Get Fit: I want a folding vegetable.

[Tvtyrant]

Here it is on the day that I shaved it off. And here is a crappy bathroom mirror selfie I took five minutes ago showing where it's at now after some trimming and regrowth (as well as a little of my general physique at the moment). Let's pretend my expression doesn't make me look like a Neanderthal puzzled by the miracle of phone photography.

Dang you are handsome. I am totally jealous!

[Knaight]

And how the hell do you NOT have family members who refuse to eat vegetables or fruit!? I get that changing methods can work (I actually like brussel sprouts, but I bake them), but it only has limited success. Through I'm always open to new suggestions on vegetables.

I didn't have kids, and my brother and I grew with veggies as a normal thing. If they're made well and not presented as a gross thing to choke down they seem to go over well, at least from what I've seen (us, babysitting other people).

[Douglas]

What I would avoid is big commercial gyms, they tend to have sign up fees, their trainers cost a fortune, many of them rely on people not showing up to make a profit, and may even have policies to dissuade you from doing well (planet fitness for instance).

Just for curiosity, what are these policies at Planet Fitness?

I've been going to 24 Hour Fitness for a few months now, with 2/week 1 hour sessions with a personal trainer, and it's working well for me. There was a sign up fee, and the trainer does cost a substantial amount of money (about $80 per session), but I've learned much more about proper form than I think I ever could have from books or videos and eventually I shouldn't need him anymore, having learned the forms for all the exercises I intend to do.

[Tvtyrant]

Just for curiosity, what are these policies at Planet Fitness?

I've been going to 24 Hour Fitness for a few months now, with 2/week 1 hour sessions with a personal trainer, and it's working well for me. There was a sign up fee, and the trainer does cost a substantial amount of money (about $80 per session), but I've learned much more about proper form than I think I ever could have from books or videos and eventually I shouldn't need him anymore, having learned the forms for all the exercises I intend to do.

Stuff like the Lunk Alert, where if you put the weights down hard or breath too heavily/grunt from exertion the set off a little alarm on the wall. That basically kills heavy deadlifts or rows for instance.

It giving out free pizza, bagels, and candy and its commercials actively attack fit people.

[Comrade]

Stuff like the Lunk Alert, where if you put the weights down hard or breath too heavily/grunt from exertion the set off a little alarm on the wall. That basically kills heavy deadlifts or rows for instance.

It giving out free pizza, bagels, and candy and its commercials actively attack fit people.

Huh. I go to Planet Fitness myself and while there is a 'Lunk Alert' not once have I ever seen it actually go off, even though I've seen plenty of people who slammed weights and grunted so loud you could hear them from one end of the gym to the other. I assumed it was just for show. The only problem I've ever had going there is that at times the place is so crowded I can't use some of the machines I want to use, but that's probably an issue you'll run into at any large gym in a highly populated area.

[Tvtyrant]

Huh. I go to Planet Fitness myself and while there is a 'Lunk Alert' not once have I ever seen it actually go off, even though I've seen plenty of people who slammed weights and grunted so loud you could hear them from one end of the gym to the other. I assumed it was just for show. The only problem I've ever had going there is that at times the place is so crowded I can't use some of the machines I want to use, but that's probably an issue you'll run into at any large gym in a highly populated area.

I don't know from personal experience, I use the local aquatic center but I have heard horror stories from people who tried it. Unreasonably short time limits on machines, getting warnings for "hogging plates" when doing large amounts of weight, etc.

I actually miss just using the local highschool gym at night, I got to pick my own music and it was empty but for me and my workout partner (who is a teacher there.)

[Glass Mouse]

I had a parkour training session yesterday. It was fun, but so so SO hard. I've never before had my body just... give up. Like, I literally could not do another pushup, no matter how much I tried. It feels kinda good to push myself, though.

Also, I'm apparently capable of doing a wall handstand! I did not know my body could do that!

... But the weight thing is back on, with a vengeance, because damn it'd be nice not having to lug 10-ish kg of fat around when jumping over stuff.

