exercise/fitness/training - anyone taking part

[Renee]

lol, im finding more places to go now that are cycle paths and not roads lol

The great thing about Sydney is that there are bike paths everywhere now. There never used to be, so more and more people are riding their bikes these days.

[IhreConsulting]

Wowzas I just read this whole thread and now feel a little shamed that I do little to no workout at all! Even though my hubbie works out 3-4 times a week in our home gym I go weeks.....ok, months without doing a single thing.

I liked Marit's comments - "its ok for females to have a few wobbly bits"

I sometimes have good intentions to start working out, but then something always comes up and I never get around to it. I feel happy with my weight as I am 21lb (9.5kg) lighter than before I had my 2 kids, which is probably the same weight as I was 10 years ago, but I don't have the muscle tone which I should, and I never even thought of looking into what my percentage of fat is. How would I even do that?!

You guys seem to be so dedicated, and I think its great to use each other for motivation!! Maybe I will start using some of it for myself. After all it can only lead to positive results and a healthier lifestyle.

[QuasarAffiliates]

I Envy all you guys and gals and applaud you for all the hard work....Keep it up!!!! I cant really say I enjoy exercising and to be honest, if I could find the extra time, I would embrace it by reading a book or just relaxing at the moment... I get quite a good work out running after my 16 month old..that is about all the exercise I can take for now...LOL!!

Regards,
Rebecca

[thebookiesoffers]

30km bike ride this morning, furthest I've done that is

[Maria F]

Wowzas I just read this whole thread and now feel a little shamed that I do little to no workout at all! Even though my hubbie works out 3-4 times a week in our home gym I go weeks.....ok, months without doing a single thing.

I liked Marit's comments - "its ok for females to have a few wobbly bits"

I sometimes have good intentions to start working out, but then something always comes up and I never get around to it. I feel happy with my weight as I am 21lb (9.5kg) lighter than before I had my 2 kids, which is probably the same weight as I was 10 years ago, but I don't have the muscle tone which I should, and I never even thought of looking into what my percentage of fat is. How would I even do that?!

You guys seem to be so dedicated, and I think its great to use each other for motivation!! Maybe I will start using some of it for myself. After all it can only lead to positive results and a healthier lifestyle.

Hi,

I also agree that we women need some wobbly bits. To me is not so much about the kilos, but how good I feel after I have a good walk.
You could be the thinnest person, but doesn’t mean that you are the healthiest. There so many things to conceder like cholesterol, blood circulation, mental state, blood pressure, if you are a smoker or drinker, etc.

I only started exercising on my late 20th, because I realized that I need some balance in my life. You will know when is the right time for you to start taking care of your body.

Normally the people at the gym can calculate your body fat, but I am positive that if you search in the internet you can find a do it yourself method.

[Maria F]

30km bike ride this morning, furthest I've done that is

good on you! I will re-start my bike rides in October, can't wait.

[Rachel.RevenueJet]

Wowzas I just read this whole thread and now feel a little shamed that I do little to no workout at all! Even though my hubbie works out 3-4 times a week in our home gym I go weeks.....ok, months without doing a single thing.

I liked Marit's comments - "its ok for females to have a few wobbly bits"

I sometimes have good intentions to start working out, but then something always comes up and I never get around to it. I feel happy with my weight as I am 21lb (9.5kg) lighter than before I had my 2 kids, which is probably the same weight as I was 10 years ago, but I don't have the muscle tone which I should, and I never even thought of looking into what my percentage of fat is. How would I even do that?!

You guys seem to be so dedicated, and I think its great to use each other for motivation!! Maybe I will start using some of it for myself. After all it can only lead to positive results and a healthier lifestyle.

Do it for a healthy lifestyle, that's most important, to help prevent some really terrible diseases.
Regarding body fat calculation- you can Google it , try this: http://www.bmi-calculator.net/body-fat-calculator/

Good luck!

[IhreConsulting]

Do it for a healthy lifestyle, that's most important, to help prevent some really terrible diseases.
Regarding body fat calculation- you can Google it , try this: http://www.bmi-calculator.net/body-fat-calculator/

Good luck!

Thanks Rachel. I will take a look at that link!

I keep a fairly healthy diet so its not all bad, but I have arthritis, and while they say exercise helps, it doesn't feel like that when you wake up feeling like an 80 year old!! I suppose its mostly in the brain as well. The hardest part of starting exercise is getting started!! Once i'm actually doing it, it isn't so bad and I feel better for it.

I think I feel motivated to start working out. Starting Monday

[Renee]

Unfortunately the online body fat calculators are not accurate.

