Hitting the gym. Probably....

[Mr Mystery]

So, on Friday, I passed probation at work. Which means I can now make longer term plans.

And one of these is to take advantage of the free office gym, as it would be rude not to.

Only issue is, I'm not so much out of shape, as I've never actually been in shape.

Never been much of a runner or jogger. Never a really done weights, though the odd physical job and luck of genetics mean I'm fairly muscly for someone who has never worked for it.

So where do I start? Cycling is an old favourite from my youth, but following a second bicycle theft, I've not done it for around 10 years.

Should I work on cardiovascular first? Or is it better to take a rounded approach? As I do LARP, it would be nice to be able to run around 500 metres without my organs asploding (yep that's a challenge!)

Do I need to change my diet? I tend to have muesli for brekkie, and I now bake multigrain bread instead of white, but I do love my chips and pizza ( again all home made, because I'm a food ponce!)

And what sort of kit do I need? I'm comfy in jogging bottoms and a t-shirt, but footwear? Do those poncey trainers make a single jot of difference to someone who isn't a professional athlete, or are they advisable to avoid buggering my joints when on the treadmill?

Help my Obi BoLs Kenobi, you're my only hope!

[Wolfshade]

Round is a shape! (A perfect one by all accounts!)

If you want to drop fat, then cardio is best. Doing that will improve stamina, help drop fat and move things along. If you want strength then weights are the way to go, but unless you drop fat then muscle definition will elude you.

I would say one of the best things to do is try and make it into your daily routine. I cycle to and from work and that is great that is a thirty minute ride twice a day and that helps, in the summer that can get pushed out much further.

If you train/tube/bus then perhaps getting off the stop early and walking the extra difference.

The other good thing is if you enjoy a physical sport and take part in that, that way you exercise while playing which is always good.

The amount of food isn't an issue as long as you burn it off, I often snack on biscuits and cakes but because of my physical activity I don't put any weight on. If you do snack try cutting them out or just dropping them completely.

[Mr Mystery]

Walking I'm okay on, as I walk down to the station and back five days a week (around 15 minutes each way, give or take). Doesn't leave me out of breath. Recent long walk was from London Bridge to Canary Wharf. Constant stride for a couple of hours, and no getting out of breath, even though I'm a smoker.

Just want to be able to run for more than 30 seconds, and get trim. I'm not exactly obese, or even that fat, but I do have a belly on me I wouldn't mind ditching!

[Wolfshade]

Cut the smokes cut the beer. Do something to get you out of breath for 30 mins at least 3x a week (I sound like a series of NHS campaigns...).

The problem/issue that is common with people who do want to run is that they run too fast and so are knackered after 50m. Maybe some fartlek training (See I knew there was a reason to do GCSE in PE!)

[Mr Mystery]

Huh huh huh huh! You said fart! Huh huh huh huh!

What the hell is that when it's at home?

[Wolfshade]

The wrrying thing is I did smirk when I typed it.

It is a combination of interval and continious trainging so you do both aerobic and anaerobic work outs.

The essence is that you have a steady jog pace (or even walk) then you sprint/or run/jog faster for shorter periods, basically the more intense the speed is the shorter the period.

[Mr Mystery]

Sounds like Scout pace. Walk 20, jog 20. Quite efficient as you cover more ground than walking, without shagging yourself out.

[Wolfshade]

Yes, or a rifleman units quick march.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fartlek#Fartlek_sessions

[ElectricPaladin]

My best advice: get a personal trainer, at least for a few sessions. It's really hard to get this right without some professional help at the beginning. There are trainers who can meet you at your work gym, or give you a few sessions at a commercial gym near your home. It's really great to get started with someone who really knows what's what, then move on to working independently.

[White Tiger88]

Huh huh huh huh! You said fart! Huh huh huh huh!

What the hell is that when it's at home?

Ahaahah Hit the gym as a 40k player? ya right you will be with the rest of us at the Bar....

[Build]

I'd say leave the cardio out, that's something you can do anywhere and through far more effective means that the usual, running, rowing, cycling etc.

