exercise/fitness/training - anyone taking part

[Renee]

Another Insanity fan here. I'm into my fitness anyway and done a lot of different sports, weight training, running etc in the past but nothing has given me results as quick as insanity has. It's strengthened my core more than anything else I've done too which is so important considering the long periods I can be sat down for.

You don't need much space, the moves are easy and most of the workouts are well under an hour.

Some people get frustrated that they don't lose as much weight as they hoped early on or they gain weight but it's about the body fat you lose and you'll look drastically different very quickly. I do recommend taking a body fat reading and some measurements before you start though.

It might not be realistic for most to do 60 days straight but I don't believe it's necessary and the workouts are something I'm continuing with just on a less frequent basis.

It is expensive but most of the videos seem to be uploaded on the internet!

I need to check this out for when I'm cutting I think.

So they call it insanity because it is 60 days straight. No rest days? I imagine a lot of people are ruined by the end.

[Renee]

Shoulders got the all clear.

Few more physio sessions to strengthen the rotator cuff and barring any set backs ill be back up at 15 stone + in no time.

Stretch bands are your best friend!
I carry one around with me now so I can just pull it out whenever. Have gone back to the osteo the last 2 weeks and he says it is getting much stronger. I can feel that it hasn't been sore the last week or so too.

mines battered at the minute, right behind the blade, think it was from sleeping on it weird, but whatever it is it aint shifting.

Goin Oz next week though so wont be training to the new year again now

Did you try the stretch I suggested up a bit? It sounds like it will def help.

How is your dog btw?

[thebookiesoffers]

I'll have a look at the stretching

dog is fine as well thanks, is some fatty lump that is apparantly harmless so good news there

[Aramon]

Besides having my sports betting affiliate, I'm actually quite new to that, I am a personal trainer as well as a boxing trainer. The one thing I can't stress enough is you can't out work a bad diet. Also for prolonged weight loss and maintenance resistance training is key. The more muscle you have, the more calories you burn, even at rest.

[Renee]

Besides having my sports betting affiliate, I'm actually quite new to that, I am a personal trainer as well as a boxing trainer. The one thing I can't stress enough is you can't out work a bad diet. Also for prolonged weight loss and maintenance resistance training is key. The more muscle you have, the more calories you burn, even at rest.

Welcome Aramon
As a PT you might be able to join in on our discussion and tell us what you do yourself for exercise

We don't really talk about food here as we are all pretty aware of the 80/20 rule. But we are well into sharing our exercise. Most of us do weight training. There are a few of us here who are not able to do strenuous activity so do static exercises and then there are some who just look on and haven't started yet (who I know are psyching themselves up to get started )




This morning instead of my legs, shoulders and abs workout I turned it into a tabata circuit session of legs and abs.

4 mins tabata on the rowing machine.
2/2 on leg extensions/squats
2/2 on hamstring curls and calf raises
2/2 on weighted step ups and deadlifts
4 mins farmers walks
2/2 with crunches and flutters
4 mins oblique core rotations
2/2 with straight leg raises and back extensions

Followed by a stretch

Now my legs shake a little when I walk. Gotta love a hard start to the day!

For those who don't know what tabata is, it is a 4 min cycle where you do 20 seconds of the exercise (AMRAPS - as many reps as possible), followed by 10 seconds rest. Hard work but it burns those calories and makes you hell fit.

[Aramon]

Thank you for the welcome Renee.

I won't stress the food too much but depending on fitness levels there are certain things to watch out for. If one has a low fitness level and may be considerably overweight, they may be battling an insulin resistance problem that would require a far different dietary program than that of someone just looking to drop a few lb's. I have learned that there are good guidelines but it's always best to personalize each fitness regimen to one's needs and practicality.

I love your workout you described. I am a big proponent of tabata and interval style training. Its the anaerobic workout that can combine resistance with aerobic training. Its highly beneficial as well as efficient. As far as my workouts, I have hundreds of them. Today I was pressed for time so I did a killer in just under 30 minutes. Its called The 300. Its a 300 rep workout that I incorporate a 60lb sand bag in some of the exercises. Many don't have access to a workout sandbag so it can be done with a barbell with a light to moderate weight that is comfortable.

Here's how it goes:

Pull ups - 25 reps - You don't have to do 25 straight, do as many as you can, rest, than repeat until you complete 25, They can be assisted.

High pulls - 50 reps - With a workout Sandbag (or barbell), start with weight on the ground and knees slightly bent, then pull the weight to your chest, and in a controlled manner put it back down to the start position.

Squat Jumps - 50 reps - Grip Sandbag against body in a bearhug and squat, when squatting up jump up in a plyometric move where your feet leave the ground. If you don't have a sandbag do it with no weight

Floor Wipers - 50 reps - Lay on your back with the Sandbag (or Barbell) in the start position of a bench press. keeping legs together do a leg lift and while keeping your legs at a 45 degree angle to the floor, rotate them alternately to the left and right, keeping the weight (either sandbag or barbell) extended above you in the starting bench press position. Do not bench press the weight.

