Physical fitness tips,tricks,shortcuts

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12 years 3 days ago #14538 by 13fcolt
Replied by 13fcolt on topic Physical fitness tips,tricks,shortcuts
This is true. My diet is something I completely ignored for a little while now. Going back to school and living on that budget had me on hotdogs and PB&J sammiches since august. It's this last semester that has me in the worst shape. Sit in class 8-10 hrs, then sit at home for 8 more doing homework. Ordinarily, I'm much more active so this sudden down turn in my activity levels, plus decrease in nutrition. Just WOW it comes on fast. I'm back to doing an hour every morning and knock out a couple sets in between posts. Getting my diet cleaned up on the cheap is the hard part. Nothing left with sugar in it and last loaf of bread. Working on my grocery list.

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11 years 5 months ago #27183 by Siscowet
Replied by Siscowet on topic Physical fitness tips,tricks,shortcuts
I dug this old thread up more as a reminder and motivator for me. Since April I have dealt with a bulged disc, a severely sprained knee I had to hobble around the Irish and Scottish Isles on, and a case of Mycoplasma Pneumonia. Here it s mid summer, and I have fallen into not the best shape, and in 2 and a half weeks I am taking a pack and a canoe into a wilderness area. Shark, your post on another thread motivated me to get back at it. Yesterday I started with a four mile hike with a forty pound pack, and again today. After the first two days I am really feeling it, but no turning back. Cowboy, I am gonna be hitting the Neolithic diet, or Atkins or something like it. Any other thoughts or tips from anybody? What is everybody doing to keep in shape?

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11 years 5 months ago #27184 by Sharkey
Replied by Sharkey on topic Physical fitness tips,tricks,shortcuts
#1 advice my friend is that even if you are injured, do your best to stay active doing SOMETHING. Walking in a hilly area, anything. If you feel pain carrying a pack, go without it for a couple of days till you are ready to try again and at our ages, there is nothing wrong with taking an Aleve or something before you head out to quell those little aches and pains we all get as we get older.

I'm carrying more flub than I am used to right now and since both my boys are going to be playing football this fall (they are 7 and 10) I have NO intention of being one of those overweight Dad's in the stands that looks like he lives on beer and mashed potatoes so we've all been hitting the track pretty hard again - heat and humidity be damned.

I'm a little over the top when it comes to getting BACK in shape I think and with my weights on, I'll sprint uphill till I'm just about pukin, walk, run or jog on the track till my boys have given up and are falling asleep on the ground watching me and then I'll take off a little weight and do just ONE more sprint or whatever I think I can handle that day without going into full arrest...lol

I firmly believe it's primarily a matter of watching what we eat AND getting out there and doing it - it being ANYTHING physical until we work up to doing more and THEN taking on that little bit or "lotta bit" more as we can handle it.

When something hurts, don't stop, just lighten the load, slow down the speed a bit but keep going until you are ready to add on again.

There've been times in my life when I've been bench pressing as much as 385lbs but those days are behind me now and I've got no interest in getting huge anymore. I just want to be able to keep up with my sons as they get older and stay in shape so I can keep up with my wife as well... :evil:

I'm not out to impress anyone anymore and bragging about old glory days or whatever is a bit much for grown men as far as I'm concerned but I do try to push hard still and only really know how to do things full bore so it's weight runs, or walks, or whatever I can handle on any given day just so long as I get out there and put some miles behind me. Push-ups, sit-ups, squat thrusts, leg lift and lunges can all be done anytime and should actually be done before I hit the pavement cuz once I head out the door with all my crap on, well, when I'm done, I'm pretty much done for the day until I am down to at least 24 minutes again with the 40 lb vest on and my 1/2 lb sap gloves. That's my standard load.

