[Manavs]

I was asked the following question on a different thread and thought it would make sense to have a specific thread for my opinions. Ask away, and I will do my best to answer.

caddyjoe77, on 12 March 2010 - 04:03 PM, said:

Hi Manavs

First of all, obviously you are in great shape. I too, let myself go over the last 6 months because the doctor told me to lay off the workouts after my second DVT in my leg. I put on about 30 pounds, and now that i have been cleared, i started P90x and am almost done with the second week. I have done a thread in this section where i am planning on doing updates..etc and telling folks the benefits of the program as I believe that 90 days is a short enough time to get yourself in shape somewhat and continue on from there.

Now, if you dont mind I was wondering if you could take a look at my eating plan(obviously this varies but caloric intake is about the same for each meal) and also if you could recommend a "good" BCAA stack? My goal is to transform my body completely and continue from there. This would probably help others as well. I do appreciate your time.

Wake-Up: 315 am --> Protein Bar or Protein Shake depending on my mood and how late i woke up.
Breakfast 6am --> 1 package of 150 calorie Natures Path organic oatmeal with blueberries and flaxseed oil contained within. (This breakfast never varies)
Mid Morning Snack --> Orange or apple..depends on my mood.
Lunch 10AM --> Chicken Breast, or 2 fillets of baked fish, or sandwich on bread containing turkey or roast beef(approx 6 ounces), 1 slice of cheese, lettuce, onion and guldens mustard. About 12 baby carrot pieces, some cauliflower stalks and celery with a small bit of ranch dressing. Sometimes if they have cooked aspargus i will get that and the veggies.
Mid-afternoon snack --> Orange or apple
Pre workout NO supplement
P90X when i get home
creatine based recovery drink
Dinner(after P90x)--> chicken, or fish or lean flank steak, green beans(usually) and sometimes some rice.
before Bed--> Ceasin Protein shake with skim milk

Should i throw in some more cardio maybe 2 times a week for a 3 mile run or some interval training on the treadmill? I have only lost 2 pounds, but i can feel that my pants feel much better and i can tell that I am definitely becoming a lot more defined up top in m chest shoulders and arms. Is it possible that i lost weight(fat) but gained lean muscle?

Again, thanks!

Joe

BCAA's are very important in order to provide enough of the muscle building Leucine, Iso-leucine and Valine the body needs to repair muscle tissue, as well as maintain lean body mass. The problem with most BCAA's are that they either don't survive the first pass of the liver and the liver converts the BCAA's into whatever it wants - usually glucose - and the other problem is that they have glutamine in them which blocks the same receptors for the BCAA's and you dont get the full value. There are many brands on the market to choose from - make sure they dont have glutamine in them. A good check is to test your blood glucose before and after you take any BCAA supplement and if you get a spike in your glucose level, you;ll be able to tell if your BCAA's got to where they need to get to or didnt.

Overall your diet is pretty good - i would switch out your snacks for either a meal and a shake or 2 meals. can you swing in 6 egg whites in there for the first snack and say a 50g protein isolate for the second?

Keep me posted
Michael

[GolfSpy Dave]

Great new thread Michael. Say someone, me, is looking to get fitter and read the above and lost a little in the translation.
Where is a beginning resource to start with?
Not to seem dull, but I feel ready for a nutritional overhaul to go with the gym time.
Thanks

[Manavs]

sactown, on 15 March 2010 - 09:39 PM, said:

Great new thread Michael. Say someone, me, is looking to get fitter and read the above and lost a little in the translation.
Where is a beginning resource to start with?
Not to seem dull, but I feel ready for a nutritional overhaul to go with the gym time.
Thanks

Thanks Sactown - I think we can have some fun and help a few people out here at the same time.

Sorry to have thrown you for a loop there with the first post. I was answering it in another thread and just jumped right into it.

A beginning resource - lemme ask what are you looking to achieve specifically?

Whatever we can do to help lemme know.
Michael

[GolfSpy Dave]

Standard shift of fat mass to muscle mass. Think that I am about 20 pounds off from target. strength is OK, at 41 I can still bench my body weight (like that matters) but I would like to be leaner.
really, overall conditioning to get the body ready for the next 40 years.
When lifting regularly, I gain muscle mass quickly, but the toning never seems to happen, regardless of changing weight/reps and etc.
Currently doing three days of cardio (running/swimming) and light weights. Most of the weights have been sets of various styles on the pulley machine (not sure of official name)
Diet wise, lower carb, very low processed sugars, mainly protein and vegetables.

