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

[wolfking]

Thanks lads.  A lot of others will just make their targets or are stopping when they have hit their numbers.  A couple have 15-20kms left to go.  It's funny watching peoples mindsets during this thing and seeing the different personalities and how they respond to this.  I'll be looked at as mad for going over, but the finish line for me is the 30 days, not the target I set myself.

It's fascinating how weak minded some people are.  Mentally, I have everyone covered but I guess that's why I'm the boss and they are in the positions they are.  No disrespect.  But one kid who is 24 will struggle to hit 10km.  He's not a great swimmer but that target is pathetic.  Trying to motivate him now to get active and fit.  Don't leave it any later like I did.  So ignorant though.

Saying that I wake up and look outside and it's fucking pouring.     Ah well, at least there won't be many other people around this morning in the pool.

[wolfking]

30 days is over.  77km completed. 

[kirksnosehair]

Can I join up? Ive been training to run a marathon and using that as an excuse to eat whatever I want. So.... I actually have gained weight while training lol I'm running my marathon Saturday, after that I gotta get back on the rails!!!

There is an old saying that goes like this:  You cannot exercise your way out of a bad diet.  Running alone will not produce weight loss.   What you eat has a far greater impact on your weight.

[jingle.boy]

30 days is over.  77km completed. 

That's awesome mate!

[wolfking]

30 days is over.  77km completed. 

That's awesome mate!

Thanks mate, and thanks again for donating.

[jingle.boy]

30 days is over.  77km completed. 

That's awesome mate!

Thanks mate, and thanks again for donating.

[Kotowboy]

Can I join up? Ive been training to run a marathon and using that as an excuse to eat whatever I want. So.... I actually have gained weight while training lol I'm running my marathon Saturday, after that I gotta get back on the rails!!!

There is an old saying that goes like this:  You cannot exercise your way out of a bad diet.  Running alone will not produce weight loss.   What you eat has a far greater impact on your weight.

There is something that i've been pondering... Say you've been eating really healthy for like a week and doing a 6mile walk every day and lifting very heavy things for a couple of hours a day...

You decide to have one takeaway - fish and chips... Surely you can't put on *more* weight than the actual meal *WEIGHS* ?

For starters (no pun intended) there's not going to be 1:1 transfer from food to belly.

Surely one takeaway after a week of being 'good' isn't going to do any harm ? If you stood on the scale holding your meal - it would barely register.

Interesting thought I thought !

I always feel guilty after getting one takeaway like every once in a blue moon as for some reason I always think it's going to undo weeks of eating healthy and

exercising every day.

[wolfking]

One cheat meal a week is fine if you are really strict the rest of the week while exercising.  Saying that, you can put away a lot of calories in one sitting if you really try.  I've lost weight while binging on weekends but now I'm wanting to really lower my body fat.  Can't achieve that binging every weekend, no matter how strict you are and how much you exercise.

It all comes down to your goals really.

[jingle.boy]

The actual physical weight of a meal is not what you actually the physical weight you retain from said meal.  I've said it often, if you are to eat 28-35 meals (large or small) a week, and you are mostly clean on all but 3 of them, you're still doing good 90%+ of the time.  That's an A in everyone's books.

There's no reason to feel guilt for any kind of reward or cheat meal - within moderation.

[Kotowboy]

Well I didn't have any chicken in my freezer tonight for my usual stir fry ( no oil, chicken, leaf salad and sauce with some rice and a naan bread )

So I had a large sausage and chips instead. I ate it slowly and didn't even finish it. But I wasn't in the mood to go all the way to the supermarket.



As I said I walk around 6 miles a day - really active at my part time job - mostly lifting boxes full of books for a couple of hours. But i've put on around 14lb

in lockdown

I know people say that when muscle weighs more ( or the same ) as fat so if you lose fat and gain muscle - you won't notice the difference on a scale...

...But I lost like 28lb a couple of years ago and got a bit addicted to seeing the numbers go down.

[wolfking]

The muscle weighing more than fat thing is a bit of a crock for the most part IMO.  Not 14 pounds worth.

It's simply calories in vs calories out mate.  I've learnt that people over estimate the calories they burn from physical activity.

