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Fitness gurus,

Apologies for derailing this thread very slightly. I have an on topic query though. As a warrior of the keyboard I could do with being a bit fitter. When I say fit, personally, I mean just that - physically fit. I am not interested in bodybuilding or getting ripped or whatever. I'm fine with incidental muscle gain from working out, I could probably do with some, but that's as far as I want to go with that. I'm much more interested in being more athletically fit (more aerobically fit? Whatever the correct nomenclature would be). I don't want to be as fit as professional sportsman or anything like that.

Lets say I wanted to achieve this in my house. What kind of work out do I need, what kind of equipment do I need?

The answer might be: Go do your own research. But, I'm sure someone would just love to answer. It's tough to wade through all the information available - it's dense and filtering the good from the bad is no easy task for the uninitiated and I have low motivation to do so given my modest goals. I've had "hire personal trainer" on the to-do list for some time, but that probably comes with another entire set of potential pitfalls.

I'm no guru, but my goals are similar, only I'm trying to gain about 10-15lbs. I don't want to look like a Jersey Shore meathead.
I think what to do depends on how out of shape you are. Some people just need to do something, any kind of exercise, to get fitter, and some need to build muscle just to be able to run for more than a couple minutes.

I agree with what SiQ said. Weight training is pretty awesome, and I really wish it did make you big easily. But, pushups/chinups/dips/etc. are good too. Get some pushup bars (keeps your hands 6in off the floor), and a pull up bar.
You can also do a lot with a medicine ball. Last thing is if you go for runs or swimming, don't try to run/swim for 20mins at the same pace. Go for a bit, then slow down, then pick up the pace again when you can. Rinse and repeat. If you're not in shape, you'll need the breaks and trying to go the whole 20mins non stop is just going to put you off the idea altogether.

Definitely not adverse to using weights as part of the work out, just didn't want to have big gains as a goal. Agree re swimming, the only problem is motivation to go the pool as I don't have one here. Motivation is probably my biggest obstacle.

To get motivation, you have a) to start going there and do it, b) liking and enjoying the process despite the pain, the impatience, and the insecurity, and c) setting yourself some attainable short-term goals that you want to attain.

No need to aim for big gains to go out to the gym, you can very well use weight lifting to supplement your main exercise outside of the gym. For instance if you run you could supplement your regimen with some good leg and back exercises, alternate between a strength routine and an endurance routine, and so on. If you are a runner/swimmer getting big will hinder you rather than help you, so it'd be all about increasing the strength and resistance of your main muscles.

Not everyone works out in the gym to fit onto a bodybuilder stage. As long as you know your goals and these are realistic within the timeframe you set yourself you'll do allright.

p90x, insanity, etc all wastes of money, imo.
swim/run make a routine of pushups/chinups/dips/etc and go on a diet would be just as good / better in most cases.

seriously if you don't want to weight-train you should just pick up activities like swimming/a sport/running and do them a few times a week.

weight training is pretty awesome and will give you a lot of functional strength, and contrary to what you may think you're not going to accidentally get "too big" if you lift weights.

Sure. I do crossfit myself. So im sure you understand I don't disagree with push ups, chin ups and dips etc.

Inavacuum said he wanted to train at home. I can't do dips, and chin ups at my place, maybe he can. Idk. I would suggest to get to a gym since I am a gym rat myself. I just listen to what he wants, and apperently he doesn't want to go to a gym

Definitely not adverse to using weights as part of the work out, just didn't want to have big gains as a goal.

This is nonsense. Why does everybody think making 'big gains' is as easy as going to the gym and lift some weights.

I ended up permanently screwing my hand (ligaments on top of wrist) from olympic weightlifting so that I can't do pushing exercises ever again with any heavy weight (or even pushups/pressups) But it may not matter, when I saw the physio for assessment recently he was talking about the long term joint damage from heavy weight training. Something I never came across from forums though did try to find out. I haven't confirmed it but he seemed to know his stuff very well. Hard enough to find reasonalbe training info let alone long term effects o. training.

I'll always trust the opinion of a professional belonging to a legit medical association over those of broskis on a bodybuilding forum.

If you train continually with the same intensity you will accumulate tears and injuries. Sometimes these injuries do running silent, until it's too late. I have my own injuries as well, especially in my forearms. I have to follow physical therapy and learn to listen to my body, not to feel ad to deload or take a short break from time to time to let my body rest.

However, you do not need really heavy weight to train even with your injuries. As long as they provide a challenge for your muscles and your tendons it will produce growth hormones. So you could still perform to perform lifts with lighter weights and go carefully from there, if you have the backing of your physician.

Oh I was just talking about the forums, never spent enough time on the forums to find out but that doesn't surprise me and heard similar before. I said avoid because of that, having to pick and choose so much forum or not. Must be many better forums around imo. Bigorexia has always been curious seeing so few women are into that look or even care much about 6packs over slim and fairly athletic bodies.

It's faulty self-perception and lack of self-confidence. It's exactly the same as anorexia for women: they literally see themselves smaller in the mirror than reality, so they train more and more and use more and more substances to get bigger. I can see why if their "target" is the bulky, ripped guy on Men's Health or any bodybuilding magazine, or if they believe those posters on BB.com that pretend they can bench press over 315 lbs like nothing. First, those guys in this pictures are ALL using steroids and growth hormones, plus the pictures themselves are heavily doctored. Second, I'm in a very big gym, and I can count on the fingers of my left hand the number of big, muscular dudes bench pressing that high. The vast majority are in the 175-225 range. So odds a lot of those broskis on the forums are in fact lying and giving e-stats.

