The Official Exercise/Fitness Thread v. Run Forest, Run!

[Nick]

So yeah, just ran 3.2km in 20 minutes without walking/stopping. I feel I could have probably kept at it and do a full 5km as I felt really good, but I'm going to stick to the program for now. 4 more weeks to go.

Man, I guess I'm really doing it now.

Dude, I can't take a single hockey shift without fearing I'm going to have a respiratory episode. That's really awesome work.

[Evermind]

Thanks Nick! A hockey shift is a lot of effort in a short period of time while I guess running is a significantly lower amount of effort in a longer period of time.

Weekly update: week 6 is done! Just got back from a 3.7km (22 minutes) run. I just realized all the remaining days have no walking periods, it's all running from here on out. Next week is 3 runs, 25 minutes each.

One thing I realized is how much stronger my legs became since I started this. I live on the fifth floor with no elevator and before this it was always a mild annoyance to climb up all the steps, now it's nothing.

[wolfking]

Thanks Nick! A hockey shift is a lot of effort in a short period of time while I guess running is a significantly lower amount of effort in a longer period of time.

Weekly update: week 6 is done! Just got back from a 3.7km (22 minutes) run. I just realized all the remaining days have no walking periods, it's all running from here on out. Next week is 3 runs, 25 minutes each.

One thing I realized is how much stronger my legs became since I started this. I live on the fifth floor with no elevator and before this it was always a mild annoyance to climb up all the steps, now it's nothing.

Remember to have a good stretching and rolling routine mate.  Keep going!

[wolfking]

My running has tapered off this week to focus on the weights which has been great.  Did a 5km treadmill run in 26.39 which is about par.  However I find a long treadmill run so much harder than being outside.  Seem to go much faster being outdoors.  Would do that in around 25 minutes.  Weird.

[jingle.boy]

Had a good week... weigh-in yesterday was 179.2lbs; 14.2%BF.  Every time I've gotten close to 14%, I jump back up the following week.  Gonna have a 'reward' and rest day today, then back at 'er tomorrow.

Looking to purchase a cable-pulley system so I can do some moves like tri pushdowns, lat pulldowns etc... properly.  Doing those moves with bands is ok, but I'd rather have consistent tension than the increase/decrease tension during the movement that comes with bands.

[kirksnosehair]

Back in March when the gyms first shut down I got knocked off my daily routine and with the stress of the Covid situation -my mom is 77 and she lives with me- I started just eating shitty again and not exercising.  When the gyms closed down I remember because I weighed myself the last day I was at the gym and I was 174 lbs.  A little heavier than what's ideal for me (168 lbs. is my perfect weight), but still pretty good.


By July 4th I was back up to 195 lbs. and I had to start wearing bigger pants, but when my brother-in-law told me one Sunday morning as we were eating breakfast at a local diner, "you're getting fat, dude."      He doesn't beat around the bush much. 


That was enough to snap me out of it because I started walking 3 miles a day the next morning and a month later the gyms opened back up.  Now, after a summer of hard work, I'm back down to around 175.  Man, the older I get the slower it comes off, regardless of how hard I work. 

[wolfking]

Back in March when the gyms first shut down I got knocked off my daily routine and with the stress of the Covid situation -my mom is 77 and she lives with me- I started just eating shitty again and not exercising.  When the gyms closed down I remember because I weighed myself the last day I was at the gym and I was 174 lbs.  A little heavier than what's ideal for me (168 lbs. is my perfect weight), but still pretty good.


By July 4th I was back up to 195 lbs. and I had to start wearing bigger pants, but when my brother-in-law told me one Sunday morning as we were eating breakfast at a local diner, "you're getting fat, dude."      He doesn't beat around the bush much. 


That was enough to snap me out of it because I started walking 3 miles a day the next morning and a month later the gyms opened back up.  Now, after a summer of hard work, I'm back down to around 175.  Man, the older I get the slower it comes off, regardless of how hard I work.

Well done dude.  You need people like that to tell you how it is sometimes.  Keep it up. 

[jjrock88]

Wolf, kirks brother sounds like Kramer and just blurts things out lol

[wolfking]

Maybe Kirks brother needs to just stop talking.......from now.

