Protien Drinks

[Dis]

and no one has made the obvious joke? What's wrong with you people? Don't tell me you are all normal well adjusted people.

[MrFun]

Originally posted by Jon Miller
Cardio is important!

JM

Yes, it is important, considering the heart and stroke problems my father had. I don't want to die at 59 like he did.



But the way my schedule works, is that when I'm at the fitness center, I do not have time to exercise on a that thing that you stand up on, but you pedal for 15 minutes or longer. I'm always on a tight timeframe so that by the time I complete the other exercises, it's time for me to leave.

[Bosh]

OK it seems that you're kind of doing the weightlifting equivalent of distance running. Did you ever see a distance runner with big thick legs? Probably not, they're very very rare for a reason. The same thing is basically happening to you, if you keep on doing what you're doing exercise-wise you'll never gain that much muscle mass for the same reason that you won't gain much muscle mass from doing 5k runs every day.

What I'd recommend doing is the following:
-Do three sets of eight for most things to keep it simple. You're doing too many reps for what you want. And make sure the weight is heavy enough that doing the 8th rep is a real challenge.
-Make sure you have the right form. If your form sucks you can get yourself hurt.
-Cut the number of different exercises you do WAY down. You're doing way to much and probably wearing your body out. Unless you're doing a bunch of leg exercises on that day, 4 + abs is probably enough.
-Give your body time to rest and cycle between different muslce groups. For example I do chest and triceps on saturday, back and biceps on tuesday and legs and shoulders on thursday. That way I really really tire out two muscle groups each day and give each group a full week to recover.
-Do execises that hit a lot of muscles at once. Things like squats and bench press are good for this.
-Don't spend too much time in the gym. I'm only in the weight room for about 25 minutes a pop, if you're in there longer it probably means that you're not working hard enough.

[LordShiva]

I'd echo Bosh's suggestion of 3 sets of 8, and of compound movements. Squats, deadlifts, bench presses, and pull-ups are key. But I'd suggest that instead of giving each muscle group a full week to recover, you do a full-body workout 2-3 times a week. If you can, look to spend an 45-60 minutes in the gym; that's 1.5-3 hours a week, hopefully it would fit in your schedule.

[MRT144]

i like protien drinks but only ones that are 100% whey protien. i have about 2 of them a day giving me 100% of daily protien intake. combine with sensble diet and i do alright. funny thing is ive put on muscle, become stronger, look better and weight the same...

cause ive cut fat. 157, 200 bench. that makes me happy.

[MrFun]

Originally posted by Bosh
OK it seems that you're kind of doing the weightlifting equivalent of distance running. Did you ever see a distance runner with big thick legs? Probably not, they're very very rare for a reason. The same thing is basically happening to you, if you keep on doing what you're doing exercise-wise you'll never gain that much muscle mass for the same reason that you won't gain much muscle mass from doing 5k runs every day.

What I'd recommend doing is the following:
-Do three sets of eight for most things to keep it simple. You're doing too many reps for what you want. And make sure the weight is heavy enough that doing the 8th rep is a real challenge.
-Make sure you have the right form. If your form sucks you can get yourself hurt.
-Cut the number of different exercises you do WAY down. You're doing way to much and probably wearing your body out. Unless you're doing a bunch of leg exercises on that day, 4 + abs is probably enough.
-Give your body time to rest and cycle between different muslce groups. For example I do chest and triceps on saturday, back and biceps on tuesday and legs and shoulders on thursday. That way I really really tire out two muscle groups each day and give each group a full week to recover.
-Do execises that hit a lot of muscles at once. Things like squats and bench press are good for this.
-Don't spend too much time in the gym. I'm only in the weight room for about 25 minutes a pop, if you're in there longer it probably means that you're not working hard enough.

Hmmm . . . . . . . ..


I usually spend about 45 minutes at the gym, and I workout there three to four days, and it's not unusual that two of those days are next to each other, with no days in between for rest.

[MrFun]

Originally posted by MRT144
i like protien drinks but only ones that are 100% whey protien. i have about 2 of them a day giving me 100% of daily protien intake. combine with sensble diet and i do alright. funny thing is ive put on muscle, become stronger, look better and weight the same...

cause ive cut fat. 157, 200 bench. that makes me happy.

Here's to looking better and feeling better.

[Bosh]

and it's not unusual that two of those days are next to each other, with no days in between for rest.

Don't your muscles get sore doing that?

