The Fitness Thread !

We have some good massage parlors in my area.. Very popular ones. They are expensive but we always get coupons :p


i haven't ever been to a 'massage parlour', hence i have some reservations about them, in the sense that, 'massage parlours' mostly cater to general public that may not be invloved in a demanding physical regimen, whereas, i feel a masseur at a gym would be one who may better understand about your requirements, and may have the know-how of dealing with muscle-soreness, any minor/major injuries you may've had in the past, dealing with the massage of the joints (that requires a careful tackling), etc. very rarely, some of these people may even have had the chance to get involved with wrestlers, or to have the chance of learning a bit from the masters themselves in an 'akhaada'. for e.g., check out some pages and/or videos on massage at some akhaadaas of asia/massage of the practitioners of 'Kalaripayattu' in Kerala. you will get an idea of what am trying to convey here. i doubt that most 'massage parlours' would be providing service to its customers in this sense; but then, i may be wrong too!! :)[DOUBLEPOST=1374911715][/DOUBLEPOST]
How much should an avg massage cost?


we have a famous masseur here at my place at a gym, for a session with whom one has to take a prior appointment. the charge is Rs. 300. there are those who charge lesser as well.
 
I've been trying the short but intensive burst workout style (HIIT). This is what I've been doing for the past 2 months, 3 days a week:

12 burpees (all the burpees are with a pushup, and a knee-tuck-jump, ie. jump and bring knees up to chest level)
50 punches of shadow boxing.
7 burpees
50 punches of shadow boxing
6 burpees
50 punches of shadow boxing
5 burpees

30 seconds of rest

30 situps

10 seconds of rest

20 pushups

4-5 minutes of rest

(The following part is still being figured out and thus may seem random)
10 front kicks with each leg
10 side kicks with each leg
10 'back-kicks' with each leg (seems to work out the butt. wasn't my intent, but hey :P)
10 side kicks with each leg

Go shower.



After the burpees session of the above workout, I feel like dying. Sometimes I don't even reach 12 burpees in the first go and can only do 10. I feel like crying on those days.

This entire workout is something I just put together after being confused about what to do and also due to lack of time. After 2-3 months of this, my legs feel solid, my chest seems to be have a nice cut. My abs/stomach shows slight signs of visible-abs-potential, but there's still a bit of belly fat. My arms do not feel awesome and I find them not bulky enough, which is disappointing.

Anyone have any feedback?
 
Wat about gaining exercises??
I am doing all machines no cardio...
And diet is 2lit milk eats a lot :p
Btw my height is 6.1 and 75kgs
Machines? Hehe.

Also, "eats a lot" is very subjective. Most people just eat the usual unbalanced diet until they're full and think they "eat a lot."
 
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Where did you get the foam rollers from?

Great post...But the internet is NOT your friend. There is sooo much info out there it can consume and confuse anyone just starting out.

I bought it from US but I've seen them in quite a few sports shops in Delhi. If you can't buy it then get it made. Buy some neoprene/closed cell foam/polyethylene foam from sofa makers or packers. Roll it up into 4~6 inches diameter and sew on a cover.

I was referring to only my post when I mentioned about Internet. I meant to say that I am posting just the highlights and you may get more info (delve deeper) by looking them up on Internet. :D e.g., I cannot write everything about HIIT. So, get the idea from my post and get more info on it. Same is the case with the term "plateau"... I didn't explain it in my post.
 
This entire workout is something I just put together after being confused about what to do and also due to lack of time. After 2-3 months of this, my legs feel solid, my chest seems to be have a nice cut. My abs/stomach shows slight signs of visible-abs-potential, but there's still a bit of belly fat. My arms do not feel awesome and I find them not bulky enough, which is disappointing.

Anyone have any feedback?

You are not maintaining a log and hence you do not know whether you are making any progress or not. Your body has either stopped responding to stimuli (less variety) or it's too broken up (less rest and looooong exercise time). Are you eating properly?

