I hate the idea of excercise, I love the idea of beer. I have realised the only way to continue drinking and not having a heart attack before 40 is to join a gym and get back into shape.
My bike was supposed to do that but although I will use it summer it is stored in my lockup five minutes walk away so as a piece of transport the car always wins.
I have found a gym which does off peak rates at £20 a month but what do I get for that? Would they show me how to use the equipment?
It is sadly a contract too but that is good as I am more likely to continue going.
I am just some how emberassed about the idea and keep putting it off but with less than two years before I hit 30 I need to do something to get my health better.
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There's a gym (or was one) near the Morrisons - is that the one you're referring to? I was a member once and it was probably about £20 back then. I don't think that was a lengthy contract back then. Okay it was fairly small and had limited cardio equipment and had more free weights than machines.
Regardless of gym, yes they will show you how to use equipment etc. In fact they will test your fitness etc. and come up with an exercise plan for you.
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What to expect? Something like this hopefully...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_fCqg92qks
If not ask for your subs back.
Last edited by: Fenlander on Mon 3 Jan 11 at 21:59
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Thanks :).
That one 'burnt down' about ten years ago, it is a very popular kids cafe and funplace now which causes major problems on Saturdays as all the cars park ilegaly on Albany Road.
This is the place I was thinking off.
www.longfordsfitness.co.uk/
My belly is getting a bit obvious - not as bad as Clarksons but not far off.
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Opening times at the weekend aren't that good though..
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The great thing is though I have a lot of spare time in the afternoons which is when I plan to go. I probably wouldn't use it at weekends as Saturdays are my busiest day workwise.
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Good for you Rattle ! That's the spirit. Now when you say "gym" what facilities do they have ? Pool, gym, classes etc ? Do they have a cafe / bar ?
Reason I ask all this is that you will more likely to use it and continue to use it if you actually enjoy the experience as part of an extension to your social life rather than as a chore to be endured.
In the sort of venue which has all the above there will almost certainly be instruction available.
The key thing though is to decide in advance what your minimum attendance will be, what time of day and which days suit you best and stick to it. If you find the gym a bit hard going at first then just swim a bit to start with. In due course, when you've loosened off a bit you could do a bit of gym-ing followed by a sauna or swim.
Use the cafe if there is one, you'll make new friends through your shared interest. Of course there'll be the odd superman candidate wandering about but most people are pretty normal and just looking for a bit of light excercise and an alternative to the pub.
It's amazingly refreshing to socialise with people who are sober. Some of them even talk quite a lot of sense.
:-)
Go for it but be really careful to stick to it and if necessary pay a bit more for a venue with a wider variety of activities. If you sign up to a serious gym you'll not enjoy it if you're not used to it. Think more of "leisure" clubs.
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I was a bit older than you Rattie and had a spare room at the time...have 2 now but SWM has so much of her 'stuff' everywhere it's almost impossible to get in either of them.;)
I realised i was getting a bit out of shape and bought a York multigym from i think Argos.
Had a variety of weight excercises for all of the body, and it worked for me very well, professionals would probably laugh at it but coupled with biking to work and a fair bit of walking i got meself into pretty good shape...though you wouldn't think so now some 20 odd years later if you saw me, and i am going to do something about it.
As Hump half jokingly alluded to in another thread, proper girlies do like it and you feel more how shall i say 'receptive' to them.
The one i bought wasn't top of the range but over half way up, it took up probably the sapce of a single bed.
I would certainly get another.
Gym is good, but it's too easy to find excuses not to go regardless of whether you've pre paid, at least that's been SWM's experiences unless she had a friend to go with on a regular basis.
As regards drinking, i never really got hooked on it so often ended up as the chauffeur...when stone cold sober you see just how downright stupid and obnoxious people can be under the influence it can have have a very permanent sobering effect.
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I don't drink that much only on saturdays really but I tend to stay out very late and will have between 7-10 pints from say 7:00pm to 2:30am and then lay of the booze.
I thought about buying some equipment but there is no space at all, I could make space in a cold lockup but its not exactly a nice environment but it is an idea.
I was always very crap at PE, so crap in fact that I black mailed my head teacher out of doing it.
