Topic: The Health, Fitness and Exercise Thread

@kyleforrester87 Just one at the end of March. Another half marathon but along the South West coast path which will be a monstrous 900m/3000ft of climbing which will be the most I’ve done over that distance.

Any other big rides on your radar at the mo?

And I know you saw these on Strava already but for others this was from my race at the weekend on Dartmoor. Half marathon, 700m climbing. Strava time of 2h10 which I was pleased with.

@Thrillho Those views are great. My parents live in that neck of the woods, I don't get down to see them much unfortunately. I did ride around there a bit in 2021!

To be honest I am not too clued up on what constitutes a decent time for half and full marathons, especially when it's on trails with lots of hills. Maybe you can fill me in?

I haven't got any formal events exactly, aside from a sort of introductory course to track racing in April which could be fun. I don't expect it'll be something I dive into mind you.

Beyond that we have a couple of challenges - a london > wales > london on road loop which will work out at 250 miles in 1 go, and we'll be looking to do King Alfred Way which is a 220 mile mostly off-road loop over either 2 days or inside 24 hours. We might do 2 attempts at this (one inside 48 hours, one inside 24 hours). We did it in 3 days last summer during a heatwave and it was really hard so not sure how realistic it'll be to get this done inside 24 hours but people have done it so it's achievable.

Just trying to build up the miles right now as my endurance isn't what it was, but it's coming back quickly - we are scheduled to do Winchester and back on Saturday which will be 150 miles!

I'm interested in hopefully getting a little faster this year along with being able to actually do long distances I think.

@Thrillho I mean, thinking about it in cycling terms, 12-13 miles with 2000-3000 feet of climbing is pretty intense. I cycle in Surrey a lot, a typical 60 mile ride might have 3000 or so feet of climbing. Most of that is condensed into a 20 mile area and it is hard work (and I don't have to pedal down the hills!)

@kyleforrester87 A good time is always going to be a personal thing and the surface and terrain make a massive difference.

Running a flat, tarmac race has no appeal to me to be honest as I much prefer trail runs. My best HM is 1h44 which was “just” 170m climbing on easy terrain. Hard climbs, esp off road, will always be slower so a 6min/km pace is a reasonable goal for me in a race (particularly as you will often get stuck behind some slow people at some point too). I doubt I’ll be getting near that time in the next race..

My 1k best time on an all out sprint downhill is 3:47 for reference!

And those are some mental distances on your bike that I just can’t fathom myself. It’s been quite a while since I jumped on the bike though. I prefer running as it’s just a case of throwing the shoes (and the rest of my garish running gear) on and getting out.

@kyleforrester87 I missed that second post when replying. I’m actually pretty strong going uphill but slower coming down as I ease off to save energy but am always worried about losing my balance, especially off road.

So it gets quite comical in races as there’s normally someone who I keep swapping places with as I go past them uphill and they zoom past coming down. Races always seem to end on a downhill annoyingly!

@Thrillho I think running downhill is almost as hard as running up hill to be fair!

I've been sort of half heartedly planning to do some yoga again. I did pick up some press up handles so I can keep my dicky wrist straight during the press ups and planks in the DDP yoga tapes.

Butttt, I'm not sure if I want to do the DDP yoga again, it's very like motivational and it's supposed to be inspirational but it's hard to buy into that sort of thing every other day when you do the tape.

Sooo, I wondered about doing a more normal yoga tape. I thought about YouTube but I don't think I can break up my tape with adverts. So I had a look on Netflix instead and it seems like they have quite a few exercise tapes on there, including a few Yoga ones. They are Nike branded and last anything from 5-30 minutes each

Has anyone done these Netflix/Nike tapes before? Is there a good place to start or a downloadable schedule anywhere? I've never done tapes without a schedule but I think id quite like to do something that doesn't like "end" after 30 or 60 days.

I think I'd like to start by blowing off the cobwebs a bit before settling into a moderate and easy to maintain schedule of exercising to some tapes. I just don't really know where to start with these Nike tapes!

@ralphdibny Why not just sub to Youtube for a month to see how you get on - worth the investment and it might keep you motivated to do it if you know you're paying for the service? No experience with those tapes, myself! Did you look into local group sessions?

