Petrarchive – /exercise/

Lifting (for 2 years now) and running (a few months). I plan to go back to swimming, and I might find some sort of team sport that'd suit me to actually meet people (badminton?}.
Lifting is my go to switch if I want to feel good. Whatever happened that day, I know that, 20 minutes in, I'll be high and happy.
Running has been harder to establish as a habit. I use a simple open source "couch to 5K/10K" app and stupidly obey the voice that says run, walk, turn around, pat yourself on the back. It might be easier now that spring is there.

I find it hard to keep to a strict exercise regime not because I dislike the sensation of physical exertion, but because I get so utterly bored out of my mind. There are always a hundred projects I could be working on and they all require sitting still

>>8746
i love swimming more in theory than in practice. seems so fun and free, but in reality, i flap around and can never get a good stroke. probably i just need someone to tell me what i'm doing wrong.

>Lifting is my go to switch if I want to feel good.
i actually get a stupidly strong runner's and lifting high, but my inability to self-start often decides to not go through the effort i think.

though i am taking up running, i'm really taking it up "again", i used to pretty regularly run 5k two or three times a week, but dropped it when the weather became cold. i respect those who stick out the cardio in winter, but i feel the intense need to hibernate.

>>8747
i understand that. when i got rid of my smartphone, i think i realized that 70% of going to lift at the gym was getting distracted by the phone between sets. my routine was cut from ~1 hour to ~45 minutes easy, 30 if I had a modicum of focus.

for this reason, i enjoy trail running a lot. always something new to see in nature. same with backpacking, and other "out in the woods" type activities. but it's harder to have a backpacking routine lol.

>>8751
>i flap around and can never get a good stroke
One trick is to accept the inferiority of the human body in water and use fins. Suddenly, it's easy and you can actually swim fast. I find any other type of swim ridiculous.

>>8752
never thought about using some fins, but it's an interesting idea. i suppose some part of me enjoys the struggle. i had thought about using a kickboard to work on strokes and parts of the stroke without being good at the "entirety" of the action. but that seemed a little autistic and overboard for a sport i only enjoy on occasion really.

i did use fins when i tried out snorkeling and it was funny how much easier swimming got. you really do become like a fish.

with the sun showing itself again in the northern hemisphere, road cycling season is back. after a bout with anemia and bad winter training indoors I can't wait. if there is a hell and and i have to go there, they are going to make me do 4 hours endurance rides on zwift.

>>8738 (OP)
rugby anon here, we have our first game of the year next weekend actually

>>8755
nice, i've had some aspirations of getting a road bike. i can't imagine doing indoor cycling for more than 1 hour lol. i guess if you compete, it makes sense to keep training, but i would never. right now i just have a dinky mountain bike, used to actually mountain bike, but i don't really care for it anymore, so it's just a round town and to work commuter. i've been trying to commit to biking and walking everywhere i can.

>>8759
good luck. i should still seek out the local rugby team.

>>8760
I dont even compete, at this point it might be the last thing keeping me sane. The indoor stuff just makes it so that starting the season doesn't feel like death

>>8761
yeah, when i lost the will to lift anymore, i rapidly fell into a rut. i need activity in my life, so i know i just need to stick with something.

> The indoor stuff just makes it so that starting the season doesn't feel like death

understandable, returning to running is making me feel like a fat out of shape retard. like what do you mean my ankles hurt only one mile in now?

guess that's the story of life though.

I went back to the gym today.
It's gonna hurt tomorrow, but it does feel good today.

>>8814
well done. remember if you can do it for two months then it's a routine.

>>8815
Thanks! I can do it once to twice a week already. My goal is 3/wk + running outside now that the sun is back.

>>8759
update: we lost quite badly, but I played a full game, put in some good tackles, won a jackal pen in our 22 (if anyone here knows what that means). was actually pretty nervous at the start of the game... a long time since i'd been out on a rugby field... but once you get into the game your nerves always settle.

Last year I went for a 200 mile bike ride in 17 hrs and a 700 mile bike tour in a week. I think my new goal will be to bike 300 miles in 24 hrs.

>>8961
you rode continuously for 17 hrs? what was the terrain like? i want to do something similar in the mountains

I'm going back to go lift tomorrow, too. I've had a good spell of lifting about a year ago. Then I got really sick in October, daylight savings time stopped, it got colder... I've been quite sedentary ever since, and I can see how I've become pudgy and weak.

I'm still debating whether to go lift or to start running. I've done both in the past, and I prefer running as an activity, but I really like what lifting does to my body. I feel like I have to get my body to a point I can be reasonably happy with first, and then slowly transition into running more and lifting less.

Regardless, I'm very happy that it's 8.30pm now, and I'm still enjoying the last bits of daylight, with my window open. I really, really dislike winters.

I like this little thread.
A few months ago, I joined a /fit/ group on a fasting app. It was not very successful, and now there's only this Bulgarian guy and myself talking. We've been chatting for a few months, just encouraging each other. It's a nice thing, and it is motivating.
For weight loss, lifting, running, whatever... the little things do add up.

My weight has really fluctuated and I have to get back to doing some physical activity other than walking. I have kettlebells but I feel like a hamster in a cage doing it in my tiny apartment living room around when my roommate is gone. Maybe once I build up the courage I'll take it to the park and swing around outside.

I wish I could like strength training as much as running. Running is just an incomparable high. I feel like I could conquer anything after a good run. Being in motion, feeling the wind, breathing the air. Weight training has just never done anything like that for me. I wish it could.

Last spring I played tennis with an elderly Venezuelan gentleman who left an ad on a lamppost in the park. I called him and after feeling confident that this wasn't a gay sex thing we had a few nice practice games together. I was really bad at it though so he hasn't reached out since.

>>9186
have you been lifting regularly now.

i'm considering buying a second gym membership (the first was to my old college gym and was not expensive because i got a discount) just so i have another motivating factor for going.

i've gotten too flabby to continue not exercising like a chump.

>>9357
been going 2-3 days a week for strength training, with cardio after. toxins are flushed from my brain.

bump