I really enjoy going to the gym. I find weight training very … cathartic, in a sense, and I find jogging very meditative. I guess I’m just shocked by a) the fact that I’ve gotten back into it (that being 3+ times a week) so easily after, what, eight years? and b) that the results I’m getting are Incredible Hulk-ish, in that within a short time, I suddenly have a bod again. I lost a lot of the 40+ pounds I put on over the winter by watching what I eat and going back on Wellbutrin. (Wonderful, wonderful Wellbutrin.) So maybe that’s why I’m seeing the results of the weight training so soon. And suddenly I’m no longer sheepish about taking my shirt off in the locker room. (I’ve never been shy about removing my pants, of course.)
And oh yeah, the locker room. Not only is it extremely yummy eye candy - a very pleasant and relaxing reward after a good and sweaty session in the weight room - I also get to see a lot of different kinds of nekkid bodies. This is because I don’t do to a “beautiful people” gym, but rather the gym at my alma mater, which is very “come as you are.” (No pun intended.)
Some guys are built, period - just built. Some are much less built but very toned. Then there’s the guys who I consider as having nice bodies even though their butts are a bit big, or they still have love handles, or their legs aren’t that great, or they have a bit of a tummy. It’s reassuring. I don’t have a big butt, but I don’t know if I’ll ever get rid of my love handles without liposuction. (They’re not that big, anyway. And if you bulk up the shoulders, you don’t notice them as much.) But I’m seeing that it doesn’t really matter, and that I’m not the only one who will never achieve that unrealistic “ideal” the media portrays.
And no, it’s not to look hot on the dance floor. Sure, it’d be fun to be out with Jer and be dancing and just whip off my shirt… And I did say at the last leather ball that by that time next year, I wanted to be able to go shirtless with a harness and leather vest on… Plus I’m getting married, and I want to look good in those pictures. And I always look good - even in the face - when I’m physically fit.
I guess this thread was just for me to verbalize (for my own benefit) that a gay man going to the gym 3+ times a week does not necessarily a muscle queen make.
Another straight woman checkin in: I hate diets. I always seem to get the munchies or something. Or bored by the few foods I can tolerate eating that I am allowed to eat. I prefer to lift weights. I enjoy the rush and I feel like I have accomplished something. My mum in law bought me a weight set for Christmas last year and I bought a bench. Last spring I was losing like crazy and feling really good… but I had a tad too much fun this last summer. Now its back to the old drawing board.
Also I am desperately afraid of following my mother’s path. She was overweight and diabetic. I DO NOT want to e disabled at 55, in a wheelchair at 57 and dead at 60! i want to enjoy my grandchildren… when I get them:D (my son is only 7 now)
Honey chile, if wanting to see nekkid college boys is wrong, then I don’t want to be right!
And I really hope that working out 3+ times a week doesn’t make one a freak or a muscle queen because I have started working out 10-14 times per week. See, I’ve been stuck at my current weight for months and I’m trying to hit a target weight for Halloween and I’m just not willing at this point to eat any less than I’m eating (because it will lead to feeling deprived which will lead me to eating a bag or two of Halloween candy instead of a piece or two) so exercising more is my only option what with lipo being a bit out of my price range.
matt, if you’re still a full-time student there, it’s free, unless you want to use the fitness centre (see below).
I paid the alumni rate, which is about $34/month ($42/month if you want to use the expensive and overrated fitness centre[sup]*[/sup] - which I’ve decided not to use because it’s crowded and oddly full of beautiful people, considering it’s a university gym). It’s flexible by the month, so I bought a three-month membership, just to see if I’d actually end up committing to this workout thing. I can therefore extend my membership at any time by going to the office and paying for x more months.
The fitness centre has a lot more cardio stuff (treadmills, etc.) than the old weight room does (basically stationary bikes, rowing machines, and a couple of stairmasters), and it has newer weight machines, but like I said, it’s too crowded. The old weight room suits me just fine. The fieldhouse has a great track for jogging, with an amazing view of the Parc-Pine area, and is included in the basic membership.
The locker room[sup]**[/sup] hasn’t been changed since the old days, except they got rid of the area that used to be on top of the pool. (The pool is included in basic membership as well.)
Email me for more info.
[sup]*[/sup] This, of course, is the mythical fitness centre that they were perpetually in the process of building while I was a student there; the fitness centre funded by our student fees, which then opened long after we had graduated.
[sup]**[/sup] Given your very publicly (and repeatedly) stated disdain for locker rooms and gang showers, I trust I will not be running into you there, dear. :eek:
See, I’m getting hooked on this gym thing. I can’t make it back until Friday, because I worked late yesterday, today, and will work late again tomorrow… But I want to go! I want to feel the burn as I complete a set of reps! I want to sweat!
One of my co-workers said he’d go with me and show me more ways to use free weights. The locker room situation afterward could either turn out to be awkward or interesting.
When somebody says that they can’t lose or gain weight, my immediate reaction is “It’s probably your diet”. You know how rarely that’s wrong?
