Fitness

[doczerothree]

Being in relatively good shape is important to me and helps with all the other things i do daily. I try to run at least 4 times a week lift weights in the evening while watching tv and do situps during commercials. sometimes there is no time for any of that as i raise and train horses and by the end of the day I AM WHIPPED!!! But i don't get DISCOURAGED and i think thats probably the most important thing. good fitness will helps me be better able to manage everything i try to do. soooo.... cardio vascular: most important (work the heart. it's the most important muscle you have) 20 minutes three time a weeks. It doesn't have to fast and hard. Slow and steady will get you there. Train for the next day, if you can't get out of bed or walk the next day you accomplished nothing. Learn to recognized the difference between good discomfort and bad pain. In the beginning avoid the latter. good luck

SEMPER DEEP

[KGNickl]

For cardio you want to base your workout on your heart rate. For example I try to keep my HR between 160-180 during cardio. Sometimes I do steady jogging or biking for 20-45 minutes. Other times I go 100% for 1-5 minutes then rest for a minute or so then repeat a few times. Basically just different forms of conditioning. Then I always switch things up once my body begins to adapt to the conditioning.

[DeeDoubleYou]

Just a side note on any level of fitness...

Working out and partaking in sports are very good ways to keep a healthy body, however, sometimes we are too concerned with what we look like in the mirror and forget about what is going on INSIDE of us. For example, I have a friend who runs many marathons, his body fat is lower than 5%, he litterally looks like a walking anatomical chart! BUT, his cholesteral is through the roof. All I'm saying is keep up the cardio, weights, running, etc., but DO NOT forget that your heart and brain need fuel and that fuel is EFAs aka Omega oils especially 3 as our bodies cannot produce omega 3. With a diet high in HDLs (good cholesterol, NOT hydrogenated oils!) and EFAs (flax seed and fish oils), good quality carbs, lean protein, and NO sugar or white grains all that exercise will not be futile!!

Just my 3.33cents....

[WAHMof2]

Originally Posted by DeeDoubleYou

Just a side note on any level of fitness...

Working out and partaking in sports are very good ways to keep a healthy body, however, sometimes we are too concerned with what we look like in the mirror and forget about what is going on INSIDE of us. For example, I have a friend who runs many marathons, his body fat is lower than 5%, he litterally looks like a walking anatomical chart! BUT, his cholesteral is through the roof. All I'm saying is keep up the cardio, weights, running, etc., but DO NOT forget that your heart and brain need fuel and that fuel is EFAs aka Omega oils especially 3 as our bodies cannot produce omega 3. With a diet high in HDLs (good cholesterol, NOT hydrogenated oils!) and EFAs (flax seed and fish oils), good quality carbs, lean protein, and NO sugar or white grains all that exercise will not be futile!!

Just my 3.33cents....

Very good advice!!

[KGNickl]

Originally Posted by DeeDoubleYou

Just a side note on any level of fitness...

Working out and partaking in sports are very good ways to keep a healthy body, however, sometimes we are too concerned with what we look like in the mirror and forget about what is going on INSIDE of us. For example, I have a friend who runs many marathons, his body fat is lower than 5%, he litterally looks like a walking anatomical chart! BUT, his cholesteral is through the roof. All I'm saying is keep up the cardio, weights, running, etc., but DO NOT forget that your heart and brain need fuel and that fuel is EFAs aka Omega oils especially 3 as our bodies cannot produce omega 3. With a diet high in HDLs (good cholesterol, NOT hydrogenated oils!) and EFAs (flax seed and fish oils), good quality carbs, lean protein, and NO sugar or white grains all that exercise will not be futile!!

Just my 3.33cents....

Good advice. I believe everyone should take fish oil or flaxseed oil 2x's per day (both is ok too!) and a multi-vitamin 1-2 times per day. Then more or additional supplements based on your level of activity and your diet. I take about 10 pills 2x's per day. Some when I wake up, some before I work out, and then some after I work out.

[DeeDoubleYou]

Thank you.

I have found that with an active lifestyle, eating right ALL the time (no weekend junkfood binges), vitamin and mineral supplements, very high EFA diet/supplementing, a person can remain in optimum shape without a gym membership!! Of course if you want to maintain a "beach body," then a few regimens at the local gym come in handy.

I don't want to live forever, but when I'm 70, I WILL feel like I'm 50!

[cmburch]

My favorite fitness activities are ones I like to do and do not think of it as exercise (I think of running and weight lifting as exercise and have not really done any since high school and college. I only lift sometimes with friends or run if I have to get somewhere faster than walking). I swim 2 to 3 thousand yards a few days a week at the local Junior College. I live in a hilly area. I bike down to the marina, or on Mare Island, or to the farmers market. I love XC skiing and also kayaking. I know that it is important to get the heart rate up a few times a week for a short duration, but this would only happen when swimming butterfly or sprinting, kayaking against a current or strong wind, and when I want to go fast XC skiing . I normally cruise at a leisure pace in everything. I consider my lifestyle next to lethargic. My daughter says that I know how to take it easy. But for SCUBA or free diving, some laps with a kick board is good for my legs and ankles.

[pyre24]

I usually lift weights whenever possible, going to start cycling and I would love to try kayaking sometime soon.