"Charlie Horse" of the biceps...advice
- Thread starter hbcbob3
- Start date
Alot of people recommend a multi vitamin but I just take b12 and flaxseed oil every day and try to eat as clean as I can. Obviously I have my fair share of pig outs and booze fests! Like everyone else said try a light warm up and then a good stretch session. I use the warm up that is on the Crossfit website.
Defiantly need to up your water intake some and you can pick up a multi vitamin from any nutrition shop or gnc.
Fish oil, mutivitamin and potassium supplement.
Nutrition is 80% of having any gains in anything. Make sure you have a good pre-workout meal about an hour before you lift. Good lean protien like 4oz of chicken should do the trick. Post workout is very crucial in not being sore and allowing your muscles to recover. You need some protien and amino acids. Also something to spike your insulin also. Any recovery protien with L-Luecine is good. Try to have 10g or more of Branched chain amino acids post workout. A good recovery drink is made by Progenex.
I am not super flexible either but there are some great mobility workouts to help loosen you up.Try mobilitywod.com There is good videos in there. You can get a lot done with a lacrosse ball and foam roller.
If you want a great structured workout to become an all around athlete try Crossfit. Not sure if there is a gym in your area. If there is Id try it out. I swear by it and would never go back to a conventional gym again.
Nutrition is 80% of having any gains in anything. Make sure you have a good pre-workout meal about an hour before you lift. Good lean protien like 4oz of chicken should do the trick. Post workout is very crucial in not being sore and allowing your muscles to recover. You need some protien and amino acids. Also something to spike your insulin also. Any recovery protien with L-Luecine is good. Try to have 10g or more of Branched chain amino acids post workout. A good recovery drink is made by Progenex.
I am not super flexible either but there are some great mobility workouts to help loosen you up.Try mobilitywod.com There is good videos in there. You can get a lot done with a lacrosse ball and foam roller.
If you want a great structured workout to become an all around athlete try Crossfit. Not sure if there is a gym in your area. If there is Id try it out. I swear by it and would never go back to a conventional gym again.
Jordan he said he does not do anything prior to lifting so cold stretching is better than nothing
15-20 minute warm up jog LOL that is over kill IMHO... I am 5'11 for about 3 years I was drinking beer/alcohol most days especially on the weekend, eating quite poor never fast food but lots of pizza and pastas. I got all the way up to 245 lbs, I HATE gyms and lifting weights. 3-5 times a week I would walk the track for roughly 5-7 minutes go through my stretch routine then I would jog/walk 2 miles it was a lot of walking when I first started out but I just kept pushing myself jogging a little more each day. I also changed the way I ate 100%... I never used to eat breakfast now I do. I'll give you my diet I am now down to 165.0 LBS as of this morning. You do not need to run stupid amounts as running is rather hard on your body and can cause serious problems as well.
I lost 80 lbs in roughly 9 months following this diet (friend and I put it together) BTW I never ever lifted a single weight or did a single push up just light jogging and ate very healty
Breakfast - 1. Fat free organic yogurt, organic blueberries, and organic plain granola.
2. Egg whites with ketchup(I use the 1g of surgar per serving stuff) you can also go egg whites and fat free cheese. Or egg whites with sea salt and pepper.
3. Cheerios (Multigrain) with fat free organic milk I eat about a cup a morning
Mid morning snack - 1. I go with a 100% Whey protein shack every single morning
Lunch - 1. I eat about .4-.7 of a lb of low sodium turkey
2. Salmon fillet or Halibut grilled with lemon and or garlic
3. My special recipe Chicken which consists of a boneless, skinless chicken breast fillet marinated in Extra Virgin Olive Oil, a lot of fresh squeezed lemon juice, fresh garlic, sea salt, fresh cracked black pepper I let it sit overnight then wrap them in foil and BBQ for 15-20 minutes EXTREMELY juicy and flavorful
4. The one and only sandwich I will eat and never feel guilty about is Turkey on whole wheat sliced bread, lettuce, onion, tomato, pickles, pepperoncinis, oil and vinegar, and yellow mustard. DO NOT have mayo or cheese.
Snack - 1. You can go with lots of options I like fresh watermelon, apple, or egg whites, fat free cottage cheese is also an option.
