the fat guy tries again ...

Last week I got my newest drysuit ... a Santi e-Space trilam. It's a custom-cut suit, and when I took it for its first dive last Wednesday I learned something important ...

... it's generally not a good idea to measure yourself for a custom drysuit the week before Thanksgiving ...

The suit was a bit ... snug. Now, Santi did a great job of cutting it to the measurements I provided. Problem is that between T-day and last week those measurements changed a bit.

So I decided it was time to do something about that.

As some of you may remember, back in 2006-2007 I lost about 40 lbs ... well, in 2009 I managed to put most of it back on again. The stationary bike I have at home just didn't seem to be as effective as it once was ... not to mention it's tough to motivate myself at home. And for the past few months I've been dealing with this little malady called plantar fasciitis in my right heel, which is preventing me from doing any sort of exercise that puts pressure on the heel.

Anyway ... yesterday I decided to head down to my local LA Fitness center and sign up for a year's membership, plus four sessions a month with a personal trainer. I spent about 2 hours down there getting ... as Arlo Guthrie put it ... inspected, detected, infected, neglected and selected ... well, actually they asked me what my goals were, took a bunch of measurements, took my weight, and gave me some ideas about a 3-workouts a week schedule that would help me get to where I want to go, and assigned me a personal trainer ... Matt.

This morning I showed up at 5 AM for my first session with Matt. We went over all the weight machines, he had me do a set on each just to make sure I knew how to do them properly ... and came up with a schedule that's going to have me working with these machines to target different muscle groups on each of the three weekly sessions. Besides the weight training, there'll be at least 30 minutes of cardio each session. And whenever I am not diving after work, I'm gonna be dropping in for lap swimming.

So ... those of you who work out on a regular basis ... any suggestions on things to try or think about as I progress over the next year? I'm just starting down this path. The plantar fasciitis is already becoming a concern ... and one I have to work through because I don't want it to hold me back. I was reading up on that subject, and from what I read it takes anywhere from 9 months to 2 years to clear up. So that's going to be a problem because one of the goals I wanted to set for myself as a motivation was to work toward doing a triathalon later in the summer. We'll see what my foot can handle.

Oh ... my goals ...

1. Weight loss - I am currently at 248 ... I want to get back under 220 by the end of the year

2. Improved upper body strength - this morning was humbling. I couldn't do sets with weights I used to warm up with 30 years ago.

3. Flexibility - this is a biggie ... even in the best of times, valve drills are not easy for me, particularly on the left post. A huge motivation for all of this is to finally put that hurdle behind me.

Any suggestions, comments, or encouragement would be welcomed ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

#1 If you go "On a diet"...means at some point you will go off. You need to wrap your head around the fact that it is a lifestyle change that is required. Nutrition is the foundation of any good plan.

#2 Don't worry about how much weight you can do (or not do). It will come.

#3 Find a buddy to work out with. They can motivate you when you are down (it works both ways)

#4 Slow and sure wins the race. There are no quick fixes...but after a while you will look at yourself (and the things you will be able to do) and you will be proud of yourself.

#5...great to hear and good luck.

What size in your new dry suit?

I'll 'watch' it for you until it fits?




Now that should be motivation.

What Jeff said and I'll add:

1) MIX IT UP!! Your body adapts to new activities fairly quickly so if you do the same old routine, not only will it get boring, your muscles will find the most efficient way to do them, so you quickly lose the benefit. So for strength training, mix up free weights, machines & iso. Cardio, mix up running, elliptical, bike, or even take an aerobics class with all the ladies.

2) For flexibility training, take a yoga class if you can. For core strength, Pilates is fantastic

3) I don't know if it's too late for this one, but don't do too much too soon. You'll get sore and risk injury.

4) Do your strength training before your cardio. I was told you burn more calories that way.

fairybasslet:

2) For flexibility training, take a yoga class if you can. For core strength, Pilates is fantastic

Click to expand...

Yoga is great. It would help the valve drills for sure. I need to add it back in, but time is an issue.

fairybasslet:

4) Do your strength training before your cardio. I was told you burn more calories that way.

Click to expand...

But still warm up before strength training. I usually do about 10 mins on the elliptical before hitting the weights

Embark on a healthy lifestyle. Making healthy food choices, exercising regularly, drinking lots of water and getting lots of sleep should be how you want to live because it is good for you -- weight loss should be a benefit of a healthy lifestyle, not the reason behind it.

I used Free Diet Plans at SparkPeople as a resource to learn how to eat properly. They have a scuba group too!

I'm a big fan of P90X. If you're out of shape though, you may need to get in shape a little before you start it.

JeffG:

But still warm up before strength training. I usually do about 10 mins on the elliptical before hitting the weights

Click to expand...

Absolutely. Thanks for pointing that out. Warming up is key to helping to avoid injuries, and also stretching when you're done.

Also, I forgot to mention that when mixing up your cardio, don't forget interval training. Intervals can trick your body into not getting complacent as it tends to do if you workout at a steady pace.

NWGratefulDiver:

Any suggestions, comments, or encouragement would be welcomed ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

Click to expand...

