Life The Getting in Shape Thread [Archive] - Page 2

blai

February 22, 2011, 06:26 AM

Zeltrax

February 22, 2011, 06:54 AM

Just to clarify one thing: Getting in shape is not always equal to loosing weight, but often the opposite.

Muscles weight more than fat. As in you look bigger with 20kgs of fat than you do with 20kgs of muscles, therefore, loosing weight isn't your top priority. Instead you should focus on building stamina, getting rid of the "waste" while converting a proportion of your body fat to muscles until you're down to 10-12% body fat or so, and when you're finished you're most likely weigh 80kg+ but you'll look, and you'll be, very fit.
Converting body fat => muscles should be my top priority? Weighting 80kg+ and looking fit sounds really awesome but how do I do the conversion and how do I build my stamina? What about dieting, should I do that? I'm a bit unsure if it'll really work out, all I have in my body now is mostly fats ( I should use the word all) , so I'm not sure if I can convert them to muscles..It seems really hard for someone fat to become muscular over the course of six months.

The thing about six meals a day (minor meals) is to make your metabolism work all day. When you have three (or less) meals á day your metabolism stops and, sometimes, if you wait too long between your meals, your body will think you're starving and next time you eat it will store more fat than usually. Basically, the metabolism will burn more energy if it's active all day rather than a third of it, and it'll also help increasing building muscle-mass.

The "hunger" a person feels is your body wanting food, and if you don't eat, you'll enter "starvation mode" without knowing it. If you eat every third hour (healthy ofc) you'll never be hungry, and your body will use up the energy quicker.

To make it simpler to understand.

If you eat six times a day, your body won't need to worry about the "future" so it doesn't have to store as much fat as it usually does as a safety net.

About this..I only tried it once and it wasn't consistent to be honest. I find myself eating less than eating more(6 times) in small proportions. So I'm still indecisive, whether or not to go ahead with it. Do you recommend this solution? I also heard about drinking water before you eat and that water helps alot.

About the training, I'd say something similar to a prison work out. The best work out is not sit-ups or dumbbells as many people believe. The best work out is where you burn stamina whilst building muscles at the same time, when you do a work out that strains your whole body. I'd like to use the insanity work out as a reference as it consists basically of 45minutes of stamina/muscle exercises. Some globe jumps, suicide jumps, suicide drills, switch kicks, power jacks (etc). and this is the type of work out that is the most efficient regardless of your body type.

I would very much not prefer it if you did a lot of sit-ups in your condition as it isn't as efficient as you'd think for two reasons. 1) You can't "target-burn" fat from one part of your body. If you burn fat, you can't decide from which body part you'll burn. 2) sit-ups burns very little fat and is not efficient until you get a little slimmer body

I uh..I'm really sorry to disappoint. I've never heard of the things that I bolded so I went to google it, stumbled on a youtube video and..
:o
I need a lot of confidence and stamina to keep that up for 45 minutes..I think I should set a shorter time, and imo my body type doesn't really show me as 110kg, more like 85 to 90, but I can't deny the manboobs.
I never knew that about situps too, pretty much a newbie about this..
So it is not efficient as I thought and
dumbbells won't work either?
the bolded exercises burns all part of my body right? I really know what I should do to start off first.. I don't think it's possible for me to accomplish those exercises.

blai

February 22, 2011, 07:12 AM

Converting body fat => muscles should be my top priority? Weighting 80kg+ and looking fit sounds really awesome but how do I do the conversion and how do I build my stamina? What about dieting, should I do that? I'm a bit unsure if it'll really work out, all I have in my body now is mostly fats ( I should use the word all) , so I'm not sure if I can convert them to muscles..It seems really hard for someone fat to become muscular over the course of six months.

The conversion and stamina building comes with cardio and interval training. When it comes to dieting you should make sure to eat "quick" carbohydrates such as pasta etc, drink a lot of cold water (important that it's cold as cold water burns more energy than normal-tempered water) and all fat can be converted to muscles and you will not be slim and muscular in six months, but you'll be in the best shape of your life and I think that it should be enough. :)

About this..I only tried it once and it wasn't consistent to be honest. I find myself eating less than eating more(6 times) in small proportions. So I'm still indecisive, whether or not to go ahead with it. Do you recommend this solution? I also heard about drinking water before you eat and that water helps alot.

This is, I'm confident, the best plan. I do recommend you a six meal diet but not without planning in beforehand. In the end it all comes down to eat a little less calories, burn a little more calories. If you eat too little you will burn muscles instead of fat, and if you eat too much, you'll gain fat. A balance of -300cal or something should do the trick. That, along with the work outs. Drinking water before you eat helps a lot yes, especially cold water (as I mentioned above) as cold water forces your body to heat it up which takes energy.
(Basic physic law. When a cold object meets a warmer object the two will reach the same temperature. Which temperature they reach depends on the mass of the objects. So basically your body heats up the water to the correct "temperature" after you've drunk it and that burns energy).

Anyway, I have a copy of a splendid nutrition plan and I could email it to you so that you can read more, learn a little and get the basic idea of how it works.

I uh..I'm really sorry to disappoint. I've never heard of the things that I bolded so I went to google it, stumbled on a youtube video and..
:o
I need a lot of confidence and stamina to keep that up for 45 minutes..I think I should set a shorter time, and imo my body type doesn't really show me as 110kg, more like 85 to 90, but I can't deny the manboobs.
I never knew that about situps too, pretty much a newbie about this..
So it is not efficient as I thought and
dumbbells won't work either?
the bolded exercises burns all part of my body right? I really know what I should do to start off first.. I don't think it's possible for me to accomplish those exercises.

Well, the thing is, that you're not doing it for 45mins straight ofc. That work out is supposed to be one minute work, thirty seconds rest, repeat. And the goal is to keep up for 45minutes. I can barely do it myself and there are very few who can. The goal with that type of work out is to - regardless of how fit you are - push yourself to your own limit. Which means that when you start such a work out, maybe you'll last only 25minutes. But as you do it every day, you'll gradually increase. I saw myself improve, for example, from 40 to 65 suicide jumps in two weeks (along with various different results and improvements). And yes, those exercises burns all part of your body.

I do, honestly, believe that it's possible for you to accomplish those exercises. Maybe not for as long, or as many as the ones on the video, but it's all about attitude, digging deep and finding the will and strength to push yourself to the limit.

I can send you a program with various different work outs and you can see for yourself, read up a little, and try out the ones you want.

It. Is. All. About. Attitude.

Zeltrax

February 22, 2011, 07:34 AM

The conversion and stamina building comes with cardio and interval training. When it comes to dieting you should make sure to eat "quick" carbohydrates such as pasta etc, drink a lot of cold water (important that it's cold as cold water burns more energy than normal-tempered water) and all fat can be converted to muscles and you will not be slim and muscular in six months, but you'll be in the best shape of your life and I think that it should be enough. :)
Will do! Pasta..huh? I was thinking of noodles at first but I can switch between them and pasta ;)
I'll stop drinking soft drinks/any kind of sugared drinks and only plain water, I started 2 days ago and still progressing well with the plain water and ofc, I make sure that it is cold.
Yeah, I think being in shape should be more important and from there I can start becoming more muscular and slim.

This is, I'm confident, the best plan. I do recommend you a six meal diet but not without planning in beforehand. In the end it all comes down to eat a little less calories, burn a little more calories. If you eat too little you will burn muscles instead of fat, and if you eat too much, you'll gain fat. A balance of -300cal or something should do the trick. That, along with the work outs. Drinking water before you eat helps a lot yes, especially cold water (as I mentioned above) as cold water forces your body to heat it up which takes energy.
(Basic physic law. When a cold object meets a warmer object the two will reach the same temperature. Which temperature they reach depends on the mass of the objects. So basically your body heats up the water to the correct "temperature" after you've drunk it and that burns energy).

Anyway, I have a copy of a splendid nutrition plan and I could email it to you so that you can read more, learn a little and get the basic idea of how it works.

Hmm..will sandwiches do? But then 6 of them daily will be going overboard, maybe I'll try to come up with something.
I'll keep the -300cal in mind and I'll try to stable how much I eat. I'm not sure if there's any muscles to even burn in me though..

A nutrition plan, a splendid one :darn, I would really love that and I think it will help me alot, I will really like that and I have to thank you alot! True, I need a basic idea of how it works, this is going to be consistent and I think consistency is one of the hardest thing.

Well, the thing is, that you're not doing it for 45mins straight ofc. That work out is supposed to be one minute work, thirty seconds rest, repeat. And the goal is to keep up for 45minutes. I can barely do it myself and there are very few who can. The goal with that type of work out is to - regardless of how fit you are - push yourself to your own limit. Which means that when you start such a work out, maybe you'll last only 25minutes. But as you do it every day, you'll gradually increase. I saw myself improve, for example, from 40 to 65 suicide jumps in two weeks (along with various different results and improvements). And yes, those exercises burns all part of your body.

I do, honestly, believe that it's possible for you to accomplish those exercises. Maybe not for as long, or as many as the ones on the video, but it's all about attitude, digging deep and finding the will and strength to push yourself to the limit.

I can send you a program with various different work outs and you can see for yourself, read up a little, and try out the ones you want.

I know the feeling of pushing myself to the limit but that's been almost a year ago, when I run around the stadium for up to 4 laps without stopping and reached that limit, but kept going until I finished the 4th lap because I promised myself that I'll finish it, and so I did.
If that's what you're talking about then I'll accept all that and will make sure that I'll get to it, this is, afterall the third time I'm going to try losing my weight.

I do believe I can do it, and like you said, not for long and with breaks but still, I should be able to pull it off :amuse
I will really love to look at the program and I thank you for the advice on the exercises(that i never heard of) and how it works. Somehow, I think I can do it. Thank you for that !

It. Is. All. About. Attitude.
Pretty much the reason why I failed twice and the reason why I started twice.
I'll be honest, when I start, I really start and go all out but then I lost to the pampers and temptations in life somewhere there, and that's it.
So here I go, starting again!

baboysai

February 22, 2011, 07:49 AM

well, right now I weigh 48 kg with a height of 160 cm. The heaviest I got was 63 kg.

I really couldn't stand jogging when I was that heavy. So I started slow, zeltrax. I walked an hour a day, without fail. But that was also accompanied with proper diet (vegetables, fruits, less starch, less sugars, more liquids, etc.). Eventually I could walk increasing distances.

Changing eating habits is really hard. But what pulled me through that was because my {ex}boyfriend did the same thing. It's hard when the people around you are eating other things because you get tempted. But if you have people who eat the same stuff as you, it's a lot easier.
[hr]
It also helps if you prepare your own food. That way you know what you're putting in the food. I would make my own lunches to prevent eating out and get forced to eat overportioned food, or starches that I didn't want like fries and greasy stuff. I made my own sandwiches, salads, soups... start small with those.

AND. drop the alcohol. I know it's sad, but a single ml is 7 calories, and not the type that can be burned by running the next day. So as much as possible, avoid the alcohol.

Roflkopt3r

February 22, 2011, 11:16 AM

Just to clarify one thing: Getting in shape is not always equal to loosing weight, but often the opposite.

For the specific case of Zeltrax, it definitly is. 110kg for a 168cm really is a lot. I mean, what does a 180cm tall bodybuilder weigth with his abstruse amount of muscles and doping? Like 120kg afaik. And that's a totally impossible ideal for the "average" person who just wants to get in shape.
For 168 cm 70kg can be quite fine imo even with a good muscle mass, so in this case there's definitly a lot of weigth to lose.

I'm quite sceptical about nutrition plans. I think common sense, a little maths and basic knowledge about food is absolutely sufficient. But as an example it's probably good to have one.

I still think that it's easiest to build up a mix of training and good nutrition step by step.
Stamina-> Stamina & Muscles -> Stamina & Muscles & Nutrition
Stamina first, because it's good to have some before starting on the muscles - but there doesn't have to be much delay until the next step. Muscle training next, but without changing nutrition so much right away - it's hard enough to stick to one of these things for starters.
Nutrition last, because at that point a better physical shape of stamina and muscles will make burning fat much easier. And when one is used to the physical strain already, it makes it easier to cope with the change of foods.

