Stay/Get Back In Shape.... Vol 2.0

[chewtoy112]

Originally Posted by Carlos Tevez

Finally joined the 225-bench press club today. It feels good to have finally made some progress...I was stuck at 215 since October. Thanks to the guys who suggested pylo push-ups and the smith machine speed training. I did two single reps of 225, my goal is to rep it easily sometime during the summer. I dont think that I'll ever get to 3-plates bench but I'll be more than satisfied if I ever get to 250+.

Congrats, welcome to the club!  Try pushups with one hand on a small medicine ball.  Worked well for me. My strength/endurance shot up, too.  I just finished a program, and I think I used to be able to do 225 maybe five or six reps, but today (first day back to "normal" routine), I did 12, 8, 6.  I was surprised my 2nd and 3rd sets dropped that much, though.

 

[DCAllAfrican]

What do you mean he talks to much? You do understand it is a video blog right?

 

[whysoseri0us]

i need huge advice.

i'm about to pledge for a fraternity and i'm on the fence whether i should continue going to the gym regularly in the morning.

i want to do it, for my own sake and to get stronger along the way,
but this can make my performance suffer while doing very strenuous physical tasks at night. (endless drills, pushups, crunches, etc., etc.)

i fear that if i do train in the morning that my body would be weak by night, thus me being unable to do
my requirements at optimum range because i've already exhausted the energy i have in the morning.

or should i just keep doing it and drink plenty supplements (glutamine, whey, NO booster before pledging, etc.)?

HELP?

 

[smedroc]

Originally Posted by DCAllAmerican

What do you mean he talks to much? You do understand it is a video blog right?

Sean is that DUDE!!!

anything you hear coming outta my mouth regarding health & fitness came out of his mouth first! (nh)

 

[ricerocket1]

day 2 for some new stuff for me; running uphill for 2 miles, boxing and then lifting weights at night...my body is soooo sore right now...im supplement free by the way

 

[scott frost]

Good video DC, need to watch more of that guy's stuff. Try to tell people, and myself for that matter, not to be a "slave" to the scale.

 

[keepzdasneakz]

Originally Posted by WHYSOSERI0US

i need huge advice.

i'm about to pledge for a fraternity and i'm on the fence whether i should continue going to the gym regularly in the morning.

i want to do it, for my own sake and to get stronger along the way,
but this can make my performance suffer while doing very strenuous physical tasks at night. (endless drills, pushups, crunches, etc., etc.)

i fear that if i do train in the morning that my body would be weak by night, thus me being unable to do
my requirements at optimum range because i've already exhausted the energy i have in the morning.

or should i just keep doing it and drink plenty supplements (glutamine, whey, NO booster before pledging, etc.)?

HELP?

Don't even think about it. If I were you, I'd grab as many pre-workout and post-workout drinks to aid you in recovery. I don't know how hard they'll pledge you, but my friends were in for one helluva time during their pledge period. They barely made it to class, let alone the gym.

Oh yeah guys, I need some guidance on a new routine I'm doing:

I was on that chewtoy workout doing 8-12 reps 3x for almost all my exercises for about the past ....3 months? Needless to say, results have been great and size-wise my arms have gotten a lot bigger, so have my abs, my back...I swapped in some fat for muscle basically.

Recently i've reached a plateau with my lifts, so now I'm doing 5x5 or 5x4 for compounds in the beginning for maybe 2 exercises and then the rest will be the regular 8-12x3 with 30 sec. rest. Will this help me with my strength gains and size gain or will I need to convert all my exercises to lower rep range, greater sets?

 

[supremeape]

Laced Up Jordans, i persoanlly dont like that work out

What is your goal?

 

[nealraj006]

I've done 2 low calorie fasts in a row. It's so draining, both physically and mentally. But they're working, so it's alright. Atleast I'm done for the week and can enjoy myself a little more starting tomorrow.
I just decided to forget about all the science and cut down on the calories to get to where I want to be(7% body fat). Still a few weeks to go, then I'll just do one fast per week once I reach my goal.

 

[smedroc]

Originally Posted by nealraj006

I've done 2 low calorie fasts in a row. It's so draining, both physically and mentally. But they're working, so it's alright. Atleast I'm done for the week and can enjoy myself a little more starting tomorrow.
I just decided to forget about all the science and cut down on the calories to get to where I want to be(7% body fat). Still a few weeks to go, then I'll just do one fast per week once I reach my goal.

