The Damaramu Gym-o-Rama

[Agent_Bond34 0]

Well Thursday and Friday I didn't go to the gym because of my 10 hour days in that hot ass factory working my ass off. Saturday I ran and Sunday I ran and worked my legs. Monday I go in to do my upper body and I'm about to die. I ran my 2 miles, but I was much slower than I normally am and I went to lift and just felt weak and drained. It might be the humidity or it might be the fact I need a day where I do nothing. My body may be screaming at me to take a small break.

 

You definitely need to take at least 2 days off. It's probably the best thing you could do.

[Damaramu 0]

Well I'm taking some days off. Tuesday I went to a submission grappling class at the place I used to kickbox at. I think I hurt my shoulder because it's pretty tender now. But, it was a damn good workout.

 

Wednesday I didn't go to the gym. But, I did go for a 2 mile run/walk after dark. It was pretty tough because of the humidity.

 

Today I'm resting completely and I'll see how I feel tomorrow. My body is probably screaming at me to take a break.

[Damaramu 0]

Well I have failed at the eating every few hours thing. I'm still stuck in the "eat a meal for breakfast, lunch and dinner" mindset. I just can't seem to break myself of it. Ugh. And taking a road trip makes it kind of hard to maintain that too. My eating has always been my biggest stumbling block to getting in shape, and it continues to be. Then again I guess it is for most people.

[Damaramu 0]

Has anyone found the heat to make them lethargic and not wanting to workout? It's been over 95 for the past week in Oklahoma.

 

I did my police physical test Sunday and I had to run a mile and a half at 3:30 in that heat. Man, it sucked. I also did an insane amount of push-ups and sit-ups.

 

I went to the gym Monday night and felt dead. I got through my workout but it was a very shitty one.

 

So I think I'm going to rest today and hopefully hit it hard tomorrow, especially because it's leg day. Stupid heat.

 

VX, you playing 7's or anything this summer?

[Guest Vitamin X]

My team's practice schedule is conflicting with my work schedule, so I haven't been able to go except on Saturday mornings (and no one ever wants to wake up for that) so yeah I think we're having a 7's tournament next Tuesday, but shit I doubt I can play.

 

And yes, the heat does make everyone lethargic. This explains why a shitload of people in Miami are fat smokers.

[Damaramu 0]

My team's practice schedule is conflicting with my work schedule, so I haven't been able to go except on Saturday mornings (and no one ever wants to wake up for that) so yeah I think we're having a 7's tournament next Tuesday, but shit I doubt I can play.

 

And yes, the heat does make everyone lethargic. This explains why a shitload of people in Miami are fat smokers.

 

There may be more to Shaq being fat than just him being lazy........

 

I haven't been able to go to practice either. I'm still working on getting on at the PD and I have to work a temporary job that conflicts with practice, and practice is damn far away from my folks house where I'm staying.

 

I have been able to get to the gym though, but like I said earlier. Working out isn't my problem anymore, it's the way I eat and getting control of that.

[Damaramu 0]

So I've lost a bit of size off my waist in the past few weeks.

 

My trainer gave me a diet plan, oh my god. I don't have the time or the willpower for this. First of all I have to cook nearly every meal(like grilling chicken for lunch) and I'd die of starvation on this diet! It's eating 6 times a day, but it's eating like a half can of green beans and a 5 oz. piece of chicken for dinner. I want to lose some weight, but I don't want to starve in the process.

 

I'm trying the not eating anything white diet. No flour, sugar, white rice, or white bread. I read a theory behind it that said the glutamine(or is it glutamin?) will just make you lazy and turn to sugar in your bloodstream. Plus that stuff is supposed to be full of bad carbs.

[Golgo 13 0]

You don't necessarily have to cook every single meal. Try cooking enough food to last a few days to a week and divide that among small bowls ahead of time. I doubt you'd starve either.

[Damaramu 0]

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_many_calorie...uff_just_living

 

Is that accurate? The average person burns between 2000-2500 a day just living?

