Fitness advice/suggestions

[Concrete Helmet]

227.8 yesterday....Now comes the "really gotta want it" time. I expected a pretty big slow down but I'm not sweating anything yet as I've got another 5 weeks before the goal date of 220#. I've been increasing my caloric intake 2 or 3 days per week to keep my body from "catching on" and fighting further weight loss. At 56# lost I am certain beyond a doubt I've put on a few pounds of muscle which may be countering the number on the scale. I'm back into 36" waist pants and shorts again(34" waist is one of my goals)....I will say though that if I'm being honest even after 56# lost I can see another 15-20# that I would like to lose over the next 3 months or so.

Training is going good and even my shoulders are feeling better after spending the last few weeks doing specific shoulder mobility exercises and stretches. From what I've learned alot of this is from poor posture especially while seated(I slump forward when sitting especially at work and when on my laptop at home) There are dozens of videos on youtube on shoulder impingement if anyone reading this runs into this issue.

 

[stephenPE]

I hit 219 a few times recently. How tall are you Crete. Im almost 6ft. building m uscle does make it confusing cause it does weigh more. I know you are younger so this is a great time to really work at the things you are doing.I could lose weight MUCH easier in my 40s and 50s. Itsa bchhh now.

 

[Concrete Helmet]

I hit 219 a few times recently. How tall are you Crete. Im almost 6ft. building m uscle does make it confusing cause it does weigh more. I know you are younger so this is a great time to really work at the things you are doing.I could lose weight MUCH easier in my 40s and 50s. Itsa bchhh now.

Sorry, I just saw this Coach. I'm 6'3" and as of this morning 224.6#. Upper abs starting to peek through a greatly diminished layer of fat above belly buttom....still fighting some Dunlap disease lower down and in the hips BUT I have been trying on a pair of 34" waist pants and although they throw off a little " Muffin Top" when I button them it is getting closer and closer to being a good fit.

On a related story about age and muscle growth I recently met a friend of my son's father. I could tell he was a few years older than me but looked very fit for his age. We talked for about an hour or so and I told him he must still be very active and looked like he worked out. He told me he had never stopped working out since HS and was a TE when he played college football. He also had open heart surgery and a few years later chemo. If he hadn't lost his hair from chemo/age you would have never known he was 65 years old. He was 6' 4" and still weighed around 215-220#. He said he does more resistance training than cardio(maybe 20-30 minutes 3x a week)and still hits the gym 5X a week.

It certainly made me think if he can look like he did after chemo/open heart surgery and being 6-7 years older than me, I should have no excuses not getting to 210-212# and maintaining or improving my existing muscle mass.

 

[stephenPE]

My docs ,during the exams, basically wrote in the notes that I was in good shape. But my brother cant seem to fix either of my strbasterdss. I was using a recumbent stationary bike for about an hour a day but it aint the same. So now I am jogging and walking in my neighborhood. Trying to build up. And BY GOD the first day I felt much better. My feet hurt some while doing it but I think the more aerobic nature of it is doing me more good.

 

[Concrete Helmet]

My docs ,during the exams, basically wrote in the notes that I was in good shape. But my brother cant seem to fix either of my strbasterdss. I was using a recumbent stationary bike for about an hour a day but it aint the same. So now I am jogging and walking in my neighborhood. Trying to build up. And BY GOD the first day I felt much better. My feet hurt some while doing it but I think the more aerobic nature of it is doing me more good.

I had a recumbent bike several years ago and while it's better than doing nothing I believe a good brisk walk would probably be better. Something about bearing your own weight(safely) as in any standing exercise/activity is going to burn more calories IMO....That said if it's raining or maybe your knees, feet or hips are sore it might be a good alternative.
I have been trying to mix up my cardio as of late by doing a1 hour walk(I'm naturally a fast walker so I get in close to10,000 steps in an hour) and I've also been just treading water in the pool for 30 minutes on some days after my weight workouts instead of doing 25-30 minutes on the Airdyne. I'm really starting to get bored of the Airdyne anyway and find that I tend to slump over in my upper back when staying on it more than 20 minutes or so....It is still very good for doing HIIT sessions for 10-15 minutes though which I try to get in at least 2X times a week.

Interesting fact I heard the other day from someone talking about the benefits of walking vs other forms of cardio exercise. It seems that many thousands of years ago our ancestors were believed to walk between 12,000-17,000 steps a day while foraging and gathering items....I guess it's not so hard to see why our species has gained so much weight over the years .

Wish I could report more weight loss but this last 12-15lbs is being stubborn and I'm stuck between 224-225.5. I may need to go back to doing more whole-body circuit style training like I was doing for the first 4 months of this program. I've kind of unconsciously moved more to a body building type program where I'm doing 3 days of different body parts 2X a week with one day off. I am getting stronger with pretty much every workout BUT I'm also eating probably another 400-600 calories a day due to the bigger appetite these workouts are giving me. Just 2.5 more weeks to get to my goal of 220#....

 

[Concrete Helmet]

Welp target day has arrived....This despite being on vacation 2 weeks ago and tweaking my back a week or so ago(haven't been able to workout very hard or long)......that's 64# in less than 7.5 months so far. I'm thinking of making the next goal at 208-210 by midseason or so..

 

[stephenPE]

Outstanding. Im trying to lose 10 before my surgery and upping my exercise so I can recover quicker. Caught a cramp while doing my walk/jog thing this morning. You must feel great having shed the weight of a 4th grader.