Need exercise recommendations.

Nova Andromeda · Post by **Nova Andromeda** » 2003-09-07 08:15pm

--If you only have 1 month to go from "out of shape due to sitting in lab all day without exercise" to "can hike 15 miles in 12 hrs and bike up hill 5k ft. without a problem" what excercises would you recommend and in what quantity and frequency?
-Please note that damaging joints and what not (which are also out of shape) must be avoided at all costs.

Post by **Colonel Olrik** » 2003-09-07 08:24pm

One month is not enough, if you're really badly out of shape. There's no point in overdoing the exercises, as your muscles won't benefit from it.

If you have the money, join a gymn and go there three times a week (best way to work out the muscles rapidly).

Then, take two days to ride or run. Start with a realistic goal (say fifteen Km if you're biking, with no major hills) and do a bit more every day.

But I'm sure our local fitness experts will advice you better.

J · Post by J » 2003-09-07 08:24pm

Volunteer yourself for armed forces training and have the sadistic instructors whip you into shape with forced marches and runs. At the end of the month you'll either be in super shape or hospitalized.

Realistically the 15 mile hike in 12 hours is quite reasonable, but doing a 5000' climb uphill on a bicycle is probably not possible. I do need to clarify something though, when you say "bike uphill 5k ft" do you mean there's a 5000' elevation change or that the climb is 5000' long? The latter is fully doable but the former is next to impossible to accomplish on your time schedule.

Post by **Colonel Olrik** » 2003-09-07 08:28pm

jmac wrote: Realistically the 15 mile hike in 12 hours is quite reasonable, but doing a 5000' climb uphill on a bicycle is probably not possible. I do need to clarify something though, when you say "bike uphill 5k ft" do you mean there's a 5000' elevation change or that the climb is 5000' long? The latter is fully doable but the former is next to impossible to accomplish on your time schedule.

Not to mention finding a tall enough mountain in the neighboorhood, that would prove to be quite a challenge. 5 Km elevation change..

zombie84 · Post by **zombie84** » 2003-09-07 08:34pm

doing 15 miles in 12 hours is pretty easy. Just start training--jog everyday. This is the best way to train for this sort of thing. It improves stamina and endurance, and gets you into shape pretty fast. Pumping iron really wont help you for the stuff your going through. Jogging doesnt really build upper body, but it sheds the fat (especially around the love handles) and strengthens the legs, which is what you need. Start off doing a 1/2 mile everyday for the first week, a full mile the second week, 2 miles the third week and so on. And stretch, if you're that out of shape, you'll thank yourself the next day. Dont overexert yourself at the beginning of your training either, start off easy at a half mile and then build from there.

You should train on a bike too--start off at 1-2 miles and go from there. A stationary bike would be really helpful, you can set it to simulate uphill biking.

Nova Andromeda · Post by **Nova Andromeda** » 2003-09-07 08:46pm

jmac wrote:Volunteer yourself for armed forces training and have the sadistic instructors whip you into shape with forced marches and runs. At the end of the month you'll either be in super shape or hospitalized.

--Current U.S. military basic training is joke or so I have been told by three close friends who went through it. Besides you should be careful what you ask for. If you knew me better you would definitely not want me taking orders from someone with an ichy trigger finger especially since I'll be an officer for sure with lots of big red buttons to push....

jmac wrote:Realistically the 15 mile hike in 12 hours is quite reasonable, but doing a 5000' climb uphill on a bicycle is probably not possible. I do need to clarify something though, when you say "bike uphill 5k ft" do you mean there's a 5000' elevation change or that the climb is 5000' long? The latter is fully doable but the former is next to impossible to accomplish on your time schedule.

-Yes, the 15 mile hike doesn't sound too bad, but I wasn't sure about the bike ride: Adirondacks, mt. Marcy 5344 ft. I don't know what the starting elevation is actually.

Nova Andromeda · Post by **Nova Andromeda** » 2003-09-07 08:50pm

--I forgot to mention I've just started exercising again at my university's gym. This involves either rowing or biking for 30 min. and some weight lifting if I have time. I'll also be riding my bike to and from school 4.5-5 miles, takes 25-30 min., and leaves me winded due to small hills (I'm not sure this is actually useful exercise due to the short time span and interruptions due to traffic lights and such).

Post by **Colonel Olrik** » 2003-09-07 08:52pm

Pumping iron really wont help you for the stuff your going through.

It may not help him to get in shape fast, but it does gives you more strength and endurance on a bike and running. One of the reasons is, when you're biking/running you don't really exercise hard all the relevant muscles, and you don't exercise them beyond a point. Those faults are corrected in a gymn, that's why bikers and other athletes who are serious in improving/go pro must pump iron.

I forgot to mention I've just started exercising again at my university's gym. This involves either rowing or biking for 30 min. and some weight lifting if I have time.

One piece of advice: Divide your cardio activities in two sets of 15 minutes, one for row and the other for bike. Do the first one, then do the lifting and only after it do the second cardio set.

Nova Andromeda · Post by **Nova Andromeda** » 2003-09-07 08:57pm

zombie84 wrote:Start off doing a 1/2 mile everyday for the first week, a full mile the second week, 2 miles the third week and so on. And stretch, if you're that out of shape, you'll thank yourself the next day. Dont overexert yourself at the beginning of your training either, start off easy at a half mile and then build from there.

You should train on a bike too--start off at 1-2 miles and go from there. A stationary bike would be really helpful, you can set it to simulate uphill biking.

