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Bodyweight "Running is the fastest way to get in shape"

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My perspective is that the term getting into shape is pretty much meaningless...unless it has context. Even saying getting into shape for general health, and well being will have vastly different meanings to different people. Running (and I've done a lot) is just one tool. I may be using extremes here (just to illustrate a point)... the fastest way to 'get into shape' for a morbidly obese person or an octogenarian will almost certainly not be running.

Running has a lot of merits, and it is highly effective at some things...
(I wouldn't do it if it wasn't...)

Give me a well defined situation: Starting conditions and expected outcome, and then maybe I could speculate what the best method is.
 
offwidth said:
My perspective is that the term getting into shape is pretty much meaningless...unless it has context. Even saying getting into shape for general health, and well being will have vastly different meanings to different people. Running (and I've done a lot) is just one tool. I may be using extremes here (just to illustrate a point)... the fastest way to 'get into shape' for a morbidly obese person or an octogenarian will almost certainly not be running.

Running has a lot of merits, and it is highly effective at some things...
(I wouldn't do it if it wasn't...)

Give me a well defined situation: Starting conditions and expected outcome, and then maybe I could speculate what the best method is.
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Sure. Suppose I want to ready myself or keep myself fit for general sport purpose, like pick-up basketball, hiking etc, karate whatever, as one goal, but as another to make my self look "better" in the sense of leaner, better posture, and to feel better in the sense of I suppose general cardio-respiratory health.

In my own experience, running makes me look thinner, seems to trim me down a bit, and seems to build some nice musculature all over especially the legs and core. On the other hand, it strikes me as being very running-specific in terms of strength and endurance. It doesn't give me much strength or endurance specifically for judo matches nor for kettlebells. However, if we're talking about me looking thinner, a bit sleeker, and feeling a bit healthier, running seems to do this well. But I'm not at all sure this is the "fastest" way to do it. (Not that my coach means this concept to be taken 100% literally - it's just something that got me thinking.)
 
Ran on the spot (well, with some lateral and forward and back movements, not just literally on the spot) for an hour singing 2lbs weights the while. I used to do this when competing in judo and MMA. Fun. Played Celtic music - slow, meditative stuff.
 
Al Ciampa said:
Then you’re doing it wrong.
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Isn't conditioning your lower legs a big part of running and getting better at it? Wouldn't rowing be better for a Judo fighter because it conditions parts of your bodies that play a bigger role in Judo than your lower legs?

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@Topic: When I was in the military after HS we ran almost every day (5 days a week) for 9 months and after about 3 months most of us were at a point were a 30-45 minute run was easy and did little to help us marching or running around through the woods with our equipment. I can't imagine that putting in the time to get really good at it has a lot of carry-over to other activities or a big impact on how you look.
 
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Perhaps you should take the genetic gifts of your coach into consideration?

I've trained many runners/sprinters over the course of forty years and have found a system that has worked pretty well. It has been performed by guys that ran 56 second quarters and one guy that ran 46 seconds. They all worked hard but the 48's and faster had some "pop" that the other guys simply didn't have.

Also, are you talking steady state cardio? Fartlek? Intervals? There are certainly master principles that have proven true over the years, but my experience has been that physical conditioning will always be as much art as it is science. How much water and how much fertilizer?

Since about the age of fifty I have found that bouts of "sprinting" coupled with some steady state work mixed in does the trick for maintaining a measure of leanness and pleasant cardiovascular numbers such as blood pressure, resting heart rate etc. Sprinting is a relative term at age sixty-two. I'd like to still do some road running but the cost/benefit ratio for me makes it such that it is seldom part of my regimen. Sometimes it's not the years but the miles.

I just recommend that you take in the information you are given since you are a student of physical culture and find what fits you. We often overthink things. Train for a goal, perhaps a 5k or 10k and see how you feel and look afterwards. That could go a long way toward answering your question.
 
Denny Phillips said:
Perhaps you should take the genetic gifts of your coach into consideration?

