In Fitness and in Health
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@Stuart.T great post. I’ve moved it in order to bump this existing thread and to avoid unnecessary duplication.
I’m on my hols for a few more days and I’m receiving guests in Norway at the end of the month whom I intend to eat and drink excessively with. But the first week in August I’m getting on it again and would love to share experiences.
A combination of injuries and illness for the last 7-8 months have meant that I’ve lost a lot of my heath and fitness gains I’d developed over the previous few years so I’m very motivated. One thing worth knowing at the outset is that motivation is great but it is like teenage love. It is very intense and inspiring but it does not last. Discipline and mental fortitude are the skills to learn if you want to make a meaningful difference to your health and fitness.
By-the-by, my wife has bi-polar type II (not an IH jacket) and can attest to the efficacy of regular training. At the same time she can attest to the difficulty of achieving that because of that particular condition. Looking forward to bringing life back to this thread.
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@neph93 I knew there would be an existing thread already, thanks for the bump. It's hard to explain how a mental health condition exactly affects you, particularly biologically influenced ones (I'm certainly not undermining those who experience a reactive mental health condition). I often describe my legs as feeling like lead. It feels as though someone is sitting on me and holding me down.
My nature is one of positivity. Half glass full if you will. It makes it all the more frustrating living with this. Exercise is very good for me, particularly out in the open air, in nature.
@Alex I need to be realistic. I set goals too high, then don't acheive them, and risk giving up. I'm pretty aware of my flaws. I need something that I can do on my own. I find it difficult to commit to routine group activities. I have a set of free weights and a bench in our out building, I'm going to build up some core strength and bone density by getting back in to light/moderate free weights.
I like the IDEA of running, but rather than follow the advice of run/walk/run until you build up your stamina, I always throw myself in full on and wonder why I throw up after trying to sprint for 3 miles!
I love mountain biking, and have a great Orange Five full suspension frame that needs to be built. I might start on that soon.
I want our son to learn Wing Chun, and one of the national centres is quite close to us. I'm going to contact them and see if they do a parents and children's class. The warm ups and training for Wing Chun were brutal at my last club (until my Sifu almost severed his hand and needed micro-surgery, rendering him out of action…I never found a new club until we moved).
What have others found really helpful advice when starting to exercise? any tried and tested links to websites?
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@Stuart.T Might be a bit of an obvious one but setting realistic/attainable short term goals is what I found helped me most, such as improving X lift by X amount with 2 - 4 weeks as opposed to "I want to be able to lift X in 6 months".
Amazing how much encouragement you get from those short term 'victories' and it encourages you to progress further.
Hope you can get in to the swing of things soon!
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Anyone on here doing intermittent fasting?
Last couple of months I have been doing it. I was skeptical at first, manly because I have followed a bodybuilding style diet for the last 10 years or so. Even when I switched to paleo I was still eating every few hours.
But now I got my head round it I love it. Feels like how we were meant to eat when we were hunter gathers all those years ago.Energy levels feel pretty constant and haven't lost any strength at the gym.
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My partner does it and thinks it works for her but I’ve never given it a go, what’s your routine @spitfiredealer?
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It vary’s, some weeks I will just do one 24 fast and then other weeks it might be 2.
Most of the time I stick to 16:8, works well with my work routine.Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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Which hours you doing @spitfiredealer ? and you still consuming the same calories I assume?
I was considering given I could probably do 1-9pm quite easily…
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Yeah either 1-9pm or 12-8pm
On days I go to the gym it tends to be 12-8 just so I got some more time before training to get food in.
Yes hitting about 3000cal a day.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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@Stuart.T i've bought a gravel/road bike and have been riding 20 miles a day to and from work. Saves going to the gym before or after work. If cycling to and from work is an option for you, I would who heartedly recommend it.
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Noon to 8 here, I find that it's not difficult and oh, I'm eating far fewer calories. I tend to graze when I don't have a schedule like this and that's probably not a good thing.