 

I ran on the treadmill for 45 minutes today (went 4.5 miles) and it said I burned like 530 calories. I'm sure that number is just an average. But if you multiply your weight by 13 then I (according to this) burn like 3354 calories a day just living. That doesn't make much sense because I eat between 2000-2500 calories a day (i need to get it under 2000). So I should be dropping weight like crazy according to that.

 

I've heard even lower numbers. Like the average person burns 500 calories a day just living, that seems a little low to me.

 

Anyone heard anything else on this?

[Jorge Gorgeous 0]

You're probably taking in more than 2000-2500 calories. That shit hides places.

[BruteSquad_BRODY 0]

*eats the thread*

[Damaramu 0]

*eats the thread*

 

Dude that's like 10,000 calories.

 

What do you mean Jorge? Are you saying there's probably calories I'm not factoring?

[Guest Vitamin X]

It's possible, unless you're being quite extreme with calorie counting. There's a lot of foods out there that have some really surprising nutritional information; for example, I had NO idea that avocado was high in cholesterol until recently. I think it was kind of an iffy remark to make (this was prompted by my little skinny mother telling me that she had surprisingly high cholesterol (this is a woman who once trained for ultramarathons and ran a marathon not more than a couple years ago- and placed in the top 3 in her division). I told her to cut meat out of her diet and stick to fish, and go with avocado, tofu, eggplant, and portabello mushrooms in place of where she'd normally eat meat and she said she couldn't do the avocado because of the cholesterol. I think that would be negated by the potassium and other vitamins included.

 

Weird stuff. One of the things I would highly recommend to you? Drink nothing but water, coffee, unsweetened iced tea (though you can add a squirt of lemon for flavor), and fresh-squeezed juice for a while. This would ensure that everything you drink is nearly calorie-free (coffee and tea still have, like, 5 calories per 12 oz but still have tangible health benefits). I switched from soda (even diet) to iced tea a while back and haven't looked back much since. Also, watch out for stuff that has any sort of cream or rich cheese in it; that's usually where the calories "hide" as Jorge says.

[CanadianChris 0]

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_many_calorie...uff_just_living

 

Is that accurate? The average person burns between 2000-2500 a day just living?

 

I ran on the treadmill for 45 minutes today (went 4.5 miles) and it said I burned like 530 calories. I'm sure that number is just an average. But if you multiply your weight by 13 then I (according to this) burn like 3354 calories a day just living. That doesn't make much sense because I eat between 2000-2500 calories a day (i need to get it under 2000). So I should be dropping weight like crazy according to that.

 

I've heard even lower numbers. Like the average person burns 500 calories a day just living, that seems a little low to me.

 

Anyone heard anything else on this?

Calculating basal metabolic rate

 

Yes, that's pretty accurate. And no, you shouldn't be going under 2000 calories. There's a point where you reach a paradox -- the fewer calories you take in, the slower you'll lose weight. Your body will adjust its metabolism to account for the fact that you've convinced it there's a shortage of food, and it needs to hang onto whatever fat stores are available to survive. Ain't biology great?

 

Also, does your treadmill know how much you weigh? Because that number of calories burned is based on a 180-pound man. If you weigh 240, it's more like 700 calories burned.

[Dandy 0]

I ran on the treadmill for 45 minutes today (went 4.5 miles)

You ran? You ran 10 minute miles?

[Damaramu 0]

I ran on the treadmill for 45 minutes today (went 4.5 miles)

You ran? You ran 10 minute miles?

 

 

Yes, according to the treadmill that was how far I went. Now, I personally think the treadmill is off on the mileage. Because when I run on the street it takes me a little longer to bust out a few miles. So it was probably around 4 or a little under 4 miles if I was on the street.

 

Yeah CC I knew about the calorie thing, I thought it was when you were really starving your body though. I didn't think less than 2000 would cause that. According to that link my BMR is 2482.14. That's if I just lay in bed all day. Cool, I should really be losing more inches though. Damn. There must be hidden calories somewhere.

