gym

[anthony]

so i joined a gym. i'm going to try to go every day from now, until school starts, and then once school starts 2 or 3 days a week. (cant do more than that).

could somebody guide me towards a source that breaks down a good routine for someone who wants to work out their whole body? i don't particularly want to get big. i just want to get healthy, and increase my cardio ability about 100000000000000000000x's. and maybe some tone.

[Patroclus]

A few things:

1. Don't worry about getting "big". That won't happen unless you push yourself incredibly hard to do so. And with your vegan diet, you'd have to try harder than most.

2. There's no such thing as "tone". You're either building muscle or you aren't. Tone is basically a buzzword in the fitness industry to sell weak resistance band training to women who are afraid of getting "big"/"bulky"/etc. It's nonsense.

3. Educate yourself: http://articles.elitefts.com/
Just read articles. Learn how to train yourself, building programs for your own specific needs and goals.

And maybe read my Crew's blog: http://cbctrain.blogspot.com/

4. As for your question:

Lift heavy, run hills.

How many days a week do you want to devote to lifting? 3? 4?

An easy 4 day split:

Day 1: Squat
Day 2: Overhead Press
Day 3: Deadlift
Day 4: Bench

Fill in assistance work, which are lifts to compliment and assist on your main lift of the day, as you see fit. For example, on squat day do a lift to strengthen your hams or lower back, on bench day do a lift to strengthen your triceps, etc.

Lift 3 or 4 days a week and run hill sprints as often as possible.

There's no way you wont get stronger and have a huge upswing in cardio ability.

[anthony]

ok cool. bare with me.

so when you say, day 1: squat.

do i just do squats that day, until i can't do any more? or do i do other stuff aside from squats? like, when i think of squats i only think of
are there other kinds i should do, or just really kill myself on squats for one day, after running for 30-45 minutes?

i'm trying to do about 30-45 minutes of cardio every day, regardless of if im lifting or not. i'm not sure if that's a good idea or not.

so i'm down to lift 7 days week, i don't care, as long as i can do cardio for 30-45 minutes each of those days. honestly, lifting seems like a great idea, because the only part of me that gets sore from biking, is my arms.

i have dick to do, until school starts at the end of august, so i can honestly put in a couple hours a day, and still get like 10 hours of one on one time with my boy, or hanging out with lourdes and what not.

[Patroclus]

Just look at my blog and what I do. For example: http://cbctrain.blogspot.com/2010/07...of-vanity.html

That's my last squat day. I squatted today, but I've yet to make a post about it.

The squatting isn't the only exercise, but the main lift of the day. Its the focus. Everything else is assitance work, secondary work built around the squat done in order to assist our body in building a bigger and better squat.

Also, that is a shitty squat diagram. Your knees should never go forward past your feet. Don't think "squat down", think "sit back". (http://train.elitefts.com/exercise-i...the-box-squat/)

My overall advice.

Buy the 5/3/1 book or ebook i've linked to above. Its cheap. Do what it says. Lift 4 days a week, focusing on the aforementioned 4 main lifts. Run hill sprints, 20-25 per session depending on the size of the hill, 3 or 4 days a week.

You'll be a lean, mean, monster.

[anthony]

Cool, thanks dude. This was all really helpful.

[morsmordre]

drew is most helpful person on toefur

[Pilaf]

We don't have to run on the same day we do squats and deadlifts do we? That shit sounds painful.

[Patroclus]

Originally Posted by Pilaf

We don't have to run on the same day we do squats and deadlifts do we? That shit sounds painful.

You don't have to, but you certainly could.

It'd be a good kind of pain.

