The Fitness thread

JonathanRyan said:
Sweet! So that's a 5K in 25 mins with no previous running experience? I don't do running but that sounds like an achievement.
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Almost. They work you towards running for 30 mins... I did 3.4k last night, which is still a major achievement for this fat man
 
ChrisJ_SLH said:
Good going Mads! If you can run for 25 min, you are over the hump now. Just gradually build that time and distance.
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Thanks Chris. The c25k thingy has me doing three more 25 min runs before stepping up to 28, 3 times, then the full half hour .
Not sure where to take it after that
 
VirtualAdept said:
So... Couch to 5k week 6 complete... 25 minute run, though since I hate the music on the podcast I used the nike+ running app with my own playlist... The cheer function is interesting :lol:
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Completely jealous. It has taken me a month to achieve the target that I should in a week. Hence although it's been four months, I'm still struggling to get complete week 4.

I might have to concede the calorie limit and just take a reasonable amount of calories before running.
 
VirtualAdept said:
Thanks Chris. The c25k thingy has me doing three more 25 min runs before stepping up to 28, 3 times, then the full half hour .
Not sure where to take it after that
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I had the same thought. I stuck at 5km distance for a while improving my time and then started nudging the distance up. It won't be long before you are doing your first 10km, then your first 15km etc. You'll amaze yourself.

The main thing is to enjoy it. Vary your routes and distances, get some structure into your running pattern but don't be so rigid that it becomes a chore.
 
So this morning was interesting.

I decided to move on to P90X2 phase 2 - ominously called the strength phase. Due to a blunder with the names, instead of chest back and balance I did base and back (I'll do CB&B on Saturday) so instead of all the crazy balance moves I thought I was going to do, I ended up doing an hour of pullups alternating with plyo.

It's quite an interesting combination. Where "interesting" means "very very tough".
 
ChrisJ_SLH said:
I had the same thought. I stuck at 5km distance for a while improving my time and then started nudging the distance up. It won't be long before you are doing your first 10km, then your first 15km etc. You'll amaze yourself. The main thing is to enjoy it. Vary your routes and distances, get some structure into your running pattern but don't be so rigid that it becomes a chore.
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Yeah, I think I'll finish week 9 which should bring me to half hour, then try to improve my pace a bit before trying longer runs.
I was due to run last night but work was hell so I figured I'd do it today but that's gone to pot with the weather and housework to get set for a letting agents inspection tomorrow.
 
Ooops. I appear to have accidentally bought some gymnastics rings.

This could be interesting.
 
VirtualAdept said:
Just the rings or he bits of string to go with them? :lol:
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Inch wide nylon straps with heavy cam buckles ;)

They are about as robust as my Rip:60 rig so should hold my weight. Although actually the initial plan is to thread the rings over my pull up bar so I can do pull ups with wrists facing each other. But one day I'm bound to try muscle ups.....
 
JonathanRyan said:
Inch wide nylon straps with heavy cam buckles ;)
..
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Kinky ;p

I did. My second ever 25 minute run last night and have picked up my pace a little which is nice. One worrying thing was I completely forgot to turn back and ended up in the next village over having to wait for my brother in law to come get me... Touch embarrassing.
 
VirtualAdept said:
Kinky ;p

I did. My second ever 25 minute run last night and have picked up my pace a little which is nice. One worrying thing was I completely forgot to turn back and ended up in the next village over having to wait for my brother in law to come get me... Touch embarrassing.
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Oops...

Good job you had your phone or else it could have been your first 50 minute run!
 
Not really my fitness but have come to the decision to start teaching a boxing class at my gym next year.

Much demand yet nobody really offers it in gyms. You might be lucky to get a boxing fitness/ exercise to music type thing...
 
Phil Young said:
Not really my fitness but have come to the decision to start teaching a boxing class at my gym next year.

Much demand yet nobody really offers it in gyms. You might be lucky to get a boxing fitness/ exercise to music type thing...
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Nice. A friend of mine goes to a boxing class at her gym and it always sounds amazing.

In other news, I appear to have banged my knee really hard. I was going to say I was doing something stupid with 3 med balls but then I realised there are very few things you can do with 3 med balls that aren't stupid......

Coincidentally it was on the same day I started using gymnastic rings but of course it wasn't related.

It's sore but not too bad. Frog jump burpees followed by one legged squats this morning were challenging. Couple of forfeits for me :(
 
JonathanRyan said:
Ooo nice. Is it good?

I'm still having fun with X2. But some friends are encouraging me to beast up in the new year with Body Beast :D
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After you'd experienced Insanity, you think to yourself "how can a 25 min workout be that bad?"........ How wrong can you be :lol:

It is totally different to Insanity, it's a lot more intense with no breaks!
 
