Lunch Report Nov 15th tuesday

[louis cyfer]

i have found some pretty decent boneless pork ribs, which when trimmed of the fat, come in at about 7-8 grams of fat for 4 ounces. so i that is my 3rd and 6th meal of the day today. i like to mix up the different protein sources, so i also had a 1/2 cup mixed rice (brown rice, red rice and black barley) with 3 eggwhites and a whole egg over easy over the rice. even when eating for fat loss, it is possible to find some tasty food and eat a variety of things.
i'd like to point out that i do not have a goal weight, only a target body composition to achieve. a few people commented yesterday about trying to reach a certain weight with diet, and that usually is not a good idea. also doing it with diet alone is not a good idea. most people focus on losing pounds, but they forget that without resistance training, most of the weight lost will be muscle. muscle is the active metabolism of the person, so by losing muscle, people are shutting down their own metabolism, making regaining the weight almost certain. a lot of people pick target weight based on when they felt best in their life, but the amount of muscle mass and bone density change from earlier years, so those numbers will not necessarily give the desired result.

some people touched on this yesterday, talking about exercise, but for the non g&l question i'd like to ask everyone what they think about exercise, more specifically cardiovascular, aerobic and resistance training, what importance should it have in your daily life? also if you are not doing any of the 3, what is holding you back?


i like to mod my guitars. pretty extensively. my strats all have a low torque volume knob, linear taper, a push push tone pot for the 7 sound mod, and the second tone is on the bridge pup. they get a pio .022-.047 cap, and a superswitch to take the tone circuit out of play on the 2 and 4 positions. they also get the bridge plate and trem block resurfaced for better contact, and a delron 500 cl nut, it really helps with the trem to stay in tune. also the trem block, bridge plate and the saddles get filed where the string travels over them, to smooth out the path, take the sharp edges off. some of them get a villex passive boost as well. i have changed the pickups in all my guitars but the g&l. i use david allens, kleins, lindy fralins, and tom andersons. and seymour duncan antiquities. i modded my bluesboy the least of any guitar i own. only turned the control plate around, added a slanted switch, and a low toque linear taper volume pot. also replaced the cap with a pio .022. changed the pickup ring to chrome.
my g&l question is: what modifications have you done to your guitar, aesthetic or functional?

[Michael-GnL-Michael]

Hi Louis,

I think but do not currently do anything about cardio. I used to roadbike in the mountains. I am physically active in my work though.

Only Mods I will do is replace Legacy pickups with noiseless Kinmans and changing pickguards. I am also contemplating a neck swap. I would like the option of using the bridge and neck pickups on the Legacy like an ASAT.

The ASAT is staying stock except for a pickguard swap.

All of those tweaks sound interesting and if you were nearby I'd ask if you wanted a side job. I am not interested enough to learn to do it myself. A basic setup is all I'll do except for the pickups.

[blargfromouterspace]

Cardio - I much prefer cycling to jogging. Exercise for me is best if its incidental, like riding to school. I've started resistance training again the other day. I don't use weights, just pushups and stuff. A good friend of mine works as a circus strongman (really) and recommends it. Its also much cheaper than a gym.

I've modded all my G&Ls. I've replaced the pickups with Keystones in one, Micro-coils in another and have a Seymour Duncan JD in the bridge of my bluesboy. I see no reason to change the Seth Lover, it has to be one of the best sounding humbuckers out there. I'd like to get a looser volume and ton knob for that guitar, the stock ones are really stiff. I've replaced the plastic string ferrue blocks with aluminium ones, it makes a difference.

[Dave_P]

non-G&L: I do cardio mostly, cycling probably most often followed by running and the occasional swim. Swimming used to be my favorite though. Rock climbing trumps those three in my book. Fantastic resistance type workout, a good deal of fun, and if you try it on an ice wall it becomes a cardio workout as well
All that said I'm not doing much of anything right now. My busy season at work is winding down finally and I'll have time to get workouts in again.

G&L: I've done the 4way switch mod to one of my asat's, been curious about pio caps but never done it. Also considered rewiring my bbe asat to the leo era asat tone circuit. Most recently I'm thinking of a tone circuit bypass switch but not sure if I want to drill a hole in the control plate though, I suppose it's a replaceable part though if I get tiered of it. I like the idea of the low drag volume, i agree the stock pots are stiff.

-Dave

[zapcosongs]

Ha!

I walk my dog four or five times a day. I run round with the boys. I carry firewood, employ a hoe (ha!), and carry lots of groceries in from the car. Having crested fifty, I have come to terms with losing muscle. Except one, and so far, so good! ;+) !!

Oh. No, I don't often modify guitars. I'm a moron, but smart enough not to buy them if I don't like them pretty much as they are.

btw, I can appreciate the need/desire to tinker. But I'm not handy so if I'm not using my guitar time to play, I'm further up the creek than I was yesterday. Which I cannot afford, even in my dreams. - ed

[Ledergeist]

Louis -
I was pretty active up until blowing a knee and having a nasty ankle spain some years ago. So my left leg kind of sucks now, but I keep active with biking and swimming.

Have not felt the urge to mod my stock G&Ls. If so, it would be a functional mod. The Cav-project by nature is a ground up mod, driven by function, but sticking with the original design aesthetic....

