Luthorcrow

The best time is whatever time you will do consistently. As for me, I hate morning workouts. The only time I will do them is if my schedule necessitates it. Otherwise my preference is an early lunch workout or early afternoon. I find that if I workout instead of taking the time for a lunch it works out great. One because…

No it is not at all the same. Yes, your core is involved and gets work from squats, etc. but triceps are directly involved in many lifts including bench press, overhead press, all row variations, chin-ups, etc. Hey, if you want to do them knock yourself out but it just a much a waste of time as arm curls. Leave isolation…

Anything will work if you are determined enough. But the fact is there is a return on investment for any exercise and unless you are juicing or rarely genetically gifted, you have a finite capacity for training. Wasting that energy on muscles that will get all the work they need during compound exercises, generally, is a…

First, never, ever do any exercise for your triceps. It is just an incredible waste of time. Triceps will get all the work they can take just from doing other larger muscle group exercises. I agree with this statement. That and get the DVD Starting Strength: Basic Barbell Training.…

No doubt. It is rare to see folks getting even close to parallel. That said, you should only go as far as you can squat without rounding your lower back. Which for a lot of folks that may mean flexibility has to increase before they can safely break parallel. I know for myself it took several weeks of squat to stands and…

The truth is it doesn't really matter what you do as you long as you get moving. 90% of any weight loss battle is won or lost at the dinner table not at the gym. That said, running is fine, not necessarily the best and definitely can become boring really fast. For folks that are carrying a lot of weight it might not be the…

16oz of 2% milk, 2 scopes of Biotest Metabolic Drive - Low Carb Protein Vanilla and a banana.

I live in California and that combination would cause a lot of unwanted attention, unless you like guys. Nike training shorts and sleeveless shirt / tank on none deadlift days and long training pants and soccer socks when I am.

The question everyone wants to know, did you make 315?

Some variation on this topic comes up often, it's to bad that we do not have a sticky post to point to each time it does. Any telling you that you can target fat any area on your body is liar. I know it is pitch used often by fitness gurus but the truth is you lose fat generally not specifically. Yes we each store fat a…

These have been around since the late 1900s health fads. It doesn't work. It is just snake oil and placebo.

Yes you get water from everything you drink. But no you should not count anything other than pure water on your MFP water count. The intent of that scale is keep track of how many cups of water you drinking. The idea is to encourage you to drink more water.

There is some evidence to suggest static stretching either adds no benefit or may actually decrease performance. On the other hand dynamic stretching does increase both flexibility and performance. For me personally it is the only thing that works. I can do static stretches and never gain an inch of flexibility but do…

In my view the only thing a DVD is good for is perfecting form. If you are looking for a program, pick up the book "New Rules for Lifting for Women" as a starting point. As for the best weight lifting video for form, nothing beats Mark Rippetoe's "Starting Strength: Basic Barbell Training". The video breaks down the most…

On a basic cardiovascular level, if you are doing at least moderate exercise or better for 30 minutes three times a week you are gold. As for heart health or longevity more time will not necessarily be better. So yes, it is enough to improve your health but eventually you will probably want to do more. More important than…

You should avoid most machines for strength training. You will get better results from free weights or body weight training. With the exception of cable stations, most machines try to isolate muscles groups and force your body to exert force along an unnatural linear path. The biggest disadvantage is your are strengthening…

I tested my digital scale with a free weight and it was spot on. I also have weighed myself at my home scale and compared to the medical style one at the gym and the numbers agreed. I do make sure to keep my scale calibrated and re-calibrate when I move it, etc. Also the BF% seem to be pretty consistent when done at the…

Sweating is very sexy. Keep in mind that workout sweat doesn't smell like nervous sweat does. Also, people that do not generate a good sweat at the gym spend most of their time talking with their trainers and reading people on a machine just look foolish.

I am not a fan of lunges either but here is how I came to tolerate them. Do Bulgarian split squats for a cycle. You will be jumping for joy to do lunges again. For me doing walking lunges are just more fun than static lunges. Also there are other movements that work the same muscle group, like step ups which personally I…

To be patient with all of the "New Year Resolution" people that will flock to the gyms for the first 3 months of the year and then disappear by April. Also, to not growl at that personal trainers and their students using the power rack for a TRX station. Ok, I am still going to scowl. ;)

@xraychick77 Is bang on. Unless you are on muscle gain phase where you are trying to eat well over your MBR (3500 and up) or you are dietary restricts that prevent you from eating meat, you really do not need to protein powder. That said, it won't do any harm either. If you are drinking it immediately after for recovery…

As has been said, you carry your weight where do you because of your parents but you lose weight generally. There is no way to target where fat loss occurs. When you see hucksters telling you to do a particularly exercise for tighter abs, smaller butt, etc., they are lying or ignorant but probably lying to sell a product.…

No wait a minute. I can agree that some fruits are high in calories such as bananas but many fruit are quite low in calories such as apples, berries etc. All fruit is much lower in calories than their sweet processed equivalents and more importantly are packed full of great nutrients. Keep in mind we are talking about…

You can't work abs every day. They are no different than any other muscle. Every other day would be the highest frequency without negative results. If you are just starting you are better off with focusing on a simple program that works the entire body each workout with a focus on compound multi-joint exercises with no…

The cold hard truth is you are not going to be healthy if you do not find a way to increase your vegetable and fruit content. You also are unlikely to be successful in your weight loss goal over the long haul unless you do. So the question you have to ask yourself is do you wan to be healthy and maintain your weight loss…

You can get the same benefits from 16 oz of milk but the main advantage is it is fast, designed to be quickly absorbed by your muscles for recovery but more than that it is way to pump your protein content. Keep in mind for folks that are bulking up it can be hard to eat enough raw foods to meet calorie needs and liquids…

@SassyCalyGirl That's my combo or a grande no foam latte instead of the protein shake about 45-60 minutes before working out and lunch immediately after. You need have some fuel before hand and you should always eat a good protein rich meal after to take advantage of your elevator MBR after working out (you burn more…

Squats require good form which you are not going to see at most gyms and not all trainers really know there game. If you want to get off to a good start I'd pick up this DVD version of Starting Strength: Basic Barbell Training by Mark Rippetoe. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001U9FDP2/ref=oh_o00_s00_i00_details I have…

@engineman312 is, right you need take it slow. Keep in mind 1200 calories is not sustainable long term and is an extreme diet. Whether you want to gain muscle or not you were going to eventually need to move to your actual MBR+activity. 500 calorie increase every week or two weeks is good general rule of thumb. @ninerbuff…

Paper is going to be your best bet long term but the best iPhone app I found was GymBuddy. It's flexible and has lot of nice tools.