Exercise Support

TamsinValencia said:
Any exercise ideas? I've been doing badly
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I joined the Latin dance circuit in our area in September 2023 and that gave me the boost in exercise to replace the long walks I had with the dog. (I still walk him, just not as far since he is a 16-year old Border Collie.) You can start at any dance school and pretty soon you end up with an idea of where to go. For me, Monday night is Miss Bachata, Wednesday night is Lago's and Friday night is The Capitol. You could never convince me to be a gym rat, exercising on machines. L:atin dance is not difficult - if you can count to eight, you can do all the Latin dances that include mambo, salsa, bachata (my favourite), cha-cha (my least favourite), rhumba and merengue. Sometimes they add in kizumba, an African dance style, so there is plenty to learn.

There are also lasting friendships to be made and even though the man always leads, the woman gets to evaluate his leadership, so the power flows both ways.
 
TamsinValencia
TamsinValencia
the one in my area got moved locations! but I am going to find another!
November said:
Exercise your brain 😛
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Walk. It is one thing i found i could do even unfit. Audiobooks or talking to someone on the phone makes the hour go fast. And yes i walk for an hour *every* day. In bad weather i try to find an indoor space or ride (slowly) my recumbent exercise bike. The thing that helps most is being consistent.

A 20 min walk daily is much better than doing a long, hard workout you dont have energy for the next day. Do anything you can do relatively easily and enjoy enough to do it daily at your *current* fitness level.

Wear comfy shoes. A water bottle holder. (I hate carrying stuff) Go early or late according to *your* body clock and weather.

CONSISTENCY IS much MORE IMPORTANT THAN intensity.

If you dont get sore you can do it again. The goal is to keep moving.

I chose a hour bc i could do it easily & an hour daily improves me a lot faster than 20 mins daily without a lot of stress on my bad knees. Now the 1 hour route takes about 40 minutes and i go further, so my workout takes more effort without a lot of stress. Keeping to an hour means i do more as i get fitter.

When i could still run i picked a distance. I went from 55 minutes to 23 minutes after several months then kept that distance for a long time. But that was 30 years ago and before i was seriously ill for a long time.

When i got fitter i started swimming for a hour 3x week - but that is because i love water. I mostly swim in summer.

Any exercise needs to be done at least 3 times a week to improve fitness. Less may help mental health but it won't - CAN'T build fitness even if you work out harder.

**Dont wait til you feel like exercising.** Until you have the habit you wont feel like it. Once you have the habit you will miss it.

Easy does it. Then you can do it again.
 
I need to get walking again, been really bad at it lately.
 
NotASlayer
NotASlayer
I somehow managed to hurt the sole of my foot on my walk yesterday.
I feel like I am only *just* recovering from summer now winter is almost over 😭 Like, I just got off the rowing machine, 4kms, but its taken me a while to work back up to that without getting off it totally wrecked. I feel ok, not wobbly. I expected to feel bad after feeding the horses hay today, 2 walks with the dogs and a little stint on the airtrack for stretching/strength. This should be base level and its taken so long to get here with migraines interfering along the way. I havent done weights much because 2kilo has been too heavy for me!
 
@DeepBlueJoy After reading your post, I actually started looking up exercise bikes online. I'd love to have one that's compact/folds away after use.

I much prefer to get outside and walk, but obviously there's days where it's difficult.

Sometimes I follow online workouts, but there's times it feels like you're just going through the motions and counting down the minutes to when the session is over, whereas on a bike you can watch/listen to what you like and hit your goals.
 
DeepBlueJoy
DeepBlueJoy
I am glad. Hope it goes well. Having more than one option really helps. I can't do exercise videos too much mental in the physical unless i am trying to learn steps to a dance or a martial arts kata i could not do it, and those would be a challenge.
My neighbours keep commenting on my weight. I gained everything back when i stopped drinking coke zero. Cos i dont actually like coke at all, but the bubbles made me feel ill enough not to eat. But I went back to drinking tea for winter and now I'm back at exactly my starting weight. At least my clothes fit again.

Did 9 holes on the golf course yesterday. If I had my own clubs I'd be out there 4 days a week! But I have to wait til someone who has a key can let me play, which is only twice at most right now.

Still doing 5km walkies a day with the dogs. And 4 kms on the rowing machine. Yet still find vacuuming to be the hardest workout of all!

Getting into spring time gardening soon too. Still got a lot of trees to burn.
 
One thing I have been seeing more of, on people and in articles, is weighted vests. It sounds like they work, too, and my own experience with ankle weights which got some expected (better legs) and unexpected (better bum 🤣) benefits would seem to back this up. Some look, comparatively, cheap, but others cost over £100.
 
NotASlayer said:
One thing I have been seeing more of, on people and in articles, is weighted vests. It sounds like they work, too, and my own experience with ankle weights which got some expected (better legs) and unexpected (better bum 🤣) benefits would seem to back this up. Some look, comparatively, cheap, but others cost over £100.
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I get a lot of reels for them too, except from the other side - the physios who are treating the bulging disc people get from wearing one too heavy. Cos I already have a back full of herniated discs the algorithm warns me off everything like this haha.

Still struggling with the vaccuming, defo have to do that today. But maybe after walkies so it doesn't matter if Im dead after it.
 
November said:
I get a lot of reels for them too, except from the other side - the physios who are treating the bulging disc people get from wearing one too heavy. Cos I already have a back full of herniated discs the algorithm warns me off everything like this haha.
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Ah, yes, there is that about wearing one that is too heavy. I looked at a whole bunch on Amazon, because I was wondering just how you would choose a weight, and ended up finding some that had min, recommended and max weight recommendations, though you would probably be better speaking to an actual professional trainer about a recommended weight. For one thing, the way of choosing what weight a woman should wear was based on bust size. Bigger boobs means stronger I guess. 😀 Men's was based on weight. They did recommend not wearing them for more than a couple of hours tops though.
 
November
November
Boobs are probably half my back problem!
I had been keeping up with my walks and weights but my back was out and I was struggling! Today I just couldn't do it. I took the dogs out for a single walk together, which meant half my usual distance, and then I sat on my arse for most of the rest of the day. About 3pm, while sitting like a fat slob on the couch, my back clicked back in! Felt awesome! So then i spent the arvo cooking and cleaning. Hopefully tomorrow i can get some real gardening done, which is a pretty heavy work out for me these days!
 
I am considering moving the rowing machine inside. But I dont really have room for it anywhere. I just havent been on it at all this month because its too hot on the patio. The cool morning is dog walking time, and by the time I get back, its just too hot. The sun sets over the patio, so the afternoon is a write off out there.

I have been using my two kilo weights most days. I still dont think I am any stronger from using them. So maybe I have to find a better routine with them, or some kind of dance to follow maybe. I see no progress and that bums me out.
 
Progress from weights tends to be noticed when you try a heavier weight and find it's easier than you expected, or a lighter one and feel like you are lifting air. 😀 But there are different ways of using them; not sure which is the best, but I have come across a few, usually revolving around doing sets.
 
i just feel so weak this week. Like, I felt like I semi dislocated my shoulder trying to open the back door. And that was before I did whatever i did to my Achilles heel, which now has a huge lump on it. You'd think I'd not be getting weaker from daily weights when I feel like maybe i am lol
 
Am considering purchasing a walking pad. It's like a miniature version of a treadmill. It's compact, quiet, folds away. I don't run, so I'd be fine with something like this.
 
My plans to improve my fitness in 2025 fell flat on my face, and not due to over exercising. I've decided to verbally support those who do.
 
I get so mad after walkies! I have tried having sugar before I go, but it hasnt helped. I come home absolutely fuming. Poor dogs know to settle straigh away and not bug me. I cant figure out why walkies makes me so cranky. I get better after an hour or so of sitting on my ass.

Got the air track out again and have been doing stretching the last few days cos my back has been locked up. I duno if it helps, Im stupidly flexible but extremely weak.
 
I have the cure for going out on walkies, I need to use a walking stick. The muscles on my right arm and right tit are quite taught.
My left arm and tit are ruddy flabby.
 
November
November
I'd probably whack someone if I took my stick with me!
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