Workout help

Rreka'al

I'm about to start a workout program to get myself into shape, and was looking to get some ideas/pointers on what to do/what not to do when trying to get more fit and toned. I'm personally not very experienced in these things. I'm willing to do pretty much anything to get into shape, but I'm not sure where to start.

Astropuyo

That depends on how you want to get "in-shape"

In any case start with cardio. Your body needs blood/oxegen pumping at all times to get the proper work out. Alot of people go directly into lifting weights and question why they are not gaining mass.

The reason for this is poor circulation cannot support the proper needs to the muscle groups. Always start with cardio, your heart is the most important muscle in the body.

Now after you've messed with that for a few weeks whether it is running or simple excercises start with lifting to tone your body.

 

This is comming from a guy who walks with a cane at 26 though. I used to be a very outdoors fit person (hence the cane! BAM) and used to do alot of lifting and cardio before it all became moot.

 

Good luck mate.

 

Picklefoot

  Main thing to do, and everyone will agree.. stay focused on your goal.. as soon as you start veering off from it, creating excuses not to get your workout finished. You will end up forgetting about it. I'm sure you want a six pack to impress the ladies, you'll be motivated as soon as a girl asks to feel your bicep. :-) just getting to that point that people often have troubles with. It takes time, energy, and research. But all in all, it's on par with everything else you do to make progress in your life.

 

  Good luck, and prepare for a burst of well DESERVED confidence.

 

 

  There are tons of fitness forums, just find the right one for you. Some may seem absurd, so just take 20 minutes to find the right one to call home. Usually very helpful people there as well.

 

 

 

  By the way, I'm a real eater.. and vegan, so I can't speak for you meat/dairy eaters. But you CAN eat a lot and be fit, just watch the no-nutrition sweets.

Unknown

www.iwantsixpackabs.com/my_video_journal.html

truenorthbg

I jog outside and/or use a treadmill.  I think most people would achieve the results they want from simply jogging, walking, swimming, and using a treadmill.

 

I do a variety of exercises.

 

Each day and every day:

Light cardio:  6 sets of 65 arm revolutions;  3 sets of 40 waist revolutions (arms on hips); 3 sets of 15 touching toes; 3 sets of 15 touching each foot (works the back); 6 sets of 65 left lift (lie on one side and raise knee to leg).  3 to 6 set of crunches, only 25 reps [if you do too many crunches, the abs do not look the way i like them to look].

 

Every other day:

3 sets of using dumbells raising to my shoulder with each arm;  3 sets of curls w/ dumbells, 25 reps.

 

Main:

Jog.  Either outside or on a treadmill.  I used to around 5 times a week but since I started grad school I sometimes jog as few as twice a week!!  Jogging, ultimately, is what keeps me in shape.

 

Discipline:

It is key to simply stick to your plan.  When I go out with friends, guess what?  If I forgot or did not have a chance to do my cardio stuff, I will do it in their houses or apartments.  I swear to God.  They are all used to it now that when I do it ... it is totally naturally.  You must take your health very seriously. 

 

i also never drink soda/pop.  I do not eat any junk food.  It is lifestyle, not diet.  It is discipline, not a temporary gym membership. 

 

I try not to use weights or anything like that; I do not like mass.  I just try to keep myself fit.

---

As an undergrad student, I took nutrition and it turned out to be one of my most valuable classes.  I am relied upon by friends and family for nutritional help, from this single class.

 

Draenor

Run, run, and run some more....if you can't do it outside then I suggest you get a treadmill and a TV to keep yourself occupied so that you don't get too bored. 

As far as getting big and buff...there are tons of websites with routines for hitting the areas that you want to work in the most efficient way possible..just remember that the most important thing is to not make excuses for why you can't work out.  As soon as you start making excuses you'll stop going regularly, then you'll stop going altogether, and your hard work in the beginning will all have gone to waste.

There's a great workout that you can find on ebicep.com that I do though, it's a thing where you do 4 weeks of progressively harder routines until you reach the third stage.  It's a really killer workout that gives great results.

