workout question......

[bigsugar]

So I figure a lot of you healthy mountain people probably hit the gym during the between seasons (and here in the midwest those "between seasons" are long) ..........what do some of you do as far as cardio is concerned?

I just ran 3.5 miles on a track, did a half hour of pretty intense stairclimber, and a half an hour on the stationary bike. I'm just curious as to how this compares to some of you who are more core than me.

[altagirl]

That sounds like a lot. How often are you doing that and what are your goals?

I'm doing tons of cardio lately since I'm doing rehab for my knee (PT said TONS of low resistance cardio would keep the knee loose), but I'm going to start scaling back a bit and doing more weights again now that flexibility is getting better. I've been up to 2 hours a day for the past few weeks (treadmill/elliptical/bike). But under normal circumstances I do 30-45 min a day, plus weights 4x/wk.

[bigsugar]

That particular workout gets done about three times a week, and then another three is dedicated to upper body and core strength.

My goals are:

1. Lose weight. I am a true mesomorph. I have lost 40 lbs in the last two years, But I seem to have hit the wall. I am a stocky kid with lots of muscle........I'm 5'8" and If I lost all body fat I'd still probably come in at 180-185. I took a body fat measurement and it came in at 7%, but an exercise science student did it, and I'm pretty sure it's wrong. It's mostly gut fat, I figure.

2. I want to run a 13 minute two mile.....although as you may have construed from my build, I am not fast.....but I'm definitely getting better.

3. When I get my firefighting and paramedic certs all done, I want to move out west, and I would like to start doing AT stuff. So I pretty much want to be fit for that.

I am not too tired after this workout, if that means anything...i could definitely do more, but I don't know how much that would help. Also I keep fit in the summer w/ mountain and road biking.

I hate being built the way I am.

[slippy]

That workout seems fine, as some bc days can sometimes be hours and hours of strenuous hell. And the majority of bc days are usually tiring anyways. I'd cut out the gym bike and run longer.

[72Twenty]

I'm kinda in the same boat; I'm stocky. I have fallen into the mold of the men in my family. I've always had larger muscles, even if not all that active. I'm trying to shed a few pounds, but in the past when I hit the weights I bulk up rather quickly. (My grandpa played pro football, my cousins are working ranchers, etc.) I'm only 5'10", but when I was in the best shape of my life (high school football and lacrosse) I weighed 210 and I was ripped. I actually want to get lean, but not muscle bound. I run and bike, but lately work has had me so busy I haven't had a chance to do as much. When the week-end rolls around, I go skiing, which is my favorite exercise anyway. I guess my best work-out in the off season, without really trying, is just alot of high altitude hiking and watching what I eat. I'm interrested to see more posts from people of our similar body type to see what they do...

[Buster Highmen]

As an aging beanpole with belly bloat, I practice 20 minutes of spinning in the morning.


http://www.dankphotos.com/whirling/images/8.jpg

[altagirl]

What is your diet like?

I've always been active, sometimes more than others, but I honestly didn't even know I could be as thin as I've gotten lately until I changed my eating habits. I've got the German/Czech genes where left to my own devices I look like Picabo Street or something. To be honest, I thought I was just stuck with it. I even went through a phase (I was in the army and deployed and had nothing else to do) where I worked out 4 hours a day or more and while I lost some weight and gained muscle, it didn't work nearly as well as changing my diet and just doing a reasonable amount of exercise. (the 30min cardio a day and 4 days a week of lifting is plenty).

I eat 6 small meals a day - usually every 3 hours or so. For me, it's about 300-350 cals per meal - you'd need more. I aim for a 50-30-20 (carbs/protein/fat) split (sometimes it's more like 40-30-30) and make sure each meal is fairly balanced. i.e. - no meals of bread or pasta - you've got to put protein in every meal. The key is that you should never be hungry and never gorge yourself on huge meals. You keep providing your body with a steady stream of protein and nutrients and it's less likely to store fat. I used fitday.com to track for a while until I got a feel for it. I also cut out all artificial sweeteners, overprocessed crap, and trans-fats, but that's probably not necessary, it just makes me feel better.

Doing this, I lost 30lbs at a rate of 1-2lbs a week until I plateaued when I had knee surgery, which is fine, since I'm really quite happy with my body now anyway. And I'm running out of money to buy new skinny clothes...

[skier666]

Just think of it as a math equation.

Eat less calories....do a lot of cardio...where you are sweating. Don't kill yourself, but just keep active.

My routine is either 5.05 miles on a 2 % incline on the treadmill...top speed 9.2 or so...starting at 8.7..about @ 34 mins....then walk for 15 mins.

