Search the Community

hi, I really hope you can help me here! I am a girl from Austria, I am 20 years old and recently joined a gymnastics class. I have been doing ballett for years, so I am really flexible, but have huge lack in strength. I do not really focus on bars as my gym don't have bars and vaults, I just want to get good on floor! I am doing well, have my tucks, handsprings and twists, but I totally lack in ab strength. By February, I need to do 20 hanging leg raises all the way up to join the next level! I can do about 10-15 to an L-Hang position, but that's it. I am not able to do a full hanging leg raise I have to admit that I have never really trained my abs before. I definietly need to start now and I am upset, cuz I don't know how! I have a pull up bar at home, so I could train everytime. I thought about a possible plan: 3 sets of 12 hanging knee raises 3 sets of 12 "half" hanging leg raises (to L-Hang position) 3 sets of 3 negative ones I will do this everyday in addition to 8 hours of gymnastics a week. I also want to care about my diet. I always ate halthy, but didn't watch my protein income etc. To support my muscle-growth, I want to cut down on white bread, fatty cheese and sugary cereals. My breakfast is usually oat flakes with low fat quark and fruit, my lunch is salad, quinoa, potatoes, fish, chicken, etc and for dinner I usually have vegetables and eggs, chicken or quark again. In between, I sometimes snack some fruit or a small chocolate bar or have a hot chocolate. I also want my abs to be seen, my legs look very ripped, I don't know but I somehow don't gain fat there. But my tummy is kind of flabby. And I know that for a six-pack you shouldn't have too much fat on top of the abs! Puh, that's long! So all in all my questions are those: 1) Is it possible to get to 20 hanging leg raises in 4-5 months? 2) Which plan should I follow or is mine ok? 3) Is my explained diet supporting for my goal? 4) Will it also help to get my abs seen? 5) If yes, how long will it approx. take to getting visuable abs? I am 20 years, 63,7 inches and weigh 110lbs. I guess my body fat percentage is about 18%! I would really appreciate your help!

I'll be going back to Pakistan once summer holidays end, and I'm having trouble figuring out how I can get adequate protein to support my active lifestyle. The goal with protein is ~1g/lb of bodyweight, right? You cannot get any Greek yogurt in Pakistan, cottage cheese is sold in 100g containers, and milk has 4.5g of protein per serving instead of the 8-9g it has in Canada. Protein powder is off the table because "I'm a boy," and it isn't a "natural" source of protein. That leaves me with eggs (I'm not allowed more than two a day), chicken/beef/goat, and lentils and nuts. Peanut Butter could have been a viable solution, but even the "cholesterol free" versions contain partially hydrogenated oils. I weigh around 125 lbs, so getting enough protein shouldn't be too hard, but my options seem limited.

Hey guys i have been taking an egg protein powder and noticed it has 1.28 grams of sodium every 100 grams. What do you think about that? Do you think its dangerous? Its also 82% protein, 4% carbs, 0% fat. Btw i am trying to avoid whey protein for the moment because it has lactose Thanks in advance and sorry for my english..

Hi.I`ve been quite in in nutrition for 2,3 years.Litteraly tried everything possible - all kinds of diets-paleo,counting calories,eating 5-6 times a day,tried low carb diet,high carb diet,fasting.Here are some of my toughts and expiriences i gadered to make my best nutrition so far.First of all i need to say my bodytype is ednomorph-i gain muscle and fat fast,losing fat very hard,my bones structure is big bones,and i squat heavy,i have big legs (i can now ATG squat more than double my bodyweight).First of all here are the questions that i had a long time to find the answers: 1-Gymnastics training (acrobatic and strenght) -they bought requires a lot of energy how accuratley to know my calories? Answer:As knowing as gymnastic is a anaerobic sport you need to consume between 2000-2500 calories. 1.6-1.8g protein per kg,5-7g carbs per kg,rest is fat. 2-Can i eat junk food,sugar stuff and bad foods and still get the best results? Answer:Im currently on Paleo diet-eating lean meats,egg whites,oatmeal,fruits and veggies,brown rice,sweet potato,beans,nuts - Foods that were exited long before the "lazy generation"(sweet stuff,enriched foods,chocolates).Yes you can eat bad foods and get results its just not worth it to give up 500calories for a choclate - its much,it gives you nothing,and imagine before people didnt have these bad foods thats why the majorty were far stronger than people today.You can eat wheat bread,(personally i prefer not to,its up to you) 3-How much carbs i need for recovery? Answer-Typicly after workout your brain your CNS is tired,you crave some carbs (i know that feeling).You are telling yourself all kinds of stupid exuces (will my body recover from my workout).The truth is you need first to wait 30-60 minutes after taking any food(supplements or natural) after your workout to not stop Groth hormone.Carbs are important - take 30 g to maximum 80g post workout-its enough.Overeating wont help your recovery.Always try to combine in a meal - protein,carbs,(if carbs alone make it a snack only 15g-20g) and some friendly fat (omega 3,tbps peanut butter). 4-Sould i drink a lot of water ? Yes,drink alot of water make it like 3 liters or a gallon a day.Helps digesting,burns fat,gives you energy 5.Weight Height rations-If im big and very lean will i feel "heavy" in bodyweight exercices ? Answer:I tried it,you have to find your ratio - The heavyes gymnast at top level is Brandon Wynn.170sm tall,~74kg personal weight- thats the heavyest i know,and he is beast,but the majorty of the gymnast are -100 or - 102 from their height.For exemple 170sm tall -68 kg,70 kg LEAN muscles. 6.Losing fat is it equal for everyone ? Answer in my opinion not.Some of my friends can lose fat,really easy,for me that is a hard job to do.The best way i found is called intermittent fasting.Its not a diet its a diffrent type of eating trough the day-Typicly 16 hours (with your sleep) no eating,and 8 hours eating window when you have to eat all your calories for the day.Always go to bed hungry.My expirince show this-i dont lose any strenght,only fat,i feel LIGHT during my workout,i have energy and im focused on my workout.You wont lose any muscles.You have to not eat for more than 48 hours,that your body starts to eat muscle and bones,other time its eating fat. 7.Try to eat a salad or a green veggies everyday-helps digesting track,its good for your helth. 8.Supplements-I tried a lot of supplements i tell you wich ones works good for me. Glutamine- i feel it quickly going into my body,its not breaking your fast,its makes me start the day good. Protein powder-Helps recovery have a lot of protein 23g in just 30g serving Kre Alkalyn instead of Creatine - i feel it gives me energy,it retains less water its cheap if you take 2 pills a day. Omega 3-a perfect source of good fats Calcium-helps my fight muscle sorness Gliucosamine-works perfect to fight joints paint,and its the best for connective tissue. Muscle pharm re con (carb/bcaa powder) - i felt recovering better when starting to used this. Bcaa-feeling great,no calories in it,helps recovery Green tea extract-helps boost metabolism,works with fighting fat and its natural ** Fat burners- fat burners works like magic-it gives a lot of energy,you dont crave food so much.But i stoped used them,because they have stimulats and im really sensitive to caffeine-problem is when stoping them i feel my results going down. My nutrition plan: 16 hours not eating,8 hours eating window.Some times 24 hours not eating ( when overdo calories the day before).Making your eating window small will make your fat loss results better. Before bed i take 10g of glutamine,1 pill glicosamine and 1 pill calcium When waking up-10g of glutamine,1 pill gliucosamine Depends on hunger cravings i drink bcaa if needed (0 calories wont break the fast effect) When 16 hours are finished ( i workout fasted always) i take (carbo/bcaa supplement)+protein 30-60 minutes after my worout is done.1-2 hours later a meal (protein+carbs+fats).2-3 hours later the same sometimes i workout twice a day so i take bcaa postworkout.After the late night training-bcaa/protein/veggies and not more than 30-80max carbs also some fat.Depends on time and workout i take one more meal - only protein.All that in the calorie count ofcource. Here are a meal plan - only 1700kcal - 131g of protein,193 g of carbs,39 g of fat -Muscle pharm Recon -Protein powder -Pasta 100g (weight before cooking,cooked like 250g) -Salmon or fish 100g -Egg whites 200g -Oat meal - 100g -Veggies//salad -Beans 100g (boiled,no salt added) -low fat curd/cottage chese -table spoon peanut butter Thats more than enough and you have 300kcal to 800kcal bonus to add something you love. That works for me,i feel great.I wanted to share my toughts,and the most important thing - Comment what are your problems,or questions when struggling with your diet ! Wish you luck,hope this helps Peace

