For BG fitness fanatics, a question..

[Meat]

Damn you Planet Fitness! They don't even have god damn benches or squat racks. Only 3 smith machines. Really crampin my style. No EZ bars or straight bars either. Is this all PF's or just the one in my town?

they all have this punitive approach to heavy lifting

[Weiing]

Local/Organic vs. Not is sort of a wash for me. After reading The Omnivore's Dilemma, my opinion is that eating less processed foods is probably a good thing. However, a sub-conclusion of the book was that anything you'd buy at supermarkets is likely organic/local in name only.


Also, all the chicken labels (Free-range, Organic, etc) are about as literally accurate as the label "Boneless" (thinking of the Far Side comic).

I agree...it's basically because of the loose standards USDA have. HOwever, you can definitely find local farmers (farmers markets/CSAs) and/or local eggs. When I was in Michigan, I found many people selling their chicken eggs on craigslist for like $1/dozen. Sometimes I'd donate our used cartons so they could reuse them and one of the ladies was nice enough to give me a free assorted dozen carton of goose/duck eggs, too. Obviously, not everyone has access to local eggs. I have to resort to buying eggs at the store now...it sucks. I hope when i move to Seattle I can find some people selling eggs again.

@Meat - harday har har...

[alt]

it just sucks... I've basically plateaued @ 118-119 for 3-5 months now. This proves harder when my period is about to come (yay for water retention). However, I just can't seem to get over that hump to get to 114-115 (for my apparent goal body fat %). So, what to do? Been eating around 1600-2000 calories (cycling calories). Up cardio as it's the easiest way to burn more calories? Or just be happy at this weight...but I'm not happy at this body fat %

/emo

Weiing, try increasing your calorie intake slightly for I believe about a week.

Let me double check it again real fast, but I believe you should do it for a week and then go back to your normal calorie deficit.

edit*
Ok try increasing your calorie intake slightly for about 3-5 days, then go back to your normal deficit. You know your body better than anyone, so probably somewhere between 200-500 more calories a day for the 3-5 days. Everyone is different obviously, so it may take some trial and error to figure out what works best for you.

[Weiing]

Thanks Alt. Yeah, that's what I did over the weekend (Fri-Sun). I basically ate whatevz I wanted. It was probably a bad idea, but I hope it's long enough to reset my body and go past this plateau. Or do you think I should actually go an entire week?

[alt]

I would go back to your normal deficit now and see if you start seeing results again. If you don't maybe try a bit longer. Trial and error.

[Meat]

Thanks Alt. Yeah, that's what I did over the weekend (Fri-Sun). I basically ate whatevz I wanted. It was probably a bad idea, but I hope it's long enough to reset my body and go past this plateau. Or do you think I should actually go an entire week?

usually a day or 2 is enough to "fool" you body into thinking it's being fed in excess

[Atreides]

I have like 2 lbs to lose, but I've been plateau'd for about a month now too. I just broke down and had burger king for lunch, probably gonna have pasta tomorrow too, then back to my deficit as well. THEN I CAN FINALLY EAT

[Moss]

Speaking of fast food, the McDonald's on campus is looking like my best option for a cheap and convenient pre-workout meal. The Double 1/4 pounder with cheese is 740 calories 40g carb and 48g protein. Of course it also has 19g saturated fat (95% DV) and half the DV of sodium and cholesterol. I eat pretty healthy the rest of the time, but if this "super size me" style diet is a bad idea I don't want to do it. Maybe just getting a single 1/4 pounder would be a better idea?

[Jefe]

tldr: home treadmill: everything's good, school's treadmill: hurts like hell.

I never use treadmills but I bet the root of your problems are your running shoes. I've been using adiSTAR's selection for years, I love those bastards.

[alt]

Way too much fat in that burger for a pre-workout meal. I usually eat a banana and fat free greek yogurt about 2 hours before I lift weights.

With that being said, Mcdonalds in general isn't all that bad assuming you are active enough and don't eat it too often. The amount of fat isn't the bad things in McDs if you are active. Its more the enriched bleached flour buns, low quality protein in the meat, and the transfat. Although in terms of transfat I think McDs is one of the better fast food places.

[richardd]

the worst part about mcdonalds is the soda

[Weiing]

Yeah. McD's...I mean I GUESS you could eat a burger without the bun for best "protein" source. Saturated fat isn't really bad for you...usually. But saturated fat from fast food places is quite questionable...but so is the meat source from fast food chains like McDs. Sure, a calorie is a calorie and energy source is energy source but... wouldn't it be better to get it from better foods? It's not just the stats you have to look at, but also the quality of the food you are nourishing your body with, especially pre/post-workout. Obviously, if you're in a crunch ...perhaps it may even be better to just skip a meal?

