Diet & Exercise Plan

[Todd]

Have generally been lazy since going to uni, and so have screwed up my metabolism, put on a few pounds on abs, and need to sort it out. Though I am not overweight as for my height, my weight is low, 70kgs.

Have come up with a plan, tho would like some advice.

Diet Plan:

Breakfast - 1 piece wholegrain toast with turkey + banana
3 hours later - 1 serving whey proteinshake
Lunch - 1 can tuna, 2 pieces multi-grain bread, low-fat mayonaise
3 hours later - 1 serving whey proteinshake
Dinner - Varied meats (Fish,Chicken,Lean-beef), wholegrain rice or pasta

Lots of water, and I take Omega 3,6,9 + Multivitamin/Mineral supplements

Exercise Plan:

Monday - 30 min exercise bike, Dumbells + Chest Exerciser (bar with spring in middle)
Tuesday - 45 min exercise bike, situps, pressups
Wedneday - 30 min exercise bike, Dumbells + Chest Exerciser (bar with spring in middle)
Thursday - 45 min exercise bike, situps, pressups
Friday - 30 min exercise bike, Dumbells + Chest Exerciser (bar with spring in middle)
Saturday - Break
Sunday - Break

:confused: any good for moderate muscle gain + leaning my body?

[storm^rapid]

Recently been working on a diet/training plan of my own, bit of a mission but i got it kinda worked out heh.

My advice would be to drop it down from a 5 day split to 3 day split, recovery time is key. I've done various gym sessions in the past but coming back i'm going back to basics with a push/pull/legs&abs 3 day split 5X5 (5 sets of 5 reps) as below mon/weds/fri with weekend off:

Day 1: Chest, should's, tri's
Bench (push ups are fine)
dips (can do using chairs or edge of bench)
mil press (with dumbells will be fine)
skullcrushers (get a 65cm exercise ball)

Day 2: Rest

Day 3: Back, bi's
Deadlifts
pullups
seated rows
curls

Day 4: Rest

Day 5: Legs, abs
Squats
Stiff Legged Dead Lifts
calf raises
ab work

I'm guessing you have your own stuff and plan on working out at home, im sure theres good workout plans you can model around the above (added examples for push). But joining a gym would be a lot better.

If you want to lose fat then do cardio first thing in the morning on empty stomach at 60-65% max heart rate (fat burning zone), and do weights late afternoon or evening. if yoou must do cardio when you train do it afterwards. you need a shake after work out then 1.5 hours later eat a good meal.

tbh, i would go to muscletalk.co.uk and post up your diet in the nutrition forum, make sure to follow the guide on how to post up (uses a template with times etc) - there's nutrition experts that will review and advise. Same goes for routine etc, theres a beginners forum where you can post your routine etc.

[Todd]

Ah ok thx, was looking for such a site. Question though, how long are your workouts on average, for example day 5. About the time split though, for fat loss isn't it better for me to do the 5 day thing as I planned, but then maybe do the different muscle workout + 1 week gap as you have?

[storm^rapid]

my workouts are normally just over an hour, 5 min bike warmup, 10 min stretch, train, 10 min stretch..

cardio i would do every weekday morning when you wake up for 45 mins if you really wanna cut fat.

[Todd]

Thx for info. It's all coming together now that I've used the muscletalk way of planning, using specific times etc around my uni timetable. Will post it when completed ;]

[tIMor`]

A few things to note -

1 - Your weights all revolve around your chest/arms, you're only giving yourself a days break inbetween each session (part from one which will be three-ish), which gives you very little recovery time. The workout Rapid posted seems solid and is the basic plan for someone looking to burn fat or even put on muscle. Also, if you're looking to burn fat you might want to go with 3 sets of 12 reps at a moderate weight..

2 - Cardio first thing in the morning as Rapid says, at around 60-75% of max. heart rate for around 45 minutes, so for you this would be 45 minutes on the bike by the sounds of it. It should be noted that 60-75% is barely difficult, you would have to be very unfit to feel it at all. You should able to hold a conversation and although you might sweat, you wouldn't be sweating very much at all... If you really wanna cut as much as you can you might wanna consider doing this every morning, personally I hgave lectures as early as 9 so you won't see me doing it every morning, but Tom Venuto (bodybuilding expert bloke) recommends doing such a thing and he can keep his bf down to 3-4%, so I tend you follow anything he says :P. Some will tell you this is too much, but if you are doing it at a low intensity, it shouldn't be anyhting to worry about (most worry about muscle loss).

3 - If I were you I would do 6 days, 3 days weights and the other 3 doing bike first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. Only do the bike every day if you can get up and do it, I wouldn't kill myself trying to get up at 6:30 or 7 to do 45 minutes on the bike if you're in uni for 9.

4 - Your diet seems ok, I'm guessing you don't like porrige? Or is it because you can't have any kinda protein in porrige that you opted out? The one piece of wholegrain toast isn't going to keep you going for very long, I'd look at 70-80g of porridge (around 50g carbs) in skimmed milk with a protein shake with it - that's unless you don't mind shoving the turkey down your throat after :P

5 - The other problem with your diet would possibly be the lack of healthy fats, or rather - enough healthy fats. You would probably want 40-50g of fat a day, preferably all healthy. If you eat tuna from a can you'll get around 15g from that I think (drained). I would guess that if you took one fish oil tablet or EFA supplement tablet etc. you would get around 1-2g from each? Which is no where near enough really, for convenience I use flaxseed oil in my protein shakes, doesn't really do much for the taste (I'm used to it and kinda find it tasty now, before I used to think it was utterly rank) but it does help you get your required amount. One tablespoon of that = 14g of very healthy fat, you can get 500ml bottles of the stuff from Holland and Barratt.

6 - I'm guessing you probably haven't got much fat to lose, so technically your above plan is probably very solid, you are getting constant amounts of protein throughout the day and burning off the calories required. I find you can get way too deep into what you should and shouldn't be eating, how you should and shouldn't be working out etc.

