The Fitness Thread!

[Fish Of Doom]

So, what do you guys do for fitness, if anything?

I lift weights and train martial arts, mostly, although I've been known to sprint randomly when bored of walking, and I trained parkour for a bit.

So, yeah, fitness thread. Share methods, article, etc, discuss their merits, ask questions, post motivational stuff, etc. Also, any of you guys active on fitocracy?

[DeafMute]

Id advise anyone with the extra room to buy a bench, bar and dumbel set.
Picked mine up for £220 weights included (90kg) and Ill never need to bother with a gym membership ever again.

I mainly stick to my bench, sit ups, inclines, declines, standard pushes throw in squats and military presses and Im good to go.
I also grabbed a tri-work bar.
Brilliant for working all over your arms.

Oh yeah and Im drinking PhD synergy-ISO-7.
Great mass builder and recovery drink.

-EDIT
Ill add my techniques later.

[Misiok]

I'm more interested in how you guys, if you did not work out earlier, keep working out. I started after the new year, the first and second month was okay, but then I just felt too tired to actually bother. I just can't keep my will going. Might be also because each time I'm there I barely know what I'm doing.

[DeafMute]

Pro-tip.
When you become "tired" (LOL) its not because you are tired, its because you are becoming bored.
like anything inlife if you keep repeating it you grow tired of it. Research new techniques, play different music and set new targets for yourself. It really is that simple.
Say if your working cardio, tired of running? Go swimming for afew weeks. Varity is the spice of life afterall.

[Fish Of Doom]

i'm currently doing loosely following stronglifts 5x5, with some extra stuff at the end if the body's up to it (some ring work, static holds, etc, and kettlebell bent presses to help finally rehab an old shoulder injury). when i can't get to the gym, i have a 16kg kettlebell at home that i put to good use (just did a pretty decent workout a while ago, actually).

i don't take any supps, but i've gotten into the habit of drinking a liter of chocolate milk every day. i like chocolate milk

[scoiatollo]

I'm not doing it alone, that's the one thing I really hate, working out alone... Just get someone to do it with you helps a lot with your motivation in my experience.

Having said that I am mainly running and doing weights (not really regularly these days, but that doesn't matter, 'cause thanks to my job I am walking a few km every day anyway...)

[Fish Of Doom]

@misiok: well, if you don't know what you're doing, you have no way to actually progress, so it figures that you'd mentally burn out

what WERE you doing, in any case? what kind of exercise, how many times per week, etc? it might just be that you were doing something that was simply unsustainable (too much exercise volume, too little rest, improper nutrition, etc).

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@scoia: agreed, having a training partner is probably the single best way to keep at it, mostly because it makes you accountable to someone else. i've found that when i lifted at home i did pretty much nothing, whereas now that i'm regularly going to the gym i'm much more productive, since i actually have to go through all the ritual of getting my stuff ready, getting out of the house, going to the gym, changing there, etc instead of just lazily eyeing the weights and ending up not exercising. go figure

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as a random aside, i find that crossfit-style kettlebell swings are absolute murder on the forearms. this pleases me immensely.

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oh, and here's an epic article that all women should read: http://nerdfitness.com/blog/2011/07/...ng-super-hero/

[Shoota Fodder]

I used to go to the gym a lot, started last year after the new year. But I found that it was mainly just doing dumbell arm curls and working on the chest and peck resistance machines. I quit because I couldn't afford the membership fees any more, so instead spent £40 quid on a decent set of dumbells. So now I just do curls at home for my biceps and fill a rucksack with bricks and do press ups for my chest.

I've always ran as well so I keep that up, doing the occasional 2 mile run once a week or so. I've also recently got into rock climbing which I do at the centre where I live. I'm really getting into it to be honest, and it really does keep you fit and strong. Can't say much about weight loss or gain though. I've been stuck at a balanced 8 and a half stone (About 55kg I think?) since I stopped growing about 3 years ago. It sounds bad, but I'm only 5ft 7 (170cm) so I'm just a bit below average build looking. I don't have any fat at all really, but I can't seem to put muscle on, even with drinking protein shakes increasing the amount of food I eat and doing this at the same time as doing reasonably heavy arm curls and bench presses. I'm not too bothered though, I'm healthy, I can run and have good stamina, and I'm reasonably strong although I don't look it.

