For BG fitness fanatics, a question..

[Rikura]

Damn that was fast. Thanks for all the answers--that's more insight than I would have known how to ask for. Yes I do pretty much the same routine every time and it's quite machine-centric. I will step off the Smith Machine, stick to the dumbells and compound movements, change up the rep and set combos, and take a look into that HST thing. Although that seems to recommend 1x10 or 2x10, whereas Zoolander says 3x8, haha.

I'll worry about my diet afterwards. Feels like I'm starting all over again but hopefully on the right foot this time.

[Weiing]

No. The lifting part really is only like 10% of things (ok, maybe a bit more).... FOOD/diet and REST is where the magic happens.

Definitely feel free to ask more questions in this thread along the way

[Zoolander]

I dont really care about the reps per say, I just want you to start out with a program/routine that is reputable, was made by someone who knows a lot more than you or I about these things, and makes some sort of sense. Get a routine and stick to it, best advice I could give honestly.

Edit: I wish we could gather up all the different routines people here have had success with or know about, diet links, etc and toss it on the OP. Would be kinda nice, because after so many pages of this thread I cant even begin to imagine how many times the same questions have been asked (its fine and great to ask, its a lot to sift through in this thread's current setup)...need to get a mod on this shit imo.

Edit2: FU WEI.

[Weiing]

I think you are volunteering...Zoo?

[Darlantan]

@Creamsoda: Are you using a curl bar for your squats? If so, it may be the cause of your hindered performance. Not an expert on the matter but just reading around, while some say it works just fine, quite a few people really advice to go with the classic route (olympic barbells, etc).

[Atreides]

the thickness of the bar shouldn't really matter, unless you mean an EZ bar? I would definitely not try to squat with an EZ bar lol

[Cream Soda]

Nah, I do the squats the school gym. I did squatting for the first day w/ the curl bar because it was what I had access to, but I was like fuck it, I'll do it at the gym instead.

[shaddix]

Got a pair of these bitches on the way :D http://www.roguefitness.com/store/st...ength_rips.php

I'm switching gyms, my current gym blows infinite ass. Every single barbell they have except one is either broken or shaped like a banana. All the broken ones are chrome plated, the one that's in good shape looks like it's 50 years old, probably donated. No bumper plates, no technique plates, no chalk allowed.
The closest "real" gym is like 30 minutes away but I think it is a worthy tradeoff.

[richardd]

why dont people eat ground beef more often? even when cutting, its pretty solid for maintaining muscle when you COOK IT RIGHT and drain the fat as you brown it (or make it even easier and put it on a foreman/ or grill broil it). 1.5 lbs of ground beef is like 4-5 bucks, and lasts 2 days. very cheap for a the lean 80/20 ratio. but i been making it with Parmesan and oregano, all these different tomato and herb spices and some other random other ingredients and its pretty efficient imo. no carbs, like 400 cals and 35-45 grams of protien.

god, i cant wait until i bulk again. im gonna cut for 1 more month and get down to 215. this time im gonna pack on 4-5k cals a day. i already have a plan setup lol. im not gonna be spending more than 20-30 bucks a week on groceries and eat like a healthy fucking fat king.

[BerenTebogo]

So I'm finally on to seeing my doctor (this friday) about getting the okay to see a phys therapist for the scar tissue in my back / chest, but I'm running into a problem :\

Until the problem is fully resolved I have limited strength in my upper body and I've reached the limit of what I can support with my upper body to squat even though my legs can do more. Should I just add MOAR REPS or take it easy and keep up with my current routine until I'm fully recovered?

[TheTaru]

I have don't have very vast medical knowledge (like every member of the BG medical team) and I'm not sure how bad your scarring is, but I'd recommend not pushing yourself too hard until you've recovered. Ask your physical therapist about it, they'd probably be able to help you a lot more.

As for me:
I'm pretty workout retarded, is there anything I can do that'd really help for balance? I have about 1/3 of the normal amount of feeling on my right side and have been having more trouble walking normally lately for some reason. I'm in pretty good shape, so I can do whatever, I'm just not sure what exactly would help. Don't have time for formal physical therapy.

[Gustave]

Has anyone tried ZMA? It's seems pretty cheap and most give it good ratings from getting better sleep. I have trouble going to sleep / staying asleep at night. I'm normally very tired and could go to sleep around 7:30PM but if I do go to sleep that early I wake up about 10-11 and never go back sleep. Once it hits around 9PM I can't go to sleep until around midnight or later!!! This puts me at getting around 5-6 hrs sleep.

I think the weakest part of my diet/exercise/ w/e is getting adequate sleep/rest. Any suggestions?

[Cream Soda]

why dont people eat ground beef more often? even when cutting, its pretty solid for maintaining muscle when you COOK IT RIGHT and drain the fat as you brown it (or make it even easier and put it on a foreman/ or grill broil it). 1.5 lbs of ground beef is like 4-5 bucks, and lasts 2 days. very cheap for a the lean 80/20 ratio. but i been making it with Parmesan and oregano, all these different tomato and herb spices and some other random other ingredients and its pretty efficient imo. no carbs, like 400 cals and 35-45 grams of protien.

god, i cant wait until i bulk again. im gonna cut for 1 more month and get down to 215. this time im gonna pack on 4-5k cals a day. i already have a plan setup lol. im not gonna be spending more than 20-30 bucks a week on groceries and eat like a healthy fucking fat king.

Ramen noodles for me :D, 17 cents a pack

[Diamicles]

Has anyone tried ZMA? It's seems pretty cheap and most give it good ratings from getting better sleep. I have trouble going to sleep / staying asleep at night. I'm normally very tired and could go to sleep around 7:30PM but if I do go to sleep that early I wake up about 10-11 and never go back sleep. Once it hits around 9PM I can't go to sleep until around midnight or later!!! This puts me at getting around 5-6 hrs sleep.

