Sorry for the belated update! Things have been a little hectic.
W2D2 went off pretty well; I find it a huge help having an appropriate playlist while running and, after some fine tuning, I think I've nailed it. Lots of fast paced hard rock / metal and the odd big beat track. The minutes fly by.
I felt better in every way during this session. Don't get me wrong, I still found it challenging but my breathing stayed good and I had less of the right-sided weakness I was worrying over.
I've avoided the scales for a couple of days as we went to an 'all you can eat' buffet restaurant for a family member's birthday on Friday night and, inevitably, I ate too much! Didn't drink a great deal, though, so I feel like I have made huge progress in cutting down on the booze.
I'm due W2D3 today, so if I have time I'll post an update later. No promises though, I have a 3 year old with a stomach bug, so all bets are off! The little fella is so clingy I may well have him attached to me while hitting the elliptical!
Saturday, 14 January 2012
Tuesday, 10 January 2012
Week 2, Day 1
And so it goes...
I have to say, to my relief, I didn't find the first day of W2 to be any significant step up from W1.
My biggest challenge is proving to be my weakness on my right side; it's the side on which I broke my ankle and it's very evident that the muscle wastage that occurred while I was in plaster has left me with a significant difference in strength between my left and right side (should've stuck at the lower limb class that the hospital referred me on to!). I feel like my left hand side could easily go beyond the recommended distance in C25K, but my right side is having none of it.
I'm sure the strength will improve sooner than later, but it's giving me concerns about running outside as opposed to the elliptical. How will it stand up to support 18 stone (or, just under 18 stone now, yay me!) as I thunder down the road?
I've also been craving a beer today - I think I've awakened the beer monster after having a few at the weekend (and it was a fraction of my usual weekend consumption, yay me again!).
No big deal, though, it's easy enough to resist especially as I feel I've made a lot of progress in a short time. I'll enjoy the weekend's beer all the more for waiting for it ;-)
I have to say, to my relief, I didn't find the first day of W2 to be any significant step up from W1.
My biggest challenge is proving to be my weakness on my right side; it's the side on which I broke my ankle and it's very evident that the muscle wastage that occurred while I was in plaster has left me with a significant difference in strength between my left and right side (should've stuck at the lower limb class that the hospital referred me on to!). I feel like my left hand side could easily go beyond the recommended distance in C25K, but my right side is having none of it.
I'm sure the strength will improve sooner than later, but it's giving me concerns about running outside as opposed to the elliptical. How will it stand up to support 18 stone (or, just under 18 stone now, yay me!) as I thunder down the road?
I've also been craving a beer today - I think I've awakened the beer monster after having a few at the weekend (and it was a fraction of my usual weekend consumption, yay me again!).
No big deal, though, it's easy enough to resist especially as I feel I've made a lot of progress in a short time. I'll enjoy the weekend's beer all the more for waiting for it ;-)
Monday, 9 January 2012
Week 1, Day 3
Week 1 is in the bag!!
I enjoyed the third session far more than days 1 and 2. It was the first time I felt I could happily go on for longer; after the first two sessions I couldn't wait to get off the elliptical!
It was also the session I felt the least motivated to start. Having done it, and felt good doing it, I am now keen to hit Week 2.
I can feel some aching from my busted ankle today, but nothing major. Hopefully I'll feel ready for some road running next month. I'm curious to know how much harder I'm going to find it in comparison with the elliptical work.
The scales say I've dropped 3 pounds since I started last Tuesday so, while weight loss wasn't my primary focus (I kind of figured that would take care of itself as I increased my workouts) it's a welcome bonus.
Although I've only dipped my toe in to the program so far, I can feel some (albeit minor) improvement to my base fitness level and can't wait to get further into the weeks ahead.
I'm also giving some thought to what I'm going to do once I complete the C25K; I need to have a plan to carry on improving if I'm to increase my distances sufficiently to make a half marathon a possibility next year.
Oh, and my alcohol intake at the weekend was a fraction of what I'd usually put down my neck; I actually found myself worrying about undoing the good work of the previous week and this was a pretty good motivator to limit the booze.
Overall, I'm delighted with the first week's progress. Onwards and upwards!
I enjoyed the third session far more than days 1 and 2. It was the first time I felt I could happily go on for longer; after the first two sessions I couldn't wait to get off the elliptical!
It was also the session I felt the least motivated to start. Having done it, and felt good doing it, I am now keen to hit Week 2.
