Going to the gym

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The Seawolf
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Re: Going to the gym

Post by The Seawolf »

Smashed it in the gym today. But about to ruin it by venturing out to watch the Arsenal game soon.
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Spigzy
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Re: Going to the gym

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The Seawolf wrote: Sun Aug 11, 2019 6:01 pm Smashed it in the gym today. But about to ruin it by venturing out to watch the Arsenal game soon.
Hopefully Mrs Seawolf was okay with such a public display of affection, not a bad result for the Gunners too - albeit at Newcastle. :hattip:
Meum est propositum in taberna mori,
ut sint Guinness proxima morientis ori.
tunc cantabunt letius angelorum chori:
"Sit Deus propitius huic potatori."
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The Seawolf
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Re: Going to the gym

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Spigzy wrote: Mon Aug 12, 2019 9:29 am
The Seawolf wrote: Sun Aug 11, 2019 6:01 pm Smashed it in the gym today. But about to ruin it by venturing out to watch the Arsenal game soon.
Hopefully Mrs Seawolf was okay with such a public display of affection, not a bad result for the Gunners too - albeit at Newcastle. :hattip:
I am not a gooner although my father is. I prefer shit football which is why I have followed QPR for about 3 decades.
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Spigzy
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Re: Going to the gym

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The Seawolf wrote: Mon Aug 12, 2019 11:13 am I prefer shit football which is why I have followed QPR for about 3 decades.
As a Hammer, amen to that!! :hattip:
Meum est propositum in taberna mori,
ut sint Guinness proxima morientis ori.
tunc cantabunt letius angelorum chori:
"Sit Deus propitius huic potatori."
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The Seawolf
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Re: Going to the gym

Post by The Seawolf »

Spigzy wrote: Mon Aug 12, 2019 11:36 am
The Seawolf wrote: Mon Aug 12, 2019 11:13 am I prefer shit football which is why I have followed QPR for about 3 decades.
As a Hammer, amen to that!! :hattip:
Not a good start to the season for you. :plus1: :thumb:
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yong
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Re: Going to the gym

Post by yong »

Here in Bangkok around this time of the day most people who come here are retirees and housewives. Many come here to socialize too bringing food and drinks share among themselves passing time. Too time to come visit not crowded.

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Re: Going to the gym

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Taking food & drink to the gym ... I suspect that might be counterproductive. 90% diet, 10% exercise ... :-)
Meum est propositum in taberna mori,
ut sint Guinness proxima morientis ori.
tunc cantabunt letius angelorum chori:
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yong
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Re: Going to the gym

Post by yong »

Spigzy wrote: Tue Aug 13, 2019 9:29 am Taking food & drink to the gym ... I suspect that might be counterproductive. 90% diet, 10% exercise ... :-)
Yes I agree, I see this only with the older folks, guess this is a platform for them to socialise, not serious exercise.
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Re: Going to the gym

Post by starkmonster »

There's been some great advice on here already, but I just wanted to share some of my personal experiences with getting back in shape.

I think the biggest mistake people make when first deciding to get in shape is to over complicate things, at least I know I did. It's easy to drown in oceans of articles and recommendations about diet and fitness programs with all making cases for why approach X is better than approach Y.

The reality is that most of these debates are for people that have already achieved a base level of fitness and body composition and are starting to hit the point of diminishing returns. If you are out of shape, you don't need to worry about any of this, you have much lower hanging fruit that will allow you to get to a "base level" of fitness and body composition.

It's like someone who's just starting playing golf thinking that $2000 set of Ping clubs are going to up there game. They won't, you need the basics covered first.

Check out the diagram below:

Image

If you haven't been working out then you will probably look like 1, 4 or 9. Before you even think about getting, ripped, jacked or super fit you should set your goal to get to number 5. If you are heavily overweight then you should aim for 2 then 5. That means concern yourself with increasing muscle mass first, and loosing body fat second. Loosing fat is much easier when you have a healthy amount of lean body mass as it's burning calories 24/7.

It's actually pretty easy to get to number 5, it won't happen overnight, but it's easy to make steady visible progress. The biggest reason for failure will be over complicating things and therefore increasing internal resistance. Instead you should focus on making the process enjoyable, as simple as possible and not too rigid.

