Gym motivation

[Throttled]

For the past few years (with an obvious gap) I have been going to the gym, to make up for 20 odd years of no exercise and starting to look like Jeremy Clarkson. I did not think of dieting, just cutting out some snacks, halving alcohol intake and exercising more. The gym worked its way from once every two weeks to twice a week and I started to monitor how much I could lift and my weight. Since the start of the year I am nearly 2 stone lighter and a third stronger. It is nice doing tasks I previously struggled to do, with ease. Digging out the compost bin at the allotment and lifting myself up on to the shed roof to repair a leak, are far easier than last year.

 

My clothes are all now slightly too big and I will need new trousers soon, as I intend to keep going with another stone, which will put me into a good place with BMI and I can lift like the youngsters at the gym. The gym was a revelation. I felt self conscious as the old, fat bloke. But no one cared and it is more usual that there are a few other older, fat blokes. Maybe a post covid affect has got people to the gym who put on weight and lost fitness during the lockdowns.

 

The diet of eating slightly less and moving around more has meant I have consistently lost between 1/4 and 1 lbs a week for months now and recently people have started to notice the difference. I may have to take up modelling.

[Fozzie]

I'm 6ft 2, and have been going to the gym in some form for about 12-13 years. At the moment I'm hovering above 14.5 stone, and about 14% bodyfat. But I've been as low as 11 stone, and high as 16. The goalposts shift. 

 

At the moment I'm holding a comfortable cruiser weight, I go to the gym 4 times a week, and have martial arts once a week. I tend to walk in excess of 30 miles a week as well. It's a lifestyle, you can't go from 0-100 with this sort of thing, or at least I couldn't. I went from 2 times a week, to adding more and more on as time went by. 

 

Diet is a major factor, the biggest thing to cut out is fast digesting food groups. Pop with added sugar, or any foods with high added sugars need to go. Drink a lot of water throughout the day, and limit junk food to a single meal a week. It's important to treat yourself to keep you on target. White breads, crisps, things that dissolve and break down quickly are a bad choice, high glycaemic load foods put the body into storage mode, you are after burn mode.

 

As for weights, I always suggest having a higher weight to cardio split. Or keep cardio to separate days. Weight lifting burns more calories than cardio generally speaking. You should find a mix that works well with you, and modify it over time. If you go 3 days a week, you might want to do chest/shoulders, legs/core, back/arms for instance. Trick to it is, don't do what all the Broccoli haired boys do and sit looking at your phone between sets, you want to keep a maximum of 1-2 minutes per set. 8-12 rep range, 3-5 sets for a 15-20 set total per muscle group. Note what your body responds to, and tweak as you go. 

[Steve_M]

As one of those lucky sods who hold a constant weight (75 - 76 kg or just under 12st for those who work in imperial) regardless of diet or exercise regime,  I will relay my good lady’s approach when she lost around 11kg (2st) over a 3 month period following a keto diet. She occasionally felt tired and hungry over the first couple of weeks but then was fine. The only time there was any physical impact was when we took on a steep walk in the Lake District which exhausted her. 

 

The keto approach is worth considering as a one-off project only, though. I  understand it’s used for newly diagnosed and overweight diabetics to get their weight off quickly. 
 

 

[geofferz]

8 hours ago, Fozzie said:

I'm 6ft 2, and have been going to the gym in some form for about 12-13 years. At the moment I'm hovering above 14.5 stone, and about 14% bodyfat. But I've been as low as 11 stone, and high as 16. The goalposts shift. 

 

At the moment I'm holding a comfortable cruiser weight, I go to the gym 4 times a week, and have martial arts once a week. I tend to walk in excess of 30 miles a week as well. It's a lifestyle, you can't go from 0-100 with this sort of thing, or at least I couldn't. I went from 2 times a week, to adding more and more on as time went by. 

 

Diet is a major factor, the biggest thing to cut out is fast digesting food groups. Pop with added sugar, or any foods with high added sugars need to go. Drink a lot of water throughout the day, and limit junk food to a single meal a week. It's important to treat yourself to keep you on target. White breads, crisps, things that dissolve and break down quickly are a bad choice, high glycaemic load foods put the body into storage mode, you are after burn mode.

 

As for weights, I always suggest having a higher weight to cardio split. Or keep cardio to separate days. Weight lifting burns more calories than cardio generally speaking. You should find a mix that works well with you, and modify it over time. If you go 3 days a week, you might want to do chest/shoulders, legs/core, back/arms for instance. Trick to it is, don't do what all the Broccoli haired boys do and sit looking at your phone between sets, you want to keep a maximum of 1-2 minutes per set. 8-12 rep range, 3-5 sets for a 15-20 set total per muscle group. Note what your body responds to, and tweak as you go. 

Bloody hell you must be jacked. I'm about the same height and weight and in pretty decent shape but I'm guessing 20% bf or so

[S-Westerly]

On board ship we have a gym. I visit it once a week on Sunday inspection; the thought of actually using it gives me palpitations. I'm told it works okay but if you're more than 5'10" you need to bend on.the treadmill as you'll hit your head. Who knew?

[Steve_M]

I have a small area at home for practicing judo drills (Uchi Komi) using equipment designed for that purpose. I also have a few bits of kit to give me a decent exercise routine. I’ve used it a fair bit but I’m usually too knackered in the evening from working on the house and lack the discipline to get up early to use them. 

