My Rant about the Fitness Oriented Lifestyle

OK, so I used to be a competitive bodybuilder, at least as a teen. I did three shows, the last one occurring when I was 19 in 1992, placing 2d in the heavyweight Mr. Teenage Chicago. I should have won because over my competitors I had the mass, and I was ripped too, but I never had the washboard abs, I had more of a 2-pack with obliques in the Boyer Coe way if anyone knows what I'm talking about, but I digress. I would post pics but I only have hard pics and I'm not scanning them into the interwebs. I worked out on and off until my late 20's and went through law school almost completely avoiding a gym, worked as a bartender for 7 years, just got away from it. I am still a big dude, wide shoulders, quads and now, well a bit of a gut. I wear a 52 or 54 suit.

I had two surgeries last year-sinus and tonsilectomy. Both went great and results are great. While recovering from these surgeries, I somehow became very complacent, lazy and happy just to be a slug, and gained weight, eventually entering what I will call the "fat zone". Once I broke into the Big & Tall category (and broke 300#) I thought, you know what, lets get back on some kind of track here, if for nothing else than health.

So, SWMBO suggested we join a "biggest loser" type deal at the fitness center we are members at, and we did it. Results for both of us since January, for me, I'm down 15 pounds in 10 weeks, not bad, averaging one pound a week or so. Compared to the last time I was in pretty good shape, which would be 2011-2012, this has been incredibly more difficult. The work outs are not like spend some time on the elliptical and lift some weights, they are like Navy Seal training. Here's what sucks about a more fitness oriented lifestyle.

• I feel like I have a second job, and since I'm not training for a contest or an athletic event of some kind, the motivation is sometimes picked up by outside forces which contribute to this sense, but it can be a real PITA. Who wants more than one job, especially when your paying for the second one.

• Along with that, when I was an "athlete", I did not have a career, much less rental properties and very involved hobbies like cars and landscaping. I would easily do any of these things than go through boot camp. I mean these classes are crazy hard, harder than the boxing classes I used to go to. I used to wrap my knees and squat over 500# for reps. Its harder than that, easily.

• Exercise will eventually involve many aspects of your life. You shower more often, thus use more water and soap and time in the shower, will have more laundry to do, will spend more time in the car and burning gas driving to the gym and/or classes. It can get old. I did not remember this probably because of number 2. This doe snot even consider the food and the cooking. I like to cook, I have always cooked, but geez. And all the dishes, just like laundry. We've moved to paper plates more often but I honestly don't like living in a nice house and having nice cook wear and so on so I can eat a skinless chicken breast with mustard and a light salad off a paper plate. Kind of takes something out of life there, don't know what.

• I used to track my calories, carbs, etc. in a spiral notebook. Now everyone does this with smart phone aps. Its pretty easy to do, but after doing it every day for 10 weeks I'm kind of tired of doing it, I don't know what its taking from me, spontaneity or what, but I'm tired of recording my own damn activities. I was there, I saw it the first time. Believe me, I get the point, but really?

Anyway, just complaining. I think I might try for the Scottish Games as a goal-that way I have an objective other than just working a part time to be healthier in general or lose 40#.

mattmacklind wrote: * I feel like I have a second job, and since I'm not training for a contest or an athletic event of some kind, the motivation is sometimes picked up by outside forces which contribute to this sense, but it can be a real PITA. Who wants more than one job, especially when your paying for the second one.

You need a goal just like you think you do.

I am going to try for Masters weight lighting to keep me honest about it. I am actually old enough to compete. I am going to get stomped on by those guys. Should be fun, I am in the 1K club right now barely. If I could get my deadlift up another 80-100lb's I would be happy. I need to get up to about 88kg from about the 85kg I am now as well.

Working out just to work out sucks. I use it as therapy. I feel like bashing someones head in so I go to the gym and throw the 50lb sandball around for a while.

I would never argue against the benefits of regular exercise, but in my experience the best way to lose weight is to modify your diet. Simple fact: If you burn more calories THAN YOU EAT, you WILL LOSE WEIGHT. Just making a few changes to your current diet will make a huge difference.

