Lift things up and put them down.

[balloons]

at the risk of ruining the thread with beginner questions, how does one get into fitness? on /r/fitness they recommend reading starting strength but then they have that joke that nobody actually reads it. what do I do?? is there some sort of generic sidebar that distills all the information for me or should I literally walk into a gym and start lifting things at random

[UnwashedMolasses]

First thing to ask is what are your goals? Are you looking to gain weight/muscle, increase cardiovascular fitness or VO2 max, improve flexibility, improve general athleticism, train for a specific sport, or some combination of the above?

[balloons]

I think knowing the possibilities / routes to go in (not sure if there are many in fitness compared to fashion?) would help me answer the question better, but at the risk of sounding like someone new to fashion saying they want to look "classy but still manly", my main priorities are probably aesthetics and then athleticism. don't wanna outgrow my shirts, but perhaps fill them out better? I think gaining muscle is sort of important, then. I have a trivial amount of excess fat that could be lost in a week or two but not much muscle to go off of.

recommended this to me



and told me it's like 80% diet and to monitor calories with myfitnesspal, which I think I can do pretty well since I don't have any major food addictions or anything and am pretty good at setting an eating habit if I know what I'm doing.

that leaves the other 20%, in the actual gym, which I don't really know much about. how do you even learn what the exercises are? do you google the names of them or something? like a barbell row. should I youtube these things or what

[bueno]

Yeah i find youtube helpful for form. Just search for example 'barbell row form' or 'squat form' etc. and you'll get results. Also reddit / r / fitness is a good resource too imo. And don't worry you won't get big overnight.

[Spartangy]

Just bought some dumbbells and a bench to get back into lifting. I used to exercise about two years ago, but had to stop because of time constraints, but now I have the money to actually buy weights for home.

Any suggestions on what exercises I should do? I plan on buying a power cage and barbell later on, just wanna know I can commit to this first. I was figuring DB bench press, bent over rows, flys? Don't know what I should do for legs, because squats with just dumbbells almost seems silly, but better than nothing I suppose.

[seth83292]

you can also do two arm tricep extentions (triceps), lateral raises, dumbell presses and arnold presses (shoulders), goblet squats, weighted toe extentions and weighted lunges (legs), shrugs (traps)

but you'd have to have a fairly large range of dumbbells for that to work.

[anonomous]

Balloons, youtube exercises that you don't know and learn and do them when you're at the gym. Look at a few trainers as everyone has different techniques (but there will be quite a few similarities). I prefer exrx.net to youtube videos though because they are simpler to read and follow.

Start with the program that rjbman recommended because it's a good beginner program. I like it more than Starting Strength simply because it has hypertrophy sets AND strength sets. But the main thing i like about it is that i squat less with this program and it builds more upper body stuff to get a nice/soft V-taper. Not to say squatting is bad, but i have wide hips so, squatting more would accentuate my lower body much more than my upper body and make me look more disproportional than i already am.

Another misconception is that people grow big super easily or in a matter of a few months, this is impossible (without steroids) so don't worry about it. You'll slowly and gradually fill out your tees and look better.

So basically balloons, what you need to do right now is watch some videos of the exercises you are supposed to do, go on exrx too, then go in the gym on monday or something and start light. Work on your form first and foremost, then slowly work your way up as each week passes by. Persevere and push yourself through the first week of lifting and it'll be much easier after that. Enjoy! (smiling)

[nick]

, I'm no expert, but the Greyskull LP did get me from the bar to a plate bench and two in squat. (A plate is a 45 lb weight- "One plate" refers to 45 lbs on each side, plus 45 lb barbell = 135 lb). and I had fun doing it! Need to get back into fitness again.

Gaining size is really how much you grow is based on how much you eat. You CAN grow a lot in a few months provided you're forcing yourself to eat 5000 calories every day. You'll also get kinda fat. This is the Starting Strength approach. Eat like a hungry teenager, but try to get a lot of bean energy in. Combine this with your lifting 3x a week and you'll like the way you look, I guarantee it.

For form, if at all possible, find a gym bro. It's really great to have each other spot your form. Also please perform the full range of motion on all exercises!

[balloons]

[oldtrailmix]

@balloons

greyskull lp is what i've been doing since january. i've seen some solid gains from it, both strength and size wise.

2. i wouldn't eat 5000 cals a day or anything near that, you won't get kinda fat you'll get fat. i bulked at like 3000 probably a day for a long time and still gained a dece amount of body fat which i'm gonna cut down to for summer now. if i could do it again i'd have just eaten maintenance for the first month while you get form down and for noob gains then bumped up to about 2500/2600 a day.

the reason you bulk/cut is that it's a faster way of gaining muscle than doing maintenance, you still gain muscle/strength not bulking and cutting but not as much.

3. whey bean energy (look it up on amazon). used to make shakes among other things.

[rjbman]

[bobo77]

I'm fat and I wanna get into running. What's the default running shoe? LIke something I can pick up at FinishLine or Foot Locker this weekend. Also how do you carry water while running?

