Gym?

[Daft]

Walking is not solid exercise. If walking gets your heart rate going you must be seriously unfit.

[jayseven]

Yeah, walking's the same as sitting down, isn't it? C'maaan! Exercise is ultimately burning the g'damn fat ye got. Do enough walking and you'll do that. At work I'm walking lotsandlots, and I've honestly lost weight just by doing that, and my stamina has increased (takes longer for me to start sweating...) so walking is exercise.

[Daft]

Maybe I should have said 'substantial enough' instead of 'solid'. Either way I used to think that, I walked (virtually marched) for at least an hour a day, normally a lot more. Now that I'm actually at a good level of fitness, walking isn't enough.

 

Also, the earlier you sweat, the fitter you are since your body becomes more efficient.

 

And I never said walking wasn't exercise.

[Mike]

I've been going to the gym 1-3 days a week for the past three and a half years, and I honestly don't think it's made much of a difference. I'm still the weediest guy there by far, lifting the lightest weights, and there's still no sign of a six pack despite all the ab work I do! I really don't enjoy going that much, but I carry on in the hope that one day I'll suddenly get some muscle definition (and I'm assuming that inside, it's doing some good to my health)! I'm sure that getting a gym buddy would help, but alas, there is no-one.

[Ashley]

Walking is not solid exercise. If walking gets your heart rate going you must be seriously unfit.

 

I just meant keeping myself active and that. Striving off that genetic heart attack waiting to happen.

 

(although up the bloody big hill from the train station to my house, it does get a bit of a sweat on )

[Daft]

I've been going to the gym 1-3 days a week for the past three and a half years, and I honestly don't think it's made much of a difference. I'm still the weediest guy there by far, lifting the lightest weights, and there's still no sign of a six pack despite all the ab work I do! I really don't enjoy going that much, but I carry on in the hope that one day I'll suddenly get some muscle definition (and I'm assuming that inside, it's doing some good to my health)! I'm sure that getting a gym buddy would help, but alas, there is no-one.

 

I keep hearing diet plays a massive massive part. I've been going for 2/3 weeks and I've noticed a difference. If you've got the gyming down maybe you should look at what you're eating. (Maybe you are. It's all I can think of though.)

 

Although apparently I have the build for it, whatever that means.

[Eenuh]

I always found the gym incredibly boring (even though I went with... my mom and aunt haha), and it seems ridiculously expensive here as well. I was never a fan of the weight machines anyway (always occupied by beefy guys) so spent more time on the treadmill and bicycle, but it just gets boring after a while really. Plus I never noticed any progress in my weight/fitness/muscles. =P

 

At the moment the only exercise I get is from cycling to and from school. Apparently the route I take is a bit over 5 km long, the shorter one is about 4.5 km, though I rarely take that one (too busy). So that means about 10 km per day. Nothing great (still tires me out), but better than nothing I guess. =P

[Charlie]

Where from? How are they doing you so far?

 

http://www.myprotein.co.uk

 

Tbh I'm not sure how much of a difference they're making. I don't think I'm taking them regularly enough to notice a different. I only just started taking them before my injury. I'll let you know in a few months.

 

 

I keep hearing diet plays a massive massive part. I've been going for 2/3 weeks and I've noticed a difference. If you've got the gyming down maybe you should look at what you're eating. (Maybe you are. It's all I can think of though.)

 

Although apparently I have the build for it, whatever that means.

 

If you want to lose your weight then forget about doing a lot of exercise to do this. It's all about your diet. If you do a lot of exercise then sure, you'll burn some fat but you're just going to put it straight back on because exercise is going to make you hungry and you'll just eat it back.

 

Make sure you have a healthy diet. Small things like no having any fizzy drinks, going from blue to green milk. Low fat mayo, less cheese. No chippys after nights out (make sandwiches instead).

[Raining_again]

http://www.myprotein.co.uk

 

If you want to lose your weight then forget about doing a lot of exercise to do this. It's all about your diet. If you do a lot of exercise then sure, you'll burn some fat but you're just going to put it straight back on because exercise is going to make you hungry and you'll just eat it back.

 

Make sure you have a healthy diet. Small things like no having any fizzy drinks, going from blue to green milk. Low fat mayo, less cheese. No chippys after nights out (make sandwiches instead).

 

This is completely true. With diet alone you can lose weight. I found adding exercise (albeit probably better for my health) made me feel like i could justify having a cream bun, or whatever treat I wanted. Thus I didn't really lose as much as I could have.

 

When you aren't exercising its on your mind and you are far far stricter with yourself.

