[Real life] Movement, pain, skills and more!

[Memento]

Hey all,

Maybe some of you guys know that I'm a fitness trainer in real life. I have studied sports and physical therapy.

Why do I care so much about movement? Well, I know both sides of the coin: being active and being inactive. From my experience, being physically active helps a lot in different aspects of life. I've gained a lot of self-confidence, awareness and health-benefits by investing time and energy in training.

Especially if you're sitting for hours every day, this might get you into trouble over time (pain, stiffness, weakness). It's important to move, a lot. Only by moving, you'll be able to grow stronger.


In this topic, you can ask me stuff related to movement, pain, fitness, learning new skills, etcetera! Typical questions would be:
- Where do I start?
- How much should I train?
- Do I need a gym membership / what can I do at home?
- What can I do in daily life to stay healthy?

It may take quite some time before I answer (I'm here only once every few weeks/months), but I'll try to answer your questions as well as I can.

[STM1993]

I'd like to start small, based on a person who has to work in an office sitting for long hours - its not a good idea to just get people to make huge sudden changes in their regime as that would cause burn out or make people give up from seeing their end goal appearing too far away.

1. What are some good basic stretches/exercises to help loosen the neck & shoulders?
   
   
2. For people who have to sit all day, how long would you recommend for people to sit before they get up and stretch?
   
   
3. (edit)Are there some common stretches that people do that are actually very bad for the body?
   
   
4. Exercise and diet are things that go hand in hand, not just for building the body but also for maintaining the energy needed throughout the day. What are some eating habits that you would recommend or avoid?
   
   
5. (edit)How should I set up my pillow when I sleep? Asking because this has heavy implications on the neck and I'd hate to wake up with a headache.
   

On another note, there's a recently airing anime called "How heavy are the dumbbells that you lift", so you might see more people getting into being fit because of that show. From what I've seen so far it seems to offer some pretty legitimate gym tips and some exercises that can be done at home. You can address the tips given in that show as well if you feel you have the time to do so.

[Hammershone cat]

I have nothing to say much but I'm just a student who is preparing for board examination, but still I have two questions to answer:

1. how should I keep foucsed in night when studying?
I have only almost 15 days left for board exams and I utilized my time in Compeleting assignments and other responsiblity.

2. Any tips for maintaining body posture straight?

Also,I am a fast runner in my class(stood 2nd) and I can cover 12.0(3.2sec delay from world record) seconds in 100m race.

[Bamboori]

how is your opinion on electric bicycles?
i recently started my apprenticeship and im currently riding my bike to and from work, 8km each. which is currently the only kind of sports i do. i am getting an e-bike mostly to cover days when i dont feel fit enough to cycle the whole way by myself.

by only biking, i figure my upper body isnt getting any workout, is there a routine you can recommend to complement cycling?

[Memento]

Alrighty, time to answer some questions!

I'd like to start small, based on a person who has to work in an office sitting for long hours - its not a good idea to just get people to make huge sudden changes in their regime as that would cause burn out or make people give up from seeing their end goal appearing too far away.

I agree. For most people who are inactive or just starting out (~90% of the population), it's best to start simple.

- For inactive people, it's important to simply start moving more. Maybe you don't like sports and fitness, maybe you do... For most people, the most important thing you want to change is your mindset. You want to learn to embrace things that are uncomfortable... Training your body is an uncomfortable thing to do, right? So it all starts with your attitude towards doing things that are challenging. Keep the reward in mind! A better health & body, more charisma, etc.
- The fun factor is very important when you start training: even if you're starting with something you may not like at first, try to find out what's the fun factor for you.
- Consistancy is always very important, but especially for beginners. You want to build a routine. Start with 2x per week and keep doing 2x a week for a couple of months. If this goes well, you can go for 3x a week.
- Don't go all-out in your training sessions, like some trainers would have you do. Start with perfecting the movements. Of course you can challenge your body, and make mistakes during your training, but focus on perfect movement.

1. What are some good basic stretches/exercises to help loosen the neck & shoulders?
   
   
2. For people who have to sit all day, how long would you recommend for people to sit before they get up and stretch?
   
   
3. (edit)Are there some common stretches that people do that are actually very bad for the body?
   
   
4. Exercise and diet are things that go hand in hand, not just for building the body but also for maintaining the energy needed throughout the day. What are some eating habits that you would recommend or avoid?
   
