The Escapist and Exercise

[Tactical Pause]

Almost two months ago, I started doing P90X3 (7 days a week, no rest days) and began following the general guidelines of the diet provided. Thing is, I'm trying to gain weight, so I've had to bump up my calorie and protein consumption quite a bit (turns out I was only eating ~1,600 calories a day without realizing it). It was tough at first, but my body's already adjusting, as bodies are wont to do.

So far it's all working pretty great. Hopefully within another month or so I won't be so much of a stick person anymore.

 

[Saulkar]

I workout for 1 and a half to two hours, five days week, Monday to Friday. I do a combination of Powerlifting and Bodybuilding and currently weigh in at 98KG at about 15% body fat which means I do not have a six pack but you would be damned insane to punch me in the stomach. I have no real goals other than to constantly break what I believed to be my limits before finding a new barrier to own. Except for Biceps and Triceps, Thighs and Calves, and Wrists and Traps, I do not do more than one muscle group a day and thus it takes me a week and a half to cycle through all of them. My order goes Chest, Upper Back, Legs, Shoulders, Arms, then Lower Back. My Abs, Thighs and Calves, and Wrists and Traps, are worked in once every other week each.

Normally I start with 30 minutes of running at 6MPH before moving onto the weights which can take 45 minutes with my Lower Back to an hour and a half with my Chest. Legs are the exception as I cannot hit my peak performance doing cardio before weights. I also have tendinitis in my left rotator cuff and the front of my right elbow at the base of my bicep which has healed and been re-injured half a dozen times, in the last 3.5 years, preforming day to day tasks whereas doing stuff like arm-curls and skull-crushers at any wrist angle cause absolutely no discomfort. In fact I can use that arm best in the days after the workout. The shoulder injury on the other hand is only 7 months old and healing quite well.

Spoiler: Here is what I looked like back in February with about 18% (I think) Bodyfat

 

[Something Amyss]

What kind of injuries you got?

Primarily my spine. Grossly limits what I can do for exercise. I'm still seeing specialists over it, and will be starting up a different type of PT, but with four years of inactivity/limited activity, I'm kind of in bad shape.

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

What kind of injuries you got?

Primarily my spine. Grossly limits what I can do for exercise. I'm still seeing specialists over it, and will be starting up a different type of PT, but with four years of inactivity/limited activity, I'm kind of in bad shape.

Oh man that really sucks. I have a cousin who played football in high school, and he was good, and was going to go to college on a sports scholarship, but then got a spinal injury in his senior year. Not a super bad one mind you, but it completely ruined his chance at the scholarship, and he's had a hard time working out and doing really strenuous physical labor ever since, not just because of his injury but because mentally he's very afraid of re-injuring himself or aggravating the injury. I really feel for you, the spine is one of the worst things to injure because it's what holds up your entire body in more ways than one. Where is your spinal injury if you don't mind me asking?

 

[krazykidd]

I don't. I don't really care about health. I don't like physical activity. And i'm not going to change the way

I don't. I don't really care about health. I don't like physical activity. And i'm not going to change the way i look to appeal to women.

I am how i am , take it or leave it.

To be completely honest, that's kind of a horrible attitude to have, you know. Not caring about appealing to women is one thing, not caring about your health is far more serious. Just don't complain later on that your back hurt or that you can't walk for more than ten minutes without having to catch your breath.

And the "take it or leave it" thing... yeah... I believe that there's always room for self-improvement, physical and mental. Just my opinion, though.

Now, back on topic. I've always been a quite active person (had a minimum amount of 4 days of physical activity since I was 7, practiced a lot of different sports) but that kind of changed a few years ago after a nasty fall of a hill and the consequent recovery period. So I haven't been physically active for the last 1.5 years and lost most of my endurance and strength while gaining some weight (not that I'm overweight). Been planning to hit the gym for the last two months, never found the time (or will) to do it. I'll finally start this week, just going to do some cardio and weights for at least an hour a day, 5 times a week.

Other than myself ( potentially), who am i hurting? Absolutely no one. I don't excercise because i don't wan't to excercise. Everyone else can do as they please, but i want no part of it.

