Arg! My clothes don't fit.

[ScoobyDu]

So a few weeks back I noticed that none of my clothes fit anymore. I've been getting by on 3 pairs of pants and about 3 shirts.

I started back at the gym, and I'm working this off. As of this posting I'm about at 302.5.

I'll post more later, but today's workout:

1.25 hr weight training (legs/trunk)

45 degree hyperextension machine with a 10 and 12 lb weight 24 and 18 reps respectively on both lateral sides.
Ham Machine 30lbs. 18 reps left and right, 24 reps left and right
Quad Machine 30, 40, 50, and 60 lbs 24 reps.
Calf Machine 90 and 180 lbs Left and Right. Crap form on the 180. 24 reps 3 sets each leg and weight. Then 180lbs in tandem. 3 sets 24 reps.

1.5 hr cardio

35 minutes on the treadmill at about 5-5.5 mph. Didn't catch the distance (probably about 3 mi with cool down).
about 45 minutes on the elliptical trainer, I was reading and not entirely paying attention. Interval training setting, resistance at 13.
Last 10 minutes as a cool down on the recumbent bike.

8 minutes in the sauna and a shower.

[ScoobyDu]

So I had a super busy day today.

As a consequence I didn't get a lot of time at the gym.

Here's the redux

30 minutes on the treadmill (5.0 mph) 2.5 mph 610 Calories
33 minutes on the elliptical trainer (fat loss setting) alternating between 15/12/8 resistances--no crossramp on this particular machine

Screw ups:
I was in a late evening meeting and hadn't eaten. I ate 8 Oreos and some coffeemilk (think chocolate milk, only coffee). Super sugary snacks. I eventually went home and had a real dinner, but I feel a bit guilty. Well it's time for bed.

Here's a little bit more exposition. I tend to have the endurance thing down, so I'll work out for a long time, and usually see results. My diet tends to be another matter. As a consequence I'm okay as long as I'm working out a lot. Whenever that stops my weight goes sky high. Particularly when I'm out of town for work and eating on the company dime.

For some reason I think I'm missing out if I don't order myself a dessert. You've probably heard it all before so I'll spare you the excuses and just say that's one of my demons. I need to slay that one.

Tomorrow is equally, if not more busy. I may not be able to work out at all, but I'm certainly going to try to do something. Even if it's at home just before bed a little sit-up routine.

[ScoobyDu]

No time yesterday for a workout

Today was a crap day. 1 hour of arms lifting. I didn't have my notebook or my mp3 player. So I don't have any more details than that. I did the benchpress, pec dec, bicep curl, seated row, and lateral pull down but I have no weights or reps.

Going back tomorrow,

[Willie]

Are you following a particular weight-lifting program? Most experts (and, I think, the vast majority of folks around here) suggest that a full-body routine is far more effective for fat-loss than is an arms / back / chest / legs or a push / pull / legs split. In my own experience, this has proven to be absolutely true.

I heartily suggest that you invest in New Rules of Lifting.

Finally, and please take this with a tough-love grain of salt, we're all busy. That's life as an adult. But if you're committed to weight loss, you'll make time to exercise, period. I have a full time job, a part time job, and I'm in grad school, and most days I workout twice. It IS possible, even if it means 20 minutes on your living room floor. Look into body weight matrixes so that you won't need a lot of equipment. If nothing else, you can do:

push ups
cobra
bodyweight squats
plank
lunges
dips
dead lifts
burpees

There are a million other exercises you can do at home, but that list is a good start.

No more excuses!

[ScoobyDu]

Here's the redux from my notes, and I'll address your notes Willie.

Wednesday was busy at work and an e-board meeting, no formal workout. I did do my standard 20 minute constitutional at lunch, and about 200 sit-ups before bed.

Thursday was an arms/upper back day. I'm realizing the notes I took have only the machine number, and looking back that many days I can't recall what each was. Suffice to say Thursday was an arms day, but my form needed a lot of work. Repeated Friday with much better form, and a smidge more weight. Thursday Treadmill 35 mins, Elliptical 45 mins, seated bike 10. Friday, 65 minutes elliptical

No formalized workout Saturday. Working in the field. On the up side lots of stair climbing, the building is 12 floors and I had to keep going up and down from the grain delivery (11-12) to packaging (3-2).

