Weight Loss and Fitness 2014

[Raining_again]

I haven't been to the gym in months. Fuck infections.

 

 

Mehh.

 

 

Motivate me KNEEEEEEEEE.

[pratty]

I've been doing my press ups and sit ups for about 2 months now. I feel better, my chest and my stomach are harder and I have slightly more shape, though mainly just my arms, but I think I'm doing something wrong.

 

I'm still doing the minimum of 30 of each every morning and night but man, the sit ups get a bit easier but the press ups, I swear they get harder each time. I don't know what it is man but I'd have thought by this point it would start to get a little easier. Not to mention that I click and crack whenever I move.

 

Maybe my body is just so decrepit and useless that I'm too late to save myself :p I think maybe I should start weight lifting as well. Where would I buy them from? I'm guessing not online because parcels go by weight :p

 

Maybe you could do with a rest, maybe only do the push ups every other day, give yourself more time to recover.

 

Though perhaps you're gaining weight (even good weight ie muscle) which is slowing your progress, in which case it might not be much of a problem.

 

I have pretty knackered and clicky shoulders, I find elbows tucked in and push ups on my knuckles (on carpet) works best for me to minimise the discomfort. You might need to experiment with different push up variations to find the kind your joints like.

 

Additionally you might want to stabilise and strengthen your shoulders and back. All those push ups might be causing you an imbalance that tightens the pecs and rounds your shoulders foreward. Your rear delts (back of shoulders) and upper back may be disproportionally weak. Ideally for every push you should be doing a pull. Even if you don't care about your back and just want to improve your chest, strengthening everything back there will make you stronger overall and keep your shoulder joints healthier, which will help your ability to do push ups. Not to mention that a strong back pulling your shoulders back will improve your posture and make your pecs look better.

 

Straight arm side planks are a good way to stabilise your shoulders a bit. I really like waiter walks too, both one handed and two handed. You don't even necessarilly have to walk if you don't have the space. Handstands against a wall are good for the shoulders too if you can manage them.

 

Upper back is tricky to work optimally without weights or a pull up bar. A ghetto alternative is to make an inverted row bar by placing a strong broom handle or pole between two sturdy and stable chairs. Here are some other ideas. You can even try just isometrically pulling against something that won't budge.

 

Do you have playground near by you can do pull ups? Failing that do you have access to a tree with a strong low hanging horizontal branch? If so try wrapping a rolled up tea towl over it and try pull ups that way.

 

Pulling a chest expander (even just a cheap one) is a good way to hit the rear delts and upper back. Failing that roll up that tea towl again, hold it infront of you at each end and try to pull it apart for sets of ten seconds.

 

Can you make lightish dumbbells out of bottles of gravel, or paint tins with handles, or something? Bent over flies will do the job too.

 

For cheapo weights, make a sand bag (there are loads of guides on the web). Or just load up a strong back pack with whatever, over head press it, row it, squat it , lunge it, deadlift it, carry it in all different ways.

[ChloboShoka]

I've found the wii fit a cheap alternative to the gym. I haven't used it as much since I started working and it did get repetitive, but I did have fun. Has anyone used the wii u fit?

[Fierce_LiNk]

I haven't been to the gym in months. Fuck infections.

 

 

Mehh.

 

 

Motivate me KNEEEEEEEEE.

 

Cmaaaaan, Raineeng. You can do eeet, do eeet naaaaw.

 

We're playing squash about 3-4 times a week now. I'd say that, in general, I'm the fittest that I've ever been at any point in my life. I would also say that my body is in its best shape. The downside is that I'm not pushing as much weight as I was at my highest point, but that's not everything. I do feel better, quicker, more agile. I feel like I have more energy.

 

I've lost quite a bit of weight over the last few months. It's been rather interesting, to say the least. In work, people who I didn't think would notice have started making comments. On the whole, most have been positive, but you do get one or two who are a bit negative, which I wasn't expecting at all. I've been quite strict in work with what I've been eating and there are one or two who do scoff at that. You also get a few backhanded compliments that you know on face value are meant to sound positive, but underneath are a bit hmmm. "Don't lose too much more, or there will be nothing left of you."

