Originally Posted by Chase Not tossing any stones. Just a general statement in regards to vegetarians, nutrition, and diets.

Fair enough. I will admit, I do need to do more research on what other things are better to eat. Nutrition is something I definitely need to get more involved in, rather than the "oh, if it's fruit or vegetable it'll automatically help me" mindset.

I'm open to all tips!

More before/afters

here is me in September (from the OP). Just starting up eating healthy again and hitting the gym



Then here I am today. Same shirt. Started strong lifts in January.



I was actually pretty happy when I saw the progress.

That is very nice progress sean...you can see that your shoulders, neck and triceps (arms in general) have grown. You definitely fill the shirt out better.

I'm shaking things up a bit, (stress / maybe just my general eating habits) has been leading me to lose more weight than I want to. Not that I'm unhealthy, I just don't want to become manorexic looking. I weighed in at 172 yesterday.

olmypics have gotten me back in the swimming mood, been so long though. and all i have is trunks and i can't do laps in those, need to find something.

don't really want to go speedo, maybe something in between. affordable recommendations? what do you guys use?

I just use trunks even though it's not well suited for speed. If you don't want to go speedo, get some jammers.

Just got back from vacation and man am I a mess. I worked out a few times while I was away but I ate ice cream every goddamn night. I also ate a ton more in general than I normally do and I was hurting at the gym this morning. If I can get back to pre-vacation levels by the end of the month I'll call it a win. August will be the month of salads for me!

Damn - at the gym this morning there was some girl in ridiculous shape lifting light weights and doing crazy amounts of cardio/push-up exercises in between sets. I'm not sure I could keep up with her and I'm also not sure if it is depressing or inspiring - she was obviously in her mid-20s so she probably has way more energy than I do. I hate getting old.

Originally Posted by Javery Damn - at the gym this morning there was some girl in ridiculous shape lifting light weights and doing crazy amounts of cardio/push-up exercises in between sets. I'm not sure I could keep up with her and I'm also not sure if it is depressing or inspiring - she was obviously in her mid-20s so she probably has way more energy than I do. I hate getting old.

I know what you mean...I was at the gym yesterday and there was a girl sprinting on the treadmill in front of me before I got there. I got on my treadmill, did 60 minutes, and when I was done she was still there...maintaining her sprint.

Very deflating.

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I always feel like people like that should be put down, or be forced to work out in a black box so the rest of us normal people don't have to watch them.

Originally Posted by perdition(troy I always feel like people like that should be put down, or be forced to work out in a black box so the rest of us normal people don't have to watch them.

I wouldn't go that far...It was very impressive. I was talking to one of the trainers, and aparently she is one of those Ultramarathon runners. That made me feel better.

And it did deter me from getting a soft-pretzel on the ride home.

Originally Posted by perdition(troy I always feel like people like that should be put down, or be forced to work out in a black box so the rest of us normal people don't have to watch them.

yeah, but then how would I stare at her ass?

Originally Posted by perdition(troy I always feel like people like that should be put down, or be forced to work out in a black box so the rest of us normal people don't have to watch them.

Pretty much what Javery said. It's nice to see a woman in the gym who is for real. Most of the ones at the gym I was going to over the winter were the "I'm going to do 20 minutes on the stair master at the lowest speed while I drink my sports drink and read People magazine" types. I always used to wonder why they even paid for a gym membership, just walk down the street a block and come back if that's all the effort you're going to put into working out.



I had a minor setback yesterday. Ran a couple miles to a small park, decided to do pull-ups there since they had some staggered pull-up bars. Did a few sets of dead hang pull-ups, then some sets of chin-ups, then some mountain climbers and didn't have any problems. Got ready to start heading home and I thought, screw it, I'm going to try a couple one-arm chin-ups before I leave. So I managed 2 full reps on my right arm and I got halfway through the second rep on my left arm when my hand started burning.

Looked at my hand, and one of the callouses had torn almost completely off my hand. Should have known using the bare metal bars at the park wasn't a good idea. It was bleeding a little but not that bad. Worst part was having to run the couple miles back home before I could clean out the wound. So now my grip is all screwed up because the spot on my hand is so tender.

