independently fit

[jedusor]

I just finished taking an "Independent Fitness" course at the community college a few blocks from my house. The class met four times on Saturday mornings over three months, and the rest of it was just individual workouts recorded on a timecard at the front desk of the gym. I took it mostly to hold myself accountable for the workouts I was already doing.

Those of you who follow me on other social networks know exactly what I thought about the dietary part of the course--which, having just gone to check the course schedule, I now realize was not included in the description of the class. Basically, she spent half an hour lecturing us about the evils of the typical American diet and throwing out "SCARY, SCARY" obesity statistics with wide eyes and bogey hands, and then described in detail an ideal diet that she claimed would solve all these problems. It was my diet. I know this because we also had to keep a diet diary for three days and break it down into protein, complex carbs, simple carbs, saturated fats, and unsaturated fats. The only thing she had to say about mine was that I don't eat enough carbs. Aside from being almost certainly false, this did not address the flaw in her theory about a magical cure for obesity, given that my diet hasn't significantly changed in about five years and I've been exercising regularly for quite a while now. I wish people could just learn to accept that bodies are different, and health doesn't look the same for everyone. Sigh.

But the main part of the course, the workouts, was good. There were fitness evaluations at the beginning, midpoint, and end of the quarter, and it was neat to see those numbers change. I'd never done any kind of flexibility test, and was surprised to find myself at the top of the charts from the beginning. (I guess most people can't do this?) One of the tests was a one-legged wall sit, of which I managed to endure all of six seconds the first day and made it over half a minute by the end.

My relationship with exercise has never been as strong, positive or negative, as a lot of people's seem to be. I was pretty active as a kid, and less active after my family moved to Kansas City, where it was less bike-friendly and there weren't regular juggling gatherings. I played hours of DDR every day for a while, which produced enough sweat that it probably counted as exercise. I think my first attempt at working out for the sake of working out was when I tried Couch-to-5k when I was fourteen or fifteen. That went fine until I got shin splints a few weeks in, and no amount of stretching seemed to solve the problem, so I gave up. I got a membership at my community college's gym when I was sixteen, much to the consternation of the guy in charge who tried to tell me the age limit was seventeen due to health concerns (Julia used Doctor's Note combined with Endless Badgering! IT'S SUPER EFFECTIVE), but it was fifty bucks a semester and treadmill access wasn't worth it to me. I've sort of always done crunches and pushups intermittently, and I used the student gym at Clark sometimes, and I've never disliked any of it, but I never really got into a routine.

Last fall I decided I wanted to learn how to lift weights, and took a course for that. It was so awesome I didn't even mind the 8am start time. For the first time, exercise felt like it emphasized what I could do instead of what I couldn't. Working out felt like accomplishing something concrete, instead of just doggedly going nowhere. For someone with competence insecurities as deep as mine, that made a huge difference. Weightlifting is exercise that I actively enjoy, instead of just doing because I vaguely feel like I should.

For this course, I was aiming for three workouts per week of one to two hours each, and since my weightlifting routines don't take that long, I started using the elliptical for a while at the end of each workout. And this weird thing happened--each time, after I'd been at it for about sixteen or seventeen minutes, I broke out of that "meh, whatever" mindset and got to a point where I just wanted to do more, faster, harder. I think maybe I was just too out of shape to get there before, or I didn't stick with it long enough or use hard enough settings. But now that I know that place exists (for me personally--I knew other people experienced it) it's a lot easier to want to work out.

So now I have a regular routine of exercise activities I like, arranged in a way that works for me, that usually leaves me happy and sore in the right ways. It's taken a while to learn my body this well, to shake off the culturally-ingrained idea that exercise is supposed to be unpleasant and figure out what works for me (weights! yay!) and what doesn't (running, blech). But I guess just-shy-of-23 isn't the worst possible age to have this all figured out.

Comments

[mh75.livejournal.com]

I am glad you have found something that works. I used to like taking classes for much the same reason. As an adult I have had success with having work-out partners to keep me honest. I loved being on a master's swim team, but can't seem to find something that really works time wise and things like that.
I hope you can continue to enjoy the journey.

Did your teacher talk to you specifically about your weight? I'm just curious. I wish that the conversation about health was separate from the conversation about weight (although it also bothers me that sometimes this seems to imply that no conversation about weight should be had).

