[quote name='fatbaldbloke'] Mainlander - Its good to see you've made the decision not to have the Op. You have to be %100 certain that you want it done, and what you have to give up on. The brain and the stomach have got to be on the same wavelength.<br />
I'm in the top 10% of people who have had the op, results wise. And i lived on potato chips and chocolate for 4 months at one stage and lost weight doing it. If you base your health completely on your weight this is the way to go. <br />
I'm heaps lighter and fitter but i ate better and healthier before the op . xzxscratch_one-s_head[/quote]<br />
<br />
Yeah, seems a great idea and certainly worked well for that comedian (Mikey) that was selling it, but even the doc admitted he was also using a personal trainer and working out while the woman I was working with wasn't experiencing the weight losses she'd expected/hoped for but also wasn't doing the exercise the Comedian was. Seemed to me the giving up of certain foods wasn't worth it also considering my problem was a little different, Not so much eating alot but more starving myself and then eating (alot). I mainly only eat one meal a day and would tend to make it a big one. My body was in hibernation mode storing food for the starvation periods the next day. So the solution is simple, eat regularly/properly and exercise, trouble is I hate healthy food and breakfasts (except for an occasional bacon and eggs feast) and I'm not overly fust with exercise either.<br />
[quote name='BartMan']<br />
A mate of mines and Red Beards has just gone from 130+ to sub 100 by stopping eating shit.<br />
[/quote]<br />
That's what I'm going to aim for, I have no idea what I weigh, I refuse to stand on scales and have since I was a teenager and 16 stone. But wife is pretty good at estimating weight so the 130+ is about right and the sub 100 would be nice.<br />
<br />
so I've started eating better... doing the light and easy... saves me having to decide what to eat and buy as it's delivered and the transporting home was always a problem on the bike. Eating breakfast/morning tea/lunch and afternoon tea is hard though, seems the more I eat the more hungry I get. Also lite and easy has too many salads... I hate salads and their dinners while OK are a bit small and too many of them include cauliflower or spouts with them I detest both (and most other vegetables). <br />
<br />
Only have the lite an easy when in Brissy and go back to the wife’s cooking when back in Canberra but she's become more stingy than light and easy. Been on lite and easy 3 weeks now. Getting a lot of the curries as dinner although I reckon a nice vindaloo would be a better option as currently that seems to take only half an hour from time of eating to stomach cramp and shit. Food can't be added to the fat stores if it's passing through that quick I'd guess.<br />
<br />
The main change has been for the last 4-5 weeks I've been doing 7k a day, originally as a jog with lots of stop/walks but is now just a fast walk as I'm having knee and feet problems when I was jogging, still having a lot of heel pain but anti inflammatory pain killers here are helping. Originally started it more to help convince me to stay off the faggs (been three months) as route has a f@#$ killer hill and burning lungs sucking air helps convince me I don't want to add smoking back into that mix.

[quote name='Fullermorg']Did my first bench (on a Smith) on Saturday after a long lay off (work has been mental).<br />
<br />
Have lost around 9lbs since my summer high of 15 stone 2lbs and definitely feel less effective in contact (although i am looking for it less as well in fairness). SO i am back in the gym with a vengeance.<br />
<br />
Most i could manage on saturday was 95kgs, but the fact that i don't have a spotter makes me loath to start pushing the limits too much.<br />
<br />
Anyone interested in gymming in [b]East Finchley,[/b] let me know.[/quote]<br />
<br />
Thats a bit far for me but anyone keen on membership at my "gym" ( weights in my garage eusa_whistle ) in Welly is welcome to pop up to visit for a free trial. Subsequent workouts will cost a sixer of Macs or Monteiths ( which I'm happy to share with ya xzxdrinks )

monday and tuesday weights in the AM.<br />
<br />
Tuesday lunchtime row 18:04.3 5000m

[quote name='Toddy'][quote name='WillieTheWaiter'][quote name='Hooroo']No mate. Knee was too poked for that too.<br />
<br />
Just back swimming in the mornings and gyming at night[/quote]<br />
<br />
got round in 4:12.. all good.[/quote]<br />
<br />
Sh it that's an impressive time. I rode around with the missus this time and it took 6hr 12. Too long sitting on a bike. Hope to go under 5 hr next year. <br />
<br />
How much fluid do you take?[/quote]<br />
<br />
3 x large bottles, 2 with energy drink, 1 with water. just chuck the 3rd one in back pocket.<br />
<br />
5 x gels, 2 caffeine and 3 regular, and 1 x engery bar

