Any fitness guys on here???

[happymatch]

here is my story.

I was close to 90kg then i trimmed down to 79kg. I am now at inbetween 80~83 depending what i eat. Th 90kg was pure fat now most of my 80kg is muscle.

I trained Gracie Brazilian Jiu Jitsu for a year and i had little jogs in the morning. That worked for me.

 

[Requested]

Go the BJJ! What belt are you mate? White, black tip? I love BJJ. So fun.

My story...
Been training semi-hard and properly since June 2008 with the aim of bodybuilding. I naturally am 75kg. I am now 85kg on my way to 90kg Bodyfat % is around 14% which is still quite massey.

My goal is to get to 90kg and then start to cut down so I get nice and thick and lean muscle...Lots of hard work ahead.

 

[generalboozy]

You say you switched in 2005 to soy milk, for 3 years you were never sick. That takes us to 2008, so what happened after that???

Does soy have good calcium content?

It's not so much an intimidation thing, more of a depressing sight of comparison that will do wonders for my self esteem. I'm definately not going to go to a gym for the sake, but would need a personal trainer to help map out my path to getting back to where I want to be. The diet will be hard to control with the work I do, but I'm going to give it a shot at least. I've sat down with a doctor to guage where I'm at at the moment, & the sort of targets I should be trying to meet. He's being conservative & so am I, but hopefully once I start slowly getting back into it I can then begin ramping it up.
The ultimate objective is to be fit & lean again for when I make a return trip to Europe in 2012! I went firstly in 2002 & walked everywhere I stayed so I came back in really good condition. By the time I returned with Mel in 2005, I had put on a fair amount of weight & pushing her around in a wheelchair each day helped to a degree, but I don't want to go again until I've got back into a decent condition...

The doctor asked if I play videogames (not often) as he dismissed the Wii Fit as a bit of a fad, but good to track your progress with your BMI. However, he was saying that the new XBox Kinnect (sp?) is looking to be a good tool for physical workouts too in addition to other training.

yea after 2008 i still don't drink milk but thats when i started eating meat again and i did have my first big winter cold of coughing and the sort. in 2005 when i quit milk i also quit meat (cept for fish) and some other stuff. also, all throughout childhood i was a serious asthmatic but after i cut out heavy dairy and meat and started running my asthma is pretty much gone. i've not used my puffer for 6 years now

like other guys on here mentioned, getting fit requires being crazy stubborn. i've got this thing with my girlfriend now that everytime we swear we have to do pushups as an attempt to increase our vocab....doing little random things like that requires a pretty stubbornly fierce mindset and helps tone up a fair bit. by the end of the day she'll have done 40 or so but i'd probably have churned out 80-100 but thats aside from my working out. it's great!

 

[bratwurst_boy]

brad its good to see that your getting into looking after yourself. i've found if you want to do exercise at home then you can do stuff during your day. ive had alot of back pain due to my job and i've found by holding your stomach muscles tight (and yes you do have some) for 30 secs at a time in a few weeks you'll be able to hold them for longer and with less effort. this can be done while doing the dishes, making dinner, driving or while at work. the next thing i do is while brushing my teeth i hold my stomach muscles i bob from side to side (like in boxing training) for about 10 reps then roll forward (like doing a standing sit up) for 10 reps, repeat doing that for the time that you brush your teeth (i've found i brush long now to).

i know that your job is hectic but if you find time then swim, its the best work out, low impact and being summer nice and refreshing. you might also find that getting your metabolism level tested, to so if you have a slow medium or fast metabolism, then you can figure out your diet and exercise from there.

