sore muscles which I think you were driving at but it wasn't really the typical soreness that I was getting. I think I strained my shoulder too much from benching too heavy (well for me anyway) lightweight for socalpoker

Anyways, don't have time to google it right now so can you tell me what you take vitamin e, b and fish oils for?

Thx for your advice.

If you're taking multi-vitamins, may I suggest replacing them with a Superfood?

By depth do you mean how far down do I go? I get almost down to 90 degrees. I don't make it all the way down just because I'm a little worried about my legs/back giving out. I probably am two to three inches from 90. I'll working on finding the correct spot to but the bar. I guess I'll just have to find the perfect spot between the vertebrae to rest it.

I don't like using any support equipment unless absolutely necessary and I never recommend it, but if its really a problem, I've seen a few people in my gym using these:

http://www.amazon.com/Manta-Ray-Squat-Harn...t/dp/B0017DGBY8

Squat
1x5x205
1x5x225
1x5x275
1x5x295
1x5x315 (Last few reps were meh)

Bench
1x5x185
1x5x205
1x5x225
1x5x245
1x3x275

Deadlift
1x5x205
1x5x225
1x5x275
1x5x315
1x5x345

30 Min HIIT
Hanging Leg Raises

I felt really great after this workout.

I'll just pull up my panties and deal with it. In highschool I never had this problem. I'll see what happens Monday when I lift legs next.

Today is my off day and I'm definitely enjoying it. I'm watching hockey now while attempting to write a paper, and tonight I'm going to a blue grass concert at a biker bar. The band is called Trampled by Turtles. I don't really like their music but the concerts are really fun if that makes sense. I plan on drinking but not to much that I can't work out tomorrow.

One of the articles I viewed suggested doing the HIIT on a variety of machines. I'll switch from the treadmill / step-machine etc.
Laziness prevents me from going to a park to do sprints, especially when I'm paying for a gym membership.

i had a decent workout today. Dropped off my car to get my summer tires put on and ran home. Only 2.5k and did it in 13 min. I was slightly downhill though.
ate lunch, rested a bit then went to the gym to do bench, deadlifts and tricep work. I just started deadlifts last week. They are just super tiring to do. Still don't know what weight I feel comfortable doing. I can deadlift 225 for reps (about 8 i think-I could have done more but just felt tired, it's a weird feeling, it's like the feeling after a superset, it's not that I can't really do another one but it's so painful to do that next rep), I tried 275 for one rep and was able to do it but our gym floor isn't padded and it was too heavy for me to drop quietly. I didn't just let go, I let it down while still gripping the bar but I guess I went down faster than I thought and it made some noise as it hit the floor. Think I'll stick with 225 for now. Going to try squats again tomorrow, hopefully I can add a little bit of weight. So weak with that for some reason. at 135 now. ugh.

So I really did just join a gym today.

We let our one in the building go after December and had been trying to eat better, but it's hard to stick to that consistently.

Signed up at the Y by me. They pretty much have everything, so I'm excited. Worked out for the first time in awhile today. Man I'm in bad shape.

Tried a basic HIIT treadmill routine and it nearly caused me to hurl. Still ran for about an hour all told, but I've decided my 1-pack a week habit & exercise can not co-exist. Yes, I am officially quitting smoking.

The work out was great overall.

This is the first time I've done that much cardio, along with a work out. I'm just getting back to the gym and was full of energy that day.

Standard for me would be a good stretching, a 10 min warm up on the bike, a weight work out, then stretch again.

On days that I do 40+ mins on the bike, I will stretch, do my bike thing, do some ab work, then stretch to finish.



This week, I plan to write down my weight work out so I can report it. I honestly don't know that much about it all, so I'm going to be open for sugestions.

On my way to work this morning, I realized I have roughly four weeks left before the race. I'm happy with the progress I've made so it's not really worry time or anything, but it sort of snuck up in the past month or so. I think I might end the week with a "long" run (5 miles or so) to test the waters.

The sprint triathlon is this weekend. We went to the course and did the biking and the running. I think I am ready for this albeit I am kind of nervous because I have never done anything like this before. I did find that trying to do this on a MTN bike sucks. I will probably rent a road bike for the race. Then if i find I like the format, i might end up investing in a good road bike.

There's no way to avoid the nerves before doing something like this for the first time. It's natural and, in my experience, the actual race is never as bad as you make it out to be in your head.


And, yes, mountain bikes suck hard for races. I've only ever done a duathlon and I HATED it because my bike was so awful.

More BJJ later on today, that will probably be sufficient for cardio. If I can lift my arms, I'll probably do some barbell work.

Went 4.8 miles on the treadmill this morning, a combination of running at different speeds and walking. I figure I ran for around 4 of those miles in about the 6.5-7mph range.

Fortunately for my run tonight and unfortunately for my sanity, I've had a very frustrating day of work. This will lead to me running like a crazy person tonight (assuming crazy people run really hard for a long time because they don't realize how much it sucks).

On a related note, fuck people. Pretty much all of them.

Squat:
3x5x145

Overhead Press:
1x5x75
1x3x75
1x0x85

Pull ups:
1x4.5
1x3
1x2

So I rented a road bike for the triathlon. I think this will make it a much more enjoyable experience!

Also, not sure if any one here has seen this but my friend told me about this cool website: www.mapmyrun.com

If you are wondering the distance and incline of your run, you can map it all out using google maps. I mapped the trail run that I do and it is 4.21 miles with 426 ft of elevation change. I also figured out a nice 3 mile jog around my neighborhood.

Your Welcome.

Did bench, deadlifts, incline presses, dips and tricep pulldowns today.

I tried deadlifting 315 for one rep for the first time, just because I was curious to see if I could do it. I did one rep but it was really heavy for me. was doing reps with 225. socalpoker is repping with 345? so sick.

I've been eating like crap the past 3 days. bbq sat and sun. had at least 6 coronas sun, 6 coronas fri night, and popeye's chicken tonight + oreo cookies afterwards. i need to go to eataholics anonymous.

People should piss me off at work more often.

5.0 miles, 34:52.

I'm fairly modest (which is one of the many reasons I'm awesome), but I have to say I'm very, very pleased with that. I felt like I could finish out a 10k at the pace I ended on tonight.

Definitely a good night.

ur a sick runner.

10k in prob under 45 min?

how tall are you and what's ur weight if you don't mind me asking? I'm 6 feet and about 210 lbs. too heavy to be a good long distance runner I think.

Thanks, dude. I've never considered myself a "good" runner, but I definitely can motivate myself enough to bust my ass when I set a goal and see progress.

I'm about 5'11" and around 170 pounds. I've been going pretty hard since January and I think I've lost about 20 pounds so that has helped a lot. Really, though, the thing that makes me stick with it is setting a reasonable goal for the next month, getting there, and then looking back to see where I'm at compared to 4 weeks/8 weeks/etc ago.

I take 400 I.U. Of vitamin E For the weirdest of reasons. I have found taking it makes my skin feel better and makes my poops smoother and easier to uh clean up...) I would not generally recommend E supplementation to others. I also don't feel selenium that is often used with E is safe for supplementation.

I take B complex for general energy. I avoid the sun so B synthesis is something I lack.

I take 3 grams combined "Epa & Dha" (which are the important things in the fish oil) for all the popular reasons such as General Heart health, General Brain Health, Cholesterol, etc...etc...there are just to many positive studies to currently avoid taking it.