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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'm the first person to post on this thread? I thought that all the new years resolutions would spur more activity!
I now have six days until the half marathon (target time 2:00:00, target pace 9:09 per mile). I'm happy to have started the tapering phase of my 12-week training plan! I'm going to enjoy all the extra time it affords me this week. I'm hopeful that my cranky calves, who have complained at every step down the stairs for the last three months, will finally be pacified. At least until the race.
The final hard training run was yesterday--a 10k time trial (53:20, 8:35 pace). I have been recovering from walking pneumonia since Christmas, and my body's response to the trial makes me think I'm recovered. I had resigned myself to not making my target, but given how smoothly the time trial went, I think I'm going to go for it!
Woooo! Good luck and congrats on the progress!! Fingers crossed the walking pneumonia has handled itself but be easy on yourself, health is a marathon not a sprint! Please let us know how it goes, we'll be cheering for you!!!
Thank you, and thanks for your concern. Walking pneumonia hasn't been too bad, other than the first day or two. The lingering mucus overdrive caused some messy (but fortunately solo) runs. I was happy to find I could keep to the training schedule, though with slower times. I've definitely been taking it a bit easier. For the race, I'm going try to keep a 9:05 pace for as long as I can. And if it feels easy even after 9 miles, I don't have any real desire to push any faster. I'm looking forward to having a fun and not-too-stressful race!
I finally hit 184.5lbs yesterday, which means I've officially kissed the Normal BMI range. That's down from 250+ october 2023. Its been slow because i havent really let up on a big weekly meal and it took a while to kick my alcoholism in the butt. I still have a beer on the weekends but i can now stop after 1 rather than immediately sinking into a 4-pack, or worse. All thanks to calorie tracking and feeling bad about how many pointless calories i have to add for such a short pleasure.
My bouldering abilities are at an all time high, climbing v3's mostly, when my poor back allows it. And i can run a full 10km now, dunno how anyone does more than that though cause im bored to death by that point.
I've technically hit my weight goal that i set when i started but im kind of in the mood to see how far i can take this. Ive never had abs, but i think i might try to develop mine just cause of the yolo mentality, and to be able to say that i had abs once. So the journey continues.
Edit: oct 2023 i started, completely forgot it was 2025
Boredom is a problem. For the 1/2 Marathon training plan I'm using, it's rare for training runs to be a single monotonous pace. I've never done a properly structured plan like this, and it makes running long distances less boring (but unfortunately, it makes it more about torture tolerance).
In addition, since I found music doesn't help me at all (instead of making the run less torturous, it makes me associate whatever I'm listening to with torture), my normal method of coping is to count my breaths. For most paces, 100 breaths equals about a quarter of a mile. So I'm constantly calculating how many breaths I have left. It's kind of meditative, and it also helps relieve the sense of endless running. But bottom line--I totally understand why people think long-distance running is boring.
Congratulations on the big weight drop! I hope you don't focus too much on BMI, as it's an abused statistic.
Wow that is one heck of a structured plan. I think for the most part, i use running and swimming as fill-ins for days where i cant go climbing so im not super serious about it but i guess a plan like this does really jumble up your routine, which would be good.
Counting breaths sounds useful, i pick random markers ahead of me and try to guess how long it'll take me to get there and then try to beat my guess. Though i feel like sometimes that creates an inconsistent pace, your meditative method is likely more reliable, and useful.
Thank you! i am not really focusing on bmi, It was just an unlikely goal i set at the start.
Huge congrats!!!!! Those are all amazing health achievements!
I know @rsl12 addressed it as well, but I have a different take. I usually run with music - consistent, high tempo music that matches my pace - usually trap or Sleigh Bell's first album Treats. Honestly, I'm not really a fan of trap outside of running but the high pace works really well. Having a mile long ramp up at a slower pace helps to ease in first which is why the running playlist starts with this song. Once I'm about a mile or mile and a half in I'm usually in an endorphin high and can pretty much fully zone out. From there on it's kind of blissed out zen time. My body is dumping endorphins into my brain, my legs and breathing are being paced by the music, and I'm just free to pass through random thoughts. It's the closest thing I have to meditation and can be the absolute highlight of my day. I don't know if this a uniquely personal experience, but I think if you could shift from boredom into more of a meditative state it'll encourage more running. I look forward to going and it keeps running longer. I'm sure that all sounds quite "woowoo" and I agree, but it works really well for me.
Good luck continuing with the journey and congrats again!
I definitely get it, i think that's the beauty of finding an exercise that gels with you really well. It does become a meditative experience and something to look forward to. Not sure if i have to beat my brain into submission for running or itll just naturally figure it out but i just have to try stuff and see what sticks so I appreciate the song recs.
Also, thanks!
I've been incorporating a silly walk into my daily habits, in the privacy of my home, and I'm sure it'll only last a couple days max, but it's good exercise lol
It's the cartoon character walk where they confidently swing their elbows forward and take exaggerated steps, almost like I'm doing lunges
Are you developing your own silly walk or using an existing, off the shelf one? Haha that seems fun, and like a good daily stretch in general if you sit at a desk all day long.
Lol, since you asked, it happened because we took down the VR over the holidays, because we had guests. I was too lazy to get that all back where it was, for my VR exercise, so I decided to do some squats, which turned into lunges, when I needed to walk to the kitchen. And history was made
I'm glad your own fitness journey is going really well, and it's a whole other level of serious compared to mine, by the looks of it! Great work on that, keep it up!
Ahhh VR, i miss racing so much. Had to sell mine last year to help cover a big expense :( hope you get it back together soon! (And continue the silly walks)
Thanks, it didnt start this serious but once the ball started rolling its kind of been counter intuitive to try to stop it.
A previous employer offered an enormous discount on a Tonal home gym. While I prefer cycling, I desperately need more strength training; muscles burn more calories than fat (and god damn do I need to lose weight) and, at 51, more muscle means reduced chance of accidental injury.
I started a regimen of 3x a week upper body + core workouts. Only 2 in but so far so good. Wish me luck!
I'm considering adding a (boring....) stationary recumbent bike routine for off days. I don't want to find myself in Spring having to rebuild my legs after all of the hard work last Fall! At least I can set it in front of the TV. Years ago, I used to prefer coding on a laptop while cycling; at least it was more distracting/engaging!