Question for the fitness guru's!

Need a hand with a home project, how to fix that bloody roof leak, hang a door etc...
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TIMMY30
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Question for the fitness guru's!

Post by TIMMY30 »

Hey all,

Over the last 12-18 months ive been attempting to get fit for the police force.

Im 25 now and smoked a pack a day from when i was 19 to 24. (Havent smoked for 11 months now). I wouldnt say im grossly.overweight. im 6'3" and weigh 92KG but my body fat % is probably somewhere around 22% which is not good.

Everytime i begin exercising/going to the gym i make excellent progress rather quickly (just this past 2 weeks i dropped 2-3cm off my waist and can already see a bit of muscle definition in my arms and legs.

However. 2 weeks into this i end up with a flu/headcold/laryngitis. This happens everytime i begin getting results. Then i will get the shits and give up for a few months. Start again. Rinse and repeat many.times over the last 18 months.

This is incredibly disheartening as all ive wanted for some time now is to get into the police force.

Is this all just a terrible coincidence?. Or is there some kind of explanation for this?

Thanks guys,

Tim
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Re: Question for the fitness guru's!

Post by Vilante »

Probably not a coincidence Timmy, it has happened to me in the past also, repeatedly as you describe. It's quite a change for your body to stop smoking and start regular exercise and it can mess with your immune system.

Sounds like a cop out but you just have to push through it. If it's just a cold keep training through it and you'll come out the other side stronger. If it's a proper flu you should be resting but I think you can train through a cold or virus and have done many times.

If you feel you need to rest to let your body heal, get back into it the second you can. I know it's easy to get disheartened and just not go back to it for a month or two but you have to make a conscious decision to go back to is ASAP.

Fitness is all about consistency.
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Re: Question for the fitness guru's!

Post by DexterPunk »

I think that's fairly normal. You're exerting your body and using most of your energy. You will eventually become less likely to get ill. You just have to get right back into it as soon as you're able. I've been dealing with a lingering virus for the past 12 months. It's almost entirely gone, when I hit the pool really hard I get run down and I start to feel the effects. The body is very adaptive. The more you make exercise a routine, the more the body adjusts to accommodate it. I came from a similar place to you. I was super fit as a teenager and one of the fastest in the state for middle distance freestyle and played a high level of tennis. I stopped everything at about 19 because I was sick of it all, and would rather go out and party. I'd say from 19-29 I smoked and drank myself into a hugely unfit person. I'm now back to a reasonable fitness level and last week did 5.5km in the pool with some reasonably hard swims. I'm nowhere near what i was, I actually have no idea how I managed to swim 4km sessions filled with sprints and barely any rest time. But I'm getting there, it's hard work and there really is no easy way out. I know how hard a slog it is to pull yourself out of that unfit world. You will get there if you keep at it.

My advise regarding weight is to not look too hard at it. You can increase in weight at times since muscle weighs 3x more than fat. Take a good look at your diet and sugar intake. There's so much sugar and salt around in our lives that it's very easy to be consuming too much. Eat sensibly, and exercise regularly (even if you do a really light session - it keeps the routine going).

I like to remember a theory/quote I picked up somewhere, I really think it's true.

"I'm too much of a lazy person to be unfit." It's so true. When you're unfit, your daily life is always a struggle. Hard to make it through the day with enough energy. When you have to do something physical you're exhausted afterwards. Being fit makes your day to day life easier.



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TIMMY30
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Re: Question for the fitness guru's!

Post by TIMMY30 »

Thanks alot fellas. Appreciate it.

Everytime i get sick its dissapointing because im at the point where the routine has begun to set in (going straight from work to avoid getting home, sitting down and then thinking stuff it) and generally really having a fun time at the gym. Now that im sick i guess im having a slight withdrawal from it but by the time i get better i won't go back because im worried about how much progress i've lost.

Very negative way of looking at it which im really trying hard this time to keep telling myself it'll be ok and ill go back as soon as i'm better. Not really looking at the weight factor much, just mentioned the weight to give you all a picture of where i'm at i spose.

I avoid sugar (i.e soft drink,ice cream etc) altogether and eat pretty well i think. I won't be drinking any alcohol until i get to my fitness goal either. Drinking about 3.5-4 litres of water a day also.
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Re: Question for the fitness guru's!

Post by DexterPunk »

You're eating better than me then haha. I allow myself some ice cream now and then. And still love a couple of beers. Today i'll have a few with some sausages at a mates place. But part of exercising for me is also so I can enjoy these things. I quit soft drinks and tend to eat better food at work now. Fresh rolls with some meat and salad etc.
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TIMMY30
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Re: Question for the fitness guru's!

Post by TIMMY30 »

Don't get me wrong. I still eat some shit. But i stay away from sugar 1. because when i was younger i totally fucked my teeth with coke so now i've got several fillings and 2. sugar is probably worse to eat than fat.

I'll still eat bacon and eggs or some maccas on a weekend. But through the week i try to stay healthy. Whatver im doing seems to be working though. In 2 weeks i've dropped a few cm off my waist which is great.
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Re: Question for the fitness guru's!

Post by DexterPunk »

That's excellent. And yeah you can eat those things if it's occasional and you're getting yourself moving to work it all off.


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Re: Question for the fitness guru's!

Post by wobblysauce »

When you get that ill feeling, you can back off. But do something else even if it is just some stuff around the house.

Push-ups, Planks with some cardio say.. high knees and climers, if you have animals do a few reps of the food bag.
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Re: Question for the fitness guru's!

Post by Gizmo »

Hey Timmy, Glad to hear your giving up smoking and getting fit. It is a very big change to go some smoking and doing nothing to regular exercise. I personally get sick like this if I get back into training and my diet isn't right or I do to much to soon. Sure your body can do it for a week or so, but consistent training when your body is not used to it can really shock it. It's best to start slow for a couple of weeks. Build up your fitness and strength, then once you feel comfortable step things up a notch.

Another thing to try and avoid is to try and better yourself every session or every week. Lots of people start of with nothing then try to become superfit and do really hard sessions within a couple of months, this is the wrong way to go about things and you can end up making yourself sick. What you want to do is train to a level for a month or so and stick to that level, making sure you are comfortable and it's becoming easy before you start to increase training.

Diet and recovery are also a very important part to training, just as important as the training itself. Make sure you eat well and get plenty of rest. If your body is tried it's for a reason. Without decent sleep, all your hard work will be in vain.

I don't really agree with what Vilante said. If you are sick listen to your body. Do not train though it because you only do more harm than good.
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Re: Question for the fitness guru's!

Post by wobblysauce »

Lots of people forget rest days, as there just as important as the gym/fitness day to give your body time to heal-recharge, really important when you come from doing no exercise.

And do not forget to sleep, as that is another big thing people skip.
Some play it safe on the merry-go-round, others go for the thrills of the roller-coaster.

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