| Archive for Active No-Carber Forums A veggie-free zone |
| newcreation |
Please help a total weaklingI am probably the wimpiest person on this forum. I've tried to build muscle at various times, then quit. Perhaps part of the problem was that I didn't realize the importance of working each muscle until failure, and I was unfamiliar with HIT. So I never really got results, no matter how long I stuck with it.But now that I've started the carnivore lifestyle, I'm determined to make it work. In addition to being a wimp, I'm also time-poor and money-poor. I have dumbbells, a jump rope, and a step bench, but no other equipment. My dumbbells are 3-pound, 5-pound, and 8-pound. I'm willing to get heavier ones. What weights should a wimpy beginner such as myself have? I've already decided to do HIIT using a jump rope. I don't feel safe jogging in my neighborhood, so I have to stick to something I can do inside. I would like to spend 30 minutes per day maximum exercising. Of course, my HIIT routine will only be 4-15 minutes, per recommendations. Is this enough, or do I need more time on my weightlifting days? I've read the threads on exercising, and honestly, I'm overwhelmed with everything. In part, this is because I have little experience with strength training and don't know the terminology very well. Also, I need lots of specific advice on proper form with each exercise. I've gathered that lunges and deadlifts are great for glutes. What are the best exercises for thighs, especially inner thighs. Even as a skinny person, I had inner thighs that would rub together. Now, they are so pressed together they don't even rub! My weakest area is my upper body. I am a person who can't even do one push-up correctly. When I do the "girly push-ups" my soreness is in my armpits rather than in my biceps or chest area. Is this bad form or poorly developed muscles? I can do a regular push-up if I don't go down very far. I do like the regular push-up better. I can feel my muscles in my stomach working harder that way. Should I forget about push-ups and do something with my dumbbells for upper body strength? I desperately need arm strength. To tell you the truth, this is kind of embarrassing because there are so many people here who are in so much better shape, but I would appreciate any help I could get. I would like to use suggestions here as the basis for a HIT work-out that I can do 2-3 times per week, hopefully for 30 minutes or less each time. I may be able to work in more time if this is necessary. Perhaps with my lack of experience, I should get a video? I would love to have a HIT workout video that teaches proper form, especially one that doesn't use machines. Any recommendations? |
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| ecrivain |
Congrats on taking the first steps to educate yourself! Here are some sites that can give you information on exercises and routines. There are a hundred different ways to work out, and most will get results. Try a few and see what works for you.
Stumptuous John Stone Fitness ExRx CrossFit Exercises The Fit Show Guidelines For Beginning an Exercise Program Strength Training Videos Bodyweight Strength Training Bodyweight Culture Berardi on Training You don't absolutely need to work each muscle to failure every time. HIT is just one style of training. There are many others that get good results that vary volume, frequency, and intensity. You may want to start with a simple fullbody routine with compound lifts: squats or lunges, straight-leg deadlifts, bent-over rows, bench presses, and military presses. Go for 3 sets of 8-12 reps. Do it 2 or 3 times a week, making sure to take at least one day off in between workouts. After 9-12 weeks, see how you've progressed, take a week off, then try a different routine. Or dig through the sites above for information on putting together a routine. ExRx is a great resource for this and they even have some templates to help you out. If you're going to try HIT, you may want to check out one of Elliot Darden's books so you can get the principles straight. There are some resources online, too. Check out this thread at JSF for a huge list of HIT links. |
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| the_individualist |
Yeah those dumbells aint gettin you nowhere man! Go to a sports store like Sports Authority, and get a good weight bench with a 160 pound barbell set, after that, make sure you have some kind of bar to do pullups on, and you should be set for a good six months or so. If you can't do a pullup, practice doing an imitation pullup while standing on a chair or bench, and then once that gets easy, start trying it with one leg, etc. until you can do a full one unassisted
It would also be smart to learn to do a full body stretching routine and all the different exercises. Start with bench press, military press, squat, lunge, bent over rows. Also don't forget to do situps, and dips if you have parallel bars, and if you can do pushups in any way that doesn't hurt, do that too, if it only feels comfortable doing it halfway, then just do that for awhile until you build up enough strength to do a full range pushup without pain. Speaking of pain- if anything hurts or aches, STOP- you don't want to damage anything. The only pain you should feel is the good pain of your muscles being micro-torn. Each workout, start with 5-10 minutes of warm up (jumping rope), stretch your body, then hit the weights. After that, do a quick cool down (maybe walk around the house or garage) for 5 minutes, rehydrate yourself, then stretch down and you're done. After that- EAT!!! The first couple hours after a workout are crucial windows of time for beginning the muscle repair process, so eat a good sized meal, and continue to eat every 1-2 hours after that. Don't workout every day- that's a great way to stunt any progress and cause damage. As a beginner, your body needs usually one to two days to repair your muscles (advanced lifters need more like three), so do it every other day. Unless you're sore- if you are even a little sore, wait an extra day. |
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| Ogden |
Start small and simple and don't get too carried away. Your body can do a lot when it's pumped up doing a workout and that can make you think y ou can do more than you can. Be enthusiastic, but use your head and listen to your body and stop when it tells you to. You're gonna be sore no matter what, but it's a righteous soreness that you get from the exercise.
