darkSpyro

To my knowledge the vast majority of darkSpyro users are from the 13-16 year age range, and all of us are videogamers (and as you know, videogaming sometimes equals unactive lifestyles). With this topic I aim to give a little helping nudge to those in need of motivation and some basic knowledge of bodybuilding (lifting weights) and cardiovascular exercise (jogging, biking, sports etc.). If I don't have the answers you seek, I'll direct you to a source where you can find them. Losing fat, gaining muscle, everything goes.

Some of you might be into it already or you might do sports. I apologise if it seems that I'm acting like I know much more about fitness than you do, but this topic is aimed more to the people who generally have trouble with this subject. There's no reason you can't learn from it or add to it though, so please, share your experiences as well.

To start this topic off, I'm just going to write a short story about my own personal experiences with strength training and cardio so far. This is just to sum up what it did for me, and why I want you guys to try it out as well.
I'm sure many of you can relate to me when I say that I hated my teenage years. I was underweight, lanky, constantly bullied in school, and my self esteem was at an all-time low. I started weightlifting a little when I was about 17, and then a bit more seriously when I turned 20. Now I'm already in pretty good shape, but I still haven't been lifting with a real program for more than seven months.
The thing is, when I started training it completely turned my life around. In just a year I became more confident, social and just generally happier. This is something you can seriously expect, as healthy and strong bodies generally lead to better life experiences. This is the reason I want you to try it out as well. You'll notice the changes and you'll be happy with them.

Your teenage years are a perfect time to start taking care of your physique and your endurance as it not only grows the routine into you, but you're also off to a better start when you reach physical adulthood, nevermind whether you're a guy or a girl. It's also easy and in the end it doesn't take up a lot of your time. An average person would probably spend more time in a week eating than training. An hour of lifting and 30 minutes of cardio per day, 3-4 times a week for a month will make a huge difference in your energy levels and general health. So if nothing else, try it out for at least a month and make your own judgements.

Tomorrow morning I'll make a post explaining some of the basics of both bodybuilding and cardiovascular exercise, trumping some myths and just generally answering any questions you might have. If you're interested at all just go ahead and post, that way I'll know that there are people listening.

Well, that's the reason I'm giving you guys this advice. Let's start with some common myths about strength training. These are things advertisements tell you, or rumors you hear from friends and relatives and well.. They're just complete garbage.

Weightlifting stunts growth. It doesn't. If you're a teen you can safely lift weights or do a bodyweight routine, it will not harm the growth of your bones. Malnutrition and unnatural hormonal levels due to use of steroids and certain supplements are what stunt growth.
Put simply, your bones slowly stop growing when your hormonal levels increase in puberty. If you use steroids or supplements that elevate your hormone levels you're only tricking your body into believing that you're an adult already, and lo and behold, your bones stop growing.

Gaining muscle is fast. It's not. Advertisers tell you this to get you to buy one of their useless "scientifically proven to work" machines. Muscle gain is a very slow process, but if you're in your teens you're in luck, because your muscles also grow naturally in that time period and not just due to weightlifting (though this is considerably less with women). We'll talk about reasonable expectations later, but if any ad, exercise or program promises a visible change in a matter of days or weeks, it's bull****.
People have been deliberately trying to gain muscle mass through exercising from at least the time of the ancient greeks. If there was some miraculous wonder-technique to change the human body in an instant you'd know about it by now.

Spot fat removal. It doesn't exist. You cannot remove fat from a single location of your body at a time, you can only reduce your overall bodyfat precentage. Think of a bucket filled with water that you punch a hole into, the water drains evenly from all around the bucket and not just from where you punched the hole.
If any ad, exercise or program claims to focus on removing fat from a single location (love handles, man-boobs, thighs), it's bull****.

Muscle turns into fat and vice versa. It doesn't. There's a common rumor that if you stop bodybuilding your muscle turns into fat. It's not true, it's simply the overeating from when you stop training and don't adjust your diet accordingly that makes you fat. The muscles will also not just disappear, but they do visually "disappear" under the fat.
"Turn fat into muscle" is also a common phrase you hear in advertisements. You cannot do that. It is not possible for your body to rearrange the molecules in your fat cells to change them into muscle cells. If any ad, exercise or program claims to change fat into muscle, it's bull****.

You can shape your muscles through exercise. You can't. You can only make your muscles bigger and smaller through exercise. Your genes are what determine their overall shape. Note that certain muscles actually consist of separate smaller muscles (deltoids, for example) that grow individually. In most of these cases these separate muscles all have the same function though, so it's not possible to train them individually to sorta "shape" your muscle.

