What do you guys do for fun after work/weekends

The Magnificent Falcowboys

I am trying to develop a healthier lifestyle for myself and quit the drink and try and find fun things to do at the weekend that doesn't involve it, would like some examples of what people do?I can go to the gym after work so thinking more along the lines of over the weekend and I would specifically like response from lads in their 30's that are single ?

Mr_Muffin

I cycle, walk, go window shopping, swim, try out new coffee shops, watch sports, play games, go cinema, play soccer, go running, meet up with friends I haven't seen in in a while, clean my car, visit family, go hiking, lie in bed, try to make a new dish, go try a new restaurant go to the beach, go to local gigs/festivals etc.

Sometimes It can be hard to find something to do but once i leave the house I usual end up just following the road and the day makes itself.

astonaidan

The Magnificent Falcowboys wrote: »

I am trying to develop a healthier lifestyle for myself and quit the drink and try and find fun things to do at the weekend that doesn't involve it, would like some examples of what people do?I can go to the gym after work so thinking more along the lines of over the weekend and I would specifically like response from lads in their 30's that are single ?

Not really Irish relevant as Im in Canada, felt every weekend was just a big drinking session, felt as I was part of a large Irish gang over here I needed to seperate from them, this made it so much easier now I happily go out and have 2 drinks usually during the week, then do stuff like going to parks with my girlfriend. My advice would be if you have a friend go hiking or something like this

JTL

The Magnificent Falcowboys wrote: »

I am trying to develop a healthier lifestyle for myself and quit the drink and try and find fun things to do at the weekend that doesn't involve it, would like some examples of what people do?I can go to the gym after work so thinking more along the lines of over the weekend and I would specifically like response from lads in their 30's that are single ?

Know two guys in very similar positions. Both have joined running clubs and seems to have changed their lives.

Their weekends now involve running in the Phoenix Park, various races around Dublin and surrounding areas and then nights out with their new social circle in running clubs.

I suppose it all comes down to what you consider 'fun'. Decide that and then try to find like minded people to do it with. A lot easier if you are in a city too.

ancapailldorcha

Most of my hobbies are solitary. I tend to go to the cinema, watch something at home, read or go for long walks for the South Downs.

The Magnificent Falcowboys

The Magnificent Falcowboys wrote: »

I am trying to develop a healthier lifestyle for myself and quit the drink and try and find fun things to do at the weekend that doesn't involve it, would like some examples of what people do?I can go to the gym after work so thinking more along the lines of over the weekend and I would specifically like response from lads in their 30's that are single ?

Explore your body.

No not like that - you have a dirty mind

But if you really do have a lot of time alone with yourself then explore your body and its limitations - and push those boundaries. There are SO many ways to find your limitations and then work on them to push the boundaries back - that if you actually get into it then you will instantly go from having time to fill - to not having enough hours in the day.

The Gym pushes things like your endurance or your strength - but there is so much more to training your body than that. Balance - spacial awareness - sequential movements - dexterity - you name it. There are ways to engross yourself in improving yourself that you might never have dreamt of.

Something I have been doing recently is a thing I bought off the internet. Its a hexagon thing you build in the garden with sensors hanging off it. And you have to make movements - fluid movements getting more and more complex as you go up in levels. The main target is you have to touch sensors - but only lightly enough that they register a touch - but not heavey enough that they register a movement force.

Its AMAZINGLY difficult - but amazingly satisfying too that you can swing yourself around and train yourself to JUST touch three sensors around your body in a single second. You really learn the limitations of your body - exactly where every bit of you is at every given moment. You gently touch one sensor with a finger then swing around and touch the next one with a toe - and so on and so forth.

This is EXTREME - but the example makes my point - Every moment of your day is an opportunity to be aware of yourself and your limitations and to entertain yourself by finding ways to gently push those limits. It is a game that never ends - but also never gets old.

the_syco

Look into combining your hobbies.

For example, I love heavy metal and photography, so every so often I'll drive into a gig, listen to the music, take photos, and drive home.

