Now that I have graduated from college, the extra weight just doesn't seem to come off as easily and I've decided that I need to start getting fit. I'd rather slim down than bulk up and I really don't have much equipment or space. Right now all I have is one 10 pound and one 5 pound hand weight. Noise is also an issue as I live on the second floor of an apartment complex. Any ideas as far as a workout program? I really have no idea where to start (which exercises, number of reps, etc).
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Getting In Shape
- Thread starter nickarmadillo
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All I've got to say is I'm definitely in your shoes. I gained 65 lbs in college. It was not something I want to keep going. Since graduating 2 weeks ago, I have dropped 5 pounds. I've also joined adult softball, lacrosse, and basketball leagues to get back where I was. I just ordered a bowflex, it's a grand, but should work o.k. I also picked up an exercise bike from Amazon which just showed up, it's a Schwinn (sp?). Overall, I'm about 1200 in equipment and another 200 for all of the local leagues, but I have to do it. Being 6'2" and 255 is not healthy for me. I've also switched over to Bacardi Superior and Diet instead of heavy beers, hopefully it'll help me over the long run, as I drink about 2-3 nights a week.
I don't drink, so that shouldn't really be a problem. It is mostly just laziness and a lack of willpower. I used to run a lot when I had a treadmill at my parents house, but I really don't have the money for any special equipment now.
I have started to do a bit of walking. I feel better for it too. But i need to do a lot more as well as eating the correct foods! which i currently am not 
But that will change
But that will change
I lost a lot of weight before going on holiday last summer, and ended up going from a really quite pronounced belly to, well, flatness. So I can maybe help.
The main thing to remember is calories in have to be less than calories out - that is, burn more than you consume.
You want to keep your body burning calories all day, even when you're resting and sleeping, and the way to do that is to keep your metabolism up. So eat five or six small meals a day. Try to consume a lot of protein; gram for gram, you feel fuller from protein. It also helps gain and keep muscle; the more muscle you have, the more calories your body burns - calories are required just to keep muscle.
The biggest muscle in your body is your legs; these will naturally bulk up if you start running, and you can help out by doing lunges and squats.
Carbs totally depends on your schedule; if you work out at 8pm, you'll need carbs prior to the workout to fuel it. If you work out in the morning, try and have a medium-ish carb dinner, and then leave carbs again until the next morning. The energy you gain from carbs needs to be burned, to avoid it turning into fat (simplistic, but basically true).
Don't start running loads right at the beginning; the easiest time to lose weight is when you first start anyway, so you don't need to go crazy. Don't be disheartened if you lose less weight per week after your first couple weeks. The first few days especially will be water loss, which will really help the weight come off.
If you're just starting out, the great thing is that you can put on muscle and lose fat at the same time. It's really the only time you can ever do this, without micromanaging your food intake (and even then, it's almost impossible). So enjoy it! Weight train three times a week, do a cardio workout four or five times a week, follow a 'cutting' diet - you can find them on the internet, or I can help advise you, or perhaps one of the other members has done something similar and can help out.
I'm no expert but I've done it, so I know what I did works at least for me
The main thing to remember is calories in have to be less than calories out - that is, burn more than you consume.
You want to keep your body burning calories all day, even when you're resting and sleeping, and the way to do that is to keep your metabolism up. So eat five or six small meals a day. Try to consume a lot of protein; gram for gram, you feel fuller from protein. It also helps gain and keep muscle; the more muscle you have, the more calories your body burns - calories are required just to keep muscle.
The biggest muscle in your body is your legs; these will naturally bulk up if you start running, and you can help out by doing lunges and squats.
Carbs totally depends on your schedule; if you work out at 8pm, you'll need carbs prior to the workout to fuel it. If you work out in the morning, try and have a medium-ish carb dinner, and then leave carbs again until the next morning. The energy you gain from carbs needs to be burned, to avoid it turning into fat (simplistic, but basically true).
Don't start running loads right at the beginning; the easiest time to lose weight is when you first start anyway, so you don't need to go crazy. Don't be disheartened if you lose less weight per week after your first couple weeks. The first few days especially will be water loss, which will really help the weight come off.