You gonna put it back on when you up your calories again though...unless you keep it up and continue to feel like $*++

you doing it for a comp or something??

 

[vancity74]

What's on everyone's iPod? I've been listening to the same mix since May and need to switch it up desperately.

 

[keepzdasneakz]

Frontline - Workout
Lil Jon - outta your mind
Trey Songz - panty dropper
Trey Songz - Invented sex
Ludacris - What them girls like (chris brown)

 

[klipschorn]

Reanimation by Linkin Park
Beastie Boys (just sabotage, brass monkey, fight for your right to party, intergalactic)
Papa Roach (first album)

I need something new though.

 

[thegrimm]

*checking in*

 

[proper english]

Originally Posted by Vancity74

What's on everyone's iPod? I've been listening to the same mix since May and need to switch it up desperately.

Led Zep: Mothership 

 .. best workout music i've had. 

 

[nealraj006]

Originally Posted by Smedroc

Originally Posted by nealraj006

I've done 2 low calorie fasts in a row. It's so draining, both physically and mentally. But they're working, so it's alright. Atleast I'm done for the week and can enjoy myself a little more starting tomorrow.
I just decided to forget about all the science and cut down on the calories to get to where I want to be(7% body fat). Still a few weeks to go, then I'll just do one fast per week once I reach my goal.

You gonna put it back on when you up your calories again though...unless you keep it up and continue to feel like $*++

you doing it for a comp or something??

No, no. I just finally decided to suck it up for a few weeks and finally get to my ideal body fat. The weather's warming up and I live in Florida, so it'd be nice to finally be as lean as I'd like. I just want to get under 10% for a short-term goal. My long term goal is maintaining single digit body fat around 6-8%. It is ambitious, but it's certainly not impossible and it doesn't have to be hard either.
I only feel bad because I put the two fasts directly after each other. If I did a day of normal eating in between, I'd feel fine. But I wanted to give it a shot and now I know how it is. One day of fasting for me isn't hard. But it's a mental struggle after the first day because you begin to think about food alot. You just have to keep yourself busy.

I won't put the weight back on. That's the point of the fasting. It can cut weekly calories by 10-20% easily. For maintenance, you can eat as you'd like and fast. For losing fat, just eat less on the non-fasting days as well. You basically skip all meals for 20-24 hours and eat as normal otherwise. No elaborate foods or macronutrient ratios. Plus, fasting helps the body detoxify.

intermittent fasts of maximum 24 hours have several benefits:
1. Decreased Insulin Levels & Increased Insulin Sensitivity
-> Role of insulin is storage of nutrients. When you eat insulin raises. When insulin is elevated you aren't able to release fat from your fat stores.
70% of the reduction of insulin levels happens in the first 24 hours of a fast.

2. Increased Lypolisis and Fat Burning
-> To burn fat, your fat has first to be released into the bloodstream. That's called lypolisis. After a series of steps these fatty acids get to the mitochondria (the furnace of every cell) and go through oxidation. That's the final step of fat burning - your fat has now been used for energy and is gone. When we fast our muscles start to switch over and start oxidizing fatty acids for fuel. In other words our muscles turn into fat-burning machines. Another thing that happens is the uncoupling of Protein-3, a protein that is associated with fat burning. Simply put, when fat-burning increases so does the amount of Uncoupling Protein-3 in our muscles. It is proven that after 15 hours into a fast the expression of Uncoupling Protein-3 is increased 5 fold.

Also after only 24 hours of fasting the amount of fat released from fat stores (lypolisis) and the amount being burnt for fuel (oxidation) is increased by over 50%

3. Increased Glucagon Levels
-> Insulin: stores fat; Glucagon: burns fat. Another role of Glucagon is the to maintain your blood sugar levels while you fast. Some other effects on us are: Increased fat burning, decreased cholesterol production, increase of the release of extra fluids from the body.

4. Increased Epinephrine and Norepinephrine Levels
-> Often called adrenaline and noradrenalin. When they are released into the bloodstream they cause the release of glucose from energy stores and increase fat burning. They also make you feel awake and alert. Fasting increases the amount of both these hormones in your blood.

