As part of my endeavor to get back into shape, I’ve joined a local gym. Planning to work mostly on improving upper body strength. Also what’s really cool is that the walking machines have television screens on them with all sorts of cable channels. It’s amazing how quickly the time passes when you can focus on something other than the exercise. Plus they’re the only gym in the area with a pool, and swimming is great exercise. Best of all, they have child care, so I can bring Caroline with me and Kath can have the mornings to work on puppetry and such.
So basically I’m figuring Monday/Wednesday/Friday will be gym days, and I practice bowling Tuesdays, Thursday and Saturday. Seems like a decent enough exercise program. Until now I’ve just been bowling for exercise, which works well enough, but the development of my body is lopsided. My right arm is pretty normal looking, but my left arm–my bowling arm–is muscled and defined. So this should help even things out. And they teach you how to use the various machines so I won’t screw myself up.
PAD
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Peter–
Good luck! I’ve been a Geek Trying To Get Back Into Shape (GTTGBIS) for awhile now, and I agree with you–sometimes the hardest part about exercise is trying to focus on one thing (like a NordicTrak) for a half-hour, and fighting off boredom.
As a suggestion, if cable TV isn’t helping you out at all, try some audiobooks or podcasts (presuming, of course, you have a Walkman, Portable CD Player, or iPod). I’ve been finding the audiobooks are a decent way to get through some books while managing not to be bored to tears with the tediousness.
Chris
2000x is great for the walks. Big Finish’s stuff is even better though.
I’ll second the Big Finish comment. I’ve listened to some of their Doctor Who and 2000AD stuff, and I think it’s great (though $30 a CD can get a bit pricey. Still, it means that Paul McGann actually gets a chance to be the Doctor for more than one not-so-good TV movie…)
This is excellent news for you, PAD!
When you say that your goal is to “get in shape”, do you want to lose weight, build more muscles, or just excercise because its simply healthier for you?
I would recommend endurance swimming in any case. I myself am a distance runner, and the beauty of long-distance anything is that you get to eat lots of food and not have to worry about adding weight. Swimming is better than running because there is a fraction of the impact. Plus it builds upper body strength, which you said was one of your goals.
My only other advice would be to take it slow as you begin. Most people I know who suddenly decided to excercise go crazy with effort in the begining and slowly burn out. It shouldn’t be too much work, or else you won’t keep it consistent.
Good luck Peter. Alex is right about swimming being a good activity for us… larger gents. If you are finding yourself like I am when I exercise, board to tears, you should give martial arts a try. Look for a low impact style like judo, and find an instructor who is friendly and knows how to work with people trying to get into shape. Avoid striking styles like boxing or tae kwon do, because they are, shock of shocks, high impact. TKD really messed up my knees.
Peter, here’s you arm solution.
Take up smoking, drinking, and gambling, but use only your right hand to hold the cig, lift the shot glass, and push your chips to the dealer.
When your program is complete, I can have good coversation with my roomate in the MICU. See you there!
Seriously, good luck, God Bless, Mazeltov, or whatever is the appropriate word of encouragement (and in all honesty, envy!).
Good for you – but I think if you get too healthy and toned-up they kick you out of the comic writers union, don’t they?
awesome, man. good for you. The hardest thing I find to keeping a regular workout schedule is actually keeping a regular workout schedule. Lets say, come about a few weeks from now when you’ve been at it for awhile and your muscles kind of scream in protest at the thought of going, and the voice in your head says, “Ah, I can get away with not going today…” Don’t fall for it. You tell that little voice in your head to shut the hëll up and go and attack that gym with extra gusto. Then you’ll be over the wall, and its all gravy from that point onwards.
Oh, and speaking of keeping your minds off things whilist doing cardio: I just got off a stint where for the past 2+ weeks, I listened to the compete Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy radio dramas – All 26 episodes from the primary to quinesential phases. It really helped me zone out and just do the physical activity while my brain concentrated on the adventures of Arthur Philip Dent and Co. Try to get something like that to listen to: a huge listening project that would take up alot of hours. The complete William Shakesphere Unabridged on Audio Tapes or something crazy like that. It’ll eat up that mindless treadmill time in an instant.
Good luck and no pain / no gain, etc. etc.
