aroundhky

Thanks for all of the feedback everyone! Sorry if I made it sound like it was a lady wanting to hog the dumbbells. From my experience, it seems that guys are usually more rude in the gym. I get it.....I'm a guy.......so it's kind of natural to want to me macho and such......but being rude or a prick is not called for. It took all the patience I had not make a deal of it like he was trying to do.

Western NC here............I think

If you do....you'll probably be as famous as Hugh Jackman. That dude is impressive!

Guys and gals.......looking for some honest feedback here...... I'm at the gym at lunch today and I'm doing upper back (pullups, bent over rows, seated rows & rear delt flies). I usually do them in that order as well. So while I'm doing my pullups and bent over rows, I see this guy doing some stuff with dumbbells in the dumbbell section using several different sets of dumbbells while bouncing around all over the gym doing other things (different lifting stations, talking, etc). Every 5 minutes or so he would circle back to the dumbbell section and do a set or two and leave to use something else in the gym and come back. Anyway, by this time I'm well into my seated row sets. About my 2nd set, I can still see the guy is away from his dumbbells and for a long time now....10-15 minutes they've just been sitting there on the floor, not re-racked, but also not being used. I look around and he's nowhere to be seen and I know that my rear delt flies are next and some of the dumbbells he has left lying out are the ones I'll be using on my rear delt flies that are next. Another 5-10 minutes pass and I finish up my 4th set of seated rows. He is still nowhere to be found...I'm guessing "Elvis" has left the building. So I go over there and start in on my first set of dumbbell flies with a set of the dumbbells he left lying on the floor. While I'm pushing out my last couple of reps all of a sudden he appears and I see him with my peripheral vision looking at me very anxiously. I finish up and look at him and just nodded my head acknowledging him, but not saying anything. He told me was using those dumbbells. Going on instincts.....I'm wondering if we have a problem here and I'm measuring him up. He's fairly big and muscular, but kind of short and looking not all that flexible. I have the reach on him, but he's younger....probably 30 or so. But I want to allow for due diligence before getting into whatever he may be seeking. Thinking I have to at least try and seek out diplomacy, I replied back that they had been laying on the floor for about 20 minutes and since my time in the gym is limited (I'm on my lunch break), I needed to use them as I didn't have a lot of time to spare. He seemed to be going through some type of roid rage by this time. So I'm trying to compromise for us both, probably more than he deserved, and I offered him to work in with me if he wanted. I've been seeing that the dude had been trying to piss all over so many stations at the gym in an apparent attempt to mark his territory or something and thinking he can claim several different stations and implements, while at the same time holding everyone else in the gym hostage and expecting us to wait while he goes and does something else. I'm thinking, I'm not going along with this and I'm not going to be a full on enabler, so I'm not leaving "his area" like he wanted. But I do offer a compromise and offered him to work in with me. He then gets all loud talking saying...."Well I was in the middle of using this but you know what....I can just go do these on the cable machine" like he was all put out and making sure everyone heard this and knew about it. It worked, I could see people stopping and looking. I just shrugged my shoulders and went about my business after telling him that I don't mind him working in with me. He acted all butt hurt and was really loud on the cable machines a few feet away trying to cause a scene or something. I do another 3 sets of rear delt dumbbell flies and leave to go back to work. It's guys like this that think the gym is theirs that really chap my a$$! Everyone else there is paying for their membership and have as much right to the equipment as he does. No wonder so many people who genuinely want to workout...don't.....because of people like this dude. Anyway......was I wrong to go and use the precious dummbbells of his that were left lying in the floor for 20 minutes not being used..... and with him nowhere in sight? Should I have given it more time for him to show up and start using these again..... risking me not being able to do the rear delt flies due to running out of time? On my way back to work, I thought to myself that maybe I was a little harsh or too confrontational. But the more I think about it, I think I gave him more than enough time. Not that he deserved it. I feel that his approach of trying to save 4-5 stations and expecting everyone else to steer clear of all of them while he's there is a little absurd. Seems comparable to grabbing 4-5 pool chairs at a pool when there are not enough for everyone.....just so he can have them all to himself in case he needed them. Just wondering if I'm seeing this the wrong way........... Perhaps I should've posted this in another forum instead of the exercise section.........? Not sure.....

The quinoa I'll pretty much eat with anything, it's a good carb and also has protein. Now the sushi part...... that's not how I roll.

Here's a good link explaining it a lot better than I did. Starting around 0:40 to 1:40 or so.....

