Posts by silentpanther15

Personally, I think you gotta hop on a cardio machine first and just ease into it for about 5 to 7 minutes.
Do some light stretching, then hit the weights or the machines.
Hit those big muscle groups—chest, back, legs—maybe doing 12 sets of 15 reps. Use a weight where you're barely scraping through. To keep things from getting boring, you could throw in 3 different exercises per group (like 4 sets each).
Once the big stuff is done, move on to the smaller muscles like biceps, triceps, and shoulders for maybe 6 sets of 15.
Finish off with abs.

And obviously, don't try to do everything at once. If you're hitting the gym 3 days a week, try something like this:
Day 1: Back, triceps, and abs
Day 2: Legs, shoulders, and abs
Day 3: Chest, biceps, and abs

After all that, wrap it up with cardio at about 75-85% of your max heart rate.
Start with 20 minutes and slowly bump it up until you're hitting 45, 50, or even 60 minutes...
You can even mix it up with two or three different activities. Like, start on the bike, move to the stair climber, then hit the elliptical...

But hey, that’s just my take on how a workout should look.
And everyone's entitled to their own opinion. 😁

I don't know... feels like a bit much for a beginner who just wants to drop some weight and tone up a little... 🤷

hold up... you're only doing 20 minutes on the stepper?

how much cardio are we talking about per session, or per week?

Yeah, here's another tip:

Fat doesn't make you gain weight on its own...
It's the carbs, man.
But when you mix fat and carbs? That’s a total party! 😁

(Think about high-end steakhouse dinners—prime rib with rich gravy and a nice glass of Cabernet. It doesn't wreck your waistline. Why? Because there are basically zero carbs involved (it's the whole keto principle). The fats just hitch a ride on the carbs. Without the carbs, the fat isn't storing itself on you. In theory. Okay, sure, they might do other sketchy stuff to your system, like clogging up your arteries, but let's not get sidetracked... 😁)

Sandra Clark29 said:I’d love to hear about your experiences—was it similar for everyone when they started? Does anyone have any advice? Thanks!

Here’s the deal...

First off, if you weren't active or into sports before, your metabolism is probably crawling.
Your body needs time to rev it up.
Give it time...

Also, timing matters when it comes to what you eat.
It's not just about the calorie count.
To keep it simple: hit the carbs earlier in the day so you actually have energy to crush your day, then switch to protein-heavy meals toward the evening (protein builds muscle, and those anabolic processes peak while you sleep).

Thirdly, cardio alone won't cut it.
You gotta hit the right intensity. (I see girls at the gym all the time on the StairMaster just scrolling through Instagram or chatting away. Personally, I can barely focus on my own workout while on the machine). Plus, you need duration. Your body doesn't really start burning fat until those glycogen stores are tapped out, usually after about 30–40 minutes.
Definitely help things along by doing a quick warm-up, hitting the anaerobic stuff first (weights, machines, strength training) to burn through that glycogen, and *then* hopping on the StairMaster or whatever for your cardio.

And one more thing: discipline and consistency.
The best physiques you see at the gym? They're built on grit, not just genetics. 😉

miss l on the road said:duh 😎

One of my last swims...



Next time I actually get some abs back... 😳
(Yeah, let's call that the short-term goal.)

Obviously, you taking photos of my ass doesn't count 😁

Walmart

highly recommend...

Brenda Perez64 said:It’s throwing me off a bit...

Did you know you can actually lose your period just from being way too active?

That's good to hear coming from you, but I wouldn't dare try any extreme methods to fix my hormones. When I lost my cycle before, I was basically going manic—doing like 1,000 crunches a day.

Aha, so that's what this is about! 😁

You forgot to mention you have anorexia?
Basically, when your body fat drops below a healthy level for a woman, your period just stops.

Start eating and living like a normal person, otherwise you're gonna crash hard.

Look, if you’re thinking about jumping into business and you already have training experience... just go for it!

But don't open a gym.
Traditional gyms are just way too expensive, a total money pit, and they're basically designed for athletes or wannabe bodybuilders (and let's face it, those guys are becoming a rare breed).

Open a boutique fitness studio focused on floor workouts instead.
I mean, aerobics, Tae-Bo, step, kickboxing, SFA, even spinning.
The startup costs for equipment are much lower—it's way cheaper to pick up 15 used stationary bikes than it is to outfit even a quarter of a full-scale weight room.

Plus, women are hands down your best and most loyal clients.
Personally, I haven't met a single woman who wouldn't want to tone up a little bit. Stick a flyer on the door of a local daycare (you'll find plenty of young moms looking to get their confidence back after having kids) and I guarantee you'll have a couple of classes filled in no time.

Besides, you're a young mom yourself.
Chat with your girlfriends and ask them if they'd actually show up to a place like that and what kind of vibe or classes they'd be looking for.

Man.. being a small business owner is anything but easy.
And if you think this is some magic trick to get free time so you can focus on your little one... you are dead wrong.

Don't go thinking I'm saying this because I'm pushing you to start your own thing—that's not it—but I think you're looking at this way too simplistically.

But hey, if you really think you've got what it takes and have the guts for it, go ahead and launch that company.
The whole world is gonna turn upside down on you!
And you probably won't see much sleep during that first year.

But if you stay gritty and don't screw up too many times along the way, you'll make it.
I did.
So far.
And honestly, I'm incredibly proud of myself for pulling it off...

(Mind you, I didn't have anyone depending on me during those months when things got rough. And trust me, they got rough.)

Whatever you decide to do... good luck!

Look, I don't want to be rude, but I honestly think you're totally missing the point here.

