Newbie from the nutmeg state

[bergerman]

Hey everybody. Just thought I would introduce myself. I'm Aaron and live in CT. Joined to kick myself back into fitness.

I bought a house in June and since about May my fitness has been slacking....horribly

In 2010 I ran a marathon and now I can barely run a 5k.

I did crossfit for almost 2 years and lost a lot of that as well.

Trying to lose some weight that I put on this summer and train for my first half iron man. I've done many tris but never the half distance.

Also want to continue strength training. But my shoulder is in pain from sitting at my desk all day. Anyone else have issues like that and what did you do to fix it? Also I need hip stretches for my tight hips....again from sitting all day.

So I can't wait to chat with all of you in the future!

And if someone can help me overcome feeling self conscious at the gym that would be great.

Cheers!

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[Outlier]

Hey welcome and it's great that your working towards goals. I'm not much help on the gym issues though. I stay away from the gym for the same reason. I have a desk job too. I try and get up and stretch as much as possible. 

 

i started drinking tea just for a reason to go stretch in the bathroom and walk around while I go get some hot water. Sitting is not what the body was meant to do. 

[JamesAndrew]

All day desk sitting is the enemy of a fit body! I'm a full-time coder so I deal with this issue too. The best thing to do is to figure out ways to get away from the desk as much as possible and to do some sort of brief intense physical activity several times during the workday. I know this is not always possible depending on your job and the relationship you have with your superiors.

 

Here's what I do.

 

My place of work has a gym right in the building. This is ideal. I go down there one or two times just about every day and usually for only about 10 minutes. In that time I'll do several sets of things like dips or chin ups. Today I had a big department meeting at 10 AM, so at 9:45 I went down and spent literally 5 minutes just getting pumped up with curls, overhead dumbell presses, and seated dips. I entered the meeting awake and feeling so much more mentally prepared for the next two hours of seated discussion. 

 

I'm a software designer. Sometimes I have to do a lot of conceptual work that takes place largely in my head. I frequently take "design walks". We have a nice mile long driveway loop around our building complex. I formulate a set of questions which I need to resolve and then go take one or two laps during which I focus my mind on exploring and solving the problems at hand. My manager and everyone here is aware that I do these things. I don't have to 'sneak' out, but rather I've built up trust with them and they understand that this sort of time spent away from my desk is crucial to the high quality work I turn out.

 

Maybe you don't have a gym in your building or a perfect walking course right outside, but what do you have at hand? Could you install a pull-up bar in your office doorway (if you have a door)? Is there a gym right near your work that you could stop at for only 10 to 15 minutes on the way to work? (I find that with such brief sessions, I don't need a shower. Many times I go in in and work out in my street clothes.)