• You are currently viewing our forum as a guest, which gives you limited access to view most discussions and access our other features. By joining our free community, you will have access to additional post topics, communicate privately with other members (PM), view blogs, respond to polls, upload content, and access many other special features. Registration is fast, simple and absolutely free, so please join our community today! Just click here to register. You should turn your Ad Blocker off for this site or certain features may not work properly. If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact us by clicking here.

Supplemental To The Gym

Lark

Active member
Joined
Jun 21, 2009
Messages
29,569
I'm going to the gym lots at the moment but its not enough and I was wondering about "days off" or exercises or home equipment to supplement the gym, what do you own? What do you think is essential? So far I figure a jump rope and beyond that press ups, sit ups and squats are pretty much it.
 
A

Anew Leaf

Guest
I'm going to the gym lots at the moment but its not enough and I was wondering about "days off" or exercises or home equipment to supplement the gym, what do you own? What do you think is essential? So far I figure a jump rope and beyond that press ups, sit ups and squats are pretty much it.

What do you do at the gym? One doesn't necessarily need to exercise longer, merely smarter.
 

kyuuei

Emperor/Dictator
Joined
Aug 28, 2008
Messages
13,964
MBTI Type
enfp
Enneagram
8
^ Precisely. Studies show that people who worked out within their capacity for 30 minutes showed equal or near it results to people who did the same activity for an hour+.

I never go to the gym.. but I DO supplement my workouts. Sometimes I feel like caca, or I'm sick, or I ate too much or ran out of time. And doing something is still better than doing nothing.

I have my hard-core work out DVDs that I try to get done 2-4 times a week. But! Sometimes in the mornings when I'm motivated, or when I'm the opposite.. I have this old-lady-ish DVD that's called "Walk At Home".. And all you're doing is walking in place and listening to this girl sound a little like pac-man (walk-walk-walk) for 20 minutes. It doesn't really get my heart rate up on the first mile, but even if that is all I do I feel like putting some effort into it is better than nothing.

For you though.. I HIGHLY recommend a yoga DVD. Even if you're not flexible at all (I'm about as flexible as my box-spring mattress) attempting to do the stretches and work the muscles that way is really helpful.. both for your gym visits and for your overall goals. You'll recover from gym trips faster, and you'll be gaining the flexibility and stability you need to offset harder work outs.
 

Coriolis

Si vis pacem, para bellum
Staff member
Joined
Apr 18, 2010
Messages
27,230
MBTI Type
INTJ
Enneagram
5w6
Instinctual Variant
sp/sx
I have my hard-core work out DVDs that I try to get done 2-4 times a week. But! Sometimes in the mornings when I'm motivated, or when I'm the opposite.. I have this old-lady-ish DVD that's called "Walk At Home".. And all you're doing is walking in place and listening to this girl sound a little like pac-man (walk-walk-walk) for 20 minutes. It doesn't really get my heart rate up on the first mile, but even if that is all I do I feel like putting some effort into it is better than nothing.
Any workout DVDs you would recommend? I do mostly martial arts at the gym and have to catch up on other things at home due to schedule constraints.
 

kyuuei

Emperor/Dictator
Joined
Aug 28, 2008
Messages
13,964
MBTI Type
enfp
Enneagram
8
Any workout DVDs you would recommend? I do mostly martial arts at the gym and have to catch up on other things at home due to schedule constraints.

Oh yes. It depends on your style, but I'll give you my go-to DVDs.

If you would like a dance DVD - Dance off the inches Hip Hop Party. http://www.walmart.com/ip/8001856 It's not really hip hop music... just generic pop-ish music in the background. But! It's the only dance DVD that hasn't made me want to vomit, roll my eyes, throw something, or scream. The steps are easy, do-able, and actually make you sweat by the end of it.. So not too hard, nor too easy. (The last dance DVD I bought I watched it for 10 seconds and then shut it off. Nothing has beat this DVD.)

If you're sick, feeling lazy, or too sore to do a different work out: Walk At Home http://www.walmart.com/ip/10208735 It measures out miles, you need nothing, and it's a mild work out designed to get you to walk 1-5 miles in one single space. She's a bit cheery and up-beat, and she's got a gentle disposition aimed at beginner level training.. If I've got it in my mind that I refuse to do my work outs, this is what I turn to.