2. If you can find a really healthy tortilla chip with sea salt and organic you can eat them with any fresh salsa.
Dinner - 1. I do a lot of the same stuff for dinner my "special" chicken, salmon, halibut, I will also do Chicken Fajitas my local Upscale market has premixed chicken fajita mix. You can find some organic "healthy" tortillas you can have fat free sour cream, i would say no cheese as it is very high in calories (I love cheese it was hard for me at first)
Salads at first go with EVOO and vinegar with mixed greens some cucumbers, fresh tomatoes stay far away from real salad dressings for awhile ie no ranch, blue cheese, Caesar, or thousand island. Lemon juice is also an option
Waldon Farms is a brand that sells really healthy diet dressings... they also have BBQ sauce, maple syrup and others
Last edited:
Diet is the key, I eat mainly fruit and vegetables and only about 4 OZ of meat per day. Also the best time of day to exercise is first thing in morning. I run about 40 mins every morning. My routine is wake up, drink a glass of water then run for about 10 mins pause for 10 mins of stretching then finish the run. When I get back from that I drink some more water then work the punching bag for a bit and then breakfast and only 1 cup of coffee then off to work. I drink probably 4 quarts of water everyday and nothing else.
The body is most ready to burn fat right after you get out of bed. If you have a good workout in the morning your body will then continue to burn fat the rest of the day while you do your daily things.
In your case since you hate running so much you may be best to try yoga or something like that....I know it sounds gay but I dont think it is at all, the benefits are worth the harassment you might get from buddys.
Also you need to get your heart rate up somehow..... heart attacks arnt cool.
The body is most ready to burn fat right after you get out of bed. If you have a good workout in the morning your body will then continue to burn fat the rest of the day while you do your daily things.
In your case since you hate running so much you may be best to try yoga or something like that....I know it sounds gay but I dont think it is at all, the benefits are worth the harassment you might get from buddys.
Also you need to get your heart rate up somehow..... heart attacks arnt cool.
If you want a good diet go to www.marksdailyapple.com
Nick your diet sounds like ketosis is the reason you lost all your weight. That isn't near enough food. Nor is it enough in a day. Your metabolism stops every 3 hours after eating so you should eat 5-6 small meals ideally to lose weight.
To the OP you should drink about a gallon a day of water. I have one of those Coleman jugs that I fill up and just make sure I finish it. I wouldn't worry about your Charlie horses much just stretch before and after and drink lots of water
Nick your diet sounds like ketosis is the reason you lost all your weight. That isn't near enough food. Nor is it enough in a day. Your metabolism stops every 3 hours after eating so you should eat 5-6 small meals ideally to lose weight.
To the OP you should drink about a gallon a day of water. I have one of those Coleman jugs that I fill up and just make sure I finish it. I wouldn't worry about your Charlie horses much just stretch before and after and drink lots of water
I had these symptoms also along with fatigue rather fast! My cure was staying hydrated throughout the day, eating as clean as possible taking a multivitiam which I like gnc's mega men, 1000 mg of fish oil! Always stretch and warm up I have found by raising my body temp prior to workout I lift longer stronger and feel good through out, light higher rep warm up sets get blood in the muscle before you go heavy! Always lift with good form
Thanks for all the information guys!
My biggest problem (besides anything already mentioned on here) is willpower. I have started working out and dieting before, only to give it up again after a couple of weeks or months. I just need to get something (if not a strict diet) semi-healthy and stick to it. I really don't eat that bad, I don't think. I have, over the last 2 months, cut out a lot of the white flours. I still eat a little sugar, but most of my bread carbs are whole wheat. Another problem for me is portion size. I know it just takes willpower to push the plate away, but I need to. And I have been doing better than 6-8 months ago. I think I may have lost a little in the last couple months, but only a couple pounds probably. Definitely less than 5. If I can just get a decent diet going and get my ass up a little earlier to exercise before work then I think I could do a little better.
I'm getting married in December so I've been trying to lose some before then. I'm about 6' tall and weigh about 290 lbs. I've always been heavy for my size, but I've never felt this out of shape. I'm lethargic, inflexible and feel weak compared to the things I used to do around the farm. Some of you may disagree, but I really don't focus on "weight" per-say, because if I weigh 290, but have less flab, more strength and feel better with a smaller waist, then I wouldn't mind the scale. I just know now that this 290 is not comprised of too much muscle.
Discipline is what I'm really lacking...and it's something that I need to get before doing any of this, but I really appreciate the input guys. It's time for me to make a lifestyle change, and I'm going to take these ideas and try to make something out of them that works for me and helps me get into shape.
