I miss the fitness threads and the fitness Doms!

[ultramarineblue]

I love the circle of fitness. The fitter I am, the better I feel, the more I want to keep moving, the fitter I get, the better I feel...etc.

Bodies in motion remain in motion, bodies at rest remain at rest.

I find derailments usually occur due to sickness/injury, emotional upheaval, travel. But over time I've developed ways to counteract these set backs - emergency plans. It's good to think ahead because inevitably, life tosses curve balls.

And I try to be very hard on myself. Lots of the "reasons" why I can't go do something physical are just excuses in disguise.

I also find that exercise changes my attitude toward food. When I am really pushing my body, it naturally craves good fuel. When I'm laid up or otherwise sedentary, it craves crap. Again, emergency plans. Keep the junk out of the house and make sure there are healthy "munchies" on hand. Now, no guarantees here (I am only human and there are cupcakes in this world) but I find having my emergency plan makes a world of difference.

Best "munchie" deterrent? Sunflower seeds in the shell. Takes ages to eat them, and I love the taste, thus keeping my mouth busy and tricking it into believing it's getting a treat.

And yes, read labels!!! Read them. Shocking how much sugar there is in foods you'd never expect to have it.

Damn, just realized it's almost time for the annual cleanse.

What is your emergency plan for exercise with sickness?

 

[midwestyankee]

What is your emergency plan for exercise with sickness?

She's not here right now but I can answer for her, at least in part.

If you have a cold, for example, buy lozenges in 20 pound cartons and use them for bicep curls and such.

 

[ultramarineblue]

She's not here right now but I can answer for her, at least in part.

If you have a cold, for example, buy lozenges in 20 pound cartons and use them for bicep curls and such.

You know, that sounds like a pretty good idea about now.

 

[brioche]

I love the circle of fitness. The fitter I am, the better I feel, the more I want to keep moving, the fitter I get, the better I feel...etc.

Bodies in motion remain in motion, bodies at rest remain at rest.

I find derailments usually occur due to sickness/injury, emotional upheaval, travel. But over time I've developed ways to counteract these set backs - emergency plans. It's good to think ahead because inevitably, life tosses curve balls.

And I try to be very hard on myself. Lots of the "reasons" why I can't go do something physical are just excuses in disguise.

I also find that exercise changes my attitude toward food. When I am really pushing my body, it naturally craves good fuel. When I'm laid up or otherwise sedentary, it craves crap. Again, emergency plans. Keep the junk out of the house and make sure there are healthy "munchies" on hand. Now, no guarantees here (I am only human and there are cupcakes in this world) but I find having my emergency plan makes a world of difference.

I know that all of this is true. I've lived it before. That is why I find my current - physical weakness - so frustrating. I'm trying. I'm doing the best I can. But right now I keep getting derailed for reasons that seem beyond my control.
I remember how great I felt when I was fit and going 3x a week and devoted to it, the one time I had a really great physical trainer. And I want to get back to that, and I'm following the steps, but every little step is taking so much longer this time! So it sounds like I'm making excuses, but in actuality things are just taking forever.

And the weirdest thing is that I'm eating more healthily than I have been in 10 years.

 

[teknight]

I know that all of this is true. I've lived it before. That is why I find my current - physical weakness - so frustrating. I'm trying. I'm doing the best I can. But right now I keep getting derailed for reasons that seem beyond my control.
I remember how great I felt when I was fit and going 3x a week and devoted to it, the one time I had a really great physical trainer. And I want to get back to that, and I'm following the steps, but every little step is taking so much longer this time! So it sounds like I'm making excuses, but in actuality things are just taking forever.

And the weirdest thing is that I'm eating more healthily than I have been in 10 years.

One step at a time is the way to go. Don't knock yourself over stuff you can't control and celebrate the stuff you're doing right. It takes awhile.

 

[Keroin]

What is your emergency plan for exercise with sickness?