You create new muscles by exercising. You don't. This is a rather silly one, but many people seem to have the impression that you somehow create new muscles as you exercise. That is not true. You already have all the same muscles that a professional bodybuilder has, you do not lose or gain any. You simply make them bigger and more visible as you exercise.

You can tone your mucles through exercise. You can't. There is no such thing as a "toning exercise". The only way to do anything close to "toning" (which lacks a proper definition anyway) is to remove the fat covering your muscles by doing cardio and dieting.

You have to bulk to gain muscle. You don't. You might've heard about something bodybuilders often do, called "bulking" and "cutting". These mean periods of high caloric and protein intake to gain large amounts of muscle and fat, and then a period of dieting to leave the muscle and "cut" away the fat. It can help, and especially for a really underweight person bulking can be a good thing, but you don't need to gain any fat to gain muscle. They are separate processes of your body. Don't get fat, gain muscle.

Women should lift weight less and do more cardio. This is not true, not really. It depends on your goals. There are very few differences in women's training as opposed to when men train. It's an illusion created by the mainstream media that women simply need to use stationary bicycles and treadmills in the gym, and most of it gets its roots from the fact that women usually want to lose weight, not be more muscular. So it all depends on what your personal goals are.
Lifting weights will also not change you into an amazon in the matter of a few days, a few weeks, a few months or even a few years. It is not physically possible for women to "put on muscle" as quickly and as much as it is for men. And women generally don't lift the same amount of weight either.
You might've seen one of those hulking she-beasts in TV shows or in the internet somewhere, but this will not be you if you do weight training. Professional female bodybuilders often use hormonal supplements, have been training for a decade or two and eat twice as much as you do. There is just no way any kind of physical change will happen "accidentally" as you train. It is just that slow. When women lift weights if will make them look better and healthier.

Next off is the basic info, but I'm not sure if I can fit it all in the same post so I'll do that one later.
Anyone find any interest in this yet?

Edit: Oh, and if you have any questions, go ahead and ask.

Okay, so here are the basics about bodybuilding and cardiovascular exercise, as well as some info about dieting. Sorry for the double post.

First off, what everyone should be aware of whether you are into fitness or not, is your own anatomy. It's just one of those bits of general knowledge that you should have. Here's a good muscle chart that shows pretty much all the muscle groups, and here's a skeletal chart. You don't need to memorize them, just get the general idea what goes where and what muscle performs which function. You can google it or ask me if you can't figure it out.
Now, onto the info.



Bodybuilding is the act of gaining muscle mass and losing fat through lifting weights and dieting. There are two basic considerations in bodybuilding, and those include exercise and diet. Of these two, the diet is more important. Regardless of your metabolism, body composition, genetics, your body must obey the laws of physics and biological imperatives. You cannot get what you don't eat, and you will get what you do eat. We'll get into the diet -part later.
Strength training improves your posture, strenghtens your muscles and your bones, and generally makes you more energetic and less injury prone.

Muscles grow by actually tearing apart a little when you use them, and then growing back bigger in the duration of about 3-7 days. During those 3-7 days it's important to remember to sleep and eat well to allow the muscles to grow. This also causes soreness a day or two after you exercise, but it's only a sign that you've been training hard for your muscles. This is called Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness, or DOMS for short.
Joint pain is never good though, and you should always put safety first when strength training. If you have pain in your joints or bones, work more carefully with lighter weights. If you still feel pain, stop working out and rest.
That said, never stretch before an exercise. Warmups are essential to prevent injury, but stretching before a workout can actually harm your muscles.

When you're just starting out you should focus on "compound movements". This means exercises that train many muscle groups at once, like push-ups train the triceps and pecs, or pull-ups/chin-ups train your biceps and your lats.
Isolation exercises like bicep curls are useless in improving your overall strength, and you don't need to focus on single muscle groups so heavily yet because you improve very easily at first. You will notice yourself getting stronger much faster than you'll notice yourself getting bigger.
Also, your first objective is to not make yourself look better, but to simply make yourself stronger so that you can safely work with heavier weights and more complicated exercises.

As for equiment, you don't need anything at first exept a place to do pull-ups, a mat to lie on and something moderately heavy to hold in your hands to increase your weight while you squat. If you have an access to a gym, awesome, but you don't necessarily need it and all of these exercises can be done at home.
I'll get to the actual movements and programs later. For now on you're good with this basic information.

