The very many questions-not-worth-their-own-thread question thread XXXI

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You might consider some outdoor hiking, such as in a park that has fitness stops. We have that in some areas of the Waskasoo Park trail system here, where you walk along and come to a place to do chin-ups, or a part of the trail that consists of stairs.

There are some trails around here, but pretty much all of them run inside the city. I considered walking to work, and I might still look into that, but it's all relatively flat around here, so I don't really think it would help me much.
 
There are some trails around here, but pretty much all of them run inside the city. I considered walking to work, and I might still look into that, but it's all relatively flat around here, so I don't really think it would help me much.
I didn't see anything in your post about footwear, so maybe you've got it covered, but you probably don't want to be breaking in new boots and finding out where you get blisters while you're on the hike itself.
 
There are some trails around here, but pretty much all of them run inside the city. I considered walking to work, and I might still look into that, but it's all relatively flat around here, so I don't really think it would help me much.
The ones I was talking about are in the city, too. We have a wildlife corridor running the length of the city from north to south, and of course some animals travel from east to west along the river. There are two lakes (for animals only) and a system of walking trails that are quite extensive. As mentioned parts of the trail system were constructed as "fitness walks" with various stations along the way for specific kinds of exercises.
 
I didn't see anything in your post about footwear, so maybe you've got it covered, but you probably don't want to be breaking in new boots and finding out where you get blisters while you're on the hike itself.

Yeah, I got that covered, I got these fine Italian hiking boots 2 years ago for my hikes in Norway, and I love them. Didn't even need any breaking in, they were super flexible, and yet have good ankle support nevertheless. The one issue is I have to figure out how to fit orthodics in them. Last time I hiked 90km over 4 days one of the tendons in my left foot gave out, because I have flat feet and I wasn't protecting them or whatever. So.. I'm going to have to pay a bit of $$ to get a guy to fit a new set of orthodics to fit well into my hiking boots, as I don't really want to buy new ones.
 
I noticed this is thread XXXI, was there a thread XXX? What kind of questions went in there?:mischief:
 
2 - Join gym and go once a week and ride a gym bike until I'm spent, also start doing reps of pull ups at home, instead of just one rep of 4-5
3 - Start going to gym twice a week and increase chin up routine at home
4 - Three times a week at the gym, light workout at home on off-gym days

You can ramp it up faster to 3x/week, you just need to make time.
Also pull ups are not the best thing to start with. If your muscles are not used to it, you'll have a hard time pulling your whole body weight (which might get frustrating). Some gyms have a pull up machine, which allows you to add counterweights, to make the startup easier.
EDIT: Biking until you're done is also not a good goal. Better set a fixed amount of time each time, and increase slowly. Do more if you feel like. And do the pull ups in the gym. Just being there can motivate to do stuff, and it feels more like an actual thing with a plan, than, like e.g. doing a few things 10 minutes before going to bed.

Maybe have a look for a gym which offers boot camp courses.
These normally include a good part of running, together with all kinds of exercise which you can do in the surrounding (like push ups, jumping, and e.g. utilizing the stuff on children's playgrounds). Guess that should be the most optimal thing, given what you want to do.
 
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You can ramp it up faster to 3x/week, you just need to make time.

I considered it, but with so much time until the trip it seemed I could take my time. But I will re-consider it when I get to that stage! The gym is close to my work like I said and pretty much on my walk to the bus stop. So it would be easy.

Also pull ups are not the best thing to start with. If your muscles are not used to it, you'll have a hard time pulling your whole body weight (which might get frustrating). Some gyms have a pull up machine, which allows you to add counterweights, to make the startup easier.

Whoops.. I meant chin-ups. I call them pull ups only because I.. pull myself up. My friend (who goes to the gym and is obsessed with going to the gym) corrected me after I showed him what I do. But then I usually forget what they're actually called and continue calling them pull-ups.

