Emi inspired running/workout

A forum for general discussion of the game: Open to all punters


User avatar
gRaViJa
Posts: 297
Joined: Sun Feb 05, 2012 5:02 pm

Re: Emi inspired running/workout

Post by gRaViJa »

Hey man, great to read you are changing your lifestyle! We are all here to cheer for you ;) If you feel like you're ready for it, you can join us at Fitocracy where we all post about our exercises and stats (there's a Katawa Shoujo group).

I feel little depressed today btw, a friend of mine who said he would go fitnessing with me this summer, dropped out. I don't like going to a fitness centre on my own, but i do want to do some kind of sport again this summer, even if it's just to occupy me during a 3 months summer vacation. (I only planned a trip to Barcelona and a 4-days music festival, i have no idea what else i should do during the summer at this point lol). So, i'm thinking about either going to that fitness centre alone (and pay a lot of money for it) or join this athletics club that keeps practicing during summer break(but they probably go hardcore fast lol + it's pretty far away from where I live). What do you guys think i should do?
Emi's Couch to 5k
Completed!
6k personal record: 29m07
5k personal record: 27m48
1 mile personal record: 6m59

100 push-up challenge
Week 7: 25/25/25/25
User avatar
ook
Posts: 63
Joined: Tue Feb 21, 2012 10:17 pm
Location: Illinois

Re: Emi inspired running/workout

Post by ook »

gRaViJa wrote:
jmeks wrote:There's 65+ pages so this has probably been mentioned, but how do you guys go through with this without someone like Emi to help push you haha

I find myself wanting to do this, but thinking about having to do it alone as opposed to with a partner (let alone a cute girl like Emi) seems impossible. Even Hisao says in the story he most likely wouldn't have done any of that if not for her.

What are some of your inspirations guys?
Just start running and after a while you'll feel motivated enough to keep running. This thread and the Fitocracy group is an inspiration as well. If you have a certain goal, like competing in a 5k running competition, that will help too.

I have a friend running with me once in a while, but i would keep running just the same if she would stop.
This is kind of a late reply (I haven't had internet for a few days), but I just wanted to say that this is true. My initial inspiration (or infatuation) to run from finishing KS has long worn off, but if you make the most of it while it lasts and just start running, you'll form some habits to keep you going later.


---

Good stuff Gandara, I'm looking forward to seeing your progress, as I am also of the 300+ lb variety. (well, I WAS, 4 months ago before I started playing KS. But no longer :D I've lost about 40 pounds so far. it IS possible, as you say.)
I don't know if you've seen the Couch to 5k with Emi (it's on the first post of this thread), but if you haven't, I would reccomend running using that schedule. It has you running just 3 times a week, which I know when you're starting out you want to run as much as possible, but it's really best to take a day of rest so you don't get overuse injuries. Especially since you're so heavy. I was 325 when I started and the couch to 5k program was fine though. Good luck and keep going.

I would also reccomend doing some pushups/pullups/other resistance training to keep up your muscles while you're losing weight. There was a chart somewhere that someone posted of different variations of bodyweight exercises to make them easier or harder but I can't find it right now.


It's cool to see all these new people starting exercise in this thread.


During my run yesterday I saw a dude I used to know back in high school.
"Lookin' good man!" he said :D and it made me feel badass. Thanks guys
KamiKat

Re: Emi inspired running/workout

Post by KamiKat »

Since playing through Emi's route I decided that I'd get back into running: months later after losing a lot of weight through strict dieting, I feel confident enough to go outside in jogging gear. I started the couch-to-5k plan today - the Emi version was the kick I needed! I wish I had a running partner, though.
User avatar
Gandara
Posts: 196
Joined: Tue May 22, 2012 3:24 pm
Location: Milwaukee, WI

Re: Emi inspired running/workout

Post by Gandara »

@ gRaViJa

Well, depending on what level of athletics you're looking to get into, you've got a lot of options. There's plenty of small sports clubs that meet and play all kinds of places - the first thing that popped into my mind would be things like softball, baseball or volleyball leagues. You can find information about them and possibly sign up for one at places like fitness centers, businesses, recreational centers or churches. There might even be bulletin boards at these sorts of establishments with easy to find information about leagues and sign-up. I'm sure there may be people at these leagues who don't take them -as- seriously, but if you work in some warm-ups and really give it a good shot, you can make a great workout out of even pseudo-casual games like these.

