I saw this story and thought that the author's conclusions rather echoed the conclusion I've drawn after researching exercise and caloric intake after my surgery. As a matter of fact, I posted a comment to the Weighty Matters blog about it!
I probably had said it before, but basically, exercise simply isn't a great way to maintain weight loss. It's good for you and does great things for the body but for weight maintenance, it simply isn't a panacea.
First, people tend to reward themselves for working out. "I was good!" they say. "I exercised, sweated a lot, I can afford this donut..." or extra bit of pie or extra slice of pizza, whatever you want to stick in there as a treat. I'm sure there are plenty of people who go to the gym and not indulge, but there are plenty of average people who do.
Second, have you looked realistically at the amount of calories you burn versus what's in a cheeseburger? Walking for a couple hours at a decent pace will burn out a plain cheeseburger of 300 calories. If you wanted to work off the average American's meal, you'd be in the gym for four or five hours doing moderate work. That's a LOT of exercising, a lot of time, so if you don't get exercise in as part of your job (as in you're a professional weight lifter or aerobics instructor of something of that caliber), good luck with your exercise routine making a huge dent in your weight.
Third, I don't know about you, but I'm a creature of routine. Knock me out of my routine, and I will fall right off the wagon. I'm terrible about this. I like biking, but if I can't go out (like when it's snowing out, or raining, etc.) I can't do it on a regular basis, and that is exercise I can't do on a regular basis. Walking? When I can, but it's still not something I routinely fit in. Even going to the gym got to be a hassle as I was annoyed by some of the other people there.
Overall I've found, from my reading, my research, and experiences, that the best way to control weight is to play with your caloric intake. You don't need to work off calories that you don't eat in the first place.
For exercise, I do try to walk more; I don't mind parking a little farther away in the parking lot. I don't mind taking the stairs. I don't mind having to walk around a building, or walking to a destination when it won't take too long. But I don't do exercise to rely on weight maintenance anymore, and anyone pushing it as a weight-control item instead of just being beneficial for your health (your bones, you heart, etc.) is fooling you.
Showing posts with label workouts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label workouts. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Some Thoughts on Gyms
I've been going to the gym for awhile now on a regular basis. Well, awhile for me, since I am allergic to exercise.
It's true. Every time I exercise I end up breathing really heavy and sweating a lot and by the time it passes I'm all achy and sore. Look it up. Sounds like an allergy to me.
Anyway, the gym I go to isn't really all that bad, but I think it could stand some improvements.
Thoughts that occurred to me while working out...
I still don't like exercising. But at least I'm catching up on my podcasts...I'll change my mind when I am able to lift the front of a VW Beetle.
It's true. Every time I exercise I end up breathing really heavy and sweating a lot and by the time it passes I'm all achy and sore. Look it up. Sounds like an allergy to me.
Anyway, the gym I go to isn't really all that bad, but I think it could stand some improvements.
Thoughts that occurred to me while working out...
- The stereotype about muscle bound behemoth that lives in the corner of the gym apparently is unfounded. There are some guys I see in there that could obviously inflict a lot of bare-knuckled damage to me, no doubt. For the most part the people I've seen there are toned...moderately muscled, some of them...but none of them look like they could lift a Buick.
- Other clients don't stare as much as I thought they would at the Fat Guy (tm)
- I thought that the stereotype was for hot dressed-for-pilates women to hang out at the gym. Maybe that's just in LA. I'm glad for that, actually...less embarrassing.
- I figured there were gym people and people who loathe the gym; I'd go and find people who were at home with all the protocols and etiquette that I'd have no idea about. Turns out that my reading clued me into the basics of things like spraying equipment down after using it with their spray-bottles of stinky crap. Nope. Other people often use the machines and move on without a second thought.
- Gyms aren't too forward with offering help. Supposedly my gym offers trainers and special programs and even special services for clients with one-year contracts (which I have). For the most part they leave you alone. I don't know how I feel about that...irritated? Or glad they leave me alone and not make me feel quite so stupid around others that seem to know what they're doing? Hmm...
- If I ran the gym: one, no typos on signs. Equipment is spelled "equipment". Not "equiptment". Maybe that's why other patrons aren't wiping down the "equiptment" after use. Two: offer a policy where if you're new you can wear some colored armband as an indicator that you're looking for feedback on what the heck you're doing.
- I hate the TV's on the sports networks. It's nice when I'm there on the slow days (I always try going on the slow days, Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday) and NCIS is on. But usually they have something on ESPN. Two of the TV's have a radio transmitter so you can listen quietly, but another babbles on about Michael Vick loud enough to infringe on my iPod.
- Use an iPod! I listen to podcasts and audiobooks while trying to pull my arms out of the sockets. At the end I'll slam on some movie scores...lately I've found the score to the Transformers movie and Iron Man to work really well at squeezing out the last mile from my dripping flesh before hobbling out of the building.
- If you have an iPod, get an armband. Sucks when it falls out of your pocket or bounces against you with each freakin' step you take on the 'mill. Elastic armbands are in the neighborhood of $20 for most iPods
- Don't get a Zune. That's not a gym thing. I just don't like them.
- Remember, once you extend your muscles and lift a pile of weights up, you didn't reach an achievement until you gently return said pile of really heavy weight back down to the point where they're supported by the Earth.
- Don't use the machine I'm going to next. Not that you'd know which one that is, but it annoys me. Safest thing for you to do is leave until I'm done. People don't seem to abide by this rule of thumb though.
- Don't sit at a machine or bench and stare at the TV. It makes me want to poke you with a barbell without warning.
- Stop chomping gum with your mouth open like some kind of deranged cow. I keep having this obsessive fantasy that you'll trip and choke while on the treadmill while smacking your lips with your incessant open-mawed chomping. Don't worry if you do, though...I'll save you by poking you with a barbell without warning.
- Turns out there really is a machine called the "butt blaster", and it has nothing to do with passing gas. At least it's not supposed to. I don't use it.
- I take secret pride in maxing out one of the machines (my lower back exercise is set to 200 pounds for 15 reps...I think I can add ten more pounds to it and that's the upper limit). Turns out fat people have latent strength in their legs and back, unless you blow them out.
I still don't like exercising. But at least I'm catching up on my podcasts...I'll change my mind when I am able to lift the front of a VW Beetle.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Went To The Gym and: "How Accurate is Your Scale?"
(keep in mind this happened a few weeks ago...I queued this one up to log some thoughts and information for later on.)
I went to the gym today. I adjusted my workout a little...I think I mentioned I was going to do that...so that I was doing 10 reps at each machine instead of 15, but I increased the weight significantly. Most of them weren't as hard as I thought they'd be to do that. I don't know if it's because I've been going consistently and doing a "workout" or if I didn't know what I was capable of doing; it would be nice if there were some improvements that I could tell were directly from doing this workout regiment.
