How do you get the group accountability? For me, I need something to help me get there.
Farrell's Extreme Body Shaping
- Thread starter throwittoblythe
- Start date
How do you get the group accountability? For me, I need something to help me get there.
Ideally, I'd get to know one or two people there and we hold each other accountable. Texts/calls/etc to say "hey man, where are you?" Stuff like that is helpful for me. It's a weird thing. I hate letting others down, but I don't mind letting myself down. If I try to motivate myself, I usually fail. If I tell someone I'm going to do something, I always get it done.
Of course, once I sign up, my biggest motivation might be my wife kicking me in the back at 4am and saying "didn't you spend like $500 on this? get your ass out of bed."
Sounds like you aren't one that needs the diet or the exercise as much as most that take that program. Like others have said I would get your diet down now, then start a program that is made for muscle building or cardio or both.
Personally I made one "little" change last year that has been something I will be doing for the rest of my life. I am limiting sugar grams to less than 25g a day. I didn't cut out carbs, just added up the sugar grams on the label. It's easy to watch one thing. I lost 25 or so pounds in the first 2 or 3 months, for comparison I was 6'3" and 290.
I ate like garbage, McDonald's egg mcmuffin was a common breakfast, kind of my reward to knocking out sugar. It's amazing how much better I feel, and my blood work was the best it's ever been this fall. I didn't think I was a big sugar guy, but turns out I was. I used to think I had IBS, I've had joint pain, chest pain, anxiety, etc. Almost all of this went away by staying away from sugar.
At first I was very strict. No fruit, no ketchup, no milk, to mention a few things. But I wanted to introduce fruit back in as I think restricting food groups is a bad long-term solution. I still don't drink milk, which I miss a little. And I will have a cookie, or a small dish of ice cream once a week or so. I like sparkling water and Bai coconut water, which is what I drank when I craved soda. I drink vodka with sparkling or soda water instead of beer or other mixed drinks. Nuts are a great snack if you crave something sweet.
Now I'm 6 or 8 months deep into my own personal workout program in my home. I have my bike on a trainer, we have a treadmill, Bowflex, and an elliptical. I was always a racquetball or basketball guy, but with age and surgeries, I've been able to finally stick to these types of workouts. I've been stuck at 265 for a while, but I haven't been strict. But the great thing is that I've maintained without doing anything special, and all I have to do is cut out the diet soda, and bananas and I believe I would start losing like I did early on.
Of course this is my story, and I'm motivated differently. Either way good luck to you.
Personally I made one "little" change last year that has been something I will be doing for the rest of my life. I am limiting sugar grams to less than 25g a day. I didn't cut out carbs, just added up the sugar grams on the label. It's easy to watch one thing. I lost 25 or so pounds in the first 2 or 3 months, for comparison I was 6'3" and 290.
I ate like garbage, McDonald's egg mcmuffin was a common breakfast, kind of my reward to knocking out sugar. It's amazing how much better I feel, and my blood work was the best it's ever been this fall. I didn't think I was a big sugar guy, but turns out I was. I used to think I had IBS, I've had joint pain, chest pain, anxiety, etc. Almost all of this went away by staying away from sugar.
At first I was very strict. No fruit, no ketchup, no milk, to mention a few things. But I wanted to introduce fruit back in as I think restricting food groups is a bad long-term solution. I still don't drink milk, which I miss a little. And I will have a cookie, or a small dish of ice cream once a week or so. I like sparkling water and Bai coconut water, which is what I drank when I craved soda. I drink vodka with sparkling or soda water instead of beer or other mixed drinks. Nuts are a great snack if you crave something sweet.
Now I'm 6 or 8 months deep into my own personal workout program in my home. I have my bike on a trainer, we have a treadmill, Bowflex, and an elliptical. I was always a racquetball or basketball guy, but with age and surgeries, I've been able to finally stick to these types of workouts. I've been stuck at 265 for a while, but I haven't been strict. But the great thing is that I've maintained without doing anything special, and all I have to do is cut out the diet soda, and bananas and I believe I would start losing like I did early on.
