Yesterday:



I knew I'd be drinking so I spent 45min on the treadmill doing intervals.

and weight is 184, so I'm down 6lbs since we started

6/22/2010 7:58:27 AM

Quote :

"eleusis you may have more pounds of muscle than I have on my body. Impressive, man."

The second best thing about being related to eleusis is that he intimidates the hell out of the guys I date. They know he could kick their ass if he wanted to.

The best thing about being related to eleusis is that he's kind of awesome.

6/22/2010 8:35:13 AM

Quote :

"^^^shows how fucked up your leg alignment is when your toes point outward when standing and moving"

I intentionally rotated my feet out so that I could have a comparison shot for later of quadricep development. It's hard to tell if your sweep and the teardrop over the knee are improving from a straight ahead shot.

6/22/2010 8:41:48 AM

this morning:
bicycles 3x30
tricep dips: 3x15
crunches with ball: 3x20

and a few push-ups but those were miserable so i probably shouldn't even count them

after work Y:
cardio 30 mins
legs

6/22/2010 9:13:23 AM

You don't have to post them if you don't want to, but be sure to take photos to track your progress.

6/22/2010 9:16:47 AM

[begin stalk]

eleusis


[end stalk]

6/22/2010 9:19:56 AM

^^oh, i took pics... definitely not posting them

[Edited on June 22, 2010 at 9:22 AM. Reason : .]

6/22/2010 9:21:13 AM

in hot yoga yesterday during the pose where you make a basket under the ball of your foot and hold up one leg (bent), I finally could hold my standing leg locked and then lock out the lifted leg if that makes sense... anyway, it was my best hot yoga class evarrrr

pose #5:




and then I made mahi mahi with macadamia nut crust

[Edited on June 22, 2010 at 9:24 AM. Reason : pose!]

6/22/2010 9:24:08 AM

^^ Also, it looks like "visible abs" are your goal, given the exercises that you're posting.

Just keep in mind a few things:
-Having visible abs has very little to do with doing abdominal exercises, and a whole lot to do with how much body fat you have. If you do ab exercises you're just going to increase the size of your abdominals while underneath layers of bodyfat. This will actually increase the "pooch" on your stomach, because the abdominal muscles are growing and thus pushing out the bodyfat. To see abs, you must get your bodyfat down. Bodyfat melts away, out come the abs. It's like they bloom. And the most effective way to do this isn't through a thousand crunches a day.

-You can't spot reduce. You can spot gain (it's stupid unless you're reaching an intermediate-advanced level), but you can't spot reduce. Bodyfat is bodyfat. For some people it 'congregates' more in certain areas (men traditionally around the stomach and chest, women traditionally around the hips and thighs), but it's a total fat level that you're carrying. Fat is not in any one place, it is not muscle. It travels. If you lose fat in one place (the only way to do this is through surgery, basically) the fat from the rest of your body will fill that area back in.

6/22/2010 9:28:40 AM

well, abs are just what i do in the morning...i guess i should start updating my after work gym time at the Y. i certainly don't want to be poochier than i already am so i know fat-burning exercises and diet are key. does anyone have any low-impact cardio ideas? i have a bum knee which is why i am looking for alternatives and you're supposed to switch up the cardio instead of doing the same thing over and over, right?

6/22/2010 9:35:05 AM

We're at the second to last week of the Insanity program. I did the fit test yesterday and was around the same as last time (within ~2-4 of exercises where I was getting 40-80 per minute) for most of the exercises, but I improved pretty substantially on push up jacks. I went from something like 24 to 36 this week.

However, we have decided to hold off on this week of the rest of the Insanity program until next week. For various reasons, our momentum in the program sort of died this week, and we decided it would be better to take a week off (from it, not exercise entirely) so we don't wind up half-assing it. So this week I am working on running. Last night I wanted to see how long my hip would hold out before it started hurting, but I got to the park I wanted to run at 30 minutes before it closed so I didn't get to go too far.

I want to sign up for the USMC Mud Run in September, so this week I'm going to figure out exactly what running shape I'm in so I can see what I need to do to prepare for that. It'll be about 4.5 miles of crazy hills and obstacles and whatnot. I'm also going to see my trainer again on Thursday and (I think) assess how I'm doing flexibility and form and whatnot.

