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World Class Bodybuilding Forum
New Exercise and Fitness Review
It’s often labelled the demon in our diets but cholesterol isn’t all bad – actually, this waxy substance is essential for normal body functions such as vitamin D production, sex hormone synthesis, brain health and neurotransmitter formation.
However, it’s when levels get out of control that problems can arise, with numerous studies linking high cholesterol readings to heart disease. Although there are other significant factors at play such as high blood pressure and other inflammatory markers, there’s no denying that cholesterol levels are certainly part of the cardiovascular jigsaw puzzle.
So how do you know if you’re at risk? When analysing risk factors, it’s worth looking not only at levels of LDL (the so-called ‘bad’ cholesterol thought to be linked to narrowing of the arteries) but also the ‘good’ kind known as HDL, which removes excess cholesterol from the blood. The most accurate reading is the total cholesterol level which is made up of LDL and HDL combined. While everyone’s risk factors differ, a healthy level for women is less than 5.00mmol/l total cholesterol.
James Thompson, GP and founder of Ask Doc James says:
The lowdown: GPs usually prescribe a group of medicines called statins to help lower cholesterol. Statins work by reducing the LDL in your blood while increasing HDL.
Cholesterol clear-up: Usually your doctor will prescribe Simvastatin. This drug works by blocking the action of the particular enzyme needed for cholesterol synthesis. There are a few documented side effects, including headaches, muscle ache, abdominal pain, insomnia, liver dysfunction and rash. Significant muscle inflammation can also occur in very rare circumstances. Blood tests looking for liver dysfunction after starting the tablet should be organised by your doctor. Normally, once you’re on a statin, your cholesterol will normalise and there will be no need for further cholesterol treatment. However, if you’re diabetic or have cholesterol that is difficult to treat, your doctor may add in other tablets like fibrates, which help to lower triglycerides, a type of fat in the blood which can also increase your risk of heart disease.
For more info: www.askdocjames.com
Amanda Hamilton, TV health expert, nutritionist and author says:
The lowdown: Our cells can make cholesterol from fat, but also from refined carbohydrates. Diets high in saturated fat and processed carbs have most often been associated with raised blood cholesterol, so it’s a good idea to clean up your diet.
Cholesterol clear-up: Limit saturated fat found in red meat, butter and cream as well as pies, pastries, cakes and ready meals. Foods high in soluble fibre, such as oats, beans and apples, help bind excess cholesterol in the gut and remove it from the body. Almonds, which are high in monounsaturated fat, vitamin E and plant sterols, are thought to block cholesterol re-absportion in the gut. Try eating a handful daily.
For more info: www.amandahamilton.co.uk
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New Exercise and Fitness Review
Name: Dean Colfax
Email: supersiz2006@ya…
BodySpace: supersiz2006
Location: Tulsa, OK
Age: 50
Height: 5’7″
Weight: 176-200 lbs off,
176 lbs contest
Years Bodybuilding: 13
I’ve lived and breathed in iron from the weight room since I first hit my teenage years. My dad owned this old Weider plastic and concrete weight set along with a bench. If I remember correctly, the weight set totaled 110 pounds. He set it up in the garage and installed a pull-up bar for me as well. Looking back, my dad really helped ignite that passion and love for weight training in my early years.
When I started junior high as a fresh-faced teen, I started lifting quite obsessively. Because I had my own set of weights in the garage, I lost myself in countless thousands of reps of bench presses, hand stand push-ups, pull-ups, tricep exercises, and push-ups. When I outgrew the weights, I bought two 25-pound plates to throw onto my bench. By the time I hit my sophomore year in high school, I weighed 140 pounds and benched 190. I never looked back.
Weight lifting—and later bodybuilding—kept me healthy and, in many ways, sane. At 50, I am confident, healthy, and very strong. I can look in the mirror and be content with what I see year round. No doubt that age has laid down obstacles, but they only strengthen my resolve to stay on this path and journey I’ve chosen. If I were to quit, I might as well sit down in a rocking chair and give up as well; as long as I have the energy, I will continue to train. I control my appearance now; it does not control me. As long as I provide for my body, it responds favorably and appropriately. This degree of commitment takes discipline, but the rewards are far greater than the sacrifices. I will pass from this world still training in some form or another.
