Repost because im a dumbass and put it in the gear forum. Ok the story is this. im 21 years old, i started work at 18. i now weigh about 15st 12oz. when i started the job (as soon as i finished college) i was about 12st 7oz. i have grown probably an inch in that time in height (6' 1" now)but sadly 2 or 3 in height when laying on the floor! At school and college i would play football every day, at 12-15 i was in a sunday team (captain dont ya know) and i cycled to and from school every day (5 miles total) so i was in pretty good shape. since starting work it all went out the window but its time to fire the boiler up again. My weight doesnt bother me but i dont like the belly i have grown and i cant play football to the standard i used to. I have a gym membership with a pool, weights, running/cycling/rowing machines as well as a desperate desire to actualy go to the park and work on my fitness. I did a couple of days last week on my own in the park, just some jogging around the 18 yard box, a little juggling etc but only in my turfs. i couldnt sprint as the ground is muddy and i didnt have boots (legends on the way). so thats it, i want to lose the weight and get back to playing football like i used to, the vision, the passing, the tackling and ost important of all ripping the back of the net off from 30 yards. i have tried to get into this before but i havnt really had anyone to motivate me so it allways fell by the wayside with the same old excuses. i hope that maybe at least one of you can be my Mr Motivator. i have the reason and the desire, i just need a bit of help and a push to keep it up really. I work 17-19 days a month on 12 hour shifts. i dont mind going out running in the evening if i have to but the gym is out as it shuts before i can get there. id rather do the running in the evening when im confident i can actually go more than 100 yards before collapsing. any help on a little regime or anything will be really greatly appreciated. i love to play football and not being able to properly frankly chokes me up. hopefully i can keep you updated each week as my stats improve.
Hi. I notice you've already posted good advice to others on this board. Please feel free to look here for support and to offer updates as you achieve fitness. I once saw a TV segment on a restaurant worker who also worked long shifts. He was in good shape. He began every day by doing lots of push-ups and sit-ups in his very small apartment. The important thing when trying to burn fat is to build muscle and to get your heart rate up. If running outside is a slog, you could run in place indoors so long as it raises your heart rate enough. Also, you should never trust in starvation diets, if anyone suggests that. I saw another TV piece on a doctor who was always on alert and who never seemed to eat anything. She was still overweight. Her problem was a lack of exercise and protein in her diet. She had such little muscle mass that her body burned few of the calories she ate, giving her a very poor metabolism. She eventually began eating more and exercising more, and did fine.
thanks for the responce, its nice to see that my posts are being read as part of my new years crackdown i have stopped drinking soda in all its forms, im now just drinking water sometimes mixed with Robinsons no added sugar juices. also im not eating junk anymore, thats partly because i needed to cut down on my spending at work for lunch so now i take enough food in from home and a few pounds to just get me a salad or a Jacket Potato or something similar. A starvation diet is something i really really doubt i would be able to do!! my mum always said i only got a tan because of all my time in front of the fridge I have a day off tomorrow so im going down to the park again and then down to the gym to get some measurable distance under my belt on the treadmill. I have seen peoples posts about the 12 minute 2 mile run which im certain i wont be able to do off the bat, but its one of my aims. the other main one for the moment is to get from 15st 12oz down to 15st. still above my ideal weight but its a target to aim at. my football brain still works but ill be trying to record a few things a the park tomorrow like most kickups in 20 mins, time to jog around the pitch etc. all so that i can compare those times to others in a month. my upper body is pretty weak so i can only do like 5 pressups and maybe one pullup lol. thats another area i want to target a little, my legs are still muscular, its just all covered in a body warming layer of fat lol. so yeh, plan for the gym tomorrow is for 3 or 4 attemts at the 12 minute 2 mile jog, though at first ill be setting the treadmill for 6mph and a 2% incline to see how i do, the next time ill up the speed and so on. also i want to get on the excersize ball and work on my abs and lower back. all followed by some swimming. my determination is currently probably higher than ever, maybe because i just want to be playing football again, its now my motivation and because i am incorporating it into my regime it'll make my life easier. thanks again. EDIT: just as i clicked submitt my computer crapped out on me, im SO glad it managed to post my reply !!!
