[drsingh]

Originally Posted by midazolam

Hi Guys

I'm 27, 5'10" and weigh 81 kgs. Recently I have joined gym with the main aim of losing some fat from the belly, tone body muscles and perhaps gain some muscle mass. I'm not into body building and my main aim is to stay fit and toned. My gym routine is doing about 20 minutes cardio on treadmill/cross-trainer/roving machine followed by weight training(moderate) a single body part a day. I can't spend more than 80-90 minutes per day in the gym so have asked the instructor to keep it 1 body part per day.

I have not made any significant change in my diet, apart from avoiding junk food and rice and adding 2 egg whites after the gym. I've been thinking of adding a protein supplement in form of either ON Whey Protein Powder supplement or protein bars in my diet.

I need advice if I should add the supplements or continue without them. And if I should make any change in my routine. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you.

I'd recommend you do compound exercises to build up your core and general strength in accessory muscles and joints.

These are:

1.Power Cleans
2.Deadlifts
3.Bench Press
4.Shoulder Press
5.Pushups
6.Pullups
7.Abdominals
8.Squats - Don't skip the legwork.

I'd suggest you keep a session of a run/jog/briskwalk in the morning to build up your stamina. You'll be able to do more in the gym in the limited time if you have more endurance . A 40 minute session with weights is enough. Minimise the rest periods between sets and exercises.
P. S. The above advice is from Arnold Schwarznegger for beginners. He recommends compound exercises as the main work out for the first two years to build general body strength and mass.

If you can, eat protein and carbs every 2 hours. An egg sandwich with some salad is a good option. Eggs are the best food source for protein.

[fine69]

http://www.amazon.in/Iso-Solid-Wall-...ds=pull+up+bar

This looks like a welcome change to the typical door pull-up bars that I've seen on the net so far. I'm planning to get one as it'd form an exciting workout, any thoughts guys?

[alpha1]

Originally Posted by fine69

http://www.amazon.in/Iso-Solid-Wall-...ds=pull+up+bar

This looks like a welcome change to the typical door pull-up bars that I've seen on the net so far. I'm planning to get one as it'd form an exciting workout, any thoughts guys?

You need to be careful about a few things:
1. The slanted/tilted extensions are a great thing to have ONLY WHEN doing overhand pullups. When you do underhand pullups they are a huge pain on the wrists.

2. This means that if you wish to do underhand pullups, you will be forced to do only narrow grip.

3. The neutral grip extension is a great thing HOWEVER (a) it is very body specific - you may find it narrow, I may find it wide (b) typically where the bar is attached to the brackets is just the place where you would prefer keeping your hand while doing underhand pullups.

So what does it mean? It just means that I am being quite finicky and nitpicking on small things, the product is a good one.

In my opinion, though, a perfect design would be the EZ bar: (TOP view, or this is how it should look from the bottom) http://www.gofitindia.com/images/det...6_curl_bar.jpg

This places you with a lot of choice of where to place the hand and how to place the hand. And will be easy on the wrist, elbow and shoulder joints (no unnecessary torsion)

[Samurai]

My next challenge is to do a muscle up. I am not sure how one can do muscle up with those two forward protruding handles.

The door installed bar doesn't allow a wide grip since the elbows will tangle with the door frame. So I am stuck with chin up (underhand pullup) for now. But in my Bangalore home, I have installed it in a corridor, so I can do a wider grip.

[fine69]

Originally Posted by alpha1

You need to be careful about a few things:
1. The slanted/tilted extensions are a great thing to have ONLY WHEN doing overhand pullups. When you do underhand pullups they are a huge pain on the wrists......

For a beginner would wide underhand pull-ups be that big a priority?

I'm going to start with doing chin-ups and pull-ups so think from a beginner's perspective. While all your points make absolute sense I was thinking that in spite of all that I'd be able to do Chin-ups (narrow and wide), pull-ups (narrow) and neutral grips. Assuming I'm able to do only these three wouldn't this setup still make sense for a year or two. As and when I progress and wish to do more variations I can get another setup.

Or would I rather spend more money NOW and incorporate all possible variations from the word go. I mean I cannot do a single pull-up or chin-up right now. So now tell me?

