China Cat Sunflower
Nimrod
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So, the people who've been here a while probably know most of this stuff. I'm a 45 year old man. I've never worked out in my life. I've worked hard my whole life, just never exercised. I smoked a pack of cigarettes a day for about 28 years. Two years ago this June my brother died suddenly of a heart attack. He was a couple of months short of his 45th birthday. He went home from my daughter's birthday party complaining of heartburn, told his wife to go on to bed, and died on the living room floor some time later that night.
As you might imagine this was a freak out for me. It seemed an obvious wake up call as well, so I went to see the doctor for the first check up in probably twenty years. I got the referral and went down for a stress test where they shot me up with radioactive stuff and scanned me, then ran my ass on a treadmill 'till I about dropped to see what kind of shape my heart was in. My cholesterol was a bit high, but otherwise I looked OK. So the Doc tells me, "you know, if you're serious about cutting your risk of a heart attack you could quit smoking since that's, like, the number one aggravating factor." I took the prescription for Chantix and left.
Eight months later, after my wallet with that prescription folded up in it had twice been run through the wash cycle by mistake so that the ink had soaked through to the other side and the folds in the paper had worn through, I sheepishly took it in to the supermarket pharmacy and asked the nice lady pharmacist if it was still good. It was, so I paid the $125 for a months supply and went home with my no smoky pills. I did quit eleven months ago the eleventh, and you can read about that journey a couple of threads down.
My family has a mixed history of both extraordinary longevity and congenital heart problems and diabetes. My Dad has aunts who've lived to 109 and 106. He himself is the youngest of six, the oldest of which is 92. But he had a sister who died at fourteen from congenital heart defects. Her twin, my aunt Margarete has type II diabetes, but she's, I don't know, at least 87. On my Mom's side, however, everyone dies by their early seventies of heart related ailments. So it's a crap shoot what kind of genes you get. My sister has had diabetes since she was five, and my only brother is now deceased. My Mother has the same sort of blood pressure and heart issues that killed her Mom at 72, she's 73 and fading fast, but my Dad is healthier than sh** at 79.
Anyway, so I quit smoking. But then I frickin" ate Detroit and one of the smaller Hawaiian Islands and gained twenty five pounds, all of it gut. I started seeing in the news that there is a statistical correlation between belly fat and cardiovascular health. I thought of my brother's big fat gut that I teased him about, and I started making a realistic assessment of my overall state of health. I was pretty dismayed by what I found. I was deeply in denial about just how wrung out I'd let myself become. I couldn't run two blocks. I still can't touch my toes. If you had seen me you'd think I was big, strong and healthy, but I wasn't.
I'd really like to live a long time. I got a late start- didn't marry until I was thirty three, and I have two girls ages six and eight. I have a lot to live for. Like I said, I quit smoking, that's a biggie, but I needed to start exercising. For one thing, the only way to burn abdominal fat, I've learned, is to do cardio. You make that old ticker work for it, keep you're heart rate above 70% of maximum for a certain period of time, and that's what burns fat. So I need a good cardiovascular exercise. But my knees aren't the best so jogging is out. I don't have time to go to a gym even if I could afford the membership. In fact, I can't cycle because I need to be at home to cover my Dad duties both in the morning early and after work.
I started thinking about buying either a treadmill, an elliptical trainer, or a stationary bike. The treadmill is great for cardio but it does nothing for your upper body, plus all that impact hurts my knees and beats the crap out of the equipment. The bikes are nice, but again, they do nothing for your upper body abs and back. The elliptical trainers seem to offer more of a whole body workout, but the ones I looked at seemed like a sort of stair climber with push-me-pull-you handles attached to give you something to hang on to. It didn't seem like they worked your core other than passively.
I wound up buying a rowing machine, also called an ergonometer. It's the only device I found which works all of your muscle groups and provides the aerobic and sustained cardio work out I wanted in a simple, no impact exercise.
I've been rowing for one month now. I've lost 15 pounds and two inches in my waist band while gaining an inch in my chest. My heart function is visibly improving. I've got to pull much harder now to get my heart rate up into the zone I want to sustain. Half my gut is gone, and I can see the tone coming back into my calves, quads, pecs, bi and triceps.