I won't go swimming etc so not too bothered about facilities, I think a cafe will be a good idea, there is a function room on the site I think which I assume sell food as well as booze (which I won't touch!).
I don't know why this feels like such a big deal to me, but it really is a different world.
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Do you have a "Bannatynes" near you Rattle? They are pretty good.
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There's a Bannatynes in Manchester city centre so not convenient for Rattle.
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I could to it but it is a tram/bus ride away so it would be an excuse not to go. At least if it is local I could walk there.
There is the council run leasure centre which might be cheaper as it is not by the council and not for profit, it might be a bit too local though.
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>> I could to it but it is a tram/bus ride away so it would be
>> an excuse not to go. At least if it is local I could walk there.
>> it might be a bit too local though.
Too far away - Too close....
Sounds to me, that you are just trying find excuses not to go...
Rattle, life is too short - get off your butt, cut down on the drinking,get a bit fitter (I walk, no cost, but keeps me fit(ish) and find a good (bad?) woman.
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Well too close then I could be people I half know I don't really want to see. e.g customers, too far I would be too lazy to go but I know exactly what you mean.
I used to walk a lot before I had a car, now I have go to London to get that exercise I easily seem to walk around 10-15 miles a day there. I will take a walk to Mediacity one day day this week which is a good 7 miles round trip.
The car has made me very lazy in the excercise regard.
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Go
Do it
weatherproof the bike and cycle to the gym for added benefit.
Push yourself a bit and it will hurt a little and you will feel better for it.
Don't be intimidated or embarrassed.I hated any sort of exercise at school, I was well past 30 when I first when to the local council gym, I didn't feel comfortable being stuck on a treadmill next to somebody who was powering away (*), but I stuck with it, and it can still be a bit of a bind, but it is well worth it
(*) some guy called Martin Offiah - bit of an athlete, I am lead to beleive
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You have your own gym from the hips down. Get a decent pair of trainers or walking shoes and do a twenty minute walk every day at a pace that raises your heart rate. Cheap, effective and all you need.
Once the novelty of the gym wears off you will be looking for excuses not to go.
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I would happily walk an hour a day if I seemed gain for it. Before I had my car I used think the walking wasn't exercise but it I don't know if my belly just aging or the fact I am no longer doing that walking.
If I do start walking I best make sure I have no money on me or I will be going past Greggs.
There is actually a lot of countryside close by as well although I find city walking more interesting.
Last edited by: RattleandSmoke on Mon 3 Jan 11 at 22:38
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>> I would happily walk an hour a day if I seemed gain for it. Before
>> I had my car I used think the walking wasn't exercise but it I don't
>> know if my belly just aging or the fact I am no longer doing that
>> walking.
>>
>> If I do start walking I best make sure I have no money on me
>> or I will be going past Greggs.
>>
>> There is actually a lot of countryside close by as well although I find city
>> walking more interesting.
>>
It will be the lack of walking... that and the beer!
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You will meet a nice gay man Ratts.
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Circuit training did it for me 3x classes a week this was 10 years back and i was the fittest ever been, then beer and kebabs took there toll.!!
Now cut back on booze and takeaways not giving up just cutting down a lot, and i go swimming 3x times a week and circuits once.
You need to keep doing it tomorrow at circuits there will be a load of new faces, there always is this time of year & after 8-12 weeks they drop out as it's a bit much.
Find something you enjoy and do that running is not for everybody as it's not for me, but a good swim is and less strain on your muscles.
Good luck in what you do.
P.S SEX is a fantastic way to lose weight so get a woman or a inflatable sheep and bang on.!!
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After the last dog died I put on a couple of stone!
I did an intensive life saving course at the local swimming pool. I put on half a stone, but looked slimmer.
Anyone who goes to a gym is wasting their money. You usually have to sign up for a year (with automatic renewal) and won't take advantage of it.
Any neighbours want their dogs walking?
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>> what to expect
Ripped off, queues for cardio machines, at this time of year :-)
Walk / jog / run is free and 100 times more interesting. There's local walking and running clubs do their get fit for new year meets just now. By the end of the month you'll be able to run further than you can imagine right now. Avoid anything you need to pay for, just because the free meets are way happier groups in my experience.