 

It's been very interesting, anyway. Simultaneously, when I do exercise or lift weights, you get one or two people asking "why?" Some people don't really get it at all.

 

"I squat."

"Why?"

"I deadlift."

"Why?"

 

Luckily, it's only a very small minority, and on the whole people tend to be great about it all. But yeah, interesting.

 

That wasn't really relevant to anything.

[Charlie]

I've been struggling to get up to the gym recently. Last week I lifted weights twice and played tennis once. Week before was perhaps similar. I don't know where the week goes. I hate missing Monday work outs but my girlfriend and I have come into a pattern of meeting up right after work on Mondays. I feel if I miss a Monday I'm down a day right from the start of the week. Hit it up on the Monday and you have another 5 days to get in at least 2 more work outs.

 

I also haven't been to the gym in the morning in months. Need to get back on that. I've had my alarm set so many times but when I wake up I can't get up and as I haven't got my stuff ready for work it doesn't happen.

[Fierce_LiNk]

I've been struggling to get up to the gym recently. Last week I lifted weights twice and played tennis once. Week before was perhaps similar. I don't know where the week goes. I hate missing Monday work outs but my girlfriend and I have come into a pattern of meeting up right after work on Mondays. I feel if I miss a Monday I'm down a day right from the start of the week. Hit it up on the Monday and you have another 5 days to get in at least 2 more work outs.

 

I also haven't been to the gym in the morning in months. Need to get back on that. I've had my alarm set so many times but when I wake up I can't get up and as I haven't got my stuff ready for work it doesn't happen.

 

What about weekends, brah? I feel your pain though, I struggled even getting to the gym before I decided to start doing it at home.

Also, what about hitting it in the evening rather than in the morning? Peak times between 5-8 are a no go, but after that it might be worth a shot. Maybe not on the Monday.

[Charlie]

What about weekends, brah? I feel your pain though, I struggled even getting to the gym before I decided to start doing it at home.

Also, what about hitting it in the evening rather than in the morning? Peak times between 5-8 are a no go, but after that it might be worth a shot. Maybe not on the Monday.

 

Saturday mornings are some times okay, Sundays are almost always a write-off.

 

My normal pattern is heading up around 7:30/8pm for weights and in an ideal week (the month and a half after Christmas) I was doing morning cardio as well. Before Christmas I was hitting up 3 or 4 solid cardio sessions a week in the evening because I wanted to strip a bit of extra fat. I feel that I need to do the same again now. Smash some cardio for the next 2 weeks and get down to 75kg. I can't quite remember what I was when I weighed myself last week but it's either just below or just above 77kg. Bodyfat machine is broken again unfortunately! Last check in was 15%.

 

Edit - Just booked 4 spin classes for between now and a week tomorrow (can only book 8 days in advance).

 

Set myself a goal target weight, bodyfat (will need to double check this when the machine is working) and time to achieve it in.

 

70kg by my birthday on May 28th. 7 kilos to lose. Achieveable, I should have very little fat and will hope to retain a fair bit of muscle. I will post the weekly weigh ins.

Edited April 7, 2014 by Charlie
Automerged Doublepost

[Josh64]

Maybe you could do with a rest, maybe only do the push ups every other day, give yourself more time to recover.

 

Though perhaps you're gaining weight (even good weight ie muscle) which is slowing your progress, in which case it might not be much of a problem.

 

I have pretty knackered and clicky shoulders, I find elbows tucked in and push ups on my knuckles (on carpet) works best for me to minimise the discomfort. You might need to experiment with different push up variations to find the kind your joints like.

 

Additionally you might want to stabilise and strengthen your shoulders and back. All those push ups might be causing you an imbalance that tightens the pecs and rounds your shoulders foreward. Your rear delts (back of shoulders) and upper back may be disproportionally weak. Ideally for every push you should be doing a pull. Even if you don't care about your back and just want to improve your chest, strengthening everything back there will make you stronger overall and keep your shoulder joints healthier, which will help your ability to do push ups. Not to mention that a strong back pulling your shoulders back will improve your posture and make your pecs look better.