I have come to the conclusion that you just can't prescribe a diet and have it work for every person. Some people react really strongly to carbs, for example, while other's can tolerate them. Some people seem to benefit from having many small meals, while some people seem to do better with a few big meals. Trying to pretend that there is a single solution for every one may make it seem like you have all the answers, but I have become convinced it is just a fantasy. (Interestingly, kids' diet literature seems to acknowledge this, while adult diet literature rarely does.)

[jedusor.livejournal.com]

What conversation about weight, separate from health, do you believe needs to be had? And what about my weight, separate from my health, do you believe my fitness instructor should have discussed specifically with me?

Workout partners do not work for me at all. But now that I have a good routine, I'm not too worried about whether I'll stick to it. Like I said, I enjoy it. I think I'd feel crappy if I stopped, not in a guilty way but physically.

[mh75.livejournal.com]

I don't know that your instructor should have had any conversation with you about weight, unless you asked her for feedback. But it sounds like she started the class with the assumption that people wanted to lose weight? Did she also start with the assumption that you, personally, were unhappy with your weight? You don't particularly present as someone who is hugely dissatisfied with your body, so that assumption would seem particularly egregious to me, but the former one is probably pretty understandable (even if it is not laudable). That was what i was curious about.

I think i phrased my second idea a little poorly. i think conversations should start about health and fitness, but i also believe that sometimes weight is a valid thing to discuss in that conversation. I have been amazed, in my adult life, how a relatively small change in weight can show its effects in how well i feel. In my case and at my current weight-range, this is mostly skeletal/muscular response. (At my highest weights i also had circulatory and fatigue issues, but i can't say those weren't more due to pregnancy.) Josh also has some health issues that have been scientifically shown to be at least somewhat correlated with excess weight. I think it would be irresponsible for a doctor to talk with him about those problems without at least mentioning weight. So the two people I know most intimately have health considerations that do involve their weight. In neither case is it the overwhelming concern, and our responses, our abilities to modify our situations, and probably our ideal compositions vary drastically. But, it still leads me to believe that I would no more trust a doctor (or fitness coach) who refused to address the issue than i would one who placed primary focus on the issue.

(That, btw, has little to do with YOU. Having no idea what you consider to be your most bothersome health issues, i wouldn't jump to the conclusion that it would need to come up in a conversation with you about your health. It is more my general response to the issue.)

I feel crappy when i'm not exercising enough, physically and mentally. I get that.

[jedusor.livejournal.com]

Ah. No, I made it clear to her that my goals were strength-oriented, and she accepted that without any fuss.

I don't think you need to worry about any health professionals refusing to discuss weight. Any person with an above-average BMI can tell you that it comes up at doctors' offices and such far more than necessary, and is often brought up in relation to issues that aren't at all weight-related solely as an attempt to guilt the patient into trying harder to lose it.

[mh75.livejournal.com]

I dare say. I just don't know what an appropriate level of discussion on the issue looks like. I actually care about this, but most of the time i feel like i am not very welcome in the (meta) conversation, because i don't look like i am over weight. I care about it because if we can't come up with an honest and respectful way to have real conversations about body types, diet, and weight it affects every person, and particularly every kid growing up with the chatter in the background.

[martinemonster.livejournal.com]

"For the first time, exercise felt like it emphasized what I could do instead of what I couldn't. Working out felt like accomplishing something concrete, instead of just doggedly going nowhere. For someone with competence insecurities as deep as mine, that made a huge difference. Weightlifting is exercise that I actively enjoy, instead of just doing because I vaguely feel like I should."

This is exactly the reaction I had to weightlifting as well! I started working out at a gym when I hit 24, having not-quite-gotten-into-it for several years before that, and as soon as I took the step over to the free weights part of the gym, I started enjoying it.

This year, I qualified (and participated in) the Norwegian powerlifting nationals. Lifting heavy shit and putting it back down has changed the way I feel about my body and what it can do.

[elainetyger.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you found something that works for you to make you feel healthier in your body.

I know, after a year of seeing a personal trainer for an hour a week and doing the routines he gives me for what comes out to 4-5 hours a week in between lessons, has made me stronger, because I can lift heavier patients than I used to be able to.

And it has nothing to do with weight loss -- I have over 30% body fat, and I weigh about 20 pounds more than I did a year ago (ick!!) -- although my joints do feel better in general when I weigh less, because then I'm only working out when I'm at the gym, not every time I move all freakin day.

Good luck with continued success in lifting!

[damnfantastic.livejournal.com]

lolwhat @ the "perfect diet" thing. I've SEEN how you eat. You eat waaaaaaay better than I do. And you're way more physically fit; remember me trying like hell to climb SF hills? hahahahaha oh god.

