Wednesday, August 20, 2003
On being pro-active:
There are days when the weather around here isn't so nice. Not much rain, but the wind can blow very hard for days - and the dirt just fills the air. When Winter finally shows up - we don't get much snow, but again - the wind is incredible! When it is 30 degrees out, and the wind is blowing at 30 miles an hour - well - you get the picture. It's COLD!
With these things in mind, I got the idea - that I should purchase a treadmill or a stepper for my office. That way, if the weather wasn't cooperating - I could use the equipment at on my lunch break, instead of my normal 2.5 mile fast walk. Not having much money, I started - a few weeks ago, popping into the local Salvation Army and looking for used exercise equipment. Yesterday, I hit paydirt!
For the very small sum of $10 - I purchased a used Stepper, it is in great shape - and, the computer still works perfectly - it can count the number of strides, calories burned, and time used. The equipment is very sturdy and heavy - it was good exercise just carrying it out of the store, throwing it into the truck, and then unloading it and then carrying it into my office.
I'm now all set - come rain or shine.
Using the stepper is going to take some getting used to - it works the leg muscles in a whole different way, which is a good thing. To get used to it, I've decided to work at it gradually. For awhile, before I go take my walk - I will use the stepper for like 15 minutes beforehand. It was a very long 15 minutes today - I set the resistance settings down to "1" and will slowly work my way up - as I increase the amount of time I use the machine.
The goal here is - to make sure that I have available, a means to exercise daily - in some form or fashion. I've got to stay active - to create the energy that I need to get through each day. I now use walking, stepping, biking, and weight-lifting. I'm thinking about adding swimming in a week or so - there is a pool at the community college where I will be taking some night classes.
I'm always looking for avenues and options.
There are days when the weather around here isn't so nice. Not much rain, but the wind can blow very hard for days - and the dirt just fills the air. When Winter finally shows up - we don't get much snow, but again - the wind is incredible! When it is 30 degrees out, and the wind is blowing at 30 miles an hour - well - you get the picture. It's COLD!
With these things in mind, I got the idea - that I should purchase a treadmill or a stepper for my office. That way, if the weather wasn't cooperating - I could use the equipment at on my lunch break, instead of my normal 2.5 mile fast walk. Not having much money, I started - a few weeks ago, popping into the local Salvation Army and looking for used exercise equipment. Yesterday, I hit paydirt!
For the very small sum of $10 - I purchased a used Stepper, it is in great shape - and, the computer still works perfectly - it can count the number of strides, calories burned, and time used. The equipment is very sturdy and heavy - it was good exercise just carrying it out of the store, throwing it into the truck, and then unloading it and then carrying it into my office.
I'm now all set - come rain or shine.
Using the stepper is going to take some getting used to - it works the leg muscles in a whole different way, which is a good thing. To get used to it, I've decided to work at it gradually. For awhile, before I go take my walk - I will use the stepper for like 15 minutes beforehand. It was a very long 15 minutes today - I set the resistance settings down to "1" and will slowly work my way up - as I increase the amount of time I use the machine.
The goal here is - to make sure that I have available, a means to exercise daily - in some form or fashion. I've got to stay active - to create the energy that I need to get through each day. I now use walking, stepping, biking, and weight-lifting. I'm thinking about adding swimming in a week or so - there is a pool at the community college where I will be taking some night classes.
I'm always looking for avenues and options.
Sunday, August 17, 2003
Weight lifting:
I have lifted weights in the past. I just got in there amongst the other "Arnold" wannabe's and did what they were doing. I have, in fact added quite a few inches of muscle to my body over the years - but nowhere near the number of inches of fat! What I'm discovering right now is, I do have a pretty good layer of muscle underneath all of this "insulation". I'm using a different "tack" this time.
This time, instead of using heavy weights and a low number of repititions to build muscle, I'm doing the opposite - I'm using lighter weights, and higher reps - and I'm doing them faster and without resting much between the sets. My goal is, to burn off the fat covering the muscle, and to tone the muscles up - get them tight and get some shape into them. Almost everyday, I can see a small transformation taking place on my body - my arms have gotten thinner but yet look a lot more muscular. My chest is losing a lot of fat and is starting to show the muscles - as is my abdomen. My shoulders and upper back are also starting to change shape - I'm methodically stripping away the fat, I'm seeing my muscles flex for the first time in twenty years - I can see blood veins in my arms and chest that I've never even seen before.
