So I joined a gym last Friday. Been six times in eight days. Things are going well.

My goal is to get into good enough shape to complete a beginner's triathlon (375-m swim; 10K bike; 2.5K run) in the summer.

I'm 42, 202 lbs (down about five or six from before xmas).

I live in a fairly small town and there's only one gym. It's reasonably well-equipped... half-a-dozen treadmills, three rowing machine, five or so stationary bikes, couple stair climbers, four elliptical machines. There's a decent amount of free weights and all the standard weight machines.

Right now I'm focussing on increasing my cardio, i've lived a very sedentary life for too many years.

For three of the last four nights, i've done 30 minutes on the elliptical machine, first at level 1, then at level 2, tonight at level 3 for 20 minutes and level 4 for 10 minutes. I then went and did some upper body work on the machines (bench, military, chest, bicep, tri) and I end every session with crunches on this machine

.

One of my main questions is, should I do cardio first, then weights? or the other way around. Any other tips or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

If there's interest, this could be a place where we post our results and try to encourage each other.

thank you for listening.

bye

Hey that was you playing lo8 yesterday!

I said 'big table in the back?' to try and keep seem dl, but got no response.

Good job on the gym.

For the cardio first or last, its really a preference. I have heard arguements made for both. Switching it up is probably your best bet.

Good luck. You can all types of different workouts online, usually they cost for a membership. Or pick up Mens Health or Muscle and Fitness for some idea for workouts.

PM me your e mail and I will send you a real good four month workout plan that is great, quick and builds up over time, so you dont kill yourself too early.

Good Luck - good time to bump this old fitness thread

Fitness Challenge

In fact that was me playing some .05/.1, i think.

Didn't notice your comment. Made some money, those tables seem pretty soft.

I plan on rejoining the gym soon and getting my flat stomach back.

As for the cardio question, here's what I did when I used to go to the gym:

Start with 15 minutes light cardio.
Hit the weights.
End with 25 minutes of heavy cardio. (The last 5 minutes were usually a cool down period for me at a low intensity level).


That worked for me, but you should also experiment and do whatever works best for you.

One thing that I'm pretty sure has been proven for fat loss is interval training. Work at your normal pace for 5 minutes, and then up the intensity for 1 minute, and then go back to normal pace. Rinse and repeat.


Good luck!

Yeah I've been playing 100-500 hand stretches and learning, they really are. Fun game.

congrats. it seems like you got a pretty good plan worked out. i prefer weights first and then cardio just so i don't sweat all over the machines (but it's a preference thing more than anything else).

i've noticed with the gym that when you go regularly it gets addicting, and then you want to go all the time, but if you take a week off it's hard to start going again.

keep it up and you'll kick ass at that triathalon.

goodluck.

The best thing is to do your cardio on a day you dont lift weights. 3 days of weights, 4 days of cardio/4 days of weights, 3 days of cardio/3 days of weights, 3 days of cardio. That way you get the most out of both sessions. Hard to explain the reason in english, but its true.

You should atleast have one day without cardio where you only lift weights with your legs, squat etc. Use weights so you can do 3x20 or 4x20. Then you get muscles with good stamina. Gl

bullemia FTW!!

FYP and game over. Weight will be lost, Triathlon will be won.

This is pretty much right on. But if you must do them both on the same day then you would genereally do cardio after resistance. But that is mainly so you aren't fatigued too much to lift optimally.

You can always stick to body weight stuff like push ups, crunches, chin ups, etc. for the first few weeks to let your muscles slowly work up to the increased demands then start to phase in some weight training.

QFT

I would mix up the days for the best results.

If you work out 5/7 days, do Cardio Weight Cardio Weight Cardio

The point is that it gives each group of muscles more time to rest.

Agreed..that's why I was doing upper body weight on the same days i was doing Cardio, which is almost exclusively a lower body workout.

Once i get more into it, i'll make sure to mix things up.

good luck with losing the weight, and best wishes for the triathlon.

somebody else already posted it, but the main reason for saving the cardio for last is so you don't use all your energy doing cardio that you need for lifting. you can always ride a stationary bike while tired.

having said that though, I never do cardio and weights in the same day. well, not technically. I lift mondays wednesdays and fridays, and cardio on tuesdays and thursdays. however, when I lift I've been doing the whole circuit training thing where you move from one exercise to another with no rest. that shit is tough, but I've lost like an inch around my waist just in january.

Now that my last kid has moved out, I have room for the exercise equipment I had in the garage.

I brought out the Ab Lounge, did 3 sets of 15 reps.

Now it's is day 3 of the rest cycle. Tomorrow I hit it again.

This is torture.
My midsection is screaming in pain.

Is this in the naked room? Because I just pictured you doing the Ab Lounge naked.......................

The ceiling fan learned me a lesson I won't soon forget.

Now it's bicycle shorts and sweat bands.

DONT tap your fooy in the sauna. Apparently its some kind of code.

Just think of your wife ... Ah shit, I respect you too much to continue with this joke.

Hint: Get Men's Health mag.

www.crossfit.com

This website has changed my life. I am pretty much the fittest person I know since Ive been doing this about a year. And its all functional applicable strength. I'll let the website do the rest of the talking.

When I used to go...and I need to start again, btw...I would do some warm up cardio before wights to get the blood flowing and loosen up. After weights, I would do more cardio about 1/2 the time.

I'm tired just reading about the exercise.


I play volleyball once a week. I should be using the weight set in the basement, but I am lazy.

My current workout plan is this.

stretch
5 min on bike
30 second break
then do a 8 station rotation on machines 12 reps each 30 secs between stations
1 minute break
5 min on bike
30 sec break
then do the 8 stations again 10 reps each 30 sec btw
1 minute break
5 min on bike
30 second break
8 station again 8 reps each higher weight 30 sec break btw
2 minute break
15 min on bike
then I do my pull ups but generally depending on the day I can do a few or a lot

I like this because it keeps my heart rate through the whole workout

That looks interesting...I'm anxiously awaiting Guapo's workout that he said he'd send to me.

And just started using this today on advice from others on the diet.

http://www.thedailyplate.com

Man, I wish I could afford to join up with a gym right now.

I don't use the Nutri-System food anymore (hit my goal a while back) but I still use their website to count my calories. By counting the calories and keeping track of everything I eat, I've found I'm less likely to eat things I shouldn't.

I think that's why it's a good idea to do at least 5 minutes of cardio before resistance training. Get that heart rate up and burn more calories.

I do about 30 mins right now on the cross-trainer before lifting weights. I like to do all my cardio before, and none after because I am so fatigued usually that I can barely make it up the stairs to the change room. Hopefully going to slowly increase my cardio time until I can get up to an hour.

Yes, 10 would be better if you have the time.

This is about where I am. I don't hit the weights as hard as you, though. Just easing back in and I don't want to overdo it. I'm just doing enough so that I struggle a bit on my third set of 10.

Teach me this.

I can gag but I can't vomit. What's the trick?

Jeff I'm working from home today, before afternoon meetings, I'll e mail in the morning.

cool.

When you start to gag, the key is to push your finger even farther down your throat. Wiggle it a bit if you have to. Be persistent and the vomit will come.




I do this when I am beyond drunk and I know I'm going to be uber sick later if I don't get some of the booze out. I should've done it in the parking lot before we left Firelake rather than hurling on/in your car. I really didn't think I was going to puke that time though as I hadn't had that much to drink. I think it was the coffee mixed with the booze all churning about as we drove home that did me in. I still feel awful about that.

Why are you using a finger?

Nobody likes it when you hurl on their member.

I thought that was the trick

Shake says what we're all thinking after he says it.

I bet ShakeZuma does!

That could very well be. I suppose I've heard of stranger things.

Only had a 50-minute or so window to work out last night...

got in a half-hour cardio, increased the weights on the upper body and increased the crunches. Felt good and no soreness this morning.

I understand that you only had 50 mins, but I would think if you have NO soreness, you need to up the workout. Thoughts?

Agreed. I'm walking the fine line between going too easy and going too hard.

But I actually increased the weights on all the upper body machines i used, to the point I struggled to complete my third set of 10. Either I'm becoming a little more accustomed to pushing weights around or i need to push a little harder. I'll keep ramping things up.

My understanding is you want to be struggling toward the end of your first set.

No problem with easing your way in and feeling things out. Not saying you should up it a lot now and be hurting big time, but eventually, some soreness is a good sign. Just remember, no matter how far you push it, your workout now is MUCH better than what your workout was a few months ago.

Now, if my lazy ass would start at it again.

Oh geez...if i'm struggling at the end of the first set, there's no way I'll get through the third.



When i first started the simplest stuff a couple months, I literally struggled to do 10 pushups...it was pathetic. I feel much better now.

I've been lifting weights for about 2 full years now and I still get sore after just about every workout. of course, I'm totally into shredding my muscles and pumping to the max, so there's that.