The Fitness Thread

[wandering_taco]

Haha I know the feeling. Aches and pains all the time, sore joints, injuries. Working out is hard. Havent lifted for about a month myself, Im gonna start again soon with this one guy I know.

 

[SWAT]

I have question, I am a slim build naturaly but I drink beer, and don't eat right. So over the course of a few years I have gained 20 pounds which all went to my pecs, gut, and a little on my face. I am wondering is it possible if I work out enough quite the drinking, eat right, that I can turn that fat into muscle?

My friend who is currently trying to get into med school has told me that fat doesn't convert into muscle. But what I'm getting at is, does it somehow indirectly turn into muscle? As in it doesn't actually turn into muscle but through diet and exercise kind of makes its way into being muscle?

Or is it that if I eat right and exercise all my fat goes away, then I will be as skinny as I was and have to start from there?

 

[Caladan]

5'9" and 95kg (About 200lbs). Mostly muscle, but what fat I do have is arranged quite unflatteringly around my gut. A couple of years ago, I ran 10 miles a day 4 days a week for about 2-3 months. I shed weight rather quick, but I still had a rather "obvious" gut. And I didn't even drink much back then. I have come to the conclusion that I must have some kind of spinal curvature. Afterall, my arms, shoulders and upper torso are in perfect condition, even if I say so myself.

 

[Ultimate_Symphony]

My friend who is currently trying to get into med school has told me that fat doesn't convert into muscle. But what I'm getting at is, does it somehow indirectly turn into muscle? As in it doesn't actually turn into muscle but through diet and exercise kind of makes its way into being muscle?

No way, no how. Actually what happens is when you start your work out regimen (cardio) with time your metabolism rate goes up and your start burning up the excess fat that you have in your body. The process of bulding up muscles goes like this: You end a heavy session of weightlifting and the day after you start feeling a certain soreness in the body part you worked on, that's because the muscle tissues ''break'' during the process. The muscle gain is the result of those tissues regaining their form.

Or is it that if I eat right and exercise all my fat goes away, then I will be as skinny as I was and have to start from there?

What I would do if I were you is start working out right away and fix up your diet. Do cardio and work with a personal trainer that you trust.

 

[SkiesAtOurFeet]

@ Swat: Do you drink alot of carbonated beverages along with beer? That stuff slays your body if you're not active. Drink 6-8 glasses of water a day and you'll see the fat start coming off rightfully. Also take in less food more frequently, eat every 3 hours or so but smaller portions. I recognize it's not always possible to do but if you can manage to stick to a 3 hour regiment weight will come off. It's all about portions and eating leaner. No snacks, cookies, fast food, and i don't eat alot of fried food anymore either. It all makes your tits jiggle.

@ Fleshmountain: You're going to be feeling it good for first couple weeks, like a new found love! It's such a fantastic feeling though! No pain, no gain in lifting.

 

[The Ozzman]

Snacks and cookies kill me. My mom keeps buying that shit and I tell her to stop. She has such a sweet tooth (and I get it from her!). I don't find fast food a problem if you portion it out correctly. Get salads instead of burgers, for example.

 

[Ultimate_Symphony]

Listen to Skies, he speaks the truth. Btw, I forgot, a good first step towards fitness would be to calculate your daily intake of calories.

 

[SkiesAtOurFeet]

I don't find fast food a problem if you portion it out correctly. Get salads instead of burgers, for example.

The problem with many fast food salads are, they are often times worse than the actual burgers! Depending on what dressings you use and the meat choice(the meat choice from fast food is just deadly). Like you said though, portion control is crucial!

Try drinking some tea or water when you get the urge to snack. I used to get a sweet tooth and then i'd just make a tea and put a nice serving of honey in it.

 

[Matt]

If you eat exercise and do enough cardio your diet won't be that affected. I eat a ton of fast food and still manage to maintain my physique.

And this being busy bullshit is pissing me off. I haven't been to the gym in like a week

 

[waif]

Like the other guys said before, less reps more weight. If you've never lifted weights before you should start with a weight that's comfortable for you (though you should also pick one that at least gives you some level of challenge), usually guys start at 15 pounds (dumbell curl) and real frail guys start at 10. The standard pretty much is 3 to 4 sets of 8 to 10 reps and you should gradually go to a higher weight resistance as you get stronger (usually one or two weeks, depending on your work out regimen). Oh and btw, don't forget to keep an eye on your diet, lots of protein (red meats are a must) and use protein shakes if you are not into diet regimens.

Hope that helps.

My understanding is that when building for strength you want a resistance strong enough that you can do a max of like 6-8 reps and just do a couple sets of that.

I have question, I am a slim build naturaly but I drink beer, and don't eat right. So over the course of a few years I have gained 20 pounds which all went to my pecs, gut, and a little on my face. I am wondering is it possible if I work out enough quite the drinking, eat right, that I can turn that fat into muscle?

My friend who is currently trying to get into med school has told me that fat doesn't convert into muscle. But what I'm getting at is, does it somehow indirectly turn into muscle? As in it doesn't actually turn into muscle but through diet and exercise kind of makes its way into being muscle?

Or is it that if I eat right and exercise all my fat goes away, then I will be as skinny as I was and have to start from there?

The fat won't turn into muscle, but as the fat goes away muscle will develop in it's place. You'll become more built and thinner but not scrawny if you do it right.

And this being busy bullshit is pissing me off. I haven't been to the gym in like a week

I know. I feel like shit when I can't go running or lift. Fuck homework.

