The get fit, stay fit thread

[11thHour]

So do you think it's bullshit or actually believe it? I'm confused.

FWIW, it's bullshit.

No, no I think its bullshit. Everyone should have the ability if they're fully healthy to get to a really good level of fitness but because I could never really get any further on he surmised that possibly I had reached my bodies 'level of fitness'?

FWIW I do play 11's and am able to last 90 minutes week in week out but after it I am absolutely shattered and there's obviously other guys who are thinner and fitter that go home as if nothings happened. But its the lack of progress that worries me. I dont do as much cardio now as I did but I am going to get back into it but at the time like I said above I never really added much onto my treadmill time, I never really added to the amount of lengths I could do in the pool etc when others were coming on leaps and bounds and I know everyone is different but surely not that much that I couldn't make some noticeable progress?

I did put a lot of effort into it at the time but cant have done enough as the rest obviously. Now don't take that as "well obviously you were hardly putting any effort into it" because I was certainly doing as much if not more than others but was seeing less results.

Edited February 21, 2013 by 11thHour

[Aufc]

No, no I think its bullshit. Everyone should have the ability if they're fully healthy to get to a really good level of fitness but because I could never really get any further on he surmised that possibly I had reached my bodies 'level of fitness'?

FWIW I do play 11's and am able to last 90 minutes week in week out but after it I am absolutely shattered and there's obviously other guys who are thinner and fitter that go home as if nothings happened. But its the lack of progress that worries me. I dont do as much cardio now as I did but I am going to get back into it but at the time like I said above I never really added much onto my treadmill time, I never really added to the amount of lengths I could do in the pool etc when others were coming on leaps and bounds and I know everyone is different but surely not that much that I couldn't make some noticeable progress?

I did put a lot of effort into it at the time but cant have done enough as the rest obviously. Now don't take that as "well obviously you were hardly putting any effort into it" because I was certainly doing as much if not more than others but was seeing less results.

You should do HIIT. That SHOULD get your fitness up if you put a decent effort into it.

[Mak]

No, no I think its bullshit. Everyone should have the ability if they're fully healthy to get to a really good level of fitness but because I could never really get any further on he surmised that possibly I had reached my bodies 'level of fitness'?

FWIW I do play 11's and am able to last 90 minutes week in week out but after it I am absolutely shattered and there's obviously other guys who are thinner and fitter that go home as if nothings happened. But its the lack of progress that worries me. I dont do as much cardio now as I did but I am going to get back into it but at the time like I said above I never really added much onto my treadmill time, I never really added to the amount of lengths I could do in the pool etc when others were coming on leaps and bounds and I know everyone is different but surely not that much that I couldn't make some noticeable progress?

I did put a lot of effort into it at the time but cant have done enough as the rest obviously. Now don't take that as "well obviously you were hardly putting any effort into it" because I was certainly doing as much if not more than others but was seeing less results.

I wasn't going to accuse you of not training hard; it just seemed a bit weird to start your post with 'I don't think I'll ever be fit' then finish it by rightly saying that everyone should be able to reach a decent level of fitness.

If all you were doing was adding x minutes on to the treadmill each time, you'd probably hit a plateau. Doing a bit of interval training as Aufc says would probably help. I also think that if you're going in and thinking that you'll never be fit (as you've said) then there's maybe a psychological issue that you need to get over even if you are working hard. More self belief would help, if that doesn't sound too patronising.

[11thHour]

You should do HIIT. That SHOULD get your fitness up if you put a decent effort into it.

I've been told to try HIIT/Tabata before but have yet to try it. Might give it a bash in the coming weeks.

I wasn't going to accuse you of not training hard; it just seemed a bit weird to start your post with 'I don't think I'll ever be fit' then finish it by rightly saying that everyone should be able to reach a decent level of fitness.

If all you were doing was adding x minutes on to the treadmill each time, you'd probably hit a plateau. Doing a bit of interval training as Aufc says would probably help. I also think that if you're going in and thinking that you'll never be fit (as you've said) then there's maybe a psychological issue that you need to get over even if you are working hard. More self belief would help, if that doesn't sound too patronising.

I was just musing on my predicament as it were I think. No not patronising at all, you're probably right. Just need to get it into my head that i'll eventually get to where I want to be as long as I stick at it and stop trying to compare myself to others. I think thats a big thing for me that I need to get sorted, forget what everyone else is doing and just focus on my own exercise.

