Pump You Up: The Fitness Thread

[k-prime]

k-prime- What do you mean by plateau? If it's building muscle mass it's probably because you're doing your weights after you do cardio.

My normal routine has me doing twenty minutes of cardio first as a warm-up, and then 10-30 minutes after weights. Would that balance it out?
It was more that I found in the past month or so, I wasn't increasing in reps or weight. When I tried to increase, it was difficult to do. I also found myself becoming slightly bored with my routine, so I decided it was time for a change. I'm starting to steer away from machines now, and getting a little bit more into free weights. It's too soon to tell how that will help with increasing, but it definitely renewed my interest!
After taking three days off (packing to move + staff party-induced hangover = no motivation), I hit the gym today for a good 20 minutes on the exercise bike, an hour and a bit of weights, and another ten minutes on the row machine. Not many people use it at my club, but I love rowing! I can't wait to go canoeing in the summer to see the improvement!

[Tarababy77]

As a pre-workout, 10 to 15 minutes of cardio is good enough. I do that to get the blood pumping in my body, before I hit the weights (fills joints with blood as a lubricant). Afterwards, though, I do about 30-45 minutes on either the cross trainer or the bike. Being that my squadron runs 3 times a week, I don't need to use the treadmill. Free weights will develop muscles a little different than machines. It take more muscles to control, move, and balance the free weights than machined weights. If you get bored of your workout, spice it up! I LOVE weightlifting/bodybuilding!!! 8 years strong. But, take a look at your workout. Move major muscle groups around. Mix them with different minor muscles. Example, instead of doing just chest on one day, do chest and calves. Mix in bi's or tri's in with your back day. For shoulders, maybe one week, you do shoulders with all free weights then the following week, do them with just machine weights. Just little things like that will keep your body from remembering your workout routine.

Just my .02 cents. =)

[Gatito Grande]

But, take a look at your workout. Move major muscle groups around. Mix them with different minor muscles.

Yes, exactly Aaron (and happy bday again, BTW. Capricorns unite!)

Now that I finally have my weight-set set up the way I like (inside!), I can use some exercise equipment that I either bought cheap, or found (I can't remember which), that I haven't used before.

. . . i.e., I've got a "pec deck" attachment, for my bench (a pec curl-er), that I just set up today. While I usually work my pecs (that's the pectoralis, or chest muscles, for you uninitiated ) doing a bench press, the pec curl thingie works the muscles in a slightly different way (I'll know better tomorrow---when delayed onset muscle soreness, or DOMS, sets in---but I'd say the pec deck works the pecs at a slightly higher place on the muscles, than does a bench press).

Mixing up your routine is both good for your muscles (working different ones in different places, at different rates in different ways, etc!), and for your head (so you don't get bored---and ergo, keep working out!)

GG Keep it up, athletic Kittens! Out

[HalfCamel]

Today I did some weight lifting and then about 20 minutes on my elliptical machine.

Can someone clear this up for me: is it true you should alternate days when lifting weights, like one day yes, one day no? Something about letting the muscles rest or grow or something like that. I mostly focus on my upper body when lifting, so I was focusing on that almost everyday.

Jackie

[Gatito Grande]

Jackie, if you're trying to build muscle mass, then you definitely should NOT lift every day.

Essentially, lifting weights is like injuring your muscles . . . then they HEAL STRONGER. Injuring your muscles . . . then they HEAL STRONGER.

The muscles need that time of healing, in between lifting (which is like injury---which is not to say you should be insane in the amount you lift, such that one does serious damage).

In my own experience, I need at least 2 days off between lifting (e.g. lift Friday, then I can lift again on Monday). But that may vary, w/ how intense your work-out is (if your lifting light weights, and not really seeking to build mass, you might be able to lift every other day. Conversely, a strenuous "I'm increasing my weights each time"-type workout might require 3-5 days between sessions).

But cardio you can do virtually every day (though again, don't be crazy about it. If you've just increased your runs from 1 mile to 2, or 3 miles to 5, etc., give yourself a day off every once in a while. And never push yourself if you're seriously HURTING!)