As for dining out, get into the habit of taking half home. The price of food at a restaurant becomes more reasonable if you spread it across two meals, or just get a salad instead of fries. (Or split the fries and a side salad if the two of you have a great deal of trust with each other). Toss out the drink as most if you can, since restaurants just don't offer many good drinks.

It's always fun to read about different restaurant cultures.

I don't have any gym recommendations other than to go out of your way to make it easy and fun to go there. If you can team up with a friend, absolutely do that. If there's a gym on your way from home, seriously consider that one over other gyms. Sign up for a class that sounds fun rather than one that sounds effective. Carve out time to reward yourself afterwards (I make a smoothie after running, but you could also do a shower, watch an episode of a TV show, anything to look forward to, so you build up a pavlovian response of gym --> neat thing). Fit it into preexisting habits instead of trying to change your life around the gym.

Here it is on the day that I shaved it off. And here is a crappy bathroom mirror selfie I took five minutes ago showing where it's at now after some trimming and regrowth (as well as a little of my general physique at the moment). Let's pretend my expression doesn't make me look like a Neanderthal puzzled by the miracle of phone photography.

I know you're missing your old beard and all, but I just wanna chime in and mention that the new, neater beard looks fiiiiiine

[Tvtyrant]

I had a parkour training session yesterday. It was fun, but so so SO hard. I've never before had my body just... give up. Like, I literally could not do another pushup, no matter how much I tried. It feels kinda good to push myself, though.

Also, I'm apparently capable of doing a wall handstand! I did not know my body could do that!

... But the weight thing is back on, with a vengeance, because damn it'd be nice not having to lug 10-ish kg of fat around when jumping over stuff.

Did you hit the wall or was it muscle limits?

[Glass Mouse]

Did you hit the wall or was it muscle limits?

I had to look up "hitting the wall" and I'm not sure I've ever experienced it. This time it was definitely muscle limits and exhaustion - I tried to do the exercises that I had successfully done an hour earlier, but I just... couldn't. I wasn't strong enough.

The frustrating thing is that my body was hurting SO MUCH for three days that I couldn't even bike anywhere (nor sleep, which was worse). Seems like a bad tradeoff?

Do you guys have any advice on getting through a training programme that's above your skill levels? Just take it easier? Because I could definitely be less enthusiastic next time.

[Cozzer]

Since it was parkour, I sort of assumed you were talking about actually hitting an actual wall...

[Glass Mouse]

Since it was parkour, I sort of assumed you were talking about actually hitting an actual wall...

Right. Now, THERE'S a feeling I've become intimately familiar with

[Spore]

I am fat. Source: mirror. About 105kg on 190cm (if you want freedom units, do them yourself please). My build is a bit broader than normal. Current measurements are 110/110/110cm so quite literally a walking closet. I don't have a sedentary work, I work behind a counter, but mostly standing and occasionally walking - in front of sweets. In short I work as a bakery sales assistant. When I work a few hours I get CRAVINGS, like insanely. I don't like sports, and especially not sweating and being seeing doing them. I like swimming (got a bit of a body image issue now with it) and biking (need to get a bike) so the latter is probably the best idea (almost no snow in winters here).

What do you suggest? I want to redo my diet first of all because I mainly eat processed food, too large portions and snacks.

I like:
+ nuts
+ bakery stuff (carbs I know)
+ greenery (discovered a bag of fava beans is enough as a lunch for me)
+ drinking water, though I have discovered juice spritzers reduce my cravings for sugar (probs because the premade ones contain way too much juice)
+ on the bad side, it's chips/crisps, chips/french fries, burgers, pizza, pasta, basically fatty carbs. I have an insane craving for that.

I dislike:
- major prep work for food
- wasting food (I simply can't stop when I am full. I can only stop when the plate is empty and I can reheat left overs)

I sleep either too long (late shifts, 8-10 hours, from 2am to 10am) or too short (early shifts, 4-6 hours 11/12am-4am) and generally feel really powerless on lazy weekend days (often conjuring up the energy to go outside to shop for groceries late afternoon). I might also have some kind of issue with my thyroid keeping me down, but when you sit around playing PbP games all day no wonder my circulation doesn't wake up.

