Health and Fitness

[shafnutz05]

Sub 150? I too remember 5th grade.

I am 5'10" and have a fairly small frame. It is crazy to look at pics from a decade ago (I was about 209 at my heaviest). Almost unrecognizable.

[iamjs]

so I did my first 25k on a treadmill since the group that was running the race seemed like they were scaling down on some services. They got rid of the shuttling and some post-race stuff because of COVID concerns, and although I thought they were removing some stuff on the course, that was not the case. Had I known that, there's a chance I would have run the actual course. Ended up not only finishing under my goal time of 3 hrs, but somehow finished top 20 for the 25k and 3rd in my age group.

Going back and looking at the times, most of the paces outside of the top 20 were 5 mph or slower, so it was basically 20-25 people that ran it and another 50ish that made a day walking the course (which there's nothing wrong with that. 15 miles is still 15 miles.) Also I still feel those treadmill times feel "unofficial", since you're not factoring hills, people, etc. and I always had drinks and things within arm's length at all times.

Did I also mention that going 2:45:00 on a treadmill really sucks and is quite boring? Once my treadmill goes past an hour, I no longer get the option of seeing the seconds tick by so it makes every minute seem that much longer.

[shafnutz05]

Holy sht JS. I would rather pull out my own fingernails with pliers than run for almost three hours on a treadmill. I HATE treadmill running.

[dodint]

I used to put a towel over the display so I couldn't look at it anymore.

[MR25]

How were you able to step off the treadmill without immediately losing your balance and faceplanting into something?

[Dickie Dunn]

Had a nuke school instructor who trained for a marathon on a treadmill while deployed on a sub, hunched over the entire time or else his head would be rattling off the bulkhead.

I can think or nothing worse.

[iamjs]

Holy sht JS. I would rather pull out my own fingernails with pliers than run for almost three hours on a treadmill. I HATE treadmill running.

It is the literal **** worst. I will probably never do it again, although I wouldn't mind doing the actual run next year so I can say I did a legit 25k. Stupid me went curling the following night, where you need leg strength to push out 16x during the game. Took me after my fifth push to realize, "hey, you just ran 15+ miles yesterday in one setting. That's why you have nothing in your legs." Even four days later I was still feeling it, which I can't same the same when I did either of my halfs.

Plus the ghost medal was kinda cool and a nice add

I used to put a towel over the display so I couldn't look at it anymore.

I did think about doing that, but I always like knowing where I am. What's weird is as long as I could see the seconds tick, I was good. Once I was in that 6-10 mile range, that's where it sucked the worst. It was like I was going nowhere. Even trying to mentally break it up into get to 8 miles then subtract that time from 15.5 like it was a countdown, it just didn't work. Once I got into double digit mileage, then it was like I was seeing a reachable goal. Only 5.5 miles, 5 miles, 4.5... you get the idea. Same concept and only a mile or two difference, but something with seeing a double digit that made it better I guess. Plus there was a lot of run/walk/run/walk on that back third of the run, so while it still sucked, the 30 seconds of walking every few minutes did help.

How were you able to step off the treadmill without immediately losing your balance and faceplanting into something?

split leg jump onto the side guards. Mastered that craft long ago. Which also goes back to the why I feel like this is unofficial. The official distance was 15.53 mi and my official record distance was 15.68 or 15.78, so I think there's enough overlap to accommodate for my drink time.

[shafnutz05]

Nice medal collection!

[shafnutz05]

Had a nuke school instructor who trained for a marathon on a treadmill while deployed on a sub, hunched over the entire time or else his head would be rattling off the bulkhead.

I can think or nothing worse.

I tried to work out in the gym when we were underway. Never again.

[iamjs]

Nice medal collection!

Thanks. That's only a portion of it. I'll see if I can grab a better pic in the AM.

[shafnutz05]

Woke up and saw it was 57 outside and thought it would be a good day to do another 10k.

Broke my previous PR by almost three minutes. Down to 49:30, or 7:53/mi. Pretty damn happy.

[DigitalGypsy66]

I can't imagine waking up and thinking it would be a good day to run any distance, nevermind a 10K.

Maybe that's my issue?

[shafnutz05]

I hear ya DG. It took a while for me to actually enjoy running.

According to Garmin, my VO2 max is up from 47 in March to 53 now, which is at the high end of the excellent range bordering on "Athlete". My fitness age is 20. Taking it with a grain of salt, especially the fitness age, but damn if that doesn't look nice

[DigitalGypsy66]

Yeah, I'm beginning to think the "enjoy running" ship has set sail for me. I do have a friend who got seriously into running and fitness in his late 50s and is among the most fit 70 year olds I've met, although he says he does have his limits.

My goal is to remain medication free for as long as I can, and I would love to be sub-200 lbs. I've lost 9 pounds since late July, and most of that came in a 3 week period at the beginning and last week. It's weird.

