Working Out

[CaNz]

I have been thing about getting into shape recently. I don't think I look terrible right now, but I have never really been "fit" before... so I kinda wanna see how that feels. I also like testing my determination, and I hear it takes a lot of willpower to go to the gym. Also I think they have showers there so I can get a lower water bill.

 

Do any of you guys do the gym thing? Any advice?

[Lilly]

Well I so-so go to gym but with my family together but there's few things I do to get fit. I have problems with my weight so I do is walk around the house about 30 or 40 mins but just be careful when walking around. If not this then you can do either Just Dance game or well my mom and I been doing hip-hop abs and it get tiring but it helps. If this doesn't help sorry

[CaNz]

I don't think my roommates would let me hear the end of it if I played Just Dance. I am not really worried about weight anyways. I walk about 15 miles per week so I have some cardio training already. I am more interested in having muscle... which I have never really had before.

[DeLarge]

Also I think they have showers there so I can get a lower water bill.

 

I don't know why, but this made you sound slightly like an alien studying our civilization.

 

Mocking aside, you can get a lower water bill, but if the gyms around you are anything like most people's, you'll be paying through the nose every month to go to the gym instead. I don't personally go to the gym because of the expense, but there's plenty of stuff you can do to build muscle and get fit at home - I have a set of free weights that I use pretty much every day, the weight is adjustable and they didn't cost me a huge amount (£25/$38), and a resistance band which cost even less (£18/$27) and, along with regular squats, push ups, sit ups and jogging those serve me pretty well. My objectives are a little different from yours as I'm trying to lose weight rather than build muscle, but the principle is the same.

 

However, working out at home takes quite a lot of discipline - it took me a long time to get into a routine of exercising every day because there are so many more distractions at home than there are at the gym. So if you want a more structured experience and professional advice from trainers and fitness experts then the gym is probably your best bet, but if you want to save money then I'd recommend investing in some equipment for home use. Although if you go with the second option, make sure you know what you're doing because repetitive exercise done in the wrong way can mess you up considerably in the long term.

 

A few extra thoughts:

 

- Remember to try and build muscle all over - that means working out your core and legs as well as your arms. There are plenty of images out there on the interwebs showing what happens when people miss 'Leg Day', and trust me, you really don't want to end up looking like one of them.

- Work out how to eat right - you might see bodybuilders and big muscular people who can eat anything they want and work it off, but these guys are burning thousands of calories each time they work out and you won't be able to do that right away. A basic but helpful thing to remember is that carbohydrates (potatoes, rice, pasta) provide good energy and protein (meat, fish, nuts) is good for building muscle, but there are lots of other factors to consider. If you can get some solid nutrition advice it's probably a good starting point - this was a big sticking point for me for a long time, but the exercise I was doing started working a lot better when I combined it with an improved diet.

- Don't push it - you're not going to get super-ripped overnight, it's going to take a while. In fact, it will probably take a few weeks before you start noticing any difference at all, but don't be discouraged. As long as you keep doing the right exercises and eating the right things you will start to notice a difference in the long-term.

 

And even with this advice, I'd suggest getting some from a professional - after all, I'm still a chubby dude who's only just managed to get his act together about this stuff!

[CaNz]

I suppose I am just looking for ways to justify spending money I could be saving.  As for buying my own equipment... I don't really have the space to store it, let alone a spot to comfortably work out. Besides, 19 bucks a month isn't terrible, so long as I go there a lot... and unlike buying my own equipment I can cancel my membership if I can't do it.

 

Thanks for the tips! I definitly will go in with a game plan.

[Allamorph]

I can cancel my membership if I can't do it.

I can cancel my membership if I can't do it.

if I can't do it.

I can't do it.

This is how it starts.



Do not go down that road. That road is a brightly-lit, colorful, comfortable, wide, smooth, and pleasant one, and ends in beer bellies, a sedentary lifestyle, and the mantra "man, when I used to work out...". Edited February 24, 2015 by Allamorph

[CaNz]

You seem to know a lot about it.

 

Anyways I am not planning on quitting, at least not until I see results, but after that I might stop if its hard and I don't feel much better.

 

Also I probably am gonna keep a seditary lifestyle either way... a three hour per day gym visit won't change my hobies.

[Allamorph]

It is hard. And you will feel worse. But you will also feel strangely satisfied.

A personal trainer is a good idea because you'll have a person who knows a variety of structures to present to you and can work with you to tailor them to your wants and your body's needs. Said person can also push you harder than you can push yourself. However, the pitfall there is that a personal trainer is most likely going to be in much better shape than yourself, which can make it easier to make excuses about your workout routine. So if you already know you might not commit to the lifestyle permanently, I wouldn't get one. (If you are going to commit, they're fantastic.)

I don't recommend working out at home unless a) you've already got a routine, or b) you know you're going to commit. Being at home, as DeLarge said, creates a lot of opportunity to make excuses and procrastinate and I'm Just Gonna Play One More Match Of Destiny Because I Want That Exotic Rifle and then the whole day goes by and you've done absolutely nothing. My roommate has a whole workout set downstairs in a spare room. You know how much he uses it? Once a month. You know how much I use it? Once since November, when I moved in.

