Do it. Do it now. Right Now.
 

Well this is a new journal, exercise log or whatever, so I guess I should introduce myself and why I'm logging this information in front of others.

My name is PJ and I've had a journal on this forum for a few years now. I'm 43 currently (1/2009), I live in the Ozarks, and for most of a decade I've been single mom to a daughter who is now 12.

My high weight is over 500#. I came to this forum at 482 a few days after my birthday in 2006 (9/18 I think was the day I decided to save myself). I couldn't stand for more than 30 seconds without back pain. I couldn't walk to the car without exhaustion. I had horrible acid reflux, brain fog, and other medical issues which lowcarb (which was gluten-free by side-effect) solved within 10 days.

I didn't become obese until adulthood. It was a terrible adjustment. My child struggles with her weight and I try to understand. She is currently on lowcarb with me. Today I weigh 382. That's about 25# heavier than several months ago. I think it will reduce as my LC continues and more water weight falls off.

I initially ate very low carb (>12, with variance) and lost a good deal of weight, though not so much in 'supersize' terms. I'm not fond of vegetables, I'm gluten-intolerant, and possibly caseine as well, which I didn't learn until LC got me off them for awhile. Eventually my body changed, and I felt really bad on minimal carbs and had to up it a bit. I now eat VLC by default (my big problem is remembering to eat or being hungry for it), but I eat 'controlled carb' (~60/day) when I'm paying attention. Mostly adding in berries, legumes, and the rare corn tortilla. My biggest 'danger food' for too-much is hard cheese.

I've lost enough weight that it's important I begin exercising.

Around mid-2007 I began exercising suddenly. I started a blog for it, and the post I feel best describes my state of mind at the time and how good it was for me is this one: In the dark of night I love that post because it reminds me of how profoundly exercise improved my life the minute I got serious about it.

Alas, I did poorly with my eating which gave me insufficient energy, and I now see I instantly overtrained (I was chronically exhausted in the torso-muscles) and I completely flaked out I am sorry to admit. A couple brief flirts with walking after that hasn't yet gone far.

I work from home. I was in business management for a decade, then shifted to internet coding and graphic design, then programming, then management in that area, and now I am back to a very simplified form of project management on IT products in publishing. I SIT all day and work on a laptop computer. I work to make food for us 3-6 times a day, mostly burgers, finger steaks, chicken, eggs, and many kinds of meat-stews.

I used to drink some low-carb slimfast until I discovered that if I did, I didn't lose any weight, even in a period where I was losing otherwise. Maybe it's because it's 20g protein are all from caseine which I may have some issue with.

My kid is homeschooled and a computer addict, though she likes to read and do sketching as well. We've had some real trials related to lowcarb but at least for the moment she is on the same page as me and I'm really trying to make sure everything is food she likes. I don't try to get her to lift weights since I hear it's not good for kids. She is 5'4 and adult-sized. She is in karate.


I love lifting weights. I hate cardio, unless it's part of the weights. (Even when I was young and athletic I was that way.)

My goal is to begin weight lifting even if it's one stupid dumbbell one rep at a time. To just DO SOMETHING consistently and be accountable to myself enough to bother keeping a log like this. Anything, at this point, would be good.


I have a little info about my status and knowns to start off.

1. I'm way weaker than I thought. 8# on arm dumbbells is fine; 10# on a couple moves, 5# on another couple. Pitiful, I know.

2. Isolated exercises can be compound for me because of my weight. For example in the bent-over row, where you put one knee on the weight bench, other knee slightly bent standing onn floor, hand on bench, other hand with weight lifting from floor to shoulder: for me that is a compound exercise, because of the effort to hold my weight up with my arm and my bent leg. It's more work on my slightly bent leg than on the arm I'm supposed to be working out LOL.

3. My "knees are scared" and this prevents me doing the things I'd really like to: namely squats. I'm sure this is good since trashing my knees trying to squat at nearly 400# is probably nuts. Previously, I tried to make up for it with deadlifts -- the one "core body" exercise I read about that did not require the knees involvement -- and I think slightly hurt myself in overdoing it.