Yeah I've heard it's tough. But you never finished Insanity, right? :)
 
Russ77 said:
Correct..... I made it to week 2 of the second month but just couldn't fit the hour long workouts in
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I have my T shirt on right now :D I have a video conference at 10:30 and like to use it for those ;)
 
In an effort to improve muscle size and strength, I switched around my work outs from cardio first and weights second, to weights first and cardio second. I've also switched to a push/pull/legs split. The downside is the cardio suffers.:bang:
 
omens said:
In an effort to improve muscle size and strength, I switched around my work outs from cardio first and weights second, to weights first and cardio second. I've also switched to a push/pull/legs split. The downside is the cardio suffers.:bang:
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You may feel that cardio is suffering but going on what Phil has said (which is backed up by the trainer at my gym) your overall workout will be better and you'll be benefiting more by doing resistence training first.
 
Or....weights one day, cardio the next.

Phil will explain why that's wrong :D but it seems to work OK. Not that I'm doing any real cardio ATM.
 
omens said:
In an effort to improve muscle size and strength, I switched around my work outs from cardio first and weights second, to weights first and cardio second. I've also switched to a push/pull/legs split. The downside is the cardio suffers.:bang:
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Shorten the rest periods between sets and you won't need cardio. I was resting 30secs between sets now I'm down to 10-20secs. Or if you are training opposite body parts in the same workout try supersets, i.e a set of bench press followed immediately by lat pulldowns, rest briefly then repeat until your planned sets are complete.
 
Any muscle heads in?

I have a question (and go easy on me I don't know much about lifting heavy stuff).

I want to do some bench pressing but I don't have big heavy weights or a spotter and don't want to get a bench. What I was planning to do was fasten some heavy duty rings to the floor (actually a wooden frame but "floor" is easier) then attach some resistance bands to those. On the other end of the bands I reckon an EZ curl bar with maybe 20 kilos of weight. Then I can lie on a stability ball. The bar will only weigh about 25 kilos at rest so it's safe. At full press it can be anything I want since resistance bands are strong and cheap. The advantage is that the weight will actually get "heavier" as I push it which is apparently good for you.

1. Is this a really stupid idea?
2. Is it actually dangerous? Beyond the obvious risk of falling off a rubber ball with a 25 kilo bar in my hands
3. Am I right in thinking that a small amount of weight on the bar will be a good thing to encourage proper technique at the bottom?
4. Shoulder on the ball, feet on the floor, slight curve to the spine, right?
 
JonathanRyan said:
Any muscle heads in?

I have a question (and go easy on me I don't know much about lifting heavy stuff).

I want to do some bench pressing but I don't have big heavy weights or a spotter and don't want to get a bench. What I was planning to do was fasten some heavy duty rings to the floor (actually a wooden frame but "floor" is easier) then attach some resistance bands to those. On the other end of the bands I reckon an EZ curl bar with maybe 20 kilos of weight. Then I can lie on a stability ball. The bar will only weigh about 25 kilos at rest so it's safe. At full press it can be anything I want since resistance bands are strong and cheap. The advantage is that the weight will actually get "heavier" as I push it which is apparently good for you.

1. Is this a really stupid idea?
2. Is it actually dangerous? Beyond the obvious risk of falling off a rubber ball with a 25 kilo bar in my hands
3. Am I right in thinking that a small amount of weight on the bar will be a good thing to encourage proper technique at the bottom?
4. Shoulder on the ball, feet on the floor, slight curve to the spine, right?
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The only trouble I can see is getting on and off the ball without falling over.
Small amount of weight is always good for encouraging technique and yes back slightly arched.
If your wanting to develop your pecs, don't lock out your elbows when you push up, keep them slightly bent and flex your pecs and hold for 5 secs. Aim for 20 reps on your first set, where the weight means you couldn't manage more than 20, rest 30 secs and repeat, you may only manage 15-18 reps on you second set, rest for 30 secs again. By the time you reach your 5th set you should only manage 10 reps and if you've got the weight right you will have one killer of a muscle burn, it's surprising how little weight it takes to achieve this. Works for all muscle groups, but remember to hold each rep for 5 seconds. Only exercises where you lock out knees and elbows are leg raises and tricep push downs. Curling bring the weight up to anywhere between waist height or slightly higher so the weight still has your biceps under tension whilst you hold for 5 secs, don't bring the weight right up as you are no longer under tension nad muscles no longer working. First few times I tried this, I was walking around an empty gym swearing to myself, the burn was so intense. :)
 
nilagin said:
The only trouble I can see is getting on and off the ball without falling over.
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Ah - that should be the easy bit :). I figure if I squat down with the ball behind me and the bar on my thighs then I can arch backwards onto the ball and bring the weight up to my chest. It won't weigh much at this point so I should be able to wriggle until it's right.

Those curls sound like isometric holds - yeah they hurt....... :D

While I have your attention......is it cool to do bench presses with an EZ curl bar? I figure I can do a lot more with one of those than a straight bat and I'd rather not buy 2.
 