@kyleforrester87 a YT sub could be useful but I don't think I'm ready to bite the bullet just yet. I fear that I will find it too useful and remain subscribed for the rest of my life (and my bank balance will suffer for it)

But seriously though, subbing to stuff (even like gym/class memberships) kind of has the opposite effect on me. I'll do it for a while but i end up putting so much pressure on myself to "get my money's worth" that I just collapse and can't do it any more.

I may look into local classes or one of those more modern rolling contract gyms at some point. But I'm kind of starting at less than zero in terms of fitness right now so I want to try and build up a bit of a base before I go for something that costs money

@ralphdibny ah, for me I am the opposite - a bit of financial investment can help motivate me enough to get started and I am more likely to stick at it then. If I am going through a rough patch with cycling something like a new jersey can do the trick. Or if I am really struggling, new wheels or indeed a new bike 😂

I have a few problems right now, I have basically been overdoing it on the bike and ignoring a build up of knee pain. At first I could push through it fairly easily at the start of a ride and it’d go away for the duration, but then it’d ache afterwards. Then it stated to ache a bit in the night, and then while sitting at a desk. It’s not at the point where it’s causing me huge problems out cycling once I am warmed up but I know that will come next if I keep going.

I finally thought this isn’t a good idea and dialled it right back last week. Cycling to work really slowly, no big rides, icing my knees several times a day. They are feeling better, crucially I’ve now started a few strengthening exercises to build up some of the muscles I have been neglecting. Every other day and slowly at first but I will build them up. I’m just going to take it easy for 1-2 months and hopefully get back to where I was in the summer but hopefully this time without the pain, better conditioning and a little wiser.

It’s potentially very frustrating as I can feel my abilities melting away! But I’m trying to look on the bright side, and I know I can get it back relatively easily when I am better.

I guess I just got too excited when I got Zwift and started pushing watts that my knees couldn’t handle. It’s not the long distances, but the cadence and power output changes that I introduced to quickly, I am sure.

@kyleforrester87 ahh you didn't mention a small-ish one time purchase with a tangible and keepable good. In that case, my small collection of exercise equipment (including the recently purchased press up handles) would like to say something on my behalf!!!

I bought a recumbent exercise bike last year and I bought it because for some reason, I had actually convinced myself I was going to die of being fat. And in my panic, I'd actually convinced my partner that I was going to die of being fat. I guess that's why she let me buy it. I'm still alive though, and I'm still fat. I mean I probably will die earlier than most unless I lose weight but yeah. I've actually split that bike in two now, I've got the seat and handles stored away and I've just got the pedals out which I can sort of awkwardly hook onto the bottom of the sofa for like the most extra-recumbent version of the bike lol. The idea was that I used it while I was playing games so I don't notice that I'm exercising. Haven't used it in ages though unfortunately.

Ahh man, sucks about your knees. Do you reckon you'll see a doctor about it or are you fairly confident that you've sussed the cause and the right way to go about fixing it?

What muscles have you neglected and what exercises are you doing to strengthen them as well?

Hopefully you'll get back into intensive cycling again once you've done your recovery. I'm sure it will be erm, "just like riding a bike"! 😅

I went for an X ray on my wrist in the end. Nothing wrong apparently so I've been referred to a "hand" specialist which I'm still waiting to hear back from. It's sort of got better from wearing the splint and I've stopped wearing it as much. So I'm not in constant pain but I'm more used to not doing the movements that cause severe pain. But when I do them accidentally it still causes severe pain. So I don't really know if it has actually got better or if I've just like adapted to it.

@ralphdibny yeah it’s just overuse in my case, need to back off fully initially and then build it back up again gradually. Lots of muscles in your legs obviously and inevitably some will become more developed than others. I seem to have some quite weak muscles in my legs which will cause problems with my knees tracking properly, etc. Also, general tightness - need to stretch more. I am sure I can get it ironed out, if I am struggling down the line I’ll get some professional help with the bike fit and a physio etc, etc.

