Physical & Mental health

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I've been away for a while and i really enjoyed this thread and now im back. im just going to read through it and do a massive multi quote message, so if you get a notification just scroll down to your quote!

Weightier matters: for those of you using the protein supplements please tell your doctor that you are using them. The high level of protein can have detrimental effects on you body especially on your kidney functions.

Unless the protein supplements being used are dodgy ones from the internet, you have nothing to worry about unless you have any pre exsisting kidney/liver problems. All the research i have read in to protein supplements say that it obviously causes your kidneys and liver to become more active simply because of the extra nitrogen you are taking in, BUT its nothing you cant handle. having said that there are few studies that look over a long period of time. The only studies that looked at people who had picked up problems with their liver/kidneys were subjects that were also taking many many many other things, illegal things to. From everything ive had to read on protein, id say this: there is no harm in taking it, (20g in one sitting is the optimal - depends entirely on how efficient you are on digesting food though), 1g/kg/BodyMass - 1.5/g/kg/BodyMass is more than enough if you are lifting weights, any more than that and you are literally wasting money/eating more calories than you need. so for a 70kg man, 70 - 100g of protein is plenty per day.

A little bit extra on protein - for those who really care, when you sleep you obviously stop synthesising protein, and actually end up breaking it down for energy, to reduce this, drink/eat dairy products before sleeping. Simply because it has the protein casein in it which is slow release. Also, eat your protein throughout the day, in no more than 20g per sitting and dont go OTT.

And dont beat yourself up if you dont eat as much protein as you feel you should, after a weight session you synthesise protein for 48hours so you have plenty of time to consume your protein!

If you can consume this without using supplements then its even better. you should need to supplement at all if you can have a contorlled diet

I'm only taking multivitamins, is it bad to continue like this?

No need for multi vitamins if you are getting a varied and healthy diet as mentioned. I would suggest only ever taking them on days where you justh avent been able to eat a variety of food and get your vits and mins. Thats what i do. after lunch i think about what im going to eat for tea, then if ive decided ive not got what ive needed from my meals, ill take a pill. but its much better to get it from your food!

Age: 21

Height: 193cm (should be 6ft 4)

Weight: 93kg (should be 205 lbs)

BMI isn't accurate for men who work out, but my body fat % is around 14%.

Been
into sports all my life (cross-country skiing and other cardio sports)
but seriously been at it for 4 years now, more or less. I started out at
72kg (159~ lbs), looked really skinny, had no energy, felt I needed to
change. Started to do alot of research on the net regarding
weightlifting, asked those who knew more about it and so on. I started
with body-weight exercises, and a home-workout routine called P90X.
Although P90X mostly focuses on fat loss, you just need to use heavier
weights and eat more to put on mass. Now I do strenght training 3 times a
week, plus cardio workouts. During winter time I focus on strenght, I
really can't be bothered doing cardio in-doors (don't follow my example,
it's bad for your cardiovascular system, cardio is number one priority)
but during spring-summer-autumn I also jog/play football(football
actually doesn't count as a cardio workout most of the times though
because it involves alot of sprinting which is anaerobic) 2-3 times a
week. Working out might seem dull and a grind at times, never give up.
You have tons of energy, self confidence out of this world and you'll
also get noticed easily, so it's rewarding!

Another
tip I can give you is get a friend or brother or sister or anyone really
to be your workout partner. If one of you lacks motivation, the other
one will push the other one forward and the other way around. I only
take protein powder and creatine post workout, other stuff I get from
food. Just eat right, don't waste money on expensive products.

One
more thing, especially if you're under the age of 20 or so, go see your
doctor and ask him/her to send you to cardiovascular-stress-testing (no
idea if that's what they call it in English but you get the point!),
where they'll check your heart and lungs, oxygen and CO2 ratios to make
it as efficent and safe as possible. Very easy to mess up your heart
with wrong training regimes. Train smart guys/girls, good luck

Its good to see that you put your cardio fitness first. Its all nice and fun building muscle, but your cardio system does a hell of a lot more in terms of your well being. it also helps with your recovery from muscle training!