GG Who lifted yesterday, and went for a vigorous walk/hike today. I should be so motivated, as to do cardio everyday---I wish! Out

[hin768]

hey everyone, just popped in to say I have been keeping up with the walking about 3-4 times a week and usually do about 2kms a day now. It's pretty hilly where I walk though so it's got me sweating it out The weather has been terrible lately, really humid but raining so not great for being outdoors.

Anyway, I could be imaging it but my moods seem to be a little more even lately AND have been feeling better in general so I am just want to keep it up now.

Once I'm in the routine I find it quite easy, also have used the trick that someone wrote about earlier, if you don;t feel like working out just get your gear on and tell yourself you'll just go for 10 mins and if you still don;t want to do it then you can stop. Works great as by that time the endorphins tend to be going and I don;t feel like quittting.

[k-prime]

Today was a good day, being my day off I could spend as much time as I wanted at the gym. Yes, this is something I get excited about.
20 minutes on the bike, an hour of weights, and then half an hour on the rowing machine.
My best friend and his fiancee have invited me to go on a five-day hiking trip in the summer, so now I have a specific goal to focus towards, and renewed ambitions to get my knees strengthened. Yay!

[Trom DeGrey]

k-prime- I would second what Aaron and GG said entirely. Cut down your cardio warm-up and stick with the free weights. Keep your muscles guessing by changing routines and angles. The only other thing I could offer would be to suggest you revisit your nutrition. Are you drinking a protein shake after you lift? If so, let me suggest changing to one that has more carbs in it so that you aren't robbing yourself of any muscle growth when you do your longer cardio afterward. EAT after you exercise! Your body needs fuel to recover. Eat a meal with a lean protein, a complex carb and a fibrous carb (think broccoli).


I've been very good to myself this week. I was getting discouraged last week and had two friends who are going to play football take me out to lunch separately to give me a pep talk. It got me back on the horse. I walked 45 minutes Monday, lifted (arms, pecs, upper back) Tuesday, went through a 45 minute stretch routine and then did ab work (OWIE!) Wednesday and lifted (legs) Thursday. I went trail running yesterday, which I've been dying to do for a while. It was muddy and I was sucking wind, but it was nice to cover real ground instead of walking in a circle like I do here in the halls outside my office at night. Went for an extended, hilly, MUDDY hike today and walked a little tonight. Might take tomorrow off. I don't know what this week will hold though. Business partner just found out that the mother of her best friend from college died suddenly this afternoon, so I'll be covering her appointments for a few days next week. One of my friends suggested keeping a journal. I realize for most of you this is an ongoing routine in your life, but I'm really sort of working back into things and going on this journey back toward the real me inside, so I might just do that. Maybe even a blog. Do any of you keep a journal about your fitness and exercise?

[Gatito Grande]

One of my friends suggested keeping a journal. I realize for most of you this is an ongoing routine in your life, but I'm really sort of working back into things and going on this journey back toward the real me inside, so I might just do that. Maybe even a blog. Do any of you keep a journal about your fitness and exercise?

Uff da, Trom, that's ambitious. I just wanna get a clipboard w/ some ruled paper up in the garage (my gym), so I can keep (more accurate) accounts of my exercises, weights, sets and reps (and when I did them, obviously). For a "J" like myself, I think that would provide more tangible evidence that I am, in fact, Getting Stronger (which will, in turn, provide me more motivation to Keep At It!!!)

GG I hope I'm not being too narcissistic about all this. But I just have this feeling that, as my body becomes more fit, any potential Ms. Rights out there will take one look at me , and swoon! Out

(Sorta like a butch female version of those "I Want Your Bod!" Bod Man ads... )

[HalfCamel]

GG: Thanks for the advice on the lifting, it cleared up some things.

Trom: If you don't mind me asking, what ab work were you doing? I was doing some sets where I lie on my back, lift my legs straight up, and then lift my butt up off the floor (I don't know what it's called).

Today I took a day off. But yesterday I was working out for about an hour, which consisted of cardio and weight lifting.

[Trom DeGrey]

GG- I don't think that sounds narcissistic. Sounds more like a plan. And I went ahead and started a blog. I think I did it more for a place to let go of my frustrations more than anything.

