TheRPGSite

... is the same as for anyone else.

Pundit and others have (http://www.therpgsite.com/showpost.php?p=366473&postcount=243) asked (http://www.therpgsite.com/showpost.php?p=366287&postcount=237) that I write something about health and fitness for us geeks. I'll do this in two parts. This part is what to do for general health and medical fitness, the second part (http://www.therpgsite.com/showthread.php?p=369445) will be programmed exercise.

There's a lot of bullshit out there in the fitness industry. But there is no magic pill, no one machine that with 10 minutes a day will give you six-pack abs in six weeks, or any crap like that.

The basic ideas are:

• eat good food
• get your body moving
• move more today than you did yesterday
• get good rest
• any changes needed, take step by step

I stress that I do not believe anyone has some kind of duty to be buff. But I do think everyone should be at least medically fit, to live the best quality of life they can, and that if they make unhealthy choices, they should know just what they're signing up for.

Diet is key in weight management and general health. It's energy out vs energy in. Consider that a typical hour of exercise will burn 200-300 calories, if you absolutely thrash yourself you might burn 500 kcal. Well, large fries from McDs are 500kcal. I dunno about you, but I can eat large fries in 30 seconds - an hour or two against 30 seconds, that's a race I'll never win. Not eating those fries takes a lot of willpower - but the treadmill for one or two hours takes more willpower still. I'd rather go the easy route, ditch the fries and treadmill both.

Health
Doctors and fitness professionals have a saying: "Genetics loads the gun, it's you who pulls the trigger." That's why we get one guy who smokes and pack a day and knocks back a fifth of bourbon and lives to 96, and someone else who is a vegetarian who cycles everywhere and lifts weights and has a heart attack at 32. But those are the extremes: for 99% of us, we cannot control if the gun is loaded, but we can control if we pull the trigger or not.

A person who eats good food and is physically active is likely to live longer and have a better quality of life than one who is not. Many obese people have constipation or diaorrhea every day, have to use their hands to get out of chairs, puff walking up stairs, wake up with back pain every day, sleep badly, are often sick with colds and flu, and generally have a poor quality of life in those little everyday things.

Diet
The first guideline is that you should have no smoking and no non-prescription drugs. None. Some seem to do no harm, but most have been shown to be harmful, and none have been shown to be helpful. Aside from that we have normal food.

I'm a fitness trainer, not a dietician. So all I can offer is nutritional first aid - a person who eats a wide variety of foods and minimises junk and alcohol will in general be healthier than someone who eats a narrow variety and has lots of junk and booze.

There are 10 basic foods,

• fresh fruit
• fresh vegetables
• nuts
• beans
• meat - red or white
• fish
• dairy & eggs
• starchy - rice, pasta, bread, oats - always choose wholegrain - and potatoes etc
• junk - any food where the packet is more colourful than the contents
• alcohol

Begin by aiming to have at least one portion of each of the first eight foods every day. Junk should be not more than 6 portions a week, and alcohol not more than 6 standard drinks, nor more than 2 in any one day.

If you are vegetarian, have more nuts, beans, dairy & eggs in place of meat and fish; if you are vegan, have more nuts and beans still in place of meat, fish, dairy & eggs. For other dietary restrictions like diabetes and coeliac and allergies, talk to a doctor or dietician.

A "portion" of food for these purposes is whatever you can fit in your hand with the first three fingers closed over thumb, or a cup for the liquids. That's about 100g/4oz steak, 50g nuts, an apple or banana, and so on.

Most of our Western food is high in energy, but poor in nutrients. This is why we can have someone who is overweight but malnourished - I've known a fat person whose hair was falling out from scurvy. So the idea is to change from high-energy/low-nutrient foods to low-medium-energy/high-nutrient foods. Eating a wide variety accomplishes this.

Healthy weight
If you are not currently physically active, the following chart can tell you if you're a healthy bodyweight. If you are physically active it doesn't work so well (Arnold Squashenegger was "obese" at his peak - so if you have the muscles of Squashenegger, this chart is useless... but most of us don't, so...)

(http://www.ibodz.com/files/user1/bmi-chart.gif)

If you are clinically obese, or if you are anything other than ok and over 35, or if you are any weight at all and over 45 for men or 55 for women, or if you have any health problems like diabetes or asthma and the like, ignore everything in this article except: see a doctor for advice before undertaking any physical activity.

Otherwise, you will be interested in Part II - Exercise.

Are there any questions or doubtful points on diet?

Good post. Speaking personally, I've got a problem with putting on weight - I'm 6'0 and around 135 lbs. This week a 6th grade kid knocked me down in the hallway at school and if it was a game of Champions I would have suffered a good bit of knockback. Obviously my sport of choice, billiards, isn't helping much. Any advice?

Eat more.

Seriously, it's that simple.

The thing is, the body does not want to change. In fancy-talk they call it "homeostasis", which sounds like something out of some thespy scifi game, but just means: the body tries to stay the same.

The body stays the same by signalling you with appetite and tiredness/energy. If you're energetic, that means, "I have surplus energy, burn some." If you're tired, that means, "I am short of energy, slow down."

If you want to get fitter, you must keep moving even though you're tired. You must ignore your body's signals.

If you get hungry that means, "I am running out of energy supply, if you don't eat soon I'll have to consume healthy tissue to keep going! I'll get smaller!" If you are no longer hungry that means, "that's plenty of food, mate, stop there and I'll be right... if you keep going, I'll get bigger."

If you want to get overall smaller, you must stop eating even when you're hungry. If you want to get overall bigger, you must keep eating even when you're no longer hungry. You must ignore your body's signals. If you want to get bigger and are still enjoying your food, you are not eating enough. I wish I were joking.

It's energy in vs energy out.
energy in > energy out... get overall bigger
energy in = energy out... stay the same
energy in < energy out... get overall smaller

Of course the question is whether you get big like Homer Simpson or big like Arnie Squashenegger. And the difference there is resistance training.

energy surplus + sit on couch = big belly
energy surplus + resistance training = big muscles

Exercise will be the next article. But begin by eating more. Eat at least one portion from each of those 8 foods, but the energy-dense stuff is the meat/fish and starchy foods, get as much of them as you can stomach - and then have some more on top of those.