For myself I found that a certain balance of food is kinda important. I couldn't control it properly anymore when I ate too few for breakfast, I'ld always search for more food then and ultimately gain more calories then I'ld have gotten with a more normal breakfast.
However, I also started thinking that the type of food really is overrated and only the amount bothers. An example:
When I only ate a yoghurt for breakfast (150kcal) and dropped food during break exept for one of these watery cocoas from a vending machine (like 200kcal), I'ld always get hungry during work. Since we could eat the chocolate we produced (yayy, great job :D) I obviously couldn't keep my hands from it. But even if chocolate has a lot of kcal, very little already helps a lot when eaten in the right moment (really improves the momentarily shape when one is low on blood sugar). 10g of most types are around 40-50kcal only, but can be totally sufficient and a great boost from 12:30 until work ends at 14:00.
That makes ~400kcal for the morning including work, so a lunch of 800kcal still leaves a lot of daily requirements open (around 50%).

Now obviously this isn't anywhere near healthy for long term, but reduces the time for cutting weigth considerably. When body is in a good shape beforehand, it's simply the fastest way. That's why I said that training comes first and nutrition comes in a second stage.

blai

February 22, 2011, 11:18 AM

Yes I do know this, I just wanted to clarify that the two parameters doesn't equal each other "Size & Weight" since it's a common mistake.

Roflkopt3r

February 22, 2011, 11:29 AM

Yes I do know this, I just wanted to clarify that the two parameters doesn't equal each other "Size & Weight" since it's a common mistake.

Ah allright, but I guess most people can seperate muscle mass and body fat percentage already :D

blai

February 22, 2011, 11:35 AM

Well most people can't, hence why a lot stop eating when they work out etc. They "loose weight" by eating too little, or working out too much, which results in a loss of muscles, and when you loose muscles, you loose more weight than you would do with the same equivalent of fat. Therefore they believe they're doing the right thing when they're not. It's basically common diet knowledge and I simply wanted to clarify it before I gave my view on the six meals theory which has worked for me, and for my friends who tried it. :nod

baboysai

February 22, 2011, 11:39 AM

I knew a friend who really lost weight because he counted his calorie intake and burning. wow, what devotion.

When I'm hungry I eat. And I always used to look for junk food ((chips for breakfast, lunch, dinner)- hence I got salt crystals in my kidney which wounded my urinary tract and caused me to pee blood for a time. :s

I curbed that by replacing junk with seeds (watermelon, pumpkin) and nuts, until eventually I don't look for it too much because it's too much of a hassle to eat seeds sometimes. -_-

Yakult (cultured milk) and yogurt really help in weight management and overall internal health since it keeps your digestive system in optimum performing capacity.

Roflkopt3r

February 22, 2011, 11:46 AM

Yakult (cultured milk) and yogurt really help in weight management and overall internal health since it keeps your digestive system in optimum performing capacity.

For me more than anything else it helped to have a very solid daily routine and to get up very early. Also, to follow the saw not to eat late in the evening/not much in the evening in general.

Jorge D. Dragon

February 22, 2011, 12:20 PM

I'd really say that count calories and drop the ammounts of food drastically won't get a person somewhere unless the person is a beast. To manage one's weight and get in shape people should eat practically the same at the begining, maybe a bit less (depends on the person), but the person should clearly increase their training more and more. Loosing weight and gaining muscles is a challenge in some way.
About dropping weight for about 20-30 kilos in 6 months... that's possible, though it would be a bit of a shock to the body. If the person has actual time to run I'd say it will help, especially if the person can manage mycrazy program of running from 4 up to 10 kilometers a day + wallking from home to university (or work) and back. With just this I managed to drop about 6 kilos in 2 weeks even without managing my normal food income.:)

Zeltrax

February 23, 2011, 05:32 AM

So basically, I should work on my stamina and lose weight, then try to gain muscles or something similar to that..?
Anyway, walking back from my school to my house is a good idea that I've thought of, I'll try when school doesn't realizes late.
I don't drink, but I do drink quite a lot of sugar drinks.
To put it short, I'm an overweight person with a lot of unhealthiness in me and I have to start to change to become a healthier person.
So is it recommended to run or is it better to do those exercises, or both..(whew..that'll be exhausting for me)?

blai

February 23, 2011, 06:50 AM

Start by walking a lot, then switch to running shorter distances, then longer, and then add additional exercises I'd say.

Don't drink any sugar drink at all. Switch to herbal tea, water, fruit juice (sugarless).

And have patience.

Jorge D. Dragon

February 23, 2011, 07:20 AM

Yes, it's the best.:) It isn't nesesary to push yourself too hard, but anyway you should progress even for a little every day, every week and you'll surely see progress in a month or two.:)
Of course it would be better to quit soft drinks and food with many calories, but the thing is you don't need to quit it in a moment. First you should reduce for some degree, than more and then quit completely. The drinks can be quited in one go, but instant quiting other food will make a shock for your body, so it should be slower, but actually making healthier food list.:) Though I'd say not the food itself is important, but it's ammount.:)

If there is a posibility to swim you can try it. This summer I was running and walking + swimming every day and even though I was eating in McDonalds every day and eating chips at home I didn't gain any weight.:)

Roflkopt3r

February 23, 2011, 07:32 AM

So is it recommended to run or is it better to do those exercises, or both..(whew..that'll be exhausting for me)?

Exhausting is good, how else is it supposed to work? ;)
Muscles need an impulse to grow, they have to be challenged to the best amount possible. This is best done with the proper exercises, because they make sure that all the strain works on the muscles. If you don't execute them properly, a lot of the impulse will often go on bones and sinews, which obviously isn't healthy, will hurt and will minimise the training effect.

An example for dumbell training: The dumbell has to be lowered very slowly. That's really working on the muscle. If you drop it quickly instead, that has two negative side effects:
-It won't be a slow, constant strain anymore, but a sudden peak when you catch the weigth again. This goes on links, bones and isn't good for the muscle at all
-Muscles get the most impulse when they're working without a single break and go into the unaerobic area (I'm not certain if I use the right term here, but 100% about the method)

Especially for simple excerises like dumbell counts: Do as many repertitions once you're in the area when you actually think that you can't do a single one anymore. It's a common technique to have somebody slightly assisting your movements, once your muscles can't work anymore, to have the best training effect. But always make sure to do proper movements.
Also, muscles are better in countermotion than in motion. Even if you can't raise a dumbell another time, the muscles will still be able to slower the downwards motion. Let's say you're using a dumbell on one side only and the biceps is totally at it's limit already, you can assist the upwards motion with your other arm, and only let the biceps do the downwards motion.

If you really can't do both at once, then better start with running or biking for stamina, until you got used to that part, before adding muscle exercises.

Let's just say it's good that you've been drinking sugar drinks up until now. Dropping them already lowers the amount of useless calories you're gaining instantly :D

baboysai

February 24, 2011, 02:36 AM

yeah its good to drop the sugar drinks.

I don't drink soda/cola, I haven't been drinking it for 8 years now. Changing it to Juice (in fast food) turned out to be quite expensive here. And until about two years ago I drank flavored drinks and tea all the time, and still ended up dehydrated (because of my salt intake). The doctor told me pure water and drinks had different hydrating effects so I dropped that too. Besides, there's a lot of sugar in commercial drinks.

The juices that I can drink now are full-strength fresh juices. Also, flavored drinks or really diluted ones are just added sugar with much of the nutrients and antioxidants gone.

thornofcarrion

February 24, 2011, 03:02 AM

My two cents, its also depends upon genetics. When I was younger, I used to have so much cola and sugar drinks. I used to put lumps of butter on the toast...hope you get my point but I never gained a pound. Same happened with my father when he was young. But for last year a two, I have gained weight. Even though I avoid sugar, skip a meal a day, avoid cola drinks, nothing seem to helped. I walked a lot briskly, that didn't help. Perhaps playing different sports all my life required a little more from me. Anyway, my father had the same issues and he gained weight when he reached the same age as I did. I have seen people who when eats, make me think, they must have some metal parts to digest. They literally abuse the word eating >.>, but they don't gain the weight proportional to the butchery they called eating.

I have again started some rope skipping, push-ups, crunches, etc. I will work my way to some weight exercises in couple of days. At the moment, I am just sticking to light-normal workout.

baboysai

February 24, 2011, 03:21 AM

thornofcarrion

February 24, 2011, 03:30 AM

It may be genetic but more a matter of age and metabolism, thorn, in your case.

I mean, we all ate a lot of chocolate and butter and candies and cake when we were kids. Of course as we get older, there will be more restrictions.

I am not that old :-_- and I am talking about a time frame of one year or so. Off course age matters, but again a person lives next to me who is 60+ and he eats all the time. Yet he is thin and has been like that forever.

Zeltrax

March 01, 2011, 03:00 AM

+ wallking from home to university (or work) and back. With just this I managed to drop about 6 kilos in 2 weeks even without managing my normal food income.:)

...How long do you take to walk from uni to home? and how many kms are we talking about here..? I've been walking for 3 days now for 1 hour from my school to home but I don't run.. I wonder if it is any use though.

steelwingcrash1

March 01, 2011, 06:45 AM

...How long do you take to walk from uni to home? and how many kms are we talking about here..? I've been walking for 3 days now for 1 hour from my school to home but I don't run.. I wonder if it is any use though.

Walking is the same as running, although the latter burns the calories more. But I am sure that your walking for one hour will definitely get you in shape. However, if you have just been doing that for three days, the effect is still not yet visible. Continue that for several weeks and try to maintain a healthy diet alongside that form of exercise, and most probably, the effects will finally start to reveal themselves.

It would be, of course, better if you can add more forms of exercise to that one. Why not do from your home going to school? You might get sweaty, yes, but it'll do you a whole lot better. :)

baboysai

March 01, 2011, 08:34 AM

well ideally brisk walking for an hour would be equivalent to jogging for 30 minutes... at least that's what I read.

So I never stopped under an hour when I tried to lose weight the first time. It was the best thing to do since I was new to exercise, I was fat and heavy that time so I couldn't really jog as I had no stamina too.

effects from walking for an hour a day, plus a no-rice, low-starch (no cakes, white breads, etc), low-sugar (no ice cream, no artificial juices, no sodas) diet showed results in two months. then I relaxed a little bit on the diet and increased my exercise to make up for it, since I also built a little stamina and felt lighter to do more things.

blai

March 01, 2011, 08:43 AM

Well, walker or runner, you'll get most benefit if you aim for thirty to sixty minutes a day. It doesn't have to be all at once — three or four fifteen minute blocks through the day is just as good.

There's going to be much less injury associated with a low impact exercise such as walking, and that's why we can advocate walking for
a lot of people, especially if they're overweight or have a cardiovascular condition, they're still going to get a lot of benefits from a brisk walk

The impact of running on your joints can be more than three times your body weight, every step is triple the impact of walking. You have to train your body to get used to the jarring. Ultimately for walking or running — find your level, then build up slowly and the benefits will come, both in weight loss and general health.

And when your body is used to running, after you've slowly increased the strain during your walking/short runs which'll make it easier for you to run for longer distances you will see the real results.

In terms of weight loss, running wins hands down over walking. In general, you have to walk nearly an hour, to get a similar weight-loss benefit to a half hour run. So continue like you do now, and then increase slowly. It's an exponential increase of calories burned and distance/speed you've moved.

steelwingcrash1

March 01, 2011, 08:52 AM

In my home area in Manila, I cannot do walking nor running as my form of exercise because there are lots of trucks and buses in front of our house unless I want to be hit and smashed my brains to molecules. As a substitute for that exercise, I walk up and down our stairs instead. I do it for 30 minutes every day after I get back to work from school.

