Exercise and Fitness - Olympic spirit!

[Eponine]

I find it easier to say - I can run to the next curve, I can run to that tree, etc. then to be trying to look at my watch over and over again.

[Arch-MaesterPhilip]

14 minutes ago, Eponine said:

I find it easier to say - I can run to the next curve, I can run to that tree, etc. then to be trying to look at my watch over and over again.

I use street lamps or garbage cans for that. 

[Targarien21]

I'm very proud of myself because I started to practise a cool and veryy effective for the body type of yoga and I still continue to do this For me it's a very great achievement, considering how I hated any physical exercises for the most of my life!

[baxus]

17 hours ago, Arch-MaesterPhilip said:

That's all good to know but I have time to figure out how I'm going to qualify. I can't run more than a half mile without feeling like death. 

Take it easy at first. Don't focus too much on distances and paces, just try to form a habit of running regularly.

As time goes by, you'll definitely see results and improvements. Just stick with it, even when it seems like it's going extremely slow.

15 hours ago, 3CityApache said:

It'll get better soon if you are consistent and run regularly, don't worry. I admire your attitude anyway. I run regularly for 1,5 years now and I'm still not sure if I'm ever able to run a marathon. But I do plan to run my first official half-marathon some early next year. But before that I need to run half-marathon distance during training at least couple of times more (I've managed to do it twice so far). And perhaps I could achieve my goal of breaking 50 minutes for 10k before that as well.

If it works for you, knock yourself out but actually you don't need to run a half-marathon distance in training to prepare for the race.

For example, marathon runners very rarely exceed 32km (20 miles) distance in training.

14 hours ago, Arch-MaesterPhilip said:

Thank you, I'm running three days a week now. I might take things up a notch to five. Right now I'm just focusing on trying to run for more than five minutes at a time. I've been nagging friends to join me, I feel like with a second person it will be easier to push myself . Yesterday I was able to do 2.8 miles in 42 minutes but a sizable chunk of that was walking. 

I would recommend against doing it 5 times a week and sticking with 3 times a week. Later on, you could go for 4 but not for at least 3 more months.

Adding a training buddy could prove to be a great idea, but it could be more trouble than it's worth. It depends on the other person and their schedule and/or commitment and your ability to sync your training schedule with other stuff going on in your lives.

You should definitely think carefully before deciding for it or against it.

14 hours ago, Arch-MaesterPhilip said:

Also I'm taking recommendations for my playlist .  

I could never run with headphones in my ears. It's not limited to running, I can't ride a bike or snowboard or do any other outdoor sports while listening to music. I guess it has something to do with being less aware of my surroundings.

8 hours ago, Targarien21 said:

I'm very proud of myself because I started to practise a cool and veryy effective for the body type of yoga and I still continue to do this For me it's a very great achievement, considering how I hated any physical exercises for the most of my life!

Congrats on finding what suits you. 

[3CityApache]

2 hours ago, baxus said:

If it works for you, knock yourself out but actually you don't need to run a half-marathon distance in training to prepare for the race.

For example, marathon runners very rarely exceed 32km (20 miles) distance in training.

I know I don't. I think I just needed to prove myself I'm capable of doing it. And then also capable of improving the result. If I'm able to improve it couple of times more before the actual race, I'd be cartain I'm going to finish it within the satisfying time range.

[baxus]

The race is a whole different experience than training. A crowd of runners running alongside you, streets being closed off, people cheering on from the sidelines, the adrenaline rush... You're all but certain to improve on your result from training.

As I said, if it works for you, keep doing it.

[3CityApache]

1 hour ago, baxus said:

The race is a whole different experience than training. 

I know, I have finished more than ten 5k and 10k races after all. And I always worked that way: I wanted to run the whole distance during training at least few times before actually running a race. It just makes me more confident.

[Eponine]

7 hours ago, baxus said:

Adding a training buddy could prove to be a great idea, but it could be more trouble than it's worth. It depends on the other person and their schedule and/or commitment and your ability to sync your training schedule with other stuff going on in your lives.

