TheRPGSite

If you have followed the advice in Part I (http://www.therpgsite.com/showthread.php?t=16709), cleaned up your diet and are generally more physically active, then after several months you'll have got down to merely overweight, though underweight people will still be skinny, and the ok won't have changed. You're then ready to step it up a bit.

Six months to stronger & fitter
This is a six month, two-phase routine you can try. It is suitable only for people who are,

• underweight, ok or overweight in the above chart, and
  
• have no health problems which might affect physical training, such as anything to do with lungs, heart, circulation, or joints – asthma, heart disease, high blood pressure, previous knee injuries, and so on; and
  
• are under 45 for men, or 55 for women, and
• are sorting out their diet along the lines described above, or better are getting advice from a doctor, nutritionist or dietician about their diet

Everyone else should seek medical advice first.

First Phase
Begin with bodyweight work and walks and runs.

This should take 12 weeks, plus 1 week of rest or to allow for falling off the wagon.

• Prone braces
• Supine hip extensions,
• Squats
• Inverted rows
• Pressups
• Cardio

Prone braces have the purpose of building strength in the lower back, abs and glutes, which are typically weak in Westerners, and are performed by,

(http://imagine123.com/fitness/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/plank-exercise.jpg)

• lie face-down on ground, feet shoulder-width apart
• get up onto forearms so that they support your upper body
• raise hips from ground, up onto toes, legs extended
• head should be looking down but not tucked in, back extended and straight, hips in line with head, legs extended
• squeeze abs as though someone's going to punch you, squeeze glutes to help hold yourself firm
• don't let your hips or back drop
• begin by holding this for 3 long slow deep breaths. Add 1 breath per week until you reach 15. After 6 weeks, move from forearms up onto hands as in a pressup.

Supine hip extensions have the purpose of to “waking up” the glutes which are asleep in most Westerners - because we spend our work and leisure lives sitting on them, and they.are performed by,

(http://www.mhhe.com/hper/physed/athletictraining/illustrations/ch25/25-56c.jpg)

• lie face-up on ground
• have knees bent at 90 degree angle, arms by sides palm-down
• raise hips in the air, squeezing glutes the whole way

pause at top

• lower hips slowly, squeezing glutes the whole way
• repeat for 4 reps, add 3 each week until you reach 40.

Squats have the purpose of building leg and hip strength, and are performed by,

(http://planetgreen.discovery.com/food-health/images/2009-07/jeans-fit-squat.jpg)

• stand upright with your feet hip-width apart, feet turned slightly outwards
• put your arms forward, you'll need it for balance
• brace abs as though someone's going to punch you
• bending first at the hips, squat down slowly
• arse back – no, further
  
• weight onto heels
• knees out (most people find their knees track in as their quads/front thighs try to take the weight)
• chest up, arse back
• at some point in the squat as you descend, your lower back will round – this is the bottom of the squat for you. As you get better at it, it'll get lower
  
• press up from the bottom of the squat
• push through heels
• squeeze glutes to help with press
• begin with 20 total, adding 8 reps each week until you reach 100.

Inverted rows have the purpose of building back and arm strength, and are performed by,

(http://www.runnersworld.co.uk/news/images/inverted_row.jpg)

• lie on your back under a bar at knee height. You can use tables and chairs and fences, anything.
• legs and body should be extended
• reach up and grasp the bar; see whether you prefer palms down or up, and whatever grip width is comfortable for you.
• Pull yourself up slowly under control
• keep your shoulders down, we don't want to see “effort neck”
• pull until the bar touches your chest somewhere between your nipples and your collarbone, lower is usually easier
• keep body long and straight, brace and squeeze glutes
• at the top of motion, pull your shoulders back, try to make your shoulderblades touch. Pause for a moment there
• lower slowly under control
• begin with 15 total, add 6 reps each week until you reach 75
• if you find even a couple of reps of this difficult, begin instead with a bar about mid-thigh height, and your knees at right angles, progress in exactly the same way. When after 6 weeks you can do 45 total, go back to doing 15 full inverted rows, but add 12 reps per week so you'll reach 75 in the 12th week.

Pressups have the purpose of building chest, shoulder and arm strength, and improving core strength, and are performed by,

(http://www.takefit.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/press-up.jpg)

• lie face-down on the ground with your hands directly under your shoulders
• move your hands one hands-width out, and one down
• brace, squeeze glutes
• press up from the ground
• keeping your body straight, your body should be like a door on the hinge of your feet
• lower slowly under control
• begin with 10 total, adding 4 a week until you reach 50.
• if you find even a couple of reps of this difficult, begin instead by pivoting on your knees instead of your toes; you should still be straight from your knees and braced in the middle. When after 6 weeks you can do 30 total knee pressups, go back to doing 10 full pressups, but add 8 a week, so that you still reach 50 full pressups in the 12th week.  

Cardio
The cardio progression is similar. You begin by walking 1km (or 1 mile for the Americans, you use old measurements so you get to go further, it's all good for you). In the second week, 2km, and so on. Walk at a brisk pace – one that raises a slight sweat and makes you puff a bit.

After six weeks, you gop back to 1km/mile and begin jogging. Again, choose a pace which just gets you sweating - this isn't a race. The idea is to keep going without stopping or walking. If you have to walk, treat is as a single missed session, if you have to stop, treat it as two missed sessions – see below.

How often should I work out?
Aim at three workouts a week with a full clear day in between. No more nor less. If you miss one, make it up next week with a fourth workout. If you miss two or three, repeat the week; eg if in week #6 on Monday you did your 60 squats, 45 rows, 30 pressups and walked 6km, but the rest of the week do nothing, in the seventh week you do week #6 again.

You can do the bodyweight work and cardio together in one session, or you can do them on alternate days, eg squats etc on Monday, walk on Tuesday, and so on.

Three months over - Now what?
First, rest for a week. No more pressups or runs, just rest and recover – you'll need it after three months of solid work. Of course if you missed a week somewhere in there, you get no rest week now.

During these three months you should look for a good gym. A “good gym” is one which,

• is close enough to home or work that you'll actually go to it
• is reasonably-priced
• has trainers who are knowledgeable and helpful
• has trainees who are friendly to newbies
• has a squat rack with barbells and lots of plates

You may prefer to do this on your own. However, there's a reason all that fitness equipment "slides away for easy storage." That's where it's gonna stay. People who are supervised just work harder and get better results than people on their own. (It's been proven by science! (http://journals.lww.com/acsm-msse/Abstract/2000/06000/The_influence_of_direct_supervision_of_resistance.23.aspx))

Now with your better diet, your ability to do 100 squats, 75 inverted rows, 50 pressups total, and about half that number in one go, plus running 6km or 6 miles, you'll be very well prepared for gym work. You can then proceed to the Second Phase.

Nice! I've been following this routine (http://www.scoobysworkshop.com/schedbeginning.htm) since Christmas time. I do Prone Braces instead of pullups (no pullup bar handy) and add Bicycle, Jackknife and Reverse Crunches.
Edit: Almost forgot - I've started with Bicep curls (heavy dumbbell), but don't want to mess around will Barbells at home.

Great thread, Kyle :) Seriously, people, Kyle's advice on fitness is rock solid. Worth checking it out.

I practice a Tibetan Yoga, which is hardcore. Interestingly, a couple of the positions are similar to a couple of the positions shown in the OP.

I think there's somewhat of a difference between being physically "fit" (in appearance) and being actually healthy, and many western exercise regimens tend to overemphasize the former to the detriment of the latter.

RPGPundit

I think with Yoga though you have to hold those positions for long periods of time. Correct?

I've done it occasionally at some of the gyms I go to, but I usually throw up by the end. I do some pretty heavy contact sports. But Yoga seems to be more tough than any on my gut. I tried that heat yoga once (bikram I think) and thought I was going to die.

Quote from: BedrockBrendan;370090I think with Yoga though you have to hold those positions for long periods of time. Correct?

I've done it occasionally at some of the gyms I go to, but I usually throw up by the end. I do some pretty heavy contact sports. But Yoga seems to be more tough than any on my gut. I tried that heat yoga once (bikram I think) and thought I was going to die.

Hot Bikram Yoga has seemed harder than training for 2 collegiate sports.  Hello, hamstrings, how are you?

Quote from: BedrockBrendan;370090I think with Yoga though you have to hold those positions for long periods of time. Correct?

Indian yoga does, yes. But Tibetan Yoga is based much more on movements.

RPGPundit

I personally found the 8 lines of text explaining a push up rather amusing.  I understand that not everyone is nearly as familiar with that particular exercise as I am but still... funny.

And I long for the lazy days of yore when 10 would have seemed a reasonable starting point... though doing 50 at a pop is fairly hard core... I can do 50 without getting up, but not without pausing to 'catch my breath' so to speak.  I do 20-25 as a warm up though...

And to prove how tough I am I will personally fly all over the world popping every one of you in the face. Just because. I be internet tough guy, hear me roar.

Quote from: Spike;370502I personally found the 8 lines of text explaining a push up rather amusing.  I understand that not everyone is nearly as familiar with that particular exercise as I am but still... funny.

And I long for the lazy days of yore when 10 would have seemed a reasonable starting point... though doing 50 at a pop is fairly hard core... I can do 50 without getting up, but not without pausing to 'catch my breath' so to speak.  I do 20-25 as a warm up though...

And to prove how tough I am I will personally fly all over the world popping every one of you in the face. Just because. I be internet tough guy, hear me roar.

