Live and Let Diet

[Townhallsavoy]

How does this plan sound?

Eat healthy with lower caloric intake. 

Go to the gym four days a week:
Monday - Chest, deadlifts, bicep curls, 30 minutes of swimming
Wednesday - Shoulders, back, triceps, 30 minutes of running
Thursday - Squats, 30 minutes of swimming
Saturday - Some kind of stretching/yoga class, 30 minutes of running

I'm not looking to bulk up at all.  I'm too short and stocky for it.  Just cut the fat, gain muscle definition, and feel good. 

[djsimp]

The ribs were outstanding Monday night.  Ate and drank way too much, but got back on track yesterday and this morning at teh gyms.

This is more my style. I like the eating and the drinking.

[djsimp]

How does this plan sound?

Eat healthy with lower caloric intake. 

Go to the gym four days a week:
Monday - Chest, deadlifts, bicep curls, 30 minutes of swimming
Wednesday - Shoulders, back, triceps, 30 minutes of running
Thursday - Squats, 30 minutes of swimming
Saturday - Some kind of stretching/yoga class, 30 minutes of running

I'm not looking to bulk up at all.  I'm too short and stocky for it.  Just cut the fat, gain muscle definition, and feel good.

Damn, I'm tired just from reading this.

[Snaggletiger]

How does this plan sound?

Eat healthy with lower caloric intake. 

Go to the gym four days a week:
Monday - Chest, deadlifts, bicep curls, 30 minutes of swimming
Wednesday - Shoulders, back, triceps, 30 minutes of running
Thursday - Squats, 30 minutes of swimming
Saturday - Some kind of stretching/yoga class, 30 minutes of running

I'm not looking to bulk up at all.  I'm too short and stocky for it.  Just cut the fat, gain muscle definition, and feel good.

The "Bulking up" part will depend on diet and how you structure your weight routine.  I honestly would consider eliminating the dead lifts since this is more of a power move with a greater chance of injury. The squats would normally be in that category (Tough on the spine and knees) as well but you'll be fine if you stay with lower weight and higher reps.   

[Townhallsavoy]

The "Bulking up" part will depend on diet and how you structure your weight routine.  I honestly would consider eliminating the dead lifts since this is more of a power move with a greater chance of injury. The squats would normally be in that category (Tough on the spine and knees) as well but you'll be fine if you stay with lower weight and higher reps.

One issue I have is inflexibility.  I've never been able to parallel squat, and I'm really working on stretching exercises now to improve. 

I figured deadlifts would be good for legs, but I guess I could do leg press instead. 

[Buzz Killington]

One issue I have is inflexibility.  I've never been able to parallel squat, and I'm really working on stretching exercises now to improve. 

I figured deadlifts would be good for legs, but I guess I could do leg press instead.

Leg press would be much better.

[Snaggletiger]

One issue I have is inflexibility.  I've never been able to parallel squat, and I'm really working on stretching exercises now to improve. 

I figured deadlifts would be good for legs, but I guess I could do leg press instead.

The flexibility thing has always been a problem for me too and I think I'd be able to avoid a lot more injuries if I'd do more stretching.  But I'm guilty of getting to the gym and not wanting to "waste" 10-15 minutes prior to or after a workout, stretching.  Stupid because I keep nagging injuries and wonder why.  Even though I'm still another 5 pounds away from starting the Tapout routine full bore, I still should do the yoga session at least once or twice a week.

[GH2001]

Not attempting to talk up my wife but let me just tell you she has a whole lot of heart and health issues in her family. Not to mention we have "17" kids. She weighs 110 lbs at 5'6. You know what she does? She eats right and burns through treadmills like a sombitch.

And puts up with you trying to hump her hourly.

[djsimp]

And puts up with you trying to hump her hourly.

Thats my workout.

[GH2001]

Thats my workout.

One piece of advice. If simp starts in on ya and goes to town, it's best just to let him finish.

[djsimp]

One piece of advice. If simp starts in on ya and goes to town, it's best just to let him finish.

 If you scratch my belly, I will love you till the day you die.

[GH2001]

If you scratch my belly, I will love you till the day you die.

TheSix can say that line about as good as Randy Quaid.

[Buzz Killington]

Made it through the first week's cycle of teh insanities.  Decided I was bad ass enough to try the insane abs workout...I seriously believe I strained my ACL.  Damn, just damn.

[Snaggletiger]

Made it through the first week's cycle of teh insanities.  Decided I was bad ass enough to try the insane abs workout...I seriously believe I strained my ACL.  Damn, just damn.

I never did the extra ab blaster workout on P90X.  I kept thinking, how much more ab work do you want me to do?  But...in looking at my abs, or definite lack thereof....maybe I should have muscled my way through a few of those sessions.

[AU_Tiger_2000]

The flexibility thing has always been a problem for me too and I think I'd be able to avoid a lot more injuries if I'd do more stretching.  But I'm guilty of getting to the gym and not wanting to "waste" 10-15 minutes prior to or after a workout, stretching.  Stupid because I keep nagging injuries and wonder why.  Even though I'm still another 5 pounds away from starting the Tapout routine full bore, I still should do the yoga session at least once or twice a week.

Saw this article about a study where static stretching prior to working out did pretty much nothing and was potentially harmful, it is all in the post workout stretch. 

http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/health/2010-04-15-stretching-muscles_N.htm

LONDON (AP) — Want a better work-out? Then don't stretch beforehand, some experts say.

