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[Astral]

My biggest question is how to remain motivated while working out?

I started back in October, and went strong through the beginning of December, but between the weather and what I can only guess at being a form of holiday/seasonal depression, subsequent loss of a relative in January and a massive case of bronchitis following that, I'm finding it hard to get back into the routine I had carefully crafted up to that point.

[WillowLuman]

My advice is, get a workout buddy. Mutual pushing can do a lot.

[nenjin]

My biggest question is how to remain motivated while working out?

I started back in October, and went strong through the beginning of December, but between the weather and what I can only guess at being a form of holiday/seasonal depression, subsequent loss of a relative in January and a massive case of bronchitis following that, I'm finding it hard to get back into the routine I had carefully crafted up to that point.

Everyone falls off the wagon. What's important is that you get back on.

Here's the thing about getting ripped: it's a lifestyle. You have to maintain it once you get it. While actual strength and bulk fades pretty slowly, definition fades quickly. If you really bulked up and then stopped, you'd still be "big." But because fat builds up over muscle, you can end up the kind of big that can be mistaken for husky or fat. I recall a figure somewhere that muscle models have to put in on average like 50 hours a week working out to keep that look.

That's why I never really obsessed about getting big. I knew it wasn't important enough to me to go to the gym 2 or more days a week religiously. So, you know, go back to the reasons you want to work out and let that dictate what kind of regime you need to have.

If the goal simply staving off becoming fat and lazy, there's easier ways to stay healthy and fit. Routines that are somewhat mindless and easier to fit in to a schedule, and don't require as much will power. Actually building and keeping muscle is a whole 'nother level of working out that you have to really want, all the time.

[WillowLuman]

Are there good bike routes nearby? Biking everywhere is a good way to keep trim.

[Meph]

Are there good bike routes nearby? Biking everywhere is a good way to keep trim.

I couldnt have said it better.

[Astral]

I'm mostly not looking to get ripped, but lose around 50+ pounds to bring me to 200 (having gained about 10 in the last two months of losing my exercise regiment). I'm decently muscled from 10 years of martial arts to varying degrees, but that was 6 years ago, and feel a need to maintain the functional strength that I lost during that time period.

My biggest problem with an exercise buddy, or lack thereof, is that the friends/coworkers have no desire to work out at my preferred time (after midnight and after work; I'm currently at a 4pm-midnight job), nor are they willing to do so earlier in the day, and I'm not a morning person by any means. None of them have the motivation to do any form of workout, and I'm not the most social of people outside of certain environments, such as those that force me into contacting others on a regular basis.

I had settled on a routine of approximately an hour Monday-Thursday of going to the gym after midnight (which, accounting driving, changing, driving home accounted for two hours of time total).

If the goal simply staving off becoming fat and lazy, there's easier ways to stay healthy and fit. Routines that are somewhat mindless and easier to fit in to a schedule, and don't require as much will power. Actually building and keeping muscle is a whole 'nother level of working out that you have to really want, all the time.

What sort of routines would you recommend? I'm trying to push to going to bed and getting up an hour or two earlier, in order to at least take my dog on a run on a regular basis (other people normally do, so he's not neglected by any means), but what might be good supplements to cardio work with a hyperactive one year old, 70 pound puppy?

[nenjin]

Like people said, biking is a great. You save money on gas, you get a workout, you get to where you need to go if you make the time for it. Your legs turn to steel and you develop a butt women like to look at.

Cardio running your dog out of energy isn't quite the same thing as a consistent hour's run, so you might want to give that a shot, whether on the streets or on the treadmill. The streets can be harder on your body but treadmills can lead to cheating. But they can also scale to give you a harder run than you'd find in your average locale.

Derpy as it sounds, hackey sack is good for flexibility, coordination and getting your heart rate up, when you play alone. It's low impact but if you're out of shape it can help you start shaving off weight. (I remember when I started at my current job, guys were huge into daily matches of ping pong. Maybe it's a testament to how out of shape I am, or maybe it's a testament to how simple things can give you a workout, but I was sore after playing at their level of intensity for several weeks until my body acclimated to the routine.)