As for fitness centers, it's a pain to go alone to be sure. Do you have any other friends who may be more inclined to join you? Maybe a family member or good friend has a membership already and can get some sort of guest pass or get you included on their plan for cheaper rates. Alternatively, I know a lot of places will offer cheap first-month rates with no commitment, so you could always play the system and just go to three different gyms for one month each while paying fractionally what you normally would. =P

Barring that, just stay motivated. Do you have a local rec center? My brother lives a town over, and lives within walking distance of a nice center with a full pool (not olympic-sized I don't believe) and saunas. It's not the same as a full fitness center but it's something to consider.
Diet / Exercise Tracker:
Original weight (1/1/12): 400 lbs. // Target weight: ??? lbs. // Current (1/28/13): 344 lbs. // Total lost: 56 lbs.
Current exercise: Workout 3-4x a week: jogging, weights
"Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies." - Andy Dufresne, "The Shawshank Redemption"
User avatar
Akros
Posts: 149
Joined: Tue Apr 24, 2012 5:23 am

Re: Emi inspired running/workout

Post by Akros »

Gandara wrote: ....
It's always nice to see someone new around here :D
Your goals sure are ambitious, but no matter what, if you really set your mind and body to it you will surely achive them.
Just keep in your mind that this is nothing but good for you, so there's nothing to worry about. Many of us (myself included) have started to work out after playing the game, so remember you are not alone :D
Swimming will surely do you good, but why don't you try something like cycling too? or maybe light jogging if you don't think you can manage de 5K program, but you should give it a try, just set a right pace for you. Anyway, nutrition is really important, so even if you plan to loose that much weight remember to eat properly, just check the amounts, we don't want you dying out there.
BTW joined Fitocracy.com, just like gravija told me. It's really useful, it'll let you keep track of everything that you do, so you can check your progress.

@gravija you coming to Spain? Enjoy your stay then, but just a piece of advice, if you are going to Barcelona watch out for pickpockets, and people just wandering in the Ramblas, that's how things are in there.
Couch to 5k with Emi progress: Done!!!
W1D123 W2D123 W3D123 W4D123 W5D123
W6D123 W7D123 W8D123 W9D123
100 push-up challenge : In progress -> W3D12 Last time: 10/12/8/8/14 :P
User avatar
Enemy |
Posts: 469
Joined: Fri Apr 27, 2012 8:58 pm
Location: Brazil

Re: Emi inspired running/workout

Post by Enemy | »

I'm gonna start this probably next week,though I have a few questions

The guide to 5k mentions both walking and jogging. Usually, when I'm on the treadmill, I go at a regular speed of 5.5~6km/h, and that gets me a little bit tired. Any input on the speed I should use for these?
I figure jogging would have to be 6.5+ km/h, but what about the walking part? Should it be fast-paced or should I basically use it as a rest (less than 5, I'd guess). I'm also probably gonna have to look up on some stretching guides here and there, sometimes my legs would hurt while I was on the treadmill.
User avatar
Gandara
Posts: 196
Joined: Tue May 22, 2012 3:24 pm
Location: Milwaukee, WI

Re: Emi inspired running/workout

Post by Gandara »

By the by, thanks for the invite to the "Fitocracy" group. I didn't know this was a thing - seems like a great way to keep track of my activity. I just joined up.

As far as the invite to participate in the "Couch to 5k with Emi" program is concerned, I appreciate the proposition but I must pass for the time being. In my condition, I am not comfortable starting a running / jogging routine that's anything but sporadic. I may change my mind on this, but I'd rather lose several more pounds before considering starting to run for reals. Unfortunately, for very heavy guys like myself, running puts a ton of stress on your knees and joints.

I want to, but I shouldn't. =/

On the plus side, I'm getting really antsy to get outside and go for walks now. I had to wait and "time" my walk today so I could swing by a coworker's place to chat for a few minutes. Between work and that, I was really yearning to go outside and get some exercise. I like my brain doing this now.
Last edited by Gandara on Tue May 22, 2012 10:10 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Diet / Exercise Tracker:
Original weight (1/1/12): 400 lbs. // Target weight: ??? lbs. // Current (1/28/13): 344 lbs. // Total lost: 56 lbs.
Current exercise: Workout 3-4x a week: jogging, weights
"Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies." - Andy Dufresne, "The Shawshank Redemption"
User avatar
gRaViJa
Posts: 297
Joined: Sun Feb 05, 2012 5:02 pm

Re: Emi inspired running/workout

Post by gRaViJa »

