My BodyBlog

My brother started going to the gym a few months ago, I just recently found out about it.  He lives in another part of the country so I don’t see him often - we keep in touch by email.  He’s 51 and was athletic in his youth, but as is typical with many men, his fitness level dropped off when life became hectic with career and family.  I would describe him now as the ’skinny-fat’ type.  He knew I worked out but I’ve never really told him much about it (ie he doesn’t realize how ‘into’ it I really am!).  I started asking him a few questions to find out what he is doing and what his goals are.  I started to give him a few tidbits of unsolicited advice.  One thing I told him was about ab work, the fact that you can do all the crunches you want but it will not give you 6 pack abs unless you lose the body fat that covers the abs through cardio and diet.  He was skeptical and asked a trainer at his gym who confirmed what I said.  I’m glad I debunked that common misconception for him.

Right now the only goal he expresses is to reduce his weight to 170.  He wants to be the same weight he was in college at one time.  He is doing a little lifting and a lot of cardio, but not jogging because of what he calls a ‘wonky knee’.  The other day he burned 700 calories walking on the treadmill and then went home and as a ‘reward’ had a lite beer with 100 calories!  I can see I have a lot of work to do….LOL.

I really want him to succeed in adopting a more fit lifestyle.  I know first hand how great it can make you feel and improve overall quality of life.  I also know that although we can get some help from others, to a certain extent we all have to find our own way on this journey.  There are lessons to be learned that only come with experience, and we all have to find what works best for us.  I am encouraging him to continue, but don’t want to lay too much info on him for fear of becoming preachy or making him overwhelmed.  The main thing I want him to do now is enjoy what he is doing and to just use me as a sounding board or to ask questions when they occur to him.  I did however try to get across two important points in my last email. 

First of all, walking on the treadmill is great if you enjoy it but there are lots of other cardio activities you can do.  Don’t feel like you have to use the treadmill, if it becomes a drag then switch to something else.  The other point was about his weight goal of 170.  I commented that it is a goal more for his mind than his body.  I cautioned him not to be too focused on it, it may not be possible and he risks getting frustrated and losing motivation if he is too focused on this number.  I pointed out that changing his body composition and improving his fitness level and health are more important goals.  I suggested if he wanted a short-term goal to use measurements or pants size.

I hope he catches the fitness ‘bug’ like I have…only time will tell. 

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 29th, 2009 at 1:22 pm and is filed under Training. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.