Any fitness experts on the forum?

[E CLASS]

In a nutshell I am 35 and looking to improve my fitness and also increase my muscle and mass - via whey protein (is this a good or bad idea - whey proteins?)

I have previously been pretty fit with cycling, swimming, skiing etc (not that keen on running though)

I have tightish hamstrings so have been doing my stretches after activty and looking to have deep tissue massage also to combat this.

Is there anyone on here that lend their advice?

Much appreciated.

 

[trapperjohn]

In a nutshell I am 35 and looking to improve my fitness and also increase my muscle and mass - via whey protein (is this a good or bad idea - whey proteins?)

I have previously been pretty fit with cycling, swimming, skiing etc (not that keen on running though)

I have tightish hamstrings so have been doing my stretches after activty and looking to have deep tissue massage also to combat this.

Is there anyone on here that lend their advice?

Much appreciated.

Prior to any exercise you need to have the right kit! I just happen to have a pair of Merrell trainers going cheap. Lovely and comfy.
50 quid only to you. Plus postage of course.

 

[LTD]

Although I am an older fart, I would look to see if you have a local triathlon / iron-man group.

They will cater for all levels of fitness and ensure that you work towards targets.

That will give you a great mix of exercise. Fitness is not just about muscle bulk and I am not a favourite of supplements unless they offer the nutrition required.

 

[davethemus]

join a boxing club, there is nothing better for your fitness than punching a bag and skipping. Once you're there for a while and have up'ed your fitness if you want to take it up a level then do a bit of sparring.

A martial art or boxing is the only way to go, nothing else comes close.

 

[grober]

Excessive intake of any one class of concentrated nutrient over the long term is probably undesirable. While concentrated nutrients may be beneficial in cases of dietary insufficiency due to disease or malabsorption, the perceived wisdom is that eating a mixed diet of nutritious food is best. Excessive intake of protein combined with the cyclical dehydration experienced with certain exercise regimes will put a strain on the kidneys for example. Taking a small daily supplement would do no harm but there is always the temptation when trying to " bulk up" to increase daily uptake to excessive levels.

 

[verytalldave]

My son is at present undergoing a "building up" and fitness program.
The diet supplements you mention should only be taken to help increase muscle mass during a strict exercise regime.
If you have somewhere local to you like a David Lloyd centre, join and get proper personal advice tailored to your exact needs. Just taking those supplements and doing press-ups etc is not going to give you the results you want in the time you want.
Its hard work and demands dedication and time.

 

[pippo_t]

One thing I would recommend is looking at myprotein.co.uk for supplements etc. Very good quality and much better value than named brands. Very popular with people on the Men's Health boards.

A lot of people looking to bulk up rave about the stronglifts programme:

StrongLifts.com: Strength and Muscle Building Strategies without The Bull

I tried it and saw some good results after a month or so, but I didn't stay committed enough!

 

[w124nut]

I suggest that you join a gym and have a personal trainer. He/she will let you know if you need supplements according to your goals.

Being the wrong side of 60, I have modified my training to mainly cardio-vascular and body pump toning using medium (to me,) weights. In my 30s plus, I did a lot of running and abs workouts. It really is horses for courses.

 

[pippo_t]

Apologies

 

[salfordmerc]

Excessive intake of any one class of concentrated nutrient over the long term is probably undesirable. While concentrated nutrients may be beneficial in cases of dietary insufficiency due to disease or malabsorption, the perceived wisdom is that eating a mixed diet of nutritious food is best. Excessive intake of protein combined with the cyclical dehydration experienced with certain exercise regimes will put a strain on the kidneys for example. Taking a small daily supplement would do no harm but there is always the temptation when trying to " bulk up" to increase daily uptake to excessive levels.

I train 4 times a week,use to take protein supplements until I got diagnosed with kidney stones....painful. Be sure to take in plenty of water.
Dont go to mad to soon, circuit classes are superb for getting fit and toned.

 

[E CLASS]

join a boxing club, there is nothing better for your fitness than punching a bag and skipping. Once you're there for a while and have up'ed your fitness if you want to take it up a level then do a bit of sparring.

A martial art or boxing is the only way to go, nothing else comes close.

