2025 health, fitness and nutrition thread

[cyinne]

I’ve been getting a bunch of targeted ads about Colon Broom. Has anyone used this type of product before?
The benefits of this product and the online reviews look great, but I am quite cynical and think sometimes “too good to be true”. Let me know your thoughts.

 

[3TrueFans]

I’ve been getting a bunch of targeted ads about Colon Broom. Has anyone used this type of product before?
The benefits of this product and the online reviews look great, but I am quite cynical and think sometimes “too good to be true”. Let me know your thoughts.

This stuff?

 

[Nader_uggghhh]

I’ve been getting a bunch of targeted ads about Colon Broom. Has anyone used this type of product before?
The benefits of this product and the online reviews look great, but I am quite cynical and think sometimes “too good to be true”. Let me know your thoughts.

Just my opinion: It sounds like expensive psyllium husk

 

[Nolaeer]

i lifted heavy weights most of my life. Even won a few powerlifting meets up into my early 30's. My last hurrah, at age 59, was a 355 pound bench press. I could also still clean and jerk 225.

That all came to a crashing end when I had my heart attack at 59. Triple bypass. Chest cut open like a brit in a Braveheart movie and wired back together. It took me a full year of doing wall pushups to finally be able to do 1 real pushup on the floor.

now i just walk my dog, do elliptical at my house, and pushups, 1-3 sets of 15-20, 3 times a week. Lost a lot of muscle mass. my old t-shirts hand on me like im a cancer survivor. But i feel the pushup, with some body weight squats and occasional dumbbell curls keep me in "okay" shape for a 65-year-old man.

I could do more, but i really am not driven to be in elite shape as I once was.

 

[ScottyP]

my wife wants to improve her exercise, especially getting stronger. She works full-time and also is taking college courses and we have three young kids. She usually has enough time for about a 20 minute workout in the morning. For strength training, should she do a full-body workout of a few exercises and just do one set of each? (3 x week) Or just do a couple of exercises each day and rotate different exercises? (6-7 x a week) Can she get an effective workout doing one set of each exercise?

 

[RagingCloner]

my wife wants to improve her exercise, especially getting stronger. She works full-time and also is taking college courses and we have three young kids. She usually has enough time for about a 20 minute workout in the morning. For strength training, should she do a full-body workout of a few exercises and just do one set of each? (3 x week) Or just do a couple of exercises each day and rotate different exercises? (6-7 x a week) Can she get an effective workout doing one set of each exercise?

I would pick 3 exercises a day and do a 3x12-15 type of sets. just rotate the exercise every day/week

 

[4theCYcle]

I have started to workout on a regular basis with a mixture of cardio and weight training. I have never really been into taking any type of supplements, but heard Williams on his pods talking about pre-workout. Any suggestions on good supplements to take? I am thinking like a pre-workout and maybe a post workout, I am guessing these take place of a meal? I honestly am new to supplements so bare with me ha ha

The main supplements I take are creatine, glutamine and a clean protein. The benefits of 5-10 g/day of creatine are great. It does more for you than just aid in muscle growth and recovery.

A simple, yet effective pre-workout that instead doesn't have all those nasty additives/toxic artificial ingredients and costs a lot that you don't need, just go with some simple raw honey/Himalayan salt or watermelon when available.

Thanks for the suggestions on Creatine, I will look into that.

I asked about pre-workout because I tend to get tired throughout the day, so figured it would help with energy. I know losing some unwanted pounds will get me that as well.

Suggestions on things to take to help with sleep. I feel like I am tired, but once I hit the pillow my mind started to wander and then 60-90mins later I am ready to go to bed. For me, when I am ill I used to be able to take a Nyquil and I would be a lot better hte next day. I feel like in the last year or 2 taking a sleep aid has made me groggy the next day.

I know it's kind of relying on supplements, but I take double wood's mag complex that has 8 different forms of magnesium and Irwin naturals Vit D3/K2/zinc supplement. I also use Taspen Organic's sleep cream for my feet. Magnesium chloride specifically helps with sleep and is quickly absorbed through your soles. Those items together are pretty effective for helping me fall asleep quickly.
While many should get their main nutrients through diet, a lot of people fall short on the potassium, magnesium side of things and don't properly hydrate themselves. Too many believe water alone is a cure all for hydration, when in reality it kicks nutrients out of the body at higher amounts.