Just from my experience, I've noticed that I really only get DOMS in my glutes when I go really deep on my squats. Squats (especially the early movement towards parallel with the floor) are mostly using the quads. To really hit the glutes (butt), I have to go extra deep on my squats, that's when your body has to start using glutes, as well as hamstrings, to get you back to parallel with the floor so that your quads can take back over to get you back to standing again. So basically from the squat stance to your thighs being parallel with the floor....it's using mostly quads, then the lower you go (past parallel with the floor), the more your glutes and hamstrings work. You can probably also do this with the leg press machine if you don't feel comfortable squating that low, but be careful with the leg press and going low, it can injure your back if you don't keep it flat on the machine.

Very good point "Escape"! A lot of the weight (not all) associated with carb intake is Water. I think that's where the "hydro" comes in on the word carbohyrate. From what I've read, cutting down carbs for a few days will help one lose weight, but the initial weight loss will be more water than fat. Then fat loss will come a little later on the low carb eating, and that loss will be a lot slower than the water loss.

Welcome "stacechase'! Good luck with all of the appointments, I hope they, and the surgery goes well for you!

Looking strong "kingox"! Way to go!

I haven't. The closest I've come to that is my weekly Muay Thai. I say go for it and give us some updates.....sounds very interesting!

Awesome!!! Looking fantastic!!! Way to go "buckeye"!

Hey Michelle! Was that Bret Michaels???? You're looking good!

Have you tried flipping tires? Actually since you really enjoy cardio, adding a steep incline can add in an element of resistance training to your cardio routine or maybe add some weights to your body while running/walking.

Sounds good! Love me some chicken, olive oil and quinoa! I'll have to try it, thanks!

I would just go with what your Dr says. Hope that's not too long and you can get in the pool soon!

Now it's a party!

Relative to most sleevers, 100 pounds isn't all that much overweight. And given the fact that you are still young, you can definately get there and I'm guessing it's very realistic! I've gotten this question a few times lately. There is only so much information I know about a person on here and given my limited knowledge on the subject, I can't say without a doubt and can only let someone know what works for me. I think patience is key to skin bouncing back. Also lifting weights and drinking plenty of Water can benefit some. I say decide on a program to get to where you want to be, have that plan and stick with it and be patient.....it will probably pay off for you. Good luck bud!

Always enjoyed lifting and since the sleeve, I almost can't live without lifting, as my day just doesn't feel complete if I haven't engaged in some type of intense resistance training. I feel very fortunate to be able to enjoy exercise, as I know many people do not like it or even hate it. With that said, I often try to see the positives in anything and focus on that. Not that there are no negatives, I just think it helps me to have a positive approach and outlook. The positives I get from exercise are: 1) I know it will make me healthier, 2) love the feeling/hormone rush I get from an intense lifting session (maybe that's just a guy thing), 3) it gets me out of this crazy office for an hour and 4) it helps (some) with my physique. Perhaps a reason I like it even better than I did pre-op has something to do with the words....."crossover" and "addiction".

You're fine "Tink", don't worry about it and congrats!

Looking good "CLK"!!!

Yeah, that seems to be a bit of a controversy at times. I think some people.....ectomorphs.......can and almost have to eat this way (dirty), to put on mass. Maybe that's kind of what he (author) was referring to, but he needs to realize that not all people are ectomorphs, in fact most are not. I knew guys like this in high school.....they lifted a lot, skinny as a rail and until they pretty much ate everything in sight, they couldn't get bigger/stronger. Even when they ate everything and anything, they still had trouble gaining weight because their metabolisms were so revved up and/or they were very active. Those kind of people frustrate me, but it's not their fault I suppose. Anyway, I think people that are like this are typically young (teens to maybe early 20s) and are setting themselves up for weight gain down the road when their metabolism slows and they are used to those bad eating habits.

Welcome back bud!

Amen!! I'm glad someone wrote a good article about how "fat loss" and "weight loss" are two separate things. I can pass on working out for a month, keep about the same maintenance calories, but still lose weight, but that weight will be almost all muscle. My body would think that I don't need it anymore and it would eventually go away. Ex: I've pretty much always lifted weights since about my junior year of high school. A couple of years ago I tore my bicep and it had to be surgically reattached. After the surgery, I had to be in a cast for a month and a half while the muscle grafted and healed back to my forearm bone. During this month and a half, I just sat around and did basically nothing. No lifting, no housework, no yard work, not even walking. I embraced it as a vacation and I vacationed with abandon. This was before sleeve, so I ate anything and everything I wanted in addition to not being physically active for a month and a half. A couple days after my cast was removed, I went back to the gym to do some lower body work. While I was there I weighed myself and I had lost 11 pounds while sitting around doing nothing and eating like a pig for over a month. That weight I lost was all muscle. So weight loss isn't always the perfect thing. I'm sure I gained fat during this time, but I lost more weight in muscle than I gained in fat.....to the tune of around 11 pounds. Great article that clarifies and sheds some light on the subject of "weight loss". Thanks!

Time for a group hug!!!