If you remember I mentioned that I found in general research that there was a theme of doing fewer reps but at a higher weight to give your muscles a workout to train for strength instead of stamina. So I decreased the reps and am working on finding a weight level that really wears on the muscles, so after those ten reps I feel that I can barely move anymore; the one machine that really stands out at that is the leg press (I did 10 reps at 340 pounds); I got up to go to the next machine and I felt as if I was walking on a cloud. Not because I felt great. It was because I couldn't feel my legs between my waist and knees. It was weird but nice to think I was having an effect on them.
I'm a little worried about my left knee...the joint hurts when I work with it, but I can walk just fine on it without pain. I try to be a little careful about that.
While at the gym I found an article laminated and taped to the scale. It was called, "How Accurate is Your Scale?", and said it was by "Cynthia Sass, RD" from the October 2006 Fitness Magazine. I Googled a little bit and the only version of it I could find online was found here. The article linked doesn't have the same title, but the text is almost word for word the same as the article I was reading at the gym.
It was really interesting. Short article, quick read. If you have to periodically face a scale in your exercise or diet routine, take a look at it...it reviews how much weight you gain from things like drinking some water, or how alcohol affects your weight. I'd repost it here except I don't have permission to do so...so check out the link and take a look. See what you think about it.
I went to the gym today. I adjusted my workout a little...I think I mentioned I was going to do that...so that I was doing 10 reps at each machine instead of 15, but I increased the weight significantly. Most of them weren't as hard as I thought they'd be to do that. I don't know if it's because I've been going consistently and doing a "workout" or if I didn't know what I was capable of doing; it would be nice if there were some improvements that I could tell were directly from doing this workout regiment.
If you remember I mentioned that I found in general research that there was a theme of doing fewer reps but at a higher weight to give your muscles a workout to train for strength instead of stamina. So I decreased the reps and am working on finding a weight level that really wears on the muscles, so after those ten reps I feel that I can barely move anymore; the one machine that really stands out at that is the leg press (I did 10 reps at 340 pounds); I got up to go to the next machine and I felt as if I was walking on a cloud. Not because I felt great. It was because I couldn't feel my legs between my waist and knees. It was weird but nice to think I was having an effect on them.
I'm a little worried about my left knee...the joint hurts when I work with it, but I can walk just fine on it without pain. I try to be a little careful about that.
While at the gym I found an article laminated and taped to the scale. It was called, "How Accurate is Your Scale?", and said it was by "Cynthia Sass, RD" from the October 2006 Fitness Magazine. I Googled a little bit and the only version of it I could find online was found here. The article linked doesn't have the same title, but the text is almost word for word the same as the article I was reading at the gym.
It was really interesting. Short article, quick read. If you have to periodically face a scale in your exercise or diet routine, take a look at it...it reviews how much weight you gain from things like drinking some water, or how alcohol affects your weight. I'd repost it here except I don't have permission to do so...so check out the link and take a look. See what you think about it.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Progress Wrapup (Or, Diet and Exercise Sucks)
There were a couple comments about my progress since the surgery. Ironically, I had queued up an entry for today that dealt with a topic from going to the gym, but I bumped it ahead a day to put this in.
First, some info on weight.
I had my surgery back in the beginning of April, on April 7th. It's now August 19th (technically 18th as I'm typing this). That means it's been a little over four months; I've been tracking my weight since roughly Christmas (I actually recorded starting in January what my weight was).
In January...the entry is dated 1/5/09...I started at 458 pounds. At that point I began the quest to lose weight in earnest; it turns out that you have to lose weight in order to have weight loss surgery.
I know. It's stupid.
I was told it was insurance issues. The place I was supposed to have the surgery supposedly only deals with patients less than 450 pounds, and that was a close cutoff. They wanted the patient to be closer to 400 pounds. Otherwise they ship me off to a medical center in Rochester where I'm told they are better equipped to handle morbidly obese patients. The doctor said it was due to insurance; the equipment wasn't rated for higher weights, and if something happened such as the table collapsing and they knew I was over the weight cutoff the insurance company will crap a brick.
As much as I'd love to see the insurance company get ticked instead of the usual routine...you know, the customer getting ticked because they're getting hassled and put through the wringer...the way the explanation was framed made the hospitals stance understandable if not a little silly. I mean...c'mon! You have to lose weight because you're too fat for weight loss surgery?!
But I digress.
I weighed 376 pounds the day before my surgery. That was 82 pounds from 1/5 to 4/6.
I just weighed in this morning. My weight on 8/18 is 290 pounds, meaning since surgery I lost 86 pounds and my overall weight loss is 168 pounds.
Yeah...at a little under six feet tall, I'm still morbidly obese. I've also gained a lot of flabby skin. Supposedly it can be removed for another thousand dollars worth of copay at some point, but it can't even be considered until I'm at least a year out from the surgery. It's uncomfortable; I wince when I see the batwings under my arms. I sting from infections under the apron of what was my stomach; I need to periodically powder it now that the weather has turned humid and hot, so sweat accumulates and makes it break out.
Oh. Yeah. Quick warning that I'm mentioning something kind of disgusting, so if you have a weak stomach don't read what I just wrote.
I spend a lot of time trying to just cover up the flab and flesh. On the plus side, the vicious scar running vertically in my midsection from the open Roux-En-Y surgery isn't quite as visible. The fat and flesh kind of caves inward in the front, hiding the purplish scar tissue deep in a valley of fat and excess skin.
But I'm not too concerned about the scarring. If I were, I'd not have used the surgeon I did; I went into this knowing he only did open RnY. Other surgeons today often use laproscopic RnY for reduced recovery time and far less scarring; I went full scar so I alway have a reminder of the painful month of recovery and memories of the bleeding and the memory of what I had done to myself in getting so rotund in the first place. That scar won't be going away for a long time.
Quick story. While recovering I happened to be in a place where a teenage girl I didn't really know was whining about the total intense pain she felt after giving blood at a Red Cross blood drive at her school. Oh, the band aid, oh, the pinching, oh the bruising, whine whine whine...
I was recovering. I could get around by then; it was a couple weeks after the surgery, but with open RnY, I was stapled, bloody from leaks, bandages that had to be changed periodically...in general, it wasn't pretty, and I was still struggling just to manage to get out of bed without assistance, and while she was chugging juice and cookies to compensate for her boo boo I was eating puree'd Chef Boyardee from baby food jars.
After listening to her whine, I got a little fed up. She commented on how much it hurt.
I looked at her and calmly said, "No, this hurts," and I lifted my shirt. Just enough to see the train tracks of staples, the deep bruising, the dried clotting clinging to some of the staples in the line...you get the picture.
