Making Exercise Fun

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Replies

  • Kevvboy
    Kevvboy Posts: 81 Member
    I just have to recommend a bicycle. In the park where I ride, I see big people trudging along or trying to run and looking so uncomfortable and in pain. Biking with no stress on your joints is easy and fun, and you can go as slow as you need while you're getting started. It's the only form of exercise that feels like fun to me, although on rainy days I grab an umbrella and go for a fast walk instead, and I'm learning to enjoy those too.
  • amart4224
    amart4224 Posts: 345 Member
    Kevvboy wrote: »
    I just have to recommend a bicycle. In the park where I ride, I see big people trudging along or trying to run and looking so uncomfortable and in pain. Biking with no stress on your joints is easy and fun, and you can go as slow as you need while you're getting started. It's the only form of exercise that feels like fun to me, although on rainy days I grab an umbrella and go for a fast walk instead, and I'm learning to enjoy those too.

    I know an ex boyfriend of mine really wanted to bike for exercise, but as a bigger man, he was too heavy ☹️ Most bicycles have a weight limit of 300 pounds so the people "trudging along" may not have the option to ride.
  • lauriekallis
    lauriekallis Posts: 4,547 Member
    What a great post to read, Connie. Kudos to you!
  • conniewilkins56
    conniewilkins56 Posts: 3,391 Member
    I made it 31 minutes on the bike today non stop…I had sweat running down my face….when I finished, my grandaughter on the treadmill looked at me and said, “ you did good Nannie “…. Made me feel really good….and because I burned all those calories today at the gym and in the pool, I get a big slice of cornbread with my dinner!
  • lauriekallis
    lauriekallis Posts: 4,547 Member
    Wow, Connie! That is a long time. You are turning into a Benjamin Button character.
  • eliezalot
    eliezalot Posts: 620 Member
    Connie, you're 2/3rds of the way to doing a triathlon!!
  • pdd1216
    pdd1216 Posts: 319 Member
    Looking through this thread for fun ideas and they all sound good. I'm stuck in a boot right now and even walking isn't an option but I look forward to being able to get back into an exercise routine. Maybe starting PT will get me eased back into getting active again.
  • lauriekallis
    lauriekallis Posts: 4,547 Member
    Connie - you've mentioned shoulder repair. What kind? That is what I'm waiting for maybe? I'm expecting some "patches" (donated tendon tissue) - for two ruptured rotator cuff tendons and long head of my bicep. Is this the type of thing you had? Did it work well?
  • conniewilkins56
    conniewilkins56 Posts: 3,391 Member
    Connie - you've mentioned shoulder repair. What kind? That is what I'm waiting for maybe? I'm expecting some "patches" (donated tendon tissue) - for two ruptured rotator cuff tendons and long head of my bicep. Is this the type of thing you had? Did it work well?

    Long story, short version lol….I had spurs in my shoulder, left one….was getting cortisone shots that took pain away but did not cure…steroids in cortisone made cataracts grow rapidly in my eyes…I was also getting shots for my knees before this and before I had them replaced….had to have cataracts removed and 20/20 vision….3 months later I took a really bad fall inside a Pizza Hut on a missing tile in the floor….fell directly on left arm and sent spurs into my arm tearing biceps and also knocking off a crown, causing me to get root canal plus knocked a back tooth out…therapy and more shots did not help so I had it repaired….surgery and more therapy, lots of therapy and two years later I finally could fasten my bra again and swim…this was three years ago!…end of story!…I hope you have success with operation…glad I had it….happier than with my knees as they still hurt some days….arm is great….the operation was a pain in my *kitten*!…speaking of which, I probably need hip replacement but I am done with operations!…rather see about more shots eventually!
  • conniewilkins56
    conniewilkins56 Posts: 3,391 Member
    I could not raise my left arm up or rotate it without pain….
  • amart4224
    amart4224 Posts: 345 Member
    I'm feeling like I'm in a rut with my exercise, which for the past year has just been walking and hiking. I considered trying running again, but if I'm honest with myself I just don't enjoy it, plus it seems to really aggravate my plantar fasciitis. I attempted to start riding my bike again, but I'm embarrassed to say that after 4 years of not riding, I couldn't figure out how to get on it! It's as if I've shrunk and now the bike is too tall for me, which is impossible!

    I found out my city has recreational sports leagues for adults and I'm considering signing up for softball, but since I tend to have quite a bit of social anxiety around groups of strangers, I'm afraid I would feel too awkward or just get panicky and not show up.

    I'm also considering joining a gym, but there don't seem to be many good options in the area. I do best in group classes since I have a hard time motivating myself if I'm just doing it on my own, and the only gym I've found that offers classes that would work with my schedule is $50 PER WEEK!!! I can't see myself being able to afford that long term, so I'm not sure it's even worth going short term as even if I liked it and got good results, I'd have to give it up.

    Anyway, just mulling over some different options and looking for recommendations if anyone has some out-of-the-box exercise ideas!
  • lauriekallis
    lauriekallis Posts: 4,547 Member
    I love walking - but I try to get the heart rate up with some mad dancing. (no one can see) Just blast the music and dance around the house for as long as I have.

    If any one catches me, I might not be so out-of-the-box much longer. :D
  • conniewilkins56
    conniewilkins56 Posts: 3,391 Member
    I love walking - but I try to get the heart rate up with some mad dancing. (no one can see) Just blast the music and dance around the house for as long as I have.