If you want to really make muscle definition, lose weight, and train, there are two different ones I cycle through. 1 month of one, 1 month of the other. Rinse, repeat.
The Biggest Loser: http://www.walmart.com/ip/4321207 All of the DVDs are viable, but I like the original one the best. The workouts are challenging, have several levels for all fitness types, and the only equipment you really need is a set of weights and maybe a mat. I've been sore for days after this work out even after a 9 month deployment full of army PT and training in the desert.

AAannd Jillian Michaels 30 day shred: http://www.walmart.com/ip/Jillian-Michaels-30-Day-Shred-Full-Frame/8744608 (Ripped in 30 is almost the exact same way, but different work outs and a bit more advanced overall, I'd recommend either.) Easy to follow levels of fitness, clear-cut times of how long you'll be doing an exercise so that you aren't giving up and then cursing for giving up towards the end, and she ensures to hit upper body, lower body, back, shoulders, chest, and abs in every single work out. Again, minimal gear with just weights and maybe a mat.

To be honest, I'm still looking for a Yoga DVD I like.. So far, my favorite one is this: http://www.walmart.com/ip/10741379 I get impatient with stretching easily... This one, having 15 minute increments, is one I can stick with. The guy has other DVDs, and he really knows his stuff, but he has no idea what an impatient person (especially one that isn't flexible) wants out of a work out and his DVDs reflect that and frustrate me easily. This one is the only one I've found thus far and it's another good one to do if you're feeling sick or lazy.

I've tried a LOT of DVDs in my day. :D
 

kyuuei

Emperor/Dictator
Joined
Aug 28, 2008
Messages
13,964
MBTI Type
enfp
Enneagram
8
^ A good point. I go snowboarding once a year, which really makes me focus on working out my legs in preparation (a muscle group a lot of men actually get lazy on) to go and not be useless by the 1st run.
 

FDG

pathwise dependent
Joined
Aug 13, 2007
Messages
5,903
MBTI Type
ENTJ
Enneagram
7w8
Yeah, you can try hiking, or ice skating, or golf (if you have the money). Perhaps tennis too. But if you're training 3 times a week and pretty hard, I believe you shouldn't push yourself more than that.
 

Lark

Active member
Joined
Jun 21, 2009
Messages
29,569
What do you do at the gym? One doesn't necessarily need to exercise longer, merely smarter.

I usually do sixteen or twenty minutes cross trainer at highest effort level I can, then I use the resistance weight machines (low row, shoulder press, lat machine, crunch machine, another one which exercises biceps I think) sometimes if I'm able I'll then do a further twenty minutes of cycling.
 

jlsandor

New member
Joined
Sep 6, 2009
Messages
9
MBTI Type
INTJ
Swimming is very good exercise and helps all around easily.

I also train Aikido and found that yoga or pilates helps in gaining control and flexibility as well as decreasing the amount of muscle pain overall.
 
G

garbage

Guest
The girl and I are trying out some 10-Minute Trainer stuff, once to three times to day. For her, it's a supplement to teaching workout classes (she's insane); for me, it's about all I can do in one go before my terrible hip joint gives out.

I'm also a fan of fitness bits for the same reason.
 
A

Anew Leaf

Guest
I usually do sixteen or twenty minutes cross trainer at highest effort level I can, then I use the resistance weight machines (low row, shoulder press, lat machine, crunch machine, another one which exercises biceps I think) sometimes if I'm able I'll then do a further twenty minutes of cycling.

This is all kind of vague, so I will just dive into what I have learned from my personal trainer.

#1: Variety is key. Your body adapts to whatever you are doing and so you get diminishing returns.
#2: For Cardio, going balls to the wall isn't necessarily the best policy. If you are trying to lose fat, then you want to do interval training based on your heartbeat. 45-60min. I was talking to [MENTION=6109]Halla74[/MENTION] about this stuff one time, and he told me about how it takes approximately 15 minutes for your body to burn through the sugar in your blood as a fuel source, and another 15 minutes to burn through some other thing. It's only after about 30 min that your body switches to fat.
#3: You should be working on building muscle by doing strength based workouts. You should be changing up which machines/exercises that you do, even if you are working the same muscle groups. With strength training, it's about finding what weight allows you to do 12-15 reps with the last couple reps being at/near failure, rest for 45-60s, and then do another set of reps. My program right now consists of 15 minutes of moderate cardio, then 7 different strength exercises that I do 4 sets off with 15 reps and 60s of rest in between, then I do another 15 minutes of moderate cardio.
#4: You should switch off from strength training every few months to work on muscle endurance. Less weight, more reps, faster pace.

