Do you try to stay healthy while living in Thailand?

[SpokaneAl]

I am 65 and a triathlete. We spend six months here and six months back in the states. I thoroughly enjoy training but to be honest, training here, with the heat and the limitations, can be brutal.

I can't just head out the door in the morning for a run like I do back in the states because of the drivers, hard, hard concrete roads, heat and dogs. I must start very early and run the same two mile, absolutely flat route around a nearby lake over and over and over, and strive to finish by 7:30 am or so.

My bike riding is also early on a trainer so I can get quality precise efforts. Again, in that I live in Issan, hills are non existent.

The swimming is a real joy with a 50 meter pool within a 15 minute scooter ride that is virtually empty every day.

Here I find my training reverts primarily to joyless exercise, and if I was not concerned about my competition back in the states, am not sure how hard I would continue to push myself.

For me, at least, the brutal heat and limited places to train really take most out of the joy out of something that I really do enjoy and has been an important part of my life for decades.

Edited November 20, 2015 by SpokaneAl

[MaeJoMTB]

I do believe that exercise, diet, and controlling your alcohol intake are key. If people aren't concerned about living longer, they should at least be concerned about their quality of life with the years they have left. I personally don't care if I die at 80 or 100, so long as them are good years.

I read somewhere (sports and exercise forum) that by exercising regularly, you can extend your life by as much as 3 years.

Hardly seemed worth the effort.

[SpokaneAl]

I do believe that exercise, diet, and controlling your alcohol intake are key. If people aren't concerned about living longer, they should at least be concerned about their quality of life with the years they have left. I personally don't care if I die at 80 or 100, so long as them are good years.

I read somewhere (sports and exercise forum) that by exercising regularly, you can extend your life by as much as 3 years.

Hardly seemed worth the effort.

If you only exercise because you might possibly live a bit longer and absolutely do not enjoy it, you probably won't do it for very long.

[robblok]

I do believe that exercise, diet, and controlling your alcohol intake are key. If people aren't concerned about living longer, they should at least be concerned about their quality of life with the years they have left. I personally don't care if I die at 80 or 100, so long as them are good years.

I read somewhere (sports and exercise forum) that by exercising regularly, you can extend your life by as much as 3 years.

Hardly seemed worth the effort.

More worried about the quality of life if i compare my dad who bikes a lot with his non exercise friends its clear who i want to be. They look worse and move slow like everything hurts. Dad still has his energy and quite some leg muscles.

[searcher22]

keeping fit in Thailand can be tricky though. I'd like to do more running, I'd actually like to take part in a half marathon, but getting the training in is just too difficult as there are too many soi dogs where I live.

I'd also like to buy a bike and cycle more, but the roads are simply too dangerous.

Or maybe that is me just making excuses.

Nope. It's not excuses, it's reality. I used to be an avid walker and biker back home, but have stopped since coming to Thailand. Reasons include: Soi dogs, dangerous traffic, intense heat, bad air. As for gyms, finding a good one can be a challenge. Some are great but are either too far or ridiculously expensive, others are more affordable but lack certain basics such as air conditioning, showers and well-maintained equipment. And some are just plain annoying with loud music and/or unprofessional staff.

[NoshowJones]

I use the exercise park in the village, and also do a good few Kilos riding my

bike about five days a week. Do not drink or smoke.

[fang37]

I am lazy. All I do is bedroom gymnastics once every month. PHEW!

