*"Physical Activity/Exercise Support Thread"*

Post Reply New Topic

Okay, so I need to get back in shape and write more regularly, so I have devised a plan that I think will make both of those happen. Every day I will do twice my page count in just push ups and sit ups. I'll add more once I get over the lazy body wall, but I don't have too many options with nothing but body weight exercises available (and not much room for those) and a bad knee that keeps me from certain things. However, every day that I don't write I will add another set of one page count until I write again. I'll probably let myself get away with just some editing when I don't sleep well or have a rough day at work. This will increase my workout slowly, provide a structure for working out (obnoxiously necessary to have any sort of long term follow through) and provide a structured incentive to write.

The final part of the plan is to make myself use this support thread to keep track of my page count and any extra I give myself being lazy along with what all I add to my routine. Feel free (encouraged?) to give me crap for not writing or not rounding out my workout routine in a week or so. I need to get my s*** together. `-`

Aha! finally a topic that suits what I want to talk about!

After deciding that I should push on with more than just my cycling - which isn't rerally long distance or speedy, but enjoyable - I've decided I will sign up for the gym and give it a go. I'm working on a budget though, and all this malarky about specific shoes and gait and that panarama programme has got me confused.

Mizuno has done some sort of online test that promotes me for the Inspire 8's which are a hefty £70...
I don't even know if I could use them for cycling or gym or neither...

I want to give this a real go, but there's so many questions before I can even start....

One minute ago, I went from a dead headstand to a handstand, instead of starting with the handstand and lowering myself as I usually do.

HA!

Wow! Shatbat, i"m still doing "press-ups" in an *upright* standing position ( leaning at about 45° against a door ) and I still struggle with the last inch or two ( nose approaching door )! I've always had massively feeble arms though. One reason I want to carry on doing this is for the arms and upper body strength so that I can use the second-hand scooter I bought last summer and which felt alright on a big flat open area but as soon as had to handle slopes and small winding streets at slow speeds and at a standstill was simply and shockingly way too heavy for me to control/hold on to.

That routine sounds amazing, Kittenmancer.

J-Greens, what questions do you have? I'm keeping my routine really simple, at home, about 25-40 minutes each time, using lots of free videos mostly on YouTube, cardio, bodyweight/core, weight-lifting, callanetics and stretching, ( videos ranging from very short but very useful, at 5 minutes, through 10 to 45 minute ones ), and a few weights.

Rebel_Nowe, how's it going with the writing-workout combo? Have you ever done NaNoWriMo ( min. 50,000 words in a month/November )? I did it in 2010; 62,000 words. It definitely helped me keep at it. Good luck. I suspect that the "system" you describe would have me writing even less ( to reduce the amount of exercise )! :lol

I took a day off last Wednesday, then did about 40 minutes weightlifting and core on Thursday, 35 minutes core and bodyweight exercises on Friday and then a mild cardio with stretching on Saturday. Yesterday I took a break again, after an absolutely abysmal/catastrophically bad night's sleep ( various reasons ) ... now waiting for son to wake up so can do a mixed stretch/callanetics and core plus cardio this morning! And I've lost another 2kg, down to around 60kg ( for 175cm ); getting closer to my "happy" weight ... probably because of completely cutting out fruit-juice, a couple of weeks now, and fairly steadily avoiding starchy carbs, fat, sugar and salt, though, rather than the exercise.

This afternoon I'm off on a six day silent retreat, where I won't have internet so no YouTube videos, but I may manage to do a bit of walking and stretching?
.

I attempted capoeira on Saturday after my other performance since a grupo were playing around. My wrists are way too weak though, and my upper body strength isn't what it used to be either - I managed bananeira and aú batido but I wouldn't have been able to told it for as long as I used to.

Looks like I'm going to have to do some free weights to come back up to scratch. Not sure where to start on the wrists though.

Wrist curls and rotations.

Wrist stretch 1.
Get on your knees and put your hands out in front of you but level with your shoulders, now have your fingertips pointed towards you so they are facing your body now sit on your heels slowly and you should feel a good stretch in the wrist, hold this for about a minute or two but don't push it too far.

Wrist stretch 2.
Another one is to get on your hand and knees with a neutral spine and point your fingertips outwards from each other so have one left and right and move your bodyweight to each wrist for 10 seconds.

It sounds complicated but if you try it, it's quite simple.

Yesterday was 15 pages and 30 push and sit ups. Today I have a surprise hangover and a 4 hour course at 4 in the afternoon on passing medication for my new job, so I'm gonna skip the writing and take the extra set for 45 today.

Thanks Wolf, I'll give it a go.

My wrists have always been weak, they're too small abd fragile to be any use for this sort of thing - it's a PITA.

You are welcome Too bad you don't live in South East England as I could give you a few tips and pointers in how to get that stamina up .

The biggest question I have is, what shoes do I buy? I'm looking at budgeting in case it all goes wrong, but when it comes to shoes, the advice is what I do I need them for, which I don't know. I've never been in a gym before and thus I don't know if I need supports or cushioning. It's all confusing.

I've cycled casually in almost any footwear, not a specific type of shoe.

What's also daunting is that this mini-interview that I got asked for when I went up to sign up for membership last time and it put me off. I may goto the one in town next time and see if they ask the same.

As much as youtube is great, I don't want to risk injury or poor form by trying it at home.

I mean, I want to go out and get going now, but I don't even know where to start. I don't want to turn up at the gym without the right equipment, or worse, the wrong type of equipment, but I don't even know what I need. I've got the essentials in terms of shorts, tee's & towel's, but that's it.

Actually, a very good way to increase gripping strength is to invest in a set of hand grips.

I think I'll begin using Wolfheart pointers on wrist strenght. Wrists are one of my sticking points when doing tuck planches, which I began doing last week. I'm beginning to stall with bodyweight, but I'm still making some strength gains.

Also, as they say, show, don't tell.

[img][800:600]http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc179/Shatbat/976c59372787538966f011e1cb637f1b.jpg[/img]

I had that photo taken yesterday, and realized how awfully curved my back was. I'm trying to correct it, but I have no way to know at the spot whether I'm doing right without a training partner *sigh* But other than that, yay! Getting there!

Nice work.

I think you would be able to know if you were in the correct position. When all your core muscles are aligned, it's easy to feel and it also makes holding yourself significantly easier if you lock in your core and shoulder muscles.

I used to go to the Gym 5 days a week for about four months stright I went from getting tired from five KG to doing 7.5 - 10 and 12 kg with my Free weight routines. However as I got a job I couldn't go to the gym at the time my pal was and I don't own a Ipod or mp3 so I get really demotivated at the gym. Just bought This however >Clicky to help spurr me into training more oftian at home. My only achivement of note is that when I started I struggled with push ups, now I can do chin ups yay

Started weighing myself again. I'm down around ten pounds after some carb-induced weight gain last month.
My mom's coming Tuesday, though, and I'd like to be wearing some of my nicer clothes,
so I'm considering doing 6 hours on the treadmill tomorrow.