Another suggestion alongside of limiting screen time, if it's not that easy, get a set of red tinted blue light blocking glasses and reduce your LED exposure at night. Blue light can cause circadian rhythm disruption and cause eye strain. Change your phone display to warmer tone/reduction of blue light. It's not full proof, but it'll help.

 

[4theCYcle]

my wife wants to improve her exercise, especially getting stronger. She works full-time and also is taking college courses and we have three young kids. She usually has enough time for about a 20 minute workout in the morning. For strength training, should she do a full-body workout of a few exercises and just do one set of each? (3 x week) Or just do a couple of exercises each day and rotate different exercises? (6-7 x a week) Can she get an effective workout doing one set of each exercise?

Some resistance bands are actually pretty effective. I've seen noticeable results with my lower body and I don't generally lift legs anymore due to the strain that certain lifts can have on joints/ligaments. A good tactic is not blowing through the movements, and pausing at certain spots. I bought 2 sets of techstone resistance bands from Amazon (brand nothing special) and double/triple up on some and create more resistance. My wife will occasionally use them.

 

[cyinne]

This stuff?

LOVE COLON BLOW!!

 

[nrg4isu]

I'm gonna hitch a ride on this thread.

Life long, I've had a slow rollercoaster ride as far as fitness/weight goes. Nothing drastic really, but it's still there.

I was never a skinny kid without a lot of effort, but I've also been too active to ever be considered very overweight/obese.

In high school I was an athlete (cross country, tennis, track). Graduated around 160. College I gained the freshman 15 literally. After college, getting married etc. I got up into the upper 180s which was a lot for me then. My dad rode Ragbrai every year, but then broke his leg. To encourage him to get back into riding form, I did as well. Lost 15 lbs and started running/biking. Got into running long distances again and eventually triathlon culminating with an Ironman in 2014. At that point I was again around 160 and very fit.

My wife and I had kids in 2016 and 2018 so understandably my life changed. I've shared this here before, but it was not an easy transition for me. Thankfully I've become happier with who I am as a father, but part of that transition was to abandon my former athletic self.

Over the past 10 years I went from a low of 160 up to 228. The good news is I feel like I'm in a good enough spot with stress, time management and mental health that I can start to give my weight/fitness a little bit of focus. I accredit that to medication, therapy (for a short term), and the fact my kids are older and more self-sufficient.

After our vacation a few weeks back, I got on the scale and decided to lose some weight. In the past when I've been hyper-focused I've used things like MyFitnessPal and garmin data to really micromanage the weight loss. And that obviously worked. It didn't really stay off for very long though.

This time around I'm still doing many of the same weight-loss tricks I've used in the past, except not micromanaging and so far less on the fitness side. I'm down 13 lbs over the past 3 weeks and already feeling some positive returns from that (some clothes fitting slightly better, etc).

It's going to be an interest ride... because I'm no longer willing to put so much effort into the weight loss that other parts of my life suffer. I'm keeping very close track of my mood. If I find that I'm more grumpy or if I'm quicker to get angry, I'm not going to be cutting calories or trying to get that workout in. I also have no illusions of getting back into endurance events.

All that said, I do feel like I need to articulate what my end goals are. I just started this with the statement "228 is too heavy". Under 200 is probably my only real goal at the moment.

 

[RagingCloner]

I'm gonna hitch a ride on this thread.

Life long, I've had a slow rollercoaster ride as far as fitness/weight goes. Nothing drastic really, but it's still there.

I was never a skinny kid without a lot of effort, but I've also been too active to ever be considered very overweight/obese.

In high school I was an athlete (cross country, tennis, track). Graduated around 160. College I gained the freshman 15 literally. After college, getting married etc. I got up into the upper 180s which was a lot for me then. My dad rode Ragbrai every year, but then broke his leg. To encourage him to get back into riding form, I did as well. Lost 15 lbs and started running/biking. Got into running long distances again and eventually triathlon culminating with an Ironman in 2014. At that point I was again around 160 and very fit.