Sausages and chips though, now we're talking.

[jingle.boy]

The muscle weighing more than fat thing is a bit of a crock for the most part IMO.  Not 14 pounds worth.

It's simply calories in vs calories out mate.  I've learnt that people over estimate the calories they burn from physical activity.

Sausages and chips though, now we're talking.

Yeah, highly unlikely anyone adds 14lbs of lean mass in 10 months without an extremely strict diet, and a fairly intensive resistance training program.

[Kotowboy]

Sausages and chips though, now we're talking.

I didn't finish it I had no ketchup in the house and didn't want to warm up some beans on the hob.

[gmillerdrake]

So I have a Half Marathon Trail Run coming up this sunday 3/7......I've run this race every March since 2011 but this year will be a bit different. After having Covid in mid December my appetite for running and exercise really hasn't been what it used to be. I've been playing Hockey for 2-3 hours every sunday night....but where I used to run 5 miles 3-4 days a week has been once, maybe twice every week or two since I had Covid.

I'm not expecting to break any personal records or anything in this race....those days are gone.....but I am a good 20lbs over the weight I 'normally' carry so that'll just add to the 'fun' of the race    I'm just looking to finish without twisting an ankle or taking a massive spill and breaking something.

[wolfking]

So I have a Half Marathon Trail Run coming up this sunday 3/7......I've run this race every March since 2011 but this year will be a bit different. After having Covid in mid December my appetite for running and exercise really hasn't been what it used to be. I've been playing Hockey for 2-3 hours every sunday night....but where I used to run 5 miles 3-4 days a week has been once, maybe twice every week or two since I had Covid.

I'm not expecting to break any personal records or anything in this race....those days are gone.....but I am a good 20lbs over the weight I 'normally' carry so that'll just add to the 'fun' of the race    I'm just looking to finish without twisting an ankle or taking a massive spill and breaking something.

What would you average time be for something like this mate?  I still can fathom 21km on a trail track.

[SchecterShredder]

Back in my trail running days i was easily 60-90s/km slower than my pavement pace. And the gap got worse as the distance went up.

[TAC]

So I had a large sausage and I ate it slowly and I wasn't in the mood to go all the way.

WTF kind of thread is this??

[gmillerdrake]

So I have a Half Marathon Trail Run coming up this sunday 3/7......I've run this race every March since 2011 but this year will be a bit different. After having Covid in mid December my appetite for running and exercise really hasn't been what it used to be. I've been playing Hockey for 2-3 hours every sunday night....but where I used to run 5 miles 3-4 days a week has been once, maybe twice every week or two since I had Covid.

I'm not expecting to break any personal records or anything in this race....those days are gone.....but I am a good 20lbs over the weight I 'normally' carry so that'll just add to the 'fun' of the race    I'm just looking to finish without twisting an ankle or taking a massive spill and breaking something.

What would you average time be for something like this mate?  I still can fathom 21km on a trail track.

I’ve ran this race in under 2 hours and 20 minutes three times. But I’ve also ran it close to three hours a couple times also. It’s all about the conditions since they don’t cancel it all all

My ‘typical’ road pace for a half marathon is around two hours. Trail races are a bit more tedious.....especially as i age. If I can manage a 10:30-11:00 minute per mile pace this Sunday I’d be thrilled considering I have not been running all that much lately.

If I had to bet I’d say I’ll be close to three hours this Sunday. Overweight and under trained doesn’t bode well for me 

[jingle.boy]

Go get 'em tiger!

I had some nice gains the past week.  Pullups are improving - did 7 sets of 8 unassisted in my last legs/back day (not 7 consecutive sets).  First time I've gotten thru 7 sets at that rep quantity totally unassisted.  Also have some nice metabolic endurance in my legs - the p90x Yoga routine has a segment where you stand on one-leg for just over 2 minutes doing a variety of 'warrior' stances, standing splits/twists.  I'd never been able to hold the full 2 minutes ... until this week.

I'm trying to actually increase my calories a little last/this week, aiming to stay about 10%-15% below maintenance.  It would probably help a lot if I actually tracked my intake!    For now, eyeballing it (the food, and the results in the mirror) seems to be working ok.

