Exercise and Fitness V

[Lany Freelove Cassandra]

Thanks for the support. It has been difficult because I used to have no difficulty staying thin. I developed bad habits and now have to change.

Very awesome. I let myself go for too long. I had never been overweight before, so it was a shock for me the first time I hit 200.

It has been up and down ever since then with a lot more ups than downs. This is the longest I have continued an exercise program, and really it is the board and the people in this thread I have to thank for that.

You don't think about how important the eating is either until a day when you don't have an afternoon snack and are starving when you get home and have to eat right away. Now I feel bloated :(

Hopefully I will feel better in an hour or so and will exercise then.

[seastarr]

I had a great massage this afternoon--really relaxing, lots of relief for my legs. I spend about 9-10 hours on my feet everyday, and my legs and feet still get tired--even after having done this for years! Unfortunately I am suffering from the post massage meltdown and I feel weak as a kitten. I was planning on doing some exercise tonight, maybe cardio or minimally a walk with my dogs. I write it here because it helps me resolve to do it.

I had a pretty good week of exercise so far. Gyrotonics on Monday, kettlebell on Tuesday, Pilates Magic Circle (bleh!) Wednesday, and Pilates Low Chair this morning. Hoping I can pull it together to go to ashtanga tomorrow. It's so damn early that I often have trouble getting there---but I skipped out on Monday so tomorrow is my day!

Chataya I hope your schedule mellows out soon. That sounds terrible! (I love goats, btw. Baby goats are almost as adorable as puppies.)

[Xray the Enforcer]

It's the Final Countdown. Only a few more days left until surgery and it seems (fingers crossed) that today was my last day of having to get poked, jabbed, scanned or otherwise scrutinized by the medical establishment, leaving me my mornings again. Because my crap, always-in-the-hospital schedule destroyed my eating habits (I still ate healthy food, but not in the way I like to -- more like search-and-destroy missions for food) and because prednisone really does fuck with your body, I feel like a whale. Seriously, a whale.

In any case, I am using my final days before surgery to spend in the gym to prepare myself for the at-least-two-week recovery period. At least I won't (hopefully) be on the fucking prednisone after the surgery and my metabolism can go back to its normal course, rather than trying to pack on the pounds as fast as it fucking can.

Nichole -- great job!

Seastarr -- that massage sounds divine. Oh gods.

[seastarr]

Xray I hope you feel much better after the surgery and I wish you a speedy and easy recovery. Prednisone just seems awful. No one I know who has had to take it has felt good. You're going to feel much better soon!

And go get a massage as soon as you can! No matter what, I get one every month. NOTHING bumps my massage out of my calendar.

[Mudguard]

Best of luck with the surgery and recovery!

[Xray the Enforcer]

Thanks seastarr and Mudguard. Enjoy some outdoors for me, the both of you (gods, I miss living in California every time you guys post -- *shakes fist*).

And, yeah, I might have to spring for a massage very soon. My last one was in...May? and it really did wonders.

[Lany Freelove Cassandra]

It's the Final Countdown. Only a few more days left until surgery and it seems (fingers crossed) that today was my last day of having to get poked, jabbed, scanned or otherwise scrutinized by the medical establishment, leaving me my mornings again. Because my crap, always-in-the-hospital schedule destroyed my eating habits (I still ate healthy food, but not in the way I like to -- more like search-and-destroy missions for food) and because prednisone really does fuck with your body, I feel like a whale. Seriously, a whale.

In any case, I am using my final days before surgery to spend in the gym to prepare myself for the at-least-two-week recovery period. At least I won't (hopefully) be on the fucking prednisone after the surgery and my metabolism can go back to its normal course, rather than trying to pack on the pounds as fast as it fucking can.

Nichole -- great job!

Seastarr -- that massage sounds divine. Oh gods.

Best of luck with the surgery and recovery.

[Stego]

More love your way than you could possibly ever want, Martha.

(Even though you should just stop being a wuss and just sneeze hard already.)

[Xray the Enforcer]

More love your way than you could possibly ever want, Martha.

(Even though you should just stop being a wuss and just sneeze hard already.)

You know, I totally think of that scene in Total Recall where Arnold hauls that glowing tracking device out of his own skull when you talk about my upcoming alien parenthood like that. :P

[cjfshaw]

Aaaaargh! Still working like a madwoman ("half days" 7 am - 7 pm!). F - this shit, I'm going to chuck it all and raise goats.

Capo - I'm an accountant for a large publicly traded company.

That is absurd, and good luck to you on staying sane and healthy. I haven't had work days like that since I worked in a restaurant as a food runner. Although I'm sure those hours will come back to haunt me when I start working full-time as an engineer. Again, good luck, every single one of those days are brutal, but if you can actually stay healthy during those work weeks then, shit, more power to you!

[Stego]

Every time the Tour De France happens, there are douchebag men in spandex riding bikes everywhere. It drives me nuts. I want to look away and pretend they do not exist.

There is no excuse for a man to ever wear spandex shorts as an outer garment. In fact, while I am very much against most of the silly laws that are constantly streaming out of congress, a federal law against men in spandex would be quite welcome.

Listen, I'm embarrassed for you. I'm embarrassed for your life partner (man or woman, I'm not judging). I'm embarrassed for your mom. I'm fucking mortified for your father.

Just needed to get that off my chest.

[Mr. X]

There are men riding bikes in spandex every fucking day of the year in Prospect Park. It is in no way restricted to Tour de France times.

Fortunately, they move so much faster on their bikes than I do while running that I don't have to see them very much. It's more of a flash of color my brain knows to interpret as "Another biking dude in spandex" than anything else.

[seastarr]

Stego, you would hate Marin. It is the very epicenter of spandex-wearing douchebags of both sexes. The trend was born right here, and spread like a disease outwards. The only way to vent the rage is to wear completely normal clothing, ride a total junker of a bike, and pass them at top speed while making an ascent. They hate that.

[ztemhead]

I would do spandex if I ever got serious about cycling. shave the legs too, and them's some hairy legs. :P

[beniowa]

I actually sort of understand the spandex because they are often equipped with a pad that makes the bike seat much more tolerable.

This. If you're riding a bike for 30 miles, trust me, you'll want those padded shorts. The pair I have is black, which should be easier on your eyes, Stego. I should probably get a new pair as the one I have is from years ago and is a size too small. :uhoh:

Ztem, I never considered it worth the effort. :P Besides, if you're going fast enough, nobody will even notice!

Hey all. I've been lurking on all the exercise threads. Recently got back into exercising again, mainly swimming twice a week with some power walking and hiking thrown in. Thinking about using the weight machine at the rec center since it would be cheaper than a gym. I really need to get back into cycling again too. I've fallen out of it since moving a couple years ago and have never gotten around to getting my bike from my parent's house.

[Mudguard]

Every time the Tour De France happens, there are douchebag men in spandex riding bikes everywhere. It drives me nuts. I want to look away and pretend they do not exist.

There is no excuse for a man to ever wear spandex shorts as an outer garment. In fact, while I am very much against most of the silly laws that are constantly streaming out of congress, a federal law against men in spandex would be quite welcome.

Listen, I'm embarrassed for you. I'm embarrassed for your life partner (man or woman, I'm not judging). I'm embarrassed for your mom. I'm fucking mortified for your father.

Just needed to get that off my chest.

Nice rant! I think this should be cross-posted in the rant in honor of EHK thread I saw.

[Minaku]

The only time spandex is acceptable is on a bike monkey. Not the most flattering look, but the pro riders need it. I am happily watching the TdF and longing for the days when I can go and do things like spinning again.

Mudguard, if you want a rant, just ask Stego and me about gym etiquette. That will get a rant of EHK-like proportions.

[cjfshaw]

(I love goats, btw. Baby goats are almost as adorable as puppies.)

Yes

[Stego]

I've got about 5 weeks more of heavy lifting then I am going on a 2 month cut.

I'm not scared of lifting heavy and working hard. I kill myself in there. I'm working out 7 days a week these days, at least in some manner. (Cardio or abs or something.) I love it. I live for my trips to the gym. The palms of my hands are swollen right now from heavy-ass dumbbells. It hurts pretty bad. I love it.

But I am terrified of the cut phase. Those two months will be hell. I'm scared of the constant hunger. (I'm always hungry) I'm scared of losing muscle. (I know I'll get weaker. I know I'll lose some muscle. I just want to limit the amount as much as possible.)

Anyone have some cut phase motivation to share?

[Kat]

Good luck on the operation, Xray. You show 'em. :thumbsup:

I have bike underwear with padding. They're like boxer-briefs that I wear under other shorts, pants, or a skirt, depending on where I'm going. (Also much cheaper than the full-on spandex shorts.) I don't go fast enough that it would require cutting down on drag. I mean, seriously, I'm going like 10 mph most of the time, who would I be kidding? :P

Speaking of spandex, I have some gym capris/long shorts that turned out way more spandexy than I expected when I ordered them. I get catcalled when I run in them, so now I only wear them to the gym, where people are polite enough not to whistle at least. Sigh. Those were supposed to be my answer to Mina's "don't wear shorts to the gym that disobey the ____ length rule" (forget the inches exactly) but, while they are quite comfortable and flexible and I otherwise like them, they apparently call more attention than short running shorts.