Exercise Routines

[roy86]

So, since November, I haven't gone running or anything and my weight went up to around 230. I've been going to the gym for two weeks now and dropped down to 221, I just weighed myself.

All I do is cardio - I run 1.5 to 2 miles almost every day and I sometimes do about 15 minutes on a bike and eliptical. Anyone have any suggestions to burn off the weight faster, because as I always do, I get around 220 and I just can't lose anymore. I change up my routines and everything, I'm especially tired of my love handles and they're not going anywhere. Any ideas of what to do to burn them off?

Also, since I've gone running, my back has been breaking out a lot - any ideas of whats going on? Everytime I get home, I shower for a good amount of time and scrub my back, but nothing seems to help? What's the point of trying to look good when your body just breaks out in pimples all over? Especially down my right side.

I think I may start lifting, or doing some sort of toning - I need it for my upper body bad.

 

[Industrialsize]

I used to weigh 224..........There's no mystery, calories in must be less than calories out.......sounds like you could up your cardio ALOT. Are you modifyng your intake?

 

[roy86]

i dont drink pop, or eat anythign deep fried - grilled chicken, salads, one big meal for lunch, and then smaller ones throughout the day. i try not to eat after 8. i usually go to the gym in the mornings before i have class and work. it's basically gym, class, then work, everyday. so, i can only do so much without being worn out.

 

[kalipygian]

Fifteen minutes of cardio will probably not burn any fat at all, that starts after around thirty, if you wanted to seriously burn fat, you could excercize for up to a couple hours at a time.

 

[seahorses]

We’re essentially grazers, lots of small meals/snacks around 2 ½ - 3 hours apart. The body stores, what it can’t use almost immediately, as fat. Avoid carbohydrates after 6pm as you generally become more sedentary after that time and because they’re slower to digest there’s a good chance they'll end up as fat.

 

[Waylord]

Up the cardio try and get to running about 4 miles in 30 min. and reduce the calories, eat more meals but make sure they are smaller, up the protein intake as well. If you want to weigh 200 then make sure that your intake is around 1800/day. If you drink beer, stop or at least make it only one time per week. It is all about calorie intake and useage, always make sure that the intake is less then the out put and the weight will drop over time.

 

[tripod]

It's all about the metabolism guys. The calories that you burn in a given activity are a drop in the bucket compared to the strength of your own internal metabolism. In order to lose a pound of fat, you have to burn 3500 calories. Jogging for an hour burns roughly 600 calories. Stepping up the speed considerably to running for an hour burns only 700 calories. The problem with the body, is that after you are in a given activity for over 20 minutes... your metabolism gets slowed down because your starving mechanism takes over and you do NOT burn 600 or 700 an hour, but more like 300 - 400 calories.

If you are an endomorph or display endomorphic tendencies, your ancestors starved for repeated periods or were in prolonged situations where the food was scarce. They developed the genes for starvation and passed them on to you. That means that when you exercise... your body revs down your metabolism and when you diet, it does the same, only more so. It is a losing game that you cannot win. The only way to lose weight is to bypass those starvation genes and activate your fight or flight genes.

This is done in the diet by choosing unprocessed foods that are high in fiber and nutritional content. Breakfasts should be the largest meal of the day and dinner the smallest.

Exercise should ONLY be in the form of INTERVAL training. Start out with 10 minutes of cardio for as fast as you can go... really get the heart rate as high as possible without extreme discomfort. Then go straight to the weights and lift weights in a circuit fashion (little rest between sets except for your heavy sets) for a half an hour to an hour. Follow the weight workout with an immediate blast of cardio like you did earlier (super-intense). Then you are done.

This workout simulates the challenges of being chased by a saber tooth tiger as a caveman, don't laugh because it is for real. This activates testosterone and norepinephrine like no other workout, which will jump start your metabolism all the while working around your starvation genes. Your starvation genes will take a back seat to survival... at this point food scarcity is not the problem. The problem is the saber tooth that chases you 3-5 times a week. Your body will drop fat and build muscle so you are successful at eluding the tiger. You are activating dormant genes that are much stronger than the more recently developed starvation genes which have only been developed since the advent of agriculture.

It is more commonly known as the paleolithic workout. I have lost 40 lbs in two years doing this workout and diet regimine. I am lazy and only go to the gym about twice a week, so this workout will work even better for someone who is more dedicated. Good luck.

