The get in better shape thread 06/01to 12/31/12

You are ambitious Bruz.

i hope to lose 15 lbs by next year.  i'm currently at 165 and my old in-shape weight was 150 in high school.  i lift 2-3 times a week and do cardio just as much.  i also am as active as possible this summer and walk everywhere when it's reasonable.  if you really wanna get in good shape play 3 hours of full court basketball every other day.

Bru, what do you use to time yourself during the couch to 5K.  I've been interested in that program for awhile, but i dont want to constantly be looking at my watch every minute to make sure im doing the times right.

Pretty much immediately after moving to CO, I started working out with Bru at the gym.  I was also lifting 4 days and doing cardio 3 days (the couch to 5k program).  I've been in terrible shape for far too long, so I decided that with the change of venue and job, now was as good a time as any to fix the situation.

I did a fitness assessment last week and found out I'm around 34% body fat.   I signed up to do 2 30 minute sessions a week with a PT for 12 weeks.  The primary goal of the next 3 months is to get that fat % down to at least 20% if not lower.  After the 12 weeks, I may continue the PT sessions but bump them to an hour 2x a week.

My first session was this past Monday.  We chatted about what my goals were and did a fitness test to get a baseline for comparison down the road.  The second session was Tuesday, and I'm still a bit sore.  The PT I'm working with absolutely kicked my ass in less than 30 mins.

Going forward, I'll be doing lunch time PT sessions on Mon/Wed and Tue/Thu/Fri will be a combo of lighter-weight/higher-rep resistance work (eventually getting to 6 days a week of lifting) and cardio.  I'll probably continue the couch to 5k program, but I'll be adding in the Friday spin class starting tomorrow.

I don't know that I'll be posting any progress pictures right away, I'll definitely be taking some along the way.  Maybe I'll do some before/in-progress/after stuff starting at the 30 day mark.

Its your diet.  Trust me on this one.  I was a string bean for a long time and put on 50 pounds of muscle over six months.  I previously thought that I ate a tone of food, then I started working out with a friend who was a body builder.  I soon found out what his definition of eating enough was, and it was drastically different than mine, like 6,000 calorie a day type stuff.

In the end, I packed on a ton of weight because of it.  I use to be 5'11" and 135, and got to 185.

I have dropped from that level quite a bit the past three years as I don't lift, or eat enough at all, I might have even dropped below 160 for the first time in forever.  I gotta go weigh myself today. 

Originally posted by BRUIZZA Originally posted by denver303 who gave you the fitness assessment?  Personal trainer, nutritionist, doctor?  Personal trainer at the gym.  Matt I just do the couch to 5k on the treadmill.

Right, so you just manually up/down the speed every 90 seconds or whatever?

so what you gotta eat shaka? I don't gain weight either

damn, this just reminded me to get off my lazy ass.  winter will be back before I know it.

Originally posted by anton Unlike you guys, i'm probably 0% fat. I can't gain weight no matter how I try. However, I've been doing the Home Gym thing on youtube, just because I have time off school now. At least I hope I can gain some muscles.

Ahhh, I used to be like that. Then I graduated college, moved to Vermont and gained 70 pounds. I really let myself go in my 20's and started having back problems. I just lost a little more than half of that weight since last year. I've made it my goal to make it so I can ride all day on a powder day, paddle all day when the surf is good and be able to hike a great distance in challenging conditions. I also eat a lot healthier. I don't buy snack foods when I shop and eat a lot of fresh vegetables and non-processed foods.
I hate the gym. I never go there. My excercise consists of snowboarding, hiking, wakesurfing/wakeboarding, surfing and paddling.
Since I've started doing all of this on a more regular basis (I never really stopped doing any of these things, just did a lot less.) I've lost weight. It was kind of funny, when I first started my routine, I gained weight for the first couple of weeks, but my pants weren't fitting as well.