- write down your sets in a notebook
- put down reps, weights and rest interval against each exercise.
- don't repeat the same set everyday. ideally, exercises shouldn't get repeated earlier than 5 days.
- take nutrition during exercise. you shouldn't cry or feel like dying while working out. (I feel more energized while lifting)
- you should put in more effort than your last session. e.g., do more burpees than your last session. next time, take less rest between each set. note it down diligently and check if you are moving up.
- if you are not moving up then look for alternative exercises for the same muscle group. (I am taking my example here: If I can't lift more during incline bench press then I switch to decline mode. Decline lets you lift more. It gives me some motivation and enables me to strengthen pecs for going back to incline mode after couple of days.)

need more info? ask me specific questions.
 
#gauravH
Please share your diet..
What to take..what to avoid

5am:
Banana Shake with some Flax seed oil​
Peanut Butter Jam sandwitch (PBJ)​
Handful of dryfruits​
7am:
(workout)​
Protein shake​

9am:
2 boiled eggs, including yolk​
fruit juice​
toast​

11am:
fruits or salad
biscuits

1pm:
regular home cooked food​
no fast food​

3pm:
tea/coffee​
dry fruits​
PBJ sandwitch​

6pm:
Protein shake​

9pm:
dinner with very less chapatis/rice​

10~11pm:
fruits/biscuits​
dry fruits​
I'll post the logic behind my diet when I'll write more about diet in general. I tend to take more proteins and carbs around my workout. I tend to cut back on carbs when not lifting. I take vitamins sometimes in the morning. I cycle creatine for couple of months in a year. I don't know if it's helping me because it could be a fake product. I make sure that I don't go to bed empty stomach. When I am lifting very heavy weights, I make sure that I get up in the middle of night to gulp down a protein shake. I hope you know that your body makes muscles/repair them during sleep/rest, provided that you are well fed. You'd notice that I didn't mention non-veg in my diet plan. It's because it's difficult for me to consume meat while in India. So, when I am abroad, I eat a lot of chicken and cut back on protein shakes and creatine. If eating is not possible in office (during long meetings) then I take Meal Replacement Shakes (MRP). I keep them in my office drawer. This is to make sure that my body is always in anabolic state and it helps in increasing the metabolism rate (more fat loss). If I can take only one kind of supplement than it would be Fats (and not protein). I make sure that I take some kind of PFAs (Poly unsaturated Fatty Acids) each day. It could be in the form of Omega 3 or 6 caps, cod liver oil caps, evening primrose oil or flax seed oil. hemp seeds are good source of fats too.

you asked me what to take and avoid:
avoid saturated fats, trans fats and carbs if you want to lose weight and stay healthy.
take fats to reduce fats! didn't you notice how everyone avoids fatty food and yet they are fat?

... i'll continue the post if i get time.
 
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^^ ask for a "sports massage" and then they'll know what exactly you want :p

tell them if you are having soreness in a particular area or a muscle pull. they are good at that. also, if you are not able to have full range of motion (ROM) while doing any particular exercise (e.g., lying dumbell flyes), these guys would be able to help you out with that.
 
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Thanks for the feedback, Gaurav. I'm gonna remember your username and ask you more stuff later when I have more time.

- take nutrition during exercise. you shouldn't cry or feel like dying while working out. (I feel more energized while lifting)
It's the burpees, man! My legs feel like lead weights after 10!


If eating is not possible in office (during long meetings) then I take Meal Replacement Shakes (MRP). I keep them in my office drawer.
Are these like market available or something? Is this that 'Soylent' thingy? Is it home-made or not? If not where and for how much do you get them?
 
It's the burpees, man! My legs feel like lead weights after 10!

burpees without weights? and I do the push-ups + clean & press combination with weights. I lift heavy enough to complete my last rep with full ROM (range of motion). Sometimes I believe that I can squeeze one more rep but I resist the temptation because a) that extra rep wasn't in my plan for the day b) if I lose energy, I might drop the weights and injure myself (this is one drawback of working out alone).

You know your body better and I hope you are not overdoing it.
Are these like market available or something? Is this that 'Soylent' thingy? Is it home-made or not? If not where and for how much do you get them?

Soylent? Yes, you can say so. But I buy from the sports nutrition companies. Each packet costs around $2~4 but you can buy in bulk as well. So far, I've been importing that stuff but I guess Optimum Nutrition (ON) has launched it in India as well. You may say that MRPs are little costlier in comparison to real food but I often end up eating outside because of late night meetings. In this case MRP becomes a lot better choice than pizzas, dosas and north indian thalis. Moreover, if one is losing weight than all the preparations of bread are strict no no.

