On April 19 2012 08:01 Anktious wrote: Hello everyone, been reading through the stickied posts and I haven't been able to find anything on stretching yet, or maybe I'm not looking hard enough :/
I've recently started working out at a local boxing gym where one of my employees is a trainer. He has a class every mon, wed, and fri for anyone who would like to show up, work out and/or learn to become a boxer. I'm only wanting to go for some weight gain and to get into a healthy shape. After attending his class on Monday, my body is extremely sore in many places and hurts in others. I know for a fact that I didn't stretch enough to have my body prepared for the intense workouts that he has the class perform, so I came here to the TL H&F threads to see if there are any proper stretches to be doing before or after working out.
The entire class pretty much runs 3 miles before the workout itself, and during the workout it's mostly calisthenics, bodyweight training and some light sparring (if you want to get into the ring). The calisthenics part is what made me hurt the most. I just want to know if there are any proper ways to stretch before doing any part of those workouts or after the workouts to make my body not feel as shitty as it does at the moment. Any help would be amazing :D
When you start a new workout you will always be stiff for the first few weeks regardless of what you do before the workout. In fact, I've heard quite a few people arguing that in general static hold type warm-ups are pretty useless and serve very little purpose. So as the person above me said, if you just keep exercising and recovering well the DOMS will go away within a few weeks, usually 2-3.
If you want to stretch just do any of typical stretches to the edge of range of motion and back multiple times... don't actually static stretch... dynamic stretch
On April 19 2012 08:01 Anktious wrote: Hello everyone, been reading through the stickied posts and I haven't been able to find anything on stretching yet, or maybe I'm not looking hard enough :/
I've recently started working out at a local boxing gym where one of my employees is a trainer. He has a class every mon, wed, and fri for anyone who would like to show up, work out and/or learn to become a boxer. I'm only wanting to go for some weight gain and to get into a healthy shape. After attending his class on Monday, my body is extremely sore in many places and hurts in others. I know for a fact that I didn't stretch enough to have my body prepared for the intense workouts that he has the class perform, so I came here to the TL H&F threads to see if there are any proper stretches to be doing before or after working out.
The entire class pretty much runs 3 miles before the workout itself, and during the workout it's mostly calisthenics, bodyweight training and some light sparring (if you want to get into the ring). The calisthenics part is what made me hurt the most. I just want to know if there are any proper ways to stretch before doing any part of those workouts or after the workouts to make my body not feel as shitty as it does at the moment. Any help would be amazing :D
When you start a new workout you will always be stiff for the first few weeks regardless of what you do before the workout. In fact, I've heard quite a few people arguing that in general static hold type warm-ups are pretty useless and serve very little purpose. So as the person above me said, if you just keep exercising and recovering well the DOMS will go away within a few weeks, usually 2-3.
Thanks KOVU, Eshlow, and Daigomi, I really do appreciate the help Any tips on the recovering process?
Edit: What does DMOS stand for? Google didn't give me anything that would have to do with what we're talking about here :/
I was just wondering, how much do gyms cost around where you guys are? I was thinking about bodyweight and doing starting strength. I thought it would be like $300-400 (NZD) since I paid $100 last year for our university gym. Turns out it's $683 which blew my mind. Guess I won't be going there anytime soon.
On April 23 2012 15:52 Lorken wrote: I was just wondering, how much do gyms cost around where you guys are? I was thinking about bodyweight and doing starting strength. I thought it would be like $300-400 (NZD) since I paid $100 last year for our university gym. Turns out it's $683 which blew my mind. Guess I won't be going there anytime soon.
mine is university gym, and its 80-90€ for 365 days, unlimited usage at unlimited times (isn't open at night ofc). I've seen advertisements for like 20€ a month, but I honestly have no idea if that is unlimited, or if the gym is even good.
So I have a couple friends that are trying to do squats but are struggling with holding the bar on their backs. They're supporting it with their wrists and not the back. It's only the bar at the moment but I know it will be an issue later. I assume it's flexibility in the shoulders. What do you guys suggest they work on to get more comfortable with it. They are all women if that's relevant so I can't just tell them to get bigger traps lol.
On April 23 2012 22:28 mordek wrote: So I have a couple friends that are trying to do squats but are struggling with holding the bar on their backs. They're supporting it with their wrists and not the back. It's only the bar at the moment but I know it will be an issue later. I assume it's flexibility in the shoulders. What do you guys suggest they work on to get more comfortable with it. They are all women if that's relevant so I can't just tell them to get bigger traps lol.
