# which is best work out guys ?



## Icebreaker (Aug 20, 2012)

Well i got average body but i am aiming for an athletic one . gym is out of the option because it seriously ruins you. I am thinking of walking which else should i add ?


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## Gray Skies (Dec 27, 2010)

Why do you think that gyms ruin you?

Low intensity cardio exercise like walking is certainly better than nothing, but it isn't going to make you athletic. Running, cycling, swimming and high intensity interval training are all good for improving lung capacity, cardiovascular health and endurance. Lifting weights will help build your muscles and improve your overall physique and strength. Since you seem to dislike gyms for whatever reason, you might try bodyweight exercises.


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## Icebreaker (Aug 20, 2012)

well because here we called body weight exercises gym. What it does that you develope extreme eating habbits because of the work out and if you leave it you get fat very quickly because you are not burning the calaories anymore . Well running sounds good maybe i should mix walking and running ?


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## Kormoran (Mar 15, 2012)

It depends on how much weight you've gained. If you're obese, you should probably start going for long walks, and gradually push the pace up. Stephen Fry lost an extreme amount of weight just by walking, so it's very possible, and very sensible too, as it doesn't strain the cardiovascular system as much as running and jumping and all that stuff. Swimming is also good, especially if you've had injuries. Cycling is an option.

The main things I've learnt are:
1. Exercise alone won't help you much.
2. Diet alone won't help you much.
3. It takes time. Rome wasn't built in a day, and neither is your body.
4. Start low and slow, and go from there. Don't be tempted to do more, as you're only inviting injury, and back to square one you go.
5. Vary your workouts, but don't do anything too elaborate, at least not at the beginner-stage.
6. Stay clear of the typically muscle-workouts in the beginning. You'll only get injured and look like a fool in the process.

Calisthenics (bodyweight exercises) are very effective. There's a reason why militaries still use them so extensively.

Good luck with you workout, @Icebreaker!


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## Powder monkey (Jun 1, 2012)

Are you looking for an overall athletic, i.e respectable muscle but not overly bulky? Just walking, or running-or just cycling won't get you there.

I can tell you what pure cycling gets you, by describing my current form. Huge strong leg muscles, like I literally can't find pants that fit my thighs and arse, and a petite skinny upper body. My core is nonexistant. My abs are blah. I have decent shoulder and back muscles. My forearms are like GRAWR because I hold myself in a very low aggressive position, so they handle that. My collar bones would suggest that I'm starving, and you can see my ribs.

It's a very uneven.


I think that you should look at the gyms around you, and see what you can find. I know in the US they've been pushing some new chain gyms made for the average person-not just those stereotype body builders. To get an overall polished appearance, you need a good workout that's going to cover a wide range of exercises. I think to find what's best for you, it would be a good idea to talk to a professional.


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## Icebreaker (Aug 20, 2012)

Well i have and they made you bulky which i hate i am looking for a polished body that looks good and natural.


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## Daeva (Apr 18, 2011)

Icebreaker said:


> Well i have and they made you bulky which i hate i am looking for a polished body that looks good and natural.


You can get as bulky or polished and natural as you want by going to the gym, no one is going to force you to become the next Arnold Schwarzenegger. And like the previous posters say, you can't build an athletic figure without at least _some_ resistance training, aka weight training (even using only body weight).
If you worry about getting fat when you stop working out, just cut back on your calorie intake but keep doing some cardio.


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## android654 (Jan 19, 2010)

Your diet is what influences your mass, not your exercise regimen.


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## Joseph (Jun 20, 2012)

1. Diet is 75% of getting athletic. If you aren't eating uber healthy (by society's standards, normal by biological standards) than you will struggle to maintain the athletic look you want. Unless you have excellent genetics already.

2. A gym won't ruin you. All I see is pseudo-science and anecdotal evidence to support that. Being in shape is a lifelong commitment, just because ex-athletes who keep eating bowls of white pasta (yuck) and not exercising get fat, doesn't mean anything to a lifelong healthy person. If you plan on stopping at any point, I have bad news...

