OCR Fit club (2010 edition)

[Geoffrey Taucer]

So we've done this a couple times now, and it seems to be a pretty popular idea.

I'm not going to strictly organize it this time around; this is just a thread to post your goals, methods, etc, and to trade fitness advice and discuss progress.

SO, if you're trying to get in shape, stay in shape, or whatever, post here! If you need advice on workouts, diets, etc (or if you would like to share your own advice), post here!

I am a high-level gymnastics coach and will be happy to offer my expertise on the subjects of strength and flexibility training, and I know we have some other fitness experts in the community. To be clear: my own expertise is fairly narrowly focused, and comes primarily from gymnastics, though I do know a number of non-gymnasts who have incorporated gymnastics-based exercises into their workouts to great effect.

Also feel free to post pics, videos, etc.

Have at it!

[Bahamut]

So what would you say is the healthiest way to lose weight in terms of balancing diet & exercise?

[Brandon Strader]

I've been going to the gym for 4 weeks until this blizzard hit, and I don't think I lost any weight. I've lost 5 lbs tops.

I've been doing 40 minutes cardio and 40 minutes weight lifting every other day (some days I do 20 minutes to give muscles time to rebuild)

My goal was to lose a fair deal of weight by next December. I don't understand why dieting + doing the 80 minutes hasn't caused me to lose a ton by now.

[Geoffrey Taucer]

A lot of people think of building muscle and burning fat as the same thing, but they aren't; as my expertise is in building strength, I'm probably not the best person to answer this, but I can give you a general answer.

The best way to burn fat is to find some activity that gets your heartrate up and keeps it there for an extended period. Running (or even walking), swimming, biking, and the like.

My understanding is that the important thing for this is not so much intensity as duration (EDIT: though gibbo dissagrees with me on this)

As far as diet, I have no idea.

[Monobrow]

Hi!

I have been going to the gym on a regular basis since about May of 2009.

I do weights about twice a week and usually do cardio 2-3 times a week as well. I do that crazy zumba dance thing and pilates as well because I am a gurl and like to do all those typical gurl workouts.

I also enjoy hiking and just restarted martial arts 2 times a week with my dude.

So far within the last year or so, I have lost about 8% body fat and have gained big arm muscles. I can now do pushups without complaining too much, and can hike mountains without HUGE complaint.

While I wouldn't consider myself a fatass a year ago, I was getting there after hitting my late 20s, and basically like everyone else, I found myself slowly hitting a metabolic wall, where my body is telling me "It ain't what it used to be..." so I've turned that around. I'm not at my goal I set out to have about six months ago, but am close, and I want to go way past that. So basically I am going to make 2010 the year of being fit and setting a trend for the rest of my life.

I'd also like to add that there are many ways to burn fat. Cardio (getting your heart rate up) is good. Also a lot of people say that getting your heart rate up for a while (at intervals), cooling down a little bit, and then getting it up again is a more advanced way to go about doing it (I am not an expert though)

Also my trainers at my gym have basically told me that the best way to lose weight is to do a cardio + weight training routine: The cardio burns fat immediately, but the weight training makes it so your muscles have to burn calories to rebuild themselves over time, over the long run. Like I said, I'm not an expert, but that's what I was told. So I do both.

[Geoffrey Taucer]

I've been going to the gym for 4 weeks until this blizzard hit, and I don't think I lost any weight. I've lost 5 lbs tops.

I've been doing 40 minutes cardio and 40 minutes weight lifting every other day (some days I do 20 minutes to give muscles time to rebuild)

My goal was to lose a fair deal of weight by next December. I don't understand why dieting + doing the 80 minutes hasn't caused me to lose a ton by now.

A portion of this may be genetic, though it's impossible for me to say for any particular person to what extent this is the case.

Mind discussing the specifics of your diet? That may allow us to help you a bit more.

[Brandon Strader]

That's cool Mono, I've been doing kind of the same thing as far as arm muscles are concerned. I can do pushups now, and I haven't been able to do them ever.. so it's a cool change to have that kind of arm strength.

I've been going Monday to Friday for about 80 mins like I said. I basically eat whatever my mom cooks but I've eaten much smaller portions compared to what I used to, and I use the little plates instead of the big plate. :/

So Taucer, you say intensity doesn't matter? That's good to know, because I've really been running myself ragged on the excersize bike at level 10 with an RPM of 85+ for 40 minutes. X_X

As for genetics, my whole family and extended family is obese except for my sister, who is dangerously anorexic and can't gain weight. Weird that we couldn't have some kind of middle-ground.

