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2025 Fitness Thread


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Since I started last year's thread, I figured I'd do the honors.

Dragging ass a bit this morning after New Years Day festivities, but planning to get in a good sweat in the gym this afternoon and then will have my first sober night's sleep in a while. I'm gonna give it a day or two to let the bloating subside from holiday excesses, so I think I'll wait until Saturday morning to do first weigh-in of the year. Almost Entirely Dry January starts today.

Big goal for this year is cutting body fat. Have lifted pretty consistently the past 2 years and added on a significant amount of muscle, but I'm still pretty damn doughy around the abdomen.

 

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3 minutes ago, Storm the Field said:

but I'm still pretty damn doughy around the abdomen.

Only thing that fixes this is calorie deficit. You aren't going to fix it in the gym. 

Cutting the booze out is the easiest answer but not always a fun answer. 

Try fasting.

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Posted (edited)
3 minutes ago, ztejas said:

Only thing that fixes this is calorie deficit. You aren't going to fix it in the gym. 

Cutting the booze out is the easiest answer but not always a fun answer. 

Try fasting.

I'm aware of what I need to do, I just need to do it.

need to drink less and eat better, in addition to probably doubling my current amount of cardio and adding in some core exercises. 

Edited by Storm the Field
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2 minutes ago, Storm the Field said:

I'm aware of what I need to do, I just need to do it.

need to drink less and eat better, in addition to probably doubling my current amount of cardio and adding in some core exercises. 

No one is going to judge your body as much as you do. Keep that in mind. 

If a little dough in the middle means you enjoy life a bit more then maybe it's worth it. 

I guess, what I'm saying is, you started a "fitness'" thread then immediately made it not about fitness. You said you're lifting consistently and have added muscle which means you're more fit than you were. Sounds like you're hitting your goals just fine. 

The best basketball player in the world is in unreal shape and at the absolute top of his profession but cosmetically you wouldn't know it. 

Sorry if I'm running my mouth - I just know how hard it is to slim that middle dough down and don't want you to get discouraged. If you want serious returns it's going to necessitate lifestyle changes that are likely uncomfortable. 

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In.

I track everything using Fitbit, but I don’t always find a perfect fit and fudge a bit by best guessing. I think my method needs tweaking….and by that I mean not trusting the app as much.

I’m considering seeing a nutritionist for more scientific meal planning and supplementing.

I do hard cardio at least 5 days a week, resistance training on at least 3 of those days. My goal is to increase cardio to 6 days/wk this year and reach my goal zone. There’s always a 10-15lb buffer around that due to the way my body works.

I quit drinking altogether almost two years ago. I’m quite proud of that because I was a very heavy drinker and thought I might have a problem. I did. It was depression and anxiety.

Know what helps with that other than therapy? Exercise and avoiding alcohol.

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1 hour ago, Storm the Field said:

Since I started last year's thread, I figured I'd do the honors.

Dragging ass a bit this morning after New Years Day festivities, but planning to get in a good sweat in the gym this afternoon and then will have my first sober night's sleep in a while. I'm gonna give it a day or two to let the bloating subside from holiday excesses, so I think I'll wait until Saturday morning to do first weigh-in of the year. Almost Entirely Dry January starts today.

Big goal for this year is cutting body fat. Have lifted pretty consistently the past 2 years and added on a significant amount of muscle, but I'm still pretty damn doughy around the abdomen.

 

Scale yourself every day, starting now, and follow your 7 day running average.

Alcohol in moderation won't kill you, and you can get #gainz whilst drinking.  But make no mistake, on single drink will make you just a little bit fatter, weaker and slower than you would otherwise be.  No problem with that, but you need to be intellectually honest with yourself.

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Scale yourself every day, starting now, and follow your 7 day running average.
Alcohol in moderation won't kill you, and you can get #gainz whilst drinking.  But make no mistake, on single drink will make you just a little bit fatter, weaker and slower than you would otherwise be.  No problem with that, but you need to be intellectually honest with yourself.

