The Physical Conditioning -thread

Brother Michael

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To celebrate the birth of our new sports sub-forum I can finally open this thread.

This is a thread for all the things considering the personal activity and fitness of the forum members. I have no idea whether there are that many here who excercise regularly and in general take care of their physical well being.

This is also for all those who don't have such good fitness but may want to improve on that, thus this being a good palce for people to seek advice and share their thoughts on the subject.

How often do you train, what sort of training, which sports, do you have any goals ?

I do have doubts about this, because the general consensus among petrolheads tends to be "the only sport is motorsports, everything else is just games", so it'll be interesting to see how many "jocks" there are here.
 
I've been following this program for the last 3 months. Gained at least 10lbs (hard to tell exactly since the scale at the campus gym is horribly inaccurate - I can magically weigh 5lbs more or less within 5 minutes) and I can definately see the difference visually. Squat has gone up 30lbs (I had a lot of trouble getting the form right); deadlift increased by 75lbs; bench by 40lbs. Overheads... let's not go there lol, they need work. I need to start doing cardio <_<

Monday
Squat 3x5
Bench press/press 3x5 (alternating)
Chin-ups: 3 sets to failure or add weight if completing more than 15 reps

Wednesday
Squat 3x5
Press/bench press 3x5 (alternating)
Deadlift 1x5/Powerclean 5x3 (alternating)

Friday
Squat 3x5
Bench press/press 3x5 (alternating)
Pull-ups: 3 sets to failure or add weight if completing more than 15 reps

Link to the whole program: http://startingstrength.wikia.com/wiki/FAQ
 
Brother Michael said:
I do have doubts about this, because the general consensus among petrolheads tends to be "the only sport is motorsports, everything else is just games", so it'll be interesting to see how many "jocks" there are here.

I posted that quote, and I have to confess here that I don't really stand by it (what I post and what I believe in aren't always in agreement ;)).

I'm not on any strict training regime, but I do ride my road bike on a weekly basis which includes casual rides around the city and then more intense velodrome training. I'm part of an amateur team that race human powered vehicles (see pic below) in competitive events across Australia, so my fitness is well above average. I'm not a cycling pro by any means but I can hold my own in these which last from 6-24 hours against guys such as Jack Bobridge, who I believe won some Belgian championship race the other day, so he's pretty handy...

https://pic.armedcats.net/r/re/redbull/2009/05/06/DSCN2301.jpg

The guy fourth from the left of pic would be me...
 
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I am a bit of an on-off kind of type when it comes to excersize. I try to do something to keep fit, but there are sometimes periods when I don't really do anything.

Currently I try to do wave my dumbbell set around three times a week and go for 20-40min jog afterwards. I don't have a set plan, I just do what I feel like doing. I do try to work out all my muscle groups evenly though.
I also try to eat ealthy without sacrificing taste too much.

I am too lazy to follow a strict regimen. I do know that I won't get the most benefit this way, but I have been making reasonable progress so I don't mind.
 
I'm not on any strict training regime, but I do ride my road bike on a weekly basis which includes casual rides around the city and then more intense velodrome training. I'm part of an amateur team that race human powered vehicles

That's pretty cool stuff. Do you build those things yourselves or buy/aquire them by other means ?

I also don't follow any strict program per se but I do have a specific style/schedule I train by (divided into 4 sections), for example a week might go something like this:

Monday: Gym: pecs + triceps, 10km run
Tuesday: Gym: Arms (biceps, forearms, wrists, triceps...all of it) + shoulders
Wednesday: rest
Thursday: Gym: Abdominal muscles + lower back, 10-12km run
Friday: Gym (if recovered enough, otherwise rest): Shoulders + upper back, 10-12km run
Saturday: 3 hour tennis practice
Sunday: 3 hour tennis practice or 10-12km run, not both.

The next Monday would be rest and start the cycle again from Tuesday. I don't train my legs that much, only here and there, because I already have very strong leg muscles, especially my thighs. And I run a fair bit, play tennis and go rollerblading alot, so that already gives more than enough strenght training for my legs.

Being a whopping 5 ft 7" I am not buffed and bulked up, more lean and ripped and I intend to stay that way; I like to keep my flexibility and I give more value to things like agility and muscle control compared to raw maximum power. I usually do around 10-15 reps and 3-5 sets per eachmuscle group and tend to avoid doing maximum weights often, especially with bench press and shoulder press since my shoulders are completely shot and can't take very much pressure.

