The Expedition Fitness Thread

[Lost Canadian]

To answer the original inquiry I train with weights and run 4 days a week.

With the weights I train Max-OT style. A guy that works out at my gym named Brian Secord who is a fire fighter and WNBF pro bodybuilder told me me last year I should try it. We had been talking and I told him I was getting bored of my same old routine so he emailed me the whole program and it's been great. For me the Max-OT sytem is perfect, it's fast (30-40 min. workout), it allows me to focus better (very heavy weight but low reps), and best of all it really works. It's hard and intense but if you hate spending hours in the gym like me it's a great system. I have the whole system saved on a PDF file if anyone wants it, just drop me a PM and I will email it to you.

 

[whistler110]

Most of my exercise and motivation comes from work. I spend the winter Telemarking and the summer downhill mountain biking. With all the repetitive strain injuries and potential to over train I spend most of my training time doing stretching and injury prevention. When I'm not targeting a particular injury, I spend most of my time doing weights on the balance ball, Tai Chi, walking/hiking, and pedaling XC or Road.

 

[mightymike]

Has anyone here tried Crossfit?

www.crossfit.com

Some of the daily workouts seem pretty easy, until you try them. I like their definition of fitness-a balance of strength, endurance, flexibility, balance, speed, etc. Another big plus is the lack of need for traditional weight/fitness equipment. Lots of body weight exercises and exercises requiring only basic equipment which is great for traveling. Best of all, no charge to access the "daily workouts" posted on the site and it includes videos of the exercises you may not be familiar with. Try it, but don't blame me for the soreness, even if you are already in shape!

 

[Wanderlusty]

This thread is terrible!

My daily routine consists of waddling out to the garage to stretch....my leg over the BMW, then for the lower body, I push the bike out the garage door before immediately moving to work the upper body....by pushing the bike left/right/left/right as needed to get around slow movers on the freeway. I end the routine by stretching once again (leg back over the bike), then waddle inside the warehouse for my cup of coffee. :smilies27

Now that is a fitness plan I can relate to. I remarked to a friend the other day…If exercise tasted like a good steak, I would be in MUCH better shape.

Interesting thread. I'll post up some transformation pics later in 07 when I drop the rest of the weight I want to drop. Got up to 320 in the mid 90s, now I am sitting about 255-260 with 19% BF. I'm shootin for 220 with 10%BF. Bodybuilding is what I enjoy, but my cardio needs to improve. My max dead lift and squat are both 405 and bench is around 260. Body for Life is a great book that has helped me a lot.

Winters I ski and snow shoe, summers I hike and paddle too.

Now interested, do you mainly credit that book with your turnaround, or are there other things you could point out that would help? I am just a few good steaks shy of your mid 90’s weight (alas the user name!) and would like to get a little better shape (ok a LOT better shape) in the next few years, before this weight settles in to stay for good.

My ideal is probably about 250ish. I have no illusions of becoming a fitness star and I have been around 250 before, and it suits me well. 50-60 lbs doesn’t seem like such a big step, but I assure you it is harder than you think. Even when I went the year without red meat and did exercise and moderate my diet, I didn’t get below about 280. So always interested to hear success stories of others that have been where I am and are where I want to be.

 

[Pskhaat]

So always interested to hear success stories of others that have been where I am and are where I want to be.

When I was at Uni, I gave up all foods for about 6 months except fruits (eaten separately) and raw vegetables, and let myself eat as many of those as I wanted. Though that particular year was of many ups and downs, I physically felt great, wasn't exhausted all the time. I was at one of my body's perfect weights.

Years past, resolutions dissolved and weight came back.

At my wedding, I had lost some pretty good weight and was levelling at about 215 (heavy for me). I know I got a lot worse in the following that. After consuming a sickening amount of (though wonderful) jambalaya during the 2001 Super Bowl I resolved myself to loosing. I did.

