I took 2023 off from paintball to focus on fitness

[Euphie]

So near the start of the year, I realized that I was just too out of shape. I (38F) am not getting any younger, and I had got a bit fat too, so I figured I was going to focus on fitness so I could get back to being (hopefully) good at paintball again. So I went for a straight up hypertrophy program focusing on a few sets a day training to either form failure (legs and compounds) or absolute failure (upper body isolation movements). That and changing my diet a bit to eat 1gram of protein per pound of bodyweight has had sort of amazing results.

I didn't even eat in a deficit, or at least I didn't think I was but since March this year when I started I am down 30lbs and I have for the first time in my life visible biceps, and while my legs are still pretty fatty (I don't mind gives me some shape) my stomach flattened out and while I am still 20 or 30 lbs from abs, I think I can now finally turn my training back towards getting in shape for paintball.

So, I have been trying to figure out what sort of program is going to work best for that. Normally I just do an exercise with as many reps as I can and once I hit more than 30 reps before failure I increase the weight on that exercise, so I am already a bit on the endurance side, but I don't know if that is going to be good enough for woodsball. My thought is to move my legs more over to high rep training like 100 bodyweight squats everyday or something like that. Turns out by about 50 I am finding I am limited by my cardiovascular system as much as I am by my legs muscles burning. I am hoping I will adjust, surely I probably need better cardio function for paintball too.

So does that seem like a good idea or should I be using weights still to train for paintball?

[Carp]

I unfortunately have no training/exercise advise. Just wanted to say congrats on all the hard work so far. I would like to have at least half the drive and motivation as you do.

[SignOfZeta]

If it entertains you to do all that…or to talk about all that…great. It seems like torture to me though and I don’t see what paintball has to do with any of it.

Fat old pieces of crap play paintball all the time and have a load of fun. I can personally attest to this. Paintball is flexible. I shoot skinny young people who can outrun me all the time because they can’t outrun a paintball. I also shoot people out who can bench press twice what I can and because in paintball you only have to be strong enough to hold your gun. Nobody even knows what anyone’s abs look like because you’re completely covered in goofy looking gear.

VERDICT: if you want to be better at paintball don’t take off a year of paintball. While a better physique won’t hurt, especially if it extends your life/happiness in no sport on earth will you get better by not practicing it for an entire year.

[Euphie]

The problem was I couldn't really afford to buy all of the weight plates, dumbbells, barbell, etc and still afford my monthly paintball excursions, but since none of that stuff is a recurring cost I am probably going to get back to actually being able to play either this month or the next

[redsquirrel]

Excercising and overall working on improving yourself is always admirable and will always lead to both physical and mental benefits. Sounds like you’ve made some excellent progress in a short amount of time.

I’ve always thought squats and conditioning to be the most beneficial for paintball but I think it really depends on your play style and goals.

Definitely inspiring, keep it up!

[BrickHaus]

I want to say congratulations on making the decision to change your life for the better. It's not easy to do, and it's not east to follow through. I've been working out 3-5 times a week for 3 years now, and I can't even remember my state of mind prior to making the shift. But I can tell you I have missed plenty of days along the way.


First and foremost, remember. You create rituals. Rituals become habits. They biggest piece of advice I can give you, it keep your ritual fun to some degree. Most people who fail at making life changes do so because they try to be too militant on themselves. Mix your work outs up. Allow yourself to have days off. Eat the ice cream in a social setting over conversation because being in that moment is more valuable than the diet. Just cut yourself some breaks along the way. It should help you keep from losing faith in progress in your plateaus.


As far as paintball training. I am one who likes to shift my workouts a week prior to big games to help condition for them. Meaning, I usually spend 5 days doing more plyo and or running rather than lifting if I'm going to a big event.


I'd say if you can handle the impacts. Plyometrics is the best thing for paintball coupled with body weight HIIT exercises. I love doing videos that combine both so you get a high impact cardio move like vertical mountain climbers instantly followed by push ups. The goal being you do the strength exercise while sucking wind. I also really think Bosu exercises helped me with my footwork. They go with the plyo suggestion well. But you need to buy a bosu ball to do them.

Take caution though as the impact may cause injury. If you are still overweight for your frame size, you do risk hurting your knees and or ankles in the process of getting healthier. It's a fine line to walk. You may need to ease into them with the low impact variations of some of the workouts to start.

On the other hand. Lifting is going to likely give you better progress in the form of your physical appearance, so it's a double edged sword. The more lean muscle mass you build by lifting, the higher your metabolic rate will be, so I'd say lift at least 3 days a week, with plyo and or cardio in the mix until you are to your goal weight/size.

