Ruz

Uff! Saw no -one had replied so thought I'd give my two penneth! Anything contained in food is better than a supplement. If I remember rightly there is a lot of arginine in watermelon and peas..but I could be wrong so check it out on the nutritionaldata website.

Nt only does soy make me fart..it also gives me spots!

Mine suck more I'm sure!! However, they have recently been responding very well to static contraction training..so maybe I'll have some kind of a buldge down there soon!

Thanks! My bf and sister think I'm scary looking. I've packed on a lot of muscle over the summer months. Its not very feminine is it? However I like having muscle. Being the only girl in the gym doing pull-ups kinda feels good. I've had guys dump me after doing it doggie style for the same reason LOL

OMG!!!! I just tried hazelnut milk for the first time! It was heaven!! Its a shame it's SO expensive..it could turn out to be a nasty vice You just HAVE to try it to make hot chocolate! mmmmmmmm!! Must be nice in mushroom soup too...

It's already been sent

OK, I've just finished a week of following the advise in "train Smart" (I can send u a copy if you like) It may be of interest to you as you don't have to actually move weights, only hold them statically. This tends to be kinder on the joints and tendons and I've just started using it as I can't lift weights normally at the moment due to a wrist injury. According to the book. there have been no studies done which prove you actually need to "move" a weight for muscle to grow, only "hold" it. There is also no research to say how many reps you actually need to do. The basic theory in train smart is that your muscle will react to the stress put on it, simple. So if you pick up a 50k dumbell with your bicep, your bicep will need to be a certain size to cope with 50kg..no matter if you do 1 curl or 20 or if you just "hold" the weight. I sort of know what he's getting at. Really your muscle will adapt to the stresses put on it and its as simple as that. Pete Sisco who wrote the book did his own research over many years, using rather mature test subjects. His conclusion is that you only need to statically hold the weight for 5 seconds to stimulate new muscle growth. Obviously, this needs to be a weight which taxes your muscle considerably. Although I don't doubt what he says, I love working out in the gym, and can't deal with just training 25 seconds every few weeks...however good the results may be! There is however an option for people like me who "have to" train. This alternative system uses series and partial reps and is the one I have been following this week. The difficulty is training alone. The system is written for someone who has a training partner who can help them pick up and lower the heavier wieghts needed. However, you can adapt it quite easily using unilateral exercises. For example, I usually use 14k DB's to do biceps preecher curls, so i picked up a 20 with both hands, lowered it slowly and then did partials with just one arm at a time in a range which caused no discomfort to my wrist (4-6" more or less). When using partials for legs, the only real option is to use machines. With the leg press you pick the weight up with both legs and then use just one leg to do partials or static holds. However, you could quickly max out the weights on some leg machines using this method..believe me! You need a LOT more weight than you use for full range reps. For partials I add on about 50% of the weight I'd use for full range reps. For static holds I can often more than double, or triple it. However, when we are talking about muscles which can take such heavy loads as the legs, I dont know how I feel about static contractions, as the sheer volume of weight you need to hold to stimulate muscle growth MUST cause some compression issues...Of course I'm no expert, but I did a few weeks of training legs like this at the beginning of the summer but I didn't feel it did my back much good so I left it pretty quickly. Anyway, I don't know the full extent of your problems, but some aspects of static contraction or partial rep training may be of use to you, even if its just to help m,aintain the muscle you have. I have also noticed that these methods of training are much less aerobic, and as the SC workout in particular, is so short, I dont feel it puts so much stress on your central nervous system as other workout methods, so it may be easier for you in that way too. With the infections you have, while your body is recovering, I think its a good idea to be a kind as possible to your CNS Hope you get well soon.

Actually, what you have said about gymnastics got me thinking. When I started DC training, as there is so much focus on stretching, I also started a course called "body Balance". Its like stretches with balancing and calls for you to get into some really strange positions, like half handstands or half cartwheels etc and hold your weight on your hands while you maintain the stretch. I'd all but forgotten about it, but I remember commenting to my friend that my wrists hurt after the first class! Now it seems logical that this is the cause, afterall, I've been bodybuilding for several years and haven't had any problems with my wrists previously. So at least that's something positive! When my wrists get better I can go back to training as normal, but I think I'll give the bodybalance classes a miss!

Thanks! I actually just made cheese with cashews and it was REALLY yummy..so I'll def give this a if I manage to get my hands on some raw nuts..they are suprisingly hard to find in spain!

Thanks everyone!

Ok thanks..so maybe I should try a wrap. Do you still have to use it or have you recovered completely? I know what you mean about training, even with DB's ...pff! Maybe I'¡l wrap my wrists and do some static contractions for a month. i always wanted to try working out like that but never did. This gives me the perfect reason. I hate dropping reps and weight because I can just FEEL the muscles getting smaller so statics seem the only option.

So, I blame it on DC training!! it calls for you to do 1 all out, rest paused set per muscle group. Its really effective and over just a few months I have made incredible strength gains. I've progressed from doing bent over 1 armed DB rows with 20k DBs to 32k DB's, and from curling with 12k to 16k DBs and my muscles have grown very quickly...but I think this is the problem... My joints are killing me! Especially my wrists! Today I couldn't even train biceps because my wrists hurt so much. i was thinking of binding them but maybe that would only weaken them more So i've decided I'm not going to use any bars in any form for a while, and do everything with ropes and DB's, or individual arms so that my wrists can follow a more natural movement. I'm also going to have to change my training for a while, I was considering using high reps low weights, partials (working in the range where my wrists dont hurt so much) or maybe heavy weights and static contractions... but I still haven't decided... However, i was wondering if anyone knew any specific exercises to help my wrists recover and strengthen so that I can get back to DC training soon. Or do you know if this could be provoked by a lack of something in my diet? DC training is really effective, but I dont know if I am a little old for this method. Maybe a younger person wouldn't suffer so much with their joints training this way (I'll send the book to anyone who is interested cause I love it. Short intense workouts and notable muscle growth). However, if i keep suffering from problems, unfortunately I'll have to give it a miss.

