I can't say everyone, you can never say "everyone" when it comes to anything, but most people love to eat. I sure love too. And for some reason, the things that we love the most are the things that are the worst for you.
If you have read my other posts, you already know that I love honeybuns, cheesecake, and cinnamon rolls, and that is just naming a few; the sweeter the better. And when it comes to meat, give me a fat piece of pork on the grill; oh my! When it's time to pig out (pun intended), I want my deserts sugary and my meat not lean. The sugar and the fat is where the good stuff is, but you have to be weary, because without equivication, that stuff will kill you; everything will eventaully kill you, but high amounts of sugar and fats is like getting on an expressway and riding in the HOV lane doing a buck, you're going to get to the end real soon.
So the question is, can eating massive amounts of food be beneficial? Just like with anything else, nothing is that simple. When it comes to the body and working out, nothing is cut and dry; there is always that "in between" that people want to reach. Bulking up is important if your goal is to gain a large amount of muscles mass.
Often, especially, for those that workout excessively, calorie intake might not be high enough to build muscles, even if most of those calories are from protein. I don't think this is stressed enough, but your body doesn't care about large muscles and razor sharp abs; your body couldn't care less! Your body operates as though any second you might be trapped on a diet island. The body wants to store as many calories as possible and use the least amount. Even though I don't have any science behind what I'm about to say, I believe muscle soreness is your body trying to get you to stop working out and get you to sit on the couch with a gallon of ice cream.
Bulking up, what exactly is it? Bulking up is basically eating whatever you want, provided of course, that you are working out, or at least plan to in the near future. The main idea behind bulking up, is to prevent your body from running out of calories and your body using the slightiest bit of muscle for energy; muscle fanatics don't want to take any chance of that happening, therefore, the will "bulk up" to prevent such an occurace. I have seen a few articles challenge the notion that if someone depletes their daily calories intake that the body will turn to fat and muscle for energy. I have come to believe and agree with those that say, your body will take from fat and not from muscle. If your body did take from muscles when daily calories are depleted then how would a personal ever lose fat when exercising if the body took energy from muscles?
Now this doesn't mean that I disagree with person deciding to bulk up and eat large amount of food. Not every gym fanatic wants to be all lean. Those guys that compete in the Strongest Man Competitions have a night level of body fat, because it is need when competing. Also, not everyone wants to be all ripped up, so people like that massive size and large arms, and having a higher body fat in benefical for that.
But, there is always a but, bulking up is dangerous, or at least can be if a person doesn't it for too long. When bulking up, those calories are not coming fruits and vegetables. They are coming from foods that are high in fat and high in surgary, and a prolong duration of such a diet will not do a body good. Cholesterol is a silent killer and diabetes pops up out of nowehere.
If a person choose to bulk up, I would say do it in interval, once a week at most, therefore allowing your body to reset during the week off, but make sure you are burning at least 80% of those calories or you will find yourself in a world of trouble.
Mr. Felder
Friday, March 14, 2014
Sunday, February 16, 2014
Starting All Over (No Sugar)
I have to admit, I fell of my diet for a long time. Little Debbie snacks became the bane of diet; I was crushing those things: Oatmeal Pies, Honey Buns, and Zebra Cakes. They are soooo good and sooo bad for you. I was making excuses for myself saying, "I need the sugar!" And I was reading online and other people's post that said that you need sugar after your workout to feed the muscles, and to help them repair. I believe them too, but when I woke up the next morning, there was a little bump in my stomach, and each day, it got a little bigger.
Now, I don't want to mislead you and make it seem like I gained a bunch of weight. I was still about 185, but the point is, I wasn't losing weight. I was maintaining, which was something I didn't want. I'm training for a competition in April, and I need to lose weight accordingly. Sucking down those snacks and brownies too was not doing me and good.
We all fall off our diet at some point. Whether it's for a long time, or it's for a short time. That time you go over to your friend's houses and there are a cookies on the table??? Yeah, we all have been there, or been somewhere like it. It's hard to maintain a strict diet all the time. But the key is, when you fall, to stop falling. That one cookie is not going to kill you (and I say that meaning your diet), but that next one will! One doesn't turn into two, but two sure as the sun will rise tomorrow, will turn into three and so on.