A lot of my days nutrition-wise have looked like this lately (this was yesterday)


Anyone else lose weight in chunks? I'll go a couple weeks at the same weight and then drop 2 pounds in a day. I don't think it's abnormal from talking to other people, just interesting.

I'll post my pics for this week when I take them.

[Edited on June 22, 2010 at 9:37 AM. Reason : .]

6/22/2010 9:37:25 AM

I think Fareako drops 2 pounds a day.

6/22/2010 9:39:23 AM

Haha. Yes. Boys + bathroom scales = experimentation ... and TMI.

6/22/2010 9:42:48 AM

Quote :

"well, abs are just what i do in the morning...i guess i should start updating my after work gym time at the Y. i certainly don't want to be poochier than i already am so i know fat-burning exercises and diet are key. does anyone have any low-impact cardio ideas? i have a bum knee which is why i am looking for alternatives and you're supposed to switch up the cardio instead of doing the same thing over and over, right?"

I hope you'll pardon my questions. I tend to be a bit direct and sometimes it puts people off.

But often times people who say they have "bad knees" have those due to a long history of lack of exercise and stress on the joints due to weight gain. Given what I know of you, and that you're a rather young woman, I don't think this is the case. But have you been specifically told by a physical therapist or someone similar to avoid exercising the knee?

It's important to have strong joints, especially at the knees, and I would imagine that a physical therapist would direct you to strengthen the knee, first with mild exercises and then moving forward, rather than instruct you to completely avoid any impact exercise.

And contrary to popular belief, studies have shown that marathon runners actually have stronger knees over time than other people. That exercise strengthens the muscles that support the knee joint, and it lubricates the joint which improves the durability.

My dad, a marathoner, had a full knee replacement, and after therapy he began rebuilding it and now runs again. So, if you haven't spoken to anyone about it and just believe that you have "a bum knee" you might want to look into physical therapy to get some mild exercises you can use to strengthen it.

Again, sorry if I'm being direct or or sound like I'm calling you out. I'm not trying to.

In regards to exercise,

Different things work for different people. For example, iheartkisses tends to stick to more intense cardio like cycling and running combined with yoga, and Joie mixes strong weightlifting (like squats) with cardio. You can see their progress in this thread. If you like the way they look, emulate what their activities are.

Personally, I lean more towards weightlifting combined with cardio, however it sounds like it's important to evaluate your knee issue before doing anything like squats.

But weightlifting is very beneficial, and it's often something that's avoided by women because they feel like they'll get "bulky." It both reduces bodyfat and builds muscle, which leads directly to that "toned up" look that women desire in their bodies, especially in their notorious "problem areas" of the hips, thighs, and butt.

[Edited on June 22, 2010 at 9:50 AM. Reason : ]

6/22/2010 9:45:05 AM

I used to "have bad ankles" and avoid running. I'd sprained them both more times than I could count, torn ligaments in them, would regularly roll them just walking around, etc. Then I was talking to a friend of mine about why I didn't run, and he said that wasn't a very good excuse unless I'd tried it and actually found that it made my ankles worse. He said he used to have little aches and pains, until he started running and found that they got better. So I started running, and they did get better, and I haven't injured them since. That was the start of my whole "I want to get fit" phase, a bit over a year ago.

6/22/2010 9:50:43 AM

Yeah, general exercise will usually help get the creaks and aches out joints eventually, unless you have a legit injury

[Edited on June 22, 2010 at 9:52 AM. Reason : general]

6/22/2010 9:52:28 AM

My knees pop and swell but I find that doing exercises that work against that (like squats or running or whatever your knees would be really involved in) help them feel better. The worst thing for my knees is standing still all day... Especially at places like amusement parks where you're standing in line walking slowly for long periods of time. :\

6/22/2010 9:59:24 AM

Quote :

"Just keep in mind a few things: -Having visible abs has very little to do with doing abdominal exercises, and a whole lot to do with how much body fat you have. If you do ab exercises you're just going to increase the size of your abdominals while underneath layers of bodyfat. This will actually increase the "pooch" on your stomach, because the abdominal muscles are growing and thus pushing out the bodyfat. To see abs, you must get your bodyfat down. Bodyfat melts away, out come the abs. It's like they bloom. And the most effective way to do this isn't through a thousand crunches a day."

