Support NeoGAF

[Felidae_Khrall]

Just over the last week I've been doing an upper body workout. Standing arm curls with seperate hand weights (20 lbs each) doing 50-60 reps a day.

Is that enough ? Should I be doing more? I used to work out in high school, but after that it's been downhill for my body. I miss my 20k bike rides every day and being able to run for more than a minute without being out of breath. I can still swim ok, but I can't go 4 lengths of the pool underwater anymore. I. Want. It. Back.

I'm fairly out of shape in terms of cardio vascular. i'm not very overweight, just underworked.

Any tips on what I should do ? I just started with the upper body because it's the most in shape and I'm trying to get my cardio vasc. kickstarted so I can do more lower body/biking workout.

 

[Incognito]

I workout 3-4 times a week with a personal trainer. 50-60 reps for just a standing arm curl? That's a bit much... I usually do about 24-36 on each arm, with each set being 12 reps. Start off light, then move up a weight, then last set move up another weight but slow down the reps..

 

[bionic77]

Just over the last week I've been doing an upper body workout. Standing arm curls with seperate hand weights (20 lbs each) doing 50-60 reps a day.

Is that enough ? Should I be doing more? I used to work out in high school, but after that it's been downhill for my body. I miss my 20k bike rides every day and being able to run for more than a minute without being out of breath. I can still swim ok, but I can't go 4 lengths of the pool underwater anymore. I. Want. It. Back.

I'm fairly out of shape in terms of cardio vascular. i'm not very overweight, just underworked.

Any tips on what I should do ? I just started with the upper body because it's the most in shape and I'm trying to get my cardio vasc. kickstarted so I can do more lower body/biking workout.

I know how you feel man. Just be patient, it takes a lot longer then you think it should to get back to where you used to be. I tore my ACL in 99, got it repaired in 00 and then I didn't do much for the next 2 years while I worked. I started really working out seriously at the beginning of the summer, playing fullcourt basketball at least 4 times a week and then I try and hit the gym 4 times a week. After about 3 months of this I am in pretty good shape, still not where I was in high school or college pre-injury, but I am slowly getting there.

I suggest you do a full body workout too and a lot more cardio. Also, make sure to start out slow if you are out of shape cardio wise and slowly but surely keep adding more and more to it. Depending on how out of shape you are don't set any unrealistic goals or become too impatient, you gotta just stick with it and eventually you will see some huge results. At the beginning of the summer I could barely jump and I was out of breath after about 5 minutes on the court, now I am blocking shots left and right and go play for a good 2 hours.

 

[Felidae_Khrall]

I know how you feel man. Just be patient, it takes a lot longer then you think it should to get back to where you used to be. I tore my ACL in 99, got it repaired in 00 and then I didn't do much for the next 2 years while I worked. I started really working out seriously at the beginning of the summer, playing fullcourt basketball at least 4 times a week and then I try and hit the gym 4 times a week. After about 3 months of this I am in pretty good shape, still not where I was in high school or college pre-injury, but I am slowly getting there.

I suggest you do a full body workout too and a lot more cardio. Also, make sure to start out slow if you are out of shape cardio wise and slowly but surely keep adding more and more to it. Depending on how out of shape you are don't set any unrealistic goals or become too impatient, you gotta just stick with it and eventually you will see some huge results. At the beginning of the summer I could barely jump and I was out of breath after about 5 minutes on the court, now I am blocking shots left and right and go play for a good 2 hours.

Ok, any suggestions on what kind of Full body Workout ? certain exercises ? I jogged a full track length yesterday and was pretty out of breath. (although to be fair, it's so freakin HOT here right now, i was sweating like a pig from the 5 minute walk down in the sun.)

 

[Incognito]

Ok, any suggestions on what kind of Full body Workout ? certain exercises ? I jogged a full track length yesterday and was pretty out of breath. (although to be fair, it's so freakin HOT here right now, i was sweating like a pig from the 5 minute walk down in the sun.)

start out with doing cardio, like 15-20 minutes on a treadmill. then, move on to weights. my trainer usually starts me off with back exercices, then onto legs(curls, laying down curls) then squats, then the WORST exercise ever invented by man:

the lunges.

i swear, after lunges, i just wanna fall into a bed and sleep all day. but, since i'm paying $500 a month, i figure i'll keep going... after lunges, i do shoulder raises, tricep dips(tons) and then pushups, finally end it with a slew of ab exercises. this is the total body workout.. i konw i'm forgetting a few, tho.

once i'm done with the weights, they have me do another 10 minutes on the bike.

