Excercise question.

[ParkCungHee]

Excuse me for my ignorance, but what is the difference between muscle and tone?

Tone is like this.
Mass is like this.

 

[Zelig]

muscle=mass tone=definition

High muscle mass tends to come through low reps and high weight, tone comes through low weight and high reps.

Tone isn't a real thing.

You get toned by having a low body fat percentage, there's no difference in muscle shape.

 

[Integral]

Zelig is right.

"Tone" (to the extent that such a term is even meaningful) comes from low bodyfat %. Muscle comes from high weight, low reps, and drinking your milk.

As to the original question: I think that if you're going heavy 3 days per week, running and biking the other three are just going to tire you out and weaken your lifting progress.

Whatever you decide to do, keep your caloric intake up. Drink milk, load up on protein. You won't gain weight or muscle any other way.

 

[LucyDuke]

I disagree with the unimportance of cutting out sugar, if you are like me. I have such a sweet tooth. I used to crave soda, etc. ALL the time. Limiting it didn't work, because I still had the cravings constantly and I would inevitably give in. However, once I gave it up entirely (in the form of sodas, juices, desserts, etc.) I no longer had cravings, ever.

And half a beer is not completely harmless for an alcoholic.

EDIT: Also, protein shakes are great, as long as they are used as they are designed to be used, as a supplement. You still need lean protein from beans, meat, etc.

Has that been shown with science or just anecdote?

 

[Hygro]

I believe strength training is the only way to really do that, while running is cardio like cycling. Cardio won't bulk you up. The weights will help you build muscle mass. Situps are kind of crappy, there are better ways to spend that time.

Protein shakes are not as good as high-protein food, and it shouldn't make a ton of difference exactly when you consume it. A moderate amount of sugar is completely harmless.

Disclaimer I don't really know this subject as well as I should, I could be totally wrong. Except the sugar, I'm sure of that.

A moderate amount would be akin to "moderate drinking", in grams of alcohol. Which would mean 17 grams of sugar per day, maybe 34 per day per men. You're already pretty deep into moderate on your fruits and sweet vegetables.

Also, Oldschooler, awesome man. That's really cool to read. Hit the protein shakes after you exercise, not before.


I wouldn't stress Owen's point, as well intentioned as it is, about varying it up. He's great on basically the rest of the post though. Squats, bench, deadlifts are the jam. Rows and military presses are also the jam. There's lots of other good exercises but if you stuck to those you can get ripped and healthy at a decent pace. Eat lots of calories, real food calories.

I found doing stair runs are tons of fun. I do them when resting after lifts or when the gym is crowded and I can't use the weights I want. Not the machines but actual staircases.

But yeah, the best thing to do is do the thing you won't burn out on, won't quit out on.


Lucy, different proteins are different. This is because different proteins are made of different amino acids, and/or different quantities and ratios of different amino acids. Too much animal protein on its own, for example, and leach calcium from bones. I have a personal suspicion that that can be quite mitagatible

 

[Quackers]

I don't think "eat lots of calories" is good advice when he says he wants to lose fat and gain muscle...

 

[downtown]

Good advice from Intergral, Zelig and Owen. I also agree with Hygro...changing it up is helpful, but deadlifts, bench pressing and squats are a good base for everybody. When I work out, I typically do 2 of those three, and then either ab workouts or kettlebells.

I used to a run a lot, but I've started switching that up with swimming, and the rowing machines. Rowing machines are usually open in gyms, and they're a fun way to get some cardio in when everything is full or you're sick of treadmills.

 

[wilycoyote]

As to the original question: I think that if you're going heavy 3 days per week, running and biking the other three are just going to tire you out and weaken your lifting progress

I don't agree. As I said earlier, I run at least six times a week (by "run" I mean on either an elliptical or exercise bike or swimming, which are low impact, otherwise my knees couldn't take the abuse) and still I have gone from a body type a girl would look at and think, "I could take him," to one where I need to buy larger clothes not due to fat gain, but muscle gain. My routine was very tiring at first, but my body got used to it and now it is nothing.

Lifting until muscle failure (using a smaller number of sets and reps) and progressively moving up in weight is absolutely the way to go to add muscle.

Has that been shown with science or just anecdote?

Both. I researched everything I am doing (in the gym and with my diet). However, now I know it works. Protein shakes are a source of extremely lean protein.

I could have never achieved the rates of simultaneous fat loss and muscle gain without lean sources like shakes, chicken breast, beans, egg whites, yogurt, etc. I essentially eat only about 1,800 calories a day, yet get about 170 grams of protein. I have only been doing my lifting and diet for two months now, yet I have lost 40 lbs, while increasing my squats, bench presses, etc. by on average 100%. I'll admit, I have found it extremely difficult to improve my biceps, but I now have muscles that I have never had before (including lats, obliques, traps, and most awesomely pecs).

