The Wednesday Wellness threads are meant to encourage users to ask for and provide advice and motivation to improve their lives. It isn't intended as a 'containment thread' and any content which could go here could instead be posted in its own thread. You could post:
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Requests for advice and / or encouragement. On basically any topic and for any scale of problem.
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Advice. This can be in response to a request for advice or just something that you think could be generally useful for many people here.
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Last time
I've leveled out the weight loss at roughly 26 bmi, 28.5% body fat, and 30 lbs of fat loss since starting the semaglutide shots.
The goal was to slide off the shots and maintain the diet, but to hit my goal (another 20 lbs of still remain) I've added in some more exercise than just the dumbbells and short walks. I've always hated cardio, but the immediate social gains of having lost this much weight are so noticeable that i'd be a moron not to start doing more.
I've picked up a copy of p90 and the insanity workout video series and will be half-assing them. The goal isn't to be bulky, it's to lose the chub. We'll see if, through winter, I'll be able to maintain everything I've lost so far.
how long you been on it? maximizing dosage could lead to further weight loss. From what I read and my own personal experience, cardio in the form of walking does not do much for weight loss. The weight that is initially lost is due to glycogen depletion, sweating, etc and very little fat, which is negated by eating more and metabolic adaptation. I think the benefit of cardio is it keeps you distracted so you are not thinking about food
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Not to be too tedious, but what have you tried? Have you biked anywhere cool? Tried trail-running anywhere that's beautiful? Gotten fit enough to feel competitive in local races? I know it's ultimately not going to be for everyone, but it sure seems like a lot of the hating cardio that people experience is dealing with the initial stages of it just generally feeling shitty until you're fit enough to do it easily. I would encourage you to try out some of the more interesting modalities and above all slow down until it genuinely feels easy. Half-assing HIIT (which really should be a physically and mentally difficult and draining activity) is basically just not doing HIIT, as where aerobic fitness gains can come from surprisingly easy efforts.
I have. Of the cardio sports I come closest to enjoying, I enjoy swimming the most, but don't have a pool I can use that's within a reasonable range. I'm not a very competitive person, and much prefer personal challenges.
If I had a really nice bike I would consider it, but I don't live in a terribly bike-friendly area.
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The point of HIIT and circuit type workouts is that the high intensity makes up for the lack of total volume and specificity. If you are going to half-ass them you would almost certainly be better off either:
For item 4, calisthenics might be okay for your application, but barbells and machines tend to scale better. Given your goals, preserving skeletal muscle should be included in your plan. Your body has no other source of stored amino-acids to preserve heart and other organ tissue during periods when you are fasted . If your goal is to look trim, developing some lats and delts will make your waist look proportionally smaller from the front and back. Developing your chest and glutes will make your waist look proportionally smaller in profile.
That kind of advice is simply intractable for me. I know what I will or won't do, and have tried going full hiit in the past, it just sucks and there's no mental reward for doing it. I don't get runner's highs or other forms of mental reward for working out. The best that will happen is people notice and compliment me.
Obviously the intent is to build up to full hiit intervals but I'm not going to do the insanity videos at their full schedule. I'm not going to pick up a pace or schedule that's more punishing than rewarding.
At any rate, thanks for the practical suggestions, I'll keep those in mind and see if they will fit my routine.
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