Yet Another New Guy

J

Joe_R

0
Hi Everyone,

I just found this site while researching some ways to jumpstart a healthy fat loss trend and I'm really impressed with what I've seen. I'm no stranger to being in shape, but have managed to lose that in last few years. For those interested, here are the basics.

New job (good), new habbits (bad, embarassing). I spend a significant and unpredictable amount of time on the road. I can't change this; I can only change what I do (diet and making time instead of excuses). The truth of this is that there are few hotels that take the word "gym" at all seriousely especially in the midwest. I also have spent too many "lunches" in the drive through of Mc D's. This has not helped the waist line in a good way at all.

New town. I left military life for civilian life and got a heavy dose of reality--good gyms aren't in every neighborhood. This is complicated by being a Field Technician; my work location changes daily. I also live in the midwest now and don't have the luxury of a friendly outdoor enviornment to utilize.

Kids. Best thing that ever happened to me, but they also gave an excuse to be lazy and I did not recover from it in time. Now they are one of my reasons to get healthy again.

Five years ago when I turned 29, I weighed 168lbs (5'9", male) and wore a 30" waist. Now I'm over 200 and wear a 38. I don't have nearly the endurance I once did, but I am lucky to be injury free with a clean bill of health. I have no excuses for being where I am except that it doesn't take any work to be the way I am now. I'm going to spend some time looking over the site and seeing how some of you have re-entered the world of being healthy and get a little inspiration and a lot of information. I picked up some books from Men's Health to develope some basic routines I can do at home for added strength and flexibility. At the moment, I'm looking at jumping rope to fill the cardio void for now and maybe moving to a weights and aerobics routine using dumb bells in the next couple of weeks. Please feel free to add in any other tips or pointers you may have, especially in the area of aerobic exercise. I need this, for myself and for my kids. They need somebody to show them how to be healthy and a Dad who can have a bit of fun with them! Thanks for a great site!
 
I'm new, too.

So did you workout while in the military? ..and maybe snacked less?

I'd think that the most critical thing is to maintain your heart rate at a high level for 30 minutes or more almost daily.

Jumping rope is VERY intense and might be unsustainable for that amount of time... and you might find that it is so aversive that you just give up on it once the enthusiasm wanes.

Pacing your calisthenics (pushups, situps, squats/deep knee bends) such that your heart rate remains in the training zone (about 135 to 145 beats per minutes) for the 30 minutes or more might work. It is as boring as hell, though. In between sets, jog nice-and-easy in place.

A cheap heart rate monitor is great. What I learned from my heart rate monitor is that I did not need to workout NEARLY as hard as I thought. This is good news because it meant that I did not need to be nearly as uncomfortable during my workouts.

Just keep an eye on the heart rate doing whatever you can to maintain it at the training level.

Being a guy, I think your weight will melt off of you. We dudes have a much easier time with weight loss than the ladies.

I'm 44 and in much better shape than I was when I was in the Army. Of course, I'm not traveling. I wonder whether I would maintain a fitness regime if I were constantly traveling. That's a tough one.
 
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