Questions re: Gym membership and/or excercise in general...

[pookie]

What about riding a mountain bike. I find running slow and boring. You never seem to get anywhere quick. Riding a push bike with some music can be therapeutic and has some exercise chucked in. I have a wii fit from santa this christmas so looking forward to having a laugh whilst burning calories

[Biker Biggles]

So many people join a gym with all the best of intentions,go a few times then stop,but have to keep paying for it under the contract terms.Its how gyms make their money.Theres some pretty sharp practice goes on around extracting money when you try to cancel your membership too.
If you just need activity to generate endorphins Id not touch a gym at all.Get out for a run,or even just a bit of hill walking(got a dog?)would do just as well and cost considerably less than a gym.

Anything you enjoy. Don't force yourself to do anything you find a chore, like the gym or running, or you just give up.

Road running I can't stand, but cross country I quite enjoy, especially if it requires concentration underfoot.

I quite like swimming. I like exploring country lanes and off road tracks by mountain bike too.

Hill walking is great exercise too and you have loads of opportunity to do that in Snowdonia. Good sense of achievement when you reach the summit and if you like being high up and having a good view, thats a reward too, I can spend an hour sitting at the top with a pair of binoculars a camera and a packed lunch. Then running back down can be a good laugh too, especially if you are racing somebody who took a different route. Dog loves it too.

All of the above (except perhaps the swimming) engage the brain in some way, I guess that might also be good for depression and feeling like you have got out and enjoyed yourself. Even swimming though it requires no thought, I still come out saying "well I enjoyed that", but thats just me.

Run. Either town or countryside. Watching the world go by running in town or watching the seasons change in the countryside. Can't beat it.

I agree with the ape man about listening to music whilst running. It's almost like a form of meditation.

[yorkie_chris]

Hillwalking or a martial art.

I'm posting this from work, so unable to really quote people unfortunately.

I fully appreciate what people are saying about the out-doors etc, that in itself could help. The only problem I see there is the weather at the moment would be something that would put me off.

I'm trying to give myself the best shot at doing something positive about my situation. The first thought is that I need to get out of the house, for which any of the suggestions in this thread would accomplish. It also needs to be something I can stick to pretty easily, and as Ralph rightly said, something I don't find a chore.

I've had a pretty long sit down & talk things through with my boss, mainly as I feel it's only right that they be informed of anything that could potentially affect performance in the office. I was aware before that the company will fund certain actions, for example part of the cost of gym membership.

I've now found out that despite the fact I haven't been to the doctors about these issues, work are happy to write off a couple of things as "medical expenses" without the need for a letter from the doc's. Essentially, they're happy to take my word for it.

Since I'm going to be given expenses, that gives a few options:
- I can arrange with HR for a cheque of up to £2k. This is for use in Halfords, to buy any bike I like, they just need to know the exact cost of the bike first, and Halfords also apply a discount of 20% to the ticket price due to the arrangement. The only caveat here, is that I have to pay the money back, by installments, without interest. That said, so long as I use the bike for 50% of my annual commute, I only pay back 75% of the cost of the bike. My commute is 6 miles, but I'm still very unsure about this option.
- As stated above, work will subsidise gym membership. This depends on which gym I go to as to how much they are willing to pay. It ranges from me paying nothing towards it, through to paying 50% of the cost of membership. As work pay part of it, work take the responsbility of cancelling the contract etc, so there's no problems there.

Due to the fact that it's winter, I can see the weather being a big factor in my motivation. That means I'm looking at something in-doors for now at least.

That, to my mind, leaves swimming, gym, or martial arts (this also falls under the blanket of being a "gym" by work definition, so the same rules apply there). I'm still undecided amognst them, but the gym is looking the favourite.

I'm also aware that as I'm trying to sort myself out without intervention of any medical professional, the situation will need some sort of objective review periodically. To that end, I've added a repeating event into a calendar which will prompt me to re-read this thread. Hopefully that'll help fulfil the objective review.

Thanks for all the input so far folks. Also thank you to the people that have sent me messages by means other than this thread - it's truly appreciated.

[fizzwheel]

Originally Posted by Baph

I can arrange with HR for a cheque of up to £2k. This is for use in Halfords, to buy any bike I like, they just need to know the exact cost of the bike first, and Halfords also apply a discount of 20% to the ticket price due to the arrangement. The only caveat here, is that I have to pay the money back, by installments, without interest. That said, so long as I use the bike for 50% of my annual commute, I only pay back 75% of the cost of the bike. My commute is 6 miles, but I'm still very unsure about this option.

