2008 workout thread!!

[pseman]

JBjorn, sent you a PM.

I trained/taught martial arts for about 7 years and used to be extremely fit and flexible but in the last few years, with 2 small girls and a wife(I know these are just excuses) I have not exercised on any real routine basis. A few months here, a few months there. I have not gained/lost any weight, but have become much "softer" and much less muscle definition and flexibility.

Any type of total body workout that requires little to no equipment and works the entire body, both muscle and cardio is exactly what I need.

I have also become interested in yoga. Anyone who does yoga regularly, how has it benefited you? Flexibility? Balance? Strength?

My body has been 6'2" 180-190lb for the last 10 years, but it's looked and felt a lot better than it does today.

[lngbwguy]

Hey guys this is a great thread.I have been trying to get back in shape as well.I am going to Co. to hunt elk in the fall and that is my motivation.I work out with free weights and generally do about 25 minuts of walking on a Nordic Trac with a 45 lb. pack on.When I get tired I take the pack off and jog till for about another 10 min.I also do the normal push ups and crunches.I havent lost that much weight but my strength and endurance are much better.

[hawk22]

I forgot to mention that I try to meditate at least three times a week.  It helps clear you mind and relax your body.

[John Scifres]

About every 2 years I go elk hunting.  It used to be that I would get in shape one year and then get out of shape the next.  I changed that this time.  Being in shape is a lifestyle thing not a New Year's resolution.  Instead make a new life resolution.

I am 5'10" and 170 and the charts show me at slightly overweight.  I'd like to be more around 165# with about 2" off the round portion in the middle  

Here's the routine I have followed for the past couple years.  I try to get this in 5 times a week but the minimum is 3.

Morning exercise for 30-40 minutes consisting of 10 minutes of stretches (toe touches, cherry pickers, and some shoulder stretches), 2-5 minutes of jumping jacks and then alternating between push-ups and crunches one day and then an upper body dumbbell workout the next.  Don't try to max out, just tone.  I use 25 pound dumbbells.

Lunch workout consisting of jogging, hiking, pack work when I'm trainign for a hunt out west, or a fitness trail at a nearby park that has som enice trails with hills and everything (yes we have hills in central IN).  I usually get to workout for 45 minutes or so.

Bike riding and general exercise with the kids pretty much all the time really helps too.  Someone above hit on the key to staying in shape:  eat less and move more.  30% of our population isn't just overweight, it is obese.  Do yourself and your family a favor and lose weight.

Enjoy it.  It really can be fun.

[John Scifres]

I forgot 2 things:  look at fitday.com

Also, the past 2 hunts, my hunting partners and I have had a challenge where we set weight and workout goals and weigh in and report out every Monday morning.  Accountability is a beotch.

[52 bow]

I weigh 180# at 6' and lay block and finish concrete- by myself- till mid Oct. then I quit work and hunt for 3 months which is bad for my weight- usually 3-4 beers and a pizza twice a week helps keep it up till I start back to work in late March and get a rest!!!! Gotta watch what I eat then!!Eat your heart out Mike! Good luck,John.

[Matt Stuckey]

there is lots of great information here, for those just getting started or trying to get back into it, keep it simple.  trying to set too loftly of a regiment right away will only get you burnt out.  Start with a walking program of 30 minutes 5-7 times a week, increase your speed and duration as you go.  if weight loss is your goal, keep it simple.  it comes down to calories in vs. calories out.  i don't buy into cutting things out of your diet, read a few labels and look at the calories you are taking in.  A pound is 3500 calories.  if you burn 500 more calories than you take in a day, that's a pound a week, which is typically recognized as safe weight loss.  but remeber keep drinking, if you are losing more that 1-2 pounds a week its probably water weight, you will end up dehydrated and in worse shape than you started.

