Quote :

"So does that mean that if I continue to do the same routine of 30min exercise 5 days/wk and the same machines 5 days/wk raising weights as it gets easier, that eventually I will STOP losing weight? Or will it just slow down?"

i think you're worrying about too much that's beyond what's going on today. you just need to take this day by day. months from now you could be doing the same routine and you're still losing weight. everyone's body is different. you just need to pay attention and adjust accordingly. but if you're upping the weight as it gets easier, then technically you're still challenging your muscles. eventually you might have to change the routine but i wouldn't worry about it too much right now.

5/13/2011 1:13:56 PM

It's not so much about numbers as it is effort. The best thing you can do is record your progress. For each set you do, record the name of the exercise, the weight you're using, and the number of reps you do. When you go back to the same muscle group the next week, you've got a point of reference to work from, and you push yourself to do a little better.

Girls worry about bulking up, but unless you're really hardcore, it's not going to happen. At the end of a set for a certain move, you should feel like you can't do another rep. If you go at it with that attitude every week, you're guaranteed to see measurable results.

5/13/2011 1:27:38 PM

I feel like this thread is starting to repeat itself

5/13/2011 2:22:02 PM

it is and it will

5/13/2011 2:22:27 PM

Since I've received a few rather biting emails telling me I shouldn't be "bashing" others if I'm not going to post pics myself, here you go.

Not really a before or after shot...more of an "in between" progress shot.






And in before "Your phone sucks", "Clean up your bathroom", and/or "Get a tan, you fucking ghost"

5/13/2011 2:35:05 PM

^^

And it should.

Seriously though, should I be sitting on an exercise ball?

[Edited on May 13, 2011 at 2:35 PM. Reason : .]

5/13/2011 2:35:34 PM

^^ How about an: in before, "what's up stumpy!"

5/13/2011 2:37:23 PM

i still find it funny that you're white

5/13/2011 2:41:04 PM

Aren't you like 5'5"?

5/13/2011 2:41:58 PM

Close. But that's not the point.

5/13/2011 2:57:07 PM

Any of you tricks go to the Golds in Cary? I did one of those rpm/cycling classes for the first time and almost puked.

Also (short dudes itt) (5'8)

5/13/2011 2:59:07 PM

Shit I'm six foot



and I weigh 320 pounds

5/13/2011 3:03:28 PM

^^ Yeah I go to Gold's in Cary. Wife signed us up for that boot camp thing so I've been doing that M/W/F at 6pm for the past couple weeks.

5/13/2011 3:10:16 PM

I'm finally starting to see gains from my gym workouts again. After the surgery necessitated absence I lost a lot but I think I'll be in good shape for the beach this summer. However I would like to slice a little bit of fat off (3-5lbs) and that's been happening slowly (2.5 lbs lost in the last 3 weeks). In the meantime, and since I'm getting older, I've been more conscience of my portion size as well as cut back my daily calorie intake by about 500 (most days). Seems to be beneficial.

5/13/2011 3:14:04 PM

i need to get back to cutting out bullshit carbs like pasta and rice. i slipped the last couple of weeks. going grocery shopping today for the next two weeks and i'm going to stick to lean meats high in protein, fresh veggies and fruits. i do like to have an organic high fiber granola with fresh fruit for breakfast. its almost time to get back to the grapefruit for breakfast kick....and worst of all...cut out beer completely and keep the vodka drinks to a minimum.

5/13/2011 3:21:45 PM

^^^
I almost did it but chickened out. Hit me up with a pm if you need someone to go with, I need the motivation.

5/13/2011 3:33:34 PM

I think I'm going to have a milkshake tonight


actually, I think I'll have two

5/13/2011 4:09:38 PM

PALEO

e: In all seriousness, I'm thinking of committing to a less carb intensive diet, but I'm not sure what to do about the general lack of bread, as I've been eating a turkey sandwich for lunch every day for something like 20 years.

[Edited on May 13, 2011 at 4:15 PM. Reason : .]

