Physical & Mental health

[dumps 284]

Margins are small and a graph wont prove anything YET - how were the physical abilities of the men BEFORE? Had they been fit before? It takes less effort to restore your form rather than overcome a plateau.

It's like saying a training regime/diet is better because one group of people lost more weight - we don't know the starting weights and it is always easier to lose more when you're fat.

This was taken from a published study in 2010. all the men were untrained as i mentioned. but there were no significant differences between the men before all the training started in all the groups (so they were considered all to be equal).

The little marks above the bars on the graph show a statisically significant difference. so the football one shows that as time went on their V02 max improved from the last time it was measure, one of hte other symbols show that it was statistically significant from the other groups as well.

To be statistically significant, it means there a 95% chance that the difference exsists. This isnt the only study that shows this. there are many more.

trained men would show very little difference. infact its very very hard to improve a trained persons V02 max, but you can improve their efficieny, was is a hwole other story.

but trust me, that graph shows the truth of many other studies as well. i think the main thing to note is that it in the running group it doesnt increase further after 4 weeks. Im not entirely sure what the runners programme was, id have to find the paper, but i do have a feeling they increased the intensity according to their adaptations.

when a study tests 2 groups of people (say your training and weight loss example there) before the tests start, they make sure both groups are random BUT similar.

just trust me when i say that graph is a good graph! the difference may only be 2 or 3 ml/min/kg, but that is a huge amaount in terms of improving someones aerobic fitness.

football is very good all round, aerobically and anaerobically. trust me.

[SinineUltra 1,170]

This was taken from a published study in 2010. all the men were untrained as i mentioned. but there were no significant differences between the men before all the training started in all the groups (so they were considered all to be equal).

The little marks above the bars on the graph show a statisically significant difference. so the football one shows that as time went on their V02 max improved from the last time it was measure, one of hte other symbols show that it was statistically significant from the other groups as well.

To be statistically significant, it means there a 95% chance that the difference exsists. This isnt the only study that shows this. there are many more.

trained men would show very little difference. infact its very very hard to improve a trained persons V02 max, but you can improve their efficieny, was is a hwole other story.

but trust me, that graph shows the truth of many other studies as well. i think the main thing to note is that it in the running group it doesnt increase further after 4 weeks. Im not entirely sure what the runners programme was, id have to find the paper, but i do have a feeling they increased the intensity according to their adaptations.

when a study tests 2 groups of people (say your training and weight loss example there) before the tests start, they make sure both groups are random BUT similar.

just trust me when i say that graph is a good graph! the difference may only be 2 or 3 ml/min/kg, but that is a huge amaount in terms of improving someones aerobic fitness.

football is very good all round, aerobically and anaerobically. trust me.

I'm not doubting you mate, I'm doubting the study. As long as there is no detailed graph that shows what were the stats before and how much did they actually improve then all the story that goes along this is a nice fairytale. I agree 100% that football is a decent cardiovascular training but it wont surpass simple running with appropriate heart rate in terms of gaining stamina and fitness. Besides, football isn't something you can do up to a high age, it is very demanding on your joints, flexibility etc. Running is a far more injury free.

Regardless, thanks for the helpful info, now I know that football is as good if not better then running for overall fitness!

[dumps 284]

just to let you know, there is a very detailed table of all their measurements and fitness before the testing begins. there has to be. its funded research. they aren't allowed to assume

[SinineUltra 1,170]

Plus it's harder to RESEMBLE the ' football based drills/games for 1 hour twice a week for 12 weeks' rather than just jog at 140 heart rate. All this is too vague before I can see 'very detailed table of all their measurements'

[Rmpr 8,977]

Can a noob still participate in this thread? It has gone too professional and technical.

Anyways, I am probably dropping tennis and football at my University.

However, I am signing up for a good gym we have close to my apartment and do I need any precautions or advices? I never ever worked out in a professional gym, so I feel like a kid in his first kiss, lol.

[Leif 6,006]

Just got a girlfriend who likes my weirdness. No more cardio needed for me!!!

