Exercise Regimes and Getting Fit: Your Advice

[Stollos]

Hello Escapists, heres my situation. Its not a problem, or a hindrance, or that I don't know what to do, but its something that I feel I would benefit from if I had some external input, and something that could also be helpful for others.

Anyway, i'm currently unfit. Not overweight, but above average weight and with average to under-average muscle strength. Not only is it about time and a good lifestyle choice for me to get fit, but also a requirement for the career I want to pursue. The situation I face is as follows.

I have recently bought a decent pair of outdoor running shoes (I live near a national park with gravel tracks, bushland, and lots of hills) and have used them once. After my first run, I felt like throwing up and it took me the good part of 5 minutes while walking to catch my breath. I think I am over exerting myself and I would appreciate some tips for someone like me, who is unfit and new to a structured physical exercise regime, on what I should and should not be doing.

My current plan is to continue with my morning runs, and flog myself. What I think is that I won't be making decent progress unless I really push myself. No pain, no gain, right? But i'm not sure if thats the right thing to do. I also have free gym membership for the next three months at the place where I work, and once I finish my training and start my shifts there, which finish at 3pm, I intend to spend one hour there three days a week focusing on building my upper body strength. So thats morning runs 4 days a week, and gym workouts 3 days a week one hour in the afternoons, with stuff like pushups and squats and other stretches/basic stuff I can do on the floor at home.

The Escapist is great and diverse bunch of people, and I look forward to input from all of you.

TL;DR breakdown and questions:
How hard should I be pushing myself?
What are the best exercises and strategies to use for uphill/downhill running, and building shoulder/upper body strength?
Should I really consider a personal trainer? How expensive are they?

BONUS QUESTION
Good running/exercise music?

Thanks all.

 

[default]

I'm definitely no expert, but I'm quite fit. I go for a short, fast run every night, and a long run once a week. I'm very outdoorsy, and I love hiking... The place you live sounds pretty great to me, actually But yes, I used to be fat.

In my experience you just have to start small, mate. Exercise is all about development.

Don't start with running. Go for some long, quick walks to start your system getting used to exercise. After that throw in, say, 3 minutes of jogging every kilometre or so. Increase it gradually, going faster and faster until you can run a whole mile without stopping... That's just how I went anyway

Or if you want a faster route, as your OP seems to convey, slow jogging, getting gradually faster and faster and with longer terms and less breaks over time.

But yeah, the key word is DEVELOPMENT! Take your time. Don't rush yourself. Stay away from junk food. Hell, I went semi-vegetarian. Drink tons of water.

And yes! Nothing feels better than to feel your flat skinny chest harden and form into some solid pecs. I'm not much of a weights guy though...

But anyways, I definitely recommend the good old bench press and biceps curl. Try some resistance training things too, strength springs and the like. They REALLY helped me initially, and with the right ones they actually tone quite a few different sections. Research to find how to target certain muscles. For instance, I had no idea how to exercise my pectoralis minor, and it looked a bit strange. Good old Google helped out

Hope my advice helps mate. Good luck!!

And remember... DON'T EVER GIVE UP! Always keep the reward forefront in your mind.

 

[Paksenarrion]

1. Do you have a bounce house or trampoline?
2. Do you know other people who are willing to exercise with you?
3. Do you have DDR?
4. With friends, alternate between one and two. You can even make it a light party. Assign a refreshments list.
5. You get a surprising amount of exercise from a karaoke machine.

 

[Stollos]

snip

Thanks for your post. I'll definitely take all of that into consideration. I get a lot of walking into my daily routine anyway, walking to the closest bus stop to my house is a 15 minute walk, and then a further 5 minutes from my stop to my work. I'll do some power walking instead of running for the next few days and then progress into jogging. As I said, I live in a very hilly area so thats actually a very good idea :3

Regarding diet, i've been pretty good with that for about a month now. Little to no crap foods, lots of water, no soft drink, and rarely alcohol. I find your comment about going 'semi-vegetarian' intriguing though: is it good advice for for me to cut down on meat while trying to get in shape? I love meat D:

Also, any specific sources you can recommend for learning about targeted stretches and exercises? If not, thats ok, i'm trawling wikipedia as I type this

And yeah, I have no intention of giving up. As I said, i'm more worried about over exerting myself, if my track record is anything to go by. Thanks again for the post!

1. Do you have a bounce house or trampoline?
2. Do you know other people who are willing to exercise with you?
3. Do you have DDR?
4. With friends, alternate between one and two. You can even make it a light party. Assign a refreshments list.
5. You get a surprising amount of exercise from a karaoke machine.

No to the first three i'm afraid. I kind of want to do this solo anyhow, I suppose as a way to prove to myself that I can do it myself. Interesting comments about DDR and karaoke though. I won't go out of my way to get kinect, but i'll sit it in the back of my mind that if I ever do, for whatever reason, gain access to it, i'll look into some sort of dance game.

