nordlead2005 Member

For general health that is enough as you are doing 75-120 minutes of cardio per week and 3x/week resistance training. But as noted, it depends on what your goals are.

normally cracking is fine as it is just cavitation of the fluids around the joints and is harmless. If you feel pain or something slipping (like your kneecap) then stop exercising and get it checked out by a doctor.

You are going to swim and hike probably more than normal, so you don't need to bring them for exercise. As for strength training, 1 week isn't enough to lose muscle or strength. Do whatever you want, but there isn't a lot of reason to bring them, and personally I don't care to exercise on vacation, I'm there to relax not…

Not at all. First of all, it isn't practical as I'm not in control of everything I eat (restaurants, over at families/friends). Secondly, for packaged easily countable uniform goods (single slice of cheese, single serve candy bar in a wrapper, etc...) I figure it is close enough most of the time and I'm getting the results…

fructose is the "bad" sugar not the "good" sugar, hence why HFCS (High Fructose Corn Syrup) is considered evil by various people. http://www.precisionnutrition.com/research-review-fructose-vs-glucose Also, the real problem with juice is the complete lack of fiber. Juice is not an effective way to get your 5 servings of…

In general, you want to keep weight loss at/under 1% of your bodyweight per week. So 2lb/week would be fine now, but you should probably slow it down a little bit a month or so in. I started at 220lb and went for 2lb/week until I hit slightly under 200lb then switched to 1.5lb/week for a while, then 1lb/week, then…

It wasn't a habit for me, it was a decision. Jun 1st 2015 I decided to track calories and did it every day. There was no trying to make it a habit, I just did it since it was a tool/method I decided to use. It took until Jan/Feb 2016 to hit my target weight and then I went a little further in the push for abs. Over the…

I pay ~$75/month for the YMCA family membership so my kids can swim. I mostly workout in my garage and that cost me $75/month and dropping every month. If it lasts as long as my previous weight set (that is for a 1" bar) then it'll end up costing me ~$5/month or less.

You can't spot reduce fat. So, your "ideal" measurements may never happen. You can't guarantee that you'll only lose 2" here and 5" there. Also, getting rid of fat (without building muscle) is losing weight. So do you want to build muscle or do you want to lose weight? If you want to lose weight, eat at a deficit, no meal…

no, but on average you should try to hit your goal (otherwise why did you have it?). I aim to have my weekly average equal to my goal. So, I'm often under on weekdays and over on the weekend. Sometimes I'm even under one week and over the next.

Your current lean mass at 20% body fat is 80% of your current weight. What this calculator is for is figuring out how much muscle you can put on while maintaining 20% BF and then from there estimating target lift (bench, squat, deadlift) amounts. So, if you weigh 150lb now and are at 20% BF you have 120lb of lean mass.…

1550 calories sounds like maintenance for a 5'4" 36yo female who weights 120lb and is sedentary. You run a 5k 3x/week and cycle, which probably means you need to eat at least another ~150 calories/day. How fast are you losing weight per week right now? Multiply that by 500 and that will tell you how many more calories you…

yes it is. Not every person has the same bone structure. Body types (ectomorph, endomorph) aren't a thing, but two people who are both 6'1" may have different arm/leg lengths and different shoulder widths. This is part of why BMI has such a large range for each category. As for a healthy BMI, while BMI isn't perfect a BMI…

I see no evidence in this post that the new one is accurate or precise. You just like the number better. Also, every time someone complains that a scale isn't accurate because the number changes every time they step on, what they are really complaining about is precision. The scale could be accurate but imprecise. If you…

yeah.... you don't need more exercise to lose weight. You just need a calorie deficit which can be created either via exercise or just eating less food. When I lost my 50lb (aproximately a 175,000 calorie deficit over most of a year) I calculated my total exercise calories and it came out to a measly 20% of that weight…

I'm an engineer with a desk job. I either sit at my desk and fidget or I stand in the lab and spin the chair in circles, and if I have to talk to someone I walk to their cube. If I do have to travel between buildings I walk (1 mile round trip), which is about once per day. As for after work, I either play with my kids, do…

There is research out there that correlates calf strength with reduction in shin splints. Personally I can tell you that I went a whole year where any running (playing Ultimate) lead to shin splints. That following January I started SL5x5 and after 4 months of strength training in the winter/spring I no longer had shin…

everything you eat stunts weight loss, it doesn't matter if it is "bad" or "good" or however you want to classify the food. Set a calorie goal and eat to that. If your calorie goal leaves you room for a treat every night then eat it completely guilt free.

I use a protein shake after lifting if I didn't hit my protein goals for the day. It is after lifting for 2 reasons. 1) I eat diner ~5:30 and start lifting ~1 hour later and don't want to take it before 2) I like to have a snack while watching TV at night so this works as vanilla with PB powder is pretty good. I've also…

If you want to "transform" your body as much as possible in 5 weeks before only being able to get to the gym 2x/week then I think the only answer that makes any sense at all is bulk for 5 weeks lifting 3-5x/week. While this is counter intuitive, you will build both strength and muscle and then you can maintain the muscle…

Do the workout that you enjoy and that will meet whatever goals you set for yourself. Walking, biking, running, rowing, swimming, etc... all serve generally the same purpose. Increased cardiovascular health and some additional calorie burn (if that is what you are after). Resistance training helps build/maintain…

If you are eating in a deficit (or even maintenance) you will not build muscle faster than you will burn fat (if you are building any at all, which isn't likely lifting 8lb dumbbells). It most likely is water retention either due to eating more carbs, your period, replenishing glycogen stores, eating more sodium, etc....…

I'm sure it works just as well as any other weighted hoola hoop. But, it depends on your definition of "works". What are you looking for it to do?

BMI is not a 1:1 correlation with BF%. They are different metrics for different purposes. If you are happy at 165 and your 31% reading is realistic, then stay at that weight and ignore the BMI indicator.

hula hoop is a perfectly fine cardio activity. It is not strength training any more than walking/running is. I don't know much about weighted hoops, but my understanding is that the heavier the weight the easier it is to keep them going, so over any given period of time they burn less calories (but you should be able to do…

If you want to move weights around and make mild progress only to stall, then make your own program. If you want a simple program that you can follow and make significant consistent gains, then follow an established program. There are plenty to choose from and I'm sure there is one that will fit your goals.

Even if you weigh food often, eyeballing portion sizes at restaurants is incredibly inaccurate (they don't cook like you do at home, often using a lot more fats/oils). But, I would argue that if you are weighing everything at home, then being inaccurate at a restaurant on occasion is OK and that it is better to use balance…

I did SL5x5 (still doing a variation of it, but at 3x8 since I have no more weights and need to get more) and I've lost 50lb. If you use the MFP method, then exercise has no bearing on rate of weight loss as the weight loss is factored in prior to doing any exercise. In the beginning I lost 2lb/week, now I'm losing…

Have you tried a thumbless grip while keeping your wrists straight? You can see an example of this grip (and an explanation) by Mark Rippetoe in his bar position video. Basically, what you are doing now is placing your hands under the bar so some force is being exerted down your arm to your elbows (I'm assuming you are…

Joint popping is usually harmless cavitations. If you experience pain or otherwise suspect issues with your kneecap (you can feel it moving out of place), then get it checked out.