How to get my mojo back?
Discussion
I'm after some thoughts on how to get my mojo back. I just feel out of sorts, this year hasn't helped. I've always been mildly to moderately depressed, but I'm finding it harder than ever to lift the gloom. I wouldn't care, towards the end of last year I sort of started get a handle on it, but the current situation has put me right back in my place.
Prior to 2020 I was living close enough to work that I could walk, so I managed at least 4 miles a day, but usually more like 6. I wouldn't say I was fit, but I got by.
Since the lockdown I moved house, and I've done virtually no exercise. I'm not someone who has ever enjoyed exercise really, despite trying really hard to like it on and off for the last 20 years.
As things stand today, I'm 41. I haven't weighed myself but I'd estimate my weight has gone up to about 15 stone (5'10), which is probably about 1.5 stone increase since March. I feel like I've struggled with my weight my whole life.
Before I moved, the rental place was huge, I had a home gym with a squat rack, bar, bench etc. I had to get rid of it all because I downsized.
My only fitness equipment is a pair of dumbbells (with a decent chunk of weight plates), an 8kg kettlebell and a pair of running shoes.
I tried couch to 5K but ultimately I don't think I would keep it up, I don't really like running. Never have. I don't mind so much doing intervals (say 1m run / 1m walk).
I find walking in and of itself boring - just walking around the same place doesn't do it for me. With work I was forced to because I had to.
I feel like I've lost my mojo really. I am finding it really hard to get motivated to do anything, whether it be exercise, work, or just anything that needs doing. I'm starting to hate myself for being useless.
I am boozing every night, a problem of which I've had for all my adult life, and I know it needs to stop. I don't mind on a weekend, but its taken over now. I'm not going to make excuses for it. I just need to MTFU and stop it, at least on a school night.
I'm very fickle as well, so I can't seem to stick to a workout routine for long.
What are the ultimate goals?
1. Get down to a healthy weight
2. Improve fitness
3. Resolve motivation issues
4. Be happier
I feel like it probably starts with the exercise and the knocking the booze on the head, but I'm just not sure what I should be doing. As a starting point, this routine might be OK, but I'm open to any advice or thoughts.
Prior to 2020 I was living close enough to work that I could walk, so I managed at least 4 miles a day, but usually more like 6. I wouldn't say I was fit, but I got by.
Since the lockdown I moved house, and I've done virtually no exercise. I'm not someone who has ever enjoyed exercise really, despite trying really hard to like it on and off for the last 20 years.
As things stand today, I'm 41. I haven't weighed myself but I'd estimate my weight has gone up to about 15 stone (5'10), which is probably about 1.5 stone increase since March. I feel like I've struggled with my weight my whole life.
Before I moved, the rental place was huge, I had a home gym with a squat rack, bar, bench etc. I had to get rid of it all because I downsized.
My only fitness equipment is a pair of dumbbells (with a decent chunk of weight plates), an 8kg kettlebell and a pair of running shoes.
I tried couch to 5K but ultimately I don't think I would keep it up, I don't really like running. Never have. I don't mind so much doing intervals (say 1m run / 1m walk).
I find walking in and of itself boring - just walking around the same place doesn't do it for me. With work I was forced to because I had to.
I feel like I've lost my mojo really. I am finding it really hard to get motivated to do anything, whether it be exercise, work, or just anything that needs doing. I'm starting to hate myself for being useless.
I am boozing every night, a problem of which I've had for all my adult life, and I know it needs to stop. I don't mind on a weekend, but its taken over now. I'm not going to make excuses for it. I just need to MTFU and stop it, at least on a school night.
I'm very fickle as well, so I can't seem to stick to a workout routine for long.
What are the ultimate goals?
1. Get down to a healthy weight
2. Improve fitness
3. Resolve motivation issues
4. Be happier
I feel like it probably starts with the exercise and the knocking the booze on the head, but I'm just not sure what I should be doing. As a starting point, this routine might be OK, but I'm open to any advice or thoughts.
