4N Fit Club thread - post your pledges, progress, ...

Hello lovely lovely 4Ners.

Some of you may have looked at this thread where Catherine has been trying to motivate us all virtually to physically 'GET OFF OUR ARSES!'  Her last comment suggests a virtual fit club where likeminded people can post their progress, intentions, questions and ask for a kick up the jacksee.

I have decided to take the bull by the horns as such and start a thread.  So how will this work?  However YOU want it to work.

Use this thread to post WHAT/WHEN/WHY/HOW/  BUT please do not be too specific in regard to location etc if you intend to work out alone!  See my article here for a few more tips to consider: http://www.4networking.biz/Articles/Details/3655

Chat with other people on this thread.  If you have fitness/wellbeing/health related questions.  Want to know where good road/bike/triathlons are held?  So on and so on, post them here.  ANYONE can reply to support each other. 

I don't intend this thread to be the 'only answered by Kim' and policed and marshalled by Kim thread.  It's intention is to help and motivate people to bring more activity into their lives regularly and to offer a central thread to ask associated questions.

THIS THREAD IS NOT A SALES THREAD - NOR SHOULD IT BE HIJACKED TO SELL PRODUCT OR SERVICES - use blatant ads for that ok!  If you do start to sell on here it will lose the authenticity of its aim,

MY TOP TIPS for fitness:

Plan it
Diarise it
Do it
Review it
HAVE FUN

Over to you all now 4n peeps

Ok so clearly no-one wants a fit club thread

I think it's a great idea Kim.

I love to keep in shape, but most of this year I have neglected it as have been very busy. Now things have slowed down a bit, and I am in the middle of a load of planning for various ventures, I have more time so I have been running most mornings and have a 10K planned for each and every month next year, until July & August when I will be doing a couple of half-marathons. Hope to carry this on to do a couple of full marathons in 2013.

At the moment I am only up to 2.5 miles, and do this on my treadmill, as I had a knee injury earlier in the year and am slowly trying to strengthen it up. I increase either the speed or distance each week, until I will be ready for the January 10K in Preston and then a grueller of a 10K in Blackburn the month after, which I did a few years ago and has got to be one of the hardest in the country (5k uphill, and I mean UPHILL - 5k downhill)

Great idea, I desperatley want to get fitter, but just dont seem to have the motivation or the time.

Any tips on here will help.

Even though it may seem I dont eat smarties for every meal, but really struggle with how to get a good balanced diet, thats cheap, easy/ quick to make.

On the plus side, I drink a shed load of water

cool guys :-) let's hope others start to use it - it will just take time to become a central post

Steve - sounds like a grand plan - are you doing plenty of strengthening exercises separately from the run sessions to get it stronger and have your confidence with longer runs return.  There are some great halfs out there for later into the autumn 2012 and 2013 for a marathon - awesome!  I've entered Milton Keynes marathon - a week after London Marathon in April (which I've done before) - I honestly think EVERYONE who likes to run should enter a marathon at least once in their life!  Go for it.  But keep your balance there with a good mix of activities/protect your knee.

Andy - top tip is to plan your fitness into your diary just as you would for any other appointment,  Make it non-negotiable - it has to happen - start small, 3 times a week 30mins of mixed activity and then move up to an hour 3 times a week.  Join a club: run/walk/swim/gym - anything to make you want to go and DO your fitness. Well done on your water consumption - water helps to flush out all waste, including fat broken down by exercise!  With regard to a 'good 'balanced diet, that's cheap/easy quick to make' - my advice is BACK TO BASICS.

Ditch buying pre-made meals of any sort.  Buy good quailty meats/poultry.  Make casseroles/stews in big batches with seasonal local veg (cheaper and better quality than some of the airmiled veggies) - make them in a batch and then freeze down into smaller portions.  Get them out the morning for the night.  Pre-cook some jacket spuds and then warm one up in the oven/microwave.  Buying the basic ingredients is far more cost effective and your know what you are eating - yes it may take a bit of time once a week or so to cook a job lot: but one week do bolognaise batches; the next chicken casseroles/stwe; the third do beef pie/casserole.  Then you have made enough over a few weeks to add to your staple diet and on the other days buy quality cuts of meat and local fruit and veg (this all assumes you eat meat etc of course!).  Buy local eggs - great for sarnies and brekkies etc etc

How about the rest of you lovely 4ners ...let's get chatting to each other  and provide motivation

Great thread. I'm also on a get fit plan, it's a year next week since I quit smoking, but an extra stone in weight has come with that, so I'm going to the gym 3 times a week, building up my lung capacity by running 5k in under 30 mins each time on the cross trainer, and doing a bit of weights work as well. 