[alpha1]

Originally Posted by Samurai

My next challenge is to do a muscle up. I am not sure how one can do muscle up with those two forward protruding handles.

The door installed bar doesn't allow a wide grip since the elbows will tangle with the door frame. So I am stuck with chin up (underhand pullup) for now. But in my Bangalore home, I have installed it in a corridor, so I can do a wider grip.

Can the "muscle up" be done on gymnastic rings? I believe it can be done.
Perhaps you were talking about it a few pages back.

Originally Posted by fine69

1. For a beginner would wide underhand pull-ups be that big a priority? I'm going to start with doing chin-ups and pull-ups so think from a beginner's perspective.

2. While all your points make absolute sense I was thinking that in spite of all that I'd be able to do Chin-ups (narrow and wide), pull-ups (narrow) and neutral grips. Assuming I'm able to do only these three wouldn't this setup still make sense for a year or two.

3. As and when I progress and wish to do more variations I can get another setup. Or would I rather spend more money NOW and incorporate all possible variations from the word go. I mean I cannot do a single pull-up or chin-up right now. So now tell me?

1. No, it is not. As I mentioned, I was just being fussy.

2. Yes of course it would, and sir not just for 1-2 years but forever.

3. Don't bother searching for the "perfect" setup. You can start with this.

###

On the other topic, have you fallen sick / are you falling sick with the same frequency as earlier? (I am assuming that you shifted to Plan B)

[fine69]

Originally Posted by alpha1

On the other topic, have you fallen sick / are you falling sick with the same frequency as earlier? (I am assuming that you shifted to Plan B)

I haven't fallen sick since the last time I posted. I'm not sure if I'd call it Plan B but I don't start with the heaviest weight anymore. In fact its only been last week that the heaviest dumbbell has started to make sense for dumbbell chest press. For rest of the workouts I stick to 3 or 5kg dumbbell and get a decent burn.

I don't count my sets anymore. I think I do about 5-10 sets with 15-30 reps across different workouts. Again, I'm only using dumbbells for all my workouts. I start out with a moderate weight and exhaust myself doing 15-20+ reps. But then after working out the other body part I take a shot at the earlier muscle group by increasing the weight and doing another 2-3 sets of, say 5-8 reps.

Bottomline, there's no set method I follow. I just start out, get a burn, increase weight and wrap up by the time I can't lift any more weight.

I've started to gain muscle around my shoulder, back & triceps and its evident to both me and my wife. Chest & Biceps remains a weak area, my biceps grew a little but they've stayed the same inspite of the fact that I work my biceps the most. With chest I think I was working out my arms more so I've got the hang of doing bench press a whole lot better lately, I mean pushing from the chest instead of simply taking my hands up (which works out the forearms and shoulder majorly).

Legs are turning out to be good as I see some muscles developing in quad and hamstring area. Calves, not so much. Calves remain skinny as before even when I'm doing single-leg calf raises religiously, probably need to start holding really heavy weight here, don't know.

Other thing is that I'm eating a whole lot more now. This is how my meals look like now:
1. Breakfast of 2 egg omelette, bread, 2 hams or 4 salamis and 2 boiled egg whites.
2. Lunch with 2 rotis, homemade sabzi/dal, about 100-150 gm cooked/grilled/sauted chicken and salad
3. French toast (made of 2 egg whites) with about 50-100 gm minced chicken or chicken breasts, lettuce, onion etc.
4. An apple or any other fruit
5. Post workout I eat a banana, 2 boiled eggs, 2 rotis, 100-150 gm of chicken, little yogurt and salad.
6. About 400-500 ml milk before bedtime

PS: I've had a wrist injury when I tried to lift something with a straight hand perpendicular to the floor but I'm still continuing with the weight training. Any good wrist rehab exercise that'd make the recovery quick?

[Rehaan]

Getting HONEST and ACCURATE info on things like Protein Powders & Supplements is incredibly difficult online.

Virtually every review or recommendation has a commercial angle to it, or has been planted on forums by biased members.