Suggestions that are sustainable?

[Tvtyrant]

I had to look up "hitting the wall" and I'm not sure I've ever experienced it. This time it was definitely muscle limits and exhaustion - I tried to do the exercises that I had successfully done an hour earlier, but I just... couldn't. I wasn't strong enough.

The frustrating thing is that my body was hurting SO MUCH for three days that I couldn't even bike anywhere (nor sleep, which was worse). Seems like a bad tradeoff?

Do you guys have any advice on getting through a training programme that's above your skill levels? Just take it easier? Because I could definitely be less enthusiastic next time.

Especially with parkour I imagine there is some DOMS going on, as you are in essence doing a full body workout. You probably shouldn't ever start a new excercise full blast as an adult due to injury (words to live by, seriously) but you might try at 75% and see if you get the same kind of soreness. If you do then dial it back more.

I am fat. Source: mirror. About 105kg on 190cm (if you want freedom units, do them yourself please). My build is a bit broader than normal. Current measurements are 110/110/110cm so quite literally a walking closet. I don't have a sedentary work, I work behind a counter, but mostly standing and occasionally walking - in front of sweets. In short I work as a bakery sales assistant. When I work a few hours I get CRAVINGS, like insanely. I don't like sports, and especially not sweating and being seeing doing them. I like swimming (got a bit of a body image issue now with it) and biking (need to get a bike) so the latter is probably the best idea (almost no snow in winters here).

What do you suggest? I want to redo my diet first of all because I mainly eat processed food, too large portions and snacks.

I like:
+ nuts
+ bakery stuff (carbs I know)
+ greenery (discovered a bag of fava beans is enough as a lunch for me)
+ drinking water, though I have discovered juice spritzers reduce my cravings for sugar (probs because the premade ones contain way too much juice)
+ on the bad side, it's chips/crisps, chips/french fries, burgers, pizza, pasta, basically fatty carbs. I have an insane craving for that.

I dislike:
- major prep work for food
- wasting food (I simply can't stop when I am full. I can only stop when the plate is empty and I can reheat left overs)

I sleep either too long (late shifts, 8-10 hours, from 2am to 10am) or too short (early shifts, 4-6 hours 11/12am-4am) and generally feel really powerless on lazy weekend days (often conjuring up the energy to go outside to shop for groceries late afternoon). I might also have some kind of issue with my thyroid keeping me down, but when you sit around playing PbP games all day no wonder my circulation doesn't wake up.

Suggestions that are sustainable?

The easiest suggestion would be to make it a rule you only eat foods you cook from scratch on weekdays. I hated cooking before I started my diet as well, but the advantages are many.
1. You know exactly what is going into your body.
2. You can't give into cravings, as you will have to take the time to do food prep. By the end of which you are usually over the craving.
3. You can't indulge in sugary drinks.

The second easiest suggestion is that you should get up at the same time everyday where possible. Sleeping too little on somedays and then recovering on others makes you more tired everyday.

Thirdly, the easiest ways to develop excercise habits for the long term are either to get a partner or incorporate it into your routine. The former means get a friend, hopefully one who likes the gym or excercise more then you, and rely on each other to keep you honest. Set up a weekly schedule that takes up a measly few hours a week and give those hours up for the gym god. Otherwise you can incorporate it into your routine, biking or running to work each day.

Lastly/fourthly you may have sugar addiction problems, blood sugar/insuline problems, and/or hormonal problems influencing your exhaustion and food cravings. You should consult a doctor about the latter two, then if they don't find anything do keto for a month and see if kicking carbs helps (it did for me).

[Spore]

The easiest suggestion would be to make it a rule you only eat foods you cook from scratch on weekdays. I hated cooking before I started my diet as well, but the advantages are many.

I don't hate cooking just washing up and coming up with recipes when I am actually buying groceries. My recipe list of known stuff is rather short and include some very elaborate dinners (gyros with rice and sour cream and salad, which is entirely too much work for a single person).