I recommend doing that exercise because you have no costs at all! Plus, you'll definitely sweat a lot due to the gravity you are opposing in just going up the stairs. I'm planning to adding weights on my going up and down the stairs.

baboysai

March 01, 2011, 09:00 AM

I just can't stand doing that kind of exercise :s I get bored out of my mind, really. Even treadmills kill me because I can't stand being in one place. >.<

That's why I like walking (in Makati, steel, and UP/Ateneo campuses in the metro) or jogging or swimming- I get to go places and see people and different scenery.

That, or Billy blanks :nuts
http://formatmag.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/04/billyblanks_img3.jpg

steelwingcrash1

March 01, 2011, 09:12 AM

baboysai

March 01, 2011, 12:21 PM

ah but I don't attend a Taebo class. I just do it at home with the videos. :p It aint too bad, especially because Billy Blanks is a cool guy ^^

My sisters and I all do his workouts on our own since we live separate lives but we do get competitive during homecomings about keeping our figures :tem

Channy

March 01, 2011, 10:37 PM

Ive been biking alot lately im sweating and i can feel the pain the next day in my legs and stomach so i must be doing something right i wanna try and lose 50-60 pounds by the summer

baboysai

March 02, 2011, 02:41 AM

that's a draaaastic weight loss by trying to lose 60 lbs in two months! are you following some "biggest loser" program or something?

My weight loss of 30 lbs happened in two years, gradually. And because of this experience I firmly believe that gradual honest work is the way to go. With gradual loss the skin can recover, at the same time your metabolism adjusts properly so you don't go through withdrawal, or a backlash in weight gain.

I've tried crash dieting of different methods, and I do lose some weight but after a week or so I gain even more than I lost because of the adverse reaction to the sudden weight loss and drastic change in diet.

Zeltrax

March 02, 2011, 04:19 AM

I'd kill myself if I start running in our damned street of ours so I guess I have no other choice left than to walk up and down the stairs. But hey, it's still fun! I always listen to music so that I don't become too conscious of the time I'm working.

Music is definitely a very useful aid in exercising. It lets me become unmindful of the time. You wouldn't realize you'd have exercised 30 minutes already.

I agree, I can't run for 30 minutes..I don't think 2 rounds around the stadium is 30 minutes so I walk from school to home, today's the 4th day and with music, I'm kindda enjoying it. Music really takes your mind off :D

Well, I'll be keeping this up for 2 months first and see what it will bring me ;)

Oh and I can't walk to school in the morning unfortunately.. It starts at 7.20a.m and if I do, I'll have to start at 6 in order to be on time and to be honest, the traffic here is bad for me to walk that early.

..and I'll have body odor.

steelwingcrash1

March 02, 2011, 06:58 AM

Hurray for the men and better luck next time for the girls; I've read once in a study that men tend to lose weight faster than women. Here it is:

http://www.weightwatchers.com/util/art/index_art.aspx?tabnum=1&art_id=37981&sc=801

And 60 lbs in just two months? I think that's possible if combined with both diet and daily exercise.

Let's get it on!

Channy

March 02, 2011, 08:55 AM

Well when i went to Germany in the summer of 09 for a month i lost 30 pounds just by biking and walking everywhere so its possible

steelwingcrash1

March 02, 2011, 09:22 AM

I've tried crash dieting of different methods, and I do lose some weight but after a week or so I gain even more than I lost because of the adverse reaction to the sudden weight loss and drastic change in diet.

Crash dieting has never been an effective method to begin with. I believe dieting needs preparation and not just an immediate halt or refrain from eating.

If possible, a person has to start off with something like 1 and 1/2 cup of rice and a vegetable viand (non-salty and non-sweet, with minimal oil). If he gets accustomed with the new lifestyle, he should try to reduce it a little more until he can finally control his oral urges. Little by little, this can finally be called as proper dieting. Of course, exercise will expedite the process of weight loss because he can burn the calories taken.

baboysai

March 02, 2011, 10:03 AM

Hurray for the men and better luck next time for the girls; I've read once in a study that men tend to lose weight faster than women.

that can easily be observed if you watch Biggest Loser. The women really have a hard time.

Firstly, the breasts shrink before anything else does >.> That's a sad fact, i'm afraid.

Here's a shocker though. Shoe size! :o The 30 lbs weight loss for me caused my shoe size to get smaller! maybe the fats surrounding my feet disappeared??

Jorge D. Dragon

March 16, 2011, 01:45 PM

I'm actually living in the center of Moscow and of course it's a bit difficult, but I can find some places to jog.:) At least if it's too contaminated you can run to a park and then practise their.:)
Actually I think that the most important in loosing weight isn't not to eat, but to walk, jog and run more.:) Of course a person should eat a bit less, but not considerably.:)

baboysai

March 17, 2011, 02:46 AM

and it's not about eating "less" but eating right :cookiehand

thornofcarrion

March 17, 2011, 02:59 AM

I have a recipe for losing weight:

Add Equal portions of Cider Vinegar + Honey - better if you mix them in a bottle so you wont have to do this exercise daily
1 garlic clove - mash it if it is hard to swallow

Take these items together an hour before breakfast, daily. Do not eat anything before or after, until an hour. I have now seen 3 people who used it and have considerably lost few pounds. What I heard, its good for blood pressure as well. I am going to start it tomorrow.

blai

March 17, 2011, 06:05 AM

How is garlic helping to loose weight? :worrybunny

I must've missed that, needs moar research! :yelling

Kyouria

March 17, 2011, 12:49 PM

I've actually had to gain weight because I was kind of underweight (not anorexic, my doctor said I was just on the slimmer side of average girls my age) but now I'm satisfied. :amuse 5'8" and 120 is pretty good.

baboysai

March 17, 2011, 09:56 PM

yeah my friend also had the same problem of being underweight. Not that she had psychological problems but that she just didn't eat enough calories to get the right weight.

So the doctor recommended more fruits, dairy stuff, cheese, jampacked with calories.

thorn, the apple-cider vinegar that you take though, should be the cloudy kind... not the distilled, processed ones. My aunt also took that as part of her healing process after surgery..

blai

March 21, 2011, 10:59 AM

Wooh, off to run 10kms for the first time in nine months. Long time since I was in this shape and I can now finally run that distance in a decent time. Yay stamina build. :3

Been rocking the 6km distance two-four times á week and I'm slowly working myself towards my goal of being able to run 10kms four times á week without straining myself too much. Soon I'll get my abs back nice and sexy :3, BE GONE FAT :pwnge

However I have no idea how I'll achieve that if I'm going to continue to eat as much junk food as I do now :hurr

baboysai

March 21, 2011, 11:51 AM

i don't get the connection... are you saying you get the abs by running 10 kms?

if so i will run tomorrow morning! :narutokyu

reply asap :cookiestare

thornofcarrion

March 21, 2011, 12:17 PM

I think he means, he is going to lose the fat around his tummy. My theory is, his abs are buried deep down the layers of fat. Correct Blaiber?

blai

March 21, 2011, 12:31 PM

Correctus toc. I have, without wanting to sound arrogant or anything, a pretty well developed body (muscle mass wise) but lately I've been having a kcal intake that exceeds the amount of kcals I'm burning which means I've gotten a flat / textured abdomen. Therefore, by burning more and having a less intake while doing my exercises and running I'll have 'em visible again :3

Hey, I don't have layers of fat, I've just... I'm not as slim anymore ;_;

/self-esteem decreased by 200%

Roflkopt3r

March 21, 2011, 01:11 PM

Lately doing 15km by bike a day, which isn't much but with high speed in return. This way it takes me exactly 40 minutes a day, a time mostly ruined by traffic lights on the last 5km. (and, to my further excuse, it's still a mountain bike and track with many hills).
When I got the time/mood I do it 2x a day, which however I definitly feel the next day.

blai

March 21, 2011, 06:13 PM

15km in 40mins is roughly 25kms an hour. I assume there's like five/ten minutes of waiting so you're between 25-30km's/hr. Pretty good I must say. You ride the bike anywhere in particular (like to your job and back) or do you have a self-made course?

Kinda like I walk about 40mins á day (home - bus - school - bus - home) and then run my 6km and now 10kms in ~40mins

Roflkopt3r

March 22, 2011, 11:58 AM

Didn't have anything regular such as a job since ending of february until end of this month, so it's a just a random course.
Gona move to Paderborn tomorrow, my mother will take all my stuff there by car and I'm gonna get there by bike (~90 kilometers) so we dont have to transport it :amuse

I'm not sure for my average speed myself, my watch and cellphone are both broken so I couldn't take times for a while before I get back home :XD I don't think it's really up to 30km/h, not on that track. Uphill I'm around 17-20km/h, downhill 30-45, flat ground 25-30. But I think it's still rather 25km/h on average than 30, even on only those 15km.

Jorge D. Dragon

March 24, 2011, 09:56 AM

Blai
I actually have the same problem.:) Being rather well-build and well-trained now I don't have much time to practise sports aside from simple physical training. Also it's rather obvious to not eat apropriate food for me, cause being a student I don't have much time to eat in normal places, so I eat sandwiches, hamburgers and so on and it's not that convenient to jog in during winter in Rusia, so I'm always trying to jog in middle and late spring to loose that bit of fat that the body saves during winter.:)
I also like your program on running 10 kilometers 4 times a week.:) I'm always enjoying such program in spring-summer.:)

blai

March 24, 2011, 10:59 AM

It's exactly the same here Jorge :) I really enjoy my current program and especially now that spring has arrived for real which means that the temperature is pretty nice (15ish Celsius), it's dry outside and just the right amount of oxygen in the air :p

Jorge D. Dragon

March 24, 2011, 12:00 PM

I'm actually looking forward for about the same weather to get back to my jogging.:)
But I think I'll have to wait for about a month.:)

I also like to combine some physical training like weight lifting, push-ups and so on with jogging.:) It really helps to get in better shape physically and mentally, especially when I have some problems with mu studies.:)
Without at least an hour of jogging I can't feal that my training is really complete.:)

baboysai

March 24, 2011, 12:07 PM

Well for being a very poor jogger (although I'm a good walker), for the first time I've jogged 2.5k straight without too much mental stress yay.

Before, even to jog 1k I couldn't do it without overexerting my brain about "you can do it you can do it, etc" and I simply give up and just walk all the way. But surprisingly this time I just kept going and going :cookiehand
[hr]
until the sidestitch kicked in though. :oh

Kusako

April 01, 2011, 09:45 AM

I like gym to...I like to see and work on tummy muscles best...but I think sometimes one should just run around and play something

Zeltrax

April 02, 2011, 03:10 AM

effects from walking for an hour a day, plus a no-rice, low-starch (no cakes, white breads, etc), low-sugar (no ice cream, no artificial juices, no sodas) diet showed results in two months. then I relaxed a little bit on the diet and increased my exercise to make up for it, since I also built a little stamina and felt lighter to do more things.

Starting to plan my diets now, if I can't have rice or bread, what do you recommend?

blai

April 02, 2011, 05:14 AM

I would say dark bread, pasta, etc. but that's only because I know how to diet if you are exercising a lot and need "quick carbohydrates". :/ Sorry that I can't be of any real help.

baboysai

April 05, 2011, 06:11 AM

you can have bread, zeltrax, but whole grain ones.

you can have rice too, the ones with the bran, because that's high fiber and is a complex carbohydrate instead so it fills your stomach and you get full easily and get hungry less.

and you can load up on vegetables and protein sources.

it'll be easier if you eat a lot of soup too because it really fills you up fast, you get the essential vitamins, and its not heavy.

Zeltrax

April 05, 2011, 06:25 AM

Soup? Is there any examples, what kind of soup do you recommend :blink

baboysai

April 05, 2011, 06:42 AM

try vegetable soups. If you can, the clear soups are healthier because they don't have secret starches and fats like flour and butter to thicken them up. But even the creamy soups can be fine.

I had a soup and vegetable diet on my first two months of dropping weight two years ago and it really helped.