Agreed!! Coconut milk is awesome! Wow thanks everyone! That recipe looks good but although I've thought about making my own nut milks before, when I stop to calculate it doesn't seem to work out much cheaper that buying and I know it'll leave crap all over my kitchen which I then have to clean up LOL! Soy alternatives are really expensive! I saw some hazelnut milk the otherday, but at over 4 euros a ltr it could never be more than an occasional treat Thanks for the advise on rice milk for cooking and coconut milk for curries, gonna try them out asap. Cheers everyone!

After cutting soy out of my diet, I'm a bit confused as to the best alternatives. For drinking and eating cerials, I love almond milk. However, its a little sweet and doesn't work well in soups. I also love almond cream for sweet dishes and oat cream for cerial dishes. However, I still can't find anything to use instead of milk in soups..what do you guys use? And I haven't really found anything which works as well as soya cream in curries, such as korma... someone just suggested doubling up on the coconut..have you guys tried this? And which in your opioions are the best non-soy selections for cooking different things?

LOL

I think she just means phytoestrogens, which are "xenoestrogens" ( estrogens not made by your body ). yep..and although I am not allergic to soy..I def dont tolerate it well, maybe thats why it gives me a fat tummy. However, i didn't realise i didn't tolerate it well until I stopped eating it. Alergy causes severe symptoms where as intolerance can go unnoticed for many years, as in my case. Since I stopped eating soy my skin has cleared up and I hardly ever fart!! LOL

Really, really good points! These types of things should always be examined before trying to lay the blame for excess body fat on one specific element of your diet. That said, I am not a beginner, and have calculated my calories on Fitday for years. I even got down to 8% BF and STILL had fat on my tummy. I have a vegan friend who experienced exactly the same problem, she was parctially anorexic but she had large stores of fat on her hips. I also had a male friend who swore soy protein gave him bitch tits LOL It wasn't until I gave soy a miss that I lost the weight off my tummy. Now, with my soy free diet I have practically no fat on my tummy, even though I am in the middle of a bulking diet. As discussed, there is a lot of differing ideas on soy, but speaking from personal experience, it gives me belly fat. Also, the fact that it has been "indicated" as lowering testosterone production is a big factor for me. You men have testosterone to spare, but women have VERY little, and anything which could jeopardise my limited supply is a definite no NO as far as i am concerned. What I was talking about when I origionally started this discussion was not bodyfat in general, but accumulation of body fat in areas tradicionally associated with estrogen production. I lay the blame on soy and I dont really care what various studies have to soy about it!

That's my point exactly! Despite what everyone is saying I know tonnes of vegans who eat a very good diet but still have female pattern fat issues.

So how old are you? I asked b4 and u never told me? I'm 40 next month and that only makes me MORE proud of my body I love telling people my age and think it works wonders in promoting a vegan diet.

Yeah...I know where Robert is coming from. I got cut earlier this year just to see if I could. Have you ever tried carbing up?

Thanks! Also, nice to see someone else is as messy as I am I don't know my BF at the moment because I've spent 2 months pigging out and I don't want to depress myself LOL..but its probably about 18%. I can maintain 18% with no real effort and I can still drink beer and eat sweets etc. To look ripped I have to get down to about 12% but it means "no treats" and I can't keep that up for very long!! As regards losing fat..in the top right corner of this page you have a search link..I suggest you search "UD2" and read up on that diet, also I can send you a copy if you like. The principles are sound, although the diet itself is hard to stick to. Generally when I want to lose fat I don't eat any carbs such as bread, rice and pasta apart from at breakfast time. After breakfast its just veggies and protein, basically as much as I want, with lots of "good" fats which helps stop me feeling hungry. I literally pour raw olive oil by the cupful over my cooked meals! Cardio is important, especially the way you do it! Read the info on this link: http://www.ironmagazine.com/article403.html Also, make sure you click on the "How to do cardio if you must" link. Low carb veggies I normally use are as follows: Aubergine, asparagus, kale, spinach, garlic, peppers, mushrooms, avocadoes, broccoli, courgette, artichokes and some tomatoes I tend to steer clear of carrots and sweetcorn because of their high GI, Onion because it has a lot of carbs, and i also don't do lettuce because the stems contain a chemical which slows down your metabolism...I tend to use rocket, spinach or watercress if I fancy a salad. I drink a strong infusion of green tea, mate and roobios when i work out for its antioxidant properties and thermogenic effect. I also take a strong vitamin C tab after working out to stop muscle catabolism. losing weight is all about intensity in the gym, not time. Good luck and let me know how you get on!

Thanks for the compliment..but I'm def not ripped at the mo. That was why I was asking about Ed. I just can't stay ripped all year round. Firstly because every now and then I need to eat crap for a few weeks, it just does my head in eating healthily all the time. Then, I find that if I don't have at least 15% bf I find it really hard to gain any muscle mass..and lastly, if I'm ripped during Winter I get really cold..I mean REALLY cold! Then of course I have concerns about what is healthy for me. I'm not naturally skinny and when my Bf gets around 12% my periods stop althgether!! Although in many ways that's a positive and "useful" side effect of being ripped, it does raise some concerns in the back of my mind. Of course you guys have all the luck..men naturally have lower BF than women, its not fair!!!!

Wow..are you that ripped all year round?

Just for interest here's a couple of black and whites..though I dont suppose they allow them in the comp

Ok..you can still see where my bra strap was I know..just didnt have enough time to wait for it to go and I suppose the will be closing the comp soon.