So I would need a source for recipes first.

1. You know exactly what is going into your body.
2. You can't give into cravings, as you will have to take the time to do food prep. By the end of which you are usually over the craving.
3. You can't indulge in sugary drinks.

The second easiest suggestion is that you should get up at the same time everyday where possible. Sleeping too little on somedays and then recovering on others makes you more tired everyday.

What is your stance on fruit? Got half a water melon and seedless grapes in my fridge. Both are packed with fructose. As for sleeping, well, if my boss would actually stay in her shifts for once...well, waking up at 4-6am after a shift that ends at 11 pm is ... well terrible. Would you suggest keeping the length of sleep equal or the time of waking up?

Thirdly, the easiest ways to develop excercise habits for the long term are either to get a partner or incorporate it into your routine. The former means get a friend, hopefully one who likes the gym or excercise more then you, and rely on each other to keep you honest. Set up a weekly schedule that takes up a measly few hours a week and give those hours up for the gym god. Otherwise you can incorporate it into your routine, biking or running to work each day.

Part of why I am so bloated is my current social circle. Almost all friends have sedentary hobbies (D&D, drinking, going out for food) and my roomie is on the ADHS/depressed side so he doesn't leave the house very much. I can at least try to cook with him tho.

Lastly/fourthly you may have sugar addiction problems, blood sugar/insuline problems, and/or hormonal problems influencing your exhaustion and food cravings. You should consult a doctor about the latter two, then if they don't find anything do keto for a month and see if kicking carbs helps (it did for me).

Blood sugar definitely is a problem sometimes. I had a few issues from my teenaged years: My grandma was convinced by a 3k Euros alternative medicine guru that I had a stomach fungus that lives on sugar and causes my allergies. So I stopped eating sugar for 1,5 years after which my mom lifted the ban. Ever since I have been wired to stuff like gummy bears and coke (though I could ditch the cola, sugar addiction is real for me).

Yea, I looked into keto but MAN, there is almost nothing without carbs.

[Tvtyrant]

I don't hate cooking just washing up and coming up with recipes when I am actually buying groceries. My recipe list of known stuff is rather short and include some very elaborate dinners (gyros with rice and sour cream and salad, which is entirely too much work for a single person).

So I would need a source for recipes first.




What is your stance on fruit? Got half a water melon and seedless grapes in my fridge. Both are packed with fructose. As for sleeping, well, if my boss would actually stay in her shifts for once...well, waking up at 4-6am after a shift that ends at 11 pm is ... well terrible. Would you suggest keeping the length of sleep equal or the time of waking up?



Part of why I am so bloated is my current social circle. Almost all friends have sedentary hobbies (D&D, drinking, going out for food) and my roomie is on the ADHS/depressed side so he doesn't leave the house very much. I can at least try to cook with him tho.



Blood sugar definitely is a problem sometimes. I had a few issues from my teenaged years: My grandma was convinced by a 3k Euros alternative medicine guru that I had a stomach fungus that lives on sugar and causes my allergies. So I stopped eating sugar for 1,5 years after which my mom lifted the ban. Ever since I have been wired to stuff like gummy bears and coke (though I could ditch the cola, sugar addiction is real for me).

Yea, I looked into keto but MAN, there is almost nothing without carbs.

Cookbooks are dirt cheap secondhand, and if you are interested in keto Atkins' book includes a recipe section. Not knowing you personally I can only make some generic suggestions, but most of my diet is based around egg dishes, veggie soup, and varying slabs of meat.

Fruit is... Complicated. These days I spend a lot of time doing nutritional comparisons, and very few of the popular fruits are worth it vitamin to sugar wise. There are antioxidents though, which I haven't studied enough to know what is best.

As far as I can tell, Vitamin A, C and Potassium are the major vitamins you want fruit for. Vitamin C can be taken care of with cabbage, which is better for you then oranges, vitamin A is pretty easy to hit. It is Potassium you aren't getting enough of, and likely won't be regardless of diet. The government suggests 4,700mg of Potassium a day, which is very nearly impossible. The only food in the world that has it in amounts sufficient to reach that goal is apricots, which have more then twice what Bannanas do, have less sugar and more vitamin content overall. Also they cost more.

