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[smigenboger]

Unfortunately I had to skip yesterday, so I did my exercises today. The lifting was great. I hit a block about ten minutes into the exercise bike, where my heart rate was about 10 away from the desired 80% capacity, so the machine kept ramping up the resistance, to a point I couldn't keep up, causing me to slow down, causing the resistance to go up, etc. So I skipped to swimming. The first fifteen minutes was tedious, and then after that it felt great.

This change has really boosted other aspects in my life. I have much more motivation to do things, such as housework and school. I've been in a much more positive mood, and I've been sleeping like a rock. I wonder down the line if the cardio will help fight the natural physical anxiety response. I'll report my findings in about two months. This plan seems to effectively fight depressing and non-motivation, and would be a great step for those of you who feel like they're in a rut or a downward spiral.

[x2yzh9]

A question on this.

I'm 12 years old and weigh 210 LB., What should I do? I'm taking a B12 supplement and one a day because I don't eat many B12-vitamin providing foods and my metabolism is naturally slower, and as such I noticably get hungrier at intervals each day. However, I"m going to really start by stopping the DPs and CRUSHES. That shit racks up, yo. I probably take in 500-600 cals a day due to dem dere sodas. Anyway, how would I burn the MOST fat possible at a gym being there for 1 hour Mon-friday? That's what I plan to do. This week has been a little off though.

[Kebooo]

Three years ago was when it dawned on me that there's more to life than video games

Wait, there is?

 

Back in my college days, I got on a health and exercise craze.  I sustained it for a year or two, but eventually realized it really took a tole on me by reducing my enjoyment of my life.  Not having to worry about the calories and ingredients of food, drink or whether I exercised enough added contentment.  Deprivation was gone.  I got to relax a lot more often.  Did I really need to become some ripped super he-man to get the shallow type of attention that probably wouldn't have made me feel any happier?  No, but I thought I did.  I eat junk food fairly regularly now, but I make sure to eat fruits and vegetables to get the nutrients my body needs.  And I make sure to lift weights and exercise a few times a week.  Regular exercise and not overeating is probably all the people on this forum really need.

I would caution against all-out, hardcore efforts into health and fitness unless you plan to live this way for the rest of your life or just plan to use it to lose some weight short term.  Sustaining it for years can change who you are, and not always for the better.  I found my very values began to alter in ways I didn't like.  I'd suggest shooting for permanent changes that give your health and body balance without pursuing standards you may or may not ever reach or sustain, especially if it gives you feelings of deprivation and hardship.  There's more to confidence and meeting people than if you're ripped with a six-pack or not, and I think most people eventually learn this lesson, it's a very important one.  If you place too much of your self image on the way you look, you may become depressed as you age and it becomes harder and harder to maintain a physique that's central to your confidence and ego.  Just my opinions, anyway.

[smigenboger]

Wall O' Text

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

First thing would be to kill the soda. Carbonated sodas have a lot against you. You got calories, caffeine, and high fructose corn syrup bogging you down. As bad as it sounds, try to switch to water. Most schools sell gatorade, and I'm here to say it's no better than soda. It's packed with calories and sugar, and is no substitute. Try to avoid foods with high fructose corn syrup, it's a sweetening substitute for sugar that's in a lot of foods, and it will bog you down bad. At first, it doesn't matter what you eat, as long as you don't sit down and eat a whole container of a product at once. An experiment with m&ms showed that people will often eat all of the food presented to them, so eating things in smaller packages will naturally make you eat less. If you don't have minor binging problems, or have gotten out of that step, try to replace processed crap with healthier food. I found cheese sticks, strawberries, and homemade hamburgers to help me during my first successful exercise program.

At 12, your options may be limited for workouts, but that shouldn't slow you down. If you are going for weight loss, go for cardio. Swimming is the best cardio routine you can go with. It's low stress on your joints, and uses your entire body. You can control how hard the workout is, and how long. A lot of the earlier spoilered info can tell you more, but it's going to suck for the first two weeks.
If you have access to a fitness center like a rec center and you want to do cardio, an elliptical machine is supposedly the highest calories/hr workout there is, although I doubt it's a good as the meter reads. Today, it claimed I was burning 890 calories an hour, which is crazy, as hardcore swimming is about 400-600 an hour.
If in doubt, run! Running is available anywhere, and you can do it just about whenever you want.

