Fitness, exercise and sports.

Akratus

Akratus

Bleep bloop.
Here's my AMAZING SUPER SPECIAL EXERCISE ROUTINE FOR NERDS WITH SOUNDTRACK!

1. Guild Wars 2 - Norn Theme
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JowB5xSK3h4
Jumping jacks - As many as you can throughout the song.

2. Conan the Barbarian - Anvil of Crom
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INE9M5NYEDI (1:05 onwards)
Pushups and Lunges - Pushups untill you can't no more (remember to put your knees on the ground if it gets too hard) and then switch to lunges.

3. Terminator 2 - Main Titles
Planking on feet and elbows - Seems easy right? Wrong. Hold the position as long as possible.

4. (Optional hard mode) Skyrim - Dovahkiin
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVVXNDv8rY0
Double crunches - This means you pull up your head as well as your legs, towards your stomache.

Look up the exercises if you don't know what they are, and to make sure you get the technique right. (Technique is everything)

"I refer to my hands, feet and body as the tools of the trade. The hands and feet must be sharpened and improved daily to be efficient." -Bruce Lee
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Also, I head out with my brother and the folks over to the capital city of friesland every sunday morning. On the outskirts of that city there's a piece of terrain owned by the Survival club Leeuwarden. If you don't know what Survival is, it's only the greatest sport ever made. First you go run and do regular exercises for half an hour. We have a lot of variety in this. For example, the week before last week we split up, one group doing some rugby and the other going swimming and running, switching around afterwards. But the main course here is climbing some real manly constructions. You learn how to put your feet up in a rope, in a way where you can lean on them, pull yourself up and do it again. Using this you climb over the log the rope is on. That is the staple, the bread and butter, of survival. Besides that we got nets, tires, you name it. It's gosh darn fun.
 
Seems like a good general workout, plus cardio. I have some issues with crunches though - they are shit for your back if you have back problems and there are better exercises for abs:



A few years ago i ditched weight exercises and went for the pull-up bar. If you want to be flexible, strong and have a good looking body, you can't go wrong with some street calisthenics. As my legs and back are shot, i mainly do all kinds of pull-ups and dips. With a pull-up bar and a dip-bar i can pretty much work all of my muscle groups: biceps, triceps, chest (though it's probably the one thing that is a bit lacking), shoulders, back even a bit of legs.

I would also point out a few things for those who seldom work out, or are beginners:

1) It's better to do most exercises slowly(it's much harder too, though it's also good to some times mix up the speeds for explosive power) with controlled movement up and down! That means if you do push ups for example, the down movement is of the same importance as up, you don't just fall down releasing the tension in your muscles, but move down steady, controlled movement. This is true for almost all exercises.

2) More is not always better and usually with people who don't have much experience it's worse, because they get caught up in wanting to impress everyone by doing exercises with sloppy form (this happens all the time) and thus waste their time and often can get injured. It's better to do a few good push ups, than 10 lousy ones.

3) Don't do the same exercises for very long periods, your muscles get acustomed to things you do all the time and thus you will reach a limit, where you won't get any gains.

4) If you don't have anyone experienced to show you how to do them, try to avoid exercises that put strain on your back and knee joints. You can seriously inujre yourself with that shit.

5) Don't overtrain. Using the same muscle groups every day, won't let them fully recover and you will not gain anything from it. 3 days of exercise a week is plenty enough (try doing exercises for different muscle groups on different days). Of course it has to be a good exercises session, not talking on the phone or searching for buggers in your nose.

6) If you don't want to be a bodybuilder or a professional athlete you have no use for supplements, food is enough, food and sleep.

Hope this might be of use to anyone.
 
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AskWazzup said:
6) If you don't want to be a bodybuilder or a professional athlete you have no use for supplements, food is enough, food and sleep.

Hope this might be of use to anyone.
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I agree with your other stuff but not 100% sure about this one. I eat some protein stuff, some stuff called quark and some powder form protein. But I guess if you have a healthy diet with enough protein in it then in that case I guess extra protein might not be necessary. I use them because it helps after training to gain strenght.