Above all this exercise, a healthy diet is almost more important. Cut out processed foods, any sugars, starchy foods, wheat, maybe even dairy. Focus on leafy greens, protein, healthy fats likes nuts and avocado. If you want to build muscle then you need to make sure you are ingesting enough protein. My trainer told me to aim for the ungodly amount of 175g a day since I am working on strength right now.
 

kyuuei

Emperor/Dictator
Joined
Aug 28, 2008
Messages
13,964
MBTI Type
enfp
Enneagram
8
This is all kind of vague, so I will just dive into what I have learned from my personal trainer.

#1: Variety is key. Your body adapts to whatever you are doing and so you get diminishing returns.
#2: For Cardio, going balls to the wall isn't necessarily the best policy. If you are trying to lose fat, then you want to do interval training based on your heartbeat. 45-60min. I was talking to [MENTION=6109]Halla74[/MENTION] about this stuff one time, and he told me about how it takes approximately 15 minutes for your body to burn through the sugar in your blood as a fuel source, and another 15 minutes to burn through some other thing. It's only after about 30 min that your body switches to fat.
#3: You should be working on building muscle by doing strength based workouts. You should be changing up which machines/exercises that you do, even if you are working the same muscle groups. With strength training, it's about finding what weight allows you to do 12-15 reps with the last couple reps being at/near failure, rest for 45-60s, and then do another set of reps. My program right now consists of 15 minutes of moderate cardio, then 7 different strength exercises that I do 4 sets off with 15 reps and 60s of rest in between, then I do another 15 minutes of moderate cardio.
#4: You should switch off from strength training every few months to work on muscle endurance. Less weight, more reps, faster pace.

Above all this exercise, a healthy diet is almost more important. Cut out processed foods, any sugars, starchy foods, wheat, maybe even dairy. Focus on leafy greens, protein, healthy fats likes nuts and avocado. If you want to build muscle then you need to make sure you are ingesting enough protein. My trainer told me to aim for the ungodly amount of 175g a day since I am working on strength right now.

:yes: All key suggestions. Diet and exercise go together better than PB&J, you can work out like a beast but you won't have a six-pack without diet. (Many people have six-packs and don't realize it simply because seeing a six-pack has everything to do with cutting and not strength of the muscle alone.) Paleo-style diets (the suggestions above) are popular for cutting and weight loss because they're nutritious and contain everything you need and NOTHING extra. You need protein, and carbs, and fats... but the right ones.

..When it comes to that burn-for-30 thing, what people tend to forget is you burn calories with everything you do. You burn through around ~1,000kcal for a sedentary lifestyle--just walking around, doing light chores, cooking a bit.. a typical sedentary daily routine will use up about that much, give or take. If you're trying to burn calories, you need to burn more than you consume without consuming too little. People see that they burned 150 kcal on a machine and they feel forlorn that they did so 'little'. But if you're 130-140 lbs, you ought to be consuming at least x10 your weight to maintain that weight.. Anything less will hurt your body. Which means if you're eating 1,500 kcal, you're right on the money with 150 calories burned with a decent diet and healthy lifestyle... People diet and take away too much and then their metabolisms slow down trying to OVER exercise. So, if you work out in the morning, and use up that sugar... choosing a slightly less sedentary lifestyle throughout the day will burn fat just as easily. Just making some decisions like parking far away from the store, taking stairs, or taking a walk in the evenings are all ways to be less sedentary and burn a few calories slowly and efficiently throughout the day.

People think they have to do hours in the gym.. but you really just need to split up the work outs. 30 minute intervals 1 or 2 times a day with a healthy diet and lifestyle is MORE than enough to get most people to the fitness goals they are looking for. An active person, I'd say at least an hour a day 1-2 times a day, but most people just want to lose some weight and be able to fit into their clothing with ease without having to think about fitness constantly.

Variety is definitely key. Going swimming in the summers, taking trips to go hiking or to the beach to swim, or even just changing from walking to running or running to sprints. It doesn't have to be drastic changes.. For me, I simply switch work out DVDs.. I do dances, boot-camp styles, high-low intervals, switching from weights to floor work and body-weight, and aerobics. My body usually never tires of those five styles being rotated out.

