Weight Loss Exercising Ideas

ChrisPoole

Majorly Motivated Mofo
Hello everyone,

I just wanted to create this post to get a general view of the kind of exercise you have all been doing to reach your goals?

My hope is that SW members will be able to refer to this and learn new and exciting ways to exercise and burn off some extra pounds.

The particular type of training I'd like to tell you all about is something I learned about whilst I was in the Army. It's a very quick and effective way to exercise and the results you get from it are absolutely amazing.

Tabata Training

Brief History

Now the theory behind this training is that instead of having to do 45 mins - 1 hour of cardiovascular exercise a day you can do 4 minutes of hard exercise a day and get even better results. I know it sounds too good to be true however a man called Dr Izumi Tabata carried out a scientific experiment with 2 individual groups of athletes to see if this method of training works or not. Group 1 where told to train 1 hour a day for 5 days a week at 70% Intensity for a total of 6 weeks. Group 2 where told to train 4 days a week for 4 minutes using the Tabata method.

At the end of the 6 week experiment Group 1 had a significant increase in the aerobic system (cardiovascular system). However, the anaerobic system (muscles) gained little or no results at all. Group 2 had a much higher increase in the aerobic system compared to Group 1 however, they also had a 25% increase in the anaerobic system (muscles) as well which meant not only did they get fitter but they also developed more muscle as well. All of this from doing just 4 minutes exercise a day for 4 days a week. Even more importantly it is proven to burn more fat than a 1 hour run and it continues burning fat for a long while after you've stopped.

How to train using Tabata

Any exercise can be incorporated into the Tabata training. However the basic outline of the Tabata training method are as follows:
  • 4 minutes long (per exercise) *You can incorporate as many exercises into it as you like however I limit myself to 3 per session (12 mins in total).
  • 20 seconds of intense training (literally as hard as you can go)
  • 10 seconds of rest (yes this means you can actually stop the exercise and rest)
  • Total of 8 sessions.

Now the beauty of Tabata training is that you can use it for absolutely any exercise, I personally have a 10 minute slow jog on a running machine to start with as a warm up and then I use the Cross Trainer, Bike Machine and Rowing Machine as my individual exercises (4 minutes on each). But believe me, you can literally use it doing any kind of exercise. For example: Press ups, Sit ups, Sprints, Running up and down stairs (be careful!), lifting weights, walking at a fast pace etc. The main thing is that you work hard enough to raise your heart rate and get yourself out of breathe.

Now I know their will be lots of people who refuse to believe that this works but I can promise you it does work and that it works so well the British Army have implemented into part of their regular training regimes (they did at my last regiment anyway).

If anyone would like any further advice or information on this method or has any questions then I'd be more than happy to help. Please feel free to share your workouts as well because it will help everyone.

Enjoy!

Chris


 
I used to do these as part of my MMA training. we did press ups, burpees, sit ups all sorts. Great fun i might start doing some again.
 
That's my favourite thing about it, you can literally do it for any exercise and it is so effective. If you do it right they are a very painful 4 minutes though!
 
Indeed they are you only get out of tabata's what you put in we used to do 4 rounds of them but a different exercise every 20 secs, i used to be ready to drop lol

I think i would hold up a bit better knowadays as ive done loads of Insanity workouts and Les Mills Combat and there pretty intense.

Be interesting to see what cals get burned with a heart rate monitor on. Ive done nearly 1000 cals in 40 mins doing Insanity haha
 
Is insanity another name for P90X?

I've always been tempted to try it out but I guess I've been put out due to my lack of knowledge towards it. Could you tell me a bit more about it?
 
Insaity is all body weight circuits, were as P90X is more weights based exercises. I would say Insanity is the hardest exercises ive ever done. I started doing the program on jan 1st and had to stop after like a week because i couldnt maintain my weight. I lost 3lbs in just a day and i was eating loads to, i could probably do it now as im abit more savvy with food but i would have to eat a fair bit more food and i eat loads already every day just to maintain.

All i do now is do the odd routine once a week to keep my hand in as i really enjoyed doing the workouts.

If you like Tabatas you will probably get along great with Insanity, its the same again you only get out what you put in with Insanity and i go full bore with everything i do haha.
 
It sounds like we have very similar mentalities then. The funny thing about doing exercise is that at first when you've been out of the game for a long time it's the most intimidating and scary thing out there however as soon as you get back into it and feel yourself getting fitter it almost becomes an addiction.

I just noticed your total weight loss, it's very inspirational and clear proof as to just how hard you worked.

I think I will definitely check out the Insanity work out.

What would you say was the most effective single exercise you did during your weight loss?
 
Probably weight lifting/ body building is the one for me. Ive stuck rigid to it for a year now and i can see a massive difference. Fair enough ive got loose skin but i can actually feel a 6 pack underneath which is crazy for me and arms look pretty decent and dont show big signs of loose skin.

I just need to work hard on my shoulders now as they are to boney on the tops at the minute.
 
I used to do a lot of weight lifting and it is very addictive. Shoulders are one of those area where if you get them right they can transform how the whole of your upper body looks. Hopefully you have lots of luck increasing them. Do you take any kind of protein powder etc?
 
Any ideas for me a weakling!!!
I'm very unfit as I have been on crutches for nearly 2 yrs had a gangrenous ulcer on my knee (a huge open infected area)
But has thankfully eventually healed
So need to try to do some exercise although at present as you can imagine others say I'm mad to worry about it but I want to get back to as normal as I can
My walking is now more or less normal but bouncing is something I aspire to be able to do as I feel clumsy !!
Help!
Both of you sound experienced and know what your talking about
Both af you are so inspirational
 
Any ideas for me a weakling!!!
I'm very unfit as I have been on crutches for nearly 2 yrs had a gangrenous ulcer on my knee (a huge open infected area)
But has thankfully eventually healed
So need to try to do some exercise although at present as you can imagine others say I'm mad to worry about it but I want to get back to as normal as I can
My walking is now more or less normal but bouncing is something I aspire to be able to do as I feel clumsy !!
Help!
Both of you sound experienced and know what your talking about
Both af you are so inspirational

Have you had the go ahead from your doctor to exercise? i would do that first before you think of doing anything.

