World Beyblade Organization by Fighting Spirits Inc. Off-Topic Forums General Discussion

General Fitness Thread

Apr. 01, 2014  5:58 AM
 
Hi everyone, Momo here; I haven't posted on the WBO in a while, and I was thinking, maybe I should share something the helped me shape myself into someone that I never thought I could become.

Before I get into the contents of this thread, let me share a story. (Click to View)

So, if you decided that the story was a bit long, I understand, hahah. I just wanted to open up a thread for general fitness for those who have ideas that they'd like to share, tips, advice and all that for clean eating and training, as well as those who may be interested in starting up with the most rewarding addiction out there~

I'll do my best to help those out and answer questions~
Apr. 01, 2014  12:38 PM
 
<<<God if only I could be as in good shape as that guy when I eat cereal. Look how skinny he is!

I am currently on a mini-regiment that I think is doing fairly well. Back story for ya...

So I am 16, and eating my weight in food everyday is slowly catching up to me. My metabolism is amazing, and I am really keeping my figure in great shape. The the only problem I have is that I am starting to get a gut forming from wearing shorts and binging. This is what I do, but this is just me.

1. 3 times a day (usually morning, mid-day and night) I do 25 sit-ups.
2. Every other day, I will not necessarily starve myself, but only eat my normal meals without snacks. Since I eat like, 150 pounds of food everyday, it always helps to cut down every other day (this doesn't mean stuff yourself with like, 15 chocolate Spunkmeyer cupcakes the next day, however).
3. On the days that I don't eat less, I make sure that I eat before I do the workout, so that any progress I make is not automatically lost afterwards.

This is about week 5, and the width around my gut was 44". Now it's at 41". Slow and steady progress...
Jul. 20, 2014  5:09 AM
 
I'm trying to gain weight and build a little more muscle. I weigh about 135. I eat tons of food and do my daily basic workouts like pushups,sit up,squats,elevated pushups,pull ups jog from my house to Mcdonalds and my diet pretty good. I stay off the junk food. In the mornings I have like 2 raw eggs because I read they had a lot of protein when they're not cooked. Also I started drinking muscle milk. But I still see no improvement!!! I'm still 135 and I've been doing this for 2 months straight. What the heck am I doing wrong?!!! I thought it was because I have a fast metabolism but I'm still unsure....
Jul. 20, 2014  5:12 AM
 
(Jul. 20, 2014  5:09 AM)SupremeDragon16 Wrote: I'm trying to gain weight and build a little more muscle. I weigh about 135. I eat tons of food and do my daily basic workouts like pushups,sit up,squats,elevated pushups,pull ups jog from my house to Mcdonalds and my diet pretty good. I stay off the junk food. In the mornings I have like 2 raw eggs because I read they had a lot of protein when they're not cooked. Also I started drinking muscle milk. But I still see no improvement!!! I'm still 135 and I've been doing this for 2 months straight. What the heck am I doing wrong?!!! I thought it was because I have a fast metabolism but I'm still unsure....

It may be the fact that you are fifteen and might not have finished your growth yet ...
Jul. 20, 2014  5:22 AM
 
That can't be it! I see other fifteen year olds that look like they've been bench pressing their whole lives. I just want to find a quick efficient way to gain more muscle. I was going to buy the “Iron Gym" I saw on T.V because it looks like it works but it cost too much to me.
Jul. 20, 2014  5:25 AM
 
(Jul. 20, 2014  5:09 AM)SupremeDragon16 Wrote: I'm trying to gain weight and build a little more muscle. I weigh about 135. I eat tons of food and do my daily basic workouts like pushups,sit up,squats,elevated pushups,pull ups jog from my house to Mcdonalds and my diet pretty good. I stay off the junk food. In the mornings I have like 2 raw eggs because I read they had a lot of protein when they're not cooked. Also I started drinking muscle milk. But I still see no improvement!!! I'm still 135 and I've been doing this for 2 months straight. What the heck am I doing wrong?!!! I thought it was because I have a fast metabolism but I'm still unsure....
I work out for my school and at the beginning of the year I weighed 120 pounds, at could squat maybe 100 pounds. At the end of the school year I weighed 160 and could squat 180 pounds. I bought a weight lifting machine thing, and worked out every other day.