I think it is just to help people keep good form mostly. I know lots of guys who know how to do push ups, but have developed bad habits with it comes to form. Same thing with instructions on lifting weights. Most people can do either if you ask them to. But a lot of people don't know how to do them in the most effective way.

I've got a wonderful book called Yoga for Real Men, I'd suggest if interest in flexibility and strength without focusing on bulk muscle.

Quote from: BedrockBrendan;370561I think it is just to help people keep good form mostly. I know lots of guys who know how to do push ups, but have developed bad habits with it comes to form. Same thing with instructions on lifting weights. Most people can do either if you ask them to. But a lot of people don't know how to do them in the most effective way.

Actually I read an interesting peice of advice several months ago Re: Weight Lifting  that may be relevant here.

If you have been lifting for a while and your form has always been bad you have a much higher risk of injury by trying to 'convert' to a more correct, yet unfamiliar form than you have to gain by making the switch.

The Idea here is that if they are comfortable doing it wrong they should probably keep doing it the wrong, but comfortable, way.


But Jimbo of the Jumbo Elbow is the man who gets paid to do this crap, maybe he should weigh in...

Quote from: Spike;370570Actually I read an interesting peice of advice several months ago Re: Weight Lifting  that may be relevant here.

If you have been lifting for a while and your form has always been bad you have a much higher risk of injury by trying to 'convert' to a more correct, yet unfamiliar form than you have to gain by making the switch.

The Idea here is that if they are comfortable doing it wrong they should probably keep doing it the wrong, but comfortable, way.


But Jimbo of the Jumbo Elbow is the man who gets paid to do this crap, maybe he should weigh in...

Do you have a link to the article, I would be interested in reading it. This has the ring of truth to me. I am no expert, but in my experience shifting technique like this seems to lead to minor injuries. I'll bet when you alter technique lowering the weight is a good idea so you body can adapt.

Sorry. It would have been a physical magazine or maybe on TV and it was strictly in passing.  If I remembered more I would have totally name dropped to sound more authoritative.

Quote from: Spike;370570Actually I read an interesting peice of advice several months ago Re: Weight Lifting  that may be relevant here.

If you have been lifting for a while and your form has always been bad you have a much higher risk of injury by trying to 'convert' to a more correct, yet unfamiliar form than you have to gain by making the switch.

The Idea here is that if they are comfortable doing it wrong they should probably keep doing it the wrong, but comfortable, way.


But Jimbo of the Jumbo Elbow is the man who gets paid to do this crap, maybe he should weigh in...

"Good form" is pretty much a myth when you really get down to it. For example there are pro powerlifters who'll regularly deadlift with horrible thoracic rounding, which received wisdom tells us should lead to weaker performance, complete spinal implosion and death. Instead we see a long, healthy, world-record-setting career.

There are certain 'best practice' guidelines for how the ideal human anatomy ideally ought to perform certain movements, but the awkward reality is that the only sound arbiter of 'good' vs 'bad' form is injury. If you hurt yourself, you did it wrong.

Quote from: Spike;370502I personally found the 8 lines of text explaining a push up rather amusing. I understand that not everyone is nearly as familiar with that particular exercise as I am but still... funny..

Just watch 20 guys doing pushups without instruction and you won´t feel like laughing. Unfortunately this stuff really is not that obvious - or is only obvious when someone tells you.
 

Quote from: wizardfight;370502"Good form" is pretty much a myth when you really get down to it. For example there are pro powerlifters who'll regularly deadlift with horrible thoracic rounding, ..

This advice is aimed at formerly sedentary beginners. Saying, "oh but the pros -" is like a US Navy carrier pilot talking about loops to some student pilot in his Cessna on his first time on the stick on the runway. Basics first.
 
When you can deadlift 600 or more pounds like a professional powerlifter, feel free to round your back, you got that far, you obviously know what you´re doing. But when you´re struggling with 225 you had best get it fucking right. Get strong then break the rules, not the other way around.
 
"But the pros -" Are you a pro? Then ignore everything I say, you know what works for you better than I do - you may or may not know what´ll work for someone else. But if you are an ordinary formerly sedentary beginner, then my advice is useful.
 
More perspective, less bullshit from the supplement advertising catalogues.

Quote from: Kyle Aaron;372206Just watch 20 guys doing pushups without instruction and you won´t feel like laughing. Unfortunately this stuff really is not that obvious - or is only obvious when someone tells you.
 

Oh no. I get it, believe me I do. Its STILL funny to see it written and broken down like that.

I mean... have you seen my scrawny little arms? I remember when TEN push ups was a major challenge (I just rocked back and forth on my big yellow belly...).

But I actually don't recall ever needing detailed instructions, strangely enough. I remember GETTING them...just not NEEDING them...

This is a great thread, KA, and a public service for most gamers.

I'd like to ask what the best exercise for strengthening the arms is, if you don't have a lot of money for weights or room to store them? I've seen prison documentaries that show guys lifting plastic bottles and jugs full of water, and they looked strong, so can you give some advice on improvised weightlifting to improve arm strength? Or should I just try to copy what I see some guys in prison documentaries  doing?

Also, I know there's regular muscle and "fast twitch" muscle fiber that helps you in things like self defense striking. Are there exercises that improve fast twitch muscle specifically?

(Hmm, idea time: Some of these guys in prison who manage to spend all day in a small cell with no equipment and still look like body builders ought to write exercise books when they get out. They'd make more money and stay out of jail by becoming health and fitness experts instead of going back to gang banging and dealing.)

Quote from: Cylonophile;372749This is a great thread, KA, and a public service for most gamers.

I'd like to ask what the best exercise for strengthening the arms is, if you don't have a lot of money for weights or room to store them? I've seen prison documentaries that show guys lifting plastic bottles and jugs full of water, and they looked strong, so can you give some advice on improvised weightlifting to improve arm strength? Or should I just try to copy what I see some guys in prison documentaries  doing?

Also, I know there's regular muscle and "fast twitch" muscle fiber that helps you in things like self defense striking. Are there exercises that improve fast twitch muscle specifically?

(Hmm, idea time: Some of these guys in prison who manage to spend all day in a small cell with no equipment and still look like body builders ought to write exercise books when they get out. They'd make more money and stay out of jail by becoming health and fitness experts instead of going back to gang banging and dealing.)

Push ups and dips are a cheap and easy way to work the arms and chest. If your aim is to develop striking muscles, you may want to work your arms, back, chest and shoulders (since they are all important to punching). You may also try getting a medicine ball and twisting while holding it against your chest. You mention fast and slow twitch muscles. I am no expert on the human body, but I think this relates to explosiveness versus endurance. If so, you probably want to work both.

When you are doing a push up, instead of slow and even motions, occasionally mix it up by pushing yourself up in a bust. When you are running, instead of maintaining a steady pace all the time, mix it up with sprints. You can also try resistance bands.

I may be going out on a limb here, but I'd like to suggest a new forum: A support group for gamer's health. A lot of gamers, especially in america, live in a culture that really encourages bad eating habits and surrounds people with junk food, soda, etc, everywhere they go.

It doesn't help that a lot of people have families and friends that have bad health habits and practice them around people who may be trying to develop better ones.

Maybe if anyone here was interested we could have a health support forum where people could post their weight, how much they've lost or gained, get encouragement for sympathetic people who understand them better than maybe even their own family does, etc.

Just an idea, people.

Quote from: Cylonophile;372749I'd like to ask what the best exercise for strengthening the arms is, if you don't have a lot of money for weights or room to store them?

The ones I´ve written, to begin with. Muscles become stronger because you subject them to progressive resistance. Get through those starting exercises first. Pulling or pushing your own bodyweight from the floor, and doing it more times today than you did yesterday, this provides progressive resistance.

Quote from: Cylonophile;372749Also, I know there's regular muscle and "fast twitch" muscle fiber that helps you in things like self defense striking. Are there exercises that improve fast twitch muscle specifically?

"Slow twitch" muscles are those which let you work against light resistance zillions of times, eg in walking, these are not very bulky. "Fast twitch" are those which let you work against heavy resistance several times, eg in picking up something heavy off the floor, these are bulky. This is why marathon runners are small and weightlifters are big.

So just move heavy weights a few or several times, beginning with the exercises above. For things like punching, you want something different from pure strength, we call it "power". That´s the ability to put out a lot of effort in a short time. So for example the person who can do 50 pressups in 60 seconds is more powerful than the person who takes 120 seconds to do them.

Begin with the basic strength training. Once you can do the inverted rows, pressups and squats in the numbers above, work on doing them quickly. But get the numbers up first, if you can only do 5 inverted rows and 10 pressups and 12 squats it´s senseless trying to do them faster - get the total up first.

Follow the routine. Basics first, fancy stuff afterwards.

Quote from: RPGPundit;370062I practice a Tibetan Yoga, which is hardcore. Interestingly, a couple of the positions are similar to a couple of the positions shown in the OP.

I think there's somewhat of a difference between being physically "fit" (in appearance) and being actually healthy, and many western exercise regimens tend to overemphasize the former to the detriment of the latter.

RPGPundit

I remember when I first started training to be a pro wrestler, I was doing aerobic yoga (which sounds similar) and I was working in a truck stop.  I had a good number of overweight truck drivers point out to me how that wasn't really "working out".

1) There is no WAY they could have done it.

2) I found it to be WAY harder than "just" lifting weights.

3) I noticed a huge improvement in my life overall right away...a much higher energy level, among other things.

There´s a lot of macho bullshit out there about fitness.
 
In the industry, "fitness" is defined as the body´s ability to complete the tasks demanded of it. For example, a marathon runner and a weightlifter - who is "fitter"? Neither. Each is fit for their particular task. Likewise, people can be fit for their job, fit for their sport, etc.
 
