Guest guest Posted September 27, 2003 Report Share Posted September 27, 2003 the average person uses about .4-.8 grams of protein per kg of body weight, depending on how much muscle you have to begin with. your average olympic athlete uses about .9-1 gram. so when it comes down to it, you really don't need all that much. as a matter of fact, protein is one of the easiest nutrients to get, and you really have to try hard to be deficient. if you eat too much protein (as most americans do, especially carnivores), you put yourself at risk for kidney stones, as the excess protein tends to bind with calcium in your kidneys. make sure that if you are eating a whole lot of protein, you are also drinking a whole lot of water to help flush it through. (protein tends to dehydrate anyway, so this is an especially good practice). you don't really need to worry about " complete proteins " , either-- body will complete the protein for you as long as you are taking in all the essential amino acids throughout the day. basically, all that means is you need to eat a balanced diet. soy is a complete protein, by the way-- it has all the amino acids your body needs. anyway, to get back to dave's question-- how to gain muscle! i always start my clients on a very basic program if they are not used to lifting. you can do just about anything you want from home if you do not belong to a gym with minimal equipment. i recommend having some stretchy bands, some sand or water weights (unless you want to invest in a good set of weights-- of so, i recommend the sportblock or the heavier powerblock, which hardly take up any room) so that you can change the poundage as needed, and ideally an exercise ball that is about up to your knee. some basic exercises you can start with are: bent-over rows-- put one hand and the same-side knee on the floor and maintain a flat back. hold a weight in your other hand. pull your elbow back behind you as far as you can without twisting, squeezing your shoulder blade as you go. lower the weight. repeat. pushups-- make sure that your back is flat. your body should be in one line between your shoulders and your ankles (or knees, if you are doing kneeling pushups). this means you should not be sticking your butt up or your belly down. your elbows should be slightly below your shoulders (towards your ribs), not straight out to the sides. lower your body as much as you can to the floor, maintaining your alignment, and then push yourself up again until your arms are straight. you can do these on your knees or on your toes, but if you have trouble doing either one, you can elevate your body so that you are pushing up from a sofa back or the wall. it all depends on your strength. military presses-- start with your elbows bent and near your ribs. your hands should be near your shoulders, directly over your elbows. hold a weight in each hand. push the weights straight up towards the ceiling, and then lower back to the starting position. try not to lean backwards. a good way to avoid this is to squeeze your butt-- it's hard to lean back when you are squeezing your butt!! bicep curls-- glue your upper arms to your body, elbows at ribs. hold a weight in each hand. bend your elbows and raise the weights, using your lower arm only, as high as you can towards your shoulders, and lower back to a straight arm. tricep kickbacks-- same as your bent-over rows, but glue your elbow to your ribs and just straighten out your arm. the whole exercise is just bending and straightening the arm. stationary lunges-- put one foot in front of the other a little wider than a regular step forward. lower your back knee almost to the ground-- this will make your front knee bend, too. make sure your front heel does not leave the ground. push off the front leg and go back to a standing position. repeat with other leg. hamstring pushes-- lie on your back on the floor, feet together and knees bent. push your butt as high as you can and lower it almost to the ground. repeat. if this is easy for you, take one leg off the ground and stick it straing up in the air. calf raises-- stand with the balls of your feet on a step and your heels hanging off. rise all the way up on your toes and lower again. repeat. that should get your started with some basics-- hope it helps! melody http://www.melodysmusic.net Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 29, 2003 Report Share Posted September 29, 2003 -Thank you! i found this info very helpful even tho i am not looking to build muscle!~ warm regards Niccii -- In , Nadiana1@a... wrote: > the average person uses about .4-.8 grams of protein per kg of body weight, > depending on how much muscle you have to begin with. your average olympic > athlete uses about .9-1 gram. so when it comes down to it, you really don't > need all that much. as a matter of fact, protein is one of the easiest > nutrients to get, and you really have to try hard to be deficient. if you eat too > much protein (as most americans do, especially carnivores), you put yourself at > risk for kidney stones, as the excess protein tends to bind with calcium in > your kidneys. make sure that if you are eating a whole lot of protein, you are > also drinking a whole lot of water to help flush it through. (protein tends > to dehydrate anyway, so this is an especially good practice). > > you don't really need to worry about " complete proteins " , either-- body will > complete the protein for you as long as you are taking in all the essential > amino acids throughout the day. basically, all that means is you need to eat a > balanced diet. soy is a complete protein, by the way-- it has all the amino > acids your body needs. > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 30, 2003 Report Share Posted September 30, 2003 In a message dated 9/30/03 3:51:38 AM, writes: > -Thank you! i found this info very helpful even tho i am not looking > to build muscle!~ > warm regards > Niccii > glad to hear it. http://www.melodysmusic.net Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 4, 2003 Report Share Posted October 4, 2003 thank you very much melody, i will try out these exercise tips. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.