Sunday. Cardio day. 65 minutes on the treadmill, and 45 on the elliptical.

Weigh in was Sunday instead of Friday since they were shooing me out of the place to close. 302. Down 2 lbs.

Now as for your notes Willie:

No I'm not following any organized routine. I'll look into the one you're suggesting.

I only noticed today that this forum seems to be for a gym in Arkansas. I'm in Michigan. I assume there's no problem with me participating here though. I don't really even know how I found it, probably a friend of a friend, of a friend.

Now as to "excuses" I hope from what I've typed above is clear I do get some workout one way or the other, but I tend to discount the value of at home exercise since I have significantly fewer measurements, minutes, Calories, resistence, etc. If you feel I should leave it then I will. But thanks for the tough love.

Worth noting that I've unfortunately been here before. After college I was 315 and spent a year getting my weight down to about 210 (I'm 6'6"), but due to my poor eating it went back up. I guess what I'm trying to say is if you want to offer tough love, it'll be more effective doing so at my diet, which I'm getting better at. Which reminds me I need to finish making my whole grain chicken quesadilla.

If there are two places I'm likely to "fall off the wagon" it's food or making these journal entries. The second I suppose I can deal with if it comes to it.

More later.

[Willie]

Originally Posted by ScoobyDu

Here's the redux from my notes, and I'll address your notes Willie.

Wednesday was busy at work and an e-board meeting, no formal workout. I did do my standard 20 minute constitutional at lunch, and about 200 sit-ups before bed.

Thursday was an arms/upper back day. I'm realizing the notes I took have only the machine number, and looking back that many days I can't recall what each was. Suffice to say Thursday was an arms day, but my form needed a lot of work. Repeated Friday with much better form, and a smidge more weight. Thursday Treadmill 35 mins, Elliptical 45 mins, seated bike 10. Friday, 65 minutes elliptical

No formalized workout Saturday. Working in the field. On the up side lots of stair climbing, the building is 12 floors and I had to keep going up and down from the grain delivery (11-12) to packaging (3-2).

Sunday. Cardio day. 65 minutes on the treadmill, and 45 on the elliptical.

Weigh in was Sunday instead of Friday since they were shooing me out of the place to close. 302. Down 2 lbs.

Now as for your notes Willie:

No I'm not following any organized routine. I'll look into the one you're suggesting.

I only noticed today that this forum seems to be for a gym in Arkansas. I'm in Michigan. I assume there's no problem with me participating here though. I don't really even know how I found it, probably a friend of a friend, of a friend.

Now as to "excuses" I hope from what I've typed above is clear I do get some workout one way or the other, but I tend to discount the value of at home exercise since I have significantly fewer measurements, minutes, Calories, resistence, etc. If you feel I should leave it then I will. But thanks for the tough love.

Worth noting that I've unfortunately been here before. After college I was 315 and spent a year getting my weight down to about 210 (I'm 6'6"), but due to my poor eating it went back up. I guess what I'm trying to say is if you want to offer tough love, it'll be more effective doing so at my diet, which I'm getting better at. Which reminds me I need to finish making my whole grain chicken quesadilla.

If there are two places I'm likely to "fall off the wagon" it's food or making these journal entries. The second I suppose I can deal with if it comes to it.

More later.

There are people here from all over the country; I'm in Seattle, myself.

And, the people here will help hold you accountable.

Diet is key, but a lot of the folks here know much more about that than I do. My rules are simple: I don't eat anything white or from a box / package. Nothing. And I eat lots and lots of protein.

Are your cardio sessions all steady state? Have you looked into any kind of interval training? Interval training is much more effective for fat loss and body composition than plain steady state.

I really, really recommend that you purchase New Rules.

[ScoobyDu]

@Willie:

Elliptical tends to be interval. I put it on the interval training, or manual, since the intervals for interval training seem too short to me (2 minutes). Treadmill will be steady state. I used to be able to get up early and do a fasting LISS but I haven't been getting to bed very early.