What I´ve offered in these articles is guidelines for general health and fitness. That is, fitness for everyday life. Everyone in their everyday life needs to be able to run a few miles, do some pushups and so on - not those specific tasks, but things which require an equivalent effort from their bodies, like running to catch the train, moving the fridge to sweep under it, and so on. And they need a certain amount of heart/lung and muscular conditioning to minimise the chances of heart disease, injury from simple accidents, and so on.

Hmm, I've noticed that real, professional weightlifters who set records often look rather different from "professional bodybuilders" who really just flex and show.

The real weightlifters seem to not have the "sculpted" look the bodybuilders have, but can apparently lift more weight. This seems to reinforce what you just said, there, Kyle.

Now what we need is the follow-up of this thread. What do I do when I have reached this goals?

:)

Quote from: Kyle Aaron;374353There´s a lot of macho bullshit out there about fitness.
 
In the industry, "fitness" is defined as the body´s ability to complete the tasks demanded of it. For example, a marathon runner and a weightlifter - who is "fitter"? Neither. Each is fit for their particular task. Likewise, people can be fit for their job, fit for their sport, etc.
 
What I´ve offered in these articles is guidelines for general health and fitness. That is, fitness for everyday life. Everyone in their everyday life needs to be able to run a few miles, do some pushups and so on - not those specific tasks, but things which require an equivalent effort from their bodies, like running to catch the train, moving the fridge to sweep under it, and so on. And they need a certain amount of heart/lung and muscular conditioning to minimise the chances of heart disease, injury from simple accidents, and so on.

Quote from: Cylonophile;374359Hmm, I've noticed that real, professional weightlifters who set records often look rather different from "professional bodybuilders" who really just flex and show.

The real weightlifters seem to not have the "sculpted" look the bodybuilders have, but can apparently lift more weight. This seems to reinforce what you just said, there, Kyle.

That´s mainly just bodyfat. Weightlifters only care about bodyfat in that they generally want to be in a certain weight category, but want as much of that weight as possible to be weight that can help them move iron, ie muscle rather than fat. This leads to a lower bodyfat than the general population - except for the superheavyweights - but higher bodyfat than a competition bodybuilder.

Apart from that, there´s a few small differences in muscular development. Olympic style lifters will tend to have bigger upper trapezius and not such big arms, because traps are used a lot and arms not so much in snatch and clean and jerk, whereas bodybuilders want proportional development.

But if they wanted to, a weightlifter could become a bodybuilder and vice versa much more easily than a member of the general public could become either.

Imperator, after this comes dumbells or barbells. That follow-up is sitting on my computer back in Australia, out of my reach here in Peru. But let´s be honest, has anyone here followed these articles and begun changing their diet and doing walks, runs and squats, anyone at all?

PS I hate the Spanish keyboard. I don´t need an upside-down question mark, and I don´t want to press a funky combination of keys just for the at symbol.

Quote from: Kyle Aaron;374737Imperator, after this comes dumbells or barbells. That follow-up is sitting on my computer back in Australia, out of my reach here in Peru. But let´s be honest, has anyone here followed these articles and begun changing their diet and doing walks, runs and squats, anyone at all?

PS I hate the Spanish keyboard. I don´t need an upside-down question mark, and I don´t want to press a funky combination of keys just for the at symbol.

Well, I am interested, but I was already doing barbell exercises, eating clean and doing cardio. Hope that doesn't disqualifies me. :)

I started the cardio part yesterday, along with watching what I eat - trying more for a "reduce your total intake" approach, using an app on my iPhone. Tracking everything you eat seems to make a difference, as I've done it before.

One question, Kyle - your "portion" sizes... I arranged my fingers like you said, and then tried to figure out; is it the open spot on your palm that results (your hand ends up looking like a little cup as you described it) or is it the total size of the hand?

Just whatever would fit in the palm of your hand. Remember, I´m no nutritionist, this is just an awareness exercise really. ¨Hmmm, so today I ate 11 portions of starch, 2 of meat, 3 junk and 1 booze, and nothing else... maybe this is why I am heavy and tired all the time.¨That´s a very, very common situation. And it´s also to make sure you have some fresh fruit, vegies, nuts and beans each day, which is what most people miss out on.
 
If you are overweight, okay or underweight, you should do both the cardio and the strength exercises. If you are more than overweight, see the earlier article about seeing a physician, and with their say so, being generally more physically active.

Ok, cool - I walked 410 extra paces (not what I normally do in the course of the day) than yesterday, and will add about that many more tomorrow, so it'll add up over time, as you say.

Excellent, that´s the way to do it. Always move forward, however slowly, it all adds up. 10 more steps each day for a year is 3,650 steps, 1 more pressup each of three sessions a week is 150 in a year, and so on. Consistency is key. The major thing beginners do wrong is too much at the beginning which makes them hurt then give up - whereas a small increase each time, they could keep up forever.

Quote from: Kyle Aaron;375355Excellent, that´s the way to do it. Always move forward, however slowly, it all adds up. 10 more steps each day for a year is 3,650 steps, 1 more pressup each of three sessions a week is 150 in a year, and so on. Consistency is key. The major thing beginners do wrong is too much at the beginning which makes them hurt then give up - whereas a small increase each time, they could keep up forever.

My own experience matches this. I started training with barbells with no weight (the barbell itself is 20 kgs), focusing on technique. I added 2,5 kgs each workout, so when I started having a rough times I already had built the habit and it was easier to keep motivation.

Second Phase
Having achieved 100 bodyweight squats, 75 inverted rows, and 50 pressups, along with being able to run 6km/miles without stopping, now you begin a programme of weight training 3 times a week with a full clear day in between. Now we continue with the same principles as before - in every workout a deep knee-bend, pick something heavy up off the ground and put something heavy overhead, and in every workout do more, more or more - more weight or more sets or more reps.
 
(http://www.idass.com/acatalog/2979_7ft_bar.jpg)
The standard Olympic bar weighs 20kg, or 45lbs. Should you count it in your lifts? Well, hold it over your head and drop it, and then decide if it's worth counting or not.

For the first 12 weeks you will do just 3 exercises in the gym, increasing the weight every 3 workouts. Your work sets will be 3x6-8. That is, you begin by lifting the weight 6 times, rest then 6 again, rest then 6 again. Next workout, 3x7, then next time after that 3x8. In the following workout you add weight and drop back to 3x6.

If you stall, that is if you find you cannot get all the reps, the first thing to do is look at your diet and sleep. Usually one of them is off. If they are right, then simply add another set to make up the missed reps. If you stall a second time, add a fourth set. For example, you come in to do 3x6, and only manage 6,5,4 – you missed 1+2=3 reps, so you do a fourth set of 3. The next time you come in you manage 6,6,4 – you missed 2 reps, so do another set of 2 to make up for it, but add a fifth set of 2. Next time you will certainly achieve 3x6.

When increasing weight after a stall, increase by the smaller step; if you would have normally added 7.5kg/15lb, add 5kg/10lb, if 5kg/10lb, 2.5kg/5lb, etc. Dealing with stalls beyond that goes beyond the scope of a beginner programme.

• Barbell squats, 3x6 warmup and 3x6-8 work sets, starting with 40kg/90lb add 5kg/10lb each progression
  
• Deadlifts, 3x6 warmup and 3x6-8 work sets, starting with 60kg/135lb, add 7.5kg/15lb each progression
  
• Overhead press, 3x6 warmup and 3x6-8 work sets, starting with 20kg/45lb add 2.5kg/5lb each progression

If you have no stalls, then after 12 weeks you will be overhead pressing 100lbs, squatting 2x 45lb and deadlifting 3x 45lb plates each side. These lifts are achievable by any non-impaired person under 50 years old and over 55kg/120lbs, regardless of gender.

Warmups are simply 3 sets where you move up towards your work weight. When using 30kg/66lb or less, simply use the corresponding bodyweight exercise as a warmup (squats for squats, inverted rows for deadlifts, and pressups for overhead press). Over 30kg/66lb, do warmups with 1/2, 2/3 and 3/4 the work weight - round it off, doesn't have to be exact.

Barbell squats have the purpose of increasing leg and hip strength, and are performed by,

(http://www.stevenellis.com/pitching_workouts/images/squat2.jpg)

• face the bar racked at chest height
• step under bar, and place across the top of your shoulderblades
• grip bar with hands as close as possible to shoulders, elbows pointing down
• press bar out of rack
• hands should push bar forwards, and your shoulders push back against bar
• feet hip-width apart
• toes turned slightly outwards
• stand upright, extended back
• head and chest up
• brace
• bend first at hips, arse back
• go down as far as possible without rounding lower back
• press up through heels squeezing glutes
• brace
• knees out
• stand fully upright at end
• begin with 40kg/95lbs (ie bar plus 10kg/25lb plates each side), add 5kg/10lbs each progression.

Barbell deadlifts have the purpose of improving leg and back strength. They are one of the most practical of all exercises, since a common use of strength in day-to-day and work life is picking heavy things up off the ground. They are performed by,

(http://games2008.crossfit.com/images/JodiDL_th.jpg)

• have the bar sitting dead on the ground
• bar over middle of foot about top of shoelace level
• feet shoulder-width apart with the toes turned slightly outwards
• squat down keeping back extended, head and chest up
• grasp bar with an overhand grip just outside knees, armpit over the bar
• head and chest up, arse back
• brace
• push through heels, squeezing glutes
• pull up
• stand upright at end
• lower slowy under control
• keep brace on way down, and back extended – many people round in relief
• begin with 60kg/135lbs (ie bar plus a 20kg/45lb plate each side), add 7.5kg/15lbs each progression

Overhead presses have the purpose of improving shoulder, arm and chest strength, as well as improving core stability.  Many trainers place the bench press here, however many people will be training on their own and scared they won't be able to get out from under the bar if it's too heavy to lift; they can just drop a bar in overhead press. The overhead press is much better at improving core stability, and also involves more of the shoulder muscles.