3. Weight resistance training (ie bench, squats, deads, cleans) will train essential muscles to look more athletic. It won't make you overly bulky. Lifting weights is essential to losing weights of both genders, contrary to population opinion. It will make you look healthy.

4. Walking long distances will not get you an athletic look in any sense of the word. It's one of the most overrated things to becoming healthy. High-intensity workouts are what get you in shape. People like walking long distances because they don't like exercise but want to feel like they are doing something.

Lifting weights and eating healthy will help you look like this:








Lifting weights with strict bulk/cut routines and water management (and possibly creatine/steroids) will help you look like this:








Trust me, if you could huge and bulky from just lifting weights casually I would have done it ages ago.


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## kindaconfused (Apr 30, 2010)

The best workout is one that you _want _to do.


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## android654 (Jan 19, 2010)

Joseph said:


> Lifting weights with strict bulk/cut routines and water management (and possibly creatine/steroids) will help you look like this:
> View attachment 46159
> 
> 
> Trust me, if you could huge and bulky from just lifting weights casually I would have done it ages ago.


First creatine =/= steroids. To get a 210+ lb body with single digit body fat, you simply need protein and calorie excess, proper fat increase and time. Steroid benefits are always temporary and will fade in weeks without maintenance. Professional body builders are restricted from using them during competitions and they maintain form, some of them do so year round.

I do agree however, long walks are for lazy people who are tired of feeling lazy, but are too lazy to work out properly.


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## Joseph (Jun 20, 2012)

@*android654*

I know there is a difference, I was glossing over it quick because I would never suggest him to use those.


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## android654 (Jan 19, 2010)

Joseph said:


> @*android654*
> 
> I know there is a difference, I was glossing over it quick because I would never suggest him to use those.


Fair enough, I'm just personally tired of everyone who knows nothing about the sport thinking that every person "over-weight" and low in body fat is taking steroids. A lot of pro bodybuilders spend a decade, or longer to get to the point that they are when they begin competing.


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## nordlund63 (Jul 24, 2012)

Do you want to get in shape or athletic? Either way, you will want to first decide if you want to lose weight (cut) or gain weight (bulk). If you just want to lose weight, cardio and a strict diet is the best course. Eating 20% calories below your BMR (basal metobolic rate) is a good way to do this and will typically result in about a pound lost per week (more of you have more fat). Cardio everyday. 

If you want to put on weight, look up Starting Strength. Like above, eat 20% MORE than your BMR (accounting for weight lose from cardio and lifting) to steadly. 2500 to 3000 cals a day isn't uncommon. Eat 2/3 to 1 gram of protein a day for gain muscle at a good date. Not much I can say here, it takes a lot of personal research to find out what works for you.


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## WickerDeer (Aug 1, 2012)

Weight lifting can help with weight loss. It boosts the metabolism.

Men with giant necks do that on purpose--they lift extremely heavy weights to fatigue their muscles--and then they rest and eat protein. But you can lift weights without using that technique. 

If you do more reps of smaller weights you'll improve your endurance which will make you more athletic. I personally lift weights and I don't want to bulk up. I wouldn't want to do pure cardio. Weight lifting is good for bones and it's much more enjoyable than cardio, to me. But it's important to get your heart rate up and to sweat.

I think it's important to consider what you like. I dislike bouncing around--or being in public--so running is out for me, although I love dancing at concerts, strangely. I enjoy punching a heavy bag and doing aerobic dance/step with weights, so I find good videos with instructors I like--this might have to do with being extroverted and Se. Walking is nice because I can listen to audiobooks, but it really doesn't give very quick results for me. You should find something you'll want to stick to. 

Just because you don't enjoy some exercises doesn't mean you won't enjoy others--and it's very important to enjoy what you're doing. You may have to try out various things before you find something that's both enjoyable and effective.


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## Snakecharmer (Oct 26, 2010)

Cardio is NOT very effective for fat loss. Strength training is better. I lost a significant amount of body fat after having my second child via a high protein, low carb diet and lots of strength training. The little bit of cardio I did was HIIT.


