FocusCanada Forums

How've you guys been making out in your fitness endeavours?

I got back to hardcore working out late last year, super-dedicated as of January when I got my gym membership back at 22 Wing.

I've gone from about 180lbs, 13-14% body fat (or a bit more) to about 8-9% body fat, almost 200lbs.

I've been following MuscleHack.com for my training regimen, eating advice and using Mark McManus's training logs (the creator and owner of MuscleHack.com) to track my progress. I can't recommend it enough, and the vast majority of the content on the site is free. You can do all of the free programs in the downloadable e-book without spending a cent at the site. Lots of good recipies there too.

If you're looking for a no-gimmicks way to get healthier in every way, check it out: MuscleHack.com

I guess I should attach a pic eh? I make the funniest faces when working out. :/

Fear the plaid shorts! LOL

Things have not been so productive for myself unfortunately.

When I got off my crazy pills last year I started putting on weight, and put on 40lbs over 6 months. I still kept up my running, and completed the Mississauga Half Marathon in 2:16, 8 minutes slower (and 30lbs heavier) than the year before.

The summer was off to a decent start-- got a new mountainbike, and was running, playing vball, and biking a lot...

And then the wheels fell off my wagon.

I started suffering some unbelievable anxiety attacks over the summer, tried some new medications that made things insufferably worse -- all while travelling for work in Italy. Turns out I also suffer from bad acid reflux that's eroded portions of my esophagus -- the sort of things that lead to cancer if not caught early enough.

I somehow managed to do my job to completion, lose a few pounds, got off the meds that were causing the bad voodoo and am going through some rigorous vascular assessments to make sure it's not my heart or arteries. Don't get me wrong, I feel like crap, but if it's just a chemical imbalance in my head, I'll feel better about working out again at least.

So I haven't ran or worked out in 2 months... but started light with changing tires on two cars yesterday... just mild dizziness..

The short of it is -- my year started off strong, but went downhill quickly. I still feel like I'm dying, but I'm slightly more comfortable about working out again -- so hope to get out for a run and start the long rehabilitation process once again tomorrow.

And of course, pray to God I can hold it together long enough to improve my situation.

I'm cautiously optimistic.

Weight seems to have crept up a tad here, to an even 200lbs but it's staying pretty stable around there, so I'm not panicking.

Still following the EA Sports Active program on the Wii, may buy the new version, but I'm caught between buying the Wii version or trying the PS3 version instead (But IIRC the PS3 version requires you to have the Move accessory which I don't have yet)

NefCanuck

After visiting the doctor back in February, my blood test result showed numbers that were going in the wrong direction (risk of diabetes, high cholesterol, etc.) My doctor told me to either reduce my weight, waist size and start a regular exercise routine with proper eating habits or risk being put a lifetime regiment of prescription medication.

Since I hate taking any kind of medication I took the doctor's advice and starting exercising and eating right. I actually began working out with the WII Fit (It told me that I was obese!) and then added the treadmill and weight machine.

Now I am 35 lbs lighter and down 2 pant sizes. I purchased a belt back in February for what I thought was my regular size. I barely fit into the first notch. Now I am fitting into the last notch.

jesus vinnie.

I'm glad you've spun it around.

I myself have made a 180 in my lifestyle due to a diagnosis of gout and poor liver counts.
Fun stuff I tell ya. I'll drink a glass of red and 2 days later I cant walk for a week. It's horrible
My blood tests came back a little out of whack last week and now I'm being looked at for diabetes as well.
Back in for tests next week.
A total wake up call on all fronts.

so I've been to a nutritionist and am now on a diet. A strict diet of nothing unhealthy. My wife and i tossed 4 grocery bags of unhealthy food last week. Our cupboards look like something out of a health food store. Whole wheat pasta? WTF?

I've started light walking and will hopefully graduate to a jog soon. I just wish I had someone I could work out or walk with to make this easier.

glad to hear you're taking care of yourself there Tony. Hope we can get out running soon .

Been going to the gym 4-5 times a week plus hockey.
Dropped from 178lbs to 160lbs. I'm more lean then anything. But not complaining.

Jesus boys, that's a bad break of luck right there

Steve - it's good to hear you have a handle on it now. I remember you mentioning it before and how it seemed you were going downhill FAST overseas. No fun there.

Dan - you're to be commended bud. You're dealt a heavier hand than most so to keep at it is not easy.

Vince - it's been a while since I've seen you, bud, but it's good to hear you're working out! Keep at it, your body will thank you.

Anthony - wow. I haven't heard of anyone getting diagnosed with that in some time. Make sure that your steps into working out are gradual once you're cleared for it. Small increments make a big change over time. You'll get there.

Any amount of conditioning / exercise isn't bad for you. All of you guys should have your heads high as you're each dealing with what you've got in a good way.

Nik - doin' good bud Now go download Mark's ebooks and get on the GLAD diet. You'll just start slabbing the muscle on. Good lean muscle too.

Im still drinking beer.

