Gym Dilemma

[Glen]

Last week I joined a gym. It is only up the road from me and I have been thinking about it for a while. Basically I don't do enough exercise and decided it is about time that I get physically fit.

Anyway, I went to my 'gym induction' on Saturday and filled out a little form asking what my goals were. I put down that I wanted increased fitness/stamina and to tone up.

To cut a long story short... The guy took my pulse, blood pressure and body fat percentage. He said that I am underweight for my age (59KG), recommending that I should be around 70KG! He also said that if I intend to tone up I really need more body fat/weight and that my pulse was far too high (77BPM resting). He started going on about protein shakes and all that stuff.

I don't intend toning to be my primary goal, nor do I want to be some big muscle man, I just want a greater standard of physical health. I think the guy who did the induction was a bit fixated on building muscle, but even so, had I ought to put weight on? Or is he just getting the wrong end of the stick?

[tabitha]

I hope Bodybuilder is reading this thread Glen, because hes the expert. I dont think 77bpm is extremely high. Mine is about 69. It goes down as you get fitter. What is your eating like? He did sound a bit over the top. Perhaps he works on commission!!

[DancingWillow]

Glen, I'm not sure about the weight. However, I would caution you about listening to the gym staff for nutrition advice. As a vegan, you probably know a lot more about nutrition than they do. Keep in mind that you're dealing with a mostly meat-eating society that has very different ideas about nutrition and exercise. I know that the protein intake is greatly overrated in popular culture. I remember reading that protein needs to be only 6-7% of your daily food intake (it might have been one of CC's posts)

You've signed up for the gym to exercise, not to lose weight, and everybody needs exercise. I think once you start getting more into shape, your resting pulse rate will decrease, you'll gain more muscle, and your stamina will naturally increase. You're doing the right thing to exercise and take care of your body!

Hope this helps And like tabitha said, I hope Bodybuilder and CC can give you more expert advice about exercise and nutrition!

[Glen]

Tabitha - I would consider my eating fine. I am careful about what I eat and aim to always be as healthy as possible. I get plenty of protein from bread, vegetables, nuts, meat replacements etc, and I watch all my vitamin intake to make sure I get everything.

Willow - That was my plan - to go to the gym, do reasonable amounts of exercise and get fitter. Hopefully that will lead to a more toned body, by virtue of the fact that exercise uses muscles. I was also dubious about taking nutritional advice, especially from someone suggesting you drink protein shakes, just to be as heavy/muscly as them.

[Hemlock]

My son who is also a vegan is of a similar build and eats like a horse but has never been able to put weight on no matter how much he eats unlike his mum He's given up worrying about it and goes running and weight training, he will never be muscle bound but he is now super fit which is all that matters really.

[gogs67]

The usual resting puse can be anything between 50 and 100 bpm.The 'average' resting pulse is 72 and in a fit person it's usually under 70.
If it's over 75 then you are at a slightly higher risk than normal for cardiac trouble in later life but nothing too worrying! The guy at the gym sounds like he was being irresponsible with the 'information' he gave you.

[harpy]

Hi Glen - if you're worried about your pulse rate your best bet would be to check with the GP. I wouldn't necessarily solicit nutrition advice from the GP though as they tend not to know much about that either. You sound as if you're fine.

A lot of people are very thin at your age - I've seen pictures of my OH and he used to be like a stick insect. Unfortunately that's a problem that tends to take care of itself when you hit your mid-twenties or so

[Bodybuilder]

Glen,

I was very thin when I first started out with weight training. I was a long distance runner and probably needed (wanted) to put on some weight. In my teens I was fairly skinny, some would say very skinny, and then in my 20's I focused on gaining weight through sound nutrition and training programs.

Protein can be over-rated but it is also the most important aspect in gaining muscle and healthy weight. I've done a lot of experiments on myself to test which was best, total caloric intake, or specific amounts of protein, and a variety of other tests over a few months time to see how my body would respond.

I found that eating fairly high protein was the best way for me to achieve the results I was looking for, and others have found that to be true also. Athletes and weight lifters will require more than the average person. A lot of water needs to be consumed when taking in higher protein diets to help the kidneys and liver handle the protein. I don't think it is anything to worry about....most meat-eaters take in way too much protein, but as vegans we are taking in much healthier sources of protein so even high amounts are going to be that bad for us...they won't contain all the bad fats, cholesterol and harmful toxins that are found in meats and animal foods.

I've found that eating about every 2-3 hours will help you consistently nourish your body and if you are exercising, that should help you put on some weight too.

As far as recommending the protein shakes, that is usually because they get a % of sales. I used to work at 24-Hour fitness, I know how that works. Protein shakes aren't actually a bad idea. There are tons of vegan options from Hemp, Soy, Pea, Rice and other vegan protein bases. I use a few of them myself.

As far as the pulse, I don't know too much about it, but my friend does. I can ask him.

For some specific questions answered, feel free to check out www.veganbodybuilding.com/phpBB2

Here is a photo from me at your age and then 9 years later. I was vegan during that whole stretch. Gaining weight can be a good thing for your health, strength, and has other benefits too.

[treehugga]

Veree nice Bodybuilder .

Glen congrats at joining the gym are bodies are made for exercise and need it everyday to remain healthy.

59 kgs is fairly thin but hey, you're only 17, just don't over do it on the cardio if your heartrate is up even slightly and there's not much weight on you. I recommend you check your program out with your GP or who ever your healthcare professional is first.

It's good to try and build some muscle as this is also healthy, you don't have to go mad but weights help us to prevent problems like ostero later in life. This would also assist you to tone up nicely quicker. You won't end up like arnie without lifting tremendously heavy weights and eating loads of protein.

As for the shakes I'd steer clear of soy protein shakes as they contain soy isolate - bad news. Rice protein is probably the best. But for what you want to achieve you could just include several good serves of protein per day with tempe, tofu, varieties nuts and seeds and legumes. Be careful of ingesting too much protein, bad for the liver and kidneys.

If you just start off slowely and carefully and build up you should be ok. . Good Luck!