OT - So How is Your Summer Sports/Exercise Routine Going?
Mates,
There are a lot of jocks and quasi-jocks on this board, and with the beautiful Michigan weather having been here for 2 months, you've had time to get outdoors on some type of regular basis. I know many of you are into your summer routines - golf leagues, softball, running, biking, etc. Some will have various tournaments, races and championships to compete for.
So the question is: How are you doing on your summer sport(s)? Is your handicap or waistline going down? Is your bench press or running pace getting stronger? Any big races or matches you've had or are coming up?
XM
At this stage in life I don't really have much downtime to get out and exercise on my own. Oh who am I kidding, I probably wouldn't that much anyway. But I have spent the summer chasing my 2 and 4 year olds while pregnant (only 3 weeks to go now!). The constant movement and sweating in our non-air conditioned old Victorian with this crazy heat has resulted in only gaining 18lbs so I'm fine with that!
I work as a Physical Education teacher in a Youth Correctional Facility. Basketball is one of the only things I am permitted to do with the kids. So, about 5 days a week of basketball is great exercise.
I've done close to 150 miles of alpine backpacking, along with basketball and weightlifting three days per week. I've always been thin, so packing on more muscle has been a priority this summer. Odd thing is, I've noticed a definite improvement, but I haven't gained any weight. Seems odd.
It's always Summer where I live (humblebrag: HAWAII).
I've got the Hawaii Spartan Trifecta in 24 days, and the Honolulu Marathon in December.
I've been biking 30 miles/week, running 30 miles/week, lifting 6 days/week, fast pitch baseball games three times/week, eating only fish/white meat chicken for dinner the past 3 months, and having zero rest days these past 2 months.
I've lost enough weight my wedding ring doesn't fit anymore. I went from 160lbs to probably 145lbs (I'm 5'10'').
I think I'm one or two weeks away from being in the best shape of my life. I just ran a 5:30 mile, an 17:10 5k, and 58:40 15k. My goal is to run a 4:50 mile and a 16:00 5k. Also, I want to run the Marathon in 3:30:00 or faster.
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Not sure which part of my post is confusing.
The 4:50 mile and the 17:10 are aligned but everything else is way off.
If you can run 17:10 you should be able to run a 4:50 mile RIGHT NOW...along with about a 54 minute 15k and a 2:50 full.
The 16:00 5k is laughable.
Your numbers are wrong somewhere...or you are lying.
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Mile: 4:48
5k: 16:59
15k: 54:34
Full: 2:53:36
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At 30 :(
Currently, I play in a hoops league Tuesday night, open basketball from about 6 AM-8AM on Wednesday, indoor soccer Thursday night (which, if you haven't played indoor soccer before, there's nothing that demands being in shape more), and then basketball again 6 AM-8AM on Friday.
Joints are sore, I'm taking turmeric and liquid glucosamine early and often. I've never had proper running technique, so the ball of my right foot has some chronic throbbing when I sit around too long.
Dropping the hoops league soon, and will be focusing 100 percent on soccer. The court just crushes my feet.
You guys make me look like a big puss.
Summer is just a training session for those of us addicted to backcountry skiing.
I've been getting many miles in on a mountain bike, rock climbing a fair bit, hiking some nice peaks in the high country, and maintaining a solid beer consumption rate of 4-6 IPAs several times a week. Plus high intake levels of Golden Goat (fantastic sativa hybrid).
Spent two weeks travelling back to Northern Lower Michigan which brought much slothiness to it. My wife refers to it as the Michigan diet, meat and starch at every meal. Rode several days on singletracks but mostly laid on deserted Lake MIchigan beaches (helps to know where the hordes aren't). I did really well on my drinking in Michigan. The drop in elevation always allows me to drink a bit more with less consequences. Plus, I rediscoverd my love of Bell's Two-Hearted Ale.
Back in Montana and its more of the same. We just had our first new snow in the peaks so the vibe has been reset. Its so nice to live amongst so many people who got their priorities straightened out.
