Topic: Physical Fitness (Jogging, Diet, Cardiovascular, and Strength )

[silverhorse86]

hello all,
i was just wondering if anyone could help me out with something. I have to lose about 15 pounds before enlisting so i was wondering if you could help me find out an excersize routine to do in the gym and a diet plan. Thanx to all who help.  

[smoke]

I am going through the same thing at the moment and happen to know a dietitian so i can help with diet. It really isnt rocket sience basicaly lots of fruit and veggies as well as wholegrains(8 servings total daily),stay away from fat and sodium. Water or skim/soy milk are all you need, sport drinks are useless and get it out of your head that you need protein suppliments such as drinks. If your going to take vitamins a basic multi vitamin will do fine,anything else is overkill since you will be consuming plenty of foods rich with them.Also stay away from beer you lush        

if you have anymore questions feel free to ask and ill relay them on to my dietitian friend also this site should help

 Dietitians of Canada

[combat_medic]

if you‘re trying to lose weight, you need to do a fat burn-type cardio. this means that you want to be operating at 60-70% of your maximum heart rate (220 minus your age). So, if you‘re 20 years old, you want a heart rate of 130ish. This involves long periods of time doing lighter excercises. Running until you drop won‘t help. Going for a jog, a treadmill at the gym, stationary bike (or a real one), swimming is excellent for cardio. Anything you can do to work your body at a medium level will help reduce fat.

If you don‘t know how to check your pulse, put your index and second finger (NOT your thumb) on your neck or wrist and count how many beats in 10 seconds. Multiply that number by 6 and you have your heart rate.

Other advice; try to do the cardio thing for a longer period of time at a lower intensity rather than short bursts of high energy. It‘s better for your heart and will help you lose weight faster, also try to do it once in the morning and once inthe afternoon/evening. Don‘t eat anything after 8pm, try to cut out a lot of red meat, and watch your carbohydrate intake. Drink at least a couple litres of water every day, and make sure you‘re getting 8 hours of sleep. Any more questions and you can send me a private message if you want.

[smoke]

What i did first was find out from my doctor what my healthy body weight was then i  was able to set  a goal. You may think you need to lose 15lbs but the most important thing is to remain healthy throughout the whole process. I averaged 1lbs lost per week and that was with moderate exercise. I was told by my doctor and dietitian that losing 3 pounds a week would be possible, but alas i did not have the willpower early on and saw very little progress as a result. REMEMBER these numbers only apply to myself and by no means are they universal, everyone is different.Talk to your doctor and find out what would apply to you and while your there make sure you get the ok from him to start your workout routine.

Oh and dont take any of those performance enhancers,I lost a friend to ephedrine

[toms3]

Hi AaRoN_RoGeRs

Combat Medic and Stuble Jumper have very sound advice.  Here are a few points and referances I would like to add.

1st - "Muscles".  There is a notion out there that you can turn fat into muscle...this is false.  However, the more muscle you have the more fat you burn (burnt as fuel).  You only have a short period of time, however,  think of muscle building as well.  I am not saying become a body builder, its more like an exchange of muscle for fat.   Be careful here....some people freak out when they work out so hard but see their weight stay the same or even go up....that is becuase muscle weighs more than fat, (you can call it a" good weight gain").  Further to that, 1 lb of muscle is more dense and takes up less volume then 1 lb of fat...(if that makes sense).

2nd - Sports drinks and Protien powder...I disagree with stuble_jumber on this.  I feel they have their place.  They should not be relied on, but used as a tool when needed.  Depending on how hard you are working out a sport drink is very helpful.  There is a condition called "Hyponatremia". It‘s basically a form of dehydration even though you are drinking large volumes of water.   During hard work outs you loose alot of Sodium via your sweat.  Sodium (electrolite) is important to the proper fuction of your muscles.  If you have had a large loose of Sodium and have been drinking large volumes of water, you will actually be diluting the remaining Sodium in your system...resulting in a form of dehydration.  I will include a link at the bottom for a better explanation.   Sport drinks such as Gatorade help replace your electorlites.  So continue to drink lots of water, but also sip on a sports drink while you work out.

Here is a link to a SEALs recruiting page for their pre-selection PT program.  http://www.sealchallenge.navy.mil/workout.htm    It has 2 levels and talks about nutrition.  Once your offically in the CF, you can requiest a copy of the JTF2 PT program from your local PSP....it also has a good PT program and addresses other issues such as overtraining and nutrition.  You can tailor the programs to fit your present abilites, then work up from there.

Here is the link for more info on Hyponatremia.  http://www.medterms.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=3859&rd=1

I hope this of some help...good luck

[Brad Sallows]

The "Body for Life" program actually worked as advertised for me, twice.  It does take discipline, but you really can eat all you want on the "day off".  (I certainly did, and I was still able to lose 1kg per week like clockwork.)  You can‘t just turn it on (this week) and off (next week); I suspect you need to maintain the program for at least 4-6 weeks.