My friend today reminded me of something I said to him. "People will go out and spend a bunch of money at the bar and on having fun, but when it comes to their body, they spend little to none." Your body is the most important thing in the world, and taking care of it, is not superficial. Not being financially able to have a gym membership shouldn't stop someone either from being healthy and taking care of themselves. Wherever it is that you lay your head at night, is a place where you can work out. Push-ups and sit-up can be done anywhere, and in truth, those two exercises alone are all you body needs to be in good shape.
Calories are not lost by doing different workouts, they are lost working out. Realistically, a person could do one exercise and lose weight from everywhere in their body. The problem would be that it would be very hard to continually work out the same muscles repeatedly because of fatigue, but make no mistake, doing so would cause a person to lose weight.
So as it was, my diet was not going well. Today was my last day with sugar, and let me say, I went out with a bang. I ate three large brownies this morning for breakfast. After the gym, I went to CVS and bought a package of Keebler Elf chocolate cookies and ate the ENTIRE pack; that is 11.5 oz of nonsense! I will surely be expecting a nice bump in the morning.
Moving forward no more sugar. And when I say no more sugar, I mean, intentional sugar. I have started drinking coffee again because I found a nice article that informed me that drinking coffee after workouts helps to put glycogen back in you muscles. There is no PHD here, so I don't know exactly what glycogen is, but I know I want to have as much of it as I can. Therefore, I will not be putting in sugar in my coffee. I will not be drinking energy drinks either, and of course, those Little Debbie snacks are out, cookies, and brownies as well. As of right now, I only drink water (coffee is basically brown water, only has 3 calories per serving when black), occasionally I might have juice, but I try to stay away because of the sugar. I can foresee the only time that I will be ingesting sugar is when I have a night out on the town, and the sugar intake will be strictly limited then. I will do my very best to stay on the path this time.
Well there you have it. I am rededicating myself. I hope others will too. Being fit is not about looking good, it's about living a long healthy life. We all only get one turn, and a person can choose to live their life however they like. But I want as many years as I can get. And working out is no guarantee either for more years on this planet, but a healthy person more often than not will live longer. I'm hoping to get a few steps in the next century, hopefully, I will see you there with me.
Mr. Felder
Now, I don't want to mislead you and make it seem like I gained a bunch of weight. I was still about 185, but the point is, I wasn't losing weight. I was maintaining, which was something I didn't want. I'm training for a competition in April, and I need to lose weight accordingly. Sucking down those snacks and brownies too was not doing me and good.
We all fall off our diet at some point. Whether it's for a long time, or it's for a short time. That time you go over to your friend's houses and there are a cookies on the table??? Yeah, we all have been there, or been somewhere like it. It's hard to maintain a strict diet all the time. But the key is, when you fall, to stop falling. That one cookie is not going to kill you (and I say that meaning your diet), but that next one will! One doesn't turn into two, but two sure as the sun will rise tomorrow, will turn into three and so on.
My friend today reminded me of something I said to him. "People will go out and spend a bunch of money at the bar and on having fun, but when it comes to their body, they spend little to none." Your body is the most important thing in the world, and taking care of it, is not superficial. Not being financially able to have a gym membership shouldn't stop someone either from being healthy and taking care of themselves. Wherever it is that you lay your head at night, is a place where you can work out. Push-ups and sit-up can be done anywhere, and in truth, those two exercises alone are all you body needs to be in good shape.
Calories are not lost by doing different workouts, they are lost working out. Realistically, a person could do one exercise and lose weight from everywhere in their body. The problem would be that it would be very hard to continually work out the same muscles repeatedly because of fatigue, but make no mistake, doing so would cause a person to lose weight.
So as it was, my diet was not going well. Today was my last day with sugar, and let me say, I went out with a bang. I ate three large brownies this morning for breakfast. After the gym, I went to CVS and bought a package of Keebler Elf chocolate cookies and ate the ENTIRE pack; that is 11.5 oz of nonsense! I will surely be expecting a nice bump in the morning.
Moving forward no more sugar. And when I say no more sugar, I mean, intentional sugar. I have started drinking coffee again because I found a nice article that informed me that drinking coffee after workouts helps to put glycogen back in you muscles. There is no PHD here, so I don't know exactly what glycogen is, but I know I want to have as much of it as I can. Therefore, I will not be putting in sugar in my coffee. I will not be drinking energy drinks either, and of course, those Little Debbie snacks are out, cookies, and brownies as well. As of right now, I only drink water (coffee is basically brown water, only has 3 calories per serving when black), occasionally I might have juice, but I try to stay away because of the sugar. I can foresee the only time that I will be ingesting sugar is when I have a night out on the town, and the sugar intake will be strictly limited then. I will do my very best to stay on the path this time.