[Dandy 0]

I wasn't implying that it was impossible to run the mile in 10 minutes, Dama. Ten minutes is a looong time for a mile. Do you have the running gait of Frank Thomas?

 

Edit---After research, I see that many people think a 10 minute mile is a great time. I disagree, but the consensus tells me otherwise. The majority of people will tell you that is a good pace, Dama.

[CanadianChris 0]

For larger guys, a 10-minute mile is a pretty good pace. I can't run at 10:00 pace for more than a couple of minutes. I usually fall somewhere between 11:00 and 12:00.

[Damaramu 0]

I wasn't implying that it was impossible to run the mile in 10 minutes, Dama. Ten minutes is a looong time for a mile. Do you have the running gait of Frank Thomas?

 

Edit---After research, I see that many people think a 10 minute mile is a great time. I disagree, but the consensus tells me otherwise. The majority of people will tell you that is a good pace, Dama.

 

 

Well, when you're kind of pudgy and out of shape it's a good time. I think a 10 minute mile is about average. I'm sure people that run a lot think it's not much.

 

But, I mean it's not like it took me 10 minutes for each mile. It actually took me 8 to run my first mile. Then 10 to run the second. Then like 12 or 13 to run the third and so on. As I went my stamina and gas tank got a little bit lower and the miles started taking longer and longer.

Thing is my lungs usually don't give out before my legs do. My legs start burning and my ankles and calves are on fire and that's usually why I stop to walk.

 

But I see the difference in my cardio. A month ago it took me like 10 minutes to get that first mile. Now it's only taking 8.

[CanadianChris 0]

Small suggestion: Try running at a steadier pace for whatever distance you want to run. Run 4 miles at a 10:00 pace or whatever. You don't want to burn yourself out in the first few minutes of your workout -- you're supposed to ease yourself into it. Your hardest effort should be toward the end.

[Damaramu 0]

Small suggestion: Try running at a steadier pace for whatever distance you want to run. Run 4 miles at a 10:00 pace or whatever. You don't want to burn yourself out in the first few minutes of your workout -- you're supposed to ease yourself into it. Your hardest effort should be toward the end.

 

I'll give that a shot. I usually alternate paces. I'll go at an 8:00 pace and then switch to a 15:00 pace to walk and go back and forth. I run the 8:00 pace for 8 minutes but then I start my switching. Maybe I can maintain a 10:00 pace for a lot longer. It's funny though because it takes me a while to get running. My gf can get it on 5.5 (the speed setting) and be running on the treadmill. I go to 5.5 and it's a fast walk. Damn long legs.

[CanadianChris 0]

Small suggestion: Try running at a steadier pace for whatever distance you want to run. Run 4 miles at a 10:00 pace or whatever. You don't want to burn yourself out in the first few minutes of your workout -- you're supposed to ease yourself into it. Your hardest effort should be toward the end.

 

I'll give that a shot. I usually alternate paces. I'll go at an 8:00 pace and then switch to a 15:00 pace to walk and go back and forth. I run the 8:00 pace for 8 minutes but then I start my switching. Maybe I can maintain a 10:00 pace for a lot longer. It's funny though because it takes me a while to get running. My gf can get it on 5.5 (the speed setting) and be running on the treadmill. I go to 5.5 and it's a fast walk. Damn long legs.

LOL. Actually, doing the run/walk thing is good, too, it's what got me up to speed. The running clubs around here all recommend a minute of walking for every 10 minutes of running.

[BruteSquad_BRODY 0]

For larger guys, a 10-minute mile is a pretty good pace. I can't run at 10:00 pace for more than a couple of minutes. I usually fall somewhere between 11:00 and 12:00.

 

I concur

[Damaramu 0]

You said the run/walk thing is good. What about a straight walk? What if I walked for 45 minutes. Obviously it wouldn't help my cardio as much as running, but I heard it's a good way to burn fat.

Usually on the three days a week that I lift I find myself too exhausted to go for a run. So I usually put it on a walking speed and walk for 20-30 minutes. Sometimes I turn the incline on to get a good burn while I'm walking, and sometimes that gets my heart rate going as much as running.