Her eyes were like softballs. They snapped so wide I wondered if it was possible to sprain her eyelids.
She didn't complain any more.
Anyway...
I started exercising. The doctors and support people were telling me I needed to exercise. I rode a stationary recumbent bike in the basement, but it's a pain in the butt. Not as much as a stationary upright bike, but it's still a pain. I got pretty good at it though. I typically rode 10 miles a day eventually.
Eventually my parents bought me a year membership at a local gym. I started going every other day, but lately I've been going almost every day. I started out kind of slow...I mean, I don't know the first damned thing about "working out". I was very much the guy who was anti-gym and anti-exercise. Still am most of the time.
Learning what to do in gyms is a full time job. If you want to build muscle you do one thing; if you want stamina, another. Cardio this, weight train that, this many reps and this many sets to do this and achieve that. It's hard. Really hard. And get this...if you want to gain muscle, you have to overeat. That SUCKS! How am I supposed to gain muscle mass if I can't even eat much to begin with post-surgery?
Lately my routine has become alternating "upper body" machines one day and "lower body" the next. I start out with a 1/5 mile walk on the treadmill at various inclination; takes about 10 minutes. Then I typically end with another 1/2 mile on the treadmill. Those two walks alone burn usually around...well, today it was 348 calories together.
In an attempt to gain some muscle mass, from what I've pieced together, you're supposed to do fewer reps at a higher weight, basically pushing yourself closer to your tolerance for moving weight. Toning and stamina comes from more repititions at a lower weight, muscle bulk comes from fewer reps at a higher weight. At least that's what I've pieced together. I don't have a trainer and probably couldn't afford one if I wanted to. So right now I'm usually 2 sets of 5 repetitions at the following weight in pounds, in case you're curious...
compound row: 200
lat pulldown: 165
pec fly: 185
vertical chest: 100
lateral raise: 125
overhead press: 95
bicep curl: 80
tricep extension: 80
lower back: 205 (10 reps each)
abdominal: 120 today
leg press: 400
leg extension: 130
seated leg curl: 195, usually 190
abd/adduction: 200
I have no idea of this is good or bad or just neutral. One person told me that doing 500 pounds on the leg press is considered really good; I'm assuming that was a typo in the email since the machine at the gym only goes up to 495 pounds. Perhaps this would mean more to someone who knows more about working out in the gym; my eyes glaze over when I look at the list, and I have to fill in the bloody form every day I go.
The rough part is that I don't know how much good it really does. I was told that the biggest results are in the first 30 days; it's been about a month and so far no one will think I can rip phone books in half or lift small cars. That weird wriggling crap under my skin? I don't know if that would look this way if I didn't go to the gym. I don't know if it wouldn't, either.
Someone asked me not long ago how much weight I was supposed to lose, what weight I was going to stop at. I honestly don't know. I don't know how I'm supposed to look or appear, or what number I'm supposed to aim for. I'm just losing weight. Or at least I keep trying to. I figured it would stop when it wanted to stop. I'm still obese so regardless it appears that I'm wearing a small tent. I'm the one that would end up shirtless if our boat is marooned on an island because the professor needs a sail to use in building a new boat. It's still my lot in life. I deal with it.
I was told that the surgery is supposed to knock off something like 70% to 75% of the excess weight; so if you are 100 pounds overweight, the RnY is supposed to knock off about 75 pounds when all is said and done, meaning you're still overweight but not quite so much.
Oh...other changes...I'm off diabetic medication. The surgery means supplements...lots of them...every day. But I'm hoping to get off some of the pre-existing medications this year. Each morning I take: iron, B100/complex, B12, a multivitamin, something for blood pressure, something for cholesterol, a medication to cut down on stomach acid (prilosec? doesn't matter, I go off it in October), and calcium with vitamin D. Oh, and vitamin D. Some supplements are just lifelong because of the surgery...RnY introduces a deficiency in your digestive system from shortening the intestine, so you don't take in as many calories but you're also not absorbing the nutrients you need. Other pills...the cholesterol and blood pressure medications...are doc-prescribed until they see improvement in my test results.
Nine pills in the morning.
At night, I take another multivitamin, a B12, and iron.
But I went off byetta and metformin. My blood sugar has been diet controlled, sticking around the 100 mark in the morning and night. Another plus.
So that's been my progress. I have a nice scar in my abdomen to remind me of my bodily transgression as well as a really long belt that I've had for years in which I add more notched holes when I need to tighten it more. I blogged about the length before. It's...pretty darn big. It's my reminder of what I've done. And a symbol of hope for what I will achieve. Plus it makes a really loud thunderclap sound when snapped against itself like some kind of Foley soundstage sound effect tool.
This pretty much sums up my changes since the surgery. Or even before the surgery, technically. Now I spend my time at work, the gym, and trying to get a writing show entry completed...I think my gratis editor is almost done with the second draft suggestions. I'm really hoping that sometime later today will be an update on the status of that story!
So until next time...um...any suggestions for a good exit tagline here?
First, some info on weight.
I had my surgery back in the beginning of April, on April 7th. It's now August 19th (technically 18th as I'm typing this). That means it's been a little over four months; I've been tracking my weight since roughly Christmas (I actually recorded starting in January what my weight was).
In January...the entry is dated 1/5/09...I started at 458 pounds. At that point I began the quest to lose weight in earnest; it turns out that you have to lose weight in order to have weight loss surgery.
I know. It's stupid.
I was told it was insurance issues. The place I was supposed to have the surgery supposedly only deals with patients less than 450 pounds, and that was a close cutoff. They wanted the patient to be closer to 400 pounds. Otherwise they ship me off to a medical center in Rochester where I'm told they are better equipped to handle morbidly obese patients. The doctor said it was due to insurance; the equipment wasn't rated for higher weights, and if something happened such as the table collapsing and they knew I was over the weight cutoff the insurance company will crap a brick.
As much as I'd love to see the insurance company get ticked instead of the usual routine...you know, the customer getting ticked because they're getting hassled and put through the wringer...the way the explanation was framed made the hospitals stance understandable if not a little silly. I mean...c'mon! You have to lose weight because you're too fat for weight loss surgery?!
But I digress.
I weighed 376 pounds the day before my surgery. That was 82 pounds from 1/5 to 4/6.
I just weighed in this morning. My weight on 8/18 is 290 pounds, meaning since surgery I lost 86 pounds and my overall weight loss is 168 pounds.
Yeah...at a little under six feet tall, I'm still morbidly obese. I've also gained a lot of flabby skin. Supposedly it can be removed for another thousand dollars worth of copay at some point, but it can't even be considered until I'm at least a year out from the surgery. It's uncomfortable; I wince when I see the batwings under my arms. I sting from infections under the apron of what was my stomach; I need to periodically powder it now that the weather has turned humid and hot, so sweat accumulates and makes it break out.