Do the Rolling stairmaster (the one with the stairs that fold under), hands behind your back....50 mins. It'll help you with stamina, balance, and legs. Perfect for ski training.

Must listen to music...I download dj sets off the web so I can somewhat look forward to working out.

[Stoysluttie1]

mtn. bike 4 to 5 days per week...no less than 10 miles per ride, 80% uphill. Hike your ass off...hike what you ski and then go hike it again. I also hit the gym 5 days per week in the off season working out my everything, mainly focus on my core though. strong abs and back = less pains in the back

2 months before ski season i start implementing my leg workout..lunges, one leg squats, more lunges, calf raises, leg curls..got to remember to have balance..and stair climbers with various weights on my shoulders.

I used to be anal about things and do an evening foot workout...gain foot and leg speed by doing sprints, crossovers, and a host of other practices i learned in track.

For the BC..i really work on my triceps.

After all that is said and done..stretch stretch and stretch some more! Keep hydrated as well.

One other area i really do not particiapte in much but should...is yoga. This helps bring focus, strength, flexibility, balance and a clear mindset. Gets your core up and running as well.

After all that..go hike or bike.

And then go skiing, often more often and even more often.

[jibij]

I've also got a stocky build. I'm 5'9, 175. When I really bust ass and get as lean as I seem to be able, I can get down to 168. I used to alternate running days (3-4 miles) with gym days. My standard gym routine was 30 mins. elliptical and 30 min to an hour of weights. That routine served me well for a few years.
After busting my ankle, the doctor says no running for another year and he'd prefer that I quit altogether. So, now my routine is 5-6 days a week in the gym plus a 3-4 mile walk, 4 or 5 days a week. My gym routine is now 30 mins. of spinning or elliptical, 30 mins. of weights, swim laps for a while, then recuperate in the dry sauna. I've been doing that for about a month now and am feeling better than i have in a while. The swimming is great for the ankle, too.
I also eat a pretty strict low-fat diet to manage cholesterol.

[altagirl]

Just think of it as a math equation.

Eat less calories....do a lot of cardio...where you are sweating. Don't kill yourself, but just keep active.

True. But if you starve yourself and then eat one big meal, your body reacts differently, even if it's the same caloric intake. It goes into starvation mode and tries to store as many calories as possible as fat - it's a natural defense mechanism. If you eat just enough at regular intervals and exercise a decent amount you'll have better success than you would starving yourself and overexercising. Plus you'll be able to stick with it and it's better for your body.

[skier666]

Didn't mean to "starve" yourself...

the only way to lose weight is to eat less....not to starve, but to avoid extra eating. Not a nutritionist but my wife is really anal about all this stuff, and her doctors/trainers have told her that your diet is the most important thing about losing weight. Even without working out, a change for the better in the diet will shed off the pounds. Once you get that, when you indulge, just tell yourself to go the gym and burn off the calories.

Now training for events like Triathalons, etc....require focusing on muscles, speed, etc....that's a different story.

[bigsugar]

I think the diet is probably a huge part of the problem. I am a student, and lean , healthy food generally costs more. I definitely often eat a big meal at the end of the day, and suck at counting calories. I am now trying to eat more balanced as far as amounts go, like eat a bigger lunch and a smaller dinner, but I honestly have no idea how many calories i consume in an average day.........although it is safe to say that the majority comes at the end of the day. I should probably change that, huh.

[Out_to_lunch]

I'm a runner, so naturally I'm going to say run a lot. When you run, vary you schedule. Dont run just long everyday. Change it up a bit. Take some days and make them designated speed days. On those days run lots of short distances really fast (or as fast as you can). These will build muscle. And then on other days just run more for time, not distance.

Set a goal for yourself on the timed runs. If you can run 3.5 miles, stairclimb for half an hour and bike for half an hour, you can probably run for an hour straight. Run out half an hour and then turn and come back. Gradually increase your time, and your golden!

Work hills into your runs too, there great on the quads

And naturally stretch every day weather you do anything or not. Just dont overwork yourself on anything. The worst thing to do is overdo it and then hurt yourself.

[char]

Alternatively, I'm 5'8", 135#'s and can't gain a pound no matter what I eat and basically all I eat is carbs. I bumped that up to 145 this summer by lifting a 8 foot fence pole everyday.

Now that I'm back in school I have no time to go work out, but maybe next quarter.

What should I be doing to gain weight in a healthy way? IE- Muscle mass

[altagirl]

Didn't mean to "starve" yourself...

the only way to lose weight is to eat less....not to starve, but to avoid extra eating. Not a nutritionist but my wife is really anal about all this stuff, and her doctors/trainers have told her that your diet is the most important thing about losing weight. Even without working out, a change for the better in the diet will shed off the pounds. Once you get that, when you indulge, just tell yourself to go the gym and burn off the calories.

