Help Bells Get in Shape for a Job

[Jagos]

Running

Pretend someone stole your bike.

... What? Ok, I'll help you out. I keep a low count of body fat. For one, I walk a lot of places. Secondly, I jog in the mornings. Before I go to school/work, I'm wake up early to jog at least 30 minutes a day. I'll spend 5 minutes jogging, 10 minutes walking, 2 more minutes jogging, then the rest of that time walking.

Even if it's just in place, I've always been under the impression that your heart has to work harder than what it can now, which is why I would recommend high stepping or (if you have stairs) walking up and down stairs of some sort similar to the Rocky movies. A little bit every day will take you a long way.

Good luck on the test man!

Just some friendly advice; it never gets easier, you just get more used to the pain!

Pain is just weakness leaving the body.

[Funka Genocide]

bah, it totally does get easier.

like you'll be on mile 8 and thinking "huh? how the fuck did I get downtown?"

just need to stick with it.

[Corel]

Originally Posted by Funka Genocide

bah, it totally does get easier.

like you'll be on mile 8 and thinking "huh? how the fuck did I get downtown?"

just need to stick with it.

Mm, perhaps I should have said that in regards to lifting any amount of weight, as one should always be pushing themselves. Which is not at all related to what Bells asked for!

What's the terrrain around you like Bells? Is it flat or inclines abound?

[Eldezar]

we can only assume he turned off the internet and is now on his third pull-up.

[Azisien]

I'm actually picturing Bells right now doing one-finger push-ups with five cinder blocks on his shoulders and a drumstick of chicken in his mouth.

[Bells]

First of all, thank you all a LOT for your help, it really does help out quite a bit!

What's the terrrain around you like Bells? Is it flat or inclines abound?

It's a kind of a mixed bag really... my house is located in a huge farm-turned-village just outside the limits of commercial downtown. So it's a lot of red clay roads and some brick roads.

However, the connection between this part of town and the "center" of the town is a 10-15 minute drive highway that is always going up or down.

A friend of mine told me that if my problem is keeping my breath while running i could try to power walk singing out loud, i tried, i don't really think it would work...

we can only assume he turned off the internet and is now on his third pull-up.

The only exercise routine i do on a weekly basis is some basic Boxing routines with a 5Kg weight on each hand. It basicaly works to keep the body flexible and nimble, but not much more than that. I also don't have anything in my house that i can pull up to.

Another person suggested me to do basic push ups but with my feet higher than my head (like, on my bed, with my hands on the floor) would that do any good?

I'm actually picturing Bells right now doing one-finger push-ups with five cinder blocks on his shoulders and a drumstick of chicken in his mouth.

Replace Chicken with Blueberry Pancake-Wrapped Sausage on a Stick, Dipped in Baconnaise Light and we have a deal here!

[Corel]

Originally Posted by Bells

It's a kind of a mixed bag really... my house is located in a huge farm-turned-village just outside the limits of commercial downtown. So it's a lot of red clay roads and some brick roads.

Bah, to be honest I detest running on concrete unless I'm wearing my super comfy shoes. Track or grassland is much more pleasent on the feet. I would mix up the flat and inclines anyway into the run. They are fun!

Originally Posted by Bells

A friend of mine told me that if my problem is keeping my breath while running i could try to power walk singing out loud, i tried, i don't really think it would work...

Mm, singing would disrupt your breathing cycle (Which should be kept at around 3:2) so I don't really see the benefit doing that.

Originally Posted by Bells

The only exercise routine i do on a weekly basis is some basic Boxing routines with a 5Kg weight on each hand. It basicaly works to keep the body flexible and nimble, but not much more than that. I also don't have anything in my house that i can pull up to.

To be honest I would advise you to try crank that up to at least twice a week, three to four depending on how intense it is. This is not even counting your fitness test coming up!

Originally Posted by Bells

Another person suggested me to do basic push ups but with my feet higher than my head (like, on my bed, with my hands on the floor) would that do any good?

Push ups on an incline will work your shoulders more than a regular push up. The basic pushup positions are;

• Pushups with hands wide; more pressure to the pectorials.
• Pushups with hands close together (like in a diamond shape); more pressure to the triceps.
• Pushups with feet on an incline; more pressure to the shoulders.
• Pushups with hands middle distance; a more balanced working of muscles.
• Pushups on one arm; more pressure on tricep (obviously) and core stabilising muscles in your back.

Please note that the above pushups work the same muscle groups (Pectorial, Tricep, Deltoid, etc) but the balance will change.

Although you said in your OP that you are worried about your shoulders, I would still mix it up with the above list (Except the last item). Reason being that you will be working the deltoids anyway with the other pushups and from personal experience working that muscle can be a bitch; especially if you end up hurting it.

[Hanuman]

I'd stay away from diamond and extreme incline pushups for at least the first 3 weeks as they tend to be hard on the elbows if your not used to high intensity pushups... in fact I've seen lots of people who can do 30+ pushups and 0 diamonds.
The alternative is to place your hands on an inflatable exercise ball and do pushups off of that, it gives you a whole bunch of muscle control as well since you have to maintain balance.

A friend of mine told me that if my problem is keeping my breath

You can do breathing exercises in the morning if your diaphragm wears out too quickly, but generally you just need to raise your max oxygen rate through regular running, but not to the point of exhaustion or fatigue.

Did you have, or do you currently have asthma?

[Bells]

Not at all, I'm pretty healthy overall... actually my one major bad habit is drinking sodas often!

I'll start planning this week, by friday i should see if i got to the next stage of the process. I'm great on individual interviews so i'm pretty sure i can manage that... guess is should start making the body more used to training rhythm

[Gregness]

Ditch the sodas Bells. Not only are they a source of excess poundage which will make the running and pullups harder just out of sheer mechanics, the sugars and everything else in the sodas basically nulls the hydration you would otherwise be getting from them. I'm not saying that having a soda every once in a while is catastrophic, but if you're drinking three or four a day, then cutting those to one or two a week is probably the single best thing you can do for your health (assuming you're not a smoker/drug addict).

About your exercise proper: how much you stress your body in your workouts is probably the least important aspect of a proper workout routine. The most important thing is just to be as consistant as you possibly can. There's this temptation to skip a workout if you're busy and then just make up for it later by doing this two hour marathon workout, but a half hour a day is more benificial all around. Really, as soon as you get outside (or wherever) and get your sweats on, you win.