Updates on Several Projects
Here’s a few updates on some things I’ve been working on with some friends. Typically, people who know me introduce me to people they meet that need some help with losing weight or just getting a little more fit. Whenever I can, I try to work in some time to give them advice and maybe even a little personal training. It’s a good thing to do for them, obviously, but it also helps me see some different situations. Not every health or fitness issue is the same. Not every person has the same circumstance. Sometimes blanket advice, like eat less move more, may technically be correct, but may fall short given unforeseen complications.
Annie had some serious issues with extra weight in her thighs, butt, and hip areas. She has the body type where most of her looks fine, but when she puts on any extra weight is just makes the lower half explode. Of course, some guys like big rear ends, but that kind of thing can get out of control if left unchecked. She wanted to keep a sexy backside while slimming down her legs and hips a tad. In this situation I didn’t want to have her lose tons of weight while building muscle. I wanted her to lose some fat and get in shape, but not turn into a fitness model with ripped muscles. Some women, and men, simply don’t want to look that way. What I had her do was a very simple, slight calorie reduction paired with some walking exercises. She didn’t do anything vigorous. I also had her do some very simple body weight exercises like push ups. Given that she wasn’t eating tons of food or lifting heavy weights, doing things like push ups did not cause her to suddenly gain enormous muscles. She looks pretty darn good.
Another person I was helping is Hank. He had the typical fatty gut problem that most men do, however he also had knee and back problems. He couldn’t lift weights or do heavy exercising. This imposes some serious limitations given that he not only wanted to trim down the gut, but he wanted some muscles too. I had to do something similar to Annie’s plan, but made some important adjustments. Instead of reducing his calories by a chunk all the time, I simply had him reduce calories for about three days each week. The other four he ate at maintenance level. I also had him doing walking for exercise, but I gave him higher frequencies of steps and inclines. The body weight routine I gave him was harder than Annie’s, but not so difficult that it would aggravate his old injuries. This not only included push ups, but assisted pull ups, planks, altered dips, and a few other moves. He is making decent progress. The biggest thing is learning not to drink so much alcohol. He still drinks, but I convinced him to at least trim it back a bit. It makes reducing the stomach fat much easier.
This reminds me of a friend who I helped drop 75 pounds a few years back. She had many hurdles that had to do with injured joints. She also had dietary issues that made choosing meal plans somewhat complicated. We constantly came across foods that were good for most diets, but she couldn’t eat them for allergy or digestive reasons. We constantly made alterations to her plan, but with determination and patience we made it work. She was successful and even after years have passed she has remained in good health. She managed to work around those obstacles and found long term success.
One thing to keep in mind with any exercise or diet routine is that things are always subject to customization. You don’t have to do what someone else does exactly to the letter. For example, if someone does jogging for calorie burning, but you can’t handle the constant jarring, then simply walk instead. Trimming down on fat doesn’t require backbreaking weight lifting or stroke inducing cardiovascular exercise. It’s simply not the case. Alter routines to fit your needs and you will achieve success.
