Just entered another 10k trial race (running!) on 9th September.

Uh oh...

Good luck chap! :thumb:

I've not done a competitive off-road 10k since February, I'm still trying to beat 50 minutes.

My next race is 6 hours of running, biking and canoeing on the 8th. We need about 450 points to win our class this year and seeing as we've done 475 and 500+ in the last two races I reckon we're in with a good shot.

Last race we were right on the wire, 20 minutes to cover about 6km (with a 250m climb in the middle of it - From the reservoir to Llangynidr) and then we had 2 punctures in the space of about 5 minutes putting us about 15 minutes over max time. :(

That sounds great - just not many races like that anywhere near us!

Got 52m27s last time (first race since school!) but it was basically a mud fest with five streams to cross, about 10 stiles and even a rope to help climb a mudbank plus some killer hills. This course is flatter so I'm aiming to break 50mins. Training a bit more properly this time!

do you get your ephidrene from the uk? I couldnt find it anywhere, only things containing ephedra which isnt as potent.

Do you find it helps burn the fat or just mega energy boosts?

I currently use t5's and sida cordifola take one of each twice daily and although it doesnt give me mega energy level increase it makes me sweat loads. I did try hydroxcut but they didnt seem as effective.

Got mine throgh last week but was in to much pain to use it until now.

Also had my bodyfat % taken at the gym today with the proper equipment, and it came out at 22%:eek: My boots bioelectrical jobby had me at 18% apparently the ones that use electrical resistance to measure body fat are a load of balls as depending on how much fluid you have on board can mess up the results big time

Started gym 7 years ago at 9 1/2 stones and have reached 13 stones now, Ttain 5 to 6 times a week with 15 minutes of cardio every 3 days being a ectomorph.

Banny

hi jaytc2003

Got it pre mixed in capsule from off a guy I know down the gym

i'm in Ireland not the uk so not sure about availability there ??

Find they're good for an energy boost .... usuall take a couple before a workout

as for fat burnin effects there seems to be an improvement although its prob from the extra training im doing more than anything else ..

you can get them in England (off the web)

just dont start tipping them down your throat:nono:

All you bl*ody pill poppers! :rolleyes:
What ever happened to training 'naturally'. :D

Intersting thread, I've been going to the gym for about a year and a half now, mainly with the intention of losing weight but now that I've pretty much got to around the weight I want (about 8 1/2 stone less than when I started) I'm looking more and more at building a bit of muscle up.....just trying to find a balance between a programme that will get the results I want, but something that I'll be able to stick to!

Still a bit lost when you lot go on about protein supplements etc, but picking bits up slowly! :D

8 and a half stone?!!!!

Holy crap - that's what wife weighed before bun in the ovening!!!

Not sure about the reliance on pills - Took powders and creatine for ages. A better diet helped much more (and a good routine)

:lol1:

I was about 21 and a half stone when I started and I'm about 12 3/4 now, used to be a bar manager and had absolutely no self restraint at all, so it was beer and kebabs more or less after every shift! :( Not starved myself at all to get the weight off, just eaten healthier and gone to the gym 4 times a week, doing plenty of cardio!

Had 4 days off my supplements and started again this morning on my t5's and sida just totally buzzing at the moment :lol1: makes the work day go faster anyway!!

Is this you down the Blue Oyster Gym???:lol1:
http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/a...blueoyster.jpg:D

Hi Guys,

Been lurking on this thread for a while….I have just started back at the gym after approx a year out! I’ve booked a holiday for the end of September and realised just how out of shape I am!

I’ve started going back in the gym doing weights 3 or 4 times a week with a 40 minute spin session on the other days. At the same time I have reduced down my food intake by cutting the crap out I think I eat around 1600 calories a day nothing processed tuna/chicken breast lots of veg etc.

I don’t think that I am eating enough protein though and I want to maintain/build my muscle so I guess I need to take a protein shake/bar for snacks in the morning/afternoon. I had a look on the calorie/food calculator on maximuscle and it reckoned that I need approx 200g of protein a day (I’m probably getting half that right now). Does that sound right (I’m 85kg and about 14% body fat)? Can anyone recommend a good supplier of protein powder – LA Muscle have bigger tubs with more protein for less cash than Maximuscle but is it any good?