My week consists of me playing tennis for 1 and a half 6 days a week, 1 hour for tennis lessons once a week, I walk a mile every other Saturday, and leisurely swim for 2 hours every other 2 weeks, and sometime work out(Squat, bench press, box, etc.).
Jul. 20, 2014  5:28 AM
 
2 months is a short time, give it a year and you will see real results.

My training is usually 5/6 days a week, i start by stretching and warming up, then i perform Jin Gang Ba Shi, then i practice Xiao BaJi Jia x8, then Da BaJi Jia x8, then PiGua Zhang, and i also train with my swords, i do behind the head pullups x10:3, i lift weights, i use weighted clothing, and i do my posture training like the horse stance, empty stance, etc.
Jul. 20, 2014  6:30 AM
 
My work out is literally just running about 5-6 miles a day and doing various crunches throughout the day. I'm not to big on gaining muscle just because I don't really need the extra weight since I do run. Basically in 3 weeks of doing that I got the "6-pack" everyone desperately wants.
Jul. 20, 2014  6:56 AM
 
(Jul. 20, 2014  5:22 AM)SupremeDragon16 Wrote: That can't be it! I see other fifteen year olds that look like they've been bench pressing their whole lives. I just want to find a quick efficient way to gain more muscle. I was going to buy the “Iron Gym" I saw on T.V because it looks like it works but it cost too much to me.

Those TV programs don't really work, they're usually scams, but that's your call.

I do have a workout that helped me develop a solid amount of muscle, here:

Spoiler (Click to View)
I've slowed down in my workouts due to an ankle injury, it's still nagging me, so I don't dare to re-injure it. But what's inside that spoiler is my daily workout for basketball, haha.
Jul. 20, 2014  7:03 AM
 
I'm trying to gain weight, but it's hard because I run a lot and I have a high metabolism!XD oh and I weigh 87 pounds, I'm sixteenSmile
Jul. 20, 2014  7:25 AM
 
I do so. Much. Cardio.

That and I practice Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Muai Thai.
I'm on vacation right now so I've been running a lot, 3 miles day and night, then I bike up a hill for my leg muscles (gotta polish dem kicks). For core, I do a lot of crunches. I don't necessarily eat a ton, but it isn't a little. Although I am 17, my metabolism SUCKS. So I have to work off what I put on. I'm 5' 8" and 127-130 depending if I ate or not.

Other than that the sports I do competitively consist of martial arts, cross-country, soccer (fun as hell, been playing for a long while), Blading, and yeah.
I do a lot of stretching too, does the body good. My knees are shot, but that's a sob story for a different time XD
Jul. 20, 2014  7:29 AM
 
I either eat a lot, or barely eat, neither of which are good but I have fairly high metabolism. I'm around 5' 8" and weigh 118. I've been told I'm underweight by some but also as a healthy weight. Y DONT THEY REALIZE ITS BECAUE I RUN ALL THE TIME?! (And hell, I'm not even that good with only a 5:58 mile and a 12:40 2 mile haha. Also just remembered my 5k is like exactly 20.) And when I don't run, I'm either biking or playing basketball so, yeah.
Jul. 20, 2014  7:31 AM
 
See if you're a runner, it's a little different. But for what you do, you're pretty much perfect
Jul. 20, 2014  10:25 AM
 
Myself, I'm very overweight and I need to actually exercise.
My hands, neck, and feet aren't fat though.
Jul. 20, 2014  10:29 AM
 
Especially to the girls on this site: I can recommend the bellicon rebounder. I could now write about one page of how it works, but I think I just post a video that explains everything:
http://youtu.be/iTZYNeUY3JE
I do it almost every day (little less during my exams) and it's really great for both your stamina and your muscles, depending on which workouts you do on it. Before I got it, I had massive problems with my spine because I was only sitting in the library and learning for hours, but since I'm doing bellicon workouts (only 20 minutes a day!), I have no more pain in my back. And I lost quite a view pounds. Wink
Those things are quite expensive, but I think they're worth the money. Btw I'm not a sales representative or anything of those things, I'm just absolutely excited about my bellicon and want to share my experience with you, because it's really great to stay fit and in shape and it's a lot of fun! Smile
Jul. 20, 2014  2:40 PM
 
