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Grue
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05 Jan 2013, 12:55 pm

The first and only time I've been to the gym in months was, well, months ago. I had the use the treadmill on a decent grade and speed walk speed - just short of trotting. I tried the elliptical but after only 20 seconds on it, I had to get off. It was burning my thighs. I don't know if I was doing it wrong.

From what I understand about weight loss (which is what I want out of the gym) is that I need to work on cardio for a little while, get your heart-rate up for a while just to warm up and get the blood pumping really well everywhere. Then I should do circuit training to build muscle - the more muscle mass, the faster will someone burn fat and ups your metabolism.

Is that accurate to any degree?

I also need to eat a hell of a lot better. Pizzas, fast food, ice cream, candy, chips, junk, I need to get rid of. I'm in the process of quitting smoking for the bazillionth time.

1-3 lbs a week to lose is okay? Can I aim for more?

At 40, will I have any excess skin hanging off my bones (MIB, thanks for that)? To avoid excess skin, should I try to lose more slowly or apply creams and unguents?



1000Knives
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05 Jan 2013, 1:18 pm

To avoid excess skin, take Vitamin C, it promotes collagen synthesis, but also weightlifting will help as you'll have muscular growth to fill the space up.

Losing weight is highly dependent on your diet. As far as exercise goes, there's no need to overcomplicate it. Exercise everyday for like an hour or so doing something you like. You can think about interval training or whatever, but if you hate it, well, you probably won't do it. So the key is more consistency. I lost like 35lbs through some dieting and ice skating everyday for an hour and hitting a punching bag like 3x a week for a half hour to an hour at a time. Find an activity or sport you like and will actually do, and do it as much as possible.

As far as realistic weightloss goals, well, 1-3lbs isn't really measurable. I can gain 5lbs by night time sometimes just by eating and drinking. So you gotta wait until the scale reads a weight consistently at a certain time of day.



VIDEODROME
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05 Jan 2013, 1:27 pm

I had the same experience at first with the elliptical. Try doing it for just a few minutes at first then take a break if you're sore. I gradually worked up my endurance to do it for 30 minutes. Or sometimes I will switch back and forth between the elliptical and treadmill.



Palakol
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05 Jan 2013, 7:38 pm

First you want to build your nutritional base. You can't drive a good car by putting crappy fuel in it.
7 Habits of Highly Effective Nutritional Programs by John M. Berardi

Then for exercise, don't be caught-up in all the fads. Stick to the basics. There is nothing like good old-fashioned strength training.
[url=http://archive.mensjournal.com/everything-you-know-about-fitness-is-a-lie?fb_action_ids=10151307716399356&fb_action_types=og.likes&fb_source=other_multiline&action_object_map={%2210151307716399356%22%3A10150834996753583}&action_type_map={%2210151307716399356%22%3A%22og.likes%22}&action_ref_map]Everything You Know About Fitness is a Lie[/url]


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1000Knives
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05 Jan 2013, 8:21 pm

Palakol wrote:
First you want to build your nutritional base. You can't drive a good car by putting crappy fuel in it.
7 Habits of Highly Effective Nutritional Programs by John M. Berardi

Then for exercise, don't be caught-up in all the fads. Stick to the basics. There is nothing like good old-fashioned strength training.
[url=http://archive.mensjournal.com/everything-you-know-about-fitness-is-a-lie?fb_action_ids=10151307716399356&fb_action_types=og.likes&fb_source=other_multiline&action_object_map={%2210151307716399356%22%3A10150834996753583}&action_type_map={%2210151307716399356%22%3A%22og.likes%22}&action_ref_map]Everything You Know About Fitness is a Lie[/url]


Last article is a wonderful article. Seen it before, but wonderful article.