swim

racquetball - because it's fast, three dimensional and it's played in a cool space.

if you can afford it, pay a trainer. the thing is that if you cancel your appointment, your trainer will probably charge you anyway, most probably if you cancel within 24 hrs or just don't show. so you will do what you need to do to show up. i always find that when i'm really busy and i go to the gym, i tend to use it as relaxation time. if i see the trainer, however, i get whipped and i don't waste time. other than that, rockclimbing can be addictive.

i read fitness magazines to motivate me. join a gym if possible, but if you dont have the time or money, you can try walking or jogging everywhere, and take the stairs instead of the elevator in buildings.

i suggest getting back into a sport that you love so that exercising is fun (assuming you've ever had a favorite sport) rather than an obligation. another thing to consider is riding your bike, jogging, or walking to work if you're close enough. that will force you to excercise at the beginning and end of day while combining it with the inevitable commute.

best thing for you to do is getting a heavy bag and a pair of gloves (you could find them for under 100) and going to town on it for a hour a day. it will relieve alot of stress and you will be in the best shape of your life. hit the punching bag for 3 minutes on then break for 1 minute. repeat this throughout the hour. also buy a pull up bar and do pushups and pullups a few days a week instead of hiting the bag. then eventually you will get quicker and faster and you could move up to a sway bag and really get a good boxing technique down.

yoga.
if you do it properly and it's more ashtanga focused... you'll be sweating in no time and sore all over the next day.

also a huge fan of squash. now that's one hell of a smart sport.

The only way to get into peak physical condition is through weightlifting. The Natural weightlifting program will not only get your physical appearance looking better, but will increase your health for the present and future. Weightlifting, along with a proper diet and cardio will potentially add years onto your life.

Benefits of weightlifting:

1. Increasing muscle mass will enable your body to burn more fat during cardio. Lowering body fat equals less chance of heart disease, not to mention several other potential health risks.

2. A weightlifting program will produce more capillaries (blood flow) throughout your muscles, making it easier to transport oxygen and other nutrients throughout your body.

3. Weightlifting will make you physically stronger

4. A well defined weightlifting body is more attractive than an out of shape body.

5. Following a weightlifting program makes you more rugged, for example if your fell down your body would be a lot less brittle than that of a thin person, and have less chance of being injured.

6. Weightlifting gains will give you a self confidence that you have never felt before.

tennis...you can play it well into old age and its gender neutral...in fact, i'm looking for a new partner...anybody care to play with me?

it doesn't matter if you don't like it.
tell yourself you need it.
force yourself to keep doing it.
eventually, you will start to enjoy it.

i run and cycle.
try keeping a log of how much exercise you do. that way the shame of realising how little exercise you get may help motivate you.

spinning

I've been taking spinning classes for the past 3 months or so, and though it kicks my ass, I keep going because it's scheduled into my day like a doctor's appointment. Also, you can burn roughly 600-800 calories in one 40 minute class. I've lost 10 pounds since I started which isn't a lot for some people but it's a big deal for me.

It helps to keep track of your daily calorie intake.

Only bodybuilding will produce the proper amount of muscle mass for practicing architecture. Yoga and spinning is for wimps. Join the big boys at the squat rack for muscle pumping workouts.

I swim everyday, it's great for the body and also a good way to get rid of stress.

Yeah, I've concidered taking up tennis at a somewhat serious level again. I used to compete when I was like 16, but now I'm down to playing like once a month. But first of all it's really depressing that I suck so hard at it now (at least in comparison) and tennis actually makes for a lousy work-out. You burn water and little else, so it's more of a motivation to get into shape FOR tennis, say through running and lifting a little weights... so the project would be - in relation to what little time I have to spend on it - huge. But never the less it IS an intriguing thought...

play squash. best way to get rid of stress and burn calories.

The only thing I've done is change my diet. I make sure I eat healthy and I normally have 5 small meals a day as opposed to 3. I also don't eat after 7. If you do that, I think you'll be in good standing no matter what.

yoga, physically, and mentally. especially activates hormones, thyroid and metabolism. you will become very elastic and taller [i grew 1.5 inches] v. other exercises which hardens your body. you use your own body weight as the weight lifting dumbell. i practice many types of yoga 90 min / day with some days doing 50+ yoga pushups [not military pushups we all learned in school]. yoga pushups works on shoulders, tric/bic and abs. all at the same time.

I haven't read all of the posts, but I recommend rockclimbing and martial arts.

If you find a good indoor rockgym, you'll have a blast, challenge yourself, and get an amazing workout. The best thing about the workout part is that you will barely notice that you're getting one. Sure your forearms will burn a bit and your hands will get week, but the next day you'll realize that you have worked your entire body.

The martial arts thing is dependent on style and school. Pick one that suits you and, if you're interested in getting in shape, make sure you find one that has a more cardiovascular component. A lot of self-defense type places won't give you much of a workout. I like chinese martial arts (kung fu, wushu) because of the nature of the movements, etc. This is a broad generalization, but Chinese styles tend to be more fluid and Japanese arts tend to be more rigid (there are exceptions, of course). Look around, though, and do some research.

how about just a jogging routine? that way it'll be a habit when you do it the same time every day. if you do it during the mornings before you eat, you'll burn more fat.

i run.

run a marathon. i did chicago twice in grad school. the training takes 18 weeks, and the only requirement is that you have to be able to run three miles on the first week. the training schedule is pretty light, and just about anyone can do it.

I used to play tennis in the juniors, high school, and college. Stopped playing for 4-5 years (burnt out) and then rediscovered it 2 years ago. I couldn't be happier with it, the exercise is great and it's fun. Only problem is that I just moved to Columbus, OH, and I can't find any good places to find pick-up matches! I used to go to this great place in St. Louis...

Marc

TED---> you're f'ing kidding me. You grew 1.5 inches!!!What type of yoga did you do and do you recommend any books or videos. I'd look nice 1.5 inches taller.

rock climb

mpsyp: Yeah, it's close to impossible to find pick-up matches here as well. I do have a couple of friends who are really good though, but our schedules always seem to clash so we hardly get around to play, or it would have been an easy choice to take up tennis again (be it a good work-out or not), simply cause it's fun...

Though this won't necessarily get you into better shape, it's a fun distraction anyway:

www.johnstonefitness.com

This is the website of a guy who dropped an incredible amount of weight in very little time by working out and eating less. He took daily photos of himself, too, which is pretty entertaining.

try two things:

1. drink lots of water (like 10 glasses a day): it keeps your body hydrated, if you have a continuous supply of water, your body responds with less bloating... when you dont have enough water, your body tries to store it, which means you get bloated up...

2. weight lifting / muscle training: increasing muscle mass actually burns more calories not just when you're doing cardio, but even when youre not doing anything... if you have more muscle tissue, your body burns more calories even if youre sitting on a couch watching tv...

i can't motivate self at all.. so i play soccer on weekends.. its not a league, just walk on and play.. i can actually see my abs now..

and tennis with my darling on weekdays. suck at tennis though..

oh and golf,.. but its expensive, so haven't played for awhile..

run for 30 minutes a day. thats 600 calories gone.

Sign up for target practice at your local shooting range. After firing off eighty rounds or so, head to your local Sizzler for the 24oz. NY Strip and baked potato special.

Within a few weeks you'll feel so much better.

It's easy for me to stay in shape because my offic is on the 3rd floor, I habitually forget either my keys, or my wallet,etc. The run up & down stairs used to bug me, but now I take it all in stride & consider it as part of my aerobic workout for the day.

sleep in a very cold room, or just stay in a walk-in freezer. that will make your body burn a lot of cal., but you might die.

i suggest yoga

running a few times of week is a super cheap and easy way of exercising but some people hate running. all you need is comfy clothes and a pair of decent shoes. and you can do it whenever it fits your schedule.

even walking will do wonders to your stress levels and get you in better shape

Go on the Subway diet. Seemed to work for Jared.

And how do they get all that fat into a chicken sandwich at Burger King?

Jared does look like an architect

ride a bike to work, and take the stairs

Played some tennis today. I won't go into specifics but half-way through a friend of my opponent forbade his two sons to watch any more since he was "concerned that they'd start playing like me".

Sign that I should do something else or indication that I need to play more often?

Start selling smack from your trunk and run from the cops... the dudes in my hood are skinny as hell

Surfing always did it for me - biking, running...

you need to just play more often. maybe spend a bit of dough and take a class or two.

but i too prefer suring to all other sports.

I walk everywhere. Where it is too far I take the bus or ferry. Eat lots of fresh fruit, all bran, skim milk. Stay away from animal fats, or only when you crave them. Gallons of water (well, not quite). Nap in the afternoon when it's hot, or, when I'm at work, 40 mins of TM over lunch hour. Deep breathing. Relaxation therapy. Sell your car or SUV. No doubt this has all been said before.

I'm a big fan of weight training, like many people have said it really does have its benefits. If you can keep going on it it certainly would be good. As far as fitting into your schedule is concerned though, I'm with Paul Petrunia's suggestion of running to work, if this is something that's possible for you. If you can get a friend from work to do it, so much the better... you can get each other up/motivate each other, and talk on the way...

However, you do need to have a shower at work to be able to do this...

to add to the above -- if you can work it, sometimes it takes the same amount of time to run to work as say taking the metro, waiting for it to arrive, walking to the station, etc...

walk anywhere you can. or try pilates--fun, quick results, strengthens and lengthens the muscles

drink as much water as possible to force your self to fidget and have to go to the bathroom often. it will hydrate you and give you breaks. pick the bathroom farthest from your desk. take a minute or 5 to stretch before you go back to your desk. (if youre creative and have some practice, you can do some simple quick yoga in the ada accessible stalls . . . ) the more you move around, the less your body seems to fall asleep.

less coffee, quitting smoking, and joining a gym.
I lost 20lbs in undergrad, and stopped working out.

yoga in the bathroom stalls sounds unpleasant.