Getting Back to Fitness

[Misanthrope]

I've recently moved to possibly the most shallow culture on earth and it's made me aware that I'm well below the level of fitness I was during my considerably more active college years. With nine months before I rock back into Australia, I've set myself a weight target and a minimum level of physical fitness so that I can start playing sports (soccer and league, mostly) again when I get back.

I currently own a treadmill/running machine with incline and all that jazz, and after starting out with a fairly moderate 3km walk a few weeks ago - I'm now up to the same distance ranging from a decent jog to a run. While that's fine for now (I'm not exhausted at the end by any means, but it's certainly not easy just yet) - I was wondering what would be an ideal daily goal further down the track?

I don't have access to much else in the way of equipment, although I do have 25kgs of dumbell weight I can make use of. Muscle's something I want to work on later, but for now, I'm just looking to slim down, particularly in the region of the ol' beer gut.

Any fitness gurus got suggestions for somebody without access to a gym and who is easing back into things after a few years off the job?

 

[OVP]

Situps mate.

Do 10 situps the first night, 11 the second etc etc

But take it easy, just take your time. There's no rush.

 

[Misanthrope]

Yeah, I'd thought about incorporating situps back into things. Used to do them like crazy back in the college days and between that and the uphill walk to campus every day - it seemed to work better than any actual routine/diet I've adopted since.

Will add them to the plan tomorrow night and see how I go.

 

[TooheysNew]

Find a little Korean chick, and benchpress her. Next night, find a bigger Korean chick, and bench her instead... rinse and repeat.

 

[Misanthrope]

Shouldn't I rinse them first? Who knows where they've been!

 

[macavity]

you can only eat what you catch and kill yourself

sure fire way to weight loss

and you are in the land of dog-cha, so go for it.

watch for those fast moving vegetables though!

 

[spider]

you cant lose stomach fat from sit ups

if your dead set serious, do minimum 4 cardio sessions a week, for no less than 45 minutes a session. Would recommend 5 x 60 minutes sessions

diet is everything in weight loss

if your diet's crap, and i dont mean just fast food, then you will struggle to burn body fat

pasta, potatos, any complex carbs being eaten at night and are not utilised as a fuel source, will turn to more stored body fat

exercise is 25% of weight loss - diet is the remaining 75%

 

[Misanthrope]

I do six cardio sessions a week, but they generally only last about half an hour. I could stretch them to 45 - but it would mean less running and slower walking

 

[spider]

walking is not a problem - provided its at least a brisk pace

and as long as your heart rate is up

you will get fitter / faster - then increase intensity as you can

but as i mentioned - diet is 75% of the whole process

 

[spider]

last about half an hour.

as well, the first 15 - 20 mins of exercise is your body utilising glycogen / energy stores as as a fuel source

its after that process the body calls on other fuel sources to burn

therefore if your only hitting 30 minutes - you are really only tapping into other the secondary fuel sources for a short period of time

 

[Misanthrope]

walking is not a problem - provided its at least a brisk pace

I manage around 6-7km for speed with the walk before kicking up to 9-12km for the run.

The diet isn't terrible by any stretch, but it's not particularly strict, either. It's difficult to diet here, since the foods are generally crazy and I've still yet to find a close source of western foods I know the nutritional value of. Generally cereal for breakfast; rice, salad, and fish for lunch; and either pasta and salad or sushi for dinner.

 

[spider]

I manage around 6-7km for speed with the walk before kicking up to 9-12km for the run.

that would be fine

6 -7km on a treadmill is enough to elevate your heart rate to or above 70% of your maximum

The diet isn't terrible by any stretch, but it's not particularly strict, either. It's difficult to diet here, since the foods are generally crazy and I've still yet to find a close source of western foods I know the nutritional value of. Generally cereal for breakfast; rice, salad, and fish for lunch; and either pasta and salad or sushi for dinner.

biggest trick with diet is the quantity of what we eat

rice is fine during the day - good clean energy source

pasta of a night i would remove - heavy on carbs

good formula (although hard to fall in line with to begin) is increase your meals throughout the day, and reduce the amount you consume for each meal

your body keeps a constant metabolic break down going

 

[spider]

double

 

[Misanthrope]

Introduce 'snacks' (obviously healthy ones) in between meals but have smaller meals? That's similar to what my mother's Weight Watchers diet preaches, sans the annoyances of points. It's doable. Sushi is readily available (and cheap as chips) here as a snack, and they've got these crazy rice cakes with sweet chili sauce, tuna, or some other paste inside them that are less than 90 cents Australian.

Finding fruit and vegetables is a bitch. Fruits I've found are apples, bananas, strawberries, mandarins, pineapple, and persimmons. Vegetables are all ordinary. No cucumber, no lettuce, expensive tomatoes. It's mostly cabbage and various inedible Asian vegetables.

I should be able to find something, though. I get enough breaks during the day that smaller meals in between helps - but working late means my 'day' stats at 1pm and finishes at 4am. Will that be a problem? Or is it fine as long as it's regular?

 

[spider]

time in principle is not a problem - its the body clock you work off

when your actually active from and too - with the emphasis of your larger meals around your designated exercise period

 

[gorilla with a shotgun]

Sorry for hijacking your thread but no real need to start a new 1. i only want to lose about 5kgs. is there anyway i can achieve this this without changing my diet too much or increasing excercise? Just little tips would be appreciated

 

[spider]

is there anyway i can achieve this this without changing my diet too much or increasing excercise

all depends on what you currently do for exercise

 

[Misanthrope]

when your actually active from and too - with the emphasis of your larger meals around your designated exercise period

So, if I'm doing my run/walk/situps/weights after work (around 11pm) - a decent sized dinner at 10pm is ideal?

 

[ozzie]

Actually I started to lose weight through sit ups, side bends and resistant training. sit ups are good, i have incorporated them with small weight dumbells - 2kg and now 5. I have lost 8 kilos since I got out of hospital in January

 

[spider]

So, if I'm doing my run/walk/situps/weights after work (around 11pm) - a decent sized dinner at 10pm is ideal?

yes and no

as long as its not too heavy - as you dont want it sitting on you

i would go for a light meal an hour before, then something more substantial within an hour of post training

as you start losing weight, its easier to manipulate your meals in what you eat