Going Back For The First Time In Over 10 Years

Supercell

Well, after 10 years of total inactivity, I work at a computer all day, hop onto my m/bike and then do the same most nights.

Dont have a weighing scales but would guess that am about 15 stone and 5'7 tall..and have a very porky belly

I used to be in pretty good shape in my student days, and being natually "stocky" , muscle bulked up pretty easily.

However am dreading my first night in the gym on thursday night, when I'll have a fitness test and a program drawn up . Its unbelievable how bad it looks in a t-shirt when its loose around the shoulders and tight around the belly

Last summer i wore baggy sweatshirts all the time, so sweated and prolly smelled ripe most of the time. Have vowed that thats never going to happen again if i can avoid it.

Initially, I dont really care about legs and arms, but the pot belly has to go, preferably as quickly as possible!

What kind of programme should i specifically ask for, and what kind of timescale would normally be expected before I loose a couple of inches around the waist (right now cannot fit into new 38" waist trousers I bought on saturday..which was a rude awakening), would quess that 42" is probably about my size atm

I know these are very general questions, but what excercises would the experienced people here recommend initally..my goal is to have a six-pak stomach again by the end of July at the latest, or am i being overly optimistic here ?

silverside

i would reckon just get back into the habit of exercise again, maybe 2/3 cardio sessions a week, jogging,cycling, row, maybe a bit of aerobics for variety and to check out the ladeez, for weight loss go for longer sessions at lower intensity (start with 20-25 mins and aim for 45 mins), spinning classes are good as well, i wouldnt bother with any weights yet - do pushups/situps etc for toning.

silverside

dont want to sound patronising but hve you thought about bicycling into work, walking at lunchtime, etc,etc

a guy i knew used to be very heavy. he knew he was joining the gardai and needed to pass a fitness test so he took a job as a security guard where he was walking round the whole time, the weight droppeed off him rapid. now you'd never imagine him jogging or playing football but walking worked for him.

Supercell

Yep , did think about cycling into work, but its 10 miles there and 10 back, think I'd be ambulance material if i tried that atm

Thanks for the suggestions, I was thinking about the cadio stuff as opposed to weights, I do bulk up pretty easily, was thinking that wights would bulk up chest etc pretty fast..and muscle burns calories pretty well, but you have me rethinking that now.

Genghis

Agree with silverside, you do not need to do weights at the moment. You are right about muscle consuming more calories, etc, but don't forget that regular CV exercise will also develop muscles. Obviously CV exercise will also burn more calories while you are doing it than lifting weights. At a later stage weight training will have more impact.

Your most important step in the next few weeks is to establish a 3-4 times a week gym habit. Even if at first you are only doing 20 mins of exercise each visit, it is better to do 3 x 20 minute sessions every week than doing one one-hour session. As you gain fitness you will find it easy to build up to longer times, and if you maintain the 3-4 visits a week then your payoff begins to multiply. Find ways to make the gym part of your life - bring the gym bag to work and go before you get home, pick a time at the weekend when you can easily squeeze in a session (give up one of your lie-ons!)

I would say you should be looking at the stationary bike for a 10 minute warm-up, do some stretching, and then look towards the treadmill and the cross trainer for a 20 minute session. End your session with more stretching and ground exercise, etc.

As the weeks go on these 20 minute CV sessions should increase until you find you can do maybe 45 minutes. As silverside pointed out you don't have to operate these machines at top speed to make gains - given your spell of inactivity a brisk walking pace on the treadmill over 20 minutes would have significant impact at first.

Remember, though, that as you lose weight and gain fitness the benefit of simply brisk-walking diminishes, so you must start upping the speed to maintain the same benefit. As a rule of thumb you should always be working out at an intesity that is 'difficult, though comfortable' to keep up. (I have used walking / treadmill as the example here, but the same principle would apply to the cross-trainer, and other CV sessions).

Other exercises you should consider introducing as you go on is the rowing machine and swimming.

As regards your goal for July. You could hope to lose 1-2 lbs a week. Over three months that would amount to something between 1 and 2 stone. When you get your programme the gym should measure your body fat %. Ask them what you should then aim to reduce it to by July. Make weight difference and your goal now.

I would be afraid that if you simply say 'lose the belly' or 'get a six-pack' you will fail to properly assess your progress and hence become discouraged - for a start weight will be lost from all over your body not just one place, and indeed may well become more apparent on say your face (where you have less to lose) than on your belly (where you have most to lose). Secondly, six-packs are only visible at very low body-fat percentages, and for some people never visible. I would be stocky like you, have low body-fat, train 6 days a week etc, and I can't see mine for example.

