Fit Club ahoy! Where men are bros and women are also bros!

[XPRTNovice]

P90X is not geared much towards muscle-building, no, contrary to their claims. The people in the commercials were already muscular. Their 90 day transformation is nothing but a typical weight cut which all lifters undergo after a bulking cycle. They just shed the fat covering their muscles due in part to P90X's cardio.

And you have to listen to that idiot talk all through your workouts...ugh.

[Soul Splint]

Oops, it's in the title, haha. It was monohydrate.

it's in the title

it's in the title

I'm gonna chalk this one up to having only three and a half hours of sleep the night before. But still...wow.

I don't use monohydrate at all either, though I do take regular, small doses of hydrochloride. It's more useful for endurance and recovery rather than gains, but I'll let you know if my hair starts falling out.

[OceansAndrew]

I'm pretty dubious about that specific side effect. There has been one clinical study that has been peer reviewed (to my knowledge), and it only showed an increase from a 5% T > DHT conversion (that happens naturally) to a 7.6% conversion during the loading phase, and from there it dropped down to about a 6% conversion. Those actual numbers are similar to a DHT increase from having a lot of sex.

I'm definitely not saying go out and take creatine, but make sure you are citing stuff before going all-in on the broscience.

[Soul Splint]

I'm definitely not saying go out and take creatine, but I would definitely recommend a lot of sex.

This is what I expected the last part of your statement to say

[OceansAndrew]

This is what I expected the last part of your statement to say

woah, yeah totally a missed opportunity there. I am really disappointed in myself.

You, however, get full credit for that awesomeness.

[Halt]

P90X is not geared much towards muscle-building, no, contrary to their claims. The people in the commercials were already muscular. Their 90 day transformation is nothing but a typical weight cut which all lifters undergo after a bulking cycle. They just shed the fat covering their muscles due in part to P90X's cardio.

Well yeah, I was well aware that they were mostly already fit. I need to lose some fat anyways, so for the time being it's okay. But after I reach that goal, I can't afford a gym membership.

It's either healthy food, or a gym membership. :/.

My equipment consists of a set of bodylastic resistance bands 146lb max. (I plan to pick up the 30lb band to extend the weight.) A set of 20lb DBs, and soon a 20lb kettleball.

So what's a guy to do when he has no room for barbells or anything of the sort to build muscle with the said equipment?

[XPRTNovice]

Well yeah, I was well aware that they were mostly already fit. I need to lose some fat anyways, so for the time being it's okay. But after I reach that goal, I can't afford a gym membership.

It's either healthy food, or a gym membership. :/.

My equipment consists of a set of bodylastic resistance bands 146lb max. (I plan to pick up the 30lb band to extend the weight.) A set of 20lb DBs, and soon a 20lb kettleball.

So what's a guy to do when he has no room for barbells or anything of the sort to build muscle with the said equipment?

tough to build without weight, but check out bodyfit.com for body-manipulation workouts that are short, sweet, and asskicking

[liquid wind]

Well yeah, I was well aware that they were mostly already fit. I need to lose some fat anyways, so for the time being it's okay. But after I reach that goal, I can't afford a gym membership.

It's either healthy food, or a gym membership. :/.

My equipment consists of a set of bodylastic resistance bands 146lb max. (I plan to pick up the 30lb band to extend the weight.) A set of 20lb DBs, and soon a 20lb kettleball.

So what's a guy to do when he has no room for barbells or anything of the sort to build muscle with the said equipment?

Building muscle without heavier weights is hard, particularly for the lower body which can handle much larger loads. Upper body you can make some progress with bodyweight movements like pushups, handstands, dips, and pullups. Definitely consider getting a pullup bar, one of those door mounted ones is like $20.

I've never used bands so I'm not sure how effective those are or what to do with them

For losing weight I think kettlebells are amazing, dunno if this is true for most people but it seems like doing a ton of swings makes me lose fat a lot more quickly than any other kind of cardio I've done

[ectogemia]

Building muscle without heavier weights is hard, particularly for the lower body which can handle much larger loads. Upper body you can make some progress with bodyweight movements like pushups, handstands, dips, and pullups. Definitely consider getting a pullup bar, one of those door mounted ones is like $20.

I've never used bands so I'm not sure how effective those are or what to do with them

For losing weight I think kettlebells are amazing, dunno if this is true for most people but it seems like doing a ton of swings makes me lose fat a lot more quickly than any other kind of cardio I've done

These are all solid recommendations.