Most areas have free group runs at a set time and place, so you don't have to constantly be working out a schedule that works for multiple people. Check the local running shoe store and Meetup. 

[Iskaral Pust]

I swam late last night, a nice break from the election noise.  Now on a flight to another city and another hotel.  I don't know if this one has a pool too 

[Sivin]

Hey everybody, got a quick question and I apologize if it's the wrong place.

I intend to have broken free of the sedentary lifestyle previously made unavoidable by my current job (with my own failures compounding the issue) by January, and I will be healthy again. 

My question has less to do with diet or exercise, things I am relatively familiar with in a past life, and more to do with occupying my hands. 

I feel compelled to eat when I read or watch television or am at rest. I think it is a manifestation of restlessness and I want to replace eating with another activity. I do not smoke since I left the army, and doing so now puts me at unacceptable risk of health problems, nor can I turn to E cigarettes for the same reason.

Does anyone know an effective way to distract myself from eating when I'm bored or relaxing, I suppose is the question.

That was the weirdest and most meandering post I've ever made... I might still be in shock.

[Iskaral Pust]

1 hour ago, Sivin said:

 

I feel compelled to eat when I read or watch television or am at rest. I think it is a manifestation of restlessness and I want to replace eating with another activity. 

Does anyone know an effective way to distract myself from eating when I'm bored or relaxing, I suppose is the question.

Try a hand grip compression thingy.  They cost only a few dollars on Amazon.  It's a good way to exorcise restlessness while sitting. 

[baxus]

16 hours ago, Eponine said:

Most areas have free group runs at a set time and place, so you don't have to constantly be working out a schedule that works for multiple people. Check the local running shoe store and Meetup. 

This is a great advice. 

7 hours ago, Sivin said:

My question has less to do with diet or exercise, things I am relatively familiar with in a past life, and more to do with occupying my hands. 

I feel compelled to eat when I read or watch television or am at rest. I think it is a manifestation of restlessness and I want to replace eating with another activity. I do not smoke since I left the army, and doing so now puts me at unacceptable risk of health problems, nor can I turn to E cigarettes for the same reason.

As Isk said, you need to find a diversion, something like "a hand grip compression thingy".

Or you can try going for a walk instead of watching television or resting whenever possible. It will be beneficial to you both because of not sitting and moving outside, getting some fresh air.

Another thing, change what you eat when you read/watch TV/rest. Instead of snacks and candy, try having some fruit.

The best bet is to combine all three (and anything else that you can think of) because, let's face it, you're not going to go out for the walk when it's raining heavily nor are you going to miss that important game or that movie/show you've been waiting all week for etc.

[Iskaral Pust]

Sivin -- if you watch TV in real time with commercial breaks, try doing push-ups or pull-ups for each commercial break.  

 

I had another swim late last night.   This hotel pool was only 8-10m long, so I had to just keep flipping back and forth.  The prior hotel pool was ~15m long with proper swim lanes.  I was spoiled.  

Now on my way back home to Chicago.  I'm pretty sure I'all be too tired after this travel to do any weights until Saturday. 

[3CityApache]

Just finished The Independence Race in Malbork, in the shadow of the biggest Knights of the Cross castle in the world. This was probably the last 10k race I participated in this year, so as a matter of fact it was also the last chance to achieve my goal of breaking 50 minutes on that distance. I was hoping I could break my pb (51:14), but I didn't expect to break 50 minutes. Like, at all. But I did, and comfortably at that. I broke my 10k pb by 2 minutes 22 seconds, which means I have not only achieved my goal for the year 2016, but I also improved it by more than a minute. My new pb is 48:52 now. In the same race my wife improved her pb by more than a minute, to 45:34. It's definitely a good year for us, running wise.

[Starkess]

Traveling right now, but trying to keep active when I can. Doing the C25K still, it's frustrating and slow and doesn't feel like a workout at all, but hopefully it is helping my heels. My heels still hurt, but it's more from other things (walking, driving).

