what exercise is good

[Piggyoioi]

I do everything in my bedroom. Push ups, Squats, Weighted Crunches, Stomach Vacuums, Kettle Bell Swings, Resistance Bands, Dumbbell Flyovers and a sprinkle of yoga. I also go for a run now and again.

The hardest part is always starting and keeping a routine, but I honestly feel so much better in my body and mind if I keep it up. I'd say its the most important thing I do to keep depression from metastasising. Start with 10 minutes per day then add 5 minutes each week till you're doing about 30 minutes if you have the time.

[Cloud]

All you people who have lost wait by walking a bit; what were you doing before? Being carried around in a sedan chair?

Sensible eating comes into it as well.  There's no exercise intense enough that it it can be kept up for long enough to counteract overeating / crap diet

[thenoise]

I've been doing some yoga things at home the last while on the days I don't walk silly amounts, would really love to find some yoga workout thing that doesn't require my ears though, I wanna listen to some fucking thing while wasting that time like. Is there any kind of yoga workout that manages that or do I just have to teach myself a routine?

Buy a book. It's easier to use diagrams anyway.

I do yoga with Adriene every morning, she has a calendar so you don't even have to think what video should I click on this morning, just so as your told. It's a lovely way to wake up, although I think I'd have to do a bit more than 10-20mins a day to see any real progress.

If you want to lose weight and get moderately fitter, but basically hate exercise, I refer you to Stephen Fry. Marry a 21 year old and fuck the weight off Get yourself an audio book subscription and a good pair of headphones and get outside and walk. Get into a story and you won't be thinking about how tired you are and how boring walking is and how shit the weather is etc.

[Buelligan]

I've been doing some yoga things at home the last while on the days I don't walk silly amounts, would really love to find some yoga workout thing that doesn't require my ears though, I wanna listen to some fucking thing while wasting that time like. Is there any kind of yoga workout that manages that or do I just have to teach myself a routine?

Hate to say it but IMO, you can't really "do" yoga if you're not present and concentrating purely on the yoga. 

[Ray Travez]

I live near a castle. Every week I walk up the steps to the castle. They built the fucker on a hill so it's no picnic getting up there. Great exercise.

If you live near to a castle, perhaps you could do the same? If not, maybe move to live near to a castle. I hear there's a nice one in Monmouthshire.

[Buelligan]

There's loads of nice ones in Gwent.

[bgmnts]

Caerphilly or Raglan would be my castles of choice for exercise.

[Attila]

I got serious about halting flab back in July -- I've always been pretty skinny, but over the past few years was starting to look as if I were about 5 months pregnant on top of a very thin frame. I also like to collect vintage clothing and found a great shop in London around the same time, and was shocked when I realised that stuff I thought should fit me, didn't (I hadn't bothered to step on scales in years). Plus I was getting worried about all of the horros stories about gaining weight in the menopause, etc.

So I went sensibly -- first setting up an account with My Fitness Pal, which is free online, and will help you with calorie counting. Cut out all the junk food -- not completely, sure I still have biscuits and chocolate and that, but have seriously upped my protein uptake while cutting out all of the crap. It was rough the first couple of weeks because you get addicted to sugar, but past that hump, I feel a hell of a lot better than I had in a long time -- headaches mostly gone, didn't feel draggy and jetlagged by 3pm, etc.

Then I started to do dedicated fast walks, and have worked up to a path that's about 5 miles; takes me 45 minutes. I was trying to add the high intensity, and did for a few weeks, but jogging/running seriously fucks up my knees. So I switched to step aerobics (Jenny Ford has a lot of step and march videos for free online).

So I've got into a routine of either walking/step, or a step video every day with a regular 'rest day' and sensible eating. Since July I've taken 4 inches off my waist, a couple inches off my hips, lost the 'baby tummy', and now weight what I did back in high school (I think I've lost about a stone; I went from about 136 to 118/19 lbs). I feel a hell of a lot better than I did, have much more stamina (I spent two weeks on sites in and around Rome back in Sept, on my feet walking/climbing for 8-10 hours a day, and felt absolutely fine -- it would have killed me before).

So it took about 6 weeks to see major results -- you lose a lot of water weight first -- and you might not see it on the scale, but you will notice the improvements in how your clothes fit and how you feel overall.

Good luck -- and make sure you have someone who will be your cheerleader, and whom you can rant at (you can always PM me if you like), as there will be days when you want to give up, want to scream, &c.

PS Just saw where people were recommending walk up stairs to castles -- also back in Sept I was in Paris for a few days, so I went up, past, back down, and around the steps up to Sacre Coeur about three times on a loop at a time -- fucking hell, that's yer workout there, if you can find something similiar. I wasn't alone -- I passed a couple of more well-fit joggers sprinting up the steps (not the main ones, because you have to dodge too many tourists and touts, but the stairs on the streets off to the side).

[Fonz]

Walking. I've lost 8 stone since February by cutting down on food and walking 8 miles a day.

Impressive

[Neville Chamberlain]

I started strength training three years ago, but, despite some decent, hard-won gains over that time, I've reached a sort of plateau. I reckon this is because all my training programmes so far have been muscle-building-oriented (8-12 rep range), so I thought it was time I focused on building up a real solid foundation of strength and so started on 5x5 Stronglifts, hoping to eventually break through my plateaus in a few months. It's weird because I'm now training with weights that are well below what I'm used to, but it's a good opportunity to check my form and make the light weights harder - i.e. pause squats, pause bench press, explosive movements etc. I'm making the most of these light weights right now, though, because the progression with 5x5 is merciless.

