Back to my youth - Fat to fit

It's been an emotionally tough week with the realisation that I can't repair the damage I've done to my body in the last 3ish years in 2-3 months.

So I have a new plan.....

I've tried using the old "No pain, no gain" approach and pushed through the pain in my right hip. It hasn't worked and there is no improvement. I have researched the symtoms and have adopted a daily strengthening routine.

While browsing many videos on "old man fitness" I found a training method (not just for oldies) promoted by Dr Phil Maffetone, The MAF method (Maximum Aerobic Function) which is training at a low heart rate to maximise aerobic function (who'd have thought? :) ) This fits in nicely to my new plan, which is to train until the point of pain and then back off.
Yesterday on the treadmill, I found that a walking speed of 3.5kmh gets me to my MAF heart rate. Over the next few weeks/months I hope to see the hip pain go and the speed I can train at, while maintaining my MAF HR, increase. The benefit of training slower is a much shorter recovery time which means I can now train every day.

I'm now averaging over 6300 steps/day and enjoying the benefits.

Time to get my shoes on and go for a walk.
 
I would be wary of most of the training plans you find online. I'm not familiar with this particular one, but once you have a good base layer of fitness it will do no harm to occasionally raise your heart rate using intervals or HIT. But always bear in mind it's a long term project and listen to your body.
 
Hit a massive target this morning and finally in to my 'Happy zone' on the BMI scale. I know the whole BMI thing isn't the be all and end all of fitness, but as a measuring stick it did give me something to target.

Probably lost around 2 inches plus on my waistline and definitely losing my belly which is something I did want.

I refuse to buy new trousers though so extra notches on my belts will have to do. As it is I just have contend with the fact my jeans spend half their life revealing my builders bum. I'm not even a bloody builder
 
Satanfriendly said:
Well done you chaps for all the efforts including the 'still drinking clan'. Cognac is a big weakness here.

Know how you feel @Badger410

I was recently diagnosed as being pre-pre diabetic whatever the buggery hell that means and put on to the NHS diabetes prevention plan. Now lost a couple of stone, 2 inches on my waistline and getting much fitter out of it all. Cycling 10 to 20+ miles every day (when not on my working week) and arsing about with gardens has made me stronger.

Presently 6ft 2.5" and 14stone 7lbs. 36 waist
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Hope you get better mate

What do nhs advise you in terms of diets? Do they mention fasting at all?
 
While adhering to paleo a good while ago, when it came time to softening the somewhat rigid sustinance and exercise regime I found 'The Primal Blueprint' to be really useful ... not least written by a former athlete who realised that his professional career had both made and ruined his body, and he still had the rest of his life which should not revolve around routine eating and exercise.

One of the biggest takeaways for me was his take exercise < no ... activity. Activity, not exercise.

Move around a lot. Pick things up, put things down. Bend and stretch. Every day ensure that you get the heartrate really moving and once a week push yourself so that you are completely out of breath.

... a daily walk is where it's at, which by the sounds of it is exactly what you're doing. That is something you can continue to do even when goals are reached or you are happy with where you get to. Find a good incline and use that for your daily heartrate increase. You get your sun-delivered vitamin D on a walk as well. Fun to stop and sungaze, too - some guidance: https://www.allaboutvision.com/eye-care/eye-health/sun-gazing/ < some science behind it cleansing your pineal gland, which you can look into yourselves. I find closed eyes (not tightly) to be more comfortable.
 
pjgh said:
While adhering to paleo a good while ago, when it came time to softening the somewhat rigid sustinance and exercise regime I found 'The Primal Blueprint' to be really useful ... not least written by a former athlete who realised that his professional career had both made and ruined his body, and he still had the rest of his life which should not revolve around routine eating and exercise.

One of the biggest takeaways for me was his take exercise < no ... activity. Activity, not exercise.

Move around a lot. Pick things up, put things down. Bend and stretch. Every day ensure that you get the heartrate really moving and once a week push yourself so that you are completely out of breath.

... a daily walk is where it's at, which by the sounds of it is exactly what you're doing. That is something you can continue to do even when goals are reached or you are happy with where you get to. Find a good incline and use that for your daily heartrate increase. You get your sun-delivered vitamin D on a walk as well. Fun to stop and sungaze, too - some guidance: https://www.allaboutvision.com/eye-care/eye-health/sun-gazing/ < some science behind it cleansing your pineal gland, which you can look into yourselves. I find closed eyes (not tightly) to be more comfortable.
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I have seen similar recommendations on moving about from other authors as well, but I find that while it is helpful in preventing me from getting "crusty," none of the usual activities I can reasonably do daily gets me the intensity of exercise, and without doing full body workouts + running three times a week, the activities don't amount to much, other than partially offsetting or preventing the worst effects of inactivity/sitting.

I also found that London isn't really great for walks unless I happen to live near a large park (not at the moment), so I prefer doing a couple of calisthenic movements a few times a day as an alternative.

However, I've been a terrible couch potato for over a year now and only recently started trying to get back into shape again, which got disrupted by lack of sleep in the last few days.

Sleep is actually the one thing most of these authors put very little emphasis on, but getting the right amount and quality of sleep can hardly be overstated. Annoyingly, I've been struggling with that in the last few years and it shows.
 
slapo said:
Sleep is actually the one thing most of these authors put very little emphasis on, but getting the right amount and quality of sleep can hardly be overstated. Annoyingly, I've been struggling with that in the last few years and it shows.
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Indeed ... and actually, something that 'The Primal Blueprint' touches upon. Removing all "tech" from your bedroom is recommended. Blackout curtains, too. Wind down for an hour before bed. That said, the biggest impact upon sleep for me as an adult was gained once I had decided to give up drink. Within a couple of days, I realised I lay down, shut my eyes and went to sleep. Waking up, I felt like I had slept. I have had maybe two restless nights since, both down to things on my mind.
 
pjgh said:
Indeed ... and actually, something that 'The Primal Blueprint' touches upon. Removing all "tech" from your bedroom is recommended. Blackout curtains, too. Wind down for an hour before bed. That said, the biggest impact upon sleep for me as an adult was gained once I had decided to give up drink. Within a couple of days, I realised I lay down, shut my eyes and went to sleep. Waking up, I felt like I had slept. I have had maybe two restless nights since, both down to things on my mind.
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For me, it's also not eating too late, having a window open and making sure to brush my teeth before going to bed.
I know the last one should be a given, but sometimes, I'm tired enough that I just pass out after lying down for a bit and wake up in the early morning hours just because I need to brush, otherwise, I'll feel like crap in the morning.
 
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