I can feel some aching from my busted ankle today, but nothing major. Hopefully I'll feel ready for some road running next month. I'm curious to know how much harder I'm going to find it in comparison with the elliptical work.
The scales say I've dropped 3 pounds since I started last Tuesday so, while weight loss wasn't my primary focus (I kind of figured that would take care of itself as I increased my workouts) it's a welcome bonus.
Although I've only dipped my toe in to the program so far, I can feel some (albeit minor) improvement to my base fitness level and can't wait to get further into the weeks ahead.
I'm also giving some thought to what I'm going to do once I complete the C25K; I need to have a plan to carry on improving if I'm to increase my distances sufficiently to make a half marathon a possibility next year.
Oh, and my alcohol intake at the weekend was a fraction of what I'd usually put down my neck; I actually found myself worrying about undoing the good work of the previous week and this was a pretty good motivator to limit the booze.
Overall, I'm delighted with the first week's progress. Onwards and upwards!
Friday, 6 January 2012
Week 1, Day 2
I'd planned to have my running days as Tues, Thurs and Sat for each week and, within the first week of the plan, I had my schedule scuppered!
Through a combination of work demands and personal stuff, running yesterday was a genuine impossibility so I've shifted my schedule for the week to be Tuesday, Friday, Sunday. Back to the original plan next week.
Day 2 was a strange one. From an 'ohmigodicantbreathe' point of view, I seemed to find it a lot easier than Day 1. I found a rhythm early on with my breathing and didn't really get out of breathe the entire session. However, I felt a weakness in my leg muscles (thighs mainly) and my right knee that I didn't experience first time round so at the end of the session part of me was delighted it was over, another part felt there was more fuel in the tank.
I'm happy to not have used yesterday's disruption as an excuse to put the plan off until next week (or the week after, or the week after...) and even happier that the stresses and strains of work / home didn't lead me to the bar.
On the topic of booze, it's just after 9pm UK time on a Friday night and as I type this, I'm sipping at Apple and Strawberry cordial. No booze in sight, and this is one of my supposed drinking days. The feverish urge to crack open a cold one as soon as I got in from the office 'because it's Friday' just wasn't there today, and even now I don't feel a real urge for a beer.
Weird.
Through a combination of work demands and personal stuff, running yesterday was a genuine impossibility so I've shifted my schedule for the week to be Tuesday, Friday, Sunday. Back to the original plan next week.
Day 2 was a strange one. From an 'ohmigodicantbreathe' point of view, I seemed to find it a lot easier than Day 1. I found a rhythm early on with my breathing and didn't really get out of breathe the entire session. However, I felt a weakness in my leg muscles (thighs mainly) and my right knee that I didn't experience first time round so at the end of the session part of me was delighted it was over, another part felt there was more fuel in the tank.
I'm happy to not have used yesterday's disruption as an excuse to put the plan off until next week (or the week after, or the week after...) and even happier that the stresses and strains of work / home didn't lead me to the bar.
On the topic of booze, it's just after 9pm UK time on a Friday night and as I type this, I'm sipping at Apple and Strawberry cordial. No booze in sight, and this is one of my supposed drinking days. The feverish urge to crack open a cold one as soon as I got in from the office 'because it's Friday' just wasn't there today, and even now I don't feel a real urge for a beer.
Weird.
Tuesday, 3 January 2012
Week 1, Day 1.
Well, I've done it. And actually quite enjoyed it - I was also a little wobbly and more than a little sweaty when I finished, so I figure I did some good...
I timed my C25K stages using a free downloadable Android app, C25K, which meant I didn't need to manually time my changes from walking to jogging - I'd recommend it, particularly given that it allows you to play your own workout music rather than force a selection of tunes on you like some of the podcasts do.
Today has highlighted a potential issue for me with using the cross trainer rather than 'real' running - I find it really difficult to find a walking pace; the movement of the machine lends itself to jogging / running pace far better than walking and strangely I found some of the walking segments actually more strenuous, particularly on the upper thighs.
According to the monitor on the machine, during my 24+ minutes (including 5 min warm up) I did almost 8km.
I don't know whether it's psychological or not, but on the odd time I've braved my cross trainer in the past I've been blowing at around 5 minutes - it somehow seemed much easier to put the minutes in, and I'm sure my pace wasn't a great deal slower than I've gone in the past.