Thats retarded. Doing ab work increases heart rate, metabolism, etc which in turn burns fat as well as builds muscle. That statement implies that ab exercises does not burn fat, which is just not true. Yes you are correct to "see" your abs you need to burn the fat on top, and it is important to supplement with cardio (running, biking, etc), but a good ab routine IS cardio in a sense.

6/22/2010 10:03:35 AM

my hips crack...a lot. and during insanity there is this one workout where you get into low plank then work your oblique by bringing your knee outward to your elbow

and i can do it on the right side with little popping but i cant do it on the left side bc my hip pops & grinds to the point of being painful during the exercise

6/22/2010 10:05:10 AM

^^I'll have to agree with that. You've got to do core and ab exercises WHILE you are burning your fat. Because once you burn that fat off, there better be some muscle there to show.

And my ab exercises are intense. Other than cardio, I definitely burn more calories doing abs than any other weight training exercise that I do.

6/22/2010 10:08:48 AM

Guys, we're not here to argue about exercise! Yes, ab work will burn calories. I'm sure God would agree with that.

[Edited on June 22, 2010 at 10:15 AM. Reason : ]

6/22/2010 10:11:02 AM

Quote :

"Thats retarded. Doing ab work increases heart rate, metabolism, etc which in turn burns fat as well as builds muscle. That statement implies that ab exercises does not burn fat, which is just not true. Yes you are correct to "see" your abs you need to burn the fat on top, and it is important to supplement with cardio (running, biking, etc), but a good ab routine IS cardio in a sense."

I don't want to run this into the ground.

Quote :

"Other than cardio, I definitely burn more calories doing abs than any other weight training exercise that I do."

That just simply isn't true, unless you're avoiding all other intense weight training exercise.

The squat is just one exercise I can think of that absolutely works more muscles, larger muscles, and works them more intensely than any abdominal exercise you could think of doing. In fact, the squat actually works the Rectus Abdominis as well as the Obliques, so in a sense it is an abdominal exercise as well.

And yes, that ^ is what I was saying. All of us most likely have a six pack, it's just covered by stomach fat. Situps or "ab routines" aren't the most effective way to reduce that stomach fat.

[Edited on June 22, 2010 at 10:18 AM. Reason : ]

6/22/2010 10:15:13 AM

Doing weighted ab exercises will help increase the definition of your abs by making them bigger and more noticeable through the fat.

^Sam, my physical therapist said that squats can be very bad for knees and I'm basically never allowed to do them again. Although with how my knee feels I definitely don't want to try a lot of weight there anyway

Doing the leg curl/extension machine workouts help a ton to increase the supporting muscles and tendons...something I should've done more. There's also balance exercises and various cable exercises you can do to increase the strength of your knee support, but that's a little more indepth than I feel like going right now

^Jesus christ, stop trolling in here. You're saying the guy is lying and you don't know the first thing about what he's actually doing. Gtfo with your negative self

[Edited on June 22, 2010 at 10:23 AM. Reason : go smoke some weed or mentor a troubled black child]

6/22/2010 10:21:25 AM

ThePeter, I'm not in the mood for you today. This is my thread, kindly get the fuck out if you don't like my advice.

You're literally giving the worst advice.

Squats are not bad for knees. Incorrectly performed squats are bad for knees. Your physical therapist is an idiot.

Leg extension machines are horrible. They isolate the muscle and ignore all of the stabilizing muscles that help support the rest of the leg. Only use machines if you are a body builder. I'm guessing none of you are body builders.

And no, I'm not being negative. Many of the reasons why people are in here are because they have constantly been fed bullshit bad advice, old wives tales, and stupid fitness mumbo jumbo that has kept them from getting fit. It's important to educate people. Just because you say someone is wrong doesn't mean you're being negative or a jerk.

[Edited on June 22, 2010 at 10:28 AM. Reason : ]

6/22/2010 10:24:42 AM

I usually do the leg extension/curl machines the same days as squats... maybe that's why it doesn't hurt me as much? Good to know though, I won't do squats without doing those other machines

6/22/2010 10:27:38 AM

wow, you can most definitely use machines that isolate a muscle if you are not a body builder. If your quads are not the limiting muscle in doing a squat, they aren't getting worked enough and leg extensions are a good supplement to strengthen them.

