BIGGY
03-02-2004, 11:15 AM
I'm currently 24 and began working out and lifting weights when I was 13. At 17 I became a nutritionist for the health food store I worked at and shortly after that became a personal trainer. While I'm a Sys Admin for a living, there's something about health and nutrition that always interests me in giving tips and seeing what others are doing, so here's a few minor tips I decided to post here from what I know...and I'll try to stick to basic language :)
Welcome to working out...some myths:
- Women: "I don't want to lift weights because I'm afraid I'll bulk up like a man." Simple answer to that is that it won't happen. One being that your average woman will never push to the level that will cause her to bulk up. Not to mention, womens muscles are different. To sum it up, when women lift weights, they end up toning more than anything. Men will bulk up, not women.
- When first starting, don't bite off too much. Meaning if you told yourself that you're starting tomorrow, try to avoid changing your diet, workout, and way of living all by the next day. This is one of the top reasons that people don't make it through their plan. Why? You'll burn out. Instead do it slowly. If you want to start running and weight lifting, start with a light jog one day and do that for a week. The following week do some biking and throw in some light weights. Meanwhile, cut out one 'bad' food here and there. Let your body adjust.
- "Best to start on Monday." Actually it's probably not the best day to start. Then you begin running on a set schedule, drooling for the weekend to come. It's best to pick a day when you have a very open schedule to begin. If anything I prefer to begin new routines on Friday or Saturday. This is because of several reasons. Once I am mentally able to convince myself to run or go to the gym on Friday after work then it helps build dicipline to not drop a workout and head out for the clubs, dinner, etc. And another reason is that if you're just starting, you're going to be sore. No one wants to go on a Monday, (after eating nothing but lettuce all day), workout, and then be painfully sore on Tuesday while trying to get up for work.
- Working out every day is better? Not really. Some folks will say that they lift weights one day and do cardio the next, this way they never need a break. Well...you do. Working out puts stress on your body. In general it's viewed as 'good stress', but too much of anything...even good...is bad. If you really must workout every day, then I would do your normal routine 6 days out of the week and leave the 7th open for a few crunches and stretches, but no heavy lifting or running. Ideally 4 or 5 days a week is all you need.
- Stretching is good for you. Well it is and it isn't. It's not good for your muscles when they are cold. So if you're planning on stretching your legs, you should really have jogged a quarter mile before doing so. Stretching cold muscles can develop small tears, especially if you push yourself.
- Supplements are good. This is another mixed answer. Diet pills, protein powders, and magic muscle builders are exactly what they are....SUPPLEMENTS. Define supplements: Something added to COMPLETE a thing, make up for a deficiency, or extend or strengthen the whole. When you first start working out you should ideally not be on any supplements. Couple reasons:
1. You might not know what you're doing. A lot of people jump in and buy something they see advertised no questions asked. Hell I used to get customers that bought products that I swore to them wouldn't work based on what they were doing, but persuasive commercials are a powerful thing. Hang around the gym for a while. Talk to that guy next to you on the bike. See what he's taking and why.
2. You should get a feel for what your body can do naturally. Not to mention...all of your biggest weight loss happens at first. Supplements are better to add when you've hit a plateau in your training to help you break through that barrier.
TIPS AND TRICKS:
If you don't have a membership to a club but want to start working out...forget about buying one. First prove to yourself that you can stick to a workout. Try running/walking outside for a couple miles, riding a bike, or doing a sport. I'd say that 80% of people join a club, go a lot for a few months, then slowly fade in time...at least until new years when you have to take a number to get on a machine. Prove that you're able to workout and have the dedication before dumping a grand on a membership you'll use for 2 weeks, then get one after a couple weeks of training. If you want to lift weights...then you should be able to do 30 push ups before getting a membership. If 30 push ups are kicking your ass, you have no business trying to bench. If you want to run on a treadmill at the club, learn to run on ground first. They're totally different. Treadmill does A LOT of work for you. This ties in to what I wrote above about getting into it slowly.
Traing with someone who knows what they are doing for a while. This could be a trainer or a friend. When selecting a trainer, be very cautious and ask a lot of questions. Some trainers that I have seen at Bally's have no clue...they're there to make money and know nothing about training. You would be amazed at the number of trainers that get all of their information from a few body building magazines. The thing about personal training is that it MUST BE PERSONAL. I'm going to administer a different workout to the house wife who just started than to a guy with a bad back than to a guy who's been a runner all his life but now wants to lift. Find out the trainers background and if you decide to go that route, I suggest going to a place which is personal training only...not just a public health club. They are generally more expensive, but worth it.