Zeltrax

April 05, 2011, 07:07 AM

Well, I'll have to search for some recipes..I never made soups before..I'm serious :darn

Anyway, thanks :tem. I now have a diet of Rice + vegetables or bread in the morning with milk and sandwiches in the afternoon and then pasta/bread at night. I'll change one of it to soup. I'm new to this so I hope my diet is healthy.

baboysai

April 05, 2011, 07:30 AM

you can use instant soups hehe. But soups are really easy to make if you just have some stocks available. and you can make them in bulk and freeze them and alternate them per day or per week.

blai

April 13, 2011, 08:14 AM

Zeltrax, update us with your progress please :wtf

Zeltrax

April 13, 2011, 08:26 AM

I'm still okay..I think.
Still walking home every weekday but I'm not walking briskly or very fast..at an average speed for 1 hour 20 minutes
,and run around three times per week.
This has been ongoing for 3 weeks now.

Stopped all my sweet drinks and all the unnecessary things like snacks( I resisted a chocolate fair in my school, 40% off....:bored) and stopped eating fast food.

I started cooking my own pasta (spaghetti) and sometimes I'll change to noodles, brought some brown bread. I'll alternate between them everyday for dinner.
For lunch, I have two sandwiches, it's basically 2 slices of soft bread + ham + egg + cheese + tuna and it's in small portions so I hope its okay..
Breakfast is just bread.

I'm not sure if its healthy but anyway I see some effects, felt a little, just a little slimier. On the weighting scale, I think I lost around half a kg to two kg? I'm not really sure but I think I lost it. To be realistic, I'll have to keep this up for a long time to actually see results in the weight
It gets so hard sometimes :crying
Oh ya, a glass of milk before I sleep everyday and sometimes a glass in the morning..not sure how its relevant but just posting it.

baboysai

April 13, 2011, 10:27 AM

I read from Reader's digest that calcium (from milk) actually helps in weight management. So yeah, non-fat milk should work. ^^

you can try yogurts too or cultured milks to aid in digestion. o/

Truefan21

April 13, 2011, 12:58 PM

After taking up jogging as a form of carido...its working out quite well..I can now run 1200m....when i started out some weeks ago I could only run about 600 and lose my breath and had to rest..plus my abs are looking more visible....

thornofcarrion

April 20, 2011, 12:38 AM

Started running 5 days ago. I was only able to run 3km during the first 4 days. Its amazing how one can improve in days. I had a run of 4km yesterday. I didn't feel as miserable as I felt the first three days. I am not going to stretch any further for at least few days. Not until I feel comfortable doing 4km run.

Freid

April 20, 2011, 04:23 AM

I find running so boring and painfully repetitive. Seriously, I never reach the end of my street before I get bored, stop and return back to my house lol. So yeah, for people that want to lose weight or tone up, I think you should consider taking up a sport. More strenuous sports that promote a good amount of activity will give better results.

Personally for me, I find sports a better method to running because it's generally more exuberant and can deliver the exact same results. It's also more competitive which can demand you to exert more effort and energy than you think you are capable of and that is good. However, with running, its easy for undisciplined runners to give up whenever they're mildly fatigued, simply because they can. With a competitive sport, winning, not wanting to let your team mates down and fun are all things that could keep you active longer than you probably would have lasted if your only incentive was the end of a kilometer run. Anyway, I play basketball :)

Zeltrax

April 20, 2011, 04:39 AM

thornofcarrion

April 20, 2011, 04:42 AM

Freid

April 20, 2011, 05:45 AM

Well..first I have to get in shape to actually be able to play.
I'm too fat to play basketball, I don't care if its my ego. I do play it sometimes and it's not extreme its just for fun. I do agree that sports is a good way but for people who are really overweight it'll look really funny.

STILL WALKING HOME EVERYDAY :D

I skipped walking today tho, gonna treat myself a little and have a one day break.

It's ok to skip walking as long as you keep to your main exercise plan and diet because that is what is going to bring the sizeable difference. The fact that outside of your exercise plan you are forgoing other forms of transport to walk is just a bonus so that's good. Even more so the fact that you're doing it over 95% of the time I'm guessing :thumbs

Anyway, I know you're self-conscious about how you look playing sports but if you can then I think it would be really helpful.

BakaHaze

April 20, 2011, 05:51 AM

Eating: Always 80 percent full. An ancient chinese secret to living to 150. If you're hungry, go for less food and meals more often.

Excercise: Sports that are not boring like running and swimming. It probably gets repetitive if you want to continue that for the rest of your life. Personally, I enjoy rock climbing and tkd.

Freid

April 20, 2011, 06:33 AM

Eating: Always 80 percent full. An ancient chinese secret to living to 150. If you're hungry, go for less food and meals more often.

I want to live to 150 :worrybunny only thing is, I can't place a limit on my voracious stomach. I mean, even if I wanted to stop at 80%, I would just feel incomplete and will be tempted to go for the home run. My dad always said to me 'anything worth doing is worth doing well'. Eating is one of the pleasures of life, so I want to do that well lol. Anyway, I love when I finish stuffing myself and I cant see my feet lol.

baboysai

April 20, 2011, 07:02 AM

here's a technique to stop at 80%:

drink a glass of water before eating, and after. Besides, it cleanses the palate and makes you appreciate food more when your taste buds are refreshed.

Before, I used to always look for dessert to close my appetite, as it really works how it's supposed to. But to tone down on the sugars and carbohydrates, another way I found to close my appetite after eating was downing a whole glass of water. :cookiehand

Rikudou Sennin

April 21, 2011, 04:46 PM

Before I started working (when I was in school to be precisley) I was always running. I never used a bike, I was running like Forrest Gump (no I am not Forrest Gump neither am I close to him, its just an expression of my running ) :D:-_-

Jorge D. Dragon

April 23, 2011, 12:40 PM

Finally I got the opportunity to jog! At last we are having great weather at about 16 degrees Celcium and it's sunny, so that's really good time to have a run.:) Though it was a bit difficult to get back to my normal distance it wasn't actually as difficult as I thought it would.:) I got something between 5 and 6 kilometers, so it was decent.:) Though I plan to get back to 10 kilometers.:)

I agree with those who say that running is boring. Of course it can be boring, but to make it less boring you can change routes, you can listen to the musik or jog with your fiends or even your girlfriend if she also practise sports.:)
Also running is actually not only a way to make you loose weight, but mostly it's a way to build up your stamina and that's important for your future. The same actually goes with swimming, though swimming is even better for a body than running, cause you loose weight, build up your stamina and at the same time it's a great opportunity to build your muscles.

About other sports... Actually when I only started my University for the first three years I continued practicing football, volleyball and athletics that I practiced in scholl, but now I actually don't have time to practise them, so I only have work-outs in my house and run, when the weather actually permit me to do this. Also I advice people to walk as much as possible if they want to loose weight, cause that's the most important. When a person wants to loose his weight he needs to move and not only to build his muscles, cause you don't loose that much fat when you only train your muscles with iron. You need to run, walk, swim to lessen fat in the body. Also bike helps, but it has its own specifications, cause if you practice it too much your legs will grow tremendously.

Truefan21

April 24, 2011, 05:54 PM

I don't find running to be boring and tedious. Its fun challenging yourself..going beyond your limits..making improvements.

baboysai

April 25, 2011, 06:25 AM

Wow, I never thought this was possible but I'm sharing it with you guys.

I get really really tired from my new job, though I thought I always had a little energy to spare. Except when I start to sit down I just zone out and sleep, even in public transportation.

So anyway I had the feeling I could squeeze in a jog after work. Finally I tried it today and weirdly, I felt sleepy in the middle of it!!! :o I could feel my eyelids dropping, like, any more distance and I would probably stop dead on my tracks and sleep on the street! So I stopped to sit down a bit, just to restore some energy enough to make it to the end (where I deposited my things and so I could go home) and I really felt my eyes close and maybe I slept for about ten seconds. I woke up, walked back and went home some 15 minutes short of the jog.

I was just scared I wouldn't have enough energy anymore to go home :s

Zeltrax

April 25, 2011, 06:51 AM

Sounds tough, please take care of your health and try not to overwork..
That's really dangerous, falling asleep while jogging.
Hi guys, how bad is 2200 calories per day with 598 calories lost?

baboysai

April 25, 2011, 07:49 AM

I really can't imagine how people can count calorie intake, or something. calories lost are easy with machines, but how can anyone count their calories from food all throughout the day. And you'd have to know how the foods were cooked to precisely tell what kind of oil was used, or how much was used, etc. etc...

Being a chef, I just can't... picture it out. :oh though I may take up to studying spa cuisine and the whole shebang in the far future...?

blai

April 25, 2011, 08:23 AM

Well, a normal-grown man should eat around 2'000-2'500kcal á day and if you're telling me you're burning 598cal then it's not all that bad. I assume that you mean you're walking/exercising up 598cal because you're always burning cals regardless of what you do, and to loose weight you should all together loose more than you gain, therefore, since I have no idea what else you do during the day (even sitting burns cal) I can't calculate if it's good or not :p

Although It's pretty ok I guess. When I run I burn "estimated" 600-800cals.
[hr]
@Baboysai, I had a program I got from my PE teacher in high school for my PE project where I inserted my height, weight, bodyfat %, estimated musclemass blabla, and then I estimated how many hours á day I sit, sleep, walk, read, exercise etc and what kind of exercise, which speed I had, for how long. And it gave me an estimation of how much I burn, and from that I could calculate what I had to eat. For example, there were a diet program with (always estimated) cals for each portion of a meal, which allowed me to create a specialized diet that focused solely on giving me the nutrition I need while not being unhealthy or overkill.

It worked splendidly.

Zeltrax

April 25, 2011, 08:28 AM

I use an app on my android phone to calculate the calories in the dishes, I'm not sure if its accurate..
Anyway, 1 hour 15 mins of walking = 598 calories.
How do I know how much do I gain? The app tells me I lose 12oz per day after calculating everything.

blai

April 25, 2011, 08:32 AM

Zeltrax

April 25, 2011, 08:39 AM

You only know how much you gain if you calculate every single thing you put in your mouth during the entire day.

However, I don't recommend doing so. I recommend eating "healthy" but in normal proportions. Don't calculate everything or you'll get caranoid (calorie-paranoid, just made that word up - awesome I know).

Just eat four or five times á day, smaller meals, keep 'em healthy and lay off the junk / soda and you won't have to worry about anything but walking enough \o
Due to various temptations I've consumed alot the past few days..I hate myself for being tempted :darn
No point regretting now I guess, felt like everything just restarted itself..

Anyway Blai, what do you recommend for smaller meals?

Rikudou Sennin

April 25, 2011, 11:34 AM

Due to various temptations I've consumed alot the past few days..I hate myself for being tempted :darn
No point regretting now I guess, felt like everything just restarted itself..

Anyway Blai, what do you recommend for smaller meals?

Zeltrax, most important is to watch out what you eat and how much.

For example, chicken is way more healthier and has not as much fat as pork. Try to eat no as much as you normally do.

One plate of food is enough (Before I changed my way of eating, I ate more then 1 Plate...).

Try not to eat sweets (sometimes its ok, but watch out for the amout of sweets again).

The first month is hard, then its getting easier because your body adapts to it.

And dont get nervous if you dont loose as much as you hope. This is not a crash diet to loose fast, its to change your way of eating and then you will loose weight.

baboysai

April 26, 2011, 05:28 AM

yeah I know there are various methods of calculating calorie intake but

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFZrzg62Zj0

Just know what you eat and be responsible for it. :oh

Zeltrax

April 26, 2011, 05:35 AM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFZrzg62Zj0

:rofl
but seriously, thats me in the past.

baboysai

April 26, 2011, 06:33 AM

part of why my diet was successful was because I really researched about the food I ate, and what I should eat.

