The Running/Keeping Fit Thread

[Doc_Piptorious]

Still going too, no signs of waning

Keep on keeping on

[Norbs]

Dry January - tick
Dry February - tick
Dry March - tick



We're going to Lucky Cat in Bishopsgate tomorrow, I won't be drinking

[Doc_Piptorious]

And enjoy the night out.

[Norbs]

We went there for lunch, really wonderful experience. Walked over Tower Bridge too. I had a Wild Rose cocktail which was very nice indeed

[Doc_Piptorious]

We went there for lunch, really wonderful experience. Walked over Tower Bridge too. I had a Wild Rose cocktail which was very nice indeed

More an Old Fashioned guy myself, but was your Wild Rose made with Whiskey or was in one of the gin or tequila versions?


Quite like one made with whiskey. Has a little bit of bite but still looks purdy

[Norbs]

More an Old Fashioned guy myself, but was your Wild Rose made with Whiskey or was in one of the gin or tequila versions?


Quite like one made with whiskey. Has a little bit of bite but still looks purdy

Mine was a mocktail, pretty sure there wasn't a whiff of anything near it

[Doc_Piptorious]

Mine was a mocktail, pretty sure there wasn't a whiff of anything near it

Should have twigged that as you said you would be staying dry.

For some reason I thought it might be a once off treat. Glad it tasted nice though

[Norbs]

Should have twigged that as you said you would be staying dry.

For some reason I thought it might be a once off treat. Glad it tasted nice though

Cheers. I've discovered that adding a bit of cordial to zero alcohol beer makes a massive difference to the taste. Usually they all taste **** to me with a similar background taste. With passion fruit cordial it really tastes like you're drinking a Brewdog like Hazy Jane or similar. Game changer when we went for a drink along the Thames, I didn't feel like a freak

[Norbs]

Should reach 500,000kg on the Gym Monster this week. I've gone full Ai with my training, trusting the machine to set my schedule based on my goal and target. My weight loss has slowed a bit which I guess is to be expected, and muscle mass seems to be improving. I like the suggestion that my body and fitness are 9 years less than my actual age

[Doc_Piptorious]

Should reach 500,000kg on the Gym Monster this week. I've gone full Ai with my training, trusting the machine to set my schedule based on my goal and target. My weight loss has slowed a bit which I guess is to be expected, and muscle mass seems to be improving. I like the suggestion that my body and fitness are 9 years less than my actual age

Very much to be expected. You will lose loads of weight at the start, a lot of that being big drops thanks to losing water weight on given days, but once you start putting on muscle the weight loss through losing fat gets offset a bit by the muscle gain.

Then if you keep going your weight loss will plateau and then you will start to gain weight, but all that gain is healthy as you will be putting on muscle mass all over your body.


The one thing to avoid, and especially if you have a big of height and a big natural frame, is your BMI number.

At 52 yo I currently have a body fat % of 12% (measured this week) and stand 6'3 weighing 110kg of roughly 17 stone and 4 lbs. Am very much in shape, very close to having a six pack again, and I lift, run, gym train and train/coach at the ABC every week.

But pump my height and weight into a BMI calculator and it will say I am obese as BMI calculators do not take muscle mass, fitness levels, training etc into account.

To pick a boxer the same height as me but a little lighter in Oleksandr Usyk. Using a BMI calculator he reads as being between over weight and obese.


Professional rugby players, especially the taller lads built like a wall of muscle, will all read as being over weight at best , but most likely will read as being obese.


Then take a darts player like Luke Littler and BMI will say his BMI is healthy compared to guys that stay in shape, eat healthy and exercise a lot.

Quite often what you see in the mirror is a much better indicator than something like BMI readings.


Personally from reading what you have put up over the past 12 weeks or so, I reckon you are smashing it and are already healthier/stronger/faster than you were back in December and that the coming 12 to 24 months are going to less about seeing weight loss on the scales and more about the serious changes you will be seeing in the mirror and in your day to day life.


Onwards and upwards Norbs, winners win, and you are very much winning.

