"Fitness Club" Thread

[Solai]

I turned 40 in July and feel that I achieved the goal I’d set for myself. Now I’m ready to do more!

First off, well done! 5k is no joke. I am still working on running for most of my 5k. I walk at 4.3 for 10 minutes and then jump to 6 or 7 until I complete with some walking.

As I celebrate my 1 month anniversary of working out I do see that the key to all of this is food and good choices. I’ve set a goal of 1,500 calories a day which as I become more focused I realize even without working out I am achieving with a lot of room to spare. If you know you can make better choices start making incremental small steps over time. Don’t do it all at once, just decide one day to change one thing. Let that ride for a week. Next week change another small thing. Remember this whole thing is about the long view to being a more fit person. It is great that walking is part of your job, you get paid to work out!

Well done all around buddy!

[Apollymy]

Edoz, Amberite, Nike,

Thanks so much for the love, guys. It’s not always facing demons, but it’s easier with friends who understand and support you. hugs all around!

[Julie]

Got a run in today : ) Missed yesterday because I was tired from hanging out on Friday (oops, but well worth it to sing happy birthday to GWC on G+) and took a nap instead. But I feel like I’m still on somewhat of a track and plan to make sure I get into the gym tomorrow to lift some and keep going.

I’m glad to see everyone doing well on here! Keep up the good work, Wolverines!! I like the Fitness Club having its own section, much easier to find and comment when I lose track of everyone on the forum I want to check into : ) So thanks Solai!

[Default_Prophet]

Have you guys heard of Fitocracy? http://techcrunch.com/2011/06/28/fitocracy-brings-games-and-social-to-your-workouts-invites-within/ This is…pretty much exactly what I’ve always thought would be an awesome way to get in shape. If you want to sign up a working invite code is wmedia

http://www.fitocracy.com/

[Evolutiongirl]

Well done all around buddy!

Thanks! And great job to you, too. It’s crazy how much easier the running gets after a while, I keep pushing to do more and actually do!

[Starbuccaneer]

Hey all, need a little boost here. I am in a weird place. I have been working out nearly every workday for the past three weeks and feeling pretty good. Given my focus on the treadmill I actually surprised myself last week to discover my quads have become quite toned and there is this one muscle in my shins that I didn’t know existed that has visibly gotten stronger. My clothes feel a little looser, but nothing to write home about. Haven’t lost a belt notch or anything.

So my brother-in-law has a Wii-fit balance board lying around and gives it to me. Everyone goes to bed last night and I fire it up to setup my profile. Long story short It asks my height, my age, it weighs me and promptly informs me I am overweight, borderline obese. I sat down shocked. I get that I am overweight, no surprise there, but borderline obese?

I will admit it just sucked all the wind out of me. I am not a vain man, but seriously. I went to the gym today but could hardly run the mile as I was distracted and slightly pissed off. I know I need to be patient, I know this takes time and my goal has always been to simply sweat once a day by increasing my overall activity. The one/two punch of not feeling much of a change and being told I am borderline obese was a bit much to bear.

I know I am just venting and when I think about this I know I need to take the long view. But frak.

Other people handled this exactly as I was going to–Wii bases their obesity calculation on BMI, which is just stupid and not useful. It is, however, the only thing that an unsophisticated machine can tell you by having you just enter your height and weight. You’re not borderline obese, Solai. Even if you were, you’re living healthfully and getting in shape. At least half your tweets these days are about workouts! I hope you’re as proud of yourself as we are and that you’re feeling better this week.

Again, thank you. In all honesty there are a few bad habits <drinking> I do need to curtail <drinking> to get maximum <drinking> benefit. I’m not suggesting stopping drinking, because really, what would one have to live for? Couple of beers every day (one on the train, one or two at home), additional tequila topper, that is just stupid freaking calories for a Monday. Seriously. It is like I always say, you always know the right choice you just need to stand behind the good choice and not crucify yourself when you wander from the path.

I miss drinking. I miss wit bier. I miss shiraz. I miss gin and tonic with lime. SIGH. That is the one real drawback of all this fitness stuff. I really miss a good drink. Right now it’s out–now that I’ve gotten myself back in as good shape as I was in pre-injury and have set a new goal (becoming a real runner again), keeping on the food choices straight-and-narrow makes sense for now.

