CAG Health and Fitness Thread

Nice thread so far. Everyone seems to know what they're talking about here. I'm 6 feet tall a little under 200 lbs and my goal is to get to about 170 close to June while gaining a reasonable amount of strength (which should be easy; I'm really out of shape right now).

My workout routine right now just consists of 3 full body workouts a week. I do 3 sets of the following exercises until exhaustion:
Pull ups or chin ups (I have a bar installed in my door frame :))
Push ups
Chair Dips
Leg raises (from the bar) or sit ups

Once the weather gets above freezing I'll add 15-20 minutes of interval training/hill sprints/jump rope in there. After I get stronger I'll probably start separating the muscle groups into different days (might be hard with only compound exercises, eh?) and maybe add a weight vest to help keep the reps lower. I also get at least 45 minutes to an hour of walking from going to classes each day. It's just not worth it to spend half an hour walking to and from a smelly, crowded gym by myself each day (my friends are damn lazy :whistle2:|) I want to work out so I stick to stuff I can do at home or outside.

As far as diet goes, well, I'm still pretty much eating like a college student since I don't want to spend very much money or time on my meals. This semester I've been splitting up some of my meals into two and I've been keeping the calories a little under 2000 a day. I drink a protein shake after I work out (usually in between lunch/dinner), milk with almost every meal, and potatoes or eggs fairly often. Otherwise it's a lot of ramen, mac and cheese, spagettios, spaghetti, hamburger helper etc.

Any criticism/advice is welcome.
 
you know I was thinking about getting one of those bar frame things for my door but didn't know how safe it was ?? anyone know??
 
[quote name='DrFoo']
As far as diet goes, well, I'm still pretty much eating like a college student since I don't want to spend very much money or time on my meals. This semester I've been splitting up some of my meals into two and I've been keeping the calories a little under 2000 a day. I drink a protein shake after I work out (usually in between lunch/dinner), milk with almost every meal, and potatoes or eggs fairly often. Otherwise it's a lot of ramen, mac and cheese, spagettios, spaghetti, hamburger helper etc.
[/QUOTE]

Diet is just as important as work out routine, and it sounds like neither your work out routine or you diet is very good or very likely to get you to your goal right now.

If you want to lose the weight, you got to get more cardio in there. If you want to gain strength you need a more varied routine with more than just some core body weight exercises. And for either you need a better diet with less processed foods and more lean meats and fresh fruits and vegetables.
 
Mmmm, I made a really amazing Beans N Rice tonight. :drool:
I also recently became addicted to hummus.

Tomorrow, Vegetarian chilli for dinner! :D We're getting a snowstorm so it'll feel jussst right!

[quote name='ITDEFX']you know I was thinking about getting one of those bar frame things for my door but didn't know how safe it was ?? anyone know??[/QUOTE]

I too would be interested in this. I am sooo weak and I feel like an ass at the gym.. so I want to use one of these :)

+ How much are these? Any GOOD ones.. but.. budget pricing? :whistle2:k
 
[quote name='lilboo']Mmmm, I made a really amazing Beans N Rice tonight. :drool:
I also recently became addicted to hummus.

Tomorrow, Vegetarian chilli for dinner! :D We're getting a snowstorm so it'll feel jussst right!



I too would be interested in this. I am sooo weak and I feel like an ass at the gym.. so I want to use one of these :)

+ How much are these? Any GOOD ones.. but.. budget pricing? :whistle2:k[/QUOTE]

I'm actually planning on picking one up. I heard Walmart has one for like 28.88. Not sure how good these are though.
 
[quote name='DrFoo']Any criticism/advice is welcome.[/quote]

I agree with dmaul1114 about altering your diet and adding some cardio. I'm in college so I understand not having much time for meal preparation but you should add some healthier foods to your intake like lettuce, spinach, tuna, bananas, plain oatmeal. (not as cheap as some of the foods currently in your diet, but significantly healthier).