 

[WINTER TYRANT]

I generally do three days of lifting and seven of cardio. I do only two serious cardio days which is all running and the others i don't consider them cardio because its just riding my bike. I only ride for fun so sometimes i really push myself and sometimes i take it easy. I used to lift for size and train certain muscle groups on certain days but i'll be shipping to basic training for the navy in january and now i am on a total body fitness plan, mainly for strength and endurance, and i'm constantly changing my workouts so that i don't hit that plateau where i stop advancing.

 

[Ultimate_Symphony]

My understanding is that when building for strength you want a resistance strong enough that you can do a max of like 6-8 reps and just do a couple sets of that.

Read my post again (seems you didn't). It says very clearly that for a beginner, you should pick up a weight that gives you some level of resistance (it's idiotic for a beginner to pick a 35 pound dumbell and do curls). Reps and sets ammount vary, I for one when doing strenght always do 4 sets with 8 reps.

The fat won't turn into muscle, but as the fat goes away muscle will develop in it's place. You'll become more built and thinner but not scrawny if you do it right.

Not at all. Fat does not occupy the same space as muscle, the only thing that can occupy the same space as muscle is water (hence people that use creatine can get bigger than normal, 'cause they retain water). I'll give you and example: People usually believe the way to get a six pack is to do a lot of crunches and that is wrong. Everyone has the ab muscles developed to a certain level, the only problem is that fat usually is covering the abs and you don't see them. What you have to do to get the abs is burn the fat that is covering them and you will get the abs desired.

 

[viewerfromnihil]

okay, so i'm 5'11 (1.8 meters) and i weigh 115 pounds (52 kilograms) and i cannot gain weight. i've had this problem my whole life (i weighed 71 pounds from the age of 11-13 and i have weighed 115 for a year and a half now, maybe longer). i've tried everything from working out(lost weight and didn't get stronger ) to gourging myself, to even having weird eating patterns where i only eat once one day and eat a ton the next day (wasn't intentional, i was hungover (i don't like to eat when i'm hung over) most of the summer and the place that i drank at didn't have any food) so... any help?

 

[SkiesAtOurFeet]

so... any help?

Ever try a mass builder powder? Basically, it's something like near triple the amount of protein your body can process with some other fat building goodies in it. Since your body can't process it all, probably gets stored to fat as opposed to getting flushed out of your system via urine/feces (i'm guessing). Never tried it but with that much protein in a scoop you're bound to put on bulk.

 

[viewerfromnihil]

i've tried doubling my protien intake and that didn't work but i've never tried the body building powder. i guess i have no choice but to check it out i'll just have to make sure if i start using it, that i won't sit on my ass all day or i may stand the chance of getting fat

 

[Matt]

I've noticed that I get better results taking a multivitamin. A lot of trainers recommend that anyway.

 

[WINTER TYRANT]

i've tried doubling my protien intake and that didn't work but i've never tried the body building powder. i guess i have no choice but to check it out i'll just have to make sure if i start using it, that i won't sit on my ass all day or i may stand the chance of getting fat

you can gain loads of pounds lifting for size and taking mass gaining supplements. Also the right diet is so crucial to gaining weight. A lot of the times what you see happen is when people are gearing up for massive amounts of weight gain, they don't do any cardio what so ever. A lot of people that i have talked to will bulk up over the period of a couple months then cut down the fat. I've used muscletech's mass building systems before in the past and they work really well, I'm talking like fifteen pounds of muscle within six weeks. The downside that i discovered with the system is that you HAVE to stay with the diet plan it'll lay out for you. If i wasn't eating every three to four hours i would develop really painfull headaches because of the stuff i was putting into my body. Now that I've been training for basics I'm doing everything natural because I wont have any of that shit when I'm gone, but if I was training for size instead of strength and endurance I would supplement with products designed for muscle size.

 

[wandering_taco]

I have a really hard time gaining weight too, but this is what I did to gain weight a couple years ago. I just ate the same as I normally do (which is a good amount) but I added a slimfast shake in between breakfast and lunch. Weight loss shake to gain weight. They are meant to be meal replacements, but if you use them to supplement your normal diet you will gain weight because they have a lot of stuff in them. I was drinking protein shakes and taking creatine at the time as well, creatine and glutamine are great for working out.

@ Fleshmountain: You're going to be feeling it good for first couple weeks, like a new found love! It's such a fantastic feeling though! No pain, no gain in lifting.

O believe me I know. It will take me forever to get used to it again, just like after football or track. I cant wait till I'm benching over 300 again, its been over a year now.

 

[SkiesAtOurFeet]

Any of you guys fool around with branch chained amino acids? Seems like a pretty good investment for building muscles, but it is sort of pricey. Looks like around $30 avg for a bottle of 180 capsules. Not sure how many you're supposed to take a day but it could last you maybe 2 months depending on dosage.

And also Endothil CR? Some reviews claim noticeable difference after just two weeks, but this stuff is extremely pricey. Looks like $45 avg for 30 pills, but most likely will pay $50 and up! $$$$$ But get what you pay for?

 

[Metalitia]

Like the other guys said before, less reps more weight. If you've never lifted weights before you should start with a weight that's comfortable for you (though you should also pick one that at least gives you some level of challenge), usually guys start at 15 pounds (dumbell curl) and real frail guys start at 10. The standard pretty much is 3 to 4 sets of 8 to 10 reps and you should gradually go to a higher weight resistance as you get stronger (usually one or two weeks, depending on your work out regimen). Oh and btw, don't forget to keep an eye on your diet, lots of protein (red meats are a must) and use protein shakes if you are not into diet regimens.

Hope that helps.

Thanks for that, and to the other guys too