Wait. Twice. Two times.

You know how many times I work out when I go to the gym? Every Damn Time.

From personal experience, the Absolute Worst Thing is going to the gym by yourself. Especially just starting out. For me, I knew broad-spectrum what I wanted to do, but I didn't have much of an idea how to go about doing it, both because I wasn't really sure what exercises were going to do what for me, or how to structure them, and because I didn't really know what equipment the gyms around me had to offer. So, yeah, for a while there was a bit of a fear of going into someplace and standing around awkwardly looking at things and, you know, kind of "taste-testing" various machines and stuff. I just didn't want to be That Guy.

It's much easier with a friend.

I say this because it's true on multiple levels. A buddy sharing your awkwardness makes the whole thing less uncomfortable and more comical, since you each know exactly what the other one is feeling and just how silly they are for feeling that way. A buddy with a set routine of his/her own is invaluable because he/she can teach you about what different things do so you can start to develop your own routine--but that isn't entirely necessary, so if you don't have one, then don't sweat it too much. The important thing is that you can each push and encourage each other, and the whole sticking-with-it accountability thing gets a whole lot more personal when your mate can sit down across from you and stare at you and say "Hey. You missed Leg Day." Now the guilt is HUGE because you know they're no better than you are in terms of having the lifestyle, but they're definitely better than you because it was just as hard for them to choose to keep going and they still chose to when you chose not to.

The point is: go work out. You'll be glad you did. And after a couple of months, you'll want to do it more. Edited February 24, 2015 by Allamorph

[Allamorph]

Also I probably am gonna keep a seditary lifestyle either way... a three hour per day gym visit won't change my hobies.

Also this is a preposterous thing to say. There are only so many hours in the day. You can't magically make more. So if you want to work out, you're already changing your hobbies vis à vis you are getting off your lazy ass and doing Man Work, Son. If you don't want to change your hobbies, you're not going to stick to working out. It's that simple.

Right now I'm having to choose between my typical routine of post-work gaming with my online gaming crowd and practising my bass guitar and working out. This weekend I chose the online gaming crowd because I chose to be a lazy good-for-nothing asshole.

Don't be a lazy good-for-nothing asshole. =P



Edit: I don't play Destiny. I don't even own a One. Edited February 24, 2015 by Allamorph

[CaNz]

Hmmm...  well I still want to try it out... not that I don't believe you. I am just not sure if tired and sore = feeling bad... but you may be right. If I can get to a level where I just need to maintain rather than build I think it might get easier too... but I really have no idea. I start next week though on the first! ^~^

 

I wish I had a buddy to do it with... but I may be doing this late at night, and I doubt any of my friends would treat it as seriously as I am going to... and I'd feel bad for leaving them behind. As for a personal trainer... well... I am not spending any more money... and I am gonna be doing odd hours. I will just have to push myself. Besides... I can brag more if I solo the gym on hard mode right?

 

As for my hobbies, I will still have 21 hours to be a lazy asshole. I would still call that a seditary lifestyle. If I want a stupid rifle I will sit down and get it (I have better things to do than upgrade it though) and if I wanna watch all of the R.O.D. Movie for the 50th time I will do that too... All I am losing is a small fraction of my free time. Besides... now that I don't care about my  LOL rank I have time to spare.

 

And Destiny is on the previous gen consoles and PS4 as well... not that I recomend playing it. Wait, Destiny has its own thread! Use a different time sink!

[AmbyCakes]

I like going to the gym. Best way to kill time if you're just doing some light cardio or incline is bring your phone, headphones and Crunchyroll app lol. Seriously kills time in the best way possible. 

[Maully]

I am all for being supportive of someone who wants to go to the gym and get in shape. Personally my desire to do so (which does occasionally show up) cannot overpower my hatred of exercise and laziness. Go for it and then inspire me. 

[CaNz]

I am all for being supportive of someone who wants to go to the gym and get in shape. Personally my desire to do so (which does occasionally show up) cannot overpower my hatred of exercise and laziness. Go for it and then inspire me. 

 

I will do my best! but I figure its much harder to do if you don't really want the change. Besides, if you are comfortable with the way things are there is no reason to force yourself.

Edited February 25, 2015 by CaNz

[Boo]

Fuck it. My work out is cycling to an fro, and having sex. I'm as powerful and healthy as your mother's libido - which is amazing, I can tell you.

[CaNz]

I think I could do cycling at the gym, but I'm gonna have to skip the having sex with my mother part.

[CaNz]

So I had my first gym visit today. [a little late, but moving was a bigger pain than I thought] I definitly have a lot of work to do, but I am sure I could do it if I take enough time. Right now I have zero muscles and zero muscle stamina, so I ended up doing the lightest setting on all the equipment, the 5-10lb free weights and I just did it ton of reps. I only did abs and arms today, yet I worked out from 10:00-1:45. I didn't really get a super deep burn, but my arms were so tired washing my hair felt like a work out. As for cardio, I am just gonna walk for four miles today. I wanna use the gym stuff but I'd have to walk either way, and I need running shoes.