Without going on and on, I am looking for a change that I can incorporate into the daily routine that will be healthier and lead toward general overall fitness.

Hopefully some of that made sense, kind of rambled...

[Manavs]

sactown, on 15 March 2010 - 11:56 PM, said:

Standard shift of fat mass to muscle mass. Think that I am about 20 pounds off from target. strength is OK, at 41 I can still bench my body weight (like that matters) but I would like to be leaner.
really, overall conditioning to get the body ready for the next 40 years.
When lifting regularly, I gain muscle mass quickly, but the toning never seems to happen, regardless of changing weight/reps and etc.
Currently doing three days of cardio (running/swimming) and light weights. Most of the weights have been sets of various styles on the pulley machine (not sure of official name)
Diet wise, lower carb, very low processed sugars, mainly protein and vegetables.

Without going on and on, I am looking for a change that I can incorporate into the daily routine that will be healthier and lead toward general overall fitness.

Hopefully some of that made sense, kind of rambled...

No worries - I understand.

Lets look at the first thing you said - shift of fat mass to muscle mass. it takes 69 calories to maintain 1 lb of muscle compared to 4 calories for fat. The body is not the United Nations - its not diplomatic - being a conservation unit will in a hypo-aminoacidosis state(low aminos in the bloodstream) cannibalize itself by finding the necessary amino acids by eating away at your muscles if there are aren't enough in the bloodstream. sucks right?

so the first thing to do is ensure that you are eating enough protein throughout the day 1gram per lb of bodyweight at minimum(1.5 if your active - 2 for bodybuilders).

your diet seems good. just a few questions -

are you taking in any essential fatty acids (EFA's)? at minimum 3000mg of omega3 and 2600mg of omega6.

you said lower carb and left out fat intake. you need an energy source. Protein is not an energy source it is a repair nutrient. Carbs and fats (one or the other and usually not both) are energy that are required to fuel the repair process of protein.

with all that being said. I have all my clients clean up their diets for 4 weeks just based on a sound food outline like that above along with training. after that we look at cardio, metabolism (via getting some stimulation to the adrenergic receptors α1, α2, β1, β2, and β3 ), and thyroid function (t3, t4)in that order.

Michael

[GolfSpy Matt]

In the "golf workout" thread, you mentioned fascia stretching and joint stretching. Can you elaborate on the differences and offer some examples of good fascia stretches? Thanks in advance-

-Matt

[Manavs]

MSaternus, on 16 March 2010 - 12:32 AM, said:

In the "golf workout" thread, you mentioned fascia stretching and joint stretching. Can you elaborate on the differences and offer some examples of good fascia stretches? Thanks in advance-

-Matt

Good question - and i will yield to medical experts on this one if they wish to add some scientific explanations to this - til then ill give you my empirical evidence that is very deeply rooted in "bro-science"

tendons and ligaments can be stretched to some degree and provide ample joint motion.

ones muscles are surrounded by a fascia (its like a sack) which holds the muscle. You can only develop your muscles to the degree your fascia can stretch - hence the ill-advised popularity of site injection of oils to expand the fascia from the inside and allow room for the muscle to grow in behind it.

i for one am hyper mobile - and have amazing joint limber-ness, but i have very thick tight fascia.

fascia stretching is uniquely different. it feels like the muscle is tearing not the attachment or insertion points, and is immediately followed by a rush of new blood to the area. it usually helps to have another assist in the stretches but not necessary. having a chiro work their elbow through and along the muscle fibers breaking down the any scar tissue is also very useful.

most deep tissue massages are in fact fascia stretching (if done right should hurt like no other).

for ex - pull your elbow over your head and try to feel the pain in the tricep - not elbow or shoulder but in the muscle itself. take it to the point of pain, then hold it while you exhale and inhale. as you inhale the heart is going to oxygenate new blood and it will rush it to the area but you must hold the stretch thru the breath, and take the stretch further after the breath. 3-4 deep breaths and your exhausted. after the stretch you should feel warmth in the muscle and no joint stretch at all.

make sense bro? lol

[GolfSpy Matt]

Absolutely makes sense, great explanation. At the risk of being a PITA, can you give me some examples of fascia stretches for the lower body?