Since my gym “only” has for TV’s available, I use an iPod when I’m on the treadmill. Besides lively music, I like to download NPR’s “Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me” to listen to.
I also take water aerobics. You’ll probably be one of the few men in the class, but its still very enjoyable.
You’ll probably be one of the few men in the class
So it’ll be just like home for him, then. 🙂
And good luck with the workout program — I think the hardest thing is to stick to it, as others have said.
TWL
Good luck at the gym. I’ve become a huge gym rat in the past year, having taken off about 3/4 my target weight so far.
I’m another iPod user when at the gym, mainly because the music my gym pipes through sucks. Lately, I’ve started listening to podcasts instead of music, though.
Dont try too hard, I live my life from the wisdom and wit of the holy 3 fat men: Peter David, Michael Moore and Kevin Smith 🙂
Also remember at your age your metabolism has slowed down and in order to increase your metabolism you need to build muscle and that means lifting weights.
Of course, don’t use an iPod while swimming. 🙂
Good luck with this. It definitely is a better way to go than what my boss is doing. He is going through Gastric Bypass surgery. From everything I have read that is the worst thing he could do. I’m glad you are taking a more sensible route to feeling better than he is, Peter.
Now I just have to do the same. Time to get the bicycle out. 🙂
Hey, Evil Twin, good luck with this. I’ve gone from 305 to 245, and what got me there is a lot of walking, some cycling, and balanced meals. And some two or three years of sustained effort…
My coworker, Avram, tells me that if you eat small meals every couple of hours shifts your metabolism into a higher gear, and the pounds just come melting off. I can’t verify this, but he says there’s scientific proof of it.
Mike
“My right arm is pretty normal looking, but my left arm–my bowling arm–is muscled and defined. So this should help even things out. And they teach you how to use the various machines so I won’t screw myself up.”
It’s kind of sad that the “muscled and defined” arm is not what is considered “normal.”
Heed the words above of Tallest Fan Ever about the voice in your head that will try to get you to quit. Ignore that voice. I started working out in 1979 after stories about how skinny Christopher Reeve used to be. Then Schwarzenegger starred in Conan. So comics got me into lifting weights, which judging from most of fandom, makes me something of an anomally.
What Chris said, “Also remember at your age your metabolism has slowed down and in order to increase your metabolism you need to build muscle and that means lifting weights” is exactly right. Don’t judge the muscle heads and gym rats as Neanderthals or narcissists. What started for them as an image issue often becomes a health issue.
Good luck and pick up barbell a few times before you get on that treadmill.
George
He is going through Gastric Bypass surgery. From everything I have read that is the worst thing he could do. I’m glad you are taking a more sensible route to feeling better than he is, Peter.
It’s definitely not for everyone but Mark Evanier seems to be doing very well after his gastric bypass.
As far as diets go I’m intrigued by the Paleolithic Diet (basically, only eat what we have evolved to eat–meat, nuts, fruit, veggies that don’t require cooking, mastodon). Not that I intend to be a nut about it–I’m pretty sure that cavemen ate cheesecake now and again.
Bill, OF COURSE they ate cheesecake now and then. The cheesecake tree next to the fountain of youth kept them well supplied! I know people old enough to remember this!
Best all around piece of advice that I ever got about working out–completely ignore the people around you also working out. Some are going to be built like Adonais, which could start you down in a bad moment thinking that “God, I’ll NEVER look like that, so I might as well just quit now,” or people in worse shape that might lead you to think “Well, I’m doing good, time to slack off.”
As far as swimming goes, as a former swimming teacher, I have to say there is really only one piece of advice. Don’t drown. Stole that from Ambush Bug, actually.
I’ll be cheering for you. I am doing the eat less and exercise thing currently, as I struggle to get to a better weight. I agree that exercise is easier when you have something to focus on. When I do the ten miles on my stationary bike, I pass the time by watching some TV on DVD (Currently, going through episodes of Smallville). Makes it much easier.
Good for you, Peter, but I second what was said earlier about starting slow. It takes a little while to build a routine and for your body to get used to the exercise, particularly muscles that haven’t been used in a while. If I lay off the gym for a month or two while I’m out of the country, it takes a good week or so to build up to the level I was used to. And the other thing to bear in mind is not to get too excited about what the scale says. If you’re got a lot of weight to lose, it’s no uncommon to have days where you have no weight lose at all. This tends to put people off sometimes when they say, ‘Why am I busting my ášš here?’
