This


The only time I count during negatives is legs, myself.

Do you guys have to use less weight to get the same amount of reps? I remember when I tried them awhile back I had to go down in weight do get a good 8 reps. I remember this being significantly more difficult than regular exercises.

-Alex

Been working out quite a bit here as well, haven't done too much research in it but usually do cardio M,W,F and strength training everyday at the gym for lunch. Schedule looks like this

Mon-
Morning=Insanity(this shit is HARD)
Lunch= Chest/Tri with dumbells

Tue-
Back/Bi/Shoulders with dumbells

Wed-
Morning=1.5-2.5 Mile run
Lunch= Chest/Tri with barbell

Thurs-
Back/Bi/Shoulders with Barbell

Fri-
Morning- Group 3 mile run or Ultimate Football
Legs

Thinking about starting up crossfit in the afternoons, do you guys think this will be too much? Also, I've been consistently sore and dealing with low energy for the past 2 weeks since I changed my diet. Diet is
Morning- 2 scrambled eggs with ketchup
small serving of fruit
Lunch/ Dinner- 1 grilled chicken sandwich with single slice american cheese
small servings of fruit (usually grapes and pineapple)

I'm also taking a multivitamin and usually 2 servings protein per day. Anyone see any issues with my diet or training schedule? Really trying to tone up and lose fat, jumped in the bod pod that measured fat percentage a couple of weeks ago and somehow I'm almost 24% body fat :( Btw 6'1" 185lbs

What was your diet previously?

-Alex

No creatine here. Just get foods with a lot of protein in them. Instead of snacking on chips and cookies, snack on yogurt, cottage cheese and peanuts. Usually drink protein shakes after every workout. Snack on protein bars occasionally. Try to opt for cleaner food when I can, like getting subway or jimmy johns instead of mcdonalds or burger king. I never buy soda/pop at the grocery store, only stuff in my fridge is water and Gatorade.

I am always on the same rotation. I work one muscle group at a time. Always run at least a mile pre-workout to warm up. Each day i'll concentrate on just chest, just back, or just arms (including shoulders), and I usually do legs and core in the same day unless I know I have enough available days in the week to split it up. Always consistently at the gym for around an hour at a time. Its a lot of fun, good healthy hobby to have. Definitely a lifestyle choice though if you incorporate a healthy diet.

I started taking BCAAs during the workout and immediately afterwards. I was never informed of them but, all the "professionals" I have spoken with agree to take these especially during the workout.

-Alex

I workout about 5 x a week. Love staying in shape, if anybody lives near the carrollton lewisville area I usually go to 24 hr by castle hills. To those trying to drink less, I've made my routine to where I workout Fri - Sun and Tuesday- Wed. Working out everyday of the weekend makes you less inclined to go out and saves some serious cash over time.

That's good that you are young and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Keep at it. I noticed a huge savings in cash just by cooking instead of eating out as often as I was.

-Alex

Thanks man. Luckily for me, my parents raised me with a pretty active lifestyle and with a healthy diet. I take my lunch to work too except on Fridays lol. That's my cheat day

I'm on the same schedule as far as cheat days lol. But yeah pack my lunch, and try to stay active outside of working out of course. Do you have a specific goal that you are working towards?

-Alex

Im trying to gain weight right now. 5ft 7 160 pounds. Want to be at 175, been hitting more weight less rep and taking mass gainer and quite a bit more food intake. My metabolism is so high its hard to gain weight

Same here. I am 6 even and 195 on a fat day. I took a Mass Gainer from GNC one time and I couldn't handle it. One serving was 4 scoops and like 2000 calories. It was ridiculous. There was no way I could consume that as one serving. That was a few years ago. From what I have seen all of the mass gainers just focus on gaining weight, good or bad. They'll have a good amount of protein but an obscene amount of calories. It made me slow, sluggish and tired. I swapped to a simpler whey protein isolate and made more attractive muscle gains that way. But not everyone is the same so if it works the way you like, keep at it.