Sadly there aren't any parkruns at the moment though.
I'm lazy and never been interested in sport, I find I'm a lot more likely to do something that's an organized event rather than just going and doing some exercise on my own. Currently that's meeting up with some parkrun mates on a Saturday morning for a run, but parkrun or club runs are when I'll put more effort in. I don't really enjoy running but I enjoy meeting up with some mates for a jog and a natter. Quite a few running clubs do C25K groups, so you'd start off with a bunch of people at the same level as you and progress with them, by the time you can run 5k you have several new friends who can as well.
Are there other things that you usually use the car for that you could do on foot or by bike? A few years ago I'd take the car to nip to the local shop that was 15 minutes walk away, now I'll walk or cycle virtually everywhere as my main method of transport. The car only gets used for longer trips.
Team sports are worth a look too, the fact that a group is meeting at a given time will make you a lot more likely to go.
I'm lazy and never been interested in sport, I find I'm a lot more likely to do something that's an organized event rather than just going and doing some exercise on my own. Currently that's meeting up with some parkrun mates on a Saturday morning for a run, but parkrun or club runs are when I'll put more effort in. I don't really enjoy running but I enjoy meeting up with some mates for a jog and a natter. Quite a few running clubs do C25K groups, so you'd start off with a bunch of people at the same level as you and progress with them, by the time you can run 5k you have several new friends who can as well.
Are there other things that you usually use the car for that you could do on foot or by bike? A few years ago I'd take the car to nip to the local shop that was 15 minutes walk away, now I'll walk or cycle virtually everywhere as my main method of transport. The car only gets used for longer trips.
Team sports are worth a look too, the fact that a group is meeting at a given time will make you a lot more likely to go.
Edited by RizzoTheRat on Wednesday 19th August 17:00
I don't know if they are still going right now but I used to enjoy British Military Fitness, doesn't matter if you're fit as the butcher's dog or ready to drop after walking to the kitchen. It was great fun getting hot/muddy/wet/sweaty with people of the same fitness to push and be pushed.
Was twice a week and knowing people there would keep me going each week. Worth a shot when they're back. Or any similar group tbh, their just the people I have experience with.
Was twice a week and knowing people there would keep me going each week. Worth a shot when they're back. Or any similar group tbh, their just the people I have experience with.
Thanks all. I sort of like the idea of doing something more people based but current situation is making it difficult at the moment.
I really feel like I can't wait for things to get to normal, I need to take action and soon.
I bought a mountain bike off my mate, its a proper downhill bike. Not sure why I bought that as its not really suited to what I want it for! It is hard to ride though so it would definitely get me fit.
Only thing was, I took it out, the chain kept coming off, I had to walk a mile home when it got tangled, and the thing got thrown in the shed and I haven't got it back out yet.
Used to like the idea of getting some decent muscles but I only ever seem to see my belly and moobs and get demotivated fairly quickly. I think at this stage, I'm over that now, still be nice, but I'm not obsessed with size anymore - and when I was, I just got fat!
I really feel like I can't wait for things to get to normal, I need to take action and soon.
I bought a mountain bike off my mate, its a proper downhill bike. Not sure why I bought that as its not really suited to what I want it for! It is hard to ride though so it would definitely get me fit.
Only thing was, I took it out, the chain kept coming off, I had to walk a mile home when it got tangled, and the thing got thrown in the shed and I haven't got it back out yet.
Used to like the idea of getting some decent muscles but I only ever seem to see my belly and moobs and get demotivated fairly quickly. I think at this stage, I'm over that now, still be nice, but I'm not obsessed with size anymore - and when I was, I just got fat!
TameRacingDriver said:
I'm after some thoughts on how to get my mojo back. I just feel out of sorts, this year hasn't helped. I've always been mildly to moderately depressed, but I'm finding it harder than ever to lift the gloom.
