Pump You Up: The Fitness Thread

[JustSkipIt]

S - How'd you come up with your calories? Are you using a HRM or online estimation or what method? Also, are you on Livestrong? It's pretty cool and free (they have a $ version but I use the free). You can log exercise, food, etc and watch a ton of videos etc. If you join up, I'm Debra2009.

[Sanpfa]

I used bycycling.com's calorie calculator for the biking and the Wii Fit Plus has it's own built in. I was using fitclick.com when I first decided to cut calories, it's free and just about any food you can think of is already programmed in I'll check out Livestrong tomorrow, but I find that I am bad about logging on each day to input activity/food. The videos sound good though, that is something I didn't see on fitclick. Off to bed...thinking of biking 10+ miles tomorrow since I seem to have so much energy!

[JustSkipIt]

S - I may be able to send you a free (used) Heart Rate Monitor if you're interested. When my HRM #1 broke, my BIL sent me his. I actually bought a new one at the REI sale last week because I wanted more features but the one I have is a Polar F4 and it's a good basic one. I'm waiting to hear back from my BIL on if he wants it back. Let me know if you're interested.

My week's been pretty laid back workout wise. After a lot of workouts last week and weekend, I took Tuesday off, ran Wednesday (3.45 miles in 45 minutes which was my best/longest ever) took Thursday off and lifted upper body today. We went for a family walk Wednesday night but I can't really count that for much.

I'm really trying to encourage my wife to get more active. She's felt for all these years (of having kids) like there's just not enough time but honestly, I feel like the way is to make time. I get up at 5:00 or 6:00 some weekend days to get my workouts in. She's always saying how could she go for a walk or run but she's a stay-at-home mom and the kids love walk/runs. Then she gets frustrated if they go too slow or the baby wants to walk rather than ride in the stroller. Anyway, I'm encouraging her to try to make it a scheduled thing and work it out with them.

[Sanpfa]

J - Thank you so much for offering to send me that HRM. If you find out you can, I'm definitely interested.

I am with you on the issue of fitting the workouts in, but sometimes I just don't feel like getting up early. I try to get a lot done on my days off, not so much the days I work, but I have to be up at 530 just to get to work by 7 and then work 12 hours. The job itself isn't that physical, but it keeps my upper body in shape.

I hope your wife finds the time she needs to get more active...mine would much rather sleep lol.

[JustSkipIt]

I went for a good run this morning. I wanted to do 4.0 + miles in an hour and did 4.49 which I was very happy with. I used my HRM and let it be in charge as I stayed in zone 3 & 4 and just ran until I hit the high and walked until I hit the low. It was quite a bit of walking but I'm making progress. I burned 966 calories according to the HRM.

S - Speaking of HRM, my BIL doesn't want his back so either PM me or send me a FB note or something with your address and I'll send it along.

[Sanpfa]

I did 11.77 miles today on my bike, the last 3 or so in a downpour, but it was my best ride yet. I'm starting to understand the addiction factor in bicycling.


J- 966 calories in an hour?! That is very good...amazing really! As for the HRM, I'm very excited and can't thank you enough! I'll PM you now

[JustSkipIt]

Sandra - It's on the way as of yesterday morning.

I'm very interested in the calories thing partially because the calorie counts calculated by this watch seem much higher than for either of my past two HRMs. It seems to me like there should be a pretty straight-forward algorythm for calories burned based on weight, resting HR, max HR, and HR during a given minute.

Anyway, let's see. I can't remember what day things were but I did a good leg workout one day, ran 30 minutes on the treadmill the next. Day off, then arms yesterday (I was going to run but I split the cuticle on my big toe so I didn't) then ran today. I took my son out and we ran about a mile in 15 minutes which was sort of a warm up for me. Then I dropped him off at the house and went out for 47 minutes which was around 3.5 miles. It was a zone 3/4 run. 731 calories or something like that?

[Sanpfa]

Well, we went up north Tue-Fri and I only got one good ride in :( I feel like a bum LOL...

Work tomorrow and Sunday then I am planning on a good long ride Monday morning, and since I'll probably get the HRM Monday afternoon with the mail, I'll probably ride again

[Sanpfa]

Rode 1 hr 39 min today...over a thousand calories

[sweet satin lover]

Going for a walk now and the gym later wooo wooo

[JustSkipIt]

Sandra - Awesome rides. It sounds like the HRM is already useful so I'm glad to hear that. Enjoy.

