Nutrition, dieting and exercise tips.

[Islam_Junkie]

The bread thing is only temporary Fatima, when you reach your weight loss goals including bread is an essential part of a moderate well balanced diet, but of course you still dont gorge yourself on these things and try restrict it to breakfast and lunch.
The main aim about starting any healthy eating plan is to be realistic and have a good variety of food at the right times, its not about short term weight loss goals its about a long term healthy eating plan that you can stick to. You don't wanna fall into the trap of your old bad eating habits once the weight is off. More importantly its about making sensible choices regarding food and understanding their nutritional value, for example dried fruit might have the same calorie content as a snickers but think about what's going to be processed by your body better and offer your body more nutritional value? Obvious choices like wholemeal multigrain bread instead of white, have a salad or steamed veg as a side instead of fries etc.
And as for fruit, as A_K mentioned it should be in moderation and best to be consumed earlier in the day when you're more likely to burn it off. Also consider that some fruits like berries, apples etc are better to be consumed if you're fat burning than fruits higher in fructose like bananas and grapes etc.
And protein is critical as it requires more energy from your body to process it and unlike carbs its not stored as fat if it's not readily burnt off, whilst it also plays a role in retaining muscle.

[SammerTX]

Make sure you have a reasonable level of fitness before trying these, they are murderous.

The Unbelievable 4-Minute Cardio Workout

How long does it take to get in a great cardio workout? Not as long as you might think. That is, unless you think the answer is four minutes.

Seriously.

Our proof: The fast and furious routines that follow, courtesy of fitness expert BJ Gaddour, CSCS, owner of StreamFIT.com -- a web site that offers follow-along, bootcamp-style workouts (that you can stream to your TV, tablet, smartphone, or computer). These 4-minute workouts are all based on the "Tabata protocol."

For background, the Tabata protocol is a training method that was originally used by the Japanese Olympic speed skating team, and named for the scientist -- Izumi Tabata -- who studied its amazing effect on a group of male college students. The study subjects were all fit P.E. majors, and most were members of various varsity sports teams.

You might think it sounds too simple -- and short -- to work: On a stationary bike, the university students did seven to eight 20-second, all-out sprints, each separated by just 10 seconds of rest. Total time: 4 minutes. (They also did an easy 10-minute warmup before each session.)

The results were fantastic: After doing the routine 5 days a week for 6 weeks, the college kids boosted their aerobic fitness by 14 percent. By comparison, another group -- who performed a steady but moderate pace on the bikes for 60 minutes -- increased their aerobic fitness by only about 10 percent.

The upshot: The high-intensity 4-minute workout was more effective than an hour of moderate cycling. Even better, the Tabata participants saw a 28-percent improvement in "anaerobic capacity" -- a measure of how long the men could exercise at their top effort. The second group saw no such improvements.

So why isn’t everyone doing Tabata workouts? Well, many people would get nauseous if they actually tried the routine that was used in the study. That's not good. Plus, to burn as many calories as you might like, you need to regularly exercise longer than just 4 minutes. (The study participants literally exercised themselves to exhaustion, making additional work unlikely.)

The good news: Gaddour has a way to solve both problems -- while also making the Tabata method even more beneficial.

Instead of doing a single mode of exercise for each sprint, Gaddour alternates between two body-weight exercises that work your muscles in different ways. This way, fatigue doesn’t overtake you as quickly -- such as was the case with the stationary bike. So you’re still working hard for each 20-second interval, but you’re spreading the challenge around.

Will it improve your fitness as fast as it did for the Japanese college students? No one knows. But you’ll no doubt find it highly effective. "Whether you’re short on time and need a quick workout, or just want to add some extra intensity to the end of a longer session, one of these 4-minute routines will do the trick," says Gaddour, who calls each mini-workout a 'finisher,' since he often ends his fitness bootcamps with them.

There’s more: Because this style of Tabata training allows you to better manage your fatigue, you can "stack" multiple 4-minute routines together. The key is to simply take 1 minute of rest between every 4-minute mini-workout. This way, you’re able to recover briefly between routines, and give it your all each time -- while creating a longer workout for greater calorie-burn. And by stacking these routines, you can choose exercises that work your muscles and joints in multiple directions -- which helps you build a stronger, more fit body.

Ready to get started? Check out the three 4-minute finishers below. Gaddour refers to them as "cardio-core" routines because each combines a total-body calisthenic with a cutting-edge core exercise. "The cardio exercise burns the fat covering your belly, while the core exercise strengthens and tightens up your midsection," says Gaddour. "That makes it a fantastic one-two punch for achieving flat, sexy abs."

How to do the workouts: Choose one finisher and perform the first exercise for 20 seconds. Then rest for 10 seconds. Do the second exercise for 20 seconds, and rest for another 10 seconds. Continue to alternate back and forth for 4 minutes -- a total of eight 20-second intervals. That’s it!

If you want an even greater challenge, simply do Finisher #1 for 4 minutes, then rest 1 minute. Next, do Finisher #2 for 4 minutes. Rest for another minute, and do Finisher #3 for 4 minutes. Do the math: That’s a 14-minute high-intensity cardio workout. It’s guaranteed to blast fat, boost your fitness, and get you in shape in (almost) no time.

