Hard Time Getting Motivated To Exercise? Read This.

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Psychlonic
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Hard Time Getting Motivated To Exercise? Read This.

Post by Psychlonic » Thu Nov 25, 2010 7:30 am

You want to be in the best shape possible, but are overwhelmed by the work necessary. Where to begin? What to eat? What days to set aside?

Coming up with an effective schedule is a daunting task and it is easy to create one that is hard to follow, eventually leading to slacking and finally total failure. While it is idealistic to come up with a perfect routine and try to force yourself to follow it, more often than not this will lead to you quitting. It's hard and becomes a chore. To you, it's not worth it.

This is normal.

Physical exercise is 90% mental. I've been obsessed with top physical conditioning for about 3 years now and prior to that I was already in pretty good shape due to genetics and a generally an aptitude for physical activities. Make no mistake, though: no matter how out of shape you think you are and how tired you get when working out, I get just as tired. I push myself to the limit every time I go out and exercise, you need to in order to improve. It's entirely a matter of getting mentally accustomed to the exercises.

I could spend all day talking about the things I've learned in all this time to you, but instead I want to focus on the basics that will help you if you're struggling to be consistent in your workouts. It can be extremely hard to start out and stick with it especially if you are alone, which most of us will be, but it's very possible and you can learn to enjoy it.

My first big piece of advice to you is to find a "go to" exercise that you really enjoy doing and feel good afterward. Something that you will gladly do even if it is the only thing you do that day. This will be the launch pad from which you will fire your physical regimen in the future. For me, it was curls. Back in high school, I really enjoyed curls. It made my arms bigger and I was a lot more vain back then :) plus I also enjoyed the feeling it gave me when I was done lifting a set with heavy weights.
It can be anything, no matter how silly or seemingly useless just like those curls. Just do it, don't think about it. Do it right now if you haven't exercised in awhile. You want this "go to" exercise to keep you coming back to your regimen.
This is effective IMO because even if you only do this "go to" exercise, you will eventually want more from yourself. You will gain confidence and start adding in more ideas to your exercise sessions. Starting small, you will eventually wind up with a nice full-body system that works every part of your body effectively and focuses on strength, cardio, and speed.

My second piece of advice is to ignore rigid routines. Listen to your body, not a piece of paper. Variety is the spice of life. Learn as many different ways to work the same muscles as you possibly can. Repetition sucks. If you need help with this, I will gladly recommend you new workouts to try so you won't possibly get bored.
Forget writing down in notepad how you're going to do 10 sets of this, then this, then this, etc. Fuck that. Get into a gym or set up your own workout area and just listen to yourself. Kick things off with your "go to" and then think "this muscle still has energy in it" and work it until it doesn't. Then move to another. I will advocate compound lifts that work multiple muscle groups, but just do whatever the hell works. Isolate sometimes just to break things up. Keep it random. Random is fun. You do not want to punish yourself, you want to push yourself hard but enjoy and look forward to your exercise.

My third piece of advice is to come up with a gameplan as far as WHERE you are going to do all of this. If at all possible, research gym options. Gyms are irreplaceable unless you are rich. Again, variety is key and gyms have the variety in spades.
But don't fret! If this is not an option you are far from screwed. Aside from the rich variety of body-weight exercises that are possible, a couple dumb bells go a long way, and they are cheap. Save up and buy some. OR, Christmas is coming up. Put them on the wish list. Get something simple, just a couple dumb bells, both of which are anywhere from 20-30 pounds depending on how strong you already are. Don't be ashamed at 20 pounders, believe it or not I am roughly 230 at the moment of lean muscle and even I can find ways to tire myself with explosive exercises using the 20 pounders at the gym.
There are so many exercises you can do with dumb bells and not only can they replace bars in just about any exercise, but when they DO replace them, the exercise you are left with is often superior because more muscles are recruited. I very rarely use bars for crap like bench press/military press/etc. I use dumb bells.
Finally, research the ever-loving hell out of BWEs you can do. There is more than one way to do push-ups, pull-ups, crunches, planks, etc. Have some fun just trying all the new things you can do.

