OT: Sens Lounge LXXXII | Rise of Omni / Caeldan, the YES man

[MakeOttawaGreatAgain]

Group fitness. Look up Ottawa bootcamp in google and have a look around.

The anxiety will be high for the first class or so, and there is no way around it, but these are group settings with high interaction between like-minded people.

Generally these are NOT crossfit type environments with high intensity fitness 'freaks', irrespective of the title "bootcamp". They are generally populated by adults with jobs, who want to get healthy and fit, but don't find the solo trip to the gym effective.

These classes are filled with the full range of fitness levels and skills, and are generally extremely supportive and positive. Everyone will remember being in the exact same spot you are on their first day and will be happy to help you through it.

All you need is to have the courage and determination to show up to the first class (generally the first is free), and then the second. Pretty soon it will be part of your routine, and you will look forward to seeing your little posse twice or three times a week.

EDIT: I have a smoothie everyday, and I find the trick is to just break apart and rinse the thing each time, don't worry about washing it. I end up soaping it once a week. I wouldn't want to wash it everyday either so I feel your pain

Pretty good advice, I'd say.

I started going to the gym back in April (although I would go for a few months every few years and quit). I'm like you. I'm extremely nerdy. I play video game/anime music on my guitar, I draw manga. The only difference is, I guess, that I am magically charmed with good looks.

BUT, I wasn't always a sex machine. I had terrible acne, eczema, MRSA, and other crap. I started eating super healthy and exercising 5-6 days a week (and I go for a walk on top of that pretty much every day).

When you look good, you feel good. Add some winking and witty jokes to your routine and you'll be well on your way to making love in a space rainbow mansion like everybody else

 

[saskriders]

I want to start going to the gym daily but i can't get over the social anxiety of it. I feel like I dont fit in at all with the people there, even if im not talking to them. Its a gym at a college and I never see casuals going in or out. Im a full on nerd that has no idea what to do at a gym.

Any advice?



My dream is to only eat smoothies. With 100% of everything I need. But im too lazy to clean the blender every time.

Maybe join some rec sports league? I think I am going to join a ball hockey league when I move this summer. I don't really enjoy the gym not because of anxiety, or laziness, but because I find it boring. It is much easier and funner to keep fit through sports.

 

[Do Make Say Think]

The best way to get into the gym is to have someone show you the ropes and explain to you what you need to do and why

 

[Benjamin]

The best way to get into the gym is to have someone show you the ropes and explain to you what you need to do and why

That was my first idea but I cant find anyone to do that.

Maybe join some rec sports league? I think I am going to join a ball hockey league when I move this summer. I don't really enjoy the gym not because of anxiety, or laziness, but because I find it boring. It is much easier and funner to keep fit through sports.

Im too out of shape for a sport.

 

[Baby Ryan]

That was my first idea but I cant find anyone to do that.




Im too out of shape for a sport.

Do you live in Ottawa?
I could help you out.

 

[Caeldan]

That was my first idea but I cant find anyone to do that.

Im too out of shape for a sport.

Youtube helps a lot. But part of the problem is you basically have to choose a style and then pick someone who subscribes to that style.

For example, I'm a big fan of resistance training with weights. Stay away from machines. Squat heavy (relatively speaking), deadlift weekly, and make sure you get your bench and overhead days in.

But other people will like to do the typical bodybuilder splits.

Others think that the first thing you need to do is get on a treadmill daily for an hour.

As far as being 'too out of shape for sport'... that's what rec leagues are for. Just join one, and start playing... you'll get into shape for that sport. Conditioning comes from sport specific practice.

 

[Do Make Say Think]

That was my first idea but I cant find anyone to do that.

Youtube is indeed a great place to start, I'd recommend looking at some body-weight exercises and do a week or two of those at home

Just read up on some basic exercises, don't worry too much about the rest and after that go to the gym and ask someone at the front desk

"I've done some reading and done some basic but I'm hoping to get someone to help me reach the next level, is there anyone available?" I'm willing to bet you they will

It might be one-on-one or it might be a group thing but the important thing to do is take the opportunity: which ever one it is you have to say yes to it and follow through

You'll feel silly, it's normal, don't worry about it

 

[FunkySeeFunkyDoo]

The best way to get into the gym is to have someone show you the ropes and explain to you what you need to do and why

My two cents on exercise in general:

1. Start slow. Your goal should be that exercise becomes a part of your lifestyle forever, as opposed to achieving some crazy transformation in 3 months. As such, your workouts should be enjoyable. If you torture yourself, you will likely quite.

2. Find variety. Don't just do the same workout 4 times a week. I do yoga twice a week, pilates once, treadmill cardio once or twice, weights once, and play hockey or cycle (depending on time of year) once. Never get bored. (Note: the yoga and pilates may seem girlie, but once you hit your 40s I can tell you that they are life changers.)

3. Sign up for classes. This could be just me, but I am much more likely to do something if I've paid money and have to attend at a fixed time to make use of what I've paid for. I know that if I miss the class, I've just wasted $10 or $15 or whatever it is. For a cheap guy like me, it's very motivating.