4. I think it's possible that I have difficulty with "form" in some exercises just because of the interference of bodyfat. My bench is nice in that it reclines as a seat (Tri-Bench) but it's far too short for me to do much on it, or it might be that I'm just too large.


I don't have a barbell. I could get one.

I do have a cheap (Weider) cage that I got mostly so I could try to do squats and have something real to hang on to. That was before my knees put in their vote to delay that kind of exercise for awhile. Currently it's in the back room that used to be my weights room before I abandoned that great effort and is now used for, well, everything else. If I need it I will dismantle it partly and move it into the living room where there is more room.

I have a kettle-bell that lets you put small plates on it for adjustable weight.

I have pair dumbbells in 3#, 5#, 8#, 10#. I have fractional metal plates but alas all my dumbbells are coated. (Much as I'd like to be cooler by having metal everywhere. At least they aren't pink! :lol: ) I've tried to find 12# dumbbells in my town but need to drive an hour for a store with anything real.

I don't have much room. But I pay the rent so I can make some.


As for exercises, I've read so much about weightlifting online I believe I'm more confused than when I began. Aside from the intriguing sociology aspect of bodybuilding forums (the people are so charming...must be the testosterone :lol: ), apparently there's at least 3 different answers and thou-musts for any given thing you can imagine.

In the past I've been given good advice by a couple people I admire (Mistress Krista and Amory Blaine) which I can no longer find now that I'm again interested in trying to follow it. I'm trying to find a nifty sheet I made myself that has detail on the muscle and exercise and steal of an anigif that I used for ideas of what kind of exercise to do.

I find the discussion related to muscle bulk vs. strength confusing. I mean I understand the concept I just haven't figured out how one is supposed to plan one vs. the other.

I don't yet have a plan. I'm working on one right now.

What I DO have is a determination that I'm going to do SOMETHING, I'm not going to spend another two years (like the last two) accomplishing very little despite some good if brief starts. I want 2009 to be the year of my accomplishment on many levels.

I don't have a car, I live in a small nowhere town, and it's way below freezing, so right now all I'm looking at doing is some kind of weight lifting, no matter how small. Hopefully I won't overdo this time!

Onward.

PJ

Hi PJ. I hope you find weight training very rewarding. My thoughts on your situation are, don't worry about what weights you use, just go through the motions of the exercises that do not cause joint pain. As you know, your body is adding to any weights you use. I wouldn't worry about squats or lunges for a while.

I would suggest more along the lines of:
*Sitting in a chair leg extensions, no added weight, for quads. Together or singles, whichever feels best.
*Standing, holding onto your power rack and bending your knee lifting your heel towards your behind for hamstrings.
*While in the "holding on" hamstring position do some side leg raises, then leg crossovers. Those work abductors and adductors.


Now if I've misjudged your abilities then please disregard those suggestions. My point is for you to start off with useful exercises that shouldn't be hurtful ones for you. If you feel any pain in your joints, stop. Do not try to push through pain. NOT helpful.

Thanks very much!

I'm waiting for my housekeeping helper to leave so I can go do "something". Not sure what -- your ideas are a good place to start!

I thought it would be interesting, instead of starting with weights like I did last time, to start with nothing but body weight -- even my arms are pretty damn heavy -- and do some basic exercises without dumbbells and see if, for example, I felt nothing and could do 100 or what. To my surprise, all the exercises I tried definitely I could "feel it" in the muscles, and although I could do ten (fairly slowly) easily, it was just starting to affect my heart rate and breathe when I stopped.

That is boring trivia that could only entertain myself, I know. But last time I got into this I think I dived too fast into heavier weights and too many deadlifts and suffered some overtraining, so I think since I am dedicated to this right now, I should trust that "I have time" to do this at whatever pace I need to. If that means very gradually working through weights I consider too easy for me, even the process of the motion -- and to me the big deal being 'the consistency of paying attention and DOING something like this' is the big deal -- is useful, and the harder stuff will come.

I'm less likely to avoid hard stuff, than not to when I should and hurt myself, so I'm pleased at this unlike-me sudden interest in going really slow through it just to see how my body "feels" while doing something.