1. For the diet/nutrition, check post what i wrote while ago maybe it helps

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/4340704-post89.html

2. For the training itself. Most important thing is to pick activity what you really like. If you just hit gym and do the stuff what you have to do get fit. Eventually that leads to boredom and starting to skip workouts. even if the workout what you enjoy is not as powerful and beneficial as the program what personal trainer has created for you at first, in the long run it will, cos you keep doing it.
If you goal is just get fit fast there is big possibility that you return to your old habits and basically you have just wasted X amount of time. Getting fit comes from changing lifestyle not from 1 "training camp"

NWGratefulDiver:

and assigned me a personal trainer ... Matt.

Click to expand...

Oh man, what a dumper. Was Jennifer fully booked?

So ... those of you who work out on a regular basis ... any suggestions on things to try or think about as I progress over the next year?

Click to expand...

I don't work out at a gym but I run, which I guess like like working out, and I do actually have a couple of suggestions.

First of all, exercising more is good, but not the whole solution.

If you want to lose weight and keep it off, there are three things you need to do this coming year, not one.

1) exercise more (you're on the right track)

2) visit a dietitian and get on a healthy diet so you eat right. You'll never be able to lose weight and KEEP IT OFF unless you learn about what you're putting into your body and what it does to you.

3) Work this into a life-style. You can't just exercise more or eat right for a while and expect that to give you a long term result. Unless you permanently change the balance from "slowly gaining" to "maintaining" based on a new life balance then nothing you do is going to get you where you want to be.

And actually #4 is be realistic. At your age and with your life style you are realistically NOT going to look like an Olympic athlete no matter how much you "go for it". Do some soul searching and decide what's "acceptable" AND "realistic" to expect in a year and try breaking that down into 10 or 12 steps that you can measure at intervals during the year. I find keeping a log (of all things ) of progress helps with motivation and it helps put your progress (a) on the map and (b) in perspective.

I'm just starting down this path. The plantar fasciitis is already becoming a concern ...

Click to expand...

Matt will probably tell you more about this but overuse injuries like these are exceedingly common for people just starting. Some discomfort is arguably normal and will go away once your body adjusts to your new level of exercise. However, take the pain seriously and don't overdo it because if you go too far you'll injure yourself in a way that will take 3 weeks or more to recover from (if you're lucky) which will put you behind the curve you want to be on.

Runners are very prone to overuse injuries and most runners learn about RICE straight away. RICE stands for "Rest", "Ice", "Compression" and "Elevation". Those are the 4 keys things to do to self treat overuse injuries. REST means do less or do something else. If you're getting planter faciitis then cycle or use an elliptical trainer instead of running for a week or so. ICE means to apply ice to the injury at least 2-3 times a day while it's inflamed but with at least an hour between sessions. What I do is freeze ice in plastic cups and then pop it out and put it in a ziploc bag when I use it. Don't apply ice directly to the skin. Put a wet cloth between. Make sure it's wet so it transmits the cold without freezing the skin. Keep it on and move it around for about 15 minutes and no more than 20 if it's on a big muscle or you'll lose the beneficial effect. Compression and elevation speak for themselves. These things will help you get through most discomfort from overuse as long as you are careful to make sure it's getting better and not worse as you go. If it's getting worse then REST REST REST.

ONe more thing. Especially with foot and lower leg injuries you really need to carefully choose your shoes. Get a real pro to help you buy GOOD shoes for working out and/or running in. They're worth every penny you spend on them and more.

and one I have to work through because I don't want it to hold me back.

Click to expand...

Re-read the above. Don't be head strong or you'll end up being an expert in overuse injuries like I am... LOL

I was reading up on that subject, and from what I read it takes anywhere from 9 months to 2 years to clear up. So that's going to be a problem because one of the goals I wanted to set for myself as a motivation was to work toward doing a triathalon later in the summer. We'll see what my foot can handle.

Click to expand...

Talk to a sports physician about it. Unless you badly injured it by tearing the ligament or something along those lines then my experience is that (even though it might hurt like an SOB when you get out of bed in the morning) you should be able to get it sorted in 6 weeks if you do the right things. A doctor might give you steroids or anti-inflammatories to help speed it along too.

Oh ... my goals ...

1. Weight loss - I am currently at 248 ... I want to get back under 220 by the end of the year

Click to expand...

Sounds realistic with discipline.

2. Improved upper body strength - this morning was humbling. I couldn't do sets with weights I used to warm up with 30 years ago.

Click to expand...

This is not 30 years ago. Your ego might not like it but start off with the girly weights, put it out of your mind and go from where you are RIGHT NOW. The ONLY thing that's important right now is if you can lift more 6 weeks from now than you can today. That's it. Put all the "I used to" stuff out of your mind or you'll drive yourself nuts.

3. Flexibility - this is a biggie ... even in the best of times, valve drills are not easy for me, particularly on the left post. A huge motivation for all of this is to finally put that hurdle behind me.

Click to expand...

Sounds realistic. Stretch the calf muscles too *within reason* as your foot injury heals in order to avoid it coming back again. Ordinarily one of the big sources of lower leg/foot muscle and tendon injuries besides over doing it is just that the muscles lose flexibility as you age and with everything too tight, the tendency to get injuries like yours will increase.

Hope that helps a bit.

Good luck. You should be proud of yourself for taking this important step!

R..