HalfCamel- I do crunches, leg lifts and something called alternate heel touches. Here's a link that shows several ab exercises including those alternate heel touches. A lot of them I wouldn't try, but I'm way out of shape too.



Watched the Steelers win today and ate like it was going outta style. Gonna walk with the dog a little tonight so I can sleep and not be miserable.

[JustSkipIt]

I'm really happy and proud of all the kittens who are keeping up with their programs. I've had a cold/sore throat for the last week and haven't been able to work out. I've almost done it but my wife keeps telling me to let myself get better. I know she's right but I miss it. I'm hoping I can get back to working out by the end of the week.

[russ]

hin - Congrats for keeping with the walking. I can't wait for decent walking conditions to return.

I could be imaging it but my moods seem to be a little more even lately AND have been feeling better in general ...

That's the neat thing about exercise-induced well-being: it sort of sneaks up on you so you don't really notice the process of getting to feel better.

k-prime - I know what you mean about getting excited by lots of gym time. It's one of the reasons I so look forward to Saturdays.

Is the hike in BC? You've got lots of really nice but steep trails there. After my first trip I started doing stairmaster & treadmill at a steep incline, to get in shape for those trails. (Hills are kind of scarce around here.)

Debra - Sorry to hear you've been under the weather. Just take it easy & the body will tell you when it feels well enough to work out.

Nifty new Ashvatar. He just keeps increasing the cuteness factor, doesn't he?

Last week was kind of a washout exercise-wise. Meetings that went late meant sleeping in instead of working out, then had to go out of town for a funeral. Did an extra hour at the gym on Saturday, which kind of got things kick-started, so I think I'm back on track.

Russ

[Trom DeGrey]

Debra- Sorry to hear you're not feeling well, but gald to hear the wife has put her foot down and insisted you get better first. Asher is just a doll baby! Has he got the 'Horns hand gesture down yet?


I went trailing again today. Didn't run much. It was a bit too cold on my slightly asthmatic lungs, but there is a long steep staircase built up the side on a hill in the park that I went up and down three times. I was pretty pleased with myself over that. A friend that played defensive tackle last year suggested steps to strengthen my quads fast. That and squats. God how I hate squats. I also started a blog that I'll get into my sig line here in a little bit. Just a place for me to rant more than anything though I guess. The more I grow frustrated with my waistline, the more I need that outlet.

[k-prime]

Thanks for the advice, all. I do appreciate it. Of course, now my routine is going to change since my focus changed, so a lot of it doesn't apply, but it's always good to know for when I'm done my current training program.
russ, yes the hike is in BC. Mt. Robson, to be specific, if you've heard of it. It's supposed to be fairly intense, and we're doing a full-gear hike, so I'm a little bit terrified. I'm glad we worked out the plans soon enough for me to start training six months in advance, or else I wouldn't make it. Also, I have new incentive to quit my ten-year smoking habit. Horrible, I know.
So cardio is my new thing! I'm starting out easy, today I did a half hour on the bike, half hour of lower body weight training, and twenty minutes on a weird, new cross-training machine at my gym. After I rebuild some of my lung capacity, I'll work up the guts for the stairmaster and hopefully start doing some trail running in the spring.
Any other advice for hiking training?

[Trom DeGrey]

Steps. They're my new best friend too. If your knee is creaky, however, let me suggest this: A different way to do leg extensions. Put a very light weight on the machine, extend the weight with both legs and then lower one leg completely. With the extended leg, lower the weight only a quarter to half way and then extend back up. Just do a set of ten to start until you know how your knee will react. This works your quads at their insertions around the knee and I am using it to build up my creaky left knee. As soon as you can, start hiking flat trails with the weight on your back too and learn how to pack that weight so that it's comfortable and won't throw you off balance.

Aaron- Do you have to do pack runs/hikes in the AF? You could help with this one more than this old App. Trail hiker could.

[gabbles]

Go all you hard working kittens!

Weeeell...I've been doing Strawberry Picking!! If you guys want to do something that tones your ass and your legs, do strawberry picking. It kills you; it's hard work...but, God, I found out I had muscles I didn't know existed!