 

[snoozan]

everyone on here has great advice, but i've seen my best gains from seeing a personal trainer and a nutritionist. you've got to do a good mix of cardio and strength training and then couple that with a diet that is appropriate for weight loss and your level of activity. i am still shocked at how hard my trainer works me compared to how hard i work myself. the extra push really helps. if you're not losing weight, you're not burning more calories than you eat. you can fine tune that equation in many ways with meal timing and the like, but it's still the main component of weight loss or gain. as far as working out goes, you need to mix strength training with cardio-- but that's something you really should consult a professional for. it's so worth the money.

one more thing-- don't try to lose weight quickly. 1-2 pounds a week (maybe more because you're male) is all you should be doing, otherwise you're going to burn muscle as well as fat. slow and steady wins the race and all that.

 

[vince]

What has worked for me is doing my running first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. That way you have the least amount of glucose stored in your muscle tissue where it is most readily available. Once your body burns up that energy source (after about 20 mins), it turns to the fat cells for energy. I think in terms of time rather than distance. Forty-five mins to an hour, 4 or 5 times a week, burns off 2-3 lbs. The empty stomach is key though. Just drink water or have a coffee before your run. Take some water with you too. The morning workout also ups your metabolism for hours afterwards and gives you a nice endorphine 'high' to start the day. :smile:

Oh, and drink LOTS of H2O throughout the day. You are really correct about not eating after 8pm.

 

[Lex]

Here is what a lot of people reported in this thread:

Eating and Exercising

 

[roy86]

so, all i've read was running like you're being chased by a sabre too tiger, eat less calories than i burn, don't eat after 8, breakfast should be the biggest meal, but i do lunch as the biggest since breakfast is disgusting to me, and i need to activate dormant genes... piece of cake. no pun intended.... ok, it was intended....and now i want cake. thanks everybody.


another question - the acne that developed, normal? i just like to pretend it's all of the toxins being forced out of my body since i've stopped eating all that shit they call food and serve through a window on a side of a building. it's just on my back, mainly down the right side..?

 

[Skull Mason]

This workout simulates the challenges of being chased by a saber tooth tiger as a caveman, don't laugh because it is for real. This activates testosterone and norepinephrine like no other workout, which will jump start your metabolism all the while working around your starvation genes. Your starvation genes will take a back seat to survival... at this point food scarcity is not the problem. The problem is the saber tooth that chases you 3-5 times a week. Your body will drop fat and build muscle so you are successful at eluding the tiger. You are activating dormant genes that are much stronger than the more recently developed starvation genes which have only been developed since the advent of agriculture.

Precisely. This is the theory behind the warrior diet. Combining the caveman workout with the warrior diet is an unstoppable force. One meal a day. Snack on raw fruits and veggies. Your caloric intake will be cut drastically and you will lean out quickly.

 

[sdbg]

Roy86: Can you use a bicycle instead of a car to get to school and or work? I bought a road bike 3 years ago to commute to work and back. Just that one lifestyle change has done so much for me. Now cycling is my favorite hobby and I love to do the event rides.

 

[roy86]

ok, when runing - caveman style, how fast should it be? i do about 5-6 on a treadmill, but don't want crank that up a lot for fear of slamming down on it, so outside in the summer, or atleast when it's warmer is what i'll do - is it just a fast pace run, or a full out race to save my life type of run? ...which i'm assuming that's what it is, and won't be able to maintain it very long.

 

[Skull Mason]

full out race to save your life kind of run. Sprint. Go for a light jog then every block or two sprint like a mad man for a block. Do it like that in intervals until your wind gets up. Or go run through the woods like your chasing a deer. Change direction and shit like that, make cuts. Be agile. Be quick. Be a fucking warrior on the mammoth hunt.

 

[Insanedragon]

Listen to Tripod and Snoozan they know what they are talking about. As far as your acne gos the worst thing for your skin is soap being rubbed in. Just wipe on and rinse with a cloth or other skin cleaning pad. Acne is caused by bacteria in your pores, try one of those skin cleansers I don't think I can give you names on this site, but I'm sure you can find some.

 

[snoozan]

What has worked for me is doing my running first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. That way you have the least amount of glucose stored in your muscle tissue where it is most readily available. Once your body burns up that energy source (after about 20 mins), it turns to the fat cells for energy. I think in terms of time rather than distance. Forty-five mins to an hour, 4 or 5 times a week, burns off 2-3 lbs. The empty stomach is key though. Just drink water or have a coffee before your run. Take some water with you too. The morning workout also ups your metabolism for hours afterwards and gives you a nice endorphine 'high' to start the day. :smile:

I almost ended up in the hospital for doing precisely this on Monday. It sounds like a good idea until you're on the floor soaking wet, shaking, and wondering what the hell is wrong with you in the middle of a workout. My blood sugar had dropped to 60. Anything under 50 is a medical emergency. My trainers insist that I eat before my sessions and that I'm hydrated and have water with me. They have seen a lot of people pass out from not putting gas in the tank, so to speak, before exercising.

