Hardtuned.net Fitness Section

The first 5 years

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 06:37:00 +0000

Most wont want to hear this, or acknowledge it may be true, but the first 5 years of lifting is where you will make 95% of your progress, maybe more.

IFBB pros earn there pro card after around 5 years of lifting. Roelly Winklaar, a massive pro, has trained for 5 years ( 6 1/2 total time, 18 months off after a car accident.

If you get a chance to speak to any pro, he will tell you the same.

You guys with no muscle cutting up, be warned, your wasting valuable time you have no hope of getting back.

You will get stronger, or if your a BB refine your physique, but 95% of your gains in size will come in those first 5 years.

If you kept growing, then BB's would be 600lbs by now.

Max is completely aware of this. He started 2 years ago at 51kg, is 80kg now, in a year he hopes to be 90kg, fourth year 100kg and by the 5 year mark around 105kg at 173cm. Thats a big guy.

Obviously drugs can push this up another 10kg or so, but thats it really.

there will always be an example of one guy who did better, youre not it.

Dont waste your time f u c k i n g around now, and dont cut till you have all the muscle you need.

Powerlifters will continue to get stronger for decades, as tendons take longer to strengthen.

All you guys cutting your gains short to lift at lighter bodyweights will get good results in comps now, but it will limit you later.

Max could easily have competed at 75kg at the Nats and even at the Worlds, but he keeps listening to me because its worked so far. He has missed out on teenage titles in order to capture senior ones in the future.

He's not as lean at 80kg as he was at 72kg, but he still has abs, and he'll continue to gain for the next 3 years.

then he can worry about definition lol

Be warned, your cutting your potential short.
__________________

Newish Guy

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 23:01:03 +0000

Hey guys,

Just a quick hello.

Been a member for a few years now but only really read the forums and never had much input. Work recently has become a little boring so thought i might aswell start getting involved.

Quick run down of myself, been training for about 3-4 years now, sometimes get in the mood and take it seriously for a few weeks then just go back to it being more of a hobby and time filler. Im a very lean build and know i dont eat enough to get massive so im happy with how i am but would like to keep increasing strength. Started at around 70kg at 6'3" now am around 93kg.

Best lifts would be

1rp - 150kg - Bench
1rp - 180kg - Deadlifts
1rp - 120kg - Squat, past parallel.

Goals are to really get my squats and deads into action as a short break has put me back to struggling with 100kg squats. I always set up a box and make sure im hitting parallel or just past.

Anyways will be happy to hear from you guys.

P.S - really enjoy watching the PTC vids

Mitch

100kg challenge

Tue, 31 Aug 2010 06:08:43 +0000

Lying in bed last night, couldnt get to sleep, thinking about what challenges me at gym and I think this would properly f#$k me. Quite simple, similar to total lifts of bench, squat and press but only lifting 100kg all round. So as many consecutive reps of 100kg bench, 100kg dead and 100kg squat.

I think I would get 35 deadlifts, 25 squat and maybe 8 bench (weak bench at the moment) for a total of 68.

I will give it a crack next time im fresh and see what actual numbers are.

Anyone else keen to try?

Daytime training group at PTC

Fri, 27 Aug 2010 07:20:24 +0000

posted in the wrong section... try again...

-------------

Hey guys,

soooo yeah... haven't been training for a few months and want to get back into it properly, ie regular sessions at PTC

i know there is a group on monday's i believe who live near me (bayside) but it's an evening session, which is fine but just sussing out the day options.

preferably i'd like to train during the day mon or wed or fri - and was wondering if anyone else was keen to make up a day training group? Like a 11am session or something like that?

otherwise, i might try and hook in with the bayside group

cheers,
chinny

Day time training group at PTC

Fri, 27 Aug 2010 02:28:17 +0000

Hey guys,

soooo yeah... haven't been training for a few months and want to get back into it properly, ie regular sessions at PTC

i know there is a group on monday's i believe who live near me (bayside) but it's an evening session, which is fine but just sussing out the day options.

preferably i'd like to train during the day mon or wed or fri - and was wondering if anyone else was keen to make up a day training group? Like a 11am session or something like that?

otherwise, i might try and hook in with the bayside group

cheers,
chinny

Fat Daves bag

Wed, 25 Aug 2010 05:01:25 +0000

Contents of Fat Daves bag....long story

Need help getting my bench and deads up.

Tue, 24 Aug 2010 11:40:29 +0000

Hello all.

My total is at a crappy 472.5atm after 10 weeks of starting to train, I want to be well and past 550 by xmas.

