Going to the Gym - Page 2

I like that DaveB has a specific goal.

Discovering yoga has been a saving grace. I'm way stronger than I ever was simply weight training. The poses themselves are a form of resistance, so I get a workout from that. But when I do go to the gym, my range of motion is just so much greater. I can get a better workout, hitting muscles I wouldn't have before.

I actually do yoga at home these days because here in NYC the yoga studios are packed. I mean wall to wall! I don't want to have to hold a pose with my face in some guy's nutsack. Speaking of which, a lot of classes I attended were dominated by men and they were constantly trying to outdo one another - who can hold a pose the longest, get into a deeper stretch. It was too much. Yoga shouldn't be stressful!

People, if you haven't tried yoga you should. When I was a personal trainer it never ceased to amaze me that most men cannot hold up their own body weight, but can bench press 2-3 times that. I know it's great to want to show off your pecs and shit, but in terms of functionality, yoga is much more conducive to strengthening muscles you use in your everyday life.

A specific goal that I was previously unaware of. Seated forward bends have taken on a whole new meaning...

There was this guy in my class on Sunday who was breathing like he was deadlifting 500 lbs. It was ridiculous - you could hear him from across the room.

I think that the gender-based differences in physiology that become apparent in yoga class are fascinating. I believe that it's because men and women have radically different relationships with their bodies. I can't get off the floor to save my life (working on it!), but the men have no problem at all with chaturanga



whereas the women seem to take right to uttanasana



while the men are all up on a pile of blocks, looking frustrated.

I guess we lost the other "gym" thread? That sucks horse balls.

I've been doing a sort of "beginners" yoga class every Friday at the gym. I have never been in so much pain the next day before. My whole body was hurting. Not as much now since my body is getting used to it all but wow was that ridiculous. The gym offers a power yoga where they're standing on their heads and doing some other weird shit. I don't think I could do that.

The "triathlon" program will be going once a month now. 20 minute run, 10 minute swim 60 minute spin bike. So that'll be a nice change up.

I'm registered for another long run. This one is in March. It's the 'Around the Bay 30km' race in Hamilton, Ontario. It's the oldest road race in North America (even older than the Boston Marathon). Then in May I'll be a doing a 5km and the Ottawa Marathon (26.2 miles). I might do a 10km in August and I'm on the fence with the Niagara Falls Marathon or Half Marathon. I'll see how I feel. Then next January it's the Walt Disney World Marathon! I'll be doing BOTH the half AND the full marathon. It's called the 'Goofy Challenge'. That should be a blast.

Oh and N.O. Xplode is greatness!

Leave it to guys to fuck up something like yoga with retarded dickswinging.

55 posts later, we finally know who you're shilling for.

Fantastic idea. Let's spar. You can start.

And shortly after kickboxing with Jake, "thefaint287" changed his name to "Vegetable Soup."

Aw, how cute. thefaint is spamming the exact same sort of thread on the training site I frequent under the username "blackdonnelly".

Shill-licious.

Out of idle curiosity - how do you know it's him?

The poster is located in Los Angeles, the account has twenty and some-odd posts asking pointed questions about specific products, the initial post is in the same format(same question, etc), and the single reply that they posted to the thread is pimping 24 Hour Fitness basically word-for-word from their reply to this post.

That's some fine internet detection there Jake. Damn fine.

What do you discuss on a training site, the insano-flex?

Yes. We're currently devising a plan where all the members do synchronized plyometrics so that we can hit the ground hard enough to knock the Earth out of orbit. It's gonna be awesome.

Otherwise - just nutrition, programs, advice, etc. There are quite a few PTs and nutritionists who show up on there as well as other forums, so it's a pretty good resource for beginners and those with a few more years under their belt.

Changing the discussion a bit.


I was watching true life, an older episode, where they were covering steroids. And it looked like everyone got their supply or were assisted by nutritionists. I was supremely pissed someone that was a certified nutritionist would actively help one of their clients destroy their life.

For some folks, particularly those who are grizzled with eld, steroids or HGH can be used to raise your hormonal levels you enjoyed in your early 20s, rather than unnaturally and dangerously exceed the normal threshold. However, I have no opinion as to how responsibly nutritionists/weight trainers adhere to this philosophy.

