Can anyone give me the basics on what an average 30 year old needs if I excercise 5 days a week? Of course I alternate weights with cardio. For legs my barbell is about 25lbs and my arms I use 8's and 10lbs. And back I go a little heavier than arms of course. What do I need to repenlish my muscles besides protein? There are so many,I don't know what to buy. I have multi vitamins that I need to be better about but does anyone have advise? Thank You, Miss Mare
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Supplements?
- Thread starter Miss Mare
- Start date
competition bound
Cathlete
This is a controversal subject, but if you are already supplementing with protein powder, and you want something else, I would say glutamine. I don't take a glutamine supplement seperately, I have a protein powder that is supplemented with it. It's Super Whey Pro by Universal. Hope this helps!!
Aimee
Aimee
First of all, you basically only need a supplement if you do not eat healthily (multivitamin), or you are a serious competing bodybuilder (protein shakes/bars). If you are simply a 30 year old wanting to firm up and maybe lose a little fat or gain a little muscle you only need to drink a lot (aim for a gallon a day) of water, limit fats, sweets and junk food and try to eat more vegetables and fruit. For instance, I am 28 at 5'5". I try to eat between 1800 - 2000 calories a day, 40% carbohydrates, 40% protein, and 20% fat - but that is minor really. Right now, just aim to try eating 5 mini meals a day: a healthy breakfast, a small healthy snack, a small lunch, a snack if needed, then dinner - trying to eat a little protein with each meal. Remember the more whole foods you eat (whole grains, whole wheat, fresh vegetables/fruit, non-refined foods, cottage cheese, etc.) the better. I am an "eater", I ate healthy foods but way too much. So the way I changed my eating habits was to cut my serving sizes in half. This helped so much, and now I only eat when my stomach growls. At first, this was just about all day because I was taking in too many carbs and too much sugar (the more you eat, the more you will crave them), but after a while my body adjusted. Just listen to your body. If you have been eating good, but crave a slice of chocolate cake - eat it, only a smaller amount of it. And most of all - DON'T BEAT YOURSELF UP WHEN YOU HAVE FAILED ON YOUR HEALTHY EATING HABITS! To fail is common, no one is perfect and if you continue the next day with eating healthy, your body will not even know it had junk! When you beat yourself up, you get depressed and it causes you to eat worse, sometimes for longer than just one day!!
As for exercising. Again, listen to your body. Determine whether you are a morning exerciser or an evening exerciser. This took me forever to figure out when I first started exercising. I had the hardest time doing cardio in the evening and weights in the morning, and would get so mad at myself when I didn't have a good workout. Somehow I ended up changing my cardio to mornings (before breakfast) and weights to evening and everything ran perfectly. If I would have known this before I could have not put myself through so much stress!! Depending on what you wan to accomplish (muscle - do more weights, but include at least 3 days cardio; lose weight - aim for 5 days cardio along with at least 3 days weights which will boost up your metabolism, etc.). When doing weights, use whatever weight you can use to get 10 - 15 reps. Again, the formula is different if wanting to gain weight, or lose fat. To gain muscle, go with heavier weight and less reps (8 - 10); to lose fat try lighter wieghts to achieve 16 - 25 reps. When you lift weights, try to do 2 - 3 exercises for each body part. I do my cardio in the morning before work and try to do weights at night after work. I do one body part a night. Doing it this way, it takes 5 days to complete my whole body workout (Legs, Chest, Back, Shoulders, Arms). If you want to do weights 3 days a week only, double up (Arms [biceps and triceps], Chest/Back, Shoulders/legs), or whatever you choose. You may also want to incorporate abs 2 - 4 days a week. I do these whenever I can - I never schedule them because I hate them and my stomach is my biggest problem area so when I "schedule" to do them, I get upset when I end up not having time to fo them. When doing cardio, aim for at least 30 minutes (beginner) working your way up to 45 minutes (intermediate) to an hour (advanced). It may take you a few years to work your way up to advanced if you are a beginner so don't get disgusted. You have to train your mind to relax and "enjoy" exercise. Don't simply think about how fat you are or how much weight you have to lose because it just makes it harder. If you tell yourself that you are exercising to be healthier, to relax and to feel good, your hard work will pay off well and soon you will automatically feel this way without having to "think" about it. I know this is long, but if you have any more questions you can e-mail me at [email protected] and I will gladly try to help you. I am not certified in anything, but have been a long time serious exerciser and have tried just about everything to get there (boxing, aerobics, weights, etc.). You can also get a lot of excellant information by reading. Go to your library and get books written by Robert Kennedy, Cory Everson, or Kiana Thom, or simply pick up Oxygen, Muscle & Fitness Hers, Shape, Runner's World or Walking. I never miss an issue of any of these magazines and have read every book ever made about fitness I swear! Exercising can make you the happiest you have ever been in your life if you stick with it long enough. Good luck!!
