aroundhky

Sorry, I just saw where this was intended for the ladies. My bad. :wub:

My current "fitness challenge" for myself is to do 20 pull ups at one time. So I am in the middle of trying to build this up too. I'm currently getting 16-18 reps in a single set and I'm so close I can smell it. Started out doing about 2-4 a month or so after surgery. I've been working toward this goal for months and slowly getting closer. This exercise uses pretty much all back muscles, especially the upper back along with biceps. Here's a few things that I've noticed has helped me with my pull ups. 1-Increase training frequency. For me, once a week wasn't really helping me all that much. I started doing them twice a week, and have now progressed to three times a week (Mon, Wed, Fri). 2-Vary your grips. I concentrate on pronated grips, wide, medium and close grip. Every once in a while I'll train with a supinated grip, but pronated works best for me in pulling in my lats, rhomboids and rear delts. 3-Progression from assisted pull ups (5-10 reps), to non-assisted, body weight pull ups (5-10 reps), then once you're able to do 10 reps of body weight, add weight. I use a weighted vest or put a dumbbell in my backpack and try not to look like a thief. If you're just needing funtional strength for this exercise, you may not need to train with added weight. If you can get to where you can do 5 or 5 pull ups, that may be all you need for the Tough Mudder. 4-Also incorporate essentrics or negatives. That is once you're up in the completed pull up position with your chin at the bar, lower yourself back down as slowly as you can. You can also train this way if you can't do a pull up by holding your hands in pull up place, jumping up to a completed position, then lowering slowly. 5-Patience. It's slow progress with this exercise. But slowly building strength along with some weight loss at the same time will make this exercise easier to perform as your training progresses through the months. I've not done Tough Mudder, but I've competed in the Warrior Dash twice. I think I'm about ready to move up to Tough Mudder, so let us know how it goes, keep us posted and I wish you the best!

Thanks for the info Sheila! Long time no see! How are you doing with the lifting?

Hmmmm....maybe it will show up soon. Hope so!

What the????? Some kind of mix up with the pictures from the old site here?

I am missing the "Fitness & Exercise" section that our old site had. What gives? Reading that stuff and getting ideas helps to keep me a little more motivated. Am I the only one missing it? Maybe it's on here and I just don't see it?

U.S. Coast Guard - Semper Paratus!

Like PdxMan said, paying for a good trainer early is a good idea to familiarize yourself with the gym and various types of lifts/exercises. As to your question about workouts.....mine have progressed into fairly short intense sessions as I lift on my lunch break and time is limited. I'll do my lifting for about 45-50 minutes at lunch in a circuit training manner consisting of mostly compound lifts (deadlifts, military press, squats, etc) that use more than one muscle group at a time, body weight lifts (pullups, dips, plyometrics) and some more explosive lifts (hang cleans and clean & jerks). I'll do cardio (sprints, walking or some jogging) maybe 1-2 times a week after work or on weekends. Other than my once a year mud run and prep, I really don't do all that much cardio as my lifting sessions will usually push me to my cardiovascular limits. I also recommend that you not judge or even gauge yourself with others and what other people do for workouts. It's all personal preference depending on your goals and as long as you don't injure yourself, there's really no wrong type of exercise. You'll want to ease into lifting if you choose that route and progress gradually. With me, I've lifted for years, but since the sleeve, I've upped the tempo and intensity and my workouts are now somewhat comparable to crossfit routines. But there's no way I could workout that way the first couple of months after surgery. So just get educated, motivated, have goals, and take your time.....you'll be fine. Wishing you the best!

Now since I'm a "butt guy"....if anyone runs across one of these for "rear portions".....please let me know! Until then, this will be nice and sufficient.

No, I didn't push it, or at least I don't feel that I did. I got full quickly early on and learned to stop a bite or two before I felt full. Then as the months went on, it took more food to get to that point and be satisfied. Then several months out the increase stopped, which is pretty much where I am now.....2 years post op and eating about the same as I did 6-8 months post op.

Wow....it's like Baywatch! Personally, I kept them at an A or B while I was using that site ......bigger than that is too big for my preference. Thanks for sharing Butter!!

I add it to a lot of different foods.....turkey meatloaf, spaghetti, stir fry, etc. I'll boil it first, then add it in. I love to eat it for dinner at night when I've worked out that day. It's a good complex carb with protein.....good food in my opinion!

Holy dang!!! Me likey!!! Congrats, you are looking way too fine.....gotta stay back, my monitor is overheating!!

"Sweetsusie"............like Butter stated, the compound lifts, core exercises and squats will be most beneficial. With that said, lifting can help some, especially with low to moderate loose skin, but with big loose skin issues.....it can only do so much. Are you noticing just a little loose skin? Also, how close are you to reaching goal or maintaining? If you've lost 90 so far and expect to lose say another 30-40 pounds....it's going to be challenging to avoid the loose skin. Basically, the more weight loss, the harder to build enough muscle to help fill in loose skin.

Welcome "dwagne"! If you have any specific questions....just let us know.

"Nagem"........where did your tummy go??? Congrats!!

Personal opinion.....nothing wrong with thick thighs......prefer them.

Congrats Jessica!

Yeah, if you lack some self motivation, let someone hold you accountable like a personal trainer or workout buddy. Maybe at some point down the road, missing a session will not be somrthing you're ok with or your day will not quite be complete without it....then you'll be more self motivated. Peer pressure never really leaves our lives, it just evolves and hopefully matures a little. Why not use it in some type of positive way if possible.

2big2skate........well said man!

Ruthie.....stick with it, try not to get too obsessed about the scale, keep your end goal (in shape and toned) in mind, and you'll get there. Meliss000 does make a good point. Obviously a pound is a pound no matter the substance. She stated that muscle weighs more than fat. Not the typical statement we see here a lot...."a lb of muscle weighs more than a lb of fat"....which obviously isn't true. But on a volume basis, Meliss000 is correct. A cubic foot of muscle would weigh more than a cubic foot of fat. So in a sense, muscle does weigh more than fat volume-wise..... due to being more dense.

If your calories are still at maintenance or below, you're not putting on fat. More than likely, you're just adding a little muscle and if you've done a good bit of resistance training, you're probably holding onto a little water. Not in a bloated way. But when you exercise intensely, your muscles will bring in some water to them to help repair and recover....it's a good thing The body is just adjusting some.

Congrats on those workouts! Yeah, D.O.M.S. is a little weird.....not sure they know exactly why the soreness is so delayed.

Good article and another reason we all should stop overly comparing our weight loss to someone else. Way too many variables involved such as male vs female, low BMIer vs high BMIer, someone in their 20's vs someone in their 60's, etc. So it makes little sense to compare weight loss with another.....especially if you're a woman in her 60's with a low BMI comparing to a 25 year old guy who was a high BMI'er. I can relate to the part where many guys are linear thinkers and see it as a task or to do list.....

For the first 4-6 weeks post op.....walk......walk......and walk some more. After that, it would be a good idea to start into some resistance training and up the intensity on the cardio.