Oh. Yeah. Quick warning that I'm mentioning something kind of disgusting, so if you have a weak stomach don't read what I just wrote.
I spend a lot of time trying to just cover up the flab and flesh. On the plus side, the vicious scar running vertically in my midsection from the open Roux-En-Y surgery isn't quite as visible. The fat and flesh kind of caves inward in the front, hiding the purplish scar tissue deep in a valley of fat and excess skin.
But I'm not too concerned about the scarring. If I were, I'd not have used the surgeon I did; I went into this knowing he only did open RnY. Other surgeons today often use laproscopic RnY for reduced recovery time and far less scarring; I went full scar so I alway have a reminder of the painful month of recovery and memories of the bleeding and the memory of what I had done to myself in getting so rotund in the first place. That scar won't be going away for a long time.
Quick story. While recovering I happened to be in a place where a teenage girl I didn't really know was whining about the total intense pain she felt after giving blood at a Red Cross blood drive at her school. Oh, the band aid, oh, the pinching, oh the bruising, whine whine whine...
I was recovering. I could get around by then; it was a couple weeks after the surgery, but with open RnY, I was stapled, bloody from leaks, bandages that had to be changed periodically...in general, it wasn't pretty, and I was still struggling just to manage to get out of bed without assistance, and while she was chugging juice and cookies to compensate for her boo boo I was eating puree'd Chef Boyardee from baby food jars.
After listening to her whine, I got a little fed up. She commented on how much it hurt.
I looked at her and calmly said, "No, this hurts," and I lifted my shirt. Just enough to see the train tracks of staples, the deep bruising, the dried clotting clinging to some of the staples in the line...you get the picture.
Her eyes were like softballs. They snapped so wide I wondered if it was possible to sprain her eyelids.
She didn't complain any more.
Anyway...
I started exercising. The doctors and support people were telling me I needed to exercise. I rode a stationary recumbent bike in the basement, but it's a pain in the butt. Not as much as a stationary upright bike, but it's still a pain. I got pretty good at it though. I typically rode 10 miles a day eventually.
Eventually my parents bought me a year membership at a local gym. I started going every other day, but lately I've been going almost every day. I started out kind of slow...I mean, I don't know the first damned thing about "working out". I was very much the guy who was anti-gym and anti-exercise. Still am most of the time.
Learning what to do in gyms is a full time job. If you want to build muscle you do one thing; if you want stamina, another. Cardio this, weight train that, this many reps and this many sets to do this and achieve that. It's hard. Really hard. And get this...if you want to gain muscle, you have to overeat. That SUCKS! How am I supposed to gain muscle mass if I can't even eat much to begin with post-surgery?
Lately my routine has become alternating "upper body" machines one day and "lower body" the next. I start out with a 1/5 mile walk on the treadmill at various inclination; takes about 10 minutes. Then I typically end with another 1/2 mile on the treadmill. Those two walks alone burn usually around...well, today it was 348 calories together.
In an attempt to gain some muscle mass, from what I've pieced together, you're supposed to do fewer reps at a higher weight, basically pushing yourself closer to your tolerance for moving weight. Toning and stamina comes from more repititions at a lower weight, muscle bulk comes from fewer reps at a higher weight. At least that's what I've pieced together. I don't have a trainer and probably couldn't afford one if I wanted to. So right now I'm usually 2 sets of 5 repetitions at the following weight in pounds, in case you're curious...
compound row: 200
lat pulldown: 165
pec fly: 185
vertical chest: 100
lateral raise: 125
overhead press: 95
bicep curl: 80
tricep extension: 80
lower back: 205 (10 reps each)
abdominal: 120 today
leg press: 400
leg extension: 130
seated leg curl: 195, usually 190
abd/adduction: 200
I have no idea of this is good or bad or just neutral. One person told me that doing 500 pounds on the leg press is considered really good; I'm assuming that was a typo in the email since the machine at the gym only goes up to 495 pounds. Perhaps this would mean more to someone who knows more about working out in the gym; my eyes glaze over when I look at the list, and I have to fill in the bloody form every day I go.
The rough part is that I don't know how much good it really does. I was told that the biggest results are in the first 30 days; it's been about a month and so far no one will think I can rip phone books in half or lift small cars. That weird wriggling crap under my skin? I don't know if that would look this way if I didn't go to the gym. I don't know if it wouldn't, either.
Someone asked me not long ago how much weight I was supposed to lose, what weight I was going to stop at. I honestly don't know. I don't know how I'm supposed to look or appear, or what number I'm supposed to aim for. I'm just losing weight. Or at least I keep trying to. I figured it would stop when it wanted to stop. I'm still obese so regardless it appears that I'm wearing a small tent. I'm the one that would end up shirtless if our boat is marooned on an island because the professor needs a sail to use in building a new boat. It's still my lot in life. I deal with it.
I was told that the surgery is supposed to knock off something like 70% to 75% of the excess weight; so if you are 100 pounds overweight, the RnY is supposed to knock off about 75 pounds when all is said and done, meaning you're still overweight but not quite so much.
Oh...other changes...I'm off diabetic medication. The surgery means supplements...lots of them...every day. But I'm hoping to get off some of the pre-existing medications this year. Each morning I take: iron, B100/complex, B12, a multivitamin, something for blood pressure, something for cholesterol, a medication to cut down on stomach acid (prilosec? doesn't matter, I go off it in October), and calcium with vitamin D. Oh, and vitamin D. Some supplements are just lifelong because of the surgery...RnY introduces a deficiency in your digestive system from shortening the intestine, so you don't take in as many calories but you're also not absorbing the nutrients you need. Other pills...the cholesterol and blood pressure medications...are doc-prescribed until they see improvement in my test results.
Nine pills in the morning.
At night, I take another multivitamin, a B12, and iron.
But I went off byetta and metformin. My blood sugar has been diet controlled, sticking around the 100 mark in the morning and night. Another plus.
So that's been my progress. I have a nice scar in my abdomen to remind me of my bodily transgression as well as a really long belt that I've had for years in which I add more notched holes when I need to tighten it more. I blogged about the length before. It's...pretty darn big. It's my reminder of what I've done. And a symbol of hope for what I will achieve. Plus it makes a really loud thunderclap sound when snapped against itself like some kind of Foley soundstage sound effect tool.
This pretty much sums up my changes since the surgery. Or even before the surgery, technically. Now I spend my time at work, the gym, and trying to get a writing show entry completed...I think my gratis editor is almost done with the second draft suggestions. I'm really hoping that sometime later today will be an update on the status of that story!
So until next time...um...any suggestions for a good exit tagline here?
Monday, August 17, 2009
Getting Buff...
Here's some thoughts I've been pondering over a the past few days.