Finisher #1
Exercise 1: Stationary running
Exercise 2: Mountain climber

http://bcove.me/0963s7cr

Finisher #2
Exercise 1: Seal jacks
Exercise 2: Push-up jacks
(Note: If you haven’t ever seen a pushup jack, you must check out the video. It’s an awesome and unusual variation of the push-up.)

http://bcove.me/xzt5x2fj

Finisher #3
Exercise 1: Skater jumps
Exercise 2: Plank to push-up

http://bcove.me/9n5mo126

[Cem]

Any chance of having regular "bootcamp" sessions 3-4 times a week for an hour and a half (for example)? I saw a group doing it at Coburg Lake (Victoria) on a Sat morning and it looked impressive.

[The Poet]

Quit slackin' and get crackin' people.

[Dina_]

soo i have a few questions i noticed quite afew of the shakes, proteins and all have a really really high amount of sugar in them, is that normal? does it affect your health? also what are "weight gainers"?

[The Poet]

soo i have a few questions i noticed quite afew of the shakes, proteins and all have a really really high amount of sugar in them, is that normal? does it affect your health? also what are "weight gainers"?

No it isn't normal. My protein has 1gram of sugar per serving. They usually compensate with artificial sweeteners.

Weight gainers are for those who want to add mass to their body (ie skinny people who want to gain size with muscle, if not used right you will get fat). Another name for them is "mass gainers".

Wasalam 'Alaykuum.

[Ahmad]

[NRaf]

Both dextrose and maltodextrin are common weight training supplements.

[Dina_]

No it isn't normal. My protein has 1gram of sugar per serving. They usually compensate with artificial sweeteners.

Weight gainers are for those who want to add mass to their body (ie skinny people who want to gain size with muscle, if not used right you will get fat). Another name for them is "mass gainers".

Wasalam 'Alaykuum.

jazakAllah kheir

[The Poet]

I am very hesitant with sugar in my training program, I try and limit it to immediate post-workout protein shake with Gatorade for faster muscle nitrogen flooding since it is a simple carb and simple carbs are processed quickly in the body, hence the short time frame you have to have carbs due to the muscles only being open for a short time after workout.

[Islam_Junkie]

Dina there are alot of protein shakes out there, best to get one with low carb content, most brands will boast if its low carb so it won't be hard to find one, but when in doubt ask the staff at the health food store or wherever you're buying it from.
To be honest though consuming a protein source of food is better than a shake for general weight management. Just have a small can of tuna in springwater instead or something. It'll also save some money. Anyway just a suggestion.

[Dina_]

salams thanks for the suggestion islam_junkie but it was just sorta a general question i asked. im not really specifically looking for a shake, im just looking at options to better my diet and make sure i get everything i need

[Islam_Junkie]

Mashaa'Allah good on you! Keep it up.

[Dina_]

jazakAllah, i shall

[The Poet]

Finally setup my new chin/pull up bar. You can buy one off eBay for $29.90 and is good for building strength. Seller is "ozplaza.living" for anyone wanting one. This is it (the black one) compared to my broke one (the silver one)

6c319c1f.jpg

[Islam_Junkie]

Any chance of having regular "bootcamp" sessions 3-4 times a week for an hour and a half (for example)? I saw a group doing it at Coburg Lake (Victoria) on a Sat morning and it looked impressive.

Salaams cem,

There's regular bootcamp sessions at Dallas by Joanne, she runs them from her backyard.
The class I attend is between 6:00-7:00pm every Tuesday, but I know she runs other sessions throughout the week.

The cost is $10 per session to be paid upfront for the 6 week cycle.
Anyway PM fatima_43 for joanne's contact details/address.

[fatima_43]

yeah you did well yesterday junkie mashaAllah I love having you there

only thing is it's girls only and Cem's a bro sorry

[Islam_Junkie]

Lol oops sorry! Ignore my post Cem...
Yeah it's pretty awesome huh, if only I would stop cracking jokes and allow you all to focus more

[Najah]

Fatima will joanne be running these sessions again?

[@sim]

Whilst protein is important, it's also important to eat the appropriate amount of protein per sitting.

As a rule of thumb, you shouldn't have more than 50 grams of protein per meal (and you should have at least 5-6 meals per day). The excess protein is simply stored as more junk in the trunk.

Unfortunately some people go overboard with protein bars and protein shakes on top of other sources of protein, but you can source most of your protein from normal food, like chicken breast, fish, soy etc. Your protein intake is proportionate to your lean mass (lean mass = body weight - percentage body fat). It's important to understand how much of your weight is actually fat, and how much is lean mass. Once you've factored this out, you can do a simple calculation to figure out how much protein you should have per day:

Your lean mass (in lbs) x 1.0 (or 1.25 or 1.5, depending on how far in to your training/muscle development you are) = grams of protein intake per day.

Protein intake per day / Number of meals per day (5-6 minimum) = protein intake per sitting.