Don't supplement for too long. If you're taking creatine, protein, or anything. Take some time off. Some need more time off than others. Creatine is effective for up to 2 months generally. Staying on it any longer will eventually drop it's effectiveness. Your body adjusts to supplements like anything else, so you want to avoid that. Just like when it only took one cup of coffee to give you a buzz before and now it takes more, your body does the same with supplements. Break off of them for a given time. Each is different. Take a few days off from protein and a few weeks off from creatine (as an example).
Beware of buying cheap supplements. ANYTHING from Walgreens or Osco is garbage and useless. When a label says "All Natural" Then it means by law that it as to be 20% natural. So All Natural and 100% natural are diffferent. And don't let anyone kid you. Every supplement is man made...ever see a vitamin pill growing on a tree? The difference is what the source is. Synthetic vitamins and supplements are generated in a lab and generally less effective. Look for natural sources. If you're planning on taking vitamins...forget about looking that the RDA percentage. It's garbage. That 100% of vitamin C in your twinkie is nothing. Those standards were set by the FDA back in the times of the depression. To sum it up 100% RDA is the MINIMUM needed for a 170lbs SEDENTARY (Accustomed to sitting or to taking little exercise) male to not show a DEFICIENCY. During the depression folks did very little, this was to keep people from not showing signs of scurvy and other deficiencies. Funny thing is...with cerea, juice, and candy companies 'donating' money to the FDA, the RDA percentages have actually DROPPPED...so it use to be that 80mg of vitamin C were suggested per day, but now only 60? (FYI the optimum suggested vitamin C intake is 1000mg) What a coincidense that I can now eat a bag of cheeto's to fullful that requirement now....hmmmm.
Here's a quick breakdown of good and bad brands (my opinion).
Good: Country Life, Twinlabs, NOW, Optimum Nutrition, EAS (but over priced and overclaimed), Met-RX, Nature's Way, Carlson. A good multi-vitamin will have 50-100mg of the B vitamins.
Ok: GNC (more often than not it's overpriced garbage), mail order vitamins, and knock off brands. They might do the job but slightly less effective.
Garbage: Other than the above named brands...anything that you can buy at a non-health food store (more often than not). Walgreens vitamins, Osco, and the like. Centrum, Flintstones, etc...are horrible. Instead of giving your kid a dye filled, sugar filled vitamin, give'em a sugar cube to suck on instead.
NOTE: Vitamins MUST be taken with protein. Waking up and popping a vitamin is as good as not taking it. Vitamins need protein as a carrier to absorb.
Don't weigh yourself. I can get you to lose 5lbs in 2 hours. It's not weight that's important...it's fat. One pound of fat is likethe size of two big softballs (a bit bigger even). Imagine how long it would take to burn off something that size...long time. With normal calorie dropping and an intense workout...I'd say you might lose up to ONE pound of fat in a week. But more often than not it will be around half a pound. Anything other than that and you're losing water and muscle weight.
Fat is important to your body. In fact, your body cares more about fat than anything else. In fact it's easier to burn sugar and muscle for energy than it is fat. This is because fat is in very long chains which take longer to process. This is why folks say that fat burning doesn't really begin until you're 20-30 minutes into your workout. It's a long term energy source. Your Glycogen (sugar) stores are what's used before that. In fact...fat is so important that if your body thinks you're starving (people who all of a sudden cut out majority of their calories or skip breakfast), that your metabolism will actually SLOW if you eat less and your fat burning decreases DRASTICALLY. Your primative instincts think you're starving and to protect your internal organs and save energy is why this happens. So it's important to not stop eating and especially NEVER EVER skip breakfast because breakfast is what (more or less) helps set your metabolism for the day.
Keep a log of your progress. This is great because it not only allows you to steadily increase the intensity of your workout, but to be proud of what you've accomplished. It's something that a month from now will help you look back and smile at all that you've done.
Keep your workouts the same and then change them. Know what you're doing each day when you walk into the gym. You should have a set routine...EX: Day 1, Chest and Triceps. Day 2, 2 mile jog. Day 3, back, biceps, and shoulders...etc Do one routing for a few months and then change. Your body doesn't just adjust to supplements and food, but also to the activity that you do. Sometime you need to change up to break a plateau.
Push yourself. Not at first, but a month into your workouts you should be out of breath after running and somewhat fatigued after lifting. Your body becomes 'better' and stronger only when you push up to or beyond your limits. When you lift you're actually breaking down your muscles and they repair themselves stronger.
