i teach cycling classes at LA Fitness, hike and run for cardio. I started teaching yoga about 10 years ago and that changed my body completely. my muscles are longer and leaner and are more defined than when i was lifting weights. it agrees with my body type. finding the right work out and balanced diet is key. but you have to find something you enjoy doing so that you will stick to it. and dancing, burns tons of calories and is great for your legs :)
i'm proud of you billy :) being healthy is important.
Direct
quote:
Originally posted by rizo
are you still a personal trainer? you're over due for an sf visit too :whip:
Yup still a PT.
Haha yeah I know. I was there in Oct for LE, but hanvt seen any talent lately that caught my interest. Maybe ill come down in early April and we'll do it big for our birthdays.
in2muzikk
Ditch the highly processed food (white flour, white rice, etc.) "White" food was once a sign of purity, until people started dying since it had no nutrition, so then after stripping grains of all fiber and bleaching them they had to add vitamins back in to stop everyone from dying... :wtf: After eating highly processed food, the body doesn't have to work very hard to digest it, so it floods into the bloodstream and turns to sugar and fat. After eating whole grains and complex carbohydrates, the body needs to work a lot to break it down, so just eating such foods creates a good workout. :)
Eat Breakfast everyday, otherwise we're training our bodies to store food, dunno when that next meal will be... I was on vacation in Germany once, and a local told me that German custom is to eat a small breakfast early in the morning to be followed by a bigger one, so just one breakfast a day doesn't seem so hard!
I never eat or drink anything that has high fructose corn syrup in it...amazing how much of our food has this cheap, highly caloric sweetener! I was going to eat one of those little bowls of cereal at work once, but every one of them had high fructose corn syrup, so I just bring my own. Oatmeal and quinoa make a good hot breakfast too!
Hit the gym...I go 5x a week...once you get into it, it just becomes part of your life, like going out and dancing :)
Two of my workouts each week are Yoga...someone told me once that Yoga was too slow for them, not enough of a high energy workout. If you "take it to the next level" but stop before there's any pain, Yoga can be one of the most demanding workouts and you'll sweat like a pig! Whenever I get a stiff neck, pinched nerve in my shoulder or whatever, one class and it's all gone! The words "Yoga Butt" were not invented for nothing. :)
I do 20-30 minutes of cardio before lifting weights, doesn't seem to matter whether before or after, have done both but it does provide a good warmup beforehand
Blow it once in awhile and have a hot fudge sundae or [insert favorite decadent dessert here]. If you're exercising and eating right most of the time, it's not going to hurt...I have read that it may even help stop one's metabolism from slowing down permanently.
Go to the Haiti Earthquake Relief Effort thread thread and help someone else in need. You'll feel better about yourself and won't be at the fridge looking for something else that will make you feel good for only about 15 minutes. :)
I know everyone's different, but all of the above work for me. When someone comments about how I don't need to lose any weight and says I must be born that way, I just smile. :)
R!CH
i'm no expert, but i do have a strong interest in my own personal health, and from my own experience this is what i can say...
general health contains 3 main components: physical, mental, emotional.
physical health contains another 3: sleep, diet, exercise.
sleep is central to all 3 components of health. it's responsible for proper immune function, memory consolidation, mood, energy, etc. when you deprive yourself of a full night of sleep, you impact these functions greatly. a healthy amount of sleep is enough hours to where you can wake up naturally without alarms. everyone is different here, most people fall within the 7-9 hour range, some only require 4-5--for me it's 7.5 hours if i haven't been affected by system shocks such as exhaustion.
a healthy diet should contain mostly whole foods with high nutrient densities. in simple terms this means a rainbow-colored assortment of fruits and vegetables, dark leafy greens especially, carbs mostly complex, fats mostly unsaturated and meats mostly lean. light cooking improves the taste and bioavailability of healthy foods, but prolonged high heat alters and destroys nutrients, makes some healthy things unhealthy. highly processed foods are always more bad than good for you. also pay attention to the acidity and alkalinity of foods. american diets are heavily acidic, which leads to a world of health problems down the road.
if your plate represents your whole diet, half of it should be covered with fruits and vegetables. the other half should be pretty evenly split with your carb, protein and fat requirement. the biggest pitfall in the american diet is excess sugar, sodium and fat. that's how one's diet becomes a health problem. shocking your system back and forth with trendy and effective diets may help you shed temporary weight, but the cumulative effects of your eating habits on your brain, heart, arteries, kidneys, stomach, colon, etc will persist beneath the surface. in other words having a thin figure or big muscles doesn't mean you're healthy. you don't have to follow a regimented diet 100% of the time, but you should at least be eating healthy 5-6 days out of the week to maintain good health into old age.
