Fitness and Exercise

[Archangel]

Oh don't cycle... it's such a huge bother and it's unclear there's actually any significant effect on the efficiency of the product.

[Raven]

Have an idea, but how would you recommend cycling it?

Personally I do 3 days on, 3 days off. But it can depend on a lot of factors such as how long you've been doing this for, your body type / lean mass, diet etc. Your body needs a break from it and yes you can OD on it if you stuff it up.

One thing I learned about creatine is it's best not to read about it on the internet and take a guess about whose advice is correct (yep, I'm aware of the irony in that statement ) - I'd recommend getting some professional advice about it, hopefully not from a bro-science guy.

@Archie: not belittling your opinion or anything, but for me nothing's a bother when it comes to my health.

[gos27]

Personally I do 3 days on, 3 days off. But it can depend on a lot of factors such as how long you've been doing this for, your body type / lean mass, diet etc. Your body needs a break from it and yes you can OD on it if you stuff it up.

One thing I learned about creatine is it's best not to read about it on the internet and take a guess about whose advice is correct (yep, I'm aware of the irony in that statement ) - I'd recommend getting some professional advice about it, hopefully not from a bro-science guy.

@Archie: not belittling your opinion or anything, but for me nothing's a bother when it comes to my health.

Well it's my first time taking creatine so I don't have to worry about OD'ing :P And it's not something I'm going to be taking for a long period of time. Thanks for the advice, will probably ask a Personal Trainer at the gym or just see how my own body reacts to it.

[Raven]

Not sure if this link will work for you but have a read, hopefully it's not TL;DR.

[Archangel]

@Archie: not belittling your opinion or anything, but for me nothing's a bother when it comes to my health.

Not your health, just a guess. There's no concrete evidence that indicates that cycling or not cycling is more or less effective on your muscle growth. The loading phase at least as been completely disproved.

[Buffalobiian]

Was "bro-science" a typo for "bio-science"? I didn't think it was, but wasn't sure..

[Animeniax]

Nah, it's the shit you'll hear at the gym from the guys who think they know what they're talking about when it comes to weight lifting and nutrition. If you listen to enough of them, you'll get an idea of what works, but nothing scientific, just anecdotal.

[Raven]

So how're people doing regarding their health lately? Any new year's resolutions to "get fitter", "lose weight", etc?

In regards to my own situation: it's a year since I've properly started this regime and I'm still keeping up the lifestyle as I find it pretty effortless now; I'll do so into the foreseeable future. I do slack off a bit when I'm on leave from work, but I still give careful consideration to most of the things I eat. I have learned in time that I can eat the occasional pizza or sugary dessert and if anything it makes me leaner. Unfortunately I've recently been diagnosed with glandular fever which has sat me on my ass a bit regarding gym but I'm keen to get back to it. I don't feel like it's affected me that badly but without blowing my own trumpet I'm a pretty healthy guy and given myself every chance to ward these things off.

Body fat is sitting at around 6-7%, don't quite have the definition in the abs that I maybe had 6 months ago, but I largely put that down to the festive season and being on leave from work. Now that I'm back at work, I'll quickly rediscover routine and get into it guns blazing, my health allowing. About to start a new 12 week weights program. Motivation has never subsided and I feel passionate to continue to improve.

Anyone in need of motivation? Can we all help each other out somehow?

[Archangel]

I never stopped.

[Buffalobiian]

Holiday season managed not to put any significant weight on me (but I haven't lost any either). My foot injury's more or less healed now, but I still feel some uneasiness in it. We'll see how I go once I do some proper exercise.

I carried some heavy items around during the holidays and discovered that my forefeet would swell to become too large for my current joggers. I'll have to fix that before I resume running. My wrist is currently pain-free, but I am 100% sure that when I start lifting they would hurt again. I'm currently deciding on whether I should see my physio before I resume gymwork or after (so he can see the symptoms).

[Ryllharu]

I'm still pretty lazy regarding exercise...but I've found that my diet and eating habits keep me quite healthy otherwise.

I eat breakfast twice (at 4am and at 7am) and snack throughout the morning (usually an item an hour). Then around 11am-12pm I have a decent lunch, then a snack around three hours later, and a light dinner sometime between 4pm and 6pm depending on how hungry I am. Finish dinner off with alcohol (trying to switch back to herbal teas instead) for a digestif. No other food after dinner. Basically, I front load my nutritional intake to keep my metabolism high at the times of the day it will be high.

My diet is varied, but I generally eat what I feel like. I don't shy away from anything, except for one (see below). Vegetables most days, but not others, carbohydrates some days, none on others. For a protein source, whatever I feel like, whatever was cheap at the store, or whatever is thawed or about to go bad. Chicken, fish, pork, beef now and again, just beans sometimes, etc. I eat a vegetarian dish at least once a week.

One major change in the past 6 months is that I cut out pretty much anything that has added sugar. I get the majority of sugar from fruits. I typically did not eat desserts, and now I barely ever do. For snacks, I've switched from a lot of the "center aisle" snacks (the kinds with lots of preservatives), to nuts and dried fruits, fresh berries, or white mushrooms. They nuts are fattier, but more filling with less and all of the fats are the good kind. Cutting out the "granola" bars that are a fewer grains and a lot more sweeteners has helped.

