The 2017 Exercise Motivation Thread

[foxxycat]

@Winchester that's good that you have a rest day.

Last night stopped at the gym-it's totally changed around-they installed new TVs and more fans in the ceiling but still too hot in there. They had pizza too-and ate first pizza in months. it was really good.

15 minutes on bike 5 miles but it's nothing like the road-too easy=the seat is so uncomfortable. I even wore my padded shorts and didn't make a difference. then 30 min on elliptical but only 2 miles-I felt tired but they didn't have pizza until 5 so I had to kill time. It seems strange in there and the massage chairs are not in a private area anymore-not sure how I feel about that-if I was a black card holder I would not want people walking by as I am trying to zen out. I wonder if that will be fixed after they are done with updates. bathrooms all different too. locker room super small. not sure if there's enough lockers but we will find out! Definitely looks more fancy. too bad they won't bring back the original spinning bikes-I hate those wide clunky bikes you sit your back up against.

 

[jtbo]

jtbo , your potatoes remind me of fingerling potatoes here. Don't peel them! As Norachan says, a good scrubbing will suffice. They look so nice. And I love your forest pictures!

I didn't do anything over the weekend on the treadmill....we were really busy doing all kinds of stuff around the house. And on Saturday morning, I got up, fed the kids, and went back to bed. Saturdays are off-treadmill days for me.

Monday -
3.5 miles on the treadmill
12/12 hours with 300+ steps per hour
14,166 steps for the day - 6.7 miles

Do fingerling potatoes come from Alaska? This specific potato 'breed' is such that it needs sun that does not set during the summer, that makes them taste great, now Alaska has very much same kind of conditions (at part of Alaska, that is so huge there is so many kind of climate) where this kind of potato could grow.

I usually do mashed potatoes, just mash them and leave bit of water in a kettle which you boiled them in, for that without peeling is not so nice as peel is then separated and bit annoying when eating.

Bit over 1.5 hours of riding today, I was not supposed to ride today as it was recovery day, but I did attempt to ride lightly, however as usual I got bit enthusiastic and I did ride faster than intended. I should of stayed on gray zone mostly, ended up to yellow and didn't even feel it, I thought I was not pushing.

 

[foxxycat]

gonna be cold today on the bike. 47°F and cloudy. Got my gear all set. I found the gore tex thin jacket keeps me plenty warm. I hope I don't get too hot. For now I have this shirt I wear underneath-long sleeve breathable yellow then unzip the sleeves and wear the vest over it-has short sleeves but that part isn't gore tex. I may not need anything thicker for when it's 30.

jtbo what fitbit or thingy are you using? I need to get that-I am curious to see what my heart rate is-I sweat like crazy so it must be up in the 140s or more. last night at the gym I didn't really sweat until I hit 125bpm. and 140 seemed like it was hard to keep up but good you know what I mean?

 

[jtbo]

gonna be cold today on the bike. 47°F and cloudy. Got my gear all set. I found the gore tex thin jacket keeps me plenty warm. I hope I don't get too hot. For now I have this shirt I wear underneath-long sleeve breathable yellow then unzip the sleeves and wear the vest over it-has short sleeves but that part isn't gore tex. I may not need anything thicker for when it's 30.

jtbo what fitbit or thingy are you using? I need to get that-I am curious to see what my heart rate is-I sweat like crazy so it must be up in the 140s or more. last night at the gym I didn't really sweat until I hit 125bpm. and 140 seemed like it was hard to keep up but good you know what I mean?

Polar M400, I believe new one is M430, costs around $200 I guess, but flow.polar.com website is really nice, it builds exercise diary automatically, also if you have relatively modern smartphone it has app and some handy things I can't use, they also sell smart scale that can sync with that service, I wish that I could afford one some day.

You can see what they offer here:
Products | Polar USA

I did start with very low cost Sigma HR monitor / watch, you can get started with something like this:
Sigma Sport ID.GO Heart Rate Monitor | Multisport Watches Shop

However it would be more ideal if there would be possibility to set training zones so that it helps you to stay on desired zone by beeping, those most basic models don't have such, definitely one needs to write down a log of average HR, max HR and time spent exercising, it really helps to avoid working too hard, which is so easy to do.