[MRT144]

thats a good thing. sore muscles means microtearing has occoured

[LordShiva]

Still, working the same muscles two days in a row isn't optimal.

If you currently work out 4 days a week, including consecutive days, and don't do cardio, use one of those days for cardio.

[MRT144]

this is true. although I havent really seen or noticed the fact I do chest on day 1 and triceps/shoulders on day 2, and biceps/shoulders day 3 really limit my progress, yet.

[Bosh]

Originally posted by MRT144
thats a good thing. sore muscles means microtearing has occoured

Right, getting sore is good. Doing weight lighting on muslces that are still sore (as they should be the day after a good workout) is not good.

If I do back exercises tomorrow after doing them today bad things will happen...

[Sava]

There are a lot of myths regarding strength training, building muscle, and what you should do in terms of diet.

You can eat all the protein in the world, but if the rest of your diet is poor, unbalanced, and improperly timed (timing is extremely important); your body will use your muscle for energy and you will not see significant weight gain. If you do not have sufficient carbohydrate intake, you will also not see an increase in muscle mass because your body will use your muscles for energy.

Carbohydrates are the single most important food in our diet. Carbs (in their natural form) contain most of the essential nutrients and chemicals that we need for energy production and metabolic function. However, carbs have been demonized lately because we think of carbs now only as the refined and processed variety. Yes, those carbs are awful and nobody should eat them... most breads, pastas, cereals... sugar and high fructose corn syrup. They enter your bloodstream extremely fast, slow down your metabolism, and increase insulin resistance.

This is all important because you don't need to eat 100+ grams of protein a day to experience the benefits of strength training. You just need to eat a proper diet consisting of natural, whole foods. You still need protein from good sources: beans, nuts, seeds, lean poultry, eggs, and fish. However, you shouldn't eat it in excess. Balance is key. Eating healthy carbohydrates in order to maintain a healthy metabolism is just as important because it will allow proper muscle grow. Good sources of carbs are fruits, veggies, whole grains (unprocessed sources... meaning, nothing that contains "wheat flour" or flours of any kind), beans, nuts, and seeds.

Fat is also an important part of one's diet. However, just like carbs there is healthy fat and bad fat. Healthy fat consists of fat found in fish oil, extra virgin olive oil, cold-expeller-pressed plant oils like grapeseed, walnut, and sesame... avocado, olives, coconut, nuts, and seeds.

The fat in many meats is sort of in a neutral area. Lean meat is what you want to stick to if you eat meat, but eating fat is not going to kill you. Eating highly refined carbohydrates and processed foods will.

If you eat a proper diet, your metabolism will function correctly and you will see the benefits of strength training. An improper diet causes the metabolism to use the muscles as energy, thus making any attempts at building muscle fruitless.

You don't need to work out like a madman to see results. 2-3 times a week targeting specific areas is sufficient. The advice others have given on the numbers of reps and amount of weight is correct.

But diet/nutrition is the single most important thing you can do to your body if you want to lose fat and build muscle.

You don't need to eat a lot of protein or drink any shakes.

However, there are some supplements that will help with increasing your metabolism and giving you a lot more energy: Coenzyme Q10 (helps increase energy in the mitochondria), Acetyl-L-carnitine (transports fat into the mitochondria), Creatine (helps provide energy for muscles and metabolism).

Also, Omega-3 is a great supplement to take. It strengthens the cellular membranes and increases the metabolism, in addition to being another "good fat".

I hope this information is helpful. I'm not about to tell anyone what to eat or how much. That's up to you. Everyone's body is different. Food "talks" to our DNA and what one person does and has success with might not work for someone else. But the philosophy of eating natural whole foods is what our bodies have evolved from. That's what we are meant to eat. Not processed foods, not protein shakes, not any of that garbage. If you want to live and be healthier, eat natural whole foods.

Being healthy is not just a question of losing weight. It's about giving the body what it needs to function properly so that you can do things like seeing the benefits of strength training and exercise.

[MrFun]

Originally posted by Bosh

Don't your muscles get sore doing that?

yep




(which does not bother me)

[MrFun]

Originally posted by Bosh


Right, getting sore is good. Doing weight lighting on muslces that are still sore (as they should be the day after a good workout) is not good.

If I do back exercises tomorrow after doing them today bad things will happen...

Ok, I'm listening again; you have provided good points so far. What is seriously wrong with working out on sore muscles? They haven't had time to heal from the previous micro-tearing session?