So yes, I don't do much walking anymore, as I come back from this and crash ! But wow, it seems worth it. And I'm doing it with close mates, so it's also made fun:)

Go try it!
*hugz*
~Gabs
(who realises that most of the Kittens already have jobs...)

[Trom DeGrey]

Set a new record for myself last night by curling a full set @ 50lbs! WHOOHOO!!!!! I also put on my favorite scrub pants today and made an exciting discovery. I haven't worn them in a while and now only two words can describe them: CLOWN PANTS.

[Tarababy77]

Set a new record for myself last night by curling a full set @ 50lbs! WHOOHOO!!!!! I also put on my favorite scrub pants today and made an exciting discovery. I haven't worn them in a while and now only two words can describe them: CLOWN PANTS.

Good on you!!! I know this is going to sound extreme, but I hit a milestone for myself. I have been working on hitting the 6 minute mile.........and I finally did. Thought I had coughed up a lung, lol. But I did it.

I lift 5 days a week and I give myself one complete day off and one day of just cardio. This is what my schedule looks like:

Monday
Morning: 10min of cardio; Back and calves; 45min of cardio
Night: Lats and lower back (deadlifts); Bi's
Tuesday
Morning: 10min of cardio; Shoulders; 3 mile run
Night: Traps and rear delts
Wednesday
COMPLETELY OFF!!! SLEEP, SLEEP, SLEEP
Thursday
Morning: 10min of cardio; Chest; 45min of cardio
Night: Tri's and forearms; 2 mile run
Friday
Morning: 10min of cardio; LEGS!!!!! 1hr of cardio
Night: Arms
Saturday
Morning: Lower back; Abs; light chest; 30min of cardio
Night: Off (VW car meet, heehee)
Sunday
Morning: Off (Church)
Night: 3 mile run.

Sorry for the long post. For about the next 3 weeks, that will be my schedule. Then I will change it up to prep for the desert. Just wanted to share. Smiles. =)

[k-prime]

Good God! You make me feel like a sissy! lol.
Trom, good on you! That's a huge amount of weight! I curl 15 lbs, I can't imagine 50...
Tarababy77, congrats! From the looks of it, you have a pretty intense next few weeks planned out for you. Good luck sticking to it. Hats off to you.
I'm busy packing and moving this week, which makes gym time a little difficult, but I have tomorrow off, and am planning on at least two hours at the gym. Plus, I talked to my new kickboxing coach tonight, and she said the plates in my arm shouldn't really hamper me at all. Yay! I start on Monday!

[Scortor]

I used to have a job that was so hectic, working in itself was like running a marathon. Unfortunately I don't have that job anymore so my source of exercise for the fall was 3 hour soccer practices 5-6 days a week. Once winter kicked in I got a little lazy and just focused on schoolwork. For christmas, however, I got 2 DDR games and DDR mats for the PS2. I've been doing at least 2 hours a day every day since Christmas. DDR can be damn tiring based on the difficulty level. I don't think I'll be able to walk for another twenty minutes, but my pants fit better. =)

[Trom DeGrey]

Aaron- I'm interested in your splits. How often do you change them and how do you decide what part to work in conjunction with that other part? Did that make sense? Anyway, do you ever superset? I did it before I even knew what they were called. It just made sense to me to work a muscle group and then work it's antagonist directly after. Thanks for listing your workout, it was cool to look through.

k-prime- A plate in your arm????? OWIE!!!! Cool that it won't stop you from kickboxing though.


I'm trying to convince myself to go lift. It's leg night and I've had a shitty day/evening. I know, ten minutes. But I'm not even sure I can make myself do that right now.

[Foomatic]

I've finally got over my ear infection this week, and was well enough to go running. I've started running in the morning now, which I thought I'd never do cause I'll usually take 30 extra minutes of sleep over anything, but I'm up and out the door by 6:40. It's been good, hopefully I'll be able to keep it up.

