Maybe more importantly, the songs you DON'T want to hear while working out!



Hold On Slow Down by Earlimart.

Can't Stand It by Wilco.

Down In A Hole by Alice In Chains.

Tire Me by Rage Against The Machine.

Lay It Down Clown by The Replacements.

World Of Hurt by Drive By Truckers.

Drain You by Nirvana.

The Body Says No by New Pornographers.

Weak And Powerless by A Perfect Circle.

I Bleed by The Pixies.

Goin Home by Dinosaur Jr.



And of course.... Train In Vain by the Clash.

AC/DC in Spandex? That's a weird mental image.

When I was a kid, I knew guys who were hard as nails, super strong, very possibly more fit than the guys I am lifting alongside at the gym. My uncle for example, who was a pro ball player with the Astros in the 60s, without lifting weight. It was common for major league players, especially pitchers, barely know what a barbell was. Of course, he was the fittest man in our family and still is even in his 60s (still without lifting weight for the most part).



He took me under his wing when I was a teen and tried to help me get fit. I left quickly... smoking pot and listening to the Velvet Underground was much more appealing than running in the Texas heat. But for the short time we trained together he had me doing sit ups and push ups every day - and running. No weights. By the time I was in my 20s and thought for the first time about my own fitness, we had World Gyms all over the place, muscle mags at the super market next to the Enquirer, and of course Arnold was a super star. I went straight for the weight. I haven't done a sit up or push up or PE class drills since I was in Jr. high.



The sit up has of course fallen from vogue and we do a crunch these days. Hard to see how the push up is anything other than a chest press with natural body weight and some additional muscles pulled in for stabilizing. So you could generally say these two exercises are essentially the movements my predecessors used to stay fit, but they did them every single day, in numbers of reps that today would seem extremely weird.



And in physical education class as well, the way to exercise was to do these things every day, as many as you could... not three sets of X amount, but 50, 100.... I've known guys who did hundreds of sits ups the second they got out of bed. And guys for whom the measure of strength was not the number of plates on your bench press, but the number of sit ups you can do. I knew a guy who came back from the army and used to do daily push ups with his daughter on his back. The guy was like Iron Man, and he lived on cheeseburgers and never had a gym membership in his life.



It's easy to say history has shown us the proper way, and all this endless pushing up and sitting up is madness. But I look back and know that even my grandfather who was sold drywall but began his day with pushups and calisthenics was an extremely strong man. I would have picked him any day in any test of strength over the guys who are lifting 3x a week now with protein shakes (like me).



If I took the same moves, the push up and sit up, into the gym, it would be insane to follow these kinds of routines (every day, as many reps as possible). I know, or believe, if I did presses every day I would fail to develop any strength long term, and probably would injure and exhaust myself. My uncle could do hundreds of push ups. If I did 100 presses at the gym everybody in there would think I was nuts. They might throw me out!



But abs on the other hand... I see certain people in the gym doing them daily. That's not what has been taught to me, but I know people are doing it. I've played around with doing crunches in high numbers of reps at times and doing them every day, just because I liked the rush. Other times I've included them in my weight workouts and taken days off. I have no idea which "worked better".



So the question is, what's the line between bench press and push up, between ab crunches in the gym and the sit ups we were taught in PE class? Why did people routinely do those exercises daily, for years, in ever increasing numbers.... and not just stay injury free, but develop great strength and longevity? Why did that develop super lean power without rest days. To me, rest after using weights is gospel. But what <i>really</i> will happen to me if I do my gym resistance exercises, especially the crunch and press movements, daily?



(Why do I think Nick will have a good answer for this?)

The New York Diet - spend so much money on rent you can't afford food.



The New York Diet Fitness Plan - walk everywhere because parking is so expensive you took your car to New Jersey and sold it.

I am alive. As I have said many other times on this site, last year I was facing death.



Joseph Heller, the author of Catch 22, was a cancer survivor. And someone asked him what he learned from his experience, and he said in effect... nothing at all. He was too busy trying to stay alive.



I'm as likely to wax poetic about this as anyone, but in another sense there is no movie script, no romance. I would have died. Now I am alive. It's as simple as that. And the question is for all of us, what will we do with a new lease on life or new image of ourselves. Being 100 lbs lighter doesn't magically solve all our problems, but at least in my case it has given me time and opportunity to do something with myself. What?



May all of my Traineo brothers and sisters find in their new lives, new health and new self image the courage to be the people they always wanted to be.

So once upon a time I was treadmilling it, and a trainer came up and slowed me down because I was pushing too hard. Turns out I was about 20 beats higher than the optimal fat burning zone and she felt that reason enough to intervene. She felt I should slow down to what amounted to a moderate walk at the recommended HR. I felt pretty good at the elevated heart rate. Damn good in fact.



