The Fysical Phitness Thread

[Psycho]

Well, I know it was called for in the Photo Album thread, and probably deserves its own thread so as to not litter other threads.

In any case, physical fitness. It's important, most people try to practice some habits whether it be eating right, exercising, weight lifting, and many of the other various parts of it. There are so many variants to it that I would have thought the thread already existed but alas, it did not.

To kind of kick things off I would like to just continue on the things that were being talked about in the Photo Album thread in that weightlifting for tone should revolve around more reps at a lighter weight.

Also I want to kind of detail a plan that I am coming up with for myself to stay in shape for my off season and build some muscle and get back into a good beach shape as well, haha.

I am going to be, first of all, getting some on ice work done as far as playing with the guys from my hockey team and also working off ice with things like tennis. Ideally I am going to try to get onto the tennis court twice a week or so, weather permitting, and on ice at least one a week. Meanwhile I am going to attempt to hit the gym and weights every other day. A few of the things I will be doing will be obviously the core body bench and leg work as well as bicep/tricep/lats etc. One of the main things I want to work on though is abs in an attempt to beach up for the summer!

Anyways, enough about that. Thoughts, comments, suggestions, routines and ideas are welcome here and hopefully we can get some good discussion maybe even on the nutrition aspect!

 

[Ancax]

I went on a strict diet of pasta, yogurt, almonds, Boost, Protien bars, and water. I also did a strict workout. I gained seven pounds in a week, but the food was too expensive, and I was not getting enough sleep.

If I could pay for the food, and the people who live in my house would wash their own dishes so I was not the one who had to do them, then I would start again. I ate 3000 calories a day, and wrote down every single thing that I ate.

 

[Polis4rule]

I'm swimming, which if done at a near competitive level burns a lot of calories due to the fact that you're using almost all of your main muscles.

Though it doesn't help that I eat near 4,000 calories a day when active = /

 

[husk]

I go to the gym 4 or so times a week. When I don't go to the gym I usually end up running. I play soccer 4 times a week as well. If anyone is interested I could post the lifting plan I use...I've gained 15 pounds in the past 2-3 months following it. The college food is rather high in calories (though definitely not healthy) and I eat what I can get so basically I don't really watch my diet aside from getting 160g+ of protien per day and enough water. If anyone wants to "bulk up" for the summer or anything like that for me what's worked best is the simple "go to the gym and workout like you plan to kill yourself" (using proper form of course). Sure, it's embarassing when you're benching and you can't get the bar up because you've worn yourself out, but the results come quick (which is nice for impatient people...like me).

I imagine I could've gained more weight if I stuck to some diet and slept more and took supplements but that seems like a lot of work and I want to keep going to the gym as something enjoyable.

 

[Bam]

I go to the gym a minimum of twice a week (right now at least, off of track season I go three or four min.), but I have track practice every day and weight training in school every other day. I'm currently:

Height: 5'9"
Weight: 144lbs (ish, or about 62kg)

and my free-weights maxes are as follows:

Bench: 170lbs (really crappy)
Powerclean: 205lbs (did this over a month ago so I'm sure 215 is no big deal right now)
Squat: 290lbs
Deadlift: not quite sure, but over 300 easily and probably closer to 360+

I had weight training last year as well but it didn't really make that much of a difference in my overall strength - I only gained like eight pounds, and most of that was from a height spurt anyways (I was a sophomore). However, I've put on ten more pounds in the last three months or so, especially since I finally got a gym membership. I've been seeing noticeable gains in my biceps and a finally a bit in my triceps, and my shoulders and neck area have gotten pretty big (since powercleans and such are my strongest lift).

Right now I'm concentrating on bringing my bench up and getting rid of that nasty little place where my arm gets skinny again before thickening out at the shoulder (essentially where the triceps meet the lower deltoids - I really want to get bigger triceps). I've been loosely adhering to the "Starting Strength" workout, which goes as:

A
3x5 Squat
3x5 Bench
3x5 Powerclean (or pendleton/bent-over rows as my gym doesn't have a clean station)

B
3x5 Squat
3x5 Upright shoulder press (I haven't been doing these nearly as much as I should unfortunately :[...)
3x5 Deadlift (need to do these more too)

I always add biceps and triceps at the end, as well as core workouts and a warmup/cooldown on a stationary bike or treadmill.

