Went to the gym today... found out my body fat %... now i'm scared :/
 

Well today was an eventful day. Lately i've been having a lot of success on atkins, and yesterday I decided it was time I got a gym membership and started working out. So I went with my good friend today (who is 184lbs, 12% body fat, 6"2... in other words, good shape, but skinny as a board) and had an .... interesting time. I got a guest pass to Fitness World and he showed me some stuff. I was shocked at how poorly I performed. He gave me 90lbs to bench to start off with (keep in mind, i'm a big big guy and strong as a bull) but I could barely do it. After 4-5 reps I was shaking and needed to put it down, well meanwhile, he did 8 reps. He out-benched me. So anyways, he showed me other things, I dont know the names for them all, but they were all very hard for me. I couldn't keep up with him on any of the weights. I'm not entirely embarrassed, because this is the first time i've been to a gym in 5 years and I really don't exercise at all.

But anyways, after we had done 4-5 exercises, I said I was going to buy a bottled water and asked him if he wanted one (in other words, I was tired of working out already and wanted to get away). This is where things got a bit interesting. While paying for the water, I started to get dizzy, and my vision blurred. Then, my hearing started to go on me. I've never felt anything like this before. I was very close to blacking out, and I could barely hear anything. At the worst of it, I couldn't see at all, except black dots. It lasted a couple of minutes, and at one point I thought I was going to black out. I called my friend over before it got bad and he was all freaked out. It stopped after a bit, and I was fine again. I found out from my friend later that it was probably due to me not breathing properly when I was lifting the weights, which I forgot to do. But anyways, scared the shit out of me!

So after that, I went up and did 10 minutes on the bike and treadmill. Overall, it was a very pathetic workout, but my muscles really feel worked just sitting here as im typing this (2 hrs later) so it must have been enough for me. Anyways, went down and talked to the Ass. (haha) Manager, and she talked to me about memberships, ect. Then we got into talking about my goals and expectations... she offered to take my body fat % which I was excited about (I have never had it done before). Well, I guessed it would be around 40% before I got on. But when I got on it... it said 41%!!!! Yeah, I know I gussed it, but seeing it in #'s ... wow. Plus, I didn't realize how bad it was. Erm, she was a bit quiet after she saw that. Most people when they see me think i'm in good shape. My friend even said he thinks I look around 250lbs.

So anyways, that's my story. I am pretty scared now though about:

1. My body fat % being so high. 41% is VERY bad... I don't even know anyone on these whole forums with that high of a % :( :( :(

2. I couldn't bench even 100lbs. Heck, when I was 13 years old I could bench 120lbs! What's wrong!!!!!!

3. My main concern is that the 40lbs+ i've lost has been muscle.

But anyways, my post is mainly just me yapping. The one good thing about this interesting day is that I am now more motivated to start working out. I want to get my BF % down to the low 20's! So I am going to be signing up with a membership. I will most likely go 3 days a week and do 1 hour work outs (30 min weights / 30 min cardio). Then, the 4 days off, I will ride my Gazelle for 45 minutes, and do some weights up stairs or something, just to keep my muscles active.

Either way, I guess I will be using this forum a lot more often.

Hello :)

- Adam

Hi Adam, I never come into this forum cause it's too scary, but I saw your post headlined in the menu so I had to check it out. Congrats on going to the gym. Sounds like you need a proper trainer to make a programme for you. After much encouragement from the great people on the Triple Digets Forum I joined a gym at the end of april. You say it's 5years since you've been to the gym, well it had been over 30 (when I left high school) since I'd been :lol:
My original fitness test showed I was so unfit, that I didn't even register on their chart, which went up (down) to a poor 60+yr old. :cry: Three months later I was on the chart as a poor 50-60yr old. Today I'm a fair (one grade up from poor) 40-50 yr old, I'm 47. So if I can get that sort of improvement in 6 months think what you can do. But please get a qualified person to set your programme.
You might like to check out the TDC, and if you're going to run up some mileage on the machines, why not join our world walk. A bunch of us are combining our mileage to "walk around the world". You (and any one else ) would be welcome to join us. That BF sounds scary, I've worked mine out a couple of times using sites found through these forums but can't get them to agree so I've settled on "too damn much", I don't need to know the actual figures I know it's at least double what it should be :nono:

Hi Adam:

It sounds to me like maybe you should have a physical done at your doctor's office to make sure you are healthy before starting your exercise program. Your symptoms sound like a stress reaction and could be caused from a number of things, but best to be safe.