You did say in there that football doesnt count as cardio because it involves sprints. You'll be happy to know its actually one of the best cardio sessions out there. and general fitness. recreational football is a superb work out. over the last few years, if you go in to a gym, "interval training!!!" is the thing everybody talks about. and its becoming more and more popular for a reason. the sprints you do in football and the recovery between, together are a perfect cardio workout. running for 60minutes does very little in terms of improving performance. infact a thing called fatigue resistance training can give any runner huge benefits [30 seconds all out with 30 seconds rest. 3 times. (like a wingate test)]. Interval training will improve your cardiovascular fitness greatly, a good rule to go by is exercise hard for acertain amount of time, then rest for hte exact same amount of time (60 seconds on, 60 seconds off, for example) and that 60 seconds on is you going hard, you shouldnt be able to physically complete 61 seconds. the key to improving something is to stimulate it, and by working hard you stimulate all the GLUT4 transporters, your Na/K pumps, your fat/cho metabolism and so on.

This doesnt mean you should just go out doing intervals. although you should mainly focus on that, it does only really focus on the peripheral side of adaptations. Its always good to stick in a couple of 40minutes sessions where you workhard at a constant rate. and i mean hard, try hit 160-175bpm for 45minutes straight. that really works the circulatory system rather than focusing peripherally.

Like you said, working out with friends is one of hte best ways to do it IMO. some people may prefer working out alone, but on those days where you just cant be bothered, if you;ve told a friend you'll meet them in the gym, you'll most likely go anyway!

That test you get from your doctor you mention at the end, im guessing its like an incremental test (gradually gets harder)? like a V02 max test or somethign similar. stick am ask on your face and a heart monitor on you? good test to see where you stand in terms of aerobic fitness.

I
am 1.79 and have only 60kg, but Im planning to gain weight. Soo...i wil
take excercises every day, use mass gainer and eat at least twice more
as I do now. About 1l of milk, Three bananas, chocolate, regular lunch
(pasta, chicke,...), breakfast, dinner (eggs, bread, pasta,...), 40g of
proteins after workout. Eat every three hours and workout once per day
(1 hour).

Will this actualy help and how much (approximately) will I gain per month? I plan to do this for next 5/6 months at least...

that 40g of protein isnt needed! take no more than 20g in one sitting. you only weigh in at 60kg so aim to have 60-80g of protein a day. and eat that protein throughout the day, not in one big sitting.

If you are just starting exercise, dont do it every day. start it 3 times a week. and after 2 weeks, add an extra day. Do NOT work out your entire body. split it in to sections. if you start with 3 days a week split it in to: lower body, pushing (chest/shoulders/triceps) and pulling (back and biceps). also work your core at the end of every session. add in some cardio sessions as well, some high intensity training (Intervals like mentioned above). gradually increase what you do and write it down what you are lifitng and be sure that after 2 weeks you arent still lifting the same thing! There is so much to say so if you do want any specific advice measure me. just dont go out there all guns blazing because you will hurt yourself/lose motivation very quickly!

Also, after a few weeks, and if all you care about its muscle gains, look in to eccentric exercises or negatives as they are generally called. that soreness you feel is due to the eccentric part of you lifting, and its what causes micro tears in your fibers. if all you care about ts gaining muscle, do these eccentric exercises, its faster but will cause discomfort. technique is incredibly important here though as you are likely to hurt yourself! (do normal/concentric exercises as well though. in a 3 set work out, make 2 of them eccentric and one concentric)

seriously, if you want advice message me becasue what ive just done there is made a lot of assumptions and tips for hte far future!

Thanks,
man. Amino Acids are not available for me right now so if I continue
like this what will happen in the next 6 months or so?
It's just that
at the gym I go to, the trainers do not care that much. It's not good I
know but it's the only gym in the neighbourhood.

