This topic contains 116 replies, has 45 voices, and was last updated by dykask 6 years ago.
I don’t exercise much, I haven’t a lot of time as with working full time and bringing kids to activities, and then chores around the house, there isn’t a lot of opportunity. There is a pull-up/chin-up bar at my work that I do use almost daily (even on fast days), however, so at the very least there is that. Also, I walk briskly for about 45 minutes each day to get from car to train, train to work, work to train and then train to car.
I do 10-12 hours a week on my road bike (200-250 miles) and usually one day at the gym for 90 mins or so.
Most of the bike rides have periods of interval training just because we have to do 30+mph sprints on a regular basis to catch guys breaking away from the group.
I’ve found in the past that I tend to feel hungrier and eat more when I don’t exercise. Having the two fast days is great, as it forces me to limit my intake to 600 calories. I don’t exercise on those days, apart from walking the dog, mowing the grass, etc.
I’ve just switched from marathon training to triathlon training which I intend to combine with the 5:2 diet. I’ll be using the same training schedule as last year so it’ll be interesting to see what happens.
For the record I’m 53, 180cm height, and I’m mostly vegan (meat once a month, fish three times a month). Ten years ago I was 75kg. Today I’m currently 85kg.
Last year my pre-training weight was 84kg and it got down to 80kg at the end of the season (Sept.) which may sound good, but I was doing 14 hours of training a week: 5hrs run (inc. two interval sessions), 6hrs cycle (inc. one spin), 3hrs swim (2hrs at tri-club, endurance/technique). I wasn’t eating excessively.
How can you not lose weight doing all that training and being mostly vegan? The human body is certainly a most marvelous/marvelously frustrating thing.
Hello, i posted in here recently about entering my first Half Marathon. After losing 3 stone i have entered The Perkins Great Eastern Run this year. I have found that running has helped me to keep my weight off as well as a balanced diet and it is a great feeling achieving a good weight loss and getting fit. As my fitness is increasing, entering races is a great way to keep me achieving and to have goals to complete.
Yes I definitely exercise when on a diet. I am a big believer that diet and exercise are the best way to lose unwanted weight. I wanted to do an HIIT program and had a few to choose from. I was reading through the Insanity workout reviews and they really won me over- http://www.beachbody.com/product/fitness_programs/insanity-workout-reviews.do I am really liking it so far. The exercises really push you and on my fasting days I do the modified exercises. This workout is great and it’s worth a look at
Clairelv, you don’t have to do a lot to feel better for it. It doesn’t take long to get into the habit and then you will feel wrong if you don’t exercise – wrong physically, not guilty. The guys on this regime have decided we don’t do guilt anymore. I am currently on holiday. There is a gym but I haven’t used it yet and I feel sluggish. No weight gain because I have been walking five or six miles a day and Lisbon is a very hilly city but I intend to hit the gym today
Clairelv, if you can find an activity that you enjoy doing, exercise will be something you enjoy rather than endure.
I took up cycling four years ago, and found a few groups of people to ride with. I made new friends and it’s now a fun thing for me to do four times a week. It also burns off up to 3,000 calories per ride, depending on the day.
I still go to the gym one day a week, and then take two days off, apart from dog walks, etc.
Clairelv,
Even walking every day can be exercise. It doesn’t have to be marathon training or 30 mile bike rides. You would be surprised at how much stronger legs can become just by walking a few miles per day. Strength training helps for bone density, but if you can only manage walking, there are still benefits.
I have two large dogs and if they don’t get their two mile walk daily there is no living with them. I also go to the gym 2-4 times a week depending on my work schedule. I do treadmill warm up and then 20-30 minutes of weights and finish up with at least 30 minutes on elliptical. I’ve been doing this routine for a long time, however, I was eating and drinking whatever I wanted thinking it was okay since I was active. Wrong!!!!! All that activity didn’t negate the calories I was consuming. Darn it.
I do “burn” workouts on my 2 fasting days (60+ minutes of mixed cardio – rowing, biking, running) and “build” workouts on 2 of my feast days (a full circuit of strenth training). I’m trying to train my body to not need food during long distance runs. I’ve run three marathons and always end up with an upset stomach if I eat, but if I don’t eat my energy wanes and I get headachy. I would love to correspond with other distance runners if there are any out there doing IF.
diverdog- “It is impossible to out exercise your mouth!”
LOL! I know that, but old habits are hard to break. I was a dancer for so many years (with class, rehearsal, performing..up to 10 hours a day) and never had an issue with weight. Then had kids, started a new career, no more dancing, and pounds accumulated. 🙁
exercise is oversold as a way to lose weight, but it’s very important for health. and for weight loss maintenance.
I have a rather disorganized program of HIT on the elliptical, 5K on the treadmill, cycling and weights, not all on the same day. The reason I wanted to lose weight was to make running easier. It definitely helped my knees, but now I have PF. It’s very annoying, but I try to stick to mostly lower impact stuff and only reintroduced the treadmill on my physical therapist’s recommendation.
