Whipping a Friend into Shape

I'm also trying to get into shape.

Tonight I'm going to do a 1 hour "Hillbilly Spin" class that is brutal. Mostly I've been running at least every-other-day for the last two months. About one-and-a-quarter mile at a time.

My diet would be considered healthy by most, but I drink my share of beer and loves me some cheese and noodles (not huge on meats, pork's pretty much all I eat besides seafood).

I'm mostly focussing on cardio to burn off the fat. Strength training will follow after I get in a good routing and start dropping some pounds and, more importantly, gaining some stamina.

I'm no expert...so I hope my plan works out.

You cant make him do anything. Just be supportive. He has to genuinely want this for himself.

The strict diets are a joke, anyone who eats that way must lead a pretty boring life or is training for the olympics or something big. The rest of us average joes need not apply. Its best to learn to estimate calories and fat, read labels and serving sizes carefully for a while until you get a good grasp of being able to estimate what it is you are eating no matter if you have nutritional facts or not.

For weight loss and overall health cardio is where its at. I hate running with a passion but I go 2-3 times a week because I love what it does for me, an Ipod makes it bearable. Its also free basically except for some good shoes and can be done at any time or place. Bike riding when its warm is way more fun but I'm a wuss when it comes to the cold, so I don't rely on that, running in the cold I handle better. If he just does resistance training stuff with you he's likely going to gain weight not loose.

I do weights 2-3x a week also. I just have a cheap adjustable back bench and some dumbells that fold up and go in the laundry room when not in use. I workout in front of the TV at home, again no cost after the initial bit for some supplies and there are no excuses for not making it to your workout because you are already there.

He needs to figure out things he can do on his own that he will actually do. He can continue the 1 day/week at the gym with you and maybe try some climbing with you but the rest he will need to do on his own. If he's geeky graphs and charts to keep track of schedules and progress are fun. Also joining an online community is good for more support, I watched other weight loss videos and even posted some of my own on youtube when I was focused on my goal last year. sparkpeople.com is a neat site for communicating and tracking things health and weight loss related.

I'm just starting to get back in shape after a pretty long hiatus.. just started an offseason wrestling (grappling) workout last week. All body weight, big barbell lifts, and some dumbell exercises with some jump rope and running thrown in.

I'm going to pitch him the idea of getting a set of used freeweights, rather than a full gym membership. More convenient, and ultimately less expensive.

Salanis wrote: /Even better, is that I can possibly use it to motivate/guilt my girlfriend into working out a little more often. /use it to motivate/guilt my girlfriend into working out a little more often. /guilt my girlfriend into working out a little more often.

Friend, that road is going to end poorly. Have that T-shirt.

It's ok, she turned out to be a heinous bitch anyway

Osterizer wrote:

Salanis wrote: /Even better, is that I can possibly use it to motivate/guilt my girlfriend into working out a little more often. /use it to motivate/guilt my girlfriend into working out a little more often. /guilt my girlfriend into working out a little more often.

Friend, that road is going to end *poorly*. Have that T-shirt. *It's ok, she turned out to be a heinous bitch anyway*

My girlfriend is fortunately not a heinous bitch. Stubborn, but generally not bitchy. And she does actually have a gym membership and goes climbing too (and she's doing her second track day in a week). She's just isn't quite going often enough to see substantive improvements in her climbing.

She'll be more motivated to go by people other than me.

Salanis wrote:

Osterizer wrote:

Salanis wrote: /Even better, is that I can possibly use it to motivate/guilt my girlfriend into working out a little more often. /use it to motivate/guilt my girlfriend into working out a little more often. /guilt my girlfriend into working out a little more often.

Friend, that road is going to end *poorly*. Have that T-shirt. *It's ok, she turned out to be a heinous bitch anyway*

My girlfriend is fortunately not a heinous bitch. Stubborn, but generally not bitchy. And she does actually have a gym membership and goes climbing too (and she's doing her second track day in a week). She's just isn't quite going often enough to see substantive improvements in her climbing. She'll be more motivated to go by people other than me.

Oh, I'm sure she's not. I'mma just saying, that using guilt will lead to disaster.

Osterizer wrote: Oh, I'm sure she's not. I'mma just saying, that using guilt will lead to disaster.

Fair enough. Perhaps "guilting" her is the wrong verb.

But like many things, I understand that she accepts advice better from other people (driving is perhaps the only thing I can safely coach her on), and will be more motivated to show up for people other than me.

We actually now have a female friend who wants to go climbing regularly. That should really help motivate her.

I can't add anything other than I am at least 50lbs overweight,and would like to change that. However I have yet to do anything about it other than playing volleybal,and hockey once a week throughout the winter as I have for many years. I was out walking/jogging every morning during the fall,but I have given up on that.

My biggest problems are over eating,and lack of motivation at times. Couple those "excuses" with a busy life raising two young boys,a full time,sometimes odd hour job,and a wife that works some nights,and you get the picture. I desperatly want to do something about it,but my wifes cooking,shopping habits(she buys stuff that I know I shouldn't eat,but I like,and she knows it),and all my "excuses" have not really sparked anything solid yet.

