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

Before lifting ill have a full, protein meal, such as steak about an hour and a half before lifting. My question is, whats good to eat after working out?
 
as much as humanly possible.
i usually eat about 3-4,000 calories immediately after working out everyday.
 
I realise this thread is kinda old but I looked at one of the stickies and it directed me here, so I'm just gonna resurrect it instead of posting a whole new thread asking about a workout for me.

Anyway basically I'm trying to start getting more in shape after a few years of just sitting around all day smoking weed and drinking (haha). I'm not that visibly out of shape - I'm apparently pretty skinny although other people have observed that I eat a lot. I dunno if that's a good thing or not, I guess it either means I have a naturally fast metabolism or a terminal disease...

I don't have the money to join a gym really, but I have a bit of free time. I have some dumbells but no bench or the space/money for one. Basically at the moment I just do various basic curls and some pressups, leg-lifts on alternating days with somewhat irregular rest days. I know this isn't much but it's hard to work out what's an optimal workout with what's available to me. I'm just kinda conscious that I might be doing something wrong, I've read some stuff on the topic and overtraining seems to be a potential problem, the amount of different exercises I can do seems kind of limited so I worry I might be doing this. I'm not interested in making bodybuilding my life but it would be nice to be more muscular.

Any pointers?
 
hey Cpt.Caveman, I'm 20 about 190 overweight but don't look like it in everyday clothes but want to get in shape. I lost 60 pounds back a while ago but got into a serious drinking habit and gained a lot back, since then I've been fluctuating a lot but keeping still not obese IMO though my BF % is in the 20's. I have muscle to me though as well I used to lift a lot when I lost that 60lbs as well so I'm not scrawny.

Thing is I've lost all motivation for going which is really my own problem to deal with but hopefully I can get over that.

Far as cardio and lifting goes I think I'm ok with that, I usually run 30-45 minutes either elliptical (resistance 8) or 20min on a stairstepper (resistance 10). I try to switch up when I do get myself to the gym.

My main question here unless you can throw me any extra advice off what I've said though is I rarely eat, some days not at all others 1 meal being a 6 inch subway sub or so and that's about it, maybe a footlong. Sometimes I eat more, but I am prescribed dextroamphetamine so my appetite rarely shows itself and forcing myself to eat is difficult to say the least. I realize I should take in 5 small meals a day to keep my metabolism in good shape, but amphetamines boost metabolism like crazy right? Is it smart to work out whilst on amphetamines? I assume I'd have potential to lose a lot of weight, but how could I regret this later on in life?
 
The desxtroamphetamine is definitely going to suppress your appetite, so eating properly is going to be a problem for you. The problem with this and weight loss is that your body will resist losing fat if you aren't consuming enough calories.

Assuming that you can't get your prescription changed, you're going to need to find a way to eat more. Even if you can manage a protein bar/shake or some cheese and an apple. Try to get lots of fat when you eat to help maximize that calories you get when you actually do eat. Yes, amphetamines will boost your metabolism, but if your body isn't receiving enough nutrition, you will burn muscle, not fat. Obviously, this is something you want to avoid.

Given your eating problems, I'd recommend that you scrap the cardio and only lift weights at the gym. That will help you avoid the muscle catabolism induced by your calorie deficiency, and the need to repair the muscle damage should help spark some appetite.

PS: I'm a trainer also.
 
Hey guys. I'm pretty worried here. I broke my back about 6 months ago (L4 compression fracture). Am I gonna be able to squat again? I do bodyweight exercises right now (squats, pushups, pullups, chinups, crunches). I'm in my twenties if that matters. What do you think?
 
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I workout occasionally with a lady who fractured her back between L1 and L2. It's been a few years since her accident, but she does a great squat and is much more flexible than I am. I'd say you probably will be able to squat again, but when depends on how quickly you heal.
 
Here's a question that doesn't really warrant its own thread:
(it may be kinda stupid but I think about this all the time)

I do moderate/intense cardio about 4-5 days a week. Sometimes when I'm getting into the really intense part, and my heartrate is at about 80-90% (i'm estimating as I do not have a monitor) I will get heart palpitations. Which basically feels like my heart is either skipping a beat or is beating like 100000 times at once. Then I get super dizzy, feel like I'm going to pass out, so I stop for a minute, take deep breaths, and it slowly goes away.

It's just kind of bothersome, and I am just curious if anyone else gets this and why it happens to me. Sometimes it scares me and I wonder if I'm working out too hard or something. It also pisses me off because I love to do some hardcore cardio, and this is kind of keeping me from giving it my all.

I'm in good health, I eat healthy, drink a lot of water, I'm at a pretty normal weight, I only have like 5-10 pounds to lose. I don't get it.

Anyone else get this or know why this happens?
 
