Hi,



So, about a month ago I was playing soccer and felt a weird feeling in my left knee, almost like something came out of a socket. Not painful, but just weird.

It went away after a few seconds.



The next day I ran 6 miles on it. No pain at all until I finished and it was sore.

That night I noticed it was swollen. Did some ice, alieve, and it went down.



I've been resting it for about three weeks now and it seems fine so I want to start running again, but, would like to strenghten my knee first. Does anyone know of good routines for this?



Also, I know, you're probably not a doctor, and I should have gone to see one, but, anyone have a guess as to what I did? No past injuries on this knee, but, I'm 38, so, it is the age stuff starts going for no reason...

Those are great sites and some killer suggestions. I guess also just try to be aware of the quality of what you're eating to... Like sure you could have six 200 calorie serving of Mc Donald's french fries... but, what's the point?



So you'll need a pre/post workout meal, (assuming you're exercising)...



And also you'll want to adjust your calories for your body type/height and exercise level to make sure you're not starving yourself...



Good luck. I do the six meals a day thing and it seems to work great. It's like you're always eating!

Yeah, I don't lift at all that week. So I'll do it monday, wednesday and friday. Tuesday and Thursday I play soccer so that's enough for those days.



It's based on a navy seal workout and the reps and exercise (I think) were geared towards big burly men who need to blow stuff up, so you might want to adjust a little for your body type...



Not saying a woman couldn't do a navy seal workout... But, you might want to, for example, focus more on abs and legs than chest and bi's... Ya know, being a girl and all

Regardless of the speed, constant running only burns weight while you're doing it.



Sprinting and running up hill contributes more toward long term weight loss because even after you're done the workout, you're body will continue to burn calories.



You also want to lift weights for the same reason.



A killer uphill run I do that burns like 600 calories in about 20 minutes (plus the residual muscle gain/calorie burn) is...



Treadmill at 7.0 for 3 minutes/Incline at 1.0

7.0 / Incline up to 3.0 for 1 minute

7.0/4.0 1 minute

7.0/5.0 1 minute

6.8/6.0 1 minute

6.5/7.0 1 minute

6.0/8.0 1 minute

6.0/9.0 1 minute

6.0/10.0 1 minute



Now do the whole thing in reverse back down to flat and full speed.



Good luck!

What exactly are you having trouble with? The preparation or the fact you don't have time to eat?



Preparation and planning is the key. I stock the fridge at work as if it were my home fridge. Pre-made meals, fruit, shakes etc. Also make anything you can the night before so you're not swamped in the morning.



As far as a typical day...



1. Oatmeal/Rye Toast/OJ

2. Yogurt w/ Fresh Fruit and Granola

3. Protein Shake/Cliff Bar

4. Apple/Cheese/

5. Grilled Chicken/Asparagus/Sweet Potatoes

6. Popcorn/Protein Shake



Good luck!

Just throwing this out there... But I found once I have my weight routine down, about every third week I throw in the following:



1 fast mile on the treadmill then:

25 Burpees

25 Push ups

25 Sit ups

25 Squats (no weights)

10 Pull ups

25 Dips



Then repeat the whole thing 3x and you're done... And exhausted. No weights, it's quick, maybe 30-40 minute work out. And it's all your body's natural resistance.



Both times I've done this, when I come back to my weights I can usually lift more, have more endurance, etc.



Good luck!

Just wondering has anyone been doing bridge exercises (Front and lateral) and getting good results?



I've been seeing lots of articles and hearing it talked about on interviews and what not, but when I do them, I, one, feel stupid, and two, really just get a sore elbow...



Here's a link to the first picture I could find of one for reference:



http://www.myfit.ca/exercisedatabase/viewanexercis e.asp?table=exercises&ID=98

Elly, that commute SUCKS! It's soul sucking really... Especially on Fridays... when the trains are really crowded...



Anyhow, I find running outside helps. I live in Jersey and run a lot along the Delaware river. It's beautiful year round... When I worked in NY I ran a lot in Central Park and Riverside Park. People watching was also enough to keep me interested -always plenty to see in the city



When indoors I put a towel over the treadmill (at least the time part) so I'm not staring at the seconds tick by....



The time-invested thing is hard... as you get faster it's not bad, say, once you're doing 8 or 7.5 minute miles. You can at least do 6-7 miles in an hour which is a decent run for not that much time spent.

Eat the freaking bagel!!!



Then run more... uphill... and lift... then run some more...

Yeah, I got some of that "old stuff" hanging around too... Literally...



But Kaiko to your original point, do you mean like how you can gorge yourself today and not gain any weight tomorrow, but workout and eat good tomorrow and suddenly get on the scale the next day and you're up ten pounds?



Just asking because I know a lot of people when then start working out/changing their diet are confused by the fact that your body isn't really responding to what you do on a daily basis... So, yeah, it is possible that something you ate two weeks ago is just showing up on the scale today... Which is why it's important to not live by the scale or weight yourself too much...

Yeah, doesn;t sound bad at all really... You said you are also trying to build muscle, what are you doing?



