The Getting in Shape Thread

[BakaHaze]

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
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.

.

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

Page two? BLASPHEMY! REVIVAL INC.


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

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.

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

[baboysai]

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]

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)

[baboysai]

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

[Zeltrax]

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]

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]

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

[baboysai]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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

[Zeltrax]

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
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 ? 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 .

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]

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, 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 !
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]

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 ? 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 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 . ITA about what you said on spirit boost tho

Given what you already achieved -coming from 110 kg, 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 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.