Also, look into some core exercises. Especialy if you haven't done a lot of lifting before. A lot of injuries happen because people have weaker core muscles than they do the other muscles in their bodies, and they think more about building big arms and shoulders and such than they do about the muscles that you need to stabilize the body so you can work those more visiblemuscle groups more effectively. It's more than just abdominals. Get a fitball and use it. |
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| newcreation |
Thanks for all the feedback. I'm not familiar with a "fitball" but will look it up on the internet. I can definitely say that I have a weak core. Ogden, are you familiar with Pilates? I have the Mari Windsor pilates videos, and the Pilates claim is that they help to strengthen the smaller muscles that support the bigger muscles. Is it enough to do a combination of Pilates and crunches, or are there other muscle groups included in the core. I always thought the core was just abs and obliques. Should I focus on strengthening my core before starting a HIT program, or can I strengthen my core as part of that program?
Ecrivain, thanks for the links. I may get Darden's book. Those links have also helped me get a plan going in my mind, as far as what exercises I will do and what equipment I need to invest in. I can't spend a lot of money, so I'm trying to get the most bang for my buck. So far, I've decided to get a chin-up bar and some heavier dumbbells. If they aren't too expensive, I'd like to get the kind you can adjust the weight on. I might also get a barbell, if I can afford it. I think if I have those things, I will |
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| ReddyMcMeaty |
Re: Please help a total weakling
 Sorry this statement had me giggling!
You're starting out and there is SO much information out there that it can be, and is, totally overwhelming. I highly reccomend BASICS!!! There is no magic bullet... moving weight (whether it is bodyweight, barbell or dumbell) makes you stronger. Chinups/pullups are awesome. So are pushups, so are pistols (one leg squats). If you invest in ANYTHING get the empty dumbells or barbells and then buy whatever weight you can handle at the time. Weights are sold per AMOUNT so it's cheaper to buy the adjustables and keep getting extra plates than it is to buy a set weight. You want to get strong and add mass.. not say, "build big biceps on a scrawny body" so do the basics. Squat, deadlift, Pullups/chinups and benchpress. Those are what you need! Not a thousand secret special exercises for every tiny muscle you own.. those will hit most of them. I also highly recommend you check out the crossfit.com website, it is incredible and those people are among the fittest in the population. |
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| newcreation |
Re: Please help a total weakling
Thank you, Reddy. I will check that out. Just to make sure I'm clear, are you saying that doing these basic exercises will build all of the most important muscles, including that "core" area? I realize there are a lot of "compound" exercises, which work more than one muscle group. For example, I've noticed I can feel my stomach working when I attempt a push-up. So I'm certainly open-minded about what is necessary and what isn't. |
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| ReddyMcMeaty |
Deadlifts and squats work your "core" pretty well, but core work is always a good idea for stabilization purposes.. just don't get caught up in doing hours and hours of it... | ||||
| Ogden |
A fitball has a few different names, but its one of those big, inflatable balls that you see peole doing sit-ups and crunches on. The idea is that the round surface makes your body constantly stabilize and adjust while you work. Pilates should do just fine for your core. As for the HIT, you might want to start with some general exercises before you jump right into HIT. Think whole-body, or multiple-muscle groups. As RMcM said, deadlifts, squats, benchpress, pull-ups, military press. These are all exerises that build mass, and hit many muscle groups at the same time. They will also work your core. You could do these all with your dumbells for starters and then when you are ready, move up to something heavier. Maybe new dumbells, or a weight bench and a bar, or a gym membership. Ideally, almost any lift will involve your core. Even if you're doing isolation movements your core will hold your body in place while so you can focus on specific exercise. I like to do a decent amoutn of core work above and beyond that, but that's just me and I've found that good core strength has made the biggest difference in my own overall atheletic ability and fitness. Other folks will have difference experiences and interests. Oh, and you have to stop referring to your self as "wimpy". You're not wimpy because you are going to do something about your fitness. That's not wimpy I can't speak for everyone here but even though I do a fair amount of working out, I am by no means a paragon of fitness. We all have wimpy moments, and we all started somewhere. And for myself at least, some of us yet have a ways to go. |
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