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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 made it through August without missing a single workout, which is a big deal for me. Last year I tried getting into running, but eventually stopped. It was mostly boring and I overdid it a few times leading to joint pain. But at the start of last month I cobbled together a beginner-friendly four day per week strength training plan and have stuck with it, and actually look forward to it now. The weather has been super nice for me recently, so I've done a few casual bike rides on my rest days so that I still get some cardio. But I don't see myself running again anytime soon.
Been feeling bad since I haven't done any kind of deliberate exercise for several months (I got diagnosed with crohn's disease back in April and haven't had the energy or been feeling motivated enough to keep up my regular routines). I'm feeling better lately and decided to ease myself back into it with a 1 mile run yesterday morning. I forgot how sore it was possible for my calves to get, I can barely walk today. But it's the kind of soreness that actually feels good, compared to how I would feel if I had decided to continue wallowing in apathy instead.
No matter how often you or I might have exercised before, it's easy to take for granted how much good exercise does for your mental health. Keep it up!
(And careful not to get back into it too fast. I somehow acquired tendinitis from getting back into squatting too quickly. YMMV of course)
Got some comments from some friends that the losses have been notable enough to comment on. I swear my calves have gotten much bigger too. Mostly just hours of pickleball at this point per week even as a big dude (scale is currently dead batteries but last check is a 30lb from ~/max, probably 270 currently) I've frightened a few people with my ability to move quickly and just be a presence on the court.
I've been on weight loss medications for about three weeks and it's been... a lot. I'm not on GLP agonists, I'm on the old stuff, phentermine and topiramate. I'm finding it to be very effective so far, in fact perhaps too effective. My doctor has me calorie counting and they gave me an 1800 calorie target which seemed very small given my activity levels and my size. But in spite of taking half of a pill, I am finding it hard to reach that goal and I've lost over 10 pounds already. Probably more, I haven't checked in a few days.
On the other hand, I've been to the gym exactly once since I started, and I didn't have a good time then. I had little energy and my muscles burned for what I did. I haven't been because I have been feeling very low energy and that's because I've been simultaneously been trying to wrangle with my sleep apnea problem again. The doctor who put me on the weight loss medication said to talk to the sleep doctors again because they might have an alternative, and talking to said sleep doctor literally made me have an emotional breakdown because no, there is no alternative, so now I'm back using a machine that is literally strangling me with my own phlegm every night and waking up with headaches from having terrible sleep that is worse than when I just try to sleep unimpeded.
So basically I have been making a ton of progress on weight but no progress on actual fitness and probably actually negative fitness since I'm basically completely sedate now. My apple watch didn't even log 12 hours of standing today. I'm really frustrated so I am considering asking the doctor to discontinue the medications.
Got a 37-second (Strava/Garmin) PR running in a one mile road race (I never race distances shorter than 5K so I never go all out for one mile). Finally broke 6 minutes; I think my prior race times predicted ~6:20. So I guess that just means I'm a little baby who isn't capable of pushing myself over longer distances because this time predicts a sub-20 min 5k and my PR is well over 21 minutes. So I'm proud but also feel like I caught myself in a lie...