What Are Your Exercise Programs?

[Gary Crumrine]

Do you have a regular exercise program? Do you exercise for a specific activity, or more for general fitness? We're general fitness people.

Mrs. Crumrine runs four miles on a treadmill each evening, followed by a weight program of bench press / seated overhead press / lat pulldown / crunches / tricept pull down / bicept curls / seated rows. (I'm sure she exercises in a different order, but these are the exercises performed.)

I have a three-day rotation: Session 01: bench press / seated overhead press / bicept curls; Session 02: weighted pullups / weighted dips / hanging leg raises; Session 03: kettlebell swings / pistols / rolling side press. These are followed by jumping rope and lastly by a run on the treadmill.

In both cases, the intent is to provide a full body workout. Mrs. Crumrine succeeds in a single session. I require three.

 

[BAZ]

Interesting! I've just recently returned to the gym seriously.
Down to a four day regime. Swap it ip, but usually do Chest, Shoulders, triceps one day, Legs and abs another, Back,traps, biceps, forearms. My wife and I do a "Total conditioning" class once a week. I like the whole body toning bit. My wife does a LOT of cardio, pilates and now weights with me.
I used to be WELL into bodybuilding 20 years ago. Paired with Shotokan karate. Back then I could bench press 600lb for 4 reps!!!

 

[pgoat]

Yikes! That's a good bench!

I don't think I ever worked up to benching my body weight - even when I was fit and weighed 150 (maybe I wasn't so fit after all!)

I need to start running again. I mostly do a little yoga here, a little weight lifting there. My main thing is cycling. I usually try to ride to work three or more days a week; improves my fitness a little more than standing in a crushed subway car (and is a helluva lot more fun!), does me bit fer the environment and the main goal is stay alive.

Right now during the cold spells I am using a few "Spinervals" DVDs http://www.spinervals.com/ with a bike trainer in the apt. In the spring/summer/fall we take out the nice bikes and geek out in Lance spandex on weekends, and I pretend I am going fast

 

[BAZ]

In the spring/summer/fall we take out the nice bikes and geek out in Lance spandex on weekends, and I pretend I am going fast

I HOPE it's VINTAGE spandex!!
Have to keep up appearances!
Yea, just the thought of lifting those weights now is incredulous!!:eusa_doh:
We used to do pulley rows with 400lb, and one day a friend at the gym mentioned that with THAT amount of strength, we could rip someone's arm off and beat them with the soggy end!!:rage:
We were sold!! So we joined his karate class.
His name is Terry O'neill, he trained Schwarzenegger, and was in the Conan movies, Predator,

 

[AmateisGal]

I used to belong to Curves and loved it - but when I changed jobs, there wasn't one close to me anymore, so I decided to start working out at home.

We have a complete weight training system at home, plus a treadmill. Lately I've been doing five minutes on the treadmill, then work on the weight machine, then back on the treadmill. I do this three times and usually end up with a 35-40 minute work-out. I try to do this 3-4 times a week.

I'm actually looking forward to exercising now and love working-out. Believe me, I never thought I'd say those words! lol

 

[pgoat]

"Crom!"

That's cool! You never know when that will come in handy (re: flogging someone with their own arm - I am being quite serious - wish I could do that sometimes....well, actually almost every day I'm on the subway)

I have tried to stock up on repros of vintage wool jerseys - so much cooler than the multi-colored monstrosities being made from synthetics these days and the wool actually works quite well. I buy vintage Jerseys for my wife but it's very hard to find any in my size (those vintage cyclists were teeny).

I draw the line at wool cycling shorts. Those things looked awfully saggy and uncomfortable. Plus the chamois pads in the new spandex shorts are pretty freaking amazing compared to what I started with about 20 yrs ago. I just make sure to get black spandex with no big colorful graphics. I do have some wool knickers for cold weather and wool tights for really cold weather.

 

[BAZ]

That's cool! You never know when that will come in handy (re: flogging someone with their own arm - I am being quite serious - wish I could do that sometimes....well, actually almost every day I'm on the subway)

I hear yer!!!
I wonder what would happen if you just walked onto the A, C or E trains carrying a dripping bloody dismembered arm?
Some homeless person would probably ask if you were gonna need it......

 

[pgoat]

Just call me 'cynicalgoat'

I wonder what would happen if you just walked onto the A, C or E trains carrying a dripping bloody dismembered arm?

Unfortunately, no one would notice...if they did, they'd just move over so nothing dripped on them.

wow, am i jaded...time to move to Wyoming

I actually have a very funny streets of NY story, from this morning - but I see once more I have steered yet another thread fftopic:

I need to find out the proper sequence of weights - eg, if you do chest, I recall biceps are a good match for the same session, whereas triceps and back work better together. And I have heard Abs can/should be done everyday, but when I've tried that I feel like I've been shot in the stomach with a magnum after four days. Any thoughts on what a good general sequence should be? Larger muscle groups first, then smaller? (Ie. upper arms one day, then forearms the next?)

 

[pgoat]

I'm actually looking forward to exercising now and love working-out. Believe me, I never thought I'd say those words! lol

I feel the same way - for me it's middle age creeping up that did it. After a certain point I'm happy to know I still can work out (albeit badly).

Right now my workout regime mostly consists of watching Kiana's Flex Appeal every morning on ESPN 2 (3? 73?) while drinking tea on the couch and trying to wake up....that's exhausting enough until springtime comes and I can take the bike out again....

 

[LizzieMaine]

I carry 40-pound film shipping cans, 30-pound sacks of popcorn, and 1/6 kegs of beer up and down three flights of stairs, usually at a brisk trot. It's a lot better exercise than I ever got at the Y.