Oh, and drink LOTS of H2O throughout the day. You are really correct about not eating after 8pm.

Yes, watch your urine. If it's not clear (unless you're taking certain supplements), you're not drinking enough water.

another question - the acne that developed, normal? i just like to pretend it's all of the toxins being forced out of my body since i've stopped eating all that shit they call food and serve through a window on a side of a building. it's just on my back, mainly down the right side..?

Do you sleep on your right side? It could be from sweating or from changing hormone levels from the exercise, maybe your clothing. The best thing to do is to get yourself a good medicated body wash (I use one with Benzoyl peroxide) and use it regularly.

 

[midlifebear]

When I hit 44 suddenly it seemed everything I ate began to hang around my gut. I might as well have taken Christmas ornament hooks and hung any food I planned on eating on my belt, because it appeared that's where it was going to go anyway. I started power lifting and things really began to change -- for the worse. The triangular shape of my shoulders to my waist suddenly went down to me feet. I was just one BIG triangle, and about 10 kilos heavier.

Best advice I ever received was basically this: don't eat anything white. Essentially the idea was to cut out all white refined foods and food additives. No sugar (or honey, etc.), no bread (except for whole mixed grain, and in moderation). No flour. No milk. No cheese. No yogurt (that one hurt giving up). No pasta. No rice (except brown). And no potatoes or Red Delicious apples (they both contain about the same sugar and carbs). And I needed to eat at least four times a day. For a while I ate so much roasted chicken that I thought I might turn into one. But eventually I evened out and changed my eating habits. I still eat a ton of food, but it's mostly raw fruit and vegetables along with chicken and fish. At first I found the idea gross, but after I forced myself a couple of times tins of canned sardines are now a craving. I also eat a chunk of cow about twice a week and as much broiled/baked fish as I can swallow. Still, calories do count. All I need to do is eat ice cream, bread, cake, etc., in moderation for one week and my skin changes as I begin to pack on fat.

I do a moderate 30-minutes of cardio every day. Found out that I no longer had to worry about the old "subtract your age from 220 and achieve a heart rate of 80% of that." It isn't as important as just doing the 30 minutes of cardio. And I also go to the gym almost everyday, but only light weights and lots of repetitions. At 57 the joints aren't what they used to be. However, the BIGGEST thing that has improved my endurance, strength, and tenactiy while keeping my weight in check was moving to a large city where owning a car was inconvenient. I walk everywhere. I walk to the grocery store and carry my groceries back home with me. That usually includes two 6 liter bottles of water every couple of days. Now, I can indulge in café con leche with a couple teaspoons of sugar everyday and just enjoy the drop in my blood sugar. Not a bad way to live.

As for your acne, snoozan's corrrect. Use something other than soap to wash your face back, and chest. The old Noxema face cream actually works. However there are better products that don't make you smell like a medicine chest. Take a hot bath at least twice a week instead of showering. This helps loosen excessive dead skin build up. To avoid dry skin while bathing, just toss in a couple of teaspoons of olive oil (not a lot, just one or two sprinkles) in the tub. Olive oil is magic. A good, hot soak is even better. Also, use a clean wash rag when you bathe or shower. They also are amazingly simple inventions and great for controlling acne.

By the way a cup of good black coffee, an aspirin, and ice (actually a bag of frozen peas on the hurtin' part of my body) combined with a little elevation and rest is the magic combination for any minor sports injury I've suffered. Of course, some people can't take aspirin.

If you're acne continues, consult a dermatologist. But usually it's just a matter of keeping pores clean and open. Hence, a sauna or steam bath is a pretty good idea a couple of times a week.

 

[midlifebear]

Oh, yeah . . . and dream about Tripod's sabertooth tigers chasing you. That advice is for real and will show quick results if you're running for your life. Otherwise, you can happily jog for 30 minutes if you're an old man like me and enjoy the scenery.

 

[roy86]

hahaha. will do. i'll probably just run through the hood. that way i can throw in jumping fences, running from pitbulls, and dodging bullets. no big deal. we'll see how i am in a month. i'll let everyone know whats up.

since feb 26, i've dropped about ten pounds.
i say, by the first, i'll have five more gone, if not more.