Edit: Turns out it was just my hand wearing make-up. False alarm. Still single.

[SinineUltra 1,170]

Can a noob still participate in this thread? It has gone too professional and technical.

Anyways, I am probably dropping tennis and football at my University.

However, I am signing up for a good gym we have close to my apartment and do I need any precautions or advices? I never ever worked out in a professional gym, so I feel like a kid in his first kiss, lol.

I guess the best advice is to write down what you want to do there. Depends on how many times a week you've got time to go there etc to determine what you should do - overall body workout or certain muscle groups. Maybe first time you go there check out what kind of machines / benches / weights there are and what can you do etc? Most importantly - don't get discouraged when there are some super strong or athletic guys - keep doing your thing and do it properly. Best of luck mate!

[dumps 284]

Can a noob still participate in this thread? It has gone too professional and technical.

Anyways, I am probably dropping tennis and football at my University.

However, I am signing up for a good gym we have close to my apartment and do I need any precautions or advices? I never ever worked out in a professional gym, so I feel like a kid in his first kiss, lol.

how come you are dropping tennis and football?!

as for the gym, Ultra pretty much said it. just focus on yourself, not what other people are doing. My best advice would be focus on technique, start on low weights. you will see quite significant gains in your strength in the first 2 weeks or so. your neuromuscular side adapts very fast, and you start to use your muscles properly! - though if you play tennis and football this has most likely already happened...

its good to set yourself realistic goals, work out when you can go to the gym and try and go the same time so that its more of a part of your life rather than just something you do in the spur of the moment. and it depends what you want to achieve to what you should do, but in anything, focus on gradually increaseing the intensity of it, whether its increasing a weight, or covering a distance in a faster time.

find someone to go with as well, it makes it a lot easier and more fun. just explore shit for your first few weeks and get used to it all. look around on the internet for hints and tips... but with caution. huge caution. ive seen websites where people talk absolute shit, the problem is its hard to ignore someone who talks shit when they are built like a tank because you think "it must be working for them". question things you read and research it. a lot of big guys are big because of the amount of trianing they do, they could be just as big with half the training they do if they did it properly.

[SinineUltra 1,170]

how come you are dropping tennis and football?!

as for the gym, Ultra pretty much said it. just focus on yourself, not what other people are doing. My best advice would be focus on technique, start on low weights. you will see quite significant gains in your strength in the first 2 weeks or so. your neuromuscular side adapts very fast, and you start to use your muscles properly! - though if you play tennis and football this has most likely already happened...

its good to set yourself realistic goals, work out when you can go to the gym and try and go the same time so that its more of a part of your life rather than just something you do in the spur of the moment. and it depends what you want to achieve to what you should do, but in anything, focus on gradually increaseing the intensity of it, whether its increasing a weight, or covering a distance in a faster time.

find someone to go with as well, it makes it a lot easier and more fun. just explore shit for your first few weeks and get used to it all. look around on the internet for hints and tips... but with caution. huge caution. ive seen websites where people talk absolute shit, the problem is its hard to ignore someone who talks shit when they are built like a tank because you think "it must be working for them". question things you read and research it. a lot of big guys are big because of the amount of trianing they do, they could be just as big with half the training they do if they did it properly.

Gold advice, having a partner makes you work harder plus you get less discouraged

[SinineUltra 1,170]

@dumps Btw, just read your comment on creatine - it does taste like.. well.. a bit like aspirine - but ive got a question also: how much should one take it, how often and should you cycle on and off for some times? Because I've read it stays in your organism for 3 months after you've finished using it and anything excessive is always bad for kidneys etc. At the moment, I'm taking it 3 times a week(after finishing weight-training) for like 5 grams per serving.

