Exercise and Fitness!

[lessthanluke]

-Never do legs the same day as upper body. That's some silly shit. Your central nervous system is not your liver. Don't abuse it.

I did heavy squats AND heavy bench today :P

[ztemhead]

In which Stego gives instructions with the detail and emphasis of a drill instructor

I will write your routine down in my training journal and execute it exactly as you say, 2X per week. I'll give it my best effort for a month and see how I do.

thanks!

[Liffguard]

Never do legs the same day as upper body. That's some silly shit. Your central nervous system is not your liver. Don't abuse it.

I'm gonna disagree here, but then I generally do short, total-body workouts:

Day 1:

Squats or variant

Pulling exercise (usually bent over row)

Pushing exercise (usually military press)

Day 2:

Deadlifts or variant

Overhead squats

Pulling exercise (usually pull-ups)

Pushing exercise (usually bench press)

Two days recovery between workouts during which I do lots of high-intensity cardio training e.g. hill sprints, interval running, bodyweight circuit training, kettlebell circuits etc. One or two recovery days a week depending on how I'm feeling.

[Elrostar]

Trying to get back into a routine of actually doing some serious workouts. But I need to start slowly, since it's been years since I lifted in any serious capacity. I used to do a load back when I rowed crew in college and shortly thereafter, and I had legs muscles that were insane.

But that's years ago now and everything has been going downhill since then.

My concern is that everything seems really pathetic compared to what I used to be able to do (which I find REALLY discouraging). And I don't want to hurt myself, or get overly discouraged thinking that it's all just pointless and that I should go upstairs and play Xbox instead.

So how do I start? Tips? Suggestions?

[Tempra]

I have to disagree with a few people on rep ranges. Generally 1-3 rep range is considered "low," 6-10 "moderate," and 12+ is "high." If you stick within only one set of rep ranges you'll likely stall and prevent yourself from making better gains. I agree with the general sentiment that "low reps, heavy weight" is superior for the MAIN exercise (i.e. squats/deadlift/bench press, etc), but every exercise should not be lifted with low reps, heavy weight. And definitely not permanently.

I highly recommend the following two articles by Christian Thibaudeau (trainer to olympic athletes) on designing a good program. There is a lot of useful information about rep range for specific goals.

http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_articl..._part_1&cr=

http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_articl..._part_2&cr=

[seastarr]

My feeling is that every exercise ought to be a full-body exercise. Sometimes, to learn specifics, you separate the exercises into these isolated experiences for the muscles, but the end goal should be to refocus the awareness to whole-body once you have the kinetic sequencing laced into your consciousness and your body's memory.

The body is one unit. In any motion, you need to be aware of it as a complete circuit, including but not limited to the action of the breath, the contact of your skin on the floor/apparatus/air, the engagement or release you are seeking in your muscles, the placement and precision of your bones from feet to crown. If you think a movement is too easy, you are not paying enough attention. If you think you need to be holding on to some big heavy thing to get benefit from it, you are mistaken.

My guru once had me sit in dandasana (legs straight out in front of me, back straight, quads engaged like rocks, belly sucked in, chin tucked) for 45 minutes. No wiggling, either. I could hardly walk the next day, I was so sore. But that wasn't the challenge he was giving me. He was trying to get me to understand the limitlessness of body awareness, trying to make me able to have precise awareness of my entire nervous system at once. Very Bene Gesserit, no? Even just sitting, it was almost impossible to maintain the total body awareness. My mind kept hanging on to individual sensations, the discomfort in my hips, or the effort in my back, or whatever. The most amazing moments for me are the ones when the individual components of an exercise are no longer the focus, and the body attunes to this more expansive understanding, and the motion or the stillness just flows. I live for those times.

Elrostar--Do you feel that weight lifting is the exercise that will suit your purpose the best? If I were in your position, I would sit down on the floor and consider what actually sounded like fun to me: hiking? maybe getting back into rowing? pilates? playing on the bars (a favorite of mine)? Then I would find someone who knew that activity to teach me a bit about it so I would know how to do it without getting hurt. I would spend money for this expertise because your body is one of the most important things in your life. You might not deeply understand that yet if you've been playing a lots of XBox, but it is the truth. Don't judge your initial efforts except to see that they are steps in a beneficial direction. Your body was MADE to move! Go get it moving! It's not about turning yourself into an olympic athlete or a fitness model. It's about developing yourself and getting the most out of your time here on earth.

