legendforlife
New member
TL;DR- Don't know how to start? Download the first three apps and GO!
DISCLAIMER: this consolidated list is absolutely just my experience & opinion. I'm relatively fit, but also a piece of lazyass with the attention span of a hamster. A 1-2-3 write up like this would've gotten me consistent fast! NONETHELESS medical/professional consultation is still recommended!! Please check with your Drs. Also, I have an iPhone and don't know if you can find all these in Android.
This list assumes you will workout 3 times a week, each session including:
(1) Lifting (~45 minutes)
(2) Cardio (~20-30 minutes)
(3) Stretching (~5minutes)
Obviously, you can do any of those three exercises by itself.
Hey all! It's been about 7th weeks now since I've finally settled into a nice CONSISTENT (yisss!) exercise routine and I can't thank /r/xxfitness enough for the resources & encouragements! Now in the age of technology and apps & stuff, I find that this subreddit gets many 'how to start' questions, reminding me of how challenging it is to learn all the exercises AND become consistent. I needed something simple and quick to just get started & build my habit. So after some trial and error, I've been able to be consistent for 7 weeks now! In a MFP forum, I wrote the following list and figured it may be useful to some ladies starting out here as well!
Here's the chronological narrative of what worked for me:
The goal for my first 4 weeks of was to be consistent. The StrongLifts 5x5 app was what help me through the rut. I didn't add anything else because I wanted to learn form, get form checked, get used to gym's lifting room, etc. It would take me anywhere from 45-90 minutes sitting/standing there figuring out what each movement is supposed to look like, and how to best do them using the mirrors in the gym. Eventually you are used to it enough that you can get it under 45 mins like Mhendi's uncut Workout A video. I'd also film and post form check videos in r/xxfitness or r/fitness.
Then, around week 5th, I added some stretching because I started to feel sore. My first taste with "stretching" was actually foam rolling exercises that helped with thigh /back soreness. Then, through r/xxfitness I found r/flexibility, and picked up the Starting Stretching to do, usually after my workout, and sometimes before (an important note about warming up - you should warm up with a light jog or dynamic stretch, NOT a static stretch. More info in the (3) Edit section).
Lastly, I added the cardio roughly following Mehndi's advice here, but instead of 45 mins, I do 20-30 mins switching between the treadmill, elliptical, or fast paced low weight bodyweight exercises (more details in (2) Edit section). Last couple weeks a friend convinced me to run with her and introduced me to the Nike Running app. So I now occasionally run with her outdoors. As of now, my cardio is still inconsistent because I don't like running lol. I manage to at least ALWAYS do my lifts though!
HERE BE THE ROUTINES & THEIR APPS
1) Strong Lifts 5x5 App - http://stronglifts.com/apps/
4) Power Plank 7 mins work out - https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/7-minute-power-plank-workout/id723299338?mt=8
I started my exercise diary with Runtastic since it synches with Myfitnesspal (MFP), and it can log calories directly into MFP. Runtastic did a good job tracking my frequent but irregular runs, indoors exercises, outdoors exercises, biking, weighttraining, aerobics, yoga, etc. I also tried out Runkeeper. Eventually I dropped Runtastic for the following reasons:
(x-posted in /r/fitness)
Also, check the comments below for other r/xxfitness denizen's experienced wisdom.
Edit: Clarity
& Updated 1, 2, and 3 with comments from the posts in /r/fitness or /r/xxfitness.
Edit2: Switched the order of Stretching from (1) to (3) as the app features Static stretch rather than Dynamic stretch. Static is better post-workout, and Dynamic (or a light jog) is better pre-workout.
DISCLAIMER: this consolidated list is absolutely just my experience & opinion. I'm relatively fit, but also a piece of lazyass with the attention span of a hamster. A 1-2-3 write up like this would've gotten me consistent fast! NONETHELESS medical/professional consultation is still recommended!! Please check with your Drs. Also, I have an iPhone and don't know if you can find all these in Android.
This list assumes you will workout 3 times a week, each session including:
(1) Lifting (~45 minutes)
(2) Cardio (~20-30 minutes)
(3) Stretching (~5minutes)
Obviously, you can do any of those three exercises by itself.
Hey all! It's been about 7th weeks now since I've finally settled into a nice CONSISTENT (yisss!) exercise routine and I can't thank /r/xxfitness enough for the resources & encouragements! Now in the age of technology and apps & stuff, I find that this subreddit gets many 'how to start' questions, reminding me of how challenging it is to learn all the exercises AND become consistent. I needed something simple and quick to just get started & build my habit. So after some trial and error, I've been able to be consistent for 7 weeks now! In a MFP forum, I wrote the following list and figured it may be useful to some ladies starting out here as well!
Here's the chronological narrative of what worked for me:
The goal for my first 4 weeks of was to be consistent. The StrongLifts 5x5 app was what help me through the rut. I didn't add anything else because I wanted to learn form, get form checked, get used to gym's lifting room, etc. It would take me anywhere from 45-90 minutes sitting/standing there figuring out what each movement is supposed to look like, and how to best do them using the mirrors in the gym. Eventually you are used to it enough that you can get it under 45 mins like Mhendi's uncut Workout A video. I'd also film and post form check videos in r/xxfitness or r/fitness.
Then, around week 5th, I added some stretching because I started to feel sore. My first taste with "stretching" was actually foam rolling exercises that helped with thigh /back soreness. Then, through r/xxfitness I found r/flexibility, and picked up the Starting Stretching to do, usually after my workout, and sometimes before (an important note about warming up - you should warm up with a light jog or dynamic stretch, NOT a static stretch. More info in the (3) Edit section).
