Why do I need a workout routine??
The answer is quite simple, it's good to be organized. You know what you have been doing previously and you can plan your next sessions. But these are all smaller reasons, the biggest advantage is, you can monitor your progress.
If you just go to the gym and start pulling whatever weight you find, it's still a load on the muscle. But only when you progressively increase the load on the muscle, you start making gains, you start gaining strength and muscle.
Why should I progress? Can't I make life easier and stick to the same weight?
When you lift a weight that's quite heavy for your body, or if you go on really high reps, your muscle is in a situation it has never been in before and it needs to grow to bear that load. If you provide enough calories and proteins, it will grow. When muscle grows, you get stronger. The load that previously felt heavy wouldn't feel as heavy and you need a heavier load to stimulate the muscle. You need to keep increasing progressively to give the muscle a reason to get bigger.
This is an accepted theory for gaining mass and strength. For more info, refer to this link
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muscle_hypertrophy
Any routine should
1. Have sufficient volume and intensity
2. Should not be too heavy
3. Should allow sufficient time for recovery
4. Most importantly, should reflect your goal
Most routines are 3-4 days a week routines. A most general routine would have 3 days of workout in the gym- three different muscle groups on three days, or a full body workout with varying intensity on three days. Some have 4 days a week- Four different muscle groups a day or the whole body is split into upper and lower and both are worked 2 days each. Most routines include 2 days of cardio and 2 days of rest for recovery.
A lot of routines have been in use for a long time, each backed by its own theory. Each has its own advantages and supporters. You'd find them on the net and I'm not posting any now, will probably post them later. A lot of lifters/builders make up their own routines to suit their needs, but that is when they reach a stage when they know what they're body says.
"...............Crawl before you walk, Walk before you run....."
A lot of guys copy some routine from the net and try to work it out from day 1. That's the worst thing you can ever do.
When you're not a pro, don't train like one.
A beginner needs to first set his body up before he can start working out like the others in the gym. Before you lift heavy weights, you need to lift the lighter ones, and before you lift any weight, your body must be ready to take it.
In most gyms, beginners are advised to start off with leverage machines (or simply machines, as opposed to free weights- barbells and dumbells). Leverage machines and free weights act on your muscle at a particular angle, and they always tempt you to try heavier weights. If your muscle is not ready, it's not a good idea to start working it. A better option is to do some body weight exercises- exercises where you only use your body weight as a load.
Pushups, Pullups, Free hand squats and Crunches- Some basic bodyweight exercises, but nonetheless, very important. It's always a good idea to start off with these before you start working out in the gym.
25 pushups, 5 pullups, 30 Free hand squats and 15 crunches should be a decent target for a beginner to achieve before starting with some weights.
In case you don't know the above exercises, check these links
http://www.wikihow.com/Do-a-Push-Up
http://stronglifts.com/how-to-squat-with-proper-technique-fix-common-problems/
http://stronglifts.com/how-to-do-pull-ups-and-chin-ups-with-proper-technique/
http://www.fitstep.com/Library/Exercises/Crunches.htm
If you don't like crunches, go for leg raise (lying leg raise)
http://www.better-exercise-fitness-for-life.com/leg-raises.html
For a beginner, 3 days of the above exercises and 3 days of cardio should be good, since you need to cut down on your fat. Lower the fat, better the gains. I practiced karate for a couple of months in my 6th and 7th classes and then for some months in 9th and in my 11th and 12th classes, I was regularly doing some jogging and pushups and pullups and occasionally some legraises too. I believe I was already ready to get started in a gym when I thought of going to a gym because of that karate practice I did, but nonetheless, it'd have been great to start it this way.
You know the exercises, now your routine should be like this-
Do cardio on Tuesday, thursday, saturday ( I've already written about this in part 4), 500 minutes of sprint followed by some jogging or swimming or cycling or anything else
Do bodyweight exercises on Monday, Wednesday, Friday- 3 sets for each exercise. First set, take it easy, do very few reps. Say you cannot do more than 6 pushups. Do only 4 in the first and second sets. Aim for 5 reps in the third set and push for more reps after you're done with 5. Do the same number for two days and on the third day add more reps to each set. Keep progressing till you reach the number of reps you've targeted.
After you reach the targets I've mentioned, it'd be good to get started in a gym.
P.S: You'll find a lot of advertisements on various sites talking about machines and pills and all.. Don't trust them. Post any query as a comment and I'll try to answer them.
Good luck
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
GYM101- Intro to working out. Part 4: Fat Loss and Cardio
No fooling around, straight into the topic..
Your body has a lot of water in it and also a lot of fat stored. There are a lot of stuff like belts, steam baths, pills,... All of them are supposed to reduce body weight. What they actually do is, they reduce the water content in your body and hence fake a loss of body weight. Water content is really necessary and it is not good to reduce body weight by losing water.
Best tips for fat loss:
1. Control your diet.
2. Workout
If you want the best, there are really only two things. There are other minor tips, like drinking a lot of water and all.....
1. Control your diet. I don't think I need to speak a lot about this, you've been hearing this since you were a kid. Eat little, more often. Eating light in intervals of 3 hours or so is really good. The traditional 3-times-a-day is really not good if you want to loose body fat. When you eat up a lot, only three times a day, your body has to store all the energy you ate, and most of it is stored as fat. Genetics come into play and the amount of food stored into fat depends on the person. Similarly, the efficiency with which you convert fat into glucose for conversion into energy also differs.
The best thing to do is to eat more protein food and cut down on calories and to eat as often as you can. If you don't enough, your body would probably fear it may not get food later and ends up storing more food than required.