Try real food first, but if you find it physically difficult to eat enough, this is where "mass gaining" powders and drinks are useful. No need to buy expensive brand name stuff.


will provide 1,000kcal (about half the daily allowance for a moderately active adult male, one-third for a vigorous one, so if on top of an adequate diet, a 33-50% surplus) and also more than enough protein to help grow muscles. That's not a meal replacement, it's some quick to prepare and easy to digest energy and protein on top of a varied and healthy diet.

I understand you're in Vietnam, I'm not sure how available cow's milk is there. Other animals' milk is fine. Soy milk and soy powder is fine for this, too.

Eat more. I mean, don't you game? I get about 10,000 extra calories every game night!

Quote from: Kyle Aaron;366503Consider that a typical hour of exercise will burn 200-300 calories, if you absolutely thrash yourself you might burn 500 kcal.

How accurate are the readouts on exercise equipment? Currently, I'm on the elliptical five times a week (in addition to other forms of exercise). I really crank it up (in the beginning) and it's telling me I'm burning about 250 calories in 15 minutes.

Seanchai

Quote from: Seanchai;366591How accurate are the readouts on exercise equipment? Currently, I'm on the elliptical five times a week (in addition to other forms of exercise). I really crank it up (in the beginning) and it's telling me I'm burning about 250 calories in 15 minutes.

Seanchai

Depends on the brand, but even the more accurate ones still have no idea about what your body is like, so most of them use very simple, generalized formulas...and then up it because they want you to use their equipment.
They really have no dea how hard you are working versus what you can do, your muscle mass, etc.

Cybex is probably the most accurate of the commercial brands, Startrac, Lifefitness are pretty bad, Precor the worst (actual results are about 1/2).

I just need to cut out sodas and get a regular eating schedule.

 I eat decently most of the time, and not too much. Yet I can't lose weight even with my moderate level of exercise. (I doubt pacing counts...so I don't include it.)

Fortunately I'm only "overweight."

Thanks for that post, Kyle. One thing: you say "no non-prescription drugs". Are you really intending to discourage people from taking Advil or Tylenol for a headache, or Sudafed for clogged sinuses?

I enthusiastically endorse this thread.

I'm currently coaching Track & Field and Cross Country for kids 14 and under, and we deal with many of these issues, particularly for simply adjusting sedentary kids into strenuous physical activity (not just for the high-performing jocks).  Gradual, step-wise improvement is the key to not finding yourself disappointed and discouraged, not to mention avoiding injury or other poor health.

Regarding diet, I'll add an opinion regarding vegetarianism and veganism: Seek the assistance of a professional dietitian.  I firmly believe that both dietary restrictions can promote a healthy lifestyle, but there are pitfalls that come along with the benefits of eliminating meat and/or other animal-derived foods.  Malnutrition is surprisingly easy to slip into, but absolutely not a necessary evil of vegi/veganism.  Find out precisely what you need to do to supplement the dietary gaps created by the absence of meat, dairy, eggs, etc.

Great thread, Kyle.

!i!

Quote from: Elliot Wilen;366648One thing: you say "no non-prescription drugs". Are you really intending to discourage people from taking Advil or Tylenol for a headache, or Sudafed for clogged sinuses?

I'll weigh in quickly, if I may.  I believe he's suggesting against taking non-prescription medications habitually, either regularly or frivolously.  I'm regularly surprised how many people I know take ibuprofin at the drop of a hat, for instance.  All things in moderation, but some things with restraint.

!i!

Thanks for the health post. I am pretty fit, but I have had to go on various asthma medications in the past few years in order to keep up on cardio. I have had good luck with advair, but I have heard that medicine can cause you to lose muscle mass (something I really want to avoid). Do you have any experience training people on advair, and do you know if there is any truth to what I have heard about it?

I only game with slim geeks, otherwise I'd be pushing people to read this.  Just the other week my brand new co-worker (almost half my age at that) tried to 'help' me with a line of patent bunko health advice that completely ignored the common sense stuff I already know (in short: pretty much everything Jimbo said, fancy words and all...).

I was just too tired to waste time teaching her just how wrong she was. Done it too many times.  

I know my problem: I've spent the last year not exercising and eating bad food. I've started 'cheating' again with soda and I loves me some fries.  And French People.

I'm too old to get away with that combo anymore.  

That said: I'd LOVE someone to show me on the doll where I'm storing 50 odd pounds of fat.  I Lurve standardized measurement tables to compute body fat like I love chewing old bicycle tires.

Quote from: Seanchai;366591How accurate are the readouts on exercise equipment? Currently, I'm on the elliptical five times a week (in addition to other forms of exercise). I really crank it up (in the beginning) and it's telling me I'm burning about 250 calories in 15 minutes.

They are not very accurate. A real calculation depends on your bodyweight, body composition (how much fat and muscle you have, etc), the local temperature, how fit you are (fitter people burn less energy moving, efficiency in energy use is part of fitness) and so on.

Consider it just a measure like a grade in school, not a true physical quantity but a relative measure. So if you scored 250 today, try to score 251 tomorrow, 252 the next time, and so on. But there'll be more of that in the exercise article.

Quote from: SilverlionI just need to cut out sodas and get a regular eating schedule.

Lemonade has a surprising amount of energy in it, since it's usually about 10% by weight sugar. You know those rice cooker cups for a serve of rice? A litre of lemonade has about that much sugar, 100g - 400kcal.

Quote from: SilverlionI eat decently most of the time, and not too much. Yet I can't lose weight even with my moderate level of exercise. (I doubt pacing counts...so I don't include it.)

I suggest that you write down that list of the 10 different foods in a notebook, and put a tick for each portion you have during a day. Do that for a week. You'll see some patterns pretty quickly.

As for diet vs exercise, as I said, diet is the real key in weight management. When a quart of soda has 400kcal and a large fries 500kcal and it takes an hour of brisk walking to burn 200-300kcal, who's going to do 3-4 hours of brisk walking? Easier to cut out the soda and fries.

A good suggestion is to make junk food yourself. So have that burger - but you have to get the minced meat, chop the onions and herbs, throw in eggs and breadcrumbs, mix it up into patties, get the rolls, cut the tomatoes, and so on. When you make it yourself you're going to have it less often, and when you do have it you know what's in it. Less corn syrup, probably.