I have a friend who's a heavyweight boxer and he did suggest this - so I might take him up on the offer.

Good advice all round thanks everyone.

I don't fancy supplements tbh - and I think speaking with a PT is the place to begin or my friend.

Thanks.

 

[seven]

I am also trying to up my fitness and,like you,used to be pretty fit when i was younger[44 now].I think for a lot of people it comes down to available time.Having tried several different things i bought myself a Concept rowing machine and have been really pleased with the results.My knees are not what they used to be[too much cricket] and so i need non impact exercise ideally.My nearest gym worth using is a 25 minute drive away and so that 50 minutes is ideally used rowing watching sky sports! I personally have never used supplements - i am not a professional sportsman after all!

 

[gunning]

i run for great britain, and did it all at college with a wealth of knowledge for other sports. Its one thing I can say i would be able to help you on.

If you want to gain muscle mass then whey protein doesnt actually magically do that for you. You need to work out in the gym doing weights to get the rewards. Whey bassically repairs your muscles faster. Boxing training is very harsh, i wouldnt recomend jumping straight into it as its not as simple as punching a bag and skipping. They do very harsh training programmes and even for an athlete like myself its tough going. Calling it the hardest training by far isnt really right though. Your body adapts to how you train, if i was to ask a boxer do 15x35 seconds sprinting up a steep hill then run 4 miles he would never stay with me because hes not fit enough, if i asked him to sprint 100m he might be abit closer to me but as im a speed endurance athlete i can run 10 miles at 5.15 minute miles but also cover 100 in 11.1 as an 18 year old.

Rowing is a fantastic exercise and one that builds massive stength and great cardio fitness. In my opinion these are some of the fitest athletes in the world.

my advice to you is.
If you want muscle mass and less fat, work out on the weights (sort yourself out a programme)
Swim cycle run, as tri athletes are very fit.
Eat well
protein shakes
creatine

hope this helps

 

[cl55 amg]

agree with gunning..to build mass you need a good diet, aim for a 40/40/20 split (protein/carb/fat) with approx 1.5g of protein per lb of body weight.

A good intro to weight training is something along the lines of the below schedule, you only want to train each body part once a week to allow for recovery.

Mon

Chest/tri

Wed
Legs/shoulders

Fri
Back/biceps.

 

[E CLASS]

i run for great britain, and did it all at college with a wealth of knowledge for other sports. Its one thing I can say i would be able to help you on.

If you want to gain muscle mass then whey protein doesnt actually magically do that for you. You need to work out in the gym doing weights to get the rewards. Whey bassically repairs your muscles faster. Boxing training is very harsh, i wouldnt recomend jumping straight into it as its not as simple as punching a bag and skipping. They do very harsh training programmes and even for an athlete like myself its tough going. Calling it the hardest training by far isnt really right though. Your body adapts to how you train, if i was to ask a boxer do 15x35 seconds sprinting up a steep hill then run 4 miles he would never stay with me because hes not fit enough, if i asked him to sprint 100m he might be abit closer to me but as im a speed endurance athlete i can run 10 miles at 5.15 minute miles but also cover 100 in 11.1 as an 18 year old.

Rowing is a fantastic exercise and one that builds massive stength and great cardio fitness. In my opinion these are some of the fitest athletes in the world.

my advice to you is.
If you want muscle mass and less fat, work out on the weights (sort yourself out a programme)
Swim cycle run, as tri athletes are very fit.
Eat well
protein shakes
creatine

hope this helps

Rowing machine sounds just the thing!

I do eat healthily, don't smoke and rarely drink now - children and work take up too much time and can't bear the hangovers. (I do enjoy beer and glass of wine now and again!)

Can you recommend a good quiet rowing machine?

 

[Dr-Nab]

If you are interested in putting some lean mass on, I'd definitely recommend a PT, only problem is they are quite expensive at some gyms.. if you have someone you can train with it would be great for your motivation as you can push each other. I've never had a PT but a few good friends are trainers so they sort me out with new routines every 12 weeks to spike my muscles since your body gets used to exercises after so long so will "cheat" to achieve your rep targets using other muscle groups.