Originally posted by anton Originally posted by shakazulu12 Its your diet.  Trust me on this one.  I was a string bean for a long time and put on 50 pounds of muscle over six months.  I previously thought that I ate a tone of food, then I started working out with a friend who was a body builder.  I soon found out what his definition of eating enough was, and it was drastically different than mine, like 6,000 calorie a day type stuff. In the end, I packed on a ton of weight because of it.  I use to be 5'11" and 135, and got to 185. I have dropped from that level quite a bit the past three years as I don't lift, or eat enough at all, I might have even dropped below 160 for the first time in forever.  I gotta go weigh myself today.  Hmm. Do you have any examples of foods you ate? I'm guessing it was a bunch of meats and protein?

Haha?  You really want to know what my diet was like at the time?

I generall ate two or three steaks a day, two foot long subs, a ton of chicken breasts, eggs, really lean hamburgers etc and weight gainer shakes that were about 1200 calories a serving.  Damn near a gallon of milk a day.

tons of carbs, protein and calories, as little fat as possible outside of some flax seed oil and the whole milk.

Pretty much ate nearly a full meal every two hours.  I was also lifting six days a week and still playing basketball for several hours at a time.  What is really funny is that after about a week of that, your body gets used to it, and you are starving all the time.  Oh, and I drank 128 ounces of water a day.

Well, I really want to get in better shape and loose about 15 to 20 pounds....my problem is motivation...I can't seem to keep it up. I was thinking about getting an anytime fitness membership, there is one right down the street so I wouldn't even drive to it, and I could go at any time, like say, middle of the night when I'm restless....

I want to get my legs, abs and arms in better shape, so I'll probably start with lunges, bridges, pushups, sitting against the wall, that sort of thing, and jogging this one road that loops around where I live, just gotta get up and go do it! I hate the idea of someone seeing me out there running alongside the road....I'm too damn self conscience...anywho...I'd really like to get to my ideal body type by the start of the season, or half way through, I think I could do a lot more things if my legs and abs were stronger, like get higher ollies and such...

Originally posted by Duneluder my problem is motivation...

That's the exact reason it's best to work out with a buddy or a PT.  It's way too easy to give up before you've even pushed yourself when you're alone.  You do some reps and think, "hm, yeah, that's enough."

If you can't afford a PT, find a friend to go with. 

Originally posted by pepitojones Originally posted by Duneluder my problem is motivation... That's the exact reason it's best to work out with a buddy or a PT.  It's way too easy to give up before you've even pushed yourself when you're alone.  You do some reps and think, "hm, yeah, that's enough." If you can't afford a PT, find a friend to go with.

Personally, I think you have to find something that you like to do and do it. When you start to do it regularly you almost get addicted. It is the same with eating healthy.

Even if you get a gym membership, dumbells is really all you want to mess with anyway.  Skip the machines.  Do free weights and take whatever classes interest you. 

Oh and fellas, dont skip out on Yoga and Pillotes.  Not only are there hot chicks, but it really helps out in all facets of fitness. 

Originally posted by myach man I feel like I'm slacking now... I did do some abs, shoulders and arms consistently for like 2 weeks, once I stopped I can't get back into it... I'll get back into it if I keep reading about how other ppl are so motivated haha

Thats pretty much the point of the thread, me and bru have been talking about this for a while. 

Originally posted by shakazulu12 Oh and fellas, dont skip out on Yoga and Pillotes.  Not only are there hot chicks, but it really helps out in all facets of fitness.

Yoga and pilates are both excellent compliments to a weight training program.  We're incorporating some in my PT sessions, actually..  It's also way harder than it looks when you're starting out. 

I'm riding my fixed gear bike on a regular basis.  I'm trying to get in shape so I can start racing on a track.  There's also a group of people that play bike polo in a nearby park, so I think I'm going to start participating in that as a hobby that gets the heart rate up.

