What books do you recommend about fitness, weight training and aerobic exercise?
Just started going to a gym after a long break, and I am an absolute beginner in this topic.
Just started going to a gym after a long break, and I am an absolute beginner in this topic.
[0] https://www.barbellmedicine.com/blog/returning-to-the-gym/
In addition, their youtube channel is a great place to start.
As for aerobics/cardio, I've never really picked up a book myself as I've been hiking my entire life. It really depends on what you're aiming for; if it's just baseline cardio, walks around the neighborhood are good enough. Beyond that you have to specialize a bit depending on what you're aiming for, be it endurance, speed, explosiveness, and also terrain and form. Swimming is probably the lowest impact, but requires a pool. I use cycling for groceries, errands and when I used to commute, but that's sort of an absolute bare minimum. At home I got a VersaClimber clone since I rock climb and mountaineer. I recently got into trail running after reading "Born to Run" but that's less a prescriptive/instructive book than an inspirational/entertaining read.
Recently I've gotten into Yoga as I've been neglecting flexibility. Yoga With Adrienne on YouTube has worked well for me so far.
IIRC, he poo-poos assistance lifts such as bicep curls. The one exception is chins, which is in the official program and he insists on overhand because it works more muscle mass, despite overhand being the more practical version. Yeah, if you're bodybuilding get Pearl's "Keys to the Inner Universe" and plan on spending a lot of time just creating a program. But for most average people just looking to maintain, and especially beginners, the basic five lifts are simple, cover pretty much everything you need (for baseline strength) and can be done with a minimum of fuss, including creating programming and actual time lifting.
>which is in the official program and he insists on overhand because it works more muscle mass
I assume this was a typo. But he does advocate (supine grip) chins because they involve more muscle mass (the biceps, specifically). He writes about it in his SS introductory text and also includes chins in his programming section of that book. That book also has a section titled "Ancillary Exercises".
Unfortunately I don't have the book to hand (loaned it out), but I'm pretty sure I remember him saying something along the lines of "you don't need bicep curls, just focus on the five lifts, but since you're going to do them anyway, here's the correct form." I haven't listened to interviews with him.
> I assume this was a typo.
Yes, it was; should have been "underhand", because yeah, they work the biceps more. As a climber, though, it's uncommon to do underclings (basically underhand/supine chins), but pretty common to do overhand pullup type motion, so I tend to focus on that over supine chins. Course, what's really good is hand jam pullups, but those are hard on the tendons and ligaments in the forearms and hands.
Starting off by doing compound exercises like squats, deadlifts, bench press, and OH press is a great way to get your base strength levels up. You can add accessories later to zero in on specific muscle groups that need work. (You'll know which ones need work.)
Best tip is don't be a showoff. Use only the amount of weight you can actually handle while keeping your form correct. Proper technique is better than big numbers. Strength will come with effort and technique.
Oh, and your diet will change. Get ready to sate those cravings you'll get for protein-rich and fatty foods your body needs to repair your broken-down muscles. And get used to delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS); it's the "pain" in "no pain, no gain". Other forms of pain may not be so good.
Edit: clarify "sore" not "in pain" there is a difference.
I would try 1) increasing your protein to 1.5-2g per kg of body weight per day. 2) Cutting alcohol 3) Making sure you get enough sleep to recover properly 4) Drinking more Water (1 gallon / 4L a day)
It was one of the first books I ever read about fitness and it influenced all the workouts I did after it. IMHO strenght training makes going to the gym a lot more fun, as you can compete with yourself.
ps: I don't know who does the russian trick (30 push ups whenever they have to wait a little .. elevators, mw ovens etc)
An important thing about resistance exercise is that it's not just about muscles. It also stimulates the skeletal system to make your bones more dense, strengthens your ligaments and tendons, and perhaps most importantly stimulates the central nervous system. The latter is the likely mechanism for cognitive benefits.
[1] It's arguably the better book, but it's out of print and you're going to be looking at about a couple hundred bucks at least for a copy.
Rippetoe, the author of the book, is 65 years old:
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Rippetoe
It's a book for beginners and anyone can use the linear progression method. Once you've progressed beyond just a beginner, The Barbell Prescription takes the Starting Strength idea and adapts for for people 40 and older:
* https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/34823846-the-barbell-...
