Actually rowing is more push than pull. All the drive comes from the legs as you leave the catch. Much like a squat.

quote:

Originally posted by Deqlyn:
Actually rowing is more push than pull. All the drive comes from the legs as you leave the catch. Much like a squat.

The upper body portion is only a pull and the lower body is only getting resistance in one direction as well...I don't understand why you keep trying to make rowing out to be a complete fitness program...it's not.

It is a great form of exercise though, no doubt.

quote:

Originally posted by Strambo:
The upper body portion is only a pull and the lower body is only getting resistance in one direction as well...I don't understand why you keep trying to make rowing out to be a complete fitness program...it's not.

It is a great form of exercise though, no doubt.

+1

Been an interesting thread so far. I too have been fighting couchpotatoitis.
While I was working, if I didn't work out I was going to die. Firefighting for 31 yrs in 110+ degree heat will kill you if you don't have your shit together....then I retired.
That's when toad-mode started. Slowly at first, no big deal but then all of sudden I'm a full fledged lard ass.
I quit smoking a 2-3 years ago so there's a plus but I have ignored my workout for FAR too long.

What I'm going to start is the treadmill cardiac stress test that the FD used to have us do every year.
3.5 MPH 2 minute warmup.
After the warmup, raise the incline 1 degree every minute.
You must monitor your heart rate so you don't hit danger zones.
*Stop* and recover when your heart rate is at your recommended sub-max.

This may only take a few minutes at first but the time will grow as your cardio gets better.
No impact, (I have a total knee replacement), builds your air and pump without drama...and we already have the machine to do it!

When I retired I could do 19 minutes. My goal now is considerably less but I HAVE to do something.
I also have an eliptical but if my back is pissed off, the treadmill doesn't bother it as much.

edit to add: I was 2 months away from 53 when I retired 7 yrs ago

quote:

Originally posted by brecaidra:
I agree with iron chef about Man-makers being a great full-body workout, and I generally do them once a week. I also agree with others about starting small and gradually increasing as you become more conditioned and accustomed. You don't want to get discouraged and give up or injure yourself. I started out doing twelve reps with 12 lb weights and am now up to fifty reps with 20 lb weights.

I workout six days a week and mixing things up helps prevent boredom, so I tend to do a variety of body-weight exercises, dumbbells, elliptical, other cardio, and Pilates. Sometimes I do my own thing and other times I use a library DVD or online workout. Fitness Blender is a good source for free workouts and tips.

https://www.fitnessblender.com/videos

You must be in exceptional shape, good on you!

I don't have a dumb bell set for the man makers, but I do use the "perfect push-up" discs and they seem to increase the blasting significantly. I only started working out again, a bit here and there mostly, a couple months ago. Yesterday I was able to do a set of 40 in a row with the discs.

quote:

Originally posted by rusbro:

quote:

Originally posted by Strambo:
a good pull up bar

I haven't exercised, other than walking the dog, in years. In my last residence, I installed a pull up bar, and loved it. For me it was my best measure of progress, because it was very cut-and-dried as far a how many pullups I could do, and how they got easier because the weight never really increased. It's not like free weights, where you can kind of cheat via bad form/movement to get that next curl, at least in my experience.

quote:

Originally posted by MNSIG:
^^^

Did you have to use cheater bands when you first started?

No, but I have a somewhat slim build, or at least had one back then

Remember that food is 70-80% responsible for your weight. Eating the right foods at regular intervals with correct portions takes some learning and adaptability.

Join a gym and use the cardio machines, start slow/light and work your way up slowly. Or buy a bike/mill/rowing machine etc, and some dumbbells. I’d consult a nutritionist and perhaps find someone who can teach you how to lift properly.

I cannot stress how important eating properly is.

80 percent diet.

10 percent working out.

5 percent genetics.

5 percent luck.

Only 5% genetics?

I agree if the only goal is weight loss but for overall health, I would put genetics at a lot higher percentage.

quote:

Originally posted by Prefontaine:
Remember that food is 70-80% responsible for your weight. Eating the right foods at regular intervals with correct portions takes some learning and adaptability.

Join a gym and use the cardio machines, start slow/light and work your way up slowly. Or buy a bike/mill/rowing machine etc, and some dumbbells. I’d consult a nutritionist and perhaps find someone who can teach you how to lift properly.

I cannot stress how important eating properly is.

The first month of changing your diet is the hardest. After that it is easy. My diet primarily consists (proteins) of B/S chicken breast, pork tenderloin, and fish that are mostly grilled. If I eat steak it's Filet Mignon. I cannot eat a Ribeye anymore because it simply doesn't taste good, just tastes like grease.....Sort of like eating a Mcdonalds quarter pounder compared to a real grilled burger. I eat A LOT of veggies for dinner now and no carb at dinner and still a good amount of protein.....12 ounces B/S chicken for example and 1.5 lbs of grilled zucchini (with just olive oil and garlic salt on it) would be a typical dinner for me.......I do eat a whole wheat sub for lunch a lot of times with turkey or tuna (cut out added mayo and cheese on the sub). Breakfast on the run I'll do Subway with a 6 or 12" multigrain flatbread, egg whites, and American cheese.......I've always been a dessert person and used to eat 4 pints of Haagan daz a week among other desserts. Now i'll go a smoothie from Smoothie king (skinny no added sugar) or a couple packets of lower sugar fruit and cream oatmeal with water, or a couple lowfat greek yogurts.....Once a week I go out to dinner and cheat a little (but usually regret it afterwards LOL). Kind nut bars are good too as a dessert.

