aj_rock

They aren't unreasonable if you get them at the right store. I personally rotate through about 5 pairs, just so I'm not washing one pair constantly.

Rubber band is actually the best way to describe the phenomenon... you're confused about the transfer of energy to work and vice versa. Here's an example: a slingshot. You stretch it back, load a rock, and then let the band go. The rock goes flying and your arch-nemesis now has a lump on his/her head. Now, imagine that again, but instead of just letting the band go, you slooooooowly return it to the original position. Rock flies no where, and your arch nemesis laughs. Then you just throw the rock in his/her stupid face. Point is, the elastic response has a lot to do with applying force in one direction and allowing momentum to build. The same way people 'bounce' their bench press, people bounce their calf, putting more elastic strain in the heel and allowing more force to be directed upwards. So there's the layman's explanation, without delving too deep into the physics. For homework, I want someone to work out the integral where f(x) is the total weight lifted and x is the amount of stretch loaded into the heel.

Veinous pooling is greatly reduced with a proper warm-up/cool-down. If it's still a problem, I'd suggest talking to a doctor or something. But I'm pretty sure that pooling symptoms are more like swelling, continued burning sensation after finishing a set, and inability to move the legs.

You have to admit it would make a pretty funny picture to take a bite of the stand's hot dogs and promptly burst into tears yelling ITS JUST NOT THE SAME

A lot of people tend to do calf raises with their achilles heel rather than calf actually... a LOT of elastic energy can be stored in the heel and then released to move insane amount of weight. In order to target the calves effectively, you need to slow right down, and concentrate on maximum extension. I think you'll find your numbers decrease quite a bit after doing that. Too lazy to find it now, but to those talking about it, skinny wrists suck. They will ALWAYS be a limiter on how much strength you can gain, and will probably not get bigger, as most wrist movement is controlled by forearm muscles, not the wrists themselves. If you looked online at genetic muscle potentials, a lot of them show a very strong correlation between wrist size and maximum muscle potential.

Umm geisundheit? jk

Road trip? Why not Canadia? Especially since you're travelling in the summer. You don't know beaches until you've been to a pristine fresh water lake up north...

Yeh, I tell myself that too. It helps that I DO catch a woman staring once in a while Relative to other parts of this discussion: - motorboating DOES result in a certain childish pleasure. Mostly due to the irony of being so immature when dealing with mature matter - annoying/aggrevating a woman, to me, = act like a dick but smile/laugh about it the whole time no offense ladies, but I've yet to meet someone who doesn't react positively...

For sure the breastfeeding. Female hormones will mess with your overall sytem. If you track your weight and food intake, you should pay much closer attention to that than actual hunger levels.

Veggies only solve part of the problem. 'Fullness' as it were is an integrated signal combined from gastric filling/emptying rates, stomach distension, and various hormone levels. So yeah, how full your belly is is part of the signal. Hormones can definitely screw the whole thing up though. If leptin was low due to calorie restriction and/or low body fat levels, you'll always feel some hunger regardless of other factors. Same for if ghrelin is high, which is only effectively removed when insulin levels are raised, which is most easily raised if you consume carbs.

I agree. The whole 'detox' phenomena/fad is mostly bollocks. Your body doesn't filter stuff any better because of fasting, especially in a juice fast, since it isn't technically a fast if you still take nutrients in. And ZG, just remember to be sensible about the length of the fast. Longer than 48 hours and you'll see some pretty negative side-effects. Max recommended at any given time is 24-30 hours, and even then only once/twice a week. The specific rules for proper fasting is a bit more complex than I can lay out here though.

No streetmeat vendors? Wait... not everyone lives in Toronto...

Sorry I'm a bit tardy to the planking party! I got two minutes yesterday and a minute the day before! Don't look for a whole lot from me though; my training is focused elsewhere right now

Actually, I did quite a bit of work last year as part of a physiology for engineers class on hypotension yay studying micro-gravity effects on humans! But yeah, it does have a LOT to do with pressure differentials between the body when it's postural, and, directly, is caused by a temporary slowing in blood movement in the region. Oxygen intake isn't usually a factor unless you literally hold your breath through-out the entire set. Even then, if you can hold your breath for a minute you shouldn't feel anything; remember that heavy sets are anaerobic, thus oxygen isn't really getting funnelled to those areas. All the same, oxygen intake AFTER the set is very important; once you finish the lift, oxygen is basically emergency-rushed to the work areas in order to clear out the lactate/pyruvate and replenish creatine and ATP stores. This can cause a lack of oxygen elsewhere. When you finish the set, stand up, put your hands on your head, and take breaths. You should experience less light-headedness this way.