2K buys an awful lot of pushbike and in my experience, if your halfords is just that and not a proper "bikehut" you're are going to struggle to spend all that. Also TBH as much of a gear snob as I am you dont need to spend all that money.

for your sort of commute I'd recommend you go with something road orientated, i.e. not an MTB, You've got two choices flat bars or drops, both will do what you want is just whether you feel like you'll get on with drop bars and only you will know that.

£500 ish is going to get something you can commute on and then take for longer rides at weekends should you get into cycling.

You want to factor in a helmet, pedals, shoes ( SPD is what I'd recommend to start with ) you'll want some kit, shorts, a top, a waterproof jacket, gloves that kind of stuff to.

I love cycling, I find by the time I've got home if I've had a bad day my black cloud is gone. Had a really bad day, just cycle further sometimes I'll do a 20 mile route on the way home.

I'm outdoors, it appeals to my sense of speed, I'm getting fitter so that helps cope with stress / pressures of work. I cycle solo alot of the time so I have time to think. I cycle alot with two other guys, one guy is really really easy to talk to and we quite often cycle along talking about stuff and having a natter about thinigs on our minds.

I've even got so I dont mind the wind and rain, and I was commuting the other week in -4 or temperatures, was lovely and warm and when I got to work I had steam coming off me !!! 6 miles wont take you to long either, but you'll need to factor in getting changed or what you do about being sweaty when you get to work.

PM me or post back in this thread if you want more specifics on bikes, my mate bought a Carrera Gryphon from Halfords and was really pleased with it, So have a look at those for a starter bike, he ugpraded a few bits on his and ended up riding a few sportives on it and outpaced alot of guys on better / more bling bikes, IIRC they've replaced with the Gryphon II which has disk brakes on it now... but still a good place to start from I'd think.

Originally Posted by BigApe

I always used to find running was a good way of clearing my head...

It's nice to know you guys fight the bad weather and go out and run. Some people here (Malta) are so afraid to even go out if it's raining let alone run. It's incredible what pussies we are over here. I'm commuting on bike in winter and get such, "is he mad" looks; then I think of you guys riding in such horrid weather and laugh at their glances. Our winter is close to your summer. Good on you BigApe.

I've been going to the Gym for about 8years now. 3 times a week, an hour or so in the morning. I'm lucky that I can go right before work as everything is close by. It makes a big difference to how ou start the day. Even the fact that you talk to different people on different subjects is enough to clear the 'normal' thought out of your mind and in such a way it relaxes you. Totally recommend going to a public training place, whatever the sport, as it's good to socialize. I had similar depression problems, it's seems to be a mid life thing, but also I have some sinus problems as well and I feel a lot better after a 20 minute run. Clears my system. All gain IMO.

You would be amazed how good some of the technical sports clothing is now in terms of making you pretty much impervious to the weather.

I have a Trespass 3 in 1 gore-tex style jacket that bought for hill climbing for £50 quid in a factory retail outlet. I have worn it pretty much every day for 5 years now, it has been in some monsoons including heavy driving sideways rain last week walking the dog that soaked my legs and feet, and it has never leaked once, and it's warm too. Makes you feel like the weather can do what it wants 'cos it can't bother you (and I'm quite a wuss when it comes to personal comfort!)

Also get good stuff for cycling and 'cos you generate heat you don't suffer from the cold. A 6 mile commute sounds a lot, but you'll cover that in just under 1/2 hour. Even if you only ride to work on the dry days, you could average twice a week.

The thought of outdoor activity in winter is much worse than the reality if you are properly equipped. Once you've done it you'll decide it wasn't so bad after all. Much like riding motorbikes in comfort thru winter with a good set of textiles, but my next door neighbour, who is a fair weather biker, thinks I'm mad for riding in winter!

Do you play an instrument? preferably drums or saxophone - something areobic - I feel so much less stressed and depressed since I took up Sax in April - my lungs get a good work out and also I tend to jig around a lot when I play too so getting fitter in the process! I get withdrawal symptoms if I dont play everyday too! If noise is a problem you can buy the electronic drums kits and wear headphones but the effort is the same - just a thought