[lessthanluke]

I have to disagree with a few people on rep ranges. Generally 1-3 rep range is considered "low," 6-10 "moderate," and 12+ is "high." If you stick within only one set of rep ranges you'll likely stall and prevent yourself from making better gains. I agree with the general sentiment that "low reps, heavy weight" is superior for the MAIN exercise (i.e. squats/deadlift/bench press, etc), but every exercise should not be lifted with low reps, heavy weight. And definitely not permanently.

I highly recommend the following two articles by Christian Thibaudeau (trainer to olympic athletes) on designing a good program. There is a lot of useful information about rep range for specific goals.

http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_articl..._part_1&cr=

http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_articl..._part_2&cr=

6+ reps is high for me. Yeh I do 1-5 reps on main exercises and 6-8 on assistance usually. Depends on goals.

[Liffguard]

Elrostar--Do you feel that weight lifting is the exercise that will suit your purpose the best? If I were in your position, I would sit down on the floor and consider what actually sounded like fun to me: hiking? maybe getting back into rowing? pilates? playing on the bars (a favorite of mine)?

I would say that weightlifting is an immensely beneficial practise for everyone, in addition to whatever other exercise they do. There really is no downside to a good weightlifting regime providing its done properly (i.e. good technique, appropriate loads, adequate rest and nutrition etc.).

[Elrostar]

I haven't been playing all that much Xbox yet, to be perfectly honest, as I've mostly just been too busy with work. My point was just that I've found it demoralizing trying to get back into the swing of going to the gym and working out in any capacity because it's hard not to compare my performance to what I used to do.

I do very much enjoy playing ultimate and want to do more of that. Now for that, what I mostly need is leg strength and cardio fitness. Core muscles, flexibility and such things are obviously important as well.

There are some things I cannot do, however. Yoga is first on this list, and I suspect that Pilates would be there as well. My right wrist was broken when I was 12 or so and it was set crookedly so that I have problems supporting my weight on it if it's at an odd angle. This doesn't cause problems with lifting weights, but does cause me pain if I try to do regular push-ups because of the angle it puts my joint at. If I have push-up bars or something, it's no trouble at all. Rock climbing might or might not be a good thing. I'm not sure, having never really tried it.

One thing I've considered is trying to train for a marathon. That would take on the order of five-six months, probably, which would be feasible for the fall season. I do worry about my knees having issues if I run that much, however, as they have caused me some trouble in the past. And to be honest, playing ultimate is more fun than just running. I'd rather do a mix of training, trying to increase my strength and flexibility as well, rather than just run run run.

[Stego]

I did heavy squats AND heavy bench today :P

Dude, you're nuts. (I'm not saying I didn't do that shit at your age. I did. But I was nuts then, too.)

[lessthanluke]

Dude, you're nuts. (I'm not saying I didn't do that shit at your age. I did. But I was nuts then, too.)

The whole of the russian powerlifter team trains this way as well.

Im only running this program for 8 weeks(in the 7th) as it takes its toll on you.

[Minaku]

I have discovered that I am not allowed to do lunges while pregnant, nor any other exercise that has me lying on my back (even for short periods!) or exerting myself a whole lot (no walking uphill on a treadmill). I'm sorry, but what part of pregnancy does it state that you have to turn into a motherfucking goddamn pansy during your time? Can I fucking lift weights or what? It's like the only thing I can do is a seated row and seated shoulder flies and I do not have the machines to assist me in doing those properly.

I think I have to sign up for pregnancy pussy yoga or something where some lady with a fake gentle voice will tell me to engage the pelvic floor and breathe through, since obviously the only reason why I want to exercise during pregnancy is because I want to make my labor easier. Goddamn.

Yeah, I'm kinda surly today. Sorry.

Edit: I can't even do fucking pelvic tilts on the floor, I have to use an exercise ball (which I don't have anymore). Fuck! It doesn't take that long to do a set of pelvic tilts!

[seastarr]

I do very much enjoy playing ultimate and want to do more of that. Now for that, what I mostly need is leg strength and cardio fitness. Core muscles, flexibility and such things are obviously important as well.

