So what's the quickest way to do this without surgery and to do it safely? I've tried looking on wikipedia but I've heard mixed results. Hell, they had a sympathetic article on prolonged fasting (like some of the editors fasted for >10 days). I'm willing to try it, but not if it's dangerous or unsound. I've also heard that increasing your muscle mass also increases the amount of calories you burn for bodily functions while at rest.
What's the Gaming Den's answer on this?
I wanna lose my gut and love handles really fast.
Moderator: Moderators
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Lago PARANOIA
- Invincible Overlord
- Posts: 10555
- Joined: Thu Sep 25, 2008 3:00 am
Exercise and moderation.
I've put on weight in the past year or so (stress and stuff broke my routine), but for a while, I was doing quite well just by walking around the college campus in my freetime and moderating the junk food--if I ate ice cream, I'd put exactly two spoon scoops in a bowl. If I found myself in the kitchen looking for food, I'd go get a drink of water out of the sink instead. Cut back or cut out soda and other calorie-containing drinks if you can take it (I haven't been able to do that with sweet tea).
Edit: Oh, yeah. Putting on muscle will indeed help you burn more calories.
I've put on weight in the past year or so (stress and stuff broke my routine), but for a while, I was doing quite well just by walking around the college campus in my freetime and moderating the junk food--if I ate ice cream, I'd put exactly two spoon scoops in a bowl. If I found myself in the kitchen looking for food, I'd go get a drink of water out of the sink instead. Cut back or cut out soda and other calorie-containing drinks if you can take it (I haven't been able to do that with sweet tea).
Edit: Oh, yeah. Putting on muscle will indeed help you burn more calories.
Last edited by Maxus on Thu Sep 25, 2008 9:34 pm, edited 1 time in total.
He jumps like a damned dragoon, and charges into battle fighting rather insane monsters with little more than his bare hands and rather nasty spell effects conjured up solely through knowledge and the local plantlife. He unerringly knows where his goal lies, he breathes underwater and is untroubled by space travel, seems to have no limits to his actual endurance and favors killing his enemies by driving both boots square into their skull. His agility is unmatched, and his strength legendary, able to fling about a turtle shell big enough to contain a man with enough force to barrel down a near endless path of unfortunates.
--The horror of Mario
Zak S, Zak Smith, Dndwithpornstars, Zak Sabbath. He is a terrible person and a hack at writing and art. His cultural contributions are less than Justin Bieber's, and he's a shitmuffin. Go go gadget Googlebomb!
--The horror of Mario
Zak S, Zak Smith, Dndwithpornstars, Zak Sabbath. He is a terrible person and a hack at writing and art. His cultural contributions are less than Justin Bieber's, and he's a shitmuffin. Go go gadget Googlebomb!
Putting on muscle will also gain you weight, so don't measure by weight when upping your activity - unless you're doing it with medical type supervision, noting that if you are losing weight over a day you haven't drank enough water, for instance.
When I want to moderate my weight I DDR for 15min daily.
-Crissa
When I want to moderate my weight I DDR for 15min daily.
-Crissa
Go to /fit/ on 4chan. You will be told to do squats and drink water. This is good advice. /fit/ is surprisingly good in general, as is the help/advice forum at penny-arcade.
You are going to need to make you caloric usage greater than your caloric intake to lose weight. The stereotypical way that women do this is to focus all their effort on the "intake" side of the equation. That is stupid and we're not going to entertain it any longer. You, like me, probably like to eat. That means you need to exercise.
There are optimal and sub-optimal ways of doing this. Research HIIT a.k.a Tabata training for starters. You also need to weight train. A lot. Focus the majority of your attention on getting stronger. This is partly because you want to bring your resting calorie usage up, and partly because you see initial results very fast with weight training in terms of adding more load to your lifts. This is mostly due to increased neuro-muscular coordination, not increased muscle mass, but it's still nice and motivating early on.