My last piece of advice is this: start to eat right. I don't expect anyone here to jump straight into the deep end and adopt a diet like mine (I eat extremely protein-rich and heart healthy, all natural) but tack on two things to what you've got: chocolate milk and bananas. This is the fucking combo of power. If you eat a banana and down a glass of chocolate milk after every workout, you will notice that you recover way quicker. This combo is scientifically proven to be one of the most elite post-workout recovery systems possible. It is on par with the best and most expensive scientific formulas available today, and it tastes a lot better plus is cheaper. If you can't get them on your own, just tell your parents that you are interested in eating healthier and bring those two things up. Google it. The benefits are everywhere. They are both so cheap that this should not be a problem.
This will help you mentally. The next time you go in to exercise, you will feel fresh and ready to kick ass all over again, not tired and sore. Try it. The recovery effect is practically like having free fitness because you recover so much better.
Speaking of free fitness, if you really want to crank your diet up try the four following things: dark chocolate, orange juice, hibiscus flower-containing tea, and red wine (if available to you). These are all proven to lower your heart rate. Heart efficiency is what raises your cardio. If you are able to supply the same amount of oxygen at a lower heart rate, you will automatically be able to do any given task longer. If you are kicking ass at the gym but have a lower heart rate, you have the amount of beats-per-minute that you shaved off before you are where you would have been before. Free fitness.
Finally, protein. I'm all about raw eggs as many of you might know, but there are other options. You can buy whey protein powder if absolutely necessary, but I might recommend extremely lean meats for the guy who can't get this, along with milk. Eat plenty of chicken, fish, rice + beans, and tuna. Beef has the issue of cholesterol, but if you have wild game available eat that shit up. Elk is a red meat with the same protein to fat/cholesterol ratio as chicken!

These are my four fundamental keys to success. I hope you find them useful, and if you have any questions as far as exercises or diet I will gladly answer. I have learned to very much enjoy fitness and love to talk about it and help others.
Knowledge alone is not power, it is the potential for power. That potential can only be unlocked through applying that knowledge and realizing the skill.

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Re: Hard Time Getting Motivated To Exercise? Read This.

Post by CokeCanNinja » Thu Nov 25, 2010 8:14 pm

I exercise by nopping.

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Re: Hard Time Getting Motivated To Exercise? Read This.

Post by Psychlonic » Thu Nov 25, 2010 11:21 pm

Do you?

If you're night opping, then you're moving slowly if there's risk of being seen and should be focused on energy conservation at all times in preparation for escape if needed. Or if you're carrying tons of loot, maybe even climbing a rope here and there.

Never, in the 8 years I've been active, have I exerted the amount of energy I do when working out save for a couple E&E situations I landed myself into and some really heavy loot carrying instances. That's because the times you actually get a workout from your ops are so few and far between, that they don't do you a bit of good when you find yourself in that next "oh shit" situation. And if you somehow do get super exhausted every time, that just says you're not in good enough shape to perform the operation as you are trying to do but perhaps more telling, you're not going about it very intelligently.

You might run at night. Ride a bike. Do some drills. But nothing can replace the preparedness you will gain by spending some time actually exercising properly. I suspect very few people here have the built up shoulders and lats tell-tale of a guy capable of swiftly climbing a rope. Or the leg structure indicative of someone who can sprint sub-11 second 100 meter dashes and jog for miles and miles (km and km if you prefer) without fail.

This topic is mainly meant for people who have already realized they are not in the shape they want to be in (who is? even I'm not) and are determined to improve. If you're satisfied with the physical condition sneaking around a few times a month will get you in, then I can't really help you.
Knowledge alone is not power, it is the potential for power. That potential can only be unlocked through applying that knowledge and realizing the skill.

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Re: Hard Time Getting Motivated To Exercise? Read This.

Post by CokeCanNinja » Fri Nov 26, 2010 1:19 am

You're right, I should start doing stuff outside of nopping, but I'm in OK shape for what I do now.

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Re: Hard Time Getting Motivated To Exercise? Read This.

Post by Captain Winky » Wed Dec 01, 2010 10:22 pm

Quite true, good points O:. And I recognize a lot of myself in here.

