Part 4: Staying Motivated

If you’re just joining us, Part 1 starts here.

This can be the hardest part for many people. They started going to the gym, and something comes up and this miss a day, and then another, and another.  Pretty soon they haven’t gone in two weeks and it feels like a huge struggle to start again.

How do you prevent starting this trend?  First off, there’s a few reasons beginners might start to dread or avoid working out.

They might say, “I started going to the gym, but….”

“I got really tired/ sore.”

This is hard to avoid.  If you’ve never really worked out, and then you go to the gym, try everything and workout for awhile, the next day you’ll be really sore.  The first time I started working out again after a long break, I did way too much arm work and couldn’t easily straighten my arms without a lot of soreness.  Start slow and slowly increase the weight, time, or intensity of your workout.  There will be days when you get sore, but the first 2 weeks are usually the worst.

“I couldn’t do the reps/ minutes I wanted to.”

It’s ok to set high goals, but understand you need a systematic approach.  If you want to row for 20 minutes, you try and don’t make it, then take a time you can do, and add 2 minutes every time you go. It’ll add up quickly.

“I’m embarrassed because I can only lift a little weight / do a few minutes of cardio.”

I’ve honestly never seen anyone in the gym sneer, snicker or comment on someone lifting or the amount of time they spend on the treadmill.  Most people at least stick to their own routine, and many are willing to help you out if you ask.  I’ve never heard anyone ask for a spot on a lift and the person respond ‘No’.  Everyone is at a different point.

Get yourself there

In the end these are all excuses.  You’ll have rough, bad workouts.  You’ll have good ones.  A lot of it comes down to not giving up on your goals, which I mentioned in the first part of this series.

It’s easier to keep up a habit rather than break the trend.  If you’ve been missing workouts, it’s easier to keep missing them, but at the same time, if you’ve been going regularly, it’ll be easier to keep up.

There will always be something that comes up, and you just need to work around it.  You need to know why you starting going in the first place, and don’t forget it.

Get yourself to the gym, be consistent, and you’ll achieve your goals.

Part 1: Getting started and Goal Setting

Part  2: Run faster and jump higher: Cardiovascular Fitness

Part 3: 101 guide to carrying people:  Weight Lifting

Part 4: Staying Motivated – You are HERE

Part 3: 101 guide to carrying people:  Weight Lifting

If you’re just joining us, Part 1 starts here.

It’s common knowledge that if you lift heavy things repeatedly, you’ll get stronger. Currently I’ve been following the Stronglifts.com 5×5 workout, which I think is a great resource.  But weight lifting isn’t just for guys, it’s great for women too.

This guide is also for people who lift already, so keep reading even if you already lift weights. It might be interesting to get another perspective, even if you follow a different routine.

One thing I want to clear up. People might ask, ‘If I lift weights won’t I get bulky and slow?‘

No. If you can train at a moderate intensity you will actually gain endurance, and you only get bulky if you are trying to put on weight.  This also applies to women.

First off, here are some general guidelines:

Technique is KEY.  If you don’t use correct technique, you can injure yourself.  If you are working out and can no longer hold correct technique with a certain weight, stop.  I see SO MANY people working out incorrectly.  At best, it’s less efficient, at worst, you’re hurting yourself. Take the time to watch videos on how to do an exercise.  Read a step by step guide, it’ll be worth it to prevent injury.  Don’t sacrifice technique to lift that extra 5 pounds and stroke your ego, or try to look impressive.  If you aren’t doing it correctly you won’t get stronger.

A common example of bad technique:  People go in, lift something clearly too heavy for them, and lower it only a few inches.  Or they flail around doing an exercise way too quickly.  Neither works well.

When lifting, going all the way through the movement with a steady, if quick motion, is extremely important.

Get a routine together.  If you don’t know what to do, look online for proven workout routines geared toward your goals.  If you do that, follow them, don’t get too creative.

Don’t go too often, your body needs to rest, especially as you start lifting heavier.  A general guideline is 48 hours for a given muscle to fully recover.