On April 23 2012 15:52 Lorken wrote: I was just wondering, how much do gyms cost around where you guys are? I was thinking about bodyweight and doing starting strength. I thought it would be like $300-400 (NZD) since I paid $100 last year for our university gym. Turns out it's $683 which blew my mind. Guess I won't be going there anytime soon.
You guys got craigslist or some variant?
You can probably buy used barbell, squat rack, etc for 200-300 bucks or something and have a gym for free
So I started speed roping, and I've been experiencing tightness and minor pain in my upper back during my speed roping. My initial thought was my back muscles are sore from the repeated bouncing, and like any other muscle they would eventually strengthen and the soreness would go away. Am I right in this assumption? And, any tips to prevent/tone down this annoyance?
On April 19 2012 08:01 Anktious wrote: Hello everyone, been reading through the stickied posts and I haven't been able to find anything on stretching yet, or maybe I'm not looking hard enough :/
I've recently started working out at a local boxing gym where one of my employees is a trainer. He has a class every mon, wed, and fri for anyone who would like to show up, work out and/or learn to become a boxer. I'm only wanting to go for some weight gain and to get into a healthy shape. After attending his class on Monday, my body is extremely sore in many places and hurts in others. I know for a fact that I didn't stretch enough to have my body prepared for the intense workouts that he has the class perform, so I came here to the TL H&F threads to see if there are any proper stretches to be doing before or after working out.
The entire class pretty much runs 3 miles before the workout itself, and during the workout it's mostly calisthenics, bodyweight training and some light sparring (if you want to get into the ring). The calisthenics part is what made me hurt the most. I just want to know if there are any proper ways to stretch before doing any part of those workouts or after the workouts to make my body not feel as shitty as it does at the moment. Any help would be amazing :D
When you start a new workout you will always be stiff for the first few weeks regardless of what you do before the workout. In fact, I've heard quite a few people arguing that in general static hold type warm-ups are pretty useless and serve very little purpose. So as the person above me said, if you just keep exercising and recovering well the DOMS will go away within a few weeks, usually 2-3.
What Daigomi wrote is partially correct, however I would like to add some information and some stuff that *should* be self explanatory, but I've seen so many people be stupid, it makes me cry.
You are doing a high impact, high intensity exercise. Your body will hurt a lot for a couple of weeks, but it will get gradually easier and stop hurting. Personally when this happens I would say you should change what your doing, but that's up to you and what your end goals are. You should be warming up before you stretch and you should be stretching before you box. If you can cycle/run to the gym where you are working out (this has benefits for the end as well) but you can't always do this. You must warm up before you do any type of exercise, but in particular high impact, high intensity stuff.
What is a warm up? - I would suggest that you are doing this as part of the class, but if not : For you I would recommend a 5-10 minute run at minimum (I say run, its more a heavy jog no sprinting to cheat). Then do some press up's (10-20) to get your arms working (as you'll be doing this a lot obviously). No weight squats, either side (look one way, then look the opposite). Then after this, stretch out anything that you know you have a problem with, if its me, I know its groin and back.
Do I do static stretching or dynamic (moving) stretching ? - You do no stretching whatsoever when your cold. This is the worst possible thing you could do. If you need an example, take an elastic band, and stretch it (itll snap at a short distance). Take another one and gently play with it to begin with, (stretch it a little etc) it'll get warm, you can then stretch that thing twice the length of the cold one. Now about which type of stretching is really up to personal choice. I know Daigomi said do Dynamic stretching, however it hasn't really been proven either way, there are so many studies that show each are better. Do a bit of both to be perfectly honest.
DOMS is something you have to live with. There is no fix for it, it is your body telling you what it should be telling you. You should be doing a warm down once you have finished, (reverse to your warm up). Stretching and then a light jog ( a step down from high intensity). Don't just stop ! I would also recommend a HOT bath after as well, rather than a shower if you can.
You didn't mention when the classes were, however if they are in the morning and you then go sit at a desk all day, this will be making your muscle soreness worse. If this is the case try and keep moving as much as possible, get up from your desk and go for a little walk. (Take more bathroom breaks or something). If this is in the evening, try not to go straight to bed or lounge on the sofa, again, try and keep a little bit of movement before going to bed. If you are going to bed, do some more stretching (this will be cold, so do it gently).
Hope this helps, sorry for the wall of text. Good luck with your sessions.
