Exercise enthusiasts and wannabees only !!!

[TOOL460002]

I fall into the "was already overweight but got way fatter" category. But then I had an epiphany of sorts, got my stuff together, and lost over 35lbs since March. (The government says I'm no longer obese, just overweight lol!) Big part has been fixing sleep and diet, but that helps enormously in my energy level and activity level. I already had some physical therapy equipment, but I have found new ways to anchor resistance bands for other exercises. I even bought some water weights. Cheap but actually usable and not expensive to ship.

Found an anchor/pully system for lats/triceps, but now I have to drill it into a ceiling beam or something. Probably going to crawl in the attic, because I don't think it's like using a stud finder. That's my next project.

My only other excercise/weight loss tip: Get a dog. If you don't tire them out they will chew on everything. I can confidently say that right now, at this point in my life, I have the cardio of a 3mo old puppy. Nowhere to go but up!

 

[rtslinger]

So quick update 192 this morning less two pounds goal of 194
I am going to set a new goal of my weight when I was a senior in HS which was 188

 

[hrodbert696]

Hadn't noticed this thread. For me, the lockdown didn't change things too much; I teach college and the academic year tends to dictate my routines. Each Spring I start running, and generally doing some weights in my basement (nothing huge). When the school year starts in the Fall I swear I'll keep it up but as the weather gets colder or once I catch sick for a bit or whatever I fall off the exercise wagon until next Spring.

I had a checkup a couple months ago and my weight was 181. The previous one had been pre-pandemic, September of 2019, and I had been 165. I don't care about the numbers too much, but it showed me how much difference six months of running had made in 2019 and how much I had to make up coming out of hibernation for 2021. I also have an issue with bad posture and my back getting humped so the doctor said to work on back exercises a lot.

I've got a route of a few loops around our neighborhood that makes just a tad over 5k to jog, doing that about five days a week. A couple of days a week each on lower body and upper body strength work, with 15 or 20 lb. dumbells, and that's about it.

The town held a 2.75 mile race in May (it's the 275th anniversary, hence the odd distance) and I came in at 21.35, about 8 1/2 minutes per mile. There's a 5k on July 4th, we'll see how I do at that.

And I swear - I SWEAR - I'll keep exercising through the Winter this year. Promise.

 

[slobake]

Was going to the gym a lot just to give mrs. slo some space in our small hotel room. We finally rented a small cottage after six months living out of suitcases. It is small and I still go to the gym because I like doing it. Got my bike out of storage and it is an 8 mile ride to the gym on a nice trail.
Didn't notice at first but I have gotten a lot stronger and lost weight as well. Still a bit of a belly but not much. Feeling good physically.

 

[rtslinger]

I have looked at the BMI chart and it says I should weigh in at like 165? to be in the normal range

@ 5'10 I would be a rail at 165. I think it is not something anyone should use as a gauge if you are trying to maintain a muscular physique

 

[Chris Fitzgerald]

I have looked at the BMI chart and it says I should weigh in at like 165? to be in the normal range
View attachment 4320962
@ 5'10 I would be a rail at 165. I think it is not something anyone should use as a gauge if you are trying to maintain a muscular physique

That's the National heart and lung association site. There is a blurb on the BMI tab that gives a disclaimer about taking BMI alone too literally:

I'm currently 6'1" and 175 and closer to 60 than 50, but there was a time in my late 30's when I was a gym rat and weighed 190 with less than 10% body fat. Some young new college grad working at my work place's "Get Healthy Now" center (which regulates health insurance discounts for people who fill out their health info and agree to speak to an "advisor") told me on the phone after reading my chart that I was "borderline overweight" and that I might consider losing a few pounds. I called the supervisor and requested a new "advisor". People working in the health care field need to at least know these kind of basic variation possibilities WRT BMI readings.

 

[rtslinger]

Rocking my Planet Fitness shirt important part of that is it's a Medium

 

[jmattbassplaya]

COVID has been a rollercoaster for me. I was a super fit 165, jumped up to 190 at the peak of everything, got my ish together and dropped to 170, and have since crept back up to 175+. It has been tough. I feel like my energy levels have dropped substantially since when I was 165 at the start of all this. I'm slowly getting it back, but people aren't kidding when they say it's easier to maintain than to rebuild once you get north of 30 years old.

 

[hrodbert696]

May as well update - ran the Sparkler 5k for my town's July 4th. Came in at 24:24.7. My sister is now calling me a "jock." Nerd me has no idea how to process that...

 

[rtslinger]

Breakfast 5am

 

[jmattbassplaya]

Get some!

 

[rtslinger]

Those pictured above are my 35 lbs dumbells that
I work out with in the morning starting at 5:00am
The routine is, one set consists of bi curls, hammer curls, military press and overhead tricep extensions
I usually switch out after a week reverse for hammers , Lateral Raise for M press for Tricep Ext I do kick backs
reps are descending first set = 15 reps, set 2 = 12, set 3=8, set 4= 6 set 5=3
the sets are completed with very little rest in between
after that I take 5 and than do my age +1 in pushups

 

[rtslinger]

Small set back in my training MRI shows I have a tear in my Achilles tendon it is a small tear, but wow painful as all get when trying to use stairs. I have a support brace on the way. This may slow me down, but I won't stop training

 

[the general]

I was one of those people who went downhill when covid hit. I was working out 5-6 days a week and eating good, weighed about 250-ish lbs(I'm like 6' 2" and have always been a rather big boned fella, so 250 lb is pretty good lol). But when covid hit, I became depressed and basically shut down. I stopped trying to figure out ways to work out, wasn't eating great, and did a fair amount of drinking. It wasn't until our hunting seasons started, that I snapped out of it and was able to get outside to see if I could put some dinner on table.