Fat loss is actually usually quicker with shorter, more intense bursts of activity (to a point) in part because anaerobic metabolism is about 18x less efficient than aerobic metabolism. That lack of efficiency means you burn through stored glycogen and then fat much more quickly during these intense exercise sessions when compared to lolly-gagging, moderate-intensity, aerobic jogging. Kettle-bell work is far more intense than jogging, thus there's more anaerobic metabolism occurring and, consequently, more fat-burning. On the other end of the spectrum from, say, jogging, you have heavy weight lifting which burns through energy more quickly than anything else, but the effort is not sustained, so it isn't really effective for fat loss. Kettle-bell training is a good medium of intensity and duration for fat loss.

There are many other reasons for choosing somewhat shorter but more intense methods for fat loss including the insulin sensitization from anaerobic activity, an avoidance of excessive cortisol from prolonged moderate-intensity exercise like jogging, etc., but all that info can be found throughout the thread, gory details and all.

In other news, I'm gonna have to cut my return to the gym short D: My arm apparently isn't healed yet. Think I'll get some x-rays soon since the bone is still sore like 3 months later... Sucks. I'm going to be a skinny noodle again when I see you all at MAGFest

Edited September 27, 2013 by ectogemia

[Soul Splint]

In other news, I'm gonna have to cut my return to the gym short D: My arm apparently isn't healed yet. Think I'll get some x-rays soon since the bone is still sore like 3 months later... Sucks. I'm going to be a skinny noodle again when I see you all at MAGFest

Aw man, I hate to hear that. From one skinny bro to another, you have my sympathies. Will you be able to do any leg work?

[Halt]

Building muscle without heavier weights is hard, particularly for the lower body which can handle much larger loads. Upper body you can make some progress with bodyweight movements like pushups, handstands, dips, and pullups. Definitely consider getting a pullup bar, one of those door mounted ones is like $20.

I've never used bands so I'm not sure how effective those are or what to do with them

For losing weight I think kettlebells are amazing, dunno if this is true for most people but it seems like doing a ton of swings makes me lose fat a lot more quickly than any other kind of cardio I've done

Well, I have a set of the Bodylastics, max weight of them is 142lbs. You can link multiple bands together to the handles via d-links, think mountain climbing.

Have any recommendations for a pullup bar? I don't have a frame around my door right now, so yeah lol.

[XPRTNovice]

Well, I have a set of the Bodylastics, max weight of them is 142lbs. You can link multiple bands together to the handles via d-links, think mountain climbing.

Have any recommendations for a pullup bar? I don't have a frame around my door right now, so yeah lol.

You might also consider rings or TRX bands.

[Halt]

You might also consider rings or TRX bands.

I've considered rings, but I have no where to put them. Which is unfortunate.

Never heard of TRX bands either.

[ectogemia]

Aw man, I hate to hear that. From one skinny bro to another, you have my sympathies. Will you be able to do any leg work?

Yeah, I can do leg work, but I can't comfortably lift the plates to the bar. Plus, I'd feel weird having beefy thighs but a shrunken torso. Gotta stay proportionate. I think in the meantime, I'll focus on sprinting and yoga that doesn't irritate my arm. If I can't be bulky by MAGFest, at least I can be cut

[Soul Splint]

Yeah, I can do leg work, but I can't comfortably lift the plates to the bar. Plus, I'd feel weird having beefy thighs but a shrunken torso. Gotta stay proportionate. I think in the meantime, I'll focus on sprinting and yoga that doesn't irritate my arm. If I can't be bulky by MAGFest, at least I can be cut

Yeah, that was my inherent question, can you put the plates to the bar. Well, here's to you being lean and mean while everyone else starts looking a little puffy

[OceansAndrew]

Yeah, I can do leg work, but I can't comfortably lift the plates to the bar. Plus, I'd feel weird having beefy thighs but a shrunken torso. Gotta stay proportionate. I think in the meantime, I'll focus on sprinting and yoga that doesn't irritate my arm. If I can't be bulky by MAGFest, at least I can be cut

be safe, bro. I will do my best to be bulky and cut for the both of us. <3

[ectogemia]

be safe, bro. I will do my best to be bulky and cut for the both of us. <3

Living the dream D:

[Nonamer]

I forgot this thread existed.

I should probably mention/brag that since this summer, I've lost 25 pounds, down to 175-180 lbs. I can only attribute this awesome change to more physical exercise (and far too many sweaty T-shirts).

For me, I find that listening to fast paced music (but not too fast paced) works wonders on my stamina. If there's a song that pumps me up, any tire I had previously evaporates along with the calories.

I hope I continue my trend of exercising. Those muscles don't build themselves. Well they do, but whatever.