My wife and I had kids in 2016 and 2018 so understandably my life changed. I've shared this here before, but it was not an easy transition for me. Thankfully I've become happier with who I am as a father, but part of that transition was to abandon my former athletic self.

Over the past 10 years I went from a low of 160 up to 228. The good news is I feel like I'm in a good enough spot with stress, time management and mental health that I can start to give my weight/fitness a little bit of focus. I accredit that to medication, therapy (for a short term), and the fact my kids are older and more self-sufficient.

After our vacation a few weeks back, I got on the scale and decided to lose some weight. In the past when I've been hyper-focused I've used things like MyFitnessPal and garmin data to really micromanage the weight loss. And that obviously worked. It didn't really stay off for very long though.

This time around I'm still doing many of the same weight-loss tricks I've used in the past, except not micromanaging and so far less on the fitness side. I'm down 13 lbs over the past 3 weeks and already feeling some positive returns from that (some clothes fitting slightly better, etc).

It's going to be an interest ride... because I'm no longer willing to put so much effort into the weight loss that other parts of my life suffer. I'm keeping very close track of my mood. If I find that I'm more grumpy or if I'm quicker to get angry, I'm not going to be cutting calories or trying to get that workout in. I also have no illusions of getting back into endurance events.

All that said, I do feel like I need to articulate what my end goals are. I just started this with the statement "228 is too heavy". Under 200 is probably my only real goal at the moment.

Good luck friend!

 

[Gunnerclone]

The main supplements I take are creatine, glutamine and a clean protein. The benefits of 5-10 g/day of creatine are great. It does more for you than just aid in muscle growth and recovery.

A simple, yet effective pre-workout that instead doesn't have all those nasty additives/toxic artificial ingredients and costs a lot that you don't need, just go with some simple raw honey/Himalayan salt or watermelon when available.

I know it's kind of relying on supplements, but I take double wood's mag complex that has 8 different forms of magnesium and Irwin naturals Vit D3/K2/zinc supplement. I also use Taspen Organic's sleep cream for my feet. Magnesium chloride specifically helps with sleep and is quickly absorbed through your soles. Those items together are pretty effective for helping me fall asleep quickly.
While many should get their main nutrients through diet, a lot of people fall short on the potassium, magnesium side of things and don't properly hydrate themselves. Too many believe water alone is a cure all for hydration, when in reality it kicks nutrients out of the body at higher amounts.

Another suggestion alongside of limiting screen time, if it's not that easy, get a set of red tinted blue light blocking glasses and reduce your LED exposure at night. Blue light can cause circadian rhythm disruption and cause eye strain. Change your phone display to warmer tone/reduction of blue light. It's not full proof, but it'll help.

I’ll just second the Creatine. It’s a gift, and a relatively cheap one at that.

 

[besserheimerphat]

I've accepted defeat in this area. I tried for a while. I tried varying forms of what Andrew Huberman or Peter Attia recommend. I did not have any noticeable difference in anything. I still take a daily multi-vitamin and a Vitamin D. But I might even stop that once I run out.

If you have a decent diet and live in a first world country, you're probably not deficient in anything enough to bother supplementing.

 

[cyphoon]

should she do a full-body workout of a few exercises and just do one set of each? (3 x week) Or just do a couple of exercises each day and rotate different exercises? (6-7 x a week)

If she only has 20 minutes per day, then my opinion would be to focus on upper body and arms one day, then core and abs in the next work out, and then legs in the third. Sets should be to failure if possible.

If her upper body isn't ready by the start of the the second sequence, then just sub in core and abs. I am seeing more fitness people recommending that core and abs can be worked pretty much every day.

The reason I like this over full body workouts is that I question if 2 days recovery will be enough for her upper body and legs.

Can she get an effective workout doing one set of each exercise?

Some body builders believe that you should only do one set, but it has to be to absolute failure.