As for the 3lb thingie, I meant if I take the powder.. my grammar is idiotic sometimes.

I just want to clear something up. Amino acids are proteins. they are the building blocks of proteins. There are lots of amino acids. split in to essential and non essential amino acids. the essential ones are the ones we need to consume in our diet. eggs and most meats have them all. its things like nuts that done have them all, so if oyu are living off nuts, you wont get all your essential amino acids.

If you are depressed, for example, you don't give a shit about your sixpack.

Far
fetched example. If you're depressed then mental strength is out of the
question also. I understand if people don't want to exercise, in the
end of they day one will find an excuse why not to. Jedem das Seine.

Besides,
why not both? Working out regularly makes you more disciplined, you
must endure and overcome physical and mental obstacles and you feel
better & healthier.

Mental health is a horrible area. I am 75% through a module on mental health and exercise, and if im perfectly honest, when i first started i found it very hard to understand things like depression and anxiety/stress problems. and i think this module has been great healp to me. depression is a horrible thing, and to anyone not educated on it, the decisions nad thoughts of someone depressed just do not make sense and are not logical. and thats what i think the problem is in society, people dont understand what its like. It's a horrible horrible cycle of being down, not doing anything (exercsing/seeing friends) becuase you're down, compensating by eating/drinking/playing video games and then feeling down because of that. and it just goes around and around in a horrible cycle. Anti depressants can be used, and they tend to reduce the feelings of the down, but do not break the cycle.

Exercise is becoming more and more reccomended because it is a free medicine. and it cna break the cycle. exercise looks to directly break that horrible cycle rather than relying on anti depressents to reduce the feelings of the low until the cycle is broken. Its worth saying its not just exercise, any type of club where you ahve to go somewhere to meet people is just as good. all the research ive read on exercise nad mental health says the same thing "errrrmmm exercise reduces the effects, but no more than drugs" but they also find that for those it does work for, its not a change in fitness levels thats driving it, its more hte social side of it. by getting out there and doing things, getting in to a pattern and having a purpose. Distraction is very improtant.

Some people love exercsing. some people dont. yes exercse gives you a hormone release to help balance out moods, but for people suffering from things like depression, their hormone balance will soon be in favour of making them feel low. anti depressents, metaphorically speaking, put a lid on the gland releasing the hormone making them feel down. exercise does the same, but only temporailly unless its done for over a 10 week period.

Its a very complicated are and ive made a mess of trying to explain it. It would be easier answering more specific questions so if you do have any just ask.

Question
for you Guys. I'm 188cm tall and I have 83KG. I need to lose 3KG. I'm
not fat and I trainn football 6 times per week. Only thing I want to
ask, what is best workout for football player? I know that I need to
lift with less weight more reps. Any other recommendations?

Thanks

I can help a lot here! but i need to know more. what position do you play? how old are you?
and who is telling you to lose 3KGs? if you arent fat i wouldnt see why a coach would ask you to lose weight. also, if you are being asked to lsoe weight id imagine you must be quite a bulky lad? in which case, jsut cut down on the weights. maybe reduce hte weight, and just dont look to increase the weight any more, jsut look for maintanance once you lose your weight. i need mroe info here though to advise you.

trainign 6 times a week is a lot. im assuming you are counting a game as a session as well. if this is all training with your club, then they should know what they are doing. if you are doing your own training sessions, and all you want to do is improve your physical side its very simple. you want to get better at football? when you play football waht do you do? you sprint every now and then for about 3 seconds. you run at a high intensity for 3 -6 minutes a time. and you walk around to recover. you jump up and down every now and then. and most improtnatly, you do most of this with a ball at your feet.

