Getting back in shape

[82ndshawn]

Long story short about 10 years ago I was in super good shape, running anywhere from 15-20 miles a week and working out several times a week. Since getting out of the military 10 years ago I haven't exercised since. With that being said I maintain a very active lifestyle (I farm for a living) so, most days I still get a decent workout. With that being said my eating habits have been absolutely horrible (I eat what I want, when I want).

A group of Army buddies and I have decided to go on a backpack bear hunt in Idaho in late May-early June. Knowing a high level of fitness is required I want to begin working on that once. My problem is I'm not sure where the best place to start is? Are there any good programs out there that someone who has been in a similiar scenario would recommend?

 

[*zap*]

working a harder job is not enough as you age. I would recommend slowly transitioning to an all natural food diet, dropping any & all processed foods. Evaluate you physical condition and start a program based on the results of that evaluation. Lower intensity cardio daily for a longer duration and the five human movement patterns using weights + core (heavy carries).

 

[fatlander]

The mountain tough 30-30 program will humble most anyone. They break down each of the workouts to a beginner, standard, and expert level. It’s a lot of cardio, but it will definitely get you in shape. After the 6 weeks, you can run the program again or just pick and choose what workouts you like to mix in with other stuff. That’s what I do now.

I gave up my gym membership when COVID hit and bought the mountain tough program. All you need is a pull up bar and a 50 pound sandbag from Lowe’s. My workouts now a days consist of nothing but body weight exercises and I occasionally mix in the sandbag.

I moved iron for the first time in 8 months last night, and I beat my personal best 1RPM bench press by 25 pounds. Honestly could have done 25-35 more if we weren’t out of plates in my brothers garage. He’s got a prison weight type set up lol.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[hunting1]

I was in the same boat as you or let it go. I met my wife and she was a health junkie. About killed me at first but then I was crossfit working out and running half marathons. Lots of rucking, body weight work outs, and 30-30 runs (30 sec run, 30 sec walk).

The biggest gain you can make is a good diet!

 

[*zap*]

@ a certain age your body starts going downhill. Those who are in very good condition from exercise have the advantage after that age. That's just the way it is. Most people do not have what it takes to 'get in shape' after they have lost lots due to aging and they just give up or go thru the motions.

 

[Hensatc]

Hey, good on you for getting back at it! Agree with the above that diet is the biggest part of weight loss. A place I like to have people start is a book called Lean Habits by Georgie Fear, she’s a Canadian performance nutritionist who focuses on reestablishing a healthy relationship with food. As far as exercise there are any number of ‘couch to 5k’ or similar programs, if you have a garmin or other GPS watch there is likely a free and slightly more personalized program available. Just remember that sleep is at *least* as important as working out - sleep is anabolic and without it you’ll overtrain in a hurry.
Good luck!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[bozeman]

Good for you! Take it slow.

 

[Glyn Ingram]

I'm in a similar position of have once being fit and then letting it go. Made worse now by the fact that I no longer have a physical job. I'm not very good with it but there are strong advantages to using a calorie tracking app. I know that its not as simple as the old 'eat less, move more' mantra says but it is a good start. I enjoy exercising more than eating healthily but you can't outrun a bad diet for sure. As you get older (especially if we are a bit too heavy) it is really important to avoid injury even if that means scaling back on the exercise sometimes. I find doing a mix of different things is best, I still predominantly focus on running but I do cycle, swim and do light home gym work too.

 

[amassi]

Clean up your diet first since you'll never outwork a bad diet, after that start slow with some rucks and calisthenics.

Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk

 

[malJohann]

working a harder job is not enough as you age. I would recommend slowly transitioning to an all natural food diet, dropping any & all processed foods. Evaluate you physical condition and start a program based on the results of that evaluation. Lower intensity cardio daily for a longer duration and the five human movement patterns using weights + core (heavy carries).

Pushups, pullups, leg raises, squats, and bridges (and if you wanted a #6 handstand pushups)?