I'm up to benching 150 for 25 reps (10, 5, 5, 5) and my mile time is under 9 minutes now. I've only lost 5ish pounds this month because I haven't been able to stick to my routine as much with final exams and term papers over the last couple weeks. I'm getting back into the flow of things now. Oh, I also discovered the joys of tofu. Mmmm tofu.
5lbs a month is a lot! nice work. eating well too...i could never get that part down best of luck, and if you stick to your routine you'll b down to your target weight (which is what?) in no time.
i'm hoping to hit 165 by the middle of summer. i'm at about 183 right now, and losing about 1/2 lb a week i think. like i said, i still eat garbage.
I know. But I don't have the flow for gym membership and going to a community centre to do laps while trying to avoid geriatrics bobbing around in their aqua-diapers just doesn't appeal to me. I do however swim at my cottage in the summer. Right now the water is about 40 degrees, a tit bit nipply for swimming if you ask me.
Inaction Man, I've had kind of the same problem for a long time .. swimming is expensive in many parts of the world. So, as a substitute .. run (cheap, only a pair of running shoes tht last anyway, years).
And when running, the weather seems to limit me more than other people. When it's too cold, my lungs refuse to collaborate, or when (like in spring) there's too much pollen in the air, or when it's too dry air (like in summer) I can't breath ... not fair.
Right now the water is about 40 degrees, a tit bit nipply for swimming if you ask me.
Actually, cold water temperature might help you out. Colder temperatures prevent you from overheating too fast (trust me, coming from someone living in Houston, you can overheat very easily during a swim workout.)
Sure it'll be cold initially, but that's why you have to swim lots of laps.
Ditto on the swimming recommendation though. It's a great way to prevent stress on certain parts of your body.
I love all exercise...endorphins are addictive and all that chocolate needs burning off (!). I love to rollerblade, swim, hike and run. I have been distance running since I was 15 and have done several marathons. I was doing 55 miles a week training for marathons but I've settled in at around at about 30 now, mostly on trails in the Santa Monica mountains, or on the beach . I am 5'7 and 110lbs now, but I was about 10lbs less just before my last marathon about 3 years back. I just don't have the time these days for that kind of schedule! If I win the State lottery however....
[B]Actually, cold water temperature might help you out. Colder temperatures prevent you from overheating too fast (trust me, coming from someone living in Houston, you can overheat very easily during a swim workout.)
Sure it'll be cold initially, but that's why you have to swim lots of laps.
Don't believe all that you are told about the cold water. The finnish guys said that if you go to swim to the hole in the frozen lake after 90 seconds from getting up from the lake, you would not feel the cold anymore ... it is a lie. After 5 minutes it is not so f*ing cold any more, but its' not warm either..
I'm up to benching 150 for 25 reps (10, 5, 5, 5) and my mile time is under 9 minutes now. I've only lost 5ish pounds this month because I haven't been able to stick to my routine as much with final exams and term papers over the last couple weeks. I'm getting back into the flow of things now. Oh, I also discovered the joys of tofu. Mmmm tofu.
5 pounds per month is great progress!
Don't get too caught up in measuring your weight everyday either. Water weight and other factors can push your weight around on a day to day basis, so long-term averaging is how you want to track your progress.
I think in the past week I've nullified a good months worth of exercise
lately, I've been snacking more, sleeping less, working out less, and playing less soccer.
It's difficult to keep a healthy, balanced diet when it's all this sugar that keeps me awake to work on school stuff. Maybe when I go on summer break I'll get another shot at working out and keeping fit.
What about cross-country? Same dealy as mooshy rubber tracks? Concrete kills me, I'll usually walk to the park then start running.
You want to get training shoes that fit your feet well, because the pounding your feet take leads to your knees. I have narrow feet, and Nike makes some pretty decent narrow shoes most of the time. I don't like the feel of New Balance, otherwise I'd get them in a minute in A width (they run wide, but come in widths). My name also begins with N, so I'm all about that. Unfortunately I don't like them!
If you have wider feet, Asics makes some excellent trainers. They are cushy and supportive. The Nimbus line is spongy. The 1000/2000 lines are meant to compensate for pronation. You should also either get custom insoles or at least the green sparco ones. I thought this was the first thing everyone did. . . as in, you buy them right when you get the shoes. enormous difference.
Anyway, I run only on roads, and was at one time a competitive runner. Good form goes a long way at protecting your knees from serious damage more than anything else. Running on soft ground is much easier on the knees than on a rubber track, though. Of course, you lose a lot of energy into the ground, and I don't like the fact that it slows me down quite a bit, especially since I run in extremely hot weather and the self-created wind makes running at 10mph much more bearable than running at 8mph.
