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Physical Training

I wake up around 430-5. Eat a banana or two, go lift around six...come home eat some fish or eggs or some other sort of protein (sometimes shakes.) I then shower, get on macrumors or youtube for a couple of hours and then go run about a mile and a half to 2 miles. Now I must do this every day as I have one month to get my ass in shape for Marine boot camp, but My personal trainer says it is ok to sometimes alternate your exercises. One thing my Personal trainer also tells me is to push myself a little harder each day, it will increase your strength and endurance little by little each day.
 
mac2thefuture said:
To the pros out there, any one know how to make these supplementary 'shake' drinks taste, well, tasty??
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I'm no pro, but my protein shakes are extremely tasty.

Here's what I use, 20 minutes after my workout:

4oz skim milk
1 cup ice
1 banana
2 scoops pure whey protein (strawberry flavor)
1 teaspoon glutamine

Throw it all in a blender, and let it mix well.

I was shocked at how good it tasted the first time I made one.
 
As for making a protein shake drink tasty, a lot of posters have had good suggestions with what to mix in. If you don't have the time to add five ingredients to your shake, and want a protein powder that tastes great (such as if you make a shake out of powder and water like I do) I highly recommend Optimum Nutrition 100% Whey (chocolate flavor). It's known around the fitness world as a great whey powder with the best taste of anything on the market. I highly recommend it.
 
Thanks for all the advice here guys.
The shake powder i've purchased is chocolate flavour and isn't the best to be honest, but at £40 a tub i'm gonna have to pursue. Not much you do to the chocolate variety and enhance it.
 
mac2thefuture said:
Thanks for all the advice here guys.
The shake powder i've purchased is chocolate flavour and isn't the best to be honest, but at £40 a tub i'm gonna have to pursue. Not much you do to the chocolate variety and enhance it.
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£40 a tub? Lordy! Try this one next time: I make it up with skimmed milk and add a generous handful of frozen forest fruits (or berries of your choice) then blend it. Tasty. They do chocolate/strawberry as well if you prefer.
 
redwarrior said:
Don't know if anyone has said this already, but be sure to drink plenty of water. You'd be amazed at how much energy is zapped from being dehydrated, and so many people are chronically so.
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So true! Yes- we did all forget this one. Make sure to drink plenty of water at the gym! It's extremely important for regulating body temp too.
 
leekohler said:
Having been a fitness junky most of my life, I agree with all but one thing here- do NOT eat before you go workout, unless you plan on getting up at 4 in the AM.
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Oh yeah, I didn't mention to eat right before working out.. at least an hour and a half before working out. I find, that for my body.. an hour is good enough.. heck I'm hungry in an hour after eating (and I eat very, very clean)

Also, I stated that if you're doing some heavy weightlifting - if you're doing cardio, then you can head straight to the gym without breakfast (burn up faster) I find that I get lean from doing weights alone (besides, the damn cardio section is always crowded!)
 
Badandy said:
I highly recommend Optimum Nutrition 100% Whey (chocolate flavor). It's known around the fitness world as a great whey powder with the best taste of anything on the market. I highly recommend it.
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Optimum is great for the value.. but the taste is horrid! :p Even worse is Isopure Low Carb (I have that) I always mix it with bananas, oatmeal, etc - and it tastes like a chocolate shake.

Just remember that any 'great' tasting protein powde will have a lot of 'filler' agents added to it - real protein by itself, is supposed to taste nasty. I prefer ingesting stuff with the least chemicals, additives, enhancers, etc.

Amongst the yummy protein powders I've had were - Muscle Milk (oh God, have that with cold milk - its like ice cream.. I miss that so much) But.. has a lot of fat content. :(
 
Music_Producer said:
Optimum is great for the value.. but the taste is horrid! :p Even worse is Isopure Low Carb (I have that) I always mix it with bananas, oatmeal, etc - and it tastes like a chocolate shake.

Just remember that any 'great' tasting protein powde will have a lot of 'filler' agents added to it - real protein by itself, is supposed to taste nasty. I prefer ingesting stuff with the least chemicals, additives, enhancers, etc.

Amongst the yummy protein powders I've had were - Muscle Milk (oh God, have that with cold milk - its like ice cream.. I miss that so much) But.. has a lot of fat content. :(
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Muscle Milk IS great. It's so tasty and great for right after a workout.
 
Hi, a little update.
I don't add anything to my shakes now, they're just yummy.

My routine consists on a variation of the following:
Mon am. back & shoulders
Mon pm 30mins cardio(running)
Tues am. Triceps & biceps
Tues pm 30 mins cardio
Wed am Chest
Wed pm . 30 mins cardio
Thurs start the cycle over again complete rest on Sunday

Other than running each evening I try and stay away from leg exercises. My calves are stupidly big and muscled as they are without training them - It’s the way I walk apparently, and my quads a fairly well toned - many years of footy

Is this ok or should I leave a day off between weights?
I'm happy going twice a day as I work away from home and it gives me something to do but, will I see results this way within 3 months or not?
Aim = toned, athletic, beach boy look.....sad description but that’s what I'm after
 
mac2thefuture said:
Hi, a little update.
I don't add anything to my shakes now, they're just yummy.