Here's how you can get to number 5 without having to become some kind of maniac or fanatic (as that's unsustainable and a sure way to fail in the beginning), get to number 5 then you can think about becoming a fanatic, counting macros, detailed workout plans, logs, metrics, supplements and any other complicated tactics.

But first do this:

Diet

Stop eating anything out of a can or a packet and don't drink calories whenever possible. No need to be a maniac, have a glass of wine at the work meal, have a few beers at a family bbq, take your kids for a pizza from time to time.

Eat extra protein whenever the opportunity presents itself. Take the steak over the pasta, when you're cooking have two chicken breasts rather than one and eat less of everything else on the plate.

Don't be scared of high quality natural fats. Good cheese, nuts, avocado, coconut oil, high quality dairy.

When possible take the low-carb option (steak and salad over steak and fries), if there is no low-carb option take brown carbs over white carbs. If there is only white carbs, eat more of everything else on the plate and less of the white carbs. Once again no-need to be a radical about this, especially if you eat at home as a family. Just always opt for the better options when it's available.

If you are alone and there's only crap available, skip that meal and double down at the next meal with something bigger and higher quality.

Don't deprive yourself of food, if it's good stuff eat as much as you want and as often as your want.

Lift Weights

Go to the gym four times per week for under an hour. Go on whichever day or time takes your fancy, just make sure you get there four times. If you feel burned out on any particular day, don't go, but make sure you go the next day.

In one session choose four exercises from the following list:

Squat (start with just your bodyweight if needed), deadift (rack pull if you lower back issues), bench press, overhead press, dip (start with bench dips if you can't regular dip), pull ups (start with pull downs if you can't do 3 pullups), dumbell row/fly/press/curl/raise, leg press, bent over row.

Follow your body and choose whichever four your like on a given day, if a particular muscle(s) feel stiff, don't choose exercises that work those muscles, choose something else.

Start each exercise by doing a weight that's VERY easy for you and do six reps. Add a little extra weight and do six more reps (this is warming you up and adding volume). Keep doing this until you get to a point where doing six is challenging, but possible while maintaining good, controlled form (it's much better to lift light with good form than heavy with bad form).

Now do two more sets at this weight, rest after a set until you feel that it's possible to do another one, no longer. On the final set if you get to six and still have more in the tank keep going until you can't do another rep with good form.

If you got past 10 with good form, you underestimated yourself, take a mental note and try to be more aggressive with your estimates in future.

If you didn't get to six with good form, you overestimated yourself, take a mental note and try to be less aggressive with your estimates next time.

Cardio

Don't bother for any reason other than fun. Whatever you are currently doing for recreation, carry on doing it, just don't add anything in terms of cardio until you get to body type five, it will just slow your progress.

Sleep

Aim for at least eight hours minimum per night, if you can get away with more then take it without feeling guilty. This will usually mean going to bed earlier and shutting off electronic devices at least an hour before bedtime.

Supplements

If you are already taking anything and it works for you, keep taking it. If not don't bother adding anything, okay maybe some fish oil.

Metrics

Forget the scales. Pay more attention to how your clothes are fitting, as time goes by such as jeans becoming looser around the waist and tighter around the thighs. T-shirts feeling tighter around the arm and chest, but looser around the stomach. And most importantly pay attention to how you feel. These small changes (once you get over the initial hump) will make your feel stronger, healthier and more energetic.

Anyway this is my 2 cents worth.
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Duncan
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Re: Going to the gym

Post by Duncan »

I'll add another 2 cents worth.

Buy a set of lifting weights, and use them every day.

Drink plenty of water, especially before meals , that will make you full and not want to eat so much.

Do plenty of walking . It may not be strenuous exercise but it gets that blood flowing through your system.

And again I will repeat what I said in a previous post, get your blood hormonal tests done . If you dont believe that excess estrogen E2 in your system
is one of the causes that may be contributing to your excess weight then you haven't done your research.

I dont just say what I say,,, I do what I say and it works for me.
Cambodia,,,, Don't fall in love with her.
Like the spoilt child she is, she will not be happy till she destroys herself from within and breaks your heart.
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