[Rmpr 8,977]

I guess the best advice is to write down what you want to do there. Depends on how many times a week you've got time to go there etc to determine what you should do - overall body workout or certain muscle groups. Maybe first time you go there check out what kind of machines / benches / weights there are and what can you do etc? Most importantly - don't get discouraged when there are some super strong or athletic guys - keep doing your thing and do it properly. Best of luck mate!

how come you are dropping tennis and football?!

as for the gym, Ultra pretty much said it. just focus on yourself, not what other people are doing. My best advice would be focus on technique, start on low weights. you will see quite significant gains in your strength in the first 2 weeks or so. your neuromuscular side adapts very fast, and you start to use your muscles properly! - though if you play tennis and football this has most likely already happened...

its good to set yourself realistic goals, work out when you can go to the gym and try and go the same time so that its more of a part of your life rather than just something you do in the spur of the moment. and it depends what you want to achieve to what you should do, but in anything, focus on gradually increaseing the intensity of it, whether its increasing a weight, or covering a distance in a faster time.

find someone to go with as well, it makes it a lot easier and more fun. just explore shit for your first few weeks and get used to it all. look around on the internet for hints and tips... but with caution. huge caution. ive seen websites where people talk absolute shit, the problem is its hard to ignore someone who talks shit when they are built like a tank because you think "it must be working for them". question things you read and research it. a lot of big guys are big because of the amount of trianing they do, they could be just as big with half the training they do if they did it properly.

I dont have realistic goals, I want to look like Brad Pitt in Troy after only 2 weeks!

Ah, long story. Both my coaches set training for this year in the same hours, so I complained to both of them and they did nothing about it. I rage quit, lol.

Exactly because of that I need to start working out. I need to maintain weight (I could even be happy with some weight loss, but I definetly dont want to look skinny) and gain muscle...

The gym really has everything one might need and even more. It really is state of the art. That worries me because everyone will have perfectly shapped bodies (pretty common in Brazil) and I dont have that. Not that I am fat or anything, but I dont have a 6 pack or awesome shoulders and arms, etc. I am actually a bit afraid to look at these complicated machines and have a dumb expression all around my face, lol.

They also have a lot of fun classes like Boxing, Muay Thai, etc. I am thinking of entering in one of them, I played football and tennis all my life, so it wont be like I cant handle the work out. I will suck at the begining, but it is worth a try!

My ultimate goal is to get stronger, I have no intention of taking pictures half naked to post on Facebook. I also dont want to take any of the shit people take, I prefer a healthy and natural trainning, even if it takes 1 year longer.

I dont want to look artificial, that is my main concern and what has hold me from signing up before 2013. I downloaded an iOS app that teaches you how to work out, what you should do for what muscle and in what frequency and how to use each different work out station. I will see if that helps...

Yeeah, I need a partner. Not only for gym. :eyebrows:

Overall, I want myself to look like the first one and not the second:

[Leif 6,006]

I don't believe in 'diets'; only lifestyle choices, but once every few months, me and my mum try out on of the 'diets' to see how they work or just how they taste - and I wouldn't call this one a 'diet' per say, but if anyone's wanting to feel amazing physically, mentally, spiritually etc. i highly recommend trying out a Mediterranean eating regime for a week or two. Lots of vegetables, seafood if you're into that stuff, healthy fats etc.

[Leif 6,006]

Actually I need some genuine help here, I just reminded myself of something - Can anyone recommend easy ways to get healthy fats into my diet? I don't eat fish regularly, and even when I do, a typical salmon fillet apparently has less than 12g of fat, which really isn't enough for a daily intake.

I definitely don't consume enough healthy fats considering I despise peanuts & peanut butter, don't eat nuts in general, never eat seeds, olive oils etc. are too high calorie for me (at the moment) to consume, so all I can really think of is Avocados

[MetsajCFC 1,255]

I dont have realistic goals, I want to look like Brad Pitt in Troy after only 2 weeks!

Ah, long story. Both my coaches set training for this year in the same hours, so I complained to both of them and they did nothing about it. I rage quit, lol.

Exactly because of that I need to start working out. I need to maintain weight (I could even be happy with some weight loss, but I definetly dont want to look skinny) and gain muscle...

The gym really has everything one might need and even more. It really is state of the art. That worries me because everyone will have perfectly shapped bodies (pretty common in Brazil) and I dont have that. Not that I am fat or anything, but I dont have a 6 pack or awesome shoulders and arms, etc. I am actually a bit afraid to look at these complicated machines and have a dumb expression all around my face, lol.

