Help! I'm Fat - *** Official Exercise and Weight Thread ***

[throwittoblythe]

For someone that can't even come close to doing 1 pull-up, is there a way to help working your way up to doing those? I have a pull up bar but can't do anything close to even 1.

There are probably better ways, I'd honestly check youtube or just google. What I've seen is a few options:

1) Set up a chair or bench below you with one foot on it to take part of the weight off and build you way up.

2) I've been to gyms that also have a pull-up "machine" that you set a weight offset and put your feet on a bar that compensates. So, say you weigh 175 lbs, you set it to 100 lbs, so you're only doing pull-ups on 75 lbs of weight.

3) Another option is to do "negatives." So you start in the "up" position, with your full weight, and slowly lower yourself down using only your own strength.

4) Otherwise, you could do some exercises with bands to strengthen your shoulders and back. There are "figure 8" bands that you can use to build upper body strength gradually.

As I said before, core strength is a big part of it, too. It takes a decent amount of ab strength to do a pull-up. So, you'd want to work on holding a plank, for example, to build that up.

 

[Tre4ISU]

For someone that can't even come close to doing 1 pull-up, is there a way to help working your way up to doing those? I have a pull up bar but can't do anything close to even 1.

A few ways. You can start with resistance bands from the ceiling or door frame, or you can buy an assistance band that you can attach to your pull up bar and put your foot in to take weight off. It kind of depends on how far away you are but by reading, maybe start with the resistance bands in the door. I'm not sure how strong of the assistance bands you can find out there.

 

[Tre4ISU]

To add to your point about simplicity: when it comes to strength training, body weight exercises are some of the best. Push-ups and pull-ups are some of the best all-around strength exercises you can do. I might even add some simple squats with or without weights.

Pushups, squats, lunges and dips are a hell of a start and really cheap to do. Once that gets to be easy you can get more dynamic with them at also no cost. You also don't need any room to do it.

 

[throwittoblythe]

Pushups, squats, lunges and dips are a hell of a start and really cheap to do. Once that gets to be easy you can get more dynamic with them at also no cost. You also don't need any room to do it.

Spoiler alert to those new to this: it never gets easy That came up at the Farrell's I go to. One of the newbs said they can't wait until the workouts get easier. Yes, they do get easier, in a way, but you then start to push yourself further than you have before. If you are honestly pushing yourself in your workouts, they should never be "easy."

Don't mean to get preachy, and definitely not to you specifically, but it's something that people should realize with this stuff. You will get better at things as you progress, but it should never get "easy" because that means you're not pushing yourself.

 

[Tre4ISU]

Not trying to derail but this is somewhat related:

what home machines are people using? I’ve been a free weight snob my entire life but space and time is getting tighter and a bonus would be something my wife isn’t terrified of. I’m thinking some combo of an “All in one” Machine with selectable weight dumbbells could work out okay. TIA

I have the bowflex selectable weight dumbells and they are phenomenal. They work right, they take up no room and for what you're getting, they aren't all that expensive. How much room do you have? My girlfriend loves a lot of the Beachbody workouts because of how little room and equipment they take. I have a bench those dumbells and the resistance bands mounted to a door frame and that's all you need to do a lot of BB stuff. I know I sound like a broken record and I can assure you I'm not part of their pyramid scheme but paying for that and a small amount of equipment for more workouts than a person could ever complete is much cheaper than having a gym membership and it's been more efficient by a long stretch for me. That's not to mention you don't have to leave the house to do it when it's -20 out.

I had a bowflex and while I got decent results early on, it got real boring for me.

 

[Tre4ISU]

Spoiler alert to those new to this: it never gets easy That came up at the Farrell's I go to. One of the newbs said they can't wait until the workouts get easier. Yes, they do get easier, in a way, but you then start to push yourself further than you have before. If you are honestly pushing yourself in your workouts, they should never be "easy."

Don't mean to get preachy, and definitely not to you specifically, but it's something that people should realize with this stuff. You will get better at things as you progress, but it should never get "easy" because that means you're not pushing yourself.

I used the wrong wording there. What I should have said is "once you're ready to expand on that." I agree, it shouldn't and won't ever get easy. You'll just do more, faster.

 

[SpokaneCY]

Former friend of mine and his fat friend were looking for motivation so they started some sort of competition. The stakes were the loser had to write a check for $1,000 to the other persons charity of choice. The specific motivation in THIS case was that the "charity" selected was NAMBLA. Not the National Association of Marlon Brando Look-alikes but the other one.

NOT a recipe for success but still...

 

[Cyched]

Former friend of mine and his fat friend were looking for motivation so they started some sort of competition. The stakes were the loser had to write a check for $1,000 to the other persons charity of choice. The specific motivation in THIS case was that the "charity" selected was NAMBLA. Not the National Association of Marlon Brando Look-alikes but the other one.

NOT a recipe for success but still...

I like the concept, but that might be a little extreme. Wouldn’t want that on my background check...

 

[SpokaneCY]

I like the concept, but that might be a little extreme. Wouldn’t want that on my background check...

Couldn't imagine being the NAMBLA "man" of the year because I lost a bet...

 

[Tre4ISU]

I like the concept, but that might be a little extreme. Wouldn’t want that on my background check...

I think that's the point. That said, when one person has to lose like the scenario presented, I'd never do that. If it's a goal that's reasonable like we are doing here, that's different. No one has to lose. IN that one, though, either me or my buddy is writing that check and that isn't good.

 

[Cyched]

I think that's the point. That said, when one person has to lose like the scenario presented, I'd never do that. If it's a goal that's reasonable like we are doing here, that's different. No one has to lose. IN that one, though, either me or my buddy is writing that check and that isn't good.