6/22/2010 10:30:05 AM

Quote :

"That just simply isn't true, unless you're avoiding all other intense weight training exercise."

I haven't done lower body workouts in a long time. I just simply don't have the time, and my lower body doesn't need any work. I run/swim/bike for my leg workouts.

And yes...my ab workout is intense. So are my other workouts, but my sets and reps for my ab workouts are pretty ridiculous. And I'm drenched in sweat when I'm done.

6/22/2010 10:30:32 AM

Honestly, all shenanigans aside, you gotta realize people are in here for support and advice. Your posts just serve to bring everyone down. I've talked with several users in here who whole-heartedly agree that you're in here trolling away against the good intents of this thread. Chill out on these people.

And now I do have to go because I'm leaving work

Quote :

"Leg extension machines are horrible. They isolate the muscle and ignore all of the stabilizing muscles that help support the rest of the leg. Only use machines if you are a body builder. I'm guessing none of you are body builders."

Yeah gtfo. I used a leg extension machine as part of my physical therapy program to rehabilitate my knee.

Stop giving bad advice when you have no backing for it.

[Edited on June 22, 2010 at 10:32 AM. Reason : lkj]

6/22/2010 10:30:58 AM

If I haven't killed myself by the time my cat finishes dying of cancer, I might post in this thread again, but until then I'm done. I can't handle this shit anymore.

^I CREATED THIS THREAD YOU STUPID FUCKING SHITHEAD. WHY WOULD I TROLL MY OWN GOD DAMNED THREAD.

[Edited on June 22, 2010 at 10:31 AM. Reason : ]

6/22/2010 10:31:02 AM

Quote :

" That just simply isn't true, unless you're avoiding all other intense weight training exercise. The squat is just one exercise I can think of that absolutely works more muscles, larger muscles, and works them more intensely than any abdominal exercise you could think of doing. In fact, the squat actually works the Rectus Abdominis as well as the Obliques, so in a sense it is an abdominal exercise as well."

You are talking about two different things. Yes squats work more different muscles, but its not an effective weight/cardio combo. You can superset ab work that will have you breathing more intensely than simply doing squats, thus burning more fat while building muscle.


And if you have bad knees, squats simply arent a good idea. There are plenty of other exercises to do with out irritating an injury. If your joints and knees are in good condition, then if done properly squats are fine.

6/22/2010 10:32:36 AM

Because you have awful people skills.

Alright, rollin' out, its been fun

6/22/2010 10:33:48 AM

Awesome job on that pose Sam!

Took me about a month and a half to really get that one down.... the other one that I was super excited about was standing bow pose (#6)

begonias feel free to correct me if i'm screwing up my terminology again

6/22/2010 10:37:53 AM

I LOVE pose #6!! I call it "dancer's pose" but I think the hot yoga lady yesterday called it standing bow, too... I was super proud of myself on that one, too I could see a tiny bit of toes up over my head and it looked like my leg had been amputated from the pelvis down


how's boot camp?

6/22/2010 10:47:19 AM

haha i often wonder what it would look like to an outside watching people do this stuff

boot camp is great. even went yesterday morning after my ass kicking on the bike on sunday. i'm really hoping that i can keep going next month (just depends on the job situation - aka, if i have one!)

the guy that is our instructor is awesome - and super nice. you want to do well because you want him to compliment what you're doing - not cause you're scared that you're going to get yelled at

6/22/2010 10:49:12 AM

does anybody actually care if the instructor yells at you? I don't... I wish I did; it might motivate me more... But since he doesn't control my salary, freedom, or anything, it doesn't really matter to me when he yells. That's just my stubborn personality though

6/22/2010 11:04:02 AM

lol

for me, i just get frustrated and upset when i get yelled at - much rather have positive reinforcement.

6/22/2010 11:05:57 AM

@ThePeter, use a squat machine if your knees bother you. The main thing with squats is you need to keep your feet in front of your knees... they shouldn't bother you if you can efficiently do that.



[Edited on June 22, 2010 at 11:13 AM. Reason : ]

6/22/2010 11:11:51 AM

^ he tore his ACL and his physical therapist specifically told him not to do squats.. that's why he can't

6/22/2010 11:17:09 AM

I'd like to weigh in on the sub-topic of knee health and lower body workouts. You can agree with me or not, I won't call anyone an idiot. I was going to quote other statements and reply but there are just too many, lol. This pertains to me b/c I have a reconstructed ACL in my left knee.

