Fitness and Exercise

[Animeniax]

Do you honestly work out or are you just browsing this thread looking for a chance to troll? When it comes to fitness you're probably the most misguided person i've ever encountered.

A little from column A, a little from column B. I get the point of isolation exercises to work a particular part of the body, but I think and have read that whole body exercises develop overall strength and balance better than isolation exercises.

I'm going to start working on deadlifts but I've spent time doing back raises so my back is kind of strong. I do find it is the weak point in my squatting since I fear blowing out a disc so I take it easier on squats than I could.

Also, Sapphy, adequate rest the night after a workout is essential to helping your body recover and build muscle.

[Sapphire]

So working out 5 days a week would get faster results than 6 days which would have faster results than 7 days?

[Animeniax]

Faster results in that you won't get injured or tired from the grind so you'll keep at it. Also, your muscles need time to recover between workouts.

Also, what are your goals from working out? Getting in shape, getting stronger, getting sexy, getting losing fat, etc. Because your goals will determine your workout frequency and style.

[Sapphire]

Yoga again today.

I totally failed at:



My goals for working out are to derive every positive effect possible (countless) from working out in the most time-efficient manner (and eating healthy... eating healthy is harder D: ).

[Animeniax]

That looks (and feels) like an advanced move. It's easier if you don't extend your upper arm, leave it resting on your side instead, and don't look up, look straight ahead in-line with your body. We did this pose after running stairs and hills... it's hard to maintain.

[Archangel]

Lol, that's no advanced move. It just takes oblique strength, which i'm sure Sapphi has none of.

[Sapphire]

Agreed with above comment about oblique strength! That, added to the fact that my arms were already tired as fuck.

But I shall persevere without making the pose easier for myself (Ani's suggestion). It's kind of fun to find something you can't do and then force yourself to be able to do it. And obliques are awesome, I feel terrible for neglecting them.

[Animeniax]

Like I said, you'll find it easier to do if you don't raise your arm into the air and don't look up. If you can do more of the basic move, you're working out the intended muscles, but also building confidence to do the more advanced moves like what you posted.

Start with this:
side_0819111210174.jpg
before moving to the side plank in your picture.

[Sapphire]

No thanks to making it easier/"confidence booster".

This?



Yeah, I'll have to build up to that.

[Buffalobiian]

It's not like there isn't any truth in what Ani's saying. You've got to learn to walk before you learn to run.

[Sapphire]

Sure, but I'll decide my limits. And I'm pretty sure I can practice leaning on one arm without handicaps.

(Take a hint. -_-)

[Uchiha Barles]

On the issue of muscle soreness, my instructor told me to make sure I eat two bananas a day and a glass of skim milk to make sure I'm getting enough potassium in my diet. If you work out seriously, you have to eat right both to have the proper energy for the work outs, and to recover well from them.

Sure, but I'll decide my limits. And I'm pretty sure I can practice leaning on one arm without handicaps.

(Take a hint. -_-)

There's wisdom to what both of you are saying here though. If you're going to do a move, then yeah, you should try your damndest to do it right. But doing it right means keeping proper form and proper balance of muscle tension for whatever particular move you're doing. Often times I've had to do some workout routines I thought were pretty brutal, and when I couldn't keep proper form for some of the things I had to, my instructor showed me alternate moves of lower difficulty that would train the muscle groups the original move was designed to. It's a hell of a lot better than getting injured.

On the other hand, people often underestimate what their actual limits are, and wimp out way before they should. There's a lot to be said about learning to push yourself when your brain is begging you to stop. If you've just started working out, take a bit of time to ease yourself into a routine, either working out fewer days (3 days a week with the actual routine, stretching and maybe lighter workout on a 4th day) or lowering the intensity of the workout you do initially. But if what you're taking is called "Beginner's Yoga" or something similar, I recommend the first option, and to push yourself like hell on the days you do workout. If you're not out of shape to the point of being handicapped, and the program developer knows what she's doing, then the intensity level should be properly gauged. In which case, push yourself and use this time to learn what those limits actually are.

[Animeniax]

Like Buff and Uchiha said, there's wussing out and there's wading in.

The pose I posted is plenty tough, and will help you isolate what you need help developing. The pose you posted requires a lot of core/oblique/back/shoulder and arm strength that you probably don't have at this point. But I'll relent. Do what you feel comfortable with, just keep in mind that injury will set you back and possibly stop you completely. Of course, everything I've said depends on the image I have of your physical self in my mind, which may or may not be accurate.

