Lets all Diet & get in shape

[Accumulator]

PrinzII- Sounds like you're making progress

[PrinzII]

Well, yesterday's workout was strictly cardio. Here's what went down:

a) 15 min on treadmill. 10 minutes at 2.0, bumped up to 3.5 and then 4.0 (the last two are a moderate walk for me).
b) 10 min on the bike

[Accumulator]

PrinzII- You ARE making progress. Are you getting away from the elliptical in favor of the treadmill and the bike?

[PrinzII]

That was the routine my "trainer" had me do that day.

[Accumulator]

PrinzII- OK, I see. How do you like the trainer you're using?

[PrinzII]

Accumulator, from what I am gathering, he is trying to get my stamina built up which is fine with me. However, I like being able to mix things up with weights from time to time.

[Accumulator]

PrinzII - I wouldn't think that building stamina and doing the weights are mutually exclusive. I hope he doesn't have you JUST concentrate on cardio with no weight work. Too many people think you have to "get in shape" BEFORE you can lift, instead of using the weights to HELP "get in shape".

Is your trainer the kind of guy you can ask for better explanations? When you say "..from what I am gathering.." I wonder if your lines of communication are all that great. When you put yourself in the hands of another person for your training advice, it's VERY important that the two of you are on the same wavelength. I'm hoping he's not a "just do what I tell you and don't ask why" sort of trainer. This stuff isn't rocket science; it can all be clearly explained.

Have you ever read the book Body-for-LIFE by Bill Phillips? He and I don't see eye-to-eye on everything, but that IS one book I give to friends and relatives as a "must read". If you don't have it, check out this link for good prices on used copies. You REALLY oughta read it.

[Fluffer]

This is a good thread on everyone's workout regime. I'm 43, 5'7", 140 lbs., 4 percent body fat.

Here's my weekly routine:

M-W-F-SU: 3.5 mile run in 21 minutes, followed by 50 sit ups, 60 push ups.

TU-TH-SA: 45 minute free weight workout in garage consisting of three sets each of : shoulder presses, bench press, pullovers, curls.

I got into the habit of getting up at 5:30 every day so I can do this before my kids wake up. I used to spend at least 1 hour every day on exercise, but that went out the door when my first kid arrived.

[Accumulator]

Fluffer- Hey, welcome to the thread. Yikes! 4%!! And I thought I was lean for 43! (I'm 8.4 at present). Plus I can tell you're REALLY in shape cardio-vascular-wise

You're on the right track doing your workouts first thing. And it sounds like you're packing a lot of good work into a limited amount of time. I think it's great that you haven't just given up on staying in shape despite the time constraints you're working with. Now if I could just get you (and the rest of the world) to do pull-ups/chins and squats

[Fluffer]

Accumulator, I have a small frame so weight has never been an issue. I actually feel embarassed when my relatives see me and say I lost weight. Thats part of the aging process. In fact, adding body mass is a goal that I need to work harder at so I'll try some of your suggestions mentioned in your earlier posts. Getting into a routine is nice, but you need to mix it up in order to prevent complacency.

[PrinzII]

Originally posted by Accumulator
PrinzII - I wouldn't think that building stamina and doing the weights are mutually exclusive. I hope he doesn't have you JUST concentrate on cardio with no weight work. Too many people think you have to "get in shape" BEFORE you can lift, instead of using the weights to HELP "get in shape".

Is your trainer the kind of guy you can ask for better explanations? When you say "..from what I am gathering.." I wonder if your lines of communication are all that great. When you put yourself in the hands of another person for your training advice, it's VERY important that the two of you are on the same wavelength. I'm hoping he's not a "just do what I tell you and don't ask why" sort of trainer. This stuff isn't rocket science; it can all be clearly explained.

Have you ever read the book Body-for-LIFE by Bill Phillips? He and I don't see eye-to-eye on everything, but that IS one book I give to friends and relatives as a "must read". If you don't have it, check out this link for good prices on used copies. You REALLY oughta read it.

Again, maybe I am not communicating myself clearly (I am not afraid to admit that I am a noob at this sort of thing ) . I am still learning what works best for me and, IMHO, I like the routine you suggested at first because of the mixture between weights and cardio.

Another thing is that my job is having a promotion involving exercise/health where the grand prize is a trip to a racing event in KC (God knows I wanna go. )

[Accumulator]

PrinzII- Heh heh, I think maybe I'M the one who isn't communicating quite as well as I'd like. So, to be blunt, I wonder if the trainer you're using has you doing the right stuff. If you like the one weight/cardio combo, have your trainer work out something more along those lines than what he has you doing (see Phillips' book, it's all about "transforming" your body). My wife and I were talking about this last night (during her back workout) and we agreed that most of the professional trainers we know aren't really all THAT knowledgeable. What they REALLY seem to know is how to keep your membership renewed and the gym from getting sued- they often won't have you push yourself the way you need to for fear of someone dropping dead on "their watch" and they also don't want to push you so hard that you give up (which I don't think would be a problem in your case).

BTW, we're doing SOMETHING right, my wife is losing fat and gaining muscle at a surprising rate (and she wasn't all THAT out of shape). In two weeks she's lost 6 lbs. of fat and gained 3 pounds of muscle! Besides having me for her trainer (pats self on back so hard he injures self ), she credits a new(ish) "diet" she's adapted. It's not really NEW, it's basically what I've been doing for ages, and I don't like to think in terms of "diets" because that always sounds like some temporary thing where you deny yourself anything enjoyable. She suggests you get the (short, cheap, less than $10) paperback book A Week in the Zone by Barry Sears. Or his more involved book Mastering the Zone. I can give thumbnail sketches of what it's about if anyone wants me to, generally it has you eat healthy stuff, frequent small portions, keeping an eye on the glycemic index of everything you eat. It is NOT too complicated and it lets you eat LOTS of stuff you might not expect in a "healthy diet". My wife has always watched what she eats, but thinks this is a great approach. She finds she has a lot more engery, too.

The health promo at your work should provide good, additional motivation! Too bad you're all the way over there in Chicago and I'm way over here in Ohio.

Fluffer- I'm glad you found this thread. Having been (or "being") a VERY small framed guy (very small boned, ectomorphic, etc.) I certainly know where you're coming from. I'd sure encourage you to toss down a BIG whey protein drink right after those early morning runs and then have a good breakfast!

How did/do you have your bodyfat measured? I have a pro do it with calipers. I'm not sure about the accuracy, but he's consistent (always grabs the thickest skin over my abs, that's for sure!). FWIW, the lowest I ever got mine down to was 7% (highest was 10.25) and at that level I just couldn't train properly. I always said I'd settle for 8.5 if I could raise my weight up to 175. At 8.4 I can still see striations on my abs (and most everywhere else) and I'm lifting like never before. Now I'm shooting for 180. Not to imply you need to change anything, everyone's different.

But speaking of changing anything , you'll see from my earlier posts that I go about my weight work in a different way. You can still get it done in 3-4 sessions a week- nudge nudge.

Another looong post! Gotta go coach my wife, it's her leg day. Squat rack here we come