Here's some bodybuilding terminology:

Repetition (rep) - Doing an exercise one time.
Set - A group of repetitions. A set of 5 contains 5 reps.
Break - a break of time between your sets. Usually lasts from 20 seconds to 5 minutes, depending on the intensity of your training.
Intensity - The amount of effort you put into your training. High intensity workout can leave your muscles shaking and aching, while low intensity workout doesn't even feel like work. This is a combination of how much weight you lift, how many reps you do, and how long your breaks are between your sets.
Form - How correctly you are doing the exercise. Strict form is important to prevent injury and get the most benefit from the exercise. Bad form can cause injury, work different muscles than intended or will otherwise put your effort to waste.
Barbell - A long bar you put weights on, meant for two-handed exercises
Dumbbell - A short bar with weights on the ends, meant for one-handed exercises



Cardiovascular exercise, or cardio for short, is any activity where your heart rate stays elevated. Jogging, biking, swimming, football, basketball, boxing, anything goes if it makes your heart beat fast enough. Pick one that you like and stick to it, you don't necessarily need to go jogging if you hate it.

Daily cardio is more important for your health than bodybuilding. Physical endurance ultimately counts for a lot, and it can make a huge difference in your day to day life. Cardio promotes cardiovascular health and contributes to increased bone density. Additionally, it pretty much makes everything else function better: cardio helps stabilize hormone levels, improves endurance and recovery, helps with weight maintenance, generally keeps you healthy, and finally burns calories.
Basically, daily cardio is the #1 healthy habit. A good diet is the second.

Something to mention here, if you're a teenager it's probably not in your best interest to lose weight right away. That is unless you're overweight. This is because teenager's bodies generally consume more calories than an adult person's body does because they're still growing. Cardio is still good for you, but don't start dieting to reduce your bodyfat precentage if you aren't overweight.

Also, if you're not growing in height anymore, consider yourself an adult in this case.



Ok, now you know a bit about cardio and bodybuilding. Here's a bit of info about what binds these all together. What you eat.

Let's get the simple stuff out of the way. Each day your body automatically consumes the amount of calories it needs to keep your internal organs working. For an average adult this is about 2500 calories. As I said earlier, with teens it's a little more than that because they're still growing up.
If you eat more calories than that, you gain fat. If you eat less calories than that, you lose fat. If you eat the same amount of calories, you retain your bodyfat precentage. This is pure mathematics. One pound of fat is about 6000 calories, now you just need to work out how much you spend daily and do the math. You can increase the amoun of calories you use daily by adding cardio and strength training.

Healthy food is pretty much always low-fat, and high in fibers and protein. Muscles need protein to grow, and if you don't get enough you'll never see any progress. For a person who works out to add muscle about 1g of protein per 1 lb of bodyweight per day will suffice in most cases.

It goes without saying that the healthy stuff is usually green. Vegetables are a must in any healthy diet, and stuff like fast food, soda and cheese should be cut out completely. Soda has got zero nutritional value and a ridiculous amount of calories. In fact, probably the best way to lose fat without making any huge changes in your diet is to not drink your daily calories. Drink only water, and leave out all the juice, soda, coffee etc.
It's easier to make small changes to your diet at first and then learn to stick with them. Substitute sugar-frosted corn flakes with rolled oats, have some beans instead of fries, and eat tuna, salmon and chicken instead of stuff like red meat, barbeque or bacon. Some unhealthy food here and there won't hurt you, but this is not an excuse to eat them daily. Remember, if your diet is horrible, even small changes mean a lot.

Quote: Ninpire

I honestly didn't know that it helped improved posture. I guess I probably should've gone with my dad to the gym earlier...

Strenghtening your back and your abs does. Your traps and lats pull your shoulders down and back a bit, also your abs and your lower back keep your lower spine straight.

Quote: LTU Spyro

I started doing weight lifting at 14. Mostly because my father wanted me to and I had to straighten my spine. And I've been going there for nearly three years. At first I thought it was time consuming and would ruin my grades, but I got used to a new routine very quickly, even got a few friends of mine to join too. Long story short, it really changed my life.
Though, I had to cut it a few months ago (unplanned moving to other city). But as soon as everything goes back to normal I'm going back to gym again.

Alright, cool to see that someone else likes weightlifting on a forum like this. What are your stats?

Quote: ace

I guess i'll share my exercise method since we r on the topic <.<

I'm kinda cheap so i look for things i can do without buying weights or getting a gym membership. Normally i just go with the obvious crunches and push ups. And to be honest it really doesn't take that long and its not too difficult. I set 10 minutes aside for push ups and 10 for crunches. If i can do just 10 push ups per minute i am satisfied. That usually takes like 15-30 seconds so that leaves you with 30 seconds to rest till the next minute. That way after 10 minutes i'll have done 100 push ups. It balances out the work and rest so it doesnt really start to get difficultt until about 5 minutes.

