Programs for getting started

Ogj78

Hi All,

I’m looking for a program to get moving again... shed some weight and gain some muscle. I competed in a tough mudder almost 4 years ago, and was so burned out preparing for the event, that I really haven’t done anything since. I’m currently around 235 and am 5’6”.

I’ve got two young boys at home, and want to be able to keep up with them, not just function as a 40 year old overweight dad. I’m just having a tough time getting motivated and find a program that I have time for, is realistic in my life, and is fun. I wouldn’t mind some ads from people on here as well. I’m often encouraged and motivated by others accomplishments. Thanks for the advice!

kommodevaran

It's hard to know what will motivate other people - my gut says "you don't need a program to start, just eat less and start moving". But you are asking for a program, so just walking and playing with your sons won't cut it? If you're looking for a structured fitness routine, I recommend you head over to the fitness & exercise department.

cwolfman13

jeffolson78 wrote: »

Hi All,

I’m looking for a program to get moving again... shed some weight and gain some muscle. I competed in a tough mudder almost 4 years ago, and was so burned out preparing for the event, that I really haven’t done anything since. I’m currently around 235 and am 5’6”.

I’ve got two young boys at home, and want to be able to keep up with them, not just function as a 40 year old overweight dad. I’m just having a tough time getting motivated and find a program that I have time for, is realistic in my life, and is fun. I wouldn’t mind some ads from people on here as well. I’m often encouraged and motivated by others accomplishments. Thanks for the advice!

I've recently had a similar issue, though not quite to the extreme. I'm an avid cycling enthusiast and for the past few years I've been riding as if I'm going to go do a 1/2 century on any given day. I was also lifting a few days per week. Frankly, it was a big time suck and the burnout finally caught up to me as things in my daily life got busier...both kids in school now and bringing home homework...kids doing youth sports and Jiu Jitsu, etc. Keeping up with everything just got too exhausting and I just wasn't having as much fun anymore.

The last few month of 2018 were particularly bad and I was routinely missing rides...going to lift once per week if that...sometimes going a week or two without getting to the gym and just generally felt like if I couldn't do what I had been doing then what's the worth.

I had to have a little sit down with myself and re-evaluate what I was doing. There's no reason really that I need to train like I'm going to ride a 1/2 any day of the week and I needed to find something a bit more schedule/time friendly in regards to lifting.

I don't really do the resolution thing, but in January I sat down and really put to paper what was going to be realistic given all of my other goings on and what I came up with is that realistically I can put in a good 10-12 mile ride in 3x per week (35-45 minutes) with a sometimes longer ride on the weekend. If need be, one of those rides can be an interval session on my trainer which is usually in the realm of 20-30 minutes.

In regards to lifting, I talked to my trainer and he put together a 2x week program that is very efficient...it typically takes me 30-40 minutes.

In all, this is about half of the volume of work I was putting in before, so I've also been paying much more attention to my general movement throughout the day. I somewhat reluctantly bought a FitBit Charge 2 and started walking my dog most mornings instead of the occasional morning or rest day activity...she's old so we only go for about 30 minutes...that time used to be spent by me sipping my morning coffee and checking out the news on my Kindle so I'm a bit more productive this way.

I also make sure I'm up and moving every hour since I have a desk job. On most days I'm getting around 10K steps...sometimes a bit more, sometimes a bit less. For me, that is really the point of diminishing returns since to get more I would really have to forgo my more intensive exercise.

I usually ride a few cycling events annually...this year I've decided that for my May event I'm just going to do a 1/4 century as my general fitness riding will be enough to do that without having to follow a more rigid training protocol. I'm undecided on my September as to whether I'm just going to go with a 1/4 or jump into a training program for a couple months and do a 1/2...my October event is just for *kitten* and giggles and we usually do it as a family and is only 10 miles, so no biggie on that one.

I'm always in a bit of a funk this time of year in regards to my weight...I typically put on about 8-10 Lbs over the winter and it usually takes me a bit to get going again with making some changes to my diet, etc...

brightresolve

tl;dr: start with logging food.

You mentioned "shed some weight" before "gain some muscle" so I thought it might be worth mentioning: weight loss is affected most easily by calories-in. Most of us have neither time nor a high enough level of conditioning to out-train the kind of caloric surplus that led us into a weight gain in the first place.

If that makes sense to you, your first efforts could be directed at that end of the issue - logging food and staying at a modest calorie deficit to start shedding that weight. Logging food is a program, in and of itself, as in, it's structured, specific, will cause measurable progress, has goals that are attainable if you stick with it.

Losing a little weight is likely to make you feel better and more motivated to move (and your sons will surely help!) Good news about logging, it's quick and easy once you spend a LITTLE time getting used to it, and should fit easily in your life without a huge time commitment.

As an example, for me, I cannot eat like the marathoner I once was until I can train like the marathoner I was, and I couldn't run much at all (knees!) until I dropped some weight. Working out for health and calorie burn is great and many people find it fits well with their weight loss strategy but this war is fought and won (or lost) on the calories- in side.

Good luck!

beercan40

What kind of program are you looking for? Weight training, cardio, etc.. What are your goals besides losing fat and gaining muscle? Having defined goals will make it easier to make a plan of attack. I am kind of in the same boat. I am a mediocre powerlifter and lost motivation to lift. My weight is starting to get higher than I would like, 235 @ 6'1. I am looking to drop 20 lbs over the long run {.5 to 1 lb a week} until I reach my goal of 215. I will still be able to lift heavy with out losing strength my tracking my calories and adjusting based off of my weight. I am pushing 40 with a very active son, its hard for me to keep up and will only get worse if I dont get it under control. I would figure out what you want and create obtainable goals from that. Then you can figure out the programming you want.

Good Luck!!