Fitness 2016

[Martinus]

The next level shit to try out after getting the diet and lifting part right is intermittent fasting. Several variations exist, find one that works. Personally I skip breakfast (except for coffee) and have lunch and dinner.

Yeah, I noticed that fasting sometimes helps me (I suffer from some sort of digestive disorder - it's most likely IBS, but I am too much of a pussy to get a gastroscopy - my gag reflex is horrible).

[Eddie Teach]

I felt proud of myself a couple years ago when I took about a six or seven mile walk; 30 miles in a day sounds pretty crazy. 

[alfred russel]

I am a bit overweight at the moment (91 kg at 180 cm which gives 28 BMI) and this is half-jogging/half-power walking (the machine keeps my pulse at 140-150 at all times and adjusts both the speed and the incline if I drop below).

Edit: And yeah the incline was betwee 4.0 and 6.0 most of the time, so it was not on a flat surface.

That sounds like it could be legit. 

[lustindarkness]

I felt proud of myself a couple years ago when I took about a six or seven mile walk; 30 miles in a day sounds pretty crazy. 

31 and change, four days in a row. :WalkingDead:

[alfred russel]

I felt proud of myself a couple years ago when I took about a six or seven mile walk; 30 miles in a day sounds pretty crazy. 

Stonewall Jackson's "foot cavalry" would scoff at this. Iirc they could cover 30 miles a day in the mountains between fighting battles and having to carry their own gear. I think Julius Caesar also used to have his infantry covering 30 miles a day.

[crazy canuck]

Personally I skip breakfast (except for coffee) and have lunch and dinner.

I can have a very light dinner, or even miss it entirely and have a light snack, but skipping breakfast would throw me off for the whole day.

[Eddie Teach]

Stonewall Jackson's "foot cavalry" would scoff at this. Iirc they could cover 30 miles a day in the mountains between fighting battles and having to carry their own gear. I think Julius Caesar also used to have his infantry covering 30 miles a day.

Yes, and then they had to construct solid defenses every night when they camped. But they only had such long marches when there was a need for it.

[alfred russel]

Stonewall Jackson's "foot cavalry" would scoff at this. Iirc they could cover 30 miles a day in the mountains between fighting battles and having to carry their own gear. I think Julius Caesar also used to have his infantry covering 30 miles a day.

Yes, and then they had to construct solid defenses every night when they camped. But they only had such long marches when there was a need for it.

And I think Caesar's men were marching between staged camps so they didn't need to carry as much and some of the camp construction/breakdown was avoided. Still impressive and intense.

[lustindarkness]

Meanwhile I complain having to get out of bed and shuffle a dozen steps to pee.

[Maladict]

Mal, that's quite a challenge you've got yourself into, speaking as a fellow cyclist.

By coincidence I'm hoping to do some bits of walking over the next couple of weeks.

'Some bits' sounds good 

I took up cycling because running was too hard on my knees, not sure if they can cope.
And next to no cycling until August 

[Maladict]

Stonewall Jackson's "foot cavalry" would scoff at this. Iirc they could cover 30 miles a day in the mountains between fighting battles and having to carry their own gear. I think Julius Caesar also used to have his infantry covering 30 miles a day.

They also tended to be dead around my age 

[mongers]

Personally I skip breakfast (except for coffee) and have lunch and dinner.

I can have a very light dinner, or even miss it entirely and have a light snack, but skipping breakfast would throw me off for the whole day.

This.

I can mix and match early or evening meals, but I need a solid base to work on for the majority of the day.

[alfred russel]

Stonewall Jackson's "foot cavalry" would scoff at this. Iirc they could cover 30 miles a day in the mountains between fighting battles and having to carry their own gear. I think Julius Caesar also used to have his infantry covering 30 miles a day.

They also tended to be dead around my age 

Apparently, living a life filled with significant physical exertion will frequently lead to death, if over that time you eat inadequate food, sleep outdoors, in camps prone to disease, while inadequately clothed, often without good shoes, and every month or so line up against similarly situated people and fire rifles at each other at close range, with a bit of cannon fire added in, and with the occasional bayonet charge.

Any potential fitness benefits from strenuous marches appear to be more than offset by other negative health factors.

[Brazen]

I have an activity tracker and aim for the default 10,000 steps/five miles a day. It's easy on week days when I get most of it through my commute and a lunchtime stroll, but I struggle at weekends unless I'm training for a longer race distance. I've linked it to a couple of reward schemes and get free coffee, cinema tickets and supermarket gift cards - not bad!

I've got a six weeks until my next 10K and I really want to get my time down from last year, but I'm really feeling my age. I've got a lot of weight to lose and I'm neglecting strength training altogether, but it's just soooo boring! I'm also rather ridiculously waiting for the results of my middle-aged people's NHS health test next Wednesday to be told what I already know I need to improve (lose 2 st/28 lbs/13 kilos in weight, drink less, do strength training - the rest depending on blood sugar and cholesterol tests).

I've been watching a great programme called "How To Stay Young" that looks at the latest scientific research into what delays the inevitable decline. Daily Fail write-up here.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-3522119/From-ping-pong-taking-dog-work-Angela-Rippon-s-new-BBC-reveals-weirdest-wackiest-ways-stay-young.html

The sit/rise test is a bit of an eye-opener and I'll be adding it to my routine. I challenge you all to try it:

It may come as something of a surprise, but scientists have discovered one of the most reliable tests of how we will age is actually the simplest.

The sit/rise test was revealed in 2013 by Brazilian doctors convinced that it gives a good insight into how long you will live.

To perform it, stand barefoot, then cross one leg in front of the other and lower yourself gradually to the floor.

The aim is to do this without letting any part of your body, other than your bottom, touch the floor. So no hands, or knees.

Then, from that cross-legged seated position, try to get up again. Again, no hands. And definitely no asking someone else to haul you up.

In the original experiment, 2,000 people aged between 51 and 80 were monitored.

They were assessed, then marked according to a simple formula: everyone starts with ten points, then a point is subtracted each time you have to touch the floor with a hand, arm or knee. A wobble sees half a point deduced.

Volunteers were followed for six years and their health monitored.

People who scored fewer than eight points on the test were twice as likely to die within the next six years compared with those who scored higher.

Those who scored three or fewer points were more than five times as likely to die within the same period compared with those who scored more than eight points.

'It is well known that aerobic fitness is strongly related to survival, but our study also shows that maintaining high levels of body flexibility, muscle strength and co-ordination also have a favourable influence on life expectancy,' said Professor Claudio Gil Soares de Araujo, one of the study's authors.

If you do score a three or lower, it doesn't mean you have one foot in the grave. Just keep practising the technique.

It could add years to your life by strengthening your muscles and improving your balance.

Also, dancing is much better than a gym workout. So I'll keep up the Zumba classes then.

[Maladict]

Apparently, living a life filled with significant physical exertion will frequently lead to death, if over that time you eat inadequate food, sleep outdoors, in camps prone to disease, while inadequately clothed, often without good shoes, and every month or so line up against similarly situated people and fire rifles at each other at close range, with a bit of cannon fire added in, and with the occasional bayonet charge.

Any potential fitness benefits from strenuous marches appear to be more than offset by other negative health factors.

I will not sleep oudoors, I'll give you that. And I've only been shot at once.
But otherwise one shouldn't underestimate the dangers lurking in the Dutch countryside.