I werk oouut

[Alpha]

My three-year contract with the gym is about to expire, and I don't have the results to justify the expense. The main reason being, I found it too hard to get to the gym, due to time constraints and how far away it was. That's a little bit of excuse-making but DWI.

So I've been looking at workouts without weights, although I don't have any reputable websites to tell if what I'm learning about is actually beneficial. I imagine chin ups and press ups can't be bad things, though. Any tips for this?

[Niall_farley]

My three-year contract with the gym is about to expire, and I don't have the results to justify the expense. The main reason being, I found it too hard to get to the gym, due to time constraints and how far away it was. That's a little bit of excuse-making but DWI.

So I've been looking at workouts without weights, although I don't have any reputable websites to tell if what I'm learning about is actually beneficial. I imagine chin ups and press ups can't be bad things, though. Any tips for this?

Press ups and chin ups can all be done at home. A simple pull up bar for your door frame cost nothing and is easy to put up and can be took down when not in use....

Although for gains this really isn't enough for anything substantial really

[Alpha]

Although for gains this really isn't enough for anything substantial really

But at the same time, I'd be about 5x more likely to actually do it at home than to go to the effort of going to the gym, so it could be. Plus it doesn't cost me NZ$27 a week.

[Niall_farley]

But at the same time, I'd be about 5x more likely to actually do it at home than to go to the effort of going to the gym, so it could be. Plus it doesn't cost me NZ$27 a week.

Your right it is alot better than nothing! But gains won't be as good or as quick as gym. Plus expect little size gains more tone than anything

[OceanEyes28]

Pushups, burpees, bodyweight squats and lunges, wall-sits (or whatever you wanna call 'em haha), jump squats (squat, jump up, knees high, and slap your knees with your hands, come down as softly and controlled as you can), jump lunges (lunge and then switch feet by jumping and landing in a lunge on the other side), tricep dips, ski jumps (feet together, jump side to side with knees bent, arms back like you're skiing), plank, mountain climber plank (in plank position, move your right knee to your right elbow and then do the same for the left side)....

I'll try to think of more later, but those are some body weight exercises I take advantage of. And then running/sprints/hill sprints. I'd say try to get enough work done that your muscles are tired and your heart rate is high enough that you can still speak, but you can't complete a sentence without catching your breath. I'm not a physical trainer, though, so grain of salt.

I understand not getting to the gym when it's far away. The more convenient the location, the better. I work at a gym, so I have the option of clocking out, changing clothes, and getting right to it. So convenient. But if you find something you love, you will drive or walk or whatever to get to it. I have a Tuesday hot yoga class that's a 20 minute drive from my place, but I love the class so much that I keep going. By the way, I think everyone should try yoga. It makes me a better person and it has made me stronger and more centered with my running.

As for meeeeee

I've started Boot Camp this week! A couple friends wanted to try it and get into better shape and I figured it sounded fun and wanted to change things up a bit. Today was our running day and I felt like a mother****ing CHAMP. Not that it was easy... but it felt good to be challenged. My friends were hating it, but I kept encouraging them and smiled the whole way. There was one dude who has done the course already and I kept up with him for hill sprints and jogging around town. And my quick recoveries from sprinting was something I'm proud of. It felt so good to see the results of my hard work. One friend kept dogging me for being in shape, like it was something I lucked into or was born with. I was like "NAH GIRL I WORKED MY ASS OFF STOP HATING." Because seriously, I worked so hard haha.

He had us write down our measurements so we'd have something to compare to when we finished. There was a bunch of stuff, but what I remember off hand was
Waist: 25"
Hips: 35"
Thigh: 20.5"

That's all I recall. I'm excited to tone up my legs and get faster. And to flatten out my stomach more. I'm sure I'll post all of them when I finish my 5 weeks.

[Niall_farley]

Pushups, burpees, bodyweight squats and lunges, wall-sits (or whatever you wanna call 'em haha), jump squats (squat, jump up, knees high, and slap your knees with your hands, come down as softly and controlled as you can), jump lunges (lunge and then switch feet by jumping and landing in a lunge on the other side), tricep dips, ski jumps (feet together, jump side to side with knees bent, arms back like you're skiing), plank, mountain climber plank (in plank position, move your right knee to your right elbow and then do the same for the left side)....

I'll try to think of more later, but those are some body weight exercises I take advantage of. And then running/sprints/hill sprints. I'd say try to get enough work done that your muscles are tired and your heart rate is high enough that you can still speak, but you can't complete a sentence without catching your breath. I'm not a physical trainer, though, so grain of salt.