“I will pass from this world still training in some form or another.”
I am still changing training routines to adapt to deficiencies and trying to manipulate changes that will improve my physique.
Seated Calf Raises
Standing Calf Raises
Flat Bench Flyes
Incline Dumbbell Press
Decline Dumbbell Press
Low Cable Cross-Over
Ab Work: Crunches, Leg Raises, Ab Machine
Pull-Ups
Bent-Over Dumbbell Row
Leverage High Row
Reverse Grip Bent-Over Smith Machine Row (shown with barbell)
Seated Cable Row
Squats
Weighted Walking Lunges
Leg Extensions Seated Calf Raises
Lying Leg Curls Standing Calf Raises Ab Work: Crunches, Leg Raises, Ab Machine
Seated Dumbbell Curls
Overhead Dumbbell Triceps Press
Standing Hammer Curls
Reverse Close-Grip Bench Press
Cable Rope Press-Down
Cable Curls Seated Calf Raises Standing Calf Raises
Seated Dumbbell Shoulder Press
Dumbbell Shrugs
Reverse Pec Deck
Seated Lateral Dumbbell Raises
Standing Front Dumbbell Raises
Bodybuilding.com honors amateurs across all categories for their hard work, dedication, and great physiques. Learn how our featured amateurs built their bodies and hit their goals!
During bulking season (off-season), my goal is to not only gain additional pounds; it is to add lean muscle by over providing properly nourishing my body. I allow myself cheat meals one day a week during any attempt to put on lean muscle mass. The proper nutrition plan allows training with more intensity, volume, and overall weight. What is most important is the quality of this food, not so much the volume. This is the time to put your energy into training as hard as you can to increase overall lean muscle size and weight.
For competitions, I adjust my diet weekly depending on current and target weight for whatever competition I do. Remember that as overall weight drops, so do calorie demands. If you continue to eat as much as you have the previous week, you will no longer lose weight. Stripping body fat and maintaining lean tissue are the science of manipulating calories to do both—a delicate balance. Learn how to determine calorie deficits without causing your body to savage lean muscle tissue searching for energy. Only you can know after practicing clean dieting what your body’s limitations are.
Egg Whites
Oatmeal
2% Milk
Water
Whey Protein 2% Milk
Chicken Breast Oatmeal Water Whey Protein 2% Milk Casein Protein 2% Milk Casein Protein 2% Milk
“I didn’t discover my passion for bodybuilding until I competed in my first show in 2001 at the age of 38.”
I’ve been weight lifting in my garage since my first teen years at 13. I didn’t discover my passion for bodybuilding until later when I competed in my first show in 2001 at the age of 38. It just clicked when I realized how much control I have over my body. To see it transform from what it was to what it has become only inspired me to push the envelope further.
If there exists an overarching goal in bodybuilding, I would say it is the pursuit of perfection. For me, it is this ongoing pursuit. Perfection can be seen an unattainable destination, to be sure, but it is one we can come close to reaching through our own will and fire.
Learn how your body ticks and how it responds to training and dieting. When it tells you something, listen to it.
At my age, I keep it to one show a year because of the enormous strain on life that committing to a contest can create. As some of my fellow bodybuilders can attest to, family tends to deal with the mood swings that come from carb depletion just as painfully. Because my job is quite physical the job itself becomes more difficult on my body and psyche, especially with disciplined eating and training thrown atop the existing workload.
For me, competing simply isn’t so much for the glory as it is the structure. Enduring months of training for a specific physical look keeps me focused and motivated. It helps my wife stick to her routine as well, since we train together. The time we spend together is quality time, and we both benefit from the results.
I last competed in June 2013 at the age of 50. I’m not finished yet. I have no doubt that I will compete in 2014.
Bodybuilding.com is quite simply a great resource for information on workouts and competition.
Jodi combines two fitness philosophies, CrossFit and bodybuilding, to help prime her body for the stage. How does she do it?
Cynthia bounced out of a bad point in her life with the help of bodybuilding and she hasn’t looked back since.
Tish looks better at age 38 than she did in her 20s because of consistent clean eating coupled with intense training. Get the diet and workouts she uses to defeat mother nature!
