HalFitness

drifter

drifter

I bought some protein bars. I thought it was awesome that they had 30g per.

No, not awesome. They taste like sadness.
 
PatrThom

PatrThom

drifter said:
I bought some protein bars. I thought it was awesome that they had 30g per.
No, not awesome. They taste like sadness.
Click to expand...
They claim to help you out by being packed with protein.
What they are packed with could also be called "hardened paste."

--Patrick
 
Tinwhistler

Tinwhistler

Down another 6 lbs or so since the last update.

Not really exercising all that hard. But I have cut my dinner portions sizes to about half what they were a couple of years ago. And, ironically, have dropped the diet sodas in favor of regular sodas. Well, except red bull. I just like the way the diet red bull tastes more than the regular option.

25 lbs to go before I'm the same weight I was when I was working the Texas Renaissance Festival in 2003. That was a decent weight, and I'd be happy to be there.

At this rate, I'll be there in a year or two. Heh.
 
drawn_inward

drawn_inward

Tinwhistler said:
Down another 6 lbs or so since the last update.

Not really exercising all that hard. But I have cut my dinner portions sizes to about half what they were a couple of years ago. And, ironically, have dropped the diet sodas in favor of regular sodas. Well, except red bull. I just like the way the diet red bull tastes more than the regular option.

25 lbs to go before I'm the same weight I was when I was working the Texas Renaissance Festival in 2003. That was a decent weight, and I'd be happy to be there.

At this rate, I'll be there in a year or two. Heh.
Click to expand...
Slow and steady wins the race! And, your body has "normal" internal weight thermometer that has to adjust to the lost weight so it doesn't think it is starving. I also need to cut back portion-size, especially dinner portion. I have stopped eating desserts during the week, but I am not working out at all. I do need to take advantage of a great walking trail that is about 20 yds from my front door. I am lazy.
 
Bubble181

Bubble181

Got myself a fitness membership. Now to convince myself to actually go on occasion. It doesn't help that it's a very cheap fitness - the machines are fairly modern and good, but there's absolutely 0 help in planning, making a routine, explaining how the machines work, or anything. Blegh.
 
drifter

drifter

There's usually some sort of instructions on the side of the machines, no? If not, you could always take a picture and post it in here for an explanation.

There are beginner strength programs out there you can follow (Starting Strength, Strong Lifts), although those are based on doing free weights, which it sounds like your gym may not have. You could give Fitness Blender a try. You could also just follow this basic concept: balance push with pull for a given plane of movement. By that I mean if you do a vertical pushing movement like overhead press, balance it with a vertical pulling movement like pull ups. If you do a horizontal pushing movement like bench press, balance it with back rows, and so on. 3 sets of 8 reps, resting 1-2 minutes between sets is a common starting point.

If you want to do cardio, pick a machine and go at it for about 30 minutes or so. Couch to 5k is a popular starting running program. Just remember: if you're going hard enough that you couldn't hold a conversation, ease up. Simple tip to stay in your target heart rate.

Either way you go, it's a good idea to spend a couple minutes warming up before starting, and then stretching once you're done.

Don't eat too much junk food, get plenty of sleep and water. Eat more protein if you're strength training. I think that about covers the basics.
 
Tinwhistler

Tinwhistler

Down another 5 lbs.

A couple of years ago, I saved this link to the NY Times "scientific 7 minute workout." At the time, I couldn't even get past the wall sit (which was depressing as hell, because I was super-athletic all throughout my 20's). Now, I can almost complete the whole thing. Which is nice, because it's considered an 8 on the "discomfort" scale for interval training. Working out for 7 minutes doesn't seem like much, but that's a pretty tough routine if you do it right. Especially if you're old and fat ;)

Bought some new clothes and have gone down 3 sizes since the start of 2014, but they're a little loose. I think I'll be having to buy some more new clothes in a couple months.

I'm kind of happy about the whole thing.
 
Adam

Adam

I have to say having an athletic-minded gf makes all the difference in the world. I know with the ex who was basically addicted to WoW, it was too easy to just order pizza and pig out in front of a PC, but damned if I haven't been busting my ass and getting in the best shape of my life. If you follow me on twitter, it's almost annoying how much running I do. And I picked up a Fitbit Charge HR which adds an additional component of training that I'm even more encouraged to haul ass. My cardio has certainly approved (5:33 minute/km for 5K) and biking helps with quad development. Focus on core work through planking and it's been a pretty awesome change.

I'll have to try that 7 minute workout @Tinwhistler. Everything helps!
 
drifter

drifter

Took the new (to me) bike out for my first real ride today. Ended up biking for about an hour, and geez my saddle is sore. I enjoyed it more than running, though. I could see myself making a habit out of this, but I guess time will tell.
 
fade

fade

Staff member
I refuse to buy a $40 logo-covered bike jersey when a $6 champion shirt from Target works as well, but I do have padded bike shorts. For anything more than 10 miles, they're ass-savers.
 
Tinwhistler

Tinwhistler


I was afraid these things would be gimicky. And I guess they are, compared to just having a bunch of different-weighted dumbbells. But I didn't want to clutter up my loft (which is already cluttered enough).

And trust me, these things are plenty heavy. I do like the dial-a-weight feature, and it works really well.
 
drawn_inward

drawn_inward

Tinwhistler said:
I was afraid these things would be gimicky. And I guess they are, compared to just having a bunch of different-weighted dumbbells. But I didn't want to clutter up my loft (which is already cluttered enough).

And trust me, these things are plenty heavy. I do like the dial-a-weight feature, and it works really well.
Click to expand...
All of those products work...if you use them. ;)
 
Tinwhistler

Tinwhistler

drawn_inward said:
All of those products work...if you use them. ;)
Click to expand...
Some more than others. I've owned a bowflex before, and didn't like the way it felt at all. The soloflex I had in my 20's, on the other hand, did a really good job. Some exercise bikes are comfortable, others, not so much. Same with those nordic ski-machine thingamabobs.

If I find a machine annoying to use, I generally won't stick with it. Consequently, we do a lot of research before buying exercise equipment--and we tend to use the stuff we buy as a result. There's a reason we're losing weight in the house :D
 
Tinwhistler

Tinwhistler

So, you know how I said my new pants were already getting a little loose, even though they were a full size smaller?

Today, I was walking to the kitchen with my hands full (of the martini glasses I posted elsewhere) and my shorts just fell right off.

They're like less than a month old...blargh
 
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