OT | Official Fitness & Health Thread

[Ill-yasova]

I totally agree. Just sharing what's worked best for me.

I hear ya.

[jimmybones]

I pretty much just circuit train every day I'm at the gym. I do arms, chest, legs, shoulders, back, and abs everyday I'm at the gym (5 days a week) and I've lost over 30 lbs since March. I call it "See it. Do it." I never take more than 30 seconds between lifts because it keeps my heart rate up and acts as a cardio exercise in addition to building muscle.

That said, this is what works for me. There is no right or wrong way to lift. Arnold himself put it best in a Reddit discussion of all places (this is legit).

Well, if you had a lot of weight to lose, pretty much anything would work as long as it got you burning calories. At some point though you're going to stall and that sort of chaotic method won't continue to produce results and you'll need to focus on some sort of organized split. Doing every muscle group 5x a week will do more harm than good in the long run.

Cheers to losing 30 lbs though, that's awesome.

[Ill-yasova]

I pretty much just circuit train every day I'm at the gym. I do arms, chest, legs, shoulders, back, and abs everyday I'm at the gym (5 days a week) and I've lost over 30 lbs since March. I call it "See it. Do it." I never take more than 30 seconds between lifts because it keeps my heart rate up and acts as a cardio exercise in addition to building muscle.

That said, this is what works for me. There is no right or wrong way to lift. Arnold himself put it best in a Reddit discussion of all places (this is legit).

Well, if you had a lot of weight to lose, pretty much anything would work as long as it got you burning calories. At some point though you're going to stall and that sort of chaotic method won't continue to produce results and you'll need to focus on some sort of organized split. Doing every muscle group 5x a week will do more harm than good in the long run.

Cheers to losing 30 lbs though, that's awesome.

Yep, I'm gonna have to switch it up at some point just to shock my body a little. So far so good though, I just keep bumping the weights up every couple of weeks.

[jerrod]

so i'm really working hard on my ab muscles and i've been doing this kind of stuff:
http://fitnessgifs4u.tumblr.com/post/52 ... pack#notes

i do those at home nearly every day and then when i'm at the gym i do inclined situps while holding a 45 pound weight, usually 3 sets of 10.

so, in that link above, what do you guys think i should be doing for reps? If i have time I'll usually try for 120 of each.

[mattg]

Yeah, I ran track and CC in high school, but I'm one of those weirdos who preferred the track workouts. My favorite is breaking 2 miles into 2x800, 2x400, 2x200, 4x100. In my experience, this is way better for athletic performance than running 3-5 miles. I used to hate to see my vert just steadily decline through CC season.

Well to be fair, it's hard to build significant aerobic base running only 3-5 miles, you simply aren't running for long enough to cross the threshold. It's why all high level running training involves a large amount of mileage(assuming mid distance and up) and older training styles that focused more on foot speed and lower mileage are becoming irrelevant. Without a proper base you're just gonna go anaerobic too early and get dropped in all likelihood.

[TroyD92]

So headed back to the gym on Monday. Had a good period in my Junior year of HS where I was in the gym 4-5 days a week for over a year. Got lazy and stopped going until last year, and went for another 2 months before I quit again. Best way to get back into it? I usually just do the base workouts with a little of everything encompassed. Really don't want to lose the drive to go again. How do my realgm people stay motivated besides not feeling like crap?

[KidA24]

So headed back to the gym on Monday. Had a good period in my Junior year of HS where I was in the gym 4-5 days a week for over a year. Got lazy and stopped going until last year, and went for another 2 months before I quit again. Best way to get back into it? I usually just do the base workouts with a little of everything encompassed. Really don't want to lose the drive to go again. How do my realgm people stay motivated besides not feeling like crap?

Setting a schedule and sticking to it is huge. Your body responds to routine, and responds very well to it. Even if you don't want to work out, simply walking or going to the gym will train your mind that you'll be going there every day. Once that routine is there, you can go on from there.

[averageposter]

I think like anything else you have to want it. You have to find your motivation. For me it was one comment in mixed company about "not wanting to see me in a form fitted T-shirt" . It was the same kind of thing I might have said as self depreciating humor. But for whatever reason that night it bothered me. I was like they aren't wrong, and its my fault, tomorrow I change things. That one comment kept me motivated for the past 5 months.

That was March 1st that I changed my habits at 5'9" and 220. I am now 140 pounds. Over the months there were plenty of days I didn't want to go to the home gym in the basement and if it wasn't just a flight of steps away I would have struggled even more. I think having basic equipment at home is a near must, so even the days you just can't make the trek to the gym you can get some kind of workout in at home. In the beginning I was against any kind of stimulant too, preferring to suck down a couple of espressos for the extra energy. But now I prefer taking a pre-workout. For one its a quicker jolt, and more convenient, second there are some other benefits like it being part of a creatine load, getting you some beta alanine, Glutamine etc. If you are doing the work then you will absolutely want to make sure your body has the raw materials on hand to reward you with muscle building.