I find that competing helps keep the motivation up, even if you're only competing against yourself. I'm doing a half-marathon in a few weeks not because I'm in great shape, but because I worked out a lot more over the past few months because of the race.

Way ahead of you, I don't do any exercise. I'm a big and tall guy so I'll never be fast on karts anyway, what do I have to lose? Even if I lose a day off my lifespan for every hour not spent exercising, that's a net gain in my book

In reply to 1988RedT2:

I agree as I have really struggled with my weight. Diet is far more important than the exercise when it comes to combating fatness. If I limit my calories, I loose weight. If I don't, I'm just surprisingly fast fat guy at local 5Ks.

As I mentioned to my doctor during the last physical..."Every idea you put forth to make me live longer takes away my desire to live"

More exercise was on his list.

Cats and dogs run and jump around for no damn reason and die at 15. Turtles live to be over 100. Going for the Turtle as my spirit animal here.

I am lucky that sweets and snacks are not on my radar.

Fun fact…studies show that exercise does extend your life span but only by the same amount of time that you spend exercising. In effect, it’s like the countdown timer to your death stops while you’re exercising but nothing more.

I exercise because I have an exercise that I enjoy. I do it in a fashion I don't always enjoy because there are rewards to getting fitter/faster (cyclist), but at the core, I enjoy being out on a bike.

I don't know what I'd do if I didn't enjoy something about the actual activity. I even am okay with doing the occasional stint on a stationary in the basement because it pays off in enjoyment on later rides.

The food thing counts, too, of course. I'm doing about 3.5 hrs/week of high intensity interval training, and I'm not seeing the weight loss I did last year when I was just racking up more hours (~6-7) and miles AND not drinking a mocha every morning...

As someone who can more than qualify as a senior citizen, I exercise in order to continue doing what I enjoy. Something as simple as changing wheels can be a challenge, so I work to maintain flexibility and strength.Not as worried about the length of my life as I am the quality of it.

I exercised twice this year back in January. It was my first time in a gym since before my teenager was born so it's not like I'm a regular. The physique just seems to be due to a lucky roll of the genetic lottery more than any particular exercise or diet.

That said, I stay generally active and eat a healthy(ish) diet. Just don't obsess over it.

NOHOME wrote: Cats and dogs run and jump around for no damn reason and die at 15. Turtles live to be over 100. Going for the Turtle as my spirit animal here.

i'm picturing this on a t-shirt

I support doing 12oz curls

Ransom wrote: I exercise because I have an exercise that I enjoy.

There's the key right there. I've maintained an "active lifestyle" for nearly 20 years by setting esoteric goals and achieving them. Climbing 5.12, benching 225, currently working on Olympic rings. It's brought me happiness, and more than a few new friendships along the way.

My issue has always been that I'm fairly injury prone unless I really pay attention to my food intake. I need to eat a LOT of good healthy food to recover well. It's the preparing and eating food that feels like a job. I don't mind the exercise, but if I don't eat right, I get hurt.

I ride bike a lot more than most normal people but less than some crazies I know. I just did an overnight bikepacking run with friends last weekend and knocked down 130 miles in 2 days. Unfortunately I'm also heavy and love to eat. I'm back up to 260 so I've started tracking calories again. After 20 years of cycling 2-4 days a week I have found that you just can't out-exercise eating too much. Not eating bad, but just eating too much of the right stuff. From your paper plate description, though, it sounds like you're handling that.

Find something you enjoy that requires the work. Cycling. Boxing. Martial arts. Medieval sword battles. Whatever. Working out just to work out is unsustainable. That's why cross fit is a cult - because competing to see who can exercise the hardest requires brainwashing to make it work.

My 75-year-old dad doesn't go to the gym. Never has. But he doesn't overeat, doesn't eat sweets and lives in a three-story house so he does lots of stairs every day whether he wants to or not. He walks all over the place and just plain does stuff. He's currently in the hospital with what looks like a fairly nasty cancer diagnosis. If he wasn't in such good shape, the doctors made it clear they'd be talking about maintaining quality of life and signing off on him. But instead, they're going to treat him the same way they'd treat someone half his age. Instead of being given a terminal diagnosis, he's being given a chance.

