contingencyplan Member

Generally speaking, fat doesn't accumulate around joints except in the case of very obese people. If you are at or close to a healthy weight and you have a substantial deposit around the knees, I would see a doctor. It sounds like there's more to that than you think.

You don't need a gym membership, but walking alone is not enough. You need a form of strength training in your regimen. Without it, you're only cheating yourself.

Continue with the program until you hit a strength plateau and can no longer see linear increases in weight, then switch to something like Wendler 5/3/1.

Those machines you're using are meant only to be a supplement to free weights, not replace them. You should be using free weights. Much better workout in less time. Running performance will suffer somewhat if you try to get a run in before your muscles have fully recovered from the gym workouts because muscles in a state…

Skogg System. Started with just one 18kg bell, which is what I'm using it right now. Skogg System is one of the very best in terms of instruction and form. Using a bell that's too light can actually cause injury with swing movements, because the hamstrings are unable to engage unless sufficiently loaded (which is why they…

I do want to stress though that programs like 30DS are NOT strength/muscle gain programs. They are awful for someone in your position. You need pure strength training with minimal cardio, because you need to keep your calorie goal as low as possible.

If you only have access to a few sets of handweights you are better off going with a 100% bodyweight based program. With weights, you need the ability to keep on increasing the amount of weight used in order to see the progress you are looking for. I recommend looking into the book Convict Conditioning. I sent you a PM,…

If you only have access to a few sets of handweights you are better off going with a 100% bodyweight based program. With weights, you need the ability to keep on increasing the amount of weight used in order to see the progress you are looking for. I recommend looking into the book Convict Conditioning. I sent you a PM,…

I eat when I'm hungry.

Circuit training is in the database. However it's probably way more than what you actually burn if you're using hand weights.

Anything you could actually call an injury, rest. Do mobility work if prescribed, but that's about it. Injuries aren't something you should mess around with.

5 and 8 lb dumbbells are more or less useless for your goal. They're cardio tools. You need the ability to steadily increase the weight as you grow stronger, which means having access to a wide variety of weights. Without that, all you're doing is cardio. You should look into bodyweight-exclusive routines, like You Are…

Don't choose a goal weight. Assuming you're doing the right kind of exercise combination and eating enough you will see increases in lean body mass along the way that will throw off your original estimates of your goal weight. I would say don't bother with a goal weight.

Honestly I've never met anyone who didn't. The people who make a big deal over the wording are usually doing it just to antagonize.

What this question should be asking is, is bodyweight training (since that's all TRX is) as effective as heavy lifting? The answer is it can be--depending on the goals. You CAN build a base of functional strength with bodyweight training that can arguably be as effective as heavy weight training. You can also stimulate…

1 pound per week is about the most she can expect to lose without putting her health on the line. She's doing it right and she's doing great.

Calisthenics.

Saran wrap is not breathable. Skin needs to breathe. Whether or not you break a sweat is not an indicator of calorie burns or how hard you're working, especially when you're making it do it by depriving it of breathability. EDIT: WHO BROUGHT THIS THING BACK FROM THE DEAD?!

Attaching feelings of legitimate guilt to eating a "binge" that for most people is a normal weekend day? To the point of crying? Seek help. I'm not joking.

Very good point. A lot of people don't tell the difference between joint pain and muscle soreness. One is good. One means STOP WHAT YOU ARE DOING RIGHT THIS INSTANT.

Use 5x. Remember one day a week for Insanity is the "recovery" workout which is very low intensity and shouldn't really be counted toward this. Also, you can't really stack Insanity with other forms of exercise unless you are a very high level athlete as it is very hard on the body and you won't recover quickly enough. The…

Doing Insanity you should be using the TDEE method rather than logging calories burned. Use one of the online calculators to calculate your TDEE such as those at scoobysworkshop or fat2fitradio and set that as your calorie goal. Do not log your workouts. Eat your goal everyday. The system MFP uses, where you log your…

Insanity is very very rigorous and it is not safe to stack it with other workouts unless you are at the level of an extremely fit athlete. You would be making yourself more prone to injury and not accomplishing anything else.

Usually in those cases it's a case of improper warmup/cooldown. Too great of a calorie deficit can also be a contributing factor. Also, you shouldn't be doing them everyday. You should be resting the muscles for a day in between and progressively adding weight every time you do it, like 5 lbs at a time. Don't increase the…

OP: From what it sounds like, if you're stacking Insanity and 30DS, as well as walking/cycling, you're increasing your calorie needs (your basic fuel requirements) to something you're more than likely having trouble keeping up with I don't know how much you eat in a day, but it's very possible you might see better results…

Cardio--whether resisted or not--does not build muscle. This _requires_ a form of progression that is simply not possible when the amount of resistance used remains constant. In other words, there is a period of about 3 weeks when you first start where muscle may enjoy the same benefits from swimming as it would from…

Someone who ignores the 5 second rule.

"Can I do cardio instead of strength training?" That's what you're asking. No form of cardio is a replacement for strength training. There are, however, certain workout formats, such as circuit training, which allow you to get both from one single workout.

Generally speaking if you're a beginner, full body 3x a week following a program such as Starting Strength or Stronglifts 5x5 is the way to go. After you hit the limit of your progression going that route, depending on where you are at and what your specific goals are, you should explore other avenues (the split is one).…

The mechanics of the leg press mean you're not lifting the full amount that you are actually putting on it. Depending on the machine it can be as little as 50% or as much as 80%, but never more than that. You can pile on plates to track your progress but the amount you can lift on one machine doesn't necessarily translate…