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How do!

So end of January, I’m going to be signing up to a gym again. Whilst I’m overall healthier than I’ve been in years (swapped cigs for vape*, drinking way less, and less often), middle age is starting to make itself felt. And so I need to get a fitness regimen going to make sure I’m looking after myself.

Diet wise, I’m a dab hand in the kitchen, and have a wide palette. So eating healthy isn’t a problem. I’ve even stopped taking sugar in my cuppa. But I do want to tone up my stomach and maybe shed the paunch in time. And it’s never too early or late to start looking after your heart with some cardio.

I’ll be signing up to Pure Gym, as I’ve used that company before and found it to have solid equipment, and clean facilities. It also has a handy, dandy app which sets your workouts, based on your current fitness (not great, but not dire), and your goals (bit of cardio, but of weight training). So I can be reasonably confident my workouts will do the job, and I won’t need a personal trainer.

So. Yeah. 2025. Less Cake, More Exercise! Get healthier, maybe a bit sexier. Who knows.

What are your fitness plans and goals?

*still a stupid addiction, but less smelly and less Killy.

If my mom has her way, she wants me to get a puppy (probably a miniature Australian Shepard or some other Shetland Sheepdog Herdmaster 9000 type of dog).

Thus, come March or April, I will soon be in the best shape of my life, or dead from dog inflicted exercise.

Contemplating on starting yoga again.

PS If you've never got any coaching from a P.T. I recommend doing it at least once, just to make sure you have your basics down and your forms correct, lastly a good P.T. can tell you straight away which excercises should be your focus for specific results. They are expensive on the long run but you only need them like once or twice

 Lathe Biosas wrote:
If my mom has her way, she wants me to get a puppy (probably a miniature Australian Shepard or some other Shetland Sheepdog Herdmaster 9000 type of dog).

Thus, come March or April, I will soon be in the best shape of my life, or dead from dog inflicted exercise.

Said it before, but don't get a dog because someone else wants you to get a dog. Only get a dog if you really want to get a dog. They take a lot of looking after and will involve a significant disruption to your current life.

I really want a dog, and will get one this or next year. To train myself in the practicalities, I’ve been sitting my Nephloof whenever I can.

They’re a bit commitment, but a rewarding one. And yes, physical fitness is desirable, as Doggos need their walks and activities too.

Yeah if you're new to wanting a dog start doing walks every single day as a regular timed thing cause you're going to have to do that with a dog.

Not only is it good for your fitness; but it also means when the dog comes along the walks are just part of your normal routine already. Granted if you get a puppy the walks won't be too far at the start (but you'll have other things like toilet training and such to fill the gap).


I also second the view that you should only get a pet if you really really want one. They are a commitment and they do cause disruption if you're not used to already owning one. It's not even complicated stuff, its just having another series of things that have to happen during the day to be aware of and to fit your life around.

Also, make sure your home is pooch friendly. Pups explore with their lovely slobbery idiot mouths, so you’ll want precious things up away from them. And so they can have their zoomies in peace, a secure garden I’d say is a must.

As my garden isn’t secure, I was taking Nephloof on four walks a day so he could relieve himself. And yes, that is heavily informing my home purchase later this year. Also sufficient space for a crate, so Goober, when they manifest, has their own space to retreat to whenever they want.

Back to gym membership! Remember they may look a bit expensive, Spesh if you’re singing up for 12 months to get a better per-month price. But like wargaming? Your value is extracted by frequency. £35 a month when you only go once a week is different to £35 a month, when you go three times a week, even if it’s just half hour sessions.

Cheap down your way, Doc! Our locals are £48-50 a month... :(

Thanks for the advice. My usual dogs I've had have been American Eskimos. They are cute, cuddly, and not the swiftest boats in the fleet.

My mom on the other hand loves dogs that have their PhDs.

I'm leaning towards a dog that's lower to the ground. I want a Corgi or a Swedish Valhund...

But I'm trying to hold off until I'm better established in my new home.

Right now as I type this, my bike is looking at me, and I'm trying not to meet its gaze.

I've been back into the gym for the last going on 9 months. April of last year a gym opened locally. It's a very nice hole in the wall. One side is cardio machines and some other leg machines then the second side is upper body machines and free weights. i've been able to get in for over an hour usually 3 days a week. I've tried up to 5 days a few times but that's not working for me.

When I started back I also added 100 grams of protean to my diet on top of my meals. I'd ben out of the gym for more than 11 or 12 years. Felt like my legs were wasting way I'm leg pressing 340Lbs right now and about to move up to 260 next week. My bench press is not even close to that good. I did a one rep max over the summer of about 180 or 185Lbs but that's not really why I'm there. It's more about stress nd anger management. And a hobby as well. My goal is to be "jacked" by the time I'm 50, so 3.5 years from not. I'm 46 nd a half already.
I really enjoy going to the gym nd it's helped me build a better schedule over all.
I'm planning to start a cut by the end of this month and stick with it till I can't do it any more so April or May. I did one already which ended in July. I was going to go on vacation and seem y nephews who like to swim. I didn't want to show up looking like a bag of trash and it went really well. I was really impressed I could do that. I still have a long way to go.
I enjoy the Elliptical Machine more than walking for cardio, as in cardio for the sake of cardio. I had a breathing problem in June of 2023 but I'm breathing better now than ever before. some time it's just the leg press for reps on less than my max, just smokes me big time. Very worth it.

The hardest part for me now is eating enough to grow. Or grow faster but then I'm not 20 anymore so it is what it is. Being really big was never in the cards because my metabolism was just too high when I was young. Most people put on weight and muscle when they join the army I went into to basic weighing 147Lbs and left the same weight. I'd eat everything. Trade candy out of mre's for main menu items just because I was so hungry.

What ever your goal is consistency is the key.
stick with it. Make it fun and go back for more.

I think I pay about 22 dollars a month for membership. Very worth it.

Muscles wise, I’ve somehow retained beefy looking leg muscles from all the cycling I did in my yoof, and the rest looks alright, but I’m nowhere near as strong as people think I should be at first sight,

I’m guessing I’ve got the bulk, but not the density.

Not exactly concerned with ending up Arnie Ripped, but a general tone up and stamina increase is the main goal.

Which is why I like threads like this. Encouragement and sharing of achievements/improvements, where other sources tend to be about going really hardcore.

Nowt wrong with going hardcore of course.

Exercise Log 2025 Day 1: Unearthing the Forgotten: A Modern Discovery in the Garage

In a remarkable turn of events reminiscent of the great archaeological finds of ancient Egypt, I recently embarked on a quest within the confines of my own garage, a veritable tomb of forgotten treasures. Much like Dr. Howard Carter's legendary unearthing of King Tutankhamun's burial chamber, I stumbled upon a relic of my past: an exercise bike, shrouded in dust and obscured by the passage of time.

With the fervor of an Egyptologist uncovering a long-lost artifact, I meticulously excavated the bike from its cluttered resting place, revealing its once-glorious frame now dulled by neglect. The restoration process began, akin to the careful cleaning of ancient hieroglyphs, as I polished the metal and oiled the mechanisms, breathing new life into this modern marvel.

As I stood back to admire my handiwork, the exercise bike transformed from a forgotten relic into a beacon of fitness and vitality, ready to rejoin the ranks of contemporary society. This rediscovery not only rekindled my commitment to health but also served as a poignant reminder of the treasures that lie hidden in our own lives, waiting to be revived and celebrated.

Regarding gain and bulk, here are my thoughts:

* It is important to have off days. It sounds counter-intuitive, but when you are hitting the gym regularly, you will gain even when you are not working out, as long as you dont overdo the training. Even professional athletes have off days for this very reason

* For bulk, you need not only more food, but you need to consume it in small amounts over the course of the day. Your body can only process protein at a specific rate, excess protein just comes out the other end if you eat too much too fast

* Good nights sleep is essential for gain. Muscles grow the most during sleeptime AFAIK

* You might have had this habit from your younger days - hitting the gym, followed by hitting the pub. If you are older, forget the pub on training days, that alcohol will just negate some of your gains the following night, and the alcohol will make your sleep worse, again worsening your gain

IME, going to the gym is a thousand times easier to pull off regularly with some training buddies. You all keep yourself motivated, its much harder to train solo and still remain motivated to go regularly.