Forget Bicep Curls

The best way to build a foundation is to do exercises like bench press and squats that work multiple muscles at once as opposed to working each muscle individually.  This allows you to lift the most weight, the most times in a given day, using multiple pieces of your body as one.  It’ll also give you balanced muscle growth, you’ll look strong.  Have you ever seen someone who only works out their biceps? They look silly.  Training your full body is important since getting stronger in one area will help your other lifts, and avoid imbalances.

Strength Training

Why do strength training?  Stronglifts has a good introduction. You do low rep, high weight exercises without a lot of rest between sets. This makes it a fairly aerobic. You’ll gain practical strength and build strong dense muscle.  This is based on muscular hypertrophy.  Doing 5 sets of 5 reps, mostly builds muscle strength and a little size. Doing 3 sets of 8 reps gives you more gains in size and less in strength.  However, with strength training, as you get stronger you can lift more and therefore gain more muscle mass.  And honestly, would you rather be strong, or only appear strong?

My results

Since August 2009 I’ve been using Stronglifts 5×5, and it has had some major benefits.  Which is why I linked it so damn much.  I was kind of lost before I started looking into websites built around good routines. From August to the end of November, Joe and I were very consistent. Keep in mind we’d started working out for the first time in May.  On August 11th (I keep a book of our workouts) I got on the 5×5 program:

August 11th: (Everything is in pounds)
Body Weight: ~160
(All are for 5×5)
Squat: 145
Bench Press: 100
Overhead Press: 65
Deadlift: 135

November 30th:
Body Weight: ~168
(Max is 1 rep)
Squat:215 (max: 245)
Bench Press:135 (max: 155)
Overhead: 95 (max: 110)
Deadlift: 265 (max: 295)

I’ve been pretty happy switching to Stronglifts.  It has cut down the time I spend in the gym, but I still do quality workouts.  I stopped doing bicep curls, but after only a few months, weight I could barely pick up I was able to lift for many reps.  I’m still on the same routine now, and I plan to switch over to the Stronglifts Advanced program once I hit my 1.5 bodyweight squat.

Sign Up

Whatever your goal is, commit to achieving it and go do it! It doesn’t take that much time a week to make it to the gym.  Find a gym near you, sign up and get started.

Part 1: Getting started and Goal Setting

Part  2: Run faster and jump higher: Cardiovascular Fitness

Part 3: 101 guide to carrying people:  Weight Lifting – You are HERE

Part 4: Staying Motivated

Part  2: Run faster and jump higher: Cardiovascular Fitness

If you’re just joining us, Part 1 starts here.

People do cardiovascular exercise to lose weight and build endurance.  Weight is all about the amount of calories to eat versus the amount you burn during the day.  If you burn more than you eat, you’ll lose weight. There’s about 3500 calories in one pound.

The idea is that you work out for upwards of thirty minutes, and since you are  active it help burns calories.  Your body gets used to the increased heart rate and you’ll tire slower while being active, building endurance.

If you are focusing on endurance, it’s better to do sets of exercise that will push your anaerobic threshold.  For example,  Rowing 4-6 sets of 5 minutes, with 2-3 minutes rest in between, or doing ten minute sets.

For burning calories, its best to focus on ‘steady state’ cardio, by doing an exercise at a pace you can hold for 30-45 minutes.

Oh, and don’t forget to stretch the muscles you used afterward.  Some people like doing a warm up and then stretching too.  I’m not going to go over every stretch, but find a few geared toward the exercise you plan to do.  It’s probably no surprise that lower body stretches are important for cardio exercises.

I’ve tried a few cardio exercises: running, biking, elliptical, and rowing, as ways to build endurance and burn calories.  My favorite so far is rowing.  I’m not saying I don’t run around at the beach, or enjoy a good bike ride. But in my mind it’s the best cardio exercise if you’re an average person trying to lose weight and build endurance.  It’s a high intensity, low impact full body workout. I really don’t see a downside, except that many people won’t have access to a boat to go row in.  If you’re running around a track though, you may as well row on an ergometer.

