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Fitness Weekly Discussion
What have you been doing lately for your own fitness? Try out any new programs or exercises? Have any questions for others about your training? Want to vent about poor behavior in the gym? Started a new diet or have a new recipe you want to share? Anything else health and wellness related?
I've been walking maybe 1.5 miles a day for about a month now. I'm pretty bad at sticking with exercise routines but I've been able to stick with this one since I can just put on some music and zone out. It is also a much lower barrier of entry compared to going to a gym.
Any recommendations of simple routines I can add in to improve my overall health?
Great job being consistent! I think finding stuff that is enjoyable/tolerable enough to consistently do on a regular basis is half the battle. What worked for me is trying different things and finding what I liked.
Here are some low cost, low/no equipment needed things to try:
I've never tried Yoga before! I'll check out the YouTube channel you linked.
I think I am similar to you. I struggle to stick to fitness routines but found success walking my dogs while listening to music/podcasts and zoning out.
Full disclosure: I work for Peloton so I am biased.
The other thing I am doing recently I really love is the Peloton Gym feature in the Peloton app. It builds together a workout routine for you to follow and has videos of each move if you don't know how to do it. I have some basic weights so I have been doing those workouts while listening to music and zoning out. There is a free tier, so you can use it without paying anything and it just limits access. No ads or anything like that.
Apologies if that sounds too sales-y. It has been working for me and I have been digging it recently.
Gained about 20 pounds since covid like many other users here. I started using noom to lose weight a month ago and have lost 7 pounds since then with diet alone, but I'm starting to add exercise into the mix as well. My girlfriend, dog, and I have been following the garmin coach 5k training plan and loving it so far. My dog is much better behaved too.
I want to get back into things. A decade ago, I would run three miles three days a week and ten miles two days a week. A few years ago at the start of COVID, I became a single father to a three-year-old and a five-year-old, which made me put fitness on the backburner and I've gained a lot of weight since then. Now that I feel like I'm in control of my life again, I intend to start running again and going to the gym near my home. I'll start on my treadmill for the next month or so and then work my way up.
With that said, my kids have also started asking if they can go on the treadmill too, which I'm excited for, especially for my daughter. Her mother's family has a history of mental health issues around body perception, so I want her to know that she's incredible no matter how she looks, but also that there's nothing wrong with caring about your body's physical health.
My kids are similar ages to yours and the oldest just started asking if she can run with me. I go for my run and then we go around the block together after. It’s so nice! I don’t normally like running with other people but I’m keen to get her excited about exercise and find something she likes.
Well done to both of us for modelling healthy habits for our children and seeing that come fo fruition. A great feeling!
Fitness wise things have been going really well for me lately. I started off the year at 205lbs and I'm currently at 188. Slow going but I've been doing lots of weight lifting and only eating at a slight deficit to minimise muscle loss.
I've been doing PPL 2-3 times a week, 5k 1-2 times a week and having a blast. Every time I do weights I really push myself and try to put a little more weight on.
My whole life I've been skinny fat, but I've finally noticed that my body is starting to change. I'm about 3-4 months into taking the gym seriously now and my arms actually have muscle contour for the first time ever.
My goal is to get down to 175ish and then in September I'm planning to bulk up and elevate my lifts.
I recently completed a 7km race and immediately signed up for a 10km in mid-September. It’s great to have a goal, but I started with couch to 5k, then went straight to training for the 7k and now I’m straight into training for the 10K. This means that because I’m always trying to push myself further, I have still never got to a point where my runs feel easier - I’m really looking forward to that after September!
I cycle competitively (not particularly well, but I do it), and I recently decided to take some downtime between more important events (I have about 6 weeks) to start lifting again and it's so amusing to me how little different fitness disciplines carry over to others.
I haven't done any weight training since March and it's like I got hit by a truck all over again for the first week. Incredibly glad I forced myself to get over this hump though.
It might have to do with the endorphins as well. If I run/cycle I get a phenomenal high and time kind of slips by. My thoughts just bounce around in my head and I'm content. Walking, well I feel the same way as you. I'm not getting my dopamine hit so there isn't anything to keep me going. That's my thought anyway.
Up until 2 years ago I was a competitive powerlifter. Finished grad school, had to grind for a couple years to earn my cred in corporate America, got into to a serious relationship. That all kept me out of the gym and the weight climbed back up.
Now that I’m in a more stable place I’m back under the barbell. Primary goal right now is to cut some of this weight and hit my old PRs again. It’s going pretty well, the habit is established now after a month.
I'm felt pain in my right knee when squatting 93kg (205 lbs?) two weeks ago. The pain is in the inner lower part right when I reach parallel.
Bodyweight is fine, but when I squat 50+kg it comes back.
I'm going to stop and focus on single leg squatting for some time with lower weights for one or two months to see if it goes away.
Pain from squats. The story of my life for the past 10 years or so. Although I feel like I've finally honed my form pretty well, I still occasionally do something dumb and end up with sore knees or sore back and I'm planning to seek out a professional coach for some focused sessions. One thing I've learned for certain is to not push yourself back into lifting too fast -- it can make an injury persist a lot longer.
For your single leg squats, are you talking about pistol squats? I'm looking for alternatives to diversify away from squats a bit. Knee extension machines hurt my knees, but I do like dumbbell lunges and dumbbell step-ups.
Good luck recovering!
No. I'm talking more about bulgarian split squats, lunges or step ups.
I want big quads and when I do pistols the main focus for me is not falling instead of overloading.
Recently bought a dip belt so at least I can hang some plates and squat for high reps without using my lower back.
I am almost 37 and never really had problems with squats. This is new. Let's hope it's temporary.
Thanks!
Currently eating a high fruits-veggie diet while attempting to control my insulin without medication. I've also planned to go to the gym MWF and walk TR; so far I have done that!
I lost weight in 2019 but gained it back during COVID. Thankfully, I didn't go higher than when I lost weight, but I'm ready to lose weight and take control of my health again. I'm hoping this food change + exercise will help.
Getting back into cycling. Started with the commute. It's so good. I actually enjoy my commute which is a novel feeling.
I've been doing at-home resistance training for the past 1.5 years along with 3x a week running. A gym is opening up .5 miles away soon, so thinking about checking it out!
I've started a new routine that I think I like more
Every day I'll do 20 minutes of Tabata on the bike in the morning
Every other day I'll use my lunch break to do PPL, just got a new flat bench for the garage gym so I'm excited to start that.
Prior to this I was just doing random bike rides and starting strength but SS really fucked me up, your weight increases so fast and I didn't notice how bad my form was getting until I couldn't walk anymore.
PPL has been great though so far!
Question for any runners here -- how much, and when, did your pace slow down as you got older?
I'm approaching my mid 30s, running 1-2x a week, generally 5K at a time. My pace has been gradually slowing since my late 20s, but it's always been a gentle thing, and one I could sometimes work past. Like, when I was 27 I could run a 5K in ~24-25 minutes; as of last year it was closer to ~26-27 minutes.
In the past 6 months, though, my pace has slowed more suddenly than ever before. I often have to walk for a minute or two after 20 minutes, and even if I push all the way through my pace has slowed down to a ~28-29 minute 5K. I tried to do what I'd done in the past and increase my running frequency for a few weeks to push through it but I swear I just can't. I'm not huffing and puffing, my heart isn't racing, the issue is I'm just TIRED after 20 minutes.
Obviously this isn't catastrophic; I shouldn't be too worried about "only" running a 9 minute mile instead of the 8:30 I ran 6 months ago. But damn, this is the most extreme regression I've gone through, and I'm really curious whether this is a typical thing.