Soul Splint

This has to be what Master Chief is listening to when he's stomping some Promethean ass. Just one problem...no download link!

Here's the schedule I follow; you can adjust it according to which days are easier for you to do certain routines. Monday - Chest and Back Tuesday - Legs Wednedsay - Abs (Light day for a little rest). Thursday - Biceps and Triceps Friday - Shoulders Saturday - Rest Sunday - Stretching, Cardio, Yoga, whatever floats your boat. If you want an actual regimen, PM me and I can share a couple with you.

Tofu's been in the back of my mind for a while, but I never seriously considered it for years because of the erroneous study saying that soy increases estrogen. Now that you bring it up (and now that the results of that study have been proven false, actually over a year ago), perhaps I should give it a shot. I don't even remember what it tastes like, it's been so long since I've had any. The last time was probably in some hot and sour soup. Mmmm8) 35 pounds over your body weight is a solid push. That would be about 215 for me. Don't know if I could get that up right now or not...probably not. My all time best was 235, back when I was taught to believe the bench press was really all that mattered. Gotta love coaches that think they're qualified as fitness instructors. Edit: Uhhh...who are the three guys who just joined our group?

This is pretty much what I do I'm also really fond of baking a whole turkey breast on the weekends and using that throughout the week. Sadly none of these have the amino profile of eggs, but fortunately I have a connection through my local GNC (4 years of employment = nice discount) to cover some good supplements. I'd use tuna a whole lot more if it weren't such a pain (and more expensive) to find low sodium tuna. Plus, the whole mercury thing...

Bahamut: From what I understand, cardio and healthy eating can keep my cholesterol from getting high, but because of my genes, no amount of anything will ever get it truly low. Dave: Thanks for the helpful article. The last paragraph pretty much confirmed my last decision. "Eggs shouldn't be consumed on a daily basis. Even though the cholesterol is better managed by the Lecithin and Vitamin B, it still can create an excess of cholesterol, particularly in individuals who already have elevated LDL and HDL levels." Sounds like I'm pretty much SOL on using eggs as a staple. I can fill in dietary gaps with them, but I don't think I should rely on them like other people can. Which sucks, because the egg is a bodybuilding powerhouse.

Can we talk about eggs for a second? Dave mentioned not to worry about cholesterol when eating eggs, which I have heard before. However, about a year back when I did some light research, most of the sources I saw said that the cholesterol in eggs cannot be defined as good or bad cholesterol. So I figured, no big deal, I'll eat them how I want, because they are a great tool for protein and nutrient intake. Then I got my blood tested about six months ago. My family has a history of high cholesterol and heart disease, so I have always been a fairly healthy eater and exerciser to try and lessen my chances of later problems. I was shocked to see my bad cholesterol was not far from the line for 'high cholesterol'. So that spooked me a bit, and since then I've tried to limit my egg intake. I know other factors in my genes can affect that number, but still... To Dave or anyone else: is there research or any other proof showing that the cholesterol in eggs is truly not bad?

Malaki, if you're looking for lean fitness and are interested in a home workout built around resistance training such as pullups, pushups, and free weights, I would highly recommend checking out P90-X. You absolutely will not get bulky on this program, and it's very effective for endurance as well. It's a bit like crossfit, but not nearly as cardio-intensive on an every-day basis. If you have serious balance issues, you may want to avoid P90-X2 unless you think those issues can be solved; the X2 program is much more balance intensive. All you need for these programs is room to move around, a pull-up bar or resistance bands, and a couple of sets of dumbbells (these are the bare essentials).

That sounds like fun, but unfortunately I won't be there.

You're probably right. I may have let my gym-ego get the better of me, because there was a guy about fifteen feet away from me doing sets of 12 or more. I guess I reached deeper into my bag and came up empty, which is usually when you get hurt.

Question for my pull-up peeps: has this ever happened to you, or do you know how to avoid it? I was ending my third set of pull-ups earlier today, and I had gone to failure at the sixth rep (weak, I know) but when I dropped to the floor my neck EXPLODED with pain. A very serious pressure, and a pain that made me nauseated. I was incapacitated for a few minutes. The pain is now about ninety percent gone an hour and a half later, but I want to know what I may have done wrong that caused that--it has never happened to me before. The only thing I can guess is it might be because I was depleted so bad that I let my head droop on the last rep, possibly straining those muscles. Any thoughts or advice? Needless to say, I do not want to experience it again. I dropped my fourth set altogether 'cause I didn't want to exacerbate it. Edit: BTW, they were hammer-grip pull-ups. A whole big gym with five or more pull-up stations, and none of them have a straight bar. WTH?

QFT. I bought one of their albums last week. Most epic drive to work ever. Every song is like a cross between the soundtracks from Troy, Gladiator, and The Davinci Code.

Wow. It's great to see so many people in the group so quickly!

Well, crap. If they release this in the U.S. (no good reason why they shouldn't) I'll be forced to get a 3DS.

Although the whole game was off the wall and unpredictable, Conker's Bad Fur Day pulled off a pretty serious paradigm shift when it threw you into FPS mode versus Nazi teddy bears.

I wondered why you weren't beating my numbers into the ground...

Welcome! It's definitely helping me so far. What gamer isn't drawn to earning points to level up?

Ah, but in Soviet Russia the facility does not train you, you train the facility. /advantageDrago

Hey, I wanted to be Drago. It's kind of a toss-up though, 'cause I'm 6'3 and of Italian descent.

So is it just me and OA head-to-head for the push-up challenge? If so, cue the Rocky IV music! Rocky vs Drago!

Looking forward to the challenge, though the first few days may not be pretty. My triceps took a beating this weekend, and they may not be up to the task even with a lot of foam rolling. We'll see.

Oh yeah, I'm on it like a bonnet.

Gotta include Crouch Jump in that list - the use of a crouch while in midair to draw up the legs of the player in order to reach a higher platform.

Crit - Referring to a critical hit, a blow that does significantly more damage than normal. Hax - Used a lot in the Pokemon community, and refers to chance circumstances that affect the outcome of a battle. Example: If you are paralyzed by your opponent, a status that carries a 25% chance of not being able to move every turn, and you are unable to move three or four turns in a row (it happens), it would be acceptable to say you lost that battle due to hax.

A man after my own heart. Pickles make everything better, and that goes double for any kind of barbecue sandwich like the McRib.

You can indeed. After trying to do that and taking a fuel rod shot in my back about thirty times in a row, I gave up and spent some time killing the two at the top, then triggered it and ran. All speed runners don't bother killing any of them, but they use the same tactic I was using in trying to slip in and out. Apparently the hunters in my game were expert marksmen, or my zigzagging skills suck. Probably the latter. I also legendary/soloed the first three Halo games, but Reach was definitely the hardest for me.