maintaining muscle mass in china

[whitepete]

im headed to china as part of a foriegn exchange deal, everything is paid for, so how could i say no. it will be during july for three weeks and before the football season starts. what are some suggestions to maintaining as much muscle mass, or mass at all while in china, with the chances that a gym will be out of my reach. I really have no idea what i can expect so...

what are some things that i can do without the use of weights, and what are some things i can bring to keep up my calorie intake.

I can only think of bicycling, pushups, and situps with a stash of protein bars in my bag.

anyone with any expirences similar to this please post any tidbits of information to help me out

thanks, peter

-is this in the right forum?

[Brently]

I hear creatine is made in china in large quantities, check it out.

I only buy USA supplements.

[whitepete]

bump

[Brently]

You will get some good protein from fish right? Watch out for the protein bar fillers, use them if you HAVE to.

[AcidBath]

im headed to china as part of a foriegn exchange deal, everything is paid for, so how could i say no. it will be during july for three weeks and before the football season starts. what are some suggestions to maintaining as much muscle mass, or mass at all while in china, with the chances that a gym will be out of my reach.

-is this in the right forum?

I've never been to the Orient, but rumor has it they don't have television, electric, cars, or anything to eat but rice!

Since their people are such hippies, you can ride a bike and "do as the Chinese," if you will... Maybe some HIIT- granted you don't run into one of the 3 other billion people on bikes.

For your diet- According to your assumptions, I guess you are screwed. Sushi and Rice for the next 3 weeks!

Seriously, if you just keep exercising with some of the methods you've already mentioned and take in enough calories, you really won't have to worry about losing much mass. People take 2 weeks off completely from lifting often times every few months to "re-charge." Yet this doesn't really cost them a vital amount of muscle and/or strength.

[flava]

get on the jucie its legal in china and you wont have to worry about losing size.

[Maru Saru]

Depending on where you are headed you may find that you have all the amenities of home or perhaps none at all. I know, real helpful right?

I would use the break as a welcome rest for your body and just do your best to keep your diet locked in and be sure to take your multis. Of course you can do sit-ups/crunches and push-ups pretty much anywhere and if you keep your eyes open you should figure out a way to do chin-ups. With proper diet (or as near as possible) and some core strength exercises you should be fine. It is good to take a break now and then...few of us do it enough I imagine.

Enjoy China man!

[turkish]

I've never been to the Orient, but rumor has it they don't have television, electric, cars, or anything to eat but rice!

Since their people are such hippies, you can ride a bike and "do as the Chinese," if you will... Maybe some HIIT- granted you don't run into one of the 3 other billion people on bikes.

For your diet- According to your assumptions, I guess you are screwed. Sushi and Rice for the next 3 weeks!

Seriously, if you just keep exercising with some of the methods you've already mentioned and take in enough calories, you really won't have to worry about losing much mass. People take 2 weeks off completely from lifting often times every few months to "re-charge." Yet this doesn't really cost them a vital amount of muscle and/or strength.

Where the hell should I start? The best thing I could do is to assume that you're joking (in fact, I'm pretty sure that you'll come up with something like "I was joking" even if you weren't), but since there are people who might actually believe you, I have to clear some things up.

"I've never been to the Orient, but rumor has it they don't have television, electric, cars..." : He's not going to Pennsylvania to live with the Amish, dude. He's going to "the Orient" as you mentioned. Most of the sophisticated technological stuff you're using in your daily life are actually made in the Orient, and China is the fastest growing economy in the world.

"...Sushi and Rice for the next 3 weeks!" : Sushi is Japanese, my friend. And fish is one of the richest sources of protein.
And I won't even bother to tell you about Chinese cuisine.

"...people on bikes" : Yeah, and that's why they're healthy and thin. Umm.. which was the country where there are millions of obese people? I forgot. Let's just move on, drive to the KFC which is two blocks away, and have some deep-fried chicken.