I’m managing to stay on track diet-wise, and it shows. I’m down a total of 18.2 lbs. However, had a bit of an emotional rough spot today when I was looking back at some old pics of myself. Though my memory tells me differently, I was not a fat kid. You see, I know the source of my food issues. When I was 10, my pediatrician put me on a restricted calorie diet because I was (just) over 100 lbs. He failed to take into account that I was 5’1". In his mind, no 10 yr old should weigh 100 lbs. And my mom trusted the doctor as a medical professional. So I was denied everything a 10 yr old wants, because I was “overweight”. I learned to sneak. I learned to lie. I learned to binge. I learned to hate myself. And I came to see my normal, healthy body as “fat”.

Looking back over those pics today, I realized my memories were dead wrong. I was not a fat kid. I was long and lean and full of smiles. I was beautiful. And that bastard made me feel ugly and disfigured. He created a monster of self-loathing and food-obsession in me that 25 yrs later I still battle.

Poor Xer01 kinda got emotionally dumped on this afternoon. But, great guy that he is, he took it all in and pointed out to me that I need to let go of that scarred little girl. I don’t have to be her anymore. I don’t have to let what that bastard did to me matter anymore.

So this is my catharsis. I know some of you will relate, and some of you might not. But I know you will not judge me, and telling it gets it out, breaks some of its control over me. I am developing a healthy relationship with food and therefore a healthy body. And the support of this community is one more weapon in my arsenal.

Thank you all for being so awesome. <3

Rach, this is a really courageous post. I promise you are not the only person here who deals with these issues. I once found a photo of my high school friends and didn’t recognize myself in it… I actually asked the friend I was flipping through old scrap books with who it was. It was me.

One of the most unsettling and profoundly upsetting experiences of my life was realizing that how I felt about myself and how I looked was so disconnected from the physical person that other people saw that I couldn’t point to myself in a photograph. It helps to understand and get that sudden insight into how trapped we sometimes are in our own perspectives. It gets you really frakking mad. All that is for the most part water under the bridge. We all have a tough time as teenagers; mine might legitimately have been somewhat tougher than average, but I made it through and have come to a mostly healthy mental happy place. But my point, and what I hope you’re feeling, is that making those mental connections gives you a lot of power.

I have been wicked busy and super stressed but I have noticed your healthy eating and physical activities tweets and fb updates–you’re doing awesome!

[Starbuccaneer]

Wow, I think this is the longest I’ve gone between dropping in on the Fitness Thread since the meetup! When last I checked in, I was either on vacation or just back from vacation. I went to Florida for 4 days over Labor Day, came back home for 12 hours, and then flew to Arizona for work. The whole time in FL I prepped for the conference in AZ, not much of a vacation. All that travel made it a hell-week. Then I had another hell-week last week catching up at work and getting ready for my next round of travel–a conference at which my boss and I are presenting on the same panel, so the stakes are REALLY REALLY HIGH (can you tell that I’m totally chill about this? No? Well what gave it away?!)

Eating healthy with my mom was a challenge but I mostly did it. Eating healthy in Arizona was a BIG challenge but I mostly did it. I managed to work out three times over the 7 days that I was gone, including one run around a track on the ground (wow, haven’t done that since the last season of rugby I played and my doctor definitely would not approve–my foot hurt a lot after) and one 30 minute jaunt in a lap pool. I miss having access to a pool!

Since being back, I’m in LSAT crisis mode and facing one of the busiest times of year for political folks–the post-August recess rush. So I’m working 7 days a week, usually at least 9 hours a day. I’m managing to shower, hit the gym 3 times a week, and do the dishes. If S doesn’t cook, I eat Kashi or oatmeal or an egg. If S doesn’t do the other chores, they just don’t get done. I haven’t socialized since seeing my mom in Florida. The last day on which I didn’t do any work or LSAT studying was August 27.

So I’m running my body ragged and my soul to tatters and my mental health to the red zone. The exam is October 1, the conference with my boss is October 4-6. Then I get to take a deep breath and take a week for recovery before starting law school apps.

My goal is to make it through without devolving into a sad, sad mess or requiring vast quantities of comfort food to make it. So far, so good. But it’s hard, kids. I’m really struggling.

[Solai]

I had a small epiphany this morning I wanted to share. I was on the damn Wii fit last night and thankfully it told me I am no longer borderline obese. Progress is being made, but in small increments. I look at myself in the mirror and think, “Um, I have been doing this for a month fairly consistantly, where are the results?”