H

 

[besserheimerphat]

Anybody have some things that have worked for them to keep building muscle, particularly in their 40s while maintaining or even trimming some fat?

I have always lifted (not heavy or power anymore) and stayed in pretty good shape. I had always hovered around the 200 lb range at about 6'3 from ages 35-47 and BF% has been 16-17. Just turned 48 and have stuck with lifting, but am down to around 194 and scale claims BF of 13.5%, which makes sense numbers-wise. I've been really focusing on upping protein while limiting calories and thrown in a little cardio.

Is it reasonable to have a calorie deficit and still gain muscle at a reasonable clip at my age? While I'd love to keep trimming fat a little bit, I don't want to sacrifice muscle gain, which is hard enough as it is.

I don't really want to do the body builder gain and cut phase thing, but I do think the process of leaning might be hindering muscle growth. Seems like you guys are pretty educated on this stuff, and I'd love to get some ideas. Plus I'm too ADHD to focus on reading or even listening to a podcast on my own. So thanks in advance to the experts that can give some crib notes.

If you're not a newbie, it's tough to gain muscle while cutting fat. Your diet has to be super dialed in, and your workouts have to strike a very narrow balance of strenuous enough without generating too much fatigue. That's why most people do gain/cut cycles. It is possible to maintain muscle and gain strength while cutting weight, which still is a net gain in body composition.

It's pretty much all been covered already - good sleep, eat enough protein and manage the calorie deficit with carbs and fats, resistance training, low intensity steady state cardio (LISS).

If you want to grow muscle, you just need a couple sets taken to within a couple reps of failure. If you get to 30 and still have more in the tank, use more weight so you dont spend hours in the gym. If you can't get 8 or more, use less weight. For muscle growth your goal is to generate as much tension for as long as possible. The weight doesn't matter. Get a good full stretch in the eccentric/down motion, and a controlled and complete concentric/up motion.

 

[besserheimerphat]

Here’s my question for the group:

I didn’t get serious about fitness until age 35. Didn’t touch a barbell until age 37. I’m now 40 and lifting regularly each week. I’d say I’m moderately fit for my age. I can run a sub-8 mile with easy. Burpees and pushups are not big deal. I’d be confident attempting a 36” standing box jump.

However, I’m still pretty weak at the big 3. These are my “max” lifts thought I’ve never even tried a 1rm:

Squat: 175 x 5
Bench: 175 x 5
Deadlift: 195x3

I’ve hurt my back 3 times deadlifting which amounted to a muscle strain.

I’m determined to master this lift. I worked with a trainer last year to improve my form. I ended up pulling an oblique right after thanksgiving.

I’m back at it starting this week. My plan is to go slow. I did 95 lbs x 5 reps for 3 sets. I’ll listen to my body as I go, but planning to add 5 lbs every 1-2 weeks as I build back up. I’m also doing lower body stretching daily to try and keep my hips and legs loose.

Long story short: any tips for a guy trying to get strong for the first time at age 40?

I know you and @FriendlySpartan already had some back and forth, so I'll just say my peace. Deadlifts are not an inherently dangerous lift. Bench press and squats are much more dangerous because you are underneath the bar.

People get hurt in any lift when their form breaks down under near maximal loads. If you have repeatedly injured yourself, there's probably some inconsistency that rears it's head as you get fatigued. There are several ways you can address that.

1. Figure out the specific issue and modify your training to address that issue. Deadlifts are a lot more technical than people realize. If you're just horking the bar off the ground, you're not going to realize your potential. Finding those technical deficiencies and addressing them will allow you to lift more weight safely.

2. Reduce the weights or the reps per set and really focus on your form. Deadlifts are notorious for the first rep being different than the rest. Usually the second rep is the "best" as lowering the weight the first time puts you in the most natural position for your body. Consider letting go of the bar and standing up between each rep to get more practice in your setup. Really consider recording your lifts - it's helped me a TON. You may need to switch from conventional to sumo (or vice versa), or try different back and leg angles to find what works best for you.

