Need advice on fitness training...

[huskyrob1]

I am against running. I used to get up at 4:30 AM, Monday through Friday to do 3.5 miles. On Saturday, I did 5 miles. Sunday was a day off unless guilt set in; which it did. As a result, according to my Orthopedic guy, I have a new hip, two new knees, two separate spinal fusions and god knows what next. Use an Elliptical, Stair Master or something else that doesn't pound your joints to mush. Scars notwithstanding, I'm fine now, but my hind-site is a little painful.

You can live with all those problems, you can't with a clogged heart. I've been relatively lucky, no knee, hip or back problems, but have had surgery for a calcified achilles, and spurs on both ankles. Despite the 1 year recovery each time from achilles/heal spur surgery twice over the years, I would do everything again the same way in a heartbeat (no pun intended).

 

[FAIRTIDES]

You can live with all those problems, you can't with a clogged heart. I've been relatively lucky, no knee, hip or back problems, but have had surgery for a calcified achilles, and spurs on both ankles. Despite the 1 year recovery each time from achilles/heal spur surgery twice over the years, I would do everything again the same way in a heartbeat (no pun intended).

I can't argue with the benefits. But, you do take a pounding.

 

[babysheep]

Calories in < calories out.
Walk a couple miles every day FASTED, I.E. BEFORE YOU EAT ANYTHING THAT DAY. Don't worry about heavy compound lifts yet because:
You've probably developed plenty of muscle imbalances over age and gaining weight that will only be further developed by your classical exercises like deadlifts, squats, and bench. Get a foam roller for like $50, roll around on it in every way you can think of or just youtube a bunch of stuff, and find those muscle imbalances. Once you've identified them, continue rolling those areas and look up stretches that target those areas as well as exercises for the opposing muscles. That is, if you find your chest if overdeveloped, try some stretches and reverse flys. Once you're functional again, deadlifts, squats, bench, pull ups.

 

[kris1]

Before starting any exercise program consult your physician. Make sure you are healthy enough to participate in a strenuous training program, FIRST.

Although there were some great suggestions, the effects of physical activity, and our body's adaptation to it, are individual in nature. Simply, what works for others, may not work for you. Furthermore, your body is not as strong, limber, or elastic as it once was. So, performing strength movements (of the past) may not have the same effects and may increase the risk of injury. You need to build a foundation of aerobic and anaerobic conditioning, strength, and most importantly flexibility. Flexibility is the most overlooked component of any training program. Most people skip it because it's uncomfortable, it hurts and it takes time. Big mistake!! Flexibility increases the range of motion in joints, burns calories, lengthens muscle fibers and promotes the growth of lean muscle tissue. Our ability to move without restriction can lead to an increase in overall strength, size, balance and power. The more lean mass you can develop, the more calories you will burn.

Diets DO NOT work!! Eating healthy is a lifestyle change. The more active you are, the more calories your body needs. Making healthier choices does not mean you need to limit calories or sacrifice taste. It means giving your body what it needs, when it needs it without the empty calories. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Don't skip it!! You should eat every 2-3 hours and a total of 5 or 6 times per day (3 main meals and 2 or 3 small meals). FYI, not eating anything after 8pm, is a myth. You should never go to sleep hungry. If your eating healthier, a late snack is quite beneficial. Our bodies burn the most calories while we sleep. So be sure to get a full 8 hours every night. Also, stay hydrated, drink plenty of water.

My two-cents, as someone on the plus side of 40, and a strength and conditioning coach:

ANY activity is better than inactivity. Walk, jog, bike, run, jump rope, whatever motivates you to move....do it. Even if it for 10-minutes a day. I prefer Power Yoga. I do 30-minutes, a 2-3 times a week. It's the perfect combination of strength, power, balance, and flexibility. It took me a while to perform many of the balances and poses. As a former collegiate athlete, it wasn't as easy as it looked. But if you push through it, the benefits far outweigh the early discomfort. I feel the best I ever have.

Always warm-up before you perform any exercise program. You need to get the body warm, the blood and oxygen flowing. A dynamic warm up is a great way to kick start your body's caloric furnace. A dynamic warm up gets you moving and stretches to muscles, in a variety of planes, in preparation for more strenuous activity.

Start with body weight movements (various push ups, squats, and planks) will help you to re-develop basic strength in the major muscles and your core (abdominals and lower back). As your body adapts (usually 4-6 weeks), add reps, resistance or increase the intensity. Don't over-do it. Start with one exercise for each major muscle, perform 1-2 sets of 8-10 reps. Rest as long as you feel necessary between sets. As you progress, decrease the rest period, to increase your level of aerobic conditioning and keep the calorie burning cranked up. If your workouts are more then 40-minutes per session, your wasting your time. There are more beneficial and efficient ways to get results.