Enemy | wrote:I'm gonna start this probably next week,though I have a few questions

The guide to 5k mentions both walking and jogging. Usually, when I'm on the treadmill, I go at a regular speed of 5.5~6km/h, and that gets me a little bit tired. Any input on the speed I should use for these?
I figure jogging would have to be 6.5+ km/h, but what about the walking part? Should it be fast-paced or should I basically use it as a rest (less than 5, I'd guess). I'm also probably gonna have to look up on some stretching guides here and there, sometimes my legs would hurt while I was on the treadmill.
The speed isn't that important really, just go as fast as it's still more or less comfortable for you. At the end of the 5k program you should run 5k in 30 minutes, so that's an average of 10km/h. But you can start slower and build up your speed. For walking, you should keep some pace. (you'll find it more difficult to start running again if your heart rate went back to rest-state and you cooled down).
Emi's Couch to 5k
Completed!
6k personal record: 29m07
5k personal record: 27m48
1 mile personal record: 6m59

100 push-up challenge
Week 7: 25/25/25/25
User avatar
ZXRN
Posts: 255
Joined: Mon Mar 05, 2012 6:30 pm
Location: Philippines
Contact:

Re: Emi inspired running/workout

Post by ZXRN »

Althamus wrote:
ZXRN wrote:ooo damn, gotta get my game on. Feels like everybody here is beating me. Any other way to not feel tired quickly?
Make sure you fuel up proeprly. A lot of people overlook it, but eating the right foods, and partiocualrly eating something before you go out to give you energy while you run will really help. It makes a collossal difference to me having something like a piece of fruit or something 20-30 mins before I go out to exercise as it'll be just entering my blood stream as I start exercising.

And don't worry ^_^ We've got the rest of our lives to have the benefit from the exercise, there's no rush or race (despite what Emi'd say :P).

haha, I guess I should stop being lazy on making breakfast. I jog at 5.30am and our helper makes breakfast at 6.30. So I figured I'd just skip it and wait for lunch to lose more weight. Thanks for the tip though, I'll keep that in mind.

@Akros: I think I really do have that runner's high thing coz I actually enjoyed this day's morning jog. I made 1 km in 3min. and 55 sec. (I know it's not much from the previous one I made which was 4min. But I feel happy nonetheless.) At least I know i'm making progress little by little. And your right, I should just enjoy this instead of makin' it a comptetion. (I guess being a gamer makes me a little competitive in stuff like this.)
I'll do my best to be my Emiest.
User avatar
ZXRN
Posts: 255
Joined: Mon Mar 05, 2012 6:30 pm
Location: Philippines
Contact:

Re: Emi inspired running/workout

Post by ZXRN »

KamiKat wrote:Since playing through Emi's route I decided that I'd get back into running: months later after losing a lot of weight through strict dieting, I feel confident enough to go outside in jogging gear. I started the couch-to-5k plan today - the Emi version was the kick I needed! I wish I had a running partner, though.
Good work dood! yep, that same kick drived me out of my chair too and started jogging. Maybe you got some friend with you who'd be interested, so why not ask a bunch of people you know?

@gRaViJa: Why don't ya try that athletes club thingy? I think that'd be fun since it's less expensive and (hopefully) the people are friendly. Who knows, maybe you'd find a fast girl in there that's kinda like Emi. wahahaha~
I'll do my best to be my Emiest.
User avatar
Mirrormn
Posts: 431
Joined: Fri Mar 02, 2012 12:49 am

Re: Emi inspired running/workout

Post by Mirrormn »

Gandara wrote:Hey guys. Relatively new to the forums. I figured I'd post this here because... well, I'd rather not make a new topic, and this seemed to be the most fitting place to post it.

<snip>

tl;dr - I'm fat, but I'm working on it.
Hey man, I just wanted to tell you that I undertook a very similar lifestyle change about 20 months ago, starting from a similar weight. Today, I'm 215lbs and running 5k 3 times a week, and I feel and look so much better than I did 2 years ago. As long as you can dedicate yourself to your goal and not deviate from it, you will achieve the results you want. It's simply a matter of making your mind and self-discipline stronger than your cravings and laziness.

