2016 FITNESS CHALLENGE

[bad_philanthropy]

Re: 2016 FITNESS CHALLENGE

Switch to wine, more natural sugars.

That's my excuse and I'm staying with it.

Oh, I like wine too, and all manner of other fermented beverages. Nothing more or less natural about wine than beer though. Ethanol is number two behind fat in terms of food energy per mass. You're probably going to end up drinking more beer when you drink beer, and wine does tend to have a few more nutritious properties about it and fewer carbs. End of the day, a half bottle of win is about 300-325 calories and one pint of beer is around 200-225.

But yeah, life without a drink here and there isn't quite as rich. :wink:

[DJ]

Re: 2016 FITNESS CHALLENGE

Is DDP Yoga a DVD box set? I know I can look it up, but haven't.

[Bullit]

Re: 2016 FITNESS CHALLENGE

Oh here it is. It is time. I am finally out of my depression, of my meds and ready to get back into life.

After the passing of my daughter 3 years ago, I have basically not moved at all. I have barely done anything at all actually. Now my wife has left me as well, but to be honest, I am actually becoming grateful for that.

But now I have reach a whopping 270 pounds and it is time to change that. Before all of this sapped my life I was 185 and the same size I was in high school. Now I have heel spurs, weak legs, no stamina and I have atrophied so much.

So today is the day I take the first steps, no matter how small they are to get my life and health back before I get any further out of control. I do realize that I will need help, I needed help to get thru the past 3 years and I am going to need help to get thru this.

That being said, I need a beginners workout that I can start with. I have been looking at this new Daily Burn program I say on HULU and it really has me intrigued. Not to mention the free 30 day trial fits my budget right now. Which just to be honest in non existent. So thanks for reading this and any and all help will be appreciated, thanks.

[NDAlum]

Re: 2016 FITNESS CHALLENGE

Wish you the best with making changes in your life man!

My one tip: don't do anything drastic. Make some small changes first and then start adding more changes that will improve your life.

If you jump in the deep end you'll probably burn out pretty quick.

A basic google search could help you find some foods to avoid and add to your diet. Diet is the single most important aspect of losing weight.

[Bullit]

Re: 2016 FITNESS CHALLENGE

Wish you the best with making changes in your life man!

My one tip: don't do anything drastic. Make some small changes first and then start adding more changes that will improve your life.

If you jump in the deep end you'll probably burn out pretty quick.

A basic google search could help you find some foods to avoid and add to your diet. Diet is the single most important aspect of losing weight.

The diet part I am actually good with. I am a Chef so trimming the crap out of diet has not been that hard. Just the act of stopping the Snickers Bars and soda has helped.

It is the physical part that I need guidance with. I have always ran, and hit the heavy and lite bags to stay in shape. But obviously now I need more. Put I do know not to dive into the deep ends as you put it. Which is why I am hoping one of your all can point me to some good beginner programs to start with. I have no stamina at all and way to much weight to jump into my old routines, plus I don't want to injure myself or cause more set backs to my attitude by doing something stupid.

Thanks

[DJ]

Re: 2016 FITNESS CHALLENGE

The diet part I am actually good with. I am a Chef so trimming the crap out of diet has not been that hard. Just the act of stopping the Snickers Bars and soda has helped.

It is the physical part that I need guidance with. I have always ran, and hit the heavy and lite bags to stay in shape. But obviously now I need more. Put I do know not to dive into the deep ends as you put it. Which is why I am hoping one of your all can point me to some good beginner programs to start with. I have no stamina at all and way to much weight to jump into my old routines, plus I don't want to injure myself or cause more set backs to my attitude by doing something stupid.

Thanks

Do you still have access to the heavy and speed bag? You can get a great workout in from doing rounds on both and incorporating some bodyweight exercises. There's a bunch of sample workouts that you can Google, and I'd be happy to send you along some examples of routines I did when I had my heavy bag.

As for running, you could start off going on brisk walks at whatever pace/distance you feel comfortable, then slowly increase the pace/distance and start to incorporate some jogging in there as well. Keep that train going until you transition to more running/jogging than walking.

Good luck to you!

[bad_philanthropy]

Re: 2016 FITNESS CHALLENGE

Do you still have access to the heavy and speed bag? You can get a great workout in from doing rounds on both and incorporating some bodyweight exercises. There's a bunch of sample workouts that you can Google, and I'd be happy to send you along some examples of routines I did when I had my heavy bag.

As for running, you could start off going on brisk walks at whatever pace/distance you feel comfortable, then slowly increase the pace/distance and start to incorporate some jogging in there as well. Keep that train going until you transition to more running/jogging than walking.

Good luck to you!