Yes! Honesty is the key. It works both ways.

If you miss a few workouts, get back in there pronto. Act like you never missed and get back to it. Don’t spend years beating yourself up about not being perfect. It doesn’t work.

Just keep moving!
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I guess my goal this year is to start breaking some PRs in my marathons. But I also hate running when it's not in a race, so... we shall see if I have the discipline to make it happen. 😂

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1 hour ago, tigol said:

I quit drinking altogether almost two years ago. I’m quite proud of that because I was a very heavy drinker and thought I might have a problem. I did. It was depression and anxiety.

You should be damn proud.  Congratulations on your sobriety.

I haven't quit drinking.  But about 10-12 years ago I started drinking too much on the weeknights.  A glass of wine here or there would turn into a whole bottle, and I just didn't like the way it was heading, especially since alcohol and other substance abuse does a number on my profession (lawyer).  And as I was approaching 40, I noticed that alcohol started significantly affecting my sleep quality.  So I stopped drinking on the weeknights altogether, with an exception here or there.  And at that time, I also got back into the gym, so my sleep improved, I tightened up a midsection that had gotten soft and put on some lean muscle, and I felt better than I had been in a very long time.  I've managed to keep it up as I hit 50 last month.  

Even if someone doesn't have a significant alcohol dependency, I tell them that drinking really fucks with you as you get older.  The empty calories and the slowing of the body metabolism adds pounds like it didn't when we were in our 20s and 30s, and it decreases your sleep quality, which is tied to so many other aging issues.

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Continuing from the 2024 thread, started out at 284 (fucking embarrassing) February last year at 6’2” and 50ish years old, down to 222 and the goal is 210 -213 with my frame. December was a crash with all the good food but constant walking 10-13k a day kept it even. 215 on February 1 will be easy weather permitting on my walk runs.

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Feel like I'm officially kicking off healthy January today. Not a drop of booze since Wednesday, but kinda half-assed it in the gym Thursday and Friday and didn't eat great this past weekend.

Anyways, no more putting it off. Time to start taking in fewer and burning more calories. Back to full effort in the gym. Coffee for breakfast, light lunches, and healthy dinners. 

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I have a few social engagements this month during which I would like to imbibe.  So my wife and I are putting off Dry January to February (or starting in late January after our last social event).  But I didn't go as hard as I had prior holiday seasons, and maintained my gym routine.  

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1 hour ago, Storm the Field said:

Feel like I'm officially kicking off healthy January today. Not a drop of booze since Wednesday, but kinda half-assed it in the gym Thursday and Friday and didn't eat great this past weekend.

Anyways, no more putting it off. Time to start taking in fewer and burning more calories. Back to full effort in the gym. Coffee for breakfast, light lunches, and healthy dinners. 

The downside of the new year starting midweek is that it is harder to start clean on a Wednesday than it is the following Monday.  Same for me - started everything (except Dry January, which started last week) today. 

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2 hours ago, Storm the Field said:

Feel like I'm officially kicking off healthy January today. Not a drop of booze since Wednesday, but kinda half-assed it in the gym Thursday and Friday and didn't eat great this past weekend.

Anyways, no more putting it off. Time to start taking in fewer and burning more calories. Back to full effort in the gym. Coffee for breakfast, light lunches, and healthy dinners. 

Don’t underestimate the power of a half ass workout. Consistency doesn’t come from  going to the gym when you feel great; it comes from those days where you’d rather be anywhere but the gym and all you have in you is a half ass workout. 

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3 hours ago, destroya said:

Don’t underestimate the power of a half ass workout. Consistency doesn’t come from  going to the gym when you feel great; it comes from those days where you’d rather be anywhere but the gym and all you have in you is a half ass workout. 

And don’t skip days if when you’re “sick.”  If you aren’t puking or pooping your pants, go do SOMETHING, even if it’s light cardio.

