Fitness Questions & Answers - Page 18

On October 30 2011 20:31 justiceknight wrote:
is drinking milk everyday a good thing? I just started having 2 cups per day.

On October 27 2011 00:29 eshlow wrote:


Just do the calcs

82kg * 18% bf = 14.76 kg fat, then subtract that from 82kg = 67.24kg lean mass
85kg * 18% bf = 15.3 kg fat, 69.7kg lean mass

So you've gained about 2.5kg of lean mass, and about .5kg of fat.

That's generally a pretty good ratio when you're trying to gain weight.

If you drop 5kg of fat on cut on 85kg then you will have ~10kg of fat and ~70kg of lean mass = fat / total weight = (10 / (10+70)) = 12.5% bf

On October 31 2011 15:01 jjhchsc2 wrote:


So when you're cutting...
you lose pure fat? as long as you keep lifting and eating enough protein?

let me just piss off a number of people right off the bat by saying that i totally disagree with anyone who says that food is as important as training in growing muscle.

ive heard a great number of people assert this, and its just crap, in my opinion. i know so damn many people that eat totally like crap, yet train hard and gain... but i dont know anyone who gains without training hard, unless they are a rank beginner, and thats a whole other story, since a beginner wint have to eat right to gain either.

now, to back this up a bit, let me say that the most elite athletes in the world have notoriously bad dietary habits. yeah, thats right. those elite weightlifters, skiiers, wrestlers, etc, eat like crap. if there is any common ground amoung all the sports that have resident athletes at the olympic training center, its the concern over getting decent food into the athletes. most of the top throwers i have known ate fast food, and not enough of it most of the time... most powerlifters eat like crap. if there is anything that elite olympic lifters ahve in common, its smoking, and worrying more about what beer they are going to drink than what they are having for dinner.

but, you might say, this may very well prove that gaining strength, skill, endurance, and even muscle mass isnt really tied to a perfect diet, as long as you get ennough calories... BUT bodybuilding is different because of the low bodyfat required while maintaining high amounts of muscle mass.

well let me ask you this. what stops more people from attaining a physique that looks like a bodybuilder, not enough muscle, or too much fat... and which is easier to remedy? the answer is obvious. going from 160lbs of lean body mass to 230lbs of lean body mass is a lot harder than going from 15% bodyfat to 7% bodyfat.

so what have i said so far... first, that getting big and strong, while undoubtedly helped along by a good diet, arent at all dependant on teh "scientific" and exacting diet plans that most people would hold up as ideal, in fact, getting big and strong seems to happen on a frequent basis to people whose only concern with food is that they get enough of it and that it tasts tood...

and second, that getting really big, and probably pretty strong as well, is the hardest part of being a bodybuilder. staying lean, or getting lean, are both not easy, but they arent the main challenge to the guy just starting out who want s to step onstage someday.

so there you have it... training, what you do and how hard you do it, is the most important thing in bodybuilding as in any sport. food, rest, other recovery techniques, self confidence boosters, EVERYTHING else, in fact, are just there to support the training. the training is the main thing.

On October 31 2011 17:25 DoubleZee wrote:
A buddy of mine is going to give me a tub of creatine for free next week. I've read a bunch of conflicting info about when/how much to take, what to mix it with, etc. What's the straight dope on creatine?

On October 21 2011 05:46 decafchicken wrote:


You can probably ride SS anywhere to the 1.25-2x bw for squat/deadlift.

On October 31 2011 21:39 eshlow wrote:
jjhchsc2,


Stop getting caught up in the details.

We've already explained most of the fundamentals -- eating right, eating timing (post workout), lifting, etc.

All you have to do now is do it. If you get caught up in paralysis by analysis (which you can as there are studies suggesting everything which way) then you will never get anything done.

As for the study, you don't know what training program they used. If your nutrition is crap you may or may not be able to gain muscle.

On November 01 2011 10:30 Autofire2 wrote:
Eshlow, would you agree with Malinor that you can't effectively lose fat and gain muscle at the same time unless you're really overweight? I'm definitely eating below maintenance, but almost ALL of that is protein.

SS is three weeks in. I've increased squat from 45 lbs to 110 lbs in that time, and all other lifts about proportionately (though my deadlift is about the same as Squat...I should increase it faster). I'm 165 lbs myself.

So...if my priority is being slim and fit, at what point of bodyfat should I say "right, there's no way to keep gaining just off my fat stores"? I really want to get rid of my love handles, and was hoping they'd get eaten away by the weightlifting as you outline in your TL health initiative OP. Rip in SS also mentions that if you have extra bodyfat on you, SS will take care of it.

I suppose another way of asking: how long can I expect the novice effect (gaining muscle and losing fat simultaneously) to last? A bodyweight squat, roughly?

On November 01 2011 12:27 alexpnd wrote:
I'm looking to start starting fitness. Since I don't have a car or anything I thought it'd be best if I bought some equipment (already have straight bar, curl bar, need a few more weights though). I was looking at this http://www.treadmillfactory.ca/p-1602-c-8-strength-armour-deluxe-squat-stand.html and was wondering if anyone has any remarks. Would this allow bench pressing as well ( I don't see why not ). Any recommendations?

On November 02 2011 15:48 ShaLLoW[baY] wrote:
eshlow,



My adductor longus/gracillis (according to this picture), (basically follow the inside of my thigh/hamstring up until it hits a cluster of muscles) have the tension of a crossbow string. Is this normal? If not, any recommended stretches/exercises to loosen them up a bit? I find when at the bottom of a snatch/OHS that I just can't get my hips open wide enough to fully sit properly. I've googled a bit and watched an MWOD video about snatch flexibility, but I can't understand the stretch in question (akin to lying on your back and getting into a wide squat position against a wall? i can't seem to figure out how to actually load+perform the stretch)

Basically my hips are closed as hell and I think it's because my adductors could launch a flaming rock through a medieval castle, they're so tight. Any tips?


Also, maybe relevant..I've already posted about my outwards turned feet. Often when I'm standing, knee unbent, and I manually rotate my foot inwards by pushing sideways on my heel, there's a pop in around the aforementioned adductor area, right up by my groin. Could it be related to the feet thing?