[DAFC]

Tried those exercises last night, seemed to do the trick as I was knackered at the end of it.

Alternate pike was a bit weird, think it was because I've never done it before and not very flexible.

Replaced the situps with crunches and tried a set with my feet up on a chair, was pretty painful.

Gonna try this three times a week after the bike along with some freeweights for strength/stamina.

Will prob buy the weights bench after I've lost a bit of fat then cut down the bike cardio to half and try to build more muscle.

I think this was why I gave up the gym a few years back, I was going along fine then some idiot personal trainer decided to change my routine and it fucked me up. Wouldn't go back to a gym now, reckon you can get better results in the house for cheaper.

[energyzone]

Motivation would be an issue for me at home. Paying a gym membership would spur me to go and make use of the money I'm spending, whereas at home I'd be tempted to watch TV and go easy on all the exercises.

Plus at a gym there are people to work with and birds to ogle.

[Aufc]

I've been told to try HIIT/Tabata before but have yet to try it. Might give it a bash in the coming weeks.

I was just musing on my predicament as it were I think. No not patronising at all, you're probably right. Just need to get it into my head that i'll eventually get to where I want to be as long as I stick at it and stop trying to compare myself to others. I think thats a big thing for me that I need to get sorted, forget what everyone else is doing and just focus on my own exercise.

Got to start somewhere mate. It takes time. There ain't no easy fix to getting fit.

Motivation would be an issue for me at home. Paying a gym membership would spur me to go and make use of the money I'm spending, whereas at home I'd be tempted to watch TV and go easy on all the exercises. Plus at a gym there are people to work with and birds to ogle.

I wish. Both gyms I go to are full of horror shows. Be lucky if there was 5 tidy girls between them.

[11thHour]

Motivation would be an issue for me at home. Paying a gym membership would spur me to go and make use of the money I'm spending, whereas at home I'd be tempted to watch TV and go easy on all the exercises.

Plus at a gym there are people to work with and birds to ogle.

See I would definitely prefer to work out at home if I had the space for some decent machines and weights. Get home, do your work out listening to your own music etc wearing whatever ye wanted then just jump in a shower, get your dinner etc and all the while you're in your own house.

[DAFC]

Exactly, no more shite tunes, dicks hogging equipment, posers or having to bother with driving, change of clothes etc.

Only thing I have to worry about is that I have no electrics in the garage so it will be baltic.

Could pretend I was in Rocky 4 though.

DRAAGOOOOOOOO!

[banterman86]

The Rocky IV soundtrack is an essential component of any gym playlist.

[Gaz]

I'm a big fan of the ol' home workout. I have a turbo trainer in the garage hooked up to the road bike, so on days when it's too miserable to go outside I can just wire into that. I take the laptop out and watch a film and just pedal away for a couple of hours and burn off a thousand calories or so.

On payday I'm going to have a stab at building myself this lad:

Getting the weights and the proper Olympic bar will be the expensive part.

[Fuctifano]

I'm a big fan of the ol' home workout. I have a turbo trainer in the garage hooked up to the road bike, so on days when it's too miserable to go outside I can just wire into that. I take the laptop out and watch a film and just pedal away for a couple of hours and burn off a thousand calories or so.

On payday I'm going to have a stab at building myself this lad:

Getting the weights and the proper Olympic bar will be the expensive part.

That would be my preferred option too but I don't have the space sadly, even at my folks; I would also just shell out and buy one (and with a bar for pull-ups as well) but that's mainly because I don't trust my DIY skills and I'd rather not have a lethal amount of metal crashing down on me!

It's annoying how many gyms don't have a proper power rack or even a decent free weights area- I've been using the refurbished council gym at Scotstoun for the last couple of weeks and while there's dozens of cardio machines and plenty of isolation / cable / plate machines there's 4 benches, one with a rack and Olympic bar and 3 others for dumbbell use, and one Smith machine, which isn't great- I use it for bench presses but not squats as I don't like the position it puts your knees in. I know the majority of their users will be folk wanting to do cardio but considering the amount of money they've spunked on the place, a wee bit more space and a power rack wouldn't have gone amiss.

Edited February 21, 2013 by Fuctifano

[Mak]

There's one squat rack in the gym I'm using just now and it's not even a proper rack. Thought Pure Gym was bad with two, but this place takes the biscuit. I need to be using it for about 75% of my workout and it basically means I need to go early in the morning if I want to have any chance of getting on. Also feel like a bellend hogging it even then.

