Getting into shape

[Freed Roger]

This morning was hard. I haven't wimped out on a workout like this in 3 months. I am just dead tired.

I sense you are like me, get a bit OCD about excercising once you are in that mode. Typically some cluster [expletive] on the schedule will force me to lay off a day or two. Anyway, that begrudged time to recover seems to help get in better shape.

Lost 10+ pounds in a month and half-which in the winter months is a minor miracle for me. Excercise and changed some eating habits. At first, I had to lay off the beer almost completely, now I'm back to where I can have a few and still lose weight.

Probably only about 7 more lbs to be at my fighting weight. I feel a heck of lot better overall, when I run my joints and feet don't kill as much. Mixing it up between cardio (running, elliptical) weights seems to work best for me.

One thing I've noticed, several people we know have gotten on the bandwagon with excercise/eating better. A group plans to do the MS Mud Run in May. Our kids, they seem to benefit too from our example, making better choices and being more active.

[jim]

I've really gotten into shape with the boxing regime ... down to 202 this morning from about 220-225 last summer. I don't know that I actually will ever join a boxing gym, but I'm training for it. I have to do that or I can't keep an exercise regime up. For example, I can't just go lift weights or ride a bike or run just for the sake of getting in shape. I had been doing that for 2 years prior to this January and while I think it kept me from getting really sloppy, it really wasn't getting me in shape. It has to be for something else, even if it's an imaginary target. I flat out hate exercising for the sake of exercising.

Best shape of my life was when I was 28-32 and racing bikes. The goal wasn't to get in shape, the goal was to be able to keep up and do reasonably well in races. Second best shape of my life was HS/college, but again wasn't doing it to get in shape. Probably the 3rd best shape of my life is right now, and while i've been working out regularly for 2 years now it wasn't until 3 months ago when I decided to follow this regime when I got in shape.

btw - I can't recommend heavy bag/speed bag workouts enough. I'll warmup with some situps and pushups, and then do 3x2 minute rounds of jumping rope/shadow boxing or something. Get sweating and get the blood flowing. Then I'll go 5-6 rounds of 3 minutes on the bag with one minute rest. The first two rounds really focusing on technique - for example I might do a round where I do nothing but throw left hooks. Or maybe I'll work on a jab/hook combo .. something like that. Just concentrating on form and technique. 3-4 rounds I'll just box, throw random combo's, move around the bag, etc.. After this I'm pouring sweat, not sucking air but definitely have the heart rate up. Then the next 1-2 rounds are the killer - during a 3 minute round I'll throw 4 sets of 50 punches rapid fire and the final 30 seconds of just throwing knockout punches - as hard as you possibly can. Or I'll just throw random combo's making sure I get 200 punches in the first 2:30 and then again finishing with just throwing punches as hard as I possible can. You are toast after this .... but as soon as I get my wind I finish with 3 rounds of 2 minutes on the speed bag. This whole workout is < 45 minutes (:10 warmup/:25 heavy bag/:10 speed bag) and will destroy you.

[jim]

sense you are like me, get a bit OCD about excercising once you are in that mode.

Yep. Not only exercising, alot of things I'm like that. I just did 100 situps in my office because today was my core day and that's what I wimped out on and I felt guilty about it.

I'm about 5-7 pounds from my fighting weight as well, but I haven't been able to take that next step to get there. And I'm not motivated to take those last 54 The big thing for me is beer, I just won't give it up. I've cut back about 1 beer a night - so instead of 2-3 I'll have 1-2. Except last night when I had 3. I just really love beer, and I'm not saying that to be funny/cute. It's just a part of my diet that is a key component in making life enjoyable, and I won't give it up.

[Lesson]

Cardslesson, aren't you like 17? I know its about 20 years for me but I'm amazed HS kids and younger are out of shape.

18 now. And by out of shape, I mean I'm a few pounds more than I'd like to be. I'm in relatively good shape, but I just want to shed a few pounds.

[Fat_Bulldog]

I've lost 29 lbs. since November.

I have also been gaining much muscle. Been lifting 3-4 times/week and drinking low carb/low cal protein shakes for 1-2 meals a day along with amino acids. Lifting almost double of what I did when I started. Can also go twice the distance on the treadmill in the same amount of time as when I started.

I'm awesome.

[lukethedrifter]

I've lost 29 lbs. since November.

I have also been gaining much muscle. Been lifting 3-4 times/week and drinking low carb/low cal protein shakes for 1-2 meals a day along with amino acids. Lifting almost double of what I did when I started. Can also go twice the distance on the treadmill in the same amount of time as when I started.

I'm awesome.

You're turning me on. Beefy_Bulldog.

[Freed Roger]

According to this story/study , our perception of how much we excercise (or not) can have a placebo affect on our weight.

Langer is a researcher who has published several important and provocative studies. In this study, she decided to look at whether our perception of how much exercise we are getting has any effect on how our bodies actually look. To do this, she studied hotel maids.

As any casual observer of the hospitality industry knows, hotel maids spend the majority of their days lugging heavy equipment around endless hallways. Basically, almost every moment of their working lives is spent engaged in some kind of physical activity.

But Langer found that most of these women don't see themselves as physically active. She did a survey and found that 67 percent reported they didn't exercise. More than one-third of those reported they didn't get any exercise at all.

"Given that they are exercising all day long," Langer says, "that seemed to be bizarre."

Perceptions Matter

What was even more bizarre, she says, was that, despite the fact all of the women in her study far exceeded the U.S. surgeon general's recommendation for daily exercise, the bodies of the women did not seem to benefit from their activity.

Langer and her team measured the maids' body fat, waist-to-hip ratio, blood pressure, weight and body mass index. They found that all of these indicators matched the maids' perceived amount of exercise, rather than their actual amount of exercise.

So Langer set about changing perceptions.

She divided 84 maids into two groups. With one group, researchers carefully went through each of the tasks they did each day, explaining how many calories those tasks burned. They were informed that the activity already met the surgeon general's definition of an active lifestyle.

The other group was given no information at all.

One month later, Langer and her team returned to take physical measurements of the women and were surprised by what they found. In the group that had been educated, there was a decrease in their systolic blood pressure, weight, and waist-to-hip ratio — and a 10 percent drop in blood pressure.

[Fat_Bulldog]

I've lost 29 lbs. since November.

I have also been gaining much muscle. Been lifting 3-4 times/week and drinking low carb/low cal protein shakes for 1-2 meals a day along with amino acids. Lifting almost double of what I did when I started. Can also go twice the distance on the treadmill in the same amount of time as when I started.

I'm awesome.

You're turning me on. Beefy_Bulldog.

Just to be clear, wart is my [expletive].

[Sutter'sBeard]

I started working out again in January, shortly after my 40th birthday. It sucks getting old. After my first workout, I developed knee tendonitis. After about a month of that, I started getting shin splints in my other leg because I was favoring the bad knee. I hate that, mentally, I'm committed to getting in shape but my body is fighting me at every turn. I've lost 25lbs so far. 50 to go.

[Fat_Bulldog]

I started working out again in January, shortly after my 40th birthday. It sucks getting old. After my first workout, I developed knee tendonitis. After about a month of that, I started getting shin splints in my other leg because I was favoring the bad knee. I hate that, mentally, I'm committed to getting in shape but my body is fighting me at every turn. I've lost 25lbs so far. 50 to go.

Awesome. Hopefully your legs don't break down on your any more. I have so much yet to lose but don't think about that. I just know that this is something I have to do and it's how I live now. The benefits are weightloss and feeling/looking better.