So tonight I did the whole cycle of exercises I have set up from the past (forgot to make a note of the ones put here in my journal to add, will do those tomorrow).

I was hoping to find 1# weights, and literally work my way up a pound a day, but the lightest dumbbells I cold find around here are 3#. That's fine. I am mostly just working to get the motion, familiarity, focus-on-exercise-time, in place at first, as opposed to doing mega lifting or anything.

I did just 10, slow reps of each, to see how it felt, to see how easy or hard ten at that weight was. Last night's "body-weight only" went ok but it's obvious that although I'm not strong, I need to be doing more than bodyweight on the upper body stuff.

This is the list:



I forgot to do the arnold press tonight (weird as that's my favorite one) and didn't do the reverse calf raise (couldn't find a place to do it actually). I noted the ones I can't do at all yet 'cause of my knees, waiting till I am much lighter as they scream in terror inside me when I even start to slowly try one. Sissies.

So for the 3#, none were really hard, but it's clear my triceps are not very strong compared to everything else. For the calf raise I just used body weight (seriously, how much more can I need), lifted, held for a count of 3, then released. Ten of those was enough I think. I need to do that daily I think. It hardly seems like it falls into the weight lifting/ training/ rest-period category for some reason.

I don't have 4# weights and unfortunately one of my two 3# weights is coated so I can't use my fractionals that are magnetic. So tomorrow I will have to do 5#. Whatever weight I reach where I think that's where I need to stay and work, then I will begin sets.

I have more physical energy today than I have in awhile. I attribute this to several days consistent of a decent amount of protein. I do think that ANY exercise, even my 3# weights, is helping though.

You go, girl...you are doing more than I!
I am still in the reviewing stage...you know, where you get the book or dvd from the library and return it unread or un viewed!

Hi PJ

I just wanted to congratulate you on taking the first steps to being more active. Great job!

It will be amazing in just a few months to compare how far you have come by comparing your logs.

My bench is not remotely big enough for me to do the kind of abs exercises as warmups that have been recommended in weight lifting areas.

So I've been practicing in bed. Can I go from lying flat on my back to sitting up without using my hands? So far I can.

So I think I could take this to the floor, maybe. (Exercise on the floor... then getting UP off the floor is a whole 'nuther exercise LOL.)

A couple of years ago I bought this book "SLOW BURN" that the Drs. Eades co-authored. It recommended weight lifting at an unusually slow pace, to force the muscle to failure much sooner. It also recommended some basic exercises, done verrrrry slowly. For example, sit ups.

I put on exercise clothes back then, hyped up for the effort. I was tired by the time I got them on LOL. Then I set out to see how many of each major exercise I could actually do.

Zero.

I could not do a single situp, as the main example.

When young I used to do 100 at a time so that was more than a little demoralizing.

I think I may have gotten to the point where I can do at least one situp though. Must find something I can hook my feet under so I can try them on the floor instead of the mattress.

I actually "feel" the muscles from waist to shoulders, all around my body, right now. Just from 'going through the motions' in a 10x1 set with 3# weights, now how pitiful is that! I'm not really sore, so much as 'aware' (so, sore, but not very).

Tonight I'm going to do some warmup exercises and stretching first. I didn't do that last time I was weight lifting and we know how well THAT went, so maybe doing it more intelligently this time will help.

I've decided for this effort the next few months/weeks I'm going to reduce the number of different exercises I'm doing and focus on three things:

1) a few core/compound exercises, and

2) some warmup exercises/stretching, and

3) making up some kind of "weight lifting kata" where I take weights a bit lighter than I need and come up with a motion that covers a variety of different exercises I am mostly NOT doing. When I was a teen we used to do this. Combine lots of exercises into something a little like a cheer-drill-dance and do them to music. I think that will help me get motion that my main exercises aren't covering, in a fun (I know: PAY ATTENTION) way, with weights that are not super challenging as my main goal is to get a LITTLE bit in for those not a lot. In part because of the crossover on muscles I'm using hard in the core. And in part because this will by default have some unusual motions, like diagonal and turns in the holds, that might risk injury if done with real heavy weights.