My routine consists on a variation of the following:
Mon am. back & shoulders
Mon pm 30mins cardio(running)
Tues am. Triceps & biceps
Tues pm 30 mins cardio
Wed am Chest
Wed pm . 30 mins cardio
Thurs start the cycle over again complete rest on Sunday

Other than running each evening I try and stay away from leg exercises. My calves are stupidly big and muscled as they are without training them - It’s the way I walk apparently, and my quads a fairly well toned - many years of footy

Is this ok or should I leave a day off between weights?
I'm happy going twice a day as I work away from home and it gives me something to do but, will I see results this way within 3 months or not?
Aim = toned, athletic, beach boy look.....sad description but that’s what I'm after
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Ahh,getting buff for the warmer weather? :) Some suggestions:
First and foremost,STRETCH..Before and after your workout..Never workout cold,ie w/o stretching.
Don't neglect your core. Two solid exercises for that are deadlifts and squats.
No matter how strong and develooped you think your lower body is,work it anyways.Even with lighter weights,to help maintain some stretch and flexibility in your muscles.
If you ask ten people to give their workout routines,you'll get ten different answers.Everybody's different and what works for one may not work for you. Personally,I have had the best results with three on,one off type of routine. And I've tried numerous combos before that. Also something to consider. When you're working primary muscles (chest,back,legs),you're also working secondary muscles (arms,shoulders,abs).Another words,when you workout your chest,your indirectly working your triceps and shoulders.You want to keep that in mind when coming up with your routine.For the longest time I couldn't figure out why my shoulder workouts,were weak.I was doing the day after working my chest.Put an extra day in between,and my shoulder workouts got much better..
There's LOTS of trial and error in finding what works for you. It's a journey,not a destination....
 
fotografica said:
First and foremost,STRETCH..Before and after your workout..Never workout cold,ie w/o stretching.
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Actually, a fair amount of research has gone into the whole stretching thing, and the general consensus from what I can tell is that while stretching after a workout is definitely necessary, traditional stretching before a workout actually does not help and often degrades performance. Apparently it's much better to either do some light cardio (maybe 10 minutes jogging, rowing machine, elliptical, etc) or dynamic stretching (stuff like these) before working out for the best results.
 
Thanks for the introduction, Badandy!

First off, congratulations on wanting to make such an important change for your health and self-esteem, and I really mean that! That said, let's get down to business. First off, you said you were confused about nutrition. The best advice I can give you is straight from Jack Lalane; eat real food. If it comes in a package, if man made it, spit it out. This goes even for bread (although whole grain bread can have it's place). A proper diet is going to do 85% of the work for you. Yes you can get lean and mean eating nothing but lemon tarts — look at the rubbish Michael Phelps eats — but evolution gifted you with a body that wants to be strong, not weak and doughy. Leafy vegetables, unprocessed meats, nuts and fruits will provide you with an excellent balance of macronutrients and micronutrients. A salad is about the manliest thing you can eat. Instead of trying to make it palatable with some ghastly dressing made of sugar and fish paste, throw some tuna or chicken in there. Eschew buns for leafy green lettuce leaves.

On the exercise front, too much is just as dangerous as too little. Muscles don't grow in the gym, they grow in your sleep when you're getting plenty of rest. Your muscles needs 24-48 hours to fully recover, so you need to space your workouts out more; it's not a race. Secondly, imitate those whose success you'd like to, well, imitate. 30 minutes of running for cardio? Why? If you want to be a marathon runner then for sure you're on the right path, but if not lose the distance running and replace it with sprinting (I say that with all respect to distance runners, a very fine sport). Take a look at the body of a sprinter; I don't know about you, but that's what I'd like to look like.
 
Iscariot said:
Leafy vegetables, unprocessed meats, nuts and fruits will provide you with an excellent balance of macronutrients and micronutrients.
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Oh yes, no better start for the day than raw liver for breakfast!

:D

But in general, Iscariot is right (although I don't see why he discriminates against carrots and tomatoes). He just forgot to tell you about fish, which gives you lots of protein, and healthy, unsaturated fats.
 
If you want to grow a little bit of muscles, you need to increase weights gradually,
work on the same muscles EVERY-OTHER day, so your muscles can recover.

When there is good muscle definition then you don't need to increase weights anymore.

Have protein after workout. Cottage cheese works. Proper eating habits helps.
Excercising before dinner works for me when I was going to the gym.

Protein shake is for sissys =p (Actually some of those suggestions sounds pretty good.)

Hot shower after workout will minimize muscle fatique (soreness).
 
Consultant said:
Hot shower after workout will minimize muscle fatique (soreness).
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From what I've heard, it might be more beneficial to take a 20 minute shower, alternating between hot and cold water every 5 minutes or so...


(This wasn't from a friend, it was some kind of study)
 
30 minutes of running for cardio? Why?

I do this for a few reasons really.
I spend my entire day sat at a desk or else I'm sat whilst driving (and I mean 8 hrs) - not active.
I assumed 30 mins cardio was the adult daily min.
It will assist in the fading of fat and quicken the process of showing my much wanted 6 pack.
Work away from home, it's something to do.
 
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