need to seriously get fit

decotipp

hello all,
my main question for ye today is how and what is the best way to get fit without gymin it? Im gone pretty unfit at the moment as im not playing much sports and am out 2-3 nights a week on the beer in college, and smoking around 10 cigs a day. I want to get fit to improve my general energy levels and to feel better about myself and hopefully not be dying after 5 minutes of a match. I hear doing sprints is the only way to get fit and 10 minutes of good sprinting is better than an hour of solid running. Has anyone a programme they follow for outdoor fitness??

token56

decotipp wrote: »

hello all,
my main question for ye today is how and what is the best way to get fit without gymin it? Im gone pretty unfit at the moment as im not playing much sports and am out 2-3 nights a week on the beer in college, and smoking around 10 cigs a day. I want to get fit to improve my general energy levels and to feel better about myself and hopefully not be dying after 5 minutes of a match. I hear doing sprints is the only way to get fit and 10 minutes of good sprinting is better than an hour of solid running. Has anyone a programme they follow for outdoor fitness??

First of all complete BS about sprinting vs long distance running. They are two completely different types of fitness and you cant really compare to say one gets you more fitter than the other.

By the sounds of things if are really serious about getting fit then it sounds like you more or less need a significant change in your life style. The two immediate and obvious ones are cut out the cigs completely if you can and cut down on the drink as much as you can. You dont always have to drink when you go out.

There are then two things which are in my opinion equally important, diet and exercises. What is your diet like? This will have a big part to play in the energy levels you have. Take a look around on the forums here for some advice regarding this, there have been plenty of threads before about whats right and wrong.

Exercise, well again there have been threads here before about the best things to do. It wont be as easy as doing sprints for 10 minutes every second day, that wont get you very fit. If you are serious about start getting out for the longer runs, start off running maybe 15 mins or whatever you can manage at a comfortable enough pace. Maybe 3 times a week if you are able for it. This is just to improve your base fitness.
You can also do some sprints maybe one or two days a week on top of this. But it shouldn't be just a 10 min session, have a proper structured plan in mind. I realise this is 4 or 5 days a week, you might want to ease yourself into it over a period to prevent injury. Also regarding longer runs, every couple of weeks maybe every 2 or 3, you should increase the length of your run, maybe by 5 or 10 mins, whatever makes sense for you. Do this until you are running a reasonable enough length, 40 mins or whatever. You can also vary the pace and length of individual runs when you get fitter, run some harder than others. You should probably have at least one hardish run a week but dont do all your runs hard or you will burn yourself out.

If you are also interested you can do some exercises from home to strengthen the core and even the upper body. Some searching around here or on the internet in general will give you plenty advice about this. But again an increase in exercise should really be done in conjuction with improving your diet. And keep in mind, getting fit isn't going to be like a sprint and I'm getting the impression this is what you are hoping for, it will take hard work, but if you are dedicated it will work and be enjoyable.

This may seem like alot, but I think its better to give 100% rather than go in with a half hearthed approach.

digme

decotipp wrote: »

hello all,
my main question for ye today is how and what is the best way to get fit without gymin it? Im gone pretty unfit at the moment as im not playing much sports and am out 2-3 nights a week on the beer in college, and smoking around 10 cigs a day. I want to get fit to improve my general energy levels and to feel better about myself and hopefully not be dying after 5 minutes of a match. I hear doing sprints is the only way to get fit and 10 minutes of good sprinting is better than an hour of solid running. Has anyone a programme they follow for outdoor fitness??

You heard right.Do the sprints,you will get fit fast and you won't get bored either.Just go into a field, warm up a bit, and sprint the length a few times and rest in between.

nullzero

token56 gave a good response.

You really have to stop smoking, be it to help you get fit or otherwise. Smoking isn't a good idea, full stop.
As for sprinting being the only way to get fit, well that's hardly true. If somebody has told you that, you might want to bare in mind that they might not be experts themselves, you might want to even venture into a gym and consult a personal trainer and they'll be able to assess you and give you an idea of what's best for you.

It's not going to be easy to cut out the smokes and cut down on the beer I'm sure, but think about how it's going to benefit you down the road. Once you start to increase your fitness you wont look back and you'll be glad you made the effort.

El.duderino

Short sprints/interval training does work. But if your unfit. Your going to injure or damage your body in the long term. Start off slow short sessions for first month. 3-4 times a week. Drink plenty water before during and after. Stretch after sessions.

Best thing if you can is to tag along with a football/rugby team that train midweek.
. Stop smoking. You smell bad for chic,s!

Magic Eight Ball

decotipp wrote: »

I hear doing sprints is the only way to get fit

mmh.. one of us has been grossly misinformed!

Check out crossfit.ie also, some great workout ideas and informative articles.