I wasn't concerned about the calories. I focused more on the nutrients and fibers that I could get from different sources and alternatives. Because I cooked my own food, and when you watch your weight you feel like you're eating the same stuff all over again. So I had to read and know other ingredients to make mealtimes less repetitive.

blai

May 10, 2011, 01:32 PM

Soooo, not building any muscles until this autumn. At the moment I'm biking 100km's and running 18km's a week and will continue to do so until the end of August. The main reason I know I'm going to pull it off is because I bike 10km to work and 10km home and on the weekends I do cardio with a mate ;3

Been doing it for a month exactly now and I'm excited to see the results after five months of it :)

Truefan21

May 19, 2011, 04:26 AM

whats the difference between a regular push up and a military push up and a close grip push up
what muscles do they work

blai

May 30, 2011, 03:42 PM

Wooh, training is going splendidly! I'm running 2-4 times á week, adding 20km biking 4-5 times á week. Completely stopped with unnecessary food products (fast-food, snacks etc), I eat roughly four to five times á day, smaller meals with a good amount of vegetables etc.

I've already made great results after two months like this. Got a flat tire on my bike so I jogged home from work, ~11kms (had to actually catch my breath after 7kms, lots of uphill running) and made it just under 50mins. Not the best time in the world but still, everything under an hour!

Definitely noticed some good progress with my body and soon I've built enough stamina to be satisfied, working on this 'til 31st of August and then I'll start to build muscles again. Going to be niiiiiice. :)

baboysai

May 31, 2011, 07:09 AM

I'm trying to focus myself into the abs toning, I just haven't gotten down to the nitty-gritty yet.

I'm still adjusting to a new diet, since work provides the staff meals and I can't really choose what I eat. Instead I'll just have to adjust my exercise to keep fit. :shakefist

blai

May 31, 2011, 08:22 AM

You can do it Agnes :dance

baboysai

May 31, 2011, 09:07 AM

Thank you blai. you do not deserve the thanks button, you deserve a thank you post. Besides, this thread is what it's for, motivational crap. lol.

btw, are your abs showing now? Because of your running thing?

Naomidee

June 05, 2011, 12:01 AM

Next week, I'm starting P90X...
Wish me luck and that I won't die by the third day!
I'm also getting into the swimming spirit. *sigh* I've been too lazy for too long.

blai

June 05, 2011, 08:19 AM

Is that one of the beach workouts? The one that's one step easier than Insanity?

Naomidee

June 05, 2011, 09:11 AM

I don't know if it's a beach work out. o.o At least, I've never heard it called that. But dude it's pretty insane. It uses a technique called muscle confusion or muscle memory or something like that. My cousin was in karate for several years, and then he kinda stopped for a while on his brown belt (crazy). So he wanted to get his black belt before going off to college, and he used this program to get back in shape for it and passed the test.

I'm going to die. XDDD *whimp*

blai

June 05, 2011, 02:45 PM

Yeah, I was right, it was one of the Beachbody (http://www.beachbody.com/)workout programs, the Extreme one (just below Insanity) with instructors such as Tony Horton (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Horton_%28exercise_instructor%29) (P90 series) and Shaun T (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shaun_T_%28fitness_trainer%29) (Insanity). I did Insanity myself for a couple of weeks but were forced to stop due to heart issues. I can tell you that if it's as half as hard as Insanity was you'll have an extremely difficult time to pass the first days but after that it gets easier. The best thing with Insanity was that it had a general design working with time (intervals) but at the same time putting so much strain on your body that regardless if you're in shape, or incredibly out of it, you'll be just as tired afterwards. Out of the two, Insanity is supposed to be the harder one as it's supposed to show the same results in sixty days compared to P90X's ninety days.

During my two-three weeks I already saw great results but that was, of course, combined with a good diet and proper amount of sleep so if you're going to try it out, give it 100% with right dieting, sleep etc. And remember, a top athlete will feel the same pain, strain and will be just as tired as you after.

In my opinion, Shaun T is the best motivator ever. Just check out the intro for Insanity - Dig Deeper (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VyQ46iB1aCM)and tell me you're not ready to just go through the program in one day. :amuse

Naomidee

June 05, 2011, 05:13 PM

Thanks, Blai. :D I've never really gotten recommendations, feedback, or warnings from anyone about the program (besides the infomercial XDDD), so that's good to know. Although I do workout from time to time, I wouldn't exactly say that I'm in tip top shape or anything. So this P90X is really going to kick my ass for the entire time period I do it I'm sure. If it's too difficult at first, I'll just work my way up and go at my own pace. Anything's better than nothing I suppose. :sweat

Since I'm a vegetarian, should I be drinking protein shakes or something like that?

blai

June 06, 2011, 04:00 AM

Well, the shape you're in before you start doesn't matter - it's the shape you're in when you've finished :3
I think you'll do great and remember to dig deep and find the will to never give up nor lower the pace! It'll all be worth it.

You don't have to drink protein shakes if you don't want to as there are dozens of other things you can eat instead. For example, instead of chicken and turkey you can eat Quorn (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quorn)and other fungus extractions, seitan, rice, tempeh or pressed-tofu. As well as surimi.

I assume that you, as a vegetarian, are already aware of most of the protein food products and their effects, as well as what they replace.
I've been a vegetarian myself and I had no problem in keeping up with meat-lovers when it came to protein intake. On the other hand I had a lower fat intake whilst having about the same amount of calories. In short - it was awesome.

However, if you want to do the PX to build muscles then it wouldn't be a horrible idea to drink protein shakes. It all depends on why you go through with it. Muscle-building or burning of carbohydrates.

baboysai

June 07, 2011, 09:47 AM

darn!!!! I gained 3 kilos in the past month! It's so hard to control my diet at work. >.<

I often can't eat breakfast because I start work 5 am... then because there's so much to do, I really can't eat until about 2 pm. By that time I load up on the rice provided by the kitchen for the staff so that's a lot of carbs- but because I'm so hungry I could care less (until I regret it later of course).

I find that even if I do eat some breakfast, 9 hours straight of physical work without food will still make me veeeery hungry that I eat a lot when I get the chance. :bored I can't choose the lunch food as well, as the kitchen provides the food. And I don't wanna cook any more when I get home. :faint

I'd been trying to eat just that one time in the day, with the rest (breakfast and dinner) with fruits and juices, but then I wouldn't have enough energy to work out at all. So I begin to have problem areas (thighs, stomach). I'll still have to feel my way through this whole new lifestyle. There must be a way around it!

Naomidee

June 08, 2011, 12:00 AM

That sounds really stressful. D: And stress is also bad for your health if you have too much of it. Well, first things first! Please make time for breakfast! It doesn't have to be anything fancy, of course. Even eating some fruit on the go is better than nothing. I can't believe you don't even begin to eat until 2! No wonder you're starving.

Since you say new lifestyle, do you mean that you got a new job? If that's the case, you probably need time to adapt and get into a routine. Whenever I start something new, it usually takes a while for me to fit in time for diet and exercise.

Hang in there!

baboysai

June 08, 2011, 04:57 AM

that is exactly true. I'm about a month and a half into my new job. I try to eat some fruit on the go, but it's not enough as the day goes by. Well, i'm still trying to figure things out.

blai

June 08, 2011, 04:59 AM

Zeltrax

June 08, 2011, 05:01 AM

blai

June 08, 2011, 05:08 AM

Uh..I find it hard to believe it too.
Sorry to butt in like that but is it true that if you starve yourself or some other method that make you lose weight fast,
you'll gain weight faster after you start eating more stuff again?
I'm not sure how that works.

When you starve yourself you loose weight very fast yes but you loose the "wrong" kind of weight. The reason why the weight loss is greater than when you exercise with proper diet is because you loose muscle mass instead of fat and muscle mass has a higher density therefore it weighs more than fat (counting same volumes).

When you start to eat after having starved yourself your body becomes unsure of whether it'll starve again or get a regular intake of calories, hence why your body won't "use" everything but start to store calories just in case you starve again. Therefore your metabolism gets (in common tongue) fucked up and you'll start to gain weight in terms of body-fat.

The best way to do "this" is to def/bulk. When you def you practically only do cardio while eating a diet that consists mostly of vegetables, mostly slow carbohydrates and second to no proteins. This, you do for a month or two, after that you start to bulk. Bulking consists solely of muscle training and you eat almost only proteins to build muscles.

This way you first a) burn your fat to get a slim body and then b) build muscles. That'll lead to a body with better textures and that looks generally better than someone who "only" works out.

baboysai

June 08, 2011, 09:16 AM

I don't want to sound sceptic but I've read your posts here over the years and I find it difficult to believe that you simply just gained three kilos of fat in a month. I mean, you of all people. :oh

(I didn't even know that was generally possible though...)

It's actually possible, Blai. A kilo a week (some 2 lbs) gained is highly possible. So 3 kilos in a month is pretty much what happened to me. :(

Especially because of how my eating habits have changed drastically- starving for the rest of the day then eating much after. That pretty much puts my body in limbo and as you said, becomes defensive to the next starvation thus is reluctant to burn anything.

blai

June 24, 2011, 12:11 PM

On the subject of weight I just wanted to share that since 15th of May (when I started to write down a little training journal for myself) I've calculated that I've cycled & jogged over 373km's (adding another 47 over the weekend) and I've lost about two kg's of weight while building up additional muscles in my leg (not that much though, I already had pretty muscular legs before).

Either way I see this as a success and can't wait to see the result on the 15th of August when I'll quit my job and move. Hopefully I've lost more weight, built more stamina AND "travelled" over 700kms.

BakaHaze

June 24, 2011, 06:20 PM

Blai...that sounds like an epic workout...

Also, I have an 8 km race in a month Q_Q

Any Advice to help me finish that race??

otomo20

June 25, 2011, 11:23 PM

I wrote this, I think it would help people understand a bit more about weight loss.

http://game8review.blogspot.com/2011/06/basics-in-determining-healthy-weight.html

BakaHaze

June 27, 2011, 06:36 AM

Hm, yeah, interesting. If onlyyou would follow that up with how I would go from the 20%ish to the sub 15%...

:XD

Nice blog BTW.

Also, in another note, I'm deciding to alternate 10km light jogging and 5 km fartlek over the next 3-4 weeks, in prep for my 8km race. I'll keep you guys posted.

otomo20

June 27, 2011, 06:48 AM

I'm thinking of doing something like that, It would take time though since I research things and stuff, but in the future I'll put something like that just for you buddy :D

blai

June 27, 2011, 11:45 AM

Blai...that sounds like an epic workout...

Also, I have an 8 km race in a month Q_Q

It's not epic yet, I'm still working on my own version of Insanity. I'm re-doing the program to fit as a 4days/week program instead of 7days/week because I don't have the time for 7day workout because of my job. Instead, I'll be gimping it to cover all different sections in four days while making the intervals a little lighter (doing everything one rep instead of two) so that I can combine it good with my running and cycling.

I have a race on the 28th of August. I'm not sure if I'll go for 4.5km and trash the others or 8.9k and fight for it. :p

BakaHaze

June 27, 2011, 08:10 PM

Blai, for reference, just how fast do you run a mile?

I bet its something crazy :XD

blai

June 29, 2011, 10:25 AM

American mile? Umm, a little under eight minutes, but that's when I run longer distance (5.6-6.6 miles). I run it in about six minutes when I run shorter distances (like 2.3-3.3 miles) so nothing crazy here alright. As a matter of fact, I'm kinda slow >,>

BakaHaze

June 30, 2011, 03:53 AM

Blai, by your standards I would be really slow.

See, when I purely run the mile, my record is barely under six :crying

Also, yeah, I've kinda left my training a bit late, my race is on the 22nd :XD

Freid

July 06, 2011, 02:18 PM

Hm - when I was twelve, I was running a mile in 9 minutes in a 2 mile run. These days, that's probably how long it would take me to run a quarter of a mile or something lol.

BakaHaze

July 06, 2011, 06:53 PM

...Freid...So wait, you now take 9 minutes to run one quarter of a mile?

:lmao

otomo20

July 07, 2011, 11:09 PM

I wonder if running with ankle weights is useful, any ideas guys?

