Fitness for Glastonbury 2024

[gooner1990]

On 5/12/2024 at 10:58 PM, Alvoram said:

I've lost 3 stone 8lb now since December. Walking 20k steps+ per day at least 3 or 4 times a week, and regularly 'completing my rings' on the other 'rest' days. 

I've actually hit the target weight I set out for already, but I'm still massively overweight, (at least I'm technically not obese now, which is some comfort!) So I've set a new target for the next 6 weeks before Glastonbury. I'd like to lose another 12lb before Glastonbury, whilst shifting a lot more focus on to cardio fitness and strength. 

Rejoined the gym last week to help with that strength training. 🤞

 

Congratulations, have donated also. 

I am not sure if your question was serious, or rhetorical, but the post above yours has the website on https://www.ravers2runners.com/festivalruns

Although Glasto signups are not live yet, you can sign up for the mailing list now. 

 

Have you just been walking?  I lost 5 stone in 2015-16 by hitting the gym hard...but have gradually put about 3 of it back on since.....struggling to get it off again, but like a lot of others I work a desk job and struggle to find time elsewhere now, just wondering if I can just do some walking now that 'summer' ( 😄 ) is here whether that would help getting some off........

[Alvoram]

1 hour ago, gooner1990 said:

 

Have you just been walking?  I lost 5 stone in 2015-16 by hitting the gym hard...but have gradually put about 3 of it back on since.....struggling to get it off again, but like a lot of others I work a desk job and struggle to find time elsewhere now, just wondering if I can just do some walking now that 'summer' ( 😄 ) is here whether that would help getting some off........

Yep, just walking and eating more healthily, mainly zero fast food, eating nothing with added sugar, drinking no alcohol or sugary drinks. 

They say weight loss is 90% diet and 10% exercise. 

Having said that, I do find I lose weight much faster when regularly walking long distances on hilly terrain than I do when visiting the gym regularly. Gym for me is about building cardio fitness, improving flexibility and increasing overall strength.

There's apparently some science behind this, it all goes way over my head, but essentially the theory is that for the most efficient fat burning exercise, you actually need to keep your heart rate just below cardio (aerobic) levels, which fast walks or hill walks achieve. Apparently 65% of the calories you burn in the 'fat burning heart rate zone' are from fat, whereas you need a faster burning energy source to sustain exercise in the 'aerobic heart rate zone,' so only 45% of the calories you burn in cardio (aerobic) are from fat. 

No idea if it's true, but anecdotally, it seems to work for me. I lose weight much faster when focusing on walking than I do by going to the gym or jogging. But I 'feel' fitter and stronger when I start adding in some gym time and jogging, which is the stage I'm just entering now, finally. 

Edited to add: It probably has something to do with the fact that I'm dead for the rest of the day after 45 mins of aerobic... Whereas I can sustain moderate intensity walking for 10 hours+ in a theme park... 🙈🤣

Edited May 14 by Alvoram

[CharlotteB]

My wall squat holds have ceased for now due to a knee ouchie (possibly cause by said holds lol).

[gigpusher]

2 hours ago, gooner1990 said:

 

Have you just been walking?  I lost 5 stone in 2015-16 by hitting the gym hard...but have gradually put about 3 of it back on since.....struggling to get it off again, but like a lot of others I work a desk job and struggle to find time elsewhere now, just wondering if I can just do some walking now that 'summer' ( 😄 ) is here whether that would help getting some off........

I've lost over 5 stone since last January purely by walking and eating more healthily. Walking is absolutely a great way to do it the only problem being the length of time it takes to walk but you'd be amazed how many ways you can fit extra steps into your day without too much inconvenience.

[gigpusher]

1 hour ago, Alvoram said:

Yep, just walking and eating more healthily, mainly zero fast food, eating nothing with added sugar, drinking no alcohol or sugary drinks. 

They say weight loss is 90% diet and 10% exercise. 

Having said that, I do find I lose weight much faster when regularly walking long distances on hilly terrain than I do when visiting the gym regularly. Gym for me is about building cardio fitness, improving flexibility and increasing overall strength.

