Build A Model Body!

[RealEstateMan]

Well, shifting to duathlon would be okay. I have been an employee in the past but now own a small real estate firm. My time demands meeting with clients, closing biz deals, looking after legal matters on properties for sale etc.

 

If ever I hit a jackpot on a million peso real estate deal. Why not I become a full-time athlete?

 

triathlon is not for you if you are a full-time employee.. i tried that and i just had fever from the hard training.. i run or lift weights in the morning, then swim in the evening..

 

the stress that my bosses give to me coupled with the stress that i get from the training is just too much for my body to take, and there was even a time when i had to compete even with a cold and fever.. i can't breathe during the swim portion of the race!

now i just focus on the running (my strongest discipline), and just crosstrain with swimming or cycling.. just to break free from the usual routine.. or swim or cycle during off season, or when i get an injury.. that is so far what works best for me..

 

why don't you try duathlon? if you are not a good swimmer but strong with bike and run, that is the sport for you.. some of my triathlon buddies shifted there, as they feel they have better chances of getting podium finishes..

[Pepeng Manas]

Well, shifting to duathlon would be okay. I have been an employee in the past but now own a small real estate firm. My time demands meeting with clients, closing biz deals, looking after legal matters on properties for sale etc.

 

If ever I hit a jackpot on a million peso real estate deal. Why not I become a full-time athlete?

 

OT:

our family is selling a lot worth over P50M. it might be your chance to be a full-time athlete.

seriously though, we need help selling that lot.

[superdog]

guys just a little info I've read, I find this too important not to share.

 

DO NOT DO STRETCHING BEFORE ANY ACTIVITY.

Yep u read right, explanation? The muscle part that is being stretched becomes relaxed, so in a certain exercise involving a combination of muscle parts, it will not be a concerted effort of all the muscles concern and may lead to injuries.

Instead do warmup exercises, those that we do in elementary schools like jumping jacks and rotating our hands arms hips knees ankles..

 

Correct me if I'm wrong on this but this is what I read in Men's Health.

[Olympus]

guys just a little info I've read, I find this too important not to share.

 

DO NOT DO STRETCHING BEFORE ANY ACTIVITY.

Yep u read right, explanation? The muscle part that is being stretched becomes relaxed, so in a certain exercise involving a combination of muscle parts, it will not be a concerted effort of all the muscles concern and may lead to injuries.

Instead do warmup exercises, those that we do in elementary schools like jumping jacks and rotating our hands arms hips knees ankles..

 

Correct me if I'm wrong on this but this is what I read in Men's Health.

 

I'm surprised men's health posted something truthful...

 

To expound on this, stretching before strength training makes your muscles more pliable, you want your muscles tight in order to lift properly and ensure proper power.

 

The proper warmup you need would be is to elevate your body temperature and raise your heart rate

[sikosci]

THIS MAY SEEM A BIT MUCH, BUT THIS IS FOR ANYONE WHO IS STILL CONFUSED ABOUT NUTRITION SURROUNDING YOUR WORKOUTS. I'VE BROKEN IT DOWN TO SEVERAL CATEGORIES TO MAKE IS EASY.

 

INTRO

 

GOAL CLARIFICATION & THE NATURE OF OPTIMA

 

pre, during, & postworkout nutrition is different for different sports. most of the data on this subject pertains to endurance athletes, and doesn't necessarily apply to bodybuilders. this is the classic conflict of arguments when different goals aren't clarified. what i'm gonna discuss is nutrition for bodybuilding resistance training, so let's get that straight before we dive in. another important concept to bear in mind is the fact that nutrient timing is of secondary importance to total amounts of each nutrient. i also want to make it clear that we're nitpicking over what's OPTIMAL. for example, total amount of carbohydrate is in fact more important than its glycemic index (GI), but in terms of whats optimal, different GIs suit different situations to varying theoretical degrees. sports nutrition is a largely theoretical realm where we strive for the edge. it's important to note that there are quite a bit of confounding (validity-challenging) variables related to GI, which i covered in depth in the post below. keep in mind that it's the general theory and format that you should focus on, because there's no way that i can provide a comprehensive list of example meals without boring myself to death, and everyone has their personal taste.

