I am wondering if anyone has any good ideas for fitness. Its been well over a year since i did any time of fitness program and im basically starting at the beginning. so if anyone has any ideas to help ease in to it or even jump in feet first it would grately be appreciated.
Hit the Gym... well duh... but a good lay out for Weight Training is:
Day One: Chest and Triceps.
Day Two: Back and Biceps.
Day Three: Shoulders and Abs,
Day Four: Legs.
Then Repeat
For each trip to the gym aim to make your workout an hour (The Golden Hour)...
Circuits! Link your exercises, for example do 8-12 reps (a set) of one thing, immediately then do a set of another thing, then immediately do a set of something else... then take your break. The all three exercises again, do each circuit at least three or four times, then create and do another circuits. Doing Circuits will aid in fat burning and your cardio.
Some Suggestions, take them as you may:
1. Go to the store and purchase Men Health Magazine!
2. Make friends with the Ab Ball! A outstanding tool for abs and core workouts.
3. "Youtube!" You can find outstanding workouts, and exercises that you can toss into your own routines for a FREE!
4. Yoga, don't let any preconceived notions get into your way, if you want to improve in many aspects and your up for a challenge look to yoga! Serious!
5. Get your protein!
P90X is a costly series to buy... You can find the entire series as a downloadable torrent, that is if you condone with that... It is a good series and their YogaX is one of the best Yoga DVDs I have!
go to crossfit.com this will get you in the best shape of your life and its free its geared toward firefighters and police and armed forces. you can do most of the stuff at home good luck
Check out Body for life. It works great balancing your carbs and protein in your meals, and the food is actually good. The workout program is great and you dont have to spend hours everyday in the gym. If you do look at it there is also a cookbook called Eating for Life that goes along with the program.
A door mounted pull up bar (pull ups and chin ups). Push ups, sit ups, stretching and squats. Go jogging too, it keeps the heart and lungs strong. All that is cheap and effective. I'm 56 years old and use this routine. TCSS
A good way to ease into a fitness program can be doing light-weight circuits to get used to the range of motion for exercises.
Ex- Monday- Chest, Shoulders, Legs -
DB squats x12, DB bench pressx12- 30 second break repeat 4 times,
Walking lunges x12 each leg, push press x12- 30 second break repeat 4 times,
Walking diagonal lunge x 12 each side, DB incline press x 12 30 second break repeat 4 times,
Weighted step ups x 12 each side, Lateral raises x12- 30 second break repeat 4 times
Following this circuit repeat all exercises in a single superset at the end of your workout jog or bike followed by a stretch.
I would def. suggest P90X if you want to download it as said previously. I have had it for a few years now and just started getting back into it hardcore. It def. burns the calories and makes a difference.
It's actually Kettlebells, and they are great for firefighters. It isn't bodybuilding type of strength building, but functional strength building. It also puts you in some positions that are relatively off-balance, which is what we do in our job. If you go with kettlebells try to get some basic instruction such as on crossfit.com. They have good exercises and provide good instruction. I do kettlebells quite often, and love it. It is a good opportunity to get weights and cardio in the same workout.
I would advise any firefighter to get up and move. It doesn't matter what you do, just do something. I love to lift, but don't forget to add some cardio. We sometime forget about that. An all around good workout will cover strength and cardio in the same session. PX90 is a great one, I do agree!
Not making money off of this pitch but I really like P-90X. It is an awesome all encompassing program and you can tailor it to your needs. We use it at the station and at the risk of losing my man card.... we use the YogaX DVD the most! Followed by Core, Cardio, and plyometrics.... IMO worth the money
PS. being a small dept we also created our own obstacle course out of old hoses and tires. Most of us on the job are creative and self motivated by nature and you don't have to have some large grant or funding to make the most out of your work-out time. Remember it's not about how much you lift, how far you can run, but rather how long you can perform your duties before risking injury to yourself, your crew and your patients. So work out like it's your toughest call.
5 stars for p90x...great training, stretch, yoga, cardio and if you have some pound to waste...the 1st step of the nutrition plan work....i mean realy work well