D's parents are annoying the crap out of me because they're convinced he's unhealthy and I'm healthy because he's built like a muscle car and I'm built like a very fragile twig. And I'm like DUMBFUCKS, HE CAN BIKE 20 MILES A DAY and I can't run one fucking mile! I can't run one fucking mile because I eat a lot of junk food and don't exercise regularly. (Both of these things are changing slowly but surely--now I live somewhere that biking places is much easier, and I'm cooking my own food again. I got tired of feeling like I was about to fall over all the time.) SO UMMMM I know you know your lecturer was wrong, but I just needed to shout about that for a minute.

Also uh what about people with mobility issues or severe allergies? My friend's aunt gets horrifically sick every time she eats fresh fruit/veg. Yet her doc is on her to eat more...fresh fruit/veg. Helpful!

...no, Julia, most people cannot do that bent back thing. I would probably break something important if I tried.

I would really like to figure out a reasonable workout schedule. I don't know how to do this, and I'm afraid of hurting myself somehow. I know that I like weights, running (treadmill or pavement, though pavement's a bit much for my knees), bicycling, and skating. But I don't know how to get these things all in sync so that I can get the results I want. A lower resting HR would be great, plus increased + functional muscle. I also need a stronger core because my back hurts all the time, a lot. I wish there were a website where I could plug all this in and let it tell me wtf to do and how much and when. :|

[jedusor.livejournal.com]

I am not a website, but I can try to help? Obvs decreasing your RHR is cardio, which you can get from running, biking, and skating. The treadmills and ellipticals at my gym have a built-in heart rate monitor where you can just grab a bar for a couple seconds and it'll tell you where you are, which is super handy for staying in your target heart rate zone, where you need to be for the cardio to actually work your heart. But even if you don't have access to something like that, it shouldn't be too hard to figure out how hard to push so that you're working your body but not collapsing, which is pretty much all the THR means.

Muscle is a little less straightforward, especially if you don't have access to weights (idk if you do). For core stuff, obviously you can do crunches for your abs and pushups for your chest, but I haven't found any body weight exercises that adequately work my back, and it's important to do that if you're exercising your front muscles. But you can probably do dumbbell rows (http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/BackGeneral/DBBentOverRow.html) with anything heavy you can hold in one hand, and that's a good back exercise as long as you focus on your shoulderblades and make sure you're not putting too much chest or arm into it.

If you're doing strength and cardio together (which I usually do because it's easier to stay in the zone than to get there), you want to do strength first--that way you're not too tired out to focus on posture and stuff, and it makes the cardio more effective. With weights, don't work the same area two days in a row. I've found that drinking a protein shake after weight training helps a lot with muscle soreness.

I hope you were actually asking for advice there. If not, ignore me and do what you want! XD

[damnfantastic.livejournal.com]

ooh SPLENDID. This is approximately what I was doing based on "what feels good," so I am fairly confident I'm not injuring myself somehow. I have been feeling better instead of worse, after all.

I hadn't thought of doing strength before cardio--that is a really good idea. My back muscles are fucked up thanks to me not paying attention to my core EVER, so now the wrong parts of my back are compensating for weaker parts. I have to concentrate hard enough on lifting posture as it is. :| (I currently have access to weights, a small gym, and a small pool. Idk for how long, but it's nice for the time being.) Pushups might be outside my ability right now (wheeeee cysts in my wrists :D), but the lifting is reducing my wrist pain literally every day (it's AWESOME) so I might be able to do them again soon!!

Question on protein shakes: D isn't veg*, but he IS lactose intolerant. He's been drinking whey protein shakes because that's all we've found so far, but they taste awful to him and make him feel soooo sick. What else is there & where the heck can we get it?

[jedusor.livejournal.com]

Whole Foods store brand protein powder is vegan! I buy the chocolate flavor and blend it with soy milk (warning: it is HOLY GOD NASTY in water, as I learned when I had no soy milk on hand), and half a scoop is usually enough to ease my soreness, which helps financially since the stuff is kinda pricey.

Back muscles are the hardest to exercise, and it doesn't help that mine almost never get sore even when I'm working them right. My weight training instructor told me that that's totally normal for back muscles and doesn't mean I'm doing it wrong, but I still feel like I should feel it. XD I generally do DB rows, lat pulldowns, and cable pullovers, but those last two require specialized machines. :/ But pushups are the exact same thing as chest presses, just inverted, so if you have weights you're fine there.