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

[jingle.boy]

My 10km circuit on my bike takes me 23 mins or so.   So that’s about the same for me - 90ish minutes.   No way my ass could take sitting on my seat for that long tho. I never go more than an hour.

[wolfking]

I biked 26 miles yesterday, that's a new high school for me 

Wow mate.  How long does a distance like that take?

*high score, not school 

I average around 3:20 minutes per mile (3 miles in 10 minutes), but I end up slowing down a bit on the longer rides so it's close to 90 minutes.

That seems like quite a good time mate. Nice.

[SchecterShredder]

Well...i may have dropped the seat so my 4 year old could ride it lol. He's been pretend working out since he could walk. Even goes so far as making small grunting noises while weight lifting

That's awesome.  How much fuckin weight do you have there in your plates?  If I zoom in, I could count and do the math... looks like 4x45s; 4x35s; 4x25s; 6x10s; 10x5s and 6x2.5s.  How'd I do?

I've got a Hex DBs 5s thru 30s.  Kept 'em even though I've got the 90lb SelectTech DBs.  Nice to have a smaller set of dbs... plus jingle.daughter prefers them over the SelectTech - the latter can get a little cumbersome at times.

Probably an accurate count. I don't remember exactly, but it was something like 580lbs. I got the plates and tree, 2 Olympic bars, 1 curl bar, and the power rack (which also has a bunch of pulley attachments i stored away due to lack of space) for $500 on The Alberta government surplus site. The plates alone are worth more than that. I drove 3hrs each way to Calgary to pick it up, and it's still a massive fucking deal

[SchecterShredder]

My 10km circuit on my bike takes me 23 mins or so.   So that’s about the same for me - 90ish minutes.   No way my ass could take sitting on my seat for that long tho. I never go more than an hour.

Yeah....i typically crush out 3-4hr long rides every weekend lol. You just need good cycling shorts!

[cramx3]

My 10km circuit on my bike takes me 23 mins or so.   So that’s about the same for me - 90ish minutes.   No way my ass could take sitting on my seat for that long tho. I never go more than an hour.

Yeah....i typically crush out 3-4hr long rides every weekend lol. You just need good cycling shorts!

I'll tell you what, my ass hurt like crazy after riding that bike in the airbnb gym in Atlanta for like 20 minutes.  My bike at home has a nicer, more flat not up your ass seat.  It does start to get uncomfortable after awhile still.  I don't know how one does 3-4 hour rides but thats awesome

I'm going to Maine on Monday, there's lots of hiking one can do and bike trails but this is the first time I kind of wish I rode a real bike and had one to bring.  I expect to get a lot of walking in, but doing a bike ride would probably actually be a lot of fun and I don't think I've once ever thought that in my life as always being a fat kid.

[jingle.boy]

Well...i may have dropped the seat so my 4 year old could ride it lol. He's been pretend working out since he could walk. Even goes so far as making small grunting noises while weight lifting

That's awesome.  How much fuckin weight do you have there in your plates?  If I zoom in, I could count and do the math... looks like 4x45s; 4x35s; 4x25s; 6x10s; 10x5s and 6x2.5s.  How'd I do?

I've got a Hex DBs 5s thru 30s.  Kept 'em even though I've got the 90lb SelectTech DBs.  Nice to have a smaller set of dbs... plus jingle.daughter prefers them over the SelectTech - the latter can get a little cumbersome at times.

Probably an accurate count. I don't remember exactly, but it was something like 580lbs. I got the plates and tree, 2 Olympic bars, 1 curl bar, and the power rack (which also has a bunch of pulley attachments i stored away due to lack of space) for $500 on The Alberta government surplus site. The plates alone are worth more than that. I drove 3hrs each way to Calgary to pick it up, and it's still a massive fucking deal

Holy fuck that’s a helluva steal. Retail standard nowadays is about $425-$450 for 300lbs (255+bar). You’re easily talking $1500+ for what you got.