(http://www.mensgarage.com/wp-content/uploads/overheadpressgirl.jpg)

• Begin with bar on ground. Bend down to it as in a deadlift, then explosively jump up cleaning the bar to your collarbone
• feet shoulder-width apart, toes turned slightly outwards
• hands just outside shoulders, elbows forward
• brace in middle
• squeeze glutes to help stability
• press up steadily until elbows lock out
• pull head back as bar passes
• lower slowly under control back to collarbone
• begin with 20kg/45lb (ie just the bar), add 2.5kg/5lbs each progression

If you have a sit-down job, and/or you often have lower back pain, the overhead press should be performed with your heels together. This will make you have to squeeze glutes and brace more strongly, improving ab and lower back strength, and removing the cause of your pain.


Fitness in the Second Phase
On two – just two - of your days off from strength training, go for 3 mile/5km jogs, aiming to get a better time each week. If you are underweight or ok in weight, that's it.
If you are still overweight, then do the following.

For the first 4 weeks, no intervals, just the steady but quick jogs.

For the second 4 weeks, run as fast as you can for 0.5 miles or 0.5km, then walk for 0.5 miles/km. Repeat another 5 times to finish the course.

For the third 4 weeks, run as fast as you can for 0.5 miles or 0.5km, then jog for 0.5 miles/km. Repeat another 5 times to finish the course.

Before each run, do 50 bodyweight squats, 30 inverted rows and 20 pushups, this helps recovery from yesterday's workout.

Diet in the Second Phase
As noted in the diet section, adjust your diet as you go. However, everyone will need for weight training a workout drink made up of 500ml (scant pint) milk, 3 eggs  and 100g (4oz) skim milk powder. Drink half before and half after the workout. This will fuel your workout and recovery.

Second Phase over - Now what?
Reflect on your progress. You will have improved your diet, health and body composition, and built a base of strength and fitness sufficient for any recreational sport. Where you go here depends on your specific goals for physique and life and sports.

I suggest eating a lot of chocolate cake and bacon.

So, who's rockin' that big belly of theirs with some squats? Who's turning those spaghetti arms into tree trunks with some inverted rows? I want to see you lot healthy and happy so you still be rolling the dice and hacking those monsters when you're 80.

Come on, gamers, tell us how you're going with this.

Dropped 22kg since November and have built some decent muscle (still loads to go). Though of course i got information on tons of places http://www.liamrosen.com/fitness.html was my main guide, very much recommended. It's a beginners guide to health with the factual basics in laymans terms both regarding diet and excercise.

Quote from: Kyle Aaron;379403So, who's rockin' that big belly of theirs with some squats? Who's turning those spaghetti arms into tree trunks with some inverted rows? I want to see you lot healthy and happy so you still be rolling the dice and hacking those monsters when you're 80.

Come on, gamers, tell us how you're going with this.

I have a lot of experience with this and have kept up a regimen since my college days, adjusting constantly to add in what is new and different.  

However, I added in your sprints recently.  Now, I went to college on a soccer scholarship and in highschool came in second in States in the 400.  
But despite my consistent regimen of cardio and strength, and still playing competitive volleyball, It becomes clear that I have not sprinted full-out in decades.  
So it was one of the best pieces of advice you could have given.  This body is built to sprint, I just had to wake it up again.  Wind sprints once a week, baby.

Are there any of those exercise that work for someone that may have to use a cane daily?

Asking for the obvious reasons.....


- Ed C.

Starting my third week of altered diet and walking regularly (not all at once, several times a day for about 1/3 of a mile to keep metabolism up, two miles total so far). Haven't started the muscular stuff just yet, want to get into a full-on weight-loss mode first.

Quote from: Abrojo;379495Dropped 22kg since November and have built some decent muscle (still loads to go). Though of course i got information on tons of places

Excellent! And it's always a good idea to get information from many places. There is no One True Way in physical training, there are many roads to the same destination, and many destinations besides. If it gets results, it's good.

Well done, keep going.

Quote from: LordVreegThis body is built to sprint, I just had to wake it up again. Wind sprints once a week, baby.

I'm glad I helped remind you of who you are. There's something great about being able to go fast under your own power. Next step, join an athletics club. I expect to hear of you still sprinting when you're "elderly", like Payton Jordan (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Payton_Jordan). He sprinted the 100m in 14.65... when he was 86.

Quote from: KoltarAre there any of those exercise that work for someone that may have to use a cane daily?

See a physiotherapist, mate. That's specialist stuff. In principle, any exercise is possible - you work around the condition, or you just ignore the pain and do it anyway. But either could make the condition worse - so see a physiotherapist. Look for a sports physiotherapist.

I will note that many people who have difficulty walking take up swimming.

Quote from: WerekoalaStarting my third week of altered diet and walking regularly (not all at once, several times a day for about 1/3 of a mile to keep metabolism up, two miles total so far). Haven't started the muscular stuff just yet, want to get into a full-on weight-loss mode first.

Well done, mate. Keep going!

My favourite client here in Australia is a heavy gamer geek. Very dedicated guy, he'll be buff in a couple of years, but there'll be a definite difference in just a couple of months.

I still keep following the Stronglifts 5x5 routine (linky (http://stronglifts.com/stronglifts-5x5-beginner-strength-training-program/)) with some modifications that Kyle suggested me (for example, distributing the bodyweight exercises throughout the workout and setting clear golas for them instead of going for failure). So far, I've achieved to squat 75 kgs, bench press 70 kgs, and press 40 kgs over my head. Deadlift is in 85 kgs right now. I've stalled on squats, mainly because my technique gets worse at this weight, and I'm afraid I can hurt my back, so I think I will deload and work on getting the technique perfect efore ramping up the weight again.

The days I don't lift weights, I follow Kyle's instructions regarding cardio. Slowly improving on that.

I've gotten good results, but I've been doing them for several months and I've started to get a bit bored. Maybe I will look for a different set of exercises, to change a bit. Also, I've gotten interested in rock climbing, so maybe I should aim for an extra effort developing shoulders and core strength. Any suggestions?

Quote from: Imperator;379628So far, I've achieved to squat 75 kgs, bench press 70 kgs, and press 40 kgs over my head. Deadlift is in 85 kgs right now.

Well done, keep going.

Quote from: ImperatorI've stalled on squats, mainly because my technique gets worse at this weight, and I'm afraid I can hurt my back, so I think I will deload and work on getting the technique perfect efore ramping up the weight again.

Try this:

If you can do 75kg 3x5 with good form, you should be able to do 75kg 1x10. I'll assume you can, if not - just substitute whichever weight you can do with good form, doesn't have to be perfect but it shouldn't be painful to watch.

Do your normal warmup sets, something like 50kg 1x8, 60kg 1x6, 70kg 1x4. Then do your 75kg for... 1x20. Normally with squats you just go up and down. These are called breathing squats - at the top of the motion, take 2-3 deep breaths. Around rep 15 you will get tunnel vision, your legs will turn numb, perhaps a little bit of vomit will come into your mouth.

Keep going. Finish the set of 20. It's just the one set. That's your work set for squats.

Quote from: ImperatorI've gotten good results, but I've been doing them for several months and I've started to get a bit bored.

If you're bored you're not working hard enough. Like I said, time your workouts. I set the stopwatch, I hit the watch and begin the first set. The second set must begin by 03'00". So if I take a long time to do that first set, if I stop halfway and adjust myself or something, well that means less rest time. Bang, 3 minutes rolls around, second set. 6 minutes, third set. And so on.

If you're still bored, make it 2'30". Then 2'00". I'll be impressed if you can do it fastr than 2 minutes, it usually takes 60"-90" just to load the bar, unrack it, do the set, and rerack it.

Quote from: ImperatorMaybe I will look for a different set of exercises, to change a bit. Also, I've gotten interested in rock climbing, so maybe I should aim for an extra effort developing shoulders and core strength. Any suggestions?

Rock climbing needs three major things: grip strength, back strength, and lactate tolerance (the "burn", you have to be able to put up with it lest you fall off at an inconvenient time).

Grip/back strength - do chinups. I assume that R can do these. If you've built up your inverted row total as established earlier in these programmes, doing a total of 50 reps, you should be able to do 20 in one go. And if you can do 20 inverted rows in one go, you can do 3-5 chinups.

With chinups, make sure that you point your chest at the bar, keep your shoulders down and back. Lots of people hunch over the bar, not helpful.

As with other bodyweight exercises so with chinups, you work on a certain total in each session. Begin with 10 chinups - whether you do 10 in one go, 5,5, or 4,3,2,1 or 1,1... etc doesn't matter, nor does it matter if you do them together or spread them through the rest of the workout, just get 10 total.

Next session, 12 total. Then 14. And so on. When you can do 50 chinups total, you should be able to do 3 x8-12. NBotice that I don't mention whether the hands are turned towards or away or parallel. Just vary it.

Chinup variations - After that, you'll warm up with 2x8-12 chinups, and then do variations, at least 2 variations with at least 30 total reps.

