Dustyboy
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I need a little help from the bodybuildersI have decided to give up my cushy desk job in order to pursue a career as a full time firefighter. I have a few months before the position opens up and I need some advice. I want to improve my athletic ability and pack on some muscle in the mean time. All of the bodybuilding crap on the internet however is confusing. I know that I may need some more carbs but in what form? Oatmeal... rice? I know that I should eat more frequent smaller meals. Why do some only eat egg whites? I eat 5 whole eggs in the morning fried in butter with a little cheese, a protein shake three hours later, beef or chicken three hours later, a protein shake three hours later and then beef or chicken three hours later.
My current regiment is a follows
Monday: Chest, shoulders, back
Tuesday: cardio/forearms
Wednesday: lower body
Thursday: cardio/traps
Friday: bicepts, tricepts
Good/bad? let me know.
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ReddyMcMeaty
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Nice pic!
I'll come back in a bit when the kids are not on the table pulling at the plants and the hanging light, but I am not certain that bodybuilding is what you should be focusing on. Rather strength training, and specifically functional strength. Bench press and arm curls are not going to allow you to pass a test where you're running while carrying weight, or being timed on sprints up stairs or pullups you know?
I'd check out the test, evaluate yourself now, and work from there. Maybe do a google search for fire fighting training.
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Dustyboy
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I use to run about 10 miles a day before I got married and I am confident that I still have the lungs for the job. I would just feel better If I were bigger and a little stronger.
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adwred
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The egg whites thing is because many people are still scared of fat and cholesterol. Although, it is best to have leaner foods and any carbs that you include in your diet very close to the end of your workout and without much added fat (fat will blunt the insulin response, and insulin is what drives the glucose from the food into your muscles). Fat will just encourage the glucose to hang around in your blood, rather than be used.
Insulin will not store fat if you're working out and not eating many carbs, so there's no real need to worry about that, especially if you're trying to build mass. Just a few carbs will do. Like a small banana (or half a large one) mixed into your post-workout protein shake would be fine. You could probably do it with less - 10-20 carbs, even, but you'll have to make sure you're eating a hell of a lot of protein to ensure gluconeogenesis (protein turning to glucose to feed your muscles). Men seem to do well on a protein-driven diet, so you don't have to worry about having too many carbs. You'll probably put on muscle even with mostly protein. Just eat lots and often!
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Carnation
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 Congrats, dusty!
(I recommend using ice cream as your carb  )
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Dustyboy
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Do you think that 5 times a day will do it? I hear that some even wake up in the middle of the night to eat. I am attempting to eat around 10 oz. of meat when I eat and my shakes have 52 grams of protein.
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Dustyboy
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Ice cream? Are you crazy? I see that ending badly for me.
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Dustyboy
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What was it that Red said about eating a hamburger with a bun on it? Something like she would wake up the next morning surrounded by Twinki wrappers.
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adwred
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Oh and you can definitely get stronger without carbs - it's the bigger thing that you need carbs for. But you can strengthen muscles and burn intramuscular fat without carbs. Although I do find that if you're going to be doing a very cardio-heavy job with loads of sprinting, heavy lifting, etc., you will need glucose for that. Adrenaline will help, while you're on the job, but for the test, yeah - you'll probably need a bit of a carb-up, beforehand. Not loads - just like a banana, like I said. You don't need to sit down to a huge plate of spag bol.
You may also fine you do well with added carbs, before/after your workout or the most demanding part of your job. It will be all about experimentation, like Meg said - see how you fare. You might find that if you get a call, have some gatorade in the fridge (or something) that you can grab on your way out.
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adwred
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| Dustyboy wrote: | | What was it that Red said about eating a hamburger with a bun on it? Something like she would wake up the next morning surrounded by Twinki wrappers. |
 Yep, that's me. Binge-eater supreme. Carbs can do that to me (the wrong ones).
Your body can't deal with more than about 50 g of protein in a go, so try to limit it to that, for the most bang for your buck.
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cabalco
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If i want to work out i eat the day before 1 potatoe before bed-time  The next morning i feel like god on earth and my muscles are really fast growing (i am 26). BTW i only eat about 100g of protein and this seem to work for me.
