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Re: Fat guy wants to do Rainier

PostPosted: Thu Aug 18, 2011 3:55 pm
by lcarreau
For Heaven's sake, JUST try to RESIST Peer Pressure the best you can, and aim for what YOU think you can accomplish.

It's a step-by-step process. WHY try to RUSH through everything ...? :?:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkIryrQZmEA[/youtube]

Re: Fat guy wants to do Rainier

PostPosted: Thu Aug 18, 2011 4:23 pm
by Vitaliy M.
desainme wrote:Whasup with Rainier, you live but a few miles from the Sierra? Much better IMHO


Rainier is a prize mountain. Also, a lot different from Sierra. Has real glaciers etc. Interesting to check out. BUT, Sierra IS where he should be constantly getting out.

Re: Fat guy wants to do Rainier

PostPosted: Thu Aug 18, 2011 8:41 pm
by fatdad
dhclark76 wrote:As for how I accumulated the weight to begin with... let's just say I gained nearly 20 pounds sympathy weight with each kid (4 altogether) and while my wife lost most of hers after each kid...well...I didn't.

That explains alot, at least from my perspective. Though I'd hesitate to call myself fat (despite my moniker), I did put on c. 20 lbs. after having kids, 3 of them. Nowadays, there simply isn't the time to go mt. biking after work, go for a 3 hr. road ride on weekends, etc. Work is one full time job and home life is another. It sounds like your wife may be more accomodating than mine, so make that time count. If you've only got an hour or two, you need to be efficient with that time and do more than just a walk. Run, bike, etc.

Also, to follow up on the Rainier vs. Sierra thing. While Rainier appears to be a goal, in additiion to getting in shape for it, it also sounds like you also need some additional experience to do it safely unless you're being guided. Rainier is a serious peak and you'd do well to approach it with some experience. Hard to die on Mt. Whitney, not so hard to buy it on Rainier.

Re: Fat guy wants to do Rainier

PostPosted: Thu Aug 18, 2011 11:44 pm
by kjkj
My take is don't worry about the weight, focus on becoming as fit as you can. If you do, at the end of the day you'll loose the weight. I started running with a running store (many have free or almost free organized runs), seeing 2 out of 3 of the same people every week motivates one to keep coming. I ran with two groups at the store and about 1 of 3 of us was in both groups. In addition after a couple months I ran once or twice a week on my own.

You pick up advice and tips from the people you run with, many stores also bring in trainers and nutrition experts to give free talks. So go for it, I did though I had a child later in life than most and therfore ran most routes with a stroller (8 heart Beats per minute in extra cardio benefit,a cording to the engineers in the group who had done test to calculate it on pavement, on trails in mulch I'm sure I got an even better workout.) within a year and a half I was fast enough to qualify for a local tri team.

Re: Fat guy wants to do Rainier

PostPosted: Fri Aug 19, 2011 4:43 am
by 4corners
First, good for you wanting this and putting it out there. Everybody here has great advice, just take what makes sense to you. I'm in the get out every minute you can with a pack school, alternating with bike riding. Just take it in small bits adding to it as you get more comfortable. And good job on Whitney, however you did it.

Re: Fat guy wants to do Rainier

PostPosted: Tue Aug 23, 2011 1:27 pm
by Brewer
After my kids were born, I was up to 215lbs from a "normal" 175ish. Then I decided to skip more lunches at work, cut out almost all soda, and before long I was dropping a pound or three a month, easy. Now I'm around 168lbs and stable.

Last weekend I summitted Rainier via the Emmons. My Training Regimen consisted of:

3 guest passes to the YMCA down the road, which I used 1 each week for the three weeks leading up to the climb.

The first session, I used the stationary bike for "11 miles" the stair mill for "40 flights" of stairs. About 30-45min, total.
The second session, biked for "6 miles", stair mill for 75 flights of stairs. Same amount of time.
The third session, biked for 3 miles, stair mill for 105 flights of stairs, same amount of time roughly.
No other training or hiking at any time, other than using the stairs and wearing heavy boots at work. The previous hikes and climbs were up to a year or more previous.


The climb: 1 day to Schurman, 1 day of rest, 1 day of summit and egress. The summit day took 6.5 hours to the top, 3 hours back to camp, and out to the trailhead a bit later. Except for the hike back out, I felt great the whole time. (The mile-long glissade down Inter-glacier helped).


Yes, I trained for Rainier in 3 weeks, having climbed or hiked nothing for months/years prior.


*your results may vary.

Re: Fat guy wants to do Rainier

PostPosted: Tue Aug 23, 2011 9:32 pm
by bird
To the OP. This is not the norm. Better to train more than needed and have a great trip, then train less than needed and suffer needlessly.
Remember "Abs are made in the kitchen"...meaning diet is crucial. Nothing fancy, skip the junk, no white carbs, etc and the weight will drop. Then do whatever exercise you enjoy, hike, run, bike, hit the weights...just do lots of it.

Brewer...you are a freak...a lucky freak, but still a freak. :D

Brewer wrote:After my kids were born, I was up to 215lbs from a "normal" 175ish. Then I decided to skip more lunches at work, cut out almost all soda, and before long I was dropping a pound or three a month, easy. Now I'm around 168lbs and stable.

Last weekend I summitted Rainier via the Emmons. My Training Regimen consisted of:

3 guest passes to the YMCA down the road, which I used 1 each week for the three weeks leading up to the climb.

The first session, I used the stationary bike for "11 miles" the stair mill for "40 flights" of stairs. About 30-45min, total.
The second session, biked for "6 miles", stair mill for 75 flights of stairs. Same amount of time.
The third session, biked for 3 miles, stair mill for 105 flights of stairs, same amount of time roughly.
No other training or hiking at any time, other than using the stairs and wearing heavy boots at work. The previous hikes and climbs were up to a year or more previous.


The climb: 1 day to Schurman, 1 day of rest, 1 day of summit and egress. The summit day took 6.5 hours to the top, 3 hours back to camp, and out to the trailhead a bit later. Except for the hike back out, I felt great the whole time. (The mile-long glissade down Inter-glacier helped).


Yes, I trained for Rainier in 3 weeks, having climbed or hiked nothing for months/years prior.


*your results may vary.

Re: Fat guy wants to do Rainier

PostPosted: Fri Nov 04, 2011 11:16 pm
by RickF
dhClark76, a.k.a. "Fat Guy"

You have already done the most important things. You discovered that you like going up mountains, and, you've set a goal.

Keep in mind all of the advice about eating better but really try to get to the mountains once or twice a month. the more you go the more you'll find that you're motivated to adapt your habits to make your time in the mountains more rewarding. The more you go on outings the more you'll be finding time to fit in exercise and eat better between trips.

14 years ago I was an out of shape 40 year old and I deciced to do Whitney. Within a year I managed to do whitney as a day-hike. Since then I've gone on to summit 13 more California Fourteeners and several other peaks. I find that having a goal and to be actively planning my next trip really motivates me and keeps me from becoming a couch potato.

Re: Fat guy wants to do Rainier

PostPosted: Sat Dec 10, 2011 4:55 am
by Wastral
How to lose weight without exercise at all.

Drink Water. Get rid of all sugar drinks. Saves a Hell of a lot of money as well. This gets your body used to burning FAT to power your body instead of carbs only. This is a BIG key to losing weight without doing anything. Cut the sugars out. All forms of sugars. Learn how to cook. Saves even more money here as you aren't buying prepackaged meals or going out to dinner. Rice and whatever you want to dump into it is a good beginers starting point. Buy rice in 20lb bags. Not that super expensive tiny bag in the grocery store. Same with flour/potatoes/corn.

If watching TV/playing on computer, don't layback in the couch/chair. Sit up straight without your back on the couch. In fact turn the TV off and go do something, ANYTHING useful that does not involve sitting/laying down. Heck if nothing else you just saved yourself $100 bucks a month between the cable bill and the Electric bill.

Don't let the TV/Computer/video Games rule your life. Exercise helps burn fat off but the main contributor to losing fat is not exercise. Rather its your lifestyle. Sorry, but true.

SIT UP! If working, quit sitting on your ... uh, fat ass. Stand as much as you can. Not only does this burn calories, but it also strengthens your feet/ankles/knees/hips. That way when you do have time to "exercise" you will be in better shape and less likely to hurt yourself along with going hiking in the mountains etc.

Turn the heat OFF, or wear thinner/fewer less clothes. Go Cold. A cold body = a body producing heat to warm you up. This boosts your metabolism. Being that far overweight and living in CA you probably don't have this ability to help get rid of weight but if in SF...

Largest use of daily energy is your metabolism. Its very easy to boost. Quit sitting/laying around.

As others said, find something you like to do. Better yet, find something with exercise you like to do WITH someone else. Get your wife/kids into walking. Talk as you walk. If nothing else this alone will create a stronger marriage/family. Walking at a 3.5mph is not exactly fast either. 4.5mph is fast. 30 minutes. No warm up or cool down needed. No additional "clothes" or shoes either. DO not WADDLE/mosy/stroll along. This is not exercise. This is just a waste of time. If you aren't breathing a little hard or sweating a little bit while being out of shape, you aren't pushing yourself at all. Learn to push yourself. Set goals. Not only set goals, let others know who can help "hold you accountable".

