ExRx.net

Hi

I used to play rugby, but after I stopped playing I have not done any excercise.

Now it has been two years since I stopped excercising, I gained a lot of weight and my knees started to hurt when I walk. That was a huge red light for me. I have decided to start excercising again and maybe play rugby again, I am 38 now, so maybe I won't play again, but anyhow I want to lose some weight and gain some strenght and endurance.

I planned a workout based on the information given here, but I am by no means an expert and would like some input on it.

I am just able to use a barbell of 20 kg, that is, an olympic barbell, no weights, inside of a relatively small apartment, so no much room.

Here is the workout I do on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays:

Push Ups

Bent Knee Good Morning

Bent Over Row

Squats

Upright Row

Standing Calf Raises

Biceps Curls

Skull Crushers

Plank

I do 4 sets of each excercise, first 20 reps, then 15 and then 10, the last one I do as many as I can. My goal is to be able to do 100 reps of each excercise, non stop, and with minimum rest (about 1 minute) in between excercises to work as cardio also.

So in the end it would be 100 push ups, rest 1 minute, 100 good mornings, rest 1 minute, etc.

Right now I am taking it slow and rest as much as I have to, but plan to shorten the rests as my cardio improves.

Any ideas, suggestions and warnings are wellcome.

Thanks in advance.

Enrique

find a way to add weight / resistance
ditch the 100 rep goal

buy a pull up bar
add vertical press

your waisting time calf raising with 45 lbs, I hear.

Now now, don't be that harsh oscar. Surely if you'll do 100 reps of anything in a short period of time it will work and burn fat. After all, aerobic resistance training isn't even a bad way to lose fat. Better than regular aerobic training.

But yeah, at some point, you will need to add more resistance, or atleast come up with a harder exercise variation. Try going single-leg every now and then for example. 1½ reps are also a good way to stack the resistance level. So is shorter rest times or longer time under tension. There are lots of things you can change, it doesn't have to be exercise A till the end of the world.

But, the most important thing right now is: YOU CAN'T OUT TRAIN A BAD DIET
Make sure the nutrition is in order.

Also, increase overall activity, do fasted walks in the morning if possible. Maybe consider some joint-friendly exercising like swimming. Just increase activity atleast in some matter.

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Prove the impossible!

more or less it just gets me when posters will be so creative with their programs, meanwhile unequivocally limiting themselve to "inside and two tomato cans". And we're suppsoed to critique it under those restrictions.

Rowing and Good Morning-ing the weight you curl with is just wrong.

Yes, it's much better than nothing

what's wrong with the routine? It's just a circuit/complex, nothing wrong with that at all.

Pulgapanda, this is what you're looking for:

http://alwyncosgrove.com/2000/01/complexes/

that's a better way of doing what you're trying to do now.

these are good too

http://www.istvanjavorek.com/page2.html

Thank you for all your answers.

You have been very helpful.

robertS

yeah, I was a bit cranky. I should not post during quarter End work. The routine looks swell, but the progression and lack of equipment had be concerned

I'm slow to jump in, but internet has been intermittent here, and work has been very busy. This is a favorite topic of mine, having been in your situation only 15 years older.

Far and away the most important thing is that you are taking action, not just sitting around feeling guilty for being out of shape! You are already ahead of 98% of people (statistics are my estimate only!).

Oscar has made the point (you couldn't be expected to know this) often that people who post about exercising under limited resources are often just not willing to make appropriate priorities to get equipment, or to pay for a gym membership. Sometimes that's fair, sometimes not. I don't know in your case, but maybe you should be trying to broaden your outlook as to what is possible. There is lots of home-made equipment that can be used. But you could also be looking for used weight plates for your barbell. You can work out in garages, carports, basements, storerooms, yards, parks, etc. if physical space is the limiting factor in your apartment. The whole idea is to focus on your goals. TimD, who was the life and inspiration on this forum for years, had his "gym" on his back patio, and kept dumbbells around the house so he could do arm work while talking on the phone or watching TV!