[Geoffrey Taucer]

Ok, time to post my own goals.

I had to take most of last season off from training rings due to a shoulder injury. I am taking this season off from training floor and vault due to an ankle injury.

So I have two goals

First, I want to get back to the point where I can do all four major rings strength holds (iron cross, planche, maltese, and inverted cross). Before I got injured, I could do all four reasonably well, though not perfectly. Right now my cross is the best it's ever been, but my planche is inconsistent, and my invert and maltese are nonexistant.

Second, after I get surgery on my ankle, I want to build my leg and angle strength back up to where it was last july, when I competed at national qualifiers, so I can tumble and vault again. Ideally, I'd like to get all the way back to being able to throw my vault (kazamatsu double front, never been done by ANYBODY except me) in competition again -- this may well take over a year to do, though.

My relatively long-term (and also very much long-shot) goal is to qualify for the 2012 Olympic trials on Floor, Vault, and possibly Rings. This goal is an EXTREME long-shot, but it seems just plausible enough to be worth a try.

[LuketheXjesse]

I've been doing this for almost two weeks.

Once the winter dies down, I'll start running again as well.

[Geoffrey Taucer]

So Taucer, you say intensity doesn't matter? That's good to know, because I've really been running myself ragged on the excersize bike at level 10 with an RPM of 85+ for 40 minutes. X_X

It's not that intensity DOESN'T matter, it's just that duration matters MORE.

(as I understand it anyway. Let me be clear: my expertise is in building strength, not in burning fat)

As for genetics, my whole family and extended family is obese except for my sister, who is dangerously anorexic and can't gain weight. Weird that we couldn't have some kind of middle-ground.

Genetics may not be on your side here, but I suspect this can be overcome if you're determined enough.

[DragonAvenger]

Any thoughts on aerobic exercises I can do at home that would be easy on my knees? I used to be able to run 4.5 miles, but I'm guessing bad form + flat feet did me in. I'd like to be able to do some cardio that isn't going to do more damage than I've probably already done.

I've got an exercise bike, and that doesn't seem to cause problems, but I'd like to throw in some variety if I can.

[Brandon Strader]

Any thoughts on aerobic exercises I can do at home that would be easy on my knees? I used to be able to run 4.5 miles, but I'm guessing bad form + flat feet did me in. I'd like to be able to do some cardio that isn't going to do more damage than I've probably already done.

I've got an exercise bike, and that doesn't seem to cause problems, but I'd like to throw in some variety if I can.

The excersize bike is really brutal on my knees if I don't put the level up high enough. The pedals go too fast and it whips my joints and hurts' em. So I raise the level to make it more like running through molasses!

Genetics can be overcome with determination? Is this true?

[starla]

Since coming back from magfest, the weather has been miserable and I haven't been out walking and exercising like I used to. Personally my plan is to do cardio every other day, and weights additionally every 3 days (so day 1 cardio and weights, day 2 rest, day 3 cardio, day 4 rest, day 5 cardio and weights, repeat.) My cardio normally consists of the eliptical, (this is low impact on knees, i have bad knees) ~40 minute of a pace that 'makes it difficult to carry a normal conversation.' Not too fast, but enough to really start getting things going. I do some free weights: laying on my back, holding my arms out to my sides with 15lb weights in each hand, then bringing them up above in front of my chest, keeping my arms straight. Repeat with the arms in a starting position above the head, bringing above the chest. We also have some press machines at the gym. I do a couple reps of 10 depending on the energy I have that day, I usually start with stretches then weights then cardio, since the cardio wears me out the most I prefer to do that last. Not everyone is like that though. Some days if I don't feel like going out, I'll opt for an aerobics video. do NOT discount these - i have surprisingly been extremely exhausted by doing the simplest of routines.

I've been losing steady weight with a moderate diet. I won't be doing any 'crash' things, just eat healthy and don't overeat. Lots of fiber and proteins (chicken and fish are great) and healthy carbs (like broccoli, spinach, string beans) and avoid sugars late in the day. I will have sugary cereals in the morning because they give me an extra boost of energy that i do plan on using. Some days I'll prefer to have a protein shake for breakfast, I like to mix a banana in there sometimes as well. I have also switched to fat free milk, and no longer drink sodas. I will drink juice mixed with club soda or seltzer water. My main problem is I have a love affair with food; even healthy food I will tend to overeat. For me, my key is not to go to any extreme, because I will start to feel pressured and even more hungry than usual if I know I'm limiting myself. Slow and steady is the way to go.

