Get off of your butt.

[ovlov28]

Hey all, I wanted to say, get off of your butt. I took my own advice last August after wanting to loose some weight, and being mildly successful with a diet change, I started doing something more. I wanted to do 10 push ups a day. I figured it would be cake, I was a swimmer at state level in high school, and that was only 10 years ago..... My first morning I did 8 push ups. WTF. Next day, 9. The few following days I went from 9-10, then to 15, then 20... Now, for the last 45 days or so, EVERY morning I do:

50 push ups
50 crunches
15 arm curls each arm w/35lb
30 shrugs (10 front, 10 at the side, 10 behind) with same weight
1 minute of touching a 5lb medicine ball on each side (rocking) with feet in the air
and 30 seconds of planks (left, right and face down - each)

I have now lost of a total of 51-lbs, feel better, look better, and live better all because I got off of my ass.

Adding cardio as soon as the sun is up longer than I am at work here in the PNW.

Get on it!

[T2C]

Congratulations on your weight loss. You are right about getting off your butt.

The secret to a long life is to keep moving and keep breathing.

[WillBrink]

Hey all, I wanted to say, get off of your butt. I took my own advice last August after wanting to loose some weight, and being mildly successful with a diet change, I started doing something more. I wanted to do 10 push ups a day. I figured it would be cake, I was a swimmer at state level in high school, and that was only 10 years ago..... My first morning I did 8 push ups. WTF. Next day, 9. The few following days I went from 9-10, then to 15, then 20... Now, for the last 45 days or so, EVERY morning I do:

50 push ups
50 crunches
15 arm curls each arm w/35lb
30 shrugs (10 front, 10 at the side, 10 behind) with same weight
1 minute of touching a 5lb medicine ball on each side (rocking) with feet in the air
and 30 seconds of planks (left, right and face down - each)

I have now lost of a total of 51-lbs, feel better, look better, and live better all because I got off of my ass.

Adding cardio as soon as the sun is up longer than I am at work here in the PNW.

Get on it!

Excellent. Be aware however, doing the same thing day in day out, and will lead to over use syndromes and imbalances in strength and musculature. For example, you are doing pushing movements (via push ups) with no pulling movements in the same plane of movement.

That will lead to various problems over time. At this point, something like a TRX suspension trainer would be an excellent addition to your program and allow much more diversity into the workout, with attention paid to equal volume of agonist/antagonist muscles for both far better results and reduction of over use issues/injuries.

[brickboy240]

I added a TRX unit to my workouts and there is an amazing number of things you can do with it!

I'd also suggest adding a 20-30lb set of dumb bells and maybe a few kettlebells as well.

Those two things and the TRX give me an amazing number of excercises. Toss in some push ups, sit ups, burpees and jogging with my dog and I too am on my way! LOL

These things also do not cost a ton nor do they take up much space. Google around and you will find tons of dumb bell and kettlebell workouts. That is how I find what I do all the time. You can easily mix it up.

I am no expert by any means but the transformation and how I feel after about 8 months of using the dumb bells, kettlebells and TRX is amazing.

Good work....keep at it.

-brickboy240

[Doc Safari]

WillBrink: what's your take on walking and running?

I've always been of the opinion that when mankind lived in the bush and was a hunter-gatherer his body was made for long leisurely walks occasionally punctuated by fast, adrenaline-fueled runs. I always thought that one should try to use the body's mechanics mostly as they would be "in the wild" so to speak?

Thoughts?

[WillBrink]

WillBrink: what's your take on walking and running?

I've always been of the opinion that when mankind lived in the bush and was a hunter-gatherer his body was made for long leisurely walks occasionally punctuated by fast, adrenaline-fueled runs. I always thought that one should try to use the body's mechanics mostly as they would be "in the wild" so to speak?

Thoughts?

Well actually, you hit it on the head how I prefer to do it: walk and or sprint vs lengthy runs at the same speeds.

Personally, I feel that unless your line of work requires it, running is not a great form of exercise long term and there's various ways to get solid cardiopulmonary fitness using other modalities.

[brickboy240]

My many years of running gave me a case of plantar fasciitis.

Now days...I stick to my bike and the elliptical for cardio...that and walkng the dog at a brisk pace.

-brickboy240

[WillBrink]

My many years of running gave me a case of plantar fasciitis.

Now days...I stick to my bike and the elliptical for cardio...that and walkng the dog at a brisk pace.

-brickboy240

I like the elliptical also. It's a very natural movement pattern that's non impactive on the joints. It's great for HIIT sessions also.

Try 30 second all out sprint and one minute low intensity for 10 mins on the elliptical. You'll wanna die.

[WillBrink]

I added a TRX unit to my workouts and there is an amazing number of things you can do with it!

I'd also suggest adding a 20-30lb set of dumb bells and maybe a few kettlebells as well.

Those two things and the TRX give me an amazing number of excercises. Toss in some push ups, sit ups, burpees and jogging with my dog and I too am on my way! LOL

These things also do not cost a ton nor do they take up much space. Google around and you will find tons of dumb bell and kettlebell workouts. That is how I find what I do all the time. You can easily mix it up.

I am no expert by any means but the transformation and how I feel after about 8 months of using the dumb bells, kettlebells and TRX is amazing.

Good work....keep at it.

-brickboy240

My recommendation, best bang for the $$$ to add to a TRX would be sandbags. Great whole body functional training that's not expensive and takes up minimal space. See:

Benefits of Sand Bag Training

[brickboy240]

I am still in the beginning phase of all of this. Was a runner and mt biker for a very long time but never really concentrated on weights.

I am still amazed at what you can do with a simple bench and a set of 25-35lb dumb bells. Bought the dumb bells used off Craigslist for 40 bucks (2 25lb'ers, 2 30lb'ers and 2 35lb'ers) and the bench there for 75 bucks (it has a reclining feature).

That is an amazing amount of workout for not much money and it does not take up a whole room. Toss in the 35lb kettlebell and I am able to mix it up pretty well.

-brickboy240