And finally, let "ma huang" not be the only thing you know about the Chinese civilization.

[Seth Roberts]

get on the jucie its legal in china and you wont have to worry about losing size.

Not all are legal in China. Injectables need a prescription. Andriol can be had pretty easily but is pretty expensive. Danazol, methyltest and proviron are probably the only others you will be able to find -- all three are cheap but not too useful. Of course clomid and tamoxifen are readily available. This is all in regards to Beijing. If you are going to Shanghai or Hongkong, things may be a little different.
Seth

[ChairmanMao]

Depending on where you are going in China... its going to suck.

I have been all over China (my wife is Chinese) and the food is 10x greasier then it is here. The gym's at the major universitys are like something out of the 1960's that was never cleaned or updated.

Yea there is a Starbucks and an Outback Steakhouse in Beijing but thats it. No GNC, no stores that sell health food or anything besides what the locals normally eat.

If you want to eat right, take your own food. The food there is greasy and very unhealthy. You may want to see if there is a international gym there, I know there is a 24 hour fitness in Bangkok but not sure about China. I doubt it.

Next time go to Thailand, if you get the chance. Night and day in terms of women and food.

[whitepete]

thanks for the post so far

chairmanyao, you say that there was a gym at a university? im headed to Yangzou, outside of shanghai, and might have to check out a university in the area. any advice for that, or whould it be worth it?

chances are i will just end up walking a lot and taking it easy. i really dont know much about the area yet because i havent had time to research it with school, but also, arent swimming and gymnastics big there? any ideas of what i could do if i were able to find some of those facilities?

[nemo52]

I am heading to hong kong in less than a month. I also will be overseas for a while, luckily i am staying in a brand new 5 star hotel this time equipped with a state of the art gym/spa so at least ill get to lift if i so wish, anywho, the best thing to do is to plan ahead for food. Use those protein bars if you have to. Pack some for the plane ride, cause it is long, and it really sucks. take some MRPs. These will help you get through the first few days until you can establish a source of good food for yourself. Depending on where you are you may have some fun bargining in a market! once you are there for a while, i dont doubt that you can figure out where to get good quality meals.

A lot of meals consists of white rice and fish, the portion sizes over there are next to nothing compared to America (i can't wait for one of the 9 course meals in hong kong), so you are going to have to get creative. However, fish is great, it is a good source of protein and omega-3's, but you are going to have to eat more than what is going to be put in front of you. Um, take you vitamins, and try to keep your diet in check. They have a LOT of greasy food. I know in Hong Kong i have to restrain myself from eating 7000kcal of Dim Sum in a sitting, so be careful on what you pick. but for your own sake, eat a little of everything(some in moderation)! you are going over there for an experience, not just to maintain mass.

Maru Saru had some great idea, keep up with calisthenics, push ups, pull ups etc. riding a bike thru the city, or the hills would be not only beneficial but an experience in itself. I am not famaliar with Yangzou, but omg is shanghi cool. if you can find a gymnastics gym, most of them at least in the US have weights of sort. Find yourself a swimming pool, awesome, great cardio, and an excellent lat workout.

i think there is a university in Yangzou. YU or something like that, i checked google, and it looked very modern, however, emphasis on lifting weights, isnt as prevalent as over here. good luck, have fun, you are in for a once in a lifetime experience.

[EricTheRed]

buy a box or 2 of protien bars and MRP packets along with a multi vitmain and you should be ok for just 3 weeks

[American Hunk]

I have been all over China (my wife is Chinese) and the food is 10x greasier then it is here. The gym's at the major universitys are like something out of the 1960's that was never cleaned or updated.



If you want to eat right, take your own food. The food there is greasy and very unhealthy..

Are you kidding me? real chinese food is way healthier than in the US. do you see obese people in asia or europe? what are you eating in China, Mcdonald's?

[RBplaya32]

make sure you have ur EFA's