The Health and Fitness Thread

[patiirc]

Cheers Guys

 

 

Don't underestimate strength, there are obstacles after all. If you can't lift your own body weight, you're going to get into trouble.

 

Would like to do one of these, but haven't really got the time to fit the training in. One day maybe.

 

 

 

Yeah, a lot of these challenges will have climbing walls and swinging bars as obstacles, so you will need to have a good level of strength. Explosive power would proably be the best way to put it. You will need to work on, push ups, pull ups, dips. Do some high intesity training going up and down stairs, add in weights when you get faster. Swimming is good for your joints and if you have some free weights you can use them for punching in the water. The water resistance will make it harder to punch but its easier on your muscles and will increase your power.

 

 

Aye, I'm not underestimating strength would like some core fitness first or will never get around the running bit let alone the rest.

Have never been able to do Monkey Bars etc, So I know weights will come into it at some point, it's just when and where is best?

[Rossman]

In a ideal situation you should be able to incorporate cardio as well as strength work in the same week. Otherwise only doing cardio will burn off fat and then eventually eat into muscle. There's a 3 month training plan on the Total Warrior website which should help.

[Kookoocachu]

So I'm shit and haven't updated on my weight loss in forever. 

 

 

Total loss now 9st 4lb, almost as much as I weigh now. 

[Maverick]

Iv'e lost over 5 stone since my first post in here through cycling and eating better. Was 19'7 down to around 14'7 at the minute. Well done Kook that's an amazing transformation.

[SpursRiot2012]

Question: are you wearing gold trousers or no trousers?

[Kookoocachu]

Question: are you wearing gold trousers or no trousers?

 

No trousers. They get in the way of my lounging. 

[Tommy!]

They are advisable when taking a photo of your arse to show a before and after comparison though.

 

I think we need to see Maverick's pert buns now, possibly while he wares a sting mask and holds a fork.

[Maverick]

I don't have a before pic or a sting mask and am still quite rotund. However, if its what the people want...

[Ron&Hermione]

Awesome work Kookoocachu, and everyone else who is now fit.

 

I used to be a right fatty for a couple years when I got super depressed. Then I just worked out like mad, ate super healthy and got in shape. Problem was whenever I looked in the mirror I still saw the fat guy, so I had a bit of an anorexic problem for about 6 months or so. (I went from about 22st or so down to 11st, just imagine that!) Eventually I sorted it out and got a trainer, the difficult part was eating enough. I would under eat so eating 5 times a day was daunting. Got there in the end though, even though I was doing well without and had some tone, I wanted to work out strength and definition. It really was eye opening as I thought I was fit but after a few months it was completely different.

I did that fit bit course (rowing, log downs, kettle bell swings, bike, press ups, kettle bell lifts, sand bag lifts, run. I think that's all) and did a time of 17mins 30s. After a couple months of training I got that down to 13mins 14s.

 

I will post some pics at some point in here.

 

For anyone who hasn't started getting healthy yet, just to say it gets so much easier after the first 3 months. Obviously those are a grind but after that it's great fun!

[patiirc]

Good Kettlebell exercises? 

 

Well done kooks and everyone else. i've not done much recently, however,  it all starts again this week

[CTXRussomark]

Been good reading through everyone's experiences.  I've always been a fairly big guy going right back to my school days, but other than feeling a bit self-conscious at times its never really been much of an issue for me.  But just over a year ago I ended up going to the doctors for the first time in 17 years (chest infection) and found out I weighed over 19 stone.  It had probably been over 10 years since I'd last actually weighed myself and in my head I was still around the 14 stone mark so it came as a massive shock to find out what I actually weighed.  I'd always toyed with the idea of trying to lose weight but never really had the motivation to go through with it, but this finally gave me the push I needed.

