Gym at lunch time

Slaanesh

Does anybody else do the gym at lunch time?

I goto the NAC, it's not that far from where I work but I find between changing, showering, getting to and from I only get about 30-35 mins for actual exercise. Generally about 5K on the treadmill. I try to get to the gym everyday during the week and possibly a day at the weekend.

When I get back to the office I have the shower, generally cold, but when I get back to my desk I'm still sweating profusely. Don't have many co-workers to offend though On the Monday, Wednesday and Friday I do the simplefit.org exercises in the evening.

I'm looking to tone up and lose some weight, is this much exercise sufficient?

g'em

Slaanesh wrote: »

I only get about 30-35 mins for actual exercise. Generally about 5K on the treadmill.

Is running the only thing you do in the gym? i.e. running 5 x times a week and 3 x bw exercises a week?

And what kind of food are you eating now - stick up a typical days' eating.

Slaanesh

g'em wrote: »

Is running the only thing you do in the gym? i.e. running 5 x times a week and 3 x bw exercises a week?

And what kind of food are you eating now - stick up a typical days' eating.

Hey G'em,

That is essentially the exercise I'm doing. Actually, just remembered that there could be a couple of rounds of golf thrown in there too.

Food Today:

Breakfast:
Bowl of meusli (full fat milk - I'll be changing to low fat when that runs out!)
Slice of toast(wholegrain) with scrambled egg.

Elevenses:
apple, banana.
Before Gym: ham/onion/sweetcorn sandwich with grained mustard and a tiny bit of low fat mayo on wholegrain bread. Also had a boiled egg.

After gym I had the same sandwich again.
This evening I'll probably cook a madras curry with lots of veg with chicken and brown rice. Tend not to eat a whole lot before bed time.

I will admit, that's on a very good day, some days worse than others.

Stats:
Height: 6ft
Weight: 82kg
Measurements: Never actually did this, might do this evening.

It's the first time in a long time I've actually felt like sticking to a regime, I only started back in the gym last week but I was there 4 times. I missed yesterday but expect to be there every other day this week and I hope to get in on Saturday. I'm started level 3 of the simplefit workouts last night, did 17 sets, I nearly fell down the stairs because my legs stopped working

As usual, alcohol is a bit of a bain these last few weekends (recent split with the ex! Say no more!) I do hope to cut down on that.

That, in a nutshell, is my current exercise/food/alcohol intake.

g'em

Well the good news is your diet isn't half bad

sure, there's things you could change but you get a decent amount of protein, some fruit, some veg (if you wanted to be really pedantic you could increase this element straight off) and you opt for wholegrain where possible. Gold stars all round!

Good stuff on getting back into the gym and if you miss a session or two a week don't be worrying about it (particularly not if you're doing a lot of exercise at home too). The danger when you start back into a regime is that you throw yourself into it too much, get tired and demotivated and then you're back to square one. So have an easygoing lunchtime once a week, you'll deserve it.

There's still plenty of effective workouts you could do in 30-35 minutes, particularly if you can avail of the slots 4 times a week.

You could opt for doing some CrossFit style workouts (see www.crossfit.com and www.crossfit.ie for more) which is essentially simplefit.org taken to the next level (that shaky-legged-can't-get-down-the-stairs feeling is great!!) and you'll use weights and bodyweight exercise that vary from day to day.

From a cardio pov you could do HIIT training (High Intensity Interval Training) which is esentially a posh name for sprints, and is an effective way to burn fat in a short time. You sprint with max effort for 30 seconds, walk 1 minute, sprint 30 secs, walk 1 minute for 8 - 12 rounds. You can do this on any cardio machine really, but sprinting and rowing are generally considered best. Alternatively if your super-masochistic you can opt for Tabata's. A word of warning though, should you decide to do this don't plan on doing much else that day until you get used to the intensity - it's four long, hard minutes of pain.

For the "tone up, lose weight" goal a combination of weights and cardio is going to give you the best bang for your buck - simple compound lifts like pressing, deadlifting, squatting, lunging, rowing will all recruit multiple muscle groups, increase your lean mass (and therefore your metabolism) and your strength. A straightforward alteration of upper body: Day 1, lower body: Day 2 can be applied three days a week leaving your fourth training day to concentrate on cardio.

Or, for shits and giggles, you could apply all the above:

Monday: CrossFit
Tuesday: Upper Body
Thursday: Cardio
Friday: Lower Body

How's this sounding so far?

Slaanesh

g'em wrote: »

Well the good news is your diet isn't half bad

sure, there's things you could change but you get a decent amount of protein, some fruit, some veg (if you wanted to be really pedantic you could increase this element straight off) and you opt for wholegrain where possible. Gold stars all round!

