You make it sound like p90x is smoke and mirrors, and it is no such thing. I don't know of any workout, except for maybe the insanity one shown above that is as intense or produces better results.
Like you said, working out hard is no secret and to get results you need to work for it. But I disagree that the muscle confusion is a scam, I am absolutely wiped after every workout and I am in great shape.
P90x is all smoke and mirrors like any popular diet/workout scheme. Guess what? They all have one thing in common: they get you to eat better and focus on regural routine workouts. It's just a gimmic to entice people to workout since most people lack the motivation to hit the gym.
My workout routine/intesity kills p90x but that's only because I'm motivated by just living a healthy lifestyle. Also that bit about "confusing" your muscles, while true, is quite easy to replicate at the gym. Just change your exercises/reps/weight. It's hardly new and innovative.
How many of you on p90x know what periodization is? How to incorporate it into a workout? Probably none, but that's what muscle confusion is.
You'd probably be better off spending the money on educating yourself on exercise prescription, but most aren't motivated to do so, so p90x is a good alternative (although you don't actually learn anything, it's just a program made for you).
HOOT had the best advice IMO:
Quote:
Originally Posted by HOOT
You also can't target fat loss. So situps/crunches won't do anything to help someone get rid of their gut.
If you want to lose weight you have to use up more calories than you are taking in. The ideal target would be -500 calories daily to lose 1lb per week. You could go more but it isn't all that healthy.
So if you eat 3000 calories per day you should be finding a way to use up 3500 calories, or cut down on your intake with less activity.
Aye, and just like religion there is not one right answer. It is different for everyone, and you have to understand that when discussing it.
But most can't, and that is why it turns into a pissing match.
__________________ "In brightest day, in blackest night / No evil shall escape my sight / Let those who worship evil's might / Beware my power, Green Lantern's light!"
Me too. I've lost 5lbs of weight, cut 3% body fat (21 to 18), and have lost just shy of 6" (measuring hips, waist, chest, arms) in less than a month on slow carb diet. I've only been semi strict about it too, and just ordered the PAGG stack. Should be interesting to see how that impacts things.
Yeah I'd be interested in that as well. Like I said the main reason I haven't tried PAGG is the cost involved. Being a university student expensive supplements don't really fit into my budget. I have noticed the results, from the diet, are slowing down a bit and I wonder what difference PAGG would make.
From all the programs and whatnot that I've read, none have the quality information that Tom Venuto supplies in his book. He tells you how to construct workouts and diet plans for your body-type needs. It's nothing groundbreaking, just solid information. He tells you up front that it is very hard and requires work to achieve success. If you aren't ready to work, then don't read his book.
Unfortunately His website looks cheesy and spammy but the book is completely no-frills.
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I've mentioned in a number of similar threads regarding the weight that I lost. I've been asked by my weight loss support group to go to Milwakee and speak at their annual conference about how I lost the weight. At the conference I will be given two awards ("most weight lost in calendar year 2010 for men under 250lbs" - 80lbs; "most weight lost overall in Ontario" - 170lbs). I did two things:
#1) Lose it! (www.loseit.com)
#2) Cardio exercise. Today I woke up, did 45 minutes on the exercise bike, went to the pool and swam for an hour, went to work, went to cardio kickboxing for an hour. I don't do 3 hours every day..... but it is at least an hour of cardio daily, usually more.
Which really boils down to:
#1) Eat less
#2) Move more
The one thing that I would have done differently is that for every pound that you lose on the scale, about 3/4 is fat and 1/4 is muscle. Since all I am doing is cardio, I lost a lot of lean tissue mass and didn't replenish it with resistance training. I would definitely recommend a more balanced exercise regime.
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for what its worth, with the addition of upping cardio, I always find i have the best pumps and satisfying workouts after i do some research, and toss in new exercises into my routine.
do that to make workouts a bit more fun, then just suck it up and do cardio, its super lame for everyone...and anyone who says they like cardio has a brain malfunction
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Cut things like fast food, booze, pop, snacks out of your diet. Not that you cant ever eat them again but they should be rare. In addition to that start eating less. Your eyes are bigger than your stomach.
Start doing cardio. At least 20 minutes daily. Running and biking are good places to start.
do that to make workouts a bit more fun, then just suck it up and do cardio, its super lame for everyone...and anyone who says they like cardio has a brain malfunction
It's called runner's high!
I LOVE cardio. But then again I've never done it for weight loss (never been above ~7% body fat). And I love every form of exercise/activity/etc.
Enjoying working out is as simple as setting goals, and utilizing your fitness for performance (in sports or events). I would recommend looking at races for cardio (there are plenty for beginners, especially 5ks), or getting back into a sport you used to play (even just beer league - gives you a reason to gain fitness).
I hate cardio. I mean I usually do it when I'm at the gyme, but I really, really hate it. Especially after you've worked out so you've already been there at least an hour. Just adds on so much extra time to your workout, especially because you'll now have to shower there afterwards, unless you wanna stink up your car.
