Hello everybody. I am trying to get in shape and I was inspired by John Stone so I figured this would be a good place for advice. I guess I will start out by stating my goals -

I am very very weak at this point but I am not overweight. I am 6'1" and I weight about 165lbs yet I still have a considerable amount of flab which just goes to show you how weak I must be. I am not looking to become a John Stone or anything, I simply want to replace the fat that I do have with some muscle. More the goal is simply to get healthier. The kicker is I am trying for a plan that I can do for the rest of my life so I am not looking for a crash course yet I am hoping for results over the next 6 months.

I have actually already lost approximately 10lbs over the last several months, mostly by running. My only exercise equipment I have are dumbbells and as a poor college student with limited time I am looking to get the most out of those that I can. I usually exercise at night and I know thats not the best time but it is for me because it is when I have the most energy and free time. I basically try to run nearly every night, usually 1 day I will go for distance and the next day for speed. Recently, I have also been trying to use the dumbbells but they are difficult for me to do every day because I usually hurt the following 2 days. Am I doing too much if I hurt for 2 days? Should I try to work out through it? Is the night exercises ok?

As far as food goes, I don't have many options as a college student. I am simply replacing my Taco Bells and McDonalds with SubWay and I am trying to eat more at home but sadly all I have time for are microwave meals and my roommate makes homemade tacos a lot.

So I am looking for suggestions on my exercise and food routines. Thanks in advance.

Hi there :) I'm a student too (there's actually a lot of us on the board), and yea things can be hard for us in terms of finances. Does your college not have a gym for students to use?:confused: I always thought that most do.

Also, for food, I can tell you right now that you can get some quality foods for much much much cheaper than eating at Subway everyday. If you'd like some results, you're going to have to work for them a little bit. That might mean putting aside a little bit of time to start cooking:nod:

Hey, I appreciate your advice. No, my school does not have a free gym. I go to Michigan State University (hence the Spartan in my name) and with our huge student body (46,000+) I guess there just isn't enough facilities for everybody to get them for free. I actually did pay for the membership last year but I did not get my money out of it. As far as Subway goes, I know its pricey but I work from 8-5pm this summer so I get that for lunch. I basically get the sub of the day everyday with a water. Is it not possible to get in shape with simply a dumbbell set and a beautiful campus to run?

When you have the most time and energy is a great time to exercise, whether it be day or night, so don't worry about this.

Post the full routine you're doing with the dumbells. It's impossible to tell if you're doing too little or too much.

With your workouts, you want to approach them with the goal of being able to work at a capacity that is higher than what you could previously in order to achieve optimal results. Running the same distance faster, running the same pace longer, lifting the same weight for more reps, lifting a heavier weight for more reps are all examples of this. If you workout with these goals, you'll do just fine.

Outside of Subway, what are you doing for your other meals throughout the day? Do you have the means to buy and prepare your own food? Concentrate on making small improvements to your diet while still enjoying the atmosphere of college life.

It's certainly possible to get in shape with some dumbells and a place to run. The gym question was probably just so we could attempt to offer a more comprehensive strength training routine. We like heavy barbells here. Past a certain point, this would be more advantageous when it comes to adding serious muscle mass, but it's not something you have to have in order to start getting in shape.

Hey goonie, thanks a lot for your response. To be honest I have only done the dumbbells a few times thus far and I'm recovering much faster now then the first time, in fact today I expected to be sore and I wasn't at all. I am doing a variety of exercises with them, I move up in weights with each set until I no longer can and then move back down. Is this an effective method? Do you have a recommendation on a good variety of dumbbell exercises to do so that I hit all the muscle groups? Also I really want to do some ab exercises but I always have a fear that I am doing them incorrectly and potentially damaging my back. I would really like to develop a weekly plan of dumbbell, running, and ab exercises. I would be interested in hearing suggestions.

As far as food goes at home, I have made an effort recently to fit in more fruits and vegetables and I have a variety of them here that I have been eating. I also eat plenty of protein with big meaty homemade tacos quite frequently, sadly its one of the few things we can make :P Oh and each morning I eat mini-wheats, mainly to get in some fiber.

I can already tell I have come to the right place. I really appreciate any recommendations. I'm sure eventually I will look back at these posts and laugh at how silly these questions are.

Another observation that maybe somebody here can give me some advice on. My modivation overall for getting in shape is very high. However, I find it much easier to stay modivated runing than working upper body. This may be because I am already a decent runner and its really easy for me to see progress, when I started I was doing 10 min miles (little time walking) and now I can do under a 7 min mile. Now with weights it seems that I actually go up and down with what I can do and I just haven't seen any steady progress yet. Plus I find it to be a little less enjoyable overall, I love runing because I can compare how far I have left to go and how far I have gone already very easily. I think it may also be that I don't have a set routine to compare myself to previously. Any advice on what people do to keep modivated in the early stages would be great?