One thing that helps some people as well is keeping a log of the food you eat, and trying to maintain a normal schedule. This can help you realize if you are a bad snacker. One diet I tried suggested eating 4 small meals a day, every 4 hours. This worked surprsingly well for me, not just because of the 'eating less, more often' thing, but also because my body really responded to eating on a set schedule.

Anyway I've lost 3 pounds since the start of the year, my goal is 25. I'll try to keep you guys updated, share any secrets you might know!

[Gibbo]

I've been going to the gym for 4 weeks until this blizzard hit, and I don't think I lost any weight. I've lost 5 lbs tops.

I've been doing 40 minutes cardio and 40 minutes weight lifting every other day (some days I do 20 minutes to give muscles time to rebuild)

My goal was to lose a fair deal of weight by next December. I don't understand why dieting + doing the 80 minutes hasn't caused me to lose a ton by now.

Your diet probably sucks. Post it.

The important thing for this is not so much intensity as duration.

Bullshit.

Someone running a marathon pace 10km/h, for an hour, is going to burn considerably less than someone running a 10k pace (15km/h). Now considering a lot of people just starting out aren't going to be even capable of sustaining that anyhow, you cut the time in half, thus making the difference in intensity more important.

Talking heartrate, 130-140bpm is designed to be sustainable over long periods of time and doesn't really burn all that much on a caloric level. Likewise, getting up to anaerobic levels is just going to molest your muscle glycogen and not really do what was intended. For people trying to get less fat, medium periods in zone3 work quite well.

Taucer, I'm not sure if your training methods are really going to work for normal people. You have stupid genetics (in a good way), and you work with people who have a ridiculous amount of drive, a sport to compete in, and are there very frequently.

[Geoffrey Taucer]

The excersize bike is really brutal on my knees if I don't put the level up high enough. The pedals go too fast and it whips my joints and hurts' em. So I raise the level to make it more like running through molasses!

Genetics can be overcome with determination? Is this true?

Sometimes yes, sometimes no. It depends on just how genetically fucked you are. I've seen some pretty ripped gymnasts with pretty chubby parents before.

[Geoffrey Taucer]

Your diet probably sucks. Post it.

Bullshit.

Someone running a marathon pace 10km/h, for an hour, is going to burn considerably less than someone running a 10k pace (15km/h). Now considering a lot of people just starting out aren't going to be even capable of sustaining that anyhow, you cut the time in half, thus making the difference in intensity more important.

Talking heartrate, 130-140bpm is designed to be sustainable over long periods of time and doesn't really burn all that much on a caloric level. Likewise, getting up to anaerobic levels is just going to molest your muscle glycogen and not really do what was intended. For people trying to get less fat, medium periods in zone3 work quite well.

Really? This is the opposite of what I've heard, though as I said, this is not my area of expertise.

Taucer, I'm not sure if your training methods are really going to work for normal people. You have stupid genetics (in a good way), and you work with people who have a ridiculous amount of drive, a sport to compete in, and are there very frequently.

As I said, my expertise is in building strength, not in burning fat. You may be right to some extent, but I can honestly say that I know a LOT of non-gymnasts who have used gymnastics-based workouts to build strength and it worked great for them.

Though I will openly admit that my expertise is in a very narrow, very specific area of general fitness. Opinions of other experts are welcome.

[SoulinEther]

Sweet, was waiting for a new thread for 2010... and in the time I went to the bathroom and brushed my teeth, 10 people posted above me, lol.

Alright. I've always been.. uh.. "skinny fat": normally thin-looking, not really muscular and not exactly like a beanpole either. I think the most I've weighed was around 165 (I'm 5'11") and it wasn't really a big deal. Used to lift occasionally but never could get too into it. Then some bad life happened to me in December, and with all the free time I had with winter break, the sadness, nothing to do and the fact that decent, quality dinners had gone out the door, food was great – as in, consumed greatly... and I ended winter break 15 pounds heavier than I started.

