http://forums.johnstonefitness.com Forum for all things related to fat loss, muscle building, health, fitness, weight training and body transformation. en Mon, 06 Sep 2010 02:19:09 GMT vBulletin 60 http://forums.johnstonefitness.com/plasma/misc/rss.jpg http://forums.johnstonefitness.com http://forums.johnstonefitness.com/showthread.php?t=51033&goto=newpost Mon, 06 Sep 2010 02:03:41 GMT and im currently takin' testosterone ( in sesame oil) i inject 200 mg every 2 weeks.. i want to know what to look for when im working out. i know about everything. but i was just wondering. should i work out more or less. ive been on it for about 3 n half months. i think im at a right time in my transition where i want to work out now. ]]> Silentchaos7 http://forums.johnstonefitness.com/showthread.php?t=51033 http://forums.johnstonefitness.com/showthread.php?t=51032&goto=newpost Sun, 05 Sep 2010 17:37:41 GMT Hi Guys,

I'm Matt, I run the Sandbag Fitness Blog http://sandbagfitness.blogspot.com/ and I've just joined the forum here so I thought I'd introduce myself.

I'm a strength & conditioning coach who has been coaching athletes and individuals for over ten years. I'm based in the UK and train almost exclusively from home. I've been lucky enough to gain a good deal of experience through coaching and formal education so I'd love to share some on here. I'm heavily involved in Olympic Lifting, Gymnastics, Crossfit, Kettlebell Lifting, Plyometric Training and MMA.

If anyone has any questions about what I do I'd love to answer them.

Regards,

Matt
matthewpalfrey@gmail.com
http://sandbagfitness.blogspot.com/
http://mmastrengthconditioning.blogspot.com/ ]]> Coach Palfrey http://forums.johnstonefitness.com/showthread.php?t=51032 http://forums.johnstonefitness.com/showthread.php?t=51031&goto=newpost Sun, 05 Sep 2010 15:09:14 GMT I am planning on doing the Urbanathlon in Chicago on October 16. I am looking to modify my training program to help ensure my success at the event. I want a workout that is a little more simple than the one that they provide. http://menshealthurbanathlon.com/training_program.cfm For those... I am planning on doing the Urbanathlon in Chicago on October 16. I am looking to modify my training program to help ensure my success at the event. I want a workout that is a little more simple than the one that they provide.

http://menshealthurbanathlon.com/training_program.cfm

For those that are not familiar, the Urbanathlon is essentially an obstacle course that is fairly evenly spread out over the course of a 9 mile run. The obstacles involve things such as monkey bars, crawling/jumping over obstacles, wall climb, etc.

http://menshealthurbanathlon.com/obstacles.cfm

A little bit about my fitness self:
I currently run about 25-30 miles per week, which includes one intense run (i.e intervals). I usually run 4/5 days a week, with at least two medium run days of 6 miles, and one long run day of 7.5 miles. I get to the gym 1-2 times a week. I consider myself a runner first so, if my schedule will require me to miss a day, I will make it my gym day. At a minimum I get to the gym once a week. My typical workout will consist of:
2 x 10 shuffle pushups
2 x 15 diamond pushups
2x15 dips (I can usually do half with no weight assist)
2 x 15 pullups (usually need 60-80 lbs weight assist. I can do dips with no weight assist a LOT easier than I can pullups, to the point where I think it's a little mental now)
2x12 lunges (No weights)
2x15 squat with bicep curl (12 lb weight)
bent over row (12 lb)
ab/core work- planks, ab twist, several variations of leg raises, ab crunch


I have consistently worked out 4-5 a week for 6 years now, though I have decreased my weight training and increased my running mileage over the past two years.

