B-Man

You should never workout without loading up on Protein, and you should always finish a workout with another dose of protein. Not only does protein provide energy, but it also supplies your body with the necessary amino acids to build muscle. I always use a supplement such as NO Shotgun 20 minutes before a workout, followed by a mid workout drink such as extend. Then I usually try to have another source of protein such as chicken or cheese within 30 minutes of the finish of the workout. And all you women don't feed me that line "I don't want to bulk up, I only want to tone" That has got to be the most damaging line to weight loss in all of history.

Mine has turned on its side, so its clearly visible. Maybe someday I will get it corrected or taken out, but for now I really don't care. All the excess skin I have is much more of a problem than the port sticking out... And no number of crunches is going to fix the skin problem.

It is great that you have joined the kickboxing class, but please don't give up on martial arts training. I have been in training for 8 months now, and its one of the best things I have ever done for myself. Be sure and pick a discipline that offers a deep curriculum and focuses on more than just sparing, kicking, and punching. My classes are as much about tradition, discipline, and respect as they are about the physical aspects. Also a one hour class kicks my butt workout wise. The confidence martial arts training has provided me, and the self esteem boost are well worth the price of admission.

You would have to put a gun to my head to get me to exercise in the morning.... on second thought I am not even sure that would work. 7:00 PM at the earliest. Usually on Saturday I go to the gym around 10:30 am.

It is much more about the type of calories you intake. Stay focused on proteins and complex carbs, and the energy levels will work out.

Today is my 1 week anniversary and for the last three days or so the gas has really gotten bad. I know this cannot still be the gas from surgery, but rather gas my stomach is creating. If I am sitting up the pain in my neck can become so sever I practically loose functionality. If I am able to lay down and roll around I am able to push the gas down and out. I am not talking about small amounts either. Any idea on what I can do to lessen this problem?

I don't do MMA, but I do Kuk Sool Won which includes getting kicked, and ground grappling. I have never had a problem. I have take a couple of good kicks right on the port as well. Of course my port is turned sideways so it sticks out quite a bit. If it concerns you too much you could always wear body armor. http://www.centurymartialarts.com/Sparring_Gear/Martial_Armor/Martial_Armor_L2_Vest.aspx

Also wanted to say you probably need more intake of calories. 800 - 1000 considering your exercise level is not sufficient, and will actually shut down your metabolism. Try increasing your caloric intake with complex carbs and high quality Protein. Also try changing up your exercise routine. Bike instead of run, do weight training with different body parts. Try kickboxing, p90x, or Zumba You body has become complacent with the current regime. Throw it a curve ball or two, and you will most likely see great results. I try to practice what I preach, but my problem is I still intake way to many calories, and the good to bad ratio is not where it needs to be.

I have the same problem. I am within sight of 40 years old, and I just don't think the skin is going to go away on its own. Even if I continue to loose the weight, I think the flap over the pants is not going away. It feels like its mostly skin with some fat underneath it. I was really really hoping to avoid a tuck, but I know the truth and simply gotta find the money to get it done. I bet I could drop at least another pants size, maybe 2 by having the excess skin removed. I started at a size 52, and now down to a loose size 38. I would also like to mention I do a lot of core / ab workouts, and this seem to be making the "skin" problem worse, not better. I guess the more fat that goes away the more the skin takes on the flap appearance.

I will trade you your 15 for my 30? Is that any help?

I have tried most of the pre and post workout supplements, and the one I keep going back to is NO Shotgun by VPX labs approximately 15 minutes prior to starting, followed by NO Synthesis about half way through. These supplements include a 19g dose of Protein each, so I get an additional 38 grams on top of the amino matrix. This is only on gym days where I do weight training first followed by elliptical, and finish up with body weight training (crunches, push ups, pull ups etc.) This is not for the average person doing light weights and some cardio. The combination of these two give me incredible energy and rapid recovery. So I can push myself hard, wait a couple of minutes, then do it again. I will also warn that this is considered a wet supplement, so it will make your muscles hold Water. On the days I have martial arts training I usually just take a 5 hour energy 30 minutes prior to class.

