Gym/Exercise Thread

[crokin]

It's a "Designer Steroid" which is 100% legal.
They have a recommended cycle which includes other supplements in the "stack" to make sure you are ok.

I've been tempted to, but never have actually gone through.

Yes, I realize they are completely legal to buy and sell. My point is that they are Anabolic Steroids. Make no mistake about it, when you are taking these you are taking Anabolic Steroids. Their legal status does not change what they actually are. The same drugs like Andro and such that were legal 5 years ago or so are now just as illegal as every other Anabolic Steroid. This one will be illegal as well someday. Look, I'm not saying you shouldn't take it, but don't kid yourself about what these really are because of some legal loophole. They are Anabolic Steroids, period.

1. I don't take
2. I thought there were other differences besides being "legal" or "ill-legal"

[The Snapshot]

This is my current favorite subject so watch out for post length. My wife is annoyed because it is pretty much all I talk about lately. I have lost 75 lbs since July 4 via diet and exercise. (Down to 230 from 305.) I have got some more pounds to go, how many depends really on how I feel and look. Lifting weights regularly makes it hard for me to guess how much I should weigh because I do carry some muscle weight. As someone else said diet is far more important when it comes to losing weight unless you are working out at high intensity for a lot of hours.

My diet plan is simple; 300-500-700 + one workout snack. If it isn’t obvious those numbers are calories per meal breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I do have splurge days where I don’t count calories and let “the big fat guy” inside me come out. I have an odd all or nothing personality so I don’t recommend this approach unless you have a similar personality. I get pretty damn hungry sometimes.

I have consistently lifted three days per week and have alternated routines quite regularly. I have not gained a shred of strength over the last six months most likely due to the meager diet. However, I have not lost strength either. I guess when I say I have not gained strength I should mention that this pertains to common exercises like squats, bench press, curls, etc. I have done some new things for the abs and back that probably have made those areas stronger. My current lifting routine is doing three cycles of 6 to 8 exercises three days a week with 6 to 8 reps for each exercise. I only take about 30 second between each exercise with a few minutes between each cycle. Arms/Shoulders are one day, Chest/Back one day, and Legs/Abs another day. A previous workout included stair climbing between sets.

When I first started I couldn’t do much cardio. I started with 15 minutes of stair climbing right in my house and then added length to it gradually until I got to 40 minutes. Then I started doing intervals of stair jogging. It was very convenient, but not exactly good for the carpets. I kept adding challenges and started using the cardio equipment at my work gym. I won’t bore you with the details. I got a treadmill for Christmas. Starting last week I am running 3 miles in 32 minutes 5 days a week. Then on weekends I am doing 2 miles of walking on an incline with a 20 lbs weight vest on.

I will probably have to cut back soon. My knees have been giving me problems, but I am trying to keep a pace that will allow me to be less than 200lbs at the beginning of May. I am not sure if I will make it, but I do plan to keep pushing for it.

This is impressive Tluke. The only counsel I would offer to anyone looking at losing a lot of weight is to do so at a pace that you can maintain as a lifestyle. If you can maintain the 300/500/700 for the long haul, and also keep a workout schedule close to the current one then you are golden. I think the problem with weight-centric goals with a time target too is that you work harder to get there than you can maintain - and what you really want is a weight that you can live at for good (I assume this is what you want).

Can you hit your target weight in May as a result of too high a demand on your body, without ending up injured and unable to maintain it.

I am lucky that weight was never a big issue for me, and that I have kept a lifestyle focus that has ensured that it hopefully never will be. If you are a big guy, then enjoy it and focus on fitness. The rest will take care of itself and you can remain a big, fit guy - whatever weight that is.

Again, I can't say I have walked in your shoes, but I have been into fitness and sports for close to 35 years now - but never with a glaring intensity. It's just something I do and find it relaxing and rewarding. I have seen a lot of folks drop a lot of weight and struggle to stay there, because it is hard to integrate the deprivation and intense excercise into an ever changing lifestyle with work in the mix too.

