Working out?

[FrostedxB]

I finally decided to get my ass to a gym today as its time to start getting fit again. Just wondering how many of you guys work out, how often you do and what you focus on when you do?

I basically start by doing core (abs and lower back) and cardio, then move onto upper body, arms and finish with legs/thighs/hips. Although I haven't done much weight lifting in....ever?

Went onto the National Guard website because they posted a whole bunch of videos on how to get in shape if you go to BCT. Now I do about 15 "Dead cockroaches" (vertical leg crunches), flutter kicks and a **** ton (about 30 push ups/situps).


EDIT: Also a good place to discuss work out music, if you listen to music while you do.

 

[Warped]

Use a weighted vest. you can cut down your workout time by about half. also I work out every day. either pushups or curls. sometimes i stretch but thats before a jog. other than that i don't pay to exercise. there are plenty of things to lift over my head and shit like that

 

[YROC]

I don't go to a gym or anything, but I exercise regularly. All I really do are pushups, situps and lots of walking. It seems to work for me. I also try to stay away from greasy foods and such.

 

[Lucid]

Morning runs and push ups for 15 minutes twice a day are the extent of my exercising as of late.

Really need to get back into my groove since I'm not going to be working for much longer and I'll need something to do to keep myself in shape.

 

[McGooTheWise]

Bowflex and treadmill.

 

[Naph]

I'm about to enter a sit down job, so I was thinking of taking bike riding again. I wouldn't consider paying for excercise seeing as how you can get it anywhere...

 

[Neutrino]

You can do cardio almost every day, but be careful with the weight lifting. You need around 48 hours for a muscle group to recover fully (give or take). I break my workout up into 4-5 routines of different muscle groups so I hit a different group every day. And then take a day of rest before starting over. (You don't have to go that extreme by any means. Starting out you can break it up into legs one day and upper body the next, or somethign like that.) Just remember that your body responds very well to variation in movement.

There's actually quite a bit of good advice on this site:

http://scoobysworkshop.com/

One word of advice when it comes to learning about the gym. Be skeptical, use common sense, and read more than one source. There's a ton of information out there. Some of it is great, and some of it is really crappy.

Start slow and really learn good form. It will benefit you a lot down the road.

 

[Kaptain H]

I accidentally did too many pushups in the last 2 months, and now my arms are all muscular.

 

[MJ12]

For the life of me I cannot do abdominal workouts. Maybe I am doing them wrong (regardless of learning how from a few people).
I find them to be the most difficult type of work out; working out most muscles you see fast results, not so much for abdominals.

 

[Shakermaker]

I go to the gym and I hate it.

 

[L3N!N]

Core exercises every morning, tennis every afternoon. I really wish there was more opportunity for swimming, but I don't want to pay a membership for 24hr Fitness or take a long-drive to the pool.

 

[JUL3]

Sorry, it's the only relevant thing I could think of. *shrugs*

 

[KiplingsCat]

I go to the gym at 6 every Wednesday evening, because the treadmills have little televisions on them and that's the time that Friends is on. Getting fit is essentially just a side-effect of that routine.

 

[Druckles]

Get one of these "I'm working out, now and making my life better" threads. Some are worse than others.

I've pretty much given up on my body for the time being. I don't like to go to the gym, and there's pretty much no room where I am at the moment. So I figured I'd try for other ways of bettering myself, so I'm on the "be good, think good, smile" diet at the moment. It's harder than working out.

 

[Danimal]

EDIT: Also a good place to discuss work out music, if you listen to music while you do.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXoLLiGSKQ8

But I guess when you hear something like:

The struggle to free myself of restraints, becomes my very shackles

It might discourage you a bit.

I get my exercise through martial arts training, though, so I've never had the opportunity to listen to music while running/etc.

 

[morgs]

As Steven Merchant once said,

I take exercise and health very seriously, but I just can't be bothered with it. I'd rather die at a younger age of 60 then spend so much time in Gyms every day/week.

 

[Dan]

I haven't been to a proper gym in years. Maybe this winter I will try it. I think bulking up muscles went out of fashion in the 90s though.

 

[RidleyRockets]

Here are some assorted musings on gyms, exercise and the fitness industry.