• wide-grip chinup - hands should be a width so that as you come up when your upper arms are parallel to the ground, your elbows are a right angle. This will be the same as a good bench press grip width. You can have a wider grip than that, but not narrower. Good for developing back strength
• thumbless grip - simple, just a normal chinup but without thumbs wrapped around the bar - builds up finger strength
• towel chinup - hook your towel over the chinup bar and pull yourself up with that - boosts grip strength
• climbers - both hands on the bar, pull up first towards the left hand, next towards the right, and so on
• typewriters - pull yourself up to the left hand, then go horizontally to the right (so your face should be going along the bar), then down.
  
• windscreen wipers - up to the left, scroll across to the right, scroll back left, then down.
• 21s - go halfway up, then back down 7 times. Go all the way up, halfway down, back up - 7 times. Now go all the way up and down 7 times. Wussier variations are 6s, 9s, 12s, 15s, etc.

All these chinup variations can be inverted row variations, too. But if you can do 20 inverted rows in one go you should be able to do 3-5 chinups in a row, and it's better to do chinups than inverted rows if you can.  

More grip strength - To further develop grip strength for rock-climbing, do farmer's walks. Simply take a weight in each hand and walk at least 50 metres with it. A nice flat plate is good for this, the harder to hold onto the better. Start with 10kg in each hand, if you can walk the distance without dropping it once, add weight next session.

Lactate tolerance - This is our friend Tabata. You need a training partner for this, someone with a stopwatch and a notebook. Get a dumbell of about 1/4 your bodyweight. Put it between your feet, feet shoulderwidth apart. Pick up the weight and bring it to your groin - it's a dumbell deadlift.

Do as many reps as you can in 20 seconds. Now stop and rest for 10 seconds.

Repeat 7 more times.

Your training partner should tell you when to start or stop, and note down how many reps you get in these 8 sets. When you can get 100 reps total, it's time to increase the weight used.

If you lack a training partner, try the bicycle version. Most of the stationary bicycles will have a revolutions per minute counter and adjustable resistance. Pick a resistance where you can just manage 100rpm for 10 seconds.
Begin with a 2 minute warmup at 60-70rpm
Do 20" at 90-100rpm
Do 10" at 60-70rpm
repeat 7 times
do a 2 minute cooldown at 60-70rpm

With Tabata, you will want to stop after the 3rd or 4th set. You will be certain that you can't go on after the 5th or 6th set - this is why you need a training partner, to tell you to keep going. You may get tunnel vision, feel faint, cry or go deaf in one ear. Keep going.

Have fun.

Kyle, I am trying to lose between 30-40 pounds for a sporting event. I don't want to lose too much muscle in the process (though I am sure I will have to sacrifice some to get down to my goal of 150-160 pounds). What kind of diet would you recommend (and already have a solid training program in place) and what do you think is a realistic timeframe to lose the weight?

Quote from: BedrockBrendan;382984Kyle, I am trying to lose between 30-40 pounds for a sporting event. I don't want to lose too much muscle in the process (though I am sure I will have to sacrifice some to get down to my goal of 150-160 pounds). What kind of diet would you recommend (and already have a solid training program in place) and what do you think is a realistic timeframe to lose the weight?

Brendan, this is a difficult one. It depends on your current body composition. Let's say you're 190lbs. There's a difference between a large-framed 6'4" and 190lb guy and a small-framed 5'2" 190lb guy, or two 5'10" 190lb guys, but one with a 46" chest and 32" waist and the other with both waist and chest 40". You may not actually have 30-40lbs of fat to lose. Or you may have heaps. I don't know.

Frame size matters in determining what a healthy bodyweight is. I'm 5'10", but I'm small-framed, so my usual weight of 75-80kg is healthy for me. My mad Magyar friend is the same height, but quite large-framed as you'd see with our wrists next to each-other, and when lean and strong he's 95kg or so - if he were 75kg he'd be a rake, if I were 95kg I'd be huge. So ideal bodyweight varies a lot.

Fat loss has an asymptotic curve, for the maths fans out there.  What we find is that when a person is very far from their ideal bodyweight range, the weight comes off pretty fast, but as they approach their ideal bodyweight, the rate slows.

For example, a medium-framed 5'10" guy might be a lean 160bs, or a muscular and lean 180lbs, so he has a healthy bodyweight range of 160-180lbs, more or less. If he's actually 130lbs, he could get up to 150lbs in 3 months, but reaching 160lbs might take another 12. If he's actually 300lbs, knocking down to 250lbs could happen in 3 months, but reaching 200lbs might take another 6 months, and then another 12 months to hit 180lbs. And so on.

So your particular build and body composition matter a lot in the answer to this.

However, the general advice for people aiming to have fat loss while retaining muscle,

• calories in < calories out, consume less than you expend. Simple guideline, reduce portions sizes now, and then weigh and measure yourself after a month. If you're bigger or the same and wanted to get smaller, eat less. Don't go crazy with the portion reduction, though, it screws you up and doesn't work. Just, you know, knock it down a bit - if you usually have the pasta heaped up over the bowl, have it just slightly above the edge of the bowl instead.
  
• for pure fat loss, exactly where those calories come from doesn't matter; for good health, a wide variety of nutritious foods is good - see Part I of this for general advice on healthy diets
• to retain muscle while losing fat, do resistance training with the progression as advised here
• with this, you can sustain a rate of fat loss of 1-2lbs a week, again with the caveat that it's quicker when you're really big, and slows down as you get close to a healthy bodyweight.

What's the sporting event? I ask because different sports have different reasons for your weight change. Football might want you to drop weight to speed up, weightlifting or boxing have weight categories. If it's genuine fat loss, okay let's talk about it. If it's simply a weigh-in day, the last 10lbs doesn't have to be genuine weight loss, dehydration is enough.

Quote from: Kyle Aaron;383107Brendan, this is a difficult one. It depends on your current body composition. Let's say you're 190lbs. There's a difference between a large-framed 6'4" and 190lb guy and a small-framed 5'2" 190lb guy, or two 5'10" 190lb guys, but one with a 46" chest and 32" waist and the other with both waist and chest 40". You may not actually have 30-40lbs of fat to lose. Or you may have heaps. I don't know.

Frame size matters in determining what a healthy bodyweight is. I'm 5'10", but I'm small-framed, so my usual weight of 75-80kg is healthy for me. My mad Magyar friend is the same height, but quite large-framed as you'd see with our wrists next to each-other, and when lean and strong he's 95kg or so - if he were 75kg he'd be a rake, if I were 95kg I'd be huge. So ideal bodyweight varies a lot.

Fat loss has an asymptotic curve, for the maths fans out there.  What we find is that when a person is very far from their ideal bodyweight range, the weight comes off pretty fast, but as they approach their ideal bodyweight, the rate slows.

For example, a medium-framed 5'10" guy might be a lean 160bs, or a muscular and lean 180lbs, so he has a healthy bodyweight range of 160-180lbs, more or less. If he's actually 130lbs, he could get up to 150lbs in 3 months, but reaching 160lbs might take another 12. If he's actually 300lbs, knocking down to 250lbs could happen in 3 months, but reaching 200lbs might take another 6 months, and then another 12 months to hit 180lbs. And so on.

So your particular build and body composition matter a lot in the answer to this.

However, the general advice for people aiming to have fat loss while retaining muscle,

• calories in < calories out, consume less than you expend. Simple guideline, reduce portions sizes now, and then weigh and measure yourself after a month. If you're bigger or the same and wanted to get smaller, eat less. Don't go crazy with the portion reduction, though, it screws you up and doesn't work. Just, you know, knock it down a bit - if you usually have the pasta heaped up over the bowl, have it just slightly above the edge of the bowl instead.
  
• for pure fat loss, exactly where those calories come from doesn't matter; for good health, a wide variety of nutritious foods is good - see Part I of this for general advice on healthy diets
• to retain muscle while losing fat, do resistance training with the progression as advised here
• with this, you can sustain a rate of fat loss of 1-2lbs a week, again with the caveat that it's quicker when you're really big, and slows down as you get close to a healthy bodyweight.

What's the sporting event? I ask because different sports have different reasons for your weight change. Football might want you to drop weight to speed up, weightlifting or boxing have weight categories. If it's genuine fat loss, okay let's talk about it. If it's simply a weigh-in day, the last 10lbs doesn't have to be genuine weight loss, dehydration is enough.

Thanks Kyle. I have a pretty slender frame. Definitely not a natural 190 pounder. This is for a sanshou event. Haven't done anything like this in about 4-5 years, but I used to compete at 146 comfortably. Also I am 5'7".

Quote from: BedrockBrendan;383129Thanks Kyle.

Please don't quote my entire post, I am tedious enough to read already without people having to read it twice ;)

QuoteI have a pretty slender frame. Definitely not a natural 190 pounder. This is for a sanshou event. Haven't done anything like this in about 4-5 years, but I used to compete at 146 comfortably. Also I am 5'7".

With a small frame at 5'7" and 190lbs you will have a fair bit on the waist rather than the chest or legs, I imagine. So we're talking about losing fat and maintaining or gaining muscle. So look at the earlier posts for guides to general fitness and strength, choose one of the three programmes based on where you are now.

People will also tend to choose a low-carbohdyrate diet, lowering or cutting out things like pasta and potatoes, adding more things like meat, milk and nuts. That's not because of any magically bad properties of carbs, It's simply that our diet is made up of four basic macornutrients - protein, fats, carbs and fibre - and a heap of micronutrients (vitamins & minerals). Now, some of these things are essential, some non-essential. "Non-essential" means that the body can make one of them out of some other similar thing, "essential" means it can't.

