The 2017 Exercise Motivation Thread

[debbila]

I'm a beginner to exercise, having been sedentary for a long time. I have spinal stenosis so long walks are out for me. Shopping and errands cause back and leg pain. This week I started going to a gym ( I wrote a couple posts in the What's Something Good That Happened in the Last 24 hours thread. ). I'm using the stationery bike and treadmill for a few minutes, pulley weights ( 7 1/2 lb. to start ) for upper back and arms, and the machine where you lean back, for strengthening lower back. They have a pool and I do water walking.
Any advise, especially from those of you who have health problems like mine, would really be appreciated.

 

[foxxycat]

GO SLOW= The slow and steady wins the race. Water workouts are EXCELLENT for health issues-bones/arthritis. Soak in hot tub after helps muscle strains/sprains and putting ice on after- Me I prefer Ice but some like heat better.

The elliptical machine is better than the treadmill if you have cartilage problems. The bike is good. My ortho doc recommends bike over treadmill. I feel I get the most bang for the buck. Make sure the seat is adjusted to proper height-you don't want your hips rocking- seat too high, and knees scrunched up- seat too low. General rule is when foot is on downward stroke- you want just a hint of bent knee at the 6pm position- 20°-25°angle or very slight bent knee. you don't want to lock knee straight. This helps give you more power to pedal faster and less strain on your knees believe it or not.

I started with only 10 min a day for 3 times a week back in 2015. I was out of shape for 5+ years. I still got heavy but my heart is getting better and my endurance is getting much better but it took about 6 months to go from 10 min to 45 min a session. I like to do 10 on bike, 10 on elliptical and 15 minutes of arm weights.

Start light-you want to comfortably do 15 to 20 reps. If you are getting tired at 10 you are using too much weight. Unless you want to build bulk. For fitness- 15 to 20 reps at medium weights whatever that is for you is preferred.

I hope this helps. I am so proud of all the ones who have started with baby steps like I did. Plus one secret I learned=a bad day at work where I am beyond ticked off=I take it out on the bike/weights and an hour later I feel SO much better.

Today bike ride- 30 minutes. =didn't go up to the bridge=not enough breathe-tired today. Stayed on flat road and got up the steep hill at 5 mph instead of 3.2 like yesterday. That's an improvement for me- oh and instead of gear 1 I was in gear 2. Small steps folks! At least it's 64 instead of 87 so I felt so much more comfortable.

Feel free to PM me if you want more indepth answers or I can post here.

 

[Norachan]

Nice to have you with us debbila



I've had a busy week. Wednesday and Thursday I did 90 minutes of yoga and a 30 minute run. Friday I went for a long walk. We went up the the fifth station of Fuji and did a route called Oniwa. which circles around the peak. Not the whole way, but about 3 hours walk in total.

Saturday just 45 minutes of yoga after work. Today I finished early so I could do an hour of yoga and about 3 hours of gardening. The garden looks good now. I'm exhausted!

Some pictures from my walk on Friday.

On the way up.

This Chinese couple and cycled up from the village at the bottom.

tabbytom jtbo Are you up for the challenge?

If you don't feel like walking you can get a pony ride up to the first look out point.

Walking above the clouds.

This little shrine was on the trail. The God is called Tengu.

 

[jtbo]

Norachan , you truly live in amazing place, I would not dare to try such climb, I'm running out of oxygen even at sea level

I really like above the clouds pic, it is like from the dream, mmmm, fluffy.

I have got a pic too,so exhausted, but it was a nice ride, took three attempts though as bike kept failing, had major issues with it today, more surprise costs as freewheel bearing might be busted.


Shoulder hurts, bicep kind of snapped last Tuesday and is still hurting, can't raise my arm, so had to ride slow, but I got some fun.

Norachan , how about some of this? foxxycat , when you build up base with a bike, try this kind of riding, very tiring, but hour goes by like nothing, really a blast and good bike saved me many times today where I did something stupid, it is just 500 euros for Trek bike and about 200 euros for upgrade parts, so relatively cheap fun

 

[tabbytom]

I'm on my way Norachan .................errrrrrrr..........:..........on second thoughts, I just remember that I'm still recovering from my double surgery I changed my mind, I'm not coming. You cycle up the mountain for me ok?

