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Beginner's Health and Fitness Guide

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Re: Beginner's Health and Fitness Guide

#11

Post by dhimes »

greyboy wrote: post #6
gfunk911 wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Exactly. Good form on free weights > Using a machine > Bad form on free weights. For me, introducing free weights gradually let me concentrate on the form for each one as I first did it.

I think it's also important to make a distinction about the weight difference between machine and free weight exercises. It's not a 1:1 ratio. It's easy to grunt it out when you don't have to worry about a large, blunt object falling on your face.

It's also about how fast you can go through a work out. I would do a lot less lifting if I used free weights; machines let me change weight fast.

Of course, I'm 48, and when I was 18 I would have laughed at what I just said, because I was powerlifting. But my needs are different now. I do 30 minutes of interval training cardio, and 20 (or so) minutes of weights. I do 2 (maybe 3) sets. The first one is about 12 reps, where I do 4 warm-up reps, 4 at medium weight, at 4 at just-below-what-I'm-lifting-that-day weight (depends where I am in my cycle). I need machines to be able to change the weight "on the fly." Then I do a second set to failure (again, how many reps depends on how much weight I am pushing that week). This quick routine gives me the workout that I am looking for at this point, and I can get it done in the time I am willing to commit (4 days/week).

If you don't know what I mean by "where I am in my cycle" (I'm male so it's not that) check out this link:

http://www.deepsquatter.com/strength/archives/tomdesign.html

The only problem is I may be running out of weight on some of the machines. I'll deal with that problem when I get there, though. The more likely result is that I'll lay off the weightlifting for a while and have to "rebuild" before that happens (if, say, I start sailing alot).

Edit: typos

Re: Beginner's Health and Fitness Guide

#12

Post by KirinDave »

earlyresort wrote: post #7

I can swear by this - I've lost almost forty pounds since New Year's by cutting out the danishes, making my own lunches, and going to the gym regularly for weight lifting and cardio. The only thing I'd add - working out is time-consuming, and getting started at a gym is both hard and intimidating. Gyms themselves are counting on you to stop going - that's how they make their money. If you're having trouble getting st…

40 lbs in less than 6 months represents a massive drop in your weight. Anytime you're losing more than 5lbs a month you're asking for trouble, especially when there isn't some kind of significant and readily identifiable reason for previous weight gain (e.g., hypothyroidism, limb injury, etc).

While sudden drops of weightloss right at the start of a major lifestyle change are pretty normal, if you continue at this rate you should talk to your doctor.

Re: Beginner's Health and Fitness Guide

#14

Post by dhimes »

liedra wrote: post #10
DavidMcLaughlin wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It actually takes a significant amount of "functional" strength to do even just basic Yoga poses. The common myth is that Yoga is all about flexibility, but in fact a lot of the time "inflexibility" is actually just weak core strength. Having a good core is one of the easiest ways to maintain your health as you get older too and if you're active you will feel a great benefit having that balance and strength. Until I…

Thanks! I've done some yoga in the past, and it can be quite tricky to do, but apart from the breathing and stretching it did I was never quite sure whether it was as good for me as, say, a run/cycle. Since I don't have access to a gym with weights and only a small set of dumbbells I'm not sure how much of the weight training side of this I can do, but I might try the running thing and perhaps some simpler weights th…

Plyometrics are an excellent substitute if you can't get to weights. These are basically calisthenics with explosive movements. For instance, squats where you explode upward into a jump and try to bring your knees to your chest, or push-ups where you explode upward and clap before catching yourself build strength (and stress the bone, which seems to be beneficial in preventing osteoporosis). Also, adding sprints to the end of your run is beneficial (I really like interval training in general, actually).

Re: Beginner's Health and Fitness Guide

#15

Post by forkandwait »

liedra wrote: post #5

This is a great article, makes me want to get off my bum and do some exercise :) One thing I'd like to know is, for women, yoga and pilates and all that seems to be quite fashionable these days, but they don't tend to be either cardio or weightlifting -- what sort of effect do they have on the body?

FWIW (very little): I think weightlifting is one of the keys to looking youthful, especially for women. A strong upper body accentuates the hourglass figure, and the cues that go with muscle tone (in the arms, usually) also contribute immensely to an overall impression of beauty and vitality.