If there was a drug that provided the benefits that exercise does, it would be proclaimed a miracle. Thanks to being in a bunch of meetings with my dad's doctors, I'm going to get back into it myself. I can run a 10k in 56 minutes and a half marathon in 2 hours, so I'm not a total couch potato. But I'm bigger and heavier than I should be, and I'm not on track to be in dad's shape at his age.

The key to living an active lifestyle is wanting to be active (or fearing the alternative). That is pretty much it. If you value keeping fit enough to do what you want on your own terms and enjoy whatever "active" means then you will do what it takes to get there.

A lot of people say they "want" to do things. "I want to climb a mountain right after I finish this bag of cheetos" is different than "I want to climb a mountain so I'm hiking 6k' of vertical 3x a week".

You are already working at it so... you have the right kind of want. Find some achievable milestones to add to your primary routine to mark progress other than your weight. VOmax, resting heart rate, Strokes/Minute... whatever. Mix it up... maybe skip the movies and go to a rock climbing gym or something every other date night.

Man I hear you. I have been going to the gym (never did ever as a younger guy) its hard, it adds time to your daily routine, i would rather work on a project.

Im not eating really any different, and not great, but I am a lot stronger than I was, I can run a mile without dieing, and thats a start I guess!

Sounds like you're doing a boot camp type thing, I think once you get back into shape and start maintaining you'll be happier, unless you really do have a competitive streak and need a purpose and goal to stick with it.

I have lower back nerve/disc issues and need to keep my weight under control or life becomes quite painful. Got into lifting ~10 years ago after figuring out that losing weight made things bearable and like everyone I've fallen off the wagon but I really do enjoy lifting and would be in the gym 5 days a week if I could. My goal is 3 times a week and if I go too many days in between my energy and mood take a dive.
Plus I work at home at a desk all day so it helps get me out of the house and active.

My rant about the fitness lifestyle is how expensive protein has gotten, how everyone wants to be a fitness personality and their only goal is to 'inspire' people, get followers and sell crap now- nothing wrong with inspiring people, but I take offense to these Johnny come lately scammers and hucksters with their heavily photoshopped physiques, fit tea, plastic wrap, waist trainer, dangerous bro science in the name of profit folk.

I workout in my garage. Sometimes I work on projects in between sets. Its very distracting.

ProDarwin wrote: I workout in my garage. Sometimes I work on projects in between sets. Its very distracting.

Combine the two? Nothing like pressing a transmission into place with your bare hands.

My best advice has already been copied from me several times in this thread . Find a reason to be doing it. I can't comprehend the "it's good for me" mindset. If I don't have a goal, or a challenge from somebody else, I'm just not likely to do anything.

Perhaps your goal is to look good in a skirt like the pic in your post. If so, get some real measures of progress. Weight tracking is a vague thing and unless you're in a paid biggest loser competition, it's unlikely to motivate you for long, and certainly won't keep you going after you near your arbitrary goal weight. Endurance tests, standing jump heights, reps at a given weight to failure, etc. These are all areas where you can compete with yourself of last month or week or whatever.

As far as the difficulty aspect of it, remember, "when you were an athlete" stuff was easier because you were carrying less of you around the rest of the time. You had youthful resilience and recovery on your side, and it would probably still have beat you down if you strapped your current (50, 85, 100 lbs?) On your back and went about the rest of your daily activities. Of course it was easier to do hard stuff...

You have to actually want it. Conquer your appetite then your drive, and self management. You can workout for 20min at home and save your gas and time going to a gym... if you have the discipline.

Aside from the law school and competition i did much of the same thing. Then i tore my lcl/mcl and got lazy. I go up about 30lbs every winter, and drop it again in the summer when i can ride a bike since it doesnt hurt my knee. I cant develop the drive to go back to going to the gym everyday. im pretty sure i hit my max in almost all lifts when i was 21 and short of drugs i dont see me getting any better and for me the numbers were always the drive!