Originally posted by choi its all really about your eating habits and how active you really are.  shakas diet is only gonna work if you work as hard as shaka does.  and sorry to tell you this you can no longer keep the following items in your house: chips, cookies, sodas, candies, chocolates, ice cream .... all that good stuff will tempt the crap out of you and trust me you will give in. if you dont have them you wont eat them. ive been a swimmer for the past eight or nine years and that is what i swear by ooh and if you really want to have a flat stomach two things. one, somewhere floating on the internet is an old 8min abs video that looks like its filmed in the early 90's. find that download that and do it! the second thing i know is blasphemous but it is a must (unless youre just a freak of nature) you need to give up beer. its too many empty calories and when you get drinking YOU DRINK. that is why i can never have a six pack

Bold part needs to be re-enforced.  If you aren't working your ass off in the gym, don't go trying to eat 5,000 calories a day because you are a twig and thing just eating more will get you muscle.  All that will happen is you will get fat, and skinny people who are fat just don't look right.  Trust me, I have a gut growing right now and I'm skinny. 

I'm not horribly skinny, I could just use extra 10-15 lbs. I think going on a diet and exercising at home with dumbells should help this summer.

10min rowing machine (5min over-hand 5min under-hand) I would like to do more than 10mins. first time I used the rowing machine I was POOPED. I could probably go longer now, but I'm already at the gym for like an hour... 10mins rowing seems to be working better than 10mins running, or even 30 mins running.
stretch - can ppl suggest some good stretches? Im always at a loss of things to help stretch...
Side bends 22.5lbs (20x2)
Crunch machine 75lbs (12x3)
sit ups - as many as I can do
(everything from here down is 2 sets of 12)
hammer curls sadly I only use 10lbs haha
Front Lat Pulldown 60lbs
seated bench press 45lbs
I do shoulders too, triceps & forearms, I just don't know the names for these and some of the other free weight exercises I do.
leg curl 45lbs
leg extension 50lbs
leg press 155lbs
hip adductor 70lbs
hip abductor 80lbs
kick backs 30lbs
squats 12lb bar (new)

I think I've missed some,
I need to find a lower ab workout that I like.

My goal isn't to loose weight, I just want to be healthy, fit & reap the benefits of working out.

Originally posted by ShredBettyZoe 10min rowing machine (5min over-hand 5min under-hand) I would like to do more than 10mins. first time I used the rowing machine I was POOPED. I could probably go longer now, but I'm already at the gym for like an hour... 10mins rowing seems to be working better than 10mins running, or even 30 mins running. stretch - *1)can ppl suggest some good stretches? Im always at a loss of things to help stretch... Side bends 22.5lbs (20x2) Crunch machine 75lbs (12x3) sit ups - as many as I can do (everything from here down is 2 sets of 12) hammer curls sadly I only use 10lbs haha Front Lat Pulldown 60lbs seated bench press 45lbs I do shoulders too, triceps & forearms, I just don't know the names for these and some of the other free weight exercises I do. leg curl 45lbs leg extension 50lbs leg press 155lbs hip adductor 70lbs hip abductor 80lbs kick backs 30lbs squats 12lb bar (new) I think I've missed some, *2)I need to find a lower ab workout that I like. My goal isn't to loose weight, I just want to be healthy, fit & reap the benefits of working out.

1. for snowboarding you want to make sure you stretch your legs obviously, but also your hips.  unfortunately if you want a really good hip stretch, you need a partner.  there's not a whole lot you can do for your hips without a partner, to get a really good stretch anyway.

2. have you tried hanging leg raises?  i like those for lower abs.  does a really good job of working them too.

Originally posted by ShredBettyZoe well i guess my goal is to continue to work out and not slack off... lol wait no. my goal is to be the sexiest woman alive... wait you said attainable goals... hm ok I wanna go up 5lbs in most of those workouts within the next 2 weeks.

I'll post my routine later today, but my general rule is 2.5% per week on each lift. 

I would do it for you, but isn't Canada on the metric system?  Too confusing for me.  

LOTS of wakeboarding!! and skating, and currently trying to find a soocer team in sacramento to join to help with the cardio

Originally posted by choi the best workout plan out there, period. <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/mDjxizKnWsA&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/mDjxizKnWsA&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>

Let me fix that for you