Atm im about to finish my PPP programs, (last week next week )

my bench is at 117.5, Tho I feel this hasn't got as strong as I would have liked, I just want to get some help on some assistance work I can do to help improve my bench,
I do flat bench, close grip, incline and DB bench, is there anything else I can do to help?

squat, From never doing these in my life so from 0, in 10 weeks I was on the 160kg program, I got a head of myself and did a 175kg last night, with the bar coming close to hitting the 4th pin, (My arse maybe 10-15cm off the ground.. Yes I squat very very deep) so Im by far over the moon with the gains in my squats... PPP program at its best there!...

Dead lifts, once again, same thing maybe done 3-4 sets of them in my life cause I didn't know how to do them so never tried. Learn t how to do them so went for a 1Rm to see what program I should try, and got a 180kg dead pretty easy, tho I didn't try for any more after that.. Picked the 200kg program..

So as you can see my other lifts are going thru the roof, other then bench.. Is this a common problem for others? I know bench isn't going to get massive fast but I was hoping for some better gains then this...

I know the gains come fast cause im new to training, and they will slow right down now, so I think 550 total by xmas is a goal that is reachable.

Stupid knee pain

Tue, 24 Aug 2010 09:01:49 +0000

ok guys,
so have finally got my ass back into gear again, and back onto the skinny guy routine with a few changes, mainly added bench into it and squats going heavier with less reps. Anyways thats not the issue, my issue is, when I squat after say the 3rd one I am getting a sharp pain behind my kneecap at the top, and I'm not even squatting heavy, only doing bodyweight. Have been to the doctors and his response was shit house, it was, you shouldn't be lifting stuff that heavy.
So he was no help, the pain is only when I am right down, I am 6foot 2 and squat down to around 20cms so not sure if thats good or not.
I tryed squatting higher, at 30cms the pain is still there, only way I can do it is if I do tiny shitty crap squats which in my opinion are pointless.

So moving on from my dilemma, does anyone have any suggestions? my only thoughts are, possibly up fish oil intake (to help with joints) although not 100% sure it is a joint issue, and replace squats with deadlifts.

Need some help with this as it is shitting me, really want to trigger some decent growth and don't think it will happen easily wiht out my old mate squats in the mix.

Thanks for any help you guys can give me

Great Article on dieting

Tue, 24 Aug 2010 04:50:57 +0000

I liked this:

Dave Tate Talks Bulking and Cutting
by Nate Green and Dave Tate

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Dave Tate has been monster huge and freakishly lean. (Now he's both.) Since he knows both sides of the struggle it makes sense that he's the most vocal and opinionated expert on all things food related. (Earlier this year, he told me to pour olive oil all over a large pizza and eat one every night, and that if I couldn't stomach it I was a "f**king wuss.")

I got on the phone with him recently—while he was eating no less—to pick his brain about the old bodybuilding tradition of bulking and cutting.

Tate Talks Bulking

• It comes down to calories in versus calories out. If you're having a hard time gaining weight you need a number to shoot for. So let's figure that out quickly. I like John Romaniello's calorie formula for figuring out maintenance levels. It's easy. And I'm all about easy.

(Editor's Note: Here's Roman's formula for those who missed it last week.)

6%-12% 17 calories per pound of LBM (Lean Body Mass)

12%-15% 16 calories per pound of LBM

15.1%-19% 15 calories per pound of LBM

19.1%-22% 14 calories per pound of LBM

22.1% or above 13 calories per pound of LBM

So you find out your body fat percentage and then multiple your weight by that percent. Subtract that number from your weight to find out your lean mass, and then use that number and your body fat percentage to determine your calories.

Using that formula, let's say you figured out you need 2,200 calories just to maintain your bodyweight. Well, let's bump that number up by, I don't know, 600 to 1,000 calories. That's the average you need to hit every single day.

A big mistake a lot of guys make is they'll eat big for three days and then go back to eating like they normally do for a few days. If you figure out the average calories for that week then it's not higher than it was the week before—it's just staggered into different days. That's not going to make a difference at all. So you gotta eat big consistently.

• Even with my past history of eating junk, people are forgetting that I gained weight for many years, all the way from 181 to 255 pounds, by eating relatively clean. But at that point, when the calories were getting around 8,000, I just couldn't eat that much food any more.

• You need more calories per bite. You have to figure out ways to add more calories to the food you're already eating. So throw olive oil on everything. Put it on your scrambled eggs. You won't even know it's there. Put a handful of nuts into your morning oatmeal.

• What I used to do is get a big Ziploc bag and fill it with almonds, cashews, raisins, peanuts, and M&M's. But only enough M&M's to get a few with each handful. And I made sure at least one of the nuts was salted, so it'd make me want to eat more.

Let's say you grab a big handful of nuts every hour or so—you're going to end up eating at least an extra 500 calories. The only thing you gotta be careful with is not to get too full from them. Since it's all high-quality fat, you'll get full quickly. Pay attention to when your next meal is and make sure you get it in.

