The Way To Losing Weight.. (behold, Nirvana!) Edited to provide two routines - one easy and one hard

[Yratorm, LightMage 0]

The Way to losing Weight..

 

The Basics:

 

This set of routines was created with the help of EllenTemplar, a fitness instructor and another member of these forums, with some tips from Opaque, who everyone knows.

 

I have edited this post after some members pointed out to me (in PMs) that it might be too hard for many people. And I agree completely. So now there are TWO sections to the post below.

 

The first section is for people who are either slightly out of condition, or for who have problems like hypertension or knee issues, etc. It will work more slowly, but it WILL work so long as you KEEP AT IT.

 

The second section contains a tough workout aimed at people who are relatively young and who have no problems like hypertension, knee problems, etc. It is highly effective and will help you lose weight FAST.

 

 

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Section 1: The Easier Road to Weight-loss Nirvana..

For those who cannot do the harder routine in section 2, please follow these simple steps:

 

Step 1) Brisk walking (enough to get your heart-rate up) or light running for between 10 and 30 minutes a day.

 

Also, seek opportunities to exercise in your daily life as well. Move around a lot, walk briskly to get to places, pace when you think, climb stairs (if possible) rather than take the elevator. Try to increase your overall physical activity as much as possible. Make being an 'active', energetic person your LIFESTYLE.

Whatever you do, GET YOUR HEART RATE UP for at least 10 to 30 minutes in the day (this causes an over-all rise in metabolism, and thus, weight loss), and you'll do well.

Stair-climbing, Rowing, Cycling and Swimming are alternatives to walking - just remember to get your heart rate up for at least 10 minutes and any exercise is beneficial.

Another small note: If you have bad knees, please try to do your walking on soft ground/grass, with a pair of nice comfortable shoes, if at all possible. Also, you could try wearing elastic bands on your knees to give your knees additional support, especially when you exercise.

 

 

Step 2) A 30 minute session in the Gym: On one or two days in the week, go to the gym and work out with light weights (say, at the bench press). Do a large number of total reps (broken down into many sets as you need). Don't start out with many reps all at once, but aim (ultimately) for at least 100. Feel free to rest up to five minutes between sets, just remember to 'wrap-up' so that your body doesn't 'cool-down' between sets.

This weight training is hardly essential, but I've found that weight-loss routines work better when you vary the exercise-types a bit. It keeps your body 'on it's toes'.

 

Step 3) Eat small meals (as small as an apple or a sandwich) six times a day, instead of one or two large ones. This will help up your metabolism. WATCH YOUR INTAKE - BE CAREFUL that the total calories of your small meals doesn't exceed what you used to eat before. Also, be careful to take in enough nourishing food to 'keep you going'. Try to not stock the refrigerator with tasty foods - try not to keep tasty foods anywhere within 'easy reach'.

 

Step 4) Take up a hobby that interests you intensely. Strange, isn't it, but this can actually help you lose weight. Take up something you've always wanted to do, and keep at it. Take up a hobby that interests you so much that you would rather work at it than eat - so that food becomes a minor interest in your life.

 

Step 5) Cut T.V. - I'm sorry about this, but there it is. Cut T.V. to between one to two hours a day, you really shouldn't watch more than that, it leads to an unhealthy lifestyle - your body becomes 'used' to being inactive for hours, and then RESISTS activity when you try to exercise. I'm not saying remove T.V. from your life, but cut it down to the minimum/the most interesting programs or whatever.

 

If you choose this 'easier' way to lose weight, you need to make it your lifestyle. If you do, the benefits will be enormous. You will be far fitter, your mind will work more clearly, you will be leaner, healthier, and live longer. It is worth the effort. Bear in mind, that weight loss will come slower with the 'easier' program - but it WILL come, as will the benefits in overall health. Change your WAY OF LIFE, and your body WILL CHANGE TO ADAPT TO IT. Your body is an incredible mechanism - take good care of it, and you will be greatly rewarded.

 

END of Section 1: The easier Way...

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Section 2: The Tougher Road to Weight-loss Nirvana..

"I'm not afraid.."

 

"You will be, my overweight Jedi, you will be.."

 

Right, now that we've got the statutory 'Yoda' warning out of the way, let's get down to business. This is a brutal workout regimen aimed at losing weight, period. IF you can keep to it, the weight will come off. It all depends on you - on how much you can push yourself.

 

I'm assuming you have no medical conditions or knee problems. Those with medical conditions SHOULD consult their doctors before beginning ANY exercise program.

 

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Now, to lose weight, you should:

 

1) Lift weight. And I'm not talking light weights here - no ten pound dumb-bells. Go for the heaviest exercises, the bench-press, and the squats. Push yourself - HARD. With the bench-press, start with what you can, but push to reach 200 pounds. With the squats, aim to reach at least 400 pounds.

