2013 Official Chaz Weight Loss Challenge

Michiyo-Fir

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For all you runners, I'm planning to buy a treadmill early next month since I just cleaned out the garage and have lots of space!

What kind of routines do you do? On top of doing the P90, I'd like to build up my endurance. How often do you run? Is there any good websites/guides out there?
 

El Alano

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Owing to achilles problems (many years of distance running) I can't do much running these days so I limit my running to some hard intervals or sprints at the end of my hike with the dogs a couple of times a week.

Also some loaded carries (basically I pick up a couple of kettlebells and walk with them) and some short resistance sessions (bodyweight calisthenics, kettlebells, barbells etc) lasting maybe 15 minutes. Never been in better shape in my life and if I could go back in time I'd be far more judicious in my training instead of just upping the intensity and/or volume. I think I'm in single digit body fat which isn't bad for 40:)
 

eddieq

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Back from my trip. Back on the wagon as well. The damage was about 9 pounds. Lots of high calorie meals on the run. I should be able to shed that fairly quickly, though.
 

Beanie

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For all you runners, I'm planning to buy a treadmill early next month since I just cleaned out the garage and have lots of space!

What kind of routines do you do? On top of doing the P90, I'd like to build up my endurance. How often do you run? Is there any good websites/guides out there?
Well, for starters, I hate treadmills! I find them insanely boring and if I have to do a long run on a treadmill (longer than 5 miles) I actually start to get some vertigo symptoms going on.
That said, living in the Midwest, I pretty much have to use one for at least some portions of my training. I try to be back to running outside before I have to start doing 7 milers, but this year the weather has been so crappy in late winter/early spring I was inside for my first 7 (it was not pleasant.)

There are several different kinds of interval workouts you can do using a treadmill. The most obvious is a speed workout; you can increase your speed for an amount of time/distance, then decrease the amount of speed for an amount of time/distance, then back up, then back down. If you're just getting started you can easily use this with the Couch to 5K program.
The other option is to slowly increase your speed until you hit a peak, then decrease your speed on the other side. Here's one that has you working up to a peak then you work back down:
http://housewifeglamour.com/cardio/31-minute-5k-treadmill-workout/

The other option is to use the incline feature if yours has one. I actually don't use my incline feature anymore because it aggravates my hip flexors to run on an incline on the treadmill then hit the pavement outside (it's Illinois, the pavement is pretty flat out there!) But lots of people use it with no problems. Again you can do intervals raising the incline then lowering it, or do a full long hill workout where you steadily increase the incline to a peak then work your way back down.

And of course there's the option to increase your speed and incline and mix it up with both. Some treadmills come equipped with pre-programmed workouts too so you can always explore those.

If you do a Google for treadmill interval workouts you should come up with a bunch; if you're on Pinterest there's a bunch there too. A friend of mine pins one at least once a week. =P

As for websites, I lurk around Runners World plenty, reading articles and browsing the forums too. Nerd Fitness has a subforum for running but it's not very busy due to NF being very much a LIFT HEAVY STUFF kind of website. There are some runners on there but I am more likely to see somebody mention their running in the non-running subforums haha.



In training season, I run three-four times a week, sometimes five depending on if I feel good, and I cycle twice a week, plus strength training/weight lifting two-three times a week. Schedule right now looks like this:
Sunday: Long Run, yoga strength (9 miles this week)
Monday: Light recovery run, medium length, yoga stretch (5 miles)
Tuesday: Cycling, ab class, lift weights (average of 25 miles in cycling)
Wednesday: Short run fast pace, yoga stretch (3 miles) - if I'm hurting or tired I might skip this run.
Thursday: Cycling, lift weights (25 miles)
Friday: Medium length run, yoga stretch (5 miles)
Saturday: Whatever day - rest day or lifting weights or an easy short run (3-4 miles)


In my off season, excepting the height of summer, I run two or three times a week at least, cycle twice a week and strength/weight lifting two to three times a week, and also this is when I take a bunch of classes at the gym for fun. There is no schedule for that really, because without a goal race I'm just kind of running because I love to run. I usually do a 3/3/6 pattern in the off-season. My natural "very easy" run pace is a 10 minute mile, so that gives me two 30 minute runs and a one hour long run, so pretty light really. The days I don't cycle I may pop in another run if I feel like it depending on what else I'm doing, sometimes I just sprint out a quick mile and that's all I do.

