How to get in good physical shape?

[bean]

It seems to me that using a leg press will produce both concentric and eccentric contractions.

And not a single stabilizing muscle. You need squats.

[rod9301]

Squats also produce concentric and eccentric contractions.

Not sure what produces only eccentric.

[buttahflake]

anyone else into jumping rope?
i just got back into it
30 seconds of double under's will let you know waht's up!
git sum

[smallies]

My metabolism was gaping until I discovered the egg breakfast swimming in olive oil over easy on a piece of wheat toast. Used to love squats with my shoes untied but rested too much between sets. Walk the treadmill backwards.

[Shredhead]

I can't believe no one's even mentioned swimming. Best thing you can do.

Be like Klaus!
http://www.wsj.com/articles/at-95-a-...out-1448899633

[plugboots]

Pffffft, swimming. It's just fancy drowning.

[2FUNKY]

That's funny.

[I've seen black diamonds!]

That's funny.

Yup. Well done.

[m-ruta]

This is a topic that I give a fairly obsessive amount of thought to. There's been lots of solid advice here, and I won't go into too much detail, but I do have some thoughts.

First, do literally anything. If you are out of shape you're in the perfect place for guaranteed improvement. Just getting off your ass and moving around in some capacity will do wonders.

Second, moderation is key. Trying to launch yourself into some kind of flat-volume routine without any gradualness is begging for injury, or at least burnout. If you want to stay fit for life you're going to have to play chess, not checkers. As you start to increase your activity level back towards what it once was, your neurological interface with your body is going to snap quickly back into shape. Your muscles and connective tissue will not. Prime time to hurt yourself. Consider starting painfully low, volume wise and adding roughly 5% every other week for at least a few months. Listen to your body.

Aerobically, do whatever you want. Run, ride, hike, swim, whatever. You're not a pro athlete, and even they train specifically for only portions of their year. Too much specificity = injuries. Spend most of your time at an intensity that lets you breathe through your nose. If you're a lifetime mouth breather with crap sinuses like me, buy the cheapest hrm you can find. Use it until you have a handle on what various intensities really feel like.

Strength training is important. Do some. It may be the only non diet thing you can do to get rid of that paunch. If you don't want to go to the gym, buy some of those screw together dumbells, gymnastic rings, and a swiss ball. Supplement later with some kettle bells (or a diy substitute) and maybe a bar/plates. Or not. You don't need much weight, even for things like squats. Enough variations exist to make it hard without going hugely heavy. Stay away from machines if you do go to the gym, unless you're rehabbing an injury and need to be very careful about how force is applied to something. Compound free weight stuff is vastly superior as it builds entire muscle chains and stabilizers.

Eat good food. Paleo is dumb, but avoiding processed food isn't. I tend to function well on a high fat - high protien diet. You might not. Play around with it, see what feels good.

Stretch.

Lastly, I am not a professional trainer or nutritionist. I'm just a guy who likes to try hard and read boring sciencey books. So, you know, don't take me too seriously.

[I've seen black diamonds!]

^^^^^^ Well said.

[teledad]

Good book for anyone interested in this subject. Not just for climbers, goes into a lot of the theory behind training and how to maximize the benefits.

Training for the New Alpinism

[m-ruta]

Second TFTNA. Well written, sciency but not boring. I reference it often. It is a little bit geared towards maniacs, but it focuses well on principles and is easily adapted.

[FatKidFromFL]

I stopped drinking a month ago and it is the best thing that has ever happened to my body. (and my mind..... but thats for a diff thread!)

[_bburch]

If cycling is only working your quads, you are not doing cycling correctly

I'm willing to admit when I'm wrong... rode yesterday and paid more attention. Turns out the picture here is much more informed than my original comment.

[robrox]

I'm willing to admit when I'm wrong... rode yesterday and paid more attention. Turns out the picture here is much more informed than my original comment.

took me three seasons to catch on.....

[dark_star]

Why?

I think it's too mechanically efficient to be useful as a primary training tool for either downhill or backcountry skiing. Plus, if someone sits all day at work, they already have tight hip flexors and cycling would just exacerbate that problem.

FWIW I race skimo and have gotten my ass handed to me by first-rate cyclists. Cycling can be exceptional, low impact exercise and I do it all the time. I think it's highly valuable and definitely wouldn't write it off so easily.

Oh- and this might be more than you set out to do, but if you have the means I would strongly recommend that you buy a heart rate monitor, read up on heart rate zones, and try to spend a lot of time doing SLOW, EASY training (i.e., fat burning zone, or Zone 1). This will train your body to help you metabolize fat, build muscular strength, and reduce the risk of injury. There's a lot out there on how to train with a heart rate monitor and it's a minor investment of time and money (for the monitor itself), but I think it's worth it. Odds are you'll run embarrassingly slow while getting started- but then you're much more likely to make lasting gains and not get hurt.

Good book for anyone interested in this subject. Not just for climbers, goes into a lot of the theory behind training and how to maximize the benefits.

Training for the New Alpinism

This, for example, is a great reference for how to train with a heart rate monitor, and also to help you understand how your body responds to training/workouts.