Well there you have it. I am rededicating myself. I hope others will too. Being fit is not about looking good, it's about living a long healthy life. We all only get one turn, and a person can choose to live their life however they like. But I want as many years as I can get. And working out is no guarantee either for more years on this planet, but a healthy person more often than not will live longer. I'm hoping to get a few steps in the next century, hopefully, I will see you there with me.
Mr. Felder
Saturday, February 15, 2014
The 2014 Slam Dunk Contest
At first, when they announced the format of the Slam Dunk Contest I didn't like it. I said to myself, "Here's another attempt to make it more exciting for no reason, when the dunks, themselves, are suppose to be what is exciting."
I wouldn't say I was completely wrong, but I did end up like it. The "freestyle" round I knew immediately wasn't going to be anything special; one random dunk after another couldn't possibly be. There were however two dunks that were really good, but for the most part they were just warming up and passing the time it felt like.
I do want to point something out. Every year, at some point during the MLB home-run derby festivities, an announcer says something along the lines, "See you have to really appreciate these guys and what they are doing. They are the only ones in the world that can do this and do it this well. It's not like the NBA dunk contest. You can go to almost any basketball court in the world and see people doing the dunks that they do and better. This is were it is at. These guys are the best of the best and they are the only ones that can do this." Or some rhetoric like that, that makes want to break my television set. The NBA players in the dunk contest, are just that, NBA players. They are the best of the best (would be better if I was in there), and their craft is their craft. The dunk contest is extra, and yes you can find other people doing those dunks around the world, but nobody is paying a lot of money to watch them. The world want to see NBA players showing their superb athletic ability that they don't normally get to display in front of the world, and that my friends is why we like the dunk contest, sometimes.
Continuing, the dunk contest the went into what was referred to as battle rounds. The first battle round was good; Terrence Ross versus Damian Lillard. Both dunkers missed on their first attempts which always hurts the level of excitement, and it is unfair to discredit them for missing an attempt, but that is just the way it is. Lillard ended up completely a crafty 360-windmill off the bounce, which isn't easy! Ross, who was the returning slam dunk champion completed a throw-the-leg-dunk by taking the ball out of someone's hand. Ross won the round via the judges (Wilkins, Johnson, Erving), but the announcers, as did I, believe Lillard should have won.
The next battle between my soon to be favorite player, Paul George, and Harrison Barnes. Barnes's dunk was weak and took three attempts to complete. Paul George, who by most accounts was considered the best dunker in the contest, ended up doing a great dunk. To point out, it took him four attempts (one of the first three didn't count), but he did a fantastic threw-the-legs-360-dunk. Something that not many other people can do!
Moving on to the sweet spot. What ended up being the last round of the contest was the best round; made for TV. The last round featured two NBA players whose vertical (not pure) is probably about 43 inches, at least. To put into perspective, LBJ's vertical has been measured at just over 40 inches and everybody knows how high it looks when he jumps. John Wall and Ben McLemore went head-to-head their is no doubt about it. McLemore added theatrics, featuring Shaq, something that wasn't necessary; it made for good entertainment and gave the commentators something to joke about. McLemore ended up jumping over Shaq sitting in a large golden chair. He got up there, there is no doubt. But what he did wasn't enough. Mr. Wall stepped on with the team mascot and delivered what everyone was waiting for, something they hadn't seen before. That is what people are looking for, dunks that they haven't seen, and John Wall gave the people that with the last dunk of the night. With his team mascot standing just ahead of the rim with the ball over his head, Wall ran and jumped from behind him clearing him throw his legs, and at the same time grabbing the ball from the mascot by reaching down, and then pumped the ball after possessing it, and then threw the ball through the hoop backwards! Wall ended his incredulous attempted by jigging, something that he is know for around the league.
I am comfortable saying that it was a good contest. They made this All-Star weekend all about charity, and having the format as it was made helped with that. I would personally like to see two people in the slam dunk contest like old days when Jordan and Wilkins competed against each other, but I doubt we will ever see that again, unless LBJ decides to do it, which is a whole another issue that I won't get into, at least not for this post.
