Unfit (Not Fat)

[milk]

Most health and exercise advice is aimed at people who are fat or wanna get jacked.
How about a thread for those who are generally alright, but unfit.

I'll start with myself. In my country all full time employees get mandatory health checks. All my vitals are fine for a man of my age. I am of regular weight, maybe slightly under at times from overwork and forgetting to eat.

When I was younger I was very healthy, I used to do a lot of cycling and martial arts. Trying to get back into fitness on my own, I find myself commanding my body to do things over it's limit since my brain thinks I still have a healthy body, so I am injuring myself.

What's a good all-round exercise regime to become fit again? From the starting base of just unfit guy, not fat, not looking to get jacked.

 

[Bloitzhole]

not looking to get jacked.

This thread and this statement specifically is one of those things quite a few people say that is a bit odd. You don't lift and then casually oopsie daisy into being jacked without already being fit by most standards for a long time before reaching that stage. Doing any physical activity regiment to a very high standard will get you jacked/shredded if you eat well, whether you're a climber, triathlete or a weightlifter.

Any regiment people use to build muscle is a sensible way of getting fit if fitness includes strength. Any fitness regiment people use to lose weight by burning calories is most likely a decent one to become fit if being fit also means having endurance, which exercises that are heavy on burning calories typically build.

What is fitness to you? You say you push your body over its limit - is that being unable to lift something properly leading to injury?
If so, do strength training (trust me, you won't accidentally become superjacked).
Do you find yourself out of breath more often than you'd like? Pick any endurance sport, be it jump rope, running, cycling or perhaps best of all, swimming.
Are you finding yourself less flexible than you used to be, leading to injury? Pick up any basic bitch yoga regiment that targets legs/hamstrings and shoulder mobility specifically if you're a man.

At the gym, a basic all around regiment would be hitting each of the big groups (Chest-Shoulder-Triceps aka push, Legs/Lowerback-Core, Back-Biceps aka pull) once a week (google any basic 3 day split) and doing running/cycling/swimming/jumproping on the upper body days with stretches/yoga on rest days.

 

[milk]

Thanks for the reply.

What is fitness to you? You say you push your body over its limit - is that being unable to lift something properly leading to injury?

I tried to do a handstand static to regain some arm strength and balance, ended up injuring my muscles, it was super painful, needed two days to recover.

Do you find yourself out of breath more often than you'd like?

At first yes, but as my cardio has been improving, i get the sensation of vomiting whenever I strain myself running.

 

[Bloitzhole]

At first yes, but as my cardio has been improving, i get the sensation of vomiting whenever I strain myself running.

If it's been a while since you've exercised, your brain might not be used to all that blood usually going to your core for digesting stuff instead being pumped into your extremities.
Unfortunately it could be lots of things - as mundane as your breathing when you strain causing you to swallow air which may agitate your stomach / give you acid reflux. Don't inhale through your mouth.

 

[milk]

If it's been a while since you've exercised, your brain might not be used to all that blood usually going to your core for digesting stuff instead being pumped into your extremities.
Unfortunately it could be lots of things - as mundane as your breathing when you strain causing you to swallow air which may agitate your stomach / give you acid reflux. Don't inhale through your mouth.

Thanks, do you think I should push through and maintain my level of activity or slow down a bit when I reach the stage of vomit sensations?

 

[Idiotron]

I'll powerlvel a bit, I'm one of those "jacked" people.

In order to get ripped, you legit need to train 2 hours per day, specific exercises, and eat the right things in the right amount.
You have nothing to worry about unless you put a long time and real effort into it.
The same exercises done less will just get you toned which is probably what you're looking for.

 

[Bloitzhole]

Thanks, do you think I should push through and maintain my level of activity or slow down a bit when I reach the stage of vomit sensations?

If I was in your specific position, I'd look more into the factors related to it - breathing, when and what you eat/drink before running, maybe pop an antacid and see if that alone solves it, in which case you might look into less acidic foods (potatoes come to mind) on days where you intend to push your limits running.

 

[oldTireWater]

Do what you enjoy, and do it easy. If you enjoy it you'll keep doing it regardless of "results". Over time what you find "easy" will progress. This won't produce maximum results, but that is a different goal.

 

[Mr.Neutron]

I grew up fat as shit in a house full of smokers/have asthma. I've never been able to jog more than 2 minutes. I should get back into biking. I can maintain a pretty decent pace on a bike but my lungs got fucked hard as a teenager.

 

[milk]

If I was in your specific position, I'd look more into the factors related to it - breathing, when and what you eat/drink before running, maybe pop an antacid and see if that alone solves it, in which case you might look into less acidic foods (potatoes come to mind) on days where you intend to push your limits running.