There are some things I cannot do, however. Yoga is first on this list, and I suspect that Pilates would be there as well. My right wrist was broken when I was 12 or so and it was set crookedly so that I have problems supporting my weight on it if it's at an odd angle. This doesn't cause problems with lifting weights, but does cause me pain if I try to do regular push-ups because of the angle it puts my joint at. If I have push-up bars or something, it's no trouble at all. Rock climbing might or might not be a good thing. I'm not sure, having never really tried it.

One thing I've considered is trying to train for a marathon. That would take on the order of five-six months, probably, which would be feasible for the fall season. I do worry about my knees having issues if I run that much, however, as they have caused me some trouble in the past. And to be honest, playing ultimate is more fun than just running. I'd rather do a mix of training, trying to increase my strength and flexibility as well, rather than just run run run.

See, it looks like you already have some great ideas about where to begin! I wouldn't discount yoga or pilates but you might need to try in a private setting first if it was really your interest. If it doesn't interest you, of course, look to other options. The key is to find practices you really enjoy.

BTW, Liffguard, I wasn't knocking lifting weights. I was simply trying to demonstrate that there are lots of ways other than lifting weights to get exercise. Sometimes people forget that, and our thread is quite heavy on weight-lifting advice and routines, but not so much other stuff. If you love lifting, I'm all for you doing it. If you don't love it, there's other stuff you can do. Enjoyment is key.

[Elrostar]

Ok, so I just went to the gym in my building and ran five miles on the treadmill. Hooray for doing something.

One thing that is a source of some annoyance is that my heart rate zones are weird. As best as I can tell, when I'm running, even for long periods of time, my heart rate is comfortably around 180 or so. But that's way above what my anaerobic threshold ought to be, and there's no way I should be able to sustain that for forty to fifty minutes (six minute miles for now, makes me feel like decrepit, but that's another matter). But that's the same as it always was. If anything, I used to run with it closer to 190 (back when I was around 20) for well over an hour.

I guess it's possible to have these zones actually mapped out properly by someone? I'm pretty sure I've lost my heart rate monitor along the way, but getting a new one might well be a good idea?

And I realize there are lots of ways of getting exercise. I actually enjoy weights (combined with other things), and see it as a good way of improving fitness for things like ultimate and other stuff like that. I don't want to do exclusively weight lifting, but I do think it can be helpful in combination with running and/or other cardio things.

[Centrist Simon Steele]

I'm losing faith--I'm losing the will to work out! Someone help me!

Today I went into the locker room to wash my hands, and I get cut off by a 5'5 dude, about 50 years old, and pretty chunky. He was butt naked, covered in hair, so I shielded my eyes. Some people have the mental ability to stroll their naked chubby bodies through a locker room full of people, and not even worry about picking up fungus as they slide their wet bare feet across the floor.

I wash my hands, turn around and there he is with one of his feet up on the low counter, all spread out in front of me, and BLOW DRYING his balls!! I fucking nearly puked. Those are the blow dryers the fitness center provides for everyone to use. Now I'm glad I never use their devices. What the fuck is wrong with that guy? Doesn't that seem excessive?

[Elrostar]

I'm losing faith--I'm losing the will to work out! Someone help me!

Today I went into the locker room to wash my hands, and I get cut off by a 5'5 dude, about 50 years old, and pretty chunky. He was butt naked, covered in hair, so I shielded my eyes. Some people have the mental ability to stroll their naked chubby bodies through a locker room full of people, and not even worry about picking up fungus as they slide their wet bare feet across the floor.

I wash my hands, turn around and there he is with one of his feet up on the low counter, all spread out in front of me, and BLOW DRYING his balls!! I fucking nearly puked. Those are the blow dryers the fitness center provides for everyone to use. Now I'm glad I never use their devices. What the fuck is wrong with that guy? Doesn't that seem excessive?

Okay, that is serious. Yes, you should apparently never use one of the blow dryers in this place. It really brings a whole new connotation to the word 'blow' in that phrase. Eww.

But do not let him destroy your will to work out. Come on. If I can start going to the gym again, you shouldn't let some silly doofus stop you from continuing to go.

