Detailing & Physical Fitness...

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imported_Luster1

New member
I started my part-time detailing business LUSTER SHINE , about a year ago.



I usually detail 2-3 cars per week, plus my own 4 cars, averaging close to a car a day.



Since the time I started this work, I've lost 68 pounds! Yes I was overweight, and I have changed my eating habits to consume less refined sugar and flour, but I attribute much of my weight-loss success to car detailing!



I just hate excersizing for the sake of excersizing. Walking, running, etc. Just BORING....



So I've found my excersize niche..... And detailing has the wonderful side benefit of staying in shape!



Only one problem. When people say "Do you excersize?", I always reply, "Oh yes, I detail cars every day."..



Their response is always the same....



"Oh, I see."



[What they really mean is "Huh?....I don't get it..."]
 
Try not only detailing all day but following it with skating for 90-120 minutes! Whew! I just added weightlifting (after stopping for about 12 years) and running on the treadmill too.



I have found that even though detailing is physical work, diet is also important (as it seems you have found out as well) because if you eat like a pig, no matter how much you are on your feet working all day, you will gain weight.



BTW, congrats on the weight loss! I'll bet you feel a lot better now. :)
 
Scottwax said:






BTW, congrats on the weight loss! I'll bet you feel a lot better now. :)
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There's no comparison! My back no longer hurts, I don't get winded, I have more energy........all of the above!



17 pounds to go to my goal! (and I won't go back to my old 'donut, ice cream, candy bar eating habits!)
 
Rock climbing!! No seriously... :p



Rock climbing gives you some serious hand/arm strength and endurance and I notice that it helps a lot with my detailing.



That and lots of water. Keeps you from cramping up when detailing in the sun.
 
I actually started off working with my trainer Mr. Miyagi and through his training I learned how to wax on and wax off and now I am a detailer. :lol



I have lost some fat recently as well but it has been from running 3 times a week.
 
I helped a kid detail his Camaro for a car show .. we did the wash/clay/ Menzerna/AIO/SG .. he was 22 .. I am .. ## at the end of 5 hours he was a mess and asked how I could do this then go mow the lawn and house work .. I said add getting up at 5 AM and putting in my 3 hours of werk for my reg job too..BEFORE he showed up at 8:30..



It is hard work and first thing in the spring nearly kills me . But wax on wax off is good for the @ @ ;)
 
Wow Luster !! 68 pounds ! Congrats ! Good for you. I don't detail that much, but I know I sleep well after an 8 hour session.
 
I know that detailing, with the help of biking nearly a 100 km a day helps me very much with keeping my physique. I was 180 pounds before, now I'm 160 of muscle. I am also the provinces fastest 100m runner for my age group:D
 
Pats300zx said:
Luster...congrats on the weight loss..thats awesome...:up
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Thanks Pat...



Yeah, my eating habits and lack of excersize were just out of control.



I've really made a lifestyle change to eat less and excersize more.... pretty simple plan for being healthy!
 
Luster said:
Thanks Pat...



Yeah, my eating habits and lack of excersize were just out of control.



I've really made a lifestyle change to eat less and excersize more.... pretty simple plan for being healthy!
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You hit the nail on the head, losing weight and keeping it off is a lifestyle change. Keeping it off is the real work. Since having lost 40lbs about 10 years ago from regular exercise and a sensible low fat diet (that Atkins diet is a complete joke as well as potentially damaging to the heart and liver) I have kept it off because I can't keep still from all the energy I have. Greasy fried food now actually sickens me where once I craved it when I was young and stupid.



Losing weight is the easiest thing to do. Get off your keyster and stop eating junk food like a pig. If you follow that method it's impossible not to lose weight. How all these fad diets get so popular is beyond me. I love those people who order double baconburgers and fries and a diet coke as they're watching their weight. :doh
 
always a nice thing to hear when someone losese weight. yes, i must say that losing weight is the easy part (i lost about 40 lbs). the reallly hard part is maintaining it, becaues you slowly gain, and it goes up and up. however, just keep active with detailing your cars, and im sure youll be fine!!
 
I'm losing weight steadily but slowly. I was up to 220lbs over winter, now I'm down to about 203 last time I weighed (yesterday). This is watching what I eat (not as good as I should, but more then I was), detailing, roller blading, and just living. I still need to be more active, but I'm happy I lost those pounds, and am back to where I was a year or so ago. Albeit, I wasn't in the greatest mental state last year, and wasn't eating much at all. Hm. :)
 
My solution to weight control is to keep a PC in my hands. Detailing cars leaves little time for Krispy Kreme or any other fattening foods for that matter. Next time you crave some chips go grab some polish and start on that swirl you wanted to remove. Truth be known, I often forget about lunch when I'm detailing a car.



I believe it is a simple matter of calories. Burn more than you consume and you lose weight. The better shape you are in the more you can eat and not gain weight too.



I also run 5k a day which keeps my energy and stamina levels pretty high.
 
One thing I've noticed about detailing is it's great for firming up your lower body. When I did my first full detail this spring the sorest part of my body was the old gluteous maximus on down from the constant squatting up and down.
 
jfelbab-ah yes, Krispy Kreme, the crack cocaine of snack foods! I stopped buying them because the box was gone in less than a day.



I also cut out the microwave popcorn at night, stopping for large Frosty's at Wendys and chocolate cream pie shakes at Sonic. If I have to eat something at night, I have a small bowl of Total cereal.
 
Being an amatuer bodybuilder, I can tell you that 90% of your physique is based on what and when you eat (if you do not do any weight training). I assume that you are performing aerobic excercise when you detail cars. This is the number 1 way to raise your metabolism.



P.S. If you really want to turbo charge your metabolism AND make your physique a little more muscular add some simple weight training 2 - 4 times a week. After all, muscle is a calorie burning "furnace".
 
Scottwax said:
jfelbab-ah yes, Krispy Kreme, the crack cocaine of snack foods! I stopped buying them because the box was gone in less than a day.



I also cut out the microwave popcorn at night, stopping for large Frosty's at Wendys and chocolate cream pie shakes at Sonic. If I have to eat something at night, I have a small bowl of Total cereal.
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Scottwax, you do many more of those 44 footers you'll melt away to nothing.:D



Talk about calorie burning. Whew:bow
 
i don't remember where i read this, but a few years ago i read an article that listed different types of simple around the home activities and how many calories are burned in the process. waxing a car was one of the activities listed and the article said that you lose 100 calories every 15 minutes of waxing your car. i tend to believe it, especially down here in the hot/humid New Orleans area. i usually lose at least 5 lbs. every summer - i only weigh 126lbs soaking wet. it's very hard for me to gain weight so when winter comes i eat like crazy and gain my few pounds back. i usually average 3 - 5 cars a day and every Fri - Sun anywhere from 6 - 10 cars a day. weight gain on this job in the summer is next to impossible. congrats on the weight loss Luster!
 
jfelbab said:
Scottwax, you do many more of those 44 footers you'll melt away to nothing.:D



Talk about calorie burning. Whew:bow
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Yeah, by the time I finished, my shirt was completely soaked. I probably sweated out 4-5 pounds of fluid that day.
 
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