Recommended exercise program....

I am getting back into exercising after a long time of inactivity. My main concern is not building muscles for a bodybuilding contest, but building up muscles for endurance and stamina. I cannot afford a gym membership at this time. But we have walking trails around my area and some old 15-20 pound dumb bells in my garage. Any ideas on a good exercise program with those? I want to be able to carry a bug out bag several miles if need be if I have to abandon my car in order to get back home. Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

start walkin g witrh some 1-2lb weights in your hands... walk a mile forthe first few days then start adding extra distance in 1/2 to one mile increments until it become difficult then walk that distance for a while and rinse and repeat

YMMV

 

12 ounce curls about every 15 - 17 seconds for 2 hours starting at 9 p.m.

Do that for a month, then you'll be ready for 16 oz. curls about every 11 seconds for another month.

You'll be in great shape after that...been doing it for years.

 

Hey LS, I would recommend reading and following what's written in a book called"Younger Next Year". The gist of it is staying in your aerobic zone for a minimum of 45 minutes, 6 days a week.

I'd been doing exercises daily for most of my life. I'm now 71. I would do the stretchies, some weight work, and ride my Airdyne 3-4 times a week for 20 minutes. I thought I was doing good, but was always curious why it took 3 or 4 days to comfortably walk and hunt during the first days of hunting season.

A couple years ago, my dentist gave me this book to read. I did, and thought I'd give it a try. My son had drawn an archery elk tag in Nevada, and wanted me to come along. I thought this would be a great test. I also had a friend of mine build me a thingy I call a stepper stool. It's extremely stable and a foot high. I started the stuff the book recommended about 4 months ahead of my son's hunt. I'd ride the Airdyne for around 40 minutes, and finish off with doing the stepper stuff for another 10-15 minutes. I really appreciated my new endurance during my son's successful hunt. I now can get around in the boonies as well as I could in my thirties. The stuff in that book has given me back the ability to pretty much do as I please, at least as far as strength and endurance is concerned. And you can do it all at home........

Thanks, Sweet Chuckie

 

If your focus is endurance and stamina, you'll want to do your cardio workouts before you do any lifting. (Vice-versa if you're just lifting to get bigger.) Try different exercises every now and then to keep your body from getting used to the same routine.

There are a ton of resources available online, take advantage of them - but make sure any advice you follow is geared toward you. Age, gender, current physical condition and fitness goals, etc, will determine what's right for you. And of course, as they legal disclaimers on TV commercials always say, consult your doctor before beginning any exercise program.

 

+ 100 on Younger Next Year. I have been following the plan for 2 months now. The heart rate monitor is key. Keeps you from overdoing it and killing yourself. I still need to start the weight training.

+ 1 on the 12 and 16 oz curls.

 

I will argue against doing cardio first, the idea is to build strength which requires muscle, becoming bigger will only be a byproduct not the goal.

When you become stronger then you will have a better base to build endurance on.

 

I just turned 28 and I read younger next year a couple days ago. Its a great book with lots of good tips no matter what age. I followed a program and felt like I did when I was in highschool. Time to get back in gear.........

 

If your goal is to tote a BOB tote the bob(note the lower case bob) Sometimes you have to build an interesting game or goal into a workout program. Start with your Tactical Grey Man BOB pack and pack the bare basic items that you can caculate you may need IF you were walking along the trails and slipped and sprained an ankle,twisted a knee ect.ect. Dang! I will need to RON (remain over night) Lets see I have X Y Z in my bag. I can start a fire have a supper make a quick shelter and have a light breakfast and coffee in the morning before heading back. To make this short story long start with a light bob and as your endurance and strength improves add to the loadout untill one day you are toting the BOB.

 

For a general workout tool kettlebells give both strength-building and cardio in the same workout.

Do not waste your time with the popularized "Barbie doll" sizes, follow the Russian recommended sizes.

 

I agree that Russian kettlebell drills are an awesome way to build strength. The bells are a fave of mine, but start out light.

