Hey I am a Newbieee

[techiegirlx3]

Hey guys, my friend actually told me about this site last night because I am a geek and I told him about how I got on the scale last week and saw that I was 190lbs and screamed so loud. I thought the scale was broken so I went on another one and it said the same thing. Its so strange because I don't even feel that heavy but I have gained 50 lbs and I want to feel so much less insecure in a bikini. I just got done reading the 15 beginning mistakes and I have to say I am quite a mix of different ones. It would be cool to get some advice on what has worked for most people. One of my issues is I sometimes try to do a workout and I will feel so sick like I am gonna puke and have to stop. It would also be cool to make some nerdy friends

[Flagwaver]

Welcome!  I’m new here, too.  I look forward to reading your Battle Log when you get a program down.

 

The biggest suggestion I can make about finding a program is to read through what others are doing, ask them questions, talk to trainers (such as at a gym), and do some research to find what works for you.  You may be able to find the perfect program the moment you start exercising, or it may take a few weeks to find the one that works.  Above all else, don’t be disheartened if something doesn’t work right out of the gate.

 

Number two is that the scale is not the whole story.  Most people stop working out the second time they weigh themselves because they don’t see an immediate response from those numbers.  For example, on February 1st, I weighted 322.  When I weighed myself on March 1st, I was only 319; a loss of only three pounds!  RAGE QUIT!!!  However, I went from 37.6% BFI down to 33.6% BFI; I lost 13.9 pounds of fat.  Also, don’t weigh yourself every day as that’s not how your body works.

 

Finally, when you find what works for you, share it.  Your program could be the one somebody has been waiting for, just as the program you found was the one you were waiting for.  Sharing your program allows others to see how you are working out, how you are progressing, and how you are tweaking your routine.  It’s also a good way of being able to look back and seeing where you came from to springboard yourself into where you are going.

[HedgeMage]

I second not freaking about the scale... my family doctor demanded that I get down to <X lbs or else... my trainer and the specialist I'm working with on hormone/fat loss things both made me promise to do a sanity check at X+35 lbs. with comments like "I don't think [family doctor] has ever seen a female weightlifter before".  Muscle can weigh a lot.

 

Here's some (dubious) wisdom about feeling nauseous from working out that I learned being an overweight SAR medic trying to keep up with military guys 10x as fit as I was:

• Stay hydrated, not just when working out, but always, and keep your electrolyte levels up.  If you are dehydrated, your body will conserve fluid instead of regulating your temp as well as it could, and overheating is a leading cause of nausea.  If your electrolyte levels are low, it can cause nausea in a couple of different ways (mild vertigo, similar feelings to dehydration, simple stomach upset).
• Work out when your blood sugar is stable (not likely to spike or crash, either of which can cause nausea).  If you aren't sure when this is, start out with a fasted state (e.g. first thing in the morning, before breakfast).
• Make sure you are breathing enough!  Some (most) newbies hold their breath when concentrating on new exercises, and low oxygen causes nausea!
• Build your work capacity (more detail on this below, it's not a one-line concept).
• IF none of these things work, consider seeing a doctor to check for things like mild anemia, an inner ear problem, or one of a bunch of other little things that can up your chances of nausea...but all of those are edge cases.

Building work capacity is something we all have to do when we start working out, come back from a break, come back from an illness or injury, or drastically change the kind, intensity, or volume of our workouts.  There's such a thing as building some focused aspect of work capacity, such as rehabbing a specific muscle that was damaged, but in this case I'm speaking in the general sense, of the combination of cardiovascular system performance and strength-endurance needed for a specific workout routine.

 

You know you've run out of work capacity when you get too nauseous to continue, you have to stop due to muscle failure, or you have to stop to avoid falling/passing out.  There are two approaches to building work capacity (very very broadly speaking), and neither is "better" in a general sense.  One or the other is better *for you* based on your goals, body, and personality.

 

Option one is to build work capacity slowly and steadily.  Ratchet your workout down to the maximum level where you don't get nauseous, then build up in very small increments.  This takes longer than option two, but it's a lot less miserable and it's also lower-risk. 

 

Option two is to Ranger through like a blockheaded badass.  This can absolutely be safe if you know your body well, and know some basics like how to feel your pulse (fast, hard, and steady is okay; irregular is bad) and how to avoid injury.  Don't do this if you have a heart condition, asthma, or other medical complication that could put you at increased risk (including any part of you that was recently injured and needs to be brought up slowly).  It's a recipe for e.g. repeated asthma attacks if you are susceptible to that sort of thing.  However, if you know your body can take it, and you don't mind a little masochism in exchange for a big pay-off... work as hard as you can, then when you get nauseous, take a knee, sip water (slowly!), dab pulse points with a damp towel, fan yourself, whatever you need to get yourself back under control then hit it again.  Over and over.  Practice controlled breathing during those breaks (steady count, two in, hold one, two out, repeat) to speed recovery.  You will feel awful during those workouts, and for 30-60 minutes after, and you will have longer recovery times between workouts, but it will bring your work capacity up faster than option one.  Don't do this for more than a few weeks without backing off to something your body handles more easily to let it recover, or you do so at the expense of other things your body needs to dedicate resources to, and you will get run down.

 

In truth these are the two extremes, and there is a whole spectrum in between, but showing you the extremes makes the point clearer, I think.  Figure out where you are on pain vs. patience.  I tend toward the extreme of "Ranger through...", especially the bit about being a blockhead.  I have a long history of trying to keep up with people who are fitter than I am, and my ego doesn't like letting me back down more than I have to.  Also, I like watching myself conquer things that two weeks ago would have doubled me over, and after a life where I had to hold something back in case I got an emergency call, working to muscle failure multiple times in a workout feels like a weird luxury.  I don't do this all the time, but when I do, I embrace the masochism. 

[techiegirlx3]

Thank you for the advice. I am definitely gonna try what you guys said

[DeanaDimples]

I weigh but it's more of a small piece to a big puzzle. My favorite article about the scale is from nerd fitness actually. Where Steve compares himself at the same weight but with different looks.

The last I got fit I wasn't at goal but I was fit and thin (for me). I was doing push-ups off my toes, lifting and running. I was also 170 lbs. and I was in better shape then when I was 140 and a slave to the scale and focusing on that number. I'll take the 170 and strength/firm body any day!

[DeanaDimples]

Side note. Just the other night I pushed myself and felt sick.

When I was in Muay Thai there was a gal doing a black belt test for karate class. They had a bucket. And yes. That's what it was for.

[Mitchilich]

Welcome to NFR.

 

Don't paralyze yourself with analysis of every facet of nutrition and training programs.  Follow a basic minimalist program like the kettlebell program minimum, or the tactical strength challenge at StrongFirst.com.  On days that suck, do only the core work, and get out... nothing extra.  On regular days, complete the routine.  I am in and out of the gym in no more than 1 hour.  Any more than that, and I start to hate doing it, which is counter to the whole idea.  Consistency, not killing yourself, is the key.

 

If you are techie, try this;  Mentally, you are a program.  Write yourself in C#, SQL, Java, whatever, and execute the program.  This has worked for me before.  Self disassociation can be a useful tool.