All of ephion's Comments + Replies

ephion00

Which jurisdictions? It is legal in the US as Bronkaid. You have to sign for it at a pharmacy, but I have never been turned down for it.

ephion20

Ne Obliviscaris's new song is absurdly good. Actually all of their music is amazing.

0spxtr
This is good.
ephion30

This is an awesome trick, and I'm going to incorporate it. Thanks!

ephion220

Go to lesswrong.com. See how the 'Main' link is bolded? Click on Discussion. Now Discussion is bolded, and we're in the Discussion section. Ah, so that means I must have just left Main. Let's go back by clicking on Main. Wait, why am I in a different discussion section now? I thought Main was what I saw when I went to the url!

I can't be the only person that is confused by that UI choice. I wasn't aware that 'Main' even had articles for months because of that.

Another UI issue: In Discussion, clicking the big LessWrong logo takes me to... Discussion. In Main... (read more)

0Vulture
Amen! It's always irritating when I absent-mindedly click on the "Main" button and have to waste time finding my way out.
ephion90

I'd like to see more "calm discussion" of status differentials in relationships, because a general solution here would address nearly all concerns about polyamory.

What concerns do you have, exactly? I've found that the increased fluidity and flexibility inherent to polyamory (vs monogamy, it can't touch singlehood there) are great for reducing the impact and duration for potentially abusive or unhealthy situations, as a) people often have other partners who can help mediate conflicts or alert red flags, b) to isolate a person, the abuser has t... (read more)

ephion120

In my experience with the LW community, they see polyamory as an equally valid alternative to monogamy. Many practice, many don't, and poly people include those with children and those without.

Affirm. It touches on cognitive skills only insofar as mild levels of "resist conformity" and "notice what your emotions actually are" are required for naturally-poly people to notice this and act on it (or for naturally-mono or okay-with-either people to figure out what they are if it ever gets called into question), and mild levels of "calm discussion" are necessary to talk about it openly without people getting indignant at you. Poly and potential poly people have a standard common interest in some rationality skills, but... (read more)

5Dentin
There's a lot of biases and cultural norms to overcome in making the transition from mono- to poly-amory. While I've remained monogomas myself, it's purely for time and efficiency reasons, and if I didn't have Stuff To Do, I'd probably go that direction as well.
ephion40

Huh -- I've found that pomodoros help me stay on task tremendously. I generally keep a timer tab open, and my brain seems to think "Oh, I can avoid facebook for another five minutes... let's keep working!"

ephion20

Interesting! I have no experience with techno, but my genre of specialty (metal) is also subject to the loudness war. Generally I've found that clipping effects (the free gclip vst is great for this) is good for reducing the imperceptible attack on drums, and some side chain compression to duck the bass when the kick hits are most of what's necessary to be able to apply heavy compression and volume increasing without sacrificing too much quality.

ephion50

I really appreciate the words of caution. I don't plan on priming the doctor about what I think I have (consciously), and instead just describe my family history and symptoms. Knowing about the medical student's disease and difficulty of self-diagnosis leads me to weight the opinion of an expert higher than my own opinion.

ephion140

Man! Last month I posted that I had learned some HTML/CSS/JS and made a really basic website. This month, I learned that I made an A in my CS101 class, am currently making an A in my CS102 class, and picked up a part time internship doing web/mobile (phonegap) development for a startup in my town. I've also started designing a website I want to make, and have built a dev VM with Ruby on Rails built in and configured.