Quote from: Elliot WilenThanks for that post, Kyle. One thing: you say "no non-prescription drugs". Are you really intending to discourage people from taking Advil or Tylenol for a headache, or Sudafed for clogged sinuses?

Not at all, sorry if I was unclear.

I meant simply no illegal drugs (or those which are usually illegal across the West), and drugs which normally require a prescription. That is, no drug abuse.

I suppose Ian's comment of taking drugs which don't need to be prescribed habitually is pertinent, too - I hadn't thought of it when I wrote that, though. I don't think it's quite the same issue in Australia as in the US. I'm more concerned with things like ecstasy or uppers, though.

Quote from: BedrockBrendanI have had good luck with advair, but I have heard that medicine can cause you to lose muscle mass (something I really want to avoid). Do you have any experience training people on advair, and do you know if there is any truth to what I have heard about it?

I do know that some asthma medications are catabolic - they break down tissue. I've not heard of their having any significant effect on muscle mass.

Many champion swimmers are asthmatic - swimming is good fitness work for asthmatics, since they do better in moist air than dry - and they manage to build muscle mass, so either they overcome the effects of their medication with diet and training, or they find the right medication.

It's something you'd have to consult a doctor about.

Quote from: Ian Absentia;366649regarding vegetarianism and veganism: Seek the assistance of a professional dietitian. [...] Malnutrition is surprisingly easy to slip into, but absolutely not a necessary evil of vegi/veganism.  

Many vegetarians have a problem with malnutrition.

Many meat-eaters have a problem with malnutrition.

Westerners just eat badly, in general. The first step to solving this is to eat a wide variety of foods, as I noted above. All a vegetarian will miss out on is the meat and fish. Extra nuts and dairy & eggs will easily make that up.

It's a bit harder for vegans but there are many resources for them available. There are vegan bodyduilers (http://www.veganbodybuilding.com/?page=news), for example.

It absolutely never hurts to talk to a dietician. But we shouldn't overstate the issues and dangers. I'd send a typical "lives on beer, burgers and tobacco" guy to a dietician before I'd send the typical alfalfa-munching meditating hippy vegetarian to one.

I have reactive hypoglycaemia which means i get hungry more often and need to eat to assuage my fucked up blood sugar. Makes losing weight problematic.

Despite the UK advertising that it wants to be healthier, you'll get no real help from a family doctor (GP). They just aren't trained for it.

I recommend a nutritionist or dietician, GW. GPs are general practitioners, only so much they can do.

Get your body moving
If you are obese or underweight, the thing to do is to be generally more physically active. You can get a pedometer for about $2.50 on ebay, delivered  - wear it for a week and see how many steps you do, then aim to increase the total each week. People in sedentary jobs with cars commonly take under 2,000 steps daily. A healthy level - one that makes it less likely that you'll develop high blood pressure, diabetes, etc - is 10,000 - equivalent to 45 minutes of jogging, 90 minutes of walking, etc. There's a US government programme (http://www.shapeup.org/shape/steps.php) in support of this.

These need not be dedicated walks. If you live within a few miles of shopping, school, work or hobbies, walk instead of driving. My guideline is that any trip under 3 miles should be a walk, anything under 10 miles should be bicycled, after that public transport or car. If you live in some barbaric land where walking and cycling are dangerous in some way, you'll just have to get a gym membership.

But there are other things you can do, too:

• sport - football, soccer, tennis
• martial art - karate, aikido, fencing, boxing, tai chi
• housework - gardening, shovelling snow, always using manual not powered tools

Do something, anything - but get your body moving.

I've been meaning to take up a sport as a hobby for the last couple of years.

Been thinking of Rugby.

For some reason 'Forum Warrior' burns up a lot less calories than I thought it should.




Though I remain convinced that all nuitritionists are fucking midgets. Seriously: THe portion sizes they talk about? NOBODY EATS THAT SMALL A PORTION!!!!  

Its a serious communication fail.  If you have to painstakingly build models of half a motherfucking hamburger to 'teach' people what you mean by 'portion' you are DOING IT BACKWARDS!  Call one full sized hamburger a fucking portion and convince people to eat a half portion.  Much fucking simpler.  

And stop telling the two hundred pound pikachu to eat like a 100 lbs little girl.

Quote from: Spike;367662Though I remain convinced that all nuitritionists are fucking midgets. Seriously: THe portion sizes they talk about? NOBODY EATS THAT SMALL A PORTION!!!!  

Complimentary to what Kyle's been saying, the smaller suggested portion sizes encourage you to get your nutrition from a wider variety of sources, not just by doubling up on your favorites.  Also, if you're referring to the suggested portions listed on food packaging, they aren't reflecting the suggested portions for a very physically active person -- you may need to adjust up depending on activity level.

!i!

Quote from: Spike;367662Its a serious communication fail.  If you have to painstakingly build models of half a motherfucking hamburger to 'teach' people what you mean by 'portion' you are DOING IT BACKWARDS!  Call one full sized hamburger a fucking portion and convince people to eat a half portion.  Much fucking simpler.  

Ian, this is the part you should have responded to.  Where I live (and work) I keep seeing these 'advertisements' showing plates of food cut in half to demonstrate 'proper portion sizes'... everything is half (or less) of what people actually buy and generally eat.

Communication's fail.

Portion becomes Jargon.

This is a great thread. :)

Kyle, any suggestions about Vitamins or any of the other "stuff" (Creatin, etc) you see in stores? At what point, if ever, should you be thinking about that?

Quote from: Stuart;369428This is a great thread. :)

Kyle, any suggestions about Vitamins or any of the other "stuff" (Creatin, etc) you see in stores? At what point, if ever, should you be thinking about that?

 Vitamins are good if you need them (long term health issues many people do.) However, eating a variety of uncooked (but washed) fruits and vegetables can help there.
I can't recall--but isn't cretin a bulk builder? More for putting on mass rather than losing it? I may be thinking of something else. (Those are usually more for body builders who are DOING the workout, but don't want to lose mass from it.)

Quote from: Stuart;369428Kyle, any suggestions about Vitamins or any of the other "stuff" (Creatin, etc) you see in stores? At what point, if ever, should you be thinking about that?

