On Tue, 04 Nov 2003 02:35:06 +0000, usual suspect wrote:

> I guess my main point to Ben is that a healthy diet combined with
> healthy exercise will produce a healthy person. Bulking up is simply
> about aesthetics, not about improving health (aside from the fact that
> increasing lean body mass speeds up base metabolism -- which occurs
> during resistance training anyway). In essence, bulking is a matter of
> overeating during training. Overeating isn't really healthy unless one
> has a medical reason for doing so. Bodybuilding just isn't a medical reason.

You've got some good points, and have made me question my goals (which is
always a good thing!). I guess I'm looking at it like this: I've always
been relatively bulky, regardless of diet, exercise etc. Not obese (except
for a couple of years in uni ) but thick-chested etc. So I figured that
I may as well go with my general body base and turn it into something that
looks a little better.

BUT, that being said, what I'm after from weightlifting and is basically
strength and fitness, not looks. Looking better is a bonus. I already ride
to work a few times a week, but I don't enjoy that all that much - it's
more a form of transport that has the bonus of being healthy. I actually
enjoy weights though, so I figured that would be a good place to focus my
energy.

> And you raise an important issue with respect to
time: healthy habits
> should occur for life. Those habits will lead to a healthy body and
> healthy life. Concentrating on fast gains by overconsuming a diet
> lacking in variety is an unwise and potentially unhealthy endeavor --
> particularly when one food (soy) the OP is considering overeating has
> effects like softening, lowering testosterone, and generally feminizing
> his body, which ultimately may be incongruent with his bulky goals. Some
> soy is okay -- even beneficial -- but too much of anything is bad.

This is all stuff I hadn't considered - thanks again.


Ben

- coming of age during the plague of Regan and Bush
watching capitalism gun down democracy
it had a funny effect on me, I guess

Ani DiFranco