BakaHaze

July 08, 2011, 07:14 AM

Hah. Great minds think alike. I've tried. It helps. In a very painful and insane way. I had 1x10lb ankle weight on each, and could barely run 4km before dying. It burned so bad, you're lungs won't even feel any stress because you're going so slowly.
For reference, running 10km on flat ground doesnt burn my legs at all.

otomo20

July 08, 2011, 03:04 PM

I just got mine, and i only put a 5 ib on each, but i am getting more hopefully, and dam dude it is freaking tiring, you're insane for putting 20 ib totall.

BakaHaze

July 12, 2011, 01:29 AM

Actually, I suggest putting as heavy as possible and when you're running lifting your upper legs with the proper running form and pushing off with your calves with full power. Cause just today I took em off to test the results and my stride lenght is insane and the speed is crazy too :o It feels really light and powerful. :XD But then again, I've been wearing them constantly for a while now...

blai

July 12, 2011, 12:05 PM

Never tried ankle weights, maybe I should...

BakaHaze

July 21, 2011, 10:09 PM

Blai you should, it helps immensely.

I failed the race because I should have been training all season like you :XD

Whatever its all over now time to get fat :rofl

baboysai

July 22, 2011, 10:11 AM

just so you know, I started on burpees again. today was the first day after many months of no work outs.

BakaHaze

July 22, 2011, 07:36 PM

I never ever voluntarily do burpees.

You, are insane. They are like the incarnation of self flagellation or something. Sooo haaard.

Oh, but do you do the pushup in between each rep as well?

Zeltrax

July 22, 2011, 09:03 PM

Okaaay.
so I've been walking for at least(checks thread)
2 to 3 months now ( I took a 2 week break because of holidays back then)
and so far I've dropped from 110kg to 103kg-104 or somewhere there.
so it's 6kg in 3 months, around 2kg per month. Not sure if I'm accurate.
I eat breakfast at 10, skipped lunch(sometimes I have a little bread for snack) and have a light dinner.
Of course, walk home every weekday for 75 minutes or so.
So far so good but it's kindda slow but I blame myself for getting tempt occasionally and eating what I'm not suppose to.
Cooking by myself helps alot.

BakaHaze

July 23, 2011, 03:14 AM

Zeltrax, to lose weight it's more important to burn more energy rather than eat less food. :nono Never skip meals, it actually makes metabolising your food a lot harder. (As an added personal thing I think it's also better for your body to eat your meals at the right time)

If walking doesn't burn enough energy; go jogging a little. Another really good cardiovascular excercise is jumping rope, it excercises all the muscles in your body, and burns fat nicely. It doens't matter if you can only do a few; just build up 5 extra jumps a day and then break them down into sets of 100 and you'll be fit in no time.

But good job with the weight loss so far :super Make sure you keep at it!

baboysai

July 23, 2011, 10:32 AM

I never ever voluntarily do burpees.

You, are insane. They are like the incarnation of self flagellation or something. Sooo haaard.

Oh, but do you do the pushup in between each rep as well?

of course I do the push-ups... I mean, what's the point of burpees without the push-ups?

which brings me to the question. What should hurt/ache when you do pushups properly? given your body is not used to it and some muscle should ache in the beginning, right? So what part should ache so I know I'm doing the pushups right.

Okaaay.
so I've been walking for at least(checks thread)
2 to 3 months now ( I took a 2 week break because of holidays back then)
and so far I've dropped from 110kg to 103kg-104 or somewhere there.
so it's 6kg in 3 months, around 2kg per month. Not sure if I'm accurate.
I eat breakfast at 10, skipped lunch(sometimes I have a little bread for snack) and have a light dinner.
Of course, walk home every weekday for 75 minutes or so.
So far so good but it's kindda slow but I blame myself for getting tempt occasionally and eating what I'm not suppose to.
Cooking by myself helps alot.

I believe that's very good improvement, Zeltrax!! That's great! If your aim is not for athletic development or whatever like these insane guys over here (BLAI), that routine sounds just fine, especially that you're cooking for yourself, and losing 2kg per month is okay. Just keep at it and eventually you'll get the habit, knowing how much to consume for yourself, knowing how much activity to burn what you've consumed, etc. etc. It takes time to really know your body.

In about 6 months time of continuing what you're doing (walking/ light exercise/ proper diet) you'll eventually reach the stalemate. Something to the likes of: your body has accustomed so much to your routine that you'll have to up the ante. So you'll adjust again.

It's easy to shed fat when you have a lot to shed. But as you become leaner, it gets harder and harder to lose just even half a kilogram. But that's far off from where you're at, I guess.

So keep up the good work. :thumbs

Zeltrax

September 21, 2011, 10:59 AM

Adorien

September 23, 2011, 06:55 AM

I wonder what's the best way to gain weight. :oh I am 180 cm and 52 kg. I should be at least 60 kg. I started eating more recently, but... I lost weight. :oh I used to be 55 kg. So I was thinking about playing a sport, still can't decide which one will be good for me.

Zeltrax, congratulations on your achievement! Keep it up!

blai

September 23, 2011, 07:25 AM

Tennis is a great sport for building muscles while burning fat. If you want to gain weight it's the best way to go.

Adorien

September 23, 2011, 07:37 AM

Thanks, Blai. :amuse I'll consider it, but I was thinking of running or swimming, what do you guys think of those? :oh

dark lord

September 23, 2011, 07:55 AM

baboysai

September 23, 2011, 08:05 AM

But if you like, wanna gain weight but not look flabby= you better do some protein shakes or something. I wouldn't really know, because I never, in my entire life, wished to gain weight. >.>

Since losing my job and therefore staying home and playing couch potato, I had gained weight again and so I am back to the road of dieting. gah.

Adorien

September 23, 2011, 10:13 AM

swimming/ running is a type of cardiovascular exercises. They simply burn calories and nothing else (aside from regulating blood sugar and adjusting your heart rates). In your case I wouldn't go for these types of exercises alone . The logical solution for gaining weight is increasing your calorie intake while burning less.

But if you like, wanna gain weight but not look flabby= you better do some protein shakes or something. I wouldn't really know, because I never, in my entire life, wished to gain weight. >.>

Since losing my job and therefore staying home and playing couch potato, I had gained weight again and so I am back to the road of dieting. gah.

I see. :oh Thanks for the advices! I'll see what I can do.

Baboysai, good luck with dieting! :hug

BakaHaze

September 24, 2011, 06:29 AM

One of the easier places to control weight is diet. So normal excercise is fine, just eat a little more meat and a little less carbs. And then the weight will probably pile on pretty quickly.

But I guess the other way is to build muscle, which is probably a better idea. Hit the gyms, maybe? :XD

(Just realised Blai already said this. :XD I had no idea tennis made you stronger.)

Adorien

September 24, 2011, 07:04 AM

I just wanna get the normal amount of exercise and strengthen up a bit and also stop being so skinny. :D I wanna be healthy. It's just that I don't know what "normal exercise" is. xD

baboysai

September 24, 2011, 07:41 AM

eat a lot of dairy products, cakes, ice creams, and fruits with high calories like mangoes, bananas, coconut milks, fatty fish like tuna, salmon, some shrimps, etc. You have the same problem as my friend and she consulted a nutritionist. She's still a bit skinny now but she looks a lot better now that she's gained a bit of weight and looked a bit more er... meatier. hehe.

The problem with being too skinny is just that you're eating way less calories than what your body is burning. You just need to load up, is all.

Adorien

September 24, 2011, 01:39 PM

Thanks, baboysai, that helps a lot (physically and mentally). :amuse

I was thinking of consulting with a nutritionist. I'm trying to eat some more and different food these days and I'll see how it goes.

And I'll be happy happy!

blai

January 08, 2012, 09:19 AM

Page two? BLASPHEMY! REVIVAL INC. :yelling

Just thought I'd share my current re-made work-out schedule, hoping I could get some tips or advices regarding exercises or the schedule itself.

Mon: Biceps, Abd
Tue: Pecs (Chest), Triceps
Wed: Bike 45mins (usually around 25km or so)
Thu: Back, Shoulders
Fri: Legs, Free (choose whatever muscle-group I feel like)
Sat: Bike 45mins (or a workout similar to -this-
Sun: Rest

I do five exercises on Abd, Pecs, Back & Legs and I do four exercises on Biceps, Triceps & Shoulders (as the former four are the larger groups and latter three the smaller). I do four sets of ten, giving me forty repetitions per exercise. I normally use one or two machine-exercises and two to four that requires nothing but dumbbells. Reason why I have two days of lifting in a row is because I activate different body-parts (muscle-groups) as my main groups to give them rest between. Even though I'm well aware that I stress my pecs when I use tight-grip machine bench press and that I stress my biceps when I do a wide grip bench press the day after.

As an example of a muscle-group work-out, Chest:
Flat (wide grip) bench press 55kg x10/4
Straight arm dumbbell pullovers 16kg x10/4
Dumbbell flyes 8kg x10/4
Cable Crossovers 10kg x10/4
Butterfly 45kg x10/4

---

Anyway, anyone got some tips or advices for exercises I should try or comments on the current "schedule"?

baboysai

January 08, 2012, 12:20 PM

>.> Being in the cold for two months has caused me to gain 4 kilos! That's about 10 friggin' pounds!

That's why I'm out to diet and workout again. >.< You know also when you have a physical job and you suddenly quit it and become a couch potato? That gets you really fat in three days. :faint

BakaHaze

January 09, 2012, 06:11 AM

A little update, milestone?

7months ago I posted here saying ill be 80kg in 6 months but that didn't happen.
Instead, I am now 95kg and halfway there, my original weight was 110 :p
I'm going to keep walking for one hour every weekday and stop when my holidays over here starts.
During the holidays, I will go running on every odd day.
Of course, with good meal planning too.

Oh and I stopped eating McDonalds for 6months.
Unbelievable.

:super.

No, seriously. I only realise now what an achievement that is; cause after all those months of exams I just found out that I hit friggin 80 kg >_____>

Keep up the hard work. I'm forcing myself to work out as well now :darn

Page two? BLASPHEMY! REVIVAL INC. :yelling

Just thought I'd share my current re-made work-out schedule, hoping I could get some tips or advices regarding exercises or the schedule itself.

Mon: Biceps, Abd
Tue: Pecs (Chest), Triceps
Wed: Bike 45mins (usually around 25km or so)
Thu: Back, Shoulders
Fri: Legs, Free (choose whatever muscle-group I feel like)
Sat: Bike 45mins (or a workout similar to -this-
Sun: Rest

I do five exercises on Abd, Pecs, Back & Legs and I do four exercises on Biceps, Triceps & Shoulders (as the former four are the larger groups and latter three the smaller). I do four sets of ten, giving me forty repetitions per exercise. I normally use one or two machine-exercises and two to four that requires nothing but dumbbells. Reason why I have two days of lifting in a row is because I activate different body-parts (muscle-groups) as my main groups to give them rest between. Even though I'm well aware that I stress my pecs when I use tight-grip machine bench press and that I stress my biceps when I do a wide grip bench press the day after.

As an example of a muscle-group work-out, Chest:
Flat (wide grip) bench press 55kg x10/4
Straight arm dumbbell pullovers 16kg x10/4
Dumbbell flyes 8kg x10/4
Cable Crossovers 10kg x10/4
Butterfly 45kg x10/4

---

Anyway, anyone got some tips or advices for exercises I should try or comments on the current "schedule"?

Blai you're doing this just for fitness and not to get buff, yeah? Anything over 5 reps is building endurance. But I should have known that, you run 8kms like it's normal :XD

I don't do any gym work myself, it's purely bodyweight excercises so I wouldn't know what's good.

But I do reckon you should do some swimming in place of one of the cycling sessions you have because you have so much gym work in there that I think your joints might take a lot of stress. It's a good recovery session and doesn't take that long to wear your whole body out if you go for reps of 100m sprints.

>.> Being in the cold for two months has caused me to gain 4 kilos! That's about 10 friggin' pounds!

