[IVIidnight]

So i wasnt serious enough about a sport to actually go out and work out for it, i just didnt feel motivated to when i was playing fine, anyway, at the start of this paintball season i realized that i need to get in shape. Anyway i know absolutely nothing about fitness or working out, so im in need of a little assistance.

What would be a simple home workout that i can do to help with paintball, i know that Cardio is the #1 thing but i just want to know should i be running distance or sprints or both? For "strength" training i have already started to do 20 pushups a day and slowly increasing, but what else would i be able to do that would help.

Thanks for any replies, and remember i have absolutely no idea about any of this.

This post has been edited by IVIidnight: 11 June 2012 - 09:49 PM

[MidgetKickerx11]

I wouldnt see long distance running to really come in handy when it comes to a paintball match. you typically run at most like what? 30 or so yards at one time. if i were needing to get in shape i would do short sprints with small breaks. for example, run 20 yards and back as fast as you can and rest for 30 to 45 seconds. start off by doing 10 or so and work your way up until you can either do more reps, or go a longer distance and back. for "strength" orientated workouts for paintball, i really only see the need to work legs, shoulders, and back. if you cant get over to a gym, try to find a bar or beam in your house and do some pullups ( or most parks have a type of bar you can use). try to find some weights somewhere and do some lateral and front shoulder raises of some sort. for legs, try doing some lunges without any weights or even some jump squats. you dont need to be super strong in paintball IMO, but you do need some stamina. message me with any of your questions if you would like and hell, i could even put together a simple home workout for you. Im playing college football at the moment and am studying Exercise Science so i do have knowledge on this kind of stuff.

[TechPB-Mike]

I would honestly invest in something like P90X or Insanity. It's a $100 investment, it's got 10+ good workouts on DVD, a flowchart that lays out your workouts, a nutrition plan with recipes, and it's a GREAT start.

It's low impact, it's got strength, cardio, it'll get you started on the right track.

P90X is going to lean you more towards total body strength, Insanity will gear you more towards cardio / interval training. Personally for paintball, I think Insanity is the better choice, but both are awesome first steps towards fitness.

[Anti_Revolution]

MidgetKickerx11, on 12 June 2012 - 04:42 PM, said:

I wouldnt see long distance running to really come in handy when it comes to a paintball match. you typically run at most like what? 30 or so yards at one time. if i were needing to get in shape i would do short sprints with small breaks. for example, run 20 yards and back as fast as you can and rest for 30 to 45 seconds. start off by doing 10 or so and work your way up until you can either do more reps, or go a longer distance and back. for "strength" orientated workouts for paintball, i really only see the need to work legs, shoulders, and back. if you cant get over to a gym, try to find a bar or beam in your house and do some pullups ( or most parks have a type of bar you can use). try to find some weights somewhere and do some lateral and front shoulder raises of some sort. for legs, try doing some lunges without any weights or even some jump squats. you dont need to be super strong in paintball IMO, but you do need some stamina. message me with any of your questions if you would like and hell, i could even put together a simple home workout for you. Im playing college football at the moment and am studying Exercise Science so i do have knowledge on this kind of stuff.

long distance running is really useful for paintball, when your playing long points all day you need to have the cardio and stamina to do that over and over and over, do a combination of short sprints and long runs so your fast, but also can sustain a good pace the whole tournament or day

[MidgetKickerx11]

Anti_Revolution, on 15 June 2012 - 07:53 PM, said:

MidgetKickerx11, on 12 June 2012 - 04:42 PM, said:

I wouldnt see long distance running to really come in handy when it comes to a paintball match. you typically run at most like what? 30 or so yards at one time. if i were needing to get in shape i would do short sprints with small breaks. for example, run 20 yards and back as fast as you can and rest for 30 to 45 seconds. start off by doing 10 or so and work your way up until you can either do more reps, or go a longer distance and back. for "strength" orientated workouts for paintball, i really only see the need to work legs, shoulders, and back. if you cant get over to a gym, try to find a bar or beam in your house and do some pullups ( or most parks have a type of bar you can use). try to find some weights somewhere and do some lateral and front shoulder raises of some sort. for legs, try doing some lunges without any weights or even some jump squats. you dont need to be super strong in paintball IMO, but you do need some stamina. message me with any of your questions if you would like and hell, i could even put together a simple home workout for you. Im playing college football at the moment and am studying Exercise Science so i do have knowledge on this kind of stuff.

long distance running is really useful for paintball, when your playing long points all day you need to have the cardio and stamina to do that over and over and over, do a combination of short sprints and long runs so your fast, but also can sustain a good pace the whole tournament or day

Right... but you run 30 yards at one time max i would say. you then sit behind a bunker for a few seconds to a few minutes and run a short distance again. running miles and miles a day is just over kill. It is most important to have strong legs IMO. for instance playing a Dorito you may be in a squatting position for a long time. this can tire you out quickly and make your legs feel like jelly... this is where most of the fatigue comes in to play IMO... not actual running.

[Anti_Revolution]

regardless of where the fatigue comes from, cardio helps with all stamina, running doesn't only help your stamina in your legs, helps all stamina because it promotes a stronger heart, better oxygen absorption and more numerous mitochondria.

[MidgetKickerx11]

Anti_Revolution, on 17 June 2012 - 03:49 PM, said:

regardless of where the fatigue comes from, cardio helps with all stamina, running doesn't only help your stamina in your legs, helps all stamina because it promotes a stronger heart, better oxygen absorption and more numerous mitochondria.

Right and you can get a great cardio workout by doing interval sprints! In fact, there have been several studies( featured in Bodybuilding.com was where i saw it i believe)that argue the best shape your heart can get in is by doing a bunch of interval sprints with limited rest in between. It is much more beneficial than running a mile at lets say a 8 minute pace. every year i have to go to a cardiologist and get an echo cardiogram because of several issues i have with my heart( murmur, some sporadic heartbeats at times, and some other weird issues they have noticed), and last time i went, which was about 2 months ago, i was told my heart was in tremendous shape. My doc asked me what workouts i have been doing and i told her i was doing some interval training on a treadmill my gym has( this thing is sweet, has harness that prevents you from eating it if you cant keep up, the treadmill can reach speeds of 25mph and up, and has an incline of 45+ degrees). She then told me that my resting heartbeat was at 38, extremely low. She then relayed the same info i stated above and told me this is how to make your heart the strongest. anyways, i will also have to argue that running does help tremendously with stamina in your legs. hell i can squat 500+ pounds multiple times, but if i havent ran for a while and i do a good sprinting workout, my legs will be much more tired than any intense lifting workout i can put them through. i am not disputing the fact that long runs are beneficial to your heart health and stamina, of course they are. but when you look at the sport of paintball, it is mostly short periods of time in which you have to exert a great amount of energy. that being said paintball is really not that physically demanding at all lol.