For those who are regular exercisers, don't forget our bodies are amazing machines.  Remember the S.A.I.D. principle: Specific Adaptations to Imposed Demands.  Our bodies adjust to the stresses placed upon it( exercise routines).  If you feel like you are hitting a wall, mix it up a little.  change your order, time of day, number of sets and reps.  If you look at the routines of athletes underdirecion of trained professionals, their routine is switched every few months or often less.  keep your body guessing and you will see better results.  

whatever it is that you choose to do, stick with it.  we could all get into a little better shape.

[Chisler]

I've always been active and thought I was naturally fit, always a little on the husky side though.  I'm 48, 5'11" and 225#.  I guess age and gravity are starting to have more of an effect on me.  My goal is 195#.  I've always been "too busy" to work out, have never been to the gym.  I'm gotta get back on the bicycle, I used to ride a lot, when the weather gets better. Also have an eliptical machine that's really never been used more than 2 days in a row.

I like northshore's idea.  I cut an osage log on Saturday and had to haul/carry 3 logs up a muddy hill to my truck.  My shoulders feel good after spending about 6 hours on the shaving horse roughing out some staves on Sunday and Monday.  Hmmm, walk on the eliptical or build bows????  Time is precious!

[ghost rob]

This is a good idea as long as everyone can keep focused. I work third shift and it seems as if I'm eating much more than I used to. I come home hungry, so I eat before laying down(bad) then I only sleep about 4-5 hours. I get up and have something to eat. I then eat supper with the family. I then go back to bed for 2 hours. At work I eat at 3am. Then the whole cycle starts again. I'm 6' 255# I have'nt gained any weight for about 14 years but I hav'nt lost any either. At 42 years old I've noticed a loss of strength. When I was in good shape I weighed about 215 with a 32" waist. I need to get there again. I'm gonna start with some walking and food control. Thanks for starting this and letting us all know we're not alone.

[JBiorn]

For those of you that are already in pretty good shape---

 Tuesday

 Complete as many rounds in 20 minutes as you can of:
5 Pull-ups
10 Push-ups
15 Squats

 Let post the numbers guys----that makes the motivation go up.

[Mike Bolin]

O.K. Great response so far! As I wrote earlier, I am 52 and 6'2" and 255#. When I power lifted in my late 20s and early 30s I weighed in at 272#. I also played alot of ball them so for that weight I was in pretty good shape. I have started with 20-30 min. a day of biking-stationary in bad weather, mountain bike when it is fit. I have a bow-flex kinda machine, but I am using mostly dumbells.
1.warm up (bike)M-F
2.squats-3 sets (start with no weight, pyramid up)M,W,F
3.Upper back-bent over rows, 3 sets (pyramid up in weight)Squeeze shoulder blades together, great exercize for bow pullin' M,W,F
4.Chest-3 sets ea. flat bench, incline bench and 'flys (pyramid again) M,W,F
5.Shoulder presses-3 sets (pyramid) M,W,F
6.Triceps-2 exercises-bent over extensions and behind head extensions, 3 sets each (pyramid)M,W,F
7.Biceps-alternating curls, 3 sets (pyramid) M,W,F
I also try to shoot on Tues. and Thurs. and if there is nothing to hunt, I either go to a 3-D shoot or do some stump shootin' with my friends on the weekends.
I work out in my garage and often I will be fletching arrows as I work out. Feather on, weights for 15 minutes, feather on, weights for 15 minutes.....and so on. As the weather allows, I am planning to incorporate my pack frame and with some weight on it into my stump shooting. Build the legs up and get some practice in as well. I will add weight to the frame as the old body allows!
Just a reminder, if you do not have any experience with lifting, form is just as important....NO, MORE important in lifting as it is in shooting. You can hurt yourself, even with light weights if you do an exercize improperly. Seek out someone with some experience if you are not sure how to perform an exercize. Good luck! Mike

[PurpleCajun]

JBiorn's workout is very similar to what mine was prior to changing over to the new one.  I try not to stay in one routine for much longer than 2 months, mostly to avoid boredom.