I lost over 50 lbs (or about 23%) of my weight. I did this through a number of unsustainable steps such as twice a day activities (swimming, running, weights, hiking, et al) and eating nearly nothing. I just simply refused most foods (as I'm often too keen on taking any food available), and even made the wife angy many times by not eating her meals. I ate only when I was hungry ignoring that eat small portions often line. I was in the best shape of my life. But at a constant starving state it was just too unsustainable for me.

Years past, resolutions dissolved, and weight came back.

I have no answers, though a year ago I tried to take a moderate approach which has resulted in me being in much better shape, but the weight remains. I know though that to loose the weight at this age I need to take one of the drastic steps above, either go fully natural food or cut out the majority portion of all intake. Excercise alone never seems to cut it for me.

 

[Wanderlusty]

I tell you the thing that gets me seems to be portion sizes. I am not one of those guys that is constantly eating. I basically stick to 3 squares a day, maybe one snack. But those three squares....especially lunch and dinner, are REALLY square. And after a lifetime of that, it is hard both mentally and physically to look at a plate, and say I will only eat THIS much and be done.

I have shaved portion sizes before, but like you said, it always seems to ramp back up after a bit.

Exercise is my real problem. We have had gym memberships we have used then not used, then cancelled because we did not use them, and over and over again. We have tried walking around the subdivision, then we get out of that habit too.

I think what it does truly take is a life altering change in how you eat and stay and shape, and it is all that much more difficult to get a spouse to go along for the ride too. For instance, she pretty much HATES vegetables of almost every kind. Me, I like a lot of veggies, but they seldom grace my plate, unless we eat out, and only occasionally then.

I know the time to do something is now, because I am nearing that point in life where if I don't do something about it, I never will.

I have some fitness goals for the short- mid- and long term that I would like to achieve.

Mid term goal I would love to accomplish is to be fit enough to do a 2 day hike with a night camping somewhere in between. We have a trail that goes about halfway across the state, so all I need to do is provide the fitness. If I could accomplish that by years end, or even by mid next year, I would feel as if I had REALLY accomplished something.

 

[Pskhaat]

As per the meat vs veggie thing don't get me wrong as I'm no true vegetarian but I read a book that put things into perpective (and sorry for the life of me can't seem to locate it anywhere or remember the name) discussing how we as humans process foods, how our genetics and what gastrointestinal system expect for food processing. The author was a R.D. and an apparently well-received GI surgeon. Anyway, after some very seriously disgusting pictures and explanations this guy says that meats and fats (mostly raw BTW) are intended for much heavier use in our early years and naturally should taper off (when we stop growing and start shrinking) in lieu of much more raw vegetables (obviously with seasonal and ethnic changes). Consuming many fruits in isolation (eating them alone without other foods) were suppsed to be consistent throughout our life.

In very quick summary he lays out quite the story that our bodies are not designed to eat the way we do (well, duh) and start cutting out larger quantities of cooked meat, consuming singificantly more raw veggies and downing the fruits.

I have no medical degree, but the logic read well both in and between the lines.

 

[cshontz]

I'm 31 and exceedingly conscious of my deterioration, which has become visible within the last 5 years. I'm 5'7", 180lbs and seem to be increasing. I have a muscular mouse finger, and thats pretty much it. Until recently, metabolism has worked well enough.

I'm an armchair outdoorsman, so I should be able to shed pounds and bulk up somewhat through regular activity - which is all well and good except for the "armchair" part.

How does one start, at a time in one's life when bad foods are starting to taste better, getting into shape after so many years? I've never had to make an effort to preserve my sculpted physique up until recently.

The ornate detail of my navel has been obscured by a cumbersome and fleshy mass.

 

[Pskhaat]

That picture is just cruel! Me want!!!!!!!

 

[Wanderlusty]

That picture is just cruel! Me want!!!!!!!

My mouth literally started to water at the sight of that picture. That was just MEAN on his behalf!

