Current Events > Trying to get fit SUCKS.

(+) Yeah! (+)

My shins and ankles are brutalized by running. Lucky for me I have a huge hill I walk up regularly to go to the grocer and carry everything back down it. But I want to deal with more intensive workouts and right now my legs just don't handle the impact well. I guess I need to bite the bullet and enjoy the exercise bike.

Currently 5'10, 250 lbs. Hoping to be 225 or so by years end and keep going.

Swim.

Are you working out with weights as well?

Change diet

Big_Nabendu posted...

Are you working out with weights as well?

Not at the moment. The gyms around me are expensive, dirty, and tiny, and I don't trust people to be following decent covid protocols. I have a gym membership available through work, but that's a 30 minute drive one way, and I've been making an effort to avoid driving since I moved to full time WFH.

DrizztLink posted...

Swim.

I'm incredibly afraid of bodies of water. Have been my whole life.

DespondentDeity posted...

Change diet

I've been good about that. Meal prep on the weekends to make it through the week. Going to be cooking up a shitload of peppers and chicken tomorrow for fajitas.

warlock7735 posted...

I'm incredibly afraid of bodies of water. Have been my whole life.

Alright, that's fair.

Is there a climbing wall near you?

Diet, sleep and healthy lifestyle is like 80% of the effort imo. Try to cut out sugar and unhealthy fats completely and you wont even need to workout that hard to see results quite soon.

I have been enjoying walking on a steep incline on the treadmill a lot lately. Streaming netflix on my phone while I do it, about 40 episodes into Attack on Titan right now

As a 5'10 150ish guy, can't imagine weighing an extra 100 pounds.

Whats your body fat percentage

DrizztLink posted...

Alright, that's fair.

Is there a climbing wall near you?

A couple in downtown pittsburgh. Not as much of a hike as going to work, but definitely not convenient by public transit or on foot. I think I end up driving once per month while the weather is nice.

Sounds like you need to stretch properly before your workouts. I'm in a similar spot as you, 5'11 at 251 pounds and If I don't stretch before I run on the treadmill, my shins hurt so much.

I'd also recommend using one of the free calorie tracking apps to make sure you don't overeat while you're trying to lose weight.

NoxObscuras posted...

Sounds like you need to stretch properly before your workouts. I'm in a similar spot as you, 5'11 at 251 pounds and If I don't stretch before I run on the treadmill, my shins hurt so much.

That's another thing, yoga could be helpful and easy enough to do from home.

Cobra1010 posted...

Diet, sleep and healthy lifestyle is like 80% of the effort imo. Try to cut out sugar and unhealthy fats completely and you wont even need to workout that hard to see results quite soon.

Then once you drop to like 180-200lbs, you can try more intense exercises. 250lbs sounds very heavy so for now just do some power walks. The bike is not bad. If you have access to gyms, those cross-trainers are good too.

Sleep is really the biggest issue. I'm seeing a doctor soon, but I hadn't realized how much sleep apnea has been smacking me around. I've been eating clean for about a month now, just trying to keep pushing through.

perhaps less impact heavy cardio? get a bike or rowing machine?

I will echo the yoga. You wont be losing any weight but it will help with flexibility and coordination. Also has heaps of mental benefits. It has done me well.

Sounds like you have bad cadence when running. Shins only hurt when you exercise poor posture.

don't listen to all these ppl, TC. sometimes shins hurt. drink more protein, give yourself a rest day.

I'm down to 204 from 239 in january!

I'll be in the 180s or 190s by the end of the year.

i calorie count and work out 6 days a week. recently gave up booze (cry) to lose more weight. ill still drink maybe once a week, but i was drinking every day and i packed on the pounds. wasnt even mixing, just pure 80 proof alcohol. still has a shitton of calories in it.

Get a set of resistance bands, better than weights for building muscle, and easier on your joints

dont be a baby

get on the junkyard system. start lifting random shit. washing machines and shit. throwin rocks.

You don't have to go a gym.
Buy some weights. Dumbells, a weight bench, anything. People always scream cardio. But weight lifting will help you lose weight. Immensely.

getting rid of sugar is the hardest

The difference in calories burned from running/jogging/walking is wayyyyy less than you would expect, but the impact on recovery and sustainability is huge.

If youre not trying to be a runner specifically, youd benefit a lot more by just walking instead.

SSJ2GrimReaper posted...

getting rid of sugar is the hardest

It is, but its SO helpful to get rid of it. They say it is as addictive as nicotine. When it comes to added sugar, every four grams of sugar is the equivalent to one sugar cube. That is the metric that I use to decide whether or not something has too much added sugar. I visualize myself crumbling that many sugar cubes into the food. Im going to stop myself before I go off on a rant about how much added sugar is in beef jerky (there should be none).

Oh, also I would get a smart watch. Theyre great for motivating you to work out. You can track your workouts and stuff. Theyre great.

discodancer77 posted...

The difference in calories burned from running/jogging/walking is wayyyyy less than you would expect, but the impact on recovery and sustainability is huge.

If youre not trying to be a runner specifically, youd benefit a lot more by just walking instead.

I totally believe that, I just kinda want to be able to run. Since high school I've always struggled with running and I wouldn't hate having the stamina and musculature to run regularly

Payzmaykr posted...