[mogul5480]

Cycling up techy hills is a phenomenal anaerobic workout. I get as gassed from climbing hills as from any Crossfit wod I have ever done. With respect to muscle development, however, I think teledad makes a good point. It exacerbates psoas tightness and creates all sorts of imbalances in the back if you ride and don't lift or stretch. M-ruta's post is extremely thoughtful and concise. I would think you can't go wrong listening to it.

[auvgeek]

This, for example, is a great reference for how to train with a heart rate monitor, and also to help you understand how your body responds to training/workouts.

It's also where I got the idea that cycling is too mechanically efficient to use useful as a primary cardio activity for climbing/skiing.

Honestly, it seems like we're all using TFTNA (I provided a link to it on page 1 of this thread) and regurgitating the info here in our own words, so the OP should just read it himself.

[dark_star]

It's also where I got the idea that cycling is too mechanically efficient to use useful as a primary cardio activity for climbing/skiing.

Honestly, it seems like we're all using TFTNA (I provided a link to it on page 1 of this thread) and regurgitating the info here in our own words, so the OP should just read it himself.

Re: cycling, totally agree that it's a harder mapping of exertion to heart rate/training zones (hence power meters), but you can definitely dial it in with a little effort and experience. But agree, maybe not the place to start if you're using this approach.

But yeah, TFTNA was the inspiration for me to get with a more structured training plan. Made a HUGE difference. OP should just go read it.

[robrox]

Riding bicycles: Road, cross, track, BMX and MTB is often great for attitude adjustments, you know, for putting a bit of zing into life, that on top of the physical benefits is worth something. Mountainous hiking surely does likewise.

Yet, inspite of all the benefits of the foregoing, imo, nothing builds power throughout a body like hard manual labor integrated with 6-7 miles of hiking...you know, "gardening". Axe work, sawing, lopping, lifting, throwing and so forth is not the whole of it, there is also problem solving, so the brain gets into the game too. A few back to back days of 8-10 hours each and the padding melts off as the entire body hardens and gains suppleness. Naturally, in order to realize maximum benefit, proper skills are required and a sense of pace is an absolute must

Amazingly, at 65 years, I look forward to and revel in such days. Hopefully 85 will find me still at it.

Train, don't strain!

[Cabinfever]

Attaboy Robert

[timackie]

If the OP is looking for a basic fitness as a father, husband, and regularly employed guy who likely has little free time, consider commuting by bicycle. CO roads are bike friendly as is the weather. Circumstances vary, but I spend 15 minutes per day more on the bike than I would in a car. Google map has a bike function that is great. Use the daily commute as a foundation that doesn't take any extra time out of your day and leaves more time for fun exercise.

[yeahman]

Yet, inspite of all the benefits of the foregoing, imo, nothing builds power throughout a body like hard manual labor integrated with 6-7 miles of hiking...you know, "gardening". Axe work, sawing, lopping, lifting, throwing and so forth is not the whole of it, there is also problem solving, so the brain gets into the game too. A few back to back days of 8-10 hours each and the padding melts off as the entire body hardens and gains suppleness.

This is absolutely true. If you want to lose a guaranteed 10 pounds, paint your house.

[teledad]

Biking is a great workout but it's less time efficient than running. I've been doing both for many years and as a rough guess it'll typically take twice as long to get an equivalent workout on the bike. That's not including the time spent doing maintenance on the bike, fixing flats, etc.. Of course if you're on a bike instead of sitting in a car (like the commuting suggestion) that changes things. And if you have the time, pick whatever's the most fun (assuming you can do either, some people are unable to run without injury due to biomechanics).

Personally I run during the week and then bike on weekends when I have more time. In the winter replace biking with skiing. Main thing is to figure out what'll get you out there every day (or as many days as possible), then do it.

[MagnificentUnicorn]

Riding bicycles: Road, cross, track, BMX and MTB is often great for attitude adjustments, you know, for putting a bit of zing into life, that on top of the physical benefits is worth something. Mountainous hiking surely does likewise.

Yet, inspite of all the benefits of the foregoing, imo, nothing builds power throughout a body like hard manual labor integrated with 6-7 miles of hiking...you know, "gardening". Axe work, sawing, lopping, lifting, throwing and so forth is not the whole of it, there is also problem solving, so the brain gets into the game too. A few back to back days of 8-10 hours each and the padding melts off as the entire body hardens and gains suppleness. Naturally, in order to realize maximum benefit, proper skills are required and a sense of pace is an absolute must

Amazingly, at 65 years, I look forward to and revel in such days. Hopefully 85 will find me still at it.

Train, don't strain!

This is absolutely true. If you want to lose a guaranteed 10 pounds, paint your house.

Just do something everyday. Hike, run, bike AND do a little yard work or home maintenance, take a walk after dinner as well as the work(out). Next time you go for a hike or mtb ride bring a saw and some small loppers and do some trail maintenance. Today I got the dogs out and hiked about 10 miles and cleared a bunch of brush and about 8 pretty sizable deadfall with a hand lopper and small hand saw and/or just picked them up or rolled them to get them off the trail. Great work out and fun. Just keep moving.