Thrusters - 50 reps - clean the sandbag (or a barbell with a comfortable weight) to your chest, then squat with the weight in the clean position, on the way up press the weight over your head, then return it back to the clean position.

Standing bent over Row - 50 reps - Lean over with a straight back and row sandbag or barbell.

Chin Ups -25 reps - Same deal as the pull ups except have your hand grip with palms facing you as opposed to facing out away from you.


As I noted on the first exercise, you can take as many breaks as needed to get through, This is a great workout and you should time how long it takes to get through it. It is a good gauge on how well your progressing if you can do this maybe once a month and see if your completion time reduces. It's a full body workout that hits every muscle including all those little stabilizer muscles that are so hard to engage when doing isolated execises.

[Renee]

Yeah, diet is one of those things that each person really needs to work out on their own/see a professional about. There are so many factors involved when it comes to health and diet, underlying health risk factors etc, I just don't think it's something we can give each other advice on without seeing each other in person.

Your workout sounds pretty hardcore.
What kind of PT work do you specialise in?

I've been looking at getting some sandbags for the sat morning outdoor group I run. I usually get them to use drink bottles as weights (as they are not too heavy for beginners) and have some light dumbells up to 5kg for the ones who would prefer the weights, but I reckon sandbags might be more practical and easier to move around from place to place.

Any recommendations on them? Or are they all pretty much the same?

[Aramon]

Yeah, diet is one of those things that each person really needs to work out on their own/see a professional about. There are so many factors involved when it comes to health and diet, underlying health risk factors etc, I just don't think it's something we can give each other advice on without seeing each other in person.

Your workout sounds pretty hardcore.
What kind of PT work do you specialise in?

I've been looking at getting some sandbags for the sat morning outdoor group I run. I usually get them to use drink bottles as weights (as they are not too heavy for beginners) and have some light dumbells up to 5kg for the ones who would prefer the weights, but I reckon sandbags might be more practical and easier to move around from place to place.

Any recommendations on them? Or are they all pretty much the same?

I think you would love the sandbags. They are so versatile and can easily vary in weight and be adjusted to any workout program. The great thing about them is that unlike a regular barbell or dumbell, you can work your body in multiple plains of motion in each exercise. Its also an unstable load which greatly enhances the movements benefits without having to increase the weight load. As one gets more advanced there is an unlimited amount of ways to gain more just by using more complex movements and reducing stability stances. And by complex I don't mean hard to understand I just mean multiple moves in one exercise.

I like whats called "The Ultimate Sandbag" as its not only a high quality product, but it practices a style of training that I swear by called D.V.R.T., which stands for Dynamic Variable Resistance Training. Despite the fancy name (lol), it can be practiced by a first time novice or a world class athlete.

Which is what I do as a trainer. I work as both a private trainer that goes to peoples homes and help them train regardless of age or fitness level, and I work at a Boxing gym and train top athletes to fine tune their fitness to top levels. It's always been a passion of mine.

Now if I only knew as much about this affiliate business I may actually get somewhere lol.

[Rachel.RevenueJet]

Which is what I do as a trainer. I work as both a private trainer that goes to peoples homes and help them train regardless of age or fitness level, and I work at a Boxing gym and train top athletes to fine tune their fitness to top levels. It's always been a passion of mine.

greeting Aramon.

Do you also use TRX on your private sessions?

[Aramon]

greeting Aramon.

Do you also use TRX on your private sessions?

Oh yeah! TRX is great for its variety of workouts and levels at which it can be performed. I love it. Its also so easy and convenient to use. I can travel with it and set it up anywhere. Between TRX, a sandbag, and one's own body weight, you can get incredible workouts for your entire body without needing loads of equipment or space consuming weights and benches. I also like the diversity of it as you can get so many different great workouts without having to fall into that same grind that stalls so many people's enthusiasm after just a few weeks.

[Renee]

I think you would love the sandbags. They are so versatile and can easily vary in weight and be adjusted to any workout program. The great thing about them is that unlike a regular barbell or dumbell, you can work your body in multiple plains of motion in each exercise. Its also an unstable load which greatly enhances the movements benefits without having to increase the weight load. As one gets more advanced there is an unlimited amount of ways to gain more just by using more complex movements and reducing stability stances. And by complex I don't mean hard to understand I just mean multiple moves in one exercise.

I like whats called "The Ultimate Sandbag" as its not only a high quality product, but it practices a style of training that I swear by called D.V.R.T., which stands for Dynamic Variable Resistance Training. Despite the fancy name (lol), it can be practiced by a first time novice or a world class athlete.

Which is what I do as a trainer. I work as both a private trainer that goes to peoples homes and help them train regardless of age or fitness level, and I work at a Boxing gym and train top athletes to fine tune their fitness to top levels. It's always been a passion of mine.

