Lifestyle physical health/fitness thread

[Ninahaza]

and here i thought the first name change would be a smooth transition. oh well i am out of name changes anyways so i guess those who are unhappy will have to just come and do the monkey with me until we are both happy and on the floor laughing and out of breath

 

[zpattack12]

I need to stop being lazy, and go to the weight room after school. Something about winter makes me just want to sit around and do nothing.

 

[SqueakyGuy]

so i finally worked out yesterday - basically just decided to stop making excuses for myself, and instead of staring at my body in the mirror and pining for the way i wish it looked, work to attain it! happily sore today, figure i'll work out the same routine every other day for a week to get me "warmed up" in general for the 2 month regime that i did once before, and will do even better this time. yeah!!

This is what it takes. Nobody can make you happy but yourself, and nobody will do what it takes to make you happy unless you do it. Good job, and good luck

 

[More Cowbell]

After months of not running and stalling I finally decided to go for a run today. Turns out that the little bit of condition I had went right down the shitter. I couldn't even run the entire lap I used to do in 20 minutes. Oh well, guess I'll just have to get into it again. Just hoping I'll stay motivated enough to keep going!

edit: while running, I often get these cramps in my side, and I think they are breating-related. To other runners; how do you prevent those cramps?

 

[Heepo]

So I'm looking to get into better shape and make it a habit to exercise regularly, but I'm not sure exactly where to start. I was hoping maybe this thread would help the starting process.

I began my first semester of university this fall and succumbed to some unhealthy habits like eating the shitty food they have there almost everyday and binging on snacks. The most exercise I get is walking from one side of campus to another for classes, but that's about it and obviously not enough. And since winter break started it's gone even more downhill than that (hello pecan pie, it's a pleasure as always). Having an unhealthy lifestyle feels really shitty. I'm not obese or sick, but my body feels unwell often, if that makes sense.

Today is the last day of winter break though and tomorrow I'll be back on campus where there are two exercise facilities free for students to take advantage of and filled with everything that I could possibly use to work out. The thing is, I don't know where to start or what to do. I've never exercised in a gym before and honestly the thought is a little intimidating. :s It should be noted that I live in northern Utah and any outdoor activity you could think of, I could do in my back yard, but I'm not partial to running in -10°F weather as some people are. Once it warms up I'll get back into hiking/biking/running regularly.
My goal isn't to become the Hulk. I just want to get back in shape and then work on toning my body? I came here because I'm not sure how to get this from a gym environment which sounds really silly, haha. It seems as simple as picking up some weights or going a few rounds on different machines, but I've heard otherwise and some insight from others would be extremely helpful even if I'm just ignorant and it really is that simple.

Exercise is only half the battle, though, right? In preparation for being back on campus, I've stocked up on lots of fruits/veggies and healthier foods in general so I can start making my own lunches and dinners instead of the garbage that's served there. I'm not looking for giant muscles, so I think I'm good in this department for now. Anything is useful though.

I'd be happy to give more details if that'd help! Thanks in advance and for being such a cool group.

 

[Lee]

After months of not running and stalling I finally decided to go for a run today. Turns out that the little bit of condition I had went right down the shitter. I couldn't even run the entire lap I used to do in 20 minutes. Oh well, guess I'll just have to get into it again. Just hoping I'll stay motivated enough to keep going!

edit: while running, I often get these cramps in my side, and I think they are breating-related. To other runners; how do you prevent those cramps?

it's a stitch

http://www.runnersworld.co.uk/forum/beginners/stitches-and-how-to-drop-them/11655.html

they'll stop when you get fitter, i never used to get them when i was competing but had them briefly whenever i would return from a running hiatus. power through them for now, they can't hurt you. 'breathe through your nose' or whatever might help but ultimately the only way to rid yourselves of them for good is to improve your cardiovascular efficiency

 

[More Cowbell]

Thanks for the tips, Lee, I'll try to watch my breathing when I go running tonight. Luckily I'm past the phase where I get regular muscle aches (through two hours of judo practice a week), but the stitches remain an issue. I hope getting back in shape, and incorporating some sit-ups etc. into my program will help alleviate the problem.

 

[Delta 2777]

So I'm looking to get into better shape and make it a habit to exercise regularly, but I'm not sure exactly where to start. I was hoping maybe this thread would help the starting process.

I began my first semester of university this fall and succumbed to some unhealthy habits like eating the shitty food they have there almost everyday and binging on snacks. The most exercise I get is walking from one side of campus to another for classes, but that's about it and obviously not enough. And since winter break started it's gone even more downhill than that (hello pecan pie, it's a pleasure as always). Having an unhealthy lifestyle feels really shitty. I'm not obese or sick, but my body feels unwell often, if that makes sense.