As for cardio there has to be some indoor activity you can do without the need of a gym: lap pool, jump rope, stair climbing, DDR?
 
I know they claim any doorway will work..but I wonder how true?
These commercials always show a door frame, but with no door or walls.. :lol:

That Iron Gym is kinda cool.. being able to do pull ups, use it as a push up bar...and I like how it can help with crunches.

Do all of these do that? Iron Gym is like $60 or $80. I forget. :(
 
[quote name='StarKnightX']Question , would losing about 40-50lbs in about 6 months time be considered too much too fast?[/QUOTE]

Probably. Unless you're morbidly obese and weigh like 350 lbs+. If you're vastly over weight you can drop a lot pretty quickly.

But if not slow and steady loss is the way to do it healthily and in a way that you can keep it off.
 
50lbs in 6 months isn't too bad. That's like what.. 7-8 lbs a month? That's pretty healthy, IMO. You can safely lose 1-2lbs a week.
 
[quote name='dmaul1114']Probably. Unless you're morbidly obese and weigh like 350 lbs+. If you're vastly over weight you can drop a lot pretty quickly.

But if not slow and steady loss is the way to do it healthily and in a way that you can keep it off.[/quote]

Back in August I weighed in about 230 at 5'8. The initial drop from 230 to 200 came fairly quick (between August and early/mid December). I kinda stabilized and slowed down after that , breaking 200 before New Years and currently sit at between 190-185.

I already did a fair bit of exercise between work (lots of lifting) and going to work (walking about a mile to and from work usually 5 days a week) , but it was when I started making major changes in the diet that the weight started to come off.
 
Then no, at 185-190 losing 40-50 lbs in 6 months would be too much and tough to do. Pounds come off quicker early on as you found out. It will be slower going to keep losing more weight, but just keep eating right and working out hard and you'll get to your goal.
 
[quote name='dmaul1114']Then no, at 185-190 losing 40-50 lbs in 6 months would be too much and tough to do. Pounds come off quicker early on as you found out. It will be slower going to keep losing more weight, but just keep eating right and working out hard and you'll get to your goal.[/quote]

Gotcha , that's understandable. The change that seemed to have the biggest effect right away was the change from regular to diet soda.

Part of the reason I asked was while most of my co-workers have been impressed with my weight loss , one or two are worried I'm overdoing it. I told them I didn't think so , since it wasn't like I was "trying" to lose the weight by dieting , I was losing the weight due to changing my eating habits for the better mostly.

I do plan to take up their recommendation to get a check-up with my doctor just to make sure everything's ok. I'm due for one pretty soon anyway.
 
[quote name='ITDEFX']you know I was thinking about getting one of those bar frame things for my door but didn't know how safe it was ?? anyone know??[/QUOTE]

This is the bar I bought. They are perfectly safe as long as you mount them correctly (they have a couple of brackets you have to screw in to the sides of the door frame). You can still take down the bar itself easily, but the brackets are always stuck in place.

And thanks for the advice dmaul and gr8asianman. I'll try to do a little long distance running every once in a while. I'll also try to improve my diet a little but it's kind of hard when I only go to the store a little over once a month and spend about $100. I don't see how I couldn't at least come somewhat close to my goal with the old plan, though. From what I can tell I would burn a little under 3000 calories a day from doing next to nothing and maybe 2500 at my goal weight, so at under 2000 calories a day I should be losing close to 2 pounds a week with some exercise.
 
You'll lose the weight probably--assuming you do eat less calories than you burn. But you won't gain much strength or muscle if you're putting crappy food into your body. You need lean meats, complex carbs (whole grains) to maximize that.
 
Yeah, you're right. I'm just lazy and cheap. Switching to whole grain bread and making more meat sandwiches wouldn't be that hard and I'm guessing would be a reasonable start? And as far as gaining muscle... well... I'm in such terrible shape right now it's probably almost impossible for me not to. I mean seriously right now I'm at about a 3rd the amount of push ups/pull ups/chin ups as I was a year ago, and I didn't even do much last year and had an even worse diet.
 