I recently read a book I strongly recommend called "The Eater's Manifesto" that talks about that to a certain degree. It gave me a whole different perspective on eating. His subtitle is "Eat Food. Not too much. Mostly plants" which left me wondering how you're getting protein on the plant idea, but his belief was that we're eating too much protein as it is. I'm not sure about that, but I definitely like his idea that we need to get away from eating what he calls "edible foodlike substance" or "things in a box"

Okay so here was today's routine.

Leg day. I know I'll get the book and read it, but this is what I'm doing for now. Bear with me.

45 degree hyperextension machine left and right side 10 and 12 lbs 24 reps. 15 lbs 16 reps. Next time's goal is 24 for that as well. Did back, 24 reps, then 16. Next time 2 or more sets of 24.

Glute/Ham machine 30lbs x 24 reps x 3 sets Next time's goal two sets, and a third at the next weight.

Quad machine 50lbs x 24 reps, 60 lbs x 24 reps x 3 sets. Next time start at 60, try 3 sets, then up to 70.

Calf machine 140lbs, Left and right single x 24 x3 sets.
180lbs both x24
230lbs both x24, then x48 x2 sets. Next time dial either the weight or the reps up faster.

Elliptical: 30 minutes on Cross-Training 1 setting 460 Cals. little break. 35 minutes on interval 4 minute intervals 10 crossramp 14 resistance, then 14 crossramp 10 resistance. 700 Cals.

Treadmilll 10 minutes at 3.5 ramp 4.5 speed 161 Cals.

Sauna and a shower. I want to fit some sit-ups in here but if I'm going to do them I have to sign off pretty soon.

Tomorrow is a meeting. I probably won't be able to hit the gym. Maybe I'll wake myself up early enough to do fasting LISS, but I'm likely to only get in the walk at lunch.

Peace...outside...

[ScoobyDu]

I did get up early today. 1 hour of fasting LISS on the treadmill 4.0 mph, w a 5 min cool down (not that it should probably be necessary at 4.0) 630 Cals.

[Willie]

You're not afraid of hard work, and that's great!

There are some people here who can explain this much better than I can, but I'll give it a go-- I think you are working too hard, for too long. Intervals should be SO intense that you can only do them for 20-30 minutes max (and at that, these would be longer intervals. HIIT can usually only go 20' max), and never AFTER lifting, for the duration you're lasting. You burn glycogen by lifting and doing intervals, and by the time you're lifting, doing cardio, and then intervals, you're literally starving yourself.

I'd check out the FAQ's on this forum and do some more looking around. At the very least, I might make these changes now:

1. Embrace a full-body lifting split. You can look at a number of different logs here to find ideas, if you haven't bought the book yet. You'll hit every major muscle group 3xweek this way, other than 1 muscle group 1 x per week.

2. Lift every 2nd, or even every 3rd day. Do not lift every day (I think you know this).

3. On the days that you don't lift, limit yourself to 30 minutes of intervals, and make those intervals as hard as you possibly can.

4. Buy a heart rate monitor to help you assess how hard you're working on the intervals.

5. Try one long steady state session a week. I know you like these, and I think they are ok simply for that reason. But this is not the best way to go about losing weight.

[ScoobyDu]

I ordered New Rules of Lifting from Amazon today. It should be arriving next week.

Quick recap of today: I had a long lunch meeting, the meal was pizza. I'm happy to report I held out, so... long. But it stretched until 5:30. Or what I like to call the Evil Meeting from Hell (TM). Eventually I caved and ate some pizza. Lots of meats, but one of those stuffed crust things that I'm sure was TERRIBLE for me.

Anyway today was a cardio day. I did 60 minutes of steady state on the treadmill. 5.0 mph 1067 cals. very slight incline. 5 minute cool down on 4.0 mph.

Then elliptical manual interval training. I got distracted by a baseball game, so instead of every 5 minutes alternating it was 5min, 5min, 11min, 11 min, 4min, 4min, 5min, 5min, 5min, etc. elevation at 10 w/ resistance at 15, followed by elevation of 16 with resistance at 10. Cool down elevation and resistance both at 10. Calories 1267.

Sauna, shower, and out the door.

