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Delighted

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Feb 25, 2012
253
1
Last year I signed up for a gym membership and Was determined to lose a few pounds. Long story short, after going almost every night for 2 hours on the thread mill I am in the best shape of my life.

How are you staying in shape?
 

SVT Amateur

macrumors 6502
Dec 22, 2006
421
1
Tyler, Texas
I lost 30 lbs and got down to 172 lbs by running regularly for several months (at peak was running 60 miles a week). The bad thing about that is that when cold weather or breaks occurred it was hard to get back on the train.

I then went back up to 180 recently but started eating mainly just fruits and vegetables with a little meat, almost no carbs, and no sweets or sodas, sugar or milk in my coffee, etc and was back down to 175 yesterday. I still haven't gotten back to exercising regularly (even though I still have a gym membership) but plan to, but I'm glad I'm finally tackling my diet because even when I was running 60 miles a week I still wasn't eating very well, probably because I was still burning a lot of it off.

Now if I can just maintain my diet and get exercise back into the picture I should be able to get down to the 160s and build muscle mass.
 

puma1552

Suspended
Nov 20, 2008
5,559
1,947
Yeah a couple hours is no big deal if you've been doing it for a long time.

My regular run is a 10 miler (~1.5 hours). Anything less just feels half-assed now. Come a long way from when I first started and was doing 5k/30 minutes.

As for me I was at 130 but I've porked up to 136-138 thanks to winter and being lazy...also in bad need of new shoes...last week I got a horrible foot pain that took a full week to heal...not sure I can run anymore on my current shoes which are two years old and have way too many miles on them.
 

chrono1081

macrumors G3
Jan 26, 2008
8,446
4,146
Isla Nublar
I have a bowflex I use religiously since I'm done with college now and have...dare I say it...time?

I also get up from the computer every 20 - 30 min and do some simple exercises and anywhere I go I park in the furthest possible parking spot (my friends hate me for that) so I get as much walking in as I can.

I'd love to go walk around my neighborhood at night but I have so much work to do on the computer thats not a possibility :/

Oh I also make sure 2/3 of my plate is vegetables, I eat very healthy, I don't drink pop (it makes me sick), and I don't eat candy.

I still have a little bit of a belly but its nothing terrible and you can only tell if my shirt pulls tight against it.
 

ubitmeomg

macrumors newbie
Jul 13, 2004
18
0
WOW! Was not expecting some of these routines. 60 miles/week? Two hours of running on treadmill nightly?? You people are inspiring, and I feel like I have met a secret subforum of elite athletes here. Color me impressed.

About 20 miles per week here. I run between 3 and 4 miles per day outside at about 9 minutes/mile pace. When I push myself I can get that down to about 8:15 minutes per mile. My goal is to run consistantly in the 8 minute/mile pace.

Yes, I obsessively monitor my runs with a Garmin haha. I lift about 20 minutes per day also, for vanity reasons.

----------

Also, what shoes do you run in puma1552? Admiring your daily distance. I'm about where you started, maybe a little faster. What made you improve your runs the most?
 

eternlgladiator

macrumors 68000
Jun 20, 2010
1,766
104
Twin Cities
I do a variety of things but I'm still trying to improve my body rather than "maintain". I have a 4 day lifting routine that alternates between upper and lower body. Two days a week I do spin class in the morning and I'll do 3 bike rides a week of at least 20 miles. I'll up the ride distance as I get used to the saddle again but I'm still breaking the riding muscles back in a bit as there's just no way to properly keep them prepped all winter.
 

acidfast7

macrumors 65816
Nov 22, 2008
1,437
5
EU
I never really got out of shape (35yo).

Eating healthy and sparing is a huge deal.

Walking everywhere is a huge. I had a meeting at 9am today, two miles from where I lived, so I just walked there and back. Sure, it added an extra 30 minutes each way (but it would take 15 min with the tram and just as long to get the bike out of the basement.)

I'm actually quite surprised. The other day I hopped on the bike and did 60km (roughly 40miles) @ 22km/h (14mph).

Never getting out of shape really helps.
 

808?

macrumors 6502a
Aug 4, 2011
583
24
Hong Kong
Regular exercise, a few times a week at least.

Depending on the weather, I swim, cycle, hike or skate. (Yes all this in Hong Kong) :D
 

Koodauw

macrumors 68040
Nov 17, 2003
3,951
190
Madison
Not hard to believe, it's just.... Not really a good way to work out and will likely cause injury.

actually there is nothing wrong with it if done correctly.

To the OP, sign up afor a marathon/tri. You'll be forced to train then.
 

eric/

Guest
Sep 19, 2011
1,681
20
Ohio, United States
actually there is nothing wrong with it if done correctly.

To the OP, sign up afor a marathon/tri. You'll be forced to train then.

There may be nothing wrong, but even if that is the case it's not a good way or working out and certainly isn't a good way to train for a triathlon or anything like that. It's just not a good way to work out. OP probably thinks he's in great shape b/c of low body fat which is =/= being in shape.

It's really not a good idea to work out longer than 45 min / 1 hr at a time.
 

acidfast7

macrumors 65816
Nov 22, 2008
1,437
5
EU
as a previous long-distance runner (60-70miles/wk), I think 2 hours/day on a treadmill is a terrible way to train.

not only is it unforgiving surface, but the accessory muscles aren't worked as much.

get out of the gym and on to the street/trail.
 

eric/

Guest
Sep 19, 2011
1,681
20
Ohio, United States
as a previous long-distance runner (60-70miles/wk), I think 2 hours/day on a treadmill is a terrible way to train.

not only is it unforgiving surface, but the accessory muscles aren't worked as much.

get out of the gym and on to the street/trail.

You need variation in your training. Some days run slow, some days run fast, some days uphil, etc... Just running for 2 hours on the treadmill isn't a smart way to work out, it's like those girls that go to the gym and use the elliptical machines in order to stay 110 lbs. sure they are skinny, but how many pull ups can they do? How many miles can they swim? How much can they dead lift?

OP don't take this in a negative way. Only trying to help.
 
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