 

INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES

 

variations in total amounts will be determined by your general body mass & individual phyz, you'll just have to trial & error it out as with all plans. littler guys will do fine at the lower ranges, mega-mooses will do well at the higher ranges, and average joes will find the middle of the ranges to be good starting points from which to monitor progress. i'd like to make it perfectly clear that this article is an attempt to cater to the majority of trainees who may read it. as with all advice from ornery oracles, you MUST adapt it to your individual response & measure it against your progress, or lack thereof, and adjust accordingly. i highly recommend that you feel free to go "outside of the lines" of what i've written if/when necessary, and find out what works for you as an individual. the concept of trial & error being the ultimate judge - despite sound theoretical starting points - is not emphasized nearly enough in tutorials.

 

without further ado...

PRE-PREWORKOUT: THE GLYCOGEN FACTOR

 

glycogen is the limiting fuel for exercise in the glycolytic range of the energy substrate continuum. this means that even though bodybuilders aren't gonna be running marathon or growing impotent from sitting their asses on a hard bike seat doing the tour de france, glycogen is still important for muscular work in the rep ranges that primarily cause hypertrophy. many bodybuilders i know are on a "permanent precontest" phase, and keep their carbs low no matter what, and are really frustrated with their gains. actual amount of total carbs daily is another discussion, but suffice it to say that it's really tough to gain muscle - no matter how much protein you're chuggin' - when you're constantly averaging below 2/3 of your bodyweight a day in carb grams. this may be warranted on a cyclical basis for some folks during a precontest cut, but for general purposes & gaining muscle, you're better off averaging somewhere above this amount -- unless you've either been pathologically afraid of, or metabolically challenged by carbohydrate for a long enough duration for your body to adapt & get by on amounts chronically lower than this.

PREWORKOUT

 

OBJECTIVE

 

the objective here is to promote sustained carbohydrate availability (& to a lesser degree, amino acid availability), minimize muscle catabolism, and spare glygogen as much as possible. this is best accomplished by carbs with a low to moderate GI & insulin index (II). it's important to note here that research is quite conflicting on the issue of GI & exercise performance. much of the latest studies show no real difference. nevertheless, it's established that lower-GI sources influence substrate oxidation during training ever-so-slightly better for bodybuilding purposes. when i mention GI, i'm talking about the glucose comparison standard, not the white bread standard. the actual amount & physical nature of the meal depends on how soon your schedule allows you to eat or drink before training. there are at least 3 acceptable scenarios..

 

COMPOSITION

 

scenario one: a solid, full-sized balanced meal finished 60-90 minutes preworkout consisting of 30-60g protein (0.2-0.25g/lb target BW) + 40-80g carb (0.33g/lb target BW). there are endless examples of how this can be constructed, & heres just one:

---- 5-8oz of any type of land or sea animal flesh

---- 1-2 cups low to moderate-GI grain or other starchy vegetable or legume /or/ fistsize sweet potato, etc, look up sub-70-rated examples here.

---- 1 or more cups fibrous vegetable like salad greens, broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, spinach, kale, cabbage, onions, even carrots, etc, etc

 

scenario two: a liquid meal or shake finished 15-30min preworkout:

---- 20-50g protein (0.15-0.2g/lb target BW) whey is preferred for its BCAA content

---- 40-80g (0.33g/lb target BW) low-to-moderate GI carbs. any fruit works well here, so does old fashioned oats. a solid case can be built for a combination of both. whether you include water/milk or unsaturated fat like flax or pnb is really personal preference. milk just gets the anabolic/anticatabolic cascade rolling for those in a severe hurry to gain muscle. adding fat to this shake can slow the release of nutrients substantially & benefit those who train for significantly more than 90 min, offering extra protection against energy dips - especially if you don't consume a dilute carb solution during your workout. most people will do fine without the fat as long as the overall carb profile of the shake is relatively low to moderate-GI. NOTE: most commercially prepared dilute sports drink solutions have a low glycemic load, rendering their high GI irrelevant. some dudes use the same shake for pre & post workout; they make a bigass shake, and simply drink half before & half after - or they sip it thoughout the workout. this is fine too & you'll still benefit, but you're not taking full advantage of the specifically different physiologic demands of pre & postworkout for bodybuilding purposes.