(11-09-2010, 12:27 AM)Flofocus Wrote: [ -> ]Im still drinking beer.

bahahahahaha so am I.

um, im nowhere near any of you guys... I'm in the early stages of trying to get my heart pumping again, just trying to stay moving lol.

(11-09-2010, 12:27 AM)Flofocus Wrote: [ -> ]Im still drinking beer.

You're a new dad, you're excused.

My end has been at a stand still. I do reps of 20 each of movement I can think of for my arm and chest. Cut the coffee truck food some of the fast food. But went from 265lbs to 245lbs in a month. Stress played a good part there lol.

But i have plans on thining out and building my mid section up and toning my arms to show the muscle. Call it a winter project lol.

Here goes nothing, I'd like to be 220lbs by spring.

PS Wii Fit does not work lol Summer Project failed**

Just an update here and a question:

While I was out buying my tax prep software for this year, grabbed the EA Sports Active 2 for the PS3 and set it up.

The Good

No more farking around with the frigging Nunchuk on the Wii version and nearly killing myself. Instead the program uses wireless monitors that are tracked by a USB dongle on the PS3 (three in total, two for movement on the arms, the left one also is a heart monitor and one on the right leg) which makes doing resistance band exercises much easier for me (easier to hold just a resistance band in my right hand instead of a resistance band and a game controller)

Much wider variety of exercises to be had and a choice of either a two week guided program or a nine week one (I'm starting the nine week plan on Monday)

The Bad

Much harder (if not impossible at this point, the instruction manual makes it totally unclear) to skip exercises during a session, though you can delete them before the session starts if you know you can't do an exercise, but with new exercises and new exercise names it's going to be trial and error for the first while for me as to what I can and can't do.

Crafting a custom workout music track is so far a needlessly complicated thing (have to copy all the music to the PS3 HDD first, no grabbing it from a media server on the fly) might be the only reason I break down and crack the thing open to add a bigger HDD

Remember I mentioned those wireless monitors? Each of them needs two AAA batteries, so that's 6 in total. Looks like another batch of rechargeable batteries is on the shopping list.

Final impressions

Did a workout today to run the system (and me) through its paces. Cranked the intensity back down to medium and a good thing I did. Even while steadily using the original EA Sports Active at high intensity, after the 30 minute session with the new version I was spent and then some.

Assuming the heart rate monitor is doing its job (it had my resting heart rate at 80 odd BPM so I'm assuming its right) I was hitting 170BPM at my peak levels in the exercises I could fully take part in.

So my question is: Is anyone else planning to grab this? One of the other key features is the "online community" where folks can join "workout groups" and track each others progress. Might be interesting to see.

NefCanuck

Dan how much was it?

I myself have really taken to swimming. I've started on once/week and will slowly be going up to 2, 3, 4 and 5 times a week. I'm liking that when I am done my hour of lapping and treading water, my arms and legs feel heavy and tired. I suppose it means I'm doing something right.

My goal, atm, is to be able to play squash again. I want to be able to play a few games of it without falling over and dying of lack of oxygen. Also, I tend to swim rather quickly just because I'm awful at pacing myself. Problem is that I tire myself out quickly... so instead of taking a break I just do another few laps and then rotate some water treading in it. I'd like to be able to do a steady set of laps without having to stop too.

In about 2 or less weeks time, I lost 12lbs. I nearly crapped myself when I saw it on the scale too, I had put it off for a week because I forgot to weigh myself when I had swam the time before.
Might help that I've severely cut out fast food and junk food.

It was $59 + tax at Best Buy. It comes with the monitors and batteries and a resistance strap, but I would suggest buying a better resistance band at a fitness store because the ones that comes with the program will be stretched out and useless within six months (at least that was my experience with the original program and the resistance band it came with)

NefCanuck

I bench press 200lbs now, I'm 155lbs in weight.

200 lbs for someone 155 is awesome. *thumbs up*

How do I get an update in without sounding like an infomercial?

I can't, so whatever.

I'm a total of 18 months in on my buddy Mark McManus's THT workouts. The last 3/4 of a year especially I've been working my self really, really hard. I gave up a LOT of bad food and just unneeded food.

In the last 12 months especially, I've seen some big progress. So, to save space and your eyeballs, just go check out my new blog - admittedly, it's a work-in-progress:

http://tht4me.blogspot.com

I'm honestly not sure which phase I'm more proud of, from the beginning to last June, or from then until now.

On a side note, it took me no less than the full 18 months to get rid of the last "pocket" of belly fat that I had over my bottom two abs. It was noticeable before all this when standing (with my shirt off) and coupled with my lack of muscle and tone it was honestly depressing.

I'm still going too, starting my next cycle in just under 2 weeks.

http://www.musclehack.com - that's where I get everything I use.

(11-09-2010, 12:27 AM)Flofocus Wrote: [ -> ]Im still drinking beer.

^^ LOL! Prick!

How's the fam? Yes, I'm still heading down for that block and crank (unless your shed's totally snowed in now). Finally got my Exchange 2010 project buttoned up.