Fitness And Nutrition General

My cousin who i hate talking to is some sort of basic fitness trainer,I might see what he has to say once I've checked out both plans I have......and then do the complete opposite of what he says.

And its either that or go talk to my ex girlfriend who is in college for dietitionist/nutritionist qualifications........but I'd rather not

Take care in reducing your carb intake if you are increasing your workload or you will end up feeling tired and lethargic all the time. There are so many different ways of doing things these days and so many different products all telling you that their way is the right way.

Ultimately, there is no substitute for hard work and dedication, putting in the time working out. It's not something that happens over night so you need to stay committed. The other half of the equation is having the discipline to say no to anything non essential to your diet (biscuits, cakes, sodas, take aways etc).

Damn the FDA for taking out my DMAA out of my JACK3D!! /rage

But yah green tea and diet soda help if I get any cravings with the IF.

So, genetics strikes again. I need to lower my blood pressure and cholesterol. Any suggestions for this diet-wise (I plan on removing fried food, cheese, and red meat)? I know I need to workout, but I'm undecided as to what I want to do - a martial art or what. My house-mate does cross-fit but I'm pretty sure that'd be too much for me until I get a little farther along, not to mention it's $100 month. Any insights would help a lot, thanks.

Cardio cardio cardio Tikal. Start with baby steps, just walk or run or bike. I doubt you really need any weight lifting or muscle building.

You can still do cheese, just stick to light cheeses and reduced fat (mozzarella mmmmmm). Cut back on the red meat for sure, less chopped beef and such try and stick to whole cuts. Also pork (including bacon!) and chicken are quite epic, so I rarely eat a lot of red meat now a days. Maybe a pack of beef jerky here and there and maybe a steak every couple of months. And yeah... no way around the fried food thing sorry.

Also cut out unneeded salts, I can almost promise you that's where a lot of the blood pressure is coming from. Sodas should go (this one is the hardest for me), no super salty anything, and low sodium everything.

I'm considering biking to work and back every day (1m, give or take), but I figured it might also help to do a gym membership or martial art. Thing is, I've done Judo and Tai-kwon Do but neither kept my interest. Never felt like I was actually progressing in any way in it. Considered going to an MMA gym but idk.

Eat less, lift more and sleep more.

It's really not that hard.

Personally, even if you do take up going to the gym, it sounds like you're just going to half-*** it, just like you half-***'d Judo and Taikwondo. You're not going to get any results this way and you'll have no one to blame but yourself. Muster up some dedication and discipline first, then hop to it.

I used to bike all over campus before my bike got jacked, it's great exercise and not bad as transportation goes. Granted I was carrying an extra 15-60 lbs on my back...

Take a lesson from Weakness. Your condescension and assumptions do nothing but make you look like an *** worthy of ignoring, and that's what I'm going to do. Not because I don't like what half-assed suggestions you did make but because they added nothing.

My backpacks used to be killer back in high school Night, so I can relate to that.

i'm no nutrition expert -- hell, i'm not even really healthy, but going to agree with the low sodium thing (for high blood pressure), but disagree on the lifting weights part (with weakness-- ihina suggested lifting); lifting will help improve cholesterol problems.

i wouldn't say the biking idea is a bad one but if it's only a mile i don't think it's a big deal either way.

Don't do cross-fit imo. The amount you spend on cross-fit monthly you can get a gym membership for much less. You can do all that in a gym plus more.

If your LDL is an issue yah diet is going to be key. The thing about bike riding, is unless your getting your heart rate/bpm to a certain level its going to be somewhat pointless. Aim for HIIT(High Intensity Interval Training). Its great for cholesterol and is more challenging for your body. Basically sprint for 45 seconds, then jog for 60 seconds, rinse-and-repeat (can be done on bike or w/ any cardio).

The great thing about HIIT is you don't need to spend hours doing it. 20-30 minutes every other day goes a long way.

