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[Rossco]

Yeh when I started the gym I was very skinny with no fat at all and when I started making gains it seemed to be all muscle then eventually you see the belly not being as tight as it should be. I'm still pretty slim in the waist but I'm paranoid about it and recently I've given up on trying to gain weight and get bigger as I just wasn't getting higher than 12st 6ish without my stomach ballooning out too for eating alot!

So I'm doing loads of cardio now while still eating alot/lifting heavy weights so see how things change. Cycle to the gym almost every time I go now, so it's 4 mile there/workout/4 miles back. Not too much, but it all counts! And of course I'll still have proper big cardio days where I'll go a long run or cycle, etc!

And after about 2-3 weeks of this, I still don't feel any slimmer which is good as I've worked hard to get the muscles there and don't want to lose it, but do want to be fitter.

[MattyD]

TBH you'll never gain muscle without some fat and the reverse is true - you can't lose weight without losing at least some muscle. Maybe not much, like a couple of pounds here and there, but when you've worked so hard for it is disheartening.

[stainboy]

TBH you'll never gain muscle without some fat and the reverse is true - you can't lose weight without losing at least some muscle. Maybe not much, like a couple of pounds here and there, but when you've worked so hard for it is disheartening.

So if my priority at the moment is to lose fat then I'm best forgetting about any weight training for now and concentrate on fat burning exercises?

[MattyD]

Yes and no - from a training perspective it's still a good idea to get two or three work-outs into your weekly routine, but from a diet perspective you'll need to restrict your calorie intake which means you won't be making major gains in the gym. Don't sweat that for now though, as the training will still help tone and condition your body.

[Herbalizer]

I've started to go swimming with my wife. We are aiming to go four times a week and swim for 30 mins each time. After last night session I'm feeling pretty stiff today.

I'm doing this to lose weight. I want to get down to 11 stone, at the moment I'm 12 stone 2lb. Is swimming along with a healthy diet going to sort me out?

Just to clarify - is this the most effective way to do things?

[rumbletum]

Swimming is great, as long as you do it with enough intensity. ie not like the old ladies you get swimming breast stoke up and down yapping continually and not getting their hair wet.

Just make sure you keep pushing yourself, to go further/faster etc.

I used this program just before christmas to build up my stamina enough to be able to swim a mile non stop:

0 to 1650

[MattyD]

In a word - yes. Most people who don't do much exercise or have manual jobs tend to lose weight just by doing a little exercise and cutting the crap out of their diet. It's no great shakes.

[Rossco]

Well about 4 months ago or something I injured my ankle when running and it had never been right since, and even last week I felt a real pain in it when cycling.

But today I drove to the gym as it was pouring, had been cycling in 4-5 times a week, 8 mile round journey for the last 3 weeks, but couldn't be bothered with the weather today so drove and thought I'd try a bit of running for cardio just to see how my ankle was fairing.

Got on treadmill and walked for a while to loosen up and it felt good, so bumped it up to 11 and done a full 5k easy peasy. Not one bit of pain or soreness. Felt brilliant to be able to run again!

And I managed it alot easier than I had the last time I ran months ago so all this cycling must be making a difference as I felt alot fitter! Probably lost about 8-9 lbs since the start of the year, down to about 11st 12 lbs just now, really trimming up and getting rid of as much fat as possible. Then after the summer when I'm back at uni and won't have time for all the cardio/cycling I'll aim to build up a bit more and get bigger again.

So all in all, training is going good right now, and I'm actually feeling stronger than ever before the last week, lifting just as much as I was when I was almost a stone heavier and trying to bulk! It's strange!

[ascender]

I made it back in one piece from my first ultra race. 43 miles along the West Highland way. As usual the Scottish weather did its best to make things more difficult for me and my support crew as if it wasn't bad anyway.

I learned many things along the way, not least of which is that so much of it really is in the mind when it comes to this sort of race and that mental strength is just as important as what your legs can do. I got cramp early on in one quad which kept rearing its head intermittently along the way and in the end knackered any chance I had of making the 10 hour time i'd hoped for. In the end I came in at 10hrs 45mins which I'm absolutely delighted with, especially as I was feeling stronger and still running where possible right up to the finish.

