Health and Fitness Cult!

Do kickbacks and chair dips then. You'll get a great workout from doing this a couple times a week (for chest and triceps):

- Push-ups
- Triangle or Diamond Push-ups (also called Heart-to-Heart, they have many names)
- Chair Dips
- Tricep Kickbacks

Your triceps will be awesome in no time.

Push-ups will warm your triceps out. The Diamond Push-ups are mostly a tricep exercise too. And then you really fry them with the last two exercises.

Have fun!

Gotta be honest, I only clicked on that center video. I considered the third one.

Side planks are killing my forearms. Just sayin'.

Do them on your elbows until you you're ready for the full arm extension version.

Hm, good point. I've only been doing them for 2 days, probably should keep trying.

And really concentrate on keeping your core right and back straight in all directions. It's a common exercise because on the surface it seems easy, bit it's also rarely done right because it takes a lot of concentration.

I'm just trying not to rush it and do it as well as I can.

Then you're probably doing it right.

I just ate a svele, which isn't very healthy.

Svele (plural: sveler) is a Norwegian batter based cake. By size and texture they may bear some resemblance to American pancakes, but are usually eaten for afternoon coffee or as a snack between meals, served with butter and either sugar or brunost, folded in half to the shape of a crescent.

In other news, lack of exercise kills roughly as many as smoking:
http://www.kspr.com/news/nationworld/sns-la-lanews-lack-of-exercise-kill...

The lack of exercise is tied to heart disease, diabetes, and breast and colon cancer. Everybody knows they should exercise, but I doubt everybody knows how important it really is.

Move, people!

So even though I eat healthy probably like 80% of the time and I exercise quite a bit, I'm always feeling sluggish and tired. Also, I get bloated a lot.

I'm thinking of trying to eat Gluten free. I was talking to Nikki G about this and she swears by it. Does anybody else have experience with it?

Also, any other ideas for why I never have any energy?

My standard answer: have your thyroid checked (men have problems with their thyroid glands, too).

I don't know about the whole Gluten thing. It seems like a fad, to be honest. Seems like it started out as a specialized diet for people with Celiac disease (sp?), and now every brand ever is hopping on the gluten free product marketing band wagon. As someone who wasn't always healthy but now is, I swear by a good old fashioned well balanced diet 100% of the time. That's just what works for me, though. It might be that 20% that's making you feel icky.

Honestly, you're probably right. I probably just need to tighten up my diet.

Pete, eat two teaspoons of flax seeds that had been left in a small glass of water (room temperature) for a couple of hours. I used to bloat all the time and I've been eating these every day for the past month, and it's awesome. Not only do you lose an inch off the waist, but you'll also feel better.

I have flax seeds! It's worth a try.

Why do you put the flax seeds in water?

To bring out the flavor, mang!

(I don't know, but that's what it said on a bag of almonds)

Because they absorb a lot of water, you need the extra hydration and because they turn into something jelly-like. It's not bad, even though it looks a bit weird.

Another question for you guys. I've also been thinking about doing a cleanse.

I was thinking of taking these for a couple weeks:
http://www.prosource.net/product_details.aspx?item_guid=3fc35151-c482-48...

Anybody have experience with cleansing products?

I always think about doing cleanses then I never do because I don't want to be in some crazy food craving bad mood when I'm at work. I need like 2 weeks off to do that, or something. haha

Alllllssssoooo, I went on a tour of a gym near my work today, to find out about their rates and whatnot. I got some free passes. I wish I had someone to go with, not sure my husband is too keen, so it looks like I'm just gonna have to go by myself! It's one of those Equinox places, pretty nice and they have another location not too far from where I live, too.. which is cool.

Pete, I know you are the calorie counting king but it sounds like you may need to adjust your calorie count. You're probably burning more calories then you are actually ingesting and usually that leaves you feeling tired. It could also be the reason why you're bloated. You're body is probably trying to hold onto whatever it can in between meals.

As far as cleanses go, what are you detoxing from? Are you pooping regularly?

Detoxing should only be a once a year thing unless you are suffering from constipation which most likely means you're not getting enough fiber, your pH levels are off, and/or you're not hydrating properly. If you're drinking enough water that should be enough to cleanse your system of most of the unwanted waste in your blood system and if you're eating right and taking shits regularly you shouldn't really worry about doing a colon cleanse. Detoxing without really needing to can fuck up your natural detoxification system. Here's a short article on Why You Should Detox:
http://www.thelifeco.com/why-should-you-detox.aspx

But the way you eat and exercise Pete you probably don't really need to do much of a detox.

Interesting site.

I'm sure I'm getting enough calories. If anything, I'm getting too many.

I probably don't drink enough water though. That's something I've always struggled with.

Well then Drink Mo' Watah!

is $183 a month crazy expensive for a gym membership? The last gym I went to was an employees only gym at my old job back in Sydney, and membership was taken out of our pay pre-tax, it was $14 a week or something crazy cheap for employees, but I know it was a lot more for non-emplyees, so I really have no idea about these things. Plus, I live in New York City so I'm sure it's more expensive here than a lot of other places.

Yeah, that's ridiculous.

I would say that around here the prices range from $25-$75 a month depending on what's included.