And i think a lot of people do go to the gym, to impress others, and because health is the new " cool thing" in media. As well as because fat shaming is the new fad.

 

[Saltyk]

I have a gym membership but I don't have a schedule, I go when I can, I mostly stick to weight exercises because I want to put on a bit of muscle, my weight is healthy bit I could do with some toning up, so far I have felt the burn but I plan to stick with it.

If I only go every now and then, will I still see results? I spend a solid hour every time I go and I push quite hard (I always have aches the next day)

You should try to get a simple routine. Personally, I go after work. Change clothes at work, drive down to the gym, and spend at least an hour there. Helps that my work and gym are only about 15 minutes away from my house.

Weekends are entirely rest days, though, I might do some minor exercise if the mood hits me.

Only going every so often will not let you see any results. I find that I can go up on weight every other week or so, thus far, and I'm working on various strength exercises every other day. And it takes a good 3 months of regular exercise for you to see a real transformation. Now, at about 5 weeks, I'm seeing some results, even had some family tell me today that they can tell a difference in my face, but it's only so much of a change, honestly.

That being said, you should allow your body small rests between workouts. At least one day, but I hear 36 to 72 hours could be necessary. A good idea would be to work on arms Monday, Legs on Tuesday, and Core on Wednesday, then do your arms again on Thursday. That way you still get exercise, but also allow your muscles time to heal and rest. Remember that your muscles grow by ripping and healing.

And taking in protein will help you build muscle as well. Fish and chicken are good sources of protein, especially fish as its only fat is Omega Three, which is good for you.

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

I have a gym membership but I don't have a schedule, I go when I can, I mostly stick to weight exercises because I want to put on a bit of muscle, my weight is healthy bit I could do with some toning up, so far I have felt the burn but I plan to stick with it.

If I only go every now and then, will I still see results? I spend a solid hour every time I go and I push quite hard (I always have aches the next day)

You should try to get a simple routine. Personally, I go after work. Change clothes at work, drive down to the gym, and spend at least an hour there. Helps that my work and gym are only about 15 minutes away from my house.

Weekends are entirely rest days, though, I might do some minor exercise if the mood hits me.

Only going every so often will not let you see any results. I find that I can go up on weight every other week or so, thus far, and I'm working on various strength exercises every other day. And it takes a good 3 months of regular exercise for you to see a real transformation. Now, at about 5 weeks, I'm seeing some results, even had some family tell me today that they can tell a difference in my face, but it's only so much of a change, honestly.

That being said, you should allow your body small rests between workouts. At least one day, but I hear 36 to 72 hours could be necessary. A good idea would be to work on arms Monday, Legs on Tuesday, and Core on Wednesday, then do your arms again on Thursday. That way you still get exercise, but also allow your muscles time to heal and rest. Remember that your muscles grow by ripping and healing.

And taking in protein will help you build muscle as well. Fish and chicken are good sources of protein, especially fish as its only fat is Omega Three, which is good for you.

Generally what I usually do is do a 10 minute fast walk on the treadmill with a bit of a slope when I arrive, then do 20 reps of most of the machines at least twice, then at least 5 sit-ups and push-ups, finishing with using the other cardio equipment. I also plank, which is tough as hell, I also do 4 minutes on the rower (which is all I can manage since I have a bad back)

Yeah I have a bad back, which can hinder my exercise, I try to do a full hour workout using everything, but I am a 30 minute walk away from my gym and I often prefer to go in the mornings, as I am mostly busy in afternoons.

I will try go more, preferably going in 2 days in a row, then a day off, repeat and make adjustments if needed.

Machines have their uses, but I find that free-weights are usually the better way to go for most weight lifting exercises. The reason being with free weights you also have to balance the weight properly while you're lifting, which forces you to also use your core strength whether you realize it or not. Free-weight lifting helps strengthen your core, and in turn strengthening your core makes it easier to lift.

Also, since you mentioned you have a bad back I'd like to recommend a machine for you. It's called a back extension machine, and it looks like this:

Spoiler

It works out your spinae erector muscles, which are the muscles in your lower back which support your spine. Back pain commonly occurs because these muscles aren't strong enough and begin to spasm from overwork (which is why if you go to a doctor because of back pain they prescribe muscle relaxants to you). Strengthening these muscles helps reduce back pain.

