My path to en"light"enment
- Thread starter jklett
- Start date
jklett
Well-Known Member
I have a few words of advice to anyone reading this in similar shape as me and trying to make a comeback:
1- if you've got a cold rest up a little, especially when you're trying to come back. Maybe tone it down a notch or two if you're still going to work out.
2- make sure you eat something in the morning if you plan on exercising but you're not going to do it right away. I've had to push through the bonk before and forgot how much it sucks.
3- an hour 30 is a looooong time to spin on a trainer if you haven't done that in a very long time. My ass is not too happy with me at the moment.
I hit the numbers but it was a lot harder than it needed to be because I apparently not only lost my fitness over the past year but also my common sense. Oh well, like the song says, "if you're gonna be dumb you gotta be tough".
1- if you've got a cold rest up a little, especially when you're trying to come back. Maybe tone it down a notch or two if you're still going to work out.
2- make sure you eat something in the morning if you plan on exercising but you're not going to do it right away. I've had to push through the bonk before and forgot how much it sucks.
3- an hour 30 is a looooong time to spin on a trainer if you haven't done that in a very long time. My ass is not too happy with me at the moment.
I hit the numbers but it was a lot harder than it needed to be because I apparently not only lost my fitness over the past year but also my common sense. Oh well, like the song says, "if you're gonna be dumb you gotta be tough".
jklett
Well-Known Member
Me too but I'm a stubborn bastard. At least that's what I'm going with.
iman29
Well-Known Member
Look into some interval training sessions HIIT type. This gives you more bang for the buck and typically they are 45-60 minute sessions that keep your brain busy and not focused on the time remaining.
Also when on the trainer try to stand up on the pedals here and there while pedaling just like you might do on a ride. Helps repositioning the “general” and his “soldiers” now and then. 🤪
jklett
Well-Known Member
I finished with the monitor yesterday and had my stress test today. Doc said that I did great during the test, everything looked good and my heart reacted the way it should. I have a follow up in a few weeks and he'll go over everything to come up with a plan but in the mean time he said I'm cleared to push myself as long as there's no chest pain or anything like that. I'm not going to try and hit all time HR records but I do want to push myself a little more than I have been so I can get back to where I was.
The stress test went sort of like this:
The stress test went sort of like this:
jklett
Well-Known Member
I forgot to mention that my blood pressure was at a much more reasonable level compared to the last few times and the doctor did comment about that. Maybe this whole thing is just my warning that I have to get my shit together and correct my bad eating/drinking/exercise if I plan to stick around and keep playing around with bikes and other fun stuff like that.
jklett
Well-Known Member
Pork rinds, I have to eat healthy.
Paul H
Fearless OOS Poser
Fine... I'll bring the cheese whiz
The Kalmyk
Well-Known Member
J- have you ever consider an approach that you can do everyday? 20m of steady pace or movement that doesnt burn you out. Its a game of patience to see results but it really can institute long term health benefits in addition to performance metrics.
This is an approach that works well with people who have little time. Frame your thinking that its a commitment to health vs what you see in the mirror and eventually the mirrors evil ways will fade. 😁
Drinking vs bad food. I’d drop the booze because you can always get away with eating for pleasure if its timed right. But also not a habit you want to compound either.
Just my .02 for you can do whatever with👊🏻
jklett
Well-Known Member
I am working my way back from being a when I'm home couch critter, I'm on my feet 10 hours plus every day at work so it's not an altogether sedentary lifestyle. That said, I am starting to work my way out of this cycle but it has to be a gradual process or I won't stick to it.
I like the 20 minutes of steady movement, I will try working that in slowly. I've started low volume base through trainer road since I've had good results with it in the past, I don't think adding 20 minutes of zone 2 on the off days would hurt anything, it might even count as recovery. I have however started sprinkling in some weight training here and there too so maybe it will all sorta mesh together. It's not as much a time thing as it is an energy thing.
As far as the food and drinking goes, I'm trying to get away from all the quick processed crap and 3-6 glasses of beer a night that it turned into over time. That won't be an overnight thing but I've already started working towards a goal with regards to that. I've cut the beer down to 1 or 2 daily and will wean myself down to a few a week, I freely admit that I let that get out of hand by using it as a coping tool. On the diet front, I'm trying to incorporate more fresh fruits and vegetables and less straight carbs simply because they fill some void. I was eating tons of white rice, pasta, and bread at almost every meal, and sometimes as the only thing on the plate with some seasoning or sauce. Again, poorly implemented coping mechanisms.
I am taking what everyone is saying and working some of it all into what I need to do to be a healthier human, just not all at once and not with giving up every feel good vice. I need to find a balance that works for my mind AND my body, otherwise the cycle of self destructive behavior will just come right back. I will never be a peak athlete and I have no aspirations to be one, I just want to make the devil wait a little longer before he takes me home.
jklett
Well-Known Member
Update from the cardiologist: untreated hypertension. I'm on blood pressure meds now. I'm not really happy about it but he said I need them. He said that I can maybe lessen the dosage with diet and exercise but I'll be on them for the rest of my life. Better than needing surgery or something like that, I was just hoping to avoid needing pills.
serviceguy
Well-Known Member
Welcome to the club! There's worse, trust me. And yes, I've been trying to lose enough wait to get off of them but so far it did not work. At least I got rid of sleep apnea. Goals do change after a certain age...