In the middle of summer I back off running quite a bit. The heat is one thing, I can run in heat. But being the Midwest you wake up at 5AM and it's already ridiculously humid. I can't breathe well in high humidity, so I just don't run when the weather is like that. We typically will get one, maybe two days a week where the humidity breaks, and I'm like YES GO RUN IMMEDIATELY and I get in a run, it just depends on how I feel, but typically it's 4-5 miles on those days. If I'm at the gym for something else (besides cycling) I may go down and hit the treadmill for a quick 3 miler since I'm there anyway. I don't tend to use my treadmill at home during the summer very often for whatever reason.

Then once the humidity starts to break for the fall it's training season again so everything ramps right back up. I run a 3/3/3 at first without long runs so I can just work on my speed, my form, and just getting back into the habit of the schedule, then add the long run back in again (usually just in time for it to start snowing and having to do those long runs on the treadmill. =P)

It's probably different for runners who don't really do any goal races, so don't have real training seasons... but I wouldn't know about that since ever since I started running I've had goal races!
 

eddieq

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Well, back on the wagon. I've been eating really well through the weekend and so far this week. The excess weight that I put on is already gone. I'm not "crash dieting" or anything, just back on the program. Eating right and exercising.

Had my first softball game of the season last night. 12U fast pitch. For those that don't know FP softball at this level, it's young pitchers who are just starting out and young catchers who have no clue how to block a wild pitch. Lots of pitches, meaning lots of squats. Lots of getting nailed with either bounced pitches or in a couple of cases, direct pitches that the catcher simply didn't get a glove on. Normally, I would be awfully sore and unable to even walk today. I'm a touch sore in the thighs, but I feel good. Not carrying around all of that excess weight and having a higher level of fitness really helps with this part-time job. A side effect of the weight loss is also that my uniforms and gear were ungodly loose. The uniform pants simply fall off of me. I cinched them up with a belt, but I looked a bit silly (like a little kid wearing his dad's clothes). Already put a call in to my seamstress. She'll work her magic for me :)
 

sparks19

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Just did 25 minutes of party express and then have fit club tonight at 7 :)

I was off the wagon for a couple of days while we were touring around Baltimore and DC. Ate terribly lol but we did walk 5-10 miles a day so that's better than nothing :rofl1:
 

eddieq

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Seamstress called me back tonight. She offered to see me tomorrow night and then I said, "That's great. Now for a new wrinkle - I just picked up a game on Friday night. What are the chances of getting one pair back by Thursday night?" She told me to come right over. I grabbed the pants (and my new slow pitch shorts) and went over. She had me model each pair, pinned them up and said, "I'll have them tomorrow night". She is most awesome :D

Did the cardio and the yoga flex routines tonight. Just under 400 calories burned between the two according to my heart monitor.

So, it was a good day, Tater (bonus points if you knew the reference) ;)
 

JessLough

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11km walk (in 75 minutes) to work yesterday. (Well, vet, pet store then backtracked to get to work). Took the day off (more like didn't track) today, and then another ~16km tomorrow.

I'll lose this last bit of weight if it kills me. :p
 

FG167

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I've finally broken the plateau and am making real progress. I've lost 8 lbs so far. Would like to drop another 12 or so if I can.
 

sparks19

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Everyone is doing such a great job :D Keep it up.

Today I am scheduled to do 45 minutes of Disco Groove and 10 minute Ab sculpt. I'm scared to do the ab sculpt lol. when Shaun T does a video that's short you KNOW it's going to be crazy intense lol
 

Beanie

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Ten days.
I'm freaking out.

Five miles tonight.
Rest day tomorrow.
Four on Friday.
Ten on Saturday.
Five on Sunday.
Four on Monday.
Two on Wednesday.
Friday is the 5K, plan is to do like last year and walk the first two miles then run the last 1.1.

Then Saturday is the day.