Today is the last day of winter break though and tomorrow I'll be back on campus where there are two exercise facilities free for students to take advantage of and filled with everything that I could possibly use to work out. The thing is, I don't know where to start or what to do. I've never exercised in a gym before and honestly the thought is a little intimidating. :s It should be noted that I live in northern Utah and any outdoor activity you could think of, I could do in my back yard, but I'm not partial to running in -10°F weather as some people are. Once it warms up I'll get back into hiking/biking/running regularly.
My goal isn't to become the Hulk. I just want to get back in shape and then work on toning my body? I came here because I'm not sure how to get this from a gym environment which sounds really silly, haha. It seems as simple as picking up some weights or going a few rounds on different machines, but I've heard otherwise and some insight from others would be extremely helpful even if I'm just ignorant and it really is that simple.

Exercise is only half the battle, though, right? In preparation for being back on campus, I've stocked up on lots of fruits/veggies and healthier foods in general so I can start making my own lunches and dinners instead of the garbage that's served there. I'm not looking for giant muscles, so I think I'm good in this department for now. Anything is useful though.

I'd be happy to give more details if that'd help! Thanks in advance and for being such a cool group.

Kudos to you on deciding to become a healthier, better all-around version of yourself. There are several programs out there for beginners, and they are all relatively similar; here are some of the programs that I reccomend, in order from most favorite to least favorite: Starting Strength, Stronglifts 5x5, Grayskull LP, Reg Park's Beginner Routine. However, seeing as you said you were looking to lose a little weight as well, I would add in cardio 2-3x a week either after you lift or on a day that you're not lifting (cardio can be running on a treadmill, running outside, rowing, cycling, etc... Also be sure to throw in hill sprints once in a while, which is when you increase the treadmill's incline to maximum and set the speed relatively high [around 8 or 9 mph depending on what you're capable of/comfortable with] and run for 15-30 seconds and repeat).

Of course, if you're still intimidated by the weights and want to do something easier as you prepare yourself to start training properly that will still get you in better shape, you can try to do two of these a day in order to get more comfortable in the gym. These are just some easy crossfit-esque workouts that will improve your strength and conditioning, albeit only slightly.

Remember, do not be intimidated by weight training! This means free weights especially, such as barbells and dumbbells! And also, lifting weights will not turn you into the hulk! Don't be afraid of getting "too big", it seriously isn't going to happen. If you have any other questions feel free to ask here or PM me. Lastly if you have some extra reading time this is a very insightful overview on health and fitness in its entirety: http://liamrosen.com/fitness.html

 

[West]

Hey guys, anyone doing 5/3/1 here? I just moved on to the real program after constantly stalling with the Press in the beginner version.

Also related to the thread title:
http://img208.imageshack.us/img208/9673/picture000l.jpg

 

[Stallion]

Yesterday was my first day back lifting in the new year, didn't know what to expect cause of the time off, the drinking and cause I'm not feeling 100 %. Ended up smashing it though, did three sets of 5 reps @42.5 kilo dumbbells on flat bench chest press (around 95 pounds for you Americans) and just had an all around great workout. I'm super pumped to get into proper shape! In addition, a friend of mine wants me to do a beach photo shoot in a few months so that's more motivation to get strong and shredded!

Edit: very good post Delta, you covered everything!

 

[Bad Ass]

hello, smogon! i am inquiring about running+lifting. i like to keep my aerobic fitness up for cross country season (august-november), but i am also skinny and doughy and due to that i'd like to put on some muscle. my brother has been doing great with stronglifts 5x5, i gave the book a read and decided to try it out.

problem is, it has squats 3x/week and if i want to run then i really can't after being destroyed by squats. i'd like to figure out a way to hit at least 20 mpw while still lifting. i know that squats are the most important lift so i don't want to skimp out on them but when i start lifting heavy i can't see myself being able to run a lot after squatting!! halp!!

(i talked with lee earlier but thought that i was squatting 2x/week instead of 3, and reducing from 2->1 is way different than reducing from 3->1)

 

[Heepo]

Thank you for the very informative post, Delta! Just what I was looking for. And I may have even convinced a friend today to join me on my journey.

I'll be sure to keep up with this thread!

 

[Zenotwapal]

So uh

Had my first Powerlifting meet of the season today. Did better than last year, but I can definitely improve.

Squat -
1st Attempt- 325 - I was gonna do much more as my opener (like 340) but decided against it becuase i didn't want to start off so fast. I'm glad I didn't lol. I had the WEIRDEST thing happen to me in my 5 years of weight training.
I unracked the weight and squatted it with ease. I lock my knees out juststanding there waiting for the judge to give me my "rack" command. The bar on my back started slipping and i lost grip, the bar kept rolling on my back and made me crunch outward, making my entire spine crack loudly. I give out a moan and i step backward (which "scratched" the lift) I was fine, and I continued to lift, but god forbid that was the weirdest thing ever.
2nd Attempt- 335 - I wanted to play it slow because I just nearly broke my back on my last attempt. I got this up really easy.
3rd Attempt - 350 - Got this up easy as well, but it kind of felt odd. I didn't want to hurt myself so I didn't go too heavy (I still have another 4 meets)

BENCH
1st Attempt- 215 -I was warming up with 225. Don't know why I started with this.
2nd Attempt- 225 -yeah i was taking it slow
3rd attempt- 240 - FUCK YEAH better than anything last year. It felt pretty good too. I'm thinking of 255 or 260 by the 3rd meet.