Yes, spy on them and how they interact with their clients. Do they - seem to lift the same amount every workout? Or lift more? - do the same routine as every other client they have? Or do they have individualized programs? - Do they seem totally dependent on the trainer? Or can they show up and do the work on their own? Honestly, every GOOD personal trainer will train you with the intent of letting you fly off on your own eventually. Trainers who want to have the same clients in perpetuity will not help you, are in the biz for the wrong reasons, and will probably convince you that the gym is the worst place in the world to be. There are lots of articles out there that have very good metrics for choosing a personal trainer. Just take a look around

Wooooooooooooow first ever other person I've seen put their protein powder in coffee! Never thought we'd have that in common Definitely found that it was a two birds/one stone kinda deal; get caffeine AND protein! Vanilla or chocolate seem to work best, mint or hazelnut flavored works if you're into those as well.

Man, but that's what I mean. All I had to do to educate myself about what these ingredients are is look up the wiki and then confirm with a couple independent websites. I didn't have to use a college degree, I just had to NOT be a completely lazy bastard and look it up. The whole post took maybe five minutes out of my day. Even if you personally are in a profession that allows you to know what the additives do, my point still stands also. If you don't know a word; google it. It's far better than what your average person would do, which is freak out about these chemicals with complex names when all it takes is a bit of copypasta to find out what it is. Especially in the world of smartphones, its easier than ever to look stuff up on the spot.

Well not as much as The Man Whose Arms Exploded, but you get the point.

Zorch: ZOMG WORDS I DONT KNOW. No but really, look up some of the words if you don't know what the additives are. I see some pretty normal stuff, yeast, flour, whatever, some vitamin enrichment, usually formulated for absorbency, some bread risers, and a tiny dash of preservatives. All are extensively researched to show non-harm, both acutely and chronically, all break down in the stomach, never reaching the blood stream, and the only moderately toxic ingredient (the azodicarbonamide) is present at a lower toxicity level than the mercury you get in tuna. Remember, if you don't know a word, you can always find out what it is and what it does before freaking out If you like making your own bread, hey, power to yah. There is nothing in that ingredient list you gave us, though, that will a) make me feel sick, or give me cancer/kill me slowly.

Paddy. St. PADDY'S day. Remember this if you don't want hordes of soulless red-bearded leprechauns to feast upon your innards But that would be a problem. I don't consider it a backslide, though, if you plan diet breaks into your schedule. This is what I normally do; I have one or two days a week when I can relax on the eating restrictions a bit. It keeps you sane, psychologically, you get more used to seeing the numbers fluctuate a bit, and you also prevent metabolic adaptation to a degree. Hell, I've been working hard enough to give myself a week off remember you can always give yourself a break, rather than breaking what you have to give.

My current regime has me doing a set or maybe two of curls after a workout; I know that, by this time in the workout, I'm definitely lifting sub maximally with the curls because of the weight lifted during DB rows and such. My arms have still quite literally exploded. Whether you want to take this as proof of DB rows = increase in biceps, or 1-2 sets of bicep work being enough to make them grow, it's up to you. Just what I've observed in my own workout routine.

I know lots of people advocate the whole 'lose fat gain strength simultaneously' bit, but I would say be more aggressive on that first cut, regardless. It's much easier to lose fat when you don't hold onto the 'dont lose ANY muscle mass) mentality. A lot of people shoot themselves in the foot, calf, and upper thigh in that order when it comes to cutting because they 43AR teh epic muskull loses !!1!!1 I mean, yes you've gained strength, which you could maintain very well on a fat loss plan. But IMO, based on what I've seen real-world, it's easier to just get your desired leanness level (which is actually probably a bit lower than you think), and then maintain that while building muscle.

Ok, I'll chime in because I know what you're referring to and gone through it on a weekly basis. My workout/diet schedule called for weekly carb re-feeds, and, while my eating never got ridiculous (never more than 3500 cal in a day), large intakes of grain products combined with ample water intake will probably make you bloat. Not that it's negative really, just a side effect. But you know how, when you cook pasta or rice, you boil it in water and it gets large and soft? That process continues in your digestive system, I'm pretty sure. I know you didn't want to hear that its grains, but its probably grains to be honest. IANA paleo eater, but I'll admit grains cause some bloating, especially when combined with water (salt may add to the effect). Other than that, I have never experienced any negative side effects from consuming grains, other than avoiding food in general a few hours prior to exercise.

Probably because of the way you described your squat as being 'deep in the hole'

Why must you remind me of how disgusting the things I love are?