 

[foxxycat]

4.2 mile bike ride. Took me whole 30 minutes. 1 minute to spare to punch back in lol. The hill on way back is a killer. I dropped my phone out of shirt pocket spinning down the hill at 24mph and had to stop and turn around and get it-the cover got a good scuff but it's still working- the hard shell really helps protect it-I was worried someone would run it over = I put the phone in the pouch on front of bike-no more dropsies! Warm out. took off short sleeve button up shirt because the sun is beating on me.. it's around 68 out..blasting the AC in here to cool off...still trying to break in that callous on my butt from the bike seat...thinkin of wearing padded bike shorts under jeans but that is too bulky and talk about sweating..I hate spandex..

 

[jtbo]

4.2 mile bike ride. Took me whole 30 minutes. 1 minute to spare to punch back in lol. The hill on way back is a killer. I dropped my phone out of shirt pocket spinning down the hill at 24mph and had to stop and turn around and get it-the cover got a good scuff but it's still working- the hard shell really helps protect it-I was worried someone would run it over = I put the phone in the pouch on front of bike-no more dropsies! Warm out. took off short sleeve button up shirt because the sun is beating on me.. it's around 68 out..blasting the AC in here to cool off...still trying to break in that callous on my butt from the bike seat...thinkin of wearing padded bike shorts under jeans but that is too bulky and talk about sweating..I hate spandex..

Ditch those jeans girl, they will hurt you!

You need seamless or one of those hidden seam pants, like jogging pants or sweat suit pants, because anything that is not smooth will hurt if that sits between you and the saddle.

Something around 2 weeks to get that sore feeling to end, it will get better though, but keep too long break and new butt break in is needed, with all the pain.

Padded shorts might work or might not work, cotton is horror, don't wear anything cotton when riding a bike. There are non padded cycling shorts too, but good quality sports underwear with some trousers without big seams should work well enough.

I'm using padded shorts and thin padding works better for me. Talcum, baby powder, that helps a lot too, be generous with it, that helps with sweating and rubbing issues that comes from wet skin.

Some use Vaseline.

Make sure saddle is not too soft or big, that is asking for trouble, also it is important to sit only on cheek bones, not on soft tissue, soft parts should not even touch the saddle, to avoid rubbing issues.

Can't remember other tips right now, but pains are something I have gone trough many times over, eventually I found a saddle that works well for me, lucky me, it is cheap one.

Oh one more thing I remembered, if hands/palms start tingling/hurting, lift nose of saddle higher, you might need different kind of saddle to get best possible position though.

 

[foxxycat]

Unfortunately I don't have time to change into jogging pants..these jeans are stretchy..and I can't wear spandex- they just don't make them big enough for me-my thigh circumference is wayyy too big..I tried all kinds when I was thinner-they all did the same thing-squeezed the hell out of my thighs and slid off seat..I bought some slim fitting stretch pants to try. S

o far the jeans are very comfy as long as they are stretchy..they don't cause any discomfort..growing up I only wore jeans-rarely bike shorts. Of course I was a kid and we didn't have online shopping and padded bike shorts were hard to find-the few I found at yard sales didn't fit right and I found the padding more annoying than helpful.

The seat has a good gel seat on it. I know I have to sit on that part of bum and nothing else..the seat has cut outs in the center to help...So far I am not uncomfortable other than building up butt callous..yesterday it was bugging me TONS. Today not so much..If I was doing a day long ride I would find something else to wear..they just don't make good quality sports clothes for plus size girls..

chaffing doesn't seem to bother me-the jeans are skin tight so nothing rubs. I know not to wear bagging pants when exercising=found that out the hard way on the elliptical machine=found plus sized yoga pants=but I just feel freaky wearing them in public at a size 2x...

So Jeans for now=NOW let's get some weight sheddin...been really strict with my diet and it doesn't matter...I am almost just resigning to the fact we get fat when get old. BUT I still move around-no way will I give up. I love a good sweaty workout even if I hate sweating...and biking is so much nicer than the gym...we got 2 more months before the snow flies...it will be OK. I promise. I will NEVER GIVE UP!!!

