Exercise Regimen - What You Got?

[Dan Gould]

I was on a steady declining (but horrendously slow) weight loss pattern more or less since I started my current gig 4+ years ago.. Went from a 44 inch pant to 38" but in the past year the weight stopped coming off even as I've made further changes in diet.

I've inconsistently tried to incorporate exercise over the past year or so and now, after a more or less "lost" year I'm making a major push to show some gains (losses) by January 1. I got back on the stepper the week before Thanksgiving and I am going for two-a-day workouts, just like football teams in August. I've sacrificed 15 minutes sleep in the morning for 15-20 minutes, and I am going for 30 minutes on the stepper in the evening. Two days on, one off, so I am working out four times in about a 38 hour period.

I worry a little about over-training the leg muscles but so far so good. I'm not even checking my weight until January 1, I don't want to see that at all between now and then. But I'll be mighty pisses if it hasn't budged.

Guess I could have put this in the news from home thread but it seemed like a good intro to a poll.

So ... exercise. Do you do any? And if so, what? Any exercise physiologists are encouraged to give me feedback on my new regimen.

[jazzbo]

I'm a walker. About thirty minutes twice a day, most days. Works well enough for me. . . no walking will make me supermodel thin, but I'm healthy enough and have attracted a girl of my dreams who calls me her "burly man" so I'm good.

[erwbol]

I walk the dog 2+ hours a day in a relatively rapid tempo.

[BeBop]

You wouldn't want to know. I gave up on my pro sport career years ago, but my exercise program remains effectively unchanged - though managed down to accommodate my need to work and travel. Sleep time is severly curtailed to accomodate.

[Matthew]

Don't do anything, hate exercise, but I need to start doing something --- way overweight right now.

[Jason Drake]

I have to confess to being a runner, 30-40 miles a week plus other training. I find it almost impossible to put weight on!

[Dan Gould]

You wouldn't want to know. I gave up on my pro sport career years ago, but my exercise program remains effectively unchanged - though managed down to accommodate my need to work and travel. Sleep time is severly curtailed to accomodate.

Yes I do! Especially wondering if your routine is dependent on the particular lodgings you have at a given time. Doesn't sound that way unless you're staying in five-star hotels and I don't get that impression.

[Scott Dolan]

I use kettle bells three to four times a week. I work on my feet all day, and am no lollygagger, so that's my aerobic workout. Did yoga for about a decade but haven't in recent years, but would like to start back up again.

But, I'm staying in pretty good shape for a 44 y.o., at 5'11" and 190lbs. Been wearing a 32 waist for two decades now. Although, I used to roll out of bed and have a flat stomach. And while I still don't have a gut, it's not as flat as it once was and it's a constant mission to keep it that way. I figure as long as my chest sticks out further than the stomach, I'm still on the winning side of that battle.

[clifford_thornton]

You wouldn't want to know. I gave up on my pro sport career years ago, but my exercise program remains effectively unchanged - though managed down to accommodate my need to work and travel. Sleep time is severly curtailed to accomodate.

Yeah, I have had trouble maintaining what was a good ex-pro-sport regimen in Austin since relocating to an urban environment. Need to fis that.

[kinuta]

I walk. I try to cover 84k(52mile) a week but sometimes fall short to about 60-70k.

I also do various indoor exercises. I often walk from here in the western suburbs to downtown Tokyo.

Recently I've taken to walking in the posh, touristy parts of downtown ,which, surprisingly, are still not completely explored.

I also ride a bicycle but use it mainly for shopping or to get to interesting parts, park the bike and start walking.

[catesta]

My weight fluctuates a little but for the most part I don't seem to put much on, but I still carry more weight at the belly than I'd like. Walking is a non issue when I'm in New York. I easily do several miles a day with some of that being on an incline up three long blocks. I still have way too much windshield time though and too much at the desk this time of year. So I've been doing the bile and elliptical at the gym several times a week. Still not enough, so we're going to resume evening walks after dinner and I have to increase time at the gym at least a couple more days a week.

My other problem is, I love to cook (and eat) and tend to over do it so my wife has made me curtail a lot of my favorites and we're now much more fish, chicken and veggies.

[xybert]

I really need to make more of an effort to do some worthwhile exercise. Desk job, getting older... i don't think anyone would call me 'fat' as such but i just moved up a belt notch and i can see that if i don't start doing something i'm going to wake up one day, whether 1 year from now or 10 years from now, and be a fat guy.

[Scott Dolan]

I found that the battle of the midsection vs you really kicks off right around forty. And there's no slow build up to it. It's just open warfare right off the bat. I was blessed with a medium frame, and a still relatively high metabolism. But me against the waistline has been a blood bath for the past three or four years...

So far I've had some narrow victories, but still winning the war…barely.

[Dan Gould]

I'm a little surprised no one has said they're into one of those new-fangled "muscle confusion" programs that were all the infomercial rage.

[jazzbo]

I think that's because we have more than our share of "confusion" as a jazz fan and collector.

[Scott Dolan]

I had never even heard of the "muscle confusion" thing until late last week when I ran into a former co-worker who showed me some videos of different exercizes.

And from what I saw they were not only way out of this old man's realm of possibility, but also potentially dangerous.

Edited December 10, 2014 by Scott Dolan

[John L]

I do it the old-fashioned way: pump and run, run and pump. Every other day.

[Patrick]

I had been a moderate runner for awhile (never fast, always less than half marathon) but an achilles injury (that appears to be a chronic old man condition) largely ended that. Switched over (or I should say back) to cycling. Outside on nice weekends plus 3-4 times during the week, either at lunchtime or after work. My standard outdoor ride is about 70 miles with some rolling hills (though largely flat), about five hours of pedaling. I'm now starting to acquire gear to ride in cold (but not super cold) weather. I'm not hardcore, but mid-Atlantic is fairly mild compared to other places I've lived so I think (perhaps naively) that there may be some opportunity for outdoor ride before March/April/May. On a spin bike, my typical ride is 75-90 minutes.

That combination, plus some diet changes (less red meat and dairy, salty snacks now just mixed nuts), has lead me to shed about 18 pounds over last 9 months. No longer a little pudgy, and now with a refreshed wardrobe.

[Scott Dolan]

That's awesome, Patrick!

And I'd call 70 miles with elevation changes pretty damned hardcore! Our weekend rides are anywhere from 22-40 miles. And that's with almost NO elevation change. That's enough for this old cat!

Edited December 10, 2014 by Scott Dolan

[Jazzmoose]

I pretty much walk everywhere I go, though a lot slower than I once did...