YMMV

I never really got the point of going to a gym but my military service got me into the habit of using whatever was available, you'd be surprised what you can use to exercise with.
I still exercise regularly and has been noted off days are important, also walking my dog is an easy way to get more exercise in. He can fairly cover the miles.
Regarding dogs I'm often told mine is spoiled, I disagree I'm just well trained by him.

Exercise Log 2025 Day 2: The Curse of the Pharaoh's Relic

As I sit to document the harrowing aftermath of my initial encounter, I find myself grappling with a profound sense of dread. The exercise bike, once a beacon of hope and vitality, has revealed its true nature—a cursed artifact, wrathful and vengeful, as if the very spirit of the Pharaoh has awakened to punish me for disturbing its slumber.

What began as an exhilarating journey of rediscovery has devolved into a trial of endurance. Each pedal stroke feels like a descent into the underworld, my body a mere vessel for the ancient curse that now courses through my veins. My muscles, once eager to embrace the challenge, now protest with the ferocity of a thousand mummies rising from their tombs, their bandages unraveling in a desperate bid for freedom.

The bike's once-gentle embrace has transformed into a relentless grip, squeezing the life from my limbs as if the Pharaoh himself were exacting retribution for my audacity. My legs quiver like the fragile papyrus scrolls of old, threatened by the weight of this malevolent contraption.

Yet, I refuse to succumb to despair. Like the intrepid explorers of yore, I must summon the courage to confront this ancient foe. I will don my metaphorical linen wrappings, channeling the strength of the great kings and queens who once ruled the sands of time. The battle is far from over, and I shall not retreat into the shadows of defeat.

The question now hangs heavy in the air: will I emerge from this cursed encounter as a triumphant hero, or will the exercise bike claim me as its latest victim? Only the sands of time will reveal the answer. For now, I shall take a deep breath, steady my resolve, and prepare for the next trial. The curse of the Pharaoh looms large, but I am determined to reclaim my destiny.

 tauist wrote:


IME, going to the gym is a thousand times easier to pull off regularly with some training buddies. You all keep yourself motivated, its much harder to train solo and still remain motivated to go regularly.

YMMV

Oh, I disagree totally, it must be a personal preference.

First of all, even with a hard, mutually agreed limit on pointless talking, another person being there WILL make the entire visit longer. Much longer. To the point where the length of the visit (the perception of "how much of my day will I waste on the gym this time") affects your motivation and how other plans for the day get in the way. It's much easier to motivate myself to go when I know it will be a focused, quick training session and not a social event of unpredictable length.

Been there, saw how much time I wasted, started avoiding going to the gym at the same time as some others did.

Secondly, others skipping their training will never be an excuse for me to do the same. My training and my motivation are mine alone as is my schedule and the tempo of my progress. Trying to accomodate others into it means inevitable delays, complications and distractions.


Also, for me, personally, training, similarly to long bike rides or painting miniatures, has this meditative quality that gets lost once others disrupt the flow.

 tauist wrote:
Regarding gain and bulk, here are my thoughts:

* It is important to have off days. It sounds counter-intuitive, but when you are hitting the gym regularly, you will gain even when you are not working out, as long as you dont overdo the training. Even professional athletes have off days for this very reason

This is very true. When I went through Army Basic, they rotated exercise groups. There were Muscle/Strength/Endurance days (MSE) and Cardio.

On MSE, lots of pushups, situps, other strength-centered workouts, while Cardio meant soooo much running.

Sunday we got actual rest.

During my two decades with the Guard, I kept that separation, and with the coming of middle age, doubled my rest days.

