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.
I have to strongly disagree with such advice on programs such as "Shawns". No offense. But weight training everyday, or even consquetive days working different body parts is counter-productive. However it IS the most common, misunderstood, and misapplied technique used in gyms everyday all over the world.
Whats missing is the most important part: Rest and recovery. Your body does NOT have seperate recovery abilities for each muscle group. Your progress for building strength, and muscle mass and growth, which IS the goal of resistence training is dependent upon breaking down, building up...which is done by resistence training, rest, and nutrition. It's that simple. I'm not going to get into any arguments here. Suff9ce it to say I understand where this concept comes from. I have been a ceertified trainer, as well as certified firefighter fitness coordinator. Big deal, I know. But really, about the only people who can benifit from everyday training like that is those taking anabolics. Even with a few days rest after the cycle, it isn't practicle.
The best, solid approach is a total body workout, with perhaps one compound movement for each muscle group, working one day o, two off. It should last no more than an hour, maybe an hour and fifteen minutes as testosterone levels peak at that period. The goal is to push yourself beyond previous limits as often as possible. Work cardio on a rest day in between, 45 minutes duration. NEVER forget to incorportae full stretching regime either. You can change your movements, as you should, after a six to eight week period to use different exercises.
Crossfit has done a great job for my crew...There are some awesome videos of ff crews doing crossfit together...go on youtube and type in waikelefire. There a fire station in Hawaii that had gained a lot of attention for their crossfit workouts they do as a crew. It's good because it gets everyone involved and helps to push each other. It's a little intense at first, but it'll make your cardio a lot better in a shorter period of time. Good luck!!
Crossfit.com. I know it's been said before by a few people, but hands down for overall fitness I think it's the best. I do not currently do it, but when I did it was incredible. You need to be careful and always, always warm up before, but the results are unlike anything I've ever seen. I was introduced to it in Iraq when I was attached to a the 1/5th Special Forces. All those guys did it, they got me into it. I worked out with 3 other guys and it's unlike any calisthetic or weight training I've ever done before or since. I'll tell you it's good enough for SF and Rangers, it's good enough for anyone. If you're near or in a larger area, there may be a crossfit gym close to you. That's the best way to go, as they have odd equipment in the workout sometimes that are rare to find in normal gyms. On the website, you will find a list on the right hand side of all the affiliates around the country and world. Each one is a link to their website. They are filtering down to smaller and smaller areas, but most are still in bigger cities. Check it out, it's worth it. But my advice is unless you have and iron-clad will, get a partner, because for almost every workout you do, you will want to quit.
Once I return to school where we have a good workout facility I will be picking up this workout. It comes HIGHLY recommended by several NJSP officers that are on my fire dept/ I look forward to working out again for the first time since I graduated high school and stopped playing football