Aodhan

The pectorals work to bring the upper arm towards the center of the body (Think a "hugging" type motion). The best exercises for this are dumbbell flys. If you do them on a flat bench, you will work the central and overall pec. Do them on a decline bench, you'll work the lower portion. Do them on an incline bench, you'll work the upper part. The "inner" pec (The portion right near the center of your chest) is best worked with cables, as you can keep the tension on the muscle all the way through the motion. You can do this with a barbell to some extent when you "squeeze" the pecs at the top of the press. The curve, or "outer" pec, is best worked at the outer portion of the fly, or wide grip bench presses where you let your elbows get past your midline before you press. Dips will work, but you really need to lean forward, otherwise it's mostly a tricep exercise. Same with incline presses, the more you get past 30 degrees or so, the more you work your deltoids and triceps rather than the pecs. Also realize that your pec shape is deteremined by genetics, you may not develop a huge outer curve like you see on bodybuilders. Aodhan

Ok, I stopped by. Seriously, Sohan already covered it. You can take it, but most likely you'll just be excreting it or storing it, instead of using it. Aodhan

Not sure what you mean by "correct your posture", but if you are trying to stretch out really stiff muscles that aren't very warmed up you can easily tear fibers. What kind of pillow do you sleep on? Do you move much at night? If you tend not to move for long periods of time, you could wake up with some really tight muscles that take a long time to loosen up. Aodhan

I have about 15%, and can see the general shape/six pack, although it is not very defined at the moment. Your body will burn freely available glucose first, then as it goes through the readily available energy it will turn to converting and using stored energy. For most people, it takes about 10-15 minutes to go through free circulating glucose and start turning to storage, although this may vary depending on your fitness level and other genetic factors. Aodhan

There is a TON of technique to learning aero kicks. I would suggest getting some of the DVD's from Century (Rock solid kicks), or finding someone around in your area that knows how to do them and learn from them. One suggestion - Find a local gymnastics club that has open hours. You can practice on the tramps and the spring floor until you get the technique down, then move it to a regular floor. Aodhan

Pretty much what people have said. Any of the exercises that you want to do for biceps/triceps will work, the key is to use a middle to light weight and do high rep type sets. Just make sure that you don't pick too light a weight, otherwise you could stand there all day whipping your arm back and forth, and not really get any benefit from it. Aodhan

We are coming around the 20-25 year mark for creatine being used as a supplement, there are studies that have been going but I don't know the results yet. All the problems I've heard of have been due to overuse. Aodhan

Creatine has nothing to do with protein. Creatine exists in the muscles and helps the energy source for muscle contractions renew itself. It basically allows you to work out longer at a higher level. Aodhan

The triceps work to straighten the arm at the elbow. The chest muscles work to bring the upper arm closer to the midline of the body (Think hugging motion). They work in combination in a pushup. If you widen your hands, you are minimizing the effect on the chest, as the upper arm goes through a more limited range of motion. The best you can hope for is an equal stress on triceps and chest. To get the best chest workout, do dumbbell flies to isolate the pecs. If you can only do pushups, try to get your chest below your hands, this will engage the pecs more. This is why bench press works for pecs, is because the bar and the bench allow the weight and your arms to move past your chest, and results in a greater arc for the upper arm. Aodhan

Id say medium pace..if you do em too fast you lose the tension the exercise places on your muscles...and of course you lose the effect of the exercise. No you don't. If you do them fast, you work fast twitch muscle fibers. If you do them slow, you work slow twitch muscle fibers. Aodhan

Diet is a four letter word for a reason. Any "diet" designed to cut weight will do so for the short term. There are very few diet books (South beach, adkins, grapefruit, etc) that can be used long term. Healthy eating works for everything. I personally do about 65% calories from carbs (Whole grain/brown rice type, not processed), 20% protein, 15% fat. Find out what works for you. Almost anything will work for short term. The best thing to do is figure out how many calories you need for baseline + daily activity, and eat healthy foods to get that amount. To gain weight, eat an extra tuna sandwich or something every day. To lose weight, eat a bit less each day. 1-4 lbs a month is a safe, sustainable/permanent weight loss rate. To lose one pound, you need to burn ~3500 more calories than you take in. Over a week, that's 500 calories a day. Everyone wants an "instant" weight loss solution. There are some, but most of that is water weight, very little fat. If you lose 3 lbs a month, in a year you'll lose 36 lbs. In the beginning you may take off more, but it will all even out. The first lbs are easy, the last lbs are hard As far as "getting in shape to do TKD" or whatever art you choose, do it the other way around. Do X martial art to get in shape. I've found that people who say "Well, I'm going to do X, but I have to do Y first" don't really want to do Y, so they use not doing X as an excuse. Sit down and say "Here's my goal - Lose x lbs." Then mark it out. If you want to lose 20 lbs, shoot for 3 lbs a month. It's all about goal setting. Have your large goal, and lots of little mini goals that will help you get to the main goal. Also, it's very hard to completely change your eating plan overnight. Take a few weeks to do it. Start one week, and say "I'm going to eat 5 or 6 smaller meals rather than 2 large ones". Even if it's still the junk food stuff, it's a different eating pattern. Then the next week, say "Ok, I'm adding a serving of veggies to my dinner, and cutting out the sauce on the chicken", then add fruit, then change breakfast, etc. In about a month, you'll have a decent start on a healthy eating plan (I don't like the word diet, even for a good one). Aodhan