[NoshowJones]

I came here in my late 20's....still here and am now in my early 40's. I have always done weight training and some kind of aerobic activity a few times a week. Ideally I try to stick to at least 4 -5 times per week. I was a big fan of the old weight training regime of 3 x 10 sets of 8 - 10 reps of any particular muscle group with a 1 - 1.5 minute rest between sets.......These days I am finding something called 'circuit training' is much more effective. Instead of sticking to one muscle group for the 3 sets in a row, I do a group of 6 - 8 exercises one after the other with very little to no rest.This really kicks my a*s and it also helps with aerobic conditioning.....and it saves time. You need to be careful how you order your exercises doing this. For example, you wouldnt do a bench press and then do bench flies directly after it, you could go from a 'pushing' to a 'pulling' exercise however. For example, bench press and the some kind of dumbbell rowing exercise. If you order your exercises in the right way you can go through the whole cycle, but its pretty tough. Obviously the weight you are using also has to come down a bit but, I am very happy with the results. I don't seem to have lost too much muscle mass and its also cut some belly fat. One cycle takes me less than 10 minutes. I do 3 cycles, after which I have had enough. I do this at night, after the suns gone down.

In regards to straight aerobic activity I have gone from jogging, to walking up and down my stairs for 30 to 45 mins. I got bored of jogging and the heat is a killer. I find going up and down stairs, sometimes one at a time, sometimes 2 at a time to give me a good workout and it also does more for strengthening the legs. I also incorporate what are called 'farmers walks' into my stair climbing. This is where I carry 2 x approx 14- 18 kg dumbbells up and down the stairs a few times as part of the routine. It gets pretty challenging, great for legs AND for wrist strength....

Anyway, thats the routine I settled on living here in the heat. Its working for me, and obviously I mix it up as much as possible. One thing I have learnt is that you need shock your body every now and again to get a boost in results. If you just do the same routine every time you get bored and your body gets used to it. Thats not what exercise is all about.

....by the way if you'd have told me about 'circuit training' when I was a bit younger I would have thought it was for pussies......no way! I highly recommend it....maybe not if you want to look like Arnie in his day, but for general looking good/feeling good its great.

I don't know what is worse, the fat belly, facial haired, tattooed look. or the Arnie, Stallone, over muscled monkeyman look.

I just like to stay slim, Wt around 76 Ks, height 6 ft.

[aussiandrew]

I would have thought "people try to stay healthy" no matter where they live, not just Thailand.

(You stole my thunder)

[h90]

I came here in my late 20's....still here and am now in my early 40's. I have always done weight training and some kind of aerobic activity a few times a week. Ideally I try to stick to at least 4 -5 times per week. I was a big fan of the old weight training regime of 3 x 10 sets of 8 - 10 reps of any particular muscle group with a 1 - 1.5 minute rest between sets.......These days I am finding something called 'circuit training' is much more effective. Instead of sticking to one muscle group for the 3 sets in a row, I do a group of 6 - 8 exercises one after the other with very little to no rest.This really kicks my a*s and it also helps with aerobic conditioning.....and it saves time. You need to be careful how you order your exercises doing this. For example, you wouldnt do a bench press and then do bench flies directly after it, you could go from a 'pushing' to a 'pulling' exercise however. For example, bench press and the some kind of dumbbell rowing exercise. If you order your exercises in the right way you can go through the whole cycle, but its pretty tough. Obviously the weight you are using also has to come down a bit but, I am very happy with the results. I don't seem to have lost too much muscle mass and its also cut some belly fat. One cycle takes me less than 10 minutes. I do 3 cycles, after which I have had enough. I do this at night, after the suns gone down.

In regards to straight aerobic activity I have gone from jogging, to walking up and down my stairs for 30 to 45 mins. I got bored of jogging and the heat is a killer. I find going up and down stairs, sometimes one at a time, sometimes 2 at a time to give me a good workout and it also does more for strengthening the legs. I also incorporate what are called 'farmers walks' into my stair climbing. This is where I carry 2 x approx 14- 18 kg dumbbells up and down the stairs a few times as part of the routine. It gets pretty challenging, great for legs AND for wrist strength....

Anyway, thats the routine I settled on living here in the heat. Its working for me, and obviously I mix it up as much as possible. One thing I have learnt is that you need shock your body every now and again to get a boost in results. If you just do the same routine every time you get bored and your body gets used to it. Thats not what exercise is all about.