 

With regards to the milk stuff, I find you can have the full fat stuff but you absolutely MUST measure it, and have small quantities. If you actually measure what is considered a portion of cereal (30g/40g whatever is on the box) you'll find its smaller than what you normally consider, and the same with milk. (as an example)

 

The first time I ever dieted that was my worst shock! Portion control! You don't realise how quickly you double/treble your portion sizes.

[Fierce_LiNk]

I think I'm going to give protein shakes a go, as I think I'm at the right stage now where I think they will be helpful. Question: Do you still take these shakes when you are not visiting the gym, like on a rest day, for example? Also, I'm visiting the female in two weeks time, so I think it would be best to start these shakes after I return? Because taking them for 2 weeks, stopping, then restarting again seems a bit disruptive. Any advice on this?

 

Mike: Give us an example of what you do at the gym. So, how long do you spend there? What exercises and what size weights?

Edited October 10, 2009 by Fierce_LiNk

[Charlie]

I think I'm going to give protein shakes a go, as I think I'm at the right stage now where I think they will be helpful. Question: Do you still take these shakes when you are not visiting the gym, like on a rest day, for example? Also, I'm visiting the female in two weeks time, so I think it would be best to start these shakes after I return? Because taking them for 2 weeks, stopping, then restarting again seems a bit disruptive. Any advice on this?

 

Mike: Give us an example of what you do at the gym. So, how long do you spend there? What exercises and what size weights?

 

My personal trainer mate takes them everyday without fail. Not sure when he takes them though.

 

I'm going to go for every morning and then on gym days I'll take it just before and then just after I go.

 

I don't see any harm in starting and then stopping as it's not something, as far as I know, that you build up to. You just take it and it helps you then and there.

[Raining_again]

too much protein when your body doesn't need it isn't very good for you, it still has to be processed. And it may turn into fat.

[Daft]

I got my dumbbells today. Yay!

 

If you want to lose your weight then forget about doing a lot of exercise to do this. It's all about your diet. If you do a lot of exercise then sure, you'll burn some fat but you're just going to put it straight back on because exercise is going to make you hungry and you'll just eat it back.

 

Make sure you have a healthy diet. Small things like no having any fizzy drinks, going from blue to green milk. Low fat mayo, less cheese. No chippys after nights out (make sandwiches instead).

 

Yeah, completely agree. I'm talking more about gaining muscle since that's what Mike said was the problem.

[Caris]

Are the lock nuts on your dumbbells plastic or metal?

[Daft]

They're metal with a small ring of rubber to stop the weights grinding.

 

They're these:

 

[Caris]

Where did you get them from? I was going to get a set that looked exactly the same from Argos but the lock nuts were plastic and I didn't trust them at all.

[Daft]

http://www.amazon.co.uk/York-20kg-Cast-Iron-Case/dp/B000N3T0VE

 

I also selected the trial for the prime delivery so next day delivery was free.

 

They're a good solid set. I'm very happy with them.

[Caris]

Cheers mate.

[Mike]

 

Mike: Give us an example of what you do at the gym. So, how long do you spend there? What exercises and what size weights?

 

I tend to change my programme every three months or so (based on what one of the trainers there recommends), but in general, I spend about an hour there each visit, 20 minutes of which is cardio, and around ten are ab exercises (crunches and stuff). The rest of the time at the moment is spent with things like fit ball press ups, fit ball chest press (8kg dumbells), lat pulldown (40kg), bicep curls (15kg bar), shoulder press (10kg bar), and upright row (15kg bar) among a few others. I really am quite puny and can't manage much more than that. That's the reason I usually end up going quite late, around 8.30 at night, as there'll be fewer other people there lifting three times (or more) as much as me, making me feel inadequate!

[Grazza]

It is considered best to start with the muscle workout and then move onto cardio. The idea is that the muscle workout "activates" your muscles so that your cardio session can be more effective.

 

I would do cardio-vascular first (cycling and running), to warm up, although I did do the Stairmaster at the end of my session if I had spare time.

 

Any reason? Because I hate waking up.

 

Just generally so you don't have to let your food go down - I had (and still have) orange juice before my workout, then my breakfast when I got home. Obviously it's much harder if you're at university, and if you're still motivated at the end of the day, great.

 

I try to read a lot into things, and a lot of sources on the web seem to suggest that you shouldn't work out the same specific body part for more than 2 times during a week. Although, some say three, so who knows.

 

I preferred to do the same workout three times a week. I mean, 60-80 minutes in the gym is enough to do a few exercises on each body part. My muscles were as big as I wanted and they always recovered, so I had no problem with that. Friday was a bit weak, but I think that's inevitable.

[Fierce_LiNk]

My personal trainer mate takes them everyday without fail. Not sure when he takes them though.