If you're out of shape, you're probably going to hate serious cardio at the beginning (serious, not lol I walked to work). That's fine, you're not training for a marathon (yet). Find serious cardio that you do actually enjoy. Integrate it in once you find it. Don't run if you hate running (and if you liked running you wouldn't be asking us this), because you will not stick with that shit and you'll wind up sitting on the couch again. Martial arts, soccer, and other high-intensity sports are a good places to look.
Stop drinking soda. Completely. This is not negotiable. Drink diet soda as a transition to not drinking soda at all. Once you have stripped it entirely and gotten used to that, you can have it every now and then, but it's almost certainly the worst thing in your diet (edit: worse than candy bars. Seriously).
Start reading labels (edit: and do the research to understand them!). You need to have a sense of what you're actually eating. Some foods are stupidly terrible for you for no justifiable reason, and you need to know which to avoid. You also need to be able to estimate how much you've consumed in a day in terms of calories, protein, and so on. You might need to keep a record if you also tend to lose your keys a lot, but try to make it more active. You have got to have a sense of this, either by memory or physical record, or you'll be unable to do anything about the intake side of the equation.
Eat more protein. Like, a gram per two pounds of body weight _at minimum_, and more like a gram per pound if you want to get serious about your training. Obviously, lean proteins are better than, say, bacon. You need that to support your muscle mass increase and also it makes you feel full.
Learn about bulk and cut. You need to think long-term, and that means realizing that it's sub-optimal to try to add muscle, cut body fat, and reset your body's weight set-point all at once. It's easier in the beginning, but eventually trying to do them all is going to make you hit a wall where you start seeing shitty results. You need to understand why so you can deal with it when it happens.
Get some measurable, realistic goals that work for you. If trying to bench X by day Y works for you, cool. Other sorts of goals include, say, doing X pull-ups, being about to do a handstand at all. Different kinds of goals motivate different people. You need to have some, though, that you can articulate and measure.
How's that for starters?
You are going to need to make you caloric usage greater than your caloric intake to lose weight. The stereotypical way that women do this is to focus all their effort on the "intake" side of the equation. That is stupid and we're not going to entertain it any longer. You, like me, probably like to eat. That means you need to exercise.
There are optimal and sub-optimal ways of doing this. Research HIIT a.k.a Tabata training for starters. You also need to weight train. A lot. Focus the majority of your attention on getting stronger. This is partly because you want to bring your resting calorie usage up, and partly because you see initial results very fast with weight training in terms of adding more load to your lifts. This is mostly due to increased neuro-muscular coordination, not increased muscle mass, but it's still nice and motivating early on.
If you're out of shape, you're probably going to hate serious cardio at the beginning (serious, not lol I walked to work). That's fine, you're not training for a marathon (yet). Find serious cardio that you do actually enjoy. Integrate it in once you find it. Don't run if you hate running (and if you liked running you wouldn't be asking us this), because you will not stick with that shit and you'll wind up sitting on the couch again. Martial arts, soccer, and other high-intensity sports are a good places to look.
Stop drinking soda. Completely. This is not negotiable. Drink diet soda as a transition to not drinking soda at all. Once you have stripped it entirely and gotten used to that, you can have it every now and then, but it's almost certainly the worst thing in your diet (edit: worse than candy bars. Seriously).
Start reading labels (edit: and do the research to understand them!). You need to have a sense of what you're actually eating. Some foods are stupidly terrible for you for no justifiable reason, and you need to know which to avoid. You also need to be able to estimate how much you've consumed in a day in terms of calories, protein, and so on. You might need to keep a record if you also tend to lose your keys a lot, but try to make it more active. You have got to have a sense of this, either by memory or physical record, or you'll be unable to do anything about the intake side of the equation.
Eat more protein. Like, a gram per two pounds of body weight _at minimum_, and more like a gram per pound if you want to get serious about your training. Obviously, lean proteins are better than, say, bacon. You need that to support your muscle mass increase and also it makes you feel full.
Learn about bulk and cut. You need to think long-term, and that means realizing that it's sub-optimal to try to add muscle, cut body fat, and reset your body's weight set-point all at once. It's easier in the beginning, but eventually trying to do them all is going to make you hit a wall where you start seeing shitty results. You need to understand why so you can deal with it when it happens.