I understand not getting to the gym when it's far away. The more convenient the location, the better. I work at a gym, so I have the option of clocking out, changing clothes, and getting right to it. So convenient. But if you find something you love, you will drive or walk or whatever to get to it. I have a Tuesday hot yoga class that's a 20 minute drive from my place, but I love the class so much that I keep going. By the way, I think everyone should try yoga. It makes me a better person and it has made me stronger and more centered with my running.

As for meeeeee

I've started Boot Camp this week! A couple friends wanted to try it and get into better shape and I figured it sounded fun and wanted to change things up a bit. Today was our running day and I felt like a mother****ing CHAMP. Not that it was easy... but it felt good to be challenged. My friends were hating it, but I kept encouraging them and smiled the whole way. There was one dude who has done the course already and I kept up with him for hill sprints and jogging around town. And my quick recoveries from sprinting was something I'm proud of. It felt so good to see the results of my hard work. One friend kept dogging me for being in shape, like it was something I lucked into or was born with. I was like "NAH GIRL I WORKED MY ASS OFF STOP HATING." Because seriously, I worked so hard haha.

He had us write down our measurements so we'd have something to compare to when we finished. There was a bunch of stuff, but what I remember off hand was
Waist: 25"
Hips: 35"
Thigh: 20.5"

That's all I recall. I'm excited to tone up my legs and get faster. And to flatten out my stomach more. I'm sure I'll post all of them when I finish my 5 weeks.

Hell..... That's alot of at home work outs well done one that one! Some pretty awesome stuff to be doing there to keep fit!!!

As for the boot camp. Awesome job on getting in such good shape! It's awesome when you do something that makes you realise all the hard work is paying of! Well done on that! And ignore the haters they are just jealous as fook! Similar thing when people ask if I'm on steroids.... I hate that cos Iv worked hard to get to where I am and people assume Iv cheated.... Meh never mind!

Keep it up ocean eyes! Sounds like your doing pretty great!

[Djinn]

Pushups, burpees, bodyweight squats and lunges, wall-sits (or whatever you wanna call 'em haha), jump squats (squat, jump up, knees high, and slap your knees with your hands, come down as softly and controlled as you can), jump lunges (lunge and then switch feet by jumping and landing in a lunge on the other side), tricep dips, ski jumps (feet together, jump side to side with knees bent, arms back like you're skiing), plank, mountain climber plank (in plank position, move your right knee to your right elbow and then do the same for the left side)....

I'll try to think of more later, but those are some body weight exercises I take advantage of. And then running/sprints/hill sprints. I'd say try to get enough work done that your muscles are tired and your heart rate is high enough that you can still speak, but you can't complete a sentence without catching your breath. I'm not a physical trainer, though, so grain of salt.

Glute bridges, hyper-extended push up, wall walkouts (handstand against a wall and then walk out until you're parrallel with the floor, extremely good for your core). Also there's so many variations of push ups, sit ups and pull ups/chin ups that you shouldn't get bored doing bodyweight exercises haha. Although from what I've read you'll plateau quite quickly with them, all it takes is a cheap set of dumbells though and you'll open up a ton more of exercises Wide grip pull ups are amazing, I never used to be able to do them until we got a bar in the house, now I'm doing full pyramid sets in the gym as a warm up haha.

I was meant to post in this ages ago, but I just kept putting it off haha. I put the Pro in procrastination! I've had a pretty solid training routine for the past 6 months, finished losing weight about a month and a half ago. I was at my lowest that I can ever remember, 65kg/143lbs, the best thing about it was it never even felt like I was trying half the time. I was eating pizza's, bacon, burgers, pretty much everything you'd want to eat to put weight on, I was just smart about it haha. Lost a total of around 20kg/45lbs, so not too bad but took me ages to lose all the fat off my belly, was literally the last thing, so annoying! Gotta love home-made fat free stuff! Started doing proper strength training when I hit the 65kg mark just to bulk up a bit, so far I think I'm at around 70kg but I don't really know what I want to go up to yet. I do too many exercises to list, but I find isolating muscles helps build them a bit faster. I never used to suggest this because I preferred doing full body workouts as it improves blood circulation a bit more, but I realised it wasn't really doing me any favours as it was knackering my whole body and made it harder to train 2 days in a row haha. At the moment I'm doing 4 strength training sessions a week (legs, chest, shoulders+back and arms), with an ab/core session added on to 2 of those, and then 3 days of football (2 training, 1 match). That normally leaves me with a day or two off if I can go to the gym on days I'm at football training, although I work shifts so I can't always do that . In terms of diet the best thing I can suggest is calorie counting, its so easy now with apps like MyFitnessPal, you just scan a barcode and its done, helped me out loads with planning meals although I did get ripped for it but now I'm cut and they're still fat so who's laughing now? Haha XD

It's good being in shape again, I'd recommend it to anyone haha.