 

I'm going to go for every morning and then on gym days I'll take it just before and then just after I go.

 

I don't see any harm in starting and then stopping as it's not something, as far as I know, that you build up to. You just take it and it helps you then and there.

 

too much protein when your body doesn't need it isn't very good for you, it still has to be processed. And it may turn into fat.

 

That's what I'm worried about. I've already got a bit too much fat that I want to shift, heh. Part of me is also thinking that maybe I should shift some of this excess fat first before taking up these protein shakes? Right now, I think I've got a few pounds I just need to shift off my stomach.

 

I tend to change my programme every three months or so (based on what one of the trainers there recommends), but in general, I spend about an hour there each visit, 20 minutes of which is cardio, and around ten are ab exercises (crunches and stuff). The rest of the time at the moment is spent with things like fit ball press ups, fit ball chest press (8kg dumbells), lat pulldown (40kg), bicep curls (15kg bar), shoulder press (10kg bar), and upright row (15kg bar) among a few others. I really am quite puny and can't manage much more than that. That's the reason I usually end up going quite late, around 8.30 at night, as there'll be fewer other people there lifting three times (or more) as much as me, making me feel inadequate!

 

Personally, I get more out of my workout if I'm concentrating on one particular area at a time. Going from shoulder pressing to upright rows, bicep curls and lat pulldowns, it's varied and it's good for an overall workout. But, I think maybe you should try spending some time concentrating on each area a bit more.

 

For example, when I was working on my shoulders earlier in the week, I did:

 

Front Shoulder Raises

Side Raises

Bent Over Raises

Upright Rows

Shoulder Presses

 

Generally, you aim for 10-15 reps per exercise. I repeated this three times and I wanted to die afterwards. Really effective.

 

Shoulder Exercise Vid

 

This is where I got the workout from, and I find that it works for me. I spent a while just doing shoulder presses and while it can be effective, I find that it isn't any near as effective or satisfying as this workout. You could probably integrate this workout with another one, as it doesn't particularly take too long at all. So, you might want to work your back and shoulders in the same day for example, arms and chest, or something.

 

Also, try not to take too much notice of the people there. I've found that the more often you see "regulars" there, the more they tend to respect you somewhat. I see the same 20 or so faces when I go, and I've found that we say hi to each other briefly and stuff.

 

I preferred to do the same workout three times a week. I mean, 60-80 minutes in the gym is enough to do a few exercises on each body part. My muscles were as big as I wanted and they always recovered, so I had no problem with that. Friday was a bit weak, but I think that's inevitable.

 

Like I mentioned above, I get more out of it if I go into the gym knowing which area I'm going to be focusing on. It is just down to preference though, some people may enjoy doing overall body workouts more than spending time on just one particular area or two. I had a really great workout on Thursday, then came home, and a few hours later I caught a flu-like illness. I wanted to go today for a workout, and I haven't, so I feel a bit gutted, heh.

Edited October 10, 2009 by Fierce_LiNk

[Charlie]

I preferred to do the same workout three times a week. I mean, 60-80 minutes in the gym is enough to do a few exercises on each body part. My muscles were as big as I wanted and they always recovered, so I had no problem with that. Friday was a bit weak, but I think that's inevitable.

 

Flinky, you're not meant to do the same muscle too many times because if its still recovering from the last workout you're not doing it any good, just damaging it more.

 

I tend to do each muscle 1.5 - 2 times a week depending how many times I go.

 

(the .5 being over a 2 week period so twice one week but only once the next week etc)

[Fierce_LiNk]

Flinky, you're not meant to do the same muscle too many times because if its still recovering from the last workout you're not doing it any good, just damaging it more.

 

I tend to do each muscle 1.5 - 2 times a week depending how many times I go.

 

(the .5 being over a 2 week period so twice one week but only once the next week etc)

 

I know that, sucker.

 

Hence why I'm not a huge fan of overall workouts.

[Ten10]

Ok a few things here. You can lose a lot of weight from diet alone. However you do often end up with issues like excess skin or have flabby areas. Exercise will aid in toning those areas up. But as said, not necessary to lose weight.

 

In terms of bulking up, you can't bulk up what you haven't got. If your trying to build muscle and get definition you need to give your body something to work with. Simple fact of the matter is eat more. Stolen from some bb website:

 

Gain Weight. You’ll never look muscular weighing 140lbs at 6″. No matter how much training you do. Check the guide on how to gain weight for skinny guys. Here’s the most important part.

[Ashley]

Just read through that and while its fine and all that....I enjoy my skinny frame thanks Although raw rice? Never heard that one before. Sounds horrible.