first off i will tell you a little about myself... i am 50 years old and out of shape...

 iam a mess that what the doctor told that day  that was a year ago in aug of 2008..i had  passed out at work and woke up in the local hospital er that night..

i went to my own doctor and he told the same thing that i was told by the e.r .doc and he started me on high blood pressuse  med  along with a cholestrol meds also along haveing  class one diabetes  for he wanted to start me on meds,,,so i made a deal with my doctor if i could get down and it stay down for three months saight ..i would not have to go on the meds for the class one diabete meds ..i have been off sweets for almost 15 months now..

i now have the diabetes under control for now by walking along with eating right now ,, my work i spend a lot of time moveing in between jobs for the 8.hours that i.am at my job..  ..so it helps with keeping the weight off me and that help me with part of the wieght control problem  .

.when i started this i was at the 380 wieght range about one year and three months  ago....i am starting to feel that i have i hit the wall and i need to find something else beside walking to help me lose more wieght  for iam down to 300 pds mark and can not get under that mark . i can walk to work which about a mile and half each way to and from work ..i the only time i drive the car is when i am going to the store after work on  friday for the food and other items  i need to get before going home for the weekend .   i make the walk in about 25.mins time frame each way ... i walk down to blockbuster on corner which is about six blocks away  from me and i walk down to the diff areas to pay bills on sat morning so i can get the blood flowing and get the wind up and get in the morning walk before going to the bed for the day..i work nights and sleep days..

at my work i have fallen twice at work and mess up my lower back up along with the shoulder and neck areas with a pinch typle nerve in right shoulder and neck  and  upper part of the arm area  that what sent me to the hospital that night was the fall from the ramps at work  ..plus my knees are shot from work and a military ..

so i have been looking for something that would low inpact and easly for me to use along with beening able to go to a groups workouts session for me to keep up with a bunch of older people workout group  with a easly workout session for me ..

so tell me about the trx system and how does it help people with the basic core system and how does it work the body without a lot of inpact..and anything else you can tell me about the system ..

someone i know told about rideing a bike along with the trx system should get more wieght off my body and i should be getting better over the time with it..

Henry,

i'm not a doctor (but i did sleep at a Holiday Inn express) so start with your doctor and make sure you have his/her blessing to start a more rigorous exercise program. Then START SLOW! The TRX exercises are body weight based and you've got alot of body weight so do not try to do the exercises you see on the videos. Start with some gentle stretching then add very light big muscle group exercises. Remember the bigger the angle the more weight your lifting; you should be almost straight up for most of the exercises. Things like chest press and row would be a good start.

I would avoid anything that involves 'hanging' from the TRX until you loose some weight and/or get in better shape.

You might also try mixing things up; the bike is a good start. Swimming would be good.

good luck!!

 my doctor and i al ready had that chat ,,him and i had talked about the diff programs out there and he seams to think that the trx program would be better for me in the long run..

that way i am thinking about the bike workout with the trx porgram for basic workout in till i get more of the wieght offf me

Henry,

I'm no doctor...nor am I a fitness expert....

First of all, CONGRATULATIONS on having the will power to get off the sweets and already change your lifestyle (all the walking) in or order to have dropped 80lbs !!  That is almost 20% of your bodyweight.  That tells me that you are capable of sticking to things, once you have made your mind up.

They say there is no real secret to weight loss, despite all the fad diets.....calories IN (via food /liquid intake) vs calories expended - net gain or net loss.

1) Walking: perhaps take a different route, making your commute to/from work LONGER...and for part of the time (the middle of the walk - so you will have time to both Warm-up...as well as Cool-down) perhaps add something to the walk - maybe on each step lift the knees to your palms or when that gets too easy to the opposite elbow,  and/or have some light dumbells or elastic exercise straps so you can do a litttle upper body work....Someone I know, was probably almost 300 lbs.....I had not seen him for about a 6 months.  he is a local hockey parent - very involved in coaching....a guy everyone knows......so this season he shows up at the arena - and he is a changed man, you hardly recognize him....everyone was astounded.....he must be under 200...his secret...long walks, at least  twice a day...over an hour, and modifying his eating habits.....easting less and healthier