My bike ride home would be largely uphill, if that's a factor. I like your suggestion about HIIT though. I'll try and do that - it'll be hard since I've always been weak with cardio, but I'll really try to stick with it. I've always been more of a short-term sprinter because of that.

As an aside, I'm considering Krav Maga, Jeet Kun Do, and Kung Fu, if anyone has any experience in any of these, I'd appreciate a PM conversation. :)

Like I said since your not really sprinting for longer than 45 seconds its not that hard. Its based on your own difficulty level, so whatever is hard for you is still good. And you really only need do it 20ish minutes every other day. Also the first and last few minutes are literally walking pace.

E.g.

-3-5 minutes (walk/warm-up)
-this is the actual HIIT which is like 10ish minutes if you think about it (mixture of sprinting and jogging pace)
-3-5 minutes (walk/cool-down)

Too much cardio is bad cause you'll end up burning muscle. Which in turn can lower your basal metabolism. EDIT: Here's a link on HIIT: HIIT, sprinters and endurance athletes questions. I personally favor it to traditional cardio because the effects last all day even after your done.

If you want to get fit go to an mma gym over a specific martial arts class, most of that will be technique specific drills where as an mma gym will place equal importance on strength and fitness and not just technique, not to mention actually putting the skills into practice with sparring and pad work will be a lot harder than repeating martial arts techniques up and down a gym hall.

That is a concern of mine, and I do have a UFC gym nearby, but I think the UFC and Krav Maga teaching styles follow a similar ideology. Jeet Kun Do and Kung Fu would fall prey to that more I think. I understand the ideology between drilling the motions, but unless it's very clearly laid out for me, the why and how, it doesn't suit me. That's why I'm currently leaning toward Krav Maga, but the closest school is about 20 minutes away from me, without any form of traffic through the primary tunnel. I'll probably be calling them after work today, feel it out.

Krav Maga looks sweet, I wish there was a class nearby :( disarming people by eye gouges and ripping out there testacles looks awesome :D

I was 182.4 as of this morning, which is now 30 pounds that I've lost. My biggest concern right now is toning up my chest and abs. What's a good weight lifting exercise to ton your lower chest (nipple region). The top of my chest and the sides are doing well. Just that lower portion is lacking.

I figure someone here might know some good things to do.

you really need to ask yourself - why a "martial art" again. You lost interest in it before so what are you looking for, and what needs to be different from last time to achieve it. That will then help you to make you decision that's right for you.

and remember the style list is long these days - if you really do wish to step back into it again. Whatever you do make sure to do plenty of homework on the gym/instructors

a striking "martial art" - any thing with belts/rankings
pure grappling "martial art" - Judo, BJJ, Sambo, Greco etc
combative/street art - Krav Maga, Russian Systema, Kali
sports combative art - MMA , Boxing etc


I personally do Systema right now and potentially looking at re visiting pressure points but only 2 guys in the UK who i would even bother doing that with.

GL in your quest ! xD

Thanks. I was only 9~11 when I was in Tae-Kwon Do. Dropped out originally because I wasn't attached to anything really and money became a problem. I was a kid is what it really boils down to. I re-investigated it a few years ago when my best friend got into it, but it just doesn't garner my interest. I also was not interested in tournament play when I was younger, which seems to be a driving factor in Tae-Kwon Do and Judo. Judo I was older, 15~17, and perhaps this is just anecdotal or what-have-you, but I never felt like I learned more than the motions. I went to a few tournaments at my teacher's behest but never did that well compared to my peers. I felt like they got more attention than I did, and I was just kind of there. Now, I want to learn how to defend myself should the need arise, and have the ability to protect someone else if imperative. Couple that with a desire to improve my fitness, maintain health, and vest interest in physicality somehow. I'm a little more competitive now that I'm older but not by a long-shot. I find enjoyment in competing with someone more than against them.