I happened to run into a guy in the sauna who was a physician and had been a trainer in college and asked him about this heart rate thing, and he said in essence...



When you exercise you burn both fat and muscle. By staying in this "fat burning zone", the ratio of fat to muscle tips to the best possible ratio. If you go over it, the needle shifts a little and you may burn a slightly higher percentage of muscle vs. fat. But depending on your point of view, it was a small price to pay because it was just a few points shift in efficiency and you would also be burning far more calories at the higher intensity anyway. And of course higher intensity exercise has many other benefits apart from burning energy.



He also said that the old heart rate model was - not exactly obsolete - but certainly old school and far from cutting edge. He said it often signified a trainer who took this platitude too much to heart and may know only the most basic and simple ways of looking at things.



He speculated that it was a "gym thing", an attitude nurtured in gym employees partly because of liability concerns. Higher intensity exercise I guess presents more health and injury risks. He said gyms tend to play it safe. At least "officially" preach moderation.



And of course machine makers also promote it because it puts lots of easy to understand numbers right on their control panel, and people like numbers.



I don't necessarily claim this is true. But the couple of trainers I spoke to outside the gym echoed this view, while rainers I have talked to at the gym who work for them have pushed the heart rate thing. That's only about 4 people total in my informal survey, so it's interesting, but not conclusive.



This has been another episode of "Simple Conversations Made Overly Complex". What I try to do in the gym these days is just play.

Well, that disqualifies me, because I'm rarely serious. But thanks. Seems to have worked great for you. Thanks for the inspiration.

What is this..... how you say? SWW group?

And a great idea using that same shirt from picture to picture. I was just updating my pictures last night, and wish I had the foresight to wear the same clothes.



You're going to end up being a fantastic success story.



Let's hear it. Excellent work.



J

I get so many emails from Men's Health about their online "Personal Trainer" (with free DVD!) I decided to check it out. But in many years of internet shopping, never have I seen something with so little documentation at the point of purchase. On the front sign up page there is little more than a sign up form promising a DVD, and a single testimonial from some dude who now has great abs. Not even a clue as to what I am buying, or what's on that DVD, other than the usual claims this amazing online community will change my life.



Since signing up comes with a commitment of about $70, I thought I might query my pals here. Anyone used this thing recently, and able to tell me what's behind the wall? I think the email hinted at video demos of exercises? Personal training sessions? Is any of this for real, or is there otherwise anything here that is helpful and that I can't get in places like Traineo?



Thanks

I traded in lbs lost for dollars toward tattoos. I cheated a little and started the work a little before reaching the milestone, but it took months and I passed it while the tattoo was in progress. I have myself $5 for every lb lost, so celebrated losing 100 by spending $500 on a tribal tattoo on my left arm.



Sounds like a funny reward perhaps (in that it hurt! Advice to all, never spend more than 2 hours being tattooed. Not good for you).



But I thought it was perfect, because



a) it was money I was reluctant to spend under normal circumstances and had to treat myself on and



b) it was in a way tied up with my changing image of self as I get healthy.



The work I had done was a cover up over some unattractive tattoos from my youth. For years I disliked the old stuff, was embarrassed about it actually, but didn't really feel enough concern for myself to spend the money to take care of it. Many will think this weird, but to me getting that work done was part of a new attitude wherein I actually give a damn about my body and my life. I have to say there was a time when I didn't. I didn't realize it at the time, but now I know I was very detached and pessimistic about myself, and this was the perfect reward (for me) because it means I actually started to care a little.



So, I am down with the rewards thing. And all the better, when it can be something that (to you) goes hand in hand with starting to feel good about yourself.

Howdy,



Another asthmatic here, inhibited in exercise all my life. And barely escaped death last year when I lived in a mold infested house. Twice actually, I was hospitalized, and was unconscious for a day the second time. That was just last August, and this year I am working out and living more or less asthma free. Obviously, I have some thoughts about asthma.



I now have insurance and take Advair (and keep Albuterol inhalers with me all the time) I was actually uninsured and on over the counter meds (the horrible, almost deadly Primatene Mist) when I started getting healthy. When I saw a real doctor 2 months ago and got on meds, I was practically asthma free, which amazed them because doctors don't believe in much that isn't made in a lab. I believe I pretty much got 90% over asthma with dietary and lifestyle changes alone. And I have some specific things to add about exercise.



As for my general feelings about asthma and how I improved my situation...