Perfect Workout Nutrition 2013 Please note that GymnasticBodies does not provide any endorsement (official or unofficial) to the contents; and that this is the presentation of my collected knowledge for the purpose of education. It does not represent medical advice and is not a prescription for nutrition. This is specifically for the time period from 30 minutes pre-workout to 4-24 hours post-workout, and is intended for healthy individuals. If you have diabetes, or any other medical condition, please consult with a Registered Dietician. Preferably one that is used to working with athletes. If you have questions, please ask them here: https://www.gymnasticbodies.com/forum/topic/9581-perfect-workout-nutrition-2013-questions-and-answers/ What you must know before you begin: This plan includes drinking a good bit of water. 1 Liter or Quart of Water + 400-600mg sodium (not potassium salt) mixed in. Too much water without sufficient salt is dangerous. 600mg of sodium is a level 1/4 tsp or ~1.25 mL. If you are not used to drinking a lot of water during your workouts, please refer to the second post for instructions on making the transition. Note: As great as this strategy is, it cannot make up for an entire day of crappy eating. What you eat outside of the workout timezone is, in many ways, even more important than what you do peri-workout. While this plan will always give you the best results for your given situation, your absolute best results will only occur when your every-day nutrition is also solid. That is your foundation. This is the fancy house that sits on the foundation, and if you put this on top of the dietary equivalent of quicksand then you should not expect to see the results you want. The precise plan: ~20-30 minutes pre-workout: 30g of whey protein + 10-16 oz (300-500ml) of water or milk. 10-20g Carbs (ideally vegetables or fruit from list, not juice/baked goods/fruit) Oil or butter to cook vegetables in (important fat) Acceptable Fruit List: Whole citrus fruits, small apples (not sweet), pitted fruits (peaches, nectarines, cherries, etc), most berries. Note 1: If you find other carb sources that work well for you, then obviously those are fine too. I simply find that these are the carb sources that give me the most consistently excellent results. Note 2: Some people simply can't make this work, due to scheduling issues. If you can't, you're going to need to experiment with whole food meals to find what works best for you. Daniel Burnham finds that eating a meal with fattier whole food protein (a hamburger or some sausage) and the amount of carbs (with plenty of veggies) he needs for time between the meal and the workout, about 1.5-2 hours before his workout, is his preferred strategy for the pre-workout meal, and he does not follow this particular 20-30 minute pre-workout bit. This does not work well for me, and I perform better with exactly what I have typed in this section. The rest of this post is pretty much identical for everyone, but this initial pre-workout feeding may not be best for all schedules. I personally plan my food so that I can always do this, because it works best for me. Do not dehydrate yourself but do not drink too much water. 5-10 minutes pre-workout mix: Carbs: This is assuming 2-3 minute rest periods and overall sets taking 30-60 seconds. 1) 30% of this right before the workout, drink rest during workout 2) For every 60g of carbs, drink 0.75 to 1 liter (or quart) of water Please refer to the Carb Table for the correct amount of carbohydrate consumption. Please note that these values are specifically for strength training. Read the Carb Table Here. Good Carbs for this: Well baked white potatoes Mashed potatoes Glucose powder Maltodextrin Anything that has a GI of 70-80 or higher. Protein: 10-20g of protein in the workout drink. There is to be no added fat in this drink. Keep in mind that this table is for strength training! That’s fairly intense work with 2-3 minute rests. If your rests are longer than that, you may want to reduce the carbohydrates a bit. For every additional minute of rest between sets, reduce the carbs by 5% for every minute of rest beyond 2 minutes. If you’re doing skill work, only consume half of the carbs Note 1: Make sure you get the protein into this pre-workout drink, as well as 400-600mg of sodium per Liter. (from table or sea salt, not a half potassium salt!) Note 2: It is totally OK to experiment with this. Your diet, and needs, will all vary somewhat from the norm, but the above table is a good starting point! It is also vital that you consume these carbs as a 6%-8% solution: Drink 750 mL(8%) to 1 Liter (6%) of water for every 60g carbs. During the workout: 80-100% of the remainder of the carbs that you did not have immediately pre-workout. Guidelines/Reminder for what needs to be in this drink: 400-600mg of sodium per Liter of water, or per quart. ~10g protein per Liter (or quart) of water Carbs mixed in or solid carbs such as mashed potatoes or white bread Water, salt, and protein must bemixed together. After the workout: PWO shake! Have this as close to instantly as possible. PWO shake components: 60-80g of carbs, regardless of bodyweight up to 200 lbs.Use either glucose powder, fast-acting maltodextrin, or mashed potatoes, especially after intense workouts. 2) 30g of whey or soy protein. Whey IS better protein than soy, and it’s the same price or cheaper. 3) Fats: No fats in the PWO shake or at all until more than 30 minutes post-workout. Coconut oil for this if you must have the fat. After this PWO shake, get back to regular eating! Eat every 30 to 60 minutes for at least 2 hours after this Drink a lot of water with your meal carbs and protein. You are always aiming to make a ~6%-12% solution, so that your body stays well hydrated and the stomach empties fairly rapidly. Fats don’t mix with water, so we don’t calculate them into this. 20-30g protein every 2-3 hours is perfect. The more vegetables, the better. You will pee a lot, most likely, and that is good. If you are not fully hydrated, you will not see anywhere near as much protein synthesis, and that means your results won’t be as good as they should be if you aren’t fully hydrated and peeing nearly clear. Please pay attention to the sodium guidelines, unless you have hyperaldosteronism. Electrolyte balance is a part of proper hydration, and failure to pay attention to this can cause serious problems or death.