exercise should come into play once you have sleep and diet normalized because exercise is highly stressful to the system. if you're not getting proper sleep and eating like , which includes partying, then exercise can do more harm than good. if you're still detoxing from a rough weekend, you're better off sitting on the couch watching tv than going to the gym. as i said earlier, sleep is critical for immune function and your immune system is what repairs and builds muscle. alcohol, cigarettes and other drugs weaken your immune system and working out with a compromised immune system will cause damage you can't keep up with and possibly make you sick.
the key to getting into a good exercise routine is to be gradual. start with basic exercise like jogging, biking and body-weight exercises like push ups, pull ups, crunches and jump rope for the first few weeks. building your core strength and the strength of your joints and ligaments is an important precursor to building muscle strength. for real results, the key is consistency. you have to be consistent about diet, sleep and exercise. exercise can be the hardest to maintain interest in especially since it is often the last priority of the day. setting a routine that doesn't bore you will help keep you interested long enough to appreciate the first results.
lifting weights and using machines gets really boring for me. i've only been consistent at it once in my life, so now i ride a road bicycle anywhere i can get an errand done within a 10 mile radius, shoot for at least one long ride a week, and when it rains i go for a quick 2 mile run around the neighborhood instead. 3 times a week i go to my rock climbing gym and try to work all my muscle groups, especially core. yoga is also great, i would do more of it if i wasn't too busy with everything else. "mirror muscle" work outs are great for the ego, but ultimately useless to real physical health. the most important thing to concentrate on for basic health is getting your heart rate up for 20 minutes, 4 times a week. everyone has enough time to do that.
as far as running before or after a work out, you always want to warm up to a work out for maximum performance. that would mean a jog/run for 10 minutes to get your heart rate up, joints flowing and muscles stretched. you should have adequate work out fuel as well, protein and complex carbs within 90 min before and 90 min after. stretching post work out is important too if flexibility means anything to you.
omega1n
I'm doing the opposite here... I'm actually trying to gain weight.
72hrpartyanimal
how about eating?
is it better eating before or after a meal?
obviously if eating before I would have to wait an hour or so before working out.
Kismet7
quote:
Originally posted by R!CH
i'm no expert, but i do have a strong interest in my own personal health, and from my own experience this is what i can say...
general health contains 3 main components: physical, mental, emotional.
physical health contains another 3: sleep, diet, exercise.
sleep is central to all 3 components of health. it's responsible for proper immune function, memory consolidation, mood, energy, etc. when you deprive yourself of a full night of sleep, you impact these functions greatly. a healthy amount of sleep is enough hours to where you can wake up naturally without alarms. everyone is different here, most people fall within the 7-9 hour range, some only require 4-5--for me it's 7.5 hours if i haven't been affected by system shocks such as exhaustion.
a healthy diet should contain mostly whole foods with high nutrient densities. in simple terms this means a rainbow-colored assortment of fruits and vegetables, dark leafy greens especially, carbs mostly complex, fats mostly unsaturated and meats mostly lean. light cooking improves the taste and bioavailability of healthy foods, but prolonged high heat alters and destroys nutrients, makes some healthy things unhealthy. highly processed foods are always more bad than good for you. also pay attention to the acidity and alkalinity of foods. american diets are heavily acidic, which leads to a world of health problems down the road.
if your plate represents your whole diet, half of it should be covered with fruits and vegetables. the other half should be pretty evenly split with your carb, protein and fat requirement. the biggest pitfall in the american diet is excess sugar, sodium and fat. that's how one's diet becomes a health problem. shocking your system back and forth with trendy and effective diets may help you shed temporary weight, but the cumulative effects of your eating habits on your brain, heart, arteries, kidneys, stomach, colon, etc will persist beneath the surface. in other words having a thin figure or big muscles doesn't mean you're healthy. you don't have to follow a regimented diet 100% of the time, but you should at least be eating healthy 5-6 days out of the week to maintain good health into old age.
exercise should come into play once you have sleep and diet normalized because exercise is highly stressful to the system. if you're not getting proper sleep and eating like , which includes partying, then exercise can do more harm than good. if you're still detoxing from a rough weekend, you're better off sitting on the couch watching tv than going to the gym. as i said earlier, sleep is critical for immune function and your immune system is what repairs and builds muscle. alcohol, cigarettes and other drugs weaken your immune system and working out with a compromised immune system will cause damage you can't keep up with and possibly make you sick.