I do these chin-ups every once in a while and I've gotten pretty good at it. I used to be able to do 5 in a row, and do 3 reps of those. That's not crazy impressive or anything, but it takes a LOT of upper body strength to even do 1 chin up. That's why I've included chin-ups in my routine, it's pretty much the only thing I know.. and it seems to tire me out QUICK.

EDIT: Biking until you're done is also not a good goal. Better set a fixed amount of time each time, and increase slowly. Do more if you feel like. And do the pull ups in the gym. Just being there can motivate to do stuff, and it feels more like an actual thing with a plan, than, like e.g. doing a few things 10 minutes before going to bed.

Hmm that's a good idea for the bike. I am probably going to pick one of the "destination" workout sessions you can do on these bikes. By that I mean that you can pick a geographic region, and it will run through uphill/downhill/etc. type terrain. It tells you which is easier and which isn't, so I'll start with one of the easier ones, and then work my way up. We'll see how that goes.

I do want to try more machines and other things at the gym but I really feel out of place there. I do not belong. I also dislike crowds, and this place is always teeming with people. But once I get used to a machine and get comfortable with it, it's not a problem at all. I have a friend who goes to this gym and plays squash there occasionally, maybe I'll get him out as a workout buddy for some of these sessions. It's actually the person who is coming with me to Nepal to do this hike! He's way more in shape than me, he plays like.. 3 different sports, actively, on a regular basis. I'm def. behind

Maybe have a look for a gym which offers boot camp courses.

Great idea! This gym here is actually the university gym. That's why I get a discount, I'm staff. I pay more than students but less than walk-ins. It's very affordable. Anyway, they seem to have a lot of different classes, so I could probably find an "intro to the gym for morons like warpus" type class to join. I've actually been also interested in self-defense and "hip hop dancing" type classes in the past, but I never really looked it up. I think they do "stuff like that". I'll look into it, we'll see what sorts of stuff I'll end up signing up for.

One of my friends keeps inviting me to his Crossfit gym. They have some sort of a "Try us out for free for 1 week" thing. The thing is that this gym is INTENSE. People who have ambitions to be weight lifters at the olympics train at this place. Those sort of people. Intense crossfit bros. That's not me. Anyway, I told him that once I'm a bit more active and maybe a couple months into my workout plan, I will give this 1 week long thing a try. My friend seems to always get injured at this place, so I think they really push you there. I don't mind a bit of that, but not when I'm still so out of shape.

Thanks for the tips, they've given me new ideas
 
Don't you live in snow land Warpus? You should start skiing. There is no better full body cardio work-out than cross-country skiing. Also it beats the hell out of doing cardio at the gym. /shudders.
 
Don't you live in snow land Warpus? You should start skiing. There is no better full body cardio work-out than cross-country skiing. Also it beats the hell out of doing cardio at the gym. /shudders.

Ski season is just about over, and all things considered it's not that efficient time-wise when you're trying to crunch training into a limited period of time.
 
Ski season is just about over, and all things considered it's not that efficient time-wise when you're trying to crunch training into a limited period of time.
True, it is. Though we might have a good month or so left here depending on weather.

Only inefficient if you have to spend a significant amount of time getting to the tracks/ski-terrain.
 
If I remember @warpus' location well enough, he's about 2-3 hours away from finally putting ski to snow, including driving, getting all the gear, going up the hill, etc. It's a lot of time investment for little gain (comparatively).
 
Aye if it's a long drive then it's not great for regular cardio. Gear is pretty minimal for x-country though. What do you mean by "going up the hill"?
 
Cross country skiing is sort of semi-popular around here. My parents used to drive to this park an hour north of here for that purpose, but not very often. I went with them once and YEAH, it's a crazy workout! I couldn't even get the proper technique down, but even when I sort of did, it was very tough on almost all my muscles. Tbh I hated the experience, mostly because I just sucked at trying to replicate the technique. I did a lot of moving but would not actually move forward much at all. It was very frustrating.

I would definitely try it again but yeah, we didn't really have much of a winter this year, right now it's actually the most wintry it's been all year, sort of. And tomorrow it's all supposed to melt and spring is supposed to have another go. So skiing is def. out.