To get better model, it tends to cost around 120 or so, Polar M200 or something equivalent, but those are using wrist based HR monitoring these days and it can be bit inaccurate, however it can monitor HR constantly and that might be useful in calorie counting.

You should shop around, Garmin and Polar are good ones, Suunto is really good, but you need to have lot of money to afford such.

M400 is nice though, it did cost only 150 euros when I bought it, has GPS and pretty much everything I need, air pressure based altitude would be nice though, but anything with such is going to cost well over 300. Data logging features are really good to have as it will help a lot to see how much one really trains, how ride really goes compared to other day, because feeling can be really deceiving.

First heart rate monitor I got free, second I did pay 20 euros and 3rd I did pay 30 euros, then I bought M400 and it really is what has helped me to keep motivation as well as I have been, which is not very well, but without it I could of not made it this far. I bought M400 at Feb 2016 and so far it has been working fine and battery has not been weakening, they say that Polar will replace battery for small cost if it does fail, so paying bit more might give more years from device.

Garmin might be bit better in some aspects, but haven't tested that, there is Polar facility less than a mile from me.

Even simplest HRM is better than none, keeping HR low enough is a challenge, because mind pushes to go faster and high HR start to feel only when going to Zone 4 or near Zone 5, that is at least how it is with me, but some days even reaching Zone 3 is feeling painful, it varies.
Usually sweating happens, it is just bit different when it happens, for example 110bpm it takes more time to start sweating than for example at 140bpm. Then there is safety considerations, 220-age is rough guide for maximum and especially for anyone that has been training daily less than a year should not try to reach that maximum, they should stay below 80% of maximum.

General rule for health exercising is that intensity has to be so low that you can talk without issues with breathing. Fitness training comes only after 2 or more years, body needs time to adjust for harder workouts, it is not rare in here that during winter, especially males get heart attack when they move snow without conditioning their body for hard physical activity, so those doing hard workouts all of sudden tends to get problems.

Usually I can't go past 165bpm which is at Zone 5, today I got to 149bpm and I thought I'm staying below 130bpm, I had M400 on my wrist, I have bicycle handlebar mount for it and usually I keep it there where I can easily see how I'm doing, also I should use more of those beeping functions so that HR is locked to certain zone and beeps tell if I have to speed up or slow down, but I'm bit lazy to do that.

There are also training programs, for example I can set interval running and M400 will tell me when to run, when to walk etc.

That watch is just small part of it all, at web service there is huge amount of helpful stuff, also it has activity tracking that helps keep count of calories and it is easy to get motivated to be more active as it is guiding and telling how I'm doing.

If you have smartphone, you might use Polar H10 heart rate sensor with smartphone and get started with lot less money, that is $90 at Polar, but might be possible to find cheaper someplace else. Before I used heart rate monitor I had very ancient smartphone logging my rides using an app called Sports Tracker, that is free, but you get more features by paying.
It is possible to use Sports tracker with bluetooth heart rate sensor too, I guess it was something like ANT+ but never got around to get such as I got M400, however that might be another option for you, I guess Chinese sell Bluetooth HR sensors for small money at aliexpress or similar sites.
For example New Bluetooth 4.0 Wireless Heart Rate Monitor Outdoor Waterproof Sports Fitness Chest Strap Running Cycling ANT Smart Sensor-in Outdoor Fitness Equipment from Sports & Entertainment on Aliexpress.com | Alibaba Group
However you need to read bit if that will work with your phone and app you choose.

This is link for Sports tracker, there are of course others like it, so make sure to look around which you like,
Sports Tracker - the original sports app with maps and GPS tracker for running, cycling, fitness, workout and training.

I haven't updated this page for ages, it is quite badly WIP, but you can get idea about zones from this, those light green cells are inputs, which are used in calculations, Real max HR for me is 165 or 175, it depends from day, but some days it is only 150, so that is bit problematic aspect in this, however understanding Zones is important in HR based training, also how it all correlates with VO2, because HR is just easy way to tell which percentage of VO2max you are at and that really is related to intensity, that has to do with fat burn percentages and needed carbs etc. There are different formulas, lot of information around the internet and sometimes it is bit hard to tell which to follow, best I think is to stick with one and keep at it.

All numbers are individual, these are for me, for you those are going to be different, but don't use Karvonen numbers unless being very fit athlete.

