Greetings, questions

[XD45]

Hello,

I'm a fat slob looking to start paying attention to fitness. A friend of mine sent me a link to this page and I thought I'd give it a shot for a month and see how I feel.

I've got some questions about the workouts (i.e. the info on this page http://www.simplefit.org/workouts.html) ...

1. Pullups ... I don't have a pullup bar, I bought one that fits in doorways, but the doors in my apartment are too thick for it to attach correctly. Also, I'm so fat I don't think I could do a single pullup. Any suggestions for alternative exercises until I can build up some strength and build a pullup station that I can fit in the apartment?

2. What does " 5 rounds for time" and "for time" mean on the day two and day three columns. What does "max rounds in 20 min" mean? For level one first day would I just do 1 pull up then 2 pushups, then three squats then repeat as often as I can for 20 minutes?

3. Any harm in doing these more than three times a week?


4. When you say "One week a month do all the workouts several levels below your normal" is this basically taking a rest week without completely stopping? I.e. if I'm doing things at level 2 ... I just drop down to level 1 for a week?



Thanks for your time, your website looks really well done. I hope I can work up the willpower to do this.


Dave

[fred]

Hi,
have the same problem with pull ups. My solution: Beginner Pull Ups a la CrossFitKids :-)

http://crossfitkidsmagazine.blogspot.com/
Friday, September 22nd:

Please look at this photo:
http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5342 ... 0165.0.jpg
Watch the feet on the box....

May be worth a try....works for me

Fred

[Admin]

Thanks Fred and welcome xd45!

Check out these sections and let us know if you have more questions
http://www.simplefit.org/details.html
http://www.simplefit.org/pullup.html

3) I would start with 3 days a week and see how you feel, you do not want to develop tendinitis. On off days lots of walking will bur more fat and flush lactic acid from your body aiding recovery. Also keep in mind that if you do these workouts 3 days a week it will effect you metabolism for the whole week.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/quer ... t=Abstract


4) yes

[XD45]

Thanks for the replies guys. Sorry for the 1st two questions ... I guess I missed those links when I first browsed the site.


We'll see how it goes, I'm starting when I wake up tomorrow morning.

I moved closer (1.25 miles away) to where I work also to try and get myself out walking more. Now that its warming up I will start doing that a few times a week too.

[Admin]

Walking to and from work everyday will make a huge difference!

[XD45]

Well, so far so good. I did the level one workout on Mon, Wed, and This morning, and walked to work twice this week.

I think I could keep this up, spending 15-25 minutes a few times a week really isn't too hard. We'll see.


I've got to say though, bodyweight squats are a lot damn harder than I thought they would be. My legs and back were killing me tuesday morning after doing a bunch of those on sunday night.

[Admin]

Go easy if you back hurts, also make sure you have good posture when you do the squat. One thing people find that helps is to put something like a stool for them to touch there butt on at the bottom of the squat for consistency. Don't be to worried about the squat depth when you just start out it will come.

http://simplefit.org/squat.wmv

Great work keep it up.

[XD45]

Oh how I wish I'd kept this up.

I ended up doing these workouts for about three months and combined with a "low carb" diet lost about 40 lbs by summer of 2007. Then for some dumb reason I stopped both of them.

Here I am a year and a half later and not only have I gained the 40 back but also put on another 15.

Up to 260 lbs at 5'9" ... worst shape of my life.

So time to use the new year to give the change to a healthy lifestyle another go.

[volleyball_man]

Don't dwell on it. Get moving!

Welcome back!

[Admin]

Exactly, just move forward the past is the past all that maters is NOW.

[Bri3626]

This is very true. so hard to stay motivated when you get into the habit. You should look at VBM's history and his pictures. He has done very well. Just remember. Start slow...

Begin L1D1

Highly recommend putting a pull up bar in your yard. Add a bar for body rows. JUST DO IT....

Commit, Commit, Commit, to maintaining 3 days a week. No matter what attend your session Mon, Wed, Fri. Let everything else fall into place. Don't work to exhaustion just attend every session.

[volleyball_man]

Thanks Bri!!!

[XD45]

thanks for the encouragement guys.

I'm planning on just eating better for a week or so, cutting out grains adding lots more veggetables and lean meats, for the first week or so and bringing in exercise once I've adjusted to the better diet.

Question on the workouts ... I have a concept2 rowing machine, I've used it a fair amount years ago and know it gives a tough workout.

Would I be losing much at all if I stuck to just doing the rower for the first month or two of working at this?

I'd like to drop some lbs before I start tackling the bodyweight workouts because for one I can't do a pullup, I can barely hang there from the bar, and for two my knees are pretty weak from carrying around all this extra weight.

Good news is I'm five days into the changed eating style and haven't given up yet.

[jasonb]

Hi XD45,

I hear you about the weight. I actually joined Weight Watchers a few weeks ago before getting back into exercise. My wife joined a little over a year ago and she has lost a little over 30 lbs and looks great. The best thing about WW for me is that it's helping me be aware of my daily intake and not eat too much. I've lost ~9 lbs in three weeks.

As I exercise more with the Simplefit plan, I will convert my diet more towards the recommended food here at Simplefit. The WW has just given me a boost on recognizing my intake where I'm not eating bagel sandwiches at McD's for breakfast, huge burritos from Chipotle for lunch, etc.

Best of luck to you!!

Jason

[ianjb]

Hi XD45,

I bought a Concept 2 rower last summer about the same time I started Simple Fit at level 1. I find that using the rower on Tuesdays, Thursdays and sometimes W/Es keeps the daily routine going. It would probably be best to start with light cardio on the rower as you might be sore after the Simple Fit workouts. The light cardio sometimes helps with the soreness.

Be careful with the pull ups. I got tendonitis in my left elbow after about 3 weeks of Simple Fit and had to stop doing pull ups for several weeks. I'm glad to say that I'm now at level 3 and the tendonitis is almost gone.

I now vary the rowing routine and use it mainly for intervals. One day would be 30 second intervals with 30 second rests another day may be 4 minute intervals with 2 minute rests. The great thing about the rower is it is very easy to log your time/distance and keep track of your improvement. It also works a lot of muscles.

Welcome (back) to Simple Fit!

Ian