Vivian on 26/6/2012 at 14:35
Well, at the moment I'm thinking about maintaining functionality. I really enjoy snowboarding and skating, but now I'm in my thirties I'm starting to notice a few creaks (inevitably) but more just a lack of energy, which I guess relates to fitness as much as anything else. So, if cutting back on the booze means I can do more stuff, then I have no issue with it.
Sombras on 26/6/2012 at 14:41
Food: It appears that what we eat (and, apparently, how we eat it) plays the most significant role in long-term fitness (let alone physical appearance). We're not talking about a 1:1 correlation between diet and health, but numerous studies and meta-analyses that I've either read or read about suggest that diet plays an even more significant role than exercise in overall health as distinct from athletic performance.
Exercise: I've come to the realization that the age-old exercise maxim--the more you do something repetitively, the more likely you are to suffer some type of repetitive stress injury--is true for me. Thus, I've taken to cross-training. I run, bike, swim, and twice a week do resistance training. One thing I'd recommend to anybody either thinking about taking up weights or frustrated with "lifting" would be high-reps/light weight. I used to "lift" heavy weights, but over time I found that a resistance regimen emphasizing light weight, high reps, and focusing on areas that support my aerobic activities worked best for me. I still get sore, but I'm MUCH less likely to suffer the same types of muscular or joint injuries "weight lifters" do (and I did in the past).
When it's all said and done, my diet and exercise regimen are designed to allow me to get in and out of the tub when I'm 80. If I can squeeze fun and self-satisfaction out of it in the process, even better.
CCCToad on 26/6/2012 at 16:44
Quote:
I've tried doing weight lifting in the past for my upper body, but each time it followed the same pattern - increasing weight and seeing results over the first week or two, then I hit a wall, and start to actually go down in the weight I can lift. And seeing as my latest attempt has resulted in me getting the painful-elbows disease, I clearly dont know wtf im doing. I'm considering signig up at the local gym to get a personal trainer, at least in the beginning to get on the right track and proper form. Also, I probably need to eat more than I do now if I want to sustain muscle growth.
To some extent, that is to be expected. The solution is to just keep going, but make sure that you are not lifting every day and giving your body time to repair. You also are going to see most of your big improvement during the first week. After that its going to plateau and power gains will come more slowly, but mass gains will also start to appear slow but steadily.
I recommend heading over to bodybuilding.com and using their plan selector tool. There's a couple plans on there that will help you get some ideas. But there's a couple key principles that you need to stick to if you want to see long term improvement. Pick a plan and stay with it (don't improvise, FOLLOW THE PLAN. Even a crappy plan will work better than none). Adjust your diet to accomodate working out (most of the bodybuilding.com plans come with diet or supplement suggestions), and expect it to take time to see results.
Volitions Advocate on 26/6/2012 at 18:16
Before I was married I had a bit of a struggle with weight and health depending on what I did for a living. After working at a pub (in the kitchen) for 6 months I ended up at ~ 215 lbs because I never bought groceries and always ate at work. I felt like shit after that and had never been so fat in my life. I worked at A hospital after that and through a succession of managers and supervisors quitting or leaving for different jobs I ended up in charge of linen deliveries for the entire city. Couple that with the physical strain of collecting all of the soiled linen and dealing with a job that had to be done every day no matter what, and employees who would call in sick all the time. I was working a management position on an hourly wage, working on all my days off, making a ton of money, and losing a crap load of weight. I made it down to 170lbs after 5 months of that.
Fast forward the better part of a decade, I've been married for almost 5 years, in university for nearly 4. I have found that Marriage has affected my weight and health in a negative way, only because I never prepared myself for the lack of physical activity that came with it. I wasn't taking jobs that made me work a lot of overtime because I felt an obligation and desire to stay home with my wife, which also meant much much less spontaneous outings. (i'm not complaining about marriage, I'm just saying in my case it really affected my level of physical activity)
Couple that with school, and the stress of that (and the physical sedation involved), which, now that I'm older seems to be working in the opposite way it did when I was younger (stress now = more weight gain) I have managed to blimp out to 265lbs over the course of the last half decade or so. I friggen hate it. Thank goodness I hold it so well, nobody really believes me when I tell them. Everything takes more effort and I don't like the way I look. It's been terrible and I find that I look at myself in the mirror more often lately and wonder WTF I did to let this happen.