I don't take excercising that seriously so if I don't feel like going to the gym, I won't go. Or maybe I can't be bothered to do squats even if it would be that time of the week, I'll do something else. My only goal is to keep fit and feel good, since I am not a professional athlete or a bodybuilder.
 
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That's pretty cool stuff. Do you build those things yourselves or buy/aquire them by other means ?

Our chassis is built by another team to our specifications and at cost price. We're currently building a composite fairing that will be used by both teams, fulfilling our part of the arrangement.

Most adult/open category teams build their own, whereas schools tend to either team up with an open manufacturer such as Trisled or Greenspeed and purchase pre-existing designs.

The emphasis changes depending on your focus. Most open category teams are out there to win, and design bikes that are speedy and lightweight (the downside being that they can be fragile and the useful life of a bike can be measured in hours, as opposed to junior based teams who require a solid and reliable vehicle to last for years. The example I posted above had to be rebuilt after the race due to the damage it sustained from several accidents. The aforementioned Trisled spent several thousand dollars developing their new machine (including laying up the composite fairing at Perkins Motorsport, a leading V8 supercar team), only to hit a solid object at about 60kph which destroyed the fibreglass and carbon fibre fairing, and almost the rider inside!

It's a niche sport, but it's fun and competitive, albeit costly!
 
I've been following this program for the last 3 months. Gained at least 10lbs (hard to tell exactly since the scale at the campus gym is horribly inaccurate - I can magically weigh 5lbs more or less within 5 minutes) and I can definately see the difference visually. Squat has gone up 30lbs (I had a lot of trouble getting the form right); deadlift increased by 75lbs; bench by 40lbs. Overheads... let's not go there lol, they need work. I need to start doing cardio <_<

Monday
Squat 3x5
Bench press/press 3x5 (alternating)
Chin-ups: 3 sets to failure or add weight if completing more than 15 reps

Wednesday
Squat 3x5
Press/bench press 3x5 (alternating)
Deadlift 1x5/Powerclean 5x3 (alternating)

Friday
Squat 3x5
Bench press/press 3x5 (alternating)
Pull-ups: 3 sets to failure or add weight if completing more than 15 reps

Link to the whole program: http://startingstrength.wikia.com/wiki/FAQ

One of the problems I have with Starting Strength is that my body takes forever to recover from a workout. I benched on Monday and I'll still be sore enough to avoid benching until Thursday. Also I don't have the room to do power cleans and overhead press at the gym I go to. Plus my form for both of those is questionable at best. I had my friend fix my form for squats yesterday, so I'll actually be able to do those correctly from now on :p

My workout is far from structured to the point where I want it to be. It'd be nice if I could do the major compound exercises consistently, but for right now I'm working on deadlifts, squats, and bench press. Right now I'm mixing parts of Rippetoe's Starting Strength with Bill Starr's 5x5 program and play it by ear. I'm definitely still a beginner but I'm satisfied with the progress I've made so far.
 
I signed up for a gym membership recently - end of march I think - and have been trying to go 2-3 times a week, and so far it's worked quite well I think.
My main motivation is that I really got on the chubby side after school was done early last year - no more cumpulsory PE lessons. And although I used to be really skinny, coupled with not exactly the healthiest of eating habbits, that meant I quickly went from ~66kg to ~75kg in about half a year.
That, and the fact that a friend kept nagging me to come along, so I finally thought "what the heck, you should really get off your arse now!".

My workout scheme is like this (dunno about the english names for the machines, so this'll be a bit vague :p):
- shoulder training
- biceps curl
- triceps
- abs
- chest (like this)

followed by 20-30 minutes on the rowing machine and 30 minutes on the treadmill.

I'm still hovering around 75kg, but I like to think that's due to muscle growth which balances the fat losses, weight-wise. :p
Actually, I've come to quite like working out every now and then. :)
 
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One of the problems I have with Starting Strength is that my body takes forever to recover from a workout. I benched on Monday and I'll still be sore enough to avoid benching until Thursday. Also I don't have the room to do power cleans and overhead press at the gym I go to. Plus my form for both of those is questionable at best. I had my friend fix my form for squats yesterday, so I'll actually be able to do those correctly from now on :p

My workout is far from structured to the point where I want it to be. It'd be nice if I could do the major compound exercises consistently, but for right now I'm working on deadlifts, squats, and bench press. Right now I'm mixing parts of Rippetoe's Starting Strength with Bill Starr's 5x5 program and play it by ear. I'm definitely still a beginner but I'm satisfied with the progress I've made so far.

