largeruk wrote:DavidShepherd wrote:Some science here....eat well - keep your energy levels up and eat the right stuff after your exercise to recover properly - it can't be overstated how important this is to keeping your muscles etc in good condition.
Hope you don't mind my asking - I'm interested in the science of training, ie. me just trying to get a decent level of strength, flexibility and cardio fitness in the most efficient way possible - for me that's time; shortest period of time spent each day for quickest/maximum gains with best recovery.
I'm not flush with cash - don't have a bike, can't afford gym membership so it's basically me, my bodyweight, a couple of low kg dumbells & kettlebells and that's it! I don't have a specific activity goal in mind at the moment but would really appreciate your advice & from anyone else too who knows about this stuff- how best to train to achieve strength, flexibility and cardio fitness, how best to recover etc.
What's lead me to post here is that I love walking in the countryside and by the sea but live close to neither so do it nowhere near as often as I would like.. The various exploits and broad knowledge of the forum members keeps me interested and motivated though. Thank you to all of you for the vicarious pleasure and insight you bring...
Not at all.
Someone else has all ready recommended compound exercises for strength - this is a good idea. You can do press ups, squats, rows and pull ups at home using your dumbells and kettle bells. Compound exercises target multiple muscles groups so you get an efficient workout in less time. You don't need to do many to start with but it's a good idea to find out how many you can do to failure, i.e. how many press ups can you do before you can't do any more!
For flexibility stretching is obviously good but you've got to do the right kind. I would recommend yoga, and see if you can find some very easy beginner video's - there are a tonne of online services that can provide this through youtube for example
Be careful with exercise at home though - if you feel in any pain when you are doing it stop immediately and let yourself rest.
cardio is the easiest at home - get in to interval training or High Intensity Interval training - it can be tough but it will rattle your fitness level's up pretty quickly. If you look for videos by that Joe Wick's guy on you tube, you should find plenty of beginners, intermediary or advanced stuff with him ranging from 15 minutes (where i would start!) to much longer.
Think about jogging also. Personally i hate running, but a 3 mile jog every other day can really up your stamina.
Recovery - definitely get good sleep, hydrate well every day (it's a pain the bum because you will need the loo more often) but you need plenty of water to help muscle recovery. Always, for the first few months at least, give yourself a day off after working out - do 1 day of exercise then a day off then exercise then a day off. If you can afford protein supplements they might help (look at myprotein.com - they do samplers). You don't have to go crazy with these but they can help muscle recovery if you aren't getting enough protein in your diet.
Hope this helps.