It gets addictive because of the way it makes you feel.
Weights are a good idea. Raid the charity shops over the next few weeks youll get enough kit to start your own gym. A set of cheap dumbbells you can hide under the bed is all you need really though. Just something for mild resistance where your body weight is not enough. Google for a regime plan. Avoid anything too solo though, it's just an addition to the main meets.
You'll meet some characters, good for job prospects too probably :-)
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I can thoroughly recommend Egyptian P.T. (P.E. these days ?)
Last edited by: landsker on Mon 3 Jan 11 at 23:30
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Try walking to the pub and back....
That's what I do occasionally.
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www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVrNV_5LhNE
Last edited by: Zero on Mon 3 Jan 11 at 23:37
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I walk to the car in the drive every day. It's a bit easier if I've parked ' nose-in ' .
Get good set of boots and some gear...get the train to Edale, walk back to Chinley, climbing Jacobs Ladder on the way.
Train home from Chinley. No Greggs...no pub.
Best exersize you can get !
Ted
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>>Joining a gym - what to expect?
Hell on earth, that's what. But that's just my (correct) opinion... :-)
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OK I am now put of the gym but I like the idea of perhaps buying some equipment and also start walks. But then I have a bike would I not be better using that rather than walking? I suppose what I could do is say something like I will walk 5 miles a day and then use my bike occasionaly.
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Not a bad idea that, how far is at about 6 miles?
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Rattle, you like dancing, right ?
You'd like to meet more women ?
You'd like to get fitter ?
Join an aerobics class. Friend of mine did just that and he's seen more action on the totty front there than he's had in years ! Might involve wearing lycra though, just so's you know...
:-)
PS - Why won't you swim ? It's a great way to ease your body back into exercise.
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>> PS - Why won't you swim ? It's a great way to ease your body
>> back into exercise.
Ah, now swimming I actually enjoyed. Though for the love of God, please don't tell Mrs B!
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Rattle, forget the gym and go and invest the money In a Wii Fit Plus with a balance board.
Some years ago I paid for a years membership at the Alpine gym in March.
I must have gone at least 6 times and that was it.
The main problem I found that it was full of fit, thin people who looked down upon anyone using the equipment they wanted to use if you didn't look like Twiggy. I also found I would only use the equipment I enjoyed ( because it was easy for me to do) and not the ones I should be using. I was assured my blood pressure would be regularly monitored as I had just been diagnosed with it very high, but apart from my first visit, it was never tested again. What a waste of money.
Just before Christmas we both realised that in the Winter months we get very little exercise and the lack of free time in daylight makes it hard to walk, cycle etc for fun.
We wondered if my arthritis and mobility would improve with some exercise as it seems to in the Summer when I'm gardening on a daily basis.
We paid £179 and bought the Wii Fit Plus and it's the best thing we ever did.
I feel so much better and it is fun to do but by being competitive it makes you want to do it again tomorrow to beat what you did yesterday.
It weighs you and does your BMI every time you start it and it plans a set of exercise that's suits you down to the ground.
Give it a go and if you're having a bad day you can do what I do.....Do it with a fag in your hand and a glass of wine on the side:)
I couldn't do that at the gym.
Pat
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>> Not a bad idea that, how far is at about 6 miles?
Have a brisk walk in your slack time every day - make it part of your routine.
Find a pleasant route you can do in an hour (which won't be 6 miles, likely a bit less than 4).
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Depends on the gym. I tried a few which were either full of "lycra nazis" who looked down their nose at you, or the stereotypical meat heads gathered in the corner, talking loudly about the size of their "muscles".
Found a great local gym towards the end of last year. Friendly instructors, friendly clientelle of all shapes and sizes, and lots of kit. I don't think I've ever had to queue for anything.
I'm hitting it with a vengeance starting this week.
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Rats, I have very poor will power and my only suggestion is that if this is important to you then you must give it priority in your life.
If you decide that the way to go is a one hour walk, or 2 x half hour walks every day then make sure you plan them in. Don't say you will get to it when you can, plan it in.
