wells101

This has given me a ton of information to read. I did read the Rhabdo article, and I wasn't even aware it was tied more to the intensity than anything else. That's really good to know, as my trainer has me on a hypertrophy plan right now (8 to 12 reps/set) and I may ask him to switch with this in mind. I'll have to read the rest of this later today, there's definitely some good stuff in there. Thanks so much! Yeah, this is what I ended up getting told by the trainer when I asked him about the difference. According to him, the first four to six months are about habits and form over anything else. You can't get stronger without having the good base to build on, so I'm going to keep that in mind. Thanks a ton guys!

So just curious here, continuing with my theme of not knowing how to eat. My personal trainer isn't having me do this because my goals don't really include a 'cut' phase since I'm not worried about my overall physical appearance (I want to build good habits around getting in the gym, being aware of what I'm eating, etc first before I worry about doing more with it) but being introduced to the concept got me curious. For folks new to strength training, would you recommend cutting or bulking first and why? I'm interested to see if there are arguments to both sides, as I suspect there is and what those arguments are.

So I need some practical advice. I work a job that can have some pretty wild hours due to production demands and being on-call. I'm working on restarting (again) and trying to do meal prep. However, I don't necessarily always have time for this since I can easily hit three 12-hour days in a row and will just collapse afterward with no ability to do said meal prep. While I know the real solution is "Make Time to do it!" (I'm working on that) I want to have back-ups just in case. So, the question now becomes: What fast-casual places are "safe" to eat at if you're trying to eat clean and lean and running to a grocery store isn't an option? I'm thinking of places like Crazy Bowls and Wraps, Panda Express, ETC as candidates, but I don't want to throw off my eating plan by getting hit with a ton of sodium or bad stuff without realizing. Is anyone able to help? I think Panera is a solid option after looking at their menu & nutrition stuff, but I'm not sure.

Hi guys! After a long-term injury and some bad luck medically, i'm finally in good enough shape to start doing excersize again beyond suffering up the steps to my apartment! Unfortunately, i'm limited to resistance bands for now (We want to be sure i'm not injuring myself with these before we throw open the gates to free weights again - conveniently in six weeks after hte next 6-Week-Challenge wraps up!) so i'm looking to find out what to do with resistance bands. Does anyone have some good resources, or should I make a thread over in a different forum? (Move me if you need to, mods!) Just some other various basic info that may be relevant : Male, 31, 5'11" 205lbs (93ish KG), I am coming off of the couch after 18 months. I've lifted before using 5x5 but its been a while. Thanks guys!

I'm not familiar with either of these things. I'm assuming burpees are made of pure evil.

So, recently i've gotten this crazy idea in my head that one of the ways to improve my LARP game is to get more in shape. For many, many years I've played Amtgard, a combat larp. I've also played Belegarth and Dagohir, which i like less for reasons i'm about to get into. In all three cases, when magic or ranged weapons are present, i'm deadly at arms length, but never, ever been good up close or if I get chased down since i start huffing and heaving and dying a little bit. Knowing that i need to be able to engage in short sprints (get in/out quickly with spells), extended close melees (and/or wrestling), and general accuracy and reaction time (for dodging). Aside from strength training with freeweights (which i'm very stubborn about believing is helpful to everything) are there any sorts of excersizes that would benefit this particular skill set? Thanks!

So, here's a fun story. We learned about ten years ago that i'm sensitive to rhabdomyolosis because of a muscle fiber (fibrin?) imbalance. So, last night i am dutifully trying to start doing cardio again, and wind up in urgent care at 11:30 at night with an iv hooked up to me, wondering what the heck I did wrong beyond getting on a stationary bike with adaptive resistance. I wanted to know if there's a way to manage this a bit better so I don't wind up out a ton of money via repeated visits to Urgent Care and the ER (since that is eight days of my life i'll never get back). I'm already doing the 'drink anything non-alcoholic put in front of you' thing. The other bit of this is that all the doctors i've talked to tell me 'take it easy on the exercise' which A) isn't happening and B ) is way too vague to be helpful for me. And before you ask, "take it easy" doesn't exist in my vocabulary, apparently.

Well, that's good to know. I actually did just cardio yesterday, about 30 minutes on a stationary bike, and for some reason (and I know I'm sensitive to this so i'm already taking a stupid amount of precautions) I experienced symptoms of rhabdomyalosis (because apparently there was resistance on the bike I didn't ask for) and got to take a trip to urgent care at 11:30 last night. THAT was fun... Thanks for the advice, which i'm going to amend with "Don't be a f***ing dumb***, Wells" becuase clearly that's something I need to say to myself a lot.

Hey, what do i do if i want to start again after falling (very) hard off the horse?

