Health Challenge Update Thread

[nature boy]

lol
ryan can barely lift a box of cereal. but maybe it's because the box is as big as he is.

good tips in this thread. too bad i like eating too much to count calories. i may start a workout regimen or something (now that i have an exercise bike lol)

i have a total gym 2000. got it for $50 on craigslist. i used it for a while after i got it and i liked it. what do you guys think of it? useful or a piece of crap? i don't really have space for free weights.

[Wetundies]

Join judo with keian.

[joel]

total gym is ok.. it's based on using your own weight as resistance. you don't need any equipment or minimal equipment to do a lot of different excercises, pushups, crunchs, lunges, any aerobic type excercise.

i think the thing with all of these including total gym is just that if your focus is on strength training.. most of these cap out on the amount of resistance at a very low stage. If the max resistance on any of these excercise gets to the point where it is easy, you'll no longer be able to develop new muscle growth.

[nature boy]

i'm not trying to get huge, but maybe add a little definition.
i think the one i got lets you go up to 60% of your body weight. but i guess if i wanted to go more i could just strap some weights onto the board itself.

i can't say that 60% of my body weight is hard per se (i guess it'd be roughly 110lbs?), but after 3 reps of 10 it could be.

[joel]

depends on which muscle group your working on at the time. bicep curling 110 pds is pretty impressive... doing 110pd leg press is not very...

But if you go from virtually zero excercise to some it will make a difference for muscle growth.

Best way to add definition is to drop fat.. you can a tonne of muscle but if it's hidden under fat it still will look flabby.. On the other hand if you have very little fat, you'll look pretty well defined even with a small amount of muscle mass.

[jeSteR]

[Keiho]

How are you guys calculating the body fat %?

[se7entse7en]

We're all using Jai's electronic hand held conductance device.

[nature boy]

i'm scared to see what my body fat % is. but then, last time i used that thing i was around 18% i think... i was pretty surprised.

[Keiho]

Pretty spiffy...I should give him a ring and have mine measured before I start back on my fitness routine.

[Duncan]

After our informal weigh in and bf % check, i was pretty motivated... I've already started eating a little less and a little more health consciously. I've even started working out. Worked out on monday and last night. Did another 20 minutes on the stationary rower too. It's probably not as much as i'd like to do but i don't have much time in general to be working out.

My arms feel a little sore since i started working out on monday but it's a good feeling. I haven't felt like i've been putting my body to good use in a long time.

will post my goals in the main forum now

[joel]

great to hear you've started and are enjoying it so far.

[Duncan]

i've actually kinda got alicia on the bandwagon too.

She kinda set some pretty insane goals for her and i promptly explained that unless she did a lifestyle overhaul without kids it'd be impossible. Either way i'm glad she's trying to get fit too. She did the stationary rower last night for 20 mins while i worked out. Albeit at a pace slower than walking probably (if you can sing a full Bruno Marz song while rowing you're not rowing hard enough) but at least it was a start. Pretty proud of her.

we're both eating more salads instead of going heavy on the carbs/starches...

[supersuk]

Jay's thing isnt totally accurate either...........

I think I had it read like 11% bf one time, then a few weeks later, i tried it and it said 14... i dunno.

[jeSteR]

It's exceptionally dependant on your water intake for the day. You need to make sure that the measurements are taken at the same time of day and with the same amount of fluid intake. All conductance machines state that right on the user manual.

If you do it at 9:00 pm and make sure to have taken in at least 3 liters of water that day, you'll find that your readings are very consistent.