That's why I'm out to diet and workout again. >.< You know also when you have a physical job and you suddenly quit it and become a couch potato? That gets you really fat in three days. :faint

I got a job. Hopefully that's gonna get rid of some pounds, but it's not really enough. I think excercise is the only way to cut it lol.

Also 4 kilos is pretty easy to gain for me. I always overeat till I feel bloated every mean at home. Damn you, mum, you make food that's irressistable :shakefist

baboysai

January 09, 2012, 07:55 AM

I know. 4 kilos is such an easy gain.

And I never realized it until I was back home and tried on my old clothes that hardly fit now!

I am that type of person, where only a little bit of indulgence translates too easily to my appearance. But since I'm traveling a lot for this month I doubt I can get down to working out. :/

blai

January 09, 2012, 10:27 AM

Here' an excellent workout you can do when you're travelling a lot and staying at hotels etc. (or just in a shortage of time)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MW4Vk8Jqlc&feature=g-u&context=G2064defFUAAAAAAARAA

baboysai

January 10, 2012, 05:59 AM

>.> thanks, I'll stick to burpees. I'm not staying in any hotels, I just crash into places. :p

Zeltrax

January 11, 2012, 12:48 AM

I think I'm 85 now and I think I'm stuck at this weight..for around 2 weeks, it hasn't been moving much or at all <_<
Besides walking for a hour and running three times a week, is there some kind of way to get slimmer faster?
Before I build uh, muscles, I want to go for 75kg.

baboysai

January 11, 2012, 05:22 AM

If you're already stuck at a certain weight and you still want to lose some, then IT'S TIME TO KICK IT UP A NOTCH. This means, increase your training and push yourself harder. Walk faster to gain more distance within the hour. Run faster. Start some pushups or something. Also, it's time to reassess your diet.

The less you weigh, the harder it is to lose more. Because there is less and less fat to shed. It's easy to knock off the pounds when you've got a lot of them. But as you get slimmer, the harder it is to melt them.

blai

January 11, 2012, 06:13 AM

The exercise I linked above is a great way for your body when you're in the transition face (cardio -> lifting) as well as for burning fat. I'd say do that one every day as well as cardio instead of walk as walking will barely help you at all atm. Great job though :thumbs

baboysai

January 11, 2012, 07:22 AM

yeah when you reach a standstill, walking doesn't cut it anymore. You need to do more with your body at this point. Or maybe a new exercise like swimming, cycling, etc.

walking is only like to start when you've never had any endurance or stamina.

Jorge D. Dragon

January 14, 2012, 10:33 AM

Yes, I think at this point you just need to run more to loose more weight. Like if before you ran 1 kilometer, than now you have to run 1?5 kilometer.:)
Of course swimming is even a better way if it's posible, because you use more muscles, when you swim and they have bigger presure on them.:)

rudorofu

January 29, 2012, 07:02 PM

I've been through my ups and downs with my weight, even going as far as anorexia which freaked the heck out of my parents TxT It was during high school when a transition between grade 10 and 11 was pretty bad causing my grades to drop :\ Back to normal now though (: I try to stay as healthy as possible by exercising for a bit, doing badminton here and there and walking to campus whenever it's not too cold.

Jorge D. Dragon

February 01, 2012, 03:56 AM

This summer I got an extra weight after breaking my ribs and I was fighting it, but still have something like 2-3 extra kilos and I don't have that much workouts this autumn and winter, because of the studies, but I try to practise as much as I can.:) I even had some running in winter, but now I just can't make me do it, when it's -23 Celsium out there with something from 80 to 90% of humidity out there.:))

baboysai

February 04, 2012, 04:27 AM

duuuude! take it easy with the workouts if you're recovering from broken ribs!

Zeltrax

February 18, 2012, 04:00 AM

Hey guys, I need some help again and I figure you guys would be the best to turn for advice.
I've lost around 32 kg over the past year but the problem right now is..I'm not well-toned at all, there's loose fat all over my body ( esp my arms(flabby arms) and stomach) , sure I look slimmer but I'm like a beancurd, a marshmellow kindda body :s
Actually, I've been pondering over whether to keep on running (I run 4 times a week), my friend told me that running won't help me build muscles and I might even lose them in the progress. But since I'm currently 84kg and 5'5feet(169cm) tall, under the BMI, I'm still "overweight". I want to build muscle but I want to enter the "normal weight" zone first.

Should I start training now or keep running until I reach that zone?

What should I do to build a toner/good looking chest, stomach and lose the flabby arms :scry ? I've checked a couple of workouts and so but I don't think they are suitable for someone starting out like me. Another thing is does push-ups & sit-ups help a lot? I'm thinking of doing them once per 2 days.

I'm actually aiming to have a fit and good looking body at the end of May. Is it possible, practically speaking? I don't ask for a 6-pack or 4 pack even, just want to lose all this obvious flabby/marshmellow parts of my body :fail.

Thanks for listening to my rant guys, I know swimming helps a lot but I'm too embarrassed because I'll look really bad in trunks but I do plan to swim when I look better.

Teubier

February 18, 2012, 06:11 AM

I have a question for you Zeltrax : Why would you want to wait to reach a certain weight before you'd start building your body ?

From what I experienced/learnt, while it is indeed harder mentally since it's more demanding, bodybuilding is more effective while being heavier. Also, the loose fat probably wouldn't be there (or far less) if you did both at the same time from the very beginning (unfortunately, living in Singapore surely does not help you since you can't really count on the cold in that regard). Obviously, I don't think you should wait anymore. And if you do start bodybuilding, please make sure to listen carefully to your body, and adopt a pace and types of exercises that it can follow without being stressed too much (in that regard it probably wouldn't be a bad idea, if you can, to do a full check up of your body with a doctor, to determine what part of your body are to be cherished more than others, I think).

Also, do you love a sport in particular ? Because that's still the best way to shape up I think, since it also relieves your spirit. I don't know you well, but I reckon that the way you see & enjoy your body isn't only induced by your physical appearance, but how you feel when you move as well, and how often you move it. Again, from my experience, playing a sport that you love will give you a spirit boost for the bodybuilding part too.

Swimming is extremely helpful indeed (and probably even better in a pool for what you are trying to achieve with your loose fat, since it's usually colder), as soon as you feel confident enough.

Given what you already achieved -coming from 110 kg, :verily impressive dear sir :takemyhatofftoyou:- and your height, I believe that if you find the keys to your enjoyment, you can reach 75 kg at the end of May. And with resolve and consistency on the bodybuilding part, you should be able to do so while greatly lowering your percentage of loose fat and growing an already pretty sturdy build, which you already started to do with your running sessions. Your friend apllied to your situation a concept about running that simply cannot be applied to your body yet I think. Maybe you can try to do more uphill jogging sessions though, or add squats to your bodybuilding sessions, if you feel the need to enhance your lower body strength.

walking is only like to start when you've never had any endurance or stamina.

-_Ô Try walking (with a few, short, running sessions within to relieve the stress on the legs and the abdominal muscles of course) for 2~6 hours straight and say that again. I dare you ! :arf :p
I do play football/soccer once~twice a week, but if it weren't for these 4~7 walking sessions per week, I'd probably still be around 86 kg and not 78 kg like now (1,82m btw). And stamina isn't an issue for me (average, but still able to play football for 3 hours straight without faltering). Walking is extremely useful for someone who can't run without a visible goal, or who simply don't enjoy running, or who simply enjoys walking, but it takes much time.

Zeltrax

February 18, 2012, 07:34 PM

I have a question for you Zeltrax : Why would you want to wait to reach a certain weight before you'd start building your body ?
Someone told me that fat loss and muscle gain are 2 different things.
You can't lose fat and gain muscle at the same time, as in converting fat into muscle is impossible. Am I wrong :sweat ? Also , I didn't really think about "being well shaped and cool" instead I thought about being "slim and normal" but now, no. I don't think my ambition is that small anymore. I want to look good and I'll do what it takes to achieve it.

From what I experienced/learnt, while it is indeed harder mentally since it's more demanding, bodybuilding is more effective while being heavier. Also, the loose fat probably wouldn't be there (or far less) if you did both at the same time from the very beginning (unfortunately, living in Singapore surely does not help you since you can't really count on the cold in that regard).
When a friend of mine "examined" my arms or something :s he told me that maybe I loss my fat the wrong way, as in if I did the right way, I won't be so flabby and such. I wonder if he was right. Count on the cold? Singapore's climate is pretty humid throughout the year.

Obviously, I don't think you should wait anymore. And if you do start bodybuilding, please make sure to listen carefully to your body, and adopt a pace and types of exercises that it can follow without being stressed too much (in that regard it probably wouldn't be a bad idea, if you can, to do a full check up of your body with a doctor, to determine what part of your body are to be cherished more than others, I think).
Uh..do you mind if I ask what are the basics to "start bodybuilding" ?
The most I can go for pushups is 3 sets..that's pathetic. And since I just started push-ups and sit-ups and chair-dips are the only thing I've been doing. I have a pair of 2kg dumbbells at home and I want to use them effectively.
The doctor thing seems like a good idea, maybe one day I'll drop by the public clinic for a check-up.

Also, do you love a sport in particular ? Because that's still the best way to shape up I think, since it also relieves your spirit. I don't know you well, but I reckon that the way you see & enjoy your body isn't only induced by your physical appearance, but how you feel when you move as well, and how often you move it. Again, from my experience, playing a sport that you love will give you a spirit boost for the bodybuilding part too.
I like swimming, in fact it's the only sport that I learned when I was young(putting asides bicycle). But like I said, I look bad in a swimming costume and until I get slimmer I don't think I'll enter the pool.
Other than that..no other sports I really do because I was a lazy ass, makes me feels like I'm wasting my youth :fail . ITA about what you said on spirit boost tho :p

Given what you already achieved -coming from 110 kg, :verily impressive dear sir :takemyhatofftoyou:- and your height, I believe that if you find the keys to your enjoyment, you can reach 75 kg at the end of May. And with resolve and consistency on the bodybuilding part, you should be able to do so while greatly lowering your percentage of loose fat and growing an already pretty sturdy build, which you already started to do with your running sessions. Your friend apllied to your situation a concept about running that simply cannot be applied to your body yet I think. Maybe you can try to do more uphill jogging sessions though, or add squats to your bodybuilding sessions, if you feel the need to enhance your lower body strength.
thank you :zomg I think my lower body strength is good, because my legs feels really hard and the fat doesn't feel like its there. I thank my walking/running sessions.

baboysai

February 18, 2012, 10:38 PM

of course that kind of walking is different, Teuber. :p What I meant was the one-hour thing.

Teubier

February 19, 2012, 04:15 AM

Someone told me that fat loss and muscle gain are 2 different things.
You can't lose fat and gain muscle at the same time, as in converting fat into muscle is impossible. Am I wrong :sweat ? Also , I didn't really think about "being well shaped and cool" instead I thought about being "slim and normal" but now, no. I don't think my ambition is that small anymore. I want to look good and I'll do what it takes to achieve it.
You are right, as is that someone. However, you can lose fat and gain muscle (http://scoobysworkshop.com/gain-muscle-lose-fat/) at the same time. As for the change in your motivation, I find it to be pretty coherent. I was in a kinda similar situation to yours when I was 14~15 years old (~78 kg for 1,53m) and I followed almost the same path in my thinking, except that I realised that I needed to train my body a bit earlier (not around 70%, but around 50% of my weight loss goal) because of my lack of upper body power/balance while playing football.

When a friend of mine "examined" my arms or something :s he told me that maybe I loss my fat the wrong way, as in if I did the right way, I won't be so flabby and such. I wonder if he was right. Count on the cold? Singapore's climate is pretty humid throughout the year.
A cold climate (0°C or less) is a little helpful for your body being more toned and healthy looking, as well as for preventing muscle and bone loss since it acts against the aging process. Also, from what I could read and my own experience, weather based on heat and humidity isn't the best for the body, especially if it's all you have to deal with all year round. Weather's accessory, but it helps, especially in situations like ours when one loses a great amount of weight in so little time without the proper follow up in bodybuilding soon enough.