2. Working out: When you workout, you use the glucose present in your body. If there isn't enough glucose, you look for other sources- protein and fat. It would definitely be a disaster for your muscle growth if you end up using protein whenever you need extra energy.
When you have consumed all blood glucose, fat and protein have to be converted into glucose. When you do heavy exercises in gym for a long time, you've run out of glucose and you need to produce more, at a quick rate. Hence, you end up burning both fat and protein.Hence, it is advised not to work for too long in the gym.
Some people have a natural tendancy to convert their fat into glucose whenever needed, these guys are slim, obviously. Others have to increase the rate of this conversion. Cardio is one good way to do this. Cardio refers to exercises like jogging, walking, swimming, high rep pushups or actually anything that pumps your heart and increases blood circulation.
To know more about how these work and how actually fat is burnt when you do some exercise, read this page
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aerobic_exercise
If you don't want all the details, here's what you should/shouldn't do:
1. Eat less, more often. Take light food in intervals of 2-3 hours. Avoid oily foods and junk, take more proteins.
2. Workout regularly. If you don't want to gain extra fat and want to slowly lose fat, you may go for High intensity workouts- heavy workouts ( heavy is a relative term and its meaning changes from person to person) and do a little jogging or cycling or swimming twice a week or so. Never workout on an empty stomach.
If you want to lose a lot of fat, you need to do a lot of jogging or cycling or swimming. Swimming is the best. Eat very little before you start. Do very high intensity for a while, if you're planning jogging, do a 500m sprint (or something like a lot of pushups or a lot of very light bench presses. lot= 30-50 reps) and then get to normal pace jogging for 20-30 minutes. For better results, vary the intensity. First, a 500m sprint, as before, then 5 min of slow jogging and a little quick for the next 5 min, 5 min slow again, 5 min faster and so on for say 30 minutes.
Lose all that fat before you start working out in the gym. If you workout with all the fat on, most of what you gain from the workout will be fat and not muscle.
Why cardio? Why lose fat?
Most important reason, good for health. Another I've already mentioned, you can't gain a lot of muscle if you have a lot of fat on you. If you do a lot of cardio, your anaeroboic capacity increases, i.e. you can use more energy than you previously did. You start recovering quicker. The rate at which you burn fat also increases. The most appealing, you look better.
Would abs exercises like crunches help in losing fat?
A biiiig NO. When it comes to fat loss, their contribution is similar to any other exercise. When you work your abs, you strengthen the abs muscle, not reduce the fat there. The abs are very important since they support your body in a variety of movements. Actually, if you work your abs very often, abs grow. If you didn't lose your fat, your tummy would look bigger since your abs have grown.
How do I get a 6-pack? What abs exercises?
Abs workout has very little to do with 'getting' a 6 pack. Everyone has this muscle group called abs. To make them visible, you should lose all the fat above it. Abs workouts help in building more muscle. Even if you have great abs, if you don't burn the fat that covers them, no one can see those marvelous abs. If you don't have a lot of fat, you can make your abs visible through them by building your abs. But the best way to get a 6-pack is to lose all that fat. Once you've lost all the fat, the size of your abs becomes important. You should know that abs are really important muscles that support many movements. Having strong abs helps in all sports.
Why is it so difficult to get a 6-pack?
The lower abdomen is the first place where fat is stored. So, that's the last place where you burn fat. It means, if you want to lose fat over your abs, you need to lose fat everywhere else in your body. So it is a very long process to build a 6-pack, not some overnight thingy as advertised by some programs or products. As already mentinoed, the other alternative is there- losing water, which is not a good thing to do.
I want to lose fat and build muscle.
You can't do both at the same time. You have to do one or the other. Bodybuilders have two phases in their training- a bulking phase where they put on body mass and a diet phase where they lose the fat. If building muscle and losing fat at the same time was possible, they would have a single phase.When you're building muscle, you have to go on a few extra calories and that would put on some fat unless you are extremely careful with your diet and your workout.
I want to convert my fat into muscle.
Not possible. You build muscle from protein, not fat.
I want to lose fat at a particular part of my body.
Fat loss is not an isolated phenomenon. You cannot lose fat at one particular part of the body, it occurs through out. But as I mentioned, fat is stored more easily at some places than others and it is harder to lose fat from those places.
Other tips for fat loss: (I haven't attached an explanation)
1. Drink a lot of water.
2. Sleep properly, with proper ventilation.
3. Take deep and long breaths- breath to your stomach, not lungs
4. Again, control your diet- cut down on oily stuff, eat more proteins. For Indians, avoid rice, eat more rotis or pulkas. Eat your vegetables. Try to eat a lot of fruits. It'd be great if you have fruits for dinner.
Nothing else like belts or baths or pills can work. Refer to the wiki link I've posted. Here it is again
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aerobic_exercise
It talks of biological facts.
Don't think to lose fat the easier way and get tempted to try arbit things that are no good. It's always good to sweat it out.
Good Luck
Your body has a lot of water in it and also a lot of fat stored. There are a lot of stuff like belts, steam baths, pills,... All of them are supposed to reduce body weight. What they actually do is, they reduce the water content in your body and hence fake a loss of body weight. Water content is really necessary and it is not good to reduce body weight by losing water.
Best tips for fat loss:
1. Control your diet.
2. Workout
If you want the best, there are really only two things. There are other minor tips, like drinking a lot of water and all.....
1. Control your diet. I don't think I need to speak a lot about this, you've been hearing this since you were a kid. Eat little, more often. Eating light in intervals of 3 hours or so is really good. The traditional 3-times-a-day is really not good if you want to loose body fat. When you eat up a lot, only three times a day, your body has to store all the energy you ate, and most of it is stored as fat. Genetics come into play and the amount of food stored into fat depends on the person. Similarly, the efficiency with which you convert fat into glucose for conversion into energy also differs.