I don’t know what you weigh, but if you are legitimately fat it’s probably best to focus majorly on your diet initially if you want to improve your health, no? (Beyond improving your bad hand etc) I can eat a lot of crap if I buy it so I just try and keep it out the house as much as I can

(I ate a share bag of giant chocolate buttons in less than 5 minutes a couple of hours ago as I had them in the fridge, wouldn’t normally buy something like that but was for a birthday and went uneaten. Same birthday, I bought a cake for 10 that went unused, I ate over 3/4 of it myself over 3 “sessions”! Still eying up the final chunk!!)

@kyleforrester87 Damn son, I guess you can always look back on the “calories burnt” on recent Strava rides to fry and even it out.

@ralphdibny I’ve seen those Nike vids on Netflix as they all got dumped on in one go. I think I said before that I reckon I need to find something to help with stretches for my back if nothing else so if you do give them a go let me know what you think!

I’ve got my hilly race on Saturday so of course my hamstring niggle has decided to come back for the first time in a year this week. It felt okay today but the hills are certainly going to test it a lot more. Just fingers crossed for Saturday I guess.

@Thrillho I’m one of those people who just don’t put weight on, doesn’t mean it’s not incredibly bad for me - I just get less of a visual indication!! But yes, I have a serious sweet tooth. And salty food - crisps, cured meats etc.

Just try to avoid them at all costs!

Hope the hamstring doesn’t give you too much grief either, I saw it was playing up.

@kyleforrester87 fair play! Hopefully you get it all sorted in good time!

I actually used the machine at the doctor's the other day (while I was taking my partner to check her blood pressure) and my stats came out as: 116.2kg weight, 190cm height, 32.2 BMI. So yeah, near the bottom of the obese part of the scale but obese nonetheless.

I think I need to do diet as well, it is very hard as I'm a bit of a food addict. Mainly sweet and savoury foods. Also mainly just to make myself feel better, not even cos I'm hungry. So yeah 🤷‍♂️. Will try and sort that out as well.

I mainly wanted to do yoga though so I can get a bit more flexibility. I feel very stiff and in a lot of pain after doing some activities. Kind of want to be able to Carpe Diem on a whim without feeling the pain the next day 😅

Re: your later post, seems like you love food as much as I do! 😂. I'll be honest, it's a bit of a weird one. I don't think I even eat that much but I do like to snack and with 0 activity, it just seems to maintain my dad bod. I don't really get fatter and I don't really get thinner. Even when I have done exercise in the past few years since starting this thread, I don't seem to get any lighter than around 108kg. Which is a massive leap from the 85 or so kilograms I have to be to be a "healthy weight".

P.s. Kinder Bueno White is my vice right now

@Thrillho yeah will do! I think I'll have a look online and see if there is any kind of written guide to them online. Failing that, I think I'll just watch a few and see if any look like "beginners" ones to get started with.

The allure of DDP yoga (and exercise programmes in general) is always that kind of success story that is a massive transformation. Honestly, I don't even doubt that it's real if you follow the diet and the exercise plan but I can never do both, not nowadays at least.

Best success I had, with tons of weight loss was that Insanity workout which I did in my early 20s. But I followed the diet and the programme that time. Even that freaking gross peanut butter, cottage cheese and jam bagel 🤢. Ate a lot of quark for that as well which was pretty grim. Unfortunately I'm a bit old with too many injuries on my joints to even consider doing something as high impact as insanity workout these days. Maybe in future if I can shed a few lbs elsewhere first 😅

Best of luck for tomorrow 🤞, hopefully it doesn't give you too much grief but take it easy if you feel it coming back mate

@ralphdibny do you have a lot of junk food in the house though? I am snacky right now but the besides a bag of sugar the sweetest thing I have is jam on toast 😂 so I’m just having a cup of tea. My girlfriend has a habit of buying multi-packs of chocolate bars, even if she just wants 1, because it “works out cheaper” 😖

Hey, what do I know - but if I were you I’d maybe set the exercise goals to one side a little while (aside from some basic exercises to maintain mobility if you have injuries) until I got my diet a little bit where I wanted it. I’d do food diaries, calorie counting and meal planning for 6 months. I’d just do 1 big controlled shop a week, avoid small shops where I am likely to buy junk and eat packed lunch for work. I mean, you can’t do it all at once, and you definitely can’t out-train a bad diet. But that’s just my 2 cents and what I think would work for me and how I operate, if I was in your position. Of course I have never been overweight, and I’ve only had to control my diet for other reasons (I went gluten free for a long time to help with my arthritis, and I am better at avoiding crap these days) so I appreciate I may be way off the mark! I hope I am not sounding insensitive, really not my intent - I know things are never as easy as they sound!

