How is everyone's training going?

[Dak]

What kind of bike do you own? I've been real interested getting one.

http://www.schwinnfitness.com/schwinn_fitness_us/products/uprightbikes/prdcdovr~100166/Schwinnreg+140+Upright+Bike.jsp

I also replaced the standard seat with a Schwinn "butt cheek seat". It's easier on the package.

 

[Krigloch the Furious]

I'd love to have something like that

 

[King Richard]

Wtf, I thought you had a real bicycle. I'll just head down to my local bike shop instead.

 

[rms]

Also, wondering if anyone has a good answer for this since the above plan is unclear on it:

Does 2x12 reps sound like a good threshold for "i am good enough at my current weight and ready to bump it up a notch", or is 1x12 reps more reasonable? The idea is that when you move up a weight you can't do as many reps at first but when you reach a certain target of reps x sets you're ready to move on.

I've been assuming i need to do a full 2x12 with one weight in order to increase to the next, since the plan calls for doing 4 sets where the last 2 are at your max weight.

I have no idea why you're only doing 2 sets, that's for women or something. 4x10 figure out what weight you're on improve by at least 2.5 lbs(if your gym has that small of plates) and I'd recommend something less lame for your workout. That seems to just be a total waste of time, not enough exercises and not hitting the gym enough. What are you looking to gain?

 

[Dak]

Wtf, I thought you had a real bicycle. I'll just head down to my local bike shop instead.

Not dodging blind drivers/random dogs/ ridiculous desert winds/sand in the face/etc > "real bike".

 

[Krigloch the Furious]

part of the fun that is riding outside is having to dodge traffic and being hot as shit

 

[Dak]

@ d_t:

If you are working out regularly, something you don't want to overlook is a calcium-magnesium supplement. Otherwise your muscles can start leeching from your bones. You need to feed both.

 

[Episteme]

What does calcium-magnesium do? I've been doing exercise 4 times a week (thinking of bumping it up to 5), with creatine and whey protein isolate.

 

[Dak]

http://web.me.com/yoursportsfuel/Yoursportsfuel/Cal_Mag.html

Bones are under continuous pressure and are constantly worn away and naturally rebuilt. In fact, your entire skeleton is replaced about once every ten years. As we get older, bone regeneration slows and it is important that our bodies get all the essential nutrients needed to support normal bone function.

Research in a study published in 2007 found that calcium losses in sweat may be as much as 69mg per hour. Therefore endurance athletes could see a loss as much as 310mg per day which if not countered by calcium intake could lead to problems later in life. Cal Mag will help to give your body the extra calcium it needs and the addition of magnesium to help absorption.

Calcium has also been shown to help combat muscle cramps.

Calcium is critical for muscles and bones, magnesium aids absorption. Calcium is also critical for dental health, as opposed to isolated fluoride, which is actually bad for your teeth.

In regards to whey isolate, much of what I have been reading recently suggests this is not optimal for overall health. You would be better served consuming non-isolated high protein foods.

Edit: I am especially partial to organic eggs.

 

[sevag00]

Working out 5 times a week will be too much. You need to give your muscles a day of rest after each workout.

 

[damnromulans]

I'm in pretty pitiful shape, just sedentary lifestyle in general. I think I am going to boycott driving and just walk everywhere, spending a couple hours on my feet every day kept me in pretty good shape in Japan so I don't see why it wouldn't work here.

This week I am not going to eat much as Saturday night is the BlackLatinoAsian Legislative Caucus gala reception and I have to A) look better next to PP than when he brought 2 white girls last year and B) convince someone to hire me as a member of their staff.

 

[Episteme]

I was taking magnesium before which I felt seemed to help with muscle recovery.

My work out seems to go this way:
Monday: Pecs + back
Tuesday: Vinyasa Yoga
Wednesday: Shoulders, biceps and triceps
Thursday: Rest
Friday: Legs + back.

Thinking of going for a run on Thursday to get myself into some cardio. It's essentially the p90x regime, but I'm doing it my way with my own order.

 

[zabu of nΩd]

I have no idea why you're only doing 2 sets, that's for women or something. 4x10 figure out what weight you're on improve by at least 2.5 lbs(if your gym has that small of plates) and I'd recommend something less lame for your workout. That seems to just be a total waste of time, not enough exercises and not hitting the gym enough. What are you looking to gain?

Ok just to make sure you know what I'm doing, here's the actual plan (slightly modified from the original):

You will do 3 work outs per week on non consecutive days. The first work out is your heavy work out. The second work out is your medium work out, use 10% less weight for your work sets. The final work out for the week is your lite work out, use 20% less weight.

Do a lite warm up with 1/4 of your work sets weight. Do a medium warm up with 1/2 of your work sets weight. Do 2 work sets with the same weight.