There is more science behind all this than there is space in this reply box, but try Rosberg's formula, it is good starting point. At Rosberg's line M is for males and F is for females, find your maximum, then multiply it by 0.8 and you have highest HR you should use, multiply maximum you got by 0.6 and 0.7 and you get Zone 2 which is best for building the base, but it will be boring because you want to go fast and it takes long time until you can go fast at Zone 2, but that is idea of HR based training, you build mostly base so you can go fast at lower Zone.

 

[foxxycat]

Looks like we are similar age. 42 here. I usually keep hr at 140. 142 seems optimal for me. My resting is 85. So it doesn't take much effort to get 125. But 135 to 142 is where I like to be. I can't take much either. In fact when I was walking on break with coworker we were going 4.2 to 4.5 mph and I could not talk at all.

On my bike I am constantly huffing and puffing. But I dont care. It's a race. I want to see how far I can get.

Today only got to town hall because it was cold. 45. I definitely glad I bought that jacket w sleeves that come off. I usually have them on first half. Then remove. Need a good rain coat goretex. So far haven't found much of anything on eBay. It's hard because everything made overseas and Asian 3x is not my 3x. I think today's ride was like 5.4 or 5.5 miles. Plus there was construction and had to stop so that got in my way.

The biggest help to get goingis music. I pick club dance on pandora and most of it has fast tempo. Also I tried to do the 90rpm on bike in gym to get an idea how fast I should be spinning...def not spinning that fast lol. I would guess I am around 50 to 60 revolutions.

Thanks for details. Will check out. I have a new phone and hopefully aps don't drain battery. My s3 didn't do fit bit without draining battery. Hopefully with this new model I can actually use more apps. I deleted a ton that I dont use daily. Easier to download and delete to save room.

 

[jtbo]

Just remember that heart rate is different for females and males, also most common mistake is to push too hard, which feels good, but does not improve aspects that needs to be improving in order to go fast longer. Of course at beginning any kind of movement does improvement, but after some time it becomes harder to get improvement and going too fast is not helping, I have biggest problems because of that, I should keep lot more rest days if I go fast, or then I should try to keep it enough slow, but after first year or two it becomes necessity to go slow.

Search youtube user Metal Land, there is power metal collection playlist that has over 300 hours of fast stuff, you can use software like Clip Grab to download that and transfer to phone's memory card.

Also it is good idea to get power bank for smartphone cycling use, there is type of power bank that uses AA batteries which is not very expensive, use with rechargeable batteries and quick charger gets you a lot of extra battery with 15 minutes charge.

Every cyclist needs to have ton of zip ties, those are needed for everything really, tie power bank to bike with that, then get handlebar bag holder for phone, so it is protected from moisture, like sweat and impacts, this way you don't need to worry about running out of battery or getting phone wet.

Also things in pockets seems to be annoying when cycling, at least for me.

One thing about Gore-Tex, that is HOT, most of the time in rain it is about same if I use windproof jacket or Gore-Tex, I'm equally wet, difference is that I'm wet from sweat or rain, but when cycling uphills Gore-Tex is really really HOT, it works best around freezing or when doing really light activity.

I have come to conclusion that it is only usable when cycling if it really pours down and it is really cold, surely it does breathe better than typical rain coat, but I think it is kind of waste of money for cycling use unless it is raining really heavily or wet snow.

Windproof jacket works so well, especially when other clothing is technical so they don't get wet like cotton, blocking wind is enough to stay warm, but it allows cooling much better than Gore-Tex.

I would say that Gore-Tex is for slow walking or for other activity that has lot of wind/rain and not so much of intensity.

Below freezing starts to be where Gore-Tex is not too hot when cycling, but then again what is point of water proof below freezing?


Need to do bike service today again, local bike shop (LBS) did say they can't get parts for my bike, that is after weeks of promises and claims of parts being ordered, they even took wheel in claiming it would be done next week, in which point they did not say anything about impossibility of getting parts for Trek, which they claimed when I visited, but then they claimed it is wheel that is issue and not the bike, so try to get what is the truth again, pfft.

I suspect they just did not want to get parts, because when I look from German sites there are tons of parts that should fit. They also claimed 15 euro rear derailleur would cost 40 euros, so I don't think they will have a customer, also when they claimed they would send message when part is there, they never did message anything, not even of these problems of getting parts.

