The Official Gym & Fitness Thread

Monster Ultra Zero. All colors are delicious af. But I will agree, Reign is better and is “specific” to lifting. It has creatine and BCAAs in it. It’s also canned by Monster to compete with Bang Energy. I’ve never had a Bang but if The Mountain endorses Reign, you know it’s legit...

 

They’re basically the same shit. Bang has more flavors, but also I think got a bad rep for their “super creatine” not having any creatine in it. Reigns are bogo at the gas station by me so that’s who gets my vote.

 

Bang, Monster, Reign are all doo doo, especially if it’s done at a gas station. No wonder none of y’all have any gainz drinking that crap.

 

Bang gets a bad rep to me because of their insta hoes they have endorsing it. All their advertising is just sloots. And some of them aren’t even hot sloots.

 

The Filipino Chuck Norris has spoken...what toilet did you pop out of numb nutz? This thread has been boring with these "power lifters" in here... @Supra TT you're cool but the 2 little midgets (one bearded and one with a man bun) couldn't hang with power lifting for 6 months straight til they hurt their poor little pencil neck twerp bodies... Then there is the expert know it all giving advice about pumping iron while he runs and does p90x... Tattoo from fantasy island is buff but definitely has had some help... Thanks for @Yotaaa91 bringing this thread back to life
J/k... I miss you all! Some good advice in here. For the guys wanting to make a change the only magic pill is diet and consistency.. 25 years straight this Dec 4 me...

Edit: rockin' a Hanes wife beater tank top adds 10lbs of muscle...

 

@tacopaulo lookin smooth for the tiny Friday..no pun intended

 

Look up my post a page or two back on the 6 big lifts. If you want to keep it simple, this is about as good as it gets. It's the basics for full body strength, and can give you a lot of muscle just about everywhere. Also see @PackCon points for @rmorse a few pages back, with tips on eating, lifting and all.

Weightlifting heavy weights, done right (proper form, etc.) will improve your muscles/appearance, functional strength, health, bone density, and more. You almost can't go wrong. You could just focus on those 6 and do great for life. Adding some cardio to this will make you more well-rounded, IMO.

In the future you can move on to more exercises, or stick with this. UTU

 

I’ll look back at it. I’m looking in to getting a surf specific workout/stretching thing from this surf coach too. Lats, shoulders, and triceps are my main 3 focuses. Been working on more rotator cuff stabilizer work too because I always fuck them up.

I just got a new rower last week for cardio because I can’t run. Been rowing every day I don’t surf for cardio

 

Because insulin sensitivity = ability to utilize nutrients correctly. That more bodyfat you have, the worse nutrient partitioning is - ie, youll gain more bodyfat than muscle the higher your bodyfat is. And yes, I know lol, I used plenty of GH with insulin when competing. The leaner you are when using ANY steroid/gh/slin etc, the better it will work because of heightened insulin sensitivity from being lean/dieting.

Try it, use insulin when you're not very lean - lots more bodyfat accumulation and terrible blood sugar levels (bad for you). Use it when super lean = round, full muscles, and crazy pumps/growth. I've done it both ways and its night and day. My (and many other competitors) best growth ever was always after a show when lean. I'm not saying you cant build muscle if you aren't super lean, you can, what i'm saying is it'll likely be slow and not nearly as efficient. To ME, why spend all that time in the gym and on your diet for mediocre results? That is my only point. If you don't care about aesthetics, health, etc by all means eat whatever/whenever, lift, and enjoy life!

I'm not hating on anyone commenting, was simply trying to explain how if you're skinny-fat (or just not really lean) dieting first is one of the best things you can do for your physique aesthetics speaking and will make gaining muscle MUCH easier short term and long term.

Remember: its not about HOW MUCH food you eat, it's about how much you can DIGEST properly, ASSIMILATE, and use for muscle growth. So forcing food when not hungry, stressed, stomach issues,etc OR trying to gain weight when not lean will NOT result in more growth. It will however result in more body fat. It sucks, because i did it for YEARS and spun my wheels, felt like shit, and looked average at best.

 

I get your point. However, we don't have control over how insulin sensitive we are. We cannot just turn that switch on. We can perform actions to help us increase the ability to become more sensitive, but we cannot control it directly. Being leaner does help out with this due to the lower body fat which often times lowers estrogen. However, we don't want to lower estrogen too low, but keep it from binding to the fat and instead turn it the anabolic structure it can be to help muscle recovery and growth. In fact, estrogen is extremely anabolic and so is insulin - one of the most anabolic parts about us naturally. These two are very beneficial for muscle growth and maintaining the muscle you build. Without proper measure of controlling the estrogen sides though, they can be very harsh.

