Exercise and Fitness - Pursuit of Excellence (or improvement, for start)

[Jon Fossoway]

That's a glorious typo.

Hahaha. Sorry. I was trying to find the english word for spanish´s cómodo.

Which is comfortable.

Glorious typo indeed.

[Iskaral Pust]

Got back to the gym last night. A mini triumph because Friday nights and Monday nights are low ebb for energy and least likely to see me in the gym. I rowed 3k straight again with 28-30 spm (not enough energy to shoot for 5k). Then did bench press, pull-ups, upright rows, biceps and triceps. No need for cable rows after the rowing machine. I surprisingly stayed at max weights on all of those, even if I was moving sluggishly from set to set by the end.

I really need to get some sleep tonight but perhaps I'll return for a legs day on Wednesday night.

[Arch-MaesterPhilip]

I worked with a new trainer tonight at the gym tonight. I'm going to have a bad time in the morning and for that I'm thankful.

[Magnar of Skagos]

Trying to get back into going to the gym, mainly in order to lean out and lower my body fat% as opposed to gaining muscle (which I don't seem to have that hard a time doing.)

Today was the first time in a few weeks I've done cardio, so I rowed for 5K then jogged for 1 mile, and felt pretty happy with myself for doing that haha, seeing as my cardio has always been absolutely awful for a 19 year old. Also trying to eat a little bit better, eliminating all those hot pockets and pops.

Anybody have any general advice? Should I eat big breakfasts and smaller dinners, or vice versa? Work out in the morning or at night? Stuff like that. Anything will be helpful :)

[baxus]

Did some weightlifting yesterday and came to realize that I hate bench press.

It came as a surprise to me, since it was my favourite exercise when I was younger.

Nowadays, I much prefer deadlift, squat and bench pull (which is basically rowers' holy trinity).

@Maelys I Blackfyre:

Not really the kind of advice you were asking for, but pay special attention to your rowing technique.

Obviously, I don't know how good your technique is so I might be preaching to the choir here but I think it's worth pointing out.

Faulty technique can increase risk of injuries and it's better to be safe than sorry.

[Ordos]

In early 2012 I weighed 95.8 kilograms (take out your calculators Imperial users). This morning in 2015 I weighed 78.1 kilograms. I was a bit of a yoyo last year, but now I'm at an all time low in weight and relatively stable.

My height is 1.85 meters and according to one website, my ideal weight is 80 kilograms. My mother says she worries that I'm developing an eating disorder. But I think it's just because she is used to seeing me as fat. In high school I weighed 72 kilograms.

I want to build upper body muscle now that I have lost a lot of weight but the trouble there is there are no goal posts. Unlike weight loss where there are numbers on a scale and summits of mountains to get to (I lost weight through cycling and hiking), there is no particular target to get to.

If anyone has any suggestions on goal posts, do let me know. Perhaps arm and chest measurements (I don't know).

[HairBearHero]

I want to build upper body muscle now that I have lost a lot of weight but the trouble there is there are no goal posts. Unlike weight loss where there are numbers on a scale and summits of mountains to get to (I lost weight through cycling and hiking), there is no particular target to get to.

Firstly, nice work on the weight loss - shifting that much and keeping it off is impressive!

Secondly, building muscle has the easiest goalposts ever - the amount of weight you can lift. Find yourself a routine (I prefer full-body, compound lift based ones like Starting Strength or Stronglifts 5x5, but whatever floats your boat), stick with it, and watch the numbers increase. It was one of the things I loved most about weightlifting when I did it regularly - there's a very definite sense of achievement/improvement because last week you couldn't lift this, whereas now you can. There's no fuzziness.

[baxus]

@Ordos:

Good job on that weight loss.

Don't try for upper body muscle, go for full body muscle.

I guess cycling and hiking have done a pretty good job on your leg muscles, but don't think you can skip out on that for a while.

There are some people here who can give you some great pointers regarding strength and muscle gain.

As far as goal posts regarding muscle gain is concerned, there are quite a few.

HairBearHero already mentioned max weights lifted, but there's also chest/arm/leg size, reducing body fat percentage, your basal calories increase and I'm sure you'll find quite a few more as you go along.

[Inigima]

First night back in yoga. Good stuff.

[Magnar of Skagos]

Did some weightlifting yesterday and came to realize that I hate bench press.

It came as a surprise to me, since it was my favourite exercise when I was younger.

Nowadays, I much prefer deadlift, squat and bench pull (which is basically rowers' holy trinity).

@Maelys I Blackfyre:

Not really the kind of advice you were asking for, but pay special attention to your rowing technique.

Obviously, I don't know how good your technique is so I might be preaching to the choir here but I think it's worth pointing out.

Faulty technique can increase risk of injuries and it's better to be safe than sorry.

Yup, I had a high school fitness teacher that helped me get it right. :)

[Sir Thursday]

Stood on some weighing scales for the first time in a year last weekend and found that I was 9kg heavier than the previous time I'd checked (72->81). Decided that meant I needed to make some changes to my diet and probably to my exercise too. I've started out by cutting out desserts for a few weeks, but I figure it's time to start thinking about the exercise component.

