• H&R Moderators: VerbalTruist

I'm a trained Fitness Instructor, any questions on exercise or simple nutrition? :)

I only rest 2 minutes maximum on 5RM stuff, hard workouts rarely go over 1 hour and 15 minutes (anymore and you're triggering more than you want of stress hormones)

I guess I always told myself that more resting than that wouldn't condition me as well

DFRS, the thing that makes a woman look irresistible (if you're down with going for that) is lots of squats

my god women that squat hard just have the most tight delicious asses ever
 
I dont really keep track of how much time i spend in the gym, but i do 2 body parts per session, and around 3 exercises per body part.
 
im gaining roughly 5lbs a month
im doing cardio 5 or 4 times a week

im not pigging out
im eating 3 meals
lots of fruits and veggies

my alc consumption is minimal


im on dilantin for seizures

ever since i started with the dilantin
i have been putting on the lbs

shit im turning into a fatty

you should see me try putting on my socks
then the doc wants me on zoloft too

u'll be 300 and some change by next christmas :(
 
Weight gain is one of the less common side effects of dilantin. Exercising more isn't really the answer for controlling weight gain, especially when caused by a medication. Diet is much more effective.

Can you give me more an idea of what you're eating? An example daily intake would help a lot.
 
Weight gain is one of the less common side effects of dilantin. Exercising more isn't really the answer for controlling weight gain, especially when caused by a medication. Diet is much more effective.

Can you give me more an idea of what you're eating? An example daily intake would help a lot.

thanks much
tommorow
i'll start keeping a detailed dietary diary for a week or two
and then post

but a quick example

i gotta be careful im on dilantin 3 times a day and i cant have calcium containing products 2 hours before and 2 hours after taking my meds

bowl of oatmeal (quaker instant crap ) :( for breakfast, cup of green tea with honey (stopped using honey recently)
around 10 am, a banana, apple, orange, more green tea

hmmm lunch maybe left over dinner from the night before , tuna , possibly 3 eggs scrambled , or a cucumber salad or salad of some sort with vinegar salad dressing , very sparse with olive oil , bowl of progresso soup :\

another piece of fruit to hold me over till dinner, canteloup, oranges, or maybe some more salad

dinner 90% of the time jasmine rice, vegtables, and on an indulgent night, 2 pork chops or steaks

indulgences
a loaf of real good french bread sometimes

and a very rare piece of dark chocalate

i drink club soda and water, and a glass or two of merlot

my diary will be more on point than this

i gotta admit
i did go thru a faze around xmas thru new years where i was chowing baked potatoes with sour cream and shredded chedder like no bodys business
but i kinda stopped that

im not big on late night sweets and munching out on garbage
if its after 8 pm
i may make some popcorn the old school way 3 table spoons of oil in a pot
and 1/3 cup of kernals
no butter
just a lil sea salt
i hate microwaves


sorry
im gunna go on a rant on my recent med history please bear with me

im currently on on metaprolol 50 mg twice a day
when i go see the doc my blood pressure has been really high
140 over 100
maybe the dilantin is doing that
maybe nerves
after she got me on the beta blockers
my blood pressure is still the same

she said it was anxiety
3 options
addictive benzos
SSRIs
or buspar

i said hell no to the sSri's
i said no to the benzos
i said i would try the buspar

did that for two weeks and didnt think another chemical was the answer and started feeling down on myself about all the pharms im taking and dumped the buspar down the toilet

after reading the pharm info on buspar i just didnt trust it

im pretty much clean and sober, a glass or two of merlot, or chardonay if my girl is with me
and i may smoke a fatty once or twice a month

other than that
no tobaco no hard drugs,
honestly
i dont want to be on any meds

sorry for the rant
 
Just from this quick look, your diet is almost entirely carbohydrate, which will absolutely cause you to gain weight. Even healthier carbs like fruits and vegetables are unhealthy if your overall diet is unbalanced.

Try to make your meals so that you eat a protein, a carb and a fat at every single meal. This includes snacks. Also, don't count the "protein" that comes from non-animal sources for the protein content of your meal. All proteins are not created equally and your body does not process non-animal sources very well.