That's good to know. I know what to eat generally, it's the preparation and getting my ass to the shops that I find to be the most tricky part. I live with my brother and we take turns cooking each day. He normally cooks some carby pasta dish with something not so healthy. Yesterday he made a salad with boiled eggs and ham! This was very odd.

Good stuff on getting back into the gym and if you miss a session or two a week don't be worrying about it (particularly not if you're doing a lot of exercise at home too). The danger when you start back into a regime is that you throw yourself into it too much, get tired and demotivated and then you're back to square one. So have an easygoing lunchtime once a week, you'll deserve it.

I am worried that I'll just 'fall off the wagon' but it hasn't hit me so far so I'll keep plugging along. It's all about preparation for me. The gym bag gets prepared the night before, lunch is made along with breakfast. As long as I have those things done I have no reason to not goto the gym.

There's still plenty of effective workouts you could do in 30-35 minutes, particularly if you can avail of the slots 4 times a week.

You could opt for doing some CrossFit style workouts (see www.crossfit.com and www.crossfit.ie for more) which is essentially simplefit.org taken to the next level (that shaky-legged-can't-get-down-the-stairs feeling is great!!) and you'll use weights and bodyweight exercise that vary from day to day.

I won't lie. I still haven't plucked up the courage to venture to towards the weights section of any gym and I have no equipment at home. Ideally I'd like someone to initially show me a few exercises. Starting off with bad form just wouldn't be good.

From a cardio pov you could do HIIT training (High Intensity Interval Training) which is esentially a posh name for sprints, and is an effective way to burn fat in a short time. You sprint with max effort for 30 seconds, walk 1 minute, sprint 30 secs, walk 1 minute for 8 - 12 rounds. You can do this on any cardio machine really, but sprinting and rowing are generally considered best. Alternatively if your super-masochistic you can opt for Tabata's. A word of warning though, should you decide to do this don't plan on doing much else that day until you get used to the intensity - it's four long, hard minutes of pain.

This is something I could have a stab at. Might give it a go tomorrow, the HIIT that is. Looks like the Tabata would kill me, I do have to work after lunch

For the "tone up, lose weight" goal a combination of weights and cardio is going to give you the best bang for your buck - simple compound lifts like pressing, deadlifting, squatting, lunging, rowing will all recruit multiple muscle groups, increase your lean mass (and therefore your metabolism) and your strength. A straightforward alteration of upper body: Day 1, lower body: Day 2 can be applied three days a week leaving your fourth training day to concentrate on cardio.

Looks like I'm going to have to have a crack at the weights at some stage.

How's this sounding so far?

It's sounding great!

Thanks very much for the advice G'em, I'll get you a pint at the next 'Not-Beers' :pac:

g'em

Slaanesh wrote: »

Yesterday he made a salad with boiled eggs and ham! This was very odd.

Sounds delicious tbh :pac: At some stage if you find that things aren't going to way you want them to you can start making changes like dropping the carbs from one of the meals and replacing it with salad/ veg. Cutting back on carbs is a very effective way of losing fat - our bodies quite dimply don't need starches in the volume that we usually provide them with. Unless you're Michael Phelps, but that's another thread.

I am worried that I'll just 'fall off the wagon' but it hasn't hit me so far so I'll keep plugging along. It's all about preparation for me. The gym bag gets prepared the night before, lunch is made along with breakfast. As long as I have those things done I have no reason to not go to the gym.

Honestly, most people here are probably the same. Sometimes it's taken for granted that gym folk have all the motivation in the world, but the reality is we need arse-kickings too.

Ideally I'd like someone to initially show me a few exercises. Starting off with bad form just wouldn't be good.

Don't worry, that can be arranged. The good gym bunnies of the Fitness Board are spread far and wide across the country, either you'll find someone here who can give you a heads up or someone will be able to recommend an instructor in the gym to help you.

This is something I could have a stab at. Might give it a go tomorrow, the HIIT that is.

If it feels easy... you're doing it wrong. The ten - 15 minute session should wipe you out. Just a warning

Looks like I'm going to have to have a crack at the weights at some stage.

There's no rule that says in order to look good you have to lift... but there should be. I kid, I kid, resistance training has a multitude of health benefits that cardio can't offer and chances are the look you're going after will be much more quickly and realistically attainable from lifting.

Thanks very much for the advice G'em, I'll get you a pint at the next 'Not-Beers' :pac:

No bodger, I'll hold you to that - the "Why alcohol is bad for fat loss" lecture can wait another couple of weeks Or even better, I'll go and find another of our regulars, rubadub, and get him to write his "How I drink 25 units a week and stay in shape" post and everyone's a winner...