Future

I was very full and sick from all the eating. I will NEVER do that again.

Thanks again for the welcome.

Maybe some things are getting lost in translation.

 

Vegans abstain from all animal products and by products.

Since whey is derived from milk vegans don't use it. In other words it's not vegan.

That helps. Thanks. Basically, I was thinking more vegetarian than anything then.

I think hemp is totally inferior and if that is my option I will opt out of any vegan status.

I have done that too

I use whatever I can. I mix it up just for that cross training effect.

So that is the answer?

Wow, I hope you are one of the few that are rude and not helpful!

I am aware of what kind of board this is. I asked a simple question.

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The survey

Last month the UN conducted a worldwide survey with one question:

"Would you please give your honest opinion about solutions to the food shortage in the rest of the world?"

The survey was a huge failure.

In Eastern Europe they didn't know what "honest" meant

In Western Europe they didn't know what "shortage" meant

In Africa they didn't know what "food" meant

In China they didn't know what "opinion" meant

In the Middle East they didn't know what "solution" meant

In South America they didn't know what "please" meant

In the US they didn't know what "rest of the world" meant.

My traps came from my years as a powerlifter. But I love doing dumbell upright rows now as well. I will do a shrug variation too but I lean forward slightly and pull my traps up with my shoulders blades to get a stronger contraction of the entire muscle belly. I also use slower reps because the range of motion is so small.

Well with nerve damage it is hard to say. It can makes things worse leading to more atrophy and long term damage.

Try using slower rep speed with your exercises is possible. A 4-5 count negative. Also do back extensions as well if you can.

Strong coffee.

I think just plenty of leafy greens or oatmeal works well for me personally.

So what is wrong with a calcium caseinate, whey iso or albumin? Does anyone even supplement with BCAA's or glutamine?

I blasted my calves so hard that I would get goose bumps and watery eyes. IT CAN BE DONE!

No I personally dont think you are getting enough and it will matter over time. Soy is an ok protein source but not that great overall. I know that is against the conventional thoughts around here but its inferior protein.

So why aren't casein or whey isolates used for protein around here? BCAA's are always nice too. I take Muscle synergy from Beverly International when I am dieting hard for a show.

That looks good!

I am having 40 grams of oatmeal, green tea AND...40 grams of Muscle Provider.

The following are some wonderful ways to reduce anxiety, agitation and stress and promote relaxation, calm and peace within yourself. Some techniques take practice, and most require some commitment on your part to achieve results. However, the results are well worth any effort, as a calm and relaxed body and mind are less prone to health issues than an agitated body and mind.

1) Breathing strongly influences mind, body and moods. By simply focusing your attention on your breathing, and without doing anything to change it, you move in the direction of relaxation. There are many worse places to have your attention - on your thoughts, for one, since thoughts are the source of much of our anxiety, guilt and unhappiness. Get in the habit of shifting your awareness to your breath whenever you find yourself dwelling on upsetting thoughts.

2) Progressive relaxation is a way of releasing tension in muscles. Often taught in yoga and exercise classes, on self-help tapes and by various instructors - from massage therapists to psychologists - there are many variations of progressive relaxation. A common technique is the following:

* Lie on your back in a comfortable position.

* Take a series of deep slow breaths and focus your awareness on different parts of the body in turn, becoming aware of any muscular tension and releasing it. One way to do this is to first tense a muscle deliberately and then relax it. Start with the front of the body, tensing and relaxing the muscles of the upper face, then moving on to the jaw, neck, chest, front of the arms, abdomen, thighs, lower legs, feet and toes. Then, do the same down the back of the body.

* Finally, lie still with the eyes closed, concentrating on your breath and enjoying the feeling of peace and freedom from tension.

You can easily learn to do this on your own, but it is pleasant to follow spoken instructions from someone with a soothing voice. You can incorporate progressive relaxation into your daily routine and find ways to make it more portable. For instance, you can modify it for a sitting position and do it at your place of work.

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3) Exercise. For many people, exercise is their main method of reducing stress and promoting relaxation. One of the benefits of regular aerobic exercise is its moderating effect on emotions. This is a long-term benefit, but aerobic and nonaerobic exercise can also work in acute situations as a symptomatic treatment. If you feel angry or upset, a brisk walk or run or a half hour of lifting weights will often put you back in a good mood. While exercise is a great way to burn up excess energy, it does not teach you how to process stress differently. For that reason it is not recommended as your sole method of relaxation, but as a complement to another technique, such as breathing, visualization or yoga, for instance. Yoga is an excellent promoter of relaxation as well as a good form of nonaerobic body conditioning. It perfectly complements aerobic exercise. It requires commitment to a formal practice and is best done with an instructor, at least at the start.