That’s more what I was getting at. Use a more harmless recipient (your rival teams AD or a politician your friend hates) and I think it’s a fine idea

 

[benjay]

Mentioned it earlier but Focus T25 has been great. I recommend it for people who don't have a lot of time and don't mind in-home workouts.

 

[BigTurk]

Not trying to derail but this is somewhat related:

what home machines are people using? I’ve been a free weight snob my entire life but space and time is getting tighter and a bonus would be something my wife isn’t terrified of. I’m thinking some combo of an “All in one” Machine with selectable weight dumbbells could work out okay. TIA

About 20 years ago I bought a Total Gym at Sears. Yes the machine Chuck Norris pitches. I still use it. Good for some things, ok for others, worthless for some. I use that in combination with a knock off TRX, some dumbbells, and body weight exercises. The total gym is the most expensive item I purchased and I think I paid $100. If I purchased an all in one machine again I may still get a total gym but spring for a higher end model (if they still make them).

 

[BoxsterCy]

Threads messin' with my head even though I don't need to lose any weight. Walked out of grocery store last night with apples, grapes, banana, salmon and a pork tenderloin cut. Walked past the Halloween candy on sale. Nixed the pizza.

Also wondering if I can do a pullup. Haven't tried that in, well, cannot remember. Would be embarrassed to jump up and grab a bar at Lifetime and fail. Maybe try it when no one is looking. I'll report back. At my age the odds are heavily against it.

 

[SayMyName]

Threads messin' with my head even though I don't need to lose any weight. Walked out of grocery store last night with apples, grapes, banana, salmon and a pork tenderloin cut. Walked past the Halloween candy on sale. Nixed the pizza.

Also wondering if I can do a pullup. Haven't tried that in, well, cannot remember. Would be embarrassed to jump up and grab a bar at Lifetime and fail. Maybe try it when no one is looking. I'll report back. At my age the odds are heavily against it.

Please, Box - just make sure you DND during the attempt. You are a CF national treasure!

 

[demoncore1031]

Bastards put things that are addicting in all the best tasting foods and they're very unhealthy. I personally think McDonalds is paid by the government to put crap in their food that gives people cancer and other diseases. That's why McDonald's is the only place that never increases their prices. The stuff they put in a lot of food and drinks drains your energy so you won't exercise and then rack up massive doctor bills before you croak.

I know a lot of people that get McDonald's 4-5 times a week because they have no energy to cook at home and they can feed the whole family for pretty cheap. These people are always complaining about how horrible they feel every day but they can't stop eating fast food. And now with door dash and all that, they don't even have to leave the house to get it.

Personally I have noticed that Mtn Dew makes me feel horrible. When I drink it every day, I am drained and I can feel it affect my memory and I lack concentration. It also messes with my vision and makes my bedroom performance not so good. But when I don't have one for a couple weeks I feel the exact opposite. In fact, last year I dropped 40 lbs just from not having a soda for 7 months.

Good luck with the weight loss, man. I'll be joining you in this quest.

 

[Cyclones_R_GR8]

In fact, last year I dropped 40 lbs just from not having a soda for 7 months.

They say if you want to lose weight the first thing you should do is eliminate the calories that you drink. That is proof right there of how true it is.

 

[madguy30]

Bastards put things that are addicting in all the best tasting foods and they're very unhealthy. I personally think McDonalds is paid by the government to put crap in their food that gives people cancer and other diseases. That's why McDonald's is the only place that never increases their prices. The stuff they put in a lot of food and drinks drains your energy so you won't exercise and then rack up massive doctor bills before you croak.

I know a lot of people that get McDonald's 4-5 times a week because they have no energy to cook at home and they can feed the whole family for pretty cheap. These people are always complaining about how horrible they feel every day but they can't stop eating fast food. And now with door dash and all that, they don't even have to leave the house to get it.

Personally I have noticed that Mtn Dew makes me feel horrible. When I drink it every day, I am drained and I can feel it affect my memory and I lack concentration. It also messes with my vision and makes my bedroom performance not so good. But when I don't have one for a couple weeks I feel the exact opposite. In fact, last year I dropped 40 lbs just from not having a soda for 7 months.

Good luck with the weight loss, man. I'll be joining you in this quest.

The funny thing about people using fast food as an 'easy' way to get food is that even if it's delivered, there are lots of inexpensive, healthy things to eat that take anywhere from 0-10 minutes to prepare so less time in general.

On the other side of the spectrum, it's dumb that healthy recipes that you can find online still call for lots of added and unneeded ingredients that can be overwhelming and make it more work and expensive.

There's nothing difficult or wrong with filling up a frying pan with mixed veggies and mushrooms, cooking it for roughly 10 minutes, and having that as a meal.

 

[ScottyP]

This week I made a few changes to be healthier. So far so good, but we will see how long it lasts. One of the main focus is to increase the water consumption. I noticed I tend to feel a lot better throughout the day by drinking lots of water.

Here are the changes I made so far:
Increase water consumption - I drink 2 glasses of water first thing before any coffee or exercise; try to make sure I get my 8 glasses a day

Exercise/strenght training - I have some adjustable dumbbells (Powerblocks) that I did some various exercises (squats, lunges, curls, etc); also getting a quick 15 minute walk in the morning

Eating - no pop/soda so far; reducing carbs and sugars; haven't had big portions yet; also try to drink a full glass of water before eating so I fill up on that instead of the food.

 

[BoxsterCy]

Personally I have noticed that Mtn Dew makes me feel horrible. When I drink it every day, I am drained and I can feel it affect my memory and I lack concentration. It also messes with my vision and makes my bedroom performance not so good. But when I don't have one for a couple weeks I feel the exact opposite. In fact, last year I dropped 40 lbs just from not having a soda for 7 months.

I've preached the Soda is the Devil gossip for years.