I came across this site which did a good scientific test of Protein powders, supplements, etc :

https://labdoor.com/rankings/protein

They are fairly independent too:

LabDoor has received $1.3M in seed funding from Mark Cuban, Rock Health, Band of Angels, and 12 individual angel investors. This was essential to help us build the apps and test hundreds of supplements.
Long-term, we plan to cover our testing costs by offering purchasing options for every product on our site. Currently, our "buy it now" buttons link to Amazon and are used thousands of times every month. I've written a much deeper explanation of why we sell products here: https://labdoor.com/faq/why-we-sell-products

Reddit Q&A with the founder. He answered every question : LINK

[Piyadassi]

Originally Posted by fine69

1. Breakfast of 2 egg omelette, bread, 2 hams or 4 salamis and 2 boiled egg whites.

Avoid salami if you can. Chicken/mutton just for the name sake and filled with salt and fat for taste. Very unhealthy.

Your diet seems to be loaded on the protein side and carbs seems to be less. Do spare few moments on it.

[fine69]

Originally Posted by Piyadassi

Avoid salami if you can. Chicken/mutton just for the name sake and filled with salt and fat for taste. Very unhealthy.

I'm not sure if it was you but somebody warned me against salami/ham earlier as well. I did make chicken patties out of minced chicken earlier but it was too much work so I decided to go with salami/ham instead. I guess I'd make a batch for entire week and skip on salami/ham completely.

Originally Posted by Piyadassi

Your diet seems to be loaded on the protein side and carbs seems to be less. Do spare few moments on it.

Probably fat too. I think I'd start having a handful of almonds daily and add a banana to breakfast too. I can think of replacing the morning bread with parantha, should make the breakfast more healthy with a better dose of carb and a little fat (desi ghee).

Maybe add a roti to both lunch and dinner? I thought I was having good carbs in form of veggies, rotis and fruits.

But tell me, what's really the harm if I continue this way. Would the muscle growth be hampered due to lack of carbs and fats too?

Honestly, I don't really count calories or carb protein ratio too much. I mean its just not feasible for me. I'd eat more and probably have healthy stuff only but strictly adhering to the 4:1 carbrotein ratio isn't really for me. The only conscious effort I've done is to include protein in my diet.

Would appreciate any inputs around balancing my diet better.

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by alpha1

Can the "muscle up" be done on gymnastic rings? I believe it can be done.
Perhaps you were talking about it a few pages back.

It is more difficult to do muscle up using rings because of the lack of stability.

Anyway, I got a few Aikido mats and setup a 10x10 foam platform in the office. Now we can practice falling/rolling at work. It is a great stress buster

It has lots of health advantages too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wV49Q9mpUI

[kishgator]

Originally Posted by Samurai

Anyway, I got a few Aikido mats and setup a 10x10 foam platform in the office. Now we can practice falling/rolling at work. It is a great stress buster

Samurai, what is the purpose of falling/rolling, is it kind of play or an exercise to improve circulation etc... the video is disabled though

[alpha1]

Originally Posted by Rehaan

Reddit Q&A with the founder. He answered every question : LINK

Well he didn't

If you eat an extremely nutritious diet, you may not need them, but most factory farmed and manufactured food is nutritionionally void. Therefore the majority of the public suffers from varying degrees of nutritional deficiencies that could eventually lead to disease.

Question: This is the real question though. Is there any evidence that this is the case? It's true that it's not hard to take a multivitamin, but it does have a cost to it not to mention some small risks (contamination for example). And arguments like yours, without evidence to back them up, can scare people into taking a multitude of things they don't need "just in case".

*No respone*

Originally Posted by fine69

1. I haven't fallen sick since the last time I posted. I'm not sure if I'd call it Plan B but I don't start with the heaviest weight anymore.

2. With chest I think I was working out my arms more so I've got the hang of doing bench press a whole lot better lately, I mean pushing from the chest instead of simply taking my hands up (which works out the forearms and shoulder majorly).

3.Calves, not so much. Calves remain skinny as before even when I'm doing single-leg calf raises religiously, probably need to start holding really heavy weight here, don't know.

4. PS: I've had a wrist injury when I tried to lift something with a straight hand perpendicular to the floor but I'm still continuing with the weight training. Any good wrist rehab exercise that'd make the recovery quick?