Mr. Felder
I wouldn't say I was completely wrong, but I did end up like it. The "freestyle" round I knew immediately wasn't going to be anything special; one random dunk after another couldn't possibly be. There were however two dunks that were really good, but for the most part they were just warming up and passing the time it felt like.
I do want to point something out. Every year, at some point during the MLB home-run derby festivities, an announcer says something along the lines, "See you have to really appreciate these guys and what they are doing. They are the only ones in the world that can do this and do it this well. It's not like the NBA dunk contest. You can go to almost any basketball court in the world and see people doing the dunks that they do and better. This is were it is at. These guys are the best of the best and they are the only ones that can do this." Or some rhetoric like that, that makes want to break my television set. The NBA players in the dunk contest, are just that, NBA players. They are the best of the best (would be better if I was in there), and their craft is their craft. The dunk contest is extra, and yes you can find other people doing those dunks around the world, but nobody is paying a lot of money to watch them. The world want to see NBA players showing their superb athletic ability that they don't normally get to display in front of the world, and that my friends is why we like the dunk contest, sometimes.
Continuing, the dunk contest the went into what was referred to as battle rounds. The first battle round was good; Terrence Ross versus Damian Lillard. Both dunkers missed on their first attempts which always hurts the level of excitement, and it is unfair to discredit them for missing an attempt, but that is just the way it is. Lillard ended up completely a crafty 360-windmill off the bounce, which isn't easy! Ross, who was the returning slam dunk champion completed a throw-the-leg-dunk by taking the ball out of someone's hand. Ross won the round via the judges (Wilkins, Johnson, Erving), but the announcers, as did I, believe Lillard should have won.
The next battle between my soon to be favorite player, Paul George, and Harrison Barnes. Barnes's dunk was weak and took three attempts to complete. Paul George, who by most accounts was considered the best dunker in the contest, ended up doing a great dunk. To point out, it took him four attempts (one of the first three didn't count), but he did a fantastic threw-the-legs-360-dunk. Something that not many other people can do!
Moving on to the sweet spot. What ended up being the last round of the contest was the best round; made for TV. The last round featured two NBA players whose vertical (not pure) is probably about 43 inches, at least. To put into perspective, LBJ's vertical has been measured at just over 40 inches and everybody knows how high it looks when he jumps. John Wall and Ben McLemore went head-to-head their is no doubt about it. McLemore added theatrics, featuring Shaq, something that wasn't necessary; it made for good entertainment and gave the commentators something to joke about. McLemore ended up jumping over Shaq sitting in a large golden chair. He got up there, there is no doubt. But what he did wasn't enough. Mr. Wall stepped on with the team mascot and delivered what everyone was waiting for, something they hadn't seen before. That is what people are looking for, dunks that they haven't seen, and John Wall gave the people that with the last dunk of the night. With his team mascot standing just ahead of the rim with the ball over his head, Wall ran and jumped from behind him clearing him throw his legs, and at the same time grabbing the ball from the mascot by reaching down, and then pumped the ball after possessing it, and then threw the ball through the hoop backwards! Wall ended his incredulous attempted by jigging, something that he is know for around the league.
I am comfortable saying that it was a good contest. They made this All-Star weekend all about charity, and having the format as it was made helped with that. I would personally like to see two people in the slam dunk contest like old days when Jordan and Wilkins competed against each other, but I doubt we will ever see that again, unless LBJ decides to do it, which is a whole another issue that I won't get into, at least not for this post.
Mr. Felder
Sunday, January 19, 2014
Sad Days In the NBA
Not that the NBA would ever admit it, but this year in professional basketball is something similar to the dead-ball era of baseball. I have been watching the games this year, but not necessarily caring the same as years past.
Those who know me would probably say, "It's because Kobe isn't playing!" immediately, but that isn't the entire case why I think this is a bad season. Yes, Kobe Bryant is out, and that sinks for NBA fans all over, but it's more than just one big name player. Derrick Rose is out for the second straight season. Chris Paul is out for some time. Russell Westbrook is out, and that is just naming a few. Injuries are a part of sports, but certain ones are more detrimental than others.
Basketball has eras. For the time that I have been alive there has been the Magic-Bird era, the Michael Jordan era, the Kobe-Shaq-Duncan era, the Kobe-LeBron era, and now we have arrived at the LeBron-Durant era of basketball this season. Even though I may be, however, it is not meant to be, disrespecting other great NBA players during those time periods. The truth is those players dominated or are dominating the court during that time period, even if they didn't win the title every year.