If you're just starting out, the great thing is that you can put on muscle and lose fat at the same time. It's really the only time you can ever do this, without micromanaging your food intake (and even then, it's almost impossible). So enjoy it! Weight train three times a week, do a cardio workout four or five times a week, follow a 'cutting' diet - you can find them on the internet, or I can help advise you, or perhaps one of the other members has done something similar and can help out.
I'm no expert but I've done it, so I know what I did works at least for me
Cut out the soft drinks... if you look at the nutrition label it's actually quite scary. One regular can of Coke has (I think) 39g of carbohydrates. Do the math... that's more carbs in one can of Coke, than probably a good-sized, tasty portion of pasta and bread! You should be careful about your intake of carbs in general, but there's no need to be scared of them and avoid them entirely. Avoid the empty carbs (like the Coke above), and stick to healthy carbs that you can re-purpose towards helping you work out.
Another thing to just absolutely avoid... snacking right before bed.
And finally, really pay attention to serving sizes. Just because something is healthy doesn't mean that you get to eat more of it in a sitting. Like allmine said, calories burned need to outpace calories in... to help you get a start on the rough numbers, you can google "calorie calculator" or something along those lines. They will take into account your current weight and your goal weight... some will even take into account how many calories (and time per day) you need to burn from exercise to help meet your goal.
You should be careful about your intake of carbs in general, but there's no need to be scared of them and avoid them entirely. Avoid the empty carbs (like the Coke above), and stick to healthy carbs that you can re-purpose towards helping you work out.Another thing to just absolutely avoid... snacking right before bed.
And finally, really pay attention to serving sizes. Just because something is healthy doesn't mean that you get to eat more of it in a sitting. Like allmine said, calories burned need to outpace calories in... to help you get a start on the rough numbers, you can google "calorie calculator" or something along those lines. They will take into account your current weight and your goal weight... some will even take into account how many calories (and time per day) you need to burn from exercise to help meet your goal.
I run 5 or 6 miles every other day. That's a good way to stay in shape and lose some pounds. Also, sit ups will help make those abs rock solid!
Also, diet makes up for more than 50% of getting/staying in shape. If you're not eating right, it will be hard to lose pounds.
Also, diet makes up for more than 50% of getting/staying in shape. If you're not eating right, it will be hard to lose pounds.
Resistance train, resistance train, resistance train.
The way fitness research looks at fat loss has been changing in recent years, a strong shift from cardio that engages the fatty acid oxidative system towards resistance training. Why? If you want to burn more fuel, turn on more cars. Muscle is an active tissue, it's always hungry and your body feeds it calories. The more muscle you have, the more calories you burn sitting at your chair, asleep in your bed, 24/7.
Either go to a gym or get a cheap set of weights (craigslist, department store). Start off performing 1-3 sets of 10-15 reps of a full body circuit 2-3 times a week, for six weeks. Then switch to 1-3 sets of 8-10 reps 2-3 times a week, and keep that up for life. Three hours a week to health and fitness; seems like a fair trade off, yes?
The way fitness research looks at fat loss has been changing in recent years, a strong shift from cardio that engages the fatty acid oxidative system towards resistance training. Why? If you want to burn more fuel, turn on more cars. Muscle is an active tissue, it's always hungry and your body feeds it calories. The more muscle you have, the more calories you burn sitting at your chair, asleep in your bed, 24/7.
Either go to a gym or get a cheap set of weights (craigslist, department store). Start off performing 1-3 sets of 10-15 reps of a full body circuit 2-3 times a week, for six weeks. Then switch to 1-3 sets of 8-10 reps 2-3 times a week, and keep that up for life. Three hours a week to health and fitness; seems like a fair trade off, yes?
I just started a really great workout called P90X. Its on 12 DVDs, and all you need is a pull up bar (which you can put in your doorway), a set of dumbells (or you can use those bands if your don't want to buy dumbells - I actually can do most of the program with just a 25lbs set of DBs... i just up or down the reps depending on the exercise), and the DVDs themselves.
I initially had reservations as its one of those things you see on TV - I have been weight training since early high school along with running (so about 11 years) along with being active in sports my whole life - the point is I am skeptical about these programs as I know hard work is the ONLY way to get in shape, along with a good diet.
What I like about P90 is that it doesn't pretend to be easy, but it does give a huge variety of workouts, and its a very focused, fairly intense program. You do it in 90 day increments, and each day it tells you which DVD to put in. You end up working out about an hour a day, 6 days a week. One day may be shoulders and back, the next day yoga (btw don't scoff, yoga may be the hardest workout in the program lol), the next legs and back, and the next kempo, etc.