[jjrock88]

Starting...............noooow

[Evermind]

Weekly update: finished week 7 yesterday, three 4.2km (25 minutes) runs. Most people over the internet I saw agreed that weeks 4-5 were the most difficult; for me this week was the most difficult so far. It was raining on Tuesday, and during my commute home back from work I thought yeah, no way I'm running today, stupid rain. Then I came home and thought well, what the hell, I want to do this, might as well run, it'll probably be alright in the park, lots of trees blocking out the rain. Best decision I've made in a while, it was a great run all around. Thursday was just excruciating, I ran the first km and then it was really difficult to keep going for some reason. I finished that one but I thought of quitting this whole thing the entire time. Yesterday was fantastic though. Overall I feel great but at the same time these runs aren't easy at all, and on the rest days I really feel it, even with all the stretching I do before and after runs.

Next week, three 28 minute runs and then, apparently, I'll be ready to run a 5km three times a week. Good times.

[jingle.boy]

That's awesome Ruslan!     I think we all know the feeling of just wanting to 'fuckit' and give up - on a program, or an individual workout.  Sometimes, finding the motivation to do it is the hardest part.  I know even when I don't have the drive or am not in the mood, I just force myself to start.  And then once ya get going, those endorphins kick in, and it feels good during and after.  There are still times we all skip a day (or three), but so long as we keep at it, progress is made.

I did legs on Thursday, and holy shitballs am I still sore this morning.  Yoga today just to do more of a recovery workout.  Now that the summer weather is over, not too many more chances to workout outside, so I'm gonna start my next program - Max Size.  The workouts are just 2 moves for 2 different body parts.  One move is 10 sets of 10; the other is 10 sets of 5.  Gonna fire that up starting next Saturday.

[wolfking]

Did a 21km run today. Time was 2 hours and 2 minutes so about 5 minutes 45 second a km.  Damn that was full on.  Didn't intend on it, I started slow and felt comfortable and just kept going.  Started pouring with rain halfway through, loved it.  Now to get the time under 2 hours.

Weekly update: finished week 7 yesterday, three 4.2km (25 minutes) runs. Most people over the internet I saw agreed that weeks 4-5 were the most difficult; for me this week was the most difficult so far. It was raining on Tuesday, and during my commute home back from work I thought yeah, no way I'm running today, stupid rain. Then I came home and thought well, what the hell, I want to do this, might as well run, it'll probably be alright in the park, lots of trees blocking out the rain. Best decision I've made in a while, it was a great run all around. Thursday was just excruciating, I ran the first km and then it was really difficult to keep going for some reason. I finished that one but I thought of quitting this whole thing the entire time. Yesterday was fantastic though. Overall I feel great but at the same time these runs aren't easy at all, and on the rest days I really feel it, even with all the stretching I do before and after runs.

Next week, three 28 minute runs and then, apparently, I'll be ready to run a 5km three times a week. Good times.

Awesome mate.

[jingle.boy]

Great stuff, Kade!

[jjrock88]

Impressive Kade

[cramx3]

Good stuff all around fellas 

[kirksnosehair]

Wolf, kirks brother sounds like Kramer and just blurts things out lol

He's Kramer, but he's also Archie Bunker.  And he's 75 years old 


You know that thing you're thinking but not daring to say?  He's thinking it too, and he's got no problem saying it.  When I ask him why he's so rude he says, "I'm 75, I'll be dead soon, fuck your feelings" 

[MrBoom_shack-a-lack]

I've seen a bunch of David Goggins motivation videos and man he's so good at pumping you up for hitting the gym. 

[Nick]

My journey from 270 hit a snag between 252-254. Just haven't been as disciplined the last week. So I decided I'd kickstart the exercise routine.

Not a huge gym fan to begin with, and it's just not practical for me to try on the way to, or back from work. And once I'm home the chances of me going back out to a gym are very close to zero. Not a huge fan of just going out to run, but that was an outside possibility. Thought a minute about a bit of cardio equipment at home, but the exercise I currently get (hockey), is already some cardio. So I decided weight training was the best thing for me and something I'm likely to do, went to reddit and some other places to look at the best kind of limited space home gym options. Finalized the setup last night if anyone is interested I'll get some pictures together, liking it so far.

