I2k4 Member

Whey is just a by-product of dairy foods production, and should just be considered a basic "food" rather than a supplement despite the industry's hyperbolic marketing and bizarre packaging fun and games with jar sizes, scoop sizes, concentrations with cheaper ingredients, and wild pricing fluctuations. Funnily in Canada,…

Not a trainer or athlete, after four years of weights training with coach Ted Newland at UCI, physical fitness was pretty healthily balanced between lifting and a range of casual but mostly weekly recreational activities like running, swimming, canoing, biking, tennis. First "lifestyle" mistake was letting physical…

Agree with above, not as a "trainer" per se because it doesn't know the client and cannot watch practice. But has been helpful to me in evaluatiing ideas or things I'm already trying. Needing to increase cardio, by coincidence earlier today I asked Perplexity AI "Compare cardio and metabolic benefit of 30 minutes moderate…

I pretty much agree with Retroguy that basic free weight exercises, especially for the young and healthy, are the shortest way to strength and muscle mass, and that starting with bands for comparable versions of the same lifts will eventually bring serious or competitive lifters back to the iron. (Interesting news that…

Fitness media is full of gushing enthusiasm for this or that modality or equipment and furious dismissal of others. Free weights have a near unlmiited range of resistance levels, but are drastically limited to UP/DOWN gravitational direction and their own strength curves - that's why thousands of bucks get spent on…

I've been using creatine for a couple of years, worthwhile to do some independent research and maybe ask a good AI service. I did not "load" 20 gram daily doses for two weeks (as some sources suggest to quickly rebuild depleted stores) and I'd suspect "loading" might cause reported digestive issues. Just starting with a 3…

Looking pretty young, fit and lean (though not competitively "shredded") I'd say an experiment with collagen supplementation would be worthwhile at least for the skin surface. Only more calorie reduction and intensified lower ab training might gradually get to the little pouch through fat loss and building supportive…

Not very specific about where, when or how either the cardio or other training will be done, or awareness of the impact of diet on potentially conflicting goals where "weight" obscures the difference between losing unwanted body fat and gaining desirable muscle mass. I would generally suggest a complete beginner look for…

I'd agree with all above on getting a serious diagnosis and referral to physiotherapy if covered or affordable. Dealing with off and on shoulder bursitis for some years I'll toss in non-medical possibilities that helped me: 1) watch how you sleep - my shoulder problem was likely caused and certainly aggravated by…

Cold poatatoes are great. My Austrian parents served them with red beet borscht and sour cream - sadly haven't had it in years.

Very good basic how-to from AnnPT77 above. My loss was comparable but much less quick and entirely without a scale or calorie tracking, taking over a year (to go from 40" wardrobe panic to comfortably under 36" pants). But the "weight" loss was. as often, also loss of muscle and it needed some serious thought about food…

Had to move to Canada to learn that for fries, vinegar and black pepper (salt optional) is better than any color gooey dip. (White and brown malt vinegar bottles in better joints, or those anti-ecological plastic envelopes in FF franchises.)

Not my problem any more but (since you don't specify modes of interest) you might want to think along the lines of the (paid) Mind Pump "MAPS 15" built on brief daily resistance training sessions of around 15 minutes, focused on sets of two foundational compound exercises per workout and doable at home if necessary, with…

No special diet, but eating a lot of tofu on a high protein diet I got curious and asked AI about whether serving it with meat or fish enhances bioavailability of the soy protein - got a strong response to effect that while a "complete" protein soy is low on methionine, limiting protein absorption, and that especially fish…

I started using isometric (static hold) resistance movements for joint recovery but followed online sources for use as a warm-up or "pre-exhaust" for dynamic working sets. Isos are a quick good way to get the feel of target muscles, especially for compound lifts like bench where pecs get lost among other actors. "Yielding"…

Charles Barkely the NBA player once said "There are good backs and bad backs, and I have a bad one." Me too, thirty years of an architecturally "long" high maintenance back, that mainly goes out from sedentary neglect triggered by sudden moves. Importantly, and be very sure, not a skeletal, disc, or nerve impingement…