The other thing I like about it is they aren't trying to sell you food - they have a diet guide that comes with it, and it focuses on changing your eating habits (the half of the equation) for good - not just some fad with low carbs or grapefruit or whatever lol. They have a bunch of recipes and options to either do a very specific meal plan, or a "portion" approach that gives you guidelines and you more or less pick the food. They also tell you what the best choices are when you go to a fast food restaurant (they are realistic, knowing you cant always go home and cook a meal).
Okay, I am sounding like a commercial here lol. Its an intense program but they give you tips as you go, on how to start out modifying the moves or doing less reps until you get up to speed - every week you get stronger until you can hang with the guys in the video (or come close lol). The program is $120 for the dvds and the guides - which isn't bad considering its prob 3 months or less of what a gym membership costs. You can also find it on ebay for a little less, but be careful for fakes there...
Google P90x and do a little reading. I have a couple friends as well as a brother/sister in law that have done it with huge results. My fiance and I are in the third week now, and while its kicking our butts, it is fun - def a change of pace from the gym, and its making me work much harder than I otherwise would have!
- Chris
I initially had reservations as its one of those things you see on TV - I have been weight training since early high school along with running (so about 11 years) along with being active in sports my whole life - the point is I am skeptical about these programs as I know hard work is the ONLY way to get in shape, along with a good diet.
What I like about P90 is that it doesn't pretend to be easy, but it does give a huge variety of workouts, and its a very focused, fairly intense program. You do it in 90 day increments, and each day it tells you which DVD to put in. You end up working out about an hour a day, 6 days a week. One day may be shoulders and back, the next day yoga (btw don't scoff, yoga may be the hardest workout in the program lol), the next legs and back, and the next kempo, etc.
The other thing I like about it is they aren't trying to sell you food - they have a diet guide that comes with it, and it focuses on changing your eating habits (the half of the equation) for good - not just some fad with low carbs or grapefruit or whatever lol. They have a bunch of recipes and options to either do a very specific meal plan, or a "portion" approach that gives you guidelines and you more or less pick the food. They also tell you what the best choices are when you go to a fast food restaurant (they are realistic, knowing you cant always go home and cook a meal).
Okay, I am sounding like a commercial here lol. Its an intense program but they give you tips as you go, on how to start out modifying the moves or doing less reps until you get up to speed - every week you get stronger until you can hang with the guys in the video (or come close lol). The program is $120 for the dvds and the guides - which isn't bad considering its prob 3 months or less of what a gym membership costs. You can also find it on ebay for a little less, but be careful for fakes there...
Google P90x and do a little reading. I have a couple friends as well as a brother/sister in law that have done it with huge results. My fiance and I are in the third week now, and while its kicking our butts, it is fun - def a change of pace from the gym, and its making me work much harder than I otherwise would have!
- Chris
Agreed. Although I would say up your sets to 4 after 2 months.
I'm 42, 6'3" and 195#. I've got a 32" waist (if you want to see pics, I've got some in the photo directory). Fitness is something you do for life- keep that in mind. If you keep it up, you should lose the pounds and keep them off permanently. There are no mystery diets or secrets. It takes work and discipline. Find a regimen that works for you and keep doing it. Make it a habit you can't live without. I know I couldn't.
I like the P90X idea too. I did it last summer, and it works very well. It's very intense, but if you stick with it, you will see results.
Hi Lee,
When you do 4 sets, how many reps are you doing per set, and how many different exercises per session? Also, do you do 1 set of each exercise in a circuit repeated 4 times, or do all 4 sets of an exercise and then move on to the next?
Sorry for all the questions, just looking for tips! Thanks.
Why did you decide to spend $1200 on exercise equipment instead of joining a gym for $30-40/month that has a better variety of equipment? Just curious.
Good luck with your return to health.....
All good advice (yours and Iscariot's advice you quoted and added to).
I'd say that the finishing touches to this advice would be to make sure you switch up your routine every 3-4 weeks. Don't do the same thing over and over and over every week. It's important to shake things up - change the order of the routine, add exercises, subtract exercises, do things differently, switch the days you do things on, etc.
Don't let your routine become routine.