Frankly, you are still young so I imagine you will lose the unwanted far pretty quickly on the above schedule without a problem, I would advise against undereating and to have a couple of bananas and an apple immediately after your weights workout. The carbs from the bananas will go directly to your muscles with the apples also have the same kinda affect. Then, an hour after your workout have one of the meals you would normally have, tuna with wholemeal slice + salad or whatever is fine. You can get a 4:1 Maltodextrin post-workout shake/drink, but tbh you probably don't really need to be that "involved".

If you wanted to get really "involved" you might want to look into taking body fat measurements with calipers and working out your LBM (lean body mass) and calculating your target calorie amounts (12 x LBM) and eating 40/30/30 of protein/fat/carbs (with 4 cals for each protein and carbs and 9 for fat) for an exact fat loss diet.

But again, it depends on how involved you want to get... :P

p.s. I am in very poor shape at the minute, but I like to think I know a thing or two about the whole diet/exercise regime to lose fat. Have lost a stone recently and have a couple more to go before I get into an ideal weight, but my weight goes up and down like a yo-yo due to binge drinking and eating crap etc. One thing I've learnt is that if you start getting too hardcore you'll never stick to it, so make sure you enjoy anything you do. It is all well and good saying you'll go down the gym or do the weights three times a week (as I have said... but not exactly done) but if you don't enjoy it... you won't do it. I have no problem in using the weights at home and going on the cross trainer in the garage, but travelling to the gym and back (taking up around 2 hours of my day) isn't really that appealing. So yeah, stick to what you want to do and something you enjoy.

Sorry for the excessive typing, hopefully you have a better idea now ;)

[tIMor`]

Forget to mention/ask about the protein shake you might be taking.

Personally, I am currently using Body Fortress Chocolate 908g from Holland and Barratt. It is normally priced at £22 but I normally get it during their half price sales that happen every 3 months or so. This stuff is great in my opinion, others who have tasted it think it's pretty rank for a "chocolate" drink, but then it is not really supposed to be that ;)

I did recently purchase 6kg's of chocolate sweetened protein from www.myprotein.co.uk but the stuff is _really_ sickly sweet, so sweet you can't even taste the chocolate. Although I have only tried it once and had my flaxseed in there, it did taste pretty awful. Not sure what I'm gonna do with the stuff I've got left ;). It's fair to say I have shit loads sitting here, probably gonna have to force myself and grow to like it.

There are loads of differnet products out there like Reflex, Maximuscle etc. but these are basic "designer" protein packages that use the same base as any other whey protein supplement out there. I have read they all get the basic protein from the same source as only one place makes the stuff in the UK, not sure how true this is but it is fair to say most of them are the same. Perhaps one or two may have added glutamine etc. but the basic protein is the same, it is just about finding one that you like the taste of and sticking to it really.

[tIMor`]

Also check www.bodybuilding.com forums - especially the Losing Fat forum, some very good info there, especially the "sticky" threads. Although you will get quite a few posting who dn't really know what they are talking about, there are many there who do. Also check the articles from the professional body builders on the site too :)

Again though, you are young, it will come off quick.

[Ostrich]

I guess running in the morning is the thing to do to lose weight. I mean, Rocky did it and he looked OK. I can try to make an effort and get up at 6am for a 45min run but there's a couple of people at work who I've been running with (3miles in about 26mins) around 12.20pm. We're talking about going to the gym after work for weights.

I'm striclty after losing the weight and maybe toning up a little. Would running in the afternoon and weight in the evening be any good? Or do I really need to get up early for a run and do the weights in the afternoon leaving the nights free?

:)

[storm^rapid]

Os,

Running will be above 65% MHR so you will be burning muscle as well i think, optimal fat burn zone is 65%MHR, brisk walk, light cycle as tim said..

[Todd]

Wah, dr. tim to the rescue. Ok answers to your questions:

I've got 9'clock starts on mon, tues, weds, 1'clock on thursday, 10'clock on friday. Kinda mixed for a set workout plan. Don't mind waking up 6:45 each day, especially as I waylaid the exercise on thursday + friday.

I took ur advice from last thread + bought the BodyFortress stuff on sale, got 3 of them as they only cost £10 each :O

The fat-content in my diet is a problem idd, at the moment I've been on a diet + light exercise regime - situps, pressups, chest spring + skiprope every other day. Lost abit of fat but that was a primer in prep for this + my bike to arrive :P should do 2moro. I snack on alot of nuts, milk in the morning, bananas after exercise like you say. Don't know what else I could snack on, Kettle chips? They are the best apparently for unsaturated fat etc. May try that oil as you say.

The breakfast is ok for me, I've got a relatively low-appetite in the morning. I think I can last on that, maybe 2 toasts instead, with alot of turkey ham + milk + banana.

But my plan will be more like this now (still working on it):

Non-Weight Training Day:

6:45 - Wakeup + stretches
7:00 - 45min bike
7:45 - Warmdown + shower
8:15 - Breakfast as before but slightly increased
9:00 - 10:15 - Class
10:45 - Protein shake + fruit if needed

Rest + lunch/dinner/shakes as before

Weight-Training Day:

6:45 - Wakeup + stretches
7:00 - 45min bike
7:45 - Warmdown + shower
8:15 - Breakfast as before
9:00 - 10:15 - Class
10:45 - Protein shake + fruit if needed
13:30 - Lunch as before
16:30 - Protein Shake
17:00 - Warmup
17:15 - Weights training (Phat's regime)

Warmdown etc + dinner after.

I shall prepare the shakes in bottles for easy drinkage at uni, so I can keep to the time schedule. This workout plan any better? I am possibly thinking about a third protein shake a few hours after dinner, as I will be awake for a while + probably hungry. That a good idea, considering I want fat loss? Maybe just on the weights days?

Thx x 100 ;]

[tIMor`]

Aye, the best thing to have before bed is a decent amount of protein (say 40g) and some healthy fat. Basically, no carbs :)

Normally, slow release protein is recommended, cottage cheese is good for this. But to be fair, that might be getting a be involved :>

[Todd]

Okey doke, will trial and test this scheme this coming week ;]

thx again

[Ostrich]

Well I think I'll get up at 6am and go for a gentle jog. A lot less effort than the afternoon ones.