I cut way down on wheat, which is nice if you are trying to lose weight because those foods are mostly carbs. I eat a lot of vegetables and take a multi. I choose soy milk over regular milk, and keep all dairy to a minimum (altho I don't think I could have stuck to my eating regimen without fat free cheese and cottage cheese - moderation in all things, especially dairy).



And I drink a lot of water. I mean, a lot. There are actually some who say asthma is a dehydration response, and not a disease at all. While I don't go that far, there is something to be said for this. Most of the water in your body is expelled not thru sweat or waste, but thru respiration. If you are dehydrated, your body needs to above all else save your brain from death, and it will shut down your lungs if it has to. I don't know how credible this is in scientific circles (but own doctor claims to have never heard of such a thing) but it certainly seems possible, and feels true to a lifelong asthmatic. The feeling of an asthma attack is very much like your lungs just tightening up to not let so much air in or out. Seems perfectly reasonable to think this is a defense mechanism to keep you from expelling more water when it believes you are approaching dehydration.



I wouldn't toss the theory around if I didn't believe I have also demonstrated it. The main times I still suffer are when I first get up in the morning, and a couple of big glasses of water often seems to clear it up or go a long way toward clearing it up. So that is after not having anything to drink since the night before. And when exercising, and I've also felt it was less a threat when I was drinking plenty of water. Still testing this, but drinking water never hurt anyone and I think it very possible you will see a difference. So while exercising, and all the time, drink drink drink... lots of water. I really believe it is the number one thing, along with....



Relaxation. Seriously. When I have that morning tightness, some water and just sitting calmly seems to get me thru it. There is a lot going on in asthma that has to do with fear, anxiety and stress. Especially for someone like me who has felt the finger of death twisting its way into his bronchial tubes.... Every time I tighten up a bit, whether it's on the treadmill or at home in bed, anxiety kicks in. The feeling of being in a public place intensifies it, so if I start to feel it at the gym I get self conscious and a little scared and I have stepped down from exercise many times when I was not really threatened, just because my whole life I have backed off in fear.



When I had these terrible attacks last year I was sick, sick, sick, and then suddenly I panicked realizing how sick I was and suddenly, just like that, I was incapacitated and had to be carried to the hospital. It happened in an instant, and I know for a fact, stress and fear have a lot to do with escalating asthma you have an attack. I've seen many times how quickly it gets out of control once your mind begins to worry about it, and I will insist emotional fear and stress is what kills people. I now try hard to relax when I feel sick, and to tell myself I am not going to die. You can do this too while exercising. I'm not saying do nothing else, but am saying that when I feel some tightness or loss of breath on a bike or treadmill I remind myself I have always survived it, and of course exercise is pushing me to the edge, but I will be fine. Try to relax and tell yourself you are going to be fine, and just listen to your body and see if that pulls it back a bit.



All "allergic" responses in fact are partly physical and partly not... even if the dehydration theory is true, it may not be because you are really dehydrated so much as your body worrying about approaching dehydration. Allergies, and I count asthma as one for the sake of this discussion, are defenses against what the body perceives as danger. Exercise, pretty much by definition, is a stress on the body. Athletic asthma could be a (confused but well meaning) response to stress. This could be why some people have asthma only in exercise, and almost all of us experience it in exercise. The body believes it is being killed when you elevate your heart rate and pound your feet on the pad for 30 minutes. It's not, but the body goes into survival mode and perhaps for some of us that includes asthma attacks. I have noticed my asthma, when it bothers me in exercise, seems to come at a point where I am starting to get tired but still have plenty of gas still in me. It's easy to imagine the body is starting to think about the pain and stress and wants you outta there, especially if you (as I have) have retreated from exercise in fear many times in your life. I would go so far as to say it isn't the stress of exercise as much as the mind analyzing and getting prepared for stress and pain. Make sure you get experience determining where the real stress and the perceived stress meet, and try to feel comfortable about that place.



So what kind of exercises?



I can run and walk on a treadmill, and I can bike. I tend to do intervals, which in my case means I go hard until I can feel it, then I slow down and once I recover start pushing hard again. I feel like this kind of work keeps you in the zone, burning calories and fat, but minimizes stress, both real and perceived. There are a lot of ways to describe and structure interval training, but to me it's the ultimate way to keep from hurting yourself because it's all about listening to your body. I don't ever do "X minutes at X speed". I do rising and falling intensity, listening carefully to my own body. a) less likely to physically stress yourself in the bad way and b) less likely to induce any emotional stress or panic because you are so well in control of your own mind. I'm never working against anybody but myself, and I think that makes a lot more sense, especially to an asthmatic. I believe moderation and not hurting yourself physically is important. I believe feeling confident you are in control may be even more so.