Other than the exercise, I'm not moving to any huge lifestyle changes just yet; well, maybe one. I am (was?) a big drinker, and would normally shift 4 or 5 cans of beer on most weeknights, and much more at weekends. I don't intend packing the beer in completely (I'm sure I wouldn't stick at the plan if I deprived myself entirely) but I am determined to limit my drinking to 2 evenings a week. I figure I'll be drinking at least 20 pints a week less (and that is shocking to me when I actually take the time to calculate what I've been drinking), so at around 200 calories a can, I'm losing around 4000 empty calories a week. Jeeeez.
I'm kind of disappointed that tomorrow is a rest day, as my motivation is currently very high, but I'm going to stick to the plan and allow my muscles to recover. I'm sure they'll be letting me know that it's the right thing to do in the morning!
I think I'll use my 'rest days' to do some light weight training, nothing major, just 20 minutes or so with a set of dumbells. I understand that building muscle helps to burn fat quicker, so every little helps!
I should also briefly provide an update on progress for the others in my group. Two of the group were so excited to start, they bought new running gear yesterday and went out for a walk / jog straight away. They didn't stick strictly to the C25K plan, but hey, they were out there and doing exercise which is a huge thing. One of the group hasn't started yet, but to be fair he's a 15 year old lad and isn't close to the lack of fitness that the other 4 of the group have slipped to, so he doesn't really need to be starting so soon.
The final member, my lovely wife, also did her first shift on the cross trainer.
Success all round at this very early stage, then!
Time for a beer... ha, not a chance.
I timed my C25K stages using a free downloadable Android app, C25K, which meant I didn't need to manually time my changes from walking to jogging - I'd recommend it, particularly given that it allows you to play your own workout music rather than force a selection of tunes on you like some of the podcasts do.
Today has highlighted a potential issue for me with using the cross trainer rather than 'real' running - I find it really difficult to find a walking pace; the movement of the machine lends itself to jogging / running pace far better than walking and strangely I found some of the walking segments actually more strenuous, particularly on the upper thighs.
According to the monitor on the machine, during my 24+ minutes (including 5 min warm up) I did almost 8km.
I don't know whether it's psychological or not, but on the odd time I've braved my cross trainer in the past I've been blowing at around 5 minutes - it somehow seemed much easier to put the minutes in, and I'm sure my pace wasn't a great deal slower than I've gone in the past.
Other than the exercise, I'm not moving to any huge lifestyle changes just yet; well, maybe one. I am (was?) a big drinker, and would normally shift 4 or 5 cans of beer on most weeknights, and much more at weekends. I don't intend packing the beer in completely (I'm sure I wouldn't stick at the plan if I deprived myself entirely) but I am determined to limit my drinking to 2 evenings a week. I figure I'll be drinking at least 20 pints a week less (and that is shocking to me when I actually take the time to calculate what I've been drinking), so at around 200 calories a can, I'm losing around 4000 empty calories a week. Jeeeez.
I'm kind of disappointed that tomorrow is a rest day, as my motivation is currently very high, but I'm going to stick to the plan and allow my muscles to recover. I'm sure they'll be letting me know that it's the right thing to do in the morning!
I think I'll use my 'rest days' to do some light weight training, nothing major, just 20 minutes or so with a set of dumbells. I understand that building muscle helps to burn fat quicker, so every little helps!
I should also briefly provide an update on progress for the others in my group. Two of the group were so excited to start, they bought new running gear yesterday and went out for a walk / jog straight away. They didn't stick strictly to the C25K plan, but hey, they were out there and doing exercise which is a huge thing. One of the group hasn't started yet, but to be fair he's a 15 year old lad and isn't close to the lack of fitness that the other 4 of the group have slipped to, so he doesn't really need to be starting so soon.
The final member, my lovely wife, also did her first shift on the cross trainer.
Success all round at this very early stage, then!
Time for a beer... ha, not a chance.
Monday, 2 January 2012
The plan...
Ok, so I'm one of the fatties referred to in the blog title.
I'm 37, and at 255lbs, or 18 stone 3lbs, or 116 kg in 'new money', it's fair to say I'm a big lad
Waist size 44", Chest Size 48".
Definitely a big lad.
My existing exercise regime consists of a 15 minute walk to work 5 days a week and, errrr. that's it really. Although I have been known to do a bit of a jog when the 'Last Orders' bell rings at my local pub.
An additional hurdle for me is that, 12 months ago, I suffered a bimalleolar fracture and dislocation of my right ankle, resulting in surgery to fit 10 pins and a plate - while I'm walking perfectly well now, I do feel like I've lost some strength and stability there.