:)

[storm^rapid]

hmm my advice would be to eat a protien based solid meal 1-1.5 hour before you train, then have the shake straight after your work out.

for bed get into some cottage cheese or bed time protien formula such as this (http://www.myprotein.co.uk/formulas/our-formulas/bedtime-extreme-formula/)

im similar for brekkie, i dont like eating really, you could try a breakfast shake like 50g oats, milk, banana and some protien if you want.

[Todd]

Hmm yeah I was wondering what was better, before or after workout.

I looked at my timetable again, and now can work out this issue. What you think to this.

6:45 - Wakeup + stretches
7:00 - 45min bike
7:45 - Warmdown + shower
8:15 - Breakfast as before
9:00 - 10:15 - Class
10:45 - Protein shake + fruit if needed
13:30 - Lunch as before
14:30 - Weights training (Phat's regime)
15:30 - Protein Shake
18:30 - Dinner
18:30-23:30 - Snacks
23:30 - Bed proteinshake

Thx for tip on the other proteinshake, very cheap also :)

/edit that bed proteinshake, it won't affect weight loss will it?

[storm^rapid]

Thx for tip on the other proteinshake, very cheap also :)

/edit that bed proteinshake, it won't affect weight loss will it?

No, it's low in carb - its a slow release protein shake that should see you through to the morning, normal protein shakes such as whey are quick acting, you will be starved throughout the night thus not repairing muscle as quick etc.

[Todd]

Ok final question :P on weekends, must I eat all these protein shakes still? Seeing as I will have total breaks then, maybe I should cut down the night or some during day?

Oh and also what dumbell weight is good? 10kg, 15kg, 20kg?

[storm^rapid]

Weekends I tend to cut out the daytime shakes and go with solid food meals as its much easier being at home etc, I still go for the bed time shake though.

[tIMor`]

You should eat a protein rich meal 1 hour before workout, carbs shake/drink immediately after and another one of your normal meals an hour after. So for example:

1pm - Eat 3rd meal of day
2pm - Workout
3pm - Carb recovery drink/shake
4pm - Eat 4th meal of day

As you can see, still three hours inbetween both meals, the only difference being the added recovery drink.

[Dilbert]

I dunno how you lot manage the protein shakes tbh, its tough enough sticking to a healthy diet at the best of times but when your doing 2 to 3 protein shakes a day as part of your diet thats gotta be tough to stick to for a decent period of time. :sigh:

Whats your end goal btw ? to have a body that looks good or to be fit and healthy, or maybe to be fit for a specific sport or something ?

[Ostrich]

Well I can't be doing with the whole protein shake stuff. I barely have enough time to make a cup of tea!

I went for a 4 mile run yesterday. Taking today off because it was a big step up from the 3 mile runs from last week. I know I know, I broke the 10% rule but someone else was pushing me. However, although I havent done any excercise today (yet) I have so far only eaten a wheaty cracker thing and a tin of tuna for lunch. The banana is looking at me now.

A major step towards my health regime has been to stop drinking. I let myself go at the weekend but managed to stick to shorts. I havent ha da pint since New Years eve and I really can feel the difference. All I want to do is get fit and lose some weight. No drinking, running and eating better should achieve this.

:)

[Todd]

Hmm well Dilb I think it's easier to stick with the protein shakes, than to go shopping constantly for high protein foods etc, which is definitely more expensive + time consuming.

Mainly I'm doing the training to get my heart fit again, it's really weak + I have had alot of problems with it lately. Getting rid of the fat is for appearence but also self-esteem, I'm a picky perfectionist + it's annoying to be have a few layers on my abs.

Current hiccup is that the bike arrived with a big dent in the lower "foot", and so the stablisers won't fit into it. Hoping for a transit damage cover + replacement, though they haven't emailed back yet :|

Jump rope is what using instead of the bike atm.

[storm^rapid]

My main goal is to shift some fat/weight, build up strength and obviously improve my build/size.. along side this will be a bit of fitness but initially im working on my build, come summer i will work more on my fitness levels on a bike, i just feel to start i want to strip the unwanted weight, build a decent muscle structure to support hard cardio, i logically think this is the best order although it might not be?

if i have time in the morning i will eat scambled eggs etc, but im mostly rushing about. The shake after training is pretty essential imo as a quick acting protien.. I think shakes are easy, i mean im eating plenty of food along side it.

[tIMor`]

Shift fat whilst keep muscle would be mine

Ordered a rowing machine the other day which should be arriving soon, gonna be doing some HIT on that (taking post workout shake after to help recovery as I'm going to be doing a lot of different stuff), hoping to build up some fitness over the coming months whilst burning the fat. Some low intensity work on the Cross Trainer first thing in the morning also, to burn the fat. Also be doing weights 2 or 3 times a week to keep the muscle. Also sticking to the diet plan whilst taking in around 2000-2700 cals a day (depending on activites).

Really want to get fit for football/looks really, the whole muscular thing doesn't really both me too much. Would just prefer to be lean and fit :)

[storm^rapid]

Tim,

What routine you gone with? Mines as above, push/pull/legs&abs primarily compound lifting mon/wed/fri - doing 5x5 at the mo but might move over to 3x8 on week 5 i think for a change.

know what you mean about the myprotein stuff, got a massive tub of unflavoured stuff which is not tasty, but great price though :) just hammer it down.

which rower did you go for? there's some good value ones but all i hear is people ranting on about the concept 2 ones.. im looking at getting a bike at the moment, trying to bag a decent priced ex commercial gym spin bike.. house mate is on about buying a rower so would be interested to hear what yours is like, price etc.

im planning on 45-60 mins 65% MHR in the mornings, not gunna be easy getting up, but im confident if i get in to a series like 24 it might keep me interested a bit more heh :)

I started my detox/diet on the 8th, not had any chocolate/coke/crisps and only half a bottle of wine one night, other than that i have stuck 100% to my plan which im quite supprised about.. plan on having a cheat meal once a week but didn't feel the need over the weekend etc so just stuck with healthy stuff.