I've got all my financial stuff together to start going back to school full time in the spring, and I'll graduate with my BS Computer Science... (read more)

3eggman
Uh, I've trawled through Wikipedia for the causes, and symptoms, of mental illnesses, and, according to my doctors (general practitioner, and psychiatrist), I've been good at identifying what I'm experiencing before I've gone to see them about it. The default case is that patients just go to the doctor, report their symptoms, answer questions about their lifestyle lately, and the doctors take care of diagnoses, and/or assigning treatment. I choose to believe that I have such clarity about my own mental processes because my doctors tell me how impressed they are when I come to them seeming to already know what I'm experiencing. I don't know why this is, but my lazy hypothesis is chalking it up to me being smart (people I know tell me this more than I would expect), and that I've become more self-reflective after having attended a CFAR workshop. Of course, both my doctors, and I, could be prone to confirmation bias, which would be a scary result. Anyway, I've had a similar experience of observing my own behavior, realizing it's abnormal, and being proactive about seeking medical attention. Still, for everyone, diagnosing yourself by trawling Wikipedia, or WebMD, seems a classic example of an exercise prone to confirmation bias (e.g., experiencing something like medical student's disease). This post is a signal that I've qualified my concerns through past experience, and that I encourage you to both seek out a psychiatrist, as I don't expect that to result in a false negative diagnosis, and also to still be careful as you think about this stuff.
ephion30

Nice. Mastering can be a nightmare, and getting the loudness up without ruining quality is one of the hardest parts of releasing pro sounding music.

2David_Gerard
Apparently turning techno into an ear-bashing brick wall with that particular distortion (I'm not quite sure what it is ... it's flattening the amplitude of the whole, so that'd be an AM spectrum of a few Hz around everything) that sounds tolerable on headphones and in clubs but shitty on speakers at normal volume doesn't constitute "ruining quality". [themoreyouknow.gif] But yes, it's the One Weird Trick that made a bunch of stuff sound much more like I actually wanted it to. It's a bit better applied per-instrument (especially bass, or percussion as a group) than to the whole - then it's just another effect.
ephion20

Odd complementary anecdote: I just started the ketogenic diet again and am noticing that my motivation and cognition are getting better, despite being in a depressed state.

ephion110

I did a ketogenic diet for about 6 months. After deciding to eat carbs again, everything was really sweet tasting, even potatoes and bread. Desserts were just unbearably sweet. I'm on day 2 of starting a ketogenic diet, and my body is definitely craving carbs... but that will soon stop, and I'll be free.

ephion20

Awesome. I keep seeing awesome reports on the GZCL method... I might have to make that my plan when my back is better.

ephion00

Thank you! I really appreciate that. I'll definitely keep that in mind.

ephion40

Fuck, that's awesome. I've been stuck with a max of 360 for about a year now, after two years of lifting. What is your lifting program?

3Suryc11
Thanks! I compete in powerlifting, so the programs I've done--since starting to lift seriously/intentionally--are focused around that, especially recently. A quick summary (let me know if you have questions or want more details!): * My own linear progression program that employed a split and emphasized heavy compounds * Smolov (2 cycles) * Sheiko/Cube Kingpin (both were only done for a few weeks) * GZCL Method (current) Of all of those, I saw the most squat gains by far from Smolov. The hype is well-deserved. Just started GZCL and I can tell that it's approximately as good, just more sustainable, i.e., not a competition peaking program. Some advice that you probably already know, but just in case: record your squat to know exactly what your form looks like to pinpoint weaknesses/sticking points and to make sure you're hitting depth, weightlifting shoes do help, logging/journaling your workouts is huge (probably one of the most obviously "rational" things to do in weightlifting), and of course, get enough food and sleep.
ephion00

Thanks! I really appreciate it. I'll keep that in mind when I run into more difficult projects.

ephion250

I learned enough HTML/CSS/JS to make a basic website and a few interactive apps, and also found a ton of cool resources on learning more CS stuff.

9[anonymous]
Similarly to lincolnquirk, I'd be willing to answer any questions of yours, and to test any programs you create. HTML and javascript is a relatively forgiving way to get into programming and it's generally what I recommend to people who want to learn CS.
7lincolnquirk
Congratulations! I'm generally willing to answer questions from people who are self-teaching CS - I'm sure you have plenty of people in your world who are similarly willing. But just in case, feel free to contact me.
ephion20

I've started spending a significant amount of time per day studying various CS topics: HTML, CSS, JS, discrete math, Java, etc.. and building a portfolio of "to do" projects when I have the basic skills. I am choosing to do this over the much more fun and interesting playing and recording music.

