The Workout/Exercise thread

Anybody here have experience using a punching bag for exercise?

The house I just moved into has an unused bag in the basement, and it's still in pretty good shape. Since I don't have a gym membership, I've been looking for ways to get exercise without leaving the house, and I've always liked taking out my pent-up aggression by hitting things.

Got any ideas for a workout, probably something that mixes in some calisthenics as well?
Any tips, like how to avoid fucking up my wrists?

 

Take some basic boxing classes - there's no way for someone on the intarwebs to coach you through throwing good punches, and that's the most important step in not fucking up your wrists. Well applied strapping and quality, well fitted gloves are also essential. But technique is what makes all the difference. If you don't get decent coaching at the beginning, you will hurt yourself.

If you do know how to box or kickbox at a basic level and that was just a communication weirdness moment, work bursts of your basics (jab/cross/hook/upper/over) remembering to always keep your hands up like you would in a spar or a bout until you get 1 minute burst, 1 minute rests for 30 minutes. Then start working in combinations for the same sort of burst schedule. Start adding feet - either kicks (round, front, side and knees) or mobility into your combo drills (step, weave, bob, lean). When you get bored, or when you hit 2 minute bursts and 30 second rests for at least half an hour, start throwing in bursts focused on your core (crunches, reverse hypers, jack knifes, whatever) and legs (body weight squats, body weight lunges, wall horses). You might want to integrate burpees and dive bomber pushups. Elbow strikes are also worthwhile as a core focus.

After that, get a coach and start working weights days. The standard strength programs like MBP focusing on compound lifts, or WS4SB if you want to get complicated - because a boxer with a weak core is going to the floor after the first punch. A boxer with weak legs will find out that he can't deliver power or maintain mobility and a boxer with weak arms won't have power to deliver. But if you can get through 60 minutes of 2 minute burts and 30 second rests for the conditioning above - which I'd argue is the minimum standard for wanting to spar at a decent gym, you should be pretty fucking ripped. Training for Boxing or Kickboxing to fight (rather than boxercise or Zumba with gloves on) should be a shredder of a routine. Being able to keep your hands first up, and then moving is the hardest part of boxing and where most guys, even most power lifters and strong men struggle while they're training. Without the endurance for that kind of intense burst training, you'll get wiped out if you step into a ring by guys who just keep going after you get too tired to defend.

But if you take this advice without a solid technique from real world coaching - you're going to hurt yourself. Get a coach first.

 

internal rotation, external rotation. Throw in scap stabilization exercises and pec stretches (door frame and shoulder flexion).

 

Internal rotation and external rotation are the names of rotator cuff ex. If you search for them on YouTube you can see them in action. Just keep your scaps hugging your spine, shoulders down, and think about pressing a towel roll inbetween your torso and your arm as you do those.

For wrists you could do wrist flexion and wrist extension w light weight. If you do rows start supinating as you row (pronate on the eccentric movement). When my wrists start to bother me during pushups it's because the position of my hands is starting to change. Make sure your middle fingers are pointing directly ahead and your fingers are as splayed as possible...like starfish. Press your knuckles into the ground.

I would post YouTube stuff, but I'm on vacation/using my smartphone. It's all there if you do a search.

 

Suggestions on how to get rid of Oprah arms?



I hate machines. I prefer free weights, medicine balls, and just plain old push-ups/chin-ups.

When I started, I couldn't do more than two proper form push-ups. Now, I can do 20 straight (which is lame to most of you, but shut up!) - but I swear, it feels like they're not helping. I want definition!

I've lost a significant amount of weight, and I'm already depressed about the loose skin on my arms. The rest of me is tightening up properly - but I can't beat the arms! Help.

 

First, 20 pushups is actually great for a woman. Women's arms are naturally smaller/weaker, so that's a pretty good number. You are on the right track.

Flabby arms is basically a result of body fat and/or loose skin. If you're losing weight at a good rate, then just keep doing what you're doing, and your arms will catch up eventually. Loose skin following weight loss can take several months, but it will still happen naturally. Just stay focused and don't get discouraged.