We do have a downhill skiing option here too, it's about a 15 min drive from where I live. I have no idea how good it is.. I think it's average? Nothing too crazy, everything around here is pretty much flat. That one hill in the city is pretty much all we've got for downhill skiing I think
 
I do these chin-ups every once in a while and I've gotten pretty good at it. I used to be able to do 5 in a row, and do 3 reps of those. That's not crazy impressive or anything, but it takes a LOT of upper body strength to even do 1 chin up. That's why I've included chin-ups in my routine, it's pretty much the only thing I know.. and it seems to tire me out QUICK.

Ah, that's fine.
If you'd not be able to do any at all, then I'd not recommend directly, but you're already there, that's fine.

I do want to try more machines and other things at the gym but I really feel out of place there. I do not belong. I also dislike crowds, and this place is always teeming with people.

Check different times and days.
In my gym the Sunday noon is always empty (obviously), whereas Monday evening is always full to the max.
It can make a difference if you go directly after work, or first go home and have a break for 1-2 h. Or go in the morning and shift your work time into the evening (if that's possible for you).

Great idea! This gym here is actually the university gym. That's why I get a discount, I'm staff. I pay more than students but less than walk-ins. It's very affordable. Anyway, they seem to have a lot of different classes, so I could probably find an "intro to the gym for morons like warpus" type class to join. I've actually been also interested in self-defense and "hip hop dancing" type classes in the past, but I never really looked it up. I think they do "stuff like that". I'll look into it, we'll see what sorts of stuff I'll end up signing up for.

They should definitely have.
My gym (also Uni) has a general introduction lesson (for the machines), an introduction to free weights, and different weight lifting classes.
For general fitness also stuff like TRX or dumbbell exercise classes can help.

You will also need to figure out what type of sports guy you are, to keep your motivation.
Some people work better with different kinds of sports.
For me it seems it boils down to 5 types (haven't done any research on that though ^^)
- people who go on their own, and are happy with it (go strength training, or running on your own)
- people who need a buddy
- people who go to classes (spinning, team running, whatever)
- 1-on-1 competition (martial arts, squash, tennis)
- team sports

e.g. I can just go each day to the gym and do my workout, but I cannot be arsed to fight through an MMA lesson (despite having the power and energy) or to play a team sport. One of my acquaintances on the other hand finds the gym boring, but goes twice per week for boxing. And the student in my office goes twice per week for rugby training, but cannot be bothered to go running on their own.
So figure out how you work, that will help with the long term motivation.

EDIT: You might want to ask the gym staff for some specific exercises for the lower back.
For your hike, you'll need endurance and leg muscles, which you'll be training with probably most exercises you can think of yourself (be it running, a team sports, a martial art or plainly going to the gym). But the for the backpack you'll need back muscles. Training the upper back (shoulders and big back muscles) is also easy (e.g. the pull ups), but the lower back is a) relatively weak, in general, and b) something where you do not have many options to train it separately. This might be a weak spot, and is probably good to focus on (also given that you're sitting the whole day for your job, you should train it anyways).
 
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Check different times and days.
In my gym the Sunday noon is always empty (obviously), whereas Monday evening is always full to the max.
It can make a difference if you go directly after work, or first go home and have a break for 1-2 h. Or go in the morning and shift your work time into the evening (if that's possible for you).

Going in on a sunday is actually a really good idea... I'm going to do that and scope the place out. Thanks for the suggestion, I don't know why I never considered doing that. (Going right after work just makes the most sense logistically I guess)

My gym (also Uni) has a general introduction lesson (for the machines), an introduction to free weights, and different weight lifting classes.
For general fitness also stuff like TRX or dumbbell exercise classes can help.

There probably is a general introduction type class, I'm going to see if they have something like that on sundays

You will also need to figure out what type of sports guy you are, to keep your motivation.