Heart palpitations can happen for a number of reasons which can range from minor problems like anemia or fever to more serious conditions like thyrotoxicosis, arteriovenous fistula or idiopathic hyperkinetic heart syndrome.

Considering that you only experience it when you're at the peak of your cardio capacity, it would lead me to believe that the potential problem leads more towards the serious conditions which are all malfunctions of the heart or coronary arteries.

The best advise I can give (being a trainer, not a doctor) is to make an appointment to see your doctor about it and tone down your workouts significantly until after you get it checked out.
 
Well here's the thing: I had an EKG about two years ago because I was having heart palpitations from anxiety just in my normal day to day. Not when I was exercising. Now I've got my anxiety under control, I don't take any medication for it or anything but it's under control, and I only get these heart palpitations when I'm at peak cardio heartrate. The EKG came back normal. Should I get a second opinion, you think? I mean, I feel healthy.
 
firefighter said:
Well here's the thing: I had an EKG about two years ago because I was having heart palpitations from anxiety just in my normal day to day. Not when I was exercising. Now I've got my anxiety under control, I don't take any medication for it or anything but it's under control, and I only get these heart palpitations when I'm at peak cardio heartrate. The EKG came back normal. Should I get a second opinion, you think? I mean, I feel healthy.
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In this case an echocardiogram would be the way to go, rather then an electro, which examines the electrical activity of the heart, while an echo examines its structure.
 
I occasionally have short rapid palpitations (with and without exertion) secondary to tricuspid and bicuspid valve regurgitation. An echo revealed that diagnosis. My EKG was normal. It isn't going to kill me so it doesn't bother me.
 
colby744 said:
Before lifting ill have a full, protein meal, such as steak about an hour and a half before lifting. My question is, whats good to eat after working out?
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Depends what you want. If you want to grow muscle then a protein and carb shake will do. Then about an hour later have a full meal, again made up of protein and carbs. If you want to gain weight then drink alot of whole milk.
 
I have recently started back up at the gym, i do 40 mins of cardio and a split weight routine where for example ill do triceps and biceps in one session, then the next time i come in after my cardio ill say do back and shoulders... Oh and i do abs like twice a week.

Do you have any better recommendations for what muscle groups work better together?

Also how often should i go to the gym? Back in the day i would go 5 times a week and do a 2 - 2.5 hour session. Now days i am thinking of just going 3-4 times a week - will i still get in good shape only going that often?

Thanks guys - your input will be very much appreciated :)
 
^ Depends what you want. Some ppl say that after an hour or so in the gym your body stops making gains. So its better to shorten the training session. 2.5 hours may be too long.
 
I cant do my weight training before my cardio. I have to work up a good sweat and get the blood flowing before I'm feeling up to any substantial weight training. Otherwise, it feels like I'm trying to push myself too hard with a resting heartbeat. :\

AdInfinitum said:
^^ Doing your cardio after your weight training ensures that you haven't used up your 'resources' in regards to strength. If you bang out 45 minutes of high intensity cardio first, your weight training session will often suffer from your lack of energy.

Also, doing your weight training first will bring your heart rate up and get your metabolism cruising nicely. By the time you're finished and move onto your cardio, your body will already be warmed up and you'll more than likely already be in the 'fat burning' zone.
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drugfukkdrockstar said:
I have recently started back up at the gym, i do 40 mins of cardio and a split weight routine where for example ill do triceps and biceps in one session, then the next time i come in after my cardio ill say do back and shoulders... Oh and i do abs like twice a week.

Do you have any better recommendations for what muscle groups work better together?

Also how often should i go to the gym? Back in the day i would go 5 times a week and do a 2 - 2.5 hour session. Now days i am thinking of just going 3-4 times a week - will i still get in good shape only going that often?

Thanks guys - your input will be very much appreciated :)
Click to expand...

If you're at the gym for 2+ hours, you aren't working out hard enough. I work at a gym, so I'm there 8 or more hours a day and still only work out for no more than an hour. That's also considering that I often do 2-a-days and sometimes 3.

From what you listed, the thing that jumps out at me is that all of your weight training is upper body.

For splits, train around compound movements of major muscle groups. If you want to isolate the smaller muscles involved afterwards that's fine, but hit the big ones first. Your workout should be built around squats, deadlifts, cleans, bench presses, shoulder presses and pull ups.
 
^So when you sad "2-a-days and sometimes 3" does that mean you'll sometimes do 2-3 1 hour workouts a day?
 
2 or 3 workouts yes, but 1 hour, no. A heavy powerlifting workout that requires lots of recovery time between sets may take me an hour, but an average workout takes me 15-20 minutes. At a high level of intensity, it doesn't take long to successfully fatigue your body.
 
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