Getting fit with SwordsMaster

[edyzmedieval]

Swords, thank you so much.

I will be resuming my gym regimen next week, took a pause for a while for various reasons. I see you noticed yoga, which brings me to the question - how did you get into yoga & did you see significant benefits?

I'm not really into meditation and exercises but as a very big football fan (soccer for my American friends), there are a number of footballers who swear by yoga that it improved their mobility and lengthened their career.

[SwordsMaster]

Swords, thank you so much.

I will be resuming my gym regimen next week, took a pause for a while for various reasons. I see you noticed yoga, which brings me to the question - how did you get into yoga & did you see significant benefits?

I'm not really into meditation and exercises but as a very big football fan (soccer for my American friends), there are a number of footballers who swear by yoga that it improved their mobility and lengthened their career.

Glad to hear you're getting back to exercising Edyz! It has been helping me stay a little sane throughout the lockdowns, and this darker part of the winter.

Like any other exercise, yoga can be as much about meditation as you would like - there are many who apply yoga to strength, flexibility, balance, and not for its meditative aspects. The same is true of kung fu, or aikido, or any number of other physical practices. I personally know a number of people who would argue that running marathons is a form of meditation though I personally prefer to meditate with a Rioja and so I prefer those yoga workouts that focus on the exercise and not the more 'spiritual' commentary.

I have begun incorporating various parts of yoga into my workouts for a number of years, usually as a remedy for a particularly sedentary stage in my life. My dad used to do Sun Salutations in the mornings when I was younger, and are a quick and easy thing to incorporate into your workouts. Up, and down-facing dogs and their transitions have been very helpful with hamstring and back mobility as well. If you're already doing one-leg deadlifts you might not find the one-leg balancing exercises very useful, but I don't currently have access to a full gym so I find them helpful for balance too.

Ibra and Christiano incorporate yoga into their workouts, and there is certainly a vast number of workouts available on youtube so you have a choice of more/less physical/spiritual (Tim Senesi runs a more physical flow).

[edyzmedieval]

Thank you Swords for the comments.

I am definitely looking into it, as you mentioned as well Ibra and Cristiano incorporate it into their workouts - and look at them! 36 & 39 going amazing in their careers!

[edyzmedieval]

@SwordsMaster - a little heads up from my side, I've just bought a kettlebell and I've started doing some home workouts with it. I am planning of making a small gym in the courtyard with various equipment - getting the treadmill is going to be difficult in terms of space - but a kettlebell is the first start.

Squats with kettlebells are definitely tough.

[SwordsMaster]

@edyz - That's great!

I personally prefer to run outdoors on the street - nobody has stopped me so far, but of course if your circumstances are different do what you must.

Since we all need cardio, what I have done and produces a great workout is kettlebell swing 'ladders' - you may start with 10, then 20, then 30, then 25, then 20, then 15, then 10, for example, with short (30s or less) breaks in between. Adjust for your fitness, if you feel like you may die then do all sets of 10, and start adding 3-4 reps at a time until you get to where you want to be. Once that becomes too easy (it won't anytime soon), add more sets. When I was swinging daily last May I worked up to 400 swings a day, in 2 sets of 50 before each meal, and 2 sets after work. Keep good posture (you should look like you're sitting on a chair with a straight back, not bending to pick berries).

Try goblet squats - holding the KB under your chin. If you keep your back straight (which you should) it is a good workout also for the core. In addition you may look at one arm clean & presses, one leg-straight-leg deadlifts (keep your hips straight facing forward), or single arm KB swings once you are comfortable with two arms.

A circuit I have used before included these things: 50 pushups, KB swings, 4x25 (with 20s rest in between), 2x25 KB goblet squats (30 sec rest), 50 pushups, 2min varied planks, 15 each leg one leg straight leg deadlifts. Other days if I didn't feel like swinging so much I may replaced 50 swings with 20 one arm clean and presses, and skip a set of pushups.

I had a forearm injury that flared up again a few weeks back so I've been doing some surfing, riding my bicycle, and starting to play tennis again next week while my arm recovers sufficiently for KBs. Still doing lots of bodyweight squats, pushups, and the occasional Nike workout to help keep myself honest.

Glad you're starting the new year on such a healthy resolution!

[edyzmedieval]

First time I've heard of kettlebell ladders - I actually googled how to do them, I like that exercise, I will incorporate it in my workout!

I've been doing basically Sumo Squats with the kettlebell and deadlifts as well, alternating between the sets so that one uses the back muscles one uses the leg muscles. Also those Sumo Squats - 5 sets x 6-8 reps - will absolutely lock you on your chair the next morning.

Just ordered a curved barbell for bicep / tricep exercises, gonna arrive tomorrow, I will get some weights but first I want to inspect the bar and see what sizes I need for the weights. Should be great!

[SwordsMaster]

That's great - however don't get too hung-up on equipment - it is a form of procrastination. There is a lot of triceps/biceps work you can do with pushup variations (try pushups with your hands together in a 'diamond') or pull-ups and variations. Gymnasts don't need EZ bars.

My general recommendation is focus on full-body work (unless you are injured or impaired in some way) until you find that there is some bodypart holding you back - then work on that in isolation. This is for general fitness. If you are going for a certain look or performance goal, then yes, you need to focus on those. For a 'Hollywood power look' focus on your yoke (traps, delts, upper back), legs, and narrowing your waist - specially if it is wider than your legs or shoulders (which would put you at a higher risk for diabetes and heart disease anyway, so be careful with that).

Usually a full body workout can be achieved in two ways: compound exercises (olympic lifts, playing a sport, turkish getups, etc.) or split workouts (legs, push, pull is the most common 3-day split).
You only really need equipment for the olympic lifts, and a kb for the turkish getups.

Consider squats, squat jumps, pushups and pullups and all their variations, one-limb imbalance exercises (one arm planks, one leg planks, one-arm pushups, one arm pull-ups if you can manage them), planches, and the myriad other bodyweight exercises.

Also do something that challenges you and you have some fun with. That is rarely running on a treadmill.