[Fish Of Doom]

dude, i'm 5 feet tall and i weight 57 kg... (but i'm also fat because of all the milk ). but yeah, climbing is fucking hardcore in the strength department, particularly regarding grip. climbers have INSANE strength in their hands.

also, heavy arm curls won't do much for you. squat, deadlift, bench press at the very least if you wanna pack on some size, while eating like a horse. google stronglifts 5x5 or mark rippetoe's starting strength program for two very good barbell-based programs that are essentially the "standard" thing to do when you're just starting. you're likely not gonna grow until you're squatting and deadlifting well over your own weight .

[Gorb]

I don't get the obsession with weights, personally. It's not that I have anything against it, I just don't understand why people feel the need to pump iron to keep fit.

I train for water polo (borne out of competitive swimming during my adolescence) and it keeps me both superbly fit and superbly entertained. Two - three times a week during term time (though that's ending when I graduate this summer ) with semi-regular matches.

Though I do have something of a godlike metabolism; no idea how long I'll keep it for though

[Fish Of Doom]

because it works. it serves a specific goal, and it is one of the most intensive ways to work out, therefore a particularly efficient one when done right. also it's fun, and if you have a balanced program, it keeps you healthy, as well as fit. different people like different kinds of exercise, though, so personal preference does play a large role into it as well.

[LeviathansWrath]

i walk to a gym thats 4 miles from my house and back so include the gym and walking back that is 8miles for 4 days.

[Misiok]

I was doing mainly fitness things. Like this and then the treadmill, balanced out in an hour and half - 2 hours, 3 days a week. Problem is I'm usually alone there so it is hard not to get bored. When I get home I'm so tired I just hit the sack an hour or so after getting back.

[DeafMute]

Pro-tip when it comes to any bike, treadmill or rowing machine training.
Do 1min hardcore all in exercise then cool off for 30secs, rinse and repeat for 30mins.

Didnt think some of you guys were so small, or maybe im just too tall?
Standing at 6' 2" with 13stone last time I weighed in. target weight is 15stone as being taller means I need the extra weight to match my hieght, its why tall people appear so skinny.
Atm Id say cardio is my weakness but Im looking to solve that by getting into boxing, see how it goes.

Gorb, think this obsession you speak of is the manly side of weight lifting, that competative nature which all men have.
And since most guys train, and often men fight, it couldnt hurt to have abit of size/strength behind you when things get messy, either as defence or as a deterrant against possible attackers.
Which leads me to ask this, the shorter guys here. Is LMS true? (little man syndrome) =P -Being more agressive to prove ones manliness when stacked up against taller/bigger guys.

[Goobers]

I have an exercise bike in front of the TV and that's about it for my fitness regime.

If I want to watch TV, then I need sit on the bike because it's blocking the couch, from there I am compelled to peddle away until the show ends.



It must be working because given my lifestyle I'm not as overweight as I could be.

[Fish Of Doom]

@deafmute: yeah, usually is

@goobers: that is fucking genius.

@misiok: cardio is really low intensity and high duration (which is what makes it naturally boring), that's probably why it was not working. try what deafmute suggested (google 'high-intensity interval training' to learn a bit more about how it works and find a few 'formal' programs using it), or look for something that's inherently more high-intensity if your goal is fitness, such as weightlifting, bodyweight training, gymnastics, parkour, sprinting, climbing, etc. if you wanna pack on a bit muscle, eat a lot (particularly high-protein sources like whole milk, eggs and meat, which are important for both building and maintaining muscle) , and if you wanna lose weight, track your nutritional intake and gradually reduce your total calorie intake until both scale and mirror tell you that you're where you want to be.