Not so much because I know just as much about gyms, use a pair of dumbells, eat well or am genetically fit for fitness (though it doesn't really work against me, either),

It took a long time for me to find a way to keep myself fit aside from cycleing 5 kilometers twice a day to and from the train station. I tried a lot of things, excersizes, sports, and like coke, I thought at first 'opping will keep me fit' or 'with dragging shit around and flapping my fins around twice a week, diving will keep me fit', point is, they didn't when I didn't focus on them.

But I wanted to improve, I was a horrible scrawny fuck and making my bed tired me out. It was time for a change. I had discussed plans on the boards, started looking at multiple army fitness programmes (hey, if I'm going to be fit like a good fellow should, I should at least be up-to-level with our boys, or beyond). And did excersizes. Blessed with the strong legs that seem to run in our family and years of swimming I blew through lunges and squats and basically any other leg excersize it started becoming more of an endurance matter than a strength matter, and when pushups came... I failed miserably. Eventually, the 'fuck this, I can't do it came.'. Which I mistook for actual inability.

Little did I know, that that was actually a good feeling. Because I found that the more and more often I did the excersize up to that point, the easier they became. And the stronger I got. But I couldn't keep the excersizes up. And whatever other silly excersize I found, it became more and more difficult to keep it up. Not physically, but mentally. Figures the results of working out are just as much mentally as physically. It's much the same as being able to keep up with college, or keep up with military training. You have to endure, and keep your goal in sight, and make sure that you enjoy what you do and, much like taking a dump, push it out but look back content afterwards.

For me, taking that dump was running, in the end. My hometown was nicer than I imagined, by looks. And the aimless fat youths calling names to me on the bridge weren't so much trouble after the first three runs, either, even on bicycles. And in the first two times, I honestly did thing 'why the hell am I doing this again?'. But afterwards, I was spent, and content, and couldn't wait untill the next run two days later.

Now, a few months later, I still don't run any significant distance: I'm nearing the 4km in thirty minutes in a week. But I run more each day, and even though my results aren't great: they're better than yesterday, and that's what makes me happy and excited about running. And eventually, it almost seems to go by itself. Especially when you notice you're getting better at cycleing to the train station the next morning, as well.

Running is my 'launchpad', and eventually, I'll try adding other things. Once I reach my goal of being able to continuously run 15km, I might move on to something else! I might pick up swimming again, or, with the 'sports' I'm currently doing, might pick up triathlon, add strength training to this continuous list of cardio, As long as I'm seeing progress, suddenly things start getting bearable, and once you have a platform or 'basic' fitness, it's easier to start adding or keep doing said excersize.

Funnily enough, the only thing that physically changed is that my ability to run one minute and rest two, are gradually turning into running fifteen minutes and rest three. Among the other changes from case A to case B? all mental.

I don't consider myself a 'perfect example', if anything, I have experienced Psych's first point, and hope this story adds to the subject meaningfully.

also, a few things on food:
I do not have, in any way, more knowledge than what Psych stated above, however:
If there is something I do know about, it's candy. Mind you, dark Chocolate is not the easiest kind of chocolate to get. Even though it is, indeed, healthy. In fact, the only reason most chocolates aren't healthy, is because of the gross amount of fat they add in the form of thick milk. This is what makes most of the 'nice', chocolate taste as thick and sweet, and colours them lighter. Dark chocolate actually tastes quite bitter and of all of the four or five tastes, bitter is the least popular. And even the 'dark' chocolate in most candy recipes, still is a bit 'milked down'. However, if you manage to find any specialised candy stores, especially ones with a wide array of chocolates, you can probably find up to 80% pure chocolate. And about as bitter as solid Espresso.

Also, not liking fish is not a reason not to eat Tuna, you will be pleasantly surprised. And it goes everywhere. It can be eaten on some 'shabby' food like pizza, or you can pay top dollar for it rolled up with butter as 'haute quisine'. Tuna can be served to your tastes as much as any kind of meat.

Few questions, though:

What are your thoughts on nuts? and how do you learn to eat banana's? I hate them but they appear to be awesomefood wherever you look.
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Re: Hard Time Getting Motivated To Exercise? Read This.

Post by Psychlonic » Thu Dec 02, 2010 1:27 am

Well first, I also used to be the skinny kid who sat around eating candy by the metric ton and never gained a pound even doing all the push-ups in the world. I also hated it, but I think what people aren't considering is WHY they are like that and the truth is, that's a sign of genetic superiority. It means you have a faster metabolism and can process nutrients much faster. This results in more protein consumption and quicker recovery if you eat the right foods. Unfortunately, you must also eat like a polar bear 24/7 if you wish to gain more and more strength.

