The get fit, stay fit thread

[TheScarf]

Bought one of they slendertoner belts from Amazon.

Quite costly but hopefully worth it.

Unless you eat well and do regular cardio (I'm talking like 6 out of 7 days) then you've just wasted your money. Apologies in advance if you already do however.

[TurbineTon]

Unless you eat well and do regular cardio (I'm talking like 6 out of 7 days) then you've just wasted your money. Apologies in advance if you already do however.

My diet is decent.

i play football every day of the week and i intend on wearing this whilst going for runs.

Nothing ventured nothing gained.

[smpar]

Any tips on how to get a six pack in seven weeks before my holiday, I keep clicking on these pop up adverts on porn sites but all they do is empty my bank account

There's a couple you can do at home, without any equipment whatsoever.

You've probably heard of the 'Plank?' You lie in the press-up position, but with you arms creating an A shape, with your fists meeting below your mouth and the arms should be a few inches apart below your chest. Hold that position for about 40 seconds and repeat a couple of times, or when you throw up, your call

<<< The 'Plank.'

Another one is a bit simpler to do, and probably more effective. Lie on your back (you can sit on your hands for comfort, it's not cheating.) Put your feet together and raise them 6 inches above the ground. It hurts like a bitch the first couple of times, but it gets easier. Until it gets easier, do this for about 30-40 seconds. And then after a few times you should be able to do it for as long as 90 seconds solid without putting your feet on the ground.

After this you can raise them at a 45 degree angle for 5 seconds, back down to 6 inches for 5 seconds, raise them for 5 seconds etc..

[ShakehandsTom - DFC]

I did the Men's 10k on Sunday there, in a time of 55mins 10seconds. Hoping to go to the gym tomorrow night, then probably a swim on Friday after work. Getting quite into it now!

[11thHour]

I started back in the gym on Monday night after a good few months away. Quite enjoyed it but didnt enjoy how busy it was

Need to get to a smaller gym methinks. Especially since i've stopped swimming and using the steam room etc, so im paying more for stuff I never use.

[Mallo_Madrid]

For the first time probably ever, i'm going into pre-season training fitter than I was when the season ended.

I've been doing two 10k runs and a game of indoor 5's each week. Massively felt the benefit after our first session, short sharper stuff i'll most likely find fairly difficult to begin with but i can live with that.

Mon' the fitness.

[TurbineTon]

I had a personal trainer last year and into some of this year. I had to give it up becuase my football started back. Now that my footie is finished i fully intend on going to the gym 3 times per week. I Started last night. Started on the treadmills for 20 mins. Once i had finished the treadmills i went straight to the free weights. Started off by benching 60 ( 20 on each side and 20 on the bar) did 3 sets of that and then did negatives ( Start with the bar at the top and you have to lower it in 5 seconds then you get help to lift it back up and so on. I then did some bicept curls using three different size weights. 8 reps on the highest with each arm, 8 reps on the middle with each arm and same again with the smallest weight.

Went to bed last night feeling fine, woke up this morning and i'm feeling the obvious pain. Slept on my arm in a funny position and now i can't straighten it.

Bought myself some protien to help aid my recovery and allow muscle to build after the gym. Next sesh is thursday and then saturday.

[ICTChris]

I've been in the gym fairly regularly over the last week or so, trying to burn some fat before the holiday. I generally do time on the rower and cross trainer before using a stationary bike for HIIT. I also do weights, I tend to use the weighted rowing machine with cables, the lat pull machine and then do free weights. I have been doing squats and deadlifts every session as well.

WHY DO I NOT LOOK LIKE THE MEN FROM THE POP UPS ON PORN SITE, TELL ME WHY P&B???????

[Shed7the3rd]

I saw this thread and thought I'd throw up my own achievements!

Jumped on the scales at the start of the year and had hit 20 stone (fat b*****d!), so decided drastic action was needed!

Decided to hit the weights again and sort my nutrition. Went with a low carb (except on training days where I allow myself "complex" low-GI carbs, so that I can have the energy to make my lifts) and high protein eating plan. Kept the calories in a daily deficit and stuck to 3 meals a day + my 3 daily protein shakes (slow release caseine-protein shake in the morning and before bed + a whey protein shake immediately after a workout).

Worked out a work-out plan to suit my routine (also drafted in a mate to work out with, so had to work out which days we were both available). As it turned out, we had to go with a 4 consecutive days of weight training, followed by 3 days rest. To ensure as much of a rest on each muscle group as possible we opted for a 2 days routine which we do twice in the week.

Day 1 - Chest, tris, shoulders, and core/abs (Monday + Saturday)

Day 2 - Back, biceps, and legs (Tuesday + Sunday)

Day 1 being a "push day" and Day 2 being a "pull day", so this gives the "pull" muscles a chance to rest while we train the "push" muscles, and vice versa.

I also try to get in 2 games of badminton a week, though due to time constraints of late, this hasn't been as frequent as it should be.

