Monster
Thu, February 12th, 2004, 02:58 PM
I had a hard time getting started with the whole fitness thing. It seemed like a good idea and alll but it required a lot of change. So I'm going to post some of the steps I took to get the process started (in the hopes others can try my methods) and welcome any suggestions or imporvements people can offer.
1. motivation - while im not in great shape I really wasn't in awful shape. That being said I'd like to be in better shape and my wife has been going nuts trying to loose weight she gained (and boy did she gain) while having our daughter. I have a fair amount of discipline so after convincing myself this was something I was going to do I can usually follow through. As a backup plan I've started weekly pictures and have told people about my intentions of getting in shape. Telling others in some weird way makes me even more determined. Thats just the weirdness that is me. My wife has tried everything under the sun but always seems to fall a bit short. I'm currently working under the notion that if we are both commited to a plan it should increase the chances for success.
2. equipment - I had no idea how expensive it was (holy crap). That being said I refuse to buy low quality stuff. So I made the choice to buy the stuff I knew we would need( bike and stack/bench). By nature I'm not a cheap man but I hate spending money. If I spend $80 on running shoes I make a no bullshit commitment to myself that I'll go running at least 80 times. Same deal with the workout gear. So I'm into working out at least $1000 times or so at this point (we had no equipment at all). Any gear is better than none but dont buy the least you can get away with. for me personally I like using good stuff more than I like using crap. stack + bench + bar and 300lbs weight was about $450. Bike was $400 but we could have got by with a lot less. I liked some of the added features of the bike we got (nordictrack sl700 ifit.com compatible, magnetic resistence, powered by a generator which is powered by riding the bike, think lance armstrong and the espn commercial only on a smaller scale). You could spend a fair amount less and still get what you need but as I said in 1 sometimes for me spending extra $$ buys me extra commitment.
3. Knowing I was going to be starting a new fitness regime soon I threw any last strands of dietary restraint firmly out the window. There really werent many but now there was not guilt. Not really a reccommendation , its just what I did. The diet thing was kind of hard because I set a start date and my wife really didnt have time to get to the store so the first few days were kinda bleak. I tried to model my food around john only I'm not a vegetarian, refuse to eat ANY seafood, only eat chicken that is really fried or properly nuggeted. My diet before getting started consisted mainly of beer and taco's with the occasional whopper thrown in for variety and from time to time ethnic food (pizzia and chinese). Things had to change if I were to have any glimmer of hope at success. I'm convincing my self of a new found love of chicken in every imaginable preperation. My wife decided body was for us up. While Bill has some great ideas I didn't see why we had to spend $80 on his books but thats just me. Since I helped pay for the books (joint checking) i decided I might as well thumb through them. Most of it is information you can get on your own if you are willing to do some reading on the internet, however, the cookbook has been useful. I'm a picky eater and looking through the book helped us find food we could both stand (chicken quesadilla's,enchiladias, veg soup, etc). You can also get a few recipies from the website but the book has tons and your bound to find something palatable. This isn't to say the food is always awsome but it is decent which is really all i was looking for(avoid the french toast). The 5 or 6 meals a day thing was a bit tough also. To get them in I eat breakfast now. eat the contents of a myoplex shake packet for my pre lunch and post lunch snacks (i don't like it as a shake but in its puddingish form its edible) then I'm home for dinner and a snack expertly prepared by wifey. Tonight its some butterscotch pudding tasting stuff (it actually is pretty decent) and chicken quesadilla'a which are always good. I need to do better on my planing so Im better on my calories, now I just eating better food which is a quantum leap from where I was. I was a fella who liked his soda. and being of irish/german decent I really liked the hooch. I would routinely drink between 6-10 beers a night and have a hefty drink before bed of either scotch, tequilla or rum and coke. The alcohol portion of the diet earned me a couple trips to the Dr, for liver issues, both of my liver function test scores were more than 10x normal. I don't drink nearly as much anymore only once a week if I happen to be going out otherwise not at all. When I do drink I try to keep the amounts way down.
4. This part I'm not as sure on but I'm of the opinion that regular measurement of progress is essential to keeping you on track. To that end I bought a bfa scale from target for $50 dollars. I know its not 100% accurate but I'm only interested in relative change, more than that its just a number. I do get a little weirded when my weight is higher than the day before or my BF is up a bit but I'm hoping it all works out by the end of the month. I plan on using the month to month and week to week numbers to keep my program in check. The daily numbers still bother me but only a little.
Thats really all I've come up with so far, I just started week 2 and I'm still getting the routine hammered out. so far its cardio 3-4 times a week and weights 3 times a week using john's splits on different days. For the food stuff I'm mostly using the body for life recipies and some supplements (whey and myoplex only so far , if you swear by something else lets hear it and why). I'm not to the point I could survive HIIT but after I start kicking ass on the default programs that came with the bike it is definately something I'll try. For weights well I'm still formulating that one but I've been trying max-ot but im just getting started (only lifeted once so far, lost a lot of time due to putting gym and bike together and work, lots and lots of bolts). The hard part for most that is easier for me is I workout at 4am. Not to much is going to interfere with that time slot (sometimes work). I know it sucks but being a fat slob kinda sucks to. I'm 6'1" and weigh 214 (as of last night) with approx 20% body fat. I want to be 10ish in may. Might be a bit aggressive but if your going to set goals they might as well be good (I don't think this is crazy, but maybe a bit ambitious).
Sorry the post is so long, heres hoping it helps some people get started a bit sooner.
Lingering questions:
I love tomato's , is it bad to eat alot of them ? More specifically what are the nutritional components that make up a tomato(protein,fats,carbs,etc)?
On occasions where I do drink (no not like before) is there that is less bad the the rest, I *think* any alcohol will have a negative impact on your goals (considering 4-6 servings) but is there anything that is less bad than the others?