the key to getting into a good exercise routine is to be gradual. start with basic exercise like jogging, biking and body-weight exercises like push ups, pull ups, crunches and jump rope for the first few weeks. building your core strength and the strength of your joints and ligaments is an important precursor to building muscle strength. for real results, the key is consistency. you have to be consistent about diet, sleep and exercise. exercise can be the hardest to maintain interest in especially since it is often the last priority of the day. setting a routine that doesn't bore you will help keep you interested long enough to appreciate the first results.
lifting weights and using machines gets really boring for me. i've only been consistent at it once in my life, so now i ride a road bicycle anywhere i can get an errand done within a 10 mile radius, shoot for at least one long ride a week, and when it rains i go for a quick 2 mile run around the neighborhood instead. 3 times a week i go to my rock climbing gym and try to work all my muscle groups, especially core. yoga is also great, i would do more of it if i wasn't too busy with everything else. "mirror muscle" work outs are great for the ego, but ultimately useless to real physical health. the most important thing to concentrate on for basic health is getting your heart rate up for 20 minutes, 4 times a week. everyone has enough time to do that.
as far as running before or after a work out, you always want to warm up to a work out for maximum performance. that would mean a jog/run for 10 minutes to get your heart rate up, joints flowing and muscles stretched. you should have adequate work out fuel as well, protein and complex carbs within 90 min before and 90 min after. stretching post work out is important too if flexibility means anything to you.
good advice all around. Yoga does look like good for the body and soul. Hopefully some time in my 30s I get into doin something like Yoga.
Kismet7
quote:
Originally posted by 72hrpartyanimal
how about eating?
is it better eating before or after a meal?
obviously if eating before I would have to wait an hour or so before working out.
its better eating before a meal. because if you eat after it you've already eaten. :p
People say its good to eat after a workout...to replenish energy and get protein into ripped up muscles.
For some reason I always thought its good to eat before, so you have energy to workout and turn to muscle.
SeventhSense
Find a group of people to help motivate you! 18 months ago i didnt do much but lift weights at the gym 4-5 days a week. I got egg'ed on by a friend to participate in a weekly aqua-run at the beach and next thing you know, I did my first triathlon 8 months later at Wildflower. Thats not for everyone but it makes an excellent point. Just because you start from zero, doesnt mean it isnt possible. Find friends that enjoy doing something together and feed off each others drive. It helps when 5-6 of your friends are getting together to ride and run on a weekend or week night and you might not be that driven to do it, knowing that they are out there helps me get my butt in gear. I have self-motivation issues and I battle it
As for food and meals, everyone is in a different boat. I have had some of the opposite struggles as most people trying to get in shape. I have a hard time putting on weight. 2 years ago I was 6'4" and 165lbs. I would eat like a maniac and was a heavy drinker as well and I couldnt even put on bloated weight passed about 170lbs. These days I am doing better but Ive had to really concentrate on eating correctly. My goal is 6-7 smaller meals a day. If you plan to be highly active, try things like natural peanut butter on bagels, yogurt and granola, granola straight up. Snack foods like almonds are really good for you as well. Whole wheat pasta may look and taste like cardboard but really helps to cut down on your starch intake. If you are trying to take some weight off, make sure you are eating early enough at night that your body has time to process the food before you shutdown for the night.
Lastly, alcohol. I know its hard to do, I did it for a month before my first race at Wildflower and it was the toughest 5 weeks (especially post-WMC) that I've gone through. It is amazing how much weight you can lose by cutting out just alcohol. You sleep better, you eat better, you feel better.
Ever think about running a marathon or half-marathon? Want to do a triathlon but have no idea where to start? Check your local area for tri-clubs or check out Team-in-Training for training support and group organization.
72hrpartyanimal
Well, i took some helpful advise and tried a short 10 minute warm up run/walk before my work out and another 10 minute cool off run/walk afterward. I must say this is one of my better workouts i had thus far. Hoping to improve the after run in due time. Up it to about 20 minutes or so where its an actual cardio work out. Still trying to get all the tobacco out of my lungs i guess.
rizo
im with rich. i find gyms boring as hell. i do however enjoy long walks, hikes and sometimes jogging. i can easily do 10 miles of either and keep up with my friend who is a gym fanatic. hes tried to get me to work on my upper body but havent found anything that keeps my attention enough to do it routinely.
LYNDSAYwhaaat?
quote:
Originally posted by SeventhSense
Ever think about running a marathon or half-marathon?
