The Workout Thread

[ih8music]

Started Insanity month 2 today, and it finally happened -- Shaun T. made me puke. Should have known better given that I'm still working off a bad cold from the weekend and took an extra "recovery" week last week due to some family commitments.

 

But I lost about 15 lbs in the first month (more now, I guess ) and my "fit test" results have gone up about 50%, so it's definitely an effective program. This last month doesn't look like fun, though...

[Wilco Worshipper]

Started Insanity month 2 today, and it finally happened -- Shaun T. made me puke. Should have known better given that I'm still working off a bad cold from the weekend and took an extra "recovery" week last week due to some family commitments.

 

But I lost about 15 lbs in the first month (more now, I guess ) and my "fit test" results have gone up about 50%, so it's definitely an effective program. This last month doesn't look like fun, though...

So what do you do when the 2 months is over?

[u2roolz]

So what do you do when the 2 months is over?

 

Put the weight back on?

 

15 pounds a month seems a bit unhealthy. The norm is usually to lose between 1 & 2 pounds per week. And you eventually trim waistlines, if you're not always losing a pound etc...

 

Edit: I left in a rush to make trivia, so let me add a few things.

 

If a friend of mine asked me advice on how to diet and exercise, I would highly recommend making a life change and joining a gym to work out 52 weeks a year.

 

I don't see what people are doing in the other 10 months of this exercise. All that it sounds like is a sweet ass deal to lose the most weight in the least amount of time. Do people really think that after these 2 months they will be all set for life? I assume that people who go through this ordeal change their diet to sustain the weight loss.

[ih8music]

So what do you do when the 2 months is over?

Great question... not sure. I've previously tried jogging for a while and found it boring (and it eventually killed my knees) so that's not realistic. I've also tried bike riding (where I live is about a 25 min ride from the beach), which was much better, but still not something I enjoyed enough to stick with. I'm thinking of signing up for a rec basketball league here for the winter -- it'd only be 1 day/week, but that plus 1-2 other workouts a week should be enough for me to maintain a decent fitness level.

 

If I had more tolerance for running (physically & mentally) I'd try something like training for a marathon or tri, since like I mentioned before I do my best when I have a clear goal to shoot for (which is why I like programs like this) -- I'm definitely open to ideas.

 

15 pounds a month seems a bit unhealthy. The norm is usually to lose between 1 & 2 pounds per week. And you eventually trim waistlines, if you're not always losing a pound etc...

Yeah, I was a little surprised with the amount lost in the first month -- I intentionally didn't weigh myself until the 5th week because I didn't want to affect me either way. I was quite flabby at the beginning and hadn't worked out hard in a while, so I suspect I lost a good 5-7 lbs in the first week alone -- I noticed a difference in how my pants/shorts felt within days. For my build, I could probably come down another 10 lbs, but not too much more (I'm 6'2" and now just under 200 lbs).

 

But I'm hardly starving myself. I'm eating about 2000-2500 cals/day (4 or 5 meals @ approx 500 cals), but I've cut out a lot of crap from my diet. I also didn't skip a single workout that first month, which of course is a huge factor w/ programs like this.

 

Once I'm done with the program, I'm sure the weight will go up a little (especially with the holidays approaching )... but I agree that it'll be very important for me to find a way to keep active in order to stay in decent shape. Again, I'm open to ideas...

[u2roolz]

Again, I'm open to ideas...

 

My best friend goes to the gym about 4 days a week. The other 3 nights he does hockey, basketball and tae kwon do. I think he may also be in a kickball league. Yes, you read that right.

And he walks an hour to and from work everyday.

 

I stick to the gym, but I'd like to join a baseball or basketball league. I don't know if I can take the awesomeness of being in a real life kickball game.

[ih8music]

My best friend goes to the gym about 4 days a week. The other 3 nights he does hockey, basketball and tae kwon do. I think he may also be in a kickball league. Yes, you read that right.

And he walks an hour to and from work everyday.

Crazy. With 2 small kids at home and a wife who works evenings, that'd be a recipe for divorce for me.

And I already walk to work... of course, I work from home so it's not quite as impressive.

[Hoodoo Man]

Man, I missed this completely and wish I hadn't. I've been working out pretty steadily since my senior year of high school and keep myself in decent shape. The thing is that I'm now almost 43, have 4 kids and still dedicated to my workouts. I still use the same set of weights I've had for 25+ years and my gym is out in the garage right next to the mini van.