[Evermind]

The running trail I'm training on is 2.8 km long, and it was one of my side goals to "beat" it, as in run the whole trail back and forth. Well, this is now done, 5.6km and now I'm ready to just start running on random routes wherever they'll take me.

On the way home I saw that Toblerone chocolate was on sale in a local grocery store, bought a bar and I'm munching on it now after basically eating almost no sugar during the week.

I guess I'm slowly turning into Kade.

I biked 26 miles yesterday, that's a new high score for me 

This is awesome! I love biking. When I visited Netherlands last year for Ayreon shows, I rented an AirBNB which had a guest bike. I biked to an adjacent village (~30km in total) one day and next time Ayreon comes to Tilburg I'll book that apartment again if it's available.

My bike has been standing unused for a few years as I'm just going with the rental ones now, but I should really start using it on weekends for longer routes. I'll try to get to it next year.

[jingle.boy]

The running trail I'm training on is 2.8 km long, and it was one of my side goals to "beat" it, as in run the whole trail back and forth. Well, this is now done, 5.6km and now I'm ready to just start running on random routes wherever they'll take me.

On the way home I saw that Toblerone chocolate was on sale in a local grocery store, bought a bar and I'm munching on it now after basically eating almost no sugar during the week.

I guess I'm slowly turning into Kade.

Nah... a reward meal (or treat in this case) is absolutely warranted.  You more than earned it.  And as I've said many times, unless you're a professional bodybuilder, boxer, or MMA fighter, no one needs to be 100% clean/strict on their nutrition.  If we eat 4-5 times a day, that's 28-35 times per week.  Even 2-3 'unclean' meals/snacks still means you're eating good 90%+ of the time.  Seems pretty good to me.

Starting week 2 of the program I'm on.  I kinda eased myself into it last week, keeping the weights relatively managable.  Now it's time to push things.  Plus, I've got 2 yards of dirt to disperse throughout the yard.

[The Walrus]

I feel better than I have in a long time. Deck of cards workout at home plus lots of walking and the occasional run. Just put on some shirts I haven't worn much and man I feel and look great. Going to do a bunch of walking later after lunch with a friend. Gotta burn off this giant burrito somehow haha

[wolfking]

The running trail I'm training on is 2.8 km long, and it was one of my side goals to "beat" it, as in run the whole trail back and forth. Well, this is now done, 5.6km and now I'm ready to just start running on random routes wherever they'll take me.

On the way home I saw that Toblerone chocolate was on sale in a local grocery store, bought a bar and I'm munching on it now after basically eating almost no sugar during the week.

I guess I'm slowly turning into Kade.

   Nothing wrong with that mate.  You put the effort in, you can get away with the calories.  It's simple, go for it.

[jingle.boy]

I feel better than I have in a long time. Deck of cards workout at home plus lots of walking and the occasional run. Just put on some shirts I haven't worn much and man I feel and look great. Going to do a bunch of walking later after lunch with a friend. Gotta burn off this giant burrito somehow haha

That's awesome.  It's so great when our clothes and the mirror give us amazing feedback!

[wolfking]

The running trail I'm training on is 2.8 km long, and it was one of my side goals to "beat" it, as in run the whole trail back and forth. Well, this is now done, 5.6km and now I'm ready to just start running on random routes wherever they'll take me.

On the way home I saw that Toblerone chocolate was on sale in a local grocery store, bought a bar and I'm munching on it now after basically eating almost no sugar during the week.

I guess I'm slowly turning into Kade.

Nah... a reward meal (or treat in this case) is absolutely warranted.  You more than earned it.  And as I've said many times, unless you're a professional bodybuilder, boxer, or MMA fighter, no one needs to be 100% clean/strict on their nutrition.  If we eat 4-5 times a day, that's 28-35 times per week.  Even 2-3 'unclean' meals/snacks still means you're eating good 90%+ of the time.  Seems pretty good to me.

Starting week 2 of the program I'm on.  I kinda eased myself into it last week, keeping the weights relatively managable.  Now it's time to push things.  Plus, I've got 2 yards of dirt to disperse throughout the yard.

