physical fitness level comparrison :(

[mista_mo]

k, so i'm writing this as a comparisson of just what kind of atrophy you can expect after about..4 months with very little to no exercise. and there is a question for ya at the end. my old stats: 5 ft. 8 in. [height] 145 lbs. [weight] body weight exercises pushups [regular]: 65 pushups [regular with 75 lbs. on back]: 40 pushups [hands forming triangle below your sternum]: 45 pushups [onearm]: 10 situps [regular]: 120 situps [35 lbs. on chest] 75 crunches: 70 leg raises:55 bar dips [triceps]: 20 bar dips [chest]: 25 tricep dips [arms gripping one bench; feet resting on other]: 40 tricep dips [same as above, but with 200 pounds on thighs]: 20 hand stand pushups [20] free weights bench press [160 lbs.]: 3 sets of 12 reps bench press max [220 lbs.]: 1-2 reps angled leg press [340 lbs.] military press [125 lbs] preacher curls [120 lbs] chest press [50 pounds/dumbbell] calf raises [600 lbs] run: 1 mile--2 miles now, these are very shortened lists, but heres the next one of me now body weight exercises pushups [regular]: 25 pushups [regular with 75 lbs. on back]: -- pushups [hands forming triangle below your sternum]: 20 pushups [onearm]: 6 situps [regular]: 40 situps [35 lbs. on chest] -- crunches: 25 leg raises:30 i haven't included the free weights simply because i haven't had a chance to do it. However, I can deduct from these results above that i will have a much lower max or even average for everything. It really sucks, ever since i dislocated my shoulder (twice in a 3 month period) I was unable to do any intensive exercises, and haven't doen any weights or even sit ups or push ups at all. Just goes to show you how much weaker you can become over a relitively short amount of time. my question is how do you get into shape, what did you find worked for you, and what hasn't?

[Eyebiter]

I'd go with modified Atkins diet + lots of walking for the first month. Start drinking lots of water, stop drinking ALL coffee, soda, beer, wine, booze. Quit eating all bread, sugar loaded snacks, cereals, rice for a month. No ice cream, donuts, chocolate, or other junk foods. Don't use any sugar, honey, or corn syrup products. Start eating lots of Tuna and Skinless Chicken Breast. Eat a good portion of steak without the potatoes, french fries, or other sides at least twice a week. Eat green salads and vegetables. Normal atkins says not to, but I think it's better for your digestion. Don't use much salad dressing with sugar in it. You can eat a few fruits (apple a day) but avoid orange, apple, grape, or other fruit juices since most have lots of high frucose corn syrup. The high protein diet will help shed body fat. Not to mention if you exercise while eating this kind of diet it seems to really work well. Only downside is if your a carb addict (like many folks) then you will be completely pissed off the first few weeks on this new diet. After a while though it's not so bad.

[MinionZombie]

I know what you mean about not exercising for a couple of months and being further behind than you were when you last exercised. I was exercising before I slipped and buggered my back up 2 weeks ago (I guess prior to that I'd been lazy for about 2 weeks/had been generally more active as I'd been doing regular work and eating less)...so I have to wait for my back to be back to normal (well on it's way just from resting and lugging a pillow around to sit against like a blankie ), so when I go back to my usual weight lifting and sit ups, I'll be down at least 20 maybe 30 sit ups and the weight lifting will be down a bit...although mind you, I find my hands hurt first, rather than my muscles, which forces me to pause...ach...I'll get back into things when my back is sorted out, that should be in about 2 weeks I think, just natural healing...although I've cut out eating bread as snacks (jam sarnies or crisp sarnies for example), which was all added carbs that weren't necessary at all, so I cut those out ... I just really enjoy eating bread, but I cut that extra bread out that wasn't necessary and am cutting down the choccie biccies, lol...it's all in the right direction anyway. I'm also cutting down the amount of pizza I eat, as Tesco's say - "every little helps".

[MissJacksonCA]