I decided I wasn't happy with how I looked anymore, so I decided it was time to start a serious lifting routine. Armed with nothing but a 130 pound barbell set and an acoustic guitar, I made a legs/torso/arms full-body workout routine using exrx.net (http://www.exrx.net/Lists/WorkoutMenu.html). ...and a little ditty I use to get myself pumped up (alright, I made that part up, lol)

Since I don't have a bench or machines to work with, I had to choose exercises that I could do with either the barbell or my own body weight. My current routine consists of:

• bent-over rows (back)
  
• upright rows (deltoids)
  
• pushups (chest...wish I could bench. arg.)
  
• military press (deltoids)
  
• drag curls (biceps) and dips (triceps) – I don't do these much, usually they're worked out and tired from the exercises above
  
• Alternating between dead lift (hamstrings) and squats (quads) – both strain my lower back, and with lower back pain as it is... don't want to make things worse
  
• Crunches or jack-knife sit-up (fun!...) (abs)
  

Pretty much all of them are done 3 sets of 8-10 reps each, and I work out every other day.

I'm trying to eat right, and I'm keeping good track of my protein intake - making sure I get a good amount and variety of protein and protein sources.

My goal is simple, though I'm going to get more specific pretty soon: get stronger, lol. For exercises I'm doing with the weights, I'm using as much weight as I can handle to get through the three sets. I've been going for about 3 weeks and I've already started to up the weights on the exercises.. but some of my friends have told me that gains are easily made early, and then things start to slow down, so starting tonight, I will keep track of how much I'm lifting each time I work out so that I can have something I can refer to later to keep me motivated and stuff. If/when I add cardio (next paragraph), I'll probably define weight goals.

Eventually, I want to add some cardio to my routine. I'm not really fat, and I don't necessarily have a reason to lose weight, but there's definitely room for improvement (and no room for my abs, lol) I'm pretty big on running, but I don't really have the opportunity to go somewhere to run/work out right now, so .. that's out. I've also done some tae-bo in the past and it's really not that bad – if you throw in the intensity, you can really get your blood pumping.

I do have a question though... anybody know a good hamstring or quad exercise that I can perform without involving my lower back? I'd like to be able to work both of them out with each workout if possible.

Oh, and if I can improve my flexibility at some point, that'd be cool. But I don't have a partner to stretch with... any advice would be great.

[Gibbo]

I hope to only one day be as sexy as you, Taucer. <3

Anyhow, a lot of people have a tendancy to have terrible diets, coupled with a mixed idea of what they should be doing to actually improve their body.

A quick rundown of things:

A rough estimate of how much you should be eating is about 14* Bodyweight, in pounds, and round up. Just for maintenence. For me, that's 190x14 = 2660, so 2700. If you don't know any better, that seems like a lot. I mean, that's only 6 double cheeseburgers, right?

Now, for the fun part. Macros! Protein and Carb are both 4cals per gram, fat is 9. That's you don't count grams, but % of caloric intake. A fairly easy ratio to obtain and hold (and works well for beginners) is 35%p/50%c/15%f.

For me, that's 945p/1350c/405f or 236g/337g/45g

Most people, if they clean up their diet and start adhering to that, will end up losing weight assuming they have some semblance of activity in their life.

If you want to lose weight a bit faster, go down by about 20%. Gain weight? Go up 20%. Beyond those numbers you begin to see diminishing return, excess fat gain, etc.

What to do: Do not work out 7 days a week. Do not work out 6 days a week. Hell, don't even attempt 5. Your body needs time to heal, and excessive muscle soreness off the start is a great excuse to stop.

Lift weights. Just do it. You won't get bulky. You won't look like a body builder.

Guys, eventually you'll look like taucer.

Girls: You won't get bulky. Go lift something.

This chick is stronger than I am, and not bulky.

This was all just very brief and basic. Now, who the hell am I to say this? An ex fatty (245) at 6foot, who cut down to a skinny fat 170lbs, and am now back to 190. Working on getting my cat4 for bike racing, I do stupid endurance sport stuff, enjoy lifting, and currently single (looking at you taucer).

One more thing: Low carb; don't do it. just cut out processed things. And only drink water (and milk if you're so blessed).

Juice is healthier than pop, right? Wrong. Juice contains almost equal amounts of HFCS. Here's why that sucks (it's long)

[Gibbo]

I do have a question though... anybody know a good hamstring or quad exercise that I can perform without involving my lower back? I'd like to be able to work both of them out with each workout if possible.

I'm not sure why you would want to isolate those out if you're going for increased overall stregth, but any sort of leg curl for hams, and leg press (god don't these plese)

Edit: You work out home. Yeah, you're hooped. Deadlifts and squats shouldn't be hurting your back. Do them properly. If it's injury based though, front squats or zercher squats (both on exrx) can help. And Glute-ham raises for your ass-chain. You can do them with a broom and a chair.