Rreka'al

Thanks for the help guys. I've had a bit of experience with the excuses thing, which is one of the reasons I came here, to come up with more of a set in stone schedule to use so I wouldn't drift as easily. I think I'm going with a combination of truenorth's workout plan and some of the 16 week program thingy, maybe add another thing or two myself.

Ecranomical

I think I always suggest this site on every occasion of a "work out" thread.

 

www.bodybuilding.com

Lanmoragon

Check out a book called New Rules of Lifting.  Tons of great advice and tons of great routines, pretty much my workout bible.

bezado

Not to be a nasty head but these threads are tiring. Last time I checked humans where capable of exercising without needing the know how. Is it that hard to figure out? So many of these stupid workout threads. It makes me think these people have never had any common sense or ever had PE in school.

Workout, whats so hard about knowing you exercise to stay healthy. That it isn't hard or needing a rocket scientist to know walking 3miles a day or jogging a few miles a day. I just don't get it. So many workout forums asking for help about a common no nonsense human programed know how.

 

Draenor

Originally posted by bezado


Not to be a nasty head but these threads are tiring. Last time I checked humans where capable of exercising without needing the know how. Is it that hard to figure out? So many of these stupid workout threads. It makes me think these people have never had any common sense or ever had PE in school.
Workout, whats so hard about knowing you exercise to stay healthy. That it isn't hard or needing a rocket scientist to know walking 3miles a day or jogging a few miles a day. I just don't get it. So many workout forums asking for help about a common no nonsense human programed know how.
 

Some people don't want to enter a gym and feel completely clueless. 

truenorthbg

This is wear I am going when they finish the one in my neighborhood:  www.lafitness.com/Pages/default.aspx

 

 

I mainly will go for some equipment I do not have at home and the pool.  My only problem is that the gym closes at midnight.  Sometimes I like to get-up and work out at 2:00 a.m.  People should have work-out buddies if possible.  Not joking, I have real-life work out buddies (and my family is really into health; they use a projection screen for like cardio stuff, etc.) and a virtual work-out buddy.  A former officer of my EQ 1 guild is really into working-out.

 

It keeps you motivated, and it is perfectly appropriate to obtain 1) advice and 2) information online.  How else are people expected to learn? 

 

[I am actually in my jogging pants while writing this. LOL.   I look like a crazy person jogging outside when it is freezing and snowing, but you have to do it.]

 

truenorthbg

Do not underestimate work-out music.

 

Here, I listen to this stuff all the time:

Requiem for a Dream

www.youtube.com/watch

Last of the Mohicans

www.youtube.com/watch

Chumbawamba

www.youtube.com/watch

 

---

Get an iPod, essential.

vampiress92

Originally posted by Draenor

Originally posted by bezado


Not to be a nasty head but these threads are tiring. Last time I checked humans where capable of exercising without needing the know how. Is it that hard to figure out? So many of these stupid workout threads. It makes me think these people have never had any common sense or ever had PE in school.
Workout, whats so hard about knowing you exercise to stay healthy. That it isn't hard or needing a rocket scientist to know walking 3miles a day or jogging a few miles a day. I just don't get it. So many workout forums asking for help about a common no nonsense human programed know how.
 

Some people don't want to enter a gym and feel completely clueless. 

Actually, he's not really all that clueless in a gym (No offense Draenor, just trying to make a point). And I know for a fact he was just looking for a really good plan he could stick to. Sure, running around the block a few times per day is common sense, but when you're trying to tone everything at once, and not just your calves (which seems to be the only thing I've defined in High School Phys. Ed.), you need a better plan.

  If anyone on this board has actually been in high school, or is still in the United States Public School System, you know exactly what I'm talking about. You have a fitness unit  consisting of running, or jumping rope for a few minutes at a time, then someone lecturing you about parts of the body, and what they're called, for a half-arsed test thrown together at the last minute, which has no real effect on your grade.

  Yeah. Physical Education really helps with the understanding of how to get fit .

Rikimaru_X

http://www.mmorpg.com/discussion2.cfm/thread/122583

My topic on working the chest area and more. Really helped me out.