[dimmer]

O.K. I know that its a topic of great importance however im not sure that my curiosity has been satisfied as to this one(two) questions,As a smoker who recently quit  and someone of advanced age (mid 20‘s)how do the instructers rate a persons fitness level? is it based on the chart we are given in the req pkg? or is it the coopers test also how soon do they let you know if your lagging (out of shape) and are we allowed to do extra pt training on our own if we feel that its needed or has been sugested my big concern is that my cardio situation is lacking even though ive been running everyday for a couple mnths now and im not seeing any real improvement although im not hacking as much crap up so i guess thats an improvement. lol any advice would be appreciated,no sarcasim needed though THANX.      :confused:

[ab136]

Running is hard.  I‘ve been runnning for years and for someone starting out I tell them not to worry about their time to distance ratio.  Put a watch on and set it for 10 or 15 minutes.  When the watch goes off turn around and go home.  Do this until you can without exertion; then increase it to 15 or 20 minutes and so on.  Set youself up with a good posture and arm swing, head up. You‘ll do good.  First you get good..then you get fast.

[RJG]

Within the past month I have been jogging outside to get back in shape. I used to be able to run ten kilometers with no problem, but recently I noticed that after one kilometer my chest is killing me. I am extremely fit when it comes to weightlifting, so when I am done jogging my legs and arms are not hurting at all.

My question is, does my chest hurt because I am out of shape or because it is so cold outside and I am taking in huge amounts of fridged air into my lungs? If it‘s the cold is there anything I can do or should I just bare it and keep running?

Lastly at what pace should I go, I time myself and yesterday I finished 2 klicks in under seven minutes. Is this too fast, is it too slow?

[Jungle]

Originally posted by RJG:
[qb]
Lastly at what pace should I go, I time myself and yesterday I finished 2 klicks in under seven minutes. Is this too fast, is it too slow? [/qb]

The speed depends on many factors, like distance/ duration of run, terrain etc... But to know if you are running at the right speed, you have to check on your heartrate and ensure it is in the "training zone". A simple way to find your trg zone: 200 - your age: maximum heartbeats per minute; maximum - 30: minimum heartbeats per minute. Divide these numbers by 6 and you have references for 10 sec count.

[Spr.Earl]

Also work up slowly every other day untill you can keep the pace you once could do.

[Lajeunesse]

Also being Phsyically fit (like your arms and legs) have nothing to do with cardio (your lungs) just take it easy and slow you need to improve on your cardio it hurts now because you proabaly stopped running or even doing things that makes you  breathe heavily so your cardio has decreased. Think of it as working out your abs...you work them till you can grate cheese on them and then you stop working them out and sit around and eat fatty food or whatever. Before you know it your abs or covered in a nice layer of fat or lazyness and you find that yu cant do as many lets say crunches as you could when they were top shape.

So advice to take here would be to keep up on your jogging work outs ect.. or expect them to decrease in efficientcy

[RoadRunner]

RJG,
Hopefully, this will help  

Sport psychology:
 http://www.brianmac.demon.co.uk/psych.htm
 
Healthy eating guide:
 http://www.brianmac.demon.co.uk/eating.htm
 
Injury Prevention:
 http://www.brianmac.demon.co.uk/injury.htm
 
Stitch:
 http://www.brianmac.demon.co.uk/stitch.htm

5 P‘s of running forms:
 http://www.brianmac.demon.co.uk/runform.htm
 
Speed training:
 http://www.brianmac.demon.co.uk/speed.htm
 
Fartlek:
 http://www.brianmac.demon.co.uk/fartlek.htm
 
Hillwork:
 http://www.brianmac.demon.co.uk/hilltrain.htm
 
5-K Training Guide: Novice
 http://www.runnersworld.com/home/0,1300,1-51-55-637,FF.html?site=RunnersWorld
 
5-K Training Guide: Advanced
 http://www.runnersworld.com/home/0,1300,1-51-55-638,FF.html?site=RunnersWorld
 
10-K Training Guide: Novice
 http://www.runnersworld.com/home/0,1300,1-51-55-639,FF.html?site=RunnersWorld
 
10-K Training Guide: Advanced
 http://www.runnersworld.com/home/0,1300,1-51-55-640,FF.html?site=RunnersWorld
 
Distance converter
 http://www.onlineconversion.com/

Your Ideal weight:
 http://www.brianmac.demon.co.uk/idealw.htm

[gryphon664]

My question is, i can do everything, push ups, sit ups, but i can‘t run... i don‘t know why.. i get winded very easily.. any suggestions on how to increase my running?

