6 Month Fitness Vacation

cormie

Hi,
I've been thinking about this lately. I'd like to save up enough money so I could go away, to Spain or somewhere similar and basically just get my body and mind in total shape. I would probably get a little house to myself in the country somewhere.

I'd like some advice on this idea if possible.

What weather is best for the body to excercise in? I'd also like if I could get a tan too;)

What kind of timetable should I keep? I know to start off small is the best idea, so say the first week, should I excercise every day? Say, 20 minutes the first day, and work it up each day? In this time table, what should I be doing? Cardio/muscle wise?

What food should I be eating? and should I eat pretty much the same thing every day or should I adjust with the training I'm doing? How many times a week should I have fish for dinner as opposed to say, chicken? Or can I fit it in to a routine daily meal, everything I need?

Just a bit about myself; I'm 22, male, and have an underactive thyroid which I take medication for so I think that should be ok. I'm not supposed to take Kelp though as far as I know. My peak weight was 16 stone. I got down to about 12.5 but put some back on, then lost some, and have put some back on again. I'm currently 14 stone. I'm 5'11. I'm unaware of my body fat % but I reckon it's quite high.

My goal would be to just toally tone up and get a defined body. A healthy body. I don't want massive muscles or I'm not concerned about strength, that will come with the training, but my goal is to simply be as healthy as I can. I want a diet that will be good for my mind and my body.

I can't swim, I know swimming is great excercise and in a sunny country would be really nice, but I can't

One thing to consider is that because I've been overweight since I've been about 8 years old, that if I do tone up within the 6 months, I may have a bit of stretched skin, is there any way to avoid this?

Is 6 months enough time? I would plan to basically set aside the whole 6 months in order to achieve this goal. I don't smoke or drink and once I'm in control of what goes into the fridge and presses, buying the right food should be no problem at all. I've lost the weight before so I can do it again.

I'd appreciate any advice anyone has to offer on the above:)

Chucky the tree

eh...why go abroad for this?

Caryatnid

Chucky the tree wrote:

eh...why go abroad for this?

Because, presumably, when one is abroad they are away from the distractions of every day life. I'm sure the OP has a reason for wanting to go abroad.

OP - I think you need to put a lot of research into this. Will you get a job? Personally, I think that going abroad alone can really help you to get to know yourself. Could be good for your mind to be away from everything.

Are you thinking of going alone? What about going over to Asia, maybe Tibet - I know it's becoming more touristy, but I think it's ok now.

Or what about hooking up with a charity? This could be great for your mind, and maybe even body........if you are building/painting a school or not. Or maybe you could teach English. What are your thoughts so far?

mloc

cormie wrote:

I'm not supposed to take Kelp though as far as I know.

That'd be the iodine. In that case, I'd avoid large amounts of seafood too.

Sounds like a nice plan, but the thing is, will you be able to keep it up when you get back?

cormie

I've thought about going to do charity work alright. Sounds very rewarding, it's something I'd definitely like to do, but this has been on my mind for a long time, to finally tone up.

Yes, going abroad would be much better than trying it here. I'd be on my own and wouldn't have any responsibilities getting in the way like family or friends. Food and accom would be much cheaper too, as well as better weather;)

regarding the too much seafood, I didn't know that, but I heard kelp increases your thryoid, if I'm at normal level now, on medication, would it not just be the same as any other person taking kelp? And would it not be ok since I'm "underactive", if I was overactive it could be more dangerous?

Any idea of a daily workout/eating routine that would suit for the 6 months?

I think it would be a lot easier to keep fit here, than to get fit.. and that's IF I come back;)

mloc

cormie wrote:

regarding the too much seafood, I didn't know that, but I heard kelp increases your thryoid, if I'm at normal level now, on medication, would it not just be the same as any other person taking kelp? And would it not be ok since I'm "underactive", if I was overactive it could be more dangerous?

Well kelp contains iodine, in large amounts, so this recommendation means that you should avoid large amounts of iodine. I'm not sure if your hypothyroidism is primary or secondary hypothyroidism, but the thyroid relies on iodine to produce hormones involved in metabolism regulation.

The medication you may be taking may actually be iodine substitution and therefore increasing the levels further could be unhealthy. Again, I don't know what variety of hypothyroidism you have or which medication you're taking, but since I'm not you're GP, and this really isn't a medical forum, I guess the only advice I can give you is that you're probably ok with seafood once you don't eat amounts your not used to without checking tolerences first.