The best thing to do is to eat more protein food and cut down on calories and to eat as often as you can. If you don't enough, your body would probably fear it may not get food later and ends up storing more food than required.
2. Working out: When you workout, you use the glucose present in your body. If there isn't enough glucose, you look for other sources- protein and fat. It would definitely be a disaster for your muscle growth if you end up using protein whenever you need extra energy.
When you have consumed all blood glucose, fat and protein have to be converted into glucose. When you do heavy exercises in gym for a long time, you've run out of glucose and you need to produce more, at a quick rate. Hence, you end up burning both fat and protein.Hence, it is advised not to work for too long in the gym.
Some people have a natural tendancy to convert their fat into glucose whenever needed, these guys are slim, obviously. Others have to increase the rate of this conversion. Cardio is one good way to do this. Cardio refers to exercises like jogging, walking, swimming, high rep pushups or actually anything that pumps your heart and increases blood circulation.
To know more about how these work and how actually fat is burnt when you do some exercise, read this page
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aerobic_exercise
If you don't want all the details, here's what you should/shouldn't do:
1. Eat less, more often. Take light food in intervals of 2-3 hours. Avoid oily foods and junk, take more proteins.
2. Workout regularly. If you don't want to gain extra fat and want to slowly lose fat, you may go for High intensity workouts- heavy workouts ( heavy is a relative term and its meaning changes from person to person) and do a little jogging or cycling or swimming twice a week or so. Never workout on an empty stomach.
If you want to lose a lot of fat, you need to do a lot of jogging or cycling or swimming. Swimming is the best. Eat very little before you start. Do very high intensity for a while, if you're planning jogging, do a 500m sprint (or something like a lot of pushups or a lot of very light bench presses. lot= 30-50 reps) and then get to normal pace jogging for 20-30 minutes. For better results, vary the intensity. First, a 500m sprint, as before, then 5 min of slow jogging and a little quick for the next 5 min, 5 min slow again, 5 min faster and so on for say 30 minutes.
Lose all that fat before you start working out in the gym. If you workout with all the fat on, most of what you gain from the workout will be fat and not muscle.
Why cardio? Why lose fat?
Most important reason, good for health. Another I've already mentioned, you can't gain a lot of muscle if you have a lot of fat on you. If you do a lot of cardio, your anaeroboic capacity increases, i.e. you can use more energy than you previously did. You start recovering quicker. The rate at which you burn fat also increases. The most appealing, you look better.
Would abs exercises like crunches help in losing fat?
A biiiig NO. When it comes to fat loss, their contribution is similar to any other exercise. When you work your abs, you strengthen the abs muscle, not reduce the fat there. The abs are very important since they support your body in a variety of movements. Actually, if you work your abs very often, abs grow. If you didn't lose your fat, your tummy would look bigger since your abs have grown.
How do I get a 6-pack? What abs exercises?
Abs workout has very little to do with 'getting' a 6 pack. Everyone has this muscle group called abs. To make them visible, you should lose all the fat above it. Abs workouts help in building more muscle. Even if you have great abs, if you don't burn the fat that covers them, no one can see those marvelous abs. If you don't have a lot of fat, you can make your abs visible through them by building your abs. But the best way to get a 6-pack is to lose all that fat. Once you've lost all the fat, the size of your abs becomes important. You should know that abs are really important muscles that support many movements. Having strong abs helps in all sports.
Why is it so difficult to get a 6-pack?
The lower abdomen is the first place where fat is stored. So, that's the last place where you burn fat. It means, if you want to lose fat over your abs, you need to lose fat everywhere else in your body. So it is a very long process to build a 6-pack, not some overnight thingy as advertised by some programs or products. As already mentinoed, the other alternative is there- losing water, which is not a good thing to do.
I want to lose fat and build muscle.
You can't do both at the same time. You have to do one or the other. Bodybuilders have two phases in their training- a bulking phase where they put on body mass and a diet phase where they lose the fat. If building muscle and losing fat at the same time was possible, they would have a single phase.When you're building muscle, you have to go on a few extra calories and that would put on some fat unless you are extremely careful with your diet and your workout.
I want to convert my fat into muscle.
Not possible. You build muscle from protein, not fat.
I want to lose fat at a particular part of my body.
Fat loss is not an isolated phenomenon. You cannot lose fat at one particular part of the body, it occurs through out. But as I mentioned, fat is stored more easily at some places than others and it is harder to lose fat from those places.
Other tips for fat loss: (I haven't attached an explanation)
1. Drink a lot of water.
2. Sleep properly, with proper ventilation.
3. Take deep and long breaths- breath to your stomach, not lungs
4. Again, control your diet- cut down on oily stuff, eat more proteins. For Indians, avoid rice, eat more rotis or pulkas. Eat your vegetables. Try to eat a lot of fruits. It'd be great if you have fruits for dinner.
Nothing else like belts or baths or pills can work. Refer to the wiki link I've posted. Here it is again
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aerobic_exercise
It talks of biological facts.
Don't think to lose fat the easier way and get tempted to try arbit things that are no good. It's always good to sweat it out.
Good Luck
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
GYM101- Intro to working out. Part 3: The muscles
Totally jobless at home, so putting more posts...
The reason for all these posts is to put fundaes to junta on gymming rather than suggesting a routine. If you understand what and how it works, you can be more confident about your workouts.
If you want to know how muscle is built, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muscle_hypertrophy
The body has several muscle groups. A usual classification is into majors and minors....
