THIS THREAD IS UNDER CONSTRUCTION (LIKE 5 MORE HUGE TOPICS TO COVER), I'LL TRY TO UPDATE IT AS MUCH AS I CAN. THE POINT OF POSTING AN UNFINISHED THREAD IS TO SEE IF THIS WILL ATTRACT PEEPS, COS I DONT WANT TO WRITE WALLZ OF TEXT FOR NOTHING
Okay, so the main idea of this thread is to educate some nerds on variety of things. From how 2 b healthy 2 how 2 b huge as fuck. Also all related discussions are welcome (questions, stories, motivational shit, progress pics, broscience and so on).
Aight pimps and hoes, it’s time to get fit.
PART I: OPENING Q&A AND GENERAL MYTH-BUSTING
Q: How 2 fit?
A: Raise heavy objects against the force of gravity
Q: B-But I don’t want to get huge senpai, I just want to get that c00l surfer look.
A: Don’t worry, if we could get huge just by wishing I’d be chilling with Ronnie Coleman right now. But really, if you want to look better, improve your overall athletic ability, or just improve your health, read on. If you're a bodybuilder or athlete, you probably already know most of this anyway.
Q: I’ve heard that genetics are everything is that true?
A: Not really, genetics play a huge role at top-level bodybuilding, where everyone has already reached their natural limits, and those who are genetically gifted stand out. (for example Al Beckles was famous for his insanely big heart-shaped biceps). But if you’re a beginner and don’t have plans to climb on a stage, genetics don’t matter that much.
Q: But muh metabolism…
A: We’ll cover that later
Q: I just want to get a sixpack mayne, can’t I just do sit-ups to get shredded?
A: No. So-called "spot reduction" is a myth. You can't exercise one part of your body to make fat in that part of the body go away; it doesn't work that way. You can only reduce your overall body fat, not make it go away in a specific area
Q: But d00d, I really want dem abs! What workout should I do, should I follow sixpackshortcuts on youtube? Should I buy that machine from topshop that will help me reach that Brad Pitt boddy?
A: "Abs are made in the kitchen, not in the gym." Having visible abs has very little to do with doing abdominal exercises, and a whole lot to do with how much body fat you have. If your abs are covered in a layer of fat, any ab exercises you do are made virtually pointless. And ab exercises won't make fat over your belly go away. Abs generally becomes visible at around 12% body fat, though it varies from person to person.
PART II: MINDSET
There can be many mental and emotional barriers to getting in better shape. Some are fairly extreme and beyond the scope of this guide, such as anorexia or bulimia. However, the ones that get most people in trouble are very simple, and are generally not that hard to overcome once they are recognized.
RELEASE THE CLUTCH SLOWLY
People usually start working out and dieting when they become so displeasured with the way they look, they just can’t take it anymore and decide to change. In this case, the displeasure becomes a huge motivation, so people tend to reach to extremes at first. They try to work out 2 times a day, 7 days a week, or go on some crazy diet where they eat 500 calories composed entirely of herbal tea and tree bark. They hurt themselves or get sick or just hate life generally, and they fail. Then they get discouraged.
Was that a failure of willpower? Sort of, but the main problem is that the whole approach is wrong. You don't get in shape by killing yourself. You get in shape, and more importantly stay in shape, by accumulating significant, but livable, improvements to your lifestyle over time, and building on that. Not by going through some horrible ordeal requiring Goku’s power.
Eating healthy just has to become how you eat most of the time. Exercise has to become a habitual thing you do every day or two, like mowing the lawn or taking out the trash. If you do just a little better all the time, but really stick to it, you can accumulate big gains very fast, and improve upon them over the long term. Once you start seeing improvements without having to kill yourself, it becomes very easy to keep on improving. You don’t have to stick to the following 100% of the time; but every little bit you slip up detracts from your overall results.
PART III: DIET
You might be wondering why diet comes before actual workouts. Well, that’s because diet is probably the most important single factor in your health, body composition and overall appearance. You have to eat good to look good, eat big to get big. You can lift huge weights 10,000 times a day, and if you don't eat more calories than you expend, you won't gain a milligram of mass. Conversely, if you burn 10,000 calories a day and eat 11,000 calories a day, you will gain weight. Exercise and food selection plays a big role in what that extra weight becomes (fat or muscle), but the weight comes from food.
You might think that when you’re a bit overweight you should eat less. Yes, you should consume less calories but that doesn’t mean that you won’t be stuffing your mouth with clean sources of protein and carbs 5 times a day.