 

For any of you younger folks, my advice is start exercising now and make sure it becomes a part of your daily routine. Also, learn to adapt your work out to your current needs and situation. For instance, when I was in college, I worked out midafternoon between classes and my work shift of 5 pm to midnight. Once I joined the world of 8-4:30 workers, I moved my workout to late afternoon between work and supper (this also worked well because my wife worked a lot of nights). After we started procreating, late afternoon didn't work because that left me very little time with the kids. So now I get up 5:15 and start working out at 5:30 (M-F). It usually takes me about 30 minutes to finish. The hardest part is getting out of bed. Another adjustment is to not do the same workout every day or even week to week. Each day I work different muscle groups and each week I slightly alter the amount of weight and reps for each exercise. I basically have 3 workout models: week 1 - high weight, low reps; week 2 - low weight, high reps; week 3 - medium weight, less exercises buy multiple sets of certain exercises. This helps keep you from getting too bored and also helps keep you from plateauing. The only thing I do every day is ab work but I do change up the exercises each day. Keeping off the gut is the hardest part for me which leads me to...

 

Diet: My only advice here is watch your portions. I try to eat light for breakfast and lunch so that I can eat a decent supper, but I do try (sort of) to watch my portions at supper. You don't have to stuff yourself to enjoy a meal. Lastly, a few months ago I stopped drinking sodas with my lunch at work. So I went from 7 sodas per week to 1 or 2. In 3 months I've gone from a 34 waist to a 32. Now I'll just have to try hard to keep it that way.

 

Sorry to take up so much space. Especially when there are much more qualified posters who have already replied. But this is from the perspective of a 40+ year old, dad of 4, who has very little time to workout. So maybe somebody else in a similar situation can get something out of my simple method for trying to stay healthy.

[Moss]

Started Insanity month 2 today, and it finally happened -- Shaun T. made me puke. Should have known better given that I'm still working off a bad cold from the weekend and took an extra "recovery" week last week due to some family commitments.

 

But I lost about 15 lbs in the first month (more now, I guess ) and my "fit test" results have gone up about 50%, so it's definitely an effective program. This last month doesn't look like fun, though...

 

Is that program stricly weight loss/fitness or is there a muscle building element involved? 15 lbs. loss seems like a lot, especially if you are putting on muscle at the same time. Did you do anything radical with the diet at all? Sorry for all the questions, I'm just a guy looking for the right way to do this. I would like to lose about 15 lbs total (not necessarily in a month). I have heard good things about P90x and Insanity but it's probably a little more than I am ready for at this point and mentally I'm not sure I could stick to something like that. But damn, meeting my goal in 1 month would certainly be motivating.

 

I do find that it helps to track calories with a program like "calorie king". It makes you realize how quick the calories add up and you don't realize it. You quickly learn that you can eat a huge egg white omelet with all the vegetables you want, or you can eat like half a donut and get the same calories. Or that you probably need to cut back a bit at lunch to have that beer after work.

 

Recently I have had some break throughs though. Went to a mexican restaurant and did not have a single chip w/salsa (my weakness). I was almost shaking with food lust but I persevered.

[ih8music]

Sorry to take up so much space. Especially when there are much more qualified posters who have already replied. But this is from the perspective of a 40+ year old, dad of 4, who has very little time to workout. So maybe somebody else in a similar situation can get something out of my simple method for trying to stay healthy.

Thanks for sharing... it's helpful. When I lived in MI and had a basement, I had a nice little weight set and treadmill set up down there and would use them on an almost daily basis... then we moved to CA and into a house with about 50% the sq footage and no basement, so I have absolutely no space for that stuff. Maybe one day I'll get the garage cleaned out enough to fit one or both of those things again.

 

Is that program stricly weight loss/fitness or is there a muscle building element involved? 15 lbs. loss seems like a lot, especially if you are putting on muscle at the same time. Did you do anything radical with the diet at all? Sorry for all the questions, I'm just a guy looking for the right way to do this. I would like to lose about 15 lbs total (not necessarily in a month). I have heard good things about P90x and Insanity but it's probably a little more than I am ready for at this point and mentally I'm not sure I could stick to something like that. But damn, meeting my goal in 1 month would certainly be motivating.

Insanity is almost all cardio... running, jumping, bending, lunging, etc. There are some exercises which require you to do pushups, but they're usually mixed with other moves done in rapid succession, so it's still a cardio workout and not conducive for muscle building. You'll certainly tone & strengthen what you have, but it's not designed for adding muscle bulk -- if you're interested in that, P90X is much more effective.

[jff]

I've been slacking lately, and I need/deserve to get my ass kicked in a healthy, physique improving way, so I'll probably go to Operation Boot Camp's bring-a-friend-day tomorrow morning with my wife.

[Guest Speed Racer]

I would love to have a home that could accomodate a rower or a treadmill.

 

It's funny: I bike commute year round but I'm a total wimp when it comes to running outside. Just goes to show you how much I hate the buses up here.

[Wilco Worshipper]

I've missed out on the past 2 weeks. Started that new morning job and it threw me off completely and this week just haven't felt so good.

 

I plan on getting back to the gym on Monday, tho! I kind of miss it. NO joke!

 

I'm asking for an exercise DVD (and hand weights) for Christmas for those crappy days when I don't want to drive to the gym.

 

 

Any suggestions? (And please not any of those craZZZy systems! ) I just want something that will get the heart pumping and the sweat pouring. I like dancing in my workout, too.