Always stretch large muscles to small at the completion of your strength training sessions. Your body is primed for static (old school) stretches at this point. It takes five-minutes to do. Never just walk out. Let your heart rate and core body temp come down while performing some basic stretches. Foam rollers and a lacrosse ball are great here too, but if you don't know what your doing, you could do more harm then good.

Keep it simple....eat smart, hydrate, stay active, rest.

Good luck!!

 

[Fishy]

Six weeks of heavy cocaine use followed by several months of marathon training.

Supplement with steroids and caffeine.

I'd recommend good running shoes, but most people tend to sell them during phase one of my training plan.

 

[John]

this is going to sound like I'm joking, but I'm not. Whatever you decide to do, make sure there are hot women there to look at. I found I actually *wanted* to go to the gym just to look at the scenery and "waddya know, I also lost 40 lbs" in between the staring. Go to the rails-to-trails, go to the local gym.

 

[Carl Spackler]

Six weeks of heavy cocaine use followed by several months of marathon training.

Supplement with steroids and caffeine.

I'd recommend good running shoes, but most people tend to sell them during phase one of my training plan.

You forgot hookers.

 

[EdgewoodNHV]

I lost about 70-80 lbs. four years ago. Your results may vary, but in general, this is my advice:

• Keep Track of What You Eat: Just for a few weeks at least, just to get a sense of all the crap you put in your body. You'd be surprised how mindless it can be.
• Make Small, Sustainable Changes: Start small. Stop putting cheese on your sandwiches. Cut portions sizes down. Switch to diet soda. Small changes make change seem easier. It's all well and good to lose 20 lbs. eating only strawberries and bacon, but how the heck are you going to keep that up? You haven't learned anything about a healthier lifestyle.
• Find Active Things You Like Doing: I like running. Some people hate it. Try biking. Or swimming. Or playing soccer. Or even just shooting hoops. Every bit helps.
• Get Into a Routine: They say it only takes about six weeks to form a habit. Or so I hear. But I do know that the more you do something, the easier it gets. Tell yourself to go to the gym 4 times this week after work. One week at a time. Next thing you know, it's just something you do and you don't have to expend the mental energy to motivate yourself.
• Eating Healthy > Everything. You can't out-workout your diet. If you eat terrible things, your body will pay the price. Try to eat right MOST of the time. It's okay to cheat. Setup a cheat day. Look forward to it. Then get back on track. As long as you're eating healthy most meals, you're ahead of most folks.

Anyway, just a few thoughts. Good luck to you. PM me if you have any specific questions.

 

[WhiteDressWes]

I am against running. I used to get up at 4:30 AM, Monday through Friday to do 3.5 miles. On Saturday, I did 5 miles. Sunday was a day off unless guilt set in; which it did.
As a result, according to my Orthopedic guy, I have a new hip, two new knees, two separate spinal fusions and god knows what next. Use an Elliptical, Stair Master or something else that doesn't pound your joints to mush. Scars notwithstanding, I'm fine now, but my hind-site is a little painful.

Good Advice. At age 63, I never had any problems with running 30 miles per week since 1966, but a lot of people end up with serious hip and knee injuries.

I recommend the TriMax which was designed by tri-athletes to develop lean muscles. Saves time with hydraulics which allow 2 exercises to be performed at once: Bench Press/Row, Bent Row/Tricep Press, Bicep Curl/Tricep Extension, etc. I often use it during timeouts of Husky TV games. Call TriMax: (608) 757-1477

AVOID WHEAT. It has been modified so many times in the last 300 years that your body gets confused and stores it in your fat cells. Natures Grocer in Vernon bakes some great wheat-free breads, Muffins, etc.

 

[NEforceUConn]

I think I've lost a couple pounds just reading this thread.

Where are the hookers, I'm in a canoe.

Whatever you do don't read the Realignment board, depression usually means alcohol or food abuse.

 

[intlzncster]

You can live with all those problems, you can't with a clogged heart. I've been relatively lucky, no knee, hip or back problems, but have had surgery for a calcified achilles, and spurs on both ankles. Despite the 1 year recovery each time from achilles/heal spur surgery twice over the years, I would do everything again the same way in a heartbeat (no pun intended).

Biking and swimming are just as good for you though, without the impact. Swimming is probably the best.