Building muscle... now.. that's an entire science all on its own. But, to get anyone started, moving between high weight and high reps is definitely helpful. You need both, because they effect different parts of the muscles. What most people think with high reps though is that they can do 10-20 without failing. I see people complete like 20 reps and they aren't even cussing out the spotter. This is not the case. High weight... you should have difficulty completing 6-8 (maaaybe 10 depending on the exercise) reps 1-3 times. High reps.. You should have difficulty completing 12-15 reps 2-5 times. Difficulty meaning you CAN complete it, or get really close to it, but that it required serious effort and finishing is an actual relief. If you can complete it without feeling completely challenged the weight is too light, on either circuit.

Awesome points, girl! :hifive:
 

disregard

mrs
Joined
Apr 23, 2007
Messages
7,826
MBTI Type
INFP
When I'm at home, I like to jump rope, do squats, leg lifts, push-ups, sit-ups, jumping jacks, arm lifts, free weights and clean the house!

Just add music!
 

netzealot

redundant descriptor
Joined
Jan 12, 2013
Messages
228
MBTI Type
ISTP

I really liked your post and I want to add some more in-depth details to what you're saying.

Before we get into boosted levels of calorie burning, let's look at base metabolic rate, or BMR. You can calculate this number here:

http://health.discovery.com/tools/calculators/basal/basal.html

After you find your BMR, a lot of times they will want you to calculate your actual calories burned across the MET scale. Instead of doing that, though, I prefer to use the sedentary rate and then use more specific, accurate calories burned (provided by your exercise equipment or online calculators) to add on to each day and find your actual calories burned.

Typical METS value for a sedentary lifestyle is 1.2, but I find 1.1 to be more accurate. So I'll do myself... in the calculator my BMR is right about 2,000. Add 10% for the sedentary rate, and I use up 2,200 calories doing just about nothing.

Now let's say I jump on the elliptical, punch in my weight, go for an hour and it ends up giving me 900 calories burned. I add that on to 2,200 for a total daily burn of 3,100. Let's say I ride a bike for 30 minutes at 12-15 mph... I can google any number of online calculators to find out how many calories that burned. For the average active person, this will give you more accurate numbers than the METS values... if you're super active though, the continual caloric burn can't be found this way, so METS values are better and those values can be found online as well.

If you can afford it, let me suggest the BodyMedia FIT CORE armband... it will give you an even more accurate number (calculated from your body heat and sweat to within +/-10% of actual calories burned) and also provides nutrition and sleep logs/analysis.



There are 2 types of calories burned... directly from exercising and calories burned indirectly throughout the day, and so 2 ways to attack your fitness regimine.

If you want to burn calories directly, you will need more than 30 minutes a day. The body doesn't actively start burning energy from fat sources for about 20 minutes into low-intensity exercising. To most effectively do this, 60 minutes of low intensity cardio (eliptical is pretty much your only viable choice) first thing in the morning before you eat anything is your best option. If you're really OCD and think you can succeed at your goals by counting calories and basically being a nit-picker, then this method will work for you.

Personally, I prefer to take a more holistic approach to things, and that means shorter, high-intensity sessions as well as strength training. I do P90X2 in the mornings (only Monday to Friday, I skip yoga) and low-intensity cardio+calistenics in the after-work hours to boost my metabolism through the rest of the evening after the post-lunch lull. The high intensity workout gives you a slow all-day burn, and the muscle building will help you increase your overall calories burned.



Something I will say, though, is if you choose the more hollistic form of exercise schedule, you will need to take up a more nit-picky diet... since you're banking calories burned on your metabolism through the day, you've got to watch out for high GI foods right after workout which can work against you. Also, you'll probably want to adopt a diet of more smaller meals to contribute to the metabolism focus of your diet and exercise plan. The direct calories burned method of exercising will burn calories as you work out, so afterwards how you eat won't make as much a difference (it still helps, though, and there is still a small afterburn)
 

Andy

Supreme High Commander
Joined
Nov 16, 2009
Messages
1,211
MBTI Type
INTJ
Enneagram
5w6
I'm going to the gym lots at the moment but its not enough and I was wondering about "days off" or exercises or home equipment to supplement the gym, what do you own? What do you think is essential? So far I figure a jump rope and beyond that press ups, sit ups and squats are pretty much it.

If you want to fo additional exercises to your gym work, make sure they are as different to your gym work as possible. I used to mix weight lifting and fencing without over training because the way the two stressed the body was so very different.
 

Halla74

Artisan Conquerer
Joined
Jan 20, 2009
Messages
6,898
MBTI Type
ESTP
Enneagram
7w8
Instinctual Variant
sx/so
This is all kind of vague, so I will just dive into what I have learned from my personal trainer.

Go for it! :rock:

#1: Variety is key. Your body adapts to whatever you are doing and so you get diminishing returns.

Yes. I'll add a bit more though for the sake of being thorough.

(a) It's very important to train your WHOLE BODY, and not just "spot train" what you wish to improve. Spot training DOESN'T WORK.

(b) The easiest way for me to train my whole body is to break up my major/minor muscle groups in a logical order. A solid four-day (not necessarily consecutive days) routine to train the whole body is:
- DAY #1: Chest + Triceps + Abs
- DAY #2: Back/Traps + Calves
- DAY #3: Shoulders, Biceps, Forearms + Abs
- DAY #4: Legs (Quadriceps, Hamstrings, , Tibalis Anterior + Calves (Soleus and Gastrochnemius)
NOTE: I do 30 minutes of cardio (interval training on 1 to 3 different machines, for variety)

(c) So far as training intensity goes, if you train each set to failure (inability to do one more rep) then you hit the right spot. The trick is how much weight to use for power, strength/size balance, and endurance?
- POWER: (1 to 3 reps per set)
- STRENGTH/SIZE BALANCE: (4 to 7 reps per set)
- ENDURANCE: (8 to 15 reps per set)

(d) Finally, to challenge yourself further, do Super-Sets (Two exercises of the same muscle group performed back to back, 3 sets then quickly becomes 6 sets) - OR - Giant-Sets (Three exercises of the same muscle group performed back to back, 3 sets then quickly becomes 9 sets) :pumpyouup:

##2: For Cardio, going balls to the wall isn't necessarily the best policy. If you are trying to lose fat, then you want to do interval training based on your heartbeat. 45-60min. I was talking to @Halla74 about this stuff one time, and he told me about how it takes approximately 15 minutes for your body to burn through the sugar in your blood as a fuel source, and another 15 minutes to burn through fatty acids in your blood. It's only after about 30 min that your body switches to fat.

Fixed! :happy:

##3: You should be working on building muscle by doing strength based workouts. You should be changing up which machines/exercises that you do, even if you are working the same muscle groups. With strength training, it's about finding what weight allows you to do 12-15 reps with the last couple reps being at/near failure, rest for 45-60s, and then do another set of reps. My program right now consists of 15 minutes of moderate cardio, then 7 different strength exercises that I do 4 sets off with 15 reps and 60s of rest in between, then I do another 15 minutes of moderate cardio.

Awesome! This is great, keep it up! :rock:

##4: You should switch off from strength training every few months to work on muscle endurance. Less weight, more reps, faster pace.

Yes, this is very important. Without doing this even the most rigorous and dedicated athletes will hit a plateau and stop making gains.

#Above all this exercise, a healthy diet is almost more important. Cut out processed foods, any sugars, starchy foods, wheat, maybe even dairy. Focus on leafy greens, protein, healthy fats likes nuts and avocado. If you want to build muscle then you need to make sure you are ingesting enough protein. My trainer told me to aim for the ungodly amount of 175g a day since I am working on strength right now.

All 100% correct.
Without a healthy, balanced diet of whole, fresh foods, there is only so far you can go in the quest of being "Super Fit."
Cardio is very important, resistance training is very important = but nutrition trumps BOTH of them in importance.

Cheers!

:hifive:

-Halla74
 

Lark

Active member
Joined
Jun 21, 2009
Messages
29,569
I did the Halla workout and it half killed me.

Although what exercise do you do besides the gym Halla, do you have free weights or anything at home for the non-gym days?
 

pinkgraffiti

New member
Joined
Mar 20, 2011
Messages
1,482
MBTI Type
ENFP
Enneagram
748
Instinctual Variant
sx/so
Yeah, I agree. I recommend you get yourself one of those "Polar" cardiometers, they can help you create your perfect personalised workout.

What do you do at the gym? One doesn't necessarily need to exercise longer, merely smarter.
 

Orangey

Blah
Joined
Jun 26, 2008
Messages
6,354
MBTI Type
ESTP
Enneagram
6w5
Yeah, I agree. I recommend you get yourself one of those "Polar" cardiometers, they can help you create your perfect personalised workout.

Yeah, I have a fairly cheap shit FT4, and it really takes away a lot of the guesswork. It really helps to keep one's intensity up, and if you're counting calories it's more accurate than the internet estimators.
 
Top