Jumbo Rider’s BodyBlog

At a blubbery 342 pounds I am no where close to competing in anything but I am ready to think about future challenges.  The problem is that I don’t know where or what I will want to do.  I will be 44-45 before I am really fit enough to be much of a competitor at anything.

Before I get any further, let me tell you a bit about my athletic history.

Growing up I played soccer and lots of it.  I was never fast but I was quick and strong.  My position was left or center fullback.  Later I would throw discuss and push shot in track.

I ride bicycles and enjoy them, but more for touring than racing.  A bad spill has forever made me cautious.  There is time in the pool which I like but I don’t see myself as a swimmer and I will never be a runner.  At the peek of my fitness I could only muster a 17 minute 2 mile run.

That is pretty much the extent of my organized physical challenges.

So I am 43 and will probably be 45 before I get this weight off.  I am 6′4" and shooting for 200-210 pounds.   What type of amateur competition exists that I can learn, train, and excel in before I am 51?

Tri/bi athalon - I don’t think so
Bodybuilding - not really for me
Power-lifting - maybe, but could I really be any good starting at 0 now?
Swimming - perhaps
MMA - I am more of lover than a fighter
Judo - interesting, but again am I too late

You know there are tons of challenges out there but if you are not aware of them then you simply are not aware.  Take Kettlebell competitions for example.  So, if you read this and have a suggestion please give it to me.

Having so much weight to lose I will never finish this 12 weeks with a male equivalent of Maddi’s body or anyone’s body in the competition for that matter.  I will lose 40-50 pounds, better than my 35 pound loss goal at the beginning of the contest, but in the end I will still have 130 or more pounds to go.  That is a lot of blubber and it takes time to get to that end game of body transformation.  You know what, I am cool with that!

Sure, there are times my mind gets off track and away from the now.  There are times that I spend some time in my self-pity house, but then I force my head to come back to the now and take care of business.

So far I have had great success. I am down to 342.5 from 366 for a 24 pound loss.  Now I have a secret for you guys and gals, I have been slacking.  I have not made all of my swimming or walking sessions.  Workout consistency has been in the crapper.  Today I correct this issue.

My workout:

When I started my workout I could not complete all of the sets.  Now I complete the sets with relative ease except the push ups.   I will increase the reps and focus on form for the next 5 weeks.

As you have seen in my workout video I have added a mobility exercise for my shoulders to the routine.  What you have not seen is that I am also including face pulls to the routine as well.  Other than the days I video my workout for the contest, the time between sets is minimal.

The pool opened a bit ago after some maintenance.  I only went swimming one time after it reopened.  Getting to the pool at 5:30 in the morning in the cold was enough to push me out of the routine.  I promised myself to replace it with walking but that promise never was fulfilled.

Will I lose more per week now that I won’t slack?  I really don’t know and don’t care.  2-3 pounds lost each week is marvelous.  Everything is working as it should be.  If I lose more fine, if I don’t fine.  It is all about the now!

I have been encouraged by many people telling me that I am progressing very well and that I should be proud of my progress.  That support is appreciated because, frankly, I don’t see the progress, feel the progress, and find it hard to accept the progress.  Let the mind games begin.

I weighed in at 345 today which is down 33 pounds from November and 21 pounds down since Dec. 26.   Now, 33 pounds is not a small amount of weight taken by itself but it is only 18.5% of the 178 pounds I  wanted to lose.  It is only 8% of my original total body weight.  Depending on your frame of mind those are not very impressive numbers.  The sheer amount of weight to lose overwhelms the weight lost.

When you take the numbers and couple them with the physical feelings encountered in the body and you can get rather depressed.  What do I mean by ‘physical feelings’?  My body started out feeling fairly firm.  Yes it was fat, but it was dense.  As I lose weight I actually feel fatter as my fat breaks down and becomes looser.   My skin is looser and saggier.  This combination makes me feel less fit than when I started.  This combination of numbers and physical feelings is what I believe to be the greatest reason those needing to lose a lot of weight quit.  You put in all this effort and what do you have to show for it?  This is also why lifting heavy is so very important.  Not only does muscle help the MBR but it firms up that sagging skin and compensates for the loosening fat.

I am feeling stronger and the absence of 33 pounds has helped my endurance.  This helps counteract the feelings I have as listed above but if my mind is not right it does little to overcome the enormity of the task ahead.  Again, it is simply a mind game.

So have I done well?  Yes, but I don’t dwell on the accomplishments.  I accept the fact that 33 pounds down is good, that 345 is better than 378.  Then I focus on the moment, the now again.  If I focus on the past, even the good news of the past, I will stall or fail.  If I focus on the future too much I will stall or fail as well.  There is only today, this meal, this workout.  This is why support is so important.

I am in a marathon race or a long road march, not a sprint.  The focus is on putting one foot in front of the other and not the finish line and by all means not the starting line.  The cheers from the supporters on the sidelines of my race keep me motivated to put that one foot in front of the other and not to think of the aches and pains.  Hearing the advice from those around me that have run this race is invaluable.  They constantly remind me to pickup one foot, put it forward, and set it down.

Again, it is all a mind game.  Losing this weight is doable.  Heck, anything you put your mind to is doable.  The trick is keeping your mind on the task at hand.  The trick is ‘Keeping your MIND RIGHT.’

There never seems to be a morning that I go into the freezer at work to find a full bucket of ice.  It is a small peeve but why not take the few minutes to crack the ice and fill the trays?  Then I felt self-righteous indignation as I thought about my morning that was already behind by several hours worth of work.  "Why should I fill the ice bucket?", I mumbled under my breath.  Then it hit me…

We live in an age where we have no moments, no seconds.  The Western society is not so much pound foolish and penny wise but hours foolish and moments wise. It is not a matter of courtesy but a feeling that we have no time to do the simple things in life.  Cracking the ice and filling the trays took me less than 2 minutes.  I sit here typing this taking 5 minutes.

Being in such a rush ends up costing me more time in the long run.  If I did not crack the ice and refill the trays I might not have ice available later in the day.  That could mean a walk to another building.   More time lost.   It could also mean that I forgo the walk and do without cold water leading to dehydration.  You don’t even want to know where the trouble not putting the toilet paper on the empty spool or putting the toilet seat can lead. Do you know how much time divorce court can waste?

The same is true of working out, cooking your own food, and logging your intake.  We as a nation are much too busy for that.  Heck, you can even by frozen peanut butter & jelly sandwiches now to save time.  Fast food can save 10-20 minutes off of your day.  An hour for working out?  How much time does heart bypass surgery cost you?  How much time does leg amputation due to diabetes cost you.

Yeah, we are all moment wise and hours/days/months/years/life-time foolish.