Fitness and Exercise

[Buffalobiian]

First: Your workout has nothing to do with your weightloss or mass gains. That's almost entirely up to your diet.

I plan to focus there too. I didn't know exercise was almost completely irrelevant though. Thought at least some longer sessions of running/cardio would be beneficial in that regard..

though I'm sure moisturizing would be a quick fix for that.

Hoho, I moisturise daily already..

I'll have a look at those tips. Thanks guys.

edit: regarding Deadlift's and Ani's comment on changing routines - I'm asking whether it's fine to cycle the routines. There'll be a change every 6 weeks.. but does:

Ax6wks, Bx6wks, Cx6wks, Ax6wks... work? Or does every 6 weeks need to be different, AND not repeat any previously tried 6-week routine? That's what I was asking.

[Deadlift]

there`s no issue re-using a routine as long as you have one other in between, you could try doing one routine focused on fat burning and another on strength training for example and just alternate.

[Archangel]

I`m not that into them myself I prefer to go with the natural method (there is way too many negative aspects to things such as creatine ect.), but I found a pretty good one, called vegegreens its a few servings of vegetables in a powder, tastes like the sandman crapped in your cup, but it helped supplement my diet which pretty much consists of meat, dairy, fruit and nuts and not too many green veggies.

...yeah, increased mental and physical aptitude along with increased muscle gains. It's the devil's nectar.

First: Your workout has nothing to do with your weightloss or mass gains. That's almost entirely up to your diet.

Second: Rippetoe's Starting Strength

It's 50/50 if you ask me, you can't tell me you'll build any significant muscle with a high rep ( 15+ ) and cardio routine even if you keep a high proteins and carb diet.

Oh and SS is overrated as fuck, but it's a solid muscle building program for beginners.

[XanBcoo]

Oh and SS is overrated as fuck

What makes it "overrated" rather than "effective"?

[Psyke]

I've no idea about all these calculations and theory stuff, and I tend to only run. But I need to build up some upper body strength so I've been doing just push ups and not going to a gym. Just curious, how many chin-ups can you guys do? As in the maximum number. Mine's around 12 I guess, but I'm hoping to do more after this regime.

[Archangel]

What makes it "overrated" rather than "effective"?

Never said it wasn't, i'm just against the idea that it's the only effective plan available for a beginner.

If one knows what he's doing ( or is instructed by someone who does ) then the difference in results obtained by either a compound or isolation workout is pretty negligible.

I've no idea about all these calculations and theory stuff, and I tend to only run. But I need to build up some upper body strength so I've been doing just push ups and not going to a gym. Just curious, how many chin-ups can you guys do? As in the maximum number. Mine's around 12 I guess, but I'm hoping to do more after this regime.

There's a whole lot going on in your upper body Psyke, care to be more specific? Why do you need it for example.

I don't know about chin ups, i stopped doing them after i hit 10. I can do 12-15 pull ups at 75kg though.

[Deadlift]

What makes it "overrated" rather than "effective"?

there not over rated at all, for beginners they allow you to focus on form with high reps and isolating a particular muscle group very well, but for advanced people that many reps at a high weight really gets the muscles pumped and is an excellent way to start a workout.

that's just my opinion, however I did take the format from a fitness models workout and he's no beginner. In the end it all comes down to what works best for you individually, everyone has a different body, strengths, and weaknesses. when you first start working out it's all about trial and error if you aren't willing to try a routine or new way of doing things based on "beginner" stigmas then you're potentially missing out on what could have been your best work-out.

[XanBcoo]

there not over rated at all, for beginners they allow you to focus on form with high reps and isolating a particular muscle group very well, but for advanced people that many reps at a high weight really gets the muscles pumped and is an excellent way to start a workout.

I have no idea what you're talking about. I was responding to Archangel's comment about the Starting Strength routine, which has almost no isolation exercises whatsoever.

[Deadlift]

ahh SS as in starting strength, I misunderstood SS as meaning Super Set, my bad

[Assassin]

I've started the P90x routine recently....well i havent actually started the regiment yet since im no where near the shape needed to actually do it. But i've been doing the plyometrics one on and off, trying to increase the amount i get done each time. Once i can get through the entire video i think i'll start the full program.

Any of you guys have experience with P90x, or know someone who's done it? What are your thoughts on its effectiveness?

