The get fit, stay fit thread

[ICTChris]

2 hours ago, Xander Green said:

Wouldn't doing more reps be more effective for losing weight?

As always I’d have to defer to people who know more than me, of whom there are many in this thread and elsewhere but IMO 

It depends. Lifting heavier weights will build more muscle which will help with body composition and losing fat, if not necessarily weight. It will also burn more calories.

Really though, if you want to lose weight then high levels of light rep weight lifting probably isn’t a very effective way to do it.  You will need to get into a calorific deficit and activities like steady state cardio or HIIT will be more effective. 

[Guest bernardblack]

I’ve just shovelled the snow from the drive and path. Feels like I’ve done CrossFit 

[Erih Shtrep]

I've been step counting since the start of Jan raging from 10,000 on a poor day to 30,000 if I go two long walks.   

I was thinking about trying to set a challenge of 100,000 steps in a 24 hour period.   There's a few Youtube videos of folk trying to get to 100,000 in a 24 hour period.  

[D.A.F.C]

7 hours ago, bernardblack said:

I’ve just shovelled the snow from the drive and path. Feels like I’ve done CrossFit 

I nearly signed up for CrossFit but it seems like an expensive way to injure yourself tbh.

Lifting heavy weights after a run or losing all strength through exertion?  Nope.

[G51]

Me and the wife are looking at getting bikes, partly to get a bit fitter, partly to get us out the house more when the weather eventually turns nice.

Thing is, I'm a complete idiot and I didn't realise there were so many different kinds of bikes - road, mountain, some other fucking categories - it's mad.

Experienced bicyclists of P&B, what type of bike would you recommend for someone living near a big city and will likely use the bike for a mixture of roads and gravel paths? Any hints or tips would be greatly appreciated.

[Boostin' Kev]

A hybrid.

[Dons_1988]

9 minutes ago, G51 said:

Me and the wife are looking at getting bikes, partly to get a bit fitter, partly to get us out the house more when the weather eventually turns nice.

Thing is, I'm a complete idiot and I didn't realise there were so many different kinds of bikes - road, mountain, some other fucking categories - it's mad.

Experienced bicyclists of P&B, what type of bike would you recommend for someone living near a big city and will likely use the bike for a mixture of roads and gravel paths? Any hints or tips would be greatly appreciated.

My advice is don't cycle on the pavement when I'm out running and don't cycle like a c**t on the road when I'm driving and you'll be just fine.

Edited February 12, 2021 by Dons_1988

[G51]

4 minutes ago, Dons_1988 said:

My advice is don't cycle on the pavement when I'm out running and don't cycle like a c**t on the road when I'm driving and you'll be just fine.

You wouldn't have the guts to run me over.

[Dons_1988]

1 minute ago, G51 said:

You wouldn't have the guts to run me over.

Maybe not but I'm perfectly comfortable with clipping your handlebars and sending you into a ditch.

[G51]

3 minutes ago, Dons_1988 said:

Maybe not but I'm perfectly comfortable with clipping your handlebars and sending you into a ditch.

They still have open ditches in Aberdeen? Surely Chevron, Shell, TAQA and all the lads have sorted that by now.

[Aufc]

As always I’d have to defer to people who know more than me, of whom there are many in this thread and elsewhere but IMO 
It depends. Lifting heavier weights will build more muscle which will help with body composition and losing fat, if not necessarily weight. It will also burn more calories.
Really though, if you want to lose weight then high levels of light rep weight lifting probably isn’t a very effective way to do it.  You will need to get into a calorific deficit and activities like steady state cardio or HIIT will be more effective. 

High levels of light rep weight lifting is effective if done as part of a HIIT workout whereby you are essentially working out constantly for 30-40 minutes.

For anything other, you should use progressive overload. This can either be from more weight or more reps at same weight

*disclaimer - this is just my personal view. Could be shit*

[Shandon Par]

36 minutes ago, G51 said:

Me and the wife are looking at getting bikes, partly to get a bit fitter, partly to get us out the house more when the weather eventually turns nice.

Thing is, I'm a complete idiot and I didn't realise there were so many different kinds of bikes - road, mountain, some other fucking categories - it's mad.

Experienced bicyclists of P&B, what type of bike would you recommend for someone living near a big city and will likely use the bike for a mixture of roads and gravel paths? Any hints or tips would be greatly appreciated.

If you’re both quite sporty then a hybrid/cross but if you’re just taking steps to go from doing not much to doing something, then mountain bikes might be better. More relaxed riding positions and cope with any conditions/terrain. An experienced cyclist will feel frustrated in towns on a mountain bike as not fast enough but if you’ve nothing to compare it to it’s still a good buzz.

And I know not everyone is made of money but don’t go too cheap either as that can spoil (too heavy) your fun. A proper bike shop will likely have entry level mountain bikes for maybe £400ish?

Edited February 12, 2021 by Shandön Par

[ICTChris]

6 minutes ago, Aufc said:

 

High levels of light rep weight lifting is effective if done as part of a HIIT workout whereby you are essentially working out constantly for 30-40 minutes.

For anything other, you should use progressive overload. This can either be from more weight or more reps at same weight

*disclaimer - this is just my personal view. Could be shit*
 

 

Yeah that’s absolutely right, you can use it as part of HIIT. I don’t have any evidence for this but I’d bet that it’s not the most efficient form of HIIT though. Better do routines on a stationary bike (when I get my finger out and do it I do a Tabata variant, 2 mins warm up then four mins of 20 secs flat out, 10 secs rest) or doing hill sprints. I haven’t actually done any cardio in months but there’s a good hilly park near our new home and when this snow is gone I’m going to get back to it.