Spot training. Have a gut and want to get rid of it. Just do lot's and lot's of crunches and you'll have a six pack in no time. Now you'll still have the gut and you won't be able to see the six pack under the fat, but it's there. So working out one specific area on your body will not burn the fat off in that area...sorry.
For any other questions feel free to PM me.
Welcome to working out...some myths:
- Women: "I don't want to lift weights because I'm afraid I'll bulk up like a man." Simple answer to that is that it won't happen. One being that your average woman will never push to the level that will cause her to bulk up. Not to mention, womens muscles are different. To sum it up, when women lift weights, they end up toning more than anything. Men will bulk up, not women.
- When first starting, don't bite off too much. Meaning if you told yourself that you're starting tomorrow, try to avoid changing your diet, workout, and way of living all by the next day. This is one of the top reasons that people don't make it through their plan. Why? You'll burn out. Instead do it slowly. If you want to start running and weight lifting, start with a light jog one day and do that for a week. The following week do some biking and throw in some light weights. Meanwhile, cut out one 'bad' food here and there. Let your body adjust.
- "Best to start on Monday." Actually it's probably not the best day to start. Then you begin running on a set schedule, drooling for the weekend to come. It's best to pick a day when you have a very open schedule to begin. If anything I prefer to begin new routines on Friday or Saturday. This is because of several reasons. Once I am mentally able to convince myself to run or go to the gym on Friday after work then it helps build dicipline to not drop a workout and head out for the clubs, dinner, etc. And another reason is that if you're just starting, you're going to be sore. No one wants to go on a Monday, (after eating nothing but lettuce all day), workout, and then be painfully sore on Tuesday while trying to get up for work.
- Working out every day is better? Not really. Some folks will say that they lift weights one day and do cardio the next, this way they never need a break. Well...you do. Working out puts stress on your body. In general it's viewed as 'good stress', but too much of anything...even good...is bad. If you really must workout every day, then I would do your normal routine 6 days out of the week and leave the 7th open for a few crunches and stretches, but no heavy lifting or running. Ideally 4 or 5 days a week is all you need.
- Stretching is good for you. Well it is and it isn't. It's not good for your muscles when they are cold. So if you're planning on stretching your legs, you should really have jogged a quarter mile before doing so. Stretching cold muscles can develop small tears, especially if you push yourself.
- Supplements are good. This is another mixed answer. Diet pills, protein powders, and magic muscle builders are exactly what they are....SUPPLEMENTS. Define supplements: Something added to COMPLETE a thing, make up for a deficiency, or extend or strengthen the whole. When you first start working out you should ideally not be on any supplements. Couple reasons:
1. You might not know what you're doing. A lot of people jump in and buy something they see advertised no questions asked. Hell I used to get customers that bought products that I swore to them wouldn't work based on what they were doing, but persuasive commercials are a powerful thing. Hang around the gym for a while. Talk to that guy next to you on the bike. See what he's taking and why.
2. You should get a feel for what your body can do naturally. Not to mention...all of your biggest weight loss happens at first. Supplements are better to add when you've hit a plateau in your training to help you break through that barrier.
TIPS AND TRICKS:
If you don't have a membership to a club but want to start working out...forget about buying one. First prove to yourself that you can stick to a workout. Try running/walking outside for a couple miles, riding a bike, or doing a sport. I'd say that 80% of people join a club, go a lot for a few months, then slowly fade in time...at least until new years when you have to take a number to get on a machine. Prove that you're able to workout and have the dedication before dumping a grand on a membership you'll use for 2 weeks, then get one after a couple weeks of training. If you want to lift weights...then you should be able to do 30 push ups before getting a membership. If 30 push ups are kicking your ass, you have no business trying to bench. If you want to run on a treadmill at the club, learn to run on ground first. They're totally different. Treadmill does A LOT of work for you. This ties in to what I wrote above about getting into it slowly.
Traing with someone who knows what they are doing for a while. This could be a trainer or a friend. When selecting a trainer, be very cautious and ask a lot of questions. Some trainers that I have seen at Bally's have no clue...they're there to make money and know nothing about training. You would be amazed at the number of trainers that get all of their information from a few body building magazines. The thing about personal training is that it MUST BE PERSONAL. I'm going to administer a different workout to the house wife who just started than to a guy with a bad back than to a guy who's been a runner all his life but now wants to lift. Find out the trainers background and if you decide to go that route, I suggest going to a place which is personal training only...not just a public health club. They are generally more expensive, but worth it.
