The getting back in shape thread

[Akasa]

I walked a mile and a half with about 20lbs of weight in my back pack.

[SengaKitty]

Okay, so my big brother told me I should start walking with weights on my ankles and in my hands. Anyone have any ideas for a way to do this without actually going out and buying weights, as I don't really have any spare cash to do that?

[Kiwi]

went for a 4.5k walk again, clocked in at 28 minutes both laps. considering thats what it took last week for us to walk/ jog it I was pretty happy with myself.

Im down another inch around my waist!

[crazylegs]

Okay, so my big brother told me I should start walking with weights on my ankles and in my hands.

Personally I wouldn't bother, all you'd achieve is to place extra strain on your joints, and if you're building your fitness levels this probably isn't a great idea.

If you're training to run a marathon while wearing combat boots it would be a different story though!

Yesterday I ran 3.2K in 17:26 (but no resistance training), I'll ease off tonight so I can do some weights, I was absolutely shagged (but not in the good way!) when I got off the treadmill last night!

[SengaKitty]

Thanks crazylegs I was told to try walking with a backpack filled with books/rocks/something to weigh it down. I already do a lot of walking, as I don't have a car, but I really want to lose 30lbs by June. Not so sure on running, as I don't have the proper shoes for it at the moment, plus having weak knees/ankles

[crazylegs]

Thanks crazylegs I was told to try walking with a backpack filled with books/rocks/something to weigh it down. I already do a lot of walking, as I don't have a car, but I really want to lose 30lbs by June.

If you are going to do that (and personally I [again] wouldn't recommend it) make sure you get a damn decent bag that holds the weight on the correct location on your back, but then the cost of buying a properly decent bag would be astronomical seeing as all you'll be doing is lugging around stones and weight in it and it'll be destroyed in a very short amount of time.

Thing is walking is very effective exercise in itself, you'll know when you've walked that little bit faster; you'll have a 'glow' (or, in my case sweat buckets!), and if you're walking everywhere anyhow you're already on the right track.

[One-Fang]

You can get specially designed weight-adding vests for just this purpose. Crazylegs is right - never use ankle/wrist weights for it as they place undue stress on the joints. It's harmful.

However, generally speaking, you can get better results by upping your walking. Firstly speed, if you're not already a fast walker. Eg I had to walk a 5k recently because I had a pulled calf muscle and couldn't run it. I maintained the same heart rate all the way around, and took only a few minutes longer. But BOY did the side glutes feel it the next day!

If speed walking ain't your thing, how about hills? Got access to any? Walking up and down hills will do you more benefit than simply adding weight.

[Rapscallion]

Psst - hills are cheap and plentiful (around here).

Rapscallion

[SengaKitty]

Actually, I live in a fairly flat area, but I do walk pretty fast. I've walked 0.3 miles in just under ten minutes... I'll definitely start walking faster though

[lupo pazzesco]

Didn't work out this morning, but kept my pedometer clipped on. About 2.14 miles today, just going to and from work, and during work alone, so not so bad.

Just finished a 40 minute workout. Mostly strength exercises with a little cardio, nothing too intense. I try to stagger out intense cardio and intense strength exercises out to alternating days. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays are predominantly cardio days, Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays are intense strenght exercises. Saturdays are either rest days, or whatever I feel like, such as bike riding, going for a long walk, etc.

Sore still, but in a good way. It's more a pleasant ache right now, hopefully it'll get better from here on out, as long as I stick to it.

Now...water...and shower...

[Rapscallion]

51 minutes for three hill hits, 671 calories, max heart rate up to 178 - probably something to do with not exercising for three or four days.

Rapscallion

[KiaKat]

Backstory:

I used to be an athlete. Field hockey, alpine ski racing, and Hunt Seat/competitive jumping (equestrian). In the beginning of my junior year of high school, I busted my knee (note: field hockey ball + knee = BAD) and was out of commission for a few months. Got back in time for the ski season, but was never in the same shape. I graduated, went off to college, and left college in short order for various reasons. Moved to The City and slowly starved for a few years, till I got into bartending.

And then I put on weight. Went from 105lbs (maybe, soaking wet, if my hair hadn't been cut lately) to nearly 150lbs. Did it slowly enough that I didn't really notice, except that I went up a size and I had boobs suddenly. Figured puberty had finally hit...until I went shopping one day, tried on a dress that, in my mind, would look great. In reality...not so much.

I flipped out. Immediately changed my eating habits and stopped drinking so much (I'd been bordering on alcoholic over the previous year). Within three months I'd dropped 15lbs. Within another three months, I'd dropped another 10. Hovered at around 125lbs for the next year and a bit, when I finally broke it and hit 120. Immediately bounced back up to 130.

***

Since then (in the past 16 months) I've boomeranged between 120 and 130. I'm sick of it, and with the advent of spring, decided to get off my butt and start running again. My local park has a great loop that I can park near and, if I walk the whole thing, takes me about an hour and 20 minutes.

For the first week (Sat, Sun, Wed, Fri), I was running a mile in about 13-14 minutes, gasping for air and generally being miserable. Last week (Sat, Sun, Fri, Sun) I dropped down to about 10-11 minutes, with a second mile at the end (the park I run in has the miles marked for a 5K race), at about a minute slower on the pace.

Today I broke the 10 minute mark. 9:48 on the mile. During the week I go a shorter loop, because I don't have time before work, but the mile run is the same chunk of the path both days.

I haven't run a mile in under 10 minutes in YEARS. Felt fantastic afterward. I'm a bit achy now, but I really pushed myself.

My current goals are twofold. First, to keep the pace under 10 minutes for the mile while not feeling like I'm going to die by the end of it, and second, to then add on chunks, eventually getting up to a 22 minute 5K (which is what I ran in HS).

The biggest concern is my knee. Every time I've started a running schedule, I've had problems with my knee - it's still screwed up both from the accident in HS, and from a congenital defect (plus possibly some undiagnosed minor hip dysplasia on the same side). I have a brace, but I'm trying to limit the stress for now, and I just bought new Merrells, so that should give me some better support than my previous running shoes.

[lupo pazzesco]

Tomorrow morning is first weigh in/measuring since I started this whole healthier kick/lifestyle change thing. Since then (April 1st) I've managed to keep my calories between 1500 and 1850 each day, low fat, high protein and fiber and moderate carbs. Drank more water. (Well sort of...I drink a lot of herbal teas. Does tea count, since technically there aren't any calories in tea? That's something that's been bugging me recently) the only day I exceeded the calories was on the 3rd for game night, but even then I didn't pig out on junk food. I had 2 cookies and a cinnamon roll as my sweets. And only 1 plate of food beforehand, so I think I'm doing all right.

I've also done some kind of physical activity each day, except for the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th. Well, i walked on those days, like I usually do, but nothing on top of that, like the pilates, yoga, cardio, etc.

I'm vaguely nervous. I'm not expecting a huge drop, but it'd be nice to see some change, if only to tell my aching muscles, "See? It really IS paying off! So quit complaining already!!" or something to that effect.

I have a new workout to try, that I'm planning on doing tomorrow after weights and measures. It looks like fun. And my friend highly recommends it, she says it's intense, but doesn't feel intense.

[Reyneth]

Less time at the gym this week than previously but still putting in time on the elliptical and weights. There's too much other going on right now to spend 60-90 minutes some nights.

But I keep going. And I'm not eating *well* but I'm eating better than I had in the past, so that's still an improvement.

[lupo pazzesco]

And I'm not eating *well* but I'm eating better than I had in the past, so that's still an improvement.

Yeah, I'm doing all right on the eating for the most part, but the white chocolate lindor truffles? TOTALLY necessary component in my daily intake...srsly...

I am finding I've hit that point where I want something sweet, and strawberries just won't do. So I may have to find something satisfyingly sugary without overloading and eating all my calories in one cookie...

but doesn't that sound tempting and lovely...?

Ok, enough babbling. Bedtime for Lupo!