[PensFanInDC]

Snaphot is on to something. I have really changed nothing about my diet but I am now doing 3-4 really tough workouts a week and I've lost 8 pounds in 3 weeks. I understand that this will not last and I will eventually have to do something about my diet.

[steelhammer]

It's a "Designer Steroid" which is 100% legal.
They have a recommended cycle which includes other supplements in the "stack" to make sure you are ok.

I've been tempted to, but never have actually gone through.

Yes, I realize they are completely legal to buy and sell. My point is that they are Anabolic Steroids. Make no mistake about it, when you are taking these you are taking Anabolic Steroids. Their legal status does not change what they actually are. The same drugs like Andro and such that were legal 5 years ago or so are now just as illegal as every other Anabolic Steroid. This one will be illegal as well someday. Look, I'm not saying you shouldn't take it, but don't kid yourself about what these really are because of some legal loophole. They are Anabolic Steroids, period.

1. I don't take
2. I thought there were other differences besides being "legal" or "ill-legal"

The only difference is that they take a normal steroid compound and alter it slightly to make it technically a different compound and thus legal. When you consume it, it coverts back into the illegal steroid compound and at that point it is exactly the same in terms of its chemical compound, its effect and its side effects. This particular compound is methylated and those are the strongest steroids (biggest side effects). Like I said, if you decide to take it someday, research the compound and treat it the same as taking any other Anabolic Steroid.

[crokin]

SH....are you a PT? How do you know all this?

[tluke53]

Thats awesome dude!

Question: Does wearing a weight belt on a treadmill do anything?

Thanks,

I think it makes your legs work a little harder in much the same way that a person 20 lbs heavier would work a little harder. What is odd for me is that since it was probably only a few months ago that I had those 20 lbs on my body, I wonder if the muscle to support it are still somewhat present. Meaning, I may be more used to it than someone not in the process of losing weight. I definitely notice it though versus not wearing it. It’s also good for push-ups, dips, squats, lunges and other body weight exercises. You can’t use it for sit-ups though. If I want to add weight for those I try to hold a plate against my chest.

[The Snapshot]

Snaphot is on to something. I have really changed nothing about my diet but I am now doing 3-4 really tough workouts a week and I've lost 8 pounds in 3 weeks. I understand that this will not last and I will eventually have to do something about my diet.

I generally stay in a 5 lb range of weight and have for years. It is more about what weight you will be with a diet you can live with (obviously trying to eat as healthy as you can without starvation) and then at an excercise level you can maintain.

I think the weight/time combined goals end up in the "finish line" effect, afterwhich I've seen a lot of folks go right back.

Consider whether you can actually live forever on P90X. It isn't possible, expecially if you have leave your house and work, eat out, entertain, etc. I'm not saying it doesn't work, but you have to maintain the results. Eventually every "program" ends in your life.

Do you become that guy that obsessively and almost unconsciously details every morsel of food, sets and reps they have done. Nobody likes you. There is so much food and good life to enjoy. The trick is making excercise part of that lifestyle where you can enjoy life. Being old, I know a lot of broken down excercise "fanatics". They were the fittest guys in their 20s, they were still amazingly fit in their early 30s and then life/work/family smacked them in the mouth. They are not so fit in their late 30s and 40s, and in their 50s are aging pretty hard.

I'm like the tortoise. I have kept more of my fastball than they have, even though they once could bring the heat.

[mac5155]

Thats awesome dude!

Question: Does wearing a weight belt on a treadmill do anything?

Thanks,

I think it makes your legs work a little harder in much the same way that a person 20 lbs heavier would work a little harder. What is odd for me is that since it was probably only a few months ago that I had those 20 lbs on my body, I wonder if the muscle to support it are still somewhat present. Meaning, I may be more used to it than someone not in the process of losing weight. I definitely notice it though versus not wearing it. It’s also good for push-ups, dips, squats, lunges and other body weight exercises. You can’t use it for sit-ups though. If I want to add weight for those I try to hold a plate against my chest.