[cramx3]

sure, or at least explain it if you dont want to send pics.  I'm similar to you, not a gym guy and definitely not going to be going back out after I get home from work.  My "gym" in my basement is very small, a bench that can change angles (but no bar), boflex selecttech dumbbells, and a small bike.  Takes up very little space and all can be folded and put away if needed.  ALso the bench and bike were super cheap, under $150 for both if I recall.  The dumbbells... not so much.  I think I paid like $300 or 400 like 10 years ago for them.  Definitely worth it though because they take up like no space and it ends up being a large set of dumbbells (ranges from 5- 52.5 pounds).  Only thing is you can't do any crazy lifting with them because they only go to 52.5 which I'm no where close to for many exercises but when you want to bench press, you got to go for reps.  Which, at the end of the day, also works for me as I don't have a spotter so I never go for max pounds, just like to up my reps and change the bench angles.  Which speaking of, I've lately been doing more weight training.  I kind of took a break for a couple weeks and was just biking, but this week I've been pushing myself a bit harder on both the bike and the weights.  Which speaking of, seems like a good time to head down to my basement gym now...

[jingle.boy]

.... which I just came up from. I’ve been meaning to take pics of my home setup here. I too have the selecttech dumbbells, but I have the set that goes to 90lbs.

Started the Max Size program from Atlean X just now. Incline dB (10 sets of 10) and Underhanded row (10 sets of 5j. Plus pushups to failure and horizontal pull-ups to failure. Loved it.

Quads and hammies tomorrow.

[cramx3]

There's not much reason to take a pic of my set up, it doesn't look very interesting plus I have an extra couch in my basement that kind of is right inbetween my bike and my bench so it just looks stupid really.  Did a nice 20 mile bike ride today, no weights as my body is still sore from yesterdays lifting and sit ups. 

[H2]

Insanity's brought my waist down from 32" to 29". It's like magic every time I get on it. Such great workouts. And I haven't even started month 2 yet...I think 28" will be my goal.

[Nick]

Here we go:





Just a cage, bench, and weight set thus far. I've been learning some different exercises and am now in the process of sorting what I want my normal routine to be, based on where the bar/bench have to be and ideally switching between upper body and lower body regularly.

That setup will definitely keep me happy while I get acquainted, but can already tell I'll want some more bar hooks and some weight holders.

[H2]

Whoa, that's awesome! Good thing to own during times like these. Now you don't even have to commute to a gym!

[Evermind]

Oh shit, apparently the last run this week is supposed to be full 5k in 30 minutes Heading out for that now, I'll post later how it went.

[Evermind]

Final update: officially finished the program! Just ran my first 5 km ever in 28:15. Went great, best run I had this week.

So for those who are also running, what should I do next? I'm going to keep it at three 5k runs a week for a few weeks, after that I plan to gear up for 10 km over the next few months unless the winter will be exceptionally cold, but I'm also leaning towards doing an occasional 5k runs with a faster pace (I'd like to run it under 25 minutes eventually). Is that a sensible plan or not really?

I also guess I should get warmer clothes as it's usually around -10°C (~14F) in winter here.

[jingle.boy]

Hats a nice rig, Nick. I’m envious. How tall is that?

Ruslan.... can’t comment, as I hate running.

[wolfking]

Final update: officially finished the program! Just ran my first 5 km ever in 28:15. Went great, best run I had this week.

So for those who are also running, what should I do next? I'm going to keep it at three 5k runs a week for a few weeks, after that I plan to gear up for 10 km over the next few months unless the winter will be exceptionally cold, but I'm also leaning towards doing an occasional 5k runs with a faster pace (I'd like to run it under 25 minutes eventually). Is that a sensible plan or not really?

I also guess I should get warmer clothes as it's usually around -10°C (~14F) in winter here.

Your progress is insane Ruslan.

To be honest, I personally haven't followed any running plans.  I just try and improve in as many different ways as possible.  One week I'll concentrate on speed and when I stall, I'll switch it up, do some distance running and maybe put the timer away.  I'll also work on intervals just to push the speed at a higher level, just to try and expand what I can do and get faster and fitter.  I log every run and the time if I time that, that way I can always look back and see what I may need to do.

But I'd do just what you said, keep trying to get faster but also add some longer distances in wihtout worrying too much about the clock.

Today was more of a speed day and clocked an 8km in 40 minutes 30 seconds.  For that distance, a PB by about 2 minutes.  I was fucked afterwards.  Even more buggered than the half marathon distance last week.

[Evermind]

Final update: officially finished the program! Just ran my first 5 km ever in 28:15. Went great, best run I had this week.

