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Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: minnesota, usa
Posts: 210
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Ball exercises are great! Especially for back/ab workouts. Some do ball squats to work on balance which is also a big help, haven't quite gone in that direction yet though. Aside from back/abs I stick to weights rather than balls.
I don't know about these protein supplements with steroids in them, there's so much gimmicky crap out there it's just ridiculous. Anyway, I don't see anything wrong with an actual protein supplement, just concentrated protein. A legitimate protein supplement would be just a cheaper means for adding protein to your diet. You won't see better results or anything, except maybe in your wallet. Protein from egg whites and milk provide the highest quality protein. I use a whey protein supplement, because I was able to find a decent company with no filler garbage, artificial flavors, sweeteners and what not, plus it's pretty cheap compared to buying boat loads of meat or cartons of milk. Powdered milk is also good, I used to just buy this and add it to skim milk. Low in fat, plus the added powdered milk made the skim milk taste creamier like 2%..well a little anyway. Athletes/weightlifters can use a little more protein than the average person, but for now I'd say you're perfectly fine if you're taking in the fda recommended dosage. Everyone has a different take on how much protein to take in for serious lifters. Myself, I ingest maybe 1g/kg bodyweight per day, sometimes more sometimes less.
If you're interested in a cheap protein supplement I found this place to be great. Like I said, no filler, artificial sweeteners and other junk (I don't understand why they put stuff like that in these things, I just tastes nasty that way) plus it's cheap.
Dagnabit!!! I just went to the place I got it and now I can't find it, but there's plenty of the outrageous nonsense supplements! Well, if I find it again I'll post it if anyone's interested.
Carbs are important, need plenty of fuel to help yourself recover after workouts and for getting ready for the next workout. Linuxnewbie, from what I've read in many articles, books and such is your postworkout meal of simple carbs/sugars is good for those attempting to gain mass. A meal with a decent amount of protein but also simple carbs to trigger a high blood sugar response help to replenish the body quicker. Normally, I don't eat much sugar though, just complex carbs, a balanced diet, postworkout is the only resemblence of a splurge.
I train at the ymca myself, they have plenty of good equipment. I'd personally go against linuxnewbie with the working out at home set up. You have much greater variety at a health club, plus then you meet others who can give you tips (careful who you listen to though, I guess that includes me too) and spot you on exercises. They can keep you pushing or help you in assisted reps when you need a little just getting out the last rep or two. Don't worry about your appearance, your performance, etc and how others may view it. If you're weak or small or whatever shortcomings you may perceive, it doesn't matter every one starts somewhere and there's just that much more room to improve. This mentality leads to deviating from proper lifting techniques causing injury, or simply not pushing your muscles the way you could thus not seeing the results you seek. Could also lead to another pitfall of steroids and that clique. Pretty soon you'll start motoring up the ladder and will be able to lift heavier weight with proper form. With some exercises you will still lift much less than others that may stimulate the same muscle group, simply because they isolate the muscle much better don't worry about numbers, except for tracking your training and setting goals. Many who lift mega weight are not using proper form and relying on quite a bit of momentum to propel the weight. Good for them, you could do this too, however you have other priorities than looking cool.
Slow, controlled movements are best and once your muscles are acclimated to the stress, pushing them hard. It's important to focus on your form and also that you are working hard throughout the exercise not just going through the motions.
Be careful with supplements, nothing wrong with staying natural atleast you know it's safe. The furthest I go myself with supplements is protein powder, but really it's just cheap food so I don't see it as anything special. Creatine was mentioned and it has been found by many that it is not a placebo and actually can have a positive impact to a degree. It increases intramuscular water retention, not necessarily muscle tissue however. It can increase the stores of creatine phosphate in the muscle tissue, used during the first 10-30 seconds of high intensity exercise and also improves resynthesis of creatine phosphate during recovery (between sets). Some say it may reduce lactic acid buildup during some exercises. So, it can help you recover from training a little quicker and may help your body remain more stable during a workout so it doesn't dip down as far so there's less to rebuild. It can help you to push a little harder giving a slight more energy during a workout. It seems I had read you will not see the same results taking it long term as if you cycled on and off. So, it may help for those getting into a program, adjusting to the muscle recovery process and enabling yourself to focus and push hard in short spurts during each set. It's not necessary though. It's only supposed to have an effect on anaerobic activity, such as, lifting and some say may decrease aerobic activity (although I don't know about this claim, I know it should not increase aerobic ability).
10 is not necessarily a magic number as far as setting plateaus, but is fine to use. Muscles in the lower body seem to respond better to higher reps than this, maybe 12-15. Upper body can be more like 8-10 max although you can certainly press past this range for any group, it's good to use even higher reps sometimes pushing you out of a weight you may have been stuck at for a long time. Anyway, like I said before, slow, controlled reps are best, the more momentum the less your muscles are working. A warm up set or two with a lower weight where you can comfortably do 12-15 reps is great to start with before getting down to business. Don't spend more than 45 minutes to an hour lifting, more than that and you may be overtraining your muscles plus the hormone response drops after this point. Don't go to weights below 5 reps, unless determining your 1 rep max. It's good to switch your routine (different exercises, order, muscle groups) often. Like I said before, it's best to start with general whole body or upper body / lower body 2 day split routine then once you adjust start narrowing things down, depending upon your goals, level of interest, etc. As far as sets performed per muscle group or exercise, that's an often debated issue also. Some say multiple sets, some say raise the intensity to the ceiling and reduce the sets drastically. You have to see what's best for yourself. Be sure to allow plenty of rest between workouts for your muscles to recover properly. It depends upon how hard you're working them and if you train to failure or not. Be sure to listen to your body.
Man, I've been rambling on and on for a while, hope some of this helped someone a little bit.
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