I've slowly been making an effort to get back to the gym and eat good again(hit the gym 3 days this week and will probably go today.), and might only do any drinking 1 day a week, if it at all. It's going to be a long road to get back to where I was, as I've lost a fair amount of strength, particularly in my arms and legs. I am showing signs of my strength coming back though, so that's encouraging.

While were on the topic of exercise/healthier lifestyle, I'm looking for lunch/dinner ideas. Anyone have any favorites? I have some cookbooks and the My Fitness Pal app that sends some stuff once in awhile, but I'm always on the lookout for ideas/suggestions. Thanks in advance!

 

[Joe Nerve]

While were on the topic of exercise/healthier lifestyle, I'm looking for lunch/dinner ideas. Anyone have any favorites? I have some cookbooks and the My Fitness Pal app that sends some stuff once in awhile, but I'm always on the lookout for ideas/suggestions. Thanks in advance!

I've been eating peanut butter, pumpkin seeds and banana on Dave's Killer thinly sliced bread a lot for lunch. So long as the peanut butter is only peanuts and salt, its all good. I'm convinced its all the crap in Skippy that makes people fat.

I'm pretty close to being vegan (which you're clearly not ), so I can't help much with the dinner plans.

Wish you the best in getting back to where you were. I lost it for a short while, and found as long as I go easy on myself everything falls back into place pretty quickly.

 

[the general]

I've been eating peanut butter, pumpkin seeds and banana on Dave's Killer thinly sliced bread a lot for lunch. So long as the peanut butter is only peanuts and salt, its all good. I'm convinced its all the crap in Skippy that makes people fat.

I'm pretty close to being vegan (which you're clearly not ), so I can't help much with the dinner plans.

Wish you the best in getting back to where you were. I lost it for a short while, and found as long as I go easy on myself everything falls back into place pretty quickly.

I'll have to give that a try. I LOVE peanut butter anything. Probably more than any person rightfully should lol. I buy Smuckers all natural peanut butter. Very good quality I feel.

And while I'm not vegan/vegetarian, I do eat vegan/vegetarian meals occasionally. I have several friends who are also vegetarian. Different strokes, for different folks .

There's a pretty good cookbook if you haven't read it: Thug Kitchen: Eat Like You Give a F***. Say what you will about the writing(lots of swearing/"street" talk), but they do have some good recipes. Been getting down on some tempeh lately. Very versatile stuff!

Best of luck to you as well! Keep on, keeping on!

 

[the harp unstrung]

Later this morning, I'll take my first 'official' trip to the gym.

I went in last week to allow Ben, 'Fitness & Wellness Coach', to get some baseline info.

I'm 5'11"…up to 226 lbs now!
That's Way more than the 'quarantine 15'!

I've got real bad feet…peripheral neuropathy in the front, plantar fasciitis in the back…THERES A PARTY GOIN' ON!!

We eat a Very healthy diet around here. It's All about the beer.
I Like Beer…
It makes me a jolly good fellow.
Mine is the quintessential 66-year-old-American beer belly.

I'm workin' on it!

 

[pcake]

i've been rehabbing knees, ankles and thigh injury for years. it's a slow process. i tend to go overboard because it was hard for me to comprehend how weak my legs were, and because there's never any pain till later. but i've been doing exercise biking - it's been complex, as to avoid pain, i have to change bikes to change angles mid-workout. that was a breakthrough for me. it's also been hard because i have to work out at such low resistance. i want to crank the resitance up and go, go, go!

in the last two months, i had a couple milestones to give me encouragement. one mini recumbent was too hard for me to pedal maybe 8 months ago - i was able to do 24 minutes on it two months ago! and working out on an exercise step has increased to 10 minutes of continuous slow but continuous stepping. my bike or step or dancing workouts have increased overall from 10 minutes to 50 over the last year.

it may not sound like much - it doesn't to me - but it's been 2 years of constant small steps, setbacks and continuing with very gradual increases to get here. and while i wish i was further along, i'm very happy to have gotten this far!

 

[jmattbassplaya]

I'm back down to about 175lbs. Still got about 5-10lbs to go, but I'm starting to get my mojo back and feel better in the gym. I've also cut a lot of glut I had hanging around my mid section, so that's got me feeling good

 

[MJ5150]

I've been eating peanut butter, pumpkin seeds and banana on Dave's Killer thinly sliced bread a lot for lunch.

It warms my heart to see DKB nationwide now. When Dave's bread first came out, it was only in the PNW. When we moved to New Hampshire, we had my mom ship us 6-8 loaves every couple months. Dave's story is a sad one at times, but I am glad he introduced his bread to the world. I still remember buying it from him at farmers markets when it was just him and a few other people.

-Mike