~#The OFFICIAL Training and Exercise Thread#~

[piemaker]

If i remember right back before the fall of bs, there was quite an extensive fitness/training topic up and running. Id like to see this up and going again, so to start it off. just post questions you might have, your way of training, different techniques, any thing relevent, just to get it up again.


Piemaker


--------EDIT--------
From Briceus2000

This is the Official Training and Exercise Thread. Once things are up and running it'll get made a sticky, and act as pool of information for all knowledge concerning training or exercise, as well as any questions or queries, links, resources, etc. As such, try to keep posts without an input to the minimum, and I'll be particularly harsh on any kewl, noob or troll posts.

[-inefficiency-]

Need an official training thread,

[blank stare]

I take stacker 2. Gives me a lot of energy, and I've definitely had results, but I've heard it puts stress on the heart.
I do crunches and pushups, plus running, that's about it.

[piemaker]

ya, thats what i was getting at, forgot what it was called, sadly enough

[Anti-Social]

stacker 2 is extremly helpful

[blank stare]

I totally agree. I have lost a lot of fat, but no weight. This means I am gaining muscle.

[Jago]

a training regime needs to be developed for the individual most of the time, but there are some basic principles that apply to each desired area/goal.

[dan_uk]

I'd definitely like some advice from someone who knows their stuff on coming up with a plan to help me get a bit fitter and gain a bit of muscle - i'm pretty tall but quite skinny, and i'd like to bulk up a bit. At the moment i run on a running machine once or twice a week, and do a few crunches and push-ups, but that's about it.

[Briceus2000]

Alright cats, this is now the official training and exercise thread, I'll sticky it for a while to see how it takes off, with any luck we'll get something akin to the old days. When I've got more time tonight I'll make more of a contribution.

[Kaos-theory]

well guys lets see......

ive got my barbell set up at 6kg, 3kg each side. my dumbell set at 8kg, 4kg each side,

i mainly do reps ont he barbell about 20 rest 20 rest and so-on, i usualy do about four reps on each arm with the 8kg dumbell,

i do the barbell before bed and the dumbell when ever i have a spare moment in the day

[Jago]

Originally Posted by dan_uk

I'd definitely like some advice from someone who knows their stuff on coming up with a plan to help me get a bit fitter and gain a bit of muscle - i'm pretty tall but quite skinny, and i'd like to bulk up a bit. At the moment i run on a running machine once or twice a week, and do a few crunches and push-ups, but that's about it.

what is your goal? and what are the specific goals of your training? bulk? speed? strength? toned/definition?

[-inefficiency-]

Hey guys, some advice would be nice .

I'm about 6' 4" and I'd like to think I'm relatively strong, however I am also quite skinny so I don't really look it.
I would like to look into getting some upper body bulk. Especially around my skinny shoulders.
I'd like this bulk for both aesthetic reasons and because I feel I could do with a little more strength.

I havent really got any targets, because I don't know much about this kinda stuff. I havent got any of my own weights or equipment, so its prettymuch gonna have to be without equipment, or budget methods.

Also, I hurt my back pretty bad last night, so I'm thinking I should wait a bit til it gets better before I start. Maybe a week or two.

[Kaos-theory]

get your back checked out,

before undertaking any wieght training. go and see the doctor. and explain what you want to do trainging wise and get him tio check you over so he can say yey you can go playw ith waits instead of, sorry sir you have a serious heart condition no goign to the gym for you im afraid.

[-inefficiency-]

I'm gonna leave it a few days, and if it doesnt get better then I'm gonna go to the doctors. Don't worry, I'm not gonna go and try to lift weights with a bad back, I'd rather wait and be successful than fuck myself up permanently by being impatient.

[Briceus2000]

Outside of Martial Arts classes and whatnot, which in themselves not only take up an obscene amount of time, but both are inherently and incorporate within exercises for speed, coordination, flexibility, strength, etc. I like to do chinups in the morning and before bed, pretty much until I can't do any more. This is nice and cheap, and you can get a special kind of bar attachment to put in your doorway for around £5 - £20 sterling for just this kind of thing. This particular exercise would be especially useful for building upper body muscles.

Another nice training technique is using wrist and ankle weights to their full potential. These are very cheap, and though they don't usually weigh huge amounts, you can wear two or three of the heaviest kind on each arm/leg for any aerobics, martial art or other exercise, this significantly increases the benefit gained, and if you really want to, and get bored with keeping up an exercise regimen, you can opt to keep them on 24/7 (as I did, rather obsessively, for about a year), taking them off only to wash or to readjust for comfort. they can be hidden under loose fitting clothes, although can't really be used with T-shirts or shorts, also, with wrist weights, there is a possibility it could produce wear on the joints, and so the entire length of use should be supplemented with Cod Liver Oil pills, or similar.

I'm musing really, as I've never personally had a problem with being underweight, so I'm not able too draw much on past experience, however, it has always seemed to me that Military Training manuals are a really good resource, and should be relatively easy to find on the internet or Kazaa, etc. Once the Bombshock DB is up and running I'll put a load of them up, in the meantime they should be freely available for those willing to look.

[-inefficiency-]

Thanks Brice, thats exactly what I was looking for.

Chinups would be perfect. I always thought I'd need some big expensive piece of equipment or a horizontal pipe in the cellar :P - but one of those door attachments would be perfect.
I'm assuming that since I'm kinda underweight, using those weights might help a bit seeing as I don't weight much anyway :P.

How about pushups? I normally do them, but all they seemed to do was make me very slightly stronger, but not any bulkier.

One last thing, if I remember correctly, I should be doing the majority of the exercises every other day to allow my muscles to regenerate inbetween? Maybe do everything on a monday, just pushups on tuesday, everything on wednesday, etc etc....

[Kaos-theory]

i do it daily
using weights slowly tears the muscle and its needs rest to rebuild. so i do everythign mainly before i go to sleep so i have the night to rebuild muscles, and a good part of the day too.

[Jago]

Originally Posted by -inefficiency-

Hey guys, some advice would be nice .

I'm about 6' 4" and I'd like to think I'm relatively strong, however I am also quite skinny so I don't really look it.
I would like to look into getting some upper body bulk. Especially around my skinny shoulders.
I'd like this bulk for both aesthetic reasons and because I feel I could do with a little more strength.

I havent really got any targets, because I don't know much about this kinda stuff. I havent got any of my own weights or equipment, so its prettymuch gonna have to be without equipment, or budget methods.

Also, I hurt my back pretty bad last night, so I'm thinking I should wait a bit til it gets better before I start. Maybe a week or two.

Train power and resistance for a bit, as well as swimming and light jogging for fitness and stamina.
As for weights, with the power and resistance, do power once or twice a week, and the rest resistance.
Resistance is usually medium/light weight with high repetition, and train till failure to ensure all muscular fibres are used.
With power training, train heavy weight, low rep, to ensure muscular density, tendon strength, etc.

[dan_uk]

Originally Posted by x

SPHYNX[x]

what is your goal? and what are the specific goals of your training? bulk? speed? strength? toned/definition?

Well i think i'm pretty similar to inefficiency, in that i'm tall and skinny, and want to both bulk up a bit to look good, but at the same time get a bit stronger and a bit fitter - improve my body in pretty much all ways really (a tall order i know)

At the moment that's not too specific though, so i'll start with a more directed question - are there any exercises/routines i can do other than straight sit-ups/crunches to improve my abs? My gf has been bugging me to get a 6-pack, though she obviously doesn't realise it requires a bit of time and effort! Anything you could come up with to help with that goal would be most helpful, i'll ask about other areas later

Thanks!

