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Fitness and Health

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02.05.2013 9:50pm

Thread Creator

Crono
Crono can cross dimensions too!

I thought it would be interesting to share how we stay/get in shape since it's something that's never really discussed. Feel free to go into as little detail or list entire sets of lifts and numbers as you please. If your answer is "nothing" maybe reading a few posts will inspire you to get off the couch and do some squats or something, I don't know. Maybe even list what you want/need/should reduce in your diet to trim up or just feel better. Feel free to make suggestions if someone asks (but don't press it if they don't).

I'm more of a cardio guy but I still hit the weights whenever I go to the gym. I've been running 3-5 miles 2-3 times a week for the past 9 years although I'm not always hiting it that frequently; sometimes once a week (more often in winter) and sometimes every day (early May/June generally). I've had knee issues for the past 6 months though so I've been doing more on eliptical and bikes at the gym but I still run every third or so trip. I really should see a doctor about it but it's so random I always think it'll just go away, which it has for the past week. Pace for running is usually a 7 minute mile but 4 years ago I was killing it doing 19:20 5ks. I don't go past 5 miles though because I like my pace and can't keep it past 5 miles and plus I don't want to damage my ankles and knees long term and longer runs=more damage.

I hate going to the gym and just doing weights so I never really get a full set of all my muscles but my favorites are the smith machine for pressing and incline benches for abs. I max at about 145 pressing which is practically nothing but I'm happy with it. I generally mix in bicep curls, lats, and occasionally tricep dips. I was actually pretty proud of myself the other day because I railed out 50 pushups in a row without stopping; a first for me.

Diet's pretty good and I'm a fairly psycho calorie counter when I don't eat out. I don't get enough veggies but I try to keep V8 in the fridge to balance it. The only real downfall in my diet is chips and salsa/white sauce when I eat out. I'll crush an entire basket or more by myself which is usually around 400-500 calories. Yeah, I probably drink a bit too much but my liver's good and it's still on the high side of average intake and I still count the calories. I'm pretty steady at 140 lbs but I'm not super lanky. I've thought about protein supplements but honestly, I don't think I really want any "bulk" muscle as I'm happy with lean.

Currently Playing: Dark Cloud 2: 3 hours.
Also Playing: CT, FF VI, Solatorobo, Secret of Mana, Halo 4.
Just Finished: Fable II: 7 hours.

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02.05.2013 10:02pm

Kellios
Yikes and away!

Funny, I've been meaning to make this sort of thread myself. If I recall there's a number of us trying to lose/gain weight, and had wanted to start an encouraging thread. Here we are!

Been going the, "no carb, high fats, moderate protein" route for the last couple weeks, and I'm finding it's really, really working well for me. Loving what I eat, not finding I miss carbs, and generally feel a lot more full throughout the day, which previously was a problem for me. Starving at 5pm when I only had lunch a few hours earlier and wasn't leaving work anytime soon got very old after awhile. Now I'm finding I'm making it through the day, and still losing weight.

For the gym, I had been using free weights, but had tweaked something in my knee, likely due to poor form =( But looking to soon get back to it - otherwise I'm on the elliptical (again, for knee reasons), and hoping to get some flexibility back so I can start free weights again.

I still have a lot to lose before I'm comfortable, but I'm still over 30lbs lighter than I even was a few years ago, so knowing that helps. Slowly but surely.

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02.05.2013 10:41pm

Fuuko Sakurada
Momoia =D

Crono said:
I've been running 3-5 miles 2-3 times a week for the past 9 years although I'm not always hiting it that frequently; sometimes once a week (more often in winter) and sometimes every day (early May/June generally). I've had knee issues for the past 6 months though so I've been doing more on eliptical and bikes at the gym but I still run every third or so trip.

I'm happy you shared that. I used to do 20 minutes of jogging every day at home from February to May in 2011 and lost 30lbs when I started to have feet problems and then I stopped. I thought it was just me, but I got that from a couple of people that used to do the same as well. I got advised to do eliptical as an alternative, so I had to comment on your story =P I'll be doing eliptical then, I guess!

I love food, so stopping to eat is not an option for me =D I don't really eat that much fast food and I don't drink soda, so all I can really do is try to cut back on the intake and exercise instead of doing nothing ...jogging for 20 minutes a day's worked for me in the past + eating normally, so I will start working out again soon once I buy my machine ...

Hate going to the gym because there isn't really any nearby, so it's not motivating. I prefer working out outside or at home

BoA*

Best of Asia * since 2000

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02.05.2013 10:42pm

Sam Biscuits
Custard Creams

I quite smoking nearly a year ago and after six months of putting on weight I decided enough was enough.

Me and my wife decided no amount of dieting was not going to be sustainable long term so we now just reduce our portion sizes and try not to eat anything too fattening but without going too far. We also try whenever possible to cook food usig books we got for Christmas, it seems to be working.

Workout wise I now try and run 10 kilometres a day during the week, followed by weights. I've got my 10 K time down to 46 minutes, and am working towards getting under 45 minutes. I'll usually do weights after a run, nothing major, just upper body. Other than that I try and get a couple of games of squash in through the week and play footbal when I can (European football).