All the useful supplements are simply extracts from food, or synthetic versions of them. So if you eat a wide variety of nutritious food as suggested above, you won't need them. Just eat good food.

You could take vitamin C pills... or eat an orange.
You could take vitamin A pills... or eat a carrot.
You could take selenium pills... or eat an onion.
You could take fish oil tabs... or eat some fish.
(etc)

Creatine appears in muscles, it produces ATP (adenosine triphosphate), which is the basic store of energy in the human body. Creatine supps will thus give you a bit of an energy boost, about equivalent to drinking a cup of coffee. Coffee's cheaper. Creatine appears in animal muscles, too, so you want more, eat meat.

Put it this way: assuming a crap diet, supplements are no help; assuming a good diet, supplements make maybe 1-5% difference in your performance. So they become useful when 1-5% difference is important. For professional athletes and competitive bodybuilders - a few percent means the difference between victory and defeat. For the rest of us, that's nothing - whether we had only one or two packets of cheetos at the game session last night, or six hours' sleep instead of our usual seven - that stuff will make a much bigger difference.

If anything, that's the thing I always try to hammer home - deal with the big stuff first. I mean, if you live on cigarettes and KFC and do less than 2,000 steps a day, whether you have enough Vitamin D or zinc or creatine is the least of your worries. You need to drop the smokes and eat some proper food and get your body moving.

This is the general health and preparation thread, actual programmed exercise will be discussed in a new thread (http://www.therpgsite.com/showthread.php?p=369445).

Quote from: Silverlion;369432I can't recall--but isn't cretin a bulk builder? More for putting on mass rather than losing it? I may be thinking of something else. (Those are usually more for body builders who are DOING the workout, but don't want to lose mass from it.)

I'm at a good weight, but I sometimes find it hard to eat enough protein during the day so I've added in Whey powder. I see all these other products and I have no idea what they're for. :)

Quote from: Kyle AaronCreatine appears in muscles, it produces ATP (adenosine triphosphate), which is the basic store of energy in the human body. Creatine supps will thus give you a bit of an energy boost, about equivalent to drinking a cup of coffee. Coffee's cheaper. Creatine appears in animal muscles, too, so you want more, eat meat.

I already drink coffee, so no point adding in something that does the same. :)

Quote from: Stuart;369450I already drink coffee, so no point adding in something that does the same. :)

Did I mention your avatar rocks? Well it does.

Quote from: Benoist;369455Did I mention your avatar rocks? Well it does.

Thanks. We're doing a wild west game. That reminds me I need to email the guys about the next one. :)

Quote from: Kyle Aaron;369438All the useful supplements are simply extracts from food, or synthetic versions of them. So if you eat a wide variety of nutritious food as suggested above, you won't need them. Just eat good food.

You could take vitamin C pills... or eat an orange.
You could take vitamin A pills... or eat a carrot.
You could take selenium pills... or eat an onion.
You could take fish oil tabs... or eat some fish.
(etc)

Agree fully with regard to all vit's except Vitamin D. Google around for the major slew of studies of late revealing that it's tremendously vital and that we're probably all tremendously deficient (or at least, us northern hemispherites are... but generally I estimate gamers everywhere probably aren't topping the graph of regular sun exposure). 3-4000iu/day is a modest recommendation for supplementation, irrespective of diet.

QuoteCreatine appears in muscles, it produces ATP (adenosine triphosphate), which is the basic store of energy in the human body. Creatine supps will thus give you a bit of an energy boost, about equivalent to drinking a cup of coffee. Coffee's cheaper. Creatine appears in animal muscles, too, so you want more, eat meat.

Creatine isn't actually an ergogenic aid. It does massively aid recovery and has even been proven to +1 your STR whether you train or not, but the neurological stimulant claims are straight up broscience. I've also got to dispute that the benefits of regular 5g/day creatine monohydrate supplementation could be met by diet alone, unless you're eating like half a cow a day, and even then I'd make the case for supplementation based solely on the piss-cheap price and greater bioavailability.

He didn't share it with us, so I will: apparently Kurt lost a stack of weight and got himself a hot girlfriend. And he didn't even have to give up gaming.

Hey Kyle, I've lost a lot weight over the past 8 months. A little over 60 pounds have been shed. Now I got a problem. My belly isn't so much fat anymore as it is muscle now, but it is still extended too far for my liking - any exercises good for flattening a belly on a 40+ year old man? My friends are telling me about planks, and I'm trying them, but I don't want to get sucked into something that is more fad than useful effective exercise and I just don't have the knowledge base to tell the difference. Got any suggestions?

Quote from: Kyle Aaron;367305These need not be dedicated walks. If you live within a few miles of shopping, school, work or hobbies, walk instead of driving. My guideline is that any trip under 3 miles should be a walk, anything under 10 miles should be bicycled, after that public transport or car. If you live in some barbaric land where walking and cycling are dangerous in some way, you'll just have to get a gym membership.

My problem is the opposite -- I live in the city centre within 5-10 minutes of work, the main square, the university and all the shops I go to except my favourite bakery and the Arab deli. I prefer to walk everywhere when possible, but find I'm just not doing it enough.

Great thread, BTW.

Quote from: jeff37923;445277Hey Kyle, I've lost a lot weight over the past 8 months. A little over 60 pounds have been shed. Now I got a problem. My belly isn't so much fat anymore as it is muscle now, but it is still extended too far for my liking

There are three ways a belly can stick out on a guy.

The guy may have loose fatty tissue and skin. Unfortunately this is part of losing large amounts (20+lbs) of weight in a short time (more than 1-2lbs/week), parts of your body look like a balloon a week after a party. Slower rates of weight loss make it more likely the body will have time to adjust the tightness of everything, but a lot is just how you're made. Not much you can do about that except for surgery.

If on the other hand it's not all loose and flabby, what we're talking about is simply the fact that wherever the fat first went on, that's where it lasts comes off. On us blokes that's usually the belly. So you could be lean everywhere except there. This will eventually come off if you keep doing what took the other weight off, but it's slow - the closer you are to a healthy bodyweight, the slower the rate of change.

The last possibility is that your belly isn't that big, you're just sticking it out a bit.

