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[marcus]

Im back playing football again, I found it really draining despite all the other exercise Im doing, which is down to the type of muscle usage being different for football so its going to take time.

I still find my lower back to be problematic, and Im yet to get my time for the 3-mile run I do down to below 25m 30s. For some reason I feel quite lethargic of late.

[Rossco]

Woo getting a new bike next month. Carrera Fury.

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10151&storeId=10001&productId=202579&categoryId=55069&langId=-1&parent_category_rn=55069&crumb=33980-33957&varient=&CarSelectorCatalogId=&CarSelectorGroupId=#

I think I'll start using it to cycle to and from the gym, I'm not sure though as it will totally knacker me before I even start my weightlifting at the gym, so maybe only on cardio days.

I work for RBS and I get it through them, ?9.20 a month for 36 months pays for a ?500 bike and ?100 worth of accessories. Which works out at ?331 paid overall! What a deal!

[Matt]

Well I've blown out my left rotator cuff again so **** knows when I'll be able to train. In considerable pain at the moment

[Salsa Party Animal]

I went to the gym tonight and weight myself for first time for a while and I seem to put on 4 kg in last 2 months as I go to gym 3/4 times a week with 2 boxercise section, body combat (Martial Art / keep fit), and a work out in the gym mainly running, cycling, treadmill. little weight on arm and legs, and lot of rowing plus my job as a postman walking 3.5 hours a day on average. (Before I avoid the gym for 5.5 months due to shoulder injury.)

I thought I would lose weight not gain weight. I talk to instructors and they say I have put a lot of muscle on recently. I feel a lot stronger, fitter and less tired but heavier.

I mean last year I was 110kg and do the job and bit of gym work as well) and went down to 89.5kg in autumn and nowdays I am 94kg due to a lot more muscles.

Is there any suggestion for improving my metabolisms ?

[Matt]

Get some skin calipers and get a reading of your bodyfat level. Do this weekly and you'll get a good idea if it's muscle you're putting on - sounds like it

Metabolism - eat more often. 6 evenly spaced meals per day. And eat low glycemic index foods to keep the blood sugar level.

Pleased to say I got back in training earlier this week and have now benched 105kg, despite being a carb restricted diet so once I start eating big again I'll be expecting good gains

[Rossco]

I went for 80kg the other day and managed a good 6 reps out of it but had no-one with me so didnt want to try anymore just incase!

Feeling some good gains again after I kinda got a bit lazy with it all the in July, hitting the gym as much as possible the last week or so and really pushing myself whilst there and literally shoving all the carbs down my throat I can take! I would like to find out my exact body fat and muscle though so I know exactly how my weight is changing.

[Salsa Party Animal]

Get some skin calipers and get a reading of your bodyfat level. Do this weekly and you'll get a good idea if it's muscle you're putting on - sounds like it

Metabolism - eat more often. 6 evenly spaced meals per day. And eat low glycemic index foods to keep the blood sugar level.

Pleased to say I got back in training earlier this week and have now benched 105kg, despite being a carb restricted diet so once I start eating big again I'll be expecting good gains

Erm what is glycemic index foods ? No idea.

Also what is Skin Calipers and where do I buy them ?

[charlesr]

All this 6 meals a day stuff is fine if you are a student or a body builder, but it's no good for most people who can't have access to proper foods at the right times. Even if they take packed lunch to work or whatever, they'd soon get bored of cold stuff and the hassle of having to stop work. I'm also not in agreement with restriction of carbs, unless you are just doing weight training and very little CV and even then it's more a case of increasing the percentage of protein in the diet by adding more protein rather than reducing the carb intake. No one looking to lose weight because they are too fat should be doing a purely weight training regime. If anything the weight training should be complementing the CV, say 60/40, but the weight training definitely can't be missed out because it's needed to strengthen the bones (the bones grow to cope with the increased muscle density) and without which CV can be dangerous, espcecially jolting activities like walking and running, since fat people often have poor diets with lack of calcium and zinc and corresponding slightly brittle bones. Anorexic people have the same problem but just from not eating anything. Basically what I'm trying to say is that if you are looking to body build (like chain) then fine, but if you are looking to lose weight for health reasons, then a normal diet and balance of exercise is necessary.

[charlesr]

Glycemic index is a rather odd way of measuring the suitability of foods. High glycemic foods are normally refined or high in carb content, like white flour and processed foods. They are unhealthy because they are refined and have been stripped of nutritional content during the refining process, not because the GI is high. Yes, you would eat wholegrain bread instead of white bread (white bread is almost not worth eating btw), but you wouldn't decide that slice of bacon was more healthy than a carrot just because the carrot has a far higher GI. There is NO CONNECTION between the GI of the foods eaten and the blood sugar level. Your common sense about the healthiness of foodstuffs is a far better guide than the GI value. Ignore GI completely IMHO.

