mjbrenner Member

You cannot target a specific location for fat loss or gain. If your wife could actually "spot gain", then she would be able to pick and choose where she gained her body fat. If spot reduction is choosing where you lose body fat, then spot gaining would be choosing where you gain it. I would bet that you wife, like many…

There is an art and a science to using "cheat days" effectively. The science tells us that weekly cheat days can accompany weight loss without any problems, but you need to make up for it with a little extra calorie deficit the rest of the week. The MFP iphone app has a great graph function that shows your calories for the…

There is no real muscle "boredom". The key is progression. If you lift weights, keep lifting heavier. If you do cardio, keep pushing it harder. As long as you keep pushing the edge, you will be fine for a good long while. There are advantages in switching up your routine, especially with exercise videos. Assuming your goal…

I find that I do best if I eat as healthy as possible six days a week and save up some extra calories each of those days. I then spend all of those calories on one fantastic "cheat" day on the weekend. The thing is that it's not really cheating, since it fits within my weekly allowance. Having planned "cheat" days means…

I wish I had saved links to the studies I had read. My understanding is that newbie lifters with some body fat and the obese can gain some muscle while eating a deficit. This is because at these stages, the body will preferentially take energy from fat and use that energy to assemble muscles. The body still needs the…

Is lifting different for someone in their 60's? I don't ask this to be sarcastic - I just wonder how age affects recovery time. If you have not already done so, check out the Stronglifts group here on MFP. There are lifters of all ages there, and people might have input.

Megadoses of vitamin A from animal sources and some supplements can carry negative health effects, but you are unlikely to encounter this unless you eat liver on a very regular basis. Megadoses of vitamin A from plants is 100% safe. Go to town and enjoy your sweet potatoes!

Stronglifts is a legit program, and many of us are having fantastic results with it. It is also free, which is a great price. That said, Mehdi, the guy who runs Stronglifts, writes like a slimy salesman. His aggressive marketing style is a real turn-off. Thankfully, you can use the program and never go back to the site…

At the concentration used in food, propylene glycol is safe for humans to consume orally. Like most substances, the does makes the poison. I am including a link to the Wikipedia entry, which contains copious citations. Please, please, please, do two minutes of research before you spread those copy/paste "warnings". They…

Buy a copy of "The Everything Personal Finance in Your 20s & 30s Book". Read it cover to cover. Keep it and refer to it regularly. My wife and I cut our financial teeth on this book as young adults, and every young couple we have lent it to since has loved it and learned from it. Good job on taking your adult life…

I have Achilles tendinitis, which it sounds like you might be experiencing as well. My advice in no way replaces whatever your doctor tells you to do, but I can suggest a few things to try in the two weeks before you see him or her: 1. Take two ibuprofen (Advil) or naproxen (Aleve) every night before bed. This can help to…

This. I use resistance bands sometimes as part of my dynamic stretching before I lift weights. That said, it is better to work out with sub-optimal equipment than to not work out at all. Many workout videos make use of resistance bands, which might not be a bad choice if you cannot spend the money on better equipment or a…

I had the same problems. Besides stretching my hip flexors, like like is mentioned above, I found that I actually had to narrow my stance and angle my feet more towards straight. I was only a little bit too wide and too angled, but it pulled me off of my heals and towards my toes. Concentrating on tightening my shoulders…

Many women seem to like "New Rules" mentioned above. Stronglifts is another solid introductory program. If you search for "Stronglifts" in the groups section, it will give you two groups dedicated to the program here on MFP. One is for women only (and is more active), and the other is for everyone. How much weight are your…

People really do start to take note fairly quickly. I just finished my 21st session, and one of the big guys in my gym walked by, saw 110 lb. on the bar for my rows, and gave me a simple, "Nice!" I am still in my rapid gains / form perfecting phase, and people already take notice. Similarly, I was telling my brother about…

Do it! Stronglifts has made me much stronger and healthier, and I can see the changes in my body. There is a group here on MFP for those of us doing the protocol.

I have found a 5 minute cardio warm up on the elliptical to be sufficient for Stronglifts, and then I dive right into my warm up sets. I do my first warm up set of squats without the bar, just to limber up my legs a bit more before the real work begins. The best aid I have found for increasing flexibility is to do DEEP…

Welcome! I hit my first fail very early on, but I have some rotator cuff pain that limits my overhead presses on many days.

So long as you listen to your body, you can exercise heavily on the slow carb diet. The important thing to remember is that you will need to eat more, since you are exercising heavily. Tracking your caloric intake here on MFP and eating back your exercise calories is a fine way to do that. The anti-exercise thing is really…

There is a spreadsheet on the Stronglifts site, I believe, that will let you enter what you lift now and what the translates into for starting at Stronglifts. It is specifically targeted at experienced 5x5 lifters. You might want to check it out.

I edited my post above to include an easy version of ice baths as well. I hope your knees feel better soon!

Go to a store that specializes in selling only running shoes. They will perform a gait analysis and suggest shoes that will be the best for you. Buy them, even if they are expensive. Wear them only for your runs. Jogging is running, and running is a sport that actually requires decent equipment. Your joints will thank you.…

By far it is the overhead press. I am fighting some tendinitis in my right shoulder, and I can only lift just the bare bar above my head on maybe 50% of my "B" days. I just need to take it slow and not do the lift if it hurts that day.

I just use the program and ignore the site. That way I get all of the benefit, and none of the sales push for the "Inner Circle". I understand his marketing tactic, and I agree that it feels pushy, but the program has been so solid for me that I can use it solo.

Dear me at 16, * X dies on October 30, 1998. Do not let him drive to Canada then. * Y commits suicide on April 1, 2001. Stop him the afternoon before. * Get diagnosed with and treated for ADD. Pills are awesome. Who wants to be #5 when you can be #1? * You are both a badass and one of the kindest men you know. Be both in…

I have completed fourteen sessions, averaging two sessions per week. I am noticeably stronger than when I started, which is fantastic. Is there a Stronglifts group here on MFP? I have not found one with a search. I know there is one for women, but I'd love to have a group where I can participate.

Everyone begins somewhere. No "bro" at my gym has ever been less that super supportive when I lift, even though my weights are far lower than theirs. Using the Olympic bar means you are serious about lifting, and no one begins already ripped. Give the "bros" a chance.

I have been using this model for the past three weeks, and so far so good. These calculations added roughly 1000 calories to my daily consumption, and I have far more energy now than I did a few weeks ago. I am no longer constantly tired, and I am eating enough to be able to really enjoy good meals. If you are stuck in a…

Wow. Why do you feel the need to call other people names? My wife and I have stuck together through infertility and miscarriage. We have had to live through the suicides of close friends and family members. We have weathered unemployment, chronic illness, and the existential questions that come up when you begin to worry…

I am a house husband. My job is to clean the house, run errands, cook delicious meals that take hours to prepare, soothe my wife's stress when she comes home at night, and raise our eventual children. My wife goes to an office, plays politics, and has a 1.5 hour commute each way. Dude, we won. ;)