   
5. (edit)How should I set up my pillow when I sleep? Asking because this has heavy implications on the neck and I'd hate to wake up with a headache.
   

Good basic stretches for the neck & shoulders: I won't give you any stretches, because the stretches are a temporary fix for stiffness. I'd rather explain what is happening. If you still want to do stretches, which can be good, just google.
The shoulders and neck often get tight, because of inactivity.. Generally what you want to do, is starting the workout and fix your posture. Usually, there is no permanent fix for pain and stiffness without actually training. How you can do this is something I could write a complete guide about. I won't be adressing this now.

For people who sit all day, I'd say try to stand up at least every hour. Do exercises that work on 'thoracic extension' (google). For the lower back, work on controlling ´pelvic tilt´ (google). During sitting, try to alternate between sitting up straight and other positions. It's actually not beneficial to sit like a military recruit would, as you might actually get stiff because of that. Alternate between active and relaxed sitting.

For eating, my advice is very simple: eat foods that come directly from nature, avoid foods that are (heavily) processed. Sugar for example, has been processed so much that it actually gives you calories (that could make you fat) while not providing you with any micro-nutrients (the stuff that your body needs, which comes from pure foods like meat and vegetables). Any process that changes a food, is generally bad for it's nutritional value.

As for the pillow/sleeping: you want to sleep with your joints in a relaxed/neutral position. To achieve this, sleep either on you back or on the side. Sleeping on the belly isn't a good choice in general, especially for the neck (this position is obviously far removed from a neutral position, as one side of the neck gets a lot of tissue stretch and the other one gets a lot of tissue shortening). To get a better sleeping position, you could use pillows. I usually sleep on my sides with a pillow between my knees (for a neutral spine and hips).

On another note, there's a recently airing anime called "How heavy are the dumbbells that you lift", so you might see more people getting into being fit because of that show. From what I've seen so far it seems to offer some pretty legitimate gym tips and some exercises that can be done at home. You can address the tips given in that show as well if you feel you have the time to do so.

Time is not on my side unfortunately

I have nothing to say much but I'm just a student who is preparing for board examination, but still I have two questions to answer:

1. how should I keep foucsed in night when studying?
I have only almost 15 days left for board exams and I utilized my time in Compeleting assignments and other responsiblity.

2. Any tips for maintaining body posture straight?

Also,I am a fast runner in my class(stood 2nd) and I can cover 12.0(3.2sec delay from world record) seconds in 100m race.

First of all, sounds like you got some potential for explosive sports!

1. I'd say, try to study during day-time and for a short time. You can study for 8 hours at night and have the feeling that you have done close to nothing, while you could study for 2x 1 hour and feel like it has been very productive...

2. Yes. Work on your posture by aiming for neutral joint positions and work on the muscles that pull your body in the right position. That´s right, just trying to correct your posture won´t do the trick, you will have to work on muscle strength. How to do this, is too big a subject to adress right now.

how is your opinion on electric bicycles?
i recently started my apprenticeship and im currently riding my bike to and from work, 8km each. which is currently the only kind of sports i do. i am getting an e-bike mostly to cover days when i dont feel fit enough to cycle the whole way by myself.

by only biking, i figure my upper body isnt getting any workout, is there a routine you can recommend to complement cycling?

Cycling won't do much for strength, posture, etc. You will just get better at cycling. If you cycle really fast, you will gain some endurance. Obviously when you use an e-bike, you'll go faster, but it may reduce the amount of effort you are putting into the activity, which will reduce your activity level. I'd say: find some activity that you like, with regard to the things I stated above ^



I hope this helps!

[A-Man]

Great thread! Thanks.

What do you think about sleeping without a pillow? (under your head)

[Memento]

Great thread! Thanks.

What do you think about sleeping without a pillow? (under your head)

Coming back to you late on this one. But the answer to your question depends on whether you sleep on your belly, side or back. You want to sleep in a position that your joints feel good in, which is usually in a neutral position between (muscle) stretch and joint compression. Sleeping on your side without a pillow can put your neck in a bad position.

[MangaD]

Salutations, @Memento!

It is very nice to see this kind of thread here!

I've been doing, for about 7 months now, pull ups and chin ups with grip variations, and also push ups, diamond push ups, archer push ups, pseudo planche push ups, pike push ups, Australian pull ups, running ... In short, calisthenics training. The goal? Handstand press, planche...

