My apologies, my dears. This week’s thread is very late because I’ve had a touch of the flu and have been sleeping things off.
If you would like to write to me about your favorite way of exercising, or some fitness tips, or to vent about how you’ve been trying to exercise and it just doesn’t work, or with some questions which the other Juicers might be able to answer, please do. It will make these threads more interactive and relevant and save me coming up with some tosh every week. I’m 92 and can barely walk. What the hell do I know about fitness? My email is (finally!) to the right.
Please entertain yourselves.
PS: Thanks for the redesign to Cole and his band of merry (if slightly tetchy) elves. I think it looks lovely – clean and bright and simple. And, of course, thanks to Cole for continuing to put up with me and let me spew my nonsense all over his blog.
Pete
No aerobic at all. Metabolic resistance training only. I use Mark Lauren’s book and track calories on LiveStrong (despite Lance…).
109 pounds in 50 weeks so far. I’ve never been able to even remotely match this with the diminishing returns of aerobic exercise before.
Best of luck.
ericblair
Run. Cheap, no scheduling bullshit, gets you out the door (for better or worse), and you can be social or asocial. Lots of races at every distance to keep you motivated. If your climate is extreme or you’ve got no trails or sidewalks, it can suck though.
jenn
It hasn’t been a particularly good week exercise wise for me – didn’t even come CLOSE to my goal of 30 miles. But heading to the gym on my way home tonight, so that’s happy. Plus, I’m about to transition to the portion of my job where I’m not chained to my desk, and I get to walk for 35-50 miles a week. That’ll be nice!
Yellifers
One word. Crossfit. After 2 children and carrying an extra 50lbs around, Crossfit has been the best thing that happened to me. I drank the Kool-aid and now attend 3-4X a week. I have young children at home (not an excuse anymore!) but my husband pushes me out the door when I don’t feel like going mumbling something about how my moods are better when I have done some exercise. I have little muscle dents in my arms and legs and feel better than when I was 20! I haven’t lost any weight but a few inches around my waist and the endurance I now have are all the proof I need after only 2 months.
It is expensive per month unless you think about it in terms of how much per class. I will also readily admit that some crossfit gyms are not to my liking -they are more about reps and time. My gym emphasizes form and mobility (fancy word for flexibility).
I realize I am sounding like a paid advertisement now but I can assure you that I am a real person just trying to find some type of exercise to keep up with my very rambunctious boys. :)
Culture of Truth
Hi, I like the new site design. I think. I read the plank is better than crunches. Could be.
J. Michael Neal
@ericblair: Wrecks my knees, though. About all I can do these days is walk in a pool. Fucking fibromyalgia.
Mnemosyne
Between work and visiting family, nothing to report for this week, but (as I announced below), I finally put a deposit down on a Trek Cocoa with plans to pick it up next weekend. Even more importantly, I went out and bought a big-ass chain to lock it up with at home as per the bike shop owner’s advice (basically, he said to get the thickest chain I could find and then use a heavy-duty u-lock to lock the chain and the wheel). What really seems to work for me is getting a small amount of exercise in every day, so I’m hoping to commute to work on the Cocoa (6 miles roundtrip) to build up my endurance for more serious exercise.
I have mild (mostly exercise-induced) asthma, so I have to take things slow or else end up with a three-week-long case of bronchitis.
General Stuck (Bravo Nope Zero)
Just went for a hike, as recommended by someone who wasn’t a friend.
Mnemosyne
@Yellifers:
If you can gain muscle mass, “losing weight” is overrated because muscle weighs the same as fat (I know, duh, a pound is a pound) but muscle has less volume, so you can weigh the exact same amount on the scale but go down several dress sizes. And, really, would you rather see a small number on the scale or a small number inside your clothes?
MikeJ
I generally walk 5-10 miles per day. Most days only about 1000′ of vertical, but I try to do a 2-4000 once a week.
Culture of Truth
Correction. My computer does not load this site.
merrinc
@ericblair:
Running is cheaper than therapy and you don’t need any expensive equipment to do it. Not that my husband would agree with the latter considering I can’t seem to be anywhere remotely close to a running store without buying something. Since I started running again, I’ve lost 20 pounds and look pretty good for an old broad. The funny thing is I have spent very little money on clothes – unless you count compression tights, technical tees, wool blend toe socks, etc.
Any B-J runners got half or full marathons on the calendar?
caring and sensitive
OT sorta. When I reload comments the cursor goes to the top of the page. Without comment numbering, how am I supposed to get back to where I was before the reload?