They also have a lot of fun classes like Boxing, Muay Thai, etc. I am thinking of entering in one of them, I played football and tennis all my life, so it wont be like I cant handle the work out. I will suck at the begining, but it is worth a try!

My ultimate goal is to get stronger, I have no intention of taking pictures half naked to post on Facebook. I also dont want to take any of the shit people take, I prefer a healthy and natural trainning, even if it takes 1 year longer.

I dont want to look artificial, that is my main concern and what has hold me from signing up before 2013. I downloaded an iOS app that teaches you how to work out and what you should for what muscle and in what frequency. I will see if that helps...

Yeeah, I need a partner. Not only for gym. :eyebrows:

Seems to be a decent gym from your description, surely there's some trainer around who will gladly help you out if you need any. It can be distracting to work out in a new gym, new environment, new people but just keep your focus on your goals, training programme. Gym is a place of work, get in-get out. About supplements, taking clean whey protein is totally fine, although can be expensive. Just a meal replacement really. When it comes to changing your body sleeping and eating right is even more important than working out itself. When you sleep, our bodies repair the micro-wounds in our muscle fibre that we've "achieved" during the workout. Muscle building is scarring the tissue to put it white and black. And food is the building material for our body. Can't build a house without materials, right? Really hard to give you any advice as to how to train and how often, how frequent because we don't know your limits, current shape and so on. Best is either test your limits yourself, do some research on the internet (tons of channels on youtube, some of which I've followed are Twin Muscle Workout and Marcos Silva Fitness, but like said before take any information with a pinch of salt, in the end of the day they're giving out information that's based on their experience and we're all different, lots of crap out there.)

Best advice anyone can give to you over the internet is to stick to your training, eating healthy (includes minimilizing/cutting alcohol out), sleeping well, educating yourself and getting the right mentality of "no excuses". Determination, all it is. Seen so many people talking about "bad genetics" and "don't have time, money, energy, wind blows from wrong side, too cold, too hot to work out" - you get my point!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LbKkkZNwmN4

[Dion 2,476]

I'm not too concerned about my looks and fitness. But I really want to regain my form, I'm really bad right now. Last time I played football with my friends (4 days ago) I got carried away because I was really inspired and I got a groin injury. The following day I could barely walk and it still hurts a bit if I lift my left leg today.

Now I'll probably have to rest for a week or two before doing any exercise again and it sucks.

[Leif 6,006]

Love watching this before a workout (which I'm just going out now to do! Got new equipment, yay.)

[Rmpr 8,977]

Seems to be a decent gym from your description, surely there's some trainer around who will gladly help you out if you need any. It can be distracting to work out in a new gym, new environment, new people but just keep your focus on your goals, training programme. Gym is a place of work, get in-get out. About supplements, taking clean whey protein is totally fine, although can be expensive. Just a meal replacement really. When it comes to changing your body sleeping and eating right is even more important than working out itself. When you sleep, our bodies repair the micro-wounds in our muscle fibre that we've "achieved" during the workout. Muscle building is scarring the tissue to put it white and black. And food is the building material for our body. Can't build a house without materials, right? Really hard to give you any advice as to how to train and how often, how frequent because we don't know your limits, current shape and so on. Best is either test your limits yourself, do some research on the internet (tons of channels on youtube, some of which I've followed are Twin Muscle Workout and Marcos Silva Fitness, but like said before take any information with a pinch of salt, in the end of the day they're giving out information that's based on their experience and we're all different, lots of crap out there.)

Best advice anyone can give to you over the internet is to stick to your training, eating healthy (includes minimilizing/cutting alcohol out), sleeping well, educating yourself and getting the right mentality of "no excuses". Determination, all it is. Seen so many people talking about "bad genetics" and "don't have time, money, energy, wind blows from wrong side, too cold, too hot to work out" - you get my point!

Thanks dude!

