Workout tips/advice?

[If-I-Die-Its-Lag]

In my case I hated working out so I just tried a bunch of things until I found something I liked and that was Rock Climbing and then Kung Fu for a while (I quit because I now work during all the classes). But you won't keep up with it unless you either enjoy it or you have a friend pushing you. Cardio > All for getting healthy and fit, weight training helps you look good and some other benefits but cardio is the most important for overall health. My dad is almost 60 and still surfs almost every single weekend and when he is not surfing he is swimming to stay in shape for surfing. If you find a sport that you love that much you will always be in shape (as long as you don't start eating crap all the time).

Fack.

[Totla]

= God-like cardio

Well, if you do your workouts right, anyways. Form is really easy to get. Another great thing is that it has little to no impact on joints, and works every major muscle in your body.

[copulatingduck]

cant stand a treadmill, absolutely no sense of scale or accomplishment from doing better time/distance. for me i have to actually go out jogging, usually just to town and back (~4 miles)

if you need help metering out the transition from couch potato to mild running enthusiast, check out the couch-to-5k layout, it does a decent job of setting realistic goals week after week. if you have a hard time moving up a week, slow down and repeat the previous week. While it's called the Couch-to-5k Running Plan, you're actually instructed to jog. Don't make the mistake of trying to run flat-out as friends of my have, you'll never make the goal, much less be able to move up to the next week.

surf touched on the biggest point. whatever it is you're doing, make sure you enjoy it. find something you like and stick with it. if you can describe yourself as a 2-state machine with 1 state being "supine" you don't want to start out too fast and too hard. Take it slow and steady, set realistic goals for yourself every week, and if someone's advice sounds like too much work or effort, then it probably is at this juncture. Ignore it for now, maybe reconsider in a month or 2 depending on how things go for you.

As for how to build arm strength, I won't pretend that I have any clue, so take someone else's advice there.

But for cardio, which is all I really care about, geoff is a testament to the power of swimming (no affordable pools in my area unfortunately). running is also pretty good. I don't do much cycling. For me it's a tradeoff between buying more shoes, or dealing with lots of traffic; i figure buying shoes is safer. From what I've heard/read, running is a great investment in joint strength in your older age. Please note that I specifically say "heard/read" as I'm not a doctor, nor do I ever intend to be. But at lot of people in my life/family suffer miserably from arthritis and the like, so if there's anything I can do to offset that while I'm still young and able, I will.

sorry for lack of any kind of coherence, I'm a bit scatter-brained. Only got 2 hours sleep at the airport last night :\

[Geoff]

don't bike for exercise, do it for leisure.  biking is too easy.

[Professor Funbucks]

[Darklink]

low weight high reps do at least 3 sets, alternate muscles, (do 3 areas one day , three the next, first 3, second 3, etc., etc.)

those bowflex dumbells that you can just switch the weight easily help a lot

drink protein shakes or creatine or something to help

[Tricks]

This thread is awesome.

[Squishy3]

low weight high reps do at least 3 sets, alternate muscles, (do 3 areas one day , three the next, first 3, second 3, etc., etc.)

those bowflex dumbells that you can just switch the weight easily help a lot

drink protein shakes or creatine or something to help

I already linked and told him about the best protein and creatine shakes I've ever had for price and taste.

[KorJax]

Cardio isn't as important if you're already fit or not extremely overweight. If you do a lot you will be burning more calories than you'll be intaking, thus causing your body to eat your muscle up to give you energy. So if you want to get mo bigger you got to keep everything in check. I've barely done any cardio (Didn't even do any when I started) and I'm about 140-150 lbs. of pure muscle. (6% body fat) I started at 5 lbs for nearly everything and worked my way up from there, and even when I come back from taking a month break I can do the same weight or close to it. I mean, if you have a high body count, some cardio is fine but don't overdo it. I suggest if you are going to do it make sure you're on a treadmill or have some way to keep track of the calories you're losing so you can make it back with healthy foods. Anything you lose during cardio will be fat, and you want to turn the calories you ingest after into good weight and not bad weight.

Regarding Zane's latest post: Workout IS the best stress relief/anti-depressant, because you can pour all of your stress from the day into it.

I might feel like running when stressed if it wasn't for the fact that being stressed exhausts me already

[zaneyard]

[quote author=Squishy link=topic=4342.msg141778#msg141778 date=1268798880]
Cardio isn't as important if you're already fit or not extremely overweight. If you do a lot you will be burning more calories than you'll be intaking, thus causing your body to eat your muscle up to give you energy. So if you want to get mo bigger you got to keep everything in check. I've barely done any cardio (Didn't even do any when I started) and I'm about 140-150 lbs. of pure muscle. (6% body fat) I started at 5 lbs for nearly everything and worked my way up from there, and even when I come back from taking a month break I can do the same weight or close to it. I mean, if you have a high body count, some cardio is fine but don't overdo it. I suggest if you are going to do it make sure you're on a treadmill or have some way to keep track of the calories you're losing so you can make it back with healthy foods. Anything you lose during cardio will be fat, and you want to turn the calories you ingest after into good weight and not bad weight.