Likewise i do the same for crunches except 20 a minute because i find them easier <.<

You too ace. Ever tried your max lifts?

Edit: I'm a bit budy today, so I'll make a post regarding the beginner routines tomorrow.

Alright, I promised to make a post about some beginner routines to improve your general strength level. This program is meant for people that are essentially starting from scratch, and don't own any equipment necessary for more complicated movements (you need a mat that is comfortable to lie on, a place to do pull-ups, and something moderately heavy that you can hold in your hands safely). It includes both cardio and strength training and I recommend doing both, but you can decrease or increase either according to your capabilities.
Remember, while any training is better than no training at all, don't cheat yourself into thinking you will see great results with a half-assed program.

This beginner program is divided into three days, but you can add more training if you feel like it. It is extremely simple, and only consists of 4 movements that you do every time you train. It should take up about 30-60min of your time, plus about 20min of any type of cardio afterwards.

The basic schedule goes as following, where the three letter names stand for the names of the days, "1" stands for a day when you train, and "0" stands for a rest day. You can train more often if you feel like it, but you shouldn't reduce the number of training days to keep the program effective.

Mon 1 - Tue 0 - Wed 1 - Thu 0 - Fri 1 - Sat 0 - Sun 0

The movements you're going to do every training day are (I'm going to link a good video explaining the proper form to every single movement):

Pushups
- 4 sets of 5-12 reps. A break of 20-60 seconds between sets.
- Works your pecs, triceps, and your anterior deltoids.

Squats (use the heavy object at your disposal to add weight to the squat if needed)
- 4 sets of 5-12 reps. A break of 20-60 seconds between sets.
- Works your quads, glutes, and your lower back.

Rotisserie core workout
- 2-4 whole sets. A break of 20-60 seconds between sets.
- Works your core, all of it.

Pull-ups (or chair pull-ups if you can't do normal pull-ups. Explained in the video.
- 4 sets of 5-12 reps. A break of 20-60 seconds between sets.
- Works your biceps, lats, and your grip.

After this workout, do a minimum of 20 minutes of your favorite cardio. More is always better.

The credit from these videos goes to scooby1961. He is an amazing guy, has earned my respect dozens of times over and knows a ton about bodybuilding and maintaining your health. I'm just using these to show you guys how to get started.

If you have any questions you can ask away, or if you want me to talk about something more advanced I can share what I know.

Quote: LTU Spyro

What do you mean by that?

Well, you maximum lifts I guess. Not everybody knows how much they can lift, but most of the time people like to try to find out, so..

Quote: SPARXisAWESOME

Well, I found this kinda helpful. I've been trying to get a bit of muscle for the past few weeks because I feel slightly.. Insecure? About my small size and scrawniness (besides that I generally want to be healthier, anyway). ._. I'm not sure if my method is all that good though (basically I sometimes use my mother's hand-me-down workout thing machine every now and again).

Thanks for the tips. I think I'd like to get a little more serious about my fitness.

It's never too late for that. If you have any questions you can post them on this topic. I'll continue to post more info about different programs and such as I come up with new ideas.

Quote: LTU Spyro

Oh, I see. Well, it depends on the exercise. For example, my regular bench press weight was about 70-80kg. The maximum I was able to do was 90kg, which was a great achievement for me. Again, I'm moving to other city, so I had to stop gym visits, which is lasting for nearly three months, so I could lift less by now.

That's good. My own bench press max is about 70kg atm, but I haven't done bench at all in months. I usually train my chest with dumbell press and dumbell flies. At the moment I do my sets of db press with 70kg, and my db flies with 30kg.

My squat max is at 110kg, deadlift max about 150kg, and my overhead press max I haven't tried.

Quote: Hot Dog 542

I enjoy cycling, swimming, and running, although I could probably do a wider variety of exercises too. I haven't really thought about that too much.

I recommend giving strength training a try, but that's only because it's worked well for me and I want to share the experience. Do what you want to do.

Quote: Cynder09

Normally, I'd probably avoid a topic like this, as I actually don't really like physical activity. However, after feeling like I've nearly died after trimming the hedges today and yesterday, I obviously need to work on my strength. I can't feel like almost wanting to pass out after doing yard work. I need to get back with working with the weights again, since I haven't done that since working out in the yard last year. I probably should have been building up strength this whole time, but it's just not something that I think about when there's no yard work to be done. Plus, like I said, I don't really like physical activity. I actually hate working out in the yard, but someone has to keep all the plantlife cut.

