I switched up my routine again at the gym today. I dropped to three 15 minute treadmill segments[down from three 20 minute segments], added 15 minutes on an elliptical, and threw in another round of weights. I would like to slowly transfer more treadmill time over to the elliptical since it's a better workout overall and less stress on the joints. My lower leg muscles were basically pain free today except for a little bit on my first treadmill stint. I'll be sticking with this for awhile I think, without the pain I was having it has made the gym even more enjoyable.
Several of my girlie friends have jumped on the Zumba bandwagon. The Zumba craze is spreading like an epidemic in my state. Has anyone tried it? Does it actually work? Are they going to be strutting around with rock hard abs by bikini season, or am I just going to be laughing hysterically at them trying to learn the Salsa? Any feedback would be much appreciated.
Hey now, don't be saying "you." I have my own exercise "routine," thanks. You wouldn't catch me dead in any kind of aerobics class. My diet is very healthy. I know about cutting carbs. Thank you for the feedback, though.
As sad as that is, thats actually hilarious. Shaqueefa seems legit though. I've actually been looking into doing a small creatine cycle although I'm still undecided. Do you guys have any good literature on the subject? Google gives a lot of sources but not everything is reliable. Also: Turkish Getup. Holy shit, I think I'm in love.
From a response on the Oprah board: Damn I wasn't aware that estrogen was that vital in gettin my pump on. Someone there I think correctly smells a troll. Still hilarious.
I completed my undergraduate research project on creatine and muscle endurance, so I'm not an expert, but I am informed. Supplementing with creatine will give you higher energy reserves which will allow more repetitions until failure. You will look more bloated as well, that is from water retention. The strength gains are legit and the health risk is low. Creatine is naturally occurring and once your muscles are saturated with creatine, the excess is excreted in your piss; so taking more than the suggested dose doesn't lead you anywhere.
I have started cycling L-Arginine and L-Citrulline as recommended by a couple of body builders that help me train. I have noticed a major decrease in appetite and increase in energy. Anyone else have any experience with this supplement?
L-arginine breaks down to form l-citruline and nitric oxide. Nitric oxide increases blood flow and is one of the main ingredients in NoXplode which is a big pre-workout/energy supplement. I don't know the reason you're cycling both of them though.
I'm starting a workout routine again, trying to do the militaryathlete.com stuff that I posted about earlier. I'm a pretty skinny guy: 5'11", 154lbs. Today, my workout consisted of the following: Warmup: 4 rounds: 6x deadlift, bent row, clean, front squat, mil press, back squat, pushup. 75#, 85#, 95#, 95#, then a hip stretch. Workout: Work up to 1 rep max clean squat, I hit 115# work up to 1 rep max push press, I hit 115# also 8 rounds: 6 each leg 25lb kettlebell lunges, 6x 5m sprints, 10x 35# floor press, 8x tarzan pullup, 10x 25# weighted situp. All the rounds aren't timed, you just have to grind it out to finish. I was smoked after the warmup, so everything kind of went downhill and got slower and slower as I progressed. I was only able to bang out 3 of the 8 rounds of workout before I started to get light headed and called it quits. I'm going to be one sore mofo tomorrow, but this will definitely help me get my beach body back. That warmup destroys you, 4 rounds of that shit is intense. The actual workout calls for 85 95 105 115# for the warmup, but I curtailed it for my body. Also, the workout calls for 45# on the lunges, 55# on the floor press, and 45# situp (which I probably could have done). Doing the warmup, 1 rep max's, and the 3 rounds took me a little over an hour and a half.
Well, because my coach told me to. Is it pointless to cycle both? I try to read about all this shit and damn near fall asleep trying to wade through all the random and biased information. Thanks for your time.
Let's see, I'm very thin right now, like I said 5'11" 154 dripping wet. I want to get back the size and definition in my upper body that I was able to get a couple years ago when I could work out whenever I want when I weighed about 168ish. I plan on packing on a few pounds of muscle in the next couple of months so I don't looks like a stick at the beach. Right now, I max bench about 165, deadlift about 195, I'm not sure what I squat, haven't done a max squat in a while. I'd like to get up to 185-195 bench, 225 dead, and probably squat something respectable, again, not sure what. My lower body is pretty proportioned well to my upper, but I'd like my overall size to increase a bit, nothing crazy though, I haven't been able to put on much weight ever in the past. I know that seems kind of broad, but basically I'm looking to put on more overall muscle. I'm going to start hitting the gym after my flights or sims every day to wind down, so I'm going to bite the bullet and not go home like I usually do. I've started taking in more calories every day eating three sq meals when I can consisting of usually protein rich healthy stuff. Hope that helps.
Personally I find you can gain size If you train for /gain strength, so try maxing out your bench and shoulder presses (less reps, more weight). Pumping up your bench works your upper core or gets you bigger. I reccomend throwing in protein as a supplement. Creatine gives size through water retention, but I personally hate creatine and don't use it anymore because it makes you look like a bloated, well-used tackling dummy. Protein rips you while providing muscle recovery at the same time. Also, hold off your dinner until after 7pm so your body doesn't burn as much fat during sleep hours. And don't forget to yell loudly while doing your reps in the gym because you're a wild animal.