5. Increased Growth Hormone Levels
-> Short-term fasting can increase your Growth Hormone levels 6 fold. Growth hormone helps burn fat, build muscle and increases metabolism. Fasting triggers the "growth hormone response" and this response keeps you from losing muscle while you fast. It also plays a large part in keeping your metabolism elevated while you are fasting.
It also plays a major role in the release of fatty acids from your fat stores to help fat burning.

6. Increased Weight Loss and Increased Fat Loss
-> You will lose 2-3 pounds every TIME you fast. THIS IS NOT ALL FAT! Much of this is extra body water being lost (insulin causes you to store water so when insulin levels are low you tend to lose water). Of course you are also burning fat, about 1-2 pounds per week (if you do two 24-hour fasts per week).

ALSO: You never have to go a day without eating even when it's a 24 hour fast, you start your fast when you want (I usually start around 1pm and finish it at 1pm the next day) but I never go a day without eating.

Look up Eat Stop Eat. Great eating frequency plan imo.

 

[nealraj006]

You guys only listen to like 5 or so songs? I've got like 50 or so songs that get played around. Lots of Young Jeezy and Ludacris. Instrumentals keep me motivated too. Here's a few:

Eminem - Go To Sleep
Young Jeezy - Crazy World
Raekwon - Guillotine Swordz
Ludacris - Satisfaction
Ludacris - Virgo
Eminem - Till I Collapse
G Unit - You Know
50 Cent - I Like The Way She Do It
Lloyd Banks - Fire
Lil Flip - Game Over
Lil Wayne - Bring It Back

 

[supremeape]

Originally Posted by Vancity74

What's on everyone's iPod? I've been listening to the same mix since May and need to switch it up desperately.

Rock music and a little rap during lifting
Kurt Cobain, Linkin park, our lady peace, Korn, bush, clipse, slim shady

during cooldown
James blunt, mika, michael jackson

 

[strongmind3]

so i've started getting stretch marks on both my biceps.

not too stressed out about it because i see them as badges of honor showing my growth

but does anyone else have them? how do you guys feel about stretch marks?

will they go away during time?

 

[durden7]

Originally Posted by SupremeApe

Originally Posted by Vancity74

What's on everyone's iPod? I've been listening to the same mix since May and need to switch it up desperately.

Rock music and a little rap during lifting
Kurt Cobain, Linkin park, our lady peace, Korn, bush, clipse, slim shady

during cooldown
James blunt, mika, michael jackson

You listen to OLP?

Ive only talked to like half a dozen people who have ever heard of OLP outside of "Somewhere Out There"


As far as my music is concerned, its everything but country.

Some days its rap, others it is rock or pop.  Ive gone from Taylor Dayne to Prince to Metallica to Eminem to 30 Seconds to Mars to Paramore to Billy Ocean, etc.  Anything that has a beat.

 

[carlos tevez]

Silly question to you guys...

Do you think that it's necessary to do tricep isolation exercises to improve your bench press?

Is it necessary to do bicep isolation exercises to improve your back and shoulder lifts?

A friend of mine today suggested that I do some bi + tri exercises to improve my lifts overall after I told him that I dont workout my arms specifically.

 

[punchi05]

Originally Posted by Carlos Tevez

Silly question to you guys...

Do you think that it's necessary to do tricep isolation exercises to improve your bench press?

Is it necessary to do bicep isolation exercises to improve your back and shoulder lifts?

A friend of mine today suggested that I do some bi + tri exercises to improve my lifts overall after I told him that I dont workout my arms specifically.

          well ive noticed that if im benching i also feel it in my triceps....when im doing rows or pulldowns i feel it in my biceps....so for the most part most of the major muscles groups
       are working together regardless...both pushing and pulling movements.....so overall it couldnt hurt

         i have noticed improvements in benching since i workout my tri's, but then it seems like my triceps engage to quickly when i bench...taking away from my chest

 

[dneou20]

for those nutrition dudes...
What is a good alternative to powerbar gels.
one that is more natural and not so much processed.
for those that aren't sure of what they are... the gels are like those of which distance/endurance athletes use to fuel in wiht carbs and electrolytes..

 

[bkmac]

Post workout snack I just had: Strawberry/Blueberry/Banana smoothie with a peanut butter w/ banana sandwich. So

 

[35kd]

Should I hoop first and then weights or weights first and then hoop? I'm trying to lose weight but gain muscle as well.

And what's the best exercise to do to lose my stomach?