Your Workout Today

[mvmac]

Yep.

Fat plus carbs equal taste very good, but not filling.

Proteins are bland, unless they have fat, but they are filling.

Veggies are filling as well.

Check out marksdailyapple blog, great info on this stuff.

Also 15-20% of protein is used to digest it. So it's filling and has lower calorie requirements per gram.

Also check out wholehealthsource blog. More scientific blog, but great info why humans eat and how processed foods are engineered to make us over eat for profits.

There is a reason low fat food has so much more extra sugar added. To cover for the lack in taste due to fat loss, and sugar is addictive.

Good stuff there.  Just came across this article http://www.truthaboutabs.com/flat-belly-foods.html

Thanks Mike.  It's been a while since I had some good nutritional info to read.  I'm going to make it a point to read this after I've stuffed half a turkey down my gullet this Thursday .

Eat all the turkey you want

[mvmac]

My workout on Thursday.  Also we're doing a KB swing challenge this month.  I'm up to 4,100 swings, doing about 200 a day.

So far lost 30 lbs since late August

[bplewis24]

Nice job!

[MS256]

Here's the part of my winter workout that I keep track of. The column on the left is sets of bench press with 74 lbs. Next to it is sets of curls with 74 lbs. Next is sit ups. And on the right is sets of straight arm pull downs with two Bungee cords on each arm. I add one or two reps to each set every workout and about once a month I add 10 more pounds of weight.

Then I wear a pedometer and make sure I get 20,000 steps a day wearing 2 1/2 lb. ankle weights.

[JetFan1983]

Just to follow up, things have been going well with my diet and occasional cardio. The cardio is just for fun, but the diet obviously isn't.... I do want to lose weight.

I've been more or less following Mike's plan for a while now... Not 24-7, but maybe 4-5 days a week, with a couple days where I'm not being as responsible as I should be. Today was obviously a battle to keep the calories down, but I think I kept it under 3000, which I would consider a victory considering the circumstances.

I was 193 when I started, and today I was 183, so ten pounds down so far is kinda nice. My end goal was around 175, which is my "happy" weight, but I may try to hit 173.

So far so good, and it looks like I've survived the holiday weight gain... had I not done this, I'd probably be above 200 for the first time in my life. Appreciate the support, Mike, Brandon, and others.

[mvmac]

Just to follow up, things have been going well with my diet and occasional cardio. The cardio is just for fun, but the diet obviously isn't.... I do want to lose weight.

I've been more or less following Mike's plan for a while now... Not 24-7, but maybe 4-5 days a week, with a couple days where I'm not being as responsible as I should be. Today was obviously a battle to keep the calories down, but I think I kept it under 3000, which I would consider a victory considering the circumstances.

I was 193 when I started, and today I was 183, so ten pounds down so far is kinda nice. My end goal was around 175, which is my "happy" weight, but I may try to hit 173.

So far so good, and it looks like I've survived the holiday weight gain... had I not done this, I'd probably be above 200 for the first time in my life. Appreciate the support, Mike, Brandon, and others.

Very cool.  One thing that can help is to work out fasted, before you eat, use up those glycogen storage levels (storage unit for carbs and sugars) in the liver and muscles.  If those are depleted, the body resorts to another energy source to keep blood glucose levels normal, fat. The body burns carbohydrates first and fat later.

If you want to burn fat, you have to deplete your glycogen stores to tap fat reserves. This is why experts suggest cardio be performed for an hour to maximize fat burning. The alternative is to perform exercises in a fasted state to “trick the body.”  I typically do resistance cardio, kettlebells, in the morning before I eat, 20-30 mins.  Also a good way to "diet" without losing muscle.  The body doesn't know the difference between cutting calories to lose some weight and starving, so it will want to hold back fat, exercising in a fasted state and eating well (5-6 days a week) takes care of that.

[bplewis24]

I also work out in the morning before I eat.  My workout typically consists of 10 minutes of ab/core, 30-45 minutes of resistance training, and 10-20 minutes of cardio.  Then I go home and eat breakfast.

[saevel25]

Very cool.  One thing that can help is to work out fasted, before you eat, use up those glycogen storage levels (storage unit for carbs and sugars) in the liver and muscles.  If those are depleted, the body resorts to another energy source to keep blood glucose levels normal, fat.  The body burns carbohydrates first and fat later.

If you want to burn fat, you have to deplete your glycogen stores to tap fat reserves. This is why experts suggest cardio be performed for an hour to maximize fat burning. The alternative is to perform exercises in a fasted state to “trick the body.”  I typically do resistance cardio, kettlebells, in the morning before I eat, 20-30 mins.  Also a good way to "diet" without losing muscle.  The body doesn't know the difference between cutting calories to lose some weight and starving, so it will want to hold back fat, exercising in a fasted state and eating well (5-6 days a week) takes care of that.