 

[Felidae_Khrall]

I workout 3-4 times a week with a personal trainer. 50-60 reps for just a standing arm curl? That's a bit much... I usually do about 24-36 on each arm, with each set being 12 reps. Start off light, then move up a weight, then last set move up another weight but slow down the reps..

Well Like i said, it's more my Cardio out than anything else. I used to do discus and shotputt in high school I can do 10 reps each set without feeling strain on my arm, and space them out 5-6 times during the day. They're only 20lbs each after all

 

[bionic77]

Ok, any suggestions on what kind of Full body Workout ? certain exercises ? I jogged a full track length yesterday and was pretty out of breath. (although to be fair, it's so freakin HOT here right now, i was sweating like a pig from the 5 minute walk down in the sun.)

You want to imrprove your cardio right? Well, a great way to start that is low impact is to ride a bike and it is fun too. Also acceptable is running or swimming a ton of laps. Remember to start out slow and keep working your way up. Other then cardio I recommend you try and work out as many parts of your body as you can in the gym. I personally like to focus on legs one day and then upper body the next. If you are at school, they should have a trainer there who can help you set up a workout and show you how to use the machines.

For me, I get bored running or swimming laps, so I try and play sports with a high cardio workout like tennis or basketball. Even then, if you are out of shape it will be painful at first, but stick with it and you will see some big results in a few months (or weeks depending on what shape you are in).

 

[Incognito]

shit, my bad, read you wrong.

 

[bionic77]

start out with doing cardio, like 15-20 minutes on a treadmill. then, move on to weights. my trainer usually starts me off with back exercices, then onto legs(curls, laying down curls) then squats, then the WORST exercise ever invented by man:

the lunges.

i swear, after lunges, i just wanna fall into a bed and sleep all day. but, since i'm paying $500 a month, i figure i'll keep going... after lunges, i do shoulder raises, tricep dips(tons) and then pushups, finally end it with a slew of ab exercises. this is the total body workout.. i konw i'm forgetting a few, tho.

once i'm done with the weights, they have me do another 10 minutes on the bike.

$500 a month? Damn that is a lot dude, what the hell do you get for that much?

 

[Incognito]

$500 a month? Damn that is a lot dude, what the hell do you get for that much?

it's pretty intensive, and i like the fact that they're completely aware of my illness, and can work me out in ways that'll most benefit me. you also get nutritional coaching and massages... but in the end, it's a matter of trust and understanding. i don't trust myself at local gyms(even though I have a membership) to do the right exercises and so forth, and the trainers there wouldn't be as understanding. the place i'm going to is pretty small and very personal, and i like and enjoy that.

i started in january with them, weighing about 126lbs, and now i'm at 149lbs with decreasing body fat. considering the fact it's damn near impossible to gain weight with the condition i have, i'm very pleased with the results, and my parents love the results, too.

last edit: my younger brother(no illness) signed up after seeing my results, and he threw up on the first day because of the intensity of the workout! he played football all through HS, too. he's 20, and i'm 21.

 

[xabre]

I can do 10 reps each set without feeling strain on my arm, and space them out 5-6 times during the day. They're only 20lbs each after all

That's pretty pointless then. Unless you have to work (not strain) to lift the weight I don't think there is much of a point. I believe the golden rule is that after you can do eight or so reps with relative ease it's time to increase the weight. Oh yeah do some barbell curls too. I found I made quicker gains with these than I ever did with dumbells.

 

[El Papa]

50-60 reps a day is way too much, especially for the same muscle group, your not letting your muscle recover and rebuild. You're only supposed to work out each muscle group once every week or so. I'm starting this workout which follows that principle: http://www.johnstonefitness.com/misc/MAX-OT.pdf. This workout seems ideal to me, since it doesn't take much time at all. I used to do full body workouts that would take almost 2 hours every other day. You can't keep that up after a while. This one is fast and intense.

 

[White Man]

I run 5, sometimes 6 days a week. I like it and I've built up a lotta lotta endurance. I'm thinking about joining a gym, but what I REALLY want to do is crew/rowing again. The only problem is that I'm so skinny now. I need muscle if I'm going to get back into that. And I'll need to start eating a lot more. I'd really have to change a lot about my lifestyle.

k-