(http://egoscueportland.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/anterior-pelvic-tilt.jpg)

Look around at guys in shopping malls or whatever, look at the belt line from the side. Many guys, especially those who are or have been heavier and/or have mainly seated work and leisure, have a strong anterior pelvic tilt and big curve in their lower back - you can see this from their beltline, if it's sloped down they have this issue (they might just have their belt under a big gut, but big guts tend to pull the hips forward anyway, so same-same). I talk about the Western posture here (http://aptphysicaltraining.blogspot.com/2010/12/our-seated-lifestyle.html).

Quote- any exercises good for flattening a belly on a 40+ year old man? My friends are telling me about planks

Planks are good, they may or may not be challenging enough for you, I don't know. As I talk about in an article here (http://aptphysicaltraining.blogspot.com/2010/12/movements-not-muscles.html), simply doing normal compound movements like bodyweight squat, pushups and inverted rows, and doing them with good posture and bracing - this will improve your abdominal muscle strength and endurance.

Not a bad problem to have, Melan. Perhaps you just need longer walks for leisure. Diet will be an issue for you, I seem to recall your posting pictures of great feasts for game sessions. My Hungarian friend here is the same, when he signed up for my gym, I took him through the first session but a co-worker was listening in, when the other trainer told him to eat less cheese there was a distinct look of amused contempt :) My friend has still had much success simply by trying to do something active every day, whether it be a weights workout, game of squash or whatever.

What is a plank?

[I do lots and lots of sit ups (on an inlcine) but I'm skinny/scrawny].

Quote from: Kyle Aaron;445272He didn't share it with us, so I will: apparently Kurt lost a stack of weight and got himself a hot girlfriend. And he didn't even have to give up gaming.

Yup yup. I've slacked off for a few weeks now, I need to get back on the program. Haven't put any weight back on in the meantime so that's good.

Quote from: Werekoala;445332Yup yup. I've slacked off for a few weeks now, I need to get back on the program. Haven't put any weight back on in the meantime so that's good.

I just got back to the machine this morning after a week off due to illness. I fucking hate losing momentum. Conratulations on the weight loss/hot GF score by the way.

Quote from: Aos;445307What is a plank?.

Basically, get in a pushup position, and hold it at the top - body straight. Most people will tend to have their hips high, get someone to watch and tell you to drop them. As you fatigue you'll start shaking and/or your hips will drop.

The job of your "core" is as postural muscles - help you stand up straight. You work your core by challenging your ability to stand up straight by adding a load (eg barbell squats) or going into a difficult position (eg planks).

The plank has many versions. Easiest is on knees and forearms/elbows.
Next is toes and forearms/elbows.
Then toes and hands.
Then, raise one leg.
Then, drop the leg and raise one arm.
Then raise one arm and leg.
And so on. Most deconditioned people will need to begin on their toes and elbows/forearms.

Begin by doing this three times, each time holding it for three breaths. Each session or at least each week, hold it for one breath longer, until you can hold it for 3 sets of 15 breaths. That's usually a minute or so, and then it's time to progress to the more difficult version of the exercise, eg rise from forearms/elbows to hands. And back to 3 breaths.

Obviously this exercise is not recommended for those with a history of back problems, as I've said from the beginning, see your doctor. That aside, the exercise is recommended for those who are underweight, a healthy weight or overweight, not recommended for the obese. If you're obese it'll put a lot of stress through your lower back, and make you feel humiliated as your belly or breasts scrape on the floor underneath you.

Feelings of humiliation during exercise tend to make the person stop exercising, which doesn't help. So the obese person builds their core muscle strength simply by doing the compound movements of squat, push and pull with good posture. When they're down to merely overweight they can do planks etc.

Thanks.
I'm not obese, quite the opposite in fact, but I've had several minor back injuries over the years (warehouse work and excavation are not really all that easy on the back).  I'll stick to what I'm doing.

My weight has been a Hell of a problem. My hyperactive metabolism meant I was under weight for my childhood and teenage years. Then I went on Olazapine and got overweight.

I just can't win!

Quote from: Ian Warner;445477My weight has been a Hell of a problem. My hyperactive metabolism meant I was under weight for my childhood and teenage years. Then I went on Olazapine and got overweight.

I just can't win!

Life's not about winning.  It's about the struggle.  
probably not what you wanted.  Sorry.

Quote from: LordVreeg;445491Life's not about winning.  It's about the struggle.  
probably not what you wanted.  Sorry.

Bullshit.
Life is all about ponies, rainbows and gumdrops. Your inability to face the truth sickens me and shames us all.

I have a couple questions.

I am an active, healthy guy. I love winter sports but late last year I had a wee bit of an injury and had to sit the season out. Now I am planning a spring hiking/camping trip through the Black Hills and Badlands (ND&SD USA). But after being very inactive all winter I am a little out of shape. Do you have any advice on getting back into the swing of things?

For my other question. I enjoy hiking, biking, winter sports (snowboarding, snowshoeing), climbing and riding. Now that I am in my 40s I am wondering if I should not be slowing down a bit. I really do not feel much more different from I did in my 20s stamina and endurance wise, but my injury has me reassessing the sort of risks I am willing to take.

Any health/safety tips for active guys sliding into middle age?

Thanks

Same as for everyone else, just a bit slower than for the younger fitter ones.

As we age, we can definitely do as much as we've been doing. If we've been doing a lot, we can do a lot, if we've been doing nothing...

A decline of strength etc is not inevitable with age. What does change is our recovery. A workout we'd take a day to recover from at 20 we need two days at 40, an injury that'd heal in six weeks at 20 might take six months at 60. Thus, in attempting progression in our training, as we age our progression must slow, and we can't take the same stupid risks we took when we were younger.

Nonetheless, just because the progress is slower does not restrict where we get in the end. A 20 year old might be able to add 2.5kg to the bar for a squat in each workout for 3-4 months until they get to a 140kg squat. We might have to add 2.5kg to the bar every month only, but still in two years we've managed the 140kg squat - "two years?!" you cry, but how many people two years older than you squat 140kg?

I have a client in his 40s, when I look at the journal of his workouts he's doing literally twice the work of another client in his 20s. Yet the first guy is always saying how unfit he is. So it's all about how you work yourself, about attitude.

Urrrrrrrrrrrrg, I'm literally about to work out right now- beginning with squats- which I hate. Needless to say, I won't be doing 140kg.
In solidarity with our Australian trainer and my inner juvenile delinquent, this morning's workout will be accompanied by some blaring AC/DC.