Don't see any reason why you can't use an EZ bar, but why a bar and not say dumbbells? Would be much easier to do on the ball, and you can easily drop the weight if you tire. This is what I used to do when I used to weightlift at uni.
 
omens said:
Don't see any reason why you can't use an EZ bar, but why a bar and not say dumbbells? Would be much easier to do on the ball, and you can easily drop the weight if you tire. This is what I used to do when I used to weightlift at uni.
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Because with dumbells I'd need to attach the bands at 4 points rather than 2 ;)
 
Russ77 said:
You may feel that cardio is suffering but going on what Phil has said (which is backed up by the trainer at my gym) your overall workout will be better and you'll be benefiting more by doing resistence training first.
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The biggest issue is that I'm a lazy [PLEASE DON'T TRY TO BYPASS THE SWEAR FILTER]. I had a subscription to my local gym, went for 2 months, had exams (so had to hold off) and then didn't return for about a year! I've been going for a few months now and have deliberately done cardio first because I know I will try to avoid doing it if I do the weights first, and I'm apprehensive about the intensity I will be able to achieve. Up until now, I've managed to reach week 4 of the couch to 5k program although it's taken me 4 months to achieve due to poor fitness. But I can run for 3 mins, rest, run for 5 mins, rest and repeat. Today, because I switched the workout around, I struggled to complete half of the above.

JonathanRyan said:
Or....weights one day, cardio the next.
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Due to my work pattern, I do 12-hour days Mon, Weds, Fri. Hence I go to the gym on Tues, Thurs and Sat.

nilagin said:
Shorten the rest periods between sets and you won't need cardio. I was resting 30secs between sets now I'm down to 10-20secs. Or if you are training opposite body parts in the same workout try supersets, i.e a set of bench press followed immediately by lat pulldowns, rest briefly then repeat until your planned sets are complete.
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I've been thinking about this. My previous split was to do chest/back, tris/bis, shoulders/legs. Because I was just starting out again, I didn't bother supersetting, though it is something I used to do. I still want to be able to run.
 
omens said:
The biggest issue is that I'm a lazy OI!. I had a subscription to my local gym, went for 2 months, had exams (so had to hold off) and then didn't return for about a year! I've been going for a few months now and have deliberately done cardio first because I know I will try to avoid doing it if I do the weights first, and I'm apprehensive about the intensity I will be able to achieve.
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Eat the frog ;)

If you don't want to do the cardio but feel you should (and that's a whole other conversation) then do the cardio first. Otherwise you'll spend the whole resistance bit inventing reasons not to do the cardio.
 
VirtualAdept said:
Kinky ;p

I did. My second ever 25 minute run last night and have picked up my pace a little which is nice. One worrying thing was I completely forgot to turn back and ended up in the next village over having to wait for my brother in law to come get me... Touch embarrassing.
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Mads, have you managed the 5k yet? How are you doing?
 
ChrisJ_SLH said:
Mads, have you managed the 5k yet? How are you doing?
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No mate, I've done my third 25 minute run but I'm having massive issues at work so it got shoved to a back burner while I spend all hours researching employment law and ringing Acas.
Gonna hit the trail over the weekend though.

Found the last run a bit tough, but I'm confident that was down to eating/running too far apart for the amount of food I had.
 
JonathanRyan said:
Any muscle heads in?

I have a question (and go easy on me I don't know much about lifting heavy stuff).

I want to do some bench pressing but I don't have big heavy weights or a spotter and don't want to get a bench. What I was planning to do was fasten some heavy duty rings to the floor (actually a wooden frame but "floor" is easier) then attach some resistance bands to those. On the other end of the bands I reckon an EZ curl bar with maybe 20 kilos of weight. Then I can lie on a stability ball. The bar will only weigh about 25 kilos at rest so it's safe. At full press it can be anything I want since resistance bands are strong and cheap. The advantage is that the weight will actually get "heavier" as I push it which is apparently good for you.

1. Is this a really stupid idea?
2. Is it actually dangerous? Beyond the obvious risk of falling off a rubber ball with a 25 kilo bar in my hands
3. Am I right in thinking that a small amount of weight on the bar will be a good thing to encourage proper technique at the bottom?
4. Shoulder on the ball, feet on the floor, slight curve to the spine, right?
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Jon,

There's probably an easier and more efficient way to work...

To work your chest heavy for example:

Get a rugged backpack that can be securely fastened and add 30kgs of whatever to it. Press ups with this should give you a tough exercise. You can pre-exhaust yourself with a couple of plyo press ups first if you need it to be harder. No need to do anything else for chest (and triceps) other than these.

Back and biceps is an easy one - pull ups (with back pack).

Legs is easy to do without equipment - have a look at pistol squats.

Whilst resistance bands are good, they don't train your muscles effectively in eccentric (lowering) motion and since this is the most effective way to gain size and strength, training concentric (lifting) mostly is quite inefficient.

Hope that helps.
 
Phil Young said:
Whilst resistance bands are good, they don't train your muscles effectively in eccentric (lowering) motion and since this is the most effective way to gain size and strength, training concentric (lifting) mostly is quite inefficient.
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Oh, interesting.

Hmm maybe a bit more drawing board. Perhaps I should just give in and get a bench and some weights.....
 
JonathanRyan said:
Or....weights one day, cardio the next.

Phil will explain why that's wrong :D but it seems to work OK. Not that I'm doing any real cardio ATM.
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I'd probably do this to be honest.

If training for size, you shouldn't exclude cardio but it isn't necessary to do every session. One dedicated session a week working upwards of 80% effort level is more than enough to keep you fit and healthy :)
 
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