All that being said, I'm just a guy who struggles with my own personal image going onto 36 this year, so take my advice with a grain of salt.

[Euphie]

I hadn't really considered plyo training, I suppose it shouldn't be hard to do that at home, just jumping on taller and taller boxes I guess would do progressive overload for that. I guess alot of running from one bunker to another, really is explosive power pushed quickly rather than endurance or strength

[RAZRBAKK]

Weight training should be an essential part of your plan. People get very focused on cardio, but building muscle mass will make a tremendous difference in both your weight loss and overall cardiovascular health. Obviously don't forget your cardio, but both in conjunction will give you the best results.

Something simple like a 4 day Upper/Lower split, or even a 3x5 plan like Fierce Five will go a long way. Don't hurt yourself, don't over do it.

In terms of nutrition, get your protein up and focus on calories in vs. calories out.

It's very easy to get overwhelmed with info about what you should and should not be doing, but you can keep it simple and have great results.

[Daltech]

Just go do CrossFit and run weekly. Nothing more to it.

[Riot]

Some would argue paintball is exercise.

[Cdn_Cuda]

I, for one, am much more motivated when under fire!

[Jordan]

Only when done incorrectly.

[Euphie]

The problem for me at least is while it is exercise, I cannot seem to regulate myself. What I mean is I would go, give it my all and be super sore for days afterwards and it kept happening, I assume I just don't play frequently enough to adapt to it. I have been progressively overloading my training for the past 9 months so hopefully when I start playing again later this month I won't be sore most of the week afterwards like before

[coyote]

I'm somewhat of a fitness nerd so I'll chime in.

Exercises that are good for your general health and fitness make you more athletic. The more athletic you are, the better your performance at all sports including paintball.

If you are wanting to be paintball specific understand that your body runs on 3 different energy systems; anaerobic, glycolytic, and aerobic

Lifting weights builds anaerobic endurance; tasks that require great power and take 5 seconds or so to complete. This system is primarily fueled by creatine.

Sprint interval training builds glycolytic endurance. Tasks that take 5 seconds to 5 minutes to complete. This system is primarily fueled by glycogen in our liver.

"Steady state" cardio builds aerobic endurance. Tasks that take longer than 5 minutes. This system is primarily fueled by fat stores.

I would argue paintball lives mostly in our glycolytic and aerobic thresholds. You can do weighted interval training to build glycolytic endurance. Tasks like running, biking, or swimming are more productive for aerobic endurance.

How you play paintball will probably dictate which area of training you need to bring up to speed.

[freedom]

Just go do CrossFit and run weekly. Nothing more to it.

stupid simple, been doing that my whole life. bad knees, don't care!!!

[Daltech]

stupid simple, been doing that my whole life. bad knees, don't care!!!

I was holding off because my bad knees but you’re motivating me to jump back into a routine. They make fake knees these days anyways now. Why was I living in the past. F it. I’m gonna start running again.

[Seajay]

Awesome! A lot of good advice given so far.

What I'm doing is getting to a certain fitness goal and then re-evaluating my goals. Paintball for me is a lot of sprinting and squatting with core strength holds (leaning). So when it comes specific to paintball I focus on core, squats, and holding 30lbs in front of my chest. I mix in a lot of stretching and flexibility, with good core strength you can hold that angle or low squat for a long time and still feel good. Kind of like football where you have explosive movement from a stationary position.

I'm not a great runner, so I focus on sprinting and being able to recover quickly. My weight lifting plan with cycling and jogging/walking gets in my cardio, but I'm not training for a marathon run.

So basically establish a desirable overall level of fitness and achieve those goals.
Then specialize in specific exercises that benefit movement you do in paintball. This also helps to prevent injury.

To me, none of any this will make you a better paintball player, but it will let you play paintball in a way you want and be able to enjoy it, thereby making you a better paintball player.

Some of the exercises I always try to mix in that you can do at home:
Kettle Bell exercises (swing, squat, arm raise, row, RDL).
Farmers Walk
Burpees
Push-ups
Sit-ups
Leg raises

[freedom]

I was holding off because my bad knees but you’re motivating me to jump back into a routine. They make fake knees these days anyways now. Why was I living in the past. F it. I’m gonna start running again.

go slow, i've been scoped in both knees and have been told many times by doctors i have to stop everything and take up yoga. no joke, been told that many times.

EDIT: full disclosure, i have M.S. so there are other issues...