    If any one catches me, I might not be so out-of-the-box much longer. :D

    When I do R. Simmons the dog goes nuts….barks at me and pulls on my shirt!
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 13,394 Member
    I love walking - but I try to get the heart rate up with some mad dancing. (no one can see) Just blast the music and dance around the house for as long as I have.

    If any one catches me, I might not be so out-of-the-box much longer. :D

    When I do R. Simmons the dog goes nuts….barks at me and pulls on my shirt!

    dancing with the dog could involved some weight lifting exercise too! Resistance training for the win!
  • lauriekallis
    lauriekallis Posts: 4,547 Member
    My little girl hasn't learned how to dance yet. She will!
  • Bella_Figura
    Bella_Figura Posts: 3,585 Member
    edited August 2021
    @PAV8888 I'd welcome your advice!

    Made my commitment to get healthier on 17th March (23 weeks ago) and I've lost 41lb to date. I still have 49lbs to go (39lbs to reach a 'normal' BMI + 10 extra pounds to get to my goal weight). So weight loss has averaged 1.8lbs/week.

    When I started it was ALL about the weight loss and eating healthy, but recently I've had a shift in thinking, and it's now becoming more about fitness and health than weight loss per se.

    Exerise for the first 12 weeks amounted to just 1-1.5 hrs/day of dog walking and the odd bit of gardening. Then I dug out my bike and added the occasional gentle cycle ride.

    2 weeks yesterday I bought a turbo trainer, and the cycling has really kicked up a notch. I've cycled 210 kms on the turbo in those 2 weeks, mainly at cardio pace (with regular spikes into hard intensity). I only realised yesterday I should've done most of those kms at the lower fat-burning endurance level - I'll dial it back in future.

    My conundrum is...how do I fuel effectively for this additional exercise while running a significant calorie deficit?

    I haven't noticed any hunger or drop-off in energy and I feel fine, but strength, health and fitness are more important to me than pure weight loss, so I don't want to disadvantage myself for getting fitter by running too severe a deficit just so I can keep on losing 1.5 lbs a week.

    I don't eat back my exercise calories, because my calorie goal is based on my TDEE. So far my TDEE burn hasn't increased as a result of the additional cycling - if anything, it seems to have dropped a little. I'm assuming this is either because I have some exercise-related water retention, or because my NEAT has dropped without my noticing, because my energy is being depleted by the cycling. Too early to tell for sure. Hopefully the former rather than the latter, but time will tell.

    With the shift in mindset to prioritising fitness over weight loss, I'd be happy to reduce my deficit so that I can fuel the cycling effectively, but I don't want the weight loss to slow dramatically. On the other hand, I'm aware of the inadvisability of depletion from chasing a too-fast weight loss at the same time as significantly increasing exercise.

    Sustainability is my watchword....

    Do you have any insights or advice to offer?
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 13,394 Member
    You probably don't want to hear it :)

    Unpacking, you're going insanely fast. You're losing at 900 to 1000 Cal a day (to achieve your visible 1.8lbs).

    You're eating if I recall correctly around 1500, so your average tdee would have been around 2,500 and your deficit close to 40% as opposed to a max of 25% while obese tapering to 20% or less when overweight.

    And you're also approaching the 6-month mark where it is incredibly common to start feeling the effects of too large of a deficit and to start having some adaptation and (let's call it) hormonal debt or effects on levels. See the work of Kevin Hall for quantification on how the effects may be felt; but, be it as it may, is probably time to adjust and bring deficits to more reasonable levels.

    The predictable linear drops will start getting more obscured but, you're correct, you really should expand your focus. You're not always doing to sustain this level of hyperfocus on food choices and athletic endeavors and supporting them is an excellent way forward!

    By the way it's not too early to tell. If you don't fuel your exercise you will feel slow down during the rest of the day. You might anyway. But it is almost guaranteed if you don't fuel it.

    One quick point. There is absolutely nothing wrong with exercising at a higher rate if your body can tolerate it. While absolutely true that at a lower heart rate you're utilizing more of your fat substrates while consuming glycogen at a higher heart rate, you're forgetting that what you individually utilize every minute is much less important than the total of what you utilize. Your body will replenish the glycogen and use more fat stories that it might have otherwise later. In other words there's no reason to worry at all what type of fuel you're using every minute... If anything you might care about is maximizing they total fuel spent. And assuming you can sustain the total time spans, the more vigorously exercise the more you spend.

    This is a bit similar to what people on keto sometimes mistake as I'm burning
    a higher percentage of fat.... what matters is the total fat you burn, not the percentage (which in that case is skewed by intake).

    So in terms of pure calories to create expenditure it's time * burn per minute and your high intensity Burns more per minute... If you can sustain as long

    In terms of training varieties is usually needed: most training programs are not 100% all the time

    In terms of sustainability of effort most people find losses in the 0.5% of body weight range much more sustainable then in the 1% per week

    You do have to adapt! And seek what's sustainable.... Always.

    And definitely definitely prepare to exert more effort near the tapering to avoid regain. The beauty of hormones is that they don't operate at the conscious level, and our weight loss plays a number on them that only time and some few manipulations may alleviate as far as I've managed to discover!!!!

    Not fueling bike rides = naughty Bella!

    🤷🏻‍♂️