One of things i started out on was a mini exercise bike (yo can get them from argos) what you sit on any chair and use. I would start out with 5 mins a day then increase from there.
 
Any ideas for me a weakling!!!
I'm very unfit as I have been on crutches for nearly 2 yrs had a gangrenous ulcer on my knee (a huge open infected area)
But has thankfully eventually healed
So need to try to do some exercise although at present as you can imagine others say I'm mad to worry about it but I want to get back to as normal as I can
My walking is now more or less normal but bouncing is something I aspire to be able to do as I feel clumsy !!
Help!
Both of you sound experienced and know what your talking about
Both af you are so inspirational

I picked up quite a bad injury at one point when I was in the army and the physios always used to emphasize going swimming to bring your levels of fitness up to a good enough level so that you can then progress to something out of the pool. The great thing about swimming is that it's a non impact way of training which means all of your joints and tendons that haven't really been worked hard over the period you've been injured won't be worked too hard at the start. There is nothing worse than being out for a long time and then trying to start off where you left off only to realise that your joints and tendons just can't handle it. You will be absolutely fine and I guarantee once you start again you will gain a new love for exercise.
 
Craig, what type of Protein is it you take and can you explain if it counteracts against SW weight loss or not?

Thanks!
 
Great post.

I do acceleration training on a power plate with a trainer and my trainer even incorporates tabata training into my workout.

Acceleration training is amazing and only lasts 30 mins each time. But is just as good as working out for an hour and a half at gym.

On the power plate u work out doing any exercise at all, running, squats, press ups, sit ups etc and tabata. Alot of celebrities use this method of training now as it turns a workout into play out (that's a quote from a very known fitness trainer that I can't remember the name off lol) and a lot of celebrity fitness trainers are now recommending the power plate workouts.

But be aware that u don't mix up a power plate with a vibro plate as there is a huge difference and most salons advertise the vibro plate.

The power plates I work on are in a special gym that specialises in power plates but I have seen them in other gyms. They r great for cellulite and injurys also.

After breaking broke my legs in a crash as I child and learning how to walk but never being able to run without pain or walk long distances I am now fully cured of all pain and I'm now doing high intensity workouts 5 times per week thanks to the power plate :)
 
this is a really interesting thread - thanks for starting this ChrisPoole! I am definitely going to give tabata training a go and see if it helps boost my weight loss again as i seem to be stuck in a rut! Am off to google some tabata exercise ideas now..... :D
 
Great post.

I do acceleration training on a power plate with a trainer and my trainer even incorporates tabata training into my workout.

Acceleration training is amazing and only lasts 30 mins each time. But is just as good as working out for an hour and a half at gym.

On the power plate u work out doing any exercise at all, running, squats, press ups, sit ups etc and tabata. Alot of celebrities use this method of training now as it turns a workout into play out (that's a quote from a very known fitness trainer that I can't remember the name off lol) and a lot of celebrity fitness trainers are now recommending the power plate workouts.

But be aware that u don't mix up a power plate with a vibro plate as there is a huge difference and most salons advertise the vibro plate.

The power plates I work on are in a special gym that specialises in power plates but I have seen them in other gyms. They r great for cellulite and injurys also.

After breaking broke my legs in a crash as I child and learning how to walk but never being able to run without pain or walk long distances I am now fully cured of all pain and I'm now doing high intensity workouts 5 times per week thanks to the power plate :)

I'm very intrigued by this, I have actually noticed a power plate in my gym which hardly anyone uses. I think it's one of those things that unless you know what you're doing you wont ever attempt to use it. I'd be very interested to hear more from you as to how you can use it to train? Sounds like it could be a lot of fun!

this is a really interesting thread - thanks for starting this ChrisPoole! I am definitely going to give tabata training a go and see if it helps boost my weight loss again as i seem to be stuck in a rut! Am off to google some tabata exercise ideas now..... :D

There are soo many exercises you can use it for, I remember when I first started doing it in my gym I felt a little self conscious at first because to those people looking in on you it looks like you don't know what you're doing because one minute you are going flat out and the next you are stopping. But believe me, it is more than worth it and your fitness will improve so fast.

Keep me informed as to how you get on with it and also don't be afraid to ask me any question. I'm more than happy the help!
 
Yes it has improved a hell of a lot, I mean when I started I could barely run for more than 5 minutes solid on the treadmill and my recovery time was absolutely shocking. Now I can quite easily manage a 20 minute warm up at 12km an hour. In regards to the cross trainer and bike (the exercises I use tabata mostly for) I am performing the 4 minute routines at level 14 resistance now after struggling at level 7 when I began.

I also play a lot of squash which is a very intense short burst game and I've found that my ability to go from being absolutely exhausted after a hard rally to being recovered and ready for the next point has also increased alot.

As for the weight loss... I've been doing this tabata routine 4/5 times a week and the first week I lost 8lbs and as for the second week my weigh in is tonight however I'm hoping to have lost another 6lbs (quietly confident).
 
I have a gym membership but I am actually too self conscious to use It :/ I don't like the idea of people staring at me which is ridiculous as I know people don't actually care what I'm doing in the gym lol. Also as a 23 year old I am so unfit and it is embarrassing to see people twice my age who are alot fitter than me. Good luck with the weigh in!
 
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