Not sure if this is entirely true. I would say that results have proven this, but I wouldn't put it as the one and only way. The primary reason is that certain actions burn more fat than carbs. So at certain point you are always burning some form of fat, and carbs at the same time. I don't think it is a black and white switch. That is not saying it doesn't work. To burn fat you need to be starving yourself. As to say starve, I mean burn more calories than take in at a certain level that your body will want to burn fat. Carbs are a use now storage, while fat is long term. So, it is a balance of getting your body to want to burn the fat, then making sure your body doesn't go crazy and shut down the metabolism stop the fat loss. The body is designed to put on fat and not starve. When you are the top of the food chain, the only way enemies you have are drowning, starvation, accidental deaths, and inter-species killing. Really the best known way to take off fat is intermittent fasting. Even then you do not need to work out when you are fasting. As long as your body is knowing it is active it will burn the calories.

Yes if you time your eating, you can boost the fat loss, but it wont stop it if you don't. Like if you time your carb intake to just after you lift weights, it can help promote muscle rehabilitation because you are increasing muscle glycogen for repair.

[uno6518]

Not sure if this is entirely true. I would say that results have proven this, but I wouldn't put it as the one and only way. The primary reason is that certain actions burn more fat than carbs. So at certain point you are always burning some form of fat, and carbs at the same time. I don't think it is a black and white switch. That is not saying it doesn't work. To burn fat you need to be starving yourself. As to say starve, I mean burn more calories than take in at a certain level that your body will want to burn fat. Carbs are a use now storage, while fat is long term. So, it is a balance of getting your body to want to burn the fat, then making sure your body doesn't go crazy and shut down the metabolism stop the fat loss. The body is designed to put on fat and not starve. When you are the top of the food chain, the only way enemies you have are drowning, starvation, accidental deaths, and inter-species killing. Really the best known way to take off fat is intermittent fasting. Even then you do not need to work out when you are fasting. As long as your body is knowing it is active it will burn the calories.

While IF is awesome, the best known way to take off fat consistently in the literature is being in a caloric deficit. Lots of great benefits of IF, but the deficit is most important. That being said, I love IF, mostly for the way it compacts my eating plan. I've always been a big single meal eater, so narrowing my food intake window is great for letting me enjoy big meals without ruining a whole day.

Very cool.  One thing that can help is to work out fasted, before you eat, use up those glycogen storage levels (storage unit for carbs and sugars) in the liver and muscles.  If those are depleted, the body resorts to another energy source to keep blood glucose levels normal, fat.  The body burns carbohydrates first and fat later.

If you want to burn fat, you have to deplete your glycogen stores to tap fat reserves. This is why experts suggest cardio be performed for an hour to maximize fat burning. The alternative is to perform exercises in a fasted state to “trick the body.”  I typically do resistance cardio, kettlebells, in the morning before I eat, 20-30 mins.  Also a good way to "diet" without losing muscle.  The body doesn't know the difference between cutting calories to lose some weight and starving, so it will want to hold back fat, exercising in a fasted state and eating well (5-6 days a week) takes care of that.

While there is evidence of a cadio "fat burning zone" where you will burn more fat during exercise, you have to consider long term fat balance when talking about what cardio is best for weight loss. saevel also has a good point in that our metabolism is very complex and the utilization of fat or carbs for energy is governed by many things, so both are always being utilized to some extent. Also, higher intensity cardio may not burn as much during exercise, but long term (post-workout) it can burn the same, if not more than lower intensity workouts. Either way can be very effective when placed in the context of your diet, goals, and preference.

The benefits of fasted cardio don't seem to have enough of an effect to globally recommend it. It's something that can probably be left to personal preference. mvmac, the kettlebell workouts for 30 minutes sound brutal to get through, but awesome for weight loss however you slice it--you are braver than me!

Before eating holidays, I try to get through a big cardio workout to make up for the damage about to be done to my belly. This Christmas eve (that's our big eating day) morning was a half mile run, 50 pull ups, 100 push ups, 150 BW squats, and 50 KB swings in any order to knock them out. I stick mostly to weight lifting, so I'm still hurting from both the workout and the food.........

[mvmac]

The benefits of fasted cardio don't seem to have enough of an effect to globally recommend it. It's something that can probably be left to personal preference. mvmac, the kettlebell workouts for 30 minutes sound brutal to get through, but awesome for weight loss however you slice it--you are braver than me!

....

I'm not going to claim to be an expert, just passing along what I've been told by some smart people.  I think there are a lot of plans that can work.

BTW up to 5,400 KB swings for the month

[MS256]

I've never eaten many meals per day or ever snacked between meals. Most of my life only one meal per day and sometimes two on occasions where I was in a group and did what they did.

That one meal I always had many more calories than the average person did in a day. Never followed that diet or eating schedule for any particular reason other than it felt normal for me and I never had to go to the trouble of taking something to eat on the job. Always just ate when I got home and that's it. The guys I worked with always thought it was weird that I didn't eat at work and even made statements very often that they didn't see how I could go that long without eating on a job that physical.