• Have a scoop of Metabolic Drive in water after every single meal. You can always fit more in, especially protein and water. You do that four or five times per day and you've just added an extra 100 grams of protein and 400 to 500 calories.

• Not everyone will agree with me on this, but immediately after you train, kick back a ton of sugar like Skittles or whatever. Just eat a whole goddamn box. You'll be restoring your glycogen levels, you won't gain a lot of fat, and you'll be hungry five minutes later. And you just added in like 150 grams of carbs. That'll add up quickly. But you have to do it immediately after. Like, in the locker room before you even hit your car. Then when you're driving home have your Surge Recovery. Then get home and eat a meal.

• Be sure to brush your teeth or at least drink a lot of water and swish it around after you eat all that candy, though. It's not eating the sugar that's the problem—it's how long it sits in your mouth. And I have the cavities to prove it.

• Have a shake before bed. Here's a good recipe for you.

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1 cup of egg whites

¼ cup of nuts

1 tablespoon of peanut butter

1 scoop of Metabolic Drive

Ice and water

That's like 800 calories or more right there. I'm not one of those guys who thinks you can only digest 30 grams of protein per sitting or whatever the hell it is. Load up.

• No, you don't need to eat Wendy's to get big. It won't kill you, so you can if you want, but it's not necessary. Guys are always trying to look for an excuse to eat the shit. The problem is your goal is to gain weight and add in more calories. When you eat things like that—and I made a career out of it – it kills your appetite. Let's say you order two double cheeseburgers and some fries. You probably won't eat for another five hours after you finish that meal. You have to focus on total overall calories, not just shit food.

• Two tablespoons of peanut butter is a good start. Do that twice per day. It still won't affect your hunger.

• Eat a meal during your training session. I don't care if it's a FINibar or a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Well, the FINibar would be better, actually. Anyway, after your main lift, just down a whole bar. It's not a huge meal and I guarantee you'll still be hungry after your training session. Plus you just added in an extra couple hundred calories.

• Decrease your cardio. Maybe get rid of it entirely. Be lazy. If you can lie down, lie down. If somebody else can do it, have them do it.

• Any hypertrophy program will help you get bigger. So just pick one. You need four to five days of weight training, but they can't last longer than an hour total. Let me repeat that. Your workouts can never last over an hour. But whichever program you pick, take the rest periods and double them. That'll make sure you're stronger for all of your sets.

Tate Talks Cutting

• The number one thing you have to do immediately is increase your water intake. For one thing it's just f**king important. I can't believe how many guys don't get enough water. But the other reason is that it'll help control appetite.

• Now you're working under your baseline of calories. So take the calorie formula listed previously and take away a few hundred calories. That's your new goal, and you have to hit it consistently.

• When you work under your baseline of calories, macronutrients become more important. When you're bulking and eating more than you need, you have room to screw up because you're eating so much you're probably going to get all of your protein and fat in. When you're below your maintenance level of calories you donÕt have that margin of error. You have to be exact.

• I'm sick of dancing around this subject: If you don't know what you're doing, hire someone. If you're serious, figure out a way to pay them. Look across the board at how many people fail trying to get lean. It's nearly everyone. Yeah, getting lean isn't rocket science. I understand that. Exercise more and eat less. But if that shit worked wouldn't everyone be lean?

• You have to increase your protein. Most people don't take in enough. How many grams per pound of bodyweight? I don't know and I don't care. Just eat more protein.

• Figure out your strategy, whether it's low carb or carb cycling or whatever, and stick to it. Don't change it every week.

• Remember with bulking how we wanted more calories per bite? Well, now we want more bites per calories. So eat a bowl of broccoli with every meal. Increase your greens. It'll fill you up because there's more there. Eat more fish and more chicken. Take your time with your meals.

• Take weekly progress pictures, record your measurements, check your body fat and buy a damn scale and weigh yourself every day. I have my body fat checked every two weeks by the same person. Don't use the bullshit three-site caliper formula. Use the seven or nine-site one. That'll give you an idea of where you're going since we all lose fat in different places at different times.

• When you're getting lean it's a little awkward because there are blind spots where you're losing weight but you look worse. It's like the chicken growing inside the egg. It looks the same on the outside but there's a lot of shit going on inside.

• If you can stomach it, eat the same thing every day.

• Whatever you normally have for carbs, cut that in half and replace half the calories with high quality fat. So let's say you're taking in 400 grams of carbs per day. That's 1600 calories. So now you need 800 calories from fat. That's about 88 grams of fat you need to take in. Get it from nuts, avocadoes, and oils.

• Add fiber to your diet. Trust me. You want to be able to shit properly.

• With training I want you to use higher volume and really increase your reps. Not because higher reps "chisel" muscle or any bullshit like that. More activity equals more calories burned. So the more reps you do, the more calories you burn.