well it was day one today, hit the park for about 1:20 and the gym for probably an hour all before eating anything so that my body would have to start burning stored energy and not my breakfast. my appaling statistics for the day. first things first, a jog around the pitch first as a kind of warm up. total time taken 3:34. i was fine after 1 lap but really tired come the middle of the second. in my 20 mins of kickup practise i managed just 30, though i felt i was quite flat on my feet, not on my toes ready to react to the ball moving. managed 15 whole presups before needing to stop a big fat 0 on pull ups on the crossbar run around the box, 23.7 (though i dont have boots yet and it was muddy) estimated to be about 115 yards, still shit. at the gym i warmed up again and did my stretches and then set the tradmill for 0% incline and 6pmh (1 mile in 10 mins) i was shattered after 8 but maanged to finish the 12 mins just about. then i did some pullups on the machine so some of my weight was counter balanced, situps on the ball, back excersizes etc and then back on the treadmill for another 6 mins at 6mph and 1% incline before having to get off. i repeated my crunches and so on and then went back on the treadmill and started at walking pace and then set it for 10mph (the speed needed to run 2 miles in 12 mins). frankly at this time i cant beleve anyone can do it! but i know its possible and i will get there. cant get tothe ark tomorrow as im working but i can get to the gym after work as i found out it doesnt shut till about 23:00ish. Tune in next time for Todges Feeble Stats, only on BigSoccer.com!
You should allways eat something before you go out to train, eat some porridge and fruit and some water. You won't be able to train properly and you might pass out and hurt yourself. You won't burn much fat like that, you'll burn muscle which you definately don't want. You seem to have your diet sorted, just don't eat any sh*t. The two miles in 12 minutes is pretty hard if you've not trained for it, it will take you a while 3-4 months I think. Give it a try. All the best
thats really odd, i distinctly remember reading that training first thing before eating was best because your body had to burn fat instead of carbs in the blood. now i search for it and everywhere agrees with you, thanks for that!!! i also found out that drinkng too much water can be worse than not drinking enough so thats something i'll have to keep an eye on. thanks for the tips, im down the gym again tonight, my abs are still a little sore from the crunches on the ball on monday. on the subject of my diet, today so far has been a large bowl of branflakes with semi milk, 2 very small apples (didnt have any large ones) ham/coleslaw sandwich (low fat coleslaw and margerine) jacket potato w/ tuna and sweetcorn and a low fat biscuit bar thing. thats it for me until i have dinner after the gym. also downed maybe 3 pints of cold water.
a much better stint at the gym tonight, 10 mins on the xtrainer, then 14 mins at 5mph on the treadmill at 2 degrees, then i did a fitness test thing to see jsut how bad i am and then did a 12 min run/jog at 6.5mph on the 2 degree incline. all this after 12 hours at work so im quite happy.
While we're on the topic of out shape fellows looking to start playing footie with the lads again (me being one of them) I just wanted to know: What do you do to prevent shin splints? People have told me to stretch but what kind of stretch?
will do brook, make sure you post back and shame me if i dont post anything for a few days though!!! having a day off from the gym today, the top of my abs are still quite sore and my left calf is feeling a little tight. last time i went from doing no exersise to loads i got a bloody migrain so i dont want that again. dependant on my brother ill be either at the gym on thursday or the snooker hall. will deffo be out on friday saturday and sunday though. my boots should arrive early next week so i can train down the park a little better.
http://www.nismat.org/ptcor/shin_splints/ About the toe-tapping: I had a P.E. teacher long ago who had us stand leaning back a little with feet spread apart and tap one foot fast (heel staying on the floor) until you felt "the burn" in your shin. Then the other foot. You learn how underdeveloped and in need of strengthening that muscle area is. This became a fairly regular exercise.
handy post fulham fan, i used to get that burn when i walked to the station maybe 18 months ago, i dont get it anymore though. i still feel the burning if i do the test though so ill have to remember to do it while im working and bored lol. a good day on the diet again today, a large bowl of bran flakes. 2 bananas, 2 large oranges, 2 teeny tiny apples, a tuna salad and spaghetti bolognaise. my brother is going to the Sony Centre to look at the 40x2000 tomorrow so im going to the gym
the wind here in london was terrible last night causing all kinds of delays on the public transport so i ended up not going, but i have a later start at work today so its 07:23 here at the moment and im going now berore work tra.
