2024 Off-Season Getting/Staying In Shape Motivation Thread

[thedutchtouch]

We've had some good threads on here in years past, so hoping to get another one started. Admittedly this is somewhat selfish, because I'm going to need to keep my motivation going as well. Season isn't completely over, but 2023 is so let's hear it folks, what are your 2024 workout or getting/staying in shape plans?

I've signed up for a September half marathon and an October marathon this year (both local to me) so I'm spending the off-season getting back into marathon shape. Don't really have a goal time but I'd love to be sub 4. Realistically I think I can run faster, but I think I need another year or more to work down, we shall see. I'll be sacrificing a bit of early season to running next year as well but I think it'll be worth it. Started mid November just logging miles and building base aerobic fitness, I'll likely start an official training program for the marathon in May/June-ish. I'm running around 25 miles per week at the moment over 5-6 days, longest run so far has been 7 miles. slowly scaling that up to around 40-45 by the time I launch into a real training plan and hoping I can start increasing my running pace without driving heart rate up too much, I've bought into all the zone 2 training info. I also need to get back to strength training/stretching more as well.

I'm also not staying completely sober forever but I quit drinking and have cut waaay back on soda/sugar in the same timeframe I started running. Feeling good, more work to do.

How's it going with you all? I know from prior threads that there's some runners and some pretty fit guys here, as well as some that likely could benefit from your input.

 

[Nutterbuster]

I quit drinking, quit eating breakfast, and went back to drinking my coffee black. Never have been a big sweets eater, and I've been really trying hard to get the old 5-a-day.

Honestly have no idea how I'm going to exercise now between job and kiddo, and I can't hunt every day like I used to could. Gonna be a rough year. Thinking about hitting some of the local trailer trash up for some Marlboros and crystal meth. Seems to keep them pretty slim and energetic.

 

[tylerray378]

I participated in my first athletic event this past November and fell in love with running. It was a 10k trail run with a lot of elevation. Had a blast and haven’t let off the gas. Since then I haven’t participated in anymore races. However, like you (OP), I’m running a bunch now. I won’t do anything less than 5k distance for a workout and prefer to do 6-10 mile runs, or more if time allows.

This will be the year of races for me. On the docket I have a March 5k, April (team) distance race, June half marathon, October full marathon, and November I plan to do the same trail 10k that started this whole thing.

Glad to see a thread like this on a forum I love. Also if anyone needs any motivation and doesn’t mind cursing. Checkout a couple videos of David Goggins on YouTube. That dude will get you fired up. Haha!

 

[NMSbowhunter]

I've been slowly easing back into the strength training program a couple of times a week. I've been taking it slow and easy since I sure can't afford to hurt my shoulder during deer season. I've been logging quite a few miles every time I go out to hunt so that, combined with my normal walking accounts for a lot of my cardio fitness. I tried running about 18 months ago and really liked it, but I pulled a tendon in my knee and that put an end to that, and I am very hesitant to go back and try that again. It had me limping for a while.

Starting in February I will be doing my intensive scouting post season again. Last February I did 110 miles scouting, so I hope to meet or exceed that this year. That work paid off during the season.

My diet is pretty good already, but I can stand to get more veggies and fish in my diet. I already eat pretty well. I don't drink, smoke or eat a lot of fatty or sweet foods already and drink my coffee black. I also drink a lot of water.

All in all, I just need to clean up my diet a little and ramp up the strength training starting in February.

 

[Marmuzz]

I have a goal to lose 25-30 lbs. by New Year’s 2025. I started college FT this fall and working PT. I didn’t gain the freshman fifteen but dealt with stress and deadlines by staying up late and chowing down, and it definitely shows. My wife and I like to travel quite a bit. I was looking at photos of a previous trip where I was even 10 lbs. less than I am now and thought dang my gut looks fat. We’re planning a Christmastime trip to SE Asia and I want to be lighter and fitter for that.

For studying, I know my body and mind feel and perform better when I exercise regularly. Nonstop hunching over a laptop this fall really wreaked havoc on my lower back and hips (and I’m only 33). Working out and stretching keeps the pain away.

