Getting in shape while being a gamer

Hey sythe, this is my first user submitted guide i'll be writing for something other than rs, so not too much criticism please.

I realize that some people that use these forums may be addicted to games or enjoy them as a hobby and don't find time in their day for exercise. This guide is here to motivate you and give you ways to still play games and be in shape.

I'm going to talk about several things to get you in shape and help you stay in shape.

1. Exercises
2. Exercise Equipment
3. Nutrition
4. Supplements
5. Motivation
6. Getting in shape
7. Staying in shape

I hope by reading this guide that you'll get in the shape you're comfortable with and improve your lifestyle if it's not where you want it to be at. Or if you're at where you want to be at, maybe you'll learn something new.


1. Exercises:
I'll list some standard exercises that target major muscle groups in your body to work on. I will edit this thread later on with a more variety of these basic exercises. This part of the thread is under construction.

I'll start off with push ups
The standard push up works out the following muscles:
Chest, Triceps, shoulders


Sit ups
This works abdominals obviously
The standard sit up should be having your feet being held down by either an object or person


Squats
Squats work your glutes, quads, hamstrings and calves at the same time.


2. Exercise equipment is necessary in my opinion because it helps train muscle groups that are harder to train or can't be trained without some sort of equipment.

I'm a big fan of the resistance band


The resistance band uses your own weights as resistance and is easier to work with than free weights. The resistance band can be used for almost anything, squats, biceps, triceps, shoulders, chest.
I would recommend buying one no matter what. (Get a heavy duty one)

The pull up bar:
The push up bar helps you do a more perfect push up, and has different places where you put your hands for different style of push ups. And can be hung for a door hinge or any surface similar to that and can be used as a pull up bar. Pull ups work mainly on your biceps.


Jump Ropes:
Even though the jump rope isn't everyone's first choice of working on cardio or leg muscles, it can help prepare you for running.
Jump roping is a high calorie burner and will help you burn fat.

Electronic muscle stimulator:
These are typically machines that you hook up to yourself and will send an electric charge to your muscles causing them to contract. You will burn fat and gain muscle with this, these can be costly though. But I would recommend buying one because they do help!
I would recommend the flex belt: http://www.theflexbelt.com/

The Shake weight:
I have never actually tried this before and have seen commercials for it, and have considered trying this.
6 minutes with the shake weight is apparently equivalent to 42 minutes of a workout with standard dumbells. Even though it looks like your jerking someone off, I still think it's worth it and I'm going to try this myself in a few days. I'll update my thread later on to let everyone know how it goes.

Edit: I have tried out the shakeweight, it does work but I don't think it's as efficient as the commercial claims to be but still, it does work.
Edit2: I have only tried the shakeweight out for about 30 seconds, im ordering it from Amazon.com and it will be here tomorrow and i'll write how it goes.

P90X
I'm pretty sure everyone's been hearing of this lately, P90X is the revolutionary fitness DVD that guarantees you to be able to get ripped in just 90 days. Some people may be skeptical of this, but I'm telling you right now that it works, but you will have to be dedicated to doing this everyday and it's possible even though you may be a gamer.
Here's a website with about a 10 minute Ab Ripper X sample - http://www.freeworkoutguides.com/workoutguides/p90x-ab-ripper-workout



3. Nutrition
Nutrition is a very important role of being in getting in and staying in shape.
Once you get in shape, you don't want to lose your progress and gain too much weight again.

You will have to simply use common sense and watch what you eat, stay away from junk food and drink plenty of water.
Instead of getting chips or twinkies try grabbing a bottle of water or fresh fruit.
Stay away from high fat foods and eat normal sized portions of meals
Stay away from Whole milk, try skim milk. Skim milk has nearly half the calories of a cup of whole milk, no fat, and the same amount of nutrients.
Stay away from processed foods, foods high in sugars, high fructose corn syrup, high in carbohydrates.

Get a nice amount of protein, and try to keep a good balance in between everything

4. Supplements
There is absolutely nothing wrong with taking supplements. Protein supplements, creatine, multivitamins are all fine, just stay away from steroids.

I personally use 100% whey protein because it's a good source of protein, it builds lean muscle, it's low in calories and has a great taste to it.


I also take multivitamins.
Don't only rely on supplements for sources of protein, there are natural foods that are good sources.
Supplements really should only be taken before/after working out, not for replacing meals or anything.

You should get around 1G of protein per pound of body weight per day.

5. Motivation
It's kind of hard to be motivated to something you may not be used to. You have to make this a habit, good habits and decisions are harder to make for some people than others.

You have to find something on your own that will motivate you in some way and will get you dedicated to focusing on exercise / fitness for atleast 30 minutes a day.

6. Getting in shape
Here's the part everyone is probably looking for
I will teach you how to play games while getting in shape.

If you have computer games for example, Runescape, The easiest way to make time for exercising is probably botting and exercising while the bot is running, or if you are a pker and you can exercise while building ep. Keep a resistance band or a couple of free weights next to you for something to do while waiting.

Game consoles - I don't play my consoles much anymore but in multi player games most games, there's some sort of online lobby that involves some waiting in some way shape or form, take advantage of the waiting time. Everything you do will add up when it comes to exercising.

Exercise belts / Sauna Belts - While your sitting down all this time, now would be a great time for your exercise belts / Sauna belts that you bought, burning fat / building muscle while doing absolutely nothing.

Eating/snacking - Although I already talked about this, you have to make sure you don't eat junk food while gaming. You'll be eating a lot of junk and sitting around which means it won't go anywhere and it won't be burned off.


7. Staying in shape
Hopefully if you've progressed far enough to get in shape, you can easily stay in shape. All you have to do is make daily exercise a hobby and it will come easy to you. Daily exercise improves energy levels, makes you feel great, improves your lifespan and improves your quality as a person.

Thank you for reading my guide, this is my first written guide and it may not be that good, but I hope it helps somebody.

 

Loved the guide Matt. Is this what you used to do when you pced 24/7? <3

You should add color.

Very detailed, a lot of pictures.

9/10

 

Actually I have a family member that used to game all the time and i've helped him get into shape instead of going overweight

Thanks for the feedback though

 

Wow Really good guide. Liked how you included pictures 9.5/10

 

Well written guides. How did the Shake weight do?

 

10/10. It's really helpful. Detailed and straight-forward.

One thing you could add is what foods/beverages you could mix the Whey Protein in. I doubt you can eat it alone.

Overall its a nice guide and very well written.

 

There are many points that I would consider invalid with this guide.

Though, I will give it a four out of ten since I can't, confidentially, agree with several of the points you have stated.

Regards-

/sword

 

Okay guide; I'll give it a 7/10.

By the way, does the Shake Weight actually work? Kind of interested in it myself.

 

I'm ordering the shakeweight today and it will be here tomorrow

Although im very skeptical about it because it looks gay, it still does work and i'll write a full review about it tomorrow

 

have you heard anything about muscle milk? my brother uses it and he was fat and is now ripped. idk if i wanna try something like that though

 

Very nice guide man, should definetly add some colour!

 

I have never tried muscle milk myself
but I heard it gets you fat because of the amount of calories it has and not enough protein or whatever

Depends if you want to go for the bulky big look or the lean muscle ripped look

 

Very nice guide, very helpful to gamers trying to stay in shape or just stay healthy.

 

Awsome I like this Guide Really Interesting and Simple 9/10

 

Has anyone tried those shake weights. Is the what they say in the commercial true?