The FastDay Forum

Hi I have always exercised but not sure how ill do with the fasting as well (only started today) so will see what happens. The long run of the week will have to be tomorrow if Saturday is a fasting day .... We'll see how it goes!!

I have various exercise DVDs but because of dodgy knees & no longer being able to kneel do the dancerise type 2-3 times a week but should do more. I have in a fit of madness just ordered the Wii plus & hope it will be entertaining enough to hold my interest. I am a couch potato by inclination & dancing is about the only exercise I enjoy, my husband doesn't ! So I am trying to become interested in becoming more active. Anyone else have a Wii plus?
Isis

Well done Becca I couldn't run to save my life, too knackered in the joints these days. We do have GN runners here in the B&B though, same ones back for the third year on the trot this autumn so that is my connection to the big event.

It is an amazing event, I've done it once and would do it again hope I get in the ballot, I ran for charity last year and they put a minimum on the fundraising, this was my only problem as I'm not good at asking people for money so really struggled. At least the marathon is my motivator as I'm running for myself

I exercise five days a week even on fast days. I exercise for endurance, fitness, calorie burn and for the endorphin highs. Three times I do 45 mins intense cardio (85% of my max heart rate throughout - I use a HR monitor) on the treadmill and stepper machine at my gym; two times a week I do strength training with free weights for 30 mins (my goal is to lift heavier and heavier weights once I've lost all my weight).

I use a cycle trainer 6 days a week, sometimes twice a day,
Like Bssh, I wear a heart-rate monitor to monitor my efforts. I aim for fat-burning, which means sticking to 55-70% of my max HR for a 30-45 mn session.
The trainer has a speedo, which also helps me to keep at the right speed. I try to keep to 10-12 mph, with a medium resistance on the bike itself to ensure I don't just spin the wheel without any effort.The HRM beeps if I go too fast, which does happen!
I also add in a bit of HIIT (10-second sprints).
I always exercise first thing in the morning on an empty stomach, and sometimes again in the afternoon - it helps that I work from home.
It can be boring and I have found the best way to keep at it is to get started, then lose myself in a Kindle book!

I've never been keen on formal gym type exercising, if I exercise it has to be for a reason. I walk four miles every morning with the dog (not an option ,she insists). I attempt to do this in an hour but it depends on how many rabbit holes we have to inspect on the way round, usually it's around and hour and ten minutes.

Summertime is easier because in addition to the dog walk I spend a couple of hours a day gardening, sometimes gentle exercise but often vigorous compost moving and digging.

I have also seen M Mosley's documentary and am definitely interested, although I haven't bitten the bullet yet.

I have read a lot about HIT and apparently it is the way forward with exercise. No hour long runs on the treadmill, it is much better to do 3 30 second all out runs or cycles with a 30 second break in between each. This burns fat much quicker than an hours training within your comfort zone.

You need to constantly test your body!

I definitely recommend a heart-rate monitor. It is an invaluable tool when I exercise.
It tells me the % of my max HR I'm exercising at.
It shows how quickly I get back to my normal HR after an all-out effort (HIT), which tells me how my fitness is increasing, which also tells me to increase the resistance on my cycle trainer, to ensure I don't spin uselessly.
It gives me a specific HR range at which to exercise to ensure maximum fat-burning (if that's what I want to achieve), warns me if I'm under or over, shows exactly how long I've exercised in the correct HR range and how much body fat I have burnt.
Without it, I would just be spinning my legs without any aim.

I have 2 dogs and I now walk 7 days a week. we do about 3.5 miles every day. I am disabled and so I don't go foe any speed records, but when I started It would take me 1:5 hours to do the morning 2.2 miles on Friday I completed the same course at 57 mins. My dogs love it I love it except for the ice then we had to do smaller walks. All in all its been good, also walking is supposed to be good for the brain so why not I thought

Jacqui

Well done Jacqui, our dogs certainly make sure we get out there don't they?

I own a whippet...he was dragged to the beach for 10 mins today and hid between my knees as I chucked a ball for the terrier. A dog for the nicer weather!