Working out....

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Luis998

Honda Enthusiast
I know we all have things we're into, be it men, women, cars...etc. etc. I'm just wondering though, is there anyone that is into working out? If so, what are your routines like, supplementation regimens, inspirations...etc. etc.

I'm thinking this thread will die in...oh lets see, it's 22:38 here in Florida, so I give it until midnight, if that long before it gets buried. haha

Seriously though, I'm wondering what motivates those that work out and why? Just like building up your car and taking care of it, what drives you in the gym? My own personal motivation is to never be 242lbs. ever again. That's the most I have weighed in my entire life. After having a roller section fall on my back at work in August of 2002, then getting in a car accident three days later when I hydroplaned on the highway, hitting five of the upside down garbage cans with the lights on top, and ending up against a barrier I was out of commission for eight months and going through back therapy the entire time.

Almost seven months later, or eight, since my math really sucks, I decided to start watching what I was eating and changed my intake of food in February of 2003. In three months I was able to lose twenty pounds while still going to therapy and not be able to work out as of yet. I forgot to mention that after my accidents, I really wasn't able to move around much since I got such bad whiplash from the car accident. I didn't do much for two months but lay around and go to therapy.

That June, after my therapy was almost over, I decided to start working out and didn't know how. I was sitting there, watching T.V. when a Tony Little commercial came on advertising his Gazelle contraption. Without thinking much and really wanting to change my life, I ordered the stupid thing and used it religiously every day of the week. I started with that and a seventeen and a half pound weight. There isn't much you can do with such a set up, but I did what I could. In August one of my drivers (I'm a dispatch Supervisor at UPS) gave me a work out bench and a ton of weights, so I began working out every day. Not knowing what the hell I was doing, I still did it each day religiously. In March of 2004 I joined the Bally's that my good friend worked out at (who is also a certified athletic trainer, among other things) and have been there since then, never missing more than a week or two at a time. (except of course when I was out with appendicitis for two months which REALLY sucked in December of 2005)

My starting weight back then was 242lbs. By August of 2006 I was 188lbs. Then I did what I had been wanting to do since I had lost my work out partner (our schedules were very opposite of each others) and got a trainer, whom I worked out with until April of 2007. During this time he had me gain forty pounds back so that I could gain size. Though this was totally against what I wanted, I still gave it a chance and gained some size...along with a bit of fat around my belly. Nowadays I train very hard to get back down to my "fighting weight" so to speak, of at least 200lbs. I'm currently 216lbs. at 6'2 and still love working out.

I guess I really wrote this thread to find out if anyone else out there that is into working out as much as I am. To me, working out is not only about body, but mind, spirit and soul as well. It helps you relax and cope during stressful situations.

I'm not sure if this thread will make it a week, but I am curious to find out what others have to say on this somewhat "vague" question/subject. With that, I open the floor to everyone else.....*cues crickets in the background* :D

Luis
 
haha this thread is gay......nah jk
I'm in about the same boat as you actually, I'm 6'2" and weigh in at 214lbs I stopped going to the gym over the winter (because I'm an idiot and gained about 17 lbs, as I did weigh 197) so a week ago before I had realized my money situation was so tight I reinstated my gym membership which really I can't complain for $20 a month and yesterday I hit the gym for the first time since October. despite what my appearance as of now may say I do know quite a bit about routines and proper diet and I have put myself on a hardcore plan. Monitoring my calorie and carb intake and taking in plenty of protein, a protein shake 2 raw eggs every morning and a shake in the afternoons. I recommend eating 5 small meals throughout the day as apposed to the traditional 3 moderate meals as this will build metabolism, also you can try doing no carbs for 3-4 days and then fill up on the 5th day and repeat every week, I have found this also speeds metabolism.
 
haha this thread is gay......nah jk
I'm in about the same boat as you actually, I'm 6'2" and weigh in at 214lbs I stopped going to the gym over the winter (because I'm an idiot and gained about 17 lbs, as I did weigh 197) so a week ago before I had realized my money situation was so tight I reinstated my gym membership which really I can't complain for $20 a month and yesterday I hit the gym for the first time since October. despite what my appearance as of now may say I do know quite a bit about routines and proper diet and I have put myself on a hardcore plan. Monitoring my calorie and carb intake and taking in plenty of protein, a protein shake 2 raw eggs every morning and a shake in the afternoons. I recommend eating 5 small meals throughout the day as apposed to the traditional 3 moderate meals as this will build metabolism, also you can try doing no carbs for 3-4 days and then fill up on the 5th day and repeat every week, I have found this also speeds metabolism.