My weight fluctuates between 190-205.
At around 197.5 right now.
On a super strict diet but unable to work out as often as I'd like because it's been 100 degrees outside all summer thus far. Got minor heat exhaustion and heat rash on Sunday playing soccer.
I try to hit soccer and crossfit both twice a week. I'd like to start going on long walks with the girl where I catch pokemon, gives me something to do other than just being bored walking. I'll start running when it gets under 70 again. Hopefully we'll get a few months of 40-70 for running.
you might need to lay off certain exercises, repetitive motions, etc, but keep on it.
Lost 10 pounds this summer. My workout consists of running around with kids in the summer program I help run. About an hour of tag/basketball/soccer every day. Changed my diet a bit too. Breakfast smoothie every weekday, salad for lunch. Weekends, I eat like shit though.
Went to Treetops for a three-day golf trip earlier this summer and actually lost weight, despite the large amounts of alcohol consumed over three days. But I gained most back when I visited my girlfriend's family in Iowa this past weekend. Her mom is just too good of a cook to eat small portions.
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My golf game is getting better and better (I play by myself a lot). I never keep score but I always try to hit one good shot on each hole . I'm getting good enough at that I can bump it up to two good shots a hole. My putting is getting worse though.
In the U.S. House softball league on the Capitol Mall, my squad is doing OK. We're ranked in the forties out of 100+ teams and we're right on the cusp of a tournament berth. And I've pitched a few gems (despite a beating from a team with at least one former SEC baseball player on the roster who hit the goddamn skin off the ball). My bat is coming alive too - hit a HR the other day and went 3-4.
I've gotten out for some good bike rides but I need to get in the ocean more. Plus I'm down below 235 lbs for the first time in who knows how long.
don't keep score you simply will not be able to concentrate on putts. I am not saying that you should keep score if you like the way you are doing it right now, but putting is a huge part of scoring and if you aren't really trying to score you will half-ass your putts. A better way to do what you are doing would be to play two balls on each hole and try to make one par. That way you are forcing yourself to really practice putting as well.
If you want to lose weight just remove all or most sugar from your diet and do more anerobic and aerobic exercises. Easier for some than others. An excess of simple carbs that spike your insulin response are easily the biggest culprit in weight gain. Eat proportionally more protein and veggies. Prioritize resistance training or higher instensity exercise over aerobic exercises -- i.e. lift weights (even if just light ones) instead of the treadmill, run hills/stairs instead of jogging. Go hard for a short duration rather than easy for a long duration.
The investment in muscularity and joint health this gets you pays continuing dividends over just burning surplus calories (which only makes you hungrier later..and eventually hunger will win). These exercises raise your resting metabolic rate, the key to keeping weight off without suffering constant hunger from a deliberate calorie deficit. It does so because muscle is more expensive to maintain than fat. When you have more muscle in your body composition, just existing burns more calories.
At the gym where are all the lean, toned in shape people? At the free weights, weight machines, or crossfit equipment. Where are all the fat and out of shape people? Trundling along on a treadmill, eliptical or stationary bike.
On the last paragraph. I see plenty of in-shape people on treadmills, bikes, etc. And I see plenty of heavier people lifting weights.
I get what your point is, but you can be lean and toned doing a balance of cardio and weight lifting. 90 percent of being in shape and fit is your diet. I just think your observations are inaccurate, and saying you can only be in great shape by throwing weights is not true.
You have no clue what the heavier people's stories are. You just see them in a snapshot in time.
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If the person stays true to their diet.
I think it's completely unfair to say "fat people only use the cardio machines, shredded people only lift weights." I'm at the gym daily, and there's honestly no correlation between the two.