You will also find great encouragement from looser clothing, and from comments from people - especially those who don't see you that often. It is funny how we are very often the last to appreciate how much weight we have lost (and indeed, we have put on) until people start remarking, or your pants are a bit more of a squeeze.

Trojan

I was in a similar position to yourself about 2 & a half years back - I'd given up rugby about 4 years at that stage, and was over 14.5 stone, very unfit & overweight (I'm 5'7 too). I guess I was close to a 38 waist.

After 6-8 months training I was around 13.5 stone and able to run 7-8 miles without a problem. 34 waist too.

[edit] Just a note on the weight - I'd started doing a bit of resistance training after about 4 months, and I play front row, so I'm not going to lose as much "weight" as the norm - but it's body fat I want to get rid of, not pounds on the scale
[/edit]

What I did was fairly intense - I started doing a lot of 2.5km runs in the gym, 3-5 times a week. After 2 weeks of that I gradually upped the distance, and eventually I was limited by the amount of time I had to spend rather than by what distance I could run. Also having a set distance is useful cos then I can push to beat my previous time which is motivational.

Anyway, I found that the first 3 or 4 weeks of running on average 4 days a week made such a huge difference to me initially that it inspired me to keep going as I was seeing such good results. Over time I backed down the frequency of training down to 2-3 runs a week, but they're generally a bit longer in distance than the more frequent ones.

The other guys here will give you the scientific side of things and proper routines - I just wanted to give you the perspective of someone who's come from a similar place. My advice is do as much as possible in a short space of time (without overtraining). You'll feel much better and see results quickly which will spur you on to keep it up.

Cheers & best of luck.
Al.

tunney

my goal is to have a six-pak stomach again by the end of July at the latest, or am i being overly optimistic here ?

yes yes you are

To get a six pack you really have to have your body fat percentage down under 10%. Thats low I train twice(or three times) a day 5-7 days a week and mines still 12.7%, then again I eat alot. Thats not to say you can look fitter, leaner, stronger and more toned by the end of july.

Supercell

Huge thanks for the words of encouragement , am dreading being the fatty thats puffing and panting after 5 mins on a threadmill, is nice to hear that some of you have been there and come out the other side too.

Trojan, 7-8 miles per session seems like fantisy land to me right now (think homer simpson) , good to hear that you appear to have got there from somewhere close to what i'm like right now which is very motivating.

Gengis, thanks for the detailed post, I will certainly take onboard your advice and silverside's (thanks for explaining why simply weight lifting isn't the right approach for me right now).

Overall, feel a lot better about the whole thing right now, though am frankly dreading the first few weeks, but its good to know there is definately a light at the end of the tunnel and know now what to expect withing certain timeframes thanks to all your great advice.

Many thanks

yop

Longfield, best of luck with it, was hitting 16st there at xmas, decided to finally do something about it there in the last 6 weeks, so I cut of coffee and all the sweet crap that I was eating, decided to hit the beach every morning.
So then 2.5 weeks ago I started the atkins, was at 15.8 and I was doing a 1.5 mile "run" every morning, (more like run, die, walk, run, die walk!), it was taking me 15.30 minutes, I know, it was pants!!!
So then within a week, I noticed that i was down to 13 minutes and not stopping on the run at all, then after 2 weeks I decided to stretch it to 3 miles, taking me 27.30 minutes, now I did it last nite and I am doing it in 26.10 and am delighted with my progress. The atkins is getting rid of the tits, down to 14st 10 lbs, it has worked for me, for other it does not.
Anyway YOU CAN DO IT! (what film was that on!!). Post your progress if u wish, it will give u an incentive to do more when you have to post it, possibly!

The very best of luck with it anyway

Supercell

Thanks yop, it's great to have so many supportive comments here, this has to be one of the frendliest (and kind) forum on boards.

I'm full of trepedation, atm its the 38" waist jeans that are my goal atm, i can wair them if i suck in my breath and ignore the pinch, probably not much needs to be lost for comfortable wearing, i'd estimate about 3-4 weeks with about 4-5 session per week should put me there comfortably.

Will look to train for distances/time's at first as many here seem to say that its most satisfying to be able to do the same distance in far less time as being very motivating, and i agree with this. Right now, two flights of stairs has me panting, but know that if approached sensibly this shouldnt be the case soon.