However, despite training for 7 months, my progress seems to be very slow, as I can only do 8 clean pull ups in a row... since about 2 or 3 months. I try to do the mentioned exercises almost every day, once a day, but I alternate between running / abs / legs exercises and upper body exercises. A usual workout would look like:

Sunday: upper body
Monday: running / abs
Tuesday: upper body
Wednesday: upper body
Thursday: running / abs
Friday: upper body
Saturday: running / abs

Upper body usually consists of doing most pull ups I can (e.g. 5 regular + 5 wide + 5 side grip), most chin ups (e.g. 4 + 4 + 4), most push ups (e.g. 10 pseudo-planche, 10 pike, 10 diamond), then Australian pull ups, and so on until my strength is depleted. I also do stretching during active rest.

Running consists on running 5km in 25-30 mins, on elevated ground (ups and downs).

Abs consists on this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3p8EBPVZ2Iw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1I7Z-8shzsU

I also try to eat healthy and get enough protein, so consuming mostly meat, fish, vegetables, fruits, yogurt, eggs, cheese... I have declared war on sugar 3 years ago, so even the chocolate I eat is >= 70% dark with little sugar. I eat bread sometimes but not regularly, same for pasta.

I feel stronger than before of course, with little fat on my body and sturdier in general. However, still very far from being able to do anything special.

Any advice for me to progress faster?

[Memento]

Hey MangaD, great explanation of what you're doing right now.

I love calisthenics exercises, just beware of what exercises and intensity you choose.

Type of exercises
Running targets a different energy system and muscle fiber type than strength training. Would you like to see some lower body strength/mass gains as well? Usually more mass doesn't help you with running distances, and running distances doesn't help your strength/mass gains... Usually, it's best to make choices and do one thing at a time. You can still do cardio/running, but it's often a good idea to go for short, intense cardio sessions instead of training for the cardiovascular duration. Then do some strength training for legs, there are some great bodyweight exercises out there (need help here?).

I do see a health (and aesthetics) risk in your training routine. Doing a lot of abs & running might create a muscular imbalance over the year, especially when you don't do exercises that contribute to good joint health (u.a. face pull for shoulders, hip stabilizers). If you decide to add lower body strength training to your routine, consider the following exercises: (1 leg) hip thrust, side plank, Cossack squat. There are many more options, of course.

Strength
If you want to gain strength, stay below 8 repetitions in your main strength exercises. The accessory stuff can be 8-15 repetitions.
Let's take the pull up for example.
1) you want to make sure your technique is good. You can look up "athleanX scapular pull-up" for example, try to implement this in your technique (and of course: abs tight). Practising good technique can be done with 5x5 reps with lower weights & slower repetitions. Focus on the movement, the number is actually less relevant than the movement quality. Besides, check out the exercises "face pull" and maybe
2) How strong are you over the complete motion of each exercise? What muscles tend to cramp up OR lose their (stabilizing) strength? Try to figure this out over time (train your mind-body connection) while doing 5x5 sets.
3) When your technique is good enough, start implementing slow eccentric sets. With a pull-up, this means going down from the bar slowly (3-5 seconds). Do 3-7 of these per set. You can eventually cheat yourself up by jumping onto the bar (skip the concentric...) and then do the eccentric part of the movement (lowering yourself against resistance) in 3-5 seconds per repetition.
4) Try to be explosive* on the concentric part of the motion (which is where your muscles move against the resistance) and remain complete control of the eccentric part of the motion (where your muscles move usually when lowering the weight). This is a general rule that knows a few exceptions.
* Explosive: 1 second up typically, full speed against used resistance (which shouldn't be so high that your speed dramatically decreases)




A good training program is designed to fit your goals. Yours right now seems to need a twist.

I should try to set up Zoom so we could talk  Any advice is personal, but if you want the best results, it simply requires more questions to be answered Let me know, it would be a good practise for me.

[juliadavid]

I want to ask what's the right age to start a Gym? My kid is 13 years old and he is forcing me to get him admission to the gym. And the more concerning part is he is also taking protein bars. But when I asked why you're eating this he said it's just candy for energy after exercise... your opinion on this? He purchased it by using Built Bar coupons.

Silverthorn edited this post 02-05-2021 07:48 AM because:

Pretty sneaky advertising, ngl. Removed link.