 

Having never tried to lose weight before I was daunted by the horror stories of how hard it is.  I immediately decided I wasn't going to focus on exercise as I know I would never stick to it in the long run, so I thought I'd start with just changing my diet (though not actually dieting, if that makes sense) and see how I got on.  I downloaded the MyFitnessPal app and almost immediately I was surprised at just how many calories were in some of the things I was eating/drinking.  Overnight I cut out all fizzy juice which was definitely my main issue (have gradually reintroduced Diet/Zero drinks since) and also made a few other changes like eating more rice instead of pasta. eating less bread etc.  More than anything the App just made me think about exactly what I was eating.  Beforehand I wouldn't have thought twice about having a couple of packets of crisps or a sandwich at night if I felt hungry, but as soon as I could see in black and white exactly what that meant in terms of my daily allowance it made me stop and completely rethink what/when I eat.  My first entry into the App was on 13/5/14 and since then there hasn't been a single week where I've put on weight.  My total weight loss is currently 6st 6lbs and I'm now under 13st for the first time since (I'd guess) my early teens. 

 

So although calorie counting seems to be overlooked a lot I can definitely say it worked (and continues to work) amazingly for me.

[spartan]

Well done Kookoocachu that is a staggering before and after.

 

I am now (re)starting the Body Beast program. I tried a lot of more cardio based programs over the past year or so but I definitely enjoy lifting weights much more than jumping up and down so i'm going back to that. Gonna try the "lean" program though as it has more cardio scheduled in it, which I certainly need!

[Scott Malbranque]

Did you find Body Beast to be a decent program last time you ran it? I found I hit a plateau very quickly and lost strength due to the constant pyramiding of sets.

I’m not a big fan of those DVD Instructionals though and I’ve tried a lot of them.
I found this variation of 5/3/1 worked tremendously well for me. Very taxing on the CNS but it’s worth it...

 

DAY 1- Bench Press 5/3/1
Accessory Work:
Incline DB Press (3 sets).
Incline DB Flys (3 sets).
Close Grip Bench Press (3 sets).
Tricep Pushdowns (3 sets).
Machine Chest Press (2 sets).

DAY 2- Deadlifts 5/3/1
Accessory Work:
Barbell Rows (3 sets).
Pull Ups (3 sets).
Cable Rows (3 sets).
DB/Barbell Curl (3 sets).
Hammer Curl (3 sets).

DAY 3- OHP 5/3/1
Accessory Work:
Paused Bench Press (3 sets).
DB OHP (3 sets).
Side Raises (3 sets).
Face Pulls (3 sets).
Shrugs (3 sets).

DAY 4- Squats 5/3/1
Accessory Work:
Stiff Legged Deadlifts (3 sets).
ATG High Bar Squat (2 sets)
Leg Extensions (3 sets).
Calf Raises (3 sets).
Leg Curls (2 sets).

 

Rest 1 day and repeat.

 

In the first "week", you do 3 sets of 5 at 65%, 75%, 85% of your training max. (TM is 90% of actual max).
In the second "week", you do 3 sets of 3 at 70%, 80%, 90% of your training max.
In the third "week", you do a set of 5 at 75%, a set of 3 at 85% and single at 95%.

After these weeks, you increase your Squat and Deadlift training max by 5kg/10 lbs. And your Bench Press and OHP by 2.5kg/5lbs.

[spartan]

I did find it very good the first time I did it, mainly I think because it differed so much from the lifting I had been doing, which was mostly heavy low rep work. Doing Body Beast gave me DOMS like never before because it was so much of a shock to my body.

 

I work out at home rather than in a gym so I am limited to basically free weights and bodyweight movements like chins and dips, so really it was an ideal program for me from the point of view of accessibility.

 

I have laid off weight training for a good while and been focusing on cardio and fat burning, so it will be interesting to see how I feel in a few weeks time.

[WyattSheepMask]

My wife has lost 5 stone since November doing Cambridge Weight Plan and I've decided to have a go myself for a couple of months/until I get to were I want to, which is back down to 14stone. I've only lost a stone since November myself due to eating better but still not as good as I should do which is just down to laziness on my part