EDIT: I'm curious what you did to improve your pushups numbers? My girlfriend struggles to do a single pushup. I created what I think is a good plan for helping her develop her pushups (e.g. incline pushups, planks, etc.) but she doesn't seem to like it and hasn't stuck with it. Curious to see if your program would be more interesting for her.

 

<a class="postlink" href="http://hundredpushups.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://hundredpushups.com/</a>

That, and a military based bootcamp where they wouldn't settle for 'girl pushups' is what improved mine.

 

What are people's thoughts on a 5x5 system? I was doing MBP and eating alot and put on some good weight. Got up to around 170. But not all of it was good weight and I think I was off a bit in both my workout scheme and my diet. So I tried to carb cycle for awhile. I slimmed down, but that combined with my aforementioned shoulder tweaking really sent my work out backwards. Im back down around 163 or so and its not a nice reduction in bodyfat or being more "cut" and I notice as much in my lifts. So I figure both to try something new and get back into it I was going to get into 5x5. I was gonna use it for my main lifts (bench, squat, deads, other presses) and then any supplemental lifts go with a 3x8 or 3x10. I know I'll be able to get back strength but would I be better off in a different system approach to regain some of my size/definition?

 

That will work. If you notice any stagnation, switch it up.

 

What kind of exercises are there for me to strengthen my lower back? Just things I can do around the house. I've cancelled my gym membership for the summer, will be picking it back up in the fall when I'm laid off.

 

Deadlift, deadlift, deadlift.

If you don't have a bar and weights, you can make a sandbag and do a bunch of different exercises with that, all of which will strengthen your lower back.

 

This.

Though I beg of you, make sure you've got proper form before going crazy with the deadlift.

 

So I'm in Oklahoma for the next 5 weeks, in a very nice hotel, that has a rather lackluster gym attached. The only free weights they have are dumbbells. Are there exercises I can do with these that are similar to the big ones like benching/squatting/deadlifting? The benching one is rather easy to replace, but the other two aren't. I know there isn't a replacement for either deads or squats, but if there's something comparable that perhaps keep me at a decent level, that'd be great to learn about.

 

you can do front squats, overhead squats, and cleans with dumbbells.

 

True, but not to the same degree as you can with a bar, y'know? I guess I wasn't as clear as I could be, I'm not so much looking for "what can you do with dumbbells", but more of a structured workout plan with dumbbells as the only free weights. I found a few online, but from some not terribly reputable sources, so if anyone has any suggestions that'd be great.

What sucks is that I'm currently shooting at Oklahoma State, and the weight room they have there is completely ridiculously awesome, and all I can do look at it being used by other people. Sad.

 

I like this. So true.

Becoming Superhuman: 9 Exercises You Can't Live Without

 

The link went bad. Sorry. Here it is:

 

I would agree except for the planks. In the modern athlete, there is absolutely no place for isometrics. A front squat will do more for your "core" (I hate that fucking word) than any ab exercise and is hands down the best full body exercise a person can do.

 

Earlier in the thread, a poster gave some tips for improving swimming form. Does anyone have any tips for improving running form? To give some background, I run between 5-7 miles roughly 5 times a week. I should be clear, though, that I probably fit into a previous poster's definition of a "plodder". My miles are usually between 9:00 - 10:00 minutes and sometimes longer when it's hot or I'm hungry.

I love running, but I have issues with cracking knees, knee pain, hip pain, and really weak ankles (my knee pain gets a lot worse when I run on a treadmill for some reason, so I only run outside or on indoor tracks). While I'm not sure that the weak ankles are related, I find it disturbing how easy it is for me to roll my ankle. Six months ago, I had one of my worst sprains when it simply gave out on me. I wasn't running or pivoting, I was just walking and it collapsed. Back to running, I make sure to have good shoes and, since I pronate a great deal, I always get them fit. To me, the most realistic problem is that my form is off. I started work sprints into my runs a few times a week after I read that your form is better when you sprint, but I'm hoping that someone here might have other ideas that I could try. I believe that on the previous forum, there were a bunch of folks that had run track in high school or college and had learned some tricks.

Also, I did read the few posts in here on the Vibram shoes, but given my knees I've been nervous to give them a try. Any tips from the runners here?