My mates father - Prop Cyril, and my 'second dad' managed to play a 3rd grade game of rugby with his '3' sons. Graeme at centre, Cyril at prop, and myself locking the scrum with the old bugger. I had a bye from my real team game, so shot off to Mercury Bay with the Whanga 3rd grade boys, and played a game. Little knowing my coach would be there watching!! Got a light bollocking after the game!! Bt was cool to play beside the old bugger, who had coached us from about 14-19 years of age.

[quote name='Red Beard'][b]Have some green tea in the pantry[/b], will give it a whirl and save the coffee for trips to the cafe sector of Te Aroha!<br />
<br />
My bro in law is a fireman in Auckland and he says some are in pretty average shape even though they have to do gym training for an hour every day. Each man in each truck has set jobs at each call out, eg, one rolls out hoses, one holds the hose....so they dont all have hugely physical roles to play at every incident they attend. They even have to wake one old fella up in the truck when they arrive at fires. Alot of the guys really get into the weights but dont do so much cardio which I think was the case with the guy on TV the other night. Having 50% discounts at KFC and McDonalds plus 80 inch TVs with sky at the station doesnt do much for fitness either![/quote]<br />
<br />
Lindsay Lohen swears by Green Tea as well although I suspect for dramatic Lohen like weight loss results a good steady heroin habit might also be recommended to supplement things.<br />
<br />
as for a 50% discount at KFC and Maccas...... xzxgood to that ! ( although haven't had K fries for awhile after getting a couple of dodgy bits of chicken that made me pretty crook afterwards....more so than usual ! )

[quote name='MN5'][quote name='LAKiwi']<br />
[quote name='Hooroo']<br />
I have only done Tabata on a bike and it is awesome mate!!!  <br />
[/quote]<br />
<br />
stationery bike - or one out in the real world?<br />
So what's the scoop. What would you recommend.<br />
<br />
I've got a pretty good recumbant bike at home. It's got a bunch of different programs. The weight loss one, aims for you to keep your heartbeat steady (below what it would be if you're doing cardio) and it's seems good so far for losing weight.<br />
<br />
But looking for variety.<br />
[/quote]<br />
<br />
I'm a recent new father so definitely prefer to go hard out over a short period of time rather than the long winded approach. It just doesn't fit into my lifestyle and I don't care what Damien and Leanne say on downsize me, its often really hard to find heaps of time to exercise. Once work is finished ideally I'll shoot out to the garage for weights/punching bag or whatever so I have more time with the boy before he goes to bed. In the weekends the wife and I have committed to at least one long walk up Mt Vic, round the bays or whatever so dependant on intensity that may provide a bit of a cardio workout ( assuming I am doing most of the pram pushing !  😁 ) <br />
<br />
[b]From what I understand Tabata can be incorporated into almost any kind of high intensity movement, davidav is that true ?[/b][/quote]<br />
<br />
That is definitely true. My advice is to do them with complex movements that use more than one muscle group. Burpees, sprints, jumping rope, star jumps, squats, press ups, cycling, heavy punching bag--these are all exercises that use large muscle groups and therefore really lend themselves well to high intensity protocols.<br />
<br />
The main objective is to complete 8 sets of 20 seconds on, 10 seconds off, at maximum speed. The harder the exercise, the better it is for improving your fitness. I have yet to do 8 perfect sets in good form. It's damn hard work.

wow its been a year since i posted in here... <br />
<br />
i still go nearly every day, only 1 scheduled day off a week.<br />
<br />
i spent 2 months doing 4 sets of 12 reps for most of my exercises, am now back to pushing heavier weights and doing 5 sets of 6-7 reps.<br />
spent a couple of months supersetting basic with isolation exercises too which completely fucks ya but gives u one hell of a burn.<br />
been back on the booze wagon lately though and probably need to cut my diet down but fk it, im enjoying myself.<br />
am off to the oktoberfest next week, and then off to New England - when i get back from the states, im gonna go hard at the gym and strip the diet right down. <br />
i'll need to after all the beer / pork knuckles / chicken / clam chowder I'll be consuming.