Major muscle groups:
1. Legs
2. Back
3. Chest
4. Shoulders
Minor muscle groups:
1. Triceps
2. Biceps
3. Forearms
4. Abs
Most commonly, beginners are suggested to work majors when they first hit gym. This is because minors are under stress when majors are worked out- minor muscle groups have to support the load when you're working majors.
There are a lot of fundaes on this, like division into agonists, antagonist and synergist, depending on the way each muscle is worked when during a certain exercise. It is good to know these too, but can be postponed for a later stage. To put in a nutshell, agonists are main muscles responsible for a movement while antagonists act in the opposite movement- like biceps and triceps when you bend or straighten your elbow. Synergists are the side muscles that help in the movement. Usally, the antagonists support the movement. If you're more interested, check this- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agonist_(muscle)
Any muscular action should happen about a joint. There is either flexion- decreasing joint angle or extension
- increasing joint angle. For instance, the triceps are worked when the elbow joint is extended and the biceps are worked when the elbow is flexed.
Muscles can only take contraction, i.e. they are very good at pulling, not good at pushing or stretching. When you flex your arm, the biceps are contracted and triceps are extended, hence your biceps are worked out. The opposite when you extend- the arm has to be pulled by the triceps when extending, hence triceps are worked.
In any proper exercise, the muscle has to be properly extended and contracted. If you're doing a biceps curl, you have to straighten your elbows completely and then bend them completely and compress the biceps muscle as much as possible.
Conclusion:
1. You grow muscle when you put it under a lot of stress first and then allow it to recover and then build more muscle. So, workout in the gym for a max of one hour, and then rest each muscle group for atleast 72 hours for majors and 48 hours for minors.
2. Muscles take time to recover grow. Don't work out for more than 4 days a week. In extreme cases, if you have great recovering ability, you may go 5 days a week, though it is not advisable. 3 days a week is a good start for beginners. Do cardio for 2 more days a week and take complete rest for 2 days.
2. The minors are synergists to major muscle group movements. So you don't need to work the minors when you're just beginning.
3. Identify the agonists and synergists for a certain movement. See if you're really working the agonist. If you're not sure, ask someone who knows. It is always the best thing to ask the coach or someone who really knows.
4. For best results, do complete movements. Straighten the joint completely and then compress the muscle at the other end. Don't take this literally, but understand the implications.
5. This is for a later stage, but if you do opposing movements alternatively, like pushing and pulling, you allow the muscles to recover while you're working out. Don't take this for granted, but do remember this.
The reason for all these posts is to put fundaes to junta on gymming rather than suggesting a routine. If you understand what and how it works, you can be more confident about your workouts.
If you want to know how muscle is built, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muscle_hypertrophy
The body has several muscle groups. A usual classification is into majors and minors....
Major muscle groups:
1. Legs
2. Back
3. Chest
4. Shoulders
Minor muscle groups:
1. Triceps
2. Biceps
3. Forearms
4. Abs
Most commonly, beginners are suggested to work majors when they first hit gym. This is because minors are under stress when majors are worked out- minor muscle groups have to support the load when you're working majors.
There are a lot of fundaes on this, like division into agonists, antagonist and synergist, depending on the way each muscle is worked when during a certain exercise. It is good to know these too, but can be postponed for a later stage. To put in a nutshell, agonists are main muscles responsible for a movement while antagonists act in the opposite movement- like biceps and triceps when you bend or straighten your elbow. Synergists are the side muscles that help in the movement. Usally, the antagonists support the movement. If you're more interested, check this- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agonist_(muscle)
Any muscular action should happen about a joint. There is either flexion- decreasing joint angle or extension
- increasing joint angle. For instance, the triceps are worked when the elbow joint is extended and the biceps are worked when the elbow is flexed.
Muscles can only take contraction, i.e. they are very good at pulling, not good at pushing or stretching. When you flex your arm, the biceps are contracted and triceps are extended, hence your biceps are worked out. The opposite when you extend- the arm has to be pulled by the triceps when extending, hence triceps are worked.
In any proper exercise, the muscle has to be properly extended and contracted. If you're doing a biceps curl, you have to straighten your elbows completely and then bend them completely and compress the biceps muscle as much as possible.
Conclusion:
1. You grow muscle when you put it under a lot of stress first and then allow it to recover and then build more muscle. So, workout in the gym for a max of one hour, and then rest each muscle group for atleast 72 hours for majors and 48 hours for minors.
2. Muscles take time to recover grow. Don't work out for more than 4 days a week. In extreme cases, if you have great recovering ability, you may go 5 days a week, though it is not advisable. 3 days a week is a good start for beginners. Do cardio for 2 more days a week and take complete rest for 2 days.
2. The minors are synergists to major muscle group movements. So you don't need to work the minors when you're just beginning.
3. Identify the agonists and synergists for a certain movement. See if you're really working the agonist. If you're not sure, ask someone who knows. It is always the best thing to ask the coach or someone who really knows.
4. For best results, do complete movements. Straighten the joint completely and then compress the muscle at the other end. Don't take this literally, but understand the implications.
5. This is for a later stage, but if you do opposing movements alternatively, like pushing and pulling, you allow the muscles to recover while you're working out. Don't take this for granted, but do remember this.
Very very important:
Your muscle, recovery period, endurance limits and your strength have a lot to do with your genetics. You can see a lot of gifted guys- big and strong, in the gym. They have huge muscles when they haven't really worked out properly. A lot of such guys say arbitrary things about how you need to work out. DO NOT LISTEN TO THEM. Whatever worked for them worked because they're already naturally strong. Ask someone who has proper fundaes or better, look in wikipedia or youtube.
