Getting and staying in shape *sigh*

[Andos99]

Anybody out there ever get the "workout woes"? Me and a few of my buddies were hanging out at the pool the other night, gripping about how out of shape we've gotten and tossing around ideas to get and stay motivated when it comes to eating right, working out, etc. With this being said, we decided to do a friendly competition and see who can get in the best shape in 90 days. We took our weights and approx. body fat and we'll see how we fair after the 90 days are up.

So what do you guys do to stay in shape....and more importantly, stay motivated! I'm trying the whole 5 meals a day thing to keep my metabolism up and working out 4-5 days a week. At least 4 of those days involve 40 minutes of cardio and high repetition weight lifting for the remainder of the workout. I'm not trying to get bigger, just build strength and tone up. Any suggestions??[/b]

 

[tracygh]

I don't think you need to worry Andos, from your avatar, I'd say you're a real studmuffin

 

[Jermz79]

Man this is a big problem I have. After the birth of my baby girl I have no motivation to do anything but spend time with her and it's not like I can take her to the gym or the park to play some B-Ball or whatever.

I have tried diets, blah blah blah ... and nothing seems to help. I am the heaviest and the most out of shape I have ever been and am starting to get ashamed of myself for letting it get this bad. The only motivation I have right now to get myself into shape is of course my little girl ... I know in a few years she'll be running around like crazy and if I don't drop a few punds I probably won't be able to keep up!!! I'm not obese or anything, but like I said I am the heaviest I have ever been and can definitely tell a difference in my physical abilities!

I'm rambling aren't I? Well I guess what I'm saying is maybe you (if you don't already) should have a kid!!!! HAHAHA they are good motivation in a lot of lifes little curveballs!

 

[mattrox]

I have been doing a super circuit workout 3-4 times a week at the gym. The class is about 30 mins. A bit short, but I do push it hard. I have been at it about 4 weeks and have been happy with the results. I have gone from a 36" to 34" since Jan. but I have also been trying to eat a few lean meals a week. Including chinese style stir-frys cooked with minimum oil. Chicken and cashew nut and Pork with Plumb sauce are my favourites. I also do a beef curry which I have with potato and pumpkin curry and have it with rice. All low fat and balanced meat, veg and carbos.

Keep the cardio up.

 

[deli_conker]

There's a big difference between how much you weigh/body fat% and how good of shape you are in.

If you are just trying to lose weight, that's one thing. If you are trying to get in shape, that's another.

Lose the high rep routine. It won't help nearly as much as other routines can. If you want to become more efficient at burning calories (thus losing weight) you need to build more muscle mass. Don't be scared that you'll have Arnold arms if you go heavy. Trust me, you won't. That takes years to achieve even with roids (which I do not use or condone). There are two basic methods you can use to gain this muscle mass.

• Low reps with heavy weight.
• HST (Hypertrophic Specific Training)

HST is my preference as I have used it with success several times. You will gain muscle mass by following the program. But you have to follow it, and not play around with it. If you want more info on it, let me know.

As far as eating 5 meals is concerned. First off, make sure they are clean meals. This means that you are cooking them yourself. It means that they are NOT prepackaged. It means that you have to weigh and measure evrything out AND keep track of it (a log works fine). Also, don't fall for any fad diets; they often do more harm than good. Ask a bodybuilder about fad diets. You'll get an earfull. Stick with 40% of your calories from carbs, 40% protein, 20% fat and you'll do fine. Your best bet would be to find out your Basal Metabolic Rate and go from there. I'll post a link that will allow you to find a ballpark number. Enter in your age and height. For activity level use "sedentery" as this will give you the number closest to your actual BMR. For weight, enter the weight you want to be. If this is more than 10 pounds less than you currently are, then enter in your weight minus 10 pounds (after you lose 5 pounds or so, do it again with the new number).
Click here for calculator.
This is the number of calories you want to eat a day. Weight loss will happen if you stick to the numbers.

Now for the cardio. Don't do intense cardio. The more intensity you add to your cardio, the less efficient your body is at mobilizing fat as an energy source. You would be better off walking on a treadmill with a slight incline for those 40 minutes. You won't burn as many calories, but the calories that you do burn will have come from fat stores and not from catabolism (muscle loss). Also do your cardio first thing in the morning (or whenever you get up) on an empty stomach. Your glycogen levels are depleted at this point and your body is forced to mobilize fat for energy.