For the most part, guys enjoy weightlifting more than cardio. So let's do 15-20 sets per larger body part and 10-15 for smaller muscle groups. I want everything in the 8-12 rep range. The goal is to not lose muscle. Let's face it: you're not going to gain any muscle while you're cutting. If you claim you can then you're either selling an e-book or you're full of shit.

Tate Talks Trash

• You ever go out with a bunch of people for dinner when you're dieting? Isn't that a f**ked up situation?

Let's say you're at a table with seven people and everyone's ordering their food. You're at the end so you're ordering last. They're getting ribs, chicken strips, spaghetti, and whatever. No one in the group cares what they're ordering. The conversation stays the same. Then it comes to you and your first question is, "How do you prepare your chicken breasts?"

People start looking at you.

Then you order two plain chicken breasts with a side of broccoli with no butter or seasoning. The waiter writes it down and off he goes to the kitchen. Now everyone's looking at you like you're a freak.

They didn't care that your other friend was eating ribs. They didn't say shit when the guy ordered his chicken strips. So how is your meal selection any different? It blows my mind.

If you ordered something that was complete shit, no one would say anything. But because you ordered something to help you achieve a goal, it's a problem. And now for the next ten minutes you're having that stupid f**king conversation.

"It's so easy for you to lose weight," they say. "I can't do it."

And you're thinking, really? Here I am at Outback Steakhouse ordering two plain chicken breasts and broccoli – which is gonna cost me 40 bucks by the way – and it's easy? This is something I want to do? You think I want to sit here and watch you f**kers eat wings and ribs? I'm here for your company, not to give you dieting tips you're not gonna listen to.

And the same shit happens when you're bulking, too.

Let's say you're at the same restaurant. They order their food. Then it comes to you and you get three racks of ribs and two sweet potatoes. They say, "Holy shit, do you eat like that all the time? I wish I had that kind of metabolism!"

And you want to say, do you seriously think I want to sit here and eat 36 f**king ribs? Do you think this is going to be pleasant for me?

Three-quarters of the way through the meal you're sweating with napkins piled by your plate, the bones are stacked and are the size of the Eiffel tower. There's a heartbeat in your stomach. Then you finish eating and they say, "Well, I guess you're going to order dessert now."

All you're thinking about is how the hell you're going to get back to the car. Then you get to go home an hour later and make a f**king shake before bed. Then wake up the next day and do it all over again for however long it takes.

That's why there's so few people who are doing this shit and why it helps to be around people with similar goals. They understand. It's a rare breed, man.

Yeah, you can stay in the middle, take some supplements here and there, take time off for whatever reason, change your program every other week and stay absolutely the same as you are now.

But that's bullshit.

NJs training log starting 23/8/10

Mon, 23 Aug 2010 08:59:46 +0000

Have been training on and off for the last 12-18 months thought i should finally post a training log up.

Have had a bad run lately, bad virus and then a shoulder injury as well as severe shin splints from over training my legs to soon coming back from the virus.

First day back into weights today for nearly 3 months off, took it fairly easy, shoulder still isnt 100% so cant do overhead presses or much benching at the moment so concentrating on core and legs for now till the shoulder is 100%.

Monday 23/8/10

Shoulder rehab stuff;

Lying L flys 4kg 15, 12, 10

supersetted with

lying flys 12, 10, 10

Squats 2x20 60kg ( felt good for a long break with no real leg training )

Kettlebell SLDL 36kg 2x30

BB Shrugs 4x10 87.5kg

BB curls 12x 30, 10x 32.5, 8x 35, 6x 35

Still feel a bit weak in the upper body from the shoulder but hopefully will be back at 100% soon.

Randy Cotoures TOWER 200

Mon, 23 Aug 2010 06:18:37 +0000

hey guys, most of you have prob seen the infomercial for the twoer 200. clips to your doowrway with resistance training. just wondering if any of you have looked into it or even have on and what you think. wouldnt totally substitute it for the powerlifting i do at the gym. but for some of the faster higher rep exercises for shredding. what you guys rekon?

Muscle Ups/Bodyweight Exercises

Sat, 21 Aug 2010 02:50:54 +0000

Hey guys, anyone on here do much bodyweight stuff?
Muscle Up's , Levers, Planches??
I've just started doing them and would like to chat to ppl that are also doing them.
Here's a couple of vids of me.