I think women tend to be afraid of really weightlifting (ie heavy weights that make you struggle), either because it is so weirdly testerone-ish or because they are afraid of "bulking up". However, if you don't lift heavy weights nothing happens (women and five pound barbells are a pet-peeve of mine), and bulking up is really, really hard, for both men and women -- if you work out 3 days a week and stay away from the protein drinks (and steroids), you won't see any bulk at all, just tone and reshaping.

I think Pilates and Yoga are cool, too, but there is a little bit of the Oprah's book club thing going on ...

Re: Beginner's Health and Fitness Guide

#16

Post by liedra »

dhimes wrote: post #14
liedra wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks! I've done some yoga in the past, and it can be quite tricky to do, but apart from the breathing and stretching it did I was never quite sure whether it was as good for me as, say, a run/cycle. Since I don't have access to a gym with weights and only a small set of dumbbells I'm not sure how much of the weight training side of this I can do, but I might try the running thing and perhaps some simpler weights th…

Plyometrics are an excellent substitute if you can't get to weights. These are basically calisthenics with explosive movements. For instance, squats where you explode upward into a jump and try to bring your knees to your chest, or push-ups where you explode upward and clap before catching yourself build strength (and stress the bone, which seems to be beneficial in preventing osteoporosis). Also, adding sprints to t…

Oh, that's a great idea. I could possibly even do those inside if it's raining out! I'll look these up. Thanks very much!

Re: Beginner's Health and Fitness Guide

#17

Post by yesimahuman »

gfunk911 wrote: post #2

Great article, agree with pretty much everything. The one advantage of machines over free weights is that the machine will enforce your form. If you are able to maintain form with free weights, the effort exerted to do so is an added bonus, but if you aren't, it's not good. I started with machines, and every couple workouts replaced a machine exercise with a free weight exercise. This helped me get started, and let m…

This is why you go slow and use easy weights when starting a new free weight workout. Having bad form can be dangerous (for example, the deadlift), but in general I find that it's just not as effective and that bothers me enough to make my form better.

Re: Beginner's Health and Fitness Guide

#18

Post by hugh3 »

KirinDave wrote: post #12
earlyresort wrote: post #7

I can swear by this - I've lost almost forty pounds since New Year's by cutting out the danishes, making my own lunches, and going to the gym regularly for weight lifting and cardio. The only thing I'd add - working out is time-consuming, and getting started at a gym is both hard and intimidating. Gyms themselves are counting on you to stop going - that's how they make their money. If you're having trouble getting st…

40 lbs in less than 6 months represents a massive drop in your weight. Anytime you're losing more than 5lbs a month you're asking for trouble, especially when there isn't some kind of significant and readily identifiable reason for previous weight gain (e.g., hypothyroidism, limb injury, etc). While sudden drops of weightloss right at the start of a major lifestyle change are pretty normal, if you continue at this ra…

I disagree. Anything up to 2 lb per week is a reasonably healthy rate of weight loss, especially if you're quite overweight to start with. Losing 40 lb in six months is both perfectly healthy and a damn good achievement.

Re: Beginner's Health and Fitness Guide

#19

Post by liedra »

forkandwait wrote: post #15
liedra wrote: post #5

This is a great article, makes me want to get off my bum and do some exercise :) One thing I'd like to know is, for women, yoga and pilates and all that seems to be quite fashionable these days, but they don't tend to be either cardio or weightlifting -- what sort of effect do they have on the body?

FWIW (very little): I think weightlifting is one of the keys to looking youthful, especially for women. A strong upper body accentuates the hourglass figure, and the cues that go with muscle tone (in the arms, usually) also contribute immensely to an overall impression of beauty and vitality. I think women tend to be afraid of really weightlifting (ie heavy weights that make you struggle), either because it is so wei…

Thanks, it's these sorts of comments that help drive the will to actually go and do something -- I am scared of weights, and for precisely the reasons you and the article said. Especially since in some gyms the weights areas are overrun with really really hefty people... it's very intimidating!

Re: Beginner's Health and Fitness Guide

#20

Post by tyweir »

Looks pretty good.

Two points that I'd not follow.

Diet: Eating grains. Gluten is pretty much evil for everyone, including non-Celiacs. Google for "paleo diet" or "gluten autoimmune" to get a sense of gluten's impact. Also check out the "Save my Life" HN thread for more info about gluten-free/paleo. http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1399450

Exercise: Cardio, long slow distance is pretty much useless. High intensity intervals, 200m, 400m repeats will have a much bigger impact. If you really love endurance, check out http://crossfitendurance.com/ and google for "tabata intervals"

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