On April 23 2012 22:28 mordek wrote: So I have a couple friends that are trying to do squats but are struggling with holding the bar on their backs. They're supporting it with their wrists and not the back. It's only the bar at the moment but I know it will be an issue later. I assume it's flexibility in the shoulders. What do you guys suggest they work on to get more comfortable with it. They are all women if that's relevant so I can't just tell them to get bigger traps lol.
That exercise works wonders. I did it alot when I was a swimmer. I went from about the same flexibility like the guy in the video (not very flexible) and I got it down to where I could hold my hand only 60cm apart. I wonder how healthy it is tho, cos I imagine the tendons must have become like double length :p. Anyway my shoulders have always been healthy so I guess it didnt do any harm to me.
On April 23 2012 15:52 Lorken wrote: I was just wondering, how much do gyms cost around where you guys are? I was thinking about bodyweight and doing starting strength. I thought it would be like $300-400 (NZD) since I paid $100 last year for our university gym. Turns out it's $683 which blew my mind. Guess I won't be going there anytime soon.
You guys got craigslist or some variant?
You can probably buy used barbell, squat rack, etc for 200-300 bucks or something and have a gym for free
I don't think anyone uses cragislist here but I did manage to find these:
Would something like that and a Squat rack and a bench be good enough to do starting strength or stronglifts? probably a lot better to get this when I have enough spare cash.
On April 19 2012 08:01 Anktious wrote: Hello everyone, been reading through the stickied posts and I haven't been able to find anything on stretching yet, or maybe I'm not looking hard enough :/
I've recently started working out at a local boxing gym where one of my employees is a trainer. He has a class every mon, wed, and fri for anyone who would like to show up, work out and/or learn to become a boxer. I'm only wanting to go for some weight gain and to get into a healthy shape. After attending his class on Monday, my body is extremely sore in many places and hurts in others. I know for a fact that I didn't stretch enough to have my body prepared for the intense workouts that he has the class perform, so I came here to the TL H&F threads to see if there are any proper stretches to be doing before or after working out.
The entire class pretty much runs 3 miles before the workout itself, and during the workout it's mostly calisthenics, bodyweight training and some light sparring (if you want to get into the ring). The calisthenics part is what made me hurt the most. I just want to know if there are any proper ways to stretch before doing any part of those workouts or after the workouts to make my body not feel as shitty as it does at the moment. Any help would be amazing :D
When you start a new workout you will always be stiff for the first few weeks regardless of what you do before the workout. In fact, I've heard quite a few people arguing that in general static hold type warm-ups are pretty useless and serve very little purpose. So as the person above me said, if you just keep exercising and recovering well the DOMS will go away within a few weeks, usually 2-3.
What Daigomi wrote is partially correct, however I would like to add some information and some stuff that *should* be self explanatory, but I've seen so many people be stupid, it makes me cry.
You are doing a high impact, high intensity exercise. Your body will hurt a lot for a couple of weeks, but it will get gradually easier and stop hurting. Personally when this happens I would say you should change what your doing, but that's up to you and what your end goals are. You should be warming up before you stretch and you should be stretching before you box. If you can cycle/run to the gym where you are working out (this has benefits for the end as well) but you can't always do this. You must warm up before you do any type of exercise, but in particular high impact, high intensity stuff.
What is a warm up? - I would suggest that you are doing this as part of the class, but if not : For you I would recommend a 5-10 minute run at minimum (I say run, its more a heavy jog no sprinting to cheat). Then do some press up's (10-20) to get your arms working (as you'll be doing this a lot obviously). No weight squats, either side (look one way, then look the opposite). Then after this, stretch out anything that you know you have a problem with, if its me, I know its groin and back.
Do I do static stretching or dynamic (moving) stretching ? - You do no stretching whatsoever when your cold. This is the worst possible thing you could do. If you need an example, take an elastic band, and stretch it (itll snap at a short distance). Take another one and gently play with it to begin with, (stretch it a little etc) it'll get warm, you can then stretch that thing twice the length of the cold one. Now about which type of stretching is really up to personal choice. I know Daigomi said do Dynamic stretching, however it hasn't really been proven either way, there are so many studies that show each are better. Do a bit of both to be perfectly honest.
DOMS is something you have to live with. There is no fix for it, it is your body telling you what it should be telling you. You should be doing a warm down once you have finished, (reverse to your warm up). Stretching and then a light jog ( a step down from high intensity). Don't just stop ! I would also recommend a HOT bath after as well, rather than a shower if you can.
