Getting mountain fit by living in a city?

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iestrob

 
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Getting mountain fit by living in a city?

by iestrob » Tue Sep 14, 2010 11:36 pm

Hello.

I've recently moved down to London from my native Snowdonia - mainly for work reasons. As I used to be out pretty much everyday on the Welsh Mountains, I found myself to be in good shape, and getting fitter was no big deal.

Now, living in London, it's not as easy to go up a hill (London is surprisingly flat!) as it was back home. Has anyone got any good tips for me on how to loose the unwanted pounds, preferably - without going to the gym (not my scene).

I do run back and forth to work everyday, it's a round trip of about 6 miles, and sometimes I cycle in - but it doesn't seem enough.

Any thoughts or ideas on this would be great, thank you.

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bird

 
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by bird » Tue Sep 14, 2010 11:43 pm

Hit the park and do pull ups, pushups,squats, and other bodyweight exercises
Weight is 90% diet, so lay off the bangers and mash to drop a few kilos.
Without hills around, I think the gym is your best bet if you canswing it.

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SpiderSavage

 
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by SpiderSavage » Wed Sep 15, 2010 12:45 am

Highpoint buildings, using the stairs.

Kayak the Thames.

Go to certain pubs where your life is in danger and you have to run for it.

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JakobFisker

 
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by JakobFisker » Wed Sep 15, 2010 8:49 am

Find a crossfit center and a lot of stairs.. all you need..

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JJBrunner

 
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by JJBrunner » Wed Sep 15, 2010 9:05 am

No offense to you crossfitters but I used to do crossfit. I stopped, started hiking and my hiking abilities increased tenfold! Well maybe not that much but I was able to hike much better!

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JJBrunner

 
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by JJBrunner » Wed Sep 15, 2010 9:23 am

TacoDelRio wrote:
JJBrunner wrote:No offense to you crossfitters but I used to do crossfit. I stopped, started hiking and my hiking abilities increased tenfold! Well maybe not that much but I was able to hike much better!


Don't mock crossfit! Crossfit NEVER WRONG!


Haha, cmon now...we dont want to get the crossfit peeps started...

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JJBrunner

 
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by JJBrunner » Wed Sep 15, 2010 9:23 am

and yes i said peeps....no homo

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MoapaPk

 
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by MoapaPk » Wed Sep 15, 2010 9:41 am

The Penitentes of New Mexico get cross fit while hiking in the mountains.

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emmieuk

 
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by emmieuk » Wed Sep 15, 2010 11:48 am

Go to the park on the hill!! walking up and down that a few times will work!! or climb up the monument in baker st xx

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Jukka Ahonen

 
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Re: Getting mountain fit by living in a city?

by Jukka Ahonen » Wed Sep 15, 2010 3:28 pm

iestrob wrote:Has anyone got any good tips for me on how to loose the unwanted pounds, preferably - without going to the gym (not my scene).


Not sure if you weer looking for just outdoors stuff, but as a substitute for gym, would you consider martial arts? I understand some people have an issue with them, but at least for me personally it works a lot better than gym. My motivation tends to be a lot better, and due to the nature of the sport it develops different muscle groups quite evenly.

I can give you a few pointers and suggestions if you wish, just drop me a PM. And no, martial arts is (usually) neither a bunch of meatheads punching each other in the face, nor a bunch of wannabe ninjas re-living Karate Kid ;)

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Gator

 
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by Gator » Wed Sep 15, 2010 7:50 pm

Living in flat south Florida I have found that a backpack full of books and a stadium full of bleachers does a lot of good. That and running on the beach.

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Bark Eater

 
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by Bark Eater » Wed Sep 15, 2010 8:47 pm

When I lived in Florida I used to run stadium steps and it was a great workout to compensate for the absence of mountains. I had problems, though, trying to do it with weight on my back...too much stress on the knees and quads. Worked up to about 1-1/2 hours once per week (no extra weight), which was something like 3,000 or 4,000 vertical feet.

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SpiderSavage

 
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by SpiderSavage » Wed Sep 15, 2010 9:34 pm

When I get stuck in Florida, I do beach hikes. Insufficient but, its Florida.

Which is worse, do you think, Florida or London?

I've not been to London lately but I'd say Florida.

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Ski Mountaineer

 
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by Ski Mountaineer » Wed Sep 15, 2010 10:10 pm

Roadbike. All I use for training my legs.

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Ze

 
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by Ze » Thu Sep 16, 2010 3:03 am

JakobFisker wrote:Find a crossfit center and a lot of stairs.. all you need..


I think you need to read, he said he wanted outside the gym.

I agree on going to the park and doing pushups, pullups and such (does that count as not gym for you?). You need some real cardio still, though - if you want to have great conditioning for the hills. Stairs, although I don't know if there's any long enough for a good 10 + sustained climb. running and cycling will work well too.

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