Hello

[aiyokusama]

Okay, I read the rules so I'm really hoping I'm doing this right. I'm new here (obviously) and am looking for some like minds to talk to about what I'm going to call Life Goals.

I have a family history of heart disease, diabetes, various kinds of cancer and osteoporosis.  So really my big goal is to be as healthy as I possibly CAN be and hopefully mitigate my chances of developing the above.  I will admit that there is an event I'm going to in April and that's the impetuous for my target date, but ultimately, looking good will just be gravy.

The reason I joined this list is that I'm finding a hard time getting my work out rhythm.  I'm either over doing it, or not doing enough.  I'm working on my diet as well, but that's mostly to do with portion control.  I would love to get to a point where I could safely take up parkour.  And I plan to do the half marathon next year (it's in October in my town).  So....yeah, hi all.  If you have any questions or comment please speak up.

Comments

[eruanna]

Hello, and welcome! :) Sounds like you have good goals in mind! I'm still struggling to get back in shape after recovery from injury and illness. You're right that consistency is key. With a good routine built, you'll soon be enjoying increased energy and not want to miss a day, so you can keep on feeling great. Another thing that helps me is progress evaluations. I do them every 10 workouts, and even a small increase in strength and flexibility helps motivate me to continue.

[aiyokusama]

Thanks for the welcome :)

What sort of things do you look at in your evaluations? I'm limiting myself to a once a week weigh-in so that I don't start obsessing on that one.

[eruanna]

I've seen some online tests for fitness evaluations. You could use one of those if you like, or your doctor might suggest one. I check resting heart rate, exertion heart rate, upper body strength, core strength, lower body strength, and flexibility. (I do this with pushups, crunches, squats, and sit-and-reach. When I compare what I could do when I first started working out regularly two years ago with the last evaluation and the current activity, it usually gives me a pretty good idea what I need to work harder on for the next couple of weeks, and it helps me see which areas are improving. After my illness, I still don't have much strength, but I feel healthier when I can see the improvement in my heart rate, for example.

[via_ostiense]

For running, you could do an evaluation based on the distance you can run without stopping to walk or since you're training for a half-marathon, you could check your pace for a set distance. E.g. "today, I ran 3 miles at 11 minutes per mile. Last week, I was running at 11:10 a mile. Next week, I want to drop another five seconds."

[untonuggan]

Welcome! I think your intro and your goals sound great.

If you're looking for some perspective...I find that it helps to have workouts that I can do on different "energy level" days. For example, if I had to do a lot of things that day maybe I only go for a 10 minute walk or do some light stretching. On the other hand, if I have lots of time maybe I go for a bike ride or spend some serious time at the gym. It helps with cross training your different muscle groups, too. Plus you don't get into that head space where you feel awful and guilty because you haven't worked out, even if it's for circumstances completely beyond your control (ER visit, anyone?).

[aiyokusama]

I'm sooo bad for feeling guilty ^_^;; But I'm also REALLY bad for reasoning myself OUT of exercising. This time of year it's often "I shouldn't go out, I don't want to catch cold" which is malarkey of course since I DO have a gym membership and thus an indoor option. I love your idea about energy level work outs. I should really look at that, because otherwise it's REALLY easy to go three or four days without doing anything.

Thanks for the welcome.

[semielliptical]

I second the idea of letting yourself target workouts to your energy level. On the days when I don't "feel" like exercising, just getting into exercise clothes or getting outside and doing any exercise is the most important step. It's ok to do a less challenging workout at times, maybe even a good thing for your body!

Welcome to the comm!

[untonuggan]

I find that it helps if I have a "positive something" to motivate myself to go to the gym with. It has to be something other than "I will feel better when I'm done," because if I'm already trying to reason myself out of going that argument is not going to work. The other catch 22 is that since I'm trying to lose weight, rewarding myself with food for going to the gym is not a good idea.

Other rewards I've come up with run something like this:

If I do [X minutes] of exercise [Y times] over [Z period of time], then I will buy myself:
- new yoga pants
- a new swimsuit
- a swim pass
- a sports massage
- a heart rate monitor
- a new workout CD/DVD

...You get the idea. It is my bedtime now, but I look forward to discussing goal-setting more later!

[rydra_wong]

Seconding this.

For a long while, I've had a rule that I have to do something by way of exercise every day (unless it's a planned rest day or I'm ill) -- BUT "something" can mean 10 minutes of stretching, or a very gentle and slow yoga session while watching TV.

And sometimes I find that once I've started exercising I want to do more, and sometimes I don't, and that's fine. It gets you over that initial inertia about doing something, it builds the routine of doing something every day, but means you're not forcing yourself to do something strenuous when you're really not up to it.

Over time, I've got better and better at gauging and respecting my energy levels, and knowing when I've overdone things and need to take it down a notch or when I've got energy to burn and can be ambitious.

I like having a lot of options: yoga podcasts, a few weights and bodyweight exercises at home for when I don't want to leave the house, walking routes around the neighbourhood of different lengths, etc.. It means there's generally something that appeals and seems do-able.

[rydra_wong]

I would love to get to a point where I could safely take up parkour.

Just a thought: you might contact your local parkour group/class/whatever and ask what sort of fitness level they'd want from a n00b (you may find it's lower than you think -- as a climber, I know that you need waaaaay less strength to start rock climbing than most people imagine).

That could help sharpen your goals, and also maybe give you useful preparatory activities to work on.