What workout routines do you swear by?

[Bandwagonesque]

For packing on muscle, shedding fat, boosting your cardio, or increasing your flexibility what routines, or physical activities outside the gym would you say are the most effective, and beneficial?

When I had more free time to do weights, I found that squats, bench, and curls were quite effective. Even with bad form, in a few months my chest felt more solid, and looked more impressive - until I hit a plateau. I found that I moved up in my squatting weight quite quickly as well, and my thighs were much harder.

For cardio and general fitness, nothing nordic skiing is tops. It's relatively easy on your joints, you work up a huge sweat, and your entire body aches afterwards - your chest, shoulders, groin, legs, and midsection all get a great workout. It's also cheap to start. The only downside is that I'm finicky on my ideal ski conditions. I'd say cycling is second on my list. I hate swimming, but I'm sure that most others who enjoy it would rank it higher.

 

[teddieriley]

Lots of sex.

 

[cmrocks]

I cheat quite often by missing things because I'm busy but this is what I try to do every week. Three classes of Bikram Yoga (4.5 hours), full body weight lifting routine twice a week (1.5 hours), one distance run (1 hour) and one hill repeat running session (0.5 hours).

 

[pcastlouis]

I mainly just do a lot of cycling. As a racer I also try to avoid any kind of exercise that will build up bulk in my upper body. I try to avoid weights, even for my legs. Recently I have gained an interest in yoga and swiss ball exercises. I have neglected to strengthen my core in the past and I find that 45 minutes per day has helped out tremendously.

 

[Brian SD]

I swear by SQUATS. IMO the best and most necessary weight-lifting exercise.

 

[AdamG]

Routines: Westside, P/RR/S, a Push/Pull/Lower split.

Exercises: Deadlift, Squat, Bench, Row, Pull Up, Overhead press.

 

[VACPA]

You can't go wrong with 3 full body workouts a week (one heavy, one light, one medium - different ways to do this) with 3-6 sets of 3-6 reps on power cleans, clean & press, inclines, CGBP, front and back squats, barbell rows, and weighted chins.

 

[cmrocks]

Originally Posted by VACPA

You can't go wrong with 3 full body workouts a week (one heavy, one light, one medium - different ways to do this) with 3-6 sets of 3-6 reps on power cleans, clean & press, inclines, CGBP, front and back squats, barbell rows, and weighted chins.

Could you expand a bit more on this? I prefer doing full body workouts but I kind of just go through the machines. I would be interested to know a more effective way of going about things.

 

[masqueofhastur]

MMA, works your whole body out if you're doing it properly. But really, nothing beats mixing several workout routines because you'll never work everything. I'm in shape for MMA but I was quite drained after trying a Yoga class since it works different muscle groups.

 

[cmrocks]

Originally Posted by masqueofhastur

MMA, works your whole body out if you're doing it properly. But really, nothing beats mixing several workout routines because you'll never work everything. I'm in shape for MMA but I was quite drained after trying a Yoga class since it works different muscle groups.

Definately agree. I trained in MMA (a class that combined Muay Thai and BJJ) for about 2 years until a recurring wrist injury forced me to quit. During that time, I was probably in the best shape of my life. I found that MMA really develops strength, skill, endurance (muscular and cardiovascular), balance, agility and focus.