I think what someone said about swimming above is true, but I don't personally think there is any kind of exercise an asthmatic can't do. In fact, somewhere on the web there is a long list of well known world class athletes with asthma, and it includes champions and gold medal winners. I might go find that list and bring it back here... for all of us interested in this matter.



I could add more about foods that decrease inflamation, herbal remedies, Omega 3s, anti-oxidants, etc. In fact I could talk all day about this (as you can see). And not so much about drugs. I would personally do anything to avoid drugs, and my study and observation of my own condition has been all about getting this under control without drugs.



But I want to add one more thing, about breathing exercises. And by that I mean, outside of the gym (altho what I am going to describe can be done while working out too). Since I obviously believe a lot of asthma has to do with emotional things, stress and feeling secure... and since this is a respiratory problem, controlled and conscious breathing can be very important, both as meditation and as medicine.



And by that I means something as simple as monitoring your breath.



Breathing is a weird thing. It is connected both to your voluntary and involuntary systems (you can control your breathing, but it also goes on with or without you - both systems, and that is unique). So consciously working with your breathing is a very powerful way to sort of get under the hood and work with things like your nervous and immune systems you might think work independently of you. They do and they don't.



Breathing fast and shallow, as we asthmatics probably have most of our lives, is unhealthy at the surface level, but in a deeper sense it sort of trains the nervous system to be unstable and not at ease. Many asthmatics suffer from a number of stress related peripheral illnesses and this may be a part of why. When I was sick last year, I wasn't just sick... I was messed up in every way imaginable. My immune system was just in rubble. I was often sick with other ailments, and was generally fatigued and nervous. Now that I breath better, I am never sick and I'm emotionally much more on my game as well.



When you take up conscious breathing, first of all deep slow breaths are just good for you in every sense you can imagine. But secondly, I think it soothes and trains the less obvious systems to be relaxed and healthy. I think it can be like giving your immune system a massage.



Pranayama, yoga breathing, is an infinitely complex study, and I can't begin to understand it or try to teach it. But at it's most basic and simple sense, just breathing mindfully... taking slow long deep breathes and feeling every part of it, noticing the air coming in and out, is a very easy and safe practice. And the resulting oxygenation of your body and calming of your mind will reach out to all corners of your life including your workouts. Dr. Andrew Weil has a very good CD about breathing that includes a

Texas Chainsaw Massacre, House Of 1000 Corpses, Halloween, Saw, Scream, Hostel, The Devil's Rejects, and the A&E documentary on Jack The Ripper.



You don't want to know my exercise program.

Thanks Vrinda. I couldn't have - or wouldn't have anyway - put that picture up without your support - or constant prodding.



But I still have a shiny green head. The hair in that picture is a weave.



Thanks for the kind compliment on my stats. But things have slowed down dramatically for me. I met a sub goal, and suddenly the numbers dried up (mental?). I hit a wall for a couple of weeks, and I'm now doing all sorts of fun things to shake it up and get my #$% off that plateau. But in good spirits (especially since I got to eat pizza). And besides, that's another thread (I haven't started yet).



This one's all about Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie apparently, and their remarkable team power to confuse otherwise heterosexual people.



I wonder if Brad Pitt ever runs a Google search on himself, just because he's bored some night (as I know he often must be), and marvels at the conversations he finds:



"Angie... some guy on a diet was mad because Clooney won the People thing, and now a bunch of dudes are... uh, admiring me."



In fact, he's probably wishing he had JAU's phone number.

I think this phenomenon is common. However negative and unproductive it might seem, our families and friends are a part of a system that has "worked" til now. At some level, if we were out of shape, this system was functioning to make that so. When you change something, the status quo is upset and people react. Those who love you and support you in theory say awful things because there's a level at which your change disrupts things for them. If they could talk it out with you, they would not be negative. But at some less than conscious level, they can't help but say things that to some degree are intended to keep things as they are.



But I think my experience has been that this happens just at first. Very few people want you to fail, probably none. I think most of those people who say things that seem discouraging will no longer do so once they have had a chance to acclimate to the new you. If they persist in this for a long time, the problem is much deeper and perhaps that person has unresolved issues with you. But I think all of us have experienced some of this, and for the most part it's just unconscious resistance to change, nothing more serious than that (and that can be pretty serious, if you let yourself dwell on what you are hearing).



That's why things like Traineo exist, isn't it? If your friends and family were all on the same page, sharing similiar goals and on a similar quest, they wouldn't fall into these traps. So at a place like this, you are (relatively) assured that people will be positive and well meaning. So we all have both negative and positive messages coming in... pick the positive ones, ignore the negative, and after a while I think most of it will stop anyway and that's when your life has really changed.

I wonder what it is about Brad Pitt that inspires men so....