You were bored when you replied to this, weren't you? haha

I eat six small meals a day. Most of my days consist of:

A shake before my work out mixed with water

A shake afterwards with All in One cereal for good carbohydrates mixed with water

A protein with a complex carb...usually a low carb wrap since it is convenient and quick along with a vegetable

The same as above

A protein and vegetable

I re-instated my membership for three years and have, I believe one or two years left now. It was $600 at the time and it was the best spent money in quite a while back then.

Two raw eggs is quite hard core. haha I commend you for that. I eat hard boiled eggs or fried in olive oil spray...but never raw.

I did go without carbs for two weeks, relying on just the carbs from vegetables and proteins as well, since I had three weeks full of CRAP eating, from having my father's, sister-in-laws, and brothers birthdays on back, to back, to back weekends.

Now I am re-introducing carbs into my daily intake in small dosages, to my system used to it and not overwhelm it, causing rapid weight gain.

That's awesome that you're back into it. What made you go back and what is your inspiration to stick with it now?
 
There have been numerous topics about this, actually. There are a lot of people who both workout and train for competitive sports.

:doh:


Sonofa...I did look up working out and didn't notice anything in the pages I looked up. Perhaps I didn't search far enough.

If one of the mods would like to close this thread since it has already been discussed, please feel free.

Sorry about the re-post. *bows head in shame*
 
You were bored when you replied to this, weren't you? haha

I eat six small meals a day. Most of my days consist of:

A shake before my work out mixed with water

A shake afterwards with All in One cereal for good carbohydrates mixed with water

A protein with a complex carb...usually a low carb wrap since it is convenient and quick along with a vegetable

The same as above

A protein and vegetable

I re-instated my membership for three years and have, I believe one or two years left now. It was $600 at the time and it was the best spent money in quite a while back then.

Two raw eggs is quite hard core. haha I commend you for that. I eat hard boiled eggs or fried in olive oil spray...but never raw.

I did go without carbs for two weeks, relying on just the carbs from vegetables and proteins as well, since I had three weeks full of CRAP eating, from having my father's, sister-in-laws, and brothers birthdays on back, to back, to back weekends.

Now I am re-introducing carbs into my daily intake in small dosages, to my system used to it and not overwhelm it, causing rapid weight gain.

That's awesome that you're back into it. What made you go back and what is your inspiration to stick with it now?

ahh very good, thats a decent diet plan, you know what your doing then, or at least are damn good at pretending lol.
My inspiration? looking down at what used to be abs and seeing a large mass of gut...
 
ahh very good, thats a decent diet plan, you know what your doing then, or at least are damn good at pretending lol.
My inspiration? looking down at what used to be abs and seeing a large mass of gut...


haha...I have studied, read, and researched everything I know. Not to mention taken the advice of people that KNOW what they are talking about, as well practice what they preach.

My biggest inspiration, has been health. The fact that I do NOT want to be a fat ass and want to have a good, healthy life is one reason. The other, I want to do what I can to prevent myself from getting diabetes like my father. He only has type 2, but if he doesn't take care of himself, it could escalate to type 1 of course.

I've always had a self-esteem issue as well and even nowadays, though I am doing great, I constantly beat myself for having gained weight. Sure most of it was planned, but that does not make me feel better. I practice what I preach. Heck, people hate me at times because I'm too "healthy" according to them and do not "enjoy life" as they choose to put it. I do enjoy my life, just the way I want to rather the way others want to. It's all about choice and I do not condemn anyone for choosing whichever lifestyle they wish to live. However, I am ALWAYS willing to help someone out when they need it.
 
:doh:


Sonofa...I did look up working out and didn't notice anything in the pages I looked up. Perhaps I didn't search far enough.

If one of the mods would like to close this thread since it has already been discussed, please feel free.

Sorry about the re-post. *bows head in shame*

Nah, don't worry about it dude. No need to be shameful, lol...
 
Nah, don't worry about it dude. No need to be shameful, lol...

haha...eh, I just feel like a doof man. I'm not one to bring up "old topics" so to speak, and try to stay away from talking about things that have already been brought up. However, if people don't mind and would like to chime in, I would not mind their thoughts for sure. :D
 
haha...I have studied, read, and researched everything I know. Not to mention taken the advice of people that KNOW what they are talking about, as well practice what they preach.

