Diet & Fitness Support Thread

[TJinLOCA]

My hubby just emailed me from the business trip he's on to tell me that he broke his foot. Geez. We're just a total couple of gimps now.

I'm going to spend Halloween trying very hard to resist both candy & alcohol. I'm not sure how successful I'm going to be ... I can feel my resolve weakening with every crappy annoyance in my day.

 

[RAMA]

RAMA - Upper body is looking good - how are your calves coming? That (and my biceps) are my hardest musclds to grow relative to the rest of me.

Also - 1000+ on the leg press? Damn. You are at a serious gym pressing serious weight. None of the 5 various leg press machines at my gym can accommodate that much weight. Do you use 100 lb plates, stack on the top.... ??

My lower body IS lagging, however I have been doing calf exercises more often lately. I'm up to twice a week. They take awhile to grow but they are always strong, even for warm ups I use the whole rack on the standing calf press, and I do them slowly. When they are stronger I use Schwarzenegger's tip about overloading the calf to make it grow..and that usually works. My biceps are fairly large but they are smaller proportionate to my body than my shoulders and chest. Its been a problem.

 

[RAMA]

 

[DarkHelmet]

RAMA - Upper body is looking good - how are your calves coming? That (and my biceps) are my hardest musclds to grow relative to the rest of me.

Also - 1000+ on the leg press? Damn. You are at a serious gym pressing serious weight. None of the 5 various leg press machines at my gym can accommodate that much weight. Do you use 100 lb plates, stack on the top.... ??

My lower body IS lagging, however I have been doing calf exercises more often lately. I'm up to twice a week. They take awhile to grow but they are always strong, even for warm ups I use the whole rack on the standing calf press, and I do them slowly. When they are stronger I use Schwarzenegger's tip about overloading the calf to make it grow..and that usually works. My biceps are fairly large but they are smaller proportionate to my body than my shoulders and chest. Its been a problem.

Actually, since I've added an extra calf day to my workouts, I have seen a little increase in size, but I'd like to really add some more muscle to them. Any specific tips?

 

[RAMA]

Actually, since I've added an extra calf day to my workouts, I have seen a little increase in size, but I'd like to really add some more muscle to them. Any specific tips?

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0801/is_9_66/ai_n14923783

CALVES MUST BE the most widely controversial muscle group to train, aside maybe from abs. Discussions range from training heavy vs. light, to high reps vs. low reps, to what volume and frequency is appropriate for working them. As you probably know, I have strong opinions on training calves. And while others may disagree with my stances (no pun intended) on developing the gastrocnemius and soleus muscles, here they are nevertheless:

* On Resistance: Back when I was still having trouble putting size on my calves, I did calf raises using 500-600 pounds of resistance, thinking that was more than enough weight. Then Reg Park pointed out that each of my calves was accustomed to supporting 250 pounds of bodyweight, so 500 pounds was pretty "normal" for me. That's when I started overloading my calves, using up to 1,000 pounds on standing calf raises. And that's when they grew. Now, I'd never suggest that a beginner-level (or even an intermediate) lifter go this heavy, but the point is to use a sufficiently heavy weight relative to your bodyweight when training calves.

* On Time Investment: In my opinion, the one thing that thwarts the progress of an individual's calf development more than anything else is attrition. Most people just don't have the patience and persistence to maintain the necessary intensity level to maximize this stubborn bodypart. I've always believed that the price of having great calves is 500 hours. I'll explain: Five hundred hours equals more than 660 45-minute calf workouts; 660 divided by four workouts per week equals about 165 weeks. That's more than three years of work! Anything less is a futile effort, unless you're genetically blessed with amazing calves. So stick with it....continued at the link above..

 

[RAMA]

I took 5 days off, I had a few nagging aches and pains, but I can tell I am feeling better even though they are not 100%. I will either start back tonight or tomorrow.

RAMA

 

[RoJoHen]

Okay, it is time. Halloween is over. The Election is over. That means that there are no more big drinking nights until New Years.

Because of my work schedule, and the fact that my current gym has shitty operating hours, I will be limiting myself to a 3-day split (probably Tues-Wed-Thurs), with 4 days off in between. In the event that I get to the gym a 4th day, I will try to limit those workouts to extra cardio and endurance exercises.