I've been faithfully going to the gym on Sundays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays, doing a full circuit on the upper- and lower-body machines along with my walks on the treadmill. I haven't been recording it here because It's kind of a waste of space; just reposting the same type of information over and over. I'd rather just post about issues and thoughts on doing the workouts than my statistics since I doubt anyone would be interested in those numbers.
But what am I getting from the workouts?
I'm obviously not "buff" and muscular. It's too much to think that would happen overnight. Or over a month, I suppose.
In working out you're supposed to have a goal. It could be to tone your muscles, to define your body shape (with all this excess skin I could be toned out the wazoo and you'd never see it anyway). It could be to help your cardiovascular system. It could be to just burn some calories.
I was thinking that muscle mass is supposed to burn fat and in the process boost your metabolism. Okay, it doesn't burn a lot of calories, but it's still better than fat. So I'm thinking I should try focusing on building some muscle mass.
That's where the problem comes in.
See, every site I look at for building muscle with weight training states that to do it, you need to take in more calories so there's more material from which to rebuild muscles. My understanding is that basically when you're building muscle, it's done by creating micro-tears in your existing muscle and then waiting 24 to 48 hours for those muscles to rebuild and repair the tears and in the process experience the effect of increasing muscle and becoming stronger.
I found information at
Muscle Building Tips
How To Get Bigger Muscles And Six-Pack Abs
The 10 Commandments of Muscle Building Nutrition
There are many other sites, but I wanted to just cite a few of the sites I read over; but the pattern of information gleaned from my Google search seemed to corroborate each other (or they all get information from the same sources).
But after weight loss surgery, the focus is on reducing the number of calories you take in. As a very very rough guess I'm thinking I have 300 to 400 calories a meal three times a day for a total of probably 1200 calories, all said and done. It's a rough average because I probably have about a cup of nuts (mostly peanuts) over the course of the day with my meals; I found that if I didn't have these I started to feel kind of wonky around my exercise time (usually I'm riding the stationary bike for an hour or so if it's a bike day or I'm at the gym for an hour doing weight training with Nautilus machines).
I don't eat until I feel stuffed or full; I figure that if I habitually do that, I'm going to stretch the stomach and just keep going after awhile. I have some nuts during the day but my meals I weigh with a kitchen scale to keep at less than 6 ounces each (although I aim for 5.5 ounces).
My surgeon will beat me if he sees this...
I know I'm eating far less than I used to. I forego a lot of the things I used to enjoy. But this has been what I'm working with now. I eat less and have been pretty good about getting in my exercise.
Before I go any further off the point I'll bring up my worries. The sites state that building muscle means consuming extra calories and increasing the weight you lift until you can only do four to eight reps before ending the set.
Basically you push your body to find the limits to your strength before experiencing failure. Oddly enough, building strength through finding your failure point is apparently controversial. Another reason I hate exercise...to be any good at it, you basically end up having to live exercise, making it one of those things that pushes the hobby limit to a career interest, and I have no interest in making the gym my career.
Which basically makes figuring this stuff out just that much harder.
Caloric intake is also an issue. Some articles are saying that weight training involves people building muscle by consuming three thousand to five thousand calories a day over the course of six meals! No way I could do that now; it would ruin my surgical alterations. Some of it is specifically banned from me like weight lifting diets that involve sky-high amounts of particular fats or protein powders and additives (my surgeon told me not to take protein supplements after I went off my soft diet).
For now I'm going to stick with my program as I have it laid out and then start making adjustments to "toughen it up" as I grow comfortable with the weight levels. I'm thinking I might have to increase the weight and do fewer reps and see how that works out.
Keep in mind that I've pre-queued this entry; it's actually mid-July. So by the time you're reading this I've adjusted my routine and I'm either injured or I had a successful transition to increase my strength level.
Anyone want to take bets on how this had turned out?
I've been faithfully going to the gym on Sundays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays, doing a full circuit on the upper- and lower-body machines along with my walks on the treadmill. I haven't been recording it here because It's kind of a waste of space; just reposting the same type of information over and over. I'd rather just post about issues and thoughts on doing the workouts than my statistics since I doubt anyone would be interested in those numbers.
But what am I getting from the workouts?
I'm obviously not "buff" and muscular. It's too much to think that would happen overnight. Or over a month, I suppose.
In working out you're supposed to have a goal. It could be to tone your muscles, to define your body shape (with all this excess skin I could be toned out the wazoo and you'd never see it anyway). It could be to help your cardiovascular system. It could be to just burn some calories.
I was thinking that muscle mass is supposed to burn fat and in the process boost your metabolism. Okay, it doesn't burn a lot of calories, but it's still better than fat. So I'm thinking I should try focusing on building some muscle mass.
That's where the problem comes in.
See, every site I look at for building muscle with weight training states that to do it, you need to take in more calories so there's more material from which to rebuild muscles. My understanding is that basically when you're building muscle, it's done by creating micro-tears in your existing muscle and then waiting 24 to 48 hours for those muscles to rebuild and repair the tears and in the process experience the effect of increasing muscle and becoming stronger.
I found information at
Muscle Building Tips
How To Get Bigger Muscles And Six-Pack Abs
The 10 Commandments of Muscle Building Nutrition
There are many other sites, but I wanted to just cite a few of the sites I read over; but the pattern of information gleaned from my Google search seemed to corroborate each other (or they all get information from the same sources).
But after weight loss surgery, the focus is on reducing the number of calories you take in. As a very very rough guess I'm thinking I have 300 to 400 calories a meal three times a day for a total of probably 1200 calories, all said and done. It's a rough average because I probably have about a cup of nuts (mostly peanuts) over the course of the day with my meals; I found that if I didn't have these I started to feel kind of wonky around my exercise time (usually I'm riding the stationary bike for an hour or so if it's a bike day or I'm at the gym for an hour doing weight training with Nautilus machines).
I don't eat until I feel stuffed or full; I figure that if I habitually do that, I'm going to stretch the stomach and just keep going after awhile. I have some nuts during the day but my meals I weigh with a kitchen scale to keep at less than 6 ounces each (although I aim for 5.5 ounces).
My surgeon will beat me if he sees this...
I know I'm eating far less than I used to. I forego a lot of the things I used to enjoy. But this has been what I'm working with now. I eat less and have been pretty good about getting in my exercise.
Before I go any further off the point I'll bring up my worries. The sites state that building muscle means consuming extra calories and increasing the weight you lift until you can only do four to eight reps before ending the set.
Basically you push your body to find the limits to your strength before experiencing failure. Oddly enough, building strength through finding your failure point is apparently controversial. Another reason I hate exercise...to be any good at it, you basically end up having to live exercise, making it one of those things that pushes the hobby limit to a career interest, and I have no interest in making the gym my career.
