Workout program

[ilm_seeker]

Can anyone please point me in the direction of any good workout programs for men that have comprehensive workout routines (strength training and cardio) and a solid nutritional meal plan?

I've come across a few on the Internet, however they are geared towards a North American audience with many of the foods not availble in the U.K. or their equivilants not easily discoverable.

[herryjame]

I think it's good to get the advices from the gym instructors when you join the gym and also from the online sources regarding body building and diet.I wonder you didn't yet get anything based on UK lifestyle.

[mpatel3d]

Check out http://www.mensworkoutguide.com/. It's free to join and I have found the information very useful.

[Abdul_Wali]

Before I got interested in purifying the soul, I was into workout programs for a bit. A friend gave me this workout program (on DVD) called P90X and I tried it out for a few days and it was intense. Also, I checked out their community and saw that overall, a majority of people were getting amazing results. The idea was that in 90 days you can get down to 15-10% body fat and look slim and muscular. And their exercises were no walk in the park. A lot of their routine was really brand new to me and unique and they covered everything from abs, chest, back, legs, etc. The program only requires you to get a pull up bar and either dumbells or resistance bands (though dumbells are better for guys). And they have a whole nutrition guide that doesnt just list brand name foods but meals like how many ounces of fish, etc. It was a really comprehensive program and I never got the chance to finish it, but I could feel its effect in the first few days.

However, in all honesty, the workout program has one non marhram women showing parts that should be covered up. She is also wearing tight clothing. Some of the men too are not properly covered up. So you can throw that out of the door. But maybe you can search on google for text descriptions of the exercises in the P90X program. The routine itself was geared towards people who wanted fast results but Alhamdilillah, we as Muslims aren't so concerned about Dunya as we are Akhirah, so it doesnt hurt if a 90 day workout program takes a few years right? salah and zakah are more important than fast workout results.

[AbuUmar]

Can anyone please point me in the direction of any good workout programs for men that have comprehensive workout routines (strength training and cardio) and a solid nutritional meal plan?

I've come across a few on the Internet, however they are geared towards a North American audience with many of the foods not availble in the U.K. or their equivilants not easily discoverable.

Bro if you wanna gain mass/strength, there are plenty of training programs available on the net but the basics are all the same; you need to eat more calories than you burn so eat lots of small meals that are rich in complex carbs like vegetables cereals wholemeal tings and of course protein (because thus is vital for muscle growth and repair) instead of a couple of big ones-never go hungry.
This can be hard on the stomach though, so I strongly reccomend you buy a mass gainer supplement called Enlarge2, available in sports nutrition shops and some gyms, but it's £25 at www.discount-supplements.co.uk where as I've seen the same 2.72 kg tub as much as £45 in some places.

If your starting training from scratch then you can do circuit training of your whole body twice a week, using all muscle groups, then after a few months when you start to plateau you can isolate and do chest biceps on Monday, legs shoulders on Wednesday and back triceps on Friday for example - DO NOT OVERTRAIN; your muscles only grow when your resting after training, not when you actually train- it's the repair of the muscle after training that causes muscle growth so it's vital to gave rest days and eat properly to maintain good carb and protein levels to optimise your recovery and therefore results.

Btw whoever said training isn't important you don't know what your talking about, were a minority in this country we need big brothers; peace through strength as they say.

As salaam aleikum.

[NNoor]

To ilm_seeker:

It really depends on what your goals are and what level you're at now. If you are interested in gaining muscle mass, as Abu Umar says, you will need to wok out hard (you will need access to a few basic pieces of equipment and heavy weights: barbell, squat rack, bench for pressing), and you will need to consume more calories (with a larger portion being proteins than you might be having now) than you expend.

If you are interested in gaining strength but not necessarily in getting bigger, you don't have to eat nearly as much, so this is easier on the stomach. Also, you can get away with doing more bodyweight exercises, which don't require as much equipment....though you will eventually get to a point where you've mastered a lot of skills and you will need to add weight to up the difficulty or you won't keep getting stronger. For this you can get a way with just having a pullup bar, with perhaps a dip station. Bodyweight exercises include variations on movements like pushups, pullups, squats, l-seats, handstand presses, etc. This require a lot more balance and coordination than simply lifting weights, and in my opinion are more fun.

If you are primarily trying to lose fat, your focus should be on cardio, though it will help to pack on some muscle as well since muscle burns calories even when you're not working out.

Anyway, reply with some stats and your goals, and I'll try to give you more detailed advice.

You can also visit www.bodyweightculture.com/forum It's a good community with a ton of info, workout plans, meal plans, etc...with a lot of knowledgeable people you can ask for advice.

[Aseatic]

What about exercises for strengthening knees? My aged parents' knees have deteriorated and they cannot do sujud anymore or even fold their legs to sit on the floor (they pray sitting on a chair), but some old folk can still do that.

[Was_tha_musafir]

Salaam

it does depent on what u specifically want, but if your starting out, do cardio and light weights for about a week - 10days, just so that you get the body warmed up, and your muscles start reacting and waken up, then depending if u want do loose some weight, focus on cardio more, start of with 15minutes treadmill (interval is best) if not intervel normal manual, then do 10minutes cross trainer 10 minutes rowing 10 minutes bike, if u cant do that then the machines that u can do increase your time on those, after your cardio its best to do situps, do as many as u can keep a target of 100 (50 if ur starting out) and do 10 reps sets of 5, if u can increase then increase, dont push yourself too quickly too soon, because u wont come in the next day, its best to build it up

if u want muscle just do a 5 min warm up (cardio) then start of with light weights, and dont go heavy really quickly, lots of mans get weight happy, and bench tooo much, its better to stick to a weight and rep it out proper (by proper i mean do at least 3sets of 10 reps on that weight before increasing)

food wise, eat egg ehites (i tend to have them boiled because it tastes better) and have tuna after your workout (thats depending if u are weight training) protein is needed after weight training as the muscles tear while u train so in order to repair them u need protein, i say stay away from the shakes, natural food is better instead of the chemical stuff,

if u are wanting to loose weight, just eat healthy food but also just eat in small quantities

and when u train, have the intention of doing it because its a sunnah, and for every second u train inshaAllah u'll get reward for it

[Was_tha_musafir]

What about exercises for strengthening knees? My aged parents' knees have deteriorated and they cannot do sujud anymore or even fold their legs to sit on the floor (they pray sitting on a chair), but some old folk can still do that.

Salaam

they could try just bending there legs up and down continuously, and taking cod liver oil everyday

[Aseatic]

Thanks bro. I think my parents' knees are too far gone though.

It's more of preventative exercises that I had in mind, cuz my siblings and me (30s and 40s) have started developing creaking knees. I think it's sad when a Muslim is unable to do sujud.

I practice Tai Chi, and was thinking of yoga except: someone told me it's forbidden; and I'm really not that flexible anymore, LOL!