GYM101- Intro to working out. Part 2: basic terms
Some basic terms you need to know/understand before you workout.
Pump: The best part of working out in a gym- the feeling you get after you've done a nice heavy weight- your muscle feels very tight and strong, feels like blood's rushing through the arteries, your mind feels totally empty, life feels very peaceful, you feel high... Arnold compared this to cumming (if you know what that means) in a very famous video called "PUMPING IRON"
Sets and Reps: Say you did 15 pushups. Then got up, and after 2 min did another 12 pushups, and after 2 min rest again, a final 10 pushups. Then you say you did 3 sets of pushups, 15 reps in first set, 12 reps in second set and 10 reps in the third. Reps are those you do continuously, without any gap. Between sets, you usually take some rest ranging from 1 to 5 minutes.
Volume: Refers to the amount of workout you do, not the weight. If 'A' does 10 reps of 30kg and 'B' does 5 reps of 35kg, A is said to have had more volume in his workout. Usually, bodybuilders have a lot of volume in their workout while powerlifters and weightlifters have relatively low volume.
Intensity: Refers to how much you're doing with respect to the maximum you can do. Say 2 guys, A and B, can both do a maximum of 50kg of bench press for 10 reps. If A is doing 10 reps of 40kg and B is doing 10 reps of 45 kg, B's workout is more intense than A's.
"Bodybuilders usually go for low intensity, high volume workouts. Weightlifters and powerlifters go for very high intensity, low rep workouts" - Many say this, but beginners are advised not to believe this statement.
Failure: 'A' is doing pushups. 20 pushups- a little pain. 30- more pain, but still possible. 35- A can hardly do more pushups. 37- He tries his maximum to get up, but his muscles can't support anymore. That's called failure. Some muscle groups like the abs or the calves are usually worked to failure. Bigger muscle groups like chest, shoulders, legs, back are not.
Plateau: When you start working out, you'll start to feel an increase in strength. You keep following a routine and you progressively keep increasing the load, say 2.5kg per week or two. You can do this till a point but not indefinitely. When you can no longer increase the load, or when your strength stops increasing, you're said to have hit a plateau- No more increase in performance. Hitting a plateau is not really a big deal and it happens to everyone. All you need to do is change your workout routine ( more on this later).
Fatigue, Overload: You go to the gym, do some 3 sets of 25 pushups each. Then some 5 sets of 5 pullups each. Bench press, 4 sets of 10 reps each, with weights you can handle, and then some dumbbell presses and then may be some barbell curls for your biceps and then a lot of crunches and leg raises for your abs and then some other thing- you've 'overloaded' yourself. Refers to having a lot of volume and a lot of exercises with a considerable intensity. Overloading does help when you hit a plateau. When you overload, your body feels completely drained out, that's fatigue.
When you're leaving the gym, you shouldn't feel all drained out and tired. Instead, you should probably be feeling slightly more energitic, not physically, but mentally, since you've got some hormones secreted during your workout. DO NOT WORKOUT IN THE GYM FOR MORE THAN AN HOUR. More time in the gym does not mean more muscle, but actually, if you train too long, you end up losing muscle.
Overreach, Overtrain: Overreach is kind of similar to overloading, except that you have higher intensity and relatively lower volumes. You should be feeling all pumped up after you overreach. Refers to pushing your limits or doing very intense (heavy) workout. Overreaching is very good if you do it once in a week or two and take proper rest after that. A significant improvement in performance can be seen if you overreach on a couple of practice sessions and then take a week off. The week off is for recovery. Recovery period after you overreach may very from days to weeks, depending on your ability to recover.
Overtraining is entirely different from overreaching. Overtraining is a mental and hormonal state. That state when your mind says "Just f**k off dude, I'm not going to the gym" and you keep giving up on weights that u're supposed to do peacefully. Happens when you overload or overreach for a long time and don't allow for recovery. Recovery period for overtraining may be several weeks to months.
Will put my next one soon. Keep visiting.
Pump: The best part of working out in a gym- the feeling you get after you've done a nice heavy weight- your muscle feels very tight and strong, feels like blood's rushing through the arteries, your mind feels totally empty, life feels very peaceful, you feel high... Arnold compared this to cumming (if you know what that means) in a very famous video called "PUMPING IRON"
Sets and Reps: Say you did 15 pushups. Then got up, and after 2 min did another 12 pushups, and after 2 min rest again, a final 10 pushups. Then you say you did 3 sets of pushups, 15 reps in first set, 12 reps in second set and 10 reps in the third. Reps are those you do continuously, without any gap. Between sets, you usually take some rest ranging from 1 to 5 minutes.
Volume: Refers to the amount of workout you do, not the weight. If 'A' does 10 reps of 30kg and 'B' does 5 reps of 35kg, A is said to have had more volume in his workout. Usually, bodybuilders have a lot of volume in their workout while powerlifters and weightlifters have relatively low volume.
Intensity: Refers to how much you're doing with respect to the maximum you can do. Say 2 guys, A and B, can both do a maximum of 50kg of bench press for 10 reps. If A is doing 10 reps of 40kg and B is doing 10 reps of 45 kg, B's workout is more intense than A's.
"Bodybuilders usually go for low intensity, high volume workouts. Weightlifters and powerlifters go for very high intensity, low rep workouts" - Many say this, but beginners are advised not to believe this statement.
Failure: 'A' is doing pushups. 20 pushups- a little pain. 30- more pain, but still possible. 35- A can hardly do more pushups. 37- He tries his maximum to get up, but his muscles can't support anymore. That's called failure. Some muscle groups like the abs or the calves are usually worked to failure. Bigger muscle groups like chest, shoulders, legs, back are not.
