No Pain No Gain (General Fitness Tips)

Member Name: Pamsy

Product:	General Fitness Tips
Date:	09/08/01 (1486 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: You look fitter, You are more able

Disadvantages: Let's face it, you'd rather watch the telly wouldn't you!

You'll probably hear of a lot of fancy guides which claim to get you fit with little excercise and some weird chemical, but unfortunately it's mostly untrue. The old adage, no pain no gain, is something I firmly believe in. Anyway, onto the fitness tips.

First of all, set yourself realistic targets. Why do you want to start fitness training? Flabby belly? Already thin but want to look muscly? Training for a competition? The reasons are wide and varied.

What some people do is set out a timetable, with for example 'monday = 2 mile run, tuesday = 45 minutes weight training' and so on. To be honest I don't believe this method is effective at all, that is, IF you are just starting serious training. The reason I say this is, you may spend ages plotting out a table only to go for that 'Monday Run' and find you're knackered after half the distance, or indeed you may find it's way too easy. Trust me, I've done this myself, and it's foolish. Another problem is, for those starting out fitness training, one of the most difficult things facing you every day is actually being ar**d to do it. When you have a piece of paper telling you how to run your life, it can become annoying, espescially if you're new to this training lark, and giving up is very tempting.

Instead, what I do, is tell myself I am going to do a run and weight training every day - quite vague I know, but I have no problem doing it and I don't particularly enjoy it. I don't set myself distances, I just jog at a pace I find easy to cope with, and keep jogging until I'm knackered. This is very effective because the fact you're getting knackered shows you're putting your muscles under stress, and those muscles build themselves to cope with such stress, and you'll find in a few week's time you can run further and further. If you don't push yourself to tiredness, your limits of tiredness won't expand.


What some people do is jog to work. This isn't a possibility for myself but for some their workplace is close, and this can not only save you a LOT in travelling costs if you do it daily, but it gets you fit, and doesn't eat into your free time. Even if you're only capable of running two miles or whatever, you can always walk the rest, so if your work place is within reasonable distance, this can be very achievable even for the unfit. One downside is that you must get up for work earlier, but you'll find that your fitness training makes you tired at nights and you'll get to sleep quicker anyway.

Now for some more detailed tips. Running and walking are great excercises which both build an athletic desirable appearance. One thing I must stress however is doing a warm-up beforehand and a cool-down afterwards. The most common and easiest of these is stretching.

Stretching prepares you both physically and mentally for the activity ahead as it:

-Reduces muscle tension and makes the body feel more relaxed;
-Helps co-ordination by allowing for free and easy movement;
-Enhances body awareness;
-Helps reduce the likelihood of injury;

The following are useful guidelines:

-Stretch alternate muscle groups
-Stretch gently and slowly
-Never bounce or stretch rapidly; Stretch to the point of tension or discomfort but never pain
-Hold the stretches for a minimum of 15 seconds
-Perform each stretch the same number of times on each leg
-Keep breathing - try not to hold your breath while stretching
-Stretch at the beginning and end of your walk

I actually hate warm-ups and cool downs, I find them really boring, and I must admit I often miss them out due to laziness or forgetting. However, they are important as should you pull a muscle you will be in absolute agony, and you'll have ruined your training to a certain extent, as you'll have to rest, and work har
der when you begin training again.

Cooling down is important as it prevents pooling of the blood in the limbs, which can lead to fainting or dizziness. It helps the body recover from exercise by removing muscle waste products, returning blood flow to normal, reducing muscle soreness and improving flexibility. It is a good idea to decrease the pace of your walking gradually for the last few minutes and then repeat the stretches from the beginning of your walk.

Some say that pounding the pavements damages the knees. I do this every day, more often than not I'm carrying weight, and I've never noticed any problems. Most people don't like running, I'm not a big fan myself, so longer distance walking can be good enough to build up strong legs, and if you walk long distances with weight, you'll build the upper body too. Walking with a friend makes it less boring.

A good compromise between the two, and something I do regularly, is a British Army method known as 'Tabbing' (Tactical Advance to Battle). Usually carrying in excess of ten stone, Regiments such as the Para's are very keen on this because rather than what the American elite units practice of working in the gym and running without weight, it is hands on and trains specifically for what they'd do in battle. So what is tabbing? Well basically, you put an amount of weight on your back which you consider 'heavy', but which is managable. Then you speed march every 100 metres, and slowly jog every 400 metres. The military cover hundreds of miles with huge weights using this method. The reason you jog slowly is because with the amount of weight you're carrying, a jog should be just about all you can manage. Make sure to make short steps, as long steps may damage your thighs.

When speed marching, if you are struggling to maintain your pace, which you inevitably will once you get tired, swing your arms slowly ACROSS your body in time with y
our steps. This helps you go faster without giving your tired legs any more work.

Some people complain about the cost of getting fit. This is a convenient excuse, but it's not true. Sure, if you want to be a bodybuilder, then it's a big cost, but if you just want to look 'fit' then little to no cost is required. In fact as I've stated earlier, it can save you money on travelling expenses to work etc. People will try to sell you all sorts of fancy watches monitoring your heart rate and what-not, but my advice is not to bother unless you have some sort of heart condition, but in this event I'd see a doctor before considering fitness training anyway. A few days ago I bought a cheap set of dumbells from Argos, they only cost £20 and were one of the cheapest they offer, but they do the job. I lift the weights until my arms are tired every morning, and every night. It takes just a few minutes of each day, but you'll notice that within about a fortnight your biceps are noticably bigger, and within about a month you'll see a definite improvement.

When excercising with weights, it's easier if you inhale when relaxing and exhale while straining. If you observe all the pro bodybuilders you'll notice they all do this.

I still occasionally go to the gym, but to be honest, some pavements to run on, some trainers, and some cheap dumbells is enough for me. With a set of dumbells it'll give you all the moves you can perform, and they work on every muscle in the upper body area. For muscly legs, go jogging with weight, if you have a bag and a few books, or your dumbells, this is free. Swimming is very advisable, as it's reasonably enjoyable, in my opinion far more enjoyable than running. The downside is cost however, as to do it regularly costs a fair bit.

I've heard that regular cycling ruins your ability at running. I know somebody who was an avid cycler, entering competitions and so on, and whe
n he stopped all that, he found he just couldn't run even the shortest distances. So if you're keen on running, it could be something to consider. I'm not sure how true it is, but it could be cause for concern. Apparently it alters the way the muscles contract and conflicts with the style required for running as it conditions your legs to operate in a different way. This shouldn't be of concern unless you're a very avid cycler though.

The MOST important thing I must stress to getting fit is dedication. Too many people quit because they go to the gym every day for a week, they look in the mirror and they don't see a muscly hunk, and they decide it's too hard. A week just isn't enough, unless you do very intense excercise, which you're unlikely to do when just starting training. You will find, and I promise this, that if you go running/walking every single day for about a month, that it becomes a part of your daily life and it's no longer something you dread, but it becomes normal, just like putting on your clothes, you don't dread it. The only difficulty i breaking through this barrier.

When running, many people will say don't overdo it. This is again, only of concern to those with a heart condition or some other relative health problem. Reality is, very few people 'overdo it' and you'll really know it when you are. Just remember, don't stop when you're tired, stop when you're really tired (within reason, of course). This will progress your training faster and you're more likely to keep it up as you notice the change in appearance and ability faster. Try to control your breathing, don't breathe from the top of the lung as it were, take full sow breaths when you start running and keep this up for as long as is possible. This way, you'll find you can go a lot longer without getting a stitch. Many people say to breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth. Fo
r some people it works, but personally, when I'm tired I simply can't get the air in quick enough. If you can't do it, don't do it - it isn't a major drama.

One final tip, and this is a personal preference but may help. I find what gives me a psychological advantage is running with my minidisc player. If you have any kind of Walkman or Minidisc or Discman, try it yourself. What I do is, I turn it up to a volume whereby I can't hear my own panting when I'm tired. I've found this enables me to run signifigantly further, it's probably a psychological thing. I also play dance music and the like, as this is racy and more energetic. Don't go running listening to the likes of Oasis, because it probably won't work, they may be more appropriate for walking.

Sorry this has been an exhaustive review, there's a lot to say. So a final word of advice, do it every day for a month and you'll hopefully have broken through that lazy barrier and it'll become a normal part of your daily lifestyle - you might find you almost enjoy it! Good luck!

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