General health & fitness advice please?

StevieP

StevieP

StevieP

Soldato
Joined
2 Jan 2004
Posts
7,729
Location
Chesterfield
Hi all,

I’m looking for some tips to get generally fitter and healthier after the better part of 40 years pretty much abusing my body!

I’m almost 40, about 6’3” tall and currently weigh around 16st (although I've been up as high as 17st before!). I wouldn't say I’m overly fat and it would appear I don’t look as heavy as I am as whenever I tell people what I weigh, they always say “yeah, but you’re tall so it’s OK!” – great, except it doesn't help me while I’m trying to run around after the kids (3 & 1) at a play centre!!!

I've got a gym membership and try to go 3 or 4 times a week in the evenings on weekdays (I have to help get the kids to bed so don’t tend to go until 7 or 8 o’clock at night!) - weekends are just too hectic with the kids!

My gym routine consists of:

  • 15 minutes on the treadmill at speed 11 (no incline) with 3 minutes cool down
  • 3 sets of 12 reps on an arm weights machine (usually the one where you sit facing the machine and pull the handles down from above – sorry I don’t know the names of the machines!)
  • 50 (or sometimes 100) sit-ups (I tend to lie flat with my arms by my side and lift my head and back about 6-8 inches off the mat rather than the full “arms-behind-head curl to my knees” type – this is because I have had back problems pretty much all of my life and it’s the way I was shown by a physiotherapist!)
  • 3 sets of 12 reps on another arm weight machine (generally the bicep curl one!)
  • 15 minutes on a stationary bike set to “random” and difficulty level 8 and then 3 minutes cool down
This tends to take me about an hour and I’ve generally worked up quite a sweat!

I know this isn’t the best routine and I’m probably doing some fundamental bits wrong (like not warming up properly – I tend to use the treadmill as my “warm up”) but it’s sort of the routine I had made up for me when I had a session with a personal trainer when I first joined a gym in my mid-twenties!

The areas I’d like to work on are my general fitness and stamina as well as trying to get rid of my gut, double chin and my moobs! :D

Diet-wise I’ve always thought along the lines of “well as long as I’m doing some form of exercise (I’ve dabbled with the gym, squash, football etc over the years) then I can eat what I want” but it’s becoming abundantly clear that I simply cannot do that at my age!!!

For the last few days I’ve joined my wife on Weight Watchers (she has been doing amazing on it and is almost at her target weight!) keeping to their “fill and healthy” routine – again I’m not sure why, I just wanted something to follow to aid in my weight loss!

This week my diet has consisted of:

  • Breakfast: Bowl of porridge made with skimmed milk
  • Snack: Apple/banana
  • Lunch: A couple of those brown Warburtons “thins” with wafer thin chicken and lettuce
  • Snack: Apple/banana
  • Evening meal: Chicken breast, bacon medallions (cooked in a tiny bit of low fat oil/spray) in a salad

I know some of the above will seem strange/wrong but on the WW “fill and healthy” plan you can have as much as you like of certain foods, including chicken & bacon etc!

I work in an admin-type role so spend a lot of my day sat at a desk or in my car so I do have a few cups of coffee throughout the day too!

Not looking to become Mr Universe but would like to get down to around 14 stone – according to the BMI calculator on the NHS website I’d be considered healthy at between 10st 8lb and 14st 5lb but I dread to think how gaunt I’d look if I was at 10st 8lb!!!!!!!

Anyway, I guess what I’m after is a few tips on a decent gym routine to try and target my concern areas mentioned above as well as other general nutrition tips to get myself fitter!

Thanks for any comments guys, the other “help me I’m out of shape” threads seem to have been very constructive!
 
First and most important thing, especially as you suffer from back issues.
Stop the sit ups, stop them right now and never even consider doing them again, ever, for any reason.
They're a useless exercise that puts your spine in a very bad position and they'll never get you that six pack anyway ;)

I'm not a fan of things like Weight Watchers, but to be quite honest if it works for you and it's something you can stick to then crack on as that's the most difficult part of a diet.