<snip>
A lot of your post resonated with me, good on you for trying to tackle it. From an exercise perspective, for me, what worked is seeing cold, hard statistics of progress. Track the reps/weights/miles/etc. you do, and track your weight to the tenth of a kg. I found a heartrate/calorie/step measuring sports watch (cheap, second hand) very useful for seeing progress.<snip>
Small, seemingly insignificant amounts of progress motivate me to continue the path. Perhaps that will work for you.
Ultimately, in my case, exercise is a way of boosting endorphins and temporarily lifting my mood - it does not address the real issues in life. For me, nearly 50, kids flying the nest and career boring me to tears, I need to fix all of that more importantly. No idea if you feel similar, but that piece is the core issue for me and exercise just gives me temporary motivation.
Martin.
I'd find a sport that is actually fun. If you get the right crowd, it can be a laugh. Forget endurance sports. Christ, I'd rather just sit on the couch and get fat eating crisps if cycling or running was the only option.
Maybe it's Sunday league football or dodgeball or paintball. For me, it's tennis. I found a local club, the group I got lumped in as a newbie isn't very good but the banter makes up for it. I ended up playing about 2.5 hours of tennis yesterday. Burnt a million calories, sore as hell but was a laugh.
Used to play dodgeball. That was always a giggle until you get some ultra competitive visitor who just wanted to win.
So basically, try a load of different sports, see what works for you. If there's a bar attached to the sports club, that's always a good sign.
Maybe it's Sunday league football or dodgeball or paintball. For me, it's tennis. I found a local club, the group I got lumped in as a newbie isn't very good but the banter makes up for it. I ended up playing about 2.5 hours of tennis yesterday. Burnt a million calories, sore as hell but was a laugh.
Used to play dodgeball. That was always a giggle until you get some ultra competitive visitor who just wanted to win.
So basically, try a load of different sports, see what works for you. If there's a bar attached to the sports club, that's always a good sign.
TameRacingDriver said:
I am boozing every night, a problem of which I've had for all my adult life, and I know it needs to stop. I don't mind on a weekend, but its taken over now. I'm not going to make excuses for it. I just need to MTFU and stop it, at least on a school night.
Your post resonated with me massively as I was there this time last year. I'm sorry you feel like this but you know the score....Knock the booze on the head and the rest will follow. Not drinking a depressant every night will help your mood, the weight will fall off, you will be more motivated to exercise, the fear and feelings of guilt, anxiety will reduce if not go away etc.
Get back on the 365 days thread
Good luck TRD.
HairyMaclary said:
Your post resonated with me massively as I was there this time last year. I'm sorry you feel like this but you know the score....
Knock the booze on the head and the rest will follow. Not drinking a depressant every night will help your mood, the weight will fall off, you will be more motivated to exercise, the fear and feelings of guilt, anxiety will reduce if not go away etc.
Get back on the 365 days thread
Good luck TRD.
I agree I do need to cut back substantially. Not sure if I'm quite ready for complete teetotalism though, but if it comes to it, I will. Cheers mate Knock the booze on the head and the rest will follow. Not drinking a depressant every night will help your mood, the weight will fall off, you will be more motivated to exercise, the fear and feelings of guilt, anxiety will reduce if not go away etc.
Get back on the 365 days thread
Good luck TRD.
If you've got to the point of feeling concerned about the amount you drink, it could be time to consider packing it. Despite the short-term feelings of relaxation and euphoria, it is a depressant that in the longer term will just lower your mood. As said by a poster above, you'll probably find that if you quit, your energy levels will increase and since you're not tipping a load of extra calories down your neck, you will find it a lot easier to manage your calories in vs calories used, which is the key to losing weight.
I understand your reluctance to run, I've always been too heavily built to be a good runner, but there are plenty of other ways to exercise. I stopped going to the gym when Covid-19 hit and I went a good few months without any real exercise. Working from home and my job changing so that future would hold significantly less business travel, I needed to find an excuse to go out and exercise. Having previously loved motorcycling and not owned anything with two wheels for a few years, I took up road cycling. The gyms reopened and I've had no inclination to go back.