I've read about people tearing them off during weight lifting before, but it's the first time I've ever had it happen. Anyone ever deal with this before? How long does it take to heal over completely? It looks like it took a couple layers off, so I'm thinking it's going to be more than a few days .

Down to 179. Finally hit the 170s on this cut. Although I won't be surprised if im 181 tomorrow.

Heading up to the grocery store tomorrow and thinking of switching things up. Sort of getting tired of eating salad non stop, and obviously the results have been minimal to zero. Was contemplating picking up some grilled chicken that I could cook in the oven or grill, etc.

Any other stuff that would be worth picking up that is still semi tasty but health and good for you? I've never been a big fruit person, albeit it I have tried a variety, apples are about the only thing that has stuck.

Bought a Breville juicer - going to attempt to down two of them a day though the recipe I had ended up tasting like I was mowing the lawn with my mouth. Going to add in extra lemon and mint to see if I can get it to be more bearable.

Originally Posted by blindinglights Pretty much what Javery said. It's nice to see a woman in the gym who is for real. Most of the ones at the gym I was going to over the winter were the "I'm going to do 20 minutes on the stair master at the lowest speed while I drink my sports drink and read People magazine" types. I always used to wonder why they even paid for a gym membership, just walk down the street a block and come back if that's all the effort you're going to put into working out. I had a minor setback yesterday. Ran a couple miles to a small park, decided to do pull-ups there since they had some staggered pull-up bars. Did a few sets of dead hang pull-ups, then some sets of chin-ups, then some mountain climbers and didn't have any problems. Got ready to start heading home and I thought, screw it, I'm going to try a couple one-arm chin-ups before I leave. So I managed 2 full reps on my right arm and I got halfway through the second rep on my left arm when my hand started burning. Looked at my hand, and one of the callouses had torn almost completely off my hand. Should have known using the bare metal bars at the park wasn't a good idea. It was bleeding a little but not that bad. Worst part was having to run the couple miles back home before I could clean out the wound. So now my grip is all screwed up because the spot on my hand is so tender. I've read about people tearing them off during weight lifting before, but it's the first time I've ever had it happen. Anyone ever deal with this before? How long does it take to heal over completely? It looks like it took a couple layers off, so I'm thinking it's going to be more than a few days .

This is why you should wear gloves.

Thsi might be a good place to ask this. A friend of mine (who tends to get into fads easily) swears by those Al Bundy toe shoes that have no arch support. I told him they weren't good for his feet because of that lack of arch support, but he swears his feet feel better wearing them then a normal pair of shoes. I tend to believe medical experts when it comes to something liek this, and everything I've read said that wearing shoes without arch support can lead to problems later on. Has anyone tried those things or read anything that contradicts medical experts (with actual evidence that is).

i thought the general consensus was that barefoot running is very healthy, just that it needs to be taken at a very careful pace, and there's a steep learning curve.

that's all the toe shoe is, running barefoot with some comfort/protection. worth all the trouble and money? i dunno.

Well most doctors I've seen interviewed and comments I've read written by them say otherwise. Same reason why sandals aren't good for your feet becasue they're usually flat.

There just isn't enough studying to determine what is better for you feet/knees/legs. That is why doctors usually just take a neutral stance on the subject.

The running that you do with the finger toe shoes is all "toe" striking. The heels never touch the ground when you run with them.

Other running shoes that have heel support promote "heel" striking. The heels usually hit the ground first and roll to the toes before coming off the ground. Ideally people say this is good for long distance because it is less stress on the ankles.

For me, I just toe strike all the time in my regular running shoes. Then again I hate running with a passion. In other news I am down to a 167lbs, which is two weeks early for my jiu jitsu tournament. My weight class max is 167lbs. The plan is to get to 163/164lbs five days before the weigh ins and properly eat my way back up to 166lbs (need to cover the weight of my gi aswell).

Hope everyone's summer goals are being met!