 

Straight arm side planks are a good way to stabilise your shoulders a bit. I really like waiter walks too, both one handed and two handed. You don't even necessarilly have to walk if you don't have the space. Handstands against a wall are good for the shoulders too if you can manage them.

 

Upper back is tricky to work optimally without weights or a pull up bar. A ghetto alternative is to make an inverted row bar by placing a strong broom handle or pole between two sturdy and stable chairs. Here are some other ideas. You can even try just isometrically pulling against something that won't budge.

 

Do you have playground near by you can do pull ups? Failing that do you have access to a tree with a strong low hanging horizontal branch? If so try wrapping a rolled up tea towl over it and try pull ups that way.

 

Pulling a chest expander (even just a cheap one) is a good way to hit the rear delts and upper back. Failing that roll up that tea towl again, hold it infront of you at each end and try to pull it apart for sets of ten seconds.

 

Can you make lightish dumbbells out of bottles of gravel, or paint tins with handles, or something? Bent over flies will do the job too.

 

For cheapo weights, make a sand bag (there are loads of guides on the web). Or just load up a strong back pack with whatever, over head press it, row it, squat it , lunge it, deadlift it, carry it in all different ways.

 

Thanks for the tips! I'll start doing pull ups for sure, I'm fairly tall and my door has a 'lip' on it, so I could do them on there. As for the cheapo weights, I'll get something sorted. I'm sure there's plenty of heavy things around the house I could lift up and down for a while :P Heck, Banjo is a heavy lump, and he loves it when I pick him up and move him around the house (though I couldn't really use him as a weight, that'd feel wrong ahahaha)

 

And my push ups are dependent on the day I think. They actually seem easier when I've been fairly active the day before. Like yestersay, I did a 12 hour shift, changing store ends around too which meant lifting out big shelves and putting them in different places - Today has felt a lot easier doing press ups than after my 3 days off work! I've just gotta keep active I guess.

 

And yeah, I've definitely gained weight, even if it's the good kind. Which is a shame really, as I'm always attracted to skinny, toned guys so was hoping I could go for the same look but if anything, this just seems to be making me stockier :p

 

If I can look like G-Dragon I'll be happy:

 

 

But that would probably require eating less, and damn, I have such a sweet tooth

[Eenuh]

Oh god, I am so exhausted.

 

I did a 1 and a half hour workout yesterday at home, consisting of cardio, HIIT, abs and strength exercises, so today my body is feeling it and everything is sore.

 

However Jim and I decided to play squash again today after a week absence. I didn't think I was gonna play well, but I ended up completely battering Jim! Won 6-0, my best win ever I think! Even though my legs are really sore, I just pushed myself and kept getting most of the shots, whereas Jim just couldn't move at all. Very chuffed! Though I feel a bit sick now after pushing myself that much. =P

 

Fitness is definitely improving, just need to get the weight loss going a bit quicker. Lost about 3.5-4 kg since February, still got about 10 more to go. =(

[Eenuh]

Weight loss is going at a slow but steady pace, yay! Now lost about 5kg/11 pounds, so whooo! I still have about 8 weeks to lose some more weight before my holiday. Anyone have tips on how I can shift some extra weight? =)

 

I currently try to stick to a healthy diet, trying to stay around or below 1200 calories per day. Plus do about 30-60 minutes of exercise per day (maybe one rest day per week). I have been using the videos on fitnessblender.com to exercise at home. Hope to be doing squash again soon too.

 

Anything else I could do? =)

[Beast]

So I've been following a plan made by one of my oldest friends who is a fitness instructor. He's given me a weightlifting plan which will help me lose fat and stretch my excess skin to normal. Yay!

 

It's working at the moment, my chest doesn't look so moobish anymore and I've lost an inch and a half in a month around my waist so suck it, fatness! xD

 

So I've been following a plan made by one of my oldest friends who is a fitness instructor. He's given me a weightlifting plan which will help me lose fat and stretch my excess skin to normal. Yay!