1. Don't worry about getting too big or strong, it takes far too much effort to happen by accident.

2. Gay men like muscles far more than straight women.

3. There is no such thing as toning a muscle. You either gain or lose fat or gain or lose muscle.

4. You cannot burn fat from specific areas using specific exercises. For example doing crunches will not get rid of stomach fat.

5. Bodybuilders are some of the most cripplingly insecure people you can ever meet.

6. Assume everyone is on steroids.

7. The supplement industry is built on lies. The most effective supplements are the ones that are pretty much steroids.

8. There is nothing wrong with steroids.

9. Abs come from having a low body fat level and not 2000 sit ups.

10. Frequenting a gym may turn you into a ****, beware.

 

[Dynasty]

Lately Ive been working on my push ups as Ive never been able to do a proper one. Yes its a bit pathetic, but until about a year ago, I had never worked out. Ever. I played football as a kid, that was the extent of my ''cardio''. Oh and swimming alot.

Horizontal pushups seemed to do the job for a while, building strength etc. Sets of 20 reps, although at the start I could do about 30 a day and then stop due to the pain, and I wasnt going to damage anything just to increase my reps.

I did reps every 2nd day. Lately Ive been dropping the ball, and havent done a pushup in about a month. Just did some reps this morning and got about 40 in before I couldnt do another one.

It seems the break has improved my muscles fairly well. It makes me believe that rest is vital now. The scales freak me out though, I seem to be gaining muscle faster than Im losing weight (as im sat around all day), so my weight is actually increasing, but my BMI is dropping and my jeans require belts more than usual now. Ive read its normal when you do weight training and not enough balance with cardio that your weight can/will increase, some people do, others dont, every one has a different body which reacts differently.

But to be honest, I just want to lose weight again. Ive never gone for a jog in my life, but at my first year at Uni I lost 4 stone simply because I walked everywhere, I was outside almost every day, I was dancing in clubs EVERY monday and thursday from 10 until about 3am. I just shrunk. Then in 2nd year I went back to WoW and its all gone downhill since.

 

[StarBob]

Here are some assorted musings on gyms, exercise and the fitness industry.

1. Don't worry about getting too big or strong, it takes far too much effort to happen by accident.

2. Gay men like muscles far more than straight women.

3. There is no such thing as toning a muscle. You either gain or lose fat or gain or lose muscle.

4. You cannot burn fat from specific areas using specific exercises. For example doing crunches will not get rid of stomach fat.

5. Bodybuilders are some of the most cripplingly insecure people you can ever meet.

6. Assume everyone is on steroids.

7. The supplement industry is built on lies. The most effective supplements are the ones that are pretty much steroids.

8. There is nothing wrong with steroids.

9. Abs come from having a low body fat level and not 2000 sit ups.

10. Frequenting a gym may turn you into a ****, beware.

I only have a problem with a few of these.

3 - Toning muscle does occur but not in any way that people assume. When you tone muscle you remove fat cells that are embedded in the muscle tissue and make it work more efficiently. Most people don't have much to begin with and losing it doesn't really make you look any different, it just helps you work bettter.

7 - There are plenty of fantastic supplements. I used to work without them entirely for probably 10 years. I took a long time off and when I started again, I wasn't able to do a lot of the things I did before or recover as promptly. I started on a protein supplement and it instantly turned that all around. Your body is able to handle a lot of stresses, but in order to get the best results a proper diet is necessary. If you're not able to get the hundreds of grams of protein your body needs to properly re-build the muscle it breaks down, supplements are perfect. A lot of supplements are bullshit, but there are some definite benefits in some.

8 - There's nothing wrong with steroids being used properly for prescribed medicinal purposes, however, steroids abused by bodybuilders are incredibly dangerous and will do some terrible shit.

edit: When I started playing football in April, I pretty much stopped going to the gym. Since I stopped playing football I've gone maybe 3-4 times total in the past 2 months. I really need to get back to it but I've ****ed up my sleep habits and I can't motivate myself when I'm barely staying awake through work.

 

[Shem]

I work out on Mondays, Thursdays, and sometimes Saturdays every week in the evenings for about 45 minutes. The garage I've got is basically a small gym; has a 6 x 8 area mat laid in the center, so that saves me the time of traveling to an actual gym. Medicine balls are weights that have a spherical shape to them, and can go up to, I think... 20 pounds. They're good for building up strength in the arms, so I use them when I work out. I also do some common exercises like push-ups and sit-ups, but just a small amount to simply get my heart pumping. I've read somewhere that the body naturally needs to exercise to keep sufficiently healthy, which makes sense if you don't want to become overweight and whatnot.