Which basically makes figuring this stuff out just that much harder.
Caloric intake is also an issue. Some articles are saying that weight training involves people building muscle by consuming three thousand to five thousand calories a day over the course of six meals! No way I could do that now; it would ruin my surgical alterations. Some of it is specifically banned from me like weight lifting diets that involve sky-high amounts of particular fats or protein powders and additives (my surgeon told me not to take protein supplements after I went off my soft diet).
For now I'm going to stick with my program as I have it laid out and then start making adjustments to "toughen it up" as I grow comfortable with the weight levels. I'm thinking I might have to increase the weight and do fewer reps and see how that works out.
Keep in mind that I've pre-queued this entry; it's actually mid-July. So by the time you're reading this I've adjusted my routine and I'm either injured or I had a successful transition to increase my strength level.
Anyone want to take bets on how this had turned out?
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Gym Day for July 14th
Another day at the gym. I pretty much stuck with what worked last time; starting with 3/4 mile on the treadmill at fourteen minutes and ending with 1/2 mile on the treadmill in 9 minutes (although I did have the grade set to 3 and 3.5 degrees, increasing a little over previous times), I managed (15 reps each, with associated weight):
compound row: 125
lat pulldown: 110
pec fly: 110
vertical chest: 65
lateral raise: 80
overhead press: 50
bicep curl: 50
tricep extension: 50
lower back: 125
abdominal: 100
leg press: 300
leg extension: 100
seated leg curl: 115
abd/adduction: 150
How much fun was that?! Actually it wasn't bad. I got almost an hour with the Mac OS Ken podcast and the first three episodes (six chapters) of The Zombie Chronicles: The Escape. Nice story so far, and the Macintosh news is always handy for keeping up on technology developments in the Apple world.
compound row: 125
lat pulldown: 110
pec fly: 110
vertical chest: 65
lateral raise: 80
overhead press: 50
bicep curl: 50
tricep extension: 50
lower back: 125
abdominal: 100
leg press: 300
leg extension: 100
seated leg curl: 115
abd/adduction: 150
How much fun was that?! Actually it wasn't bad. I got almost an hour with the Mac OS Ken podcast and the first three episodes (six chapters) of The Zombie Chronicles: The Escape. Nice story so far, and the Macintosh news is always handy for keeping up on technology developments in the Apple world.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Gym Day for July 12th
I just went for my fifth visit to the gym. The Sunday hours are short and attendance, as promised, was sparse. All the better for me.
It was quiet and I managed to do all 15 reps for each exercise this time. I think I may have come close to finding the adjustments for the next couple weeks to stick with. Here they are, fifteen reps each, with the pounds each was set to:
compound row: 125
lat pulldown: 110
pec fly: 110
vertical chest: 65
lateral raise: 80
overhead press: 50
bicep curl: 50
tricep extension: 50
lower back: 125
abdominal: 100
leg press: 300
leg extension: 95
seated leg curl: 115
abd/adduction: 150
This was preceded by 3/4 mile on the treadmill for 16 minutes and followed by 10 minutes on the treadmill at 1/2 a mile.
So now I guess I just keep with this regimen for a few weeks and see what happens. I've found that I really like it when there's next to no one there at the gym; unfortunately that probably won't happen again until next Sunday.
I have no idea if these weights (or reps) are considered good, bad, or average for beginners. I don't even know when (or if) there is supposed to be some visible effects of doing these routines. On days where I don't go tot he gym I've been trying to make sure I ride at least 10 miles on the stationary recumbent bike; not doing so, as I expected would happen with my personality, leaves me feeling as if I have failed and dreading what the scale may tell me a day or two later as a result of my failing to adhere to the exercises.
Tomorrow is a bike day; Tuesday, have to hit the gym for at least another hour. Fun, fun!
It was quiet and I managed to do all 15 reps for each exercise this time. I think I may have come close to finding the adjustments for the next couple weeks to stick with. Here they are, fifteen reps each, with the pounds each was set to:
compound row: 125
lat pulldown: 110
pec fly: 110
vertical chest: 65
lateral raise: 80
overhead press: 50
bicep curl: 50
tricep extension: 50
lower back: 125
abdominal: 100
leg press: 300
leg extension: 95
seated leg curl: 115
abd/adduction: 150
This was preceded by 3/4 mile on the treadmill for 16 minutes and followed by 10 minutes on the treadmill at 1/2 a mile.
So now I guess I just keep with this regimen for a few weeks and see what happens. I've found that I really like it when there's next to no one there at the gym; unfortunately that probably won't happen again until next Sunday.
I have no idea if these weights (or reps) are considered good, bad, or average for beginners. I don't even know when (or if) there is supposed to be some visible effects of doing these routines. On days where I don't go tot he gym I've been trying to make sure I ride at least 10 miles on the stationary recumbent bike; not doing so, as I expected would happen with my personality, leaves me feeling as if I have failed and dreading what the scale may tell me a day or two later as a result of my failing to adhere to the exercises.
Tomorrow is a bike day; Tuesday, have to hit the gym for at least another hour. Fun, fun!
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Gym Day For July 9th
Another fun day at the gym. I'm trying to get used to working with the machines. One of the managers at the gym asked how I was doing; I showed him my chart, and he said it looked good. He said I'd want to stick with the machines for another few weeks before "switching it up a bit". Something about confusing the muscles to help with the workout. I didn't know my muscles were so cerebral as to get bored with a workout.
I started out with a 3/4 mile on the treadmill in 14 minutes (my time has been going down gradually each visit...).
Then I did (reps @ pounds):
compound row: 15 @ 125
lat pulldown: 15 @ 125
pec fly: 15 @ 110
vertical chest: 15 @ 65
lateral raise: 15 @ 80
overhead press: 15 @ 50
bicep curl: 15 @ 50
tricep extension: 13 @ 65
lower back: 15 @ 120
abdominal: 15 @ 100
leg press: 15 @ 300
leg extension: 15 @ 95
seated leg curl: 15 @ 115
abd/adduction: 15 @ 120
I then walked half a mile in ten minutes to "cool down" on the treadmill.
I'm not sure how effective this workout thing is. I have only gone four times so far, so I guess it would be expecting too much to actually see any results from going, but afterwards I don't feel quite as drenched in sweat as I'd have expected to be after an hour at the gym playing with that weight. I actually sweat the most from the treadmill walks; I set it usually to 2 or 2.5 percent grade and I think I'm going near 3 mph or a little more.
I also used my iPod armband for the first time. Made things a lot easier; I didn't have to search for an old shirt with a pocket in order to listen to my iPod (plus it tends to fly around a lot when it's in a chest pocket and I'm on the treadmill). It's a simple armband with elastic and velcro, but it worked really well, as long as I was mindful of where it was on my arm when using certain machines.
