Advice for Middle Aged Beginner

[lifeart]

Hi guys

 

I have decided to start a proper exercise regime.  My schedules will be very free come end Aug, so I have set my heart and mind

to start paying attention to my neglected physical body.  LOL.

 

I am currently quite flabby and unfit and am unsure what's the best way to proceed.  I plan to sign up at Anytime Fitness but working

out alone seems so boring.  Getting a trainer is too expensive; I've tried that and it was really good, but it's just not sustainable.  Yet till

today I could not find any exercise buddy.

 

Any tips and suggestions?  Any fun sport that could be suitable?

 

 

[firefight]

a 3 pronged approach is encouraged which can be blended into your daily life

 

1. basic fitness - this is for your long term health where you improve both your cardio health and your physical strength. cardio health allows you to have a longer endurance and do repeated actions for a long time eg running. physical strength allows you to do a variety of tasks in life with more ease and less susceptibility to injuries, eg carrying heavy loads. this is where you will go to the gym for weights and anywhere else for static exercies.

 

2. fun sporting activities - this is where you get to interact with people and have fun. also this is where you can see improvements to your game where you have worked on it in situation 1. i think contact sports is pretty fun on this. 

 

3. eating well - while you do not need a very detailed plan to help support the first two prongs, there will be some principles to follow and sacrifices to make from your usual diet. i don't believe in having to make expensive choices but certainly we can't avoid process food in our SG diet hence the trick is to reduce the consumption of these and try as much to go for the least processed kind.

 

keep in touch with everyone and update your progress!

[lifeart]

Thanks firefight, I like the way you structured your answer!

 

1. Basic fitness - this is the first part.  I am starting to take walks (thanks to pokemon go).  After a week or two, I will start slow jogging maybe once or twice a week.

I plan to join a gym by Sep and start by taking the classes. I'm a little apprehensive cos it's usually full of women and I worry that I may feel out of place.  Then I will start

 a simple, basic weights program, nothing big, just to build a little muscle.

 

2. Fun sporting activities - currently zero.  I don't have many friends, and those whom I'm close to are all non-sporty types. Birds of the same feather. Well, hope

BW-ers can give some suggestions and recommendations.  

 

3. Eating well - this one is tough.  I know it's the most important aspect of getting fit and healthy, but I eat every meal outside and it's hard at this stage to do anything

drastic.  But in a year or two I should be able to start doing some of my own meals.  

 

 

[firefight]

20 hours ago, lifeart said:

Thanks firefight, I like the way you structured your answer!

 

1. Basic fitness - this is the first part.  I am starting to take walks (thanks to pokemon go).  After a week or two, I will start slow jogging maybe once or twice a week.

I plan to join a gym by Sep and start by taking the classes. I'm a little apprehensive cos it's usually full of women and I worry that I may feel out of place.  Then I will start

 a simple, basic weights program, nothing big, just to build a little muscle.

 

2. Fun sporting activities - currently zero.  I don't have many friends, and those whom I'm close to are all non-sporty types. Birds of the same feather. Well, hope

BW-ers can give some suggestions and recommendations.  

 

3. Eating well - this one is tough.  I know it's the most important aspect of getting fit and healthy, but I eat every meal outside and it's hard at this stage to do anything

drastic.  But in a year or two I should be able to start doing some of my own meals.  

 

 

1. I'm at TF and consistently had PT... So far hasnt really met a truly professional one. I don't really go for classes, haha. Will be good if you live near a friend who has gym access at his condo.

 

2. If you don't mind, do join the aj soccer grp once a month. it is usually on Sun and at Kallang The Cage.

 

3. Even if you eat everything outside, you still can make choices. The simple way is to avoid oil (fried stuff/bakeries), sugar (beverages) and econ veg rice/beehoon. 

[lifeart]

1. Unfortunately no friend who is into fitness.... sad

 

2. Wow, soccer... but I'm a total beginner.  I don't think I even played as a kid....

 

3. Yes you are right - need to make better choices.  But why isn't econ veg rice encouraged?  It's the cheapest and closest to home cooked food.

 

[CamperBoy]

Re-look into hiring a PT. It will help you in the long run.

You cannot count on a "gym buddy".

[xydboy]

On 8/9/2016 at 11:52 AM, lifeart said:

Hi guys

 

I have decided to start a proper exercise regime.  My schedules will be very free come end Aug, so I have set my heart and mind

to start paying attention to my neglected physical body.  LOL.

 

I am currently quite flabby and unfit and am unsure what's the best way to proceed.  I plan to sign up at Anytime Fitness but working

out alone seems so boring.  Getting a trainer is too expensive; I've tried that and it was really good, but it's just not sustainable.  Yet till

today I could not find any exercise buddy.

 

Any tips and suggestions?  Any fun sport that could be suitable?

 

 

I think you have to ask yourself what do you enjoy, cause in the long run, for building higher self efficacy, you need to build positive experience, and you yourself will know what you enjoy the most. No more we advice you to bang the weights but in fact you don't enjoy it at all. Defeats the purpose.

[Guest Ah pek]

Go for it. At 40, my abs were non-visible. Then I started gymming and now I am at 13% body fat at the grand old age of 45, abs visible though not ripped.

 

If u can afford it, join a gym with classes and get some basic fitness. Once you have some basic fitness and athleticism, focus on compound movement exercises. Do carb cycling of your meals. Aim for 3-4 days of weights training. Keep weight low (but challenging enough to do about 15 reps) but sets/reps high and try not to rest more than 30-60s between sets. On alternate days, do cardio, but aim for a hiit mode.