Plateau: When you start working out, you'll start to feel an increase in strength. You keep following a routine and you progressively keep increasing the load, say 2.5kg per week or two. You can do this till a point but not indefinitely. When you can no longer increase the load, or when your strength stops increasing, you're said to have hit a plateau- No more increase in performance. Hitting a plateau is not really a big deal and it happens to everyone. All you need to do is change your workout routine ( more on this later).
Fatigue, Overload: You go to the gym, do some 3 sets of 25 pushups each. Then some 5 sets of 5 pullups each. Bench press, 4 sets of 10 reps each, with weights you can handle, and then some dumbbell presses and then may be some barbell curls for your biceps and then a lot of crunches and leg raises for your abs and then some other thing- you've 'overloaded' yourself. Refers to having a lot of volume and a lot of exercises with a considerable intensity. Overloading does help when you hit a plateau. When you overload, your body feels completely drained out, that's fatigue.
When you're leaving the gym, you shouldn't feel all drained out and tired. Instead, you should probably be feeling slightly more energitic, not physically, but mentally, since you've got some hormones secreted during your workout. DO NOT WORKOUT IN THE GYM FOR MORE THAN AN HOUR. More time in the gym does not mean more muscle, but actually, if you train too long, you end up losing muscle.
Overreach, Overtrain: Overreach is kind of similar to overloading, except that you have higher intensity and relatively lower volumes. You should be feeling all pumped up after you overreach. Refers to pushing your limits or doing very intense (heavy) workout. Overreaching is very good if you do it once in a week or two and take proper rest after that. A significant improvement in performance can be seen if you overreach on a couple of practice sessions and then take a week off. The week off is for recovery. Recovery period after you overreach may very from days to weeks, depending on your ability to recover.
Overtraining is entirely different from overreaching. Overtraining is a mental and hormonal state. That state when your mind says "Just f**k off dude, I'm not going to the gym" and you keep giving up on weights that u're supposed to do peacefully. Happens when you overload or overreach for a long time and don't allow for recovery. Recovery period for overtraining may be several weeks to months.
Will put my next one soon. Keep visiting.
Monday, May 31, 2010
GYM101- Intro to working out. Part 1: Introduction
There are a lot of websites on workouts and this is not like those. Almost all of them are by foreign experts, not Indians, and definitely not by or not for students. This post is exclusively for Indian students.
I'll keep posting stuff on workouts in this blog every now and then. Obviously, I cannot put everything a beginner needs in one post. Will take some time, so keep visiting.
The differences between us and the Pros- ( You can skip this part)
1. Recovery- A pro body builder or lifter does very few other things, hence takes a lot of rest after each workout. Students don't have this luxury. Especially going to classes in hurry, skipping breakfast, staying out late night, not getting enough sleep and the most important, sitting for long hours in classes in a very uncomfortable position, all these are things that are not supposed to be done.
2. The diet- pros don't eat rice and idli and dosa, they take high protein food. Indian diet, more specifically south Indian, has a lot of fat and sugars and relatively low protein content. The food we take doesn't help much in recovery or in building mass.
3. Intensity- Pros go with a goal whenever they workout. They have a well planned workout and don't pick whatever weight they find. Most students who start working out in the gym probably start because of wrong reasons- reasons like "my friends go there", "I wanna build a 6-pack", "I wanna build huge biceps".. and most are really not ready to go the hard way. I've seen many people go with full intensity in the first few days and then drop out and things like that.
Now some very basic stuff, things to be done even before you get into a gym.
Body fat:
If you have a lot of fat in your body and you start working out, you just put on fat but not muscle. Many big guys feel they've got some muscle when it's really fat. This is not something I'm guessing, it is suggested by pros- loose your fat before you start working out. The best way to loose your fat is cardio- jogging, quick walking, swimming, skipping, treadmill.. all of them would help. Will soon post more on this.
Basic strengthening exercises:
Try doing some pushups and chinups. If you can't do pushups or chinups, you really have no business going into the gym. Check out youtube videos on how to do pushups or chinups. Many guys just give up when they have to do pushups or chinups and instead do dumbell exercises for biceps or some other arbit muscle- doesn't help. For some 2-3 weeks before you go into a gym, do a lot of pushups, chinups, free hand squats (again, check in youtube) and a little stretching. A couple of sets of abs workouts would also help. Don't go too heavy, just take it easy. This is only to get your muscles ready for other exercises.
Tune your mind, set your goals:
The biggest mistake many make- they go to a gym but really don't know why they're there. Old people go to a gym to get some cardio. Fat guys go to loose fat. Athletes may go on endurance training. Some go for fitness, some go for strength, some for endurance, some (like me) go to get some peace of mind and some to build muscles. You need to be clear about why you're going- your workout has a direct bearing with what you want to achieve. For God's sake, don't go into a gym just because your friends are going.
@ Beginners who want to start working out in a gym:
Work on the three things I've mentioned. Will put my next post soon. Cardio is very very important, especially for beginners. It increases the effectiveness of your body to use stored fat and also reduces the resting heartbeat and increases blood circulations... forget all that, JUST DO IT. Will try to put a post on how to do proper cardio workouts....
THE MOST IMPORTANT thing you need to do when you join a gym is to know the gym coach. Never hesitate to ask him what or how to do.
Good Luck
I'll keep posting stuff on workouts in this blog every now and then. Obviously, I cannot put everything a beginner needs in one post. Will take some time, so keep visiting.