[SoulinEther]

I'm not sure why you would want to isolate those out if you're going for increased overall stregth, but any sort of leg curl for hams, and leg press (god don't these plese)

Edit: You work out home. Yeah, you're hooped. Deadlifts and squats shouldn't be hurting your back. Do them properly. If it's injury based though, front squats or zercher squats (both on exrx) can help. And Glute-ham raises for your ass-chain. You can do them with a broom and a chair.

I think my back pain might be related to posture. I talked to my doctor about it, he took an x-ray, saw some spasms, and showed me some stretches...

I'll work on my form then, and if I start hurting, I'll grab some Vicodin. And then try those exercises. Maybe no vicodin though.

[Brandon Strader]

My heart rate is usually around 150 when I'm on the exersize bike.. When I go at 80rpm and higher it starts to move up to the 155+ area, but lately hasn't gone over 160 like it did when I was starting out. Scared myself once, was totally working, checked the heart rate, and it was like 169... hehe

So you'd say 150 is the calorie/fat burn heartrate then? Or is that too much / too less?

My diet totally sucks. It's basically not even a diet, just smaller portions. Obviously it needs to change but I just love food so damn much. xD

[zircon]

At the moment I'm on a diet and trying to improve my overall physical health. Last summer after my honeymoon, I weighed in at about 205 lbs (I'm 5'9), with clothes on. Nobody would have pegged me at that because I do have some muscle on me, but still, it was embarrassing. So, I signed up for a membership ($64/mo) at a gym about 10 minutes away. After going to the gym from about.. August through January, maybe 2-3 times a week, I had only gone down to 197.

So, I decided to try to rework my routine with the help of the trainers there to focus on building more lean muscle, and also try the South Beach Diet, which is intended to be a long-term, sustainable set of eating habits. The first two weeks consist of NO starch at all, no fruits and basically all protein and vegetables. It was brutal and I lost around 10 pounds, going down to 186.4 (at one point 184.8 but that must have just been a particular low.) Over the next week, where the dietary restrictions are lifted a bit, I didn't go to the gym (inclement weather, business) and ended up gaining a few pounds. Since then I've lost a pound or two and I think I'm around 187, but not lower than when I started this second phase.

The hard part for me is going to the gym. It sounds pathetic but it's a hassle for me, since Jill needs the car to work, and I'm often too tired in the morning (working late) to go before she goes to work. I also feel like I'm just wasting time since my sessions are usually 45-60 minutes and its 30 minutes round trip driving time sometimes. Plus with bad weather it's impossible to get there. On the other hand, I get NO exercise at home. My job is 100% sedentary. Days will go by without me needing to even leave the apartment, except maybe to go to the grocery store. It sounds sad but I LOVE what I do and I can't change that primary aspect of my life.

I know some basic exercises that don't use weights and can be done at home. I used to take martial arts so I can do them by memory. Problem is they all seem too intense, eg. heavy cardio where I get exhausted within 5-10 minutes, or they are push-ups/situps which don't really work out my arms (at the moment, that's what I really want to improve on.) I need something I can do at home that will give me a ROUNDED workout for days when I can't get to the gym. The diet is definitely an improvement on what I've typically eaten, and I feel like I CAN sustain it, but it's not going to work if my metabolism isn't getting started.

[bustatunez]

My goal for the summer is to get down to well within single-digit bodyfat, squat 300 for at least 3 reps, and bench 275 one-rep-max. Right now I'm at 12%, 300 @ 1.5 reps, 250.

Random advice on Diet:

Honestly, IMO the best thing you can possibly do for yourself is just keep a log as a first step. Take two days, do whatever you normally do, but keep a log of the carbs, protein and calories, and see what you come up with.

*THEN*, once you're inevitably disgusted by these numbers, figure out the best way to get to (assuming ~140lb bodyweight) 80g protein (or 140g if you're looking to build any muscle at all) and as low carbs and saturated fat as you can get. Think "5 meals a day and no snacks *at all*". When you're eating well and frequently, your metabolism goes up, your body has plenty of protein to repair itself (and build, if you're bulking), and when you're at the workout you have more energy because of a cleaner system with readily digestible nutrients. Even throughout the day you'll just feel cleaner and more energetic. Think of a car with higher-rated gasoline, or even finding random stuff in a clean desk vs. a messy one. Same feeling, same concept.

