The BP thread along with a general feeling of getting soft and lazy has me wanting to do better.

My weight is right at the high edge of normal, so a bit of loss wouldn't hurt.

More important is getting back some strength and improving cardiovascular health.

Things to keep in mind:

I'm 52- I don't want to wreck my joints or end up at the orthopedic office.

I live off of a 55mph county road with narrow shoulders, so walking or biking there would be VERY dangerous. We are also about to enter 6 months of cold, dark weather, so outdoor activities are somewhat limited.

I am 20 miles from town, so a gym membership won't get used. I do have a treadmill and weight machine at my house.

My workday has me gone for 12+ hours. Take out some time for sleep, getting ready, etc and the time left for exercise needs to be efficient.

I'd appreciate your suggestions for getting started.

Can you commit to 30 mins a day - 5 days a week?

Are you more of a morning or evening person?

How much free time do you have on weekends?

There is definitely a way - just need to know more about your personal habits to fit the program around that.

This is a great book that covers the 'basics' of at-home fitness. Nothing fancy - but good info to start with:

https://www.amazon.com/Mens-He...-Bible/dp/1579546579

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Gently starting into prelimary exercises of cross fit.

Push ups, burpies, squats, lunges, sit ups etc.

My wife started 6 months ago and looks great and her strength has really increased. She started me on the above and has been kicking my ass lately. I hate hearing the word burpies. She also incorporates a slam ball, where you throw down a weighted ball from overhead and you try to squat to catch a 15 lb that doesn't bounce then back up over your head.

For a fat old (ish) out of shape guy it's tough.

I've never had a gym membership, wouldn't use it if it was free. The basics, you really just need a good pull up bar, your issued body and some floor space. Variations of body weight squats, push ups, pull ups, knee and leg raises and bridges. Start with really easy versions, build up tendon strength and well as the stabilizers, core strength and stability.

For weights, I like to use kettlebells. 36lb is a good starting weight for a male (don't go lighter, you don't use them like a dumbbell). They are a great all-around tool for strength, strength-endurance and anaerobic conditioning. Supposedly, good for rehab as well (I don't know firsthand, never been injured).

If you do your exercises with minimal rest between sets, you'll get cardio as well at the same time. You don't have to run/walk/bike or do the treadmill. I've cut minutes off my 2 mile time (part of my required Army PT Test) with kettlebells or circuit training and no running for 6 months to a year.

I downloaded Fitness Buddy and went through their suggested free workout. It felt good and I've got to get back into it. Work and family in the hospital caught up with me and I stopped.

I think I'm going to go with the paid version this winter.

quote:

Originally posted by Sig209:Are you more of a morning or evening person?

How much free time do you have on weekends?

I'm definitely a morning person, but already get up at 4am to get ready and head to work.

The most important thing is to start, then it is to actually DO the program, whatever you decide on.

^^^^^^

Exactly!

That's why the program needs to be realistic. The BEST fitness plan may be joining a Cross Fit group, buying a road bike, etc, but that won't last.

Well......Cross Fit probably isn't a good idea.

You can do a lot with little more than a set of dumbbells (a good set of selectable ones, like Bowflex', if space is a consideration), a multi-purpose adjustable bench and a chinning bar.

Add things like elastic bands, a suspension trainer (MOSS is a good bet), an ab wheel, an exercise ball, barbells, etc. for variety.

For cardio it's hard to beat a rowing machine. (See the recent Rowing Machines thread for discussion.)

Speaking of cardio:

Is it really possible for a 52 year old artery to become more flexible with exercise, or does it just tear under stress and accumulate plaque?

As you mentioned - since you are not training for the CrossFit Games or to be an All-Pro NFL linebacker - the specifics of what you do are less important than ACTUALLY DOING THEM...

Here's what I recommend - based on your crazy early wake-up:

Mon - FRI : exercise for 30 mins - at the house - AS SOON AS YOU WALK IN THE DOOR upon getting home!

Do not pass go, do not surf the internet, do not snack, read the paper, nothing. Change into your sweats and get going. In fact - lay everything out for your workout so there are no excuses when you walk in the door.

Yes you will be tired / worn out upon getting home. So what. Once you get going - it won't matter.

Give yourself 30 minutes of hard effort.

Anything you do on the weekends - physically - is extra credit. The 'no workout weekend' doesn't mean b a couch potato - but it takes the stress off trying to workout on days you want to recover, rest, travel, watch sports or whatever.

