[Samurai]

Originally Posted by apachelongbow

The machines measure the BMI of the legs only. Let me explain. The current enters your body from your left leg, then exits from the nearest point of exit, via your groin through the right leg into the device. So it doesn't really measure the fat percentage of the entire body.

The device I bought has a gauge that I need to hold in my hands. So it is not just legs.

Omron HBF-375 Body Composition Monitor

[comfortablynumb]

Originally Posted by Urban_Nomad

Hey Vikram - Had posted this clarification a few days ago:

Oops, sorry about that.

If you are not already doing them and if your office gym has that equipment, please do include chin ups, pull ups and double bar dips in your regimen. Based on personal experience, I am sure that it will have a beneficial effect and enable you to lift more in your other exercises.

Cheers,
Vikram

[humyum]

Hey guys, I am like 171 centimetres and weigh like 65.5 kgs. I have recently started going to the gym but can manage like 3 to 4 days only in a week due to work timings.

I have a small paunch, facial fat that I want to get rid of and also put on some muscle at the right places. I eat 2 eggs right after the gym. My current cycle at the gym is upper body + tread mill for 15 minutes and next day lower body with tread mill for 15 minutes and 3rd day only cardio with cycle for 15 minutes, tread mill for 15 minutes and the elliptical for 15 minutes.

Do I need to start taking protein shake?

[RiGOD]

Originally Posted by humyum

I have a small paunch, facial fat that I want to get rid of and also put on some muscle at the right places. I eat 2 eggs right after the gym. My current cycle at the gym is upper body + tread mill for 15 minutes and next day lower body with tread mill for 15 minutes and 3rd day only cardio with cycle for 15 minutes, tread mill for 15 minutes and the elliptical for 15 minutes.

I'm no expert but still feel that is a bit too much cardio. My 2 cents will be to concentrate more on compound lifts (Bench Press, Deadlifts, Squats. Military Press) and isolation movements if you can spare time. Rather than spending too much time on cardio, switch to HIIT. 3 minutes of all out sprinting thrice a week can work wonders. And for that face fat, try some sugarless chewing gum.

Originally Posted by humyum

Do I need to start taking protein shake?

Not a necessity at all. Start off with a minimal post-workout shake. 250 ml of milk, three tablespoons of horlicks/complan, four egg whites and one whole egg (optional) can make a decent protein shake. Stack up your diet with sprouted pulses, peanuts, yogurt, chicken breast etc.

IMHO Whey protein is not an absolute necessity in amateur bodybuilding

[avdhesh15]

Originally Posted by humyum

Hey guys...

Why combine weights and cardio? Since you are a starter, you can split between upper and lower once a week each along with cardio on 1-2 days.

Eventually you gotta move on to push, pull and legs splits in 3-4 weeks. At this time, your routine could be D1: Push (CST), D2: Cardio, D3: Legs, D4: Cardio, D5: Pull (BB).

Two eggs seems to be extremely less but then depends on the rest of your diet. Protein intake needs to be high for relatively quicker results. You can calculate your protein intake requirements on the calculator available on bodybuilding.com and accordingly tweak your diet.

Staying on diet, it's very critical to maintain a good diet to get desired results. So apart from workout, you will need to work on that as well.

[nilanjanray]

Originally Posted by Samurai

The device I bought has a gauge that I need to hold in my hands. So it is not just legs.

Omron HBF-375 Body Composition Monitor

WOuldn't the mirror give a decent idea about body composition, along with the standard BMI formula?

Btw, any inputs re creatine and whey protein for folks our age? Especially re long term issues?

[nilanjanray]

Back to back posting, revisiting the thread. Wanted to share my experience.

So, I lost 10 kgs in less than 9 months. Watched my diet (without giving up beer though, lol), heavy compound exercises, lots of pull ups, chins, dips etc., and some cardio (not more than 5 km run, since it makes my Achilles tendons sore, and I lose muscle mass very easily if I run more).

I just cut down on rice, ate more protein, and spread the meals throughout the day. Never counted calories. My main focus was on increasing strength and fitness. Some muscle increase and fat loss happened naturally.

Challenge is to stay lean, get stronger, and convert 3-4 more kgs of fat into lean muscle! Tough task at 40+, especially after years of sedentary lifestyle.

The other thing I realised was that my mobility had gone for a toss in the last few years. Mobility and speed would be focus areas, since I have restarted mixed martial arts after 20 years.

