help me pick a physical goal to work towards, not just to get in shape but to feel like I've accomplished something

February 16, 2010 12:55 PM

I want to achieve something physically- given enclosed constraints. Please help me set a reasonable goal for myself

So my whole life (I'm 25) I've been chasing after mostly intellectual accomplishments. I've done pretty well, and most of my physical goals have consisted of 'lose weight' or 'be in shape.'

I really want to achieve something physically. Something reasonable (baby steps!) but that will make me feel good about myself physically and maybe inspire me to keep making such goals. I want to rebalance my mental outlook so that physical accomplishments will mean as much to me as intellectual ones (although I'm really far behind on this so true equalization will never happen, but I'd like this to be my guiding philosophy, and at least one that I'd like to raise kids with)

So activities that I currently enjoy physically are walking around town for hours, and dancing. I like occasionally jogging. I think the perfect goal for me would be running a 5-K, I think that this is reasonable and would give me the sense of accomplishment that I'm looking for. Unfortunately (and here comes the first of my constraints!) I just moved to Istanbul and I don't think people really jog around here, and since I live here I don't want to be commonly recognized as 'that crazy girl that's always running around' when that might cause harrassment. I don't really like gym exercise because I feel like a gerbil, and plus the gym here costs $120-150 a month and that's a bit expensive for me

I love dancing but have trouble making this into a goal that is measurable and that will provide me the sense of accomplishment I want

Any other ideas? Please keep in mind that I am in Istanbul, and that it's very hard for me to do anything here as I don't speak Turkish and just trying to figure out how my washing machine works causes me intense anxiety, so it can't be anything that involves finding out a lot of information as I have communication issues that currently restrict me a lot...

I don't consider myself entirely fit (I have a BMI of 25 if that means something to you, yea I know that that's border-line ok but I'm still not fit), but my body moves and can learn stuff and can fully function properly. I was a gym loser growing up but have done a fair amount of simple physical activity in the last few years so don't expect me to rely on skills I learned growing up but do expect that I can teach my body some new tricks still

I feel like given the information I've written there isn't much one could suggest, but that's why I'm here at askmetafilter- so that you can give me ideas I never thought possible!

Thanks in advance!

posted by saraindc to Health & Fitness (18 answers total)

100 pushups?

As for running in Istanbul: from my trips there, I think you are correct. It's not a city with a running culture, and the streets are too old and narrow and filled with crazy drivers for anyone to try it.

As for BMI: it's an essentially meaningless measurement. Fat and muscle have different densities; one can have the same BMI as another but be much more muscular than the other, etc.
posted by dfriedman at 1:00 PM on February 16, 2010

Best answer: The dreaded prison Burpee ladder? It's a helluva challenge and no-one dare mess with you if you can do it :)
posted by codswallop at 1:03 PM on February 16, 2010

Response by poster: Thanks dfriedman. Hmm 100 pushups...I guess I can come up with some army routine, push-ups sit ups etc... however I tend to like activities with a stronger sense of aesthetics, even if not entirely applicable here....hence the no-gerbil-routine-policy. will give this some thought though

Please, no comments necessary on the BMI bit! It was just a very rough indicator that along with the other comments I made might give you a faint idea of how physically fit I am
posted by saraindc at 1:05 PM on February 16, 2010

Best answer: There appears to be a rock gym in Istanbul. Rock climbing gives you very measurable goals, as the routes are rated for difficulty and as you get better you can aim for conquering routes of higher ratings. In most gyms, the easiest routes are akin to climbing a ladder.

It looks like they have a big bouldering cave, so you can even go climbing without a partner (bouldering is done at low heights where falls are safe, so no ropes needed). I can't really speak to the quality of that gym, or the cost, but it might be worth looking into.
posted by skintension at 1:12 PM on February 16, 2010

How about getting some yoga DVDs and working on that? You could figure out your baseline now -- how strong you are vs. how flexible -- and then set a definite goal. Like for me, I'm working towards truly being able to do a full chatturanga. And there's such a wide variety of stuff in yoga that you can find something that is a physical and aesthetic challenge.
posted by BlahLaLa at 1:12 PM on February 16, 2010

Response by poster: wow this burpee ladder thing seems really cool i think i'll try it out, it kind of builds on dfriedman's suggestion too. I'll have to find a non-you-tube video of it so I can check out exactly what it looks like (youtube is blocked here).

also, if people can suggest activities where I might make friends, that'd be cool too. I've been here a month and need to start working on this as well.

Thanks for the suggestions and looking forward to more!
posted by saraindc at 1:12 PM on February 16, 2010

Got a deck of cards? Black cards are burpees, red cards are pushups. Getting through even half the deck is killer, so you might want to start small and work your way to the full deck.

