What is everyone doing for a fitness program?

Since becoming a member here, I have had a real awakening of what I need to do to survive problem situations and be able to take care of my family. As mentioned in a previous post, if problems arise while at work, I’ll be hiking a long way (~ 25 miles) to get home. This is my primary concern and is what I’m basing my fitness program around.

My fitness priorities are:
1) cardiovascular fitness (including losing weight)
2) core strength
3) muscular endurance (as opposed to strength)

To address these needs I am doing the following:
1) 30 - 40 minute power walks at lunch time with a friend. 3 - 5 times a week depending on weather. 20 minutes on an exercise bike to start my home workout 2 -3 times a week. I’m trying to add a hike on the weekend, but that is hard to do given my family schedule.

2 and 3) These are both addressed by how I do the resistance part of my workout. I use a Total Gym (the one that Chuck Norris endorses) for my resistance training. My exercises are lower resistance and higher reps ( 20+ per exercise) to build endurance, plus it’s easier on these old joints. An added benefit of this equipment is that you have to stabilize yourself and thus work your core abdominal area hard.

I’ve also cleaned up my diet, but that still needs more work.

I’ve only been back on this program for the past few weeks, but have already lost 8 pounds. Only 20 more to go.

Any comments? I would really like to know what others are doing in this area.

1 mile round trip (double if I come home for lunch) w/ 20#++ pack and steep hills week days except holidays. The speed I do it in makes the difference between a moderate workout & getting shin splints from it.

Walk 3 miles in 50 minutes, flat, uphill and down, 4 mornings and again every evening unless it's raining hard. Gym workout 3 mornings a week-2 90 minute workouts, half aerobic circuit training, half anaerobic weight training, 1 three hour workout, one hour circuit, 2 hours anaerobic weight training. Walking from my car to my office and back again for lunch and driving to meetings, approx. 1 mile per day. Low carb diet.

Every other night I do 15 mintes of Yoga to stay flexible followed by 40 minutes of endurance training on my trendmill whie carrying forteen pounds of water in a backpack. I also watch my diet (Yeah! SlimFast!). I'm currently 39 years old, 6'5" tall and weigh 215 lbs.

I work witha lot of guys 55+ years old and the shape they are in terrifies me. That's my incentive to keep at it.

-Blast

1 hr of cardio workout 3x week; that's the biggie.

I shoot for an ideal of an hour a day six times a week of exercise but forty-five minutes every second day is more realistic. That said I have been good the last three days and with only one day break the three before so I'm well above minimum. I don't feel bad about that level of activity.

From one of my previous posts:

My current fitness is a combination of walking to and from work (9 miles) minimum 2 days a week carrying a laptop, lunch etc in a backpack. I do this in a all types of conditions: rain, snow or sun.

On the other days, I bike the almost the same route and it is actually harder then walking as it is uphill both ways.

On weekends, it is not unusual to go for a 4-6 mile walk carrying our BOB's for weight, through a local park that is on the edge of a steep ravine. Other weekends a 25-30 mile bike ride is normal.


Will be getting back into some light weightlifting and pushups now that the troublesome shoulder has settled down once again.

I used to do push-ups on my knuckles on gravel and other asceticism of the body practices to harden up my mind and body, pushing my limits, and all that. Now I realized it's futile and drink a lot of beer, watch tv and browse the internet all the time and avoid all kind of physical efforts when possible. Actually my most physically challenging activity is solving chess puzzles on diagrams. What can I say, I'm lazy? Survival is about energy conservation anyway. Once you have bugged out, you have to shelter-in-place for a long period of time and my mind is ready for that.

Frankie

Aerobics- bike for 40 minutes at least three times per week (used to run but developed knee issue)

Strenth- dumbell workout three times per week (used to do barbell free weights but goofed up my shoulder)

Flexibility- none..lol

500 Kcal on the elliptical, 30 minutes on the bowflex, x 4 times a week.

6'5" and 255-265 depending on how I am eating.

I am getting older and slowing down. At least I can keep going, just not as fast as I used to.

Hmmm let's see,

thinking about quitting smoking (2+ packs a day)
I work construction so depending on the work of that day heavy lifting and a lot of walking gets done not to mention pulling welding leads and contorting my large frame into positions to weld.

Some times the family and I go on a walk depending on the heat typically 1.4 miles.

I need to do more but working 50 - 60 hours a week I am usually too tired from the heat the last month to do much walking.

at 6' 2" and 310 lbs i really need to do more

Red Dog, it is time to quit smoking cigs now. I was up to three packs a day at one point. You need to find a reason that is more important than smoking is to you. For me, it was not being able to snuggle with my 3 year old that made me throw the rest of the carton in the garbage and turn my back on them.

People try to quit all the time. The one thing I've found about the truly successful is that they discover smoking interferes with something else in their life that they value more. If you can find a thing that smoking takes away from, like spending time with your kids without risking their health, or something like that, you will be successful. Without such motivation, I know of no one who's been able to give it up.

I quit in one day. It wasn't pleasant, but in my mind I had no choice. Once you take away the choice, the decision is pretty much made. It was like deciding to cut off my left hand for the life of my daughter, but isn't that something you would do? After 14 years of not smoking cigarettes, I have to say I miss it about as much today as I did when I first quit, but I learned to do without it, just like I could learn to do without a hand I suppose.

I've recently taken to puffing on a pipe or a good cigar once a month or so, but I can't inhale those things, and I know this isn't a habit, just an indulgence. I wouldn't recommend a cigarette smoker try to switch to pipe or cigar for at least 5 years or more after giving up cigs. The temptation is too great before that.

Find your reason, as I did, and get over your addiction. Then once you have that beast under control, you can focus on other things, one at a time. Discipline evokes maturity, but must be taken in small doses to be effective.

Actually I'm thinking about reducing booze consumption and resume swimming laps. I think swimming is a good physical exercise and obviously could be useful in emergencies...

Frankie

Wow, there are some big guys on here. I'm 34 years old, 5'6", 140 lbs. My workout consists of mainly yard work, bodyweight exercises , tae kwon do routines, and the occasional hike or bike ride. I don't diet per se, but what I am very stringent about is portion control. I cannot finish even half of most restaurant portions. When I do order at restaurants, I usually get something like grilled salmon, rice, and veggies.

I walk - briskly - 3.5 miles a day - and I play a rough and tuble game of soccer every saturday, rain or shine.

I'm very strong for some reason, I can lift a lot.

I do a USMC PFT every sunday. I also go to the gym 5 times a week for ~1 hour, do a 3 mile run three times a week & do daily crunches and push ups.

That is the ideal but i usally only do about 3/4 of that because of work & school.

Replying and quoting my own post...

I uploaded some pics of our local park that we make great use of as part of an overall fitness program. The walk to and from the park is less then 15 minutes each way from home which is perfect.

It's a beautiful and largely un-developed park right in the city and the best thing, it is very lightly used. Today in about 2 hours we seen 6 people and 4 dogs total even on this nice early fall day.

Take a look here:

God, I feel like a slacker after reading everyone else's responses! I work with a trainer 2 hours a week, but that's mostly weights and stretching-for-flexibility. (Never underestimate how much sitting in front of a computer all day for work messes up shoulders/chest muscles.) The only cardio I get is chasing my 5 y.o. nephew and 3 y.o. niece around every few weeks -- I have a rowing machine, but I HATE cardio!

Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Easy Frankie! Get a hold of yourself! That's just crazy talk!!! Do NOT do anything rash!!

I agree with Bogey
"The problem with the world is that everyone is a few drinks behind."
--Humphrey Bogart

Regarding excercise, right now about all I do is ride my bike to work. 16 miles a day round trip, 5 days per week regardless of weather. I ride a fixed gear (one speed, no coasting) and I ride about as hard as I can most days, tacking miles as time and fatigue allow. I try to ride on the weekends as well, but family life always seems to get in the way. I do hike with the family pretty often though.

I very recently started a little core training. I'm using a combination of the US Navy Seal work out, Simplefit, and Crossfit (google them if you're curious). Mostly body weight resistance workouts and I am taking it VERY slow to start. I don't want to cause damage to some of these old injuries, and I have a really tough time with motivation and "work out" programs. I can't stand going to a gym and I don't have hours per day to spend working out. My intent is to work up to a full scale Crossfit "Workout of the Day". Consistantly. We'll see. I've a long way to go!

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