Work it on out! (the physical training thread)

I know....I know...

I shouldn't laugh, I haven't done any fitness of any kind since last November

don't quit, in 45 years, you're that beef boy

I hate sports. I just try to stay at weight, healthy weight, by not snacking too often and luckily I cycle to work and at work I stand and walk a lot and also climb stairs a lot. So that's all the exercise I get. Oh and a bit of house chores of course. Oh and I do yoga. Good for strengthening the body but it does nothing for...

Seems like what you do is MORE than enough, Bregje. The best exercise is the one you get in your everyday life!

I hate training myself -- except certain ball sports -- but with my unhealthy eating, I realize it's necessary. Last couple of years have been unhealthy eating combined with lack of physical activity (even in the everyday). So I need to do something about that. It's not so much a weight issue (my weight is fine), but a matter of adding some muscles and getting some of the waist fat away. Maybe that will improve the liver situation too.

But by GOD -- beer and potato chips, two of the greatest inventions of all time....what to do with those?

That's nice, but the likelihood of working out in my own apartment is very slim. Too many distractions. But the exercise you mention is a good one when I'm in an actual gym. It's an alternative to regular sit-ups.

Yeah, I get that at my IT job!

We do scrum on a daily basis, with a standup in the morning. We do sprints every month and demo it for everyone to test our results.

You'd think I sit in front of a computer all day...

I need some advice! (Timmer?) I've recently got back into using weights, and try to workout each day. I've got a pretty decent 45-ish minute routine that I've been doing for a couple of months now, which includes dumbbells. I'm trying to lose weight (not that I'm fat, but just some excess weight around the stomach so any ab workout I do actually shows!), but, mostly, gain a bit of muscle definition.

I'm just wondering if I should be working out every day, if I should repeat the same workout every day, or should I be focusing on particular muscles each day, and do protein shakes/supplements actually work? (And when to take them.)

For fear of sounding like a workout wanker, I should add that I only do this for myself and don't go around "showing off" (not that I have much to show off with!). Nor do I want to look like Arnie.

The idea of resting just feels so counter-intuitive, yet I know it's the best thing to do. My reasoning is I feel like I don't do enough work on each muscle 'group' to warrant a rest day, and that a general workout like mine is okay to do each day? I never feel worn out the next day, but then maybe I'm not doing enough? Argh, why does it have to be so difficult!

The actual physical work is not a problem for me; it's the planning and finding the right routine for the best results I always struggle with. As long as I have a plan to follow, I'm good to go

maintitles.net has evolved into 'Work-out Inc."!

I tried a couple of weight-lifting sessions before summer (the first in a long time), but then a week later I had some intense pain in the right biceps. Well, a month later I go to the doctor, and he tells me I've torn off a lot of muscle fibers in there, and that it was only pure luck that they didn't have to operate. So I just have to wait untill it repairs itself, which is fine because I find weight-lifting the most boring enterprise in the world.

Meanwhile, I've tried a little bit of jogging once or twice a week (more like fast walking with a few brief jogs), which is also a bit boring, but much, much better.

Anyways, just a personal update. I really can't help in Steven's query this way or that way.

Yep!

4 minutes of planking (probably the hardest part of the routine... Jesus fucking Christ)
50 press ups (try to push myself off the ground each time)
50 squats (the second hardest part of the routine: I use a 22kg dumbbell I hold with both hands and curl with each squat, seems to work the pecs)
50 leg raises (not sure what it's called, but I lay flat on my back, and bring my legs up while reaching my toes with my hands, so they work the abs)
About a minute of side planking on each side
50 arm curls on each arm with a 12.5KG dumbbell (the 22kg seems overkill for my biceps)
30 sit ups (using the 12.5kg dumbbell)
25 press ups (hands closer together so it works slightly different muscles to normal push ups... I think)
30 ab crunches (I think that's what they're called)

It generally takes about 45 minutes because I take lots of mini breaks in-between… (It certainly works up a sweat, so I definitely feel like I'm doing something beneficial, though I fear I may be doing it the wrong way!)

Thanks for the advice Timmer. What kind of back and shoulder exercises could you recommend given my limited equipment?

I do 15 reps, then 10 then 5 for the armcurls. Also, I try to avoid sugary and fatty things, and don't overload my plate during meals. I've managed to cut a bit of fat, if slowly. But it's nice to see results no matter how small! (And I've definitely noticed a more toned physique.)

Not to be mixed up with the 'meme', or fad of planking, but rather the exercise. You hold that position for as long as you can, and ye gods does it work the lower abs! By doing 3-4 minutes of 'planking' every day for the last two months, I've seen a very noticeable difference.

I'm a little late to this conversation, but Steven, I highly recommend that you give give this guy's 12 week program a serious look. Even if you don't have access to a gym and you're doing everything with dumbells, the principles he lays out in the opening videos of his program are solid. I just wouldn't recommend taking creatine. A lot of body builders swear by it, but my cousin's husband ended up in the hospital because it had enlarged his heart. Stoppani knows his stuff, though, and this program was great for me last summer until I injured myself (through no fault of the program, I might add).