Small gyms just don't make sense financially.
Big ones are profitable, sure, but if one piece of equipment runs you about $2,000 and you need at least 20 of them, you can do the math yourself.

It’s actually smart to find a decent 600 or 700 square foot space with some locker room area and open up a studio for spinning, aerobics, or whatever classes you want. No heavy weights, no bodybuilders. Target audience: women looking to lose weight.
But even then, you’ve gotta run a good chunk of the classes yourself, because paying instructors is way too expensive.

David Gray44 said:I'm with you on the point, but things get a bit muddled here. Some of what you wrote is spot on, but certain factors aren't just about mast positioning—they're about sail trim too. A boat (even a Beneteau) can tack or gybe regardless of how the mast is set. If the genoa is pulled too tight and the mainsail is too loose, the boat’s gonna gybe; flip that around and it'll tack.

Look, any sailboat, no matter the model or the rig, can be tuned by sliding the mast or the spreader bar forward or aft.

On Beneteaus and Oceanis models, they push the mast way up forward just to squeeze out a bigger cockpit/saloon area. First off, that shrinks the headsail area, but it also kills your ability to tack. The center of effort shifts too far forward, so the boat just wants to fall off.

If you move the mast and (or) the spreader toward the stern, the boat will tack much better.

You don't even need to touch the sails to fix that part of the trim.
It's just how it works.
Basic aero and hydrodynamics at play.

Jose Murphy3 said:Since we're talking riggings, I've got a question. From what I know, you're supposed to trim the rigging while the boat is actually underway. But everyone who's helped me out on the boat swears they have enough experience to do it right in the harbor. They also claim that for weekend sailors like us, precision trimming isn't even necessary—that it's only vital for racing boats. Anyone have any experience with this??

Depends on what kind of boat you're running.

If you buy a brand new cruising boat and it comes with the mast and stays already set up, everything is usually pretty much custom-fit.
You hook up the baby stays, step the mast, attach the forestay, and then tension the shrouds and the backstay.
The backstay usually has some kind of adjustment, and you tension the shrouds based on a chart provided by the manufacturer. Of course, that chart is just a rough guide and serves as a starting point.
By adjusting the tension between the baby stays and the main shrouds, you can change the bend in the mast—basically, you can pre-determine how that mast is going to curve. Naturally, nothing happens without a ballpark estimate based on sketching out the mainsail shape.

As for centering the mast, that depends entirely on what you're trying to achieve and, obviously, what kind of sails you're running.
Basically, you hoist the main and the genoa, heel the boat about 8-10% max in a close reach, and see what happens.
If you're sailing a Beneteau or an Oceanis, you won't really notice.
But if you have a slightly better boat, you'll be able to tell if you're heading too far upwind, not enough, or just right. Ideally, you don't want too much pressure on the helm because that lateral force just slows you down.
Moving the mast aft gives you more lateral force (on a close reach), but it also reduces your minimum upwind angle.
Then you have to crunch the numbers: is it better to sail closer to the wind but slower, or is it faster to move the mast forward, take a shallower angle, and pick up speed?

Honestly, most of this doesn't even matter if you're just driving a modern rental boat. But if you've got a racing rig, a traveler, and a performance helm, then what I just said isn't nearly enough info.

I could write ten different posts just about mast centering... better to let me know exactly what you're looking for.

Elvis Presley is such a joke. We all saw it coming...

but... I’m way more interested in that idiot wife of his who actually reported him!

look. she got hit.
she said enough was enough and called the cops.
that's her right.

but what the hell was she thinking going back home to him after that!??
if I were him, I would've turned down that $10k allowance.
because she's an idiot.
she basically drained the household budget by at least $10k.
especially since she didn't even get anything out of it herself.

You should probably hit up the ESPN forums to ask about trail running and specific training plans for it...

Laura Jackson45 said:The thread might get moved, but whatever...

Has anyone dealt with a ton of blood after some rougher sex?

It’s not really about the amount... It's just that I can't figure out what else it could be if it isn't that. Any ideas or similar stories? I've got to wait three days before I can see my OB-GYN...😕

If it's not just heavy bleeding, you might have burst a vessel.
I had to rush someone to the ER right after—needed stitches.
There was blood everywhere.
And we weren't even going that hard...

Why don't you try throwing these questions at Dr. Barbie instead?

brightcrane56 said:Man, you're being such a cheapskate... 🙄
Read between the lines here: she’s got the body, she’s got the guy, they're having sex... the girl just wanted to flex a little bit. 😎

Like what!!??
Did she maybe mention if she's shaved?
Or if she's good at swallowing?
If she's down for anything?
Or how much she loves crashing right after he finishes?

Nope!

It’s possible, but definitely not a given.

I mean, what am I even supposed to tell you!?
Should I suggest you go grab a drink at a dive bar?
Tell you to hit up a doctor?
Suggest you start hitting the clubs?
What!?

Give me a break!!!
Since I have to be blunt here...

Every single day we hear these stories about guys beating their wives, yet the women supposedly adore them and follow them around like loyal little pets.
Grown women who are actually capable of making their own damn decisions.

But now, take a ten-year-old girl from a clearly broken home and strip away every single thing she’s entitled to as a human being. Then just drag that out through her entire childhood and most of her teens.
The guy holding her captive? She looked at him like he was some kind of god.
And to her, he really was.

Now all the self-proclaimed "psychologists" on this forum feel personally attacked and are trying to claim she's faking it.
Listen, folks, if that's your first reaction to a story like this, you're the ones who seriously need intensive therapy!