....by the way if you'd have told me about 'circuit training' when I was a bit younger I would have thought it was for pussies......no way! I highly recommend it....maybe not if you want to look like Arnie in his day, but for general looking good/feeling good its great.

I don't know what is worse, the fat belly, facial haired, tattooed look. or the Arnie, Stallone, over muscled monkeyman look.

I just like to stay slim, Wt around 76 Ks, height 6 ft.

the fat one! The muscled one: you may not like it, but that guy is dedicated, healthy, has most probably a hair cut and the fingernails cut. In clothes almost normal (if we exclude the very extreme one). Actually on your both examples the worst thing is the face.

If you like lots of muscle or not is a matter of taste, but I doubt many like the fat, tattooed one.

[Taffyfromflint]

Weight up and down like a brides nightdress for 50 + years,( 68 next birthday) don't drink as much here as in Oz, gave up smoking years ago but still have a hankering for a drag now and again, The upstairs "gym" keeps the exercise regimen on track. healthy outlook, keep away from fast women and slow horses.

[SoiBiker]

I would have thought "people try to stay healthy" no matter where they live, not just Thailand.

A look at some of the guys you see wandering around suggest otherwise, though.

Personally, I find I have added incentive to do so here for a couple of reasons. Temptation, for one - there's so much tasty food, cheap beer, and as a man of leisure so much time to spend consuming the above, that if I wasn't careful I could easily let things side. And secondly, the climate provides an incentive to keep my weight down. More fat equals more sweat.

[Yooyung]

I came here in my late 20's....still here and am now in my early 40's. I have always done weight training and some kind of aerobic activity a few times a week. Ideally I try to stick to at least 4 -5 times per week. I was a big fan of the old weight training regime of 3 x 10 sets of 8 - 10 reps of any particular muscle group with a 1 - 1.5 minute rest between sets.......These days I am finding something called 'circuit training' is much more effective. Instead of sticking to one muscle group for the 3 sets in a row, I do a group of 6 - 8 exercises one after the other with very little to no rest.This really kicks my a*s and it also helps with aerobic conditioning.....and it saves time. You need to be careful how you order your exercises doing this. For example, you wouldnt do a bench press and then do bench flies directly after it, you could go from a 'pushing' to a 'pulling' exercise however. For example, bench press and the some kind of dumbbell rowing exercise. If you order your exercises in the right way you can go through the whole cycle, but its pretty tough. Obviously the weight you are using also has to come down a bit but, I am very happy with the results. I don't seem to have lost too much muscle mass and its also cut some belly fat. One cycle takes me less than 10 minutes. I do 3 cycles, after which I have had enough. I do this at night, after the suns gone down.

In regards to straight aerobic activity I have gone from jogging, to walking up and down my stairs for 30 to 45 mins. I got bored of jogging and the heat is a killer. I find going up and down stairs, sometimes one at a time, sometimes 2 at a time to give me a good workout and it also does more for strengthening the legs. I also incorporate what are called 'farmers walks' into my stair climbing. This is where I carry 2 x approx 14- 18 kg dumbbells up and down the stairs a few times as part of the routine. It gets pretty challenging, great for legs AND for wrist strength....

Anyway, thats the routine I settled on living here in the heat. Its working for me, and obviously I mix it up as much as possible. One thing I have learnt is that you need shock your body every now and again to get a boost in results. If you just do the same routine every time you get bored and your body gets used to it. Thats not what exercise is all about.

....by the way if you'd have told me about 'circuit training' when I was a bit younger I would have thought it was for pussies......no way! I highly recommend it....maybe not if you want to look like Arnie in his day, but for general looking good/feeling good its great.

Sounds about right to me.You ever run into trouble doing flies? I wrecked my shoulder long time ago doing flies...too much weight maybe?? Stayed away from them ever since. Chiang Mai has a coupla nice gyms, and the Chiang Mai Orchid hotel now has a salt water pool, ( and a new gym ) which has gotten me back into swimming a bit. All in all, I'll live, I guess. My friend ( who parties and drinks quite a bit ) says to me," you're gonna look some silly in fifty years time when you're laying in the hospital dying from....nothing!"