And I second the implementation of a bank of TV monitors over the cardio area. My Gold’s Gym in Paramus has added a movie channel, where they show a different movie every day. If it’s a great film, or something I haven’t seen yet, I can do six or seven miles on the treadmill, because it takes my mind of the tediousness of what I’m doing.
That said, I had to be up at six this morning to interview one of the producers on Doctor Who, and when I finished, my brain had already started to work, so I headed down to the gym, figuring I could get to the gym early and do a few extra miles. Unfortunately, they were playing the absolutely dire Coyote Ugly, so I got stuck with two hours of CNN. Not that I normally mind, but this blanket John Carr coverage is starting to get on my nerves.
Anyway, good luck Peter, and please don’t give up. It will get easier after a few weeks.
Excellent news, Peter! If you’re looking for a sensible diet that REALLY, REALLY works… I have 3 words for you: Fat Flush Plan. Look it up on Amazon. The dámņ thing is AMAZING and you’ll never want for food. Nothing like the weight falling off to encourage another 20 minutes on the treadmill. Given your love for the sport, too bad your gym doesn’t have co-ed beach volleyball. Maybe they have FSN on the TV’s? That station ALWAYS seems to play Women’s Beach Volleyball.
Peter:
I’ve been trying to get back into shape myself since being diagnosed with congestive heart failure and sleep apnea in late 2003.
Have to take it VERY slowly and hope someday to return to some sembalance of “normal”. Yet I will never be able to do physical/manual labor again, which unfortunately was the bulk of my previous professional life.
But even if I could take any of the “deus ex machinas” that are supposed to help you lose weight and get in better shape, I would not recommend them. There have been too many bad ones in the news to recognize the good ones. And even then, it was years before some of the side effects became apparent in the “good” ones.
It sounds like you are doing the right thing(s), just don’t over do it.
The main problem you will encounter is winter, where natural instinct says to just relax, stay indoors, and take it easy. This and the holidays will be the easiest, yet also the worst time to overindulge.
DON’T DO IT!
It is not always what you eat as how much you eat. Just watch the portions and inbetween meal snacks and you should be fine.
Lee, thanks for pointing out what more people realize, which is that there’s no silver bullet for weight loss, no matter how much the various snake oil salesmen would have you believe that. It all comes down to simple factors: exercise and diet, and there is no getting around that.
Others have pointed out the problem of being too obsessed with losing weight–isn’t it also true that given equal volumes, muscle weighs more than fat? So as you work out and lose fat and gain muscle ther may come a point where weight loss stops and maybe even reverses but it’s all good.
I remember when my ex wife and I worked out a lot before the kids were born–we were both in probably as good a shape as we would ever be but she was still unhappy at the lack of weight loss. She looked good though, so I don’t see the bug deal. By strictly weight standards everyone in the NBA is obese but I’d cut both my legs off to have a physique like that which, of course, would defeat the purpose.
So I don’t know about everyone else, but I don’t use an iPod or anything else when excercising because I like to get in touch with my thoughts. I like to write for fun, and I come up with some of my best ideas while I’m working out. If you’ve been doing the same repetetive motion for long periods of time, your mind tends to wander.
I’ve just gotten back into the eat less – exercise more mode as well. I have an exercise bike in the basement in front of the TV (I’ll haul out the real bike in the fall when it cools off) and have found 22 minutes or so a good duration for me for now. That happens to be the length of a half hour sitcom without commercials. I’m working my way through the Sports Night DVDs right now. Eventually I’ll work my way up to hour dramatic series and 45 minutes.
Rather than treadmills, I would suggest using elliptical machines (those NordicTrack looking things) instead. Besides incorporating your upper body and giving a better cardio workout, those machines are impact-free and won’t mess up your joints in the process.
I second Sasha’s recommendation. As a big guy, I have found the elliptical gives a great a workout without joint stress. You may feel a little off balance at first, but give it a chance, I think you’ll like it a lot–
Good for you, Peter.
Me, I don’t get to the gym as consistently as I’d like, so I try to walk a lot. Just yesterday, I walked to the comic book store, which was about 54 blocks, and then walked back the first 10 before taking a jitney van home.