My biggest problem (besides anything already mentioned on here) is willpower. I have started working out and dieting before, only to give it up again after a couple of weeks or months. I just need to get something (if not a strict diet) semi-healthy and stick to it. I really don't eat that bad, I don't think. I have, over the last 2 months, cut out a lot of the white flours. I still eat a little sugar, but most of my bread carbs are whole wheat. Another problem for me is portion size. I know it just takes willpower to push the plate away, but I need to. And I have been doing better than 6-8 months ago. I think I may have lost a little in the last couple months, but only a couple pounds probably. Definitely less than 5. If I can just get a decent diet going and get my ass up a little earlier to exercise before work then I think I could do a little better.
I'm getting married in December so I've been trying to lose some before then. I'm about 6' tall and weigh about 290 lbs. I've always been heavy for my size, but I've never felt this out of shape. I'm lethargic, inflexible and feel weak compared to the things I used to do around the farm. Some of you may disagree, but I really don't focus on "weight" per-say, because if I weigh 290, but have less flab, more strength and feel better with a smaller waist, then I wouldn't mind the scale. I just know now that this 290 is not comprised of too much muscle.
Discipline is what I'm really lacking...and it's something that I need to get before doing any of this, but I really appreciate the input guys. It's time for me to make a lifestyle change, and I'm going to take these ideas and try to make something out of them that works for me and helps me get into shape.
you are correct Reece it is a keto based diet... I figured I eat around 1600-1800 calories a day... if I was ever hungry I ate, most of losing weight has to do with wanting too I just got sick of being out of shape so I changed
i have been doing p90x myself. i know there are a few people here who do the crossfit too. i love the p90x. it mixes things up pretty well so you dont get board, plus it has everything mentioned above. good diet plan, cardio, weight lifting, yoga, stretching and you never have to leave the house. i was supposed to start week 11 today but got either sick or allergies yesterday so im going to hold off for a few days and rest. its been windy here the last couple days.
What kind of equipment is needed for P90X? Also what do the diets consist of? I should watch the infomertial sometime maybe.
To the OP, we sound much alike. I'm not feeling lathargic or getting cramps, but we are the same weight and height. I agree w/ the scale thing. I'll never be the skinny type as that is not the way I'm built, but I need to do a better job at this. I too am getting married, but in September and I would like to look better and feel better myself. I also have a hard time staying motivated to eat healthy and work out. You said it best when you said lifestyle change. It is easier said than done.
equipment needed are dumbells or resistance bands, yoga mat, and a pull up bar. i bought a selectable set of dumbells for $380(on sale) from sears. the diet is very intensive, and has a menu for every meal and snack you eat, as well as the recipies for it all. most of the food looks pretty good. i dont have time to cook and hate cooking ahead so i dont follow it to a T. but at the back of the diet book it gives you a very good list of "substitute" food you can eat. it does say to not eat it every day though. it also tells you what to stay away from as well so you can kind of make your own diet plan i guess lol. the diet, as well as the workouts, is in 3 stages with stage 1 being high protien low carb. then the next 2 phases the protien, carb mix starts swinging the other way. phase 3 has really good food but its all egg whites, chicken, lean turkey, fish, some red meat, fruits and veggies, and dairy. and you for sure wont go hungry!!! at my weight im on a 2400 cal. diet. i was only a couple pounds into the next cal. segment, which is 3000 cal. so i stuck to the 2400 cal. diet. i was 6' 202 pounds when i started and im at 184 pounds now at the begining of week 11. oh and i feel better too :woott:
You have to do some kind of stretch before working out!!!! I usually drink 1 gallon to 1 and a half gallons of water a day. The sweet tea is killin you with carbs! Sugar turns to fat. I take a MET-RX multi vitamin pack everyday. I also take fish oil everyday and milk thistle for my liver as I like to drink beer. I also take a pre work out drink that has gluteamine, whey protein half hour before and right after my workout. I love to lift wieghts!!!! My senior year in high scool I wieghed 130 lbs. I am 25 and now way 175 and I should be right around 10% body fat. 2 years ago I was 7% body fat but was alittle to lean to pack on quality muscle as my body was burning most everything. I am only 5'7".
I benched 335 three weeks ago. That was a personal best
I benched 335 three weeks ago. That was a personal best