There's apparently some science behind this, it all goes way over my head, but essentially the theory is that for the most efficient fat burning exercise, you actually need to keep your heart rate just below cardio (aerobic) levels, which fast walks or hill walks achieve. Apparently 65% of the calories you burn in the 'fat burning heart rate zone' are from fat, whereas you need a faster burning energy source to sustain exercise in the 'aerobic heart rate zone,' so only 45% of the calories you burn in cardio (aerobic) are from fat. 

No idea if it's true, but anecdotally, it seems to work for me. I lose weight much faster when focusing on walking than I do by going to the gym or jogging. But I 'feel' fitter and stronger when I start adding in some gym time and jogging, which is the stage I'm just entering now, finally. 

Edited to add: It probably has something to do with the fact that I'm dead for the rest of the day after 45 mins of aerobic... Whereas I can sustain moderate intensity walking for 10 hours+ in a theme park... 🙈🤣

I believe one of the other issues is that heavier exercise makes you hungrier and people tend to over estimate calories burned whereas walking being not as intense doesn't seem to trigger the same level of hunger response.

[gooner1990]

9 minutes ago, gigpusher said:

I've lost over 5 stone since last January purely by walking and eating more healthily. Walking is absolutely a great way to do it the only problem being the length of time it takes to walk but you'd be amazed how many ways you can fit extra steps into your day without too much inconvenience.

I actually do the gym so I'm wondering if at when I would normally end my session that i jump on the treadmill for 20 mins and try to get 2-3,000 steps in that might just make a bit of difference. 

[gooner1990]

1 hour ago, Alvoram said:

Yep, just walking and eating more healthily, mainly zero fast food, eating nothing with added sugar, drinking no alcohol or sugary drinks. 

They say weight loss is 90% diet and 10% exercise. 

Having said that, I do find I lose weight much faster when regularly walking long distances on hilly terrain than I do when visiting the gym regularly. Gym for me is about building cardio fitness, improving flexibility and increasing overall strength.

There's apparently some science behind this, it all goes way over my head, but essentially the theory is that for the most efficient fat burning exercise, you actually need to keep your heart rate just below cardio (aerobic) levels, which fast walks or hill walks achieve. Apparently 65% of the calories you burn in the 'fat burning heart rate zone' are from fat, whereas you need a faster burning energy source to sustain exercise in the 'aerobic heart rate zone,' so only 45% of the calories you burn in cardio (aerobic) are from fat. 

No idea if it's true, but anecdotally, it seems to work for me. I lose weight much faster when focusing on walking than I do by going to the gym or jogging. But I 'feel' fitter and stronger when I start adding in some gym time and jogging, which is the stage I'm just entering now, finally. 

Edited to add: It probably has something to do with the fact that I'm dead for the rest of the day after 45 mins of aerobic... Whereas I can sustain moderate intensity walking for 10 hours+ in a theme park... 🙈🤣

interesting.

 

I do cross trainer 20 mins, rower 5 mins, bike 5 mins plus a couple of other bits, but my problem is weekends (beer etc) and then sitting at a desk a lot of the day.

[balti-pie]

7 minutes ago, gigpusher said:

 walking doesn't seem to trigger the same level of hunger response.

 

I dunno, it definitely unearths some greedy bastard responses in me, thats for sure. I did a hiking ultramarathon thingo of thirty miles a few years back and about halfway i was daydreaming about the calorific deficit i going to be in, and could eat whatever i fancied at the end -  i thought a whole bucket of KFC was going to get demolished, it was going to be obscene and greasy and thoroughly magnificent. 

As it goes, my cravings changed by the time i got to the end, and i got a mixing bowl, two litres of milk and a box of honey shreddies, and tanned the lot 😁 i will happily acknowledge that i am a bit greedy though, and will use walking for hours as my excuse

[Alvoram]

6 minutes ago, gooner1990 said:

interesting.

 

I do cross trainer 20 mins, rower 5 mins, bike 5 mins plus a couple of other bits, but my problem is weekends (beer etc) and then sitting at a desk a lot of the day.

Beer is a big one sadly... There's more calories in 3 pints of cheap lager than there is in a big mac. Nice craft beers and ales can have even more calories.

