the road (back) to badassedness

[anotheranon]

Ok, so I did rapier last night. I am amazed and frustrated at how much strength I've lost in only [looks at calendar] 12 days - my point control was shot to hell and my back grumped at me in a manner not becoming to a swordswoman! It is time to get back into the swing of things, but good:

Did upper body workout tonight, with only one plate less on my dumbells than I used 2 weeks ago. I also did ~ 20 crunches and a similar # of reverse crunches, plus leg lifts for obliques - hopefully enough to wake the muscles back up but not pop an ovary :P So far feeling ok.

Part of this is vanity - I have decided to do the rapier demo at the end of October and by doG, I want to have good form out there!

Comments

[nminusone.livejournal.com]

I don't know about the other stuff in curry, but fenugreek is definitely interesting in a few ways. It has a bunch of fiber, which can help with blood sugar control. It also has something else (possibly 4-hydroxy-isoleucine) that can increase glycogen synthesis. This might be due to an increase in insulin synthesis in response to food, which could very well be anabolic. The one study I'm thinking of had athletes do some medium intensity exercise, then gave them a high carb drink, either with or without fenugreek. The 'with' group had significant and substantially larger increases in glycogen levels, in the muscles worked, compared to the 'without' group. For people working out to gain muscle this might translate to an anabolic effect, but it's hard to know for sure. It will definitely help energize your next workout though. I typically exercise twice a day, albeit very briefly each time. After the first time I eat plenty. The 2nd workout, ~4 hours later, is invariably much better than the 1st. If I don't eat enough, then this doesn't happen. I do eat plenty even before the first workout, but that doesn't help nearly as much as eating immediately post-workout, and up to 2-4 hours after. (This is w/o fenugreek, I don't take it at work.)

Many strength athletes just pour in the food post-workout, and that works. It may be that fenugreek would allow similar results with fewer calories. For now that's pure speculation though.