Please tell me I am wrong!
I have now been with the VA’s MOVE program for about 4 months, and I am ready to quit! When I signed up for this, it sounded really good, and the name, MOVE, implies action, but, so far, all I have seen or heard, are discussions on portion size, and hearing questions and answers that are just so absolutely basic, I feel like I have stepped into an elementary school classroom! I am sorry, common sense will tell you, fried chicken is worse than boiled chicken, fresh green beans are better than canned, and steaming them in water, is better than sauteing them in butter, simple stuff, right?
When I signed up, I had some sort of fantasy that the group really wanted to MOVE and get results, that we could go to the gym, even a fitness center, something, but no, the big MOVE event for next month is a walk in the park, literally, well, ok, that is some sort of action, but, unfortunately for me, the ROI is not worth it. What I mean is, I can only walk a very short distance, like maybe 100 yards, before the pain is so intense I have to sit. However, if it is to walk into the gym, then sit on a bench, do an exercise that actually does something besides get your shoes dirty, it would be worth it. Walking or standing are the two things I have to limit, I only can walk so far, total in one day, or I am stuck on the sofa for a day or two! If we were going to the gym, the benefits of that type of exercise, would make up for the pain, I would be getting a Return On my Investment, just walking, all I get is the pain and zero benefit.
I know that most of the folks in my MOVE group are much older than I, but, weight training is good for everyone, walking is about the least valuable of all exercises, if the same amount of effort is applied to weight training, the benefits will far exceed what one gets from a walk, as far as I am concerned, walking is only good for getting from the car to the free weights in the gym. Yes, there is a bit of cardio involved with walking FAST, but your heart gets a workout with weights too.
What is the whole point? Gaining lean weight (muscle), will increase your body’s ability to burn fat, even when you sleep, walking is only good for burning a few calories at that given time, and the muscles used for walking, will get used to that stress very quickly, and unless you start carrying weight, while you walk, you will peek in just a couple of days. If that is all that the MOVE program is about, it is not worth the gas money to get there.
Gym Etiquette: Peace and Quiet or Grunt and Groan?
March 1, 2010 by CarpetGuy · 2 Comments
Have you ever been in the middle of a set, and someone close by, is making loud grunts and groans, then you see that the weight that person is using, is not enough to even warm up with?
This happened to me today, there was this young guy, maybe 20 or so, and in great shape, who was doing a set of bench press, and he had a 35 on each side of the bar, along with 3 of those little bitty things, like 2.5 pounds or something, and he was grunting as if he had 500 lbs on the bar! Luckily, I had already finished my heavy set, before he added the second pair of tiny plates to the bar. I was doing a set of dumbbell pullovers, then the grunting started, and since I had seen what the kid had on the bar, I lost my focus and laughed so hard I almost dropped the 75 lb dumbbell on my head! Thinking that the noise would soon stop, I waited, but, the kid added that third tinker-toy to the bar, and did another set with his massive 130 lb load, while making even louder grunts and groans, the only thing missing was the usual fart that accompanies that much effort, when he finished that set, after all of that noise, I would have thought him to be done, but no, I saw him grab 2 more of those plates, that honestly could be used for key chains, I was sitting there, my towel over my face laughing, I couldn’t take it any more!
I wasn’t the only one, there were two or three others also laughing, one guy, doing dumbbell shoulder presses, dropped his and almost fell off the bench he was sitting on. I couldn’t take it anymore, I didn’t want to embarrass the kid, had I stayed any longer, I would have wet myself laughing! I couldn’t even finish my workout, I had lost my focus, and laughing zaps my strength, so I just called it a day and left.
The moral of the story is simple, if you are a “vocal” person, and train in a setting where others have to hear you, keep it down, anyone can see the weight you have on the bar, and unless it is heavy, keep your little girl sound effects to yourself, it is just rude, funny, but rude.
Gym Etiquette: Flirting and Training, a big no no!
Gym Etiquette is one of those things that have “evolved” over time. Back in the day, throwing plates, chalk bags or even dumbbells was a normal thing. Getting mad that you missed a lift, or something was out of place was common. This was also a time when girls were not often found in a gym, but when they were, they were serious about training. Women almost always hung out in those “girly” places, like “spas”, and then “fitness centers”, but now, even a “Gym” like Golds, is nothing more than a fitness center, I often wonder if Joe Gold saw that coming back in the day, I doubt it.
