Escapecraft

My new years resolution:
Get some definition in my almost-but-not-quite-a-six-pack

Also I finally measured my height, (something I've not done since I was a teenager,) and can now figure out things like my BMI and body fat percentage (roughly 20.8 & 11% according to some online calculators).

I need to start working out I was starting to get in shape again and then Christmas break hits and I haven't worked out since. Any advice for home workouts for me?

asi1998 wrote:I need to start working out I was starting to get in shape again and then Christmas break hits and I haven't worked out since. Any advice for home workouts for me?

Pushups, in the various forms, such as wide-grip, left arm back, right arm back, down and lean forward/back/left/right, hold a position, left leg up, right leg up

Another option is BodyBuilders, or as we called them in basic training, 10 counts. Which are as follows: 1, squat down and touch the floor, 2 kick feet back together to pushup position, 3 kick knees up to the left, 4 kick back to pushup position, 5, kick knees up to right, 6 back to pushup, 7 down part of the pushup, 8 up part of pushup, 9 jump back up to squatting position, 10 stand up, that is 1 repetiton. They suck, and will continue to suck for forever, but they use a lot of muscles and will break you down quick.

Jumping jacks, go for a good 150 if you got the hang of them,

Atomic situps, that is, situp position, now bring your knees into your chest and hold your chest up, so you look like a weird V. now explode out, and return, don't hit the ground.

Various abdominal excerises can be found online easily.

Also, if you want to make a thing out of it, do some of each of the exercises in say 12-20 repetitions, then move to another one. What we did was 5 pushups, pick your favorite(hint, the ones you can do the least of) variations of the pushup, now do 5 of one, then 5 of the next, etc. then do some abs, then some leg stuff, and come back to it. One pt we did a total of 350 pushups, and then just layed on the ground.

MrWhales wrote: Jumping jacks, go for a good 150 if you got the hang of them,

I never know what a good number for jumping jacks is, most people seem to measure them by time rather than repetitions. I can do about 500. Although I'm not sure I could go much higher even if I had the stamina, simply on account of the strain it puts on my feet. I've heard of people doing them for 30-40 minutes at a time and I can only assume they have either softer carpets or tougher soles than I.

MrWhales wrote: One pt we did a total of 350 pushups, and then just layed on the ground.

Is that 350 push ups consecutively or with breaks? If the former then count me as extremely impressed.

Jake55778 wrote:count me as extremely impressed.

Even if it was short breaks that's still impressive. I remember back when I was in football we would do a ton of push ups, flip over and do a ton of sit ups, and then repeat until practice was done, but we never even hit 350 as far as I know (then again I wasn't counting).

2 years.

Anyone still at it? I'm proud to report that I can now reliably do 150 consecutive push ups.

I can lift my hands from a keyboard now.

I kinda have to be working out still, part of my job I've been doing far less than post-boot camp, but still doing a good deal. I'll say more once I've woken up.

Few months ago I started doing at least 10 push ups in one go per day, then slowly increasing how many i did, i got to about 32 push ups at one point, not sure why i stopped. I should start doing them again...

Exercise, my greatest foe...

I actually started exercising first thing in the morning and right before I went to bed a few months ago, mainly to help me wake up/fall asleep. My tactic is to do as many pushups as I can before I can't move my arms anymore, and then do as many situps as I can before my stomach feels like it's on fire. I've been getting up to about 130-140 of each lately, but I don't weigh much. I figure it's more of a willpower thing than a strength thing anyway, I have the uncanny ability to carry on about ten more if I'm listening to Slipknot. I'm sure if I was more motivated I'd pick up a proper exercise routine, but alas, I am a lazy bugger.

SMWasder wrote:Exercise, my greatest foe...

I actually started exercising first thing in the morning and right before I went to bed a few months ago, mainly to help me wake up/fall asleep. My tactic is to do as many pushups as I can before I can't move my arms anymore, and then do as many situps as I can before my stomach feels like it's on fire. I've been getting up to about 130-140 of each lately, but I don't weigh much. I figure it's more of a willpower thing than a strength thing anyway, I have the uncanny ability to carry on about ten more if I'm listening to Slipknot. I'm sure if I was more motivated I'd pick up a proper exercise routine, but alas, I am a lazy bugger.

Just saying, stressing yourself to the limit each time on a regular basis can actually be counter productive, it's better to aim for a limit that requires hard work to get to but doesnt 'kill' you either.

I disagree. I did that for a long time and just ended up stuck at a plateau. It wasn't until I started working to exhaustion that I starting seeing improvements again.

That said: don't do it every day, rest is important.

random980 wrote: Just saying, stressing yourself to the limit each time on a regular basis can actually be counter productive, it's better to aim for a limit that requires hard work to get to but doesnt 'kill' you either.

I mentioned I started exercising to help myself sleep- I find that unless I push myself it doesn't really help. Considering how sedentary my lifestyle is besides that, I kinda feel like I need to make up for it. I guess I should probably find a better method of exercise, but to be frank, gyms are horrible places. I'm also not a great fan of jogging. I thought about getting some kind of punch bag, but I can't really nail one to the ceiling and they make a fair bit of noise.

I haven't really felt like I've needed to take a day's rest- if my arms felt bad before I started then I would give it a miss. I'm willing to push myself to exhaustion, but I won't do it if it's hurting.

Jake55778 wrote:I have a new goal: to learn to do a planche/planche push up. Basically it's just the push up position but with your legs entirely off the floor.

It's... tricky.

...Very tricky.

I fully expect it to take a while, (assuming I succeed at all,) but I always work better with a goal in mind and this is about as high as I can realistically set the bar.

I'd be very surprised if anyone remembers this post, I really bit off more than I could chew when I set it as a goal. However, I just made a breakthrough and I'm nerco'ing this out of excitement. I just pulled off a straddle planche... for about a second... with dodgy form, but it's a lot better than the last time I tried. Progress!

I think the rest of us all became obese.

Because that's the net result from unsuccessful exercise of course.

Nope, still skinny, and still exercising, but because it's my job...

Lord_Mountbatten wrote:I think the rest of us all became obese.

Because that's the net result from unsuccessful exercise of course.

Funnily enough i'm currently trying to build muscle and regularly go to the gym. At this point it's still not saying much but i'm the strongest (probably still not the healthiest dem eating habits) i've ever been.

This is my daily workout setup... I average about 6 to 7 miles a day at this point, working my way up to all day while at the computer, my goal is 15 miles a day at least. I've had it for about a month and I've put 110 miles on it

I use a barstool when I'm not walking

Believe it or not, it's easy to walk and type at the same time

wokka1 wrote:

This is my daily workout setup... I average about 6 to 7 miles a day at this point, working my way up to all day while at the computer, my goal is 15 miles a day at least. I've had it for about a month and I've put 110 miles on it

I use a barstool when I'm not walking

Believe it or not, it's easy to walk and type at the same time

I have wanted one of those for awhile!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Have you lost any weight using it yet that you have noticed?

I don't believe in weighing, and I haven't noticed any change in clothing yet. From previous trips to the doc (where they insist on weighing you), I had lost 35 lbs from changing my diet and starting working out on an elliptical (that I ditched for this setup). I did notice a significant loosening of the pants and had to get new shorts and pants because of it.

Nothing drastic like that on the treadmill, but I have hope that soon I'll have to buy new clothes again