3. Take a bit longer rest between each set. That will let you recover a bit more so there is less form breakdown over the course of the workout. For powerlifting/strength gains, it's usually recommended to take 3-5 minutes between each set. Your goal isn't to fatigue the muscles, it's tough teach them how to produce maximal force. They need to be recovered from the previous set to do that.

I'm a 44 year old powerlifter myself, and last fall I hit an all time PR deadlift. Been lifting on and off since high school, and last fall was as strong as I've ever been. Had a bunch of work travel, sickness, and dinged up my shoulder from passing out while vomiting during said sickness the last few weeks so in a bit of a rebuild at the moment.

Even while you're injured you can usually find something productive to do. Right now I'm doing sets of 16-20 on squats, bench and RDLs with very light weights while I wait for my shoulder to get better. Prior to that I was doing sets of 1-3 with 85%+ of my 1rm.

One concept I've adopted that I really like is called autoregulation using RPE - Rate of Perceived Exertion. It's basically a rating scale from 4 to 10 of how hard a particular set was. An RPE 10 was an all out effort - you could not have done any more weight or reps. A 1 rep max. An RPE 8 means you think you could have done 2 more reps at that weight. An RPE 6 means you think you could have done 4 more reps at that weight. Anything less than an RPE 4 is considered a warm-up - not enough stimulus to generate adaptation or systemic fatigue. The purpose of RPE is to keep you from going too hard too fast. Most powerlifters stick between an RPE of 6 to 9. As you get stronger, the same weight gets easier so you have to increase the weight or reps to maintain RPE. It keeps you in the right range of stress for the progress you are making. Compared to just adding 5lbs every week, it prevents you from overshooting your capability. You can't just add 5lbs forever, eventually it gets too heavy and you either stop progressing or get hurt.

 

[AuH2O]

If you're not a newbie, it's tough to gain muscle while cutting fat. Your diet has to be super dialed in, and your workouts have to strike a very narrow balance of strenuous enough without generating too much fatigue. That's why most people do gain/cut cycles. It is possible to maintain muscle and gain strength while cutting weight, which still is a net gain in body composition.

It's pretty much all been covered already - good sleep, eat enough protein and manage the calorie deficit with carbs and fats, resistance training, low intensity steady state cardio (LISS).

If you want to grow muscle, you just need a couple sets taken to within a couple reps of failure. If you get to 30 and still have more in the tank, use more weight so you dont spend hours in the gym. If you can't get 8 or more, use less weight. For muscle growth your goal is to generate as much tension for as long as possible. The weight doesn't matter. Get a good full stretch in the eccentric/down motion, and a controlled and complete concentric/up motion.

Thanks, this is helpful and pretty much where I’m at. I’ve been lifting more or less for 30 years, but have been more consistent and focused on diet the last couple of years.

I am slowly building muscle and am probably at a good fat percent. To some extent I’d like to see if I can get a bit leaner but also get routines in place that will keep me in shape as I get close to 50.

Thanks for the tips!

 

[throwittoblythe]

I know you and @FriendlySpartan already had some back and forth, so I'll just say my peace. Deadlifts are not an inherently dangerous lift. Bench press and squats are much more dangerous because you are underneath the bar.

People get hurt in any lift when their form breaks down under near maximal loads. If you have repeatedly injured yourself, there's probably some inconsistency that rears it's head as you get fatigued. There are several ways you can address that.

1. Figure out the specific issue and modify your training to address that issue. Deadlifts are a lot more technical than people realize. If you're just horking the bar off the ground, you're not going to realize your potential. Finding those technical deficiencies and addressing them will allow you to lift more weight safely.

2. Reduce the weights or the reps per set and really focus on your form. Deadlifts are notorious for the first rep being different than the rest. Usually the second rep is the "best" as lowering the weight the first time puts you in the most natural position for your body. Consider letting go of the bar and standing up between each rep to get more practice in your setup. Really consider recording your lifts - it's helped me a TON. You may need to switch from conventional to sumo (or vice versa), or try different back and leg angles to find what works best for you.