Nah, don't worry about it. Everyone has binge days. The trick is not to keep having them over and over I have two days a month that I randomly circle on the calander, and my normal eating routine goes out the window. If you never eat the "bad" stuff, then every once in a while you break down and scarf chips/crisps like mad. Aodhan

Really? I've never badmouthed another art. I've badmouthed some of the practicioners of particular arts for their attitudes, but I've never badmouthed an art itself. Aodhan

No real part in specifics, although my legs are rather nice from being a competitive cyclist. If I had to pick, it would be the calves. However, the whole body is such a work of art, it's hard to choose one bodypart. Aodhan

One day of junk food will NOT ruin a six pack. One MONTH maybe... Aodhan

Not completely. As Sohan said, it starts with the hips. So, hips rotate (Obliques, abs, some hamstring from the leg push). As it moves up the body, the pectorals get involved (They are responsible for adducting the upper arm, or moving it forward/towards the body), and when you start straightening and extending the lower arm, that is where the triceps kick in. There are also a whole host of ancillary/secondary muscles that are responsible for stabiliziation, hand rotation, etc etc. Aodhan

If not used correctly, yes. ANYthing can cause problems in excess. If you take it according to recommended dosages, and stay well hydrated, there shouldn't be any problem with it whatsoever. Most of the sensational cases (Mike Matarazzo being one, although that wasn't strictly due to creatine) came about because of severe extremes. In Matarazzo's case, he became so dehydrated from competition prep that he went into body cramps and fibrillation. At the time it was partially attributed to creatine, although the extent of the "blame" was never deteremined. ANYTHING in excess can cause problems. Even water. Aodhan

Unless you are just doing a serious, serious weight training/bulkiing program, it won't add that much benefit over traditional protein powders, and may just end up making you fat. Don't be fooled when a food says "Fat free", etc. Your body can handle approximately 1000 calories at one time. Anything over that will either get excreted or turned into fat. Also, 5000 calories is little over double my DAILY caloric needs. If I added that to my regular diet, I'd be getting about 7600 calories, of which I would use 2600, and the rest would most likely be converted to fat for storage. Fat provides ~9 calories per gram, proteins and carbohydrates ~4 calories/gram. This is why the body prefers to store excess calories as fat, you get more energy per gram of storage. It's cheap enough, though, and probably no worse than any other protein powder. I just wouldn't follow the recommended usage (1 can of powder plus a gallon of milk per day?!?), or you'll most likely end up with some excess pudge. No matter the quality of them, excess calories are excess calories. They all end up in the same place. Aodhan

Thanks, Sohan. I knew it was either complete or very close to it for the kidneys. As far as why, some people feel that a vegetarian diet is better, others do it for philosophical reasons. The owner of my company is a vegetarian because he hates how they treat the animals. Do a search on the web for "cow downers", and you'd be surprised at what the meat industry does with their animals. Aodhan

Could be any number of reasons. Poor hydration, muscles tight from a workout previous days, a couple days without stretching, sitting in one position for a long time, any number of different factors. Also, exercise will shorten the muscles. If you ever go cycling for an extending period, when you get off the bike, be sure to stretch out your hamstrings, as they will "shorten" from the usage. Aodhan

"Show"? You might be in a different TKD than I am, but unless you count our XMA segments (Which isn't TKD), we do NOTHING that is just for "show". Aodhan

Calm down, relax, have some chips and dip. The thickness should be the same, regardless, there isn't a lot of difference between breaking a 3/4" or a 1" board. Second, if they are bigger than you expected, that actually makes it easier. Picture it this way. Is it easier to break a brand new pencil that is really long, or a really short pencil? If you have a wider board, it will make the break easier. It certainly won't make it harder. Relax, breathe, get some rest. All will be well in the morning, and good luck on your test!! Aodhan

Yep. If you eat a vegetarian diet, then beans are your best friend. If I remember right, kidney beans are the only "complete" bean. There are several different amino acids, and I think the kidney bean is the only one that has them all. Kidney beans, garbanzo beans, lima, green, yellow, etc. Beans are your best friend when it comes to proteins, as they usually have the highest concentrations of any of the vegetarian choices. There's also a vitamin (B12?) that you can fairly easily get deficient in on a veggie diet, but I don't remember it exactly. Sohan? You remember, or should I google it? Aodhan

Excellent, Sohan!! Kickin times! Congratulations to your son!! Aodhan

TKD as a specific style was created in 1955. There is a lot of history with the kwans, etc. that existed before that, but as a codified, recognized style, TKD was created in 1955, and celebrated its 50th anniversary last year. From nothing to being one of the most (if not THE most) widely spread and recognized MA's around. Not bad. Aodhan