BangShift Gym

[JOES66FURY]

I could go on for hours, I was fit, then not then fit then not. The kicker was when I ruptured a disk in my lower back. that really took me out of action for about 3 years.

I am not 100% and cannot power lift like I was before so I had to do a lot of tweaking to my workout.

I use a machine for my cardio called an Arc trainer. It is like an elliptical but not. it burns about 30% more calories than any other machine out there. When I do my cardio I mix it up. Sometimes I workfor 30 minutes doing HITT, meaning I spike my heart rate then keep it there for 2 minutes. Then I will coast and allow my rate do drop, when it gets below 100bpm I spike it again...do that for a half hour. Other days I will just go at it for a half hour keeping my bpm up in the cardio zone(80% of my max)...other days I will keep it in the fat burn zone (110 to 115bpm).

I lift weights 5 days a week but instead of doing the old school 3 sets of 10/8/6 near my max I do 4 sets to burn out of a weight of about 30 to 40% of my max. Instead of doing muscle groups that go together, I work opposites, like bi's and tri's or back and chest.

I lost 20lbs in 3 months but since I added the weights I started gaining weight. Its all muscle mass not tho. My waist, thighs, moobs are all shrinking but the muscle definition is really coming back.

I do this work out and it really keeps the back pain at bay. I have to really focus on how I lift and really focus on my form. I do get minor flare ups but nothing like before. I will never be doing Clean presses, dead lifts and bent over iso-lat-rows anymore but I feel good, am looking better and am healthy.

the bitch for me is the pain...man it will really screw up your program. Nothing they can do...so I deal with it best I can.

I have to watch my diet too, that is the biggest thing to weight loss. Monitor your calories and find what you need..start at 1400 and go up 200 a week till you stop losing weight, then you know what calorie zone you need to be in

Download the myfitnesspal app for your phone, it is great help in keeping you on track and honest.

[BangShift McT]

I fear for the day if I ever hurt my back

Truer words have never been spoken. I'm 29 going on 87.

[SuperBuickGuy]

I bike

- to those who know me, that is the biggest understatement of the century. I bike like Speedy likes fords.... to excess
- my bike shop sends me Christmas cards, knows which hospitals I use, and calls me if they haven't seen a bike of mine (I have several) in more then a month (seriously)

I'm also 6-1 200 lbs, and I absolutely love going up and down hills very very rapidly

On days when I'm riding with friends, I use my 45 lb moutain bike, and hitch a trailer with my 100 lb yellow lab as ballast so I go "slow enough" for them (annoying how they whine)

[Scott Liggett]

For the first time in more than 20 years I actually looking at my weight. I have love handles.

I was a very athletic kid, soccer spring and fall, basketball in winter, swimming all summer, riding my bike all over town. I have incredibly strong legs. I could leg press near 500 lbs at 16.

Then I got ulcerative colitis at 16 y/o. I gained weight, retained water, thanks to 60 mg of prednisone a day; amongst other wonderful side effects. I went from 120 lbs to 210 by 19 years old. Then at 23 I had my colon removed to fix my colitis and off the drugs. I went from a high of 215 to 96 lbs in one year. I didn't lose just fat, I lost mostly muscle weight. Your body needs a certain amount of protein a day to function and if it doesn't get from food it cannibalize your own muscle tissue. I could barely climb a flight of stairs.

It took nearly 15 years of trial and error, but I was able to get weight on and keep it on. I had to figure out my diet. I actually have shoulder muscles and back muscles again. I finally don't look sickly anymore.

Now, it's about time to tone up a bit. Thanks to all those drugs, I have practically no cartilege in my knees and ankles. I can jog a bit, but no real hardcore running otherwise it feels like my thigh bone is bouncing on the tops of my shins. I wish I could play basketball again, but getting serious requires starting and stopping fast and quick. Not good. I need to figure out things all over again because even though I'm not fat, I really don't have any where near the stamina I should have.

[Pumpkin]

Weight loss is very simple. Eat less than your body consumes. It's as simple as that. Stop drinking sodas, cokes, pops or whatever you call them, skip the candy, drive by the drive thru with their super size (which leads to your Super Size), and eat heathy. Really that's all it takes. If more people understood this gyms would only exist for bodybuilders. Another thing, reduce your portions and eat slower, you'll be just as full but with less calories consumed. I'm 51 and still wearing 32's.