My advice: do some sprints. make sure they last no more than 5 seconds. this is a very little amount of time, and when you do them, itll feel even shorter. but you never sprint for more than 5 seconds in a match, so why would you need to sprint train for 10 seconds? you will get the best adapatations from replicating what you do in a game.

your high intensity running, do interval traning, 3 minutes hard running, 3 minutes rest ( prefereably with a ball, i imaigne your coach sets up a lot of small games that do this exact thing).

Speed endurance training: this is very improtant. there are two types. speed maintanance, and speed production. these are both extremely hard, and you will need a full days recovery/the next day will need to be a light session.
maintanance = ~30seconds all out - everyhting you've got (looking at 80-95% of your max effort), 30 seconds rest. do that 3 times and increase it to 4 5 etc as your traning goes on. it is super hard, you may even throw up a few times again, this can be done with a ball, infact i have the exact routine our very own frank lampard does for this on my computer somewhere. the man who designed it and did it with frank was a lecturer of mine.
PRODUCTION: very similar, but this time you get a very long rest so that you fully recover. but you need to work at 100% max effot. so if you do 30-50 seconds on, you need 5minutes rest. then go again. may be harder to do with a ball at your feet, but you can run around a lot then do a small dribble and whip in a cross (the type of activity here depends on your position!).

what else.. jumps. do some plyometrics. im not sure hwat level you play at, but all these things should be familiar to you. just do them! and increase your intensity as time goes on to see improvements. for hte jumps, hold a few weights in your hand to increase how hard it is. and again, add a ball, aim to go in for a header or something.

simply: the more specific it is to your sport, and movements you do in a game, the better it will be for you! the frank lampard drill i spoke about, its specifically designed to him. its based on typical movemetns frank would do in a game at that time, that lead to a positive effect on a game, they just took that strength, and made him practice it so he became better at it!

like i said more details are needed. if you are training alone, or in a group, they will be different. and hte postion you play. your age. the level of football you play. your current routine. and the routine your coach gives you all need to be taken in to consideration. but what ive said above is real generic stuff.

FINALLY, to the guys above me and their creatine. creatine always taste like shit. we recently did a study using creatin supllements, and to make the placebo, we had to make sure it tasted as shitty as the real stuff so the subjects wouldnt know, and im sure as hell it would be easier just to make the real thing taste nicer! just gotta man up and deal with it, bro!

love you all
xxx

disclaimer: everything ive said here is all based on research. may be a bit biased in some areas and vague, but just know it has come from something i have read whislt doing my degree! if people actually want to see some research articles on things just say and ill dig them out and send them your way. very boring though.

I have also not re read anything i have put so sorry for any typos or poor spelling

[SinineUltra 1,170]

I'd quote you, but it would end up in the next page so I'll say it here: mo-mo-mo-monster post! Solid advice though football is never going to be a good cardio bcs it is an analog to interval training but with interval training you have fixed time/distance that you sprint / jog, in football you can jog for 10 minutes and do a small spurt or occasionally have to sprint like a mad man keeping your heart rate at red zone. But all in all, agree! You explained the mental health and exercise part well, a good read.

[dumps 284]

I'd quote you, but it would end up in the next page so I'll say it here: mo-mo-mo-monster post! Solid advice though football is never going to be a good cardio bcs it is an analog to interval training but with interval training you have fixed time/distance that you sprint / jog, in football you can jog for 10 minutes and do a small spurt or occasionally have to sprint like a mad man keeping your heart rate at red zone. But all in all, agree! You explained the mental health and exercise part well, a good read.

Football is good cardio. this is a pretty graph from a study that had untrained men play football based drills/games for 1 hour twice a week for 12 weeks compared to a group that ran, and a group that did nothing.

basically, the V02 max in the football group increased more than the other two groups. (V02 max = gold standard as a test for aerobic fitness)

never attached anyhting before so i hope the graph works!