Yoga is a great idea too, because there are so many cool-looking and challenging poses to work towards. My current goal is to hold crane pose for more than half a second.
posted by Metroid Baby at 1:23 PM on February 16, 2010

Congratulations on the inspiration. I wish you luck.

A simple, and easy way to start would be to google video search home work out videos.

I was pretty much just like you, then a year ago I started doing home workouts. Nothing to special, or tedious, but with the same sorta history and goals. I started out doing push-ups each day, starting out doing as many as I can do. The first day was three, the next five, the next seven, then nine, then twelve. Today I am up to seventy-five. Not that push ups are your necessary thing, but something that improves the part of your body that you want to look better. Focus on Abs, or legs.

That is how I sold myself on the push-ups. I told myself the truth, something they didn't teach me in Gym Class, that if you do these things, you are guaranteed to look sexier, feel better, and you could get this by only spending less than four minutes a day doing it. If you are like me, you waste more than four minutes a day breathing, so giving up, or making the time fit wasn't an issue. I started out by always doing it in my dining room, so everytime I walked through the dining room I'd do my push-ups.

After four days I honestly felt better, and already could see results, however small they were. Within a few weeks it was second hat, even contagious. Soon I started doing pull-ups too. Working in the same fashion as before.

At no time since I have started doing this have I ever felt pain, or any discomfort. I breathe better, feel better, look better, and all without ever leaving my house.

I would highly recommend doing something like this at home. Pick out one exercise that targets your core and repeat. After a few weeks, you'll have more of an understanding about how your body looks, works, and can react to your actions. Then you'll know just what you want to do after that. Don't underestimate the accomplishment of having a better body.
posted by QueerAngel28 at 1:24 PM on February 16, 2010

Response by poster: ok, so i like this burpee ladder thing

the yoga is a good idea because i think there are studios here of varying prices and also close by, and it has a sense of aesthetics and some of the poses really are accomplishments even individually, plus it has a social component and will help me make friends

i'm trying to avoid anything that's just getting fit orientated although i appreciate the point of not underestimating the accomplishment of having a better body, i want my goal to sound inspiring in and of itself, something that i can accomplish as a one-off and then work towards a higher one-off goal, and so on. although i myself love home exercise videos, i'm not just trying to get in better shape- i want to be able to talk about and feel good about my accomplishment just as i would an intellectual one 'hey i read x book and really understood y afterwards' or 'i got an a in my really hard whatever class', or 'i speak x language'.

as you can see i'm reading your comments in real time until i go to bed, although thinking of trying a few of these ideas out beforehand...:)
posted by saraindc at 1:32 PM on February 16, 2010

Best answer: RunningIstanbul, provides some suggestions on routes and has links to footraces in Turkey and the Istanbul Marathon (which includes another link to an 8km fun run in October.)

Also, consider checking out the Istanbul Hash House Harriers.
posted by ActingTheGoat at 1:33 PM on February 16, 2010

As for friends, can I assume by your user name that you're American (given the "indc" part)? If so, here's a list of American expatriates in Istanbul.

I could understand not wanting to hang out with Americans, but your fellow expatriates will often be able to introduce you to other people. And they may even have answers to some of your other questions that you've posted here.
posted by dfriedman at 1:33 PM on February 16, 2010

Best answer: I (American, male, college student) went for long runs on my own in Istanbul all the time when I was there for a semester last year. I don't think your 5-K goal is constrained by culture at all. There's a growing running culture in Turkey, and jogging isn't out of place in the more cosmopolitan districts. If you're not living in one of them, it can be hard to recognize at first, but you'll discover soon enough that there's a fantastic diversity between different neighborhoods and areas of Istanbul. It's one reason I love the place so much.

Belgrade Forest is very nice, and you'll see plenty of joggers. I usually ran along the Bosphorous waterfront between the bridges, from Bebek down to Ortaköy. It's paved most of the way, there's a fantastic view of the water, and the whole stretch is home to the leisure classes, many of whom are enthusiastic joggers themselves. There are also quite a few tracks open to the public around the city, if you want to work up to running in public. Look for athletic centers at the universities and soccer stadiums\practice fields. As a foreigner, your first run can take some courage and common sense (I wouldn't traipse through Fatih in my running shorts), but just pop in your earbuds and plow ahead. It's also a great way to get to know the city, unlike doing push-ups alone in your apartment.

Here are a few English resources on running in Istanbul (and one Turkish one) that might help you find a running club, or at least offer some assurance that, yes, there are joggers in Turkey.
posted by ecmendenhall at 2:12 PM on February 16, 2010

I don't have many other suggestions, but I wanted to say, if you want to meet people, the Hash House Harriers link (above) is a good one. In the US, at least, the HHH motto is "the drinking club with a running problem" and Hashers are generally very friendly, sociable people. And it helps if you drink...but I don't, and they're still nice. :)
posted by Bella Sebastian at 2:23 PM on February 16, 2010

I was in a similar situation to yours a little over a year ago (except for the Istanbul part...) Running is my favorite thing to do, and I would encourage you to try it if at all possible. Also, definitely go out with the HHH if you can, because they're usually pretty awesome people.

