Fitness 2016

[Eddie Teach]

Wait a minute, your robot parts make fitness harder? 

That's not how it is in the movies.

[katmai]

Nothing but excuses from TO

Alright, lets pump your body full of poison and then remove 4 inches of your tibia, replace it with bone from a cadevar and bolt it in place with metal plates and screws, and you can get back to me in a few years and tell me how easy getting back in shape was.

Nah sounds like too much work, i'll pass.

[alfred russel]

Physically I can not run and can not jump, all I can do for exercise is walk, or are you forgetting those points?

There is a dude I work--another accountant--with who lost a leg in a motorcycle accident. He lifts almost every day, and is strong as hell, plus he does kickboxing. Not the fitness kickboxing either--the real get hit in the face kickboxing. He tries to run sometimes, but he says the physics of it really hurts.

I'm sure you can do more exercise than walking--you can lift, swim, and I presume cycle/spin even if you can't run.

I thought when you tried to join the marines they rejected you because of your leg?

[Maladict]

You should also be able to win the Tour de France several times in a row.

[Barrister]

So, I'm not a regular in the fitness thread.  I figured I was active enough just chasing my kids down.

Mrs. B though has been on a big fitness/weight loss kick which got me thinking though - I'm 41, an age where you do start to hear of men dropping dead from heart attacks.  I felt like while I don't really need to lose weight I sure would like to just be healthier and strengthen my heart.

So I've been running.   Which was something I was bit into in high school / early university, but haven't done any more than token efforts at in 15 years or so.  Last time I tried was when Timmy was born (andhe's turning 6 next month) - I think I went out three times and that was it.

Nothing crazy so far - I've gone out 4 times in the last 8 days, done about 3km each time.  Already feel like I'm doing better than when I started.

I know there's one or two runners out there.  Is there any sort of plan or strategy I should follow?  How much is "enough" - I'm not training to do a marathon or anything.  I downloaded a free running app (RunKeeper) and starting to follow a free 5km training plan which seems ok, but what do I know?

[Valmy]

My wife is pre-diabetic so time to kick it into high gear. She cannot procrastinate on this any longer.

[alfred russel]

I know there's one or two runners out there.  Is there any sort of plan or strategy I should follow?  How much is "enough" - I'm not training to do a marathon or anything.  I downloaded a free running app (RunKeeper) and starting to follow a free 5km training plan which seems ok, but what do I know?

I think 20 minutes is the general guideline for the minimum you want to do to get cardio improvement. Apparently you continue to get improvement up to 45 minutes, and then after that any cardio improvement can't be measured.

I tend to think mileage is a better milestone than time because if you target say 20 minutes the natural instinct is to slow down. But if you target say 3 miles, if you do it in 27 minutes versus your normal 30, you just got a more intense workout that is probably more healthy.

I've read you get significant cardio benefits from running longer up to 5 miles, minimal to any benefit from running from 5-10, and arguably no benefit to actual harm from over 10.

I think a good goal is to have a 3 mile average--if you run 4 days a week, maybe one long slow day of 5 miles. Obviously you need to build up to that. But a 3 mile run is a good distance--it should put you over 20 minutes each day.

[lustindarkness]

Or, just run as far, as slow/fast and as long as you feel like. Hopefully, you get hooked and you will start running farther and faster. The one thing I recommend, is not to run too much. At our age we have the tendency to injure ourselves when we doo too much too soon.

If you do 30 minutes of run/walk 3 times a week, you are on your way to a healthier you.

BTW, I recommend Zombies Run instead of Runkeeper.

[Barrister]

Or, just run as far, as slow/fast and as long as you feel like. Hopefully, you get hooked and you will start running farther and faster. The one thing I recommend, is not to run too much. At our age we have the tendency to injure ourselves when we doo too much too soon.

If you do 30 minutes of run/walk 3 times a week, you are on your way to a healthier you.

BTW, I recommend Zombies Run instead of Runkeeper.

I feel like I need some kind of schedule in case "as long as you like" becomes very short or not at all.  But yeah so far I'm on track for 3x a week, 20-25 minutes full run (more with warm up and cool down).  Part of me feels like I could do quite a bit more but I want to keep it fun (and not injure myself ).

How intense are the runs on Zombies Run?

[alfred russel]

I feel like I need some kind of schedule in case "as long as you like" becomes very short or not at all.  But yeah so far I'm on track for 3x a week, 20-25 minutes full run (more with warm up and cool down).  Part of me feels like I could do quite a bit more but I want to keep it fun (and not injure myself ).

Sign up for a 5k, set a goal for a time, go for it.

[lustindarkness]

I feel like I need some kind of schedule in case "as long as you like" becomes very short or not at all.  But yeah so far I'm on track for 3x a week, 20-25 minutes full run (more with warm up and cool down).  Part of me feels like I could do quite a bit more but I want to keep it fun (and not injure myself ).

Sign up for a 5k, set a goal for a time, go for it.

Actually, a good idea. A race goal keeps you motivated to go out and run 3 times a week.


Zombie Run can track time or distance and you walk/run as slow as you want if you disable the random zombie chases. The chases you need to speed up I think 20% to not get "caught".

[Eddie Teach]

Zombie Run can track time or distance and you walk/run as slow as you want if you disable the random zombie chases. The chases you need to speed up I think 20% to not get "caught".

What does it do when you're not being chased?

[lustindarkness]

Zombie Run can track time or distance and you walk/run as slow as you want if you disable the random zombie chases. The chases you need to speed up I think 20% to not get "caught".

What does it do when you're not being chased?

It has a story, a well written and narrated story. Fun stuff, motivates you to get off your ass.

[mongers]

Or, just run as far, as slow/fast and as long as you feel like. Hopefully, you get hooked and you will start running farther and faster. The one thing I recommend, is not to run too much. At our age we have the tendency to injure ourselves when we doo too much too soon.

If you do 30 minutes of run/walk 3 times a week, you are on your way to a healthier you.

BTW, I recommend Zombies Run instead of Runkeeper.

Wise words from Lusti and AR, though clearly both know more about running than I do; when I used to run it was 5,000 metres timed, so a fairly hard run and I did that probably 4 times a week on average, along with the other stuff I used to do, I was the fittest I've ever been.

[Brazen]

I know there's one or two runners out there.  Is there any sort of plan or strategy I should follow?  How much is "enough" - I'm not training to do a marathon or anything.  I downloaded a free running app (RunKeeper) and starting to follow a free 5km training plan which seems ok, but what do I know?

3 miles/5K is a good initial target. Google Couch to 5K; it's pretty foolproof. You can either print out a plan or download an app. There's a Zombies, Run! 5K app too. Enter a mass-participation charity race as a target.

Word of caution, if you do a plan based on time rather than distance and you're as slow as me, 30 minutes won't get you round. If you are planning on entering a race or targetting distance rather than time, download a tracking app on your phone and set yourself a 3 mile target. Run a distance you feel comfortable. Walk until you're recovered. Repeat until you're finished. Next time, run a bit more of it.

Some more thoughts here:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/BerryH/view/20-things-i-wish-i-d-known-about-running-when-i-started-103936