[TC]

I'm going to add one thing and that is eat lots of protein...... I've been battling the cyst in my neck coming back, I almost went to the doctor to have surgery for the 3rd time because it was getting so big and then one day noticed that after eating a whey protein bar that the cyst seemed to get smaller, I then when to Costco and bought the same type of protein bars but in quantity and have been eating them for over a year now and the cyst has seemed to disappear..... I do know that if I stop eating the protein bars that the cyst will start to come back and I can feel a pocket of fluid forming, but all I have to do is start eating the protein bars again and it goes away.... I started out eating 100 grams of protein a day in protein bars, now I can eat one bar(20g) every other day and it seems to keep the cyst from coming back....... If you ask me protein heals your body, I think most people don't get enough..... I've also noticed that with the added protein intake that I've leaned out a bit.......

[kyhunter89]

Its really is simple. Just takes the willpower to do it.

Id love to do an experiment on someone and have them do bodyweight pullups, pushups and squats.

[kyhunter89]

Its really is simple. Just takes the willpower to do it.

Id love to do an experiment on someone and have them do bodyweight pullups, pushups and squats.

[kyhunter89]

I am lightweight too..

Featherweight, roosterweight, lightweight, been them all.

[tedly]

Wow! Here I was thinking there might be a few responses here and there and I log in to find 3 pages worth! I'm noticing a common theme with us older folk: I used to be in shape, then I got hurt/sick and ended up looking like someone pulled the ripcord on a liferaft. I hear you loud and clear. Between my shoulder and ankle, almost any form of physical competition is out for me. Ankle healed funny after I broke it and rolls very easily now. If it involves planting your foot and pushing off or a lot of running I avoid it at all costs. Twisted and sprained my ankle way too many times and I can't afford to miss work for a few weeks while it heals. Every time I'd get rolling doing just basic pushups and situps my shoulder would get messed up and I couldn't lift my arm past my chest for a week or 2. That's why I finally caved and got the gym membership. I can keep a steady flow of low weight exercises going to build some - hell, ANY muscle - without putting a lot of strain on either. How sad is it that I have to exercise to get in good enough shape to work out?!
I want to get another mountain bike and start riding again but getting the TBird started is taking precedence right now, the bike can wait. I'm with you SBG, I loved powering up the hills on my Haro in Knoxville, then flying down the back of them. I used to have route laid out where I hit as many hills as I could. Nothing like powering by someone walking their bike up a hill, then passing traffic on the downhill side.

I'm going to have to start paying more attention to diet, I've been cutting way back on junk food and fats for awhile and it has certainly helped, but now I'm running into something new. I've got more energy, but towards the end of the day I hit a wall and all of a sudden I'm just drained and exhausted. Just started happening in the past few days so I haven't had time to figure out if it's what I'm eating or I'm simply not eating enough to give me energy the whole day.

[tedly]

What have you guys found to help with the aches and pain? I take arthritis strength Tylenol every day and the glucosamine stuff helps the joints. I know Joe mentioned a hot bath with epsom salt in another thread and I'm going to do that as soon as I get off here. Anything else work for you?

[bishir]

P90x for me. This and crosscut as mentioned will get you in the best shape of your life if you can dedicate yourself to it.. If you follow the p90x program as advertised you WILL get awesome results. It's not a gimmick it's hard work!

Biggest part nutritionally for me is eating every 3 hours, keeping it under 2800 calories a days, and not eating 3-4 hours before bed. I eat plenty of whole grain and protein. I don't believe in any diet you can't maintain.

You can also be skinny and out of shape..... A good workout regimine should be incorporated regardless of weight.

[tedly]

I don't believe in any diet you can't maintain.

That's the killer for me, I love food. I've been eating better and leaner lately but I think it's time to take a closer look at diet.

[Monk]

Weight loss is very simple. Eat less than your body consumes. It's as simple as that. Stop drinking sodas, cokes, pops or whatever you call them, skip the candy, drive by the drive thru with their super size (which leads to your Super Size), and eat heathy. Really that's all it takes. If more people understood this gyms would only exist for bodybuilders. Another thing, reduce your portions and eat slower, you'll be just as full but with less calories consumed. I'm 51 and still wearing 32's.

Amen on the sodas..........and don't think Diet Coke is the answer.

Studies have shown people gaining weight drinking this stuff.

Plus you need a degree in chemistry to read the contents.

[Phil318]

I've been in the gym for six years now. I looked like I was carrying a basketball under my shirt. Decided to do something about it. 25 pounds later I weigh what I did in HS.
My current routine week is upper/lower/cardio/upper/lower/cardio/rest. 2 different upper and lower workouts. My cardio is running or biking. Usually HIIT.
I also work at a gym. Most of the people I talk to complain about not having time to workout. It takes an effort and discipline. If you can stay with it for 2 or 3 weeks it will form a habit.

52 year old with 12% body fat.