[fine69]

Originally Posted by RiGOD

And for that face fat, try some sugarless chewing gum.

You did not just say that!

Let me tell you from experience, I have pics few pages back to prove it too, no amount of chewing gum would rid anyone of the facial fat. Everybody's body composition is different and spot reduction is the biggest myth which could exist in 2016.

@humyum: Compound lifts only + some cardio (if you like it) should do. Would strongly suggest to stick to a basic routine, a diet without too much variation (calorie-wise) and report back after 2-3 months. The best way to proceed is to see how your body reacts to changes you bring in.

If it makes you feel better, I am also the kind of guy whose face is the first thing to bloat when gaining weight and I know the feeling (refer my pics few pages back). I've worked out 3 days a week (weights only) and that was the best routine ever. Straight compound lifts, no isolation at all with just chin-ups & push-ups thrown in when I felt like.

I've now taken to swimming due to a lower back & glute injury but the satisfaction from a compound routine is simple unparalleled. Would strongly recommend, to not get confused with the plethora of information that's available, stick to basics and you'd be surprised that gaining muscle in the most normal way is not difficult, unless of course you want to have Traps like Brock Lesnar which is a different subject altogether.

[alpha1]

Originally Posted by mxh

quote: "Analyzing anthropological evidence and modern scientific literature, Taubes contends that the common “calories in, calories out” model of why we get fat is overly simplistic and misleading because it ignores the multiple complex physiological responses to different foods.

So is Taub implying that you can over eat, and still lose fat?
Something like eat more to lose more slogan?
Do we have any living examples of this?

Most people who shift to paleo or atkins diet automatically also reduce their caloric intake- knowingly or unknowingly. So attributing their fat loss to cut in carb intake is quite stupid.

He argues that the consumption of carbohydrates drives the body to release insulin, which in turn can lead to insulin resistance (and diabetes) over time. Taubes also asserts that the consumption of carbohydrates leads the body to store excess energy

Insulin is released even when we eat proteins.
Consumption of extra proteins is ALSO stored as fat in the body.

The only thing different with carbs is that carbs are relatively faster to digest, as well as directly result in blood sugar. Whereas proteins can digested quite slowly to amino acids which get converted to sugars via circuitous route (which I have explained in fat loss thread).

Carbs are also more comforting to eat - and therefore overeat. So perhaps one may say that overeating proteins is more difficult than overeating carbs.
But still this is a person's mental discipline problem - not carb's problem.
There are millions of humans beings living in India/Asia who are NOT diabetic but eat mainly rice and wheat.
And there are millions of humans living in the US who are diabetic and eat mainly steak and salamis.

In hunter-gather time periods, humans' lives were spent finding food so when they found a surplus the human body would go into storage mode. Today we don't have the problem of finding food

Yes, he is right. And this is why we have hunger.
And this is why today we eat way more than we require and our bodies cannot understand when to stop.
But how this can be extended to carbohydrates being demonized is something I will fathom only when I read his works.
As far as what you have posted it appears to be on a shaky foundation.

[RiGOD]

Originally Posted by fine69

You did not just say that!

Let me tell you from experience, I have pics few pages back to prove it too, no amount of chewing gum would rid anyone of the facial fat. Everybody's body composition is different and spot reduction is the biggest myth which could exist in 2016.

I guess you're right. One of them WikiHow suggestions forced me to say something like that.

[Urban_Nomad]

Originally Posted by alpha1

But I must still ask you, if your goal is to "improve strength" in a weightlifter/powerlifter/strongman kind of way. Or is it improve strength in "stamina activities" like some people will call holding a plank position for 5 minutes as a display of strength

Hey Alpha, what I meant to say was that I want to be stronger than my current level. I do not want to train, eat or look anything like a typical powerlifter. To further clarify, please see the below post I made in April this year:

Originally Posted by Urban_Nomad

Track day update:

Took the Katoom for a little track day action .......................................