[Nerdsy]

 Right now I have zero muscles and zero muscle stamina, so I ended up doing the lightest setting on all the equipment, the 5-10lb free weights and I just did it ton of reps. I only did abs and arms today, yet I worked out from 10:00-1:45. 

 

[color=deeppink]So my advice is to not do that. You start to get some pretty sever diminishing returns after about an hour of strength training. If you want to work out for 4 hours that's fine I guess, but you're better off with doing an hour of weightlifting and then three hours of some kind of cardio. As long as you're careful not to overdue it and don't think you'll get burnt out.[/color]

 

[color=deeppink]And maybe look into compound exercises. There's no reason just starting out that you should be doing an entire workout that just focuses on one part of the body, when there are so many that work a bunch of muscle groups at once. Here's the beginner stuff I do that I got from Nerd Fitness, which is all bodyweight stuff. Good to start out that way, and when you move up to weights just start with the bar only because it's more important that master proper form.[/color]

 

[color=deeppink]10 Pushups

15 Bodyweight Squats

10 Inverted rows  (this one you might need to work up to with a weighted exercise, one arm dumbell rows).

20 Bodyweight Lunges

15 seconds of planking.[/color]

 

[color=deeppink]Go from top to bottom, then do that 2 more times. Add an ABSOLUTELY MANDATORY warm up that is not based on static stretching and then a cool down that should be based on static stretching or yoga.[/color]

 

[color=deeppink]That takes between 45 minutes and an hour depending on if you break between sets or just kinda curl up into a whimpering fat ball like I do.  And you're basically working out nearly every muscle in your body with this routine. Arms, back, legs, abs, butt. Way more efficient.[/color]

Edited March 30, 2015 by Nerdsy

[Allamorph]

Nerdsy is right about the reps. High rep low weight workouts are good for toning and creating definition, but not really for doing anything other than that. If you want to get your muscles used to working, I'd suggest starting at a minimum of 35 lb free weights, one for each hand. And once you get to the point when you're not dying after one or two reps, then high weight low rep will build your muscle, and high rep low weight will tone it out. As my old RDC chief in boot used to say, if it doesn't burn when you're done, you're not doing it right.

Also if you want to take his workout routine, keep in mind that planking is all about core strength. Do not let your pelvis sag during it, and also do not let it rise up into what we call a 'bridge'. Maintain a nice flat line with your body.

And don't start with fifteen seconds. That's preposterous. Thirty seconds. Two minutes if you want to understand how doing absolutely nothing can make you grunt and groan like a wuss. (I used to say "two minute plank" during A School PT and then make them hold it for two minutes thirty. Hee.) Edited March 31, 2015 by Allamorph

[Nerdsy]

[color=deeppink]I don't feel anything unless I go at least a minute.[/color]

 

[color=deeppink]Unfortunately, if I go for more than 30 seconds I start coughing up stomach acid. [/color]

[Japan]

I am going to start the Insanity work out on Monday. Hope I don't die.

[Petie]

I haven't done the Insanity workout but I've heard it's tough. Good luck!

Also, I could have sworn I replied to this at some point. I started working out a couple of years ago after I realized I got way too heavy in college and it's been great. I'll actually be headed to the gym in about two hours, come to think of it.

[Japan]

I haven't done the Insanity workout but I've heard it's tough. Good luck!

Also, I could have sworn I replied to this at some point. I started working out a couple of years ago after I realized I got way too heavy in college and it's been great. I'll actually be headed to the gym in about two hours, come to think of it.

I could of sworn that I responded to this thread too. Better late than never I suppose. As for Insanity I know it is tough...I have a feeling I might die...or give up

[Petie]

I could of sworn that I responded to this thread too. Better late than never I suppose. As for Insanity I know it is tough...I have a feeling I might die...or give up

Can I make a suggestion? Don't do either of those things. It's a hard workout but it's definitely possible and absolutely worth it in the end.

[Japan]

Can I make a suggestion? Don't do either of those things. It's a hard workout but it's definitely possible and absolutely worth it in the end.

I'll try my hardest! xD The desire to be sexy in cosplay is strong!

[John]

Welp, I'm back at the gym again. Went for a few months last year before my evenings got clogged with freelance work and I couldn't keep up the routine. I love being at the gym and I'm usually pretty excited to go, so busyness is really the thing that I have to fight against more than anything else.

Diet can also be a challenge when I'm doing strength training. I really enjoy cooking, and it can be pretty frustrating to have to pore through recipes looking for one that won't **** up my macronutrient numbers for the day, or finding a delicious one and bastardizing it into a healthy version; makes me feel like Morgoth, kidnapping buttery, high-cholesterol elves and warping them through my dark magic into low-fat, high protein, flavorless orcs. It seems like so many people who're into lifting have no problem eating the same joyless meals day in and day out, and that's not me, so I gotta stay creative in the kitchen.