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2015-05-02 8:14 PM


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Subject: My Coworker Wants Me to Get Him In Shape
"Oh you SBR?, Then you are going to help me get in shape this summer"

Ummm....OK, but try to keep up.

He's a recovering addict, smokes a pack a day, eats garbage.
Gets winded on a 10 yard run to the work truck.

I told him no training until he quits smoking.
I give him nutritional advice daily, which he never follows.

Anyone have similar situations before?

I want to help him, but at what expense to my personal goals and sanity.
I'm thinking about giving him a regimen to follow, meet him once a week for a short motivational run/walk.
Dunno what else to do?


2015-05-02 9:30 PM
in reply to: skibummer


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Subject: RE: My Coworker Wants Me to Get Him In Shape
If you tell him no training till he quits smoking, then he won't train. He'll stop smoking when he wants to, trying to tie that into helping him get into shape is a terrible idea. I raced bikes, ran road races, and did triathlons a couple years before I quit smoking.

Give him some advice and encourage him. I don't see how that can trouble your sanity or your goals, it's not like the guy is asking to train with you? You say he didn't follow your nutritional advice, perhaps it's the advice and not the execution. How much were you asking him to change?



2015-05-02 10:01 PM
in reply to: skibummer

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Subject: RE: My Coworker Wants Me to Get Him In Shape

For what it's worth, I have a friend/old co-worker who is an avid athlete. She was always doing something athletic, whether it was snowshoeing/hiking on the weekends, or her daily 2 hour round trip bike commute, etc, and she was a smoker. It's weird, but whatever, I didn't question her choices. My point is that you've got the right idea trying to influence your friend to make smarter health choices, but I wouldn't let the smoking thing get in the way. I've never had to quit smoking before so I have no idea how hard it really is, but I imagine that its a lot harder than making better food choices. Good luck, and I hope your friend makes it

2015-05-03 3:59 AM
in reply to: trijamie

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Subject: RE: My Coworker Wants Me to Get Him In Shape
I agree with both previous posters about the smoking. If he starts training and enjoys it, it will help him give up smoking, not the other way round.

Same with bad food habits, exercice may help reduce the cravings for junk food.

(Personally I thought that giving up smoking was much easier than giving up junk food. I haven't touched a cig in 12 years but I still eat junk good every now and then. But I guess we're all different in that respect)

Maybe he should sign up for a race in 6 or 12 months (a 10k, a sprint tri or something atainable, maybe not an ironman....) to give himself a goal and keep him motivated?

Good luck to him (and you!)
2015-05-03 12:53 PM
in reply to: Rollergirl

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Subject: RE: My Coworker Wants Me to Get Him In Shape
First question: Do you want to help this person? It sounds like at least part of you does because you posted this thread instead of blowing him off.

Second Question: How can you best help him given his current level of fitness

Third Question: How can you do this in a manner which will not interfere with your own athletic goals?


I agree with whoever suggested having him sign up for a race. maybe a 5k in the summer? Most of his training he will need to do himself, but maybe once a week for his "hard run" you could run that with him after work as one of your easy runs.

Another option that is even more hands-off is to have him download a free running app for his smartphone (if he has one) like Couch to 5k or Gipis Have him stick to the plan and make notes after each workout (a sentence or 2) about how it felt and whether or not he was able to stick to the plan and then review it with him weekly.

I have a co-worker who has run 5 marathons. I am training for my first half marathon and so once a week we run together. We synchronized our schedules so that my hard run is on the same day as her easy run. She gives me tips, and I help keep her pace down to an easy recovery pace. And we both serve as accountability buddies for eachother. It works for us. I realize she is "giving" me more than I am giving her and I'm grateful.

Sometimes in life God or the universe or whatever higher force you believe in puts people in our paths for a reason. I'd be willing to bet that he has something to teach you as well. It's probably not about fitness, but some completely different lesson that you might need to learn right now. You can help eachother.
2015-05-03 8:09 PM
in reply to: skibummer

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Subject: RE: My Coworker Wants Me to Get Him In Shape

Originally posted by skibummer

"Oh you SBR?, Then you are going to help me get in shape this summer"

Ummm....OK, but try to keep up.

He's a recovering addict, smokes a pack a day, eats garbage.

Gets winded on a 10 yard run to the work truck.

I told him no training until he quits smoking.

First, if you are going to tie him giving up smoking to you helping him train, you may as well tell him your not interested in helping him.  He isn't going to quit for you.  He will quit when HE comes to the conclusion that he needs to quit.

I had this EXACT same situation several years ago.  That individual was a heart attack looking for a place to happen.  He smoked a couple packs a day, ate nothing but cr@p and couldn't walk across a parking lot, let alone run any distance.  But he was a friend and I figured the least I could do was try to help.

It was one of the most rewarding things I have ever done, not to mention a learning experience that has never been equaled.