Whatever workout route you choose to take, be mindful of your posture and take care of your back. Remember that balance starts at the body's core regardless if you're a body builder or a long distance runner. Keep your core(abbs and lower back)strong enough to support your frame and provide balance. Muscle mass,strength,endurance,and fat content will come and go, but your spine is permanent. After 14 years of high PT scores and rucking it as a profession, that's the most important workout advice I can give to anyone wanting to increase their ability to carry a load from point A to B.
I've personally witnessed aprox 120 pound women in Africa carry 100 pound flour sacks on their heads for miles on end with little fatigue and Afghan children hauling dual five gallon buckets of water(not full,,i checked. But still heavy!) over their shoulders as a daily morning chore uphill from well to home. These people have to survive in an environment where the common injuries we westerners have could cost someone's life. Where calories are harder to come by and strength training comes in the form of day to day living.They have incredible endurance that can easily be mistaken for brute strength, yet the stereotype of a smaller framed person with less muscle mass suggests the opposite to most westerners.
First make sure your pack fits you confortably,but weight should be supported by your hips with the arm straps serving mostly just to keep the pack from falling away from your body...Start off light and increase the weight over time with heavier items on top and lighter ones on bottom until you have your full bugout load in the end. Im all for working out,but theres no need for a soloflex or back room bench press. If your goal is to haul a load, do just that. All the curls in the world won't prepare someone for rucking a pack. And the best gym in the world is right outside .

 

Dragondoor.com I have used 2 differs kettle ball programs but I am an even bigger fan of convict conditioning

 

I hit send by accident. Convict conditioning is a very interesting read and a serious program for building pure strength. No equipment needed. I like doing that along with the hiking.

 

Bodyweight exercises are good, but tools such as kettlebells will speed the process and results, one thing to remember about convicts is that they do not have nearly as much going on in their lives and can afford to spend more time exercising.

An excellent tool for building core strength is the slosh pipe, easy to make and inexpensive.

 

I recently started a program called Couch To 5K or C25K, I've never been a great runner because I never stuck with it although I really like going outside and running. It builds up conditioning over about two months to et you to run a 5K race. Personally I don't care much for races but I would liek to get where I can run a good 30-45 minutes straight to maximize my exercise for the time I can spend. I'm not going to get into long distanance running either, I would much rather concentrate on weights.

Depending on your level of activity I would probably just go out and walk two miles 5 or 6 times a week for about two weeks to a month and then start with something more intense. If you did something like the C25K program and did a routine of pushups, sit ups, and body weight squats to start with it would go along way to make you stronger and have more endurance. Personally I am doing the C25K, weights, core routine a few times a week and pushups, sit up, and squats on off days.

I would take whatever pack you plan on using, packing it, and then hiking with it, that would also be a great way to condition your self for carrying a heavy bag.

Kettle bells sound interesting but I have never looked much into it.

Some things I have learned.....
1. Warm up and stretch before and after working out. Never do any serious workout without some sort of warm up.
2. For walking and running I have found it helps a lot to make sure I warm up and stretch the Achilles tendon and general foot and ankle exercises.
3. Make sure to stretch the whole leg and hip areas.
4. There is debate on weather static or dynamic stretching is the best, personally I have used some static and a little more dynamic stretches and they help a LOT. It takes me about 10 minutes to do a stretch routine, well worth not injuring myself for months.
5. Doing a whole body stretch routine is important, even with walking, hiking or running even when you THINK you don't use the upper body.
6. Do things you enjoy, if you hate running and lifting weights then hike, bike, row, tennis, pushup, monkey bar or whatever you will enjoy more and get a good workout.
7. Be realistic about number 6. I like running/walking outdoors but I won't substitute it for Wii Sports because I am entertained by it more but I will go out on a lake with a paddle boat or play tennis instead of running/walking sometimes.
8. Nutrition is as important as fitness. Currently I eat about 85% healthy, still struggle some times but it gets easier as time goes on.

 

Crossfit works for me. Www.crossfit.com.

 

Thanks for the advice, everyone.

 

I started insanity and it's kicking my butt


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk