Work it out!

[Admiral Squish]

So! Yet again, I'm gonna try to work out in a serious fashion. But this time, I've got it set up so hopefully I'll be more reliable about it. I've arranged a gym membership, and to play racquetball with my little step-brother every Wednesday, which should be pretty good aerobic exercise, and I intend to hit the weight room afterward for some muscle-building. However, I once again have run into the problem of not knowing what the hell I'm doing. I really don't want to injure myself and I do need to be in working shape the following day for work. Currently, my plan is to use tomorrow as a calibrating day. Figure out what my limits are on different machines and such things, then base the actual future workouts on the results. However, this seems risky for my workability on the following day. Is it a bad idea? Is there an alternative?

Anyways, I was hoping the playground could give me a crash-course in working out. Things to avoid, things to make sure I do, advice on areas to work, machine operation, helpful links, stuff like that.

[Savannah]

A lot of gym memberships come with 1-2 free sessions with a personal trainer to show you how everything works, help you set up a reasonable schedule for yourself, and make sure you aren't going to hurt yourself. See if you can get something like that (or even pay for one session if you have to!) as there's no way we can be as helpful as someone actually standing at your side going "no, if you do that, you'll injure yourself".

[Hippopotamus]

What Squish said. There's nothing as helpful when you're new to weightlifting as having a friend or a relative teach you correct form and spot you, especially on free weights like the bench press. If you can find someone, great; personally, my older brother helped me. If not, then you should definitely invest some of your free time to learning at least the basics. bodybuilding.com and http://www.acefitness.org/getfit/default.aspx should be your first stops.

I'm not sure exactly what it is you're looking for with regards to advice from the Playground. Do you want to lose weight? Are you focusing on just increasing your strength? Or do you just want to get fit? Whichever one it is, depending on your age, you should probably try to workout more than once a week, even if its only a half hour to an hour. Frequent but lighter workouts will give you better results and you'll still be able to go to work the next day. It also makes more financial sense to take advantage of your membership as often as possible. But whatever amount of time you spend in the gym, be sure that you don't push yourself because you think you need to keep up with others; Whatever you do in the weight room is your business.

As for actually working out, I can only give you pretty general advice. Make sure that you eat carbohydrates and proteins in at least one meal before or after you workout, as well as (if you're looking for muscle gain) probably a whey protein shake. Never workout without warming up and stretching first; by warm up, I mean at least 6-12 minutes of cardio, or until you're sweating hard. You need to stretch your entire body moderately before each workout as well as the area you plan to focus on that day (if you going around twice or three times a week) seriously. Calves, quads, shoulders, arms, abs, hip flexor, etc. all you should have 20-30 seconds dedicated to each of them as a general stretch. I don't know how hard you can or want to work, so I suggest doing what you said only with the utmost caution; do maybe a set of each machine you'll be using for the next dozen sessions or so. How much you actually work when you go to the gym is dependent on your age, dedication, and fitness level. Then, at the end of each workout, do a little bit more stretching and cardio; the cardio, your cooldown, eases your body out of your workout and your stretches, immediately after you finish your workout, will improve your flexibility a lot. Then, once you get home, you should eat a healthy meal or drink a protein shake if you don't have time (like I said before, if you want muscle gain aim for a shake after every session in the weight room).

I think that's about it, as long and convoluted as it is:smallredface:. Sleep and a healthy meal are always important, duh. Another thing you should look into as a method for getting healthier (which weight work does not really do) is running, swimming or another cardio exercise. I can tell you from experience that running (although not right now, obviously) is an amazing workout. The health benefits are huge, you feel fantastic after you're finished, and after a few months you are going to be addicted to the actual feeling of it; believe it or not it gets fun.

[Savannah]

What Squish said.

Erm, do you happen to mean "Savannah"? :smallconfused:

[Liffguard]

My favourite beginners' resource for weight training is Stronglifts. (http://www.stronglifts.com) Very simple and effective, with pretty clear tutorials. If you don't want to trawl through the site, here's the gist of it:
Train three days per week, alternating between session A and session B
Session A:
Squat 5x5
Bench press 5x5
Barbell row 5x5
Session B:
Squat 5x5
Overhead press 5x5
Deadlift 1x5

It's still worth getting some instruction in safe technique for the basic lifts like deadlifts and squats. I'd also recommend against using resistance machines as a general rule unless you have a specific injury or health issue that prevents you from safely using free weights.


Never workout without warming up and stretching first; by warm up, I mean at least 6-12 minutes of cardio, or until you're sweating hard. You need to stretch your entire body moderately before each workout as well as the area you plan to focus on that day (if you going around twice or three times a week)

Long since disproven. Static stretching prior to a workout is ineffective at best and counter-productive at worst, both decreasing performance and increasing risk of injury. Dan John put it best, "the work out is the warm up." I.e. the warm up needs to be composed of the same movements as the workout itself, performed at a lower (but increasing) level of intensity.

[polity4life]

You should stretch. Consider a mix of ballistic and static stretches to kick your heart rate up and prepare your muscles for work. Also do the same after you are done. This will prevent injury and soreness of muscles which can derail your workout plans.

[Liffguard]

You should stretch. Consider a mix of ballistic and static stretches to kick your heart rate up and prepare your muscles for work. Also do the same after you are done. This will prevent injury and soreness of muscles which can derail your workout plans.

Static stretching will neither raise your heart-rate nor prepare your muscles for work. Ballistic stretching should never be performed at all. It increases the risk of injury and does nothing for performance.

[polity4life]

I'm going with anecdotal evidence, of course, but every time I "got serious" about working out and didn't stretch properly I ended up injured. After waiting long enough to get back on the horse, I stretched and didn't have problems. In fact, I noticed a remarkably difference in terms of muscle soreness.

I should probably note that I'm primarily concerned with cardio and flexibility. Perhaps it's different with a workout that emphasizes weights.

[Liffguard]

Post-workout stretching? Sure. That's good stuff. It's pre-workout static stretching that's counter-productive, and ballistic stretching is always counter-productive. If I were to conjecture on why you were injured when not stretching I'd guess it was because your cardio warmup didn't have specific relevance to the movements you were to perform in your workout. There could also be a psychosomatic component. That said, I obviously have no real knowledge of individual anecdotal cases. I just read the studies.

[polity4life]

Turns out it was a bulging disc in my thoracic region.

I did a little reading while we were going back and forth on ballistic stretching and you're absolutely right. Unless you know what you are doing or are with a trainer and are already in good shape, don't do ballistic stretching. I'll recant that part.

[valadil]

Read Starting Strength by Mark Rippetoe. If you want to join an online community for working out, check out the fitness section of reddit.