But if you have sore knees I wouldn't recommend running at all. You could get an old road bike for about the cost of two pairs of trainers, but you have to like biking. I hate biking. . .
if your knees are messed up, swim or bike. good workout, no impact.
Even if they're not messed up, it's a great workout. I was in my best shape ever while I was doing my lifeguard training (and eventually teaching). I dropped my body fat like a sumbitch.
Don't get too caught up in measuring your weight everyday either. Water weight and other factors can push your weight around on a day to day basis, so long-term averaging is how you want to track your progress.
I'm on the "Hcaker's Diet" which is simply eat less than you burn and track your weight every day in an excel spreadsheet which calculates a trend line for you. I'm talking about losing 5.5lbs on the trend line so far this month.
Woo. I hadn't run for a little over a week as I felt a twinge in my calf and decided to just let it rest and not fvck it up seriously and today after feeling 100% I went out running again and shaved 10 seconds off my mile time. I'm down to a horrible 8:37! hah. I'm still over a minute and a half off my all time best but that was also achieved when i was in 4th grade many many years ago (ok fine 13 years ago).
This is a screenshot of one of the charts that the hacker's diet excel spreadsheet generates. My high of around 260 doesn't show as that was in October before I started keeping track every day. It's easy to see where I fell off the diet a bit in january and february as I had an insane class schedule with more crappy eating on the run.
If anyone has the kind of personality that likes graphs, charts, and numbers and you want to keep track of your moving average weight, download the Hacker's Diet excel spreadsheets from http://www.fourmilab.ch/hackdiet/www/hackdiet.html . Finding that article about this thing on slashdot was the best thing ever.
i work out 4 days a week. treadmill (walking) , elipitcal machine, weight machines. sometimes i play tennis too, but it's hard to find people to play with. i'm 5'-8 1/2", 170pds. i could lose a few pounds in the gut, i've lost 7-8pds since october 2003
If you live in the North Dallas/Richardson/Plano area, I'm game.
i used to be in good shape. then i blew apart my ankle playing football. they had to put it back together with a dozen screws and a plate, and it's never been the same since.
no more jumping, no more running. that really cut way down on the number of sports i can play.
problem is, i loved playing sports, but i hate "excercising" just to exercise. if i'm not having fun/competing with someone, i get really bored.
i'm thinking i might have to take up weight lifting just to keep in shape. since i broke my ankle i went from about 6'1" and 180 to 220 over 5 years.
i suppose i could stop eating crappy fast food too, that might help.
Would downhill skiing work? Back when I was into it, your feet were practically encased in carbonite, so your ankles couldn't move much. Some, but a whole lot less than anything with regular shoes.
If you're running to lose weight, it's generally better to alter your speed. I forgot what the term is called (I'll look it up when I have a moment), but don't just go for fast. Fast, slow, fast, slow is better.
Also, pick one day a week (Saturday for most of us working stiffs) to be your long run. Make it a 3 mile 'run' or something big. The thing is, you don't have to run it all for it to be worthwhile. Just walk portions if you have to, but make sure you do the full three miles. It's better to prepare your body for distance even if you're walking it.
I have a good bicycle. I don't have a car and I never, ever take public transport. I am trim. I use it every single day.
I also play capoeira. Ai ai ai. This is a Brazilian martial art that remodels fatties into lithe sex gods. I've been doing it since 1996. When I trained three times a week I had a bone fide six pack, alas long gone, but now my evenings are mine again I might start upping my training.
My capoeira name is 'Carequinha', which means 'the little baldie'.
The Hacker's Diet was written by the founder of AutoDesk! I'm not sure what to think of that. He has the right idea though, but he does discount exercise over the long term at first glance as a major factor in losing weight. Maybe he mantions it in the meaty part of the book, I just read some of the initial stuff.
Quote:
Originally posted by bunge
If you're running to lose weight, it's generally better to alter your speed. I forgot what the term is called (I'll look it up when I have a moment), but don't just go for fast. Fast, slow, fast, slow is better.
The term is "fartlek," which is Swedish for "speed play." They're a modified interval training where instead of super-fast and very slow alternations, you go at a more moderate pace and vary somewhat from that, usually fast for a small distance and slower (but not slow) for a longer interval between.
My best in the mile was about 5 minutes, back in high school on the track team. Wasn't much of a competitor. I probably run a 10 minute mile now. I don't even run any more due to nagging problems with shin splints and low arches. Amazing though how you can improve your time by actually resting once in a while. I never got the timging quite right for competition, but there's probably a pattern to watch out for aside from stopping when things start to hurt.