3. Take a bit longer rest between each set. That will let you recover a bit more so there is less form breakdown over the course of the workout. For powerlifting/strength gains, it's usually recommended to take 3-5 minutes between each set. Your goal isn't to fatigue the muscles, it's tough teach them how to produce maximal force. They need to be recovered from the previous set to do that.

I'm a 44 year old powerlifter myself, and last fall I hit an all time PR deadlift. Been lifting on and off since high school, and last fall was as strong as I've ever been. Had a bunch of work travel, sickness, and dinged up my shoulder from passing out while vomiting during said sickness the last few weeks so in a bit of a rebuild at the moment.

Even while you're injured you can usually find something productive to do. Right now I'm doing sets of 16-20 on squats, bench and RDLs with very light weights while I wait for my shoulder to get better. Prior to that I was doing sets of 1-3 with 85%+ of my 1rm.

One concept I've adopted that I really like is called autoregulation using RPE - Rate of Perceived Exertion. It's basically a rating scale from 4 to 10 of how hard a particular set was. An RPE 10 was an all out effort - you could not have done any more weight or reps. A 1 rep max. An RPE 8 means you think you could have done 2 more reps at that weight. An RPE 6 means you think you could have done 4 more reps at that weight. Anything less than an RPE 4 is considered a warm-up - not enough stimulus to generate adaptation or systemic fatigue. The purpose of RPE is to keep you from going too hard too fast. Most powerlifters stick between an RPE of 6 to 9. As you get stronger, the same weight gets easier so you have to increase the weight or reps to maintain RPE. It keeps you in the right range of stress for the progress you are making. Compared to just adding 5lbs every week, it prevents you from overshooting your capability. You can't just add 5lbs forever, eventually it gets too heavy and you either stop progressing or get hurt.

Thanks! My issue, I think, has been, lack of flexibility, poor form and going up too fast in weight.

I don’t start lifting until after age 35. So, my body didn’t get the chance to build up muscle in my prime years of youth. I’m sure a lot of people have a base level of strength they developed when they were young that keeps them from getting hurt even if their form isn’t great.

The first two times I hurt my back it was a pulled muscle. PT Both times stressed flexibility. I have a very tight hip flexor on one side.

The most recent time was more of a form issue. I wasn’t bracing my core properly. Plus, I did one too many sets. The day I got hurt, I had worked myself up to my normal 5-rep weight. I felt really good so decided to add 10 lbs and go for 3 more reps. That also felt very good. The dumb part was that I took 50 lbs off the bar to do some cool down sets. My oblique gave out on the first cool-down rep.

This time PT is really focused on training me to know when my core is braced, plus some lateral stability stuff.

Going forward, I’m only going to do trap bar DL. Plus, I’m no longer shooting for a goal for a max. I just want to be able to do the lift without pain and be in that 6 RPE range. This last injury set me back two months and I don’t want that to happen again.

 

[BigTurk]

Biggest issue for me is all of the competing viewpoints that are out there among the health and fitness "experts".

For every one that says "eat more of this" or "do more of this" there's another saying the exact opposite... "eating more of that" or "doing more of that" will do more harm than good. For every one that says it's as simple as "calories in vs. calories out" there's another saying "it's not as simple as calories in vs. calories out."

For 52 I'm not in horrible shape but could absolutely stand to lose 10-15 pounds. Would love to find a good source of solid, reliable, proven guidance on diet and fitness for someone my age.

Right there with you. Considering going to a men's health clinic and getting the t shots, but I know there are potential risks (biggest is increased prostrate cancer and that already scares the hell out of me) and I don't know if I want to deal with that. I spoke with my doc about losing weight and he just kinda shrugged and said I was fine.

 

[BigTurk]

For me, walking is the best form of exercise. Less injury risk, gets me outside more, low stress. If I'm watching a game, I'll try to walk in place during the commercial breaks. I tend to get even more steps during Iowa State games because I'm pacing around the room.

I do the same thing! Sometimes I set the tv up in the garage, and will walk around the driveway during the game. I can listen and get in steps between plays. Over the course of a 3+ hour game one can get a lot of steps in. I will also take the time during a game to stretch. I figured there is no sense just sitting there, so I will do a lot of stretching through the course of a game.