Gym

[Milltown Row2]

My Gym session would be something lime this
Stretches
5mins on threadmill to get the bloid flowing
Bench press
60kg x 10
          x 9
          x8
Etc
When i get down to 5 i start to add more weight until the last lift is 90kg. Will keep building this
Between each set of reps i do 10 each of chin ups leg curls squats etc
Do some arm curls sit ups push ups plank after this.
I usually finish with 5k on the treadmill alternating the speed usuall have this done in 20 mins
Cool down
Shower
Home
Need to loose a stone or two.

After doing all that you still manage over 3 miles in 20 mins! Fair play

[Milltown Row2]

The meat heads at the gym who hog the squat, leg machines and benches don't have the ability to bend over and tie their laces!!

[manfromdelmonte]

The meat heads at the gym who hog the squat, leg machines and benches don't have the ability to bend over and tie their laces!!

olympic weightlifters are some of the most flexible sportspeople around. they have to be to generate that much speed and power

the only machine you should use in a gym is the shower or coffee machine. treadmills should be thrown out. I could tolerate a rowing machine
lads who are in the gym to 'bulk' up are generally doing it for aesthetic reasons, not sporting.

the only reason to use benches, is to sit on them or do the likes of single leg squats, or split squats as corrective exercises.

[Milltown Row2]

The meat heads at the gym who hog the squat, leg machines and benches don't have the ability to bend over and tie their laces!!

olympic weightlifters are some of the most flexible sportspeople around. they have to be to generate that much speed and power

the only machine you should use in a gym is the shower or coffee machine. treadmills should be thrown out. I could tolerate a rowing machine
lads who are in the gym to 'bulk' up are generally doing it for aesthetic reasons, not sporting.

the only reason to use benches, is to sit on them or do the likes of single leg squats, or split squats as corrective exercises.

Gyms are what you make them, for you.... I use two machines at the gym, spin bike and the Stairmaster, if you do any cardio then if you use these right then you'll see great benefit.   for me its about keeping fit for triathlons or 10K or half marathon's.... My hurling and football days are done ... I'm of the opinion that lifting big weights will do you an injury as fatigue will play apart at some stage and end up lifting it wrong!!

Plus the classes I go to are full of women so its a win win 😊

[Soup an Samajiz]

This stigma of squats and deadlifts etc not being for the normal fella just looking to do abit or whatever really needs to be tackled. Squatting and deadlifting are just about the two most natural things you can do. Most beneficial and all round essential to mobility and so much more. To all the people "just looking to lose weight" who insist on avoiding weight training, your methods fly in the face of all modern research. Do yourselves a favour and try it

[Hereiam]

Milltown i get what you are saying
I am in the same boat my football days are over and i haven't kick a ball in 3 yrs. I work in an office and spend a lot of time siting down which i don't like and have put on a bit of weight due to this and getting into bad eating habits. I ran a 5k race before Christmas and my fitness would be at an all time low.
I do some farming as well and have start to notice that my arms cramp up a lot quicker than they used to and this is the reason why i am doing some weights.
Getting older is a pain in the ass.

[manfromdelmonte]

Milltown i get what you are saying
I am in the same boat my football days are over and i haven't kick a ball in 3 yrs. I work in an office and spend a lot of time siting down which i don't like and have put on a bit of weight due to this and getting into bad eating habits. I ran a 5k race before Christmas and my fitness would be at an all time low.
I do some farming as well and have start to notice that my arms cramp up a lot quicker than they used to and this is the reason why i am doing some weights.
Getting older is a pain in the ass.

Best exercises to counteract the sitting posture are snatches, deadlifts and pull ups.

A decent base of strength training will minimise injuries and improve running endurance

[outinfront]

Anyone interested in sports performance there are 3 different articles on STACK.COM at the minute outlining a yearly routine for sports athletes. There is one on strength, conditioning and I think speed and agility.

Here is the strength one: http://www.stack.com/a/the-complete-athlete-1-year-workout-plan-strength-training-phase

Probably for folk that know a bit about lifting and have good experience already. Worth mulling over at least if you like this sort of thing.

[imtommygunn]

The biggest thing you can do to counter sitting all day is stretch your hip flexors. Sitting shortens your hip flexors so if you sit loads then unless you stretch they will shorten.

Shortened hip flexors = bad posture.

Those and upper back stretches.

Those strength exercises on top of that obviously as sitting also kills your glutes.

[outinfront]

IMO Any program no matter how basic should incorporate squatting and deadlifting of some form and a pushing and pulling for upper body.

And lots of flexibility and mobility work as TommyG mentions above.

Don't neglect sprinting and skills tho if you wanna play sports!

[Walter Cronc]

IMG be interested in what I can and cannot do with a strained hip flexor.

I've been training pretty well of late - cardio/circuit class and dont want this hip flexor issue to set me back!

Should I stick to upper body weights until it settles down?

Again sitting at a desk all day probably doesnt help.

[Milltown Row2]

Been doing Pilates and strength/balance classes for about year and half now.... The flexibility I have now compared to before starting is startling .... Hip flexor exercises very important.....

On the topic of dead lift's snatching and other heavier lifting, I've yet (4 half years at this gym) seen one bodybuilder do any stretching.... Plenty grunting  but they head straight out and check their guns out at the mirror and shake those protein drinks !!

Each to their own I suppose, I wish I could have done this years ago!! I was lucky enough that I never put weight on (over Xmas though 😞)

Walter, go to Pilates or strength/balance classes, plenty to work on hip flexors

[manfromdelmonte]

Hip flexors are a curse

Look at foam rolling and mobility exercises for the hips.
Also activation exercises for the flutes.
When your glutes are weak and lazy (most people) your other muscles are overworked and leads to tightness and injury

Spending a small sum of money to get a proper S&C program done up is worth it in the long run

[ballinaman]

I would also make sure any S&C coach you see is either A) CSCS or B)UKSCA certified.

[heffo]

Also activation exercises for the flutes.

Laoislad was talking about that in a different thread and a weekend trip to Amsterdam