Great Idea!!! I'll start the first topic

[tacklejunkie]

How many FMers are into working out and keeping in shape? I'm 52 years old and didn't start getting into fitness until my late 30's.

My second question is, who goes to a gym and who works out at home? I go to a local gym. I tried the Bowflex thing but it just didn't cut it for me so I sold it and returned to the gym

[titelines]

I've been working our regularly since about 2000...4-5 days/week. Have always gone to a gym...I think of it as an office, where I can concentrate and get it done. I'm a creature of habit so once I got into it, it was easy to keep it up. I maintain my weight at +/- 180#, with my main goal being to lose the fat and gain lean muscle, increasing my metabolism.

I do just about everything. Free weights, nautilus/machines, body-weight exercises, lots of cardio, you name it. I have worked with a trainer quite a bit, just to get a schedule down, and to mix it up a bit from time to time.

My wife and I are really active outdoors too, so on cabin weekends we'll bike, snowshoe, hike, trail jog etc.

[mrklean]

i go to the gym 3-4 days a week have been lazy on doing the running so mainly just weights but will get back to running someday

[bassfshin24]

I try to stay in shape haha. When I get into a routine I usually workout 3-5x a week. I had a good routine going until me and my wife had a baby in July and then things slowed down. Just started getting back into my routine again. Definitely could have started sooner but I was a little lazy. I don't have a gym membership so I do the Insanity and P90x videos and also run when the weather is nice enough. Hoping to be back into prime form in a couple months!

[tacklejunkie]

I've been doing more of the walking lately instead of running. If I run, it will be for only 2-3 miles.

I'm more of a free weight guy but I do like the ease of machines on occasion.

Have any of you two tried free weights on a stabilizer ball?

[fishersofmen]

I would agree whoever came up with this is brilliant! Thanks Scott!

I go to the gym 3-4 days a week also. Some weeks more, some weeks less. Mainly do weight training, I'm not a big fan of cardio but it has its place.

[BartmanMN]

I've had access to a free Gym at my work for the last 12 years, so I would make it down there 3 days a week. I am a lifter, not a runner, and they had ample equipment for that. In December we moved to a leased office and it does not have a gym, so I've had to work out at home. I have a nice mulit station machine that gets it done, but it does not have things for shoulders, so I picked up the BowFlex 552 dumb bells. I gotta say that I do love the 552 dumb bells and now can get a good shoulder workout in too. I end up not having as much weight to shoulder press with, but make up for it with more reps.

I have the build where I must workout to keep mass on. I have a high metabolism, so if I stop working out I get skinny. (I know, this must suck right)

[fishersofmen]

Same here Todd. If people knew what I am able to eat and not put weight on they would find it hard to believe. I almost have to lift to carry any size at all.

Have always been envious of people who are fortunate enough to have gym access at work. More companies should offer this imo. Would be darn nice.

As far as going to a gym or working out at home...I would much rather work out at home, but just don't have the space for what I need. I don't care for the crowds and trying to squeeze in on a piece of equipment. On the other hand it seems a little eisier to get jacked up for lifting at the gym vs at home.

[nofishfisherman]

I try to work out as much as possible but I have a hard time keeping a routine in a gym. I think it stems from years of competetive running and having to put up with alot of regimented workouts in the gym. I burned out on it and have had a hard time getting back into it although i still force myself often enough. Right now is my "off" season so I only make it 1-2 times a week. As spring gets closer I amp it up to 4-5 days a week to prepare myself for the upcoming Ultimate Frisbee season.

I have been playing Ultimate Frisbee for over 10 years now so that has kept me fairly active for 6 months out of every year. My Ultimate season goes from mid May to early November, longer if I opt to play spring league as well.

I am also one of those skinny guys. I'm 6'4" and have never been over 200 lbs, although I'm getting close these days. I'm acutally working to take the weight down a little, increase lean muscle, core strength and gaining more flexibility mostly in an attempt to prevent injuries during the Ultimate season. When I am at the gym I focus mostly on weight training,plyometrics, and higher intensity interval training.

If you haven't tried it I'd highly recommend tabata intervals. Tabata basically uses short reps of high intensity running with short rest periods. I believe its usually a 2:1 ratio. So 20 seconds of intense cardio with 10 seconds rest and then repeated for several minutes. I usually do 30 on and 15 off for 4 minutes. The 30 on should be almost 100% effort so basically a full sprint. By the last rep I'm pretty much praying for death but its a great workout.

[IceHawk]

Been going to the gym snap fitness to be exact for quite a few yrs. My routine is 3-5 days a week mostly a seasonal thing winter. I wish I had the ambition to do it all year but work as a heavy equipment operator and after a 14-15 hr day just loose interest. I do a variety cardio on elliptical and treadmill and weight training with free weights and nautilis. Love the feeling i get afterwards now if I could get the eating thing down life wouldbe alot easier

[CANOPY SAM]

In 1990 I had a fall at a construction site and broke my neck and back. This foolish accident changed my life. Before this occurred I was very physically active, running, lifting free weights, machines, cardio, strenuous outdoor work, etc., etc..

After the accident I had so much pain, for so many years, running was impossible. Anything high impact was just too much, and attempting to lift any "one-sided" weight above one shoulder or the other nearly dropped me to the floor. Example, carrying a golf bag on one shoulder, forgetting the injury years later, would cause weeks of excruciating mid-back, and neck pain.

Since then I've struggled with weight gain, and apathy. I continue to ride stationary bike, Nordic Track (believe it or not I still have one ), and do free weights with a balanced bench.

My primary focus has to be weight control, and core strength training.

I spent 2 weeks in Africa last October working on a school/church, mixing concrete, mortar, and making block by hand, and shovels. I can still do this work, and absolutely love it, but at 46 yrs old I have to be very cautious about not stretching, springing, or over-doing anything that will aggravate the old injury.

I desperately miss running. It was one of my great life's pleasures to just run, for miles, on a cool spring or fall morning.

A dear friend of mine told me last summer, "Sam, you just have to find the fountain of youth, and dive back in." I told him I did. Accept there was a kid there that told me it dried up last week.

It's hard to get "older". Relish your strength, and stamina when you're still young! It doesn't last forever. I'm still blessed with good health, and a great attitude, a beautiful wife, and 4 great kids. I'll be doing everything I can to enjoy my kid's future weddings, and hopefully be taking my grand-kids fishing and hunting 20 years from now!

Terrific new thread for the site!

[RiverFish]

I work out about 5 days a week. Mainly cardio. Walk/run 3-4 miles a day or bike around 10 miles a day. I also do push ups, chair dips, bar curls at home, leg squats/lunges at home 3-4 days a week.

My fitness goals at this time in my life focus around general health maintenance. Hopefully I can hold off HTN, elevated cholesterol (keep my HDL up), osteoporis, maintain a healthy weight, etc...

[PierBridge]

Quote:

Same here Todd. If people knew what I am able to eat and not put weight on they would find it hard to believe.

That was always the case with me too but it finally caught up with me. Everybody has different metabolism, like FisherO I should weigh close to 300 with as bad as my diet has been.

I'm pretty tall at 6'3" so I hide it fairly well but the big wake-up call for me was when I stepped on a scale at a Hotel the girlfriend and I were staying at.... I freaked out to be honest and thought originally the scale was off but as it turns out it was spot on. I ballooned up to an All time high of 241....

So with a little self motivation and a very large "$" weight-loss bet a friend of mine started about 10 weeks ago I'm off and running to better health.

We'll go into more specific detail in an another thread on what works for us HSO'ers but in a nutshell....

I joined Snap Fitness which is 3 blocks from my house, it's 39 a month if you pay monthly. I paid a year in advance which was $300 or about 25 per month and you can put it on hold in the summer if you want. It's a 24/7 365 club and very low key compared to Lifetime or the bigger clubs which works very well for me. I'm pretty much walking and running on the treadmill or stair-stepper at this point along with some machine weightlifting so far. I have not lifted free weights in a decade or so but I'm hoping to incorporate that into the routine here soon.

I entirely cut out the poison "fastfood" in my life other than an occasional salad or Oatmeal at McDonalds. Also I was consuming a large number of calories on Malts or fresh bakery daily and often late in the evening so I have curtailed that reasonably well. My calorie intake was beyond ridiculous to say the least.

At this point I'm down 24 pounds and feel fantastic. I sleep better, have more energy, and my back feels great again.

As most of you know its not all that difficult to lose some weight but keeping it off long term is the big challenge.

We do plan on having another follow up bet to lose a bit more but in the end it's going to be up me to keep it off long term.

Good Luck everybody!

[RiverFish]

Since then I've struggled with weight gain, and apathy. I continue to ride stationary bike, Nordic Track (believe it or not I still have one ), and do free weights with a balanced bench.

My primary focus has to be weight control, and core strength training.

I desperately miss running. It was one of my great life's pleasures to just run, for miles, on a cool spring or fall morning.

Terrific new thread for the site!

Canopy Sam,

Have you tried riding bike in the morning. I love bike rides in the morning. Everything is so quiet around sun up, just like being in the boat at sunrise.

[upnorth]

I walk 2 to 4 miles a day and lift weights at least 3 days a week. Not real heavy on the weights, but enough to avoid "eww, squishy". Been working at keeping myself reasonably fit for about 12 years. 55 years old and most guys 20 my junior have to work at keeping up

[Scott K]

I am 42 now, and I have a active 15yo son in a bunch of sports. The past few years I have tried getting into a routine, and I actually did, I lost about 40 pounds, I was at 230, and dropped to 190. But after running, and lifting weights every day, I started to get numb arms, and hands. So I went to the Dr, and found out I have a bad neck, and it is pinching a nerve. I was told to back off the running and weight lifting. It has been about a year now, since I backed off, I gained back 18 pounds, but I am getting the urge to get back into a little better routine that my body can handle. I just need to stop being busy every day.

