Does Anyone Here Lift Weights?

[thebiglebowski]

Good stuff gents. I'm going to feel my way around this stuff but I like what you've offered enough that I'm not going to just jump in. I already do a pre/post workout protein drink and my energy levels are pretty strong. I push myself pretty hard and still get in a good bit of weight training. In an hour and 45 last night I biked 4.5 miles, ran 2.5 miles and did weight training for another hour after. So I feel like I'm doing something right as I'm seeing results. 

 

With this much exercise, be careful not to overtrain. It can be just as bad as undertraining (well, almost). If your energy is up and your body isn't aching, should be fine.

 

Glucosamine if you have sore joints from the running / biking.

[jerseydave77]

^^^

Good advice.

 

I suppose my hesitance has been that I took on my heavy fitness routine initially for weight loss and now for cardio and this physical I need to take. I realized I was hurting myself as a Vegetarian by not supplementing my protein and it has show definite results. The pre-workout boosters always felt like more of a weight lifter thing than for what I'm after but like I said, the weight training I've done has helped my swim times a good bit and lessened muscle fatigue. I guess the question is what are my goals and right now I am trying to figure that out. I am seeing positive changes to my body and I am vein enough to admit that I want to keep heading in that direction. 

[jerseydave77]

I vary up my training as well. I do two big workouts a week and then two smaller ones as well as playing basketball once. I am far from over-training. I've had surgery on my right knee three times and tore the ligaments in my right ankle/foot severely once. If anything I've slowly built this up as I get injury as well as anyone out there. 

 

Honestly, I have to hold myself back some. It's been years since my knee has felt this good. Taking the weight off has been one of those "Why didn't I do this sooner" sort of things. 

[dave_jones]

Creatine and nitric oxide supplements have a lot of evidence backing them up as performance boosters and I don't see any reason someone investing a good amount of time in exercising would not also invest in the key supplements. If money was tight, I'd find other ways to save.

They can definitely be had in isolated form without the taste, stimulants, "proprietary blends", stomach problems or any other negative you could find with preworkouts. I like the taste of them (water them down a bit more than recommended cause they are super sweet) and I've never had stomach problems.

 

I'll check out the creatine powder you posted above.  I see you said you take it post-workout, can you explain the reasoning for this?  one scoop of tasteless powder sounds a lot better than those nasty NO-xplode shakes.

 

also what do you suggest for a nitric oxide supplement and what usage?

 

i have my own formulated opinions, but i am always willing to hear out reasoning behind taking certain products.  

[thebiglebowski]

If you can get a free sample of a non-stimulant preworkout off that website, try it. It isn't going to kill you and the only way to know is to try. That's what I would do.

 

Creatine needs a little time to saturate in the muscles, so don't judge that on a sample or two. You would just be judging how it makes you feel.

 

But if you are doing good and happy with progress, stick with it. Supplements are only there to fill in what isn't in the diet. It's just hard to get the right amount of everything without them. I'd rather supplement and have more vitamins or nutrients than my body can use than the opposite.

[jerseydave77]

^^^

Your last paragraph is fastly becoming my philosophy. I eat a ton of fresh fruits and veggies but it will never help like a multi-vitamin and a quality supplement. I'm seeing how big a difference it can make. 

[thebiglebowski]

I'll check out the creatine powder you posted above.  I see you said you take it post-workout, can you explain the reasoning for this?  one scoop of tasteless powder sounds a lot better than those nasty NO-xplode shakes.

 

also what do you suggest for a nitric oxide supplement and what usage?

 

i have my own formulated opinions, but i am always willing to hear out reasoning behind taking certain products.  

 

 

 

Creatine timing is debated a lot. The short answer is, getting enough is 99% of the battle. The reason for taking it after would be that after heavy lifting, you have just used up your bodies supplies of anaerobic energy, and creatine helps replenish them. A reason for taking before or during a workout might be that if you take it with a simple sugar, you will have a little extra energy and will burn off the sugar. Simple sugars help with absorption, but aren't necessities. I choose to not use the sugars because I try and limit sugar in my diet as much as possible.

 

Nitric oxide is a little more complex. This help?

 

http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/no2.html

 

There are more than one substances that break down into nitric oxide in our body. Which one is the best? Not sure. I feel like you can find more and better info with google than I can type out. Search for nitric oxide and maybe some of those listed.

 

The short of it is that it aids in getting oxygen to the muscles that need it. There is a lot of science behind it but I am already spending too much time in these threads to be searching the academic articles.

[thebiglebowski]

A good, simple tip also -- buy two 1 gallon water jugs from the store. I drink a gallon a day, maybe more. I fill the empty one up with a couple of fills of the Brita filter, then switch the next day. Works great for me to make sure I am drinking enough.

[dave_jones]

Creatine timing is debated a lot. The short answer is, getting enough is 99% of the battle. The reason for taking it after would be that after heavy lifting, you have just used up your bodies supplies of anaerobic energy, and creatine helps replenish them. A reason for taking before or during a workout might be that if you take it with a simple sugar, you will have a little extra energy and will burn off the sugar. Simple sugars help with absorption, but aren't necessities. I choose to not use the sugars because I try and limit sugar in my diet as much as possible.