 

[default]

snip

Thanks for your post. I'll definitely take all of that into consideration. I get a lot of walking into my daily routine anyway, walking to the closest bus stop to my house is a 15 minute walk, and then a further 5 minutes from my stop to my work. I'll do some power walking instead of running for the next few days and then progress into jogging. As I said, I live in a very hilly area so thats actually a very good idea :3

Regarding diet, i've been pretty good with that for about a month now. Little to no crap foods, lots of water, no soft drink, and rarely alcohol. I find your comment about going 'semi-vegetarian' intriguing though: is it good advice for for me to cut down on meat while trying to get in shape? I love meat D:

Also, any specific sources you can recommend for learning about targeted stretches and exercises? If not, thats ok, i'm trawling wikipedia as I type this

And yeah, I have no intention of giving up. As I said, i'm more worried about over exerting myself, if my track record is anything to go by. Thanks again for the post!

Ahhh, ignore the semi-vegetarian thing. Meat gives you SO much energy, and the protein is very important for building muscle. It's just when I'm working on my cardio (as I am now) it feels so much better just to eat light, healthy meals of bread, nuts and vegetables, with no meat at all. I just ate beef tonight before my run and I felt terribly sluggish and bleaaagh Also, try not to eat meals right before exercise. It's just a tad uncomfortable!


So yes, you should still eat meat, but sparingly!!! And make sure you burn off the fat you get out of it in your exercise Don't want it adding to your problem... Remember, fat is just food you haven't used. Think of it that way, it helps.

And I have no real proper sources :\ Just google what part you want to build on and scroll through some wanky body building sites... They do help

 

[DSEZ]

well good for you trying to get fit and improve your lifestyle

when it comes to running you need to start small or you might hurt yourself

start with walking 2 miles and then when you see fit start running

only exercise wont make improvements you need to eat better too


exercise music....idk your taste my running music is usually a mix of disturbed,alice in chains and other bands

 

[Serioli]

SNIP

General exercise:
Remember you need rest, improving muscles is basically causing them light damage which then heals. If you exercise every single day you will not get the chance to fully heal and will eventually really hurt yourself. If/when you move onto professional training you might swap no exercise day for light exercise day but that is likely later. Seriously, even the military factors in rest days with respect to exercise.

Running specific.
Try to make your running/exercise timed, 'I am going to run for 50 minutes', as what can happen is that the 6 mile run that used to be 50 minutes of exercise goes down to 45 then 40 minutes, then less and less as you improve.
If you are hill training go 'hard' up the hill and 'easy' down the hill. Far too easy to trash yourself with a mis-step while trying to sprint downwards.
If you are going to run with weight, keep it low while starting out, run with light trainers, then heavier trainers, (then boots), then put light weights around ankles, slowly increasing them. (It's amazing the difference even light weights make as you are effectively lifting them with each step. How many steps in a six mile run?)
You might also try stuttering your runs rather than flogging yourself constantly for the whole run. E.g. walk/jog 1 min, jog/slow/'normal' run 3:30, 'OH GOD THE HOUNDS OF DEATH ARE AFTER ME! RUN!' 30 secs, then start again. You then have more options for chopping and changing, e.g. don't just put 'hounds of death' time up but put walk/jog time down instead/as well.

 

[Alien Mole]

Don't have the time to make a full-length post, but I just want to say that you shouldn't ignore your lower body. Training your legs and core (i.e. abs and lower back, if you count these as lower body) is quite important as well. Legs you'll want to train because the bigger the muscle you're putting stress on, the more testosterone it will release which improves your overal progress and weight gain, and the quadriceps is the biggest muscle in the body.

I suggest doing squats, but starting easy.
http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/detail/view/name/barbell-squat

I'll try and make a more comprehensive post later if you like. I'm certainly not an expert on exercise - I'm not even good at it, but too stubborn not too - but it cost me about a year or so to even learn the tricks of the trade and you may as well not have to waste alll that time.

Good luck!

 

[default]

I'm in the same situation except overweight but looking average.

The only tip I have is;
www.bodyrock.tv

Don't focus so much on upper body. Focus on full body.
Cut down on portion size when it comes to food and eat often, 5 times a day. I can't do that because it costs too much.
Take atleast one hour walk everyday.

snip

For some reason, my mental image of you went to "This person is probably hot" <.< *bites*

Teehee! *winky face*

Wait, did you just bite me??! That was uncalled for!

 

[default]

I'm in the same situation except overweight but looking average.

The only tip I have is;
www.bodyrock.tv

Don't focus so much on upper body. Focus on full body.
Cut down on portion size when it comes to food and eat often, 5 times a day. I can't do that because it costs too much.
Take atleast one hour walk everyday.

snip

For some reason, my mental image of you went to "This person is probably hot" <.< *bites*

Teehee! *winky face*

Wait, did you just bite me??! That was uncalled for!

Oh, but I bitted you in the good way! ~wink wink~

Well it still kinda hurt!