Alright, I can help you with that. You came to the right topic.

So, What exactly happened? You were trimming hedges, with scissors or with a saw? Were you doing anything else, and with what kind of tools?
Did you feel like the job itself was too heavy for you (meaning that you were lacking strength), or did you feel like you were running out of energy (meaning that you were lacking endurance)?

Quote: Spyro-Fan

Well uh... I guess I could use a little bit of help..?

I have some pretty bad issues with my posture. My spine is curved where the shoulder blades are. Years ago doctors were using some computer program to improve my posture for a month, it was helping but they gave up on me because it was just university research. Made me feel like crap too.

2~3 months ago I went to yet another private doctor who helped me relieve pain in my neck by re-adjusting bones in it, plus my right shoulder blade and my right hip. I stopped limping after that and I don't have issues with my neck anymore, but yet again, no improvements with my spine.

I don't know what sort of exercises should I do by myself to straighten myself up a bit. I have tried many things, including buying some program for stretching the entire body, but I found those things extremely painful since whenever I try to straighten myself, I couldn't breathe at all.

However, the worst part is that I'm anorexic (40kg on 170cm height). I do eat regularly, but I only eat white meat, vegetables, pasta, chocolate and tons of snacks. I'm not one of those who count calories, I just simply can't gain any weight at all. Plus I have issues with low blood pressure, so if I try even the most simple exercise, or even warm ups, I get very dizzy and can't continue anymore. I can only do 'bursts of strength', like sprinting like a maniac faster than anyone in my class, but after 20 seconds I'm out.

I did go to the gym for a month though, hoping I could get some muscles on me. I started by barely lifting 5kg weights, and after a month I could lift 20kg with my arms and 40kg with my legs, but in the last week I got extreme chest pain every time I tried to lift something so I had to stop lifting and just simply use the treadmill and those 'bikes'. I didn't see much improvement in my overall health, since I even lost weight that way. I should have probably continued but I felt embarrassed to continue because I was the only female among those testosterone giants.

So... yeah. I dunno what should I do to get a bit stronger, or if this exercise routine you've posted would suit me. Especially in my legs and, well, rear, as I can't even walk without getting tired. Plus I'll finally be able to move in with my friend in UK in a year or two and I don't really want to look like a skeleton to disgust him or something... even though I'm paranoid that exercising will make me fat since I figured I should eat a bit more if I want muscles. *shot*

I apologize for the long post.

It's quite alright. I'm happy if I can help you at all.

First things first, your posture. Is this a medical condition or do you just keep your back hunched? Because I'm no doctor, if it's a medical condition my advice could potentially be harmful to you.

The biggest problem for your overall health right now is the fact that you're really underweight. You weigh 40kg, I could curl your entire body, that's gotta change. There's not a lot that you can do unless you fix that issue, and this is where I can give you advice.

Your body needs energy, calories, to stay alive (Capt. Obvious anyone?). You're underweight because you don't get enough of that daily, and your body has to resort to cannibalizing itself to gain the energy it needs. In this case you need to essentially get fatter if you want to stay healthy.
Don't worry though, if you're used to eating small amounts of food, you can't go from underweight to overweight even in a year.

One thing that you can do to change this is to simply eat more. I know from experience that it's not as easy as it sounds, but really it's the only way for you to do this. You'd have to eat a whole lot of veggies to increase your bodyweight precentage though, so you also need to change your diet.
What do you usually drink? If you don't already, I recommend drinking milk since it's completely packed with nutrients. Mammals feed their infants milk for a good reason. It has calcium to strenghten your bones, fat and carbs to keel you alive and increase your weight, protein to keep you alive and make your muscles grow, and also vitamins. All kinds of dairy products in general are great for you if you need to gain weight. Don't go for nonfat products though. If you can't eat vast amounts every bite counts, and it's wise not to lessen the amount of calories you can put inside you in a day.

As for exercises, the beginner routine I recommended will help yo, but you have to eat enough to not put yourself in danger. Same goes for cardio. If walking makes you feel weak, you seriously need to fix your diet before doing anything else. That's the root of the problem here, and I'm sure you're already aware of that having lived with it.

Quote: Spyro-Fan

I believe they said I have a mild kyphosis, but I make it worse because I'm always hunched due to computer and other school work. I think one person told me that I should get my back muscles stronger in order to keep it straight, but they didn't tell me what exercises to do.