(Jul. 20, 2014  6:56 AM)Kujikato Wrote:
(Jul. 20, 2014  5:22 AM)SupremeDragon16 Wrote: That can't be it! I see other fifteen year olds that look like they've been bench pressing their whole lives. I just want to find a quick efficient way to gain more muscle. I was going to buy the “Iron Gym" I saw on T.V because it looks like it works but it cost too much to me.

Those TV programs don't really work, they're usually scams, but that's your call.

I do have a workout that helped me develop a solid amount of muscle, here:

Spoiler (Click to View)
I've slowed down in my workouts due to an ankle injury, it's still nagging me, so I don't dare to re-injure it. But what's inside that spoiler is my daily workout for basketball, haha.

I will try it out. I hope it works though. I did a little football workouts with the football team at my school in the mornings...
Jul. 20, 2014  5:01 PM
 
Oh dear...
Allow me to offer my thoughts.

First of all, spot reduction of fat is a myth, it's impossible, you need to expend energy and allow fat reserves all around your body to be oxidised, you can't target a specific area (eg 2000 crunches every day isn't going to get you a six pack if you're already overweight)

Moving on, lets address this topic by splitting it in three different classes:

Strength (including power)
Stamina
A combination of both of the above

In the strength category, I'm counting examples such as powerlifting, strongman, olympic lifting, and certain gymnastics/calisthenics.

Stamina, obviously long distance aerobic exercise, whether this is x-country ski-ing, marathon-running, triathlon, or whatever else takes your fancy.

Combination, perhaps parkour and most sports requiring a mixture of both strength and stamina but not too demaning on either.

Now, if it's strength you're after, you'll need to decide whether you want to use equipment (squat racks, barbells, etc) or approach it purely from a bodyweight perspective. I'd recommend the former, as it's far easier to measure progression with actual weight you can stick on to a bar.
Typically, when training strength, it's a common misconception to only train the vanity muscles. We're talking pecs, biceps, triceps, abs, perhaps traps.
This is going to give you horrible postural problems.

A better way of thinking of strength training is via planes of motion
Allow me to clarify:

There's a few basic planes of motions the human body is capable of performing in-
Horizontal pull (eg. bent over row)
Horizontal push (eg. bench press)
Vertical pull (eg. chinup)
Vertical push (eg. Overhead press)
Squatting (squats...)
Hip hinging (deadlift)

Those are the essentials. Neglect any of those, and you're going to end up with chronic problems down the line.
It's pointless searching for the QUICK EASY SHORTCUT SUPER SECRET METHOD since it essentially doesn't exist.
Are there ways to accelerate the process? Sure, but at this stage, they're really not worth getting into.

Now, lets address another common misconception:

Weights don't make you 'bulky'.
This is a particularly common thought amongst women. People dedicate their entire lives to achieving that "bulk", spend thousands of $/£ on supplements and synthetic chemicals, and still struggle to get to their goal of looking "bulky".
Lifting weights a few times a week won't make you bulky.

(-to be continued later)
Jul. 21, 2014  3:42 AM
 
From what I remember in my fitness classes, it was recommended to start exercising the large muscle body groups (petoralis, quads/hammies, upper/lower back) then move on to smaller muscles (bicep/tricep, flexor/extensor, calves) and for the last part it was just focusing on abs since the abs are already being used in some way during the entire workout.

But I don't want to busy myself with body building. I've been working towards more cardio and flexibility (even if I'm already pretty flexible). I usually do skip rope and dance for cardio since I'm too lazy to go out and run, then generally stretching before and after the cardio to increase flexibility. On occasion I do run/jog and throw in yoga when I have the opportunity.