[SinineUltra 1,170]

Football graph.png

Football is good cardio. this is a pretty graph from a study that had untrained men play football based drills/games for 1 hour twice a week for 12 weeks compared to a group that ran, and a group that did nothing.

basically, the V02 max in the football group increased more than the other two groups. (V02 max = gold standard as a test for aerobic fitness)

never attached anyhting before so i hope the graph works!

Margins are small and a graph wont prove anything YET - how were the physical abilities of the men BEFORE? Had they been fit before? It takes less effort to restore your form rather than overcome a plateau.

It's like saying a training regime/diet is better because one group of people lost more weight - we don't know the starting weights and it is always easier to lose more when you're fat.

Quick edit: I'm not saying it is not a cardio or is a bad one, but i'm trying to say that for cardiovascular health simple jogging with 140 pulse is the best. (Also for fat burn) It has the similarities of an interval training but it is too chaotic and uncontrollable that it can be less strenuous than it needs to be or you'll be spending too much of your time in red zone. Plus interval training is something you shouldn't do every other day, once a week.

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Margins are small and a graph wont prove anything YET - how were the physical abilities of the men BEFORE? Had they been fit before? It takes less effort to restore your form rather than overcome a plateau.

It's like saying a training regime/diet is better because one group of people lost more weight - we don't know the starting weights and it is always easier to lose more when you're fat.

This was taken from a published study in 2010. all the men were untrained as i mentioned. but there were no significant differences between the men before all the training started in all the groups (so they were considered all to be equal).

The little marks above the bars on the graph show a statisically significant difference. so the football one shows that as time went on their V02 max improved from the last time it was measure, one of hte other symbols show that it was statistically significant from the other groups as well.

To be statistically significant, it means there a 95% chance that the difference exsists. This isnt the only study that shows this. there are many more.

trained men would show very little difference. infact its very very hard to improve a trained persons V02 max, but you can improve their efficieny, was is a hwole other story.

but trust me, that graph shows the truth of many other studies as well. i think the main thing to note is that it in the running group it doesnt increase further after 4 weeks. Im not entirely sure what the runners programme was, id have to find the paper, but i do have a feeling they increased the intensity according to their adaptations.

when a study tests 2 groups of people (say your training and weight loss example there) before the tests start, they make sure both groups are random BUT similar.

just trust me when i say that graph is a good graph! the difference may only be 2 or 3 ml/min/kg, but that is a huge amaount in terms of improving someones aerobic fitness.

football is very good all round, aerobically and anaerobically. trust me.

[SinineUltra 1,170]

This was taken from a published study in 2010. all the men were untrained as i mentioned. but there were no significant differences between the men before all the training started in all the groups (so they were considered all to be equal).

The little marks above the bars on the graph show a statisically significant difference. so the football one shows that as time went on their V02 max improved from the last time it was measure, one of hte other symbols show that it was statistically significant from the other groups as well.

To be statistically significant, it means there a 95% chance that the difference exsists. This isnt the only study that shows this. there are many more.

trained men would show very little difference. infact its very very hard to improve a trained persons V02 max, but you can improve their efficieny, was is a hwole other story.

but trust me, that graph shows the truth of many other studies as well. i think the main thing to note is that it in the running group it doesnt increase further after 4 weeks. Im not entirely sure what the runners programme was, id have to find the paper, but i do have a feeling they increased the intensity according to their adaptations.

when a study tests 2 groups of people (say your training and weight loss example there) before the tests start, they make sure both groups are random BUT similar.

just trust me when i say that graph is a good graph! the difference may only be 2 or 3 ml/min/kg, but that is a huge amaount in terms of improving someones aerobic fitness.

football is very good all round, aerobically and anaerobically. trust me.

I'm not doubting you mate, I'm doubting the study. As long as there is no detailed graph that shows what were the stats before and how much did they actually improve then all the story that goes along this is a nice fairytale. I agree 100% that football is a decent cardiovascular training but it wont surpass simple running with appropriate heart rate in terms of gaining stamina and fitness. Besides, football isn't something you can do up to a high age, it is very demanding on your joints, flexibility etc. Running is a far more injury free.