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also, deafmute, yes, you're too tall. *punches you in the knee*

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while we're at it (although we're not actually at it ), just found an excellent article detailing the differences between the high-bar and low-bar styles of squatting:

http://www.70sbig.com/blog/2012/01/l...bar-squatting/

[Akranadas]

You could always try Fitocracy, kind of a social media style work out place where you can gain levels from completing exercise.

[Fish Of Doom]

yeah, fitocracy's really cool. excellent community as well. i'm there as thefishofdoom, if anyone's also got an account there.

[absauston]

Aside from the T.V. (which I think is great) I listen to music. Preferably music that motivates you to work out, it helps me pass the time. Next to that there is the ladies Or hell, just stand in front of a mirror and ask yourself is this what I want to look like?

[Croaxleigh]

I started trying to get back into shape earlier this year (my fitness level went to hell a few years back when I was lucky enough to contract Legionnaire's Disease along with a lesser coinfection that I can't remember the name of... if you ever want to lose about 30 pounds over the course of a week or two, that's a good way to start), with the eventual goal of competing in a national fencing competition by year's end. The plan was to start with walking and then progress into jogging to help get my endurance back up, though I recently ran into a bit of a stumbling block with that as I managed to hurt both of my knees in different ways on the same day last week.

Once I get back into the swing of things and build up a bit more endurance then I'll be starting fencing training consisting of various drills, focused weight training, and hopefully a lot of swordfighting if I can sucker an old fencing buddy of mine into helping me or can rope in some of the local SCA folks.

[Fish Of Doom]

ooohhh... good luck, croaxleigh! is that modern fencing or historical fencing (longsword, arming sword, etc)?

[Kirjava]

Gaaah fitness. I have a fairly fast metabolism which ensures that I don't ever go past 15st (which is about 95kg I think), and I'm tall, so that's ok. But my complete and utter lack of dedication means I can't ever seem to get rid of the extra weight I put on at university. Damn you, week-long binge sessions and lunchtime beers! For a year, from last Feb to this Feb, I did Krav Maga on and off, regularly enough to become familiar with it but never, apparently, regularly enough to gain any actual fitness from it. I don't smoke and I was going at least once a week and running by myself every now and again as well and yet I never really saw much improvement. Sadface. Oh well. Now, my dad wants me to swim the Hellespont with him next summer so I guess I should go back to training for swimming again, which helps with surfing too...

Basically the biggest thing is that I'm lazy. If I feel tired I tell myself I'll do it tomorrow instead. It's the easiest thing in the world to put off.

[Fish Of Doom]

"If I feel tired I tell myself I'll do it tomorrow instead. It's the easiest thing in the world to put off."

WORD.

[Sastrei]

To keep from getting chunky, I don't dawdle when walking. This typically results in me blowing past everyone else and leaving a little breeze when I walk, and yet I rarely if ever run (can't for any extended time actually, asthma).
I hate doing any real fitness, and don't so I find other ways to stuff it in. Park at the far end of the parking lot, go on a nature hike. All stuff that allows my fast-walking (powerwalking?) to burn as much energy as possible.
Sadly this advantage tends to go away as soon as I'm around other people because no one can keep up.

-Stefan-

[Starfisher]

I did Starting Strength for a bit, but my recreational activities of choice (hiking, paintball) do not lend themselves to the jolly viking levels of fat demanded by the SS program. This past winter I gained 25lbs eating like crazy and lifting, now I'm down 10 of those pounds after switching over to a Leangains-esque program since February. I injured my back in January 2011 (two bulging discs), and that made most of 2011 really suck. So far, a stronger back has paid dividends in 2012.

I'll probably repeat the "eat like crazy" phase next winter when I'm not playing paintball or hiking so much. For now, I'm going on long hikes every weekend and short sprint-walks during the week.

I also have Crohn's Disease. I try to keep it under control with strict diet (mostly meat, low fiber, no gluten), so that limits a lot of my options when it comes to the traditional fitness prescriptions. I'm not going to eat a pound of pasta before a paintball game like people do before marathons and I can't just eat everything in front of me when I want to gain weight. Not causing a flare up takes precedence over lifting more weight or running longer distances.