Don't underestimate a medicine ball w/ partner (or trampoline) for doing situps.

[tluke53]

This is my current favorite subject so watch out for post length. My wife is annoyed because it is pretty much all I talk about lately. I have lost 75 lbs since July 4 via diet and exercise. (Down to 230 from 305.) I have got some more pounds to go, how many depends really on how I feel and look. Lifting weights regularly makes it hard for me to guess how much I should weigh because I do carry some muscle weight. As someone else said diet is far more important when it comes to losing weight unless you are working out at high intensity for a lot of hours.

My diet plan is simple; 300-500-700 + one workout snack. If it isn’t obvious those numbers are calories per meal breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I do have splurge days where I don’t count calories and let “the big fat guy” inside me come out. I have an odd all or nothing personality so I don’t recommend this approach unless you have a similar personality. I get pretty damn hungry sometimes.

I have consistently lifted three days per week and have alternated routines quite regularly. I have not gained a shred of strength over the last six months most likely due to the meager diet. However, I have not lost strength either. I guess when I say I have not gained strength I should mention that this pertains to common exercises like squats, bench press, curls, etc. I have done some new things for the abs and back that probably have made those areas stronger. My current lifting routine is doing three cycles of 6 to 8 exercises three days a week with 6 to 8 reps for each exercise. I only take about 30 second between each exercise with a few minutes between each cycle. Arms/Shoulders are one day, Chest/Back one day, and Legs/Abs another day. A previous workout included stair climbing between sets.

When I first started I couldn’t do much cardio. I started with 15 minutes of stair climbing right in my house and then added length to it gradually until I got to 40 minutes. Then I started doing intervals of stair jogging. It was very convenient, but not exactly good for the carpets. I kept adding challenges and started using the cardio equipment at my work gym. I won’t bore you with the details. I got a treadmill for Christmas. Starting last week I am running 3 miles in 32 minutes 5 days a week. Then on weekends I am doing 2 miles of walking on an incline with a 20 lbs weight vest on.

I will probably have to cut back soon. My knees have been giving me problems, but I am trying to keep a pace that will allow me to be less than 200lbs at the beginning of May. I am not sure if I will make it, but I do plan to keep pushing for it.

This is impressive Tluke. The only counsel I would offer to anyone looking at losing a lot of weight is to do so at a pace that you can maintain as a lifestyle. If you can maintain the 300/500/700 for the long haul, and also keep a workout schedule close to the current one then you are golden. I think the problem with weight-centric goals with a time target too is that you work harder to get there than you can maintain - and what you really want is a weight that you can live at for good (I assume this is what you want).

Can you hit your target weight in May as a result of too high a demand on your body, without ending up injured and unable to maintain it.

I am lucky that weight was never a big issue for me, and that I have kept a lifestyle focus that has ensured that it hopefully never will be. If you are a big guy, then enjoy it and focus on fitness. The rest will take care of itself and you can remain a big, fit guy - whatever weight that is.

Again, I can't say I have walked in your shoes, but I have been into fitness and sports for close to 35 years now - but never with a glaring intensity. It's just something I do and find it relaxing and rewarding. I have seen a lot of folks drop a lot of weight and struggle to stay there, because it is hard to integrate the deprivation and intense excercise into an ever changing lifestyle with work in the mix too.

I have given this a lot of thought. Statistically speaking the odds are that I will gain it all back. That happens to many people. It happened to me once in my early 20’s. (Yes, I have done this once before.) That time I stopped carrying. I have a plan that I hope works. At some point, I am going to decide I don't want to lose any more weight. When that occurs I plan to scale back some of the things I am doing slowly. For example, I don't want to workout 7 days a week. I want to take that back to 5. I actually enjoy many of the workouts anyway so I won't cut them out of my life. I also can't live of off 1500 - 1700 calories a day forever. I plan to increase it by a small amount until I find a point where I don't lose weight anymore. I am 6' and I would like to be between 190 and 200lbs so I am guessing that my breakpoint will be somewhere between 2000 and 2300. I will tailor my diet around those numbers.