Anyways, I'm glad this thread is up. I'm certainly up for setting up a routine with any of you guys who lift so we can do it together; no homo but having other lifters to motivate and cheer you on really can make a difference.

Get big!

 

[OGsloane]

Its important to just get alot of calories in your body throughout the day, i think i get like near 6000. Make sure your stomach isn't empty before sleeping, get some protein. If you have a good split you could gain alot of bulk just going to the gym three times a week. Leaning out afterwards is easy.

Right now, after finally recovering from some muscle problem, my bench max is near 250. I haven't been able to go back to squats yet due to knee problems and I am 5'5" 148 lbs.

 

[KnightoftheWind]

I'm not a particularly fit person. I seem to be allergic to exercise. Whenever I work out, afterwards I can hardly breathe and I get pains in various places. I still go to the gym at my school once or twice a week.

 

[Caelum]

Sigh, we'll have to wait for Lee.

I'm not a particularly fit person. I seem to be allergic to exercise. Whenever I work out, afterwards I can hardly breathe and I get pains in various places. I still go to the gym at my school once or twice a week.

Maybe you are? http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/exercise-induced-asthma/DS01040 . I suggest going to your pediatrician / internist (I don't know how old you are, guessing you still go to a pediatrician though) having them check you out, see if you have an preliminary signs of exercise-induced asthma and possibly giving you a referral to an allergist.

I'm swimming, which if done at a near competitive level burns a lot of calories due to the fact that you're using almost all of your main muscles.

Though it doesn't help that I eat near 4,000 calories a day when active = /

Pretty much the same. I was on my swim team in high school and we had 5:00 am - 7:00 am practices 6 days a week (fuck you coach), so that's basically what I used to get in shape. Swimming is a surprising amount of work actually =/. After 4 years of that in high school though, that was very much my "routine" and my "norm" so despite not being in competitive swimming in college (I considered doing it actually and was offered in hs but just never bothered with it I suppose) I still go an do laps every morning almost out of habit. Nutrition wise, I'm not that great. My swimming balances it out though so I can still keep toned and eat badly. I'm not ridiculous and down chocolate shakes or anything, but it's not like I'm the model of nutrition. I'm a poor college kid, what do you expect ;-;.

Aside from swimming, I do go to the gym and lift weights etc. I don't really have a formalized, rigid plan though. I basically just go and do stuff. I probably should have a formal plan, but just going there and working out till I'm reasonably worn-out seems to work for me. Probably would be better off it I formalized it but "whatever"

 

[Bologo]

Though I don't exercise anymore (if at all) since I stopped doing cross-country, I still have a good background on some of the theory from my Kinesiology class I took last year.

Anyway, there seems to be a common misconception with some people that they're eating way too many calories which is slowing their progress, when in fact, they actually need to eat more!

Now, here are two formulas that when used together, will give a good estimate of your daily caloric need (this works for anyone whether they're active or not).

The first one is called the "RMR" formula, which stands for Resting Metabolic Rate. This is defined as "A measure of the metabolic rate under less rigorous conditions". In case you're wondering, metabolic rate is how much energy needs to be consumed in order to sustain bodily functions.

The RMR formula is different for males and females, so I will post both (I decided to use more accurate formulas found here since my textbook rounds off to only 1 decimal place):

RMR (Male)

RMR = 66.47 + (6.23 x Weight[lb]) + (12.67 x Height[inch]) - (6.76 x Age[yrs])

RMR (Female)

RMR = 655.1 + (4.34 x Weight[lb]) + (4.69 x Height[inch]) - (4.68 x Age[yrs])

Ok, so now we have metabolic rate. What do we do with this? We use it to determine your daily caloric need.

The way you do this is by using this formula (factors were taken from here, as they're once again, more accurate):

Daily Caloric Need = RMR x F

Where F is equal to:

1.2 (sedentary)
1.375 (lightly active)
1.55 (moderately active)
1.725 (very active)
1.9 (extremely active)

So just take one of these factors which best represents your activity, and multiply it by your RMR, and you'll have your daily caloric need. I guess that if you don't want to do all the math (besides picking a factor), then use this calculator for instant numbers for your needs.