Muscle Ups

Chin Up Thing

broken thumb

Wed, 18 Aug 2010 10:58:00 +0000

hey guys, ive been going to the gym for about 3 months so far, basically just supplementing with protein and eating whatever i want, had an incident playing footy and i broke my thumb so i have a cast for 6 weeks and since i will not be at school, i figure this is a good time to kick my diet into place and focus on trying to lose a little bit of fat by doing sprints..

i'm 17, 80kg and 6ft, heres what ive been eating this week:

meal 1: 3 eggs scrambled and one extra eggwhite on a piece of toasted wholegrain

meal 2: apple and 95g tin of tuna

meal 3: chicken breast and broccoli

meal 4: turkey/chicken and salad sandwich(wholegrain)

meal 5: steak and broccoli

meal 6: 95g tin of tuna

ive been snacking on cashews if i get hungry, and theres always a protein shake thrown in at some point during the day.. so far ive noticed that im starting to get hungry more often which i find is a good thing, ive gone from having 2-3 meals a day to 6 smaller ones, the first few days i wasnt hungry every few hours but now ive noticed that im starting to get hungry every few hours.

i'm also doing a bit of HIIT on monday wednesday and friday, just some pretty basic stuff:

sprint 10 seconds jog 50 seconds, 10 times.. if theres any other hiit excercise that i can be doing that will be more beneficial than this itd be great to hear, just running is all i can really do at the moment because ive got a cast.

if ive got it all completely wrong aswell, please dont hesitate to say!
thanks for any feedback guys

Max's trip to the Worlds

Wed, 18 Aug 2010 05:50:19 +0000

I thought I would start a journal regarding our trip to the WPC Raw World Championships in Idaho on September 3-5th.

This will be of interest for Max to look back on in years to come, as well as be entertaining for some of you guys.

I'll start at the beginning.

Max decided to have a crack at PL after hurting his back training for OL. He was at a National Level standard for OL whilst training in the garage, and Armando, an ex OL who lifted internationally for Australia, took him under his wing as started training him. After hurting his back in January 2010, he took a break for a while, then slowly started training again.

In March, he started training exclusively for PL. We planned to lift at the Vic State Titles in May. We saw that NSW was having its titles in April in Albury, so we drove up to get him some experience. He did okay and set NR in the 17yo 75kg class. He totaled 467.5kg @ 72kg.

In May at the Vics he totaled 487.5kg @ 74kg in the 18-19yo class.

I contacted Amy Jackson who is the WPC rep for the Raws and expressed interest in coming over to compete. The National titles were being held 14 days AFTER the cut off for entry. CAPO never planned for the Raw Worlds, just the equipped. They are 3 months AFTER our Nats, the way it should be, and this has caused us plenty of headaches.

Now I had a problem in that it was going to cost us around $6000 for the trip. I started fund raising and everyone has been so generous it has actually embarrased me.

I originally got quotes for the flights at $1600 each. We hadnt raised the money, so I couldnt book them, not knowing this was a big mistake at the time. I had no passports either.

We decided to wait for the Nats, to ensure Max didnt get injured, and on Monday after the Nats, I got the ball rolling. He totaled 500kg @ 78kg so he's progressing good, everything was set.

First problem. The guy doing the passports said we should pay the premium price to ensure we got our passports on time. This made them $570 total. I was shocked. Got a quote for the flights, was over $4000 Melbourne to LA to Salt Lake City to Idaho Falls, for the both of us.

Now were screwed, I dont have enough money. Nina and I had saved an extra $1000 that I had to use to buy a computer and fix something on our people mover 2 weeks ago, it was essential.

We have $3000 left after the passports and entry fee. We need to book flights, accomodation.

Then I decide we'll drive from LA. Its a 14 hour drive, car hire is just over $300 for the week. Flights are now only $3030. Those flights advertised at $950 to LA sell out months before, and the price goes up as the departure date gets closer. Something I was unaware of.

Regardless, we didnt have the money back then anyway.

I've just come back from the travel agent. Passports are paid for, flights are paid for.

We dont have a cent, we need to book a car and motel rooms.

We leave on Monday the 30th of August and arrive back on Thursday the 9th o September.

Money issues aside, everything is going well. Max is getting heavier everyday. We are all healthy, and were going over regardless, even if we have to sleep in the car.

Now, Max's training. We really are unsure if there is a best way to train, we actually only have 2 weeks for training from the Nats.

On Monday Max squatted.

165kg x 1 x 5 sets
Assorted squats from different pin heights, with a pause on the pins
110kg x 10 x 4 sets

Tonight is bench press, I'll post up what we did later on.

We are planning to catch a workout at Golds in Venice when we get there on Monday night, then leave first thing in the morning for the 14 hour drive, which takes us through Las Vegas and Salt Lake City in Utah. Its a 24 hour weigh in, so we have to be in Idaho Falls by Thursday evening, as Max is lifting on Friday evening. Presentation is on Sunday, so we'll head off on Tuesday.

Apparently there is a gold, silver and bronze medal awarded, they need a flag and recording of the Anthem.