[Soul Splint]

I should probably mention/brag that since this summer, I've lost 25 pounds, down to 175-180 lbs. I can only attribute this awesome change to more physical exercise (and far too many sweaty T-shirts).

Dude. This is the place to brag. Do it more often. And on the 25 lbs., that's awesome.

[OceansAndrew]

I forgot this thread existed.

I should probably mention/brag that since this summer, I've lost 25 pounds, down to 175-180 lbs.

For me, I find that listening to fast paced music (but not too fast paced) works wonders on my stamina. If there's a song that pumps me up, any tire I had previously evaporates along with the calories.

I hope I continue my trend of exercising. Those muscles don't build themselves. Well they do, but whatever.

Nice work, man, that is awesome work!

[Argle]

Hey, has anyone had tendonitis in their ankles? For the last few+ weeks I've had chronic pain in my ankles, but it waxes and wanes. Somewhat random in occurrence. At first I thought it was arthritis. But I don't have it anywhere else.. the ankles would be a weird place to get it. So I did a search and tendonitis popped up. And now that I am really paying attention to the pain, it's toward the outside of my ankles, not in the joint. The only thing I can think of is I'm doing weighted calf raises. I wonder if those are making it flare up, doing ankle movements with a lot more than my bodyweight. I'm going to lay off them for a week or two and see what happens. It's pretty annoying pain, not hobbling or anything but I definitely didn't have this in the past.

Edited September 30, 2013 by Argle

[Soul Splint]

Hey, has anyone had tendonitis in their ankles? For the last few+ weeks I've had chronic pain in my ankles, but it waxes and wanes. Somewhat random in occurrence. At first I thought it was arthritis. But I don't have it anywhere else.. the ankles would be a weird place to get it. So I did a search and tendonitis popped up. And now that I am really paying attention to the pain, it's toward the outside of my ankles, not in the joint. The only thing I can think of is I'm doing weighted calf raises. I wonder if those are making it flare up, doing ankle movements with a lot more than my bodyweight. I'm going to lay off them for a week or two and see what happens. It's pretty annoying pain, not hobbling or anything but I definitely didn't have this in the past.

How often do you do exercises involving your ankles, and for how long have you been steadily doing them? Was there a particular motion or exercise that initiated the first pain you felt, or was it gradual?

[Argle]

How often do you do exercises involving your ankles, and for how long have you been steadily doing them? Was there a particular motion or exercise that initiated the first pain you felt, or was it gradual?

With weights, I would say a month or more? It's hard to remember. The pain kind of crept up on me. Some days I don't have it at all, other days it's noticeable right when I get out of bed. It goes away when I'm walking for a little bit. It's more like, when I get up from a chair or out of bed. Then I feel the pain. It happens the most when I point my toes towards my head. When I point them away I don't feel any pain. So there must be something about that range of movement that is significant.

One thing that has occurred to me - when I sit at a computer chair (large portion of the day), I tend to tuck my feet under the chair with my feet pointed in the uncomfortable direction. Sometimes I have to force myself to stretch my legs and feet out rather than keep them scrunched up.

Edited September 30, 2013 by Argle

[Soul Splint]

With weights, I would say a month or more? It's hard to remember. The pain kind of crept up on me. Some days I don't have it at all, other days it's noticeable right when I get out of bed. It goes away when I'm walking for a little bit. It's more like, when I get up from a chair or out of bed. Then I feel the pain. It happens the most when I point my toes towards my head. When I point them away I don't feel any pain. So there must be something about that range of movement that is significant.

One thing that has occurred to me - when I sit at a computer chair (large portion of the day), I tend to tuck my feet under the chair with my feet pointed in the uncomfortable direction. Sometimes I have to force myself to stretch my legs and feet out rather than keep them scrunched up.

From my experience, I'd say your position while seated is the culprit; the onset of the pain and the timing of when it occurs really doesn't match up to the injury being from exercise. The exercise might exacerbate it (especially things like calf raises, as you are doing a similar motion to tucking your feet under), but it doesn't sound like the problem to me.

So then comes the question of how to fix it. Because you're spending large amounts of time with those particular ligaments stretched while seated, I would think a break from leg exercise, a conscious effort to not tuck your feet under, and an ibuprofen regimen to treat inflammation would get you back on track. Something like one week to two weeks of rest, depending on the severity of the pain. Talk to your doc or a physical therapist about the details for an ibuprofen regimen.

[Mr. Bottle Rocket]

hasn't been 2 weeks on this diet and I'm already fed up with it, I've never dieted before in my life, it's rough and I'm getting sick of eating the same things at the same intervals...I hope this shit pays off in the end