Official workout/supplement thread.

[Tommyjohn25]

Okay...how many of you here are gym rats? I have been one for years, I'm one of the few lucky ones who actually enjoys it. I figured I'd start a thread for anyone else who is interested in giving workout tips, review supplements, set goals etc...

The supplement part I am especially interested in. I do gain muscle, but with my genetics it seems as if I have to work twice as hard as the next guy. Therefore, I am always looking for the next best supplement. I take protein religiously, and try to build off of that with various other things. NO Vapor was my last, it worked okay...but it's expensive, and I just ran out.

Well here goes. Post whatever you want to workout related....off you go!

[TeamSelig]

I have motivational problems when it comes to working out. Hate goin by myself too, but my friends too have motivation problems so I can't rely on them

I feel so much better when I'm working out regularly, but I have a hard time making myself go.

[Tommyjohn25]

Originally Posted by TeamSelig

I have motivational problems when it comes to working out. Hate goin by myself too, but my friends too have motivation problems so I can't rely on them

I feel so much better when I'm working out regularly, but I have a hard time making myself go.

IMO making it a part of your daily routine is the steepest hill to climb. Once you get past that, and it simply becomes a part of your day, it is SO much easier.

[Reds Freak]

I’m not a gym rat like you say you are Tommyjohn, especially since I’ve gotten out of athletics. But I still go 2-3 times a week for about an hour at a time just because I feel like I need to do so to stay in shape. But like you said I have a set time and routine every time I go so I don’t have any excuses not to.

I think one of the best ways to work out is to find a physical activity you love and make it your workout. I love to bike, hike, play tennis, basketball, etc. and I look forward to doing those activities because I enjoy them and it’s a work out at the same time. IMO, that’s a great way to stay motivated…

[Tommyjohn25]

Originally Posted by Reds Freak

I’m not a gym rat like you say you are Tommyjohn, especially since I’ve gotten out of athletics. But I still go 2-3 times a week for about an hour at a time just because I feel like I need to do so to stay in shape. But like you said I have a set time and routine every time I go so I don’t have any excuses not to.

I think one of the best ways to work out is to find a physical activity you love and make it your workout. I love to bike, hike, play tennis, basketball, etc. and I look forward to doing those activities because I enjoy them and it’s a work out at the same time. IMO, that’s a great way to stay motivated…

The above is a fantastic way to stay in shape! Basketball is one sport i could never get the hang of however...oh well. I also think that swimming is one of the absolute best total body workouts you can get. If you happen to have a pool at your disposal that is.

[Jack Burton]

As far as supplements all you really need is a daily multi-vitamin and some protein. I got the Optimum Nutrition protien in 5lb containers, chocolate and chocolate mint. Pretty good taste and easy to mix, a little expensive though.

[wheels]

I've had a personal trainer for two years now.

I see it as my sport, and I wanna be as good at it as possible. I think the thing that helps me most is that it's functional training. It's kinda primitive, and it looks scarier than it really is.

It's also fun knowing that working out, coupled with my kung fu classes means I can pretty much dismantle most people (just kidding).

I don't use suppliments, 'cept for maybe the occasional shot of glutamine in my post workout smoothie. Otherwise, it's diet, diet, diet...With a steady diet of more dieting. I've lost over sixty pounds (but seriously, throw away your scale. Weight is like batting average), and something like 20% of my body fat. I couldn't have done any of that with just one or the other. You gotta do both.

I feel like Superman, or more like Popeye.

[SunDeck]

I used to work out a lot, but I have moved away from weights and machines and more to things like running, swimming and biking. Over the winter I go back to the gym a lot more and will usually have a rotation of 2-4 nights swimming or 2-4 nights working out. It could be 2/2 or 1/3, depending on my mood. But like I said to begin, I enjoy weights less and less, so in a typical winter week I will swim three times and work out once.
I have also pretty much abandoned any arm workouts. Swimming takes care of my upper body and I concentrate on legs for the machines. That's philosophical really- I think a key to remaining active as one ages is to keep the legs in good shape. But I'd rather put in a mile at the pool than an hour in a weight room, any day.

post edit: I have never taken any supplements. Working out for me has always been more about staying healthy than getting big.

[bucksfan2]

Originally Posted by Tommyjohn25

Okay...how many of you here are gym rats? I have been one for years, I'm one of the few lucky ones who actually enjoys it. I figured I'd start a thread for anyone else who is interested in giving workout tips, review supplements, set goals etc...