 

[RidleyRockets]

I only have a problem with a few of these.

3 - Toning muscle does occur but not in any way that people assume. When you tone muscle you remove fat cells that are embedded in the muscle tissue and make it work more efficiently. Most people don't have much to begin with and losing it doesn't really make you look any different, it just helps you work bettter.

Well yes you can tone muscles if you define it as something other than what people commonly use the word for. When people throw around the term toning they mean firming up a muscle. The muscle isn't actually becoming harder or firmer but the layer of fat under the skin is reduced giving that impression.

7 - There are plenty of fantastic supplements. I used to work without them entirely for probably 10 years. I took a long time off and when I started again, I wasn't able to do a lot of the things I did before or recover as promptly. I started on a protein supplement and it instantly turned that all around. Your body is able to handle a lot of stresses, but in order to get the best results a proper diet is necessary. If you're not able to get the hundreds of grams of protein your body needs to properly re-build the muscle it breaks down, supplements are perfect. A lot of supplements are bullshit, but there are some definite benefits in some.

Sure if you can afford it and don't have the time. You can get all that performance increase from real foods and it's cheaper (unless you buy bulk unflavored powder) and better tasting in my opinion.

8 - There's nothing wrong with steroids being used properly for prescribed medicinal purposes, however, steroids abused by bodybuilders are incredibly dangerous and will do some terrible shit.

Steroids are one of the least dangerous things bodybuilders use. Remember some of these guys will use insulin and diuretics so they are risking a diabetic coma or kidney failure should they make a mistake.

 

[jimbo118]

Anyone got any good links to a full body workout with just a set of dumbbells? With illustrations of the exercises? can't afford a gym atm.

Also, does anyone do sprint interval training, also called high-intensity interval training (HIIT). I hear it is very good for burning fat when done in conjunction with weight-training.

 

[Shem]

Anyone got any good links to a full body workout with just a set of dumbbells? With illustrations of the exercises? can't afford a gym atm.

Also, does anyone do sprint interval training, also called high-intensity interval training (HIIT). I hear it is very good for burning fat when done in conjunction with weight-training.

Here's a link that might help you. The illustrations are even animated: http://www.freeworkoutsguide.com/fullbodydumbbellworkout.html

 

[Dynasty]

Kettlebell would be a nice alternative. Even at low weights those things knacker you if you do the kettlebell routine(s).

 

[L3N!N]

Hm, any tips on using supplements, and buying the proper ones (you know, the non-gimmicky ones)? I've been meaning to bulk-up a little bit, because all this exercise is just making me skinnier. And I already look like some wiry twig.

Hell, just any tips on busting the skinniness? I'm tired of having all that extra band on my wristwatch.

 

[RidleyRockets]

Hm, any tips on using supplements, and buying the proper ones (you know, the non-gimmicky ones)? I've been meaning to bulk-up a little bit, because all this exercise is just making me skinnier. And I already look like some wiry twig.

Hell, just any tips on busting the skinniness? I'm tired of having all that extra band on my wristwatch.

Don't worry about supplements, especially if you are starting out. All you need is a good diet and some resistance training.

Here's a good article covering the diet and routine http://articles.muscletalk.co.uk/article-beginners-guide.aspx

 

[Raziaar]

I need to start exercising, but I can never get myself motivated. Would be helpful if I had like, a partner to do stuff with.

At night, like late night is when I feel most motivated to exercise. I never go outside to go walking or anything though, because I don't know exactly how safe my neighborhood is and who could be out there at those hours of the night. So I end up going to bed, telling myself I'll exercise when I wake up. When morning comes of course, it's the last thing I want to do.



I'm gonna put a bunch of metal, onto a metal bar, and lift that metal over and over like a metal jerk.

 

[Neutrino]

It seems like some people equate going to a gym with body building, supplements, and weird looking guys with muscles where they shouldn't have any. A gym just provides a convenient way to exercise in a specific way. Different people use it for different things. Personally, I've found it a great way to keep some joints strong that tend to give me problems from old injuries.

Whether you do yoga, cycle, rock climb, run, or do jumping jacks in your closet it's all a positive way to stay fit and feel healthy as long as your safe and having fun.