4) Massage and body work. For a wonderful, relaxing experience, get a massage or other form of body work. In order to gain full benefit, you need to be totally passive and surrender to the touch of a skilled therapist. There is a great deal of evidence that the state of the mind and nervous system is reflected in the state of the musculature - body work is one route into the unconscious mind. Some kinds of massage are more relaxing than others. Some of the best for this purpose are Trager work, a system that uses rocking and bouncing movements to lull the recipient into a very dreamy altered state, and watsu, done in warm water. Like exercise, massage is more a symptomatic treatment than a lasting change. It is also limited in its application, since few of us are able to go to a massage therapist on a daily basis, and most of us need to practice relaxation skills every day.

5) Visualization and guided imagery. While we all look at our internal images from time to time, especially when we daydream or fantasize, few of us have learned how to develop our imaging capacity and take advantage of its ability to affect our minds and bodies. Visualization and guided imagery have you concentrate on images held in the mind's eye and work with the connection between the visual brain and the involuntary nervous system. When this portion of the brain (the visual cortex at the back of the head) is not occupied with input from the eyes, it seems to be able to influence physical and emotional states.

You can learn the technique for visualization and guided imagery from books, self-help tapes or an instructor. For relaxation and stress reduction you may want to start with images you get from books or tapes, as long as they feel right for you. Or simply recall a scene from the past when you were supremely content, secure and centered. Close your eyes, take a few deep breaths, and picture yourself back there. Try to make the image bright and clear and try to hear, feel and smell the surroundings. How long you focus on it is less important than how regularly you do it - a few minutes every day practicing your visualization will reap greater benefits than if you spend an hour at it every so often.

The best times for practice are the transition states between sleeping and waking. Just before falling asleep and just after waking up, try to concentrate on your peaceful image. At these times it passes more easily into your unconscious mind, where it can relax your nervous system and body. Of course, try it during the day, too, especially if external stress gets you down and you become aware of internal tension.

6) Biofeedback. The idea of biofeedback is clever and simple: by using technology to help you learn faster relaxation, you can develop sensory awareness of an involuntary function and learn to change it. In a common biofeedback setup, temperature sensors are connected to your fingers, and skin temperature is converted to an audible signal, perhaps a beep tone: the faster the beeps, the higher the temperature. Your job is to make the beeps go faster by raising your skin temperature. The tone gives your ears and brain feedback from a body function that is ordinarily unconscious and beyond the reach of your will. Skin temperature is a measure of blood flow into the hands, and that is determined by the size of little arteries. The autonomic nervous system regulates this flow by causing arteries to constrict (sympathetic influence) or dilate (parasympathetic influence). In order to raise your skin temperature you have to relax your sympathetic nervous system. Unless you do this on a regular basis, you will have wasted your time and money, because the point is to incorporate what you learn into daily life. Ideally you should spend 15 to 20 minutes a day at this practice, preferably after a few minutes of progressive relaxation, visualization or meditation to set the stage.

Biofeedback works best for people whose tension is expressed in bodily complaints such as migraines, hypertension, cardiac arrhythmias, ulcers, chronic intestinal problems, Raynaud's disease and bruxism. It may also benefit those who feel they need outside help in learning to reduce anxiety and internal stress, or who doubt they can do it on their own. A typical biofeedback training program consists of 10 hour-long sessions, often spaced a week apart.

7) Meditation is directed concentration. Meditators learn to focus their awareness and direct it onto an object: the breath, a phrase or word repeated silently, a memorized inspirational passage, or an image in the mind's eye. Researchers have documented immediate benefits in terms of lowered blood pressure, decreased heart and respiratory rate, increased blood flow, and other measurable signs of the relaxation response.

While the potentials of meditation are vast, not everyone should practice it as a way to relax: many people are not ready to meditate. The first step is to work to improve the diet, develop good exercise habits, and learn how to breathe properly. Some people may benefit from simpler techniques for relaxation, ones that give immediate results with less effort.

If you want to give meditation a try, shop around for a form of it that seems comfortable - one that suits you and does not conflict with your belief system. All forms of meditation require regular, daily practice over a long period of time before they deliver the big rewards. Try to meditate every day without fail, 20 to 30 minutes being a reasonable length of time.

Many newcomers to meditation think the goal is to stop all thoughts. That is not possible. What you want to learn is to withdraw attention from the endless chains of associated thoughts that stream through the mind, putting attention instead on the object of meditation. Whenever you become aware that your attention has strayed (to images, sensations, thoughts of dinner, etc.) gently bring it back to your chosen object. The work that meditation requires is just this constant running after your attention and bringing it back.