Don't let the TV/Computer/video Games rule your life. Exercise helps burn fat off but the main contributor to losing fat is not exercise. Rather its your lifestyle. Sorry but true.

Re: Fat guy wants to do Rainier

PostPosted: Sat Dec 10, 2011 11:36 pm
by AlexeyD
Wastral wrote:How to lose weight without exercise at all.

Drink Water. Get rid of all sugar drinks. Saves a Hell of a lot of money as well. This gets your body used to burning FAT to power your body instead of carbs only. This is a BIG key to losing weight without doing anything. Cut the sugars out. All forms of sugars. Learn how to cook. Saves even more money here as you aren't buying prepackaged meals or going out to dinner. Rice and whatever you want to dump into it is a good beginers starting point. Buy rice in 20lb bags. Not that super expensive tiny bag in the grocery store. Same with flour/potatoes/corn.

If watching TV/playing on computer, don't layback in the couch/chair. Sit up straight without your back on the couch. In fact turn the TV off and go do something, ANYTHING useful that does not involve sitting/laying down. Heck if nothing else you just saved yourself $100 bucks a month between the cable bill and the Electric bill.

Don't let the TV/Computer/video Games rule your life. Exercise helps burn fat off but the main contributor to losing fat is not exercise. Rather its your lifestyle. Sorry, but true.

SIT UP! If working, quit sitting on your ... uh, fat ass. Stand as much as you can. Not only does this burn calories, but it also strengthens your feet/ankles/knees/hips. That way when you do have time to "exercise" you will be in better shape and less likely to hurt yourself along with going hiking in the mountains etc.

Turn the heat OFF, or wear thinner/fewer less clothes. Go Cold. A cold body = a body producing heat to warm you up. This boosts your metabolism. Being that far overweight and living in CA you probably don't have this ability to help get rid of weight but if in SF...

Largest use of daily energy is your metabolism. Its very easy to boost. Quit sitting/laying around.

As others said, find something you like to do. Better yet, find something with exercise you like to do WITH someone else. Get your wife/kids into walking. Talk as you walk. If nothing else this alone will create a stronger marriage/family. Walking at a 3.5mph is not exactly fast either. 4.5mph is fast. 30 minutes. No warm up or cool down needed. No additional "clothes" or shoes either. DO not WADDLE/mosy/stroll along. This is not exercise. This is just a waste of time. If you aren't breathing a little hard or sweating a little bit while being out of shape, you aren't pushing yourself at all. Learn to push yourself. Set goals. Not only set goals, let others know who can help "hold you accountable".

Don't let the TV/Computer/video Games rule your life. Exercise helps burn fat off but the main contributor to losing fat is not exercise. Rather its your lifestyle. Sorry but true.


Sure, you can try to lose weight without exercise by living a lifestyle in which you have zero fun...OR, instead, you could devote an hour or so out of your day several times a week (not even every day), doing activities that are actually quite enjoyable in their own right once you get used to them (being out running on a nice sunny day beat the hell out of sitting in an office, that's for sure!), and otherwise lead a normal life and do all the thing you normally enjoy doing. Of course, if substantial weight loss is an immediate goal, you probably will need to make some dietary adjustments, at least initially, but in my opinion even that can be done in a way that does not detract a huge amount from your enjoyment of things. In the end it's all about priorities and making what's important for you work.

Re: Fat guy wants to do Rainier

PostPosted: Sun Dec 11, 2011 5:18 am
by Wastral
Seems someone read the first line and then turned their brain off. Gotta love the internet. Doing what I stated is where to start.

You are coming from the perspective of someone who is already in decent or good shape. I can tell you have never been out of shape and fat. If you had you wouldn't type your blather about running. If you are horribly out of shape, running is the worst thing you can do as all of your joints are not even close to be able to withstand said stress. You have to build up your cartilage and your tendons otherwise you will hurt yourself and then you can't exercise at all.

Running feels good after getting into decent shape and then once there, getting into good shape where running 3 miles at say 7 minutes a mile certainly DOES feel good. Once you are in good shape, exercise feels good. Getting to that point is pure Hell. Mitigating injuries getting yourself into "decent" shape is your #1 priority.

Exercise does not burn all that many calories compared to raising your metabolism and watching what you do for the other 23.5 hours of the day. Not many have the option of dedicating 2+++ hours a day to losing weight via exercise. For instance this OP with a FAMILY and a thing called work.

Exercise is not the end all be all of losing weight. Exercise is the end all be all to be able to exert energy to climb mountains enjoyably. Do know the difference eh?