I hate running

kristinegift

I like running, so I asked my friend who does most of her workouts in her apartment and this is the list she offered: Do weight-loss yoga routine - 10 minutes+ on youtube every day. Stand for an hour when you would usually be sitting. Wall sits. Personal in-home weights. Doorway pull up bar.

I'd myself would also add ab/strength circuits (can find these online with a quick google search) to this list, because that's the only in-home exercise I do; jumping jacks/jump ropes as cardio with lunges, squats, crunches, push-ups, etc. for a full(ish) body work out. There are lots of options that aren't your traditional run/walk/gym membership routes

Yellerie

I also hate running my Dr told me the my flat feet are likely the reason for the pain I have to deal with when I run although my hip which I had major surgery on may be part of that issue too. Then my asthma is also running induced so I feel your pain when you say you can't run & everyone else that is saying you mean won't or stop giving excuses have obviously never encountered the types of difficultles you have regarding running. Anyway to actually anwer your question maybe you can do dvd workouts? Idk if Thailand is like England where they use a different style of DVD system they use PAL we use NTSC or maybe you can bring a small dvd player from here with you (there are small ones at Walmart for $35) the Jilian Michaels videos are quite a work out if that is too harsh try a bunch of different ones until you find something that works for you. I know my local library has fitness DVDs that can be borrowed so I would try something like that 1st so it doesn't cost you a fortune finding a dvd that you could work with.
Good Luck!!

waterskh

Wow I really appreciate all the replies!!! So many things to answer!
-I have started swimming and I was a fish throughout my childhood. I love it and hope to keep it up as long as possible.
-I will be living in a smallish town in Northern Thailand Phrae Province. I will be teaching English and I cannot wait!!! According to the research I have done there aren't any pools except for in hotels. Could be wrong though, will find out when I get there!
-I have awful joints. I tore my miniscus and have strained my ACL back when I was fit and athletic. I also have flat feet and have recently invested in some quality running shoes which have really helped foot pain. Added weight does not help, so maybe when I loose some I will enjoy running. Hoping its true!
-I need to stop making excuses and getting my *kitten* out there. I have finally come to terms with the notion that just because I deny the amount of calories that I have consumed, doesn't mean I didn't consume them. Just because I pretend that I workout regularly, doesn't mean I do.
Thanks again for all of the responses. I really do appreciate them!!!

FitterBody

Good luck with the teaching. How did you get the job? Hope they look after you and you get a nice room and classes. Last thing you want is days with 40-60 kid class sizes and nights in a room without running water, lol. You should be ok, but occasionally posts come up in the most unusually placed schools. One of my friends back when I did some teaching ended up in a school in the middle of nowhere and his room was a hut on stilts in a swamp with ho running water and therefore very basic facilities but he absolutely loved it! You have just missed Songkran but you can have that fun to look forward to next year! So, if you are in a school then there will likely be some sort of playground/assembly area that you can use to run around. Sorted! Good luck!

FitterBody

Oh, and as for the food here, well, loads of healthy fruit and veg, but also loads more fried stuff and cakes (they are awful blancmange-trifle-come sponge really soft cakes, not at all like our firmer sponge cakes, fruit cakes, black forest gateaux etc) than there used to be. Not sure if you will have any nearby, but many major cities now are drowning in McD's, KFC's, Pizza joints etc. Eat loads of rice, veg, and tubers, like the countryside locals do and you can maintain or lose weight no problem. Eat like the city folks do and you will pile it on! lol.

waterskh

How cool that I found someone in Thailand on here! I got the job through my father's friend who he trusts completely so I am not too worried. They say I will have my own apartment or share it with one other lady, which I might actually prefer! I adore Thai food, so I will have to be VERY careful with calorie consumption
Thanks for the advice and please let me know if you have any more!