i love this thread reminds me of myslef back in 2005, except wieght wasn't my problem more so regaining the lung capacity i had at 18 years of age. also , yes drinking to much water is dangerous , because as you sweat , you lose lots of sodium in your body and drinking water causes your body to have a inbalance of water to salt ratio, that could be deadly and you can die from water poisoning, so its highly recomended to drink water and then some gatorade or powerade ( what ever equivalent you have in the UK) during your training session to regain your salts back. keep us updated , i heard there is some awful ************ weather over there, does your university have training facilities for students??? maybe you should go there. I know mines has spectacular faclities , olympic sized pools, 4 main equipment buildings, 2 large football/ rugby fields(open to all students) , 2 indoor turf fields( formely cole field house)and indoor Basketball courts its a athletes dream,,,,,
thanks for the interest GuateFC, i dont go to uni dude as i work for CNBC Europe and the SciFi UK channel as a tech op. sadly the money just isnt avaialbe for a gym on site which is a shame but i go to the one near my house anyway so its no biggie. a good morning at the gym today, after monday and tuesday only being just able to get 12 mins on the treadmill at 6mph and 2 degrees, today i was on it for 20 mins! the only reason i got off was to do some more stretches and go on the bike lol. that bodes well for tomrrow hopefully, im in no rush to do anything so i'll just go as long as i can really. also in frankly more vital and important news, my Legends were posted today so could arrive tomorrow or monday
another god day today, my boots arrived bright and early so i laced them up and took pics before i went out and got muddy lol. while the touch does feel nice i cant comment on the whole effect just yet, though my kickup tally did go from 30 on monday to 53 today with no training inbetween. at the end of January i have 6 days off to go and pump that past a hundred at least. my left foot was quite sore but that went away as i stretched more so i dont think it was anything to do with the boot. after nearly 2 hours down the park thumping the ball about (in a terrible wind i might add) i hit the gym for a while. 15 mins on the x trainer, a total of 25 on the treadmill though only about 19 were at 6mph. stupidly at around 15 mins i put my hands on the machine and then lifted myself off, once i did that i had to slow it down and walk fora few mins but i started a run agian. then onto the cycling machine for 20 mins on a harder programme after some stretching. not own the park tomorrow as its sunday and all the teams will be down there actualy playing so it just dwn the gym and then to Rileys for some snooker before the big game against arsenal. also many others were celebrating with me as Liverpool beat Chelski hehe.
Inspiring! Dont forget the little things- walk when you can instead of ride- take the stairs instead of the lift- park further from your destination rather than as close as you can. They add up! Same thing with food- I read that if two people ate the same of everything including pizza everyday for a year but one had peperoni pizza and the other had cheese the former would put on an additional 10 pounds! When you start to improve your general fitness remember to train more soccer specific- change of speed and direction. This will build the appropriate muscles and increase stamina. You can start doing interval training when you run. Some treadmills can be set for this or you can run on the road- jog-then sprint from one tree (or signpost/mailbox etc.) to the next and repeat. You will get winded faster but will build lung capacity. You can also do this around a pitch. Two that I like--1) jog from the corner to midfield- sprint from midfield to the next corner, jog from corner to corner, sprint to midfield etc alternating jogging and sprinting "sections" 2) ( tougher) start in a corner. Sprint to midfield. Jog all the way around the pitch to the original corner, sprint to the far corner, jog around to original corner, sprint whole side and far end, etc continuing adding a "section" until you are sprinting a full lap around the pitch. Side to side planting and turning -shuttle runs, agility ladders etc Good luck!
Thanks for that EJDad. thats exactly the kind of thing i want to start doing when i can do it for more than 3 seconds! i beleive i can set the treadmill at my gym to do the interval stuff. my PT gave me a 1 min fast walk 30 sec jog and 30 sec sprint programme to try so ill give it a whirl, i also think i can set it on the bikes there. at the train station i use the stairs instead of the escalator, i walk to the train station in the mornings (its only a mile though). as for food, im still not eating any crap and im still not really missing it. the boots are clean again though the laces are still dirty sothey might go in the wash. until next time guys.
Thanks again Brook. As i was saying to a friend of mine who is close to qualifying to be a gym instructor, the only thing i am missing at the moment is a jacket potato with tuna mayo. but thats bad on so many levels that i can do without it. She has been helping me with good advice on foods and stuff, explaining about good and bad carbs, importance of protein etc. now im off to watch the new episode of BSG
Oh my god, I hate that drill. My coach made us do that during soccer season, and I feel like throwing up by just reading it (Well, not really). Definately one of the tougher drills I've done. I'm usually just jogging the entire thing cause I'm not able to sprint it. But yeah, I guess you would improve your lung capacity if you do it. Anyway, thanks for sharing Todge. I hope you succeed in becoming more fit.
well ihit the gym agian on tuesday but was feeling very weary and tired. i still did my workout but i didnt feel right. Wednesday i was all set to go but i have had a cold come on and feel even more tired lol. so im taking a few days off so let my body deal with this before i punish myself in the gym again. hopefully its all cleared by monday so i can enjoy the gym in peace on my days off on the subject of food, i have been eating more wholegrain stuff, weetabix etc instead of the ususal stuff and i have a few bits to pick up from the supermarket to replace the bits we have at home (wholewheat pasta instead of wheatflour) to replace some of the bad carbs in my diet with good carbs.