I've never been a fan of going to the gym to workout - most of my exercise comes through competitive sports. I play a lot of Ultimate Frisbee, Basketball and Squash, which has always kept me fairly trim in the past, but it seems not to be cutting it any more (there was a lot less sport over the winter and I suspect that's what did it). The outdoor Ultimate season is just starting (first tournament is next weekend), so I'm going to be getting more cardio from that in the coming months, but I'm wondering if maybe I should bite the bullet and get a gym membership.

The thing is, I don't really know the first thing about how to use a gym. I have zero interest in building a big physique - my main goal would be to try to cut some body fat (see above) and maybe strengthen the leg and core muscles. Any suggestions for good places to get started?

ST

[Arch-MaesterPhilip]

Have you thought about taking up boxing?

[Sir Thursday]

Have you thought about taking up boxing?

Interesting idea :). Hadn't really crossed my mind. I've never really done any combat sports - general aversion to getting punched in the face, I guess. But I know it's pretty high intensity, so maybe the associated training would be useful. And hey, I already play chess...could get in on chessboxing. :P I'll have a think about it.

ST

[Arch-MaesterPhilip]

Interesting idea :). Hadn't really crossed my mind. I've never really done any combat sports - general aversion to getting punched in the face, I guess. But I know it's pretty high intensity, so maybe the associated training would be useful. And hey, I already play chess...could get in on chessboxing. :P I'll have a think about it.

ST

I've been at it three months and only enter the ring to do focus pads or group conditioning. My gym isn't a gym that trains many people for competition. I'd imagine you can find one like that near you if you were so disposed.

[Magnar of Skagos]

Stood on some weighing scales for the first time in a year last weekend and found that I was 9kg heavier than the previous time I'd checked (72->81). Decided that meant I needed to make some changes to my diet and probably to my exercise too. I've started out by cutting out desserts for a few weeks, but I figure it's time to start thinking about the exercise component.

I've never been a fan of going to the gym to workout - most of my exercise comes through competitive sports. I play a lot of Ultimate Frisbee, Basketball and Squash, which has always kept me fairly trim in the past, but it seems not to be cutting it any more (there was a lot less sport over the winter and I suspect that's what did it). The outdoor Ultimate season is just starting (first tournament is next weekend), so I'm going to be getting more cardio from that in the coming months, but I'm wondering if maybe I should bite the bullet and get a gym membership.

The thing is, I don't really know the first thing about how to use a gym. I have zero interest in building a big physique - my main goal would be to try to cut some body fat (see above) and maybe strengthen the leg and core muscles. Any suggestions for good places to get started?

ST

You could always just start running and doing things like burpees, high knees, etc. at home. You don't absolutely need a gym membership for that type of stuff. There are actually a ton of at-home cardio work outs you can do, I suggest youtubing or googling some routines. I used to do Insanity at home before moving to college, and all it was was lots of burpees, running on the spot, jumping jacks, high knees, and things like that, and honestly it was the best workout of my life. I lost 15 lbs in 2 months doing that, without any major changes to my diet. Can't wait to get back into it once summer starts.

[Liffguard]

Interesting idea :). Hadn't really crossed my mind. I've never really done any combat sports - general aversion to getting punched in the face, I guess. But I know it's pretty high intensity, so maybe the associated training would be useful. And hey, I already play chess...could get in on chessboxing. :P I'll have a think about it.

ST

If getting punched isn't your thing there's always jiujitsu/judo/wrestling and other grappling sports.

[aceluby]

You don't need a gym membership to get a good physique. I've been doing at home videos for months and have lost 20 lbs since the new year. I would also recommend at least doing light weight workouts though. You'll only bulk up if you're eating more calories than burning, but you want to build lean muscle to help burn calories faster. Muscle takes calories to keep up, so if you're limiting the amount that you're building (again, leanly), you're limiting your ability to lose the fat that you want.

[zelticgar]

Got an email yesterday confirming entry into the NYC Marathon. I've been putting in for that lottery for 5 years and i actually forgot i entered this year. When i received the email I almost deleted it because I thought it was spam from the NY Runners club :)

I had pretty much resigned myself to the idea that i would fully switch over to Triathlons this year but this changes things. I cant really pass up an opportunity to run NY. I kind of feel pressure to do Chicago now as well so i will have knocked off the big three in my 40's.

[Lany Freelove Cassandra]

Last night was my last bootcamp class. Had about an hour when I got home from work, so I sat down to read...woke up 10 minutes after the class started (and I am 20 minutes away) :lol: I was sorry to have missed it, but man, I was dead dog tired.

[ljkeane]

Just had the biggest win I've ever had in a game of rugby, or any sport for that matter, 135-0. So that's noteworthy I suppose. It's a bit deflating really, I do like winning but it does get to a stage were it's too one sided and you just feel bad for the opposition.