*The Gym* Health and Fitness (and how you can lose weight, fatso)

[aheravi]

Have scanned the entire thread...and get the feeling that a lot of this is directed toward the 20's crowd.

Need advice/pointers to get started again. 36, 5'4", 185, physical activity has dropped off over the past 5 years. Not obese, but probably carrying 30 lbs that I don't need. Body makeup is more toward a stocky side. Still powerful in the legs, soft in the middle, broad chest and shoulders. Obviously, not built to run.

Getting back into the gym starting in March. Challenges:

1. What I'd like to do is avoid that first week of extreme soreness.

2. Recommendations on "other" cardio besides running? Not my forte, and no matter how hard I try, after 3 miles I'm bored.

3. The spare tire: even at my best, was always a bit thick around the middle. Pointers?

Appreciate any help. Once I get in some shape it's time to work on the wife (If anyone can recommend a program for a early 30's wife, would love to hear. She's big on those women's magazine programs that never do any good).

Edit: PM's are welcome

[kyleb]

1) Take it easy in the gym. Don't go all-out like most guys do when they've taken a lot of time off.
2) Elliptical isn't bad for weight loss, but not really good for cardio strength unless you're really killing yourself on it. Do wind sprints if you're doing elliptical as well.
3) The stomach is the last part to go on men. [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img] Gotta lose fat everywhere.

[kerowo]

aheravi,

I'm 39, 6'0 and have always been heavy and a computer geek, no activity. Last summer at some point I topped 270 and realized I had to do something. I changed my eating habbits some and dropped to around 260. In October or November I started doing Dance Dance Revolution just to be doing something. At the end of December I bought a heart rate monitor and started riding my road bike on an indoor trainer and started tracking my progress. I'm averaging 3-5 hours a week on the trainer/DDR, about 2-3k calories according to the Polar. Tomorrow I should be around 145. At the moment I'm only interested in cardio and would suggest cycling instead of running, the downside to cycling is that it isn't weight bearing which is why I'm doing the DDR. I'm not interested in weight training just yet, maybe when I get down closer to 200. The biggest difference I see is in changing my eating habbits to less portions and less fat.

[kyleb]

DDR is nice. I play some myself as a replacement for plyometrics once in awhile.

My brother is the world champion believe it or not.

[skunkworks]

[ QUOTE ]
DDR is nice. I play some myself as a replacement for plyometrics once in awhile.

My brother is the world champion believe it or not.

[/ QUOTE ]
For proof, here is Kyle working out to his favorite song.

[aheravi]

Yeah, "take it easy"...easier said than done. I'm like most dudes where we're glad to be back in the gym, feels good to throw the weight around...then for 4 days I can't straighten my arms. I'll try to remember to pace myself.

When I was doing cardio, would run for 30 minutes (at my height/weight, 10:00 pace was doable and still could hold intermittent conversation), then finish with 15 minutes on the old stairclimbers (with the rotating steps).

I'll have to take a look at DDR. Not familiar.

[MatthewRyan]

Great thread so far. I tried searching for a site that has been linked here before, something about a Skinny Guy Workout program. If anyone can link that Id appreciate.

[kerowo]

Basically, DDR is a game for most of the gaming consoles out there that uses a pad on the floor with 4 direction arrows. The object of the game is to step on the appropriate arrow during a minute and a half clip of some dance track. If you aren't a fan of various types of dance music it may not be as much fun. When I first started it was very easy to keep my heart rate between 60 and 75% almost from the get go. Now it takes longer to get there and I drop out of that zone faster between songs, which is a nice indicator that my recovery time is coming down. It is probably on par with jumping rope.

[skunkworks]

MatthewRyan,

Was it Westside for Skinny Bastards?

[King_S]

Go to

www.t-nation.com for fitness advice.

Testosterone Nation!