As for the base, I've had several days to work on a plan for this, and have decided on the following.

(Bearing in mind I only have dumbbells, and not a formal gym)

Warm-up and down exercises:
* Basic light stretching
* Leg lifts (side)
* Situps and reverse sit ups over a bench
* Custom kata (multiple lift moves) with light weights

Lower Body. Pseudo-Squats. I can't do squats because I'm too heavy for my knees. But I can:
a) stand up from a sitting position on the edge of my couch.
b) squat to whatever degree and just hold that long as possible.
c) do partial-squats, far down as I can go.
Hope to get to the point of doing real ones eventually. And Calf Raises.

Back/Sides. Good mornings. Seated, if my energy isn't high, standing otherwise. Bent-over Rows and Deadlifts 1 and 2. Sumo style by default, to help build leg adductor strength too, stiff-legged at a slightly lighter weight (as good form is difficult for me on these maybe due to my size). Shrugs and Side-Bends, Shoulder Raise.

Upper body. Presses. Military press (standing), Incline press (incline), Arnold Press (sitting), and Bench Press (lying). And Pullovers.


I'll be doing 5x5 (5 sets of 5 reps ea) to begin with on the weight stuff. Some things, like the squat variants, I'm just going to do "as much as I can" without sharp pain or collapsing-exhaustion, and we'll see how it goes. I may 'switch off' press-styles within those 5 sets, rather than doing 25 of each kind each time.


I still don't know what weight is ideal or even possible for me on these various exercises. Tonight's workout is using 5# so I'm just going to record what I do and how hard it seems to get to the last reps. If it's not very hard then I'll move it to 8#. For calf raises I'm using body weight because I have to hold onto something for balance, and because my body weight seems sufficient at this time. I expect that as I'm just starting out, after a few weeks my weight should increase just from familiarity and the supportive muscles getting woken up.

I need to drive an hour to the city and find some dumbbells that are (a) metal, so my fractional magnetic plates can be used with them, and (b) I'm thinking 12# and 15# which (with the fractionals) would be the next steps from the dumbbells I have (3/5/8/10).

I'm a snob -- weights that aren't metal embarrass me. My coated dumbbells (all that was available when I first bought some) are so uncool. :lol:

Forget all that. I've revised it to 2 days a week only, with each specific muscle having one exercise (six sets), and so each focus-muscle only being used once per week.

I made a workout log in googledocs (spreadsheet) since I have my laptop with me when I workout in the living room so I can review form on everything (or I forget the details, still too new to me). This way I can basically do "as much as I can, feasibly" in each set, and record it, and after a couple weeks I think I'll be able to clearly see what's needing more vs. less weight or reps. I record each set's weight and reps and it calculates the total load for that exercise that day, the average for intensity, so I can more easily compare one day to another, plus have a list so I remember what I'm supposed to be doing.



Shrunk so it wouldn't exceed the browser screen in this display of course.

To make it simpler for me (since computer work is a breeze for me), I've also made a page for each major exercise. Later, once I'm back to my computer again (and not working out), I'll just copy and paste the lines from the exercises of that day, to their individual sheets. This way I hope to focus real clearly on what I'm accomplishing for each exercise.



That's only sample data above, just to example what info goes in there (mostly using 5/8/10# weights).

Hi PJ,
I was happy to see your post. It's been awhile since I last posted. My last few words of the post in my gym log were, Right Now. I thought of you when I typed that, lol.
I don't think I've ever had a visit in my gym log before. Thank you for the encouragement.
I really liked your introduction here. I was encouraged by the 'In the Dark of Night' post. I know I can do it, I just need to get excited about it again.
I know you can do it too. I'm always amazed at how detailed you are. The spreadsheet looks awesome!
I know this is your gym log but because I don't have much time, I just wanted to say how sorry I am about Rene. I'll pray for her comfort and that you are peaceful with any decision you make.
Have a great day PJ!