”Don’t be a b*tch today.”

 

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I have a few social engagements this month during which I would like to imbibe.  So my wife and I are putting off Dry January to February (or starting in late January after our last social event).  But I didn't go as hard as I had prior holiday seasons, and maintained my gym routine.  

Still having my Pinot noir each evening. But yea I’m chilling in January*,no going to a restaurant and ordering a craft beer or 2.

*Friday night
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23 hours ago, South Austin said:

I have a few social engagements this month during which I would like to imbibe.  So my wife and I are putting off Dry January to February (or starting in late January after our last social event).  But I didn't go as hard as I had prior holiday seasons, and maintained my gym routine.  

Smart.  Picking the shortest month.

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Alright I’m actually going to do a weight related goal this year. I turn 40 in October. I’m not fat fat but at 6’ 190 I’ve got a belly, and I think I could get to the 170s. Trying to do that by mid May by ditching sweets, small or no breakfast, shake for lunch, and regular home cooked dinner. It’s not a real plan yet but I’ve said it out loud, I guess I’m targeting 175 by 5/15, and I’m going to start measuring progress and inputs.

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Good evening! I bought two new toys and redid some of my home gym. Picked up the NordicTrack hiking treadmill and their indoor bike. I am riding three days a week and doing hikes twice a week. It’s actually an enjoyable activity at lunch time. I’m lifting 4 days a week. All of this is 20 - 35 minutes each.

I’ve also installed a standing desk and walking pad. I’m trying to get to 10k steps a day working from home. I have 10 weeks until my yearly check up.

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Anyone using Fitbit?

It’s frustrating with the cardio load “feature” because the damn thing is nuts. It was pushing me for a week then backed off for no reason. Then it tells me I’m not pushing hard enough. Bastard.

I’m going to rely on the heart rate monitor, calorie counter, and sleep info and take the rest with a grain of salt.

Does the Apple Watch work better?

I love the tech and know that it is helping me get where I want to be faster than if I was manually tracking but it seems buggy.

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I'm old and fragile. Fragile as in I don't have clearance from my doctor(s) to work out with weights due to bone density issues and some other medications that make injury more likely and risky if I do get hurt.

That said, my goal this year is to get clearance to start working with weights again. My doctor said he's aiming for May timeframe for me. This would be good because I've atrophied a ton of muscle and gained a ton of fat. I have a very long road ahead of me and it can feel overwhelming and daunting to be honest.

I guess, also, be grateful if you are healthy enough to even GET to go to the gym and do resistence and weights. 

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4 hours ago, Vegas64 said:

I'm old and fragile. Fragile as in I don't have clearance from my doctor(s) to work out with weights due to bone density issues and some other medications that make injury more likely and risky if I do get hurt.

That said, my goal this year is to get clearance to start working with weights again. My doctor said he's aiming for May timeframe for me. This would be good because I've atrophied a ton of muscle and gained a ton of fat. I have a very long road ahead of me and it can feel overwhelming and daunting to be honest.

I guess, also, be grateful if you are healthy enough to even GET to go to the gym and do resistence and weights. 

Would your doctor give you clearance to do strength/muscular workouts that don’t require weights? Isometrics, body weight squats, pushups against the wall, assisted pull-ups etc.

Edited by destroya
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25 minutes ago, destroya said:

Would your doctor give you clearance to do strength/muscular workouts that don’t require weights? Isometrics, body weight squats, pushups against the wall, assisted pull-ups etc.

As of this past fall, no. But this next follow up I think so.

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On 1/6/2025 at 1:25 PM, Storm the Field said:

Feel like I'm officially kicking off healthy January today. Not a drop of booze since Wednesday, but kinda half-assed it in the gym Thursday and Friday and didn't eat great this past weekend.

Anyways, no more putting it off. Time to start taking in fewer and burning more calories. Back to full effort in the gym. Coffee for breakfast, light lunches, and healthy dinners. 