I was always in better than average physical condition (even among athletes) and I'm not sure if that was genetics, diet, or work. Only lately I've read some articles that suggest that maybe my weird eating schedule wasn't so weird after all.

[Elvisliveson]

Conventional deadlifts 5 x 5, 340 lbs

Bent-over rows            5 x 5, 235 lbs

EZ bar curls                 5 x 8  100 lbs

12 minutes cardio and 5 minutes stretching at end.

[uno6518]

I'm not going to claim to be an expert, just passing along what I've been told by some smart people.  I think there are a lot of plans that can work.

BTW up to 5,400 KB swings for the month

Hopefully I didn't come off as a know-it-all in regards to your post--just thought it was worth mentioning that there is lots of stuff to consider with fasted cardio. Here is a fantastic research review regarding the topic. We are definitely in agreement that lots of plans can work once all your goals are considered.

One interesting thing to consider is that a really specific reason to do fasted exercise would also be to adapt to fasted performance in your sport. I know I don't eat much during a typical round, and 4 hours with little to no food while doing something athletic is not something most people do. I don't know what most golfers do, but I've seen everything from me eating nothing during a round to what seems like multiple meal courses packed in a cooler.

5400 in a month? How about 10,000 in 10 days?! I can't imagine you'd be able to swing a club for a month after something like this!

Today's workout:

A1) 45-degree incline bench press clusters (4 sets of 4 clusters)

A2) Pull-up cluster (4 sets of 4 clusters)

B1) Barbell bulgarian split squat (4 sets of 5)

B2) Face pulls (3 sets of 10)

C1) Barbell hip thrust off bench (3x6)

C2) 1-arm bottoms-up KB waiter's walk (3 sets of 40 yards/side)

D1) anti rotation chop with rope (3 x 10/side)

D2) DB reverse lunch to 1-leg RDL (2 x 6/side)

[mvmac]

Quote:

Originally Posted by uno6518

Hopefully I didn't come off as a know-it-all in regards to your post--just thought it was worth mentioning that there is lots of stuff to consider with fasted cardio. Here is a fantastic research review regarding the topic. We are definitely in agreement that lots of plans can work once all your goals are considered.

No problem, all good.  Interesting article.  It seems like they only tested it with people riding bike?  Would be interesting to see if they tested after HIIT.  I know they said performance suffers because intensity isn't great on a fasted stomach, I think it depends on how much and the kind of HIIT you're doing.  If you're doing a Cross Fit type HIIT I would be inclined to agree that a meal or protein shake before would be a good idea.

Funny how we're talking about all this and one of my FB friends just posted this article , I like what it says about controlling and optimizing blood sugar levels.

Quote:

A quick note about insulin.  When blood sugar is not controlled, the body releases insulin from the pancreas.  This cascade of events shuts off lipolysis (the breakdown of fat) and signals the body to store fat rather than burn it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by uno6518

5400 in a month? How about 10,000 in 10 days?! I can't imagine you'd be able to swing a club for a month after something like this!

Wow that's hardcore.

[uno6518]

No problem, all good.  Interesting article.  It seems like they only tested it with people riding bike?  Would be interesting to see if they tested after HIIT.  I know they said performance suffers because intensity isn't great on a fasted stomach, I think it depends on how much and the kind of HIIT you're doing.  If you're doing a Cross Fit type HIIT I would be inclined to agree that a meal or protein shake before would be a good idea.

Yea this research is often done with bikes as it's easier to stay consistent within the different treatments/protocols. They'll typically try and cover a range of intensities up through HIIT-type protocols based on some measure of intensity. I agree that this often times depends on what kind of cardio you're doing and what the goals are. I absolutely can't handle fasted exercise--very tough to feel as strong/fast/energetic compared to when I eat a meal beforehand. On the other hand, my little brother does little to no food before workouts. He feels sluggish.

Interesting tidbit--Protein can also be a potent insulin stimulator.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20060863

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18249201

[Golfizit]

I have started doing the workouts from the GOGI app and just started the AgeDefying stretching for us ole folks (50+). Really do like what I'm starting to see as results. Oh I've also added a few Men's mag exercises. Results to date include 20 yds further on drives and less aches an pains afterword.

[iacas]

Ran 1.5 miles as it finally wasn't snowing, blowing 30 MPH, or snowing like crazy.

God I hate running (when I'm doing it).

[GangGreen]

Started a yoga routine a few weeks back and so far so good. Fortunately I've never had to worry about weight loss (always been skinny) but this summer I really started noticing how much flexibility I've lost so I thought yoga might help. Would like to work in some general cardio at some point too (for general health reasons) but I've never been very disciplined about staying in shape so we'll just take it one step at a time and stick with just the yoga for now.