One of the many, many problems with recreational/professional abuse of steroids and HGH is that we don't see clinical research into the potential benefits. It's very similar to how the absurd stigma attached to THC (marijuana) has stunted any scientific inquiry into medical uses (i.e., warding off nausea associated with wasting sicknesses).

Yeah, it's a pretty disgusting phenomenon. Not only that, but the people who do this shit naturally based on a good diet, protein, and creatine can't stand the gearheads.

Sure, it's nice that you blew up after doing a couple of cycles over a two-month period, but don't be a shriveled little dick and act like you did it all on your own - we can tell when you're on gear. If you weren't such lazy pansies, you'd have actually put in the hard work to do it instead of needling yourself in the ass for a few weeks and calling it a day.

And there's nothing more insulting than people accusing you of using - during my brief football stint in school I had a genetic freak of a friend who lost his shit on a guy after said guy claimed that his growth(over a three-year period, mind you) was using test and ana. His freakout didn't help the rumors any, but I lifted with the guy for a few years prior and not once did I see him popping or shooting anything.

EDIT: And what Overlord said. While HGH is a performance enhancer, labeling it as a steroid is patently false. It's still looked down upon in the younger crowd, but there's a sizable population of older guys who use it infrequently and I don't hear them coming under as much scrutiny. It's kind of an odd double standard.

Yeah, it's fairly obvious to pick out the juice heads if you go to a gym regularly.

Curious, Jake, what would that website you frequent be?

I'm going to be joining a gym soon, as part of my "Jesus Christ [me], look at you! Get your shit together! Fuck!" initiative. A board full of knowledgable peeps seems a good place to augment that.

Feel free to ask any questions you might have here also, unless the mods/admins deem that this forum is a retarded place to talk about exercise/nutrition. Brendan might have advice as well since he's a PT, as is Diva if I'm not mistaken.

Might as well turn a shill attempt into constructive discussion. There was also a Gym and Weight Gainers thread a while back, I'm not sure if anyone wants to revive it but there was a fair bit of advice in there also.

http://chud.com/forum/showthread.php?t=99282

Didn't know if it needed to be bumped or not. Seemed like this thread was beginning to morph into it.

Holy hell, it suffered from the forum revamp issue. That sucker was up to five or six pages at least.

Yeah, there was a lot of useful information that got lost. I mourned its passing for several days. Even though I never posted in it the thread was a nice read in those months that were lost.

I guess I'll cut and paste my workout regimen, then:

If you want to build muscle mass, 3-6 reps is optimal. Try to work yourself to exhaustion and have a spotter handy. Here's my weekly routine (I've been weight-lifting for about eleven years):

Day One: Chest -- Bench Press, two warmups, six sets, then five sets of either incline flies or cable flies. Back -- Five sets of pull-ups, five sets of seated row.
Day Two: Curls -- Standing barbell curls for nine sets. Then one superset of dumbbell curls to exhaustion. Shoulders --Ten sets of military press (I use a machine).
Day Three: Lower Back --Deadlifts, five sets. If you don't know how to do them, learn. Start light. You'll spare yourself back pain later in life and strengthen your core. Abs: Five sets to exhaustion of situps.
Day Four: Triceps--Five sets of close-grip benchpress, four sets of bar dips, then one super-set of standing tricep extensions (lift arm straight over head). Legs -- five sets of squats (do them right, thighs reach parallel to ground). Five sets of calf raises (keep those legs straight!)

That's it. I only work out four days a week. Don't dick around in the gym. Lately I have sadly given up on my dream of a combined 1500 pound Squat/Deadlift/Benchpress. It looks like I'm going to miss it by one to two hundred pounds.

Overlord, I have this hilarious image in my head of Emperor Palpatine doing these pretty intense weight lifts in full black robe, occasionally shooting lightning out of his hands as he just barely makes a particularly heavy lift.

Cool. Thanks for finding this. One of the few threads where I seem knowledgeable outside of celeb gossip.

I've never heard so many queefs as I have in yoga classes.

