Post your workout routine here and answer members' questions

[Shannon SteelSlave]

In response to a recent surge of posting, and a number of past "personal trainer" requests, I have decided to start a thread where the fitness rock stars here can write about their work out for needing members to find. Since not everything works for everyone, I am hoping for a variety of habits to be posted for others to view and try. Do you work out for fun, fitness, doctor's orders, or have you managed to work it into your kink as a requirement?
If this takes off, and I find the time, I may post my own routine and weigh in to answer questions and reply.

[bounddosster]

Being as I now have arthritis and fibromyalgia regular normal exercise routines can be impossible to do. So my general routine now in my quest to comply with doctors' orders and lose weight is to cut out unhealthy foods, don't eat after 8 pm which I'm told helps the body process fat during the night or something like that. My physical exercise is basically riding an exercise bike. I did try cutting out breakfast to increase my fasting time but it didn't make a bit of difference at the time except increase my cravings and present more temptation.

So generally I have managed to avoid bad foods and decreased portion size plus peddle away each day until I feel enough is enough and what was the result?
I do my regular Monday morning weigh-in and I can't believe it, I find I've gained 9lbs, 9 sodding pounds, How? I had been a consistent weight for years until I started trying to genuinely lose weight and what happens is I add 9lbs. If anyone can tell me how that has happened please do, as I'm at a loss and wondering is it worth it?

[Lisahs3]

Well things have been different since the pandemic of course.
Diet I try to cut out refined sugar, I stick to portion control and attempt to control my alcohol intake. I did say attempt!
So for example I eat oily fish with spring greens or similar depending on the season and some rice but not too much. Red meat once a week and other greens like spinach and broccoli to keep my iron up.
I take vitamin D supplements and calcium. For breakfast I like a piece of toast with dairy free spread and a small fruit salad or porridge when its cold with berries. I don't drink any caffeine after 3pm otherwise I can't sleep at night and I am a really lite sleeper. Certain time of the month is hard because I can crave things, exercise really helps me with this.

Snacks I have celery and carrot sticks and try not to eat before I go to bed so I try to avoid food after 8pm.

Exercise at home I use a exercise bike some small 1.5KG weights for my arms and resistance bands which I can use for shoulders, arms, legs. Hopeless at doing sit ups so I do leg raises instead. Lay on your back and raise one leg then lower it slowly and keep it off the ground for 10 seconds then do the same with the other leg.
I miss going to the gym and to fitness classes and I can't wait to go back. I want to try yoga at home but although I have done it before in classes I can't remember it very well lol. Lots of videos online though which should help.

I think a good nights sleep is really important and drinking water to stay hydrated.

Don't cut out treats altogether because you just crave them and then binge on things so I let myself have some chocolate at the weekend.

Lisa

[kinbaku]

If anyone can tell me how that has happened please do, as I'm at a loss and wondering is it worth it?

Of course it makes sense, but instead of fat, heavier muscles have been added. However, that is healthier than fat.

Can you go swimming in warm water? A swimming pool in the vicinity where they do not keep the water too cold. Due to the reduction in weight you have less burden on the bones for your arthritis.

In the summer it helps that you travel to a warm country. My mother had a lot of arthritis, but when we were in Spain all the pain was gone. When she came from the doctor, she also had to lose weight, although she was not very fat. But any weight less was a multiple less weight on her lower legs, the doctor said.

[Lisa2024]

I actually eat whatever and whenever I want, but I do a lot of sport.
I love to do sport outdoors like running a half marathon distance, but when its rainy there are a lot of ways to do it indoors. I track my sport minutes and always try to be over 210 minutes per week (often more).

The propably most important thing is this: Once you start with doing fitness and sport, swear to yourself that you will NEVER stop unless you are dead or completely unable to do so. And set a minimum goal, that you have to do every week (like 120 minutes of training) and the only exception is, when you are ill.

Starting with fitness is easy, never stopping with it, is the hard thing. But once you do sport for at least 3 times a week, after a few month, you are actually gonna like it, and miss it, if you don't do any sport for a week.

So the formula is actually pretty simple: Never ever stop doing sport and fitness once you start and get familiarized with that idea.

Sounds scary at first, I know, I've been there. But after a year or more, you will not only love it, you will include it in your daily routine like brushing teeth. The hardest time is the first 3 month, after that it's going to be easier.

[bounddosster]

If anyone can tell me how that has happened please do, as I'm at a loss and wondering is it worth it?

Of course it makes sense, but instead of fat, heavier muscles have been added. However, that is healthier than fat.

Can you go swimming in warm water? A swimming pool in the vicinity where they do not keep the water too cold. Due to the reduction in weight you have less burden on the bones for your arthritis.

In the summer it helps that you travel to a warm country. My mother had a lot of arthritis, but when we were in Spain all the pain was gone. When she came from the doctor, she also had to lose weight, although she was not very fat. But any weight less was a multiple less weight on her lower legs, the doctor said.

All sound advice, thanks, but if I've gained muscle I'd like to know where it is. I'm not massively overweight still classed as overweight as opposed to obese but nurse things I should need to be losing about 21lbs now 30lbs. Still, at least I can tell her I have it on good authority that any increase in my weight is because I've developed more muscle.

More muscle.jpg (5.85 KiB) Viewed 610 times

[bounddosster]

whoopie! I lost 4ib last week. Only another 5lb to get back to where I was when I started my diet . Still at least I now have more muscle, unless, of course, I have lost 4lb of muscle. This losing weight business is complicated.

[kinbaku]

whoopie! I lost 4ib last week. Only another 5lb to get back to where I was when I started my diet . Still at least I now have more muscle, unless, of course, I have lost 4lb of muscle. This losing weight business is complicated.

No, the first thing you burn is fat. So you're well on your way, congratulations.

[Lisa2024]

whoopie! I lost 4ib last week. Only another 5lb to get back to where I was when I started my diet . Still at least I now have more muscle, unless, of course, I have lost 4lb of muscle. This losing weight business is complicated.

Sounds great, keep at it!

[bounddosster]

Thank you for the encouragement, so far my self-discipline has held out with only a slight wobble.
I never knew how boring it was to use an exercise bike. I'll have to improve on that somehow.

[Lisa2024]

Thank you for the encouragement, so far my self-discipline has held out with only a slight wobble.
I never knew how boring it was to use an exercise bike. I'll have to improve on that somehow.

Exercise bike is boring, so you need to listen to some audio books while doing that or watch TV. A good advice is pick some good exciting TV series and only watch that when doing your exercise. So if you want to know how the show continues, you have to exercise.

[Hannah_G]

Oh, exercise. Now I can get off topic!!!

Exercise bike, yep, is so dull. But there are platforms that make indoor cycling awesome. Take Zwift for example - you don't need much in the way of equipment to get set up, and the social aspect of it is totally inspiring.

Will come back to all of this later.....

[Rise_grind22]

I use fitness to train for triathlons. I usually go 7 days a week and on certain days twice a day. I know it is an unrealistic and over the top to go to that extreme but it's something I'm familiar with since I was a kid and just never stopped. The bonus of training for three separate sports instead of one is it does break up the monotony of doing one thing all time. Granted indoor cycling is miserable, running can be tedious and swimming there are days I really don't want to get in the water but holding myself accountable and setting goals for my races has been a good motivator to keep pressing.