@ralphdibny It was quite a while ago I saw this now but there was a program the BBC did a while back about exercise. I don't remember the fine details but it was something along the lines of taking several families and getting them to each do a different activity and then finding out which group burned the most calories by the end of the day. I think one group did a circuits session, one something outdoors like a run and another they just got to do housework all day.

It turned out that it was the group doing the housework all day that burned the most simply because they were moving all day apart from when they sat down to have lunch. The other groups did their activities and then sat down for most of the rest of the day so even though they burned more calories while they were doing their activities over the entire day then ended up burning less. Even though I take all these programs with a pinch of salt I can definitely see there's some truth in that. If I go for a 5k run say I might work off 200 - 300 calories, which is pretty much a Mars Bars worth. You can burn pretty much the same number of calories from just standing all day instead of sitting and that's not even taking into account any activity you are doing whilst standing, which would obviously make it a lot more. I've actually seen the results of that first hand as when I went from a sitting desk to a standing desk I lost a good 5kg along with the other benefits such as my back feeling better and feeling more awake etc.

I'm not advocating doing housework all day everyday for exercise, personally I'll take the run any day, more that simple changes can have a big impact. It could be things like if you can't stand for work you could stand while you watch TV in the evening, you could go for a walk at lunch rather than just going back to work etc. Obviously those things won't work in isolation and you still need to try and eat less of the bad stuff. I'm the same as you guys though and I'll eat badly at times and fancy things like salty snacks and chocolate etc but I try to use those as a last resort and if I'm feeling hungry between meals I'll more likely have a cuppa to see if that just takes the edge off before I open the snack draw.

I'm sorry it's not great advice but hopefully it's something you can think about as a way to get yourself back on track.

2 weeks later I had my first pain free ride this morning, too early to get excited as I am expecting the knee pain to creep back as I ride more during the week but compared to how sore it was 2 weeks ago I am very happy. I've been consistent with the strengthening exercises and icing, and it's nice to see a bit of pay off...

@kyleforrester87 yep! I do have lots of snacks in the house. I use them to top up my mood throughout the day. I think I always buy them because I always get that feeling worse at night when I'm in bed. I need that one little sweet treat to help me feel nice enough to fall asleep. Otherwise I feel like I get too like, I duno, unfulfilled to sleep?

But your defo right though, need to cut out the junk. I've just been under a lot of stress and pressure lately and while I initially lost my appetite (and about 5kg) from it, I ended up just going back to what is pretty much my only health affecting vice.

I think I might start doing the food diary again on the My Fitness Pal app. I need to get it under control a bit.

@render nah not at all, it's great to hear new perspectives!

It's just a tough one to balance for me to be honest. Work is a whole other ball game. I actually used to (technically I still do but I'm just not going in any more) do a job where I was on my feet all day. Unfortunately, it didn't really work out like that for me. I maintained an unhealthy weight and just found my self spending every evening too tired to do anything apart from shower-eat dinner-sleep-repeat. 3/4 weekends a month were spent monging out trying to recuperate for the following week. Not to mention my feet injury which just means standing for long periods is a complete no-go.

Unfortunately the whole thing didn't suit me very much! It's kind of weird ya know, there are like things that people know are healthy but there is also the reality of what people are actually physically and mentally capable of. Recent years for me have normally been either diet or exercise, not often both. I'll normally get the idea that I'll want to do something and I'll do it for a while before inevitably falling off it.

I actually think I had the most successful weight loss recently doing weights and other resistance exercises. I read somewhere that it's good because you burn calories for a long time after the exercise as your body repairs itself. I did that last year for a good while before I fell off for reasons I can't remember.

Unfortunately, injuries and stagnation have cropped up too much for me to get straight back into that so I think I'm going to start off light with a spot of yoga and see if I "get the bug", so to speak and diversify into other exercising.