Question Re: Workouts

[Guest guest]

Honestly, , most people at the gym are so focused on their own appearance

and workout, that they really aren't looking at you. I used to be the chubby

girl in the gym too and I felt too intimidated to use the free weights with the

guys. I just kept telling myself that noone was looking at me and I zoned out in

my own world. Fast forward a couple years, and now I'm the fit person in the

gym. I never, ever think anything bad about someone trying to improve their

health and anyone that does is not worth the effort of worrying about. I know

that I love helping others in the gym and giving people advice on how I got to

where I am. Most people who look very fit started out where you are. You're

doing great things for youself so keep it up! As for the cardio, if you really

feel like you need to add more, I would suggest doing it after weights. on

this one? The more active you can be in everyday life, the better. I walk my dog

for 45 min-1 hour every day, but I don't

consider that " working out " . Park further away, go for walks and bike rides,

clean, dance around the house, do yarkwork. You can do this!

Dearing wrote: Hey gang.. I am a little new to

the body for life way of working out, and although I have the BFL book, and the

EFL book... I think I am still lacking when it comes to working out. I know the

books have the " intensity " levels... but how do you gauge those levels?

Another question on working out... I have been doing cardio (20 minutes) before

hitting the weights, just to get my blood flowing and my heart rate up. Should

I not do this? I still only do 3 days of weights a week, but I do 20 minutes

before weights MWF and then I do 30 minutes cardio TThS. Should I not be doing

this? On days that I do cardio/weights - do I eat when I get home or wait an

hour? I ate about 30 minutes after I finished working out - I ate chocolate

oatmeal - is that a good enough post-workout meal?

Also, any tips on how I can ignore my thoughts when I work out? I am constantly

thinking what is everyone thinking of this chubby girl trying to work out. Any

tips on how I can change this method of thinking? I know the way to get thin IS

to work out, so there really isn't any other option that just facing it. It

just makes me not want to stay at the gym long.

I did a really good workout today... I did 20 minutes on the elliptical, and

then did my lower body workout. But I got flustered with the seated calf raise

machine, I honestly think it was broken, but I couldn't quite grasp it, and felt

stupid for wasting so much time trying to figure it out that I Just left. lol

At least it was at the end of my workout though - I hit quads, hams, abs hard...

HOpe you all have a nice day,

---------------------------------

Messenger with Voice. PC-to-Phone calls for ridiculously low rates.

[Guest guest]

Great job, .

You are getting there, Girlfriend.

Any time you are working out, you are succeeding.

As to the mental games that happen inside your mind at the gym...

I can totally relate. I started this BFL stuff at 200 pounds and was

hearing that same " evil voice " in my head at the gym.

Now, I am aize 10 and still hear that same negative inner dialog

occassionally. I think of it as a rude little inner voice I carry

around. I think to myself, " Thank you for sharing " and " I am sorry

you feel so upset " , then I continue to do what I know is good for ME

I've also tried;

-using a personal trainer 3 times per week (It cost a bunch, but

REALLY improved my comfort level at the gym)

-smiling to some of the kind faces at the gym (Yes, they are all

people who have real ups and downs too)

-giving someone else a thumbs up at the gym

-listening to a motivational tape (I don't have an I-POD)

-listening to a great tape of upbeat music that makes me feel good

-thinking of everyone in the gym as people who used to weigh 400

pounds, but have now reached their current size

-think of all the folks who wish their " chubby " husband, friend,

parent would get themselves to a gym and get active

-take some of the classes offered at the gym and meet other friendly

people

-know that everyone in the world fights their own battles with

negative thought patterns, then go right ahead and set a good example

for us all

-know that many of us on this list struggle and get past those same

thoughts every day

-Repeat mentally, " I am proud of myself for making these efforts to

improve my health and wellbeing. I am proud of my progress. I don't

have to be perfect, I just have to keep up my good habits "

-smile big smiles and hold that smile for 1-5 minutes...the release of

endorphines will help erase the negative thoughts

Bottom line; We should practice being kind to ourselves, Ladies.

I now try to be as kind and helpful to myself as I would be to a loved

one. That's even in the greatest books; Love your neighbor AS you

love yourself. (It doesn't say " instead of yourself " or " before

yourself "

Am I perfect at these new habits? NO, (sorry to say it) but the

improvements I have made are helping me feel a bit better every day.

Be strong,

M.

who realizes she has a manic phase every now and then which makes me

extra " chatty " Sorry for all the extra long posts today.

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

You're doing great getting to the gym. Don't worry about what other

people are thinking. Usually, they're thinking about themselves and

wondering what everybody else is thinking about THEM. LOL

On the post-workout meal, did that chocolate oatmeal have a protein

portion? Like chocolate whey protein? If it did, then you're good.

Make sure to get one protein portion and one carb portion every time

you eat.