I swear, I have heard 100 men utter some variation on the "I'm not gay, but Brad Pitt..." theme.



Including myself.



And the minister at my church.

Most excellent wit. Thank you Vrinda.



And not only that, the picture clearly shows I am still somewhat pear shaped. Still trying to squeeze into those Autumn swim suits I'm afraid.



But next year, Clooney, you're history!



And Yes, V, I know you asked everyone to get a picture up. I'll work on it.

I like the way you think, KM.



Who's to say eating well is deprivation at all? If you eat well 6 days, and feel great all the time, is it not a gift to yourself? Not only, as KM so well said, can you tell yourself you have already had those things... you can go further and get your excitement from new, healthy foods.



At the most crucial point in my food re-education, I was ecstatic about finding new ways to cook a chicken breast, or to spice up a salad without adding bad calories. I think, assuming your nutrition is basically sound (and vitamins help) the "craving" is usually not a real event. And you can talk yourself into getting your treats in other ways.



That said, not sure a cheat is really a bad thing. I lost weight for a long time, then hit a wall where I couldn't lose a lb. I ate crappy food for a week and got right back to it and apparently am losing again. Switching to bad food now and then might be advisable for some of us to keep it going. And if so, it sure helps if you have already gotten yourself trained to look forward to good foods so when you go back to your plan the excitement is there.



I do a little self talk to myself with most of my eating... if it's good food, I tell myself how much I love it. If it's bad food I tell myself how little I need it. It makes a difference.

I would suggest, as above, eating more meals.... shoot for 5. Even at small meals, that should out you in "safe" territory, where 400 is definitely not.



And perhaps eat breakfast. Eating first thing in the morning stimulates you metabolism. Especially (I think) if it contains protein. And try some slow burn carbs like oatmeal or bran cereal because a) they have calories, but burn slowly so less likely to become a surplus and b) fiber. It's not so hard... a SlimFast and a small bowl of cereal is 400 calories or so, and contains fiber and protein.



Do it early, because the extra calories in that meal will burn (slowly if you pick the right carbs). Eating rice at the end of the day is not a good idea. You need those calories, but altho you're still at a deficit you could actually gain weight because your metabolism slows down and you take in these calories at the end of the day. Sumo wrestlers work their 800lb asses off all day, but gain weight by eating late at night. I got to 370lbs by eating fast food right before bed for years. I am a big believer in eating early and reducing as the day goes on. Bedtime calories are bad news.



400 calories a day is definitely not a good way to live. I eat that many in most of my 5 meals and still lose weight. It might be hard for you (I've hit a wall myself and had to do it so I know how hard it is when you have been losing) but you need to eat more. I know that sounds weird, but altho I am guessing at your situation I'm almost certain it will turn out to be true in your case. When I started losing weight, I was eating 1-2 meals a day, and still getting fat. It was hard to start eating 5 when my whole life I had focused on 1-2 big meals, but I did it, got used to it, and it worked.



Good luck.

I think it's great, and I lost much of the weight I have lost doing exactly this. I recently hit sort of a wall where weight loss stopped, and I have let myself go off any sort of diet for the last week (the shock to the system also described above.... hope it works, because I still have goals to meet).



Now I'm getting back to my original way of eating. I tend to base my diet on protein, every meal, including powder mixes when I need something quick. I eat 5 small meals. I am pretty relaxed about good fats, pretty much letting myself have a portion of nuts, avocado or olives every time I want it (when I had a physical the only number that was off was "good cholesterol, suggesting I could and should have even more of these fats).



I eat vegetables and salads, at least the green ones, without any hesitation. And I do eat carbs, but I try to eat them in the morning when I need more energy (and have lots of hours to burn them off) and I go for the slowest burning... oatmeal, very grainy breads, whole wheat pasta, and even those in moderation. Small portions. I pretty much never, ever (until this shock week) eat white carbs like white rice, bread or pasta.



I think it was a good idea getting most of my carbs early in the day, where I enjoyed cereals or oatmeal or toast and got the fiber benefits. With lots of protein and slow burn carbs in the mornings, I tended to work my meals down to just a chicken breast and salad by evening and felt great all the time.



I think cravings can be few to non existent if you mix up these foods well. If you do protein shakes, you might lean toward casein, which I believe burns slower. A good thing, slow burning food. I think it's the main reason low carb diets work... not because carbs are evil, but because the quick burn ones just become instant fat. I suggest tolerating carbs, but always being mindful, and avoiding those faster burning ones even on off days/weeks. White bread just doesn't do anything for anybody.



I didn't really count calories for the most part. But when you keep carbs and sugar at a distance, not sure you really have to. I was probably low cal all the time (hence, perhaps, the plateau I eventually hit).