 

Nitric oxide is a little more complex. This help?

 

http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/no2.html

 

There are more than one substances that break down into nitric oxide in our body. Which one is the best? Not sure. I feel like you can find more and better info with google than I can type out. Search for nitric oxide and maybe some of those listed.

 

The short of it is that it aids in getting oxygen to the muscles that need it. There is a lot of science behind it but I am already spending too much time in these threads to be searching the academic articles.

 

 

hahahah well thank you, professor.  i will take your advice and do some research on my own, but you've at least convinced me to rethink my ways.  the nitric oxide sounds like its something i should have always taken.  i'm assuming it helps with recovery time?  if not anything you suggest for speeding up muscle recovery? (sorry if this has been covered already, and i swear i'll stop picking your brain soon)

[dave_jones]

A good, simple tip also -- buy two 1 gallon water jugs from the store. I drink a gallon a day, maybe more. I fill the empty one up with a couple of fills of the Brita filter, then switch the next day. Works great for me to make sure I am drinking enough.

 

this is not a problem for me.  i constantly drink water throughout the day. 

[thebiglebowski]

Supplement marketing would usually point you towards branch chained amino acids for recovery aids. Things like leucine, isoleucine, valine (usually sold together). Also, glutamine (which I guess is an amino acid but not a BCAA).

 

Some people take these, some are of the opinion "if you have enough protein, they aren't necessary", since a lot of protein should supply every amino acid you need.

 

My view -- they should probably be taken by someone who A) is a vegetarian and is thus more likely to miss an amino acid from diet B ) Someone recovering from an injury or C) Someone older (I dunno...mid 30s and beyond?) who takes longer to recover than the younger guys.

 

They are pretty cheap. I take them (because of my above statement, I'd rather err on the side of over-supplementing and waste a little money on something nonessential than be lacking), but I wouldn't put them in the same boat as creatine and NO (which are the basics).

[dave_jones]

good to know.  i might try out the ones you mentioned as recovery time is sometimes an issue for me (especially after a few months off...)

[BBech]

http://youtu.be/Rhl5K0mTSKY

 

This should be every lifters theme song.

[thebiglebowski]

Lol. I'm gonna alternate between that and Final Countdown every day.

[BBech]

I've gotten that to be played almost daily in my office.

[Shitty Rambo]

What are some basic arm exercises I should do with a multigym?

It's a Weider 9940 to be specific.

[thebiglebowski]

There's only a couple muscles in the arm (not counting tiny ones that control the wrist and fingers). Curls and dips. You can extend your arm (tricep) and retract your arm (bicep). Not sure what specific attachments or abilities that machine has. Chin up is pretty close to a curl if it has a bar. Should be able to figure it out.

 

Same rules apply as before -- once or twice a week, reps of 5-10, lots of rest, eat a good amount, try and just get one more rep or one more pound each work out, track progress, be patient.

 

And don't be "all arms" in your workout plan.

[BBech]

Burpees.

[thejesseb]

 

And don't be "all arms" in your workout plan.

 

Friends don't let friends skip leg day.

[thebiglebowski]

If you feel like you are stalled out, I do something called the "madcow workout". There's a full exercise plan but part of it is that once you get to be an "intermediate" lifter, a program with 5 sets of 5 with constant weight just isn't practical at higher weights. You will do a lot of work but be too tired to increase the amount of weight consistently.

 

So what I do now (including warmup sets) is start with a certain amount on the bar depending on the exercise, then try and do 5 sets, with each set increasing by 12% up to my max 5 rep set.

 

It works really well.

[thebiglebowski]

Anyone want to try some deer antler velvet (what Ray Lewis used)?

 

http://www.antlerx.com/order.html

[thejesseb]

Anyone want to try some deer antler velvet (what Ray Lewis used)?

 

http://www.antlerx.com/order.html

 

My dad and Brother hunt deer a lot. Next time they kill one with velvet still on the antlers I'll just rub it on myself.

[Shitty Rambo]

I've thrown running back into th mix a bit. 10-20 minutes prior to working out. Eating this much is causing me to get doughy in the face and gut. Multiple friends of mine that lift suggest I keep it in the routine just don't do is like I used to.

Also my arms are still the smallest thing muscle wise. I've mostly bulked up in my shoulders and back.

[thebiglebowski]

The book I read on weightlifting recommends not even doing curls. Squat / Bench / Deadlift / Overhead Press. That's it.

 

It's a program built for "Strength", not "Bodybuilding" though (ie, increasing athletic performance, not building glamour muscles).

[dethrock]

The book I read on weightlifting recommends not even doing curls. Squat / Bench / Deadlift / Overhead Press. That's it.

 

It's a program built for "Strength", not "Bodybuilding" though (ie, increasing athletic performance, not building glamour muscles).

 

Was it 5-3-1? I'm starting that soon.