0Raythen
Yeah. I have considered that. There's overlap between empathy and therapy/psychiatry, but also important differences. Though working with some kind of therapy might suit my personality, and the way I want to work.
ephion00

Fair point! I think 1080 is fine for me and the extra screen space would be more useful than finer resolution, but I can definitely see how resolution could be more important for other applications.

[This comment is no longer endorsed by its author]Reply
1gjm
What extra screen space? I fear you may have been taken in by the monitor marketers' cunning ruse of measuring size in (linear) inches. A 39" monitor with 16:9 aspect ratio is 34" x 19" and has an area of 650 square inches. A 22" monitor with 18:9 aspect ratio is 19" x 11" and has an area of 207 square inches. So one of the former has considerably more screen space than two of the latter.
ephion110

Don't get married unless there is a compelling reason to do so. There's a base rate of 40-50% for divorce, and at least some proportion of existing marriages are unhealthy and unhappy. Divorce is one of the worst things that can happen to you, and many of the benefits of marriage to happiness are because happier people are more likely to get married in the first place.

ephion00

Why would I want that when I can get two of these, have 43" of real estate, and $240 left over?

[This comment is no longer endorsed by its author]Reply
1gjm
Because it has twice as many pixels as two of those. (Is that enough reason? Maybe not. But that's the main reason you'd want it, if you did.)
ephion80

Music is one of the primary joys and pleasures in my life. It is not optional for me.

raisin100

Yeah. I may not feel as strongly as you about this, but I still feel music is something intrinsically valuable to me. At least something about is is, and I haven't yet found a better substitute for it. If I stop listening to music entirely, I feel like the world is a bit more devoid of value to me. It might make sense to talk about this for those who don't feel strongly about the matter, but for me personally this starts to drift into the Straw Vulcan territory.

ephion00

This list is highly subjective. I can't stand tennis, frisbee, or dance, and I really love lifting and yoga.

ephion20

Look into plate loaded dumbbell sets. I've got a pair of 14" screw lock handles that can accommodate up to 125lbs each (using 25lb plates), and it took me a long time to grow out of them.

0[anonymous]
I think I'll do just that. Thanks again!
ephion10

Those are called dumbbell rows, and they're a great exercise. 10lbs is awfully light for that motion, but it is better than nothing.

0[anonymous]
Hopefully I can upgrade soon. I've had those dumbbells since probably ninth grade! Anyway, thanks for all the info and the link. I've already worked out a list of exercises by body part. Time to put it to work!
ephion00

Without knowing your environment, it's hard to say how I'd improvise pulls. You can set your feet up on a chair and do inverted rows against a table. A chinup bar is a great investment for this, as the chinup is one of the best upper body exercises available.

0[anonymous]
Actually, I have a pair of ten pound weights in my room I use during my evening routines. I know there is a name for this type of weight lift, but what about letting the weight hang and lifting it towards my chest? Making the pulling effort come from lifting it against gravity rather than lifting myself. Sure, it won't be much of a work out, but I can at least keep the muscles engaged and work them.
ephion30

I'm noticing that your evening routine has three abdominal exercises and zero back exercises -- you might want to consider adding back bridges or supermans to balance your core. I would recommend skipping crunches and situps -- they're bad for your back/posture and they're ineffective at developing abdominal strength or endurance. Instead, I'd recommend planks, since they strengthen the abdominal muscles while emphasizing good posture. The hanging leg raise is also a great ab exercise, since it works the whole abdominal chain without loading the back.