I went to my sister's gym yesterday and was excited to get a chance to use the weights (especially to have a bar for deadlifts, the one thing I can't really do at home), and I forgot my iPod. Apparently that meant I wanted random middle-aged dudes to talk to me. Ugh. I tried to be polite, but really, who wants that in the middle of their workout??

On 11/8/2016 at 3:33 AM, 3CityApache said:

I was once wondering why majority of runners improve their personal best results during official public races, not during trainings, which are much more frequent after all. And that includes also non-professional athletes. Of course there is the question of attitude or wearing race shoes instead of training ones, but these are minor things that wouldn't make such a difference. So the only answer that seems to make sense to me is the support of the spectators. It really gives you a kick.

It's a variety of reasons, I think. The whole race atmosphere with spectators and other racers and the adrenaline is great. Having other people to run with who may be running faster than you and help push your pace. And the taper/recovery period before a race means your legs are more rested than for most of your training runs.

[Iskaral Pust]

49 minutes ago, Starkess said:

I went to my sister's gym yesterday and was excited to get a chance to use the weights (especially to have a bar for deadlifts, the one thing I can't really do at home), and I forgot my iPod. Apparently that meant I wanted random middle-aged dudes to talk to me. Ugh. I tried to be polite, but really, who wants that in the middle of their workout??

I apologize on behalf of the creepy members of my gender.  Don't feel like you need to try to be polite, it only encourages them.  I've heard other women complain about being interrupted at their gym and it sounds like a bloody nuisance.  I've tried to coach my wife on the leave-me-the-fuck-alone expression I use for workouts but she just doesn't have my level of misanthropy.

[Arch-MaesterPhilip]

1 hour ago, Starkess said:

I went to my sister's gym yesterday and was excited to get a chance to use the weights (especially to have a bar for deadlifts, the one thing I can't really do at home), and I forgot my iPod. Apparently that meant I wanted random middle-aged dudes to talk to me. Ugh. I tried to be polite, but really, who wants that in the middle of their workout??

 

48 minutes ago, Iskaral Pust said:

I apologize on behalf of the creepy members of my gender.  Don't feel like you need to try to be polite, it only encourages them.  I've heard other women complain about being interrupted at their gym and it sounds like a bloody nuisance.  I've tried to coach my wife on the leave-me-the-fuck-alone expression I use for workouts but she just doesn't have my level of misanthropy.

I'm with you on this. When I boxed I tried to avoid speaking to women at the gym to avoid any misunderstandings. During a group workout a young woman thought I was coming on to her and I was mortified. The other two women in the group didn't though and it put me at ease. 

 

In other unrelated news I ran almost a whole mile without stopping .  

[baxus]

Yesterday's crossfit workout was an easy one, very useful for recovery after 2 exhausting sessions on Tuesday (couldn't make it on Monday and made up for it on Tuesday) and Wednesday.

9 hours ago, Starkess said:

I went to my sister's gym yesterday and was excited to get a chance to use the weights (especially to have a bar for deadlifts, the one thing I can't really do at home), and I forgot my iPod. Apparently that meant I wanted random middle-aged dudes to talk to me. Ugh. I tried to be polite, but really, who wants that in the middle of their workout??

Being polite is overrated. "I know what I'm doing and I don't need your help" is a very blunt way of getting your point across and discouraging further "assistance".

8 hours ago, Iskaral Pust said:

I apologize on behalf of the creepy members of my gender.  Don't feel like you need to try to be polite, it only encourages them.  I've heard other women complain about being interrupted at their gym and it sounds like a bloody nuisance.  I've tried to coach my wife on the leave-me-the-fuck-alone expression I use for workouts but she just doesn't have my level of misanthropy.

Wy apologize for creeps? It's not as if you're doing it, or encourage doing it or anything like that. I just don't buy into the collective guilt thing for a moment.

[Mr. X]

15 hours ago, Arch-MaesterPhilip said:

In other unrelated news I ran almost a whole mile without stopping .  

Sweet! 

[Arch-MaesterPhilip]

2 hours ago, Mr. X said:

Sweet! 

It took me nearly ten minutes but I found that encouraging that I was able to run for that long without stopping.