Great advice. You have to take it slow with building up your running, and it's going to be rough in the early days if you're on a pretty heavy calorie deficit. You're also going to have bad run days where you'll feel out of gas and can't push through it. Don't let that get you down. Just stay focused on the long term and get back at it the next day or take a day off.

[Money99]

Re: 2016 FITNESS CHALLENGE

Need some help, encouragement, advice.
I basically stopped squatting about 4 weeks ago.
For the past 3 or 4 years I've been working off of various 5x5 routines.
After years of doing the traditional split workouts, with 15-20 sets of high reps, I needed a change. I found that I really enjoy full body workouts using compound.
One of the areas I've always been self conscience about are my skinny legs.
Thru 5x5's and creatine, I took my legs from Erkel to non-Erkel. I could actually feel my jeans stretching against my thighs. It was a great feeling for someone as skinny as I am.
But then came the knee pain. Like a stabbing pain at the top of my knee cap.
"It's your form bro! Keep perfect form!".
So after achieving 2xBW, I started at the bottom again to correct my poor form.
By the time I got back my PB, the pain would return.

I tried Front Squats, leg presses and extensions, but that also didn't help.

Over the past 3 weeks, I've introduced Tabata body squats. I do as many as I can for 20s and then rest for 10s, for a total of 8 sets.
It's an incredible burn and my legs are still shaking once the workout is done. Sometimes hours after the workout is over.

I guess my question is, is it possible to gain mass and strength just by doing bodyweight squats?

[NYJets]

Re: 2016 FITNESS CHALLENGE

What are some supplements people take besides protein, creatine, and preworkout stuff like jacked, c4, etc.? Trying not to use preworkouts because they make me breakout. Anything else good for energy? Seems like despite eating pretty well, and generally getting enough sleep, my energy levels have been down lately.

Researched and started taking maca and holy **** what a difference. This is the product I take:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...ilpage_o00_s00

Tastes like **** and smells bad but it's easy to mix it in a protein shake or coffee and hide the taste, and its worth it. Immediately helped my energy levels tremendously both for workouts and just in life, and definitely seems to help with recovery too. I'm having better workouts but less soreness.

Doesn't seem to be any side effects, If you buy raw maca some people's stomach can't handle it, but this kind shouldn't cause any problems. They say to start with one teaspoon a day and work your way up to 3, I did that pretty quickly and now I take one when I wake up, one pre workout, and one post workout.

[mattsb84]

Re: 2016 FITNESS CHALLENGE

I guess my question is, is it possible to gain mass and strength just by doing bodyweight squats?

Yes, to a point. First though, go see your dr about the knee pain, if you havent already. Also, what does your rehab look like? Do you foam roll/stretch. Any of that stuff after lifting?

I dont do bb squats at all because of how my spine/hips are. There are plenty of alternatives though. bw squats with a suisse ball, squats with a bosu ball (bw or kb), goblet squats, one legged box squats (bw or kb), sumo squats. Its not about weight, its about controlling the targeted muscle group (muscle memory). Once you do that, then you start adding weight/resistance. Focus and form, particularly for squats/deadlifts, is absolutely critical in doing the lift correctly/safely. I see so many people doing squats with buckling knees, caved backs, heels off the ground, and having their knees well over their toes. Squatting is not a simple movement, you're needing to recruit multiple muscle groups to do it properly, thus why its a compound lift, right?

Honestly, if I were you, I'd stop squatting. I'd talk to my dr, get an opinion from them, follow thier advice, and then start a lighter routine. I'd focus on stretching, core strength, and bw squats. If you still get pain after how ever long they tell you to stop squatting (or similar motions), then you go back to the dr, they should send you to a PT, and you go from there. Check out squat rx on youtube. Very good advice for how to improve your form/stretch/etc.

[Money99]

Re: 2016 FITNESS CHALLENGE

Yes, to a point. First though, go see your dr about the knee pain, if you havent already. Also, what does your rehab look like? Do you foam roll/stretch. Any of that stuff after lifting?

I dont do bb squats at all because of how my spine/hips are. There are plenty of alternatives though. bw squats with a suisse ball, squats with a bosu ball (bw or kb), goblet squats, one legged box squats (bw or kb), sumo squats. Its not about weight, its about controlling the targeted muscle group (muscle memory). Once you do that, then you start adding weight/resistance. Focus and form, particularly for squats/deadlifts, is absolutely critical in doing the lift correctly/safely. I see so many people doing squats with buckling knees, caved backs, heels off the ground, and having their knees well over their toes. Squatting is not a simple movement, you're needing to recruit multiple muscle groups to do it properly, thus why its a compound lift, right?

Honestly, if I were you, I'd stop squatting. I'd talk to my dr, get an opinion from them, follow thier advice, and then start a lighter routine. I'd focus on stretching, core strength, and bw squats. If you still get pain after how ever long they tell you to stop squatting (or similar motions), then you go back to the dr, they should send you to a PT, and you go from there. Check out squat rx on youtube. Very good advice for how to improve your form/stretch/etc.