[Kaos-theory]

to create a six pack:

1x super glue
6x beers

glue the 6 beers together and bingo you have a 6 pack.


keep doing what your doing because over time that will help the other muscles. i know sit ups help the abs and theres an activity in volving a ball that helps develop abs

[FerretBone]

Every moring i get up and do 1 hour of muscle failer, or running.
muscle failer is pushups, sit ups, and flutter kicks untill you cant go any more.
Running is four miles or more every other day, sometimes with flatvest on. We do four miles in less than 25 minutes.
Anyways with all that PT its still not enough to form my body like i would want. I am going to have to change my drinking ,and eating habits. PT just is not enough. Not for me.

[-inefficiency-]

I definately need to improve my eating habits to help with this.
I'm thinking of getting a blender and making myself smoothies for breakfast and stuff. Should be better than the crap I normally eat.

[kbk]

I don't want to lose weight, I just want to have more upper body strength, I don't have time to go somewhere to work out, and I don't have weight machines in my home. Anyone got any tips for excersises I could do or something I could do to increase upper body strength...My lower body is strong enough, hell it carries 210lbs around all day..

[Jago]

Originally Posted by kbk

I don't want to lose weight, I just want to have more upper body strength, I don't have time to go somewhere to work out, and I don't have weight machines in my home. Anyone got any tips for excersises I could do or something I could do to increase upper body strength...My lower body is strong enough, hell it carries 210lbs around all day..

Well im around the 250lbs mark i weigh between 110-112kg.
My upper body isn't as strong as i'd like it to be, it used to be stronger, but for now it's strong enough.
If you don't have weights or anything, do sit ups, push ups, heaves (chin ups, starting off and finishing off with straight arms), lats (kinda like reverse push ups, using a chair as an aid), and hand standed push-ups.
Lats -> put your hands on a chair (one that won't buckle or move so you fall) that is behind you, on the flat part of the chair where you put your arse. Face outwards from the chair, make sure your legs are straight and stretched facing out from the chair. Then just lift your body up and down do complete a rep. It's a bit hard to follow i know, but yea, picture a reverse push up (facing upwards) using a chair to help you.
swimming is also good, and if you need extra weight, fill up a backpack or something with dead weight and use it like that. Improvise.

[blindreaper]

Can anyone recommend specific exercises and diets for building bulk. I'm quite skinny and have a fast metabolism, so I find it hard to gain mass.

[-inefficiency-]

I have the fast metabolism problem, but if you read this thread - theres plenty of info above.

[kbk]

I have the exact opposite problem, my friend is hella skinny and he eats tons more than me...Anyways, I will try out those excersizes Sphynx, thanks for the ideas...As for bulk building..I don't know, drink alot of soda and eat alot of junk foods I guess, and meat, fatty meat..

[scorpz911]

My training regimen:

First of all Nutrition, it depends upon what you want to do, but personally I have an almost non existant percentage of body fat so my diet is always geared towards protein, and I think also that taking in extra calcium and amino acids, as well as MSM is useful for strengthening your joints and muscles. As far as protein supplement goes, I reccomend a soy-based drink shake that you can mix with milk to get a nice high dosage of protein. I dont reccomend creatine or any stimulant products if you intend to be healthy. These really only serve to add toxins, and taking stimulants while working out will weaken your joints and nerves. Regardless, make sure you drink plenty of water. This cleans out toxins and allows your body to create new tissues faster and cleaner.

Arms:
First of all Pullups, like Briceus said, are the best workout for the money. They build strength, both cosmetic and functional, and they will improve the strength of your holds during grappling as well as your grip and forearms. I have a bar in my bedroom door frame and I do them just about every time I go through the door. A set of twenty is a good strength builder.

I do heavy bag and tilt bag work almost incessantly.

In addition, for arm strength I do as many different kinds of pushups as I can, regular, cat style, finger pushups, vertical fist, horizontal fist, etc.

I lift weights, never more than 25 pounds in multiple fast reps in as many different ways as I can think.


Legs:
Squats, leg lifts, one foot hopping/standing, jump rope, bicycle, frog jumps, drop steps, and whenever I am at my friends house I take advantage of his leg press and do as many leg/calf presses as I can, including doing atleast one on one foot.