[lifeart]

Camperboy.... I am the type who really needs a push, so a PT definitely works for me... but the cost is simply impossible to sustain.  I wonder if anyone

knows of any more sustainable solution.... group class w PT perhaps?  ya, given everyone's busy schedule, gym buddy arrangments are difficult to work.

 

xydboy, I'm a sendentary person by habit.  I recognize this is unhealthy and I really want to break out of it.  It's so boring staying at home anyway.  I dream

of joining a team sport, having sport brothers... but quite frankly, I doubt if there is any team sport which will accept a fat uncle like me, and be patient in training with me. Lol

 

ah pek, your story is an inspiration.  I doubt I can meet with my abs!  Thanks for your advice. It does sound like very tough.... a lot of discipline.... I hv no confidence in

my self-discipline, but since there's no one to help me along, I will just have to give it my god-damn best shot!  And keep trying.  Thanks ah pek.

 

 

 

[Salt&Pepper]

2 hours ago, lifeart said:

Camperboy.... I am the type who really needs a push, so a PT definitely works for me... but the cost is simply impossible to sustain.  I wonder if anyone

knows of any more sustainable solution.... group class w PT perhaps?  ya, given everyone's busy schedule, gym buddy arrangments are difficult to work.

 

xydboy, I'm a sendentary person by habit.  I recognize this is unhealthy and I really want to break out of it.  It's so boring staying at home anyway.  I dream

of joining a team sport, having sport brothers... but quite frankly, I doubt if there is any team sport which will accept a fat uncle like me, and be patient in training with me. Lol

 

ah pek, your story is an inspiration.  I doubt I can meet with my abs!  Thanks for your advice. It does sound like very tough.... a lot of discipline.... I hv no confidence in

my self-discipline, but since there's no one to help me along, I will just have to give it my god-damn best shot!  And keep trying.  Thanks ah pek.

 

 

 

 

lifeart, I believe the key is setting realistic milestones along the way to get to wat u wan to achieve. If u have to do it alone, it is even more critical for u to do so. A wise man once told me that each milestone needs u to stretch & exert urself a bit more to reach it but do not break u. When u reach it, u feel good about urself and wants to go reach the next reasonable milestone. The more and more u able to achieve ur milestones, u gain the confidence and develop the discipline along the way. Remember Rome is not built in one day.

 

Also consider joining this run to make friends:

 

https://www.blowingwind.io/forum/topic/73498-mgr-running-group/

 

Look at @yoyo74 he can be your inspiration and advise u how to get to where he is!

 

 

[xydboy]

11 hours ago, lifeart said:

Camperboy.... I am the type who really needs a push, so a PT definitely works for me... but the cost is simply impossible to sustain.  I wonder if anyone

knows of any more sustainable solution.... group class w PT perhaps?  ya, given everyone's busy schedule, gym buddy arrangments are difficult to work.

 

xydboy, I'm a sendentary person by habit.  I recognize this is unhealthy and I really want to break out of it.  It's so boring staying at home anyway.  I dream

of joining a team sport, having sport brothers... but quite frankly, I doubt if there is any team sport which will accept a fat uncle like me, and be patient in training with me. Lol

 

ah pek, your story is an inspiration.  I doubt I can meet with my abs!  Thanks for your advice. It does sound like very tough.... a lot of discipline.... I hv no confidence in

my self-discipline, but since there's no one to help me along, I will just have to give it my god-damn best shot!  And keep trying.  Thanks ah pek.

 

 

 

Yes i recognise that, which is why I asked you to think of a sport which you enjoy. Before you go around looking for teams (everywhere has them, even the interest groups at ActiveSG, go google and you can find loads of them all around singapore. Bet nobody laughs at you there as long as you have an interest in the sporting activity), ask yourself what do you enjoy doing. If you are interested in something, then go for it. Don't sit there and ponder. Make friends and join a sport. If you keep staying negative and harbouring negative thoughts, then nobody can help you. You yourself must see fitness as relevant, AND ALSO act on it. 

[lifeart]

19 hours ago, xydboy said:

Yes i recognise that, which is why I asked you to think of a sport which you enjoy. Before you go around looking for teams (everywhere has them, even the interest groups at ActiveSG, go google and you can find loads of them all around singapore. Bet nobody laughs at you there as long as you have an interest in the sporting activity), ask yourself what do you enjoy doing. If you are interested in something, then go for it. Don't sit there and ponder. Make friends and join a sport. If you keep staying negative and harbouring negative thoughts, then nobody can help you. You yourself must see fitness as relevant, AND ALSO act on it. 

 

Understand.  Since young I haven't been a sporty person, so I can't really say what it is I enjoy doing.  Lol.  But I am really willing to try things out and learn.  The good thing about me is I will be a committed and responsible team player.  Lol.

 

 

[xydboy]

6 hours ago, lifeart said:

 

Understand.  Since young I haven't been a sporty person, so I can't really say what it is I enjoy doing.  Lol.  But I am really willing to try things out and learn.  The good thing about me is I will be a committed and responsible team player.  Lol.

 

 

Everyone differs...even for me, i hate doing any form of sports in group. Even at individual level, i am also selective. You just got to find what you enjoy doing. Good that you are willing to try things out to learn. But i'm pretty sure, you yourself would know what you enjoy or not..even without trying anything. As for the committed and responsible team player, perhaps it will take awhile. Not that I doubt your statement, but in team dynamics, this is too early to say. Things are ever changing when you do team sports. True colours will show when the barrier breaks.

[sman.sg]

Try crossfit, There are a few around and there are charges are not that far off and the classes are varied. Hope this helps.

 

[lifeart]

sman.sg:

 

Thanks for your suggestion. I read up about crossfit and it sounds so fun! But it also sounds terribly tough, even the beginner classes. I'm just not sure

I'm ready for that level of intensity yet.