Hmmn. Well, I did the Arnold Press, Incline Curl, and Calf Raises, and was pretty much out of energy and an hour had passed. Don't ask me how. I was doing everything slowly, basically just as many reps as I could up to 12 in each set (six sets), resting until I felt rested between them (probably 1-2 minutes max).

I really feel it already in my obliques and low-center of my back. That's actually where I feel damn near EVERY exercise no matter what muscle it is "supposed" to be focusing on. In the Arnold Press, that is mostly what I felt: my obliques, and all the way down my back. Yes of course I felt my arms too, but it was like it was using my body in a big way.

I guess it's just a matter of not having any real muscle developed or often used body-wide, so even if your arm has some muscle, that doesn't mean the rest of the body does, especially all the connective tissues and lesser-used muscle groups.

I think I'll wait and do more of the exercises tomorrow. I guess technically there is no reason for rush and I'd rather move into it gradually than overdo it.

I added a little weight to my calf raises. I don't have anything to stand on, so I just have to stand on my tiptoes for two seconds. Needless to say, standing on my tiptoes is not something I do often at this weight let alone while holding a dumbbell in one hand (at center of body) and a hand on something for balance with the other. But it works I guess.

The incline curl suffers what many exercises do; you're supposed to bring the weights up right next to your body and turn your hands (palms facing you) with the forearms straight up. (Easy to keep going and have them leaning toward you, but apparently that shifts the burden to different muscles and isn't desired.) But the size of my body means that my arms have to be considerably further 'out' from my body than would be expected, to clear my hips/thighs. No big deal hopefully. More tomorrow.

If it takes me a week to do the first workout in total I guess I'm willing to do that... whatever it takes. I'm sure I'll work into it just fine before long.

I guess it's true I haven't been eating even half the protein I should the last few days. I was so tired last night I just went to bed early, without any major exercise.

Hey Right Now, I also have occasional problems with my knees that stopped me from doing squats, lunges for the longest time. I finally broke down and bought a generic version of the "total gym" and it has made a HUGE difference!! I can do squats on that JUST FINE (and I was never able to do more than one at the gym), as well as other leg work. And because it's so adjustable, I can do all kinds of upper/lower body work without having to have a gym full of free weights. I bought mine because I got to the point where a) I was lifting free weights that were heavy enough for me to consider "is this the brightest thing for me to be lifting above my head when I'm ALONE?!!" and b) free weights were getting too expensive! At about a buck a pound, once you get up past about 35 pound dumbbells they become cost prohibitive.

The "total gym" knockoff I bought was from Walmart.com, here's the link, it was only $145.

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/prod...duct_id=1818473

That looks cool HB -- thanks! If I can stay with this, and get to where I'm lifting more than a pitiful dumbbell or body weight, I'll get something like that!

was away from LC and exercise for quite awhile.

OK, for a couple weeks I've been back to eating almost sufficient protein daily.

For the last several days I've been trying to "make exercise" out of everything -- shopping, etc.

For the last two days (3 as of today) I've been spending about 2 hours outside doing minor yard work. Raking, bagging, and a few 'goblet squats' with 15# bricks to move them from one place to another, only a few a day.

Last night I reread 'power of 10' and 'slow burn'.

Tonight I'm going to see if I can do a few of the exercises. I couldn't do a single one when I first got those books, so I'd put them away till now.

The water weight came off, to 372, my norm weight. My scale says I gained 5# between last night and this morning which is probably wrong unless it's nearly menses so I'm ignoring that, 372 is about where I am without any unusual increase/decrease in fluid.

Through this week I've been going out and working in the yard every day. Which given the shape I'm in is easier said than done. I've been rather weary all week, and doing 'goblin squats' to lift these 15# bricks and move them across the yard (half a dozen a day, so not too much at once) -- it is getting me more exercise than ever, though not the overwhelming degree my Type A would prefer. Have been pretty much meat/eggs for food for a little while now though tonight we are splurging on homemade LC treats (me and the 12 year old).

Actually gained, not lost, weight. Go figure. Oh well.

PJ

Have continued the outdoor work. Did so much brick hauling yesterday and other stuff that I can barely move today and actually feel sort of traumatized. I clearly overdid it. But I got a lot accomplished and I'm kind of proud of myself for even being ABLE to do so much leg work that (combined with the rest of my body) I could feel this way. I'm feeling muscles that I swear I have not felt in probably 15+ years.