[blue]

i started working out again recently. i can finally do lower body stuff now. i'm trying to build up to my old routine.

currently,
3 circuits
20 bench step ups/per side (10 pound dumbells)
a2g deadlifts (like squats, but weight is held differently)- just went up from 15 reps with 15 pound dumbells to 12 reps with 20 pound dumbells
sl deadlifts (all the way to floor)- just went from 20 reps with 15 pound dumbells to 12 reps with 20 pound dumbells
just added...plie squats- 15 reps with a 30 pound dumbell.
a couple minutes of rest between each circuit, mostly to get my heartrate down.

it's so hard not pushing myself, but it's really awesome being able to walk the next day.

first off, anthony, if you're just starting from a really low level of fitness, i think you'd really be better off right now just doing a full body circuit of multi-joint exercises. you definitely don't need to worry about "bulking up"...unless you end up eating a ton and the bulk is extra fat. if you are thinking of "toning" what you mean is that you want to lose fat while keeping muscle. weight circuits, combined with cardio (steady state on days you lift, and something more akin to hiit on days you don't), plus good eating habits is the way to go. once you've improved your fitness level, you can start doing more specific training. for now, you should focus on bringing your whole body into better health.

i'd also recommend a decent yoga class (or video or something). it doesn't burn a lot of calories. but it's good for the mind-body connection, and has made a huge impact on my ability to breath properly during exercise. i can push myself a lot harder and prevent cramps when i'm aware of my breath.

and cardio is good to do after weights. it helps get the blood flowing and generally reduces soreness. if running is too hard on you, use an elliptical machine.

now that i'm doing more weights, i like to sneak some orange juice in with me. i have a bit between weights and cardio so i have a bit of energy. otherwise, i'll end up slacking.

i'm still out of shape, but i've been in shape. and just because i'm not a jock doesn't mean i don't know what i'm doing.

[Patroclus]

A great article on (box) squatting:

http://articles.elitefts.com/article...m-head-to-toe/

[anthony]

Half hour of hard cardio.
Legsssssss
Half hour of medium cardio. About 2 hours in the gym total. Feel AWESOME.

I imagine I'll feel sore as fuck tomorrow.

[blue]

naw. the sore as fuck part hits after about 48 hours. staying active during the interim period tends to make it feel less awful.

[dredd]

Anthony,


you should also make sure you get proper technique in the squat. I mean it's harder than it looks like. You could film yourself.

A good book for basic technique IMO is starting strength by Mark Rippetoe; if you can't get it, don't forget thta in the squat, you shouldn't "round" in anyway, even at the bottom. This requires practice, and stretching of the hamstrings, and maybe some additional work with hip flexors, etc... if you're squatting with the bar high. My advice is to squat with the bar low on the shoulders, thus you'll get to a flat back more easily; but you should still check it, or have it checked for you.

Of course you need proper technique in every lift; but the squat is the thrickiest in my opinion, plus you can really fuck yourself up with shitty technique (like falling down because of imbalance...)

[littledrummerboy]

I have a sub par setup downstairs in my den. Not into public gyms. I used to train I was boxing in the gym, but as far as joining one I don't have any interest in that. I like to work out at home.

[cupcake]

Lexen looks like a completely badass place to work out.

[Patroclus]

Originally Posted by cupcake

Lexen looks like a completely badass place to work out.

Almost everyone in there is a silverback gorilla. Working out next to dudes with 600+lb raw benches and 1100lb geared squats takes some getting used to.

I am almost always the smallest and weakest person there. That isn't saying much, though.

But I'm incredibly glad to have it.

Adam, you should look into Quads Gym if you have the $.

[cupcake]

^^^That looks awesome, but I am kinda pressed for funds right now.

How much do you think a few sessions with a trainer would cost, just to get some tips on form and whatnot?

[xSAAx]

I'm at my parents' house in the 'burbs for the next month or so, so I started working out at the gym 3-4 days a week.

Here is my highly personalized routine:

Bike there (about 30 mins)

Do a few sets of on each of the machines that look fun at the time. Mostly upper body/core for now, may add more leg exercises as my legs shape up from biking

Bike back (about 40 minutes, after stopping for lemonade from the kids on the corner)

Done and done. It's natural for you to be impressed.

[dune]

IB "use free weights".

[Pilaf]

I found a good article about why women should deaflift. (men too.)