Keeping a food log will help you balance out your intake. I have my clients use the online one at www.caloriecount.about.com
 
thanks much rabbi

i signed up
:)
i think that site will teach me alot
and keep me more on point and dedicated
to loosing this weight

than my half assed DIY diet/exercise program

thanks again

right now
if i saw you in person
id like to give you a huge smile handshake/hug
and an enthusiastic pat on the back
and an enourmous thanks
 
You're welcome!

PS: Ignore the grading on Calorie Count, it's total garbage. I like it because of the analysis tool which shows you a pie chart breakdown of your protein, carb, fat ratio and the tagging tools which make it easy for you to find the foods you eat often.
 
Hey folks, this would be my first ever post in HL... so here goes.

I've been addicted to Heroin for about 7 years. blah blah blah you know the story, anyway, I've recently quit (for good I hope) and have started going to the gym. My girlfriend is a lifelong gymnast and general health nut, so I've got a good support system already in place. My question though, is what should I be doing differently? Being as she's a woman and all, I'm sure that the routine her physical trainer wrote up for her isn't going to be the same for me.

My goals are to build a decent bit of muscle mass, while cutting my body fat percentage significantly. Right now I'm about 5' 8" tall and I weigh about 165lbs. Since I've started going to the gym I've gained 15 lbs, so I used to be about 150lbs. I assume that 15lbs is muscle, since I haven't changed anything else about my life (diet, other exercise, sports, etc.).

I've been lifting weights an average of 3-4 days a week, in this pattern: 1 day upper body (light) 1 day lower body (light) rest a day, then 1 day upper body (heavy) and 1 day lower body (heavy) then rest two days. and running 2 to 4 days a week 20 minutes at about 6mph.

I just want to know mainly if that's a good schedule to reach my goals as a man. Because that's what she's doing, I just go with her and do the same workouts. I lift more weight than she does, but I do the same amount of reps and the same actual workouts in the same order.

What do you healthy folks think?
 
Yea! Welcome healthy boy!

I did the my husband's weight lifting routine for 1+ years plus I added cardio machines.
Going together kept me motivated. I liked the time we spent together at the gym.

How awesome that she already has a routine. It probably makes it easier for you. Less planning/thought. Just do.

Once you get going you might be interested in trying other exercises. I have used Men's Fitness for exercise suggestions. It's good to mix it up. It will also benefit your girl's gains.
 
yeah, I gotta say it was pretty nice to have someone to basically tell me "ok do this, now do that 12 times... no no no you're fucking it all up! like this!"

after two weeks of that I kinda got the hang of it. :D
 
Hey everyone, some of you might know me from PD or OD, otherwise nice meeting you all...

So here's my situation: I'm 6'4" and around 200 lbs, but I feel really "soft," if you get my drift. I don't really want to start a hardcore cutting cycle because I'm not all that muscular, but I definitely don't want to bulk up and turn into a fatass haha...

Should I concentrate on light weights and cardio, and just try to limit carbohydrates? (I'm addicted to HF corn syrup so this might be tough!)

Also, does it matter that I regularly take benzodiazepines? Is that going to slow down my metabolism in any way?
 
what's a skinny-fat guy to do?

I just realized that I've been skinny fat all my life. I'm 5'11'' 170 pounds. I've been a vegetarian since October (I probably eat more healthy protein than most people today). I have been doing body-weight exercises since December (squats, push-ups, crunches, pull-ups, dips) and have actually put on visible muscle. I've always been athletic, playing soccer, basketball, tennis, hockey all through high-school. I used to run a lot, but I've switched over to cycling. I've never been too much for working out...

I guess it is impossible to gain muscle and lose fat at the same time... Should I spend this summer bulking and working out like crazy? Probably a backwards time-table, but this would allow me to bulk from summer all the way through winter, then cut next summer. Anything wrong with this plan?

Also, my proposed workout plan is very simple: M/W/F

3 sets / 6-12 reps

A.
-squats
-bench press
-deadlifts
-bent over row
-leg press/isolation

B.
-deadlifts
-dips
-squats
-pullups
-leg press/isolation

These are obviously full body workouts, 3 days a week, alternating A/B/A, B/A/B, etc... Will these sets/reps allow me to gain sufficient muscle?
 