Lots of us will happily go out and down 12 pints at the weekend without thinking about it, but wouldn't dream of eating 4 Big Macs in one evening. 🙈🤣

Vodka and diet coke is a brilliant alternative if you still want to be social. 🙂

Edited May 14 by Alvoram

[Alvoram]

11 minutes ago, gooner1990 said:

I actually do the gym so I'm wondering if at when I would normally end my session that i jump on the treadmill for 20 mins and try to get 2-3,000 steps in that might just make a bit of difference. 

Sorry for the double reply. But this works wonders.

Try doing 30 minutes of walking on the treadmill, switching between a shallow incline and very steep incline every few minutes. 😉 It's brilliant. 

Edited May 14 by Alvoram

[gooner1990]

2 minutes ago, Alvoram said:

Sorry for the double reply. But this works wonders.

Try doing 30 minutes of walking on the treadmill, switching between a shallow incline and very steep incline every few minutes. 😉 It's brilliant. 

I'm back in the gym tomorrow so will give 30 mins of this at the end of my normal workout a go. 

 

7 minutes ago, Alvoram said:

Beer is a big one sadly... There's more calories in 3 pints of cheap lager than there is in a big mac. Nice craft beers and ales can have even more calories.

Lots of us will happily go out and down 12 pints at the weekend without thinking about it, but wouldn't dream of eating 4 Big Macs in one evening. 🙈🤣

Vodka and diet coke is a brilliant alternative if you still want to be social. 🙂

 

 my big problem is 10-15 pints at the weekend, pizza, chips etc. 

 

have tried recently drinking canned cocktails when I'm at home instead of cans of lager/cider.

[Crazyfool01]

I do ok with the  avoiding the Alcohol , just the exercise and healthy eating to worry about , Also my Type 1 diabetes where im having to eat unnecessary carbs to get my levels up  far too often at the moment ( ill eventually sort it ) ... its really sh*t when you want to lose weight 

[gigpusher]

1 hour ago, gooner1990 said:

I actually do the gym so I'm wondering if at when I would normally end my session that i jump on the treadmill for 20 mins and try to get 2-3,000 steps in that might just make a bit of difference. 

I also think just trying to make yourself a bit more active like walking around while waiting for a kettle to boil. If you phone someone walk up and down while talking to them, parking a bit further away from a shop or even better what we do is instead of a weekly big shop we tend to do a monthly big shop for the heavy stuff and then once or twice a week walk to the shop to big up the fresh bits and pieces that we need.

[gigpusher]

1 hour ago, balti-pie said:

 

I dunno, it definitely unearths some greedy bastard responses in me, thats for sure. I did a hiking ultramarathon thingo of thirty miles a few years back and about halfway i was daydreaming about the calorific deficit i going to be in, and could eat whatever i fancied at the end -  i thought a whole bucket of KFC was going to get demolished, it was going to be obscene and greasy and thoroughly magnificent. 

As it goes, my cravings changed by the time i got to the end, and i got a mixing bowl, two litres of milk and a box of honey shreddies, and tanned the lot 😁 i will happily acknowledge that i am a bit greedy though, and will use walking for hours as my excuse

TBF if you did a hiking ultra marathon you probably would have just been replenishing what you did burn. 

 

The average person walks 3 miles an hour and burns calories at between 200 and 350 an hour so if you were walking for about 10 hours then you'd be able to eat about 2000 calories no problem (likely more because if you are a man you are likely to be closer to the 300 calories mark.

 

For my weight loss I don't really calorie count or try and eat extra because of how much I walk. I tend to work on the principle of 3 healthier meals a day during the week and 1 small snack at night (I need chocolate in my life) and at the weekend I tend to skip breakfast as I usually get up a bit later and have slightly less healthy meals and a bigger less healthy snack (usually some form of cake) It's been working for me.

 

My activity level just hopefully helps me offset a little because I do have a big appetite.

[4AssedMonkey]

Another walking advocate here.  I realise it's not an answer that suits everyone, but having a dog is a great incentive to get out and hike.  I'm lucky enough that it fits with my family/lifestyle and I live in beautiful countryside.  That said, I'm still overweight (I blame my lack of will power when it comes to beer, crisps and pizza).