She's not here right now but I can answer for her, at least in part.

If you have a cold, for example, buy lozenges in 20 pound cartons and use them for bicep curls and such.

Do not listen to the bad man!



It depends on the sickness. For respiratory stuff, depending on the severity, I will still try to get *some exercise*. In the gym, I will focus more on weights than cardio. Obviously, if you can't, you can't. The key is to get back on the proverbial horse as soon as possible.

 

[ultramarineblue]

Do not listen to the bad man!



It depends on the sickness. For respiratory stuff, depending on the severity, I will still try to get *some exercise*. In the gym, I will focus more on weights than cardio. Obviously, if you can't, you can't. The key is to get back on the proverbial horse as soon as possible.

The difficult thing is when allergy and sinus problems cause a sore throat that turns into a cough that won't go away. Focusing on weights sounds like the best option though.

 

[Keroin]

I know that all of this is true. I've lived it before. That is why I find my current - physical weakness - so frustrating. I'm trying. I'm doing the best I can. But right now I keep getting derailed for reasons that seem beyond my control.
I remember how great I felt when I was fit and going 3x a week and devoted to it, the one time I had a really great physical trainer. And I want to get back to that, and I'm following the steps, but every little step is taking so much longer this time! So it sounds like I'm making excuses, but in actuality things are just taking forever.

And the weirdest thing is that I'm eating more healthily than I have been in 10 years.

No, I'm totally with you. Last year was an exercise in frustration for me. One thing after another. It's almost worse when you've been VERY fit in the past because you're haunted by the ghosts of fitness past.

Baby steps. Do what you can do and enjoy every small victory. Sometimes it is what it is.

When it's not what it is, being honest about what it is, but when it is what it is, just ride it out and be kind to yourself. If that makes any sense.

 

[Homburg]

If the machine says I am burning 348 cals in half an hour this week but in 6 months' time the same machine tells me that I am burning 500 cals in half an hour, that says to me that I have got fitter and stronger - because I am able to move the machine either faster or at a higher resistance or both, for the same amount of time.

Okay then. So long as you are not using it as a marker for your actual calorie expenditure.

It bothers me that they put those readouts ont he machines.

--

The difficult thing is when allergy and sinus problems cause a sore throat that turns into a cough that won't go away. Focusing on weights sounds like the best option though.

Respiratory issues make weight training impossible for me. Pneumogastric pressure is absolutely necessary with the sort of lifting I do, and having respiratory issues scuttles the ability to maintain proper pressure.

It's weird, but I don't think about what I do as scary or edgy, yet when I look at how everything has to be juuust right or I'll splatter myself, I guess it is.

Probably why I enjoy it.

 

[FloggingMolly]

time to get back on track and try again. One of these times, it'll click, and I won't lose focus.

 

[Bandit58]

The difficult thing is when allergy and sinus problems cause a sore throat that turns into a cough that won't go away. Focusing on weights sounds like the best option though.

That's what I do. I'm able to do a pump class when I have a sore throat or cough much easier than trying to do boxing or any aerobic class.

However a spin class taken at a bit lighter resistance than you usually do is good - I did that the last time I had a cold and it was much easier to get back into my usual routine than if I'd completely slacked off

 

[Keroin]

...I did that the last time I had a cold and it was much easier to get back into my usual routine than if I'd completely slacked off

Yeah, this is what I'm talking about. It's harder to go from a dead stop to a run than from a jog to a run - metaphorically speaking. Even if my "exercise" is simply walking down to the grocery store and back, I like to keep some kind of forward momentum going if at all possible.


Today I tried a new class and I think I'll go back. It was all core work and the instructor was very knowledgeable. I followed the class with an hour of weights and my legs are now staging a "sit in" on the couch and refusing to move. But my little masochistic heart is so joyous. OW OW OW!

