When Wii Fit doesn't work... try a copycat? (EA Fitness)

[GaijinPunch]

What's pretty depressing is that the average weight loss in Tremblay's study; in the cardio group, was 100 grams of weight after 15 weeks. The aerobic group had less loss than that, for twice the work over 20 weeks. That's a good chunk of a year's worth of devout effort. Drinking less soda would have a massively better return. A return on not doing something, instead of doing something.

As per before, everyone's mileage varies. Worth noting, I weighed 252 lbs in high school (at age 16 in fact). I weigh whatever 80 kg is in pounds now... 176 according to my calculator. I think everyone's idea of "fit" is different. For me, it will always be thin and low body fat rather than a shitload of muscles + a larger percentage of body fat.

The meatheads in the gym probably don't squat in general, which by definition usually means they're pussies.

My gym is actually pretty good about that. All the PTs working with people that know what they're doing (and some noobs) are usually on the squat rack (there are 2, but one is often used for dead lifts). They're on there a lot, which makes it a bitch if you want to use it. More often than not, you're waiting on the squat rack rather than using it. It's not an easy "lemme work in with you" excercise. I fucked my lower back up (for the 3rd or so time in the last 6-7 years) not long ago, so squats are out for now. Basically anything where I hold weight above my chest and stand is out. I do some dumbell lunges now,but pretty low weight. But, I'm just trying to maintain now, not build, so it's not too big of a deal I guess. I cycle a fair bit which works out the hams & ass.

The benchpress is nice, but there's like another 70% of your body that isn't attached to your pectoral girdle.

I bench a lot to make my chest match the size of my arms. Just about any weight that uses your arms works your biceps and tricpes. Even shit like pullups. Nothing looks more retarded than huge arms and "chest like a shithouse" (-Frank Rizzo).

How's it going so far? I'm only an intermediate stage novice, and really wish I had some washers for fractional plates right now. Right now I'm at:

Squat 205 x 5
Benchpress 165 x 4
Press 110 x 5
Deadlift 265 x 5

It's going well. I can't really do the back stuff unfortunately. I'm benching 85 k x 4 (a bit over my weight). And to look at me, I'm not one of those top-heavy guys, so I'll live w/o the legs for a while. I don't ignore them, they are just not getting the love they need for a while. Well... they're going to run 10k in the rain in a few hours, if that counts.

[Cthulhu]

DDR worked wonders for me a few years ago. I was at ~235 lbs, I started playing DDR three times a week for an hour each or so and eating less. I lost 50 lbs over the course of somewhere between six months and a year (been too long to remember exactly).

As for why I don't play DDR now: the apartment I live in is very, very non-conducive to it.

[Davey]

As for why I don't play DDR now: the apartment I live in is very, very non-conducive to it.

Same here. I'd probably even splurge on a Cobalt Flux (or whatever the best pad is these days) if I was still in a first floor unit. Listening to music makes cardio at the gym tolerable but DDR is certainly more fun.

[Cthulhu]

So a day later than expected (hopefully this isn't the start of a bad trend), I tried the game out. (And corrected the title, since I got it wrong ) The verdict: it's definitely more of a workout than Wii Fit (WF barely made me sweat even when I was in really bad shape, this one got me sweating some on a medium workout setting the very first time). It's less of a workout than DDR on mid to high settings so far, but I'm guessing it will get more intense.

We'll see how well I do.

[Ganelon]

Run fast (enough that your legs immediately start feeling the burn) outside for 20 minutes a day, every day for a week. Rest no more than 4 times for a minute each. Last minute should be a max out sprint. Eat a balanced diet, drink good stuff. If you're overweight and don't regularly exercise, that's 10 lb. gone your first week, guaranteed.

[Diabollokus]

If anyone is interested in professional advice send me a pm, I contributed once to a thread some years ago can't be bothered right now. Some of the irritating things in this thread have already been dealt with.

I do this shit for a living, at end of the day if you want to lose weight do cardio and create a calorie deficit. Personally I get best weight loss results from sparring, MMA/ muay thai style either with a partner, working pads or just hammering the bag on my own. Unfortunately those activities are unrealistic for anyone starting out.