Doesn't matter what you're doing, so long as you're doing more than you did before. More weight, or more reps, or more sets - or more distance or time or whatever. Progress is progress.

Yeah, I upped all my weights today. It really sucked. For some reason, I dislike doing my lower body workout more than the others.
I use an old Soloflex (http://www.soloflex.com/) machine, btw; much to my surprise it is good for something other than hanging clothes on.
I am aware, of course, that using resitance bands has some drawbacks, but I do some stuff with free weights too. I'm not looking to bulk up, anyway.

Congratulations, Kyle, on the impending Baby- get some sleep now, while you have chance- I'm not kidding.

Bulking up comes from doing more in each session than you did before, plus eating. Without the eating the bulking up won't happen. What form the resistance takes is irrelevant to the bulking up except in a motivational sense; people using machines tend not to progress the resistance as quickly as those who use free weights, since moving a peg in a stack isn't as exciting as slapping another plate on.

The difference between free weights and machines comes not in how much it makes you bulk up, but in other areas, like improving joint mobility, balance, working your postural muscles along with the others, teaching you correct movement, and so on.

But in the end the most important thing is not what stuff you use, but that you use it consistently over time, and progress. The best workout is the one you stick to.

I don't have a fancy machine, so I actually have to slap another band on if I up the weight. I don't get so much excited as I do annoyed.
Thanks for the clarification on the resistance, I've read a lot of fitness books, and talked to a lot of people over the years, so I'm sure I've internalized some serious misinformation.

We call that stuff "Broscience." It's the accumulation of anecdotes, half-remembered "articles" from magazines that are mostly misleading advertising, and plain old made-up shit, shared between guys who call each-other "bro".

The basic human movements are squat, lunge, push, pull, bend, twist and gait (walk/run). Everything we do in day-to-day life or sports comes down to those seven movements or combinations of them.

When doing a push (for example), the muscles involved don't know the difference between 100lbs of resistance provided by a barbell, dumbbells, bands, a pushup, or whatever. The difference is whether other muscles come into it. For example, if you do a pushup, you have to use your abs and lower back muscles to keep your body stable and straight; if you do a bench press, the bench stabilises your body. Likewise with squats vs leg press.

Each means of providing resistance has its own advantages and disadvantages. For example, a barbell squat offers more of a challenge to a person's balance and postural muscles - it's harder to stand up straight with a 45lb bar on your back than without - than does a leg press. So a healthy person can get more from barbell squats than from leg press. But an unhealthy or very deconditioned person may be physically incapable of doing a stable and deep squat, because of those very challenges. So if nothing else they have to start on leg press.

Then squatting with bands allows you to work out at home, cheaper and more convenient than going to a gym.

But then equipment used at home is always advertised as "folding away for easy storage", and that's where it usually ends up. Humans are ritual creatures, just as we can pray anywhere but most prefer to do it in a church or synagogue etc, so too can we do a workout anywhere, but most prefer to do it in the gym or on the track. So we consider motivation, coming back to: the best workout is the one you stick to.

What it boils down to is,

• the best workout is the one you stick to
• train movements, not muscles
• if over time you do more than you did before, you will get more better faster stronger, and your body may change
• there are no bad exercises, there are only exercises which are better or worse for your particular goals, choose appropriately
• 2, 3 and 4 are always compromised with #1.

Quote from: Kyle Aaron;445874What it boils down to is,

• the best workout is the one you stick to
• train movements, not muscles
• if over time you do more than you did before, you will get more better faster stronger, and your body may change
• there are no bad exercises, there are only exercises which are better or worse for your particular goals, choose appropriately
• 2, 3 and 4 are always compromised with #1.

Yeah, I'm hip to this. I got hung up on doing it in the morning for a long time, because I've read (in Body for Life and elsewhere) it is the best time- but I've come to realize, that the best time is whenever I get off my ass and actually do it. As with everything else, perfect is the enemy of good.

Quote from: Aos;445901Yeah, I'm hip to this. I got hung up on doing it in the morning for a long time, because I've read (in Body for Life and elsewhere) it is the best time- but I've come to realize, that the best time is whenever I get off my ass and actually do it. As with everything else, perfect is the enemy of good.

Absolutely. I was obsessed with doing my workouts first thing in the morning and whatnot. These days I plan themcording ot my schedule, and as long as I train 3 times a week everything is OK.

A little bit of an update- I've switched from 3 times a week over to every other day. It's just easier to stay honest, and it results out to more workouts over time. I've also upped the intensity of everything I do, and i have subsequently turned into an eating machine (I''m pretty skinny, so this probably isn't a big deal).

Quote from: Kyle Aaron;445864Bulking up comes from doing more in each session than you did before, plus eating. Without the eating the bulking up won't happen. What form the resistance takes is irrelevant to the bulking up except in a motivational sense; people using machines tend not to progress the resistance as quickly as those who use free weights, since moving a peg in a stack isn't as exciting as slapping another plate on.

The difference between free weights and machines comes not in how much it makes you bulk up, but in other areas, like improving joint mobility, balance, working your postural muscles along with the others, teaching you correct movement, and so on.

But in the end the most important thing is not what stuff you use, but that you use it consistently over time, and progress. The best workout is the one you stick to.

I struggled to bulk up, when I went through an "I want to be bigger phase", and I definitely agree on the eating. Honestly the hardest part of gaining muscle for me was the eating. I had to eat all the time, and large amounts to put on any muscle. I was constantly drinking protein shakes or milk after work outs. I tried a number of approaches (small meals every few hours, huge meals three to four times a day, etc)

I have a small frame, so I was somewhat limited by that as well.

One thing I can suggest, is to know your body type and know how to work with it. I found there were some places (like shoulders, traps, chest) where I could bulk up quite well. So I found I could get sort of a pit bull shape, but looking like arnold was just out of the picture (I think my limbs were just too long and narrow to bulk up there that much).

Kyle, I just had two surgeries and have spent the last three months recuperating (i.e. sitting on the couch doing nothing). Any recommendations for getting back into condition after a three month lapse. THe doctor says I can work out again, so I am just worried about pulling something or taking on more than I can handle. I bascically want to get cardio and explosive power back. Not worried about muscle mass.