Also, my proposed workout plan is very simple: M/W/F

3 sets / 6-12 reps

A.
-squats
-bench press
-deadlifts
-bent over row
-leg press/isolation

B.
-deadlifts
-dips
-squats
-pullups
-leg press/isolation

These are obviously full body workouts, 3 days a week, alternating A/B/A, B/A/B, etc... Will these sets/reps allow me to gain sufficient muscle?

Doing squats, deadlifts, and leg presses all in one workout three times a week might be too much, particularly on your lower back. Is there any reason you particularly want to throw leg presses in on top of squats? Your legs will be getting plenty workout squatting three times a week. I'd consider replacing that last slot each day with a core workout. Something to get your abs burning extra hard to finish up.

I've been following a pretty similar regimen that I've had GREAT success with over the past few months. I highly recommend it, and it's pretty close to what you were thinking of anyway. I do the same A/B/A B/A/B alternating weeks, working out three times a week. My two workouts are:

A
Squats - 5x5
Overhead press - 5x5
Deadlift - 1x10
Pullups/Chinups (alternating which I do each workout) - 3 sets to failure
Prone Bridge - 3 x 30 seconds

B
Squats - 5x5
Bench press - 5x5
Inverted Row - 3 sets to failure
Push-ups - 3 sets to failure
Reverse crunch - 3 x 12

On the barbell exercises, work from VERY low weights (I started with an empty bar on squats, overhead press, and bench press, and with 10 kg on each side on deadlift) to work on having good form, and add 2.5 kg to each workout when you can do 5x5 (or 1x10 for deadlifts) without breaking form. Yeah, it's embarrassing to be bench pressing an empty bar or a bar with like 5 kg on it in a full gym, but whatever, it's good for your form. Keep adding weight and stuff gets heavy in good enough time.

Doing that I've put on about 30 pounds, most of which has been muscle, in the past 2.5 months, even though I missed a few weeks due to illnesses and traveling. I've actually put on less fat than I was worried I would. Also, just doing that has bulked up the muscles in my legs and back a LOT (to be fair my back was really weak when I started), so don't think you won't get results cutting down on deadlifts and cutting out leg presses.

I got this all from:

http://stronglifts.com/stronglifts-5x5-beginner-strength-training-program/

check it out if you're interested. Note, the site says only 1x5 for deadlifts, but I've been doing 1x10 until the weight gets too heavy for me to sustain that, then I'll go down to 1x5.

In general, yeah I would say it's a good plan to work on building muscle this summer and then cut down on fat later. You might end up surprising yourself and losing some fat at the same time as you build muscle (it's not impossible to do that, it IS impossible to literally 'turn fat into muscle' as some bogus programs/products claim to do). If nothing else, it'll be much easier for you to burn fat when you have a solid muscle base underneath.
 
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Also, I started out rather skinny-fat too. Back in late February when I got started I was about 165 lb, standing just over 6'2". Today I'm up to 195. I've bulked up noticeably and my thighs don't want to fit into my pants now (to be fair I like skinny jeans), but I don't look like I've put on 30 lbs just because not much of it has been fat (I've definitely put on a noticeable bit of fat too of course, but nothing to worry about). I really can't sing the praises of that stronglifts 5x5 workout plan enough.
 
yeah, the slot for leg presses was just a optional slot and felt like I'd throw those in there because legs are the largest muscles. I guess it would be too much, and I forgot that I didn't even have any core stuff on there either...

thanks for the support though. I'm starting on Wednesday (on off days I run maybe a mile and do some tree/rock climbing, or ride ~10 miles), and will probably post some updates/pictures towards the end of the summer.
 
GL with multiple heavy sets of deadlifts, those things are brutal enough when your only doing 1. Mark Rippeteo recommends against doing them for sets across actually, as he says and I believe that they are hard on the body and you can get really beat up doing them too much.


Changed, a gallon of milk a day will really help with the weight gain.
 
Changed, a gallon of milk a day will really help with the weight gain.

Haha amen! I've been downing a gallon of whole milk a day these past couple months and don't think there's any chance I'd have bulked up anywhere near as much without it.

The stuff is magic.
 
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