Some proteins are essential and so are fats. Carbs aren't essential. That's why you can find people living just on seal meat and fish (high protein and fats, few or no carbs), but can't find anyone living just on carrots and onions (low protein and no fats). So when a person wants to cut total energy intake, they have to cut one or more of protein, fats or carbs. Since many of the proteins and fats are essential they don't want to cut them, all that leaves is carbs.

Lowering the carbs while keeping the protein and fats the same thus lowers total energy intake. You go into an energy deficit, more energy going out than coming in. Your body has to make up the deficit from somewhere - so it starts burning that stored fat, which is what it was stored for, harsh times when you're hungry.

It's like how if your salary is less than your weekly expenses, you have to start drawing on your savings. You have 40lbs or so of energy savings. So drop your income and raise your expenses.

Again, what actually matters is your total energy intake, and that it's lower than your energy expenditure. It's just that it's easiest to cut carbs. Potatoes, pasta, bread, rice, and so on. Live on fruit, vegies, nuts, beans, meat, fish and dairy. And mostly meat, fish and vegies.

Likewise, if you want to grow or maintain muscle, you need to consume more protein. That means more meat, fish, nuts and beans. Same as above, really.

Put another way, looking back to Part I of this series, we see the ten basic food groups:
fruit, vegies, nuts, beans, meat, fish, dairy & eggs, and then,
starch, junk and booze

and for general health, have some of each of these everyday. But the "lose fat, gain muscle" approach for an overfat person - not a runt or healthy bodyweight person, but a genuinely overfat one - is going to be "eat more of the first 7, and less of the last 3."

So if you go to McDs, eat the meat patty, throw away the buns and fries and give them to your runty friend who wants to bulk up.

For more specific advice - Ramon already said I should have a paypal donate button ;) - I'd have to know more details, having a picture of you, knowing your current level of fitness and strength, and so on. Email me for that.

I've dropped 6kg in the past month without too much hassle, but that's because I started about 25kg overweight and only sustained it through indolence and poor diet.  Now that I'm eating reasonably well and exercising again I'm shrinking nicely.

I'll probably plateau at around 105kg, and getting down to a healthy weight of 90-93kg will be a struggle from there.

One thing I've noticed is that I need a much longer period of adjustment to activity than I did in my twenties.  In January I made the mistake of jumping back into a full-bore fitness regimen, but ended up so fatigued and injured that it was counterproductive.  It seems an obvious consequence of ageing, in retrospect, but if there's a lesson it's that it pays to be patient until your body is ready to meet your determination half way.

Well done, Hairfoot, keep going.

Yes, as you get older your recovery time gets longer. There's a recent interview with Mark Rippetoe and Charles Staley where they comment, "you know you're a "masters" lifter when your warmup is longer than your workout."

But well done, keep going.

4 weeks, 7.2 lbs.

Now if I could do that much in a week.... :)

Man, don't sweat it. You're doing it fine. Once you start developing more muscle mass, you will burn fat faster. You're doing fine, don't try to hurry :)

Yeah, yeah, learn to be patient.

How long will THAT take?

:D

Well done, Kurt. Keep going!

The blunt response is simply, how long did it take to get so big? why would you expect it to be quicker to reach a healthy bodyweight?

However, luckily it's a bit quicker the other way. As I understand it - Ramon will tell us if I'm wrong - in psychology they say it takes about two years to make a big change in the person's personality. I think the same is true of a person's physique, sports performance or whatever.

To go from "wooah, big!" to "ordinary guy no-one will notice in the street" is about two years; from "ordinary guy" to "buff" or "great sportsperson" another two years, too. That assumes just an ordinary level of commitment to diet and training and practice, and doing it on your own. If you're really dedicated or have someone to coach you in things, it can be quicker. If you're half-arsed about things, it's slower - and for most people on their own in gyms or sports teams, it never happens.

That's for a lasting change. For example, the Biggest Loser contestants typically do not have lasting changes except for the injuries they've got. It's too fast, and it's a very artificial situation nothing like ordinary life.

So in general two years for a big and lasting change. However, first month, not much change physically, but feel more energetic, etc. Second month, some physical change. Third month, continued change and establish habit of exercise and new healthier diet. So you've definitely got change in those first months, but if we're talking "total and lasting transformation", well that's about two years for most people.

Which is not bad, really. It sounds a long time when you're at the beginning of it, but all of us can look back two years at this or that, time with our spouse or alone or in a job or being without a job or being in a game group or without one, and looking back it was pretty quick, really. Have I been with her that long? Working here that long? Had a gym membership without going for that long? Wow. ;)

Quote from: Kyle Aaron;383422However, luckily it's a bit quicker the other way. As I understand it - Ramon will tell us if I'm wrong - in psychology they say it takes about two years to make a big change in the person's personality. I think the same is true of a person's physique, sports performance or whatever.

Actually, changes (at least significant ones) can be a lot faster.

The best thing you can do? Log your work, and the changes and results. Keep a journal, even better if you can use Excel and some graphs, because viaul info is so much better. Each time you feel deflated, check your journal and see how much you got done. Pay special attention to your beginnings, and compare them with where you are now. It's easy to lose sight of how much you have improved.

Also, bear in mind that this kind of things are like snowballs. You start small and progress is slow, but as you progress, more progress gets easier. The hardest part of changing habits is the beginning: once you got some momentum, keeping on it gets easier, and results are better.

Quote from: Imperator;383487Also, bear in mind that this kind of things are like snowballs. You start small and progress is slow, but as you progress, more progress gets easier. The hardest part of changing habits is the beginning: once you got some momentum, keeping on it gets easier, and results are better.

That's what I was talking about above.  It took me about six weeks of apparently useless dieting and exercise before it started to make a difference, but now I'm chugging along nicely.

Thanks for the advice Kyle. I will keep it in mind. The only problem is, with the low carb diet. My doctor has concerns about my kidneys, so I've been told to avoid anything like atkins. Is there anything similar that puts less strain on the kidneys?

Since thursday I've actually dropped 5 pounds.

If 5lb loss since Thursday, that'll be water weight and a little glycogen.

If you have medical issues, speak to a medical expert. I just suggested "eat less starchy stuff" because as I said, if a healthy person with no medical issues wants to drop overall food intake, then since some proteins are essential, and some fats, but no carbs (apart from a bit of fibre) - they have to drop one of carbs, fat, and protein - drop the carbs.

For example, if their normal dinner were 5 small potatoes, a piece of steak, a head of broccoli, a carrot and some beans - well they just have 3 potatoes instead, or none. The rest is unchanged. If they have to cut something from your meal to get the calories down, they reduce the starchy stuff, keeping the meat, vegetables, nuts, beans and dairy and eggs.

Dropping carbs does not mean they ought to raise the protein they consume. And in general, what matters to those with kidney issues isn't the relative proportions of protein/fat/carbs in their diet, but the total protein going through their body. But again, that's something you should talk to your doctor about.

If you have just a general practioner as a doctor, I recommend seeing a renal specialist or dietician.

Quote from: Kyle Aaron;383603If 5lb loss since Thursday, that'll be water weight and a little glycogen.

If you have medical issues, speak to a medical expert. I just suggested "eat less starchy stuff" because as I said, if a healthy person with no medical issues wants to drop overall food intake, then since some proteins are essential, and some fats, but no carbs (apart from a bit of fibre) - they have to drop one of carbs, fat, and protein - drop the carbs.

For example, if their normal dinner were 5 small potatoes, a piece of steak, a head of broccoli, a carrot and some beans - well they just have 3 potatoes instead, or none. The rest is unchanged. If they have to cut something from your meal to get the calories down, they reduce the starchy stuff, keeping the meat, vegetables, nuts, beans and dairy and eggs.

Dropping carbs does not mean they ought to raise the protein they consume. And in general, what matters to those with kidney issues isn't the relative proportions of protein/fat/carbs in their diet, but the total protein going through their body. But again, that's something you should talk to your doctor about.

If you have just a general practioner as a doctor, I recommend seeing a renal specialist or dietician.

I just looked up glycogen, and I am guessing you are saying "don't celebrate anything yet".

What your saying makes sense. I don't have any major issues with the kidneys or anything. Doctor just warned me, because I've had stones and some minor symptoms in the past.

I hear what you are saying about quantity of protein (once reason I've been avoiding protein powders and shakes).

Anyways, thanks for the advice. I appreciate it.

Quote from: BedrockBrendan;383646I just looked up glycogen, and I am guessing you are saying "don't celebrate anything yet".

In general, weight doesn't matter anyway. There's a difference between being (say) 220lbs with a 44" chest and 32" waist, and 220lbs with a 32" chest and 44" waist.

What matters is that total weight is a range that won't put strain on your joints, eg over 300lbs at anything under 6'4" is probably a bad idea. In terms of health and appearance, we're interested in how much is lean mass (bones, muscle, organs etc) and how much fat. If half your body mass is fat, you probably will not have great health prospects and your performance in sports will not be sterling, and most people will not feel too sexy there. If only a few percent of your body mass is fat, you will be near death (that's why bodybuilders are only in contest shape a few weeks a year).

QuoteI hear what you are saying about quantity of protein (once reason I've been avoiding protein powders and shakes).

As I said, as I understand it, the issue for those at risk of kidney dysfunction is the total quantity of protein consumed, not its relative proportion in the diet. If steak is okay for dinner, it's okay whether you have it with spuds or alone; and having it alone will be less energy in, and thus better for fat loss. However, as I said only a medical professional can advise on that, I can make general comments only. Asking a trainer about diet is like asking a dietician about barbell squats. General advice, sure - but nothing fancy.