5/13/2011 4:12:44 PM

I don't think you'll miss bread as much as you think

I really only do super strict paleo (ie. no cheating) about 3 times a year in 30 day periods...the rest of the time I'll have a pretty elaborate cheat meal on Saturday's (somtimes cheat day)

5/13/2011 4:43:15 PM

The only bread I eat most days is for lunch, and it's one of those whole grain flatbread things. That's probably a pretty good alternative.

5/13/2011 4:49:19 PM

Quote :

"I don't think you'll miss bread as much as you think"

Passover like two weeks ago begs to differ. I'll just have to work on it.

Quote :

"The only bread I eat most days is for lunch, and it's one of those whole grain flatbread things."

I'll have to try them out.

The other thing I need to do is to stop putting a ton of olive oil on my sandwiches. It's so good though

5/13/2011 4:52:12 PM

Quote :

" I did one of those rpm/cycling classes for the first time and almost puked."

LOL. I felt that way after my first class. Now I teach the class and warn beginners to pay attention to their bodies. It's easy to overdo it in there. Very intense cardio.

5/13/2011 6:49:38 PM

^ but its awesome after you get use to it.

5/13/2011 7:08:30 PM

so today cod and i had a cake tasting.


woman brought out SEVENTEEN cupcakes.
we each had about 1/4 (some a little less) of each one.....with is like 4 cupcakes a piece >.<

and not the mini ones either


i estimate this to be about 1500 cals

my day is SHOT hahaha

5/13/2011 7:10:30 PM

found out my 5'11 line is bs . Over six foot is bad for the JACKED department

5/13/2011 9:45:15 PM

Ok, I'm reading through Starting Strength and the shit is just brilliant (e.g. "Humans are not physically normal in the absence of hard physical effort.") Two big questions right off the bat though.

-Will I need a coach or personal trainer to attain proper form? I thought about maybe filming myself. There are just so many little ways to fuck up that shitty form seems inevitable.
-What about spotters for squat? I doubt I'll ever be able to get 2 spotters. Using the power rack seems like the best option.

5/15/2011 7:20:28 PM

it's cool, EuroTitToss, I'm spotting you

[Edited on May 15, 2011 at 7:21 PM. Reason : ffuuu]

5/15/2011 7:20:28 PM

For form work, where are you located?

Spotters, you can do it w/ one, you just can't lift the bar completely off someone.

5/15/2011 8:12:09 PM

Took this picture last fall in my shack in Afghanistan...I'm probably 5-7 lbs heavier at the moment.


also, my buddy took a picture of me scarfing a huge piece of chocolate cake a few weeks ago, and put it on facebook, breaking my balls. I took this picture and said that when his arm grows up to be like mine, then he can talk shit about me eating chocolate cake.

5/15/2011 9:12:06 PM

^^greenville

and as a matter of personal preference I'd like to avoid people who have no fucking clue what they're talking about

5/15/2011 9:33:28 PM

Then you should probably avoid gyms

5/15/2011 10:21:06 PM

^^^ reminds me of

[Edited on May 15, 2011 at 10:28 PM. Reason : -]

5/15/2011 10:28:21 PM

My workout partner emailed me his notes from one of eric cressey's book's recommendations on warmups. It's looks like it's going to take him 30 minutes+ his perceived need to swim for 10 minutes before working out, now

5/16/2011 2:01:40 AM

Joie - What is off about it? Out of the 3 main macro-nutrients... Carbs are the least essential. The brain does prefer to use glucose for energy, but it can run off ketones pretty well (some theorize better). The recommendation is for anyone wanting to lose weight.

Besides, I didn't recommend complete carb elimination. In fact, I said based on your work outs and endurance slant, carbs should be modulated depending on that.

5/16/2011 7:11:28 AM

oh, it looked like to me you were telling someone to cut carbs out completely, my bad. (which is "understandable" if youre telling someone because they wan't to compete or get down to extrememly low bf, but i didn't feel like that was the case- which i could be wrong)

5/16/2011 9:15:09 AM

Hey Matt...