Anything that you can suggest that would help me? My aversion the the program that Mens Health is prescribing is because there are a lot of exercises that I would need to learn. For efficiency sake, I would prefer to be able to augment my strength using exercises I'm more familiar with. Or maybe, this is the eye opener that shows me that there is a lot more that I need to learn about strength training. ]]> twentyone http://forums.johnstonefitness.com/showthread.php?t=51031 http://forums.johnstonefitness.com/showthread.php?t=51030&goto=newpost Sun, 05 Sep 2010 13:09:46 GMT http://www.lemondrop.com/2010/08/30/...beverages-wor/

I'll stick with water and 100% fruit juice. :)

Never tried this stuff. Or other drinks similar. Hell, I can't even remember the last time I had a Gatorade. Probably never. :confused: ]]> mastover http://forums.johnstonefitness.com/showthread.php?t=51030 http://forums.johnstonefitness.com/showthread.php?t=51029&goto=newpost Sun, 05 Sep 2010 01:14:23 GMT I'm six weeks into my lifestyle change, and feeling great! I'm currently down 24 lbs, and I am also feeling much stronger. I've been using the Abs Diet circuit routine during this period, and I'm wondering if I should switch up. for those unfamiliar with the program, here it is:

Squat
Bench
Lat pull down
Press
Upright row
Triceps push down
Leg Extension
Bicep Curl
Hamstring Curl

Complete the circuit 3 times. I have been increasing the weight for each exercise on each consecutive circuit.

I've looked at several other programs like Starting Strength, and Wendler's 5/3/1, but I'm not sure that they are appropriate for me at this point ,as I still have a large amount of body fat, and feel that I need the metabolic/aerobic stimulation that the circuit provides. I'm pretty intrigued with the uncomplicated nature of both programs.

I've considered replacing the leg ext/ hamstring curls with Dead lifts.Do you guys think it would be too much doing 3 sets of squats, and 3 sets of DLs every other day?

I'm currently getting about 2500 calories a day with a 40/40/20 split. I'm also doing 15 minutes of cardio after each training session. I really made it a point to cut my cardio, and work on nutrition, and am happy to say I've been seeing the results, however, I am reticent to give it up completely, as there is a prominent family history of cardiovascular disease on both sides of my family.

Think I should just keep doing what I'm doing until I reach my 1st goal? (190-200 lbs, 15-20% BF) ]]> rollcast http://forums.johnstonefitness.com/showthread.php?t=51029 http://forums.johnstonefitness.com/showthread.php?t=51028&goto=newpost Sat, 04 Sep 2010 17:35:30 GMT Am currently at 188 pounds (13 stone 6 lbs) and looking to drop to 168 pounds or so (12 stone). Started a cut 4 weeks ago when I was about 196 lbs and in the first weeks 7-8 lbs came off. Since then, despite being on low calories, anything from about 1200 calories to 2,000 calories a day, the... Am currently at 188 pounds (13 stone 6 lbs) and looking to drop to 168 pounds or so (12 stone).


Started a cut 4 weeks ago when I was about 196 lbs and in the first weeks 7-8 lbs came off. Since then, despite being on low calories, anything from about 1200 calories to 2,000 calories a day, the scale has been stuck!!

Strength has gone up a little during this cut, am not that surprised at that as body fat levels are currently high (must be c. 20-22 %) and I wouldn't be expecting any loss of strength till my body fat levels are considerably lower, at which point the body will be more likely to start sacrificing muscle as well as fat. Bench and squat have gone up a little while the deadlift has continued to go up in weight very easily, but then I'm relatively untrained in these having been doing them consistently for only about 4 months, and am more trained in the squats and bench and gains in these exercises are tougher. Am really struggling with chins at the moment, can only knock out five at the most due to the extra bodyweight. I could do a dozen when I started the bulk 6 months back when I was about 160 lbs/ 11 stone 6 lbs.


Anyway, re the scale sticking for the last 2 weeks, despite this my body definitely looks increasingly less puffy in the mirror, and trousers/pants have definitely got noticeably looser over these two weeks despite the stuck scale, and the larger waisted trousers I bought to fit me when I was bulking up are starting to slip off me now.

So is it possible to be losing fat whilst the scale is sticking ? Logic to me would suggest that if one is in a calorie deficit, yes strength levels might go up a little while the body fat levels are still high, but nonetheless a calorie deficit which was producing fat loss, even if the strength levels are going up a bit, the scale should be dropping ??