Anyway, here we are in the present, and today, I just almost had to have a talk with one of the trainers. I have no idea what the exercise is called that he was attempting to teach this little girl, but between the two of them, there was more talking, and flirting, than training going on. What is the problem with that? Well, for one, it ties up the equipment, and another, it makes the trainer look like he has lost control of the trainee. Yes, I said it, control!
When at the gym, it should be all about the training, not flirting. Even though in this case, it was the girl, not the trainer, that was starting the “small talk”, but, his lack of control was obvious. When he would attempt to teach, the girl would dodge the lesson and move on to how she came to the gym 6 days a week or more. To be honest, that girl could go the gym 100 days a week and never get a workout! I’m sorry if I sound too strict, but, by not keeping the girl focussed on training, he was wasting her time, time she is paying for! Being nice is not a good quality for a trainer, a trainer should be tough, and rigid, otherwise it shows a bad example, goofing around, joking, flirting and anything else that distracts you, or anyone else, from the work at hand is just wrong!
Now that I am Motivated, what do I do?
Once you have made the decision to get up and do something, no matter how “uncomfortable” you may feel, or how much it “hurts”, you want to get in shape, and you want it now, what is the next step?
Is your diet in control? If so, what do you want to do? What activity gives you the most pleasure? Ok, I can hear the replies to that one, but yes, even sex can help you, but, make sure you are healthy enough, and that your partner is ok with it. My point is, if you have a favorite activity, do it! For me, it is the gym and heavy iron, even though I have over three decades of training under my belt, I have to start slow, and so do you, otherwise, you may hurt yourself and have to start all over again.
I don’t know what caused you to get out of shape, I know my reasons, and I know how complicated that subject can get, there are just so many variables involved, like injury, illness, financial, marital, the list goes on an on, but what ever the problems were, if you have now made the decision to get fit, good for you, and yes, you can do it!
If you enjoy winter activities like snow boarding or skiing, you don’t want to just go get on a slope and go, just like any activity, you have to start slow, but, for over-all fitness, regardless of your “target”, like skiing , the gym is a great place to start. Again, start slow, and work your way up.
The main point is, once you are motivated and have made that firm, un-movable decision, without any doubt, just get up and do something! For some people, the swimming pool has been reccomended as a starting point, and that is a great place to start, it can help you get stronger and increase your mobility without putting as much stress on old painful injuries, but unless swimming is your thing, it may get old, once you have gotten all you can get from it. What do I mean by that? Let’s use a dumbbell for an example, like in the picture. Do you see that little bitty one on the top right of the rack? That looks like a two pounder, if you were to use that and do curls with it, how long would it be until it felt like you have nothing in your hand? With the dumbbells, you simply move to the next heavier one, then the next and so on. With a swimming pool, once you have overcome the set resistance of walking, treading water or whatever, there is no place to go, but get faster at those activities, yes, playing games and such can be fun, but unless you do it an awful lot, you will plateau, and your progress will seem to stop. No, I am not saying the pool is bad, but I am saying, that is just one tool, add a few more for even better results.
Just don’t let whatever you like get boring, boredom is probably the worst enemy, so keep it fun! If you do that, you will see the results you are looking for! You can do it, one step, one rep, and one bite at a time!
Which is your favorite gym or fitness center?
I have trained at so many different gyms, I could not even begin to list them, I think there were three where I lived in Germany, and probably twenty to thirty, maybe more, here in Texas, and two in Tampa Florida, needless to say, I am an Iron Head, I believe in heavy weights, and sadly, many gyms no longer offer such a thing and have replaced iron with treadmills and stair steppers and such, which are all useful, but way down on the scale of importance to me, I would rather have 150-200 pound dumbbells!
I am now training (working out) at Gold’s Gym, College Station, Texas, and I have to say, in today’s world of “Fitness Centers”, Gold’s is right at the top, they have dumbbells up to 120 pounds, I think, It will be a while before I am using the heavy ones any way, probably six months or so. Gold’s in College Station, does not have a pool or racquet ball or any of that stuff, and I have no use for that anyway, and it keeps the kids off of my squat rack! Really, those “Fitness Centers” have so many people just going there to play, get a date, or kill time hanging out with friends, they are a distraction, when I am in the Gym, it is me and the iron, nothing else matters.
When it comes to my favorite gym, I would have to say Costa’s, in Houston, before they closed the location where I was training and I had to go to the main one. That gym was tiny, but, had plenty of weight, in racks all over the place, and very few of the “girly” machines that are no good for anything but taking up space, and dumbbells up to 200 pounds. I also trained at a ruthlessly brutal gym in Germany, where almost everybody was so “roided out” it was scary, but I loved it.