And yeah, the time goes fast when you focus on something else. I can do an hour and five minutes on hte Stairmaster, highest elevation, resistance level 14 (out of I think, 20), and it flies by because I always bring a magazine article, script, or book to read. I put it on top of the progress readout, try to focus on that instead of the time, and before I know it, I’ve climbed up 6 miles of stairs, and burned about 650-700 calories.
Good luck!
wow, awesome, Pete. Good luck with everything. I’m one who loves to exercise more than almost anything and take advantage of everytime I have at a gym. Hopefully it doesn’t get stressful for you and make you want to drop it. I have friends who felt that way.
Guys, I managed to go from 197 to 173 following exactly the same plan Pete’s embarking on. Mind you, in my case it took seven months to pull it off. Still, I’m pulling hard for ya, PAD (always)!
Good idea! I packed on 90 odd pounds in the year after I quit smoking 7 yrs ago. I’ve managed to drop about 20 of them, but truckin’ is not conducive to weight loss. Ever seen deep fried lettuce?
If you have a persistant weight loss problem, my doctor gave me a scrip for Xenocal (I’m not sure of the spelling). It’s a fat blocker and mild appetite suppressant. You WILL have greasy, frequent movements, but it does work.
Good luck, keep the faith, and please tell me what works for you, cuz I got more weight to go.
Good luck, Peter! I am also trying to lose weight. I’ve known elderly people in my family who have greatly benefited from physical therapy so I know firsthand it’s NEVER too late to start.
Also, the American Heart Association now officially considers obesity a disease, not just a contributing factor. That can put a new spin on things for some people, while others will scoff.
I’ll also recommend Cytoplex. It’s by the makers of Myoplex. It’s a shake powder that helps burn fat. I haven’t used it myself yet, but a close friend just gave it to me today. We both met you at the Chicago con this year, but you may not remember.
For extra inspiration, I would recommend reading about ultra-marathoners Dean Karnazes and Pam Reed. These people’s feats can only be described as… super-human: Running through death-valley, running 300-350 CONSECUTIVE miles, running near the South Pole. Dean is running 50 marathons in 50 states in 50 days this Fall(He is in his 40’s BTW). I don’t expect you to do that right away PAD, but it’s something to think about when you feel you can’t go a few more miles on a stair-climber.
I have an idea: let’s all lose weight together: we can keep track of each other’s progress and motivate each other. We can call it “Lose the PAD”. I currently am 6 ft, 218 lbs (just went to the Doctor today). I was 213 for a High School Friend’s wedding back in May, but I’ve weighed as much as 250 lbs. My goal is to lose the belly fat, since that is the real danger, according to the latest findings. For me that may be a better goal than a magic number, since the number flucuations can be discouraging, but whatever works for you.
Good luck with the exercising. Maybe I’m selfish, but I’d like you to live longer so I can keep reading your stories.
This past week, I’ve started dieting myself. Mostly watching calories, but I’ve also been walking around the neighborhood every evening. (I’ve also been resisting the donuts people bring into work, which, as luck would have it, has occurred every day since I started dieting.)
The main problem you will encounter is winter, where natural instinct says to just relax, stay indoors, and take it easy. This and the holidays will be the easiest, yet also the worst time to overindulge.
DON’T DO IT!
Yeah, totally, what he said. Get yourself into a routine before the snow falls, and you’ll be good to go. This is very important. I gained alot of weight in the winter because of this hybernation institnct. DON’T. FALL. FOR. IT! Just keep pushing. If you’re into a solid workout routine before the snow falls, you’ll be good to go.
Think of it as climbing over a moutain. It sucks to get there, but when you reack the peek, its oh-so-sweet.
Great news! For what it’s worth, I’ve compiled some of my own weight-training experience over at my blog.
1Take it slow and easy.Eat right,and when the heavy weights feel lighter increase your load,and get plenty of rest.Now–Get Back to work.LOL
You can do it Peter. Plus when you make it a family thing you set a great example. I have been large all my life. My daughter Audrey just started first grade so thats 4 miles of walking a day for me and 2 for her.
I have changed my portion sizes and slowly I am losing some fat. For me it is just nice getting something like that under control. Best of luck Peter.