It is, but its SO helpful to get rid of it. They say it is as addictive as nicotine. When it comes to added sugar, every four grams of sugar is the equivalent to one sugar cube. That is the metric that I use to decide whether or not something has too much added sugar. I visualize myself crumbling that many sugar cubes into the food. Im going to stop myself before I go off on a rant about how much added sugar is in beef jerky (there should be none).

Oh, also I would get a smart watch. Theyre great for motivating you to work out. You can track your workouts and stuff. Theyre great.

Yep, I got a smart watch. I've been riding most sugars too, largely because my teeth are fucked and I'm trying to salvage what's left of them

sigh.... I keep telling people it doesn't need to be ridiculously difficult but no one ever listens... I've even had a few people get pissed off because I keep suggesting the same bloody thing...

ddp yoga, and yes it actually works. Follow the diet plan, work out 1-2 times a day 4-5 times a week and the weight will fall off you.

A $20 food scale is a better tool for weight loss than a $200 smart watch lmao

Start smoking

Ivany2008 posted...

sigh.... I keep telling people it doesn't need to be ridiculously difficult but no one ever listens... I've even had a few people get pissed off because I keep suggesting the same bloody thing...

Truly you are the greatest martyr of our time.

are natural sugars as bad/the same as added sugars? like some fruit are high in natural sugar but have no added sugar

I've been running/walking 5 miles everyday for the past 4 weeks and my body is starting to feel it now. I don't feel exhausted after doing that or playing tennis/ultimate frisbee, but my legs had me feeling like an 80 year old last night

If you have a local park, shooting a basketball around is a good exercise that isn't that intensive for an easy workout day

DrizztLink posted...

Truly you are the greatest martyr of our time.

I'm just a guy who lost a shit ton of weight the last time I went on that diet. I went from 275 to 228 in less than 3 months. That that for what you will. Just remember that I was super strict with the diet, which includes: No dairy, no grains, weighted meals, and worked out twice a day for 3 months.

I fell off hard, but I'm slowly starting to get back to it.

Damn Im the same height at 185 and running fucks up my joints cant imagine what youre going through. I switched to a stationary bike and its way better.

discodancer77 posted...

The difference in calories burned from running/jogging/walking is wayyyyy less than you would expect, but the impact on recovery and sustainability is huge.

If youre not trying to be a runner specifically, youd benefit a lot more by just walking instead.

Yes and no. While true that I spend about 100 calories / mile walking and about 135 calories / mile running, there is time to think about. If I run an hour, that is 7 miles and about 950 calories. If I walk an hour, that is 4 miles and about 400 calories. Massive difference.

Right now I'm doing couch 2 5k with ring fit or stationary bike on days in between. Additionally I walk about 2 miles to the store 3ish days per week, with the trip there being immensely uphill and the trip back being carrying groceries. I need to figure out a way to get weights in here as well, but right now all I have is old dumbbells with terrible clamps that tend to let the weights come loose at terrible times.

warlock7735 posted...

Right now I'm doing couch 2 5k with ring fit or stationary bike on days in between. Additionally I walk about 2 miles to the store 3ish days per week, with the trip there being immensely uphill and the trip back being carrying groceries. I need to figure out a way to get weights in here as well, but right now all I have is old dumbbells with terrible clamps that tend to let the weights come loose at terrible times.

Pay attention to second hand sites like Craigslist and Kijiji. There are people out there throwing that kind of stuff away. And worse case scenario, you can make half assed weights. Crushed stone/Cement is dirt cheap from a gravel yard. I'm talking less than 40 bucks for a full ton of stone/sand. Yeah, its not as pretty as manufactured equipment, but it gets the job done. Even taking a burlap sack and filling it with sand will make decent "fake" weights.

Ivany2008 posted...

Even taking a burlap sack and filling it with sand will make decent "fake" weights.

Yeah, I believe there isn't a lot of risk in doing stuff like curls and lunges with home-made weights.

I don't think deadlifting or pressing the weights would be a good idea, but simple exercises shouldn't be an issue.

I work for a sports retailer, so I could buy new weights at a decent price, but I am self conscious about spending money, especially on things that take up a lot of space. It's probably a really good idea, but I need to get rid of some of the old crap floating around my house first.

SSJ2GrimReaper posted...

are natural sugars as bad/the same as added sugars? like some fruit are high in natural sugar but have no added sugar

The sugar in fruit is fine. You want to stay away from added sugar. Also synthetic sugars (sugar free drinks).

Did a little bit of yard work and a few hours of cooking today. Very tired, but half of that is because I slept poorly and didn't recover well from yesterday. Should be getting tested for sleep apnea soon, so that should clear this roadblock.

I'm back down below 250 now. I think this is also easier than it otherwise would be, because I gained a ton of weight over the winter from being on antidepressants, and also had about a monthlong binge before I bought my scale and started taking health seriously.

Oh man the antidepressants. I gained 40 in a month. Told my doc i wanted off. Now i deal with things naturally. Was able to lose the 40

Diet is king in regards to weightloss, but some light cardio and lifting is a good idea to speed things along and get in better overall shape.

Also, nothing impedes health goals like being injured, so make sure if your body is telling you something is wrong to listen to it. Address that shit now or you'll need to later when it puts you on your ass.

I'm finally at the point where I don't hate jogging. I've gotten into a pretty good routine of jogging a little over a mile every weekday morning, and at long last I've crossed that threshold where it's starting to energize me for the rest of the day instead of wiping me out before the day's even started.

Hasn't made a dent in my weight loss / physical appearance, though. Gotta get serious about taking the next step through dieting and lifting.