Now for the paradoxes and pitfalls...
To gain muscle mass effectively, you need to eat lots of food. Eating lots of food will cause you to gain weight. Not necessarily fat, but weight for sure. If you're doing a weight loss contest, then you need to be as efficient as possible in mobilizing fat in order to burn it for energy.
How much you eat will determine if you gain or lose. What you eat will determine what you gain or lose.

There's a lot more info I could post, but this is getting long enough. If you have any questions, just let me know.

 

[smallfry]

My novice advice is to adopt a healthy "lifestyle" (vs. a quick fix diet/workout). I know that's idealistic, but in general I think success will come with a long term change that fits you and your lifestyle. For example, can you see yourself eating 5 meals a day long term? If not, then maybe adapt to something more realistic. If so, then great!

My husband and I have been paying close attention to food lables and cooking at home alot more often (rather than eating processed foods).

Obviously favor frutis and veggies (especially green leafs). Meat is ok done sparingly. Fish is good. Cut down on "junk food" and try to eliminate "fast food". Don't eat past 6 or 7 p.m if you can help it. Eat breakfast. Oatmeal is very good for your body. As are almonds and yogurt.

I still need to work on the exercise part...so no advice from me in that area. (except to take the stairs vs. elevator)

 

[rubysoho]

no offense, but everyone's body responds differently and the above may not work for you.

Example:
My boyfriend and I have spent the last 7 weeks working out nearly every night. It is nothing big. We started walking 2 miles. The next week we bumped it up to 3. Then we added short jogging sets (all on a track to we knew how far we had gone). I also added lunges, 4 sets of 6 per lap and did a total of 4 laps that included lunges (this is specifically for my butt, my boyfriend doesn't have a butt ) . Then we started going 4 miles with all that other stuff included. Next we did 5 miles walking or 3 miles if we ran 1 of those three miles. By this time, I am doing pretty well. My body has worked out all those kinks (cramping, lack of breath, etc...) that you get when you are first getting in shape. However, my boyfriend has not faired so well. He actually gained two pounds and has not lost inches whereas I've lost inches, shaped up, and though I haven't lost much weight, I know it is because I'm also building muscle mass at the same time.

For eating, we were cooking all our meals. Ate lean meats and I loosly followed the South Beach Diet which I can say has worked for myself and everyone I know who stuck with it. No fried foods, no caffeine, no soda. Minimal milk and juices and LOTS of water. We cheated on our diet about once a week which was for sanity purposes and I think it is why we've been able to keep going instead of give up after a few weeks.

But, my boyfriend is upset because it isn't working as well for him as it is for me. He did have more weight to lose, so that could be a factor. I just wanted to show that what works for one person won't always work for another.

Here are some tips I've heard about trying to lose weight/burn fat:

-use smaller weights for toning up and losing fat but not building muscle (and then there is the opposite as described above, find out which works for you).
-no soda, minimal juice unless it is the kind where you've blended it yourself! Too much sugar everywhere else. Though, I found a wonderful organic apple juice that I think is THE BEST apple juice I've ever had, hehe.
-if you can cut out caffeine completely, at least limit it a lot. This is because caffeine actually slows down your metabolism in the long run. Also, you'll feel better, I promise... it just takes time to kick it.
-absolutly no soda. I don't even have soda on my cheat days.
-if you want to do the 5 meals a day, they need to be small meals. I don't like this because it always leaves me hungry. I like 3 regular meals a day with small healthy snacks inbetween.
-don't eat heavily after 6pm. This is hard because people work, but it is the trueth. unless you work the night shift,...
-be positive! The first few weeks NOTHING could happen. That is the worst because you want something to happen. It will, it just takes some time. The faster you lose weight, the easier it is to put on. You're losing the hard stuff (and not just water weight) when you lose maybe 2 pounds or less a week.
-swim. this is great for you! It works your entire body and is very good on your joints. you'll also lose those love handles a lot faster because of the stretching motions used when you swim.

okay, I'm sure someone knows more than me, so I'll stop rambling! Good luck

 

[deli_conker]

use smaller weights for toning up and losing fat but not building muscle (and then there is the opposite as described above, find out which works for you).

Using lighter weights to "tone up" only burns calories while you are lifting them. Increasing muscle mass burns calories all day.

no soda, minimal juice unless it is the kind where you've blended it yourself! Too much sugar everywhere else. Though, I found a wonderful organic apple juice that I think is THE BEST apple juice I've ever had, hehe.

Very good advice, but I'll take it another step. Drink water and nothing else. Calories consumed via liquids do not fill you up. If you are watching calories, this is an easy step to eliminate lots of them thus reducing your net intake, etc.

if you want to do the 5 meals a day, they need to be small meals.