So you can avoid the heart problems and impact issues if you want. If you like running, by all means go for it.

 

[huskyrob1]

Biking and swimming are just as good for you though, without the impact. Swimming is probably the best.

So you can avoid the heart problems and impact issues if you want. If you like running, by all means go for it.

Biking and swimming have their merits, but they don't do for me what running does. Be careful if all you do is swim, it doesn't give your bones and joints any stress (which they need to stay calcified) because you're always buoyant, so you'll work your heart and lungs but will lose calcium, and be prone to fractures. Like being in space weightless for 3 months.

 

[dsturdy5]

The book Run Less, Run Faster by the editors of Runners World has great tips on how to balance cardio of different types with strength training for people of all fitness levels.

 

[B1GEast]

I lost over 70lbs in a two year period. I am now in the best shape of my life. I'm lifting more weight and running more miles than I did in my 20's. I'm also in my early 40's , so you can do it too.

It was very hard at first. You need to do a mix of cardio and weight training and start eating better.

I would also highly recommend adding high protein supplements and a good multi vatamin.

Here are some good sites to help you on your journey to lose weight and get healthy

http://www.menshealth.com/weight-loss

http://www.mensfitness.com/weight-loss

http://fitnessrxformen.com/health/

http://www.livestrong.com/

I will add that everyone is different and there's no one routine that works best for everyone. You need to do research and gauge your progress. Keep a journal and get a scale that measures fat percent and BMI. A BMI that's considered healthy is 24. You'll notice that lowering your BMI will be harder than lowering your weight. Also IMO it's more about losing inches than Lbs. I went from a 42 waist to a 34. When you think you can't Uconn. Good luck!

 

[huskyrob1]

I lost over 70lbs in a two year period. I am now in the best shape of my life. I'm lifting more weight and running more miles than I did in my 20's. I'm also in my early 40's , so you can do it too.

It was very hard at first. You need to do a mix of cardio and weight training and start eating better.

I would also highly recommend adding high protein supplements and a good multi vatamin.

Here are some good sites to help you on your journey to lose weight and get healthy

http://www.menshealth.com/weight-loss

http://www.mensfitness.com/weight-loss

http://fitnessrxformen.com/health/

http://www.livestrong.com/

I will add that everyone is different and there's no one routine that works best for everyone. You need to do research and gauge your progress. Keep a journal and get a scale that measures fat percent and BMI. A BMI that's considered healthy is 24. You'll notice that lowering your BMI will be harder than lowering your weight. Also IMO it's more about losing inches than Lbs. I went from a 42 waist to a 34. When you think you can't Uconn. Good luck!

I agree with everything you said with one big exception, the high protein supplements, use them with care. Don't over tax your kidneys. Used to know a guy in my gym years ago who was a body builder, went to shows, ate nothing but lean meat, egg whites, and took high protein supplements. He scorned carbs, I used to joke with him that bread is the staff of life. He died a few years ago at age 42 from kidney failure. My brother in-law lost 80lbs on a high protein diet, looked great, but went overboard and ended up in the emergency room with kidney problems. He's fine now but learned a lesson the hard way.

 

[B1GEast]

Agreed Huskyrob, be careful with overdosing with any supplement, and talk to your doctor first, some medications may prohibit certain supplement increases.

 

[intlzncster]

I agree with everything you said with one big exception, the high protein supplements, use them with care. Don't over tax your kidneys. Used to know a guy in my gym years ago who was a body builder, went to shows, ate nothing but lean meat, egg whites, and took high protein supplements. He scorned carbs, I used to joke with him that bread is the staff of life. He died a few years ago at age 42 from kidney failure. My brother in-law lost 80lbs on a high protein diet, looked great, but went overboard and ended up in the emergency room with kidney problems. He's fine now but learned a lesson the hard way.

Yeesh. Good thing I love my carbs.

 

[August_West]

You forgot hookers.

Once you are knee deep in heavy cocaine use, you can't perform for hookers. So in addition to melting away lbs. you are saving money on hookers to spend on more coke.

Win Win

 

[intlzncster]

Once you are knee deep in heavy cocaine use, you can't perform for hookers. So in addition to melting away lbs. you are saving money on hookers to spend on more coke.

Win Win

Nothing like mining your deep well of experience for the betterment of humanity!

 

[The Viking]

A bit of blend of what some are saying here, but if you have the opportunity to live within a mile of a coke dealer, you can sprint to pick up your coke, then run like hell back home before the po-po find out. All told, covering about 1-2 miles.
If you want to bring free weights with you while you do it, even better.