When it gets down to it, working out for your health is about will power. Friends make that easier....but the real test is to go it alone because you've decided to make it important in your life. Do whatever it takes to cut down on the awkwardness of it. (And believe me, I know. Being a guy that walks into a weight room alone, powers through their workout and heads out is a little awkward. Then again, that's how you should be working out.) Music, books on tape, the right time of day so you have whatever privacy you might want....whatever.

And I'm not like, some fitness buff. I'm in pretty bad shape these days compared to where I was. But I've always found once I start working out, actually putting my heart into it....feeling better, stronger, slimmer becomes its own motivation. Like I said, I think that's the trap a lot of people fall into. They go at it half-assed, don't really see the results they want in the time they want with the effort they're putting out and they slip out of caring about doing it. That change, that transformation that makes you go "wow, I can totally body hack myself!" only happens when you a) really do a routine well and have good form and b) have the willpower to maintain it.

[WillowLuman]

If you just want to keep the pounds down, cardio is by far the best, especially if you already have muscles from previous strength training. Again, strength training is more about adding than subtracting. If your dog can keep up with your bike, that may be a way to kill two birds with one stone. If not, try biking wherever you can.

[Xantalos]

While I'm by no means an expert on excersise routines, I just want to say one thing:
Jumping jacks. Excellent excersise, especially once you go with them for 10-20 minutes straight.
I'm myself trying to go for over 20 minutes at a decent pace. It gets !!fun!!.

[Eidolon]

[Wysthric]

I don't really like giving advice on the internet, but from experience : Make sure you're well rested (else you may be tempted to fall asleep halfway through the workout,) and make sure you've eaten enough to fuel you that day - of course not immediately before you go, but a few hours earlier (or else you might end up shaking from a hypo.)

Another thing I've learned is that sticking it out when you actually get to the gym can really help. In my case, I take absolutely ages to warm up (up to 45 mins) but after that, I can usually get into a very good routine.

[Astral]

I tend to start out strong, then fall off quickly, so depending on whether I had scheduled that day for a cardio or a muscle builder day, whatever minor portion I did afterward suffered.

[tykavanaugh]

I'll start by linking you to this since I think it cuts through a lot of shit: http://liamrosen.com/fitness.html
I think i've posted that in almost every fitness related thread.

what would be best routine to start out with to build muscle strength?

I'd recommend reading Starting Strength by Mark Rippetoe/Lon Kilgore, although that's going to conflict with this next quote. It's the routine i used in the beginning. I'm still in early intermediate territory but it's seen me from a 135lb weakling to a 175lb mediocre lifter over the course of a year and a half. I do a different routine now, but it's definitely tried and proven by lots of people. I'm going to advise you that if you do something like this, eating enough and resting enough is critical to making decent strength progression. I could have chased the linear gains on this program a lot farther than i did.

I've searched around and some things that came up were using dumbbells or even using a weightless workout routine. How effective are these?

Calisthenics will only get you so far IMO. Good to get you out of complete noob territory but i think it's much better to get your hands on a barbell and some plates if you can, whether that's in a gym or by finding an old set on craigslist. I've only got one calisthenics thing saved but I'll post it anyways. It's a large image so you'll have to click through and zoom.

I know the text in the images is impossible to read but it gives you a little bit of an idea of what kind of progression you can do with bodyweight alone.

This guy said it. Starting Strength is the way to go. There are also a number of good similar beginners programs, such as Ice Cream 5x5 and many others. What matters is you pick on and stick too it.

[tykavanaugh]

So I've taken to doing some regular body weight exercises, push-ups, squats, sit-ups. Thing is, when I do sit-ups my back has this tendency to "pop" in a very audible way, something I've been trying to avoid with limited success.

I'm sort of worried that I might be doing damage to my spine with this, is it something I should be worried about? Is there a particular way to avoid it that I don't know about?

If it's not painful, it's probably cartilage. That happens to me if I take a break from working out for a long time, and happens a lot as a beginner. It's normal, unless you're feeling pain.

[guessingo]

Just finished a round of p90x3. Very happy with it. If you buy it just buy the basic. You can get equipment cheaper else where