The Rock-Your-Body Fitness Thread
We talk about health and exercise in a lot of different threads. It's time for a one-stop shop.
As you all have read ad nauseam, I have a super slow metabolism so I'm always looking for ways to increase my fitness.
I'm going to join a gym next Wednesday (most likely). Is it true that I should leave a day between working muscle groups? I'll likely only be at the gym on Wednesdays and Thursdays, so I'm not sure what the best excercises are if I'm only going to be working that area once. Like, Wednesday for legs or front and Thursdays for arms or back. Something like that? I'll have about an hour between work and when yoga starts and the gym will be relatively empty, so I'll have plenty of time and access to equipment.
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I recently read that dehydration leads to a drop on body temperature and a drop in temp triggers a body to store fat. Of all the dagnabbit, underhanded, flea-analogue bitten things! My normal temp is in the 97.1 - 97.3 F (36.2 - 36.3 C) range.
Monday was a day of procrastination. I did not work out at all. I feel guilty but a day off where I didnt have to do anything (including no walking outside in the heat for 5 to 8 hours) felt nice.
Today I did 10 minutes stretching, 20 minutes lifting and 13 miles on the bike. I figure Monday was a missed cardio day even if I back to back my lifting days. Today, back on board! I promise.
I know you'll keep up with it :) A day off when you feel over-worked can be a good thing, it makes you more motivated the next day! Plus I've found my body needs to rest at least one day a week to heal properly, or else I'd be a sore crab-ass. :-\
Then you're a good person to ask. When your legs get sore, do you do anything to them to reduce the soreness or just work out the next time with sore legs? I've just been going with sore legs, but I can't do as much as I can when my legs aren't sore. I don't know if that means I'm building muscle while doing less because my muscles started out sore or if doing less means I'm a lazy bum.
yeah, definitely do not do a weights session on a sore muscle group. its called delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS). i have 5-6 days between training the same muscle group. if you do not have enough of a break between training the same muscle group then you will go backwards at best, injure yourself at worst. its one of the biggest reasons that people do not progress in their training. i see people all the time doing bench press every day because its a "cool" exercise. works those glamour muscles. its stupid.
if anyone else has any training/nutrition questions feel free to ask. the biggest problem in the fitness industry is misinformation. most of it is propagated by the industry itself.
(i have a BSc majoring in sports and exercise science)
anyhoo, shoulders and abs today. dumbbell shoulder press (40kg in each hand i LOVE this exercise), machine shoulder press (100kg), 'arnie' press (20kg in each hand), barbell shrugs (250kg) super set with dumbell lateral raises (10kg in each hand). then just a whole heap of swiss ball crunches of various types.
must be eating time ;p
Pretty good workout last night. I did 30 mins of core exercises to sparkpeople, and 15 mins on the elliptical. Feeling a bit sore everywhere today. I think I'll just do some gentle yoga tonight and stretch out a bit.
MM, that is some good advice. My BF makes himself really sore early in the week, but won't let his body rest by working out with parts of his body that aren't sore, or taking a day off to heal. Then wonders why he makes slow progress. Not that I realy know what I'm doing either :)
MM, do you ever take any sort of protein after your workout? If so, what kind do you recommend? I usually have a hemp protein shake after a hard wokout. I was wondering how helpful that was in helping your body heal, and muscles grow :)
Thanks!
man, there's so many 'types' of protein these days. as far as i'm concerned its all a big scam to get your money. i dont bother with protein shakes generally, i find food is just fine. the key though is timing. you have a 45 minute-ish window to eat straight after your workout (this is for weights/muscle growth). you want to consume around 12 grams of protein and around 40 grams of carbohydrates as soon as you can. peanut butter sandwiches and chocolate milk are the best! this will optimise protein synthesis in your body. if you cant eat that soon just keep thinking "the sooner the better".
but. if you find that either you dont have the time or the appetite to eat straight after a workout (very common) then i would say a protein shake is good. but dont make it up to their recommendations because its pretty much always way too much protein. its in their interests for you to finish it all fast and buy a new one ;p e.g. if the recommended serving is 30 grams of protein, halve or third it.
tell your BF to make a 3 or 4 day split for his workout. that way you can train hard each time but by focusing on different muscle groups you allow each to rest. i'm doing a 4 day split at the moment.
day 1: chest and triceps
day 2: legs
day 3: shoulders and abs
day 4: back, biceps and forearms
then 1 or 2 days rest depending on how i'm feeling and then i launch back into it. seems to work just fine for me. i've changed a lot from being a very skinny, lanky 16 year old.
i'll stop ranting now
Thanks alot MM! All very good info, don't feel bad for "ranting". I appreciate it.
Yeah. Definitely don't restrain yourself from talking fitness.
Gymnastics tonight. Yay!
Yeah. Definitely don't restrain yourself from talking fitness.
very little chance of that : )
Blerg. Just mapped my run today and it was a little under 5 miles. And I'm exhausted. It was a tough five miles and definitely felt like I had gone further than that. New running shoes made a world of difference though, a lot fewer of the aches and pains I usually have while running. Fingers are crossed that I'll actually train when I'm in Boston over the weekend because I can't afford any missed running days.