Ciao,
BW

[louis cyfer]

i am not surprised that there is not too much modding going on with g&l's. compared to fender forums, where all everyone talks about is how to change the guitar, g&l's are pretty much good as they are.

i am surprised how few people do resistance training especially using weights and machines. it is pretty much impossible to effectively target all the necessary parts to create balanced strength without them.
the main reason i see for people getting injured, especially when getting older (40+) is that lack of balance between the muscles. i do this for a living. rehabilitating people from injuries, mostly post rehab work though, after physical therapy did not get them back all the way. most issues people have with their knees, back, hips, shoulders can be prevented with proper training. i have clients up to 87 years old. they come to the gym because their quality of lives has increased so much because of it. it is never too late too start, but for most it takes a pretty hard lesson (read injury, surgery, major health problem) to get them started, and it is not always possible to recover all the way from those lessons.

body weight training really creates more imbalance because some of the most important muscles can not be isolated. i see a lot of back and posterior shoulder weakness with people who do that. even participating in sports or swimming in itself does not keep the whole body strong. need supplementary training.

[darwinohm]

Louis, I was off line yesterday. We had an 8 hour band practice. It is hard to stop when you are having fun!

The only exercise I had yesterday was after band practice. We stayed up until 3:30 this morning talking smart and doing elbow exercises with the cold ones!

The only mods I have done to the G&Ls are installing a Bigsby on my Bluesboy and the Roland GK 30 on a Legacy. I have a Legacy with Kinman Blues pickups that were installed before I became the owner. I have done several Bigsby installations on Teles. I generally do not mod anything. Back when I was a snowmobile nut, I learned that the more I modded the engines, the easier they blew up.-- Darwin

[desertrat07]

I am an avid mountain biker and downhill skiier - yes there is KILLER skiing in New Mexico, it's not all desert! Before I started skiing about 7 years ago I always added about 10-15 pounds during the winter with the holidays and lack of exercise. Now, I manage to stay a little bit more fit year round and at 40 years old I am happy to report that I am wearing the same size jeans as I did when I played rugby year round in college. Of course, I can't eat the way I used to or my arteries would take a beating. Try to cook at home, and eat vegetarian meals at least once a day. Also eating more lean proteins - buffalo meat is the way to go!

As far as mods go, I haven't delved too much into that arena. I did change the bridge pup on my Legacy to a SD SSL-5, which sounds great (hotter than stock) on its own and especially in combination with the middle pup. I also recently added a DeTemple titanium trem block and I tell you what, the $225 I spent for it was worth every single penny. Put me exactly where I want to be tonewise, and actually improved playability as well. Awesome product that I would recommend for your Christmas lists (I've got the DeTemple titanium saddles on my list).

[lefty_major]

Curious about strength training and guitar. I used to lift weights 4 times a week for years. When I started playing guitar (5 years ago, I’m 45), I really cut back on the weights because of my fretting hand wrist issues. Now I lift light weights twice a week for only a few reps, and have occasional wrist pain (fretting hand), but it’s minor and usually when not playing.

I just wonder if guitar and weights are not the best company. All the bicep curls I used to do had to be relaxed and let go.

My main exercise is power yoga 4 x week and the stationary bike a few times a week.

[louis cyfer]

Curious about strength training and guitar. I used to lift weights 4 times a week for years. When I started playing guitar (5 years ago, I’m 45), I really cut back on the weights because of my fretting hand wrist issues. Now I lift light weights twice a week for only a few reps, and have occasional wrist pain (fretting hand), but it’s minor and usually when not playing.

I just wonder if guitar and weights are not the best company. All the bicep curls I used to do had to be relaxed and let go.

My main exercise is power yoga 4 x week and the stationary bike a few times a week.

weights and guitar go together just fine. you have perform lifting weights with as much relaxation as possible, the same for the guitar. if you stop practicing guitar when lifting, your muscles will get tighter, but the key is to keep practicing. also fretting hand issues usually have to do with too much tension in the hand. if lifting weights causes any issues, it is not performed properly, which is 95+% of people who do it. performing exercises in a controlled environment(gym) should never lead to injury when done right.

[lefty_major]

weights and guitar go together just fine. you have perform lifting weights with as much relaxation as possible, the same for the guitar

I like that answer.

[meowmix]

Hi Louis,

For cardio, if you don't get your heart-rate up to where you are grasping for air. Then it is just lame.
Mountain biking, and playing basketball helps me achieve the heart-rate goal.
Getting on the cardio machines at the gym don't, but I still use them.

No tone mods to G&L guitar. It is not the guitar, it is your playing. At least, that is what I think.

[louis cyfer]

Hi Louis,

For cardio, if you don't get your heart-rate up to where you are grasping for air. Then it is just lame.
Mountain biking, and playing basketball helps me achieve the heart-rate goal.
Getting on the cardio machines at the gym don't, but I still use them.

No tone mods to G&L guitar. It is not the guitar, it is your playing. At least, that is what I think.

for cardio you indeed need to get the heart rate up there. for aerobics you need a lot lower heart rate. you can get your heart rate really high on the machines at the gym the stairmaster is the best though. but you can even get it that high on weights.

as for the tone mods, there are thing that can be done to better suit your playing. that's why we choose certain guitars or amp and so on, because the tone is there to work with the playing. there are guitars i play better on. it's just a better fit. there are tones i want to hear that i need to mod sometimes for.