I dropped the 8-counts simply because I hate doing them.  They feel good after the fact, I know they're good for me, I've seen the results of doing them for a couple months...  I just hate them so very much that I don't look forward to doing my workout.  Also for the same reason, I dropped Dive-bombers (which are incredible).  I figure that if I'm dreading my workout, I'm more likely to find excuses not to do it.  

Back in my martial arts days I used another similar workout.  You just can't beat the use of your own body as its own resistance.  

I'll break mine down into more specifics as others have.

Walk 1 mile, Run 3.2 miles (alternating sprint and jog every 30 seconds to a minute).  Walk 1 mile.

Pull ups to max possible
Air Squats - 100 - 120
Push-ups, max
Sit-ups, max
Dips, max
Leg Levers, max
Modified, close-armed push-ups, max
Arm Curls, 10 of whatever weight you can do 10 and only 10 of.
Hanging rows, max
Lunges, 20 for each leg.

Rest for 3 minutes, repeat twice more (not the running, that'd be insane!)

Alternate days, I spend 43 minutes on the ski-machine (an episode of some tv series on dvd).

Fitness for me is a requirement, with the exception of the two years prior to 2007, I've always been in excellent shape for various reasons.  Then I had a relatively major surgery and I was forced into a sort of self-imposed lethargy.  When 2007 rolled around and my body started to work like it's supposed to, I hit the fitness-routines with a passion.  

When I started back up, I found that the bow-flex was an incredible machine for building myself up from the state I had fallen into.  The resistance is smooth and nicely adjustable.  I could put together a few different routines until my muscles were up to the point where they could handle the stresses I was longing to put them through.  A bow-flex bench-press made doing my push-ups significantly easier, and the rows made it possible for me to get back into doing pull-ups and the like.  

As for diet, it consists of fruits and meats, with yogurt for breakfast.  My wife is a big fan of making home-brew mac and cheese... so I have to "sacrifice" and eat that once a week or so =p

[Dave Coalter]

I hit the free weight for 25 minutes a day than the tread mill for 20 minutes after the weights.
5'11"  205 lbs

[bentpole]

About a year and a half ago.I went to the Doc's after a 8 year hiatus. Well the Doc said she would like me to lose weight.I gave up the sauce[for a number of reasons] I started waking up 1/2 hour earlier before work  High Rep workout with free weights, pushups, crunches, dips,  . Ride the bike every other day 6 miles and walk 2 miles bike days off. I dropped 18 pounds in 3 weeks No BS. Right now I've been slacking because of a torn rotater cuff . But I'm still 5'9"s 170lbs and 53 years young.I always said you can eat all you want as long as you burn it off.

[Eric Krewson]

Back about 30 years ago and newly divorced, I started dating a gal who ran, she could easily out run me. I took up running(ego thing) and kept at it for the next twenty years. My joints suffered in the long run so I stopped running and started lifting weights and walking about ten years ago.

Now I work out with free weights and weight machines for 45 min and then go on a three mile very fast walk. I do this M-W-F. On the other days I do about 20 minutes of back stretching and back targeted exercises to keep me mobile after a bad fall from a tree in 1990.

I am 60 and take the time to exercise so I can keep roaming the hills.

[JBiorn]

Wednesday crossfit workout

Three rounds for time of:
Run 800 meters
50 Back Extensions
50 Sit-ups

[NorthShoreLB]

WORKING OUT SUCKS !!

...Just came back from 4 hours of surfing,..ho well I guess someone's gotta do it    


 

[JBiorn]

Dude----if my back wasn't in the condition its in, I would be there in a second! I wanna play, too. Sometimes I miss SoCal a lot.

[tradtusker]

oh thats not fair bro!

 ..not when i got Jeff's day 2 workout 2 do and its the good old wet and soggy english weather outside  :mad:    

[JBiorn]

Damn----I am a broken back guy these days, I am only sharing my limited knowledge here. I am trying to be a Monster, but I have a long way to go.