[Fish Of Doom]

indeed. what's the point of going all out if you'll just injure yourself? always better to take the safer road, IMO.

[Belgarion]

http://forums.relicnews.com/showthre...if-a-guy-lifts

[Fish Of Doom]

YES!

[Shoota Fodder]

Aha, I forgot about that.

Which leads me to ask this, the shorter guys here. Is LMS true? (little man syndrome) =P -Being more agressive to prove ones manliness when stacked up against taller/bigger guys.

I can't say it is! I'm short and skinny and my girlfriend can carry me around but I don't mind any of it. I'm pretty laid back and I'm not too competitive, I mainly want to gain some muscle just so I'm not the 'wee guy' anymore. I don't take shit though. I can have a laugh but if some wee bam on the train pulls my headphones off my ears for a laugh, I'll happily break his nose.

[Fish Of Doom]

shoota, you're not short. i'm short.

[Vijil]

For those gamers who get bored with most exercise and aren't really turned on by or good at the usual traditional sports, I can't recommend paintball highly enough for getting out and running around all day without even noticing the exercise you're getting. Same applies to airsoft or RAM. I found that my years of FPS gaming actually did help. Try something new and interesting and you might just kick butt at it. Turns out I'm pretty darn good (by NZ standards) at close quarters gunfights!

Paintball rocks. I also ride a unicycle around a bit. I swim about twice a week but it's only bearable because I have a swimming MP3 player.

Weights are SO BORING, music and even audiobooks can't make up for that. But I try to do about 30 mins a day on my upper body and definitely notice the difference. Also a buncha pull and push ups. Paintball and unicycling are such intense leg workouts that I just ignore the lower body!

[Fish Of Doom]

[cheeky mockery]ha, if weights are boring, you're probably doing it wrong [/cheeky mockery]

i am SO not going to go on a 'free weights > machines' rant, though, tempted as i might be . that said, start squatting.

also, lol @ "clicking". i c wut u did thar

[Kirjava]

I wish I could play paintball properly but because of my wretched body, which interprets the slightest bit of movement as "exercise" and goes into overdrive if I go for a jog, I get warm and sweaty (mmm, there's a nice image for y'all), and then my visor fogs up. Not being able to see anything does kinda inhibit your ability to play, which is a real shame.

[Ewokz]

Play airsoft and use a mesh mask? I had similar troubles when I played the odd game on the weekend.

[Croaxleigh]

Fish: Modern fencing. Though I've been known to do a bit of historical rapier fencing as well.

[Fish Of Doom]

@croax: nice!

[SchizoBadger]

I find the whole traditional 'exercise' thing extremely absurd. It is forced and unnatural. My physical activity usually involves me putting severe restrictions on the things that make life easy (and boring) like driving and stuff. Most days I walk to work. If I want food, I have to walk to get it, if I am too tired or lazy, I just starve. Walk walk walk, my metabolism is not designed for running or sprinting. I am trying to do the caveman way of life as much as I can. Walk around, sometimes with a heavy pack. I'd spear deer and eat them on the way back from work if it was legal.

Why most people fail at staying healthy? Laziness and forcing unnatural and pain in the ass activities on themselves. That's my theory.
Take for example, today was the Easter lunch thing at my great aunt's old folks home thing. Instead of driving there, I walked. 5 miles away around a river. See now that is exercising. I get some work done and I accomplish a task (eating) at the same time. It's a win-win situation.

[Vijil]

and then my visor fogs up

If you plan to play more than twice a year it's worth getting your own mask. Dual pane thermal lenses deal with 90% + of the fogging issues. I haven't had a fog problem since getting my own.

Fish, I aint doing no squats, and I do (boring) free weights. I have legs of pure Titanium and can push insane weights mostly due to unicycling up and down hills and paintball which is like one extended series of static squats and lunges all day long. Upper body has some serious catching up to do.