Get some measurable, realistic goals that work for you. If trying to bench X by day Y works for you, cool. Other sorts of goals include, say, doing X pull-ups, being about to do a handstand at all. Different kinds of goals motivate different people. You need to have some, though, that you can articulate and measure.
How's that for starters?
Last edited by Nihlin on Thu Sep 25, 2008 10:29 pm, edited 4 times in total.
This cannot be stressed enough, and it ties in with the bulk and cut concept I mentioned. If you want to just fit into a tux by your reunion or whatever, fuck muscle, resign yourself to feeling like shit, get your quick results, and then bounce back to your old self. If you want to seriously improve your fitness on a long-term level, you need to understand that your body needs to change in multiple ways and some of those ways really can't happen very well at the same time.Crissa wrote:Putting on muscle will also gain you weight, so don't measure by weight when upping your activity - unless you're doing it with medical type supervision, noting that if you are losing weight over a day you haven't drank enough water, for instance.
Also, read this (very relevant to your specific question):
http://www.absolutefitnessusa.com/spotred.htm
And go through this:
http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calcu ... -equation/
http://www.absolutefitnessusa.com/spotred.htm
And go through this:
http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calcu ... -equation/
Last edited by Nihlin on Thu Sep 25, 2008 10:26 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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JonSetanta
- King
- Posts: 5525
- Joined: Fri Mar 07, 2008 7:54 pm
- Location: interbutts
You might have missed this back in the old board but Lago is apparently allergic to the Chan.Nihlin wrote:Go to /fit/ on 4chan.
Don't bother. You're literally wasting your own time.
Lago_AM3P
22:30:58 Sun
Oct 7 2007
Re: Threads that make us Laugh, Cry, or Both
I know this is a thread about really stupid posts in other threads, but that 4-chan crap is crossing the line.
I thought this was made clear before. But in case it wasn't, here we go again.
NO ONE HERE WILL EVER ACCEPT YOUR 4CHAN BULLSHIT SO STOP TRYING TO EXPOSE US TO IT. IT ONLY MAKES ME MORE HOSTILE.
The Adventurer's Almanac wrote: ↑Fri Oct 01, 2021 10:25 pmNobody gives a flying fuck about Tordek and Regdar.
Hmm... yup, there goes the bathwater... wait, yes, the baby is going out with it.sigma999 wrote:You might have missed this back in the old board but Lago is apparently allergic to the Chan.Nihlin wrote:Go to /fit/ on 4chan.
Don't bother. You're literally wasting your own time.
Lago_AM3P
22:30:58 Sun
Oct 7 2007
Re: Threads that make us Laugh, Cry, or Both
I know this is a thread about really stupid posts in other threads, but that 4-chan crap is crossing the line.
I thought this was made clear before. But in case it wasn't, here we go again.
NO ONE HERE WILL EVER ACCEPT YOUR 4CHAN BULLSHIT SO STOP TRYING TO EXPOSE US TO IT. IT ONLY MAKES ME MORE HOSTILE.
Anyway, meh, there's plenty of forums out there with geek-friendly fitness communities or sub-communities. The point is that you'll benefit from finding one that works for you.
Last edited by Nihlin on Fri Sep 26, 2008 12:56 am, edited 1 time in total.
I just was to re-emphasize this: research HIIT.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-inten ... l_training
http://www.askmen.com/sports/bodybuildi ... s_tip.html
If you are willing to kick your own ass in a very specific way, and I mean like wow, you can see very good results quite fast. If you're serious about shaping up fast and healthy (as opposed to, say, fast and surgical), then alternating weight training and HIIT, combined with better diet, is the way to go. You have got to be absolutely fucking serious about it and have real goals and commitment, though, because otherwise you will not stay with HIIT in the long-term.