The key for me is trying to time out your workout so you'll be hitting the cardio machines right when something decent is on TV. That helps make it less of a chore. Gyme cardio's so important, but so, so boring. That's why summer rulz. You can actually sub out the gyme cardio with things like flag football. Hurry up and get here already!
I made a dumb post last night, but here is my honest advice.
I lost 40+ lbs in November and December due to stress, so I wasn't eating. Went from 225 down to about 180ish. I've regained some of the weight, but am holding steady at 187.
My weight loss started when my gf left me, so I got stressed and stopped eating properly for a bit- plus, cooking for one sucks so I'd just eat small snacks or even get fast food. For me, I've found WHAT you eat isn't as important as how much you eat!
Start working out. Ball hockey, as suggested, is really great. I've been playing since January, and I've kept my weight down below 190 while starting to have an unhealthy diet again. Should be easy to stay active in the summer- join a few teams, do a bootcamp, take your dog for longer walks, etc.
One thing that's tough to do, but would make a huge difference- stop drinking pop and alcohol/beer. If you have a beer with dinner, that adds how many extra calories!?
One thing that's tough to do, but would make a huge difference- stop drinking pop and alcohol/beer. If you have a beer with dinner, that adds how many extra calories!?
Since I refuse to give up liquor, I've switched to liquor and water. I quite enjoy a Weiser's & water. 20 calories, no carbs. Or scotch. Mmmmm.
One thing that's tough to do, but would make a huge difference- stop drinking pop and alcohol/beer. If you have a beer with dinner, that adds how many extra calories!?
5% alcohol = 5g alcohol / 100 mL
355 mL (can) / 100 mL = 3.55 100mL portions
5g x 3.55 100 mL portions = 17.75g alcohol / can of beer
Since 1g alcohol = 7 calories...
17.75g x 7 cal / g = 124 calories from alcohol alone... with most beer having about 8 - 10 g of carbohydrates (+ 32 - 40 calories).
Alcohol doesn't come with nutrition labels, so hopefully this helps some calculate the calories out! Keeping in mind that there are 29.6 ml / oz.
1 oz of 40% vodka = 80+ calories
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Well I'm glad my guess was close. When I kept track of this stuff (roughly anyways) I assumed it was around 100 calories per shot. I guess it was all the dancing and sex that wore that off because some nights....!
Good call on the Michi Ladder. It's a really good tool if you want to gauge the types of foods you should target (bring it to the grocery store), or at least work towards, getting 95% of your foods (gotta have fun sometimes) from the top 2 groups. It doesn't mean you can eat whatever you want for those groups because you still have to think about calorie differential.
I find the problem with most people is they get way too into too quickly and things always fall apart. Take your time with it, it's a life style change and that change doesn't have to come overnight. Start going to the gym for 15 minutes with a 15 minute walk for cardio. Work on getting your calorie intake down replacing meals here and there to get them all in the healthy range.
Let's assume it's a 280lb guy who would burn somewhere between 3000-3200 calories a day from just doing what you do everyday. Then you throw in a 15min walk and 15min weight lifting and that's another ~250 calories burned. So if you want to lose 1lb a week you could still eat 2500-2900 calories. Break that up over 6 meals a day and you are eating 450 calories which can be pretty decent portions if the food is right. Throw in a protein shake for one of those meals to fill ya up or get you by. You adjust the calories as you start to lose weight and work out more and you will see results. You won't see them tomorrow but by taking your time, allowing your body to adjust, you will have a better survival rate.
I would never suggest or recommend, and I think most professionals would agree, is never have a differential of more than 1000 calories in a day. It will honestly do you more harm than good in the long run. And I think they even say anything less than 1500 calories is not good for you.
As for p90x and insanity programs they are great for those are already somewhat fit. Someone who has been laying on the couch all day (their target buyer) is going to fail most of the time because it's 60-90min of straight go! Too hard on a out of shape person's body and that results in "days off" which turn into weeks. Just my opinion though.
__________________
Quote:
Originally Posted by henriksedin33
Not at all, as I've said, I would rather start with LA over any of the other WC playoff teams. Bunch of underachievers who look good on paper but don't even deserve to be in the playoffs.
I've last 45 pounds since last August. I changed my diet so I was making sure that I wasn't over eating carbohydrates - my personal killer - and tried to ensure I was ending the day with a calorie deficit.
However, I've recently hit a plateau. I have really strong legs since I do a lot of running/biking, but I'm still carrying a lot of fat on my thighs, and a bit around the gut.
I think I'm going to really have to increase my weight training routine, and start running for longer periods to increase my fat burning.
Lots of great advice, but I would like to echo that a large portion of losing and maintaining a healthy weight is controlling your diet. As others have said, enjoying your exercise will make it seem like less of a chore and you'll look forward to training.