As for chicks, I'm not ready to agree that most women don't like muscular men, mainly because I wouldn't trust what women say they want in a guy just as I wouldn't trust a car salesman selling me a used car. But I'll say this: the average women, i.e. those who aren't "guidettes" or "douchesses", don't like the huge, 'roid, deformed gorillas we see on bodybuilder stages, period. However if you follow closely that the broskis aim for on the forums, it's the hot, nightclub bunny hottie/model/porn star that they feel they could never have if they looked average. In other words, it's for their own bruised ego. I can't fault them for trying the mating game lottery, but attraction in women is mainly an emotional and sensual (as in involving the senses) thing. Lots of cute women sleep and go out with average guys that are not huge everyday, because they feel the chemistry and these guys don't pass their time looking at themselves in the mirror.

The main thing is that, if you train for others first you train for all the bad reasons; if you train for yourself first and others a distant second, then you are training for the good reasons.

Today I had one killer cross fit work out

First I did my standard warm up. Which is: 2000 meter rowing machine, and trying to hit a good target.

After that, a buddy of mine walked in. He is also instructor, and asked if I wanted to train with him. Ofcourse.

First excersise: 2000 meter rowing maching. with the niveau on 4. Every 500 meter, 200 push ups. With hand release. So cheating becomes impossible.

After that. We hitted the cross fit counter and we started some routine I can't even fully remember haha
have been in the gym the whole afternoon.

Today, I am going to get more protein shakes then normal

http://strengthcoachblog.com/2011/10/26/mike-boyle-and-gray-cook-on-crossfit/

Cross fit can be very dangerous, I would advise against it for most people itt. Not trying to be dick and tell Snappie to quit it, just the others that it's definitely not something most should get into.

I can only agree Ass Get to.
I train 3 times a week nowadays (as a former split routine person who also boxed 4 times a week, its few).

When I do crossfit I train with others. 1 is a top athlete, the other is a pshysiotherapist and the other one, well, he is a sport instructor and strong as hell.

I also have a background of weight lifting. I have been lifting weights for almost 7 years now. Like I said, I also boxed on a pretty intense level.

It's very easy to adept wrong movements with cross fit. It's def not for all, its def not for most. Especially not when just beginning. I just said it because of the powder discussion we have been having haha Today I already took 2 protein shakes (with water, obviously )

Lets say I wanted to achieve this in my house. What kind of work out do I need, what kind of equipment do I need?

Kettlebell(s)!

Kettlebell(s)!

gotta love to hit those balls
/gay

Kettlebell(s)!

I have one of these, it's awesome. I'm a KB noob so won't be using two any time soon

As for Kettlebell DVDs, Mastering the Hardstyle Kettlebell Swing is a really good one to start with.

I can't do dips, and chin ups at my place, maybe he can.

Strange, those should be pretty easy to do at home. Only thing I can't do is the pull/chin ups because the trim on my door frames would just rip off when I put any weight on it.

Personally, I prefer medicine ball over kettlebells because you can actually throw the medicine ball around.

There isnt anything more brosciency than Leangains . People really need to learn how to read statistics and other research. Martin Berkhan bases his articles around studies perfomed over 2-4 weeks with 3-7people. Hardly representative! And he has always ignored questions about cortisol which is leangains biggest problem imo. Anyway, I can understand why people are drawn to it. Most people are always looking for a magic bullet, that extra edge. I was like that for 2-3 years myself.

In all honesty I don't think "leangains" is broscience at it's finest but it's certainly something that needs more scientific studies to back it up, seems to be experimental at best right now. I can't say I do the IF approach he suggests. All in all I have used Martins site the least out of any site to gain nutritional information thus far. Still fairly new to this whole concept of macro nutrients. Even though Martins site is fueled but his IF technique there seems to be some other useful information on there.

With bodybuilding.com you can pretty much ignore most random posts in the forums, but the stickeys are very useful and there are a lot of links to check out on there that can answer 99% of all questions one might have about nutrition. Many portions of the site are like 2+2's NVG x100 so be careful where you venture on there.

BTW links to these "high volume" strength training programs you mentioned?

Dietmar(does this link work?):
http://www.2shared.com/file/1F50eHYq/Volum_training_Dietmar_Wolf.html

Sheiko: (i'd recommend starting with the #29. Some of the others are for advanced and elite athletes)
http://www.2shared.com/document/KX_EOc9P/Copy_of_Sheiko.html

Strange, those should be pretty easy to do at home. Only thing I can't do is the pull/chin ups because the trim on my door frames would just rip off when I put any weight on it.

Personally, I prefer medicine ball over kettlebells because you can actually throw the medicine ball around.

DIps, i could do. Chin ups. Nope. Same goes for pull ups. Same issue as you. I also have nothing to grip my hands.

Both medicine balls and kettlebells has it's place. Try to add some kettlebelts in your work out. It's awesome.

i really need to get used to water and powder instead of milk and powder. Almost puked.