Last summer, after our son was born I took 2 jobs while I was off school. Both warehouse jobs that involve a lot of sweaty work in hot warehouses and truck trailers. I was working for Pepsi in one of its Dorito factories and for DHL sorting parcels and loading them onto trailers by hand. Over the course of 3 months I lost 20 lbs and felt great. I lost both jobs to layoffs when the school year started and had to get a new job though. And I ended up as a security guard.
Yep. back in school.... on my ass. and working as a security guard. ... more or less, on my ass. I gained all 20lbs back by Christmas. It was extremely demoralizing.
But I stuck it out until May when school was out for the summer and I'm back working for Pepsi at the same job I had. So far, after 5 weeks I have lost 15 lbs and have had to tighten my belt twice because my pants kept starting to fall off.
I've always been more of the camp where I work hard to lose weight rather than exercise hard. I don't like exercise, I'd rather just do physical work, because then at least I'm getting paid for it rather than paying for it. When you get the right job I suppose it can work, but if you're not prepared to do the work yourself if you aren't working hard like that every day, things go to shit fast.
My bicycle is in the shop getting some mods done to extend the handlebars so its more comfortable for me to ride, and I plan to ride it to work every day. And I plan to get back into Karate, because nothing kicked my ass on a fitness level like that did.
My goal is 190lbs and to keep it that way. Cutting out Soft Drinks helps, and eating less bread and pasta than I normally do. I also don't drink, who knows how lardass I'd get if I did....
Vivian on 26/6/2012 at 18:51
Quote Posted by Volitions Advocate
And I plan to get back into Karate, because nothing kicked my ass on a fitness level like that did.
Yeah - exactly. Exercise for exercise's sake is never going to be as compelling as having some hobby that involves exercise. Getting fit because ??? PROFIT is never going to motivate you as much as getting fit enough to do a double crescent kick or whatever.
faetal on 26/6/2012 at 19:41
Weight lifting is not getting fit for fitness' sake, it is like tuning up your body. It's a process of analysing and tuning your own physiology, it's not like it can't be interesting and fun in its own right. It's also very cathartic.
Renault on 26/6/2012 at 21:55
Do you guys know (
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P90X) P90X? I do it on and off, it's fairly hardcore and time consuming (nearly an hour per day, 6 days a week), but it's not boring and it's well rounded (core, cardio, yoga, weights, agility/jump training, stretching). It will kick your ass and get you in shape in no time. I both love it and hate it, but if you're looking for something extreme, I'd recommend it.
Bakerman on 26/6/2012 at 22:11
Quote Posted by Vivian
Learn to skate! It's pretty much parkour, just faster.
A lot of the guys I train with are into skating or longboarding, so I've been tempted - but for me, it comes down to the fact that I can do parkour whenever I feel like it, without having to carry a board around. There've been several times when I just head off during a break at uni to squeeze in some training. Also, skating tends to get prohibited... but people haven't caught on to parkour yet :p.
Rug Burn Junky on 26/6/2012 at 22:59
Quote Posted by Vivian
Yeah - exactly. Exercise for exercise's sake is never going to be as compelling as having some hobby that involves exercise. Getting fit because ??? PROFIT is never going to motivate you as much as getting fit enough to do a double crescent kick or whatever.
Call back when you're going for your first 400lb deadlift attempt.
Yakoob on 26/6/2012 at 23:57
Sounds just like a variation of good old High Intensity Interval Training, which is supposed to be (arguably) better than a low-intensity but long cardio.
Quote Posted by Scots Taffer
If I found out tomorrow that I could extend my natural life by ten years if I didn't eat dairy or wheat again and I stopped drinking, I wouldn't do anything different. I
live for that shit! Not for the sake of living.
AMEN, goddamn A-MEN. Whats the point of cutting out things you enjoy and suffering, if your reward is ten more years of cutting out things you enjoy and suffering :|
Quote Posted by Vivian
Yeah - exactly. Exercise for exercise's sake is never going to be as compelling as having some hobby that involves exercise. Getting fit because ??? PROFIT is never going to motivate you as much as getting fit enough to do a double crescent kick or whatever.
Very true, and the reason why I never managed to bulk up my upper body, just dont have a real desire or interest to. Now biking, on the other hand, is both functional and I find it damn fun! When you're fully warmed up and in top shape, speeding at 20mph as the wind blazes by, aaaah...