The only way for a completely accurate reading is to get a dexa scan (aka body composition scan). I've had a couple of these and they are very informative. They tell you how much fat, water and lean mass you have, as well as your bone density and visceral fat. It also shows you a scan of your body and where the fat and muscle is as well as your bones etc. It will also tell you how many calories your body burns at rest so that you can set your goals for weight loss or gain (i.e. eat less than that to lose and more to gain). The guy who does mine also gave me recommended macros (amount of carbs, protein and fat i should eat per day to get to my goal). It has worked a treat. Highly recommended.

I recently bought a scale that is fairly accurate, but it has athlete mode and that's the only reason it's close to accurate.

Another way is by using calipers but each person who uses them measures differently so it may not be completely accurate either.

My goal for my 30th birthday was 18% body fat. I measured on Sat and was 18.3%. Close enough I think
I thought my abs would be out completely by now, but it seems I have a bit more to go, so I'm going to see what it looks like at 17% and go from there. To give you an idea, 18% fat on me is 11kg. Most of my fat is in my legs and my ass. I have very little fat around my arms, shoulders and lats. Just a little bit of fat around my midsection.

[Renee]

lol no. I ride my bike like a ****, in and out of traffic, up on the pavement then road again, wrong side of road, don't pay attention to many traffic lights lol etc. I'd just be creating evidence for the police to convict me. and I swear too much on it

might go out later again if the weather cheers up tonight

Guess what I got for my birthday??

[Rachel.RevenueJet]

Congratulations!!!

Have fun with it!

[Marit VS]

What is it? Camera...? :-S

[LindaH]

I gained weight after I gave birth with my son. After birth I did a lot to lose weight,I do zumba, walking, and eat healthy. later on I lost around 10 lbs.

[IhreConsulting]

I gained weight after I gave birth with my son. After birth I did a lot to lose weight,I do zumba, walking, and eat healthy. later on I lost around 10 lbs.

Congrats Linda!! And running around after kids helps too I have 2 under 3 years old

[QuasarAffiliates]

Yes definitely a great work out running after your kids.... I have a 16 month old who makes sure I get a daily work out

Congrats Linda!! And running around after kids helps too I have 2 under 3 years old

[Renee]

What is it? Camera...? :-S

Yeah its a camera that you can use anywhere. It has attachments to hook onto your bike, you can get a headstrap, a chest strap, you can even take it underwater as it comes with a waterproof casing. Too bad I dont dive but i have sooo many things I can use it for
Its very exciting.

I was also given an ab roller - a wheel that has a rod through it and you hold onto the rod while standing on your toes and roll out into a pushup position then back up again.

Also got a $150 Lorna Jane gift voucher which I plan to spend this weekend. Awesome!!
For anyone who doesn't know who lorna jane is, it's a huge sports label.

[CasinoTom]

The fitness bug bit me pretty hard about 8 months ago, I'd been going to the gym on and off for the past 2 years but after a particularly heavy time at work and out of work in late 2012/early 2013 I noticed that my clothes didn't quite fit as I'd liked any more, so I decided to try and be a bit more disciplined outside of work and get into it properly.

The more I read and studied about proper nutrition, form in the gym (over weight) and general tips on how to be successful with the time you spend in the gym I found things getting easier and decided that if I was going to do it, I was going to do it properly.

I decided to do a pretty intense 12 week regime, with 2 exercise 'sessions' per day - light cardio for 20 mins in the morning to get the fires burning (a light jog, fast walk into work, a quick bike ride) and then hitting the weights hard in the afternoon 4/5 times a week (or cardio again if you're not lifting any heavy metal things).

From the reading i'd done, everyone who'd had any success had not just changed their diet, but the lifestyle that goes with it, as it's very hard to maintain your agenda if you're not disciplined enough. The adage 'abs are made in the kitchen' is 100% true, and you can train as much as you like, but if you're not fueling yourself correctly, then you're destined to fail.

I sorted out my diet completely, 6-7 small meals a day with absolutely no 'rubbish', all slow burning carbs (wholewheat pasta, rice, sweet potatoes and a lot of steamed veg), a good measure of protein (fish, chicken, turkey & Steak) and cut out the alcohol entirely. Getting my head around the preparation of it all and remembering to eat all the time was a bit of a pain at 1st, but after a week it was second nature - I actually realised as I was cooking everything myself and thought that all this top-quality food was a bit pricey, I was actually saving a fortune on sandwiches, takeaways, etc. Tupperware is now my best friend.

If you're trying to lose weight, eating so much may sound odd, but it's the quality of the food, portion sizes mixed with the amount of activities you are doing means your metabolism will be burning at maximum all day, therefore burning fat whilst rebuilding your muscles. You need the food to power you through some pretty intense gym sessions too.

So the 84 days was done by mid-May, i'd lost around 11kg (78kg to 67kg) and gone down from around 18% bodyfat to 8% and felt and looked better than I'd ever done before. The best thing was the sense of achievement knowing that I'd been that committed and not faltered once.

Sure there were a few times where I thought 'why am I doing this?' and constantly turning down invites to places in order to avoid temptation and go to the gym instead did get a bit tiresome, but I was determined to prove to myself that I could do it.