My biggest inspiration, has been health. The fact that I do NOT want to be a fat ass and want to have a good, healthy life is one reason. The other, I want to do what I can to prevent myself from getting diabetes like my father. He only has type 2, but if he doesn't take care of himself, it could escalate to type 1 of course.

I've always had a self-esteem issue as well and even nowadays, though I am doing great, I constantly beat myself for having gained weight. Sure most of it was planned, but that does not make me feel better. I practice what I preach. Heck, people hate me at times because I'm too "healthy" according to them and do not "enjoy life" as they choose to put it. I do enjoy my life, just the way I want to rather the way others want to. It's all about choice and I do not condemn anyone for choosing whichever lifestyle they wish to live. However, I am ALWAYS willing to help someone out when they need it.

yea diabetes is a big deal in my family too, my grandfather, both grandmothers, aunt, uncle and 4 of my cousins had it so that puts me in a scary position so I really need to get my big ass running, my cardio is horrible.
What I would love to do is find an mma sparring partner but all my friends are pussies.:(
 
my workout consists of walking to class and some pushups/sits every now and then lol. i eat whatever i want (i generally have a good variety) and maintain about 180 lbs. im not cut, im not really "fit" in any contemporary sense. but im not fat or chubby. just average i guess. i should probably start running though. 90% of the time i dont even eat breakfast. and some days i go with just 1 meal a day. i dont have a huge appetite, but if i get hungry i can eat lol. most of the time im too busy/distracted to eat. whether it be woking on schoolwork, or studying, or tinkering with the computer or car.

im too lazy to work out lol.
 
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yea diabetes is a big deal in my family too, my grandfather, both grandmothers, aunt, uncle and 4 of my cousins had it so that puts me in a scary position so I really need to get my big ass running, my cardio is horrible.
What I would love to do is find an mma sparring partner but all my friends are pussies.:(

My dad just got it this past year as well, so now it's got me all worried and trying to eat better too...
 
yea diabetes is a big deal in my family too, my grandfather, both grandmothers, aunt, uncle and 4 of my cousins had it so that puts me in a scary position so I really need to get my big ass running, my cardio is horrible.
What I would love to do is find an mma sparring partner but all my friends are pussies.:(

*raises hand* What exactly is MMA?

my workout consists of walking to class and some pushups/sits every now and then lol. i eat whatever i want (i generally have a good variety) and maintain about 180 lbs. im not cut, im not really "fit" in any contemporary sense. but im not fat or chubby. just average i guess. i should probably start running though. 90% of the time i dont even eat breakfast. and some days i go with just 1 meal a day. i dont have a huge appetite, but if i get hungry i can eat lol. most of the time im too busy/distracted to eat. whether it be woking on schoolwork, or studying, or tinkering with the computer or car.

im too lazy to work out lol.

haha...you're happy though and that is what counts. There are numerous people that are blessed with a metabolism from heaven and are able to eat what they want and not gain weight. If I so much look at a sandwich the wrong way I gain weight. haha Well, it's not that bad, but I do watch what I eat.

There's nothing wrong in walking for cardio and doing pushups and sit-ups. Heck man, you're doing more than some people that I know and they REALLY hate to work out. I'm FAR from being cut, though when I was with my trainer...wow...that bastard really knew how to get me to grow. haha It's so much better to have a work out partner, even though I have worked out intensely without one for quite some time.

To me it all depends what you would like to achieve. By no means do I EVER want to be or look like Mr. Olympia, but I do have personal goals that I would like to achieve as far as fitness goes.
 
My dad just got it this past year as well, so now it's got me all worried and trying to eat better too...
yea man its easy to get scared up when that shit hits home but all you can do is hope for the best and see what happens. I wish you the best with your father though.
My advice to you is to stray away from sugars as much as possible, it seems to be working out for me for the time being (not to mention when I eat sugar I'm like a bull in a china shop) :ph34r:

*raises hand* What exactly is MMA?

Mixed Martial Arts (the kind of stuff you see on sports like pride,UFC, etc...)
 
My dad just got it this past year as well, so now it's got me all worried and trying to eat better too...

yea diabetes is a big deal in my family too, my grandfather, both grandmothers, aunt, uncle and 4 of my cousins had it so that puts me in a scary position so I really need to get my big ass running, my cardio is horrible.
What I would love to do is find an mma sparring partner but all my friends are pussies.:(


What are your eating habits like now, Brutal? To some people it's sad that it takes something like that to motivate others to change their lifestyles. To me, any change an individual makes to better themselves, or in this case, try to prevent something, is just as good or even better. Why? Because that person CHOSE to change. No one forced it down their throat.

