Has anyone noticed how protein has become a national craze? The GNC's and Protein Powder suppliers have been exploiting the S*!& out of us Americans! We have been made to believe it is pointless to work out unless we get 200 grams of protein a day.

Drinks like Muscle Milk are now in vending machines at your local grocery stores for a hefty price...! A grocery store, where there is an ENTIRE store of protein packed foods! No, we must have our protein fix now, I don’t have time to eat a balanced diet through out the entire day to consume my protein.

Every time I go into the GNC I have to listen to some punk 23 year old who thinks he has a Masters in health and fitness. I don’t want to buy your 75$ drum of protein. I am not training for the Strong Men Contest. Let me get what I need without your spiel on what I should be buying. I have been there and done that, I was on the wrestling team, football team, baseball team, I used protein, creatine, aminos, I had 5% body fat and my abs had abs,. Now I work over 60 hours a week, I have 2 kids and a beautiful wife. I don’t need to look like one of the actors from 300 to look good, I don’t need to spend 100$ a month in crap to look good. I don’t need to eat and sleep fitness to be happy with myself.

I am not training to be a sports star, a Tim Tebow look alike, impress my beach buddies, I simply exercise and work out to keep my body in great shape, and look good. If you need the protien shakes, because your goals require it, thats fine... but mine dont so dont try and brain wash me and everyone else to think we need it.

How much protein do you need?(regular healthy americans, not the actors in 300)

Almost all people can get the protein they need from whole foods and drinks in their diet. The recommended daily intake of protein for healthy adults is 0.75 g of protein per kilogram of body weight, or about 45 to 56 g of protein a day.

FROM WEBMD

So I'm stuck with incredibly tight hamstrings - and, I've come to suspect, hip flexors.  As noted in a response to the hammy exercise question, I can't even do single-leg deadlifts.  And I admit it, I don't really know how to stretch my hamstrings properly.  Is what runners do (put a leg up on something and lean forward) the best I can do?  Likewise for hip flexors, I don't know how to effectively stretch these muscles.  I google search suggested I get into a lunch position and lean back, essentially trying to touch my rear foot with my hand.  But this doesn't seem to be stretching anything discernible.

Any help would be appreciated!  Thanks.

I lift about 4-5 times a week and seem to go through my lifting gloves pretty quickly. Also, I am not also satisfied with the amount of grip. I get from my gloves. Is there a certain glove you recommend to people, with maximum grip and durability? I do pretty standard exercises like curls, cleans, bench, etc, but I have to switch gloves every couple months. Thanks a lot, I appreciate any input anyone can offer.

Good Day, MPF readers,

For several years now, I've done mostly bodyweight excercises (lots of pushups, pullups, lunges, etc), and run sprints (both hills and flat, forward and backwards).  My workout has me in great shape and it's fun, but I am looking for some excercises that would balance my leg work, as I feel like I get a lot of quad work compared to hamstring work.  Any ideas for a non-gym-rat type?

Previously, when I have done my workouts at the gym, I have really followed no set plan. I mostly just went in and did whatever excercises appealed to me at the time. I have just planned out a routine for myself, but I would like the advice of others on this forum, who are far more expreienced than myself. I havent included the number of sets and reps, as I dont think I can work those aspects out until I actually implement my plan in the gym. Here are the excercises I plan to do, working out 4 times a week.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Hi Andrew,

I read in your post on core traning  http://www.malepatternfitness.com/2009/4/9/828999/weight-use-more-for-a-strong-core that you employ the Hyperextension to hit the glutes (and other muscles). When you do hyperextensions do you allow your back to round at the bottom?  I have beenslighyly rounding my back at the bottom without any problems, but I was wondering if this is a good idea long-term. I remember in the workouts you posted that you were adding some serious poundage to this movement.

Thanks,

Marc

I'm starting my workout in the morning and I plan on doing this every morning. I have not worked out in a while and I need help getting started again. Can someone give me an effective workout routine that will help me burn fat and shed some pounds? I'll have access to tremills, staionary bikes, elliptical machines, free weights and also machine weights. Oh yeah, I'll also have access to a pool and a basketball court.

Alright, I'm starting my workout today and I need some advice. I have two different Whey protein products. The 1st one I have is called "100% whey protein" and it is the banana creme flavored one. The other product I have is "Body Fortress super advance Whey Protein" and it is the vanilla flavored one. I need to know which product is better. Which one will give me the best results in the gym? I'm trying to burn fat so please give me some advice on how I should prepare each drink I consume and when I should drink it. On the container it says I can take it before and after a workout. Does anyone have a different method that they use? please help and thanks.

So I'm trying to start getting in better shape, but I really don't know much of anything about fitness and I've heard some things from people that I was a little confused about.

For instance, I have heard many times to build muscle, you must eat a surplus of protein / calories so your body can build muscle - so I am wondering, does that mean that most people gain some fat along with muscle mass? And what would happen with weight training if you do not eat a caloric surplus?

In which case, does that also mean that to reduce body fat most people also lose some muscle mass? And is it impossible to gain muscle and lose fat from the same workout over the same period of time, sort of a general fitness improvement? (I have read that weight training can lead to less fat in the area, something to do with metabolism, but I don't really know)

Oh, and one more question. I've also heard people say getting protein within, say, 30 minutes after a workout helps build muscle. Does this sound accurate, and would the exercise still be effective without this?

I know these questions are very basic and probably should be obvious, but I would appreciate some help. Thanks.

I'm trying to max out my push-ups and sit-ups for a military PT test. I had great progress in my first month, but I seem to have hit a plateau. I"ve got 7 weeks to add about 20% more to my scores. I am a personal trainer but training myself has always been more difficult than training my clients. Any suggestions on some training methods to shake things up would be greatly appreciated.