If they are going to lie, at least try to do that well, but they seem not to be able to do even that right.

 

[jtbo]

Bike ride, 1 hour and 20 minutes more or less, weather was like it tends to be:

No, this is not a evening, brightest time of the day was just one hour prior this photo, weather just happens to be like this here, most of the time, some time ago news reported that we get most cloudy weather in whole world, sunny UK would be actually nicer

I should of worn Gore-Tex, it was 5C so it would of been painfully hot, but better be wet from sweat than from rain at that temp. It was not horrible cold though, just bit annoying on arms and tights, maybe some kind of strap on Gore-tex sleeves might be best?

There was a small town too which I did go trough (some 140 000 residents):

 

[foxxycat]

got a ride in yesterday and today.

I love my gore tex bike jacket=this week we have artic cold air-it worked like a CHARM. the wind temp 38 yesterday going fast. I wasn't cold and it has middle panels that breathe. It was expensive but I am so large that most companies don't carry 2x or anything close=this coat was xl and fit...and has zip off sleeves. which when it's 50ish I zip off sleeves and wear long breathable under. now that it's 43 I need full sleeves.

The wind is really cold this week. this morning it was 23! So for now I found these rayon casual jogging pants that keep me warm and breathe..it's the craziest thing..found them at wal mart $15 and bought 7 pairs not all at once. I wear padded bike shorts underneath and slip these ontop. they are close cut but not tight enough to show shape of bum which I love. I also have cotton tight yoga pants for warmer days but these rayon pants work the bomb. machine washable in cool/warm water...

ok you guys I goofed up...tried to stay on white line and slipped off pavement and bike lurched left-out comes left foot-save the day. got back on and continue..get back to the shop and notice it feels tender..so I ace bandaged, ice and advil. So hopefully it's just a mild sprain...duh. That will teach me. I usually stay 2 inches to the left of white line for that reason on this road-there's no shoulder and its variable heights/textures plus it's peoples lawns right up to the road-sure they won't want someone riding on their pristine grass..

I just love riding..I found a half face googles that's for grinding but I am going to wear it in the winter to keep cold air off face=or try it..I doubt it will work because I will fog up the goggles part..it's got this face shield that comes down to your lips and covers cheeks..look like a moron but oh well.

Oh forgot to mention I have a black bag hooked to front of bike-I put phone in when raining but my vest also has lots of pockets. And yes bring zip ties. I only go for half an hour so not worried about battery for phone. I haven't quite graduated past 30 min or so. And often I have to go fast because I am racing against the clock...can't be late. So usually I turn around in particular areas if the wind/rain etc is hindering.

 

[jtbo]

Balaclava, silk is nice when it is not too cold, but when it is really cold, then ski-mask works well.

Goggles stay bit better clear with balaclava, but not much, I have goggles and when going slower, I put those on forehead of helmet, would be difficult with mask part in yours though!

For really cold weather I have a scarf, which I put around neck and face loosely, so that moist exhale can escape from top of it, also can't wear glasses then, but I cover my face and head so that only eyes are visible, then I can ride in very cold weather. Problem is sweating as that starts to freeze to outer clothing layers, making layer of ice to build up, but that is -20C to -30C problems. At -40C there starts to be so many issues, that walking is just easier and more fun, even that is really boring, but bike freezes up so badly at those temps that it is hard to go much faster than walking speeds.

Soon you start doing evening rides in addition to your current rides, because body adjusts, you need to increase the dose then!

 

[Norachan]

Nice pictures jtbo

I've been doing my yoga practice every day and I'm starting to feel some improvement from it.

I took a break from that today. Got up early and went for a hike with a friend. We got to the top of Sankoudai, where there is a good view of two lakes and Mount Fuji. It was a beautiful day so there were quiet a lot of other hikers about, one guy with a drone filming the scenery.

About 2 hours walk, up and back.

 

[foxxycat]

no exercise today. wind chill temp 16 degrees F. too D cold thank you very much.

 

[jtbo]

no exercise today. wind chill temp 16 degrees F. too D cold thank you very much.

How come you get so much colder weather than we? Here was 32F with windchill, today no rain, but still uninspiring grayness.

Anyway I did manage to fix the bike, so I could actually use all gears without skipping, will be good next week.

