re: Arkansas health and fitness thread

Thanks man! I think that's why BJJ draws such a friendly & supportive crowd. I go to each class KNOWING that I'm going to get owned by smaller guys with higher belts, but after they choke me or armbar me, they coach me up a little on what I did wrong and how I might avoid it next time. And yes, I've dropped around 10 pounds already ... 30 to go.

I also completely agree with your baby-steps advice on diet changes. The same holds true for starting an exercise program. Ease into it, get adjusted, see some positive results for added motivation, then make another change or two. On diet, I usually start by giving up beer on week nights and having a glass of wine instead (for me it's a LOT easier to have just 1 glass of wine than it is to have just 1 beer). I may still have a burger for lunch, but I skip the fries. Work the edges, so you don't feel deprived or overwhelmed. Also, smaller meals with more snacks works very well for me. Yogurt for a mid-morning snack (the protein is supposed to make you feel full longer). A piece of fruit for an afternoon snack. The idea is to avoid going into meal-time hungry, eating what you like, but using portion control (which is easier since you don't go into the meal really hungry). Another big thing is to have a schedule for stepping on the scales. What gets measured, gets done. Don't overdo the weighing. I usually weigh the least on Fridays, so I weigh on Friday morning. Once a week is enough for me. Knowing that I HAVE to step on the scales on Friday helps me say "no" to some of the extra indulgences during the week. (I'm also typing this because, after my baby-step of adding more exercise and seeing some positive results, I'm about to up my game and build on the momentum).

My bad!!! And congrats on the progress!

I expect Ray PenPillage to come back shredded.

did legs today. gonna do a class of insanity at my gym tomorrow. first time ever doing insanity. interested to see how it goes. looking at it as a change up from my regular running for my cardio day

came off androgeddon last week. didn't seem to work too well.

I bought a bicycle Saturday.

I have yet to go on a ride. I just bought a $100 rig to make sure I am going to like it.

Nothing fancy and I even bought a helmet.

I wonder what the rate of burning calories is on cycling compared to running?

to you for riding in this heat. I have a Trek that is just hanging in the garage until fall. I've turned into a wimp.

I'm not a calorie counter, so not too sure. Is it a mountain or road bike? If it's mountain or hybrid and you're riding it on the road you will burn a lot more than if it was a road bike. I have a hybrid and work twice as hard with it. It'll be good work out no matter what, though.

Has a slight mountain bike look, as in handle bars, but has road tires, although the tires are as wide as mountain bike tires. I didnt want to drop $2-300 on a legit road bike with the small arse tires. I am so anti cycling on the roads. I get a furious case of road rage at 5:00 and I am going 10 mph behind a cyclist.

I have a mountain bike, but it is a bit aged and will be sold at the next garage sale I have.

YES! That's exactly the problem I was having. I would get home after working out and some days I would just lay on the couch and my body would crash. I visited an independent supplement store here and the guy (who is ripped unlike workers at our not so favorite chain stores lol) swore by it.

I notice a huge difference, so it's a must on my list now. I paid about $55. There's quite a bit in it so it lasts. I rarely rave about supp's b/c it seems like few really stand out (in good ways). Try this. You'll love it.

I'm down 4 lbs in the last 2 weeks (I've probably dropped around 15 in last 2 months, but I didn't want to step on the scales initially, so I'm guessing based on how my clothes fit). I haven't made any big changes to my diet. I'm doing it mainly with exercise, a few more salads, and a little less beer after work on weekdays. I figure I have another easy 10 or 15 lbs before I need to make another tweak or two to get below 200.

I added lifting back into the mix over the weekend but am easing back into it slowly. I don't want to be limping and stiff from DOMS when it's time for kickboxing or BJJ classes. The plan is to do Mon/Wed/Sat and rotate 2 workouts (1: Squat, bench, & overhead press) and (2: deadlift and pullups). I can ride that and milk gains out of that for a few months before I start hitting plateaus and need to start tweaking that. My main lifting goals are for functional strength and not mirror muscles, so I won't add many auxiliary lifts and will keep my lifting sessions brief.

On cheap recovery drinks, there is a decent amount of research that shows that chocolate milk does as good or better than many recovery drinks. It has a good carbs-to-protein ratio that falls within the range thought to be the sweet spot for recovery.

is it your first week or so? then yes. A good recovery will still help immensely, though.