Lastly, I added the cardio roughly following Mehndi's advice here, but instead of 45 mins, I do 20-30 mins switching between the treadmill, elliptical, or fast paced low weight bodyweight exercises (more details in (2) Edit section). Last couple weeks a friend convinced me to run with her and introduced me to the Nike Running app. So I now occasionally run with her outdoors. As of now, my cardio is still inconsistent because I don't like running lol. I manage to at least ALWAYS do my lifts though!
HERE BE THE ROUTINES & THEIR APPS
1) Strong Lifts 5x5 App - http://stronglifts.com/apps/
- PROS: Beautifully minimalist, beginner-friendly, and effective. Tracks every time you've done the exercises in a calendar so you know exactly when you've made it to the gym. Clear timing for rests between the sets. Poking red dots is /r/oddlysatisfying . This is the app that helped me become consistent in going to the gym for the first time!!
- CONS: You can't change the pre-programmed routine. Also, the app was developed with men's average stats in mind, so the starting weight can be a bit high for beginner ladies. This is easy to solve with using fixed-weight barbells, dumbells or goblet weights. Consult /r/xxfitness or /r/stronglifts FAQ for more info.
- Edit- Starting Strength (look at the banner on the right!!) is another widely popular & awesome beginners program that /@kleodug and /@victoria113 reminded me of! I didn't mention it only because I didn't find a quickly accessible app. I recently got my hands on the book though; I do suggest eventually reading it! Edit2: /@cark from the x-/r/fitness just told me about the App Strong. Logs SS stuff easily.
- PROS: Free pre-programmed work out with run and rest days if you are training for a 5k, 10k or a half marathon. Streamlined user interface and a lot less ad-spammy than Runtastic. Decent social aspect where you and your friends can challenge each other. Free 'cheering' option during your runs. Option to play a selected list of 'power songs' during certain parts of your run. Automatic stop-and-go for stoplights.
- CONS: Doesn't sync with MFP (though I don't mind since I don't eat back nor count my exercise calories). Running is the only exercise you can record on the app. App designed for outdoors running (though if you ran on a treadmill, there IS a 'add run' option that lets you just put in the info post-workout). Consult /r/running for helps & stuff.
- Edit- Cardio isn't constrained to running outdoors. /r/nutella47 helped me discover that the Nike App works on treadmill by selecting an 'indoors' option, and /r/Azure_phantom suggests swimming! I actually don't like running that much, so I often end up doing 10-15 mins of rotation between treadmill, elliptical, bike machine, rowing machine, or fast bodyworkouts (2-5lbs weighted lunges, burpees, squats, jumping jacks, etc).
- PROS: Awesomely minimalist. Follows one of the basic routines recommended in /r/flexibility/. Each of the 9 exercises are timed, with detail written instructions of what to do. Stretch time for each exercise can be adjusted. Music can play in the background normally. Tracks how many times and the total times that you've done the stretches.
- CONS: Can't change the displayed default exercises. Doesn't track the days that you've done the stretches (probably the biggest draw back as I can't see 'progress' in a calendar). Though the first con is easy to solve if you want to do different new exercises by writing out a new set of 9 exercises that interest you. For instance, one of my goals is to do a split so I wrote a set of 9 extra exercises that targets the split move.
- Edit- The 9 default exercises are "the static stretches", and this page from /@random1234 are "the dynamic stretches". Thanks to comments & resources from /@kleodug & /@lynetteida, I learned that you should warm up with dynamic stretches, and finish workout with static stretches. Comments in this NYT article particularly point out that you should still warm up, just not do static stretches for warm up. Light jog or dynamic stretches are recommended.
4) Power Plank 7 mins work out - https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/7-minute-power-plank-workout/id723299338?mt=8
- PROS: It will kick your butt. When I get lazy or have some free time in my hands, this is my go-to.
- CONS: It will kick your butt. The 7 minutes is truly non-stop. You should go over how to do each exercise in the app beforehand. Also, sometimes I'm so tired I just do 7 total minutes of plank taking advantage of the fact that the app times 10-15sec of breaks in between each plank exercise.
I started my exercise diary with Runtastic since it synches with Myfitnesspal (MFP), and it can log calories directly into MFP. Runtastic did a good job tracking my frequent but irregular runs, indoors exercises, outdoors exercises, biking, weighttraining, aerobics, yoga, etc. I also tried out Runkeeper. Eventually I dropped Runtastic for the following reasons:
- CONS: Annoying ads asking you to buy their 'Runtastic pro'. Glitchy GPS (though this might be because of my old timer 4S iPhone). Also, I eventually decided I didn't want my exercise calories to add into MFP ( so I don't eat back calories). This meant that I wasn't constrained to apps that can synch with MFP anymore (Hello StrongLifts & NikeRunning lol)
- PROS!! I don't mean to bash the other exercise apps! Runtastic, Endomodo and Runkeeper have a lot more exercises other than just running, lifting or stretching. They include sports (volleyball, swimming etc), specific strength exercises (curl, bench, etc) and even hiking. Essentially, they are awesome the ONE app for all exercises you could possibly do. If not obvious enough already, they also offer syncing with MFP & thus can automatically log calories into MFP for you.
(x-posted in /r/fitness)
Also, check the comments below for other r/xxfitness denizen's experienced wisdom.
Edit: Clarity
& Updated 1, 2, and 3 with comments from the posts in /r/fitness or /r/xxfitness. Edit2: Switched the order of Stretching from (1) to (3) as the app features Static stretch rather than Dynamic stretch. Static is better post-workout, and Dynamic (or a light jog) is better pre-workout.