You didn't mention when the classes were, however if they are in the morning and you then go sit at a desk all day, this will be making your muscle soreness worse. If this is the case try and keep moving as much as possible, get up from your desk and go for a little walk. (Take more bathroom breaks or something). If this is in the evening, try not to go straight to bed or lounge on the sofa, again, try and keep a little bit of movement before going to bed. If you are going to bed, do some more stretching (this will be cold, so do it gently).
Hope this helps, sorry for the wall of text. Good luck with your sessions.
Do you (or anyone for that matter) know about some solid stretches that help with flexibility in the lower back and legs? My high kicks suck ass and I figure its mostly due to a lack of flexibility..
On April 27 2012 14:58 jjhchsc2 wrote: for HIIT training what is the optimal time for each interval with how many sets?
eg- 30 second sprint/60second rest for like 7intervals? (10mins) or is it just personal preference and needs?
In my experience it is total mostly personal preferences, there is no magic formulas or ratios of sprint/rest (and if there were, it wouldn't be numbers like 10, 20, 1:2 ratio). The research the HIIT concept was founded upon is 20seconds intensity/10 seconds rest for 8sets, but this was just what they tested in the study, they didn't test is against sth. like 18/12 or 21/9 to see what is superior, that would be impossible.
I think it is important to keep the time spent resting to a minimum. a real HIIT workout can not be 15 minutes long, because you can never preserve the necessary intensity for that period of time. This basically also implies that the intensity phases should be shorter, but more intervalls can be used. Especially as you progress in this kind of training.
In short: 30/60 intervalls are simply too long. I personally think the rest period should only be as long as the intensity period, probably shorter. I don't use a clock for my workouts, I just sprint until my muscles fail and then take 16 deep breaths and go again for 8-12 sets. With rope skipping, I "sprint" for 40 jumps and then take 10 deep breaths for 8-12 sets. It should come down to around 25/15 or 20/10 intervalls most of the time.
On April 27 2012 14:58 jjhchsc2 wrote: for HIIT training what is the optimal time for each interval with how many sets?
eg- 30 second sprint/60second rest for like 7intervals? (10mins) or is it just personal preference and needs?
In my experience it is total mostly personal preferences, there is no magic formulas or ratios of sprint/rest (and if there were, it wouldn't be numbers like 10, 20, 1:2 ratio). The research the HIIT concept was founded upon is 20seconds intensity/10 seconds rest for 8sets, but this was just what they tested in the study, they didn't test is against sth. like 18/12 or 21/9 to see what is superior, that would be impossible.
I think it is important to keep the time spent resting to a minimum. a real HIIT workout can not be 15 minutes long, because you can never preserve the necessary intensity for that period of time. This basically also implies that the intensity phases should be shorter, but more intervalls can be used. Especially as you progress in this kind of training.
In short: 30/60 intervalls are simply too long. I personally think the rest period should only be as long as the intensity period, probably shorter. I don't use a clock for my workouts, I just sprint until my muscles fail and then take 16 deep breaths and go again for 8-12 sets. With rope skipping, I "sprint" for 40 jumps and then take 10 deep breaths for 8-12 sets. It should come down to around 25/15 or 20/10 intervalls most of the time.
While we're discussing HIIT and cardio, anyone mind answering some basic questions I have? I'd like to start doing cardio because I want to learn tennis and I know my cardio is shot (haven't run or anything in the past 3 years and I get tired walking up a few flight of stairs). I also started doing SS just 2 weeks ago. Where would I fit in my cardio? Would it be okay for me to try to do that during my off days. Also I realize both have their pros and cons but which would be more beneficial towards me, HIIT or distance running. My primary goal is to learn how to play tennis but lately I've kind of developed a uh stomach so slimming that down would be nice too. Thanks in advance!
Edit for more info
In the small amount of reading I did it seems like HIIT is better suited for my purposes. 1)it takes less time which is super important for me 2)there's a lot of stop and go in tennis, dash then jog might replicate that
@malinor Can you expand a bit on why the rest period should be shorteer than the sprint period in your opinion? So far I've only done minimal reading but everything I read goes for a rest period longer than the sprint period.
Okay wait, just reread your post and I completely missed the note where you said the research was done based on a 20/10 period. If the research was done using a shorter rest period than sprint period I don't see any reason to deviate from that.
I wanna start taking vit D pills because I can't remember last time I saw the sun (winter, always foggy). Only vit D3 pills I found are those bellow, but I'm worried about the extra ingredients. Anyone mind checking them out? Label is in english.
EPT
Any tips on the recovering process? 
