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I recently came to the conclusion that if I want to live past the age of 40, I should probably try and take better care of my body. Things like, exercise, eating a healthy breakfast.. Someone brought it to my attention that Cinnamon Toast Crunch doesn't actually constitute a healthy breakfast. I was pretty upset by this news.
I weigh about 170 lbs and I'm 5'11. I'm not fat, despite eating bacon as a snack and sitting around on the computer for 16 hours a day. I'm definitely out of shape. I usually skip breakfast (I feel like eating will make me sick in the morning), I'll have a light lunch, and then I will devour a ton of food for dinner.
This is not healthy.
Therefore, I decided that starting yesterday, I would start doing a workout routine, including some light running and eating a balanced breakfast.
So, I get up at 5 AM, do some quick stretches, I put on some sweatpants and a hoodie, tie up my running shoes, which have never actually been used for running before, throw on my iPod, and open the door. It's pissing rain. Oh well, I think. Let's just get this over with.
(I have not gone on a run since gym class in high school.)
I start off with a light jog. This isn't so bad, I think. I keep it up for about 5 minutes, and then pick up the pace. Still bearable. I hit a small hill. No problem. Gotta remember to breathe. Legs are starting to feel a little burn. Keep going. I'm over the incline. Slow it down a bit. Breathing sucks. Should probably quit smoking too. I've slowed down without noticing. Pick it back up. Breathing is getting a little ragged. I want to stop running, but I'm almost home. The last 20 feet suck really bad.
I make it home, get in the door, and fall onto the couch. My chest hurts, and I'm breathing really hard, but I ran around the block without stopping! Fuckin rights! I could do this every day! I feel awesome! I actually feel awake without my morning coffee, and it's only 5:30 in the morning!
So I slam back some breakfast, a couple of pieces of toast, a couple of eggs, and some hash browns. The rest of the day progresses as normal - in front of the computer.
At the end of the day, I set my alarm for 4:45 AM, so I can repeat this process.
4:45 AM rolls around. The alarm goes off.
MY FUCKING BODY IS ON FIRE.
My legs. My chest. My groin. My back. My abs. My arms. My poor god damn ass. Any part of my body that has a muscle is screaming in pain. I've spent most of today in a hot bath. I think I'm dying.
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Just wait until you start to get into the weight room. You'll be sore then!
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You probably don't really want to hear this, but the best cure for muscle soreness = more exercise. Move your muscles and work the lactic acid out!
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lol dude, i can remember my first day at the gym like 2 years ago :DD oh boy. i was fattie back then, when i finished my session after 1.30h and got outside, i was like, im dead. :DDD i could barely walk lol and like whole week my body was sore, could barely move out of bed :DDD but the thing that helped me when i had pain, was to move more, i remember when i woke up early in the morning i could barely move my arms and shit, i was in that much pain LOL but little by little i get up and go to gym again and its like np no pain at all. :D
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Haha, try sticking to it for a month 
Is plain running or intervals better for losing weight?
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Hungary11291 Posts
You should not try to push yourself to a certain pace but rather try to log a certain amount of time. Running 45 minutes at an average pace will be better in the long run than doing 20 with a fast one. Should also avoid some soreness 
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I'm gonna give my muscles a day to recover, I'm definitely heading back out tomorrow AM.
@SiegeMode, yeah I kinda figured that lol, but owwwwwww!
@Aesop, I will try that. There was alot of variance in my pace yesterday.
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heh, just stopped by to give you a pat on the back
I do have constructive things to say and advice, but it all pretty much sums up to a pat on the back and a look that says "Been there my friend"
Yes, moving/using the sore muscles helps (and feels nice)
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You should try a Concept 2 Ergometer, It's an excellent cross training machine. You will get a good work out from it lol trust me. It's universal, as in it works out your cardio, arms, legs and back.
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Running is the best human activity ever (along with s*x and playing BW)!