[quote name='ITDEFX']you know I was thinking about getting one of those bar frame things for my door but didn't know how safe it was ?? anyone know??[/QUOTE]

I have an iron gym. There are a ton of positive reviews on amazon and that's what made me buy it. You can find it for 30 bucks at Bed Bath Beyond/ Linnens & things. If you throw a 10% off coupon on it then it's a pretty decent deal.

I got mine off one amazon's sellers for 30 bucks and mine included the ab straps.

The bar works perfectly at my place. But my door frame is part of the building. If you just have modling around your door that is for decoration you are going to rip that right off. I wanted the bar for use at work but the doors here are too wide.

My buddy has one and he loves doing pushups with it. I perfer using deticated elevated push up bars I already have. It's not that great for dips since you don't really get that low.

The bar has caused zero damage to my door frame. And belive me I own my house and won't use something that would wreak it.
 
[quote name='ricknub']Thanks for the advice! And I'd appreciate it, but I think I have a rough idea of what I'll be doing (If you happen to have a routine just laying around already though, I certainly wouldn't oppose the input!). Just one question though: would doing deadlifts, squats, and hang cleans the same day be good? I feel like that would be a lot of heavy exercises for one day (I usually do one per day, and do the hang cleans twice per week).[/quote]

Before I go and prescribe a workout plan, I need to know a few things. First, the maximum amount of time you can devote to each workout. Second, how long you have been seriously training with weights. Finally, I need to know what your goals are. When you get a chance, just get back to me on this and then I can draw something up for you. And to answer your question regarding Deadlift, squats and hang cleans, it would depend mostly on your goals, but also your current capabilities.
 
Yay... a new year and a new thread.

For the next few months I'm thinking about cutting down to around 185-190 from about 200 right now. I was planning on it, but I was thinking about doing competing in maybe some more grappling tournies and would like to be in the 178 lb category instead of 198 (at least for judo anyways)
 
Did my Back and Bicep workout today. Good Stuff all around. My triceps and upper chest are still aching a little from Monday's workout.

Also thanks for the advice dmaul for the whole back before biceps. Once I finished my bicep workout my arms were toast. Couldn't really lift too much of anything.
 
Maybe someone will be able to suggest something based on the exercises I have available to me?

Ab crunch and back extension (same machine). Tricep ext, bicep curl, press and row variants (bar/handles that can be used for shoulder press, back row, etc.), lat pull-down, bench press, shoulder press, leg extension, leg curl, inner/outer thigh extension, leg press. The machine also can do squats, but I honestly don't feel comfortable doing squats on it.

My problem is that I have no trouble doing all the exercises I want in the same session, which can make it boring. My traditional rep set has been 2 sets of ten (until failure on second set), and I've been alternating with a 10-10-5 set, with the 5 rep set being a higher weight.
 
[quote name='lilboo']Maybe I will pick up a gym routine eventually. :lol: It's just really hard for me to come up with one that I enjoy. :([/QUOTE]

Eh. Its really not about enjoying the workout or weight lifting. You just got to do it with the mindset of better health and looking good.

Me? I do it for the ladies.

Chicks dig a tight, muscular body.
 
Yeah not many people enjoy a workout. I mean there aren't many who have more fun at the gym than the do at the bar, or at the movies, or at home playing video games.

We just enjoy feeling good and looking good and the workouts and eating right at the work required to achieve those benefits.
 
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Well I am feeling pretty good so far with just eating 1000000x better. I do go to the gym M-W-F and do.. stuff. No routine yet. A lot of cardio, and some weight training. It does feel good.