 

[Integral]

Biceps are for losers anyway.

 

[Gamemaster77]

Biceps are for losers anyway.

If you want to add visible bulk to your arms, the triceps are what you want to hit hard.

 

[LucyDuke]

A moderate amount would be akin to "moderate drinking", in grams of alcohol. Which would mean 17 grams of sugar per day, maybe 34 per day per men. You're already pretty deep into moderate on your fruits and sweet vegetables.

That's a completely meaningless way to quantify "moderate".

Lucy, different proteins are different. This is because different proteins are made of different amino acids, and/or different quantities and ratios of different amino acids. Too much animal protein on its own, for example, and leach calcium from bones. I have a personal suspicion that that can be quite mitagatible

I don't know what your point is.

Both. I researched everything I am doing (in the gym and with my diet). However, now I know it works. Protein shakes are a source of extremely lean protein.

Cool. I'm just permanently skeptical towards "food products" replacing food.

 

[Leifmk]

A lot has been said and I can basically second the recommendation of heavy compound exercises. Squat, bench, deadlift, overhead press and then some major pull (barbell row, cable row, pullups -- all good). Don't just lift randomly, though. Find a proper newbie program with a real progression and stick to it for a while; make sure you learn the movements from someone who knows their stuff (which an awful lot of gym trainers DON'T necessarily know).

 

[Leifmk]

SQUATS. Seriously. Greatest exercise ever. Most gyms will have a squat machine (look for a barbell hanging on a rack set to about shoulder length)

Warning: Do make sure you don't actually fall in the machine trap. If there's a thing with a barbell stuck on rails that can only go up and down, it is a smith machine and it is the devil. (Not simply the devil's work, but the actual devil.) Do not use such a hellish contraption except as a towel rack (well, actually, it can be useful as an adjustable-height bar for inverted body rows or leg-supported pull-ups and such, but it's hardly cost-efficient). What you want is a squat rack or a power cage; that is, something onto which you can place a free bar at just below shoulder height so you can step under it and lift it off. A gym without a real squat rack is not a place you want to be in.

 

[del62]

Before you start running I would recommend going to a specialist in running footwar and getting the running shoes that best match your running style, this will reduce your risk of injury.

I also suggest you build up the distance you run very slowly, especially if you are not used to running, there are plenty of places on the net you can get a training plan.

 

[Zelig]

Before you start running I would recommend going to a specialist in running footwar and getting the running shoes that best match your running style, this will reduce your risk of injury.

I don't think there's any empirical evidence supporting this. Most (and there isn't much) evidence suggests using minimalist footwear for running (and adjusting running style to match), regardless of foot shape.

 

[Hygro]

Yeah I don't think humans evolved to have special shoe they had to find in nature.

 

[del62]

I don't think there's any empirical evidence supporting this. Most (and there isn't much) evidence suggests using minimalist footwear for running (and adjusting running style to match), regardless of foot shape.

Funny because people who have had injury problems when given the right footwear have seen those problems reduced, a lot depends on the person, their weight and the feet.

I have no doubt that if you ca run barefoot you would probably get less injuries than the wrong shoes, but barefoot running is not an option most of the time.

 

[rugbyLEAGUEfan]

Just learn to surf. Funnest thing ever and a great workout.

 

[Hygro]

That's a completely meaningless way to quantify "moderate".



I don't know what your point is.

My point about the proteins is that there is science showing us at the very least that we'd want different protein sources for different things.

As for the "meaningless" way to quantify, how is that meaningless? Do you know why I gave those numbers? If you don't then are you sure it's meaningless?

I don't think "eat lots of calories" is good advice when he says he wants to lose fat and gain muscle...

Just has to be a calorie deficit. Well, even then not all calories are made equal. There's animals in zoos getting the same exercise and getting fatter with fewer calories than before... hormone mimicking materials like plastics make us fat, so it's not all about cutting calories. But yeah, eat lots of calories when exercising to have the fuel to build the new healthier meat, and have the energy to do it. You probably won't increase your caloric intake enough to put on much fat if you keep to real food and don't add more sugar.

But I understand your concern.

 

[Thedrin]

Leifmk:
Warning: Do make sure you don't actually fall in the machine trap. If there's a thing with a barbell stuck on rails that can only go up and down, it is a smith machine and it is the devil. (Not simply the devil's work, but the actual devil.) Do not use such a hellish contraption except as a towel rack (well, actually, it can be useful as an adjustable-height bar for inverted body rows or leg-supported pull-ups and such, but it's hardly cost-efficient). What you want is a squat rack or a power cage; that is, something onto which you can place a free bar at just below shoulder height so you can step under it and lift it off. A gym without a real squat rack is not a place you want to be in.

This. I'd rather remove squats from my workout (replaced with lunges, split squats, step ups) than use a Smith machine again. A horrible device for squats, and many smaller gyms will have these and no where for proper squats.