 

[sukkafree]

I'm a Sophomore in High School, I was 185 before(fat/muscle was 75-80/25-20), and now that school started I'm now above 200 (fat/muscle ratio is roughly 45/55) I got into strength training, I was never expecting to get in, but I got in and I love it. I would say push yourself 'til you can't push yourself anymore (stop before you feel like puking though) it'll pay off. Eat a high protein sammich or snack within 30 minutes of working out to maximize your day's benefits. Now I don't uphill or downhill run I just run. Our class warm up is usually a 60 yard run, or a lap on the track (depending on weather, and day's agenda). Some exercises for building body strength that we do are: pull downs, bench, pull ups, dead lifts, dumbbell bench, hammer press, and push ups (edit if I can think of others). I would say get a personal trainer , because the muscle gain, strength, overall physical wellbeing is determined by your build (or at least in my book it is), I have no idea how much they cost though, my teacher is pretty much my personal trainer. Also to answer your bonus question I would say listen to some All that Remains, A7X (not the slow stuff), Disturbed, 5FDP, Rammstein, and other music like that which suits your taste.

 

[Best of the 3]

Well I'll give you advice. Not sure if it will help but I'll try.

There are 2 ways to get fit as far as I know (which isn't very far at all). DOing a lot of hard work in short bursts or doing a lot of work over longer periods. Longer periods with more work are the ones that build fitness up. Short bursts are mainly worked for in muscle building. (at least that was what my army exersise book says (funny story, my dad tells me I need to get fitter for my badminton so he buys me that army training book, turns out that a lot of the routines are the same. Future soldiers = eliet badminton players ))

With doing longer periods of work over longer periods of time, it should slowl build up your stamina. The work does not have to be hard but you have to do it. Luckily it can be fitted around every day life. For example, doing housework is one. Long walks, slow jogs is another. The trick is to build them up slowly over time. So you go for a 20 minuet jog on one day. next week you up it to 25. then 30 and it goes on. If you can't go further you would just stick with what you are at until you can.

A great excersise my badminton coach taught me is to sit watching TV, back straight and just stand up and sit down over and over. It's harder than you think and you get to watch TV

WHat I will say is stagger your days so you have 1 work day and 1 rest day. I would not try to push day upon day of working otherwise your body may not cope. If you think you can go for more then by all means do so.

Lastly, buy a skipping rope. I am not kidding you here. Once you lean how to skip you can get so much fitter. It can be used for endurance, burst speed you name it. Not only that but you don't need much space for it either. Give that a try if possible.

That's all I've really got. It's not very good advice, more like little tidbits but for all I know it may help.

 

[Stollos]

Sorry, I have to ask. Why to they call diet and exercise plans, "regimes"? It's not a very attractive monicker. Tends to invoke images of Hugo Chavez or some other banana republic junta.

I call it a regime because I want it to be UNRELENTING and RIGOROUS and any other AGGRESSIVE ADJECTIVE you can think of. Call me ignorant, but in this sense the word regime is just a strict and rigorous routine. Basically I want top results quickly, and I see that the way to do that is to PUSH IT.

I suggest doing squats, but starting easy.
http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/detail/view/name/barbell-squat

Thanks for that.

That's all I've really got. It's not very good advice, more like little tidbits but for all I know it may help.

No thats good. Any and all input is appreciated . I'm trying to get into the habbit of training grip strength when i'm inactive (again for my career hopes as a police officer), but thats not going so well. I rarely watch tv and when i'm at the computer, my hands are busy typing.

My plan is to ease into a routine of morning walks and jogging for 4 consecutive days of the week, and then 1 hour in the gym on the other 3 days. This is because my gym access is restricted to Monday-Tuesday-Wednesday. I intend to use my time at the gym to train my upper body strength, and my other days to train my legs and lower body (stomach crunches, situps, squats etc). I'm still trying to find a good route to use on my morning walks with jogging in mind (as I said, very hilly).

Anyway, thanks again everyone whos contributed. I can't wait to get started now, and uni is out of the way for the year and i'm about to finish my full time training course for my new job, so it should be a good thing to occupy my time with.

 

[Justank]

I call it a regime because I want it to be UNRELENTING and RIGOROUS and any other AGGRESSIVE ADJECTIVE you can think of. Call me ignorant, but in this sense the word regime is just a strict and rigorous routine. Basically I want top results quickly, and I see that the way to do that is to PUSH IT.

Be very careful with that, conditioning your body is literally the most important part. Pushing yourself is good, but never ever overdo it, you'll get quick results but you will pay the price a few years down the line. If you still feel like you're going to throw up after your first day or two, you're pushing too hard.

 

[Stollos]

I call it a regime because I want it to be UNRELENTING and RIGOROUS and any other AGGRESSIVE ADJECTIVE you can think of. Call me ignorant, but in this sense the word regime is just a strict and rigorous routine. Basically I want top results quickly, and I see that the way to do that is to PUSH IT.

Be very careful with that, conditioning your body is literally the most important part. Pushing yourself is good, but never ever overdo it, you'll get quick results but you will pay the price a few years down the line. If you still feel like you're going to throw up after your first day or two, you're pushing too hard.

Haha yeah, I should be ok though. Now I know what I should be doing, i've already started with the bar lower than what it was before.

One other thing as well that just came to my mind. When I go for my walks, I wake up at 6am, get out, and i'm back for breakfast by 7, instead of eating before I go out. I do this to avoid cramps/stitch pain, but i'm not sure if I should be going on an empty stomach? Anyway, I seem to be doing fine, but just something that I think would benefit from clarification.