Hi,
I've just gotten back into regular fitness. I'm 37 years old, 6'2" and 250lbs. I've been overweight my entire life. I never played sports as a kid, but I started running around the time I was 19. I've done this off and on for years. ("off and on" will be the death of me!). In 2009 I ran the SF Marathon. I am clearly in better shape than I was twenty years ago. However, weight loss has remained stubborn and I am not comfortable taking my shirt off in public.
I have lifted weights off and on for years. A number of factors have caused interruptions in my routine, I am addressing those. However, I think a big problem I have is over-training.
For example, I have gotten a situp board. I have it at a 45 degree angle and I try to do 2 sets of thirty. That isn't working, and I haven't gone up in reps, although my midsection does feel stronger. I wonder if I am overtraining. I try to do abs 6 days a week, although it probably works out to 5 times a week. I'll do leg lifts at the gym three times a week (aim for 60, in three or four sets to failure) then at home I do crunches on the board on the days I don't go to the gym. Is this too much?
I have decided to work on my core before lifting weights, because as I've gotten older I feel better doing exercises that use my body weight. I try and 5 sets of 10 - 15 pushups three days a week. I also run. On the days that I don't run I walk. I do the same route whether running or walking and it is about 4.5 miles. I took some time off, granted, but I feel my running has really gone down hill. I have to stop frequently because I feel my heart is going to explode. Two years ago I could run 45 minutes to an hour w/o stopping. Now I am pooped after about ten minutes. I'm not making any progress, I feel like I'm going backwards.
Any tips? I've made some drastic lifestyle changes recently (avoiding alcohol, sugar and starch). I've also been under a lot of stress which I've been managing. I'm tired of beating my head into the wall.
Mike
I've just gotten back into regular fitness. I'm 37 years old, 6'2" and 250lbs. I've been overweight my entire life. I never played sports as a kid, but I started running around the time I was 19. I've done this off and on for years. ("off and on" will be the death of me!). In 2009 I ran the SF Marathon. I am clearly in better shape than I was twenty years ago. However, weight loss has remained stubborn and I am not comfortable taking my shirt off in public.
I have lifted weights off and on for years. A number of factors have caused interruptions in my routine, I am addressing those. However, I think a big problem I have is over-training.
For example, I have gotten a situp board. I have it at a 45 degree angle and I try to do 2 sets of thirty. That isn't working, and I haven't gone up in reps, although my midsection does feel stronger. I wonder if I am overtraining. I try to do abs 6 days a week, although it probably works out to 5 times a week. I'll do leg lifts at the gym three times a week (aim for 60, in three or four sets to failure) then at home I do crunches on the board on the days I don't go to the gym. Is this too much?
I have decided to work on my core before lifting weights, because as I've gotten older I feel better doing exercises that use my body weight. I try and 5 sets of 10 - 15 pushups three days a week. I also run. On the days that I don't run I walk. I do the same route whether running or walking and it is about 4.5 miles. I took some time off, granted, but I feel my running has really gone down hill. I have to stop frequently because I feel my heart is going to explode. Two years ago I could run 45 minutes to an hour w/o stopping. Now I am pooped after about ten minutes. I'm not making any progress, I feel like I'm going backwards.
Any tips? I've made some drastic lifestyle changes recently (avoiding alcohol, sugar and starch). I've also been under a lot of stress which I've been managing. I'm tired of beating my head into the wall.
Mike