 

Oh and on the subject of calories. You say you don't want to starve your body of calories, but what if you eat a lot of vegetables? I know they have some calories but obviously not as much as a sandwich or meat. My gf's grandma grows squash and zucchini and she brought some home and it's excellent. I was going to have some steamed squash and zucchini for lunch tomorrow. But if it becomes a habit to eat spinach, squash, zucchini, broccoli, carrots, or green beans for lunch (those are the only vegetables i like) then I probably won't be taking in too many calories.

[Damaramu 0]

It's been over a month since I've posted in here, so I think I'll bring it back up.

 

I've been going to rugby practice and getting set for the season. I'm playing lock, which is where I want to be. But, I'm having trouble locking out in the scrum and one of the old boys told me it was my hamstrings.

He said "Your quads are big and built (yay me), but you have no hamstrings." So I'm doing some exercises for my hamstrings. I know they get worked during squats and I've been doing hamstring curls. I'm going to get into deadlifts, but I'm so afraid of hurting my back. I tried some stiff legged ones today, but I honestly didn't feel any pull in my hamstrings. Maybe I'm not going down low enough.

 

Any other good hamstring workouts you guys can recommend? I was told a lot of my explosiveness in running will come with well developed hammys too.

[TheDevilAndGodAreRagingInsideMe 0]

Try some explosive stuff - like bench step ups with dumbbells in hand, bench jump-ups, plyometrics, running stairs/bleachers.

 

 

He said "Your quads are big and built (yay me), but you have no hamstrings." So I'm doing some exercises for my hamstrings. I know they get worked during squats and I've been doing hamstring curls. I'm going to get into deadlifts, but I'm so afraid of hurting my back. I tried some stiff legged ones today, but I honestly didn't feel any pull in my hamstrings.

 

I'm not sure what you're getting at with deadlifts. That's a back excercise, not legs. (At least what I know of are deadlifts)

[Damaramu 0]

I think it works both. According to exrx.net it's a hamstring exercise.

 

The problem I'm running into now is that just simply working out isn't enough anymore. I was stagnant there for a while, so just getting in the gym provided good gains.

 

Now I'm at the point in my development where I actually have to have a plan for working out. Unfortunately, because I'm playing a sport and my body isn't paticuarly well developed, I have a lot of crap I have to do.

 

I have to get bigger for rugby, but lose weight and I have to get stronger, and yet I have to get faster too. It's like I don't see how I can do all at once. I start thinking "Should I do a circuit workout that burns fat while building muscle? Should I do just heavy weights? Should I do supersets? Should I do a pyramid?" It's more overthinking.

[TheDevilAndGodAreRagingInsideMe 0]

The problem I'm running into now is that just simply working out isn't enough anymore. I was stagnant there for a while, so just getting in the gym provided good gains.

 

Then you have to change the exercise sets you're doing. You should change you're routine around every few weeks anyway to avoid this. Doing the same things, in the same order all the time won't get you where you want to be.

 

I also suggest you drop the weight first and then go from there. That's how I did it. I went from 220 of flab to a lean and cut 175. But it takes time and dedication, it certainly doesn't happen overnight. It's taken me 14 months.

[Damaramu 0]

Yeah, the thing is now I'm training for something. Before when I was posting in this thread, I was just trying to get in better shape. Lose some fat and gain some muscle. I did that (though not ideally, i've lost some of my gut and my arms are more defined). But, now I'm actually training for something. I've actually started playing rugby again and I actually have a position that requires certain physical attributes.

My coach told me not to lose too much weight, because as he put it "JR, you're a big motherfucker and I like all that weight crashing into someone."

 

Of course, two practices a week and a game on Saturday as well as three weight lifting sessions a week is enough to help me get in much better shape.

[TheDevilAndGodAreRagingInsideMe 0]

Forget about training for losing weight then and focus on your sport-specfic program.

 

Aerobic training actually impacts anaerobic training negatively, while anaerobic training affects aerobic training positively. Do whatever the rugby coaches tell you, or workout with teammates that know the ropes.