Alot of this stuff is more advanced though, sure it's better to figure this out when you want to maximize results, but that is very extreme for a first time gym goer. You can't deny that this does require more discipline and effort. Many people just want to look "ok" and not to the level of competition ready. Competing (sure I haven't done it, but I know damn well about it) is not for everyone. If it was, everyone would do it then.

 

I get it, and yes for your average guy getting started who doesn't care about looks and just wants to hit the gym, my advice won't matter to him until he stalls or wants to speed things up .. steroids/HGH/Insulin/T4 etc just supercharge this process to an extreme level, but anyone can do it and feel the difference as a natural too, just not as dramatically obviously.

You can control your insulin sensitivity by dieting, that's what im pointing out man - because other than that, you're right, you can't. Unfortunately hormones dictate so much. I have friends who are on TWICE the amount of hormones I was when competing and they think I have amazing genetics because I respond better. But I don't - they just refuse to get lean first and keep spinning their wheels and abusing their body my over eating and taking steroids. If they got lean FIRST, and then tried to gain weight, they'd be shocked at how much better diet, training, and hormones work because the body is primed for growth - a few would probably even have a better physique than me considering my genetics are shit.

The take-home message is that anyone can optimize their progress by doing this -not just dudes on steroids. It's nothing groundbreaking or new lol, simply human physiology at play. I just hate seeing guys fall into the same bullshit rut as I did thinking eating every 2 hours by the clock even when not hungry will help them reach their goals because some super lean meathead on steroids says he eats every two hours - it's taken out of context as to WHY he's able to do that (drugs and metabolism through the roof) - so apologies to anyone if I came across as an ass, or a know-it-all. I'm simply passionate about it after wasting so much time and effort for years before figuring that out.

 

Soooooo were all friends now?

 

Hey, we have all been there at one time. Some of us still spin some wheels, but that is part of how we grow and learn not just physically, but mentally. I spun my wheels for many years at my job with my boss, and when they were finally fired it was like oh shit I am up next... hope I don't spin my wheels! Guess what... I did same shit they did and almost lost my job as well. Learned from it, and adapted quick. Now I preach to many what not to do, because it just ends up for the worse.

Stick around here, you are clearly experienced and have a wealth of knowledge, it would be nice to add another level of knowledge here. All we can do as a family here is live and learn and experiment on our own, but with guidance. You clearly care, by how you delivered your message, which could of been slightly smoother lol, but let's look past that.

You'll have to accept a few people are not willing to fully commit either, and that is ok. Not everyone can be as dedicated and passionate. As I said earlier, some just want to look ok and don't really care to "min-"max" their results. So be it then!

 

Yes!

 

Thanks man, I love the community here and my message definitely could’ve been smoother no doubt so again, apologies for the brash incoming that did make me look like an ass despite being a dude with good intentions. Like I said - I’m not a trainer anymore nor do I compete still so there’s no money is posting or anything - simply don’t like bad info given out on diet.

I just never want to see any guys getting started (or anyone on this forum) get caught up in the bodybuilding forum regurgitated shit - not this forum per say, but forums out there on the web for bodybuilding/fitness that push supplements and bad info - I was one of those guys who ate it up and suffered before seeing the light. So much crap information floating around on the web that gets repeated over and over.

If you guys have questions related to what I’ve posted just holler on this thread, more than happy to clarify or explain more if there’s any confusion.

My word is by no means gospel, but considering I don’t have top tier genetics, had horrible IBS and digestive problems from for many years, have a stubborn body in general, yet still have built a credible physique - I feel the approach I’ve learned usually helps other people too who aren’t “gifted” in the muscle department and at the very least gives them a chance to learn their own body from the start.

 

I have bad IBS when it comes to cheese (very lactose intolerant) so I stay away - especially fried cheese like pizza... ugh. I don't do well with whey protein either (milk derived).

I try some probiotics to help or even digestive enzymes, but really don't see much benefit. What did you do to help IBS?

 

Check out the song "Cocaine Blues" by Johnny Cash stud!

 

You guys might want to take your convo to the Grinder site...

be well