 

scenario 3: both of the above scenarios in succession (one after the other in the above listed time frame) is probably ideal, but in the real world, many folks train first thing in the morning before work, so that nullifies the possibility of the pre-pre workout meal. no problem, that's where an intelligently concocted prebed meal helps (another topic!). note that individuals will vary in their digestive & absorptive capacity. some folks can only tolerate scenario one without the additional scenario 2 due to less gastrointestinal motility &/or speed of digestion/absorption. trial and error will dictate your optimal meal scheduling respective of this.

 

to reiterate the factor of individual differences, don't be afraid to go outside of the listed guidelines & exceed the upper limit of listed carb intake as needed to power you through your training. conversely, don't be afraid to dip below it given your gastrointestinal tolerance for exogenous substrate during or pretraining.

DURING WORKOUT

 

OBJECTIVE

 

the same objectives as the preworkout meal apply here (to promote sustained carbohydrate availability & to a lesser degree amino acid availability, minimize muscle catabolism, and spare glygogen) - with the added objective of maximizing water availability & minimizing gastrointestinal upset.

 

COMPOSITION

 

again, be aware that we are talking bodybuilding workouts and not triathalon training. i am an advocate of keeping it simple and watering yourself down thoughout the workout with.. you guessed it, pure water. if you did your homework with the right construction & timing of the preworkout meal, there's little need for the bodybuilder to take in much else. now granted, if you were a boxer, triathlete, soccer player, basketball player, or marathoner at risk for catabolizing a good chunk of lean mass and jeopardizing your liver glycogen status by trudging away for far past 90 minutes continuously in an endurance event, definitely sip the gatorade-type 4-8% carb solution throughout the workout, and shoot for 40-60g carbs/hr. there's a huge body of research that shows the benefit of that tactic.

 

keep in mind that i don't think a during-workout carb solution will hurt the bodybuilder at all, as many mistakenly believe. in fact, a good case can be built for it being an effective nth-degree anticatabolic/anti-hypoglycemic tactic. but all things considered, it just might be unnecessary & expensive, since the energy demands & glycogen depletion of bodybuilders are usually much less. once again, if you had either the right solid meal 60-90 minutes prior, or the right liquid meal 15-30min prior (in a perfect world, BOTH), you technically should still be in the absorption phase. thus you won't experience energy dips seen in fasted-then-fed experimental subjects who obviously benefit from during-workout fuel beyond just water.

 

POSTWORKOUT

 

OBJECTIVE

 

the objective here is to raise insulin concentrations & get a head start on recovery by antagonizing cortisol & other catabolic elements, replenish water & glygogen, and restore levels of circulating amino acids. this is mistakenly viewed as the most important meal of the day, which is BS. why? because if you're not properly fueled prior to this point, your workout will suck. thus, it's equally important in the large scheme of things.

 

COMPOSITION

 

i'm not biased towards a shake-only postworkout philosophy, as long as either type contains a liquid component. 2 equally effective scenarios are:

 

scenario one: as soon as possible postworkout - or even at the tail end of the workout, say, 10-20 minutes before it's over. i start chugging my postworkout shake 60 minutes into my workout, regardless of how long my workout takes.

---- 30-60g protein (0.25g/lb target BW). whey again is pretty cheap & works great here. research shows that postworkout protein doesn't inhibit glycogen synthesis, and can improve protein synthesis. this means that you can hedge your anabolic & anticatabolic bets by taking in a sizable amount of protein postworkout. whey happens to be a highly insulinogenic protein, so this is ideal at this point.