 

2) Run. And not a little. Run flat footed for ten minutes, then sprint for two to five minutes. Then walk for five minutes, then run again for ten minutes, then sprint for two to five minutes. Don't think - I CAN'T - think I MUST. If you get tired after just five minutes of running, sit down by the sidewalk for a minute, get your breath back, but MAKE SURE YOU REACH THE TOTAL running and sprinting outlined here. Start with half an hour of running this way - Aim for one hour.

 

3) Kick. Look at the three pictures showing a simple kick (known in japanese as the haisoku kingeri, and in plain english as a flip kick). The three steps to executing this kick are shown below:

Step 1

Step 2

Raise the knee of the kicking leg.

Step 3

Kick straight out as shown.. DON'T put too much force into this. Kick lightly.

This kick is very simple - you just raise your knee and kick out, forwards. Start with 20 with each leg, increase to 50, go on to 100. When you can do 100 with each leg, raise the height that you kick to. At the moment you're kicking to waist level - when this becomes too easy, raise the knee higher in Step 2 and try to kick near head height in Step 3. Aim for 100 high-kicks with each leg.

 

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A Schedule:

Follow this schedule through the week.

Day 1: Weight exercises - Bench press and squats, as much as you can do, as heavy as you can do. Ultimate aim - three sets of 200 pound bench press, three sets of 400 pound squats. Those with knee problems can eliminate the squats and replace them with seated shoulder presses.

 

Day 2: Kicks: Do as much as you can with each leg, aiming for 100 with each leg. When you can do that, increase the height you kick to to head height.

 

Day 3: Running. Run flat footed for ten minutes, then sprint for two minutes. Then walk for five minutes, then run again for ten minutes, then sprint for two minutes. Run for 30 minutes in all. Aim for one hour. (Try to run on a soft surface rather than asphalt or concrete)

 

Day 4: Running again, same as on Day 3. Alternatives, cycling or swimming, but these exercises are NOT equal to running - for example I can do countless laps in a pool and still just be having fun, not be tired at all. Running, I do get tired.

 

Day 5: Weights again, same as on Day 1.

 

Day 6: Long range running - at least an hour or two or several kilometers in a park (on soft ground/ grass, if possible, not asphalt or concrete).

- - - A Highly recommended Alternative: A run or hike in the mountains (extremely good for overall fitness, will make your progress in your daily weights routine/running routine MUCH faster. Highly recommended if possible).

 

Day 7: Your usual daily run (as on Day 3), OR a long run as on Day 6, whichever you feel like doing, or if you can make it to the mountains on Day 6, make it a two-day stay in the mountains.. Or you can just rest on this day, if you feel like it.

 

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Changes in your daily lifestyle:

Go to your refrigerator and pitch out everything considered 'yummy' - ice-cream, chocolates, pizza. Replace with functional foods, especially foods you don't particularly like - things you'll eat only when really hungry. Make sure that what you DO stock up on is nutritious, though. Check the calorie content of everything in your refrigerator and MAKE SURE you're really cutting calories. DON'T eat more than you burn. You don't have to be on any starvation diet if you're doing the above regimen, because you're burning plenty, but you don't have to eat too much either.

- - - If this seems too harsh, allow yourself ONE treat on any one day in a week. And by treat I mean an ice-cream or something, not a massive meal.

 

Cut TV to no more than a hour a day (if you watch more). It leads to an unhealthy lifestyle. Go for a walk in the park, feed the ducks, talk with your neighbors, chop firewood, take up art or dancing or whatever, just don't sit in front of the TV if you want to lose weight.

 

Increase the 'normal' exercise in your life. Up to five stories up, DON'T use an elevator - use the stairs. Then, if the place you're trying to reach is higher, use the elevator. You can use the elevator coming down. Remember, WHEREVER possible USE the STAIRS. There's no better way to burn fat than stair climbing.

 

If you walk anywhere, do it at a very brisk pace, or even run. SEEK out opportunities to exercise. If you're an executive with a private cabin, start pacing when thinking of something, if you can. If you can't and are stuck at a desk, every hour or two hours, walk down five flights of stairs and then up.

 

PUSH YOURSELF. To the limit and beyond. Don't be like a fat student of mine who came to me wanting to be 'Ninja' then lacked the WILL to do even the most basic of exercises. He will always be fat, as long as he lives - but you're not him. That choice does not have to be yours. Do this program for three months and you WILL see results.

 

 

I am an honest man, so I offer you no easy way out, no 'effortless' routine. But I also offer you victory. Don't look at your weight-loss efforts as merely some exercises and dieting you have to do - rather look upon your efforts as a battle against the most difficult opponent of all - yourself!!

 

END of Section 2: The harder Way...

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I sincerely hope this thread will be of help. This post has been created with help from ellentemplar and opaque.