I am not a runner, so take this advice as you will. 1. How much Water are you drinking during the run? I know that during my high intensity workouts the more I drink the more energy I have. 2. How are you breathing? In through the nose, hold 2 seconds, out through the mouth. The more consistent your breathing is the more energy your body has. If your breathing is not right nothing else is going to matter. Panting or short quick breaths through the mouth are going to seriously rob you muscles of energy. 3. Are you taking any amino acid supplements? I am a true believer in supplementing prior to a workout.

As I recommended in another post. Kettle Bells are a great weigh to do weight lifting and cardio at same time. Start will a 5 pound bell and move up. Some kits come with a DVD that will show you all kinds of stuff that can be done with a bell.

I personally love the gym. I love the fact that I get away from home, from work, from the kid, and focus on ME!!!!. I like looking at all the pretty people because they keep me motivated. I like the occasional looks I now get from others (well maybe they are not admiring but I can always pretend.) I like the variety of exercise available to me. I plan my life around gym days. Its a habit, a ritual, an addiction, an integral part of my life. DON"T SCREW WITH MY GYM TIME!! that is a lesson everyone in my life has had to learn. Now I also understand those of you who feel exactly the opposite. So the advice I can give to you is this. 1. Avoid any one particular piece of equipment such as a treadmill or elliptical. Your body will get used to that particular exercise and stop producing desired results. Plus you will get bored with it. 2. P90x works absolute wonders. There is probably not a better expenditure of money and time to better your overall physical condition. Be forewarned its hard as hell. Might consider Insanity first. 3. Kettle bells are also another extremely helpful and varied method of exercise. They are realiatively cheap and do not require much space. 4. Your own body weight. Do not underestimate how useful your own body weight can be as an exercise tool. Push ups, crunches, pull ups, and 2000 other methods of using your own weight to strengthen and tone.

How much Protein are you taking in a day? Are you getting a sufficient supply of complex carbs? What Vitamins are you taking? If you are exercising a significant amount you need to be increasing your protein intake to around .5 to1 gram of protein per pound of body weight. Cut out the bad carbs, but your body needs the complex carbs to fuel your muscles. Make sure you are taking a high quality Multivitamin. As a bandster this can be a very hard to achieve. Most of the chewable vitamins are synthetic and don't work that well. You need to find a good all natural liquid Vitamin (and yes they all taste like crap) Also B-12 shots for me have really been a great addition to my overall diet strategy, The last chapter in this book of mine would be to point out the more exercise you undertake, and the higher intensity you make that exercise, the more energy you will have during non workout times. Try interval training. Its painful and not fun to do, but the lasting energy buzz is incredible. If after your workout you can walk down a flight of stairs without holding on to the railing for dear life, then your workout was not hard enough.

I move my feet around on the pedal / platform even to the extremes of standing in the lip of the platform with the balls of my feet. I make a change in my positioning about once every two minutes. This keeps the tingling to a minimum and allows me to work different muscle groups in the legs. I swear I have gone around the world twice on that dam elliptical. Its a love hate relationship, but my legs are incredibly tone ad powerful as a result. The rest of me not so much.

I wanted to get some feedback from my fellow gym rats about what supplements you are taking, and how effective they are. I have been using VPX's NO Shotgun and NO Synthesis for over a year now, and I have yet to find anything that works better. Unfortunately they have lost a bit of their affect due to my body getting used to them. Can you guys make any suggestions as to what you use and the results it has given you.

I can confirm Bam Bam's comment about the soreness becomming harder to achieve. Relish it while you can. I had gotten to the point where my weight lifting no longer achieved soreness no matter how much weight I use. I then started drastically changing my routine working new muscle groups with new techniques, only occasionally visiting the old standby's. I now hurt so f'in bad I can barely get out of bed in the morning.. Man I love it. Now if only I could get my sweet tooth under control I might actually start seeing results again.

