walt_mink

Magnesium cleared up my nightly cramps. I take ZMA to get it. Sent from my Nokia Lumia 920 Windows Phone 8 using Board Express

I like Optimum Nutrition's stuff - no garbage added and labels read true. Sent from my Nokia Lumia 920 Windows Phone 8 using Board Express

Nah - you're not going to do any harm as long as you warm up a bit. Yeah, one gram per pound of bodyweight is a good amount to start with. Serious lifters can almost double that. Love me some Walt Mink - just happened to be listening to them when I picked out my first handle in the late 90's. Sent from my Nokia Lumia 920 Windows Phone 8 using Board Express

Soreness (DOMS) means you're doing it right. That isn't going to go away for quite some time and, even when you're in shape, you'll still get sore from a good workout. Be sure you're eating plenty of protein (1gm per pound of body weight). Get back in there - nothing is quite as good at fighting soreness as getting warmed up and going again.

Oh man - I asked a question and then didn't reply to you all - dick move - sorry about that. Thanks for the hints guys. In Taipei I ended up finding a very strange crossfit-esque place in Zhong Zheng. It did the trick, but I probably won't go back. In Tokyo I ended up in a place closer to the Akasaka station, just for the sake of convenience with my commute. It was okay I guess, but I'll keep on my search for the next time I visit. I'll probably stop staying in Shinjuku, so will try again next time I'm there. It's amazing to me how full of honkeys the gyms were there. I was expecting maybe 50%, but I'd say it was closer to 75%. I guess the lifting culture hasn't made its way there just yet.

50g of protein? I'm pretty sure I'd die if I dropped under 250. 😊 Honestly I like the idea of bachelor chow, but I'm sure I'd get sick of that one thing just like I get sick of the same protein shake every day. Sent from my Nokia Lumia 920 Windows Phone 8 using Board Express

This is probably a long shot, but does anyone happen to know of a gym where I could find bumper plates in Taipei and Tokyo? I'm traveling for work and don't want to miss out on too many workouts. I'm staying in the Xinyi district in Taipei and will be in Shinjuku for Tokyo. I'm willing to travel a bit to get to them, but am generally pretty damned lost in Tokyo. I appreciate any help.

What type of lifting are you talking about? If you're getting into Olympic (or crossfit equivalent) then you'll want an honest lifting shoe. Even if you're power lifting, a good solid heel like wood or plastic gives you the best base for almost every lift minus deadlifts. Sent from my Nokia Lumia 920 Windows Phone 8 using Board Express

Pfffffft - that's ridiculous. Who the hell wears gloves and uses a full grip for a squat!?

Wow - been a long time since I've posted here. New numbers: SQ: 195kg F-SQ: 155kg SN: 85kg - I was killing them today. I seemed to have found my speed under the bar. C&J: 100kg (juuuuuust barely) Press: 75kg I ended up just getting myself the gun even though I haven't hit the DL goals. I did it mostly because I don't dead lift much anymore. Maybe once a month or so. Even so - I'm happier with Olympic lifting and am very pleased with my progress, so yea!.

I take two Naproxen when something similar happens. My coach also convinced me to try taking a bath with 5lbs of Epsom Salts, which worked better than expected. I think it primarily helps muscles, but you've probably got something tugging on your elbow to make it hurt. Have you tried rolling out your arm with lacrosse balls yet? Sent from my Nokia Lumia 920 Windows Phone 8 using Board Express

I'm sure you're right. I eat around 4200 calories a day, so my maintenance amount must be about that. I've moved on to cutting in the past couple of weeks, but when I get back to bulking I'll try 4700 (!? holy shit) per day. The trend is what I thought I'd get from the crappy scale. Guess not. Thanks guys. I'll keep doing what I'm doing and won't worry about it too much.

That was the other reason I started taking ZMA. I have noticed a great decrease in the amount of leg cramps I'm getting at night, which supposedly has a strong link to Magnesium and Potassium deficiencies. Total bonus.

I’m not sure this belongs in the lifting section, but am not sure where else to put it, so here goes. Can someone please help me make sense of this? I've been back to lifting for a year straight now and have been making great gains in all the lifts I care about (squat, f-sq, bp, dl, ohp, sn, and c&j) but haven't seen my lean body mass go up. I keep track using a wifi scale that does body composition (Fitbit Aria) so I know the data points are at least consistent with each other. I went from sedentary and quite weak to a 195kg squat and 95kg bench while lifting 3-4 times a week. I started pretty big and fat (117kg @ 29.1%) and am even fatter now (117kg @31.1%), but am much, much, much stronger and more fit. I know my body fat won't necessarily go down when I'm eating for strength, but shouldn't my lean body mass be going up? I eat plenty (+400 cal) and take in mounds of protein (~250g) daily. I haven't worried about it too much since I'm still getting stronger, but I find it to be a bit odd and also a little disconcerting.

It's really amazing how often an image search will pull something up that's relevant: Anyway - the same sort of thing can be said about creatine. It's just an extract that you can get from natural foods. Simply derive sarcosine and cyanamide from nature and combine for muscle win. To each his own. I'm all for using whatever supplements will help me along my quest to get strong (as long as they don't make my nuts shrink).