Normally, by the time I get back to that kind of pace, I'll weigh in around 225 or 230 which I can live with. Right now I'm at 245 and too damn much of it is right in my gut...lol

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11 years 5 months ago #27190 by Dabu
Replied by Dabu on topic Physical fitness tips,tricks,shortcuts
physical fitness all depends on what you want to do. Say if you want to get strong, then lift weights eat lots of protein.

if you want to get more stamina, do cardio and work on flexibility and focus on pushing yourself beyond what you think you can do everytime.

if you want to live till you are 100, focus on your diet and avoid risky/unhealthy behaviors.

if you want to just lose weight, then just focus on diet and cardio, avoid lifting weights

and if you want to look like a huge mass of muscle with no body fat, good luck, and subscribe to one of those bodybuilding magazines.


and for just burning calories in general, some shortcuts are doing little exercises in your daily activities. perhaps you could park your car at the furthest parking spot available. or take the stairs instead of the elevator. or take multiple trips carrying things instead of carrying everything at once. Maybe you can randomly do some squats.

If youre going for a run or walk or bike ride, and it just gets too boring for you, try bringing along a friend, or listen to some music, or if you have one of those smart phones, watch a tv show or movie.

I don't really recommend this, but I used to do it all the time in the marines and I had a lot of fun. We used to have early morning parties that started around 3am on fridays, then get intoxicated to where we could barely walk, then we would go to battalion PT and run a few miles, then start out the weekend right :)

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11 years 5 months ago #27200 by 13fcolt
Replied by 13fcolt on topic Physical fitness tips,tricks,shortcuts
I'm glad this was brought back up. I need the push to get going again. I had been doing fairly well for a while, but as usual I started tapering off. It gets me every time when I hit that wall and my progress stops improving, my motivation takes a hit.

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11 years 5 months ago #27202 by Sharkey
Replied by Sharkey on topic Physical fitness tips,tricks,shortcuts
The old confusion principle is always handy at those walls man. When you hit a plateau like that, make some DRASTIC changes in your work out routine.

I don't know what you do normally so I won't even guess but if you take things from a whole different angle, it WILL make a difference in getting you through those time without losing faith AND still make progress.

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11 years 5 months ago - 11 years 5 months ago #27207 by Macky
Replied by Macky on topic Physical fitness tips,tricks,shortcuts
Hey Colt.

You biggest hurdle is to start by defining what you want. Do you want to just lose weight, gain mass, PR a race, or just improve general health?

Supplements -
Don't over think these. Lots of B.S. on the market. If you are eating properly you really don't even need vitamins. If you take a vitamin, all you really need is 1 good multi to fill in the gaps. To supplement strength, a quality creatine and beta-analine pills is all you really need to see nice gains in strength while working out. If you are working out hard, 4+ times a week at a high intensity you could look at a recovery powder as well, this will most definitely help with the soreness and recovering. The older you are, recovery time becomes critical as that is when you build your endurance/muscle and avoid injury. Of course a quality whey protein is good to have on hand (Like something from NOW without a lot of fillers) to supplement protein.

Diet-
If you eat clean, you don't need as many supplements, as you are getting most of your needs from food. If you wan't to lose weight, immediately start to cut breads/pasta from your diet, and replace those carbs with yams/sweet potatos/Quinoa/vegetables. Eat breads/pasta, just think if they were 80% of your diet before, make them 15%. Limit Sugars. Sugar is in everything. Its in drinks, breads, etc. Make choices that have limited or no sugar in them 80% of the time. By all means, don't limit yourself eat ice cream have fun, just make it the exception and not the rule. Same with alcohol. Eat lots of fish, and other quality proteins. Use good oils such as olive oil instead of butter.

Workouts-
For strength, functional movements are the best in my opinion. Squats, deadlift, front squat. If you know how to Oly Lift, do that, as that is excellent for speed and power. Clean & Jerk / Snatch. Press / Push Press. Pull-ups / Push Ups.

For cardio, there are 2 methods you can choose. High intensity but short training, or the traditional carido training such as run 3 miles, run 4 miles, etc. High intensity might be considered wind sprints over an hour long session (not the entire hour, but maybe 15-20 minutes of total run time. The rest would be recovery) Training like that would gear you up for a half marathon. Anything over that, you are probably going to have to put in some long runs if you are going for a marathon. You can apply the same method to swimming or biking, but its more difficult and I found that cumbersome.