Where a person wishes to strike a balance between strength and speed/agility is up to them. There IS a point where getting larger and larger will negatively impact your cardio and speed. Bulk is having your ceiling raised. You can get stronger at whatever your weight already is, but only so much. You won't be powerlifting high levels at 165 or whatever, it's just not happening. Similarly, you're probably not going to run a 100 meter dash in under 11 seconds if you're a 285 walking mass of muscles. You have to decide what you're trying to gear your workouts towards.

But as for all that, it's really up to the individual. For now if any of you are stuck in a rut, just start working out and worry about where you want to head as you go along. 3 years ago I never guessed I'd be where I am today. I planned on simply doing lots of BWEs and running while keeping my usual diet. I didn't want to punish myself, I wanted to eat burgers, drink soda, and do whatever I did before only in better shape. But I began to ENJOY the better quality foods and I wanted more and more out of myself.

It adds up.

As for nuts and seeds, I eat them quite a bit. I've read that munching on them constantly can cause issues, but really the one thing I've learned should be obvious from the beginning: All good things in moderation. Balance everything. Too much of a few nutrients can deplete others and cause problems. I generally eat a lot of sunflower seeds, cashews, and peanuts. Unsalted, if possible. It's free protein and fats (you need SOME fats) and a hell of a lot better for you than chips and candy.
Some people will tell you not to touch them ever. Opinions vary, I guess. I need a lot of calories though so they help. I don't like to eat large meals, just a lot of smaller meals and snacks through the day.

With bananas, I enjoy them personally so I just eat one and then wash it down with a glass of chocolate milk. If you've got a blender you could try blending the milk and bananas together, maybe make enough to last several days so you don't have to break out the blender every single day.

And again though, for people trying to just get into any routine at all don't let the walls of text confuse and discourage you. Just remember the four basics:

1. Stick with the single exercise you like.
2. Ignore rigid routines and "systems" - listen to your body.
3. Figure out where you will do this and set up stations if needed.
4. Work some healthier foods into your diet.

Or, to summarize into one larger point: DO NOT PUNISH YOURSELF
Make it fun and easy to endure.
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Re: Hard Time Getting Motivated To Exercise? Read This.

Post by Ghost » Wed Dec 08, 2010 3:47 am

Thanks for the tips. I never really had you figured for one of the "hard gainers" who had to bust ass and eat incredible amounts just to pack on a few additional pounds of muscle, i'd always thought you were one of those guys who never had problems gaining muscle mass. Having a super fast metabolism really is both a gift and a curse i think, because it makes it very easy to stay "fit" or "healthy", but to get in truly good shape, and put 15 or 20 lbs of muscle on your frame sometimes seems near to impossible. I've sort of been like that my entire life - i hover between 145 and 160 depending upon how much i've been working out, but the minute i stop lifting/working i lose any muscle i've put on and drop back to 145. Any other tips for people like this?

I've got a 5.5 month deployment coming up in just over a month and i think it's time to start busting ass again where fitness is concerned.
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Re: Hard Time Getting Motivated To Exercise? Read This.

Post by Psychlonic » Wed Dec 08, 2010 7:35 pm

Eat like food is going out of style, man. That's the best advice I can give. In one of these other topics I posted a typical day's diet to give an idea of what I eat, but mainly you need to eat more protein than usual. Working out and eating a lot seems to go hand in hand for me since exercise makes me hungry enough to constantly eat enough to continue growing, so I think if you're able to just stick with something your appetite is going to go up.

Protein is the big focus. I drink raw eggs, but like I said shakes or just more meat and dairy foods will help as well. If you don't start eating tons of protein, you're never going to gain more muscle mass. It's just the science of the matter. You need the building blocks in order to build the muscles. Vitamins, minerals, and good quality carbs are going to help supply those muscles with nutrients more efficiently.