Mantram is the practice of repeating over and over in the mind certain syllables, words or phrases that help unify consciousness and counteract negative mental states. Repetition of a verbal formula is a way of focusing the thinking mind and counteracting the damage done to both mind and body by thoughts that produce anxiety, agitation and unhappiness.

Repetition of a mantram provides a comforting focus for the mind. It is a totally portable technique, requires no training or equipment, and can be used in any circumstance, so long as you don't practice it during something that otherwise requires your undivided attention. Mantram is especially helpful for people with restless minds, whose turbulent thoughts keep them from relaxing, concentrating and falling asleep. Try experimenting with it.

9) Hypnotherapy. Though hypnosis, or hypnotherapy, has fallen in and out of favor over the past few hundred years, it is currently accepted as a useful method of relaxation, pain control and management of habits like smoking and overeating. In fact, the use of trance and suggestion to affect the unconscious mind - and through it the regulatory systems of the body - has many more potential applications in the treatment of disease. However, few hypnotherapists are willing to tackle interesting physical ailments, and instead limit themselves to control of pain, stress and habits. Keep in mind that hypnotherapists do not put you into a trance - they just arrange circumstances to increase the likelihood of your shifting into a trance state, which is part of the normal repertory of human consciousness.

If you are interested in hypnotherapy, first sound out a hypnotherapist to make sure he or she does not have fears of loss of control that will get in the way of successful therapy. Also, do not enter into this work unless you feel totally comfortable with the therapist, and understand that you will have to implement the program by committing to regular practice on your own.

Hypnotherapy is a good choice for people who think they have no idea what it feels like to relax and for those with stress-related health problems. A few sessions of hypnotherapy can also teach you how to use visualization for self-improvement and can help you begin a meditation practice.

10) Drugs are used by many to relax, but are not as safe or effective as the methods described above. While tranquilizers seem to have become more common, there are natural substances that you may want to try. Spearmint and chamomile teas are both mildly relaxing, and you can drink as much of them as you want. A stronger remedy is passionflower, made from a plant (Passiflora incarnata) native to southeastern United States. Passionflower products are available at herb and health food stores. The dose is one dropperful of the tincture in a little water or two capsules of a standardized extract up to four times a day as needed. Passionflower is not sedating.

Am: Triceps & cardio

1. Decline Dumbell Skullcrushers

30x20

45x10

70x9+2+2

2. One Arm Tricep Pushdowns

40x12

60x6

100x8

3. Overhead Tricep Ext w/ cable

50x8

HIIT cardio on elliptical

Thanks. What do you mean category? She is a middle weight bodybuilder if that helps.

1. A New Day

Making simple, conscious decisions about your everyday life can influence your physical and mental well-being. Following through on the right resolutions about your health and lifestyle choices is not difficult, especially if you have a firm idea of areas you want to improve, and understand that small, gradual steps typically have better results than cold-turkey or all-or-nothing approaches. Take some time today to consider areas of your life you would like to improve. You may want to be healthier, more generous, less stressed, or just more optimistic. Once you determine your goals, create a timeline and attach some simple steps. Consider your strengths and how they can help you on your path, as well as your weaknesses and ways you can work around and with them. If, during your progress, you take a step backward, keep looking forward. Most goals are reached with both good and bad days playing a part!

2. Appreciating Art

When was the last time you went to an art gallery, museum, or simply walked down the street and appreciated the public works of art that surround many of us? Viewing art is a wonderful way to raise your spirits. Paintings, sculpture, architecture and other forms of art can please the senses and nourish your nonphysical being. They can also inspire creativity and excitement, and can be savored as a tangible expression of history. Next time you see an interesting building, a challenging sculpture or a provoking painting, take a few minutes to look at it from different angles and enjoy the feelings you get from it.

3. Bonding with Pets for Health

If you're a pet owner, you won't find it surprising that pets can instill a sense of well-being in people. Studies have shown that pet owners, particularly the elderly, have lower blood pressure, are less likely to be depressed and have higher self-esteem than people who don't have pets. Among the more tangible rewards: A 1999 study in New York, Missouri and Texas found that medication costs dropped in nursing homes that allowed pets. In another study, 70 percent of the families surveyed reported an increase in happiness and fun as a result of acquiring a pet. In 2000, the American Heart Association's study of stockbrokers found that those who had the companionship of a dog or cat experienced a calming of the "stress response" that can contribute to high blood pressure. After learning the results of the study, many of the pet-less stockbrokers decided to invest in a pet of their own.