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Your point is taken and I agree diet is most important. I wasn't saying only anaerobic exercise works or that "throwing weights" is the only way to get in shape. Resistance training can be done by 90 year old women or 20 year old bros alike. My point is that anaerobic exercise does have the advantage of "building infrastructure" i.e. muscle which helps you keep pounds off even if you're diet isn't perfect or you arent perfectly disciplined with it (let's face it, the majority of us aren't). And yes, overweight people do lift weights and in shape ones do run on treadmills obviously. No need to interpret my sentence so literally and starkly. The point was that on average, at the average gym, you see people with lean muscular bodies (that people typically apsire to) in the weights section and, on average you see out of shape people on the treadmills and ellipticals (either overweight or if not overweight then very skinny and lacking muscle and shape). Make an effort to observe at your gym. I'm not wrong.
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Up to 201. Would like to hit 225 by January, but I'll need to add more food to breakfast and recover well from a glute strain. Maybe next year I'll be maintaining over summer.
or are they used to it now?
It's less conspicuous than the dumb "elevation training" Bane masks the other dudes wear.
Playing softball twice a week, golfing about once a week, walking the dog a lot. I try (most days anyway) to not eat anything other than fruits and vegetables until dinner. Down 30 pounds in the last year.
February I've put on about 10lbs of muscle. I'm fluctuating between 155-160 and have got significantly stronger. Yesterday I benched 135x10 155x10 175x10 185x10 205x8 and 245x6. Pretty decent for my weight. Squat not as strong though. Tomorrow I'm gonna try to hit 10 sets of 10 at 175lbs in under 30 mins. Today is arm and back day.
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I got tired just reading your post.
I remember when I would think about going to the gym in the summer. I am one major surgery and 20 years removed from doing more than remembering those days. However, I would, for the past three years, hit the dunes and do some cross country hinking for about 45 minutes every day. Not as easy as it sounds. There are a lot of instances where, without the poles, to use for leverage, you simply aren't going to navigate an incline of about 10 yds of nothing but tree routes. It does get tricky. But damn, it does give one an exhilirating feeling when done.
I have been so lazy this summer, I would have suspended myself. My only goals were to finish two rooms to put my house up for sale to eliminate the need for border runs(update the visa) every six months. That's not happening. I write this only so that others of you that have fallen far short of your summer goals realize you are not alone.
As long as you''ve got a comfortable place to sleep each night, there is really no need to hurry and cutting that final cord is a little more difficult than you might think. Many of my friends to the south don't have Lake Michigan, Muskegon Lake and all the other offerings of W. Michigan to return to each spring. I fully understand that once they made up their mind for Permanent Residency why they went through with it. I'll never understand completely, though, how they made that decision without living in another country for three to four years first.
So keep up the good work. Sound like you are having a great time just challenging yourself. That can be very rewarding.
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Set a lifetime PR on deadlift yesterday. 440x12. Woke up this morning and felt like I got hit by a car, but I'll take it. Jim Wendler's 5/3/1 is the best program I've ever used. Been using it since 2009.
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Santa Rosa Marathon coming up at the end of August. Training going well, hoping to qualify for Boston for the first time.
...and picked up a road cycle at the end of April. I am nearing 1,000 miles for the summer and just compelted my first Century Ride. Bloodwork came back and versus a year ago, I am in way better shape. Just have 3 of my cholesterol markers to get within range but they are each only out of range by single digit percentages.
Summer is great and even better behing the bar - road bike bar, that is!
I haven't set foot in a gym, but did clean up my eating quite a bit. Tracking my macronutrients and controlling caloric intake. I started out 244 with a 38/40 in waist. I'm now just over 218 with a 34/36 waist. I'm 6'3" for reference. My goal is 205. PLan to start hitting the gym and focus on muscle building once i hit that weight goal.
I've gotten horrendously out of shape in the last couple years for a variety of reasons. In May I decided I was going to fix that. Started on Medifast to handle the diet side, and started training in martial arts 3-4 days a week. Since May 17th, I've dropped 52 pounds, from 334 to 282, with my goal weight of getting down to 220. So...yeah, succesful summer weight loss plan so far.
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