Your ... (read more)

0[anonymous]
I see. My thought at the time was “Push up for arms, sit ups/crunches for back, leg lifts for abdomen/legs, lunges/squats for the legs themselves.” However, I have been worrying about the pressure on my back, so I’ll definitely consider replacing the sit ups/crunch. I would like to exercise more pulling muscles to balance things out, but my central problem is a lack of sturdy places to exercise from. I’ve nothing that can support my weight while also being the proper height to pull against. Any suggestions of household ways of getting in more pulling exercises? I’ve considered buying a chin up bar (I would also like to do more hanging stretches to keep my back fit) but lacking that, any other options? Hmm, got ya. I’ll give planks a try at home and see if I can find a way to implement them at work. If I miss my core at work, it’s not as big a loss as missing it in my actual work out. Edited: Right after typing my response, I went outside to do my five minute stretches and realized that my work is surrounded by sturdy poles cemented in the parking lot. At the very least, I can work my pulling muscles a little at work on my breaks by doing short sets of pulls against these.
ephion40

A circuit refers to doing many exercises at the same time -- instead of doing a set of squats, resting for a minute, then doing another set of squats, you'd do a set of squats, a set of pushups, a set of rows, rest for a bit, and then go back through doing squats, etc...

It's unnecessary to rest that long unless you are doing a brutally intense bodybuilding style workout, and you're taking the drugs necessary to see results from it. Full body routines done frequently are best for strength.

If you max out the difficulty on the variations (should take you a wh... (read more)

0Emile
Okay, thanks for the details!
ephion20

I'd recommend squats, pushups, and rows. To save time, you'd want to do them in a circuit. The links provided give a progression guideline. I'd say start off with 3 sets of 4, and when that feels comfortable, add a rep to each set, progressing to the next exercise when you can do 3x8. Pushups, rows, and squats all work different muscle groups, so they won't interfere with each other, so you don't need a rest period.

Finish off with 4 minutes doing Tabata intervals on your rowing machine. This entire routine should take you less than the 15 minute requested... (read more)

0Emile
I'd been using some android apps to determine how many sets of how many pushups/squats/situps I should do. My current set of reps for pushups is 24/26/28/29/27/29/27/29/27/29/28/25, totallying 328 (takes too much time :P) - so 3 sets of 8 sounds a bit weak-sauce (at least for standard pushups). I'm not sure what you mean by "a circuit" (I'm kinda new to this fitness thing); do you mean doing squats than pushups then rows on the same session? I had the impression that it was better to say train one's arms one day and let the arms rest another day (where I'd train a different part). Or is that what you meant? Those links you gave are pretty good suggestions for variations on pushups, and pullups I can do with just a table or something, thanks! Instead of doing many long sets, I'll probably start switching to fewer sets of more difficult exercise, improving my morning routine :)
ephion120

Reposting from last open thread as I didn't get any inquiries:

I've seen a lot of discontent on LW about exercise. I know enough about physical training to provide very basic coaching and instruction to get people started, and I can optimize a plan for a variety of parameters (including effectiveness, duration of workout, frequency of workout, cost of equipment, space of equipment, gym availability, etc.). If anyone is interested in some free one-on-one help, post a request for your situation, budget, and needs and I'll write up some basic recommendations.

I... (read more)

1[anonymous]
I have a nightly home exercise I'm pretty content with, consisting of push ups, crunches, sit ups, leg lifts, lunges, and squats. When I'm at work, though, I have a short "break" routine. Every thirty minutes that I'm seated at the desk, I get up, go outside so that I'm in the sun, and do a series of full body stretches. Neck, shoulders, arms, wrists, hands, chest/back, spine, obliques, stomach, hips, thighs, knees, legs, ankles (listing those off, I just realized I need to start stretching my feet as well). Then, I do a set of ten squats and return to my desk where I do ten push ups using my chair's armrests, raising myself off the seat with my feet on the floor. In all, it takes about five minutes. The only thing I can't really work on at the office is my core. Legs and arms I can get but nothing for core muscles. Any suggestions for something simple I can do around the office to keep my core as energized as the rest of me? Besides getting down on the dirty floor for a set of crunches.
0Emile
I'm interested - I'm not very happy with my current workout routine, it takes too much time. I would like to exercise at home every morning less than 15 minutes; I don't have any equipment beyond a rowing machine. I mostly exercise for thealth and energy benefits, but wouldn't mind gaining a bit of strength and muscle mass in my normal state I'm a skinny bag of bones).
ephion00

If she wants to get bigger, then I'd get her started with Greyskull LP. It's a fairly basic beginner weight lifting program that, when combined with a caloric surplus, will get good results for size and strength. There isn't much work involved (just three sets on 2-3 exercises; doing more is counterproductive for beginners) so it won't use as much energy as a cardio or circuit intensive routine.

