*** The 2011 Gym Rats Thread ***

[Ultra_Extreme]

lol Freefaller - trying to get my head round how that works - but sounds good !

In essence your body has tiny sensors that detect blood sugar. When blood sugar spikes, such as when you eat a carb dense meal or sugary product, the body responds with a release of insulin from the pancreas. This is A level biology right?

However the next process is not as simple as you are taught in school. As insulin levels rise in the blood, other sensors (insulin receptors) monitor these levels and provide feedback to the brain that both shuts off the insulin supply before sugar levels drop too low, tells the cells whether or not to absorb and metabolise sugar and tells the liver to store glucose in its complex gycogen form.

The more frequently one ingests sugars or carb related foods, the less quickly and strongly these sensors react to the presence of insulin in the blood, this is why unhealthy or obese people can often eat much more sugary food than their slim athletic equivalent, it is also the main reason they are fat and the main reason they may become diabetic.

Freefaller talks of what is called a thermogenic response, where the body's cell metabolism is drastically increased, in his case, due to a sudden insulin spike. As a result he generates a lot more external bodyheat and ergo burns more calories as a result. The better you are at controlling your insulin response the better your overall physique will be, its possibly the single most important hormone in successful bodybuilding other than testosterone.

 

[Buckster]

In essence your body has tiny sensors that detect blood sugar. When blood sugar spikes, such as when you eat a carb dense meal or sugary product, the body responds with a release of insulin from the pancreas. This is A level biology right?

However the next process is not as simple as you are taught in school. As insulin levels rise in the blood, other sensors (insulin receptors) monitor these levels and provide feedback to the brain that both shuts off the insulin supply before sugar levels drop too low, tells the cells whether or not to absorb and metabolise sugar and tells the liver to store glucose in its complex gycogen form.

The more frequently one ingests sugars or carb related foods, the less quickly and strongly these sensors react to the presence of insulin in the blood, this is why unhealthy or obese people can often eat much more sugary food than their slim athletic equivalent, it is also the main reason they are fat and the main reason they may become diabetic.

Freefaller talks of what is called a thermogenic response, where the body's cell metabolism is drastically increased, in his case, due to a sudden insulin spike. As a result he generates a lot more external bodyheat and ergo burns more calories as a result. The better you are at controlling your insulin response the better your overall physique will be, its possibly the single most important hormone in successful bodybuilding other than testosterone.

wow great answer and fascinating - cheers

I'm trying to reduce my carb/sugar intake and increase protein intake - but I have such sugar cravings - most is natural but sugar none the less (LOTS of fruit and fruit smoothies etc) - currently on top of a few watered down smoothies a day getting through 2-3 apples, 3 bananas, half a bowl of blueberries a day !! and I just crave BREAD all the time !!! wholemeal bread I just like far too much

 

[oddjob62]

I'm hot all the time no matter what i eat.

 

[Freefaller]

lol Freefaller - trying to get my head round how that works - but sounds good !

Carbs = insulin = glucose -> mitochondria = ATP -> heat

 

[Freefaller]

I'm hot all the time no matter what i eat.

Well |I love being in hot countries, but then I don't tend to eat many carbs at all apart from ice cream and beer when there!

In essence your body has tiny sensors that detect blood sugar. When blood sugar spikes, such as when you eat a carb dense meal or sugary product, the body responds with a release of insulin from the pancreas. This is A level biology right?

However the next process is not as simple as you are taught in school. As insulin levels rise in the blood, other sensors (insulin receptors) monitor these levels and provide feedback to the brain that both shuts off the insulin supply before sugar levels drop too low, tells the cells whether or not to absorb and metabolise sugar and tells the liver to store glucose in its complex gycogen form.

The more frequently one ingests sugars or carb related foods, the less quickly and strongly these sensors react to the presence of insulin in the blood, this is why unhealthy or obese people can often eat much more sugary food than their slim athletic equivalent, it is also the main reason they are fat and the main reason they may become diabetic.