My realization is that when you start working out in earnest it is akin to an act of faith. I had a teacher once share a story about when he was a child he was sitting in church bored. He held a hymnal on his hand and thought to himself, “God, if you are really, really there I ask you for one second make this hymnal float in front of me so I know you are real.” You of course know what happened. He let go. The hymnal hit the ground with a BAM. The entire congregation turned to him and he was humilated. (because I used a religious story I am compelled to share I am spiritual, not overly religious, ask me directly or in another thread)

When you start to work out you are commiting an act of faith. You step onto the treadmill for the first time, work up a sweat, get off and assume something good has happened. You repeat this day in, day out. You may find yourself like me at a month and start to wonder if all this nonsense is worth it. I don’t look different. I don’t feel different. What the frak?

I imagine this is where a lot of people stop, write it off and call it a day. Here is where I had my realization for anyone of us who struggle or get frustrated, especially those of us who are still just getting off the ground for the first time:

Working out causes tiny changes to occur in your body that lead to real and measurable change. What is infuriating are these changes occur slowly and over time and are not immediately noticiable. Just last week I discovered for the first time in years I could tighten my belt loop one notch. I literally shocked myself by stretching and realizing there was a bicep muscle with a little definition. I can actually feel my quads getting stronger.

Working up a sweat is good for you by definition. Over time you will also start to notice other changes too that you would not have considered. What you eat and drink will start to have calories associated with them and you will start to do the math of, “I will have to run half an hour to work off that everything bagel with lox spread” Over time you will get stronger, which means you will go further, faster and burn off more.

Sometimes it can seem pointless. Keep going. Keep the faith.

[Darth_Revan_Rules]

I had a small epiphany this morning I wanted to share. I was on the damn Wii fit last night and thankfully it told me I am no longer borderline obese. Progress is being made, but in small increments. I look at myself in the mirror and think, “Um, I have been doing this for a month fairly consistantly, where are the results?”

My realization is that when you start working out in earnest it is akin to an act of faith. I had a teacher once share a story about when he was a child he was sitting in church bored. He held a hymnal on his hand and thought to himself, “God, if you are really, really there I ask you for one second make this hymnal float in front of me so I know you are real.” You of course know what happened. He let go. The hymnal hit the ground with a BAM. The entire congregation turned to him and he was humilated. (because I used a religious story I am compelled to share I am spiritual, not overly religious, ask me directly or in another thread)

When you start to work out you are commiting an act of faith. You step onto the treadmill for the first time, work up a sweat, get off and assume something good has happened. You repeat this day in, day out. You may find yourself like me at a month and start to wonder if all this nonsense is worth it. I don’t look different. I don’t feel different. What the frak?

I imagine this is where a lot of people stop, write it off and call it a day. Here is where I had my realization for anyone of us who struggle or get frustrated, especially those of us who are still just getting off the ground for the first time:

Working out causes tiny changes to occur in your body that lead to real and measurable change. What is infuriating it these changes occur in slowly and over time and are not immediately noticiable. Just last week I discovered for the first time in years I could tighten my belt loop one notch. I literally shocked myself by stretching and realizing there was a bicep muscle with a little definition. I can actually feel my quads getting stronger.

Working up a sweat is good for you by definition. Over time you will also start to notice other changes too that you would not have considered. What you eat and drink will start to have calories associated with them and you will start to do the math of, “I will have to run half an hour to work off that everything bagel with lox spread” Over time you will get stronger, which means you will go further, faster and burn off more.

Sometimes it can seem pointless. Keep going. Keep the faith.

Well said Solai, actually just the kind of boost I’ve been looking for, mostly because when I get depressed I eat a lot of junk food and drink beer loaded with calories…which then is like someone stepping on part of the sand castle you’ve been building for hours.

And while I’ve been slowly trying to get back into it I keep getting frustrated that I can’t do as much as I was even just back in January, several injuries and just working so many hours that I was too physically burned out to exercise when I got home didn’t help, but then when I didn’t exercise I would get depressed…and eat…kind of a vicious snowball effect

I know I’ve said this a few times in the past couple months but dang it I want to get back going the way I was before and feel good about myself again, coming here will definitely be a top priority from here on out especially since I can’t seem to get any support on that front from people around me irl

[Edoz]

It’ll really sink in when someone who hasn’t seen you in a few months says “Whoa, you been workin out?”

[phazedout]

hi folks,

I know it’s been a while but those of you who follow me on twitter may have noticed a distinct lack of fitness updates from me, I’d been carrying foot and back injuries but using those as an excuse not to exercise so this week I hurled me self back in to it fully, power plate tuesday and Thursday, walking almost 10km (hey I’m european, convert if ya like ) and today went in for my early morning full on personal trainer session.

