Is Being “In Shape” Important?

[okcBob]

I have no idea what you’re talking about.

Welcome to the club

 

[Mr.Glock]

I’m 6’ 265 and have been into bodybuilding my entire life. TRT changed my life after I finished having kids. If you’re done with your sperm, I encourage every man alive to get on TRT. Test levels should not be 500. Get them to 1000 and you’ll feel 10,000 times better.

On the note of being in shape. Ive changed my mind since I have been an Officer. Ive been in plenty of fights with in shape dudes who run all the time with six packs who are useless because they don’t have violence in their hearts. I would take a violent person over an “in shape” guy any day.

There are two people I never want to be in a fight with. Neither of them look like me. They’re in decent enough shape, but you wouldn’t look at them twice.

If you’re in decent shape but you’re filled with violence in your heart, you’re more dangerous than those with six packs who “run 6 miles a day.”

I’ve never been in a fight for longer than 2 minutes. Too many cops rely on their belt tools too much. They’re weak and indecisive. PT tests and medical tests tell you very little about an individual other than if they have enough discipline to get into a gym. The more violent person will win 9/10 times over the better equipped person. Violence is what matters. It just so happens that the most violent people are usually in good shape. Lol

 

[crrcboatz]

Testosterone replacement therapy.

I absolutely agree. 6 years ago, I was so lethargic I would nod off waiting on a traffic light to turn green. Started seeing my wellness doctor, got on a routine of monitoring blood work, TRT, a few supplements for things I couldnt address with diet and lifestyle changes, etc. and I have felt like a completely different person. Getting COVID last fall definitely put me back several steps in the energy and focus department, but we are reviewing my second round of bloodwork this week to see what is going on. My previous labs kind of looked like hypothyroidism (Hashimoto's), but some other things jumped way out of trend as well so I doubled down on monitoring my diet, getting ramped back up on routine exercise, more time outside, etc. Fingers crossed we can just address the thyroid thing and I will be back to feeling great again.

Another side to testosterone supplement. Now 76 but in my early 50s went on the testosterone care buy a MD. Worst decision I ever made! Changed my personality, my kids hated me my wife left me, my friends said “ I’d changed” and so on. Told my Dr about this and his response was you must give up something to get something. Abe lowered my dosage but to no avail it didn’t help much. Got fired aka non renewal, and finally said enough. Got offf tithe stuff, ib exchange for B complex vitamin, orange juice as a new preferred drink rather than colas, went back to exercising walking, and have never looked back. My children, friends, and coworkers , liked me again and my life smoothed out.
Don’t fall for this . Even with a Dr. Supervision, it is not the best idea.

 

[Jack Shootza 50]

I made a comment regarding this on another post. I see a lot of firearms and self defense trainers who are fat out of shape guys. How important do you consider being in relatively good shape to your ability to defend yourself? Some spend a lot of money on training and equipment but couldn’t run 50 yards without having a serious time catching their breath.
My brother is my height and weighs 360 pounds. He had his 3rd heart attack this week so this is weighing heavy on my mind. He eats like a horse and drinks like a fish with no intention of changing his habits.
I was thinking about most of the trainers I know. They are obese but excellent shots and knowledgeable about self defense. Does being in shape matter?

When I was a kid cops were all skinny and wirery, today that is rare, heart attach's, strokes and cancer are the three most common diseases for men to die from, due mainly from over weight and lack of activity. Even the military has more obesity in it today, when I went thru basic we had ONE fat kid that couldn't keep up in a fast march, the TI hounded him constantly and we all thought he'd die of a heart attack but he hung in there and by the end of basic when we finally had to do our final mile run in ten minutes he passed with flying colors, because he lost 60 pounds so we made up a "silver" star out of a piece of wood and me and a buddy of mine did the paint and lettering on it and presented it to him after we all got our graduation certificates. It read " For extreme perseverance way above and beyond the call of duty" He was more excited about that than passing basic.
I have a grandson that is 5-11 and weighs over 300 pounds and he worrys the hell out of me, in high school he was very athletic and weighed about 170 but he's 25 now and doesn't do anything but sit on his ass, he wants to be a novel writer and he's very good at it but I'm afraid he won't make it "Stephen King famous" if he doesn't start exercising and watching his diet.

 

[wawazat]

Another side to testosterone supplement. Now 76 but in my early 50s went on the testosterone care buy a MD. Worst decision I ever made! Changed my personality, my kids hated me my wife left me, my friends said “ I’d changed” and so on. Told my Dr about this and his response was you must give up something to get something. Abe lowered my dosage but to no avail it didn’t help much. Got fired aka non renewal, and finally said enough. Got offf tithe stuff, ib exchange for B complex vitamin, orange juice as a new preferred drink rather than colas, went back to exercising walking, and have never looked back. My children, friends, and coworkers , liked me again and my life smoothed out.
Don’t fall for this . Even with a Dr. Supervision, it is not the best idea.

Wow, that is a terrible experience for sure!

It is also completely opposite to my experience over the past 6 years. I am really glad you shared though, because it really shows there is no magic answer for everyone. We all have to find what provides our highest quality of life and roll with it regardless of what someone elses anecdote tells us we should be doing.

 

[TedKennedy]

When I was a kid cops were all skinny and wirery, today that is rare, heart attach's, strokes and cancer are the three most common diseases for men to die from, due mainly from over weight and lack of activity.

Steroids take their toll as well.

 

[Pstmstr]

Once a quarter eh? when were you in?

75-79 sit ups, pull ups, and a 3 mile run every 3 months with minimum score to pass.

 

[TeamTomlyn]

Simple formula for this.

Every mile you can run; is a minute you can fight

 

[yukonjack]

All you gotta do is look at all the fat cops in Oklahoma. I was one of those back in the day. Then my Chief said “You cant catch a chocolate donut rollin’ across the break room floor.” The next day he put out a memo directed at me that said “If you eat Church’s fried chicken in the patrol car wipe all the grease off of the steering wheel before the end of your shift.” I lost 60 pound in 18 months and have kept if off for 40 years. Fat ain’t fabulous.

 

[trekrok]

My favorite go to meal right now after exercise and a shower is below.

1 avocado - smashed
everything bagel seasoning
1 tablespoon hot salsa
1 pouch of salmon
2 tablespoons sour cream

Moderate serving of fresh fruit - typically either a cosmic crisp or pink lady apple or some pineapple.

I also do a shooter of 2 tablespoons of California cold pressed extra virgin olive oil with a little lime juice for taste because I strongly dislike olives or anything sourced from them. I have read that a routine consumption of unheated EVOO can have similar anti inflammatory properties as 400mg of ibuprofen a day without all the damage to your gut biome.

Some days that keeps me satisfied until the next day, some days I will feel like a snack around 3pm or so and have some pistachios, pecans, or walnuts. If I have a sweet tooth, a tablespoon of crunchy peanut butter. The 20 hours of fasting will reinforce avoiding carbs because too many will make it VERY difficult to make it until the following feeding window.

If you are doing the olive oil just for fat, you could try flax oil too. It's pretty tasteless.