Norachan I don't know about nice pics, weather has been so horrible that pics are just boring grey without much motivating in them, but they do show that rain is not stopping riding

Today I did 2 hours riding, that is 41km/25 miles, mostly rather flat pavement, also I had no idea where I was for a while as I did ride new route.

 

[foxxycat]

we got a blast of cold Canadian air today and tomorrow. In fact I had to order a new winter coat online-none of the ones I have at home fit and I just don't feel like shopping at thrift stores today..just want to go home.

My left shoulder is acting up=probably because I used my arms to stop the bike from falling and jerked it to the left hard...today I am paying the price. Ice and Took some strong aleve type inflammation killer and shoulder feels better but I just feel tired today...guess need to get some sleep....

 

[foxxycat]

no bike ride-too cold-not conditioned for 20°F air yet. Did a 25 min cardio/HIIT workout. Followed about 20 minutes of the middle of this video. I could do about 20 to 25 seconds of the 45 sec segments. not bad. heart rate at 120-160 at times. Keep going everyone. ankle a bit sore but nothing bad. it's doable. Took advil. will be ok.

 

[jtbo]

Rain, water, sleet, there was slush on ground which did gather to cassette and had only few working gears, it did not help that slush and water entered into shoes from pants, which then made small pool into shoes, pool of ice cold water.

Would need something to go over the shoe, maybe I need to sew rubber band at pants so that I can put it under the shoe.

1 hour and 43 minutes in total darkness, I had two bike lights, but they did quite little. On plus side, gore-tex suit did work perfectly, only sweat made me wet on parts suit did cover, I had hood up and goggles with balaclava so even head did stay dry, except wet from sweating.

It would be nice to have a zipper or something that would connect pants and shoes together.

 

[jtbo]

Bit over 1 hour walk at ski path trail, it was raining sleet again, part of route ground was white, I took my time and walked slowly, it is recovery day after all.

Only issue was with water proof gloves which are way too hot, too much insulation to be any use of, at temps which such insulation is needed there is no longer need for water proofing.

So at June my HR was 20bpm higher during walking, but when standing around my HR is now more than 40bpm less than what it was at June, in few months such a big change.

Waist measure shows that I need to loose still around 6kg, so that might reduce HR bit more, not sure when I'm going to lower calories to have weight loss deficit again.

Oh and today I cleaned windows once again, finally I figured out how to make them super clean without any kind of stripes, when window is dry, then wipe with dry piece of leather, now they look like if there would be no glass at all. 1.5 hours to clean 3 screens, two of them has 4 glass surfaces though, one has only two, perfection takes time to create

 

[Norachan]

I like the blurred edges on your photo's jtbo . It might just be the rain, but it makes it looks as if you're speeding along.

One hour of yoga and 20 minutes run on Saturday, 90 minutes yoga and 25 minutes run on Sunday.

I've just finished a one hour Ashtanga practice, but I think I have time for a walk and maybe another hour of yoga between classes this evening.

Keep going everyone.

 

[jtbo]

I like the blurred edges on your photo's jtbo . It might just be the rain, but it makes it looks as if you're speeding along.

One hour of yoga and 20 minutes run on Saturday, 90 minutes yoga and 25 minutes run on Sunday.

I've just finished a one hour Ashtanga practice, but I think I have time for a walk and maybe another hour of yoga between classes this evening.

Keep going everyone.

Actually it is so dark during the daytime that exposure times are bit long, so when riding camera takes these long exposure photos every 2s and only few come out without complete blur.

It starts to be that time of the year when you can take photos only with flash.

 

[foxxycat]

got my ride in yesterday. was sunny around 43°F and air was dry cold. wore the bike windjacket and was a tad overheating near the end.
Going out today again. Good job jtbo. Not sure if I could ride in pitch dark..probably fall and stub my toe trying to walk...

 

[jtbo]

got my ride in yesterday. was sunny around 43°F and air was dry cold. wore the bike windjacket and was a tad overheating near the end.
Going out today again. Good job jtbo. Not sure if I could ride in pitch dark..probably fall and stub my toe trying to walk...

Oh, it is not much different from riding when it rains, especially sleet rain, you can't see anything anyways, but they don't change roads too often so it will be fine

How is Winchester? If I did not miss anything, almost a week from last post.