 

[Scarim Coral]

The only time that I exercise it walking toward work (20-25) and jogging back home from work (cut the time in half), well it's more of a sprint since I can't jog nonstop! I need to take a breather after a few blocks.

 

[Alexei F. Karamazov]

I was actually quite overweight a few years ago, and by running for years, have been able to cut much of that fat off (I think I dropped 40 pounds by running, and though my weight has increased over the few years, I attribute those to biological processes unfathomable by my mind, as there hasn't been a visual change).

Lately, though, I had a bit of a scare with an ankle problem, and it's made me rethink running. I'm going to have to change my running style, since it was rather shite. I tried to take up swimming in its stead during my recovery period, to varying degrees of success, since the local pool at the gym is always extremely crowded.

As for weights, I'd like to actually get into a solid routine, but I A) Don't have a routine (I've got that needs some research before I try it out), and; B) Don't know any of the exercises themselves, since the only thing I've been doing for the past few years is run.

Also, I've heard that doing cardio after weights can be beneficial because your body has already used up some of its glucose reserves or something to keep your muscles going, so doing the cardio afterwards forces your body to jump right to your fat stores. I don't know if the theory is correct, but does anyone know/suggest doing cardio after strength training as opposed to beforehand? When I went to the gym a bit, I would always run and then mess around with weights for 30 minutes before sheepishly leaving, so I wouldn't know.

 

[Mimic]

I probably should get more exercise than I currently do as my life is currenly too sedentry. I would rather exercise be part of a fun activity rather than an activity of itself as I find it boring and end up lacking motivation. Currently I try to do some strength and flexibilty exercises at home everyday and take our dogs out for walks every day as well. Thursdays are a lot more active for me; I go to a zumba class in the evening after I spend the day working as a countryside volunteer so I'm often getting a lot of physical exercise by cutting down vegetation, digging, sawing etc.

I would like to get into martial arts, maybe aikido, but I haven't been able to find classes local to me.

 

[Clive Howlitzer]

I used to keep to a regular gym schedule but most of the activities there bore me to tears and when my gym partner stopped going, so did I. I instead keep active now with cycling and sports activities when I can get enough people together for it. I also do some minor weight training just to keep it up but nothing serious.

 

[McElroy]

I don't. I don't really care about health. I don't like physical activity. And i'm not going to change the way i look to appeal to women.

I am how i am , take it or leave it.

You summarized the main rule in all of this: if you don't enjoy it, don't do it. Otherwise it's just a waste of time. The extra years you might get in the end have already been spent in exercising.

I almost always follow that rule myself. I do the physical activities I like (in addition to things I *have* to do) and leave the rest out. I've been results-oriented a couple of times, but it didn't really do much. So yeah, I'm regularly an irregular exerciser, and I never go to the gym. Still I'm not discounting the possibility that my motivation might change - for better or worse.

 

[giles]

You summarized the main rule in all of this: if you don't enjoy it, don't do it. Otherwise it's just a waste of time. The extra years you might get in the end have already been spent in exercising.

Well I would urge anyone to give it a serious try. Yes, it takes effort to develop a routine, but the exercising itself, not just the effects of it, can become quite addictive after a while.

Also while you sometimes (especially in the beginning) might not feel like you "enjoy" the exercising while doing it... if you pull through and get it done, it feels good to be doing something for yourself, right? Being fit in general also feels good. Plus all the positive little side effects it has on your body and mental state.
Certainly there's more to things than the IMMEDIATE gratification, otherwise we'd all be doing drugs.


If you've done regular exercise routine for ~2 months and still don't enjoy it you can ofc feel free to quit. I find it hard to believe that anyone would seriously not enjoy tough exercise at least a bit, because our bodies are designed to give us a pleasant hormone cocktail when we push ourselves physically... but maybe you just don't enjoy all the other things that come with it as much as I do.