 

Also started running again 2 weeks ago after over a decade off.  5th run today, up from 1.8 miles in 21 mins to 3 miles in 29 mins.  In percentage terms, I'm staggered with the improvement.  If I can get round a 10k in and hour or less before Glasto I'll be delighted.

[goldfishboy]

My gym plans have been torpedoed by me breaking an arm last night by falling off my bike so I'll be walking a lot more in the next few weeks, will no doubt listen to some mixes from Glastonbury acts on the way (open to recommendations (but preferably not D&B, no offence if that's your jam)) I average over 40,000 steps a day at G so the training will be a great help 🙂

[MrHew]

On 5/14/2024 at 11:45 AM, CharlotteB said:

My wall squat holds have ceased for now due to a knee ouchie (possibly cause by said holds lol).

I got a knee ouchie from lunges today 🤕

[woyski]

2 hours ago, goldfishboy said:

My gym plans have been torpedoed by me breaking an arm last night by falling off my bike so I'll be walking a lot more in the next few weeks, will no doubt listen to some mixes from Glastonbury acts on the way (open to recommendations (but preferably not D&B, no offence if that's your jam)) I average over 40,000 steps a day at G so the training will be a great help 🙂

Ahh sorry to hear about the break! Feel better soon!

[JB3]

I get up at 5.30 every morning (5 days a week) get in the gym for 6. It’s tough when the alarm first goes off, but I love it and feel great going to work.

 

Been doing that for about 12 months now and it just becomes routine. 
 

The more you do, the more you want to do and healthy eating just naturally follows.

 

My problem is the ale of a weekend.

[goldfishboy]

2 hours ago, woyski said:

Ahh sorry to hear about the break! Feel better soon!

thanks pal it's frustrating but can't be helped!

[CharlotteB]

11 hours ago, MrHew said:

I got a knee ouchie from lunges today 🤕

 

Rest rest rest! Resist the urge to do too much. Mine keeps getting partway better then I'll do something daft and set it back to square one. I'm being super careful now and it's feeling pretty good. 

Disclaimer: not a doctor lol

[4AssedMonkey]

14 hours ago, MrHew said:

I got a knee ouchie from lunges today 🤕

 

3 hours ago, CharlotteB said:

 

Rest rest rest! Resist the urge to do too much. Mine keeps getting partway better then I'll do something daft and set it back to square one. I'm being super careful now and it's feeling pretty good. 

Disclaimer: not a doctor lol

 

Knees suck.  I've had to have both mine operated on due to ouchies (one football/one mountain bike accident).  I asked the surgeon why he specialised in knees and he said they were badly designed, hadn't evolved properly for bipeds and so were bound to go wrong.  He recommended neoprene supports for pretty much any sporting activity so I wear them for running and weights every time now.

 

Oh, and don't Google "barbell squat knee injuries".  It's horrific.  🤢

[CharlotteB]

2 hours ago, 4AssedMonkey said:

 

 

Knees suck.  I've had to have both mine operated on due to ouchies (one football/one mountain bike accident).  I asked the surgeon why he specialised in knees and he said they were badly designed, hadn't evolved properly for bipeds and so were bound to go wrong.  He recommended neoprene supports for pretty much any sporting activity so I wear them for running and weights every time now.

 

Oh, and don't Google "barbell squat knee injuries".  It's horrific.  🤢

 

This is why I've been against exercise most of my life!! 😅 I like how the surgeon chose his specialty for the repeat custom lol

[woyski]

About to have a nice browse in Tk Maxx for clothes and other bits and pieces for the fest... but I'm making myself run there, and depending on how successful the haul is, I might run back as well 

Edited May 16 by woyski

[Padgey]

I was in great shape last year for setting up camp for all my mates arriving, 3 trips to the car on day 1 and lugging 5 tents on first run. Unfortunately having a nightmare this year, running was going well until I tore my hamstring last week playing football, probably won't get another run in before the festival now so its just going to be lots of walking to get festival ready. Also carrying a bit more timber than last year which I'd like to shed a bit more before festival week.