37 yr old widower needs help to get fit again

S

scott

New Member
My wife died a few weeks ago and I am having health problems. Diabetes does not run in my family but because I am about 50 lbs overweight I am having problems with my blood sugar running high on me. I cannot afford a personal trainer at this time but I need to do something. I used to work out with weights several years ago and I still have pretty decent muscle mass but need to lose this excess weight.

I don't know how many guys use your program but I was impressed with the fact that you incorporate weights into your programs. I love working out with weights. Which of your videos do you recommend that I start with and then after those which would be my next step?

Also, just to let you know, I have a BowFlex (the basic one they first came out with; no leg attachment or lat tower), an elliptical stepper and an in-ground swimming pool. I live in a small town that has sidewalks galore (you can walk from one of town to the other) and I have a bicycle.

I hope I am not asking too much but I am alone now and I want to get back into shape before my health fails me, as my wife's did.

Please consider responding.

Sincerely asking
 
Hello,
I'm not Cathe...but I did want to let you know if you need a support group during this difficult time, this is a good place. This board is very active and people do daily check-ins for work outs as well as sometimes eating check-ins. You may want to search the forums for rotations that Cathe has made in the past. Some are dedicated to weight loss, others to strength, others to endurance and of course combinations there of.
I think you may want to figure out what you like the best and are most likely to stick with first. There are a number of really good, challenging total body workouts which use dumbells and/or a barbell, as well as cardio workouts like kickboxing that do not need equipment. You may want to check under the dvd tab and watch clips from the videos to get an idea of what is going to motivate you and you are going to be able to stick with.
The are a lot of knowledgeable people here that could probably make some suggestions too. Sorry if this seems kind of vague as I'm not entirely sure what you need right now.
Good luck and I'm sorry for your loss. And just so you know there are a few guys around here too.
Best Wishes
~Angel
 
Hi Scott & welcome!

The Pure Strength Series and the Slow & Heavy series would be excellent choices for someone returning to weight training. They both are low rep while much of Cathe's workouts are higher rep sets. Great form pointers & time to stretch between sets.

The only reason I hesitate to recommend that new Gym Styles is that there are more equipment changes, less form pointers, & less time between sets. A bit more daunting when starting a fitness routine.

At least one of the forum regulars who posts as WD uses a Bowflex with Cathe's workouts. She might be able to give you some pointers.

It looks like you have plenty of cardio options. Consistency is key but start slowly & gradually increase time & intensity.

There are several checkins on the Open forum which can be helpful in sticking to a routine. And few are shy about dishing out advice if you ask.

Debra
 
Scott,

Welcome.

My condolences on the loss of your wife. Injecting yourself into your own fitness and health may help you through the grieving process. My prayers are with you.

It sounds like you have the equipment and the drive to get in shape.

I felt odd doing Cathe's programs at first. I enjoy doing her step workouts for the Cardio. I used to put in between 70 and 100 miles a week running before parenthood (17 yrs ago), I started doing step workouts a year or so ago as my "handles" were becoming a "spare tire"

I would never do these workouts at a club because I am embarrassed by my total lack of grace and dyslexia with knowing my right or left.



Dave
 
Welcome Scott: Please accept my sincere condolences. I have a pretty good idea of what you are going through. My husband died 7 years ago at age 37 after 5 years of illness, as you well know it's rough to say the very least. Fitness was a huge part of my healing process and really helped me to channel the inevitable anger that comes with such a profound loss. I really dug into the weight work and kickboxing to spend the negative and gather in those amazing endorphins. I commend you for choosing a positive path and for deciding to invest in your long term health.

WD (Diane Sue) also came to mind when you mentioned the BowFlex, she has had great results and come up with some terrific programmes. You have lots of resources available to you. A-Jock might also be able to help you fire up your workouts in the pool.

Cathe's weight workouts are wonderful. Slow and Heavy is great when you are on the learning curve as Cathe cues meticulous attention to form and it's a great mass and strength building series. I like the Pyramid Upper and Lower body as well as Pure Strength series. Maximum Intensity Strength has also give many good results but it's not a personnal favourite.

There are so many wonderful people on this forum who sincerely want to help and are very generous in sharing what has worked for them and gotten them the results they were looking for. Good Luck to you:)

Take Care
Laurie
 
Hi,
I am sincerely sorry to hear about your wife. Taking charge of your own health is important. I incorporate my Bowflex on a lot of Cathe's workouts. I have had great results using it on the Gymstyle workouts and the Slow & Heavy workouts. I have the lat tower and the leg extension attachments as well as the squat attachment. Using the gymstyles I have also been able to do what I call the finishing moves that Cathe uses a 6ft band on with the Bowflex. I just make a log of what weight increments worked for me on the Bowflex and whether I thought I should try heavier the next time. With these workouts you would not need all of the extra attachments. I sometimes create my own workouts using parts of Cathe's and adding some extra sets or moves with thwe Bowflex. The squat attachment is good for me as I can get in more resistance on my squats when I do the workouts. If you have any questions feel free to ask. You have come to the right place for motivation and help
Diane Sue
http://wd.1ww.us
 
Hello, Scott and welcome. With all the others, please accept my condolences in the loss of your wife. You will indeed find a great deal of support here on this forum, in your fitness quest and in your daily life challenges.

I'll leave it to others to suggest Cathe workouts for cardio and strength, but as Laurie mentioned, my own metier is aquatic work as I'm a certified aquatic group fitness instructor. I know many shallow-water and deep-water training protocols that take you beyond standard swimming, and I'd be happy to offer some suggestions.

