Ok! That's It! I've Had It!!

[Tiamat]

I would love to have my cycle stop! However, I don't think I'm willing to go to that extent to get that to happen.

[Ethelred]

You wouldn't like the side effects. Broken bones. Widows hump. Falling down and haveing a ligament partialy seperate from the bone like happened to Mary Decker Slaney in the 1984 when the South African girl bumbed her. Nearly every time Mary got into to really good shape she would get an injury. She was overtraining. Some people can handle more training than others but Mary was always on the edge when she was at her best.

[Boris Godunov]

Originally posted by orange

All things I hate! Brilliant!

Can't be possible...you can buy protein powders that you mix with ice and milk, and it's pretty much like drinking a milkshake. And you can now get protein fruit drinks that have something like 40 g of protein.

Yeah, I know that. However, I'm not concerned with weight gain, I'm just trying to lose some extra pounds hiding around. I've noticed a huge change in my legs and back, but my stomach area will not budge, even with repeated cardio workouts. I'm starting to wonder what exactly I'm burning I eat 5 small sensible meals a day, drink only water, and do a hell of a lot of walking around campus on a daily basis.

You tend to lose fat as you gain it--slowly. You shouldn't do any more than 30 mins of continuous cardio. Any more than that, and your body starts to burn muscle instead of fat. I usually do a 5 minute warm up, 20-25 minute strenuous cardio, then cool down.

Now, why is that? If I go a day without working out I start to feel sluggish... Even if I go with your advice and switch muscle groups it's bad to workout every day?

Because you don't build muscle while you lift, you build it while you rest. Lifting and exhausting a muscle is, technically, puttling little tears in the muscle. This is what causes soreness. It is the healing of the muscle that adds to its size and strength. In order to heal, it needs rest. If you don't give the muscle enough chance to rest, you won't see results much.

Switching muscle groups will help avoid this, yes--and if you plan to workout everyday, you MUST switch muscle groups or make yourself a prime candidate for injury. But it's always good to have one day of total rest about twice a week.

EXCEPTION--Uh, for abs, you should do them everyday that you workout (but still rest them when you totally rest). You don't want to build up your abs, you want to flatten them. Therefore try doing your ab workout more as a cardio workout. (I like doing sets of 100 crunches at a time) This will help you notice a difference in your midsection bulge. But be sure to exercise the lower back as well. Only working abs and ignoring the lower back will lead to a Cro-magnonesque stoop and ultimately back problems.

Thanks again, keep the advice coming

I'm not qualified to state this advice is unequivocally true. There are a lot of Web resources you can consult for workout techniques. I'm just passing on what I've learned and read.

[orange]

Originally posted by Boris Godunov
Can't be possible...you can buy protein powders that you mix with ice and milk, and it's pretty much like drinking a milkshake. And you can now get protein fruit drinks that have something like 40 g of protein.

Ok, sounds good...I'll keep an eye out for them

You tend to lose fat as you gain it--slowly. You shouldn't do any more than 30 mins of continuous cardio. Any more than that, and your body starts to burn muscle instead of fat. I usually do a 5 minute warm up, 20-25 minute strenuous cardio, then cool down.

Yeah, generally that's what I've been doing...my warm ups and cool downs are mostly stretching...

Because you don't build muscle while you lift, you build it while you rest. Lifting and exhausting a muscle is, technically, puttling little tears in the muscle. This is what causes soreness. It is the healing of the muscle that adds to its size and strength. In order to heal, it needs rest. If you don't give the muscle enough chance to rest, you won't see results much.

Ok, I suppose that does make sense. So even if I do arms only twice a week, it's better than doing them every day?

Switching muscle groups will help avoid this, yes--and if you plan to workout everyday, you MUST switch muscle groups or make yourself a prime candidate for injury. But it's always good to have one day of total rest about twice a week.

Sounds good

EXCEPTION--Uh, for abs, you should do them everyday that you workout (but still rest them when you totally rest). You don't want to build up your abs, you want to flatten them. Therefore try doing your ab workout more as a cardio workout. (I like doing sets of 100 crunches at a time) This will help you notice a difference in your midsection bulge. But be sure to exercise the lower back as well. Only working abs and ignoring the lower back will lead to a Cro-magnonesque stoop and ultimately back problems.