Mnemosyne
@merrinc:
Well, there’s the zombie-infested 5K obstacle course my friends at work keep trying to talk me into …
Mr Stagger Lee
I was diagnosed, with Type II Diabetes this year. Even though I was diagnosed I wanted to start exercising, because at 48, I was riding into an early grave. So far I lost 15 lbs, going into the gym mainly walking around the track, then doing cardio with the treadclimber. I am increasing my time to an hour four times a week. I am eating more of poultry and vegetable diet. Cutting my milk to 1%. Also I joined TOPS,(Taking Off Pounds Sensibly)for weight loss tips an encouragement.
jenn
@Mnemosyne: That’s awesome! :-)
__
The Dangerman
In honor of the standard Balloon-Juice recreational activity, let me recommend a slosh pipe. It’s an exercise in being unbalanced, so it fits even better to this virtual universe.
ETA: H/T to the above, this is a crossfit exercise (and it’s harder than it looks with a fair amount of water).
JoyceH
About a year ago I learned to swim. It’s so much fun! I was all ‘why didn’t anyone TELL me?!’ I love just frolicking around in the water, I’m sure I was a mermaid in a previous life.
And then last fall, I bought a bike! I need to get more exercise, but walking really bothers my knees (arthritis). I remembered how much I loved biking as a kid, so I went out and got a lovely one-speed that’s almost a dead-ringer for my childhood-teenage bike. I can ride it (I was worried I wouldn’t be able to, because it had been almost forty years), but not very far! I’m working on increasing my stamina and distance – dang, when I was a kid I’d just fly all over town, up and down hill and not think a thing about it, and didn’t even realize back then that what I was doing was exercise!
jl
@Mnemosyne: Thanks, looks like they scare you into keeping up your pace.
As for your previous comment, I agree with your points, but the men folk might want to rephrase ‘a small number inside your clothes’, since it might create a misunderstanding. But, point taken.
Matthew Reid Krell
I had a bad week, exercise-wise. Pulled a hamstring in my soccer game Tuesday night, and then had friends visiting Thursday until tonight. Surprise, surprise, I am inexplicably angry at the whole damn world tonight.
On the plus side, I am down ANOTHER pound and a half, which gets me that much closer to goal weight. And yes, I know that “losing weight” is a pretty dumb goal, but I am trying to get down to the maximum weight for my height to join the Coast Guard. I’m trying to join the reserves for reasons good and bad, and so until I hit THEIR goal, I don’t get to set MY more reasonable one.
mainmati
I saw a CNN report several years ago that showed a Japanese guy who was 96 years ago playing Rugby football. They had video. At the time I was struck by the fact that a) the Japanese play Rugby football, who knew ??? and b) Whoa this guy is seriously rugged.
So, being in your 90s and being a serious athlete is not mutually exclusive just unlikely and also totally awesome.
Matthew Reid Krell
@jenn: Thirty miles would please me no end. I can barely manage twenty kilometers a week right now.
Joey Maloney
Roller derby!
Jane2
@merrinc: I’m planning to walk the half-marathon portion of the Queen City Marathon in Sept. I just got my fuschia CEP compression socks to support my achilles tendons and aid in recovery…well, that and I look like a “serious” athlete. Kind of. OK, if I was a lot younger and more fit…but the socks will offset that!
Cat Hair Everywhere
I run (about 25 mi./wk) with various friends, and do strength training in a class called Gravity 2x/wk. It is done on a machine and basically requires us to push and pull our body weight, all while not falling off the machine, so it works lots of core and balance, too. It’s very high intensity- lots of plyometric stuff- but very fun, with motivating music. I also do Spin once a week, because my friend teaches it, and it is also really fun, even though he is a sadist. He does always have great music.
Fun is the operative word in my fitness routine.
I’ve heard Crossfit is a great workout!
Cat Hair Everywhere
@Jane2: I am intrigued by those compression socks. I love all the patterns. I’d love to hear more about how you like them. I have been having some calf problems, and have wondered if they would help.
Mnemosyne- The zombie 5K sounds like such a blast! I wish we had one near here.
The Dangerman- The slosh pipe looks very interesting. A trainer friend of mine was big on doing lunges etc. with a heavy weight in one hand to simulate carrying groceries etc. This seems like a natural next step.
Bravo on all the progress everyone is making!
kamalokitty
I have a half coming up in two weeks. Going to run the Golden Gate Bridge. Another half May 20 in Portland. My training has been lacking. Ran long today, 8 miles in the rain along the Strand (I’m in Southern Cali). Good to get out, but my hips are killing me right now. Got the hot pad on it, but not really helping. Gotta do speed work this week, get on the stick. Other than that, still sticking to 1.5 hours sweaty yoga weekly. Keeps the mind clear and the muscles buff. Could use more weight work. Trying to get my next half under two. Not sure I’m going to make it. Again.
lee4713
I had the flu last month, even though I had a flu shot – I don’t want to think about what it would have been like had I not gotten the shot. Totally exhausted and brain-dead for three weeks. I was finally able to start getting out and taking walks. I love to walk outside in almost any weather. It’s great exercise. Now I have to get my bike out b/c it is less stress on the knees and it helps “stretch” the spine.
chrome agnomen
anyone here ever used the concept 2 rowing machine? that’s the only type of equipment i’ve ever given thought to actually buying. i am 20,000 leagues from any fitness center, and am not in the least inclined to run. i need some more upper body strength. no sidewalks here, just steep rugged terrain.