[tIMor`]

Pretty much the same as yours by the sounds of it, I'm not big on lifting weights, I'll do a lot of work with dumbbells at home on upperbody and probably go to the gym for legs and other upper body/chest work. Going to be doing 12x3 I think, just to keep the muscle there. I am tempted to lift heavier though and perhaps go 5x5, doing 12 can be quite tiresome, especially when the weight you lift is not so heavy - I feel pretty weak! Bue yeah, legs one day, chest/tris/shoulders another and bicep/back another. Or there abouts. The problem I have is I can't really see myself going to the gym three times a week, week in - week out. So I am going to try and limit gym trips to 1-2 times a week, mainly for legs and possibly chest, all other work I'll do at home with my hefty (for me at least) 60lbs dumbbell set.

I will be putting a lot of effort into HIT rowing though, really looking to sprint 300 meters, "walk" 200 meters then sprint 300 again for aruond 15-20 minutes, eventually increasing to 30 mins at a decent pace. Cross trainer will be used for the same kinda thing you said, 45-60 mins at 65% heart rate. That's a doddle, but can be pretty boring. Quite like your idea of trying to get into Lost or continuing 24 again (accidently read ending of season 5 and haven't picked up from episode 10 or so since), that is not such a bad idea! Just have to find a space in the messy garage to put my laptop :). Rowing machines is something I've always looket at doing whilst at a gym/at school etc. I also really feel the benefits of doing it :)

The rower I went for is a basic magnetic one by Reebok. To be honest, I had done no real proper research into them before I ordered. Just went along and ordered a very basic V-Fit air rower for around £165 (http://www.fitness-superstore.co.uk/templates/__12_product_info3_asp3_5_prdID4_28987_prdName33_Artemis_2_%2F_Innsbruck_Air_Rower5_prtID5_100141.html),
I then realised it had only one "resistence" setting, i.e. you couldn't go higher or lower, that was it. I decided that wasn't so great and phoned them up changing to the Reebok RW1 (http://www.fitness-superstore.co.uk/templates/__12_product_info3_asp3_5_prdID4_69167_prdName26_RW1_Magnetic_Folding_Rower5_prtID5_100167.html) for around £230, although I have seen places which state the RRP as £500, which gives me hope it's not a bottom of the pile rubbish piece of kit. The main worry is there appear to be no real reviews of it anywhere (although it is hard to find a review of any rower) on the web and there are also no photos of it folded up. Not really sure if that means anything, but I guess we shall see come the end of this week (or whenever it arrives). It has 8 different resistence settings though, which gives me some variation, it also weighs a good 30 odd kg, so it must be pretty solid

The Concept 2 models are supposed to be the best out there, problem is they are very expensive (especially for a poor student), retailing at around a grand to just over/under. They can be had on ebay for around £100 less if you're lucky - they tend to hold their value well. They are the rowers all top gyms have, just hoping mine does a job when it arrives.

I can be quite bad when it comes to sticking to a decent eating plan, but only at the weekends. During the week I can stick to it easy peasy, weekends I tend to go out to pub/play poker/clubbing etc. and everything goes out the window for two days. Can't see myself giving this up though, can't stay in all my life :)

[Todd]

30kg dumbells? That is hefty :P per arm I'm guessing.

[tIMor`]

Nahhhhhh, total, 30kg each arm would just be silly, that's Arnie territory I think :)

Although all the weight can fit on one if I really feel the need to kill myself, I think it actually works out at about 17.5kg per arm, so around 35kg in total, not including the bar. I use around a third when doing the 12 reps :), not really a weight lifter :----)

[tIMor`]

Seems you can get Concept 2 rowers cheaper than I thought Rapid, second hand rowers can go for as little as £500 if you get lucky. Still too expensive for me mind

[Dilbert]

Concept 2 is what Samwise has got and if they can stand his hulking frame ruttig up and down on it I reckon they must be prety much indestructable !!

Nice to see that you guys are going for fitness as well as physique, I can never understand the people that are only concerned with how their body looks rather than all round fitness .... its like sticking a load of body kit on car with a crappy engine ... it may look the business but theres feck all under the bonnet.

All I am doing atm is running and cycling to lose the pounds and build my fitness up and my running miles ready for another marathon and a few other things later this year. Gonna get myself a slam man when the weathers a bit better as well for some upper body workouts.

[storm^rapid]

managed to bag an ex gym spin bike similar to the one below today, came in at 88 quid but 50 quid delivery on top so 138, but still not a bad price. Let the 65% MHR morning cardio begin.

http://img.kasa.cz/kasa-foto/270/product_18164.jpg

[tIMor`]

I have gone right ahead and slapped £500 down on a Concept 2 Model C Indoor Rowing Machine. It looks the business though to be fair, although I'm gonna have to upgrade the monitor at some point if I want to log all my results etc. onto my PC (which I am obviously going to definately want to do, being a computer geek and all).

But the site www.concept2.co.uk really shows what you can do, online racing would be quite fun as well as being able to have races against your previous times (your boat as a 3d display on the screen as well as your previous times boat as a pace setter/target etc.) as well as online rankings in which you can upload your speeds for certain distance, amount of meters in certain times etc.

You can also get PC software which you can use to monitor all sorts of stuff (through connecting Concept 2 rower to PC/Laptop with USB cable) that gives you data on every workout you've ever done, as well as allowing you to download "demos" of other peoples times and use them as a pace setter/challenge etc.

A massive massive community I never really knew existed before whilst rowing away at the gym, really looking forward to putting many an hour into trying to improve my times/racing people online etc. :D

[Dilbert]

Get the same thing with running tim, loads of people out there with forerunner GPS systems that upload to sites and then compare routes times etc ..... really motivational stuff.

[tIMor`]

Awesome, really looking forward to recieving the rower in a few days time. Can see myself posting embarrasing times to begin with, then getting better and better as my technique improves etc.

The software program (rowpro) also looks pretty awesome, the ability to have a 3d graphic of your previous time, a pre-set time, someone elses time and your own "real time" boat "racing" against eachother would be very motivational.