FitterBody

Well, I could tell you not to eat yellow snow, but of course we don't have snow here! ;-)

You should be fine. Some things are difficult to find here so bring them with you. Shoes are plentiful, but decent "quality" shoes can be impossible to find if you are a bigger size than the Thais. The plus side to that is that you will probably only need decent shoes for work, as the rest of the time you will likely be in flip flops as that is the norm here. Some home brand foodstuffs can be impossible to find or expensive. There are alternatives but expats often moan that they are not like at home, so if you have any you can't live without then you may want to pile a few in your bag and ration them here so they last you! Your father's friend can probably tell you what he misses and can't get and might even ask you to pack some of his favourites! Lol

Hope you like rice, 'cos that is the staple breakfast, lunch, and dinner, here with a side or two of something on top. If you are sharing an apartment you may have a cooking area but most Thais will just pick something up at the local street stalls to save time and effort, and it is cheap too. You will either have to be careful what you pick (so many are cooked in oil, with loads of addd salt) of you will be better off cooking yourself.

Enuf waffle for now. Message me if you have any specific questions and I will endeavor to answer them for you.
Good luck.

KariOrtiz2014

You don't have to run. The main thing to lose weight is how many calories you are eating. Exercise has other health benefits. Walking is a great exercise, 30 minutes a day, along with the proper calorie deficit, and you will lose weight. There are walking DVD's you can do in your home, if you don't have a safe place to walk.

OP says walking is too time consuming for her.

Yes, well, so is running or any exercise. So don't exercise then, just control eating.

THIS!! Find something that works FOR you. You can do workout videos at home!!

coopscoopc

I felt the same way. I hate running. I own a treadmill and used to go to the gym on occasion, but I never enjoy the aspect of it. I don't mind walking though at all, really. It's more peaceful.

I walk to and from my job and take public transportation and do a good amount of walking while at work, so I got myself a Fitbit just to see how much walking I really do any given day. Turns out after proper adjustments to the stride length etc, that I walk a good 3.5 miles a day just with a regular work day. For me, that was 300 calories or so I was burning. So, for that little extra, I added 15 minute walks with the dog to this to start, just to try to get up to about 5 miles of walking a day, or 10000 steps, which is the recommended daily average to 'get fit.' I average usually at least 8500-9000 on lesser days, but typically hit my goal.

That, along with eating at my deficit, has led to my losing nearly all of my goal of 50lbs in just about under 20 weeks. I can now walk forever without getting tired, out of breath, or even breaking a sweat. I can walk up the hills in my neighborhood with the dog and my knees no longer hurt, I no longer get back and neck pains, and I can run up the hills when the mood strikes me and keep pace with my dog, a Basenji who is built and lives to run, and then barely lose my breath after.

Walk if you don't like to run, and you don't have to do it all at once. A little here, a little there, take the stairs instead of the elevator, and it adds up.

ABSOLUTELY! And this is my plan too! I can't run because of shin splints and a bad left knee... but I can walk all day long! I take the stairs down... not up... but down. I walked 28 flights down the other day and that was a good work out.

Find something you do like to do and it will make all the difference in the world. Sounds to me like you should invest in kickboxing or Les Mills Mortal combat! Yikes! You can do this!!!

JagerLewis

Don't do any exercise you hate, you will get nowhere fast. There's classes you could take like Zumba, kickboxing, etc...Classes are very fun and upbeat. There's swimming which is good for the knees and hips. Simple exercises that get the heart rate up...hold a squat and throw punches while holding dumbbells. You could do more strenuous forms of yoga to get your heart rate up. How about going to a park and try doing pull ups on monkey bars? The possibilities are endless. Good luck to you!

wampahoofus

I am right there with you. I hate to run. I also have a bad knee (miniscus tear) but I love to walk and bicycle. Running is overrated and not the only exercise to do. It is also hard on your joints.

Do what you enjoy and not what everyone else is doing!

sjohnny

Have you considered taking up not running?

:laugh:

Dont assume you wont have access in Thailand, check it out, you might get lucky

I've heard stories of people getting lucky in Thailand.

Fullsterkur_woman

I hate kickboxing. So I don't do it. That leaves about a billion other forms of exercise available to me, so I do those things. If you took away my access to world-class gym facilities, my wonderful neighborhood pools, and my home gym equipment (which I have invested quite a bit in because I make fitness a very high priority), I would still have my bike, shank's mares, yoga/other exercise DVDs, all the natural swimming venues, and random heavy things to pick up outside in parks, like rocks, bits of tree, etc. I've seen people in Africa turn old auto parts and boulders into weight sets.

If you want to, you will.