I've changed my diet considerably, drink lots of water, and have recently swapped my dairy intake around to low fat versions (skimmed milk instead of semi-skimmed etc). Despite all this, the scales tell me I'm not losing any weight, but at least I can breathe...

I am currently waiting for a knee operation so I can't do too much other than upper body but generally go to the gym every day and have a swim / upper body so hopefully when the op has happened I can get onto some serious cardio :)

I have just changed over from Semi Skimmed to Skimmed Milk and quite like it, the same with ready made meals to cooked chicken fillets / salmon / tuna instead of microwave meals.

Briilliant Kim! Maybe we have lift off ?. I am trying (scrap that) I have pledged to run 3 x week so I can continue to eat chocolate (it's the truth of it). Time is an issue like Andrew was saying so I just aim for 15 minutes (if I do more it's a bonus). Even 15 minutes brisk walking 3 x week will make a difference to most people I think. I take a quick peek at my diary on Sunday and work out the most likely days I can fit it in and the real trick for me is to get straight into my running gear first thing in the morning, that way I don't chicken out. I also meet my Dog Walking friends in the Park and last week I even picked up work in the Park - I was being careful how I phrased that. So go on - get out there if you can't steal 15 minutes a day...

Hi Kim

What a great idea.  Anything to do with sport, health and fitness is right up my street being the mad, obsessed fool that I am!  I am a keen runner and cyclist who is currently planning her competition schedule for next year.  That includes another marathon (did my first 6 weeks ago!) and other road races, a few duathlons and possibly some time trials (cycling).  This is what comes of being in 3 Staffordshire based sports clubs (cycling, athletics and triathlon).

Fancy some endurance events such as an ultra marathon or long distance cycling but time is going to be the issue there.

I am in training for the North Staffs cross country league at the moment so lots of hill reps for me.....

Steve - if you want a tough event then consider the Leek Half Marathon which is full of hills or the Christmas Cracker run which is 8 miles off road over Staffordshire Moorlands (with 1,500 feet of climbing on The Roaches).  You would love it.  All the runners do it in fancy dress and it's a good challenge against the elements.

Catherine - I also like chocolate and a bit of cake as well. 

 

I'll be fighting the South West invitational (submission grappling) in a couple of weeks though need to lose three pounds to make weight. Planning on increasing the intensity of my training (though with focused recovery) and doing some steady cardio (three mile hill run though slow paced). If you have any other suggestions let me know.

Will let you know how I get on.

Nice to see a thread about being active btw; my personal recommendation to anyone looking to get fit is to find something you enjoy doing (e.g. football, tennis etc) as then the exercise is a by-product of having fun as opposed to being work focused.

Great to see more peeps on here :

Paula - take measurements - waist, hips, under and over breast, legs arms - and don't be disheartened - adaptations take place in strange ways

Jane - you should consider coming south and doing the off road Fairlands Valley Challenge marathon - july - organised by stevenage based Fairlands Valley Spartans.  What was your first marathon - well done!

Chris - HOW EXCITING - 3 pounds in two weeks doesn't 'sound' like a lot, but it can be tough.

HIIT - high intensity interval training is probably your best bet

http://www.intervaltraining.net/highintensityintervaltraining.html

That and really looking at your nutrition to optimise fat burning.  5 hours between meals allows the body to relax and start doing it's fat burning stuff

Excellent stuff peeps

I did another 20 min run in between the showers  how chuffed am I? Decided if the rain really was bad I would just do the brisk walk but the rain held off. I have learned these pearls of wisdom from the Dog Walkers they have to go no matter the weather. Paula I'm in the same boat as you an ex smoker who can now breathe but the weight is going no where.

Kimberley - I've been doing tabata training (i.e. punch outs on the heavy bag etc). Would you recommend applying that interval training to circuit exercises (push ups, squats etc).

The most weight I've cut training and eating properly is 14 pounds in a month, hopefully I can manage three :-)

Thanks Kim, I can definitely see that I'm getting slimmer (slowly, which is good, right?), will dig out the tape measure. I guess muscle mass is denser and therefore smaller than fat and I am gaining muscle mass?

Catherine, stick with it, it will get better. And congrats on the easier breathing. 

Tabata 20second intervals is just another form of HIIT - so you are on the right track for defo. I do an outdoor bootcamp which involves ONLY bodyweight exercises - and all are HIIT/tabata styled. So yes you can do all the bodyweight stuff on the same principles.  Bodyweight circuits ROCK! 

14 pounds in a month - oh to be a man