[kirksnosehair]

Can I join up? Ive been training to run a marathon and using that as an excuse to eat whatever I want. So.... I actually have gained weight while training lol I'm running my marathon Saturday, after that I gotta get back on the rails!!!

There is an old saying that goes like this:  You cannot exercise your way out of a bad diet.  Running alone will not produce weight loss.   What you eat has a far greater impact on your weight.

There is something that i've been pondering... Say you've been eating really healthy for like a week and doing a 6mile walk every day and lifting very heavy things for a couple of hours a day...

You decide to have one takeaway - fish and chips... Surely you can't put on *more* weight than the actual meal *WEIGHS* ?

For starters (no pun intended) there's not going to be 1:1 transfer from food to belly.

Surely one takeaway after a week of being 'good' isn't going to do any harm ? If you stood on the scale holding your meal - it would barely register.

Interesting thought I thought !

I always feel guilty after getting one takeaway like every once in a blue moon as for some reason I always think it's going to undo weeks of eating healthy and

exercising every day.

After many years of trial and error I've determined that successful dieting requires that you do not deprive yourself of the foods you love, you just limit your intake of said foods to "occasionally."   An example for me would be that generally speaking I avoid sugar, carbs, starches and saturated fats most days but on Sunday mornings I go out to breakfast with my best friend and I eat what I want.  Usually a waffle with bacon or pancakes and bacon.  I'm not an egg person.  Every now and then I will have an ice cream or a piece of cake at a birthday party.  But I don't do these things habitually, that's what will get me in trouble. 


So, I don't think there is anything wrong with having fish and chips once in a while or some other "not so good for you, but very tasty" treats like a big old bacon cheeseburger and a plate of french fries.  In the long run, doing that from time to time, assuming at all other times you are avoiding the items I listed above, you'll keep the weight off.   

[kirksnosehair]

The muscle weighing more than fat thing is a bit of a crock for the most part IMO.  Not 14 pounds worth.

It's simply calories in vs calories out mate.  I've learnt that people over estimate the calories they burn from physical activity.

Sausages and chips though, now we're talking.

Yeah, highly unlikely anyone adds 14lbs of lean mass in 10 months without an extremely strict diet, and a fairly intensive resistance training program.

True, but it's not a crock at all that muscle is heavier than fat.  There is a difference in the weight of muscle vs fat because muscle is far more dense.  So, a cubic inch of muscle will weigh more than a cubic inch of fat.  Ask any physician and they'll tell you it's true.  Butchers know this as well.   I don't know how much the difference is and I'm sure it varies from person to person but can share my own experience with this.  I did a couple of "Boot Camps" and at the end of the last one I did about a year ago when I was down to about 170lbs there was a period of time towards the end of the bootcamp where I took another inch off my waist but gained 2 pounds in the same two week period when I went from 168 to 170 but my pants size went from 34" to 32.5" during that same time period.  I only found this out because I had to have my suit pants altered for a wedding because the 34" was falling off me. 


I don't think it's a massive difference though.  But a lot of people near the end of that bootcamp saw their weight creep up a tiny bit and they were all freaking out about it until the drill instructor told us it was quite common for this to happen, more with women but it happens with guys too. 

[Evermind]

Gary and I running after Covid:



Back from 74 kg (163 lbs) to stable 70 kg (154 lbs) though.

[gmillerdrake]

Gary and I running after Covid:



Back from 74 kg (163 lbs) to stable 70 kg (154 lbs) though.

     No kidding. Every little awkward tinge of pain or weird feeling in my chest since Covid sends my mind into the gutter. I can 'feel' that things are different but it's not like it's affecting me to where I can't do things. But I can certainly tell.

And great work on knocking off that 10lbs.    I need to get that done

[wolfking]

So I have a Half Marathon Trail Run coming up this sunday 3/7......I've run this race every March since 2011 but this year will be a bit different. After having Covid in mid December my appetite for running and exercise really hasn't been what it used to be. I've been playing Hockey for 2-3 hours every sunday night....but where I used to run 5 miles 3-4 days a week has been once, maybe twice every week or two since I had Covid.