:jump:

 

[mountainpete]

I've battled my weight all my life - but for the last year I've been winning

My routine consists of 3 sessions with a personal trainer each week, additional 2 cardio sessions, regular hockey games and other assorted sports. I also changed my eating habits and eliminated 90% of junk food, fast food and sweet drinks. As a result of this, I have dropped 40 lbs since last May. I would say about 50 lbs is probably fat loss and 10 lbs muscle gain. I am still about 35 lbs from where I would "love" to be and target for June to be close to that.

Getting a personal trainer was the best thing I have ever done. It's expensive, but has been worth every single penny. When I train with him, it is a true hour of death. We simply don't stop - just next, next, next. Weights, medicine balls, drills, cables, you name it we have done it. People at the gym are always just amazed because most people rest between things. We simply don't stop because the goal is fat loss, not muscle mass.

The best thing I got done with a personal trainer was the body fat test. I learned something really big about myself. Even at zero % body fat I was still over 200 lbs. This was really eye opening because according to body mass charts I should be in the 170's. Knowing that would never happen made my goals realistic and improved my overall mental well being.

Unfortunately, running doesn't work for me. I get shin pain quite quickly so I love the bike. This disappoints me because I have always wanted to run. I have also been working on rowing machines more lately and I think they are my new favorite - it's really a lot more efficient and real life mirroring than some of the other more popular machines.

For me though, the key has been to work on stamina. It's the mix between physical and mental toughness that relates directly to situations you meet in real life or as part of an adventure. I still have a lot to work on, but my stamina has drastically improved. I would say I am about half way there right now. I do things like bench step-ups with holding a 45 lbs plate in each hand - pushing for a specified time instead of a number of reps. It makes a big difference when you are hiking or something - it's that drive that says just keep going. Don't stop, if you stop you just have to start again.

Rambled long enough :snorkel:

Pete

 

[Pskhaat]

Even at zero % body fat I was still over 200 lbs. This was really eye opening because according to body mass charts I should be in the 170's.

That is a very good point! My 0% weight is about 153 lbs measured by water submersion volume and electric resistance, which for my case is bad because I've got a darned long way to go do get near that!

 

[SeaRubi]

ok .. i'm like the 4th jeep guy to chime in with how overweight I am

:hehe:


I was in your boat exactly last year. Same weight, same height ... 6 mos later, after turning 32, I was at 215. :xxrotflma

all my friends are alot more fit / healthier than I am. couple key points i've been told by my doctor and athletic trainers and am trying to get used to now that '07 has arrived and I'm tired of feeling like a blimp:


* cut out the alcohol. If you enjoy 2~3 beers a day like i did (ahem... or more?!) that's worth about a 500~1000 calories less EACH day. Winos like to tell you that drinking wine isn't as bad as drinking comparable numbers of beer, but the fact is that they're about the same as most lagers. What wine doesn't have is the carbs. Having a glass of cab while fixing dinner isn't a bad way to ease into the evening, but ... killing off a 3 or 4 sierras after you've had a pint with lunch is bad news.

* drink more water. forget 64oz BS. You need half the # of ounces as your body weight. For me, that's a bit over 100oz/day.

* I've always thought water tastes like ****. I hate it! That's why I drank so much beer Green tea, sparking water like San Pellegrino, and a bit of gatorade powder in ice-water can help you choke down down the non-beer fluids.

* eat MORE not less. You should eat 5 meals a day, not 3 squares. If you're hungry then your diet is failing you. Eat smaller portions and literally, snack all day on non processed foods. I've lost about 10 lbs on this alone, and have my share of peanut butter, cheese, summer sausage and crackers for my snacks. You don't have to chew on an apple every time and pretend not to be hungry!

* invert your portion sizes at meal times. Eat a big breakfast, medium lunch, and a light dinner. Most people skip breakfast, have little to no lunch (or worse, fast food) and then pig out for dinner. Cut that out - treat yourself to 2 or 3 eggs and some bacon in the morning with an english biscuit, and don't let anybody tell you different. stick to 2 slices ... point is, you'll do better with a bit of bacon in keeping your workout regimen than sucking on a soy patty and pretending it tastes good. When 10:30 a.m. comes along, crank down something tasty and non-processed, and then by the time noon hits you won't have the urge for 2 big macs.