---- 60-120g of high-GI carbs (0.5g/lb target BW), or a combination of types that ultimately averages to a high-GI rating (70 or above). dextrose & maltodextrin have traditionally been emphasized as ideal for postworkout because of their high-GI. however, i have issues with going pure dex for postworkout for a couple of reasons - and they have nothing to do with the threat of insulin resistance, because that whole scenario applies to a completely different population. first off, you can get some default dex within fruit or milk. secondly, pure dex has no micronutrient density, and i've said it before, antioxidant micronutrition is grossly under-emphasized whenever postworkout nutrition is discussed. dex is a fine addition to your postworkout carb arsenal, but to go pure dex for the largest carb hit of your day doesn't make sense from a micronutrient density standpoint - especially when dex is contained in other foods that are more nutrient dense and are still either high-GI or highly insulinemic.

 

thinly rolled non-prepacketed oats (which many don't realize have a GI of appx 65-75 as opposed to the low-GI the steel-cut or old-fashioned type) plus dex is achieving the best of both worlds, but that's theoretical ground. NOTE: old fashioned/slow-cooked oats + dex in a 1:1 still yields a GI that crosses the threshold of high. adding fruit to your postworkout mix of carbs can potentially benefit folks who train with a high volume & do a lot of cardio (ie, precontest). the protection of liver glycogen status under such conditions can maintain the centrally neurologic signaling of the "fed state" and hence prevent lean tissue catabolism -- especially during hypocaloric balance.

 

okay, so to be practical, simple examples are: 1/2-1 cup dry oats + 30-50g dex (OR) 1/2 cup dry oats + 40g dex + 1 banana. these are just 2 examples out of many possibilities. i see nothing wrong with using high-moderate to high-GI carbs other than dex/malto, as long as the average GI of the combo is near or greater than 70. nitpicky theoretics aside, anything 65 or above on the GI scale (like the thinly rolled plain oats which people mistakenly think is in the low GI category) will likely have very similar real-world effectiveness as higher-GI choices. but remember, this is a discussion of optima, thus, we are scrutinizing the minutia and elucidating what might provide the edge.

---- as little fat as possible is best postworkout, because you don't want to blunt insulin output at this point.

---- milk considerations: whether or not you add milk to your postworkout shake depends upon personal preference and tolerance. the cons of milk are that many folks have some degree of lactose intolerance or milk allergy, and therefore are excluded from the possibility. the pros of milk postworkout are that it's highly insulinogenic, contains 6g dex per cup, and is a potent anabolic/anticatabolic substance that has outperformed whey in human research thus far.

 

scenario two: ASAP postworkout - a solid-food meal consisting of:

---- 30-60g protein (0.25g/lb target BW) in the form of lean flesh, all types are fine, 5-8oz suffices.

---- 60-120g high-moderate to high-GI polysaccharide carbs (0.5g/lb target BW), good examples are white or brown rice (yes most brown rice is high-GI), and all types of potatoes & breads. my bias and preference here is to include a serving of higher-glucose fresh fruit, such as grapes, banana, or pineapple - for micronutrient/antioxidant purposes as well as extra glucose (we should all know by now that the fructose contribution of fruit, at 4-7g on average per serving, is insignificant). another wrinkle to add here is that berries as a group have more antioxidant potential than other fruits. this confers benefit despite their lower concentration of glucose compared to grapes, pineapples, & bananas. so, don't worry if you choose other fruit than the higher-glucose ones postworkout; you're still winning out in the antioxidant arena.

---- water or milk, pick your poison.. a word about fruit juice: while i am not against small amounts of fructose from whole fruit for maintaining/replenishing liver glycogen, fruit juice on the other hand tends to cross the line of excess in terms of fructose, and you miss out on much of the beneficial phytochemicals & oxygen radical suppressors in whole fruit.

---- once again, keep fat to a minimum.

