Best time of the day for certain workouts?

[stevensfo]

The last day of our two-week holiday in Cyprus and I am proud to say that I decided from the start to use the gym twice every day. I'm 61, a bit overweight and love my booze. On the plus side, I eat quite healthily and avoid sugary things. As a general rule, I only have to stop drinking booze for the weight to fall off. But it's not easy!!

I started off by researching loads of Core exercises and in just 2 weeks I have seen an amazing improvement in both my warm-ups on the exercise bike and the core exercises. The great thing is that these exercises don't require any equipment - well apart from maybe light dumbells for a few.

But I also started trying to strengthen my shoulders and arms. I used to swim a lot when young and for some reason tended to use my legs rather than arms, so these days, I have leg and bum muscles that could rival the Incredible Hulk, but puny arms!

My wife is nagging me to continue when we get home and I'd really like to, even though my willpower often mysteriously vanishes. We've had some simple gym equipment and dumbells for years.

It'll be either early morning before work or evening, or maybe both. Truth is that weekdays, it's more likely to be only evening, especially as the mornings get colder.

Assuming my motivation and willpower continues, do you guys have any advice as to which exercises to schedule for morning or evening? Any particular exercises that worked well? Any podcasts with seargeant-major types to keep me moving?

Steve

[Itsallaguess]

Assuming my motivation and willpower continues, do you guys have any advice as to which exercises to schedule for morning or evening?

Any particular exercises that worked well?

This site has been brilliant for me with organising my body-weight and dumbbell routines -

https://musclewiki.com/

Just pick the muscle-groups you want to focus on, and then select how you want to work them (Bodyweight, Dumbbells, Barbell etc..), and the site will then show clear videos on the particular processes involved with your chosen method.

Here's an example for 'Shoulders with Dumbells' - https://musclewiki.com/Dumbbells/Male/Shoulders

It won't help too much with the motivation side of things, which you can hopefully get delivered via one of the YouTube fitness-guru videos once you know which particular routines you're looking for, but it will help with options and techniques which will hopefully then allow you to move onto those more motivational videos...

Cheers,

Itsallaguess

[stevensfo]

Assuming my motivation and willpower continues, do you guys have any advice as to which exercises to schedule for morning or evening?

Any particular exercises that worked well?

This site has been brilliant for me with organising my body-weight and dumbbell routines -

https://musclewiki.com/

Just pick the muscle-groups you want to focus on, and then select how you want to work them (Bodyweight, Dumbbells, Barbell etc..), and the site will then show clear videos on the particular processes involved with your chosen method.

Here's an example for 'Shoulders with Dumbells' - https://musclewiki.com/Dumbbells/Male/Shoulders

It won't help too much with the motivation side of things, which you can hopefully get delivered via one of the YouTube fitness-guru videos once you know which particular routines you're looking for, but it will help with options and techniques which will hopefully then allow you to move onto those more motivational videos...

Cheers,

Itsallaguess

Thanks for that! A nice easy-to-use website that's - shock, horror- clear to follow, unlike the many youtube videos that seem to run for ever.

Now I just have to work on the willpower and motivation! Maybe rig up a device that only allows me a G&T after 100 reps?

Steve

[DrFfybes]

All I can suggest is to get a routine that fits and works for you. Without a regular routine I find it drops off after a week or so, and even with a routing it tends to fall away sometimes.

It doesn't really matter what time of day at the level of fitness you and I are at, for me and my core exercises it is generally early evening before I sort tea out, Mon, Wed, and Fri, unless I forget on Mon, in which case it can go back a day.

Paul

[feder1]

If you think you will commence a meaty exercise program then things may not happen that way for long!

Instead, consider this:

In the mornings we like swimming , running, tennis and other exercises ... BUT...

In the evenings, we have an ipad programmed to bleep at 10 to 5 pm, 10 to 6 etc. and hourly up to 10 to 10 at which point I jump up off the sofa and do 40 or 50 pressups. Every hour.

Mrs F tries to do some hang downs from the pullup bar when she feels like it.

Naturally you could choose other one type exercises to suit for this useful discipline!

[kempiejon]

If you think you will commence a meaty exercise program then things may not happen that way for long!

Instead, consider this:

In the mornings we like swimming , running, tennis and other exercises ... BUT...

In the evenings, we have an ipad programmed to bleep at 10 to 5 pm, 10 to 6 etc. and hourly up to 10 to 10 at which point I jump up off the sofa and do 40 or 50 pressups. Every hour.

Mrs F tries to do some hang downs from the pullup bar when she feels like it.

Naturally you could choose other one type exercises to suit for this useful discipline!

I started in lockdown trying to build a regime of daily exercise following the 11 minute Canadian Airforce 5BX. When I was non longer working from home that fizzled out. Like feder1 I too have a reminder, "drop and give me 5" which pings up every hour between 8 and 11 in the evenings. This is a handy prompt and I usually comply.

[AF62]

My wife is nagging me to continue when we get home and I'd really like to, even though my willpower often mysteriously vanishes. We've had some simple gym equipment and dumbells for years.

It'll be either early morning before work or evening, or maybe both. Truth is that weekdays, it's more likely to be only evening, especially as the mornings get colder.

Assuming my motivation and willpower continues, do you guys have any advice as to which exercises to schedule for morning or evening? Any particular exercises that worked well? Any podcasts with seargeant-major types to keep me moving?

Gym equipment at home rarely gets used (as Peleton are finding out post-pandemic) but equally finding the willpower to go to the gym can be hard.

What I have found most important with timing is to pick a time I enjoy going, and for me that is a time when the gym is not too busy so I don't have to wait for equipment or machines. For example that means at the weekend I tend to go around five or six in the evening, as during the day all the workers are there, But at five or six in the evening it is empty and I can get what I want to do done, and then go home and relax for the evening.

Also I have found that decent earphones and an interesting podcast makes the time fly in the gym, and actually I look forward to going, not for the exercise but the 'time out' to listen to the podcast. And not exercise podcasts, but stuff that interests you but you wouldn't have time to listen to otherwise.

As for exercises - I always start off with 20 minutes or so to do a few k on the rowing machine to warm up, and then just move around the various fixed and cable machines as the fancy takes me and depending on which are free.

I have tried the free weights and dumbells, but those seem to be a far higher risk to cause me injury at my age than the machines which are more controlled.

With the choice of exercise then I work on the basis that provided I move around all the machines with a couple of sets of 20 here and a couple of sets of 20 there, then over time all the various muscles will be worked, and frankly at my age I am not expecting to become some muscle man, but I do try to ensure that every session I get an equal amount of leg and upper body exercise done.

And it has worked. I have lost weight (and had to buy new trousers), I can lift significantly heavier weights and my stamina is increased, my asthma is markedly better, the doctor doesn't criticise my cholesterol levels when I have my annual check-up, the knee I damaged a few years ago is better for the increased muscle around it, etc.

Plus I realised that it was frankly now or never, and I didn't want to be one of those older 'pregnant' men there seem to be more and more of.