4. Be patient. Some of the effects will take a while before you notice them. You'll start to feel better and your body will start to crave exercise after about 2-3 months, but you may not start to look really different for 6 months or more. But, as per point 1, you're thinking of this as your lifestyle forever, so there is no rush.

 

[Baby Ryan]

I personally found that Body-Weight and a bit of stacked weights is pretty fun.

Depending on what body-weight exercise you do it's very challenging and intense.

Especially when you don't give yourself at lot of time to rest and switch between upper/lower body body-weight exercises and stacked weights.
Really gets the hurt pumping and you focused all the time.

 

[DrEasy]

Speaking of fitness, I tried to install a doorway gym bar at home, and as I lengthened the bar to make it stay in place I seem to have bent the doorway out of shape. but also How much is it to fix a doorway?

 

[DrakeAndJosh]

Youtube helps a lot. But part of the problem is you basically have to choose a style and then pick someone who subscribes to that style.

For example, I'm a big fan of resistance training with weights. Stay away from machines. Squat heavy (relatively speaking), deadlift weekly, and make sure you get your bench and overhead days in.

Do you have a good video for squats? I've been working out in my basement (my brother bought a sweet power rack/bench/olympic weights a while back) but I always squat lighter than I should because I'm afraid of injuring myself. My bench/deadlift form is great, but I struggle with the squat (I guess due to flexibility) even after watching numerous videos.

 

[DrunkUncleDenis]

So how about that Chevy Colorado.

 

[Do Make Say Think]

Do you have a good video for squats? I've been working out in my basement (my brother bought a sweet power rack/bench/olympic weights a while back) but I always squat lighter than I should because I'm afraid of injuring myself. My bench/deadlift form is great, but I struggle with the squat (I guess due to flexibility) even after watching numerous videos.

Man I rock squats

It's all about the tucking of the hips

You go low and when you go back up you have to make sure you tuck your hips under your core at the top of the movement: once you got the tuck down you're golden

 

[Caeldan]

Do you have a good video for squats? I've been working out in my basement (my brother bought a sweet power rack/bench/olympic weights a while back) but I always squat lighter than I should because I'm afraid of injuring myself. My bench/deadlift form is great, but I struggle with the squat (I guess due to flexibility) even after watching numerous videos.

https://www.youtube.com/user/kabuki07
Is one guy that's got a lot of good tips and information.

Friend of mine who's starting to do strongman training, is the one that gave me most of my tips - and this is one of his favourites.

I think a lot of it comes down to the prep before the lift.
- Grip the bar hard before you even take it off the rack just to fire up your CNS
- Activate your lats when it's on your back, like you're almost pulling the bar down over your shoulders
- 'big belly' (ie draw air into your stomach and hold it there, press down on the pelvic floor)
- Toes should be turned out slightly, whatever is natural for how your hips are built... should allow your knees to track over your feet
- Torque your feet into the ground, think about three contact points - the ball of your foot, the pad for the pinky toe, and your heel... this helps with the entire setup for your legs by making sure your knees stay pushed out and activating your glutes before you've even started the lift.
- After that it depends on whether you're leading with your hips or your knees, and if you're high bar or low bar and so on. Just make sure you break parallel.

If it's flexibility that's holding you back, one exercise I do usually is just grab a 45, and hold it against my chest and sit down in a natural squat position and just stay down in the hole there for about a minute just shifting weight around a little.
Also stretch out the ankles/achilles with the weight on my knee, and do clamshell/hip hinge stretches with the weight keeping one knee on the ground.

Pause squats are also awesome for building that confidence to get low. Get down in the hole and hold it for 3,5,10 seconds (depending on how close to max you are, do shorter pauses) - and then just push out.

 

[Caeldan]

Man I rock squats

It's all about the tucking of the hips

You go low and when you go back up you have to make sure you tuck your hips under your core at the top of the movement: once you got the tuck down you're golden

That almost sounds like you're actually saying to purposely have 'butt-wink'... which is generally considered a bad thing. But maybe I'm misunderstanding you?

 

[DrakeAndJosh]

Man I rock squats

It's all about the tucking of the hips

You go low and when you go back up you have to make sure you tuck your hips under your core at the top of the movement: once you got the tuck down you're golden

https://www.youtube.com/user/kabuki07
Is one guy that's got a lot of good tips and information.

Friend of mine who's starting to do strongman training, is the one that gave me most of my tips - and this is one of his favourites.

I think a lot of it comes down to the prep before the lift.
- Grip the bar hard before you even take it off the rack just to fire up your CNS
- Activate your lats when it's on your back, like you're almost pulling the bar down over your shoulders
- 'big belly' (ie draw air into your stomach and hold it there, press down on the pelvic floor)
- Toes should be turned out slightly, whatever is natural for how your hips are built... should allow your knees to track over your feet
- Torque your feet into the ground, think about three contact points - the ball of your foot, the pad for the pinky toe, and your heel... this helps with the entire setup for your legs by making sure your knees stay pushed out and activating your glutes before you've even started the lift.
- After that it depends on whether you're leading with your hips or your knees, and if you're high bar or low bar and so on. Just make sure you break parallel.