[Fish Of Doom]

you can push insane weights because you do leg presses, which are a machine-based lift that has a limited range of motion, minimal stabilization needs and heavy focus on a single muscle group (although it's still a compound). everyone can push insane weights on the leg press. not saying you're weak, but in terms of actual strength, a big leg press says very little. this is pushing insane weights:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NtYLLYzkCck

and is actually an exercise that is much more applicable to anything than the leg press is, except for packing on thigh size (which does nothing functional since it lacks the full-body benefits of the squat). your cycling does mean you're likely quite strong, and you could probably push around a fair amount of weight on the big lower body-focused compounds like the squat and deadlift, but you simply do not brag about how much weight you can do on machines, because what you can actually lift is a very different story

and the squat works the upper back and shoulders as well if done right, particularly low-bar style.

that said, though, if you want size in the upper body, heavy bench press, pull-ups and one or two assistance exercises if you want to focus on something specific should get you well on your way.

[Rotlung]

I should be exercising, but I'm not. I so adopt SchizoBadger's approach though - walk as much as possible. While not all distances are walkable (walking from my home to my campus in Singapore would probably take several hours), I try to walk all the distances on campus, without taking the campus shuttles at all. I'm kinda doing that in UK as well, since my hall isn't too far from campus, so I just walk to and fro for classes. If I have breaks in between classes, I just walk back to hall.

Either that, or I'm really good at convincing myself that I'm getting some sort of exercise.

What about carrying packs of groceries from a supermarket to the nearest bus stop, and then from the bus stop near your place to your place? Does that count?

[Vijil]

Yeah, but my legs are big enough already. Don't want any more muscle down there. I'm not interested in getting huge or in being ridiculously ripped - just want to stay fit and reasonably not slobby looking.

Squats would probably be useful but I cbf spending much time on weights if I can avoid it.

[Fish Of Doom]

@vijil: (note, i'm not pressuring you to do squats no matter what, just pointing out they're generally more useful overall than the leg press as an exercise because they're a full body lift that uses a shitton of stabilizer muscles and will work your core and back at the same time as your lower body, which it works more completely. sorry if i seem a bit preachy )

IF you decide to start squatting:

a full 5x5 squat workout shouldn't take too much time. one squat repetition generally does't take more than 3 seconds, so if you're doing 5x5 (the standard "strength" range), with one minute of rest in between sets, counting the time left to change the plates, that'd about 10 minutes, 15 if you add warmup sets at a higher weight (usually something like 5 reps with the empty bar and 5 with half of your working weight, not really necessary until you're doing big numbers anyway). the size issue is intrinsically linked to your diet as well as to muscle stimulation, to if you're not eating to get big, you're unlikely to actually get big. if you start getting too ripped, eat a bit more and regain the lost fat, and if you gain more muscle than you're comfortable carrying, eat less and/or lift less, and you should slim down accordingly. just be sure to brush up on technique so that you squat safely (this is an excellent resource, also this). no need to go really heavy on the weight either, since you don't want to build a lot of muscle (you won't initially lift as much as you do with the leg press now, but you don't need to, either. i'd recommend aiming for something around your own bodyweight and then fiddling with sets and reps as you see fit).

@rotlung: if they're heavy, yeah, that'll help you with some things, although it'll be low intensity if it's only one short trip. there's actually an exercise called the farmer's walk that is exactly that: grabbing heavy shit and carrying it around (most people do it for general fitness and grip strength/endurance)

[Starfisher]

Squats aren't bad for paintball, but the amount of eating you have to do to really do a strength program doesn't quite work for a paintball player. Scenario or tournament is basically a 6-20+ hour walk-sprint-squat. You're somewhere between a rugby player and a marathon runner in terms of ideal fitness; you need a lot of endurance to handle the running around, and I've found a decent amount of strength to handle the constant contortions when you're in a bunker.

This coming winter I'll probably take another pass at SS, with lots more eating, but come February it's back to light weights and lots of hiking. I introduced my brother to SS and of course now he's squatting 315, the bastard. All you motherfuckers with your functional spines suck.