Find your BMR and divide that by the number of meals/snacks you are going to have. I usually have a small breakfast after working out in the morning followed by small snacks and a modest lunch with small snacks afterwards. I usually eat half of my daily calories before dinner. This allows me to have a decent sized dinner with my family.

swim. this is great for you! It works your entire body and is very good on your joints. you'll also lose those love handles a lot faster because of the stretching motions used when you swim.

Swimming does burn a lot of calories, but the "stretching motions" have nothing to do with losing your love handles.

There's no such thing as spot reducing fatty areas. Doing tons of sit ups will make your back and stomach muscles a lot stronger. It won't give you a six pack unless your diet has you in a negative net caloric intake and you are burning more calories than you are consuming (thus forcing your body to use stored energy a.k.a. fat).

 

[rubysoho]

the stretching motions actually do help. It lengthens muscles instead of bulking them up. But, I didn't say that correctly. I know people who have gone the bulk up way and they only looked worse because they didn't have a negative net caloric intake. It just added mass to their body and wasn't defined because of their diet. In my opinion you have more leeway in eating when are "creating" longer and leaner muscles and it is good for the everyday person who perhaps isn't quite so diciplined. Myself included!

And I said minimal juice and milk because water just doesn't look appealing after so many glasses. It is for sanity and not falling off the "train."

 

[Andos99]

Let me give you guys my stats and you can tell me what you think is reasonable after a 90 day regimen.

5'11.5"
215 lbs
29% body fat (this is not an accurate reading, it came from one of those scales that supposedly measures both. I think it's just taking your height and weight and doing a simple formula).

I used to weight around 175-180 at this height, but this was a few years back. I would love to be back at this weight, but I think it would be doubtful after only 90 days.

 

[rubysoho]

it will take longer than 90 days, but you'll be seeing improvement by then. Keep it up!

A friend of mine was overweight by about the same amount and 1 year after he started biking and eating right the pouds have gone away! He looks great now, it just takes time.

My goal is to look great by my graduation in May. And then keep looking great after that.

 

[deli_conker]

2 pounds a week is about the fastest you should try for.
That puts you at around 190 if you can stick with it.
Here's a little motivation though...
If you lose 1 pound a week, you'll lose 52 pounds in one year. It is very possible to be at your target weight in less than one year.

the stretching motions actually do help. It lengthens muscles instead of bulking them up.

I'd like to see your source as far as the strerching motions helping to lose love handles. That would mean that touching your toes can make your thighs slimmer. My guess is that you're burning enough calories that the fat in your sides is being metabolized and burned up to a degree that you are noticing a change in outwards appearance.

You're born with x amount of muscle and you really don't grow any new fibers. You can however make the muscle fibers thicker. This is done by causing microtrauma to the fibers themselves and then your body using protein to fix the trauma. The muscle fiber then grows. When you do repeated damage over time, you experience hypertrophy, or muscle growth. The fibers get thicker and you start to get bigger. There's a decent amount of research in hyperplasia, which is growing brand new fibers.

My advice to you is...

• Go to the web site I posted and find out your BMR. Plan all meals around that number.
• Do your cardio at a low intensity. It will burn fat (fat and weight are different, don't forget) very quickly.
• When you lift, go heavy. Not so heavy that you hurt yourself; don't sacrifice safety and form for weight. And do about 4-6 reps per set. Three sets per exercise.
• Keep you exercises compound. Don't do any concentration work. Examples? Dumbell curls and tricep pushdowns are concentration exercises, pullups and benchpress (barbell or dumbell) are compound exercises.
• Work your legs big time. Personally, I hate legs day, but your legs are big muscles, and easier to make bigger. The more muscle you have, the more calories your body burns to support it.

Again, don't let this talk of big muscle scare you. In 90 days, you're not going to get huge. Depending on how disciplined you are with your diet and your genetics in general, you probably won't gain more than 1/2" on most parts.

Body builders are generally in one of two states. Contest shape; which is the ones you see on all the muscle magazine covers and at the shows. This is after starving themselves down to a big ball of ripped muscle. And bulking up. Also known as growing season. It's a delicate balancing act to eat enough to grow, but not too much that you are also gaining fat as well. The plan is to basically grow as much as you can, and then purge off the fat. Three steps forward and one step back. Trying to gain muscle and lose fat only works if you have an excess amount of fat to lose.