Speaking generally, if all the surgery has done is to keep you sedentary for a few months, then things are no different than if you'd have no surgery at all but had simply been slack and done nothing for a few months.

If the surgery has been on joints, bones or muscles, then you should consult closely with your doctor or physiotherapist on specific exercises to help your recovery.

If you've simply been sedentary but still wish to be cautious, then simply do one the same routine I've suggested in this thread (http://www.therpgsite.com/showthread.php?p=369445), but instead of advancing every week, advance every month instead. Thus rather than 12 weeks it takes 12 months.

How is everyone doing?
 I'm in my fourth month with only one missed work out in recent memory (I missed a couple at the very beginning due to a sinus infection).
I'm up from one set of two chin ups in the early days to a set of 8 followed by a set of 7 last time I worked out (I'm about to start today's torture in about 2 minutes).

Quote from: Aos;459545How is everyone doing?
 I'm in my fourth month with only one missed work out in recent memory (I missed a couple at the very beginning due to a sinus infection).
I'm up from one set of two chin ups in the early days to a set of 8 followed by a set of 7 last time I worked out (I'm about to start today's torture in about 2 minutes).

Got a week and a half back into running and weights, but had to break for another surgery in April. However I've been very mindful of my diet even if I haven't been able to exercise much. Eating high fiber, lots of liquid, fruit, veggies, healthier proteins (mixing it up with fish, chicken, beans, etc). Plenty of garlic; no alcohol.

I've got to start running. I'm totally motivated with the weights, but running always something I'm going to start next week.

Quote from: Aos;459560I've got to start running. I'm totally motivated with the weights, but running always something I'm going to start next week.

Yeah, with running you are kind of committed to go the distance. Weights I like because I can watch tv, listen to music as I work my way through sets. But running always, always makes me feel like a million bucks.

Normally when its been a while I have to start slow. Begin with a 10-15 minute jog and some walking. Like to work up to 45-60 minutes.

I'm not doing too well for the last months due to us buying a place and the move-in, coupled with 3 hysteric weeks of work and travelling due to work. All in all, I missed 6 weeks and I've been irregular the last 2. I worked out today, and will get back at it tomorrow. Hope I get soon on schedule.

I have been not working out for this month due to a torn calf muscle. My doctor says I can start working out again, but I need to take it easy.

If anyone can recommend some good cardio exercises that can be done with an injury like this, I'd love to hear about it.

This is the injured leg, we were worried about the internal bleeding and the swelling.

EDIT: I should also ad that this is how my leg looked four days after the injury. The bruising and swelling has gone down significantly since then, which is why I want to start working out again.

(http://a1.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/228741_2014516291154_1491218642_32339213_6935614_n.jpg)

Aos, well done on the chinups. Are you just building the total? That's the way to do it. Once you can do 1, do 5 in that session, even if it's just 1,1,1,1 and 1. Second session, do 6, third do 7. And so on. Once you get to a total of 50 you'll be pumping out 10 or so, and then it'll be time to make the exercise more difficult - hang weights from yourself, or do "rock climbers" like Rocky (pull to the left, then down, up to the right, then down), and of course vary the grip, wider is harder.

Brendan, if you can watch tv while lifting weights, you are not lifting heavy enough, or are fucking about too long between sets. Use more weight. As for rest, there are three stages to the fatigue after a set.

• "Phew! No way I can do that again."
• "I guess I could do it now if I had to, but I'll wait a bit."
• "Okay I'm ready now."

Start your next set at #2, not #3. And put another slice on the salami they call the barbell.

Ramon, life happens. The thing to remember is that we're working out for a lifetime, not just for some competition. We ARE going to go backwards sometimes, but we CAN go forwards again. So long as the overall trend is upwards, it's all good. I know you know this, but others reading might not - I see it heaps of times in the gyms I work at, smallest setback and people just give up.

Jeff, first get the doc's advice on what sort of cardio exercise will be good for you. If they give you no answer, then in a regular fitness centre you'd go first for swimming, and next for the cross-trainer - the one where the hands and feet are both moving. No running or cycling for some time.

A physiotherapist should give you exercises and stretches to work the calf, and recommendations on appropriate icing, compression, heating or whatever.

Exercise the rest of your body normally. Be careful with exercises involving bending under load or extending in a stretch on that knee, as one of the calf muscles is involved in that action.

Quote from: Kyle Aaron;459635Aos, well done on the chinups. Are you just building the total? That's the way to do it. Once you can do 1, do 5 in that session, even if it's just 1,1,1,1 and 1. Second session, do 6, third do 7. And so on. Once you get to a total of 50 you'll be pumping out 10 or so, and then it'll be time to make the exercise more difficult - hang weights from yourself, or do "rock climbers" like Rocky (pull to the left, then down, up to the right, then down), and of course vary the grip, wider is harder.

Right now I just do them until i can't do any more. Drop off wait for stage 2 and repeat. The second set is sadly always less than the first (usually by 1). I'm not sure I understand your suggestion about building the total. Please elaborate if you can.
Thanks. In other news, my shirts are all funky tight across my chest and my pants are falling off my waist.

Quote from: Aos;459645Right now I just do them until i can't do any more. Drop off wait for stage 2 and repeat. The second set is sadly always less than the first (usually by 1). I'm not sure I understand your suggestion about building the total. Please elaborate if you can.

Sure. I'm sure I laid it out in the original post, though.

All you worry about is the total reps of the exercise in that session, how many you get in one go doesn't matter. Then build that total up, when it hits 50 it's usually time to progress the difficulty of the exercise (eg from knee pushups to full pushups to pushups with your feet on a bench, etc).

Our body adapts because we ask it to do more than it did before. So doing more total reps, we adapt. if you just go to max every time, then one day you do 8+4=12, the next you do 7+5=12, another you do 8+5=13, a fourth you do 9+3=12, you are not really doing more, it's up and down. So you don't get stronger, your body has no reason to adapt.

But if you don't worry about how many reps you do in one go, and just total them through the workout, then you can make sure you do more in every session than before.