A couple of protein shakes with milk/almond milk are enough to get a caloric surplus going. You only need 250-500 extra calories to make good gains, and you can easily get that with a shake or two.

ephion60

I've seen a lot of discontent on LW about exercise. I know enough about physical training to provide very basic coaching and instruction to get people started, and I can optimize a plan for a variety of parameters (including effectiveness, duration of workout, frequency of workout, cost of equipment, space of equipment, gym availability, etc.). If anyone is interested in some free one-on-one help, post a request for your situation, budget, and needs and I'll write up some basic recommendations.

I don't have much in the ways of credentials, except that I've... (read more)

ephion00

I've had similar objections in the past. What helped me overcome that was to think about it like I was "going undercover" and "behind enemy lines" to steal their secrets and techniques to use against them. I was going to get strong, yes -- but I was going to do awesome stuff with my strength, not lame stuff.

As Nornagest put, I totally had the geek mentality of "Physicality is for jocks/oppressors!!" Eventually I realized that they were winning on a lot of important levels, and I was avoiding successful methodologies because th... (read more)

ephion10

Adjustable dumbbells are a possible solution. Especially plate loaded handles. I purchased this dumbbell set and expanded it with additional 1.25lb, 10lb, and 25lb plates. I can now load up to 125lbs on a dumbbell, with the limiting factor being the length of the handle. I'm looking to acquire some 20" handles which should last me for years.

The popular novice programs have optimized the details for progress and effectiveness. The general principles of compound movements, consistency, progressive overload, and gradual changes can be applied to any amou... (read more)

ephion10

They are incredibly damaging to the environment and health of consumers.

0Dentin
So are cars, yet few people would give them up because they yield substantial net utility. Please give three alternatives which are better.
ephion00

Huh. I'd describe myself as optimistic, empathetic, and handling stress well, but I am terrible at understanding speech in noisy environment.s

ephion00

What's your lifting program?

ephion10

Storage isn't the real problem. You need, for example, a floor which will survive 300+ lbs of steel dropped onto it from more than six feet.

Unless you're doing olympic weightlifting (at which point you'd be using rubber bumper plates), you'll need to drop weights from hip height at most. Any weight you can overhead press, you can safely lower slowly to the ground. A 300lb deadlift will have two 150lb contacts with the floor -- if your floor isn't built to withstand 150lbs of force (an average person jumping), then it's not fit to live on.

Lifting weig

... (read more)
2Lumifer
In theory. In practice (especially with beginners) you lose your balance or you get a sudden pain or something else happens -- and you would just throw the barbell on the floor. Force isn't measured in pounds. What matters is momentum and contact surface. Drop your 300 lbs barbell even from hip height onto a wooden floor and it will leave dents. Maybe we have a different idea of what "fundamental" means :-) I am not arguing that weightlifting doesn't develop muscles or that muscle strength isn't useful. I just don't see why, say, climbing a tree is less "fundamental" than taking, essentially, a very heavy stick and raising it over your head.
ephion20

I haven't. I use calipers and visual estimation compared to DEXA confirmed images. Calipers, if taken at face value, report me to be at 8-10% BF which is definitely too low. Visually, I currently look like pictures of guys in the 13-15% range, so I add 5% to the calculated result. Even at 16% BF (the highest estimate I can get), I'd be around 7% BF with a BMI of 24.8. That's underfat yet very close to overweight.

0brazil84
Would you mind posting a self-pic?
0RomeoStevens
ah, you sound more than just vaguely muscular then ;)
ephion20

You don't need a bench. Overhead pressing (and push pressing for intermediate trainees) is sufficient to develop pushing power, and is a better movement for balanced shoulder strength and posture. If you really want to develop the chest muscles, then you can do floor press for most of the same benefits without purchasing a bench.

ephion20

The best metrics are body fat percentage or fat-free mass index.