There was one thing I noticed someone post, talking about not eating after a certain time. It depends entirely on the individual. For example if you're waking up late the next day, say 10am (super lie in!) and someone told you not to eat after 8pm then thats 14 hours your body has gone without food... that is never good regardless of how much fat you think you've got to burn. Also if you train late then you need food, which is often the case with me as I finish work at 7:30pm, home by 8pm then straight to the gym and eat when I get back. As long as you're not eating complete crap after 8 or 9 ish then its all good!

And my quick recoveries from sprinting was something I'm proud of. It felt so good to see the results of my hard work. One friend kept dogging me for being in shape, like it was something I lucked into or was born with. I was like "NAH GIRL I WORKED MY ASS OFF STOP HATING." Because seriously, I worked so hard haha.

This also annoys me greatly! People think that because you're good at something you were born with that natural ability! It's awesome, forget about the dedication, commitment and hardwork, nahhh you've done none of that you were clearly born a runner! Rant over Good to hear people are doing well with fitness and stuff! Keep it up!

[OceanEyes28]

WHAT IS UP!?

Bringin this back to report some progress.

So I kept at it with boot camp, and I'm on week I-don't-even-know. Six months. Oh my god. I am getting into spectacular shape, and only plan to get better. I'm also getting certified as a trainer, and in a month or so will be TEACHING some classes. My instructor offered me work, a friend is referring me to a gym, I'm just really excited to get started. And my plan is, once I have some dough saved up, get my Yoga Alliance certification (fiance just finished his, and I'm very proud). Get the wedding out of the way. And then within a few years, go back to school for nutrition. I already love nutrition, and it would be great to be a professional at it.

So that boot camp class I started six months ago literally changed my life. I still love music and want to do my best at it, but this has given me a chance to do something else for money aside from waiting tables.

Also! I ran a 5k this weekend. I ran this same 5k on Memorial Day weekend last year, and my time was somewhere around 36 minutes. It was my very first 5k. This year, my time was 26:39. I'm really proud of my progress. One of my New Year resolutions was to get my 5k time under 25 minutes. I'm well on my way! Eventually, I want to be closer to 20 minutes, but one step at a time.

How's everyone else coming along?

[Rowan]

Thats really good to hear. Positive attitudes give far greater results and I'm focusing on changing my attitude also to benefit my progress. A lot of our success is determined by our behaviours in and out of the gym. How hard we push, how far we go and how we commit is all psychological and paramount to progress. I'm also close to finishing my certification and will be teaching classes also. I only plan to do this for a short time though because my real passion is one on one PT with helping people achieve personal goals. This is really only possible to do with people face to face, you need to have that personal relationship in order to convince people you are there for them every step of the way.

As far as my current goals are concerned, things are going steady. Ive seen physical results (stretch marks come with muscle gain, unfortunately) and ive seen step ups in what I've been lifting for each muscle group, which is most important to me. I am far from where I want to be, but that just gives me more motivation and reason to be in the gym. I am unofficially training a few people giving them advice and routines free of charge (gym might not like me doing that if I was charging PT without their consent) and I'm enjoying seeing their results and that gives me more confidence in myself and my abilities as a trainer. Since I started at the gym about 4 months ago, I've met some really nice people. Gym's can seem intimidating when you first start there, mostly because you might feel as if everyone knows exactly what they are doing (which you come to learn is not the case) and you feel like you know nothing. But my experience at my humble gym has been nothing but pleasant.

Since I started 4 months ago, my weight has increased from 79kg to 83kg. To most people this would be concerning to see on a pair of scales. Which is why its important you learn about fat to muscle ratio and learn how to measure yourself with a tape measure. I have lost 2 inches around my waist and thats pretty much an indication that the extra weight is from muscle, not fat. I only bother measuring my waist since fat loss is systematic, and could never be targeted anywhere on the body.

anyway, much more progress to be had, much more things to be lifted. Peace.

[loaf]

I run around at work sometimes.

and just standing around in the garage at work or even outside I sweat so I'm just sweating it all away rite?

[noxious.sunshine]

Due to some physical restraints, I am unable to work out for about another week or 2.

I may give Insanity another go once I'm able to work out again.

Jay runs around at work. ;p lol ... In the mornings when he has to do PT.

[Niall_farley]

Nice to see you guys are carrying on with all this it's been a year since I posted my pics (strange I ain't logged on in a long time and it was 366 days ago I posted pics.... Well my progress has been more than I thought looking at those pics. It seems I have actually impressed myself! Haha cool

Keep it up guys glad to hear you are all still making gains and losses and getting to your goals

Ocean eyes.... Did you manage your 25 min 5k?