Pleased to report I've been putting in work since this post. Have been in the gym probably 13/16 days since then and have built back up to doing the heaviest reps I've ever done at any point since I first started exercising again back in March 2022. Had my 2 scheduled cheat nights the past 2 Saturdays (buddy's annual birthday sushi dinner and company party, respectively), so should finish the month having drank only ~4/31 days. 

Edited by Storm the Field
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On 1/16/2025 at 12:36 PM, tigol said:

Anyone using Fitbit?

It’s frustrating with the cardio load “feature” because the damn thing is nuts. It was pushing me for a week then backed off for no reason. Then it tells me I’m not pushing hard enough. Bastard.

I’m going to rely on the heart rate monitor, calorie counter, and sleep info and take the rest with a grain of salt.

Does the Apple Watch work better?

I love the tech and know that it is helping me get where I want to be faster than if I was manually tracking but it seems buggy.

Team Garmin here.  I love the UI.  Just make sure you get a Garmin watch that does HRV.  And sadly you gotta dig way into their website to find that info.

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On 1/16/2025 at 12:36 PM, tigol said:

Anyone using Fitbit?

It’s frustrating with the cardio load “feature” because the damn thing is nuts. It was pushing me for a week then backed off for no reason. Then it tells me I’m not pushing hard enough. Bastard.

I’m going to rely on the heart rate monitor, calorie counter, and sleep info and take the rest with a grain of salt.

Does the Apple Watch work better?

I love the tech and know that it is helping me get where I want to be faster than if I was manually tracking but it seems buggy.

I've been using a Fitbit a little less than a year and I like it.  I regularly check my steps, sleep data, and exercise logs.  I don't adhere to any sort of daily goal or metric outside of the 10,000 steps, but it's nice to monitor my overall fitness routine on a daily basis as an additional motivator.  I don't use it for the calorie counter, because weight management right now is not a concern for me.

I can't figure out the cardio load.  I thought nothing of it, but all of a sudden after three straight days in the gym (which is not uncommon for me), it alerts me to take a recovery day for the next two days, like I'm no the verge of a cardiac event.  I'm not even sure what the metric is, and am too lazy to find out.

I've read some reviews comparing the Apple Watch to the Fitbit.  Seems like you want the Apple Watch for music and other aspects of basically having your iPhone on your wrist, but as a fitness tool I'm not sure it's clearly better.  And you have to charge an Apple Watch almost daily, where I can go about 5 days between Fitbit charges.

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I have the Fitbit Versa and love it (Star Trek face ftw). I use it for tracking my runs, sleep, alerting me to messages, and my heart rate. The only problem is that I can't track my days at the climbing gym because I don't want it to get caught and rip off my hand or skin or something. I do use the app to track calories most days and it works well enough generally. I also use the app to track calories/weight so it being all seamless is nice. I do like using the Runkeeper App though outside of Fitbit and find that it is a really great tool

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One other note about the Fitbit -- I like how it automatically picks up an activity and starts logging it even if you don't start the app.  Often this happens when I'm walking my dog and I just forget to start it.

But I recently noticed that it'll start logging activity during sex with my wife, and for whatever reason the exercise it selects is "spinning," which makes me chuckle.

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59 minutes ago, South Austin said:

 

But I recently noticed that it'll start logging activity during sex with my wife, and for whatever reason the exercise it selects is "spinning," which makes me chuckle.

I taught her that, you're welcome.

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Team Oura.

I don't always follow it but I find the activity level suggested is in line with how I am overall  when considering sleep, stress, etc.

I does not seem random at all and is a) good a giving me goals and b) realistic and a bit of a gentle reminder to slow down at times.

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In late 2023 I bought a low-end Squat Rack, Weights, and Accessories off craigslist.  My philosophy is get the cheapest equipment that is usable to start with, and if I like the sport, move up higher end stuff.    547 days later I've logged 291 lifting workouts.  Yeah, I like lifting. 