The first few weeks are the hardest, by far. Your body will expect the level of food intake its been experiencing for the entirety of your life, and it will punish you severely when it doesn't get it. You'll find yourself standing in the kitchen looking for food with no clear memory of deciding to go there. You'll be hungry... basically all the time. In fact, after eating, you'll probably feel full and hungry at the same time. You may find yourself fantasizing about food rather frequently when you're unable to eat it. Just remember, those cravings are never stronger than your conscious will. If you really want to not eat something, all you have to do is decide not to put it in your mouth, and there's nothing your bodily desires can do to override that decision. It's all your own responsibility in the end, and if you want to change yourself badly enough, you will do so.

After a few weeks, your body will get used to the lack of food... a little. You'll still be hungry all the time, but the hunger won't be as sharp, and you'll be able to ignore it mostly. Your tastes will change as you discover new foods that are more nutritious and filling, and learn to associate the eating of those foods with positive mental reinforcement. You'll become more confident in your ability to be around food without feeling the need to eat it, and you'll become less awkward at declining food when it's offered to you, especially when people who know you realize that you're serious about the new dietary habits you're exhibiting.

But it's not until a few months in that you'll experience your real motivation. You'll start to notice that your body doesn't quite look like it did before. Your clothes will become too loose to stay on your body and you'll have to buy smaller things. You'll begin to realize that you can do physical tasks that you couldn't do before: open a door at arm's length without it being blocked by your stomach, lean over to tie your shoes without squeezing the air out of your lungs, buckle the seatbelt in your car more easily, etc. Exercise will become easier as you shed pounds, as well. Your muscles will get stronger and at the same time will have less mass to move, so the brisk walking that tires you out now will become negligible. Two years ago, I used to find ways to avoid walking even short distances because I found it annoying; today, when I get home from work, I literally sprint as fast as I can across the apartment complex parking lot to the mailboxes to check my mail, just because I can and it feels good to prove that to myself.

After a long time, say a year or so, you'll come across an old picture of yourself, and you'll be absolutely shocked at how different you look. You may not be at your end goal at that point, but the realization that what people say about diet and exercise with regards to losing weight is actually true, and it works when you try to implement it, will evolve in your mind from a factual concept to a fundamental belief. At that point, I don't think there's any way to "relapse" to old habits. I can't even imagine eating like I did two years ago anymore; I would find it physically and mentally sickening to be that gluttonous. I'm now locked in to my new lifestyle and there's no way I'm changing it.

Now, a few minor things to note:
  • Get a countertop scale for your kitchen. There's no better way to carefully control your caloric intake than by precisely weighing everything you eat.
  • Don't worry too much about what you eat. Eating "healthy" is actually much much less important for weight loss than just eating less. For example, this nutrition professor lost 27lbs eating mostly twinkies with some nutritional supplements. If you really want to eat a big piece of chocolate cake, there's no reason not to... you just can't have anything else for lunch if you do. Likewise, if you want to eat at McDonalds, you can, you'll just probably have to limit yourself to a single small hamburger and no fries. You can even eat full meals at American restaurants with ridiculous portion sizes as long as you skip a meal before or afterwards.
  • Keep your weekly weigh-ins in an Excel spreadsheet so you can make a neat graph of your progress.
  • Set aside a large budget for clothes. You're going to have to replace your wardrobe several times if you're going from 400lbs to 220lbs.
  • Finally, whenever you make a decision about your diet or exercise, think about it in terms of something you will do for the rest of your life. If it's not something you're comfortable with committing to indefinitely, then just choose something easier. It's better to commit to a small goal and succeed at it than to try to change everything about yourself but fail. And anything you can't commit to forever is something you'll eventually fail to maintain.
Good luck with your endeavors... even though you won't need it!
Katawa Shoujo OST Transcriptions and Arrangements: Consolidated list

Katawa Shoujo Music Index and Table of Contents

Game completion: 100% several times over
Favorite route: Rin
Insights on Rin | Insights on Shizune
User avatar
Althamus
Posts: 315
Joined: Mon Jan 09, 2012 10:19 pm

Re: Emi inspired running/workout

Post by Althamus »

:D This topic is epic and the post count is OVER ONE THOUSAAAAAANNNNDDDDD ^_^

@Gandara, that's awesome ^_^ we're all here to cheer you on and keep you going, and it sounds like you've been doing pretty good yourself already :D

Also, good work to the other guys starting EC25K :D *Emifistbumpsallround*
The guide to 5k mentions both walking and jogging. Usually, when I'm on the treadmill, I go at a regular speed of 5.5~6km/h, and that gets me a little bit tired. Any input on the speed I should use for these?
Technically, jogging/running is just defined as both feet being off the floor at the same time, whereas walking has at least one foot down at once. Or something. I forget actually. I'd suggest walking at slightly slower speeds, and jogging at slightly faster speeds, and if you have trouble completing the routine, slow down both rates until you're comfortable, then slowly ramp them up again.