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## android654 (Jan 19, 2010)

Snakecharmer said:


> Cardio is NOT very effective for fat loss. Strength training is better. I lost a significant amount of body fat after having my second child via a high protein, low carb diet and lots of strength training. The little bit of cardio I did was HIIT.


In an attempt to dispel one notion, cardio is nothing more than a less effective form of strength training. There are no benefits to heart rate, respiratory efficacy or an increase in metabolic activity. All changes in muscle mass is tearing of muscle tissue and the repair of torn tissue. You do this more effectively with strength training. Unless you're willing to go at a rate where you're moving 4x you active heart rate, 60 minutes of cardio will never have the same benefits as 60 minutes of weight lifting.

Also, all metabolic effects come from nutrition and not from cardio. Only when your body's been conditioned from years of low body fat and nutrient rich body will work have an effect on your metabolic temperature. In other words, You can't pretend to be an athlete for a month and think your body will work the same way as someone who's been consistent with that kind of diet and practice for the vast majority of their life. 

So walking won't do anything and neither will a weak jog, unless you've done nothing for years. You won't see any substantial changes in your body if you've got a diet that works against you. OP doesn't sound serious about it, so if I were him, I'd just drop it altogether. You're wasting your time if you're looking to take something up and go half-assed about it.


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## sidj0n (Apr 30, 2012)

Saying that diet is more important than exercising or vice versa is wrong.It's 25% cardio,25% weight lifting, 25% nutrition, 25% rest.I am currently training for triathlon(swim,bike,run) and i think is a good choice if you don't want to spend so much time in the gym.Every workout is good, what makes it the best is your intensity.


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## android654 (Jan 19, 2010)

sidj0n said:


> Saying that diet is more important than exercising or vice versa is wrong.It's 25% cardio,25% weight lifting, 25% nutrition, 25% rest.I am currently training for triathlon(swim,bike,run) and i think is a good choice if you don't want to spend so much time in the gym.Every workout is good, what makes it the best is your intensity.


Ask any nutritionist, diet or sport, and they'll tell you it's more like 60/40 diet and exercise. The reason why cardio's important for a triathalon, is because it's part of the competition. The benefits to your body would be greater with iso/plyo/HIIT. Intensity does matter, but the intensity needed to make cardio match strength training is so high that you'd be better off simply weight training.

Adequate sleep and recovery is so important to human health that it's pointless to factor into your training regimen. You should be sleeping properly no matter what your exercise program is.


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## telepariah (Jun 20, 2011)

There is a lot of good advice here. I just want to flat out say that the OP has some serious misconceptions about exercise that need to be dispelled. Here is my contribution.

Lifting weights or going to the gym will NOT make you bulky and will NOT ruin your body. There are many different ways to approach lifting that build strength without bulk. To build bulk you need a specific diet very high in protein AND a lot of time. Bill Russell, who was arguably the greatest basketball player ever--he played 13 years in the NBA and was the leader and best player on a Celtics team that won the championship 11 of those years--advised athletes to lift weights every day but never to lift more than 60 pounds. Low weight and high repetitions will build strength but not bulk.

Now, if you are like me and love the outdoors you can start by walking. But walking on a flat path will not give you an athletic body. You need to run, not jog. Or you need to hike up mountains. Or you need to ride a good bicycle for very high mileage. Or you need to adopt a lifestyle of cross country skiing. Do these at high intensity, not casually. 

High intensity interval training is great but you shouldn't just start right in with that. Without an aerobic base developed through long, moderate exercise, you will be sure to get injured in no time. If you have been sedentary you need to start with walking and build your base. For upper body you can do a lot with your own body weight if you don't like gyms or free weights. There is no secret, you just need discipline. And it helps if you enjoy what you are doing. 

Fritjof Nansen, the great polar explorer as well as Nobel Prize winner, wrote this about the kind of skiing I do:

"Nothing hardens the muscles and makes the body so strong and elastic, 
nothing gives better presence of mind and nimbleness; 
nothing steels the will power and freshens the mind as cross country skiing. 
This is something that develops not only the body but also the soul -- it has a far deeper 
meaning for people than many are aware of."

Fridtjof Nansen 1890
Good luck!


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