I'm not expecting to break any personal records or anything in this race....those days are gone.....but I am a good 20lbs over the weight I 'normally' carry so that'll just add to the 'fun' of the race    I'm just looking to finish without twisting an ankle or taking a massive spill and breaking something.

What would you average time be for something like this mate?  I still can fathom 21km on a trail track.

I’ve ran this race in under 2 hours and 20 minutes three times. But I’ve also ran it close to three hours a couple times also. It’s all about the conditions since they don’t cancel it all all

My ‘typical’ road pace for a half marathon is around two hours. Trail races are a bit more tedious.....especially as i age. If I can manage a 10:30-11:00 minute per mile pace this Sunday I’d be thrilled considering I have not been running all that much lately.

If I had to bet I’d say I’ll be close to three hours this Sunday. Overweight and under trained doesn’t bode well for me 

Solid.  Good luck mate.

[wolfking]

My running times have seriously stagnated.  2 weeks ago I did a 10km at 5:29 average pace per km but last Sunday did a 12km at 5:55 average.  It's so hard to keep momentum going and to keep improving.

[jingle.boy]

It's so hard to keep momentum going and to keep improving.

I hear ya.  I struggle with that in my lifting sometimes too - it's real nice when I can routinely, week-over-week, see increases in my total effort (either reps, sets, or weight)... but when I struggle and can't do the same, it's a bit of a gut punch.  I just remember that there are a lot of factors that go into it ... one major one being the day of and day-before nutrition.  Sunday, I didn't have a terribly big dinner, so my Sunday night workout was a fucking bear.  I had to pace myself more than I would've wanted, and I mentally didn't have it.

I read a quote recently that I just keep re-stating in my head during all my workouts ... "take more than your body is willing to give you".  Well, my body was fightin back on Sunday! 

[kirksnosehair]

When you get to a certain age the "gains" stop and you go into a sort of "maintain" mode where what happens is it gets more and more difficult to maintain what you're doing on a day to day basis.  The days of me bench pressing 225lbs for 10 reps are long behind me.  All I'm trying to accomplish now is maintaining the muscle mass I have now and not putting on too much fat mass.  I do that more by watching what I eat than by working out.


I stopped trying to lift heavy shit when I hit around 50.  I just found it was tearing up my joints and not really giving me a whole lot of benefits.  Higher reps with lower weight helped get me into better shape with more stamina and energy.  I also lost about 20 pounds once I decided I didn't need to bench-press 315lbs and squat 450lbs anymore.  I lost some muscle mass, sure, but I also improved my BMI by like 30% in a year. 

[jingle.boy]

I'm nowhere near that... but whenever I can move my dumbbell OHP from 45lbs for 8 reps to 45 x 10, or 50 x 8, it makes me a happy camper.  Or if I can get thru 7 sets of 8 pullups completely unassisted, when the week before I had to do the last 3-4 reps on the last couple sets with a band... those are the kinds of gains I'm talking about.

Next week... upping my pullup reps to 10, and see how many I can get unassisted.  Hopefully it's more than 56.

[kirksnosehair]

Well, enjoy those gains while you're still able to make them because it's not going to last no matter how much you want it to.   Did you say you were 50?  You're probably at or near the high water mark right now.  I mean I started dialing back the power lifting when I hit about 40 but when I was around 52 or 53 I fucked up my lower back doing heavy squats and that was the last heavy workout I ever did.

[wolfking]

I feel I struggle at 36 with gaining and even maintaining.  I'm fucked when I hit 50. 

[jingle.boy]

Well, enjoy those gains while you're still able to make them because it's not going to last no matter how much you want it to.   Did you say you were 50?  You're probably at or near the high water mark right now.  I mean I started dialing back the power lifting when I hit about 40 but when I was around 52 or 53 I fucked up my lower back doing heavy squats and that was the last heavy workout I ever did.

I'm turning 50 later this year.

[wolfking]

50 ain't old hey.

[gmillerdrake]

50 ain't old hey.

Especially with the Canadian exchange rate

[Podaar]

I'm turning 50 later this year.

Lucky bastard.

[wolfking]