I've heard this before and for the most part agree.  However, I think more thought needs to go into this is you are following this approach.  The 10% of the meals that are not clean or unhealthy needs to still be careful scrutinised in relation to calories.  I ate a massive Maccas meal yesterday.  I had 1 meal yesterday and that meal was more than what I normally would eat in a day.  So that 1 meal in the 10% actually cover 4-5 meals.  I think the notion is correct but need to make sure the other 10% don't turn into putting large amounts of calories back in. 

[jingle.boy]

The running trail I'm training on is 2.8 km long, and it was one of my side goals to "beat" it, as in run the whole trail back and forth. Well, this is now done, 5.6km and now I'm ready to just start running on random routes wherever they'll take me.

On the way home I saw that Toblerone chocolate was on sale in a local grocery store, bought a bar and I'm munching on it now after basically eating almost no sugar during the week.

I guess I'm slowly turning into Kade.

Nah... a reward meal (or treat in this case) is absolutely warranted.  You more than earned it.  And as I've said many times, unless you're a professional bodybuilder, boxer, or MMA fighter, no one needs to be 100% clean/strict on their nutrition.  If we eat 4-5 times a day, that's 28-35 times per week.  Even 2-3 'unclean' meals/snacks still means you're eating good 90%+ of the time.  Seems pretty good to me.

Starting week 2 of the program I'm on.  I kinda eased myself into it last week, keeping the weights relatively managable.  Now it's time to push things.  Plus, I've got 2 yards of dirt to disperse throughout the yard.

I've heard this before and for the most part agree.  However, I think more thought needs to go into this is you are following this approach.  The 10% of the meals that are not clean or unhealthy needs to still be careful scrutinised in relation to calories.  I ate a massive Maccas meal yesterday.  I had 1 meal yesterday and that meal was more than what I normally would eat in a day.  So that 1 meal in the 10% actually cover 4-5 meals.  I think the notion is correct but need to make sure the other 10% don't turn into putting large amounts of calories back in.

Agreed completely.  THOSE kinds of meals should not be regular occurrences... once every few months, or once a year is tolerable.  Like, if I got to one of those greasy burger joints (eg, Five Guys), I'm only doing that occasionally, and still trying to be somewhat smart about my total caloric intake

[The Walrus]

Troof. I met up with a friend for lunch yesterday but didn't plan on ordering anything. Absent mindedly picked a burrito and just brought it home with me. Got hungry and ate the whole thing. Not sure how many calories were in it but man I felt like 100% grade A ass the rest of the day even after a 3 hour nap and some cardio. Headache too. And that was all I ate yesterday.  Bleh.

[SchecterShredder]

I typically have 1 meal each week that nears 1,000 calories. Usually the night i make pizza for the family. Otherwise, my biggest meals are usually 300-400cal (and i IF so i only actually eat two 'meals', the rest is more snack-like). I find i don't feel great the whole day after pizza night. Not necessarily bad, but definitely a little sluggish.

As for the gargantuan meals, those are usually just Christmas dinner and brunch. I log all my food and exercise everyday, but Christmas is the one day of the year i just 'quick add' the whole day (usually 5-6000cal). I try to set a goal each December of staying within 5lbs of my December 1st weight by the end of Christmas break.

[jingle.boy]

I gotta get back in the habit of diligently tracking my cals.  It’s just not a habit I’m in to anymore. But, that’s more than likely why my progress is slow. I don’t eat bad or too much by any stretch, but I’m sure if 8 got more disciplined, the results would be coming a little quicker.

[wolfking]

Jesus, you guys sound strict as hell.  I can't go a weekend without a binge. 

[SchecterShredder]

I'm not really that strict, but my diet probably would seem uber healthy to common non-exercise folk. I've been eating like this for so long that it's just part of my lifestyle now. Make no mistake, i crack a lot. I'm weak around PB; i devour my kids' snacks; i can easily over do it on healthier snacks,too, like greek yogurt. I just also happen to really like grilled chicken, asparagus, broccoli and salads. And i can cook quite well, so i find that makes it easier.

