FitTavern

[GameMaster]

A new 24 Fitness just opened 5 minutes from my house. All the cardio machines and treadmills have TVs in them! w00t!

[Seth]

I guess I'm in a different boat. I'm always trying to gain weight. I do pullups, pushups, situps....and play bball. I throw in slight variations to all my exercises though. Right now I'm more about conditioning my core strength. I'm 6'4 and 170 lbs so basically no fat on me. I have a bit of a goal, by the end of the summer I want to be doing around 60 slow move pushups and get my legs in shape. I was running for a while earlier this season but have got lazy as of late. And yes, biking is amazing cuz it's soooo much nicer on the knees. Dyne, if you want God's diet then go 90% raw vegan. You'll bulk like mad if you're eating right but you'll also lose extra shite.
some tips:
Don't eat 4-6 hours before you sleep. So if you're going to bed at 10 then 6 would be the absolute latest for a meal. The last meal of the day should be your smallest. Ideally I try to have only vegetables or fruit for my evening meal. If I'm ever wanting to throw on some quick fat then I just eat later but it really is hard on the body. Eating late ages you.
swimming!
http://www.thegardendiet.com/shannon.html

Read that guy's testimonial if you've got the time. After a couple months of not really sticking hard to raw food I started seeing results like he was saying. I'm not quite as bulked as he is but I'm also way lazy but i figure by the end of the summer I can bulk on another 10 lbs of muscle.

[Vampyr]

Do High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT).

Run/Bike/(use a cardio machine) for a minute, as hard as you can, then either go slowly or rest for 30 seconds. Repeat over and over for as long as you can. It will kick your butt, but it's extremely effective. Much more so than just jogging or running for an hour.

Not eating late is sort of a myth. The reason that works so well is because you're eating less overall. I'm not saying it's a bad idea, I'm just saying that the time of day doesn't have as much to do with it as people think.

[Perfect Stu]

I'm a big fan of interval training...I'll hop on the stationary bike and do 1 minute of 100+ RPM on fairly high resistance, then cool down for 1 minute. I'll do that for 20-25 minutes or so. Also, I'll go walking/sprinting. Walk for a minute, sprint for 10 seconds. For all you athletes out there, it gives you a good burst along with improved stamina.

My biggest advice would be to mix up your exercises. Your body doesn't respond well to the same old routine. Play basketball a couple times a week, run a couple times a week, do weight training a couple times a week. Whatever works for you. Sports has always been key for me because it's not only fun and competitive, but the right ones really do work out your entire body.

Having said that, I need to exercise more and tone down on my beer consumption. 6'3" 260 pounds here. My goal is 230. I'm naturally a big guy (I can outrun a couple of my 160 pound friends), so I'd be looking and feeling mighty fine at that weight.

[Vampyr]

Does anyone know of a good, healthy dietary supplement to take? I don't want a miracle weight loss pill or anything, just something to slightly boost the metabolism, and contain some good antioxidants.

I've recently started drinking chocolate soy milk after my workouts, and I think I'm going to pick up some chocolate whey powder to add to it for a protein boost. I'm also considering creatine, to help catalyze the muscle building process. I already take a daily men's multivitamin.

[Angrist]

Originally Posted by Seth

Don't eat 4-6 hours before you sleep. So if you're going to bed at 10 then 6 would be the absolute latest for a meal. The last meal of the day should be your smallest. Ideally I try to have only vegetables or fruit for my evening meal. If I'm ever wanting to throw on some quick fat then I just eat later but it really is hard on the body. Eating late ages you.

I just threw half a pizza in the oven, while it's almost 11PM here.

Luckily I rarely do that. But thanks for the advice.

[KillerGremlin]

I've read some conflicting stuff that says you should eat a small, healthy snack before bed so that your metabolism stays working while you sleep.

[Jason1]

Actually im going to try this 100 push ups thing. I just did the initial test, was able to manage 35. Not too shabby, although I do work out on the total gym almost daily. This could be fun actually. I'll start the monday - wed - friday plan tomorrow.

[Jonbo298]

My issue is that due to my back surgery years back, it's extremely difficult for me to do situps and push ups. I can do almost any other exercise that doesn't involve me pulling my body up or down (in regards to pull ups, push ups, situps, etc..).

Though at least so far even with my mild food addiction still there and me slowly overcoming it, I've so far dropped from 269 (at least highest weight when I weighed) to between 225-230 where it's kind of plateau'd right now but I think thats happening is I am gaining muscle again (being ill for about 4 or 5 days hit me hard) so its counteracting the fat loss.

I try to mix things up when I can. Running isn't my strongest due to the back either with the force of feet hitting ground while running, but I can in small intervals. Usually stick to the elliptical and its obviously working for me.

I don't subscribe to alot of the theories about when to eat, etc... I've been eating when I feel I want/need to, and its obviously not hindering me. I know to avoid pop, fast food as much as I can (still a struggle but I choose wiser now), and the obvious high caloric things I don't need.

I'd rather lose the weight slow and steady, then crash it quickly. If it takes me a year to lose the "last" 30 I want to for my "short term" goal, its better then losing it in 3-4 months and gaining it back. It lets my mind keep working towards breaking the addictions and keeping up the healthier food I should be eating in the first place.

[Angrist]

I scored 22 pushups on the initial test. Which is weird, because I often get 30. But then I have my legs on the couch (meant to make it harder, I assume it works) and with my hands a bit farther apart.