Interval training (think crossfit type workouts) - Weights + Cardio is a great way to shed pounds and build endurance. You will gain strength too, but ultimately plateau as the workout method won't allow you to reach your full strength potential. For that you just need to lift weights with 4+ minutes in between each set.

If you are just starting out after a long break, going Rambo the first week can really be problematic and take you out of the game before you even start.
Last edit: 11 years 5 months ago by Macky.

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11 years 5 months ago #27227 by Libertarian623
Replied by Libertarian623 on topic Physical fitness tips,tricks,shortcuts
A big part is taking all the excuses out if your decision process. I started doing (crossfit.com) about 5 years ago with some powerlifting, since then have been on a regular routine. It seems to help having someone else preprogram everything, and being able to post and compare your progress also helped get me back to a regular routine. The muscle confusion with a little power lifting is exactly what I need for my job.

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11 years 4 months ago #27255 by OleCowboy
Replied by OleCowboy on topic Physical fitness tips,tricks,shortcuts

Siscowet wrote: 13fcolt, two real choices for diet. Eat a balanced diet with reduced portions. Or look at a diet high in protein, and leafy vegetables, and reduce starches, complex carbs, and remove refined sugars from diet. Actually the diet that diabetics should follow, as well as all native Americans, since their bodies generally don't handle refined sugars and complex carbs that well. The leafy vegetables should give you enough simple carbs for normal mental function. Cutting bread out alone can be worth 12 pounds in a year. Watch out for ankle and wrist weights, they can put unnatural stresses at unnatural angles on joints. The pack is a good idea. If you walk at 4 mph with a pack, you are getting a cardio workout. Hang a body bag in the garage, and make yourself go 4 five minute rounds. Elliptical trainers do top and bottom. Until mine broke I had worked up to 90 minutes a day. Getting fixed tommorrow. For flexibility might think about taking up a martial art. Just doing the Katas will give you that plus eye hand foot coordination. I took Uechi Ryu karate for 7 years until I lost my Sensei and I have decided to start practicing again on my own as I have lost a lot of flexibility. Getting old sucks but is a lot better than the alternative. Good luck.


Paleo Diet: I do not like to call it a diet because in fact its not in the sense that most of us know.

When I was stationed at Ft Monroe Va back in the mid 80's I arrived at 185 lbs +/- 2 lbs. Life was good for a couple of years and I met Donna who had a degree in Nutrition and she followed the Govt pyramid which as many will remember was CARBO HEAVY. Donna beat me up because I ate so much protein and she was dead set on changing my ways. Well she did and I did and the weight starting coming on. I did not change my daily 5 mile runs or anything else (to include a 2x week 5 mi with rucksack/40 lbs of sand), I just got heavier and climbed up to 212 and worked hard to keep it there. But I was hooked on carbs and they are not that easy to kick. Plus you need to know that you need to kick them.

Then not too long ago I was just doing some reading and stumbled upon something called the "Paleo Diet". [here is a link to info about it, but there is a lot, not pushing this one, just giving some info:

thepaleodiet.com/

I hesitate to call Paleo a diet because for many us it was the way we ate most of our lives. Its a protein focused diet. It still leaves room for carbs but the results are I feel better than I have in years, have more energy, slowly losing weight and my numbers are the best they have been in my life.

With some exceptions Paleo is how I ate most of my life and maybe I should get back to it. I did and I also cut out a lot of stuff I ate that I did not really think twice about. Sure its a bit hard at first to kick the pasta, Coke and other things, but in short order they fall by the wayside with out much effort. You do have other stuff you can eat. Fresh fruit satisfies your sweet tooth just as good a a coke or candy. And I assure you that you can still drink a coke from time to time and eat some candies. But the daily and even weekly consumption has to go. Trust me, the desire goes quicker than you may think and without any issues.

Lastly it was the govt that gave us the carbs, told us it is good for us and meat is bad, since when has our govt EVER got anything right?

I started this about 3 mo ago and did not go from what I was eating to the Paleo overnight. Got to remember we had a freezer and larder full of carbs to go thru.

I started out at 217 lbs I am now at 202 lbs a weight I have not been since the late 80's...its easy, its fun and you eat some REALLY great food

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