* carbs in the morning. No carbs after 2 p.m., so sez the fitness queen. :shrug: ok. steak for dinner it is! seriously, nothing wrong with a 4oz serving of steak, some grilled asparagus with some butter (REAL butter, not margarine) , and a big 'ol glass of Pellegrino to wash it down with. Sneaking in a glass of wine or _A_ beer isn't going to stop the world.

"****** is this 4oz stuff?" - well, you HAVE eaten at least one meal since lunch, if not two by the time dinner rolls around. Don't let yourself get hungry - your body needs fuel when it's hungry so EAT! Just make sure you eat smaller and more often ... really that's all there is to this particular philosophy.


last but not least, the biggest thing you can do to lose weight is ... get off **************** :violent-smiley-031: :violent-smiley-031: :violent-smiley-031:

this is my biggest challenge. Low impact is key. We have lots of hills around here, and I've found that getting used to walking up 2 blocks each day will do wonders for your cardio and get ease you into doing more. Be realistic - the key is to get your hear rate up for 15~20 minutes every day. I like to try and do something exciting like snow shoeing or getting in a longer bike ride once a week.

If you can do all that, you'll slowly start dropping the weight, and it'll be permanent. Don't starve yourself, and don't expect to lose more than a couple pounds per week.


fwiw ... this has been my plan and I'm sticking to it :rally_guys:

I'm 31 and exceedingly conscious of my deterioration, which has become visible within the last 5 years. I'm 5'7", 180lbs and seem to be increasing. I have a muscular mouse finger, and thats pretty much it. Until recently, metabolism has worked well enough.

I'm an armchair outdoorsman, so I should be able to shed pounds and bulk up somewhat through regular activity - which is all well and good except for the "armchair" part.

How does one start, at a time in one's life when bad foods are starting to taste better, getting into shape after so many years? I've never had to make an effort to preserve my sculpted physique up until recently.

The ornate detail of my navel has been obscured by a cumbersome and fleshy mass.

 

[devinsixtyseven]

what you said about eating is spot on. pigging out at dinner, plus a late dinner and then bed, is a sure way to sleep poorly and wake up looking and feeling like shamu. i had this bad habit recently, and stopped eating anything after 8pm (i go to bed around 10-11)...the weight's gone down five pounds in the last four or five weeks, i figure thats a good healthy rate since i haven't changed anything else, plus i'm not going to sleep with indigestion or floating air biscuits in the morning!

taking a walk after a meal also feels real good...a gentle, relaxing walk.

i used to trail run, but trashed an ankle two summers ago and since then have spent an inordinate amount of time on the mtb. i also xc ski, snowboard, and hit the gym now and then, but nothing regular in about two-three months since they took away an hour of my daylight :violent-smiley-031: and every trail here that isn't covered in snow is covered in ice . a gym pass is probably in my future...

-sean

 

[cinemakatie]

The cold weather that has been persistent across the country is keeping me from going outside and being active. However, there are little exercise tricks that you can work into your daily routine that don't take a lot of time or energy but are really effective in toning your body.

If you like to sit in front of the TV after a long day at work, there's no reason why you can't watch! Instead of sitting, do lunges, squats, push ups, sit ups, or any other stretch while you watch :jumping: . It makes exercise more interesting and keeps you distracted from the fact that you're exercising.

A great way to tone your legs and stomach is to clench those muscles and hold for ten seconds. Do them as reps; they are great to do while you're waiting in line or sitting at your desk at work and no one knows you're doing them! I started doing this two years ago and have maintained a (somewhat) flat stomach.

Also, toss on those boots and go for a walk with a sibling, friend, spouse, or gf/bf. It's a great way to relax and have a nice talk with a good friend. Plus, if your neighborhood is lit you can do it when you get back from work!