[Lexi]

Originally posted by gryphon664:
[qb] My question is, i can do everything, push ups, sit ups, but i can‘t run... i don‘t know why.. i get winded very easily.. any suggestions on how to increase my running? [/qb]

You‘re probably getting winded because you‘re doing more than your lungs are really capable of.
Try sprinting from one lamppost to the next, then walking, then jogging, then walking, then sprinting ect. You might want to try swimming, because I know that increases your cardio capabilities.

While running you could also try going slower or breathing slowly in through your nose and out through your mouth instead of gasping, huffing and puffing.

Hope that helps.  

[Spartan]

i‘m trying to get started in running regularly, I‘m just wondering should I be running with weight in a back pack, (knew my univ textbooks were good for something   :p  )
 is it bad to? is it better to?

or should I do a combination of both running with/without weight as well things like wind sprints...
or should I just run with out weight, and do long runs and things like wind sprints etc

[ab136]

I have a problem as well. I can run and do sit-ups but I can‘t do many push-ups.  When I work out should I target my tricepts?  I read a thread about the CF push-ups being hard to do correctly and that tricept strength is a must. Any feed back is appreciated

[Tyrnagog]

ab135... basically... the best way to do more push-ups is to do push-ups.  It is a good workout which will exercise all of the muscles in your arms, shoulders, back, etc. which are neccesary to do push ups.  Keep at it, doing multiple sets and reps, and you will find yourself doing more and more.

You may want to spice things up by elevating your feet onto a gym bench.  A lot harder to do, but it works those muscles that much harder, and (I found anyway) gave me more muscular power...

That‘s just what I have done...

[md200]

To add onto what Tyrnagog said about adding variety to your pushup workout.You can also do them with your hands wide,hands close,1 armed pushups,plyometric pushups,hands on one of those large exercise balls (those are great for building up your stability muscles).
Here are a few links with good workouts and tips
www.getfitnow.com
www.baseops.net/basictraining/navyseals/warningorder.html
www.stewsmith.com (lots of good tips and books)

[combat_medic]

Haha... normal if you're a cyborg maybe..   I guess I could get be showered in 10 min but I don't move that quick in the morning.. throw in getting dressed and eating a breakfast and the fact I'm a female... ok that says it all...we generally take longer than men ... hmmm..   

That's horse$hit (pardon my French)! I'm also female and I'm one of the fastest people to get ready in the morning, especially on course and in the field. If you shower before bed and have clothing ready to go, you can be up and ready in under 5 minutes. Also, with the military, women don't have to shave in the mornings, so unless you're fiddling unnecessarily with hair and makeup, you should take less time to get ready than the guys. I think my land speed record (under duress) while on course was from sleeping to formed up in combats in 3 minutes. Courses are very often like that, so be prepared. No time for niceties when you're being stood to at the crack of dawn.

[RebornXmetalhead]

What happened to the good ol pushups? Are they not good anymore?
I was always told that pushups build many parts at once (arms, back, shoulders, abs, chest..)
I was also told that working out on machines is bad for muscle developement because you grow out of proportion.. whereas free weights is better.

I don't know though, please correct me if I'm wrong.

All I do is pushups, situps, squats, crunches and situps, arm curls... that's pretty much it.

I'll start doing free weights soon, I'll just study on it and make sure I get the right exercises and make sure I'm doing them right.

[Fogpatrol 1.0]

I just go to the gym once every 2 days.  20 mins of cardio + an overall workout that touch pretty much all muscles + military chinups, pushups and situps.  It take me 90 mins to 2 hours and im usually tired as hell afterward.

My goal is to be above average when Basic Training start.

[Freight]

Your training routine is too harsh.   You risk hurting yourself before going to basic training and that would be bad.

There's no point in doing that many push-ups since you don't leave time for your muscles to rest.   Also, you would benefit more from them if you were doing 3 sets in a row instead of spread around during the day like that.

You're pretty good if you can keep up with this until you are send to basic training, but seriously no one need to do that much.

Spreading pushups and sit ups throughout the day is actually based on some sound scientific theory, mostly done in Eastern Europe, when the Communist Bloc was still around.  I have included a link to a newsletter, MilFit, that specifically discusses improving your push up total, you will find it on page 2 (http://www.specialtactics.com/MILFIT4.pdf).  Like any workout, eventually your body will adapt and you will need to change your program.  Just my .02.

[quebecrunner]

I really got a problem: i hate gyms even if i go 1 time per week. I'm a long distance runner, loving to run outside about 6 days per weeks and 2 time per day occasionally. I usually run about 70 - 90km per week. But i know i have to do some weight lifting. Do any of you have a way to stick to a program?

[belkin81]

quebec runner,

Before going on a run, do pushups and situps till failure and also after you come back. 4 times a day till failures on both 6 days a week in a month you will be millions of miles from where you started