In addition to running, I started strength training, which would probably be the easiest physical activity for your living situation -- you can get a pretty decent workout in the privacy of your own living room with a couple dumbbells, or even random heavy objects you find around your house (such as the 40-lb. sacks of rice I sometimes squat). Plus it will definitely add to your self-confidence to know that, if necessary, you can pick someone up and throw them out the window.

I've had good luck following some of the workouts posted on Stumptuous; in particular, these workouts might be good for someone in the position of being in a foreign country with minimal equipment. In particular, workout #2 on that page incorporates the dreaded Burpee (and will get your heart rate up pretty darn high as well as challenging your strength).

In terms of goal setting, I would see what I could accomplish without any training before picking a goal to work towards -- that would make it easier to pick a goal that wasn't either really, really long-term or ludicrously easy. You're probably way stronger than you realize already. Make sure that the goal is concrete, and think about what you want to do. Running a 5k is an admirable and generally appropriate first major running goal. If you want to get stronger, and you can already do, say, x sets of y pushups, then work towards doing (x+1) sets of y pushups, or x sets of (y+z) pushups, or whatever. If you want to improve your body composition (can't tell whether or not you do, but it's not an unusual goal), then work towards getting your BMI from a 25 to a slightly smaller number. (Bodyfat percentage is a better yardstick for body composition than BMI, but unless you are seriously muscular, as in "highly-trained athlete", BMI is likely to correlate pretty well with bodyfat percentage.)

Personally, I would strongly encourage you to persevere with whatever goal you end up setting for yourself. When I did this last year, it transformed my life. Lifting (and later, running and triathlon) opened a lot of doors for me in terms of how I think about physical activity and fitness. I would estimate that I've taken about 12-14 points off my bodyfat percentage (using BMI, I went from a 29.9 to a 22.5), I can do things that I never would have been able to do a year ago (like run ten miles, or squat a bar that weighs as much as I do) and I definitely feel much more confident and comfortable in my body.
posted by kataclysm at 2:47 PM on February 16, 2010

w.r.t. the burpee ladder, an alternative that people sometimes do when they're working on conditioning is the 100 Day burpee challenge: For 100 consecutive days do 1 burpee ont eh first day, 2 on the second, 3 on the third, all the way to 100 on the 100th day.

While easier than the burpee challenge (which is 238 burpees, roughly in a row), the 100 Day version lets you ramp up. Pick whichever one is more appropriate for your current level of conditioning. Then improve.
posted by scrutiny at 2:51 PM on February 16, 2010

As hard as some of the workouts suggested here are, I personally prefer something a little more concrete as a goal, like "finishing a triathlon" or "climbing mt. x" -- that way you'd have an experience you could remember BESIDES being in shape. If you like running, you'll work up to 5K very quickly. How about something a bit more impossible-sounding? Like the Istanbul marathon? It's in October, so you've got just enough time to train.
posted by martin2000 at 3:45 PM on February 16, 2010

Response by poster: I've marked some favorite answers...but I really haven't found what I'm looking for yet. Martin2000 is right in that i want a more concrete goa and a experience i can remember besides being in shape- that's not my goal here as I said earlier although a welcome side-effect. I appreciate the encouragement to run though, it's perfect except for my fear of how to pull it off here. Maybe I'll just go ahead and figure that out, you've all provided some good resources. Thanks!
posted by saraindc at 11:09 PM on February 16, 2010

What about taking dance classes in styles that you aren't familiar with? Learning a new dance style would be a measurable goal and provide social contact.

Yoga classes have really been a joy for me. I can see the improvements that I have made as well as see where I need improving. I also run but that is more of a solo activity for me.

Calisthenic goals that I have made for myself include full pushups (not modified knee pushups), pull-up, handstand/headstand, and holding a plank for a long (undetermined) time. Just recently I was able to complete several full pushups and I was ecstatic. For most of my life I have lacked upper body strength, until now.

I also have been rock climbing a few times and have a goal of learning more and getting more involved in that sport.

I was never athletic growing up and I still wasn't until 3 years ago when I went caving (spelunking) for the first time. I was terrified to crawl on my hands/knees/belly and twist my way underground around rocks. After that first trip I came out of the cave with a sense that I could do anything! Soon after I signed up with a friend to do a sprint triathlon and from that I had to learn to run, swim, and I bought a bicycle (which I later used for commuting and transportation). Oh swimming! That's another measurable goal. The first time I swam a mile I was crazy happy and proud of myself.

Good luck!
posted by collocation at 7:34 AM on February 17, 2010