Interesting forms of exercise

I am turning into a huge couch-potato lately, I must have put on 20 pounds since April 1st (was in v v good shape) due to sitting on my ass all day, traveling a lot, and drinking in excess.

For the first 2-3 months of the year I was doing some cool and interesting stuff, perhaps a bit old school, but it seemed to work and was fun at the same time. The main thing I got into was plyometrics, which I'm sure wufwugy will come in and say is horrible for your joints and blah blah blah, either way it's a hell of a workout and I enjoyed it.

I'm looking for other interesting workouts, there really is no limitation.

I'm thinking of choosing a few of these:

1. BJJ
2. Ultimate
3. Muay Thai

I figure ultimate I would meet some cool people, BJJ could potentially hold real-world applications, and muay thai would be a helluva workout.

Any other ideas are appreciated, maybe boxing/karate forms but I did do tae-kwon-do for 6 months and frankly it didn't seem intense enough for me.

1) WTF is BBJ?

2) Any of the Martial arts is a blast. I had a buddy that was in Brazillian Ju Jitsu, and he said it was the most intense form of combat training he'd ever been in (He was an army ranger, so he knows a thing or two) He also had a girlfriend who would travel and compete with other men at the national level, she could kill any one of us. It was disturbingly hot.

3) A lot of doctors are reccommending sex to couples in their late 20's doing the "slowing down thing" as a form of cardio. Rigorous schedule, time limits and everything.

4) For me? Nothing beats a good old fasioned game of Warehouse paintball to keep in shape. 2 times a week, it's a little more expensive, but it's hard as hell to run for 2 hours straight without the proper "influence" Getting pelted by one of those balls is more than enough influence. You'll also go balls out every time you have the chance.

lol wtf is BJJ and your buddy took "Brazillion Ju Jitsu"

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Originally Posted by bigspenda73

The main thing I got into was plyometrics, which I'm sure wufwugy will come in and say is horrible for your joints and blah blah blah, either way it's a hell of a workout and I enjoyed it.

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That's funny because my knee is all fucked up at the moment because of doing plyos. However, it's probably from me not doing enough warming up and/or stretching.
Or I'm just getting old and my knees are weak!

I also have a friend who raves about BJJ. He said he lost 20lbs and was stronger than ever while doing it.

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Originally Posted by bigspenda73

The main thing I got into was plyometrics, which I'm sure wufwugy will come in and say is horrible for your joints and blah blah blah, either way it's a hell of a workout and I enjoyed it.

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it doesnt surprise me that im largely misunderstood. i do my best to not express opinion in areas in which facts exist. anywho...

plyometrics are not inherently anymore deleterious to joint tissue than any other forms of exercise. plyos can actually be considered the most natural form of exercise. they can be thought of as being any movement in which there is no slowing down during the muscle shortening phase. this is most often associated with explosive movements like that which is found in sprinting, but i'm pretty sure it is safe to say that jogging is also technically plyometric.

as for the OP, it all depends on what you're interested in doing. if you're unsure than it is highly likely that some form of popular and vigorous martial art is what you seek.

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Originally Posted by JL

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Originally Posted by bigspenda73

The main thing I got into was plyometrics, which I'm sure wufwugy will come in and say is horrible for your joints and blah blah blah, either way it's a hell of a workout and I enjoyed it.

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That's funny because my knee is all fucked up at the moment because of doing plyos. However, it's probably from me not doing enough warming up and/or stretching.
Or I'm just getting old and my knees are weak!

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blaming an exercise for injury is often like blaming a gun for killing. some exercises are actually inherently bad, but those are fewer than one would expect. however, even the most docile and correctly performed exercise can be the trigger of negative reactions if just one of many factors is out of sync.

I just assumed you'd disagree with whatever I did in the past :)

Are there like common schools or families for some of these martial arts programs, I live in a very big city so I'm sure I could find them.

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Originally Posted by bigspenda73

I just assumed you'd disagree with whatever I did in the past :)

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I LOL'd pretty hard at this, but im living off 3 hours of sleep so it might not be as funny as i think it is. :P

Its not the most interesting, but i bought a bike this summer and have been booting it around town. It saves gas money, will help you shed some extra pounds and is pretty fun. Other than that i just lift weights, run and walk.

Have you thought about joining a basketball, soccer, flag football, road hockey etc league??? They can be fun and you will meet people doing that also.

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Originally Posted by bigspenda73

Are there like common schools or families for some of these martial arts programs, I live in a very big city so I'm sure I could find them.

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I've done several types of martial arts (Kenpo, Tang So Do, Kung Fu, and American Freestyle) and they were all good in there own way. Kenpo seemed to incorporate the most different disciplines, Tang So Do was fun (its kinda like tae kwon do), Kung Fu was the hardest for me. I think it had to do with the instructor, he was hard core. We had 2 hour class, one hour of working out to start and one hour of instruction and he was a full contact type guy...very fun. And Freestyle was like more the sport, lots and lots of sparring. I would try a couple places near you (they usually have like a free trial period or very cheap for like a week or something), and see what you like.