Now, none of the RMR equations are perfect, and this is supposedly one of the most accurate ones, though it is still just an estimate. But it should give you a good idea of how many calories you should be consuming per day if you want to see progress.

 

[thecrazylazyguy]

I bought the iron gym and the perfect pushup . I just do some of those and some weighted squats it keeps me fit in like a 15 min work out. I also play basketball on ocassion

 

[Gaborik]

I was a high school football player and played at a weight around ~220 pounds. I was a tight end and had to be big enough to block a defensive end, yet still get around the field to run pass routes. After high school ended I decided I didn't want to carry around the extra weight I had for football. During my freshman year of college I avoided gaining that "Freshman 15" and lost 40 pounds over the year! I already had a good work ethic from football workouts which made it easier to get started. The dorm food at my college was just AWFUL. It was easy to cut out the cheeseburgers, breaded chicken, and other greasy, fatty food when you only trusted cereal, lettuce, and making your own sandwiches (even though the bread was the ever awful white bread).

My workouts were simple over the course of the year. I ran a minimum 20 minutes after class each most days as a way to "relax". I treated it as a way to mentally get away from the classes I had that day, shower afterwards, and treat the afternoon as a fresh start to do my homework, video games, screw around in the dorms, etc. If I didn't feel like running I would go lift some weights (I made sure to lift at least twice a week). The workouts were pretty simple on the lifting side - one day was primarily legs and core, the other day was upper body. I would also do some general pushups/situps after some running days as well. During high school the weight lifting was much more serious. I wanted to lightly build up on the muscle I had to help with my weight loss progress.

It also helped that in the spring/fall I played pickup basketball at the courts outside the dorms constantly. I would go 3+ hours playing up and down basketball which was always a way to burn calories while doing something that was fun to play. That is the key to my workouts. I enjoy running to clear out my mind and use it as stress relief. Basketball was competitive and fun. The lifting helps build your physical appearance which helps build confidence in your own image. I enjoyed the hard work and knew that over the long run it would pay off. I still workout (not as much as that year) and try to run 2-3 times a week as well as lift 2-3 times a week.

 

[ToF]

If you want advice from someone that recently started out, its basically a mix of proper diet and exercise. I gained about 11 points in a 4 week span from simply eating right and working out three times a week. My workouts aren't really that stressful and intense either. I do three sets of a specific exercise, usually doing two exercises per muscle group. Going with the simple Chest/Tricep split one day, Biceps/Back another day, and legs the third day, I achieved decent results. Now, I'm nowhere as jacked or as big as I'd like, but these little strides are important to reach the big picture.

Basically, eating right, not overworking your muscles, and eating right are the keys to gaining muscle (not weight). Supplements help as well to get that protein intake that is necessary to generate muscle. Also note, its not a short-term process, or else everyone would get big easily. Working out and gaining muscle is a long-term process that takes time and motivation. If you expect results in a short time, this isn't the game for you.

 

[chenman333]

Here's how I got more athletic

-HIIT. High Intensity Interval Training. Sprint, jog, sprint, jog, etc. Great stuff that seriously kicks your ass and works very well increasing speed, endurance, and burns the fat. After a season of this stuff for indoor track, my mile time went from 7:01 to 5:48, and I was just a sprinter that whole time.

-Lifting weights. This is a no brainer, but you gotta lift weights to burn fat and be able to do more thigns. If you want to lose weight, lifting is essential.

-Count calories. Best way to lose weight period. Cut 500 calories a day, so that you lose approximately 1 lb. a week.

 

[monkfish]

I would love to get fit.. Well, I would love to be fit, getting fit is the bit that daunts me. I love food a bit too much, and I find running really boring. However, I do enjoy one-on-one sports, and once I'm not too ashamed to show my body at the pool I'll start swimming too.

I've never been to a gym in my life :) I'm not looking to bulk up really, just lose the puppy fat and get some upper body strength. I figure a combination of cardiovascular exercise (swimming, squash/tennis, sex) and muscle training (weights, situps, pushups, pullups) should sort me out..!