The key isn’t necessarily to eat less (how much are you eating, by the way, and what’s the macronutrient breakdown?), but to eat better. I’ll post links tomorrow if you’re interested in following this up.
No good can come of training 10-14 times per week unless at least half of those are pretty light sessions. You’re just going to overtrain and burn out, which won’t help.
My take was that “I’m just not willing at this point to eat any less than I’m eating” meant that Otto’s already restricted his diet, and doesn’t want to take it to an extreme. We’ll see what Otto himself has to say… {{swoon}}
Since we’re on the topic of diet as a necessary adjunct to exercise, the reason I gained 40 pounds over the winter was because I got sober last November, and not only did the sweet tooth kick in, but I was no doubt instinctively trying to reverse much of the malnourishment I had inflicted upon my poor little body. (When drinking, my daily food intake was pretty much coffee, pills, beer, beer, beer, a bit of food I’d pick up at the diner - which I’d then throw up - then beer, beer, more pills, and beer.)
When I realized I was 170 lbs. (I’m only 5’8") and the doctor told me my cholesterol was rather high, I made some changes in my diet. Nothing drastic, but I cut out a lot of sugar, and resisted the temptation of eating fatty foods as much as possible. I also started eating more whole grains and added a fiber supplement. Going back on a med (for other reasons - well not completely…) that has the side-effect of reducing my appetite and speeding up my metabolism also helped me drop some weight.
I’ve been ordered to resume the cardio regardless of my sprained ankle (I admit, I was using my ankle as an excuse to skip cardio and just do weights), so come tomorrow I’ll be adding stationary bike into my workout routine, until my ankle’s well enough to get back to jogging, which is what I really love.
And, of course, 20 minutes of cardio after my weight routine will make me all the more hot and sweaty, and even more in need of a good, long, refreshing shower in a small space with nekkid college boyz… YOWZA!
To clarify, I’m doing cardio 10-14 times per week. Weights are 5 times a week, alternating between light and heavy. I’m eating about 1,000 calories per day, mostly fruits and vegetables. I’m avoiding sugar and fat (but am not going to not eat a piece of cake on my friend’s birthday, that sort of thing, because if I do I’ll start feeling denied and overcompensate). I’m a vegetarian and I avoid most dairy (and yes before you ask I am getting enough protein). I take vitamin supplements every day (that I remember them which is about four days a week). I’ve dropped over 100 pounds since I started exercising and working out.
I don’t know about you, but I find the gym to be depressing…I mean, I work out 4 times/week, and I still look like crap.I was getting dressed the other day, and in walks this adonis…the guy looks like a greek god. I talked tohim…he only comes once a week! He has no trouble maintaining a geat physique, and I work like a dog for nothing!
Life ain’t fair!
The funniest thing about this thread is the mention of Jim Dobson’s exercise routine in the middle of scott evil’s angst over working out, lest he be perceived as a muscle mary.
The funniest thing about this thread is the mention of Jim Dobson’s exercise routine in the middle of scott evil’s angst over working out, lest he be perceived as a muscle mary.
Great job and congrats on the weight loss. I think that you need to amend both your routine and your diet in order to get to the next stage. In general, you need to change your workout routines every 6-8 weeks in order to shock your body into growth, otherwise your muscles get used to the demands placed on them and no growth occurs.
If I were you, I’d halve the cardio to no more than 5-6 sessions per week, 30 to 40 minutes per session, and change your weight routine to 4 times a week, M-Th chest/back/shoulders/calves and Tu-Fr quads/hams/bis/tris.
You need to eat more too if you want to gain muscle and, yes, burn fat. If you restrict your calories too much, your body’s metabolism changes to hold onto your body fat because it thinks you’re starving. Check out menshealth.com for some diet and training info.
Well, if you’re unsatisfied with your results, you gotta look at your workout and your diet. Remember, growth only comes from change.
And don’t compare yourself to the muscle guys at the gym. They are likely guys who are gentically gifted to get maximum advantage from their workouts or who have simply been working out longer. In any case, the only person you need to compare yoursefl to is YOU. Are you keeping a workout log? You can set one up on Excel to track your progress over the longterm and see how much you can lift now compared to what you could lift, say, 6 months to a year ago.
Keep working out, keep progressing, and beleive in yourself.
Mind, I’m in the same boat at the moment. During my unemployment these past 6 months, I slacked off on the workouts and guzzled beer, leading me to chub up alarmingly. Now I’m in the process of burning it off and getting my body back.
Bleh, I’m the opposite. If I slack off I start to lose mass. Work has been a little hectic recently, so I’ve skipped a few gym sessions. Unfortunately without exercise, I lose my appetite for shovelling-as-much-food-away-as-I-possibly-can and shrink.
Narrad (feeling nasty and bloated after a horrid protein smoothie.)
PS: congrats Otto, on your progress. I’m impressed you can stick to such a demanding routine and diet. You too, scott.