 

[jtbo]

It never gets easy, just faster

Pre-breakfast, Finnish saying "information increases pain", all those are actually needed when having a diet and they do help to keep burner burning:

EPA+HDA fish oil, Calcium, Vitamin AB(1,2,6,9,12)CDE, Zinc, Citicoline, some are for skin issue, but to meet low calorie goal and vitamin goal some supplements are needed.

No cravings and on new Strava segment I got 7th place on first attempt and I didn't even know that spot had a segment, so didn't push at maximum, will be interesting to see how time will improve as weight drops.
I don't need to loose lot of weight anymore, though.
Perhaps something around 10 pounds / 5kg, but need to do more of resistance training as this summer was disaster on muscle department.

Update: This is breakfast for today, 1/4 gallon of food, lots of carbs, sugar and some fats too, sugar makes you go fast, carbs give energy to push more, but never eat sugar or carbs at the evening, always eat them right before workout so they know where to go, otherwise they go to waist. 1262 calories, 184 carbs, 26 fats, 61 protein, everything for workout, 2nd and possibly 3rd meal are for supplying energy for the day, don't eat at the evening!

 

[Norachan]

Wow jtbo you must rattle after all those supplements!



foxxycat the flared yoga pants are really flattering. Very comfy too. Or what about some horse riding jodhpurs? They do denim-look ones these days. They have the seams on the outside of the legs so as you don't get chafed when riding.

tabbytom I don't think my bike would make it up there. It barely makes it to the supermarket and back.



90 minutes of yoga yesterday, 90 minutes of yoga and a 2 hour walk today.

 

[Winchester]

Well.....I'm back. I don't know for how long, but I'm back.

We think we finally got my blood pressure problems back to a dull roar. I've been flipping around with different meds for blood pressure (and now the related anxiety/stress from dealing with the blood pressure hassles). Every time I had to try a new med, I wasn't supposed to do any kind of exercise til we figured out how my body would react to the med. My BP was going down and then back up, then back down, resting heart rate would be fine, then go up, then down. And we've been playing around now for about two months like this. I keep telling myself: Calm down. It's not your heart, it's not your heart. (All tests show my heart is fine....this is med-related and now anxiety-related.)

So last week I started walking (with dr's permission), doing both the treadmill and my XXX-steps per hour. As a result, I walked everyday last week on the treadmill, starting out last Monday with one mile and by Friday, I was up to 2.5 miles. I hit 12 of 12 hours with 300+ steps every day as well. I took Saturday off and on Sunday, I hit the treadmill and got at least 10,000 steps for the day....I purposely shoot for between 10,000 - 11,000 steps per day, but most times I can do better.

I've also started doing some deep-breathing exercises to deal with the anxiety from all the BP problems. And I'm looking into yoga or some kind of meditation.

Monday (yesterday) -
2.5 miles on the treadmill
11/12 hours with 300+ steps per hour (that last hour, I was sitting on my butt at a planning commission meeting at work)
16,055 steps for the day

foxxycat awesome job on the bike! I think it's great that you started bike-riding! I hear you about the jeans and the bike seat.

jtbo love your breakfast. Boy, that's a lot of supplements you're taking!

Norachan , good job with your yoga! You are one busy woman!

Welcome to debbila and tabbytom !

 

[jtbo]

If you increase volume enough, you can hear how I'm struggling to keep up, need more practice, but I must say I haven't felt this great for a long long time

Total time of riding was around 1 hour, after that I put vinyl sticker thing on my table, so it does look nicer now. Need some food and then some shopping to do, lot of steps for this day too.

 

[tabbytom]

tabbytom I don't think my bike would make it up there. It barely makes it to the supermarket and back.

Well, ahem.........in that case, you'll have to walk all the way up............for me.........

 

[tabbytom]

..................

Welcome to tabbytom !

Thank you, but I'm out of action till I don't know when

 

[foxxycat]

Welcome back Winchester and sorry you are out of commission tabbytom

Bike ride at lunch. Got further. 2.3 miles one way=to a local school then came back..was going a few miles faster this time. I forgot to video tape some of the ride=will try tomorrow. total 4.6 miles. Every day I go an extra 50 feet. and turn around. The school is on flat land but then there's a hill so I am shying off of the hill.