Regardless, thanks for the helpful info, now I know that football is as good if not better then running for overall fitness!

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just to let you know, there is a very detailed table of all their measurements and fitness before the testing begins. there has to be. its funded research. they aren't allowed to assume

[SinineUltra 1,170]

Plus it's harder to RESEMBLE the ' football based drills/games for 1 hour twice a week for 12 weeks' rather than just jog at 140 heart rate. All this is too vague before I can see 'very detailed table of all their measurements'

[Rmpr 8,977]

Can a noob still participate in this thread? It has gone too professional and technical.

Anyways, I am probably dropping tennis and football at my University.

However, I am signing up for a good gym we have close to my apartment and do I need any precautions or advices? I never ever worked out in a professional gym, so I feel like a kid in his first kiss, lol.

[Leif 6,006]

Just got a girlfriend who likes my weirdness. No more cardio needed for me!!!

Edit: Turns out it was just my hand wearing make-up. False alarm. Still single.

[SinineUltra 1,170]

Can a noob still participate in this thread? It has gone too professional and technical.

Anyways, I am probably dropping tennis and football at my University.

However, I am signing up for a good gym we have close to my apartment and do I need any precautions or advices? I never ever worked out in a professional gym, so I feel like a kid in his first kiss, lol.

I guess the best advice is to write down what you want to do there. Depends on how many times a week you've got time to go there etc to determine what you should do - overall body workout or certain muscle groups. Maybe first time you go there check out what kind of machines / benches / weights there are and what can you do etc? Most importantly - don't get discouraged when there are some super strong or athletic guys - keep doing your thing and do it properly. Best of luck mate!

[dumps 284]

Can a noob still participate in this thread? It has gone too professional and technical.

Anyways, I am probably dropping tennis and football at my University.

However, I am signing up for a good gym we have close to my apartment and do I need any precautions or advices? I never ever worked out in a professional gym, so I feel like a kid in his first kiss, lol.

how come you are dropping tennis and football?!

as for the gym, Ultra pretty much said it. just focus on yourself, not what other people are doing. My best advice would be focus on technique, start on low weights. you will see quite significant gains in your strength in the first 2 weeks or so. your neuromuscular side adapts very fast, and you start to use your muscles properly! - though if you play tennis and football this has most likely already happened...

its good to set yourself realistic goals, work out when you can go to the gym and try and go the same time so that its more of a part of your life rather than just something you do in the spur of the moment. and it depends what you want to achieve to what you should do, but in anything, focus on gradually increaseing the intensity of it, whether its increasing a weight, or covering a distance in a faster time.

find someone to go with as well, it makes it a lot easier and more fun. just explore shit for your first few weeks and get used to it all. look around on the internet for hints and tips... but with caution. huge caution. ive seen websites where people talk absolute shit, the problem is its hard to ignore someone who talks shit when they are built like a tank because you think "it must be working for them". question things you read and research it. a lot of big guys are big because of the amount of trianing they do, they could be just as big with half the training they do if they did it properly.

[SinineUltra 1,170]

how come you are dropping tennis and football?!

as for the gym, Ultra pretty much said it. just focus on yourself, not what other people are doing. My best advice would be focus on technique, start on low weights. you will see quite significant gains in your strength in the first 2 weeks or so. your neuromuscular side adapts very fast, and you start to use your muscles properly! - though if you play tennis and football this has most likely already happened...

its good to set yourself realistic goals, work out when you can go to the gym and try and go the same time so that its more of a part of your life rather than just something you do in the spur of the moment. and it depends what you want to achieve to what you should do, but in anything, focus on gradually increaseing the intensity of it, whether its increasing a weight, or covering a distance in a faster time.

find someone to go with as well, it makes it a lot easier and more fun. just explore shit for your first few weeks and get used to it all. look around on the internet for hints and tips... but with caution. huge caution. ive seen websites where people talk absolute shit, the problem is its hard to ignore someone who talks shit when they are built like a tank because you think "it must be working for them". question things you read and research it. a lot of big guys are big because of the amount of trianing they do, they could be just as big with half the training they do if they did it properly.