 

now.. can you exceed 120g carbs or 60g protein postworkout? of course! your training program, body mass, & physiology may actually scream for it. this is merely a point of reference for the masses to digest, absorb, & process accordingly (gotta love corny nutrition puns). for the few competitive endurance athletes who might read this, consider the rather whopping 1.0g/lb a starting point for your postworkout carb intake. protein need is sufficiently met with the standard guideline of 0.25g/lb.

 

POST-POSTWORKOUT

 

OBJECTIVE

 

The theoretics of the post-post are a bit more unclear than the post, but suffice it to say that within 3 hours postworkout, you still have a markedly elevated need & opportunity to fight catabolism & segue into net anabolism, taking advantage of the lingering demand for recovery tactics. the timing of this meal is really dependent upon the size & magnitude of your immediate postworkout meal or shake, but to simplify things, try to have it within 2-3 hours of the latter shake/meal. This might not be possible for folks who work out at night close to bedtime, but don't sweat it. as long as your nutrition was sound prior to this point, you're fine.

 

COMPOSITION

 

my recommendation is to have a balanced full-sized solid meal of similar construction to the aforementioned solid-food preworkout meal. except at this point, your physiology still welcomes high-moderate and high-GI carbs -- but you need not necessarily omit fiber & unsaturated fat as your should in the immediate post period. it's my guess that moderate-GI choices will suffice for most metabolisms at this point.

 

and there you have it... good luck & happy training, everyone.

 

i like this article..thanks enka

 

I'm surprised men's health posted something truthful...

 

To expound on this, stretching before strength training makes your muscles more pliable, you want your muscles tight in order to lift properly and ensure proper power.

 

The proper warmup you need would be is to elevate your body temperature and raise your heart rate

 

actually mens health mags are never full of BS, some you may wanna question, but most of the contents in them are written and prescribed by certified people in their fields..personally, id rather read/buy MH than MF, Ironman, etc etc (although at times i would buy them on sale just to check out their bikini/lingerie issues or scanning for stuff)

 

just my two cents

[Olympus]

actually mens health mags are never full of BS, some you may wanna question, but most of the contents in them are written and prescribed by certified people in their fields..personally, id rather read/buy MH than MF, Ironman, etc etc (although at times i would buy them on sale just to check out their bikini/lingerie issues biggrin.gif or scanning for stuff)

 

just my two cents biggrin.gif

 

The problem is you have to skim through all the ads and BS to find the genuine useful stuff

[sikosci]

The problem is you have to skim through all the ads and BS to find the genuine useful stuff

 

true...but compared to say IRONMAN mags, MH has fewer ads and BS imo

 

my 2 cents worth

[Olympus]

true...but compared to say IRONMAN mags, MH has fewer ads and BS imo

 

my 2 cents worth

 

Musclemag is even worse

[rockybrawler]

Musclemag is even worse

Yeah. those mags are too radical for us normal human beings. The models in musclemag are juiced up beyong recognition.

[Dan.]

i like this article..thanks enka

actually mens health mags are never full of BS, some you may wanna question, but most of the contents in them are written and prescribed by certified people in their fields..personally, id rather read/buy MH than MF, Ironman, etc etc (although at times i would buy them on sale just to check out their bikini/lingerie issues or scanning for stuff)

 

just my two cents

 

I agree bro, my personal favorites are Men's Health and Men's Fitness. I look for the articles on nutrition, exercises. I admit there is a lot of advertisements but of course we just have to ignore those.

Anyways, most of the articles are written by doctors and certified experts. Happy easter!!

[sikosci]

Musclemag is even worse

 

agree!

 

Yeah. those mags are too radical for us normal human beings. The models in musclemag are juiced up beyong recognition.

 

yeah

 

I agree bro, my personal favorites are Men's Health and Men's Fitness. I look for the articles on nutrition, exercises. I admit there is a lot of advertisements but of course we just have to ignore those.

Anyways, most of the articles are written by doctors and certified experts. Happy easter!!