Please post here on this thread if you're interested in exploring aquatic work in addition to your land cardio and strength training. I'll check this thread again tomorrow night.

And welcome again.

A-Jock
 
Hi Dave:

Welcome! And my deepest sympathies to you for your loss. You seem determined to get your life in order as much s you can and Cathe can definitely help with that. The discipline that a successful fitness program takes and delivers can help in all other aspects of life. And the personal sense of achievement and empowerment doesn't hurt none.

I want to second the suggestions on the Slow & Heavy series for weight training. The reps are low, the count of each rep is slow so you have plenty of time to remind yourself of correct form as you get back into weight lifting again. It also takes some degree of mental concentration and I find this a fantastic way to separate my mind from life's problems.

Pure STrength would also be a good choice for you I think.

As far as cardio is concerned, you can walk your hiney off and get in good shape, just make sure you are striding and getting that heart rate up rather than ambling along looking at the cracks in the pavement. Although, it is good to do the latter sometimes too!

Swimming will certainly work every muscle in the body and is also good for zoning out. It's so peaceful under the water and counting laps and striving for better speed takes your mind to another level.

Perhaps as you get fitter, you might like to introduce more running into the mix, by taking your walking program to a walk/run, then running program. Al the major running magazines feature links on their websites to training schedules for beginning walkers and runners. Perhaps check them out for inspiration? Wish I could remember the titles of those mags to quote you here.

Anyone?

Also consider, just to keep variety in your cardio program, Cathe's Bootcamp DVD. It features cycles of cardio (no step required, no leotards either! It's strictly jumping jacks, punching drills, kicking drills, squat thrusts, all the stuff you did at school, right?), with weight training for legs, then upper body, then abs and core. It will test your stamina and all over fitnesss for sure.

I want to wish you well as you start out again on your fitness journey and please do check in with us to share your achievements and frustrations. We listen to it all and can suggest, recommend and conmiserate!

Cheers!

Clare
 
Yes, I am interested in the water aquatics but only the shallow-water at this time. Thank you for any suggestions you may offer.
 
>
>Perhaps as you get fitter, you might like to introduce more
>running into the mix, by taking your walking program to a
>walk/run, then running program. Al the major running
>magazines feature links on their websites to training
>schedules for beginning walkers and runners. Perhaps check
>them out for inspiration? Wish I could remember the titles of
>those mags to quote you here.
>
>Anyone?
>

Here are a few sites with walking & walk/run programs: Prevention.com, Runnersworld.com & coolrunning.com

Debra
 
Hello and welcome aboard.

I do not have any exercise suggestions for you, but most of the people here are very educated with this and you are getting good response already. I just want to say I am truly sorry for your loss. I will pray for you that you continue to stay strong. As one poster stated, you are in the right place for support and any advise you need.

Have a bless day.

http://www.PictureTrail.com/haydee1

Haydee
 
Hello, again, Scott! A few suggestions for a shallow-water workout:

#1: Get an old pair of athletic shoes that you don't mind getting sogged up, because you're gonna need to protect your feet;

#2: Stand anywhere from navel depth to xyphoid depth (right underneath the breastline);

Perform any of the following drills:

High-knee runs, with arms either in a standard running motion (hands fisted) OR hands and arms over the waterline; really try to get the knees up to the waterline

Tuck jumps, immediately rebounding off the floor the moment you land rather than giving yourself a little resting break;

Power squat jumps, starting in a bent-knee squat position, forcefully pushing UP and drawing the legs together, then landing back into a squat; again, don't give yourself any recovery time

Also with the legs in a run, perform speed-bag drills with the arms, keeping the forearms and fists at the waterline; make sure to do the arms in one direction THEN reverse direction

After performing a few power squat jumps while you're at navel depth, land in a deep squat and perform a long-arm open-and-close movement with the arms totally at the waterline

Also in a squat stance, draw the arms up to your sides in a lateral delt-raise fashion, breaking the surface of the water and then forcefully bringing the arms back down in front of you

After a few power squat jumps, land with your feet together and pull the long arms forcefully forward and up to the surface, then forcefully push them back, KEEPING THEM LONG (this is great for the anterior delts on the forward pull and awesome for the lats on the backward push)

At xyphoid depth, perform "power skis", swinging the arms and rebounding off the legs in opposition, KEEPING THE ARMS STRICT AND LONG (think of a Nordic Track ski machine motion)

Airborne jacks at xyphoid depth: start with the legs together, then forcefully jump up pushing the legs OUT, then forcefully drawing the legs back together on the landing (these are really hard)

Use your imagination. Keep your limbs firm, as well as your hands and feet; don't let the joints get too floppy. Remember good posture; avoid slumping forward.

That oughtta keep you busy for awhile.

HTH -

A-Jock
 
Welcome Scott... I am so sorry for your loss. You've come to the right place for support. These people are awesome. You've gotten some great advice as I can see from the posts. There are a lot of educated people on these boards that don't mind taking their time to help you. Keep us posted on your workouts on the daily checkin on the Open Discussion board. We'd love to see what you're doing and hear of all of your progress!
 
I would also like to join in to say I'm sorry for your loss. It's so nice to have you here. You are doing a good thing getting into exercise and Cathe is the BEST on the market. It is so nice also for us to hear a male's perspective on the forums. Hope to "see" you around more often and let us know how you are doing. Again, WELCOME!!!
Your-Friend-In-Fitness, DebbieH (AKA "Den Mother Debbie")http://www.handykult.de/plaudersmilies.de/wavey.gif[/img] If You Get The Choice To Sit It Out Or Dance...I Hope You DANCE!!!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Our Newsletter

Get awesome content delivered straight to your inbox.

Top