That's what I thought... it does include everything... towels, locker, pool, all classes, etc. But that's a hell of a lot of money. All the gyms around here seem to be the same price though.

Buy a nice set of bands or some dumbbells and work out at home. I don't think I could let myself part with that much money to go to the gym.

Yeah.. not a lot of room to work out in here. I'll have to figure something out.

Wow, that does seem incredibly expensive, but surely it's because of where you live.

I'm starting to transition to moving my routine to my house. I've learned a ton of stuff from my trainer, and all the things I do at the gym I can do at home (except the cardio). I've got weights and pulleys and things like that here, too. And, there are some really good channels through Roku that I can work along with. But I don't know yet if I'm ready to let my membership go. To get my cardio done effectively, I'd have to jog/run/something outside, and I hate nature (mostly).

Jumping jacks and mountain climbers are great cardio that you don't really have to leave the house for. Also jump rope.

I do a lot of jumping rope. It is great because you can do all sorts of intervals with it, or throw it in between sets of weighted exercises to keep your heart-rate up.

The workout routine I'm writing for ManArchy has Jump Roping as the cardio days. I have two different interval options to choose from.

My boobs don't like jumping rope, but maybe if I invest in a better boulder holder I could consider it.

That and plyo type intervals are the best cardio. But those won't be much better on the boobs. (think burpees w/push-ups)

I was away at camp this week and the food was pretty shitty but i made sure to eat from the salad bar they had with each meal. By the 3rd or 4th day of camp, the other adults had stomachaches and were pretty ill but those of us who ate salad with each meal were just fine, including myself. Except for after the Twinkie eating contest. Then my stomach was fucked.

I've been considering starting this program:

12 Week Daily Trainer with Kris Gethin

It's pretty intense. It looks fun because every day is something new and different. And watching the videos each day will be motivating. But towards the end he does super sets that look ridiculous. Example

Superset:
- Bench Press 50, 40, 30, 20, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50
- Bent Over Rows 50, 40, 30, 20, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50

I am on the right track with the program I'm doing. Judging by the way I look after 19 days of daily exercises, I guess by the time I actually get to the beach two weeks from now my 6-pack will be back again.

Nice! Good job Irina!

Six-pack: loading

In the meantime, I guess the point is that I'm feeling better and have got rid of the pain in my chest when breathing.

Serious jealousy going on from here, Irina.

I got hit in the arm by a softball yesterday night. There's a very visible inprint of the ball's stitching there. Apparently this happens a lot?

Yeah, I don't miss softball at all. I only played one year though.

I finally got back to the gym last night. I didn't do much since it's been over a month since I've been. I did 40 push ups, 20 V-ups, 30 minutes on the bike, 50 leg presses, 50 calve extensions, and I did a few leg lifts/kick up and other ab stuff. I was pretty much done last night.

That's when I feel embarrassed by how little I exercise. When Jaz comes in and uses these big numbers. I do series of 5-minute workouts, one for legs, one for the butt and one for the abs. And they're all 10s or 12s of various exercises.

Then again I guess Jaz wants more muscles, whereas I just need a slimmer waist and less cellulite.

I finally made it to the gym 2 days in a row. Felt good to be back. I'm actually sore today and I can feel muscles that I haven't felt in a while. I used to have really strong pectoral muscles during high school and not til today did I notice that I'm getting that muscle definition back. I'm also able to do more push ups than I have been able to the past several years. Yesterday I did 50(5 sets of 10) and today I did 25 in a row. It feels good getting back in shape.

So I pretty much got my ass kicked today. The heat was one but then we went running in the evening at the park, went to the gym for an 1hour and a half, then jumped in the pool at 1am. I'm so beat.

Today I did 50 pushups, 5 chin ups, and I don't know how many ab things. Oh and I added more weight to the leg press machine. I pressed 215 lbs.

Pete have you had your Vitamin B level checked. My Mom, who is 73, started having dizzy spells quite often. We went to the neurologist per her doctor and that was the first thing he checked. (she was also having very low energy) Come to find out, she is very deficient in vitamin B. So bad, that it has started effecting her posterior column in her spine, which in turn affects her balance and energy level. She has started on B12 shots at home every day for a week, once a week for a month and then once a month. Lack of or low levels in your system can cause you to be low in energy. Just a thought.
By the way, I have lost 30 pounds!!!! I try to eat healthy all day long and then for dinner, still healthy, but really whatever I want. And, I stay moving all day long. I have been doing gardening all summer and just staying on the go. For the last few years, I had become quite the couch potato. I feel so much better and have been able to pull some of my skinny clothes back out, since mine have become so big on me!! I really do feel like a new person.

Congrats Winnie. That's a great accomplishment. Keep at it.

Thanks Jaz! I will, because it really has given me boost in my self esteem, which always helps.

I need to lose 14 pounds to be within perfect height/weight ratio. Insanity or p90x?

Wow, Winnie! Congrats!

Yes, congratulations Winnie - that's a lot to lose... over 2 stone?!

Tonight's my last softball game of the season. It's been really fun and I will definitely play again next year (and invest in some cleats!).

I'm glad you decided to do it, Hattie!

Thanks Irina and Hattie!!