One of the challenges of these theme weeks are that it becomes easy to just troll Google for some unsubstantiated links and pass them on to you on my way to fame and fortune. But that sucks, so thankfully quite a few of you have already made my job easier by suggesting a few workout programs that you’ve used personally, which is stamp of approval enough for me.
Mark A. writes:
Check out crossfit, its run by mostly fitness nazis and ex-military types, but helped me shed 20 pounds and build crazy amounts of muscle in a matter of months. The work outs are intense, but never the same, and can be done by most people who are in at least something resembling shape. Perfect for the person who like me, was a pretty good athlete in H.S. but took a few years off from activity to play flip cup and do gravity bongs.
The main idea behind CrossFit seems to be the “WOD,” or “Workout of the Day,” a rotating set of exercises that keep things from getting stale while encouraging you to beat the times of your fellow CrossFitters. Of course, if you see “225-pound deadlift” and “handstand pushups” as a bit daunting, perhaps you should start with something a bit less “elite,” like the…
You won’t get very in the Navy SEALs unless you can complete the basic fitness test, which includes a 50-meter underwater swim, a one-and-a-half mile ocean swim (with fins), and a 32-minute 4-mile run (and that’s just part of it). I don’t know if you’ll have to do everything on the list to get into the SEALs, but at least you’ve got something to work towards.
Adventurer’s Option: Navy Aviators Fitness Test, including an inverted loop in an F-14 and sport bike ride set to the soothing sounds of Kenny Loggins.
First things first: Hyperstrike costs money. (They have a 14-day free trial.) After signing up and selecting one of three workout tracks—”Lean,” “Fitness,” or “Performance”—you’ll receive a customized workout plan, access to training animations, and a online tracking system that will help you monitor your progress. Reader Steven L. says it’s “Very tough, but quick, but no equipment needed.”
Of course, you’re probably a sweating, quivering sack of self and even reading something like “handstand pushups” makes your pericardium go all to ice, you could do worse than The Hacker’s Diet’s Fitness Ladder, which starts you off with a laughably simple regimen of push-ups and jumping jacks before inching you towards something more impressively challenging. Like Hyperstrike, all the exercises in the Fitness Ladder can be done without any equipment; Unlike Hyperstrike, the Fitness Ladder is free.
I have used the http://www.absdietonline.com which has both fitness and diet. It is good because it will track your workout results and increment accordingly.
A quick note about Crossfit, though: it’s VERY controversial. How controversial? The New York Times says it may kill people:
http://www.usms.org/forums/showthread.php?threadid=5586
A lot of people (like me) question the effectiveness of Crossfit’s workouts, which are typically short and very intense. A lot of their workouts seem to be based more on “dude, that is totally hardcore” as opposed to properly conducted research based on tested fitness protocols. But maybe that’s just my Puritan Workout Ethic.
Most of the exercises themselves, though, are okay, but I should warn you that some of them are NOT for beginnners.
Glad you figured that out after the diet “advice” in previous articles…
Any of the workouts, but especially the ones by Ian King, at http://t-nation.com are highly recommended. At that site you have actual working strength coaches and exercise physiologists recommending plans that they have designed for their clients, who include elite-level athletes, football players, and so on.
I say old core hard school is the best way. Join a gym start with upper body lower body if you’re a beginner then move to 1 body part per day. Do some Cardio. Change up your excercises every 3 weeks and eat eat eat. That’s how you put muscle on. If you look at the people that are fit they pretty much all do it the same way. These workouts are just fads and we won’t even hear about them in a year.
http://www.exrx.net/
Great sight for Cursory knowledge of the human body and basic Kenisiology.
KISS
Keep it Simple Stupid.
Traineo.com is another health site that helps you keep track of your weight loss (or not).
I have to toss in my support for Crossfit. I’ve been doing it pretty regularly (2-4 times a week) for the past 18 months and I’ve never been in better shape. It’s gotten me to take interest in things I either never thought I could do or just never liked. I *hated* running, and now do it regularly. My cardio used to consist of 10 minutes on a stationary bike to get my heart rate up, then I went right to free weights. The thing I like about Crossfit is that it’s strength, cardio, flexibility, and mental training all in one. And it doesn’t take 2 hours a day in the gym.
Yes, it’s hard. Very, very hard. But all the exercises can be done at your own pace or scaled back as needed. Most people don’t push themselves nearly enough on their own anyway, so it helps tremendously to have a workout that forces you to push hard.
I’m not too familiar with these sites, but with any internet site and/or book you have to be careful and make sure that you are doing things properly (proper technique) since it’s very easy to hurt yourself otherwise.
i have to throw down for CrossFit too. while the Workout of the Day that’s posted is incredibly challenging, it’s the fitness science behind all of it and a community of people who are willing to help and encourage you that makes it worthwhile to try for a month.
scaled workouts are available daily in the forums of http://www.brandxmartialarts.com/ under Crossfit WOD. if nothing else, test yourself to see how fit you really are: http://www.crossfitnorth.com/skill_level_training.htm
Another vote in support of CrossFit.
Yes, the macho attitude and right-wing politics can come off a bit cloying sometimes, but there’s no doubt that the WODs work. I’m 34 and I’m consistently adding muscle mass and strength by doing just 2-3 WODs a week. Not bodybuilder muscle like the guys at t-nation are after, but lean, functional muscle. I can now clean and jerk 10 pounds over my bodyweight and I’m closing in on a bodyweight snatch.
And the community itself is incredibly generous, encouraging and supportive of people new to the program…if you’re willing to torture yourself with the CrossFit protocol then they are happy to have you, regardless of your physical capability.
First off – thank you for including HyperStrike in your discussion. The site does cost money, but we are putting a lot into adding useful features and always adding new exercise videos. We just added 50 bodyweight exercises and we’ll be adding a series using kettlebells, cables, and the power rack.
I support CrossFit workouts as well. They are super efficient and produce results. I throw WOD in my HyperStrike training plan once a week.
To get a discount, enter PERSONTRAIN as your promotional code on the signup page.
Mike Greeves, Founder
HyperStrike