One other thing. The key to sticking with a diet is planning. I plan/prepare my meals one day in advance. My breakfast/lunch is cooked and packed the night before I need it.

 

[rubysoho]

I'd like to see your source as far as the strerching motions helping to lose love handles. That would mean that touching your toes can make your thighs slimmer.

I've actually read it in many places, but I don't do fitness research on the net because it is nothing but fads and advertisements. So no link to give you. But I can give you examples:

Stretching does help you become leaner because it restructures your muscles in a way. Just as damaging your muscles makes them thicker and bulkier, stretching your muscles lengthens them and they become leaner. It is the same concept.

Look at runners:

-Sprinters need the fastest amount of energy for a short amount of time. They have developed thicker muscles for that very purpose because those types of muscles are best for the short bursts of intense energy. This is the equivelant of using heavy weights for short reps and trying to increase your max weight.
-long distance runners have longer and leaner muscles because if the long amounts of distance they cover. They use smaller amounts of energy for a longer amount of time. This is just like using smaller weights with more reps.

The same concept goes for swimming. Their bodies become leaner because of the way they are using themselves. They are stretching and reaching with their muscles which is the exact opposite of bodybuilders who are shortening/flexing their muscles.

Does that make sense? There is plenty of research out there to support what I am saying. However, like I said before, I don't do my research on the net so you'd have to go through books and magazines. Though I am sure there is something on this somewhere on the net.

 

[deli_conker]

I've actually read it in many places, but I don't do fitness research on the net because it is nothing but fads and advertisements. So no link to give you.

It's out there. You just have to know where to look.

Does that make sense?

No.

It's old school thinking and has been proven to be not entirely correct. The "burst" of energy for a sprinter (or anyone for that matter) comes from the amounts of ATP (Adenosine Triphosphate) that exist in the muscle, not the size of it. ATP is the chemical that is used to make a muscle contract forcefully. The average human has about enough ATP to last for a few seconds. After that, the muscles need more ATP in order to continue contractions. That's when it starts to use creatine phosphate to bind with ADP (Adenosine Diphosphate, a byproduct of ATP after contraction takes place) to create more ATP. This lasts for around 30 seconds or so. Next up is where glucose is broken down into lactic acid to form ATP in a process called anaerobic respiration which works for a minute or two. Which is finally followed by aerobic respiration where glucose, glycogen, fats, and amino acids are broken down in the presence of oxygen to create ATP. This is why you don't start sucking wind until you have been exercising for a few minutes. You start to breath heavier and faster because your body is using the extra oxygen to create the chemical that allows it's skeletal muscles to work.

There are slow and fast twitch muscle fibers though. But these have to deal with how fast force can be developed in a movement and not how long this movement can be maintained. By using training with explosive movements, you increase the size of the fast twitch fibers. Training with slower movements will increase the size of the slow twitch fibers.

But if you're increasing the size of the fibers (and in turn the muscles overall size) then why do long distance runners have skinny muscles? Because by running for long periods of time they are burning tons of calories. The calories have to come from somewhere and the body has no problem cannibalizing itself in order to allow the brain, heart, lungs, etc. to live. Skeletal muscle is on the menu. Theoretically, if a long distance runner went on a gaining diet, they would get huge (their legs would, at least). I would be interested in how many calories that would be. It's got to be a tremendous amount...

The sprinter works on the fast twitch fibers and eats normally will gain size in the muscles that he is exercising.
The long distance runner works on the slow twitch fibers and eats normally will not gain size (or fat for that matter) as his body consumes far more calories then he provides for it. He uses MUCH more energy than the sprinter (calories=energy). Then again, muscle is protein and protein is 4 calories per gram. So in a way, he is providing calories for his body. Catabolism.

 

[rubysoho]

well, the reason why I offered up my advice is because I know one thing doesn't work for everyone. God gave me naturally muscular thighs and in my experience, stretching, swimming, and any movement that is done to lengthen the muscle has helped me keep them down in size. I am no longdistance runner though. I have tried the added weight or the sprinting and that was when my thighs bulked up instead of slimmed down like I wanted.

That is just my experience and the theories I pull my information from have been true when applied to how my body reacted.

 

[deli_conker]

That is just my experience and the theories I pull my information from have been true when applied to how my body reacted.

That is a very interesting statement and can be applied to science over history. The sun came up in one direction and went down in another. Of course it orbits the Earth. We all know that to be false (except for those Canadians who think that 50% of Americans don't know this), even though it would explain sunrises and sunsets.