Abs: Situps and crunches of course, (side situps, cross situps, V-situps, etc etc.) Leg lifts.

Coordination:
I am a pretty eccentric with my training because I try as many different exercises as I can. I am always finding new ways to test my coordination, liquid dancing, break dancing, high energy, hip hop dancing, well any kind of dancing really is murder on your legs and hips which is where most punching power is derived from. Also I am always coming up with these crazy reflex exercises, like hanging pennies from strings and seeing how many times I can hit it with my eyes closed. Also, weapons are great for increasing your awareness and coordination.

Finally, I use many many differnt kinds of weapons, traditional and new. Most of them I make myself, but I practice basic strikes and deflections with: Nunchucka, Bo staff, Makeshift metal kali sticks from old chin up bar. Katana/bokken, short stick, knives, double knives, (Single edge, double edge, forward grip and reverse grip.) and on rare occasions rope dart, and sjambok. All of these drasctically imrpove strength, as well as coordination and speed.

And imagine, this is just the stuff I do outside of my martial arts drills, forms, footwork and classes.

Brice: I have the Navy Seal physical fitness guide in PDF, and if you dont have it I can upload that as well when you do.

[scorpz911]

Originally Posted by -inefficiency-

Thanks Brice, thats exactly what I was looking for.

Chinups would be perfect. I always thought I'd need some big expensive piece of equipment or a horizontal pipe in the cellar :P - but one of those door attachments would be perfect.
I'm assuming that since I'm kinda underweight, using those weights might help a bit seeing as I don't weight much anyway :P.

How about pushups? I normally do them, but all they seemed to do was make me very slightly stronger, but not any bulkier.

One last thing, if I remember correctly, I should be doing the majority of the exercises every other day to allow my muscles to regenerate inbetween? Maybe do everything on a monday, just pushups on tuesday, everything on wednesday, etc etc....

If you dont plan on doing any kind of martial arts or fighting competitions then I reccomend you start taking creatine and eating alot of peanut butter. (not kidding peanut butter is good fatty protein and if you work out that will build bulk.) as well as pasta. As for spacing your exercises, great question, You have the right idea. concentrate on a different area every day. For example, on monday youre going to go ape shit on your arms untill you cant feel them anymore. Then the next day you do abs and legs, and then your third day you do endurance/flexibility training, or however you want to do it. Just make sure that you include atleast 2 days of rest in your week. preferably after your heavy days, like your arms day, because sleep is when your body is going to rebuild the muscles, and the longer you sleep before you workout again, the bigger and stronger they will develop.

[Jago]

first things first, to gain bulk, do power excersises. Power is for muscular density and size.

As for you KBK, try and minimize your sodas, chips and all your other junk food, and keep your fat intake to a bare minimum. You do however need some fat, but you should get it in your 6 daily meals, so cut off any aditional fat. And when i say 6 daily meals, i don't mean huge meals. Just small portions spread out over the day, remember, the human stomach is only the size of a fist. And only eat when you are hungry, avoid snacking.
As for diet, you need your proteins for muscle building and repair, and you need your carbs for energy. I will get you a rough ratio tomorrow, im just very tired atm and too tired to go digging through my notes and books.
You also need to work out your body type and train for your body type.
But, to bulk up, follow the basic principles, good healthy diet, and regular excersise and regular weight training. One or two days power, the rest resistance. Make sure you isolate muscles and muscle groups and work them out and work out a regime which doesn't put too much strain on one muscle group. This is done to effectively decrease the load on single muscle groups while maximising effects, basically so you don't get injured. Example: Monday... Abs, chest, back. Tuesday, Abs, legs, lower back, arms. Etc etc, i also have a fair few plans which i can post tomorrow.
Be sure to get some cardio too. Allthough intensive weight training is very demanding (believe me, i was huffing and puffing and dripping with sweat at times), you will still want to do some cardio-vascular excersises to keep the heart and lungs in good nick, as well as your general fitness and stamina.