alathIN Member

I think any exercise you enjoy can be a good thing, and I love to swim. Came to it relatively late in life - didn't do much swimming at all until I was 43. One advantage I haven't seen mentioned yet: US Masters Swimming is a great organization. They are very beginner-friendly. They have lots of swim clubs just about…

Some folks attribute this to the cooling effect of the water - and I do certainly perceive it more after swimming in colder water. But there's an easy antidote - spend 10 minutes in the hot tub or sauna after every swim. Munchies go away like magic.

Some good advice above, but just one thing I'd add: it's an old saying among cyclists that the purpose of your first bike is to help you figure out what you need for your second bike. So don't drop mega=$ on your first bike. I agree having a look at your LBS is a good idea. Department store bikes are overall much lower…

Spin classes can be great. Cycling specific pants make a huge difference. Borderline worth it if you only do these 20 classes - maybe if you can get a pair on clearance. But if you have a bike and ride some, or if you go to a couple of spin classes and you enjoy it and think you'll do more, then yes, definitely, get bike…

I have had some skin issues crop up from the chlorine exposure. There are a number of products you can use in the shower right after swimming to de-chlorinate. I have had good luck with this stuff: http://www.amazon.com/UltraSwim-Chlorine-Removal-Shampoo-7-Ounce-Bottles/dp/B001ET76OO I use it as a combination…

Didn't check the whole thread to see if anyone else has suggested this, but SWIMMING! Get some lessons. I started out as a very obese 44 year old nonswimmer; swimming was one of the keys to 82 lbs lost so far and 18 to go to reach my goal weight. Swimming is a great non-impact exercise that won't tear up your knees. Also,…

It is going to be very difficult to build fitness with 15 minute runs. For at least half of your runs, slow your pace way down and build more distance. Also consider doing walk-run intervals, they are a great way to build run fitness. Also agree with the others who suggest doing some cross training. Running is hard on the…

If you're already running 5 miles, you can definitely finish a 10k in October. The main reason to register for an event is to motivate your training. Just having this 10k on your calendar will do wonders for you. Great move.

It's possible to lose 100+ lbs without any workouts at all - you just need to maintain a kCal deficit. Not what I'd recommend, but it can be done. Dietary changes are the majority of weight loss. Strength training is very helpful for weight loss, don't neglect that. But my main reason for replying is that your physician's…

This was my first thought too. Even when you are doing a run-focused training program, they are not constantly building longer and faster with every workout. Fitness is built with cycles of stress and recovery. If you just stress stress stress all the time, your body never has a chance to build fitness.

Swimming: my entire body feels numb from head to toe Cycling: I am covered in salt from the evaporated sweat

Swim!

Pedal faster ;-) Seriously, if you have long time runner fitness, you will have to work hard on a bike to get a similar burn. It is possible to work that hard on a bike though.

Two things specific to this: 1) Most restaraunts - especially if they are chains - do have nutrition info available. Often on their company web site. 2) Generally, the reason restaraunt food is so much more attractive/addictive than ordinary grocery store food is that they throw in extra "good stuff" - meaning more fat…

Here's a totally different take: 1. Join your local YMCA (or something like it). If it's a Y, one thing included will be a meeting with a trainer to help you set goals and get started. 2. Look at all the classes and groups they offer at your new Y. Go try them out. All of them. Keep trying, until you find two or three that…

As long as you understand, even the model in that picture doesn't look like that on a day-to-day basis. She didn't even look exactly like that the day the photo was taken (pre Photoshop)

Different take: for me, fitness isn't about appearence, it's about function. Your physical appearence is just the artefact of what kind of life you're leading. I want to look like a guy who swims 3-4 times a week, has a lot of fun doing it, and participates in a couple of swim meets every year. I want to look like a guy…

Another vote for swimming. I am guessing he isn't already a swimmer, or you wouldn't be asking this question. Here's the program for adult non-swimmers to become swimmers: 1. Get swimming lessons with a good teacher. Ask around for recommendations. Go to one lesson per week, and practice at least two times between lessons.…

Yes, both. The things that have helped me most: 1) being in a group with coaching - there is social power in the group that is helpful and motivating, plus it is good to have a coach who can help you improve technique 2) build in recovery time: when you're training, you are deliberately stressing your body. Recovery time…

I find that running every day puts too much injury load on my body. I will sometimes run two days in a row but never three days in a row. I try to rotate between swimming, cycling, and running so I am not constantly beating up the same tissues - try to distribute the damage.

Some culprits when I get stuck: 1) "cheating" little nibbles or not measuring - taking in more kCal than I am logging 2) not getting enough sleep 3) overall kCal intake (eating) and kCal burn (exercise) is good, but eating less healthy choices. Not all calories are created equal. In particular, excess sugars can contribute…

I think you've got time to prepare for this. So far I have run my HMs on intervals. There is some data (controversial) to suggest that most of us will have better overall times if we include recovery intervals in our longer distance runs. This has certainly been the case for me. In the past I was usually doing 9:1…

Everyone has a different take on this. My experience has been that if I eat exercise kCal according to what MFP says I should, I gain weight. For whatever reason, MFP seems to be overestimating what I burn. What works for me is to eat what MFP tells me to eat on a rest day when there is no exercise. On a big exercise day,…

It takes a while to get comfortable in the water. Continue to meet with a good swimming coach weekly, and practice on your own two more times per week. Go to the swimsmooth.com web site and take up permanent residence there. Be patient. When I first started swimming 4 years ago, a good coach told me to expect about 6-7…

I was having bad munchie problems after swimming, too, which was making it more of a struggle to stay on plan. Then I read something helpful - apparently the cooling triggers a hunger response in most people. The recommendation was a hot shower or soak in the hot tub after swimming to take the edge of the post-swim…

I'm in a multi sports group where we do a lot of workouts together. I definitely socialize, joke, etc with these people and they in return because we know each other and there's some group culture about when to chat and when not. With strangers, not so much. There have been times during triathlons or run events that I've…

I try to do a lot of variety and intervals. The treadmill is somewhat of a boredom challenge compared to running outside, but some days it works a lot better in my life. Changing up the routine is good for fitness and makes it more interesting. A few I have done lately and enjoyed: 10 min easy aerobic pace - conversational…

Here are a few different swimming kCal calculators: http://www.swimmingcalculator.com/swim_calories_calculator.php http://www.everydayhealth.com/Calories-Burned-Swimming.htm http://caloriesburnedhq.com/calories-burned-swimming/ I have usually gotten similar results from these and from the MFP calculator, with the following…

I had PF about 2 years ago. It did take me about a year to get through it, to where it doesn't bother me any more. There seems to be a lot of individual variation in what helps and what doesn't. Here's my experience: Completely stopping running DID NOT help for me. What wound up working was to continue running at a reduced…

Just FYI, in many jurisdictions it is illegal to ride a bike on the sidewalks. Here, we have a distinction between sidewalks which are for pedestrians only, and "multi use paths" which are OK for cyclists and pedestrians. According to my state law, bicycles are vehicular traffic. They are supposed to go on the road (or…