My TLDR for fruit is look at the nutritional labels, and avoid most fruits. Blueberries, apricots and grapefruit are the best fruits but they still pack in the sugar.

I have been there friend wise. You could look up a workout partner on meetup or craigslist, or integrate daily walks and cardio in. A daily step program is great for weight loss, aiming for 6,000 steps and working up to 10,000. I did that for my first 30 pounds lost. Cycling to work is great if you feel safe to do it, Glass Mouse has had a lot of success there I believe. Once you start eating better and excercising more you will feel better, and thus more inclined to do more.

Keto is a lot of work. I have been doing it for 14 months, it takes time to get used to reaching for eggs and bacon in the morning instead of cereal and eating nuts instead of sweets. I have lost 125lbs so far, so as far as I am concerned it works, but it is a lot of work.

If you have blood sugar or sugar addiction problems it can be useful short term to break your chemical addiction, then deliberatly make a new diet. Adding in Oatmeal for breakfast, whole grain bread with lunch, brown rice with curry for dinner, etc.

The biggest things for losing weight are picking things you don't openly hate (you will not keep doing them) and realizing that the way you live now is unsustainable. Which means you aren't going to get to go back to eating sweets and premade food as a regular part of life once you lose 50lbs. The changes you make to your lifestyle need to be permanent, and you have to know that going in.

Edit: Sorry for the small book :P

[Glass Mouse]

Especially with parkour I imagine there is some DOMS going on, as you are in essence doing a full body workout. You probably shouldn't ever start a new excercise full blast as an adult due to injury (words to live by, seriously) but you might try at 75% and see if you get the same kind of soreness. If you do then dial it back more.

I'm learning so many new workout terms here - I didn't even realize that the pain had a name, nor that it was apparently so poorly understood by the medical community. Thank you, wiki.
Anyway, yeah, it's 100% DOMS, which I can deal with, but not to this degree. I'll try to chill out. It's just hard to gauge when it's all so strength based. With cardio at least I know roughly what levels of exhaustion are gonna translate to what levels of DOMS. Comes with experience, I guess.

I'll dial it back and pretend like it doesn't hurt my feelings to be the only person in the group not able to keep up

(I wonder if I know someone who I can rope into coming along as a fellow newbie...)

Cycling to work is great if you feel safe to do it, Glass Mouse has had a lot of success there I believe. Once you start eating better and excercising more you will feel better, and thus more inclined to do more.

I hear the siren call of my people. Well, the bike bell of my people, but same thing, really.

I'll heartily second the biking to work thing. Or walking to wherever you have within walking distance. Moving your body as part of a daily routine is a great way to build up some strength and endurance without ever feeling like you're doing a "workout" (and without getting drenched in sweat in front of other people, which, I SO FEEL YOU ON THAT). Making an effort to always take the stairs falls in the same category. It really does make a difference when starting from scratch.

As for the sedentary friends, how do you feel about light hiking trips? They're great for people who don't have any sports skills, and they attract people who DO have sport skills who you can befriend. Plus, it's super easy to organize and invite friends to.

Meetup.com is also a great place to meet people. I know my city has at least one running group and one "go into nature and do stuff" group. Maybe worth checking out?

[DemonicAngel]

Hey guys, so i realized i need some flexibility training to go with my strength training because calling me "stiff" is a bit of an understatement.
if anybody has any good suggestions for any nice routines that are available online, preferably fo free, that would be great!

[caden_varn]

I'll heartily second the biking to work thing. Or walking to wherever you have within walking distance. Moving your body as part of a daily routine is a great way to build up some strength and endurance without ever feeling like you're doing a "workout" (and without getting drenched in sweat in front of other people, which, I SO FEEL YOU ON THAT). Making an effort to always take the stairs falls in the same category. It really does make a difference when starting from scratch.

