The Fitness Guide

[[Q]]

I love how people are getting injured by playing the Wii. And I'm not picking on you Q, I've just heard so many stories in regards to injuries with it and it makes me laugh...injuries from a game console.

www.wiihaveaproblem.com

it's all good. i find it a little funny myself.

Anyone know the average weight for 22 year olds , in pounds? I'm concerned about my weight...it's 135 lb which I am pretty sure is far below the average for 22 year olds.

depends how tall you are. of course, 135 lbs is ok for some one like 5'6", but not okay for someone 6'+

[Nick]

You're a very good influence on me, Cyanide. Haha.

What did you do now, Nick?

Oh nothing. But i was just looking over the initial post of this thread as my attitude towards working out and improving my fitness increases and thinking, gee, i would never be thinking this way without Cyanide.

And for that i salute you.

The next step is actually doing it.

[cyanide]

Hey cyanide can you add me to the list? i'm not working on weight or body fat but i've finally got back to working out from a shoulder injury and am now trying to get back to my "athlete" lifestyle.

For sure! The goals don't have to be restricted to just weight or body fat, so that's a good idea

The next step is actually doing it.

I know what you mean It's tough to find that motivation, but look at this video of Team Hoyt Just amazing.

[Matt]

Richard Hamiltons time for a mile : 4:10
Matt's time for a mile: 4:42

[Jackal]

Which would you guys recommend, swimming or running?

I'm really leaning towards the swimming, the water is 30 degree's and running...well, it's around 3-4 degrees outside. Lastly, I'm not the type to bike on a bike in the gym and go nowhere or walk endlessly heading nowhere on a treadmill.

So yeah, for cardio, it comes down to either swimming or running, what're the advantages/disadvantages? Give it to me.

[hammertime23]

I hope your talking about celsius becuase if your talking about farenheit the water would be frozen. But yeah I think running does more fore you like losing calorie wise, but swimming is a lot more safe on your joints and bones.

[[Q]]

Which would you guys recommend, swimming or running?

I'm really leaning towards the swimming, the water is 30 degree's and running...well, it's around 3-4 degrees outside. Lastly, I'm not the type to bike on a bike in the gym and go nowhere or walk endlessly heading nowhere on a treadmill.

So yeah, for cardio, it comes down to either swimming or running, what're the advantages/disadvantages? Give it to me.

I think swimming is the better option. it gives you a more complete body workout imo.

[cyanide]

Richard Hamiltons time for a mile : 4:10
Matt's time for a mile: 4:42

Is that your goal or?

But yeah I think running does more fore you like losing calorie wise, but swimming is a lot more safe on your joints and bones.

Swimming's better on the knees for sure, but I'm not so sure if you lose more calories running. I'd pick swimming out of the three.

[Oznogrd]

Swimming works every muscle, is lower impact, and if you do it correctly burns just as much as running. ...its awesome. There's also always a both approach: swim 3 days a week, run 2, that kind of stuff but thats a LOT of cardio...

[Matt]

Is that your goal or?

Yeah, trying to reach 4:10...i must admit that it's not going to be easy. Hamilton is one quick bastard.

[Oznogrd]

4:10 mile? jesus christ matt...if you're going for 4:10 you might as well go for under 4:00

[bigh0rt]

Is that your goal or?

Yeah, trying to reach 4:10...i must admit that it's not going to be easy. Hamilton is one quick bastard.

Cutting 0:05 off your mile is a tremendous task, so I wish you all the luck chopping 0:32 off.

[cyanide]

I added my name to the goals list.

I weighed myself and worked out for the first time in months. I'm actually down to 181 lbs, but I'm hoping to go up to 185 after a couple months, then to 190 lbs in 6 months.

Even though I still have a couple months of school left, I'm thinking I'll be able to manage fine till then. Working out for the first time in a while is tough. The weights feel heavier than they have been, but I was happy with my intensity level.

I'll be more strict with my diet, upping the intake of beans and oatmeal, since they're quick and easy to make. Also, after going through the Abs Diet, I was able to come across a nice list of basic and essential foods that should be the cornerstone of anyone's diet.

Here's the list (and also updated on the main page):

- Almonds
- Beans
- Dairy (fat free milk, cheese, yogurt)
- Eggs
- Natural peanut butter
- Olive oil
- Whole-grain breads and cereals (including oatmeal!)
- Whey protien powder
- Raspberries, and other fruits
- Spinach, and green vegetables
- Canned tuna
- Chicken breast
- Turkey
- Lean fish
- Lean ground beef
- Long-grain rice
- Whole-wheat pasta
- Ground flaxseed (a must!)

[LakersRule24]

Richard Hamiltons time for a mile : 4:10
Matt's time for a mile: 4:42

Isn't it 4:27?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rip_Hamilton

And does anyone know a way to improve your rime for a mile faster? Mine is currently at 7:10.