 

[omega 616]

My advice in case anyone cares is to get strong. I'm still very much in the process myself, but I can tell you that getting strong makes literally everything else easier, and no, strength doesn't make you slow. In fact, it does the opposite. Obviously there are other aspects to physical fitness, but the problem is that strength is so hilariously undervalued that it deserves to get a special little spotlight.

Strength does make you slow and trashes your cardio. Watch MMA, massive guys like Geoff Monson were only ever average but skinny/not as well built guys dominate. Perfect example is Anderson silva, dude is a twig but is one of, if not THE best fighter.

Even Micheal Jai White, who is a big dude says this ...

(At the end he says what is relevant.)

Muscle is just like wearing a weighted jacket, you're carrying around all this extra weight as muscle ... so you will be able to power out of a lot of stuff but everything you do takes more effort to do. Why do you think Bruce Lee was shredded and not bulky like a body builder? If he was bulky, he would be slow.

 

[Someone Depressing]

I'm walking the dog three times a day, stopped comfort eating, tried to exercise more and I suddenly realised that I fucking love onions.

Not in an active way, but in a way that I can trust myself to exercise and be healthier. I ruin ambitious things.

 

[Boris Goodenough]

I do about 49 km a week on bike, 3 hours of Brazillian Jiu Jitsu, 3 hours of Krav Maga and 26 min of high intensity interval training running, and a fair bit of morning work out with kettlebells, pushups, back exercises, and various sit ups. It's a good thing I drink a lot of beer otherwise I would get in excellent shape...

 

[Pieturli]

Strength does make you slow and trashes your cardio. Watch MMA, massive guys like Geoff Monson were only ever average but skinny/not as well built guys dominate. Perfect example is Anderson silva, dude is a twig but is one of, if not THE best fighter.

This is a misunderstanding of muscle mass vs. strength. Strength is the ability to produce force against an external resistance, whereas muscle mass is, well, muscle mass.

It is true that at a certain point in bodyweight, strength in relation to said bodyweight starts to go down. This is clearly visible in powerlifting for example; the superheavyweights for example have less strength in relation to their bodyweight than the lightweights. Relative strength is an important consideration in some sports, but not in all of them. To use Pavel Tsatsoulines example, you don't see a lot of 250lbs rock climbers around, because they are all dead. Now, if you are a lineman in football, the more mass you have, the better. A nice example of colossal strength in relationship to bodyweight was the sprinter Ben Johnson, who squatted over 600lbs at 181lbs (if I remember that bodyweight correctly). The guy also ran 100m in 9,79 seconds. So no, strength does not make you slow. Johnson could not have sprinted that fast if he wasn't so fucking strong, because again, strength is force production.

So a succinct way of putting this is that strength is ALWAYS useful, but mass is not. There is no such thing as being too strong, but there is such a thing as being too big. If you are a weight class athlete, you need to develop as much strength as possible withouth growing out of your weight class, provided of course that you are not crazy underweight and therefore in an inappropriate weight class.


And actually, speaking of weight classes as they relate to fighting ability... there's a reason why there are weight classes in martial arts, and I can tell you that it's not because the little guys would "out-maneuver" the big guys. It's because 9/10 the big guys would fucking annihilate the little ones. Technique being equal, the stronger fighter is almost certainly going to win. There are exceptions to this, but that's exactly it: they are exceptions.

 

[The Artificially Prolonged]

I don't really like going to gyms but I play football at least twice a week, with the occasional extra game, full 11 a side match or single day tournament every so often. I also do about 30/40 minutes of sit ups, push ups and stretches 4 times a week and I've started doing some light weight training. Although I've not got a fixed schedule for that yet and I mainly focused on wrist exercises at the moment due to a weakness I developed in one of them a few years back.

Diet wise I have don't really do anything special. I avoid fizzy drinks almost completely, limit the amount of take-aways/fast food I get to 2 or 3 times a month, eat lightly at work as I spend most of it sat at a desk and try to get as much fresh fruit and water I can a day.

 

[Shock and Awe]

Yep, AFROTC, so I don't have a choice. I do exercise on off time though. I almost exclusively do cardio and body weight exercises, but I occasionally use free weights or bench press to shake things up. From what I've seen the most brutal work outs are body weight exercises, but whatever works for you is best.