Another observation that maybe somebody here can give me some advice on. My modivation overall for getting in shape is very high. However, I find it much easier to stay modivated runing than working upper body. This may be because I am already a decent runner and its really easy for me to see progress, when I started I was doing 10 min miles (little time walking) and now I can do under a 7 min mile. Now with weights it seems that I actually go up and down with what I can do and I just haven't seen any steady progress yet. Plus I find it to be a little less enjoyable overall, I love runing because I can compare how far I have left to go and how far I have gone already very easily. I think it may also be that I don't have a set routine to compare myself to previously. Any advice on what people do to keep modivated in the early stages would be great?
hi spartan,
when it comes to the progress at the gym, my experience seems to show me that a lot of it depends on how tired you are, what you ate during the day, if the weather is too hot, etc. but i take a piece of paper with me and write down what i do and how much i lift. it's easier to see progress on the paper.
unfortunately, i don't have any good advice on how to stay motivated, for me it just happened one day that i started enjoying it so much, that nowadays, on days i don't lift i spend half the time thinking about how i'm going to tomorrow:D i guess you just have to be determined and persistent and it will just come.
another thing you might do: find a buddy to go with, take an i-pod and listen to music you like, try out new routines and exercises, make it interesting somehow. :)
but whatever you decide, just keep building, don't give up, soon you'll see the progress.
:bb::gl:

We tend to take to the activity that we're good at.. running is a good exercise, and you are good at it ...a 7 min. mile is a good pace..
for a recreational runner..:D

Buttersweet's suggestion on music is a good one..it promotes endorphin production.. ..You probably run to music now,but if you do not,you might want to try it..a good fast beat..long time runners can predict when they will get the endorphin "kick"..

She is also right on the running log..I have quite a few..and the weight training log...

Weight training is not your passion,but you realize that you must do it..It is also difficult to make it your secondary activity ( I never could).
So some training cylcling and periodization could work for you..cycles where you run more for pleasure and training (6-8 weeks) and weight training cycles (6-8 weeks) where a small amount of cardio and major lifting are the activities..I have never tried this approach..I do the latter..

Weight training is a great fat burning activity...that is hard for runners to accept,but it is true..it is a different mindset..and you have to do it awhile before you buy into it..:nod:

Hello, another student here :tu:

If you are out of equipment and cash, check out rossboxing.com This site specializes in bodyweight training that requires little to no equipment.


Personally, even with the free gym at my university, I prefer to go to an off campus gym because a) the hours are better and b) I don't have to find a magic time slot between PE classes and athletics.

All great advice, I appreciate it. I am going to start logging my upper body workout starting today and I have an iPod but I don't use it much, I will try it out. Here's my idea let me know if its too ambitious and if this is an ok mix.

The dumbbell exercises I do are from here - http://www.sport-fitness-advisor.com/dumbbellexercises.html

M, W, F
Distance run
Chest, Triceps, Back dumbbell exercises
Crunches

Su, T, Th
Speed run
Shoulder, Biceps, Trapezius Dumbbell Exercises
Bicycle Ab Exercise

Is it necessary to get a day rest every other day? Its easier for me to make it a daily routine then it is to try and remember whether or not its a day I exercise or not. I essentially am doing the running aspect of this already.

All great advice, I appreciate it. I am going to start logging my upper body workout starting today and I have an iPod but I don't use it much, I will try it out. Here's my idea let me know if its too ambitious and if this is an ok mix.

The dumbbell exercises I do are from here - http://www.sport-fitness-advisor.com/dumbbellexercises.html

M, W, F
Distance run
Chest, Triceps, Back dumbbell exercises
Crunches

Su, T, Th
Speed run
Shoulder, Biceps, Trapezius Dumbbell Exercises
Bicycle Ab Exercise

Is it necessary to get a day rest every other day? Its easier for me to make it a daily routine then it is to try and remember whether or not its a day I exercise or not. I essentially am doing the running aspect of this already.
i don't think you absolutely need a day of rest between routines, nevertheless, rest is almost as important as diet and workout if you want to see progress soon, so if after two weeks or so you start to feel exhausted, make a three day split and rest in between. you'll have to experiment a little before you know what suits your body best.:)
another thing, if you do cardio and lifting on the same day, either do one thing in the morning and the other in the afternoon/evening, or if you do it both at the same time of day, do cardio after lifting.
:tucool: