How does exercise affect you?

[DreamP]

sorano, yeah, I think there is also a spectrum on how much genes help. I really feel I am at the low end, but that doesn't discourage me. I like the way exercise makes me feel. But it is a reality check. I'm never going to get the same results as most people with the same amount of exercise.

[Mr. Lucky]

I like the way exercise makes me feel. But it is a reality check. I'm never going to get the same results as most people with the same amount of exercise.

 

Then maybe it's about accepting that result is enough ?

 

I've been an exercise/gym rat all my life but in the later years (I'm 65) have focused on those activities I've found to be fun - which would not include puking whilst running. So while I may have lost some ground in absolute strength and conditioning, I've had gains in consistency, motivation and enjoyment.

 

I think it's OK to find a middle ground that works for you and not worry about being measured against some hypothetical chart...

 

Mr. Lucky

[juniorrocha]

I can always see improvement when I'm working out. I'm the type of guy who tends to be skinny, I lose weight too fast. But eating healthy + working out + sleeping well, makes me win weight quite fast actually. I gained 2-3 kgs (sorry dunno how's that in lbs hehe) in about 3 weeks of working out, and that's considering I just got out of a relationship a month ago and went days not eating very well. People around can already see that I gained weight. A nice boost of self-esteem, not to mention it feels great when I leave the gym.

 

Of course genetics play a big role here, but if you do things properly then you can get there; just because it's harder for you, doesn't mean you'll never get there.

[Imported]

I haven't been able to workout at all for near 2 weeks now and I lost weight. Unfortunately, it's mostly muscles I lost. Looking in the mirror, I look pretty much the same, just not as tight/solid, but I doubt anyone else would notice. Not yet anyway. When I was younger, I once spiraled out of control and went over a year with not working out. The muscles didn't really go away. Smaller sure, but they didn't turn to flab or anything. I still looked...muscular. Deltoids still big, bisceps still showing, horseshoe on the triceps still defined. Dick pointers and abs....that went away.

 

I think the best way that exercise affects me is that I control my eating a lot better. I still can't really lift, but I am going to start working out again (walking/stairstepper) if for no other reason than to help me control my eating better.

[Emilia]

I've squatted 2.5 tonnes today (not in one go obviously ) and I can eat a whole farm. Will have to buy extra food tomorrow too, then it will all calm down by Tuesday. Lifting makes me so hungry and it completely controls my body fat %

[thefooloftheyear]

Exercise doesn't affect me at all...

 

It's when I don't or can't for whatever reason, I begin to have problems...Not too much physically, as my daily work routine is still physical enough to keep me fit and strong, but I turn into an angry and depressed person when I fall off my normal training routine...

 

SO I try to stay focused, so I don't torture the people around me..

 

TFY

Edited June 19, 2016 by thefooloftheyear

[fitnessfan365]

I think that fitness is one area that has been negatively impacted by technology. People have more and more reasons to be inactive.

 

Also with obesity being such a problem now, fit/health conscious people are often made to feel like outsiders. Just recently I read a post on LS where a woman that was 5'3" and 115lbs was told by people in her social circle to eat a cheeseburger and gain weight. I think the average weight now is 30-40lbs higher than it was 20 years ago. The sad part to me is that people just don't seem to give a crap about it either. The human body was not meant to look obese. It was meant to be strong and fit to maintain an active hunter/gatherer lifestyle. That's why I think that Spartans of Greece were so bad ass. They trained their bodies to represent their work ethic and pride in all aspects of their life.

[heartwhole]

I have always had trouble with exercise. I have mitral valve prolapse causing (or in conjunction with) POTS. In my 20s before kids I was able to work up to running 7 miles at a 9 min/mile pace, but curiously, when I ran a 10k with my sister (7 years older, 20 pounds heavier, and in worse shape), she was able to chat at that pace, and I was not. It wasn't until having children made my condition much worse that I realized how much harder exercise is for me.

 

I work out 5-6 days per week. Lately I have been trying to keep my HR in the 140s when I do the treadmill, which means I kind of half jog/half walk until my HR gets up, then speed walk the rest. Theoretically I should become faster at the same HR if I keep training this way. That's my hope. But I've always had to accept that running may simply be beyond me now. When I push myself and run, I pay for it with crushing fatigue and the inability to stay upright. So it's just not worth it.

 

Recently I went to an endocrinologist to see if he could help with my issues, but it turned out he's just a "diet doctor." My BMI is 22 so I didn't think I needed a diet doctor, but it turned out my body fat was 30% and my muscle mass was low. That lit a fire under me and I started doing harder and longer weights workouts. In 5 weeks I reduced my body fat to 28% and gained over a pound of muscle. So on one hand, I seem to be able to exercise and my body responds well. I look good for having had two kids. But on the other hand, all this daily exercise and I still can't jog a mile without a Herculean effort.

[robaday]

Enjoyment is a huge factor. Never really liked exercise apart from soccer and even that fell by the wayside. Tried weights and running sporadically but wasn't until I found martial arts I really really started to get fit. Perhaps the intense pressure and what's at stake if you don't train is the impetus I needed....I then started running to supplement the ma training, then got into weights. But they were secondary factors, I needed to find something I really wanted to work hard at first.

 

If I can't be bothered going for a run, or am put off by the rain or tiredness or whatever - I gas out twice as fast. A lot is in my head. The more I relax the better I do, the more Im dreading it the more I gas out.

 

But it takes a long long time. I didn't get past 3 km in a full year of jogging regularly. Took another year to get to 5. Then another year to run a 14k competitive race.

 

Cant speak for you and dont know you. But its possible you havent found that "thing" that will make you want to train harder and harder for. Some people get it from cross fit, others from mountain biking, others like me, with martial arts.....I think you need to be pretty much obsessed and enjoy it to get real results....just my experience

[DreamP]

Cant speak for you and dont know you. But its possible you havent found that "thing" that will make you want to train harder and harder for. Some people get it from cross fit, others from mountain biking, others like me, with martial arts.....I think you need to be pretty much obsessed and enjoy it to get real results....just my experience

 

I believe that too. For me it's dancing, but it is harder to get to around where I live and I haven't made friends to go dancing with. The times I have been, I haven't gotten enough dance partners to make it a good amount of actual physical activity. That is why I try the other stuff. Still trying to motivate myself to do other stuff.