Bench press and fly exercises are my primary choices for the chest. Doing either at an incline will target the upper portion of your pectorals (around the clavicle), so if you're more concerned with the lower area then focus on standing or lying forms.

You may or may not be aware of this already, but to get a full workout on your abs you'll need to specifically target the lower abs (leg raises, declined crunches, bicycle crunches, etc) in addition to general ab exercises and obliques work since the upper abs can function somewhat independently of the lower abs but not the other way around, and thus the lower may not get as much of a workout. Also plank exercises are great for tightening the abs up, as they engage the muscles underneath your abs and obliques.

Tae Kwon Do and Judo are both fairly heavily affected by the McDojo trend in the US and most dojos are affiliated with some sort of competitive league. Not a fact I'm particularly happy with despite doing very well in competitions (medaled at nationals) when I did TKD, but it's a reasonable business move given that people expect results quickly. Competitions are an easy (for the teachers) reward to those who perform well in them. That said, martial arts may not be what you're looking for. Anything below black belt in most arts is basically seen as building blocks to the real thing, so there's a big emphasis on teaching technique and form (and admittedly after that too). Sounds like you're looking for something a more immediately active and engaging, so stuff like Krav Maga or MMA would be more up your alley. The non-competitive aspect may be something of an issue either way; if you're not fully engaged when you're sparring that'll be something to keep in mind no matter what path you choose.

Krav is great - i almost done it myself its what i would consider a "hard" style and totally recommend it vs what i do is a "soft" style - mainly due to organizations like the KGB not wanting something to look too obvious when *** people up (and killing...) people in public most probably

PS: if you can make sure the guys are actual Israeli - chances are the will be ex SF, if not make sure you check your instructor has studied /qualified with them direct and isn't 3rd + generation - as there is a lot of ***floating around pretending to be real Krav etc.

When you say lower chest? You mean man-"breasts" or like is it just like lacking volume? If its man-breasts its due to body-fat percentage.

But yah like Nyghtfire said fly fly flys! Overhand, Underhand and regular flies etc. for the center-lower part of your chest make sure when your doing the flies. You're holding the dumb-bells or the cables for a full one second when your hands meet. That'll really force the lower(where the pecs meet) to gain some mass.

Yeah I've been doing three separate days worth of abs mixed with weight lifting: lower abs, upper abs, and then my sides. The bench pressing isn't doing enough for the lower part of my chest. Is it true that bench pressing with your hands closer together with no incline will effect the lower muscles more?

Yes. You can also do underhand flies to accomplish the same affect. Its best to do both to challenge your muscles. Also try integrating chin-ups into your back/bicep days since those target the chest also.

Not really man boobs only. Losing the 30 pounds has all but made those disappear. I'm just trying to add mass to my lower chest. Like I have no problem flexing every part of my chest except the lower part of the muscle. I've been doing flys as well, but maybe I should just do them more.

Might be, but close grip in a horizontal position shifts most of the work towards your triceps so I'm not sure how much you'd actually gain by doing so.

Are you doing sets of 10-12? Anymore than 12 and the weight is just too light for you.

Also if you feel you know the exercise good and want to challenge it up a notch try "super-setting."

E.G.

Underhand Flies Cable Machine X(12) X(12) Y(10) Y(10)
Overhand flies A(12) A(12) B(10) B(10)

So basically you'll do X>A : X>A REST Y>B : Y>B.

Guide to Superseting Supersets For Growth!

After the first month, all I've been doing now is super sets. Also, I never do more than a set of 12 when weight lifting. I've been doing sets like this though: X(12) Y(12) Z(12) then rest. Maybe I will try to group the like sets and just do X>X>X, and rest in between. I might be over doing it by grouping too much between breaks.

Appreciate the tips.

:/ I dunno then... supetseting my chest is what got me mass. I would just do two exerices(2 sets) in each super set.

EDIT: Also don't be killing yourself after just 1 month or so. We all have different genetics some of us gain mass faster in certain areas faster than others. It sucks >.>