Help me get back into shape

September 10, 2006 5:08 PM

Help me get back into shape!

After an extended period of not exercising I've finally become motivated enough to get back into shape. I'm not completely out of shape (I can still play a good game of basketball or tennis) but definitely not in shape to the extent that I went swimming for an hour today and ended up in the bathroom barfing and cramping.

What is the best way for me to get back into shape. I'm a university student so I have access to good facilities (i.e. gym, pool, parks). I don't have good endurance and I seem to cramp up pretty easily. Should I do any strength training, or does that come later (after I'm back in decent shape)? Should I swim? Run? Play basketball? Help me out people.

Many thanks.

posted by jourman2 to health & fitness (14 answers total)

Also, as a side note, food tips would be helpful as well. I cook my own food and have access to decent supermarkets, so I can control my intake in that manner.
posted by jourman2 at 5:10 PM on September 10, 2006

For endurance, the canonical advice is weight training, with relatively low weight and high reps. Shovelglove is something you can do in your dorm room and it'll help more than you may think.
posted by kindall at 5:12 PM on September 10, 2006

I think using weights to build endurance would be a waste of your time.

General Fitness:
Running is one of the best things you can do for weight loss and endurance. I'd start out with some low intensity running, until you can run at a decent pace (6mph at 1% incline on a treadmill, or around campus) for 20 minutes. Then, I'd start into the high intensity interval training. It takes less time, and I feel (so do many other people, google is your friend here) it provides a better workout. Right now, my HIIT involves shuttle runs, 30 seconds on and 60 seconds off for about 10 minutes. Swimming is another great exercise that I know very little about, so I'm sure someone else could speak about that.

Lifting:
I feel that a good weight lifting program should be part of any fitness plan. T-Nation is a good site for advanced info, and ExRx is a good site if you are just starting. Basically, if you haven't lifted before or for a long while you are going to make great gains no matter what you do. Keep an eye on form and you'll be off to a good start.

Nutrition:
Big breakfast, two medium sized meals (Lunch and Dinner), and then three snack meals throughout the day keep me hunger free and full of energy. The key here is to just keep an eye on calories. Again, google is your friend here and there are many calculators that will let you know roughly how much you should be eating.

Good luck!
posted by Loto at 5:24 PM on September 10, 2006

Find a Spinning class.
posted by konolia at 5:42 PM on September 10, 2006

You should do what is fun. Running is time efficient and works, although it can be kind of boring depending. Nothing really beats it for efficiency. Starting a program with a partner is the best way, regardless of the exercise, to avoid boredom and keep going on the days you would rather just veg. Fine tuning a program really depends on what you are looking for, six pack abs, general weight loss, impressive bulk, heart health.
posted by caddis at 5:51 PM on September 10, 2006

Previously.
posted by salvia at 7:42 PM on September 10, 2006

the bad news is that you will pay more than twice to lose each and every pound than what it cost you to put it on.

get a personal trainer who can show you what to do in the gym. don't try to figure this out by yourself. your health is irreplacable and I see way too many guys who are too proud to ask for help and end up doing useless stuff.

meet your trainer once or twice per week. let him or her make you a plan and work out every single day. cardio is more important than you think.

look around if there are managed food services in your city. new york has nukitchen, LA has something similar and I am sure every other large city in the country has as well. get a plan that won't shock your body too much - 1800 calories per day, not 1000 right away. they will deliver a bag in the early morning hours to your door that contains all of your food for the day. if you cut out other food, you will lose weight. these services are expensive but I promise you this will absolutely positively work.

my coworkers used to joke that while on it, I ate better than they did and still lost weight. I usually had to tell them how much it cost me to make them feel better.
posted by krautland at 8:06 PM on September 10, 2006

If you are going to hire a personal trainer, make sure you are going to a lifting or sports gym, not a "fitness center." It gives you a better chance of getting one who will teach you the right movements and be more involved in current research.
posted by Loto at 8:33 PM on September 10, 2006

Here's some anecdotal advice on swimming. Starting a swimming program is hard, but having a swimming program (once you get past the hump) is freaking awesome. I have, like you, tried to get in and do too much, and wound up getting out with my gut in a knot for many minutes. I have also tried to get in and do as much as I could, and found the initial numbers pretty disheartening: "Once upon a time I could knock out a mile swim as easy as walking, and now I have to stop after one length?!" But when you look at how many different muscle groups it exercises, and how thoroughly it does it, no wonder a few meters makes so much difference. It's one of the best workouts there is.

Take it easy—I made a goal of 100m nonstop after the first week, 200m nonstop after the second, and so on, and I decided I should be able to swim a total distance just over twice my nonstop goal in a good (hard, but not exhausting) workout. So far I'm on track, with three or four one-hour swims a week. If you swim longer, or more times, you can increase distance faster, of course.