Quote from: BedrockBrendan;383646I don't have any major issues with the kidneys or anything. Doctor just warned me, because I've had stones and some minor symptoms in the past.

I hear what you are saying about quantity of protein (once reason I've been avoiding protein powders and shakes).

Nobody needs nearly as much protein as the shake and bar producers would like you to believe.  Unless you're a hardcore weightlifter, a normal diet should suffice.

If you take protein via whey powder and such, you just end up turning it into carbohydrate and uric acid, which is the stuff that's bad for kidneys and causes gout.

Quote from: Hairfoot;383660Nobody needs nearly as much protein as the shake and bar producers would like you to believe.  Unless you're a hardcore weightlifter, a normal diet should suffice.

If you take protein via whey powder and such, you just end up turning it into carbohydrate and uric acid, which is the stuff that's bad for kidneys and causes gout.

I find eating a little fish here, or an egg there, throughout the day, gives me the amount of protein I need to feed muscle without overdoing it. Right now, I am trying to eat lots of fruits and veggies. Breakfast is light, maybe a banana or yogurt. If I work out in the morning I follow it up with something like an egg, or a milk n fruit blend. Lunch is when I get most of my carbs. I usually eat some pasta, veggies, and just a small amount of meat. Before dinner I have a small snack. Dinner is usually meat, veggies and a little bit of carbs. This seems to be working toward cutting my weight down, without draining my energy.

Quote from: Hairfoot;383660Nobody needs nearly as much protein as the shake and bar producers would like you to believe.  Unless you're a hardcore weightlifter, a normal diet should suffice.

If you take protein via whey powder and such, you just end up turning it into carbohydrate and uric acid, which is the stuff that's bad for kidneys and causes gout.

I agree.

I have a light breakfast, and some fruit in the middle of the morning. The days I work out, I have the workout drink Kyle recommended (milk, eggs and a bit of skim powder milk). It works far better than protein shakes, and it tastes far better, too. The days I don't work out with weights (be them cardio days or off days) I don't have anything else.

Since May 1; -15 lbs.
All blood work is 100% normal, bp is averaging about 115/75, sugars are fine. I'm fit as a fiddle.

Now, time to get to work, eh?

Excellent! Well done, mate.

Its all thanks to you. If you hadn't ragged on all of us out of shape gamers, I wouldn't have done this. I had to prove I could do it because, well... you know...


I LOVE YOU MAN!


Nah, I just needed to do it, but some prodding for a holier-than-thou Aussie didn't hurt. :P

Not holier-than-thou, just healthier-than-thou :p

Seriously, it's good. When I hear I've helped, in whatever small way, to improve someone's quality of life - that's what I'm in this profession for.

Where to now?

Well, keep losing weight of course. I've been doing some dumbell work the last two weeks (Monday/Wednesday/Friday) - curls and the like, and I can feel a difference there already. Going to do some crunches for the abdomen I think. Then maybe start in July with something like your program (but only something). I've made it this far, no point in stopping now, eh?

Quote from: Werekoala;389670Well, keep losing weight of course. I've been doing some dumbell work the last two weeks (Monday/Wednesday/Friday) - curls and the like, and I can feel a difference there already. Going to do some crunches for the abdomen I think. Then maybe start in July with something like your program (but only something). I've made it this far, no point in stopping now, eh?

First, congratulations :) Great work.

Second, follow Kyle's advice. Seriously. His bodyweight exercises will be wonderful for you, I'm sure, and they're more than demanding.

I caution that the Phase One bodyweight stuff has to come for people who are not obese or heavier, and who have no health stuff against it. As I said in the outline...

Still motoring along, so now its time to throw something else into the mix. I've been using dumbells (15lbs.) for some simple upper body stuff for about 3 weeks now. (1 set of curls, 30 reps each arm) and some chest-type thing that probably has a name but I don't know what it is (laying on back, arm straight out to the side, then moving it up and over towards the other arm, a bit past vertical, 30 per arm) and then both arms holding the same weight and raising it from waist up over head and slightly past vertical, 30 times. Not quite ready to open the gun show, but I'm up to crossbows I think.

What do you think about Tai Chi? I did it for awhile back when I was in Utah, but I wasn't in nearly as good a shape as I am now, so I think it'd be more "fun". :) Its either that or a gym I suppose, but really I should probably try to do both. Alternating days maybe?

Also, stretching - I can't remember if you touched on that, but what's a good basic pre-game warmup type routine?

Tai Chi is excellent for developing general flexibility and balance. It doesn't do much for strength or cardiovascular fitness. As most people do it in groups, it's great socially - and when people do something about exercise or diet in a social way, they're more likely to stick with it, because it's just nicer and more fun.

Dumbells can be used in a zillion ways. To work your whole body on the same basis as the barbell routine - legs, pull, push - you can do,

• Dumbell squat (http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/Quadriceps/DBSquat.html)
  
• Dumbell bent over row (http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/BackGeneral/DBBentOverRow.html)
  
• Dumbell shoulder press (http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/DeltoidAnterior/DBOneArmShoulderPress.html)
  

Those are links to descriptions of the exercises. The site there can offer you many more exercises, just put "dumbell" in the search function. Always ensure you begin with an exercise which involves a deep knee-bend, follow with one where you pick something heavy up off the floor, and lastly one where you put something heavy overhead. If you want to do others on top of those like the biceps curl that's fine, but make sure you get those basic three movements.

If those are fixed dumbells, then begin with one set of 8 repetitions (1x8), add 1 rep per session until you reach 1x12, then next session go to 2x8; on up to 2x12, then 3x8, and on up to 3x12. Ideally you get yourself adjustable dumbells, and with those go 3x8 through to 3x12, then increase the weight and go back to 3x8.

Generally people don't need stretching before a workout or football game or whatever, only after. They do need a general warmup of a few minutes of skipping, jogging or whatever. Some individuals might have particular areas which are tight which they need to stretch before a workout simply to be able to do the exercises at all. The exrx.net site has stretches, too, again you can do a search.

Do you generally recommend doing one set of muscles every other day (so like, arms M-W-F, legs Tu-Th-Sat? Or is there another method I'm not familiar with?

Do the whole body every time you work out.

If you do a deep knee-bend, you work your legs and butt. If you pick something heavy up off the ground, you work your back, biceps and forearms. If you put something heavy overhead, you work your chest, shoulders and triceps (back of upper arm). Do all those with good posture and bracing your belly as though someone's going to punch you, and you've worked your "core", too.

Whole body worked with three exercises. Simple and quick. Can be dumbells, barbells, weight machines, bricks, water jugs, your bodyweight, whatever you have available, it's not a big deal in the beginning.

Sometimes people need to add an exercise or two to make up for a particular muscle imbalance they have, eg someone who sits hunched over a computer all day will probably have relatively weak gluteals (butt) and upper back. So maybe they work extra hard in that deep knee-bend, and do an extra pulling exercise. But that's individual, we can only really be general in discussions online.

The workouts need to be once a week to maintain your condition, twice or more a week to change it. As with the sets, reps and weight, you can increase the workout frequency over time, see how your body reacts. If want to work out more often you have to eat and rest better, too. So I encourage a gradual increase.

Other places you'll see recommended a "split" routine, where as you say, one muscle group is worked one day, another the next. That's an advanced routine. The idea is that the person works out with such intensity that if they waited for their muscles to recover before working out again, they'd only work out once a week. So instead they work out one group, then while that's still recovering they work out another group.

But this is an advanced thing. It's not for the general population of people who just want to "lose weight, get fit, tone up." I cover health and fitness for geeks, not health and fitness for jocks ;)

Question not aimed at me and i am not the expert however from personal and related experience i will touch upon splits since i disagree about them being for advanced people (i am not advanced and they have given me huge results). Splits are a must for any person getting into traditional weight lifting, advanced or not. Heck, popular and effective starting programs like Starting Strength are based on it. Yes it can get quite complicated once you delve into supersets and whatever but those are really not needed.

In any case, i will touch upon splits (even if only for informative purposes) since i have been researching and experimenting on them quite a bit for this past year.

As Kyle said, the reasoning behind splits is that it is usually advised to give enough rest for muscle groups to recover from trauma inflicted in previous training session (always talking weights here) before hitting them again. Said rest time usually depends on what kind of training you are doing but 4-5 days is the standard time though 1 week ends up being used in some splits.

There are usually 2 types of splits

First type is when you setup 2 different workouts (workout A and B) and alternate between them so that you end up repeating the same workout only every 4-5 days. Several famous training regimes like Starting Strength (SS) work with this kind of setup.

The other major school of spliting is strictly between muscle groups.

First you divide between muscle groups, the usual division is:
Chest, Shoulders, Back, Legs and Arms (biceps/triceps). (can further divide legs but only really matters when you are advanced)

Then see how much time you have during the week or if you want to lift less to do more cardio.

For example if you want to focus mostly on lifting and have the time to do it, you can do a 5 day split with the weekends off. (example: Mon - chest, Tue - legs, Wed - back, Thu - shoulders and Fri - arms, etc). This is what i am currently doing.

You can might want to do a 3 day split. Why?
Well maybe because you dont want to hit the gym all 5 days of a week or maybe you want to fit some more heavy cardio into your schedule. (It is usually not advised to do heavy cardio on lifting days because your lifting gains will be affected.)

An example of said 3 day split would be:
Monday - Back & legs
Tuesday - Heavy Cardio or rest
Wednesday - Shoulders & Bicep
Thursday - Heavy Cardio or rest
Friday - Chest & Tricep
(Switch around the muscle group split however you prefer.)
I actually had a lot of success for weight loss with this one, i stopped doing it because i started to find cardio boring and wanted to shift more towards lifting. But i am definitely switching back to this once i can lift decent weight and summer comes.