As silly as this sounds, the doctor who got my neck fixed told me I should never drink milk because it can damage my bones...? I have no idea what did she mean by that, so I don't drink it and wasn't really 'hurt' by it since I don't like drinking milk so much, but I do use it in corn flakes every second day before bed. And no, it's not one of those sugary cereals, it's one of those wheat stuff lol. I also don't drink juices (well, small orange juice here and there) or anything carbonated. 90% of what I drink is water.

I know I should put on some weight, just that it's hard when you're a female and think every single part of your body looks fat, so I'm a bit paranoid. I think I might have a fast metabolism as well, since I can eat 2 packs of chocolate per day without gaining any weight at all, while other girls in my class gain much more weight in just 2 weeks if they eat that much. I don't really starve myself either, I eat whenever I feel hungry, just that I start feeling full pretty fast.

And alright, I'll give it a shot starting this weekend. Usually I groan immediately when I see some exercise plans on the internet, but your one keeps me motivated since it sounds pretty simple and I like the weekend break lol.

Thanks for replying. XP

Well I'm not gonna argue with that if your doctor told you not to not drink milk. I do know that it's slightly acidifying, but small amounts of milk shouldn't damage bones as far as I know.
The thing is, it's not just for your bones. It's also a great source of protein and various nutrients.
And you know what also makes your bones stronger? Strength training.

As for your back muscles, I know a couple of great exercises to train your back, but you should probably start off with the beginner routine I suggested to see how it goes before you try heavier things. Give me a sitrep after a few training days.

Then you need to plan your diet according to that. These "high/low metabolism"-things are often just excuses. No-one is naturally underweight or overweight, these things are always caused by our diets.
There's a vicious circle going on with how you eat. You're often hungry because you don't eat enough, but you can't eat a lot at once because you're used to snacking. As a result you get hungry again soon, it damages your teeth and you don't get enough calories daily.
The reason you, unlike your friends, can eat two chocolate bars in a day and not "get fat" is that you're currently running on a caloric deficit, your friends are not. To them the added calories would be too much to use during the day, but to you it all adds up.

Quote: Cynder09

I was trimming with an electric hedgetrimmer. The way the hedges are set up, there's a ton of them and they go all the way around the fence. What I have to do is hold the hedgetrimmer at like my chest level or higher to cut the top, and I usually have to hold it with both hands, even when trimming down the side. The machine doesn't seem too heavy, but after awhile, my arms feel about dead, and it gets hard to lift them. I'm also really out of shape, so I don't have a whole lot of energy. If I work too hard, especially without taking an iron tablet beforehand, then I can get dizzy and lightheaded. So I think it's a lack of both. I won't lie or anything, I am in fact overweight, so doing yard work is difficult for me. But it has to be done.

Alright, so your goal is to increase both your stregth and endurance, and lose weight(?).

Give the beginner program a try for a few weeks, and see how it goes. Drink a lot of water, and at least reduce the amount of sugary and fatty foods you eat daily. You have to be honest with yourself here, any steps you take in working towards your goal will get you there faster. If you simply keep living like you used to thinking that "I'll make the change tomorrow", nothing will ever get done.

If either of you two want to learn more about healthy diets, there are many great guides that can be found just by using google.

Quote: Spyro-Fan

So I just finished doing those exercises you listed, and I have two questions.

First is regarding to push ups. I did 4 sets, but couldn't do more than 3 proper push ups. Is it alright to start with the ''female'' version of it and work my way to the proper ones? Like supporting your legs with knees. Asking because I am not sure if those push ups are doing any trick since they feel too easy to do.

Second, pull ups. I don't have a bar like that guy in the video or anything similar to it in my house, and don't really want to hang off my wardrobe or doors to break them lol. Is there maybe some other alternative to it?

Also, thanks for making this topic. This thing at least makes me a bit more motivated to exercise, even though I feel like every single bone cracked in my body while doing this.

Of course it's ok, but you should strive to overcome your limits continually. If you can't do 5 proper pushups, you can substitute the rest with the knee push ups.
As for the pull-ups, I dunno. There really is no substitute for pull-ups, other than the lat-pulldown machine commonly found in gyms around the world. You can make a pull-up bar easily though, and you can actually do pull-ups in a lot of places, especially if you're lightweight.

What kinda area do you live in? What kinda house, etc. I might be able to give you some suggestions.
Oh, and if you have any workout equipment at home, tell me so that I can think of something for you to use them for.