Its a slow and difficult process, regular cardio sessions over 30 mins cause fat reserves to be used directly as an energy source. I always tell clients to ignore the distance and concentrate on training for a fixed time frame on regular intervals.

For me its all about strength to weight ratio, I tried bodybuilding when I was younger, got to a point where I was like ''why am I doing this?'' and just moved on.

EDIT: regarding wii stuff, if this gets you started fair enough, jogging or cycling in the real world should be the next step. I think the resistance approach is pointless but the message is a worthwhile one.

[GaijinPunch]

Ganelon: Sounds a lot like HIIT (although the breaks in yours are way longer), which should come w /a warning of how fucking brutal it is. If you're out of shape, I would avoid this.

Diabollokus: What cardio interval do you like? My jogs/swims are generally 50-60 minutes. The swimming has more breaks in there though.

I have a friend who's pretty well cut. He does a lot, but he said his best workout is Jujitsu. You put on all those clothes and then spar... sweats his balls off in the process.

[BryanM]

For me its all about strength to weight ratio, I tried bodybuilding when I was younger, got to a point where I was like ''why am I doing this?'' and just moved on.

So you think a lower strength to weight ratio is preferable? Why, exactly?

[Diabollokus]

I normally work it at 6 x 5 min rounds of intense grappling/sparring with 90 second breaks between rounds, its enough to take fluids on and get some recovery but your heart rate stays really high. The rest of the session normally involves drilling or isolating techniques. When group training is impractical its running for 30 mins max.

I'll do that in the morning or after noons and leave the resistance to late at night which my back prefers. Sometimes I'll alternate the days between cardio and resistance. Yeah, ju-jitsu gi's are a bloody nightmare after they've absorbed alot of sweat, its like a suit of armour, getting them washed is the killer though!

@BryanM

I'm stronger now in proportion to my body weight than I was back then, I focus on the compound and olympic movements now as opposed to simply isolating muscle groups for the purpose of gaining bulk mass. I do heavy squats, deads, overheads and bench as they're the best.

You want to be as strong as you can for your weight. To me a 10 stone guy who can bench 20 stone is a better athlete to a guy who is 20 stone and benches 25 stone.

Remember that you must eventually compromise between strength and endurance, improving one significantly will be counter productive to the other, this is what happened to me. I got the stage where running almost killed me after 5 minutes, thats not a good thing. Now I have balance.

[GaijinPunch]

When group training is impractical its running for 30 mins max.

I eat like a fucking horse though. Calories in / Calories out. 30 minute cardio doesn't cut it. But, it's probably closer to LISS than anything. 10k takes me close to an hour. It's a nice groove. I like it. I'm w/ you on the 10 stone 20 stone thing. Of course, I can't bench twice my weight.

[BryanM]

simply isolating muscle groups for the purpose of gaining bulk mass.

Starting Strength could have helped you back then, see:

"If you want to look like a bodybuilder, that's fine with me. That is a matter for you to discuss with your God and your psychologist."

One of the crummiest isolation exercises has got to be the sit up. It's not what those muscles are designed to do, there is zero resistance so therefore zero adaption happens, it's impossible to effectively add weight to it unless you're hanging upside down with a belt under your armpits, and ripped assholes have made millions selling the thing on TV.

You want to be as strong as you can for your weight. To me a 10 stone guy who can bench 20 stone is a better athlete to a guy who is 20 stone and benches 25 stone.

That's an unfair comparison though; larger people can never acquire the same ratio as a lighter one. A mouse will always have a higher strength ratio than a bear. Doesn't mean much when they fight, of course.

(The specific example you use here though is comparing an elite lightweight to an advanced super duper heavy weight. And the big guy could never bench 280 at 140 without an enchanted +100 benchshirt or chopping off his legs.)

More force (and therefore a heavier muscle) applied across the same set of levers is going to result in higher strength, whether you want to measure it in ratios or absolutes. Those flyweight guys are tiny, but they could be even tinier and a hell of a lot weaker.