[Fish Of Doom]

that amount of eating is only really necessary if you're looking for huge strength and size gains in a short amount of time, though. also punch your brother for me, please. i've only just gotten my squat back to 60 kg after losing a ton of strength due to focusing on a bunch of other stuff (i'm more of a deadlift guy, anyway ).

also, anyone else here use kettlebells as well? i find them to be insanely fun, and i find that i can jury-rig some pretty damn awesome workouts with mine when i can't go to the gym.

[Starfisher]

It depends on where you're starting from. I'm your typical ridiculously skinny nerd, so I needed to eat just to get to a normal BMI, let alone having enough muscle to move any weight at all. I had my DL up to 285lbs (129kg) and my squat up to 235lbs (106kg), which while pathetic by strength standards was pretty ok for me given my back issues. I could tell I wasn't eating enough because my recovery was starting to suffer. But at that point I knew I had to get in shape for paintball (had a game in march), so no more gallon of milk for me.

I was at ~200lbs at that point. Now I'm at 185-190lbs (188 this morning) and my abs are back, though soft, so it seems like maybe I didn't gain as much fat as I would have thought. If I wanted to keep on with training for strength, though, I would have had to keep packing on the pounds.

[Gorb]

I find the whole traditional 'exercise' thing extremely absurd. It is forced and unnatural. My physical activity usually involves me putting severe restrictions on the things that make life easy (and boring) like driving and stuff. Most days I walk to work. If I want food, I have to walk to get it, if I am too tired or lazy, I just starve. Walk walk walk, my metabolism is not designed for running or sprinting. I am trying to do the caveman way of life as much as I can. Walk around, sometimes with a heavy pack. I'd spear deer and eat them on the way back from work if it was legal.

Why most people fail at staying healthy? Laziness and forcing unnatural and pain in the ass activities on themselves. That's my theory.
Take for example, today was the Easter lunch thing at my great aunt's old folks home thing. Instead of driving there, I walked. 5 miles away around a river. See now that is exercising. I get some work done and I accomplish a task (eating) at the same time. It's a win-win situation.

That's quite a slew of generalisations. Not everyone has the time to walk for five miles (which is roughly an hour or more, based on average walking speed). Some people have a desire to keep fit around a busy schedule, or using equipment that can only be gotten to after a drive (due to their location and/or available free time).

Exercise isn't forced or unnatural - by your own admittance you walked to Easter lunch, as exercise. What part of that traditional exercise (walking is about as traditional as it gets ) is forced or unnatural?

I myself like the several sessions of intensive exercise I have a week as my week is generally exceedingly busy. Even though I walk most places, and cycle where I can't walk, it doesn't necessarily keep me fit in the way that swimming and water polo does. Again, try not to generalise.

[Fish Of Doom]

that's certainly true, starfisher, but most people don't NEED humongous amounts of strength. being able to squat at least one's bodyweight with proper technique and good depth should be enough for a normal person to keep his/her legs, hips and back healthy for life. strength "standards" are retarded, simply because the upper limits are extremely goddamn high (i'm pretty sure the squat world record is around 900 pounds, and the deadlift record around 1100). i've seen a guy say that a 600 pound deadlift wouldn't impress him, which made me want to punch him in the dick. that said, being strong is awesome (now i just need to work on getting there ).

also, schizobadger, strength training is not "forced". strength training is moving against resistance, and the only differences it has with simply doing stuff in everyday life are that it's done on purpose, and done following set parameters that are instituted for both safety and efficiency. and if it were unnatural it would not work. it works because the human body adapts to high-stresses in order to be able to withstand them better should they happen again, ergo, it works BECAUSE it is natural.

[Belgarion]

That punch statement should be someones signature

[PetarB]

I do Karate 1-2 days a week (for the last 10 years). I used to do Kenjitsu at the same time (swordfighting) but that's been put on hold for now.
I do a couple of workout sessions a week. I don't watch much TV but when I do, I tie this into a workout session, so now for me, good TV (ie, Game of Thrones for example) gives me a Pavlovian impetus to pump some iron while watching it. Works out very well, excuse the pun.

[Fish Of Doom]

nice, we've been training karate for about the same time, then! style?