It's been working. Feeling a lot better for the clean eating, and also for the weight training. Noticing size increases and definition in my arms and legs. Also lifting about double what I started lifting just 5 months ago. Still got some fat to strip before I'll see definition in the abs and chest, but have lost 3 stone and 8lbs so far.

May just keep you all up to date on here as to my future progress.

My twitter has regular-ish updates, so if you fancy following me, it's @mikestewartbass

Cheers!

[TurbineTon]

I saw this thread and thought I'd throw up my own achievements!

Jumped on the scales at the start of the year and had hit 20 stone (fat b*****d!), so decided drastic action was needed!

Decided to hit the weights again and sort my nutrition. Went with a low carb (except on training days where I allow myself "complex" low-GI carbs, so that I can have the energy to make my lifts) and high protein eating plan. Kept the calories in a daily deficit and stuck to 3 meals a day + my 3 daily protein shakes (slow release caseine-protein shake in the morning and before bed + a whey protein shake immediately after a workout).

Worked out a work-out plan to suit my routine (also drafted in a mate to work out with, so had to work out which days we were both available). As it turned out, we had to go with a 4 consecutive days of weight training, followed by 3 days rest. To ensure as much of a rest on each muscle group as possible we opted for a 2 days routine which we do twice in the week.

Day 1 - Chest, tris, shoulders, and core/abs (Monday + Saturday)

Day 2 - Back, biceps, and legs (Tuesday + Sunday)

Day 1 being a "push day" and Day 2 being a "pull day", so this gives the "pull" muscles a chance to rest while we train the "push" muscles, and vice versa.

I also try to get in 2 games of badminton a week, though due to time constraints of late, this hasn't been as frequent as it should be.

It's been working. Feeling a lot better for the clean eating, and also for the weight training. Noticing size increases and definition in my arms and legs. Also lifting about double what I started lifting just 5 months ago. Still got some fat to strip before I'll see definition in the abs and chest, but have lost 3 stone and 8lbs so far.

May just keep you all up to date on here as to my future progress.

My twitter has regular-ish updates, so if you fancy following me, it's @mikestewartbass

Cheers!

Thats excellent mate. Well done.

Big improvements by the sounds of things.

[Shed7the3rd]

I had a personal trainer last year and into some of this year. I had to give it up becuase my football started back. Now that my footie is finished i fully intend on going to the gym 3 times per week. I Started last night. Started on the treadmills for 20 mins. Once i had finished the treadmills i went straight to the free weights. Started off by benching 60 ( 20 on each side and 20 on the bar) did 3 sets of that and then did negatives ( Start with the bar at the top and you have to lower it in 5 seconds then you get help to lift it back up and so on. I then did some bicept curls using three different size weights. 8 reps on the highest with each arm, 8 reps on the middle with each arm and same again with the smallest weight.

Went to bed last night feeling fine, woke up this morning and i'm feeling the obvious pain. Slept on my arm in a funny position and now i can't straighten it.

Bought myself some protien to help aid my recovery and allow muscle to build after the gym. Next sesh is thursday and then saturday.

If you're doing chest-work, try not to do biceps in the same workout. Working the chest requires the use of your triceps rather than your biceps, so work tris with chest. Also do shoulders on Chest and tri days as they are all used in compound "push" exercises (such as bench press, standing shoulder press, incline press etc).

Work your biceps on the same days as you work your back, as all back exercises will work the biceps too. This will give your biceps a proper workout.

Oh, and allow at least a day's rest between working specific muscle groups.

Oh, and another key thing to remember - it's seldom large biceps that give you big arms, it's large triceps. Triceps make up 70% of your upper arm. Work them as hard as you do your biceps and you'll see good results. Do weighted dips and narrow-grip benchpress as well as your other "push" compound exercises to really build your triceps. And as tempting as it is to do them, try to avoid tricep isolation exercises (over-head arm extensions, tricep cable pull-downs) as these tend to put a lot of strain on the elbows and can result in injuries which will hinder you in all your workouts - stick to the compound lifts for tricep workouts!

And never neglect your legs - squats and calf-raises are 2 leg exercises you should be doing as a bare minimum. Don't go into either without watching Youtube videos and studying good form. Then practice your own form without weight. Than add weight steadily over time. Get the form wrong, and you will injure yourself.

I think that's about it from me.

@mikestewartbass - twitter.

[fraser_smfc]

This is my first visit to this thread, there's some great insights and advice from many, and I'd like to offer my congratulations to all those who have stuck at the fitness and reaped the benefits.

I'm not long back from a month abroad, and spent every day swimming and played a fair chunk of water polo too. It felt good to keep fit like that, the last few months I have been bogged down in uni work which results in little free time. So my girlfriend very kindly got me a month's membership at my Uni gym to keep up my fitness and essentially get me out of the house. To set the scene I'm about 5"11, and 11 stone give or take. I've always been on the skinny side, but in the last year or so I've started to fill out slightly. Weight has never been an issue, I've always been able to eat what I like and not put on a single pound. So my main goal has primarily to to tone up and to build up some muscle, and secondly to build up my cardio vascular fitness to be able to compete for longer than 10 minutes at fives.