HIIT programs vary somewhat based on what exactly you're doing (running, jumping rope, sit-ups, etc...) and a few other factors, so look around for a regime that's compatible with what you'll actually do and what you want to train towards.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-inten ... l_training
http://www.askmen.com/sports/bodybuildi ... s_tip.html
If you are willing to kick your own ass in a very specific way, and I mean like wow, you can see very good results quite fast. If you're serious about shaping up fast and healthy (as opposed to, say, fast and surgical), then alternating weight training and HIIT, combined with better diet, is the way to go. You have got to be absolutely fucking serious about it and have real goals and commitment, though, because otherwise you will not stay with HIIT in the long-term.
HIIT programs vary somewhat based on what exactly you're doing (running, jumping rope, sit-ups, etc...) and a few other factors, so look around for a regime that's compatible with what you'll actually do and what you want to train towards.
Last edited by Nihlin on Fri Sep 26, 2008 1:08 am, edited 3 times in total.
I lost 20+ pounds very quickly about 2 years ago. (Probably too quickly to be safe, but I never hurt myself)
To lose gut, cardio and making sure that Cal(in) < Cal(out) is important, but you NEED to remind your body not burn muscle by eating protein (lean preferably) and lifting weights. If you want to lose weight fast, you NEED to hit the gym at LEAST 6 out of every 7 days. To maintain your current weight 3 out of 7 is generally sufficient unless you're eating McDs every day or something.
Some wonder foods:
- Splenda (if you've got a sweet tooth, and no, it won't give you cancer).
- Yogurt. I find it tasty and it quells appetite nicely. get sugar free and add splenda.
- OATMEAL. The most important thing. Yes, it's heavy on the carbos, but trust me, getting 400 cals out of a huge bowl of oatmeal leaves you STUFFED, you won't go looking for food for a long time. It's also very healthy stuff for a variety of other reasons.
- Chicken and turkey: easy to find lean, and the meat fill you up. Good for post weight-training protein loading.
I never did HIIT, but a lot of people swear by it.
My routine started out as 6 mph-7mph for 20-30 minutes on the treadmill 6/7 days of the week. This slowly increased to 8-9.5mph. At my peak fitness, I could do 3 miles in 18:50.
Because I pushed the cardio so hard, I never became buff, but I didn't wimp out either because I maintained a constant weight training.
The past 4 months have not been good to me with grad school starting, but I'm hitting the gym about 3 times per week.
To lose gut, cardio and making sure that Cal(in) < Cal(out) is important, but you NEED to remind your body not burn muscle by eating protein (lean preferably) and lifting weights. If you want to lose weight fast, you NEED to hit the gym at LEAST 6 out of every 7 days. To maintain your current weight 3 out of 7 is generally sufficient unless you're eating McDs every day or something.
Some wonder foods:
- Splenda (if you've got a sweet tooth, and no, it won't give you cancer).
- Yogurt. I find it tasty and it quells appetite nicely. get sugar free and add splenda.
- OATMEAL. The most important thing. Yes, it's heavy on the carbos, but trust me, getting 400 cals out of a huge bowl of oatmeal leaves you STUFFED, you won't go looking for food for a long time. It's also very healthy stuff for a variety of other reasons.
- Chicken and turkey: easy to find lean, and the meat fill you up. Good for post weight-training protein loading.
I never did HIIT, but a lot of people swear by it.
My routine started out as 6 mph-7mph for 20-30 minutes on the treadmill 6/7 days of the week. This slowly increased to 8-9.5mph. At my peak fitness, I could do 3 miles in 18:50.
Because I pushed the cardio so hard, I never became buff, but I didn't wimp out either because I maintained a constant weight training.
The past 4 months have not been good to me with grad school starting, but I'm hitting the gym about 3 times per week.
To the scientist there is the joy in pursuing truth which nearly counteracts the depressing revelations of truth. ~HP Lovecraft
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Count Arioch the 28th
- King
- Posts: 6172
- Joined: Fri Mar 07, 2008 7:54 pm
I used to be self-conscious about my weight. I found a solution though. I started drinking heavily. You can get around the carbs in alcohol by just drinking until you puke.
Technically, it won't fix your body image issues, but the best part is you no longer give a fuck.