It led to some musing.

When you get really fat, the first problem is that oxygenating that much mass is difficult. Inability to get enough oxygen stops nearly all exercise in its tracks, as the heart and lungs go nuts trying to move enough blood through fast enough to deal with a supersized body even moving let alone moving while bearing extra weight. It literally becomes impossible to do more than the mildest exercise and, given how unhappy the heart is about not having oxygen for its own needs, not real safe.

The second problem is of course the weight you have to move, which is difficult because it's so much (heavy), plus, that insufficient protein (which is ever-present in the morbidly obese IMO) tends to make one weak, plus, that feet issues kick in due to that combination plus being OFF the feet becoming a norm, which means just 'the doing it' is hard as hell, totally apart from minor things like having oxygen while doing it.

The third problem is the mobility; from lack of limberness to whatever the word is when bodyfat is literally IN THE WAY so you can't turn or bend in certain ways easily or even at all. Worse, this creates both some lack of balance and a tendency to hurt yourself easily, when an underused muscle or tendon suddenly gets way too much weight imposed on it in some twist or surprise movement.

One gets slow and cautious to avoid having a fall that could be very destructive, a movement that could be injurious, or a tax on the system that brings on the equivalent of a major asthma attack just because you worked a little too fast or hard putting the groceries in the back of the car.

So what this means is that when challenged to exercise, the actual muscles, UNLESS you are weight training, doing squats or hauling brick around your garden, never really even have the CHANCE to seriously work out. It's like there are all these issues with the body that stop you long before you get to even challenging let alone really taxing, the muscle.

Your lack of oxygen, your body impedence, weakness or overburden, stops someone morbidly obese waaaaaay before the point where say, all the muscles all the way around your thigh, and above your knee, could even get to that "Ye gods, I'm alive and it hurts!" stage.

This is harder on the lower half of the body because you can do arm exercises with much less demand and even while sitting. Lower body work (without a gym machine, and since we're talking about the morbidly obese here, many don't have a gym, are too embarrassed to visit a gym, too poor to afford one, or can't fit in the machines) has to support the ENTIRE body weight, and often the inability to do that right off means you don't exercise it hardly at all. It's not like arms, where you can lift a little and work up to a lot.

Even something like a single squat has to instantly bear your entire body weight -- on the knees and back as well as on the glutes and thighs and calves. So if you can't go from doing 'nothing' to squatting 250-450# instantly, someone morbidly obese is in a bit of a catch-22 and usually defaults to not exercising at all because it's impractical, dangerous, and unbelievably taxing.

Sit down. Stand up. Sit down. Stand up. Use the legs, not momentum and leaning the weight out, to stand. I do it as often as possible. In the kitchen if I'm going to be in there awhile, I have a folding chair. I make a point to sit and stand a dozen or two times rather than just casually standing by the stove -- it's more exercise. I fill my cart heavily with birdfood, catfood and catlitter right up front so the whole shopping trip is hauling around a lot more weight, and then I use super walmart shopping as a workout of sorts, forcing turns fast and hard so I really have to use a little torso and shoulder muscle, walking quickly where I can, not avoiding walking all the way across the store for some trivial thing.

I've been doing some degree of isometric exercises while sitting on my bed. This is where you basically just 'tense and hold' a muscle. I've been doing that with my buttocks and thighs for some time.

Basically I've been working to bring as much exercise as I can into daily life.

And trying to eat enough protein -- minimum 60g but I really feel exponentially better on more like 120g -- to keep me strong enough to do it.

I really think it's helping.

PJ

Had a hard time moving around today; my left quads scream in actual pain (not just soreness) when I flex them just right. But I took the hoe to the 10 remaining bricks and managed to get them out of the ground, walked around slowly, played leaf duty for Ry who was raking bigtime leaves on the North wall, walked down to the store slowly, that's about it. Tomorrow hopefully will be a more active day.