Without having this turn into a pissing contest, I was wondering what you guys and girls' goals are and where you currently stand with respect to achieving them?
Got it, I know that the Mil athlete stuff deals with a lot of max weight with single rep, and not a lot of crossfit/high rep stuff that would build definition instead of size. It also tires you out in the warmup and then does the workout while your muscles are fatigued. But I'm going to try to throw in some of my own workouts with what you said and try to maximize my core strength. Also, I have a protein supplement that I take called cytogainer by cytosport. Lot's of whey protein and a little bit of creatine. It's worked for me in the past and I'll probably stick to it. But yeah, thanks for the advice, I'll eat later, and some protein rich snacks throughout the day. And I'll definitely grunt louder than everyone, it shows I'm the king of the gym.
I got off a six month Mil Ath cycle in December and it was very good. I'm on a much more specialized routine now (we finally hired some extremely high end trainers that I get to work with), but for $25 bucks a month the programming is hard to bead. I'll be happy to never do another fucking 80 pound sandbag getup again... although I think my trainer will probably include some just to screw with me. My 1RM on a few exercises went down, but overall I finished at a much better overall fitness level. I hadn't run fast for any appreciable distance in that time, and was able to crank out a 12:15 2 mile. Not bad for a 215 pound idiot. BTW: if the Mil Ath workout tires you out, you aren't in shape. I've pulled 500+ deads multiple times after a full 4 rounds of their barbell complex. /bragging As for any hypertrophy considerations, if you are doing Mil Ath you will not be doing yourself a favor by doing any additional lifting. If you really just want to get stronger, follow the Rippetoe Starting Strength routine and at a ton a red meat. Like, steak every day. I've had more than a few buddies gain a lot of size that way in a year... one guy gained almost 15 pounds in lean muscle, which in a year is pretty intense.
My strength coach and sports nutritionist are both very much again all supplements so I can't help you too much in that regard. I do know there have been some SERIOUS side effects to NOXplode (one of the major ingredients you mentioned) and my physical therapist strictly forbids me from taking it. Which made me sad, because I loved how it made me feel in the gym. For the price of some of those supplements, I'd rather just low-dose cycle anabolics.
Mine is simple. After the ice melts off the sidewalks and I have surgery next week, I'm going to start training for a half marathon. I'm thinking of going down to San Antonio in November - they have a really cool half and full - that fits better in my schedule than anything up here (most marathons are around June/July, which is too soon if I have to wait until mid-April to start). In short: Athletic Goal: Run a half marathon in the next six months. Fitness Goal: Drop about 15lbs, and be back at the weight I was in Africa/when I was training all the time. Nutrition Goal: I'm seriously considering trying Mark Sisson's Primal Blueprint. We'll see if I can tough that out.
I'm from the same school as Brian's coach and nutritionist. I'm personally against using most supplements, fish oil and basic vitamins being the exception. Bodybuilders are notorious for taking one supplement to balance another supplement which requires another supplement to balance that . . . and on and on and on. It becomes a vicious circle to try to achieve homeostasis by taking more offsetting supplements when in reality, homeostasis could be achieved by simply cutting all of that shit out. I don't know your coach's reason for suggesting you cycle l-arginine and l-citruline. Maybe there was a good reason for it, but it sounds an awful lot like broscience and locker room chemistry to me. For the record, l-arginine is an amino acid and is one of the supplements that has been proven to do what it claims. Actually, l-arginine doesn't get much attention when it's sitting on the shelves at GNC next to all those shiny tubs of shit and crap, but it will outperform damn near every one of them every time. If you're simply looking for additional energy for workouts, I suggest taking some B vitamins in the morning and have a stiff cup of coffee pre workout. B6 and B12 are both proven to increase blood oxygen levels and will give you sustained energy throughout the day. You won't have the 2:00 pm crash that you see everyone get and you'll be fresh and ready to go when it's time to train after work. It's best to take them individually instead of in a B Complex vitamin. The coffee will give you the extra boost you need for training.
I have a quick question on my usual post-workout meal. There's a Chipotle across my gym, and I get the same thing almost every time after I work out. I order the Burrito Bowl with black beans, fajita vegetables, barbacoa, tomatoes, corn, and guacamole. The calorie generator I found online says my meal looks like this: Nutrition Facts Calories 560 Cal from Fat 210 Total Fat 23g Saturated Fat 5g Trans Fat 0g Cholesterol 60mg Sodium 2000mg Total Carbs 56g Dietary Fiber 21g Sugars 13g Protein 38g Any issues with that? I usually have one or two other meals a day around 600 calories, so I eat between 1400-2000 calories.
Depends on your goals. But, no matter what they are you need to eat more than 2 or 3 times a day. I break it up into 6 or 7 small meals/snacks throughout the day.