My goal - get rid of all of the fat, shape my muscles to look strong and healthy - and then, once I'm down to the weight I want to be at - start building the muscles up. I'd like bigger biceps and tri-ceps, I'd like to get that "V-shape" in my back, I'd like to have a "six-pack" for the first time in my life (at 44 years of age, that is quite a challenge).
When I go work-out, I don't have time to spend hours upon hours in there. I get in - work-out hard and get out in about 45 minutes. I don't use free weights right now - too much time consumed getting them set-up and taken down. I use weight machines - quick and easy to use. I don't work on my legs at all (I work them with the 2.5 miles a day that I fast-walk, and when I ride my bike) - I focus on routines that will work as many as my upper body muscles as possible - chest/shoulders, biceps/triceps, abds/back, shoulders/chest - etc. I normally do about 4 sets of each exercise and I do them quickly with high reps.
Did you know, that the medical field will tell you that one cannot "spot reduce" a particular area of the body? That is, that just working one particular set of muscles will not burn the fat off of those areas? You know what I say to that? Poppy-cock! I've seen it happen, I've experienced it myself. There is no doubt, that the area that you put the most work into - is the area that will change the quickest. I reckon' these "professionals" have never worked-out enough themselves, to learn the truth.
I have lifted weights in the past. I just got in there amongst the other "Arnold" wannabe's and did what they were doing. I have, in fact added quite a few inches of muscle to my body over the years - but nowhere near the number of inches of fat! What I'm discovering right now is, I do have a pretty good layer of muscle underneath all of this "insulation". I'm using a different "tack" this time.
This time, instead of using heavy weights and a low number of repititions to build muscle, I'm doing the opposite - I'm using lighter weights, and higher reps - and I'm doing them faster and without resting much between the sets. My goal is, to burn off the fat covering the muscle, and to tone the muscles up - get them tight and get some shape into them. Almost everyday, I can see a small transformation taking place on my body - my arms have gotten thinner but yet look a lot more muscular. My chest is losing a lot of fat and is starting to show the muscles - as is my abdomen. My shoulders and upper back are also starting to change shape - I'm methodically stripping away the fat, I'm seeing my muscles flex for the first time in twenty years - I can see blood veins in my arms and chest that I've never even seen before.
My goal - get rid of all of the fat, shape my muscles to look strong and healthy - and then, once I'm down to the weight I want to be at - start building the muscles up. I'd like bigger biceps and tri-ceps, I'd like to get that "V-shape" in my back, I'd like to have a "six-pack" for the first time in my life (at 44 years of age, that is quite a challenge).
When I go work-out, I don't have time to spend hours upon hours in there. I get in - work-out hard and get out in about 45 minutes. I don't use free weights right now - too much time consumed getting them set-up and taken down. I use weight machines - quick and easy to use. I don't work on my legs at all (I work them with the 2.5 miles a day that I fast-walk, and when I ride my bike) - I focus on routines that will work as many as my upper body muscles as possible - chest/shoulders, biceps/triceps, abds/back, shoulders/chest - etc. I normally do about 4 sets of each exercise and I do them quickly with high reps.
Did you know, that the medical field will tell you that one cannot "spot reduce" a particular area of the body? That is, that just working one particular set of muscles will not burn the fat off of those areas? You know what I say to that? Poppy-cock! I've seen it happen, I've experienced it myself. There is no doubt, that the area that you put the most work into - is the area that will change the quickest. I reckon' these "professionals" have never worked-out enough themselves, to learn the truth.
Status report redux:
I'm now beginning my 8th week of diet and exercise. I weighed myself and took my measurements this morning, here are the results:
Weight: 250 (-30 pounds)
Neck: 16" (-2)
Chest: 48" (-4)
Stomach: 45" (-8)
Waist: 43.5" (-4.5)
Forearms: 11.5" (-1.5)
Biceps (unflexed): 15.5" (-.5)
Thighs: 24.5" (-3.5)
Calves: 16" (-1)
* The numbers in parenthesis indicate how much weight/inches I've lost since I've begun this program.