Just did about 15 mins of upper body yesterday. I'm not really feeling up to working out this week. My period is kicking my ass plus my sprained ankle has really been acting up. I fear the the elliptical may be the culprit :( Back to the exercise bike for the moment.
Blerg.
lol
a half marathon is a long way. i would like to do one at some point. maybe next year.
I hurt my serratus anterior (aka boxer's muscle - the muscle under your arm pit) nine days ago and it still hurts so much that I still have trouble sleeping. I avoid pills because the testing of them isn't vegan, but today - maybe too late - I took an anti-inflamatory pain reliever. I'm finally able to take full breaths and wash my hair. I'm not sure if taking a pain reliever is bad, because then I'll keep aggravating my injury by overuse, or if taking an anti-inflamatory is good, because it helps reduce inflammation.
I'm going to take the pills through next week while I do cardio on Tuesday and Thursday only. I'm exhausted when I don't exercise, but couldn't do it last week because I couldn't breath well. No upper body until September.
OK, now that I'm done with vacation fun times, I'm gonna start posting my workouts again!
I'm going to post my plan for the week. I put it in my written planner as well as my google calendar! You all should post weekly plans with meeeeee.
Sunday
8am: 60 min cardio, upper body (front), abs, glutes
6pm: Run - 3 times around hill course
Monday
6:30pm: Spinning, upper body (back), abs
Tuesday
4:00pm: 60 min cardio, upper body (front), abs, glutes
Evening jog
Wednesday
6:30pm: Spinning, upper body (back), abs
Run: 3 times around hill course
Thursday
4:00pm: 60 min cardio, upper body (front), abs, glutes
Evening/morning jog
Friday
6:00am: spinning, upper body (back), abs
Evening jog
Saturday and Sunday - one 45 minute run sometime on these two days.
I think it's ambitious, but I'm a fan of ambitious plans because even if I fulfill it only partially, I will be doing awesome.
I posted it below in a big paragraph, but to summarize:
Tuesday - 20 to 40 minutes elliptical (depending on how I feel)
Thursday - 20 minutes elliptical, maybe 60 minutes yoga - but probably not (depending on how I feel)
Starting in September, I'll be kayaking at least once a week. In real water. Not a kayak-esque machine.
OK, now that I'm done with vacation fun times, I'm gonna start posting my workouts again!
I'm going to post my plan for the week. I put it in my written planner as well as my google calendar! You all should post weekly plans with meeeeee.
Sunday
8am: 60 min cardio, upper body (front), abs, glutes
6pm: Run - 3 times around hill course
Monday
6:30pm: Spinning, upper body (back), abs
Tuesday
4:00pm: 60 min cardio, upper body (front), abs, glutes
Evening jog
Wednesday
6:30pm: Spinning, upper body (back), abs
Run: 3 times around hill course
Thursday
4:00pm: 60 min cardio, upper body (front), abs, glutes
Evening/morning jog
Friday
6:00am: spinning, upper body (back), abs
Evening jog
Saturday and Sunday - one 45 minute run sometime on these two days.
I think it's ambitious, but I'm a fan of ambitious plans because even if I fulfill it only partially, I will be doing awesome.
no weight training for legs? i would also suggest only doing each upper body workout twice a week and have a rest (or legs) day in between. you'll probably find that you'll progress better with that extra break. i only do each muscle group once every 5-7 days.
and pulling muscles sucks. i tore my left brachialis (the muscle under biceps brachii. originates mid way up the humurous and crosses the elbow joint) and it took over a year to get anywhere near good. it still plays up if i'm not careful. ironically it's worst when i dont train.
I used to have leg work, but my leg muscles are huge as it is! I can still put a break between working arm muscles, but I'm not really sure I will add legs stuff. Also, my cardio is usually so powerful/intense on the legs that I often don't have energy for leg stuff (either before or after).
Wow, you guys have your workouts really organized! I'm working on organizing myself a little better, but I like to do random activities for my workouts so I don't get bored.
Had a good gym day Friday: about 20 mins yoga, 15 mins upper body, 20 mins elliptical, and 20 mins exercise bike. Went to the local Bike and Ride on Saturday and rode for a good 2 hrs (about 15 miles I think) down the bike trail, and then met up with the train and rode back to my car. I'm resting today, just cleaning up the apartment and cooking.
I was a sack all week and only got 2 days in. Monday I will be back to my routine though! And taking into consideration several of MMM's suggestions. Thanks for joining in! :)
Awesome! Go go go! Have a good Monday workout Cali!
I completed my workout for the day! One day down, five to go this week. I also did some really healthy grocery shopping.
Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Weekend
^Because I like visuals.
I was a sack all week and only got 2 days in. Monday I will be back to my routine though! And taking into consideration several of MMM's suggestions. Thanks for joining in! :)
I read that twice as: I was in the sack all week
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