The differences between us and the Pros- ( You can skip this part)
1. Recovery- A pro body builder or lifter does very few other things, hence takes a lot of rest after each workout. Students don't have this luxury. Especially going to classes in hurry, skipping breakfast, staying out late night, not getting enough sleep and the most important, sitting for long hours in classes in a very uncomfortable position, all these are things that are not supposed to be done.
2. The diet- pros don't eat rice and idli and dosa, they take high protein food. Indian diet, more specifically south Indian, has a lot of fat and sugars and relatively low protein content. The food we take doesn't help much in recovery or in building mass.
3. Intensity- Pros go with a goal whenever they workout. They have a well planned workout and don't pick whatever weight they find. Most students who start working out in the gym probably start because of wrong reasons- reasons like "my friends go there", "I wanna build a 6-pack", "I wanna build huge biceps".. and most are really not ready to go the hard way. I've seen many people go with full intensity in the first few days and then drop out and things like that.
Now some very basic stuff, things to be done even before you get into a gym.
Body fat:
If you have a lot of fat in your body and you start working out, you just put on fat but not muscle. Many big guys feel they've got some muscle when it's really fat. This is not something I'm guessing, it is suggested by pros- loose your fat before you start working out. The best way to loose your fat is cardio- jogging, quick walking, swimming, skipping, treadmill.. all of them would help. Will soon post more on this.
Basic strengthening exercises:
Try doing some pushups and chinups. If you can't do pushups or chinups, you really have no business going into the gym. Check out youtube videos on how to do pushups or chinups. Many guys just give up when they have to do pushups or chinups and instead do dumbell exercises for biceps or some other arbit muscle- doesn't help. For some 2-3 weeks before you go into a gym, do a lot of pushups, chinups, free hand squats (again, check in youtube) and a little stretching. A couple of sets of abs workouts would also help. Don't go too heavy, just take it easy. This is only to get your muscles ready for other exercises.
Tune your mind, set your goals:
The biggest mistake many make- they go to a gym but really don't know why they're there. Old people go to a gym to get some cardio. Fat guys go to loose fat. Athletes may go on endurance training. Some go for fitness, some go for strength, some for endurance, some (like me) go to get some peace of mind and some to build muscles. You need to be clear about why you're going- your workout has a direct bearing with what you want to achieve. For God's sake, don't go into a gym just because your friends are going.
@ Beginners who want to start working out in a gym:
Work on the three things I've mentioned. Will put my next post soon. Cardio is very very important, especially for beginners. It increases the effectiveness of your body to use stored fat and also reduces the resting heartbeat and increases blood circulations... forget all that, JUST DO IT. Will try to put a post on how to do proper cardio workouts....
THE MOST IMPORTANT thing you need to do when you join a gym is to know the gym coach. Never hesitate to ask him what or how to do.
Good Luck
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Education vs career vs interest
Different people hold different opinions on these stuff. I'd focus more on students getting into an IIT.
I dare to say that half of the students in IITs have no clue what they're doing there. Most mug for a course only to get a nice grade, not to learn something. What surprises me is these people go on to work as the best engineers from the country.
The government of India has invested a lot of cash into the IITs. But what happens is, there are too many people who're not into engineering. Just too many guys get finance jobs and stuff. A lot go to get an MBA. The basic reason for establishing these IITs is not justified. And the government doesn't seem to worry about it.. instead, they put more IITs. I've read this line a lot of times, "Is the juice worth the squeeze?". Putting more IITs to train more people to get into some financial institutions or to work for some American dumpyard is really not worth it.
Now the students. I've seen some guys who take a lot of pride in saying they're non-geeky IITians.. they think they're cool coz they bunk classes and they don't mug for exams and stuff. I say, they're stupid. What the duck is that guy doing in an IIT if he's not really interested? He can do something more useful, or atleast more economical than wasting 4 years of his life in a place that forces him to do what he doesn't want to.
And the more painful part- this guy who came into an IIT just because his parents forced him to , or as in a case mentioned by a friend, for "extra credentials in his resume", he has actually screwed the life of a guy who might be the next Abdul Kalam. Forget the Abdul Kalam part, atleast a guy who's genuinely intersted doesn't get a chance because of these ********s. 4-5 years pass by and this guys doesn't realize that what he's being taught is "the most important" stuff he needs to know to work. Many don't care to answer this simple question, "Why am I even here?"
The IITs have a good tradition, help in developing the guy's personality, blah blah blah.. They're really good. But they are no fun parks. Not places where a guy comes to spend 4 years of his life and then go do something he likes to do. Everything put into these guys, the cash from govt, the facilities, the effort from Profs, all is just wasted when this guy gets a nice score in CAT.
The irony: Most of the so-called "smartest people in the country" have absolutely no clue about what they're doing for 4 of the most important years of their life
I dare to say that half of the students in IITs have no clue what they're doing there. Most mug for a course only to get a nice grade, not to learn something. What surprises me is these people go on to work as the best engineers from the country.
The government of India has invested a lot of cash into the IITs. But what happens is, there are too many people who're not into engineering. Just too many guys get finance jobs and stuff. A lot go to get an MBA. The basic reason for establishing these IITs is not justified. And the government doesn't seem to worry about it.. instead, they put more IITs. I've read this line a lot of times, "Is the juice worth the squeeze?". Putting more IITs to train more people to get into some financial institutions or to work for some American dumpyard is really not worth it.
Now the students. I've seen some guys who take a lot of pride in saying they're non-geeky IITians.. they think they're cool coz they bunk classes and they don't mug for exams and stuff. I say, they're stupid. What the duck is that guy doing in an IIT if he's not really interested? He can do something more useful, or atleast more economical than wasting 4 years of his life in a place that forces him to do what he doesn't want to.