These are the six exercises:

Squats
Bench Presses
Bent-Over Rows
Overhead Barbell Presses
Stiff-Legged Deadlifts
Barbell Curls

Do all 4 sets for 12 reps. If you got all of the required reps then increase the weight by 10% and repeat the cycle. If you didn't get all of the reps then repeat the cycle with the same weight. You shouldn't need more than one minute rest between the warm up sets and you shouldn't need more than one minute thirty seconds between the work sets.
Do some cardio and abs work on non weight training days.

Are you saying 2 work sets is not enough, 3 days a week is not enough, or both? What sort of plan would you recommend?

 

[divine_torture]

@ d_t:

If you are working out regularly, something you don't want to overlook is a calcium-magnesium supplement. Otherwise your muscles can start leeching from your bones. You need to feed both.

I never considered the obvious importance of bone strength in working out...

 

[rms]

Ok just to make sure you know what I'm doing, here's the actual plan (slightly modified from the original):



Are you saying 2 work sets is not enough, 3 days a week is not enough, or both? What sort of plan would you recommend?

Both in my opinion, but what are you looking to do? If you just want to get in better shape i'd use those 3 days to just run(ground/treadmill) and then variety of push ups/pull ups for any upper body strength...but if you want to gain mass that's different

 

[zabu of nΩd]

I don't need to lose weight. I want to gain muscle mass, and right now 3 days a week is all i'm willing to do. I've seen a little progress, but not much, and i've assumed that has more to do with how much i eat than how often i work out. What do you think?

 

[divine_torture]

To gain muscle mass you have to do a little more weight training than just 3 days a week. Also look into some Creatine and Protein supplements.

 

[rms]

I don't need to lose weight. I want to gain muscle mass, and right now 3 days a week is all i'm willing to do. I've seen a little progress, but not much, and i've assumed that has more to do with how much i eat than how often i work out. What do you think?

If you want to gain mass all right here's what i'd recommend;

I wouldn't do any cardio, eat lots of protein/carbs whatever..I stay away from fats and sugars/simple carbs but it's your body you know it better than me..if you can handle it, eat everything you can then.

I wouldnt buy creatine because from what ive seen it's just bullshit. If you don't drink enough water or stop taking it, you will lose tons of mass instantly. I get the expensive protein from GNC AMP but if you cant afford it dont worry about it, or want cheaper get something like Gold Standard. There's different types of Protein but Whey is the simplest. If you are really serious about body building then you'll take more shit and waste all your pennies. Personal opinion of mine is that I dont use any kind of NO XPLODE or any heart pumping shit because I don't want to die. Also I stay away from those vitamin packs because I don't want my piss to be green.

I usually work out 6 days a week and only have 1 day of rest..but sometimes it's really cold outside and/or im lazy..but at least 5 days a week, and very rarely 2 days off in a row.

Right now I got two routines and trying to figure out what to do for a third. Day 1, I do P90X2 Ab Ripper for abs, the original or new one is about 15 minutes and I do it every day. All I do for my abs, and it does me good.

Then I hit my chest hard. Flat bench, flat dumbell bench, some machine chest press stuff (with plates not that little metal rod thing thats for women) and then I do chest flies on cables. 4 sets each, 10 reps. If I want to beat myself up I try and do 8 6 6 and whatever on the final rep. If i'm feeling up to it, in between sets I do hammer curls / push ups / pull ups

Day 2, do my p90x2 ab ripper and then I try and hit shoulder/chest/arms..I do decline bench, incline bench, regular dumbell curls, bar curls (not olympic or whatever, feels awkard), 21's on a cable (http://www.warwickcanoe.co.uk/resources/images/polo/training/bicep_21s.jpg but on the cable machine with a straight bar...and then also if im feeling up to it, push ups / pulls

and my new routine, thinking of doing more shoulders/tris/back..but my left shoulder sucks so I usually don't hit shoulders at all or very hard. The gym here isn't as good for back as it only has like two things, and no kind of TBAR/Barbell Rows but pull ups is all right in my opinion. Triceps I usually do both days, I don't really know how to explain what I do, but I go to the cable machine just grab the 'rope' with no attachment, stand straight up, and extend my arm 10 each side. Then I grab the handle(like for chest flies) and go down 10 on each arm. But I do 10 like how your arm normally rests and then I flip it so I try and get the best outta that. Could also do tricep pulldowns or the dumbell thing behind your head.

Might be rambling here, if it sounds all retarded let me know i'll try and fix it

 

[Krigloch the Furious]

finally back to doing pushups and curls
I got sick about a month and a half ago and it made me lazy, so I stopped doing everything.
Gonna start doing some situps too. Not sure how many to do a night, but whatever.

 

[damnromulans]

Do them until you can't do any more!

I like the 100 workout