One of the co-authors (an MD) runs the GreySteel YT channel (and he's no spring chicken):
It has advice for how much to increase weight by which varies based on age and gender. (It's basically "slow down if you're not an 18-35 year old man".)
Nerdfitness - The Beginner Bodyweight Workout https://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/beginner-body-weight-workou...
Bigger Leaner Stronger (Book)
in terms of programming: starting strength is ok for beginners but don't stay glued to it for too long. once you start stalling move on to an intermediate program like the texas method, any of the SBS programs, 5/3/1 bbb, or some sort of ppl.
also, while starting strength is fine for beginners (the low volume isn't a problem as in beginners few gains are made the first month due to poor physiological recovery capacity, and beginners respond to basically any volume), mark rippetoe is a stubborn dogmatist who has never broken any records or coached anyone who's broken any records. take a lot of things he says with a grain of salt.
the most important things are: push yourself in the gym, increase weights or reps regularly (or more generally difficulty so you keep adapting to higher demands/build muscle), eat at a slight surplus, and sleep at least 7 hours, preferably 9 if it's possible.
That said, totally agree on those basics: progressive overload + eat right.
With that said, I would recommend using a trainer in combination with at least one separate resource - like barbell medicine. I've had personal experience with trainers that pedaled pseudo science (or sometimes straight BS) as fact, or recommended methods that weren't aligned with my goals.
spin classes
rowing classes
bodypump (light weights)
yoga
If you do take these classes don't expect a lot of coaching. Instead, remember what the exercise was and look it up on Youtube.
BTW, if you want to get into weight lifting, start with bodypump for a few months. You won't learn anything, nada. But that's not important; basic reps are. Then get a 5x5 app like StrongLifts. The nice thing about StrongLifts is you'll have a routine and it tracks you. Again, you aren't aimlessly wondering around the weight room.
Finally, when you can complain about the difference between StrongLifts vs StartingStrength it will be time for you to leave.
Leave what, and do what instead?
Which Comes First, Cardio or Weights?: Fitness Myths, Training Truths, and Other Surprising Discoveries from the Science of Exercise by Alex Hutchinson
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11115311-which-comes-fir...
I read it and was still lost about frequency, how to minimize injury, etc. It doesn't give you the practical "do this" sort of advice a true beginner needs or at least this true beginner needed.
I really like Julian Shapiro's guide for the first few months of weight lifting: https://www.julian.com/guide/muscle/intro
I'd recommend the trainer part though - I tweaked my shoulder trying to just figure it out on my own.
Since this is a technical crowd, I would suggest firing up YouTube-DL and downloading every video from the channel. The content is so incredibly valuable that I could see them putting it behind a subscription at some point. Once you have it locally you can just sort by filename and watch all the instructional videos on the squat or deadlift etc.
What are you talking about? He lists an example two week program complete with sets and reps in that book, plus outlines exactly how to find the weight you should be lifting with. Form is rigorously specified, to the point I've managed to stay injury free from lifting while never having been coached.
As someone who had done practically no strength training (benching with friends every once in a blue moon), SS:BBT took me from completely ignorant to regular lifter.
His other book “Practical Programming” does. I find his writing needlessly verbose, but he does cover a lot of different programming options.
Also, don’t forget flexibility/mobility work in addition to strength and cardio. Starretts Supple Leopard book is a good resource, as is general yoga classes.
After about 6 months you'll see incredible results. Keep going.
The main feature that increases safety seems to be overt bike lane and shoulder markings. So push for those if you have any involvement with local government. Our problem was the snow plows grinding down the paint, so some drivers would do things like try to pass on the right as if it was a multi-lane road. They will not notice a cyclist at all when doing something like that. I've also been hit by red light racers. They are only looking at the light, zero awareness of anything else.
The best thing you can do is probably to just run the brightest flashers you can at all times, front, back, and sides. And this sounds silly, but, think about what you are going to do if something goes wrong. My worst hit was greatly mitigated by just remaining calm and reacting as I had rehearsed in my head, rolling up onto the windshield and tucking into a ball as I flipped through the air. One thing I wasn't quite ready for what what it feels like to get hit by a wall of steel at that speed, nothing like what happens at normal human speeds like playing football.
[1] https://www.boredpanda.com/students-bicycle-school-winter-sn...
That photo, to me, looks like a cloudless sky, so chances are it’s dry, little or no wind, and low humidity.
Even at -17C, that’s easy to dress for and way better than what you get around freezing with wind and rain, when the cloud cover prevents temperatures from dropping very deep (e.g. your typical British/Belgian/Dutch autumn weather)
Even that is quite doable, though, at shortish distances (say less than 5km), certainly with some wind cover, as there typically is in cities.
I managed to implement this since july this year. Very good benefits (muscle mass, cardiovascular health) but winter early night makes it a lot less joyful and I'm feeling less motivated. Also I see my thighs are getting thick and stiff .. but maybe I can fix that (jogging session and stretch ?)
Thick and stiff sounds great to me. Regardless, I don't recommend jogging; I do recommend short runs building to max stride directly after completing a ride. I also like glute-ham raises and the reverse sit-ups to balance things out.
Then again, it’s much easier to keep doing something when everybody else is doing it, so if you’re in an area where cyclists are a minority I imagine it’s more of a challenge to convince yourself. The advantages do still apply so I’m sending virtual encouragement!
Very much, and also netherlands bike lane system is a real luxury. I'm lucky to have a long bike lane to bike freely, if most of my area was like this I'd be biking twice more.
It injures people in training (degrading readiness), and often leaves veterans with debilitating life-long lower-body problems that also cost the government a fortune in disability payments.
I've watched several Green Berets on YouTube state fitness goals for SF training of "You should be able to run a 7-minute mile pace, INDEFINITELY, with no preparation." No. That's DUMB. If your leadership puts you in a situation where that is necessary, your leadership is DUMB too.
While I'm mostly inclined to agree with your higher-level point, I think this particular argument hurts more than it helps. Military leaders plan for unexpected situations in the ultimate adversarial environment. They don't mean to put people in this situation, but they plan for it anyway because they want troops to survive even when things don't go as intended. Being able to reach an objective on time is important, and being able to run away from trouble even more so. These are elite units, put into the highest-uncertainty kinds of situations. In that context, at that age, seven-minute miles for an hour or so is not at all unreasonable. It's not even that far from what I could do, despite being 56 and never having been any kind of physical elite. "Indefinitely" and under load might be pushing the idea too far, but the idea that there should be some minimum requirement is fundamentally sound. It's the repetition and the normalization of tactics unnecessarily requiring such high levels of physical prowess that creates problems.
What are you doing, running ultra-marathons?
Perhaps that is why running injuries are so common ? You can't keep pushing yourself to deadlift more, for example, without it being painfully obvious your form is not right. And you just know that the person looking back in the mirror should not deadlift 315 lbs. But with running there is no obvious indication and the environmental factors keep changing. Then you're spending months stiff and in pain. You feel 20 years old one week and 90 years old the next.
https://obdurodon.silvrback.com/winter-running-part-1
Again, thanks for your help.
Also biking is a bit easier on your back and legs. It may harm shoulders and testicles though.
Not when you actually consider the probabilities of getting injured in a crash/fall.
I can't tell you the number of times I've been injured on two wheels. Once I was run over by an inattentive driver hitting my BMX, knocking me to the ground, driving over my leg. On other occasions I've broken my wrists, broken collarbone, countless instances of road rash and other wounds. Other people here are arguing you can cycle in snow and ice, lololol, been there, done that, have the scars to prove it.
There's just no comparison in the context of "easier on your body". You can run/walk on sidewalks and trails with all the other pedestrians, away from cars. Cycling near massive vehicles driven by people addicted to taking selfies is so hazardous to your body it tends to kill it to death.
If fitness is the goal, running is way more effective in the same unit of time than cycling. I've done both trail running and mountain biking on similar trails. Every time I get really into the trail running mode enough to have the necessary fitness to really execute, returning to my mountain bike feels like easy mode with heaps of unnecessary mechanical wankery thrown in mostly because it entertains my inner gearhead and gives me more things to play consumer whore shopping for and buying.
I wasn't even "comparing" bike / feet. Just showing the potential pain points. I just couldn't jog because of my knees while I could bike (it actually helped said knees). I do prefer running for overall health... it involves more muscle groups and your respiration is also more intense (and so far I never had biking high, while running puts me in the zone.)
Cheeers.
If you bike slowly around cars, bad shit is even more likely to happen.
Have you ridden a motorcycle on roads before? It's infinitely safer than pedaling a bicycle among automotive traffic because you can at least keep up with the flow of traffic and behave in every sense as an automobile, in what is firmly the automobile's native land.