Technically, it won't fix your body image issues, but the best part is you no longer give a fuck.
In this moment, I am Ur-phoric. Not because of any phony god’s blessing. But because, I am enlightened by my int score.
I believe "safely" was a category though. Otherwise I'd suggest skitching (a sport whereby one races, on rollerblades, by hanging onto the back of a car until sufficient speed is gathered, at which point they let go). Falling onto the asphalt at 80mph is a surefire way to grind of several kilograms of flesh.Count_Arioch_the_28th wrote:drinking until you puke.
But it sure as hell isn't safe.
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RandomCasualty2
- Prince
- Posts: 3295
- Joined: Sun May 25, 2008 4:22 pm
You probably don't want to hear this, but there's no real easy way to drop a lot of weight, not permanently. Going extreme usually ends in failure, because sure that first week you show up to the gym 5 days and do 2 hours each day, and you're all motivated, but gradually your desire dims and finally you're back to where you were.
You're better off trying to get a realistic gradual exercise and dieting plan, instead of just trying to lose weight as fast as you can.
You're better off trying to get a realistic gradual exercise and dieting plan, instead of just trying to lose weight as fast as you can.
Curses my always correct Scots heritage -
Judging__Eagle
- Prince
- Posts: 4671
- Joined: Fri Mar 07, 2008 7:54 pm
- Location: Lake Ontario is in my backyard; Canada
Put in honey and raisins, it makes it easier to eat.
I don´t really eat oatmeal anymore. It sort of has disgusted me to eat it regularly, but once in a blue moon I´ll eat some.
I don´t really eat oatmeal anymore. It sort of has disgusted me to eat it regularly, but once in a blue moon I´ll eat some.
The Gaming Den; where Mathematics are rigorously applied to Mythology.
While everyone's Philosophy is not in accord, that doesn't mean we're not on board.
While everyone's Philosophy is not in accord, that doesn't mean we're not on board.
Re: Oatmeal. Throw some banana, blueberries, and cocoa powder in there. Very good for you, and yes, the cocoa powder is there for a reason beyond just tasting good.
Oats, man, oats.
Also, split yellow peas. Fucking split yellow peas. Check these out:
--------------------------
Serving Size: ¼ cup (45 g) (dry)
Calories 110
Calories from fat 0
Total Fat 0 g 0%
Saturated Fat 0g 0%
Cholesterol 0 mg 0%
Sodium 20 mg 1%
Total Carbohydrates 28 g 9%
Dietary Fiber 12 g 48%
Sugars 2 g
Protein 10 g
--------------------------
45 grams of these fuckers gets you 10 grams of protein, 12 grams of fiber, and another 14 grams of complex (non-sugar) carbs. That's fucking awesome. Throw some curry powder in there, some chicken, and some veggies.
Oats, man, oats.
Also, split yellow peas. Fucking split yellow peas. Check these out:
--------------------------
Serving Size: ¼ cup (45 g) (dry)
Calories 110
Calories from fat 0
Total Fat 0 g 0%
Saturated Fat 0g 0%
Cholesterol 0 mg 0%
Sodium 20 mg 1%
Total Carbohydrates 28 g 9%
Dietary Fiber 12 g 48%
Sugars 2 g
Protein 10 g
--------------------------
45 grams of these fuckers gets you 10 grams of protein, 12 grams of fiber, and another 14 grams of complex (non-sugar) carbs. That's fucking awesome. Throw some curry powder in there, some chicken, and some veggies.
Might as well toss out why you should eat your oats:
--------------------------
Serving Size: 1/2cup dry (40g)
Calories 150
Calories from Fat 25
Total Fat 3g 5%
Saturated Fat 0.5g 2%
Monounsaturated Fat 1g
Polyunsaturated Fat 1g
Cholesterol 0 mg 0%
Sodium 0 mg 0%
Total Carbohydrate 27 g 9%
Dietary Fiber 4 g 16%
Sugars 1 g
Protein 5 g 10%
--------------------------
So, not quite as crazy-awesome as the split yellow peas, but still very good. Excellent complex carbs, solid fiber, some protein.
--------------------------
Serving Size: 1/2cup dry (40g)
Calories 150
Calories from Fat 25
Total Fat 3g 5%
Saturated Fat 0.5g 2%
Monounsaturated Fat 1g
Polyunsaturated Fat 1g
Cholesterol 0 mg 0%
Sodium 0 mg 0%
Total Carbohydrate 27 g 9%
Dietary Fiber 4 g 16%
Sugars 1 g
Protein 5 g 10%
--------------------------
So, not quite as crazy-awesome as the split yellow peas, but still very good. Excellent complex carbs, solid fiber, some protein.
-
SunTzuWarmaster
- Knight-Baron
- Posts: 948
- Joined: Fri Mar 07, 2008 7:54 pm
Being that I JUST finished a workout/shower, I dropped 20 pounds in 1.5 months, and gained 10 pounds (muscle) in the next month. Here are the things that I did:
NUMBER ONE - cut soda, completely. I freaking mean it. If you drink soda for the caffeine, you can switch to tea (unsweetened). If you drink soda to stay hydrated/happy (like I do at work), switch to water. If you can't switch to water because water fucking sucks (like I can't), buy a big thing of powered gatorade/lemonade and put in just enough to kill the water 'flavor'. For breakfast/lunch/dinner, flavor your water with fruit juice (Juicy Juice brand is preferred). Juicy Juice is high in natural sugar, and flavor, so watering it down still gives you some good taste if you can't stand water.
Number 2 - Diet in general. Eat 3 meals/day, all of which you make yourself. You can eat as much as you want, however. Here are some good baseline meals:
breakfast - oats/nutritional cereal + juice flavored water (until you feel full)
in between - an apple
lunch - salad with low calorie/low fat dressing (for FLAVOR only, not for flavor-killing) + juice flavored water (until you feel full)
in between - protein bar (peanut butter crackers do wonders for tying you over if you are hungry)
dinner - some sort of (meat)+(pasta/rice) dish. Hamburger Helper works pretty good if you are lazy, but spaghetti with meat sauce works better, and shrimp alfredo wins for best-tasting. Keep the protein high and the carbs higher. (eat until full)
dessert - (only if hungry) Italian Ice or popsicle with real fruit (citris preferrably).
<keep in mind that you can have as much lemonade/gatorade water as you want all day>
Yes, I eat a lot. I also burn many, many calories. One of the joys of working out is that you can eat lots and lots of things (and not feel bad about it).
Number 3 - Repeat after me: "I will work out every day of the week for a minimum of 30 minutes". Find combinations. Here are the ones that work for me: Chest/Back/Abs, Shoulders/Arms, Legs/Back/Abs. Now, do one combo-workout on day one, then cardio, then the next combo, then cardio, repeat ad nauseum.
Number 4 - general workout: avoid every machine. Machines are for people that want to feel good about themselves. You want muscle mass, and that means free-body workout or free weights. You need to do as many of an UPS* as you can on each non-cardio day, preferrably more than 1. The second you can do one of them, make it harder (push-ups -> clapping pushups -> chair push-ups -> handstand pushups -> clapping handstand pushups, etc.
).
Pick something cool and work for it. These should be your bonus-exercises every day. Here is a list of some cool stuff you can work towards: http://www.beastskills.com/tutorials.htm. If that isn't enough, watch some parkour or gymnastics videos. I progressed from a headstand to a handstand to handstand pushups in a month or so. It is hard, but it is crazy-impressive when you can do something awesome, so that keeps my motivation up.
As an extension, find a workout that you can't do and do it until you can. The human body is capable of many things and you can probably do anything that a professional bodybuilder can do given the time.
