Getting fit...

[Gingerpele 0]

So i''ve decided i''m really really badly out of shape, and I really need and want to change that...

I''m going to join a gym in Norwich when i''m back for the summer (from mid May, until late September.... slightly long summer holiday really isn''t it, also need to get a job then...). I could do that when i''m back for a month for Easter holiday, but want to try and get a bit fitter before I start going to the gym anyway, so May seems like a better start date from my point of view.

Anyone got any tips on what to do between now and then? Literally anything will probably help me out. Thanks.

[Herman 9,818]

A Stephen Fry tip this.He lost a bit of weight.Stick an audio-book on your ipod and go for a long walk.Maybe a chapter or two every evening[Y]

[Miss Jane Marple 0]

Well, dear, I suggest you start by eating a healthy diet, just three meals a day and no snacking. In my younger days we were always so active and spent many days outside so we didn''t need to go on diets. You could try going for some bracing walks too. Good luck dear.

[Larson E Whipsnade 0]

Well , dear , why not follow the example of Agatha Christie and disappear. Who cares Who Killed Roger Ackroyd ?

[hexem 0]

Funny old world....forums. There is so much out there. Herman mentioned an ipod and walking. A good idea.Stephen Fry was a closish neighbour once. Size of telephone box.He has done well to slim a large bit of weight.Agatha Christie who did go missing. Discovered Nineveh from ancient timesOn the hills by the dig there were tents for young men in shorts."listeners" watching Moscow. Y Services.hex.

[Bill Car 0]

Look up P90X, I’ve been doing it for around 8 weeks now and it’s awesome. It covers diet, stamina, flexibility and strength.

I was a member of riverside gym for around 4-5 years and used to go on average 2-3 times a week but since I’ve started this I’ve cancelled my membership.

The main problem with a gym I found is that unless you have a personal trainer it’s hard to know exactly what to do and when, i.e. warm up properly and warm down, what stretches etc, which this covers, it’s also easy to plateau when just doing your own exercises.

I’ve heard from a friend it can be got through illicit means off the internet, if you don’t want to buy it. It’s worth a look and you can do it all from home without paying 30 pounds a month for gym membership.

[Shaun Tilly Lace 0]

[quote user="Miss Jane Marple"]Well, dear, I suggest you start by eating a healthy diet, just three meals a day and no snacking. In my younger days we were always so active and spent many days outside so we didn''t need to go on diets. You could try going for some bracing walks too. Good luck dear.[/quote]

[Shaun Tilly Lace 0]

[quote user="Herman "]A Stephen Fry tip this.He lost a bit of weight.Stick an audio-book on your ipod and go for a long walk.Maybe a chapter or two every evening[Y][/quote]

[Miss Jane Marple 0]

[quote user="Larson E Whipsnade"]Well , dear , why not follow the example of Agatha Christie and disappear. Who cares Who Killed Roger Ackroyd ?[/quote]I think you got out the wrong side of bed, dear. This is the second thread you have been rather unpleasant to me. What have I done to upset you?

[Larson E Whipsnade 0]

 "What have I done to upset you?"

 

Well , dear , you are a man pretending to be a woman ( and i think i can guess which one ) and have adopted a very annoying and arch manner of dialogue . Your challenge for the day. Go into a room and lock all the doors and windows on the inside. Then kill yourself in such a way that a dull and plodding middle class lady detective can write an equally dull and plodding whodunnit about who mudered you and why. Go to it. Ask Bookworm to help.

[Miss Jane Marple 0]

Oh, well it looks like you have committed the same mistake that my good friend, Inspector Slack, sometimes made and that was to assume. I have  found it best never to assume but to check the facts and corroborate stories. Often, people believe want they want to believe and make the facts fit.It doesn''t work in this case, dear. I am most cetainly a woman of a certain age.

[Larson E Whipsnade 0]

Mr Marple:

I  see the old bird wrote a novel called N or M ?, clearly a psychic reference to a future Norton or Margery . No mystery there , as they are both the same person. I think Hexem should start a thread on the subject..." Why would anybody in their right mind pretend to be a woman online ? "

 

[hexem 0]

OK. I was a theatrical. Never dressed the part.(Dressed to the right are we, Sir?)Bercow in high heels, A speeder on my patch of road! M11.What kind of Goon is that ...... I paid.These are elected folk. They must be better.hex.

[Miss Jane Marple 0]

The dearly departed Agatha did indeed write a novel called N or M about my beloved friends, Thomas and Tuppence Beresford. They appeared in several novels for which I have been accredited the screen rights in a number of them with Geraldine McKewen playing me. My particular favoutire is The Pink Pearl - a regular soap opera.I also am definitely sure I am a woman, given that I have been a woman for my entire life in St Mary Mead. Please confirm with the Postmistress, Gladys, Beatrice, Inspector Slack, Henry Clithering, Raymond West (my dear nephew) or Inspector Slack. Even my dear friend, Dolly, will confirm this, especially if you ask Joannan Lumley as she potrayed Dolly beautifully in ''The Body in the Library''.

[Miss Jane Marple 0]

* oops I''ve been at the sherry.favouriteJoannaportrayed

[hexem 0]

Well Miss Marple. I wouldn''t wish to cross kukris with Ms Lumley.''Specially after a few drops of Amontillado, Poe wrote a story about that.A bit before Agatha was writing.hex

[Shaun Tilly Lace 0]

[quote user="Herman "]A Stephen Fry tip this.He lost a bit of weight.Stick an audio-book on your ipod and go for a long walk.Maybe a chapter or two every evening[Y][/quote]

[N city till I die 0]

There is a Gym in Norwich openin soon in London Street £10.99 a month, no joning fee open 24 hours and no contract, I have been to the one in Vauxhall and it''s is very good.