Skin calipers are cool plastic tweezers that you squeeze on to either side of a fold of skin/fat and it clicks at a certain pressure whilst measuring the distance. As you lose weight the distance should fall.

[Matt]

I think you'll find GI is a measurement of the the insulin response of food - basically the rise in circulating blood sugar a carbohydrate triggers. 100 is pure glucose.

As for the validity of the index, you have to interpret it with common sense. Chocolate, for example, has a low GI. However, that's because the bar will contain fat and protein which will slow down the digestion process, so the sugar response in the blood reflects this. For that reason, full-fat milk would have a lower GI than skimmed.

Obviously you'd want to avoid chocolate and full-fat milk on a sensible diet, so just use common sense.

The GI is very important for some people. I for example am insulin sensitive, so by eating food with a low GI index and avoiding a blood sugar spike, I have a lot more energy and am much less likely to convert low GI carbs to fat. Therefore I avoid bread and wheat when dieting, and concentrate on sensible low GI foods for my carbs - like apples.

6 meals can be a pain, but I recommend my clients to have 3 meals and a shake between each one. Buy a shaker and you're away, getting that food in to you at work isn't hard at all. Some jobs I can imagine it is a problem, but just tell them it's instead of a fag break I've always believed if you want to have 6 meals you'll make the time, everyone can find the time to do it.

Saying that, you're right - cold meals can get boring fast. Luckily I'm happy to have a fixed diet, I tend to see food as a necessity rather than really enjoying it. Figure over-indulging myself got me fat in the first place, so and limits I place on myself now are payback for years of abuse

Regarding carb restrictions, so long as you're not dropping more than 500 calories I don't see a problem with it. Get essential fats and good protein sources in you and you'll function fine. I've tried daft things like only 50g of carbs a day, that works great for a few days but then my body kind of turns around and even with ample protein I then start to cannabolise muscle. However sensible carb drops have been used by many people for a number of years.

What I think people don't understand is the amount of carbs they need to actually gain size.

[Rossco]

What exactly are you saying in that last sentence? People underestimate the amount of overestimate it?

[Matt]

Underestimate. You really need a lot of carbs to gain muscle - you're looking to use all the protein for muscle, so need surplus carbs.

General rule - have your carb intake 2g per lb of bodyweight. That is high, I'm talking decent carbs not crap. Then if you're not gaining, go to 2.5g or even 3g, though as I've said elsewhere in this thread I'm not usre anyone can handle that quantity unless they're juiced up Still, those with very fast metabolisms may need it.

I've posted some figures and calculations a couple of pages back mate, check it out if you need to. Are you looking to gain muscle?

[Rossco]

Yeah, just the way you worded that last sentence I thought you were meaning they overestimate and you dont need alot which I was going to question!

And yeh, I've been training hard since February/March and came on leaps and bounds since then, my weight went up alot at that time but hasn't moved much since then but I'm not worried as I'm still gaining muscle so must be getting rid of fat to make up the weight difference then.

I've been hitting like 2g per lb before but this week and last I've been totally hammering it and working out alot to try and make some bigger gains after a big break I had before it. Its tough working too but its working and I enjoy it.

[Matt]

Yeah sounds like you're still gaining. Get a tape round your arms and chest, do that every few weeks, then you'll know for sure.

If you're going above 2g / lb keep a careful eye on your waist. I went on a real high carb diet for a couple of weeks with some incredible results for the first week, but then I suddenly gained a load of fat. Finished up being about an even split before I realised and stopped over-eating. Put on 5kg of muscle in no time at all, but the fat kind of spoilt it - and I'm still trying to shift it

Are you taking anything else other than protein shakes?

Good luck mate and keep us informed.

[Rossco]

Before I was also on creatine and nitric oxide but. Both from BSN which I thought were great products and really worked but the NO was giving my sore heads after my workout and I really had to stop using it unfortunately. I stopped the creatine the last two weeks just to flush it out my system etc, always gotta take regular breaks from it every 6 weeks or so. But I'm getting a new batch of it tomorrow, BSN Cellmass it is by the way.

I'm going for a big big push the next few weeks so hopefully I'll see some bigger gains, I've been getting the tape around my arms and my biceps are at 13.5" now, was 12 a few months ago. And my waist is exactly the same which I'm really concious of not putting fat on there.

Its good to have someone to discuss and get advice about from this who clearly knows their stuff, thanks mate.