I typically eat fairly clean, but when I have sweet carbs I pound ‘em (I admittedly hogged on Christmas cookies). So I’m focusing on eliminating nearly all added sugar, minimizing carbs (not like keto though), emphasizing vegetables, just being mindful of calories and portions, and upping protein. I might do a 3-week detox here in February; I did one last year and felt great afterwards. For exercise, conveniently my work is about 1 mi from campus so I hope to walk 1-2x a week, workout 4x a week, walk at least 1 mi daily, and stretch often. Currently I’ve been mixing up my workouts between rowing, exercise bike, and treadmill. After I rebuild some cardio endurance and break in my muscles again I want to incorporate swims, rucks, and weight lifting.

 

[BTaylor]

Before my wife told me what my new year's resolutions are, my plan was to disprove the saying you cant out work a bad diet. Cant never did a durned thing. But I have been instructed that my diet will improve so I guess we'll see. Looking at making the jump from doing crossfittish type workouts to actually going to crossfit. Still on the fence about that a bit mostly from the cost perspective but feel like it would be worth it for the extra community push to get better. Like @NMSbowhunter Feb. til turkey season will be a lot of scouting. Will also continue to work on archery and see if I can continue to improve my shooting with the longbow. Finally be more consistent with Scripture study and work on being a better me.

 

[Jtaylor]

So I've been doing a workout I found on Fitfatherproject.com (I have no affiliation but just wanted to give credit).
For people that have limited time, this is a good routine. You can scale it up or down as needed/wanted and it's easy to remember.
It consists of:
1. Push-ups 4 sets of 10 reps with 10 seconds rest between sets.
2. Burpees 4 sets of 10 reps 10 seconds rest between sets.
3. Air squats 4 sets of 10 reps 10 seconds rest between sets.
4. Mountain climbers 4 sets of 10 reps 10 seconds rest between sets.
Finish with stretching.
Scale it as needed. You can replace burpees with SEAL burpees to change it up, add an exercise of your choice, replace mountain climbers with 4x5 pull ups, increase or reduce rest, etc. Do a couple rounds as you get better or do a half a round as you're starting. It's easy to make your own.

 

[Will Harris]

I quit drinking, quit eating breakfast, and went back to drinking my coffee black. Never have been a big sweets eater, and I've been really trying hard to get the old 5-a-day.

Honestly have no idea how I'm going to exercise now between job and kiddo, and I can't hunt every day like I used to could. Gonna be a rough year. Thinking about hitting some of the local trailer trash up for some Marlboros and crystal meth. Seems to keep them pretty slim and energetic.

i remember those days fondly. i had 3 boys that were very active in school and sports. it certainly helps improve your time management skills.

you have to be creative and find opportunities. if you include them, then its "free". like hikes or runs or walks or scouting or ... if you cant include them because of lack of interest or age, then i was able to do some work at lunch or early mornings. walking stairs at the office or walking the campus at lunch. i'm not a gym person so i have the equipment at home, but you could suck it up and do the gym thing at lunch like a lot of peeps do.

 

[Seekbigger]

My wife and I started the carnivore diet 4 months ago and I feel better than I have in 15 years! Back to running a mile in the mornings, I’ve lost 21 lbs my wife has lost 23lbs and she has completely weaned off all her heart meds now. My glucose is under 100 now and my blood pressure back to normal after running high for the past few years! We eat anything that comes from an animal, stay away from added sugars and processed foods! Meat, fish, heavy cream and cheeses! For me if I need a sweet I’ll have a spoon full of peanut butter! Truly unreal how much our diets affect our health!

 

[Will Harris]

i cant run because of my back so i walk a ton and hike a lot. i LOVE to scout which combines hiking and hunting. when the weather is chitty, i'm on the treadmill and when not, i'm walking the hood. we have a wonderful hood to walk. big believer in 10k steps/day. i have a weight rack and dumbells at home.

i need to get more strength in my shoulders and keep the weight off during the winter. goal is to go from 47# draw weight to close to 60#.

i went keto 4-5 years ago to get to hunting weight and now do low carb. took up sausage making so thats gonna be a struggle. portion control. share the bounty.