Wat about gaining exercises??
I am doing all machines no cardio...
And diet is 2lit milk eats a lot :p
Btw my height is 6.1 and 75kgs
What kind of weights do you lift?
 
Creatine works. Its one of the few supplements that have multiple scientific reports to back up it's efficacy. http://examine.com/supplements/Creatine/ (examine.com is a fantastic resource to read up on supplements in general. I use a protein supplement + creatine).
Also, you need to stay on Creatine. In simple terms, the idea is that once you have saturated your body with Creatine, it assists in muscle repair + increases the water bearing capacity of muscle fibre. Greater capacity to hold water results in bigger muscles. The body tends to flush out Creatine over a period of time, so you need to stay on it, once you have saturated.
 
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i haven't ever been to a 'massage parlour', hence i have some reservations about them, in the sense that, 'massage parlours' mostly cater to general public that may not be invloved in a demanding physical regimen, whereas, i feel a masseur at a gym would be one who may better understand about your requirements, and may have the know-how of dealing with muscle-soreness, any minor/major injuries you may've had in the past, dealing with the massage of the joints (that requires a careful tackling), etc. very rarely, some of these people may even have had the chance to get involved with wrestlers, or to have the chance of learning a bit from the masters themselves in an 'akhaada'. for e.g., check out some pages and/or videos on massage at some akhaadaas of asia/massage of the practitioners of 'Kalaripayattu' in Kerala. you will get an idea of what am trying to convey here. i doubt that most 'massage parlours' would be providing service to its customers in this sense; but then, i may be wrong too!! :)[DOUBLEPOST=1374911715][/DOUBLEPOST]


we have a famous masseur here at my place at a gym, for a session with whom one has to take a prior appointment. the charge is Rs. 300. there are those who charge lesser as well.


Talking of akhaada.. I belong from Kolhapur, Place of wrestlers. I've been in to Akhadas in childhood a lot.. :D I know how the body stretching after workout is done over there. :) I did not realize that can be useful in gym as well :)
 
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Talking of akhaada.. I belong from Kolhapur, Place of wrestlers. I've been in to Akhadas in childhood a lot.. :D I know how the body stretching after workout is done over there. :) I did not realize that can be useful in gym as well :)


Aha! Kolhapur! one of the few places left in this nation, where akhaadas still galore in glory!
And incidentally, you brought in another critical part of training to fore (and often, one of the most neglected or overlooked) - stretching/importance of agility!
 
Whr to buy dumbell or weight set??
Any online links??


I've seen quite a few listings on ebay (but some of those products use questionable-quality rubber as weights, which has a foul smell, leaves remnants/bits-and-pieces after a training-session, and 'colours' your palms black!). you can also try healthkart, healthadda, playgroundonline. this last one is particularly interesting. they have a good service, a variety of products, and also keep emailing you discount-vouchers from time-to-time!
 
Creatine works. Its one of the few supplements that have multiple scientific reports to back up it's efficacy. http://examine.com/supplements/Creatine/ (examine.com is a fantastic resource to read up on supplements in general. I use a protein supplement + creatine).
Also, you need to stay on Creatine. In simple terms, the idea is that once you have saturated your body with Creatine, it assists in muscle repair + increases the water bearing capacity of muscle fibre. Greater capacity to hold water results in bigger muscles. The body tends to flush out Creatine over a period of time, so you need to stay on it, once you have saturated.


Talking of Creatine, could you please tell me about the sale of CEE (Creatine Ethyl Ester), has it diminished?! i had tried loading up on Creatine Monohydrate for a while, 4-5 years back. i appreciated all its good effects (apparent increase in overall strength, muscular endurance), except one, the 'bloatedness' that it used to bring about. if am not wrong, CEE was newly introduced in the Indian market at that time, and there was quite a hullabaloo about it. however, later on i went on a sail, successfully injured myself up in an accident onboard, and by the time i started working on regaining my gait, CEE was no more the talk of the town! now i wish to again load up on Creatine, i.e., CEE this time (as i read that it doesn't bloat you up; there are mixed reviews), but unable to find it in small packs, neither locally, nor online. could you please provide some pointer to me, where i could get one (need only in a small box), i.e., if still available anywhere?!