The science of this subject is always changing as understanding increases. I use HST (a method of working out) to gain muscle mass. It's only been out for a few years and goes against the grain of some popular bodybuilding ideas. But for me and everybody I've been in contact with that's used it, it works very well. I gained an inch on my arms in 4 months which is usually unheard of without anabolic steroids. It uses the way the body works in order to trick it into growing on a constant basis. There's no magic pills or powders to take, just having good timing for your workouts and the discipline to carry them through.

But the bottom line with weight is as follows...
Consume more calories than you burn and you will gain weight.
Consume less calories than you burn and you will lose weight.
Eating bad foods will cause the gain to be fat or the loss to be muscle.
Eating good foods will make the gain muscle or the loss to be fat.

 

[rubysoho]

yup, all science is like that though. You prove hypothesis with results. I agree that science is always evolving, but it is like the argument over the egg. Is it good for you or is it bad?

Just getting out and being active will help anyone lose pounds. Different bodies need different workouts (that is why there are so many trainers out there using different techniques because a person isn't satisfied with results using one method so they try another).

Good luck in shedding the weight! I hope you find a good method for yourself and win the bet

 

[talloulou]

I run at least one mile a day usually two. I also do taebo, pilates, bike riding, and swimming. Whatever you do though you got to mix it up otherwise your body just gets use to the routine and benefits are lost. I also try to eat heavier meals in the morning and afternoon and lighter dinners. And I try (but often fail) to not snack after dinner. Recently I have started to weight train as well. I'm very happy with my body but I still don't like my arms. I don't want "old lady arms" so hopefully the weights will help tone them up.

I think diet though is one of the biggest factors in staying healhy. And I don't mean going on a diet....I mean making a healthy diet part of your lifestyle. This can be extremely hard in the United States. The way most Americans eat is truely shocking. I never buy anything that has partially hydrogenated oil in it and that pretty much means I don't buy any prepackaged foods. People hate to visit my house because in order to eat they actually have to cook. There is nothing "quick n easy" in my kitchen outside of fruits and vegetables. We also rarely eat meat and when we do it is usually fish and occasionally chicken. My kids are vegetarians. We do eat alot of beans and grains. I don't buy crap food, like white bread. I also avoid any sugary foods and drinks. We mostly drink water. You really need to be aware of what you put into your body IMO.

 

[Fishyfanatic]

By increasing water intake you will notice a big difference in how you feel. I used to drink lots of tea and soda and koolaid. When I started working out more I drank TONS of water. The recommended is something like 6 to 8 glasses each day. I started drinking ONLY water and would consume about 15 glasses per day. I could immediately tell the difference in the oils that my body produced. And I felt healthier. More energized and not so weighted down. I know, that may sound odd but after I would drink a 12 oz soda I wouldn't feel so peppy. But after I would down a full glass of water, I wouldn't feel so droopy. It's the small adjustments that are made that can make the difference. As mentioned, eat more calories earlier in the day. At night limit the amount of calories that are consumed. Try to eat 3 meals and two small snacks per day. That way you don't get that starving feeling where you feel like you could stuff your face. You just get the "I'm hungry" feeling. Also, don't eat after dinner. You could have a small snack such as an orange or something along those lines, but keep the calorie intake minimal and don't eat for 2 hours before bed. And don't do what my mom did, don't push back bedtime by an hour just beacuse you ate something.

 

[zenn]

I also would encourage more of a 'lifestyle' change rather than a quick fix diet/workout plan. For me, the hardest part about looking and feeling good is cooking for myself. If you don't know how to cook healty foods for yourself, trying to lose weight, gain muscle and stay fit can be very frustrating. I'm concentrating more than ever now on what I eat and training myself to cook for myself. It's not easy either. It's hard. And frustrating. But I think cooking food for yourself is probably the biggest part of staying fit...even more so than working out. If you can eat like deli_conker is saying (which i agree with, you need to build muscle)....everything else will follow with even a simple workout IMO.

So yeah, it's a bit of an ideological approach, but I really believe in the long term thinking when it comes to this subject. Take up eating and workout practices that you can see yourself doing for the rest of your life.

The motivation part is huge also. That's all up to you IMO. Motivation is different for everyone and it's hard for someone to help you with that. Either you're going to do it or you're not.

I would recommend a book if I may....The Abs Diet...written by the chief editor of Men's Health. I know, I know, another diet fad, but not so. He takes the lifestyle approach to staying fit and it's really not a diet at all. I read the book and it gave me loads of good information.

Good Luck!