-Alex

No, you're right. The mass gainers are about 75% belly weight vs muscle. But at a minimum it gives me weight that I can convert to muscle you know. I take Dymatize isopure now and love it but it has little to no carbs. I'll probably just stick to that and alot of eggs and rice / pasta post workout. Dymatize also has great amino's, I saw you just recently started taking some . I'd check em out, best aminos I've personally ever had.

Well fat cells are fat cells and muscle cells are muscle cells, there's no way to convert one to another. Complex carbs are good. I've minimized ccs in my diet for the time being since I am in a cutting phase and pairing that with more cardio. Trying to build muscle but, lose some of the fat I have gained. My lunches/dinners consist of mixed veggies and grilled chicken. The carbs I do get, I get from protein shakes but, that's it. Also I saw a nice tip from Lee Hayward showing to do some cardio in between sets of heavy lifting. Thanks for the tips on the BCAAs!

-Alex

All I know is last time I took mass gainer I got as big as I am now. Prior to I couldn't gain weight or muscle at all. The way I see it our body is like a statue. That excess weight gives me the ability to fuel my muscles and chisel down. Im eating pretty heavy just trying to gain, it's really hard for me lol. I've never seen anybody really cut up gain alot of muscle. Bodybuilders always get kinda chubby then chisel down

Yeah, they go through a bulking and cutting phase. Very common.

-Alex

So you think adding the extra weight doesn't help with muscle growth? Not trying to have a back and forth just tryna figure out the best way to get relatively quick gains. Any tips you got would be cool

Im in your boat but worse. 6'1 and 145lbs. I used to be 175lbs which took me a year to get there from 150lbs. I was eating so much I felt like I was going to puke all the time and was in the gym morning and night.

I ended up getting pretty sick (ms) and losing it all with all the initial bs that goes along with ms (long story)

Now I cant gain weight for anything, and im to lazy to get into the gym

Well there's weight that you want and weight that you may not want. You'd really need to assess it on an individual basis. If you are getting the results and looks that you want, then stick to it. That's the key I would advise anyone. No one's physiology is going to be identical to anyone else's. With that said, you can gain weight primarily as muscle or fat. You get stronger adding muscle, obviously, but gaining fat will not increase your strength. Me personally, I don't mind having a little bit of fat because I don't like the super-defined, "cut" look that many guys like to achieve. I do admire Bruce Lee but, would never like for myself to be so fat reduced that you can see each strand muscle fiber lol. I used to be 145lbs, so like you, I did the same thing and took a LOT of mass gainer. It did the job of getting me big, but when I got a size I wanted to I changed over to something with less calories so I could trim down a little fat and continue building muscle.

-Alex

Well, couple days until I head to the doctor to check out my results. Should be interesting to see where I'm at now that I'm eating mainly a plant based diet now. For the first time over a Thanksgiving holiday I didn't gain any weight from eating too damn much!

I've been doing yoga for abit now which I'm really enjoying. I'm going to step up to 4 days a week at the gym to push some more weight around. Gotta get to that goal weight!

Get it bro. I've been trying to up my activity as well. Just started doing mountain bike trails on the weekend which has been a blast.

Last winter I got up to 210 and that was eating everything in site. Got down to 196 with just a better diet and no cardio. Already back up to 205 and haven't really been trying to add weight this time around but i'm not worried about it. Going to keep this going throughout the winter and if my damn shoulder will stop hurting maybe I can get 315 up on the bench. I'm so close lol

Maybe i'll start cutting sooner next year and actually do some cardio. Damn I hate cardio

Same. Takes too damn long.

-Alex

Well, I used to not mind it but as I got older my deviated septum got worse. It's at a damn 90* angle right now and I can't breath out of my left nostril. So I use that excuse a lot lol

Remind me not to watch that. You doing the "downward dog" can't be pretty
:893karatesmiley-thu

I've found that doing an activity you enjoy for cardio makes it MUCH easier to get yourself do it and stick with it. It's one of the reasons I love my jiujitsu so much. Not only do you get an amazing cardio workout and fun ass hell, but it builds your core better than anything else I've ever done. Jogging/running is boring and also painful on my damn shins.

I also like riding bikes and swimming which is great on my old abused joints.

lmao!!