[upnorth]

Busy/tired/stress can really make an exercise routine difficult.

[Scott K]

I would agree whoever came up with this is brilliant! Thanks Scott!

Thank you, it was your idea. I just passed in on to the man in charge.

[TR21HP]

Been strength training for 30 years at a gym. Still train 3 on 1 off or 6 days a week. Usually get at the gym at 5:30 am and train with weights for an hour usually followed by 30 minutes of cardio. Recently started training for the Minnesota State bodybuilding classic. Decided to try it 1 more time but haven't competed for 10 years. Having a tougher time with age staying as dedicated as I should be with diet and cardio but still love the mental and physical exercise that getting ready for a show brings with it.

[fishersofmen]

It takes some serious dedication to hit the weights at 5:30 in the morn. I've been going at around 8:30 and even that can be difficult for me. I just don't have the strength or flexability that I have towards the evening. Hope it goes well at the Classic when is the show TR21?

[Hoffer]

I have been pretty dedicated the last 10 years to the Gym. I go to Lifetime and have mainly lifted weights and on the off days try to do the row machine at home. However, I recently broke the row machine and was looking for something different for cardio. i cant stand to run - and quite honestly from everything I have heard and read - really isnt that great on the body anyway. I also could never see myself on a treadmill. So, on a whim I hopped on one of the stationary bikes. This one is very "upright" so it keeps my back in a great position. (am 48 and have always had a bad low back). Anyway, i couldnt believe how great a workout I got on the bike and I feel great afterward with no sore joints or sore back. My heart rate gets right up to the mid 130's within 2 minutes and I get a great sweat going right away. I have been doing it now for 2 weeks, and usually do 25 minutes and then take a break and go lift for an hour and then go back and finish with 10 to 15 more on the bike to get the heart rate back up again. never ever thought I would like the bike. But I love it and in fact am going to Push, Pedal, Pull this week to buy one for the home when I cant get to the Gym.The last 2 months I went from around 196 to 188 just with my normal workouts 3 to 4 days a week and eating right. High protein, low fat mainly. And I know more fat has been lost over the 8 pounds cause some muscle has been put on as well. NEVER EVER eat fast food...havent in years and wont touch it!!

[nofishfisherman]

That last post reminds me of a workout tip I picked up somewhere along the way. Most people seem to go hit the cardio machines to start the workout. If you want to maximize the time you spend on the treadmill/bike/eliptical start your workout with the weights.

When you first start your workout you are burning mainly your stores of quick energy from the sugars you've taken in during the day. You don't start burning fat and calories until you've first burned off that sugar. If you start on the weights you'll burn through that sugar and start the fat burning process. Once you hit the cardio you've already started burning fat/calories so you get more out of your cardio time.

[Hoffer]

Good feedback. I think the main reason I am starting on cardio first is that it feels better to warm up a bit before I hit the weights cold.

I usually do the bike first, then weights then circle back to the bike at the end. Maybe the next time I will change my bike time and just do my 1o to 15 minutes first (good warm up) and then weights and then finish with the longer Bike set at the end. I have also heard its good the do the cardio thing and raise your heart rate for awhile. Let it come back down and then raise it again. That is why I have been splitting the biking. Anyone else heard of this being beneficial?

[nofishfisherman]

A little warm up on the bike and then some stretching is not a bad idea at all. Then hit the weights and save the bulk of your cardio for the end of your workout. The warm up and stretching should help minimize the risk for injury as well.

[Nate McVey]

I work out 5 days a week, mainly in my garage. I used to live in CO and MT and didn't have to worry about "working out" as we were always biking, hiking, frisbee golf (in the mountains), softball, volleyball, snowshoeing, snowboarding, etc. When I moved back to MN I noticed the outdoor exercising wasn't getting me the same results. I joined a gym, stuck to my routine for 6 months or so and then life got in the way. Started again after awhile and same story, same results. After trying this routine year after year, I stopped and just started riding my bike and walking with my wife.

Long story short, this year I headed to Colorado for the every other year elk hunting trip and decided to build my own gym in the garage as I have an hour commute and an almost 1 year old son at home, so time and money are an issue. I built a "slosh pipe" and jump box, bought a couple 50 lb. bags of playground sand and set out to create my own "elk hunting routine". For me, it gave me the best results I've seen since my high school sport days and I felt the best I've ever felt while elk hunting, almost as good as when I lived in the mountains.

I'm glad this forum got started, I look forward to seeing what works for everyone else.