My orthopaedic surgeon made it very clear that for my benefit I should never again do squats, dead lifts, wall sits, lunges and stair climbing. In general he said to avoid high impact cardio on the legs. He said for optimal leg health I should do lots and lots of cycling and for weights mainly do leg press, leg extention, and leg curl.

I realize some ppl have said otherwise in this thread, but I enjoy having a healthy and physically active lifestyle and in the two years since my knee surgery this is what I've been doing. I stay away from all those exercises and I'm in great shape. My surgeon didn't tell me this b/c I had a bad procedure done - in fact I had some measurements done at Duke Sports Medicine and they told me it was one of the best they'd ever seen (based on ligament deflection measurements).

All my advice was given to me by my orthopaedic surgeon, who was the head ortho surgeon of the NY Knicks for 25 yrs, (for a time) of the PGA, and one of the Olympic basketball squads. So I will stick with his advice.

[Edited on June 22, 2010 at 11:36 AM. Reason : k]

6/22/2010 11:33:05 AM

I think we established something like 10 pages ago that no one should be taking advice from God.

6/22/2010 11:48:22 AM

I gained weight this week. fml

6/22/2010 11:56:31 AM

^^Just gotta reaffirm it for new people. I don't think I was following the thread 10 pages ago anyway

6/22/2010 12:03:00 PM

I am up in weight this week also, bmel. At 169 this morning (up from 168.4)

[Edited on June 22, 2010 at 12:06 PM. Reason : ]

6/22/2010 12:05:25 PM

im still at 129 from 131

ive been hanging out here for what seems like forever... i went back up to 130 for a hot second and im back to 129 but its not getting any lower... even despite daily workouts & calorie deficits

inches are seeing some progress but i want more!

6/22/2010 12:15:19 PM

^^How tall are you/do you actually want to lose weight?

6/22/2010 12:17:24 PM

i'm down ~ 9 pounds in about a month...

making a lot of progress on inches though

6/22/2010 12:19:46 PM

tomorrow morning i will have to use alternatives to ab exercises on the floor. my tailbone kind of protrudes because i have a boney ass and i have rubbed a little raw spot and bruised it from lack of cushion my tush needs a rest.

^that's great! good job on losing inches...for me those are more difficult to shed than lbs!

[Edited on June 22, 2010 at 12:21 PM. Reason : .]

6/22/2010 12:20:04 PM

this thread is making my fucking head hurt


Squats are the single MOST NATURAL movement you can perform

I would NOT use a squat machine because it completely fucks with your biomechanics and can oftentimes put you in a terrible position for your lower body

As far as NOT squatting because you tore your ACL...silly. I completely tore my ACL 2 years ago...squatted pre-surgery and started again about 2-3 months post surgery. The only issue you have to address with ACL issues is to make sure your flexibility/ROM has returned (if not just warm up like crazy) before squatting...that and getting it out of your head that you're going to hurt yourself.

Quote :

" And if you have bad knees, squats simply arent a good idea. There are plenty of other exercises to do with out irritating an injury. If your joints and knees are in good condition, then if done properly squats are fine."

actually, properly completed squats can help you AVOID injury. The biggest thing to take away from this is PROPERLY...if squats are hurting you, then you're doing something wrong. Get help correcting form and then resume them.

[Edited on June 22, 2010 at 12:53 PM. Reason : ]

6/22/2010 12:47:59 PM

^^ I like doing plank exercises a lot. Especially this one

Quote :

"Cross-Body Mountain Climbers Start in the top of the push-up position. Brace your abs and pick one foot up off the floor, and slowly bring your knee up - BUT in this exercise, bring it across your body to your opposite elbow. Keep your abs braced and slowly return your leg to the start position. Alternate sides until you complete all of the required repetitions."

http://www.turbulencetraining.com/gain-muscle/killer-ab-exercises.shtml

6/22/2010 12:52:56 PM

ooooo i love me some planks....

i like the ones where you're in this position:



and then you pull one hand up to your chest and then bring it back down and do the other hand - it's an awesome core and arm workout.

(hope i'm explaining that correctly)

6/22/2010 12:58:17 PM