Total weight lost so far: 30 pounds
Total inches lost so far: 25
I have always been big (not always fat), by the time I was in 6th grade - I stood at 5'11" and weighed 150 pounds. By my senior year, I was 6 foot and weighed 175. My weight began to creep up on me quickly once I graduated high school. Within one year of graduating from H.S., I weighed in at 220 pounds. But then, I joined the U.S. Coast Guard - in the nine weeks of bootcamp - I lost 40 pounds! I came out of there a lean, mean, fightin' machine - had muscles that I never even knew that I had.
For the nine years that I was in the military, my weight stayed between 180 and 200 pounds - my government authorized limit was about 205, so - I tried to stay below that enough to not get into any trouble.
Once I got out of the military in 1987, my weight quickly started to rise. I was in extremely poor health, the V.A. was pumping me full of anti-biotics, tranquilers, and pain killers. Between 1988 and 1992, my weight zoomed up to 299 pounds, my waist size was a 48 going on a 50 - that scared the heck out of me! I spent the next couple of years getting my weight down to 260 - and from then on, it has fluctuated (greatly), between 260 and 280. That twenty pounds can really make a difference between feeling real bad and OK.
My goal now is, to get down to 210 pounds, and to stay the 210-215 range for the rest of my life. If I do go beyond that range (weight wise) - it would only be because I've added muscle and not fat. It would really be nice to walk into a clothing store and to purchase Large or Extra-large shirts (not 2XX or 3XX and paying more), to wear pants with a waist size less than 40" and for them to fit nicely. My waist size at graduation was 34", during the military years (9) it was between 36-38", I've been wearing over 42" waist pants now for over twenty years - that's about to change! So far, in 8 weeks - I've lost 4 inches off of my waist, just another 6 inches and I'm at 38"!
I'm almost half-way there.
I'm now beginning my 8th week of diet and exercise. I weighed myself and took my measurements this morning, here are the results:
Weight: 250 (-30 pounds)
Neck: 16" (-2)
Chest: 48" (-4)
Stomach: 45" (-8)
Waist: 43.5" (-4.5)
Forearms: 11.5" (-1.5)
Biceps (unflexed): 15.5" (-.5)
Thighs: 24.5" (-3.5)
Calves: 16" (-1)
* The numbers in parenthesis indicate how much weight/inches I've lost since I've begun this program.
Total weight lost so far: 30 pounds
Total inches lost so far: 25
I have always been big (not always fat), by the time I was in 6th grade - I stood at 5'11" and weighed 150 pounds. By my senior year, I was 6 foot and weighed 175. My weight began to creep up on me quickly once I graduated high school. Within one year of graduating from H.S., I weighed in at 220 pounds. But then, I joined the U.S. Coast Guard - in the nine weeks of bootcamp - I lost 40 pounds! I came out of there a lean, mean, fightin' machine - had muscles that I never even knew that I had.
For the nine years that I was in the military, my weight stayed between 180 and 200 pounds - my government authorized limit was about 205, so - I tried to stay below that enough to not get into any trouble.
Once I got out of the military in 1987, my weight quickly started to rise. I was in extremely poor health, the V.A. was pumping me full of anti-biotics, tranquilers, and pain killers. Between 1988 and 1992, my weight zoomed up to 299 pounds, my waist size was a 48 going on a 50 - that scared the heck out of me! I spent the next couple of years getting my weight down to 260 - and from then on, it has fluctuated (greatly), between 260 and 280. That twenty pounds can really make a difference between feeling real bad and OK.
My goal now is, to get down to 210 pounds, and to stay the 210-215 range for the rest of my life. If I do go beyond that range (weight wise) - it would only be because I've added muscle and not fat. It would really be nice to walk into a clothing store and to purchase Large or Extra-large shirts (not 2XX or 3XX and paying more), to wear pants with a waist size less than 40" and for them to fit nicely. My waist size at graduation was 34", during the military years (9) it was between 36-38", I've been wearing over 42" waist pants now for over twenty years - that's about to change! So far, in 8 weeks - I've lost 4 inches off of my waist, just another 6 inches and I'm at 38"!
I'm almost half-way there.