As for bad effects.... I successfully lost weight for over 6 months and dramatically improved my health. No known problems. I lost over 100lbs and my health dramatically improved. The only downside is I eventually hit a flatline, but I am confident I will press thru that. And it took 6 months to get there, 6 months in which I felt better every day.



Good luck

Unbelievably, despite losing a lot of weight since last year, I have once again been overlooked by the editorial staff of People Magazine in their Sexiest Man Alive contest.



They picked this George Clooney guy. For the second time!



Traineo is crawling with cool guys in the best shape of their lives, and they go and pick this loser! Again!



And who is this Brad Pitt punk who also has been picked twice. Johnny Depp? Richard Gere? Losers!

I would like to hook up with a few people who desire/need a motivator. I am occasionally away from Traineo for weeks at a time, but I love the community. I would like to make a commitment to a few folks and be around every day, and continue my own journey to health and fitness by helping someone else. I am a motivator, but I have not signed on with anyone. I want only a couple of people, but I want to make a committment for the next couple of months.



Here's my story... and if interested, please contact me.



I have lost just over 100 lbs. I began earlier this year. I'd gotten very out of shape and become very ill, and in fact was hospitalized last year and almost died. Twice. By Spring I had recovered at least enough strength to start moving a bit. I committed myself to a nutrition plan of my own design, and have dropped all that weight. I started very slow, one step at a time, and just doing what I could do.



More significant than the weight to me, I just had a physical... and in every number they evaluated, I was within normal ranges. I had normal blood sugar and blood pressure perhaps for the first time in my life. 6 months of eating well literally brought me back from death, and began my weight loss and fitness journey that I am confident will have me arriving at my desired weight and fitness level early in the new year (I still have about 50 to lose, and will do so by Spring Break or sooner). I'm still a little shocked myself, but my doctor said my health, after just 6-7 months of diet and moderate exercise was "about as good as it can be". My tattoo artist and dentist both told me I appeared to be in perfect health and healed faster than most people. What I am most proud of isn't the weight loss, but the fact that despite the lbs I still need to lose, I have really turned it around and did it completely on my own. If you are facing challenges, I can tell you as someone who was not going to survive, you can turn it around and accomplish whatever you want. A year ago I wouldn't have believed what I was capable of. Now I don't believe there are many things I can't do.



I intend to stay fit and healthy long after reaching my final weight goal in the coming months, and helping others is part of what I have planned to keep me in the game.



One more item.... I began studying nutrition and exercise with the intention of becoming certified as a trainer. Not because I need the job - I sell advertising and I'm quite busy and committed, and at my age the last thing I imagine for myself is competing with 20 year old athletes for gym business. I started studying but because I like to learn, and going for certification formalized the time I spend studying leaning about health. I don't know if I ever intend to take a paying client, but I do intend to keep studying and I would like to get feedback from others that will help me learn. You'd be doing a favor for me by giving me feedback on the things we talk about.



I am in Austin, Texas, and if there is someone with similar goals here in Austin, working out together is not out of the question. But I am pretty self contained, my schedule pretty weird, and not seeking that. What I have really enjoyed doing for myself this last half year is experimenting with diet and learning about nutrition. I also have employed an interesting way of setting goals for myself, and I have helped several people among my friends and family begin getting their health together. I believe my own "back from the dark side" experience and success is meaningful, and I believe I am an excellent motivator. I believe thru email and Traineo's tools we can do some good work together.



I am a 40 one year old male. Besides diet and behavior modification, my fitness interests are in moderate cardio (walking/running), flexibility exercise and weight training. I have met my goals, and exceeded them so far, with diet and moderate exercise, and I'm not sure how much I believe in "hard" exercise. I believe my own path is one of moderation, mindfulness and attitude, and not on lifting til you puke (altho that's fun sometimes too). I believe you will find me inclined that way.



While I am a big guy myself, and no longer a kid, I believe I would have a rapport with people of many different shapes, sizes and motivations. In fact, I sort of hope at least some of the response will come from people not like myself, people who are younger or older, either gender, and with goals perhaps quite unlike myself so I can open my mind and use my imagination in trying to understand and motivate you.



I look forward to conversations about this, and thank everybody for all the support given me and others here at Traineo. Even if you are not someone who seeks me out, everyone.... keep on truckin. I enjoy seeing everybody here succeeding and supporting each other. I wish everyone the best in their work here.



J.

My take has been that all scales are different. I tend to be about 3lbs heavier at the super duper high tech monster at my gym than I am on my home scale. And when I had a physical 2 weeks ago my doctor saw me at almost 10 over on his old fashhioned medical office scale.