Take me for example, I’m a pretty big guy, 1.88cm, 90KG. When I’m bulking (trying to gain muscle mass) I consume about 3200 calories daily, since I usually chose to consume these calories from clean foods I have to eat a fucking lot, to the point where I’m never really hungry. Now, when I’m cutting down, I consume about 1800-2000 calories, and boy oh boy, I still eat a lot. Pic below, things I usually eat daily while cutting.
http://oi58.tinypic.com/4lsutu.jpg
First, the obvious stuff: fast food and soda. Cut it out.
Fast food is almost always extremely unhealthy, high in saturated fat and trans fat, very calorie-dense, and should thus be avoided by everyone. The occasional burger is harmless in the grand scheme of things, but if fast food is a staple of your diet, cut it out.
Soda is the other thing that should be massively reduced by almost everyone. Soda is extremely calorie-dense, has no nutritional value, and for various reasons, you shouldn't be dumping massive amounts of simple sugars into your system.
There’s also a debate going on if diet an okay choice. Well, I can’t really tell you the truth, because some guys drink it on a daily basis and are ripped as fuck. But in my opinion, diet soda might fuck up with your mindset and make you slip.
For those with a sweet tooth, all kinds of sweets are calorie monsters. But the worst of the worst may be ice cream, especially premium ice creams - a pint might give you a few days worth of saturated fat and half the calories you should be taking in. You don't need to never eat something sweet again - that's ludicrous. Just eat it rarely and in smaller amounts.
Try to avoid processed food as much as possible and try to only eat whole, naturally occurring foods. Eating these will keep you more full than the processed stuff and for less calories.
Many people make the first steps towards weight loss just by cutting out soda and dropping the Big Mac content of their diet. I believe the first one might be a bit harder for my fellow animators, writers, shitposters and so on. Because I do imagine it is great to sip on 7 spoons of sugar while doing something on the computer and converting yourself to water might be hard. So, I’ll post some recipes of some good and healthy beverages sometime later, you niggs are also encouraged to do so.
Macronutrients and more
The triangle of literminaty- Carbohydrates, fats and proteins. You must consume a certain amount of these bad boys in order to firstly stay healthy and secondly to get that hot dream bod. YES, you must consume a certain amount of fats and carbs.
Carbohydrates ("carbs"): Carbs are as important for you as gasoline is for cars. Protein is the cement which is used to build your huge ass muscles, carbs are the manpower to shovel the cement around. Most of your energy comes from carbohydrates. The problem is that people over-consume certain sources of carbs, most notably simple sugars from soda and candy, and starches from white bread. However, cutting down on carbs won’t kill you and in some cases are even advised. (cutting down to a certain amount, not simply not consuming carbs at all.) For example, if you’re bulking up and you’re gaining too much fat around the sides, cut down on the carbs a bit.
Proteins: Protein is formed by a linked chain of amino acids, which are necessary for your body to maintain and repair damage to its muscles. Most people get enough protein, though an intense exercise program may call for eating more for optimal results. Protein helps you lose fat[1][2], build muscle, fills you up so you're less hungry[1][2][3], supports lean body mass (muscle) over flabby and unhealthy body mass (fat)[1][2], helps you recover better from all kinds of exercise, decreases soreness, andhelps to keep off weight loss (combating the yoyo effect).
A few questions and myths about protein:
No, it isn’t bad for you or your liver.
Yes, you will most likely shit blood if your diet only consists high-protein food (for example eating 600g of chicken breast, 10 egg whites, 250g of tuna and two apples. The sight was not pretty.)
No, it’s impossible to make chicken breast taste good ;_; cri erry tiem
If you cannot manage to take enough protein into your diet via natural sources, protein powder may be the key. BUT IT WILL NEVER EVER BE AS GOOD AS SOME SWEET CHICKEN TITS, IF YOU’RE PLANING ON DRINKING 10 PROTEIN SHAKES DAILY INSTEAD OF EATING SOLID MEALS YOUR LIVER WILL QUIT ON YOU AND YOU WILL BECOME ONE OF TUMBLRS FEMINISTS.
Fats: Fats are not evil, either. Eating dietary fat does not mean that body fat will instantly appear on your gut or ass; your body doesn't work that way. Fats perform a variety of necessary functions. The problem is that people over-consume saturated fats and trans fats, which raise LDL ("bad") cholesterol and lower HDL ("good") cholesterol, and under-consume healthy fats like monounsaturated fats (found in high concentrations in olive oil and canola oil) and Omega-3 fatty acids (found in fish, flax seed oil and other sources). Fats also have more calories ounce-for-ounce than carbohydrates and proteins, making very high fat foods very calorie-dense, which is where the bad reputation often stems from.