Would love a home gym one day, but even when I get back it won't be feasible for some time.

[Chew]

That would be my preferred option too but I don't have the space sadly, even at my folks; I would also just shell out and buy one (and with a bar for pull-ups as well) but that's mainly because I don't trust my DIY skills and I'd rather not have a lethal amount of metal crashing down on me!

It's annoying how many gyms don't have a proper power rack or even a decent free weights area- I've been using the refurbished council gym at Scotstoun for the last couple of weeks and while there's dozens of cardio machines and plenty of isolation / cable / plate machines there's 4 benches, one with a rack and Olympic bar and 3 others for dumbbell use, and one Smith machine, which isn't great- I use it for bench presses but not squats as I don't like the position it puts your knees in. I know the majority of their users will be folk wanting to do cardio but considering the amount of money they've spunked on the place, a wee bit more space and a power rack wouldn't have gone amiss.

If you're in Glasgow I'm pretty sure Caley Uni let non-Caley students use their gym. It's got a decent weights room according to my mates that use it.

I use Strathclyde Uni, but it's only open for graduates and Strathclyde Uni students. We've got two squat racks, plus an ER competition bench with a detachable bench, so in effect three squat racks. They also spent a fortune getting all Eleiko weights and dumbells a couple of years ago, literally tens of thousands of pounds just on new weights.

[Fuctifano]

That would be my preferred option too but I don't have the space sadly, even at my folks; I would also just shell out and buy one (and with a bar for pull-ups as well) but that's mainly because I don't trust my DIY skills and I'd rather not have a lethal amount of metal crashing down on me!

It's annoying how many gyms don't have a proper power rack or even a decent free weights area- I've been using the refurbished council gym at Scotstoun for the last couple of weeks and while there's dozens of cardio machines and plenty of isolation / cable / plate machines there's 4 benches, one with a rack and Olympic bar and 3 others for dumbbell use, and one Smith machine, which isn't great- I use it for bench presses but not squats as I don't like the position it puts your knees in. I know the majority of their users will be folk wanting to do cardio but considering the amount of money they've spunked on the place, a wee bit more space and a power rack wouldn't have gone amiss.

If you're in Glasgow I'm pretty sure Caley Uni let non-Caley students use their gym. It's got a decent weights room according to my mates that use it.

I use Strathclyde Uni, but it's only open for graduates and Strathclyde Uni students. We've got two squat racks, plus an ER competition bench with a detachable bench, so in effect three squat racks. They also spent a fortune getting all Eleiko weights and dumbells a couple of years ago, literally tens of thousands of pounds just on new weights.

Cheers, but I'm only back in Glasgow til Monday, moving away for work, which is why I've been using council gym pay as you go.

I'm actually a Strathclyde uni graduate, but it was 10 years ago this summer (sob) . If there's a lifetime membership option where I can use it pay as you go whenever I'm back in Glasgow that might be worth looking into.

Edited February 21, 2013 by Fuctifano

[Chew]

Cheers, but I'm only back in Glasgow til Monday, moving away for work, which is why I've been using council gym pay as you go. I'm actually a Strathclyde uni graduate, but it was 10 years ago this summer (sob) . If there's a lifetime membership option where I can use it pay as you go whenever I'm back in Glasgow that might be worth looking into.

Only students and staff can pay as they go unfortunately. Graduates need a membership, which is about £220 for the year, which is probably a bit much if you only wanted to use the gym when you were back home!

Where abouts are you moving to? I think most Uni gyms are open to graduates of any university - I know Strathclyde is. So if it's a city there's a good chance there will be a decent gym in the uni that you could use rather than a rubbish council one or an extortionate 'health and leisure' club.

[Gaz]

Stirling Uni has hands-down the best gym I've ever been to. Yearly membership for £199. It's a shame that I'd spend £7 on petrol every time I'd go. If I lived in Stirling I'd join in a heartbeat.

[Mak]

Stirling Uni has hands-down the best gym I've ever been to. Yearly membership for £199. It's a shame that I'd spend £7 on petrol every time I'd go. If I lived in Stirling I'd join in a heartbeat.

Agreed. Away on exchange this semester (which I may have mentioned, not sure though) and missing it!

[Aufc]

Agreed. Away on exchange this semester (which I may have mentioned, not sure though) and missing it!

Never knew that mate.

[Mak]

Yeah, been trying to keep it quiet. Would hate to seem like I was going on about it.