To really increase your stamina without having to spend endless time doing cardio have a look at some HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) workouts, there's usually even an interval setting on the machines so you can just set that and away you go.

Drop the machine arm workouts, again like situps they're going to be pretty much useless for your goals although they won't break you unlike situps.

Take a look at the Stronglifts 5x5 workout if you want to incorporate some resistance work which I'd recommend as the best way to get yourself looking better.

I'm sure someone will be along with some more in depth advice but that's my take on the basics.
 
What tom_e said, you're fooling yourself that a few arm machines are going to make a big difference.

The point about Stronglifts 5x5 or Starting Strength is that they use just compound movements; that is exercises that do not isolate single muscles (like the machines) and work multiple main and stabilisers muscles. I know the pain of squeezing through softplay rollers but compund lifts will strengthen your back, core and work your flexibility up. If you can squat your bodyweight (and beyond) (and with proper form - see the form thread for videos!), your back will be in a much better place.
 
Thanks for the quick replies guys!

I've had a very brief look at the 5x5 workout and it looks very interesting (and also could possibly fit in with going to the gym Mon/Wed/Fri which is handy!) - I've not read much but it appears to be predominantly for gaining muscle as opposed to weight loss - is it supposed to be done in conjunction with cardio such as the treadmill and bike?

I've always thought general fitness and stamina were built up by doing cardio more than anything else!?!?

Diet-wise I've never gone silly and just eaten **** for every meal but I used to have an awful lot of takeaways!

Think I'll try and stick with the WW plan for a few weeks and see how I get on or until I can come up with a more suitable plan!
 
5 x 5 Stronglifts is a doddle to do in terms of not having to think about your workout. I've been doing it about 2 months now. Very straightforward.

It's not all about strength on it's own - since they compound exercises, you are using the biggest muscles in the body, hence using a lot of energy, thus burning calories and therefore can lose weight as well as build muscle.

It's great if you wanting to limit your gym time due to family etc - it's generally 45 mins max. If you want to add some cardio on at the end - go for it but I would certainly say - give it a go.

The andriod app is brilliant for tracking your workout and seeing progression!

Also - don't be scared of using the free weights - everyone has that initial worry, but don't stress it - squat for all your worth!!! lol
 
OP: congratulations on starting out on your lifestyle change! :)

Secondly, pretend you have been lied to your entire life with regards to "fitness" and "stamina" because the media version of these two terms is a long way from what the body is actually doing.

Fitness is simply a term that broadly describes the body's ability to recover from and prepare for another bout of activity. That is it. It is not specifically a "cardio" thing ora "strength" thing.

It is a function of both, into what is called (very generally) "conditioning."

This takes all of your body's characteristics (heart and lung capacity, blood cell muscle fibre type, vasculature, central nervous system adaptations, stored fuel sources, mitochondrial density, etc... to name a few) and rolls them up into an activity-specific package... meaning you are currently adapted to activity X/Y/Z.

So, you might be capable of walking for significant distances... but this doesn't mean you'll be any good at cycling. By the same token, you might be very good at cycling, but that doesn't mean you'll be capable of playing football for any length of time.

For instance, I am (or aspire to be) a weightlifter, and train as a weightlifter: I haven't done any cardio for... a long time. A bro I know is an avid cyclist, (i.e. can happily do 5/600km per week), yet when it came to running up the side of a mountain, we were equally matched: because his cardiovascular capacity was more efficient than mine, but I have much more efficient muscle activation and local fuel storage (glycogen) than he did.

So when you say "I want better fitness and stamina" it is very difficult to suggest stuff that will actually work with what you currently enjoy doing.

As regards routine, Stronglifts is a very, very good start, for a number of reasons...

1) Believe it or not, but steady-state cardio is not necessarily the best form of exercise for fat loss. It makes your body more effective at burning fat, simply becaue - once you've exhausted your glycogen supply after the first half an hour, your body might just around to burning fat... but it does so VERY slowly. strength training allows you to burn more calories in a shorter amount of time = which makes it more efficient than stead-state cardio. Which is also why tom_e's suggestion of HIIT is useful (it works much more effectively than steady state boring stuff.