Even if that means that you have a busy day and therefore need to set the alarm for 30 mins earlier than normal.
As soon as it becomes a nice to do then it will rapidly fall by the wayside.
I like Pat's suggestion, we had a wii fit when they first came out and I always found that if I did the boxing, I finished up sweating like the proverbial!
Only yesterday had a shot on my friend's wii fit plus, loads more different activities to do and I may be tempted again. Although I will try and reduce the "welcome back, it has been 338 days since your last visit" that I got yesterday!
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The Wii-Fit is fine provided you don't live in a flat, or you don't want to use it in a bedroom while others are downstairs, as Rattolo might.
Simplest solution is reduce ale intake.
Good for the bank balance, too.
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You're really not supposed to jump up and down on the balance board like a little elephant Iffy:)
And Bobby, you and I both know the way to stop that >>338 days since<< don't we!
Pat
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...You're really not supposed to jump up and down on the balance board like a little elephant Iffy:)...
Fair enough.
When I saw these active controller things demonstrated on the television I had visions of very unhappy neighbours, particularly if they were in a flat underneath.
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Our girls wanted an XBox Kinnect for christmas this year.... a motion sensor device that sits under the TV so you work the games by full body movement... without any controller to hold.
Very impressive when I demo'd it in PC World but no way I want them thrashing about in the sitting room all the time so it was a no.
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Might be worth grabbing one of the cheaper Polar heart rate monitors too - in most gyms they link to the machine and it'll calibrate itself automatically for strength / endurance / fat burn or whatever.
You could also try climbing, there's the excellent indoor wall near the university in a converted church in Manchester. I climb a couple of times a week and still feel knackered afterwards, so it's good exercise and more fun than a gym. They even have a safe area for you to lock your bike.
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>> >> You could also try climbing, there's the excellent indoor wall near the university in a
>> converted church in Manchester. I climb a couple of times a week and still feel
>> knackered afterwards, so it's good exercise and more fun than a gym. They even have
>> a safe area for you to lock your bike.
Climbing's good for strength building, but running, walking, cycling is best for the cardiovascular system, it's going to burn more calories, and get your heart beating faster - but to lose weight, especially on the stomach, you are going to have to be determined, it doesn't just melt away after a few weeks, think how long it took to get there. A regular regime coupled with less ale intake and eating the right foods is the best way to get there, you may think it boring eating salads and vegetables, lean meats, but actaully it's just a case of what you're used to. I have skimmed milk in tea, at the time I thought it was very watery, but I don't like semi skimmed in tea now - little things like that can make a surprising difference to your fat intake.
It will be hard to start with, and that's where you will have to use some will power, but as you become fitter, you'll be amazed at how much more you'll enjoy life.
Does any of your family need their grass cutting regularly? Even doing something like that would be beneficial.
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Save the gym money and spend that on beer, too. A fast walk (work up to 4mph) to/back from a pub a reasonable distance away (3 or four miles) will allow you to lose weight at the same time as going to the pub.
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I can live with the belly if need be but I really really don't want it to get any worse. I am not over weight yet it is just because my build the belly stands out even though its small if that makes sense? But I need to start excersing so it dosn't get any worse and goes down a bit.
I noticed it about four years ago and bought a couple of bikes but I don't use them as much as I hoped, mainly due to the crap weather.
Wii fit is a decent idea but there isn't a great deal of room and I will probably be forced to move out this year into some crummy bedsit.
Last edited by: RattleandSmoke on Tue 4 Jan 11 at 13:14
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You don't strictly need to exercise to loose weight. A pound of fat is what 3200 calories? Cut 3200kcal out your diet and weight drops by 1lb.
Google "hacker diet" might appeal to rattles natural tendency towards the techie approach?
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hehe will any progress I can plot on spreadsheets would help! I do eat a lot of crap and that is something I am going to cut down on a lot too. No more going to supermarkets to buy ready meals to eat late at night.
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>> No more going to supermarkets to buy ready meals to eat late at
>> night.
Yet another easy way of piling on the pounds. Eating late at night means you fill yourself with calories, then you go to sleep and those calories aren't being burnt because you're not active. So the body converts the food and stores it as fat.