I started by gradually educating him.  I explained that you don't start by running a marathon, first we have to get to where you can walk around the block.  Trying to explain a healthy lifestyle to someone who knew absolutely nothing about a healthy lifestyle forced me to learn far more than I already did at the time.  Trying to help someone that had zero knowledge about physical fitness forced me to increase my knowledge about physical fitness.  Helping someone to swim, bike, and run that had never done S/B/R forced me to learn proper technique so that I could show him proper form.

In short, helping him forced me to become a better, more knowledgeable athlete myself.  I gained a deeper understanding of everything related to S/B/R - from technique to training methods, from nutrition to race strategy, from the mental side to recovery - I became far more knowledgeable because I was leading someone who knew nothing.

When I first started working with him, Sunday was my "rest" day.  I did nothing or a walk at most on Sundays.  At first I simply invited him to join me on my walk every Sunday.  Then I invited him to join me during my runs on M-W-F.  I set him up with a 'Couch-2-5K' program and we started at the same time, in the same place, and went and had a healthy breakfast afterwards.  We built from there.

Yes, he missed a couple of those early workouts.  But I wasn't out anything, because I was doing what I was doing and inviting him to join me.  In fairly short order it became apparent that he was serious about turning his life around.  When he quit smoking I knew he had made major changes.  Just 9-months after he started he did a sprint triathlon.  OK, so the time wasn't so great, but he finished with a smile on his face and a tear in his eye.  He has since completed 2 Ironmans plus countless shorter races.

I don't for a moment take credit for his triathlon successes, but I certainly feel good about helping him start down the road to fitness and a healthier lifestyle and I would do it again in a heartbeat.

Good luck!



2015-05-04 8:06 AM
in reply to: skibummer

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Subject: RE: My Coworker Wants Me to Get Him In Shape
If he is actually willing to listen, than work on educating him on what is healthy and what is not. A lot of people don't know, slowly feed info to him- don't overdose him, he'll just start nodding his head.

Look at where he is now and see if you can find a goal for him to work towards; 5k, sprint tri, charity bike ride. It could also be a day(or half day) hike somewhere, or a day long kayak trip. If you find something he wants to do there is a better chance he will actually work for it.

If you can do this, then lay out a schedule for him and talk to him about it at work. Hold him accountable. As he's doing things and and says how tired he is or out of breath, let him know that cutting back a to a couple smokes a day will make it much easier.

I never smoked, so its hard for me to say how hard that is. I have read some reports that say that the nicotine addiction is harder to break then a heroin addiction. So getting him to cut back might be the best you can do, quitting has to come from within himself.
2015-05-04 8:26 AM
in reply to: skibummer

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Subject: RE: My Coworker Wants Me to Get Him In Shape
I've found when it comes to coworkers and friends, it's best to just be a cheerleader. The advice you can give isn't anything he/she can't Google (unless you're a coach, in which case they should be paying you.)

It's one of those situations you just have to take the temperature of. I've told friends who finish sub 3:40 marathons they have to stop eating like a , and I've also put on a big smile when a coworker says they signed up for a 5K run/walk.

If they are asking you for specific advice, I think you've covered the basics alright.

2015-05-04 8:36 AM
in reply to: Ted Conroy

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Subject: RE: My Coworker Wants Me to Get Him In Shape
I haven't read all of the comments so I'm sorry if this is a repeat. I read an article on how to work out with a spouse that was below your level of fitness, and it might be helpful here. Have him meet you at the end or towards the end of your workouts so you can go his pace without feeling like its hindering your training. If he will cycle with you have him draft off of you so you can go a little faster too, and it will make him feel better for going faster than he normally would be able to.
2015-05-04 8:39 AM
in reply to: skibummer

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Subject: RE: My Coworker Wants Me to Get Him In Shape

Originally posted by skibummer "Oh you SBR?, Then you are going to help me get in shape this summer" Ummm....OK, but try to keep up. He's a recovering addict, smokes a pack a day, eats garbage. Gets winded on a 10 yard run to the work truck. I told him no training until he quits smoking. I give him nutritional advice daily, which he never follows. Anyone have similar situations before? I want to help him, but at what expense to my personal goals and sanity. I'm thinking about giving him a regimen to follow, meet him once a week for a short motivational run/walk. Dunno what else to do?

You mean well, but don't do that.

You indicated he's a recovering addict, smoker, eats poorly, and is completely deconditioned.  Unless you have the expertise to screen him for health risks and write a program based on the indications and contraindications identified, you should't give anyone a program, much less someone with those known factors.  You could easily do more harm than good.  In fact, with those risk factors, even with the appropriate training and experience, I'd require him to consult with his doctor before I'd train him.

If you want to help, encourage him to talk to his doctor before beginning a program, then either join a program intended for people with his factors, or meet with a professional.  Offer lots of encouragement, including meeting him once or so a week for whatever workout is in his program.  Having someone who expects him to be there can be one of the best ways to keep someone on track.

Good luck.

 

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