Of course this is my story, and I'm motivated differently. Either way good luck to you.
Thanks, great stuff. I cut out pop about 2 months ago. I was a 3-5x a week user of a 20oz mt dew. I’m using lent to kickstart removal of sweets altogether. You’re a absolutely right though. Sugar is in everything!
If you are avoiding the bad sugars, you can load up on fruit without any concerns. Fruit is great, it's all natural sugars and digests easily if the rest of your diet is good. I load up on fruit every day. I'm confused, why are you wanting to cut out bananas?
I just came to post the same thing. Cutting out sugars is great but glycemic index is important. Fruit is low GI. I wouldn't take advice from anyone who suggests cutting out fruit. Carbs are equally important post-workout.
Next fall find a yoga studio that offers a variety of classes. The one where I have a membership offers heated yoga, cardio classes, and functional interval training classes. Gives me a nice variety of workouts throughout the week. And the heated studio is a nice break from the cold outside.
Fantastic idea! I really enjoyed the p90x piyo series so that would be a great fit.
Following up on this for anyone who is interested...I just completed the Farrell's 10 Week Program here in MSP. Here are my results at the beginning and end of the 10 weeks:
Weight: Start 220 lbs, End 198.5 lbs (21.5 lbs lost)
Body Fat: Start 26.1%, End 16.6% (9.5% lost)
Pushups in One Minute: Start 20, End 52
Situps in One Minute: Start 9, End 42
Inches Lost off Waist: 5
Inches Lost off Hips: 5
For me, this was an outstanding program. I got to know several of the people in my 6am class which gave me the accountability I needed. I ended up getting really motivated and started doing two classes a day on kickboxing days. I did 77 classes in 10 weeks (60 classes is the norm, but you can do as many as you like). And to my surprise, I ended up winning the $1000 prize for this session. I signed up as a full-time member and plan to keep going and working toward my next fitness goal.
Those who said diet was key are absolutely right. My wife and I stuck pretty strictly to the eating plan. We had no sweets at all in the 10 weeks and rarely even had a "cheat meal" or snack. We kept to lean proteins and veggies with very few grains. We were able to continue eating delicious food while keeping our diet clean. In the entire 10 weeks, I never felt like I was deprived of food.
It's really been a life-changing experience. I never considered myself unhealthy (I've run two half marathons and always had good health metrics), but I've also never really been in great shape either. For the first time in my life, I'm motivated to make these changes permanent. I'll allow myself to indulge a little again with sweets, alcohol, etc, but I'm not interested in eating fast food, or tons of refined carbs, pop, etc. It's much easier to pass on the Jimmy John's for work meetings or the donuts in the break room.
Weight: Start 220 lbs, End 198.5 lbs (21.5 lbs lost)
Body Fat: Start 26.1%, End 16.6% (9.5% lost)
Pushups in One Minute: Start 20, End 52
Situps in One Minute: Start 9, End 42
Inches Lost off Waist: 5
Inches Lost off Hips: 5
For me, this was an outstanding program. I got to know several of the people in my 6am class which gave me the accountability I needed. I ended up getting really motivated and started doing two classes a day on kickboxing days. I did 77 classes in 10 weeks (60 classes is the norm, but you can do as many as you like). And to my surprise, I ended up winning the $1000 prize for this session. I signed up as a full-time member and plan to keep going and working toward my next fitness goal.
Those who said diet was key are absolutely right. My wife and I stuck pretty strictly to the eating plan. We had no sweets at all in the 10 weeks and rarely even had a "cheat meal" or snack. We kept to lean proteins and veggies with very few grains. We were able to continue eating delicious food while keeping our diet clean. In the entire 10 weeks, I never felt like I was deprived of food.
It's really been a life-changing experience. I never considered myself unhealthy (I've run two half marathons and always had good health metrics), but I've also never really been in great shape either. For the first time in my life, I'm motivated to make these changes permanent. I'll allow myself to indulge a little again with sweets, alcohol, etc, but I'm not interested in eating fast food, or tons of refined carbs, pop, etc. It's much easier to pass on the Jimmy John's for work meetings or the donuts in the break room.
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