Strength and Cardio Training

[lsDxMdmaddicThc]

Does anyone here do regular Strength training or Cardio training?
I've been exercising pretty religiously for over a year.
I turned a drug addiction into an addiction to exercise and the natural endorphins released.
I'm trying to gain lean muscle, strength, and endurance.
Also, I want to just get in better shape physically and mentally.
I love feeling like my body and mind are in perfect harmony and I can achieve that through exercise.

 

[ewok]

I love lifting weights, not for muscle or to look better or any of that. I just love the feeling of knowing I've pushed my body to its limit. Between Bjj and weights with some cardio I workout 6 days a week 3-4 days will be 2x training sessions 1 before work one after.

 

[endlessness]

I do BJJ 3x a week for 2h each (intense) session. That's my main exercise, and it's so much fun! I feel really weird if I miss any session.

I def see how useful doing some kettlebell training would be for functional whole-body strenght training, maybe next year I'll invest in a couple of those. Lifting weights though, I find that soooo boring.

 

[proto-pax]

I love deadlifts. I actually ripped the soles off an old pair of shoes. My gym requires them which is idiotic, but oh well.

 

[3rdI]

i like to do gymnastic training, its basically lots of body weight stuff, handstands, front levers, planches, l-sits ect, using leverage to increase the loads. I like this over lifting weights as its more functional and is more applicable to real world situations, i do how ever want to get into kettle bells next year.

i have also started to do yoga twice a day as it goes well with meditation and i have a desire to be bendy, my aim is to get my chest on my knees by the end of next year.

 

[○]

Best thing you'll ever do for functional strength/endurance - kettlbebells and polypropylene ship yard rope.

Been doing this for some time off and on. Just started doing a regimen off n' on, 4 days week, in lieu of my work schedule. One of the most efficient anaerobic/aerobic exercises with max heart putput. Just 4 sets of 30-60 seconds, with a minute rest between each set; you will be shaking your fist at the sky It's very brutal when starting out, lots of sweat, lots of pain, but the benefits after your body recovers and when you start up your regimen next time - you'll be ready to go. Very very powerful. Imho, doing this for months on end, you'll develop outstanding cardio, excellent muscular endurance, and great functional strength.

A Beginner's Guide to Battle Ropes - Onnit Academy

^^ Heres an excellent site that explains much for beginners. It's what I had read religiously before i started.

I've also recently went consistent with kettlebells. I do 5 one-minute sets, first with a lighter weight like 30-35lb, then last set with a 45-50lb (higher weight geared towards muscle growth; ie: why i switch to a heavier weight last set/ slow twitch fibers) You can use just one KB and work each side, or use two and do each exercise while using both. I do double handed cleans and single leg/hip swings, double leg/hip swings.

Recommend to start with a lighter weight, like 15-20lbs. I know it might not seem like swinging around a 15lb kettlebell is that brutal, but trust me - looks are deceiving, and after your first set you'll be sweating profusely, whole body essentially aching =).

The thing with kettlbells is that they encompass a full range of motion; most exercises with them being based from a 'swinging' motion, starting from your legs, generating power/strength/endurance up through the hips, eventually exiting through the motions of your back/shoulders/arms/etc (sometimes a little chest). This is as functional as functional strength can get, ime. Also, kettlbebells/battle ropes are very safe for joints/etc, as they don't specifically isolate joints with prolonged strain like doing a barbell curl would or some other isolated/semi isolated movement. Plus, ropes/kb's are just much more fun/beneficial than lifting some barbells/dumbbells =)

You'll start to notice after the first couple times of doing both (or even just one of the 2 exercises) that everything in life becomes noticeably easier - everything from lifting a piece of food to walking, to breathing; any possible motion/function you do in your daily life. Your life becomes drastically easier - physically speaking.

And obviously, doing this as a set regimen will add years to your life; also drastically improving your mental well-being over time. Very powerful tools imo.