I am blessed in some of those aspects, so that is a good thing. I can get a good 7-8 hour sleep everyday, since my earliest class is at 8:45am on tuesdays and all my other classes start at 9:30am or so. I also live in a country where finding healthy food is really a no brainer, I often see people complaining about getting fish or meat or fresh vegetables; where in Brazil we usually eat that everyday as our basic main course.

I plan to work out everyday on the same time I had my trainings (so, 3-4 days a week for 2 hours). Being a college student makes everything easy, so time is not a problem for the next 4 years. The gym is 2 blocks away or 2mins by car, so definetly no excuses. Like you said, motivation and focus, in-and-out.

Yes, the gym really impressed me. I can take a photo if anyone want to see it. The fun part is that it isnt even expensive for me, I get a 50% discount for being a University student!

They do have advisors, but I dont want to be the annoying kid who asks a question every five minutes everyday. I will sure not be shy to ask more detailed things, but I definetly want to do most things on my own. I've been searching that it is a smart thing to work one day your leg muscles and the other your upper body ones (chest, arms, etc). Taking turns so it doesnt hurt so much. Any truth?

Also, what did you say about proteins? Sorry, I'm a huge noob when it comes to that stuff!

[MetsajCFC 1,255]

Thanks dude!

I am blessed in some of those aspects, so that is a good thing. I can get a good 7-8 hour sleep everyday, since my earliest class is at 8:45am on tuesdays and all my other classes start at 9:30am or so. I also live in a country where finding healthy food is really a no brainer, I often see people complaining about getting fish or meat or fresh vegetables; where in Brazil we usually eat that everyday as our basic main course.

I plan to work out everyday on the same time I had my trainings (so, 3-4 days a week for 2 hours). Being a college student makes everything easy, so time is not a problem for the next 4 years. The gym is 2 blocks away or 2mins by car, so definetly no excuses. Like you said, motivation and focus, in-and-out.

Yes, the gym really impressed me. I can take a photo if anyone want to see it. The fun part is that it isnt even expensive for me, I get a 50% discount for being a University student!

They do have advisors, but I dont want to be the annoying kid who asks a question every five minutes everyday. I will sure not be shy to ask more detailed things, but I definetly want to do most things on my own. I've been searching that it is a smart thing to work one day your leg muscles and the other your upper body ones (chest, arms, etc). Taking turns so it doesnt hurt so much. Any truth?

Also, what did you say about proteins? Sorry, I'm a huge noob when it comes to that stuff!

Yes, splitting muscle groups to different days is the way to go. For example what I do is Monday: Shoulders and Arms; Tuesday: Cardio Wednesday: Legs and Back Thursday: Cardio Friday: Chest and Triceps Weekend rest (monday's arms workout is mostly biceps&shoulders, because chest day also works triceps quite alot) and after every strenght training I'll do abs/core (although I admit, sometimes I can't be arsed wriggling on the mat for 15 minutes and hit the showers instead ). When doing back, don't forget lower back, it's not one of the glamour muscles but surely as important if not more. When planning workouts try not to mix two big muscle groups into one day. You'll tire out faster because you're using alot more energy, so you'll soon start to yawn, get abit light headed etc etc. So watch out for that

As mentioned before, start light (not because you couldn't, but because to get form right, to get it into your muscle memory) and prefer compound(movements that use multiple muscle groups, isolating movements use primarily one, for example bicep curls) movements (squats, bench press, dead lifts (dead lifts are somewhat injury risky, careful with them)

You can also ask other guys/girls in the gym for information. There are some who just say you're doing something wrong while you're not. So again, can't take anything 100% seriously. One time I saw this guy, first time I saw him in the gym, wasn't skinny, wasn't fat, medium really. But he went to every machine and automatically pushed the weights to near max while his form was absolutely wrong, all it does is train anything but the muscle group you're targeting and causes injuries.

About protein powders. It isn't a magic tool or steroid type booster. It's just nutrients packed into a form of powder. Meal replacer. Widely used by people who aim to build muscle, mostly after a workout because you'll get an hour window after the workout when your body is "grabbing" nutrients, so everything that goes in within that hour is most likely used for good cause, rather than stored as fat