Anyone here work out?

We may earn a small commission from affiliate links and paid advertisements. Terms

Xanatos

Village Idiot
VIP
I'm 4 weeks back into it, I haven't worked out consistently since my ACL surgery (besides rehab ofc). I have a treadmill, elliptical, bench with a weight rack, and adjustable set of dumbbells in my basement and they've been there for a while so I really don't have any excuses for myself lol.

I've been doing 4-5 days a week, trying to eat better and I've mostly given up beer even. I got tired of being a young overweight guy and I'm down to 231 from 238 (at 6'1) already and I feel a lot better in general, I'm aiming for an even 200 and then I'll see where to go from there.

Anyone here got experience with exercise/weight loss? I'm just trying to cast a wide net of opinions and I like to hear what has worked for other people
 
I've lost roughly 40 pounds since moving to CA in March 2017. About to drop below 200 for the first time in easily 5, probably 10 years. Mostly diet. Gave up dairy and nearly all grain, aside from the occasional beer or cheat meal. I guess you could say I'm "paleo", but my choices were based off an elimination diet were I found grain and dairy were making me bloated. I'm still trying to eat more "nose to tail" but its tough trying to find organ meat in my area. Probably need to find a butcher.

I've used intermittent fasting for years as well. Look into eating windows. A lot of people find success with them. Personally, I like to fast for a few days to clear fogginess or to just reset myself. Tons of research behind it, but you'll find you actually get sharper even though you haven't eaten for a few days. My rationale was that a lion, or other predator, doesn't always have food. Sometimes the zebra gets away. Being hungry is natural. Being satiated 365 days a year is not.

As far as exercise goes, I'm lacking. I was doing a lot of kettlebell work, running, and yoga with my old job. Stopped when I first started the new job and haven't started up again. I'm still losing though. Diet is most important I guess.
 
Last edited:
Diet is 75% of your success. Furthermore, regulating your daily intake is 75% of your success with dieting.

I'm still hitting the gym regularly. I'm 5'9" and 210 lbs; lean but not bodybuilder-about-to-go-on-stage-hating-life lean. I've been doing 50-60% travel for work which has made things interesting but IIFYM has helped me keep things in check even when on the road.

Flexible dieting/IIFYM does require quite a bit of attention to detail. Tracking macros can be tricky unless you eat everything out of a bag or container, which isn't ideal.. I'd recommend figuring out your caloric needs for aggressive weight loss. Shoot for that every day. 9/10 you'll go over, but likely still land at less than your caloric needs to maintain weight.
 
yeah-he-must-work-out.jpg
 
The only exercise I get is working construction and walks to the jobsite which can be long at some sites. Then chasing a two year old and lifting a 7 week old.
 
I'm off the wagon these days. Was in pretty good shape 2 years ago. now i'm up 2 sizes (34 to 38s again)
 
Before my catastrophic back injuries, I was doing a LOT of HIIT circuit training (high heart rate, low weights, mobility workout, 3x/week for 30 minutes) and then training brazilian jiu-jitsu. That had me in the best shape of my life, and winning gold medals. :D I went to the doctor again last week and I think we might be getting close to a solution. It's only been 5 years since the first disc herniation. :(

I have a gym in my house as well. Converted garage is pretty awesome. I have bowflex adjustable dumbbells, elliptical, and a concept 2 rower. I'd recommend trading your treadmill for a rower. It's better cardio, lower impact, a full body workout, and actually builds strength. A treadmill just builds cardio and tears your body apart. Plus, treadmills do the same thing you can get by going outside and doing it for free.

I didn't know about intermittent fasting until last year. I thought it was just the way most people ate, but apparently it's really not that normal. I've been doing it unintentionally for my whole life by skipping breakfast and not eating close to bedtime. I do a 16/8 schedule; I don't eat breakfast very often, and when I do, I try to eat around 9-10am and then have dinner by 6-7pm. I thought that was normal, but apparently it's one of the best schedules for eating.

If you want a good body reset, do the whole30 meal plan (<good link). I did it in January and lost 13 pounds in 32 days (188>175-ish. now at 178 *i'm about 6'1"*). It's not sustainable long-term (it's not supposed to be), but it changes your mindset about how you look at food. Food should be fuel, not a companion, emotional support, or outlet for stress. The hardest part is learning to make meals. It also teaches you how to read food labels. You'll get a LOT more selective on what you buy/eat. You'll be at a restaurant or store and think, "do i really want to put THAT into my body". I think the every freshman in high school should do the whole30, I think it could change America.

If you have dumbbells, you should get these- Kettle Gryp (<good link). Most people think they need some amazing gym and a personal chef to be in good-great shape. Nobody "needs" weights unless they are training for something specific. Push ups, full body squats, and burpees can get 90% of people in the top body condition that they need for their daily lives. The only other thing I would suggest for your gym is a yoga ball and foam rollers. People ignore flexibility and core strength. And sit-ups are only about 1% of core strength. There's a lot more to core than the upper 4-pack. People ignore all the additional ab muscles, and they don't even consider the back muscles as part of their core. I've seen people with 8 pack abs not be able to stand on a balance ball with one leg because all their muscle is made for 1 or 2 exercises and have zero balancing strength.

All people need to do is to eat a little bit healthier, improve flexibility, and do total body workouts and everything will be pretty good.
 
Last edited:
People ignore flexibility and core strength. And sit-ups are only about 1% of core strength. There's a lot more to core than the upper 4-pack. People ignore all the additional ab muscles, and they don't even consider the back muscles as part of their core. I've seen people with 8 pack abs not be able to stand on a balance ball with one leg because all their muscle is made for 1 or 2 exercises and have zero balancing strength.
Is that why my balance sucks? But it's sucked my whole life.
 
Is that why my balance sucks? But it's sucked my whole life.

it could be, but you could also be uncoordinated. My gf is just uncoordinated af. she'll walk down a straight hallway and literally just bump into a wall. not looking at her phone or anything. lol
 
2 months in I'm feeling lighter and stronger than i ever have at any point in my life. I'm doing my weighted complexs at 95lbs instead of 75lbs (where I started) and I'm finishing all my reps unassisted. I cut out all sugary drinks so now its black coffee, water, and unsweet tea. Occasionally beer but I'm staying away from heavier craft stuff that I used to go after. Next Monday I'm going to try and move up to 100lbs. I have a good friend that is basically being my "personal trainer" for free and he's helped a lot. Thanks for all the feedback guys.
 
can you describe/define what weighted complexs means? very nice that you are making progress.
 
I have 3 that I do in addition to isolated weight training 2 days a week. My main one I do every Monday before bench press is

6 sets of 4
Deadlift
Roman deadlift
Hang clean
Push press
Back squats
Lunges

I do a quick run to get my heart rate up and then do them all in sequence with the same weight on the bar with small breaks in between sets. Its a full body workout and it seems to have really helped me with "functional" strength.
 
Used to work out. Did some olympic lifting and pretty boy lifting. Now I'm fat and married. Thinking of trying to lighten up this fall and get back into it now grad school is over.
 
Back
Top