 

[Horn]

I've been slacking in cold weather but I'm going to try and lose another 15 pounds or so and see how I feel. I usually shoot for 15k steps ( 10k is pretty easy and I think I get a lot of extra steps from work motions where I'm not actually walking) I might even get back to Nutters suitcase carry in good weather.

I'm going to try the rock climbing gym too, I've been wanting to do that for a while. I'd say I'm going to run and lift but gee do I not enjoy either of those things so.... don't hold your breath lol

 

[thedutchtouch]

I gave some halfway serious thoughts to buying a standing (convertible) desk and a walking treadmill for my "home office" (corner of my bedroom) to get some more (walking) miles in while I work. Looks like it's about 400-450 dollars minimum though so I'm sticking with the sitting in a chair and taking breaks to go walk around a bit for now.

 

[Will Harris]

I gave some halfway serious thoughts to buying a standing (convertible) desk and a walking treadmill for my "home office" (corner of my bedroom) to get some more (walking) miles in while I work. Looks like it's about 400-450 dollars minimum though so I'm sticking with the sitting in a chair and taking breaks to go walk around a bit for now.

could you go used? i bought a air bike off ebay for $25. i ride it between sets when i lift. might find a treadmill for sale in your range.

get a watch that reminds you to get up every hour and tracks your steps. i bought one last year for < $100 and love it.

 

[thedutchtouch]

could you go used? i bought a air bike off ebay for $25. i ride it between sets when i lift. might find a treadmill for sale in your range.

get a watch that reminds you to get up every hour and tracks your steps. i bought one last year for < $100 and love it.

I have a used lower end treadmill already, half of that cost is replacing the desk with one that can go up to standing height. Doesn't make a ton of sense unless I see one cheap on marketplace or something I suppose, getting up from the desk and moving around or going downstairs to the mill or outside for a run is working ok. Really the main thing I need to throw at this is time on my feet moving, not more gear. Hmmm that sounds familiar lol.

I splurged and got myself a fancy garmin forerunner watch for an early Christmas present to myself when I decided to commit to this plan. Goal is to run at least a mile per dollar I spent on it this year so I can amortize the cost to myself lol. I'm already 1/10 of the way there.

 

[Will Harris]

I have a used lower end treadmill already, half of that cost is replacing the desk with one that can go up to standing height. Doesn't make a ton of sense unless I see one cheap on marketplace or something I suppose, getting up from the desk and moving around or going downstairs to the mill or outside for a run is working ok. Really the main thing I need to throw at this is time on my feet moving, not more gear. Hmmm that sounds familiar lol.

I splurged and got myself a fancy garmin forerunner watch for an early Christmas present to myself when I decided to commit to this plan. Goal is to run at least a mile per dollar I spent on it this year so I can amortize the cost to myself lol. I'm already 1/10 of the way there.

gear != deer. ive learned this lesson over the years. kill 2 birds with one stone and buy less and scout more. the watch is a great investment in your health IMO

 

[GreginPA]

I splurged and got myself a fancy garmin forerunner watch for an early Christmas present to myself

been thinking of getting a Garmin - which forerunner did you get? do you like it? I currently have an Apple Watch. I've been trying to decide between the 265 and the 965. Leaning towards the 965 because of the mapping.

So I'm a runner - started in 2020 and have built up a good base despite not running before that. I run about 25-35 miles a week depending on the week and have recently gotten into trail running.

I'm doing my second half marathon in March and I'm shooting for a time of 1:35 - 1:40. Haven't pinned it down quite yet.

If anyone is on Strava - check out the club I started for saddle hunters. I hasn't gotten much traction, but if you like Strava, check it out. It's a good motivator for me sometimes.