Thats it for now, and if you guys see 2 guys robbing a bank in the states wearing PTC hoodies, dont say anything lol

No seriously, dont say anything.
__________________

Low bar Squats or High Bar

Tue, 17 Aug 2010 13:36:14 +0000

So. Whats the go with your squats? Do you do low bar or high bar (on the traps and atg)? Rippletoe is a firm believer in low bar squats for olympic weightlifters as it mimicks the geometries of the pull in the clean and jerk far better than a high bar squat. He also believers more weight can be used with less strain on the back (centre of gravity etc). Now i have always squatted high bar atg, but another question is does low bar squats suffice for the capo powerlifting standards of a squat?

I am a beginner and looking for some help

Tue, 17 Aug 2010 04:45:34 +0000

Hi all

Please comment on my form as i am unsure. Dead lift feels completely wrong.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4lK-Itc_NI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QV6Z1yhc_xw

anyone know where to get a second hand press?

Mon, 16 Aug 2010 10:30:15 +0000

if anyone has friends sellin or knows of a store selling please let me know. i also posted in WTB section but you guys will know better then others. thanks guys.

training with stress fractures in lower legs

Mon, 16 Aug 2010 03:28:48 +0000

Hi guys,

Long story short had a bad virus for a fair while, finally got past that and decided to go back running, got a bit excited and went way to far to soon after a month off, just the feeling of being able to train again after so long off was to much to take it steady... and that combined with running on concrete and a few downhill sections etc. on the running track has pretty much left me with so much pain that after 3-4 weeks or resting and attempting to run without extreme pain i have concluded its not just MTSS this time its gotta be more serious. Going to see a sports doc tomorrow to see what the go is although im fairly certain its stress fractures.

IF it is bad news, what sort of stuff can i do to train while im out? Could be 6-8 weeks or longer to heal this. I do a lot of kettlebell stuff now but even doing thrusters and swing tends to push the lower legs and it was giving me pain recently doing them

Appart from riding a boring stationary bike and swimming ( local pool is closed atm ) is there much else out there that others do thats not high impact? Going to do some pilates and upper body weight training but cardio is my concern.

Any suggestions? Really dont want to slow the healing process down by doing anything stupid, ive been out of training for nearly 3 months now all up from the flu and now this, its very tough mentally to handle... need to get back ASAP.

puttin on mass

Sun, 15 Aug 2010 10:53:58 +0000

hey guys, as title im tryna put on mass, so im eatin to the shit house, big breakfast big lunch and lower the carbs in the arvo cause i take my protein shake which is muscle recovery/weight gainer..

just wondering is there any sort of protein that will give muscle growth without eating so much considerin i dont alwyas get a chance to have a big breakfast ??
also what is a good creatine & what is the best way for the creatine to take effect... before gym or during??

thankx

New protein!

Thu, 12 Aug 2010 00:33:09 +0000

Hey guys,

As many of you know I have been in the gym for quite some time now and I have been through probably close to 100 different types of protien. This has finally led me and a friend to develop something that was a little more adaptable to timing and nutrient requirements as well as goals. As such we have developed Traning Edge, its basically complex protein supplimentation made easy and can be tailored to any level or goal.

In essence we have a tripple mix protein, isolate, concentrate and casienate and a carb source - you mix the two to your requirements.

Here is a link to ebay, we have listed our first run - from the people who have bought through us direct we have some great feedback!! We think pricing is very compeditive and it is a unique product.

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=260649595119

keen to hear thouhgts from you guys as I respect a lot of you for knowledge and oppinion on training and supplementation.

cheers.

Andrew

Gun Show

Wed, 11 Aug 2010 00:29:03 +0000

MEGA heavy chin ups

Tue, 10 Aug 2010 13:42:37 +0000

Okay so i've wanted a 60kg overhand chin up for a while now. I've trained heavy on chins for a while but never really tried seriously or should I say followed a proper plan to get there. Today 50kg shot up as fast as most people doing bodyweight so thought I would have a crack at 60kg. I was sooo fvcken close! I obviously have ideas myself but would like to hear from you guys some ideas for training that top part of my rep.

Thanks a bunch

City to Surf

Tue, 10 Aug 2010 12:11:54 +0000

Hey all,

I ran in my first city to surf, I got 88 minutes 47 sec. How'd everyone else go?

I walked the 2nd half of heartbreak hill but then ran the rest out.

I am gonna run it next year for sure, awesome atmosphere. I might actually do some training for it next year too :-D.

-Kieran

bris to gc ride

Thu, 05 Aug 2010 12:30:42 +0000

anyone one else competing in the 100km bris to gc ride? or any other cyclists on here?

What Protein mix have ppl found the most useful for ppl gaining weight and muscle?

Thu, 05 Aug 2010 02:44:52 +0000

I know there are already posts up there about the best powders but its hard to find ones about pure weight and mucsle gain most of them are about weight lose and muscle gain.

who has taken poison

Tue, 03 Aug 2010 10:45:57 +0000

im just wondering if anyone has taken ALR global poison how was it any results any side affects

PTC/WPC hoodies

Sun, 01 Aug 2010 03:26:20 +0000

I finally have the PTC/WPC hoodies in stock.