Lori
As for exercising. Again, listen to your body. Determine whether you are a morning exerciser or an evening exerciser. This took me forever to figure out when I first started exercising. I had the hardest time doing cardio in the evening and weights in the morning, and would get so mad at myself when I didn't have a good workout. Somehow I ended up changing my cardio to mornings (before breakfast) and weights to evening and everything ran perfectly. If I would have known this before I could have not put myself through so much stress!! Depending on what you wan to accomplish (muscle - do more weights, but include at least 3 days cardio; lose weight - aim for 5 days cardio along with at least 3 days weights which will boost up your metabolism, etc.). When doing weights, use whatever weight you can use to get 10 - 15 reps. Again, the formula is different if wanting to gain weight, or lose fat. To gain muscle, go with heavier weight and less reps (8 - 10); to lose fat try lighter wieghts to achieve 16 - 25 reps. When you lift weights, try to do 2 - 3 exercises for each body part. I do my cardio in the morning before work and try to do weights at night after work. I do one body part a night. Doing it this way, it takes 5 days to complete my whole body workout (Legs, Chest, Back, Shoulders, Arms). If you want to do weights 3 days a week only, double up (Arms [biceps and triceps], Chest/Back, Shoulders/legs), or whatever you choose. You may also want to incorporate abs 2 - 4 days a week. I do these whenever I can - I never schedule them because I hate them and my stomach is my biggest problem area so when I "schedule" to do them, I get upset when I end up not having time to fo them. When doing cardio, aim for at least 30 minutes (beginner) working your way up to 45 minutes (intermediate) to an hour (advanced). It may take you a few years to work your way up to advanced if you are a beginner so don't get disgusted. You have to train your mind to relax and "enjoy" exercise. Don't simply think about how fat you are or how much weight you have to lose because it just makes it harder. If you tell yourself that you are exercising to be healthier, to relax and to feel good, your hard work will pay off well and soon you will automatically feel this way without having to "think" about it. I know this is long, but if you have any more questions you can e-mail me at [email protected] and I will gladly try to help you. I am not certified in anything, but have been a long time serious exerciser and have tried just about everything to get there (boxing, aerobics, weights, etc.). You can also get a lot of excellant information by reading. Go to your library and get books written by Robert Kennedy, Cory Everson, or Kiana Thom, or simply pick up Oxygen, Muscle & Fitness Hers, Shape, Runner's World or Walking. I never miss an issue of any of these magazines and have read every book ever made about fitness I swear! Exercising can make you the happiest you have ever been in your life if you stick with it long enough. Good luck!!
Lori
jgoycoolea
Cathlete
Protein powder, a good vitamin, and WATER. That is all you really need (in addition to a good diet). And after that, who has any money left anyhow? Jeanne
I am just lurking on this forum and read this reply. Just wanted to say thanks, because it adressed alot of issues for me. I have been working out for years but go through cycles of being really fit and slacking off. We moved about 2 mths ago and I have been having a really hard time getting back into a routine. I will try doing weights in the evening. I can't seem to find time for both in the morning.
Thanks again!
Donna
Thanks again!
Donna