I'd love to go away for a few months to get some self-disipline and train every day. Perhaps some day I'll to tibet or something and join a temple:D

cormie

Hehe, sorry, wasn't seeking medical advice, just curious when you mentioned it:)

Another thing I would like to do in this 6 months is increase my flexibility.

Where would be the best place to go to get a professional to do out a 6 month timetable for such a thing? Would I need such advice or would it be a simple routine to follow? Do any of you guys and gals work in this area?

Shrimp

Good luck with this cormie!

justsomebloke

ok if you are seriously thinking about this have a clear cut idea for where you want to be in the 6 months after so set your self pretty specifc goals and targets. like do you want to gain more muscle if so how much and what sort of BF% are you looking to be when you come back or are your goals more athleticly based by the end of it would you like to be able to run a marathon, ironman comp, adventure racing and so on. Cause to get the most out of the 6 months you would have to have a pretty set idea of what you want other then that you will waste away alot of time deciding on what you want to do and losing valuable time.

Also I would advise before going getting to a good enough fitness level where you could probably get 2 training sessions in a day where you can, other then that you could be doing a 1 and a half hours training a day in one session and be bored out of your tree for the othe 22 and a half hours.

Also educate your self on diet before you go read as much as you can that way when you are abroad you can make good decision on your diet based on activity levels and weight. Just remember your diet will contiually have to change to adapt to both your changing weight and the increased work loads you go through in your workout during the 6 months so you will have to know yourself how best to adapt your diet.

Also as you will probably have to avoid the general tourist areas and are travelling alone make sure you how a bit of the local language

cormie

Thanks for the replies and good wishes.

I don't intend to enter Mr. Universe or any marathons either, hehe, I'd just like to be a healthy weight and tone up my body.

I don't know what my BF% is at the moment, and I don't know what I'd want it to be either. Whatever is healthy, athletic, toned, definied I want to tone up, not to bulk up if you know what I mean.

I've a fair idea about diet and what's good to eat and what's not etc, my diet is ok at the moment but I have such a sweet tooth and find myself giving into temptation a lot more than I want to. There would be bad food in the house and I'd find myself eating it, this is why I'd like to go away, alone, I'd be in control of everything that comes into the house, nobody else would be buying things and it's much easier to resist these things when you're out shopping than when you actually crave something and go routing in the presses:o

Is there anyone here qualified to give an analysis or would it be in my best interest to go to a specialist, tell them my plan, get my BF% and everything else checked and get them to make out a food and workout timetable for the 6 months. Would this be expensive? 2 of my friends have done this type of thing in college, they give me good advice. But I don't think they'd have the experience to advise on such a treck.

So what kind of BF% loss do you all reckon is possible in 6 months?

I'm not going any time soon, too many responsibilities at the moment, but I want to be prepared for when I do get to go:)

Chucky the tree

If you dont have the dicispline to not eat "bad" foods now, when you come back will you not just fall into the trap and loss all the good work?

You seem to be hoping that going away you will be forced into working out. That might not be the case. You might just end up not doing any work in another country. Firstly i start working out in Ireland, see how you last, then start thinking about doing it seriously.

Every year theres a load of people who decide to change there lifestyles at January as part of a New year resolution. They are adament they will stick too it, by the end of January there back to their old ways.

Motivation and discipline isnt something people can turn on and off like a tap. I dont know if going to another country would work either.

cormie

Nah, I know what will work for me. I was in Spain last month and had an excellent diet. In 1 month I lost nearly 3/4 of a stone. This was a holiday, it wasn't a fitness vacation. I went through a period of where I didn't eat chocolate (I LOVE CHOCOLATE, I've a big sweet tooth) for over a year. I want to get back in that mind set and I think going away would greatly influence that. It's something I've thought about a lot.