I'm snacking on pumpkin & sunflower seeds right now. :drool: (raw, unsalted)
How much is too much? I just threw some in one of those ziploc snack bags :lol:
 
[quote name='pimpinc333']Eh. Its really not about enjoying the workout or weight lifting. You just got to do it with the mindset of better health and looking good.

Me? I do it for the ladies.

Chicks dig a tight, muscular body.[/quote]

I do it for myself and just one lady. That's enough for me :D

[quote name='dmaul1114']Yeah not many people enjoy a workout. I mean their aren't many who have more fun at the gym than the do at the bar, or at the movies, or at home playing video games.

We just enjoy feeling good and looking good and the workouts and eating right at the work required to achieve those benefits.[/quote]

I can't say that I necessarily enjoy working out. I particularly hate leg exercises because my knees always feel like they are on fire. Upper body is kinda neutral. However, I enjoy jogging actually. Overall, you just feel better and have more energy as well.
 
I know most of this is about exercise, but has anybody else tried Cinnamon Crunch Total?

It is like miniature Cinnamon Toast Crunch sprinkled with a multivitamin.
 
[quote name='pimpinc333']Eh. Its really not about enjoying the workout or weight lifting. You just got to do it with the mindset of better health and looking good.

Me? I do it for the ladies.

Chicks dig a tight, muscular body.[/QUOTE]

Well it also depends on what type of shape your looking to be in. Personally ya I think it would be nice to have abs you can grate cheese on and a back muscles you could brake a cantaloupe open with.....but its really not a big concern. Before I met my fiancee I was on the path to that then let myself go badly. Now I realize that im in rather unhealthy shape but I haven't had any health problems. I don't mind carrying a few extra pounds or even at best having a flat tummy but just not a muscled tummy. So for me burning calories and loosing a pound here or there till I get back to that is fine. I have found the best way to do that(before I tore my back muscle at least)is to find a work out you enjoy. You can have all the motivation in the world...but eventually for most people thats going to dissipate be it before you get in shape or after you get in shape.

I am not fit like the rest of these guys lilboo but I did go from 350 pounds to 200 in 2 years..... just to meet my fiancee gain 60 of it back and have trouble getting motivated to start loosing again intially. What I found that made working out fun again was playing video games and watching TV. It sounds odd but you can do both at once. Just get a stationary sit down exercise bike and while your doing your work out play something slower paced like an RPG or Katamari with a cordless controller. Before I hurt my back I did this for an hour a day or more and went on a mile and a half walk at a trail near our house and then ended the night be lifting weights while watching a show with my fiancee. I wasnt shedding 3 million pounds a month but I was loosing a few here and there and gaining muscle mass in my arms and legs all while eating food I enjoy and still playing games.

Like I said motivation is awesome and all, and if you want to be in uber shape then you have to have motivation out the ass. But for the normal joe that just wants to loose a few pounds, stay in moderate shape and keep a healthy body finding a hobby that you can do while working out makes a HUGE difference.
 
[quote name='MSI Magus']
Like I said motivation is awesome and all, and if you want to be in uber shape then you have to have motivation out the ass. But for the normal joe that just wants to loose a few pounds, stay in moderate shape and keep a healthy body finding a hobby that you can do while working out makes a HUGE difference.[/QUOTE]

That's definitely true. Joining a recreational sports league is another good way to get some exercise and have fun as well. Be it at the local YMCA or some other organization or playing some intramural sports for those of you in college.
 
[quote name='dmaul1114']That's definitely true. Joining a recreational sports league is another good way to get some exercise and have fun as well. Be it at the local YMCA or some other organization or playing some intramural sports for those of you in college.[/QUOTE]

Ya I know when I was playing baseball or softball even when I wasnt working out I was in much better shape. I plan on looking for a league again this year but ever since I was too old to play on kids teams it seems every team I look up is either fast pitch and really competitive or costs like $500 to join. I wish so bad that I could just go around knocking on doors rounding up people to get a pick up game like I did as a kid again. Sounds funny but if I knew it would work I would sooooo do it. I have always freaking loathed watching sports, but I would play football/baseball and a lot of other stuff over even video games 9/10 times.
 