I dont think shape is something you can get into its something you maintain. I maintain a healthy level of fitness by jogging twice a day and its typcailly for about 5-7 miles a day total... in addition to that I strength train with a personal trainer at my local gym for an hour a day and typically at home I use my elliptical for an hour daily. If I can and I can't here I like to jog uphill and actually have noticed I have to work out harder with my trainer to maintain the physique I had when I was able to run uphill. My workout regime and diet have drastically changed since leaving California where typically my total workout hours for the day was about 5 to 6 hours every single day of the year unfortunately here my resources are limited. As are my options for food. In California I can buy anything I want here in South Carolina the local markets have fruit and veggies that's on the verge of being completely overripe and rotting still waiting to be sold. Additionally the selection of fruits and veggies here is very minimal and thus my diet is typically very boring. I eat a lot of tuna after workouts and pretty much stick to raw foods in between and supplements to take care of additional nutritional needs I require. I almost never drink soda I typically drink a lot of water and have to force myself to drink milk because I hate it so much. I also never drink fruit 'juice' unless i'm out at a bar and its the mixer. I try to stay away from wine and the like just because it does affect my workouts and overall health and I just dont care for it a lot. I dont know if its psychological but I know I feel better when I exercise and eat well and there definately have been times where I wasn't able to do either. Living in Maitoba during the winter with 40 and 60 below 0 temperatures was rough... especially because I had no vehicle there and had to eat all my meals at work. My exercise was restricted to the one room of the cabin I lived in and it was pretty much running in place or situps and the like which I didnt do very often because quite frankly I didnt have the energy and I attribute that to my diet. That was for about 8 months I gained some weight and it took a while to see progress once summer hit. Ironically my boyfriend kinda let himself go when we broke up for a bit and he gained like 60 pounds in around 4 months and in the time since then he kept the weight on him until recently but its become increasingly hard for him to lose weight for a variety of reasons but that's okay i'm planning on kicking his ass into shape in September.

[coma]

I eat single serving meals when I want to lose weight or maintain. That means one plate of food. Light on the meats, little or no processed foods, no soda or things with cornsyrup. Walk alot. No eating 5 hours or so before you sleep. That works for me without all that crazy calorie counting. I lost 30 lbs recently doing just that and it only involved a small amount of behavior modification. Mostly I couldn't get around because of health and thats why I gained weight. My diet wasn't that bad but I overindulged in a few things too often. I used to exercise alot when I was younger because i thought I needed to to get laid. I was wrong. Yes, I am awesome I cant imagine exercising 5-6 hours a day. That sounds so boring I would rather be dead. An hour or two is fine, but thats way too much for me. I guess its just not that important to me. Thats cool someone could be into that but working out is like watching grass grow far as I am concerned. Tedium. I find sitting on my ass very good for my mental health.

[Neil]

I haven't exercised regularly in a long time Used to do karate a couple of times a week, go the the gym a couple of times a week, run a couple of times a week, and play squash/badminton a couple of times a week. Infact I used to run to squash, play a double session, and then run back home... All that got shot with the kids arriving! I'm still a bit stocky due to my gym/karate - ie: Stocky chest and biceps etc, but there's more padding than I like! I'm currently eating a lot less and the weight it disappearing I'm currently in 34" trousers and would like to get back to my old 32"

[MaximusIncredulous]

I'd go with modified Atkins diet + lots of walking for the first month. Start drinking lots of water, stop drinking ALL coffee, soda, beer, wine, booze. Quit eating all bread, sugar loaded snacks, cereals, rice for a month. No ice cream, donuts, chocolate, or other junk foods. Don't use any sugar, honey, or corn syrup products. Start eating lots of Tuna and Skinless Chicken Breast. Eat a good portion of steak without the potatoes, french fries, or other sides at least twice a week. Eat green salads and vegetables. Normal atkins says not to, but I think it's better for your digestion. Don't use much salad dressing with sugar in it. You can eat a few fruits (apple a day) but avoid orange, apple, grape, or other fruit juices since most have lots of high frucose corn syrup. The high protein diet will help shed body fat. Not to mention if you exercise while eating this kind of diet it seems to really work well. Only downside is if your a carb addict (like many folks) then you will be completely pissed off the first few weeks on this new diet. After a while though it's not so bad. Just wondering, can SPAM be substituted for Tuna and skinless Chicken breast or is it strictly low-fat fish and chicken for meat?

[MissJacksonCA]

I eat single serving meals when I want to lose weight or maintain. That means one plate of food. Light on the meats, little or no processed foods, no soda or things with cornsyrup. Walk alot. No eating 5 hours or so before you sleep. That works for me without all that crazy calorie counting. I lost 30 lbs recently doing just that and it only involved a small amount of behavior modification. Mostly I couldn't get around because of health and thats why I gained weight. My diet wasn't that bad but I overindulged in a few things too often. I used to exercise alot when I was younger because i thought I needed to to get laid. I was wrong. Yes, I am awesome I cant imagine exercising 5-6 hours a day. That sounds so boring I would rather be dead. An hour or two is fine, but thats way too much for me. I guess its just not that important to me. Thats cool someone could be into that but working out is like watching grass grow far as I am concerned. Tedium. I find sitting on my ass very good for my mental health. It wasn't like being in the gym for 5-6 hours a day it was playing severely agressive tennis for two hours swimming laps for an hour and dividing the rest of my time between running and the gym. It wasn't tedious at all because my then-boyfriend was into it and so it was always fun. How corny does that sound?