1. It is plan B when you stop being hell bent about "progression with weights". Plan B involves lighter weights, more sets, more reps, more intuitive feel rather than a set X reps, Y sets with Z kgs program. More focus on feel and less focus on numbers.
But I see that you can't restrain yourself from trying heavier weights.
In that case stick with Plan A.

2. Yep, this is methodology is Plan B for sure.

3. Well you can try heavy-weight route for sure like countless others.In general though Calves respond (well IF they respond) only to high frequency and very high slow reps. Remember Achilles tendon is the strongest tendon in the human body, and acts like a super strong elastic. Any exercise for calves ultimately turns into a physics lesson: Potential energy + Kinetic energy = constant
In fact one of the best exercise for calves is walking up a long step hill (especially while trying to keep the knee straight all the time instead of assuming "lunges" position)

4. The best rehab is stop lifting. You are not a champion lifter or professional bodybbuilder. Do not let injuries grow into disabilities.

Originally Posted by Samurai

It has lots of health advantages too.

Agree with the gentleman wholeheartedly:
"rolling and falling puts controlled amounts of stress on our bones not just in one direction, but in almost every conceivable direction. Over time, this appropriate amount of repeated stress on the bones invokes a physiological process known as Wolff’s Law, in which the very structure of the bone is altered, becoming denser and stronger. This reduces our risk of injury should we ever fall off of the mat, which is especially important as we grow older. Although I am not aware of any research on the subject, I would be willing to bet that the incidence of osteoporosis is significantly decreased in people who have practiced Aikido continuously for five years or more."


On TV, They showed a martial artist who uses his shin to smash baseball bats. The scientists realized that over a period of time micro injuries to the bones (caused by training) healed and made the bone extremely strong to shear (which usually bones are not).
The same goes for one folk who punches into coconut using thumb, or for other who break bricks/boards/rocks etc

[kishgator]

Thanks Alpha1 on the input about rolling/falling, now its something I need to incorporate in my fitness regime (as I call it )

Now let me talk about my long association with fitness, bodybuilding etc.
- Not a very active or sporty person till age 29
- Started working out at age 29 and kept on going for next 7 years even though changed countries, careers etc.
- Had a minor incident in the US and motivated to take up martial arts, which went till I got a green belt in Tae kwon do
- After years of gym and martial arts, came the break period. it was about 5 years of no-gym, no-running, no physical activity etc. (except driving if you count it as an exercise)
- Took myself to gym again last year, body responded real fast, started lifting skimpy weights initially, but soon progressed to heavy weights in a month. The other younger gym-bees were surprised by seeing a middle aged man lifting the heaviest in the gym after 2 months. Been doing it for 6 months and maybe my past fitness routines has helped me in this.
- Currently exploring other fitness routines to keep fit, since family, job and other duties make it hard to hit the gym on a daily basis.

Few funny and awesome facts
1. Tried creatine supplement from Europe during early 2000's which gave quick results, however later realized that supplements wont take me far, hence resorted back to natural diets rich in protein

2. After working out for an hour, few times I experienced something along the lines of bodybuilder's high (just like runner's high), there is urge to work out like a monster, no pain, full motivated etc.. but got me scared if it would lead to high BP or cardiac problems etc.. hence took it easy later.

3. After getting a (free) personal trainer recently, realized that have been doing some workouts with wrong grip, or wrong posture etc. Corrected those after many years of working out.

[Piyadassi]

Originally Posted by fine69

But tell me, what's really the harm if I continue this way. Would the muscle growth be hampered due to lack of carbs and fats too?

Carb being cheaper than protein except for burning a small hole in the pocket, it will not do any harm until and unless you start eating way more than you burn.

Originally Posted by Samurai

Anyway, I got a few Aikido mats and setup a 10x10 foam platform in the office. Now we can practice falling/rolling at work. It is a great stress buster

Interesting. Reminded me of my days in school horse box (vaulting horse) team. We had those thick coir mats placed one over the other in gradient to cushion the fall after jumping over the box leaping from the springy wooden platform. Those were the days when flying through the ring of fire looked so simple.

Best wishes.