I just wanted to let you know that last week I started the 5x5 routine that you have been talking about. holy crap dude...this is the fist time i have been sore in a while. i had been doing lighter weight and higher reps (7-12). i stepped up the weight so i was barely pushing out that 5th rep. its also the first time i felt a good pump like that in a while. i think i'm going stick to the 5x5 and see where it get me.

next hurdle is going to be to cut calories big time. the last few weekends have been disasters. between wedding and other occasions i've ate like crap and drank waaaaay to much. gotta get strict on that.

5/16/2011 9:24:59 AM

yay thats awesome!!!


and good luck with that.
it's been rough on this end

5/16/2011 9:26:59 AM

hahaha....Joie i always love your enthusiasm

5/16/2011 10:22:06 AM

hahahah well cod and i can be the most insanely busy people on the face of the earth.
we have 2 weddings to go to before ours.
we have one week where we have meetings and outings every single night of the week.

it gets crazy!

5/16/2011 10:26:19 AM

Okay guys I've got a question:

I've been working out for close to four months now and this past week I switched up my routine (as was mentioned before in this thread). I need to lose inches, and I realize that everyone loses weight from different places at different speeds, but is there any way to target my gut? I have been plateau'd for a few weeks now and I want to target my belly.

Thanks in advance,
Will

5/16/2011 10:34:20 AM

I'm just curious. How much sugar do you consume?

5/16/2011 10:41:09 AM

I need advice. I'm (ducking for cover) a naturally skinny person, so all my weight gain goes to my gut. Think E.T. My goal is to lose about 10-12 pounds. What foods/exercises should I be doing? Currently I've been spending all my time on the bike and low weight/high rep lifting.


**Just realized I may have the same question as ^^**

5/16/2011 10:54:53 AM

^^ i know what you mean joie. between birthdays, weddings, vacations and weekends at the lake i'm lucky if i'm home one weekend a month and its like that till september!!!. spring/summer is always crazy busy. so much to do.

5/16/2011 10:57:10 AM

As far as sugar intake goes, I don't have a ton of it, but it's not totally absent from my diet either. My little guilty pleasure is Japanese Rice Cakes. They only have maybe 100 calories for one of the large side and they are filled with a sweet red bean paste.

My fiance's 1/2 Korean and got me to try one once. They are REALLY delicious. (Course, I haven't been in the US of A in almost a year now so my idea of "sweet" has change a little bit)

5/16/2011 11:10:16 AM

I'm sorry to say spot reduction is a myth.

Body fat is controlled by hormones. A lot of abdominal fat is usually indicative of insulin resistance and the first thing to look at when combating insulin resistance is fructose consumption. If you already have low sugar consumption (including fruit and juice), well, that's good! But I'm not sure what other lowing hanging fruit there is in your diet.

If you're eating excess sugar and carbs, then I guess you might benefit from low intensity, high rep lifting or moderate intensity cardio. Otherwise, HIIT and weight lifting are your friends.

5/16/2011 11:29:36 AM

What is HIIT?

5/16/2011 11:31:19 AM

High-intensity interval training http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-intensity_interval_training

Usually, this means sprints. I do a 20 second sprint, 10 second rest repeated consecutively about 8 times. It helps to use an app for timing. You will feel like death for about 5 minutes. But it's one of the most effective things you can do for fat loss.

The last line of that article: "Recently it has been shown that two weeks of HIIT can substantially improve insulin action in young healthy men.[12] HIIT may therefore represent a viable method for prevention of type-2 diabetes."

This is a clue that it's highly effective for reversing insulin resistance and abdominal fat.

[Edited on May 16, 2011 at 11:38 AM. Reason : assadfasdf]

5/16/2011 11:35:19 AM

If I'm on the treadmill, I crank up the intensity to a full sprint every couple minutes. Is that similar?

5/16/2011 11:37:27 AM

Maybe. I have no idea which variations work. All I know is after 4 minutes of Tabata sprints I feel like I've just run a marathon.

5/16/2011 11:40:52 AM

Thanks for the advice.

5/16/2011 11:41:41 AM