I've been trainging pretty hard for 3 months and now only have a stoneto lose to hit my target weight. Problem is this last stone will be harder to shift than the rest. I've already reduced my alcohol intake a lot but don't really want to start living like a vegan or anything.

Anyone got any tips on how I can lose this last stone?

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02.05.2013 10:46pm

Kellios
Yikes and away!

Drink lots and lots and lots of water. When you've done that, drink more. And cut out whatever sweets/sugary things you might be ingesting. I'm not sure how saturated your food is with sugar like how it is in the US, but that should be a good start if you don't do these things already.

The greatest subsitute for soda that I've found too has been seltzer. All the bubblies without the crap. That has single handedly made doing this a lot easier.

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02.05.2013 11:00pm

CaButler
Winter Knight of the Unseelie Court

I basically go to the gym three times a week, doing various different exercises during those weeks. When I have the cash I try to get a personal trainer session in to try and add to the routine.

The results are mixed, but if I end up gaining weight, it's an extremely slow gain.

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02.05.2013 11:01pm

Thread Creator

Crono
Crono can cross dimensions too!

Sam Biscuits said:
Anyone got any tips on how I can lose this last stone?

Cut out salty foods? That can help get rid of a few extra pounds but besides that you may have to go uber-hard on the diet and cut down to 1200 calories a day high in protein and keep up your workout routine. if you're BMI is in the healthy zone. It's insanely difficult but people do it but sometimes if your goal is the RIGHT goal for you it ends up being a requirement because our boddies aren't JUST calories in minus calories out = weight gain/loss. In theory 100 calories less than what your body needs in a day over 35 days nets you a one pound loss but traditionally it's not true at all. People who have diets high in sugars and low in natural fats tend to have a harder time losing weight because those sugars tell your body to keep holding onto fat for whatever reason I forget.

So yeah, if you're capable try a fairly low calorie intake along with exercise... just don't try and maintain it for more than a couple weeks.

Fuuko: If you're able to, try out a few different elipticals. They can be RADICALLY different from model to model in how it makes you move. There are ones that I absolutely hate and absolutely love. Low impact really is the way to go (but crank up that resistance!) and I wish I didn't love running so much because it's just not good for your feet, knees, and ankles if you do it a ton for decades.

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02.05.2013 11:50pm

Mavilu
Yep, still gaming

Years of being enthusiastically fit have left me with an impinged shoulder, a picky rotator cuff, two knees with patellar problems, a spastic upper back and sciatica (that last one, courtesy of yoga!) so exercise is tricky now a days, fortunately, once you put on muscle, if you lose it, it comes right back, so I maintain myself fairly in shape, even if I'm not nearly as regular an exerciser as I would like to be.
Still, I manage to lift two sets of ten pounds for most muscles and do three sets of crunches.
I've also switched to walking and I play my videogames standing and walking in place when I can (some games will make me nauseous if I play them while moving, Portal and the Katamari games are big no-nos); I used to bike, but that's out of the question anymore, so is running, so I'll take what I can get.

I used to eat fairly healthy on my own, but once I got married and per my husband's request, I used to cook with a lot of cream, cheese, etc. now that he is diabetic, he can't afford to eat that way any longer, so, except for the odd day or so, we eat small portions of just about everything, unless it's too fatty, because even when eaten in small portions, fatty foods have a lot of calories, and almost no sweets; he has lost a ton of weight, me not so much, but I'm definitely a size smaller and feeling much better.

If there is one thing (okay, make it two or three) that I would tell you all is:
a) learn how to cook from scratch (no cans, boxes or flavor packages and so on) and do so every day or at least six days a week
b) eat regularly, you don't need to eat every two hours, every four or five is fine, but do so, so your body can manage it's insulin well
c) do pay extreme attention to form at all times when you exercise, you kinda assume that exercise is nothing but good for you, but over-use or miss-use that one muscle or that one joint and you'll be sorry for the rest of your life.

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02.06.2013 12:31am

(Edited on 02.06.2013 at 12:39am)

Spidey
So Sigh Ety

I go on a long hike every two weeks, about 10-15 miles in total through ranges of 1000 to 2500 ft of elevation gains. I also go to the gym 3 times a week and hit the weights for about 45 minutes, plus 30 minutes of cardio. For awhile I was actually going on 10 mile hikes twice a week, but I've been too busy to have the time, I plan to get back into that. And hey, I climb 6 flights of stairs once a day since I usually don't take the elevator at work. Haha.

Last year I was keeping up either basketball or soccer twice a week as well. I eat really healthy though - I eat loads of spinach, onions, bell peppers, tomatoes, avocados, bananas, apples, cilantro, cucumbers, with helpings of pure orange juice and lemonade, and such almost everyday. I tend to eat only chicken and fish when it comes to meat, but once every 7-10 days i'll have beef, and I never have pork.

I do think i need a little bit more cardio type of exercise.