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@bryaneidins I work 6 miles away, so it is very doable in theory. My job requires me to have access to a car for emergency call outs most days. If I don't use my car I lose my free parking space, which in turn will cost me £32 a week. Really frustrating.
I'm thinking of becoming vegan again. I was vegan for 14 years through the 90s to early 2000s, and I'm vegetarian now. I never felt better than when I was wholefood vegan. My body weight stabilised, sensory benefits (sight, smell, and hearing) all improved, and energy levels were great.
Fasting is not recommended. It places organs under unnecessary pressure, and blood sugars can become erratic. Intuitive grazing is a good option and what we are designed to do. It's what tribal people still do as their day isn't determined by the working day, which is the only reason we have breakfast, lunch, and dinner (industrialisation).
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Ive been a weight lifter most of my life and usually train at a local gym, not at home. Ive found my most successful periods to be when I have a training partner waiting for me at the gym. Due to my work/life schedule I need to get to the gym in the early morning, requiring I get out of bed at about 4:30am which is far from easy on good days, but the thought of skipping a training session when I know someone else is getting up to meet me gets me out of bed and out the door..
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I (and the preponderance of peer reviewed studies on the topic, though more human research is required) disagree on fasting being bad for you, @Stuart.T I'd like to see the evidence behind the claims about stabilizing blood sugar and placing organs under pressure (and for that matter, what the latter even means, as working out puts your lungs and muscles under pressure, which is good for them).
If the argument is evolutionary and adaptive, it's not like humanity has always been able to eat whenever we wanted. There's nothing more natural than fasting. If the argument is "following intuition," which I take to be eat what you want when you want, I'd be eating double bacon cheeseburgers, fries, and chocolate malts all day.
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Fasting is excellent for you, and this has been proven in animal studies at least with regard to cancer, etc. I have done several fasts, lasting 3, 5, or 7 days, without any problem at all. I trained strength training and BJJ during those - again, no issue.
People interested in the potential benefits of fasting (and other health & fitness issues) should check out the podcasts of Dr. Rhonda Patrick (https://www.foundmyfitness.com) and Dr. Peter Attia (https://peterattiamd.com).
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Since gyms are closed, figure I would share some at-home workouts.
Today's upper body
somewhat like a Crossfit Cindy, but modified…. (I am not a Crossfitter)5 handstand push-ups
10 pull-ups (strict)
15 push-upsdo for time, 10 rounds.
Took me close to 40 minutes to finish and the last two rounds I had to do 1 handstand push up, then do two pull-ups, then back to 1 handstand push-up until I did the 5 and 10...Yesterday was a lower body 6, 8, 10 format
6 pistol squats each leg, holding onto rings/trx straps, so assisted pistols
8 straight bridges
10 hanging knee raises10 rounds
That took me about 25 minutes to finishEnjoy and stay fit
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In April of this year I purchased the Concept 2 Rower to keep in shape during the colder months of the year. I have been rowing since April, but decided to challenge myself for the month of August by rowing 10,000 meters (10KM) every day for the month.
I finished my last row for the month and feel great, albeit a little tired.
Total distance (310 KM's)
Total weight lost (3.6 pounds), but I have put on some muscle and my clothes are definitely fitting better.
Total calories burned (while exercising) (18,104 calories)
Total time spent on machine (23.5 hours)When I started rowing on Aug 1st, it would take me 47 minutes to complete the 10 km's.
For the last week, my average time to complete the 10 km's was around 43 minutes.For many of the days the challenge was as much mental as it was physical, but I am glad to have tried to push myself out of my comfort zone.
I may try it again in a few months and see if my times improve. My plan is to go back to a combination of strength training and cardio and see where it takes me.
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@goosehd - Good for you! This is an excellent pace & length of workout that probably corresponds +/- to your peak lactate clearing capacity. It's a type of workout that has been shown to improve mitochondrial efficiency. In other words it improves your respiration efficiency at the cellular level. I have the same rower. It's a great piece of equipment.
