timppu: There may be at least one good reason to prefer running outdoors to indoors, though. Maybe I've mentioned it here before (even in this thread?), but running/walking outside jogs your brain (hippocampus) because unlike on treadmill, you'll need to use your spatial awareness. Good reason also to switch off GPS while driving, unless you desperately need it.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40138522/ns/health-mental_health/t/gps-addict-it-may-be-eroding-your-brain/

I saw also another study where they were comparing people who train indoors (lifting weights in a gym) to people who walk outside, and found the same "shrinking hippocampus" with the people training only indoors, but they didn't make the link to spatial awareness. In fact, they concluded (IMHO wrong) that the reason for this is aerobic (walking outside) vs anaerobic (gym) exercises, but in order to make such a conclusion they should have had a third control group doing aerobic exercises indoors.

I personally prefer e.g. swimming (indoors) though, especially now when it has been rather cold in here. I swim 2km every Saturday, on top of MA exercises that's pretty much the aerobic exercise I get (and need, frankly). I guess my hippocampus is shrinking fast as well, not much spatial awareness needed in the pool. Maybe I should take a second job as a taxi driver.

wodmarach: So I went to the docs today for my yearly checkup and found out I'm 230lbs >.< (We have no scales in the house) I have never been this heavy in my life so it's time to lose some weight (and hopefully alleviate the apparent sports induced asthma I've developed) Since I'm currently paying for a wedding and am unemployed I can't join a gym as much as I'd like to but there are some nice long orienteering routes in my local park...

But to get to the actual point of this does anyone have ideas for what I can do on a hugely restricted budget and/or good websites to keep my motivation up.

timppu: There may be at least one good reason to prefer running outdoors to indoors, though. Maybe I've mentioned it here before (even in this thread?), but running/walking outside jogs your brain (hippocampus) because unlike on treadmill, you'll need to use your spatial awareness. Good reason also to switch off GPS while driving, unless you desperately need it.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40138522/ns/health-mental_health/t/gps-addict-it-may-be-eroding-your-brain/

I saw also another study where they were comparing people who train indoors (lifting weights in a gym) to people who walk outside, and found the same "shrinking hippocampus" with the people training only indoors, but they didn't make the link to spatial awareness. In fact, they concluded (IMHO wrong) that the reason for this is aerobic (walking outside) vs anaerobic (gym) exercises, but in order to make such a conclusion they should have had a third control group doing aerobic exercises indoors.

I personally prefer e.g. swimming (indoors) though, especially now when it has been rather cold in here. I swim 2km every Saturday, on top of MA exercises that's pretty much the aerobic exercise I get (and need, frankly). I guess my hippocampus is shrinking fast as well, not much spatial awareness needed in the pool. Maybe I should take a second job as a taxi driver.

orcishgamer: Lifehacker just reported on this today: http://lifehacker.com/5885620/20-minutes-of-interval-training-is-enough-to-improve-your-health?tag=health

Be a bit careful of your joints. A lot of experts are recommending against stretches for non-atheletes these days, so maybe do a short, 3 minute warm up.

hedwards: Ultimately it's sound advice, there's nothing wrong with people doing stretches, the main problem is that people tend to do them wrong and end up hurting themselves more than if they didn't bother stretching. Stretching the muscles is OK and shouldn't require any warm up, provided that you go gently and aren't trying to push the range of motion by too much.

In general though, if you don't know how, don't. The consequences of stretching tendons and ligaments are not good in the long term.

orcishgamer: As you say the consequences of doing it wrong can be pretty severe and they keep coming up with bupkiss for benefits to non-atheletes (statistically) in their more recent studies, at least that's what they keep claiming. How much of that is simply because the non-atheletes generally don't know how to do it I have no idea.

hedwards: Bupkiss is a bit of an exaggeration, as long as you're doing it correctly over time you shouldn't be getting much in the way of gains in range of mobility unless you're focusing on that.

But, done properly, stretching can help one maintain range of motion into old age and goes a long way to preventing things like back aches that tend to cause people a lot of suffering over time. (I should be clear that I'm not advocating any stretching of the back that might affect connective tissue, just decompression of the spinal column)

orcishgamer: Yeah, but I don't get cold rain down the back of my neck on my treadmill and therefor it's easier to convince my ass to get in gear and do it.

timppu: Come on, sports is not supposed to be neat and tidy. Sweat all over, irony taste of blood in the mouth, snot gushing out of all thinkable and unthinkable orifices etc. Just like our forefathers killing mammoths with bare teeth.

But I guess I get your point. At least there are probably better looking babes near a treadmill than a mammoth.

meowstef: guess I should have posted in here before now , it always looked interesting but I'm lazy and anti social :)

any way today I have the fun of running my first half marathon been training for a few months for it and not expecting any trouble but still I'm nervous can't sleep and now my legs are cramping

all in all still expecting to have an easyish time of it

timppu: There may be at least one good reason to prefer running outdoors to indoors, though.

lowyhong: I started training my lower body for the first time today, mainly with dumb bells - squats, calf raises and lunges. Anything else I should incorporate into this?

lowyhong: I started training my lower body for the first time today, mainly with dumb bells - squats, calf raises and lunges. Anything else I should incorporate into this?