Had sausage and eggs for an 8:30am breakfast which was good but then damn it, put off eating repeatedly until I finally had a mock at like 8pm. Around 11 I started feeling like my body wanted MEEEAAAAATTTT so I just nuked some cooked chicken breasts, and I'm taking a little bit of pesto on my fork, then stabbing a shred of chicken, and munching. It's late but oh well at least it isn't much carbs.

I'm probably hallucinating, but I could swear my sides seem thinner and my stomach skin seems like it's softer, looser and hanging lower (sigh) -- as if I am losing some weight in my torso area. The other day I did a double-take in the mirror, because it just seemed like my face/neck was a little thinner somehow. I haven't measured anything to compare to past measurements yet. I feel like I might be imagining it, and there's always a little play in measurement, and I don't want to delude myself or be so disappointed. I'd rather give it another couple weeks of eating well* and exercising regularly first.

* I'm not eating well--or rather I am and have been but two days last week I ate too many carbs at night, not like highcarb, but lowcarb treats that were slightly carby and I ate too much of. As long as my overall daily carbs are less than 70 I feel like I'm going to live. So if I'm eating nothing but meat and eggs and I feel like eating something with 30 carbs, I do. Maybe that isn't the right decision but I wasn't losing any weight prior to that approach so if I don't lose any with it, I won't exactly be worse off.

PJ

I took my measurements this morning (posted on my regular journal). Doesn't look like there is much change really. Bummer. Well, I *feel* thinner, not sure if that counts for anything!

Didn't work out in the yard yesterday. Did laundry instead. Supposed to rain today. Hoping to do some weights exercise by the time the day is over.

Gah! It has rained for two evenings! So I haven't been able to work in the yard. I feel this fear like it's not yet a habit and I'm worried I will quit doing it. I haven't been eating as much protein and I feel less strong and more inclined to carbs at the moment, so I need to increase that obviously. It's supposed to SNOW this weekend, for godssakes! Maybe it will semi clear in the day(s) so I can get at least something outdoors done.

Hi Rightnow, I was just looking around and I caught your stats. Wow, you are doing really well with this from your start point. This Gym Journal is interesting I may just have to eventually try this too. Keep up the good work. Take care MB

Well, it has been 8 months since I posted in this gym log. Mostly because it's been about that long since I did any working out. I waffled off/on plan, gained some weight. I've lost that now. I've been slightly more physically active lately. Tensing my muscles a lot. Cooking more, doing a few more house errands. A lot of more stand-up/sit-down behavior than usual.

I just ordered and received a 'flat bench' and barbell, and bought a couple 25# weight plates (I have smaller ones also). I've wanted to be able to do bench press and butterflies for a long time but my existing recline-bench has the seat affixed and is too short for anything not sitting.

For the moment, I have kitchen cabinets laid on plastic all over my living room floor, to be painted. It's been a big series of back to back "house jobs" as I cleaned out and got help painting my bedroom, hallway, living/dining area, and kitchen. The kitchen cupboards are left to be primered, painted, hardware'd and mounted, at which point a weekend reorganizing and cleaning will finish off the kitchen. Another weekend on reorg of the big living room bookcase and desk will finish off that room. And I think I can probably do in a weekend the 12 big drawers and closet of my own bedroom. So in my perfect world, by six weeks from now if I keep on it, all but the kid's room and back room (which we are currently calling The Fire Swamp) will be done -- clean, organized, painted.

This ought to count as physical gym work in my book. I have to squat every time I bend down! A little more effort and my living room returns to the spacious place I made it that has my squat cage and bench in it.




I also feel that making one's "place of rest" nice is just as important. My room though tiny has hugely improved as well:






What I've been working on lately is simple body-weight stuff. Wide-legged squats, at least a few a day. Stretching, not formally but at every opportunity. Drinking a lot of fluids (I've had a cold for over 2 weeks) so I have to get up to run to the bathroom -- from my captain's bunk, believe it or not that is its own form of exercise at my size!

My current first-goal is to focus on strengthening my abdomen, obliques, and hip flexors. In my supersized body these are the three things (especially the latter two) that get the most stress from even the simplest exercise let alone "weight training" and the ones that I think most contribute to the success or failure of health/injury across the board for me as a result.