Thanks Matt!
I've been doing a lot of reading lately and have found some terrific resources about the squat and how it's not for everyone, and the healthier alternatives.
One of which is to use the Leg Press and adhere to the slow and steady pace.

I've also been reading more about HIT training/workouts. I've done those in the past and really liked them, but didn't really follow a set plan. Just kind of winged-it.
I may try that again, especially with leg presses or even squats.
I found that when I was doing 15+ rep backsquat sets, my knees didn't hurt as much. Probably because I had reduced the weight greatly and my form was much better.

I had read on one fitness guru's site that he only does leg press once every 3 weeks.
He'll perform 3 totals sets, utilize the slow and steady pace, and go to failure on all of them.
And his legs were massive.

I had read before that it's not really about the weight but about the intensity.
Dorian Yates claimed that his bicep routine was only 10min long. But they were extremely intense. He also consumed a lot of drugs, but the science behind HITT and weight lifting is sound even for regular folks without access to Mr Olympia genes or drugs.

One of the sites I found is here:

http://baye.com/start-here/

Explains things very well and gives examples of workouts.

[Blzer]

Re: 2016 FITNESS CHALLENGE

Sorta copying my post from the Food & Beverage Thread, with some new tidbits thrown into the mix.

Let me just preface this post by saying that I don't have any weight concerns. I'm already a small guy (5'11", 165 lbs) and always have been, though I have always ate like a garbage disposal. You couldn't pray for me to stop a meal, and I would never witness any adverse consequences, be it physically, nutritionally, medically, metabolically, or even emotionally. I don't eat too junky given that I only stick to junk in meals rather than in snacks, but whatever I eat does seem to be on a constant basis (never much change).

The main reason I am posting though is because I am unable to do much exercise. I'm through 16 months so far of enduring PCS (post-concussion syndrome), and anything too physical brings my head to a halt and I feel like I am going backwards. I can't even run a straight 60 feet in a slow-pitch softball match. Even the exercise bike wears me out (not with fatigue, but with injury). Whatever the blow to my head did to my body, I'm going to have to assume that it will be with me for a while.

That said, for the first time in my life, after Thanksgiving when I cleaned house, my mom said, "You're starting to get a belly." She can say it jokingly, but she wasn't wrong either. Again, I'm not fat by any means, but for the first time I actually noticed fat on my body. I was like, "Holy crap, she's right!" Normally I'm just physically able and I wear that thing down in a second. But since I can't do that, I figured I'll see what else I can do to avoid any other later issues I might have with my arteries, heart, kidney, etc.

Now, I'm not flipping the bill to all-health-all-the-time. I'm mostly watching two things: 1) my sugar intake; 2) my overall portions of dinner intake. So, I've constructed two remedies thus far for both: 1) no ice cream on days when I get my Orange Carrot Karma from Jamba Juice (so about 1/3 days now instead of every day); 2) trim my main courses down a bit, and add extra veggies if I can.

My daily intake is very consistent. I have macaroni in the morning (bizarre, but it has been this way for nearly 15 years), and as of about two years ago my lunch is pretty much just three bananas, alongside that carrot smoothie if I can hit up Jamba Juice during the day. Dinner will most often be something with protein and/or carbs (either something meaty, or pasta).

Very weird lifestyle, but whatevs. The only problem is, I've been trying this for a little over two months, and I don't want to call it withdrawal or anything, but I often feel "hungry" or "miserable" that I'm not eating like twice as much as I normally do, haha. Now, all this said, I'm fine with what I am eating, but on nights that I don't have ice cream (definitely an addiction) I'm like an empty tank going to bed. Also eating less for dinner makes me say, like... I need more! I've also been without In-N-Out as often as I used to (went from like twice a week to twice a month, and it makes me sad haha).

How do ya'll cope with this? I know I should also look to yogurts and such, and honestly although I don't have the time of day I should really learn to cook more things, especially for breakfast... but I still need mechanisms to tell my body to be less hungry. Eating is too wholly satisfying, and I think I just have to be glad I've always been a small guy despite my want for ultimate consumption.

Last note: I have a peanut allergy. Things like protein bars, sadly, are out of the question.

[NDAlum]

Re: 2016 FITNESS CHALLENGE

You cope by asking yourself if it's really worth the instant gratification.

Sometimes I answer yes

[roadman]

Re: 2016 FITNESS CHALLENGE

ND is correct, borrowing a phrase from Elaine on Seinfeld:

Is it calorie/healthy worthy?

[Blzer]

Re: 2016 FITNESS CHALLENGE

Too true. I just wish I could be working out all the meanwhile, that way I probably wouldn't even be in this thread.