That routine, as a circuit, isn't that bad. (Actually, this is more of a complex, but who cares.) It's a little long in terms of number of exercises. And I agree with Oscar that 100 reps is way over the top. Far better to add a little weight to the bar and keep the reps reasonable. Weight plates can be bought used in the US for a bout a dollar per pound in used sporting goods stores (like Play It Again Sports stores), but can often be found on Craig's List, often as a package with assorted exercise stuff far cheaper. Even buying a pair of 5s and a pair of 10s (2.5 and 5 kg) would be a start in the right direction. A little weight goes a long way when you're doing complexes. And I agree that a chin-up bar would be a great investment.

As a circuit, I'd expect that you are doing 1 set of each exercise without putting the bar down, resting for a timed period then repeating the whole sequence. When I do a circuit, I usually do something like 6 reps of each exercise, but that's largely individual preference.

Good form on the lifts is important, even if you are using light weight. In fact, this is the time to be learning and drilling good form. In particular on the squat, you need to be lifting with good form now if you have any hope of lifting safely with heavier weight in the future.

Which leads me to my final point (finally) that you should slowly start working your way into heavier resistance work. Yeah, yeah, I know about only having a 20Kg bar, small apartment and all that. But somehow you need to start adding strength to the package. Strength will help with all aspects of exercise and health.

What kind of rugby have you played? I'd say that at 38 and out of shape and with knees starting to give you trouble, you should give up any ideas of playing full-contact rugby. If ever there was a young person's sport, that is it. Watching State of Origin this week (sad day for the Blues) I was marveling again at the amazing athleticism of these players. I'd love to have hamstrings the size of some of these guys' traps! So, find a good touch league (or think about another sport). Even then, running and cutting can be pretty hard on the knees, especially if you're overweight. And even in touch there is inevitable contact. I can't tell you how many fractures I've treated resulting from touch. Of course, in PNG it's played on pretty rough, uneven fields, which contributes to falls, twists, sprains and fractures!

Anyway, welcome to the forum. Keep us informed as to how you're doing and jump into any threads that interest you!

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Our greatest fear should not be of failure, but of succeeding at things in life that don't really matter.--Francis Chan

Thanks for the long response Doc.

First of all, I played rugby union (15 players per team, full contact). I have played since I was 20, I know you have to be fit and strong or you can get hurt. Also, I live in Mexico, and even though rugby has become more physically chalenging all around the world, here it is a small community that plays it and the players are far from being as fast or strong as the Super XV players you watched. Also, there are plans to open a league for old players which I would join if I can't match up with the youngsters.

If it gives you any info, I play as a forward.

I teach at a University, which is closed for summer, but as soon as it reopens I can use one of the gyms that are there, so I see no use in buying equipment.

I plan to get back to rugby because it is the only thing that drives me to being fit. It is good to be strong and have endurance, but once I have it, what do I do with it?, for me the answer is to jump out of bed on Saturdays and go play a rugby match.

The season starts in October or November, which means the university team will start practices in August when the campus reopens. I need to gain endurance and some strenght before I start the rugby program which is quite demanding.

If I was not overweight, I would jog 5 km everyday and do some chin ups, push ups, and uphill sprints every other day to burn away the fat and gain endurance.

The fact is that I can't do that because even walking a long distance starts hurting my joints. I could go swim but I go out of breath immediately and the lactate hurt starts almost instantly.

I decided to test myself, if I can do a hundred reps, non stop, of each of those excercises, it means I will be able to join the team in August.

I need strenght in the muscles around my joints, I need lactate resistance and I need general endurance; being fat is not a problem as long as I have the strenght to carry my own load.

After one week, I see that maybe on the squatting, back rowing and good morning-ing I will have to aim for 200 reps.

It may seem like too little weight to you gym rats, but it certainly makes me break a sweat and feel the burn on my long neglected muscles.