Butt wasn't too sore today. Ordered some long pants for riding-will try those..

 

[tabbytom]

................. and sorry you are out of commission tabbytom

I'm dying to get back up on me bike. Everyday I talk to me bike and saying 'When can I take you out again?'

 

[Winchester]

Tuesday -
2.5 miles on the treadmill
12/12 hours with 300+ steps
14,607 steps for the day / 6.92 miles

Wednesday -
2.5 miles on the treadmill
12/12 hours with 300+ steps
14,651 steps for the day / 6.94 miles

 

[foxxycat]

Wed- bike ride to the bridge and back- took a different road this time. aprox 3.5 miles-was a bit warm so didn't go as far.

Last night bought some stretchy skinny jeans at Wal Mart and I am surprised how comfy they are. Only $13. Of course I usually only wear black. I did buy some work out tight stretch pants but going to try these jeans and see how they feel. My bike helmet came in-I had an old one from 20 years ago and decided to upgrade.

jtbo I checked out TREK and oh wow nice stuff! got my lid for $99 US and came yesterday. Has a camera mount. Have to get one now. I am almost tricked out! Got a bright orange pull over tank top to make myself stand out.

Last night took the bike I have out at home=I have 3 lol. That one I don't like as much as the Schwinn. It has full suspention but there's some stuff loose and I can't get the tires up over 30lbs-using a hand pump-

next week going to call the bike shop and have that one serviced then take the purple one in to get serviced. The blue one is shorter frame and not as comfortable. Probably going to get rid of that one. And keep the Schwinn. I want a TREK bike too but next year...this year is building endurance and learning proper stop and dismounts..Almost time to practice jumps and other stuff incase I have to get out of the way fast.

Today gonna ride again..I really enjoy road riding..I don't have enough skill or patience for woods riding yet..I am still building up my endurance. Going to take a good 3 months..the bike in the gym just doesn't do justice to road riding.

Winchester good job on progress!!

 

[Norachan]

Glad you're back with us Winchester

The bike rides sound fun foxxycat

I've been doing 2 one hour yoga sessions every day recently. I haven't been out for a walk or a run because the weather has been bad, it suddenly got really wintery.

It's 5C here this evening.

 

[jtbo]

Tuesday -
2.5 miles on the treadmill
12/12 hours with 300+ steps
14,607 steps for the day / 6.92 miles

Wednesday -
2.5 miles on the treadmill
12/12 hours with 300+ steps
14,651 steps for the day / 6.94 miles

That must of felt good for a long time no exercise

foxxycat , Trek is nice, but there are other nice bikes too, mine is cheap 3700 Disc, but it has upgraded brakes and driveline parts, also saddle, handlebar and stem are upgraded.

Originally bike was 3x8 gears, but is now 3x9 gears, hydraulic brake at front with bigger SLX brake disc and such. It is really nice, but bit heavy and front suspension is quite poor, would be better without suspension at all.

Get used and make upgrades to sprockets, chain and cassette, maybe also derailleur.

You need to replace shifter if going from 8spd to 9spd, but derailleur usually works fine, however best to get something with really stiff spring, at least for me most issues come from bounces that throw chain off, I have broken many chains like that.

Short cockpit is really nice for jumps, when one needs to lift front wheel over rock etc. Also great when doing descents as it is easier to go behind the seat, which is essential when going down steep places, you have to learn to touch rear tire with the butt, that is how much backwards and low you have to reach, sometimes even further behind is needed, but it is amazing what kind of descents you can ride with MTB.

With suitable tires it is also very fast on city streets and such. I must say I don't do well on city streets though, I got hand signals from bus driver recently as I did not really understood rules or signaling or anything else for that matter, but on that town I'm 6th fastest climber on bike according to Strava, there are 51 guys behind me, but traffic rules and city riding is not my forté

This is attempt of easy and light riding at forest paths:

This is attempt of easy and light riding in city:

It is obvious that I can't comprehend some key aspects of city riding, I guess

Brakes get bit hot at city riding, I try to be cautious, but then it is difficult to ride slow.

Today at forest path I did reach 63km/h, which was fun.