Many people take it for granted that they should start their exercise routines with some stretching on the spot, perhaps hoping it will loosen them up for their work-out. Most fitness experts now agree this kind of static stretching before exercise is not just counter-productive, but potentially harmful.

Traditional stretches, like when people bend over to touch their toes or stretch their legs on a fence, often cause the muscles to tighten rather than relax — exactly the opposite of what is needed for physical activity.

Experts say it is like extending a rubber band to its limit. When people stretch to the maximum, they are more likely to pull a muscle.

"We have developed this idea of static stretching at exactly the wrong time," said Kieran O'Sullivan, an exercise expert at the University of Limerick in Ireland, who has studied various types of stretching and their impact on athletes.

When you stretch before exercising, your body may think it's at risk of being overstretched. It compensates by contracting and becoming more tense. That means you aren't able to move as fast or as freely, making you more likely to get hurt.

O'Sullivan said stretching helps with flexibility, but people should only do it when they aren't about to exercise, like after a workout, or at the end of the day.

"It's like weight training to become stronger," he said. "You wouldn't do a weight session right before you exercise, and you shouldn't stretch right before either."

In the last few years, several studies have found static stretching before playing a sport makes you slower and weaker.

And when experts at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention combed through more than 100 papers looking at stretching studies, they found people who stretched before exercise were no less likely to suffer injuries such as a pulled muscle, which the increased flexibility from stretching is supposed to prevent.

Instead of stretching, many experts recommend warming up with a light jog or sport-specific exercise, like kicking for football or a few serves for tennis. That type of light movement increases the heart rate and blood flow to the muscles, warming up the body temperature.

"This allows you to approach your full range of motion, but in a very controlled way," said Dr. Anders Cohen, chief of neurosurgery and spine surgery at the Brooklyn Hospital Center and former physician for the U.S. Tennis Open. Cohen said elite athletes in all sports are increasingly ditching static stretching and using other warm-up techniques instead.

But the message has yet to trickle down to legions of joggers and recreational athletes. "This is classic, old-school stretching that has been done for generations," Cohen said. "It's going to be very hard to convince people to start doing something different."

There's more news for the traditionalists: research shows static stretching doesn't work as well as more active kinds of stretching that incorporate movement, such as lunges.

In a study published earlier this year in the Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine, Roberto Meroni of the University of Milan and colleagues found people who stretched using conventional techniques, like bending over to touch their toes, were less flexible than those who did a more active type of stretching that used more muscle groups.

Meroni said static stretching simply forces the muscle being stretched to endure the pain of that stretch. With active stretches that work more muscles, the stretched muscles learn to extend while another group is working.

Those types of stretches are commonly used in yoga, which emphasizes how the body is aligned during stretches, not just flexibility. Many yoga poses involve the whole body and focus not only on stretching a particular muscle, but the ligaments, tendons and joints around it.

Still, experts don't discount static stretching entirely. Lynn Millar, a fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine, said they recommend people stretch several times a week and that most types of stretching work.

Maximizing the benefits of stretching may simply boil down to a matter of when you do it and how, according to Jonny Booth, a health and fitness manager at a north London branch of gym chain Fitness First.

"If you are going to stretch your muscles and then do some intense training, you're not going to get fantastic results," he said.

Instead, Booth recommends active stretches that mimic the movement of your intended activity, like some deep knee lunges while walking for runners.

"Stretching is vital to become more flexible," Booth said. "But it has to be done at the right time and for the right reasons."
Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

[Townhallsavoy]

The diet today:
 
Breakfast
Two egg omelot with a sprinkle of cheese and about a cup of spinach

Lunch
Sardines with an avocado and some greek yogurt

Snack
Almond butter

Dinner
Baked chicken with ratatouille

I went to the gym yesterday.  It was pathetic.  And today I feel like I was hit by a bus. 

[Saniflush]

The diet today:
 
Breakfast
Two egg omelot with a sprinkle of cheese and about a cup of spinach

Lunch
Sardines with an avocado and some greek yogurt

Snack
Almond butter

Dinner
Baked chicken with ratatouille

I went to the gym yesterday.  It was pathetic.  And today I feel like I was hit by a bus.

Ghey...

Here is mine for the day.


Breakfast: 2 pots of black coffee


Lunch: Large bowl of cheese grits toped with a blackened chicken breast


Supper: 2 ham sandwiches followed by bourbon and Drambuie 

[GH2001]

Saw this article about a study where static stretching prior to working out did pretty much nothing and was potentially harmful, it is all in the post workout stretch. 

http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/health/2010-04-15-stretching-muscles_N.htm

Ever seen pictures of these writers and researchers? It's like Dr Phil when he wrote a weight loss book.

They also said eggs were as bad for you as cigarettes, sometimes worse and really fat people live longer - even though they don't. I know from first hand experience it helps before exercise and I've actually hurt myself before by NOT stretching before races or intense runs. Everyone is different and it's really just trial and error. There is no blanket strategy.

[GH2001]

Ghey...

Here is mine for the day.


Breakfast: 2 pots of black coffee


Lunch: Large bowl of cheese grits toped with a blackened chicken breast


Supper: 2 ham sandwiches followed by bourbon and Drambuie

Don't you dare ruin that Drambuie

[Saniflush]

Don't you dare ruin that Drambuie

I drink my Drambuie just like I do my bourbon. 

Straight up.