Probably the best piece of advice I can give whether you are cutting or trying to add mass is really understand your dietary needs and make sure you are doing what you can to address it, nothing sucks the motivation out quicker than a lack of results and no matter how hard you work, it still comes down to calories in, calories out at the most basic level. Probably everyone understands when they are cutting its important, but its just as tricky adding.

[PkrsBcksGphsMqt]

Here's a good role model for getting in shape.

Wow, did Gardner change up his offseason workout regimen? He looks great in that picture. An in shape Gardner gets me even more excited for Marquette's potential this coming season.

If you want to see crazy off season transformation though, check out Minnesota's Mo Walker. He's lost about 60 pounds. One of the reasons I love the Pitino hire, he actually holds players accountable.

[Nebula1]

The best way I know for sticking with a program is to set goals and track your work. I've had a running journal forever and monitor food, weight, results, time, etc.

[TroyD92]

Thanks guys. Any ideas on high calorie diets? I'm at 143 right now (5'9) and I'd like to get up to 160 or so. I downloaded a calorie tracker like Nebs said, but its looking like i'm going to have to learn to cook.

[Nebula1]

Thanks guys. Any ideas on high calorie diets? I'm at 143 right now (5'9) and I'd like to get up to 160 or so. I downloaded a calorie tracker like Nebs said, but its looking like i'm going to have to learn to cook.

Usually the best way to hit that is to go after a good protein supplement but really depends on your goals.

[TroyD92]

Thanks guys. Any ideas on high calorie diets? I'm at 143 right now (5'9) and I'd like to get up to 160 or so. I downloaded a calorie tracker like Nebs said, but its looking like i'm going to have to learn to cook.

Usually the best way to hit that is to go after a good protein supplement but really depends on your goals.

I've never had to use supplements in the past. I might look into them, but its not like I'm dead set on bulking up in the next 2 months.

[jimmybones]

Just eat 2400 calories a day with at least 160 grams of protein. That's literally all that matters as far as adding weight. Track your weight every other week and if you aren't gaining a lb or so a week then up your calories. Obviously mix in fruit, vegetables, ideally a multivitamin to meet your bodies micronutrient needs. But honestly the most important thing by far is a surplus of calories.

[blkout]

Thanks guys. Any ideas on high calorie diets? I'm at 143 right now (5'9) and I'd like to get up to 160 or so. I downloaded a calorie tracker like Nebs said, but its looking like i'm going to have to learn to cook.

Nuts are really high calorie for small portions, but not bad for you. Gainer shakes are good if you struggle eating, really if you added a couple of handfuls of almonds or something + a shake to whatever you usually eat you'd gain weight pretty quickly. Could easily tack on 7-800 calories a day just with those two things.

[Badgerlander]

http://www.newtritionforlife.com/Home_Page.php

[raws]

I just moved to MKE. Where's a good place to play some weekly ball? Also, do you have any gym recommendations for downtown? I'll probably be using it at early morning (8ish) or at lunch.

[Nebula1]

I just moved to MKE. Where's a good place to play some weekly ball? Also, do you have any gym recommendations for downtown? I'll probably be using it at early morning (8ish) or at lunch.

I don't live in Milwaukee. Good luck finding a court though.


Weather says its time to start playing inside again. I love basketball season.

[jimmybones]

I just moved to MKE. Where's a good place to play some weekly ball? Also, do you have any gym recommendations for downtown? I'll probably be using it at early morning (8ish) or at lunch.

Kinda depends what you're looking for in a gym. There's Gold's downtown on Water that is pretty big, unique layout- 5 floors, has a basketball court but it's only a half and isn't the best for actually playing games. The YMCA gyms are good size wise but the one downtown doesn't have basketball. The West Suburban one has a few courts and has games going for open gym. There aren't many gym options downtown. Depending exactly where you are- there's two Anytime Fitness gyms towards the east side that actually have a decent selection of equipment, including actual squat racks, but obviously no basketball.

The Y might be your best option for both gym and bball. You could work out at the one downtown for regular workouts and still have access to the West Suburban and Southwest YMCAs that have bball courts and games going, so you'd have to drive 10-15 minutes for that but it would be included in your gym membership. Unless you find a league, or know someone with unique access to a church or school gym, there aren't a ton of options for just playing ball here in the winter.

[PkrsBcksGphsMqt]

Got marathon #2 this Sunday in the Twin Cities. Marathon #3 will be in Madison on November 10th. Marathon #4, unless I sign up for another sooner, will be March 1st in Phoenix. Hoping the Phoenix marathon will give me extra motivation to keep up my weekly long runs through out the winter.