Magus, I'm not sure what the situation is where you're located, but here in Boston it's possible to join softball (modified or slow-pitch) teams for relatively cheap. I found a modified team last year that was $90 for about 16 games + playoffs. I actually searched on craigslist under the activities section, so if you haven't looked there, it may be worth investigating.


Before I go and prescribe a workout plan, I need to know a few things. First, the maximum amount of time you can devote to each workout. Second, how long you have been seriously training with weights. Finally, I need to know what your goals are. When you get a chance, just get back to me on this and then I can draw something up for you. And to answer your question regarding Deadlift, squats and hang cleans, it would depend mostly on your goals, but also your current capabilities.
Click to expand...

Since I really only go during my lunch break at work, I'd say I can consistently do 40-minute workouts 4 times a week, and could do a 5th day for longer (I work Tuesday-Saturday, so Mondays are open for more time). I've been doing weight training for a while (since I got out of college in '07 and sporadically during my time at school), so I feel pretty comfortable with free weights.

My goal is just to get stronger without putting on too much weight, I guess. I'm about 164 right now and have been actually trying to get down to 160 (trying to get rid of some fat). If it was muscle, though, I wouldn't have a problem with putting on a few pounds. As far as the dead lifts, squats, and hang cleans go, I haven't really tested my max on those yet, but I usually do reps at 3x8 135-175lbs., 3x8 135-185lbs., and 3x5 115-135lbs., respectively.

Thanks in advance for your help, EDiddy.
 
[quote name='ricknub']Magus, I'm not sure what the situation is where you're located, but here in Boston it's possible to join softball (modified or slow-pitch) teams for relatively cheap. I found a modified team last year that was $90 for about 16 games + playoffs. I actually searched on craigslist under the activities section, so if you haven't looked there, it may be worth investigating.




Since I really only go during my lunch break at work, I'd say I can consistently do 40-minute workouts 4 times a week, and could do a 5th day for longer (I work Tuesday-Saturday, so Mondays are open for more time). I've been doing weight training for a while (since I got out of college in '07 and sporadically during my time at school), so I feel pretty comfortable with free weights.

My goal is just to get stronger without putting on too much weight, I guess. I'm about 164 right now and have been actually trying to get down to 160 (trying to get rid of some fat). If it was muscle, though, I wouldn't have a problem with putting on a few pounds. As far as the dead lifts, squats, and hang cleans go, I haven't really tested my max on those yet, but I usually do reps at 3x8 135-175lbs., 3x8 135-185lbs., and 3x5 115-135lbs., respectively.

Thanks in advance for your help, EDiddy.[/QUOTE]

I have checked craigslist for 2 or 3 years straight now. Closest I came was when I lived in Ann Arbor a team of UofM players were going to try and sneak me on to their team with a fake id but it never happened. I just started the search for this year and so far I atleast have 1 lead! Found a myspace for a co ed Toledo Softball team that said their looking for outfielders(which is what I always played). Seems like a casual friendly bunch so hopefully will work out for me. Makes me a little nervous though because it looks like they play fast pitch which I havnt done in like 12 years ;) and even back then I was the kid that got up and hit a home run or struck out every time, heh my coach used to call me Cecil fielder because of that.
 
Yes, MP3 player is a must. Drowns out the usually crappy music on the Gold's Gym Channel and all the dumbass conversations going on in the gym by people standing around and talking instead of lifting.
 
[quote name='pimpinc333']Eh. Its really not about enjoying the workout or weight lifting. You just got to do it with the mindset of better health and looking good.
[/quote]

I like it. It feels good alleviating stress at the gym, and I always feel great afterwards.
 
