Trying to make a comeback..... - Exercise & Fitness Message Board

Cowart69 · 02-17-2004, 04:22 PM

I am a 33 year old man who is looking to find my old physical self and am having problems.....

Current stats 6'2" 260 pounds

When I was young and while I was in the military (10 years) I was in excellent physical shape, (215 pounds) I ate pretty much what I wanted and I lived in the guy....I did all kinds of things when I was younger.....over an hour of cardio (biking, running, stairmaster, swimming, etc,etc,) and had a religous regumine with the weights.......

I got away from it a little bit (well a lot) when I got out of the military and before I knew it I was sporting 45 pounds I didn't have before. So I tried a couple of things:

- I tried to get the ball rolling with keeping my horrible diet pretty much the same and start working out.....just to start making progress.....I didn't lose any weight that way at all

- Then I tried to increase it to cutting calories here and there....such as no late night eating, salads for lunch, etc....and workout at least 4 times a week.

The problem is every time I do this....I get sick....one thing or another, colds, flu, some type of virus that sets me back....I pretty much know that my immunity system is working too well for me and I correlate the two things together....

Can somebody give me some advice? note: I take vitamins every day, drink plenty of fluids (water, gatorate, tea) etc.

Its getting kind of frustrating.....the will is there....but the body doesn't want to do it anymore.....

I know it is going to take a while..I know I am getting older.....but I would very much like to see that 32" waist again!

Evl316 · 02-17-2004, 06:51 PM

The best advice is just to stick with it. I'm 33 year old male as well and I stopped going to the gym this past summer and tried to get back starting in November but I kept getting sick and having to go out of town for the holidays and so forth (excuses galore). I just kept with it and as of 2 weeks ago I am now fully back into the swing of things. Just go to the gym! That's the best advice because once you physically get there you'll workout. Don't over do it either, go easy, don't make yourself really sore, work up to a full workload over many weeks. Do maybe 1/3 of your usual workout, see how you feel the next couple of days and gauging by that increase your workload steadily. Set goals and remind yourself of them so you know what you're working towards and why you're working towards those goals. You didn't get out of shape overnight and you aren't going to get back into shape overnight either. Also a lot of the reason you may be feeling sick is because you aren't working out. Too much sitting and laying around. It will take some time to get back into the swing of things but you can do it, you did it before and you'll do it again. Just stay the course. Force yourself to go to the gym, don't wait until the perfect time or you'll be waiting a long time.

psuguy98 · 02-19-2004, 06:17 PM

I know how you feel. I got sick right before Christmas. I had a viral flu and almost had a collapsed lung. For the last 2 months I have been working up to cardio sessions and I am finally back to normal.

Since then I have jacked up my vitamin C and it has worked so far. Rest is also ver important in my opinion. Lask of it has also caused me to get very sick in the past.

Hope this helps

Naxis · 02-20-2004, 07:30 AM

Supplement with vit C, zinc and glutamine, at least for the first few weeks back in the gym if not daily. I have an uber crappy immune system and this combination seems to help me prevent illness and to get better faster when I do catch something. Also, invest in some Zicam. If you start to feel symptoms, start taking it. I can't believe how well it works. Good luck!

Chasedog · 02-20-2004, 08:06 AM

I think your best bet would be to start eating healthy first. Your body needs the right fuels to adapt to the exercise. Start off slowly. If you haven't been working out in a while, a little can be alot. Take the vitamins mentioned. The only thing that hasn't been mentioned is sleep. Get 8 hours. Lack of sleep alone can make you more likely to get sick.