There was a point in time (mid twenties) where my life revolved around the gym. I was addicted. Then I met my wife, started enjoying the couple life, started traveling for work, had a kid, and then BOOM 340 pounds... I am now a little (maybe a lot) older with many more responsibilities in life than I had at age 26, so its harder to find the time for the gym. Within the last 4 months or so I have begun to reach the point of addiction again. I now find myself planning my life around gym and martial arts training. Almost everything (and sometimes everything) takes a back seat to my workout time. Although I absolutely love the rush this addiction provides me, I also see the toll its taking on my family life. My poor 7 year old is especially paying the price. She doesn't like being stuck in the kids center for 8+ hours a week. My father died from cancer at the age of 39, and I am currently 39, so I have a real demon inside me pushing me this year, and I can only hope my family understands this and is patient with me.

Increase your intake to about 1500 per day. What is your current Protein intake per day? If you are working out hard, you need to be consuming 1 Gram of protein per pound of body weight (or at least shoot for that number.) I would suspect your lack of weight loss is tied to your calorie intake being to low, and your metabolism slowing down as a result. Also look into Interval training as a method of shocking your body into responding. You can do Intervals on the elliptical, treadmill, or by running sprints.

I am not sure exercise is going to help with the skin much. At your age I think you will be ok. When I was 26 or so I lost 100 pounds, and my skin bounced back pretty well (not so much at 39.) I would definitely encourage you to continue a rigorous workout to help with the weight loss and general appearance of your body though. Try researching which Vitamins and other supplements support healthy skin. Those will most likely help the most. Also I have heard tanning does a lot to shrink excess skin. Be careful to not bulk up until you have achieved the weight loss. I am pretty dam built from a muscle perspective, but its all hidden under the fat so I still look fatter than I am. Loose the weight first, then you will know what areas to build muscle to "fill in"

I want to remind you to look at other things besides weight and clothing size. Pay attention to how much easier every day tasks become. The increase in general ability to live life is as much a reward as the weight loss. Also pay close attention to the level of effort a particular exercise takes. When you start to feel that 30 minutes on the bike become easier, then you need to increase the intensity / level or change the activity completely. The body will become comfortable with the exercise and your results will drop off. If it doesn't hurt, its not working. I know I have had a good productive workout when I have to hold the hand rail to make it down the stairs.

3 days a week in the gym. 30-40 minutes working weights. 35 minutes elliptical doing intervals, and finish with either working on forms or stretching for 20 final minutes. (plus I do around 50-60 push ups during the final phase to keep my body temp and heart rate up) Then I have martial arts training 3 days a week for 2 hours. I also take the stairs up to my office after lunch every day. 10 Flights. Man now I am tired just thinking about all that work!!! You would think doing all this exercise I could loose weight. I guess if I would learn to eat better I could loose that last 25 pounds.

This thread reminds me of a story. I have told myself a NSV would be the first time I got hit on at the gym. Well I got to tell everyone (including my wife) that my day had come. I finally got hit on at the gym. Good thing right? NOT!!!! I should be excited, but it turned out to be a late 40's dude dressed like Richard Simmons while I was in the locker room. NOT COOL!!!! Lol.. at least it makes for a good story. I personally like the skinny/sexy people at the gym. Nothing motivates me more than seeing these hot bodies and thinking if I push harder, work longer... one day people will look at me that way.

I also agree that the gym equipment is over estimating the calorie burn by at least 30% if not more. I have used a polar Heart rate monitor, and a body bug at the same time to try and get a good idea of true calorie burn. Here is an example of the readings I received: 45 Minute elliptical workout. Moderate to high Intensity. Elliptical = 740 Calories Polar HRM = 650 Calories Body Bug = 510 Calories I would imagine the truth to be in the middle of the Body Bug and the Polar HRM. Somewhere around 575 Calories. To bad the body bug doesn't have a HRM. Then it would probably be pretty close to accurate.