SSL - Cool.

I ran yesterday on the treadmill. I felt pretty slow between 5 days off and having donated platelets the day before. I did 3.25 miles in 46 minutes including a slow 5 minute walk to start. It was like 783 calories. I'm planning to run tomorrow morning at the gym, then 2 days this weekend while at my in-laws. I feel like there has to be someplace decent to run there but I haven't found it yet. Last time, I ran circles on the HS track. I can't run near their house because it's all hard dirt roads and blind corners. I may head out to the state park nearby and see what it's all about.

[JustSkipIt]

Yesterday I ran on the treadmill. Let's see 45 minutes, 3.07 miles. I stayed in zone 3 (as well as I could) so 70-80% max hr. 148 av hr. ?calories I don't remember.

Today we're at my in-laws and I can't figure a good place to run so I just ran on the country roads which required that I take an allergy pill before even leaving the house. I generally don't like that because it raises my HR. Anyway, I went zone 3-4 which is 70-90% of max hr. I measured it in my car and it was about 4.2 miles in an hour. 150 av hr. 977 calories.

[JustSkipIt]

Hmmm. I ran Sunday at my in-law's again. I think that run was around 3.0 miles and 45 minutes or maybe 2.8 miles. I don't quite remember.

Yesterday ran 30 minutes on the treadmill. It was an easy 5 minute warm up, 3 run, 1 walk X5 then 5 minute warmdown walk. 2.13 miles in 30 minutes. I don't remember hr or cal.

Today I should have run in the morning but felt lazy. But I worked at home today and got more done than I expected so I decided to run about 3:00. My wife pretty much said I was crazy and let me know that she'd be expecting to pick me up from the hospital but Google only said it was 89. Anyway, I'm always wanting to do errands on my bike or whatever. I shoved my dirty dry cleaning into my camel back pack and filled it and put on some sunscreen and ran to the dry cleaners. It was a good run and the breeze was blowing a little bit and it was thundering. The total run was 3.69 miles which took me 49:30. I kind of thought I might be able to do it in 45 minutes but I wasn't. Av hr was 160 and 831 cal. I really really enjoyed the run and the sweat.

[JustSkipIt]

Went for a good run. Took me 1:03 and was 4.61 or something like that. I'm still doing a lot of run, walk, run, walk. I'd like to get to where I'm doing more run, run, run and improve my speed because of that. I guess a reasonable goal would be 5.5 miles in an hour and then 6.0 but that still seems relatively slow. Still seems reasonable for me. I've completely forgotten my av hr but it was probably around 148 and my cals were 911.

[sweet satin lover]

went to the gym three times this week

[JustSkipIt]

SSL - Awesome.

I ran this morning on the treadmill. 5 minute walk. 4 minute run 1 minute walk X5 then 5 minute walk. 2.55 miles in 35 minutes. 147 av hr. 527 cal.

[Sanpfa]

First time over 20 miles today Feeling very good about it...20.5 miles in 2 hours and 1 min Need to get a new bike. Preferably a road bike. The one I have now is a $97 Walmart special and with under 300 miles on it, is falling apart. Creaks, squeaks, and wobbles. LOL So, craigslist here I come

[JustSkipIt]

S - Craigslist is definitely the way to go. You can spend a crazy amount of $ on a bike - easily $3000 - $5000 but I think you can get a reasonable bike for more like $1000 as well. It does make a difference. Are you going to start doing some organized rides or fundraisers or anything? My bf did the Hill County AIDS ride this year (she's turning 40 and wanted to do something she's never done) and she did the 20 mile option but there are options up to 65 miles in that. My brother has done the MS150 (Houston to Austin and actually 180 miles in 2 days) 6 times, my sister has done it 3 times and her husband has done it 3 times (they alternate years so one of them can hang with the kids while the other does the training rides). Anyway, even not those kid of rides, here there are organized rides pretty much every day where you can have company, explore, and get yourself pushed a little bit. Just wondering.