I'd say weights are much better, stick with your compound movements and as you get used to it, throw in loads of high volume training, it eats body fat like nobodies business. Also make sure you do squats and deadlifts, though getting a PT or power lifter to help make sure your form is spot on is a must. Also look at your diet, doesn't matter what your training is like, if you eat too much of the wrong things, you're going to struggle.

You don't need to worry about your heart though, the only cardio I do tends to come from bouldering and climbing (and when I'm leaning down for a comp it comes from sledging, tyre flipping and tyre hammering) my RHR on average is about 48 BPM and my blood pressure is low (I think it's around 110/70 last time it was measured, though it's often lower).

[Deadlift]

What kind of weight equipment do they have, I'm guessing mostly machines and a dumbbell set ?

If I were you, that's what I would be looking at, a nice full body workout of about 45 mins. Nothing mental but somewhere to begin, warm up on a rower for 5 mins then cool down on a bike for 5 at the end.

Feel free to PM me if you want to quick workout put together ;)

As for stuff, all you need is some comfy clothes, joggers, t-shirts etc. expensive trainers are not required, in fact I think most look a bit daft. Just any old trainers will do. I wear my converse boots.

Trick is to ease yourself into exercise, don't go mad because you will do too much and either hurt yourself and give up or find what you think you should be doing is too hard and give up.

[Denzark]

My recommendation is to improve cardio vascualr fitness first - that will increase your ability to do weights based and other exercise. Once you can do those effectively, putting some muscle on through wieghts, will help your metabolsim.

My top recommendation for cardio, is the couch to 5K programme by Robert Ullreys. Googling him, or possibly C25K- will bring up a set of 9 podcasts that talk you exactly through a 30 minute run, building you from nothing (run for a minute, rest for 4) up to 5K on week 9. It is varied, interesting, and the backing tracks are good.

Once your basic fitness is in shape you can then have athink about chucking metal around.

[Mr Mystery]

Also make sure you do deadlift,

No sure what he or his missus would have to say about that!

Interesting that any old trainers will do though. With feet my size (UK 13) that helps, as I tend to be restricted to what is actually available (saves time to ask to see all they have in my size).

[Wolfshade]

"Interestingly" a lot of these expensive training shoes aren't terribly good for your knees as they encourage you to land on your heel so the shock is absorbed by the knee, if you instead land on your ball then the arch absorbs this.

[Mr Mystery]

Cool. Cheers dude :)

Cheapo pair it is. Would rather repeatedly spend £20 on trainers and knacker them out, than mega bucks, then knacker those out.

[Wolfshade]

Cycling is way better anyway as it is less impactive on your knees. Not that I am biased you see.

[Denzark]

"Interestingly" a lot of these expensive training shoes aren't terribly good for your knees as they encourage you to land on your heel so the shock is absorbed by the knee, if you instead land on your ball then the arch absorbs this.

The debate of heel versus ball strike is still out there, I have encountered several runners who ahve been taken offline by those shoes which a basically a layer of rubber - you know the real feet things. Basically nikes and other fashion stuff will not be as good (for running) as some sort of Asics. Depends on your mileage but Dunlop Green flash ain't going to cut the mustard. You do pay for what you get if you buy a decent technical brand, and not a fashion item.

[Deadlift]

"Interestingly" a lot of these expensive training shoes aren't terribly good for your knees as they encourage you to land on your heel so the shock is absorbed by the knee, if you instead land on your ball then the arch absorbs this.

Nope your right, they aren't great really. Especially when it comes to barbell exercises. Because of the usually cushioned nature of some expensive trainers they tend to compress down when you do exercises like squats and dead lifts. Can result in loss of balance and injury. "Big" weight shoes usually have wooden heals which look funny but are good. I personally either go in socks or converse boots.

For running I wear NB shoes (New Balance), mine have lasted ages, but that's because I don't run, more a kind of lumbering trot.

If you have access to a barbell, a rack and a bench then this routine is ideal for starting out

Warm up 5 minutes on bike and cool down on rowing machine for 10.

Workout A
3x5 Squat
3x5 Bench Press
1x5 Deadlift

Workout B
3x5 Squat
3x5 Press
5x3 Power cleans

Workouts A and B alternate on 3 non-consecutive days per week.