[Oznogrd]

The way the mile runners used to do it in high school was run alot of 400's with short rests between them. An example workout would be:

10 minute (1-2 mile depending on fitness) warmup
8x400m (2-3 minute rest, also adjustable with fitness)
cooldown

Three days a week was the above. On the off days, you'd do just mileage, go steady and easy for a while. Seemed to work wonders, i watched guys cut minutes off their times (myself incluced) from the begininning of the season to the end.
But remember, your fitness level is probly different from those guys and you have to build up. I think the most i ever did in one day was 16x400 and then proceeded to throw up in the drainage gutter around the track...

[Gundy]

Richard Hamiltons time for a mile : 4:10
Matt's time for a mile: 4:42

Isn't it 4:27?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rip_Hamilton

And does anyone know a way to improve your rime for a mile faster? Mine is currently at 7:10.

Yeah, but wikipedia can be edited by anyone so who knows if that's accurate or not.

[Matt]

one thing i will never drink fat free milk

I've given up my sweet cereals, i only eat Organic now, i've given up drinking on anything but water and occassionally juice (OK alcohol too) but i'll never drink fat free milk. That shit is foul. Bad enough i have to drink festy all organic protein shakes.

I need to get myself a scale......something tells me i don't weigh the 148lbs i did 2yrs ago. Probably in the 160-165 range.

[cyanide]

one thing i will never drink fat free milk

Fat-free milk (or low fat milk, skim milk, all the same) but not sure why you'd never want to drink it. I was on 2% when I was a kid, but when I tried skim milk, it was kinda "watery" and not used to it, but eventually, I found 2% to be too thick.

Bad enough i have to drink festy all organic protein shakes.

What do you consider to be organic? Not all organic foods are any different nutritionally but are vastly higher in cost.

[Matt]

Fat-free milk (or low fat milk, skim milk, all the same) but not sure why you'd never want to drink it. I was on 2% when I was a kid, but when I tried skim milk, it was kinda "watery" and not used to it, but eventually, I found 2% to be too thick.

same story here, except once i tried low fat i never went back

What do you consider to be organic? Not all organic foods are any different nutritionally but are vastly higher in cost.

dunno, it justs says organic or something like that on the label. The prices were all comparable anyways.

[JaoSming]

Maybe you guys can help me out.

Last year and the year before I was in good shape when I was playing college basketball. This past semester and the beginning of this one things have really changed. I went from a 32" waist to a 42", 220 lbs to 258 lbs and I've lost pretty much all muscle definition. Verticle leap hasn't suffered much but I get winded a lot easier now on the court. I haven't done shit to keep myself in shape at all. My diet is OK at best and for the record I don't drink anything but water (no milk, juice, soda, beer, ect ect ect). I do take multi vitamins to compensate for that.

I have two bad knees. Both have suffered from patella injuries and I have torn ligaments in the right knee at least twice.

So here is what I want. I want to get back to a 32 - 36 waist size, gain a good 4" of verticle leap, get my 6 pack, arms, back, and chest definition back , and help my knees get into a healthy shape.

And what I would like from you guys. A simple but definitive SMTWTFS kind of workout plan (20 pushups a day, run a mile every two days, ect). I am at UMass so I have a free weight room, I also have an ab lounge, 4 5 pound leg weights and 4 10 pound dumbbells to use.


Thanks for any help guys, if you need any more info just ask.

[Oznogrd]

Well the abs med ball/weighted crunches/situps every day will help...everything else is going to take time. I'd say alternate on a lift MWF, cardio Tues Thurs, and maybe run again on saturday taking sunday off. 7 day a week workout rarely are that beneficial.....

[Matt]

OK, been on a diet + workout routine for 6 weeks. I can say that at first it was difficult to adjust to the diet. The excercise was the simple part. Now though, I quite enjoy the diet and i can say that i'm pretty much never hungry. Sometimes it's hard to keep up with the meals when I'm @ Uni (away from hom for 6+hrs). I'm pretty much on water as far as fluids, but once a week or so i'll have a glass of juice/fizzy drink. I've cut out a lot of fat from my previous diet, upped the protein and as a bonus cut down on sodium. I can say that, apart from the benefits to my workout this diet has improved my overall health. My skin looks better and i don't get dizzy when i stand up too fast.

So, after 6 weeks i can report that i have gained muscle.....a fairly descent amount. My main focus was biceps & triceps, and i did some shoulder & chest excercises but not merely enough. So now, my biceps look pretty good.

Anyone got any good excercises for the chest or shoulders?

EDIT: I haven't done any cardio in about 2 weeks, just haven't had the time so i probably won't be able to crack my time for a mile anytime soon.

[Nick]

but once a week or so i'll have a glass of juice/fizzy drink.

Wait... so juice is bad? I have about 1 or 2 glasses a day, under the impression that it's healthy...

[NBJ]

There is loads of sugar in juice, some say it is as bad as a coke

[[Q]]

yeah in Minute Maid "Berry Punch" and "Fruit Punch" there's like less than 10% real fruit juice. c'mon, in their "Limeade" there's 0% vitamin C lol