 

[scarlett]

Hi all - I run at least 20 miles per week and up to 45+ when marathon training. I run on a very regular basis (a lil' addicted) and try to circuit train at least twice a week. Bellydance, hike, bike, walk the dogs and stay very active with everyday life.

 

[BAZ]

Unfortunately, no one would notice...if they did, they'd just move over so nothing dripped on them.


I need to find out the proper sequence of weights - eg, if you do chest, I recall biceps are a good match for the same session, whereas triceps and back work better together. And I have heard Abs can/should be done everyday, but when I've tried that I feel like I've been shot in the stomach with a magnum after four days. Any thoughts on what a good general sequence should be? Larger muscle groups first, then smaller? (Ie. upper arms one day, then forearms the next?)

Yea, that's true of the F or V lines.
NOW!!!
In MY experience, I've alwys lumped Chest and TRICEPS together, and Back and BICEPS together. eg:
Bench press is chest with triceps, Dips are triceps with chest,
Pulldowns and rows also utilize biceps. If you do chins with palms facing you grip, you hit back and biceps!
If you do feel the strain the day after, that's good!! Shows you made the muscles actually WORK!
I'm an ecto-mesomorph, so I can pack on muscle size "fairly" easily, but I also hold fat, so It's really hard for me to get definition. I can feel my abs, but takes a lot to SEE them!!

 

[Miss_Bella_Hell]

Step 1: Treadmill, 15 minutes.
Start at 3.0 mph. Every minute increase speed by .3 until you reach 4.5 (5 minutes total). Then do one-minute speed intervals at 4.5 (fast walk) and a run. My run is currently 8.0 mph. (I started at 6.)

Step 2: Elliptical, 10 minutes.
Set on manual. Work on pushing and pulling with arms. The resistance should be such that about once a minute you're looking to see how much time you have left because your arms are tired. Those of you who I'm always flexing my biceps for, this is the only workout I do for my arms. (Well, except the yoga pose Wheel.)

Step 3: Stairmaster, 12 minutes.
2 minute intervals of the fastest setting you can take followed by 1 minute of recovery at a very low setting. By the end of the speed interval you should be barely able to talk; by the end of recovery you should be able to breathe normally again. The most butt-kicking part of my workout.

 

[surely]

Well, I got back into exercising about 10 yrs ago to manage my newly diagnosed diabetes. Lo & behold, my readings are now in the target zone and I've recently become a fitness consultant and about to make my garage into a nano gym for my clients. And I just turned 70!

But enuf of me, pgoat, doing opposite muscles (bicep/tricep, quads/hams), is good as is upper/lower body. But what I like best is to work on whatever muscles I feel like that day and to do exercises from slightly different angles. The point is to consistently keep the muscles guessing. Also full body exercise is really good for agility.

That sounds like, Miss bella hell of a workout!!
Stay fit, mj

 

[Miss_Bella_Hell]

That sounds like, Miss bella hell of a workout!!
Stay fit, mj

Yeah, it works really well. So well I get convinced I can stop and my body will look the same. But guess what? Not so. lol

 

[happyfilmluvguy]

Walking.

 

[Brinybay]

As a matter of fact, that was one of my New Year's resolves, change my diet and exercise. I've done it before and lost 32lbs, but went back to old habbits and gained most of it back.

To answer your question, I put on exercise duds and just walk out the door. It's cheap, easy, and the cool air this time of year clears my head. I do about a 45-60 minute walk. I do it in the morning since I work swing hours. I do NOT wear Ipods or any kind of portable music. Two days in a row, somebody's black kitty walked right up to me to say good morning.

 

[Mojito]

Great to see so many runners here! I'm temporarily sidelined due to a calf strain (which might not have been *quite* so bad, if hadn't happened just before New Year's Eve...I danced on it all night. No RICE treatment at that critical time!). I have a long commute to work, so try to get my workday workouts in early. It means getting up at 4.40 or 5.00 am, but I know if I wait to the end of the day I'll find lots of excuses.

It usually looks like this:

Sunday: 1.5 hours long run (this is increased when training for a Half Marathon)
Monday: 45 min run + upper body resistance
Tuesday: 45 min run +lower body resistance
Wed: Rest
Thurs: Hour run (usually through the Botanical Gardens and by Sydney Harbour)
Friday: Les Mills Body Attack class + upper body resistance
Sat: Run to gym (2kms), Les Mills Body Attack Class +lower body

For the last few weeks, the elliptical trainer is the only thing that hasn't irritated the calf. So it's been this:

Sunday 1.5 hours elliptical + upper body
Monday 45 minutes elliptical, lower body
Tuesday 1 hour elliptical
Wed: rest
Thurs: 45 minutes elliptical + upper body
Friday: 1 hour elliptical + lower body
Saturday: 1.5 hours elliptical

At this point, I never want to see the elliptical trainer as long as I live! I managed 15 mins running on the treadmill on Thursday, so touch wood I'll be running again soon.

Scarlett, I'd love to run a full marathon! I'm working on a muscle imbalance and some basic biomechanical problems (orthotics and physio), and if I can ever sort them out and the resulting patella problems I'll be marathon training.

I'm also looking forward to moving close to the city, reducing the commute, and adding pilates and yoga back into the routine.

 

[Spitfire]

A walk in the park and a healthy sexlife

 

[scarlett]

Mojito - here's to your speedy recovery. I know what ya mean about the eliptical, but it is your best friend when you're sidelined.

Spitfire - you've got a great program going - keep it up (haha)