I wouldn't totally rely on rowing, but that combined with fast walking or bike riding would be pretty good as far as cardio exercise goes.

If weight loss is the goal, as others have said, that's 90% diet.

If you want to get simply gain some strength, then yeah, you need to work out.

I work out 6 days a week, but I'm not some body builder. I just like to be fit. When you work out a lot, you get bored a lot. I find that doing new work outs keeps me from getting bored, so I've done most of the popular work out DVD's.

Personally, I need a coach (DVD or real life) telling me what and when to do something in my workout. If I don't, I get bored fast, my mind wanders and I feel like I'm not really working towards a goal. So for me, I love DVD's.

In the DVD/canned fitness routine genre, I can't say enough good things about P90X 3. It's only 30 minutes, but it really helps you build practical everyday strength and slim down.

if you're 52 and just starting out, it will be a bit overwhelming, but as Tony Horton like to say, "do your best and forget the rest."

you won't be a rockstar in any workout you choose, but if you start and "keep pushing play" I guarantee you will progress.

In my experience, too many people say things like, "I just want to start out by walking on the treadmill," or similar things. Remember working out is a simple equation junk in = junk out. You're wasting your time if you're not pushing yourself and your comfort zone. I once made these excuses for myself and didn't jump in both feet. It wasn't until I took it seriously that I started to see the benefits.

I'd say, order the P90X 3 DVD's and tell yourself that NO MATTER WHAT you will finish the first 90 days before you decide if it's too hard or not. I bet you'll be amazed at the end of three months with what you've accomplished.

Having said all that, if there was only one workout I keep, it would be yoga. I have come to love yoga. it can't be beat for flexibility and strength. (P90X does have a yoga day by the way).

Sign up for a full Ironman. That will teach ya!

^

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anbpHZbk8aM

quote:

Originally posted by esdunbar:
In my experience, too many people say things like, "I just want to start out by walking on the treadmill," or similar things. Remember working out is a simple equation junk in = junk out. You're wasting your time if you're not pushing yourself and your comfort zone. I once made these excuses for myself and didn't jump in both feet. It wasn't until I took it seriously that I started to see the benefits.

I generally agree but you have to start somewhere and possibly at "0" in order to be able to push yourself without overdoing it. I bought a treadmill almost 10 years ago and I'm about the same age as the OP is now. In the beginning I literally only could just walk on it. It took me a long time to be able to get to HIIT where I can go as fast as I can for 90 seconds or more at a time and barely be out of breath. My wife said it would become a clothes hanger and some of the time I have had to force myself to get on it but now if I'm not able to, even if I'm injured (which has happened using it), I'm annoyed when I can't run.

As others have said, the hardest thing is to start something and keep doing it over the long term.

quote:

Originally posted by cyberiad:

quote:

Originally posted by esdunbar:
In my experience, too many people say things like, "I just want to start out by walking on the treadmill," or similar things. Remember working out is a simple equation junk in = junk out. You're wasting your time if you're not pushing yourself and your comfort zone. I once made these excuses for myself and didn't jump in both feet. It wasn't until I took it seriously that I started to see the benefits.

I generally agree but you have to start somewhere and possibly at "0" in order to be able to push yourself without overdoing it. I bought a treadmill almost 10 years ago and I'm about the same age as the OP is now. In the beginning I literally only could just walk on it. It took me a long time to be able to get to HIIT where I can go as fast as I can for 90 seconds or more at a time and barely be out of breath. My wife said it would become a clothes hanger and some of the time I have had to force myself to get on it but now if I'm not able to, even if I'm injured (which has happened using it), I'm annoyed when I can't run.

As others have said, the hardest thing is to start something and keep doing it over the long term.

They key is to be pushing yourself in a manner relative to your level. What I see in the box gyms or on the street are people just going through the motions (they clearly are adapted to the level they are at, watching TV on the treadmill etc.) and this is largely a waste of time.

If walking a mile in the beginning is pushing your limits that's great. If all you can do is push ups standing against a wall, fine. But you need to be pushing and progressing past that.

Once a person is adapted to exercise, I think spending an hour plus in the gym doing steady state cardio is crazy when you could spend 20-30 minutes with a free-weight and/or body weight circuit and get full body strength and anaerobic/aerobic conditioning both at the same time. It will also build some muscle and burn more fat in the long run and takes half as long. More benefits, less time.