I've noticed that about the shins. Weird, I don't know how to explain that. Running should be painful. Maybe I am planting my feet wrong. I have had to switch to powerwalking. That or just cycle some unweighted lunges etc between my sets on my heavy lifting days.

-Alex

LOL!! :gayfight:

Funny though, I wouldn't have known what that was called before doing Yoga. Apparently you must have been jerking off to yoga videos in your youth to know that. lmao.

Well, I'm older than you not to mention much fatter at the moment. I still walk in the mornings after breakfast. Once I got a good pair of supportive shoes it helped quite abit. Running/walking on grass rather than concrete can help too. There is an indoor track at my gym that is a rubber on cold days.

When I lift, I don't train legs much. No need to really. My legs are already tree trunks from martial arts.

I was actually doing yoga a few months ago to try and help my hips. I'm supposed to be lifting low weight with my legs multiple times a week. Ang has been up my ass for me to get my fat ass back in the gym so I can start walking without a limp. By the way who didn't jerk off to yoga videos when they were a kid. We didn't have the fast paced internet like these kids do now days, its all we had. That and the underwear adds that came in the mail.

:happy175::happy175::happy175:

What gym do you train at ? I used to train at star jiu jitsu and my stepdad goes to Octagon.

I train at a few places. Just depends on scheduling. My lineage is from Rorion/Rener/Ryron Gracie.

http://sportsnutrition.thefatburning...trick/?sid=TFB

-Alex

John Berardi, Ph.D..

Founder, Precision Nutrition, www.precisionnutrition.com

GET UPDATES FROM John Berardi, Ph.D.
Eggs: Healthy or Not?

Posted: 07/16/2013 11:23 am

Eggs: They're just one of those foods. Seems like every other week there's an egg controversy.

Are they good for you, bad for you, or somewhere in between?

As a Ph.D.-trained nutritional biochemist and a full-time nutrition coach, I've long been fascinated with this debate. In fact, I've often wondered...

How did eggs get so controversial in the first place?

I guess a lot of it has to do with cholesterol. A large egg contains about 185 mg of cholesterol. And since the American Heart Association (AHA) recommends a limit of 300 mg per day, eat two eggs and you've exceeded that limit.

(Cue up the post-breakfast guilt and shame.)

So, eggs are bad then?

Not so fast. There happens to be a problem with the AHA's recommendation. It assumes that when you eat more cholesterol (from eggs and other animal foods), your blood cholesterol increases.

Assume that and, of course, it makes sense to eat fewer eggs. Your blood cholesterol would be lower. Your heart and arteries would stay healthier for longer.

But here's the AHA's dirty little secret: Your body doesn't work that way.

Indeed, the research consistently and reliably shows that the cholesterol you eat has very little impact on how much cholesterol is in your blood.

If that sounds weird, maybe this will help...

You see, your body makes cholesterol. Lots of it, in fact. Every single day you produce between 1 and 2 grams of it on your own. (That's 5-10 times the cholesterol in a large egg.)

The interesting twist? When you eat more cholesterol from foods like eggs, your body produces less of it. And when you eat less cholesterol from foods like eggs, your body produces more.

That's because you have a cholesterol "set point." Think of it like a thermostat that's largely determined by your genetics, exercise habits, and stress. Funny enough, diet plays a surprisingly small role.

And here's another thing... cholesterol isn't so bad for you anyway.

In fact, cholesterol happens to be one of the most important nutrients in your body.

It's in every cell membrane (outer layer). It's a requirement for growth (in infants and adults). And it's required for the production of many hormones.

If all this is true, then why do so many people tell you to avoid eggs?

Simple: Egg paranoia has been based on the old assumption that eating the yolks will raise blood cholesterol (and increase your risk for artery and heart disease).

And even though the research has disproven the hypothesis -- for most of the population -- the medical community has been slow to reverse recommendations.

Of course, I get it. Most of us aren't in a rush to admit we're wrong. Especially when we've been wrong for years. And on the world's largest stage.

Regardless, researchers have looked at the diets of hundreds of thousands of people. And they've suggested that consuming eggs every day is not associated with cholesterol problems or heart disease.

(There's only one possible exception here: diabetics and the 0.2 percent of the population with familial hypercholesterolemia. More research has to be done to confirm this.)