From what you say, it sounds like you had bioelectrical impedence done after drinking water and exercising. Is that correct? It's my understanding that these factors can affect the accuracy of the reading. Probably a caliper test would have been better for you or at least taking the bioelectrical impendence test under better conditions.

Lastly, you may find that your current level of carbs may be too low for doing exercise. It's something you may want to gauge if you feel weak working out.

Good luck on your new program.

Wanda

Hi Adam - I've had that reaction a couple of times too, it comes when I've been working out hard and haven't eaten much, so I'm assuming it goes with very low blood sugar. I avoid it now by having some extra carbs before a big workout. It seems to allow me to work out harder and doesn't slow down my weight loss - if anything, the better workouts speed it up.
It wouldn't hurt to get yourself checked out (though I never have) but I don't think its too serious.
Good luck in your journey. I was quite shocked by my bf at the start, cos I didn't consider myself very overweight! Still, its come down nicely, as yours will do too.
Take care, Jay

I had the same reaction several times at the gym over the years. It was usually due to me not eating enough or working out too hard or both.

I agree with Wanda. I hope you get a physical and blood test done with your doc before continuing this.

First off, Congrats for going to the gym!!!!!!!!!! Having a workout buddy will keep you going. I did have a body fat of 36% and got it down in one semester of college to 31%. This was doing aerobic activity 3 times a week. How long is a semester? I think about 4 months. This is WITHOUT changing my eating!! Imagine how much you could lose working out WITH Low Carb!?!

Adam,


Your story sounds so familiar. I started working out 3 years ago. I always thought I was strong as a bull, cause I was heavy and used my weight to do things such as push, and resist.. However, when I got to the gym for the first time I received a rude awakening... My trainer wanted me to warm up a bit, so she asked me to go on the bike. After 5 minutes I could not go any further, my leg muscles were burning, my heart wanted to jump out of my chest, and I saw those weird spots floating in front of my eyes. Then she gave me 4lb dumbbells to warm up my shoulders and after 15 reps I almost died.. So the first day of working out I could not even complete a WARM-UP!!!

the second time to the gym I asked to work on my legs since I thought being so heavy would mean I have strong legs.. WRONG! I could only leg press 150lb. probably half my weight at that time. (today I can leg press over 600lb).


My advice, get a trainer! do not have your friend "show you" stuff. You'll end up hurting your self and getting discouraged. A trainer will help you ramp up properly and make sure you do not advance faster then your ability.

and one more piece of advice, when you get this feeling of dizziness again: as soon as you can, find a place you can lie down, and see if you can prop your legs a bit higher then your body. I learn this the hard way. I lost it and fell. The only thing I injured was my ego, but it was so bad I would rather have broken a leg....


it took me 3 months until I started to see improvements.. but once improvement started, there was no stopping me. three years later, I am stronger now that I have ever been in my life (I served in a combat role in the army!), and I can ride my road bike rigorously for 40 miles without batting an eye...

take a look at my journal entery re my workout these days. I have switched trainers a couple of months ago, and had an opportunity to review my old logs to see how far I have come... Oh man, I was in such bad shape when I started... :)

Just wanted to congratulate you on making such a great decision!! It always sucks when you first start working out.. feels pretty pathetic, especially when you're starting from scratch and sort of think you may be fitter than you are :)

There is an unbelievable amount of information on the internet on exercise and weight training. I feel pretty authoritative on the subject and I've never had a trainer, just spent an embarassing number of hours on the computer.

take care, you'll find what's best for you!
Meg

I don't have a trainer either, but when I joined the gym a qualified (as in spent 2 -3 years full time training at uni) instructor set a programme for me. After 1 month she revised it and after 3 months revised it again. My gym supplies this service free of charge, I guess they don't want morbidly obese people dropping like flies and creating havoc amongst the gym equipment :lol:. IMHO you should ask whether your gym will do this for you.
Take care and best of luck.

Adam, I can totally relate. I used to be in great shape, was in the infantry in the US Army, did Judo/Jiu Jitsu 5 times a week, and lifted wieghts. I left the army, hurt my back and knee, and took a desk job, and put on a ton of weight. Even then I felt strong, since I know how to use my weight to power myself around when needed.