Never really had many injuries at all. I have done weights consistently for years but have never gone overboard. I prefer to keep the weight reasonable to make sure I have good form. I am not interested in being HUGE. I am interested in being pretty strong and pretty fit, that's enough for me. However, I do think flies are an exercise you should do with caution. I went through a phase of pushing it with them and it just ends up with you having poor form. ALL movements need to be consciously controlled from start to finish....no bouncing off your chest or using momentum....you see that kind of thing a lot.

[mihalis]

Its not hard to keep fit, i actually love exercising in the heat, and eating healthy is so easy..

[dluek]

I've stayed pretty healthy living here in Bangkok but did find it was easier to stay healthy back in the States. I like to run outside (can't stand treadmills), but I live 7 BTS stops from the nearest real park (Lumpini), so it takes some effort to go there around rush hour and put in a few laps. In the States I lived in a couple of small cities and one big city, and in all of them it was easy to just run outside on the sidewalks. In Bangkok it's pretty much impossible to go for a jog out on the streets, what with all of the motorbikes and traffic and crowds and street carts... Occasionally I see a farang jogging down the side of a busy road in Bangkok and they just look totally ridiculous (but hey if it floats their boat).

But the building I live in has a decent pool so I swim laps some days, jog in Lumpini Park about twice a week, and also have some dumbells at home for minor lifting. My girl does most of the cooking and most of it is pretty healthy Thai food and delicious; I agree that most street food isn't too healthy. I try to stock up on fruit b/c I have a sweet tooth and anyway most of the "cake" they make here has a texture like plastic -- can't be too healthy. Keeping the boozing to a minimum is tough anywhere far as I'm concerned, unless maybe you move to Saudi Arabia or something.

[mcfish]

We have a great aircon GYM in the condo complex and use it 4-5 days/week. If had to go to a BTS to get to an overpriced GYM in Bangkok I just wouldn't do it.

Other thing as already mentioned Thai food is garbage in Thailand. Unidentifiable slivers of meat, MSG and loaded with sugar

Always cook my own food

[Tarteso]

57 years old, 1 hour on bicycle 5 days a week at 7 am, before the start of the unbearable heat. Cooking at home with great vegetables and fruits in this country... a glass of wine with meals . and some beer as an exception Do not smoke. In the moderation is balance, "mens sana et corpore sano".

[robblok]

I would have thought "people try to stay healthy" no matter where they live, not just Thailand.

A look at some of the guys you see wandering around suggest otherwise, though.

Personally, I find I have added incentive to do so here for a couple of reasons. Temptation, for one - there's so much tasty food, cheap beer, and as a man of leisure so much time to spend consuming the above, that if I wasn't careful I could easily let things side. And secondly, the climate provides an incentive to keep my weight down. More fat equals more sweat.

I agree most things but even now 25 kg less fat as before i still sweat a lot. Im not sure your right about that or it varies per individual.

[whaleboneman]

I do believe that exercise, diet, and controlling your alcohol intake are key. If people aren't concerned about living longer, they should at least be concerned about their quality of life with the years they have left. I personally don't care if I die at 80 or 100, so long as them are good years.

A clean & healthy mind assists too.

I don't believe brainwashing will help you live longer.

[Mudcrab]

I'm healthier now than I've ever been. I watch what I eat, exercise a lot, and try to limit my drinking. Mainly because I don't want to end up like the guys I see around town who've let themselves go.

[billd766]

Live out in the sticks away from the bars......health improves tenfold.

Oh.....I forgot to mention, live in a house on 10 rai....you don't need to exercise....just looking after the backyard will take care of that.

I live in rural Thailand and I spend an hour or so most early mornings hacking down the scrub and grass/palm grass on 2 rai. If I get bored with that I then do the same for my friend and neighbour who has no husband to do it for her. The alternative is to prune/hack/trim the trees back and there are a few of those to do as well.