As for the strict logging...i came to terms with it years ago (my streak is current 1729 consecutive days). I know i can't be successful with my nutrition unless I'm tracking it. Simple as that. Now it's just another party of my day

[wolfking]

I'm not really that strict, but my diet probably would seem uber healthy to common non-exercise folk. I've been eating like this for so long that it's just part of my lifestyle now. Make no mistake, i crack a lot. I'm weak around PB; i devour my kids' snacks; i can easily over do it on healthier snacks,too, like greek yogurt. I just also happen to really like grilled chicken, asparagus, broccoli and salads. And i can cook quite well, so i find that makes it easier.

As for the strict logging...i came to terms with it years ago (my streak is current 1729 consecutive days). I know i can't be successful with my nutrition unless I'm tracking it. Simple as that. Now it's just another party of my day

Agree, the eating just becomes a lifestyle.  I also couldn't imagine eating any other way than chicken, tuna, veg and protein shakes daily.  I've tracked before but got over it pretty quick.  I guess my approach is almost like more calorie cycling.  Eat lower calories through the week and eat bigger on the weekend.  It's hard to gauge with this approach where my weight sits as it flucuates so much, but I more use the mirror in terms of my progress.

After a lot of eating shit on the weekend, I'm carrying quite a bit of water today and look terrible, even after a 16km run yesterday and a weight session on Saturday.  So today will be very low calorie to balance it out.

[H2]

OK this is kinda personal but I'm reflecting on my fitness journey. I'm finally at the lowest weight I've been at in about 7 years. In 2013 I was a weak 143lb- that's how long it's been.

So I am a man, and I am about 5'7, and I've got a pretty small frame, and I've always *thought* I've had a fast metabolism. (Truthfully, I ate a lot of junk food and was at a "healthy" weight even though I think I was pretty out of shape.) Anyway, I started off around 143lb and my timeline has been something like this:

2014: Lifting and running, made a consistent habit and hovered around 155lb, but was kinda chubby
2015: Cut down to around 147lb with Insanity, and ended up feeling very lean and cardio fit. Played around with more lifting and running after that and worked back up to around 155lb.
2016: After a bout of Insanity and P90x, and lifting and a lot of running, managed to get around a fit 153lb. Clothes fit great, really was a nice summer.
2017: Bulked up quite a bit, and got a nice girlfriend and everything. I lifted a lot and got to around 175lb.
2018: I kept lifting and bulking, getting to around 185lb. I was stronger than I'd ever been at this point. But honestly, 185lb was fat on me, and I ended up looking like a linebacker and just missing that lithe feeling of being light. This was honestly a low point for me in life. Broke up with my gf. In two years, I went from looking 23 to about 32. In actuality I was only 27. I decided I didn't like this new version of myself and started to diet back down.
2019: I managed to diet all the way back down to around 152lb. I used Insanity for a while, and then keto with lifting. I honestly looked pretty terrible throughout most of this process. I think as we lose weight, fat gets all squishy and will make you look proportionally worse until you start maintaining weight again. After hitting 152lb I bulked up again (accidentally)to 166lb after switching off. Then I cut down again to around 158lb.
2020: Since COVID hit, I have been cutting with running and Insanity. Get this--I am now down to 143lb. I look about 20 years old tops (I'm 29 this year). I'm feeling leaner than ever. And you know what? I'm going to keep going with the cutting. My goal is a high-schoolers cross-country runner physique. I've come to realize I'm a small framed dude, and the American message that dudes need to bulk and get big, beefy, and Thor-like no longer appeals to me. I know THICC women want an even bigger dude, so this might hurt my chances in certain ways, but screw it. I'm loving my body now and how youthful I feel.