@Willie:

I want to try some of your ideas. My only problem is that, I previously lost about 100 lbs doing it this way, before gaining nearly all of it back due to my poor diet, and not exercising. So I'm stepping out of my comfort zone to change my ritual (upper body/cardio, cardio, lower body/cardio, Tuesday's off day with possible morning steady state) routine.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that changing my routine so much is probably something I'm going to have to ease into. Since I'm a little obsessive-compulsive changes to my established patterns can take time for me to adopt. I'm going to consciously try to move to something like this. I just ask that you be a little patient with me. It's entirely possible that I'll wind up cutting over as soon as I hit a plateau and feel like I've got nothing to lose by switching things up. That's when I've traditionally altered my routine.

[Willie]

Scooby--
Just the fact that you're doing it at all, is great. Really. You certainly should not apologize for doing things your way. A lot of the people on here, though, can tell you that you CAN exercise and eat right, and have great results, with much less time expenditure than what you're doing now.

For example, the intervals create what is called EPOC-- excess post-exercise oxygen consumption. For normal people like you and me, this means that after we do intervals, our metabolism will stay elevated for up to 24 hours. So if you do an hour of steady state, you might burn 1000 cals, but when you're done, your metabolism returns to normal almost immediately. However, if you do 30 minutes of intervals, you may only burn 500 calories, but your body will continue burning calories at an elevated rate long after you've stepped off the machine.

I believe this is explained in NROL (and I won't do it justice here), but according to Lou and Alwyn, you should do intervals FIRST, for 30 minutes max, and then rest 5 minutes (something about free radicals) and THEN do your steady state. Maybe that is one change you can make to your routine that's pretty small, but could bring some noticeable results.

[ScoobyDu]

Well Yesterday I did some lifting, and resisted the urge to get on the elliptical. I left at 7:30 instead of 8:30. I kind of felt like I was cheating, but we'll see. I'm wondering, would it be a problem if I did my intervals in the morning, and then lifted at night? Just thinking out loud.

So yesterday was Arms day.
Tricep machine 50lbs.-24 reps (slight pinch pain in elbow), 60lbs - 6 reps (sharp pinch pain in elbow) decided to put that one away, in favor of the seated row which was a little more gentle on my elbow.

Seated Row
80lbs. 24 reps x 3 sets, 90lbs. 18 reps.

returned to the Tri machine
60lbs. 24 reps x 3 sets, 3rd was particularly tough, form went to hell. No pain though.

Seated shoulder press
30lbs. 18 reps, 14 reps, 16 reps Goal at least 18x3

Seated Bench Press
90lbs. 24 reps x 2 sets, 16 reps Goal: 24x3

Pec Deck
70lbs. 18 reps, 13 reps, 12 reps. Terrible form. Try lowering weight.

Lateral raise Trap machine
15 on each arm, 8 reps.
10 on each arm, 16 reps. x2 sets, 13 reps. Goal 16 or 18 reps x 3 sets

[Willie]

Originally Posted by ScoobyDu

Well Yesterday I did some lifting, and resisted the urge to get on the elliptical. I left at 7:30 instead of 8:30. I kind of felt like I was cheating, but we'll see. I'm wondering, would it be a problem if I did my intervals in the morning, and then lifted at night? Just thinking out loud.

Training twice a day could potentially lead, someday, to overtraining, but if you plan well and sleep / eat right, you can split your workouts up like that. I almost always workout twice per day.

[ScoobyDu]

I have a visitor for the week, so I haven't been able to get to the gym. We're still getting a little exercise, we walked a nature trail (about 3 miles.) I probably won't be posting much until next week.

[stingo]

I'll second Kate's (Willie) suggestions: read NROL - even if you don't do the workouts in it (masterpieces from the mind of Alwyn Cosgrove), it will give you a lot of information about what's effective and what's not in terms of achieving your goals.

[ScoobyDu]

My visitor is gone. I'm going back to the gym tonight. NROL arrived Thursday, and I'm hoping to set down with it tonight.

[Willie]

Originally Posted by ScoobyDu

My visitor is gone. I'm going back to the gym tonight. NROL arrived Thursday, and I'm hoping to set down with it tonight.

Enjoy! Can't wait to hear your review!