Thirded. Cycling to work is a good way to bake exercise into your daily routine. When you have exercise as an extra activity, it is easy to drop a session as you are feeling tired etc. - if you do it as part of your commute it is much easier to keep going once you have established the routine - after all, you still need to get to work.
If it is too far to cycle the whole way, you can always try driving part of the way with the bike in the car then cycling the rest.

When I moved from driving to cycling I was not particularly trying to lose weight, but I still lost a fair bit by the time I built up to cycling every day.
Picking up good wet weather gear for the winter is a must though (at least in the UK )

[Glass Mouse]

If it is too far to cycle the whole way, you can always try driving part of the way with the bike in the car then cycling the rest.

Good point. The last 3 km to work are uphill for me, and so I take the train for that stretch to avoid being super sweaty by the time I arrive. Then I just bike the 8 km home. It still adds up to 13 km a day, which is decent.

If you need to "cheat" in order to actually do the thing, that's still vastly superior to doing nothing. The best exercise is the one you actually do.

[Iruka]

Yay, progress all around!

I had a parkour training session yesterday. It was fun, but so so SO hard. I've never before had my body just... give up. Like, I literally could not do another pushup, no matter how much I tried. It feels kinda good to push myself, though.

Also, I'm apparently capable of doing a wall handstand! I did not know my body could do that!

... But the weight thing is back on, with a vengeance, because damn it'd be nice not having to lug 10-ish kg of fat around when jumping over stuff.

Parkour is definitely on my list of things to try, it looks like so much fun and exactly the kind of fitness I am going for. There is even a group here at the university, I'd just need to work up the nerve to talk to them.

I know you're missing your old beard and all, but I just wanna chime in and mention that the new, neater beard looks fiiiiiine

Dang you are handsome. I am totally jealous!

Seconded on the overall handsomness and especially that neat beard.

Glad to here that everything is going well!

I am currently 308 pounds, down from 318 July 1. Still on target of 5-10lbs a month, in one month I should finally be below 300 pounds. For the first time since I was a teenager, so that is a thing.

Current me:

Spoiler

Show

Summer beard.

Awesome progress! Beard looks good on you, have you thought about keeping it?


I have finally participated in a running event, 12 km distance. Went quite well, despite the heat. I could probably have gone for a higher speed, since I still had enough energy left for the finish sprint that some douche started and felt barely sore the following days.

Neglected the push-ups, so I'm trying to get the number of reps back up to 50. I could however do a diamond push-up for the first time.
Chin-ups now feel really easy for the first few reps, couldn't push the max beyond ten so far.

[Knaight]

Good point. The last 3 km to work are uphill for me, and so I take the train for that stretch to avoid being super sweaty by the time I arrive. Then I just bike the 8 km home. It still adds up to 13 km a day, which is decent.

I feel you there. Commute hills can be a terrible thing, though the last 8 km of my ride being hilly (with three monster hills in particular) has led to me getting a lot better at hill riding. I still cheat as much of the first 16 km as possible, given bus conditions. Considering that I do this biking more because it's how I get around than anything else, and how it still probably works out to 20 km a day on average I don't feel too bad about that.

[Tvtyrant]

Yay, progress all around!

Parkour is definitely on my list of things to try, it looks like so much fun and exactly the kind of fitness I am going for. There is even a group here at the university, I'd just need to work up the nerve to talk to them.

Awesome progress! Beard looks good on you, have you thought about keeping it?


I have finally participated in a running event, 12 km distance. Went quite well, despite the heat. I could probably have gone for a higher speed, since I still had enough energy left for the finish sprint that some douche started and felt barely sore the following days.

Neglected the push-ups, so I'm trying to get the number of reps back up to 50. I could however do a diamond push-up for the first time.
Chin-ups now feel really easy for the first few reps, couldn't push the max beyond ten so far.

They are probably chipper and friendly, what with all of the endorphines they get from running. Go do it today!

IDK I feel kind of scruffy. I will certainly keep it for the time being, I am too lazy to shave it off.

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...807_091810.jpg

Woah nice job on the run!