 

[ultramarineblue]

Respiratory issues make weight training impossible for me. Pneumogastric pressure is absolutely necessary with the sort of lifting I do, and having respiratory issues scuttles the ability to maintain proper pressure.

It's weird, but I don't think about what I do as scary or edgy, yet when I look at how everything has to be juuust right or I'll splatter myself, I guess it is.

Probably why I enjoy it.

That makes sense when you're doing that kind of weight training. Right now I'm just trying to strengthen my arms. I'm pretty puny.

That's what I do. I'm able to do a pump class when I have a sore throat or cough much easier than trying to do boxing or any aerobic class.

However a spin class taken at a bit lighter resistance than you usually do is good - I did that the last time I had a cold and it was much easier to get back into my usual routine than if I'd completely slacked off

Unfortunately I don't have any opportunity for classes. I'd like to do a spin class though. I have an old stationary bike but I don't think I can change the resistance.

Yeah, this is what I'm talking about. It's harder to go from a dead stop to a run than from a jog to a run - metaphorically speaking. Even if my "exercise" is simply walking down to the grocery store and back, I like to keep some kind of forward momentum going if at all possible.


Today I tried a new class and I think I'll go back. It was all core work and the instructor was very knowledgeable. I followed the class with an hour of weights and my legs are now staging a "sit in" on the couch and refusing to move. But my little masochistic heart is so joyous. OW OW OW!

I know. That's why I didn't want to stop or slow down too much. The last time really knocked me off center and I've really been struggling to get back into everything.

I'm jealous about the class. I definitely need to increase my core strength.

 

[Netzach]

Fitness tip:
Don't ring in the new year with a bowel obstruction and a nasogastric tube.


The plus:

The tubs sucks. The tube rocks. 5 days in the slammer, mostly gut rest, steroids just a formality, and I feel OK.

This looks like it could be the shortest stint of steroids yet, 20mgs and falling in 2 days. Going to the gym gently tomorrow, because I am that fucking awesome.

 

[midwestyankee]

Fitness tip:
Don't ring in the new year with a bowel obstruction and a nasogastric tube.


The plus:

The tubs sucks. The tube rocks. 5 days in the slammer, mostly gut rest, steroids just a formality, and I feel OK.

This looks like it could be the shortest stint of steroids yet, 20mgs and falling in 2 days. Going to the gym gently tomorrow, because I am that fucking awesome.

Of course you're that fucking awesome.

Glad to hear you're recovering.

 

[Bandit58]

Fitness tip:
Don't ring in the new year with a bowel obstruction and a nasogastric tube.


The plus:

The tubs sucks. The tube rocks. 5 days in the slammer, mostly gut rest, steroids just a formality, and I feel OK.

This looks like it could be the shortest stint of steroids yet, 20mgs and falling in 2 days. Going to the gym gently tomorrow, because I am that fucking awesome.

Don't like the thought of the tube, but glad it helps you feel better

And way to go getting to the gym, but take it easy huh?

My late father had bowel cancer in 1981, and the radiation treatment back then left him with a very thin bowel (radiation colitis) which had a fold in it which only left a very small passage for food to pass through. He couldn't even eat strawberries because the seeds would scratch and irritate it. Too much fibre would block it and he'd have to go to hospital for intravenous pain relief and buscopan to try and relax it to allow the blockage to clear. He would be in severe pain with vomiting...not nice to see your dad that way

Only once I think they had to tube him. He could not have surgery to fix it because the bowel was like paper and the surgeon was afraid to touch it for fear it would disintegrate.

He managed to survive like this for 24 years. WTG Dad you were a tough old bird

 

[brioche]

I went to physio three times this week and am up to four exercises, including 15 minutes on the bike for cardio. They only have 5 pound weights, though, so I think I might bring in my own 10 pound ones for the bicep curls.
The fact that she's doing massage, tension, ultrasound, and TENS on my back is really helping, especially since the ultrasound and TENS are post exercise. I mean, I was sore midweek, don't get me wrong, but I seem to have worked through it. She does pressure points and some other thing too, but I don't know what it's called. Kind of rocking me back and forth focusing on one vertebrae. I think it's the two that are moving together as one.
So it's nice to have made some progress, even if it's just a little.

