Any bums workout?

[Fa Xin]

Jumping rope with a heavy (1 lb) rope 

[escott]

@Victor I read in another post from you that you have a nerve impingement in your hips. That probably prevents you from doing compound movements (which is what I mainly do with a sandbag that is 30-40 pounds). Have you tried doing bodybuilder style isolation movements? For lower body do leg curls and leg extensions. To hit the glutes do kickbacks, straight leg deadlift, or good mornings depending on what doesn't hurt. For upper body there is no end to what you can do with dumbbells. 13 years ago I hurt my back really bad and spent 3 months in physical therapy. The exercises the therapist had me do all involved light dumbbells and a balance ball. At the end of 3 months I was really happy with how I looked and changed my whole philosophy - I didn't need to lift heavy weight to build muscle. I've seen several scientific studies conclude that weight training is superior to other forms of exercise (walking, running, yoga). That's why I'll never give it up. So, please stick with it and find what works for you. Good luck.

[escott]

On 8/30/2018 at 2:08 PM, rideforever said:

I am starting to  think that spontaneous qigong / shaking / dancing is essential to channel the true wisdom of the subconscious by allowing it to be free and express itself without programmed exercise, this adds a certain kind of lightning to your work on yourself, and I can't see how it could be harnessed elsewise.

 

I do a workout every Sunday,  pilates abs legs and arms with resistance bands.   You need some weights to really work the arms and the bands are awesome very light take anywhere.   Legs you can press with bodyweight.

 

I've been reading Roger Jahnke's 'The Healing Promise of Qi'. He talks a lot about Spontaneous Qigong. It seems like he is indicating that that is where one ultimately end up with their Qigong practice. Personally, I just don't get it. Maybe, I'm just not mature enough in my practice. I've only been doing Qigong for 2 months. I got the book to learn some theory while practicing Zhan Zhuang from The Way of Energy. Just what exactly is spontaneous Qigong and how will I know it if I see it?

 

BTW, I tried Pilates. It's hard. Unless someone is working with an instructor to help them with modifications I think one needs to have a certain level of core strength to begin.

[idquest]

14 minutes ago, escott said:

 

I've been reading Roger Jahnke's 'The Healing Promise of Qi'. He talks a lot about Spontaneous Qigong. It seems like he is indicating that that is where one ultimately end up with their Qigong practice. Personally, I just don't get it. Maybe, I'm just not mature enough in my practice. I've only been doing Qigong for 2 months. I got the book to learn some theory while practicing Zhan Zhuang from The Way of Energy. Just what exactly is spontaneous Qigong and how will I know it if I see it?

 

BTW, I tried Pilates. It's hard. Unless someone is working with an instructor to help them with modifications I think one needs to have a certain level of core strength to begin.

 

You can find a good discussion on spontaneous qigong in Damo Mitchell's book 'Comprehensive Neigong'

[rideforever]

12 minutes ago, escott said:

spontaneous Qigong

It's a specific form of qigong developed in several schools.  Normally you begin sitting, sometimes with your heels raised to create tension in the lower legs that begin shaking and the shaking is channelled into the body whilst the mind is aware inside.   It is not necessarily the goal of practice but it is important long-term because you let go of control whilst remaining aware.   But the same thing should be being done in ZZ and in meditation, ultimately all meeting each other.   Spontaneous involves the body moving so it is healing for the body.  Jenny lamb has a healing DVD sequence.   
Here you can see it (please ignore all the philosophy of this group, it starts after about 5 mins) :

 

[futuredaze]

I've joined a gym recently to up my cardio game and do more weightlifting.

 

I really like the StairMaster machine.  I will usually warm up with the bike and then hit the stairs for 15-20 minutes.  My recent goal that I hit was 1570 steps, or something like that, the same as in the Empire State Building.  My next goal is the World Trade Center which I believe has 1980.  The stairs are not only great cardio, but help build up the leg muscles and are low impact on the joints compared to treadmill, so I really like it.

 

Then I do some weights and machines.  I mostly just do deadlifts, squats, bench press, and a few other lifts for my upper body.  I like using the assisted pull up and dip machine a lot since I can't do many pull ups/dips unassisted, and it helps me work on proper form.