I think the important thing is not weight anyway, but relative progress against your own measurements. So even if it's way off, continuing to see the same scale each day should pretty much represent your progress. If it is wrong by 5 one month, it's probably (more or less) wrong by pretty much the same 5 the next month. Not important... but how far you've come is.



I weigh first thing in the morning every day. I don't see much fluctuation. But there is often a big difference if I happen to get curious in the afternoon, no doubt part of why I get very different readings at the doctor or the gym. I consider that morning weigh in the real one, because that's what all my progress is based on, whether the number is the most accurate or not.

I have a friend who does something interesting. I like doing intervals on the treadmill, and occasionally I finish with 5 hard minutes on the eliptical just to sort of put a cherry on the top. So I am mostly a one exercise cardio guy.



But my buddy goes from machine to machine following an imaginary "map" in his mind. He makes up little trips and he does that distance on a combination of machines while imagining this "journey". He moves at random from machine to machine apparently, trying to complete his trip in 30-40 minutes. He claims he likes to actually see himself going to these places. I guess most of that time is spent on the bike if he chooses a distance of that sort, but half a mile here, half there on another machine. Or he might choose a shorter trip of a couple miles and do it on the treadmill and elliptical. I guess every time he comes to the gym he has a different imaginary round of destinations in his mind, and he constructs some way of doing it on as many machines as possible to end up at his desired and available time, all the while seeing himself as not in the gym at all, but out there going to interesting places. Wacky? Effective?



My iPod and my constant life or death battles against the numbers on the treadmill keep me from getting bored, but I guess he is taking some extreme steps to keep from getting in a rut. He also does this to sort of force himself not to keep using the same muscles over and over. That's probably good advice, and I should get on the other machines a bit more myself. Maybe I'll try his little mapping game.



Doesn't answer the question of which machines so much, but definitely a perspective (albeit kind of a weird one) on using more than one machine in a workout and how it might keep you motivated.

I think there are two things to think about here.



First of all, I suggest creating (as best you are able) a fail safe environment. Not suure stress is totally avoidable, in this world, so if you now know you turn to food (I have spotted the same tendency in myself) can you create an ennviornment where you don't have these things around. Those chips nearby are too much when stress hits. An example: My son is in a play, and there is a lot of strain on all of us because of the schedule. I was taking him some fast food before the show the other nnight, but was angry because he was yelling at me on the phone and I was being rushed and I ate a handful of disgusting chicken nuggets. I didn't even like them. I stuffed them in my mouth as fast as I could. It's really the first time I slipped on fast food in months. I have learned to resist that food, even if others are eating it. But being alone with that bag of crappy food at a time I was stressed, I just dug in. The food I can resist. The food at a time of stress, not so easy. Can you carve a space for yourself where you know you will some times be stressed, but you won't have to fight both things at once? Just acknowledging to yourself you have stress, it is inevitable, and you understand and accept it and have take steps to keep yourself straight, is in itself stress reducing.



I deal with stress in a number of ways. As I have gotten more healthy and more in control of my life, I have stopped haviing so many interactions with people who are a problem for me. I just don't tolerate so much nonsense imposed on me from outside now that I feel better about myself. Of course I still have my own nonsense, and the inevitable stress of working, parenting and many other things.



I love to be in the gym, and when there I totally isolate with an iod and tuunnel vision. In the gym I have an hour or more with no thought other than sweating and breathing and rocking out. I was slow to appreciate how much this meant to me. That hour or so every day is no longer work. It's pure vacation. I look forward to it. Shift your thinking on exercise if you can, and don't think about the calories... think about the time you get to yourself with nothing else. You're still burning off fat, but you're also letting yourself out of the stress prison for a while. Emphasize that and you kill two birds, so to speak.



I have learned some breathing exercises, and I can't really overstate how much this does for you in a short time, not just for stress but for your health at practically every level imaginable. And the results are immeditate. Dr. Andrew Weil has a CD on Breathing for health, and it's aboujt $15. I think learning the 4 easy breathing exercises he describes on this CD would be the best money most of us will ever spend. And listen to the lecture and you will also learn how this will affect your weight and overall wellness. Breathing exercises are really good for you, and they are addictive. It's sort of like drugs. You feel better right away, and it will become valuable to you.

I eat spinach on a daily basis, even with breakfast (on eggs) and on sandwiches instead of lettuce. I didn't slow down a beat during the e.coli thing. My understanding was it was just the commercially sold bags and I didn't twice about continuing my Popeye Diet and buying fresh organic spinach. The healthy foods market I buy from has removed most of it, but I was told there was nothing wrong other than the fact that consumers don't want it right now and as a business they had to appear to have taken a step.