[Mudcrab]

I am lazy. All I do is bedroom gymnastics once every month. PHEW!

You need to try some of the high intensity personal training every now again. Guaranteed to lose a few baht!

Works for me.

[BigT73]

I train about 6 days a week doing heavy, light sessions with cardio thrown in, I find it easier to train here as the hot weather quickly warms your muscles leaving less chance for injury. I’m in my 40s and physically never looked better, I lift more now than when I was in my 20s, I think being here I have way more time to cook, watch my nutrition and not eat that fast food crap from back home. Currently I’m on the paleo diet which is easy to do here and can still eat some of the Thai food without breaking the diet. I used to drink when I first came here over 5 years ago, but kinda got old and this weather caused massive water retention, I was looking like a walrus.

[pomchop]

Walk 5 or so miles everyday. Good for your body, good for your mind.

[fekman]

Yes, I try to keep myself fit.

I'm a big believer in healthy body, healthy mind.

Working out also gives me something to do, and most importantly I really enjoy it.

keeping fit in Thailand can be tricky though. I'd like to do more running, I'd actually like to take part in a half marathon, but getting the training in is just too difficult as there are too many soi dogs where I live.

I'd also like to buy a bike and cycle more, but the roads are simply too dangerous.

Or maybe that is me just making excuses.

Luckily I live near a small but really good gym that has most things I need and at home I have a couple of kettlebells and a good jump rope.

With regards to food, I like Thai food but it is nowhere near as healthy for you as some believe, especially if you buy it outdoors where they reuse the cheapest most terrible oil, nearly everything is fried, MSG added and lots of sugar.

The sugar added to shit is laughable. Cant even take a sip of a bubble tea. Unfathomable how they can enjoy it. Restaurant in my building know me. They dont add salt or sugar to any of my dishes.

[Nowisee]

Definitely...eat healthy with fruits and vegetables (prefer organic) and prefer to cook at home, not street food, although occasionally. Exercise 4-5 days a week.
Moderate intake of alcohol... I am about to complete switch over to stop drinking thai beer.

Also keep my mind in good health.

And other bodily functions in good working order.

When it becomes unhealthy, time for change.

[Mbaki]

Its not hard to keep fit, i actually love exercising in the heat, and eating healthy is so easy..

Couldn't agree more, I healthier now than before I came here.

Wife keeps me eating healthy, helping the family on the farm keeps me fit as well, lost the urge to drink alcohol and there are no bars where I am.

Just enjoying good clean living and fresh air.

[stereolab]

Live out in the sticks away from the bars......health improves tenfold.

Oh.....I forgot to mention, live in a house on 10 rai....you don't need to exercise....just looking after the backyard will take care of that.

I live in rural Thailand and I spend an hour or so most early mornings hacking down the scrub and grass/palm grass on 2 rai. If I get bored with that I then do the same for my friend and neighbour who has no husband to do it for her. The alternative is to prune/hack/trim the trees back and there are a few of those to do as well.

That is how I spend at least 2 hours each day, sometimes up to 6 hours, cutting grass and trees, looking after next doors extended garden, an old woman lives there sans family, I also cycle in the late afternoons. I really enjoy working in the heat, and working outdoors, having worked In An office for over 40 years. I am teetotal and a non-smoker. I take a pride in making sure my immediate surroundings are as neat and tidy as they can be, I just wish the grass would stop growing quite so fast.

[nithisa78]

Sir, Bars and drinking are a choice. Not one anybody has to indulge in.

Service your spirit self. Watch your life and love improve. Go to a Temple or house of worship.

Volunteer to help others.

[Ulic]

I don't drink to much but I do like to eat. I don't exercise enough but I do swim 40 minutes

in the pool 5 days a week. It was 50 minutes 7 days a week but my shoulder were getting

quite sore. I know I have to trim up the calorie intake but ladies tell me I am a "HANSUM MAN"

so I just don't have the motivation.