I would do a split of exercises:

Monday: workout A split
Tues: workout B split
Wed: workout C - make this one kinda funky - different from A and B
THurs: repeat workout A
Fri: repeat workout B

These workouts could be modified in hundreds of ways. Could be weights. Could be exercises. Could be cardio. Whatever. Pick a set of routines that YOU LIKE TO DO and stick with it.

Also: set several goals for Christmas 2018.

For instance- just as an example - the week of Christmas 2018 MNSIG will:

Run 2 miles in 18 minutes
Do 50 push-ups without stopping
Do 75 situps in 2 minutes
Do 10 un-assisted dead-hang pullups

Again - whatever - set several goals to work towards over the next year.

BAM! By next year you will be in infinitely better shape.

Keep us posted!!

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quote:

Originally posted by JALLEN:
The most important thing is to start, then it is to actually DO the program, whatever you decide on.

Yup. Start, and continue. Easier said than done, but it can be done. But you got to be mentally tough and motivated. You got a treadmill and weights at home. Get moving. Whatever you will be doing, even if a little, will be more than what you're doing right now. So, the benefits start right away.

I don't have to tell you to start slow and add more, a little at a time. Get greedy, jump into it doing a lot, and it's almost guaranteed that you will get hurt and give up.

You have a treadmill and don't want to stress your joints? No need to run. Just walk on an incline. You will expend more energy doing that than running the same distance on a flat surface. Don't believe me? Walk 3 miles (just at a 3 mph pace) on a 15 degree inclination and see.

Btw, I'm no fitness guru. I just play one on SF.

quote:

Originally posted by MNSIG:
Speaking of cardio:

Is it really possible for a 52 year old artery to become more flexible with exercise, or does it just tear under stress and accumulate plaque?

I started working out regularly at age 54. I'd been smoking ±1 pack a day for about 35 years, and usually gave my diet little consideration. I was told during the free body-age assessment I got for joining the club I could hit a body age of 45.

The trick is to ramp up slowly. Also, before considering any intensive regimen, I recommend a thorough cardiovascular check-up. Mine included a nuclear heart stress and leg echo.

At age ±57 I was hitting 172 bpm doing high-intensity interval training

It's now twelve years since I started working out regularly. People tend to guess me to be at least ten years younger than I am.

quote:

Originally posted by 12131:You have a treadmill and don't want to stress your joints? No need to run. Just walk on an incline. You will expend more energy doing that than running the same distance on a flat surface. Don't believe me? Walk 3 miles (just at a 3 mph pace) on a 15 degree inclination and see.

Exactly what I was thinking. They don't make you run on a cardiac stress test, just keep increasing the angle.

This is the program I've been doing the last 4+ months. "Get Strong" https://www.dragondoor.com/sho...epartment/books/b91/ (Should also be 40% off with code BFCM2017)

All it requires is a pull up bar and a stool, chair etc. that you already will have. It is 4 phases, phase 1 anyone can do, completing phase 4 is serious strength. Starts out 3x per week and the workouts are about 30 min. On the in-between days is a good time for a short cardio workout (this program isn't cardio intensive). I alternated between kettlebells and going for a run, you could just hit the treadmill.

Big fan of rowing. No joint stress, can do aerobic and anerobic when you get there. As far as time, if you work 12 hours, sleep 8 hours, that leaves 4 to workout. You can do it man! Also whatever exercise you choose best to check with your doctor.

quote:

Originally posted by Deqlyn:
Big fan of rowing. No joint stress, can do aerobic and anerobic when you get there. As far as time, if you work 12 hours, sleep 8 hours, that leaves 4 to workout. You can do it man! Also whatever exercise you choose best to check with your doctor.

I'm looking for a good home workout and am interested in rowing. If I only did rowing and running, is that enough?

quote:

Originally posted by Strambo:
a good pull up bar

I haven't exercised, other than walking the dog, in years. In my last residence, I installed a pull up bar, and loved it. For me it was my best measure of progress, because it was very cut-and-dried as far a how many pullups I could do, and how they got easier because the weight never really increased. It's not like free weights, where you can kind of cheat via bad form/movement to get that next curl, at least in my experience.

^^^

Did you have to use cheater bands when you first started?

Read this guys book.

https://books.google.com/books...#v=onepage&q&f=false

Seriously.