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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 hit a small milestone of doing a 185 lb front squat today for the first time. It was nerve racking walking up to the bar but felt so good afterwards. Next milestone is 225 and that'll be fun once I get there.
Hi guys! Been a wild bit since I posted. Have slown down a smidge on working out but getting back to it. I went to Rollercon at the beginning of July and pretty much skated all day for 3 days straight. It was packed with fun and rolling around and was super fun.
In the couple of weeks since then, I've been going to derby practice and skating a little bit in my free time. I'm really trying to focus on my balance, as that impacts my ability to do different skating skills well. It is unfortunately the thing I've always had the most trouble with so it's a journey lmao. I will say that I am very good at saving my ass from falling, so good recovery is nice!
I would really like to pick up swimming again, I just am not in a great place with close access to a pool open early or late enough for me to swim laps. I might try early birding my apartment pool. It's not super long but it'd be something. I think it'd be helpful for my knees.
Speaking of knees, definitely need to get them checked out by my doctor... Which I need a new one lol. They get ridiculously sore after working out and doing pylos so I'm making sure to brace them and be pretty gentle but idk and won't know until I see a doctor (no advice needed on this bit, I'm just bitching).
It's great to see my progress over the past several months and I'm excited to see how far I've come, trepidatious about how far I think I need to go, and struggling to focus on the here and now. Because truly I'm doing the thing! I am trying to become an athlete and a good skater and I'm doing the things to achieve that it just takes time.
Since last week, been walking at least 10,000 steps a day, which is a bunch of km, if not more. How long until one feels or looks any different. I know it's early etc but as someone never used to being outside or doing any exercising, I'm bored already
Edit: oh yes, advice welcome! Please and thank yous
What are your goals with the increased activity?
Depending on your stride length and whether you are taking more smaller steps or fewer larger ones, 10k might be as much as 7km. Unlikely to be more unless you have a fairly long stride and routinely take larger steps s more casual walking.
Just recorded my after lunch walk, 3000 steps and 2.5km, so about daily 7km just from what I bothered to tracked last week. Big difference between being in a walkable city vs sitting at my desk job in a rural setting.
My goal is to drop some pounds and to look a little smaller. Better health is a side perk but I'm honest with myself that I'm more vain than health conscious. But I am limiting snacks and eating much smaller portions and drinking a ton more water.
The biggest problem is how boring I find exercising. Nothing hurts and the walk itself is pleasant enough but it's mind numbing. I have a hard enough time sustaining activities I enjoy over time, I don't know how much long i can keep pushing myself to go outside.
My recommendation is to try and make the change as sustainable as possible so you can sustain over time. There are ways to accelerate, but they often put people off keeping it up.
First, address the boredom. Do you like audio books, podcasts, etc? For a while I only let myself listen to them when while exercising. That gives you some entertainment, and if you get hooked on a story you will find yourself going on a walk just to listen to it.
Depending on what you like there is also music, or interactively using your phone. It might decrease your intensity, which you want to keep a little on the brisker side to get something out of your time, but especially if you don't have much to navigate you can play mobile games, watch videos, etc. I wrote the first draft of my thesis on my phone while walking and then cleaned it up at a computer. You could also use an app like Merlin to identify the birds around you, or Google lens to identify plants if you are in that sorry of environment and interested.
Also, a health watch that gamifies walking might help. Whatever you do, find a way to make walking not something you dread.
Simple tips to help you accelerate your progress that don't involve major effort would be try and start your day with a walk before eating any calories. Fasting exercise will give a little extra emphasis for your body to burn fat. Also, walking after eating simple carbs can help your body manage your blood sugar and burn up some of it before it gets stopped as glycogen or fat. That said,
You lose weight at the table, so never eat more because you did your walking. If you need to, build a fun diet and make sure you know how many calories you are really eating. Unless you've spent time counting there are lots of caloric surprises out there, some of them good.
Hope that helps a little.
I like the idea of going for (even a short) walk before breakfast. Maybe go jog out to the further beach, choose a cool pebble prize or identify an organism from app. Something with more of a payoff than the activity itself. I did pretty well with Pokemon Go when I used to live in the city.
So so much unsolicited advice inbound. Take what resonates and leave the rest!
Seconding Podcasts or Audiobooks! I love riding my bike, particularly with friends, but when I'm on my own it's headphones in and Podcast on. Same with lifting weights at the gym.
The other is are there any interesting trails or county parks by you. Running suburban streets does my head in but I find trail running enjoyable and regenerative for my social battery. I live a bit in the country as well and there are some nice wildlife areas within a 20 minute drive. Maybe there are some near you?
Also, maybe try ramping up intensity. Instead of walking, try a light jog. Get to the point where you can still have a conversation but with an elevated heart rate. Often that is when your brain will start dumping endorphins and it's the ideal pace for burning fat.
Another option is to do more activities that you do enjoy. Do you like any sports? There are often pickup games in town (though I know you're further out in the country so it may be harder to find).
Last thought is that while losing weight will make you smaller, often exercise will "rearrange" your body to prioritize muscle in the target areas you use. I swim a lot so it broadens out my shoulders and back because thats the main muscle group I use. Without diet change I don't lose weight, but I'm happier with how I'm proportioned.
My last, last, last thought is that brains are so complex when it comes to rewards from exercise. I have ADHD and I went on Vyvanse for about a week before stopping, specifically because of how it changed my relationship with exercise. The starkest difference I felt was the utter lack of endorphins from exercise. Usually I'm a junkie for exercise - I come home happier, more energized, etc - but on the medication my positive benefits from exercise were gone. It gave me the insight that not everyone gets the same outcome from movement and that without that endorphin rush, it would be very hard to self motivate to exercise. So I'd give yourself some patience if you're feeling bored.
Oops. I moved to be right next to hundreds of acres of crown land with different biomes along a (admittedly not super well maintained) seaside trail.... I need to make better use of it.
I saw an old r/ADHD women thread that specifically mentions the difficulty. So, I guess I have to beat myself up less ("why is it so boring when people get runners high?"), like you said, be patient, prep music, and bit more intensity. I can firmly report I have never ever once experienced endorphin rush from exercise: years of school PE were straight torture, and even fun sports I have never felt regret at stopping and going home. Something else is different other than just because I'm lazy.