 

[douwboy]

If your a bit embarassed about going to the gym. Buy yourself a cheap mountain bike and ride to your local swimming pool, that is a great warm up, and if your having trouble doing laps at the pool buy yourself some flippers until you can confidently do consistant laps then get rid of the flippers when you get your confidence and fitness up. Martial arts classes are a great way to lose weight and get more flexible and the good thing about it is most of the people you train with are in it for the same reason you are and everytime you go up a belt you get taught something different so it motivates you to keep going. I did kung fu for a year and it taught me alot about stretching, fitness and diet we also did thai chi which is really relaxing and helps keep your body healthy. Although i had to stop coz i got hit by a car and hurt my back, once i get back into excercise im gonna use my kung fu warm up as a good fitness work out because its something i can do at home coz i dont think i will go back. Im 5'3 and 96kg my main problem areas are my stomach, chest and butt and the fact i love food too much. This thread is great and there are alot of people here that give good advice, i guess it just depends on how much time you have and what exercises your comfortable with. Im planning on getting back into my fitness in the New Year, i bought an expensive mountain bike as my motivation so with a bit of will power im gonna shed atleast 10kg maybe more next year. Goodluck with your diet and excercise and i will be definately keeping an eye on this thread.

 

[king_panther]

Yea thanks for the post. I was surprised myself at the amount of help that flooded this thread! All without any sarcasm or jokes at my expense.
I guess someone just had to make the first move. I felt really shameful to come on here asking for advice, but the assistance I've received is amazing.

I've already changed a few things in my diet, & begun a few light stretches etc to start getting back into it. I'm already on the lookout for a half decent mountain bike just like you said. I don't think my legs are going to take me running straight away but I have started walking. My main exercise will be the bike.

For the past 5 years my life was basically on hold as both the commuting for my job & the job itself occupied my whole time.. When I wasn't physically working on weekends, I was helping the guy on afterhours support fix things. I've changed jobs twice to try & give me more time to myself. With my marriage over, the last 6 months have been a bit of a rough ride as I've slowly re-adjusted to being on my own & coping with life throwing curveballs at me & all the usual emotional things with the separation & becoming single again. Bit by bit I'm trying to get back on top of things again both financially & physically.

I'm 180cm, & north of 96kg. I don't pig out on food, but like most time-starved people there's been a fair amount of fast food in the diet due to commuting. I'm now 5mins from work, so I'll be riding into the office when I'm in there. The hardest part will be keeping it routine. My working hours are pretty fluid. I was in the middle of dinner on Friday night for example when a customer called me & I was off to the site working until 11pm. Things like that happen on a spur of the moment. Installs happen around every 3 weeks & during that time it's a minimum 12hour day not including travel time, so yea it's going to take a lot of work.
I don't expect to start shedding kilos, but I'm hoping to at least get healthier & be able to fit into clothes that don't have multiple XXXL in the size tag. I want to head back to Europe in 2012 so my aim is to slim down a fair amount for then (about 18 months away).

Cheers again everyone for the encouragement.

 

[timmae2006]

U should never feel shameful to ask for help especially bout fitness and nutrition dude although i understand where your coming from, its something most people take for granted... training and neing healthy simply adds years to your life as im sure your already aware

 

[Tom]

Brad, that's heaps good, good to hear what you're doing self improvement is always a good thing, whether or not some people may think you do or don't "need it", and people shouldn't ever be dissed because they decide that they want to do something!

I was told by some people who always go to the gym "leave your ego at the door, everybody is there for the same reasons"

 

[generalboozy]

i dig that last line tom....totally gotta leave the ego out of it and realise we are all different and our bodies and muscles relate differently to everyone elses. good good stuff and keep us posted on your progress brad! it'll be a good way to inspire the rest of us to maintain doing all the stuff we've talked up to you....i know this week marks the start of healthiness for me.... i gained 4 kilos last month from take out (crazy work schedule like you brad...sucks!!!!) time to shed that off and get fit again....

 

[AUSVR4]

Maybe you were lactose intolerant. Cows milk is a bodybuilders best friend - just do a simple search! I wouldn't touch soy milk with a 10 foot pole, but I like things like a sperm-count.

 

[Milamber]

Well I am a Personal Trainer...


So if that counts as a "fitness guy" then i am your man

 

[SLY-031]

Then put your $2 in here for all

Or do we have to sign up to X classes per year at $Y per class...

 

[SiliconAngel]

Well I am a Personal Trainer...