I was always thin,and even at times under weight when I was young,but not anymore. If I can get into shape I think one of the benefits may be I could kick my asthma,as it is almost non-existant from 10+ years away from my parents smoke filled home,and better drugs. I used to have a "rescue" inhaler last 2-3 weeks when I was a kid,and now they last 3-4 months,and I throw them out mainly due to the age of them,not due to them being used up.

Hey Derek,could you help out a local fat guy?

Thanks Derek,

Good to see you are a Verizon customer. I am an employee,so I thank you. I think a fellow GRM'er,and friend of mine still has a treadmill that has become a coat rack. I could probably get it free,so maybe that would be a start.

derekshannon wrote: Just for some background, I've been a strength coach for over 12 years now and I run my own (small) gym. I love the advice already given. Looks like you're already in good hands. I'll first say that it is great that 1) you are taking an interest in your friend's health and 2) that he is doing something toward getting back into shape. I need to say, however that unless he plans on doing things outside the gym such as (working up to) sprints/hill sprints, bodyweight exercises and other fitness activities, one day at the gym is most certainly not enough. I understand that you mentioned some other activities but as was stated already, building lean mass should be a priority. And I'd certainly have to agree on the basics. My motto has always been "If you don't squat, you're not working out" even if that means bodyweight squats for now. I'd do my best to get him to the gym at LEAST twice per week if--and only if--he's very active outside the gym. There's a TON of great stuff here that'll get him/you started if the plan is to get "fit" rather than adding lots of muscle. http://www.military.com/fitness-center/military-fitness/stew-smith/archive And above all else, eating is of utmost importance. This is the best advice I can give. It comes from Dr. John Berardi who I always fall back on when working out my own nutrition plans. The 7 Rules of Good Nutrition Here’s my take on it. I call these principles, "The 7 Rules of Good Nutrition." These aren’t the newest techniques from the latest cutting-edge plan. Rather, they are simple, time-tested, no nonsense habits that you need to get into when designing a good eating program. 1. Eat every 2-3 hours, no matter what. You should eat between 5-8 meals per day. 2. Eat complete (containing all the essential amino acids), lean protein with each meal. 3. Eat fruits and/or vegetables with each food meal. 4. Ensure that your carbohydrate intake comes from fruits and vegetables. Exception: workout and post-workout drinks and meals. 5. Ensure that 25-35% of your energy intake comes from fat, with your fat intake split equally between saturates (e.g. animal fat), monounsaturates (e.g., olive oil), and polyunsaturates (e.g. flax oil, salmon oil). 6. Drink only non-calorie containing beverages, the best choices being water and green tea. 7. Eat mostly whole foods (except workout and post-workout drinks). So what about calories, or macronutrient ratios, or any number of other things that I’ve covered in other articles? The short answer is that if you aren’t already practicing the above-mentioned habits, and by practicing them I mean putting them to use over 90% of the time (i.e., no more than 4 meals out of an average 42 meals per week violate any of those rules), everything else is pretty pointless. Moreover, many people can achieve the health and the body composition they desire following these 7 rules alone. No kidding! In fact, with some of my clients I spend the first few months just supervising their adherence to these 7 rules—an effective but costly way to learn them. Ok, this is me writing again... PS, I've had three people come to train with me after having gotten injured doing CrossFit. There apparently was no "scaling" and most likely poor coaching in the Olympics lifts and thier varients. It all can be good stuff if coached properly but that seems to be pretty rare nowadays.

Wow... that is the strictest diet I've ever seen!!! I mean, I not out of shape by any means... the last couple years of college have kept me out of the gym as much but now that I've graduated I've been back.

How is it at all possible to follow that diet without being super rich and having your own dishwasher or doing dishes all day??? The fruits are nice and easy... but how do you get 8 meals of lean protein containing all essential amino acids from whole foods every day????!

Swallow whole fish.

Canned tuna or just buy a ton of chicken and grill it up and just carry it around with you in a cooler.

That's a pretty funny image.

Also, I do a lot of pavement running... if you plan on running in any decent quantity, I recommend going to a dedicated running store and getting a shoe that fits how you walk. Basically, the employee will ask you to walk or run, and they will examine how you step. You may pay more (I paid about $70 for mine), but it gives me a little more peace of mind, and I know I will get a decent amount of mileage out of them.

Other than shoes, running is a pretty cheap hobby. I have a few pairs of running shorts, and a fake long sleeve Underarmor shirt and gloves for when it's cold. a $25 mp3 player pretty much completes my running gear.

On the subject of diet, I've adopted the philosophy of not worrying about what not to eat, and paying attention to what I should eat. So, rather than fretting over "how many calories are in that desert," I instead try to make sure I get all the basic vitamins, minerals, and proteins that I need. Then I just pay attention to what my body tells me. I eat when I'm hungry, and stop when I'm full.

Mostly I'm just good at figuring out what my body is telling me I need, food-wise.

I agree. Tonight my body told me that it needed pork ribs with a side of collard greens and macaroni and cheese, and I complied. It's fine as long as this isn't every meal every day.

+1 on Crossfit. I've gained about 4-5 lbs after 6 weeks of doing it and lost an inch off of my waist. Incredible results and oh so much fun to do good form olympic lifts!

Someone told me once that people will do anything to lose weight except eat right and exercise.