The General Fitness Thread!

[Patrick]

SS and SL are also very good for beginners because it allows you to focus purely on form and technique in the beginning because you start with just the bar. Do you do power cleans/cleans? There damn addictive once you nail the technique. I use them to improve my striking power in kickboxing but they help with other sports/exercises too.

[witch]

Havent been able to exercise for a couple of weeks due to a pain in my arm which is being investigated

Hate it

I eventually got a set of weights for my birthday back last July - the adjustable sort - and i have been very happily using them since.

 

Docs appt on Thurs hopefully if poss so i can sort things out

[pooley]

Training for half ironman in June, 6 days a week. You'd think I'd lose some weight

[Sonic007]

I wondered if anyone could give me some tips.

I'm gradually putting on more and more weight and it is time I did something about it.

 

I have three small children and am regularly up in the nights so that doesn't help with getting me motivated in the day when feeling shattered.

 

I tried running but its not for me. I was thinking of swimming.

 

The problem I have is that I give in to things very easily. If someone says "Do you want a chocolate?" I'll easily say yes. I like sweet things.

I need to sort out my diet too and eat more healthily.

 

Does anyone have any tips they could help me with?

 

Many thanks.

[Mako]

The problem I have is that I give in to things very easily. If someone says "Do you want a chocolate?" I'll easily say yes. I like sweet things.

I need to sort out my diet too and eat more healthily.

 

This must be the highest priority that you need to tackle. Weight loss occurs when your calorific intake is less than your body spends. You can lose weight without breaking a sweat, however this will leave you skinny and unfit, which is not much healthier.

 

I lost 4 stone a number of years ago and have maintained a decent weight since. Before I even broke a sweat, I spent weeks figuring out what calorific intake I needed in order to not gain or lose weight, and then went from there. In the process I also learned how to cook healthier meals and how to manage smaller portions. Weight gradually started to fall off when I fixed the calorific intake, and when it started to plateau I began the exercise regime.

 

What works for one person may not work for others. I didn't join a gym, but I did make use of my dusty exercise bike for 20 minutes a day. I didn't go on a "diet" (i.e low-carb or low-fat), I just ate less and learned to cook properly and kept my daily calorie intake below my body's expenditure. Some people will find benefit in meal planning. Some from a daily regime. There's lots of tips in this thread. The simplest formula is "eat less, exercise more". Whatever route you choose, you must, must, must not cave in to temptation. Willpower and determination are absolutely vital.

Edited January 24, 2019 by Mako

[artfulmatt]

I wondered if anyone could give me some tips.

I'm gradually putting on more and more weight and it is time I did something about it.

 

I have three small children and am regularly up in the nights so that doesn't help with getting me motivated in the day when feeling shattered.

 

I tried running but its not for me. I was thinking of swimming.

 

The problem I have is that I give in to things very easily. If someone says "Do you want a chocolate?" I'll easily say yes. I like sweet things.

I need to sort out my diet too and eat more healthily.

 

Does anyone have any tips they could help me with?

 

Many thanks.

 

Try using https://tdeecalculator.net/

 

Basically you can calculate how many calories you need to be consuming to 1. maintain current weight 2. gain weight 3. lose weight - all dependent on how active you are.

 

This tends to work for most as you can eat what you want - if your in a calorie deficit you will lose weight regardless if its just chocolate you have eaten.

 

For the first week or so use a good tracker (my fitness pal) and input everything you eat (you can scan barcodes) then you can get a good idea of what you are consuming? If you cook from scratch, just weight the items and look on the packets to see how many cals it would be.

 

Only need to do that for a little while and you'll soon get the idea.

 

Matt.

[Sonic007]

Thankyou. That is some good information. I will try to look at my meals and start making a plan.

[Mako]

To prove the point, a professor in America went on a "diet" of only eating Twinkies and lost weight to demonstrate that what you actually eat doesn't matter, it's about a calorific intake. If that makes you feel any better!

 

I don't advocate eating crap as part of a low-calorie diet.

[unixman_again]

The simple tips to improve your health

In a nutshell

• Focus on the mind
  
• Get a dog
  
• Eat 30 different plant-based foods per week
  
• Smile more
  
• Get enough sleep
  

 

You have to commit to more exercise if you want to loose weight. For some this is not easy. It might mean a change of lifestyle. Simple things will help. Walk somewhere if you can. At work, go the long away around to where ever you are going. Maybe cycle to work if possible. Finding a type of exercise that is for you might be a problem. I like being in the gym, but it isn't for everyone. I also like ballet classes, but again that isn't for everyone. As an extreme, sell your sofa. Watch TV standing up - you will burn more calories. Or keep the sofa and just stand up.