Also would recommend doing compound movements in the gym, squats, deadlifts, clean and press, pull-ups as these exercises utilise more muscles at one time so your body releases more testosterone to deal with the growth & repair. You can find guides on the internet quite freely, complete with diet plans as I wouldn't rely on using whey protein just for repairing your muscles, it's more about what you eat in general.

It's important to make sure you eat before the gym so that you're comfortable with working out - so a sensible time before (maybe an hour to two hours) as well as having a shake before the gym to ensure that you have adequate protein and amino acids in your body otherwise your body will break down your muscles to replenish them as muscle tissue is rich in amino acids, which is counterproductive if you want to put mass on.

It's also not about how heavy a weight you can do, it's the form you keep when you do the exercise!

If you want to I can PM you some routines etc and I'm sure I've got some PDFs about somewhere with some pretty good work out plans on so could send you those as well.

 

[seven]

For E CLASS
I bought a Concept 2 rowing machine - if its good enough for Steve Redgrave its good enough for me! Air mass driven so really fairly quiet - does take up a fair bit of space though and they are not cheap.However i see it as an investment for the future in that i will see the cost back in terms of gym visits in about 18 months.Have a look on their website.Hope this helps - i would have pm'd you but i dont have enough posts.

 

[NW_Merc]

In a nutshell I am 35 and looking to improve my fitness and also increase my muscle and mass - via whey protein (is this a good or bad idea - whey proteins?)

I have previously been pretty fit with cycling, swimming, skiing etc (not that keen on running though)

I have tightish hamstrings so have been doing my stretches after activty and looking to have deep tissue massage also to combat this.

Is there anyone on here that lend their advice?

Much appreciated.

Whey protein is expensive as it is extracted after making cheese from milk (i.e. curds and whey). If you're looking to recover from workouts, try taking one shake within 20 minutes of finishing your workout. I wouldnt over do the supplements because thats exactly what they are. Not only will you be wasting your money but you'll also gain excess weight which you will find difficult to shift. If you have not done exercise before I would begin slowly and have a 'plan of attack' so to speak i.e. what do you want to achieve in the short term and then the long term, but make your goals acheiveable. Don't be disappointed if sometimes you miss your goal, this is part of life. I speak from the experience than I have previously deadlifted 220kg for repetitions, squatted 200kg and benched 130kg. Not to brag but I made the mistake of trying to eat too much to gain weight and gained the wrong kind of weight in the past. Be careful with how much of everything you do, your body needs to make slow and steady adjustments to training and diet otherwise you risk getting ill.

Hope this helps.

I am 33 and am getting back to lifting as heavy as I could previously, though I'm now lifting a little less presently.

 

[bulldoze]

Weight training is one of the best things a man can do as he gets older; keeps bones and joints strong and keeps a healthy level of testosterone pumping through the body - its also good for mental health, well being and is good for the skin, it will take years off you - really, what's not to like?

In a lot of ways, weight training is more of an eating contest than it is a lifting one - you need to eat for your requirements.

I will re-iterate a lot of what previous posters have said, but the main points are as follows:

1. Training is easy: simply get stronger at the compound lifts - Squats, deadlifts, bench press, overhead press, chins. Train 2 -3 times a week for 45 mins.

2. eat 30-40grams of protein every 3-4 hours, a good amount of essential fats and then consume only the amount of carbs for your energy requirements.

3. Do some cardio on days off - some slow, some fast.

Be consistent in all the above and you will change the way you look drastically and in as little as 3 months.

I know I sound a little evangelical about this, sorry, but for a man, being fit healthy and strong is important I feel. I am nearer 50 than 40 now, still a serving Soldier and in Afghanistan at the moment. I am lucky in that for the next 2 months, I can train at the Gym and eat a good selection of food with no distractions and no beer!

C'mon, twice a week for 45mins? some men spend more time polishing their car, which kind of puts things in perspective I feel - whilst respecting the forum that I am on, a car is just a hunk of tin, your body is your transport for life!

I will get off my soap box now and get to bed, its past 2300 here you know

 

[JOB-BLACK-RAT]

Rowing machine sounds just the thing!
Can you recommend a good quiet rowing machine?

The Bremshey Arrow Ambition is a good mid range air resistant rower, 400 quidish.

Id sell you mine but its been keeping the study door open for the last 12 months