I missed my run Wednesday because my wife had the flu. I woke up at 3:30 to the sound of her being sick and knew I would neither be going to the gym nor work so I could watch the kids.

Thursday I ran 35 minutes on the treadmill which was 2.57 miles. My av hr was (I think) 152 and total cal 527. It was 3 minute warmup then 4 minute run 1 minute walk 6 times then 2 minute warmdown.

Today I ran in the neighborhood and did 35 minutes about 2.6 miles but av hr 166 and 587 total cal. The humidity was 84% and I could really feel it. Blech.

I've started in at Week 2 (Thursday = Wednesday) of this 8 week beginner running plan.

[JustSkipIt]

I had a limited week running. I got the flu Sunday night and that laid me up through Tuesday. Wednesday we drove to Houston to visit some friends. Anyway, I ran in their neighborhood Thursday and Friday. I don't know the mileage but would guess about 2.5 miles or 2.6 miles each day.

Thursday was
5 minute run 1 minute walk x5. 6 minutes warm up/down Av hr 154 587 cal

Friday was
Run 6 run1 walk x 4 2 run 10 warmup/down 159 av hr 647 cal

Today I went out to a park North of here. The plan was to do the same as friday as far as run/walk but on the 3rd run I had to stop at 4 minutes and do extra walking. So I ran more at the end.

Really run 6 walk 1, run 6 walk 1, run 4 walk 3, run 6 walk 1, run 3 and walking until about 45 to find car.

165 av hr. 788 cal. Distance mystery.

[JustSkipIt]

Monday - I did the program walk which was run 8, walk 1 x3 then run 3 with warm ups and warm downs. I don't have the distance on my calendar for some reason but I bet it was about 2.55 miles. 158 av hr 595 cal

Wednesday - 9 run 1 walk x36 minute warm-up/warm-down. 2.65 miles.
162 av hr 627? cal.

Thursday - I walked on the treadmill while my friend ran the first week of the program. 1.80 miles in 30 minutes.

Today - I ran in the neighborhood because I took the day off work. Run 10 walk 1 (x2) then run 8. With warm/up down it was 2.65 miles and 162 av hr and 647 cal.

[JustSkipIt]

Sunday - Ran in my friend's neighborhood. http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3890740 2.76 miles. 3 minute warmup, 11 minute run 1 minute 2 walk (2x) 6 minute run.

Monday - Outside in crazy hot. 36 minutes (12 run, 1 walk, then 12 running/walking, then 4 run, warmdown).

155 av hr 587 cal.

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3893775 2.48 miles.

Tuesday - Treadmill walk with my friend as she did the first week of the same running plan. 31 minutes. 1.60 miles.

Wednesday - Treadmill run walk. 2.75 Miles (13 run 1 walk) x2 run 2 warmup/down. 164 av hr. ?cal.

Friday - Treadmill run/walk. 14 Run 1 walk x2. 6 minute Warmup/down Walk. 2.78 Miles.
162 av hr 626 cal I was so excited about this one. I actually was able to keep running for 14 minutes both times and each time it was over 1.25 miles. That's by so far the farthest I've ever run at one time.

Saturday - Ran while the car was being inspected. http://tinyurl.com/2btvmb8 3.65 miles. Ran 15 walk 1 (x2) Ran 8. Warm/up down - total 45 minutes.

Also, I ordered myself the Nike+, New Nano, armband, and shoe fob holder so I'm quite excited for them to arrive and I can log my runs and distance/pace etc. plus having a working Ipod for my runs again.

[Owl]

Ha! I, Fitness Slacker Extraordinaire, finally have a reason to post in this thread.

My adamant refusal to pay those evil bus companies $11 to get to uni and back each day has resulted in slackness giving way to stubbornness, as boring bus trips shall soon become awesome bike rides of awesomeness.

I had a trial run today and it took about 40 minutes each way. The dull pain currently radiating from various muscle groups leads me to believe that lots of fitness shall ensue.

[JustSkipIt]

Owl - Awesome! $11 a day? That's crazy. Mine is $5 a day round trip or if i but a discount ticket, $4. Monthly is $61 but i don't ride enough days to make that worth it. running sounds great though. Keep us updated.