Tonight I had my boxing class, and man did he work us today. I finally got a chance to work with the punching mitts, which allowed me to use all the punches and combos I've learned, and it's more exciting than hitting the big bags. We did work with medicine balls, lots of ab stuff. It's been a while since I've felt the burn of abs. I couldn't keep up with the guys in the class, but I'm hoping that I can eventually work my way up to that level.

[k-prime]

Trom - Definitely owie! lol. One surgery, two plates, and two days in the hospital later, I discovered that four wheelers are not my friend. I just keep telling myself that bones heal, and chicks dig scars. Now I just need to find one that does...
Foo - Boxing? Awesome! That's hardcore! I was extremely torn between kickboxing and normal boxing. The price finally won the battle for me ($50 a month for boxing, $20 for kickboxing).
Today I went to the gym, even though my workout buddy is out of town for a week. It wasn't the same (we're very competitive, and that helps me a lot), but I still managed to do 20 min on the bike, 40 min of weight training, and 20 min on a cross training machine for my cardio. Woo!

[Tarababy77]

Aaron- I'm interested in your splits. How often do you change them and how do you decide what part to work in conjunction with that other part? Did that make sense? Anyway, do you ever superset? I did it before I even knew what they were called. It just made sense to me to work a muscle group and then work it's antagonist directly after. Thanks for listing your workout, it was cool to look through.

The way I pick my splits is based on what plateau have I hit. For example, while i was in the desert last year, I plateau'd on my back. So a way for me to kinda break it, I made my back day compliment delts day. Upper, middle and rear delts all compliment your back muscles. Also too, it's just a way to keep me guessing on how my body will react. But starting with majors and minors (ie. chest and tri's, back and bi's, etc...) is definitely not a bad schedule. Then if you find yourself getting bored of chest and tri's, leave tri's for another day and workout chest and calves, or chest and abs. A few years ago, all I would work out is chest, one day, back, another day, arms, another day... It was great because you workout only that major muscle group. You can focus all your workout energy to that group and that group only. But now, I've got a show coming up and I am explorering new workout schedules and muscle grouping, to maximize my efforts. Also, to prep for the desert! Hope that helps.

BTW, my workout partner/supervisor mentioned that for cardio to do it's fat burning or cardio training, you need to sustain that excerise for at least 20 minutes. Just some info. =)

[Gatito Grande]

I had a good work-out Thursday. . . notable, since it was the first I'd had (weight-lifting) since giving blood on Monday (which, on humanitarian principle, I like to do as often as I can).

Though I've long hankered for a lat-pull attachment (y'know, the bar-on-cable-attached-to-an-overhead-pulley kind), I've been unable to find one (used. cheaply-priced).

However, just recently, I figured out a way I can use my bicep-curl attachment in much the same way: just take out the "Preacher's Bench" attachment, and pull the weights (focussing on my lats, of course!) straight to my chest. Until I can get that pulley-bar thang, it's a decent substitute...

GG I''ll get my "V-shape" yet! Out

Aaron, you're an awesome inspiration, Airman-boy!

[HalfCamel]

Today I did about an hour of cardio and about half an hour of weight lifting. With all this exercise I'm feeling really good. It's been about two weeks or so since I started exercising again and I'm already seeing results. Needless to say, I'm really happy about that. Yay for exercise!

[Trom DeGrey]

I'm not sure if this is pathetic or just ridiculous, but I realized this afternoon that I can now tie my shoes without having to hold my breath when I bend over.

[JustSkipIt]

Well, I'm thrilled to see that everyone has been keeping up so well. I'm finally on the mend from my cold and decided to do a limited workout this morning. I went 25 minutes on the Nordic Track. I feel tired but really excited that I was able to do something. My goal is to get back to my 8 minutes and 40 minute Nordic Tracks by next week.

[russ]

Trom - Neither pathetic nor ridiculous; rather, a milestone. It's little accomplishments like this that mark our progress. For me it was when I realized I was effortlessly standing on one foot to dry the other.

Debra - Glad to hear you're starting to feel better. Those long-lasting colds are miserable. Did you try getting outdoors to walk when you had it? I find that somehow fresh air and mild exercise tends to give some relief from a cold. Of course, that's only if the weather is decent; you don't want to get soaked or chilled.

Russ