I was wondering if anyone else wants to talk about their personal fitness program and, or, the trials and tribulations of trying to get/stay fit in middle age and beyond?
Chris
As you might imagine this was a freak out for me. It seemed an obvious wake up call as well, so I went to see the doctor for the first check up in probably twenty years. I got the referral and went down for a stress test where they shot me up with radioactive stuff and scanned me, then ran my ass on a treadmill 'till I about dropped to see what kind of shape my heart was in. My cholesterol was a bit high, but otherwise I looked OK. So the Doc tells me, "you know, if you're serious about cutting your risk of a heart attack you could quit smoking since that's, like, the number one aggravating factor." I took the prescription for Chantix and left.
Eight months later, after my wallet with that prescription folded up in it had twice been run through the wash cycle by mistake so that the ink had soaked through to the other side and the folds in the paper had worn through, I sheepishly took it in to the supermarket pharmacy and asked the nice lady pharmacist if it was still good. It was, so I paid the $125 for a months supply and went home with my no smoky pills. I did quit eleven months ago the eleventh, and you can read about that journey a couple of threads down.
My family has a mixed history of both extraordinary longevity and congenital heart problems and diabetes. My Dad has aunts who've lived to 109 and 106. He himself is the youngest of six, the oldest of which is 92. But he had a sister who died at fourteen from congenital heart defects. Her twin, my aunt Margarete has type II diabetes, but she's, I don't know, at least 87. On my Mom's side, however, everyone dies by their early seventies of heart related ailments. So it's a crap shoot what kind of genes you get. My sister has had diabetes since she was five, and my only brother is now deceased. My Mother has the same sort of blood pressure and heart issues that killed her Mom at 72, she's 73 and fading fast, but my Dad is healthier than sh** at 79.
Anyway, so I quit smoking. But then I frickin" ate Detroit and one of the smaller Hawaiian Islands and gained twenty five pounds, all of it gut. I started seeing in the news that there is a statistical correlation between belly fat and cardiovascular health. I thought of my brother's big fat gut that I teased him about, and I started making a realistic assessment of my overall state of health. I was pretty dismayed by what I found. I was deeply in denial about just how wrung out I'd let myself become. I couldn't run two blocks. I still can't touch my toes. If you had seen me you'd think I was big, strong and healthy, but I wasn't.
I'd really like to live a long time. I got a late start- didn't marry until I was thirty three, and I have two girls ages six and eight. I have a lot to live for. Like I said, I quit smoking, that's a biggie, but I needed to start exercising. For one thing, the only way to burn abdominal fat, I've learned, is to do cardio. You make that old ticker work for it, keep you're heart rate above 70% of maximum for a certain period of time, and that's what burns fat. So I need a good cardiovascular exercise. But my knees aren't the best so jogging is out. I don't have time to go to a gym even if I could afford the membership. In fact, I can't cycle because I need to be at home to cover my Dad duties both in the morning early and after work.
I started thinking about buying either a treadmill, an elliptical trainer, or a stationary bike. The treadmill is great for cardio but it does nothing for your upper body, plus all that impact hurts my knees and beats the crap out of the equipment. The bikes are nice, but again, they do nothing for your upper body abs and back. The elliptical trainers seem to offer more of a whole body workout, but the ones I looked at seemed like a sort of stair climber with push-me-pull-you handles attached to give you something to hang on to. It didn't seem like they worked your core other than passively.
I wound up buying a rowing machine, also called an ergonometer. It's the only device I found which works all of your muscle groups and provides the aerobic and sustained cardio work out I wanted in a simple, no impact exercise.
I've been rowing for one month now. I've lost 15 pounds and two inches in my waist band while gaining an inch in my chest. My heart function is visibly improving. I've got to pull much harder now to get my heart rate up into the zone I want to sustain. Half my gut is gone, and I can see the tone coming back into my calves, quads, pecs, bi and triceps.
I was wondering if anyone else wants to talk about their personal fitness program and, or, the trials and tribulations of trying to get/stay fit in middle age and beyond?
Chris
]. so would appreciate your take on that drug you took to help you quit.
s, but whatever floats your boat [walking dogs can be helpful in adding a bit of exercise, too]). 