Gym/workouts

we tend to do farmer's walks on our off days.

our driveway is 140'.

so our trek is 280'.

we generally use 80lb Dumbbells


neck, traps, forearms & grip are on fire.

 

I've got two 40lbers. Not sure how long my driveway is, probably about 5 truck lengths

 

This is the most polite way I've ever heard someone say, "No".... well done, sir!!!!

@455h0le_dachshund He would say the same thing to ALL of us, so it's nothing personal

 

@455h0le_dachshund, just gonna chime in on a different view. You've already made great progress. Have you had blood panels recently? High blood pressure, (pre)diabetic, and low T are all issues with metabolic syndrome. I'd get panels to ensure you are in the clear from any MS markers (research these - too much to discuss). If not, it may require a hybrid approach. Hopefully, considering your walking volume, you're fine and just have the subcutaneous to get rid of while adding lean mass.

 

I just had a blood lab done at my general practitioner a few weeks ago and I see my endocrinologist next week.

 

No biggie. I knew it was a long shot.

 

Hello. Can I have a moment of your time to speak to you about our saviour workout tool, the immortal kettlebell?

LOL. Joking aside, I'm a huge fan of kettlebells. They combine movement, lifting and cardio while not requiring a ton of space and equipment. I do barbell stuff, but find it boring more often than not. I use a kettlebell when I'm at work and staying in a small apartment for my shift, without access to a proper gym.

I put together my own program but there's lots of options out there. Here's a good starting point:

https://www.reddit.com/r/kettlebell/wiki/programs/


If you like barbell stuff, Starting Strength is a good program and I use a variation of it for my barbell training:

https://startingstrength.com/get-started/programs

 

More equipment added and more on the way. Excited about the leg press and leg curl machines on order.

 

Latest addition to my power rack. I've been looking for a squat alternative as I can no longer free-bar squat like I used to, and this simple belt squat attachment for my power rack fits the bill. What I like about it is it isn't guided and just hangs off the rack, so to a certain degree you still have to balance the weight. Now I can focus on form and also hit quads at different angles and get that outer quad sweep without a need for a hack squat, and is also much easier to accomplish vs. a landmine (at least for me, anyway). And it takes the pressure off the knees at the same time. Free bar-squats is still king, but this is a very close 2nd.

 

that’s because it is an asian squat!

 

First off, loosing 130 pounds is absolutely amazing. Second off, loosing 130 pounds is more than amazing. Much respect goes out to you for being able to do that. That being said, you now know that you do have the ability and mental strength to make life changing heath decisions for your body!

Me coming from a 43 year running background (i just turned 49) i wouldn’t recommend that you do any sort of running or jogging just yet (because of your current weight). I’d highly recommend to wait on that until you get your weight down to where you want to target it. Reason being is that you’ll want to strengthen all the stabilizers muscles and such in your legs, all the way down to your toes with lifting weights first. Plus that a heck of a lot of undo stress on your joints.

Walking that many miles (30 to 50 a week) may be therapeutic mentally, but your not going to burn very many calories. But it would be a great baseline if you were training to power walk a marathon (26.2 miles). A more efficient way (and it would build up more leg muscles) would be to go to a gym and hop on a treadmill machine. BUT, crank the incline up to the max. It will burn roughly 3 times more calories than walking on a flat surface. I also find that it’s a great warm up before i start lifting weights. Pool aerobics was a good safe call at that heavy weight to keep your joints happier.

Lifting compound weights is definitely the way to go to build muscle and burn calories the fastest. But make 100% sure that you find someone (such as a trainer) to help guide your form so that you don’t damage yourself (which is REALLY common at the gym).


Huge bonus point here for fat guys- when you loose a bunch of weight, you’ll have the best looking legs and calf muscles since they’ve been supporting all that body weight for so many years. And i’m being totally serious about that.

So how old are you now? The younger you are, the easier it should be to build muscle…in theory.