Yesterday I came home from work and went for a run because it was only 85 degrees out. I actually ran on a street that google maps doesn't believe exists yet. By my estimate it was a total of 3.0 miles in about 38 minutes. More importantly, I was actually able to run the 17 minutes, walk 1, run 13. I'm totally stoked about it.

Also yesterday my nano/Nike+ came in the mail. I synced it up last night and then went to the gym this morning to run even though it should have been off day. I just did 5 minute run, 1 walk or even 3 minute run, 1 walk which was fun. The nike+ said 3.25 miles in 35 minutes. The treadmill said 2.77. I need to calibrate it on a track but am not sure when I can find time.

If anyone else has nike+ and wants to friend on the nike running site, my user name is "IrunforChocolate".

[JustSkipIt]

I went for an excellent run this morning. Seriously, I was able to run 19 minutes, walk 1, run 10. That's so so so much more than I've ever run before 4 months ago. It's the longest time I've ever run. Ever. I'm starting to learn how to manage my breath to get my HR a little lower and how to control my speed to make it as long as I need to. So I did 2 min walk warmup, 19 minute run, 1 minute walk, 10 minute run, 2 minute walk, 2 minute run, 2 minute walk. The last part was off the schedule - just to arrive home.

Gmap-pedometer says I ran 3.0 but my Nike+ says 3.46. I need to go to the high school track and calibrate it. I'm actually hoping maybe I could go tonight after my wife gets home from a training. It will be crazy fucking hot but I only need to run a mile.

Oh, av hr 166, 640 cal.

[JustSkipIt]

Monday I ran on the treadmill at the gym. I continue to better my farthest ever without needing to walk. I'm still on my plan in week 7. So I did 20 minutes run, 1 minute walk, 9 minutes run. 6 minutes of warmup/down. The treadmill said it was 2.77 miles and the Nike+ said 3.21. Big difference still. Oh, 166 av hr and 640 cal.

Wednesday I ran on the treadmill again. 2 min warmup, 22 run!, 1 walk, 7 run. 4 min warmdown. 36 minutes. 2.75 treadmill miles. I forgot my Nano so no Nike+ credit for it. 161 av hr. 622 cal.

Today (Thursday) I'm working at home so I went for a run outside. I went farther than I meant. 72 minutes just running some and walking some. Nike+ says 6.1 miles. google maps says 5.4. 155 av hr. 1189 calories.

[JustSkipIt]

Yesterday I ran on the trail at a local park. It was nice, sort of cross country. I made it 22 minutes run, 1 walk, 7 run. 35 minutes 3.06 miles. 166 av hr. 631. Then I got a 2 hour massage which I had him concentrate mostly below my knees. Ahhhh.....

Today ran near the house. 26 minute run (yesterday should have done 24 but forgot plan), 1 walk, 3 run. Then walked 3 then ran most of way home, then walked. 44 minutes. 3.87 miles. It felt really good. 158 av hr. 729 cal.

I'm digging my Nike+ and the Nike Running site. I joined a few challenges. Some are just this school vs. another school and you can't really hurt the totals because they are just total vs. total as opposed to average vs. average. I also accepted one to run 50 KM which takes you from yellow to orange. I should finish that one this week. And I accepted on to run to green. That one will take months but it turns out that there is a deadline which I won't make. It's fun to see the progress and sort of see my # moving lower on the list.

[HalfCamel]

Has anyone done a triathlon? Can anyone share their 1st experience? I am doing a bike race for breast cancer and I'm getting the itch to try a triathlon but I suck at running so that is what's discouraging me. A tri that's coming up has a relay option so if I get the courage I can give the run part to my friend but I'd really want to try one all by my lonesome.

[JustSkipIt]

HC - I've not done one but I have plenty of friends who have done them. Are you thinking of doing the Danskin? I have a friend who did it for her 40th and at that time she literally had not ridden a bike nor swam a lap since she was 10 or less and she still did fine in it. It's much more of a women-power thing than a real competition.

[HalfCamel]

No, I was looking at the Trek Women's Tri in October. I should just go for it since we all have to start out somewhere.

[BreatheNoMore]

I've been going to the gym like crazy lately doing BodyCombat four times a week, it's so addictive it's crazy! Also doing BodyPump two times a week. And I plan adding some BodyBalance to the mix. Anyone else just love the Les Mills classes?