That said according to this article here it is possiblle :-

http://webcache.googleusercontent.co...&ct=clnk&gl=uk


I also remember a men's health article a few years back where they took some celeb guy and put him on diet and workout plan for 2 months, and the article claimed this guy had gone from about 185 lbs at 19% body fat, to 185 pounds at 11 % bodyfat over the 2 months. 8 % body fat reduction with ZERO weight loss ?? I am a little sceptical about articles like that as it seems to me to be perhaps just part of the ridiculous marketing hype that these magazines have about people making outrageous body transformations in only 2 or 3 months, similar to the kind of body transformations that Hollywood stars are forever making over 3 month time frames.


Anyway, any thoughts on this issue would be appreciated as I don't want to panic unduly if the scale isn't going down, but at the same time I'd of course like to make any relevant adjustments if a stuck scale does indeed in reality indicate minimal fat loss.


Much obliged. ]]> Fat Loss/Cutting odin1642 http://forums.johnstonefitness.com/showthread.php?t=51028 http://forums.johnstonefitness.com/showthread.php?t=51027&goto=newpost Sat, 04 Sep 2010 05:47:12 GMT Hey guys,

Decided to post a journal here as some of the others are so inspirational. I'm hoping that this might both be a useful tool for me to increase/maintain my motivation, get feedback/advice and maybe even inspire others.

My background: I'm 22 years old, living in Australia and have always been overweight (since maybe the age of 6). At the end of last year, just after I turned 22, I finally decided to do something about it. I started at 337lbs on December 15th and weighed in today at 275lbs so I'm definitely getting there. My initial goal is to reach 220lbs, which I'm hoping to do so by February.

A before and after pic of my current progress (sorry, not ready to do shirtless just yet):

Before:

Current:

I've lost the weight so far by doing a LOT of cardio and a bit of weights. I realised that I was obviously losing muscle and so cut down on the cardio and hired a personal trainer to show me how to do weights. Diet throughout this whole time was never exact but I tried to hit between 1600-1900cals a day at about a 40:40:20 split.

Recently I hit a bit of a plateau and decided that I wanted to start doing this right so signed up for Mastover's service. I've now completely a week of that and results have been great so far as I've lost 6lbs this week (part of that is water loss as to be honest I wasn't exactly on track nutrition wise between when I signed up with Mastover and he sent me the plan).

Anyway, so that's my intro: I'll either be updating this daily or weekly (not sure yet). Tomorrow I'll post a week 1 summary of training with Mastover.

Daniel ]]> Fitness Journals danielvh http://forums.johnstonefitness.com/showthread.php?t=51027 http://forums.johnstonefitness.com/showthread.php?t=51026&goto=newpost Sat, 04 Sep 2010 04:15:15 GMT Profile, Feb. 28, 2010. 23 yrs old. 6'0 295lb (Heaviest ever)





Began Feb. 28, 2010. 23 yrs old. 6'0 where I was my heaviest ever at 295lbs. Definitely not my proudest moment. 3 months of diet and exercise gets me down to 250. June, July, and half of August was a wash. It completely lacked exercise and a diet but I maintained 250-255 the entire time. THe recent pics were take Aug 08, 2010 at 248lbs

Front





Been watching the food intake (but by no means strict. Only been strict the past week) and lifting again for the past month and currently 236 and still goin. Least I've weighed since probably 8th grade. Gotta keep it up and take another pic sometime this month :) Face erased for modesty, ha. ]]> Fat Loss/Cutting Blinkbear http://forums.johnstonefitness.com/showthread.php?t=51026 http://forums.johnstonefitness.com/showthread.php?t=51025&goto=newpost Fri, 03 Sep 2010 13:52:41 GMT I want to start a thread for all of us to share with the others why we love fitness so darned much, what inspires you to workout hard, to exercise, to eat healthy and nutritious food and to live the life style?

For me:

1) I don't care how rich or poor you are, once you step foot in that gym; all the money in the world won't matter. The playing field becomes completely level and it all comes down to hard work and dedication. Every time you step into that gym or are presented with making good food choices, it's an opportunity to become better than you were the day before.

2) It's you against you; no competition against other people. You don't need anyone to participate in fitness, you can do it without having to find other people to do it with.

3) Every single day you feel better and better about yourself, not to mention having more energy; feeling stronger and in more control of your life.

