Hi oh, treadmill, away

[GreggC]

As I have mentioned before, around the first of November, I received a kidney transplant. I was told that I cannot lift weights for probably about a year. At this point, they don't want me to lift more than ten pounds. However, they do want me to walk, which will help to strengthen those abdominal muscles without doing any damage to them. They want me only to use the flat treadmill and a slow speed. My brother and I had bought some exercise equipment some time ago, so before I started to get sick, I was in pretty good shape. After they got thing set up so that I could do hemo dialysis and my fistula was operational, the doctor told me that I could start lifting again. I had started going to a personal trainer in order to get some more ideas of exercises that I could do that would do me more good i.e compound exercises. In talking with these folks, I found out that average weight gain for a transplant patient is 40 pounds! My brother has just bought a new house and he needs some help to paint in the basement before moving the weight equipment over there and before I can buy a treadmill to put in the basement. I am getting kind of antsy to get the treadmill down there. Eventually, after I get to the popint that I can lift again, I want to buy a leg press/hack squat machine to go with it, because you can do more good in using your bigger muscle groups if you want to strengthen those areas, while at the same time losing weight. I really can hardly wait until I can lift again. I am addicted to lifting.

[cb977]

Hi Gregg

Seems like you've got a great outlook! Can you do some walking around where you live until the treadmill gets put in place? I'm sure you're looking forward to getting back into lifting...just don't overdo it or do it before the doc says it's okay

[christina waines]

Gregg love your positive attitude! You Rock!
BUT Take it slow and easy and remember the Cardio walking is great. Have you got a dog to accompany you on thos long rambles? They are great motivators and super companions on long walks through the trails around where you live. Assuming you have trails nearby. If you don't then hop in the car and find some. Lifting is great for definition and tone but not great as a means to lose weight and get healthy. So get out there and WALK!

[GreggC]

walking and lifting is best for weight loss. In the mean time, I am hoping that the walking will do okay to keep me from gaining weight. When I start to ramble, I haven't found a dog that would listen to me yet. I will have a CD player to listen to at my brother's house. When I was going to see the personal trainer, I was always taking in music for him to play whlie I worked out. Thank the Lord I have such an extensive collection of tunes to listen to. I think I could listen to a CD one right after the other and I would be able to listen for almost 22 days non-stop. In any case, he will also have a TV downstairs for me to watch, but I will probably be getting into some hard rock, just-a-walking away! It's hard to have a bad attitude when you feel better than you have for years. I didn't realize how bad I felt until I got a new kidney. I feel like I just got shot out of a cannon.

[cb977]

[Becca]

Gregg....when the time comes...you should look into one of those BowFlex machines that allows you to work out legs and arms.....in the my next house, I would like to get one of those along with a cardio machine and kiss the gym membership and 4:30 am wake-up time good-buy for my husband and I. But until we move into a bigger house in a few years, that will just have to wait. Keep up the positive outlook! Oh...and don't forget the basement with the work out machines will need an orchid or two! hehe

[GreggC]

after working out with free weights as much as I have, you would have to do an awful lot of convincing me that the Bowflex has something that free weights don't. My brother and I have a lat machine, which has a pulley on it and good for things like pulldowns and we have aweight bench with plenty of weights. I know that from everything that I have heard that you get more bang for your buck with free weights. I also want a small bench to do declined situps like I was doing before transplant. I have a long time before that will happen along with the leg press/ hack squat machine, but it will come, I have no doubt. That stuff that Bow Flex puts on TV about 20 minutes per day, three times a week is the biggest bunch of mularkey that I have ever heard. And I am sure there are those that believe that stuff.

[Becca]

I agree about the 20 minutes per day three times a week...never bought into it.....I just thought the BowFlex looked like a good piece of equipment for multiple uses....of course it would never take place of free weights...just thought it might be a nice addition to the free weights...

[GreggC]

I am a firm believer in use of both free weights and machines. There are exercises which are much easier to do with a machine than with free weights, but then the reverse is also true in some cases. For example, my wife was going to the gym to work out. I had a personal trainer somewhere else. The place had few machines-most of the lifting was done with free weights. They did have a hack squat/leg press machine and they had some machines to do pulldowns with, but basically, that was it. I had a free pass to go check out the facilities where she was working out. In my workout place, I was doing flyes at about 30 pounds. I got on one of the machines where she was going and I could do 100+ pounds! There were many other machines that I found that I could do the same thing. So, my conclusion was that for most exercises, I will stick with free weights and for those few exercises that I can't do with them. I will use machines or some other method of doing the exercise. Another example:squats. I have had many friends hurt doing squats. I was shown how to do ball squats-lean against one of those pop proof balls which is against the wall and do dumb bell squats while you are doing that-works great and there is much less chance of injury.

[IdahoOrchid]

Greg, congrats on the tuneup/rebuild!!!

Becca, I have seen way too many Bowflex in the paper for sale to believe they are very good. I have also heard some negative about them. I have never heard negative about free weights and machines.