If it's flexibility that's holding you back, one exercise I do usually is just grab a 45, and hold it against my chest and sit down in a natural squat position and just stay down in the hole there for about a minute just shifting weight around a little.
Also stretch out the ankles/achilles with the weight on my knee, and do clamshell/hip hinge stretches with the weight keeping one knee on the ground.

Pause squats are also awesome for building that confidence to get low. Get down in the hole and hold it for 3,5,10 seconds (depending on how close to max you are, do shorter pauses) - and then just push out.

This is great, thanks. Just finished leg day today so I'm saving this post until Saturday.

Anyone here do yoga? Thinking about taking it up because my flexibility is just god awful.

 

[Caeldan]

This is great, thanks. Just finished leg day today so I'm saving this post until Saturday.

Anyone here do yoga? Thinking about taking it up because my flexibility is just god awful.

I've gone to classes off and on at gyms, never to a dedicated 'yoga' place though.
It's alright, though honestly I think if I were to just concentrate on doing my own stretching I'd do just as well. And for a while I really wasn't doing any stretching, just a bit of mobility work (two different things)... because stretching weakens muscles, so if you're trying to build up to a PR over a few months - you actually *want* to be tight.

Since I've been doing more hockey over the winter, I've been focusing a bit more on the flexibility again especially for goalie.

 

[MakeOttawaGreatAgain]

Man I rock squats

It's all about the tucking of the hips

You go low and when you go back up you have to make sure you tuck your hips under your core at the top of the movement: once you got the tuck down you're golden

Ya, keep your back straight and try and stay pretty upright. Obviously your going to bend forward a bit, but try to minimize it. As long as your legs, feet, and core are all tight in their movements, you're probably doing it right.

If you have a smart phone I recommend anyone who is just starting or thinking about starting to go to the gym to try Stronglifts. It's a clgreat routine that uses only composite exercises. I'd also add in pull ups and abs to it, too. Its a free app on android and iPhone.

Also, don't give up! When I started I couldn't even do .5 of a pull up. Now I can do 3x10 and I'm doing them with 20lbs weights. If you never give up everyone will love you. No one likes a quitter!

 

[DrakeAndJosh]

I've gone to classes off and on at gyms, never to a dedicated 'yoga' place though.
It's alright, though honestly I think if I were to just concentrate on doing my own stretching I'd do just as well. And for a while I really wasn't doing any stretching, just a bit of mobility work (two different things)... because stretching weakens muscles, so if you're trying to build up to a PR over a few months - you actually *want* to be tight.

Since I've been doing more hockey over the winter, I've been focusing a bit more on the flexibility again especially for goalie.

I'm not overly concerned with my lift numbers. Just trying to get in good all around shape.

 

[Caeldan]

Ya, keep your back straight and try and stay pretty upright. Obviously your going to bend forward a bit, but try to minimize it. As long as your legs, feet, and core are all tight in their movements, you're probably doing it right.

If you have a smart phone I recommend anyone who is just starting or thinking about starting to go to the gym to try Stronglifts. It's a clgreat routine that uses only composite exercises. I'd also add in pull ups and abs to it, too. Its a free app on android and iPhone.

Also, don't give up! When I started I couldn't even do .5 of a pull up. Now I can do 3x10 and I'm doing them with 20lbs weights. If you never give up everyone will love you. No one likes a quitter!

I'd recommend Stronglifts as well if you're looking for a plan to stick to. Just use the simple 5x5 routine and don't worry about the hundreds of random IAP that the person keeps adding to the app.

I also added a bit of accessory work, but agree - at a minimum do some pullups and ab work daily with it (you can mix up the ab/core work... planks, crunches, etc). Dips too at least on every bench day.

 

[Do Make Say Think]

That almost sounds like you're actually saying to purposely have 'butt-wink'... which is generally considered a bad thing. But maybe I'm misunderstanding you?

I guess it's hard to explain

Basically tucking the hips is how you make sure your spine stays neutral and that entails that, once you get back into the starting position, you make sure your hips are under your abs, not behind them

Not quite sure what "butt-wink" is and I'm afraid of asking google

 

[saskriders]

So I realized that 1980 is closer to WW2 than to us.

And I still have this perception of the 80s as being not long ago, pretty much right before I was born.

 

[Caeldan]

I guess it's hard to explain

Basically tucking the hips is how you make sure your spine stays neutral and that entails that, once you get back into the starting position, you make sure your hips are under your abs, not behind them

Not quite sure what "butt-wink" is and I'm afraid of asking google

If you put a couple terms like squat with it you should be fine...

But basically it's that natural movement you have at the bottom of the squat where the lumbar flexion kicks in and drops your butt down/rolls your hips in, creating a 'wink' effect.

 

[Benjamin]

Do you live in Ottawa?
I could help you out.

Nope. Im in Kingston.

 

[DrEasy]

So I realized that 1980 is closer to WW2 than to us.

And I still have this perception of the 80s as being not long ago, pretty much right before I was born.

I have the same perception even though I was born in the 70s. The Beatles sounds like ancient history even though they disbanded not long before I was born. OK I guess you could say I am ancient history myself...