Uh..do you mind if I ask what are the basics to "start bodybuilding" ?
The most I can go for pushups is 3 sets..that's pathetic. And since I just started push-ups and sit-ups and chair-dips are the only thing I've been doing. I have a pair of 2kg dumbbells at home and I want to use them effectively.
The doctor thing seems like a good idea, maybe one day I'll drop by the public clinic for a check-up.
That’s what I can respond to by experience (no training grounds for me), without reading or asking my friends (who are far more indulged in body training than I am).
These three are great already. Regarding the push-ups, I’d advise you to use push-ups bars, or if you don’t, maybe, depending on your dumbbells’ shape, you can use them as substitutes. It lowers greatly the pressure on the wrists without the angle, which should be useful at first to improve your form, and all in all is necessary to avoid causing pain to your wrists.
There are plenty of exercises to do with the dumbbells (http://www.sport-fitness-advisor.com/dumbbellexercises.html), whichever you choose to do will be useful, just make sure, as for all other kind of bodybuilding exercise, to adopt the right form. Given what you are already doing though, I think that you’d better start out with biceps and shoulders exercises.
Once you'll be stronger (probably after 6~7 weeks of training), shoulder and arms wise, maybe you can try to fetch yourself a chin-up bar to add to your routine and strenghten your back with pull-ups.
Afterwards, it all depends on how often you will train, then how many repetitions, how much time of rest you’ll allow yourself between each exercises within your training session (cardio), and how you will eat between sessions to help your muscles’ restructuring. And try to have fun while training; it's almost as important as the visible results imho.

Zeltrax

February 20, 2012, 04:58 AM

You are right, as is that someone. However, you can lose fat and gain muscle (http://scoobysworkshop.com/gain-muscle-lose-fat/) at the same time.
Thanks for that website and the one with dumbbells workouts, I really appreciate it :D i'm not really sure about making changes to my diet...will it really not work if I don't eat enough protein?

A cold climate (0°C or less) is a little helpful for your body being more toned and healthy looking, as well as for preventing muscle and bone loss since it acts against the aging process. Also, from what I could read and my own experience, weather based on heat and humidity isn't the best for the body, especially if it's all you have to deal with all year round. Weather's accessory, but it helps, especially in situations like ours when one loses a great amount of weight in so little time without the proper follow up in bodybuilding soon enough
ITA, singapore weather doesn't do good for skin and healthcare. But the weather is good for burning fat when its humid.

These three are great already. Regarding the push-ups, I’d advise you to use push-ups bars, or if you don’t, maybe, depending on your dumbbells’ shape, you can use them as substitutes. It lowers greatly the pressure on the wrists without the angle, which should be useful at first to improve your form, and all in all is necessary to avoid causing pain to your wrists.
my wrists is not as painful as my arms after doing those pushups..I'll be honest and say that I don't do pushups or any form of muscle building exercises ever so this isn't going to be easy.

There are plenty of exercises to do with the dumbbells (http://www.sport-fitness-advisor.com/dumbbellexercises.html), whichever you choose to do will be useful, just make sure, as for all other kind of bodybuilding exercise, to adopt the right form. Given what you are already doing though, I think that you’d better start out with biceps and shoulders exercises.
thank you for this, it helps a lot for sure :nod

Once you'll be stronger (probably after 6~7 weeks of training), shoulder and arms wise, maybe you can try to fetch yourself a chin-up bar to add to your routine and strenghten your back with pull-ups.
Really looking forward to getting a pull-up bar. I hope by 7 weeks of training I'll get better, I hit the gym only once a week so maybe it'll be longer :sweat

Afterwards, it all depends on how often you will train, then how many repetitions, how much time of rest you’ll allow yourself between each exercises within your training session (cardio), and how you will eat between sessions to help your muscles’ restructuring. And try to have fun while training; it's almost as important as the visible results imho.
ITA.
What's cardio exactly? I know jump rope and biking are forms of it but I dk the exact meaning/exercises behind it and what cardio I should take.

Teubier

February 21, 2012, 03:46 PM

Thanks for that website and the one with dumbbells workouts, I really appreciate it :D i'm not really sure about making changes to my diet...will it really not work if I don't eat enough protein?
You're very welcome. :^_^ It will still work, but less. Given your goal (which is not to become a bodybuilder), you don't necessarily need to assimilate much protein. I think that eating well (diversified, with appropriate proportions, and with regularity for the meals' time/numbers) and above all hydrating yourself is the most important here.

my wrists is not as painful as my arms after doing those pushups..I'll be honest and say that I don't do pushups or any form of muscle building exercises ever so this isn't going to be easy.
Yupyup, I know that at the level you are now, your wrists are probably safe. But I'm sure that you will evolve quickly, and believe me, I've experienced the same kind of pattern before and the pain you can suffer in your wrists while doing many push-ups without any tool, plainly, on the ground, several times a week (or everyday), can become quite awful. Your wrists are also very important to all the other exercises you'll be doing. Better safe soon than sorry later I think.

ITA.
What's cardio exactly? I know jump rope and biking are forms of it but I dk the exact meaning/exercises behind it and what cardio I should take.
"Cardio" is a term used to designate one's heart rate. You should have gained a lot in that regard thanks to your running sessions already.
If you slowly lessen the time of rest between each exercise, it will slowly accustom your heart to maintaining a higher rate for a longer period of time. Do not change it rashly though, as it could hinder your whole routine. If you notice that by reducing this rest time, you end up too short of breath too soon to end your routine, you should adjust it accordingly.
Again, given your goal, that shouldn't be something you should concern yourself too much with.

Jorge D. Dragon

April 21, 2012, 01:56 AM

Finally I opened running season yesterday! It was fun.:) Didn't expect that I was in quite a good form after winter.;)
I've run about 5 kilometers and now I'll start do it regularly as the weater got fine and thus nothing will stop me.
After some time I'll change to two times per day 5 kilomets each.;) Hope I won't be to late to get into a good shape for summer))

baboysai

April 21, 2012, 03:13 AM

I wonder if you guys are familiar with yakult (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yakult) I have this great shake recipe and it's been awesome for the diet and digestion. Bananas, low fat milk, yakult, and sweetener to taste.

Crude

June 27, 2012, 04:44 PM

This year I've put on a bit of weight, which means I'm developing love handles. I've recently gone into a diet in which I only eat around four times, trying to make those meals lean meats, and also drink a lot of water, as well as tea if I'm feeling a little peckish. Thing is I need to do some exercises as well, so does anybody know any good exercises for losing weight which don't require me to go to the gym (right now I don't have that much time, nor an easy way to actually get there)? Preferably something that doesn't include jogging, seeing as my friends are unwilling to go with me and doing it on my own is dead boring.

baboysai

June 28, 2012, 12:55 AM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21dvQyNiTjM

Do that. Requires only at least 15 minutes and you only need the floor you occupy- called the prison work-out for a reason- no need for equipment, minimal space requirement, you can do it in your room.

But it took me a while to get it together. For the first few days I'd been doing it I couldn't execute it properly because my muscles were still not used to it- and it took me a lot longer to accomplish. But eventually my time got shorter executing them properly.

Crude

June 28, 2012, 09:41 AM

I can see myself not getting it right the first couple of times :D! So basically I do that exercise for at least 15 minutes every day (perhaps having a day to relax so that my muscles can rest)?

baboysai

June 28, 2012, 01:16 PM

no for beginners, you do a ten-rep then, thirty second break, then 9-rep , then another thirty secs, then 8 reps... etc. until you dwindle dwindle down to 1 rep.

Crude

June 28, 2012, 02:19 PM

Thanks! Today I actually discovered that a friend of mine does that same exercise during his work. He was talking about it when all of a sudden I said "Hey I know that exercise!" :D!

BakaHaze

August 08, 2012, 07:40 AM

This thread needs moar love.

Also good to see all babyosai does is stick to her burpees. :XD

I recently learnt about the M100 set; which is apparently 10 x burpees, 10x (sets of 4) mountain climbers and 10 x squat jumps, in rotation untill you do 100 (so 4 sets burpeess 3 sets mountain climberes & squat jumps.) Apparently they're really effective.

I say apparently because I've never finished a set. I only ever get up to 60. lol

Speaking of which I have le 14 km City 2 Surf this weekend. Watching the womens marathon on sunday really makes me want to try really, really hard. :XD

blai

August 08, 2012, 07:45 AM

I've tried M100 many times, I usually do it at the end of an exercise when I'm already a bit tired too. M100 is an excellent combo.

I can't get over 70ish on that but it's a steady progress :*

baboysai

August 09, 2012, 11:27 AM

i;ve never heard of that, and I don't think I'll try it... beyond burpees are insane :o

I've cut down on my alcohol though... Blai, that last pic of my wine was my last alcohol intake... ^^ so far.

blai

September 17, 2012, 05:38 AM

Hai you fit fucks, dropping by with an update on my progress.

Got back to the gym after a summer without exercise (worried about my heart so I spent the summer drunk -.-) but got back eight days ago as I now can give 100% in the gym without having to worry about anything.

Today, for example, we did back/abs and a normal routine looks like this;

Shoulderpress 68kg/150lbs (8rep x 3)
Full swing kettlebell 24kg/53lbs (8rep x 3)
One arm dumbbell row 30kg/66lbs (8rep x 4)
Hyperextentions 10kg/22lbs (16 x 3)
Sit-ups (8 + 8 + 8) x 3
Hanging leg-raise (10 straight, 12 straight, 10 straight + 26 curved 90degrees)
Kettlebell side-raise 30kg/66lbs (16 each side x 3)
Static side abs swing 8,66kg/19lbs 14 - 16 - 18 each side

It's not one of the more brutal routines like the one I have tomorrow (shoulder & biceps) or the leg one but it's still pretty rough.

Sparring with a friend and a normal work out takes us about 1h40 - 2hrs and that's without much rest. We basically only rest while the other one is doing his set but still, it takes a long time :P

Ancy

November 16, 2012, 01:59 PM

So I've switched to a new exercise routine and it's awesome. Until now I was faithfully doing Billy Blank's bootcamp cardio routine. Yet, my workout changed to:

5 to 10 minutes warm up (mainly stretches and pilates workout)

20 minutes intense workout:

all exercises were 20s On, 10s off X 4 rounds
burpees+reverse lunges
2 swing jumps+quick feet
rocket squats
high knees
3 hop kicks+3 pulse squats
cross crunches getups
jacks+cross toe touches
mountain climbers
lateral jumps and knees
double butt kickers

10 minutes of Rhomboids, Shoulders, Biceps and Triceps workouts

10 minutes of abs and oblique workout

standing pike crunch
capt morgan diagonal pass (2 kilos weight)
jumping oblique twists
torso rotations
high knee chops
waist pinchers

The best part is that I really feel the burn...I haven't felt it in a while :sweat

baboysai

November 17, 2012, 07:45 PM

I was doing Billy Blanks too last year. I enjoyed that. He was kind of fun.

though lately as I'm just doing some maintenance stuff, and I really prefer the outdoors, I just jog/walk around the parks. My job is pretty physical, so I don't worry too much about burning or muscle loss or whatever, I just need to control my diet.

Schabrak

November 29, 2012, 05:40 AM

Haha Billy 'keep em tight Blanks. Did his ab and normal aerobic video for months year over year, with lots of set backs, but he kept on pushing. :-D Could never manage more than twenty minutes on his hardest video though.

Last active phase started somewhere in september, cardio(running or bycicle) every second day,the other days were either BB, later on some more P90X, but mainly for some ab training and the usual push ups. One day a planche isn' t gonna be just a dream anymore. Two months later, 15kg lighter(bouncing between 73-75kg now) I got some friends to join a gym again. Now doing leg/breast/shoulder split with squat, bench press and dead lift as compounds with some axillary stuff to work the different regions. Trying to get some serious back work done each week too, as that was my main reason to go there anyway. A bit worried because I keep my weight despite eating good for some gains, and cardio is mostly dead to me too, just not enough time or to hinder the growth.