[Sapphire]

Of course, everything I've said depends on the image I have of your physical self in my mind, which may or may not be accurate.

Right. Being hassled due to someone's mental image is nothing short of annoying. :/

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That said, thanks for all the worries guys. Be assured, I have no desire to be retarded and rip my muscles and look like



But, of course, I have no interest in taking arbitrarily assigned short cuts just because yoga ain't daisies and easy sunshine. I like the challenge and it makes me hungry for more, not less confident.

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What's this about potassium? I'm pretty sure I'm low on potassium but I HATE bananas.

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Do you guys think working out while sore (but after 24-36 hours rest) is ideal? Or do the muscles have to "heal" fully (aka not sore anymore) for maximum efficiency? I'm assuming sore = still healing.

[Uchiha Barles]

Potassium is apparently instrumental in nerve impulse propagation, which regulates muscle contraction, and glucose transport to muscle cells, which helps in muscle recovery. My instructor told me that for some reason, getting sufficient amounts of potassium seems to be a problem for a lot of highly active people, so he made it a point to tell me to make sure that I ate bananas and drank milk to exceed the daily recommended intake of potassium.

Bananas are just an often mentioned source of potassium, and while good, it's not really even the best source. I happen to love bananas. Here's a list of other sources of potassium.

http://www.hoptechno.com/bookfoodsourceK.htm

[Animeniax]

@Sapphire: well whatever you decide on, I hope you see gains and improvement and keep at it.

I've found that I need an incentive to workout more than just to "be in shape". When I first was able to lose weight and get fit, it was because of a wedding on the beach that I was attending. I had 4 months to get in shape for a wedding in Cancun, and I didn't want to be the only guy wearing a shirt or just feeling out of shape amongst all the young and fit wedding guests. That provided me with a goal and made it easier to stick with a program. Maybe that kind of goal could help you stick with a program too.

[Buffalobiian]

Instead of going to the gym for cardio, I think I'll just do some HIIT sprints on the road now. I tried it on the treadmills, but they don't go fast enough to reach my max sprint speed, and their speed-changing is also rather awkward when you want to do it on the fly (and when you're just flat out running). I've found some mp3 cues that should also help me out.. stuff trying to set counters on your watch when you just want to die.

The fact that it's only like 20 minutes or less (I doubt I can last more than 12 minutes right now anyway... if even) as well as being a roadwork drill means I'll hopefully be motivated to do it more often (say, when I come home from uni and before my afternoon/evening shower). Taking the time to drive off to the gym before made it a real chore. I would have ran to the gym instead (which gets the best of both worlds), but I also hate running encumbered. Entry to the gym requires a towel and a card, and you'd be stupid to not bring a water bottle.

Diet's also a problem. There's simply not enough bloody room in the freezer to put more than a few days of vegetables in there. My fridge broke early this month as well, so that threw things out of whack. Maybe I'll use the situation to my advantage and throw out any frozen food that's gone off. Some dumplings (sadly) went bad already.

[Sapphire]

Instead of going to the gym for cardio, I think I'll just do some HIIT sprints on the road now. I tried it on the treadmills, but they don't go fast enough to reach my max sprint speed, and they're speed-changing is also rather awkward when you want to do it on the fly (and when you're just flat out running).

Same. I naturally have the opportunity to run about 20-30 minutes a day just because of commuting to school/work, etc.

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Maybe that kind of goal could help you stick with a program too.

My goals for working out are to derive every positive long- and short-term effect possible (countless) from working out in the most time-efficient manner. Immediately noticed effects include increased stamina, less stress/more positive mood, increased strength, increased energy, easier ability to focus.

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Thanks, Uchiha. I'm definitely paying attention to my K intake now.

[Buffalobiian]

Same. I naturally have the opportunity to run about 20-30 minutes a day just because of commuting to school/work, etc.

As much as I would like to use my commuting time to exercise, I will never do it because:

1) I will be encumbered, and
2) I will be sweaty, smelly and uncomfortable as hell.

Potassium is needed for recovering from action potentials... I didn't know it mattered that much in muscle recovery :S.

Just eat your dark, leafy vegetables.

[Animeniax]

I'm with Buff on this. I used to ride my bike to work and while it felt great on the ride, it sucked once I got to work. We didn't have showers available and I wouldn't have had the time anyway, but I'd bring a change of clothes. Luckily I worked alone on a night shift, so there was no one to worry about offending with my smell. But it was still uncomfortable and not ideal.

I hate working out my shoulders. I might have mentioned it, but it always results in tightness of the shoulders and neck the following day, which gives me terrible tension headaches.