2) Water : drink lot's of water - all day long

3) Diet: eat smaller portions, and in between main meals, have some small healthy snacks - you will not need/want to eat as much at your meals with the snacks...and hopefully your body will train itself not to store as much.  Eat a healthy breakfast EVERY day....Avoid skipping meals and then having a large one...your body supposedly starts to go into "starvation" mode and store energy in fat cells cus it is not sur ewhen next meal is coming.....make your mid-day meal your main/large one, instead of your last meal of the day so you don't go to sleep on a really full stomach - I know you are on night shift.......so just reverse it)

4) Biking: I agree that biking is a great exercise, and low impact for you.  Make sure you get one fitted to your height - and a style that will not put you in a bad body position for your neck problems....Today's hybrid touring style should be good...as opposed to the 10-speed racers of lod.....bikes have many different gears.....when shiftign for varying terrain, be sure to use tougher gears so that you are not simply cruising along, that there is resistance so you re actually exercising

5) finally TRX

- I HATE exercising.  I have NordicTrack skier, never use it, treadmill, never use it, Universal weight machine, never use it.....I have NEVER been able to stick to an exercise program. The NordicTrack skier is actually a fantastic piece of equipment, it is a great upper and lower body workout, if you can stick with it... There are always used ones fro sale on craigslsit or kijiji, you can probably pick one up for under $100.

I find exercising BORING. Male age 47, weigt 200lbs. I was in decent shape, considered slim, except for  the usual gut which I havealways had....playing hockey 2x week and .....until I also hurt one of my knees last Fall, I was also doing Tae Kwon Do 2-3x a wk for fun - and the side benefit of getting a good cardio and all-around workout in.......To make matters worse, I just hurt my other knee this Fall.....now I fear I will never be able to go back to TKD- which was my way of getting in a good workout...., my gut was now in expansion-mode, and pants / belts were starting to be a problem......and depending how my knee rehabs, I may have to start thinking about giving up hockey.....anyways part of my rehab was to see an athletic therapist...they were to build me an exercise program, using whatever equiment I already had....BUT he said if I was thinking about buying ANYTHING, he strongly recommended the TRX - So versatile ,so portable, all-core all the time...

I decided to get one, and I cannot explain it....I have always hated exercising, have never been able to stick with it.....and I LOVE the TRX.  I try to use it about 2-3 times a week.  I would use it more, but I am still sore for 2 days after each time, so I have to plan it arounf my hockey, so i will not be too sore to play !!  I am pushing it pretty hard each time to maximize strength.....

I love the fact that it is portable, and you can do it outside. I have to drop my kids off at hockey almsot everyday of the week...Sometimes they hav eto be there an hour EARLY....I have an hour or more to kill.  Now I jsut throw the TRX on a nearby tree / playground structure....and BAM instant gym.  No wasted time....no need to find time in my busy schedule to drag myself to the gym or downstairs to my Gym Equiment Museam ....  Former deadtime - is now TRX Burn time !!

I think if you get the TRX, they have great DVD's to learn how to use it, but for your weight and current injuries/problems (neck, etc) you should try to find a local trainer that knows the TRX well, and have them develop a program for you and your needs.

I think you should go for easier resistance, higher rep count, and more sets...so you burn more calories...rather than positioning your body at too tough an angle, so you can't do alot of reps....

Maybe if you have the time, you can insert a TRX workout into the mid point of your walk to and or from work.  A backpack, the TRX, maybe a good yoga mat (for the groundwork) and a bottle of water - you are good to go !!

.....oh VERY IMPORTANT....also some music.....nothing helps you get into a workout and helps it go faster faster than some upbeat, hi-tempo tunes....an iPod is okay, but I hate the wire...they have Sport MP3 players that are like mini headphones, they fit over your ears, and the player is built into the body of the headphone....no wire, tons of capacity...you don't need fancy screen interface...you want cheap portable music....

Stick with it, you are going thru an amazing tranformation already, and the TRX can only help.