The Fitness Guide

I ran for the first time in about three months (because of various injuries and whatnot) today. On top of that, I was also using my new running shoes (Asics Kayano 13) for the first time. So it was pretty unbearable Can't wait till I get used to the new shoes..

Andreas you copycat

I stayed up all night and then in the morning (I really need to work on this sleeping thing, don't I) was like... lets go running! So I ran a 4.05 mile loop (6.52 km?) at like 7 in the morning. The first half a mile was really crappy because I wasn't pacing myself properly and was going about a minute or two faster than my body could handle. Some reason I just suck at running in the morning. The last half mile was pretty easy, and I made it like a game or something, chasing this guy who was driving in a golf cart ahead of me.

So came back, and then passed out till like now, and I have like Ultimate practice in like less than half an hour. My body is like not quite responding 100%

For the shoes Dahl, don't walk in them, only wear them for running and stuff, cause they will take to the pattern of your running, not your walking.

Also, http://www.mapmyrun.com is a superb site.

How would you know if you are burning more calories than you are consuming?

Look at your stomach?

I mean like on the first page of Cy's guide, there is subtopics of losing weight and gaining muscle. Losing weight requires burning more calories than you take in. So how would you determine that amount of calories you take in in which the amount is less than you burn?

I mean like on the first page of Cy's guide, there is subtopics of losing weight and gaining muscle. Losing weight requires burning more calories than you take in. So how would you determine that amount of calories you take in in which the amount is less than you burn?

Every day you burn calories through activity, sleep and movement. You accelerate calorie burning through exercising, obviously. More energy expended = more calories burned. The calories you take in, is through food (and junk food).

Now to the answer: To measure whether you're burning more calories than you're taking in, after one week, check whether you have lost weight, gained weight, or maintained weight on a scale.

Thanks Cy, you, Qball, and everyone else has been very helpful.

What would be the consequences if I do a three month break from going to the gym? I will be able to start working out next week (after a one month break) and I miss the iron, but the thing is, I'll spend a lot of time with my girlfriend (who's in another town), which means I won't be able to keep a routine going. Plus, I'm going to Scotland at the start of August, followed by more exams. So September is going to be the first month in which my workout routine will be uninterrupted. Of course, I'd be doing aerobics and yoga inbetween (3 times per week), but still - what would be the costs?

be careful what you wish for... remember what happened to Adam Sandler.

Screwing Kate Beckinsale, and being worth millions of $$$?

i'm guessing you didn't watch the movie "Click"? yeah, me either.

Do you guys think this is good for a workout? I want to make my calves thinner and tone out my abs and arms.
Mile Run on Treadmill
3 Sets of 10 reps of 5 different ab exercises
3 Sets of 10 reps of 5 different arm exercises
1/2 Hour to Hour of basketball

Suggestions welcome.

The return is going too fast.

that exercise isn't THAT great for triceps. It's better for your back. I would say this is better: http://www.abcbodybuilding.com./triceps2.php (courtesy of Cyanide)


and you need more weight, it's obviously too easy for you.

If you hold the bar closer to each other, meaning, if you you put your arms close to eachother (your hands are meeting in the middle of the bar), that works out your biceps too.

If you hold them far apart, that works your lats.

If you hold them around the middle, that works out your triceps.

But Q's right the pull down is more aimed at your back.

Why would you want to when there are more effective methods?

Just do crunches, stop being a baby about it and just do it. It's only hard because it's effective. Stop pussying out. Just. Do. It.

By the way, I love working out. This might be too much information, but the sex sure has gotten better. I wasn't even aware that was possible.

I love it. I'm quite high on endorphins right now.

Wow... I think 5 days of sleeping 12 hours a day plus no going to the gym or running plus one sitting of soccer and wings just gained me back all my weight that I lost this summer.

I'm off food for a week.

Starving yourself will only slow down your metabolism and whatever you do get in will be stored as fat given your body thinks it won't get enough food to burn off of.

Starving yourself will only slow down your metabolism and whatever you do get in will be stored as fat given your body thinks it won't get enough food to burn off of.

Yeah.. I was just in the zone of hating myself then. I'm just gonna keep up my normal "healthy" eating habits as well as work out and run even crazier. I've been doing like 5 or 6 K runs each day... Which is a like huge decrease from high school, where I did like 12K each day.

Why would you want to when there are more effective methods?

Just do crunches, stop being a baby about it and just do it. It's only hard because it's effective. Stop pussying out. Just. Do. It.

Crunches are the world standard for ab exercises nowadays but that does not mean that there aren't other exercises that are just as effective or possibly, even more. One shortcoming of the exercise is that it doesn't work your entire abs effectively. The focus is on the upper abs.

Ideally, you should spend some time working the lower abs too. There are plenty of motions you can do for that. It just takes some research. Go to the link that Joe posted at the top of the page.

Bodybuilding.com probably has the best collection of illustrated exercises on the internet. In that list, look for exercises that involve bending, raising etc. of the lower body. Those mostly work the lower abs. The ones that involve motions of the upper body generally work your upper abs.

What's important is that you mix it up and find out what really works for YOU. There are some things about bodybuilding that aren't set in stone.

so proper nutrition is necessary for any good training program. however, some days I feel like it's hard just to find time to eat and when i do, I'm either not eating enough or I get full very quickly. How can I prevent myself from getting full quickly or increase my appetite?


you can find all kinds of info on losing weight, but it seems like the only places you can find info on gaining weight is on cancer/rehab sites.

When i was playing at school our trainer had me eating smaller potions, but 5 times a day. I gained 15 pounds over the course of the season.

Q, I think your problem is that your genes prevent you from gaining weight the healthy way. I know a dude that has the same problem: He is 6'3" and was like 140 pounds. I mean, some real scary shit. And the only way he managed to gain muscle was by gaining fat at first and then converting it into muscle.

My advice: Eat as much as you can (try to get as much fat as you can. Avoid trans-fat though) and don't do any exercise for a few weeks. You will definitely gain weight.
Then all you'll have to do is convert the fat you gained into muscle.

I myself am doing it right now; I really need to add some muscle on my arms and chest, since next season I'm planning on joining an American football team (they'll probably assign me at a blocking position since I'm bigger than most kids my age, although I'm not that big). So I'm planning to reach the 180-185-pound mark by September, although trying to stay as fit as possible.

I'm down from 205 lbs to 175, in like 3 months. Now I'm working on muscle definition, yep, I like my life.

Shit, that's amazing progress. A healthy range is 4-5lbs per month, but given your high activity level and still remaining healthy from it, losing 2lbs a week is realistic. Congrats, that's dedication.

Yeah, 10 lbs per month is a really nice clip of work. What were you doing to work it off?

Ever since I gained the muscle weight in college Id been with 5 points either way ever since. I got as high as 193 my junior year but it affected my leaping ability and stole a little quickness so i dropped back down to 185. I stay play regulary and its actually pretty weird. I think I jump higher now than I ever did in HS or college. And now I dont really care about it, lol.

Damn! Thirty pounds in three months! Did you not eat at all for like a whole month or something?