[Dyne]

Originally Posted by KillerGremlin

What type of diet are you on? I would say continue doing the cardio, but mix it up. Run 3 days a week, for the other 3 days do the stair master (trust me it will kick your ass), bike, swim...and, if you feel compelled to, on the 7th day either rest or do a light jog/power walk.

Finally, high protein diets build mass.

Oh...and if you have a belly, don't waste your time doing sit-ups/crunches. Everyone has a six pack. If you have fat over it, you can do a billion sit-ups and it won't do anything. You need to get rid of the fat first.

Diet + Cardio + mild weight lifting = win?

Even if you don't see massive drops in weight, you should become healthier, you should look more tone, and you should feel better.

Oh, and drink lots and lots of water...and no beer or soda.

Edit: I don't think I ever went for 100 straight push-ups, but at one point I think I could do 50. I used to do 5 sets of 20 every night after I ran. Push ups are a great compliment to bench, you will tone your chest nicely.

Thanks for the advice, my diet's basically the same - I'm a pretty good eater, but I do love me some bread sometimes. I've avoided red meat successfully for a while. I also take alaska fish oil supplements and now I'm on to flax seed, soy protein powder, and hemp seed nut. It's hard to do a complete change of diet when you're still at home.

I do drink lots of water, I drink at least 3.5 liters a day. I have an excellent 1.5L bottle I fill with water twice a day.

I didn't mention this in the first post, but I did do a lot of weight training last year during july/august, because I discovered Propaganda's building had a gym downstairs. A month wasn't that long, but I did gain a lot of mass. I think my mistake was not picking it up again after I went back to school. I hate school - so inconvenient.

Originally Posted by Vampyr

Do High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT).

Run/Bike/(use a cardio machine) for a minute, as hard as you can, then either go slowly or rest for 30 seconds. Repeat over and over for as long as you can. It will kick your butt, but it's extremely effective. Much more so than just jogging or running for an hour.

Not eating late is sort of a myth. The reason that works so well is because you're eating less overall. I'm not saying it's a bad idea, I'm just saying that the time of day doesn't have as much to do with it as people think.

Hmm, I can only really do this for running, and it would kick the hell out of me. I usually do one hard run for the final stretch for 30 seconds and it kicks my ass completely. My MMA workout is 2 minute rounds and one minute rest, I guess that's the same idea too.

Originally Posted by Seth

I guess I'm in a different boat. I'm always trying to gain weight. I do pullups, pushups, situps....and play bball. I throw in slight variations to all my exercises though. Right now I'm more about conditioning my core strength. I'm 6'4 and 170 lbs so basically no fat on me. I have a bit of a goal, by the end of the summer I want to be doing around 60 slow move pushups and get my legs in shape. I was running for a while earlier this season but have got lazy as of late. And yes, biking is amazing cuz it's soooo much nicer on the knees. Dyne, if you want God's diet then go 90% raw vegan. You'll bulk like mad if you're eating right but you'll also lose extra shite.
some tips:
Don't eat 4-6 hours before you sleep. So if you're going to bed at 10 then 6 would be the absolute latest for a meal. The last meal of the day should be your smallest. Ideally I try to have only vegetables or fruit for my evening meal. If I'm ever wanting to throw on some quick fat then I just eat later but it really is hard on the body. Eating late ages you.
swimming!
http://www.thegardendiet.com/shannon.html

Read that guy's testimonial if you've got the time. After a couple months of not really sticking hard to raw food I started seeing results like he was saying. I'm not quite as bulked as he is but I'm also way lazy but i figure by the end of the summer I can bulk on another 10 lbs of muscle.

Yeah, I don't like eating late anyways. And yeah, I would definitely do a change of diet, even just to vegetarian, if I didn't still have my mom cooking for me all the time. My girlfriend is house-sitting this summer and she's gone vegetarian.

Also, for gaining weight, you can work out really hard, but if you don't dial up your intake of proteins and fats dramatically from what you're used to, you will never gain mass. The measurement I've heard is 3500 - it takes 3500 calories of energy to burn off a pound, and likewise, takes 3500 extra calories to gain one pound.

[Jason1]

Well after one week, im feeling pretty good about this. I think I can do this. Although it starts off extremely easy...

[Seth]

Just to add, if you're taking a protein dose before sleeping then you're redirecting your body's resources to digestion instead of muscle and ligament/tendon repair. The body should have 12 hours of uninterrupted recuperation if you want to reach full potential. Also, less digesting means better sleep which also helps rebuild tissue. And don't dial over 100 grams of protein. Even at a hundred the kidneys start to protest.

[Jason1]

Thats good to know, thanks.

[Jonbo298]

Originally Posted by Seth

Just to add, if you're taking a protein dose before sleeping then you're redirecting your body's resources to digestion instead of muscle and ligament/tendon repair. The body should have 12 hours of uninterrupted recuperation if you want to reach full potential. Also, less digesting means better sleep which also helps rebuild tissue. And don't dial over 100 grams of protein. Even at a hundred the kidneys start to protest.

I still will not believe the whole "don't eat after 6pm". I've NEVER followed it, and I still have gained a good amount of muscle compared to what it used to be, and I don't feel like "Oh man, if only I starve myself for 4 hours before bedtime will I look better"