Some ideas:
Tuna
Yogurt
Chocolate Milk
Cottage Cheese
Red Meat (game if available)
Chicken
Salmon
Eggs

Just eat as much of that shit as you can. Ideally, replace "filler" foods like chips with snacks with more protein like jerky, seeds, nuts, etc. and wash it down with milk. Eat a couple cans of tuna before working out or whatever protein is available, then have recovery foods afterward. Protein afterward will help as well.
Don't go to bed on an empty stomach and try your hardest not to ignore hunger, either. I used to be really bad about that, I would ignore myself if I got hungry. For us "hard gainers" that's a good way to lower appetite, eat less, and eventually lose weight.

Gaining lean muscle isn't easy and requires commitment. You can't slack.
Knowledge alone is not power, it is the potential for power. That potential can only be unlocked through applying that knowledge and realizing the skill.

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Re: Hard Time Getting Motivated To Exercise? Read This.

Post by darktorn » Wed Dec 15, 2010 12:15 am

Yeh, I see a lot of myself in there, been out of ops for near a year now and keep trying to get back in to shape but somehow always find an excuse to put of starting exercising one more week...
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Re: Hard Time Getting Motivated To Exercise? Read This.

Post by CokeCanNinja » Thu Dec 16, 2010 3:14 pm

Hey guys, check out this site: nerdfitness.com

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Re: Hard Time Getting Motivated To Exercise? Read This.

Post by kunoichi » Thu Feb 17, 2011 2:08 pm

That's an awesome post!
I always thought that not keeping a specific program was very wrong...
But why do so many people consider this wrong? Especially trainers. :roll:
SORRY FOR MY ENGLISH :P
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Re: Hard Time Getting Motivated To Exercise? Read This.

Post by Psychlonic » Fri Feb 18, 2011 12:51 am

Programs are meant to do all the planning for the would-be athlete. It makes the mental aspect easier in the beginning for someone because they don't have to sort anything out themselves. They just pick a program that looks good for them and jump in.

While they do work, I think they are a bad idea in the long run. You see a lot of programs that last a set amount of days. 90 days. 120 days. Initially that's appealing - yeah get in shape! But then what? You just keep following the successive programs? That's going to be a huge mental drain when you are told to do things you do not like to do. There are so many ways to work the same muscles that you don't HAVE to do one particular workout ever. There's nothing wrong with changing it up to keep yourself interested.

It's much better to get an idea of what you want to be and start working towards that - not a general "fitness program". Learn to know how much energy your muscles have left and chisel at them with different workouts until you can't anymore. This includes running and jumping regimens. Start cycling in dot mat drills, box jumps, wind sprints - whatever gets you closer to your goal. Don't want to do box jumps one day? Don't - hit the jump rope hard instead. Not good enough? Jumping squats. Jumping lunges. Too easy? Add weights. Optimally you should cycle a little of all of them into your exercise week, but just do whatever feels good and helps you improve.
Knowledge alone is not power, it is the potential for power. That potential can only be unlocked through applying that knowledge and realizing the skill.

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Re: Hard Time Getting Motivated To Exercise? Read This.

Post by kunoichi » Sat Feb 19, 2011 11:42 am

Psychlonic wrote:Programs are meant to do all the planning for the would-be athlete. It makes the mental aspect easier in the beginning for someone because they don't have to sort anything out themselves. They just pick a program that looks good for them and jump in.

While they do work, I think they are a bad idea in the long run. You see a lot of programs that last a set amount of days. 90 days. 120 days. Initially that's appealing - yeah get in shape! But then what? You just keep following the successive programs? That's going to be a huge mental drain when you are told to do things you do not like to do. There are so many ways to work the same muscles that you don't HAVE to do one particular workout ever. There's nothing wrong with changing it up to keep yourself interested.

It's much better to get an idea of what you want to be and start working towards that - not a general "fitness program". Learn to know how much energy your muscles have left and chisel at them with different workouts until you can't anymore. This includes running and jumping regimens. Start cycling in dot mat drills, box jumps, wind sprints - whatever gets you closer to your goal. Don't want to do box jumps one day? Don't - hit the jump rope hard instead. Not good enough? Jumping squats. Jumping lunges. Too easy? Add weights. Optimally you should cycle a little of all of them into your exercise week, but just do whatever feels good and helps you improve.
Thanks for the info!
SORRY FOR MY ENGLISH :P
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