Why chinups over pullups?

[Vinyadan]

[caden_varn]

I feel you there. Commute hills can be a terrible thing, though the last 8 km of my ride being hilly (with three monster hills in particular) has led to me getting a lot better at hill riding. I still cheat as much of the first 16 km as possible, given bus conditions. Considering that I do this biking more because it's how I get around than anything else, and how it still probably works out to 20 km a day on average I don't feel too bad about that.

It's also something you can build up to as you get fitter. When I started, I aimed to do at least one day a week cycling and built up from there over a few years as my fitness and willpower improved. I'm also lucky enough to have showers at work (although maybe it is more accurate to say my coworkers are lucky ) - the last place didn't, which was a pain in wet conditions as half my route is off-road on dirt tracks.

[Iruka]

They are probably chipper and friendly, what with all of the endorphines they get from running. Go do it today!

IDK I feel kind of scruffy. I will certainly keep it for the time being, I am too lazy to shave it off.

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...807_091810.jpg

Woah nice job on the run!

Why chinups over pullups?

I found out they have a free introductory walk-in thing once a month. I'll check it out at the next opportunity.

No point in keeping it if it makes you feel uncomfortable, but lookswise definitely worth a shot. I know several young gentlemen who would envy you for the beard growth.

Several reasons: Pull-ups are much harder for me, so I sometimes do a few single reps. I try to build up strength with the chin-ups. Got me from 'now way I can do this' to two mediocre form reps.
I like that the chin-ups target the biceps more, since the other bodyweight stuff I do doesn't do much for it.
All the bars I have available around here have only rather narrow space on the sides. Good pull-ups means bumping my elbows into something.

[Knaight]

It's also something you can build up to as you get fitter. When I started, I aimed to do at least one day a week cycling and built up from there over a few years as my fitness and willpower improved. I'm also lucky enough to have showers at work (although maybe it is more accurate to say my coworkers are lucky ) - the last place didn't, which was a pain in wet conditions as half my route is off-road on dirt tracks.

Though it depends on your work. If you work manual labor of varying difficulty and varying shift length (which I do, event work can be weird that way, particularly the tiny sub-industry I'm in) the bike ride itself can vary a lot in what it takes out of you. With an office job it would be a total non-issue, but after an 18 hour shift of physical work those 15 miles start looking intimidating.

[Tvtyrant]

For the cyclers out there: how do you sit on a bicycle seat for hours without hurting your butt? I use the chair seated ones at the gym, even when I was on middle school and cycled all over town I stood most of the time.

[paddyfool]

A) Your butt adapts
B) Some cycle seats are much more comfortable than others
C) Some cycling shorts come with extra padding

[robnar]

For the cyclers out there: how do you sit on a bicycle seat for hours without hurting your butt? I use the chair seated ones at the gym, even when I was on middle school and cycled all over town I stood most of the time.

As far as I know, you don't. You just get used to it. A good seat, proper bike set-up for your frame, and the padded bicycle underpants can minimize the pain, but when you're just getting into it you will go through some periods where your butt hurts enough to make you hesitant to climb back on the seat. I find that when I'm cycling regularly the amount I of time I can bike and the number of days in a row that I can bike until my butt starts really hurting increases, but I always get some butt pain. Once you get acclimated it will still be there but it won't bother you or worry you, it will just be a normal amount of suck.

I've done some long distance touring and I found that right around day three or four climbing back on the seat becomes an act of will. I got past it each time after about day 6. In addition, at one of my jobs I had a 30km bike each way to work. The morning bike was fine, but the afternoon trip took some willpower.

Oh, BTW, Hi! I'm robnar. I've been following this thread for a while and I find your stories and progress very inspiring. I'm in shape, but as I get older I find it takes more and more effort to stay that way. I'm working hard enough to keep what I have and improve a little - yall who are changing your life for the better and making great improvements are doing something amazing. Good job @Tvtyrant, Comrade, Glass Mouse, et al.

[Eldan]

Proper shorts really are important. Not just that they are padded. But you really need something without any seams or pockets down there.