Lets all Diet & get in shape

[thevolvoguy]

I have been getting back into my spring cycling since the weather has been nice.

Instead of going extreme distances like I have done in the past I have been pushing myself to take on some heavy cardio work for about 20-30 minutes each day. This means keeping my HR above 150 for the extent of that 20-30 minutes many times spiking at 200+bpm. Keep in mind I am just 16, almost 17 so this is normal.

My question is, what is better for me? The long 2 hour low-medium pace rides, or the 20 minutes of maxing out?

I am not trying to lose weight, as I am 5'6 130-135lbs w/ about a 27 inch waist, but I am just trying to stay in shape and lead a little more healthy life-style.

[Magellan498]

Well it depends on what you want to accomplish. I would suggest a combo of both for well rounded stamina and muscle mass. Generally hard short workouts generate muscle mass and the long workouts make muscles leaner and able to take more stress longer. I would say that if you are cycling every day, go 2hrs one day then just quick short bursts the next the back to the 2 hr workout.

[Accumulator]

thevolvoguy- The intense cardio work will DEFINITELY be more conducive to good health (and gets it done faster, too). When you push your cardio-vascular system like that it adapts and gets better able to deal with such stress. The long duration/low intensity stuff is good for general, overall health (as in better than vegging out) but it won't really challenge/improve your body like the intense stuff will. I agree with Magellan498 about using both types of workouts, but I question whether something you can sustain for 2 hours (that you describe as low-medium pace) really accomplishes much. Even for building endurance, you gotta challenge your body with something demanding and an in-shape guy your age usually HAS pretty good endurance anyhow.

Talk about endurance: a friend of mine (also in his 40's) bikes for HOURS at a REALLY intense pace and his cardio-vascular health is phenomenal. He does, however, look like he needs a good hamburger (or six) and he can't lift worth anything. He actually looks decidedly UNHEALTHY. All those hours of effort just burn away his muscle along with the fat. People keep asking if he's OK.

Ah, 200+ bpm...to be young and immortal.

[PrinzII]

If you are just starting out, what's the best way to build your stamina? My goal is weight loss but when I get to a certain weight, I want to start developing muscle.

I had one Personal Trainer tell me to mix the routines up (cardio and weights). I liked doing that but I am unsure of a good routine to follow.

[YoSteve]

I just discovered www.fitday.com

okay now everybody go there, sign up, and enter the foods you ate today.

It tells you every aspect about what you've eaten today, especially the most important aspects, calories, fat, carbs, protein and vitamin content.

Try it, it's pretty cool.

[YoSteve]

jeez accumulator, it's a regular muscle forum in here


I've been doing my big diet all week. People at work think I'm crazy.


Today I racked up 2300 cals, 210g protein and 175g carbs (low gly index).

I guess I figured, I'm doing this, I'm going to do it right.

I just got full leg movement back (from being sore from working out on monday).

It's going to take me a long time, I'm the hard gainer skinny guy with a gut lifter, sucks to be so disadvantaged so late in the game (27). But I'm doing my best.

[Accumulator]

YoSteve- Yeah on the muscle forum, gee another one of my favorite soapboxes! Hmm, gonna have to add that Fitday.com to my to-do list. Glad to hear Monday's leg-day worked so well for you. Guess that means today you'll be doing cardio

I'm the hard gainer skinny guy with a gut lifter, sucks to be so disadvantaged so late in the game (27).

Heh heh, 27=late in the game indeed! When I was 25 (and had been lifting for a few years) I only weighed 125 (at 5' 10") and was in your situation. The skinny guy with some fat. I've since lost the all fat I wanted to and gained LOTS of muscle (I'm over 170 and MUCH leaner). And I've really made my best progress in just the last few years! At 43 I've just outgrown a bunch of my clothes (in the right way). More a matter of knowing what to do (and doing it, of course) than anything else. A lot of it is just not wasting time on stuff that doesn't do anything for you.

PrinzII- I'd work on gaining muscle ASAP. The muscle you build will burn calories and it's often EASIER to build muscle when you're a little overweight (the fat cushions your joints, for instance, and can help fuel a long workout). More muscle will give you more stamina.

What kind of stamina are you trying to build? The "run 5 miles" kind or the "do 20 pull-ups" kind? Generally, if you build as much muscle as possible using the basics (especially squats and pull-ups) and do some intense cardio (really push yourself) the stamina will follow naturally. More "in shape"= more stamina.

As far as mixing your cardio and weight training, what you DON'T want to do is make them collide. As in you're too tired from your cardio to lift when you should, or your legs are too sore from your lifting for you to run. That said, I do the StairMaster first thing in the morning on leg-day, and I'm still able to squat a few hours later. The cardio stuff doesn't challenge my muscles that much (it DOES challenge my cardio-vascular systems, though!).

I do cardio at least every third day (minimum) and I usually lift AT LEAST 5 days a week. Usually only one-two muscle groups per workout for the lifting. You young guys (gee, I sure sound like an old codger!) who have limitless energy could probably lift more each time...but maybe not if you're going heavy enough.

[PrinzII]

Originally posted by Accumulator
YoSteve- Yeah on the muscle forum, gee another one of my favorite soapboxes! Hmm, gonna have to add that Fitday.com to my to-do list. Glad to hear Monday's leg-day worked so well for you. Guess that means today you'll be doing cardio

Heh heh, 27=late in the game indeed! When I was 25 (and had been lifting for a few years) I only weighed 125 (at 5' 10") and was in your situation. The skinny guy with some fat. I've since lost the all fat I wanted to and gained LOTS of muscle (I'm over 170 and MUCH leaner). And I've really made my best progress in just the last few years! At 43 I've just outgrown a bunch of my clothes (in the right way). More a matter of knowing what to do (and doing it, of course) than anything else. A lot of it is just not wasting time on stuff that doesn't do anything for you.

PrinzII- I'd work on gaining muscle ASAP. The muscle you build will burn calories and it's often EASIER to build muscle when you're a little overweight (the fat cushions your joints, for instance, and can help fuel a long workout). More muscle will give you more stamina.

What kind of stamina are you trying to build? The "run 5 miles" kind or the "do 20 pull-ups" kind? Generally, if you build as much muscle as possible using the basics (especially squats and pull-ups) and do some intense cardio (really push yourself) the stamina will follow naturally. More "in shape"= more stamina.

As far as mixing your cardio and weight training, what you DON'T want to do is make them collide. As in you're too tired from your cardio to lift when you should, or your legs are too sore from your lifting for you to run. That said, I do the StairMaster first thing in the morning on leg-day, and I'm still able to squat a few hours later. The cardio stuff doesn't challenge my muscles that much (it DOES challenge my cardio-vascular systems, though!).

I do cardio at least every third day (minimum) and I usually lift AT LEAST 5 days a week. Usually only one-two muscle groups per workout for the lifting. You young guys (gee, I sure sound like an old codger!) who have limitless energy could probably lift more each time...but maybe not if you're going heavy enough.

<<< kind of an "old codger" at 35.

[Taxlady]

As Accumulator said, build muscle asap. You won't lose weight as fast, but you will lose fat faster. More muscle and endurance will make you a "better butter burner".

The part about fat cushioning makes sense. I hadn't thought of that. Heehee, all that cushioning that I've got is good for more than making me cuddly.

[PrinzII]

Originally posted by Accumulator
YoSteve- Yeah on the muscle forum, gee another one of my favorite soapboxes! Hmm, gonna have to add that Fitday.com to my to-do list. Glad to hear Monday's leg-day worked so well for you. Guess that means today you'll be doing cardio

Heh heh, 27=late in the game indeed! When I was 25 (and had been lifting for a few years) I only weighed 125 (at 5' 10") and was in your situation. The skinny guy with some fat. I've since lost the all fat I wanted to and gained LOTS of muscle (I'm over 170 and MUCH leaner). And I've really made my best progress in just the last few years! At 43 I've just outgrown a bunch of my clothes (in the right way). More a matter of knowing what to do (and doing it, of course) than anything else. A lot of it is just not wasting time on stuff that doesn't do anything for you.

PrinzII- I'd work on gaining muscle ASAP. The muscle you build will burn calories and it's often EASIER to build muscle when you're a little overweight (the fat cushions your joints, for instance, and can help fuel a long workout). More muscle will give you more stamina.

What kind of stamina are you trying to build? The "run 5 miles" kind or the "do 20 pull-ups" kind? Generally, if you build as much muscle as possible using the basics (especially squats and pull-ups) and do some intense cardio (really push yourself) the stamina will follow naturally. More "in shape"= more stamina.

As far as mixing your cardio and weight training, what you DON'T want to do is make them collide. As in you're too tired from your cardio to lift when you should, or your legs are too sore from your lifting for you to run. That said, I do the StairMaster first thing in the morning on leg-day, and I'm still able to squat a few hours later. The cardio stuff doesn't challenge my muscles that much (it DOES challenge my cardio-vascular systems, though!).

