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The Drevitches, Week 27: Why Workouts Work
Filed under: Healthy Families Challenge
Putting myself through the paces of my workout. Photo courtesy Gary Drevitch
I was running down a street on the East Side of Manhattan, hurrying to pick up some lunch for my 10-year-old son, Benjamin, who was playing in a chess tournament at a nearby school. This wasn't an unusual weekend dash for me, but something about it seemed odd.
And then I realized what it was -- I was running, but I didn't feel my flesh bouncing around as I was used to. So this was what it felt like when people ran without carrying extra weight.
People keep asking me, now that I've lost 43 pounds over six-plus months, if I feel great, or more energetic, or just in any way different. And where I notice the change most is at the gym, where I've been working weekly since October with New York Sports Club master trainer Victoria Gallagher. I once skulked in and out of the gym, doing the bare minimum. Now I embrace my time there. I give Victoria a lot of the credit for the shape I'm in now. As radically as my daily menu has changed since last fall, my workout has changed more.
How is the Drevitch family doing? Check in on their progress!
A couple of weeks ago, I shared here what I've learned about weight loss. Now, a few pointers I've picked up from my revamped gym regimen:
1. MIX IT UP. When I first met Victoria and told her about my old workout, she said it was flawed because it never changed. Only certain muscle groups got attention, and my body probably became too comfortable with those exercises instead of being challenged in fresh ways. In our sessions, some weeks we'll push my quads with leg extensions, some weeks we'll incorporate dumbbells into the routine to work my biceps, some weeks we'll include reverse crunches on an inclined board. But we don't do the exact same things every time, so every muscle group gets a turn.
2. KEEP MOVING. One of the biggest differences between my new workout and the old one is how much busier it is now. I used to lift some weights, sit down and rest, and then lift some more. Now that rest time is filled with alternate exercises that keep my heart rate up and add value to the entire session. For example, I'll do a set of pulls on the seated row bench, and then stand and do a set of "step-ups" on the bench, literally stepping up and down, one leg at a time, to add cardio to a strength-training exercise.
3. IF IT HURTS, FIND ANOTHER WAY. I'm not the most coordinated fellow around. Sometimes I have trouble mastering a certain machine's gestalt. And, approaching early middle age as I am, sometimes an exercise might, say, tweak my lower back. A smart trainer like Victoria won't bark at you to do it anyway, as if you were at the Biggest Loser ranch, nor allow you to abandon the workout if one muscle gets tight. For example, If I can't master a certain movement to benefit my triceps, she might ask me instead to do a set of pushups with my arms close to my body, which isolates the muscle. Or, if my lower back rebels while I'm on the abdominal press machine, she may ask me to do crunches on a Bosu ball instead.
4. IT HELPS TO HAVE HELP. Someone who'd never worked with a trainer asked me recently, "Isn't it just someone who counts 1, 2, 3 while you do the exercises?" Well, sure, a trainer does that. But Victoria also pushes me more than I'd push myself, because she knows what's out there. She tells me she still has plenty of push-ups in her arsenal that I haven't tried yet, although I sometimes feel I've tried them all; she knows what I'm capable of and sets me up for success. Victoria has me work with as much weight as I can handle, but not so much that I end up discouraged because I'm unable to complete a set.
5. TRY EVERYTHING. I always saw the gym as divided between People Like Me and Fit People. And Fit People used all sorts of machines and contraptions that People Like Me couldn't even try. Of course, it's that sort of thinking that keeps lots of people from ever joining the fit crowd. I've been using the chin-up/dip-assist machine for months now. It lets you use weight plates to support you as you do chin-ups or dips (the lower the weight, the harder the exercise). I've progressed far enough that Victoria now has me doing pull-ups on a bar, with only the assist of a big bungee-style rubber band slipped around my foot. (It gives you a little bounce to get you back over the bar.) I'm not doing chin-ups unassisted on the bar yet, but I've learned that the distance between People Like Me and Fit People is not as far as it looks from the seat of the recumbent bike.
Unless you never try.
Who's the rest of the competition? Check out all the challengers' latest updates here.
Check out how the other families are doing!
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ReaderComments (Page 1 of 1)
4-15-2011 @ 6:01PM
MAlleNrOhSLVR said...congrats on the 43 pounds, that's not easy to lose, I know, I've done it over the course of the last year and I still struggle w/plateaus from time to time but it sounds like you have an awesome trainer (I'd prolly cry if I had to work w/someone like the trainers on Biggest Loser tbh) but I agree, keeping your body confused it what keeps you burning calouries and losing weight. I try to do the same thing myself, mixing up different actitivies (swimming, vball,elliptical, bike, etc.) I hope more "people like you" find inspiration in your story and take a chance to improve their health too!
Reply
4-15-2011 @ 3:44PM
Lil said...Lately my weight got the better of me, so I tried taking it off. Doesn't help that I'm hypothyroid, and used to be able to eat anything I wanted and weigh 95. Each year weight has crept as pace slowed, so did my husband's. So in October weighing THE Most I have ever weighed, I stepped things up. Meticulously tracking what I'd eaten, and keeping track of what I was doing and when. The pounds slowly dropped, about a quarter pound a week. But it showed, things fit better. I looked over at my husband, and said that he really looked huge and walked like he was old, (well we are not 10 anymore). I said that he was heading for another bypass if he didn't shape up. That was all it took. I got him to start tracking on WebMD's food and fitness planners. (there are tons of free sites all over that the same thing can be done). After the evaluation that figures out x number of calories, he started. Together, daily we walked, about the only weight training was with small hand weights while watching movies on the computer and me using my slingshot for resistance. The pounds just dropped off my husband. Mine crept off to my 11 pounds off over months, he lost 25. I ended up with a bad case of Shingles, and for over a month, spent about 20-22 hours a day in bed, so I am way behind and gained back4 of the pounds, and my thyroid meds were changed so weight loss will be even more of a challenge. Slowly, in healing, am getting back to walking and eating what I should. So my 7 pounds weight loss to his over 30 pounds may even out. I still figure that it didn't take a month to gain the pounds, so it will help to keep on thinking that I will continue to be keeping track, working to get to what I'd like to be. My husband is just luckier in removing the extra pounds.
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4-15-2011 @ 3:46PM
Lil said...Also, one thing that I did notice. While I was sick, my husband didn't loose weight either. Now that I am healing up, he's getting back on track. it is sort of a trend, the family that thinks alike wins. My daughters and their children are also working on family workouts. Everyone feels good about it.
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4-15-2011 @ 4:07PM
brad said...It's hard but just getting to the gym is half the effort, struggling with weight loss for a long time I go up and down but luckily walking distance to the gym. But I understand its a struggle! The article is good
Reply
4-15-2011 @ 7:47PM
Lisa said...Eleven years ago my tiny business venture was still doing well and I loved weight training and had a personal trainer at the gym 2-3 times per week. Having a trainer was so motivating and I would do it in a heatrbeat if I could again. Instead, after the terrorist attacks in 2001, my business which was very tourist driven was on proverbial life support for the next six years and then the bottom fell out of the economy. So I spent the last 10 years trying everything imaginable to revive my business only for it to die a few months ago. I am not permitted to collect unemployment because I was the owner of the business and I can barely afford my electric bill. Oh yeah, I ate junk like Ramen Noodles for 10 yrs because that was all I could afford, was terrified of my entire savings being spent on just living (it was!) and gained 80 pounds & haven't worked out since back then. Stop telling people to go to the gym & in addition pay for a trainer. I can't afford a bottle of water in the gym, let alone a membership or a trainer! Get a job? That's funny; I have been on more than 4 dozen minimum wage job interviews & the salary would cover my public transportation to & from work & my rent, period! Except they won't hire me because I have no references from previous employers (I had my little but comfortable business for 20 yrs!) and I should buy healthy foods & join a gym...oh,ok!!
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4-16-2011 @ 2:00AM
Friday said...Don't let the fact that you don't belong to a gym stop you. People in Manhattan are big walkers. Get out and walk. Do what you can at first and build on it from there. Maybe you can get a workout DVD in the near future.
I know all about unemployment and gaining weight but I am sure it will come off if I really try my best.