I think its time for a Guinness tonight.

Glad to hear everyone else's training is going so well.

[Rossco]

Thats weird, I'm sure I posted in this thread already saying something along the lines of:

WOWWW 43 miles in one day, thats mental!

Guess I didnt! Well done anyway mate.

[Rossco]

Hurt my back somehow, woke up this morning in agony, must have slept awkwardly on it so didn't do any weights today. Just jumped on the cross trainer for an hour and burned 830 calories, I was pure exhausted at the end and had a pool of sweat on the floor below me!

Then went for a steam room and think I fell asleep for 10 minutes or so, was awesome!



But yesterday was amazing, cycled to the gym, leg workout, blah blah, that was fine but the whole way through I was concious of the weather outside as it looked like rain coming, eventually finished finished and went out to get on bike. As soon as I was on and started cycling I felt a spit of rain but thought it was just gonna be light, but it got worse and worse the whole way home, got to a long mile straight and could see the clouds and fog/mist/rain at the end and knew it was gonna get heavy! And it sure did! Soon enough it was coming down in blankets, sooo heavy, I was soaked through to my core, dripping wet and then the thunder n lightning came too, it was amazing. I was going like the clappers too, pure shouting and grunting and made it home in record time considering it was chucking it down, into the wind and I just done a whole leg workout and the home trip is kinda uphill too. 16 minutes it was for the 4 miles exactly home!

My best time to the gym is 13 minutes by the way!

[Spagoli]

I made it back in one piece from my first ultra race

Well done fella. Very jealous, I'd love to do an ultra but not sure i could dedicate enough time to training to get me round so well done!

A coupe of my friends have done comrades up and down and one of my other pals wants us to train to do it in 2010, I reckon there is more chance of me training for 2012 to be honest.

I got a stress fracture in Dec last year and managed total rest for 12 weeks sadly by the march i'd put on 3 stone. I started back thinking I could just build up in a couple of weeks to where I was in Nov. Sadly that wasn't the case and when I started back I got shin splints within 2 weeks! Had another months rest and started again 2 a week. I'm still 13st 7lb but am now up to 5 days a week and 30 miles so a couple more months and the fitness should come back. I really cant believe how fast and far it goes when you stop!

[ascender]

Thanks for that. Its now a few weeks later and I still can't quite believe I've done it. I entered the race to see if I was anywhere near my plan of being fit enough mentally and physically to do the MDS next year as I have an installment of the entry fee to pay in a few weeks.

In terms of the training for it, I did a back of the fag packet training plan. Basically I would do a long run/walk in the local hills every weekend, taking enough food and water with me to last the time I was out. Having spoken to guys who've done ultras, the general plan was to run gentle hills, run the downhills and all the flats. The theory being that you can walk up a hill almost as fast as you can run up it (unless you're mentally fit) while expending a lot less energy. Anyway, I started out with a 15 miler on week one, then 20 miles the next weekend. Every third week was a rest week. Then my weekends went 25, 30, rest, 35, 40, rest, rest, then the race. In the end I didn't do a 40 miler as my 35 went very well so I tapered down for the 3 weeks leading up to the race.

It took a while to get used to eating while running/walking and also just the sheer amount of time on my feet meant that by the end of each of my long wobbles round the hills, my feet would be in agony. No blisters, but just really, really sore. Apart from that, I found running offroad to be a lot easier on my joints than training for road races and quickly got used to carrying a rucksack. Although I also discovered that water weighs a surprising amount when you're trying to carry enough for 8 hours!

Oops, this is turning in to a rambling & boring post. The main thing is that if a fat bloke like me can do an ultra marathon, anyone can

[Family Fry]

Gonna see my fitness levels tomorrow morning as I take on a nice 10km jog for British Heart Foundation, want to see how I cope with it, if I dont fare as well as I think I should come january new diet and new way of life will be in order.
We shall see tomorrow though, just one step forward for me.
I bow down to ascender and 43 miles, that is some serious fitness

[Family Fry]

Suprised myself we finished in 1 Hour 25mins, was extremely shocked at myself not falling apart and proud that me and the sister in law did this together for a good cause too.
Jogging was great might even take it up, was such a nice day for it too.