New workout plan:

Day 1: Back/Shoulders. And every other week I will switch my focus. One week I'll go heavier on Back and will include deadlifts in my routine. The next week I'll focus on shoulders and skip the deadlifts, as they tend to wear me out.

Day 2: Chest/Abs

Day 3: Legs and Arms (if I feel like doing some extra arm stuff)


I'm going to try to get back the basics for a while. I've let myself slide too much since last year, and I need to build myself back to where I was before I start doing the crazy stuff.

 

[apostle83]

How do you seperate chest and arms?

 

[RoJoHen]

Eh? What do you mean?

One day I'll do chest... bench press, incline press, flies, etc.

And another day I'll do arms (biceps and triceps)... Curls, skullcrushers, etc...

 

[RoJoHen]

My friend asked if he could borrow my van today because he was going to be purchasing an exercise bike. I decided to go with him, and somehow I ended up walking out with a pull-up/dip machine.

It was originally priced at $600, and I got it for $250! I'd say that's a deal.

 

[TJinLOCA]

My friend asked if he could borrow my van today because he was going to be purchasing an exercise bike. I decided to go with him, and somehow I ended up walking out with a pull-up/dip machine.

It was originally priced at $600, and I got it for $250! I'd say that's a deal.

OK, I'll bite ... what's a pull-up/dip machine?

The only piece of equipment I've ever used for pull-ups and dips is a chinning bar, which cost $9.95.

 

[RoJoHen]

^This is just a random picture I found on google, but something similar to this...

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31hDyXhIrbL._SL500_AA280_.jpg

 

[RoJoHen]

Did everybody stop working out this week?

 

[TJinLOCA]

I got an MRI of my hip and I'm going back for an X-ray with contrasting dye.

What's everyone else's excuse?

I'm hoping I can at least start jogging again soon. As long as I don't pivot my hip it doesn't hurt too much, and this forced inactivity is making me absolutely stir crazy.

 

[RoJoHen]

I stabbed myself in the hand last Saturday and had to get stitches, but I still managed to make it to the gym a few times.

 

[TJinLOCA]

I stabbed myself in the hand last Saturday and had to get stitches, but I still managed to make it to the gym a few times.

Ouch! You, sir, are hardcore.

 

[TheSeeker]

Did everybody stop working out this week?

I took all of last week off and the week before that I only went three times. That week in France really made it hard for me to get back into a good routine.

I'm getting my shit together this week though. I went to the gym last night and did my first chest workout in over a month after injuring my shoulder and there was no discomfort at all! I also went for a run this morning before work and am planning on doing some HIIT tonight.

EDIT: Well, there may have been no discomfort on Monday but it's a different story today. Damn my chest is sore! I wish I hadn't needed to take so much time off on chest workouts.

 

[RAMA]

I've been working on the outer head of my triceps..I think it looks a little bigger in this new pic than the old one:

 

[TJinLOCA]

Looking good, RAMA!

I actually jogged a bit yesterday, and went back to the gym today. It feels good to be doing something, even though the jog was only 1.5 miles (and very very careful so as not to twist my sore hip) and the workout was quite abbreviated.

After reviewing the MRI the doctor is fairly sure he can fix the labrum tear in my right hip with laparoscopic surgery, but I still need one more x-ray (this time with contrasting dye injected into the hip joint to highlight the tear). He's also going to give me a shot of cortisone, as long as they're injecting stuff, to see if that gives me some relief over the next month or so. (I don't want to do any surgery before then anyway ... too busy!)

Meanwhile it's nice to know I can still get some exercise, even if it means limiting my workout to mostly upper-body stuff and avoiding any movement that causes my hip to turn out or in. I was starting to go nuts from being completely inactive.

 

[TheSeeker]

^Glad to hear you're able to workout again. I know a little how you feel as I have finally been able to do chest exercises again after injuring my shoulder.

I had a very good chest and arm workout last night despite being tired. I increased my bench press and was able to get a few more reps in on lying triceps press.

I also just got back to my desk after doing some HIIT on the treadmill. I can't make it to the gym tonight so I thought I'd use my lunch break instead. I really didn't feel like doing it but I'm glad I forced myself to. I always feel great after running and now I won't feel guilty tonight!