retrobyte Member

Do your weight training before your cardio - when you are not fatigued. That way, you will have more energy for lifting which will allow you to maximise the quality of your gym workout. An added bonus is that the weight training will lift your heart rate so that when you complete the workout and do your run/walk cardio…

Some great replies already that have mentioned dumbbell bench, push ups, and dips. Another bench option that doesn't need a spotter is using a dual stack cable pulley setup - you can "bench press" by locating a bench in the middle of the dual stack station and using D handles, and you can do a standing press on this setup…

I've worked for companies who offer free flu shots to staff, and given it came out of my budget, I've done a few studies over the years into the impact of flu shots on sick leave levels. I've analysed annual sick days for the staff who have flu shots, and compared that to the average number of sick days per annum for the…

Well, you're not eating it 3 times a day, 7 days a week. I don't add salt to anything I eat, buy the unsalted peanut butter, etc etc, so I figure the occasional Subway is not going to kill me :bigsmile:

Agreed - something like the grilled chicken is a good foundation, then add lettuce, capsicum, tomato, carrot etc to taste. 9 days out of 10 I bring my own lunch to work though - far easier from a control point of view.

You are factually correct. What I was trying to explain that muscle is more dense than fat, so a lump of fat weighs less than a lump of muscle of the same size. So, it's quite common for people who are exercising to not lose weight, but to "become smaller". I figured most people here would understand what I meant by that…

Muscle weighs more than fat. Forget the scales - how do your clothes fit? Since you are exercising I'm betting you have lost some body fat and added some muscle.

If you are training with high enough intensity (minimal rests between sets, supersetting, etc) so that your heart rate is up then you are definitely burning calories. Personally, I think the estimates in MFP are pretty good.

There is a device called the Sting Ray that assists greatly for front squats. $45 at Amazon .... http://www.amazon.com/Sting-Ray/dp/B0017DE16I

Looking at your diary I see far too many carbs and not enough protein

I'm not sure where you're located, but in Australia just about every health food store will blend up fresh peanut butter on the spot - it's just raw peanuts blended in a heavy duty blender - no sugar, no salt, no oil added - just peanuts. In the supermarket, Sanitarium make a sugar free, salt free, no additives peanut…

Yeah, that's right, sugar is "natural" - because it goes through several manufacturing processes and interactions with a range of chemicals during it's journey from cane to crystal. Obesity from sugar laden refined products kills as many humans as cigarettes.

You can pick up dumbbell handles (the short bars) easily enough on eBay, and then I'd look on Gumtree or eBay for someone selling a bunch of weight plates cheaply. You don't really want to be wasting time adjusting dumbbells between each exercise or set, so it's great if you have a few pairs ready to go - more handles are…

That's a pretty good plan. Some improvements I'd make - 1. Replace the Triceps Kickbacks with Dips, because it's a compound exercise (kickbacks are foofoo) - the only equipment you need is your bench, a brick fence, or a retaining wall 2. On back day, once you are strong enough, try and add chin ups or pull ups into the…

Yes, and there is a Group for Aussies too ... http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/240-aussie-aussie-aussie

Dom, sounds like you have the right idea about how to reach your goals. I'll add that the most effective weight training for gaining muscle mass are compound exercises that work multiple muscles at once. Examples of the best all round compound exercises are bench press (which is already in your routine), deadlift, squat,…

I love the BSC Cookies and Cream, and Cherry Bite protein bars. Also, the Musashi Berry flavoured mass gain bar is tasty.

That's the plan. Just make sure you are getting adequate protein, and limit carbs. You should be shooting for 1.5-2.0gm of protein per kg.

Something light around an hour before the workout, and a real meal within an hour after the workout

Just because I'm the oldest guy in the band, I don't want to be the most unfit looking.

The Denise Austin Pilates DVDs are excellent

Some of the good quality protein bars do a pretty good approximation of "fake" chocolate, with a good hit of protein and barely any sugar or carbs. The BSC Cookies and Cream and Cheery Bite flavours are really good, for example. I also like the Musashi berry flavoured mass gain bar. Good for your protein macros, and…

This is a great example of why using weight to track progress isn't everything. Well done! It would be great if MFP had the option for us to choose other measures to use as our goal tracker, eg. waist, body fat%, lean muscle mass etc. I'm in a similar boat to SarahBeth - my weight has hardly changed at all over the past 9…

^^^ this

My diary is public, but it's Friday night here, so I'm going to blow my calories for the day on beer tonight :laugh:

As corny as it might seem, Arnie's "The New Encyclopedia of Bodybuilding" is a fantastic resource. I've also found Stuart McRobert's "Insider's Tell All Handbook on Weight Training Technique" to be an excellent book on getting exercise form right.

Sarah, I'm the same age as you, so feel free to add me if you're looking for lifting friends around the same age.

As corny as it might seem, Arnie's "The New Encyclopedia of Bodybuilding" is a fantastic resource. I've also found Stuart McRobert's "Insider's Tell All Handbook on Weight Training Technique" to be an excellent book on getting exercise form right.

Outf***ingstanding! Well done, that's inspirational

Could be worse. Google this, LOL .... indifferent-cats-in-amateur-porn.tumblr.com