After some front and side planks to warm up I went and did a full on spin class no breaks, no unaothirised up and down on the saddle, I managed to handle the entire full CD (About 45 minutes) of the spin, he was delighted with me.

In food terms I’m making further adjustments, seems my pernnfan tended to smoke during her Friday evenign D&Dn sessions (as well as if she’d had a stressful day) so we made a deal, I will severly restrict my drinking (conventions and out of the country only) if she gives up the ciggies, so far it’s been five nights (last drank on
Sunday, September 18th) and I’m feeling a lot better, if I’d been on the booze last night there’s no way I oculd have managed a 10 spin calss this morning.

Overall I’m feeling great it’s a bright sunny day and I rocked the exercise

supportive hugz to those that need them, I’m off to shower
Phaze
on the “ate breakfast of meaty goodness on a spelt roll, nom nom nom” ID

[Darth_Revan_Rules]

hi folks,

I know it’s been a while but those of you who follow me on twitter may have noticed a distinct lack of fitness updates from me, I’d been carrying foot and back injuries but using those as an excuse not to exercise so this week I hurled me self back in to it fully, power plate tuesday and Thursday, walking almost 10km (hey I’m european, convert if ya like ) and today went in for my early morning full on personal trainer session.

After some front and side planks to warm up I went and did a full on spin class no breaks, no unaothirised up and down on the saddle, I managed to handle the entire full CD (About 45 minutes) of the spin, he was delighted with me.

In food terms I’m making further adjustments, seems my pernnfan tended to smoke during her Friday evenign D&Dn sessions (as well as if she’d had a stressful day) so we made a deal, I will severly restrict my drinking (conventions and out of the country only) if she gives up the ciggies, so far it’s been five nights (last drank on
Sunday, September 18th) and I’m feeling a lot better, if I’d been on the booze last night there’s no way I oculd have managed a 10 spin calss this morning.

Overall I’m feeling great it’s a bright sunny day and I rocked the exercise

supportive hugz to those that need them, I’m off to shower
Phaze
on the “ate breakfast of meaty goodness on a spelt roll, nom nom nom” ID

WOO WAY TO KICK BUTT PHAZED!

As for me today I have positive news! When I got on the treadmill this morning I noticed “hey wait a minute…I still have my incline set way up from when I was in super good shape…lets bring it back down to where it was when I started out last time” and with the initial goal of running 2 miles today I ended up feeling great with the lesser incline and ended up doing 4! :eek:

now as a Wisconsin Badgers fan I simply cannot bring myself to say ‘GO WOLVERINES’ but KEEP IT UP GWCers!!! woo!!!

[Edoz]

2 hours and 19 miles on the mountain bike today. My legs are dirty, empty and I’ve got helmet hair.

[Darth_Revan_Rules]

2 hours and 19 miles on the mountain bike today. My legs are dirty, empty and I’ve got helmet hair.

I meanwhile sat around drinking beer and watching baseball then football…well done Edoz

[Solai]

In food terms I’m making further adjustments, seems my pernnfan tended to smoke during her Friday evenign D&Dn sessions (as well as if she’d had a stressful day) so we made a deal, I will severly restrict my drinking (conventions and out of the country only) if she gives up the ciggies, so far it’s been five nights (last drank on Sunday, September 18th) and I’m feeling a lot better, if I’d been on the booze last night there’s no way I oculd have managed a 10 spin calss this morning.

Phazed, great job! Way to get out there and get moving. Well done buddy.

I did want to comment on your approach on drinking. I know many have had great success in saying, “you know while I am trying to get in better shape I am going stop cold turkey” and are great, no problems at all.

I do want to warn you of a potential pitfall tho that I share from my personal experience. In setting up any absolute rule “No more sugar!” “No more coffee!” “No more meatball hoagies!” “No more booze!” where the thing you are trying to remove has been part of your regular routine for a long time short term people can normally just cut it out and not worry about it. Over time tho things can change. You can start to resent the fact you can no longer have that specific item and then the moment of truth presents itself: you are alone, or on a trip in a situation where you only have yourself as a witness and are presented with that item. Win or lose, try it or not you are wracked with guilt and worst case decide, “well, I had that one. I am clearly a bad person and now have to punish myself by totally over-indulging…” and a very bad cycle starts.

