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

[ectogemia]

I just stumbled upon an *excellent* site discussing nutrition WITHOUT subscribing to the Paleo milieu which I know is off-putting to some of you. It's written by a fellow med/dent student who had an eerily similar epiphany and resultant transformation to my own. Most articles have DOZENS of citations to studies which is more than can be said for the charlatan cesspools of WebMD, the Mayo or Cleveland Clinics, Livestrong, and so on. This is real, top-quality, and CURRENT scientific evidence. Not any of this bogus, fat-phobic, Ancel Keys epidemiological crap from the very early 1970s that has sabotaged public health for decades.

I'd really recommend this as a place for anyone who was at all interested in what I had to say about nutrition to learn about my particular philosophy as the articles are written in layman's terms, and as a medical professional myself, I still found them to be very thorough, clear, educational, simple, and well-organized.

Aaaand I'm just gonna go ahead and reiterate that each article has dozens of citations linking directly to the studies which produced the data he is using to generate his claims. It's too good. It's just too good.

You just have to ignore the stupid stock photos he used for each article. It's hard. They're really stupid pictures.

Edited July 7, 2013 by ectogemia

[Brandon Strader]

You just have to ignore the stupid stock photos he used for each article. It's hard. They're really stupid pictures.

Might I offer you some sea salt? I won't take no for an answer. Look into my eyes. Look at the evil staring into your soul.

[ectogemia]

Might I offer you some sea salt? I won't take no for an answer. Look into my eyes. Look at the evil staring into your soul.

The only path to health is through copious consumption of seawater alone.

[OceansAndrew]

The only path to health is through copious consumption of seawater alone.

does seawater fit my macros?

[Thin Crust]

Hey ecto, you're a hormone kind of guy right? I was wondering what your take on adiponectin is.

http://wellnesstipsforyou.com/4-things-that-could-be-blocking-your-fat-loss/

[Thin Crust]

So who here has taken that first jump off of a high point? I just went to a poorly made wooden platform made in the water of about 8 feet deep. There were 5ive levels to this thing. I jumped the first level at about 3 feet easily enough. The second level had a diving board about 20 feet off the water. The third had a zipline and a rope swing. And level 4 and 5 were just jumping platforms. I tell you it took more courage to jump off that 20 foot platform than I ever imagined. Then the zipline at 30 feet took just as long. And the swing at 30 feet also just as long. But once you do it once, it becomes much easier. I had an incredible time doing it. How about you? Ever did much jumping? I like to think of it as exercise due to the climbing and swimming aspect.

Also, again: Anyone got ideas about adiponectin?

Edited July 21, 2013 by Thin Crust

[Soul Splint]

I love platform jumping/rope swinging into water, but I grew up around lakes where you could always find these. It's got to be very intimidating to people who aren't used to it, so kudos for giving it a shot! It's definitely a rush.

Random vent from today's workout: To the guy who never went more than 15 seconds without coughing, sometimes spastically; you are obviously SICK. Go. Home. No one wants to breathe in your nasty-ass germs while we are trying to focus on our workouts. Worst of all, I think he was trying to train every single muscle in his body today, meaning he was ALL OVER the gym (except the power racks of course).

Some people.

[OceansAndrew]

Also, again: Anyone got ideas about adiponectin?

i read the article and it feels sketchy to me. I'm not an expert, but I am underwhelmed and skeptical.

[ectogemia]

While you're taking your adiponectin, you might as well supplement with steroids for the world's most amazing body recomp

But really, stick to doing things naturally. Hormone supplements are a pharmaceutical shortcut, and such things always have consequences, often serious ones.

[Thin Crust]

Well, I wouldn't take a supplement for it but rather do something natural to raise the level.

[ectogemia]

Well, I wouldn't take a supplement for it but rather do something natural to raise the level.