It's fine to do some warm-up cardio before your weights, like 10-20

easy minutes just to get the blood moving. It's not necessary, but

some people seem to like it. If you're going for fat loss, it's

probably best to do cardio after weights, and if you're doing the

20-minute solution outlined in the book, that's high-intensity

interval training (HIIT). It needs to be on a totally different day

(ideally) because it should be so intense that once you do it, you're

useless goo and need to go sit down. :-)

I'm going to re-post some old messages on " hitting a 10 " and finding

your intensity on both cardio and weights. Maybe they'll help to

clarify it a little. If you have any questions, feel free to ask.

~~~

Hitting a ten on weights is when you're completely fatigued, your

muscle is shaking like a lamb in a thunderstorm, there's no way on

earth you're going to be able to finish the set, and yet somehow you

collect yourself, focus your will, push with all of your might, and

crank out that one last rep with perfect form.

The weights require a lot of trial and error to get right. Generally,

the first sets of 12 and 10 serve as sort of a warm-up. The last

couple of reps should be challenging, but there's no question you're

going to finish them. By the time you get down to the sets of 8 and 6,

it should be a serious struggle to get the last couple of reps. Maybe

you *don't* get them, but it's better to go hard and fail a couple of

reps early than to use something too light and finish the set easily.

If you keep working at it, eventually you will be able to complete the

set with your chosen weight. Then a workout or two later, that weight

will start to feel easy. Then it's time to increase to something

heavier, where again, you might not quite make all the reps at first

but you're feeling VERY challenged. And on the last couple sets of 12

where you lighten the weight, you should lighten it to the point where

you can get in all 12 reps, but the last couple are a doozy. Then you

switch exercises, and again, it's more of a fiery " feel the burn " sort

of 10-hitting on those lighter weights. You don't want to use

something so heavy that you can only get 5-6 reps there. If you fall

short on a set, it should be by only 1-2 reps, otherwise you know the

weight is way too heavy.

~~~

~~~

Let me see if I can give you an example of what the 20 minutes might

look like. The levels aren't specific speeds or settings on machines.

They refer to your own rating of perceived exertion on a scale of 1 to

10. Everyone's will be different depending on what kind of shape

they're in. Maybe for you a level 1 is sitting on the sofa watching

TV. A level 5 feels like a brisk walk. You're breathing deeply but

it's comfortable, you could carry on a conversation, and it's a pace

you could maintain for an hour or more. Level 6 would be a little more

challenging, might feel like a brisk walk up a big hill. Maybe level 7

feels like an easy jog. Level 8 feels like a fast jog. Level 9 feels

like a fast run uphill. And level 10 feels like you're running from,

oh say, a hungry lion or somebody chasing you with a butcher knife.

It's an all-out, fast as your legs go, hauling ass SPRINT. It's not a

pace you could maintain for more than 30-60 seconds. That's what

people are talking about when they say " hitting a 10 " on cardio.

The 20-minute-solution in the book looks like:

minute 01 - level 5

minute 02 - level 5

minute 03 - level 6

minute 04 - level 7

minute 05 - level 8

minute 06 - level 9

minute 07 - level 6

minute 08 - level 7

minute 09 - level 8

minute 10 - level 9

minute 11 - level 6

minute 12 - level 7

minute 13 - level 8

minute 14 - level 9

minute 15 - level 6

minute 16 - level 7

minute 17 - level 8

minute 18 - level 9

minute 19 - level 10 - fast as you can go, high-point, " hitting a 10 "

minute 20 - level 5

If you're not on a machine or looking at a clock. You can still do

HIIT. You just go at a moderate and maintainable pace for a couple of

minutes, then you floor it for a minute or two, then you drop back and

recover for a minute or two, then you step on it again, and somewhere

near the end of your allotted time you really give it everything

you've got (picture the lion or the knife-wielding psycho at your

heels). Then you cool down and call it a workout.

Here's another article on HIIT. This is a popular variation by

. Instead of gradually increasing intensity, he only has two

speeds, moderate and all-out (level 5 and level 10):

http://www.musclemedia.com/training/hiit.asp

Here's another variation that I do sometimes:

http://www.skwigg.com/id20.html

On 4/12/06, Dearing <shaedearing@...> wrote:

> Hey gang.. I am a little new to the body for life way of working out, and

although I have the BFL book, and the EFL book... I think I am still lacking

when it comes to working out. I know the books have the " intensity " levels...

but how do you gauge those levels?

>

> Another question on working out... I have been doing cardio (20 minutes)

before hitting the weights, just to get my blood flowing and my heart rate up.

Should I not do this? I still only do 3 days of weights a week, but I do 20

minutes before weights MWF and then I do 30 minutes cardio TThS. Should I not

be doing this? On days that I do cardio/weights - do I eat when I get home or

wait an hour? I ate about 30 minutes after I finished working out - I ate

chocolate oatmeal - is that a good enough post-workout meal?

>

> Also, any tips on how I can ignore my thoughts when I work out? I am

constantly thinking what is everyone thinking of this chubby girl trying to work

out. Any tips on how I can change this method of thinking? I know the way to

get thin IS to work out, so there really isn't any other option that just facing

it. It just makes me not want to stay at the gym long.

>

> I did a really good workout today... I did 20 minutes on the elliptical, and

then did my lower body workout. But I got flustered with the seated calf raise

machine, I honestly think it was broken, but I couldn't quite grasp it, and felt

stupid for wasting so much time trying to figure it out that I Just left. lol

At least it was at the end of my workout though - I hit quads, hams, abs hard...

>

> HOpe you all have a nice day,

>

>

>

> ---------------------------------

> Messenger with Voice. PC-to-Phone calls for ridiculously low rates.

>

>

[Guest guest]

>

this is a great post

you should be manic more often

felicity

>

> Be strong,

> M.

> who realizes she has a manic phase every now and then which makes me

> extra " chatty " Sorry for all the extra long posts today.

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

>

this is a great post

you should be manic more often

felicity

>

> Be strong,

> M.

> who realizes she has a manic phase every now and then which makes me

> extra " chatty " Sorry for all the extra long posts today.

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

>

this is a great post

you should be manic more often

felicity

>

> Be strong,

> M.

> who realizes she has a manic phase every now and then which makes me

> extra " chatty " Sorry for all the extra long posts today.

>

>

>