Actually, I forgot to mention about once a week I go dancing at trance/EDM concerts. You would think it's not exercise but that is straight up 5 nonstop hours of pure cardio. I did some calculations and it's the equivalent of going 60,000 steps on a pedometer. A 45 minute rough swim workout gives you about 60K so it's pretty good.

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02.06.2013 12:31am

Som
Genitals are Funny

After being stupidlly fit for a large portion of my life, i just don't care anymore. These days my exercise consists of taking the bins to the road once a week, and getting the mail sometimes.

it's actually more work than it sounds, i have a long driveway :P

For me now, eating and doing what i want when i want outweighs the benefits of working out.

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02.06.2013 12:51am

Vyers
Dark Adonis

Funny this topic would come up now...

So around November 2011 I noticed I had put on a considerable amount of weight and decided to try losing it.

About 3/4 years ago, I had something similar happen, and decided to lose the weight via hardcore gym and exercise. That worked out pretty well, and I was actually pretty buff for a brief period of time. That all fell apart though when going to the gym bored me to the point that I stopped going, and unsurprisingly put all the weight back on (and then some).

So THIS time around I decided to take the exact opposite approach: Rather than focusing on exercise and fitness, I would completely ignore it, and instead focus on diet and eating habits.

I looked up some diets online, but ultimately dismissed them all as bollocks because they didn't adequately explain (in my opinion) the reasons behind WHY various diets were good.

To put a nerd spin on it: How do you expect me to play the game, without understanding the rules?

So instead I decided to come up with my own diet, after reading a few scientific research papers on food/drink and nutrition. I didn't understand everything I read, but I felt like I got a good grasp of the fundamentals.

I've been on my diet now for about 14 months, and haven't weighed myself since before I started. I knew the progress would be slow, so I didn't see the point in constantly checking up on it.

Last week I decided it was finally time to do it, and weighed myself in Wii Fit (since it has a record of what I weighed pre-diet).

So the results are in, over 14 months I have lost:

2.5 stone (16kg OR 35lbs 4oz)

Job done I reckon (the before and after pictures I've come across are pretty hilarious)

Now I suppose I should start exercising, haha.

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02.06.2013 1:30am

Southern Comfort
silently judging all of you

I stay in shape* by eating whatever I want and never, ever exercising.

* "the shape" is round.

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02.06.2013 2:24am

Indiana Jerico
Sinfully Delicious v2
Administrator

I try to go to the gym 2~3 times a week. This year, I've been trying to get back into cardio every gym day so I make it a point to do 3+ km. As for weights, I try to evenly distribute on arms, chest, shoulders and (to a lesser extent) feet. Pulldowns, abs, etc. 20~30 lb for free weight dumbbells at 15 reps for 3 sets for the arms, 80~100 lbs for chests and back, 70~100 lbs for feet.

Diet-wise, I've stopped drinking soda like a couple of years ago so I mainly drink water. I used to watch what I eat but now, I don't anymore although I do skip meals. Overall the diet part of my workout is shot to hell. :))

Due to laziness though, my body shaping is going excruciatingly slow. Never mind the fact that the gym is, like, 45 minutes' trip from where I am. :/

===

"Plans? What plans? I'm making this up as I go!"

d e v i a t i o n �?� i m a g i n a t i o n

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02.06.2013 3:36am

Thread Creator

Crono
Crono can cross dimensions too!

I don't even like my gym that much (Planet Fitness) but it's a half a mile from my house (not exagerating) and ten bucks a month... who can freaking argue with that? If I lived 30 minutes from a gym I'd be hard pressed to go workout too.

One thing I really want to get back into is tennis. I played was captain of my team in high school but after that I stopped playing for the most part. There were stints in college where I'd get a match going once a week but it never lasted more than 2 months at a time. After college I've probably played... less than 15 matches since then. I really do miss it but not having anyone around at my skill level (not great but not casual) sucks hard. Oh man, I really miss the suicide drills too; so fun!

Spidey: I wish I had people to hike with like that! Everytime I go on one with a group it's a bunch of people who think they can make it at least 8 miles but 3 miles in with almost no elevation change everyone wants to turn around; lame! I went to the Grand Canyon with the woman last year and we made it about 1.5-2 miles down before she said she wouldn't make the return trip... granted SHE was having knee issues at the time so I can't give her shit but still . :(

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02.06.2013 3:44am

Megz
Capital M before egz

Once I lost my job last year I took to taking long walks in the hills around here for a few hours at a time. Now fitness trainign has started up for Hockey which is a total of nearly 4kms running + shuttles + 100 sit ups and 100 push ups. I have very very little upper body strength so the push ups are a real killer. I'm enjoying the buzz after fitness training which is nice. I'm also playing summer hockey as well on Thursdays.

Otherwise I'm fairly sedate. I'm looking at changing my diet a bit, but my flat mate eats like shit and remains tiny (bastard) so I'll have to tough it out and see how it goes. All of this was a result of those damn evil scales telling me I was almost 100kg! I just about shat bricks.

Sugar. Short AND sweet.

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