If you have a mountain bike, you could ride it and get fit but if you'd rather ride on the road a mountain bike will just feel frustrating; a road bike, for the same amount of effort, will get you further and traveling faster. Riding a mountain bike on the road or wearing baggy clothing to make cycling harder is a a fallacy, pushing 300 watts through your legs is the same whatever bike you're on, having the right bike and kit just means that for the watts you output and the calories you burn, you go further, faster and in my opinion, have more fun. If I remember correctly, don't you live in Newcastle? There's loads of great roads around here for cycling and no need to go out on massive all-day endurance rides, particularly since when you start you probably won't be able to do them anyway, but you can easily slot 30-60 minute cycling sessions into your life and if you have the mental motivation and fortitude to push hard, you will be able to get completely knackered and really work your hard in that time.
I can't help with your mental health troubles other than to say that exercising properly and regularly will probably help you. Getting fit and losing weight is just a matter of having the determination to eat right and exercise hard enough and often enough. Hitting some fitness and weight loss goals will probably help you feel better too, especially if you make some big cuts or even completely eliminate the booze. If you smoke or vape, you could consider packing that in too.
I understand your reluctance to run, I've always been too heavily built to be a good runner, but there are plenty of other ways to exercise. I stopped going to the gym when Covid-19 hit and I went a good few months without any real exercise. Working from home and my job changing so that future would hold significantly less business travel, I needed to find an excuse to go out and exercise. Having previously loved motorcycling and not owned anything with two wheels for a few years, I took up road cycling. The gyms reopened and I've had no inclination to go back.
If you have a mountain bike, you could ride it and get fit but if you'd rather ride on the road a mountain bike will just feel frustrating; a road bike, for the same amount of effort, will get you further and traveling faster. Riding a mountain bike on the road or wearing baggy clothing to make cycling harder is a a fallacy, pushing 300 watts through your legs is the same whatever bike you're on, having the right bike and kit just means that for the watts you output and the calories you burn, you go further, faster and in my opinion, have more fun. If I remember correctly, don't you live in Newcastle? There's loads of great roads around here for cycling and no need to go out on massive all-day endurance rides, particularly since when you start you probably won't be able to do them anyway, but you can easily slot 30-60 minute cycling sessions into your life and if you have the mental motivation and fortitude to push hard, you will be able to get completely knackered and really work your hard in that time.
I can't help with your mental health troubles other than to say that exercising properly and regularly will probably help you. Getting fit and losing weight is just a matter of having the determination to eat right and exercise hard enough and often enough. Hitting some fitness and weight loss goals will probably help you feel better too, especially if you make some big cuts or even completely eliminate the booze. If you smoke or vape, you could consider packing that in too.
Mastodon2 said:
If you've got to the point of feeling concerned about the amount you drink, it could be time to consider packing it. Despite the short-term feelings of relaxation and euphoria, it is a depressant that in the longer term will just lower your mood. As said by a poster above, you'll probably find that if you quit, your energy levels will increase and since you're not tipping a load of extra calories down your neck, you will find it a lot easier to manage your calories in vs calories used, which is the key to losing weight.
I understand your reluctance to run, I've always been too heavily built to be a good runner, but there are plenty of other ways to exercise. I stopped going to the gym when Covid-19 hit and I went a good few months without any real exercise. Working from home and my job changing so that future would hold significantly less business travel, I needed to find an excuse to go out and exercise. Having previously loved motorcycling and not owned anything with two wheels for a few years, I took up road cycling. The gyms reopened and I've had no inclination to go back.