 

[Keroin]

So it's nice to have made some progress, even if it's just a little.

Hooray! Progress is progress.


Today's fitness routine consisted of "skating" to town on the icy sidewalks. LOL. Forecast is for -18 by Tuesday.

 

[teknight]

Hooray! Progress is progress.


Today's fitness routine consisted of "skating" to town on the icy sidewalks. LOL. Forecast is for -18 by Tuesday.

Note to self:
Barring a blizzard, don't complain about the weather here...especially not where Keroin posts.

 

[brioche]

My best personal trainer had a repertoire of exercise ball exercises that worked out just about every muscle in the body. All you needed was a mat, the ball, some hand weights (10 or 15s) and your own body weight and you could do just about anything. She had me doing that and the BOSU exclusively for an hour and I would leave feeling like I'd been put through the wringer. But in a good way. I went from having no core to doing crunches on the BOSU with a 10 pound plate held in my hands, then lifted over my head with full extension at the end of each crunch. There are a lot of books - does anyone know of an exercise ball one that is really comprehensive and takes different fitness levels into account? I actually have a yoga mat, ball and weights here - I just haven't used them in a long time.
We also have a Bowflex, but I'm not ready for it yet.

Teknight - me either. I live in Canada. In the snowbelt.

 

[teknight]

My best personal trainer had a repertoire of exercise ball exercises that worked out just about every muscle in the body. All you needed was a mat, the ball, some hand weights (10 or 15s) and your own body weight and you could do just about anything. She had me doing that and the BOSU exclusively for an hour and I would leave feeling like I'd been put through the wringer. But in a good way. I went from having no core to doing crunches on the BOSU with a 10 pound plate held in my hands, then lifted over my head with full extension at the end of each crunch. There are a lot of books - does anyone know of an exercise ball one that is really comprehensive and takes different fitness levels into account? I actually have a yoga mat, ball and weights here - I just haven't used them in a long time.
We also have a Bowflex, but I'm not ready for it yet.

BOSU=??

 

[Homburg]

BOSU=??

It's a type of stability ball. Google is your friend.

And, on a personal note, I had some cuts on my hand get infected. Yay.

 

[brioche]

BOSU=??

BOSU is a stability device where one side is flat and the other side is like the top half of an exercise ball - ie a dome that rises off the floor. BOSU stands for Both Sides Utilized because you can use the flat side or the other one. It can help you to isolate muscle groups, work on balance, and make exercises like crunches harder.

 

[YourCaptor]

BOSU=??

Fighters love them, they do wonders for balance.

Of course it's nothing compared to slacklining.

 

[intothewoods]

Fitness tip:
Don't ring in the new year with a bowel obstruction and a nasogastric tube.


The plus:

The tubs sucks. The tube rocks. 5 days in the slammer, mostly gut rest, steroids just a formality, and I feel OK.

This looks like it could be the shortest stint of steroids yet, 20mgs and falling in 2 days. Going to the gym gently tomorrow, because I am that fucking awesome.

Eek. Glad the recovery is going well though.

It's a type of stability ball. Google is your friend.

And, on a personal note, I had some cuts on my hand get infected. Yay.

Double eek. Bleh.

*****

I've been out of comission for most of last year. Ready to come back fighting at some point though, and I've been lurking here throughout. All told, I've done ok. I managed to walk some most days and do some weights even here and there. Am now furiously trying to get squats in to prepare for my upcoming marathon of sorts. Darn public msg boards. Anyway. Actually, I've done really well with my diet. Some cheats here and there, but certainly my best record yet. You know, you do what you can do with physical challenges. Ommm. I'm ready.