4. Can Laughter Help Heal?

I have long recommended using positive thoughts as a way to lessen or prevent the effects of illness and disease. Pessimism has been linked to a higher risk of dying before age 65, while expressing positive emotions, such as optimism, is associated with lowered production of the stress hormone cortisol, better immune function, and reduced risk of chronic diseases. If you're a pessimist - or know someone who is - try the following:

* Take care of yourself by eating a healthy diet, exercising regularly and getting adequate sleep.

* Express your emotional reactions honestly so you can effectively deal with what's bothering you.

* Confide in someone - your mate, a good friend or a trusted relative.

* View the cup as half full instead of half empty.

5. Celebrating Friends and Family

When it comes down to it, friends, family, loved ones and acquaintances who make you feel more alive, happier, and more optimistic are some of the most important treasures in life. All the money and power you can imagine are not likely to be as satisfying as good conversation, trust, dependability and laughter. Today take a moment to think about the special people in your life, and ways you can keep those relationships strong. Make it a priority to spend some time each week with at least one of them - whether by phone, e-mail, in person, or through a letter. Human connectedness is a powerful healer, one we should all share in.

6. Connecting with Nature

Part of optimal health is experiencing the beauty and spirituality of the outdoors. If you think of nature as a hostile force that is separate from yourself, you will go through life unnecessarily afraid and cut off from one of the great sources of spiritual nourishment. Whether you connect with nature on wilderness trips or on lunch breaks in a city park, you should take the opportunity to slow down a bit and observe the infinite variety of her ways. Try to make plans to spend an entire day outdoors this month and see how this experience heightens your awareness of nature and her precious resources.

7. Learning to Forgive

Forgiveness is beneficial not only mentally but physically as well. People who forgive tend to be less angry, depressed, stressed out and anxious, and have lower blood pressure and heart rates than those who hold grudges. If you tend to have a hard time letting go of a grievance, consider that forgiveness does not mean you have to forget an incident, but rather that you can place a limit on how it affects you and your relationship with another, and that you benefit from the process as much as the person you have the grudge with.

8. Reconnecting with Yourself

Multiple commitments and hectic schedules can cause upsets to your daily life. To stay balanced, relaxed and calm, it's necessary every so often to regroup and decompress. Read a book, start an art project, work in the garden or treat yourself to a massage.

If you find that the demands on your time are overwhelming, don't be afraid to politely say "no" when someone asks you to do something. Learn your limits. You can't do it all and you shouldn't feel guilty about it. Be a little selfish once in a while by scheduling "me time" - it will help keep you in touch with yourself in the year ahead.

9. Rejuvenate Your Spirits

Been feeling stressed out after watching or reading the news lately? A "news fast" - avoiding news on the television, newspaper or the Internet for a few days or even a week - may help renew your spirits. It is a good way to gauge how you react to and process news, and how the news affects you.

If it seems outlandish, consider the following:

* Both local and national network news have increased their emphasis on crime, even as U.S. crime rates continue to decline. This is particularly true of local news.

* Studies show that violence, death and other negative images can provoke changes in mood and aggravate anxiety, sadness and depression.

* Feelings of depression and sadness can lead to a negative view of your own life.

Perceiving the world as violent, unsafe and hostile can have negative effects on your body, as well. By taking a news fast, you can develop a more conscious relationship with the media - and promote greater mental calm within yourself. When you spend more time in harmonious mental states, your body will function better, and anxiety and over-stimulation may be minimized. Give it a try!

10. Hypnosis for Weight Loss?

Is hypnosis magic? No, but it certainly can help with weight control. Steven Gurgevich, Ph.D., an experienced hypnotherapist teaches integrative medicine practitioners that mind-body techniques can be very helpful for reinforcing motivation, self-discipline and willpower. They can also help people change their behavior and attitudes about eating, physical activity, shopping for food and restaurant dining. According to Dr. Gurgevich, the suggestions offered to your unconscious mind during a hypnotic trance can remove psychological obstacles to weight loss and strengthen the ego, as well as encourage changes in body image, metabolism and the body's set point (its comfortable weight).

Feeling whole and connected to the Earth and others takes effort, but it is rewarding work. By bringing your focus outside of yourself, you will learn to reach out to people and to the world around you in positive ways. Giving of yourself, from spending time with friends and those in need to taking care of the environment or a companion animal, also promotes positive interaction. Here are eight steps to help you get connected:

1. Nature and Earth. If you think of nature as a hostile force that is separate from yourself, you will go through life unnecessarily afraid and cut off from one of the great sources of spiritual nourishment. Whether you connect with nature on wilderness trips or lunch breaks in a city park, you can always slow down and observe the infinite variety of her ways. One way to connect with nature is through plants: gardening, collecting plants from the wild, growing cactuses and flowering bulbs, and having unusual and useful plants in and around the home can all help promote connectedness with nature. Plants can enrich your daily life, bring comfort and joy, and remind you that however you think of yourself, you are also part of the natural world.