 

It's working at the moment, my chest doesn't look so moobish anymore and I've lost an inch and a half in a month around my waist so suck it, fatness! xD

[Mokong]

8 Months now since I started doing my home workouts, not as big a difference as the comparison between the first 4 months but seem to still be cutting off that belly fat which is the goal

Only lost about 3kg too since I started, was 70kg back in August now only 67kg which I'm happy with don't want to actually lose too much weight, if I can get rid of teh rest of the belly and replace it with muscle that would be awesome

 

[pratty]

8 Months now since I started doing my home workouts, not as big a difference as the comparison between the first 4 months

 

Mabybe not a huge difference but your face looks leaner and your guns look fuller, good job!

[Falcon_BlizZACK]

8 Months now since I started doing my home workouts, not as big a difference as the comparison between the first 4 months but seem to still be cutting off that belly fat which is the goal

Only lost about 3kg too since I started, was 70kg back in August now only 67kg which I'm happy with don't want to actually lose too much weight, if I can get rid of teh rest of the belly and replace it with muscle that would be awesome

 

Good stuff! What do you do at home? Being an athlete, my workouts are more sport specific but in training that way you find a lot of 'short-cuts'.

 

I find rotational (ie medicine ball swing), or flexion (ie side bend) - exercises that hit the obliques ("the side abs") to be a faster route to a leaner mid section as opposed to, or actually inconjuntion with the usual ab exercises.

 

Some good (natural) herbs and minerals out there that also useful, if ever you or anyone else want to know.

 

Great results.

[Mokong]

Good stuff! What do you do at home?

 

I have 3 different routines I try to switch between

 

The main one is this one (the word "beginner" in the title is a trap!)

 

I try to do this 3-4 nights a week, though the last month prolly only done it twice a week (maybe just once on one week) due to be knackered after work.

 

 

Once or twice a week I'll do this push-up routine

 

 

Do those minus the aligator crawl one at the end and I only do 2 rounds, so 150 push ups total

 

speaking of this one... @Josh64 how is this one going for you? You tried it since last page.... how you find it? still doing it?

 

 

And then there's this one which I do every now and then (though actually haven't done in awhile

 

 

Can be killer on the arms/shoulders

 

 

 

Suppose I should try find a new routine, body has prolly gotten use to these workouts now, but they are all very handy, require little extra equipment and quick to do yet still work up a good sweat

 

 

Some good (natural) herbs and minerals out there that also useful, if ever you or anyone else want to know.

 

Great results.

 

Do share

I've not changed my diet much in the last 8 months... nor do I intend to mind, might take longer to shed the belly fat but I don't mind taking the long road, I like my foods haha... but I won't say no to some extra nutritional advice either

Edited May 4, 2014 by Mokong

[Falcon_BlizZACK]

@Mokong Thats a good variety - kudos on being disciplined enough to maintain it at home.

 

I suppose theres a reason why you don't/can't train in a gym?

 

As for herbs that may be of benefit, with the aim of increasing your metabolic rate to use fat for energy more effectively, research Kelp - it regulates the thyroid glands which are key to a good metabolic rate. (Of course please consult your GP before you self-diagnose anything! ).

 

Do you know of a bodily state called ketosis? Its a mode the body switches too after a while when the body receives lower carbohydrates than usual, with a high protein diet. For 'quicker' results, it might be worth a test - reduce daily carb intake to 30grams or under - ketosis enables the body to use stored fats as a primary source of energy as opposed to the glucose we get from all the carbs and sugars we ingest.

 

Disclaimer: I am not a qualified medical professional.

 

(I do have a level 3 in Personal Training & Nutrition)

[Mokong]

@Mokong Thats a good variety - kudos on being disciplined enough to maintain it at home.

 

I suppose theres a reason why you don't/can't train in a gym?

 

2 reasons

 

1:Time

2: Money

 

Pretty much haha.