How long have you been doing it? I was pretty sore for the first couple of weeks but now I feel great after every workout.
One tip for squats - don't let your knees go forward. Bend your upper body forward to balance the weight of your butt as it will be hanging way out there. Also, go LOW. As low as you can, past parallel.
Overheads didn't give me too much trouble as far as form is concerned but I have been moving up VERY slowly :( They felt pretty good today though so we'll see where I stand on monday.
 
Also, go LOW. As low as you can, past parallel.

One warning about this: doing very deep squats with too much weight WILL blow out your knees. Many people have busted their knees doing squats with the wrong technique and using too big weights. Power squats is one of my very least favorite things at the gym. While it is a very, very good excercise, one must first learn the correct way to do so. Bench press for example is "only" difficult and cumbersome with the wrong technique, but squatting is a damn near health risk when done wrong.

Many people think that with a deeper, longer movement they can use more weight, only resulting in an injury.
 
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How long have you been doing it? I was pretty sore for the first couple of weeks but now I feel great after every workout.
One tip for squats - don't let your knees go forward. Bend your upper body forward to balance the weight of your butt as it will be hanging way out there. Also, go LOW. As low as you can, past parallel.
Overheads didn't give me too much trouble as far as form is concerned but I have been moving up VERY slowly :( They felt pretty good today though so we'll see where I stand on monday.

I started alternating between dumbbell bench one day and then barbell bench the next time. I was just doing dumbbells for a while, so this alternating between the two may be why I'm so sore. For squats and deadlifts, I found that curling my toes back kept me on my heels which kept my knees in place. My shoulders are a little weird, so any pushing above my head feels unusual. I may just have to stick with really low weight until the overhead press movement feels more natural.

One warning about this: doing very deep squats with too much weight WILL blow out your knees. Many people have busted their knees doing squats with the wrong technique and using too big weights. Power squats is one of my very least favorite things at the gym. While it is a very, very good excercise, one must first learn the correct way to do so. Bench press for example is "only" difficult and cumbersome with the wrong technique, but squatting is a damn near health risk when done wrong.

Many people think that with a deeper, longer movement they can use more weight, only resulting in an injury.

Yea with squats and deadlifts, you really want to make sure to have the correct form. Both exercises can really hurt you both short and long term if done with improper form. I find that if I make sure I'm pushing up through my heels and go "ass to the grass", the squat movement feels "correct". Keeping your back straight is also important for both deadlifts and squats. Luckily I'm still pretty weak with squats, so I don't have the capacity to overload with the weight even if I wanted to. :p
 
Meh, never been much for gyms. Always hot and sweaty with loud music and people who say, "tight," a lot. Plus, weights and treadmills are repetitive and boring. I do enough aerobic just at work.

Personally though, I prefer to be outside, mountain biking, trail running, skiing, with the odd backpacking and whitewater trip thrown in. I do however try to go to a climbing gym about an hour away once a month. I would love to install a training board at home though. You would not believe how muscle you can build through climbing, my little finger can lift a Miata.
 
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Anyone else here also do indoor cycling? It's the shiznit (with the right music and instructor)...
 
I'm such a girl...I do pilates...but also weights training and cardio. The pilates is for my back, I hurt it quite badly a few years ago so I need to keep it strong. It still gives me lots of problems though, the latest being sciatica (a pinched nerve in the leg) which is making it hard for me to excercise because I can't stretch my hamstring without it caning like a bitch, so atm I'm only walking, doing some upper body stuff and playing the odd game of badminton.
 
Monday:
Light Warm-up
15km run
Whole-body workout (Weights)

Wednesday
Heavy Warm-up
Various interval runs (200-1000m) 6-8 repetitions (e.g 3 x 300m, 3 x 600m and 2 x 900m)
Whole-body workout (Resistance / bodyweight)

Friday
Light warm-up
Various interval runs (4-5 repetitions)
2 x 6km runs at 170-180bpm
whole-body workout (Weights)


.... Vomit
 
Swim 3 x 40 mins a week, and in between the days I'm not swimming I do bicep curls, arnold press, triceps thingies, push-up and squats.

Might I also suggest that some of you posters complaining about bad scales invest in a set of digital scales? I got one and they're super accurate, more so then the ones at my gym - which are ALWAYS 3LB lower (maybe on purpose :) ).
 
I like running. I usually do that at least 4 times a week. Sometimes I make myself go to the gym but I get too bored and prefer being outside. I used to play a lot of sports but now I don't have the time so I just stick to playing tennis for fun.
 
damn, I am so out of shape. I just biked 43km in 2 hours, and all I can think of is that there is somewhere on the world a Kenyan dude who could have kept up with me the whole way on foot. :(
 
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