Freefaller talks of what is called a thermogenic response, where the body's cell metabolism is drastically increased, in his case, due to a sudden insulin spike. As a result he generates a lot more external bodyheat and ergo burns more calories as a result. The better you are at controlling your insulin response the better your overall physique will be, its possibly the single most important hormone in successful bodybuilding other than testosterone.

Good post.

Basically buckster, I've tweaked my body so that I just burn fat more efficiently and readily.

Thermogenic effect is great, but can be a pain sometimes!

 

[Ultra_Extreme]

wow great answer and fascinating - cheers

I'm trying to reduce my carb/sugar intake and increase protein intake - but I have such sugar cravings - most is natural but sugar none the less (LOTS of fruit and fruit smoothies etc) - currently on top of a few watered down smoothies a day getting through 2-3 apples, 3 bananas, half a bowl of blueberries a day !! and I just crave BREAD all the time !!! wholemeal bread I just like far too much

you need to dull down your sugar cravings this is best done by completely abstaining from carbs for about 1 month. Especially anything simple like fruit (glucose fructose and lactose all need to go off the menu). Its a hard month but would get your feedback system realigned. From then control your insulin spikes with one in the morning (say a pack of fruit or a smoothie) and one post training (on a bulk ill often have a peice of chocolate or something, sooooo good after a hard training sesh.

Oh and the really good bit, no more simple carbs....EVER....after 630pm. Isnt this weightlifting lark fun

Whilst the above may be a little extreme, not everyone can be a freefaller however it still stands that your sugar cravings will be down mostly to dulled insulin receptors, the only remedy for which is abstinence im afraid.

 

[GarethSouthgate]

As a beginner do I need to worry about this stuff yet?

 

[Ultra_Extreme]

As a beginner do I need to worry about this stuff yet?

depends on your mindset and goals m8. Controlling your insulin will make fat loss quicker and muscle gain more efficient.

So you can ignore these things now and make 6 months progress in 12 months time then start following them or you can start now and save yourself some time.

 

[icecold]

Thanks ice, really appreciate the feedback. I'll get to work on those tight areas and post a video back in several weeks (getting married next week so will be busy).

No worries.

Although I believe there has been some sort of problem, I don't seem to have received my wedding invite...

...awkward.

 

[GarethSouthgate]

depends on your mindset and goals m8. Controlling your insulin will make fat loss quicker and muscle gain more efficient.

So you can ignore these things now and make 6 months progress in 12 months time then start following them or you can start now and save yourself some time.

I see, I'll start asap then. Thanks.

 

[Freefaller]

Controlling insulin is not something that should be done just because of "bodybuilding" - I don't consider myself one of those anyway, it's about a lifestyle change and living healthily.

There are too many simple and processed/refined carbs in our diets these days, that's just fact. The availability of rubbish carbs and processed foods is rife.

Unfortunately, in our lives now, it's just a big big effort not to eat rubbish carbs. That;s why you just have to learn a little about food manufacturing, it's fairly easy to work out the things that are refined/processed after you look for them. You used to be able to go on the price i.e. cheap = more likely to be refined, but owing to a lot of economic issues and competition and efficiencies in the industry, it's less obvious through price. However, generally that rule still stands.

One of the reasons they say the "Mediterranean" diet is so healthy, is because they hardly eat refined carbs.

When I go to Cyprus, I ALWAYS used to lean up (even when I was a 16st monster) because the breads there tend to be hand made (the ones I buy), eat lots of veg (always going to be good carbs generally) and lean fresh meat and fish. Ok so I have beers, but combined with a decrease in the amount of food and still doing some exercise (swimming etc...) it's not hard to see why you lose some fat.

Don't get me wrong I still want to eat cakes, and deserts but I've just got used not to have them regularly, you do have to enjoy yourself though.

Once you get used to a more healthy diet the rest falls into place - it doesn't have to be expensive either, you just have to shop smarter and put a little creativity in it and a little effort.

 

[MoNkeE]

In essence your body has tiny sensors that detect blood sugar.... Snippity snip

Mind = blown.

Awesome post man, thanks. I'll have to read up about the whole carb cycling one day when I get some spare time!

