What Have You Done In 2016 For Your Fitness, And What Do You Plan To Do In

[bcalvanese]

I started adding jog intervals into my power walks. Started with 30 second jog/2 minute walk intervals for 3 miles. My goal was to be able to run 5k non-stop.

Last Sunday I ran 5 miles non-stop just to see if I could do it. I normally run 3 miles non-stop now during a 7.5 mile jog/power walk.

I would like to be able to jog 10 miles non-stop by the end of 2017.

I have also increased my fitness level from "extremely poor" to "fair", and for 2017 would like to increase it to "good".

Oh, and I went from "obese" to 'slightly overweight", and for 2017 would like to be in the middle of my healthy weight.

Oh, I forgot that I quit smoking using electronic cigarettes and have not smoked for over 6 months. Maybe in 2017 quit the electronic cigarette, but no real concern there.

What's your story?

[emili]

Congratulations on your accomplishments @bcalvanese. I hope 2017 is as wonderful for you as 2016 was. As for me, I keep doing what I do best. Eat healthy, work out everyday, keep my steps up and encourage others to embrace a healthy lifestyle. Happy Holidays to you..

[A_Lurker]

Hmmm... I decided to focus on my health and have lost over 90 pounds so far this year.  I've gone from an average daily step count of well under 10,000 step to between 15,000 and 20,000 steps each day.

For 2017, not sure yet.

I'm not likely going to increase the steps,  but I am working on increasing the intensity.  I want to continue losing weight but I may actually decrease the speed (this was recommended by my doctor).  I'd like to be more active overall as I still find myself too often 'making up steps'.  I'd like to keep working on my fitness but I really haven't set a weight loss goal for next year yet.

[shipo]

I started off 2016 with a severe abdominal strain which running, or pretty much any other kind of exercise for that matter, exacerbated.  By February when my doctors cleared me to gradually start running again I hadn't done a lick of exercise for months on end and had packed on an easy twenty to thirty pounds.

In February I managed 13 fairly short runs (between two miles and five) and totaled 53.9 miles for the month; March saw me only run 22 miles due to both weather and trying to get back into running a bit too quickly.  By April and May I managed to start shaking off the rust and logged 132.85 miles and 130.2 miles respectively, and by June I managed to inch that up a bit to 155.8 miles.  July was a watershed month in that I logged my first 200+ mile month since July of 2015, and October was yet another watershed month in that I logged 345.2 miles, the first time in my life I'd run more than 300 miles in a month.  Now with over three weeks still to go in 2016 I'm 134 miles shy of 2,000 for the year.

With all of the above running I've gotten back down to a good weight (which for my 5' 8" frame is 190(ish)), and have managed lower my per mile pace times fairly substantially.

So, for 2017, the year I turn 60 and enter a new Age Group, I would like to knock off ten to twenty pounds (a tall order) which should enable me to heat my pie-in-the-sky racing goals as follows:

• 5K: 20:00
• 10K: 43:00
• 10-mile: 1:10:00
• Half-Marathon: 1:32:00

I have no idea if I can lose the weight as I'm fairly fit and carry a lot of muscle, but if I cannot, then my goal times for the above races are probably unreachable.

[DanielleinDC]

I've started doing walking videos six days a week. I try to lift weights (dumbbell exercises) three or four days a week. It's a little tricky because my boyfriend and I do frequent road trips in the winter months, and I can't always exercise. 

This hasn't been a good year, though. I joked at one point this weekend that it looks like I picked a bad year to quit comfort eating!

[bcalvanese]

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@emili wrote:

Congratulations on your accomplishments @bcalvanese. I hope 2017 is as wonderful for you as 2016 was. As for me, I keep doing what I do best. Eat healthy, work out everyday, keep my steps up and encourage others to embrace a healthy lifestyle. Happy Holidays to you..

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Thank you and same to you as well.

[bcalvanese]

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@A_Lurker wrote:

Hmmm... I decided to focus on my health and have lost over 90 pounds so far this year.  I've gone from an average daily step count of well under 10,000 step to between 15,000 and 20,000 steps each day.

For 2017, not sure yet.

I'm not likely going to increase the steps,  but I am working on increasing the intensity.  I want to continue losing weight but I may actually decrease the speed (this was recommended by my doctor).  I'd like to be more active overall as I still find myself too often 'making up steps'.  I'd like to keep working on my fitness but I really haven't set a weight loss goal for next year yet.

---

Great job losing over 90 lbs.

Wishing you the best of luck for 2017.

[bcalvanese]

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@shipo wrote:

I started off 2016 with a severe abdominal strain which running, or pretty much any other kind of exercise for that matter, exacerbated.  By February when my doctors cleared me to gradually start running again I hadn't done a lick of exercise for months on end and had packed on an easy twenty to thirty pounds.

In February I managed 13 fairly short runs (between two miles and five) and totaled 53.9 miles for the month; March saw me only run 22 miles due to both weather and trying to get back into running a bit too quickly.  By April and May I managed to start shaking off the rust and logged 132.85 miles and 130.2 miles respectively, and by June I managed to inch that up a bit to 155.8 miles.  July was a watershed month in that I logged my first 200+ mile month since July of 2015, and October was yet another watershed month in that I logged 345.2 miles, the first time in my life I'd run more than 300 miles in a month.  Now with over three weeks still to go in 2016 I'm 134 miles shy of 2,000 for the year.

With all of the above running I've gotten back down to a good weight (which for my 5' 8" frame is 190(ish)), and have managed lower my per mile pace times fairly substantially.

So, for 2017, the year I turn 60 and enter a new Age Group, I would like to knock off ten to twenty pounds (a tall order) which should enable me to heat my pie-in-the-sky racing goals as follows:

• 5K: 20:00
• 10K: 43:00
• 10-mile: 1:10:00
• Half-Marathon: 1:32:00

I have no idea if I can lose the weight as I'm fairly fit and carry a lot of muscle, but if I cannot, then my goal times for the above races are probably unreachable.

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Dude, you are already at a very high fitness level. I am confident you will knock off the weight no problem, and meet your goal times.

[bcalvanese]

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@DanielleinDC wrote:

I've started doing walking videos six days a week. I try to lift weights (dumbbell exercises) three or four days a week. It's a little tricky because my boyfriend and I do frequent road trips in the winter months, and I can't always exercise. 

This hasn't been a good year, though. I joked at one point this weekend that it looks like I picked a bad year to quit comfort eating!

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Sounds good so far. Keep up the good work.

[tiffenerkies]

2015 was "my year" as far as taking control of my body and fitness and I did a really good job of it. I went from 175 (Jan) to the 155-152 (Dec). This year I was doing well in the first half, but have really been slacking since August.

In early 2016 the best thing I did for my fitness was to stop doing certain workouts with my friends. When I was hitting the gym most consistently and getting the best my workouts had to offer I was flying solo and actually working out so I would sleep better and get the stress release. 

The worst thing I started letting myself do in 2016 was skip two workouts in a row. It ended up snowballing due to a bunch of factors that in hindsight were all silly excuses. Worst part is my sleeping is terrible and my stress is through the roof. I know exactly what would help with it (working out) but motivation has been escaping me.

In 2017 I plan to get myself back on track. I'm hoping 2017 will be my year to get my nutritional diet back on track, thereby creating a chain reaction where my energy is better, and I find it easier to get back into my fitness routine.

[USAF-Larry]

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@tiffenerkies wrote:

The worst thing I started letting myself do in 2016 was skip two workouts in a row. It ended up snowballing due to a bunch of factors that in hindsight were all silly excuses. Worst part is my sleeping is terrible and my stress is through the roof. I know exactly what would help with it (working out) but motivation has been escaping me.

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This is the hardest part of fitness plans/routines. It is easy to find an reason to not work out today - I have a doctor appointment, so I won't be able to go the gym; I have to do some shopping, so that will be my exercise; I need to spend some time with the kids, so I'm going to take them to the park and let them play; etc., etc., etc. - and, those reasons/excuses soon become a habit. This is why self-motivation is so important. If you are using others for motivation, they will accept your reason/excuse for not working out and say something like, "well, maybe tomorrow...". If you are self-motivated, you have to say, "well, I'll workout when I get back from the park....".  But, that's probably my military training....

[shipo]

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@Majka wrote:

Wow B Calvanese, that's amazing that you are able to run 3-5 miles nonstop.  That's a LOT!!!!  It's amazing that you went from obese to overweight.  That is not an easy accomplishment at all!  I'm also so pleased that you've given up smoking because as you know it is not healthy.  Good for you!!!!

Well I'm not in the best health of my life, I'm the first one to admit that, but I'm trying to work on coping with my depression which I've had for 11 years and try to live as long as possible.  I have EDNOS (eating disorder not otherwise specified), I eat enough but I exercise a lot and have an obsessed desire to maintain my underweight BMI.

My goal for 2017 is to see a nutritionist and see how I can live as healthily as possible while being 20 lb underweight and to try to survive as long as I can and maybe when I'm less depressed, stop using my underweight BMI as a coping mechanism.

I hope you have a wonderful joyous Christmas and a Happy new year x

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Have you considered seeing a counselor about your need to stay underweight?  I ask because I've been married to someone for over 20 years who suffered from your condition when she was younger, and most, if not all, of the health issues she's dealing with now in her late 50s can be traced directly back to when she was underweight back in the 1970s and early 1980s.

Long story short, I think you need to put some weight on and save your body from the ravages of malnutrition.

[shipo]

Since editing seems to be broken, I'll make one final comment via a second post...

The long-term health consequences of your condition are something I wouldn't wish on anybody.

[PHarvey]

This year as been an amazing I've trained and accomplished a charity cycle from St Michael's Mount in Cornwall to Le Mont St Michell in Normandy over 4 days (ferry inbetween). Then trained for Bournemouth marathon, proving that an overweight, asthmatic, with low self esteem and confidence can and will do what she set out to do. I accomplished 10k run, half marathon and my training that took me all over North Devon up and down hills and achieving many miles of non stop running. Whoop! I'm so pleased with myself. I am a slow runner (but I'm not after compliments) I am very pleased and proud of myself for running all of the marathon even if it did take me 6 hours and 22minutes.

I'm going to continue running at least 3 times a week. Once with Parkrun which is both social/motivator for me. Up to 5 miles with running club and a longer one on my own, just to prove to myself I can and will continue to push myself. I'm hoping to cycling every week, but to do more walking/hiking in the new year as I'm hoping to do the Comino de Santiago Pilgrim's walk one day. That's the plan and if there's any races coming up I want to do I will. To enjoy it.

[PHarvey]

You can do it. Just keep reminders of how you've managed before and the benefits it had on stress and sleep.

Before every run or cycle especially when the weather is miserable I always say to myself I may not like getting out of the door, I may not like the first 20 minutes but I know I am warm and loving every minute of it thereafter, and I love the benefits. If I keep putting it off the harder it will become.

2017 will be your year to achieve all your goals and to feel excellent about yourself.

I say this while drinking the last of my Baileys and having just seen the New Year in with a PB on my park run and New Year's dip in the sea. I will succeed this year and so will you.

Challenge yourself to do the fun stuff.

Have a great year! 😄