Don't supplement for too long. If you're taking creatine, protein, or anything. Take some time off. Some need more time off than others. Creatine is effective for up to 2 months generally. Staying on it any longer will eventually drop it's effectiveness. Your body adjusts to supplements like anything else, so you want to avoid that. Just like when it only took one cup of coffee to give you a buzz before and now it takes more, your body does the same with supplements. Break off of them for a given time. Each is different. Take a few days off from protein and a few weeks off from creatine (as an example).
Beware of buying cheap supplements. ANYTHING from Walgreens or Osco is garbage and useless. When a label says "All Natural" Then it means by law that it as to be 20% natural. So All Natural and 100% natural are diffferent. And don't let anyone kid you. Every supplement is man made...ever see a vitamin pill growing on a tree? The difference is what the source is. Synthetic vitamins and supplements are generated in a lab and generally less effective. Look for natural sources. If you're planning on taking vitamins...forget about looking that the RDA percentage. It's garbage. That 100% of vitamin C in your twinkie is nothing. Those standards were set by the FDA back in the times of the depression. To sum it up 100% RDA is the MINIMUM needed for a 170lbs SEDENTARY (Accustomed to sitting or to taking little exercise) male to not show a DEFICIENCY. During the depression folks did very little, this was to keep people from not showing signs of scurvy and other deficiencies. Funny thing is...with cerea, juice, and candy companies 'donating' money to the FDA, the RDA percentages have actually DROPPPED...so it use to be that 80mg of vitamin C were suggested per day, but now only 60? (FYI the optimum suggested vitamin C intake is 1000mg) What a coincidense that I can now eat a bag of cheeto's to fullful that requirement now....hmmmm.
Here's a quick breakdown of good and bad brands (my opinion).
Good: Country Life, Twinlabs, NOW, Optimum Nutrition, EAS (but over priced and overclaimed), Met-RX, Nature's Way, Carlson. A good multi-vitamin will have 50-100mg of the B vitamins.
Ok: GNC (more often than not it's overpriced garbage), mail order vitamins, and knock off brands. They might do the job but slightly less effective.
Garbage: Other than the above named brands...anything that you can buy at a non-health food store (more often than not). Walgreens vitamins, Osco, and the like. Centrum, Flintstones, etc...are horrible. Instead of giving your kid a dye filled, sugar filled vitamin, give'em a sugar cube to suck on instead.
NOTE: Vitamins MUST be taken with protein. Waking up and popping a vitamin is as good as not taking it. Vitamins need protein as a carrier to absorb.
Don't weigh yourself. I can get you to lose 5lbs in 2 hours. It's not weight that's important...it's fat. One pound of fat is likethe size of two big softballs (a bit bigger even). Imagine how long it would take to burn off something that size...long time. With normal calorie dropping and an intense workout...I'd say you might lose up to ONE pound of fat in a week. But more often than not it will be around half a pound. Anything other than that and you're losing water and muscle weight.
Fat is important to your body. In fact, your body cares more about fat than anything else. In fact it's easier to burn sugar and muscle for energy than it is fat. This is because fat is in very long chains which take longer to process. This is why folks say that fat burning doesn't really begin until you're 20-30 minutes into your workout. It's a long term energy source. Your Glycogen (sugar) stores are what's used before that. In fact...fat is so important that if your body thinks you're starving (people who all of a sudden cut out majority of their calories or skip breakfast), that your metabolism will actually SLOW if you eat less and your fat burning decreases DRASTICALLY. Your primative instincts think you're starving and to protect your internal organs and save energy is why this happens. So it's important to not stop eating and especially NEVER EVER skip breakfast because breakfast is what (more or less) helps set your metabolism for the day.
Keep a log of your progress. This is great because it not only allows you to steadily increase the intensity of your workout, but to be proud of what you've accomplished. It's something that a month from now will help you look back and smile at all that you've done.
Keep your workouts the same and then change them. Know what you're doing each day when you walk into the gym. You should have a set routine...EX: Day 1, Chest and Triceps. Day 2, 2 mile jog. Day 3, back, biceps, and shoulders...etc Do one routing for a few months and then change. Your body doesn't just adjust to supplements and food, but also to the activity that you do. Sometime you need to change up to break a plateau.
Push yourself. Not at first, but a month into your workouts you should be out of breath after running and somewhat fatigued after lifting. Your body becomes 'better' and stronger only when you push up to or beyond your limits. When you lift you're actually breaking down your muscles and they repair themselves stronger.
Spot training. Have a gut and want to get rid of it. Just do lot's and lot's of crunches and you'll have a six pack in no time. Now you'll still have the gut and you won't be able to see the six pack under the fat, but it's there. So working out one specific area on your body will not burn the fat off in that area...sorry.
For any other questions feel free to PM me.