For what it's worth, even vaguely muscular people are going to blow apart the BMI scale. I'm 5'10" and 190lbs at around 13% body fat. My normal weight range according to BMI is 130-173lbs. If I got down to that without losing any muscle mass, I'd be 5% body fat, which is severely underweight. I was completely sedentary before weight training, and I've only been training powerlifting for 1.5 years with moderate results (ie, I'm not quite as strong as most high school football players).

0waveman
Do you have a comparison study which included hip/waist as well as body fat percentage? I have some doubt that your claim is true because the distribution of the fat seems to be very important eg fat around the hips is far less damaging than fat around the abdomen.
0brazil84
For what it may be worth, I am "vaguely muscular" and my BMI of 23.6 seems about right in terms of assessing my level of overweight.. I do agree that muscularity can foul up the BMI scale but I think it take more than just modest muscularity to do so.
3RomeoStevens
I disagree, it's fairly hard for people to get much above BMI of 28 while lean. You are likely underestimating your BF, have you done a bod pod or other immersion test?
ephion110

A quick google search indicates that salmon farming has become much better in recent years, and might surpass wild salmon soon. Most of the information on fatty acid profiles that I can find is from 2008, before these advances. The chart on this page indicates that farmed salmon has much more fat with a smaller proportion of omega-3. The total n-3 is close (1.8g farmed vs 1.7g wild), but if most of the extra fat is n-6, then you're not doing much for fixing the 3:6 ratio.

ephion50

The main benefits of fish are high protein content and most of the fats are essential omega-3 fatty acids, including the protective EPA and DHA which are mostly unavailable in plant form. The omega-3 fatty acid ALA, which is available in many plans, only gets converted at a rate of 2-10%. If you wanted to get 2g/day of EPA+DHA, you'd need to consume 20-100g of ALA, or 37-186g of flaxseed oil.

2[anonymous]
What about algae oil? I'm also looking at krill oil. My vegetarianism is approximately Peter-Singer-When-He-Still-Ate-Mussels (http://www.wesleyan.edu/wsa/warn/singer_fish.htm), and I'm pretty sure Krill are simple enough that there's no disutility in consuming them, but I'm having trouble finding anything definitive.
ephion140

I've downvoted your post due to use of a misleading graphic (EDIT: Downvote retracted after your reply). The graphic is comparing low fat milk, not whole milk, while whole milk has much more nutrition than low fat milk. Additionally, nutrient density can refer to both nutrients/calorie, nutrients/volume, and nutrients/price. All are important measures. Spinach wins on nutrients/calorie, but the other two, not so much.

Whole milk, for example, has 124IU of Vitamin D while the chart only lists 2.4 IU, which approximates the 1% fat figure from Google's nutrit... (read more)

1A1987dM
Why should I care what someone's semi-arbitrary idea of what a serving is is?
6Pablo
* I originally used whole milk in my graph, but later removed it because the data was for fortified milk. (Clearly, in assessing the nutrient density of a food, one should exclude whatever nutrients are added in supplement form by manufacturers.) I have now found data for unfortified whole milk, and have updated my original comment with a graph displaying nutrition data for that type of milk. * Whole milk does not contain significantly more vitamin D than low fat milk does. The figure you quote corresponds to fortified whole milk, which for the reasons mentioned in the preceding bullet point should not be used in this context. And even if we used both fortified whole milk and fortified low fat milk, it would also be false to say that former contains significantly more vitamin D than the latter does. * Nor is the nutrient content of whole milk higher than that of low fat milk; if anything, the opposite is the case. Here's an isocaloric (100 Cal.) comparison of the nutrient content of whole milk and low fat milk: * According to Wikipedia, "Most commonly, nutrient density is defined as a ratio of nutrient content to the total energy content." That source also provides other definitions, while noting that they are less commonly used. But none of those definitions include the two alternative definitions you provide yourself. Nor have I seen those definitions used in journals or respectable discussion groups, like the Calorie Restriction Society mailing list. I think it's unfair to claim that my graph is misleading--and downvote me accordingly--for relying on the most commonly accepted definition of that expression, instead of using definitions which are rarely if ever used by knowledgeable authorities. * Everything else you write might support your argument if price or volume were relevant metrics for assessing the nutritional density of foods. It doesn't support your argument under adequate definitions, and sometimes provides extra support for my own position
ephion160