You really can't just pack some nuts or some hard-boiled eggs or even some slices of lunch meat + cheese or something before workout? I hear some builders enjoy drinking chocolate milk because of the protein/fat/carbs(sugar)...

[Omnipotent]

I attack a parfait and grilled chicken southwest salad, DELICIOUS

[Osede]

@Moss, I'm suggesting stay away from burger. I used to have two cheese burger (hamburger+cheese only) for my lunch, then proceed to workout in the evening. But I've been never able to cut my body fat. Until I change it for the whole summer... The fat in the burger is just way too much, not even mention about the calories

[Moss]

Yeah. McD's...I mean I GUESS you could eat a burger without the bun for best "protein" source. Saturated fat isn't really bad for you...usually. But saturated fat from fast food places is quite questionable...but so is the meat source from fast food chains like McDs. Sure, a calorie is a calorie and energy source is energy source but... wouldn't it be better to get it from better foods? It's not just the stats you have to look at, but also the quality of the food you are nourishing your body with, especially pre/post-workout. Obviously, if you're in a crunch ...perhaps it may even be better to just skip a meal?

You really can't just pack some nuts or some hard-boiled eggs or even some slices of lunch meat + cheese or something before workout? I hear some builders enjoy drinking chocolate milk because of the protein/fat/carbs(sugar)...

I'm trying to add weight to a really lean frame (6'1" 162) so I don't think outright skipping the meal is a good idea. It's funny because I literally haven't eaten a fast food burger at mcd's or BK in 12ish years, it is just really convenient based on where I have to walk on campus. The more I think about it, eating that crap 3 days a week for the next few months can't be good for my body. I need to find some kind of small cooler I can fit into my backpack for a sammich with some cold cuts.

[Osede]

How about try to make some simple sandwich yourself? Like half size sandwich bread with spinach, hams/egg salad/tuna and tomato, probably with a little sauce. The only problem here is, you may want to rotate to other meals once in a while

[Odesseiron]

I fit into a pair of 34 Khaki cargo Shorts yesterday. I haven't worn a 34 since.. well I really don't fucking remember. They're probably cut big since they're Ecko, but whatever. I own and fit into a pair of 34's. Still the same fucking 210, can't seem to lose the last 15-20 I want. Gonna try a few changes in my routine to get over a plateau.

Anyway, here's a question to you weight lifters. I recently starting using heavier weights (over 110) while doing bicep curls on the machine, and other bicep stuff. My wrists ache like fuck while doing this and remain so for a couple of days. Even if I rest them for like 3 or 4 days, the next time I work out, they're sore again. Now I've asked a couple friends who are much more into weight lifting than I am, and they said it is perfectly normal, and there isn't much you can do to prevent it since it's heavier weight. I thought it was my form at first, but with machines it's hard to have bad form (you still can) plus I asked the trainer, and he said my form was fine. Is this something you guys experience? I imagine it never really goes away since there isn't much muscle in the wrist area to build.

[Weiing]

@Odess

1st- Congrats !!!
2nd - I don't do bicep curls (and won't get into that discussion now...), so I'm not sure if wrist hurting is normal. HOWEVER, I have this inkling that it's probably using the machine... Machines tend to only have one set form, and it usually has an unnatural range of motion for most people. Is it not possible for you to do bicep curls with dumbbells or a barbell? I would say try doing curls with dumbbells/barbells if you have access to them. You may have to reduce your weight for a while, but it may help your wrists? If you still have problems...then maybe I don't know.

Edit: If you don't have access to dumbbells or barbells, perhaps you should just... you know..forget about curls in general? That's just my opinion but... yeh. =x moving along..

[Atreides]

it sounds like you're trying to use your wrists to curl the weight too much, when it's your biceps you want to work. If you're using a machine, you can try resting the bar on your wrist so you only pull it with your bicep (you can wrap the bar with a towel if that hurts). I just close my eyes and visualize my bicep doing all the work, while my wrist remains locked in place.

you could also try strengthening your forearms, I fucking love reverse wrist curls

[Meat]

don't do machine curls, unless it's a preacher curl, your wrist is going to bend to compensate for the lack of natural arc. besides for such an easy muscle why wouldn't u do free weights,