[Red Sun]

Minaku, that's really bad for you, but this makes me wonder:

exerting myself a whole lot (no walking uphill on a treadmill)

I mean, there might be women who live in mountaneous regions. Do they stop walking around once they are pregnant? I think walking uphill (on a treadmill or somewhere else) can not be so bad, but I'm not a doctor. However, I also think that you need to keep your entire body strong for delivery, not only the muscles of your lower body, and especially regular cardio (maybe a bit slower than usual) is very important.

[lokisnow]

I have discovered that I am not allowed to do lunges while pregnant, nor any other exercise that has me lying on my back (even for short periods!) or exerting myself a whole lot (no walking uphill on a treadmill). I'm sorry, but what part of pregnancy does it state that you have to turn into a motherfucking goddamn pansy during your time? Can I fucking lift weights or what? It's like the only thing I can do is a seated row and seated shoulder flies and I do not have the machines to assist me in doing those properly.

I think I have to sign up for pregnancy pussy yoga or something where some lady with a fake gentle voice will tell me to engage the pelvic floor and breathe through, since obviously the only reason why I want to exercise during pregnancy is because I want to make my labor easier. Goddamn.

Yeah, I'm kinda surly today. Sorry.

Edit: I can't even do fucking pelvic tilts on the floor, I have to use an exercise ball (which I don't have anymore). Fuck! It doesn't take that long to do a set of pelvic tilts!

sheesh, your doctors are too lenient. It's called confinement, you really shouldn't even leave the bedchamber.

--

I'd skipped cardio day the last two weeks, so today I got back on the treadmill. And I did 46 minutes without slowing down from a jog to a walk! that is a huge new record for me, breaking my previous record by 13 minutes! :D needless to say I'm ecstatic. I probably could have gone longer but I needed a drink of water and it was a commercial break on the TV :-p

[Angalin]

I have discovered that I am not allowed to do lunges while pregnant, nor any other exercise that has me lying on my back (even for short periods!) or exerting myself a whole lot (no walking uphill on a treadmill). I'm sorry, but what part of pregnancy does it state that you have to turn into a motherfucking goddamn pansy during your time? Can I fucking lift weights or what? It's like the only thing I can do is a seated row and seated shoulder flies and I do not have the machines to assist me in doing those properly.

I think I have to sign up for pregnancy pussy yoga or something where some lady with a fake gentle voice will tell me to engage the pelvic floor and breathe through, since obviously the only reason why I want to exercise during pregnancy is because I want to make my labor easier. Goddamn.

Yeah, I'm kinda surly today. Sorry.

Edit: I can't even do fucking pelvic tilts on the floor, I have to use an exercise ball (which I don't have anymore). Fuck! It doesn't take that long to do a set of pelvic tilts!

When I was pregnant, I used to go for walks in my building at lunchtime and was told to knock off taking the stairs. :/ Yes, it's frustrating, but having a preterm baby with associated problems takes helplessness to a whole new level. How far along are you?

[Stego]

I'm losing faith--I'm losing the will to work out! Someone help me!

Today I went into the locker room to wash my hands, and I get cut off by a 5'5 dude, about 50 years old, and pretty chunky. He was butt naked, covered in hair, so I shielded my eyes. Some people have the mental ability to stroll their naked chubby bodies through a locker room full of people, and not even worry about picking up fungus as they slide their wet bare feet across the floor.

I wash my hands, turn around and there he is with one of his feet up on the low counter, all spread out in front of me, and BLOW DRYING his balls!! I fucking nearly puked. Those are the blow dryers the fitness center provides for everyone to use. Now I'm glad I never use their devices. What the fuck is wrong with that guy? Doesn't that seem excessive?

I would have lost my mind and screamed at him.

I went off on some douche bag old man today for bumping into me while I was bench pressing. (My wife was able to catch the bar before I was injured.) Every gym has his type -- 45, bald w/ comb over, inappropriate workout attire, 100 dollar weightlifting glove contraptions that only a douche would wear, unmindful of others personal space, lifting weights that my wife warms up with (with bad form), and taking 10 minutes between sets while sitting on a piece of equipment waiting for said equipment to hatch or some shit.

I'm pretty sure that if I were not personal friends with the gym's manager, I would have been asked to leave when I pointed all of these facts and more out to said gentleman. Loudly.

I'm still fucking pissed. Jackhole.