[Fozzie]

22 hours ago, geofferz said:

Bloody hell you must be jacked. I'm about the same height and weight and in pretty decent shape but I'm guessing 20% bf or so

 

Not compared to the monsters in my gym, although many are on the juice (judging from the sharps bin in the changing room anyway). I tend to wear baggier or less figure hugging clothing, but with the shirt off my abs show well at the moment. My most recent weak spot was shoulders, traps/pecs/upper arms were all good but not enough definition on the delts. Martial arts has helped as it involves a lot of pad work. It's my way of keeping my stress and mental health in check. 

 

Having a bit of fat on me really helps me look bigger in clothes though. I go up to 18% and those around me comment that I'm looking beefier. But I just carry fat quite well (mostly on my back). I tend to diet and condition for holidays, I'm a stone heavier than I was in Japan earlier this year for instance. Where I am now attracts small comments here and there, which is nice even if it's not the intent, and my girlfriend insists I don't need to go to the gym.  (but she lies  ) 

Edited November 23, 2023 by Fozzie
Spelling

[Tinkicker]

I have a sure fire way of losing weight rapidly.  It worked for me back in the 80s.

 

Find the ropiest indian takeaway you can after a good night out, and order the tandoori chicken.  If it seems a little jellylike in texture in the middle you are halfway there.

 

Scoff down a couple of forkfulls and leave the rest cos it tastes a bit funny, go to bed and wake up 3 hours later with stomach cramps.  Do not panic at this stage, let it sit awhile.

 

Wake up late next morning with flu like symptoms. All you need now is a doctor to examine you and go away, saying he is going to make a few phone calls.

Wake up in the afternoon to another visitor from Environmental health who wants you to answer a few questions...

 

It appears you have Salmonella poisoning along with several other people who ate the tandoori chicken.

 

Lie back in not so much comfort, but at least in your bed.  Have a sip of water, 30 seconds later, run panic stricken to the bog. Have a bite of arrowroot biscuit.  30 seconds later, run panic stricken to the bog.  Have a spoonful of heinz tomato soup, 30 seconds later, enjoy the unique experience of simultaneously seeming to be shedding your lower intestines down the bog and puking your stomach down the adjacent sink.

 

Be smug in the knowledge that you achieved your weight loss.  From 14 stone bodybuilder to 10 and a bit stone concentration camp prisoner lookalike in 3 weeks.

 

To add to the joy, six months of fun filled "stool sampling" until cleared to go back to work.  Even better, your samples are to be double bagged and a bright yellow "caution biohazard" sticker put on it.

 

Forget all your fancy diets, thats the way to do it.

 

A great side effect once you arrive back at work.  Have a bag of jelly babies or winegums and offer them around.  I will absolutely guarantee that there will be as many sweets left in the bag post offering as there were pre offer. 

 

Another odd side effect once cleared to socialise.  You visit your mates and their wives.  As soon as you finish your coffee, your mug is whisked away.  Much running water in the kitchen.  As you leave, you see your mug on the drainer filled with with water smelling strongly of bleach and everyone pointedly ignoring it.

Edited November 23, 2023 by Tinkicker

[Bender]

On 21/11/2023 at 23:28, curlylegend said:

From personal experience and many other scientific surveys, it appears that it's somewhat more complicated than that.  The Laws of Thermodynamics are very hard to apply to a human body.

A few years ago I decided to fast for seven days. No food at all. Nothing with any calorific value whatsoever. Water only. Surprisingly , my weight stayed exactly the same for the first four days. And it's not as if I was lying in my bed twenty four hours a day. I was going about my usual business including a six km walk every day. So if the average adult male needs about 2000Kcal per day ( more like 1500Kcal for me )  The calories in calories out hypothesis didn't hold for me because I didn't lose any weight. However at the end of the seven day period I had lost 1.5 kilos. I was starting to feel decidedly sluggish by then.

Another time I was hospitalised with a nasty touch of Hepatitis an I was absolutely starving !  Bread, jam, croissant yoghourt and sugary coffee for breakfast, a two course lunch and a three course dinner. And when I could walk, cakes and coffee in the cafeteria. This was a French hospital by the way.

All those calories in and just laying about all day, I must have surely put on weight ?

I lost 8 kilos over 12 days !

So more complicated than you'd think.

If I half my calories I would loose weight on a daily basis,I'm pretty lucky in being very active with work and it's easy for me to go into calorie deficit quickly.

 

If I'm on hols and do bugger all whilst stuffing face and drinking I can put on 1/2 lb a day, if I try really hard I can put on a stone in a good fortnight off.

 

It may not be simple but it's definitely related to diet.

 

Here's a little snapshot from my fitness tracker.

 

 

[Shepherd]

In the past 2 weeks since I started this plea for help, I've cut out as much of the nibbles / biscuits / crisps etc as possible.

Very little bread, but lots of homemade soups.

From 14st 2lb to 13st 11lb  and quite happy so far. Doesn't sound a lot, but I've done very little.

 

It's obvious, but hard - eat sensibly and in moderation.

I think boredom is/was the main problem, hence posting a little more on here and picking up a book to occupy the mind.

Thanks to all above for the input, I will make an effort to get to the gym, but I'm not scraping ice off the bike or car to get there!

July sounds about the right time ...

 

 

Shep

[husoi]

Well done  

you can always push the bike up and down the street a few times a day