I think some people have a natural tendency to overeat and those people have to work harder than others to maintain a healthy weight. I will always have to worry about it.

[steelhammer]

SH....are you a PT? How do you know all this?

I used to be a competitive powerlifter. You pick up a lot of knowledge about drugs when you have to get drug tested for competitions. That and watching your teammates use them

[Idoit40fans]

Yeah thats the fortunate thing for me, I eat until i'm not hungry and then promptly stop. This allows me to eat constantly throughout the day, but never really gain anything. People think i'm just constantly eating and I probably do consume more food in a day than most people, but my metabolism is not goign to slow down any time soon due to my diet.

[MelicharSux]

Purchased these (http://store.nike.com/us/en_us/?l=shop, ... gid-441691) today before running.

Huge improvement over my last pair. My legs weren't dying within the first 5 minutes.

[Idoit40fans]

Only more difficult thing to do than your final set(or round of sets in the case of most of my workouts) is motivating yourself to stretch afterwards.

[crokin]

Only more difficult thing to do than your final set(or round of sets in the case of most of my workouts) is motivating yourself to stretch afterwards.

Or do abs after.

[Idoit40fans]

I mix them in.

[Troy Loney]

You should mix your strecthing in too.

Have you ever taken a yoga class or done a yoga video? You learn a lot of tough stretches that both stretch you out and work your core muscles. You can learn some stuff to substute in those stretches for the ab stuff.

[Idoit40fans]

I don't and won't do yoga. With the time I have, I can't actually make any strength gains.

[crokin]

I'm starting to think that maybe a workout cycle is, for me, good for one month only.
Last month I started a new cycle, and the results post workout were awesome.
This month, they stink.

[Idoit40fans]

You need to somewhat drastically change up the types of excercizes you're doing if you want to keep making gains.

[crokin]

You need to somewhat drastically change up the types of excercizes you're doing if you want to keep making gains.

Change as in exercises, or change as in sets/reps/weight scheme, or all?

[Idoit40fans]

exercises at the very least. I don't do it, but I know you need to if you don't want to plateau.

[crokin]

exercises at the very least. I don't do it, but I know you need to if you don't want to plateau.

This is my 7th week of doing the same workouts, with 5-10 increases week to week.
Guessing that may be the problem?

[Idoit40fans]

I'm the wrong person to ask, but i'm pretty sure the answer is yes.

[steelhammer]

You don't need to change exercises. You just need to change rep/set/rest schemes. You can't just progressively load forever. Look into periodization. Olympic lifters do the same exercises all the time and they are among the strongest people in the world. Same with people who compete in powerlifting and strongman events.


Edit: of course that assumes you are doing quality exercises. If you are doing cable crossovers and 5 different bicep curl exercises then you'll get very little out of it.

[crokin]

You don't need to change exercises. You just need to change rep/set/rest schemes. You can't just progressively load forever. Look into periodization. Olympic lifters do the same exercises all the time and they are among the strongest people in the world. Same with people who compete in powerlifting and strongman events.


Edit: of course that assumes you are doing quality exercises. If you are doing cable crossovers and 5 different bicep curl exercises then you'll get very little out of it.

Periodization......?

No, my split:

Bench Day
-Bench Press (3 sets) of 5 or 3 or 5-3-1 reps
-Incline Press (5 sets)
-Close Grip Pull-ups (5 sets)
-Seated DB Tricep Ext (5 sets)

Squat Day
-Squats (3 sets) of 5 or 3 or 5-3-1 reps
-Back Hyperext (5 sets)
-Leg Press (5 sets)
-Abs (5 sets) *If I feel like it

MP Day
-Military Press (3 sets) of 5 or 3 or 5-3-1 reps
-Dips (5 sets)
-DB Rows (5 sets)
-BB Shrugs (5 sets)

Deadlift Day
-Deadlift (3 sets) or 5 or 3 or 5-3-1 reps
-Lying Leg Curl (5 sets)
-Wide Grip Chins (5 sets)
-Abs* (same deal)