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I have many friends that in the past wanted to get more fit and healthy and they've always felt the need to do a lot of research or look for some sort of crazy

by JAFTEM 12y ago

I have many friends that in the past wanted to get more fit and healthy and they've always felt the need to do a lot of research or look for some sort of crazy program that they think is necessary to shed off the weight or gain muscle. I always try to just push them in the direction of starting out with the "big four" that this article mentioned: the bench press, the squat, the dead lift, and the clean and press. All you need to do is look for videos online that demonstrate the motion and proper form and try to mimic this with a light weight [1]. As your form gets better, you can naturally add more weight. From there as you gain more experience, you can start working on exercises that isolate different body parts and of course incorporating cardio. In my humble opinion, it's best to just jump right in, create a routine, and start learning from experience. Refer back to videos online for proper form in trying new exercises, and from first-hand experience you will see what works and what doesn't. [1] http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/ http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/

Someone 12y ago
"wanted to get more fit and healthy [...] to shed off the weight or gain muscle" Those are two, three, maybe four different things. The typical marathon runner, for instance, is fit, not fat, but also not muscular, and may or may not be healthy; a sumo wrestler is surprisingly fit and muscular, but also fat, and a body builder is muscular, but need not even be strong (world champion weight lifters look quite different from body builders) The optimal training program depends on what you want to achieve. That's also what this NY Times reporter seems to be confused about. Training programs focussing on getting fit (especially those focusing on endurance fitness) may have a side effect of looking better in the mirror, but if that is your goal, there are better/faster ways to get there.
- dublinben 12y ago
  I'm aware of the differences between "functional" muscle and otherwise, but you can't be an elite level bodybuilder without being strong. Ronnie Coleman (8x Mr Olympia) is stronger than more than 99% of the human race.

by JAFTEM 12y ago

Someone 12y ago

"wanted to get more fit and healthy [...] to shed off the weight or gain muscle" Those are two, three, maybe four different things. The typical marathon runner, for instance, is fit, not fat, but also not muscular, and may or may not be healthy; a sumo wrestler is surprisingly fit and muscular, but also fat, and a body builder is muscular, but need not even be strong (world champion weight lifters look quite different from body builders) The optimal training program depends on what you want to achieve. That's also what this NY Times reporter seems to be confused about. Training programs focussing on getting fit (especially those focusing on endurance fitness) may have a side effect of looking better in the mirror, but if that is your goal, there are better/faster ways to get there.

dublinben 12y ago
I'm aware of the differences between "functional" muscle and otherwise, but you can't be an elite level bodybuilder without being strong. Ronnie Coleman (8x Mr Olympia) is stronger than more than 99% of the human race.