I have to drive 45 minutes just to get to a town that has a Gym of any kind, and there are but two choices, Gold’s and Aerofit, and about ten years ago, I got kicked out of Aerofit for breaking the ancient leg press they had then, and probably still do now, by putting too much weight on it, all I did was load it up with maybe 800 pounds and it derailed! Golds has an awesome leg press, back in the day, it was a “Neptune 2000″, I think it is the same machine, but the sticker is gone, anyway, it has four spindles on the sides for weight and in a year or so, I will see if it can still hold 2000 pounds. All of the people who I have talked to there seem very nice and helpful, and the way they have the workout areas set up, it is divided into sections, “girly” machines, circuit training, some kind of aerobics class room (or whatever they call it now), then dumbbells along one wall, with the heavy ones on the end, which is also the area where the good stuff is located, like the squat racks, deadlift platform and leg press and such. I am very happy there, and, they just opened a “Smoothie Bar”, if you like that kind of stuff.
If you are in my area, and need a training partner, let me know, and I will be glad to share what I know and love, Iron!
Where are you and where are you going?
Where you are is only important as long as you let it be, just get off the couch and do something, only then will you will be able to see where you are going!
I have been much like the guy in this picture, proud of the past, feeling like I was still on top, while pushing myself further and further away from it, by guzzling beer and eating anything and everything. I threw my trophies away years ago, and I had boxes of them, I had been the best, and a great baseball player when I was a kid, all the way up to High School, but I quit, because I “grew up” , drinking and girls were more fun than baseball, and getting paid to play a game, never crossed my mind, baseball was for kids, and I was a man.
By the time reality caught up with me, I had stopped working out, and I had my first weight set when I was eleven, weight training was very important to me, baseball wasn’t, but, I had quit both of them! Since I wasn’t a baseball star anymore, the girls went away too, I was too busy working, and really needed a change, so, I joined the Army. Why? Because I knew I needed a good kick in the butt and felt that the Army could give it to me! History repeats itself, if you let it, and I did.
This time, it was not all my fault, I got hurt, to the point I couldn’t stand for more than about five minutes, the pain was and is incredible, I tried to train through it, I was not about to let myself get fat again, but, I did. Now, after signing up with the VA to get some help, and 4 years of CT scans, X-rays, and doctor visits, after being informed that my problem was permanent and would never go away, I had earned it, the neurologist told me. I had raced Mountain Bikes, downhill was my event, I had been a runner, trained at more than marathon distances, and now, I have the spikes growing out of my spine to prove it! The doctor told me that all the crashes, and pounding from running, not to mention the tonnage I had lifted in my life, had given me a spine that normally takes over seventy years to get, and that is a very active, almost crazy like Evil Knievel, kind of active, and had gotten fat on top of it all.
Once I knew my pain would never go away, I gave up hope that I would ever get back in the gym, or compete at anything ever again, I felt like the world had come to an end, all I had left was the glory days, pain pills, my computer, TV, beer and food. When I got hurt, it was stupid, I stubbed my toe, and in the jerking to keep my balance, I had done something, that still is with me, proof that you just never know. At that time, I was in pretty good shape, I am 5′ 7″ and then weighed 275 pounds with a 36″ waist, bench pressing up to 495 pounds, squatting up to 705 pounds, and doing dead-lifts of about 405 pounds, but, that was over, and I now weigh 282 pounds with a 50″ waist.
My biggest frustration, is now, my biggest motivation, every time someone tells me that if I lost weight, my back would feel better, I felt like punching them, because I was really trying, had cut my beer consumption down to almost nothing, a 12 pack a month, eating soup and vegetables and hardly ever any junk, but, I was totally inactive, pain was winning, and I knew that I needed more activity, but walking is my biggest enemy, so, what could I do?
I have decided to just suck it up, and get my fat self back in the gym, no matter how bad it hurts, and how many people look at me funny when I walk in the door! Walking, or even standing for more than a few minutes is out of the question, but, I can sit, and squats only take a couple of minutes per set, then I can sit and wait for the pain to subside before my next set. My doctor had used my anger, and embarrassment to motivate me, and I signed up for the MOVE program, I need to thank him. Now, I know where I am going! I don’t care about weight, I need to lose fat, and I know how to do that, get back to the iron!