I am, as you said, having the oportunity to keep good form.

My main concern was my lower back. And I already feel my spine straightening and working against two years of computer hunching and belly carrying.

I just wanted some input on the best way to get ready for what comes in August.

Thanks again!

You have all been helpful in one way or another.

Enrique

Don't worry about the burn. All it tells you is that you built up some lactic acid. You'll build up lactic acid if you do enough of anything.

I think what doc is trying to get at is - challenge yourself a little - think outside of the box at what you can use. Put down a chair and do dips. Grab a sledge hammer and go hit a tire. Go to the park and do some pull-ups. Push a car (make sure you have someone to stop it and for God's sake don't push it up hill). Sprint, find some bleachers and run them or jump them. Go out and do agility drills.

Anything you do, at this point, you are going to get a good neurological response from being relatively new. The key is to get you ready to play rugby in August, right? So what skills in rugby do you need to work on? Think about that and then think about what you can do, not just in your apartment, that will enhance those skills.

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Thanks TimD.

For the rugby skills I go to the park with my 6 year old kid and we throw and catch the ball, chase each other and play in general which helps my body remeber how to move and keeps my kid happy.

The argument against 200 reps is twice that of 100 reps.

So you're asking advice, but then saying that no matter what the advice is, you're going to continue doing what you're doing? Than why did you ask for advice? Did I misread your original post?

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Our greatest fear should not be of failure, but of succeeding at things in life that don't really matter.--Francis Chan

So your main goal is to lose weight so you can do the things you enjoy. That will largely come from diet. Next, start moving more. You mention joint issues so take it easy on things that agravate the joints. Jogging 5K each day is a sure way of destroying your knees. You mention swimming. That's a good activity, just keep it relaxing and easy.

Now to get in shape, you need to do some activity that you are inefficient at, and work it until you are out of breath, let your body recover and repeat several times. Take a day off evry now an then but no more than 2 days off in a row. Stay disciplined. Don't go so hard that it's painful, but gradually increase the difficulty of what you do. It doesn't matter if that activity is push ups, situps, hill sprints, kettlebell swings, or whatever. Pick your pony and ride it. Once it gets too easy, pick something new. Take several movements and put them in a circuit, etc. 100 reps in a row will be a challenge for almost any difficult exercise but if it motivates you to shoot for it, go for it.

A good strength training program should be on your radar looking forward but at this stage it's probably not your priority.

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Let thy food be thy medicine, and thy medicine be thy food.~Hippocrates
Strength is the adaptation that leads to all other adaptations that you really care about - Charles Staley
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Thanks TimD

I asked for advice, I recieved it and I have thought it through. I am sorry if it came out to look like it did not.

I started to question myself about what I want and what I need to do in order to achive those goals.

I am stubborn and slow to change my mind, but believe me, I do change my mind and I listen to people, it just takes time for the ideas to settle in my brain.

Let me restate my goals and description:

I am 38 years old. I am 1.87m tall and weigh 115 kg.

I used to play rugby two years ago, I was fit, my weight was around 100 kg. I had almost no fat and more muscle mass.

This last two years I did no excercise at all, I drank alcohol almost every day. I stopped now and have decided to lead a healthier life.

In 4 weeks the university where I work at will open and I will be able to go to a gym and maybe join the rugby team. If it needs be I can wait one more year to join them.

I want to get out the most I can out of those 4 weeks losing fat and gaining endurance.

It is hard to explain why I don't have that much time right now, but the fact is that the only spare time I have right now is at an appartment, with a 20 kg barbell, and about 90 minutes, which is the time my kid takes to eat his dinner, take a bath and get ready to go to bed. My old injuries and overweight bring pain to my knees and ankles if I do any high impact excercise.

I understand those are very limiting conditions, so, strating from scratch. What is the best I can do to get the most out of those 4 weeks?.

Thanks for the advice and time you have all taken to read this :).