I do some calisthenics, I also do some weight and other gym stuff. I know that I would benefit from a more regular work-out schedule. The holy trinity of getting into shape: enough food, enough sleep, enough training.

I am more of a running-type of person, I enjoy running and walking fast. Uphill running is very good for joints.

Edit. Also that Survival - thing that Akratus mentioned sounds interesting. We have these things called Ultimate Run over here, similar to Tough Mudder in USA. It's basically a track with different obstacles and hazards that you have to clear as fast as possible. I've never done those myself but it's an interesting concept. In the military we had the 'monkey track' that was an obstacle course. It wasn't fun in the military but when you do things of your own free will it can be fun.

The electric shock-hazard in Tough Mudder. Not sure if taking electric shocks will make you any fitter though.
 
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AskWazzup said:
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I gotta say, that video inspired me. Since physical activity is just NOT my forte, my ability to assess and improve my workout regiment has always been restricted to being shown what I can do, and watching what others do, so since I have an aversion to groups and I've never hired a personal trainer, my methods have always been pretty limited. But that video made me think of heading out to the local park and using their bars for those midsection exercises in place of hitting up the gym... from time to time, anyway.
 
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SnapSlav said:
AskWazzup said:
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I gotta say, that video inspired me. Since physical activity is just NOT my forte, my ability to assess and improve my workout regiment has always been restricted to being shown what I can do, and watching what others do, so since I have an aversion to groups and I've never hired a personal trainer, my methods have always been pretty limited. But that video made me think of heading out to the local park and using their bars for those midsection exercises in place of hitting up the gym... from time to time, anyway.
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Well. i never had a personal trainer either, though when i was weightlifting i did get a few pointers.

You can actually do very much with your own body weight, what i found is you can simply change leverage of the same body weight exercise to get much stronger resistance, which would be the same as increasing the weight. Also what i found is that pull ups and chin ups are amazing - my back from pull ups alone is wider than it ever was, they give you this V shape which looks much more impressive (at least imo) than bulging biceps (which you also get from pull ups and chin ups) or chest.

If you don't have anyone to suggest you how to do exercises, read them up on internet, watch them and when you do them, there is a rule of thumb with any exercise - if you feel any unnatural pressure on joints, or ligaments, or any pain - don't do it, or do it in a different way, where you don't get that feeling. After many years of searching, this is how i finally found the right exercises for my back (which is fucked), if my back feels in any way uncomfortable in the motion, i don't do it, since severe back pain is a very good motivator lol.

Some body weight exercises:



Very, very good suggestions for all of your body, i watch this guy pretty often, he has great knowledge in human body:

http://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0ASolYU_Yh3yShLFQC0stg
 
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AskWazzup said:
Well. i never had a personal trainer either, though when i was weightlifting i did get a few pointers.
[...]
If you don't have anyone to suggest you how to do exercises, read them up on internet, watch them and when you do them...
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Well I specifically listed a lack of personal trainers as an example, since they're the "most readily available" as you hire them for that specific purpose, even though you could really ask around anywhere. But that takes a social aptitude I lack, and an absence of certain other hindrances that make it difficult for me. But that's not to say I haven't looked into it, just hadn't seen those particular "moves" in the first video you linked. I saw a few regiments by some guys who'd use this children's playground as their own personal gym, and they did this weird thing where whoever was off the bars would do some kind of punches on whoever was on them, forcing them to flex and tighten themselves up unpredictably while they were working out. It was interesting, to say the least (and it was just hilarious to see ripped black dudes covered in tattoos with stereotypical gang attire hanging out in a neon-colored plastic children's playground XD) and I found it because Furious Pete did a collaboration with them, as is usually the case with finding ANYTHING on the internet (or more specifically, youtube). You watch a video, then a few hours later, you wonder to yourself, "How the FUCK did I end up watching this from where I started a little while ago?"
 
Mannnn, you guys don't know what you're missing out on.

It's early in the morning, a warm 19 celsius (real men use celsius), a cool breeze rustling the leaves of trees, a few clouds going by. Shorts - check, slippers or some convenient showear - check, loose t-shirt - check. Take the keys and that's it (well you got to take some water, always keep hydrated!). Now heading out to the local park, The Pull Up Bar. Taking off the t-shirt, some stretches and then on to the exercises. No weight to lug around, only your body, cool morning odor of trees and summer greens.