Over the years I have had several different work out partners in different levels of fitness. The general consensus as far as our workouts go, is that while working out with them and working out hard, diligently and consistently, they have found inspiration in our work outs. Why again? Because I'm a goofball and as hard as working out is, I do add my own touch of "Goofballogy" if you will to our work out, while genuinely encouraging them to push themselves. After all, it is that particular person that chooses to achieve their particular goal or goals. I am merely there, as I tell them once in a while, to either kick them in the ass when they want to give up, or like most times, look them in the eye and tell them that they CAN do it.

What do you consider good cardio, Michael? A brisk twenty minute walk, a jog, a long, intense bike ride are all good sources of cardio. Finding the time to do them, however, is a challenge for most. Starting up is an even greater challenge. I truly believe that once you get over the first step of starting up, everything else will just flow and fall into place.
 
id like more muscle, but its really only aestetics. i could do it if i wanted, but im just too damn lazy. i cant seem to stick with it. but oh well. my life isnt any worse because of it so whatever lol.

but i do have a question about pushups. for anyone who does them regularly, maybe in the military?. but when i do them, i kind of tend to hold my breath. breathing almost takes strength away from the pushup. breathing out isnt really a problem, just breathing in. i mean its not a huge deal yet, i dont run out of breath or anything (doing lifeguard training + playing tumpet gives me a good lung capacity :) ) as i can only do like 20 pushups before i get tired anyway lol. but is there a certain way thats good for breathing? or just do whatever?

btw, MMA stans for Mixed Martial Arts. think UFC type stuff.
 
yea man its easy to get scared up when that shit hits home but all you can do is hope for the best and see what happens. I wish you the best with your father though.
My advice to you is to stray away from sugars as much as possible, it seems to be working out for me for the time being (not to mention when I eat sugar I'm like a bull in a china shop) :ph34r:

What are your eating habits like now, Brutal? To some people it's sad that it takes something like that to motivate others to change their lifestyles. To me, any change an individual makes to better themselves, or in this case, try to prevent something, is just as good or even better. Why? Because that person CHOSE to change. No one forced it down their throat.

Well, I do tend to eat a lot, but I do eat pretty healthy and I do at least 30 minutes of cardio a day (whether it be running, biking, whatever), so I don't think I'm really in danger as far as an unhealthy lifestyle goes.

What's got me worried actually, is that my dad is fairly healthy too...not overweight at all, exercised pretty regularly, eats decently, and he got it anyway...so I'm thinking maybe it's genetic...
 
id like more muscle, but its really only aestetics. i could do it if i wanted, but im just too damn lazy. i cant seem to stick with it. but oh well. my life isnt any worse because of it so whatever lol.

but i do have a question about pushups. for anyone who does them regularly, maybe in the military?. but when i do them, i kind of tend to hold my breath. breathing almost takes strength away from the pushup. breathing out isnt really a problem, just breathing in. i mean its not a huge deal yet, i dont run out of breath or anything (doing lifeguard training + playing tumpet gives me a good lung capacity :) ) as i can only do like 20 pushups before i get tired anyway lol. but is there a certain way thats good for breathing? or just do whatever?

btw, MMA stans for Mixed Martial Arts. think UFC type stuff.

Like I said, if you're happy, you're happy. :D

As far as push-ups go, what my friend, who is also a certified athletic trainer taught me, is to first of all, build my way up the "push-up" ladder so to speak. He and I did an entire program for four to six weeks that consisted of nothing more than calisthenics. Push-ups, pull-ups, ab work, jump rope, cardio on any of the fifty gazibillion machines...etc. etc.

In those weeks, as far as the push-ups went, we would start out with a set of fifty. (Though let me tell you, at first, getting to forty was QUITE the challenge) Rest for about a minute, then do forty five, forty...etc. etc. to build up endurance. We would do this until we got down to twenty, then we would switch up exercises. I found that when doing push-ups, just like almost any other exercise, proper breathing is VERY important.

Picture a balloon. Now, if you were in the down motion of a push-up, and the balloon underneath you was deflating, it would not help you at all in getting back up. That and you may lose your oomph, fall flat on your face and yes, that hurts. haha
With that said, inhaling as you go down inflates the "balloon" allowing you more oomph on your way back up. That and it also protects you in this and other exercises, from over exerting yourself and getting hurt. I personally tend to take short breaths on the way down and then release on the way up. From what I know, it should be one smooth breath up, and one smooth breath down. However, I am not Superman. haha It also depends on the day. Some days I am performing supersets and start out by doing twelve push-ups, then immediately go into pressing X number of pounds twelve times, as fast as it is allowed with GOOD form. I stop for around thirty seconds, and then rinse and repeat for two more sets. Wooo, I'm getting off topic somewhat. haha Sorry about that. I tend to when talking about working out. I hope my quasi-explanation helps you out somewhat, GSR.

