Posts by ankow

Hey, thanks for the reply - there are two slight problems with swimming, though.

#1 - It isn't at all practical where I live, unless I went swimming in a polluted dangerous river.

#2 - Intense swimming hurts my knee! Or at least it did a couple months ago.

Cycling is OK for me, and as long as I'm not sprinting on the bike, I can go for miles... The first and last long-distance trip I did was 20+ miles, and then my brand new bike broke down. Now I have a newer, better one, which I have yet to test-drive.

Original Post by kaila_a:

also pushups and squats wtf????? pushups are for your BACK pullups are for your ARMS and SQUATS are for your legs...i really hope this isn't your ab workout...that's like doing kicks to get toned arms......

Abdominal muscles are involved in stabilizing your core when you do push ups, pull ups and squats. One day after several grueling sets of negative pull ups, I felt my abs more than after any "ab workout".

Edit: I was late tackling the subject!

Original Post by runningbuns:

low fatcChocolate milk, powerbars or clifbars, yogurt, fruit smoothies, kashi golean,  meal replacement drinks, half a PB sandwich are all good examples for post workout recovery.  Foods with good amounts of protein and carbs are good for post-work out snack to help your muscles repair and recover.

That would be good meals to have soon after the workout, not the DAY after. I'd recommend lean protein (with every meal), healthy fat (olive oil, nuts, avocados), maybe some low GI carbs like oatmeal or brown rice, and a few fruits. Don't forget the veggies. Eat a lot of veggies. Seriously. A LOT.

I'm afraid there isn't one.

• You're doing lots and lots of steady state, long distance cardio.

Weights aren't necessary, but if your goal is fat loss that're more efficient than spending mindless hours on the elliptical. Lifting will help you hold on to muscle and get rid of fat only, which keeps your metabolism from shutting down with a lower calorie intake.

You could just buy some free weights to use at home, like a barbell and/or heavy adjustable dumbbells.

Here's a quote of an excellent post by Melkor that can be found in the Fitness Forum FAQ:

Original Post by melkor:

Nutrient timing is a whole book in itself, but the advice isn't all that different for weight training and short-duration cardio - if you're going to be doing 2+ hours of biking or running you're going to need to load up on energy gels and sports drinks in addition to the standard advice as you'll be burning through your body's glycogen like nobody's business.

 You'd want some protein pre-workout as well, for optimal results - the current recommendation for Best Pratice is to have a solid meal 90-120 minutes before your workout, no later. The protein in your food mostly digests in 3 hours, and the whole point of pre-workout nutrition is to have protein available in your system while working out. Therefore, eating more than 2 hours before your workout potentially leaves you without available amino acids in your blood stream at the end of your workout - not good.

 Alternatively, you have a liquid meal in the form of a protein shake 0-30 minutes before starting your workout - I personally feel this is the better option based on David Barr's research, but either way will work.

 Post-workout, a protein shake with moderately fast-acting whey protein taken within 30 minutes of your workout and containing carbs in a 4:1 carb:protein ratio is supposedly ideal for recovery.

 You'd then go on to eat your regularily scheduled meal within 90 minutes of having the protein shake, as whey protein mostly digests that fast.

 As for specifics: Alan recommends
Pre-workout
Protein = 0.25g/lb Target Body Weight
Carbs = 0.25g/lb TBW
Post-workout
Protein = 0.25g/lb TBW
Carbs = 0.5g/lb TBW

Calculate your individual needs based on either your lean body mass if you know it, or your target bodyweight if you don't.

 Drink water before your workout, and if you're doing strenuous exercise, also during. Calorie- and carbohydrate-rich sports drinks are mostly a waste of calories unless you're doing endurance workouts lasting longer than 60-90 minutes.

 I used to think that all pre-breakfast workouts was just crazy talk until Dr. Lonnie Lowery convinced me otherwise - if you stick to cardio in the mythical "fat-burning zone". Normally I wouldn't bother with that as you burn more calories at higher intensity, but if you're working out in a fasted state you're going to be burning muscle protein for fuel if you work out at an intensity exceeding your fat metabolism's capacity. (Well, simplified. You'll always use some protein for fuel, your body always uses all three energy sources, but if you overdo the intensity you're going to use more muscle protein for fuel than your body can replace and you'll lose muscle mass instead of fat mass. The effect will be miniscule for any one session, a few grams here and there, but ten grams a day does add up over time, neh?)

 Considering the lack of intensity in pre-breakfast cardio compared to what you can get up to with HIIT later in the day, I'm not convinced that there's any real advantage to it, unless it's the only way you're going to get any cardio in at all.

Also, you might want to check out Solving the Post-Workout Puzzle Part 1 and Part 2.

My HRM acts funny around computers and large power lines.

Thanks for the kind words, everyone. Seems like all of you have this as a goal - keep at it, and tell us all when you get there!

Original Post by john1824:

Though if possible avoid swimming. Calorie burn wise its not worth your while. I can't give you the exact figures cos like everything else it depends on your wieght and swim style. As always, any questions let us know. randy_john@hotmail.co.uk regards John

Then explain how Michael Phelps has to eat 8,000-10,000 calories per day to maintain his body weight?

I used to avoid workouts because of cramps/feeling crappy, then I started getting into the habit of just sucking up and doing them anyways, and recently I've stopped feeling horrible around my period - probably because of the added exercise and healthier eating.

I weigh in twice a day, morning and evening, but some people might have problems with daily fluctuations. It all depends on the person.

I love being different.

Original Post by raelish:

I don't understand how sit-ups, etc. can reduce love-handles?

They don't.

I'm not saying you're -wrong-, I'm just saying that I -do- know what worked for me in that aspect

You're quite obviously saying he's wrong, and also contradicting yourself.

I'm aware that our ideals obviously differ here - it's just that I find super-muscley and -very- toned to be unattractive, and I'm attempting to express that by explaining other things.

It's not about the ideals, it's your loose usage of the word "toned", which also has me confused.

It's been said several times already: you should lift weights.

Barbell.