Rowing may not be for everyone.  Elliptical machines are also good.  You really have to do a exercise you enjoy to be successful.  Find something you like, learn the correct technique, and put together a gym schedule.

The key thing with cardio is to keep yourself from getting bored.  If you always go to the gym for 30 minutes on the elliptical, then leave, that can get a little tedious.  Try different exercises, different intervals, or change the pace.  One day, pick an aggressive pace and see how long you can keep it up.  Your body recovers quickly after short bursts like that, so you can rest a bit and then do your usual pace for awhile afterwards.

You can even integrate this sprint/steady pace interval into your workout by doing HIIT workouts.  HIIT stands for High intensity interval training, and is more taxing, so people who’ve been doing cardio for a while may want to try it sometimes to challenge themselves.

Cardio takes time, and as with any workout, consistency is vital.

Part 1: Getting started and Goal Setting

Part  2: Run faster and jump higher: Cardiovascular Fitness – You are HERE

Part 3: 101 guide to carrying people:  Weight Lifting

Part 4: Staying Motivated

Part 1: Getting started and Goal Setting

It’s tough making the decision to start working out.  Anyone can continue living the life they do now, but you can step up and start making changes.  You’re already interested enough to be reading this post, and learning how to start is the first step.

I’m going to tell you my experiences, gives tips to help you get a schedule going, and also introduce types of exercise.

This post is built around my experience with working out, and is directed at doing intense, efficient, and effective workouts.   It details my approach to setting goals, cardio and weight lifting, as well as staying motivated.

How I started

In May 2009 I started working out regularly with Joe.  At the time I was 6’1″ and weighed ~146 pounds.  I’d had my tonsils out not too long before, and lost a bit of weight while recovering.  Our goal was to gain weight, and strength.  I wanted to hit 160 pounds before the end of summer.  We were concerned about our endurance, since it is very hard to build endurance and strength at the same time while gaining weight.  I hit my fall weight goal, and now about a year later I’m stronger, more fit and weigh 175 pounds.  Joe and I are still working out.

Go To The Gym

Going to the gym sounds easy, right?  It only takes an hour or so, and going 3 times a week makes a big difference.  Then why do so many people fail?  A lot of people tell all their friends they will start working out, get intense about it and then quit after only a few weeks.  Sound familiar?  Here’s some things I think are essential to understand and are often why people fail:

• Results don’t happen overnight.  People assume things will happen immediately when it takes time.  Stick with it.
• Get a friend to go with you who has similar goals.  Or meet someone new who has a similar routine. It’s harder to fail when someone else is depending on you.
• Go regularly, but understand that life will get in the way sometimes. If you miss one day, that’s ok, don’t hold yourself to a strict schedule. If you work out consistently 11 months out of the year, you’ve been successful.
• Figure out why you want to get in shape and internalize that goal.  Have specific long term goals in mind.  You don’t need to set a specific time limit.
• Start small and use incremental increases.  Set up a workout that you know you can do without too much trouble, then slowly make it more difficult each time you go.

Goals

Set measureable, attainable goals and continue to raise them.  If you’ve never bench pressed and your goal is to bench your body weight, that’s a tough goal.  Break it up into smaller pieces than you can focus on, like first bench pressing 100 pounds, then 135.  Each session you should have a goal for the day, for example, “Today I will bench press 100 pounds 25 times” so that you don’t get stagnant.

Make sure going to the gym is about what YOU want.  Pick an area of your life that will benefit by being in better shape.

Disclaimer

I’ve done a fair amount of research on how I can achieve my goals more effectively, and work out efficiently. My advice is generally slanted toward what I’ve found that works, and will work for most people, but may not be everyone’s approach to fitness.  I don’t claim to be a dietitian or personal trainer.

Stronglifts.com has a very good knowledge base for people looking to get stronger, gain weight, or lose body fat.  That’s all for today!

Part 1: Getting started and Goal Setting – You are HERE

Part  2: Run faster and jump higher: Cardiovascular Fitness

Part 3: 101 guide to carrying people:  Weight Lifting

Part 4: Staying Motivated