So for those who are also running, what should I do next? I'm going to keep it at three 5k runs a week for a few weeks, after that I plan to gear up for 10 km over the next few months unless the winter will be exceptionally cold, but I'm also leaning towards doing an occasional 5k runs with a faster pace (I'd like to run it under 25 minutes eventually). Is that a sensible plan or not really?

I also guess I should get warmer clothes as it's usually around -10°C (~14F) in winter here.

Your progress is insane Ruslan.

To be honest, I personally haven't followed any running plans.  I just try and improve in as many different ways as possible.  One week I'll concentrate on speed and when I stall, I'll switch it up, do some distance running and maybe put the timer away.  I'll also work on intervals just to push the speed at a higher level, just to try and expand what I can do and get faster and fitter.  I log every run and the time if I time that, that way I can always look back and see what I may need to do.

But I'd do just what you said, keep trying to get faster but also add some longer distances in wihtout worrying too much about the clock.

Thanks man! Honestly I think two things that helped are 1) I lost ~13kg before attempting this, otherwise I probably wouldn't be able to do this at all, and 2) I already rode a bike on the first part of my commute to work, so I was a bit prepared for this. It's crazy how much I'm enjoying running. I used to do nothing on weekends because of how tired I was from the working week; well I'm still tired but I go for a run in the morning and then I just want to do stuff. Sitting idly is simply not an option anymore.

Today was more of a speed day and clocked an 8km in 40 minutes 30 seconds.  For that distance, a PB by about 2 minutes.  I was fucked afterwards.  Even more buggered than the half marathon distance last week.

That's the kind of pace I intend to aim for my 5k eventually, a kilometer in five minutes sounds good to me. Speed is not that important to me as I want to mostly work on the distance (I'd love to run a marathon eventually, but I'll settle for 10k for now), but I do want to improve my time in case I decide to do any parkruns after the Covid thing is over.

[Evermind]

Oh and by the way Kade, and I want to make it a separate post, you were one of two folks (the other one isn't here but he's on Facebook, I should write a message to him too) who inspired me to begin running. I saw your usual posts about running a few times and thought "hell, I should try that". I've been doing it for two months but I can already say I'll be doing it for many more months, this is the best thing I've discovered lately.

So in a way you made my life a bit better, thank you for this!

[wolfking]

Oh and by the way Kade, and I want to make it a separate post, you were one of two folks (the other one isn't here but he's on Facebook, I should write a message to him too) who inspired me to begin running. I saw your usual posts about running a few times and thought "hell, I should try that". I've been doing it for two months but I can already say I'll be doing it for many more months, this is the best thing I've discovered lately.

So in a way you made my life a bit better, thank you for this!

Mate, that means so much and you made my day.  I'm glad I could have offered some inspiration.  It's surprising how enjoyable it is.  Mentally, it has been a godsend and daily runs becomes part of my meditation and destress.  And I feel the same as you said above, being idle simply isn't an option anymore. 

Keep running mate, enjoy it and enjoy the headspace and clarity it brings.  That's what it did for me, puts me in a more positive, competitive headspace and clears my head.  It's a wonderful tool and there was no reason for my posts just like we all do, share what we have been doing to keep fit so glad it rubbed off.

5 minute kms I think while not pro time, is solid.  My fastest 4km is 19.16 so happy with the 8km time.  If you did some riding before, that explains why you are picking it up a lot quicker than I did, so that definitely helps.  I think it's a juggling act when working on time and distance, depends on how you feel.

One guy to youtube that I've been following is Nick Bare, he is a beast and has some great vids on his running.

[Evermind]

Definitely not aiming for pro time, just want to have a decent time which for me 5 minute per km is. And yeah, you nailed it with this

That's what it did for me, puts me in a more positive, competitive headspace and clears my head.

because I always feel so much better after a run.

I'll check out this guy on YouTube you mentioned.

[jingle.boy]

Definitely not aiming for pro time, just want to have a decent time which for me 5 minute per km is. And yeah, you nailed it with this

That's what it did for me, puts me in a more positive, competitive headspace and clears my head.

because I always feel so much better after a run.

Endorphins BABY!

About to go get on the exercise bike, and continue to catch up on the UFO discography listen.

[Nick]

Hats a nice rig, Nick. I’m envious. How tall is that?

Ruslan.... can’t comment, as I hate running.

I pretty much hate running for the sake of running as well.

83" tall, so good for doing pull-ups. That is when I can do pull-ups.  As is I can do 1, maybe, if it's the very first thing I do.

Floor dimensions are like 53"x49".