A year ago, tired of my wieght, I went to the gym again. I was cleared by my doctor, but was warned to take it easy and build up to an intense workout. I was also doing a LF diet. I figured I was still strong and did not follow my doctor's advice. I almost passed out doing cardio, pulled a couple muscles and inflamed my chest wall pushing wieghts, and ended up back on my butt gaining more weight.

I started working out recently, while following the LC WOE. This time though, I took it easy, got some advice from a good friend of mine that is a trainer, and it's going a lot better. I am still in the ramp up stages, but I feel a lot better and I have not hurt myself. As I start increasing my workouts I plan to increase carbs some, to help my weight training.

A couple suggestions- Getting a personal trainer is a good idea. Your skinny, in shape friend probably has NO idea what sort of workout you should be doing. If nothing else, pay for a couple sessions, just to get you started. If that is not possible I suggest doing this-

Start easy. Get on a bike or treadmill, or elliptical training and go easy for 10-15 minutes, take a break, and do it again for 10-15 minutes. Get your body used to moving. Don't worry about wieghts right now. Before someone can do weights or high intensity workouts, they have be at a basic level of fitness, something your not at right now. Trust me I know all about that. If you feel dizzy or light headed, stop. Take a break, walk around slowly and relax. When you feel better, carefully continue to do basic cardio. For now, just get used to moving.
You will find it easier and easier to do a light workout the more you do it. You will know when to increase time/distance/resistance and increase you work load.

Gyms can be very dangerous for people that are completely out of shape (like me.) When you walk into a gym and see healthy people working out in a seemingly effortless manner, it can put a person into a dangerous mindset of excessive expectations. We have to get healthy before we can do a lot of things a healthy person does as routine.

Remember, fitness is as gradual a process as weightloss. If you take a slow and steady approach to fitness, with time you will be able to bench 200+lbs with ease. Just do it slow!

Adam, Hi again :)

Just to add to what the others have suggested and to set your mind at ease:

1) Take a look at my start stat - that's BF%. You are not alone. And what you're going to do is not insurmountable. There are many of us who have been there and we're here to help :) Hang in there and take it one day at a time.

2) LCing will make you a little weaker than you used to be - it's a function of delepting carb stores (muscle and liver glycogen). It doesn't mean you don't still work hard, though. And it doesn't mean you cannot improve. AGain, one day at a time :)

3) If you are eating adequate protein and sufficient calories from fat then you are not burning muscle. LCing is muscle sparing, because unlike traditional dieting it is higher in calories and it contains the necessary protein to rebuild torn muscle tissue. So be sure you're eating enough and what you'll lose is F.A.T.

That dizzy, nausea spell you had sounds very much like bonking - overdoing the workout while eating too little carbs and calories. You jumped right into something strenuous and it was too much for your system all at once.

Take it slowly and don't push yourself too hard. If you're lifting weights be sure you have a small meal 1 hour to 45 minutes before you hit the gym, and be sure you eat again 45 minutes later. Weight lifting is about building and maintaining lean mass - not about fat burning. You need to fuel your body for this task. The fat burning happens later, once the muscle is active and hungry.

And of course - remember to keep up with those new supplements and your water.

Cheers,
Nat

Starting a workout program.
 

It sounds like you came extremely close to blacking out. This is caused by lack of oxygen to your brain. Other parts of your body were using up your oxygen supply faster than your lungs/heart could supply it.
Not a good thing.

I recomend the following.
1. Go see a doctor for a physical checkup. Tell him you want to start an exercize program, tell him your goals and what type of exercizes you intend to do. Get him to OK your program.
2. Discuss your goals and the results of your visit with your doctor with a certified trainer. Have him set you up with a program based on your current physical ability. Learn how to do the exercizes properly (including when and how to breathe) Learn how to listen to your body. Work out with that trainer until both of you think you are ready to exercize on your own.
3. Go back and work with your trainer from time to time, so you can adjust your workouts as necessary for your rapidly improving new body.

Good luck, you can do this.

Hi,
My name is Amanda and this is my second posting. I think it's great that you are working out. I have a scale at my home that tells body fat and weight. Currently, I am 150lbs with 39% body fat. While it is high, I am not sure the machines are so accurate. I wouldn't focus on the percentage as much as I would on eating right and exercising regularly, even if it is just 10 minutes each day.
Good luck.

Hi Amanda.

Just FYI, those BF calculating scales are pretty inaccurate.

Compared to what?