What do you guys do to stay in shape?

[Denon]

I think there's something wrong with me. I now have to run 8k on one day and swim 3k the next day to feel like I've done something(plus push ups and sit ups), yet my spare tire said it's not going anywhere

How's your diet? What you eat is important when losing weight, if you eat more calories than you consume it will stay on your body. By running and swiming you will gain muscles and condition but not lose weight.

Otherwise, I stay in shape by training Brazilian jiu-jitsu 2 times a week and next week I will start training Submission Wrestling as well. I'm also at the gym 3-4 times a week.

 

[shuttervelocity]

Stay in shape? What's that? um, wear one size smaller so it "holds" you in shape?

 

[JClishe]

I think there's something wrong with me. I now have to run 8k on one day and swim 3k the next day to feel like I've done something(plus push ups and sit ups), yet my spare tire said it's not going anywhere

Your weight is dictated more by what you eat than by how much you workout. Although the common misconception that you have to burn more than you consume isn't accurate, either. If that was the case than diets like Atkins wouldn't work, yet Atkins has proven to be extremely effective at weight loss.

I'm a fairly healthy eater, and I could stand to lose about 10-15 pounds. If I don't change my diet at all, I have to workout at least 10 hours per week to start losing weight. And that's on an all-cardio triathlon training program. That's a lot of cardio, well more than an "average" person would do. On the other hand, if I make some tweaks to my diet and stop working out completely, I can easily lose a pound a week. Diet is the driving factor by a huge margin.

(Although there's about a 4 week span at the peak of my Ironman program where I'm between 15-20 hours per week and I can chow down on absolutely anything I want to and the weight still peels right off. So, 15-20 hours of cardio per week is your other option )

 

[KristerP]

I don't drive, so I walk a lot (or ride my bike), also I have a physical job.

 

[mjhoward]

Try and eat healthier and work out at my home gym:

 

[kundalini]

The house that I recently moved into has had its yard/landscaping unkempt for s-e-v-e-r-a-l years. Lots of raking of leaves, pine cones, twigs and fallen limbs to be done, plus the general moving regiments.

Walking is now on the agenda and will soon unbox and re-assemble my bike.

Did I mention that I have a very demanding sex life? Oh yeah, I think I did. Sorry to rub it in your noses again.

 

[mishele]

So that's how you got that buff bod!!!

 

[kundalini]

So that's how you got that buff bod!!!

That and some damn good DNA. Thank you very much Jean and Wayne!!!

 

[clarinetJWD]

I really don't think the gym is necessary except for vanity. Eat right and don't drive everywhere and your body will maintain a healthy size regardless of what the BMI says.

Truth! Back when I lived downtown in Baltimore, I walked or rode my bike most places, and managed to stay at around 130. While it's not as low as I was in my marathon training days (~125), it was a perfectly serviceable weight. Since I moved back to the suburbs of Houston, I can't walk anywhere, and have packed on 20 pounds. I just started running again: as long as I can manage outdoors, plus 1 mile on a treadmill 3 times a week to see if I can slim back down.

As for food, I tend to still eat the things that I want, but less of them. Every time you go to a restaurant, you're getting at least 2 portions of food, so as soon as I get my plate, I split everything in half and make 2 meals out of it. When I cook at home, I still don't shy away from fatty ingredients: I still use butter to brown my meats, and the like, but I try and stay away from highly processed or preserved foods. I make sauces from scratch, and completely cut out HFCS.

Recently, I also cut out nighttime snacks, which are always a problem...

 

[willis_927]

Try and eat healthier and work out at my home gym:

Pretty jelous of that home gym!

 

[LadyJasmine]

Try and eat healthier and work out at my home gym:

That is so awesome! My husband would be so jealous!

All our work outstuff is out in the garage (I made him drag the treadmill inside... who wants to be in an unheated garage in the midle of the winter?)

I can't wait till we get a bigger house and we can have a devoted space in the basement for this stuff!

 

[mjhoward]

lol thanks! I justified it by saying that the cost of all that equipment would pay for itself after 2-3 years of not paying $30/mo at a gym. I only spent about $1k on all of it. The posters on the wall are different muscle groups with how-to's for different excercises I can do with the exquipment I have. This way I can change it up a bit and not have to waste time trying to remember what I can do with the equipment I have.