As far as being unfit goes, I'd say I'm Premier League.
In a flash of inspiration (or moment of madness, depending on who you ask) in early December 2011 I decided I needed to make a change.
I have an extremely lively 3 year old son whom I want to be able to keep up with at the park and, more importantly, want to be around to watch him grow up to be a man.
I want to be able to walk into a store, any store, and buy whatever clothing I like the look of - some shops are simply out of bounds to someone of my size, and even those that stock clothing big enough, I have to be choosy to avoid buying a bulge-enhancer (not THAT kind of bulge ;o) ) or something that looks like I picked it up at a tent store.
... and many more reasons besides. If you're anywhere near my weight, or level of fitness (unfitness?) then you'll have dozens of reasons too; some similar, some very personal.
The reasons aren't what is important - what is important is that I (and you, if you're on a similar path) have the determination to stick with it. And I do.
I'm a man that needs a target, and 'getting fit' or 'losing weight' isn't specific enough for me to be driven by. So, using all my knowledge of 'SMART' objectives (Specific, Measurable, Attainiable, Relevant, Timed), I gave myself the following goal:
Now, I like a good feed and a good booze up (as you can probably guess, given my vital statistics!) so it seemed sensible to leave it until after the Christmas festivities to avoid making an already seismic change in lifestyle even more difficult.
I also used the festive period to put my suggestions to other members of the family to see whether they fancied getting involved. There are now 5 of us embarking on this, at differing levels of unfitness, so hopefully the moral support (and, let's be honest, some goodwilled competition!) will go some way to keeping the motivation up.
To build up my ankle strength (and also, if I'm honest, my confidence) I'll be starting off on a cross trainer rather than running outdoors initially.
It's now 2nd January 2012, and I have no more excuses!
Tomorrow, the plan begins... wish me luck!
I'm 37, and at 255lbs, or 18 stone 3lbs, or 116 kg in 'new money', it's fair to say I'm a big lad
Waist size 44", Chest Size 48".
Definitely a big lad.
My existing exercise regime consists of a 15 minute walk to work 5 days a week and, errrr. that's it really. Although I have been known to do a bit of a jog when the 'Last Orders' bell rings at my local pub.
An additional hurdle for me is that, 12 months ago, I suffered a bimalleolar fracture and dislocation of my right ankle, resulting in surgery to fit 10 pins and a plate - while I'm walking perfectly well now, I do feel like I've lost some strength and stability there.
As far as being unfit goes, I'd say I'm Premier League.
In a flash of inspiration (or moment of madness, depending on who you ask) in early December 2011 I decided I needed to make a change.
I have an extremely lively 3 year old son whom I want to be able to keep up with at the park and, more importantly, want to be around to watch him grow up to be a man.
I want to be able to walk into a store, any store, and buy whatever clothing I like the look of - some shops are simply out of bounds to someone of my size, and even those that stock clothing big enough, I have to be choosy to avoid buying a bulge-enhancer (not THAT kind of bulge ;o) ) or something that looks like I picked it up at a tent store.
... and many more reasons besides. If you're anywhere near my weight, or level of fitness (unfitness?) then you'll have dozens of reasons too; some similar, some very personal.
The reasons aren't what is important - what is important is that I (and you, if you're on a similar path) have the determination to stick with it. And I do.
I'm a man that needs a target, and 'getting fit' or 'losing weight' isn't specific enough for me to be driven by. So, using all my knowledge of 'SMART' objectives (Specific, Measurable, Attainiable, Relevant, Timed), I gave myself the following goal:
"To Run A Half Marathon in 2013"
Gulp. Really not sure about the 'Attainable' bit.
After a bit of googling, though, I found this plan: The-Couch-To-5K-Running-Plan.
It started to feel a little more attainable.
Now, I like a good feed and a good booze up (as you can probably guess, given my vital statistics!) so it seemed sensible to leave it until after the Christmas festivities to avoid making an already seismic change in lifestyle even more difficult.
I also used the festive period to put my suggestions to other members of the family to see whether they fancied getting involved. There are now 5 of us embarking on this, at differing levels of unfitness, so hopefully the moral support (and, let's be honest, some goodwilled competition!) will go some way to keeping the motivation up.
To build up my ankle strength (and also, if I'm honest, my confidence) I'll be starting off on a cross trainer rather than running outdoors initially.
It's now 2nd January 2012, and I have no more excuses!
Tomorrow, the plan begins... wish me luck!
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