Complete newbie wants to get fit..

Chives

Chives

Chives

Soldato
Joined
17 Dec 2009
Posts
3,664
Location
Wales
Hi guys. So I want to get in shape essentially. I'll be returning to University soon and the lifestyle can (if you're not careful) lead to you putting quite a few pounds on :p

I'm 19, 6'0 and my weight is around 12st 4 right now. According to a BMI calculator I am far from overweight but man I don't feel it.

I have been a Type 1 Diabetic for coming on 6 years now and prior to contracting this I was a little chubby (I would hasten to add that this had absolutely nothing to do with me getting Diabetes). Anyway my Diabetes was not diagnosed until I was into the late stages of diabetic ketoacidosis and I'm not sure how much, but I lost a significant amount of weight, several stone at least.

This has left my body in frankly not a great shape and up until now I've really not been too bothered about it. Now however I want to do something about it. I have quite a lot of loose skin/fat (How do I tell which?) on my upper chest and stomach which I really would rather like to get rid of completely.

Now then, how on earth do I go about doing this? I have absolutely no clue on these matters at all. I'm thinking of joining 'the gym' as they offer a membership which lets me use all of their gyms nationwide. This would be most useful as I could attend whilst at University, and then whilst back at home over the various holidays. I would have no clue what to do when I got to the gym, which is why I'm here asking for help :p

Not sure I've posted this in the right place, sure a Don will move it if I haven't :p
 
Welcome, and great stuff on making the choice.

When you say "fit" what do you actually mean? Because all the term actually means is a person's ability to recover from (and potentially repeat) a form of exercise, movement or exertion...

That might sound finicky but it really isn't, because if you want to run long distances, toe way you would go about doing this is not by cycling, cross-training or rowing. My guess is you want cardiovascular fitness? If so, learn about your mobility, strengthen your core and go cycling (a gym won't necessarily be required) for nothing distance and intervals.

This is the easiest way of achieving your objective. My personal preference would be to accept you are (probably) not Mo Farah, Seb Coe, Wiggo, Frume or Bolt, so the best option would be to get aesthetic... In other words, lift weights. Hit the gym, become the strongest version of yourself and feel amazing. You may never be able to wear skinny chinos again, but you will feel better, your blood glucose will be better managed and you will look better.

Cardio is great if you want to run/cycle/swim/whatever, but you can't flex it and it doesn't make vests look epic. ;)
 
mrthingyx said:
Welcome, and great stuff on making the choice.

When you say "fit" what do you actually mean? Because all the term actually means is a person's ability to recover from (and potentially repeat) a form of exercise, movement or exertion...

That might sound finicky but it really isn't, because if you want to run long distances, toe way you would go about doing this is not by cycling, cross-training or rowing. My guess is you want cardiovascular fitness? If so, learn about your mobility, strengthen your core and go cycling (a gym won't necessarily be required) for nothing distance and intervals.

This is the easiest way of achieving your objective. My personal preference would be to accept you are (probably) not Mo Farah, Seb Coe, Wiggo, Frume or Bolt, so the best option would be to get aesthetic... In other words, lift weights. Hit the gym, become the strongest version of yourself and feel amazing. You may never be able to wear skinny chinos again, but you will feel better, your blood glucose will be better managed and you will look better.

Cardio is great if you want to run/cycle/swim/whatever, but you can't flex it and it doesn't make vests look epic. ;)
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By fit I mean that I want to look good and feel good and most of all be healthy (this being especially key as a Diabetic). Looks like the gym will be needed then. How do I go about doing this? :p
 
try this:

warm up then:

20 star jumps
20 sit ups
20 press ups
20 squats
20 seconds plank

x 4 rounds 30 seconds between rounds.

this is very basic, see how you fair and how knackered you get. for functional fitness there is absolutely no need for a gym...to progress though you may need to join a gym down the line.

Also consider Kettlebells these are fantastic.


rotters
 
rotters said:
try this:

warm up then:

20 star jumps
20 sit ups
20 press ups
20 squats
20 seconds plank

x 4 rounds 30 seconds between rounds.

this is very basic, see how you fair and how knackered you get. for functional fitness there is absolutely no need for a gym...to progress though you may need to join a gym down the line.

Also consider Kettlebells these are fantastic.


rotters
Click to expand...

I would disagree, if you can afford a gym then there is no reason why not to.

Have a look at stronglifts, or what's the other one?, and add some sprints in. Start small, and research till you find something you enjoy :)

Or get a mountain bike and start hitting some trail centres, keeps you fit and well it's awesome :)
 
Begbie said:
I would disagree, if you can afford a gym then there is no reason why not to.

Have a look at stronglifts, or what's the other one?, and add some sprints in. Start small, and research till you find something you enjoy :)

Or get a mountain bike and start hitting some trail centres, keeps you fit and well it's awesome :)
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Starting Strength?
 
Personally, I find nothing more boring than the gym.

If you're the same I recommend taking up one of the marshal arts or a sport or both! More fun actually learning more than how to pick something up.
 
McGray said:
Personally, I find nothing more boring than the gym.

If you're the same I recommend taking up one of the marshal arts or a sport or both! More fun actually learning more than how to pick something up.
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Having tried both for years (and succeeded quite nicely at Martial Arts) they are very, very different things.

I've done the gym for the sake of going to the gym and it's dull. I did martial arts for years and it was awesome... until a berk of an instructor takes over and it suddenly becomes... dull.