I'd just like to get some advice on a time table or where would be a good place to get such a thing?

empirix

Forget Spain and head to Thailand, the top Mai Thai gyms in Bangkok and Chiang Mai allow you to live and train with all the fighters (including Pro's), basically you train, eat, meditate and sleep with em. They'll ease you in gently and work you up, six months in one of these places and you'll be in animal shape and also have the skills to kick the b****x out of anyone:D
They train twice a day for about 2 -3 hours, a lot of cardio involved(no machines involved)
. It will be tough and pretty hardcore, i personally would love to do it and hopefully will in the near future.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

cormie

Sounds interesting. I've been watching UFC and have a seen load of Bas Rutten training videos and the likes. Self Defence and that kind of training would be of great benefit I'd imagine too. Any idea on cost/acceptance of foreign people/living conditions etc etc? Will I come back an aggressive bastard though? haha, would I be too soft for it?

empirix

Its not that expensive at all, compared to our standard of living etc, check out the link, its just an example, there are better ones from the top gyms, you really want to be going to the one in Bangkok or Chaing mai, can't recall the names but it wouldn't be too hard to find out etc

1000 baht is around 18 euro.

http://www.khaosanroad.com/directory/listing_list.php?cat_id=25&city_id=all&country_id=1

They welcome farang(foreigners) with open arms, Thai's like farang that take an interest in their culture and not for the sex trade etc

Transform

Answer is simple - get a system going NOW!!!

Do not wait until you get there otherwise you will not remember any of it.

Go to a gym or use a personal trainer - you will get

1) Weights program
2) Nutrition advice
3) Felxibility program
4) Core Program
5) Aerobic program

Get it started now NOT later.

empirix

Yeah i'd second that, if you have never trained before, join a gym here and see how it goes for a while, because if you do do the Muay Thai thing, its going to be tough => tougher than a regular gym with a regular routine

Froot

I felt similarly for a very long time.

I realised that it is just running away.

I understand completely that you need to get your mind into the proper place in order to motivate yourself properly. I also think that you should explore doing all of that here too. Spain isn't necessarily a good place to go, it has nice weather and it uses the euro but being honest I can't think of any other reason to go there, especially when your talking about fitness and health.

You are doing the right thing by wanting to make a change in your life. I do think that you need to look at you methodology first however.

@ Transform: You do this kind of thing for a living, do you see any benefits in changing your location as opposed to staying here?

cormie

Spain was just a random place I named. In fact, I went there this summer with intentions of staying longer than I did, it was just too hot to do anything though. I started a little routine there, 200 or so skips, 60 press ups, 80 sit ups a day. I know it's not much, and I could have used the time and divided it out better amongst my body and muscles, and more cardio instead, but it was just a start. I came back and was in another house, not my home, for the past 2 weeks, I kept it up and increased the routine a bit. Now I'm back home and I haven't done it since I've been back.

I want to move out asap. Once I move out I will be able to start on something, but I would still like to just save up and go away for about 6 months, to be on my own and have a goal to reach of finally getting toned up. This is an ongoing problem for me, there's no easy solution, it's a mental and physical thing. The plan is to move out, get some money together, get a routine here going and then, if I can, think about going abroad, perhaps to this Thailand thing as I've been wanting to get some self defence and I reckon this would be an excellent way. This house is doing me no favours for my fitness though.

I was in a routine before, I used to be an apprentice carpenter, I cycled over 100 miles a week and worked all day, this is when I was 12 1/2 stone. Now I work from home on a website trying to get it off the ground. The vital months are coming and in the next 2/3 months our efforts will be maxamised and I will know if this it's going to be successful or not.

I need some time, my own place, money and then I am certain I'll be able to change my daily routine quite easily.

jester77

Why not hire a personal trainer for a few months. Cheaper than heading off somewhere. They can help you out at the start, give you a solid training and nutrition plan. Stick to the plan & don't go off it. The trainer can help you set realistic goals (short/long term) and you can monitor your progress as you go along. The progress you make will help motivate you as you get closer to your goals.
From looking at your stats, 3 months would make an amazing difference and you wouldn't be far off having the 6 pack, a good plan and you would def reach it in 3 months!

cormie

3 months? That's great, but I'm willing to give it longer, sure I've been trying to achieve this goal since I was diagnosed with my underactive thryoid nearly 10 years ago. 3 months is great, but if I don't make it in that time, I wont give up don't worry:)

Luckily, my two closest friends have both done personal training courses and sports management as well as gym instructing. I know the right people and they will give me free advice no problem. At the moment the problem is I'm keeping terrible schedules, last night for example I was up talking about poker.ie with my brother on MSN till about 6. But that will ease off in about 6 months in which time I hope to have an income that will allow me to move out where I will be in full control of what comes into the house etc. I think that is the main step I have to take. To move out.

Transform

The internet is so good to help you answer your own questions

Now when did you say you are going to train?

Tomorrow, wednesday friday?