Fitness Convo

F:"So what do you think is an attainable weight loss goal each week? How should I measure my success while trying to get healthier? I ask you because you have a successful track record of losing weight and working out and are just plain knowledgeable. In all honesty I don't even know what I weigh right now but it can not be good.
I think my ideal weight would probably be in the 250 range but I haven't seen that low of a number in a long time. I know I am never going to be skinny so I am just looking for healthy. "

M:

Well, weight loss is one way of measuring it. Anything too drastic and you aren't going to keep the weight off and it will just plain unhealthy. A pound or two a week is pretty good but what I would really concentrate on are other measures. Things like, your energy level or how do you feel are good indicators. Just get a notebook and keep it on you, have a morning afternoon and evening section and keep track of how you feel and what your energy is like. Then take notes for something exceptional like you couldn't sleep or what have you and that's why you felt off. This does two things, it keeps reminding you that you should be working out and feeling better, and two it makes you more conscious of what makes you feel bad and what have you. Maybe you had too much coffee or skipped a meal or something.

Another way of measuring these things is by setting metrics for yourself. Again keep a notebook. Let's say you run a mile on the treadmill every day (or something like it) see how fast you can do it, write down how easy it was and that kind of stuff. As you get progressively better it should be easier and easier and then you can run or bike or whatever further and further. The notebook again serves as a way to track this as well as keeping you honest about how much you are really doing. I measure how much my workouts drain me, and how I feel afterwards.

You should also keep track of what you are eating. This is actually the hardest one to do, because it is very very easy to lie to yourself and discount things. Some people think that you have to be strictly healthy every day of the week but honestly if you are consistently active you should be able to slide one or two meals a week that aren't the best for you. Or a night of heavy drinking. Just don't take too many meals off because that's where the extra fat comes from. I keep like no carbs around the house so that I won't be tempted to eat chips or whatever.

I would also think about what kinds of things you are doing at the gym, or how you are working out. All cardio on guys like us makes us look sloppy and we really need some weight training to look better. But it's the kind of weight training that is important. We're not training to be competitive athletes anymore, and I don't either of us is going into bodybuilding. So it becomes a question of how to lift correctly. The answer is that we need to worry about getting our heart rate up. Getting the blood really pumping because that's what's good for us in the long run. So what you need to start thinking about doing is lifts and exercises that make you really sweet and work. Things that combine legs and arms and core all in one exercise. The funny thing about those kinds of exercises is that most men's health magazines never really talk about them. You are more likely to find the good workouts in women's magazines. "Oxygen" is actually a really great one and they have good workouts and exercises that you can do to get a total body and heart workout.

The most important thing to remember is that you are going to look stupid as hell doing these kinds of workouts. I would just totally shut out the stares from people around you, don't care what they think. We're big guys, we can only help that to some extent. I know I sweat more than almost everyone at the gym, part of it is that I work really really hard at the gym, part of it is that I'm not a skinny little bitch. But I always have a towel covering equipment and I don't care that other people see me do non-conventional lifts and such. Some of them might even ask you about them and you can explain what you are doing and why. I get lots and lots of questions from curious people at the gym, and it's usually from people who seem generally interested in health, not in looking good.

The most important thing of all, and also the hardest, is keeping a consistent schedule. Both the eating and the workout schedule need to be constantly maintained and adhered to. When you skip a workout and have a big meal that breaks the rules, it's a double disservice to your plans. It's all about having the willpower to eat what you are supposed to be eating and staying away from things that are bad for you. It's also about knowing what is bad for you and how much you can have. Some people will completely forgo carbs and substitute protein and although it's ok in some cases, sometimes you are hurting your own health. Protein is great for you but sometimes you need better fuel to workout the way you want to. I for instance need a certain amount of carbs every day because I bike to work. If I don't have some real fuel to burn then my legs quit on me and the bike ride is mostly worthless. As for the workout schedule, it's important to keep things consistent, and at first rest days need to be frequent so that you are getting the best out of your workouts. It's hard at first to get into a workout schedule, and it's all about your willpower to say hey, I'm tired as hell from work, but I need to go workout. It takes a lot to do it but you really have to kick your ass at it and think about how much more energy you will have since you are working out. For us even more then most people because we work real jobs that take 10 hours or more out of our day.

The other thing about scheduling is sleep. You need to schedule 8-9 hours of regular sleep every day. This is my ultimate failing, and this is why I don't get nearly as much out of my health as I should considering how much I workout. I sleep way less then I should, and for a long time it was because I couldn't sleep more than 3 hours a night. Your body and your mind need that time to recover and give you the energy so that you can do what you need/want to do. Otherwise you are just spinning your wheels without going anywhere.

In the end it's small things that can make the difference. For example when I wake up every morning I do 100 pushups and 100 crunches. It take like 5 minutes tops to do something like that. It's like walking instead of taking a cab somewhere. Small things. Don't eat dessert, or don't have fries with that. Whatever.

My workout schedule in a 7 day week is as follows:
Monday: Bike ride to work, in the evening I go to the gym and work chest, triceps, abs, little bit of legs, calves, and lower back
Tuesday: Bike ride to work and try to sprint as much as I can on the bike, at home or at the gym at work I do biceps (which I fucking hate), shoulders, wrist and forearm, hamstrings, quads and abs, upper back.
Wed: No bike ride to work (to rest my legs), at night I go to the gym and do more reps of chest then I did on Monday, same with triceps, and abs.
Thursday: Basically the same as Tuesday
Friday: Bike ride (my legs are usually cooked by Friday), wide grip things same as Monday
Saturday: Misc. But I make sure I do something, whether it be volleyball or swimming in the morning or something. If I want to I do biceps and shoulders again. It's a good day to burn whatever you have left in the tank, so I may take a big bike ride I the morning or just go workout really hard.
Sunday: Rest, stretch, etc.