Drink a *lot* of water a day. Set some value goal for yourself, there's a million theories and conflicting advice but long story short is if you're normal, you're probably drinking half as much as you need.

And lastly, DO take a multivitamin. Nutrition is super-balancey and you can easily compromise it by not having some random thing in balance. 80-140g protein a day can be pricey so let's use all of that to its fullest!

Random advice on Workout:

Again, most important thing you can possibly do is keep a log. If you're trying to lose fat, give supersets a shot. I had really good success a few years back (got down to at most 6% bodyfat) with a superset-strategy that exercised alternating muscles one after another; while one was going until failure, the other was resting. It works brilliantly, heartrate stays up and you feel surprisingly energized at the end - even though you went to failure every single set!

For gaining, it's gonna be heavier weights for fewer reps. Hard to do at home, unfortunately, because you'll need to constantly increase the weights every couple weeks. For these I do 6-9 reps each set with 3 sets total; by "6-9" I mean, choose a lower weight if you can't do 6, choose a heavier weight if you've been doing 9x3 for a week or two. Your warmup can simply be whatever the first exercise is but at 50-75% the weight. Remember to get a good rest in between sets. My personal advice is that for technical/tricky stuff like bench and squats, do 'em early in the workout so you can focus on getting the technique perfect. Lately I've had success with giving myself a "free" rep on bench/squats going only halfway down just to get into things, since it's so easy to waste energy getting into position on the first one.

Oh, and sleep. Sleep a lot when you're gaining, because that's when you actually gain. (This is what I sucked the most at, I guarantee I would've been far past my goals by now if I were better at sleeping :-/)

Lastly:

If you've ever talked to me on IRC then you probably know my thoughts about cardio.

Everyone has different experiences and such, but from what I've seen, people just doing cardio and dieting have failed; whereas people lifting weights and dieting have succeeded tremendously in losing fat - generally with no cardio at all! The issue with cardio is that at your typical jogging-speed intensity, you're looking at 30-40mins before anything substantial happens at all. High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) is the way to go if you want fast cardio-related gains, look up some of those exercises. But most importantly, you *really* have to do something that's ACTUALLY FUN FOR YOU TO DO. Heavy bag, martial arts, rowing, swimming; all of these can be quantified in your workout journal and are wonderful substitutions to the "go out and jog for a while" that you probably associate 'cardio' with.

Additionally I'll throw this out there - the more muscle mass you have, the more fat you burn simply by existing. Similarly, you'll be more defined and so even at the same bodyfat % you'll look MUCH leaner. And honestly, those heavy-lifting workouts burn tons of calories, which is great for fatburners and (ironically) something bulkers will have to deal with in their diet.

Final thought about genetics, attitude, etc.:

Honestly I've been a disgustingly scrawny hardgainer my whole life. 5'6" and didn't crack 130lbs until college. A month or two into my new job back in 2008 I noticed all this San Francisco food starting to take its toll in a bad way, so I got some dumbbells and started lifting at home, simple routine that grew. Then some friends encouraged me to go to the gym at work with them, I was scared and embarrassed at first, but got into the habit of it. Started changing my diet and increasing protein, started reading stuff at www.bodybuilding.com.

It all seemed futile but after a month or two, another coworker told me that he was really starting to notice a difference, and honestly that's what's kept me going this whole time. The mirror can't tell you the tiny gains you've made since yesterday, but good and honest encouragement from friends is the best motivator. And since then I've gone up to 170-180lbs (depending on cycle), actually *lost* bodyfat, squat and bench literally twice as much as when I started, etc.

So if this thread is gonna continue, let's please all be both realistic and positive, be encouraging. "Tough love" has to come solely from the guy you see IN the mirror: he's the only one there with you when you're doing that scary weight or that last, agonizing rep.

[LuketheXjesse]

On the subject of drinking water, I've heard that you should drink what half your body weight is in ounces form. For example, I weigh 170 pounds, so I should drink 65 ounces of water a day. Again, just something I've heard, I dunno if it is necessarily accurate.

[The Derrit]

I've been doing this for almost two weeks.

Once the winter dies down, I'll start running again as well.

P90X gets results. Don't let the fact that it's a dvd infomercial fool you, it will take you a long way if you follow it well.

As a collegiate rower, I use the yoga, abs and plyo sections and all of them still do a lot for me, the workouts are no joke.