There was no fad diet or workout program *coughP90Xcough*, no starving myself (I ate very well and actually learned how to properly cook using a far wider range of ingredients) - I just looked after myself and had a constant 'calorie deficit' which meant I was burning fat whilst still adding lean muscle.

Now my goal has been to put on weight whilst keeping down the fat (which is not easy - especially during a Maltese summer!) -I'm currently back up to 75kg, but managed to keep my body fat to a decent 11/12% during the process due to keeping up with eating correctly and en masse.

I've also learned that you need to have a healthy balance. What I did for 3 months was amazing for results, but you can't constantly do that sort of thing - mostly for your own sanity. I still go to the gym at least 5 times a week and eat very well, but I don't say no to everything like I did, it's just about moderation. Have a few drinks, have a blow-out meal, but I try to limit that to once a week.

[Maria F]

The fitness bug bit me pretty hard about 8 months ago, I'd been going to the gym on and off for the past 2 years but after a particularly heavy time at work and out of work in late 2012/early 2013 I noticed that my clothes didn't quite fit as I'd liked any more, so I decided to try and be a bit more disciplined outside of work and get into it properly.

The more I read and studied about proper nutrition, form in the gym (over weight) and general tips on how to be successful with the time you spend in the gym I found things getting easier and decided that if I was going to do it, I was going to do it properly.

I decided to do a pretty intense 13 week month regime, with 2 exercise 'sessions' per day - light cardio for 20 mins in the morning to get the fires burning and then hitting the weights hard in the afternoon 4/5 times a week (or cardio again if you're not lifting any heavy metal things).

From the reading i'd done, everyone who'd had any success had not just changed their diet, but the lifestyle that goes with it, as it's very hard to maintain your agenda if you're not disciplined enough. The adage 'abs are made in the kitchen' is 100% true, and you can train as much as you like, but if you're not fueling yourself correctly, then you're destined to fail.

I sorted out my diet completely, 6-7 small meals a day with absolutely no 'rubbish', all slow burning carbs (wholewheat pasta, rice, sweet potatoes and a lot of steamed veg), a good measure of protein (fish, chicken, turkey & Steak) and cut out the alcohol entirely. Getting my head around the preparation of it all and remembering to eat all the time was a bit of a pain at 1st, but after a week it was second nature - I actually realised as I was cooking everything myself and thought that all this top-quality food was a bit pricey, I was actually saving a fortune on sandwiches, takeaways, etc. Tupperware is now my best friend.

If you're trying to lose weight, eating so much may sound odd, but it's the quality of the food, portion sizes mixed with the amount of activities you are doing means your metabolism will be burning at maximum all day, therefore burning fat whilst rebuilding your muscles. You need the food to power you through some pretty intense gym sessions too.

So the 84 days was done by mid-May, i'd lost around 11kg (78kg to 67kg) and gone down from around 18% bodyfat to 8% and felt and looked better than I'd ever done before. The best thing was the sense of achievement knowing that I'd been that committed and not faltered once.

Sure there were a few times where I thought 'why am I doing this?' and constantly turning down invites to places in order to avoid temptation and go to the gym instead did get a bit tiresome, but I was determined to prove to myself that I could do it.

There was no fad diet or workout program *coughP90Xcough*, no starving myself (I ate very well and actually learned how to properly cook using a far wider range of ingredients) - I just looked after myself and had a constant 'calorie deficit' which meant I was burning fat whilst still adding lean muscle.

Now my goal has been to put on weight whilst keeping down the fat (which is not easy - especially during a Maltese summer!) -I'm currently back up to 75kg, but managed to keep my body fat to a decent 10/11% during the process due to keeping up with eating correctly and en masse.

I've also learned that you need to have a healthy balance. What I did for 3 months was amazing for results, but you can't constantly do that sort of thing - mostly for your own sanity. I still go to the gym at least 5 times a week and eat very well, but I don't say no to everything like I did, it's just about moderation. Have a few drinks, have a blow-out meal, but I try to limit that to once a week.

You said the key word 'moderation'. If we all eat and exercise in moderation then we would be much happier and healthier.

[AE-Stephen]

Looks like I'll be going under the knife, close to 36 months after my injury the NHS have decided I need an Operation on my shoulder. Don't know what us brits pay National Insurance for, id of gone private but they woudnt cover my shoulder because the NHS have looked at it in the last 2 years.

Either way i cant wait to get it all sorted so I can get back to training.

[Maria F]

Looks like I'll be going under the knife, close to 36 months after my injury the NHS have decided I need an Operation on my shoulder. Don't know what us brits pay National Insurance for, id of gone private but they woudnt cover my shoulder because the NHS have looked at it in the last 2 years.

Either way i cant wait to get it all sorted so I can get back to training.

I wish you all the best with the operation!