To drop 30 pounds or so, you're going to need some cardio along with your diet and weight training.



For the protein shake, I'd suggest using a low fat milk or low fat/no fat lactaid

since weight loss is one of your goals.

A good sprint work out, is:



3 minutes warm up.



Then do the following 5 times...

1 minute sprint

1 minute recover (still run, just slower)





This month's men's health has a bunch of good Sprint workouts in it to, some that also involve lifting for extra fat burning.



I've been doing .25 mile sprints, 5 times, but running is just one of my goals, you might not want to run so much... If you do however, I suggest...



1 Mile warm-up

Then

.25 sprint

.75 normal speed

five times...

1 miles cool down.



Good luck!

Have you tried them yet?



At 40-some bucks that's like only 4 dollars a steak, which really isn't too bad.

Congrats fer sure man! Nice work!



Sprints might help a little, also running up hill (on a treadmill go up one level every minute to 10, then back down)...



You might want to eat a little more too... I find six times a day to be best.



I'm around 9% (Down from God knows what, I used to be HUGE) which I can maintain eating fairly normally... The few times I've gotten lower have involved modifying my diet.



As said above, you're really moving into competition type ranges so, your ideal diet would have to be pretty strict.



Here's some foods that have helped keep me sane when I'm trying to exist at the 6-8% level...



Whey protein shakes made with Chocolate Fat-Free milk. Throw in a bananna and some low fat peanut butter. Awesome...



Oatmeal with vanilla whey in it. A little brown sugar and cinnamon don't hurt...



Lots of fruits and veggies with Ken's low fat salad dressing.



Eggbeaters and turkey bacon... some salsa, veggies, throw it on a wheat wrap.



Chicken, tuna steaks or lean meat, cooked on the grill, you can almost convince yourself you're at a picnic.... Sweet potato chips with seasoned salt are great too...



Barilla fortified wheat pasta and make your own sauce so you can monitor what the ingredients are.



Weight Watchers deserts (100-200 calories, and actually taste like, well, desert!!!)



Good luck man! 6% is rough!!!!

Hello,

I'm trying to improve my 5K time, so I'm doing a running routine based on info at Runner's World. Standard stuff, 1 sprint day, one easy day, one long day.



On top of that I lift, though I never do legs as I always subscribed to the excuse that I run enough to not need to do legs.



Lately I've been wanting to add a leg day to my lifting, especially since you hear how good squats are for men, etc.



Anyone have suggestions how to break up my week? I can workout any day but saturday really.... I'm having trouble thinking of a way where there's enough rest inbetween exercises routines to make it work.

Just for what it's worth, I find I get the best results by mixing stuff up (though my goal is to be lean and cut, not sure what yours is...)...



Usually my typical month is:



A week of "Body for life" workout

(basically increase weight/decrease reps each set till failure)...



A week of whatever I can lift comfortably for 3 sets of 10/12 reps.



A "heavy week" - Max I can lift 1 set of 3-4 reps



A week of classes (Spin, yoga, etc.) or combination exercises (like run for three minutes, then lift, then run for three more minutes, etc...)



Each week I usually run three-four days a week too.



When I tend to do the same thing over and over again I get less results.

Thanks for the info all,



I guess I should clarify... It's not constant pain. It was three episodes over 10 years. The first two times were nearly identical, I was lifting a couch totally with my back, not with my legs.



Those were both over 8 years now. This recent one was a similar incident, I lifted a table without using my legs. My back was a little sore. So I ignored it, ran maybe 20 miles on it, then lifted for three more days like nothing was wrong... Needless to say, last thursday I could hardly walk...



Like some of you have mentioned, I also tend to neglect my back when exercising as I'm always afraid to hurt it again. Once better I'm definately going to try to work on my lower back and core more...

This drives me nuts! I want a new spine... And it's one of those injuries that's always there, lurking... waiting for you to like bend the wrong way when you tie your shoes so it can get you laid up for another six months...



It's the lack of running that's going to kill me. I'm actually coming up on the 2nd anniversary of my first race and I really improved my time and was all stoked to blow through it... Now, not so much...

Hello All!



So, I'm like 4 pounds away from my goal and last week I went and threw my back out lifting some furniture (ok, not only did I hurt it lifting furniture, then I decided to ignore it for three days and try to keep working out... genius right?)



I've done this like 3 times before over the course of my life so I'm no stranger to back pain. I rested for two days and then started walking/sitting again. Pain is nearly all gone.



The University of Pennsylvania (a good hospital in the US) web site recommends no heavy lifting for 6 weeks though it's okay to walk and/or ride a stationary bike. And that "light exercise" is usually safe after about 2 weeks.



So, besides watching my diet, what can I do to not lose everything I've worked for over the past two years (down to 179 from 266)?



Most of my workout was lifting fairly heavy weight (for my size) and lots of fairly strenuous running (speed days, distance days, basically half marathon training).



Will lifting the little 15 pounders do anything for me? Should I start taking aerobic classes or something?

I've been doing this thing that the folks at my gym call "7's" (It may have another name not sure)...