My spreadsheet (big appetite, cut portions to suit. Various sources, recently finding AI chatbots a bit inconsistent but answers in the ballpark.): Food Serving Gr Protein Whey Blend Scoop 25 Egg 2 large 12 Yogurt 0% 175g 7 Gr Yogurt 0% 175g 19 Milk 1 cup or 250ml 8 Couscous 85g or .5 cup 11 Pasta (dry) 100g or 1 cup 6…

A couple of years since my rabbit hole dive into this, but assuming the same nutritious, high protein diet, the takeaways were mainly: 1) the term "Weight" is misleading happy-talk combining and confusing unwanted "Body FAT" with valuable "Lean Body Mass", 2) in the immediate short term cardio will "burn" and lose more…

Funny for me, because it was having to buy a pair of 40" pants in fall of 2018 that infuriated me to the point of dieting. Waist was down to 35" a year and half later and it's hovered around 36" since. Paraphrasing the OJ trial: "if the pants fit, you must acquit". (Still have those fat pants hanging in the closet as a…

The only artificially sweetened product I eat is whey protein powder, different brands sold with either Sucralose or Stevia. Have settled on Amazon Watchlisted brands mainly for price per gram of protein, but on my own standard of acceptable flavor and mixability. My current listed brands use both sweeteners, but have to…

Programming and routines depend on current fitness level, lifestyle demands and schedule, and (sadly) age and ability for recovery and bodily adaptation. It's much too common to get motivated this time of year only to get hurt or give up within a couple of months. Direct coaching on basics with a good trainer is very…

Many situational differences so no "universal" principle about this. I learned a lot from scrupulous diet tracking (first time ever) over a full year during the pandemic, and recommend that discipline along with programmed workouts for those who haven't done it. Maintaining muscle mass and function is personally more…

There are of course medical conditions that require or are helped by supplements. Aging may be one of them - I've toyed with gratitude for athletes who use/abuse PEDs and supplements as pioneers for geriatric use - if doable exercise and anabolic steroids will keep me off assistive walkers or wheelies or oxygen in my 90s…

No question the rollers are a good candidate for DIY. BTW there are some interesting web sources on just twisting or scrunching up a heavy towel as rehab therapy, and a rolled towel makes a good "fat grip" handle for cable or resistance bands. Also if not using those DBs for pronated and hammer biceps curls, OP could…

Not a priority but I played around with this Youtuber's five minute set a few years ago - it's a test (got a lot of views, too). You might also consider the fairly cheap Wrist Rollers bars, some of which can attach DBs as the weight.

I tried a number and pretty much settled on Hevy for Android, as being the easiest interface to work with when tracking a definite program - not all the time. Still using it free without need for more than four routines or too many custom exercises. It has a pretty good library (with demos) though limited for resistance…

The vague question points to inexperience. Posted in the "gaining" section (so not fighting fat loss dieting) for setting calorie and protein targets, and the hashtag "bodybuilding" points to a specific long term lifting modalities and skillsets, though "newbie gains" will build strength and functional mobility along with…

As a natural "mesomorph" with good muscle mass, BMI based on scale weight has always ridiculously shown borderline "obese". Just came across this relatively new and researched "Body Roundness Indicator" or BRI that seems much more sensible. The write up here is helpful, more so the downloadable PDF study (that shows how…

First suggestion would be professional / medical advice as to safe exercises for your current condition. That said, also know that while a cardio session will "burn" far more calories than the same time spent building strength and muscle mass, over time the body will efficiently adapt very differently. Cardio eventually…

Agree with the above on bands. By coincidence came across a new post by James Grage (Undersun Bands) with a short workout using what look like 25lb DBs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ViCQDZ_jHGg (I much prefer to do squats by doubling a band underfoot (lifting "suitcase" style, like a deadlift but quad-engaging) rather…