If you have a mountain bike, you could ride it and get fit but if you'd rather ride on the road a mountain bike will just feel frustrating; a road bike, for the same amount of effort, will get you further and traveling faster. Riding a mountain bike on the road or wearing baggy clothing to make cycling harder is a a fallacy, pushing 300 watts through your legs is the same whatever bike you're on, having the right bike and kit just means that for the watts you output and the calories you burn, you go further, faster and in my opinion, have more fun. If I remember correctly, don't you live in Newcastle? There's loads of great roads around here for cycling and no need to go out on massive all-day endurance rides, particularly since when you start you probably won't be able to do them anyway, but you can easily slot 30-60 minute cycling sessions into your life and if you have the mental motivation and fortitude to push hard, you will be able to get completely knackered and really work your hard in that time.
I can't help with your mental health troubles other than to say that exercising properly and regularly will probably help you. Getting fit and losing weight is just a matter of having the determination to eat right and exercise hard enough and often enough. Hitting some fitness and weight loss goals will probably help you feel better too, especially if you make some big cuts or even completely eliminate the booze. If you smoke or vape, you could consider packing that in too.
Yeah I do think the drink is probably the most likely cause of a lot of my down days. I have certainly grown tired of feeling tired, ill, demotivated, lifeless at least every other day. I make no bones about it, I am probably on the alcoholism scale. Doing my second night off it now. At the very least, I need to entirely cut it out through the week, and on a weekend, I need to cut down as well. I've cut down before and felt a lot better. I know it works. As you say, it's one reason I can't seem to lose much weight despite having, for the most part, a relatively good diet. I've definitely become bored with drinking every night now, and if it's boring, what's the point? I need to be more mindful.I understand your reluctance to run, I've always been too heavily built to be a good runner, but there are plenty of other ways to exercise. I stopped going to the gym when Covid-19 hit and I went a good few months without any real exercise. Working from home and my job changing so that future would hold significantly less business travel, I needed to find an excuse to go out and exercise. Having previously loved motorcycling and not owned anything with two wheels for a few years, I took up road cycling. The gyms reopened and I've had no inclination to go back.
If you have a mountain bike, you could ride it and get fit but if you'd rather ride on the road a mountain bike will just feel frustrating; a road bike, for the same amount of effort, will get you further and traveling faster. Riding a mountain bike on the road or wearing baggy clothing to make cycling harder is a a fallacy, pushing 300 watts through your legs is the same whatever bike you're on, having the right bike and kit just means that for the watts you output and the calories you burn, you go further, faster and in my opinion, have more fun. If I remember correctly, don't you live in Newcastle? There's loads of great roads around here for cycling and no need to go out on massive all-day endurance rides, particularly since when you start you probably won't be able to do them anyway, but you can easily slot 30-60 minute cycling sessions into your life and if you have the mental motivation and fortitude to push hard, you will be able to get completely knackered and really work your hard in that time.
I can't help with your mental health troubles other than to say that exercising properly and regularly will probably help you. Getting fit and losing weight is just a matter of having the determination to eat right and exercise hard enough and often enough. Hitting some fitness and weight loss goals will probably help you feel better too, especially if you make some big cuts or even completely eliminate the booze. If you smoke or vape, you could consider packing that in too.
I am also not a born runner, short legs, and fairly stocky. I am not built for this, but I could entertain doing some intervals.
The mountain bike I got is one of those trail bikes designed for blasting down a mountain. I tried it once, and it is bloody hard work. I'm not really wanting to do road cycling though, too paranoid about people hooning about in cars
so possibly I need a hybrid really for a mix of streets and gravel tracks. The current one is completely overkill and very likely unsuitable, but I guess it would definitely keep me fit as going up hills on it was an absolute killer. The gears were playing up though and the chain got tangled and I ended up walking home in searing heat. That's put me off for a while!I think if I can cut down the drink, lose the flab (which does get me down), and get fit, I'm 99.9% sure I'll feel loads better
Joscal said:
Buy an ebike, seriously people may scoff but it’s great exercise if you want it to be with the added advantage of getting you outdoors to lift the spirits!
