What do you do to stay fit

[DarkElfGangsta]

rowing -5000 m
running - half an hour, 500 cal.
100 crunches
100 pushups
swimming - front crawl - 15 laps.

I do this 3 times a week.

what do you guys do to be in shape?

[xPANCAKEx]

climbing @ an indoor centre
clubbing and lots of it - i don't drink so no having to worry about developing a beer belly

and most importantly i EAT RIGHT

[Temotei]

I run in Cross Country and Track.

EDIT: Which, in case you didn't know, includes off-seasons, because it sucks to not train and just jump into the sports.

[Sneak]

I run around 3-7 miles a day and alternate between days of crunching + pushups and days of planking + supermans.

That's how I stay fit.

Staying skinny, though, I never need to worry about. I'm one of those people that just are just naturally skinny. I eat a lot, too, but it never seems to affect my weight. It's kind of annoying, actually.

[DarkElfGangsta]

I run around 3-7 miles a day and alternate between days of crunching + pushups and days of planking + supermans.

That's how I stay fit.

Staying skinny, though, I never need to worry about. I'm one of those people that just are just naturally skinny. I eat a lot, too, but it never seems to affect my weight. It's kind of annoying, actually.

I have the same problem in reverse.
i was actually pretty fat till my barmitzva when my uncle (whos a Martial arts instructor) made me run in the mornings across te beach with him. so thats why my regime is a little hard - i have slow metabolism, I gain weight easy. I eat healthy, with the occasional high carb meal. I dont eat procssed food.

[drakir_nosslin]

A regular week I train parkour, yoga and go to a gym. The gym part is mostly for some extra core training, since I easily get back pains if I don't do that. I think it has to do with me sitting down from 8am to 8pm every day :smallyuk:
Yoga is mainly for flexibility, and an opportunity to focus on something else than school. Parkour is just awesome, and great all-around strength and coordination training.

[BizzaroStormy]

Hehe, closest thing I have to excercise is my weekly practice with a swordfighting group. Despite that I'm still horribly out of shape but just can't seem to work up the motivation to exercise without equipment and can't
afford even the cheapest plan at the local gym.

[Thajocoth]

Nothing specific. I walk a lot, but not for the exercise. I also go snowboarding sometimes... Not quite in season yet. And I've got some video games that happen to be more physical (like Shaun White's Snowboarding Road Trip for Wii with the Wii Fit board.)

[Icewalker]

Parkour. And some fencing. And conditioning, mostly for the purpose of being reasonably capable of parkour.

Every weekday I walk all the way up and down UC Berkeley campus, which is tall and very steep, and I walk home, which is about 1.5 miles. Then:

Monday: minor parkour (practice the landings, high jump, catwalk, precision jump, maybe some wall run, total of about 20 minutes). A couple of 600 ft. or so sprints.

Tuesday: Extensive parkour (1-1.5 hours of whatever I can find to practice on at UCB). If I feel up to it, 2 hours of fencing.

Wednesday: minor parkour, pullups, pushups, crunches.

Thursday: minor parkour, 2 hours of fencing.

Friday: minor parkour, sprints.

Saturday: Put my muscles back together with duct tape, 2 hours fencing (sometimes).

Sunday: 4 hours general hanging out/running around with friends.

...I think I might be crazy, especially considering that I am basically a stick. I've only started most of this recently...(I'm going to pick up the fencing next week, I've haven't been going for a while, and I used to do minor parkour and pullups/pushups/crunches on Tuesday instead of the extensive parkour, but it's worth it).

We'll see how it goes.

[DarkElfGangsta]

seriously you guys? parkour?! as in the incredibly dangerous one-trip-youre-dead parkour?
you really walk out in the street and go prince of persia on the place for weekly exercise?

[BizzaroStormy]

seriously you guys? parkour?! as in the incredibly dangerous one-trip-youre-dead parkour?
you really walk out in the street and go prince of persia on the place for weekly exercise?

They never said they'd be jumping off roofs. Though I have a friend that can do a 15 ft. drop onto concrete and roll out of it with only moderate discomfort.

[Thajocoth]

seriously you guys? parkour?! as in the incredibly dangerous one-trip-youre-dead parkour?
you really walk out in the street and go prince of persia on the place for weekly exercise?

I've considered parkour briefly. I'm not aware enough of my immediate surroundings to be comfortable trying it out at the moment though. That and I'd have no idea where to start...

[drakir_nosslin]

Well, since it's winter here in Sweden right now and either cold and icy or rainy and wet we mostly stay indoors. But otherwise, yes, we run on walls, jump over/slide under things and lots of other stuff as well, I've been training pretty much with bars lately, it's awesome!
I can really recommend it as good training, as long as you accept that you'll injure yourself sooner or later, and sometimes pretty bad as well.

EDIT: As for having a group to train with, it's not mandatory, you can learn everything by yourself, though I wouldn't recommend it. Having a friend with you who also trains is great, not only for safety, but also to trigger each other to try new things, and to see new ways to move.

[DarkElfGangsta]

Ive seen some youtube video of parkour, and I have a friend who practices it, but it seems more as a performance sport then an excersise of keeping in shape. nevertheless, it's a really cool pasttime. I tried it, but aside from the wall running I'm not very good at the other stuff, so I usually just enjoy watching.
what is the most serious injury you gained?

[Totally Guy]

I get up early and do Wii Fit every morning.

It used to say I was overweight every day but now I'm in the healthy zone. Yay!

[Grimlock]

Eat curry and drink beer!
Not very successful but fun!

[Weimann]

I don't. Which will come to be a problem unless I take care of it soon.

[rakkoon]

I normally walk 40 minutes a day and do martial arts twice a week. That keeps my weight even. Now with two twisted ankles the kilos are creeping up on me... I could do some sport on my own without (ab)using my legs but can't seem to be bothered...you reap what you sow

[Icewalker]

Ive seen some youtube video of parkour, and I have a friend who practices it, but it seems more as a performance sport then an excersise of keeping in shape. nevertheless, it's a really cool pasttime. I tried it, but aside from the wall running I'm not very good at the other stuff, so I usually just enjoy watching.
what is the most serious injury you gained?

Well, here's the thing: there is parkour, and there is freerunning. Parkour is defined as a discipline with the aim of moving from one point to another as smoothly, efficiently and quickly as possible using the abilities of the human body. The closest analogy to it is a martial art. It is a discipline, both a physical training and to some extent a conditioned mindset. A traceur may never in their life need to really use parkour in some emergency, just as some trained blackbelt may never actually end up in a fight. It's a method of self-conditioning more than anything else.

Freerunning is basically parkour for the purpose of looking awesome, rather than as a discipline. If you're doing flips anywhere, you're almost definitely doing freerunning.

Honestly, when it comes to learning and execution, the two overlap, just about entirely. If you're learning one, you're also learning the other: in terms of what you are doing physically, they are nearly the same. Basically, when doing them, they are more or less the same thing, however they are different concepts.

As to the safety part, the actual motto of parkour is être et durer. To live and to last. Safety is the most important thing, which is why generally one spends the first very long time practicing the landings A LOT. That's still most of what I'm doing. But yeah, if you really move up to the point where you're jumping off high places onto hard things, one really bad mistake will land you seriously in the hospital, it's definitely a very risky activity compared to most.

...but yeah. It's pretty awesome. :smallbiggrin: I started a parkour group myself with my friends, although there's only a few of us who are really motivated and actively practicing (a few who hang around and do a bit, but aren't really dedicated to it).

[Khanderas]

I don't.
I should but I havnt really done anything worth calling fitness training in 5+ years.

[Lioness]

No specific training, but I try to stop myself buying and eating junk food. I dance for 5 hours once a week, twice occasionally. I also have a 10 minute walk to and from my bus stop if I want to go anywhere, and occasionally I do the 35 minute walk to work.

[Mary Leathert]

Well, I try to bike everywhere, like between the university and my home, which is around 4 kilometers in one direction, with some uphill either way.

Recently, I have started going to the local swimming hall, about once a week. But I don't actually swim, I water jog. Sure it's mostly old ladies who do it here, but I like it more than swimming, because swimming makes my neck hurt, and I like to be aware of my surroundings. I jog there for about half an hour each time.

And, I have tried to cut down on the sweets. They are my greatest enemy.

[GallóglachMaxim]

it seems more as a performance sport then an excersise of keeping in shape.

I [until a broken wrist a few years ago] did Capoeira and Parkour. The necessary exercise for Capoiera was tough enough that I couldn't get out of bed after my first class, and barely managed to learn anything technique-wise in the first month. Parkour was more intense than that.

At the moment I have taekwondo fight training monday night, coach two hours on tuesday, western martial arts for two-four hours and then regular taekwondo training on wednesday, hapkido on thursday, and I just finished a regular Pilates class friday afternoons. Then there's the odd run/bike ride down the beach during the week.

It seems to be sufficient for the moment.

[Molant]

I run like hell.

[Jack Squat]

It varies for me. But mostly I use a Fit Deck (http://fitdeck.com) (If anyone wants specifics, it's the bodyweight core set w/ the combat sports, pull-up, Navy SEAL, and kettlebell "expansions"). I also occasionally use a TRX suspension trainer (http://fitnessanywhere.com), and half-dabble in parkour.

I've got a knee that acts up (slalom ski accident, probably compounded with general abuse from wakeboarding), so I've laid off the running, but I need to get back into it.

[lothos]

I read a manual of gainful exercise +5.

[bosssmiley]

Hunt, shoot, fish, and thrash the perfidious French wherever they rear their heads.

[onthetown]

Hunt, shoot, fish, and thrash the perfidious French wherever they rear their heads.

Uh oh... I better get out of your way then... I don't want to get thrashed. :smalltongue:

Horseback riding and lots of walking for me. Though, the walking usually turns into running and racing whoever is with me because I have so much excess energy...

[Archonic Energy]

what do you guys do to be in shape?

eat KitKat bars...
Drink tea...

hey! ROUND is a perfectly acceptable shape :smalltongue:

[Telonius]

I take public transportation, walk most places, and watch what I eat.* More recently I've been lifting a (very adorable) 14-pound weight whenever she's bored or hungry. I'm 165 pounds at 6ft tall (75kg at 182cm). That's only two pounds off the "ideal weight," so it seems to be working pretty well for me.

*This mainly means cutting out all forms of pop/soda/etc, and being gluten free for two meals a day. (My wife is celiac, so gluten-free dinners; lunch is leftovers from yesterday's dinner).

[KuReshtin]

I officiate American Football games pretty much every Sunday, so that's between 2½-3 hours of exercise.

I realy should start going back to the gym, as I used to do that three times a week, but can't get motivated to do it.
No fun to go at it alone at the gym. Better to have someone to 'compete' against to motivate you a bit.

[loopy]

I do this dance called the Melbourne Shuffle (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oM_7meE_A7k). Its pretty much the best thing ever. Burns a lot of energy, and is a LOT of fun. I highly recommend you watch the vid. :smallsmile:

[daggaz]

its simple.

-never eat processed food, especially candy and chips
-never drink soda-pop except for the rare coke on a hangover
-never eat unhealthy fast foods (ok ok i do like french fries, but its not part of my normal diet) and strongly limit how often I do eat fatty things like burgers and fries, pizza, etc.. basically i never, EVER eat at mcdonalds or burgerking or anything like that..
-try to limit my intake of beer
-eat whatever the hell else I want, including steak and eggs for breakfast, roasted duck, porkchops,.. as long as it is natural, i really dont care how much fat is in it. And believe me, I eat all kinds of delicious things.
-excercise. This is simply walking around every day, and riding my bike in day to day routines as i move around the city. Nothing strenuous, no training program, but I do move a bit. I have no car, this helps.

Im slim, trim, and looking good.

[Gullara]

I hate to say it but nothing. My metabolism keeps me very thin but I have very little endurence.

[DarkElfGangsta]

Thin people - being thin DOES NOT equal being healthy. you can still have many probelms such as high blood pressure, cholesterol, heart troubles, reduced virility, and many more problems related to fathood. exercise is the key to being happy, you have no idea how much it makes your life better.

[AtomicKitKat]

Maintain enough testosterone.:smalltongue:

In all seriousness, earlier this year, I was doing archery after work, then switched to shooting hoops at the arcade. Still later, it was jumping to conclusions, with a diet of humble pie(see Relationship W&A for details).:smalleek: There was some military mandated physical training in the middle of the year, but recently, I've been "starving" a lot, or my metabolism seems to have kicked back to my teens, because it seems like I've been losing mass non-stop. It could be worms though...:smallyuk:

[valadil]

Watch what I eat and go to the gym thrice a week. At the gym I mostly lift free weights. They were dramatically more effective for me than machines or cardio. I still try to fit in a little bit of cardio though. Next step in gymming is to hire a trainer for a day so I can learn how to do squats and deadlifts without damaging myself.

[Eldariel]

- Work out 3 times a week
- Either swim 1km in the swimming hall or drive around the lake (on a bicycle; ~20km) every now and then in the summer; ski or swim in the winter
- Starting BJJ again soon
And umm, walk?

[Icewalker]

I hate to say it but nothing. My metabolism keeps me very thin but I have very little endurence.

This is basically what I did before, but then I decided to take up parkour, although I was always doing a little bit of something, like some fencing or Tae Kwon Do for a little while. Thin and healthy, but with no endurance, thanks to a fast metabolism. :smallbiggrin:

[thorgrim29]

Not nearly enough. I used to fence twice a week and never realy replaced it, tried the gym twice, went for a month and never came back after finals. I do however plan to do around an hour of cardio each day during christmas break (horray for college vacation), basically one day I'll run half an hour and work my abs (ab ripper X= Xtreme pain, but also Xtreme gain) , the other I'll alternate two cardio workouts I like (KenpoX and PlyometricsX). If I manage it I should drop some weigh (my goal is to eventually get down to 265-70 pounds from my current somewhere between 290 and 300), and next term i start judo classes and will try to keep up the cardio a bit.

[Telonius]

Almost forgot another thing: mow the lawn regularly, with a me-powered (rather than a gas-powered) lawnmower. This particular method of exercise will have to wait a few months before I pick it up again.

[zeratul]

My main forms of exercise are walking, swordfighting, wrestling (not on a team or anything, just friends of mine), and snowboarding in winter, and wandering around the city in the late hours of the night every friday.

[Ilena]

A regular week I train parkour, yoga and go to a gym. The gym part is mostly for some extra core training, since I easily get back pains if I don't do that. I think it has to do with me sitting down from 8am to 8pm every day :smallyuk:
Yoga is mainly for flexibility, and an opportunity to focus on something else than school. Parkour is just awesome, and great all-around strength and coordination training.

You, are awesome, ive always loved parkour since i saw a few videos of it, i could never do that how i am (completely out of shape, yay 4 years of desk work!) but one day, one day ill get motivated and into shape, well moreso then horseback riding can do for me :P

[DarkElfGangsta]

My main forms of exercise are walking, swordfighting, wrestling (not on a team or anything, just friends of mine), and snowboarding in winter, and wandering around the city in the late hours of the night every friday.

swordfighting?
in the words of Belkar:
"So...Many...Questions...":belkar:

[zeratul]

swordfighting?
in the words of Belkar:
"So...Many...Questions...":belkar:

Yup, My brother and I used to fence each other a fair amount, now I mostly fight my friends using swords made from pvc pipe , with the "blade"{ section covered in pvc pipe covering foam, then wrapped in duck tape, still hurts like a sunofabitch, I got a nasty hit in the jaw last year and couldn't close my mouth for the next half hour :smalltongue:.

Oh and we also occasionally fight with bokens but less frequently.

[thorgrim29]

wandering around the city in the late hours of the night every friday.


Fighting crime I hope.

[Don Julio Anejo]

I used to be super fit (like run 3 miles with barely being out of breath fit) in high school but then pretty much stopped working out then started eating much more crap after moving out. Needless to say, from 150 pounds (I'm 5'8 or 172 cm) went to almost 190ish :smallfrown: Luckily I didn't look that bad because I had leftover muscle, but still, spare tires suck.

Well, got pissed off at myself, first stopped eating crap and then went back to the gym in August. Mostly free weights (adding on 5 or so pounds every 2 weeks for dumbbells) and an elliptical for cardio. Seems to work pretty well (down to 165, 10 or so left to go) so far although I still need to figure out something better for cardio.

Also, will join Academie Duello (http://www.academieduello.com/index.html) in January if it works out with my class schedule.

[The Dark Fiddler]

I hope that all the walking I do at school does enough, and just laze around the rest of the time. :smallcool:

[MikelaC1]

4-5 times per week, I have a dance exercise routine that most fitness experts sneer at....until I challenge them to go through it with me and I leave them in cardiac arrest on the floor half way through it. That, and a healthy diet do it for me.

[Kneenibble]

****ing like a monkey keeps me sleek and fit, and if I ever eat too much I just drink rye until I throw up (which doesn't take long).

[Perenelle]

I'm on a swim team, I run occasionally, eat right, and used to play soccer. If I had more time i'd probably do more. But school has kept me busy.

[alchemyprime]

I try to hit the gym, but my immune system likes to give me a big middle finger.

I haven't been since October.
When I first got sick this season. I NEVER GET WELL! I FREAKING HATE THIS WINTER!

But I also take a walking course at college for extra creds, and I soon will begin wearing trainign weights! 20 lbs on my torso, 10lbs each foot, 5 lbs each arm. Then later... I up the ante!

[Jack Squat]

But I also take a walking course at college for extra creds, and I soon will begin wearing trainign weights! 20 lbs on my torso, 10lbs each foot, 5 lbs each arm. Then later... I up the ante!

I actually recommend against this. Well, not so much the torso (if it's set up right), but the ones on your feet/arms. Puts unnecessary stress on your body, and increases the chance for injury. If walking isn't a decent exercise anymore -and I don't really consider it an exercise in the first place, but opinions differ- then jog/run.

[Eon]

Well... I recently joined the swim team. This is the first week and i still have a EARLY practice tomorrow. This leaves me tired and sore but I'm sore it will be a good thing.

[DarkElfGangsta]

I try to hit the gym, but my immune system likes to give me a big middle finger.

I haven't been since October.
When I first got sick this season. I NEVER GET WELL! I FREAKING HATE THIS WINTER!

But I also take a walking course at college for extra creds, and I soon will begin wearing trainign weights! 20 lbs on my torso, 10lbs each foot, 5 lbs each arm. Then later... I up the ante!

buy 20 kg of clemantines. eat them. you will never be sick again.

[drakir_nosslin]

You, are awesome, ive always loved parkour since i saw a few videos of it, i could never do that how i am (completely out of shape, yay 4 years of desk work!) but one day, one day ill get motivated and into shape, well moreso then horseback riding can do for me :P

The thing is that everyone can learn every sport, it has more to do with attitude than what shape you are in. Granted, if you started now it might take longer for you to learn stuff than it did for me, but if you keep going you'll make it, it's as simple as that.

As for injuries, the worst I've had, yet, is a sprained ankle, but then I've been training both gymnastics and acrobatics before I started with parkour, so I've got some experience in avoiding related injuries (tuck, roll, watch everything that sticks out and hope for the best!).

[WarBrute]

I run a lot. So much that I keep hitting the "that can't be healthy for you threshold" so I end up injured every so often. When that happens a go for walks at night and swim so times.

[Warpfire]

I go to the gym three or four times a week. Some lifting, some running. And I take my dog on a walk most days, and they're usually pretty long so I guess that's good too.


and I don't really consider it an exercise in the first place, but opinions differ..

Well, all the experts' opinions that I've heard don't seem to differ much from 'its good exercise if you do enough of it'.

[Icewalker]

Yup, My brother and I used to fence each other a fair amount, now I mostly fight my friends using swords made from pvc pipe , with the "blade"{ section covered in pvc pipe covering foam, then wrapped in duck tape, still hurts like a sunofabitch, I got a nasty hit in the jaw last year and couldn't close my mouth for the next half hour :smalltongue:.


Fun, fun, although pipe insulation foam with pvc core is certainly pretty hard. There's a kind of ethofoam, and then couch foam, which work much better for crafting safe and kickass weapons. Then you don't have to worry as much about pulling blows either.

(That four hours of running around with friends I mentioned in my first post here? Mostly swordfighting. :smallwink: )

[Jack Squat]

Well, all the experts' opinions that I've heard don't seem to differ much from 'its good exercise if you do enough of it'.

That's really true of anything. Walking 14 miles in a day is a great exercise, especially if on an unpaved trail. The problem is that most people don't do near this (which I admit is a little extreme of an example) - at best, they do 2 or 3 miles along a road, and at a very leisurely pace. This is fine for if your joints are completely shot or your age or weight really limits your stamina, but beyond that it's something that you really can pretty much do without raising your heart rate - and really you're not going to get fit* from walking.

If you walk, esp. on a flat, paved surface, it takes a good distance, and you should be "power-walking", not strolling. However, running gets you better results faster.

*It should be noted that I do use the Army definition (http://usmilitary.about.com/od/army/a/afpt.htm) of fit - that is for my age group/gender 42 pushups and 53 sit-ups in 2 minutes each and running 2 miles in under 15:54. YMMV

[zeratul]

Fun, fun, although pipe insulation foam with pvc core is certainly pretty hard. There's a kind of ethofoam, and then couch foam, which work much better for crafting safe and kickass weapons. Then you don't have to worry as much about pulling blows either.

(That four hours of running around with friends I mentioned in my first post here? Mostly swordfighting. :smallwink: )

Yeah we've used some of those too but I still prefer the oldschool PVC pipe covering, I prefer for the sword blows to hurt a bit when you git hit with 'em since it makes it more "real" that way and plus, that way if you you reveive some minor injury, get to leave with good stories :smalltongue:.

EDIT: The one I mentioned in the last post that I got knocked on the Jaw with? That was one of the PVC padded ones, and the dude wielding it? A lacrosse player.

[Vagnarok]

I go to Tae Kwon Do for about 1:15 3 to 4 times a week and I try to run twice a week at to compliment it. I also have a small regimen that I do every night before bed which consists of 10 leg lifts, 20 knuckle push ups, 30 oblique twists, and 40 situps. I usually do this regardless of how exhausted I am from my other workouts, but for the past month or so I've had bronchitis. I've been laying low since I found out in order to shrug it off so I can get back to work!:smallyuk:

[the geekish one]

Right now, I'm in weight lifting at school, and I occasionally go out and play some tackle football. I used to do Taekwondo and jiujitsu. Still have to practice occasionally, but not as much as I'd like.

[Solaris]

Something to the order of about five hundred or more push-ups, five hundred or so sit-ups, and miscellaneous other exercises in an hour and a half. The other days we go out and run for an hour and a half. This is on the weekdays. I also do several hundred push-ups, sit-ups, and flutter kicks on the weekends. I'm lazy. I only do calisthenics, not weight-lifting. Weight-lifting doesn't train endurance so much as it does the ability to lift weights, and endurance is the most important thing for a soldier.

I'll vouch for walking being so-so exercise. Back in Iraq we'd cover five hundred meters a pop several times a day, basically walking at a five-mile-an-hour pace while carrying eighty pounds of gear over rough terrain. It really didn't do much for the PT.

[Gamerlord]

What do I do to stay fit?

ABSOLUTELY NOTHING.

Because A. I hate the outdoors, and B. No matter how much I stuff myself, I still am underweight, god knows why, as well as C. I already eat semi-healthy, but not really, because fruits and vegetables taste AWFUL :smallyuk: .

[Amiel]

I wrestle bears, box kangaroos and tackle koalas. I'm a manly man. Grrr.



I absolutely like walking; I walk everywhere, no matter the distance, no matter the state of the weather. I currently work two jobs that are physically demanding; this was intended as when I graduate, I'll be sitting at the desk most of the time as a medical researcher, and I usually have a short attention span.

I used to head to the gym once a day for all of 2 months; I could lift near the totality of the combined weight limit (that is, the layered stack of weights), dunno about now. I'm also one of those guys who can eat a lot but still stay slim; I have a fast metabolism but slightly weakened endurance.

When I did push ups, I could do 1000 a night; 400 consecutively, then a final lot of 200.

[Fuzzie Fuzz]

Well, I eat pizza and cheeseburgers. And somehow still weigh 110 (I'm short, though) and have incredibly low cholesterol. (I do play soccer during the fall, but nothing the rest of the year...)

[the geekish one]

Something to the order of about five hundred or more push-ups, five hundred or so sit-ups, and miscellaneous other exercises in an hour and a half. The other days we go out and run for an hour and a half. This is on the weekdays. I also do several hundred push-ups, sit-ups, and flutter kicks on the weekends. I'm lazy. I only do calisthenics, not weight-lifting. Weight-lifting doesn't train endurance so much as it does the ability to lift weights, and endurance is the most important thing for a soldier.
You are right, calisthenics are much better for endurance. I actually prefer to just do a lot of reps of low weight. It's just a little faster than calisthenics.

[Kneenibble]

Okay, okay, holy crap. Some of you people are intense. Therefore I seek your advice -- particularly on pushups. Any tips on getting to pretty mediocre (in comparison, that is) level of doing 100/day?

Trouble is I have powers of cardiovascular stamina, like I can run up to 20km and still get drunk that night, but I have the torso of a 10-year old girl. I'm not attracted to weight training. I believe a regimen of pushups can cure the problem. I just want some advice and encouragement.

*pokes gamerkid with a reed*
Eat your plants, boy!
When you're given fruits and vegetables, you will eat them and like them!

[the geekish one]

It's actually pretty easy. Just do them everyday. If you can't do enough that you will see a real change, just do inclined push-ups until you get to where you can do 20 or so*.


*Disclaimer: I have little to no idea what I'm talking about

[Amiel]

The wrestle bears part or the box kangaroos bit? I also eat bees for breakfast. Sometimes I eat bears that shoot bees.

It depends on what you would like to gain from the exercise that you are doing. Is it cardiovascular fitness or increase to muscle definition and tone (basically putting on muscle).

For push ups and for any exercise, the most important is actually done prior to exercise. That is, you need to stretch otherwise you could risk hurting yourself or straining yourself.

If you don't want to do the conventional style of push up, you could try bracing yourself against a vertical wall, angling your legs at an angle and push yourself that way. If you feel you have the hang of it, then you can continue or "progress" to push ups on the floor.
You do need to set a rhythm and stick to it, that is, it needs to be more or less continuous each day, or once per two days. Once you have the continuity pattern going, you'll find that you can do progressively more each day.

And 100/day isn't mediocre, that's pretty good right there.


For this exercise and also for weight training, the ideal would be do as many as you can that you feel tired and sore, try to keep that number within your head and beat that next time.
When your muscles feel sore, it means that your body is building muscle.

[Jack Squat]

Okay, okay, holy crap. Some of you people are intense. Therefore I seek your advice -- particularly on pushups. Any tips on getting to pretty mediocre (in comparison, that is) level of doing 100/day?

Trouble is I have powers of cardiovascular stamina, like I can run up to 20km and still get drunk that night, but I have the torso of a 10-year old girl. I'm not attracted to weight training. I believe a regimen of pushups can cure the problem. I just want some advice and encouragement.

How many push-ups can you do before failure? I'd say the best way to do 100/day is to, well, do 100/day. Spread them out however far you need to. It's really not a lot unless you try to knock them out at once. 20 sets of 5 spread out over an hour is 100 just as much a set of 100 in 5 minutes.

As to how to build general stamina, I always ask people how many they can do (be honest), and then make them do 3 more. 'course, I'm also evil and don't count pushups that have bad form.

[the geekish one]

The wrestle bears part or the box kangaroos bit? I also eat bees for breakfast. Sometimes I eat bears that shoot bees.

It depends on what you would like to gain from the exercise that you are doing. Is it cardiovascular fitness or increase to muscle definition and tone (basically putting on muscle).

For push ups and for any exercise, the most important is actually done prior to exercise. That is, you need to stretch otherwise you could risk hurting yourself or straining yourself.

If you don't want to do the conventional style of push up, you could try bracing yourself against a vertical wall, angling your legs at an angle and push yourself that way. If you feel you have the hang of it, then you continue or "progress" to push ups on the floor.
You do need to set a rhythm and stick to it, that is, it needs to be more or less continuous each day, or once per two days. Once you have the continuity pattern going, you'll find that you can do progressively more each day.

And 100/day isn't mediocre, that's pretty good right there.

See he sounds like he know stuff.

[Kneenibble]

But but, doesn't anaerobic exercise have to be done consecutively or else you get diminishing returns? Like, doing 100 consecutive pushups fatigues the muscles sufficiently to increase strength, but doing 5 groups of 20 spread out over the day would provide less improvement? Am I making that up?

I already have cardiovascular fitness in spades, so I would be doing them to build muscle. Right now I can do 40, give or take a few, but with a brief rest ever 10 or 15, and the last few are an embarassingly epic struggle. I did them every two or three days in September for a few weeks, but I couldn't ever break about 45, so I got frustrated and stopped.

Thanks for the tips though, people. I'll keep them in mind, the stretching especially.

<.<
>.>
*touches Amiel's bicep inappropriately and runs away giggling*

[Amiel]

See he sounds like he know stuff.

:smallbiggrin: You gave some pretty good advice too.



Another important thing is perseverance and setting your goals at an achievable, attainable level. In other words, setting the goal relatively low and working your way up from there. You'll not going to be doing 100/day straight away, or even 50. It takes time and practice, and more importantly effort.

I used to be able to only do 30 push ups each day and then I'll feel right buggered. It was only through doing them each day and persevering that I was able to do 1000 each day.

As an addendum to wall push ups, you can increase the difficulty by moving your feet farther from the wall.


But but, doesn't anaerobic exercise have to be done consecutively or else you get diminishing returns? Like, doing 100 consecutive pushups fatigues the muscles sufficiently to increase strength, but doing 5 groups of 20 spread out over the day would provide less improvement? Am I making that up?

Hmm, good point. That probably has more to do with muscle endurance rather than muscle return. Muscle builds regardless of how many is done in each given day or how the allotments were allocated.
Endurance on the other hand really likes that you do them in a consecutive manner followed by more than was done previously.
However, the two really go hand in hand, when you build enough muscle, you'll find that you can do more each day.


I already have cardiovascular fitness in spades, so I would be doing them to build muscle. Right now I can do 40, give or take a few, but with a brief rest ever 10 or 15, and the last few are an embarassingly epic struggle. I did them every two or three days in September for a few weeks, but I couldn't ever break about 45, so I got frustrated and stopped.

If you find it too straining, don't push yourself, mate, that can cause injury or muscle straining. Take it slow. Continue to do as many as you can and gradually build upon that the next time. Also, since this is muscle training, give yourself some rest in between as well, longer if need be. And stretch as well, that'll also help.


Thanks for the tips though, people. I'll keep them in mind, the stretching especially.

No worries, mate. Glad to help! :)


<.<
>.>
*touches Amiel's bicep inappropriately and runs away giggling*

Hahaha *flaunts* XD
Nah, my biceps are okay, not particularly big though.

[Don Julio Anejo]

Okay, okay, holy crap. Some of you people are intense. Therefore I seek your advice -- particularly on pushups. Any tips on getting to pretty mediocre (in comparison, that is) level of doing 100/day?

Trouble is I have powers of cardiovascular stamina, like I can run up to 20km and still get drunk that night, but I have the torso of a 10-year old girl. I'm not attracted to weight training. I believe a regimen of pushups can cure the problem. I just want some advice and encouragement.

After reading other replies in this thread...

I personally don't think it's possible unless you're super heavy and from the way you described yourself, you're not. The thing is, you simply won't get very much resistance from push ups and it's not a matter of push ups, it's a matter of mechanics. Supposing you weigh 160 pounds (number off the ceiling)... Doing a push up means you'd only be doing 80 pounds worth of lifting since half your weight will be supported by the feet. Sure, you can do a reverse incline, but it doesn't add that much. And one handed ones are simply too hard to do mechanically (i.e. maintaining your balance and the like). They also don't work your chest but instead only your arms.

For comparison - most weightlifters bench press at least 150+ pounds, some of the bigger and hardcore ones 200-250. With the difference that a barbell also uses muscles needed to stabilize the weight and trains both arms equally (so you don't compensate for your left hand with the right hand or vice-versa).

When you're trying to build muscle, what you're trying to do is overexert it to force the body to grow more tissue. Which means that each and every rep should be hard to do and the last rep almost impossible. Typically this means doing several sets of 4-12 reps (with no rest inbetween each rep). Anything more and it's endurance training. Hell, if anything is easy enough for you to do a lot of becomes cardio. Like doing 500 push ups a day - if you can do that without passing out, chances are, push ups are so easy for you to do that it's no different from walking when it comes to benefiting from exercise.

You simply can't accomplish what you're trying to do (i.e. buffing up) with push ups unless a friend sits on your back or something, but that makes it weight training. Might as well join a gym and use dumbbels or a barbell.

Also, for the very same reason, there IS a big difference between doing 100 push ups in one set vs. doing 5 sets of 20. If you do 100 straight, your muscles get more and more fatigued, overstraining them and forcing your body to adjust. If you do 5x20, your muscles have a chance to rest inbetween sets and so you won't get any new muscle. At best, you'll look slightly more toned.

[the geekish one]

But but, doesn't anaerobic exercise have to be done consecutively or else you get diminishing returns? Like, doing 100 consecutive pushups fatigues the muscles sufficiently to increase strength, but doing 5 groups of 20 spread out over the day would provide less improvement? Am I making that up?

I already have cardiovascular fitness in spades, so I would be doing them to build muscle. Right now I can do 40, give or take a few, but with a brief rest ever 10 or 15, and the last few are an embarassingly epic struggle. I did them every two or three days in September for a few weeks, but I couldn't ever break about 45, so I got frustrated and stopped.

Thanks for the tips though, people. I'll keep them in mind, the stretching especially.

<.<
>.>
*touches Amiel's bicep inappropriately and runs away giggling*

Yes, if not done consecutively then there are slightly diminished results. However, that's much better than no results at all.

I just had a squat contest with my brother. Go down into a squat legs perpendicular, then see who could outlast. I won after 9 minutes 30 seconds. My legs were on fire, still are to a lesser degree. Oddly enough, I could ignore the pain more as it got worse. I don't recommend it. :smallfrown:

[Amiel]

From Wikihow (http://www.wikihow.com/Build-Muscle); although you may want to take what is advised with a grain of salt?
This is the wikihow page for push ups (http://www.wikihow.com/Do-a-Push-Up). It may interest you.

"Muscles grow during rest, not during training. If you don't give a muscle adequate time to recover, you'll actually interfere with the muscle building process. When you lift weight, you're supposed to stress the muscle to the extent that it breaks down at the cellular level, resulting in increased protein synthesis, which produces thicker muscle fibers. This process begins 2-4 hours after the workout and lasts 24 hours (although some researchers suggest that muscles worked to exhaustion need 36-48 hours to rebuild). If you stress the muscle again before the process is complete, you'll break down the muscle fibers before they've had a chance to rebuild."

"To build volume rather than strength, design your program around lots of repetitions (10 to 12), three to five sets, and short (30- to 90-second) rest periods between sets. Athletes looking for power and strength, on the other hand, will favor a program with reps that max out at around six and sets ranging from two to six, with a long rest period (two to five minutes) to promote better recovery between sets."

"Practice good form. Learn how to do each exercise properly (full extension of movement, proper stance and posture, etc.) or else you'll not only reduce the effectiveness of the movement, but you'll also be increasing the risk of injury. To master each exercise, learn to do it slowly with light weight. Your form will improve with practice. Even though you might feel more accomplished when you move quickly, you're depending on momentum to do some of the work for you, instead of your muscles. Do each rep slowly, in a controlled and steady fashion. More advanced lifters are able to benefit to a significant extent through explosive repetitions, but since this also compounds the risk of injury in novice athletes, it is solely recommended for more advanced athletes."

"Lift to fatigue. As mentioned earlier, in order to trigger the muscle building process, you need to stress the muscle. By the final rep of your final set, your muscle should be exhausted. That should be the last rep you can do with perfect form. If you start losing form before then because your muscles are too tired, you're using too much weight. If you find that you can add in one or more reps in good form, you need to add on some weight."

"Change your routine every four to six weeks. As your body adapts to stress, you'll hit a plateau where the benefits of weight training will begin to diminish. The only way to prevent this from happening is to change things up, such as by increasing weight and changing exercises."

Important: "Know your limit for exercise. Trying to be macho and doing too much can hurt you."

[DarkElfGangsta]

hmm you dont have to do push ups...
If you want to imprve youre over all build I heavily recommend swimming as it is extremely effective in building your upper body and lower body.
actually it is one of the best sports all around, it's easy, fun, and if you stick to it you'll get results fast. for the love of God, stretch and do warm ups and warmdowns or else you'll hurt yourself!

[Jack Squat]

But but, doesn't anaerobic exercise have to be done consecutively or else you get diminishing returns? Like, doing 100 consecutive pushups fatigues the muscles sufficiently to increase strength, but doing 5 groups of 20 spread out over the day would provide less improvement? Am I making that up?

You have it right, but you are allowed to take decent rest inbetween sets, you just can't have full recovery. Most endurance based systems I know of put in 30-45 second breaks between sets, but I don't see a problem with having a 2-3 minute rest, if necessary; especially for someone just starting out.


I already have cardiovascular fitness in spades, so I would be doing them to build muscle. Right now I can do 40, give or take a few, but with a brief rest ever 10 or 15, and the last few are an embarassingly epic struggle. I did them every two or three days in September for a few weeks, but I couldn't ever break about 45, so I got frustrated and stopped.

All the more reason to go to the point of failure if you're wanting to build muscle. Also, look into a pull-up bar. You can find them in Wal-Mart or ****'s for anywhere between $11 and $20 or so, depending on what you go with.

Also, I'd look into different types of pushups. Off the top of my head, there's spades, tricep, wide, negative, divebomber, "clap", knuckle, grabbing onto a ball, varying elevation, staggered, and spiderman. Varying them up works different muscle groups, which will also build your endurance some.

[Kneenibble]

Oh man, there's so much to think about! Would that I could afford some sinewy Brazilian personal trainer to do all the planning for me...

Once again, thanks for the info.

But Don Julio, -- "Don Julio, I have prepared this special donut, just for you..." *he munches* "Grazzi."
Don Julio, are you saying that if I, someone who doesn't do any calisthenic exercise, works up to a point of being able to do 100 pushups won't develop any increase in muscle mass? Really?

I understand the ideas you're demonstrating, and sadly I weigh even less than the number you guess, but I'm not trying to become enormous or macho. I just want my arms and chest to look nicer, and less made out of craft supplies.

the geekish one, that's the horse stance in kung fu, ain't it? I remember my childhood instructor made us practice endurance like that. Good times. :smallsmile:


You have it right, but you are allowed to take decent rest inbetween sets, you just can't have full recovery. Most endurance based systems I know of put in 30-45 second breaks between sets, but I don't see a problem with having a 2-3 minute rest, if necessary; especially for someone just starting out.
Okay okay, that sounds manageable. Just when you said it the first time I thought you were implying like, a few hours between sets.
I've heard also that pushups and pullups are really complementary exercises because each works the muscles that the other misses. Is that so?

[Jack Squat]

I've heard also that pushups and pullups are really complementary exercises because each works the muscles that the other misses. Is that so?

I haven't studied the subject, so I can't really point you to specifics, but from anecdotal experience this is generally true, but they have some overlap.

[the geekish one]

Oh man, there's so much to think about! Would that I could afford some sinewy Brazilian personal trainer to do all the planning for me...

Once again, thanks for the info.

But Don Julio, -- "Don Julio, I have prepared this special donut, just for you..." *he munches* "Grazzi."
Don Julio, are you saying that if I, someone who doesn't do any calisthenic exercise, works up to a point of being able to do 100 pushups won't develop any increase in muscle mass? Really?

I understand the ideas you're demonstrating, and sadly I weigh even less than the number you guess, but I'm not trying to become enormous or macho. I just want my arms and chest to look nicer, and less made out of craft supplies.

the geekish one, that's the horse stance in kung fu, ain't it? I remember my childhood instructor made us practice endurance like that. Good times. :smallsmile:

It may indeed be the horse stance in Kung Fu, as well as countless other martial arts. Actually, we kept our feet a little less than shoulder width apart, so I'm pretty sure it was like "invisible chair" (not really a stance in any martial art I know of) :/

It depends how far apart you have your arms when you're doing your push-ups, as well as your pull-ups.

[Amiel]

With push ups, the resistance is your back.
With pull ups, the resistance is your entire body.
Resistance in both cases is gravity.

[Don Julio Anejo]

But Don Julio, -- "Don Julio, I have prepared this special donut, just for you..." *he munches* "Grazzi."
Muchas gracias, amigo!

Don Julio, are you saying that if I, someone who doesn't do any calisthenic exercise, works up to a point of being able to do 100 pushups won't develop any increase in muscle mass? Really?

I understand the ideas you're demonstrating, and sadly I weigh even less than the number you guess, but I'm not trying to become enormous or macho. I just want my arms and chest to look nicer, and less made out of craft supplies.
You will develop some muscle mass, but it'll take you so much time and effort that it probably isn't even worth it. Push ups are great for general fitness (I do 2x40 as a warmup before workouts), but if you want to buff up, you can realistically do it in 2 months using machines at the gym if you're not killing yourself and you go there 2-3 times a week.

Now, normally I wouldn't advocate machines since they overisolate specific muscles at the expense of other muscles even in the same general area, like, to go back to my previous example, muscles used in balancing a weight on your chest, but free weights aren't the best idea in the world if you don't have someone to show you how to use them. It would also take you at least a month just to get proper form (i.e. slow, controlled movements instead of jerky ones, good symmetry, etc).

Instead, look up some exercises on the internet for whatever it is you want to bulk up. Off the top of my head, I would recommend chest press, military press, lateral pulldown, cable crossover, some kind of arm curls for the biceps (there's like 4-5 different ones) and some kind of cable pulldowns for the triceps. 2-3 sets of 12 reps shouldn't take that long either - 30 or so minutes at most if you're not doing any other exercises. Who knows, you might even find it fun. I certainly do.

PS: for better results, eat less candy and more protein (meat, eggs, cheese, etc).

[Erothayce]

I bike at least 20 miles a day on my fixed gear. That means the only time i stop pedaling is when i'm not in motion. I generally like to throw intense hill climbs in every 3 days or so. About every other week I do a long ride of 50 miles or so just for the fun of it. I don't bike for fitness I do it because it's really fun. The fitness is a nice side effect.

[Yoren]

But but, doesn't anaerobic exercise have to be done consecutively or else you get diminishing returns? Like, doing 100 consecutive pushups fatigues the muscles sufficiently to increase strength, but doing 5 groups of 20 spread out over the day would provide less improvement? Am I making that up?

I already have cardiovascular fitness in spades, so I would be doing them to build muscle. Right now I can do 40, give or take a few, but with a brief rest ever 10 or 15, and the last few are an embarassingly epic struggle. I did them every two or three days in September for a few weeks, but I couldn't ever break about 45, so I got frustrated and stopped.

Thanks for the tips though, people. I'll keep them in mind, the stretching especially.

<.<
>.>
*touches Amiel's bicep inappropriately and runs away giggling*

Try doing 5 sets until failure with 1-2 minutes between sets. This should allow you enough time to catch your breath and let your muscles recover a bit but still have enough fatigue so that you get something out of the work out. If possible do them on your knuckles and go down slow (1 sec count) hold at the bottom (1 sec count) and go up fast (Disclaimer: I don't know if this actually makes the pushups more effective in the long run, but it does make it so you curse the gods for giving you arms while you're doing them.)

I think the most important part is to just stick with it. Unless you want to risk your joints doing steroids there is no quick or easy way to get stronger (although even with the juice you have to work out). So don't get discouraged.

[Amiel]

Also, chin ups.
Pull ups mainly work your latissimus dorsi; chin ups, your latissimus dorsi, biceps brachii, brachialis, brachioradialis, deltoids, rhomboids to name a few; push ups your pectoralis major; crunches and sit ups work your abdominal muscles, the rectus abdominis, or you could do leg raises which work the same area in addition to the buttocks and strengthen the quadriceps; biceps curls work, as they named, work your biceps.
Hope some of these are helpful.


PS: for better results, eat less candy and more protein (meat, eggs, cheese, etc).

The food with the most protein are insects. Eat more insects, it's not only healthy and good for you, but you'll literally never run out of food and it'll also solve world hunger.


When I used to go to the gym, I used to see people walking around with and drinking protein shakes. What are people's opinions on those? Neglected to mention that the gym I went to catered specifically to uni students, as it was on campus.

[Jack Squat]

When I used to go to the gym, I used to see people walking around with and drinking protein shakes. What are people's opinions on those? Neglected to mention that the gym I went to catered specifically to uni students, as it was on campus.

They work, and are probably worth your time if you're wanting to bulk up faster. However, I have two complaints on them: 1) they taste horrid - or, at least they did back when I tried them a few years ago- and 2) they can increase chance of injury, since your muscles will strengthen faster than your tendons/ligaments - though all of those injuries occur from poor weight training habits and are just enhanced by that variable.

[Kneenibble]

Okay, Don Julio, "Don Julio, my daughter, she has been dishonoured. I ask the gift of revenge..."
Don Julio, I am taking your advice into sincere consideration. My school has a really nice, new gym I can use for free too, so.

You're not going to "ask" me to kill somebody who owes you money now, are you?

Avocados have a really high-quality and abundant protein content. Tasty little devils, too.

[Gitman00]

The following, 3x per week.

Morning: 20 minutes of high-intensity calisthenics followed by a 3-mile run.
Evening: An hour of weight lifting

Also, martial arts classes whenever I have free time.


They work, and are probably worth your time if you're wanting to bulk up faster. However, I have two complaints on them: 1) they taste horrid - or, at least they did back when I tried them a few years ago- and 2) they can increase chance of injury, since your muscles will strengthen faster than your tendons/ligaments - though all of those injuries occur from poor weight training habits and are just enhanced by that variable.

I'd disagree with the second point. Protein doesn't cause injuries, and can actually prevent/mitigate them if used properly, as it helps your tissues rebuild. As you say, it's poor training habits, along with abuse of performance enhancers like Hydroxycut that allow your muscles to generate more power than your tendons can tolerate.

If you're trying to build muscle mass, a good rule of thumb is .75-1.0 grams of protein per pound of your body weight, per day. You should get most of that from your meals, but I take a 40-50g shake right after I lift, and it works pretty well for me.

As far as the taste, that's nothing that can't be fixed with a little creativity. I usually add ice cream and frozen berries to my shakes (fresh are better, but frozen are cheaper). Double bonus, since it also adds carbs and antioxidants.

[Pocketa]

Sex: Female
Height: 5'10.5"
BMI: around 21.5, aiming to get it to 20 by my birthday in the summer
Body fat percentage: about 24%

Highest weight: 185 lbs.
Current weight: 155 lbs.
Goal weight: 140 lbs.

32A chest, 27 inch waist, 34 inch hips.

Clothing size: women's 4, aiming to get to a 00, and not in an unhealthy way. It's just that my frame is meant to be a 00, seeing as my hips are flabby and already 00 size (34 inches), and my waist to hip ratio needs to be healthier, not by my gaining weight on my hips but by losing weight around my waist.

Monday - Friday - Gym class, it's co-ed but they split us by gender. Needless to say, I play with the guys. The girls game is too slow and I'm in gym class not only because it's a requirement, but because it's fun, and I enjoy a challenge. And losing weight. Plus, my backpack weighs about 15lbs, and I carry it everywhere. I'd walk home, but I do 10 hours of community service a week (at least), and it gets too dark to walk or take the bus (parents).

Saturday - Rest, bath, hang out with friends and go on adventures. I live in a hilly area with rock formations which are uberfun to boulder.

Sunday - from 10am to 10pm, swordfighting, vigorously. Like, legit swordfighting, not LARPing, although we use similar weaponry. Amtgard LARP system, but my group doesn't RP. We just run around in a forest in full lorica armor and smack each other around. Nobody pulls blows, and I mostly fight with 25 year old men. I'm the youngest and one of few girls at the group, and by far the thinnest person there.

I eat anything I want. When I do have something like a Frappucino or frozen yogurt, I usually split a large with a friend (way less expensive) who happens to pay for it usually and will eat most of it. I limit myself to one every 2 weeks, unless this friend insists.

Breakfast: Yogurt.
Lunch: Yogurt, light n' fit, same as breakfast.
Dinner: Whatever my grandma makes, usually without seconds because I fill up on water.

I do drink a ton of water, about 2 Sigg water bottles full and 3 extra cups a day. I should be drinking more, especially because of the weather.

Oh, and I'm a beast at dance. Not Loopytastic, but at least half as good. So my friends and I are constantly dancing at break.

[DarkElfGangsta]

Sex: Female
Height: 5'10.5"
BMI: around 21.5, aiming to get it to 20 by my birthday in the summer
Body fat percentage: about 24%

Highest weight: 185 lbs.
Current weight: 155 lbs.
Goal weight: 140 lbs.

32A chest, 27 inch waist, 34 inch hips.