Plus, I'll be a student again next year and will have to cook my own food which might encourage me to eat healthily... Maybe.

 

[Blln]

Just a few days ago i realized i am incredibly ripped despite the fact that i have pretty much never been to a gym in my life. I guess swimming 6000 yards a day does that to you =)

 

[Polis4rule]

However, I do enjoy one-on-one sports, and once I'm not too ashamed to show my body at the pool I'll start swimming too.

I've never been to a gym in my life :) I'm not looking to bulk up really, just lose the puppy fat and get some upper body strength. I figure a combination of cardiovascular exercise (swimming, squash/tennis, sex) and muscle training (weights, situps, pushups, pullups) should sort me out..!

Swimming will do wonders for what you need. It will tone you down, but not project your muscles like what weight training does. I find that even just plain freestyle is sufficient for most of your fitness needs. Of course, you could always do butterfly, but some people may have qualms about that = P

 

[Lee]

I'm training pretty hard at the moment as I'm heading into the last XC race of the season. It's my rookie season and I'm currently ranked as the third fastest individual in the North East of England XC League which is obviously something I'm massively proud of and hope to maintain next week (1st and 2nd are out of my reach).

http://www.heatonharriers.org.uk/hlxc.php

(read the 'individual standings after 5 races etc' bit, I'm Lee Roe obv)

So there's this one guy in a position to challenge me for third place and it's ultimately going to come down to me vs him in the last race. Of the 5 times we've raced this season, I've beat him 3 times and he's beat me twice. Unfortunately for me, his two victories have been in the two recent races so he's the in-form guy so to speak. Did I mention third place gets a lovely bronze medal and 100 quid (144 US $)? I -really- want to win this.

Caelum pretty much summarised my usual work out schedule with -

Aside from swimming, I do go to the gym and lift weights etc. I don't really have a formalized, rigid plan though. I basically just go and do stuff. I probably should have a formal plan, but just going there and working out till I'm reasonably worn-out seems to work for me. Probably would be better off it I formalized it but "whatever"

(replace swimming with running obv!)

 

[Jackal]

i resolved to start caring about this with the start of 2009, and i am still keeping up with it, which I am happy about.

Basically I worry mostly with upper body, and although i dont have a formal routine, id say my average workout consists of:

warmup
10 pec deck [80 lbs]
10 bicep curls [25 lbs]
10 tricep pulldowns [25 kg] (dont know why this machine is in kg)
10 flys [20 lbs]
random core/ab excercises
cooldown

i repeat that cycle three times (other than warmup cooldown) which will usually wear me out and take me to the end of my spare in school. I know the weights arent much but i really want to focus on reps not weight...is 30 reps a session enough?

my pecs seem to be proportionally fat compared to my body size and im not sure why, im 5'9 150 lbs but my pecs are pretty fatty (lol). Im basically just concerned with turning those into rocks, as well as developing my shoulder area/wings and biceps/triceps (both gaining muscle and dropping fat).

With that in mind can any of you fitness buffs rate my routine (rmr).

 

[Thorns]

I go for long runs once a week so my leg muscles are ok but I have nearly no upper body strength. Part of this can probably be attributed to my growth deficiencies, and it's even worse when I have no nearby gyms and cant afford equipment. Pushups only got me so far, and I'm in need too.

 

[Bam]

Jackal, one of the more important things I've learned (and read) about lifting is that you want to do compound exercises. Compound exercises are the lifts that work entire muscle groups rather than specific muscles (like squatting compared to biceps curls). Working out a single muscle, like triceps or biceps, while not necessarily a bad thing, won't help you out as much overall. Compound lifts, if done properly and on a regular basis, will drastically improve your overall strength. The basic compound lifts are:

bench press
squat
deadlift
powercleans/hangcleans
bent-over rows
military/shoulder press

In general, try to get two different workouts with three of these in each one, so on your "A" or "1" day, you might do bench, deadlifts, and squats, and on your "B" or "2" day, you'd do the other three. I myself always add core and biceps/triceps to this when I'm done.