Today my new Squat Rack arrives.   FedEx need to hurry their damn truck up.

I've been doing Hypertrophy work up until now, but I'm thinking about doing a Powerlifting competition in the 2nd half of 2025, so my next Mesocycle shifts to strength workouts.  

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5 hours ago, 0xdeadbeef said:

In late 2023 I bought a low-end Squat Rack, Weights, and Accessories off craigslist.  My philosophy is get the cheapest equipment that is usable to start with, and if I like the sport, move up higher end stuff.    547 days later I've logged 291 lifting workouts.  Yeah, I like lifting. 

Today my new Squat Rack arrives.   FedEx need to hurry their damn truck up.

I've been doing Hypertrophy work up until now, but I'm thinking about doing a Powerlifting competition in the 2nd half of 2025, so my next Mesocycle shifts to strength workouts.  

You're wife is noticing how swole you are.  And if she is not, the neighbor lady does.  Mix accordingly.

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12 hours ago, Goofyboy said:

Sitting at 222. Flu hit last Wednesday. I’m still coughing, so, no working for now.

That said - the new Nordic track treadmill and indoor bike are great. Really happy with them.

Nothing wrong with a light, short workout.  Get the HR up and flush those toxins.

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Alright I’m actually going to do a weight related goal this year. I turn 40 in October. I’m not fat fat but at 6’ 190 I’ve got a belly, and I think I could get to the 170s. Trying to do that by mid May by ditching sweets, small or no breakfast, shake for lunch, and regular home cooked dinner. It’s not a real plan yet but I’ve said it out loud, I guess I’m targeting 175 by 5/15, and I’m going to start measuring progress and inputs.

I’m close to this although 50 yo and 6’1”. Waist is still 33 but if I got to 175 my family would think I have AIDS. I got to 183 and that was about right.
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I just can't give up the sweets.  And the further into the year, the worse work gets and I just want a damn cookie after dinner. 

I'm being good with not eating out except Friday nights, bringing my lunch to work, etc.  But the sweets....

GIF by Saturday Night Live

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I can eat the same thing all the time if I like it (for lunch) and I have no problem skipping breakfast, and my wife (who is nutrition obsessed) cooks dinner every night, so I’m in a decent spot for dieting. Especially since I’ve also given up drinking alcoholically which is orders of magnitude more difficult than Reese’s peanut butter cups.

 

anyways, going well here although I’ve plateaued a bit at 182. I suspect I’ll break through soon but I may have to start actually exercising or more likely ditch butter on the popcorn, which is my evening treat/snack. But, calorically I’m at about 1500-1700 a day so I think I should keep dropping.

 

i should play with this recipe but… lunch most everyday 

IMG_2022.thumb.jpeg.1df334d12070967b97fdb4635ef0910c.jpeg

IMG_2023.thumb.jpeg.674586e002daff15c1e46cfb55083039.jpeg

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1 hour ago, Parliament said:

And the serial cookie predators (Girl Scouts) are about to swarm our cities.  

I'm not in trouble there.  Until they start showing up outside the dispensary. 

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I turned 41 in December, and at the same time I had hit a new low in terms of my physical and mental health. My alcohol consumption hit an all-time high last year, which (obviously) led to anxiety, depression, and physical problems throughout the year. I have managed to stop drinking beer daily and now just having a nightcap of 6-8oz of bourbon each night.

I could probably count the number of times I've worked out with intent in my life with both of my hands, but this month has become of the best I've had in a long damn time. I joined a local private gym and hired a personal trainer to keep me motivated and also show me proper technique/form. I am mad at myself for not taking charge of my health before now. I am thinking clearer and feeling better on a daily basis, even if I can barely walk because my legs are sore. It hurts so damn good. 

 

Screenshot-20250129-141631-Sheets.jpg

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