I find a lot of clubs have some sort of social drinking aspect to them, but once you don't mind that, look into golfing and hillwalking; both will take up lots of your time, and you'll meet people from all sorts of life.

lizzyman

I quite like going for a quiet pint, toasted sandwich and a quick read of the newspaper. Think I need to get out more!

donaghs

Like most people say here, some sort of exercise is probably the best way to enjoy yourself and not feel the need to go drinking.

You can get a decent bike and go for long cycles. Take up running either, helps if you've somewhere scenic to run/cycle too. Good to have to option of a club or mates who are into this too. The hardest part of this sort of exercise is getting started, and getting out the door. Once most people get going, they eventually find it sort of addictive.

There's load of Parkrun's around now, which means you can can take part in an organised 5K for free every Saturday morning. As you get fitter, you'll see your times getting better, and will probably feel more competitive. You won't want to drink as much on a Friday night if you want to compete on Saturday morning.
http://www.parkrun.ie/
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056545550

Regulars at parkruns often meet up after for coffee and chat.

But its up to the individual in the end of the day. It does sometimes involve taking a step back and looking at everything differently, if going out drinking is still the main focus of the week.

To add I guess one of the biggest chunks of my time after work and weekends - aside from the obvious time sink hole that is ones children - is the time I spend in the garden. Herbs and vegetables mostly - but the occasional non-edible bit of aesthetic plant life too. Couple this with the geese and hens and the like - and time does get drained and used up quite readily.

That and cooking - I have really come to enjoy cooking a lot and invest good time into it. My partners can not do scrambled eggs or over pizza without them destroying it and bits of the kitchen equipment too - so the sole role of house chef has fallen to me and I invest quality time in it.

I am not a gym person really - never liked them and had some off experiences there fairly recently that put me completely off. So I am more of a runner and cycler and I do BJJ, capoeira and meditation too.

So yea - not a lot of free time floating around unused in my life I have to admit.

CelticRambler

Dance. Seriously. Lessons/workshops during the week, social (occasionally performance/competition) at weekends. On the one hand, it's a "team sport" but it's also social, and you inevitably get to meet both sexes on neutral territory. It doesn't matter what style of dance you go for, but if you want to it to be part of a fitness regime, anything traditional is (way) better than the "performance art" styles.

The Magnificent Falcowboys

I actually have vast knowledge on how to get in great shape, its just a great shame I cant seem to quit doing the things I know are handicapping me and start doing the things that will give me success

Is there anyone here that used to be overweight and said goodbye the to drink and unhealthy food and fully embraced a lifestyle of fitness

I don't need advice on what to do, I already know this. Its doing what I know that's my problem

I am quite overweight and would like advice on how to go about quitting the booze because I want to lose the weight and get in great shape

My drink of choice is primarily Red wine, I have on average a bottle of night. I love coming home after a log day at work and cracking open a bottle with something very nice to eat with it like crackers and cheese or a rossitare chicken and fresh rolls or a nice pizza

This is relaxing for me and a comfort, I don't really drink to get drunk and I am not into spirits.

I know for a fact the above foods don't really appeal to me without the wine

I don't go out that much, when I do I drink pints with friends every month or do

I would love to just give it up and fully immerse myself into a life of weight-training and eating healthy

My problem is that I am living a fairly boring life , I am late 30's , single, work all week and basically do nothing at the weekend and drinking the wine at home gives me comfort

Of course I will get recommendations to join clubs and there are plenty of non drink related past-times , but all these things take place during the day. I still have to come home to my apartment at night which is when I feel just downright bored, so the wine is a release

I believe in my heart of hearts if I stopped drinking and started doing want I know , I could get a body like Chris Helmsworth , Chris Evans or Henry Cavil in those super hero movies

I guess its a case I don't want it badly enough or I truly have an addiction problem

H3llR4iser

Exercise and similar stuff is good - most people up here already outlined all the pros.

But you can't rely solely on exercise, or other people to go "do stuff with", as it's bound to put you in a tight spot - sometimes you will be tired, there's only so much exercise you can do in a day. Sometimes you just want to do something relaxing. Other times, people you organize things with will pull out at the last second, leaving you high and dry.

So you also need to find yourself something you can do on your own, in the comfort of your own place. You'd be amazed about how much absorbed into what seems a "calm" activity you can get - you won't think about food, drink nor anything else.