[dodint]

@tifosi77 will like this.

I bought my Garmin 935 and it counts steps. Not a thing I care about but it does it automatically so I don't really mess with it. The watch is small and light enough that I do wear it every day. It started sync'ing with MyFitnessPal and giving me exercise credit for steps.
The problem, as I see it, is I was going to take those steps in the natural course of my day anyway. So it's already part of my Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR). Those steps were already accounted for.
I simply disregard them in my calculations, but I thought of tif when I was getting credit for 'exercise' I was already doing. I know he's taken the position that cardio exercise doesn't offer a tangible benefit for weight loss in the CICO calculation.

[skullman80]

@tifosi77 will like this.

I bought my Garmin 935 and it counts steps. Not a thing I care about but it does it automatically so I don't really mess with it. The watch is small and light enough that I do wear it every day. It started sync'ing with MyFitnessPal and giving me exercise credit for steps.
The problem, as I see it, is I was going to take those steps in the natural course of my day anyway. So it's already part of my Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR). Those steps were already accounted for.
I simply disregard them in my calculations, but I thought of tif when I was getting credit for 'exercise' I was already doing. I know he's taken the position that cardio exercise doesn't offer a tangible benefit for weight loss in the CICO calculation.

You can turn that off in the MFP app, that's what I did with my garmin so I didn't get extra "steps" I'd have to go in and look for where to do it cause it's been so long.

[shafnutz05]

tifosi77 will like this.

I bought my Garmin 935 and it counts steps. Not a thing I care about but it does it automatically so I don't really mess with it. The watch is small and light enough that I do wear it every day. It started sync'ing with MyFitnessPal and giving me exercise credit for steps.
The problem, as I see it, is I was going to take those steps in the natural course of my day anyway. So it's already part of my Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR). Those steps were already accounted for.
I simply disregard them in my calculations, but I thought of tif when I was getting credit for 'exercise' I was already doing. I know he's taken the position that cardio exercise doesn't offer a tangible benefit for weight loss in the CICO calculation.

You can turn that off in the MFP app, that's what I did with my garmin so I didn't get extra "steps" I'd have to go in and look for where to do it cause it's been so long.

Yup, I had this same issue. The best way to address this is to log into MFP (not on your phone, the actual website), and click the "Enable Negative Adjustments" button. That has completely cured that issue for me. Now on days that I log workouts (whether walks or runs), the calories awarded for steps are adjusted downwards accordingly.

[dodint]

Good info, gents.

[tifosi77]

Yeah, cardio for weight loss is silly.

Also, per Kathleen Madigan and confirmed by my own experience, you can spoof those things simply by mimicking a walking movement with your arm as you sit at your desk.

[Beveridge]

Yeah, cardio for weight loss is silly.

Back in 2012 when I lost 150 pounds in 10 months, I did two things:

Cut back on eating - 1400 to 1800 calories a day.
Walked on treadmill, rode stationary bike, used elliptical for 90 minutes a day / 7 days a week


If cardio for weight loss is silly, I'm ok with that.

[tifosi77]

It is not without use. It is just not anything like the panacea dodint makes it out to be. Building lean muscle mass is more effective.

I bet you also got really efficient at your walking stride/pedal stroke.

[skullman80]

I lost 200lbs incorporating cardio into my daily routine. Obviously 90% is your calorie intake, but dismissing cardio as having no positive benefit on weight loss is silly IMO.

A well rounded approach is best. Cardio is great for cardiovascular health and giving you some extra breathing room calorie wise (this does not mean stuff your face with 10 donuts). Weightlifting is good for maintaining your muscles as you lose weight so you don't become "sknny" fat. Obviously calorie intake is the other huge factor. You can't outrun a bad diet.

[dodint]

It is not without use. It is just not anything like the panacea dodint makes it out to be. Building lean muscle mass is more effective.

I bet you also got really efficient at your walking stride/pedal stroke.

I fully acknowledge that weight loss is almost entirely diet based. And then a regular cardio routine will accelerate those results you're already earning through good diet.

Diet for health.
Cardio for fitness.

[shafnutz05]

It is not without use. It is just not anything like the panacea dodint makes it out to be. Building lean muscle mass is more effective.

I bet you also got really efficient at your walking stride/pedal stroke.

A combination of CICO, moderate cardio, and strength training is best.

A 40 minute run adds about 500 calories to my day, and I'm a lighter guy. That's pretty damn significant when you are on a cutting diet and your calorie goal for the day is 1300 or something.

Doing moderate cardio 3-4 times a week will lead to excellent cardiovascular fitness and lower RHR, the latter alone being indicative of a 39% lower chance of developing heart disease.

My resting heart rate is down to 44, and I can tell you that is 100% from cardio. You can be thin and unhealthy as F.

[dodint]

I burn 200 calories a mile. Pays to be fat.