Portion control is a big thing for me. I keep a close eye on the quantity of food I eat. This is more of a byproduct of the fact that I eat incredibly fast thanks to habits from university. I generally eat a meal in 5-7 minutes. My stomach will catch up 10-20 minutes later and let me know I'm satisfied, but I've learned to just stop once I know I've had enough.

The biggest thing that helps me is I generally don't eat anything I haven't cooked myself. I know what goes in it, and nothing extra gets added. I skillet fry a lot because I haven't bought a grill yet. I usually use canola oil. Despite the frying, I've actually lost weight. About 7 pounds over four months. Plus, you can skillet fry damn near anything. I made beer-battered eggplant the other day.

If I'm too lazy to cook, I just make a salad with tuna or a leftover meat on it, or grab a can of sardines and some rice.

Proper diet is just as important, if not moreso, than exercise.


If I exercised, I'd probably be in really good shape. I doubt I would increase my intake, mostly out of habit.

[Buffalobiian]

On the other hand, I must pay close attention to my diet. If I just ate on instinct, I'd derail in no time.

Case in point: I pretty much have to force myself to eat breakfast. Traditionally my meals were eaten between noon and midnight. They were high in carbs too. I was a good kid when it came to learning rules, and I made sure I ate loads and loads of the foods on the bottom of the pyramid. Fucking pyramid.

I'm also not very good when it comes to snaking. I was brought up to eat 3 solid meals a day (meals = good, snacks = bad). I also eat fast. My problem with snacks is that they require a great deal of self-control. I'll eat it extremely quickly, then feel really hungry. Each time I snack, I'd want a full-course meal.

I can diet easier if I was just preparing food for myself because I can deal with boredom. Tuna + vegetables every meal for 3 months? No problem for me. Unpredictability is what throws me off my diet.

Alcohol's not a problem for me. No desire to drink it.

[Ryllharu]

I should also point out that I do not take any vitamins or supplements.

I get everything from food, which also necessitates a varied diet.

[Animeniax]

Holidays pretty much ruined my workout schedule, which was a steady 3 days a week every other day, during which times I saw gains in size and a little in strength. Trying to get back into it now, but finding it hard to keep a routine. Soon school starts up and a new job as well, which will make getting to my gym a lot harder. I work out at the university gym which means I can only park on campus after hours, which with the new job I won't be free after hours. I might need to find a new gym but I still have 8 months on my membership and I really do prefer working out at the uni gym... lots of motivation of the young hot female kind.

I don't have a problem with supplements, you can only eat so much for economic and lifestyle reasons. I keep a 10am-3am schedule so I find myself eating at 12p, 5pm, 9pm and a snack at 12am most days, but not getting fat from it. I guess that means that I'm pretty fit, even though my body fat scale says I'm 23-24% body fat. When I drank a protein shake everyday, even on days I didn't work out, I was able to put on 10lbs in 6 months. Since I went back to only taking protein on workout days (3 days a week), I've had trouble getting past 165lbs. But the shits from all that protein plus the price of protein means I won't be going back to daily intake.

I'm finally addressing my back problems with supportive seating, a new tempur-pedic bed, and trying to correct my sitting posture. That will hopefully contribute to my overall health and well-being and make it easier to progress at the gym and stay active.

[Ryllharu]

I guess that means that I'm pretty fit, even though my body fat scale says I'm 23-24% body fat. When I drank a protein shake everyday, even on days I didn't work out, I was able to put on 10lbs in 6 months. Since I went back to only taking protein on workout days (3 days a week), I've had trouble getting past 165lbs.

Wait a minute...how tall are you?

Or do you mean 165 lbs. bench, squat, or deadlift?

edit:
Regarding back problems: Do deadlifts properly if you already do them, or start doing them (with proper form) if you didn't. Your back supports everything else. It is imperative that you build up your back when doing other heavy weightlifting.

[Animeniax]

Wait a minute...how tall are you? Or do you mean 165 lbs. bench, squat, or deadlift?

5'8" ish.

[Ryllharu]

So you weigh 165 Lbs at 5'8"? 24% body fat? Either your scale's readings are terrible or something is off here.

Also, start doing deadlifts, see the edit above.

[Animeniax]

Yeah we had a discussion about the validity of the readings from home body fat scales. Except I had a DEXA scan and it put me around 27%. You wouldn't believe i'm 1/4 fat to look at me, but who knows.

I have been doing deadlifts, though I'm not sure about proper form. I saw some youtube videos on proper form, but I see people doing them all sorts of different ways at the gym. Also, my back issues limit what I can squat and deadlift. I've been doing back exercises to remedy this but they only help so much.

[Ryllharu]

If you do deadlifts properly (a lot of people don't), they help out a great deal. A coworker helped out a lot of people where I work, telling them how to do it right. Fewer reps closer to your max weight. Look up the 5-3-1 plan.

Ask a trainer who actually knows their shit to help you.

[Animeniax]

I'm pretty sure I'm not doing them 100% properly but I do see and feel results in my legs since I started doing them. I basically do this:



I go lower with my butt and have the station set up so the bar goes lower on the floor, but I think this is giving my back problems at heavier weights, which I will remedy.

I checked out the 5-3-1 plan and I have to say, in all the years I've been at it you see so many different plans for a "successful" workout and in the end I think if you just get to the gym and work out, you'll see results. If you're looking for serious gains and transforming your body, then a planned workout system makes sense, but for those just looking to get in shape and a little stronger, it's not necessary.