[Buelligan]

Walking. I've lost 8 stone since February by cutting down on food and walking 8 miles a day.

Fuck me it is.  If I did that, I'd weigh just over a stone (just checked it on google).  I think I'll cut down on the walking.

[poo]

I started strength training three years ago, but, despite some decent, hard-won gains over that time, I've reached a sort of plateau. I reckon this is because all my training programmes so far have been muscle-building-oriented (8-12 rep range), so I thought it was time I focused on building up a real solid foundation of strength and so started on 5x5 Stronglifts, hoping to eventually break through my plateaus in a few months. It's weird because I'm now training with weights that are well below what I'm used to, but it's a good opportunity to check my form and make the light weights harder - i.e. pause squats, pause bench press, explosive movements etc. I'm making the most of these light weights right now, though, because the progression with 5x5 is merciless.

More weight

[Neville Chamberlain]

More weight

That will come.

[Poisson Du Jour]

a path that's about 5 miles; takes me 45 minutes.

That is running. 9 minute miles is a sub 4-hour marathon.

Nev, I plateaud after 3 years too. 7 years later I'm on the same plateau. It's fine here. You can't increase forever.

[Neville Chamberlain]

That is running. 9 minute miles is a sub 4-hour marathon.

Nev, I plateaud after 3 years too. 7 years later I'm on the same plateau. It's fine here. You can't increase forever.

I'm not looking for anything super-ambitious. I'd just like to squat 100-120 kg and bench 90-100 kg 'easily' for my working sets when I stop 5x5 and return to a more conventional muscle-building programme. I'd also like to deadlift in the region of 150 kg+. Right now, this feels the most achievable. Love deadlifts, I do.

[Dr Rock]

Nobody suggested swimming? Lose weight and tone muscle. Get a waterproof mp3 player and do 20-40 laps a day, three times a week. Go when the pool is empty if you can. Don't do it if you hate swimming.

[Cardenio I]

Public pools freak me out. All that piss and old, leathery men in swimming caps.

[Neville Chamberlain]

Nobody suggested swimming? Lose weight and tone muscle. Get a waterproof mp3 player and do 20-40 laps a day, three times a week. Go when the pool is empty if you can. Don't do it if you hate swimming.

Laps? People don't generally swim around and round the pool, do they?!?

[Dr Rock]

It means lengths too.

In swimming, the lap refers to swimming from one end of the pool to the next. Without a doubt, it's one end of the pool to the other. It's not back and forth.

[Buelligan]

Laps also means sipping up a nasty yeasty human soup in timid little tonguefuls.  With or without the correct cutlery, I'll take a fucking rain cheque, rather drink from a puddle using a penis beaker.

[bgmnts]

Is shagging good exercise? Asking for a friend.

[Buelligan]

You only get out what you put in.

[Jerzy Bondov]

Start with a simple one arm handstand and go from there

[Dex Sawash]

It means lengths too.

I bet it does you dirty old bollocks

[thenoise]

Swimming is quite a good way to avoid exercise. I'm the wrong side of 35 now and all my friends that are exercise cunts basically have permanent injuries, apart from the swimming cunts.
The rest of us are fat and/or skinny in a weird saggy way. How about just don't get old?

[Voltan (Man of Steel)]

... so I thought it was time I focused on building up a real solid foundation of strength and so started on 5x5 Stronglifts, hoping to eventually break through my plateaus in a few months.

I'd be interested to hear how you get on with this as Stronglifts 5x5 (and Starting Strength) are often recommended to beginners as good, structured routines based around compound movements and sensible progression. I've used variations of them myself over the years and found them as a good reset when I've stagnated on more conventional routines. You might want to look at HIT (sometimes called hardgainer) style training too. I tried that over a decade ago (I was in my 40s then) and made some pretty good progress, especially with my bench press where I was repping 100kg very comfortably.

[Jerzy Bondov]

tie your cock to a moving car and then try to keep up with it, good high intensity workout

[Voltan (Man of Steel)]

I'd be interested to hear how you get on with this as Stronglifts 5x5 (and Starting Strength) are often recommended to beginners* as good, structured routines based around compound movements and sensible progression. I've used variations of them myself over the years and found them as a good reset when I've stagnated on more conventional routines. You might want to look at HIT (sometimes called hardgainer)** style training too. I tried that over a decade ago (I was in my 40s then) and made some pretty good progress, especially with my bench press where I was repping 100kg very comfortably.

*not saying you're a beginner, Neville.
** is it fuck. But hardgainer routines typically follow HIT principles.

[EOLAN]

I do everything in my bedroom. Push ups, Squats, Weighted Crunches, Stomach Vacuums, Kettle Bell Swings, Resistance Bands, Dumbbell Flyovers and a sprinkle of yoga. I also go for a run now and again.

How many laps of the bedroom would you do on an average run?

[Attila]

That is running. 9 minute miles is a sub 4-hour marathon.

Nev, I plateaud after 3 years too. 7 years later I'm on the same plateau. It's fine here. You can't increase forever.

Hurrr -- you're right, I'm a muppet -- my 5 mile path is my summer path; the 45 min fast-walk is a shorter version than that. I'm definitely not running! I walk like I'm after someone who owes me money, somewhere between 4 and 4.5 mph. I picked up the step aerobix when I switched to the shorter walk to make up the difference (it actually burns off more calories than the walking, but the walking is a good warm up.)

The weight/inches lost since July is still the same -- once the semester started, I had to switch to a shorter walk, plus with the bad weather, messing about on a step in my room was a better alterative to constantly getting soaked.