Take care of yourself

Re: Take care of yourself (LiveSTRONG)

Can anyone suggest some chest exercises for someone who only has a single 25-pound dumbell?

I have done curls and extensions that appear to be working my arms and shoulders. But I have nothing for the chest.

 

Re: Take care of yourself (LiveSTRONG)

1. Take the dumbbell to a sporting good store.
2. Hit the clerk over the head with it.
3. Steal one that matches it.

Now you have a set. Good luck.

 

Re: Take care of yourself (LiveSTRONG)

I started Weight Watchers last Monday with my wife, who has been doing it for one month and lost 15 pounds. Well, I got on the scales today and I have dropped five pounds. Five down, 110 to go. Slowly but surely, I will get there.

 

Re: Take care of yourself (LiveSTRONG)

pushups and dips.

 

Re: Take care of yourself (LiveSTRONG)

Cool. I bought some of the orange push-ups and three different kinds of dips, two with cheese and one sour cream and onion.

 

Re: Take care of yourself (LiveSTRONG)

I have been ordered to exercise daily, preferably outdoors. Since I'm not a runner and don't own a bike, I figure that means I'll be doing a lot of walking.

How fast do I have to walk to burn fat and lose weight? Do I have to sweat a lot? Elevate my heart rate a certain amount? Keep it up for a specific time period?

Other suggestions for outdoor activities would be much appreciated. I can walk to a couple of parks, but I don't think they have anything particularly useful for workouts. I might go back to shooting hoops on the local half-court, since the kids have to let me play if I bring the ball.

 

Re: Take care of yourself (LiveSTRONG)

I swear this is solid: a good aggressive walk is as good as a run...maybe better (since most people can walk longer than they can run).

Put on some good music and push yourself....long strides, move your arms, no lattes or cell phones. If the mood strikes, run for a few minutes, then walk again....sprint for 30 seconds, then walk ....run the last minute home.

My favorite workout ever, until I told too many people: running up a big hill in the local park. A sledding hill or whatever is near you. Run up, walk down. Up, down. However many times you can go....and when you're done, you'll know. Walter Payton once took me to the hill he'd run on....he'd go until until he puked. I never get that far, but after a half hour, you need crutches to get home. On my 40th birthday, I went for an hour, added one 'up' for every person I knew who hadn't lived to see 40. My calves burned like molten lava for a week, but it was worth it.

 

Re: Take care of yourself (LiveSTRONG)

I am not an expert but here's what has worked for me. The rate of perceived exertion (RPE) is a good start. It's a scale of 1-10 when you're doing exercise. 1 is easy, you can talk, gesture, form coherent thoughts etc. 5 you can tell you're working out, breathing a little harder, muscles are fatiguing slowly. 10 is the hardest you can possibly workout, not healthy, can't do it for long or you'll hurt yourself.

I started back in March and walked 30-45 minutes at an RPE of 6 or 7.

What makes it productive is an incline. If you can find a hill, even a slight one, you'll do more work in 30 minutes than you would if you walked for an hour at a track. Laboring away on a flat course is near pointless in my eyes if you're walking.

I melted 25 pounds in 2.5 months doing that and swimming.

 

Re: Take care of yourself (LiveSTRONG)

I found swimming to be an excellent aerobic exercise. I burned fat faster doing that than anything else. Just lap after lap in a pool that was about 50 feet long.

 

Re: Take care of yourself (LiveSTRONG)

Make sure you wear good walking sneakers. I say this through experience.

 

Re: Take care of yourself (LiveSTRONG)

Also, if you have wide feet, make sure you buy wide width shoes. Your feet will thank you later [/learnedthehardway]

 

Re: Take care of yourself (LiveSTRONG)

New Balance. 'Nuff said.