Weight loss is both a battle of food intake and energy output. You must work toward both, or it'll be all be useless. If you can stick to a plan of exercising once every two days or more, I guarantee you'll lose a considerable amount of weight in under a month. Also, remember weight loss is drastic at first, and then it slows down to a steady pace later, so results will vary as you progress.

Good luck and keep us informed!

[smigenboger]

Definitely, I certainly respect your opinion on this.

People are multi-fauceted, not one dimensional. Operation: Cardio is but part of bigger project for me, although it's certainly a step in the right direction. You'll never take the nerd out of you, the intention is to help feed those other dimensions of my personality. (As a 16 year old at the time) At my peak of the previous one, I mainly hung out with a group of gothy-aminey kids, to give them a stereotype, yet at the same time, I had other groups.

Yes, it is certainly a bad thing to center your life around making yourself look better for the sake of others. I intend to make OP:C more of a facilitation of projects, a means, not an end.

[Virroken]

OP, do you have a set cardio workout or do you just mix it up in a "I feel like doing X today" way?

[smigenboger]

At the moment, I'm going every other day, starting with my lifting, then using a bike machine for 20 min, then swimming until I'm too tired, then using an elliptical for 20 minutes. The swimming could range from 20 minutes to an hour.

It's not set in stone, I've only just started back up. (ATM, my priority is on weight training, and then cardio)
It may make more sense to swim before I really tire out my muscles.

[Maggarg - Eater of chicke]

Side note: How do people live productive lives without caffeine?

The caffeine in a single cup of tea wires me up high enough that I can't think or speak coherently.  As such, I don't drink caffeine.

... I'm somewhat productive.

I consume strong black coffee in roughly the same quantities as an investment banker just to stay alive. I drink several multiple espressos a day.

[Heron TSG]

People are multi-fauceted

I am quoting that the next time someone tells me filtered water is unnatural.

Anyway, running as a form of cardio will work at all ages. Older folks even benefit!

[smigenboger]

Hmm, I signed up for a week's worth of work at yet another distribution center. I don't yet know how to balance that with exercise.

Looks like you can do cardio every day, and lifting every other day.
Yesterday's lesson: Work out first, then do aerobics. (ouch)

[Emperor_Jonathan]

Had an alright session today, fairly short. First started with weights, I did a few light weights - 5 reps of 10kg dunmbell curls for each arm along with 12 reps of the pull down bar. 3 reps each.

Then got on the treadmill, did a walk then a run for 1km. Then went and did a 3.2km bike ride.

Currently planning on starting a specific workout program next week and the four weeks following. Should I post it here?

[smigenboger]

Absolutely. Feel free to track your progress, ask questions, and give sagely advice.

The doc said my knee pain is probably from having really tight hamstrings, and stretching them will remove the pain. I'll have to add that to my schedule.

[eerr]

What about this 'improved diet'?

I am interested.

[Maggarg - Eater of chicke]

I worked my daily caffeine intake from a few averages.
I always make espresso. The average espresso is normally only about 1.5 fl/oz, or 45ml. It contains 51 mg of caffeine per ounce.
My coffee mug contains roughly 450 ml, and I always fill it full. That means roughly 500 mg of caffeine.
I always have 2 mugs a day.
That is a lot of caffeine.

[Emperor_Jonathan]

I'm new to designing (and then carrying out) an excersise plan, so I'll be using 2 plans from the internet. One for cardio and a little calisthenics. The other for weight training using mostly free weights.

http://newbie-fitness.blogspot.com/2007/01/stripped-5x5.html

I'm using this for weights, over 4 weeks. At the end of the 4 weeks I'll most likely add weights to what I'm doing and try it again for another 4 weeks, then find another workout to follow.

http://www.defencejobs.gov.au/lifestyleoffitness/program.aspx

While I'm going to use this program designed by the Australian Defence Force for cardio [and a little strength] I'll be testing myself in about an hour or two (pushups, situps, shuttle run) to see what level I'll start at, standard most likely. I'll be doing this for four weeks, test myself, do it again for another 4 weeks before finding another program or upping the level.

I plan on either swimming, bike riding, on running on the days that I don't do weight - in addition to the cardio in the ADF program.