Now that I'm retired and don't have fitness tests looming, I'm a bit more relaxed, but a couple of weeks ago I decided to push on, because while my weight is good, I'm not really keeping as fit as I was. So I'm doing more cardio and I'm already feeling better - sleeping easier, more energy in general.

Oh, and less beer also helps.

Funnily enough, I watched 300 the other day which lead to reading up on it. Seems the Trainer they hired to get the Spartans in shape for the movie did different exercises every day, so the body wouldn’t adapt to any particular exercise.

Now quite what that means, I dunno. But it matches what others are describing here.

The Pure Gym App does the same, which is nice.

Continuing sword fighting and medieval combat with the SCA. I've been at it a year now, and went up a shirt size. Working out in heavy armor is very effective at building muscle mass!

Ah, and Brazilian jiujitsu twice a week. I'm fairly active.

Diet wise I don't do a whole lot, just try to do one or two days of intermittent fasting a week. It's remarkable how much you self regulate how much and what you eat after just not eating for 12 hours or so.

 Gitzbitah wrote:
Continuing sword fighting and medieval combat with the SCA. I've been at it a year now, and went up a shirt size. Working out in heavy armor is very effective at building muscle mass!

Ah, and Brazilian jiujitsu twice a week. I'm fairly active.

Diet wise I don't do a whole lot, just try to do one or two days of intermittent fasting a week. It's remarkable how much you self regulate how much and what you eat after just not eating for 12 hours or so.

If you are going to do SCA fighting my advice for you is: get the best possible armor. When I was active, armor was not as well developed or available, and people with a budget "got by" with less than optimal equipment. Sure enough, 20 years later, I was at the sports medicine guys doing the rehab thing and at some point, I'm going to have to get the bone splinters sucked out of a couple of the joints.

I mean, it seemed like a good idea at the time, but anyone interested in doing it, should consider that your recuperative powers will at some point fade.

That is excellent advice! I'm relatively old for the sport at 41, so I run way above minimum, with plastic lamellar with shoulder cops over a gambeson, hardened leather bazubands for arms and aluminum shovel greaves. Typically, the only place I end up bruised is the thigh, and the last time that went badly was because a new dagger had snagged and pulled my tassets away from where they were supposed to be.

I shudder when I think of what's happening to the guys who run around in kidney belts and elbow and knee cops.

I finally started my 2024 fitness resolution in July and tried to make my goal by years end with a big ramp up in December... and succeeded in giving myself tennis elbow and now have to take a few weeks off.

Take it easy, fellow Dakkites, and remember that most of us are out of warranty and things will break if you don't ramp up slowly! I was exercising for five months and still got injured when pushing myself too hard. Regardless, it's worth it as I'm 47lbs down and only five away from the goal I set coming into 2024 despite my 6 month delay in starting...

Losing 47lbs - 3stone - in under half a year is honestly doing great.

Do try and maintain the change not just with pushing hard, but also in making small steady lifestyle changes. The biggest risk is pushing yourself hard; hitting those goals and then just going right back to living how you were before.

I've seen more than a few people (esp around weddings) do just that. Yo-yoing the weight on and off again

The best way to lose is to change your lifestyle gradually with changes that promote moving toward a healthier lifestyle and stop being "I'm on a diet" and become "this is my new normal".

Many small changes over time that can be sustained are going to do you great in the long run

 Overread wrote:
Losing 47lbs - 3stone - in under half a year is honestly doing great.

Do try and maintain the change not just with pushing hard, but also in making small steady lifestyle changes. The biggest risk is pushing yourself hard; hitting those goals and then just going right back to living how you were before.

I've seen more than a few people (esp around weddings) do just that. Yo-yoing the weight on and off again

The best way to lose is to change your lifestyle gradually with changes that promote moving toward a healthier lifestyle and stop being "I'm on a diet" and become "this is my new normal".

Many small changes over time that can be sustained are going to do you great in the long run

Thanks and I appreciate that. I actually lost 120lbs from my heaviest a few years back in just over a year (the first 70lbs of it without exercise even just with low carb and intermittent fasting) and felt great to enjoy my upcoming slimmer year for the first time since my 20s once I finished the diet after 14 months in February... of 2020. Just in time for the lockdowns, lol. I kept it mostly off until the last year and a half when I just went slowly back to "normal" bad habits and gained almost half of it back before just going back to what worked for me this past July 4th (this time with exercise from the get go). It's a lifelong change that I can make and realistically keep. When I overdo the food, I really overdo it and it is NOT some metabolic mystery as to why I'm gaining weight. It's the two family size bags of pizza rolls and extra large mega meat pizza I added to my diet on top of what I'm supposed to eat every week.

My problem now was that I was trying to artificially make an arbitrary goal that my body wasn't ready for and my arm is sore (and my schedule probably set back significantly further than if I had just gradually increased the weights/reps over three months instead of pushing it hard for one and a half). It's not severe and after five days of rest it's already back with just normal activity to 90% of normal so I don't want to make it seem bigger than it is; I'm lucky that my ego is more injured than my arm. Take it slow, folks! Ease into whatever fitness routines you plan over the course of several months with slow and steady increases.

after being Diagnosed with Afib, Diabetes and high blood pressure, but all mild forms of it(Doctors gave me just maintenance medication)
I just gor for nightly walks.
I want to do to the gym, but i know my motivation isnt there and i would quit more often then not.
So i decided if i do my nightly walks 4 times a week for 3 month, ill sign up for a gym membership.
I was running, but the running made my blood sugar worse(I gues coritsol increase insulin resistance and your body increases sugars in blood steam for fuel)
but a nice hour walk in the middle of the night is good, lowers my sugars sometimes as much at 100pts into double digits.

This will be good motivation for me to read, I also was intending to lose weight this year. I've become a bit grossed out with myself, I used to be so fit and attractive in my 20s, which is when I wooed my now wife. Now I increasingly look like the original Heroquest ogres

 hotsauceman1 wrote:
(I gues coritsol increase insulin resistance and your body increases sugars in blood steam for fuel)

You've got it right. Just put the blood sugar increase in between the other two for the order.

 Overread wrote:

The best way to lose is to change your lifestyle gradually with changes that promote moving toward a healthier lifestyle and stop being "I'm on a diet" and become "this is my new normal".

Many small changes over time that can be sustained are going to do you great in the long run

One advantage I have had was that every year I had to pass a fitness test, and that required a steady approach to weight management and exorcise.

That being said, old age does slowly creep up, and from time to time I've had to "reset" things through extra workouts, cutting back on meals.

Ideally, you find something that feels normal, and honestly you get used to giving up lots of carbs and sugar to the point where only the tiniest helping is adequate and more than that makes you queas

Another tip I've been using is to follow the ancient practice of fasting on Friday until the evening meal. What's nice about this is that it transformed the tempo of my weight gain and loss. I'd usually add a pound or two over the weekend but lose it at the start of the week. The Friday fast, keeps Friday neutral or even net negative, meaning that Monday finds no ugly surprises, and so I'm able to maintain without feeling like dieting.

I do keep a running record on my mirror with a dry erase marker. It allows me to avoid rationalizing incremental gains and I can see exactly when I caused problems for myself. I reset it when the edge gets full, but it's useful to look and see how holidays (for example) affected me.

How goes your exercise routines? Everyone sticking to their plans?

The Devil and I are still working together. For some reason no matter how much I use this warp-spawned exercise bike, it refuses to give me the calories burned I want it to...

Good and bad here. My tennis elbow flared up early this year after overdoing it in Dec trying to meet an arbitrary weight loss goal so my weightlifting has suffered but I did make my weight loss goal one month late.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Lathe Biosas wrote:
How goes your exercise routines? Everyone sticking to their plans?

The Devil and I are still working together. For some reason no matter how much I use this warp-spawned exercise bike, it refuses to give me the calories burned I want it to...

Isnt the 258 the cal burned?