Water: Drink more water. Water regulates virtually every bodily process in some way. Drinking more water is a simple, virtually cost-free thing you can do to improve your overall health. Drinking water replaces lost fluids from the body during perspiration, urination and other bodily functions. Mental and physical tiredness is a short term side-effect of dehydration with long term dehydration leading to the risk of kidney stones. Finally, drinking plenty of water is essential to getting the most out of your workouts in a safe manner, and it gives us the ability to absorb nutrients from food and transport them throughout the body. The recommended amount differs from person to person (If you've heard anything about 8 glasses a day, it's bunk), but there's no danger in drinking more.
Specific kinds of foods you should eat
Note that the list below does not account for condiments and toppings; it just lists good food items. For instance, turkey breast is very good for you. Turkey breast covered in heavy cream sauce or deep fried in lard is not. Use your brain here.
Your dietary staples should include:
• Lean animal protein sources (fattier meats are acceptable if trying to gain muscle mass), including but not limited to:
o Most turkey and chicken in general, especially if it is skinless. Turkey and chicken breasts especially.
o Ground turkey, chicken, beef or pork.
o Virtually all forms of fish, even the fattier fishes are very good for you. Tuna, while also good, should be eaten sparingly if you're concerned about mercury consumption.
o More exotic-type meats, if you can find them: buffalo, ostrich, lamb, elk, venison, alligator, etc.
o Whole eggs. The unhealthiness of whole eggs is a myth; contrary to past assumptions, they have no impact on heart disease at all. The main reason for this is that cholesterol in food does not impact the actual cholesterol level in your blood; almost all your cholesterol is made in you liver, based mainly on your saturated fat and trans fat consumption.
• Whole grains, including but not limited to:
o Whole wheat bread, bagels, rolls, etc.
o Whole wheat pasta
o Brown rice
o Oatmeal
o Whole grain breakfast cereals and muesli
• Virtually all fruits and vegetables, including beans and dry-roasted nuts. Vegetables are satiating, protect against a variety of diseases, are rich in almost every essential micronutrient and help with digestion.
• Healthy fats like olive oil (for sauces, dressings & low-temperature cooking) and canola oil (for high-temperature cooking), and Omega-3 rich fish oil.
• Dairy products like plain yogurt, cheese, cottage cheese, and milk.
Healthier cooking methods
The methods below are generally healthy ways of cooking because they add little or no unhealthy fats.
• If it is a vegetable, eating it raw
• Steaming (especially) or boiling
• Baking, broiling, roasting without added fat
• Smoking and grilling
• Stir frying with vegetable oil
The best advice I can give is to learn how to cook so you can control your diet better. It is actually very easy to do, and is guaranteed to impress potential mates.
Notes for vegetarians
Not eating meat or animal products does not guarantee that you are eating a good diet. Aside from omitting animal products, the same basic advice applies to you as to everyone else: eat a variety of foods, eat whole grains, limit your saturated fat and trans fat intake and stick to healthy oils. However, vegetarians have some other issues to consider:
Vitamin B12. This is a nutrient that vegetarian diets can be deficient in, because it is a bacterial product that is not very prevalent in vegetable matter. You will probably want to take a supplement containing B12 or soy milk fortified in B12. Lack of B12 can cause a form of anemia.
Omega-3 fatty acids, especially DHA. These are essential fatty acids that you have to make a point to get into your diet. Soybeans, walnuts, flaxseed, pumpkin seeds, and canola oil are good sources of other essential fatty acids, but not DHA. Your best bet is probably to take a vegetarian Omega-3 supplement that specifically includes DHA as a primary ingredient. Non-vegetarians normally get a passable (though sub-optimal) amount of essential fatty acids from eggs, fish and shellfish.
Calcium. It can be more difficult to obtain enough calcium if you do not consume dairy products. Leafy green vegetables (not lame iceberg lettuce, I mean the dark green stuff), soy, almonds, oats, most beans and sesame seeds can be good alternate sources of calcium. You may want to consider a supplement containing calcium. Non-vegetarians usually get enough calcium; it is just from dairy sources high in saturated fat.