Edited February 18, 2007 by Yratorm, LightMage (see edit history)

[ellentemplar 0]

Hehe, so you actually put it up. It's quite a tough regimen - I think a person will be better able to 'keep it up' if they can find themselves a good training partner, preferably someone a lots more fit than they are. I think having someone with MORE endurance than you to work out with, is the best training aid anyone could possibly have.

 

Just my five cents And thanks for the credit, Yratorm. I hope the program helps someone.

[Yratorm, LightMage 0]

Right, Ellen - you know, if you have trouble keeping to a fitness routine, try taking on a teen as a training partner - teens have boundless energy, and they have tons of enthusiasm as well. I train teens in the martial arts, and the result is I have the fitness and endurance of a teenager. This isn't due to any great will-power on my part - they come over and say 'hey, it's time for the session to start', and I just get with it, drop whatever I'm doing and work out with them.Besides, it's a constant source of satisfaction to me when a sixteen year old gets exhausted before I do, hehe (No, I'm just kidding - I'm not that evil-minded ). - To be honest, I owe these kids a lot. I like teaching kids the martial arts - teaching is something I enjoy, so they get the best possible coaching I can give them, and in return, they help me keep superbly fit - it's a good exchange. This might be useful for those who find it difficult to keep to a training schedule - as ellen says, take on a training partner who has more energy and endurance than you do.Thanks for the input, ellen.

Edited January 9, 2007 by Yratorm, LightMage (see edit history)

[Saint_Michael 3]

1..2...3 Kick . Question what about someone (referring to me) that can't lift no more then 25lbs forever (thinking that's referring to dead lifting)(I break the 25lb rule anyways)?Also couldn't you do a a burnout session say with 5lb weights going as fast you can (with in reason)?What about weights you can Velcro on to your legs or something like that?

[Yratorm, LightMage 0]

1..2...3 Kick .

 

Question what about someone (referring to me) that can't lift no more then 25lbs forever (thinking that's referring to dead lifting)(I break the 25lb rule anyways)?

 

Also couldn't you do a a burnout session say with 5lb weights going as fast you can (with in reason)?

 

What about weights you can Velcro on to your legs or something like that?

 

Increasing the amount weight you can lift:

 

Right, we'll take those questions one at a time. First IF you'd like to try to increase the weight that you can lift, you can try reducing the NUMBER of reps to just ONE (in bench-press or squats) - and have a partner standing by, then lift the max you can in a SINGLE lift - this will be considerably more than you can lift when you do many reps. Wait a few minutes, then do another single lift. Do about three to five of these, varying the weight slightly each time.

 

Then do 6 to 8 reps of slightly more than the weight you usually lift.

 

After a week or two of this, try to do two reps of the max weight you can lift, and increase the weight and reps in this way. You DON'T have to take this on, it's just a suggestion IF you'd like to increase. Otherwise, there are..

 

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Alternatives to Heavy Weight Training:

 

However, for people who just CANNOT lift heavy weights for various reasons, you should add a large amount of reps to your light-weights routine, as many reps as you can possibly AND reasonably handle.

 

For example, if you want an alternative to 1 rep of 200 pound bench press, and the heaviest weight you can lift is, say 20 pounds, you have to do 200/20=10 reps of 20 pound bench press, to equal ONE rep of the heavier one in terms of energy burn.

 

Where weight training (in terms of losing fat) is concerned, it's a question of how much WORK your muscles are doing, and therefor how much energy your body is burning. You don't have to do the reps fast or anything - when you lift x weight a certain distance, you burn x energy, period.

 

So, if you can lift 20 pounds of weight (at bench press) you have to do 100 reps with it (not necessarily continuously) it to equal ten reps of 200 pound bench press in terms of energy burn.

 

The more you lower the weight, the greater the number of reps have to be to achieve the same results.

You see why I advocate heavy weights for those who can do them, they're a very efficient way of burning energy.

 

If you do for the 'large amount of reps with a light weight' system, please increase the number of reps gradually, don't just go out and do a hundred reps (even in several sets) on a single day. That will only result in muscular injury. Introduce your body into any new program gradually, with care. Remember, injury will RUIN your program. Also note that this light-weight-heavy-reps routine will result in a very lean, highly-toned, endurance based musculature. Your muscles will not be large or strong, instead they'll be built for endurance.

 

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On weights tied to your ankles:

How much energy this burns depends on just how much you lift your feet off the ground when you walk. If you don't lift your feet much, energy burn is minimal. With any sort weights-program always remember, energy burn occurs mainly when the weight is being moved against gravity.

 

Stair Climbing with weights on your feet would be EXCELLENT.

 

Weights tied to your ankles might be helpful when running, but I have a few qualms here - I think there is a danger of injury to the joints of the legs, don't you? If there was no danger of injury, it would DEFINITELY MULTIPLY the effectiveness of your running (or kicking) routine, no doubt about it. I frequently do tie a weight to my leg when executing that kick, to increase the power of the kick, BUT I find I have to do the kick very lightly, to avoid extra stress to the knee, and also that it places a strain on my spine (my back muscles are strong, so they can take the stress, but as a rule I wouldn't advocate it for everyone).

 

If you think that you can do the running routine (say, without the sprinting) with weights on your legs without injury (please consult your doctor on this), then go ahead with it.

 

However if you have a lot of stairs to climb (or the opportunity to) in your daily life, weights on your legs when you climb them would DEFINITELY add to energy burn. Definitely recommended.

 

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The best rule to follow with weights (where losing excess fat is concerned) is - if you can't do heavy weights, go for maximal reps. Go for a hundred reps with each exercise.

 

If you CANNOT do weights AT ALL, go for running, but generally, if you can mix DIFFERENT types of exercises you'll find your program far more effective.

 

I'd say, do what you CAN. If it's not much, make up for that with a disciplined lifestyle and regular training, and patiently reach your goals. If you're doing lighter forms of exercise than those outlined above, remember, you MUST get your heart rate up for at least ten minutes a day for your routine to be effective. If even a brisk walk or a light run does this, it has a beneficial effect.

 

A man who walks may take more time to travel the same distance than a man who runs, but so long as he keeps walking, he'll get there as surely as a man who runs. Slow but sure works JUST as well as intensity and speed.

 

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

 

All the very best to everyone.

 

 

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Edited January 10, 2007 by Yratorm, LightMage (see edit history)

[Hagar9999 0]

Thanks for editing the post - the 'harder' routine was too much for me, I'm pretty much out of condition, and I have hypertension AND bad knees, so it was pretty much impossible without a time-machine, hehe. But the new section on an 'easier' way is good, this is something I can definitely do, so thanks - Yratorm, ellen, opaque, all of you. Great stuff.

[Yratorm, LightMage 0]

Glad to help, Hagar, really. And my thanks to Ellen and Opaque for their help, couldn't have done it without them.I'll try to keep updating the post with new suggestions and tips as and when they occur to me, or as they're suggested by people here - there are a LOT of really smart and knowledgeable folk here at Trap 17, so I'm sure suggestions will keep coming in.Once again, glad to help any way I can. Take care.

[Watermonkey 0]

I’d like to humbly add a couple things to the overall excellent advice given above because we’re not all the same age or mobility.

 

First, when I was a kid to young adult I swam competitively. Now not everyone needs to swim 100M sprints, but it doesn’t hurt -especially if you really want that old ticker to be in shape. Swimming is one of the very best exercises you can do for an aerobic workout. If you can swim a mile a day, you’re in excellent shape.

 

Next, since we don’t all have a swimming pool at our disposal, a good long walk is just what the doctor ordered as noted above. I’d only add that adding a bit of weight around the ankles and a couple five pounders to your hands will severely increase the effectiveness of this important exercise.

 

Regarding food, really, there’s nothing wrong with food that tastes good! Good food should taste good! Isn’t that the whole point of food? I’d just encourage people to wean themselves off prepared foods they can just pop in the mw and eat a minute later. First, there’s a growing body of evidence to support the theory that mw radiation changes the water molecules in a fundamental and harmful way causing their interaction with our bodies to be unhealthy. Second, prepared food is likely to contain poisons like partially hydrogenated oils, processed sugar, MSG, artificial flavor, truck loads of salt, etc. These foods were likely created in a lab, not in nature. To decide what to eat is simple, just eat what contains ingredients found in nature. (By the way, Rapeseed A.K.A. Canadian Oil, which is A.K.A. Canola oil, was created in a lab by Monsanto Corp., not in nature and cottonseed oil is not considered a “food”. These two oils should be used only industrially or in the making of Bio-diesel) A little research goes a long way here. Cook food over an open flame if at all possible. Learn the art of cooking, you might just find a new hobby in it. It’s not “girlish” to know how to live single or be able to cook for your girlfriend/wife. And ladies, you’re no less independent if you learn to be good cooks. Mark Spitz once told a group of swimmers I was part of, “Garbage in, garbage out.” If nothing else, remember those words, you’ll begin to feel better about eating and you’ll need to focus less on calories when you start eating whole foods. And no, Velveeta is not a whole food! It wouldn't hurt to curtail or even eliminate meat from your diet too. Meat is a big source of bad cholesterol and fat.

 

Listen to your body. A high impact workout regimen is also more dangerous and more likely to result in injury. It’s best to do such things under the direct supervision of an instructor. Thanks for this topic! It’s not discussed often enough.

Edited January 25, 2007 by Watermonkey (see edit history)

[techclave 0]

thank you very much.....but i seeriuously want to know why we should be doingthe kickings.does that reduce weight in any way?