quote:

Originally posted by Strambo:
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.

Boy, you got that right. But it's not just at the "box" gyms. My current gym is a small, one-off local gym. I see it there, too. I'm not going to criticize, because at least they're not sitting on couch eating bon-bons, but, still...

quote:

Originally posted by Strambo:
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.

I agree cardio-only is sub-optimal, but I disagree that you can achieve the same effect with strength training. (See below.)

quote:

Originally posted by DMF:
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.

Agreed.

A lot of guys will protest they don't need that. Well, my doc examined a 35-year-old man that played pick-up ice hockey three times a week and turned out to have an 85% blockage of the widow-maker artery. A young lady at my gym had a school friend drop dead of heart failure, playing pick-up b-ball, at 19 years old. So...

quote:

Originally posted by DMF:
Weight machines have problems, and "free weights" are a much better way to go.

That's one view. (One to which one of my ex-trainers subscribed.) Problem is machines restrict the body's natural movement, so, just as with free weights, it's important to use the "right" machines the right way.

E.g.: My current gym has Keiser pneumatic resistance machines. The upper back machine just wasn't working for me. Mentioned it, in passing, to one of the trainers. "What?" he replied. "That's my favourite machine. You're doing it wrong." "Then show me how to do it," I replied. He did. Big difference. It's now one of my favourite machines, too.

I don't use a machine for chest flies. Potentially very bad for the shoulders. I'm very careful with leg extension machines. You can easily destroy your knees by explosively hyper-extending. Be very careful with leg press machines. About the time your tailbone comes off the pad: Stop. Any further risks rupturing discs. Back extension machines should be avoided entirely.

Smith machines can be dangerous, too.

quote:

Originally posted by DMF:
... but this is the plan I've used for a couple of years:

Since we're sharing routines, here's mine:

Monday and Friday: High Intensity Interval Training for 30 minutes. Ten minutes each on treadmill, upright stationary bike and elliptical trainer.

Tuesday: Upper body Part I and core: Chest, triceps and abs.
Wednesday: Legs. All legs.
Thursday: Upper body Part 2: Shoulders, back and biceps.

I use a mix of free weights, machines and body weight.

I go for two sets of twelve reps, cleanly and with full range of motion. When I hit a wall, I bump the weight/resistance and switch to three sets of eight. When I hit a wall with that, I move to pause/rest sets: Eight reps, pause twenty seconds, as many reps as possible, rest sixty. Repeat until you can't do the eight reps.

Then I'll eventually switch back to two sets of twelve.

If you really want to improve endurance, at a slight sacrifice to muscle gain, begin strength training days with 8-10 minutes of borderline aerobic/anaerobic-level cardio. (Knowing where your anaerobic threshold (AT) is is a whole 'nother subject. Seat-of-the-pants guestimate: About that level of exertion where you being to experience difficulty holding a conversation while exercising.)

quote:

Originally posted by DMF:
Good luck.

Ditto!