 

[semi-pro waster]

A gym ball thing? Great for working the core in general...Just depends if you want to look a bit of a *** doing it / falling off

http://img801.imageshack.us/img801/15/core2.jpg[IMG]

EDIT: That pics not the best pose...But basically you can do balancing on the ball, all the while you're stopping yourself from falling off, you're actually working a lot of your core[/QUOTE]

Cheers for the advice, I've got a Swiss ball already that I sometimes use instead of a chair at the computer for this purpose but I might see what else I can reasonably do with it.

 

[Delvis]

Cheers for the advice, I've got a Swiss ball already that I sometimes use instead of a chair at the computer for this purpose but I might see what else I can reasonably do with it.

You'll be surprised what you can do with it, a simple balancing exercise on all fours on the ball (ooo er ) can make your core ache the next day!

And to all the above posts about insulin spikes and stuff...Jesus christ, do you all have degrees or something? Joking...I love how much knowledge you guys have, rather than pounding the gym and hope for the best, it's amazing.

So with regards to the insulin / fat loss thing...Is it a case of eating healthier, less 'processed' carbs, no carbs after 6...Annnnnnnnnd, something else... There was so much up there i've lost track!

 

[Buffman]

pop some ephedrine, i find 30mg's plus about 4 cups of coffee in a morning and i become swamp thing. Must be some real calories burning there! As a side note my mood/focus/concentration/reflexes are all pin sharp. Worries me a bit might get hooked on the effects if not the drug itself.

I'm sure addiction/dependence is a common noted problem with ephedrine.

 

[Freefaller]

I (and others) have made an awful lot of posts on this in the past, and it's all about giving it a go. The basic science is irrefutable, however it's how each individual's react to it. As a result, of changing my regime, my waist has gone down from 36.5 to 34 - which I haven't had for about 6 years.

It works, it really does, improving your body's insulin sensitivity is paramount to fat burning.

It's also good for the winter as it keeps your girlfriend warm in bed

 

[Delvis]

It works, it really does, improving your body's insulin sensitivity is paramount to fat burning.

It's also good for the winter as it keeps your girlfriend warm in bed

So in english...Whats the best way of going about to increase insulin levels? As I know i'm going to put on more fat than I should...It's what my body does, and if I can counter that by upping my insuling it would probably help me mentally

Wait wait...Should I be increasing or decreasing?

 

[Delvis]

I'll stick my squat video here as it'll get noticed more, that and the other thread is a picture thread

Thats less than 50kg...Yes, pants but it's my first leg session after 6 months off I think ...And even then I was only doing something like 35kg due to not having any kind of rack

 

[TS7]

So is it as simple as cut out all the bad carbs?

I've been doing some reading online and peoples idea of carb cutting varies from 50g per day to 150g - I've started reading the labels on everything and it's very easy to pile on carbs. A banana has 30g carbs! Though I suppose there are good carbs and bad ones.

 

[Freefaller]

As U_E said, ditch sugars and simple carbs. Try and keep any carbs to the morning, and fast your body from carbs for as long as you can. i.e. I don't have carbs from about 3-4pm to 630am the next day. Even during the day I tend to have under 150g (or even less than that) of carbs (which isn't a lot - it's only 600 cals). On weekends, I have as many carbs as I want without sacrificing protein and fat ingestion, and they will be good quality carbs. Once your body's sensitivity is improved you can then go back to a more "regular" number of carbs - but I tend to eat them if I'm going ot be very active, or if I need energy. I don't eat carbs at night else I burn up in bed, but in the winter, I load up on carbs and I'm toasty warm, wandering around in shorts. It also improves your body's comportment to other stimuli, like, alcohol, and illnesses too.

Start off by sacrificing, sugar, sweets, fizzy drinks, alcohol (only for a bit don't worry), white rice, simple carbs in general, processed foods, breads. It sounds really horrid, and it's bloody hard work initially, but long term you will start to reap the benefits.

Once you get your insulin response back up you're ability to react to carbs will improve - that reaction will help with fat burning rather than fat storage. Insulin is a shuttling hormone for moving nutrients around your body, but also a storage hormone, and just loves to store fats away. If you don't give it the opportunity to, it is force to shuttle the fats to aid with energy production.