Other than that, things went fairly well. I think. Maybe I'll know more tomorrow at my weigh-in...
I started out with a 3/4 mile on the treadmill in 14 minutes (my time has been going down gradually each visit...).
Then I did (reps @ pounds):
compound row: 15 @ 125
lat pulldown: 15 @ 125
pec fly: 15 @ 110
vertical chest: 15 @ 65
lateral raise: 15 @ 80
overhead press: 15 @ 50
bicep curl: 15 @ 50
tricep extension: 13 @ 65
lower back: 15 @ 120
abdominal: 15 @ 100
leg press: 15 @ 300
leg extension: 15 @ 95
seated leg curl: 15 @ 115
abd/adduction: 15 @ 120
I then walked half a mile in ten minutes to "cool down" on the treadmill.
I'm not sure how effective this workout thing is. I have only gone four times so far, so I guess it would be expecting too much to actually see any results from going, but afterwards I don't feel quite as drenched in sweat as I'd have expected to be after an hour at the gym playing with that weight. I actually sweat the most from the treadmill walks; I set it usually to 2 or 2.5 percent grade and I think I'm going near 3 mph or a little more.
I also used my iPod armband for the first time. Made things a lot easier; I didn't have to search for an old shirt with a pocket in order to listen to my iPod (plus it tends to fly around a lot when it's in a chest pocket and I'm on the treadmill). It's a simple armband with elastic and velcro, but it worked really well, as long as I was mindful of where it was on my arm when using certain machines.
Other than that, things went fairly well. I think. Maybe I'll know more tomorrow at my weigh-in...
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Another Day at the Gym
This post is going in rather late. My day was busier than it has been. After work I came home and started changing and getting things around to head to the gym when I got a call from a friend asking me to help out because one of his clients couldn't get their server to start up after turning it off during a storm. He was out of town and wondered if I could act as remote hands since the system was blue-screening at startup; he couldn't remotely access their system to help them.
I headed there first to scope out the problem. After evaluating the system I found it had filesystem corruption; silly Windows wouldn't even boot into safe mode command prompt only so I couldn't run a chkdsk. Another pet peeve of mine...Windows clearly had in the error message the instruction to run chkdsk to see if that would fix any problems Windows was having, yet it won't set the flag for the filesystem to be checked at boot, and I couldn't get to a prompt to fix it from the system. Of course Microsoft doesn't pack in enough tools for it to repair or bootstrap itself in cases like this, and they make it a real pain in the arse to create boot discs from which to fix it. You're expected to use the install disc. Which most of the big vendors don't include install media anymore.
But I digress.
I packed the system in my car and went to the gym, then joined my wife to take trash to burn at my parents burning pit before coming home and having dinner and working on that system again. Looks like everything has been fixed thanks to bootable CD tools. Once again the tag-team of RIP Linux and BartPE worked their magic. The client's server should be back in place tomorrow morning.
Anyway, I managed to get to the gym and put in about an hour of sweating profusely. I started with a 3/4 mile on the treadmill, then did:
compound row: 15 @ 125 lbs
lat pulldown: 15 @ 125 lbs
pec fly: 12 @ 120 lbs
lateral raise: 15 @ 80 lbs
overhead press: 15 @ 50 lbs
bicep curl: 15 @ 50 lbs
tricep extension: 10 @ 65 lbs
lower back: 15 @ 155 lbs
abdominal: 15 @ 100 lbs
leg press: 15 @ 300 lbs
leg extension: 15 @ 95 lbs
seated leg curl: 15 @ 115 lbs
abd/adduction: 15 @ 100 lbs
Then I finished off with a half mile on the treadmill again at about 2 or 2.5 inclination in 10 minutes' time.
I'm still trying to find the right numbers, balance my reps and weight to challenge me without killing me. Some obviously need to be altered; see the whoopsies where my arms gave out in the pec fly and vertical chest, for example.
But it's not like I've done this a lot. I'm still experimenting. I'm just hoping I'm putting in proper form when doing the exercises.
It's been a long day. I need to get to sleep now...night everyone!
I headed there first to scope out the problem. After evaluating the system I found it had filesystem corruption; silly Windows wouldn't even boot into safe mode command prompt only so I couldn't run a chkdsk. Another pet peeve of mine...Windows clearly had in the error message the instruction to run chkdsk to see if that would fix any problems Windows was having, yet it won't set the flag for the filesystem to be checked at boot, and I couldn't get to a prompt to fix it from the system. Of course Microsoft doesn't pack in enough tools for it to repair or bootstrap itself in cases like this, and they make it a real pain in the arse to create boot discs from which to fix it. You're expected to use the install disc. Which most of the big vendors don't include install media anymore.
But I digress.
I packed the system in my car and went to the gym, then joined my wife to take trash to burn at my parents burning pit before coming home and having dinner and working on that system again. Looks like everything has been fixed thanks to bootable CD tools. Once again the tag-team of RIP Linux and BartPE worked their magic. The client's server should be back in place tomorrow morning.
Anyway, I managed to get to the gym and put in about an hour of sweating profusely. I started with a 3/4 mile on the treadmill, then did:
compound row: 15 @ 125 lbs
lat pulldown: 15 @ 125 lbs
pec fly: 12 @ 120 lbs
lateral raise: 15 @ 80 lbs
overhead press: 15 @ 50 lbs
bicep curl: 15 @ 50 lbs
tricep extension: 10 @ 65 lbs
lower back: 15 @ 155 lbs
abdominal: 15 @ 100 lbs
leg press: 15 @ 300 lbs
leg extension: 15 @ 95 lbs
seated leg curl: 15 @ 115 lbs
abd/adduction: 15 @ 100 lbs
Then I finished off with a half mile on the treadmill again at about 2 or 2.5 inclination in 10 minutes' time.
I'm still trying to find the right numbers, balance my reps and weight to challenge me without killing me. Some obviously need to be altered; see the whoopsies where my arms gave out in the pec fly and vertical chest, for example.
But it's not like I've done this a lot. I'm still experimenting. I'm just hoping I'm putting in proper form when doing the exercises.
It's been a long day. I need to get to sleep now...night everyone!
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Workout for July 5th
I went back to the gym today. The gym I belong to is only open a few hours on Sundays...noon to three. Probably a reflection of the dedication to exercise in the area...or they don't have a lot of members around on Sundays. Doesn't matter. I went down around 12:30ish and got home around 2:00.
I've been slowly reading the Weight Training for Dummies book; one of the things it pointed out that I didn't know before was the relationship of reps and sets to strength training. From what I understand so far, the goal is to work the muscle to failure, meaning to the point where you can't do another set in proper form. Then you rest that muscle group for a bit.