[Dilbert]

Aye, this is the sort of thing that they should be working at getting online realtime leagues going for so you actually race someone in realtime over the internet ... how cool would that be. And the amount of data that would need sending would be tiny so ping and latency would count for nothing.

[tIMor`]

Yeah this is what rowpro provides, the ability to race people over the internet. People get together and race every week "over the internet", they also have meet ups in person every year or few months etc. You can join rowing clubs etc., massive community out there :)

The only problem is that to be able to do this you need a PM3 (performance monitor 3) that takes all the readings etc. It is an updated version of the PM2 (obviously) that ships with the Model C (one I bought), but the big appeal of the PM3 is the USB connectivety it has. Using the USB connection you can connect the machine to your PC and use a program called Rowgear to monitor every aspect of your training (cal burnt, average heartrate graph/figures, average split time graph/figures, the ability to download someone elses rowgear "demo" and use that as a pace boat to race against and lots of other things), as well as connect to other users (up to three I believe) to race real-time online :)

I just bought the pm3 also which set me back a massive £175, but I will be selling the PM2 which goes for around £80 and father told me he'd pay half. So not so bad :--), but a pain none the less, especially having spent all that money on the thing to begin with. However, it's a lot cheaper than the £1000+ a brand new machine costs.

The gym I'm a member of has a Model C and having used it a few times I can tell this is going to be the exercise for me, will keep me motivated. Also good for strength and great for a cardio workout, just hoping my 2k time isn't too shambolic :)

Anyway, I guess time will tell as to how much use it will really get, but hopefully I'll be on it every day getting a good varied workout (long distance, short distance sprints etc.) :)

[storm^rapid]

Bike finally arrived today :D

Desperately need a heart monitor though, Polar F6 seems to be the preference.. anyone got one going spare?

[tIMor`]

If all you need it for is heart rate in the morning I'd go for the FS1, same model I currently use, one button usage. Very basic though, you might want to go for something a bit more flash. Cheap though, can be had for around £25 online

[storm^rapid]

was thinking of trying to bag one of those top spec bike ones so i can use it in summer as well when going out on the proper bike, but im a bit skint at the mo... F4/F6 seem like the best option.

just need to find one cheapo

[Dilbert]

Ive got a polar F11 (think thats the model it is anyway) they are very nice pieces of kit although I took mine back 3 times because it kept going faulty ...... least thats what I thought until on the 3rd time it went wrong in the same way john lewis actually sent it away to be investigated after swapping it for me .... and found that I had just run the batery down quicker than expected :blush:

In my defense they are meant to last over 12 months so I didnt expect it to need a new battery every 4 months, but I guess I was training an awful lot back then and certainly more than what they considered to be average.

[Dilbert]

That sounds like great fun as well Tim and very motivating !

[tIMor`]

Rowing machine is up and running, currently sitting in the living room much to my mothers annoyance.

Did my first proper row today, 8x500m interval (3 minutes rest inbetween each) at average of around 1:50m per 500m which is very poor, but I guess I have to get use to the machine and sort my technique out. The program I use produced nice little graphs and tables explaining how poor I am, but all is good. I nearly quit after the 4th and 6th as I was so knackered, but continued and completed which I am very pleased with. Tomorrow I will row a nice slow 8k, it is such hard work! But also very enjoyable.

[mid_gen]

Gonna get a rower next month, nothing fancy like that though :P

Cba with all this protein shake lark personally, I just want to get fit and stengthen up my back as my rugby injury is giving me more grief now I'm getting old and past it :cry: I eat pretty healthy anyway (working from home, pretty much live off soup and pittas :P) and I've not got any fat that needs burning really.

Need to pick up my bike from the folks house this weekend and get into more cycling when the weather improves.

[tIMor`]

A smooth 8k today at exactly 2:26.2/500m, completing in 38:59.0 exactly. Had the pace boat on at 2:30/500m but found it too easy so kicked it up a notch. Will set pace boat at around 2:26 next 8k and try to beat it again. Then up it again etc.

Good fun though, but also very very tiring.

[Ostrich]

Seeing as how facking cold it is I'm thinking maybe a rower is the way forward compared to going out for a run. Guessing the benefit isn't quite as good though.....?


:)

[tIMor`]

Depends which way you look at it really. I think running is supposed to burn more calories, but not that many more. Rowing is also a full body workout that also works your upper body, improves strength etc.

Running can also hurt your joints, especially when you are road running. Rowing is a non-impact exercise that doesn't affect any of your joints too much.

Here is the list of target muscle groups you can hit:

http://www.concept2.co.uk/rower/muscle_groups.php

Many triathletes use rowing machines during the cold winters to train, same as rugby players, footballers etc. It is a good all round exercise!

[tIMor`]

Another tought 8k today, beat my time of yesterday by a few seconds. Hard work though :(

[tIMor`]

Another 8k today after moving the rower to the garage (big clearout yesterday), managed to beat previous time by a whopping 35-40 seconds. Not sure why, maybe due to the cooler surroundings or something. Another 8x500 tomorrow, gonna be brutal. Looking forward to it though :D

[Ostrich]

Depends which way you look at it really. I think running is supposed to burn more calories, but not that many more. Rowing is also a full body workout that also works your upper body, improves strength etc.

Running can also hurt your joints, especially when you are road running. Rowing is a non-impact exercise that doesn't affect any of your joints too much.

Here is the list of target muscle groups you can hit:

http://www.concept2.co.uk/rower/muscle_groups.php

Many triathletes use rowing machines during the cold winters to train, same as rugby players, footballers etc. It is a good all round exercise!

Just had a look at that mate. How the feck does it affect your stomach muscles? I did nuff nuff rowing in basic training with the RAF and the only things that ever felt like they'd been excercised were my forearms!

:)

[tIMor`]

The leaning back at the end, you are supposed to lean back and pull at the same time, then back forward again. It's basically like doing a mini sit up every stroke, but really seems to affect the lower stomach area. When you start getting your technique really sorted, you can really begin to feel it all over.

Agree with the forearms thing, can really feel it there.