Now if I only knew as much about this affiliate business I may actually get somewhere lol.

Thanks for that!
I think I will go and buy myself one or two for Christmas.

Regarding the TRX bands - I have some of those too but I've never really looked up specific programs to use them with.

Do you have any workouts you can recommend just to give me an idea of what I should look for?

[Aramon]

Thanks for that!
I think I will go and buy myself one or two for Christmas.

Regarding the TRX bands - I have some of those too but I've never really looked up specific programs to use them with.

Do you have any workouts you can recommend just to give me an idea of what I should look for?

There are so many different workouts that can be done with TRX it's amazing, and I'm not sure if I could do them justice by trying to describe them in a message. What I would suggest is just go to youtube and look up TRX workouts. I would be careful though, there are a lot of people that don't know what they're doing that push video workouts on the internet. There are some great ones out there, but there are also some that are useless and can get somebody hurt.

You can't go wrong looking up TRX workouts by Randy Hetrick, he's the inventor of the product and he has great exercises along with a lot of helpful info. Also if you like the TRX workouts you can expand on them by getting the TRX RIP Trainer which is just another piece of equipment that you can add to your TRX. Check out Pete Holman on how to use the TRX Rip Trainer. Just like anything else once you get the feel for it and the basics down and know how to use it safely and properly, you will be able to decipher what's best for you. I'm sure you'll be designing your own workouts in no time!

[Rachel.RevenueJet]

Oh yeah! TRX is great for its variety of workouts and levels at which it can be performed. I love it. Its also so easy and convenient to use. I can travel with it and set it up anywhere. Between TRX, a sandbag, and one's own body weight, you can get incredible workouts for your entire body without needing loads of equipment or space consuming weights and benches. I also like the diversity of it as you can get so many different great workouts without having to fall into that same grind that stalls so many people's enthusiasm after just a few weeks.

I had a personal TRX trainer for a year. I recently bought the TRX & now I train by myself. It is amazing cos you see results very fast & the variety of exercises is endless.

[Aramon]

I had a personal TRX trainer for a year. I recently bought the TRX & now I train by myself. It is amazing cos you see results very fast & the variety of exercises is endless.

Yeah that's exactly it. It's a cheap convenient way to workout at home, but at the same time it's not some silly gimmicky piece of equipment. When used correctly it's a great tool. But of course we don't want to spread the word too much that no trainers are needed

[Rachel.RevenueJet]

But of course we don't want to spread the word too much that no trainers are needed

You guys are 100% needed! I had a trainer for a year! We workout together once in a while. It's is a must for TRX to have someone watch you & make sure you are doing the exercises properly.

[Renee]

Yeah that's exactly it. It's a cheap convenient way to workout at home, but at the same time it's not some silly gimmicky piece of equipment. When used correctly it's a great tool. But of course we don't want to spread the word too much that no trainers are needed

IMO the best trainer is the one who you use for a set amount of time and then he trains you so that you don't need him anymore.

Off topic but that is what I like about my osteo. He doesn't make me go see him 3-4 times a week. I go once a week when I need to, then spread it out over 2/3 weeks then after a few visits he tells me do these exercises and if you're not good in 6 weeks come back to me. I very rarely have to go back.

[Renee]

There are so many different workouts that can be done with TRX it's amazing, and I'm not sure if I could do them justice by trying to describe them in a message. What I would suggest is just go to youtube and look up TRX workouts. I would be careful though, there are a lot of people that don't know what they're doing that push video workouts on the internet. There are some great ones out there, but there are also some that are useless and can get somebody hurt.

You can't go wrong looking up TRX workouts by Randy Hetrick, he's the inventor of the product and he has great exercises along with a lot of helpful info. Also if you like the TRX workouts you can expand on them by getting the TRX RIP Trainer which is just another piece of equipment that you can add to your TRX. Check out Pete Holman on how to use the TRX Rip Trainer. Just like anything else once you get the feel for it and the basics down and know how to use it safely and properly, you will be able to decipher what's best for you. I'm sure you'll be designing your own workouts in no time!

Form is the most important just like anything I guess.
I'll check them out. Thanks for the info

[Aramon]

IMO the best trainer is the one who you use for a set amount of time and then he trains you so that you don't need him anymore.

I agree with this wholeheartedly. A good fitness trainer is one that can aid someone in learning how to approach a better more health conscience lifestyle. The goal of the client is to become more fit and hopefully healthier. The goal of the trainer is to get the client to a point of confidence and self sufficiency. Some trainers take way too much credit for results, a good client makes a good trainer, not the other way around.

[Rachel.RevenueJet]

Form is the most important just like anything I guess.
I'll check them out. Thanks for the info

So Renee, I think Aramon should give us a private workout to show what he's got LAC will be a good opportunity

[Aramon]

So Renee, I think Aramon should give us a private workout to show what he's got LAC will be a good opportunity

You got it! Just remember when your hating me..........Greatness lies on the other side of tired