Can any of you fitness gurus give me some tips?

[battleknight24]

Just a few weeks ago, I started working out on a regular basis... push-ups, sit-ups, jumping jacks, and I recently bought a couple of dumb-bells, and my doctor recommended that I take a multi-vitamin supplement. I have a few questions.

1. If I have pretty vigorous workouts, should I alternate days (workout, rest, workout, rest)?

2. I barely turning 22 later this month... do you agree with my doctor that I should take a multi-vitamin pill since I am starting to workout on a regular basis? Or are multi-vitamins only for older people?

3. What about supplements, such as protein shakes and bars? My doctor was kind of wary... he said, and I'm paraphrasing, supplements of any kind are not necessary if you watch what you eat and exercise right...

4. Any other info you can give me will be greatly appreciated!


Peace,

[gyopsy]

1. I answered what I could

1. I'm 19, so I never had any problems working out 5 days a week. But do what is comfortable for you. As you get older (in another 15 years or so) maybe things will become different I don't know. Since you're 22, I see no reason you should have to worry though.

2. I don't know about this one. Your doctor is probably right.

3. I agree with your doctor on this one. Just watch what you eat. Going to the gym helps a lot! You'll notice you'll start losing weight WITHOUT those supplements so I wouldn't bother for a while.

[GOPisEvil]

2. What are your goals?

Weight loss? General fitness?

Mlti-vitamins and supplements are ok, but if you eat a well-balanced diet you shouldn't need them.

Generally, I work different groups of muscles on different days, allowing for rest of 48 hours at least.

You might invest in a session or two with a personal trainer. They'll design something specific for you, as well as teach you how to do things without hurting yourself.

[BOSSHOG]

3. Take at least one day off between lifting, preferably more.

A nice protein shake is good after lifting. Lift before cardiovascular work. A little research and you will find that you can get most of the vitamins you need from food (fruits, veggies, etc). I'm an "old" guy and the only dietary supplement I take is Alfalfa, but that is for arthritis. Be Patient, have fun.

[battleknight24]

4. I'm the original poster... My goal is just general fitness...

... and, well, I'm a guy, so I want to look good for the girls too... I'm also doing this for self-esteem reasons... I want to take a little more pride in my body...

Peace,

[smartass]

6. I'm an avid weightlifter!! You're young so you should be able to

work out at least 4 days a week. Work different muscles everyday while also maintyaing a cardiovascular workout (running, stationary bike etc.) Here's a link for some visual lifting exercises. Good luck!

http://www.pacifictigers.com/athleticperformance/

[gyopsy]

7. Yeah

This is what I was saying in my above post. There's nothing wrong with working out 4 or 5 days a week as long as you do it smart. In fact, I honestly belive that's what it takes if you're really serious about it. 2 or 3 days a week is nice but it's just maintinence.

[Stevendsmith]

5. Tips

Mix cardio with weightlifting.

And vigorous workouts are good, but pace yourself. When I first started working out, my purpose was to lose weight--mainly flab from all the junk I eat! I would do intense, high-resistance cardio workouts on an elliptical trainer for 30 minutes at a time. I felt the more I sweated and punished myself, the better the results would be. I also didn't want to spend too much time at the gym. I tried to cram as much workout into as little time as possible. On a doctor's advice, I reduced the resistance on the machine and lengthened the workout to 45 minutes. I get much better results now.

I hope this helps!

[TlalocW]

8. My advice

1. You could probably do either and still get in better shape. I doubt if you'll hurt yourself if you exercise every day, or you could do weights one day then more cardiovascular work the next.

2. Go ahead and take a multi-vitamin. Your body will be using more nutrients to replenish itself.

3. I say same thing for the bar/shakes. Your body will need more protein to re-build your muscles after you work out. I hear it should be eaten within an hour of workout.

4. Always work out at the same time every day. This will help you keep your schedule if a certain time is marked as exercise time. Free weights are better than machines. Instead of counting up as you do your reps, choose what number of reps you want to do or think you can do and count down from that number instead. Don't grit your teeth when lifting - you'll eventually put little cracks in them. (I'm all over the map here) Take a damn towel and use it by laying it over the bench you're going to put your stinkin', sweaty body on. When girls walk by when you're doing, say, arm curls, start counting up from the mid 30s. Dips, dips, dips. Other weightlifters like it when you call them a wuss when they fail at lifting a weight. That's pretty much it.

TlalocW

[Snow]

9. You'll get lots of strong opinions on types of workouts,

techniques (should you do high reps/low weights or low reps/high weights) and so on. The most important thing is to find a workout that you can stick with & will do. All the techniques in the world are no good if you don't do them regularly. So find something that you'll keep doing.

Second, your doc seems to be something of a traditionalist - he's pushing the vitamins, a very traditional dietary supplement, approved by the powers that have power, but when you ask about other dietary supplements, he's leery. I think the term 'dietary supplements' is confusing. It's a deliberate neologism constructed to avoid saying 'herbal medicine' because the FDA doesn't want anyone outside the regular players to be selling medicine. So, that's the term used, and that may be what your doc is reacting to. Having said that, there are real 'dietary supplements' that aren't some form of non-pharamacy company medicine, that actually do supplement your diet, and the protein shakes fall into that category. I think your doc is reacting to the term, though.

Anyway, good luck - and take a look at martial arts study, if you're interested. It can be a real dandy workout if pick the right gym. Whistle if you'd like to hear a bit more on the topic. Also, I bicycle to work, & that gives me a more-or-less automatic cardio workout. Look for opportunities like that in your life; it makes things easier.

[ZenLefty]

10. The one thing that works well is Variety

I had a lot of success dividing my workouts into light days and heavy days. On light days I would do cardio, followed by light weights. I'd do more reps and rest for less time between sets. On heavy days, I'd go as heavy as I could go on the big ones (deadlift, squat, bench, etc.) and rest as much as I wanted, no cardio. This gave the muscles enough time to heal and be ready for the next heavy set.

But shake things up a bit, and keep trying different things. You'll develop a groove that works well for you, but don't stay in the same groove for too long. Change patterns every eight weeks or so. If your body gets used to what you're doing, it won't grow and develop as well.

[jansu]

11. Tortoise and the Hare.....works the same with exercise!

Get in the habit of doing whatever you can keep doing for life!

I'm in my 50's and have been very overweight for the past 20 years. Last year, I decided that enough was enough. I thought about what to do and came up with two ideas. One, you never see a fat ditch digger, because they are moving 8 hours per day and two, there are women in this world who walk 6 miles per day, just to get clean water for their families to drink and they are in great shape.

I lost 110 pounds in 8 months, without dieting. I watched what I ate, but ate 6 times per day. I did some form of exercise 4 to 6 times per day. (Eating that often makes it easier not to over eat, keeps your blood sugar in the normal zones, and exercising that often keeps your metabolic rate up for 3+ hours after each session). Almost anyone can do this. You have a coffee break, lunch break etc. Just walk around outside or even in the hallways. I walk at least 3 miles per day, 7 days per week. I lift free weights at the computer, when I am driving or watching TV. I park in the middle of town and walk to all the stores. I get 10,000 steps in each day, besides my 3 mile walk. You need 17 miles per week of walking according to the Government experts.

I do take supplements each day: vitamins and minerals. It can't hurt you and it has made a difference in my health. It is hard to get the right amount of everything you need.

Walking is the best form of exercise, IMHO......It is what our bodies were designed to do. I have never seen a person who walks with problem areas on their bodies. But, you can always target an area if you need to.

Good luck with this! I wish I had kept it up through my life.... But at least I will go into my old age in great shape! Still have more to lose, but I am on my way!:toast: