When did you give up training?

[CougTek]

I feel I'm slowly but surely giving up physical training. I still train once in a while, but no longer on a regular basis like I used to up to one year and a half ago. I tried to restart a few times since, for one week or so at a time, but I never followed up. And it's not only because I'm a lot more busy than I used to be, because I've been quite occupied too at certain points earlier in my life but I managed to keep training anyway. Not anymore. Even since I'm still quite above average, I know I'm on the decline and it won't come back to my good years. No more eight-pack. I'm waiting for my belly to inflate, my arms to deflate and my face to drop down.

Among those here who were, at one point of their lives, considered "in shape", how old were you when you more or less gave up and decided that your glory days were behind you?

 

[LunarMist]

I gave up at 22. But I was never in your shape.

 

[Stereodude]

Before I ever started.

 

[LunarMist]

I would expect that from Merc too.

 

[timwhit]

I mainly cycle in the summer. I rode ~1500 miles last year. I have been slow to start up this year. I've only done 80 miles so far this year. I could have been riding indoors on my roller all winter long. But, that thing is torture (boring, body parts fall asleep, sweat drips uncontrollably). Plus, you can't do it without paying attention or you'll fall off and break a bone.

I gained 10 lbs over the winter, but I should lose that by July.

Maybe whatever you are doing is boring, try a new sport.

 

[ddrueding]

Right about now, actually. In the past, when I noticed I was out of shape (over 200lbs, I'm 6'2"), I would do something about it. It isn't looking good at the moment.

 

[Chewy509]

Among those here who were, at one point of their lives, considered "in shape", how old were you when you more or less gave up and decided that your glory days were behind you?

Havng 2 kids recently really put an end to my normal fitness schedule, but at the age of 32 and about to have some more free time coming up (due to change from fulltime 50hr week work to full time Uni student), getting back to what I was doing is certainly on the agenda.

While the plan isn't to get back to my prime state (as I was at the tender age of 21), I'm certainly planning on being able to run 5km in under 25min (or 10km in under 55min), do 50 pushups, 100 situps and at least 5 chin-ups, as well as be at a reasonable weight.

 

[ddrueding]

I can do all the pushups, situps, and chinups, but fuck running. That is for when you are being chased

 

[CougTek]

How can you go full-time student with two kids at your charge? Won the lotery or daddy's rich?

Proof of how in bad shape I am right now : I could only make 40 push ups. I might have been able to reach 45 if I really tried hard, but not 50. I can still do 20 using only one arm though.

Regarding the change in my training, all the physical exercices I've tried were either boring or painful. Biking, which I did a lot, is quite painful on my ass after 30Km or so. Lifting weights, my main training, is both very painful and boring. Boxing never was long enough to be considered a training when there was a guy in front of me. I get bored of a punching bag after 20 minutes and I utterly refuse to jump with a rope. I gave up jogging years ago because I often ended up far from my bathroom with an urging need to sit on a toilet. Not funny, no shit.

 

[jtr1962]

I haven't giving up on exercise ( i.e. cycling in my case ), but I've found a combination of things keep me from doing as much as I'd like. For one, the weather doesn't always cooperate. Rain or snow forget it. Temps under about 30°F ( or much over about 80°F unless the humidity is low ) forget it. That probably leaves about 180 days tops per year which are good for cycling. Assuming I used all of them, and rode 20 miles or more each time, that would be over 3500 miles which wouldn't be bad. Unfortunately, I don't take advantage of good cycling days as much as I used to. Sometimes work gets in the way, or illness, or just not feeling like it. Not to mention flat tires ( although airless tires solved this problem finally ). I've kept records of how much I cycled since 1981. As you can see the last few years are sparse, but at least they're on the upswing again:

1981: 1702.2
1982: 4048.0
1983: 3654.0
1984: 3874.6
1985: 3905.9
1986: 4003.9
1987: 2570.9
1988: 1841.8
1989: 1261.4
1990: 2485.8
1991: 5001.5
1992: 2443.6
1993: 2307.2
1994: 2469.3
1995: 1561.9
1996: 1321.9
1997: 1632.6
1998: 1721.7
1999: 1132.8
2000: 850.7
2001: 1080.5
2002: 883.5
2003: 677.8
2004: 516.6
2005: 412.7
2006: 415.3
2007: 1171.2
2008: 1752.0
2009: 865.2

TOTAL: 57914.2 miles

Only 350 miles so far in 2010 but there's still 8 months left. 2009 wasn't as good as I would have liked, but I was sick a lot that year. I suppose I could buy rollers for riding when the weather is poor but I would find that excrutiatingly boring ( and there's the problem of sweat dripping as Tim mentioned ).

Pushups? I just tried and could barely manage 16. I used to do about 50 in college, although truth is I haven't done much exercise other than cycling for years ( unless you include walking which averages ~2 miles a day doing shopping ).

 

[DrunkenBastard]

This will sound strange, but the fittest I ever was was when I was 12. Hike for a week, run a 28KM cross country run etc. I am quite certain I will never be in that shape again.

Tho I do intend to get back into the shooting. A certain level of core fitness does help to hold still, but no need to go crazy running around any more. Right now I'm way out of shape. Wife loves the bhudda belly tho, rub for luck

 

[DrunkenBastard]

I mainly cycle in the summer. I rode ~1500 miles last year. I have been slow to start up this year. I've only done 80 miles so far this year. I could have been riding indoors on my roller all winter long. But, that thing is torture (boring, body parts fall asleep, sweat drips uncontrollably). Plus, you can't do it without paying attention or you'll fall off and break a bone.

I gained 10 lbs over the winter, but I should lose that by July.

Maybe whatever you are doing is boring, try a new sport.

I had a doohicky to put the rear wheel on and you could set the resistance, done by magnets IIRC. Plus it supported the bike so you didn't have to maintain balance. Is there a benefit to the roller method?

 

[timwhit]

I had a doohicky to put the rear wheel on and you could set the resistance, done by magnets IIRC. Plus it supported the bike so you didn't have to maintain balance. Is there a benefit to the roller method?

The roller requires balance, so it is much closer to regular riding versus riding on a trainer. I own a trainer as well, but I find it even more boring than the roller.

 

[udaman]

The roller requires balance, so it is much closer to regular riding versus riding on a trainer. I own a trainer as well, but I find it even more boring than the roller.

Unless u are trying to practice for Velo/indoor track...roller is unnecessary. It's actually more difficult than 'regular' riding. I've ridden bicycles since I was a young child, I don't need balance training. A stationary trainer is fine, all pro and serious amateurs use a portable stationary trainer right before racing to warm up the legs. Helps if you want to impress the other guys that you can balance @stoplights/intersections...without moving, that takes lots of skillz...meh, I don't need it.

Both u & jtr could benefit from a tabletop fan blowing on you when using a stationary trainer...you only need cycle for 30+ min a day during off-season to maintain fitness/stamina or at least not lose too much of what you have.

Then there are those more complex trainers $$$$, LCD screens and computer controllered, simulated cycling regimes/routines to vary it all. I'm sure there will be 'gaming' like versions with 3D screens on sunglasses to give you that full virtual cycling world experience soon (maybe they have them in S. Korea already?)....wind, rain, snow optional attachments

Cougtek, should/could go try some of the newer, wider, more comfortable seats....stay away from 'fast' 'boyracer' skinny/super lightweight models. It takes more than a few trial and error, with multiple seats and adjustments on a bike, to find one that works for your physiology-butt/crotch area

 

[timwhit]

Biking, which I did a lot, is quite painful on my ass after 30Km or so.

It is for everyone until you get used to it, after a few weeks of riding you won't even notice it anymore. Also, get padded shorts if you don't have them already.

 

[timwhit]

It's actually more difficult than 'regular' riding. I've ridden bicycles since I was a young child, I don't need balance training.

It is more difficult, because you can't stop pedaling for more than 2 seconds. Balance training comes in useful when you are riding in a pace line and any slight movement can cause an accident.

 

[Mercutio]

I stopped when I went off to college. Honestly, it was just because of one person's shitty comment.

But I haven't ever felt like I needed to go back to it, either.

The place where I live is not very bike-friendly. My brother probably gets run off the road every other week or so and he's been hit by a car twice. Neither time very seriously, but if he didn't wear a helmet there could have been a real problem. Regardless of what the law says, drivers don't let people on bikes use the road in Northwest Indiana.