Sträva Saddle Hunter Club

https://www.wired.com/story/strava-heat-map-military-bases-fitness-trackers-privacy/

saddlehunter.com

 

[casts_by_fly]

When we lived in the UK ('07-'19) we stayed pretty fit with personal trainers 3 days a week for most of those years. We cross trained a lot, ran a bit, did a few events (5k up to half marathon, triathlons, tough mudders) and had a good focus on diet and health. When we moved back in 2019 we were looking for trainers- then COVID hit. We have peloton equipment but its not the same unless you are also focusing on the diet side. I'm an inveterate snacker. Around 9 PM I'll get a hankering for a snack. I also like a drink. Depending what that drink is and how many I've had, the choice of snack can be okay or really bad. After a couple old fashioneds I can happily snack a half bag of tortilla chips. So many bad choices in there.

I started back to personal training 4 months ago or so to see if I liked the trainer (i do) and where my body was at (not great). After a couple sessions though I could see that my body will respond quickly. Of course I didn't change anything diet wise so while I got stronger, I didn't lose weight or get leaner. Separately, I've had a knee injury since July 22 that I finally got looked at. It wasn't as serious as I thought and we've just about got it worked out.

All of that is a long way of saying that I can finally get back into the routine. I've cut out all alcohol from M-Th and cut back on the weekends when we're just sitting on the couch. The snacking is gone. The urge is still there but I've gone back to filling that urge with water (double win). Now that my knee is cleared up I've gotten back on the bike on a 3-day a week program for the next 8 weeks. I'm not looking to build bike fitness, just burn an extra 2000 calories a week while maintaining my food intake (and cutting out alcohol and night junk). If I hold this for the next 8 weeks I should be able to drop 15 lb or so. That would put me to a pretty good weight, and if I add in a couple upper body strength days I should up my muscle percentage as well.

That's my plan and I'm sticking to it.

 

[thedutchtouch]

been thinking of getting a Garmin - which forerunner did you get? do you like it? I currently have an Apple Watch. I've been trying to decide between the 265 and the 965. Leaning towards the 965 because of the mapping.

So I'm a runner - started in 2020 and have built up a good base despite not running before that. I run about 25-35 miles a week depending on the week and have recently gotten into trail running.

I'm doing my second half marathon in March and I'm shooting for a time of 1:35 - 1:40. Haven't pinned it down quite yet.

If anyone is on Strava - check out the club I started for saddle hunters. I hasn't gotten much traction, but if you like Strava, check it out. It's a good motivator for me sometimes.

Sträva Saddle Hunter Club

https://www.wired.com/story/strava-heat-map-military-bases-fitness-trackers-privacy/

saddlehunter.com

I got the 965. Can't say I've used the mapping much yet but.. it's nice having it in case. Now debating getting a chest HR strap as I've heard the wrist ones can be somewhat off (though mine seems to be trending pretty accurately as far as I can tell)

 

[raisins]

Light to moderate weight training and being obsessive about my posture is my deal. I'm too old now to lift anything more than a weight I can do at least 8 perfect reps with.

I get tendonitis and pinched nerves in various places now if I don't do this. I also walk on the days I'm not in the gym (except I usually take one day off totally and just do life stuff).

 

[Kayl]

been thinking of getting a Garmin - which forerunner did you get? do you like it? I currently have an Apple Watch. I've been trying to decide between the 265 and the 965. Leaning towards the 965 because of the mapping.

So I'm a runner - started in 2020 and have built up a good base despite not running before that. I run about 25-35 miles a week depending on the week and have recently gotten into trail running.

I'm doing my second half marathon in March and I'm shooting for a time of 1:35 - 1:40. Haven't pinned it down quite yet.

If anyone is on Strava - check out the club I started for saddle hunters. I hasn't gotten much traction, but if you like Strava, check it out. It's a good motivator for me sometimes.

Sträva Saddle Hunter Club

https://www.wired.com/story/strava-heat-map-military-bases-fitness-trackers-privacy/

saddlehunter.com

The 965 is nice, but don't discount looking at the instinct line. I had the Instinct Solar and just picked up the 2x and it's awesome. I had a Forerunner 645 previously and like the instinct better.