[quote name='lilboo']MMMM!
2 Bananas, 8oz of soy milk and cinnamon in a blender = fuckIN WIN

Bananas are good for post-workout, right?[/quote]

Bananas are supposed to be one of the best foods you can eat. Try some strawberries for flavor. They are also one of the most nutritious fruits you can eat.
 
[quote name='Layziebones']Bananas are supposed to be one of the best foods you can eat. Try some strawberries for flavor. They are also one of the most nutritious fruits you can eat.[/QUOTE]


I just scored some strawberries on sale along with some plain yogurt. I throw some walnuts in there and I'm set with my weekend breakfast.

So folks at work were talking and they told me they didn't think I could lose any more weight. That's exactly what I needed to keep me motivated. Since then I've been looking for anything to cut out. I replaced sugar with splenda and replaced light mayo with hot sauce.

Not that I use that much mayo or sugar, but I figure if I cut out alot of small things it will add up and help me.
 
Bananas are a runners best friends... a good portable source of potassium lowers chance of getting real sore... I generally eat a couple per day.

MP3 players like everyone else says are a MUST, nothing like some good tunes to help pump you up on a workout, I generally use my ipod or iphone at every workout.

Other motivation for me, depends on what Im trying to achieve at the time. I hit the wall emotionally right at the end of my marathon training... all those hours for one race, I was burnt out. Despite my eating often, ended up losing about 5 lbs as well, then take into account my bad knees and its understandable to want to lay low for a few weeks... Although mine consisted of running a half marathon and later another 5k race, I just wasnt working out 6 days a week.

Right not I want to gain another 7 lbs or so, get back to around 165, would like my abs to be better than they are right now. Im need to get tired of some of the junk Ive been eating as well, although most of the time my eating IS healthy. Taking some time off from racing as well, my wallet will thank me.
 
Anyone have any good lower ab workouts? Trying to get my lower abs more defined. The top 4 are off the hook but the bottom's are just too hard to work on.
 
For lower abs I've heard this works, lie down as if you were going to do crunches but put your legs together and raise them as high as they will go and go back down a little and go back up again. Just keep repeating that. I'm going to try that as well as bicycle crunches (along with my usual crunches and sit ups) and compare the results after a few months.

As for me, I've lost around 60 pounds last year and this year I'm just planning on gaining some muscle and getting ripped. I've started doing dumb bell exercises and bench presses this month and can't wait to see how I progress in 6 months. I've always wanted a great body and I'd love to have a decent build for the summer since I plan on going to an anime convention for the first time and may be going topless depending on who I cosplay as. The beach is also a perfect place to go in the summer and now I won't feel embarrassed when I take my shirt off.

There's a few other things I do too such as push ups and various other arm exercises but you get the idea. In response to some earlier posts I'd say I enjoy working out even if it can be hard some times. It is certainly a lot better than running IMO, I guess I just don't like cardio exercises too much because I get so out of breath and that weird feeling.
 
I cannot stand eating more than 1 banana a day. The smell gets to me after awhile and makes me actually full. I don't know why though :\
 
[quote name='pimpinc333']Anyone have any good lower ab workouts? Trying to get my lower abs more defined. The top 4 are off the hook but the bottom's are just too hard to work on.[/quote]

Do some Planks.
 
The hanging leg raises (with straps or in the captains chair) are pretty much the best for lower abs.

At home you can do various types of reverse crunches. Not as intense but they still hit the lower abs more than regular crunches.
 
[quote name='dmaul1114']The hanging leg raises (with straps or in the captains chair) are pretty much the best for lower abs.

At home you can do various types of reverse crunches. Not as intense but they still hit the lower abs more than regular crunches.[/QUOTE]

Thats what I do at the gym... I avoid the weight ab machines like the plague... I will modify the lifts to target the different areas of my abs... usually 10 knee raises, then ten knees raises each to left and to the right, then finally 10 leg lifts while keeping the legs straight... I do all of this in one set, try to get three sets in
 
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