 

[timwhit]

Merc, there are some places to ride over there. Check out the Prairie Duneland Trail or Dunes Highway. Google has bicycle directions now, which can give you advice on what routes are better for riding.

 

[CougTek]

Back when you weighted over three hundred pounds, biking would not have been possible for you (most bike makers warn against putting more than 250 or 300 pounds on their vehicles). Now that you're a scant, a feather-like, a fluffy-puff-blown-by-the-breeze* 225 pounds, it would be a good way to put you in better shape. Maybe that ten years from now, I'll be the fat ass and you the athlete. Oh, what kind of world that would be...

* Why not make it your new sig?

 

[Buck]

I still haven't given up. I'm close to 14 stone again, so I'm trying to ramp up my jogging and drop down closer to 12 stone. It would be nice to look relatively thin for summer. Coug, I think you're just experiencing a normal life cycle, when exercise is less important than other parts of your life. But it doesn't mean you can't come back to it. Something will motivate you to step back into your routine. Now it's true, that as you age, that routine won't be as vigorous or as pain-free as before. But the accomplishments will be just as satisfying. It's nice when you can be 40 and in good shape. It's not that you'll look like your 14 year-old son. But it's good to know you can still beat the living daylights out of him.

 

[ddrueding]

Do you choose stone as a unit of measure because the numbers are smaller? Or because fewer of us will know what it actually means?

 

[Buck]

Do you choose stone as a unit of measure because the numbers are smaller? Or because fewer of us will know what it actually means?

Yes.

 

[Howell]

I started running again again a couple of weeks ago. About 3 miles a day and 5 on Saturday on the trails. Feels pretty good. I have some events I'm planning to enter later in the year.

ie, I may slow down but I haven't given up yet.

 

[CougTek]

It's not that you'll look like your 14 year-old son

Who was the mother? She never told me!

 

[CougTek]

I'm close to 14 stone again, so I'm trying to ramp up my jogging and drop down closer to 12 stone.

If you consider yourself to be overweighted at only 14 stone, then you must be quite short or be very lightly built (I have relatively small bones too). That's also about my weight and I still fit in 34-size jeans.

 

[Buck]

If you consider yourself to be overweighted at only 14 stone, then you must be quite short or be very lightly built (I have relatively small bones too). That's also about my weight and I still fit in 34-size jeans.

I'm officially 13 Stone 6 and am 187 cm tall. So, yes, I am lightly built (but flabby). My lightest weight at this height was 12 Stone 2. At that weight I had a 34" waist and was able to run 18 km. That was about a year ago. I have since gained weight, but would like to get rid of this extra fat. Jogging will work, but I would like to increase my muscle strength and size. I lost some of it when I lost a lot of weight (my heaviest was 18 stone 7). I'm considering the P90X program, as I will be able to use it for free. But I must admit, I really enjoy jogging. I like being outdoors and seeing the scenery around my neighborhood. I also feel great when I'm done, regardless of the aches I feel.

 

[Stereodude]

I now weight 12.5 stone. I used to weight almost 16 stone (since we're talking in stone and all).

 

[timwhit]

I'm 74" (188 cm) and 160 lbs (72.5 kg). My goal is to be around 155 lbs by mid-summer. When cycling extensively I have dropped below 150.

You can figure out how many stones if you prefer.

No, I'm not anorexic, bulimic, or anything else. I generally eat ~2500 calories per day and more when riding a lot.

 

[Stereodude]

You must blow over in the wind or something.

 

[Chewy509]

How can you go full-time student with two kids at your charge? Won the lotery or daddy's rich?

Solid savings, government allowances and a scholarship all help. Our current spending habits has us in the black by about $250-300 a fortnight, based on the new level of income we will receive.

I've always been on the heavier scale (just my build). At my peak (at the tender age of 21), I was 86kg, but with a body fat of less that 4%. Just before the kids were born (when I was running half marathons, and running 50-70km a week), I was 71kg w/body fat of around 5%. I'm now up to 85kg, with similar muscle mass as I was 71kg. Just need to loose that 15kg (and 3-4cms off the waist), and regain my cardio endurance.

My height - 172cm. My build - A cross between Mesomorph and Endomorph frame type. I'm currently wear a size 34 pants, but even at my peak I was only wearing a size 32-33 (depending on the cut).