You'll only meet a bunch of hippies playing ultimate. But it's pretty much one big plyo workout.

If you're going to do Martial Arts, go for some form of MMA. At least that way you will learn to fight in all ranges.

I just bought a Wii Fit last week. Kinda cool. I don't expect any real exercise, I'm just trying to get the whole family off the couch/Computer/laptop. Seems to be working.

As for any of the martial arts, I took Wado Ru Karate for over 12 years and after the first year it stopped being good for a primary source of exercise. It's great to do, but without the extra cross training it becomes less and less of any type of aerobic benefit. BJJ or MT may be more so than some of the other arts.

Also, stop eating like shit (I would have to assume). There's no reason you should blow up like a blimp just because you stop working out for a couple months.

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Originally Posted by wesrman

If you're going to do Martial Arts, go for some form of MMA. At least that way you will learn to fight in all ranges.

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+1

I train in JJJ (traditional jiu-jitsu), and the sparring is basically light-medium contact MMA. No knees or elbows like muai-thai, but other than that it's more practial than most other martial arts IMO.

It's also a great workout that gives you decent cardio, flexibility, strength.

BJJ is awesome LDO, but it won't teach you how to fight on your feet (other than going straight to the ground). But if you're looking for just a workout, it's great in all the aforementioned categories.

I highly recommend the martial arts because they usually target a lot of different areas to health. Stretching regularly has totally eliminated all the random aches and pains I would get as a result of my otherwise sedentary lifestyle...

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Originally Posted by Ragnar4

1) WTF is BBJ?

2) Any of the Martial arts is a blast. I had a buddy that was in Brazillian Ju Jitsu...

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lol

How about Mountain Biking. Its fun and you get off your ass.

jeet kune do & catch wrestling imo

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Originally Posted by mrhappy333

How about Mountain Biking. Its fun and you get off your ass.

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Technically you are on your ass for a lot of it. :P

vigorous fapping

comes to mind that you may really enjoy rugby. finding the leagues near you should be easy, and if you're eventually good you play on leagues that travel a lot. the team mentality is superior to 'individual' sports imo.

edit: one downfall is that you'll have minor injuries constantly

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Originally Posted by wesrman

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Originally Posted by mrhappy333

How about Mountain Biking. Its fun and you get off your ass.

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Technically you are on your ass for a lot of it. :P

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mountain biking in houston, tx is a pretty funny thought.

BJJ > All other options. Any grappling art will wear you out.

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Originally Posted by spoonitnow

BJJ > All other options. Any grappling art will wear you out.

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Ya they will dry hump the shit out of you..lol. You will be sore in places u dont want to be sore in. :P

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Originally Posted by bigspenda73

The main thing I got into was plyometrics, which I'm sure wufwugy will come in and say is horrible for your joints and blah blah blah, either way it's a hell of a workout and I enjoyed it.

I figure ultimate I would meet some cool people, BJJ could potentially hold real-world applications, and muay thai would be a helluva workout.

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plyometrics - i haven't played that shit since I was coaching some circus types in spain a few years ago... it's sooo good for power
Ultimate you'll meet some cool people, frisbee throwing is a good life skill, and the girls tend to be pretty fit
Muay thai get your anger going on - that or Kyokushinkai karate will be good for ya.

Other suggestions - rock climbing and surfing. Soul food.
yoga is good for getting fat
I haven't done any capoeira - but it's great for travel cos there's always a crew and you can always join in

edit: just saw that wufwugy suggested rugby! nice for a kiwi to hear. Touch rugby great for cardio - but could be hard to find?

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Originally Posted by wesrman

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Originally Posted by spoonitnow

BJJ > All other options. Any grappling art will wear you out.

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Ya they will dry hump the shit out of you..lol. You will be sore in places u dont want to be sore in. :P

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Yes because all grappling entails is humping each other.

If you want more info about BJJ ask vqc.

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Originally Posted by spoonitnow

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Originally Posted by wesrman

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Originally Posted by spoonitnow

BJJ > All other options. Any grappling art will wear you out.

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Ya they will dry hump the shit out of you..lol. You will be sore in places u dont want to be sore in. :P

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Yes because all grappling entails is humping each other.

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Nah thats just me doing to you, what you do on other peoples threads. Just havin some fun with ya. :)

If you look up i suggested that he join a MMA class. That would include BJJ ldo, but would also mix in boxing, muay thai, wrestling and who knows what else. This way it would be less repetitive and imo a be lot funner. Not to mention the practical applications that a straight BJJ class doesnt offer.

FWIW i think JKD would be even better cuz its aimed more towards street combat, but still includes all the stuff you learn in a MMA class. IF you can find a proper instructor obv.

parkour?