Matthew Reid Krell
@chrome agnomen: I’m a former rower (and a returning rower, if I ever live somewhere with rowing again). The Concept 2 is the best workout you will ever hate, until suddenly you love it and want to do it all the time.
Rowers bitch about “erging,” as we call it, but that’s just because it’s not on the water. Form’s going to be very important – it might behoove you to look at some rowing videos or even join a club before you drop $900 or more on a Concept 2. If you don’t use good form, you won’t get a lot of benefit. This is one of the most specifically-designed pieces of exercise equipment that’s out there.
chrome agnomen
bob owens, formerly DBA confederate yankee, the voice of reason (!?!?)
It is my responsibility to know the law, and I suspect that we have enough facts to know that George Zimmerman was morally, ethically, and more than likely legally in the wrong when he provoked a conflict with Trayvon Martin that left the young man dead.
chrome agnomen
@Matthew Reid Krell:
thanks for the input. i am 80 miles from a town which does not have this machine in a club, so will have to go with my gut. my only exposure was a crew class back in high school, which was so long ago we were still using triremes, so don’t know how that translates. the machines seem to have excellent resale value however…
Gretchen
I finally got into a routine where I did 30 minutes on the elliptical every day at work, and then work changed my hours so I have to go in an hour earlier. There goes my routine, at least until I can get to bed early enough to get up an hour earlier.
I have a sore achilles tendon. Do compression socks help with that? Does anything else?
Jess
I upped my exercise regime this week (added weights to yoga and hiking) and felt great for a couple of days…and then totally crappy today. I’ve never had a weight problem, just a depression problem that I try to control with exercise and diet (and Zoloft), but sometimes nothing works. Hate these mood swings. When do the endorphins kick in, dammit! I’m going to try extra hard to pick it back up again this week, though.
Matthew Reid Krell
@Jess: My experience is that the endorphins kick in right at the point a few minutes past where I wanna quit. So, if I push on through, then mebbe….
oldmtnbkr
Memosym, good for you! But as a part-time bike salesperson, I’d ask you to be sure that a 3-speed like the Trek Cocoa gives you enough range for the terrain between home and work. Something lighter and with a deraileur might serve better if you have any hills to deal with.
rc
The Concept II is teriffic, it can be a very intense workout so start slow and work your way up. I have a Model C at home, but the newer Model D at.the YMCA where I work out at lunch is better. The newer computer self adjusts and can ne programed for different rows. Thursday I am rowing a marathon on it to raise money for the Y’s youth program. 4 years ago I did one, 3 hours 2 minutes. I want to be sure to finish given the donations so targeting 3 hours 5 this time. Not bad for a 46 year old guy. If anyone is at the Rochester New York Metrocenter Y downtown Thursday night, come make a donation!
merrinc
@Mnemosyne:
Go for it! Those look like a lot of fun. No zombie runs near here, unfortunately. But a friend and I are doing an April Fool’s Day 5K next weekend which will have us running through backyards and garages, dodging water balloons and Super Soakers, and crawling through an inflatable obstacle course to get to the finish line. Bowling trophies will be awarded to the slowest 3 in each age group and I’m expecting to bring one home.
merrinc
@Jane2:
Buying compression clothing because you recognize the value of it definitely makes you a serious athlete. Wearing it in public makes you badass. I have two pairs of CW-X compression tights and boy, do they make a difference on a long run.
Mnemosyne
@jl:
Gentleman readers can translate that to “smaller waist measurement” and get the same point. :-)
Bixby
I was skeptical but I signed up with GymPact. You pledge to go to the gym X number of times a week for X number of minutes, and to pay X number of dollars for each session that you miss. An app on the iPhone uses GPS to check you in at your gym and verify that you stayed there for the minimum time. They have a database with something like 40,000 gyms, pools, etc., and you can submit yours if it’s not listed. (I live in Alaska, and they already had an express outlet of my club listed.)
The company has your card info and automatically charges you if you miss your weekly goal. Then they distribute all of the money they collect from the slackers (minus their cut) to everyone who fulfilled their pact. After two weeks I’ve made $2, (wheee!) but that’s far less motivating than not having to pay for a missed session. It has taken all of the wishy-washiness out of the daily decision about whether to go or not, saving me much mental energy.