Any questions, feel free to ask. This stuff is my specialty

 

[inaniel]

I love working out, have done so on and off since I was thirteen. Seems as though finding time and money to join a gym are much more difficult to come across now that I have a young family. I also had a knee injury that took about six months to heal recently, blast! But yeah, love yoga, bodyweight exercises, weight lifting (especially the dead lift), and kettles. Theyre all good.



These ropes are highly intriguing. Are they expensive? I've always wanted to learn bjj, but feel more nervous about it as the years go by. Would a thirty year old beginner be welcomed into a bjj gym? Or does it usually require some sort of background in martial arts? I want to learn chi gong as well but there's only one teacher as far as I know of in my area.

 

[Xagan]

I totally know what you mean about the positive effects of exercise. I haven't been exercising as much as I should be of late, but I'm going to try and get back into it. My main form of exercise is ballet, but I had a stint of weight training a few years ago which I found really invigorating and enjoyable. I also joined a middle distance running club, which is obviously a different type of fitness, but I still found it really enjoyable. Nowadays, I do a ballet class once a week, and I need to start doing a couple of runs a week again and maybe a bit of body weight training too.

Exercising definitely complements many other aspects of life, I find that it helps with stress and it helps my sleep regime as well.

 

[RAM]

Exercise is awesome, and the endorphins released during and afterward feel great. Looking better is nice too. In our post-industrial knowledge based society, it can be difficult for a lot of people to get the exercise their ape bodies really need to thrive.

I find gyms to be really weird, honestly. All those sweaty apes working to make their bodies look better and more sexually appealing all while watching commercials that encourage that...

I prefer working out in my room. I do a lot of pull ups and lift a lot of free weights. I also do Crossfit type workouts with close friends of mine, which is a ton of fun. All of this keeps me perfectly in shape, and it definitely helps stimulate my emotional-territorial circuit.

 

[endlessness]

I've always wanted to learn bjj, but feel more nervous about it as the years go by. Would a thirty year old beginner be welcomed into a bjj gym? Or does it usually require some sort of background in martial arts? I want to learn chi gong as well but there's only one teacher as far as I know of in my area.

Definitely go for it! In my school there are some people over 30 years old, and even if they werent it would be totally OK. The chef Anthony Bourdain has just started BJJ at 59 years old or something similar, and I know of many other people like him. Personally I started in my late twenties.

It should require no previous martial arts training. Expect to be totally beaten the first month or two, but it's just so much fun It really changed my life for better.

I think the most important is the atmosphere at your school so if there are many schools in your area maybe try to go one day to at least a couple of them and see in which one you feel better.

 

[soulfood]

I started going to the gym in march about 4 times a week. Love it. I've started college so I'm not going as much as I'd like since september, just twice a week now.

My workouts are mainly built of large compound lifts; Dead lifts, military press, squats, benches, bent over rows... oh! I do love cables though

I think at some point in the future I'd like to do some classes and turn the activity into more of a social one. I think it's a good thing to have friends who are into fitness. Way better than meeting people at a bar in terms of influence.

 

[Hyperdimensional Cuttlefish]

I exercise pretty regularly: 1 or 2 HIIT sessions per week, general steady state cardio in zone 2 three or four times a week, and heavy mace workouts 2-3 times per week.

Helps keep the fat off, and gives the body something to do. I wish there was a BJJ gym near me so I could get back into it, but not in my locale.

 

[lsDxMdmaddicThc]

Glad to see theres so many Nexians exercising!

I am starting a daily routine of 50 pushups and pullups in rapid succession after a 3-mile high intensity uphill woodland run.

I also do freeweights and resistance bands.
Benchpress is my favorite!!!
I do dumbell and barbell curls very strict, sometimes with added resistance bands.
Hot/Cold showers in the morning along with half scoop of Creatine/Recovery blend in a cup of water to wash down vitamins and fish oil.