DEADLIFT
1st attempt- 335 - I hate deadlift so much. I struggle with it so bad, I always hitch. I got this though, good thing I didn't bomb out.
2nd attempt - 340 - scratch yeah i hate deadlift
3rd attempt - 340- fucking hate deadlift shit (scratch, but only one arm hitched!!!!!)

OVERALL
I did OK. First meet of the year, got back in the groove of things. I HAVE to improve on deadlift. I was in 6th place before deadlift and I ended up finishing 10th after deadlift, so I really fuck myself over. If I can add JUST 20 pounds of deadlift and keep improving steadily on my other lifts, I can break 1000 by the end of the year.

 

[Ninahaza]

Nice job. Can only keep lifting and push yourself to do better next time, but its also ok to be proud of what you already did. Those are not numbers to feel any sort of shitty about

 

[TaiCrunch]

So I've got a question for you guys. I've been doing SS for a little over six months at my university gym. This last semester was really busy so my workout schedule was off and on. Now I'm not so busy, but I graduated so I don't have access to the gym and I can't really afford a gym membership. What I do have is the weight room in the local community center, but it doesn't have free weights, just some dumbbells and one of those LifeFitness pulley systems. I still want to work on improving strength, so kind of strength-building routine can I do with what I have?

 

[Curtains]

So I've got a question for you guys. I've been doing SS for a little over six months at my university gym. This last semester was really busy so my workout schedule was off and on. Now I'm not so busy, but I graduated so I don't have access to the gym and I can't really afford a gym membership. What I do have is the weight room in the local community center, but it doesn't have free weights, just some dumbbells and one of those LifeFitness pulley systems. I still want to work on improving strength, so kind of strength-building routine can I do with what I have?

"rushfit" is a really nice workout workout routine. Also you can do this one all day every day: http://www.trainforstrength.com/workout1.shtml

 

[TaiCrunch]

How do you like Rushfit compared to other programs such as p90x? The second one you kinked looks rough, I'm totes going to have to give that a go

 

[Stallion]

PHAT is going really well for me, ended up hitting 3 sets of 5 reps at 45 kilo dumbbells on chest today! Feels great :)

 

[Nosferalto]

Strong as fuck

 

[TaiCrunch]

Also you can do this one all day every day: http://www.trainforstrength.com/workout1.shtml

Tried it. I could not do it all day, let alone every day. My new fitness goal is to finish this.

 

[Zenotwapal]

Alright guys I need some help.
I need some ways to improve my deadlift. Anyone know some good workouts to improve on deadlift? (besides just deadlifting, I already do that)

 

[TaiCrunch]

squatz and oatz

For real though, bootstrappers. Kicks your hams in the ass.

 

[kalphite]

Well, It's been much longer since I've liked since I've been to the gym. The gym I ended up at home for break ended up being a poor investment, as the bench press was too high for me to properly use without arching my back and there not being a pull-up bar I could actually use, which I needed for several exercises in my routine. I figured I'd start up again once I got back to college, but then I started having a really strange pain in my upper leg that I really did not want to squat or deadlift with. And figures that once that finally went away today, I got sick off a sketchy dining hall taco and really do not want to be away from a toilet for that long... I feel terrible about it though, hopefully I'll be able to start up again tomorrow and I won't have lost TOO much strength (it's been about 3 weeks since I stopped now ._.)
And to add insult to injury, my dining halls stopped publishing the foods' protein content, and took out the forms to complain about it. Just great.

(in posting this I'm trying to make myself realize how stupid I'm being about this so that I actually do go back tomorrow, even though I feel like my reasons were slightly legitimate excuses)

 

[SqueakyGuy]

The flu was nasty this year, I've been reading all about it. Not only did everybody in my work get it, and most of them were sick for two days, but all the guys for the training logs I follow were also reporting some degree of sickness. In short, kal, don't sweat it. We're doing this for the long haul, a little flu won't set you back.

 

[Nosferalto]

Alright guys I need some help.
I need some ways to improve my deadlift. Anyone know some good workouts to improve on deadlift? (besides just deadlifting, I already do that)

Idk on which part of your deadlift you struggle but if it's your lockout, try doing rack pulls. Basically, it's a partial deadlift where you perform the last part of the lift.

Also, do you only train for strength? Try doing some accessory hypertrophy exercises. Look up elliot hulse. He's a strongman and an advocate of that.