My diet has been relatively the same since I was young, it doesn't vary much here. I think it maybe as you previously suggested, my body isn't used to this level of strain anymore. I think i'll take myself to the limit and just take it easy when the vomitting sensation appears.

I'll powerlvel a bit, I'm one of those "jacked" people.

In order to get ripped, you legit need to train 2 hours per day, specific exercises, and eat the right things in the right amount.
You have nothing to worry about unless you put a long time and real effort into it.
The same exercises done less will just get you toned which is probably what you're looking for.

I wasn't really concerned about "accidently jacked" and more so, I don't like being in a gym and lifting weights. I prefer to be outside. Just doing some running, pushups, sit-ups, squats, and light kata that I remember.

Thanks for the feedback everybody, much appreciated.

 

[JohnnyG]

I am of regular weight, maybe slightly under at times from overwork and forgetting to eat.

So are you skinny (lean, just little muscle) or skinny-fat (soft/pudgy without being big, because of so little muscle)? In either case you should do strength training, and either a bit of cardio (for general health and so you don't get winded lifting) or a lot of cardio (if you have fat to lose).

You don't lift and then casually oopsie daisy into being jacked without already being fit by most standards for a long time before reaching that stage.

This whole post is great advice you should listen to. Years of dicking around in the gym taught me that the classics are the classics for a reason: they work. If you want to be Fight Club "toned" or MMA "ripped" instead of bodybuilder "yuge", you can eventually get there with a gorillion pushups and other calisthenics, or you can just do a basic bodybuilding routine for less time and without stuffing your face as much.

Lifting heavy weights with your largest muscle groups for 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps is the most efficient way to build muscle & strength, and it's a journey you can ease up on whenever you want. Balance it with however much cardio you need for conditioning, weight loss, and heart health, and you're good to go.

I tried to do a handstand static to regain some arm strength and balance, ended up injuring my muscles

See above re. "dicking around". Handstands, balance balls, peg boards, etc. can be fun ways to refine your strength and make it "functional", but they're secondary to the foundation that you probably don't have yet. Overhead press, bench press, seated row, lat pulldown, pullups, and even pushups will give you arm strength, which you can then use for handstands etc. Try them again after 3 months of steady lifting.

 

[Idiotron]

I prefer to be outside. Just doing some running, pushups, sit-ups, squats, and light kata that I remember.

Modern gyms aren't just places where there are heavy things to lift, especially if it's a chain.
There are classes you can go to included in the membership that involve a lot of movement, the personal trainers can give you programs, my gym also has a pool.
Bigger gyms and sports centers have basketball courts, football fields, racing tracks etc.
You can do everything in gyms these days.

 

[XYZpdq Jr.]

Cut out sugar water and fake sugar.
Get a cheap nonelectric stationary bike so your screen addictions don't have to get in the way of moving sorta.
Get a couple of cheap basic five pound dumbbells and use them some.

For a while "literally anything" will probably be enough of a step up you won't need to worry about minmaxining

 

[Gatdam Animal Person]

With springtime being finally here, I can finally go outside and speedwalk/jog whenever I feel like it.

Biggest tip I can give for staying motivated is to have rewards at the end.
Small jog during noon? Get a small coffee (plus it limits your caffeine intake to 1 cup per day).
Bigger jog during afternoon/work? Pet the dogs... all of em. Oh and look at the duckies in the park. They're cool.

 

[FatMebius]

Just keeping yourself moving and active will do wonders. Basic stuff like getting a good sleep, getting some sunlight and just walking for half an hour a day will legitimately change your health in a big way. Cutting out most junk food, especially super sugary drinks, will help too. You don't need to get jacked, but doing some basic stretches and some bodyweight exercises is pretty minimum stuff. Again, you'd be surprised what just half an hour of moving around will do for you in a day.

 

[Lord of the Large Pants]

On this topic, is it possible to be pretty strong without being very visibly muscular? I'm not talking about power lifter strong, but more like "wow, that skinny white guy can pick up surprisingly large objects" strong.

 

[WEEKEND]

On this topic, is it possible to be pretty strong without being very visibly muscular? I'm not talking about power lifter strong, but more like "wow, that skinny white guy can pick up surprisingly large objects" strong.

To an limited degree yes.

Being visibly muscular is more a diet related issue as a lower body fat percentage is going to show the underlying muscle that we all have better. A lot of strength comes from the connective tissues like tendons and ligaments, your bone density and how used to specific movements your body is. Not all muscle is equal either as you can train for either size or strength. That's kind of misleading because big muscle = strong muscle no matter what you do but the point is that you can be pound for pound stronger than a bigger person.

Now here's the problem with what your asking, how do you define "visibly muscular" or "skinny"? Doing a basic calisthenics regime is going to build and help to define muscle while burring fat. You'll be stronger and you're going to look it too.