Also, it's not really your bones creaking, it's your joints. There is not a whole lot of muscles to support them, and that's what we're trying to fix here.
As always, remember to fix your diet to the best of your abilities. That's way more important than exercise right now, especially in your condition.
If you ever get any really bad pains in your spine or your joints after a workout, consult your doctor before working out more. We're looking for progress, not injury. You should be fine with a bodyweight routine though.

Quote: Spyro-Fan

I live in a very small house, no second floor. It's almost like an apartment really, so I have zero space for any stuff that I could use for working out. The only place I could think of is a large tree branch in my yard, or one horizontal wooden plank that supports shed's roof.
If you meant on town, it's terrible surrounding. We're still recovering from war so there aren't too many ''interesting'' things around. I could only think of one park that's relatively close to me. It has various stuff for climbing and similar.

The only thing that I have for exercising at home would be this. Ab Roller I think? My dad bought it for himself years ago but he gave up pretty quick on it. I'd have to dig it out from the attic first though.

I will also try to avoid putting too much weight on my right arm, as I just now noticed the shoulder blade I got adjusted 3 months ago started hurting me quite a bit. I'll give that arm a go one more time tomorrow or Sunday, if it still hurts I'll ask my doctor if it's ok to continue doing stuff on that arm.

Sorry if I'm being a pain. I'd rather get more info from someone I sorta know from the forums than surf the web and find nothing but a bunch of advertisement stuff.

Well looks like you've already figured it out. If the tree branch can support your weight, that's a good choice, and the park's equipment is worth checking out.

Ah, and ab roller. Can't do much with that if your upper body isn't strong enough. I'll look into it though, and see if there's anything useful that you could do.

Okay. We'll go with whatever your doctor says, but he/she says it's ok to work out, I'm always here to give you advice.

That's alright, I knew what I was getting into when I started this topic. And besides, I want to help.

Quote: Cynder09

I don't buy and eat quite as much junk food as I used to, and I actually was on a diet with my parents, since they're overweight as well. However, we sort of fell off the diet at some point. I mean, we weren't buying any junk for awhile, but then my dad started insisting on buying junk again. We currently have chips on the table, candy, and we have a cheesecake in the fridge. Not to mention all the powdered donuts and rice crispy treats he keeps asking for. I thought we were on a 'diet' but apparently I was mistaken. I mean, for awhile there, we were all keeping track of our weight and actually losing. It was a slow pace, but at least we were trying.

That's a start. If you felt like you could've gone on dieting when your dad quit, that's good news.

Now, this new diet doesn't have to be anything more than what you used to have. Now you just couple it with the program that I suggested. Exercise, drink lots of water and you'll get there if you can keep it up.
Don't forget the cardio by the way! It burns more calories than the strength training itself. Brisk walking will do if you can't jog for long distances. Do this at least 20 minutes on your training days, or every day if you feel like it. It's really easy to go for a walk as opposed to going jogging or biking, use this to your advantage.

Quote: Cynder09

Well, the diet was his idea in the first place, as he knew we all needed to lose weight. I was following the rules of our diet and doing just fine, but then it's like he regretted his idea and just wanted to forget about it, so that he could eat junk food. I may not have been trilled about the diet itself, because they are not fun, at least I was trying. I was trying to lose weight, and I actually was, even if it was at a rather slow pace. But it was doing something. I guess I just stopped when he stopped, since it was his idea in the first place.

Well, what you need to do now is to get it going again. Coupled with exercise you'll lose weight faster, and maybe you'll motivate your family to start dieting again as well when they see the results you get in a couple of months.

Quote: Cynder09

Hmm, true. It would make things easier if they would actually join me, and stop buying junk food. It would be hard to lose weight, while being tempted by whatever is currently in the kitchen. Plus, losing weight and getting stronger would help me stay in shape for yard work. Maybe I wouldn't get tired as much if I started the diet and exercise back up, and actually kept it up. And since my dad helps me with the yard work, it would do him some good, too.

That's right, the advantages exercising brings with it are numerous. The only downside to it is that it requires work that might be challenging to some, and even that depends.

It would seem that this topic has gone a bit inactive. Keep me updated on your progress if you keep exercising and I'll continue to give you advice if needed.

As for this topic, I don't think I'll be posting the more advanced workout plans if no-one is hear to make use of it.

Cool. So, you told me you need a training program too.

Can you give me a few main points as to what your goals are? That'll help me make one up.