Now training for events like Triathalons, etc....require focusing on muscles, speed, etc....that's a different story.

I was just trying to say that I think there's more to it than just "eat less". Timing and eating "right" have a big effect as well. Even aside from the starvation effect, you've got things like needing protein after lifting/working out. That has an effect too.

[Big E]

I'll second stoy's yoga recommendation. I took a class once a few years ago, but never really did it beyond that. Then, wanting to really get/stay flexible after this last knee surgery, I picked up a "Yoga Conditioning for Athletes" DVD (aside - I couldn't believe how many yoga vids there were available) and have been pretty good about doing it 3-4x a week, basically if I didn't go to the gym that day then I do yoga. I also added in the exercises that Moats was demonstrating in SKIING last month, if only for an excuse to keep the mag open to those pages

Anyway, I have really noticed in the two months that I've been doing the yoga that I've gotten a lot more flexible in the hip joints, which the "guru" on the tape really stresses as being a way to protect the knees. I'm also much more limber in general and generally feel better.

As another aside, the vid is about 50 min. long or so, and the last ~5 minutes is some relaxation stuff where you just lay on the floor, arms and legs sprawled out, concentrate on your breathing, etc. It must be working, because so far I have yet to make it through this part without falling asleep!

[Big E]

char - protein for one. Protein is what builds muscles.

[altagirl]

Alternatively, I'm 5'8", 135#'s and can't gain a pound no matter what I eat and basically all I eat is carbs. I bumped that up to 145 this summer by lifting a 8 foot fence pole everyday.

Now that I'm back in school I have no time to go work out, but maybe next quarter.

What should I be doing to gain weight in a healthy way? IE- Muscle mass

And while I've never been in your shoes - if you don't eat much protein, I'd say that's why you're not building muscle. Sounds like you just have the fast metabolism to burn off all the carbs - you just need to keep those and add protein and you should be able to add muscle.

[char]

Protein is expensive and I'm a poor college student. I'll see what I can do.

[altagirl]

Protein is expensive and I'm a poor college student. I'll see what I can do.

Eggs? Protein Powder? I know my latest big tub was less than $30 for like 70 servings. I add it to oatmeal in the morning - cheap breakfast that's a balanced meal.

[char]

Eggs? Protein Powder? I know my latest big tub was less than $30 for like 70 servings. I add it to oatmeal in the morning - cheap breakfast that's a balanced meal.

Protein Powder, now there is an idea. How much do you need per day?

How about a good website to a workout routine?

[altagirl]

Protein Powder, now there is an idea. How much do you need per day?

How about a good website to a workout routine?

I personally wouldn't do more than 2 servings a day of powder - try to get the rest from "real" food. But I often have one scoop with breakfast and then a protein shake (blend the powder with soy milk and frozen fruit or something) right after I lift.

Depends on the brand but mine has 23g of protein in a scoop. Most studies I've read lately say that for people who are athletic/weight train you should eat 1.3-1.8g/kg of body weight per day. The RDA is really low and meant more for sedentary people.


All the exercises and info you can imagine:
http://www.exrx.net/Exercise.html

[cololi]

I like to mix up my workouts. I play basketball at least once a week for 2 hours. I run sprints, do a lot of plyometrics, jump rope, etc. I can't stand sitting on a bike, elliptical, stair climber for more than 10 minutes at a time. I'll hit the bike for 10, do some circuit training, then hit the rowing machine for 5, the elliptical for 5. It seeme to work for me. My goal is to just be in decent shape and keep the fat down. At least 4 hours of bc touring a week in the winter is by far the best workout I do. I've dropped 12 pounds since early Nov.

[Oarhead]

As I read this thread I am drinking a big-assed slurpee and laughing to/at myself.

I find the bike doesn't do too much for me. I can't really run too much so surprise surprise I sit on the rowing machine for an hour a couple of times a week. Let me make one thing clear: I HATE THAT FUCKING MACHINE. I spent way too many years on it and all it does is mock you. You are never going fast enough.

I weighed myself in september and hoy she-it, I had packed on almost 20 pounds. I was headed into dangerous waters: skinny fat. I needed to nip that one inthe bud if I was going to continue to eat poorly (which I was and am) so back onto the erg with me. If you know how to use your body properly on the thing then it will get you in shape fast. It works legs bigtime, core, and arms plus mental strength since nobody can sit on thaat hting for more than 30 minutes and not be mentally tough.

Now please excuse me while I eat my gummie treats.

Edit: I believe for proteion you want to consume about 2grams of protein for every kg of body mass per day.
I think beans and lentils are good sources of protein.