Sorry for a "tl;dr" post but I read everyone's responses and found it really interesting... so I'd like to reply to everyone.
MattAY said:
I've started rock climbing recently - indoor rock climbing that is. It's pretty fun, my gf got me into it and at first I was fucking nervous (I'm not particularly great with heights).
So now we go twice a week after work, tones the muscles up, which is good. But I'm not doing any cardio at the mo so the belly is still there!
I do play footy every monday, but I'm not going for a while due to a climbing course I'm on. So hopefully in about 2 weeks, I'll be getting rid of that puppy fat every monday, and then gaining it back on throughout the week with crappy food as per usual.
Rock climbing is pretty fun, sounds cool that you're doing it. I can imagine rock climbing doing crazy things for your body since it's using pretty much your entire body to achieve the climbing. The football sounds good too. Like we've all discussed already, it's all about diet to lose that weight, but the exercise will certainly help.
You'll be a bad arse, man.
intoTheRain said:
Kayaks actually aren't as expensive as I though. Can get a decent one for 700 and a cheapo for 300. (Used of course)..
If summer wasn't half over I might pull the trigger. Probably first thing next summer. Busy enough this summer I'd probably get out once at best.
I've found kayaks are expensive here, or maybe I'm just being cheap when it comes to money. Anyway, where I live isn't a very good place to do kayaking due to well... crocodiles, box jellyfish etc. Down south interstate is much better for that. You should do it when you can though, it is a lot of fun.
Rakon said:
I go to the gym a couple times a week, but I've been sick this week so I've been resting up. I used to play squash a bit, which I really want to get back into. My work schedule doesn't really allow me to join any house leagues which is unfortunate, so I try and get to the gym and bike everywhere I can.
Good call. I never go to the gym when I'm sick. I just end up being sicker for longer. My dad used to play squash when he was younger but he reckons his ankles and knees ended up getting injured for it or something. Hopefully you haven't, or don't encounter those problems either Rakon.
NickKmet said:
I really need to start working out regularly again. Since I moved to New York, I've lost about 40 pounds off my peak weight of around 315, thanks to the excessive amount of walking I do now. I'd really like to lose another 30 or so to get me down to 240. At that point, I'd probably be in really good shape. Even 250 would be great.
Unfortunately, I've just been too busy/unmotivated to start anything. Maybe once I'm done moving across the city I'll start doing something. I'll probably mostly work on core exercises. Lots of sit-ups and crunches.
I love hearing success stories of weight loss. Good on you man!
That's a huge effort, absolutely nothing to sneeze at right there. I think if you keep up the walking you'll keep dropping that weight, even if you don't have much time for anything else. Keep it up.
Remember if your diet is pretty good (doesn't have to be 100% healthy, just "mostly healthy") then you can lose even more weight. Either way, fantastic effort NickKmet.
Green_Lantern said:
I've been doing Crossfit for about a month now....it really aucka but is really fun at the same time.
A mate of mine does CrossFit and he loves it. I'm not too keen on it to be honest, but I've seen people get awesome results from it.
Icepick said:
I used to play rugby religiously,after a handful of concussions though I gave it up and never bothered to get back into it, I occasionally go and watch a game here and there, but really it's too rough a sport to dedicate that much time to anymore
I was also big into boxing in my youth, but just fell out of it when I was working and in school, might be something I pick up again
As of now I make sure to go bike riding/long walk at least every two days, not so much to stay in shape, i's more just a way to mentally unwind, just to spend two hours or so on the trans Canada trail
My cousin used to play rugby "religiously" too but I'm not sure if he's into it so much anymore. Rugby looks like a very scary sport. All the guys I see who play rugby are usually absolute wrecking machines. Wouldn't want to be standing near them if they're sprinting. People have tried to convince me to play rugby due to my size but I'd rather not, I would probably get smashed! That and I just tell people I can't play sports that involve a ball.
The boxing sounds good, I think you should give it a go again when you can. Nice work on the bike riding and walks though. I find the same thing to rather relaxing and not so much "exercising", but a chance to think and just clear your head. Mentally relax, so to speak.
Affen said:
In summer swim, rollerblade, bike and hike mostly. Then some extra muscle fitness moves with little weights. Winter is for skiing and skating.
When I was younger I used to do track & field, floorball, badminton and volleyball. Now the idea of a scheduled/organized exercise sounds disgusting to me. I can't really even stand working out indoors.
Sounds like you're a fan of the outdoors, Affen. I prefer the outdoors too actually, when it comes to jogging and body weight exercises. I love doing that sort of stuff in the afternoon, about 5 PM or so when the sun is slowly beginning to set. However, my gym and judo club however are all indoor activities though because well, not much choice there!