I had the same moment as you, one day i just realized i need to stay fit. My first day to actually run was also rainy, but heck i pushed through. I remember that first weekend i felt i was dying.
But i kept running. Now its almost 5 years that ive been running 3-5 days a week. I remember i could barely check 400m then. Now i can run 10-20-30 km like a breeze. I feel so free when i run, sometimes i hit a good stride that i think i can be in that perpetual motion.
Anyway, if i may share too, this is my weekly (generally speaking):
Mon = heavy core, light running (10km), resistance.
Tue = heavy resistance, iso
Wed = core and heavy run (>20), stretch yoga
Thu = heavy run and light resistance, core yoga
Fri = Light run, light iso
Sat = Light run
Sun = Recup yoga
Also i do 2 reps (morning and night) 50 push ups, 100 sit ups, 50 pull ups all weekday.
And im not big on food. I ate so much when i was in college. I just suddenly realize food is overrated. I can live with 200gms of fish meat and 5 or so loaves of bread in a week. Ideally i mix in fruits and vegetables in between. There was a time when I lived through a month with only water and some bread or maki when the hunger pang becomes too intense. Today i can say i have zero craving for food and an addiction to adrenaline! If only i could stay away from sitting in front of the computer, i think i could be an action figure LOL.
im 5'8, 160-170 lbs.
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thats good that you feel on fire :D thats a good thing in the long run.
you'll find that exercising tends to have a sigmoidal curve and after a certain period of time of consistent exercise, you'll see an explosion in results :D so just be patient and stick to it.
on a side note, if you're up for it, you can try starting with some light crossfit instead and working up. I find it to be much more rewarding than straight up running (doesn't mean you shouldn't take a day off once a week or something to just run and strengthen your heart + lung muscles). when i just started working out, modified cindy's.
5x medium/heavy cleans.
10x pushup
10x v-up
10x squat
just repeat that for 10 sets, should take you about 20 minutes or so then do it again like 2-3 days later. Or the next day if your body is willing. So this is 3 months of doing that small circuit for 3 months for ultimately 40 minutes a week. and it was great.
+ Show Spoiler +
I found this helped me build a pretty solid foundation and now i'm doing more intensive circuits (with even better results o.o). So currently, i'm doing
10x kettlebell swing
10x pushup
10x weight situp
400m run (sprint for the last 100m)
and 10 sets of that followed by a pyramid set for my chest, and a dropset for my abs.
But whatever you choose to do, remember to change your circuit now and then. try a friends circuit one week, and go back to yours another week or something. Gotta give your body some variety to maximize the results :D
otherwise, keep up the hard work *thumb
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Thanks everyone for the feedback! Definitely encouraging me to stick it out :D
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Not eating breakfast is bad = wrong! :o
When you try to be health when it comes to eating and foods and etc. Just think about how you are SUPPOSED to live. Scavenging berries meat and such in the wild. You think cavemen had breakfast, lunch and dinner? No, the ate when they could and when they were hungry. I eat a shitton in the afternoon. Also, don't eat processed foods and carbs, try to stick to a healthy high fat(NO processed fat), protein diet. (Berries, nuts, fish, meat, salads, vegetables, ... )
Also, start your running slowly, you don't want to hurt your self in the first couple of days. Start easy, run 1min, walk 1 min, (or 5 min/5min whatever). Just get your body adjusted to being active again. And then after e couple of weeks start running your ass off :p
GLHF!
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Keep running man. It hurts in the beginning but it's getting better and it comes back to you. I started running two months ago, now I'm just after a half-marathon while pushing a disabled child on a stroller and if there's nothing in my way I know I'll keep running until the day I die or can't walk anymore.
One advice: never let the body rest for two days or more. That way you'll feel the energy in yourself building up and you'll be able to do things in a week you couldn't imagine before, while sporting (having fun) everyday. Also if you keep running you'll quit smoking eventually. Those two things don't go well together and if you pick the right one, the quitting will be easy.