The supplement part I am especially interested in. I do gain muscle, but with my genetics it seems as if I have to work twice as hard as the next guy. Therefore, I am always looking for the next best supplement. I take protein religiously, and try to build off of that with various other things. NO Vapor was my last, it worked okay...but it's expensive, and I just ran out.

Well here goes. Post whatever you want to workout related....off you go!

No offense Tommyjohn but I think when someone says "I have to work twice as hard as the next guy" it is just an excuse. I don't mean that in a bad way I just mean that the "next guy" who is ripped and has washboard abs probably has made several sacrifices that you/we don't see. I am what you may call a gym rat. I spend atleast 3-5 days a week in the gym, on the links (walking), running, or doing some kind of physical labor. I know my achilies heal is my eating habits. I just don't dedicate myself to eating properly. I also like to indulge in beer so that doesn't help out too much.

In college I drank protein shakes but haven't gotten back into them becasue of the taste and I hated to always clean up after using the blender. Protein is a big issue when you are trying to build muscle. Try eating leaner red meats, fish, chicken, and turkey. Peanut butter is also a very good source of protein.

For those out there who don't excercies I would tell them just to find something they like to do (beer league softball doesn't count). If you find that something and do it on a regular basis you will feel much better.

[HumnHilghtFreel]

Originally Posted by bucksfan2

No offense Tommyjohn but I think when someone says "I have to work twice as hard as the next guy" it is just an excuse. I don't mean that in a bad way I just mean that the "next guy" who is ripped and has washboard abs probably has made several sacrifices that you/we don't see. I am what you may call a gym rat. I spend atleast 3-5 days a week in the gym, on the links (walking), running, or doing some kind of physical labor. I know my achilies heal is my eating habits. I just don't dedicate myself to eating properly. I also like to indulge in beer so that doesn't help out too much.

Not entirely true. Genetics plays a big role in things like this. Certain people can gain muscle mass at a much faster pace than others, but more often than not it's merely things like diet that you mentioned that hold people back from attaining goals. I know it's a problem for me.

I'm an exercise science major right now. My goal is to get licensed as a personal trainer in the next two years, so I'm definitely into this subject. Oddly enough though, since I've entered the major program, I've gotten really lazy and haven't hit the gym very much. The summer rush crowd turns me away.

[BuckeyeRedleg]

Originally Posted by bucksfan2

I am what you may call a gym rat. I spend atleast 3-5 days a week in the gym, on the links (walking), running, or doing some kind of physical labor. I know my achilies heal is my eating habits. I just don't dedicate myself to eating properly. I also like to indulge in beer so that doesn't help out too much.

This describes me.

A few years ago, I really got into supplements. I was spending a bunch of money on EAS products, most notably Myoplex, Betagen, and Phosphagen HP.

I really start packing on the LB's and getting extra reps was no problem. My wife, who was my girlfriend at the time, thought I was not only getting too big, but she said that she noticed that I was short-tempered. She was convinced it was the creatine.

I since stopped taking and lost a bit, but not all of it. Now, with four kids and a bunch of things going on, I try to get to the gym 3-4 times a week and really concentrate on lower weights and higher reps. It was a lot more fun to do heavy weight and less reps back in the day, but at my age (37) the last thing I need is to tear something and up until now my shoulders have held up so I'm not pressing my luck with the weight. I also love riding my mountain bike and have noticed my knee (torn lateral meniscus) that I have put off having surgery on has been feeling great since I've been riding consistently.

Recently my wife and I found a company called Advocare and we have been taking their products. They have a really good product called Spark that is an energy/focus drink. Anyone that has tried it has immediately fell in love as it contains about as much caffeine as an average cup of coffee, but gives you all the benefits and more. My day is way more productive after downing one of those. They have another product I'm getting ready to start next week (Herbal Cleanse) that rejuvenates and cleanses the digestive system. Unfortunately, I'll have to lay off the beer and bad foods when I'm on that 10-day cleanse, so I'm not starting it until I get back from the Reds game Friday night.

My other favorite Advocare products are the meal replacement shakes, which are very tasty (especially chocolate), the multi-vitamins (Core Plex), pro-biotic restore, and my ultimate favorite - post-recovery workout shakes, which, no kidding, are better than most "non-healthy" chocolate shakes.

TommyJohn, I think I remember once reading that you were into martial arts. Have you heard of a martial art called Burmese Bando?

[bucksfan2]

Originally Posted by HumnHilghtFreel

Not entirely true. Genetics plays a big role in things like this. Certain people can gain muscle mass at a much faster pace than others, but more often than not it's merely things like diet that you mentioned that hold people back from attaining goals. I know it's a problem for me.