[Norbs]

Cheers Doc. I live day to day waiting for the time I get to see my willy again. Probably need 3% body fat before I can

[Doc_Piptorious]

Cheers Doc. I live day to day waiting for the time I get to see my willy again. Probably need 3% body fat before I can

3% body fat??? Yeah right. You get to 3% and you will go invisible if you turn sideways

You get to 20% or slightly and you will be doing really well, far better than most people in fact let alone for your age, and yes you will be able to see your willy again too


You are only 12 weeks into your journey and doing great. Take it day by day with realistic targets and before you know it, it will be next December and all those smaller targets will have combined to have given you a massive result.

You crushed the toughest part of getting healthier early doors, the mental side, and now that exercise has become routine the end goals are now just a matter of staying the course.

[fidget]

BMI is a pretty blunt tool, especially for individuals. It only looks at height and weight, so it doesn’t tell you anything about body composition—how much of you is muscle versus fat. That really starts to matter as you get older because you naturally lose muscle and strength if you’re not actively working to maintain them. So you can have a “normal” BMI but still carry more fat and less muscle - “skinny fat.”

What really matters is muscle vs fat. Muscle supports strength, balance, and general health, while excess fat - especially around your organs - is linked to higher health risks. And if you’re trying to lose fat, the scale alone can be misleading. You could be losing fat but gaining muscle, so your weight might barely change.

IMHO waist measurement is a way better way to track progress. It gives a decent idea of changes in abdominal fat. Pair that with your strength and you’ve got a much clearer picture than BMI or the scale. If your waist is shrinking and your strength is staying the same or improving, you’re heading in the right direction.

For context, I’m 57, just under 6’1”, and three weeks ago I was 101 kg. I hit the gym three times a week, doing a mix of strength and cardio, and I generally feel fit. By BMI I’m “obese,” which is obviously not how I feel or look. I eat mostly clean meals, freshly cooked, and get a minimum of 125g protein a day but I love food so my diet has always included large portions and late-night snacks. Exercise is what keeps me from being 20 stone +.

I decided to do a little “vanity cut” before my birthday holiday in May, so I’ve stepped up cardio a bit and cut out the late-night junk and have stopped drinking although I rarely exceeded 8 units a week. I haven’t bothered weighing myself, but my waist is coming down and my strength hasn’t dropped even while in a calorie deficit. When I weigh myself before I go away in May, it’ll just be a number - I’m really just tracking my belt and how I look. It'll be interesting to see what I weigh if/when I hit my target look but I imagine it'll be about 96kg.

[Sus]

Very much to be expected. You will lose loads of weight at the start, a lot of that being big drops thanks to losing water weight on given days, but once you start putting on muscle the weight loss through losing fat gets offset a bit by the muscle gain.

Then if you keep going your weight loss will plateau and then you will start to gain weight, but all that gain is healthy as you will be putting on muscle mass all over your body.


The one thing to avoid, and especially if you have a big of height and a big natural frame, is your BMI number.

At 52 yo I currently have a body fat % of 12% (measured this week) and stand 6'3 weighing 110kg of roughly 17 stone and 4 lbs. Am very much in shape, very close to having a six pack again, and I lift, run, gym train and train/coach at the ABC every week.

But pump my height and weight into a BMI calculator and it will say I am obese as BMI calculators do not take muscle mass, fitness levels, training etc into account.

To pick a boxer the same height as me but a little lighter in Oleksandr Usyk. Using a BMI calculator he reads as being between over weight and obese.


Professional rugby players, especially the taller lads built like a wall of muscle, will all read as being over weight at best , but most likely will read as being obese.


Then take a darts player like Luke Littler and BMI will say his BMI is healthy compared to guys that stay in shape, eat healthy and exercise a lot.

Quite often what you see in the mirror is a much better indicator than something like BMI readings.


Personally from reading what you have put up over the past 12 weeks or so, I reckon you are smashing it and are already healthier/stronger/faster than you were back in December and that the coming 12 to 24 months are going to less about seeing weight loss on the scales and more about the serious changes you will be seeing in the mirror and in your day to day life.


Onwards and upwards Norbs, winners win, and you are very much winning.

This is a good point - BMI is not a good indicator of general health for most guys, especially ones that have naturally bigger frames

One to stay away from, at least at a detailed level

[labourRed]

This is very good measurement if you can't be arsed with paying for a dexa scan

https://exrx.net/Calculators/BodyComp (you can just take three measurements). Impedence

There's other fitness tests like bench pressing 36kg for reps if you want to compare yourself to the rest of the population (some of the tests are a bit dated but the 1RM numbers still hold true for good standard setting).