So if that counts as a "fitness guy" then i am your man

No disrespect Zach, but holding a particular qualification doesn't necessarily mean someone knows what they're talking about. I am in no way suggesting that you DON'T (I don't know one way or the other, as I have no information from which to judge) - I'm just saying that being able to pass some exams and obtain a certification in a particular field really doesn't prove anything with regards to experience or knowledge of the field. For example, the vast majority of Australian universities have a policy for not failing international students, as they are the primary source of funding. So there are tens of thousands of people out there with degrees that aren't worth the paper they're printed on.

So as Joel said, feel free to weigh in with some suggestions of your own at some point

 

[king_panther]

Yes I'm very interested, with your background, to hear some input from yourself with regards to this thread.

I'll be taking notes with any good stuff you bring to the table!

 

[generalboozy]

so how's the new life change coming along brad??

anyone else started anything?

on a small personal note, i've been replacing meals with smoothies. i forgot how damn good they are and how quick too.
heres a couple of stupidly easy recipes, good amount of natural sugar, fiber, potassium, and some protein.

half handful of blueberries and strawberries
half cup of vanilla so good or vanilla flavoured milk if your into dairy (or any flavour i guess, but vanillas pretty good)
half cup of pineapple/coconut juice
whole banana
solid handful of UNSALTED or LIGHTLY salted cashews, walnuts, or almonds
a fair amount of special k, light & tasty, or toby's cereal....

blend all that sorta individually so you get a nice blend and its nice and thick. pretty damn good, filling as, and above all healthy.

alternate and get creative with smoothies, as long as there are a few various blends of sugar it's gonna be tasty....

 

[king_panther]

so how's the new life change coming along brad??

It's changing, which is a start at least
Plenty of water in my diet now. I'm downing 3 bottles of 750ml Pump a day. Portion sizes have been reduced. Haven't had junky fast food for 2 weeks. I still have Subway, but stopped the cookies & soft drink & now have wheat bread & vitamin water (yea I know it's a gimmick).
Been walking around the block as well.

Having said that, it has been Christmas, so the night before I was over a workmate's house & treated to homemade pizza on spinach & herb base, finished with Mars Bar slice for dessert. They gave me a plate of it to take home so that's slowly getting eaten.

Come the new year it will be the difficult phase trying to go cold turkey. Trying to save up some money so I can get myself a mountain bike & start riding.
My sister said to also give the optislim/slimfast/optifast shakes a go too to replace breakfast & dinner.

 

[generalboozy]

yea sweet deals brad sounds like your off to a motivated start. you've already got the base of awareness of what your eating, that's half of it. and don't feel bad bout xmas eating....i had two types of marinated lamb, smoked chicken, all sorts of ridiculous jelly, dutch pancakes, ice cream, fondue, etc. etc. etc.

do you have a wii? i also discovered this stupid yet highly addictive dance game on there. it might not be ya dig, but man it makes you sweat. all about balance i reckon. if ya eat heavy, push your body heavier. good stuff!!!

 

[generalboozy]

yea sweet deals brad sounds like your off to a motivated start. you've already got the base of awareness of what your eating, that's half of it. and don't feel bad bout xmas eating....i had two types of marinated lamb, smoked chicken, all sorts of ridiculous jelly, dutch pancakes, ice cream, fondue, etc. etc. etc.

do you have a wii? i also discovered this stupid yet highly addictive dance game on there. it might not be ya dig, but man it makes you sweat. all about balance i reckon. if ya eat heavy, push your body heavier. good stuff!!!

 

[king_panther]

Yea I have a Wii, amongst many consoles

Funnily, the doctor said to give the XBox 360 Kinnect a go as it's a full workout, & much better than the Wii Fit. It's just the kitty is a little light at the moment, what with nieces & nephews & 5 siblings & parents to buy presents for this time of the year!
Shit man that sounds like a lot to eat! I actually don't eat a LOT per se, Pizza Hut get the shits when I don't order large pizzas (don't order often anyways), & I get the shits when I rock up & they've given me a large anyways.

Heading up to see my nephews next weekend in QLD, & I do have to go to Maccas with them, so we'll see how I go....

 

[douwboy]

Well im forced to make changes. Got some blood results back yesterday and i have a fatty liver so i have to stay off the junk food and energy drinks and start riding to work or start an exercise regime. Everything is starting to sag and its getting me depressed so i have to do something.