 

I am glad I joined the gym.  It's only been 3 weeks now but I feel a lot of improvements.  I used to think that walking around all day for my job, plus doing some body weight and dumbbell exercises at home was enough, but now I realized I was really missing out on the cardio stuff, plus it feels good to take my weights to the next level.

 

My next goal, after I get a bit more used to the gym, is to start a frequent yoga practice.  I do some stretching but never had a strong practice, and I think it would balance out the weights/cardio nicely.

[Victor]

On 5/2/2019 at 10:05 PM, escott said:

@Victor I read in another post from you that you have a nerve impingement in your hips. That probably prevents you from doing compound movements (which is what I mainly do with a sandbag that is 30-40 pounds). Have you tried doing bodybuilder style isolation movements? For lower body do leg curls and leg extensions. To hit the glutes do kickbacks, straight leg deadlift, or good mornings depending on what doesn't hurt. For upper body there is no end to what you can do with dumbbells. 13 years ago I hurt my back really bad and spent 3 months in physical therapy. The exercises the therapist had me do all involved light dumbbells and a balance ball. At the end of 3 months I was really happy with how I looked and changed my whole philosophy - I didn't need to lift heavy weight to build muscle. I've seen several scientific studies conclude that weight training is superior to other forms of exercise (walking, running, yoga). That's why I'll never give it up. So, please stick with it and find what works for you. Good luck.

Can you suggest me any good sources about dumbell training? I'm quite familiar with calisthenics training and in general resistance training for strenght, but dumbells and bodybuilding style training (I suppose the aim here is shifted more toward mass and  definition rather than strenght) are new to me; since I'm interested in learning about it, if you can suggest some good book I'll read it. I know that learning from a competent person is ok and sometimes much better, but generally I do not trust very much commercial gym instructors  (especially here in Italy)

[Jonesboy]

https://leangains.com/

 

Great book and articles on training and dieting.

[escott]

23 hours ago, Victor said:

Can you suggest me any good sources about dumbell training? I'm quite familiar with calisthenics training and in general resistance training for strenght, but dumbells and bodybuilding style training (I suppose the aim here is shifted more toward mass and  definition rather than strenght) are new to me; since I'm interested in learning about it, if you can suggest some good book I'll read it. I know that learning from a competent person is ok and sometimes much better, but generally I do not trust very much commercial gym instructors  (especially here in Italy)

 

One way to start would be to Google: Dumbell Workouts. I did that and turned up this, it looks good.

https://www.muscleandfitness.com/training/build-muscle/dumbbell-workout

 

Muscle and Fitness magazine was like my textbook for learning how to lift weights when I was a teenager back in the 80's. I don't know how good it is now, but I still bet you could find some good info on their website.

 

Clarence Bass knows everything about fitness.

https://www.cbass.com/

 

Bodybuilding.com is always a good resource.

https://www.bodybuilding.com/index.html

 

Plenty of good stuff at T-Nation

https://www.t-nation.com/

 

Just to summarize what you can do with dumbells:

Chest - bench press, flys

shoulders - front raises, lateral raises, bent flys, overhead press

Upper back - bent over rows, shrugs

 

When I say "bodybuilding style" I'm talking about doing isolation movements that target one particular muscle at a time. When you are doing legs and trying to work around what causes you pain you'll need to do movements that target only one muscle group from a particular angle. That's why I suggest doing leg curls for hamstrings only, leg extensions for quadriceps only, calf raises for calves only, and good mornings, straight leg deadlift, or kickbacks for glutes only. To do the isolation movements for legs you will need access to a bench that has the accessory for leg curls and extensions. If you can't go to the gym or buy the equipment then you may have to stick with bodyweight movements for lower body. Darebee is a great reference - https://darebee.com/ . The aspect of bodybuilding that you are referring to (building mass and definition) is accomplished through a process called "periodization". This is where you segment your training plan into 3 phases spending 3-4 weeks in each phase: 1.) Heavy weight, low repetitions (1-5 reps); 2.) Mid-weight, mid-reps (5-10 reps); 3.) light weight, high reps (10-20 reps). Heavy weights build mass, high reps cut in the definition.

 

Personally, I now do mostly Sandbag Training with some dumbells, balance ball, and bodyweight movements thrown in the mix. I do it in a HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) fashion, 45 minute workouts 3 times per week.