In the US it's exceedingly rare to live in a village with dedicated bike trails you can safely coast along. We have roads full of carelessly driven cars everywhere. Riding bicycles on those roads is quite unpleasant to say the least, based on my experience. We have reported instances of assholes "rolling coal" not only deliberately smoking out cyclists, but in some cases flat out running them over.
And we haven't even broached the subject of cycling being an acquired skill many adults plain suck at. It's complicated if you didn't grow up pedaling everywhere. Have you ever tried introducing an adult to cycling who didn't do it before? The only teaching experience more cringe-worthy I can recall was teaching someone with no manual transmission experience how to ride a motorcycle. All those moments have been hellish "I'm pretty sure I'm just helping this person get on a path leading to more convoluted self-harm" experiences. Getting them to go for a run doesn't even register anywhere on this particular map.
Back when I moved to CA for my first startup job, I had to leave my partner and our pets back in IL for a few months with family while I found us an apartment. When my partner finally showed up she had her arm in a cast, wanna guess why? Bicycle crash. She didn't have much experience riding bicycles growing up in a sea of cycling-hostile 5+-lane Florida surface streets, and crashed riding my old bicycle with my nephew passing time while waiting to relocate. Imagine how annoying that must have been to bring two housecats through TSA alone with a newly broken arm. Yeah, go ride bicycles everywhere everyone!
People that recommend everyone ride a bicycle everywhere seem to have absolutely no perspective rooted in reality. My "man up, run everywhere" comment was intended mostly tongue in cheek, but I'm willing to play devil's advocate in arguing it's obviously safer and more accessible than cycling. They're both ridiculously impractical in a world optimized for automobiles.
Now you have a point if OP never rode a bike before, I'd stay away for a while. Maybe that's why I never had any issues going back to biking .. I basically grew up on a bike. But that's not out of touch with reality. I crashed twice in the last 6 months, but I was far from breaking an arm (even though both time it was a front wheel losing balance so face first to the ground) and that didn't bother me much more (and I have a super weak health these days, I'm not a young stud in mint condition at all)
about practicality, and even safety.. I'd argue it's not as sure as it appears, at least in western european countries.. it's less risky than heavy traffic intersection in a car with crazy drivers cutting you off (with my bike I can chose 20 different routes back to home), and unsurprisingly I get there faster than with my car (no traffic jams).
...which means absolutely nothing in terms of either ability or fitness. Sure, if you're time constrained, biking might be feasible where running is not. Otherwise it's just Easy Mode.
2) OP was trying to go back into physical exercise, doing everything by bike is a great way to jump back. Running is amazing but your options are greatly reduced. I can use my bike to commute which means I don't have to allocate time for physical exercise. Aren't we all time constrained ?
have a good day
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uhx-26GfCBU
TL;DW Oulu, Finland is as cold and snowy as any population center in Canada. Plenty of people bike there year round. The issue is municipal infrastructure, not climate.
That said, if I were new to barbell training, I would pick up the Starting Strength book and read it cover to cover to understand the mechanics of the main compound lifts. Then I would pick up the Greyskull LP program and run it (it's more or less the SS program but with some sanity in the progression and it doesn't ignore conditioning) until I was regularly hitting plateaus on the main lifts. Then I'd transition to the TB protocols starting with base building and going from there based on my goals and other fitness related endeavors.
edit/ I'd also encourage people to read TB I: Strength, TB II: Conditioning, Mass Protocol, and the Ageless Athlete entry. I incorporate pieces of all 4 of these books into my training week.
Additionally, there is another book specific to law enforcement that has interesting information in it. And, on top of that, there are 2 new books being worked on at the moment.
TB just makes so much sense day to day. I think that the fact it is designed around you staying actually fully functional day to day, and not a worn out mess from a crazy amount of lifting is the key. You get serious gains but also still feel human.
The workout “Black on Oxygen” is maybe one of the best all round routines I’ve ever done. I’ve never found anything that tops it.
Ignore everyone here recommending Starting Strength without knowing what your goals are because if your goals are general health or a classic physique, that book will not help you.
imo the book is overrated, contrarian, and cultish, and results in injuries and an unbalanced physique just so you can get kind of strong at a few powerlifting movements.
Special Operations Nutrition Guide: https://navyseals.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/special-ope...