But as I said, we are now in the LeBron-Durant era. With the career altering injury to his Achilles, Kobe will never be the great player he once was, especially with Father Time showing his ugly face. Kobe is old when it comes to basketball. I do, however, believe that if he didn't suffer his devastating injury that he would still be a great player, but that is neither here nor there. He is done being the best player in the NBA, and I wish it wasn't so, I'm going to hope that it isn't so, but as it stands right now, it is; I will, however, hope that I am wrong.
Time moves on with or without you and time has brought us to Lebron-Durant. With James, Wade, and Bosh the Miami Heat are taking care of business in the east and that is great for them. Kevin Durant is doing what he can without Westbrook and the Oklahoma City Thunder are still doing well. James and Durant still playing in the NBA is a big deal, but it's as though, to me at least, that it doesn't matter much this year. I can take you back to the first time Michael Jordan retired (early) and the Houston Rockets won the championship the following year, it just seemed like it wasn't earned. Yes, they won it the following year, but in the back of people's minds there was still an asterisks there saying that it wasn't a full season for Jordan, and everybody knew that next year was going to be different, and in fact, the next three years were different.
But as I said, we are now in the LeBron-Durant era. With the career altering injury to his Achilles, Kobe will never be the great player he once was, especially with Father Time showing his ugly face. Kobe is old when it comes to basketball. I do, however, believe that if he didn't suffer his devastating injury that he would still be a great player, but that is neither here nor there. He is done being the best player in the NBA, and I wish it wasn't so, I'm going to hope that it isn't so, but as it stands right now, it is; I will, however, hope that I am wrong.
Time moves on with or without you and time has brought us to Lebron-Durant. With James, Wade, and Bosh the Miami Heat are taking care of business in the east and that is great for them. Kevin Durant is doing what he can without Westbrook and the Oklahoma City Thunder are still doing well. James and Durant still playing in the NBA is a big deal, but it's as though, to me at least, that it doesn't matter much this year. I can take you back to the first time Michael Jordan retired (early) and the Houston Rockets won the championship the following year, it just seemed like it wasn't earned. Yes, they won it the following year, but in the back of people's minds there was still an asterisks there saying that it wasn't a full season for Jordan, and everybody knew that next year was going to be different, and in fact, the next three years were different.
The same mood and feelings that was then, is now. Bryant is out and the show must go one, but how good can the show really be with Laker number 24 sidelined with injury? I don't care about the stupid NBA player rankings, if Kobe is healthy is the best player in the NBA. The only question that needs to be asked is, "Who would you want to have the ball at any point during the game?" The answer to that is Kobe. And it has been for a decade and was last year, but it's not this year because he isn't healthy. And that is a big reason this season doesn't feel right to me, because of Kobe and the other stars being out.
However, just like with any era there are other stars. Stephen Curry is great. Do I think he will rise to the top? No, but he is still one of the best. Damian Lillard is proving himself. But even in this lachrymosity I do see a silver lining and a different 24 to cheer for and his name is Paul George. He is a great basketball player. He's going to be special. I thought I was going to see a little bit more from his this year individually, but his team is still doing great. I'm going to wait patiently for him. Whenever Kobe decides to hang it up for good it will be a sad day for basketball. It may be soon, it may be later, but when that day comes, Mr. Paul George will become my favorite player in the NBA, because that young man has some game in him.
Mr Felder
Mr Felder
Monday, January 13, 2014
I love Sugar
The most important step to solving any problem is admitting you have a problem; I have a problem. I am addicted to sugar. I looked it up, and it is a thing. No, I'm not at the point where sugar is taking over my life and I'm losing friends because of it, but I definitely have more of it than I should.
Yesterday, I promised myself that I was going to refrain from sweets, in particular coffee rolls and doughnuts from Dunkin Dounuts. What happened today? The second DD that I passed I walked in and bought myself a coffee roll and enjoyed the hell out of it. They are soooo good! Recently, DD has been a problem for me. I found out that in late evenings that doughnuts are buy one get one free. Why would they do such a thing?
Therefore, for the last couple of weeks I have been on a binge. Coffee roll, red velvet (no even fair to make that a doughnut), chocolate frosted, and others I have been devouring with no regard. To under estimate, I consumed 18 of those in one week. At least twice last week I ate four in one day, and I didn't lessen my regular eating either; the massive amount of rice and meat was still there. What did this terrible diet do to me? I lost almost three pounds. I weighted in at 182.5 lbs. Not bad considering, but my body fat has gone up to almost 9%. The sugar blast my body endured could have hurt my muscles, but I'm not sure. It had been a while since the last time I checked my body fat.
America doesn't make it easy on people. The food that is terrible for you is readily available and cheaper than healthier options. For instance, a 6 oz bag of spinach cost $2.99, which equates to $8 a pound. All most every type of chicken meat and pork, and most beef is less than that per pound. Mind you, honeybuns which I love are 4 oz and only 50 cents, which means a pound of honeybuns is only $2 dollar; and under no circumstance should you consume a pound of honeybuns in a day; doing so would probably be your worst decision of the day.
By now, we should all know that most fast-food chains make terrible food and sell it for a cheap amount. Grocery stores for the most part are not downtown in a city (Boston does have a Trader Joe's on Boylston Street which rocks). They are not accessible like fast food restaurants, so while bananas and some other fruits are 99 cents a pound at grocery stores, when out and about, they are 99 cents per or more. And people might say, bring your lunch or food with you, but face facts. In a society where our cell phones are almost as thin as our teeth, the only thing people want to carry is a skinny laptop bag to work, therefore, carrying a lunch bag in addition is not going to happen for the masses; fast-food places know this.
I am hopeful that one day there will be a fast-food place that sells healthy food at a cheap price. Subway was suppose to be that chain, but that didn't last. It is JanuANY which great, but a place that sells apple, banana, and peanuts for 50 cents would be great, and more choices too. I'm not saying that this would make me give up the coffee rolls, but I might be able to substitute a few of them out for some natural sugar.
Mr. Felder
Yesterday, I promised myself that I was going to refrain from sweets, in particular coffee rolls and doughnuts from Dunkin Dounuts. What happened today? The second DD that I passed I walked in and bought myself a coffee roll and enjoyed the hell out of it. They are soooo good! Recently, DD has been a problem for me. I found out that in late evenings that doughnuts are buy one get one free. Why would they do such a thing?
Therefore, for the last couple of weeks I have been on a binge. Coffee roll, red velvet (no even fair to make that a doughnut), chocolate frosted, and others I have been devouring with no regard. To under estimate, I consumed 18 of those in one week. At least twice last week I ate four in one day, and I didn't lessen my regular eating either; the massive amount of rice and meat was still there. What did this terrible diet do to me? I lost almost three pounds. I weighted in at 182.5 lbs. Not bad considering, but my body fat has gone up to almost 9%. The sugar blast my body endured could have hurt my muscles, but I'm not sure. It had been a while since the last time I checked my body fat.
America doesn't make it easy on people. The food that is terrible for you is readily available and cheaper than healthier options. For instance, a 6 oz bag of spinach cost $2.99, which equates to $8 a pound. All most every type of chicken meat and pork, and most beef is less than that per pound. Mind you, honeybuns which I love are 4 oz and only 50 cents, which means a pound of honeybuns is only $2 dollar; and under no circumstance should you consume a pound of honeybuns in a day; doing so would probably be your worst decision of the day.
By now, we should all know that most fast-food chains make terrible food and sell it for a cheap amount. Grocery stores for the most part are not downtown in a city (Boston does have a Trader Joe's on Boylston Street which rocks). They are not accessible like fast food restaurants, so while bananas and some other fruits are 99 cents a pound at grocery stores, when out and about, they are 99 cents per or more. And people might say, bring your lunch or food with you, but face facts. In a society where our cell phones are almost as thin as our teeth, the only thing people want to carry is a skinny laptop bag to work, therefore, carrying a lunch bag in addition is not going to happen for the masses; fast-food places know this.
I am hopeful that one day there will be a fast-food place that sells healthy food at a cheap price. Subway was suppose to be that chain, but that didn't last. It is JanuANY which great, but a place that sells apple, banana, and peanuts for 50 cents would be great, and more choices too. I'm not saying that this would make me give up the coffee rolls, but I might be able to substitute a few of them out for some natural sugar.
Mr. Felder
Friday, December 27, 2013
Going For First Competition
So I have decided to do my first fitness competition
in April of 2014. For the last couple of months I have been trying to
drop my body fat. It has been
tough. The fluctuations of my body weight
drive me crazy sometimes. One week I was 187 lbs., and then the next week I was
180 lbs. My goal weight has been 175 lbs. The lowest I have been able to reach is 177.6
lbs. Getting rid of those last two
pounds has seemed to be impossible.
According to one of those hand-held body fat calculators I’m about 6-7% body fat. If so, I definitely have weight that I can lose. For males, there is about 2-4% fat, which is called essential fat, and for female, 10-12%. When my body fat was calculated I was 179 lbs, which means 1.8 lbs for me is equal to one percent of body fat. Therefore, if I’m at 7%, I have about 6 pounds of fat that I can lose, hopefully doing so, I will look like those guys above, which would put me at 173 lbs (my ultimate goal).
Four months to lose six pounds would ordinarily be an easy task for almost anyone, but when it’s reserve-fat --the fat under 10%-- it is tough. I have fallen of the wagon a few times. Over thanksgiving holiday period I ate a whole Mrs. Smith Apple (23.5 oz. approximately 2000 calories) to the face after eating dinner; it was so good, but not good!
For the last couple of months I have been trying to limit my sweets to 3 or 4 a week. The days I digress, I make myself pay for it, kicking my work out up a notch, trying to making sure I don’t see weight gain the next day; it doesn’t always work. But as I said, my weight had been shifting. That hasn’t happened now for almost a month. I haven’t been over 181 (morning weight) in almost a month. I’m drinking more than a gallon a day, so my body weight is going to rise during the day, but the morning is where it is at.
The lower abs I think are really key if you want to have a fitness-caliber body. The top part of the abs always comes in first it seems. Therefore, I have been doing more leg lifts, and full leg-raises to try to see a difference, hopefully, it will pay dividends in the end. But as the days get fewer and I’m only down to weeks, I will certainly have to keep myself in check.
Don’t keep sweets in the house, because you’re going to eat them, probably all at once.
Mr. Felder
Saturday, December 14, 2013
Avoiding The Plateau
Is this as good as it gets? That is the question people wonder throughout life. I can't answer that question for life in general, but I can give some incite into plateauing when working out, something that many gym goers face.
So, it has been years and you have been going to the gym regularly, giving full dedication, working your butt off, but for the last few months there has been no improvement. On the bench press it's the same number of reps at the same weight. Curling, the same. Leg press, the same. Everything is the same.
When you hit the plateau it is frustrating. We go to the gym and workout to constantly be improving our body, to get stronger, to see desired results, and when that stops happening, we don't know what to do. You probably have tried taking a week off, to let your body reset. Well, if you tried that, you know it doesn't work. After that week off you come back and nothing has changed; it's still the same old you, pushing the same old weights around, that is, if you didn't regress.
For some gym rats, when that frustration over not continuing to grow gets high enough they turn to that "juice". I have had conversations with people when they make that turn. They are sick of not progressing and looking across the gym while other guys are throwing up double what they are and they see those extras as the only way; well it's not.
But plateauing isn't just for the people in bodybuilder mode, it's for everyone that gets stuck in a rut at the gym or working out.
After water, the most important thing, even before protein, is even scale working out, which means, WHATEVER YOU DO TO THE FRONT YOU DO TO THE BACK! I put the solemn command in caps, but think I need to stress it more, and of coarse, explain.
Whatever body set you have, that is the way it is going to grow. Your body won't grow deformed from front to back. Strangely, it will grown deformed top to bottoms. What I mean is that you can have a massive lower body and a smaller upper body or vice versa.
Therefore, if your target is one part of the body, say your chest, then whatever commitment you put there, you have to put directly behind it. So that extra set and that one more rep you give for your chest, well, you have to treat your back like it's your chest too. The same thing goes for abs and lower back, biceps and triceps, quads and hamstrings, et cetera. I have been guilty of such neglect and that is when you begin your plateau and you stay there unless you adjust.
As I said it comes after, make sure you get your body enough protein to grow that new muscle too. I don't believe you need to go double you body weight in grams (150 lbs = 300 grams of protein), a little more than even is enough for a normal gym goer (150 lbs = 160 grams).
This is based on a person that weighs 150 pounds getting double, 300 grams of protein a day, and how many calories they would consume of that product:
As good as it is, it would be very hard to consume large amounts of meat everyday. And the 95% lean beef has the highest ratio, to get to that 300 grams of protein, you would need to eat 2.45 pounds of it everyday. I don't even want to calculate (you can though) what it would be for someone that weighs 200 pounds. It would take 150 ounces of protein shake, that's way more than a gallon.