--Well I can ride over 10 miles of hills though it is quite taxing. I can also jog over 3 miles without significant injury (I may be more tolerant of pain than most since the nurse said last year "you can just start running 2 miles after not excerising for 2 years" in response to me complaining about a my knee bothering me after about 2 weeks of this.
-At any rate, perhaps I'm not as out of shape as others since jogging 1/2 mile would be very easy for me (even if it would leave me winded). I'm also not fat (though I do have "love handles" and some belly padding). FYI, I'm 6' and weight 155.

Post by **Colonel Olrik** » 2003-09-07 09:01pm

FYI, I'm 6' and weight 155.

That's a BMI of 21, normal. Of course, that doesn't mean much. It's the body fat that really counts when evaluating your fitness state.

Nova Andromeda · Post by **Nova Andromeda** » 2003-09-07 09:04pm

Colonel Olrik wrote:
Nova Andromeda wrote:I forgot to mention I've just started exercising again at my university's gym. This involves either rowing or biking for 30 min. and some weight lifting if I have time.

One piece of advice: Divide your cardio activities in two sets of 15 minutes, one for row and the other for bike. Do the first one, then do the lifting and only after it do the second cardio set.

--I thought you had to do cardio for at least 20 min. staight to get any benefit from it. Does the weight lifting count as a bridge between the two sets? BTW, I have dispropotionate strength. My legs are quite strong and can do 3 sets of 10 reps. on the 45 degree leg exercise thingy with 270 lbs of weight on it. I can only bench press 3 sets of 10 75 lbs reps. though.

Post by **Colonel Olrik** » 2003-09-07 09:10pm

Nova Andromeda wrote:
--I thought you had to do cardio for at least 20 min. staight to get any benefit from it.

That's not true. A five minutes run or using the stairs instead of the elevator is benefitial. It also depends of the intensity of the exercise, of course. Running 15 minutes at 12 Km/h is different from running the same time at 9 Km/h.

BTW, I have dispropotionate strength. My legs are quite strong and can do 3 sets of 10 reps. on the 45 degree leg exercise thingy with 270 lbs of weight on it. I can only bench press 3 sets of 10 75 lbs reps. though.

Get a professional to make you a work out program, if you intend to continue doing gymn.

The Cleric · Post by **The Cleric** » 2003-09-07 09:10pm

Running is the fastest way to get in shape for that sort of thing. I'm a high school runner, and I can tell you that some very out of shape people can be in fairly good shape in 3 or 4 weeks with the right coach. I can give you workouts if you're interested.

J · Post by J » 2003-09-07 09:16pm

Nova Andromeda wrote:--Well I can ride over 10 miles of hills though it is quite taxing. I can also jog over 3 miles without significant injury (I may be more tolerant of pain than most since the nurse said last year "you can just start running 2 miles after not excerising for 2 years" in response to me complaining about a my knee bothering me after about 2 weeks of this.
-At any rate, perhaps I'm not as out of shape as others since jogging 1/2 mile would be very easy for me (even if it would leave me winded). I'm also not fat (though I do have "love handles" and some belly padding). FYI, I'm 6' and weight 155.

Sounds like you're not too badly off, I think you'll be fine on the hike as it so it would be best to concentrate your training efforts on biking. From my bike tour through Maine last year I can tell you that the climb will be a killer. Think of it this way, you will be climbing uphill continuously for at least 10-15 miles depending on the grade of the roads so be prepared to suffer. On my bike tour we had several climbs of up to 3500' or so which were hard to do even for me, especially when there's more than one of them on a single day.

Now as for training I'd say find the longest hill in your area and keep riding up & down it until you drop and alternate this with days of doing long 2 hour rides at a moderate pace and running workouts. Biking & running use different muscle groups in your legs, and while the cardio improvements from running will help with your biking, you'll still need to bike a lot on hills to work the neglected cycling muscles.

Nova Andromeda · Post by **Nova Andromeda** » 2003-09-07 09:39pm

StormTrooperTR889 wrote:Running is the fastest way to get in shape for that sort of thing. I'm a high school runner, and I can tell you that some very out of shape people can be in fairly good shape in 3 or 4 weeks with the right coach. I can give you workouts if you're interested.

--Yes, I could use the workouts even though I'll probably get a professional to design a workout plan for me as per Colonel Olrik's advice.

Jmac wrote:Think of it this way, you will be climbing uphill continuously for at least 10-15 miles depending on the grade of the roads so be prepared to suffer. ... Now as for training I'd say find the longest hill in your area and keep riding up & down it until you drop and alternate this with days of doing long 2 hour rides at a moderate pace and running workouts. Biking & running use different muscle groups in your legs, and while the cardio improvements from running will help with your biking, you'll still need to bike a lot on hills to work the neglected cycling muscles.

--10-15 miles up hill huh? That does sound miserable. Then again grad. students were designed for misery

. I can probably turn my ride home into a two hour trek and find a hill (though Boston isn't known for its hills). Running may be hazardous for the first week or so since I haven't stressed my body in a while and my joints aren't prepared for it. Perhaps I'll use the gym's running machines....

aerius · Post by **aerius** » 2003-09-07 09:50pm

Nova Andromeda wrote:-Yes, the 15 mile hike doesn't sound too bad, but I wasn't sure about the bike ride: Adirondacks, mt. Marcy 5344 ft. I don't know what the starting elevation is actually.

Oh you are in for a world of pain, hope you enjoy suffering cause elevation will start becoming a factor once you get past 3000' or so. The air starts getting thinner and you start losing energy. Start slow on the climb and take it easy, resist the urge to push your pace early in the climbing when you have lots of energy, you gotta plan ahead on these multi-mile uphill humps.

Post by **weemadando** » 2003-09-07 10:32pm

Find someone to work out with. That way you won't lose motivation.

I've been finding that playing basketball in the afternoon with some buds on an asphalt court at a local primary school after hours is damn fun.