To answer the question seriously:

I used to be a personal trainer, and I initially went to grad school for kinesiology until I dropped out and pursued my current career. I got to a point where I couldn't stand being in the gym anymore. I couldn't stand the treadmill, I couldn't stand the weights, I couldn't stand the fucking dipshit meatheads groaning and grunting, poking their biceps and checking out their abs in the mirrors. I took about 6 years away from the gym and joined Bally's this year, and I still hate it. It's and even worse experience now that I live in LA.

These days, I require fitness that's a side effect of a sport or hobby. I have to surf or do martial arts. I did martial arts for about 20 years til I tore tendons in my neck, but I'm considering getting back into it this year. I just ordered some new booties for the 52 degree water here. So by the end of the year, I expect to be in super awesome cardio shape.

That's exactly what I look like. And it is hilarious.

No one mind me, I'll be in the corner with my 15 and on occasion 17.5 lbs freeweights.

This just in: "Mute City" by Powerglove is a great song to run to.

I've considered joining a Gold's Gym that just opened in the area, but genetics and bad eating habits have blessed me with a 12 year old girls build (I weigh in the mid 130's soaking wet).. and frankly, it makes me think of a line from one of Robert Schimmel's stand ups, which I shall now butcher in paraphrase:

'I was going to join this gym, but the people there look so good that you need to join ANOTHER gym before you can even work out there!'

Also, I don't want to make an ass of myself trying to 'learn' all the equipment. Ass needles it is!


ETA: No offence intended towards 12 year old girls, except Abigail Breslin.. she's drank away the last of my goodwill! /end randomized joke-hate.

How tall are you?

At your age, with your weight, you should just try doing your standard pushups, situps and pullups(with one of those door frame bars) for a few months. See if a routine treats you well, and you like it. Or - you could try a martial arts class - you like MMA, so you could check out a bjj school. Trust me when I say, no matter what kind of shape you're in, everyone sucks really badly at first. Bjj gets you in fantastic shape.

I suppose this is as good a place as any to ask.

A few months ago I made a real effort to lose weight, and get into better shape. First, I suppose I should describe my body build. In high school I was 5'11" and 180lbs. This was absolutely scrawny. Last 2 years of high school I was more involved in sports and working out, and got up to 210-220 by freshman year of college.

Right now I sit at about 280lbs, and ALL of it is in my gut. I would love to lose the gut, so 40-50lbs would be absolutely great. I think 220 or there about is the size I want to get to.

Now this isn't my first effort to lose weight. Last summer I joined a gym, and I hit it HARD for 3 months. I completely burnt myself out. I started by just doing cardio, as that was what the trainer suggested for weight loss. I lost a few lbs the first month, but didn't see much after that. I started lifting weights, and really quickly toned up, but put on more weight. Not fat, but muscle. Combined with the burnout and fear of putting on more mass, I stopped working out.

So I have been counting calories, and removed 1,000 calories (or very close to) from my daily diet. The first few weeks I was losing the weight. I was also doing cardio along with the calorie drop. I definitely felt the weight loss, and felt better all around.

Now it has been a while, and I seem to have hit the plateau again. I am eating better, jogging more, but don't seem to be losing much weight. I am around 2,500 calories a day during the week, and weekends probably less than that.

So my question is this, should I keep on the 2,500 or so calorie diet, and cardio to lose weight? Or should I start lifting weights and go for the quickly toned look, and risk putting on more mass. The thing with lifting weights is, sure my arms and legs may look great, but I'll still have this gut. Should I look at going to a martial arts class of some kind? I only have 2-3 days a week to workout with my work schedule right now, so I have been going jogging early Sat/Sun mornings, so I worry that I just won't stick to a martial arms program of any kind.

Wow that was a LOT more than I set out to write. Thanks in advance to anyone with advice. The gut must go!

I'm hovering right around the 6 foot mark, give or take. Boney as all hell. I do lots of pushups, curls, presses just at home, but it's hard to push myself when I'm doing it alone and don't usually have a 2nd, so it's more toning weight than "If I drop this on my chest, I will die" weight.

