Fitness forum recommendation?

Donnie

Donnie

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So, one thing covid has done for me is reevaluate the rest of my life and plan to retire when I can which wont be for about a decade. However, looking forward I have decided I want to be fit enough to actually enjoy it! In light of that I'm currently dieting and have lost a stone so far but phase 2 is the arrival of my new crosstrainer!

Now what I want to do is find a forum that's not unlike this one to begin some exercise regimes but needs to have a beginner section where I can search and then ask stupid questions lol.

Anyone out there able to recommend any as there seems to be hundreds out there. Im not looking for bodybuilding or marathon running, I just want to be fit.
 
If it helps, I am a qualified fitness instructor. I think you have chosen well, getting a crosstrainer, they exercise the whole body, excellent for building up core fitness. I used to always do a 30 to 40 minute session on them at the gym. The secret is to make the sessions enjoyable, by varying them. I would always do a dynamic warmup before starting, something which you could easily do at home - lunges, star jumps, abdominal rotations. I used to do a variety of interval and ladder sessions on the crosstrainer, always with a five minute warmup and ten minute cooldown at the end.
 
andya700 said:
If it helps, I am a qualified fitness instructor. I think you have chosen well, getting a crosstrainer, they exercise the whole body, excellent for building up core fitness. I used to always do a 30 to 40 minute session on them at the gym. The secret is to make the sessions enjoyable, by varying them. I would always do a dynamic warmup before starting, something which you could easily do at home - lunges, star jumps, abdominal rotations. I used to do a variety of interval and ladder sessions on the crosstrainer, always with a five minute warmup and ten minute cooldown at the end.
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Cheers. I deliberatly chose a cross trainer due to it's pretty much whole body with no impact especially on the knees. I do need to get a proper warm up routine going too, I know it's important I just need to sort the specifics if you see what I mean and make sure I follow it. Needs to be something less star jumpy though due to my back.
 
It's practically a cult, but people like Beachbody have done amazing things at gamifying fitness. Their BB on demand offering is £99 a year for all streaming workouts and they do a very clever job of keeping you interested. I've done a couple of their programs in the past and there's some solid science leading to decent results.

If you have knee / back issues then STAY AWAY from Insanity. It's really good but moderate risk due to all the jumping.
 
The easiest stone I ever lost was at the end of two weeks of gastroenteritis, it then took me another year of a good diet and going to the gym to lost the next one.

Undid all of that in the first three months of covid, seriously considering licking a three week old chicken carcass or something to get back on track. :LOL:
 
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I get easily bored so on the cross trainer I vary what I do every few minutes or so. Couple of minutes doing it “normally”, couple of minutes of legs only, couple of minutes “in reverse” as you can feel it exercising different leg muscles. Also varying speed helps. Anything to stop it becoming a drudge - I’ve even put the spare TV where I can watch while exercising.
 
The best exercises I have done in terms of “how i felt” have been weight training. Strength diminishes rapidly with age.
I started with a 3 days per week dumbbell only programme. I’ll try and dig out a link.
After doing that for a number of months I then moved onto a plan that centred around the ‘big 4’ lifts. Deadlift, squat, bench press and over head press. I still used dumbbells for the presses for safety.
What kept me going was having a gym at work so I could go lunchtimes.
Since lockdown i bought a rowing machine for use at home, but I’d like to make some space in the shed so I can do those four lifts regularly (along with bent over rows and chin-ups).
Don’t be put off by the typical stereotype of a weight lifter / bodybuilder. Doing these four exercises regularly, along with stretching and cardio should be central to any exercise plan imho.
 
Rapscallion said:
The best exercises I have done in terms of “how i felt” have been weight training. Strength diminishes rapidly with age.
I started with a 3 days per week dumbbell only programme. I’ll try and dig out a link.
After doing that for a number of months I then moved onto a plan that centred around the ‘big 4’ lifts. Deadlift, squat, bench press and over head press. I still used dumbbells for the presses for safety.
What kept me going was having a gym at work so I could go lunchtimes.
Since lockdown i bought a rowing machine for use at home, but I’d like to make some space in the shed so I can do those four lifts regularly (along with bent over rows and chin-ups).
Don’t be put off by the typical stereotype of a weight lifter / bodybuilder. Doing these four exercises regularly, along with stretching and cardio should be central to any exercise plan imho.
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Yes I am planning to move onto a bit of weights at some point but very very wary as i have back issues from a couple of years ago. In non covid times I'd be seeking out the gym and a personal trainer and spelling out those issues to find a safe regime which wont do more damage and will in fact strengthen my back, part of the reason for going on the cross trainer route too ie cardio but also should strengthen my core. I'm trying to investigate online pilates too for the back issues it's supposed to be good for it.
 
I'd suggest a few face to face classes before heading down the online route. I know that means waiting until May but a decent teacher will be able to keep an eye on you and tailor any routine to your issues.
 
Nod said:
I'd suggest a few face to face classes before heading down the online route. I know that means waiting until May but a decent teacher will be able to keep an eye on you and tailor any routine to your issues.
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Yeah, I've been coming to the same conclusion I have to admit, I don't want to risk more damage to be honest
 
Yes, I think Pilates is awesome, I think online classes are pretty good and once you know Pilates you can train online safely. But I'd put it high on my list of things that need a face to face instructor when you start, especially if you have back issues.

BTW if you're just starting with weights then maybe consider elastic bands instead. They are just as challenging but in a different way (it gets harder through the rep instead of easier) but
  1. You'll progress rapidly and find you don't need the lightest weights soon - with bands there's less "waste"
  2. Allow more control and less cheating - there's a tendency to throw weights through the move which allows you to carry on past the point when you should stop
  3. Far less risk of injury by dropping a weight on your head
 
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