What % of your heavy set should be used for each of the warmup sets?
Hope its helpful and thanks for any replies.
1. motivation - while im not in great shape I really wasn't in awful shape. That being said I'd like to be in better shape and my wife has been going nuts trying to loose weight she gained (and boy did she gain) while having our daughter. I have a fair amount of discipline so after convincing myself this was something I was going to do I can usually follow through. As a backup plan I've started weekly pictures and have told people about my intentions of getting in shape. Telling others in some weird way makes me even more determined. Thats just the weirdness that is me. My wife has tried everything under the sun but always seems to fall a bit short. I'm currently working under the notion that if we are both commited to a plan it should increase the chances for success.
2. equipment - I had no idea how expensive it was (holy crap). That being said I refuse to buy low quality stuff. So I made the choice to buy the stuff I knew we would need( bike and stack/bench). By nature I'm not a cheap man but I hate spending money. If I spend $80 on running shoes I make a no bullshit commitment to myself that I'll go running at least 80 times. Same deal with the workout gear. So I'm into working out at least $1000 times or so at this point (we had no equipment at all). Any gear is better than none but dont buy the least you can get away with. for me personally I like using good stuff more than I like using crap. stack + bench + bar and 300lbs weight was about $450. Bike was $400 but we could have got by with a lot less. I liked some of the added features of the bike we got (nordictrack sl700 ifit.com compatible, magnetic resistence, powered by a generator which is powered by riding the bike, think lance armstrong and the espn commercial only on a smaller scale). You could spend a fair amount less and still get what you need but as I said in 1 sometimes for me spending extra $$ buys me extra commitment.
3. Knowing I was going to be starting a new fitness regime soon I threw any last strands of dietary restraint firmly out the window. There really werent many but now there was not guilt. Not really a reccommendation , its just what I did. The diet thing was kind of hard because I set a start date and my wife really didnt have time to get to the store so the first few days were kinda bleak. I tried to model my food around john only I'm not a vegetarian, refuse to eat ANY seafood, only eat chicken that is really fried or properly nuggeted. My diet before getting started consisted mainly of beer and taco's with the occasional whopper thrown in for variety and from time to time ethnic food (pizzia and chinese). Things had to change if I were to have any glimmer of hope at success. I'm convincing my self of a new found love of chicken in every imaginable preperation. My wife decided body was for us up. While Bill has some great ideas I didn't see why we had to spend $80 on his books but thats just me. Since I helped pay for the books (joint checking) i decided I might as well thumb through them. Most of it is information you can get on your own if you are willing to do some reading on the internet, however, the cookbook has been useful. I'm a picky eater and looking through the book helped us find food we could both stand (chicken quesadilla's,enchiladias, veg soup, etc). You can also get a few recipies from the website but the book has tons and your bound to find something palatable. This isn't to say the food is always awsome but it is decent which is really all i was looking for(avoid the french toast). The 5 or 6 meals a day thing was a bit tough also. To get them in I eat breakfast now. eat the contents of a myoplex shake packet for my pre lunch and post lunch snacks (i don't like it as a shake but in its puddingish form its edible) then I'm home for dinner and a snack expertly prepared by wifey. Tonight its some butterscotch pudding tasting stuff (it actually is pretty decent) and chicken quesadilla'a which are always good. I need to do better on my planing so Im better on my calories, now I just eating better food which is a quantum leap from where I was. I was a fella who liked his soda. and being of irish/german decent I really liked the hooch. I would routinely drink between 6-10 beers a night and have a hefty drink before bed of either scotch, tequilla or rum and coke. The alcohol portion of the diet earned me a couple trips to the Dr, for liver issues, both of my liver function test scores were more than 10x normal. I don't drink nearly as much anymore only once a week if I happen to be going out otherwise not at all. When I do drink I try to keep the amounts way down.
4. This part I'm not as sure on but I'm of the opinion that regular measurement of progress is essential to keeping you on track. To that end I bought a bfa scale from target for $50 dollars. I know its not 100% accurate but I'm only interested in relative change, more than that its just a number. I do get a little weirded when my weight is higher than the day before or my BF is up a bit but I'm hoping it all works out by the end of the month. I plan on using the month to month and week to week numbers to keep my program in check. The daily numbers still bother me but only a little.
Thats really all I've come up with so far, I just started week 2 and I'm still getting the routine hammered out. so far its cardio 3-4 times a week and weights 3 times a week using john's splits on different days. For the food stuff I'm mostly using the body for life recipies and some supplements (whey and myoplex only so far , if you swear by something else lets hear it and why). I'm not to the point I could survive HIIT but after I start kicking ass on the default programs that came with the bike it is definately something I'll try. For weights well I'm still formulating that one but I've been trying max-ot but im just getting started (only lifeted once so far, lost a lot of time due to putting gym and bike together and work, lots and lots of bolts). The hard part for most that is easier for me is I workout at 4am. Not to much is going to interfere with that time slot (sometimes work). I know it sucks but being a fat slob kinda sucks to. I'm 6'1" and weigh 214 (as of last night) with approx 20% body fat. I want to be 10ish in may. Might be a bit aggressive but if your going to set goals they might as well be good (I don't think this is crazy, but maybe a bit ambitious).
Sorry the post is so long, heres hoping it helps some people get started a bit sooner.
Lingering questions:
I love tomato's , is it bad to eat alot of them ? More specifically what are the nutritional components that make up a tomato(protein,fats,carbs,etc)?
On occasions where I do drink (no not like before) is there that is less bad the the rest, I *think* any alcohol will have a negative impact on your goals (considering 4-6 servings) but is there anything that is less bad than the others?
What % of your heavy set should be used for each of the warmup sets?
Hope its helpful and thanks for any replies.