Question for folks who do a lot of that kind of training -- type 1 muscles, I think? -- what do you all do to balance that out? Probably weight-lifting? I've tried weight-lifting and general bodyweight stuff, but find it both overwhelming and boring. At least with running, I just get going (slowly, then faster, then slower again to cool down, then stretching), and with yoga I just show up to class, or do one of the classes on my app. My other options all seem more high-maintenance and less accommodating to the uninitiated.
Edit: [MENTION=4939]kyuuei[/MENTION] and [MENTION=9811]Coriolis[/MENTION] what are the exercise videos you like, and are they on YouTube? If this is too much of a derail, feel free to VM or PM me.
Of course this is appropriate here, it's a discussion afterall!
My favorite videos are from these guys on youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/user/TheBettyRocker She does fast 15-20 minute work outs, which are perfect for the "I don't feel like working out" days. It's just enough to get warm, and moving, but over quick enough to push yourself.. Tabata style (4 minutes of intense training) is becoming more popular for a reason, people tend to hold themselves back on longer endurance work outs because they think they won't make it to the end if they burn out halfway through. Tabata gives you flexibility to really go at it with everything you have.
https://www.youtube.com/user/FitnessBlender These guys are my favorite. I go back to them time-and-time again. They're positive, their messages are evidence-based, and they always show alternatives and they have a wiiide variety from stretching only to 1 1/2 hour long sessions. The stretching videos are some of the best non-yoga stretching I've seen on youtube, and they have programs you can auto-set up on their website for less than $10 to have forever. They literally just arrange their free work out videos on youtube into a system, it's really worth the money.
https://www.youtube.com/user/yogawithadriene I don't like everything this girl does, but her 30 days of yoga for beginners is as close as I can tolerate for yoga. She doesn't get too preachy about it.
Non-youtube videos that I like: P90X series I still very much so enjoy and I plan on doing a 60 day round of it during the summer. The 30 day shred from Jillian Michaels is pretty good actually, and I would still work out to it today if I had it (but a few of them are available for free from BeFit channel on youtube!)
I still don't have much resources as far as stretching goes, I'm trying to piece together a playlist that makes sense and doesn't take an hour of talking to do a few minutes of stretching.
Just found this thread- as usual you're awesome at this kind of positive motivational crap kyuuei! Love the idea to make it about positive habits. Short term challenges and very prescriptive methods do less and less for me as time goes by.
My first goal for the new year was to update all my doctor visits and such.
Yeaaah this month is the dentist for me @_@ I procrastinated because I recently saw the dentist way too often at the VA getting my jaw protector made.
I had a mechanical toothbrush and I really liked it. There really is a difference between the $6 Colgate mechanical vibrating ones and an actual spinning, cleaning one, but I think you can find a mid-range price there or an older-model sonicare for cheap if you dig around a bit (especially since the heads are replaceable, you can probably find one for nothing and just clean it and buy a new head.). One thing I didn't like about spinning brushes is that sometimes I found they 'caught' my tongue and gave it a little pinch or zap-like feeling, so I got really paranoid about that when brushing.
Right now I'm using these:
Amazon.com : abcOralCare, New Generation US Patented, Non Nylon, Tapered, Soft, and Ultra Fine Bristles - Yorum 5 Manual Toothbrushes. : Childrens Toothbrushes : Beauty
And really I think they're perfect, because they foster the healthy habit. They don't have the scrubby-power of a normal toothbrush (they're much much softer) so if you mess up and go to bed eating chocolate without brushing, you'll wake up with a lot longer brush time to get your teeth feeling shiny again. Also, the softness of it helps promote not damaging your teeth and gums by scrubbing too hard, they'll just flail everywhere vs scrubbing, so you really have to stay the course and brush softly and in little circles to get them to work, which is everything dentists want. They're the really, really cheap manual version of an electric toothbrush.
But electrics are worth the money if you're not ready/willing to sit through that pain in the ass. My tooth routine has been pretty cheap and perfect for me the past year, lots of dentist compliments overall. (Equate brand pre-brush rinse, a sensitivity toothpaste + those toothbrushes, flossers, and equate brand whitening rinse since it has hydrogen peroxide in it)
The BP is good!
Great job on that! I'd highly recommend keeping a small journal of just.. how you feel before you go off of it, and how you feel during being off of it.. so you can look back overall at your mood and performance. Antidepressants can have some nasty side effects when used very long term, and it might be a good idea to keep it in mind in cases of stress cropping up unexpectedly, but if you find you can actually keep improving and moving forward without it it'd be a great success. ^_^b
Apnea - Losing weight can help, but sometimes once you have it you have it.
you either need to lose so much weight that you're under the 160-70 mark, or just get a CPAP can call it a day. CPAPs make life a loooottttt better. My dad refused his for like a year.. he HAD it and was like "Nah, those masks suck I hate it".. Slept with it for one week straight because he promised me, and now he won't go anywhere even one night without it. The difference it makes getting a full night's rest was night and day for him.
I had been vaguely aiming for "enough protein" and "enough fruits and veggies" but I was getting stuck on what's enough. So I used the USDA's Healthy Eating Index to figure out what good levels of those things would be for me at my calorie goals.
I'm not sure exactly either.. I eat a ton of protein in general because I grew up eating meat or at least eggs with every single meal.. My body took a lot longer than I expected it to to recover from my adventures into vegetarian-vegan-ish territory. I thought it'd be super healthy and give my body a boost.
What a suuuucker! The USDA amounts are probably adequate with wiggle room one way or the other too. It sounds like your dietary goals are pretty sound.
I joined a different, cheaper gym (Planet Fitness). Unfortunately it's further away, but actually quite close to my weekly therapy/dietician appointments, so I can get there pretty easily. And they have these awesome water massage tables, so I tell myself if I get myself in the door I can sign up for a turn on one of those both before and after I do something active. Typically I do 2 hours of slow-paced walking while I work on my laptop, or cycling and working if my foot is giving me trouble which it has been doing lately, not sure what that's about. I've been doing that twice a week, but I want to add another day to help with the weaning off my antidepressant.
I've read a lot of nasty stuff about PF and canceling so I'd Bolo that if you decide to switch again, but I mostly hear happy things from people who are active members. The water tables sound aaamazzziiing. One thing I miss from Texas is having my massage therapy trained mother around all the time.
"moooommmm my shoulder hurts... Aahhhh...yeeaaaaahhh.. I'll repay you with a kiss and hug."