The biggest problem is price but it’s by far the best thing I’ve ever bought and worth every penny.
My mate has one and he gave me a go, they are fantastic, but expensive as you say. I'm trying not to spend too much due to the fact the Mrs is about to lose her job.The biggest problem is price but it’s by far the best thing I’ve ever bought and worth every penny.
Mastodon2 said:
If you have a mountain bike, you could ride it and get fit but if you'd rather ride on the road a mountain bike will just feel frustrating; a road bike, for the same amount of effort, will get you further and traveling faster. Riding a mountain bike on the road or wearing baggy clothing to make cycling harder is a a fallacy, pushing 300 watts through your legs is the same whatever bike you're on, having the right bike and kit just means that for the watts you output and the calories you burn, you go further, faster and in my opinion, have more fun.
But isn't part of it that you develop a different fitness and get stronger legs if you are creating more barriers to moving whether it's wearing baggier clothes, using a mountain bike or dragging a parachute. It's a different type of training. Otherwise, what's the point in having different loads/settings on my gym bike? Surely, I should just pedal on the lowest setting?Hoofy said:
But isn't part of it that you develop a different fitness and get stronger legs if you are creating more barriers to moving whether it's wearing baggier clothes, using a mountain bike or dragging a parachute. It's a different type of training. Otherwise, what's the point in having different loads/settings on my gym bike? Surely, I should just pedal on the lowest setting?
Pro cyclists have tried things like parachute training in the past, actually - looks kind of dangerous! That said, a cyclist of any discipline would almost certainly benefit from improving their fitness in a variety of efforts, whether it's fast and high cadence pedaling for fast flats, moderate cadence for "sweet spot" training to help raise their functional threshold power, hill climbing, or max power sprints etc.Changing the settings on an exercise bike allows you to recruit different muscle groups and work your aerobic and anerobic systems differently. if you're pushing really hard against a load of resistance at a low cadence (known as "grinding", as you may be aware), you will recruit a lot of slow twitch fibres for the effort. If you are doing max power sprint efforts, you'll recruit a lot of fast twitch fibres. Exercising in all of these ranges will help build neuromuscular pathways that make your efforts more effective and doing these exercises over a longer period will help develop these particular fibres and adapt your cardiovascular and anaerobic systems based on these efforts. In short, you get better at what you train at, but not all of these things are so useful on the road. Certainly, grinding seems to be quite out of fashion for hillclimbing now because for most people it feels like bloody hard work, most people seem to spin a bigger gear at a higher cadence to climb hills now.
That said, maybe mountainbike hillclimbing does rely on a lot of these extremely slow, stabbing efforts on the pedals, so maybe MTB riders do train that a lot - I only really keep up with road circles.
Regardless of what type of efforts you focus on, wearing baggy clothing or sitting bolt upright on a mountainbike won't make you fitter or stronger, it will just make you work harder to achieve the same speed. Consider a Mercedes G Wagen AMG and a McLaren F1, You could give them identical power outputs but the F1, with its aero shape and low drag coefficient, versus the brick-wall front end of a G Wagen, the F1 will always be faster. It's the same for a road bike versus a mountainbike; aero, rolling resistance and weight are all in favour for the road bike in terms of performance. Therefore. if you put both bikes and suitably attired riders side by side and they both 30 minutes of exercse at exactly 250 watts, the road bike will have gone further and held a higher average speed in that time (assuming neither rider used sub-optimal gears). The calories burned by both riders will be identical.
With that in mind, I mentioned road bikes for training if getting fit and losing weight is the goal, simply because everyone has roads on their doorstep and I find going fast to be fun. There are plenty of good places for mountain biking in Newcastle, where I believe OP lives, but if he lives in the city you have to drive into the countryside a bit to get to them. It's not far and doesn't take long, but it's another barrier to getting the exercise done when OP is already struggling with motivation. With road bikes, you just step out of your door, clip into the pedals and set off.
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