What I find is, the further I can swim nonstop, the larger the increment I can add to my swims. So when I could do a comfortable 100m nonstop, I could add 50m after a rest or swim 125m when I wanted; with 200m nonstop, it was trivial to add 100m with a rest break, or 50m with no rest; by the time I got to 400m nonstop, I could slap on 200m swims with rests as long as I cared to, or bump up 100m (to 500m nonstop) with no sense of strain.

I will be back to a one-mile nonstop swim before the year is out. You can do the same. Good luck!
posted by eritain at 9:21 PM on September 10, 2006

Sounds like you overdid it a bit in the pool on a full stomach. Wait an hour or so after a light lunch, longer after a heavy meal, before pushing yourself too hard. Especially if you have been smoking. My (admittedly unscientific) understanding is, that when operating at an oxygen deficit, your digestion shuts down to conserve it, and after too much of this your stomach will void its contents.

One thing I've learned is that a little exercise often is a lot more effective than trying to cram it all in on the weekend. Take every opportunity you can to exercise. A little lifting or stretching and pullups while warm after the shower, taking the stairs instead of the elevator, walking/biking to the store, etc. Another is that, if you plan on staying fit your entire life, think about conserving your connective tissue now. If you play bball, spend some time on the leg extension machine to keep your quads pumped for knee stability. Make sure your shoes are in good shape, and don't ignore aches and pains, the true benefit of fitness comes during the recovery. Skimp on that and you are shortchanging yourself.
posted by Manjusri at 9:57 PM on September 10, 2006

The don't-swim-on-a-full-stomach wisdom is at least a little bit true, as you found out. Best way to handle it is to eat a meal a few hours before you swim; eat a banana (potassium will help the cramping) if you need something right before you go.

You don't say one way or another, but make sure you're stretching before you swim. It's important to stretch before any exercise, but swimming will cramp muscles you didn't know you had. Be loose before you go.

Other than that, the swimming advice already posted has been good.

You're on the right track with emphasizing cardio; I'm terrible at self-motivation (at least as far as exercising), so what I do is play basketball/frisbee/whatever on a regular basis. The interpersonal interaction and competition help me keep at it.

You might give yoga a shot. I personally thought it seemed hokey before I tried taking an intro yoga class (which it sounds like you could do as well.) Later, I found out that a lot of professional athletes use yoga to help build their core muscles. It's not particularly glamorous looking, but having a strong core will help more than anything in "feeling" athletic.
posted by Yelling At Nothing at 4:06 AM on September 11, 2006

You don't say one way or another, but make sure you're stretching before you swim. It's important to stretch before any exercise, but swimming will cramp muscles you didn't know you had. Be loose before you go.

I recently heard that pre-workout, or cold, stretching can cause injuries, and that the best plan is to warm up by easy exercise, like walking or slowly swimming, then doing the workout, and finishing with a nice, long stretching routine that increases flexibility and reduces the chances of injury.

I absolutely agree with eritain about swimming - I've been a swimmer for 15 years, and I've found it shockingly hard every time I get back in the pool after a long hiatus, but amazingly good exercise once my body gets used to pulling itself through the water. If you want to stick with swimming, you can supplement regular crawl stroke with kicking, pulling, or other strokes to help fight the boredom issue. I've also found pyramids are helpful for the boredom factor.

Once you start getting into better shape, don't get stuck in the same old routine - you need variety and increased difficulty/speed in order to keep losing weight because your body will get used to the routine.

And definitely get a trainer - it will help motivate you, and teach you good techniques. Don't just watch how others use the machines/work out in the gym - lots have bad form.
posted by Amizu at 6:50 AM on September 11, 2006

I'm a swimmer too, but I really wouldn't recommend it to lose weight - the reason is that every time I come out of the pool after a long swim I am starving, and regularly have to stop off for some takeaway food on the way home. I'm not sure why this is, but a lot of swimmers I know experience the same thing, but not after other kinds of excerise. When I was training for the uk-based swimathon (5km) I actually put on weight rather than lost it.

That said, swimming is extremely good excerise, it's not load-bearing so you can't injure yourself doing it , and is a great stamina builder.
posted by BigCalm at 7:42 AM on September 11, 2006

eritain writes lots of good advice

I'll second (or is it third) that advice. Start small, work up consistently. Swim at least 3 times a week. On off days, try walking 3 to 5 miles (or 45 minutes to 75 minutes). Walk with a friend and hash out your days together. You'll get in shape and feel better psychologically too.

Finally, I'd recommend starting pushups and situps. Start with 20 of each, add about 5 per week. When you hit 50 a day, you'll see your pounds start to melt off. My brother does 200 of each per day, I don't know how! Style advice: do pushups on the edge of a sturdy coffee table or chair, it is a little easier on your back. For sit-ups, do stomach crunches with no hands behind your head. Bend your knees, and let them fall apart until they are at a 90 degree angle. You can also do crunches where you're curling into a fetal position with your knees coming up to your chest -- those help your flip turns in swimming.
posted by Araucaria at 11:59 AM on September 11, 2006