Cheers

Richard

Off muscle building and onto fitness for a second:

Broke the 50 min barrier for a 10k very off road (hills, fields, woodland paths, etc) route yesterday - 49m11s - looking good for the 10k race on the 9th Sept!

I went all out to build muscle, even shying away from cardio stuff because I thought it might lose me some weight - total piffle. No point being built of you aren't fit.

Quite agree and I am doing lots more cardio than I ever did - fitness is more important but there is a balance - no point being fit if you get blown over in the wind;)

I just don't want to lose muscle mass whilst I am reducing my calorie intake to burn off a few kg of fat - hence the need for more protein to maintain muscle.

Cheers

Rich

Its the holland and barret 75% sale rich:D . When my main aim was muscle. I used to do 15 mins of cardio warm up, my main weights session then 20 mins of hard cardio after seemed to work pretty well. Whey proten is okay but you cant beat good old fashioned food protein. In aldi they do 8 six chicken breasts for £2.99:thumb:

WHat does creatine do - H&B have that for 4.99 a tub? Seem to have sold out of protein powder...

It makes your muscles contract harder.

when i was on it you can actually feel it working - especially bicep curls, so in effect it makes you stronger thus putting more stress on the muscles and getting bigger - although some people say the weight gains are fluid retention.

I'd say take a good Whey protein and buy some L-Glutamine as well.

Creatine does work - just drink a bit more water than usual.

Richard - you burn fat way before muscle - in fact if you're burning off muscle, you are seriously overdoing it! I'd just cardio yourself into the bf% you want then do maintenance stuff.
I went a bit OTT for a little while and ended up 15%bf (a lot for me) mainly through fear of cardio and losing weight - actually made me about as agile as an A class Merc.

Cheers for the advice, glad to hea the fat will go before the muscle.

I was 87.5kg (I'm 6ft) and now down to 84kg from just upping the exercise and reducing the calorie intake over the last 10 days or so. The thing is I just get so hungry and as I am only really eating 80 - 100g of protein a day, so a low cal protein shake will probably stop my stomach growling between meals.

Cheers

Rich

It will indeed - protein is the best thing for making you feel full.
I used Dunns River Nourishments as an addition to meals for a while - cheap and available at most shops and garages - full of nutrition (and available in low cal), cheap and pretty tasty too.

do you eat just 3 times a day?
If so have 5 slightly smaller meals spread out to help out with the hunger.

Also be careful of eating too much tuna, it has a habit of containing mercury.

Have a look on CNP Professional for the ultimate in sports nutrition they have various products and some forums with some decent information.

I generally have:

Breakfast: porridge made with water and about 100ml milk and raisins

Snack: Banana

Lunch: Salad - lettuce/carrot/pepper/cucumber + 1 can of tuna

Snack: banana

Dinner: Chicken breast, boiled new potatoes, broccolli

Snack: cottage cheese on ryvita

I'm going to replace the banana snack with a protein shake as the above generally comes to around 80g protein, 1500 calories a day. Some days when I am at home I have 2 eggs and 3 egg whites for breakfast instead of the porridge.

Try the whey consortium for cheap whey (come recommended as well)

When are you doing the exercise? first thing or after dinner

Mon - Fri between 17:30 and 18:30 in the evening. At the weekend either 07:30 if I'm just doing a spin session at home or around 10:00 if I'm going to the gym (have to walk the dog first thing for an hour).

I leave at 6am to go to work (hour and fifteen minutes commute) so this is the only time I can exercise...

Rich

mon to fri is that after your dinner though or before? Ive been told for best results exercise on a empty stomach and just have some kind of energy drink if you need it (along with normal fluids) otherwise your body basically uses the energy from food recently consumed (you probably already know that) This is what I have been told by 3 people (1 ex marine, 1 stocky guy with "normal" supplements, 1 very stocky guy with "super" supplements)

Usually in the evening I exercise before food, although I do have a banana or something when I'm driving home so I don't get any hunger pangs when at the gym...