A Sea Of Red

After working out consistently from middle school through the end of college, I took a 5 year hiatus and got pretty out of shape. I got back into it at the beginning of this year and feel I'm finally getting back to a healthy person of 27. I've only got a couple weeks left on my current workout routine and was wondering what everybody else does.

I somewhat have a feeling this will turn into a "my friend does P90X and it's awesome", conversation but keep in mind I have a gym membership I don't want to waste.

I go everyday during lunch.......then run/swim most of the days after work. A few fellow workers come along. We are doing a football strength training program now, but will be going back to P90x in August. We did it the first time a few months ago. Once you watch the videos enough, you can do most of the P90 stuff at the gym, which we did. I just did the kenpo stuff at home. Attempted the yoga one's at home......I will never laugh at guys that do yoga again.

my friend does p90x and its awesome.

No but I was reading somewhere, cant remember where or id tell you but google it you might find it, that rather than drinking whey protein, chocolate milk is the best post-workout drink out there.

I've actually heard some good things about adding yoga in general. Like Houshmanzedah does something called strength yoga which incorporates weights and he swears by it. I just can't bring myself to get into the yoga class though. It would be me and 10 60 year old women.

rueful wrote:my friend does p90x and its awesome.

No but I was reading somewhere, cant remember where or id tell you but google it you might find it, that rather than drinking whey protein, chocolate milk is the best post-workout drink out there.

I drink regular milk. Does chocolate make it more effective?

I do six days a week at the gym at my apt complex. Keep in mind though my workouts ( cardio wise ) are limited due to still not being cleared for normal activity from my broken ankle.

Cardio:

40-45 minutes on the stationary bike or Elliptical. Surprisingly i used to run alot, but i actually think if you alternate these two, ive gotten better results over the course of the last several months. They aren't the most exciting things, but we have TV's to watch so that combined with music makes the time go by pretty quickly.

After that i generally lift for 20-30 minutes depending on how tired i am. I just have pretty general free weights and weight machines that i use. The only "new to me" machine that i think works that i have never used before would be some "sitting crunch" machine. That machine is tough and i actually feel like im getting somewhere....

get a wii fit, it has yoga on it

I've found the supersite at http://www.bodybuilding.com/ to be an amazing resource. They have tons of different routines, and even have instructions for almost any exercise you can think of complete with pictures and a short video clip. And there's a ton of info on their forum as well if you're researching any type of issue where there's a difference of opinion.

There is a nice gym with personal trainiers in the building where I work that I get to use as much as I want for free. I just recently sat down with one of the trainers and we are currently working on a plan. It is nice because I get to go on my lunch break for weights and after work for cardio.

I keep saying I need to. I'll do good for a couple weeks then something will happen and knock me out of my routine and I simply won't go back to it. A lot of it is a motivation thing.

LUconn wrote:I've found the supersite at http://www.bodybuilding.com/ to be an amazing resource.

That's where I order most of my protein/supplements...thru their store. Best price & fast shipping.

Another great protein source that let's you customize (if you don't want artificial sweeteners, etc...)........like me:

http://www.trueprotein.com/Default.aspx

I used to be a distance runner in high school. I've tried running recently (10 years later) and I've failed miserably. I can barely make it a half-mile before wanting to puke.

LUconn......if you need fitness resources, send me a message.........i've got a TON of stuff.

SuperJon wrote:I keep saying I need to. I'll do good for a couple weeks then something will happen and knock me out of my routine and I simply won't go back to it. A lot of it is a motivation thing.

they have a resource section for that http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/bbmainmind.htm

I find that after a couple of weeks and it is part of your routine, it's enjoyable, so you'll want to go. Except for cardio. That's not ever fun except to freak shows who like to run.

rueful wrote: No but I was reading somewhere, cant remember where or id tell you but google it you might find it, that rather than drinking whey protein, chocolate milk is the best post-workout drink out there.

You probably heard this from the strength/conditioning coach for Michigan's football program. This is what he has all his guys do.

I used to work out a lot at the Y. But the only time I have to go is 5:30 in the morning, and I'm the type of person that has a very hard time getting up in the morning. So I would go for a while, and then stop for a long time, and then pick it up again. If I could get myself to go on a regular basis for more than a couple months, I'd be ripped. I'm someone who needs to gain weight as opposed to getting in shape, and it is virtually impossible for me to gain weight without being in the gym regularly.

ALUmnus wrote:

rueful wrote: No but I was reading somewhere, cant remember where or id tell you but google it you might find it, that rather than drinking whey protein, chocolate milk is the best post-workout drink out there.

You probably heard this from the strength/conditioning coach for Michigan's footbal program. This is what he has all his guys do.

The premise of the chocolate milk is that is has enough sugar/carbs to spike your insulin, thereby resulting in better uptake of the protein, immediately after working out. Actually, if you put of scoop of protein powder in with the chocolate, it's awesome. However, make sure it is organic, whole chocolate milk sweetened with sugar.......NOT high fructose corn syrup, which will not give you the benefits you're looking for.

Been working out with weights the last 30 yrs. This year I work out three days a week and swim on the fourth. Waist was 36 inches, reason I know I could not get into my 34" jeans. Now I can get into my 32" jeans. It helped I gave up candy and the amount of soft drinks starting in Jan. Body fat was 20.2, last I checked it was down to 16.8

during the school year i just play basketball for about an hour 4 days a week - two days it's just me shooting around and stuff and the other two days its noon hoops where other GAs, faculty, and staff play some full-court 5 on 5

When I go (which this month has been better than the past 5), 4 miles on the treadmill in under 35 minutes. Thats about 600 calories for me, according to the wonderful calorie counter on the treadmill, lol.

i have sex with my wife frequently and i eat alot of fruit...

the extent of my exercise is walking up toward LU from my bus stop every weekday and drinking plenty of water

Liberty4Life wrote:I used to be a distance runner in high school. I've tried running recently (10 years later) and I've failed miserably. I can barely make it a half-mile before wanting to puke.

I see this all the time. It's hard to get started again without feeling like you should be doing more because of how good you used to be. I have never taken that long off, but I did bag it for almost a year due to the birth of my son. The first month back was, well, south of heaven. After forcing myself out the door 5 times a week for 4-5 weeks, it started to come back. 9 months later I am leading the workouts with the high school kids I coach (well, most of them, anyway).

I imagine it is like this with any activity. The more you deal with the crappy feelings early on, the better you will feel once you break through.

01LUGrad wrote:It's hard to get started again without feeling like you should be doing more because of how good you used to be.

This is the same argument I use with my wife as to why we shouldn't slow down..................except not about running.

blwall1416 wrote:

01LUGrad wrote:It's hard to get started again without feeling like you should be doing more because of how good you used to be.

This is the same argument I use with my wife as to why we shouldn't slow down..................except not about running.

HEY-O!

Until about a month ago, I'd never worked out regularly in my life. Ever. Considering my genetic background, the way that I used to eat and what I do for a living, it's a miracle I don't look like like Comic Book Guy from The Simpsons.

About five years ago I gave up on soda and dropped about 20 pounds. About a year and a half ago I stopped eating everything that was put in front of me and dropped about another 30. A few weeks ago I gave up on feeling lucky about my size and started going to the gym three days a week after work. It's not a lot, but a few hours of solid cardio and some time in the weight room have me within spitting distance of what I weight in high school. I still look a lot softer than I did then, but I'm not so concerned with that.

Now that I've been in the gym with some regularity, I can see it picking up. I'm enjoying it. Like SJ mentioned, I'm just waiting for something to come along and bump me off my new routine.

Just started P90x yesterday. Its a major b