If you're running to lose weight, it's generally better to alter your speed. I forgot what the term is called (I'll look it up when I have a moment), but don't just go for fast. Fast, slow, fast, slow is better.
Also, pick one day a week (Saturday for most of us working stiffs) to be your long run. Make it a 3 mile 'run' or something big. The thing is, you don't have to run it all for it to be worthwhile. Just walk portions if you have to, but make sure you do the full three miles. It's better to prepare your body for distance even if you're walking it.
man, i thought i was god's gift to running (haha) and then today i ran two miles and it totally pooped me out, after doing three a day for 4 days straight. maybe i needed a rest, i don't know, but today's 2 miles were harder than yesterday's 3 (granted i ran a 9MM pace yesterday and 8MM pace today)
Comments
Originally posted by BR
I'm up to benching 150 for 25 reps (10, 5, 5, 5) and my mile time is under 9 minutes now. I've only lost 5ish pounds this month because I haven't been able to stick to my routine as much with final exams and term papers over the last couple weeks. I'm getting back into the flow of things now. Oh, I also discovered the joys of tofu. Mmmm tofu.
5lbs a month is a lot! nice work. eating well too...i could never get that part down
i'm hoping to hit 165 by the middle of summer. i'm at about 183 right now, and losing about 1/2 lb a week i think. like i said, i still eat garbage.
Originally posted by Giaguara
Swim.
I know. But I don't have the flow for gym membership and going to a community centre to do laps while trying to avoid geriatrics bobbing around in their aqua-diapers just doesn't appeal to me. I do however swim at my cottage in the summer. Right now the water is about 40 degrees, a tit bit nipply for swimming if you ask me.
And when running, the weather seems to limit me more than other people. When it's too cold, my lungs refuse to collaborate, or when (like in spring) there's too much pollen in the air, or when it's too dry air (like in summer) I can't breath ... not fair.
Originally posted by InactionMan
Right now the water is about 40 degrees, a tit bit nipply for swimming if you ask me.
Actually, cold water temperature might help you out. Colder temperatures prevent you from overheating too fast (trust me, coming from someone living in Houston, you can overheat very easily during a swim workout.)
Sure it'll be cold initially, but that's why you have to swim lots of laps.
Ditto on the swimming recommendation though. It's a great way to prevent stress on certain parts of your body.
Originally posted by job
[B]Actually, cold water temperature might help you out. Colder temperatures prevent you from overheating too fast (trust me, coming from someone living in Houston, you can overheat very easily during a swim workout.)
Sure it'll be cold initially, but that's why you have to swim lots of laps.
Don't believe all that you are told about the cold water. The finnish guys said that if you go to swim to the hole in the frozen lake after 90 seconds from getting up from the lake, you would not feel the cold anymore ... it is a lie. After 5 minutes it is not so f*ing cold any more, but its' not warm either..
Originally posted by BR
I'm up to benching 150 for 25 reps (10, 5, 5, 5) and my mile time is under 9 minutes now. I've only lost 5ish pounds this month because I haven't been able to stick to my routine as much with final exams and term papers over the last couple weeks. I'm getting back into the flow of things now. Oh, I also discovered the joys of tofu. Mmmm tofu.
5 pounds per month is great progress!
Don't get too caught up in measuring your weight everyday either. Water weight and other factors can push your weight around on a day to day basis, so long-term averaging is how you want to track your progress.
lately, I've been snacking more, sleeping less, working out less, and playing less soccer.
It's difficult to keep a healthy, balanced diet when it's all this sugar that keeps me awake to work on school stuff. Maybe when I go on summer break I'll get another shot at working out and keeping fit.
Originally posted by InactionMan
What about cross-country? Same dealy as mooshy rubber tracks? Concrete kills me, I'll usually walk to the park then start running.
You want to get training shoes that fit your feet well, because the pounding your feet take leads to your knees. I have narrow feet, and Nike makes some pretty decent narrow shoes most of the time. I don't like the feel of New Balance, otherwise I'd get them in a minute in A width (they run wide, but come in widths). My name also begins with N, so I'm all about that. Unfortunately I don't like them!
If you have wider feet, Asics makes some excellent trainers. They are cushy and supportive. The Nimbus line is spongy. The 1000/2000 lines are meant to compensate for pronation. You should also either get custom insoles or at least the green sparco ones. I thought this was the first thing everyone did. . . as in, you buy them right when you get the shoes. enormous difference.