well, not playing as much as I'd like (need) but another couple of rounds to add. <br />
<br />
Have been doing alot more exercise, more just strength and flexibility and seems to have helped in my consistancy in my ball striking, which has at times been as good as I can remember, just freakin frustrating hitting a 300m drive and having 60-100m into a par 4 and walking away with a 5 (due to my wedge and putting game) <br />
<br />
But even that started to come good last week after 9 when an old boy I played golf with pointed something out, I changed and OMG, ball was flying to the pin (pity about the 20ft of spin that pulled it back off, but hey, can't get it all right straight off!)<br />
<br />
Score - ave score 80.0 to 80.3<br />
GiR - 45.8% to 43.1%<br />
Fairways - 42.2% 40.2%<br />
Birdies - 19.5% 22.5%  <br />
Putts - 33.0 to 32.7 (not helped by 37 in last round) <br />
Up/d - 37.8 to 35.3%<br />
Sand saves - 23.3% to 40% (when you hardly go in bunkers, 1 save makes all the diff) <br />
Par 3;- +1.4 = 1.4<br />
Par 4;- +6.5 to +6.1<br />
Par 5; +1.1 to +1.2

How's the 6-pack coming along? Did the lat bar stomach crunch help much? Did you tone up as well?<br />
<br />
<br />
I'm about 88kg, 6ft, so decent condition-ideally would like to lose 4kg to be toned and gain 6kg muscle. During the last 4 weeks I cut back a little (although went twice this week so far and will go twice tomorrow (longer hike early, and before dark another short and hard one)). I was getting sore hips, ankles and back, so am only doing the hike, knee lifts (3-5 sets), bench press, curls, plus a weekly swim. Cut out the other exercises, and hip has stopped hurting, back likewise. <br />
<br />
Will continue this for a few more weeks, then in August (my Med trip is postponed due to work) join the gym and get some supplement powder and creatine. I've got to watch the form and choice of exercises to avoid straining my back, so will mainly focus on legs, chest, arms, stomach. Will make a journal then. <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
[quote name='Rancid Schnitzel']<br />
[quote name='Kea']<br />
hike straight up hill as fast as I can<br />
then 2 sets of:<br />
knee lifts, 12 reps<br />
biceps 15 reps<br />
bench press 12 reps<br />
<br />
small hike to next spot<br />
2 sets of dead lift*10<br />
2 set of bicep curls on same bar, cheating, 6 reps as heavy<br />
2 sets of shoulder press/squats-combined bizarre exercise *6-10<br />
I'm also going to include 2 sets of lunges with no bar<br />
1 set of 12 knee lifts on pull up bar<br />
<br />
down hill to temple starting spot, then repeat if have time<br />
<br />
THat's twice a week for the next month, combined with a longer hike and a swim...aim to toughen up<br />
<br />
July will cut that to once a week, do the gym twice a week for focused muscle building, and buy some body building supplement drink and cut down on the fat %<br />
[/quote]<br />
<br />
Not for the faint hearted. What kind of a body do you get after that? Fairly lean and mean I'd imagine rather than bulky. Do you have weights set up at the top of hills?<br />
[/quote]

realised I'd totally forgotten about this thread. Now its actually a in-season thread tho.<br />
<br />
Rib has healed ok - had 3 games back but work and life in general has been busy (plus friggin winter!) so running has become sporadic.<br />
<br />
Got out for a 5km run the other week and was pleasantly surprised to get through in 27min or so - 2min or so off my best time but far better than I was expecting. Had tight legs for a couple of days but will get out again on friday and push a bit harder.<br />
<br />
Friends are committing themselves to the NY marathon in 2009 - no way I think I'm ready for the bigun but have been thinking hard about trying 10km and then seeing how far away I might be from a half marathon. <br />
<br />
Jegga - sorry bout the late, late, late reply! I went down to shoe clinic (wellington) and go a pair of mizunos (sp?) they are the lightest pair of running shoes I've ever tried. They are sweet bro and around the low 200 mark. Would def recommend them and I've had all sorts of problems finding good running shoes as I have pretty broad feet.<br />
<br />
will aim to post next run and get back into it

Prop Cyril in action...

