Workout for the Gods!
Created | Updated May 3, 2006
The biggest craze these days is getting that ripped, muscled body that all the stars and celebrities have. Most of us get into week two of our diets and give up.
I've got unfortunate news. Unless you're in the small genetic minority that just has got that build (e.g. Samoan, for one), odds are you won't be looking like Ah-nuld anytime in the near future. That kind of body literally takes years of training and discipline to accomplish, along with a cocktail of chemicals and enhancers coupled with the most stringent of diets.
What you -should- aspire to is physical fitness. You will be very suprised what some modest aerobic fitness and a reasonable diet will accomplish, far and beyond the crash courses most people seem to submit themselves too.
There are four main points to touch on when it comes to this idea, which we'll call Total Body Fitness. Diet, Aerobics, Resistance, and Mentality. You -cannot- achieve a positive physique unless you have ALL FOUR of these things.
Diet
Depending on your metabolism, what you eat will largely determine how 'cut' or defined your muscles get. Everyone metabolizes food and vitamins a little differently. Some people find that eating salad just drains off the poundage, others find that a bit more protein in their meals gets them buffed up. By and large, however, what kills most people is soda and greasy fast foods. No kidding. The researchers are not lying, and I can personally vouch for this.
When it comes to diet, you really only need to worry about your proteins and carb intakes. If you are trying to build up bulk muscle mass, I'd advise an increase in proteins. Real proteins, too, like beef, pork, heavy meaty products. If you are working to improve your endurance, try adding a little more carbs to your meals.
Now, the tricky part is the fact that you have to figure out for yourself what kinds of proteins and carbs work best for -you-. I have to reduce my carb intake a bit because I tend to put on a bit more fat if I overdo the empty carbs (e.g. Instant Noodles).
Another thing to look out for is your vitamin intake. Take a One-A-Day multivitamin that has all the essential nutrients in it, to make sure that your system is fully working.
Most of all, -hydrate-. Drink water constantly. Once you get in the habit of drinking about a quart of water every 2-3 hours, you'll find yourself much more active and alert than everyone else.
Aerobics
Aerobics is what gets you the 'cut' look to your body. There are three parts to Aerobics- Toughening, Improving, and Sustaining. First, you need to assess how much you can push yourself. It doesn't matter what you can do at this point- you just need to get a baseline going. Try running a consecutive mile. Do as many pushups as you can without stopping. Situps and crunches without stopping. Jumping jacks. Cycling. Write down the distances, speeds, reps, etc. For the first two weeks, don't try to -exceed- these numbers, just meet them. Consistently. Get your body used to pushing itself, used to exercise. This will be the hardest part, waking up early, going to the gym, literally -forcing- yourself to get up and push.
Now, start pushing it up a notch. Every week, try to increase by at least 5%. Do a mile 5% faster. Do 2 more pushups. 4 more situps. Bike a little faster. But always always always try to improve over last weeks score. If you get used to the fact that it -will- hurt, and you keep going, then you will be ok.
Finally, sustaining. When you hit two, three weeks in a row without improvement, you've reached the peak of what you can do without varying your workout routine. If you're happy with this, that's fine- if not, find new ways to make your workouts harder. Do pushups with hands furthur apart. Incline situps. Run uphill or faster or longer. When you get down to a 5 minute mile or 60 consecutive pushups, you can start to slack off. A little.
Resistance
Resistance is harder than most people think. Sure, it's fun to go down to the gym and pump iron once a week, but it won't do anything except make you hurt. Find someone who knows -how- to lift and have them teach you the tricks. Then, find someone who knows -why- to lift and have them help you develop a workout plan. It's best to alternate where you work out each day on your body. MWF, do upper chest/arms. TR, lower legs. Keep alternating like that and every couple weeks, see if you can't just put two more pounds on the bench press, or squat just another kilo. Like Aerobics, it's going to -hurt-. The results will take weeks or months to appear, but when they do, it's worth it. Just remember to fight through the pain and have the discipline to stick with your training regimine.
Mentality
This is the most important part of any training regimine. You have to -make- yourself work for it. Your body will be tired. You may have to hit the gym at 4 AM every day to make time for pumping. You'll have to stop eating at McDonalds and having those morning doughnuts. DISCIPLINE is the keyword here. Getting in shape requires more mental fortitude than physical. When you get to the point where you learn to love the burn, you -love- working out, you -love- the way you look, you'll find that it's that much easier to get up and go with.
I hope this helps. Please, be careful up there. Find someone to help you work out. Bring a buddy, your wife, your kids. Get motivated with posters and music and whatever helps you mentally. This is entirely upon -you- to accomplish, reader. But it's worth it.