Ah, good thought. I'm not all that into adiponectin science, so I couldn't tell you that you can't raise it naturally. But it almost never gets talked about in any medical or nutritional circle, so it's probably not that important in the fat loss equation, all factors considered.

[OceansAndrew]

A good rule of thumb for everyone is if you are spending more time researching any sort of supplement more than you are putting in time at the gym, you are just looking for a shortcut, and not working hard enough.

Unless the supplement is delicious chicken. I am more excited about Nando Peri Peri than just about anything else at Magfest. The order is:

1. Seeing Deia

2. Nando Peri Peri

3. Seeing other friends and making new ones

4. OCR and OCU stuff

[Thin Crust]

That's the thing though. I hate working out. I just got back from basketball.....hold on let me chart that. My biggest asset for doing sports was my limitless energy. Lately I've had none of that and I'm glad that it's coming back. Despite playing 5 games, I didn't hit that point where I needed to walk or risk passing out.

Anyway like I was saying. Just working out at the gym is one of the most unrewarding things I can think of. You sit there alone (if there are people there, you don't talk to them) and move heavy objects around. At the end of the day, those heavy objects are in the exact same place they started at, you're tired and sweaty, you didn't have fun, and you feel absolutely no sense of accomplishment. In basketball tonight I had fun and I met new people and made new friends. Why would I trade that for a gym?

So yea, I would diet over gym any day. But I seem stuck at 207 lbs for the last 3 weeks and can't lose anymore.

[OceansAndrew]

I totally disagree about the feeling at the gym, but if you like doing sports, sweet; do that. It's about you, not about the room you do things in. I find the gym to be fun, challenging, and rewarding. No sweat if you dont feel the same though.

[Soul Splint]

Just working out at the gym is one of the most unrewarding things I can think of. You sit there alone (if there are people there, you don't talk to them) and move heavy objects around. At the end of the day, those heavy objects are in the exact same place they started at, you're tired and sweaty, you didn't have fun, and you feel absolutely no sense of accomplishment. In basketball tonight I had fun and I met new people and made new friends.

I hate it for you, that you feel that way. That must suck. Not to be overly-elementary, but what kinds of things are you doing to get yourself 'ready' to workout? Bear with me while I give you a rundown of what I do to prep:

1) About an hour beforehand, I start listening to some kind of energetic music that gets my mind and blood flowing.

2) Half an hour beforehand, I take a pre-workout on a mostly empty stomach. (These are not for everyone, but I love a good pre-workout supplement. You may want to consider trying one. They come in varying degrees of simplicity in regard to their ingredients). This lets my body know what's coming, and gets me primed for the workout in several ways mentally and physically.

3) On my way to the gym, I think about what I am going there to accomplish. My motivation is pretty simple: I got very tired of being a tall walking stick. I know that for me to feel fit and strong (a feeling I have grown to love), it's going to require some sweat and dedication. I would MUCH rather spend that free time playing video games or reading etc., but this is where the music comes in again.

4) As soon as I start stretching, I am listening to music that gets me pumped. Not just energetic, but something that makes the Alpha Male come tearing out of you, where you are wanting to see just how far you can make your veins pop out of your skin. This is key for me. No music, no (good) workout. Once you start seeing results in your musculature, this gets even better, as you can start to appreciate the changes in your body as you're working out (the mirrors are meant for form correction, but they can be pretty useful for motivation too ).

tl;dr Make certain you are doing everything leading up to and during your workout to help yourself succeed. If you are already doing these things and you're still miserable at the gym, then you really do need to find another exercise outlet. If you can't find a way to be happy doing it, it's probably not worth it.

[XPRTNovice]

I'm kind of with Thin Crust. I used to tell people at the end of the day, "Alright - Imma go pick heavy things up and put them back down again." I find weight lifting and the gym in general to be a time vampire. Soul Splint - I'm glad you like that amount of prep work, but that becomes like 3 hours out of my day. I only have 5 hours to myself after an average work day, which is mostly going to get consumed with playing with my daughter, eating dinner, and trying to push my writing/music/voiceover career forward.