You appear to possess some misconceptions about weight training.

they take space,

A stack of plates with the barbell stored vertically takes 0.2m^2 (~2sqft). Here's a picture of a 330lb set for demonstration; wine bottle and keyboard for scale. I have a lot more equipment than just the barbell, but that's because I do powerlifting and it's a hobby.

are no fun

This is a matter of perspective and preference. I find weight lifting to be extremely fun, especially the sport of powerlifting. Furthermore, it has no bearing on the fact that weight training ... (read more)

2Lumifer
Storage isn't the real problem. You need, for example, a floor which will survive 300+ lbs of steel dropped onto it from more than six feet. Lifting weights without a spotter or a rack is risky, especially for beginners. Weightlifters keep on saying that, but I see no sense in this. Why in the world, say, an overhead press is a "fundamental movement"? If asked about highly general fundamental movements, I'd probably say run, climb, swim.
0A1987dM
What about the bench?
5waveman
I would agree with this. I have found weightlifting ("Starting Strength" program is a good place to start) tremendously beneficial in real life applications. Eg helping my brother dig trenches at his house, lifting things into the car, my back problems have gone away, I am a lot more flexible and agile etc. Also my blood pressure is a lot better (117/77 this morning). Key points: 1. Full body compound exercises. Not "curlbro" isolation exercises. 2. Weights not machines (I tried machines and found that specific muscles got big but I did not gain real world strength). 3. Progressive increase in load. 4. Sufficient rest days. For health purposes 1-2 workouts a week is quite sufficient. It will not get you "toned for summer" in minimum time but you will get good benefits. 5. Good form - do the lifts properly. And allied to this, do not rush. Newbie gains are good for 6-8 months and then you will slow down no matter what you do. If you take your time you will avoid injury. Lifting weights is one of the safest forms of exercise statistically. 6. Sufficient nutrition - a nutrient rich diet with sufficient protein and other nutrients. Unfortunately most personal trainers have minimal training and often give bad advice. You need to do some research.
ephion30

Why avoid weights? They're the most efficient and effective way to do strength training. Bodyweight exercises are OK but they fairly quickly top out on any benefits, unless you get rings and other gymnastic equipment.

You can get a barbell and 300lbs of weights for under $300 used, with which you can do deadlifts, overhead press, and barbell rows. That's a complete, full body routine of scalable difficulty which will last you for quite some time and requires no other equipment.

4brazil84
For what it may be worth, I avoid weights because I want something I can do every day, any time, anywhere. Because I know that if I miss one day, there's a good chance I will fizzle out. So I do pushups, crunches, and pullups. I have a pullup bar at work which fits into the door frame and the same thing at home. But sometimes I do pullups on the subway or on one of the many scaffoldings in NYC. Using weights might very well be superior in some respects but for me the main thing is consistency.
5Gunnar_Zarncke
Because they take space, are no fun, cannot be combined with useful activity and often encourage too simple movement patterns. The only weights I'd consider are those to be worn on arms and thighs and can be continuously worn and are combined with all movements.
ephion50

Have you had a seared tuna steak? Cooked properly, it's one of the tastiest things I've ever eaten.

ephion40

For which respect? Tempeh is a great source of vegetarian protein and micronutrients, as fermentation removes all the nasty stuff from soy. Algae supplements have a good bit of the n-3 fatty acid DHA and EPA, but are extremely expensive with average prices being $60/mo for the recommended 2g EPA/DHA per day. Contrast this with $8/month for fish oil of the same power.

1gimpf
Very late update: In the meantime products have become available with an EPA/DHA ratio of ~ 3/2 (prev. it was always 1/2). Price for monthly dose remained the same.
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