Regarding Zane's latest post: Workout IS the best stress relief/anti-depressant, because you can pour all of your stress from the day into it.

I might feel like running when stressed if it wasn't for the fact that being stressed exhausts me already
[/quote]
try it once

[exanimo2]

Working out is stupid and pointless. Find a job where you actually accomplish something whilst getting lean. Get outside, have fun. I recommend becoming a lumberjack.

Also, sports are fun.

[Surf314]

Working out is stupid and pointless. Find a job where you actually accomplish something whilst getting lean. Get outside, have fun. I recommend becoming a lumberjack.

Also, sports are fun.

Lumber jack song

[zaneyard]

Working out is stupid and pointless. Find a job where you actually accomplish something whilst getting lean. Get outside, have fun. I recommend becoming a lumberjack.

Also, sports are fun.

Looks like I'm shit out of luck getting into IT to get paid good money whilst sitting on my ass.

[KorJax]

[quote author=exanimo2 link=topic=4342.msg141949#msg141949 date=1268902349]
Working out is stupid and pointless. Find a job where you actually accomplish something whilst getting lean. Get outside, have fun. I recommend becoming a lumberjack.

Also, sports are fun.

Looks like I'm shit out of luck getting into IT to get paid good money whilst sitting on my ass.
[/quote]

You should do it while cutting down trees

Saxton Hale would

Or IT in the lumber jack field

[Versus]

No one remembers those pictures?

[Professor Funbucks]

= God-like cardio

Well, if you do your workouts right, anyways. Form is really easy to get. Another great thing is that it has little to no impact on joints, and works every major muscle in your body.

These things are godly.
I swear my heart still hurts from yesterday. lol

[Versus]

what is it called

[Professor Funbucks]

what is it called

Rowing Machine?

[Mission Difficult]

what is it called

Strap a dildo to it and it's called "yours."

[Tricks]

I’m not an athlete but any means, but this is what I have found has helped in my life personally:

1. Start today.
2. When starting off, your body physically can’t push itself hard enough to justify your normal diet. Pretty much the only sugars or carbohydrates I eat any more are fresh fruit and the occasional serving of whole wheat or oatmeal. If you are trying to exercise, and coming home and eating a frozen pizza, you are never going to lose weight/get tone.
3. Most of the above tips were along the lines of “swim for miles, run for miles, join a sports team, buy a 4k rowing machine and put it in your living room”. While that is awesome advice, it’s not always doable. More importantly, if your body isn’t used to the wear and tear, you can seriously damage your joints if you just jump on a weight rack and go to town.
4. Garbage in, garbage out. If you eat dumb shit, you will look like one.
5. The best way to quit smoking is cold turkey. The best way to start a program is to dive into it. Good lifestyle choices are a choice at first, but once you have made the choice over and over, good choices become subconscious and become good habits.
6. If you are serious about training and fitness, then you don’t drink. Booze severely retards your ability to repair muscle tone, and is loads of worthless carbohydrates.
7. Find friends who lift. The guys I go to the gym with at work are all former college athletes, and really push me when we are working out. They are really accepting of my low bench as they push up 350. Find real encouragement, not idiots who just work glamour muscles.
8. Set goals. Real, attainable goals. Changing your body takes a lot of time. Even pro athletes are gaining 10 pounds or so of muscle a year. It doesn’t happen overnight, and if you skip a few days you can lose progress right away.
9. Work your core. As you start off, doing isolating lifts that focus on one muscle aren’t going to give you the same results as full-body lifts that use your core. Push ups, planks, dead lifts, squats. When you work bigger muscles, it keeps your system burning carbs longer when you repair.
10. Work opposing muscle groups. If you work Biceps, work Triceps too.
11. A lot of my friends lift with creatine. Personally, I stay away from it. Even water-soluble creatine can damage your liver over time. A lot of products are total BS. Stick with well-known brands that have filler you know and trust. I use EAS products, my friends mostly use GNC. http://eas.com/Products/EAS-100-Percent-...-Chocolate
12. Start with a step-by-step cardio program. Machine are confusing and boring. I’m not a great runner, and I’m starting this very soon: http://www.c25k.com/
13. Stick with it. Everybody fails at diets. Everybody quits working out. It takes willpower to stick with it.

I started trying to change my life back in October. I was a mess. Feeling real change is a wonderful thing.