 

you are right

[Olympus]

[qoute]Anyways, most of the articles are written by doctors and certified experts. Happy easter!!

 

Or do you mean ghost writers?

[carlos_palanca]

Guys, Any known side effects of taking HYDROXYCUT ?

[rockybrawler]

Guys, Any known side effects of taking HYDROXYCUT ?

 

heart palitation, increased heart beat, nervousness, jittery just like having taken too much coffee. Hydroxycut is basically just caffeine so it makes you so alert. I felt very strong and hyped up when I took hydroxycut hardcore.

Edited April 10, 2007 by rockybrawler

[Olympus]

IN short, if you have heart problems, stay away from fat burners

[boy_tusok]

guys just a little info I've read, I find this too important not to share.

 

DO NOT DO STRETCHING BEFORE ANY ACTIVITY.

Yep u read right, explanation? The muscle part that is being stretched becomes relaxed, so in a certain exercise involving a combination of muscle parts, it will not be a concerted effort of all the muscles concern and may lead to injuries.

Instead do warmup exercises, those that we do in elementary schools like jumping jacks and rotating our hands arms hips knees ankles..

 

Correct me if I'm wrong on this but this is what I read in Men's Health.

 

the first thing i do when i enter the gym is 5 min. cardio and then stretching (10 sec. per muscle group) then i warm up by lifting half the weight that i would normally lift then on to my exercises. am i doing something wrong?

[Olympus]

the first thing i do when i enter the gym is 5 min. cardio and then stretching (10 sec. per muscle group) then i warm up by lifting half the weight that i would normally lift then on to my exercises. am i doing something wrong?

 

You don't need to stretch anymore since you are already warmed up

[Pepeng Manas]

so, stretching is best done after your workout?

[Olympus]

so, stretching is best done after your workout?

 

Yes. Keep it that way

[koolkalangxyz]

I have a problem doing squats. I'm not sure whether its because of poor execution or i have a back problem.

Each time i've tried doing squat i feel pressure on my lower back. Its not painful but just sore/stings. And I'm doing this with only 70lbs. Can somebody advise me on what to do?

[Olympus]

[qoute]I have a problem doing squats. I'm not sure whether its because of poor execution or i have a back problem.

Each time i've tried doing squat i feel pressure on my lower back. Its not painful but just sore/stings. And I'm doing this with only 70lbs. Can somebody advise me on what to do?

 

It is most likely your form....

 

Do you have any lowerback problems or injury?

[arabianknight]

Hi to all experts here, I’m a newbie and need some advice.

 

If I’m doing a workout 3x a week and doing cardio between the workout, should I lose some muscle? i just want to lose fats on my mid part not muscle. Im 130lbs, 5’5” and have a BMI 24%

 

Monday – workout

 

Tuesday – 1 hr jogging

 

Wednesday – workout

 

Thursday – rest

 

Friday – 1 hr jogging

 

Saturday – workout

 

Sunday – rest

 

Is this a correct program?

 

Thanks

[Olympus]

Hi to all experts here, I’m a newbie and need some advice.

 

If I’m doing a workout 3x a week and doing cardio between the workout, should I lose some muscle? i just want to lose fats on my mid part not muscle. Im 130lbs, 5’5” and have a BMI 24%

 

Monday – workout

 

Tuesday – 1 hr jogging

 

Wednesday – workout

 

Thursday – rest

 

Friday – 1 hr jogging

 

Saturday – workout

 

Sunday – rest

 

Is this a correct program?

 

Thanks

 

 

With the stats you have given me, you definitely need to put on more muscle and should cut down your cardio

[wek1012]

can anyone give my advice for a once a week program. i am very busy with work right now and leaves the office late and tired. for now, i am trying to go to the gym during weekends until my project stabalizes, which is not anywhere soon. until then i'll try to go on weekends and maybe once on a weekday if i can squeeze it in.

[arabianknight]

With the stats you have given me, you definitely need to put on more muscle and should cut down your cardio

 

Thanks coach Olympus.