+ Show Spoiler +
The best day of my life, just 2 months of running - if anyone told me I'd be able to do this before I would've laughed at him. Just get over the first month where it actually sucks and you're just getting tired and hurt. Good luck man.
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congratz on taking that decision!!!
if you wanna lose weight really fast the best way of going about this is changing your diet radically from all the previous gamer/slacker/couchpotato stuff to more healthier food.
i lost about 35 pound in less than 3 months by cutting all carbohydrates, meaning rice, noodles, bread but more importantly junkfood like chips, candy, basically everythign that tastes good^^ and of which you know that it is unhealthy. apart from that i started not only runnign but going to the gym and swimming. try to get your brain into the fitness mindset, go running about 3 times a week, go to the gym as well. do sth else as well if your time schedule allows it. youre gonna love when the first signs of progress start showing and from there on its a cycle of wanting to do more sports in order to look good and fit and eating less and healthier in order to supplement your trainign and not eradicate all the progress you made!
gl! hf!
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fuck yeah cinnamon toast crunch! Best cereal EVER.
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The pain is there because you're actually rupturing your muscles. That is nothing bad though, the way muscle growing works is that you literally rip apart little parts of your muscles and your body reacts to it by growing more back than there was before (in order to adjust to harsher environments where you'll probably need it).
This is especially good to keep a nice shape because more muscles require more energy to be used obviously, which means you can either eat more and keep your weight, or you can eat the same as before and lose weight.
Not the mention that you develop sick leg muscles while running, which looks good to women.
Too bad I couldn't convince myself to stand up at 5am in the morning and run around yet. I'd also hate to be watched since basically everybody in my little village knows me and for some reason it irks me that they might observe me running around in the morning, so if I was to run I'd really have to do it early before anybody is awake , which is pretty damn difficult though since I get back home pretty late (6pm) and if I really want to get up at 5am, I'd have to go to sleep at 9pm or something already in order not to be too tired during the day (I need at least 7-9 hours sleep a day, otherwise I'm feeling tired), and then my day would consist of 60% studying/hearing lectures, working on assignments etc, 30% sleep, 3% or so percent running around and only the rest 7% or so to use as my spare time.
I've gone through these kinds of cycles before but it burns me out so quickly. When times like that come up I literally wake up in the morning and just stay at home and skip important lectures just because I can't take another 12 hour uni-day followed by just one or so hours playing SC2 and the rest eating/sleeping.
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haha the first few work outs are always the worst. It gets better, trust me. Just make sure you have proper running shoes and run with proper form. Knee/shin injuries suck.
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I do jump-rope when the weathers shit, its excellent cardio and it burns almost as much calories as running. plus its FUN =)
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Congrats for getting into running! As someone who has spent a lot of time running, I definitely feel your pain on the burning muscles. I have had PLENTY of those mornings.
One thing i would definitely recommend is getting fitted for some running shoes. Not by going to some huge store, but a running specialty shop. I worked in one for two years, and I cannot tell you how any times I have seen people hurt themselves by wearing a shoe with too little (or even too much) support. Hopefully if the know what they are doing, they can watch you walk a bit to see how your foot moves, and look at the wear pattern on a pair of shoes you wear right now (doesnt have to be for running, can be shoes you just walk around in). I'll stop myself before I give you WAY more info than you need, cause I can go on about running shoes/gear forever
Just stick with it. My old coach always told us "you get worse before you get better". This is so true. There is a period of time where you will get discouraged because you seem slower and even more out of shape. But trust me, you will rebound, and it will feel great.
Another recommendation: sign up for a small race! dont get over-ambitious and sign up for a marathon (or half) right away (I've seen plenty of people do it and hurt themselves), but try like a fun run mile or a 5K.. Having a goal in the future is great motivation to keep going and waking up in the morning.
Probably way more than you wanted, but I always get excited when I hear about a new person getting into running! Good luck!
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