If you are trying to become the next Mr. or Ms. Olympia, then your protein intake needs to be higher because you'll be working out a lot more, but even two times is a stretch, because whatever you don't burn you store, therefore, you'll have to be at the gym (or working out) a long time, around five hours, to work off a 3000 calories diet to get 300 grams of protein, something that full-time bodybuilders do. I will say, if you have that amount of time on your hands, then go for it.
But the number one is WATER. When you exercise, even if you're not sweating, your muscles are losing a lot of water. You need to constantly be giving your body fresh water, which will help get waste out of your body and burn calories doing so.
And another little helper, try switching up the placement of your grips every month or so.
Mr. Felder
So, it has been years and you have been going to the gym regularly, giving full dedication, working your butt off, but for the last few months there has been no improvement. On the bench press it's the same number of reps at the same weight. Curling, the same. Leg press, the same. Everything is the same.
When you hit the plateau it is frustrating. We go to the gym and workout to constantly be improving our body, to get stronger, to see desired results, and when that stops happening, we don't know what to do. You probably have tried taking a week off, to let your body reset. Well, if you tried that, you know it doesn't work. After that week off you come back and nothing has changed; it's still the same old you, pushing the same old weights around, that is, if you didn't regress.
For some gym rats, when that frustration over not continuing to grow gets high enough they turn to that "juice". I have had conversations with people when they make that turn. They are sick of not progressing and looking across the gym while other guys are throwing up double what they are and they see those extras as the only way; well it's not.
But plateauing isn't just for the people in bodybuilder mode, it's for everyone that gets stuck in a rut at the gym or working out.
After water, the most important thing, even before protein, is even scale working out, which means, WHATEVER YOU DO TO THE FRONT YOU DO TO THE BACK! I put the solemn command in caps, but think I need to stress it more, and of coarse, explain.
Whatever body set you have, that is the way it is going to grow. Your body won't grow deformed from front to back. Strangely, it will grown deformed top to bottoms. What I mean is that you can have a massive lower body and a smaller upper body or vice versa.
Therefore, if your target is one part of the body, say your chest, then whatever commitment you put there, you have to put directly behind it. So that extra set and that one more rep you give for your chest, well, you have to treat your back like it's your chest too. The same thing goes for abs and lower back, biceps and triceps, quads and hamstrings, et cetera. I have been guilty of such neglect and that is when you begin your plateau and you stay there unless you adjust.
As I said it comes after, make sure you get your body enough protein to grow that new muscle too. I don't believe you need to go double you body weight in grams (150 lbs = 300 grams of protein), a little more than even is enough for a normal gym goer (150 lbs = 160 grams).
This is based on a person that weighs 150 pounds getting double, 300 grams of protein a day, and how many calories they would consume of that product:
Protein Shake
16 grams of protein for 150 calories
300 for 2812
Chicken Drumstick (100 grams)
18 for 159
300 for 2650
Chicken Breast (100 grams)
21 for 172
300 for 2457
Chicken Thigh (100 grams)
16 for 219
300 for 4106
Ground Beef (95%
lean meat) (100 grams)
27 for 174
300 for 1933
Ground Beef (80%
lean meat) (100 grams)
25 for 254
300 for 3048As good as it is, it would be very hard to consume large amounts of meat everyday. And the 95% lean beef has the highest ratio, to get to that 300 grams of protein, you would need to eat 2.45 pounds of it everyday. I don't even want to calculate (you can though) what it would be for someone that weighs 200 pounds. It would take 150 ounces of protein shake, that's way more than a gallon.
If you are trying to become the next Mr. or Ms. Olympia, then your protein intake needs to be higher because you'll be working out a lot more, but even two times is a stretch, because whatever you don't burn you store, therefore, you'll have to be at the gym (or working out) a long time, around five hours, to work off a 3000 calories diet to get 300 grams of protein, something that full-time bodybuilders do. I will say, if you have that amount of time on your hands, then go for it.
But the number one is WATER. When you exercise, even if you're not sweating, your muscles are losing a lot of water. You need to constantly be giving your body fresh water, which will help get waste out of your body and burn calories doing so.
And another little helper, try switching up the placement of your grips every month or so.
Mr. Felder
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