 

Though if I can find a gym at a good price I would like to go to one from time to time. If I had access to some weight machines I'd prolly get some real good definition

[Falcon_BlizZACK]

2 reasons

 

1:Time

2: Money

 

Pretty much haha.

 

Though if I can find a gym at a good price I would like to go to one from time to time. If I had access to some weight machines I'd prolly get some real good definition

 

Thats cool - I don't believe gyms are worth the price and effort needed. The feeling of just waking up and going for a run, enjoying the scenery - for free - is ironically priceless.

 

Yearly contracts, waiting for people to finish on equipment, dealing with posers and serial watchers, grimey showers and changing rooms, hefting everying in a bag, the commute there and back etc etc...

[pratty]

I train at home too, and prefer it that way. It's not ideal as I don't have a bench or squat rack, or even a pull up bar (something I'd really like), but you take the rough with the smooth. I have a decent barbell, adjustable dumbells and a pretty good amount of weight. (I've been playing around with farmer walks recently, only 25KG each hand though. )

 

I think gyms can be good but it all depends on the gym and the individual. I'm wary of some gyms dubious business tactics but for some people the gym is worth it, especially hardcore people training consistantly 4-6 days a week, I'm sure they get their monies worth and have no intention of trying to cancel their membership, so gyms work for their needs.

 

Though I think unless you just have to use a specific piece of equipment for some reason, most people with fat-loss and general health goals could easily do the job at home, and with virtually no equipment, or even sportswear.

[Charlie]

I train at home too, and prefer it that way. It's not ideal as I don't have a bench or squat rack, or even a pull up bar (something I'd really like), but you take the rough with the smooth. I have a decent barbell, adjustable dumbells and a pretty good amount of weight. (I've been playing around with farmer walks recently, only 25KG each hand though. )

 

I think gyms can be good but it all depends on the gym and the individual. I'm wary of some gyms dubious business tactics but for some people the gym is worth it, especially hardcore people training consistantly 4-6 days a week, I'm sure they get their monies worth and have no intention of trying to cancel their membership, so gyms work for their needs.

 

Though I think unless you just have to use a specific piece of equipment for some reason, most people with fat-loss and general health goals could easily do the job at home, and with virtually no equipment, or even sportswear.

 

If you want to build muscle then unless you're all abotu bodyweight exercises then you need a fair bit of equipment. A lot of people, like myself, don't have space for this equipment at home. My gym has everything I need/want to use. Squat racks, benches, bench press, loads of free weights etc etc.

[pratty]

Sure, like I said it depends on the person (their specific circumstances and goals), and the gym (price, equipment, facilities, policies etc).

 

While I prefer to train at home I would be more interested in going to a gym if I had one near me that was an independent old-school 'underground' strength gym (kind of like the place Eilliiot Hulse on youtube runs).

[Josh64]

@Mokong - Yes, I'm still doing it! Though obviously not quite as hardcore as him :p

 

I tend to do a different one each day on a 4 day cycle and its been working well so far! I've only missed a few days and they've been days when I've finished work late and have work early and feel like shit :p Or if I have a hangover, though I've only drank a couple of times in the last month so it's not been too many.

 

After all this time I'm finally starting to SEE a difference! I could feel a difference for quite a while but it's actually pretty visible now! The days of squidgy boob are nearly over!

 

NEARLY.

 

Congratulations by the way! Your before an after picture since August 2013 is a crazy difference!

[Ellmeister]

Got my hands on Insanity workout.

 

BRING IT ON

[Fierce_LiNk]

I'm still plugging away. Think I've done alright considering I've had a very busy last few months. I've been really feeling my hamstrings work lately, like they're being properly activated during deadlifts, etc. My arse also hurts from hitting the legs yesterday. I've been getting comments from some of the older women in work that I have the best arse there. Feelsgoodman.

[Goron_3]

Got my hands on Insanity workout.

 

BRING IT ON

 

Keep us updated with how you find it! I'm a big fan of p90x but I've heard that insanity is also fantastic. I know a lot of people tend to do p90x first and then graduate into insanity but once exams are over and I have some free time I might go straight into insanity.