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Indeed and it is why I am going to try and stop that habbit, will hopefully help me get to sleep as well. I am trying to sort out my entire life style.
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I am virtually the same weight as 40 years ago. I run 15-20 miles a week/walk 10 miles/garden /do yoga/regular exercises. Consume approx 2800 calories/day.
And with all that I still put on weight in winter and lose it in summer.
A serious degree of abstinence from eating and beer is needed to really lose weight and keep it off. Pizzas, pies and pastas put on pounds. Salads, and selective eating satiates stomachs and slenderises you.
Easiest way of losing weight? Not to put it on.
It's all about willpower. Most people have none.
Last edited by: madf on Tue 4 Jan 11 at 16:32
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>> It's all about willpower
Like giving up smoking (ex-smoker), i don't believe that. Willpower has nothing to do with it if you're in the right frame of mind. Best of all it requires no ongoing battle with yourself.
>> Most people have none.
I do agree with that, speaking for myself anyway.
P.S. Yoga?! ;-) -- i'm genuinely only kidding!
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Those who fail to keep up an excercise regime have usually chosen the wrong form of excercise. Trick is to choose an activity which you look forward to as opposed to one you don't.
I regularly swim because I enjoy it. I ride my mountain bikes because I enjoy it. The fact that both are a form of excercise is a fringe benefit.
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"P.S. Yoga?!"
Great for flexibility when you grow older. And balance.
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>> "P.S. Yoga?!"
>>
>> Great for flexibility when you grow older. And balance.
Remaining flexible when you're older is one of the best ways of keeping and feeling younger. Most blokes will pooh pooh the idea of stretching exercises. More fool them.
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The yoga exercises on the Wii fit are hard for me but are starting to benefit my balance and range.
Pat
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>> I have realised
>> the only way to continue drinking and not having a heart attack before 40 is
>> to join a gym and get back into shape.
Not unusual at this time of year (warning - contains some rude words):
www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/health/britain-begins-fitness-drive-that-will-rapidly-peter-out-201101053396/
:)
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Unusually for a lorry driver, my job keeps me pretty fit. About a third of my deliveries involve "handball", in fact I've got seven or eight tons of it on my load tomorrow. Bags of animal feed weighing 25kg, each pulled off the lorry (involves stepping up and down) carried on average about 10 yards on my shoulder and then stacked. The trick is to do it steadily, build up a rhythm and don't rush; ideally you don't want too many helping you, in fact if there are more than three it tends to slow the job down as you get in each other's way.
Have never weighed more than twelve and a half stone in my life.
Save the gym fees, either walk someone's dog or get involved in voluntary work in the conservation field. Alternatively, get yourself an allotment; bit of lifting and shifting, and you can eat healthily too!
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That's the problem I have HM, as you know muscle turns to fat if you don't use it:)
I miss dropping those bags right across the ear of the person telling me women shouldn't be lorry drivers!
Pat
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>>Bags of animal feed weighing 25kg, each pulled off the lorry (involves stepping up and down) carried on average about 10 yards on my shoulder and then stacked.
Good exercise, HM, but I wouldn't mind betting that some of your colleagues would prefer the use of a pallet, a length of cling film, or similar, and a fork lift truck.
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>> Good exercise, HM, but I wouldn't mind betting that some of your colleagues would prefer
>> the use of a pallet, a length of cling film, or similar, and a fork
>> lift truck.
>>
Of course we would, it's quicker and easier; unfortunately around 40% of my delivery points either don't have a fork lift, being small pet shops, or if they're on farms they store the feed in an old stone shed which is inaccessible to a machine. It is also preferable to use a fork lift or front-loader on fairly level ground, a rare and precious commodity on Welsh hill farms! :-)
Some of our lorries bring a forklift with them, unfortunately my current one's not one of them. Slideshow here from about four years ago when I was on long-distance, delivering game feeds. Pugugly will probably recognise some of the locations.
tinyurl.com/397tdcm
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>>tinyurl.com/397tdcm
Very interesting, Harleyman. Thanks.
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Joining a gym - what to expect? - rtj70