Got to say, i feel great after these exercise routines in the park. I get a suntan, some great exercises and stretches and get to breathe some fresh air. After an exercise like that my body just feels refreshed.
 
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My goal is to put on weight, and while I do like bodyweight exercises weightlifting simply works better for that.
I also started playing rugby, which is quite a lot of fun.
 
Hassknecht said:
My goal is to put on weight, and while I do like bodyweight exercises weightlifting simply works better for that.
I also started playing rugby, which is quite a lot of fun.
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No doubt, i'm not proclaiming that they are superior. Though you can actually gain quite a lot of muscle mass with body exercises only, not that i'm saying you should. How much do you weigh? I'm about 94 kg (205~ pounds) on 191 cm (6'3).
 
I did gain my first 5kg basically through swimming and push-ups, so that definitely works.
I'm currently about 85kg at 190cm. My body is naturally slender, before I started exercising I weighed 69kg. No fat at all possible, muscle mass is the only thing I can gain (and even that takes a long time).
 
Hassknecht said:
I did gain my first 5kg basically through swimming and push-ups, so that definitely works.
I'm currently about 85kg at 190cm. My body is naturally slender, before I started exercising I weighed 69kg. No fat at all possible, muscle mass is the only thing I can gain (and even that takes a long time).
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I think the problem is that you're just not eating enough. Many people claim they can eat a ton and not get fat. That might be partially true, but you're body cannot burn limitless amount of calories. Usually people who say they are very hard gainers, eat less, even though they claim otherwise. A few years ago when i dropped down to 82 kg, i had a hard time gaining weight back, because i got used to eating different amounts of food. Once my diet changed, i ballooned to 98 kg~. Now i trimmed down a bit, but it's good to have some fat on you, since your body needs it in stress situations and besides, i can go on for longer periods of time, without exercises and the atrophy of my muscles is much slower.
 
I really do eat a lot. It's not that the body burns all those calories, it's that the body doesn't get those calories out of the food. I guess my metabolism is highly inefficient :D
 
AskWazzup said:
Mannnn, you guys don't know what you're missing out on.

It's early in the morning, a warm 19 celsius (real men use celsius), a cool breeze rustling the leaves of trees, a few clouds going by. Shorts - check, slippers or some convenient showear - check, loose t-shirt - check. Take the keys and that's it (well you got to take some water, always keep hydrated!). Now heading out to the local park, The Pull Up Bar. Taking off the t-shirt, some stretches and then on to the exercises. No weight to lug around, only your body, cool morning odor of trees and summer greens.

Got to say, i feel great after these exercise routines in the park. I get a suntan, some great exercises and stretches and get to breathe some fresh air. After an exercise like that my body just feels refreshed.
Click to expand...

Oh I hear you man, I love nothing more than going Survivalling sunday morning. I usually get that natural high afterwards, makes me feel great.
 
Rugby training has showed me the joys of isometric exercises (mixed with normal exercises).
For example, instead of just doing push ups, go down to 90° in your elbows, hold for five seconds, lower fully, hold five seconds, go back up, lower to 90° and so on. Maybe add in some explosive movements and it's gonna be fun.
 
Well my most recent visit to my local park showed me a helluva lot (besides mild disappointment that their exercise bars and stations are meager in number, at best), particularly when I finally found where they stashed the hand bars. You can tell from watching any of the videos posted above how much each workout affects your entire body; however telling from seeing and knowing from attempting are wildly different beasts. Even something as simple a good pushup tests most of your muscles as you strain to keep your body straight and rigid, but the midsection lower body lifts on the hand bars was more than a body weight workout for my stomach, it was asking everything of my whole body.

I'll be going back there, until my repeat visits have conditioned me to perform the workouts with less wobble, more control, and be able to perform more repetitions with tighter, straighter form. But for now, especially after watching another video comparing one guy's progress over the course of a year, I know this'll be a longtime effort for me. XD
 
Sadly, we don't have exercise bars in our parks. Extremely annoying to say the least. But my gym is maybe 500m from me, so that's fine, too.
 
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