I was doing Kyokushin Karate for a while but took off for a few weeks to Mexico, ended up hurting one of my feet really bad on like the last day and have been slacking off trying to get back into it since that healed. One of the problems with the place I was taking it is that it's not year round, so I'd only get a few more months in this 'term', and I'm still really new to it.

Oh hey shit! I just remembered that back when I was looking into taking some martial arts, a domain was up for www.graciebarracalgary.com for local BJJ but the site wasn't live at the time. It is now, and I am officially intrigued as hell.

Thanks for the tips, Hunter! I'm going to look into this!

I think Diva's explanation about calories and weight on the link to the other thread is good scientific advice.

Trejo - Gracie Barra is a good academy chain.

I'm a member at two "gyms" (LifeTime Fitness and Colony Square Athletic Club). I only mention it because this is the only way anyone aside from the bookkeepers would know I'm a member of a gym.

To quote Joe Walsh, "Ain't never been there, they tell me it's nice".

Lifting weights won't make you blow up immediately. I wish it did, though. :P
Sure, you'll gain muscle mass when starting out as long as you lift heavy and with intensity, but you will hit a point where you'll have to change up your routine in order to make more gains. For starting off, a good full-body lifting program based around heavy compound lifts(squat, deadlift, bench, row, etc.) will be a great start, and definitely mix up the cardio a bit. Don't just do steady-state, try sprints with 5 min. warmup and alternating circuits of 30-45 seconds of 90% effort followed by a 1-minute cooldown period. Maybe invest in a jump rope and start skipping rope, or try different cardio machines.

Most of all, make sure your diet is in check. Most of your fat loss will happen in the kitchen. If you eat like shit, you're not going to lose weight as well as you would if you ate a clean high-protein diet to compliment your exercise regimen. What's your diet like?

My diet before the change was absolutely horrible. Like, I'm not going to go into details horrible.

Now, it's much better, but I will admit, not the best. I am a very meat and potatoes guy (I'm Irish!), and it's been hard to cut that out. Breakfast for me is usually a quick thing. One morning I may have a couple of eggs, the next just a muffin, the next day I might get some yogurt. I always drink a glass of milk every morning. It's like crack to me.

3 days a week I make a point to have grilled chicken, prepared in some way to keep me interested. I might make fajitas, or a chicken sandwich, or just chicken with a green.

The other days I mix it up. One day I might have mexican food, typically shrimp diablos or enchiladas. I eat a lot of Italian, so I am heavy on the pasta side of things. A day or two a week, usually on a Monday, I eat like total hell. I don't want to take time to cook, so I grab a burger or something. I make stir fry sometimes as well. I am not much of a cook AT ALL, so I limit myself to what I see that's low calorie that I can toss in the oven or a pan quickly. I can barely keep from burning toast. I saw someone's recommendation to make a ton of chicken then freeze it and reheat later, so I think I will do that.

Lunch is where I tend to show a lot of discipline. During the work week I have either a soup or a throwback from elementary, ham cheese and crackers. Not extremely healthy, but the calories are really low. before I was eating frozen pizza, hot pockets, frozen sandwiches, etc that were about 1,000 calories right there.

As far as liquids, I don't drink beer. I rarely drink at all, maybe a couple shots every couple weekends with friends. I do drink milk everyday. I limit myself to one soda a day, down from about 4 a day. I buy 10 calorie per glass juices. And I drink tea, sweet or green, depending on the meal I am having.

Thanks for the jump rope idea. I never thought about that. I have plenty of space in my apartment to do that, and I don't have to drag my ass to the gym to do that time.

And for weights blowing me up immediately, no it doesn't, but I've been "blessed" that the week I start lifting weights I immediately see a difference. I just tend to see a real difference in weights than cardio.

That's because by definition cardio is about cardiac health, not fat loss. Fat cells are energy for your muscles, thus weight training generally "burns" more fat than cardio does. The best training programs combine cardio and weight training for optimal benefits.

As I posted in the other thread, there's no science to losing weight. 3500 calories = 1lb. If you want to lose weight, burn more calories than you consume.

Same, before I changed my entire diet. I used to put away six sodas a day, hated the taste of water, and ate total shit. The biggest hurdle for me was realizing that eating healthy doesn't have to be something miserable and torturous - you can make healthy food that's just as good or way better than a store-bought or fast food meal. It takes time to get used to doing it, but once you get into a routine it's like clockwork.