I do cardio at least every third day (minimum) and I usually lift AT LEAST 5 days a week. Usually only one-two muscle groups per workout for the lifting. You young guys (gee, I sure sound like an old codger!) who have limitless energy could probably lift more each time...but maybe not if you're going heavy enough.

1st Day Workout:

Elliptical machine: 5:00
abdominal machine
benchpressed 155 lbs (1 rep)
pulldown (2 reps)

[Accumulator]

PrinzII- OK, first day's workout noted. You're on your way. Let's see..I AM all for brief, intense workouts, but yours sounds a bit TOO brief. I wonder if your blood pressure meds are cutting down on your stamina (some do, some don't). Just something you might have to work around. Armchair-personal-trainer $0.02 follows:

You did the elliptical (good choice, easy on the knees!) first for 5 minutes- good. I ASSUME that was five pretty tough minutes. Every minute seems like FOREVER when you're starting out, I know! At some point it REALLY does get easier, I promise! Try adding something sorta easy like an extra 15 seconds (even if you have to lower the intensity some) next time and see what happens. But DON'T push yourself too hard. You don't want to burn out and get to where you're just DREADING doing your cardio. Cardio is a life-long thing, so you want to (almost) enjoy it.

On the ab machine, how many reps did you do? Most people do too many and too easy repetitions for abs. Oh, and I'd DEFINITELY do your ab work last. Your abs support you during all your other lifts so you don't want them to poop out on you when you might need them. Think of ab work as the finishing touch, like a Souveran topper (couldn't resist the detailing analogy ).

Bench press: Your pecs/delts/tris are gonna need more than one set/rep. If I misunderstood, please clarify. Try two LIGHT warm-up sets (and I mean light!! Even a bare bar!) of 5-7 reps to warm up your chest and especially your shoulders. Avoiding injury is always my first priority, so you just GOTTA warm up. Then, instead of 1 rep at 155, do a few (as many as you can) at about 120 or less. Rest 2.5 minutes. Do as many as you can again. If it's less than 3, you should've dropped the weight down lower (you'll learn through experience how to change the weight as you go). Eventually you'll want to try to rest 3 minutes and do it again (a third work set). The general goal will be two warm-up sets and three work sets. The work sets should consist of 5-10 reps each. The muscles you're working will respond best to that number of reps. Singles (1 rep) and doubles (2 reps) will build a certain specific kind of strength, but not what you're after. BTW, I do 99% of my presses with dumbbells. It means using lighter weights, but I like the results better (and so do my shoulders!). If you want to try it that way, use LIGHT dumbbels.

Pulldown: Again, too few reps. Lower the amount of weight you're using so that you can do the same set/rep pattern I listed for benchpresses. For form, DON'T lean back, DON'T let your arms do the work instead of your back, DON'T let your shoulders go "slack" at the top (when your arms are nearly straight), DO imagine trying to touch your elbows together behind your back, DO grip the bar pretty hard to keep tension (the good, joint-protecting kind) on your elbows and shoulders.

Even when you're just starting out, you want to do MULTIPLE sets of MULTIPLE reps, even if it means using the lightest weights in the gym. This approach will help with the weight loss, the muscle growth, the stamina-building, your sense of balance, everything.

Other tips: Keep a training log. I record every rep I do and everything I feel (good/bad/strong/weak). Also record if you get sore and how long it lasts (some muscular soreness is desireable). As well as keeping track of your weight loss, see if someone can test your bodyfat % for a reasonable fee (around here it's $10). It's sorta gratifying to watch that particular number go down.

If the elliptical work seems to tire you out, either do it on another day or do your weight work first. Maybe try doing a big muscle group (like chest, back, or legs) combined with a small muscle group (like biceps, triceps, or deltoids) instead of two big ones like chest and back. Remember, you're an almost-codger of 35 (heh heh, at 43 I can tease anyone younger!) and you're a big guy. You don't want to try to do too much each time. BTW, don't worry about how heavy/light the weights you use are for now. Go for good form. After you get experienced, you're gonna be one STRONG guy, so stay patient.

BTW, I hope I don't come across as some egomaniacal know-it-all. I've really STUDIED this stuff for years and everyone I've trained/trained with has done well, from young guys to my wife to my late father (who didn't start lifting until he was in his 80's). I hope I can sorta "cut to the chase" for people who don't want/need to read everything out there and sort the good from the bull. And there's just SOOO much bull out there...

[Accumulator]

Just wondering how everyone else is doing...like rightlane- how're you coming on the work towards your agility test?