Once the three months is up I’ll post (can I post?…how would that work) before and after pictures and stats.

Thanks for the kick in the ass Stumptuous!

I mean average middle-aged women who work fulltime, are maybe helping provide care for a parent while still raising kids, but want to talk about how they are progressing on their clean and jerk in the workouts they relentlessly manage to squeeze in three times per week. Is there an internet group for us in existence?

Of course the stumptuous site was vital when I was first learning to use free weights in my mid-forties. I’d be grateful if Krista could point me to the right internet group. No other 50-soemthing women I know are interesting in lifting free-weights. A few go to Curves, but that is not at all what I’m talking about.

“Chondroitin and glucosamine sulfate. Used in conjunction with MSM, these help heal and keep joints healthy. ”

I did research this widely as i am suffering from early onset osteoarthritis. There isn’t a single study out there that actually shows any benefit from taking Chondroitin or Glucosamide. They are advertised widely, and many people believe in them being beneficial…I myself have taken them for a while and spend a lot of money on them (don’t come cheap here!) and there was no difference to my joints whatsoever after I stopped taking these.

And even the advertisers don’t claim joints are being healed – cartilage that is gone cannot be replaced with supplements. And as I said, there is no evidence whatsoever that it stops cartilage deteriorating any further…

Anyway – otherwise, great article, thanks!

I know that many overweight folks are very self-conscious in the water, but if you aren’t too shy, head to a community pool and see if you can get some swimming or water jogging in. That’s a great way to get a super workout without loading the joints. Plus swimming always makes me feel like a little kid playing in the water. :)

Whatever you do, do something every day, even if it’s 10 minutes. Rock on!! Congratulations on starting.

P.S. Stop reading bodybuilding sites for now and spend that time just moving as much as you can.

I have been doing my cardio in the morning before breakfast (I’m a fat chick – 5’11″ last weighed at 390lbs, so I can only manage 15 minutes at this point) I have read on various bodybuilding sites that working out first thing in the morning is best if your goal is fat loss. That is definitely a goal, but as out of shape as I am, is morning cardio beneficial, is it B.S., or is time of day irrelevant at this point? (I lift weights also, but I save that for the evening after I’m off work.)

My other question is if there is anything extremely overweight people like myself should do differently than lighter obese people, or is it just a matter of adjusting the exercise so I don’t do something my body can’t handle at this weight?

My last recollection of exercise was when I weighed less than half of what I do now and could exercise for an hour or two without getting anywhere near as exhausted as I get after 15 minutes currently – I am not sure what to expect of my body when I am starting from nothing. (I have no medical conditions other than an elevated blood pressure, but the doctor has not deemed medication necessary thus far).

Thanks for any advice, and the site. Special thanks in particular for all the instruction on the squat. After reading through all the pages I realized I have NEVER done it correctly, even when I trained for basketball in high school!