Just tried the tricep stretch. That rush at the end is really enjoyable.

This post has been edited by MSaternus: 16 March 2010 - 05:10 AM

[GolfSpy Dave]

Manavs, on 15 March 2010 - 08:58 PM, said:

Good question - and i will yield to medical experts on this one if they wish to add some scientific explanations to this - til then ill give you my empirical evidence that is very deeply rooted in "bro-science"

tendons and ligaments can be stretched to some degree and provide ample joint motion.

ones muscles are surrounded by a fascia (its like a sack) which holds the muscle. You can only develop your muscles to the degree your fascia can stretch - hence the ill-advised popularity of site injection of oils to expand the fascia from the inside and allow room for the muscle to grow in behind it.

i for one am hyper mobile - and have amazing joint limber-ness, but i have very thick tight fascia.

fascia stretching is uniquely different. it feels like the muscle is tearing not the attachment or insertion points, and is immediately followed by a rush of new blood to the area. it usually helps to have another assist in the stretches but not necessary. having a chiro work their elbow through and along the muscle fibers breaking down the any scar tissue is also very useful.

most deep tissue massages are in fact fascia stretching (if done right should hurt like no other).

for ex - pull your elbow over your head and try to feel the pain in the tricep - not elbow or shoulder but in the muscle itself. take it to the point of pain, then hold it while you exhale and inhale. as you inhale the heart is going to oxygenate new blood and it will rush it to the area but you must hold the stretch thru the breath, and take the stretch further after the breath. 3-4 deep breaths and your exhausted. after the stretch you should feel warmth in the muscle and no joint stretch at all.

make sense bro? lol

Is this what the rolfers do too? Not sure of spelling...

[Manavs]

MSaternus, on 16 March 2010 - 01:06 AM, said:

Absolutely makes sense, great explanation. At the risk of being a PITA, can you give me some examples of fascia stretches for the lower body?

I'll give you a PITA -

put the outiside of your right foot on something stable about 3ft off the ground with a bent knee. then slowly bend your left knee

dont forget to repeat the other leg

[Manavs]

sactown, on 16 March 2010 - 01:10 AM, said:

Is this what the rolfers do too? Not sure of spelling...

gotta help me out, i dunno what a rolfer is sorry

[GolfSpy Dave]

http://www.essortmen...olfing_rllo.htm
Quick search into this. The fascia manipulation made me think of it

[GolfSpy Matt]

Manavs, on 16 March 2010 - 12:11 AM, said:

I'll give you a PITA -

put the outiside of your right foot on something stable about 3ft off the ground then slowly bend your left knee

dont forget to repeat the other leg

Not sure what meets the stable and 3 feet high requirement right now, but I will definitely give this a shot tomorrow. I appreciate the help.

[Manavs]

sactown, on 16 March 2010 - 01:15 AM, said:

http://www.essortmen...olfing_rllo.htm
Quick search into this. The fascia manipulation made me think of it

what you sent me is absolutely accurate - good find - ART - active release technique- is another form of therapy that i subscribe to that helps breakup the neuro-muscular connection they discussed.

plain old fascia stretching for the purpose for muscle building and blood volumizing is what i was hinting towards

MSaternus, on 16 March 2010 - 01:17 AM, said:

Not sure what meets the stable and 3 feet high requirement right now, but I will definitely give this a shot tomorrow. I appreciate the help.

oh your gonna take all the fun out of it if you do it tomorrow!

btw i need to clarify the stretch, start with your right knee bend and put the outside of your right food on something stable - like the chair your sitting on =)

[GolfSpy Matt]

Manavs, on 16 March 2010 - 12:29 AM, said:

what you sent me is absolutely accurate - good find - ART - active release technique- is another form of therapy that i subscribe to that helps breakup the neuro-muscular connection they discussed.

plain old fascia stretching for the purpose for muscle building and blood volumizing is what i was hinting towards



oh your gonna take all the fun out of it if you do it tomorrow!

btw i need to clarify the stretch, start with your right knee bend and put the outside of your right food on something stable - like the chair your sitting on =)

The chair I'm sitting on does not qualify - it swivels and leans. But you've convinced me, I'll go find a chair and give this a shot now.

Oh my, that is a PITA, but it feels good. I'm passing on the easy joke there. Question: should I endeavor to get my left foot off the floor? While my left foot is on the floor, should I be focusing my weight on the outside of the right foot?