You can always start with the Navy SEAL workout
http://www.trulyhuge.com/Navy_Seal_Workout.htm
The nine week workout program on that site kicks your arse..Cut everything in half or a quarter (reps,sets,miles etc) to begin. It's a solid all around program for strength,cardio and endurance..You don't need to join a gym for it or any expensive equipment..
The investment in fitness will pay dividends for years to come. It's a journey, not a destination..
P90X is getting me into the best shape of my life! I actually have a six pack! I NEVER thought I would and in only 90 days I do ! If that looks to hard try Power 90 kinda like the prerequisite of P90X, it'll be easier if you haven't worked out in a while, but if you go with P90X be cautioned that it is hard and you must be committed to changing your eating habits, but it's DEFINITELY WORTH IT!!!
If that looks to hard try Power 90 kinda like the prerequisite of P90X, it'll be easier if you haven't worked out in a while, but if you go with P90X be cautioned that it is hard and you must be committed to changing your eating habits, but it's DEFINITELY WORTH IT!!!
11 exercises
1st set- 14 reps on my lowest weight
2nd set- 14 reps with 10 pounds added
3rd set- 8 reps of the absolute most I can lift 8 times
4th set- repeat set 1
I change up whether I do them in succession or all at once. It depends on the day and how I feel, but I ALWAYS do them all. Trust me- this will kick your a**.
Thanks- Iscariot and I went indoor rock climbing when I visited him in Toronto. I had never gone before, but loved it. He said, "I can't believe you're 42!" I think I impressed him.
What special equipment? Just go outside and run (and walk if/when you need to) for 20 to 30 minutes at a time, and go from there.
I don't know how much you need to lift in pounds (I use kg), but 5 and 10 lb weights aren't heavy enough. No way. You can use the 10 lb one for certain exercises, but that's it from what I understand. And using weights won't necessarily mean you'll make a lot of noise in your apartment, particularly if you're working on your arms.
I suggest push-ups, sit-ups/crunches/ab exercises of some sort, and then buy 25 lb weights for your biceps. Actually, if the weights are detachable, then even better. That way, you can lower the weight (if you need to) and do your shoulders.
But personally, I think you'd be quite happy by just starting with push-ups, stomach crunches, and running.
Thanks- Iscariot and I went indoor rock climbing when I visited him in Toronto. I had never gone before, but loved it. He said, "I can't believe you're 42!" I think I impressed him.
Nice! I've never been rock climbing either- I should give that a try one of these days.
I'm hoping that when I'm 42, I'll be impressing people in the same way. I don't think I'd ever be able to let myself go..... ah vanity.......
Nice! I've never been rock climbing either- I should give that a try one of these days.
I'm hoping that when I'm 42, I'll be impressing people in the same way. I don't think I'd ever be able to let myself go..... ah vanity.......
To be honest, vanity does have something to do with it. But also, I want to be able to do things and be as active as possible for as long as I can- preferably til death. I don't like to sit in one place too long. I don't know how people can do that. I've been athletic for the majority of my life. It's a healthy addiction.
135 lbs! I'm 23 years old, 5'8" tall, and 172lbs. According to BMI charts I should be around 150, so my goal is to drop the extra 22lbs this summer if possible. I've never really been in shape and haven't ever been taught how to be so I have no idea where to start. I've heard good things about the p90x, but money is really tight right now as I am in grad school and unemployed. Today I jogged in place for about 30 min and did some situps, pushups, and curls. Not really all that much.
Who cares?
I'm 176 cm (5'10") and 75 kg (around 165 lbs), which makes my BMI 24.2. Apparently, I'm very close to being obese. I didn't realize my BMI was so high until just now, but I'm not obese.
It's almost silly to think so. Why is that 'not really that much', and why don't you jog outdoors?
Pushups, situps, and curls are great exercise. Your body will be strongly affected by these exercises.Who cares?
I'm 176 cm (5'10") and 75 kg (around 165 lbs), which makes my BMI 24.2. Apparently, I'm very close to being obese. I didn't realize my BMI was so high until just now, but I'm not obese.
Why is that 'not really that much', and why don't you jog outdoors?
Mostly because I am out of shape and embarassed. I'm a very self-concious person and I don't really enjoy enjoy working out in front of people. I know that it sounds somewhat stupid, but I have pretty severe social anxiety and would prefer to workout in my apartment.