[artfulmatt]

I've been at a local crossfit box for 3 yrs this summer...initially (first year) my fitness improved and strength was the best it had ever been. But it began to plateau as it does in any sport. So I broke it down into 3 main elements last year 1. Strength - so worked on my Olympic lifting and all the accessory drills and not forgetting the squats, deadlift etc...

2. Gymnastics - lots of crossover to Olympic lifting, in that you need good body weight strength, mobility, stability, power and speed. Worked on progressions to handstands, muscle ups etc...

3. Metcons or cardio as it's also known lol...followed a program that mixed up workouts in different types (emom, amrap, for time) and then threw in all the movements haha...good fun but bloody hard work.

 

Gonna do much the same this year, but prob going to work on main weaknesses before going back to metcons (although do the odd one)

[Patrick]

Whats your favourite oly lift? I'm trying to learn the snatch but finding it hard work! Love cleans though!

[hardtailstar]

Signed up for a February 10km race in November.

 

Only just realised its in two weeks and ive not done any running since early this month!

[Davit2005]

Training for half ironman in June, 6 days a week. You'd think I'd lose some weight ������

 

Best of luck on the half ironman, No doubt you will lose some weight. I cut the crisps and sugar down considerably and am starting to see gradual weight loss which is helping the speed work no end and don't forget to carb up a bit before longer runs.

Edited February 5, 2019 by Davit2005

[pooley]

Training to HR so longer runs/rides should be using body fat/fuel and with a lower carb diet i'm trying to train my body to use it's own fuel as apposed to overkill of carbs and gels etc.

 

Weight loss has happened, just a 1lb, but after Christmas excess I'll take it

[hardtailstar]

Got a 10km this Sunday, im just recovering from injury! so that will not be fun!

[jedmondson]

Over Christmas I decided to try and shift my beer belly as I'm hitting 25 this year. Joined a Virgin Active gym late Jan and have managed to lose almost a stone.

[3s-gtech]

In two weeks?! That’s serious going - just try and taper it a bit so it’s sustainable and remains enjoyable. If the intensity is too high it’s easy to get injured or just have enough - so make sure you can tailor it to your life and it doesn’t take over!

[jedmondson]

In two weeks?! That’s serious going - just try and taper it a bit so it’s sustainable and remains enjoyable. If the intensity is too high it’s easy to get injured or just have enough - so make sure you can tailor it to your life and it doesn’t take over!

Should of put since early Jan. My plan is to stop having a couple of pints after work ( I work as a chef in a pub) and head to the gym instead.

[witch]

Half way through a 4 week 30min x 5 day a week fitness program from Fitnessblender.com

Absolutely brilliant but hard work

[3s-gtech]

Should of put since early Jan. My plan is to stop having a couple of pints after work ( I work as a chef in a pub) and head to the gym instead.

 

Still excellent progress. Yup - that small change in lifestyle will have a big effect on your health. The hard part is keeping the motivation once you’ve finished a day’s work, but ai always tell my athletes - the hardest part is turning up. After that, you just do your routine or plan.

[Davit2005]

Acheived a 10k training PB yesterday of 47.14 beating my previous 48.05 in 2017 on same route. After having a routine heart proceedure fixing palpitations made worse by physical exertion in March 2018 and having to basically start building from couch to 5k again I'm chuffed with this. Short distance running i.e. 5k is still hard work though, building confidence since proceedure seems to be harder than the actual running sometimes and still get some pre-run nerves even though not had any re-occurances since proceedure.

 

I love running and as soon as consultant said I could start again I was so happy but just started off real easy with the couch to 5k which I'd never done before.

Edited March 1, 2019 by Davit2005

[hardtailstar]

Got a 10km this Sunday, im just recovering from injury! so that will not be fun!

 

Posted in the cool thread but i did it in 68 minutes.

[witch]

Last day of my FB30 4 week challenge from FitnessBlender.com. 30 mins exercise class, 5 times a week.

Today is HIIT and Cardio with a bit of strength and core just to finish me off

[Danp]

I found out I was the heaviest I've ever been (14st) so I'm back to running (only twice this week so far), cut back on lager (I've been given 15 bottles today though!), cut back on coffee (down to two cups a day), increased water intake and I've lost a little weight already, feel better, get up easier in the mornings.

[3s-gtech]

As I said, get yourself some weights - the bigger ones go up to pretty heavy - and do strength training at home!

 

Annoying thing: my roses keep falling over..

 

I’ve quoted the discussion over here to avoid mod wrath @witch.

 

Weights at home would help with some exercises - but keeping enough plates about for deadlifts and squats, plus a squat rack, would be extremely difficult! I guess that’s where the gym still works - kit and space.

 

I have no use for treadmills, most of the weight machines, a bench press or a cross trainer. Problem with our gym is it really is very small and cramped - other LCs in the county have had huge investment in this regard.

 

One final plus is that my gym membership has covered the use of the attached athletics track sometimes, which is obviously far more useful. There is a pool too if I was unable to run!