I enjoy 1-on-1 competition and team sports, and I used to be in leagues where I'd play once a week.. but.. I haven't been doing that for a while.. got out of it due to an (unrelated) ankle injury 5 years ago and then never really got back into it. Honestly I don't know if I would want to play a lot of soccer, because I haven't in a while, and the risk of an injury scares me a bit. It can happen in the stupidest of situations, I got a tear in my left leg a couple years ago by just.. standing there, the game hadn't even started.. The ref blew his whistle to start the game and I'm down on the ground and am very confused, but my left leg is out of order. I was out for a couple weeks IIRC and it affected me for a couple months overall.

I don't want to risk anything like that happening, so I want to keep my fitness regiment relatively risk free. I do enjoy doing stuff on my own, I'm an introvert, I like solitude, etc. and when I'm at the gym I'm 100% business, so I just want to get in there, do the exercises, and jump in the shower. no chit chat. gym buddies lead to chit chat, so I wouldn't be into that. Classes could be cool, I'll have to try some out and see what it's like.

Honestly I would be into occasional squash games here and there, there's courts at the gym.. but you can twist your ankle during something like that too.. I mean, you can twist your ankle running up and down stairs, but the odds are a lot lower. Anyway, I'm going to have to think about sports, but for now will probably stick to doing stuff on my own and in classes.

For your hike, you'll need endurance and leg muscles, which you'll be training with probably most exercises you can think of yourself (be it running, a team sports, a martial art or plainly going to the gym).

My leg muscles are in pretty good shape overall, I played soccer for a number of years so I think in terms of the legs all I'll need is just to get walking and stair climbing, maybe a couple exercises at the gym.. nothing intense. At least I think that is the right approach for now. Honestly my strong points in terms of my body are my upper body strength and my lower body strength. I suck at everything else, including endurance. So my intent is to at least at first focus on the endurance, and ensure that my body doesn't just shut down after a couple days of hiking, leading to a crappy time for the rest of the way. My legs should be fine I think, in Peru we did 21-25km of hiking every day for 4 days at high altitudes, and there I had 14kg on my back I think. And it wasn't my leg muscles that had issues (although I did get crazy leg cramps on day 1) but mainly my stamina, which I did not seem to have a lot of until I really got my internal engine going after a couple days.. and I guess until my body got used to the high altitudes.

I bet that if I focus on endurance it will just naturally end up involving a lot of exercises that involve the legs anyway.. so two birds with one stone, etc.

But the for the backpack you'll need back muscles. Training the upper back (shoulders and big back muscles) is also easy (e.g. the pull ups), but the lower back is a) relatively weak, in general, and b) something where you do not have many options to train it separately. This might be a weak spot, and is probably good to focus on (also given that you're sitting the whole day for your job, you should train it anyways).

I am actually hiring a porter to carry most of my stuff, so I shouldn't have much on my back. I haven't figured out how much I will have exactly, but it should just basically be a medium sized backpack with the bare minimums: a sleeping bag, a change of clothes, maybe a first aid kit, a couple other things.. 5kg max?

That's not a lot, but I'm going to throw curl-ups into my routine anyway. Might as well. I've tried them before and they seem harder than pull-ups, but maybe I'm just not used to them yet. They do feel "weird" whenever I've tried them
 
Are there any resources out there to help make my stories more interesting? Added bonus if the resources themselves can be applied in making stories in a comic/visual art medium.
 
Are there any resources out there to help make my stories more interesting? Added bonus if the resources themselves can be applied in making stories in a comic/visual art medium.
Lysergic acid
 
Are there any resources out there to help make my stories more interesting? Added bonus if the resources themselves can be applied in making stories in a comic/visual art medium.
*squirts water onto hygro with plant mister to make him go away*

Hmmm, there are tons of learn-how-to-write and improve-your-skills websites out there. I've never tried them. I simply started writing one day and never stopped except for exams or free pizza (I've never combined the two yet, but it is not a theoretical impossibility) and slowly my writing became passable.

If you want more details on my experience, feel free to drop me a PM.
 
coming right back atchu with my super soaker xp 65
 
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