I'm a little annoyed atm. I went into a charity shop the other day, and they had a good quality second hand badminton racket for pretty cheap. I sadly didn't buy it at the time (no money on me), but figured that having a badminton racket again would be the push to start doing some sports again (used to enjoy badminton a lot). Sadly, ofc, when I went back it had gone.

Sadly also, my problems aren't really in the 'overweight' category, more the 'underweight, thin and weak' categories, and starting this new job, complete with 4 days a week basically standing on my feet, is tiring me out a lot more than normal. Especially the fact that I've worked the last 6 days in the last 7. I actually started getting dizzy spells at work yesterday after a particularly frantic period and needed to go sit down and recover because my energy levels were running too low. I know I can take lots of exercise and highly energy burning routines, but I need a bit of time for my cycle to spin up, and it's just been thrown from 0 to 60 overnight.
So yea, I've noticed my PU routine has been suffering a lot. Like, I'm having trouble doing the first set of 20 pushups, and struggle through the other 150 or whatever by sheer bloodymindedness rather than any actual sense of accompishment. I'm not sure what to do now, my options are to take a break or to radically ramp down my exercise for the next couple of weeks until I hopefully acclimatise (which sounds nice, since yesterday all I did was come home from work at 5:30, go to bed at 5:45, doze until 8:00, wake up, eat something, and go back to bed at 9:15 and sleep through), or try and put myself into a holding pattarn and sheer bloodymindedness push through and hope that I can make it out the other side.
Routes played: Emi (10/10), Shizune (6/10), Lilly (9/10), Hanako (9/10), Rin (7.5/10)
Emi > Hanako = Lilly > Rin > Shizune
"As long as you're still alive, you can keep going." ~ Emi

100 pushup challenge
MADE HER PROUD - Final exhaustion test: 101
User avatar
gRaViJa
Posts: 297
Joined: Sun Feb 05, 2012 5:02 pm

Re: Emi inspired running/workout

Post by gRaViJa »

You should rest for a few days and be sure you take in a lot of nutrition. if it doesn't improve, you should consider a doctor visit? But it's probably just because of your hectic period at your new job.
Emi's Couch to 5k
Completed!
6k personal record: 29m07
5k personal record: 27m48
1 mile personal record: 6m59

100 push-up challenge
Week 7: 25/25/25/25
User avatar
Althamus
Posts: 315
Joined: Mon Jan 09, 2012 10:19 pm

Re: Emi inspired running/workout

Post by Althamus »

Yea, resting up and eating a load was the side I was thinking of falling down on as well. Seems more sensible than pushing on and running the risk of making myself ill.

And I've been like this as long as I can remember. Gone to a few doctors about it in the past, and because there's nothing obviously wrong the kinder ones just kinda shrug their shoulders and say "Well, sucks to be you." The less kind ones make subtle comments about just getting up and getting on with things.
Routes played: Emi (10/10), Shizune (6/10), Lilly (9/10), Hanako (9/10), Rin (7.5/10)
Emi > Hanako = Lilly > Rin > Shizune
"As long as you're still alive, you can keep going." ~ Emi

100 pushup challenge
MADE HER PROUD - Final exhaustion test: 101
User avatar
mysterycycle
Posts: 194
Joined: Sun May 13, 2012 9:50 pm
Location: Silent Hill, USA

Re: Emi inspired running/workout

Post by mysterycycle »

Hey, welcome to all the new folks! Good to see Emi kicking more people's butts into gear. :D

So, I had kind of a weird experience this morning. All was well as I did my warm-up walk and stretches, but as soon as I started running, my legs felt sore in an unusual way - the best way I can describe it is "brittle." It felt as though my legs would give out if I pushed myself any harder, and they kinda hurt during the running segments. They stayed that way for the rest of my run/walk cycle, and throughout my cool-down stretches and walk. I took some Tylenol, so they feel fine now, but I'm wondering if anyone has any idea what that sensation might be about? I'd prefer it didn't happen again...
You are not alone, and you are not strange. You are you, and everyone has damage. Be the better person.
ImageImage
Couch to 5k with Emi: WD123 W2D123 W3D123 W4D123 W5D123 W6D123 W7D123 W8D123 W9D123
I'm making a Katawa Shoujo doujinshi!
My deviantArt
Post Reply