Anyway, I tried pushing a little more to find some limits. For some exercises, I think I found some failure points. As I type this a few hours after the fact I'm still feeling pretty good, so I am hoping that I'm still moving around tomorrow.
compound row: 15 reps at 110 lbs
lat pulldown: 10 reps at 125 pounds
pec fly: 15 reps at 110 pounds
vertical chest: 10 reps at 95 pounds
lateral raise: 15 reps at 80 pounds
overhead press: 5 reps at 80 pounds, then 5 reps at 65 pounds (ouch!)
bicep curl: 9 reps at 65 pounds
tricep extension: 11 reps at 65 pounds
lower back: 15 reps at 155 pounds
abdominal: 20 reps at 95 pounds
leg press: 15 reps at 300 pounds
leg extension: 15 reps at 95 pounds
seated leg curl: 15 reps at 115 pounds
abd/adduction: 15 reps each at 70 pounds
As you can tell, some of the funny numbers came from reaching a point where I wasn't going to move much more, so I cut it short. All these numbers were significantly higher than last time when I was tentatively trying things.
Some I really need to adjust higher, like the abd/adduction. Others I guess I just need to keep repeating until they become easier.
Because of the need to rest muscles (the book discusses that) I will probably not be going back to play with the weight machines until Tuesday. Whee!
I've been slowly reading the Weight Training for Dummies book; one of the things it pointed out that I didn't know before was the relationship of reps and sets to strength training. From what I understand so far, the goal is to work the muscle to failure, meaning to the point where you can't do another set in proper form. Then you rest that muscle group for a bit.
Anyway, I tried pushing a little more to find some limits. For some exercises, I think I found some failure points. As I type this a few hours after the fact I'm still feeling pretty good, so I am hoping that I'm still moving around tomorrow.
compound row: 15 reps at 110 lbs
lat pulldown: 10 reps at 125 pounds
pec fly: 15 reps at 110 pounds
vertical chest: 10 reps at 95 pounds
lateral raise: 15 reps at 80 pounds
overhead press: 5 reps at 80 pounds, then 5 reps at 65 pounds (ouch!)
bicep curl: 9 reps at 65 pounds
tricep extension: 11 reps at 65 pounds
lower back: 15 reps at 155 pounds
abdominal: 20 reps at 95 pounds
leg press: 15 reps at 300 pounds
leg extension: 15 reps at 95 pounds
seated leg curl: 15 reps at 115 pounds
abd/adduction: 15 reps each at 70 pounds
As you can tell, some of the funny numbers came from reaching a point where I wasn't going to move much more, so I cut it short. All these numbers were significantly higher than last time when I was tentatively trying things.
Some I really need to adjust higher, like the abd/adduction. Others I guess I just need to keep repeating until they become easier.
Because of the need to rest muscles (the book discusses that) I will probably not be going back to play with the weight machines until Tuesday. Whee!
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
First Gym Day
When I was a student I never liked gym class. I have no idea what I'm doing with "working out".
But on the other hand I didn't know if just riding bike was doing "enough." Bike riding is mostly a cardiovascular exercise. If I wanted to build strength I'd need to bite the proverbial bullet and start using some strength-building machinery.
I bought a Weight Training for Dummies book but haven't had a chance to read it yet. I mentioned to my parents that I was thinking of trying to work at a gym and they bought me a one-year membership at a local gym.
Good side: it's five minutes from my house.
Bad side: it's a gym.
Like I said. I know nothing about what I'm doing and I hate gyms. C'mon...we all have a pretty good idea what thoughts go through a Normal's mind when the grossly overweight guy walks into the workout area, yeah?
I was given a sheet to keep track of my progress. Here's what I did (1 set of 15 reps each):
compound row, 65 lbs
lat pulldown, 95 lbs
pec fly, 80 lbs
vertical chest, 65 lbs
lateral raise, 35 lbs
overhead press, 35 lbs
bicep curl, 35 lbs
tricep extension, 35 lbs
lower back, 110 lbs
abdominal, 65 lbs
leg press, 260 lbs
leg extension, 80 lbs
seated leg curl, 80 lbs
abd/adduction, 50 lbs
I had started with 1/2 mile on the treadmill at about 2.5 mph, and ended with 10 minutes on an elliptical machine.
I have no idea if this is "good" or not, but it was over an hour at the gym, and the girl there originally told me that new people start off with 3 sets of 15 reps (I did just one!). I probably could have done it all again but I saw the time and wondered if I really wanted to be there another two hours to do 2 more sets.
I skipped riding bike tonight since I spent an hour there. She said that I should wait a day before coming back in...I'm not available until after the holiday, so I'll probably try riding bike tomorrow. Or maybe I'll go back to the gym for another session if I'm not too sore. I'd assume that meant that I wasn't overworked or hadn't worked enough.
Anyone have knowledge of workout routines? For a greener-than-a-frog beginner, was what I described good or bad?
But on the other hand I didn't know if just riding bike was doing "enough." Bike riding is mostly a cardiovascular exercise. If I wanted to build strength I'd need to bite the proverbial bullet and start using some strength-building machinery.
I bought a Weight Training for Dummies book but haven't had a chance to read it yet. I mentioned to my parents that I was thinking of trying to work at a gym and they bought me a one-year membership at a local gym.
Good side: it's five minutes from my house.
Bad side: it's a gym.
Like I said. I know nothing about what I'm doing and I hate gyms. C'mon...we all have a pretty good idea what thoughts go through a Normal's mind when the grossly overweight guy walks into the workout area, yeah?
I was given a sheet to keep track of my progress. Here's what I did (1 set of 15 reps each):
compound row, 65 lbs
lat pulldown, 95 lbs
pec fly, 80 lbs
vertical chest, 65 lbs
lateral raise, 35 lbs
overhead press, 35 lbs
bicep curl, 35 lbs
tricep extension, 35 lbs
lower back, 110 lbs
abdominal, 65 lbs
leg press, 260 lbs
leg extension, 80 lbs
seated leg curl, 80 lbs
abd/adduction, 50 lbs
I had started with 1/2 mile on the treadmill at about 2.5 mph, and ended with 10 minutes on an elliptical machine.
I have no idea if this is "good" or not, but it was over an hour at the gym, and the girl there originally told me that new people start off with 3 sets of 15 reps (I did just one!). I probably could have done it all again but I saw the time and wondered if I really wanted to be there another two hours to do 2 more sets.
I skipped riding bike tonight since I spent an hour there. She said that I should wait a day before coming back in...I'm not available until after the holiday, so I'll probably try riding bike tomorrow. Or maybe I'll go back to the gym for another session if I'm not too sore. I'd assume that meant that I wasn't overworked or hadn't worked enough.
Anyone have knowledge of workout routines? For a greener-than-a-frog beginner, was what I described good or bad?
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