John 2.0
I hike with the dog whenever possible. She’s 11, but she still thinks she a puppy, and the exercise keeps her sane, which keeps me sane.
Otherwise, I try to do 2-3 run clubs a week. Usually a bar or a local brewery will host a 3-6 mile run every week (Raleigh NC area, right now I do Nog, Big Boss, and Fleet Feet, but there’s a run downtown just about every night of the week). Right now I do the 3 mile (5K), but I’m trying to work my way up to a regular 5 two or three times a week. It’s the social component that keeps me going, since I feel guilty if I miss a week.
I used to get terrible shin splints, but that went away when I tried minimus shoes. I’m not too hardcore about it yet, but I really do think it’s been a big help with my stride.
Mnemosyne
@oldmtnbkr:
I used to do the ride to work on my previous (stolen!) bike, which was a Trek 7200 WSD, so I’m pretty confident the Cocoa can handle it even with only 3 speeds. The last test ride I did on it ended up being about 5 miles over very similar terrain to what’s on the way to work.
(That’s the other reason I ended up buying it — I think I was becoming known as “that crazy lady who comes in every Saturday and Sunday to ride the Cocoa.”)
Cassidy
@Matthew Reid Krell: I hated erging.
Jane2
@Cat Hair Everywhere: In January, I got a calf injury from walking on hard sand in flip flops. I borrowed a compression sock from my sis-in-law, wore for four days, and voila, could not only walk better during recovery, but injury was pretty much healed. When I returned home to the frozen northlands, I did a bunch of reading and they seem to be best for calves, Achilles tendons, and recovery. CEP was the brand recommended by hardcore runners, and so I ordered a pair. I have absolutely no achilles issues now, and I’m not up to the serious distances yet, but am really happy with them so far.
Jane2
@Cat Hair Everywhere: In January, I got a calf injury from walking on hard sand in flip flops. I borrowed a compression sock from my sis-in-law, wore for four days, and voila, could not only walk better during recovery, but injury was pretty much healed. When I returned home to the frozen northlands, I did a bunch of reading and they seem to be best for calves, Achilles tendons, and recovery. CEP was the brand recommended by hardcore runners, and so I ordered a pair. I have absolutely no achilles issues now, and I’m not up to the serious distances yet, but am really happy with them so far.
Yellifers
@The Dangerman: We haven’t done the Slosh Pipe at my gym yet but I do run with 35lbs balls filled with H2O – also harder than it sounds. Slosh piping sounds like fun although a few months ago, I wouldn’t have said that. :)
Steve
I bought a pair of Merrell Trail Gloves and took them out for a very muddy 4+ mile trail run on Saturday. These things are fantastic; after one use I’m ready to say that they might be the best shoes I’ve ever owned.
@chrome agnomen: I second the recommendation to really lock down your technique on the rowing machine before you try any hard exercise. I used to coach the novice rowing team at a small university, so I got people with zero experience, and those who tried to do too much too fast on the erg tended to get back problems. You have to keep in mind that rowing on the erg, done properly, is not just (or even mostly) an upper-body exercise. If your legs aren’t working hard to start your stroke, you’re going to really mess up your lower back. At the very least, go on YouTube and watch a whole bunch of people doing it properly so you can get an idea of what to do.
Sister Machine Gun of Quiet Harmony
I went for a hike this weekend. Still using Fitocracy to keep me motivated. The Balloon Juice group could use more members.
tdmcmains
Am I the only lame chick out here who does Jillian Michaels videos at home. Love them! Sweat my ass off. Lost 40 lbs in just about a year.
Thinking of trying out the “New Rules of Lifting for Women” but I don’t want to shell out the dough for all the equipment.
Terry
If you are mindful, you can find plenty of activities to fit right into whatever your current daily schedule is. For example, waiting in line? Stand on one leg for as long as you can. Then the other. When you get good at it, start moving your body while standing on one leg. (I’m 64, and this is strengthening up my core and balance to where I will have much less risk of falling when I get older, if I keep it up.)
I call this Activity Infill, much like architectural infill in a dense urban setting—only in this case you add it to your dense, busy day.
In the past three months I have moved from sitting down nearly all day, working, to probably sitting less than 15 percent of my work day. I set up a standing work station at work and at home.
While working, engage in stretching and also in exercises where you use your upper body when you don’t have to have your hands on the keyboard. Just lifting a book in your hand 8 times, then switching hands, can happen while you read this post.
Another easy one: Park at the far end of every parking lot. Why not?
Cat Hair Everywhere
@Jane2: Thanks for the reply- I’ll have to look into getting a pair!
fitness
I’ve been doing the Spartacus workout at home, a circuit training routine that requires just a few dumbbells. It was published in Men’s Health magazine and I was referred to it via another blog. It is kicking my rear.