4) Having something to be truly passionate about, for me it is fitness; that includes everything from nutrition to exercise (weights and cardio)

5) It's something which will reward you over and over as the years go on; no one can every take back what you've worked so hard to achieve.

6) Everyday, seeing your body change in the mirror and feel yourself getting stronger as you add 10lbs to your lifts is a GREAT empowering feeling.

7) Making the right food choices and coming up with fun and creative recipes and nutritious food ideas is just plain fun! I think cooking (nutritious and healthy food) is an important part of being able to stick to fitness for life.

8) Improves your chances of living a longer, healthier life where you can do more and experience life to the fullest without worrying about ailments and sickness.

9) You become great role models for your kids and everyone else around you; people will generally look up to you; and come to you for advice on how to improve their own lives. And those who aren't, generally are simply jealous of the amazing changes you've made.

I look forward to hearing from all of you; what inspires you to life a life dedicated to health and fitness and what keeps you going day in and day out.

*John - Please change the title to "Why we all love fitness so much!" lol typo. ]]> Super89Rex http://forums.johnstonefitness.com/showthread.php?t=51025 http://forums.johnstonefitness.com/showthread.php?t=51024&goto=newpost Fri, 03 Sep 2010 04:42:49 GMT I just completed four week of BodyPump http://www.lesmills.com/westcoast/bodypump/about-bodypump.aspx One hour per class, three classes per week, with at least one day in-between. Do you think you can gain muscle in such a class? And if you can, can you gain MORE and more importantly... I just completed four week of BodyPump

http://www.lesmills.com/westcoast/bo...-bodypump.aspx

One hour per class, three classes per week, with at least one day in-between.


Do you think you can gain muscle in such a class? And if you can, can you gain MORE and more importantly SUBSTANTIALLY more in the SAME amount of time out on the gym floor?

Thoughts? ]]> GatorDeb http://forums.johnstonefitness.com/showthread.php?t=51024 http://forums.johnstonefitness.com/showthread.php?t=51023&goto=newpost Thu, 02 Sep 2010 23:09:10 GMT Hey guys...and gals. My name is Steve. I'm a 25 year old street sweeper/bartender from Oregon. I heard about this site from one of Johns youtube videos. Anyways, I'm about 5 foot 10 and weigh in at 226 pounds. I have been living a much healthier lifestyle the past 2-3 months and have acheived that weight from originally being 251 pounds. My form of exercise is a brisk walk for about three hours a day carrying around 25-30 pounds on my back. However I'm getting bored of the same thing everyday and I'm looking to get back into weights (haven't lifted for years). I skimmied through the beginers section and have just a few questions.

I am currently at 226 pounds and with a moderate activity level my body supposedly burns approx 3400 calories a day. since there is 3500 calories to a pound and I want to drop 2 pounds a week for now, I should be consuming 2400 calories. I did the macro equations for myself and came up with 35/20/45 or to break it down even more, 210 grams of protein, 53 grams of fat and 270 grams of carbs.

After writing out a log of some healthier foods and all their values, it seems like I'll be eating for days just to hit those numbers!!! Would someone please double check them for me? I wuld hate to be wrong and wreck my diet portion of my weight loss program.

Also, I am a caffine guy and I work graveyard. I normally consume alot of diet soda (approx 36 ounces). But I have yet to read that this will have adverse effects on a diet plan. Can someone please give me the "low down" and some other substitutes to take it's place.

What the hell can I add to cottage cheese to take away the @%#$!&@ taste lol

I'm sure I'll have pleanty more questions where these come from, but it's a start. Again, hello to everyone and I look forward to sharing my success with you all. :tu: ]]> Spitfire http://forums.johnstonefitness.com/showthread.php?t=51023 http://forums.johnstonefitness.com/showthread.php?t=51022&goto=newpost Thu, 02 Sep 2010 14:55:42 GMT Hi, I am new over here, in my born place there is a large large tradition of coffee, I used to drink around 3 full mugs of coffee per day. should I quit? I know how bad it is and it really makes me feel sick sometimes with heart burn and stomachache, should I bann it completely out of my diet? When... Hi, I am new over here, in my born place there is a large large tradition of coffee, I used to drink around 3 full mugs of coffee per day. should I quit? I know how bad it is and it really makes me feel sick sometimes with heart burn and stomachache, should I bann it completely out of my diet? When training and lifting weights, should I drink water only or also energetic beverages?? Is water enough?