The milk's a hard thing to kick - my biggest problem was moving to skim from 2%. Along with the milk, though, try and squeeze in a fruit or veggie with each meal. You'd be surprised at the difference it makes. Eating a bigger breakfast also helps, but if you don't have the time, you don't have the time.

Definitely don't freeze them, they won't keep and will taste like crap. Cook up a bag of chicken breasts, wrap them in packets of two, and keep them in the fridge where you can grab them on the go or chop them up for a quick salad, wrap, or to use in your stir fry. It's a lot easier when you have them at the ready and don't have to go through the motions of cooking.

If you can, take time out on the weekends to cook food for the week. I usually pound out some chicken breasts and fry them for four minutes on each side in the skillet with some olive oil, lay them all out on a cookie sheet, bake them for an extra five minutes at 350 degrees, then wrap them. Everything else, I cook and package. If money's an issue and you still want a vegetable fix, the flash-frozen vegetables sold at the supermarket aren't too expensive and are still relatively good for you and easy to prepare.

It's totally worth it - it's an asskicker when it comes to cardio and once you get into the more advanced moves like double-unders, it's even more challenging. Google "Ross Enamait Boxing" and look for his jump-rope videos if you want some techniques.

What Diva said, pretty much. Cardio generally contributes to muscle loss, especially if you do it before eating, when your body is in a catabolic state(basically meaning you don't have any fuel in your system, therefore your body will more or less burn muscle - anyone more well-versed than me on this correct me if I'm off). Any sort of resistance training will show some sort of result, especially if you've been on a cardio training regimen for a while.

EDIT: Also, I whore this site out more than I do my own rectum, but if you have the time and want to check out your diet breakdown, fitday.com is an awesome free site for diet management.

Hmm, interesting. Especially the chicken breast suggestion.

I've been on a kick lately where I thaw a bunch of chicken, dice it up, soak it in teriyaki for about 30 minutes to an hour. Then pan fry it. I then use the chicken for whatever.

I also make sure I have plenty of rice cooked up and ready for a meal. I recently got a rice cooker, and it works wonders. This reminds me I'm just about out of rice.

That sounds delicious.

(Looks at bag of chicken tenders in his freezer and feels depressed0

I've been eating chicken tits like crazy these past few weeks. Rolling some up into a pair of pitas can be a very filling meal. Or just throw some corn or broccoli with some fake butter on top.

Just be sure you have a substantial level of carbs when you make this your meal. On many occasions I'll finish my chicken dinner and still get hungry, resulting in me eating crap.

Thanks for the comments Jake. Money definitely isn't an issue for me when it comes to choosing what to eat, it's how picky I am when it comes to eating. Fruits? Um...I have a banana once in a blue moon. Veggies I can do broccoli, spinach, corn, carrots, and green beans. I cannot STAND celery or lettuce, so salads just don't work.

Also, a comment I didn't make before. I don't snack. I keep some peanuts at my desk and at home, so if I need a quick fix for hunger I drink some water and a couple handfuls of peanuts. But no snacking on chips, cookies, or anything like that. God was it hard to not buy anymore Oreos.

I can't stand corn unless it's on the cob. I'm weird like that.

As for fruits, clemintines are expensive, but very tasty. And those 100 calorie Oreos are expensive, but yummy.

Best lunch ever: low-sodium tomato soup with fat-free saltines. Yummy.

If you're a shameless carb fanatic, here's a good article on the Glycemic Index and carbohydrates - it does a really good job of breaking everything down and dispensing with the overly-scientific wording that most nutritional articles have while giving you guidelines as to which carbohydrates are the best for you.

Not a problem - and veggies are fine, especially broccoli and spinach or even sacks of baby carrots. Good luck, and feel free to ask any more questions you might have!

Pre-washed baby spinach? I make a salad with pre-washed baby spinach, sliced pears, maybe some dried fruit, a few cashews or walnuts, a sprinkle of parmesan cheese, and a mustard vinaigrette. It's delicious and it's far more nutritious than plain lettuce.