Sightless said:
No. lol
I walk places. Sometimes I dare to run to catch a bus. That's probably about it. I mean, I'm not adverse to doing sports, but I guess I'd have to have good motivation and good company.
In school, I didn't do too much. The usual p.e. class requirements... I would have joined a team, honestly, except that I was already in 3 and two halves of extra curricular musical commitments, and high school sports teams are meant to be competitive, which means travel and all sorts of shiz that I didn't want. More importantly, I didn't/don't get along with the sporty girls.
I *hated* so many people in high school, and being stuck in a room full of teenage bitches was horrendous. I tried a few times to take it out on them when we were playing sports, but unfortunately girls don't get to play contact anything, and apparently you get in trouble for kicking the soccer ball too hard or if the floor hockey ball leaves the ground going faster than you can walk.
Well, I did take weight lifting class in grade nine, with a few friends, and that was nice. The teacher didn't impose hard limits on how fast you had to run, but instead focused on just running two laps comfortably, or besting your last attempt. Grades were given according to improvement, rather than one objective scale. (I have bad memories of being forced to run six laps around the track, despite the fact that I'd start walking after two, and my time didn't even place on the stupid chart anymore -- which, by the way, included not one but four times that would result in Fs. Just to tell you what degree of a failure you are.)
Anyway, I'm way too self-conscious to do anything now. I'd like to, say, use gym equipment, if I could avoid the actual going to a gym part. And I'm not about to find a way to drag a bunch of machines into my home. I also wished my mom had put me into Karate when I was young... and yes, she reminds me that I wanted to go into gymnastics, which I did... which makes me incredibly sad, because I think part of the reason why I quit was self-consciousness about body image. At five years old. One of those times I wish I could punch myself.
With sport and martial arts and stuff, it is always better to do it in good company. You can make friends through these activities but starting something without knowing anyone can be pretty intimidating sometimes. It's great to hear you do a fair bit of walking.
Regarding school, I was in the same boat as you Sightless. I didn't have many friends and I really didn't like the other kids. I tried to keep to myself but was often bullied due to being quiet, shy and overweight back then. I did P.E because I had to and I was lucky to somehow pass those classes because I always failed fitness tests and stuff and was often ridiculed for it by the other kids. I was also "that kid" who was usually the last to be picked for teams, due to my low fitness level and because no one liked me.
I'm also pretty self-conscious about my own body image. I also wish I started judo as a kid (like five or six years old) instead of twenty one, but I guess the lesson there is - it's better late than never. Maybe you should look into taking Karate? I'll chuck you a story of mine which well... I hope might help you? Hope you don't mind.
When I first started judo, I was 130 kg (328 Ibs) and I did absolutely no exercise and ate crap. I only started judo because I wanted to learn a self defence after being assaulted by two guys, unprovoked at a party. I wanted to learn a self defence that was locally close by and cheap, because back then I couldn't drive and I had no job. When I first went to judo, I saw a bunch of fit people doing crazy things with their bodies and it was super scary and intimidating. I somehow survived my first session (I was white as a ghost at the end, covered in bruises and feeling sick) and I didn't want to go to my second session, but I felt in the back of my head if I didn't go, I would be letting those guys who assaulted me "win".
After two weeks, I noticed I had dropped 6 kg (13 Ibs). I've never lost weight before and I was so happy, so that became my new goal. My original goal was to learn self defence, but then it became lose weight and get healthy. Nine months later, I dropped 32 kg (70 Ibs).
Five and a half years later I'm still doing judo, I venture into other physical activities, coach kids and I've yet to have to use what I've learned in "real life", hopefully I'll never have to.
Sorry to rant Sightless but my point is, it's never too late to start and it's better late than never. I understand that starting something new like a sport or martial art can be really tricky, but the first step is always the hardest. Once you take that first step, once that ball collects a tiny bit of momentum and begins to roll, then the rest of it slowly becomes easier over time. Promise you that.
Regarding the gym, that's fair enough if you don't want to go to one and really, home gym equipment takes up so much space! Have you ever thought about doing body weight exercises in your very own home and privacy? For example... my girlfriend recently started doing a "thirty day squat challenge", where for thirty days, she has to do a number of exercises (sit ups, crunches and squats) and slowly over the thirty day period, the intensity and the amount of work increases. To begin with for example, she only has to do like... ten or twenty squats. By the end of it, day thirty? She's gonna do two hundred. Maybe you could look into something like that, if you're interested?