I highly recommend P90X. If not P90X, then crossfit. If not either of those, then simplefit. Be warned: to start a P90X training regiment, you should already be able to do 20 pushups, 20 situps, 20 squats, and 10 pull ups. If you don't have the videos, torrent them. Or, I can give them to you (converted to iPod format). One of the advantages of P90X and the above is that they don't require anything more than a pullup bar and a chair. Also, the combination of Yoga, Kenpo, pullups, ab workouts and everything is crazy enough that you can do a 1 hour workout, because they shift the major muscle groups around so much. You will HURT in the morning, everywhere, but you can usually get through the workout. Don't worry, they get easier. Additionally, all of these are very keen on "functional fitness". You will get a 6-pack** with any of these in 90 days, but you will also be able to do a wide variety of things. You will not be a body-builder, however. The combination of strength training and cardio should keep your body around the right mix of lean and muscular.
After 2 months of crossfit workouts, I moved. I moved a washer, dryer, refrigerator, freezer, sofa-sleeper, etc. with 3 friends. All of my friends (one of which is joining the Marines) stopped 75% of the way through because of exhaustion. I went the whole way and then moved my brother the following day. These workouts make you ridiculously healthy.
*UPS - pull-UPS, sit-UPS, push-UPS
** provided you have the genetic makeup to have a six-pack
NUMBER ONE - cut soda, completely. I freaking mean it. If you drink soda for the caffeine, you can switch to tea (unsweetened). If you drink soda to stay hydrated/happy (like I do at work), switch to water. If you can't switch to water because water fucking sucks (like I can't), buy a big thing of powered gatorade/lemonade and put in just enough to kill the water 'flavor'. For breakfast/lunch/dinner, flavor your water with fruit juice (Juicy Juice brand is preferred). Juicy Juice is high in natural sugar, and flavor, so watering it down still gives you some good taste if you can't stand water.
Number 2 - Diet in general. Eat 3 meals/day, all of which you make yourself. You can eat as much as you want, however. Here are some good baseline meals:
breakfast - oats/nutritional cereal + juice flavored water (until you feel full)
in between - an apple
lunch - salad with low calorie/low fat dressing (for FLAVOR only, not for flavor-killing) + juice flavored water (until you feel full)
in between - protein bar (peanut butter crackers do wonders for tying you over if you are hungry)
dinner - some sort of (meat)+(pasta/rice) dish. Hamburger Helper works pretty good if you are lazy, but spaghetti with meat sauce works better, and shrimp alfredo wins for best-tasting. Keep the protein high and the carbs higher. (eat until full)
dessert - (only if hungry) Italian Ice or popsicle with real fruit (citris preferrably).
<keep in mind that you can have as much lemonade/gatorade water as you want all day>
Yes, I eat a lot. I also burn many, many calories. One of the joys of working out is that you can eat lots and lots of things (and not feel bad about it).
Number 3 - Repeat after me: "I will work out every day of the week for a minimum of 30 minutes". Find combinations. Here are the ones that work for me: Chest/Back/Abs, Shoulders/Arms, Legs/Back/Abs. Now, do one combo-workout on day one, then cardio, then the next combo, then cardio, repeat ad nauseum.
Number 4 - general workout: avoid every machine. Machines are for people that want to feel good about themselves. You want muscle mass, and that means free-body workout or free weights. You need to do as many of an UPS* as you can on each non-cardio day, preferrably more than 1. The second you can do one of them, make it harder (push-ups -> clapping pushups -> chair push-ups -> handstand pushups -> clapping handstand pushups, etc.
).Pick something cool and work for it. These should be your bonus-exercises every day. Here is a list of some cool stuff you can work towards: http://www.beastskills.com/tutorials.htm. If that isn't enough, watch some parkour or gymnastics videos. I progressed from a headstand to a handstand to handstand pushups in a month or so. It is hard, but it is crazy-impressive when you can do something awesome, so that keeps my motivation up.
As an extension, find a workout that you can't do and do it until you can. The human body is capable of many things and you can probably do anything that a professional bodybuilder can do given the time.