I'm an exercise science major right now. My goal is to get licensed as a personal trainer in the next two years, so I'm definitely into this subject. Oddly enough though, since I've entered the major program, I've gotten really lazy and haven't hit the gym very much. The summer rush crowd turns me away.

I don't discount the genetic factors. I also don't discount the actual bone frame that your body has. I used to assume that I had a slow metabolism because my body didn't "look" like the way I wanted it to be. I worked out pretty hard in college and now about 5 years removed from college I look back and see how good of shape I really was in. Personally I feel like most people who strive to have a better body or a perfect body tend to blame it on genetic factors and don't want to realize the other factors that are involved in athletic training.

[Tommyjohn25]

Originally Posted by BuckeyeRedleg

TommyJohn, I think I remember once reading that you were into martial arts. Have you heard of a martial art called Burmese Bando?

Thanks for the responses people! First off, yes I am actually a martial arts instructor (I am a level called Sifu). The art I study is a combination of Si-lum, Choylay Fut, Wing Chung, Hungar, and Chi-kung. Most of those styles NOBODY has heard of. I have not heard of Burmese Bando I don't believe, at least I don't recall it off the top of my head. Do you study it?

Originally Posted by bucksfan2

I don't discount the genetic factors. I also don't discount the actual bone frame that your body has. I used to assume that I had a slow metabolism because my body didn't "look" like the way I wanted it to be. I worked out pretty hard in college and now about 5 years removed from college I look back and see how good of shape I really was in. Personally I feel like most people who strive to have a better body or a perfect body tend to blame it on genetic factors and don't want to realize the other factors that are involved in athletic training.

Oh don't get me wrong, I fully respect the work others put in to look the way they do, it's NEVER easy. And I also have no negative self-image issues going on, I am pretty satisfied with my build. But...I don't know how many times I am outlifting or outlasting the guy who is taking turns with me at the gym, and he is TWICE my size. I get stronger at a normal rate it seems, just takes me forever to actually SEE results. I guess that really isn't what's important, but it's nice to see the fruits of your labor. I don't lift to get "big" so to speak, I really try to maintain a build of lean, cut muscle with a little bit of bulk thrown in on certain areas. With the aforementioned martial arts lifestyle, I shouldn't get too big anyways. Wheels has it right. Get a personal trainer. It's something I've always wanted to do but never treated myself by actually doing it.

[wheels]

Interval cardio is another thing I can't say enough about.

Twenty minutes of something that always works as opposed to an hour of something that stops working after the body adjusts. I feel sorry for people that think they have to sit on bike or run on a treadmill for an hour at a time. How boring.

Run, or pump, or jump as hard and as fast as you can for a minute, then take it down slow for two minutes. Repeat that until twenty minutes is gone (really hammer away at it...go HARD), and you'll feel like you can't walk. Heck...All you gotta do is run the steps at home. Go up and down three times, rest for two minutes (walk around the house, get a drink of water, etc..), hit those steps again.

I swear by it. People love to tell me that I need to do tons of cardio, and that I'll never lose weight if I don't do six hours of cardio every week. I look at them, ask them how much body fat they've lost over the past year and the discussion ends there. That's what great about my gym. It's brutal, it's to the point, it's bare bones, and it makes me feel like an absolute animal. After all, we ARE animals.

[HumnHilghtFreel]

Originally Posted by wheels

Interval cardio is another thing I can't say enough about.

Twenty minutes of something that always works as opposed to an hour of something that stops working after the body adjusts. I feel sorry for people that think they have to sit on bike or run on a treadmill for an hour at a time. How boring.

Run, or pump, or jump as hard and as fast as you can for a minute, then take it down slow for two minutes. Repeat that until twenty minutes is gone (really hammer away at it...go HARD), and you'll feel like you can't walk. Heck...All you gotta do is run the steps at home. Go up and down three times, rest for two minutes (walk around the house, get a drink of water, etc..), hit those steps again.

I swear by it. People love to tell me that I need to do tons of cardio, and that I'll never lose weight if I don't do six hours of cardio every week. I look at them, ask them how much body fat they've lost over the past year and the discussion ends there. That's what great about my gym. It's brutal, it's to the point, it's bare bones, and it makes me feel like an absolute animal. After all, we ARE animals.

I'm a big fan of HIIT(High Intensity Interval Training), which you mentioned and Plyometrics myself. Mixed in with compound lifts, and you've got yourself a good little workout as you said, in less time.