[G51]

10 minutes ago, Shandön Par said:

If you’re both quite sporty then a hybrid/cross but if you’re just taking steps to go from doing not much to doing something, then mountain bikes might be better. More relaxed riding positions and cope with any conditions/terrain. An experienced cyclist will feel frustrated in towns on a mountain bike as not fast enough but if you’ve nothing to compare it to it’s still a good buzz.

And I know not everyone is made of money but don’t go too cheap either as that can spoil (too heavy) your fun. A proper bike shop will likely have entry level mountain bikes for maybe £400ish?

Cheers mate. We're not really that sporty but we're not knackered after taking the bins out either. Mountain bike seems like it's probably the right way to go.

Out of curiousity, what kinda weight is too heavy do you think? I've seen one advertised for 200 quid, but it's 14 kilos.

[super_carson]

20 hours ago, ICTChris said:

As always I’d have to defer to people who know more than me, of whom there are many in this thread and elsewhere but IMO 

It depends. Lifting heavier weights will build more muscle which will help with body composition and losing fat, if not necessarily weight. It will also burn more calories.

Really though, if you want to lose weight then high levels of light rep weight lifting probably isn’t a very effective way to do it.  You will need to get into a calorific deficit and activities like steady state cardio or HIIT will be more effective. 

As you say  weight-loss, regardless of reps v. weight,  is just calorie deficit.  You definitely burn more by doing more reps with a heavier weight, but it's a double edged sword.  Heavy weight and high volume reps is essentially hypertrophy which would require, in order for you to not feel like a worn out mess, quite a high calorie intake.  Again, as you've said, that's more likely to have an impact on body composition rather than out and out mass so it depends on what the goal is.  

Light weights can still help burn calories, but you need to to make sure you are doing enough reps and enough intensity to get your heart rate elevated enough.  HIIT is by far the most effective way to do that, I've found.  Steady state cardio does burn calories but I've read plenty of things that say it's not really the most efficient if you want to maintain some strength and muscles - it'll just make you skinny over time.  

I've said before that I'm not a fan of CrossFit - as much due to the culture as anything else - but there are some aspects worth looking at.  I don't think trying to get anyone to do snatches, cleans or any other complex olympic lifts for time or reps is a good idea; even weighted squats are risky once you are fatigued (I once got stuck at the bottom of a 190kg squat at the end of a session and it did a big number on my lumbar).  But, at it's core, it's just circuit HIIT training.  I like the bodyweight stuff, it's quite a good way to get a sweat on that kind of thing will help with calorie burn.   There's an app I've used called SmartWod Generator.  You can put in the equipment you have and it comes up with different workouts (including timers and logs).  Worth giving that a try if you're looking for something more circuit based, but I always give the stuff involving olympics a miss.  I train cleans and snatches, but only in the low rep range for power development.  

 

[Aufc]

Yeah that’s absolutely right, you can use it as part of HIIT. I don’t have any evidence for this but I’d bet that it’s not the most efficient form of HIIT though. Better do routines on a stationary bike (when I get my finger out and do it I do a Tabata variant, 2 mins warm up then four mins of 20 secs flat out, 10 secs rest) or doing hill sprints. I haven’t actually done any cardio in months but there’s a good hilly park near our new home and when this snow is gone I’m going to get back to it.

I think both have merits. Your calorie burn from cardio will be higher during the exercise but with weights you continue to burn calories after you have finished.

I think the general message is do what you fucking like as long as its something you enjoy as this will ensure you stick at it. As long as you are doing something

[Shandon Par]

48 minutes ago, G51 said:

Cheers mate. We're not really that sporty but we're not knackered after taking the bins out either. Mountain bike seems like it's probably the right way to go.

Out of curiousity, what kinda weight is too heavy do you think? I've seen one advertised for 200 quid, but it's 14 kilos.

The cheaper ones like that are made of heavy steel and ask such will shake your bones, not be very robust, break easily, be hard to get uphill and simply to haul about. So, not so much a target weight but something with an aluminium frame anyway. The best deals can be old stock (eg 2019 model) bikes. You might see stuff cut from £500 to £350 simply because there’s a new one with a flashy new paint job. A few bike shops (eg Edinburgh Bicycle co-op) do 0% credit too and will deliver.   

[Boostin' Kev]

Can get a bike though cycle to work scheme via Edinburgh Bicycle Co-op.

[Raithie]

Looking for some advice. I've got a bench, barbell and weight plates on order from Gorilla Sports  (ordered on 12th December and still waiting - long story) but I'm contemplating cancelling and asking for a refund. In the meantime I've been on the look out for places that might have some equipment in stock at the moment or at least that aren't extortionate. 

I've spied a few things on ebay and I'm a complete noob when it comes to that site having never ordered anything from there before. I seen this (https://www.ebay.co.uk/p/24037725412?iid=303658407903) and whilst it's relatively inexpensive I guess that's what's off putting. Would I be wise to give that a swerve? There's various sellers selling vinyl weight plates but again the price isn't like some websites selling weights. 

Anyone got any ebay experience buying fitness equipment?

 

[ICTChris]

I mean it’s £10 which is nothing but I also don’t like the idea of spin locks. There’s one on my curl bar which I got for free when I bought my barbell a couple of months ago, I hardly use it.

I have bought a set of plastic plates from an eBay shop and two iron 20kg plates from a single seller on eBay. Both are fine, the iron plates are pretty good quality. The plastic weights are fine too, not ideal but I just needed a reasonable set. I’ve got an order in with the Edinburgh Weight Stand Company for a pair of 20kg plates will see how they are.