Regarding diet, am a firm believer of everything in moderation , at the moment its too much beer and pizza..and little else, however am hoping that the time spent in the gym is time i'd spend out on the piss otherwise, so just attending will probably change my diet hugely anyhow, which is a good thing.

Am full of hope , but tomorrow night is probably going to be painful..but will stick it out..hope to proudly announce that those trousers are fitting soon, and it will be thanks largely to the encouragement i've received here.

yop

Well what you should do is what I did, have a digi cam, took a pic of the state of me there 3 weeks ago, still in a state, but a better one! !:D
But I stuck it on the locker beside the cot, so when i have to get up in the morning and am not feelin motivated i take a look at the fat runt in the pic and that is enough.
I managed to squeeze another 40 seconds of the time of the run when I went there last nite, nearly blew up but great satisfaction. Still no pain no gain.
Best of luck tonite

Supercell

Well , i'm back, and wasnt as bad as I expected, though am totally utterly wrecked.

Had a programme drawn up for me to follow for the next few weeks when i'll be assessed again. Interestingly its isn't unlike what people were saying here i should do, ie its heavy on the treadmill and rowing machine and some weights but nothing too intense compaired to what I used to do.

Is good to see that especially the rowing and treadmill stuff shows a calories burned counter thingy, am allotted a time frame rather than an amount to burn and told to do whatever i feel comfortable doing in that time. Am pretty certain that I'll up the threadmill speed considerably and increase the intensity on the rowing machine over time as i get more fit.

The girl also showed me some stretching and stomach excersises..no fancy equipment for that..but jebus was it tough, am looking forward to that part of the regime becoming more easy.

So all in all, a good first outing, the gym is closed tomorrow, but probably for the better, expect i'll be feeling a little tender !
Will hit it though on Saturday with enthusiasm

D!ve^Bomb!

Originally posted by Longfield
Yep , did think about cycling into work, but its 10 miles there and 10 back, think I'd be ambulance material if i tried that atm

this is exactly what you need... it'll be hard for the first few weeks but it will get easier... 20 mile a day cycle is a leap in the right direction!!

Micro1

I dont know if there are spinning classes in your gym, but if there is start doing them. Spinning is very intense and great for losing those pounds. Its tough going mind you and people tend to leave the classes early on there first few trys, but thats simply because its such hard work.
Ive been going to them on a thrice weekly basis for the last 2 years.
Its funny cause I always see lads and lassies in the same situation as yourself (trying to lose weight) and after a few weeks of spinning classes you start to see that there bodies are literaly droping off at a serious rate. So my advice is, if your trying to put a good bit of cardio into your workout, try spinning. Its the only cardio i can do due to the fact that my ankles dont work, but i have found that three 45 minute classes a week meet my needs perfectly.

Supercell

Been reading about spinning on the web since i saw your post Micro1.

Certainly looks like something i'd love to give a go. My gym doesnt do them, do you know of any gym's in Dublin that do classes in it?
I'm based in Rathgar, but get everywhere on a motorbike so not really that bothered about travelling a bit out of the way.

Thanks.

Trojan

Westwood in Fairview does it.

Spinning is not my thing - I find real cycling 100 times more enjoyable (and I prefer treadmill running to outside, so it's not that issue)

Micro1

I hear ya trojan, I love to cycle and do, alot. I Was a cycle courior for 1 1/2 years infact. But spinning is a nice alternative to those that arnt really willing to get out in the fresh air, due to whatever reason and theres no getting away from that fact that you burn on average 700 cals in a 45 min session. Thats a whole lot.
Longfield, as far as i know spinning is pretty much taken as a given in most gyms around Dublin. All the westwoods do it, Crunch In Dun Laoghaire and any 'big' gym that have taken a look at recently would have it.

Supercell

Thanks Micro1 , am fond of all things two wheeled, hence being a biker.
Am definately going to look into this at the weekend when I have some free time.

yop

Spinning is top notch, killing on the ass but well worth it, at the start I honestly could not walk right for 2 days and gave John Wayne a run for his money but after about 3 sessions I noticed a great difference.
It seems to more of a womens thing but more men are taking it up due to the choice of it is up to you on how intense you want the workout.

I hate the threadmill due to the shin splints, thankfully the beach does not give me the same issue.

Cycling is getting more and more dangerous all the time even in Mayo!