I've no idea about all these calculations and theory stuff, and I tend to only run. But I need to build up some upper body strength so I've been doing just push ups and not going to a gym. Just curious, how many chin-ups can you guys do? As in the maximum number. Mine's around 12 I guess, but I'm hoping to do more after this regime.

For upper body (particularly if you're not too worried about specific muscle groups and just want a general upper body workout) pushups is one of the best things to do. It's simply the best excersice for your pecs and it really works on your triceps as well. As for pullups i believe being able to do 15-20 is considered fairly decent, though you should always be pushing to do more ofcourse....that is, dont just get to the point where you can do 20 and then be like "welp, im set for life!" .

I dont know how many i can do right now, probably not more then 10 as i've let myself go quite a bit.

For a general upper body workout, here's what i recommend:

Push ups (pecs/triceps) - try to do 100 each night; either 50/50, or 40/40/20...whatever combination works. But your goal should be to do the 100 each night.

Pullups (biceps) - Set a target and try to beat it. A good variation is to hold position as you come down. Meaning, you go up all the way, hold for 10 seconds....come down slightly (elbows 90 degrees) and hold for 10 sec....come down a bit more (elbows at 130 degrees) and hold 10 sec. Also, you can spread your arms further apart (beyond your shoulders). These are harder to do, but they will bring out that V shape.

Abs - a combination of situps/crunches/leg lifts. Basically do as many different variations as you can, with as many reps as you can. For the leg lifts, bring up each leg seperately...that way you work both sides of your abdominal muscles.

Back Now this is tougher to do at home, especially since there's like 5 different muscles that make up your back. i dont know of any exercises off the top of my head that you can do wihtout weights, but if you have a pair of dumbells you can find a whole bunch of stuff on the intarwebz.

[XanBcoo]

Pullups are primarily a back exercise...

Edit: Chin-ups focus more on biceps.
Edit: And if you're recommending doing 100 pushups, it becomes primarily a cardiovascular exercise, and I'd advocate doing that early in the morning before eating. There's a lot of controversy around when it's best to do cardio, but that's what I've found most beneficial for me.

But as far as strength building goes, pushups are awful. Basically what Archangel said is true.

It's 50/50 if you ask me, you can't tell me you'll build any significant muscle with a high rep ( 15+ ) and cardio routine even if you keep a high proteins and carb diet.

Once you get past a certain number of reps, you're not really tearing and building any muscle, just working out your lungs. You're not going to get any stronger doing a shit load of pushups. But perhaps that's your goal.

[gos27]

For push ups I thought this 'program' if you will, was pretty good. http://hundredpushups.com/week1.html

In relation to supplements, I wouldn't go near creatine, I just stick to protein and I'm pretty happy with it.

Anyone know of anything that's good for energy? Hate being in the gym and too tired or too lazy to do anything, need something to get me flying, natural or not (no weird shit ).

[Archangel]

Anyone know of anything that's good for energy? Hate being in the gym and too tired or too lazy to do anything, need something to get me flying, natural or not (no weird shit ).

Creatine.

[Animeniax]

Creatine made my joints (knees) hurt, even before I read about it, so it's not psychosomatic.

I take protein, but only after my workout. Before a workout, I eat a protein and carb filled breakfast of waffles, eggs, and sausage, with a cup of coffee. I try to eat 3 hours before a workout so it's fully digested.

[gos27]

Creatine.

Wouldn't touch the stuff. Thanks anyway though.

[Archangel]

Am i being trolled or are you guys genuinely this stupid?

[Deadlift]

Am i being trolled or are you guys genuinely this stupid?

creatine gives you acne and makes you gain water weight, are you that stupid?

[gos27]

Yeah, this is why I wouldn't touch it http://www.creatine-monohydrate.org/...f-creatine.htm

[Archangel]

creatine gives you acne and makes you gain water weight, are you that stupid?

No it doesn't and only if you don't cycle it properly/don't exercise while using it.

I've been using creatine for almost a year now ( cycled ) and have experienced no side effects whatsoever, which is what pretty much every creatine user will tell you as well.

[shinta|hikari]

I don't use any supplements, but judging from the available data, creatine is fairly safe, and simply has a really bad rep that is not really based on scientific studies.