PRO TIP: when you join a gym, leave your cell phone in your car or in the locker. Focus on working out, not on scrolling through texts in between your sets. If you want to kill time between sets, then make it a point to stretch for that 30 seconds or 1 minute (or do pushups, or do something to keep the heart rate up a bit). I’m usually at the gym about 10~12 hours a week, so i see many of the same people many times a week. I’d say that 99% of the people i see who have cell phones in their hands make zero gains (man or women). Another reason to not have a cell phone OR ear buds is that it keeps you from being isolated from everyone else in the gym…which i would say is a bad thing if you’re trying to make gains. The reason being is that if you have a cell phone and ear buds in, you will have a VERY challenging time meeting and talking to other like minded people. Those other people in the gym will be VERY helpful to you for when you need guidance on how a particular piece of equipment works, how your form is, and other workout questions that you’ll undoubtedly have. Meet people at the gym and they will also help you motivation wise as well. You don’t need to have long conversations with other people there. I usually talk to people for only about 15~30 seconds at a time, which is about how long my rest might be.

The hard working fat guys at the gym i go to, i give them the highest respect, just because they don’t have the optimal body for working out, yet they’re out there busting their butt making it happen.

No doubt you can do this. Though gyms always run some sort of membership discount at the end of the year (for new year’s resolutions), i wouldn’t ever recommend anyone to join a gym as a new year’s resolution. The reason being is that close to 98% (i’m just guessing that number from what i see at my gym) quite after a month or so. Join a gym well BEFORE new years and get yourself a routine going on, so by the time january 1st comes along, you’ll already well in your way. Then use that new year’s resolution on something else that you don’t really give a rip about if you fail with or not.

Long winded, i know.

 

Thanks for the info and encouragement.
I'm 36. This is the third time I've lost 100lbs since I was 17. But the first time I've lost more than 100. This time I'm determined to stick with it. Third times a charm right? Each time I stopped I got fatter than before so I can't stop. That's what I learned.

I been going with my buddy on Thursdays to Planet Fitness.

But this afternoon I have an appointment to check out Anytime Fitness

I definitely want to increase my flexibility and mobility. Ive made some decent gains in that department but always room for improvement.

 

I recently bought a belt squat attachment as well, totally worth it. When my back is acting up I can still get some great leg work done.

 

It's awesome what is available now to the consumer, and can be as good as what's available at gyms. This simple attachment is also loads better than the cable-based belt squat machines that were around back during my early training heyday in the 90s. I tried them and never went back to them. The only thing that sucks though is how ridiculous the pricing has become, and seems to have quadrupled since the covid pandemic when people started building home gyms for obvious reasons. I started assembling a home gym in the early 90s (and people thought I was crazy for it) and picked up a 310 lb. olympic weight set and bar for something like $110 if I recall. I don't think you can get 2 x 45 lb plates for that anymore . And I still have that set, too.

 

Started a week free trial at Anytime Fitness this morning. I took into account yalls advice and used the back machine and the ab machine, as well as some upper and lower body stuff. Did a full hour too. Usually I run out of gas around the 45 minute mark.

I didn't do triceps or lats today, so I figure tomorrow I'll do those and back and abs again.

Walked 10 miles at work last night. I figure I'll try to do another 10 tonight and tomorrow night, then 5 on my half shift.

Instead of walking additional miles when I get home from work, I'm going to be using the gym, and I'll just walk at home on my off days, since I already get enough miles in on work nights.

 

Well Anytime Fitness was a bust.
Some of their equipment was in need of attention, their patrons leave their used wipes everywhere, and their staffed group trainings were always full so I couldnt join, and the trainer never replied to my messages about personal training/coaching. Anytime Firness wanted $80 down payment, plus $23 every two weeks. Fuck that. I joined the local rec center (used to be the YMCA before covid) for $30/mo.

 

New gym equipment showed up today. Anyone local in the PNW interested in a squat rack, bench/incline that has leg extensions and curls attached, and a dip/pull up machine for $200?

 

My neighbor might snag them up.

 

Appreciate the tag.
We’re pretty well set up here