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March 11, 2010

Rick Bramwell: Eight weeks of pain and sweat change outlook on life

Early January, I mentioned that my daughter Jourdan had nudged (pushed) me into joining a fitness challenge. The gym was MyTime Fitness in Pendleton. Two teams of 15 members each would compete for eight weeks to see who would lose the most weight and most fat and gain the most muscle.

Denny would be my trainer. He is a running back for the Fairbanks Grizzlies, a pro football team in Alaska.

The regimen was every day. One day we worked on every muscle in my body. The next day was cardio. Usually, that meant 20 minutes on an elliptical machine (with resistance set rather high) and 20 minutes on a 12 percent incline treadmill. Denny would often put two 10-pound weights in my hand when I got on the treadmill. It was like carrying a load up Pikes Peak. I did abdominals everyday.

The first week I lost three pounds, then dropped another pound the second. No pounds came off the third week. For all the work, this did not seem like much of a reward. The next week my weight stayed the same. I was trying to diet while exercising. Denny said, “You are not eating enough.”

On the muscle days, my trainer would put me on the elliptical for 10 minutes to build up my heart rate. He would then have me do seven different exercises in succession. Often, he would direct me to get back on the elliptical for five minutes and then get right back to the weights and exercise. The other trainer, Connie, was pushing her people hard, as well.

Early on, my body was taking a beating. I informed Denny that I wouldn’t be there one day. I was going ice fishing. It seemed like he pushed two days into one. Denny was very encouraging, often saying, “You can do it. One more time. Just one more or just three to go.” He thought he knew what my body could take. I wasn’t so sure.

Sitting on the ice that next day, my muscles were like a group of whiners — they all hurt.

That night, I took four Advil and went to sleep on a vibrating pad. The pain awakened me at 2:30 a.m. I told myself that I was too old and too out of shape. I wanted to quit, but I had too much pride.

At the end of the eight weeks, I had lost 32 pounds of fat, gained 23 pounds of muscle while dropping nine pounds in body weight. The change in my body composition was 77 percent. My total cholesterol went from 209 to 184. My triglycerides fell from 250 to 136.

I’m on my own now and still working out almost every day. I’ve become a gym rat. I feel 20 years younger and am no longer in pain.

This is something you can do. Visit several fitness centers near you. Meet the trainers; they want to help you. Stick to your guns for four weeks to let your body adjust. This has changed my whole outlook on life, what I eat and how I feel. I hope you’ll give fitness a try.



Contact Rick Bramwell: rickbramwell@aol.com.

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