They are dark grey with a zip. No smalls left, all sold out.

I have medium, large, extra large, XXL in stock.

They are $50 each plus $10 postage.

I wont be getting anymore as a special transfer was made especially for these.

These have been donated by Blue Gum and all the money is going towards our trip to Idaho for the World Championships in September.

advise on diet plan

Wed, 28 Jul 2010 22:24:16 +0000

Hi Guys,

I have done a bit of research and i have created the following diet plan to put on mass. Im currently 170cm and weigh 75kg.

Each day i would eat the following:

4 (45g) x tuna Sandwiches
4 (20g) x Peanut butter Sandwiches
1 x weight gainer shake - (2x banana, 600ml milk, 1 cup of Oats, 2 scoop protein, 2 table spoon peanut butter)

I worked out that i require:

Protein: 248
Carbs: 330
Calorie intake: 2314

Should i also substitute some of the food for other nutrients? such as egg?

At the moment im getting:
Protein: 280.3
Carbs: 424.8
Calorie: 3582
Is this correct?

skipping breakfast for fat loss

Mon, 26 Jul 2010 23:19:08 +0000

I just read this article and was VERY intrigued. Keen to hear thoughts / retorts!!

People that are either malicious or ignorant hold the diet and health industry, and even government agencies hostage. If I had an overwhelmingly positive view of humanity, I�d assume the best and go with ignorant, but I don�t.

They use the logical slight-of-hand of exchanging observation for proof. Ten men in a bar might all observe the lady in the corner with silicone enhancements, crimson lipstick, fishnet stockings and stilettos, but unless one of them tests the hypothesis that she is a woman, none of them will ever find out that he�s a transvestite. Observing something doesn�t make it true, and sometimes, depending on the depth one explores, no one wants to admit the reality � it might be a little embarrassing.

Observation creates a place for all scientific research to begin. From Plato to Einstein, observation has gotten science started down some extraordinary paths � started. Once on the trail, scientists dream up explanations (step 2) and test these explanations for validity (step 3). They�re either right or wrong and proceed as necessary. In the health and fitness world, the process often stops at observation. This is where we find ourselves with myriad training and eating protocols, but I want to tackle one that�s entrenched more than any other, breakfast.

The Idea

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day and makes people healthy, thin and smart.

The Logic

All metabolic arguments aside, scientists have witnessed that healthy, smart people eat breakfast; therefore, breakfast must be key. (Of course, from here, there are endless theories on why it�s so important: the body�s been starving all night and needs food to function; if you eat a lot of food in the morning it sparks metabolism and you burn off all the food and some fat; since the brain needs carbs to function, supplying the body with a low-fat breakfast gets the mind working at peak performance; etc.)

The Reality

The only reasonable conclusion the facts support is that breakfast sucks.

It�s no secret that I�m not a fan of breakfast. When working with a new client in a physique or strength sport or the average person trying to lose a few pounds, more often than not, the first thing I say is, �stop eating breakfast.� Brian Carroll loves the excuse to skip breakfast as do a large number of people I work with. Like I once thought, they believe that breakfast is critical to mental and physical performance and they force themselves to eat it whether they want to or not.

Here�s a brief synopsis of hormonal-happenings around 7 AM for the average person. Cortisol levels elevate naturally through the night1-9 and peak2, 9-14. Uh oh, cortisol is catabolic and without food, the body�s going to start eating all that hard-earned muscle, right? Wrong. Catabolic only describes the process of something being broken down for energy. Cortisol, when acting without elevated insulin levels and in a natural manner � so without being constantly elevated like during chronic stress � triggers the breakdown of triglycerides into free-fatty acids (FFAs) for metabolization and triggers lipolysis1, 2, 14-28. Cortisol, in the morning, accelerates fat burning.

Ghrelin, the main hunger-control hormone32, is released in a pulsatile manner through the night with a peak occurring upon waking29-31, which incites hunger. Ghrelin not only causes hunger, but also potently stimulates growth hormone release33-44. As growth hormone levels raise the body releases more fat to be burned as fuel45-49 and decreases the destruction of protein for use as fuel50. Growth hormone levels peak roughly two hours after waking without breakfast51.

Every day the body starts as a fat-burning furnace. Even during exercise, without eating breakfast, the body burns far higher levels of fat than normal52, 53 and causes up regulation of the enzymes necessary to burn fat, allowing fat to be metabolized faster54.

Now contrast with what happens as soon as you eat breakfast, one that contains around 30 grams or more of carbs. As is well known, insulin levels raise with the rise in blood sugar, kick-starting a downward spiral: the early-morning release of insulin reduces fat burning for the entire rest of the day55; while cortisol levels remain high, the insulin release causes new empty fat cells to be created56-64; and the insulin lowers levels of ghrelin and growth hormone29-31, 51.

