Sheaf Saint

Right, I've reached the ripe old age of 36 and I have decided it is time to get properly fit for the first time in my life. I'm no slob, but I have always been a bit chunky and have never really been what you could describe as slim. Now I've had enough and I have set myself the goal of riding the Trans-Pennine Trail coast-to-coast route on my bike - either this autumn or next spring. I've been going to a local gym for a couple of months now, and obviously I have been spending a lot of that time on the bikes, as well as doing some weights and using the rowing machines as well. The thing is, although I do notice a slight improvement in my overall fitness levels and I can go longer at a higher level on the machines than I could when I first started, I just can't seem to get rid of this band of belly-fat around my waist. I'm not vain by any means and I really don't care how big or small I look, but I recognise that I can never be truly fit as long as I am carrying round this excess weight. My diet is pretty good and I am always conscious of how much fat and cholesterol I am intaking, I just can't get rid of it. I'm assuming that a fair few of you will be regular gym-goers or fitness fanatics (the very existence of this forum is dependent on a sporting club after all) so my question to all of you is: What exercise regimes do you maintain to keep your weight down and your fitness levels up, and what machines at the gym do you recommend I use to 'beat the belly'?

It wouldn't surprise me in the slightest. Despite the poison dwarf's protestations to the contrary, Formula one IS all about the money, so if the sponsors decide they didn't want their reputations tarnished then it is they who have the ultimate authority.

My personal view is that most of the mainstream music you hear these days is utter garbage, but there are still musicians making seriously good music if you have the time to look for their material. In my last job I was allowed to listen to internet radio on my headphones at my desk and I came across this site. OK it's American, and you have to put up with annoying American adverts if you don't subscribe to VIP, but the amount of stations catering to pretty much all tastes is awesome, and through this I discovered some fantastic music that would otherwise have completely passed me by. My current favourite band is Bonobo. Not commercial by any stretch of the imagination (though I did hear one track on a TV advert a while back) and most people I speak to have never heard of them, yet the last two albums (Days to Come and Black Sands) are phenomenally good.

Common sense prevails it seems... http://www.channel4.com/news/bahrain-grand-prix-will-not-go-ahead-says-ecclestone

Beautiful video. It's very similar to this that was sent to me a while ago...

Crikey dune! Supporting the rights of low-paid public sector workers? Perhaps there is a bit of socialist in you after all

From the BBC article... Yeah, stability has returned because your despotic royal family drafted in the Saudi army to assist in ruthlessly oppressing any form of dissent, even going as far as kidnapping and murdering doctors and nurses for the heinous crime of treating protestors. This world is ******* sick!

It seems you were wrong :-(

So can I assume that you are tee-total and have never touched a drop of alcohol in your entire life 1976_Child? Because if so then maybe it's fair for you to make that statement. If not then you are nothing but a hypocrite.

I think he is referring to the fact that large western corporations have commercial interests in Syria and that any military 'intervention' would harm those business interests, therefore it is unlikely to happen.

I caught some of this program lastnight and I too was in a state of utter disbelief that people who call themselves Carers could be so deliberately cruel to such vulnerable people who rely on them for support. Clearly these people have a poor quality of life anyway but the emotional scars some of them will have developed as a result of this depravity will probably never heal. I heard on the news this morning that 13 of the staff have been suspended and that police have arrested four of them as a result of this investigation. I hope they get what's coming to them. The fact that their faces have been shown on national TV means they will be publicly vilified, and deservedly so.

Oh for f***s sake dune, what the f*** has that got to do with anything? Why can't you ever respond to anything on here without accusing somebody involved of being a socialist? Do you honestly not realise how much of a tvvat you make yourself look by constantly trotting out the same old garbage on every thread?

Ground up and kept in the fridge?

In my previous job a mate sent an email response to a customer who had a fault and included the line "Please accept my apologies for any difficulties you may have experienced". Only he didn't realise he hadn't spelled difficulties properly and the spell-checker corrected it to 'Diverticulitis' which is a type of digestive disease.

This. That website was invaluable to me when I did best man duties for my mate about 5 years ago. The single biggest piece of advice I can give you is to pick your opening joke very carefully to ensure that you get everyone onside from the off. No matter how confident you are with public speaking you are bound to be a little bit nervous beforehand, but remember that everyone wants you to do well and a storming opening joke that gets a big laugh will break the ice and help you relax a bit. I joked that I was very nervous about doing my speech but obviously not as nervous as the groom because when I followed him into the toilet earlier on I found this (and held up a house-brick!)

Yeah I usually buy a couple of those to take to festivals with me. Have to be careful though cos it's so nice it's easy to drink it a little too quickly and end up forgetting the entire evening!

I'm getting sick to the f***ing back teeth of hearing about this now. I really couldn't give a toss which overpaid leather-bag shepherd is knobbing which desperate wannabe celebrity. The amoutn of column inches and airtime this story is receiving is completely out of proportion to the actual level of interest it should be receiving - ie, ****-all! The irony, of course, is that if he hadn't taken out the injunction in the first place then it might have only appeared on a few red-tops for a day or two and then blown over with everyone forgetting about it after a week.

I'm guessing you haven't tried that many ciders overall then. May I recommend the following... Addlestones Kingstone Press Aspalls Cornish Rattler Old Rosie And although they are both quite commercially produced, Westons and Thatchers both produce an excellent range of ciders to suit all tastes.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/13494528.stm Roman didn't waste any time there then. Not exactly the biggest surprise ever.

Well the fact that I don't believe Jesus ever even existed, let alone was the son of god and can save me from eternal damnation, is probably a good starting point.

I know someone who can see auras. He is very perceptive and can even tell if someone is sick based just on seeing their aura, and can even make a diagnosis (of sorts). He has been very accurate in the past and I have absolutely no doubt that he is genuine, even though I have an in-built scepticism for these things.

Well yes, but I doubt that would be top of the list of reasons why we would both be among the damned rather than the saved.

Bugger. Me and the GF are supposed to be going to look at a wedding venue this afternoon. Hardly seems worth it now, seeing as we're going to spend the rest of eternity in the burning fires of hell. Should I lie down and put a towel over my head?

I apologise in advance for the sheer level of annoyingness int his bloke's voice, but he makes a very valid point...

err, you do know Fosters originates from Australia don't you dune? And I have to agree with Saintandy666: It tastes like something from the devil's ar$e.