Remember that you must eventually compromise between strength and endurance, improving one significantly will be counter productive to the other, this is what happened to me. I got the stage where running almost killed me after 5 minutes, thats not a good thing. Now I have balance.

You had to have been hyoooooge.

[GaijinPunch]

here's the way I look at it, and note that I've got a big frame so I've always been fighting uphill to have that crazy ratio. I know that one day I won't have enough time to work out. I don't even have that much now to be honest. Lower mass is going to be easier to maintain than high mass. I have a huge friend that lifts weights for about 2 hours 4 times a week just to maintain. Fuck that.

[BryanM]

Really bored tonight, so I did the math to see how much I'd have to weigh to bench double my bodyweight. It would be somewhere in the neighborhood of around 210 to 220lbs. If it were possible.

For such a basic thing, it's annoyingly difficult to find some damn records that aren't "OMG THIS REFRIGERATOR BENCHED HALF A TON." If someone has some stuff that's more useful than the strength chart that vaguely sometimes correlates with reality, that'd be appreciated. : /

Protip: Eating two slices of liver a day, every day, will eventually make your bones hurt and give you a nasty headache.

[1up]

I would like some advice on some high intensity excersises that dont require a lot of time or equipment. I have about 30mins to an hour a day to spend on working out. I finished a ½marahon last month, so im used to run and I run 2 times a week. 8km ~ 12miles every monday and wednesday.

I would like to work on my midsection and upper body so tips for the best kinda push ups and what you can do without having weights and dumbells lying around in our small appartment (gf would kill me) would be much appreciated.

Will doing pushups automatically work the bicep/tricep/shoulders?

[BryanM]

If you go down so you chest touches the floor, yeah the biceps will contribute more to the push. Whenever I do any, I do them with my head over the edge of some stairs so I don't smash my face or wring my neck.

Decline pushups will throw a higher percentage of your body weight onto your arms, but also slides the load off the moobs to the shoulder.

Do at least 3 sets of as many as you can handle every other day, doing more than the previous session. Since this eventually becomes an endurance exercise, you'll eventually end up doing over a hundred(s) a session.

[GaijinPunch]

The way I do pushups (and they're more of a pre-workout stretch, but still hurt) is I put my feet up on a bench, and hold on to two dumbells. The "hexagonal" ones work better as they don't slide. The round ones will require you to balance more, so maybe they're better in the long run.

For the stomach, I do an old ancient Chinese trick: Hang from bar -> lift legs. Better than having your back pressed up against something as it's really easy to get into a "swing".

If you only have 30 minutes a day, HIIT is right up your alley. Note that it's cardio only, and somewhat brutal. I never quite calibrated to it and always moved on.

[The n00b]

I'm going to humbly suggest long distance running. It may not have the allure of Bolivian Ninjitsu or the "huuurrrgggh look at these guns" of weightlifting but it helps you lose weight really fast. It also helps you meet women too.

[1up]

It also helps you meet women too.

hah, exactly. I have a girlfriend but its always nice to get winks, smiles and waves from female runners when youre out

About the pushup related stuff, I could imagine that a millitary workout would be good? I have no idea as I didnt 'do my time' as we have a kinda lottery thing going on in this country about who has to go and who can skip. I drew a lucky number and decided to pass so I have no idea what they are doing in there?

A friend of mine used to go to the gym a lot and had build muscle mass and looked a little buff, nothing exaggerated (sp?). He went to bootcamp and told me a couple of months later that he wasnt as big as he used to be, but he was a lot stronger. Ive since lost contact with him, so I cant get to know what kinda excersises he did. I just recall that he said they did a LOT of pushups with the arms close to the body/chest so that it worked the triceps.

I want to build muscle, not lose weight. Is it possible with the amount of time I have? I will look into that HIIT, thx for the link

[BryanM]

So, some of the people in authority are starting to accept that really long distance running might not be that great for the heart. You'd think that they resemble human skeletons was enough of a red flag for the masses though...

(And geez, past me is a douchebag and an idiot.)

[guigui]

This thread makes me wonder about another of those Pulp Fiction John Travolta's "little difference" : when asked how to loose weight, europeans most certainly answer "swim" way before "lift weights"...