On a side note - while the bike performed brilliantly, I did not. My body was cramped and my thighs felt like they were on fire. It actually took me a couple of days to fully recuperate. I currently am a very unhealthy 86 kilos and flexibility level is not great. I have understood this well, if I want to enjoy riding motorcycles for a long time; I have to give a LOT of attention to my health

Hope this clarifies

Originally Posted by comfortablynumb

If you are not already doing them and if your office gym has that equipment, please do include chin ups, pull ups and double bar dips in your regimen

Hi Vikram. Again, not much available in the gym to do this but post your suggestion, I have started doing dips (is that the right term?) with my palms behind me, on the bench and legs are on a platform (chair) of a similar height. Also, with the current weight I can lift on the lat pulldown machine, will I even be able to do a pull up? Not sure

Everyone - Thanks for your responses and suggestions gents. Very helpful! I will be making some changes to the work out regimen; viz basically adding another day where I do a full body workout besides the 3 push, pull, leg days. Will keep everyone posted on how it goes

[comfortablynumb]

Originally Posted by Urban_Nomad

Hi Vikram. Again, not much available in the gym to do this but post your suggestion, I have started doing dips (is that the right term?) with my palms behind me, on the bench and legs are on a platform (chair) of a similar height.

Hi,

I think what you are doing are tricep dips. I meant dips like these (don't know the accurate name in fitness nomenclature though):

Originally Posted by Urban_Nomad

Also, with the current weight I can lift on the lat pulldown machine, will I even be able to do a pull up? Not sure

Yes, definitely. Start with just a dead hang from the bar for time (say, for 10 seconds), and increase it by 5 seconds every 2-3 days till you can dead hang comfortably for 60 seconds. After that, try your best to do 1 classic, strict pull-up without cheating. If at 1st you can't pull yourself up fully, go as high as you can without sacrificing form, plus do the dead hang for time. Continue this till you can do 1 pull-up with proper form successfully. Then, it's just a matter of doing them daily, increasing the count and discarding the dead hang.

Cheers,
Vikram

[nilanjanray]

Originally Posted by comfortablynumb

Hi,

I think what you are doing are tricep dips. I meant dips like these (don't know the accurate name in fitness nomenclature though):

Attachment 1531903



Yes, definitely. Start with just a dead hang from the bar for time (say, for 10 seconds), and increase it by 5 seconds every 2-3 days till you can dead hang comfortably for 60 seconds. After that, try your best to do 1 classic, strict pull-up without cheating. If at 1st you can't pull yourself up fully, go as high as you can without sacrificing form, plus do the dead hang for time. Continue this till you can do 1 pull-up with proper form successfully. Then, it's just a matter of doing them daily, increasing the count and discarding the dead hang.

Cheers,
Vikram

These are paralle bar tricep dips. The ones that he was referring to are usually called bench dips.

Great exercise for triceps and chest.

[mxh]

Originally Posted by alpha1

But how this can be extended to carbohydrates being demonized is something I will fathom only when I read his works.
As far as what you have posted it appears to be on a shaky foundation.

What I posted was just a summary of the book. Yes it is a ketogenic diet, with low carbs and high fat and protein and in my opinion it is probably the only sustainable diet that you can continue with, without getting absolutely sick of it and rage quitting. It's a little difficult in India though since every meal has lots of rice, rotis, bread and sugar all of which are the bane of this diet. There's plenty of information online and evidence that that it works, you can start with that book and https://www.reddit.com/r/keto/ if you want to know more.

[alpha1]

Originally Posted by mxh

What I posted was just a summary of the book. Yes it is a ketogenic diet, with low carbs and high fat and protein and in my opinion it is probably the only sustainable diet that you can continue with, without getting absolutely sick of it and rage quitting. It's a little difficult in India though since every meal has lots of rice, rotis, bread and sugar all of which are the bane of this diet. There's plenty of information online and evidence that that it works, you can start with that book and https://www.reddit.com/r/keto/ if you want to know more.

You are still not getting my point.
Why do you feel it is the only sustainable thing?
When it is far more simpler to just cut down on junk, sugars and in general reduce your normal dietary intake, and cut down on feeding frequency - most people anyway eat like infants - hungry every woken moment - because they are not busy using their bodies or their minds.

Now that I recall reading ketogenic diet by Lyle McDonald long time back (https://www.google.co.in/url?sa=t&rc...,d.cGc&cad=rja) ... the body will not go into ketosis if you consume proteins and fat in excess of your metabolic requirements.

So I am still not see anything different from any other "diet" advice that says reduce your calories. Ketosis results from a fasted state. This fasted state can be achieved otherwise also - one doesn't need to change his diet.

I am not against any kind of diet. Everything works, but the reason everything works is because of calorific deficit. Not really because the diet has something magical, at least not while the body fat levels are those sported by urban human beings.