I think the weakest part of my diet/exercise/ w/e is getting adequate sleep/rest. Any suggestions?

try doing something very relaxing before you actually fall asleep. try not to lay down in bed and watch tv unless you're ready to go to sleep. I would definitely not recommend any sort of drug to help with your sleep, most of the time a slight lifestyle change with what you're doing before bed is normally all you need. Even the ones that don't have any sort of addictive properties can become addictive if you believe you can't get a good night's rest without them.

Personally I'd recommend a nice evening yoga practice to get yourself relaxed and ready for sleep.

@Rich: Isn't it just as easy, and cheap, to buy and cook up chicken or turkey? Both are leaner than beef, and have more protein. I guess if you're really trying to cut costs you could probably do it with beef. Personally I can't eat much red meat anymore without it messing up my digestive tract for a few days.

[Osede]

why dont people eat ground beef more often? even when cutting, its pretty solid for maintaining muscle when you COOK IT RIGHT and drain the fat as you brown it (or make it even easier and put it on a foreman/ or grill broil it). 1.5 lbs of ground beef is like 4-5 bucks, and lasts 2 days. very cheap for a the lean 80/20 ratio. but i been making it with Parmesan and oregano, all these different tomato and herb spices and some other random other ingredients and its pretty efficient imo. no carbs, like 400 cals and 35-45 grams of protien.

I eat everything, chicken, pork, beef, eel, fish, rabbit, frog... :D

I would prefer a 9x/y lean ground beef thought, 80/20 is just way too much fat waste for me, especially when I try to bake some meat loaf or meat ball.

[Atreides]

I eat red meat for dinner every time I go to the gym while bulking, sometimes lunch too. Usually I'll make cheeseburgers or skirt steak because it's fast/easy, there is absolutely nothing wrong with eating red meat a few times a week if you want some high quality inexpensive protein. Even fattier cuts of red meat are fine once in a while if you're cutting.

The reason why red meat has a somewhat negative reputation is because of its association with increased risk of cardiovascular disease, because of the high saturated fat content. But in terms of weight loss/gain it really doesn't have any more of a positive or negative impact than anything else.

[richardd]

I eat everything, chicken, pork, beef, eel, fish, rabbit, frog... :D

I would prefer a 9x/y lean ground beef thought, 80/20 is just way too much fat waste for me, especially when I try to bake some meat loaf or meat ball.

I eat red meat for dinner every time I go to the gym while bulking, sometimes lunch too. Usually I'll make cheeseburgers or skirt steak because it's fast/easy, there is absolutely nothing wrong with eating red meat a few times a week if you want some high quality inexpensive protein. Even fattier cuts of red meat are fine once in a while if you're cutting.

The reason why red meat has a somewhat negative reputation is because of its association with increased risk of cardiovascular disease, because of the high saturated fat content. But in terms of weight loss/gain it really doesn't have any more of a positive or negative impact than anything else.

exactly lol. mix it up, i DO actually buy lean red meats until i was watching food network and deboed some recipes off them, lol. its cheaper than chicken and turkey for more bulk, but i still eat poultry and fish lol.

Has anyone tried ZMA? It's seems pretty cheap and most give it good ratings from getting better sleep. I have trouble going to sleep / staying asleep at night. I'm normally very tired and could go to sleep around 7:30PM but if I do go to sleep that early I wake up about 10-11 and never go back sleep. Once it hits around 9PM I can't go to sleep until around midnight or later!!! This puts me at getting around 5-6 hrs sleep.

I think the weakest part of my diet/exercise/ w/e is getting adequate sleep/rest. Any suggestions?

this is the same problem i had. why dont you masturbate/have sex or smoke weed or something? lol. no seriously. i know guys/girls at work who say thats the only way they can ever fall asleep at night, lol. im not that extreme, i generally go to bed around 12-1, so i either put on seinfeld/everybody loves raymond dvd's or just have the radio on while i pass out

[Atreides]

melatonin works really well to regulate your sleep schedule, but I wouldnt take it long-term. You also don't need a lot of it, like less than 0.5mg should do the trick and a lot of the ones out there are massive doses of like 3mg or more.

[Weiing]

I don't see anything wrong with red meat, as long as it comes from a safe source. Factory farmed meat is pretty dangerous given the living/eating conditions of the cows. If you actually get grass fed meat, then...there really is nothing wrong with red meat. It's where ANY of the meat is coming from (whether it is cow, pig, chicken, fish, etc)that matters more because it determines the quality of the meat. They also get a bad rep because of the high sat fat, but you know what? Your body needs saturated fat... but saturated fat from bad sources (like factory farm meat) does make a difference.

[Atreides]

Oh yeah, speaking of red meat, I went to the Mitsuwa (a huge japanese supermarket, there are some in LA and Chicago as well as NJ) to look around and I saw they had a HUGE kobe beef section. I decided to hunt for a small package that wasn't too expensive, since it was like $20.99 per pound for even the cheapest cuts. So randomly I saw some slices of nicely marbled beef (I forget what cut, I think Round tips) that were marked for $6.32, since the weight said 0.32 lbs even though it was clearly MORE beef than the other packages that weighed in at 0.75 lbs or so. So I snatched it and bought it, and when I got home I weighed it, turns out I got nearly 12 ounces of kobe for around 6 bucks. Yay~

You're not supposed to marinate kobe right? I'm really not sure how to cook it at all, maybe I'll just pan sear it in its own fat or something.