Within a week or two as the painting finishes, I hope to have some stats in here of ongoing workouts and where I begin.

PJ

Your room is beautiful!

Reposting this in my gym log which I FORGOT I EVEN HAD until 5 minutes ago. Now that I'm finally starting to get my act together again on the exercise front (slowly) I guess I should start using this journal.

This morning, Ry and I went through some basic weight lifting stuff.

My goal was to use 5# weights and just see what she could do in various exercises. With the understanding she should stop if it got really hard.

So we tested 10 fairly slow reps, and I had her tell me on what rep (if any) she felt muscle burn, on what rep (if any) she 'wobbled', and how many 'total' she estimates she could do at that weight if she had to. I'll look that over and think about how to start her on something that she has to really work to manage 8-10 of, and then have her do 3-sets-6-reps. I guess. I mean I've read more bodybuilding materials than probably half the people who do this seriously but the only real conclusion I have gained from it is that "opinions differ" when it comes to half the important elements!

We only did some of the moves today, we will do more on Thursday. To start just for review I had her do a seated Arnold Press, incline triceps extension, standing side-bend, incline shoulder press, half-kneeling bent over row, calf raise, standing lunge, deadlift, and squats. (Not in that order.) My full list that I had picked out for myself long ago when I first began working out (and stopped when VLC stopped working for me. Now that it is again, mysteriously, I want to work out again! Go figure!) is here: http://blog.firedocs.com/tt/WLE.html except squats aren't on there as I hadn't seen the goblin squat and "my knees were scared" trying the ordinary one.

Getting her to do a squat was like trying to teach your cat to sing on command. To her, if you move downward you go up on your toes. We are using a very wide stance, and forcing the heel to stay DOWN, and she just cannot figure out how to do it! We went through it, I demonstrated it several times, showed her a little anigif movie of someone doing it, I'm not sure she ever really got to the point of successfully doing even one (no weights). (She had some issue with the lunge but she got that after a couple tries.) So I finally had her sit on the flat bench, feet flat, and then slide forward so she was mostly on her feet still sitting and then slowly continue forward and down into a squat, and then slowly stand up. This might work... maybe...

I can't do the lunge as it requires I lift all my bodyweight on the forward leg. I can do a bodyweight goblin (wide-stance) squat but only just. She managed 3 very wobbly lunges per leg.

I've been making a point to sit on the rather low couch way more, so I am regularly getting up and down, and making a point to stand up basically like coming up from a half squat. (This is opposed to sitting on my bed, back to the headboard, with my laptop.) And to do a full squat here or there through the day just to make the effort. It is getting slightly easier. Which is not saying much.

Not to be picky but if MOST people had to do a squat at nearly 400# as their STARTING LEVEL . . . well I'd get more sympathy.

PS so as a humor approach I sent her to this youtube video: "How to do the Asian Squat" which is HILARIOUS. The quality is horrible but the film is SO funny! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWTm...ynext=1&index=4 Dontcha know that only the asian squat is cool and will get you chicks, LOL!

PJ

Ha! I forgot I had a gym log again. That shows how often I use it. Let's see, last visit was just over six months ago. I'm sloth! Sigh.


Hoping to daily increase even if it's the most tiny amount. Gotta start somewhere.


Yesterday: got the weight bench out and the weights.

Today: Arnold Press, 10R/5#, 8R/8#, hoping to do more later.


PJ

I haven't had the 'extra' energy to do anything since my last post. Oddly enough I have felt fairly strong but the get up and go energy was lacking. But I've had trouble keeping my protein and calories up. The last 2 days my protein was higher, those two days combined, than it has been for the nearly 2.5 weeks I've been back on VLC IF, and today I've had more energy than I have so far, so it seems like that might relate. I'm determined to eat sufficient chuck burger, chuck roast, chicken, and eggs, to keep my protein up long enough to see if I can drive myself back to working out. At least a little!

PJ

Someday when I have energy again I will start lifting weights again. Until then, this journal is pretty much closed.