Just mix it up a bit and enjoy what you do.

 

[Uriel]

Don't goto the gym, it gave me breasts.

 

[StarBob]

This thread is starting to get a little...homosexual-like...

 

[Danimal]

I thought that was synonymous with working out.

 

[Shift]

If you aren't a professional athelete or a boxer or something then I really don't see the point of going to a gym, UNLESS you are overweight and want to slim out.

But to be honest you can do all that without it, I did weights (dumbells) for about a year, along with all sorts of sit up exercises and toned all my body and stopped, didn't need to go any further not to mention my girlfriend pretty much insists that I don't, I like you how you are sort of thing. Now I just go for runs whenever I have a free evening just to clear the head and lungs out, and exercise the ol' heart etc.

But yeh there has been this growing obsession with the gym with more people these days and its silly, it gets to lot of people's head and sooner or later you will be telling your largely uninterested friends EVERY LITTLE DETAIL about your work out the other day and you won't realize how much of twat you sound like, for instance:

Friend: 'Yeah I was working on my abs yesterday'
Me: 'Ahh right, yeah I could usually find ab work outs pretty easy, used to do 100 sit ups a day'
Friend: 'Well I do about about 300 a day, and they are weighted, basically I have this thing where I apply HALF my body weight to it just to make them harder'
Me: 'lol' i.e. Big ****ing wow.

And a side note, girls don't really find loads of muscles attractive these days, unless they are superficial.

 

[RidleyRockets]

If you aren't a professional athelete or a boxer or something then I really don't see the point of going to a gym, UNLESS you are overweight and want to slim out.

What's the point of playing an instrument if you don't perform or are in a band?

Exercise for many just feels good, is fun and providing you don't go insane with it has health benefits. It's also got me out of a beating before and i have no doubt it will do it again.

 

[Shift]

Well no my point is why pay a monthly or yearly fee for a gym when you can do it all from home, I mean if you aren't in a physical profession then you don't need to have the best gear and be in the best shape.

 

[Warbie]

I go to the gym each work day at lunchtime. I tried going after work and on the weekends, but could never be bothered to go regularly. It's good - sleep better, feel better, doesn't cut into free time.

 

[Dalamari]

I bought a bench/dumbbells and a treadmill around xmas/jan 1st and have been using them everyday since. Lost about 60lbs. since, feels good man.

 

[Dynasty]

My dad says he runs not to keep fit, its a good way to clearly see something youre thinking about or thinking of doing. The fitness you get out of it is just a bonus.

So people exercise for different reasons.

These days, people have become obsessed with fitness, calorie intake yada yada yada. Before someone turned around and said ''Calories make you fat!'', nobody really gave a ***t. We all got on with our lives and lived how we wanted.

Now that every ***king advert on TV, on billboards and in magazines portrays men and women with perfect bodies, you basically HAVE to be lean, muscular and sexy with washboard abs for women to feel attracted to you, and women need to be super sexy with the perfect ass, flat stomach etc etc etc.

We're ***king up humanity too if you think about from a natural selection side of things. Women choosing only men that have the perfect physique dumps their genes into the gene pool more than other men's, and suddenly we get this perfection of humanity every time a baby is born, like something out of Sparta.

Look at the next Calvin Klein underwear advert you see. 90% of that advert I guarantee will be the upper part of the model's ''perfect'' body. IT'S ***KING UNDERWEAR FOR ***K SAKE!

And those god damn perfume adverts. I cant smell it, so why do I need to see a woman and a man inevitably sprayed with water, ''hunting'' or chasing each other with sexy eyes etc down a corridor or whatever?

Advertising is the only thing making us chase the perfect body, and its the women's fault as they want what they see in cosmopolitan and heat magazine.

You could be the greatest guy on the planet, but if you dont have the physique, you're stuffed, women wont look twice at you.

Well, enjoy your lonely lives then ladies.

 

[Druckles]

You think men have it hard?

 

[Darkshines]

and its the women's fault as they want what they see in cosmopolitan and heat magazine.

You could be the greatest guy on the planet, but if you dont have the physique, you're stuffed, women wont look twice at you.

Well, enjoy your lonely lives then ladies.

Sorry but that's Bull. I'm female and to be honest I find overly toned models off-putting.

Go for who a guy actually IS any day.