I highly recommend P90X. If not P90X, then crossfit. If not either of those, then simplefit. Be warned: to start a P90X training regiment, you should already be able to do 20 pushups, 20 situps, 20 squats, and 10 pull ups. If you don't have the videos, torrent them. Or, I can give them to you (converted to iPod format). One of the advantages of P90X and the above is that they don't require anything more than a pullup bar and a chair. Also, the combination of Yoga, Kenpo, pullups, ab workouts and everything is crazy enough that you can do a 1 hour workout, because they shift the major muscle groups around so much. You will HURT in the morning, everywhere, but you can usually get through the workout. Don't worry, they get easier. Additionally, all of these are very keen on "functional fitness". You will get a 6-pack** with any of these in 90 days, but you will also be able to do a wide variety of things. You will not be a body-builder, however. The combination of strength training and cardio should keep your body around the right mix of lean and muscular.
After 2 months of crossfit workouts, I moved. I moved a washer, dryer, refrigerator, freezer, sofa-sleeper, etc. with 3 friends. All of my friends (one of which is joining the Marines) stopped 75% of the way through because of exhaustion. I went the whole way and then moved my brother the following day. These workouts make you ridiculously healthy.
*UPS - pull-UPS, sit-UPS, push-UPS
** provided you have the genetic makeup to have a six-pack
This is pretty much exactly why I'm taking capoeira. It's not practical in the least as a fighting style, but holy shit does it look awesome. My instructor can roll from a crouch into a handstand in slow motion, lift up one hand, spin a full rotation on the other, then end up with both hands planted, his torso and head horizontal and a few inches off the ground, one leg up in the air, and the other sticking straight out unsupported in front of him - all in a slow, controlled fashion. When I do military presses and other shoulder work, that's my motivation.SunTzuWarmaster wrote:Pick something cool and work for it. These should be your bonus-exercises every day. Here is a list of some cool stuff you can work towards: http://www.beastskills.com/tutorials.htm. If that isn't enough, watch some parkour or gymnastics videos. I progressed from a headstand to a handstand to handstand pushups in a month or so. It is hard, but it is crazy-impressive when you can do something awesome, so that keeps my motivation up.
Last edited by Nihlin on Sat Sep 27, 2008 8:51 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Count Arioch the 28th
- King
- Posts: 6172
- Joined: Fri Mar 07, 2008 7:54 pm
Alright, I'm going to ask something.
A female friend is pushing me pretty hard to better myself, and I have a real problem with saying no to attractive young women.
What's a good way to get huge, and get powerful? Don't care about having a six-pack or anything, I just want to break things and intimidate people. (Well, intimidate people moreso, I'm already a pretty big dude.)
A female friend is pushing me pretty hard to better myself, and I have a real problem with saying no to attractive young women.
What's a good way to get huge, and get powerful? Don't care about having a six-pack or anything, I just want to break things and intimidate people. (Well, intimidate people moreso, I'm already a pretty big dude.)
Last edited by Count Arioch the 28th on Sun Sep 28, 2008 4:16 am, edited 1 time in total.
In this moment, I am Ur-phoric. Not because of any phony god’s blessing. But because, I am enlightened by my int score.
free weights
squats
deadlift
burpees
pushups
liftups
situps
eat a lot of protein
If all else fails, abuse steroids.*
Your real best bet though is to be born Samoan and work construction.
*I am not responsible if your testicles shrivel and fall off.
squats
deadlift
burpees
pushups
liftups
situps
eat a lot of protein
If all else fails, abuse steroids.*
Your real best bet though is to be born Samoan and work construction.
*I am not responsible if your testicles shrivel and fall off.
To the scientist there is the joy in pursuing truth which nearly counteracts the depressing revelations of truth. ~HP Lovecraft
Let's take a list of all Samoans I have ever seen:rapa-nui wrote: Your real best bet though is to be born Samoan
The Rock (very muscular)
Rakishi (fairly strong, intentionally obese)
Samoa Joe (reasonably muscular)
Umaga (HOLY SHIT IT'S A MONSTER!)
I think you may be onto something there...
I hear that it's only temporary shrinkage, although I haven't really put much research into it. Seeing as I can think of at least two reasons why it doesn't affect me. Three if we include the fact that I don't use 'roids.*I am not responsible if your testicles shrivel and fall off.