I didn't really keep up with the story, but wasn't it just a dozen people who got sick, all of them in the same states? It really was off my radar along with Bird Flu and the coming Alien Invasion and Destruction Of Earth. I may have been a bit careless in some minds, but I was never hungry for spinach.



I am what I am.

Jeremiah,



Do you have a specific brand name for your small of the back belt accessory? I use an arm thing called iSnug, and I lilke it OK, but there is a bunch of surplus headset wire in my armpit I sometimes have to fiddle with while on the run and your small of the back thing sounds better.



I used to just keep it in a pocket, but not all gym shorts have pockets. I can't really understand why.

A couple of thoughts:



I'm in an iPod related business (but in advertising, not retail, so I have nothing to sell), and even I balk at the prices of the new ones. Keep in mind at places like Price Grabber you can find prices at a veriety of stores on refurbished iPods. Both my 20 Gig and my son's Nano were bought refurbed, under warranty, have worked perfectly and cost significantly less than the newest ones. I paid about $170 for mine, and similar 20 GB are about $150-$170 now refurbished. 20 GB, even for an obcessive music and audio book guy like me, is more than enough. It holds maybe 50 albums (or more... unsure). Since electronics are more or less built by machines today, refurbished means it was sent back and some human had to go in and fix something. Refurbished electronics are, in my opinion, a great buy. Price Grabber is just one of many places you go go, enter something like 20GB iPod, and find dozens of stores selling them and instant price comparisons. I literally bought the cheapest one, and 2 years later I am still loving it. Mine is 3rd generation, where the current iPods are 5th. I can't watch movies on it, but I didn't pay $500 either.



Altho I am never without my iPod at the gym, music is more just a rhythm. It energizes, but I don't think it distracts really, because in my opinion of you are able to read, watch television or listen closely to music, you're not working hard enough. I listen to albums I know well and which energize me because I love them. I don't listen to new things I am learning about, or things with serious lyrics. For that matter I don't listen to audiobooks. When running, there is no way I can learn about Greek Philosophy or develop a complex analysis of the new Bob Dylan album. I think if you are doing cardio the way it needs to be done, your thoughts narrow to pretty much that... survival, and some very basic games you can play with yourself



So I don't want to "distracted", but I think I know what you mean in that I still want to have something to think about. And for me it's usually little games with myself based on performance. Beating my previous times, or breaking a big run into smaller minute by minute goals to get me to the end. I'm pretty much thinking about "am I going to die?" and "ok, if I do three minutes fast now, that will be 60% of this run at some intensity, and I might approach my best time." In fact that's a bit more complex than it really is. I actually prefer treadmills, because the numbers on the panel in front of me can be infinitely fascinating in this way.



But setting little goals and sub goals during exercise itself as a way to getting to the end is all the mental stimulation I need to keep going. There are many times I run where I didn't plan to go long, but I get into a series of dangling carrot games with myself that keep me going for long periods. I love the iPod, but I tend to listen to metal and hard rock because the lyrics are simple (or inconsequential) and the energy high. And these little mind games and races against myself are the real "distraction"



Might I suggest not calling this thing you are seeking "distraction" at all? it suggests you don't like being there doing that activity, and you need to trick yourself into not feeling that way. That may well be (I certainly feel like that many times) but we coach ourselves with our language. You become what you think about, and if you articulate your need for distraction you become a person who needs be distracted. Perhaps think of whatever you do in your mind as something else... your meditation perhaps. Or just refer to the thing you need as "stimulation" or "energy".



The positive feeling that will result (eventually) from getting out of that language that suggests workng against yourself may transform your workouts. My workouts were magically lifted to a new level the day I stopped thinking of it as something I had to do and instead as something I was privileged to do. A simple shift in vocabulary can send a completely new message, and make you a new athlete.

The adapatation I have made in smoothies is to add oatmeal. Nick alludes to that upstream. It adds some calories, but it also adds a very slow burning carb. Oatmeal will make you feel fuller til the next meal than a traditional smoothie will. And also, anything with fruit in it is sugary and oats can make that sugar influx more managable so you burn those berries longer.



The person who taught it to me was nuking instant oatmeal and then dumping it in. I use regular and just throw it in uncooked. The blender equalizes all things.



I also no longer use juice. Too many calories. Fat free soy milk works for me, and I can half it with water if I am wanting to keep the cals down.

Thank you RF. Most of that was before Traineo, but continuing to find high spirits and inspiration here so I think I will take my shoes off (even those are smaller now) and stay a while, and consider this home base for the next 70 or so.



The best thing about Traineo is the good nature of all the people here. You almost don't want it to go mainstream, because the vibe is so good now.