Interestingly, in controlled trials -- the best kind of research -- where people were instructed to eat up to three eggs per day while on a weight loss diet, good things happened.

These folks lost weight, decreased inflammation and either maintained or improved their blood cholesterol levels.

(They were consuming 555 mg of cholesterol every day from eggs alone!)

Bottom line: Unless you have diabetes or a rare genetic disorder, eating a few eggs every day is not bad for you.

Interestingly, there's a more important question here that few people ever think to ask...

Could eating whole eggs every day (including the yolks) actually be good for you?

A lot of experts think so.

You see, egg yolks are one of the most nutrient-dense, antioxidant-rich and vitamin-laden foods on the planet! (Compared to the yolks, the whites are pretty much protein and water.)

Egg yolks contain 90 percent of the calcium, iron, phosphorus, zinc, thiamin, B6, folate, pantothenic acid and B12 of the egg. In addition the yolk contains all of the fat-soluble components, such as vitamins A, D and E, not to mention the heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids.

Egg yolks are also a rich source of some other very interesting nutrients such as choline, lutein and zeaxanthin.

Choline is essential for cardiovascular and brain function. Eating more of it may mean mean less inflammation, heart disease, diabetes, Alzheimers, and more.

Lutein and zeaxanthin are the major antioxidants in eggs. They protect the eyes by filtering harmful light wavelengths and lowering risk of macular degeneration.

Indeed, those people eating only egg whites -- or avoiding eggs entirely -- are missing out on many of these key nutrients.

But, is there ever a time to ditch the yolks?

There probably is. For some; but not most.

We already discussed diabetics and those with familial hypercholesterolemia. For those individuals, it's probably best not to eat three eggs every single day.

For athletes competing in weight-class sports, every calorie counts. When cutting weight, removing the yolks can help keep protein higher (which helps preserves muscle mass) while keeping calories lower.

(Each egg yolk contains 6 g of fat and 54 kcal. So even though they're full of nutrients, they still do contain calories.)

And one more consideration: people on high sugar and high carbohydrate diets.

Of course, diets high in sugar aren't ideal, whether you eat eggs or not. But, eat a lot of carbohydrates, sugar, and fat (from eggs or any other high fat / high cholesterol food) and many disease risks go up.

In the end -- for most people -- eggs won't increase blood cholesterol or the risk of heart or artery disease.

In fact, assuming the diet's not high in sugar or carbs, eggs are probably even an awesome addition to the diet.

However, there's no reason to get crazy -- as some have done -- and try to convince everyone to eat whole eggs every single day. I, for one, don't even do that myself.

That's not because I'm afraid of eggs, mind you. I actually like them and think they're great for me. Rather, it's because I vary my diet, rarely eating the same foods every single day.

And that's really my hope for everyone interested in better health:
•Avoid sensationalistic food fads (like banning eggs)
•Eat a varied diet of nutrient-rich whole foods (including eggs)
•Seek out the help of a coach when more fine-tuning is required


John Berardi, Ph.D., is a founder of Precision Nutrition, the world's largest online nutrition coaching company. In the last 5 years, Dr. Berardi and his team have personally helped over 20,000 people lose over 300,000 pounds of body fat through their renowned coaching program, Lean Eating.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-b...b_3499583.html

-Alex

So eggs are bad for you again? I'm not reading all of that

I had three egg whites this morning, not gonna worry about it lol

I've been trying to educate myself as much as possible on the subject of nutrition. There is so much information out there its really overwhelming. It seems that there is a study on everything regarding it all. For every study there is a direct counter study by a different doctor saying the exact opposite. Just like this subject on eggs. Its exhausting trying to keep up with it all. I find myself constantly questioning if i can trust any of it all.

A lot of times you find out these studies are funded by the people who benefit from it one way or another being the farmers or the drug companies. You cant trust ANY labels on any foods because they are always misleading or just outright false.

At this point i dont feel i can trust anything that isnt a plant based whole fresh food.

LOL, this study above shows that eggs are good for you. Read it in your off time.

-Alex

http://onedayfatloss.com/?sid=bt0201

-Alex