Iron. Iron is available in many plant products like whole grains, nuts and green leafy vegetables. However, iron is often not as easily absorbed from these sources as it is from sources like red meat. The good news is that adequate consumption of vitamin C, which vegetarians can easily get plenty of, greatly aids in the absorption of iron. Non-vegetarians usually get enough iron from meat, but it is usually from meats high in saturated fat.
A good mix of foods and a vegetarian multivitamin can essentially negate most of the presumed negatives of even the strictest vegetarian diet. Vegetarianism doesn't relegate you to being a scrawny noodle; there are even vegan bodybuilders. You have some additional things to consider nutritionally, but you will also tend to avoid pitfalls of non-vegetarian diets, most notably dangerously high saturated fat consumption. Note that almost all supplements are now available in vegetarian versions.
As far as gaining muscle, vegetarians will need to look harder to find protein. Dairy, protein powder, eggs, and tofu can help with this. Vegans have it the hardest of all: pea, hemp, lentil and soy protein are all available, although studies have shown these forms of protein to be biologically inferior to milk proteins.
More information on vegetarian diet needs can be found at http://www.vrg.org/
Counting calories
Right, so a diet is pretty much consuming the right amount of calories, getting enough protein and then depending on what you are doing (gaining muscle, maintaining or losing fat) consuming other macronutrients. And no, you can not lose fat and gain muscle at the same time, your body naturally does not work that way.
There’s countless diets out there, the best one is obviously the M. Phelps’ 12000 calories diet. But I personally believe that it is best to create your own diet.
To do that, you need to at least vaguely know how much calories you should consume. For beginners, I recommend using the website below (note, do not take the numbers given for a fact, test shit out. If consuming 1500 calories while trying to lose weight gives no effect on the scales after a week, try reducing the calories (thus proportionally reducing the literminaty triangle) by 100.)
http://iifym.com/iifym-calculator/
Once you know your daily calories, the amount of proteins, carbs and fats you should start building your diet around that. Use a calculator like https://www.fatsecret.com to help you out, it’s not as hard as it might seem. Use the “Specific kinds of foods you should eat” listed above. If eating clean might seem a bit too extreme at first, at least make sure you receive most if not all protein and carbs from a clean source (for example rice n chicken). Then, when you’re done with your protein and left with a bit of carbs and fats, you can enjoy something like a bowl of cereal, as long as that bowl won’t exceed your daily macros.
DO NOT STARVE YOURSELF
A lot of people, even some of that I personally know, like to think that eating nothing but a cup of rice twice a day with an evening salad, drinking 5 liter of water and chewing gum will help you get lean real quick. I wish I could knock sense in to people like this, but here are some facts.
Weight loss is a mater of REDUCING calories and INCREASING activity. And if you decide to go for a 500 cal. diet, your body will be shocked and will have to find other resources to function properly. Even if you will get lighter on a scale, you won't look any much leaner, because you won't be losing fat, firstly you will start to lose muscle mass, because your body naturally will try to preserve fat for when the times get real fuck up and will target your muscles as a source of yummy yummy nutrition. Also, your metabolism slows down when starving. Your body will burn fewer calories to maintain itself, and you will feel awful. This is bad for weight loss because as soon as you quit starving yourself, you'll gain weight fast because your metabolism has bottomed out.
These extremely low cal. diets are only acceptable when an obese person is put on it by their doctor, because he either loses weight or suffers serious consequences in the near future.
So all in all, starving yourself will help you lose WEIGHT but not FAT.
PART IV: EXERCISE
So after reading all that crap about dieting you might think that you don't even need to exercise, you'll just eat your chicken n rice while watching "family guy" and your chest will soon pop out of your S sized shirt. Wrong. While working out isn't as important as diet, it is still pretty hugely important to your overall health and fitness.
Exercise determines HOW you gain or lose weight, and your body composition generally. You can diet down to, say, 120 pounds. But do you want to be 120 pounds of sleek, sexy muscle, or 120 pounds of gross, flabby loser? Exercise largely dictates the outcome.
Exercise burns calories, which makes it easier to lose weight in conjunction with diet.
Exercise promotes strength, endurance, and resistance to injury and illness, all of which are pretty great in and of themselves.
So exercise makes it easier to lose weight, and plays a big role in the composition of your body. There are two main kinds of exercise, cardiovascular (aka cardio, aerobic, etc.) and weight lifting (aka weights, lifting, resistance training, etc.)
Cardio: Any type of exercise that sustains an elevated heart rate consistently for a long period of time, such as running, cycling, or elliptical machine
Weight lifting: Pretty self explanatory, you push around heavy weights.
END OF POST V2