@adwred: Really not more than 50g on one meal??? I eat in the evening about 80-90g of protein and i do not have indigestion, i only get a bit sleepy. And whats about our ancestors? Lutz writes that they ate big meat-meals at one sitting because they did not have every day something to eat.
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Dustyboy
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So you are eating 80-90 g in a sitting? I thought you meant you were eat 100 over the course of a day.
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adwred
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| cabalco wrote: | If i want to work out i eat the day before 1 potatoe before bed-time The next morning i feel like god on earth and my muscles are really fast growing (i am 26). BTW i only eat about 100g of protein and this seem to work for me.
@adwred: Really not more than 50g on one meal??? I eat in the evening about 80-90g of protein and i do not have indigestion, i only get a bit sleepy. And whats about our ancestors? Lutz writes that they ate big meat-meals at one sitting because they did not have every day something to eat. |
You certainly can eat more than 50 g protein in a sitting, but the excess will just be turned to glucose and be stored (hopefully in the muscle). In terms of building and repair, 50 g is about the most that the body can make use of, according to many sources.
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cabalco
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| Dustyboy wrote: | | So you are eating 80-90 g in a sitting? I thought you meant you were eat 100 over the course of a day. |
Yes i eat some eggs with butter in the morning and the rest i eat in the evening. I do not like it to eat the whole time and i am statisfied with 2 meals. From this big meal in the evening i get sleepy, which is good as well.
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Free
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Personally, I use rice as my carb, and it provides me with the energy I need for my workouts.
If I may, just a suggestion for your workouts as well... if it is functional fitness you are after, I would ditch the weights, and use body weight training. The training regimen you posted is more for a bodybuilder who is entering a contest, for show, and not for functional fitness.
For a firefighter, I would stick to Push ups, lots and lots of push ups. I would work up to doing them every day, add in body weight squats, and pull ups, and you have a routine that will definitely get you into functional condition.
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adwred
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Have you seen Free's pictures? I'd take his advice. Woot!
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Dustyboy
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Thanks for the advice Free. How often do you eat and how many times. When do you generally eat the rice? Brown rice, right?
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Free
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You can do Brown Rice if you like, personally I find it too indigestible and irritating to my intestines, so I eat white rice.
I eat it 2 or 3 times a day. I only eat three meals a day, and I increase my rice intake if I have had an intense workout.
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Dustyboy
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What you are doing is obviously working. I just keep hearing that more frequent meals will keep your metabolism up. It is all an experiment I suppose and I will just keep changing variables until I find the right one. I did squats for the first time since junior high and I am dying today. I have to spend 12 hours at a local hospital tomorrow as a part of my paramedic training I just hope I am not as sore in the morning.
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adwred
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The second day after squats is usually the worst.
Oh and keep in mind, Free has never been obese, so what works for him may not AT ALL be what's optimal for you. If it feels right to eat more often, then do it. If you do eat more often, however and more calories than Free (which I believe he mentioned was only about 1800-2000 a day), then you might want to limit the carbs to only before and after your workout and not necessarily with every meal.
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Dustyboy
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Well I had a post workout banana yesterday, which was weird. I am eating almost constantly it seems but I never eat so much that I am really full. When I feel empty (about every three hours) I eat, in the middle of the night even. My wife says that I am getting smaller fat wise so I feel like this is working for me. The scale is not budging but I am hoping I am trading the fat for muscle. I am keeping the carbs relatively low just not ZC.
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adwred
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Sounds like you're doing great.
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Dustyboy
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Yeah maybe one day I can strip my shirt off like the never fat, eats less than 2000 calories, rice eating Free. One day, one day. My genetics suck.
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Free
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Sounds like you have a pretty good plan of action. We all have to find what works for us individually.
You might want to do a hot epsom salt soak in the tub later, to help prevent soreness tomorrow.
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Trem
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For Firefighter training it would be best to mimic law enforcement or military style PT. Push-ups, Pull-ups, Dips, Sit-ups, leg raises, lunges, squats, etc. along with running, biking, and swimming. If you're going to lift weights then stick to compound exercises likes squats, deadlifts, presses, and rows. Filling a backpack with weights and going for a hike is also great for the type of fitness you want. Stay away from bodybuilding style training until you are highly fit with the functional exercises. If you have a PT test, it will not care about how many curls you can do.
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