My head is spinning just thinking about it.

I looked up the pace groups this morning. I'm going to start with the 9:55 pace group and see if I can finish with them. If I can't, I have two pace groups after them I can fall back on and still beat my goal time... Running with a pace group will be a new experience. Normally I run faster or slower depending on how I feel at any given time, the music in my ears, stuff like that. Typically all people run faster at the beginning and then start to slow down towards the end of the race. I will have to struggle to not be faster at the beginning. 9:55 is a bit slow. But I'm trying to be smart and do this properly so I can beat my goal... and there's no sense in burning up all my energy early on and missing the goal. So if I just slow down... I think I can do it...


 

sparks19

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you'll do great, Beanie :)

Oh my goodness... I just finished 52 minutes of Rockin Body. disco groove and hardcore abs. hardcore abs was as intense as I thought it was going to be... YIKES.

I am soaking wet with sweat and kinda feel like throwing up a little LOL
 

sillysally

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I get very anxious when I start trying to change my lifestyle. I don't like change, and even though I want to be healthy, want to feel better, want to ride horses again, want to fly in a plane without worrying about fitting in the seat I get very anxious, and there is a part of me that is clinging to old, unhealthy habits screaming "NNNNOOOOO! I WILL NOT CHANGE"
 

JacksonsMom

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Sorry, guys, I haven't been checking in here, OR in MyFitnessPal. I officially suck. But I haven't been doing terrible. I've lost only about 6lbs but at least I'm not gaining. I did my workout outside today and that sun was BRIGHT... sweat a lot! I ran a few laps around our house and around our fence etc. then I did my Jillian Michaels Shred outside in the yard (brought my ipad out there so I could see it lol). I did eat Dominos pizza tonight since I was babysitting the little sister, but yeah... overall, still doing fairly well, even tho I kNOW I could be doing way better!

I just found out a friend I've known since elementary school is a personal trainer on the side (and she's really good, I always see her instagram pics of herself, and her food, etc) and she charges real cheap for her friends, so I may take her up on that a few times a week.
 

eddieq

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I posted this on my sparkpeople.com blog a little while back. I share it here for you folks who are struggling a bit. Don't try to take it as "OMG, I need to lose 30 pounds" take it as "I need to eat better and exercise today". The old "one day at a time" thing.

From the blog entry:
One of the "splurge" things I do is to have my morning coffee with some non-dairy vanilla creamer. It amounts to about 60 calories so I don't fret too much about it. However, I noticed this morning as I was measuring out the creamer (using a measuring spoon), that it would be very easy to just shake some out and say, "Yup, that's about 4 teaspoons". The problem is that if I do this, I don't really know what I'm eating (well, drinking).

But Ed, it's just a small portion of creamer? No big deal, right?

Wrong. It's all the same. If I allow myself to be lazy with measuring out a teaspoon, what's next? I've already stepped away from the measuring spoon, so I may decide to simply pour "about a cup" of Cheerios and measure out "about 1/2 cup" of milk. And then, "Well, that was a small piece of chicken, I can have another." Extend that to the fitness routine and we can decide, "Well, that was 9 minutes. It was almost 10, so we'll call it 10 minutes today." Tomorrow you're 9 minutes becomes 8:30, then 8, etc.

In the Christian bible, Jesus' tells a "parable of the talents". In the end He says (and I'm paraphrasing here) that if you're faithful in the little things, I expect you will be faithful in the bigger things and if you are not faithful in the little things, I expect you will not be faithful with bigger things.

Whether or not you are a religious person, this thought makes a ton of sense. If you cheat on the teaspoon of creamer (or teaspoon of whatever you are measuring), you are more likely to cheat on the larger items. In the end, if I'm lazy and "cheat" on my plan, I'm not only cheating myself, but I'm cheating my loved ones and all of those who are pulling for me on my road to fitness.

The mantra of "little victories" applies. I simply have to make sure that I don't get lazy on the thing I'm working on now (whether diet, exercise or something else entirely), whether it's large or small.

All of it falls in line. The road to wellness is paved with these "little victories". Just don't get lazy on that road, because without the paving, you'll sink.
 

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