That, and, like Thin Crust, I am just bored by the whole idea of the gym. I would much rather do Parkour on Sundays (which is awesome), play ultimate frisbee, or wrestle. Wrestling was the best workout I've ever had in my life AND I got to throw people. Seriously, how is lifting weights better than throwing people?

[ectogemia]

It's all about what motivates you. Myself, having grown up on RPGs and the like, keeping a very, very detailed workout log each session proves to me as I watch my numbers improve from week to week (feels like leveling up) that what I'm doing is not a waste. You get used to the way your body looks since you see it every day, so little aesthetic improvements go unnoticed consistently enough that even bigger, cumulative improvements can fly under the radar. With a journal, you can be sure that you really are getting bigger and stronger IF that's your goal. For me, it is. I don't care about playing sports or competing. I want to be strong, lean, and fit. If your goals lie elsewhere, then you need to identify the metrics which are most important to you and track them over time to become a believer in the power of your own efforts.

Also, TC, I think you're overdoing it. Working out TOO hard and TOO often will stagnate your fat loss AND muscle gain as a consequence of too much cortisol secretion, cortisol being the primary long-term stress hormone. Can you post a nice, detailed list of your day-to-day activities?

[OceansAndrew]

My prep time is like 3 minutes to change, though it is helpful that I have a gym not 30 seconds away from my desk.

Gotta say I like stats, and bench pressing friends is something hilarious that I enjoy doing. Just keep moving, and having fun.

If any of you guys are at MAGfest this year and are not too wiggly and 200lb or less, i'll bench press you

[Soul Splint]

^New incentive to go to Magfest, if only for the pictures it would provide.

In other fitness news, my wife and I are close to moving into our first home (closed last month!), which has a basement that I will be able to convert to my very own boxing gym of dreams. I have the equipment, but haven't had a place to put it in a couple of years. Heavy bag, speed bag, jump rope, resistance bands...oh yeah.

Complete with a poster of Rocky on the wall. "No pain! No pain!"

[Thin Crust]

The workouts at the gym I do are all cardio. But I always put on my music. Like this one.

And this one.

But despite the most epic music imaginable, it doesn't actually make working out fun. Just more tolerable.

And lifting weights is not going to make you lose weight. I'm strong enough already. The most physical thing I need to do during my day is lift patients from their stretcher onto my imaging camera.

In the end, I have ultimate frisbee on Saturdays and Basketball on Mondays. Combine this with diet and I should have no trouble losing weight. Especially since we play hardcore the whole time. I can easily get 3 shirts drenched with sweat in one session.

[OceansAndrew]

And lifting weights is not going to make you lose weight.

This is true. But lifting weights makes you lose fat.

[Geoffrey Taucer]

After several months of slacking, I'm going to try to pick back up on rings-based strength.

I can still do a planche on floor (though not very well on rings anymore). Still can do a back lever, and a very short front lever. But I've most lost my cross, maltese, and nakayama; I'm going to make it a goal to get all three back by this time next year.

[OceansAndrew]

Welcome back to the fold, Jeremy!

[XPRTNovice]

But despite the most epic music imaginable, it doesn't actually make working out fun. Just more tolerable.

Weird idea: have you thought about listening to audiobooks instead? I used to do that a lot. Non-fiction. So, each day I was at the gym doing my best to fight a battle against gravity, I was actually learning something and improving myself mentally. I can give you recommendations if you're interested in certain topics.

[XPRTNovice]

Hey guys,

My wife started a nutrition blog that you might be interested in. She puts recipes up there, too. She is very GAPS/SCD/Paleo/Whole30 oriented. She had major, major gastro problems until she started eating like this, so it's a bit about her experiences as well (hence the term her 'new belly')

http://ariesnewbelly.wordpress.com/

Enjoy!