Exercise/gym thread

urgh I can’'t be arsed with that

guess I’ll just be a weakling

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Problem is, i’m sure its beneficial to my workouts but it’s not really what I want from exercise. I’m not looking to get abs or a flat stomach, but I want to be able to balance better and do better in my Peloton classes.

Like @allnerve says, stuff like pilates or yoga is good for that shit. I did a hot yoga class the night before an early cycling class and my performance was MILES better than it had been in recent weeks so might be cause of that I dunno. I just hate core shit.

I’d like to be less weak and generally fitter. I’m embarassingly weak! I don’t need to lose any weight thankfully

Used to play lots of football along with going to a contemporary dance class. Unfortunately the football was ruined for me by aggressive dickhead players and my teacher stopped teaching her dance class :disappointed_relieved::disappointed_relieved::disappointed_relieved:.

Have kept up my regimen of power walking everywhere but I think I might start running. Need to find a new dance class as well. My mates went to a hip-hop one but told me there was too much twerking and that “it’d be too female for you” :disappointed_relieved::disappointed_relieved::disappointed_relieved:.

Is yoga / pilates okay if you have a weak core? I have never been to either, but there are millions of classes near me and I really should go but I’m just so LAZY

I started playing hockey a few years ago to offer myself an alternative to football, where I was getting injured too often. I’m never going to be any good at it, but I like playing in a team and the sense of competition on the pitch keeps me motivated. This year I’ve dropped down into one of the ‘development’ squads where it’s a few older guys shepherding juniors up into adult leagues, and it’s been good to see their progress (not to mention winning the league at a canter!).

Having pretty much ‘retired’ from playing football now, I’ve started to enter other types of events to give myself a target to aim for, and so I do run, swim and cycle to be able to complete those.

I don’t really care what I look like, don’t have a target weight in mind, and actively dislike the gym and gym classes, but do find the mental space and sense of achievement that I get from running, swimming and cycling to be very beneficial.

I’d like to settle on a regular list of events that will keep me entertained and will need me to keep fit to do. I did the London Marathon last year, and came up against the limits of my joints, so this year I’ve started doing more of the non-impact stuff like swimming and cycling.

My plan is to do two or three half marathons a year, two or three sprint triathlons a year, and maybe some extra one-off runs or cycle events.

This means that I (aim to) do the following each week:

  • cycle into and out of work (12km each way) three times a week
  • run home twice a week
  • swim twice a week (about 1500m)
  • play hockey once a week during the season
  • go for a longer bike ride or run out of hockey season

I think this is a sustainable load for my body to be able to take for the next few years, at least, and means that I can do what I want in terms of events/challenges etc.

Do they have any classes at your gym? Even just adding one class a week like a body pump (or the other body one, I can’t remember which is which but one is weights and one is jumping about) will do wonders with your fitness and you’ll notice a difference each class that you can do more/lift more/work harder. But ease into it, don’t go too mad at first.

Have you thought of boxing? or box fit? I want to introduce a boxing class but no bloody time and it means sometimes pairing up with someone and i don’t like strangers or touching strangers. I buddied up with an old dude in a class ones and his chewing gum fell out of his mouth and landed on me and he just picked it off of me and carried on chewing.

:wink:

Climbing is a weird one for me in terms of what I want to do. Fundamentally, I love the feel of it. There’s this incredible combination of power, balance, and precision. But I also love pushing myself to my limits physically and feeling strong and improving. So there are times where I’m not climbing so well and I hate it more than is rational, and I have to really drag myself back into remembering how it simply feels good to move.

Ultimately I love how harmonious it can feel, particularly outside. When a boulder has been left by a glacier, eroded over millennia until there’s a line of holds which is exactly the right level of difficulty for me to climb - impossible at first, but flowing after an hour of practice and muscle-memory - there’s nothing like it. Hard to top this for location and challenge.

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Go to yoga once a week.
Bike ride with the kids few times a week.

Have a job where I basically never stop or sit down for good 7 hours a day so that keeps me fit.

Never been into a gym, they scare me a bit tbh

Yeah, it’ll only help but your core is probably a lot stronger than you think. You’re using your core loads when you’re cycling.
Pilates might be good too as it does a lot of hips/glute stuff. Got to exercise those hip flexors.

Try a cross trainer or an elliptical trainer fam’ way easier on your knees than running.

I’d quite like to do a dance class! Not fit enough yet probably though

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Yeah I have done in the past but absolutely fuck going to a gym for it. The appeal of running is that I can just put my trainers on and go.

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What about power walking or hill walking?
Hill walking is just as effective as running sometimes.

I live in the Fens, M1.

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There are some classes but i don’t think I’m fit enough yet as i still get out of breath very easily. I have low iron levels but can’t tolerate medication for it so I’m at a bit of a disadvantage

I loved mine! I’m quite fit and I did find it challenging but our teacher was very good at getting people of different fitness levels involved and tailoring the exercises to each person. I’d say if you found a good teacher (easier said than done) you could definitely join one!

AKA the hill

You can just take it easy at the back and you’ll get noticeable fitter each time.

And the good thing about going to the gym is that we’re all so vain, that we’re too busy looking at ourselves to care about anyone else being out of breath/unfit.

I had to help a man get down from a spin bike yesterday tho. Everyone had ignored him and left him in the room!!

I want one of those fucking cycling things that you plug into your telly so it’s like you’re cycling through the countryside without actually having to leave the house. What’s it called?