And the more painful part- this guy who came into an IIT just because his parents forced him to , or as in a case mentioned by a friend, for "extra credentials in his resume", he has actually screwed the life of a guy who might be the next Abdul Kalam. Forget the Abdul Kalam part, atleast a guy who's genuinely intersted doesn't get a chance because of these ********s. 4-5 years pass by and this guys doesn't realize that what he's being taught is "the most important" stuff he needs to know to work. Many don't care to answer this simple question, "Why am I even here?"
The IITs have a good tradition, help in developing the guy's personality, blah blah blah.. They're really good. But they are no fun parks. Not places where a guy comes to spend 4 years of his life and then go do something he likes to do. Everything put into these guys, the cash from govt, the facilities, the effort from Profs, all is just wasted when this guy gets a nice score in CAT.
The irony: Most of the so-called "smartest people in the country" have absolutely no clue about what they're doing for 4 of the most important years of their life
IITJEE 2010
I was reading a regional newspaper today and I could see two coaching institutes put a full page ad. And then I turn a couple of pages and there's something printed about some toppers from AP. There was a special mention of an institute from Patna that has got all of its students qualified in the JEE. The institute is special coz it's not a corporate coaching institute, but teaches backward(economically, I guess) students. Also in the newspaper was a breakdown of the number of seats in each IIT and then the number of students from each region who qualified and all... nothing very unusual about all that. But I read something that seriously shocked me.
A guy whose AIR was less than 20.. he says he is really interested in the civil or administrative services. A guy is interested in business, probably something in the real estate side.. Some guy has absolutely no idea of what he wants to do in life. A girl wants to do an MBA.
Here are some students who are allegedly some of the smartest in the country. The so-called "cream" of the country.. and they don't know that they don't need a B Tech or they don't need to screw 4 years of your life learning what an engineer needs to know if he/she wants to get an MBA. If I wanted to get into the civil services, I'd definitely be learning stuff related to that and wouldn't even want to write the JEE. If I wanted an MBA, I'd have gone for a degree in management, not in engineering.
It doesn't end here. I know that what you would've wanted in life wouldn't always coincide with what you are. But these "wonder kids" say they 'want' to do something that's no way related to engineering, and yet love to get into an IIT. I'm really surprised to find people like this- they can't realize that 4 years of mugging at some IIT would do very little to contribute to what they're going to be, and yet they emerge as the "toppers" in a national exam that's supposed to test a student's (whatever).
The only line that came to my mind when I read all that.. "What the Duck??!!!!"
More arbit stuff.. around 470 thousand students appeared for the JEE... and 80 thousand were from AP.. more than 1 out of 6....
Latest... I don't mean to offend someone, but this stuff seriously sucks...
Another topper's statements..
"I had dreamt of entering IIT from Class VIII,” he said. “I worked hard to realise my goal for the last five years. I am delighted that I made it to the IITs. It is a dream come true."
Just didn't want to put the name.. To think about getting into an IIT.. makes sense. I'd love to put an app to MIT or Stanford, obviously because there are a lot of resources and oppurtunities. But "dreaming" about getting into an IIT for 5 years.. bulls**t. what's more.. this guy "wants to join IIT-Mumbai but has not decided which stream to opt for." This is just an example. Again no offense intended, but this is how most people out there are like. Dream about getting to a place but clueless about what u'll do there....
I can only wonder.. these guys are almost 18... ready to vote, to decide who leads the country. Yet the actions look so immature. Would love to see some comments.
P.S: No offense intended against any individual, only against the people, as a group, and against the system :P
A guy whose AIR was less than 20.. he says he is really interested in the civil or administrative services. A guy is interested in business, probably something in the real estate side.. Some guy has absolutely no idea of what he wants to do in life. A girl wants to do an MBA.
Here are some students who are allegedly some of the smartest in the country. The so-called "cream" of the country.. and they don't know that they don't need a B Tech or they don't need to screw 4 years of your life learning what an engineer needs to know if he/she wants to get an MBA. If I wanted to get into the civil services, I'd definitely be learning stuff related to that and wouldn't even want to write the JEE. If I wanted an MBA, I'd have gone for a degree in management, not in engineering.
It doesn't end here. I know that what you would've wanted in life wouldn't always coincide with what you are. But these "wonder kids" say they 'want' to do something that's no way related to engineering, and yet love to get into an IIT. I'm really surprised to find people like this- they can't realize that 4 years of mugging at some IIT would do very little to contribute to what they're going to be, and yet they emerge as the "toppers" in a national exam that's supposed to test a student's (whatever).
The only line that came to my mind when I read all that.. "What the Duck??!!!!"
More arbit stuff.. around 470 thousand students appeared for the JEE... and 80 thousand were from AP.. more than 1 out of 6....
Latest... I don't mean to offend someone, but this stuff seriously sucks...
Another topper's statements..
"I had dreamt of entering IIT from Class VIII,” he said. “I worked hard to realise my goal for the last five years. I am delighted that I made it to the IITs. It is a dream come true."
Just didn't want to put the name.. To think about getting into an IIT.. makes sense. I'd love to put an app to MIT or Stanford, obviously because there are a lot of resources and oppurtunities. But "dreaming" about getting into an IIT for 5 years.. bulls**t. what's more.. this guy "wants to join IIT-Mumbai but has not decided which stream to opt for." This is just an example. Again no offense intended, but this is how most people out there are like. Dream about getting to a place but clueless about what u'll do there....
I can only wonder.. these guys are almost 18... ready to vote, to decide who leads the country. Yet the actions look so immature. Would love to see some comments.
P.S: No offense intended against any individual, only against the people, as a group, and against the system :P
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