TL;DR: "Eat and lift" is not necessarily good advice. You have to do what's best for your body. In my case, I don't carry weight well, and I have a small frame, so a "light" weight goal is perfectly fine.

[jingle.boy]

Interesting journey H.  Glad to hear you've finally gotten to the point that everyone should - figuring out what works best for us as individuals (nutrition and exercise), as well as doing what we love.   

[Nick]

Now down 22lbs total to 248.

Diet has been key again as the last week was tough with the weights, I started having discomfort in my right wrist when doing overhead press and especially while curling that cut short some workouts, and seemed to be having issues in my right knee when squatting as well. But I took Friday off, and Saturday/Sunday I got to play hockey both days as my workout, so with three days of "rest" I'm hopeful things go more smoothly today through Wednesday with the weights.

[jingle.boy]

Now down 22lbs total to 248.

Diet has been key again as the last week was tough with the weights, I started having discomfort in my right wrist when doing overhead press and especially while curling that cut short some workouts, and seemed to be having issues in my right knee when squatting as well. But I took Friday off, and Saturday/Sunday I got to play hockey both days as my workout, so with three days of "rest" I'm hopeful things go more smoothly today through Wednesday with the weights.

Investing in braces and/or wraps might be a good idea.  I had to wear neoprene knee brace (like the below) for many years (and an elbow one for a while a couple years back.



Got my rack built; got my weights today (local place finally got some stock.  I'm very stoked.

Kade... you get 400kms in last month??     Guess I should change the thread title.

[wolfking]

Now down 22lbs total to 248.

Diet has been key again as the last week was tough with the weights, I started having discomfort in my right wrist when doing overhead press and especially while curling that cut short some workouts, and seemed to be having issues in my right knee when squatting as well. But I took Friday off, and Saturday/Sunday I got to play hockey both days as my workout, so with three days of "rest" I'm hopeful things go more smoothly today through Wednesday with the weights.

I find a lot of niggles can be helped by heavy stretching and rolling.  Sometimes a lot of pain can just be tightness around the area.

[wolfking]

Kade... you get 400kms in last month??     Guess I should change the thread title.

I assumed the thread title was for me.  I don't actually remember saying that however. 

[wolfking]

OK this is kinda personal but I'm reflecting on my fitness journey. I'm finally at the lowest weight I've been at in about 7 years. In 2013 I was a weak 143lb- that's how long it's been.

So I am a man, and I am about 5'7, and I've got a pretty small frame, and I've always *thought* I've had a fast metabolism. (Truthfully, I ate a lot of junk food and was at a "healthy" weight even though I think I was pretty out of shape.) Anyway, I started off around 143lb and my timeline has been something like this:

2014: Lifting and running, made a consistent habit and hovered around 155lb, but was kinda chubby
2015: Cut down to around 147lb with Insanity, and ended up feeling very lean and cardio fit. Played around with more lifting and running after that and worked back up to around 155lb.
2016: After a bout of Insanity and P90x, and lifting and a lot of running, managed to get around a fit 153lb. Clothes fit great, really was a nice summer.
2017: Bulked up quite a bit, and got a nice girlfriend and everything. I lifted a lot and got to around 175lb.
2018: I kept lifting and bulking, getting to around 185lb. I was stronger than I'd ever been at this point. But honestly, 185lb was fat on me, and I ended up looking like a linebacker and just missing that lithe feeling of being light. This was honestly a low point for me in life. Broke up with my gf. In two years, I went from looking 23 to about 32. In actuality I was only 27. I decided I didn't like this new version of myself and started to diet back down.
2019: I managed to diet all the way back down to around 152lb. I used Insanity for a while, and then keto with lifting. I honestly looked pretty terrible throughout most of this process. I think as we lose weight, fat gets all squishy and will make you look proportionally worse until you start maintaining weight again.After hitting 152lb I bulked up again (accidentally)to 166lb after switching off. Then I cut down again to around 158lb.
2020: Since COVID hit, I have been cutting with running and Insanity. Get this--I am now down to 143lb. I look about 20 years old tops (I'm 29 this year). I'm feeling leaner than ever. And you know what? I'm going to keep going with the cutting. My goal is a high-schoolers cross-country runner physique. I've come to realize I'm a small framed dude, and the American message that dudes need to bulk and get big, beefy, and Thor-like no longer appeals to me. I know THICC women want an even bigger dude, so this might hurt my chances in certain ways, but screw it. I'm loving my body now and how youthful I feel.