Quote: Spyro-Fan

Unfortunately I had to quit these exercises after maybe one and half week. I managed to move my shoulder blade and it is once again sticking out of my back. My doctor told me I should have waited longer before I would start doing exercises that require applying weight onto that arm. Now I'll have to go re-adjust it again.

At least I can do squats if nothing else.

I see.

Well, first off, I have to apologise. This workout program was my idea, and even though you chose to do it yourself and I did tell you to watch out for any pains I still feel as if it was my fault that this happened to you.
If you ever want to try it again, you should obviously do what your doctor tells you and let your shoulder recover fully before doing so.

But yes, you can still squat. And more importantly, you can still keep your diet. If you keep doing cardio and excercising, you should also eat more to not let your weight drop.

Quote: NORAYMO6

I'm REALLY thin, So gaining some muscle and stamina would basically be my goal. I run out of energy too quick and can't pack a KO if I don't have SOME muscle.

As for you, I'm going to make up a program for you tomorrow. I then suggest that you try it out for three to five weeks and then we improve it a bit.

Quote: Crookshanks

tl;dr

Never improve.

Quote: Crookshanks

Quote: Samius

Quote: Crookshanks

tl;dr

Never improve.

uhh yes

>wii fitness

gg

Funny, but anyway. I didn't post this topic on Stuff and Nonsense for a reason. It's for people that are interested in the subject, and want to learn/need help. So if you just came in to punch a joke or to proclaim your lack in interest, you've done it already.

Quote: Spyro-Fan

It's ok, it's not your fault nor do I blame you. This would have probably happened eventually on P.E. at school anyway. I've been trying to avoid it as much as possible because of my neck and shoulder blade, and I thought it'd be ok to start again. I don't even think re-adjusting my shoulder blade was even a permanent solution... it felt more like a massage at the doctor's.

Regardless of it, I'm still glad you started this topic. Made me more motivated to start exercising. With squats my legs are less... um, jiggly, even though I didn't have much to jiggle with in the first place lol. And from 42kg I went to 45kg, though it really varies with me from time to time.

Well, I'm relieved. Thank you.

And about measuring your weight...
You should always do it after you wake up, because most of your bodyweight at any given time is just water. You might drink a glass of two during a few hours and suddenly that's an another kilo on the scale. You obviously can't drink in your sleep so the results shouldn't vary as much in the morning.

Alright NORAYMO6, let's get your program started.

I was thinking that at first you should try a beginner routine for a few weeks (maybe 6 or so) and then move on to more challenging exercises when you've got some basic strength training under your belt.

You have some gym equipment at home, and you've got some experience in physical training so I'll mix the normal beginner program with some dumbell exercises. Just tell me if you don't have the necessary equipment and we'll substitute the exercises with something else.
I also added some more exercises to work your core, because a strong core is essential in any MA.

The schedule is the same as in the beginner routine I suggested, but now there are two kinds of training days, which you swap each week.

Example: (0 is rest day)

Week 1: 1,0,2,0,1,0,0
Week 2: 2,0,1,0,2,0,0
Week 3: 1,0,2,0,1,0,0
etc.

Training day #1

- 3 sets of dumbell chest press followed by 3 sets of dumbell flies
- 3 sets of dumbell press followed by 3 sets of lateral raise
- 2 sets of rotisserie core workout
- 3 sets of hanging leg raise
- Minimum of 20min of cardio after the workout

Training day #2

- 4 sets of pullups (or chair-pullups if you can't do normal pullups)
- 2 sets of dumbell rows and 2 sets of reverse flies
- 4 sets of squats (If you know how to squat properly, use a barbell. If not, hold a dumbell against your chest)
- 2 sets of rotisserie core workout
- 3 sets of hanging leg raise
- minimum of 20min of cardio after the workout

I'll leave it up to you to figure out how much weight you can lift, or how many reps you can do. It's best to alternate between high-rep low-weight and low-rep high-weight from time to time.

Remember to warm up before the excercises, and stretch a couple of hours after them, usually before you go to sleep. If you're training for MA you also need the flexibility, as I'm sure you know.

Substitute something unhealthy in your diet with something healthy (soda with tea/water, etc.) and do more of it periodically, remember to eat protein even during the days when you don't work out because that's when your muscles rebuild themselves, and sleep more than you usually would.

If you have any questions you can ask me. I can provide you with accurate information, or the source to find such information.

Oh and by the way, if you're wondering why I use this guy's videos to demonstrate all the exercises, it's because Scooby knows his ****, and puts a lot of emphasis on safety. He also doesn't try to make money with his videos, and I know he would be glad to see them put to good use. All credit from the videos go to him.