[UnwashedMolasses]

Unfortunately there's really not a default running shoe. There's all different kinds based on if you want minimal support, some support, or heavy support, and very dependent on your stride, especially which part of your foot you strike the ground with. Ideally you'd go to a running store where they could take a look and get you fitted but in the event that that's not possible or inconvenient, the best you can do is go for a light run, pay attention to where your foot hits, do some research, and make your best guess. If you're carrying extra weight I'd hesitate to go the minimal route (things like Nike Frees, New Balance Minimus, Adidas Adipure, etc.).

As far as water, the only things I've seen people do is wear a Camelbak (rare outside the military) or just carry a water bottle. Most that I've seen don't carry water.

[jrisk]

I've ran with a bottle of water in my hand before but you should be fine without having water. I wouldn't bother if it's anything shorter than 4 miles. can't really give advice on shoes, I wear an older nike lunarlite model.

Are you planning on doing a program like couch to 5k?

[bobo77]

[RomanEmpire]

How should I warm up? Gonna start doing greyskull LP, usually just jog for 5-10 minutes on the treadmill and stretch. Should I skip jogging?

[IsaiahSchafer]

Any other runners? I ran track until 15. Had a 5:30 mile which I haven't repeated in the last seven years... Hoping to get back to that within a couple months.

[Stingray Sam]

does anyone do body weight exercise stuff? I'm most interested in that, i'm thinking about getting some ropes for rope climbs and doing handstand stuff. I also want to get a pull up bar that is extended from the wall. Does anyone have any exercises they would recommend

[brlmski]

[teck]

- OLD "WISE" MAN RANT INCOMING.

im in my thirties (jesus) and i've done tons of different kinds of exercise. i used to be a swimmer and was a decent enough endurance guy. here's the big secret to making the most out of exercise: you need to have progress.

maybe that doesn't sound like a big deal but we've all been to the gym and been this guy, or seen this guy: the dude who just goes in and does "a little of everything". 10 minutes of jogging. then flys. then pullups. then does some leg extensions. then the precor. he's all over the place. this is no way to exercise, and its the reason why people get bored and never see progress. the random crap you see (especially in women's magazines) that are just a bunch of random exercises meant to "target" a body part is total crap.

if you want to get the most out of exercise, you need to have progress. this is why playing a sport helps -- you can see, during a game, if you're getting better. if you get better, guess what? you start to enjoy exercise, and you have a frame of reference for improving.

i became a much much better swimmer after looking up a bunch of master's workouts. it wasn't the workouts themselves (altho they helped) but it was the idea that not everyday was just "swim as fast as you can". some days you focus on speed, other days you work on technique. some days are for distance. you start to build up all these different things, and you can see your overall performance improve. this is the same with running, or lifting. i had a friend who, everyday, ran 3 miles. she hated it. who could blame her? that kind of running is so boring, and she never got better at running. on a running program, some days you run shorter, but faster. some days are your base days and you run very far but very slowly. other days you sprint and stretch only. in the end, you are improving as a runner, and in a way that makes sense for your body and mind.

its why i always recommend SS or something like that. its not the exercises (altho compound lifts are the shit) but its the philosophy of having a program, and seeing progress over the course of weeks, months, and years. you start to understand that some days are for intensity, some days are easy, some days are for building foundation. SS is great because there's progression - you do the program, you get better. THIS IS HOW IT SHOULD BE WITH ALL EXERCISE. Run, swim, gymnastics, karate, lift, whatever, you always need to see the long game, and build a plan that goes from there.

/endline

[RomanEmpire]

I have a couple questions to ask

1. How long should I wait in between sets?

2. What are some foods with high calories that I can eat other than peanut butter?

3. Bent over rows or yates row?

4. bean energy shake every day, or just on the day that I workout?

5. Thinking about running on rest days, would that be ok?

[UnwashedMolasses]

1. Typically 1 - 2 minutes depending on exercise

2. Nuts, beans

3. All preference

4. Depends on your macros, I do every day

5. Definitely yes

[jrisk]

You'll burn more calories with cardio so make sure you keep up with calorie intake on rest/running days.

[SteevMike]

my back is back1!11

everyone plz remember to keep your elbows down during squats

[sparkyoriental]

I played sports all throughout school so I was fairly fit until 17 when I started college and sort of stopped physical activity. I find that going somewhere (e.g. gym) helps me get motivated to work out. I've been rock climbing and doing yoga, wanting to get back into running a couple times a week. The yoga studio I go to has a 6 am class that I've been trying to get to every day so I can ~start my day off right~.

Any climbers here?

[UnwashedMolasses]

Yeaaaahhhhhh, rock climbing is wonderful. Have you got shoes/know anything about them? That's the biggest thing holding me back - I can do walls with regular shoes no problem but those need a second person. We've got a bouldering wall at my school which is tops but without shoes there's a pretty big limit to what I can do.

[RycePooding]

gotta get shoes! What size are your feet?

[UnwashedMolasses]

Size 10. I did some snooping but it seemed like most are very specific on fit and I've not had a chance to actually try any on. Still worried about ordering online. Have you had any experience?

[RycePooding]

Yeah. some are more agressive or techical or whatever but for your first pair id just get something that fits well. hardcore guys will size down 1.5-2.5 but I like to be a little comfier then that. I have a pair I've never worn that might fit you, I'll check the size and send 'them to you to try if you'd like.

[UnwashedMolasses]

That's crazy generous man, I appreciate it!