TL;DR: "Eat and lift" is not necessarily good advice. You have to do what's best for your body. In my case, I don't carry weight well, and I have a small frame, so a "light" weight goal is perfectly fine.

Great read mate.  Took me a while to realise myself I was never going to be a massive bulky dude.  That bolded part is sooo true.  As you lose you just look so shit until as you say you maintain a little and even carb up.

[jingle.boy]

Kade... you get 400kms in last month??     Guess I should change the thread title.

I assumed the thread title was for me.  I don't actually remember saying that however. 

Nah, you never did... I just threw it out there.

[wolfking]

Kade... you get 400kms in last month??     Guess I should change the thread title.

I assumed the thread title was for me.  I don't actually remember saying that however. 

Nah, you never did... I just threw it out there.

Ok good.  I'm not going crazy!

Speaking of running, I've still been pretty active with it.  Sunday long runs are a staple and usually 2 or 3kms most days too.  Speed and times have platued heavily though.

Took advantage of the public holiday yesterday and busted out a 2.5km swim followed by an 8km run.  So tired and sore today it's not funny.  Haven't done much swimming and powered through the 2.5km so it's taking it's toll now.

[H2]

Great read mate.  Took me a while to realise myself I was never going to be a massive bulky dude.  That bolded part is sooo true.  As you lose you just look so shit until as you say you maintain a little and even carb up.

Isn't it wild how true that is? It blows my mind every time. I'll go from looking horrendous, untoned, weak, doughy to looking fantastic in like two days after switching to maintenance and getting some carbs in. I don't think this aspect of weight loss is stressed enough!

[jjrock88]

Kade I can’t believe you are aiming to try to run 750km in October. That’s just too much.

[wolfking]

Kade I can’t believe you are aiming to try to run 750km in October. That’s just too much.

 

This made me laugh so fucking hard! 

[wolfking]

Great read mate.  Took me a while to realise myself I was never going to be a massive bulky dude.  That bolded part is sooo true.  As you lose you just look so shit until as you say you maintain a little and even carb up.

Isn't it wild how true that is? It blows my mind every time. I'll go from looking horrendous, untoned, weak, doughy to looking fantastic in like two days after switching to maintenance and getting some carbs in. I don't think this aspect of weight loss is stressed enough!

It's a complete mindfuck too, especially when cutting.

[The Walrus]

Some guy I've never seen before walked into the office today, took one look at me and said, "Damn! You've lost a lot of weight!" and I'm like WTF, when was the last time I was fat, and who the fuck are you? 

But I guess that makes me feel better considering I look in the mirror every day and just think, "fat." So I'm extra happy and going to get a lot more fresh air tonight because of it, and then knock out another bodyweight workout before dark. And I just shot off a message to a girl so hopefully she and her dog can join me for a walk sometime soon 

Chicken and roasted veggies on the menu for dinner, as usual, because I am boring and easy to please. Accidentally spilled the entire cayenne pepper container onto the chicken, so uh, it has kick. 

[cramx3]

Chicken and roasted veggies on the menu for dinner

Same, baked chicken and veggies.  Keep it up and also, good luck with the girl 

I biked for the first time in over a week and weighed myself which I am not happy about after my vacation...

[Evermind]

Been slowly increasing the distance for my runs over the past few weeks while trying to keep the pace with mixed success. Today was 7km run in 41:25 which seems in line with my next goal, 10km under an hour at the end of November. Seems reasonable enough and I hope I can do it.

Kade I can’t believe you are aiming to try to run 750km in October. That’s just too much.