Hi guys! So about a year and a half ago, I was in an accident at a LARP and hurt myself pretty badly (The tendon on the inside of my leg that goes into the groin!) and I fell off the wagon pretty hard, to the point where its been that long since i've done anything weight-related. I recently restarted a gym membership (at a much more newbie-friendly gym) and want to get back on the horse as it were. There's two rules about this though:1) No suppliments, since i've decided they're expensive/dangerous/not needed and 2) I'm not worrying about food right now until the gym habit is in place (3-4 weeks). What precautions should I take to keep my mostly-healed injury from hurting, and is there a way to make going from zero to excersizing again at the end of your 20s (i'm 29)?

Geeeh. So, i quit the credit union, got a new job, and FINALLY got back to the gym! OHMYGOD I feel amazing. now, if i could re-kick the soda, we'd be happy people. ._<

Neat! Good job Snappy! Keep up the good work!

Mr. Wells, a note to your future self: This thread isn't for bitching.

I am so angry about this.. im getting written up at my job for no good reason, and they're questioning my 'commitment'. By all accounts, it looks like they're trying to get me to quit. If I wasn't committed to my job, i'd have stopped showing up months ago.

Don't worry, i didn't shatter anything. It sure felt like I did, but everything is decidedly non-shattered. I'm having a bunch of pain today, but i still have painkillers... I miss the gym. A lot of bad habits are coming back right now, making this almost impossible to feel good about it. I'm really sick of drinking water. >_<

Mistakes have been made. Painful, groin-shattering mistakes... X_X I think it'll be a few more weeks before i'm able to do the lifting thing... Ow... i'm gonna go have an awkwardly relieving moment with thomas the tank engine.

I would definately seek out the trainers for fairly reliable advice. Also, google + youtube.

1) Warriors are probably going to tell you that you want to do a "Cut" until 15% bodyfat. Then you can start bulking. This number varies. I also want to advise that every single thing you read on this or any other fitness forum gets the "Your mileage may vary" label. Because it will. For example, El Exorcisto eats a bowl of coco puffs or lucky charms before workouts and does fine. I try to do the same thing and end up painting the gym an awful color. From personal experience, newbie gains (First two to six months) will result in fat loss all on its own as your body goes "Oh, shit, MUSCLE! BURN EVERYTHING!". And it will eventually plateu. That's when you go into the bulk/cut cycle. 2) You already did this. Stronglifts 5x5. Good job. 3) I have difficulty getting my protein, so i use a whey powder, creatine, and ignition. That's personal preference, but everyone will have a different opinion. This is where the clean vs dirty issue starts, and you'll find more of it. I'm on the dirty side of things, since my concern is strength function over appearance. 4) As I understand it (As always, check with a guild leader or more experienced rebel) you'll have 2-6 months of newbie gains. After that you'll start stalling and need to change up how your workouts function. At this point, you'll drop to the 3x5 version of Strong Lifts, and change how the weights go up> I don't recall it, but it is in fact in the big long report you probably downloaded. Google is your friend. Also, I've been advised the point where you drop to 3x5 is when you'll start looking for a new intermediate program and get to get into macros and the more advanced dieting concepts. Again, Your mileage may vary, and ther'es more expereicned rebels that can help you with that. Hazard, Rooks, El Exorcisto, and anyone else with a bunch of dots under their pic can help a bunch.

I am not 100% sure its proper form. I got the advice from a rent-a-trainer at the globogym i go to. YMMV

YAY ROCAX! I was so worried, but i'm glad to see you're doing better! *highfives*

So, from experience, since this is why i'm -not- in the gym currently. Please see this thread for the reasons you do not want to do this, and an example of me getting to be a moron. DO NOT force the weight higher. This is a fantastic way to end up at a higher weight than your body is ready for, and you end up with hilarious and embarrassing groin injuries. Take each step one at a time. DO NOT skip rest periods. This is also how you injure yourself. I have to stand up straight, and then lean over too. I'm too tall to go all teh way over (back parallel to the floor) For super Medhi-rows, so i use the bench press bench to assist. I rest the bar on the end of the bench, pick up the weight, then step forward if that makes any sense. Speaking of which, i need to do a form check too... Hm.

OHMYGOD Everything they generate sounds delicious... I should try this! Also, it lets me eat SO MUCH FOOD ITS RETARTED.

I love that thread. It makes me feel good about being scrawny. xD

I'm lazy. Again. Today, though... i think its been enough of whining. If all else fails, i have painkillers.

Thats about how long mine take too. I'm just a fan of it because its an extended period of 'screw everyone else' time that i get to take. Sometimes i'm real bad and let it go to the 2 hour range just becuase its been a rough day. Good job though!