And make sure your technique is right, especially on the more "violent" exercises like the powerclean or squat. Also, squatting, if done correctly, is such an amazing exercise. It may not feel like it but it works your entire lower body as well as your back and neck area.

ps: I just vaulted 12' tonight, it was amazing. Pics will be up soon.

 

[husk]

@Jackal:

I'm speaking mostly from personal experience and I'm aware each person is different but this is what has worked for me:

~Make sure you're getting enough protein. This is unbelievably important if you're trying to build any sort of muscle. The general rule is 1g per lb body weight but I've seen people who were especially serious do over 2g/lb and achieve results quickly. If you increase your protein intake you have to be sure to increase your water intake as well.

~For your chest: Instead of doing the regular movement on the pec deck try doing holds. Like just keep your body in the engaged position for 20 or so seconds and then take a break for 40 and then repeat like 6-8 times. Call that one set. I made a lot of progress on my chest like that. You may want to use a lower weight for this than you would normally use.

~30 reps per session are enough if you're working weights that are really tough for you to move. Like if somewhere in the 30-40 reps range you would fail to complete the exercise. If you're not using weights that strain you like that you'll probably need to up the reps to about twice that (or just increase the weight but you're against that).

Edit: And the compound exercises thing...that's the real deal.

 

[diinbong]

I ski and mostly ski. Downhill. Honestly though, I'm just a normal guy that just does whatever and eats kind of whatever. I mean, I don't eat/not excersize if I don't feel well after so.

 

[QuickDraw]

if any of you want to read a really good book on exercising with bodyweight look up ross enamait's Underground Warrior. i've read it at least 20 times and it completely changed how i exercised. he has a pretty good website with him demonstrating a ton of different strength workouts too. www.rosstraining.com

okay informercial aside, i warm up every day with a 5 mile jog around 7-8am depending on how lazy i feel. then i spend 30 minutes doing either core, upper or lower body work with plyometrics intermixed. i work on a 2 week schedule too so every two weeks i change it up. twice a month i do a pyramid routine which is basically:
exercise A x5
exercise B x10
exercise C x15
exercise D x20
exercise E x25
exercise A x20
exercise B x15
exercise C x10
exercise B x5
i love plyometrics and agility drills because they are typically the most difficult to perform. i am also a fan of medicine ball and exercise ball equipment, pushups on 3 exercise balls are ridiculous and awesome at the same time :)

i second what Husk said jackal, if you want to add a nice burning sensation hold each move at the lowest point. i found more success with 2-5 second holds and no rest but to each his own.

i try to eat pretty well, i just moved down to L.A. and am still getting situated in my flat so i've been eating out much more than i would prefer but typically i have a pretty good diet.

 

[NESgamer]

I have been overweight for a couple of years now and recently regained my interest in exercise, i would like to hear some advice to get rid of this little "muffin top" first and then work on my body.

I don't want to be all buff, but i want to have a lot of endurance for soccer and just look better... help?

 

[husk]

That's mainly just cardio then. Run in the mornings before you've eaten anything. If you especially want to build soccer sorts of endurace and to burn fat quickly you should try interval training. As a soccer player I think it simulates a game far better than just jogging 5 miles or whatever.

Basically interval training is just an alternation between high intensity running and jogging. It is a pain in the ass if you're doing it right. Go at an uncomfortably fast pace for 2 minutes and then jog for 1 minute and repeat. Usually starting out, you only want to do 3 repetitions of that but doing as many as you can is probably ideal. I usually set a goal that is slightly beyond me and force myself to reach it. The upsides of interval training are: it prepares you for soccer type movements, the time you spend for results is far shorter than jogging, and this qualifies as cardio as well as anaerobic exercise so you'll have an oxygen deficit(which burns calories) for pretty much the next 24 hours.

If you do not plan on fixing your diet then you can begin mild lifting as well. You can focus on your calves/quads/back/hamstring/abs/etc. for soccer or just burn some extra calories through compound exercises. You won't become buff unless you put a lot of time into it so it's not really something to worry about.


@vespa: if you could explain some of those plyometric exercises and agility drills, I'm interested.