I now train to be a weightlifter, so every visit to the gym is designed to make a difference in my chosen sport (picking stuff up and lifting it overhead). And besides, being strong is never a downside to anything. I think you'll find that hitting the gym to get strong will actually improve your martial art, too. ;)

There is also a reason weightlifting derivatives are the prime strengthening exercise for pretty much every serious athlete involved in anything relating to muscle 'power'. :)
 
Starting Strength or Stronglifts is what I would suggest. Do NOT find some beginner body building routine with bench, incline bench, declie bench and loads of isolation movements for your "chest" day. As a beginner you should learn the compound movements (squat, deadlift, bench, OHP) and these will do you just fine for some time until you discover what you relaly want to go for.

Also, start a log here - it's very motivational for both your own tracking of progress but also to get others to chime in and motivate :)
 
rotters said:
try this:

warm up then:

20 star jumps
20 sit ups
20 press ups
20 squats
20 seconds plank

x 4 rounds 30 seconds between rounds.

this is very basic, see how you fair and how knackered you get. for functional fitness there is absolutely no need for a gym...to progress though you may need to join a gym down the line.

Also consider Kettlebells these are fantastic.


rotters
Click to expand...

I just had a go at this. I'm rather tired now :p

For some reason I really struggled to do a sit up, like I couldn't do it at all, my technique is wrong perhaps?

Managed to do the others reasonably okay, struggled with the press ups though as my peak was about 15 and it lowered to around 10 by the time I was on the fourth round.

FrenchTart said:
There are some great guides written by members of the forums. These are a good place to start :)

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=17401146

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18398834

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18268152
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I will have a look at these thank you :)

Begbie said:
I would disagree, if you can afford a gym then there is no reason why not to.

Have a look at stronglifts, or what's the other one?, and add some sprints in. Start small, and research till you find something you enjoy :)

Or get a mountain bike and start hitting some trail centres, keeps you fit and well it's awesome :)
Click to expand...

I am really not sure about joining a gym, if I'm honest I've never stepped into one in my life and I find the places quite intimidating. If I need to though I will.

GSVBagpuss said:
Starting Strength or Stronglifts is what I would suggest. Do NOT find some beginner body building routine with bench, incline bench, declie bench and loads of isolation movements for your "chest" day. As a beginner you should learn the compound movements (squat, deadlift, bench, OHP) and these will do you just fine for some time until you discover what you relaly want to go for.
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Is this http://www.amazon.co.uk/Starting-Strength-Mark-Rippetoe-ebook/dp/B006XJR5ZA what I am after?
 
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I found the gym a bit intimidating the first time I went but you quickly realise that actually nobody cares what you're doing or what state you're in and the vast majority of people are really friendly :)

Btw, I'd avoid situps as it's very easy to do them in a way that is extremely bad for your back.
 
Crunch rather than sit up.

There's no fear factor with gyms. Start by taking a nose around a few to start to see what suits you and what the atmosphere is like. As Frenchtart says everyone's focused on what they're doing and most people are very friendly and inclined to help.

Even better get a friend to go with you - nothing better than some motivation from a partner.
 
I started off on 5x5 when I begin training a few years ago, I was quite amazed how quickly my strength progressed, a lot of it was newbie gains and it does slow down considerably once you hit a certain level but I'd recommend it to anyone starting out.
 
Chives said:
Is this http://www.amazon.co.uk/Starting-Strength-Mark-Rippetoe-ebook/dp/B006XJR5ZA what I am after?
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Practical Programming 3rd edition is also very, very good. I'd highly recommend it. Practical programming is considered the advanced version of Starting Strength but there's a lot of useful information on the fundamentals of training. I found the books provided a lot more information and variants of the programs provided that you just can't seem to find by looking on the internet alone.
 
jernau_gergeh said:
Crunch rather than sit up.

There's no fear factor with gyms. Start by taking a nose around a few to start to see what suits you and what the atmosphere is like. As Frenchtart says everyone's focused on what they're doing and most people are very friendly and inclined to help.

Even better get a friend to go with you - nothing better than some motivation from a partner.
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Yes I think it would very much just be a matter of looking round them to get a sense of what they're all about, and what is going to work for me.



mrthingyx said:
You really don't have to buy books to tell you how to do this.

Have a look at the OP in the 2014 Gym Rats thread for a huge amount of awesome information. :)
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Will have a read through that now :)

There is so much information out there, must be honest I'm finding it a bit daunting. Shall sit down and have a good read :)
 
Chives said:
There is so much information out there, must be honest I'm finding it a bit daunting. Shall sit down and have a good read :)
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Yeah. It can be a little overwhelming at first.

I think the most important thing to do is to get started with a good beginner routine and concentrate on getting your form and mobility sorted. Don't worry about increasing the weights too much as it's far more important that you lift correctly than lift heavy.

You can get yourself going pretty quickly this way and having actually done a bit of lifting (or whatever sport you decide to go for) you will have a better point of reference for understanding all the myriad information/guides out there and not find it all quite so much to take in.
 
Totally down to you but I reached the stage where for several years I wanted to 'do something to get fitter'. I didn't want to waste lots of time or money doing it as I previously was more active in my work, I just didn't have the time! We got a dog and the walks really made a difference, he's only a little westie so it's not long distances, but spending time with my missus walking the dog has improved our relationship (rather than sitting watching tv) as well as improved my overall fitness. It's not a 'chore' it's a nice time where we can enjoy each others company and have a laugh together.

Progressing onwards I (think) I've found my 'thing' with cycling my work commute - it's a journey I would be doing anyway and now I've gotten fitter it actually saves me time in the evenings (as the traffic is terrible, cycling through it is slow, but faster than taking the car!).

So depending on your lifestyle, or changing a part of it, may make a bigger difference to your general fitness. If you're anything like me (great at thinking, less at doing. I'm a great procrastinator!) then fitting in 'going to the gym' might have worked for a few weeks/months, but soon I would be skipping it to 'do other things' or 'not have the time to go'. :)

A routine (for me) was/is very important.
 
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