From the facts above�this is not what I think happens, this is what happens � one would come to the conclusion that maybe we should hold breakfast off for a bit when we get up, at least until cortisol levels return to normal and growth hormone levels fall naturally, which takes a few hours. Skipping breakfast looks like a way to lose body fat faster, or at least to keep it off.

At this point, you may think, �well, you�ve hobbled together a lot of research to explain your theory, but where are the results?� I�m not so obtuse as to think that a thorough understanding of anything means prediction is possible�a famous mathematician showed that you can know everything about how a system works and still not predict how the damn thing might act. Luckily for me and my hobbled together studies, researchers did test the idea that maybe breakfast isn�t so great.

If what I assume from the facts is true, then skipping breakfast and eating more food at the end of the day rather than the beginning should lead to more fat loss when trying to lose weight, especially if eating breakfast impairs fat burning for the entire day.

So what happened when researchers studied two groups, one that ate most of their calories in the beginning of the day, to simulate the no-eating-after-seven routine, and the other that skipped breakfast and ate most of their meals in the latter half of the day? Damn if I shouldn�t be embarrassed: the group that ate most of their calories early in the day, including a big breakfast, lost more weight than the other group65.

Hold on: there�s more to this story. The researchers also looked at body composition before and after. The morning group lost more weight but lost a lot more muscle and a lot less fat. The night group lost almost exclusively fat and preserved muscle65-69. Who knew, maybe there is something to this science stuff after all?

No matter what I say about fat loss, someone will say that skipping breakfast turns people into mental sloths. Does it really? You think so? I disagree and when I do in a public forum, someone always says � which I actually don�t believe � �Well, I design tests for grade schools and the kids that eat breakfast always perform the best; I have the studies but I don�t have the time to show you.� Even if they have them, they�re observation studies. They�re not experiments. Do experiments prove that breakfast improves cognitive abilities? Yes, if the person is malnourished70-73.

What about healthy kids? I know, it doesn�t seem right to take food away from kids in the morning, but some mean group of bastards did just that � and several more bastards did the same thing. They withheld breakfast from one group of kids, letting them eat at lunch, and the other group had a balanced breakfast. When kids skip breakfast they pay attention, behave, and perform better throughout the entire school day72-83. That�s the difference between observation and experiment. There must be some other factor relating eating breakfast to academic performance: both vary in the same way with socio-economic status84.

I can imagine the comments now saying I ignore the importance of breakfast because of this observational study or that observational study or some other justification that has no relevance to this discussion. The only point here is that breakfast is definitely not the most important meal of the day and can be detrimental. There are many reasons and ways to incorporate breakfast effectively. Carb Back-Loading� is one example and Carb Nite� is another. When using either of these strategies for fat loss, I still tend to delay my first meal of the day until 11am or noon

Someone in a forum also referenced an article stating that skipping breakfast primes the body to get fat and slows fat burning, which is the opposite of the truth, but the article goes on to say that all of this can be avoided by adding some branched-chain amino acids in lieu of breakfast and suggests leucine, isoleucine and valine. This is probably a bad idea, as the amino acid leucine stimulates insulin release without the presence of glucose85-86 and may cause the same reactions as a carby breakfast.

As far as strength is concerned, there is little effect as long as glycogen stores remain adequate87-88, hence the application of Carb Back-Loading� to strength, power and physique athletes.

Eating breakfast impairs fat burning, can aid in fat storage, lowers growth hormone levels and doesn�t offer cognitive benefits. What else can I say? Stop eating breakfast. You�ll thank me in the morning.

PPP program troubles

Mon, 26 Jul 2010 10:01:13 +0000

Hi,

I'm currently doing the PPP program. For squats, i set my new max at 160kg, with a 1rm of 135kg. For bench i set my new max at 110, with a 1rm of about 95, and for DL i set my new max at 180, with a 1rm of about 150.

I've had to lower my targets. For squats, i hit 132.5x3 (which was week 5) but only just - my speed out of the hole was very slow. Then i failed the next set. So i dropped to 155 for the next week. Problem was that i had the same workout almost. So today i had to hit 132.5 for 3 reps again. I only got one and it was very slow. My speed is very slow on the squat - not something i want - so i think i might go to the 150 kg program. For Deadlift, my technique is lagging. I'm rounding my back during the lift. However, i'm not struggling to lift the weight too much. Any help please?

I dropped from the 180 kg program to the 175, but it hasn't improved much. Any tips?

I am looking to not increase weight - due to requirements for sport. I think this is not helping. I'm doing a lot of fitness work, and weigh about 77 kg with a low bf, and am eating around 2500-300 cals a day. I'm thinking this isn't helping. Does this sound right?

Thanks