Thanks for the explanation, by the way. :D
 
I'm 5'8" and weigh 205-210 pounds work out routine is just whatever I feel like doing that day. I'm benching close to 200 pounds been working on it less often because my strong point is my lower back so I used to deadlift a lot and can lift heavy objects off the ground.

As far as actual routine, I used to work out 3-4 days a week, for no more than an hour a day. That's because whatever I work on bench press, dead lift, curls, squats, whatever I do, I rep pretty slowly never racking the weights because I keep stress on the muscle at all times, and I keep repping until I'm nearly certain I'm going to collapse. This is why I worked out usually 3 days a week, because it takes a good nights sleep and about a day to recover when you're doing reps to failure. I'd start with like say, 140 pounds bench press was my max a while back as in, I could only get it up once. Then when I was able to get that up 10 times, it became my regular workout and my max bumped up to 170. I'm sitting at 190 right now.

As far as eating, I eat nutrient-rich cheerios in the morning :) and lots of chicken and fish most of the time. And lots of white rice.

Now back when I used to work at this chinese restaurant, I used to get my work outs while I was at work :). This is because the boxes of chicken they made me cut weigh 40 pounds each, so I gradually carried more and more, and ate the healthier food on the buffet daily. I was able to only carry 2 boxes at a time struggling (80 pounds) when I started, and by the time I quit I could take 4 at a time with ease. Also, when I had to move the sauce buckets, I started only being able to carry 1 in each hand, by the time I quit I was taking 3 in each. Same goes for when we had to unload the trucks, I'd carry more and more every time so I actually got stronger by the time I quit, and I've found every job since then to be a cake walk. I also lost over 30 pounds over the course of 7 months working there. Those chinese buffets work you like a DOG if you're a food prep that's no joke.

I used to be really into it because my brother is a hardcore lifter, but I haven't worked out in a while. Shit my brother was bench pressing 200 pounds when he was 14 years old he's a strong motherfucker I can't even get that now and I'm 17, stuck at 190 so I'm close.
 
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Do you ever change your work out around, 93? (sorry, I forgot your name)

The reason I ask, is that even though you go in and do whatever you want that day, it seems like it is all based around doing slow reps. While that is not a bad thing at all, in fact, negatives are GREAT, it is a good idea to switch up from low, to medium, to high reps and weight at times and shock the body.

Do you do dips at all? If you, like it seems most guys are set at increasing their bench all the time(God only knows why half of the guys at the gym concentrate on mostly this as their chest work out...perhaps it's to impress the women that walk by, who know better, 'cause ninety percent of the women are in better shape than the men...haha) doing dips will help your bench SKY ROCKET! Why? Because dips really work out your triceps. Strengthen your triceps, and strengthen your bench.

Also, keeping a record of your workouts isn't a bad idea. I keep mine in a notebook, though if you and I were to sit around and talk about my workouts as of late, I would be able to almost break it down day by day.

The beautiful thing for me at the gym is that I am constantly learning and finding new ways to challenge myself. Otherwise, it would get boring and mundane.
 
Well, I do tend to eat a lot, but I do eat pretty healthy and I do at least 30 minutes of cardio a day (whether it be running, biking, whatever), so I don't think I'm really in danger as far as an unhealthy lifestyle goes.

What's got me worried actually, is that my dad is fairly healthy too...not overweight at all, exercised pretty regularly, eats decently, and he got it anyway...so I'm thinking maybe it's genetic...

Thirty minutes a day is PERFECT! You're right in not having to worry about things as far as your lifestyle goes.

You and I share the same fear, Brutal. Though my dad is not in great shape and I am in great shape compared to him, it still scares me that genetics may strike me down with it. That is why I do what I do and try to keep genetics on the down low, so to speak. haha

I figure that if I get it, I will be one step closer in controlling it by keeping up the lifestyle that I lead. You seem to be doing very well for yourself thus far, so I say go with what you're doing and don't let it drag you down too much.

As I have told my dad, at least if I get it, I will know someone very close to me who can teach me about it and also help me deal with it. ^_^ That and I refuse to have a negative attitude no matter what, which is hard to maintain at times.
 
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