Out of action this weekend attending family funeral.<br />
<br />
[b]Tuesday:[/b] 7pm Run (Outdoor).  200 metres warmup, 4 x 400 Run/Sprint drills.  2 x 250m Ds (RFP).  4 x 150 Gassers (Holding ball out stretched in two hands). 200 metres warmdown. Total Distance 3150m.  Felt much better this time.<br />
[b]Wenerei:[/b]  S&P:  Cleans 2x5, 3x3, Bench, 2x5 3x3, Front Squat 2x5, 3x3, Chins 3x Max, BB Shrugs 5x10, Core.<br />
[b]Thursday:[/b]  Team Training with the Bs.  Found it too easy apart from blisters popping on ankles in new boots.  Touch, bit of contact for forwards, team run, contact drill on bags.  Then free feed from sponsors at Grand Tavern.  Dropped two basic passes in team run which should have taken. Weighed in at 104kgs this morning.  Weight is dropping off me now.

[quote name='dogmeat']<br />
Virgil, you need to get the prescription for yr glasses looked at mate  <img src='http://www.daimenhutchison.com/invision/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/wink.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='😠' />  Nice of you to say so, but at that stage I would have been 120 kg's.  BMI reckons I'm obese until I get below 106 and fighting weight shoul be 88  <img src='http://www.daimenhutchison.com/invision/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/blink.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':blink:' /><br />
<br />
I'll be happy enough with double figures and an ability to run. If I get BP under control and dip into 90's reckon I'll celebrate with a bungy off the Harbour Bridge.<br />
[/quote]<br />
<br />
Those BMI things are crap! <br />
According to them everyone playing either rugby or league would be obese  <img src='http://www.daimenhutchison.com/invision/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='😠' />

Swiss ball coupled with hand weights does the trick.<br />
<br />
I've back problems - it's mostly upper back - and that just helps stretch it out and keep the problem to a minimum.

Will see if our bike goes the same way as suggested on here.<br />
<br />
Ended up buying a pretty high end one - a SportsArt Fitness one. Pretty slick bike. Lets see how enthusiastic I am in a month or so's time - and how much I'm still using it.

I know it's a little late - but hey - you might have plateau-ed!<br />
<br />
If you've got a bung knee and you're not keen to reveal all at the pool, look for this book - The Pilates Body - by Brooke Siler. Aerobic exercise is all good, but if you're aiming for lean - and you can cut out or cut down on breads and pastas - then this is a good option to explore. It comes with diagrams, and on page 50 it has a full floor workout.  All you need is a mat and an hour at least 3 times a week.<br />
<br />
I'm recommending the book - but obviously if you know someone with Windsor Pilates - then get into it.  If you can commit - it's totally worth it.<br />
<br />
Good luck  :happy:

[quote name='Fullermorg']<br />
[quote name='taniwharugby']<br />
[quote name='Fullermorg']<br />
Have heard that it is a quality supplement [b]for people who want to get endurance and fitness up but don't want to lose muscle mass[/b]. Anyone ever used it? found it useful? shit ? etc..?<br />
[/quote]<br />
<br />
is this just a hypothetical question? <br />
[/quote]<br />
<br />
By the way, Finchley played Fullers this weekend in the league. Stuffed them 40 odd to 9. Fullers look like a team that is going down to me.<br />
[/quote]<br />
<br />
whaddya expect, without me & scott playing in the backrow, and you injured on the sideline, the club has nothing!!  😁

[b]Sunday[/b]<br />
<br />
Run<br />
<br />
3km 18:56  (Goal  15:00)<br />
<br />
Good effort for me.  Have improved out of sight in last four weeks.<br />
<br />
Monday<br />
<br />
1145am<br />
<br />
Bench: 60/10, 80/5, 100/4, 120/3, 130/2, 140/1

Deadlifting is the single best exercise you can do for overall strengh. In fact, one can build an entire strength program around 3 exercises: deadlifts, squats and bench. I used to do this regularly--it's called "the big 3".<br />
<br />
Proper form is everything. lift with your legs, NOT your back. Don't be a hero and go for weights you can't handle. Start light, get your form correct, then increase the weight.<br />
<br />
Brings a tear to my eye, this does. I haven't been able to deadlift since having serious back surgery. But in my heyday, I was doing reps with 400+ pounds. Those days are gone. <br />
<br />
Good luck, and be sure to include lots of rest in between sessions. Do too much deadlifting with not enough rest, and you could be in trouble. You need to be careful with these. Take it from somebody who has been there.