I am trying to gain mass, strengh, and endurance.
I take 1-scoop Whey Protein along with 3 spoonfuls of oats after my workouts and before bed I add half scoop of L-Glutamine.

I'm 6'1 and I weigh about 165 lbs lean muscle.

I feel AMAZING during and after my exercises.
It really puts my hormones and neurotransmitters into harmony.
I'm literally addicted to running, too.
:thumb_up:

 

[Varni]

Currently strength training, just transitioned from Bill Starr's 5x5 to 5/3/1 for more volume and and slightly slower progression since I've stalled on a few lifts. I'll probably go back the 5x5 after 6 months or so, depending on how I'm progressing. I really need to get my diet back on point, I've been pretty lax with it lately.

 

[anrchy]

Just starting a reg schedule of kettlebells and click select dumbells. We moved the weight bench to the middle of the dining room so you cant walk through the house without passing by it. I also snowboard which is an awesome full body workout.

Hempforce shake by onnit and a creatine alkaline pill pre and post workout. Kettlebells are the shiznit.

 

[Ufostrahlen]

I find gyms to be really weird, honestly. All those sweaty apes working to make their bodies look better and more sexually appealing all while watching commercials that encourage that...

Really? I was actually super-fit the 4 years I was working out at the gym. No backpain at all and they had the necessary tools for all muscle groups - an assortment you normally don't have at your home. Granted, the grunting apes were awkward and spinning/running in a closed room is kinda dumb.

Currently I work out with a pair of dumbbells, bike in the summer and go for long walks (and occasionally short runs) with my Nike Frees.

Oh and for the supplements: creatine, yay! It elevates the metabolic burden from your amino acid pool. Not sure if you need the fancy editions, I buy the regular mono-hydrate which is extensively researched and deemed well-working. I bought 650g for 10€ from my supermarket, which is 6 cent per 4g serving - I guess everyone can afford that.

Zink, magnesium and Vitamin B (also known as ZMA) are useful, too. When bought separately and in active forms (zink methionine or glucuonate, magnesium gluconate or citrate, etc.) I found affordable offers.

 

[SpartanII]

Random question for y'all muscle men (or women) So I've heard mixed opinions on whether to do cardio before or after lifting weights so I'm a little confused. What's a more effective routine? (in general- not necessarily bulking or cutting)

 

[ewok]

Random question for y'all muscle men (or women) So I've heard mixed opinions on whether to do cardio before or after lifting weights so I'm a little confused. What's a more effective routine? (in general- not necessarily bulking or cutting)

If you want to get stronger/grow would recommend cardio after weights. This way can put full energy into lifting. When people do cardio first I find they lack energy to lift with full intensity which is needed to get stronger/bigger.

 

[lsDxMdmaddicThc]

Random question for y'all muscle men (or women) So I've heard mixed opinions on whether to do cardio before or after lifting weights so I'm a little confused. What's a more effective routine? (in general- not necessarily bulking or cutting)

If you want to get stronger/grow would recommend cardio after weights. This way can put full energy into lifting. When people do cardio first I find they lack energy to lift with full intensity which is needed to get stronger/bigger.

I agree with this but only if you don't pace yourself.

I would try dividing your cardio in half.
Do some light cardio before to warm yourself up and get the blood flowing.
Then pump some iron.
Then finish off with more intense cardio while drinking a protein shake.

 

[universecannon]

I used to love the pull up bar built into the doorway of an old apartment I lived at. It was fun to swing around upside down while tripping too...felt good to get in touch with my inner monkey

I take my dog biking on trails a lot in the summer, and hikes in the winter. She loves to run around the trails, fields, and woods like a maniac. She completely freaks out in excitement when I ask her if she wants to go running. I love to smoke changa in the woods then run around after with her. Few things revitalize me as much as running in the woods on tryptamines in the summer.

Other than that just pushups/sit ups, and poi if you count that. I used to lift weights but it feels pretty rough on my body and gets boring, so I don't do it much.