Gold advice, having a partner makes you work harder plus you get less discouraged

[SinineUltra 1,170]

@dumps Btw, just read your comment on creatine - it does taste like.. well.. a bit like aspirine - but ive got a question also: how much should one take it, how often and should you cycle on and off for some times? Because I've read it stays in your organism for 3 months after you've finished using it and anything excessive is always bad for kidneys etc. At the moment, I'm taking it 3 times a week(after finishing weight-training) for like 5 grams per serving.

[Rmpr 8,977]

I guess the best advice is to write down what you want to do there. Depends on how many times a week you've got time to go there etc to determine what you should do - overall body workout or certain muscle groups. Maybe first time you go there check out what kind of machines / benches / weights there are and what can you do etc? Most importantly - don't get discouraged when there are some super strong or athletic guys - keep doing your thing and do it properly. Best of luck mate!

how come you are dropping tennis and football?!

as for the gym, Ultra pretty much said it. just focus on yourself, not what other people are doing. My best advice would be focus on technique, start on low weights. you will see quite significant gains in your strength in the first 2 weeks or so. your neuromuscular side adapts very fast, and you start to use your muscles properly! - though if you play tennis and football this has most likely already happened...

its good to set yourself realistic goals, work out when you can go to the gym and try and go the same time so that its more of a part of your life rather than just something you do in the spur of the moment. and it depends what you want to achieve to what you should do, but in anything, focus on gradually increaseing the intensity of it, whether its increasing a weight, or covering a distance in a faster time.

find someone to go with as well, it makes it a lot easier and more fun. just explore shit for your first few weeks and get used to it all. look around on the internet for hints and tips... but with caution. huge caution. ive seen websites where people talk absolute shit, the problem is its hard to ignore someone who talks shit when they are built like a tank because you think "it must be working for them". question things you read and research it. a lot of big guys are big because of the amount of trianing they do, they could be just as big with half the training they do if they did it properly.

I dont have realistic goals, I want to look like Brad Pitt in Troy after only 2 weeks!

Ah, long story. Both my coaches set training for this year in the same hours, so I complained to both of them and they did nothing about it. I rage quit, lol.

Exactly because of that I need to start working out. I need to maintain weight (I could even be happy with some weight loss, but I definetly dont want to look skinny) and gain muscle...

The gym really has everything one might need and even more. It really is state of the art. That worries me because everyone will have perfectly shapped bodies (pretty common in Brazil) and I dont have that. Not that I am fat or anything, but I dont have a 6 pack or awesome shoulders and arms, etc. I am actually a bit afraid to look at these complicated machines and have a dumb expression all around my face, lol.

They also have a lot of fun classes like Boxing, Muay Thai, etc. I am thinking of entering in one of them, I played football and tennis all my life, so it wont be like I cant handle the work out. I will suck at the begining, but it is worth a try!

My ultimate goal is to get stronger, I have no intention of taking pictures half naked to post on Facebook. I also dont want to take any of the shit people take, I prefer a healthy and natural trainning, even if it takes 1 year longer.

I dont want to look artificial, that is my main concern and what has hold me from signing up before 2013. I downloaded an iOS app that teaches you how to work out, what you should do for what muscle and in what frequency and how to use each different work out station. I will see if that helps...

Yeeah, I need a partner. Not only for gym. :eyebrows:

Overall, I want myself to look like the first one and not the second:

[Leif 6,006]

I don't believe in 'diets'; only lifestyle choices, but once every few months, me and my mum try out on of the 'diets' to see how they work or just how they taste - and I wouldn't call this one a 'diet' per say, but if anyone's wanting to feel amazing physically, mentally, spiritually etc. i highly recommend trying out a Mediterranean eating regime for a week or two. Lots of vegetables, seafood if you're into that stuff, healthy fats etc.