2. Animals. Research shows that people who have pets have less illness than people who do not. Pet owners also recover faster from serious illness and tend to be happier. Ex-prisoners who form relationships with pets have lower recidivism rates than those who do not. While pets can and inevitably will bring owners great joy, they are a responsibility: they demand a certain level of attention and care. However, the rewards that pets give in return are often too great to be measured. Loving and caring for a pet is a great way to learn how to love and care for other humans and nature.

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3. Family. We are not meant to be alone - we are meant to be parts of bigger families, bands, and tribes. Human beings want and need the intimate support of a real family. Unfortunately, the nuclear family of our modern society is contracted. It is hard not to look at the "extended families" of some cultures with wistful longing, if not outright envy. Where I live, in southern Arizona, the Hispanic population seems way ahead of the rest of us in providing for the needs of family. In many Hispanic families the old people, even when infirm, continue to be valued members and live at home. Don't settle for nuclear family contraction. Extend!

4. Community. Community is the sense of living and working together for common goals. We are naturally communal beings and derive great satisfaction from the experience of belonging to a group with a common purpose. The strength and comfort of community come from the principle that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Our society often fails to provide for this need, and unless we work to create community, it does not happen, or does so in unhealthy ways. You can define community any way you want. It may be your neighborhood, your sports team, your environmental action group, your church, your social club. What makes it work is what you bring to it and the role you let it play in your life. This kind of connectedness gives us the power to improve our lives and make the world a better place.

5. Serving. Selfless service means giving of yourself to help others with no thought of return. Many religious traditions extol the ideal of selfless service as one of the great aids to dismantling the ego cage and restructuring personality. Each day provides countless opportunities to practice putting others' interests ahead of your own, such as giving of your time, energy and presence to reduce the suffering or increase the happiness of others. The goal is not to acquire spiritual merit, increase your chances of going to heaven, or earn the admiration of the community. Instead, service is a way of acknowledging that we are all one and that the happiness of each is connected to the happiness of all. The more you can experience the interconnectedness of all beings, the healthier you will be.

6. Loving. To love is to experience connection in its highest, purest form. Humans tend to confuse loving with other feelings that take us back into the world of separateness and fragmentation. Popular songs today seem to be mostly about the joys and pains of romantic love, not about loving as connection, which is something altogether different. Learning to love takes practice and time, especially in a culture that is focused so intensely on romantic love. In intimate relationships that work, the in-love state is replaced by mutual loving. That can happen only if both partners are mature and committed to a life together. Many people today have no idea what to do when they fall out of love with their partners; they think it means there is no possibility of continuing the relationship, which is why divorce rates are now so high. Realizing that you have within you a limitless source of love that can benefit everyone and everything will help you form the best and strongest connections of your life.

7. Touching. Human beings need to touch and be touched. A great deal of animal and human research shows that individuals deprived of physical contact are insecure, poorly adjusted, and more prone to illness. Some cross-cultural research suggests that sexually repressed and touch-deprived societies are much more given to violence. Our own society, unfortunately, is in that category. Touching is an easy connection to make because it feels so good. Please do more of it.

8. Higher powers. One reason the 12-step programs work as treatments for addiction is that they encourage connection to a power greater than yourself. It does not matter much how you conceive of that higher power; what matters is the sense of connection to it. It can be the father-god of the Old Testament, Jesus Christ, the Compassionate Buddha, the Great Spirit, the Goddess, pure, undifferentiated Consciousness, or simply the Mystery. You are free to choose the way you conceive of the universe and your place in it. People who experience themselves as part of and supported by something larger than themselves are less fearful and more healthy than people who view the world through the bars of an ego cage, seeing the world as separate from themselves, and as being disconnected.

Thanks again for the welcome.

Right now I get about 60 grams of protein every meal. My total calories varies from day to day but it is roughly 3500 This past offseason I was very high in calories ranging between 6000-9000 based on a carb rotation. It will be harder to do now nor do I want that. I got too fat. And now I am about as strong as when I started dieting at 285.

I believe in God. I use more science for my own cementing of that belief. I do have my doubts and struggles in life but I do believe in a creator.

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Thanks! I have been lifting for 24 years so the work has paid off. My upper body is a real challenge.