[N city till I die 0]

http://www.thegymgroup.com/gyms/norwich/

[Shaun Tilly Lace 0]

[quote user="Gingerpele"]So i''ve decided i''m really really badly out of shape, and I really need and want to change that... I''m going to join a gym in Norwich when i''m back for the summer (from mid May, until late September.... slightly long summer holiday really isn''t it, also need to get a job then...). I could do that when i''m back for a month for Easter holiday, but want to try and get a bit fitter before I start going to the gym anyway, so May seems like a better start date from my point of view. Anyone got any tips on what to do between now and then? Literally anything will probably help me out. Thanks.[/quote]

Walk everywhere, when it is practical to do so. If you walk about 5 miles a day - even at a moderate pace - this should burn off nearly 500 calories. Reduce your daily intake down to a maximum of 1500 calories (remember to include all teas, coffees, alcohol etc in this reckoning). You''re not alone if you''re looking out of shape. Since I''ve lost a fair bit of weight I''ve noticed how many fatties there are in Norwich.  It''s not just their appearance people need to worry about, there are serious health issues connected to obesity too. As I love booze and food it takes a great deal of will power for me to keep my weight in check. If I let rip I would probably finish up as a 20 stone beached-whale!

[Aggy 758]

How''s this going for you ginge? I''m not sure if I''ve missed something with the middle of this thread, or what, but sticking to the health side of things, I''d be interested to hear what you''ve been doing/if it''s had much affect.

Out of interest, are you trying to lose a bit of weight, or just get fit? Very different approaches needed depending on which it is (and again if you''re thinking both). If you''re just trying to shed a bit of weight, food intake is the most important thing to watch. If you''re not morbidly obese, then unless you can run and run for ages and ages, exercise isn''t going to greatly impact on much. A half hour run at a decent pace might only shed 300ish calories, which isn''t a great deal in the grand scheme of things. Around 3500 calories need to be lost to lose a pound of body fat, so if you still sat on your backside and just ate 500 calories less than you needed a day then you''d be losing a pound a week, although 500 calories is quite a lot to shed off, especially if you''re used to eating over the guideline amounts anyway (ie; which is why you''ve got the extra weight to shift in the first place!) Also very important is to figure out how many calories you actually need a day - look online and there are tools to help you work it out, based on things like your height, build, age, activity levels etc - then whack a bit off that a day to start losing weight.

If you''re in decent shape though and just looking to get fit, cardio work is your best bet. Weights will help you "tone up" but in terms of the "being able to run for longer" fitness, it''s all about cardio. Doesn''t have to be just long runs (bore me stupid), but I tend to do things like shuttle drills and sprint-stop runs or circuits. These are also more useful for me, as I play quite a few sports where you don''t need to be running continuously for ages, but instead you''re stop start, sprinting then maybe stoppage in play etc.

Sorry for the long post, it''s something I have gotten quite into recently - and again, let me know how you''re getting on, I''m always interested to hear what methods people are using and how effective they are!

[Gingerpele 0]

I''ll be honest with you Aggy, i haven''t really put too much effort in yet. But I am starting, and appreciate all the advice on here.

And as to your question, i''m trying to do both. I''m quite overweight (probably obese, I don''t know...) so really want to get down to a slightly more reasonable size. But I also want to be fit enough to do things, I would love to play football for a sunday league side, something like that. Also quite like the idea of running in a marathon. I realise thats probably a long way off, but i''m 19, 20 in June. If i''m not going to put the effort in now, I probably never well.

Now Easter is over (which I probably should have just ignored), i''m going to really start watching what I eat and exercising more (plan on buying a Bike soon, would be useful once the football starts again next season, could bike to my Grandads, the other side of Norwich to watch games on Sky, since my Mum decided Sky Sports was too expensive...). I just hope I can keep it up, and actually make a difference to my self.

Thanks for all the help and advice on here though, very much appreciated.

[Aggy 758]

I didn''t realise you were so young, thought from your posts you were a bit older than that. But yeah in that case then exercise and food just get on the bandwagon as much as possible really. When you start at the gym ask them to give you some help with a personal routine and that usually helps motivate people - if you''re just going with your own routine often people think they can miss days or move days around etc. and end up not bothering. Whereas if you''ve got something done by professional trainers, it can be a bit more motivation to actually stick to it, as they know what they''re talking about!

Good luck anyway!

[Shaun Tilly Lace 0]

The best of luck in your efforts to get fit and lose weight, GP. If you are anything like me it will be very hard work - both in avoiding temptation for a relatively long time, and in keeping up an exercise regime. As I said before, I love my food and drink, and so resisting temptation - most of the time, anyway - takes all my available will power.

I think I''m on a permanent diet now for the rest of my life, unless I''m happy to allow my weight to creep back up to nearly 16 stone, and I can assure you that I''m not! I read something the other day which I must say seems to ring rather true for me - the writer claimed (quoting a scientific study I believe) that if you have gained weight once in your life, you then need 300 calories less to maintain a healthy weight than somebody who has never piled on the pounds. Frightening.

[Shaun Tilly Lace 0]

In my last post where I say "you need 300 calories less to maintain a healthy weight", I meant 300 calories less a day, of course.