Thanks ]]> Faya http://forums.johnstonefitness.com/showthread.php?t=51022 http://forums.johnstonefitness.com/showthread.php?t=51021&goto=newpost Thu, 02 Sep 2010 14:23:33 GMT I just got back from using my home made calf block for the first time and I must say it works amazing! Here is a picture of it: Click here (http://www.kwsixpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/IMG00046-20100902-0905.jpg) I am quite amazed at how well it turned out, it only cost me $10 to... I just got back from using my home made calf block for the first time and I must say it works amazing!

Here is a picture of it:

Click here

I am quite amazed at how well it turned out, it only cost me $10 to make it.

1. 1 2x4 cut into 4 2' Pieces
2. 1 piece of stair runner for the grip
3. A few roofing nails (10)
4. Carpenters glue
5. 6 4" Wood Screws

The full instructions on how to construct it I found here, I did make a few alterations such as using the nails on both sides of the top piece of wood to hold the stair runner in place.

I found the height is perfect to get a good stretch on the calves and it felt extremely sturdy when using it with 220+lbs on my back so I imagine it will hold up for even higher; I found the grip very good as well, I didn't once feel like I was going to slip. Definitely look into it if your doing calf raises in your rack. ]]> Fitness Equipment Super89Rex http://forums.johnstonefitness.com/showthread.php?t=51021 http://forums.johnstonefitness.com/showthread.php?t=51020&goto=newpost Thu, 02 Sep 2010 14:13:55 GMT Here is a great recipe for breakfast: Ingredients: 300g Egg Whites 3/4 Cup Cream of Wheat (Un-Cooked, do not cook before adding to egg whites) 1 tsp Cinnamon 1 tbsp Honey 1 Large Banana Here is a great recipe for breakfast:

Ingredients:

300g Egg Whites
3/4 Cup Cream of Wheat (Un-Cooked, do not cook before adding to egg whites)
1 tsp Cinnamon
1 tbsp Honey
1 Large Banana

Instructions:

1. Mix egg whites, cream of wheat, cinnamon and honey into a bowl.
2. Place into a frying pan (no oil if you have a good pan, rub olive oil if not)

3. Cook until you can safely flip the pancake up. Cook both sides well.

4. Fold large cake into half, cut banana into slices and place between both halves.

5. Cook for additional 2 1/3 - 3 minutes until outer "bread or pancake" is well cooked.

6. Cut in half, allow to cool for 15 minutes.

Pickup and eat like a sandwich!

Calories: 300
Protein: 35g
Fat: 1.5g
Carbs: 34g

Great post workout meal; low in fat, high in protein and high in flavor. ]]> Recipes Super89Rex http://forums.johnstonefitness.com/showthread.php?t=51020 http://forums.johnstonefitness.com/showthread.php?t=51018&goto=newpost Wed, 01 Sep 2010 12:33:55 GMT So it is now official... I am in fundraising and fitness mode. Sometime in May 2011 I will be pulling on the number 11 jersey and playing in a football (soccer) charity match at Old Trafford (http://www.manutd.com/default.sps?pagegid=%7B0C8FD46D-122A-4FE2-B1A4-BA953BCC1600%7D) home of... So it is now official... I am in fundraising and fitness mode.

Sometime in May 2011 I will be pulling on the number 11 jersey and playing in a football (soccer) charity match at Old Trafford home of Manchester United Football Club.

I will be raising money for Unicef Childrens Charity and Diabetes Research. This will present me with two big challenges:

• Rasing enough money for the charity and keeping my place on the team
• Turning my lumbering unfit fat body into the peak of athletic performance within 9 months in order to play a full 90 mins as centre forward in a way worthy of the hallowed turf and the legends that have played there!

In this journal I will document my journey to the Theatre of Dreams but at the moment I have no plan and no clue how to get there but the clock has started!!!! :D ]]> Fitness Journals zero to hero http://forums.johnstonefitness.com/showthread.php?t=51018