By Mark Clem
The 10 weeks are completed. I have lost 20 pounds or more of fat and gained some muscle. My waist is 4 inches smaller.
A great deal of time and effort was spent on my flexibility and it is quite evident in my shoulders and legs.
My energy level is so high I am asking my wife for things to do which has her in amazement. She says I can’t talk about our sex life so I won’t.
The 10 weeks were as much a rehab project as an exercise program. When you have had 40 years of neglect and 10 weeks to perform a miracle, what can you expect.
I didn’t realize how bad my fitness level was. I thought running on a basketball court and tennis court were affording me some level of conditioning. Not true.
Most of the exercises I have done in the past 10 weeks, I have never seen or done before — much like the food I now eat and recognize in the store. You should try it. You might be as surprised as I am.
Being semi retired, I am able to set aside some time each day for structured exercise and for the final two weeks I have done just that. Now one to two hours during the day are devoted to doing all the Witch Doctor (WD) exercises and some cardio work just to piss him off.
I will need to take the weekends off to have some pain free days each week. At 60+, I think that’s the only way to have pain-free days.
Week 10 has special significance for me. Ten years ago this week, I suffered three heart attacks.
The first one felt like indigestion but the second one, 24 hours later landed me in the cardiac care unit where, the next day, I went into ventricular fibrillation, which meant my heart started to seriously malfunction and I saw a bright light.
The hospital staff were quick with the paddles and got my heart back on track. I woke up with a lot of strange faces surrounding my bed. A few days later, following an angiogram (inject dye into arteries supplying blood to your heart to find blockages), I had a third heart attack.
The next week they did an angioplasty (clear the blockages with a small balloon) and implanted two stents (look like Chinese finger locks) that keep the coronary arteries open where the blockages were.
My eating habits got better after that — but not great as I now know.
I feared then and for a long time that intense exercise might trigger another heart attack. WD kept cardio to a minimum for his own peace of mind.
There wasn’t enough time and I may not have been able to do any of his exercises if there was also a cardio component.
I have another 20 pounds to lose by August 10.
Thank you all for following our blog. Thank you, Mark, for putting up with me; I’m sure it wasn’t easy.
And thanks to The Spectator for giving me this wonderful opportunity to get back something I didn’t realize how much I had lost.
MARK HAS FAR EXCEEDED EXPECTATIONS
By Mark Young, Nutrex Solutions, nutrexsolutions.com/
As we enter Mark’s final week, I’m sure you’re all excited to see how he made out, but I’d like to preface this week’s update by saying thank you to the people who made this entire project possible.
First, I would like to thank Health editor Florence Sicoli and The Spec for putting this whole thing together and organizing this project from start to finish.
I would also like to say a sincere thank you to Russ and Meghan Lane from Mind Body Connection Studios on Nebo Road for graciously allowing us to use their incredible facility for our training sessions. Their spacious facility is a great place to train.
Despite Mark’s lighthearted jabs about the pain inflicted by our friend Conor Collins (otherwise known as Thumbs) at the Foot Knee Back clinic in Ancaster, I can honestly say that he has done a tremendous job in dealing with Mark’s postural issues and joint pain.
Conor’s hard work and input has certainly resulted in a reduction in Mark’s pain and it has made my job a lot easier. Thank you for all of your efforts.
And last but not least, I would love to thank my beautiful wife Stacey, who is also a trainer, for being there to support me and to give suggestions and advice for Mark’s program. Something would definitely be amiss if I took credit for anything without mentioning her name alongside mine.
Now on to the results: As you might recall, Mark had set out a few very specific goals at the beginning of his 10-week journey. Let’s see how he made out.
Goal No. 1: To complete the final four miles of the Boston Marathon alongside his wife.
Mark pursued this goal with great enthusiasm and, despite his bad knees, managed to run and support his wife as she completed the final stretch up Heartbreak Hill. This is a huge achievement, and I’m so proud that Mark was able to accomplish this.
Goal No. 2: To lose 20 pounds.
As of our final weigh in, Mark has officially lost 17.5 pounds over the course of 10 weeks. Although he’s probably not happy that he didn’t hit the 20-pound mark, I can sincerely say that I’m impressed with his average loss of 1.75 pounds per week. Given some of the early dietary deviations that took take place, I’m very happy with this result.
Moreover, this rate of loss was attained with only two days per week at the gym, which is quite realistic to maintain as opposed to a more time-consuming plan. If Mark continues on the same course he’ll be able to hit his 35-pound weight loss goal by the end of the summer!
Goal No.3: To shrink his waist by four inches.
Mark nailed this one by losing an amazing 4.25 inches off his waist! Now if only I could get him to buy some smaller shorts so they’ll stop falling down when he’s skipping in the gym.
In all seriousness, though, Mark stated in his first blog post a long-term goal of reaching a 36-in waist, and I think that’s only months away if he keeps on doing what he’s been doing to this point.
Goal No. 4: To reduce his lower back pain.
Back pain is a tricky for a couple of reasons. First, when someone has back pain you need to sort that out because you can’t continue to train around it forever. However, in the meantime you need to try to provide a training stimulus that will result in weight loss without provoking pain.
This is often a difficult task as the back can be fussy with certain exercises and pain-free with others.
Secondly, there is no single diagnostic tool or test to tell why you’re hurting. Granted, X-rays and MRIs are great, but when they come up negative you can often end up with a lack of diagnosis and ongoing back pain that nobody can seem to treat. People in this situation often end up with a cabinet full of pain medication and no real solutions.
I think that the greatest problem is that back pain has many causes and most people are so fixated on the notion of having a weak back (and trying to strengthen it) or a tight back (and trying to stretch it) that they fail to see the real problem.
In Mark’s case, his lower back pain had little to do with his back at all, but with the muscles surrounding his hips. Once we sorted that out, I’m proud to report that Mark’s lower back is now completely pain free!
The bonuses:
If you’ve ever watched an infomercial you know that there are often a number of free bonuses that come along with any great purchase. Exercise and nutritional changes aren’t without similar perks.
On Mark’s last training session with me he completed 3 sets of 10 repetitions of normal push ups on the floor! From his starting position on a high incline (which makes the exercise much easier) he has progressed week after week and has completely shattered my expectations.
Mark’s wife and son were present to witness this event in history along with the loud grunts and moans that frequently accompany his workouts.
Although this might seem like a rudimentary task to some, when I first met Mark he was completely unable to get up from the floor without assistance from his hands on his knees or to climb steps carrying anything heavier than a feather.
Now he can get up from the floor with ease (both legs) and climb stairs with a few bags of groceries. For anyone who has felt the physical limitations of getting a little older, you’ll know what a huge feat this is — and now you know how quickly it can be improved.
Perhaps most importantly, Mark has reported a drastic decrease in his knee pain (having had nine past knee surgeries between both knees) and an equally dramatic drop in his shoulder pain. With pain comes immobility and with that comes weight gain.
By taking care of these issues alongside our main targets, we’ve guaranteed that Mark can continue this lifestyle for a long time.
The wrap:
At this point I sincerely want to thank Mark for all of his hard work and dedication along the way. He has been a fun and exciting person to train and I will honestly miss our training sessions together.
I know this plan can be difficult at times, and Mark has made tremendous strides in a short time to make it part of his lifestyle. I wish him all the luck in the future, although if he just keeps doing what he’s doing, I’m sure he won’t need it.
I also want to thank you, the reader, for following along as we documented Mark’s journey. I hope you’ve enjoyed following the process and, more importantly, perhaps it has inspired you to write the story of your own fitness makeover.
Thanks to all for reading.