Let's say you can do 8 in one go. You know how it goes.
Rep 1, easy, you could go forever!
Reps 2-4, easy but you know you couldn't go forever
Reps 5-6, you slow down but still get up there
Rep 7, slow and hard
Rep 8, you grind it out, maybe swing your legs a little, and you are pulling a lot more with your stronger side, maybe you hunch your shoulders up and twist your neck a bit

Rep 8 actually cost you 2 reps in the next set. If you'd stopped at 7 you'd have got 6 next time, instead you only get 4. So you got 8+4 = 12 total instead of getting 7+6 = 13 total. But doing 13 total would have been better, because 13 is more than 12. The total matters with bodyweight work.

Okay, so you say you can do 8, great. Just do 4. Rest, then another 4. Rest, then another 4. Total = 4 + 4 + 4 = 12.

Next session, a total of 13. And so on. When you can do 50 total you'll certainly be able to knock out 10 in a row, and it'll be time to progress the difficulty of the exercise.

As well, you can do other exercises in between this one. Let's say you're doing squats and pushups and chinups, it might look like

- squats, 10
- pushups, 8
- chinups, 4
- look at therpgsite for a minute, laugh at Pundit
- squats, 11
- pushups, 9
- notice your shoe is sticky, spend 4 minutes getting the gum off it, realise the other shoe is coming off the sole
- chinups, 4
- squats 12
- pushups 11
- chinups 3
- go out and buy new shoes
 
and in your journal you just write down "Squats 33, pushups 28, chinups 11", and you know that next time you must do at least 34 squats, 29 pushups and 12 chinups.

I have taken several people who initially struggled to do 3 inverted rows with their knees bent and got them to do chinups in this way.

• inverted rows with knees bent, total 10, build up to 50, then
• inverted rows with legs straight, begin with 20 total, build up to 50, then
• inverted rows with legs straight and feet elevated, begin with 20, build to 50 total, then
• be able to do 1-2 chinups... begin with 10 total, build to 50, and then...
• sky's the limit!

QuoteIn other news, my shirts are all funky tight across my chest and my pants are falling off my waist.

I suggest you buy new pants, or else wear attractive underwear.

Thanks Kyle. I will try it your way. I can already feel the burn.
New pants will require a trip to the boy's section, sadly.

And here's (http://jasonferruggia.com/jens-new-chin-up-pr/) an article talking about how they got a woman to do 17 chinups in a go.

They go for a "ladder." If you can do 8 chinups in a row, you do 1,2,3,4, then the same again twice more - so you've done 30 in all. Next time, go for 31 in all. And so on.
   Note that she is rounding her shoulders forward at the end and letting the reps get slow and "grindy." This is never, ever allowable in training; only on a test day once every few months where you are just going for numbers. If you do that regularly you will get weaker. That I can promise you.

I'm not so fussed whether the person does a "ladder" or not. Just get them out and make sure none of the reps are grindy.

For example, at my gym when not doing appointments or paperwork or tidying things up, I do a walkaround of the gym to say hello to people and make sure everything's safe. I had a quiet shift for the first 2-3 hours, so did this every 15 minutes or so. Every second walkaround I stopped at the chinup bar and knocked out 5 reps. So by the end of the shift I'd done 5 sets of 5, 25 reps in all.

Even if you've not got chinups in your regular workout, and even if you can only do 1, you can knock 10 out in a session in this way. Stick them in between sets of other exercises. Other people will put a chinup bar in their doorway and do a single every time they pass it.

I mean, this is how Army gets people doing 50-100 pushups. You do 10-25, but 10-40 times a day spread over the day...

Applies to any bodyweight exercise. Just knock some out whenever you can, record and build up the total over time.

Quote from: Kyle Aaron;459635Brendan, if you can watch tv while lifting weights, you are not lifting heavy enough, or are fucking about too long between sets. Use more weight. As for rest, there are three stages to the fatigue after a set.

• "Phew! No way I can do that again."
• "I guess I could do it now if I had to, but I'll wait a bit."
• "Okay I'm ready now."

Start your next set at #2, not #3. And put another slice on the salami they call the barbell.

Thanks Kyle. I should probably clarify it is more on in the background (it is usually either that or music for me) to keep my energy level up. With resting between sets kind of depends on what I am going for. Though I am not certain I am doing things the right way any longer, since its been a while since I had real instruction.

Basically before these surgeries, my aim was more for endurance, strength and explosive power than speed (was really not looking for size or mass---actually was hoping to drop down form 180 to 150----thanks to the surgeries I am at 163). So some days I would really try to do a lot of reps to exhaustion with little break between sets. Other days, I would focus on using weights and resistance with explosive motions, but with a bit more rest between sets (I think 30-60 seconds between sets, with 2 minutes between routines). My goal really was to get back into boxing, and since I am older now, I needed my muscles not to fatigue and I needed that explosive power. Also really worked the cardio pretty good.

Given these goals, what would your suggestion be. Bear in mind it will probably be a few months before I can get back into heavy duty weight training.

Recover first, then in a few months see where you are.

This Will Wheaton (http://wilwheaton.typepad.com/wwdnbackup/2010/05/it-turns-out-i-had-a-fairly-geeky-weekend.html) post intrigues me,

   This actually made me think of something: has anyone done a fitness guide for gamers? Something that makes exercise and healthy eating into a game, with levels and achievements and stuff? I'd love to read and use something like that. We'd call it the d20 diet or something clever.

Okay, here are the Red Box Basic Fitness Rules

• Everyone begins with 0xp at level 0.
• Everyone loses 5xp a day. This is called "growing old."
  
• Each 1,000 steps taken that day grants +1xp
• Each 10 bodyweight squats, pushups, or inverted rows grant +1xp; bent-knee pushups and rows only count if you can't perform a single full version
• each serve of junk food (a "serve" fits comfortably in your hand, as in the original post), fizzy drink or alcohol loses 1xp
  

• Level -3, HD1-3, -8,000xp, Death's Door Cripple
• Level -2, HD1-2, -4,000xp, Mockable Weakling
• Level -1, HD1,1, -2,000xp, Typical Office Slob
• Level 0, HD1, 0xp, Ordinary Schmoe
• Level 1, HD1+2, +2,000xp, Occasional Non-Embarrassing Sportsperson
• Level 2, HD2, +4,000xp, That Girl/Guy Who Bikes to Work
• Level 3, HD3, +8,000xp, Fit & Sporty

Level 4-7 will be covered in the Expert Rules.