I've got unfortunate news. Unless you're in the small genetic minority that just has got that build (e.g. Samoan, for one), odds are you won't be looking like Ah-nuld anytime in the near future. That kind of body literally takes years of training and discipline to accomplish, along with a cocktail of chemicals and enhancers coupled with the most stringent of diets.
What you -should- aspire to is physical fitness. You will be very suprised what some modest aerobic fitness and a reasonable diet will accomplish, far and beyond the crash courses most people seem to submit themselves too.
There are four main points to touch on when it comes to this idea, which we'll call Total Body Fitness. Diet, Aerobics, Resistance, and Mentality. You -cannot- achieve a positive physique unless you have ALL FOUR of these things.
Diet
Depending on your metabolism, what you eat will largely determine how 'cut' or defined your muscles get. Everyone metabolizes food and vitamins a little differently. Some people find that eating salad just drains off the poundage, others find that a bit more protein in their meals gets them buffed up. By and large, however, what kills most people is soda and greasy fast foods. No kidding. The researchers are not lying, and I can personally vouch for this.
When it comes to diet, you really only need to worry about your proteins and carb intakes. If you are trying to build up bulk muscle mass, I'd advise an increase in proteins. Real proteins, too, like beef, pork, heavy meaty products. If you are working to improve your endurance, try adding a little more carbs to your meals.
Now, the tricky part is the fact that you have to figure out for yourself what kinds of proteins and carbs work best for -you-. I have to reduce my carb intake a bit because I tend to put on a bit more fat if I overdo the empty carbs (e.g. Instant Noodles).
Another thing to look out for is your vitamin intake. Take a One-A-Day multivitamin that has all the essential nutrients in it, to make sure that your system is fully working.
Most of all, -hydrate-. Drink water constantly. Once you get in the habit of drinking about a quart of water every 2-3 hours, you'll find yourself much more active and alert than everyone else.
Aerobics
Aerobics is what gets you the 'cut' look to your body. There are three parts to Aerobics- Toughening, Improving, and Sustaining. First, you need to assess how much you can push yourself. It doesn't matter what you can do at this point- you just need to get a baseline going. Try running a consecutive mile. Do as many pushups as you can without stopping. Situps and crunches without stopping. Jumping jacks. Cycling. Write down the distances, speeds, reps, etc. For the first two weeks, don't try to -exceed- these numbers, just meet them. Consistently. Get your body used to pushing itself, used to exercise. This will be the hardest part, waking up early, going to the gym, literally -forcing- yourself to get up and push.
Now, start pushing it up a notch. Every week, try to increase by at least 5%. Do a mile 5% faster. Do 2 more pushups. 4 more situps. Bike a little faster. But always always always try to improve over last weeks score. If you get used to the fact that it -will- hurt, and you keep going, then you will be ok.
Finally, sustaining. When you hit two, three weeks in a row without improvement, you've reached the peak of what you can do without varying your workout routine. If you're happy with this, that's fine- if not, find new ways to make your workouts harder. Do pushups with hands furthur apart. Incline situps. Run uphill or faster or longer. When you get down to a 5 minute mile or 60 consecutive pushups, you can start to slack off. A little.
Resistance
Resistance is harder than most people think. Sure, it's fun to go down to the gym and pump iron once a week, but it won't do anything except make you hurt. Find someone who knows -how- to lift and have them teach you the tricks. Then, find someone who knows -why- to lift and have them help you develop a workout plan. It's best to alternate where you work out each day on your body. MWF, do upper chest/arms. TR, lower legs. Keep alternating like that and every couple weeks, see if you can't just put two more pounds on the bench press, or squat just another kilo. Like Aerobics, it's going to -hurt-. The results will take weeks or months to appear, but when they do, it's worth it. Just remember to fight through the pain and have the discipline to stick with your training regimine.
Mentality
This is the most important part of any training regimine. You have to -make- yourself work for it. Your body will be tired. You may have to hit the gym at 4 AM every day to make time for pumping. You'll have to stop eating at McDonalds and having those morning doughnuts. DISCIPLINE is the keyword here. Getting in shape requires more mental fortitude than physical. When you get to the point where you learn to love the burn, you -love- working out, you -love- the way you look, you'll find that it's that much easier to get up and go with.
I hope this helps. Please, be careful up there. Find someone to help you work out. Bring a buddy, your wife, your kids. Get motivated with posters and music and whatever helps you mentally. This is entirely upon -you- to accomplish, reader. But it's worth it.