2) Nobody is ever worse off when they are stronger Being able to move stuff more easily, not have back pain, be more flexible and useful is awesome.

3) Size is a derivative of training AND diet. If you eat a diet sufficient to build muscle, you will build muscle irrespective of the type of activity. Resistance/strength training is simply a more efficient form of stimulating muscle growth. However, on a calorie deficit, you will struggle to put on size in any meaningful form because your body is too busy using the existing fuel supplies to keep itself alive. And since when is being firm/curvy in all the right places a bad thing? Seriously?

4) By lifting weights, this does not make you huge. Mr. Universe competitors train for years on all sorts of additional pharmaceuticals to get where they are. The average joe that goes to the gym to lift won't actually look much different to the average joe that doesn't lift in a suit or jumper.So - in effect - don't worry about this. :)
 
Also, start a log! Keeps the motivation up and can track not just progress but thoughts on form etc. Don't be put off by the super strong people on here - normal people like me also log!
 
Thanks again for all the suggestions and advice guys!

I'm definitely going to give the Stronglifts a go (I've downloaded the app in preparation) but before I do I really need to watch the videos etc to make sure I'm doing the exercises properly (and safely!) - I've never even been near any of the equipment I'll need to use!!!

Due a gym night tonight so will probably just do my usual cardio but have a go at something else weight-wise instead of my arm reps and the sit-ups - just until I'm confident in what I'm doing and what weights to start with etc!

Thanks again guys, all advice welcome!!
 
StevieP said:
Thanks again for all the suggestions and advice guys!

I'm definitely going to give the Stronglifts a go (I've downloaded the app in preparation) but before I do I really need to watch the videos etc to make sure I'm doing the exercises properly (and safely!) - I've never even been near any of the equipment I'll need to use!!!

Due a gym night tonight so will probably just do my usual cardio but have a go at something else weight-wise instead of my arm reps and the sit-ups - just until I'm confident in what I'm doing and what weights to start with etc!

Thanks again guys, all advice welcome!!
Click to expand...

don't be scared of the free weights - watch the videos, then go for it.
 
i have been doing stronglifts for the past couple of months. had never done free weights so just took my time did lighter weights and made sure i was doing it properly and built the weight up over the weeks till i was at a good starting weight and then started the scheme properly

you wont be disappointed by the results
 
As said stronglifts, start off with an empty bar on squat, bench press and overhead press, 10kg each side for deadlifts and 5kg each side for the row. You'll likely be able to do more on each but it's better to start off low and practice correct form as you're increasing instead of starting off around what you can do then see form drop within a week or two as the weights become heavy for you.
 
I had a quick go at the squats tonight at the end of my workout (although it wasn't free weights but rather a bar that was fixed to the frame that you tilt to put back on - assume this is just as good??) - quite enjoyed it but it is quite tricky, even with no weights on the bar!

Will do some proper reading over the weekend and start a full program on Monday hopefully!
 
StevieP said:
I had a quick go at the squats tonight at the end of my workout (although it wasn't free weights but rather a bar that was fixed to the frame that you tilt to put back on - assume this is just as good??) - quite enjoyed it but it is quite tricky, even with no weights on the bar!

Will do some proper reading over the weekend and start a full program on Monday hopefully!
Click to expand...

Ayahuasca said:
Don't do your squatting on a smith machine
Click to expand...


There are also a number of serious good reasons why using a smith machine is not clever:

- poor positioning for your spine, hips knees and ankles;
- poor movement of those joints because of the fixed nature of the bar;

Both of the above are wonderful contributors to very unpleasant injury, which is why you MUST NOT use the smith machine.

If you absolutely have no other choice, then they are better than nothing, but you must know what you're doing with them... And as you are a beginner, you won't, I am afraid.
 
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