What I have learned works for me over time is moderation combined with good choices. In almost all scenarios this works beautifully as it teaches you to manage in a way that is sustainable and long term. I’ll use myself and drinking. For a very long time I have been a drinker. It might be a glass of wine or two with dinner, or a couple of beers, some tequila but basically every night I was having something to drink. We aren’t getting drunk mind you, we were essentially mimicking our parents…you got home from work and the first thing you do is have a drink. The wife and I decided that we would have a night a week where we would abstain but that would never last very long.

For the past month as I have started working out I have also been paying very close attention to my calorie intake. I decided I would start with a week of eating and drinking like I normally would to set my baseline. I was slightly shocked to see the amount of calories beer, wine and tequila were and more importantly how they would impact my overall goal. It became simple math. The next week I didn’t have anything Sunday and I had a beer on Monday. Next week I didn’t have anything Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and so on. Now I find myself drinking only on Thur, Fri and Sat and now that has greater moderation to it. This is an approach I can not only maintain but it completely sustainable for a long time.

Again, if I go to a party on a Tuesday and have a glass of wine or two no big deal. That is now the exception.

I respect your approach, admire if you can keep it up and know at the end of the day we all have our own approaches that work for us. Because I can relate to this one aspect I did want to share my own personal experience, not to say my approach is better or worse, it simply is an approach.

Good luck!

[Xero1_The_Board_Lurk]

havent posted in a long time, but just an update. Down to 220, only 40 lbs to go. Wolverines!

[phazedout]

@solai Thanks for the approach breakdown, let me assure you I have nto cut out the beer entirely, I’m just severely restricting it. I’m going form 5 or 6 night sa week to about one or two nights every two weeks, I’m going to Germany on Thursday for a Discworld convention then two weeks later I’ve got a friend visiting, then three weeks after that I’ve got the Irish con then a gap of another three weeks before to England for hogs watch. I’m not totally stopping, just agreeing designated times and places that such things can happen.

Alas bit of a disaster exercise wise this morning, my PT didn’t turn up at 7 to open the gym so I could not exercise, then additionally the car just died, flat battery so I had to drag house mate out of bed to come and jump start the darned thing, he (my PT) rang me around two pm and said he’d totally failed to wake up in time to open the Gym. He did offer me a free personal trainer session to make up for the fact I was sitting outside the darned Gym at 6:50 AM waiting for a man who didn’t turn up
Phaze
on the “I’m still feeling positive though, will continue to exercise as my plans and the open-ness of the gym allow” ID

[Edoz]

Dude, you totally missed the opportunity to push start the car for a bit of a workout;)

[zen_mom]

Hi All,
I thought I would check in because it’s been a while. It’s cool that the fitness thread got its own forum area. I enjoyed catching up with how everyone is doing. It looks like several of us have tapered off and are getting back into the groove so hurray to that and all of us!

This time of year always seems to tear me up with colds, ear and sinus infections. Really annoying and often messes up my workout plans but I am pushing through as I can. I have dreams of participating in a local triathlon and maybe later, way down the road, an ironman. However due the previously mentioned illnesses my training has been slacking. Swimming has been a weird issue because I have been getting motion sick in the water. I don’t know what is up with that. I haven’t done any cycling but I really enjoy it so I need to get back to it.

I have been working on running though. I felt like I was never moving forward with my run/walk intervals until recently. I am finally starting to run for longer intervals than the walk intervals. I also found a local running club a few days ago and joined. They have “turtle runs” on Thursday evenings and I want to join others who are chugging along.

I have been losing weight and inches although I haven’t weighed or measured myself recently, but my clothes fit differently. One pair of denim shorts won’t stay on my behind any more.

I’m going to take a moment to have a proud mom moment. My teen daughter took her 1st brown belt test a few weeks back and was promoted. It was a tough test and she was so nervous I thought she was going to pass out at one point. However she pushed through and passed her test. She punched through a 1" thick wooden board as part of her test. She could’t break it on several hits, then she gowled at it, threw a punch and snapped that board in half. It was kinda impressive.

Default Prophet: I’m on fitocracy. I love it! I love the quests because it gives me a goal plus the whole leveling up is awesome. I am zenmom over there, feel free to look me up.

[Solai]

I have been losing weight and inches although I haven’t weighed or measured myself recently, but my clothes fit differently. One pair of denim shorts won’t stay on my behind any more.

Well done! I love this quote. I have personally found and have been told closely monitoring one’s weight is a fool’s errand. The body is going to do what it is going to do. Doing an hour of workout does not equal removing X pounds. Good consistent eating habits and being active = weight loss over time, key elements being consistent and over time. This is not an immediate gratification game. It takes work and it takes time. Well done!