What do you do to keep and/or get in shape?

pctacitus

While it goes without saying that diet is important, I am focusing on the physical activity used by members of booktalk.

I myself use a combination from several different workout routines.

From Joining the SAS: How to Get In and What It's Like by Barry Davies, I scheduled in a three mile jog one day a week. Fighting Fit : the Complete SAS Fitness Training Guide by Adrian Weale gave me a system I could use on days I wasn't weight training, with things like sprints, trekking with a rucksack. Chris Ryan's SAS Fitness Book by Chris Ryan gave me a good weight training regimen and cardiovascular system (including swimming, cycling, and the use of a rowing machine).

When I put the three together, I had a workout schedule that was challenging, but possible. Pushing me to get better. What I think is interesting is that of all the things I looked at, the three authors wtih the best systems for use had all served in the British Army. Weale in Intelligence, working with Para, Royal Marine, SAS and SBS units. Both Davies and Ryan served in the SAS or Special Air Service.

Chris Ryan's SAS Fitness Book by Chris Ryan
www.amazon.com/exec/obido...8&v=glance

Fighting Fit : the Complete SAS Fitness Training Guide by Adrian Weale
www.amazon.com/exec/obido...8&v=glance

Joining the SAS: How to Get In and What It's Like by Barry Davies
www.amazon.com/exec/obido...8&v=glance

Results (total votes = 8):


Weight training	1 / 12.5%

Swimming	0 / 0.0%

Running, Jogging, Cycling, etc.	0 / 0.0%

A combination of the above	4 / 50.0%

Other	3 / 37.5%

Doug Larson: “The cat could very well be man's best friend but would never stoop to admitting it."

marti1900

I walk three miles 4 times a week. Run a couple of miles two times a week. If the weather really sucks, I do step aerobics inside with a tape.

Do a yoga routine 4 times a week.

However, I get most of my exercise jumping to conclusions.

Marti in Mexico

0Lion0Eyes0

Considering how little I workout, generally a little walking goes a long way.

Walking 1-2 miles at least 5 days a week really helps, and when I am extra motivated some aerobics/weight training - generlaly with a video - to help with toning.

I used to do more aerobics/running, but since having an injury I have become a big proponent of walking.

marti1900

I am noticing a rather glaring lack of response from the male participants in this community. Come on, guys, are you ALL slugs?

Marti in Mexico

Izdaari

Quote:
I am noticing a rather glaring lack of response from the male participants in this community. Come on, guys, are you ALL slugs?

Yep, yep, the guys are all slugs! ::144

I had to vote "Other" because the only fitness program I've ever been able to stick with is martial arts (in my case, Shito-ryu Karate). That other stuff, running, weights, etc., is just too boring for me.

pctacitus

Shito-ryu Karate. Sounds interesting. What exactly do you do in Shito-ryu? I remember taking Tae Kwon Do many moons ago and have been meaning to get into something along the lines of Aikido or Jiu-Jitsu.

Doug Larson: “The cat could very well be man's best friend but would never stoop to admitting it."

Izdaari

Shito-ryu is one of the four main traditional Japanese styles of Karate, the others being Shotokan, Wado-ryu and Isshin-ryu. Shotokan and Shito-ryu both emphasize power and look much alike, though Shito-ryu stances are higher. If you've seen Jean-Claude van Damme movies, his techniques (disregarding the choreography of course) look a lot like ours. He's a very good karateka though not much of an actor.

The really nice thing about having such a strong connection with Japan is that it keeps the standards from being watered down, which is always a danger with American commercial dojos (sometimes derided as McDojos). Not my dojo, luckily, which is very traditional, though the emphasis is more on sport karate and tournaments rather than practical self-defense. (Not that traditional karate isn't good for self-defense, because it is, but doing tournaments too much develops bad habits for actual fighting.) We also do weapons training, mainly staff. When sometimes you get tested for your next rank by a visiting sensei from the main dojo in Japan (as happened to me a few times), you know you've earned it.

Edited by: Izdaari at: 9/19/05 1:29 am

MadArchitect

I voted, but I didn't really answer.

I do some pretty basic exercises on a semi-regular basis: crunches, push-ups, etc. I'm not looking to build a whole lot of mass, so I don't bother with weight training.

I swim about three times a week, provided the weather is decent. And I walk a great deal -- probably in excess of 10 miles a day. I sometimes bike as well, though not as much as I'd like to.

I occasionally play tennis, and a friend and I have agreed to start playing on a weekly basis. I used to perform some basic yoga exercises just to stay limber, but I've been slacking on that lately, and can feel the atrophy when I bend down. That's the major thing I'd like to work on -- otherwise, I'm mostly happy with the shape I'm in.

Swamy Maximus · Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. *Edited by: Swamy Maximus at: 10/8/05 2:18 am*

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

Edited by: Swamy Maximus at: 10/8/05 2:18 am

Timothy Schoonover

I usually jog about 10 miles a week. More, if I'm having trouble sleeping. Add to that some sporadic sit-ups and push-ups and thats about all I do.

I need to step it up a notch, though. Maybe a little Canned Heat aerobic dancing. I'm training to be a cage fighter you know. Just need to get a pair of American Flag parachute pants. You think I got where I am today because I dressed like Peter Pan over there? Forget about it!

LanDroid

What the heck is the SAS? British Green Berets? Unless you have a long history of working out, this could be too difficult and lead to a quick burnout.

I'm about to turn 50, so I'm interested in "anti-aging technology" (late mid-life crisis?). ::46

The body loses strength, flexibility, and aerobic capacity as we age, so I try to balance all three. I can jog (more like trudge) for an hour ::97

lift weights once or twice a week, and one yoga class a week plus miscellaneous stretching. Other anti-aging technologies I engage in with varying alacrity: drink lots of water, control alchohol consumption ::100

minimize sleep debt, mental exercize (like BookTalk!), and watch diet. This is not enough to excel, but perhaps enough to minimize decrepitude.

Like others, I need to kick it up a notch. Unfortunately, Winter is a sluggy season for me and I already feel myself winding down... ::74

Any suggestions for that? ::75


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