But, it's for chest, you use the pulleys and do seven reps of a motion for upper chest, seven reps for mid and seven for lower. Do the whole thing 3x...



By the time you're done you're chest feels all big and pumped ... and you're most likely exhausted. But it's a "good tired" as they say.

Running "right after you eat" has got to be causing some of the discomfort... I can imagine the crampes... shiver...





If you must eat before, try something that your body can break down quick like yogurt, a small amount of fruit, or, like Rincewind said, some coffee...



Though even liquid will cause cramping pretty easily...



I usually do the six meals every three hours thing, and I work out at noon, so, my 10am meal is normally yogurt and a few SMALL pieces of pineapple or grapes. I find it's usually digested enough that by 12-12:30 I don't get cramps...



Good luck!

Sure, it's possible to have too much Whey. Like anything good too much of it can still be harmful. You can actually damage your liver (in mass amounts).



But generally, if taken normally (say no more than 3 times a day) as a meal supplement/replacement it's really safe and good for you if you're trying to get good lean muscle mass.



And no dieting! Just exercise more and eat sensibly...

Speaking of technique...



I notice that a lot of distance runners (okay, mainly the guys at my gym who run over 8-9 miles ) take very small strides. I'm kinda tall, 6 foot 1, and I have what my wife affectionately calls "big goon legs." Subsequently my strides are really wide...



Is there any advantage to the smaller steps? Or is it just the way these guys run?



I've increased both my speed and distance in the last year, can now do around 10miles at 8.5 minute miles, but would always like to do better.

I usually do two different shakes:



Chocolate/Bannana:

Chocolate Whey

Bananna

Dash bannana nector*

Chocolate Fat free lactaid

Handful of ice.

Teaspoon natural peanut butter (if i need some fat that day)



Fruit Smoothie:

Vanilla Whey

Fat free lactaid

Frozen peaches

Frozen strawberries

Dash all natural white grape juice

Ice.



Seems like a lot, but I make it in the morning, or the night before and dump in a sports bottle for the day.



*Fruit nector (at least in the USA) is generally in the ethnic foods isle of the supermarket. Look for ones low in sugar. Also available in liquor stores as they are used a lot in mixed drinks.

I like cliff-bars.



They are fairly low in sugar, no trans-fat and made out of stuff that grows out of the ground or at least made by earthly-creatures, like oats and honey...



Usually my post-workout meal is some whey-protein mixed in fat-free lactaid (can't take milk) and a cliff bar which gives me that nice 60/40 protein carb mix.



If you nuke them for like 15 seconds they actually taste like a baked good and don't have that chalky taste some bars have...

Don't do it!!!!



Okay, do it for like a week to get a sense of how many calories you're putting in your body. Then stop... It's evil...

Ugh, I had a feeling... So what's a 10% fat diet look like? It's bad isn't it?

Hello,

I'm currently 180 pounds and holding for about two years now down from 266... I'm 6ft and 36 years old.



I'm fairly happy with my results but I would like to get more "definied" or "cut" as they say... I'm mean, I look "in-shape" but I'm not what you would call ripped. My stomach is a two-pack, more-so than a six pack... I have a feeling it's my diet, which is all over the place, but I'll post my workout too and let me know what you think..



Basically, I burn enough via workouts and just being alive that my weight has maintained (even allows me a treat now and then) without me really worrying about dieting anymore... So here's what I typically do...



Monday:

Abs (3 different exercises)

Chest (3 different exercises - I usually do the five set thing where you increase weight each set, but decrease reps, then finish with high reps of a light weight...)

Run- 3 miles at 8 minute miles.

----------------------------------------



Tuesday:

Abs (3 different exercises)

Back (3 different exercises- 3 sets of 12 at a comfy weight-Have a bad back)



Wednesday:

Abs (3 different exercises)

Run 7 miles at 9 minute miles



Thursday:

Abs (3 different exercises)

Bicepts/Tricepts (just like chest, increase weight till max, then do a little more at a light weight)



Friday:

Abs (3 different exercises)

Shoulders (same deal as chest)

Run 6 miles at 8:30 minute miles



(I don't normally do legs as it messes with my running. Im working on training for a 10 mile run...)



Saturday/Sunday - No lifting. Sometims I'll bike ride, swim, do yard work, but no formal workout plan.



As far as diet, I probably have four days a week where I eat typically "work-out" food, small meals, every three hours, lean protein, brown rice, etc... Then 3 days a week where I eat like I used to at 266... Mc Donalds, pizza, etc..



Thoughts? Suggestions?

When you say "not going to the gym" does that mean without *any* sort of equiptment? Do you have a home gym? Weights? That would help with recomendations...

Definately don't run every day. For example, if you believe Runner's World, even if you're marathon training they don't advise you to run every day...



Not to give a free endorsement, but I know lots of Football (american football) players swear by something called Triflex (from GNC stores) which helps with joint soreness. I've tried it and it seems to work. Flax oil helps with recovery too I think.



Kelly (above) is dead-on about track vs. road. And definately get good shoes. As good as you can afford. Makes a huge difference.