[Leif 6,006]

Actually I need some genuine help here, I just reminded myself of something - Can anyone recommend easy ways to get healthy fats into my diet? I don't eat fish regularly, and even when I do, a typical salmon fillet apparently has less than 12g of fat, which really isn't enough for a daily intake.

I definitely don't consume enough healthy fats considering I despise peanuts & peanut butter, don't eat nuts in general, never eat seeds, olive oils etc. are too high calorie for me (at the moment) to consume, so all I can really think of is Avocados

[MetsajCFC 1,255]

I dont have realistic goals, I want to look like Brad Pitt in Troy after only 2 weeks!

Ah, long story. Both my coaches set training for this year in the same hours, so I complained to both of them and they did nothing about it. I rage quit, lol.

Exactly because of that I need to start working out. I need to maintain weight (I could even be happy with some weight loss, but I definetly dont want to look skinny) and gain muscle...

The gym really has everything one might need and even more. It really is state of the art. That worries me because everyone will have perfectly shapped bodies (pretty common in Brazil) and I dont have that. Not that I am fat or anything, but I dont have a 6 pack or awesome shoulders and arms, etc. I am actually a bit afraid to look at these complicated machines and have a dumb expression all around my face, lol.

They also have a lot of fun classes like Boxing, Muay Thai, etc. I am thinking of entering in one of them, I played football and tennis all my life, so it wont be like I cant handle the work out. I will suck at the begining, but it is worth a try!

My ultimate goal is to get stronger, I have no intention of taking pictures half naked to post on Facebook. I also dont want to take any of the shit people take, I prefer a healthy and natural trainning, even if it takes 1 year longer.

I dont want to look artificial, that is my main concern and what has hold me from signing up before 2013. I downloaded an iOS app that teaches you how to work out and what you should for what muscle and in what frequency. I will see if that helps...

Yeeah, I need a partner. Not only for gym. :eyebrows:

Seems to be a decent gym from your description, surely there's some trainer around who will gladly help you out if you need any. It can be distracting to work out in a new gym, new environment, new people but just keep your focus on your goals, training programme. Gym is a place of work, get in-get out. About supplements, taking clean whey protein is totally fine, although can be expensive. Just a meal replacement really. When it comes to changing your body sleeping and eating right is even more important than working out itself. When you sleep, our bodies repair the micro-wounds in our muscle fibre that we've "achieved" during the workout. Muscle building is scarring the tissue to put it white and black. And food is the building material for our body. Can't build a house without materials, right? Really hard to give you any advice as to how to train and how often, how frequent because we don't know your limits, current shape and so on. Best is either test your limits yourself, do some research on the internet (tons of channels on youtube, some of which I've followed are Twin Muscle Workout and Marcos Silva Fitness, but like said before take any information with a pinch of salt, in the end of the day they're giving out information that's based on their experience and we're all different, lots of crap out there.)

Best advice anyone can give to you over the internet is to stick to your training, eating healthy (includes minimilizing/cutting alcohol out), sleeping well, educating yourself and getting the right mentality of "no excuses". Determination, all it is. Seen so many people talking about "bad genetics" and "don't have time, money, energy, wind blows from wrong side, too cold, too hot to work out" - you get my point!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LbKkkZNwmN4

[Dion 2,476]

I'm not too concerned about my looks and fitness. But I really want to regain my form, I'm really bad right now. Last time I played football with my friends (4 days ago) I got carried away because I was really inspired and I got a groin injury. The following day I could barely walk and it still hurts a bit if I lift my left leg today.

Now I'll probably have to rest for a week or two before doing any exercise again and it sucks.

[Leif 6,006]

Love watching this before a workout (which I'm just going out now to do! Got new equipment, yay.)