I got inspired to do the "man-maker" yesterday with a couple 36lb kettlebells. Only did half the reps I thought I could do in my mind with twice the rest between sets I thought I would need, but it was a great full-body 14:00 workout!

You want the best inspiration??? Join a yoga class at the hottest gym in town. Sit in the very back. Nothing better than being surrounded with 30 20 and 30 something year old hot women in positions you've only dreamed about in front of you and being the only guy in there!

I’ve recounted my fitness story here many times. 36 yo, 130 lb. 20 year smoker. My b-i-l was a SEAL, a founder of triathloning. He encouraged me. I started running, half mile, very slowly. Gradually, I went further, then faster, then further, finally I ran in and finished a 10k, a bit over an hour.

The first Monday of the new year, I left my cigarettes and lighter on the dresser, grabbed my bag and went to the Y to swim. I never smoked again. A month or so later, I borrowed bil’s steamer bike, and started riding, and later bought my own. Within a year, I finished a starter triathlon and after a few years, had finished a number of half Ironman length races. Boy did I feel great! I was swimming 18,000 yards, riding 50-100 miles and running 20-25 miles each week. Eventually, some bad shoe choices resulted in plantar fasciitis, which eventually ended my triathlon career.

I did some weight work, other things, gained 30-35 lbs. body fat just less than 10%, just missed getting below 40 minutes for a 10k and 20 minute miles in the pool. I finished second a few times, third some, etc, in my age group, but boy was it fun while I did it.

quote:

Originally posted by MNSIG:
. . . a bit of loss wouldn't hurt.

As others have said, what/how you eat will control this, not exercise.

quote:

More important is getting back some strength and improving cardiovascular health. . .

. . . I'm 52 . . .

If your treadmill and weights have been collecting dust for a while, and you're "de-conditioned," you need to be sure you don't have any health problems that need to be treated before you jump into an exercise program. That's especially true for those of us, like you, that are a little older.

If your doc says you're good to get back into working out, since you've got a treadmill, you could start with a "Couch to 5K" program ( http://www.myrunningtips.com/s...yrunningtips.com.pdf ) , combined with some bodyweight exercises, to start building up strength.

Weight machines have problems, and "free weights" are a much better way to go. https://breakingmuscle.com/lea...t-machines-1963-2013

Assuming the doc says you're healthy enough, then after doing the "Couch to 5K", and building some strength with bodyweight exercises, I'd suggest lifting heavy 2 days a week, doing High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT - most CrossFit WODs will cover this) 2 days a week, and one day of long slow cardio one day. With two days for rest.

For the heaving lifting days I recommend the Wendler 5-3-1 program http://crossfitnorthvancouver....5/03/Wendler-PDF.pdf

Currently I'm recovering from an injury (not exercise related), that keeps me from the heavy lifting, but this is the plan I've used for a couple of years:

Monday: Squat and Overhead Press following the Wendler program

Tuesday: HIIT - I just do the WOD from a local CrossFit gym, that has good programming

Wednesday: Long Slow Cardio for 20 to 30 minutes - either rowing or running. I hate to run, so I almost always row.

Thursday: Deadlift and Bench Press following the Wendler programming

Friday: HIIT

Saturday and Sunday: rest.

If you don't want to invest in what's needed to do some heavy lifting, like the Wendler program, then I'd suggest kettlebells and/or suspension training (like TRX, but there are less expensive brands than TRX), along with bodyweight exercises, for strength training. If you're new to kettlebells I recommend trying to find someone to teach you the basics.

If you don't have access to some of the stuff needed for typical CrossFit WODs, then there are lots of HIIT workouts that you can do with little to no equipment. For example:
http://crossfitlakewood.com/membership/road-workouts/

Good luck.

A lot of good advice so far, so just some general words of encouragement:

1. Just about any "program" is good. The hard part is staying with it, and one trick for that is to SET ASIDE THE TIME with a near religious zealotry.

2. You are going to get sore and have bad days, etc. Maybe you will miss workouts. Maybe you will want to workout but just feel too tired or sore to continue: STILL SET ASIDE THE TIME. That keeps the routine going.

3. If you are getting really sore and tired, maybe you are just trying too much too soon. This is really common, because you start out with high motivation. Back off and do some really light calesthenics, stretches, or just walking. BUT STILL SPEND THE TIME "exercising".

4. The good news is that if you have been sedentary for a while you will probably see some good improvement, which helps the motivation. But after a while you may "plateau" and feel like nothing is working. Still set aside the time. It just gets slower and comes in difficult to predict little spurts.

5. Don't use the exercise as an excuse to eat more, unless you are already at a goal weight or have low body-fat.

6. If you workout with weights, use extreme caution about form and don't use heavy weights unless you are really confident you know what you are doing. If you can't do 20 reps, slowly, with good form, it is probably too heavy. (I know "weight lifters" will disagree with that. I lift weights almost every day, and am familiar with heavy strength training. but I am cautioning a 52 year old assumed beginner. It is REALLY EASY to injure yourself with weights. And that isn't "healthy" for anyone. )