Yeah, we love the fresh veggies penguin, I have been growing them for several years myself, but we’re currently moving the beds from our back garden to the allotment to make more room for us to sit out and hang my washing….:-D
I am struggling somewhat with the full 20 minutes from MMs Fast Exercise book, I broke it up into three sections today, hoping I’ll gradually get fitter and be able to do them all at the same time.
Does anyone know if I should be aiming for 100% max HR during the 8 second sprints?
Dee
MaryAnn, Get it wrong or overdo it and any exercise can hurt you – I am just recovering from a damaged rotator cuff I got white water kayaking last summer. Diverdog doesn’t like running. I think I remember him saying it goes back to his military days. Many of us with that background didn’t like it because we were made to do it, usually in boots carrying loads. Perversely I came to like it for the reasons you give. When doing really stressful or extremely tedious jobs it cleared my brain. If your injury will let you, try rowing, for two reasons. Settle into the rhythm and it works on the mind a bit like running and running philosophy is moving increasingly to the view that a varied routine which builds your general fitness and strength improves your running.
Since reading your post I have Googled plantar fasciitist -there is lots of advice, but I guess you have been there.
I used to run too, but I began having problems with my hips, so changed to long-distance walking which really is very good for clearing your head MaryAnn, we love it, but I broke my ankle on a walking holiday in La Palma last December. Physio told me stationary bike only, but I did manage to cycle outdoors for a couple of months after the fracture began to heal. But cycling outdoors is also another good way to clear your head, especially if you do mountain biking, away from it all.
Dee
The irony is that I started 5:2 (or 4:3 to be exact) in order to lose weight so that my knees would hurt less when I ran. -50 lbs later, my knees are great, but my damned foot is jacked. I got a good year of improving my 10K times and getting my first few half marathons in before it all fell apart. Oh well. I do enjoy other types of exercise, it’s just not the same.
Speaking of intervals, though, I’m hoping my foot is good enough to tackle the track. My physio insists the treadmill is better, but the surface of the track gives quite a bit. There’s a standard 400m track, and also a 1K route with the same surfacing. If it works out, it’s better than the treadmill. I hate running in the gym. Even in the hot humid Okinawa summer.
I signed up for a half marathon in Nov., but I am a little worried about how to do 5:2 with training. Luckily, I have a few weeks to get used to fasting before getting serious about training. I’d like to run at least 3 days a week. If anyone has any good tips on 5:2 and running, I’m all ears!
Also, exercise is important for my mental health, so findings a balance with 5:2 and being fit is my ultimate goal.
Thanks!
I fast on two consecutive days. I find that on day one I have lots of energy but by day two not a lot of staying power. So on day one I have enough energy for the gym or some interval training. Long, slow distance or anything requiring endurance on day two takes me beyond my reserves. You shouldn’t be pushing it every day anyway, you need some recovery days. The four days you intend not to run give you time to fit in the fasting days. That, of course, assumes that you do only run three days a week, it gets to be habit forming.
I am doing a half in 8 weeks and follow a training plan which means that I need to run on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays at the moment, but in the last 3 weeks there is an additional short run on a Friday as well.I can run 1, 2 and 3 miles on a fast day but find that I prefer to run longer distances on a non fast day. It may be psychological, but it really doesn’t matter. I currently do a FD on Monday and Friday, but may bump that to Saturday in the last few weeks or I may decide not to do FD at all in the last few weeks. I shall see how I go and how I feel.
My top tip post run is to drink a glass of milk. It has been shown that it rehydrate faster/better than anything else including water.Get running shoes fitted for your gait. Mine are half size bigger than my shoe size(feet swell) and work brilliantly with my running socks.I bought a watch with GPS that maps my run but also tells me the distance(which is why I bought it)as well as calories burned.I find that reading a running magazine helps me to learn more about running and nutrition etc.
I am 54 and started running 2 years ago with the goal of getting round, uninjured our local half. I did and was very slow, but not last.
It is a great achievement to complete the course.
Claire80. I have had a back injury for 40 years – an incident with a helicopter restructured my lumbar vertebrae. What the medics kindly call “age related degeneration” has not improved it. In my mid 60s, about five years ago, I got unfit and fatter. I couldn’t walk more than a mile or stand still for any length of time. The hospital physio told me to stop doing most of the things I like – paddling my canoe and kayak, taking any vigorous exercise. My own doctor said “Its your body. Do what you want. Stop if it hurts” I have followed his advice. Traditional Pilates (i.e. no fancy equipment, just the body and a mat) got me moving. Losing a lot of weight really eased the pain and got me moving more. If I keep moving I’m fine and it won’t hurt. Sitting still, especially with bad posture or more than seven hours in bed will cause the back to stiffen and hurt. I still do Pilates, I also go to the gym, paddle my canoe/kayak, ride a bike, walk miles and (sorry Dd) run.
Diverdog is right – you can do a lot of good work in the gym and that is probably the best place to start, although even now I don’t work as hard as he does! If nothing else, work the core and back muscles. Dd is also right about doing the weights/machine work slowly. Doing it slowly and properly is better than throwing huge amounts of weight around with poor technique.
If you do none of the things we have suggested, weight loss alone will make it hurt less.
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