Clothing size: women's 4, aiming to get to a 00, and not in an unhealthy way. It's just that my frame is meant to be a 00, seeing as my hips are flabby and already 00 size (34 inches), and my waist to hip ratio needs to be healthier, not by my gaining weight on my hips but by losing weight around my waist.

Monday - Friday - Gym class, it's co-ed but they split us by gender. Needless to say, I play with the guys. The girls game is too slow and I'm in gym class not only because it's a requirement, but because it's fun, and I enjoy a challenge. And losing weight. Plus, my backpack weighs about 15lbs, and I carry it everywhere. I'd walk home, but I do 10 hours of community service a week (at least), and it gets too dark to walk or take the bus (parents).

Saturday - Rest, bath, hang out with friends and go on adventures. I live in a hilly area with rock formations which are uberfun to boulder.

Sunday - from 10am to 10pm, swordfighting, vigorously. Like, legit swordfighting, not LARPing, although we use similar weaponry. Amtgard LARP system, but my group doesn't RP. We just run around in a forest in full lorica armor and smack each other around. Nobody pulls blows, and I mostly fight with 25 year old men. I'm the youngest and one of few girls at the group, and by far the thinnest person there.

I eat anything I want. When I do have something like a Frappucino or frozen yogurt, I usually split a large with a friend (way less expensive) who happens to pay for it usually and will eat most of it. I limit myself to one every 2 weeks, unless this friend insists.

Breakfast: Yogurt.
Lunch: Yogurt, light n' fit, same as breakfast.
Dinner: Whatever my grandma makes, usually without seconds because I fill up on water.

I do drink a ton of water, about 2 Sigg water bottles full and 3 extra cups a day. I should be drinking more, especially because of the weather.

Oh, and I'm a beast at dance. Not Loopytastic, but at least half as good. So my friends and I are constantly dancing at break.

dios:smalleek: that is a lot of details
It's good that you do all this, but if there is something I learned from trying to go from fat to sexy is:
do not care what your clothes, height, weight, etc. look like. these will serve to confuse you, and ifthey change the way you dont want them to then you can get eperate pretty fast.
other than that, I think you're fine:smallcool:

[Stealthdozer]

I pump iron, box, & sometimes swim (albeit slowly).

[Jack Squat]

I'd disagree with the second point. Protein doesn't cause injuries, and can actually prevent/mitigate them if used properly, as it helps your tissues rebuild. As you say, it's poor training habits, along with abuse of performance enhancers like Hydroxycut that allow your muscles to generate more power than your tendons can tolerate.

Thanks for correcting me. I'm completely burnt out from studying for finals and was mixing things up. Rather than Protein, I was thinking of Creatine, though after looking that up, the only thing I could find on the subject was that it was a myth from a few years ago and has been disproven (though it didn't go into any sort of details). I'd still say protein can cause injuries, but completely indirectly; i.e. the mindset I see a lot of college kids have, which is "I just had a protein shake, I can totally max out more now." Also there's some side effects from overuse - but those are both user error.


As far as the taste, that's nothing that can't be fixed with a little creativity. I usually add ice cream and frozen berries to my shakes (fresh are better, but frozen are cheaper). Double bonus, since it also adds carbs and antioxidants.

Best one I had was one with peanut butter and chocolate added. It wasn't bad, but it still reminded me of Powerbars and Balance bars about 10 years back. Worst thing I had was when a company (who'll remain nameless) put protein powder into a cookie. Not a shake, but it's still a crime against nature. I figure in another couple years though, they'll change it enough that taste won't really be an issue.


dios:smalleek: that is a lot of details
It's good that you do all this, but if there is something I learned from trying to go from fat to sexy is:
do not care what your clothes, height, weight, etc. look like. these will serve to confuse you, and ifthey change the way you dont want them to then you can get eperate pretty fast.
other than that, I think you're fine:smallcool:

Yeah...really don't go by weight if you're trying to slim down - well, after a certain point anyways- and I'd say you're there.

The problem, of course, is that muscle weighs more than fat, and when you work out, you're both losing fat and gaining muscle. I can't comment much on clothing size, but I know people who're wearing the same pants as they were when they were shorter and heavier; so again, I'd venture that at a certain point you're not going to see much of a difference.

[Pocketa]

I totally disagree. I have 10% more body fat to burn, roughly, and I haven't gained muscle at all. I've got an ottermode build, if anyone outside of /fit/ knows what that means (tl;dr swimmer build), so I'm not expecting any huge muscle masses. I just want to get rid of most of my flab, but I don't have a ton as it is. Lowest I could get would be 118 at fat-free with no muscle gain, but that's ridiculously low for my height (BMI of 16.5 is ridiculous), so 135 would be fine. Plus, I lost pretty much 1 clothing size for every 5 lbs.

170 - 10
165 - 8
160 - 6
155 - 4

So...

150 - 2
145 - 0
140 - 00

Seeing as it's way easier to get to a 2 from a 4 than it is to get to a 4 from a 6 (circles ftl!).

Plus, remember I'm a teenager. We're supposed to weigh way less than adults.

[The Vorpal Tribble]

Wild Running. That's what I call it anyways. I just head for the woods and take off like a crazy person. Climb trees, leap down gullies, climb falls, hurdle logs.

I especially enjoy it during storms.

[Deadly]

Well, I'm not really fit right now...

Anyway, I walk a lot, though not nearly as much as I would prefer. My wish is to walk a few thousand miles... just pack a few basic things and take off down the road and see where I end after a month of nothing but walking, that sort of thing. I like to walk. Would love to get fit enough to run a marathon or something too, but that's a long way ahead right now.

I used to swim a lot, as well as riding. Haven't done either in a loooong time. Occasionally other things, like skiing, climbing and canoeing. Wow, so many things I used to do... it's harder to find the motivation (and in the case of skiing, the money) when it's just yourself :smallsigh:

[Silverraptor]

I spend several hours walking aorund. Though I'm usually going from one place to another. Other then that, I eat alot and stay parked in front of the computer and I'm still skinny.

[largertyler]

I Pump The iron And Cold Steel!

[reorith]

i eat raw(for the most part) food and keep a paleolithic diet in addition to twelve hours of martial arts a week and daily yoga sessions in the morning.

[Solaris]

I totally disagree. I have 10% more body fat to burn, roughly, and I haven't gained muscle at all. I've got an ottermode build, if anyone outside of /fit/ knows what that means (tl;dr swimmer build), so I'm not expecting any huge muscle masses. I just want to get rid of most of my flab, but I don't have a ton as it is. Lowest I could get would be 118 at fat-free with no muscle gain, but that's ridiculously low for my height (BMI of 16.5 is ridiculous), so 135 would be fine. Plus, I lost pretty much 1 clothing size for every 5 lbs.

170 - 10
165 - 8
160 - 6
155 - 4

So...

150 - 2
145 - 0
140 - 00

Seeing as it's way easier to get to a 2 from a 4 than it is to get to a 4 from a 6 (circles ftl!).

Plus, remember I'm a teenager. We're supposed to weigh way less than adults.

You're also a female, and females don't generally build up muscle mass like males do. Muscle tone is what you're looking for.

[Recaiden]

I do swimming each weekday and some running and other exercises, but not as much.
It keeps me in an okay range of fitness.