NOW you tell me! Ok, I'll try to get in an ab workout tonight...now that I've skipped it for the past two days :grumble:

Any good lower back exercises? Do squats help in that area?

I'm not qualified to state this advice is unequivocally true. There are a lot of Web resources you can consult for workout techniques. I'm just passing on what I've learned and read.

Well, you seem to know what you're talking about, and you have more experience than me...i've looked online, and found a few good free sites (like Men's Health magazine online) but they seem to be for guys who are already very fit, and just want to add bulk. I'm 5'11, 160 lbs, and not as muscular as I'd like to be...

[David Floyd]

Damn, we're exactly the same size orange...I think this calls for a muscle competition

Oh my god did that sound as gay (no offense to gays ) as I think it did?

[orange]

Originally posted by David Floyd
Damn, we're exactly the same size orange...I think this calls for a muscle competition

Any time

Oh my god did that sound as gay (no offense to gays ) as I think it did?

Not until you said "oh my god, did that sound gay"

[Boris Godunov]

Originally posted by David Floyd
Damn, we're exactly the same size orange...I think this calls for a muscle competition

Oh my god did that sound as gay (no offense to gays ) as I think it did?

It kinda turned me on, so I guess so...

[orange]

seriously though - you do look a lot like I do...i mean strucutrally. Our faces look different...

[David Floyd]

Any time

OK, but if you win, we move on to round 2 - wrestling. Does that turn ya on too, Boris?

Ya we do look a lot alike though, body-wise.

[devilmunchkin]

why does david like wrestling with guys?

[orange]

Wrestling? you've gotta be kidding me! I'd lay the smackdown on your candy ass

Put you in the walls of Jericho

Oh, you mean actual MAT wrestling...oooooooh....

:hides steel chair behind his back:

At least we know you'd whoop me at kickboxing, right?

[orange]

Originally posted by devilmunchkin
why does david like wrestling with guys?

guys just like to fight. I've always liked to horse around in that manner...me and my brother used to fight in the basement all the time, and I'd fight with my cousins too...it's just a guy thing.

At a recycling day sponsored by my school's environmental group, I fought my best friend in a giant dumpster. It was hilarious

[Boris Godunov]

Originally posted by orange

Yeah, generally that's what I've been doing...my warm ups and cool downs are mostly stretching...

Just remember, you can't make up for missed cardio by doing twice as much the next time. So try not to miss out on a cardio session.

Ok, I suppose that does make sense. So even if I do arms only twice a week, it's better than doing them every day?

As long as that twice a week is as effective as you can make it (and if you're doing slow sets/3 exercises per muscle group, it will be!), yes. Doing it every day will not build the muscle nearly as well.

NOW you tell me! Ok, I'll try to get in an ab workout tonight...now that I've skipped it for the past two days :grumble:

I usually do abs last, but before cardio. That way I'm not tiring myself with the crunches before doing any lifting.

Any good lower back exercises? Do squats help in that area?

oh Squats...ugh...how I hate them. But yes, they are prized among trainers for the lower back. You can also do "reverse sit-ups", which are good post-ab routine as they stretch the abs too.

Well, you seem to know what you're talking about, and you have more experience than me...i've looked online, and found a few good free sites (like Men's Health magazine online) but they seem to be for guys who are already very fit, and just want to add bulk. I'm 5'11, 160 lbs, and not as muscular as I'd like to be...

No one seems to be as muscular as they like to be...

[David Floyd]

why does david like wrestling with guys?

I love the smell of a hot sweaty man of course

Well, that or I just enjoy physical sports

Wrestling? you've gotta be kidding me! I'd lay the smackdown on your candy ass

Put you in the walls of Jericho

Oh, you mean actual MAT wrestling...oooooooh....

:hides steel chair behind his back:

*makes note to bring handgun*

At least we know you'd whoop me at kickboxing, right?

[Boris Godunov]

Originally posted by David Floyd


OK, but if you win, we move on to round 2 - wrestling. Does that turn ya on too, Boris?

Ya we do look a lot alike though, body-wise.

Greco-Roman style? Woohoo.

And where are these body shots? I feel sooo left out...