Anyway, I run only on roads, and was at one time a competitive runner.
But if you have sore knees I wouldn't recommend running at all. You could get an old road bike for about the cost of two pairs of trainers, but you have to like biking. I hate biking. . .
Originally posted by alcimedes
if your knees are messed up, swim or bike. good workout, no impact.
Even if they're not messed up, it's a great workout. I was in my best shape ever while I was doing my lifeguard training (and eventually teaching). I dropped my body fat like a sumbitch.
Originally posted by BuonRotto
5 pounds per month is great progress!
Don't get too caught up in measuring your weight everyday either. Water weight and other factors can push your weight around on a day to day basis, so long-term averaging is how you want to track your progress.
I'm on the "Hcaker's Diet" which is simply eat less than you burn and track your weight every day in an excel spreadsheet which calculates a trend line for you. I'm talking about losing 5.5lbs on the trend line so far this month.
This is a screenshot of one of the charts that the hacker's diet excel spreadsheet generates. My high of around 260 doesn't show as that was in October before I started keeping track every day. It's easy to see where I fell off the diet a bit in january and february as I had an insane class schedule with more crappy eating on the run.
If anyone has the kind of personality that likes graphs, charts, and numbers and you want to keep track of your moving average weight, download the Hacker's Diet excel spreadsheets from http://www.fourmilab.ch/hackdiet/www/hackdiet.html . Finding that article about this thing on slashdot was the best thing ever.
Originally posted by burningwheel
i work out 4 days a week. treadmill (walking) , elipitcal machine, weight machines. sometimes i play tennis too, but it's hard to find people to play with. i'm 5'-8 1/2", 170pds. i could lose a few pounds in the gut, i've lost 7-8pds since october 2003
If you live in the North Dallas/Richardson/Plano area, I'm game.
Originally posted by alcimedes
i used to be in good shape. then i blew apart my ankle playing football. they had to put it back together with a dozen screws and a plate, and it's never been the same since.
no more jumping, no more running. that really cut way down on the number of sports i can play.
problem is, i loved playing sports, but i hate "excercising" just to exercise. if i'm not having fun/competing with someone, i get really bored.
i'm thinking i might have to take up weight lifting just to keep in shape. since i broke my ankle i went from about 6'1" and 180 to 220 over 5 years.
i suppose i could stop eating crappy fast food too, that might help.
Would downhill skiing work? Back when I was into it, your feet were practically encased in carbonite, so your ankles couldn't move much. Some, but a whole lot less than anything with regular shoes.
If you're running to lose weight, it's generally better to alter your speed. I forgot what the term is called (I'll look it up when I have a moment), but don't just go for fast. Fast, slow, fast, slow is better.
Also, pick one day a week (Saturday for most of us working stiffs) to be your long run. Make it a 3 mile 'run' or something big. The thing is, you don't have to run it all for it to be worthwhile. Just walk portions if you have to, but make sure you do the full three miles. It's better to prepare your body for distance even if you're walking it.
I also play capoeira. Ai ai ai. This is a Brazilian martial art that remodels fatties into lithe sex gods. I've been doing it since 1996. When I trained three times a week I had a bone fide six pack, alas long gone, but now my evenings are mine again I might start upping my training.
My capoeira name is 'Carequinha', which means 'the little baldie'.
Originally posted by bunge
If you're running to lose weight, it's generally better to alter your speed. I forgot what the term is called (I'll look it up when I have a moment), but don't just go for fast. Fast, slow, fast, slow is better.
The term is "fartlek," which is Swedish for "speed play." They're a modified interval training where instead of super-fast and very slow alternations, you go at a more moderate pace and vary somewhat from that, usually fast for a small distance and slower (but not slow) for a longer interval between.
My best in the mile was about 5 minutes, back in high school on the track team. Wasn't much of a competitor. I probably run a 10 minute mile now. I don't even run any more due to nagging problems with shin splints and low arches. Amazing though how you can improve your time by actually resting once in a while.
Originally posted by bunge
BR,
If you're running to lose weight, it's generally better to alter your speed. I forgot what the term is called (I'll look it up when I have a moment), but don't just go for fast. Fast, slow, fast, slow is better.
Also, pick one day a week (Saturday for most of us working stiffs) to be your long run. Make it a 3 mile 'run' or something big. The thing is, you don't have to run it all for it to be worthwhile. Just walk portions if you have to, but make sure you do the full three miles. It's better to prepare your body for distance even if you're walking it.
I'll give that a shot. Thanks.