I've trained many runners/sprinters over the course of forty years and have found a system that has worked pretty well. It has been performed by guys that ran 56 second quarters and one guy that ran 46 seconds. They all worked hard but the 48's and faster had some "pop" that the other guys simply didn't have.

Also, are you talking steady state cardio? Fartlek? Intervals? There are certainly master principles that have proven true over the years, but my experience has been that physical conditioning will always be as much art as it is science. How much water and how much fertilizer?

Since about the age of fifty I have found that bouts of "sprinting" coupled with some steady state work mixed in does the trick for maintaining a measure of leanness and pleasant cardiovascular numbers such as blood pressure, resting heart rate etc. Sprinting is a relative term at age sixty-two. I'd like to still do some road running but the cost/benefit ratio for me makes it such that it is seldom part of my regimen. Sometimes it's not the years but the miles.

I just recommend that you take in the information you are given since you are a student of physical culture and find what fits you. We often overthink things. Train for a goal, perhaps a 5k or 10k and see how you feel and look afterwards. That could go a long way toward answering your question.
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Much wisdom in this post Denny...
 
Kaisersemmel said:
Isn't conditioning your lower legs a big part of running and getting better at it? Wouldn't rowing be better for a Judo fighter because it conditions parts of your bodies that play a bigger role in Judo than your lower legs?

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@Topic: When I was in the military after HS we ran almost every day (5 days a week) for 9 months and after about 3 months most of us were at a point were a 30-45 minute run was easy and did little to help us marching or running around through the woods with our equipment. I can't imagine that putting in the time to get really good at it has a lot of carry-over to other activities or a big impact on how you look.
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I'm kind of exaggerating - of course running helps condition me for judo, but in judo your arms are engaged and your whole upper body is under a lot of tension, which seems to demand its own kind of conditioning.

I ran for an hour yesterday. No big deal. Not hard for me. Today, for variety I walked for 90 minutes on the trails swinging 3lbs dumbbells. They started feeling heavy by the end of the walk.
 
Denny Phillips said:
HeavyHands training is sorely neglected.
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Any thoughts on it?

I started doing it long ago, before I found out anyone else did it or that it got commercialized as "heavy hands".

It just struck me as common sense - swing weights in your hands while walking and you'll make yourself tougher.

I did all sorts of personally devised training things back when I was competitive in judo. One other "weird" thing was I would hold 12lbs dumbbells, and jump up and down hundreds of times. I figured this would make me tougher too.
 
"Running is the fastest way to get in shape"

Replace "running" with "sprinting" and I would tend to agree with the statement.
 
Denny Phillips said:
HeavyHands

It can turn into a real bear if you are swinging the weights up to eye level or higher.
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The heavy hands training always seemed to make me quite strong and resilient. It just works, and I don't know what the science would make of it. I personally like how it feels, but I'm sure for some it's the most boring thing on earth to do. I like it. One guy on that thread mentions how he figures it gave him some lasting strength and I agree.

It's something I'll keep doing.

Gosh - the longer I'm on these forums the more I'm thinking that all the old stuff I used to do on my own without learning it from anyone is some of the best stuff out there! ... but I've learned a lot of other stuff too, here.

I'm coming to think that real, practical strength is actually endurance strength.
 
Hello,

@Kozushi
Yes jumping rope is a fantastic tool if one want to look thinner, as you mentionned. Basically, it wonderful to get some muscle toning.

Contrary to running, which of course has its benefits, jumping ropes teaches you how to move your leg extremely quickly without effort. It creates some kind of flow.

Performing with a light rope may permit you to use different footwork pattern. Using an heavier one may benfit more on your shoulders, arms and grip. In both cases, core always have to be engaged. It also teaches how to get strong but relaxed shoulders.

IMO, running with heavy hands can build even stronger arm / shoulder, but still lean. Nonethless, you will work less on footwork, because it remains running.

Depending on the sport you do, footwork may be more or less important. For instance, this is crucial in boxing, MMA, etc...

As always, the best option would be to perform both jumping rope and heavy hand running.
Kind regards,

Pet'
 
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