Another 8x500m today, beginning to think 8x500m is not something I should be doing so early into my rowing career. Although partly my fault as I went in far too quickly again and needed to slow down to recover. Finished the session around 0.6 seconds slower on average per 500m than the last one, but I am confident if I sort out my pace I can lower that average over the next few weeks. One of the 500m was a pathetic 2:07 in which I went off far too quickly early on and had to slow right down.

They say a 500m row is like a 600m run, can't sprint it and can't settle down into a comfortable pace either.

In other news, I have now completed a total of 38,000 metres in the 6 or so days I have been rowing. Going to aim for around 50k a week when I finally get into a rythm. Gonna start doing a lot of 10k's when I finally build up to 10k, then pushing onto some 15k's as well. Going to do some weights work too, probably once a week on the upper body. With all this I should quite easily get into shape within the next 3 months or so.

[tIMor`]

Don't mind me, just chatting to myself fellow fitness buddies.

Last two days I have done a nice slow 10k. Yesterday alongside a paceboat of 2:30/500m, today 2:29.8/500m, tomorrow will be 2.29.6/500m and so will continue (the decline in time) for the whole of February with one or two days off per week. I have been recording my average heart rate for each session too, yesterday was a high 164 average over the 50 minutes (although I forgot to stop it after finishing to may be a bit more than that) and today I recorded an average of 170 (I am guessing this is due to the fact I stopped it on time today _and_ I had a few cheeky pints last night). Basically that means I am extremely unfit, although that is not such a problem, means there is much room for imrpovement.

Today I wore a football shirt I bought back before the world cup (was too tight to wear shall we say, bought the wrong size in fairness) that seemed to fit a hell of a lot better, so thing must be going well!

Anyway, how are you guys getting on? I miss your updates...

[Ostrich]

I joint the gym at the hotel near where I work. Started on Wednesday; 5x5 leg session followed by an uber abs session I found on the internet. Not got time to do anything today but come Monday I'll be well into my new routine.

:)

[tIMor`]

Nice work.

Did another 10k today, average heart rate of 160. Rowed the first 6.5k or so at 10 damper setting by accident (was seeing how much difference there was in the warm up and forgot to change it back), only noticed as I looked at the setting later on. Didn't really fell all that different, but I did feel it in my arms a bit more. A good row though, beat the paceboat by another 4 seconds (basically yesterdays row) and tomorrow I shall beat todays by 4 seconds (roughly a length).

Total metres covered on the Concept 2 since purchace - 65,453

[Todd]

I have finally all the pieces ready to start the cycling. Have been doing the weights routine for past 3 weeks or so though, definitely seeing alot more muscle and strength.

******* exercise bike first came broken, then came repaired but missing foot straps + pedals. So then they send the straps without the pedals etc etc but finally they got it right. All ready for monday :)

[tIMor`]

Another 10k today, beating the previous 10k by 4 seconds again..

Hard hard work this one, might be something to do with yesterdays pub trip. Really felt it at 5000 down :(

[tIMor`]

Another 10k today, beating previous time by 4 seconds again. Gradually getting quicker and fitter as time goes on, think it is the best way to do it. Then when I get fitter I'll begin a training schedule solely aimed at bettering your 2k time. Will keep doing the daily 10k for a few more weeks though, get the time right down.

Felt quite good today, average heart rate was still a high 166, but a nice smooth workout!

[Ostrich]

OK after a week in the gym I need to iron a few things out:

Today is legs and abs.

At the moment I do:

5x5 - squats, calf raises and leg extensions
2 x 12 - various ab routines

What I need is another leg excercise and some more abs routines to rotate. At the moment I do all the standard excercises.

:)

[tIMor`]

I have a pdf document with around 8-10 ab exercises in it, basically a program to help you develop your abs. Never really looked at it, downloaded it a couple of weeks ago off some random site. Give me your e-mail and I'll send it across, it is a touch under 3mb.

Last two days I have done comfortable 10k's, beating each previous time by 4 seconds, average heart rate seems to be coming down slowly. Around 163 ysterday.

Today is a big day, after today's 10k I will have completed more than 100k on the machine so far, a tenth of the way to the big 1 million metres!

[tIMor`]

Should have recieved it now Ostrich!

Another 10k today, broken the 100,000 barrier, at a total of 107,053 metres over the last 14 days, hoping to make that 230,000 or so by the end of the month!

[Ostrich]

Yeah cheers for that. I'm in 2 minds whether to do abs every day or just the 3 days a week that I do weight training.

:)

[Todd]

Definitely do not ever do abs everyday. Pulling one of your stomach muscles is the worst experience ever tbh, I did it this summer doing exactly that. And I couldn't walk for days :[

Also hows your body fat? Building ab muscles ontop of fat will make you look bigger, so do cardio 5 or 3 times a week + abs once a week.

[Ostrich]

Yeah I'm in this to primarly lose weight really. Abs is just a bonus I suppose.

:)

[Todd]

Yeah then definitely do cardio like in my plan, for at least 3 times a week. The abs 1 times a week will get them strengthened + defined abit, but you won't see them unless you lose the fat layers.

[tIMor`]

Today I completed a half marathon (21,097m) at 2:17.9/500m (finished in 1hr 36mins and around 50 seconds. Stepped it up quite considerably, this from going at 2:28/500m for a 10,000m!

Needless to say it was extremely hard, although I did feel a bit disappointed when it was over! Tomorrow I might have a rest day or do another slow comfortably 10k :)

Right now I'm probably going to have a bite to eat then collapse and watch a film/sleep :---------)

Can definately feel myself getting a lot fitter, hopefully in 2-3 months I will be posting some decent times.

[tIMor`]

Here he is then, Tim Harrington, stepping up his game to 15,000 a day at 2:15.4/500m.

Yesterday's went quite well, today I'm looking for the same kinda speed. Really feeling fitter then I have done for a while, hope I can keep it up!

[tIMor`]

Failed today, 15k at 2:17/4, fell apart during the last 4k or so. Such hard work :( Should really take it down a notch, trying to do a serious hard 15k pb every day is not the best idea! Tomorrow I shall complete at a slower pace, maybe around 2:18 or so.