Best to remember: Diet. Try to eat something healthy. This is the basic foundation for fitness. If you don't eat healthy, you don't get the proper nutrients to supplement your body when you workout.
Aug. 04, 2014  1:16 PM
 
(Jul. 21, 2014  3:42 AM)Kalthesuperior Wrote: From what I remember in my fitness classes, it was recommended to start exercising the large muscle body groups (petoralis, quads/hammies, upper/lower back) then move on to smaller muscles (bicep/tricep, flexor/extensor, calves) and for the last part it was just focusing on abs since the abs are already being used in some way during the entire workout.

But I don't want to busy myself with body building. I've been working towards more cardio and flexibility (even if I'm already pretty flexible). I usually do skip rope and dance for cardio since I'm too lazy to go out and run, then generally stretching before and after the cardio to increase flexibility. On occasion I do run/jog and throw in yoga when I have the opportunity.

Best to remember: Diet. Try to eat something healthy. This is the basic foundation for fitness. If you don't eat healthy, you don't get the proper nutrients to supplement your body when you workout.

Bodybuilding is a separate entity altogether.
The final goal of bodybuilding is aesthetics, it's a vanity-driven activity with no basis on improving function, athleticism, or skill.

The problem with simply working on joint and muscle mobility and flexibility is that it inevitably creates laxity in your muscle attachments.
A very famous strength and conditioning coach describes how one of his clients (a jet ski racer) abandoned weight training for a year and solely pursued mobility and flexibility via yoga etc. When that client returned to the jet ski and ended up getting flung into the air from a large wave, they ended up injured, with torn ligaments and tendons.

I understand where you're coming from.
Flexibility and mobility are very good goals to have, but it's just as foolish to neglect building strength and power while working on flexibility as it is to do the opposite.
Aug. 04, 2014  3:15 PM
 
I think the problem is people focus on static stretching for flexibility in movement, and while static stretching does make you more flexible it doesnt always help in movement so i believe that if trying to gain flexibility for something like martial arts or some sport you need to practice dynamic stretches because then you're working towrds flexibility in that specific motion. An example is a basic high front kick, you can develop some flexibilty in kicking from touching your toes and what not but to really get flexible in kicking you need to swing your leg as high as you can to become better at kicking and not just bending over.

Im not stating this as fact but im stating my experiences and experiences of people around me
Aug. 14, 2014  4:03 AM
 
I finally gained weight I'm 140!!!!! But I got a new goal now I want to be 210 by 17. I'm also thinking bout taking up boxing or studying Muay Thai. Hopefully that'll bring my weight up.
Aug. 18, 2014  3:55 AM
 
(Aug. 14, 2014  4:03 AM)SupremeDragon16 Wrote: I finally gained weight I'm 140!!!!! But I got a new goal now I want to be 210 by 17. I'm also thinking bout taking up boxing or studying Muay Thai. Hopefully that'll bring my weight up.

Congrats Smile
210 by 17? How tall are you? Keeping 210 (with mostly muscle and minimal fat) is going to be extremely challenging.

As someone who previously did Muay Thai (and dabbled in boxing) I'd say that both of those are excellent for combat and for fitness, but if anything, you'll end up shedding weight since they're very calorie intensive.

(Aug. 04, 2014  3:15 PM)yt152430 Wrote: I think the problem is people focus on static stretching for flexibility in movement, and while static stretching does make you more flexible it doesnt always help in movement so i believe that if trying to gain flexibility for something like martial arts or some sport you need to practice dynamic stretches because then you're working towrds flexibility in that specific motion. An example is a basic high front kick, you can develop some flexibilty in kicking from touching your toes and what not but to really get flexible in kicking you need to swing your leg as high as you can to become better at kicking and not just bending over.

Im not stating this as fact but im stating my experiences and experiences of people around me

I absolutely agree with you there 100%.
Aug. 18, 2014  4:03 AM
 
I've been working out and am 110 pounds at 18
Aug. 18, 2014  4:05 AM
 
How tall are ya?
Aug. 18, 2014  4:06 AM
 
167 cm
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