So I've been at the gym for two days now and well firstly, I'm aching. I understand this is a good thing, but I'm in pain. But I'm noticing the difference right away, and I hope that this improves. I also lasted far longer on the treadmill today than yesterday, so if I keep this up for the next 3 weeks I will see a bigger improvement. The only downer is after this I won't really have the time or money to keep it up. But it's a start I guess.

[TurbineTon]

This is my first visit to this thread, there's some great insights and advice from many, and I'd like to offer my congratulations to all those who have stuck at the fitness and reaped the benefits.

I'm not long back from a month abroad, and spent every day swimming and played a fair chunk of water polo too. It felt good to keep fit like that, the last few months I have been bogged down in uni work which results in little free time. So my girlfriend very kindly got me a month's membership at my Uni gym to keep up my fitness and essentially get me out of the house. To set the scene I'm about 5"11, and 11 stone give or take. I've always been on the skinny side, but in the last year or so I've started to fill out slightly. Weight has never been an issue, I've always been able to eat what I like and not put on a single pound. So my main goal has primarily to to tone up and to build up some muscle, and secondly to build up my cardio vascular fitness to be able to compete for longer than 10 minutes at fives.

So I've been at the gym for two days now and well firstly, I'm aching. I understand this is a good thing, but I'm in pain. But I'm noticing the difference right away, and I hope that this improves. I also lasted far longer on the treadmill today than yesterday, so if I keep this up for the next 3 weeks I will see a bigger improvement. The only downer is after this I won't really have the time or money to keep it up. But it's a start I guess.

If your really sore why dont you enquire about some protein. it helps aid recovery whilst at the same time helps build muscle after the gym. The protein breaks up the lactive acid in your arms and get's rid of the pain in a way. Pain wil always be there to an extent but thats just because your pushing your body in ways you perhaps haven't before. Keep it up though.

[Maxriddles]

Been doing shorter gym sessions this week - generally start with either a cross trainer or rower for 10-15 minutes or so, then do weights and then finish off doing HIIT on the stationary bike for 15 minutes or so. I hurt my back a few weeks ago so today was the first time doing deadlifts and squats, my back feels fine now, touch wood.

Any tips on how to get a six pack in seven weeks before my holiday, I keep clicking on these pop up adverts on porn sites but all they do is empty my bank account

Diet is the key to getting a six pack and you don't have to go crazy on ab work either. If you really want a six pack you'll have to have a low fat diet and stay off the drink. Exercise wise what is best may depend on how long you can spend at the gym, how often you can go to the gym, and how much body fat you need to shift.

Please note, being partial to a few beers, or a bottlle of wine and the odd takeaway at the weekend means that I am not in possession of a six pack despite training six days a week and having a relatively good diet (my age may be a factor too ). You really do need a very clean diet to get one.

[young_bairn]

Diet is the key to getting a six pack and you don't have to go crazy on ab work either. If you really want a six pack you'll have to have a low fat diet and stay off the drink. Exercise wise what is best may depend on how long you can spend at the gym, how often you can go to the gym, and how much body fat you need to shift.

Please note, being partial to a few beers, or a bottlle of wine and the odd takeaway at the weekend means that I am not in possession of a six pack despite training six days a week and having a relatively good diet (my age may be a factor too ). You really do need a very clean diet to get one.

This. Unfortunately.

[fraser_smfc]

If your really sore why dont you enquire about some protein. it helps aid recovery whilst at the same time helps build muscle after the gym. The protein breaks up the lactive acid in your arms and get's rid of the pain in a way. Pain wil always be there to an extent but thats just because your pushing your body in ways you perhaps haven't before. Keep it up though.

Cheers TT. Was thinking about protein shakes earlier on, may enquire further about them.

[Culture]

Hi guys, first time poster here! I can only echo what has been said about the diet, you really need to pretty much cut out saturated fat from your diet altogether or you have no chance.

fraser_smfc if you are going to look into protein shakes, there are a number of different kinds to look at . It really depends what you want to do, if you are looking to stay lean or get a "cut" physique then look for one that has a low amount of carbs or if your looking for one to help you bulk up go for high carbs and calories. Like I said all depends on what you are looking to achieve.

[Greggy Wallace]

Anyone got any good back workouts with barbell & dumb bells?

Getting bored of the one I'm currently using.

[Culture]

Anyone got any good back workouts with barbell & dumb bells?

Getting bored of the one I'm currently using.

What is it you currently do for your back?

I would always recommend squats and deadlifts (not on the same day). I know you specifically mentioned barbell and dumbbells but I would also do as many wide grip chin ups as you can.

[Gaz]

Anyone got any good back workouts with barbell & dumb bells?

Getting bored of the one I'm currently using.

Do you have a platform?