Actually the workout A and B regime i mentioned first is a 2day split that allows 2 things:
1) Several advanced regimes use it because it helps advanced trainees to workout more often by giving a 4 day rest to a given muscle group instead of a whole week.
2) Several beginner programs use it because its easier for a beginner trainee to remember 2 workouts and also he doesn't have to live in a gym.

Just for informative purposes for whoever might feel curious.

Quote from: Abrojo;392061Question not aimed at me and i am not the expert however from personal and related experience i will touch upon splits since i disagree about them being for advanced people (i am not advanced and they have given me huge results).

I would be interested to hear exactly what results, from what starting point, and for how long you've been doing things.  

Because when you're a complete beginner, anything works - for a while. It's simply that our bodies change because they are asked to do more than they did before. If yesterday I was doing nothing, then anything is more than nothing, so if I do it, my body will adapt.

This is why just about any routine works for a complete beginner. It's more than they did before.

The question is whether it keeps working after the first 6-12 weeks, and whether the change is as quick and safe as it could be. And for split routines, in general they don't give beginners results after those first few months.

What if you can't do the splits? I've never been that flexible.


:P


Seriously, I need to work on the bendy bits too. Muscles are nice, though.

Quote from: Kyle Aaron;392064The question is whether it keeps working after the first 6-12 weeks, and whether the change is as quick and safe as it could be. And for split routines, in general they don't give beginners results after those first few months.

Well i am not going to take pics and stuff because thats really not my style.
However Jong can vouch for me (and pundit would too but its been a while since he has seen me in person to atest with his own eyes to the changes).

I will go into some details, first of all the changes have been safe with supervision by a physician including blood samples every 3 months to check insuling levels, etc. Also strict diet with nutrionist (nothing too weird but some good tips and playing safe).

Its been about 8 months already, the first 2 months purely cardio (jogging 3 days a week for 4 km alternating walking and jogging which took about 1hr per session). After that. 4 months of lifting with a 3 day lifting split with cardio for the inbetween days, finally the past 2 months due to getting really bored with cardio i switched to a 5 day lift split.

In said 8 months I started at 118 kg (181cm tall) of mostly fat and am nowadays at 95kg with a fair amount of muscle. I am currently bulking clean (2000 calorie diet with 40/40/20 carb prot fat) and will continue to do so for a couple more months after which i will switch to cutting with a calorie deficit diet to shed off the final pounds before going into a mantainance regime. And yes it sounds like a tv comercial transformation and it kinda was, most people around me can barely believe it.

My path of course is not the only way, in fitness there are tons of ways to reach your goals and i respect all of them since the main priority should be enjoying getting into shape, however my only point is that I disagree on dismissing traditional weight lifting with splits as something beginners cant do. It's definitely a very valid option of which i am merely one example.

You don't need photographs to say (for example),

"I went from a 103cm chest and 97cm waist to 110/83, my weight from 84kg to 79kg, I can run 5km in 22'30", and for 5 reps overhead press 57.5kg, bench press 82.5kg, row 87.5kg, squat 102.5kg, and deadlift 127.5kg; all this took 6 months."

and some statement like that would tell us something about the success of your routine.

Quotehowever my only point is that I disagree on dismissing traditional weight lifting with splits as something beginners cant do. It's definitely a very valid option of which i am merely one example.

As I said, everything works for beginners. They were doing nothing, now they're doing something. Something is more than nothing, so their body adapts. This is particularly so if the person improves their diet, too - the effect of dropping junk food and alcohol and introducing fresh fruit and vegetables is often quite dramatic.

The only question is what will produce those results most quickly and safely, and what will continue producing results after those first few months.

You should start your own thread in which you describe your training and diet in detail, so that you can offer it to people as another system. This here is like talking about RuneQuest while someone pops in to say, "D&D is also a fun system!" That may be so, but we're talking about RuneQuest.

First of all my sincere apologies for intruding your thread, forgot you where the one who made it in the first place and had the wrong idea about it.
Can ask a mod to delete my posts since i really dont care about preaching over internet the particular path i followed or my results. I just wanted to point out a disagreement and it spiralled out of that.
best wishes

Hey Kyle,

First of all, thanks for posting these guides.

Next, I'm wondering how true, or how important, the stuff about leaving a day between, really is. Just started going to the local gym, and I must admit, there's a lot to it that I just don't know about. If I do some stretching, a range of cardio and some weights every day, or at least 5-6 per week... what can (or will) go wrong? Luckily, if it's too bad, I haven't been doing this more than a few weeks, so far.

Lastly, if I shouldn't be doing everything every day (or nearly), how does your regimen of body-only exercises (including a bit of cardio) Monday-Wednesday-Friday, weights and cardio Tuesday-Thursday-Saturday, and nothing Sunday, sound?

I'm male, in my 30s, and apparently "OK" according to weight/height. No serious complications that I know of. Oh, and I walk a lot, already.

Can you work out every day? It depends.

• Your body has a certain amount of recovery capacity.
• This recovery capacity depends on food and rest, the better or worse they are, the greater or smaller your capacity
• it also depends on your natural constitution, which comes from your genetics, your past physical activity, etc.
• How much your capacity is drawn on depends on the intensity of your workout; 1 pushup a day is "a workout", but even a cystic fibrosis patient could recover from it and do it again tomorrow.
• In my experience, beginners who work out every day do not get any worse or better results than ones who work out every second day
  

So it's up to you. I don't know the intensity of your workouts, your nutrition or rest and thus your recovery, your past physical activity, etc.

What I suggest is that in the beginning it's better to err on the side of going too easy than going too hard. If you go too hard you injure yourself and have weeks or months off. If you go too easy then you can build up.

Start with doing it 2-3 times a week with a full clear day in between. Do it for a month, see how you feel. If you feel you are both willing and able to do it more often, go ahead, add a day. And so on.

However, I note that at this stage you are doing nothing. Begin by doing something, don't worry about how much of a something it is. More important than your physical capacity is your willpower. Get your body moving.

I find myself thinking of the story of Rimmer from Red Dwarf, who was going for the officer's exams. He began 30 days out with a study plan, but it took him 2 days to prepare so he now only had 28 days and had to redo it. This went on until 12 hours before the exam he did a Big Final Plan which was poster size and colour-coded with tassles, then he collapsed in exhaustion, arrived an hour late for his exam and wrote "fish" 1,000 times down the page. Better for him to have started studying at once.

Likewise, in the time it took you to type your query, await my response and read it, you could have done the first workout already.

Get your body moving. That's the important thing.

Quote from: Kyle Aaron;469752However, I note that at this stage you are doing nothing. Begin by doing something, don't worry about how much of a something it is. More important than your physical capacity is your willpower. Get your body moving.

Er. Yeah, I started going to the gym nearly "full time", a few weeks ago. Haven't stopped, yet. Or maybe I don't quite get what you mean.

But anyway, the rest I do understand. Thanks for the helpful reply, and you can be sure I'm taking note, and will actually be applying it to the genuine article (i.e., exercise in RL).

And as long as I'm not injuring myself, I can do 6 days a week of stretches, cardio, weights, et al? Cool.

Cheers, from a fellow Aussie gamer! :D

Quote from: brunz;469815Cheers, from a fellow Aussie gamer! :D

If you live Down Under, try and get Kyle to coach you personally :)

Quote from: Imperator;469832If you live Down Under, try and get Kyle to coach you personally :)

I might've, but for the fact that I'm miles away!


Just an update, while I'm at it. Now relying more heavily on body-only exercises (as per your guide, more or less), as they seem to have more of a positive effect, overall, than the weights. Except barbell squat, deadlift and bench press - they seem to be the good stuff. I occasionally add in a few others, just to mix it up. But yeah, it's the hanging leg raises, pushups, pullups, chinups, dips, cardio, etc., that have made a lot of difference so far.

Oh, and is it normal, even after weeks of being comfortable with strenuous workouts, to feel half-dead after ONE lesson (so far) of a martial art?! Like, for two whole days afterwards?

I hope so. Doesn't feel as though anything's broken/fractured/pulled, etc. Just really sore, in many places. Muscles I didn't know I had, as the saying goes.

Glad to hear you're being active.

Being miles away isn't always a problem, a guy who reads these forums followed me up and works out with me, he comes before work, he has got good results so far. Of course he can come straight down the freeway so it isn't that difficult for him.

Apart from one guy (also a gamer, and my longest-standing client), my strongest clients are women. It's simply that strength is their particular goal, so they've worked towards it; most of the men have more general health or sports-oriented goals.

I had a woman deadlift 100kg today. At a strength-oriented gym that's unremarkable for a woman, but at a mainstream commercial or community gym it'll usually make the woman one of the strongest there. For her it's remarkable since when she started she couldn't do a single deep bodyweight squat. So never underestimate how far you can go with consistent effort over time properly applied.

Whenever you do a new kind of movement vigorously, you're likely to hurt a day or two afterwards. This fades as your body becomes accustomed to the new movement.

Yeah. The pain is fading. I was just surprised that, after all the effort I've been putting in, it still hurts! No big deal though. Encouraging to know that it's "normal", anyway.

And I can certainly believe what you say, about female clients. Just for example, one of the martial arts instructors is female, and she's extremely fit. The weights gym is fairly well-populated with women as well, and while - just like the guys who go there - strength and endurance (etc.) varies a lot, some of them are pretty damn impressive. No wait... that sounds sleazy. :D

Ah, you know what I mean.