Tomorrow will also see me hit the 200k mark :-------)

[tIMor`]

Another 15k at 2:18.9 today, slowed right down and just "paddled" along.. Another attempt at 2:15.5 might well have killed me, average heart rate was 155!!

Considering only two weeks ago I was doing 10k at 2:28.8 and averaging 168 over 48 minutes or so, that is a massive improvement!!

Got the bug again, after yesterdays session I was dreading today's, but slowing it down a bit has helped a lot. Can't beat a "pb" every day...

Also sees me top 200k with a total of 204,697metres over the last 22 days or so. Averaging around 9300 metres a day, which is nice.

First Monday in March I am going to start a specialised training plan in which I concentrate on trying to lower my 5,000 metre time. Includes a 15k every other day mixed in with interval/sprint work, should freshen it up a bit and help improve my fitness further.

Again, don't mind me, just talking to myself :--------)

[Todd]

Is it safe to do rowing day after day? Just wondering as I know it involves alot of different muscle groups.

[tIMor`]

I would have thought so, nearly everyone @ the concept2 forums appears to, from what I've read anyway :)

Also, the rowing schedules for the olympic teams is pretty brutal with rowing work every day :)

I have one rest day a week anyhoo, pretty sure it is fine

[tIMor`]

15k again today, this time I went for it. Result is an average time of 2:11.9/500m. A full 3.1 seconds quicker then ever before :----)

Tomorrow I'll probably do another 15k but slow it down a bit, or maybe even start on some intervals. Not decided yet.

[Todd]

I have completed my first week of cycling each morning, along with the weight training. My foot is so freakishly muscular all of a sudden, and I've got a new muscle around the knee area :confused:

Dead knackered this resting weekend. Good fun cycling/watching dvd though :)

[tIMor`]

That is wrong, should be 3.6 seconds faster than ever before :o!

You cycling far or just keeping to a certain heart rate?
Was thinking of putting in some weight training into my little routine, but I find weight training pretty boring.

[Todd]

Well it's my first week and I haven't even bought batteries for the heart rate monitor/speed calculator. I've just done 30 minutes per day - ish. I keep at the conversational rate, until I cannot do anymore. Pushing myself to the limits so to speak.

Not sure if I'll start the whole races thing like you, sounds fun but I really I just want to keep it steady + keep my fitness level steady.

Weight training is quite boring but I almost never do exercise without some form of entertainment, dvd or ipod.

[tIMor`]

Nice work, not sure I'm one for bikes, prefer to use more of the body!

Did another 15k today at a rather quick 2:09.0/500m, which is basically faster than my previous 5k pb time :-------)

Pretty shattered now, obviously, but pleased I've managed to step it up once more.

[Todd]

Yeah the bike is a bit limited, but it does train the lower abs quite abit I've noticed. Maybe it's just the fat loss.

Rowing for me was too tough ;]

This week I'm upping the weights to 20kg each hand for most of the exercises.

[Todd]

Timors do you take one scoop of body fortress or more? The vanilla flavour is drinkable, don't see what the fuss is about, rather this than preparing lots of food :]

[tIMor`]

I normally stick to around 30g protein each shake, so two scoops and three before bed. I haven't been using it recently though, ran out and didn't wanna spend so much! They are down to £9.99 again now though, may get some more.

[Todd]

Ok cheers

[tIMor`]

Today, whilst entering the garage, I had a strange (somewhat moronic) thought that I could do 5k in less than 20 minutes (keeping a 2:00/500m split time for 20 minutes). So I set myself this target and put together a play list on my laptop (with speaker attached) that lasted just over 20 minutes to keep me going and lift me when feeling dead. Three artists involved were Stevie Wonder, James Brown and, somewhat out of place, Kasabian. I set a pace boat at 2:00/500m for a total of 5,000 metres, which basically meant I had to beat it to record a time of under 20 minutes.

I started off at a rather stupidly quick pace of 1:45 for the first 250 minute or so, this quickly slowed to around 1:50 for the rest of the first 1,000 metres or so. It was at this point that the speed slowly decreased all the way to the end. From 3000-2000 metres (left), I was hovering around 2:02 – 2:03, a dangerous speed as at the time it would have me finish at around 20:06, not something I wanted! I was certain at that point that I wouldn’t make it less than 20 minutes, I was hurting so much, felt like stopping altogether.

THEN, out of nowhere, club foot kicked in, memories of PES 5 came upon me and I lifted myself back to just under 2:00/500m. Then disaster, after club foot I had the rather mellow(ish), if awesome, Payback by James Brown – not very uplifting. I continued though and got through to a 1,000 left with an average of 1:59.5/500m, with 1,000 metres to go. I looked at the monitor, in the bottom corner was a number that scared me a bit, 193 – my heart rate had hit a rather scary 193, I thought about it for a split second then decided I couldn’t care less, I was going for it.

It was then I started to _REALLY_ feel the pain, it was at this point that Stevie saved me. On came Superstition, a great beat to help me through. Looking up at the monitor I saw 800 left, I let out a cry of pain but was determined to finish, then 600 left, then 400, then 200 left and I knew I was going to make it!!

After collapsing and falling off the rower at the end, I looked up at the monitor to see an average of 1:59.5 and a finishing time of 19:55.3! I had done it! Unbelievably, I sat there amazed if I’m honest, I honestly couldn’t see it with 3,000 to go.

After this, I went into my house, washed my face in the sink, then came back to the rower and completed a slow 10k at 2:18/500m, just to keep the 15k a day up.

I can honestly say, having not remembered anything that has been as difficult, that this was the hardest thing I think I have ever done in my life. Especially in terms of exercise, never before have I put so much into something related to exercise, I honestly thought I was going to faint at one point.

Anyway, I must try to recover for tomorrow’s 15k, which will probably be slightly slower than the past few days!

[tIMor`]

Today I did another 15k at an average pace of 2:08.8/500m, again beating the previous time! Although I found it hard at the end, it was very comfortable considering yesterday's session.

How tall are you by the way Todd? 70 kg isn't very much at all :o

[Todd]

5ft10, I'm down to 68kg now, but I'm resting for a week now after what happened today :[

I went for a chlorestol checkup at asda of all places today, got this free offer from benecol. They couldnt get more than a drop of blood from my finger, so they kept pushing it to try and squeeze more out. But then a massive rush came to my head and I passed out. Woke up a while after, with tens of people screaming around me because they didn't feel a pulse + my eyes were twitching, then I fainted two more times after that. Waking up for a few seconds then out again. Finally I woke up and they poured energy drinks + caffeine down me which kicked my heart back into action, but tbh I feel so shitty still, will go to hospital if tomorrow isn't better.

[tIMor`]

You should go hospital anyway! That doesn't sound particularly nice, I would get nyself checkout straight away if I were you!

[Todd]

Mm yeah I had tried to get a heart scan + blood tests before at my student GP, who then dismissed it saying I would need proof of a chronic disease?? So now I'm going back to say thanks :rolleyes:

[tIMor`]

I'd get it looked at no matter what tbh.

Back to my reports! Thursday I did a slow 10k (around 2:10/500m) before playing 5 a side footy in the evening.

Friday I had my usual day off, relaxed a bit and did some unit stuff.

Yesterday I did another hard 15k at 2:06.5, a new fastest time for me, hurt quite a bit but got through it and felt good afterwards.

Today I did another hard 15k at a pace of 2:03.8, so another fastest time. This one hurt quite a bit more than yesterday, but am very pleased with the time, am getting quicker as the days pass :)

Not at a total of 320,000 metres, getting closer to the 1 million mark :)

[tIMor`]

Yesterday I finished another 15k at 2:04.3/500m, slower than Sunday but still pretty pleased with it.

[Todd]

2 hours? You must have a heck of alot of motivation :O

[tIMor`]

:)

The 2:04.3/500m is the average amount of time it takes to complete each 500 metre split during the 15,000 metre. There are obviously 30 of these splits, so around an hour and a couple of minutes per 15,000 minutes.

Today I reached another of my targets, a half-marathon (21,097 metres) in less than 1 hour 30 minutes (an average of 2:07.00), I managed to finish in 2:06.9 and came in around 30 seconds shy of an hour and thirty minutes, woop.

Extremely hard work though, had given up with around 5,500 to go whilst suddenly finding it within myself to finish in time. Think it was the thought of watching the footy in the evening and resting, in the know I was one step further in my list of "goals" :---)

[tIMor`]

Wednesday and Thursday I did "comfortable" 15k's at around 2:09 on Wenesday and 2:07 on Thursday.

Today I again bettered my 15k best time, now standing at 2:03.0/500m, was previously 2:03.8, so only .8/500m taken off, maybe tomorrow I can better it further!

I've worked out that per 15k I am roughly burning just over 1,000 calories, so a fair whack each session.

[Todd]

Still doing the rowing tim0r? I'm still cycling, really seeing a difference in the strength of my legs, keep upping the tension for my sessions. And reporting from the docs, the results aren't conclusive yet, but so far it is pointing towards a thyroid disease of some sort :]

[tIMor`]

Hi hi

Yeah, still doing it 6 days a week, 15k every day. Last week I experimented with some 3x5k sessions, trying to get each under 20 mins (with 5 min break between each one) or average under 20 mins. Did it for two sessions before realising I was getting ahead of myself, having only just done a stand alone 5k in under 20 mins, although I never averaged above 2:01.0, so not far off.

So I changed to one 5k followed by a 10k for a couple of days, then back to my full 15k on Wednesday and Thursday in which I equalled my second best 15k time ever (which is good considering it was on a Thursday when I was knackered from all the other workouts).

Today I did another straight 15k and broke my previous best by 1.9 seconds per 500m, so it now stands at 2:01.1, down from 2:03.0, which is nice as the last time I beat it I only did so by 0.8 seconds, so a nice improvement. Think I might change it up tomorrow and do 1x5k then 1x10k, will see!

[tIMor`]

Should also point out I've lost just under a stone and a half in the six weeks I've been rowing, quite the amount really, all of it fat too, so that is nice.

[tIMor`]

Yesterday was a rather poor 2:02.9 after I had to stop completely for a minute to sort out a speaker problem (the cable is dodgey and I lose sound altogether if it moves at all), replcaed the speaker today so no more problems with that.

Today was a 2:01.6, better than the average of last week, so that is nice, but had to stop for water, don't think I drank enough before the start. Still a reasonable time though, happy with it considering.

[tIMor`]

WOOOOOOOOOOP

Today I broke the 60 minute barrier for 15,000 mertres, rowing an average of 1:58.8/500m, finishing in 59 minutes 24 seconds, which is quite quick considering I was aiming for anything under 60 minutes. Has to be said, I am getting pretty adicted to this indoor rowing lark :----)

[Tolon]

Sounds like your doing good now. I'm finding it hard to lose 7lbs tbh :(

[tIMor`]

I was doing really well to be honest, two weeks ago I did a marathon in under three hours (the last 50 mins were possibly the worst of my life!), having finished that I also reached 1,000,000 metres in 2 1/2 months.

Having had two weeks off and returning yesterday I have lost a lot of my fitness, quite shocking how poor I have become. Yesterday I set out to do a half-marathon at the usual "comfortable" pace and had to stop after 15,000, with my hands siezing up. Today I was just no where, had to stop after 6,000 feeling very weak and tired..

Looks like I'm going to have to build up again, will tackle 8,000 tomorrow and take it up from there, serious loss of fitness though!

[Tolon]

Thats the problem with achieving a good level of fitness i suppose, if it's stopped you quickly spiral down to the huffing and puffing stage again :(

[lucretius]

roughly a third of the time it took you to get to the level you were at....12 months training down the drain in 4 if you let slip.

Good work Tim, hope you can keep it up.

[tIMor`]

:------)

Am approaching the big 2 million now, will be there by the middle of next week.

Doing half-marathons 6 days a week to generally keep fit and work up a heavy sweat. Will start a programme soon to improve certain distance times, probably 2,000m or 5,000m metre training programme which should be fun.

[tIMor`]

This forum don't seem to be getting much use at the mo :p