Pick something you like; It has to be something where you DO things, rather than passively take in - for this reason, I warmly recommend you stay off TV and TV-related stuff. Reading is different, it's a much more brain-active process - if anything, you have to imagine characters, situations and scenes you read about.

Also, many activities will provide you with skill sets which will be handy in other situations and walks of life. A few examples:

- DIY;
- Home Improvement;
- Model building;
- Gardening;
- Mechanical work (cars/bikes);
- Painting/drawing;
- Writing;
- Computer Graphics;
- Coding;
- Games;
- Car detailing;
- Playing instruments;
- Electronics (designing/building circuits and projects);

I could go on forever, to be honest. There will be many more I can't even think about. Get yourself into something like these, do your exercise (I would say daily, at least a long-ish walk at a brisk pace) and you should be on the right track.

Personally, I could easily do something like taking 2 weeks off work, go absolutely nowhere and still not be for even 1 minute in the "I have nothing to do!" situation

lizzyman

The Magnificent Falcowboys wrote: »

I actually have vast knowledge on how to get in great shape, its just a great shame I cant seem to quit doing the things I know are handicapping me and start doing the things that will give me success

Is there anyone here that used to be overweight and said goodbye the to drink and unhealthy food and fully embraced a lifestyle of fitness

I don't need advice on what to do, I already know this. Its doing what I know that's my problem

I am quite overweight and would like advice on how to go about quitting the booze because I want to lose the weight and get in great shape

My drink of choice is primarily Red wine, I have on average a bottle of night. I love coming home after a log day at work and cracking open a bottle with something very nice to eat with it like crackers and cheese or a rossitare chicken and fresh rolls or a nice pizza

This is relaxing for me and a comfort, I don't really drink to get drunk and I am not into spirits.

I know for a fact the above foods don't really appeal to me without the wine

I don't go out that much, when I do I drink pints with friends every month or do

I would love to just give it up and fully immerse myself into a life of weight-training and eating healthy

My problem is that I am living a fairly boring life , I am late 30's , single, work all week and basically do nothing at the weekend and drinking the wine at home gives me comfort

Of course I will get recommendations to join clubs and there are plenty of non drink related past-times , but all these things take place during the day. I still have to come home to my apartment at night which is when I feel just downright bored, so the wine is a release

I believe in my heart of hearts if I stopped drinking and started doing want I know , I could get a body like Chris Helmsworth , Chris Evans or Henry Cavil in those super hero movies

I guess its a case I don't want it badly enough or I truly have an addiction problem

This sounds like it could possibly be a problem. If you've been drinking a full bottle of wine to yourself every night for a while I would definitely talk to a GP before stopping. Sudden withdrawal from a powerful sedative-hypnotic like alcohol can be fatal.

Gone West

lizzyman wrote: »

This sounds like it could possibly be a problem. If you've been drinking a full bottle of wine to yourself every night for a while I would definitely talk to a GP before stopping. Sudden withdrawal from a powerful sedative-hypnotic like alcohol can be fatal.

Just stop that drinking, . A bottle a day can be classed as problem drinking.
If you can't just cut it out then you are probably in trouble.
Working in a sedentary job, overweight, and doing nothing but staying in at weekends and evenings means that you likely don't burn as many calories as you eat.
You know what you need to do, no point wasting time on here. My advice is to cut out about half the food you currently eat each daily and all the alcohol until you get your lifestyle and body under control.
Good luck BTW. Most people don't have what it takes, and by all indications Ireland and the UK will be full of mostly overweight, lazy people with no willpower. The sooner you nip it in the bud the better.

lizzyman

Fuzzy wrote: »

Just stop that drinking, . A bottle a day can be classed as problem drinking.
If you can't just cut it out then you are probably in trouble.
Working in a sedentary job, overweight, and doing nothing but staying in at weekends and evenings means that you likely don't burn as many calories as you eat.
You know what you need to do, no point wasting time on here. My advice is to cut out about half the food you currently eat each daily and all the alcohol until you get your lifestyle and body under control.
Good luck BTW. Most people don't have what it takes, and by all indications Ireland and the UK will be full of mostly overweight, lazy people with no willpower. The sooner you nip it in the bud the better.

I don't want to verge on medical advice but longterm daily use of alcohol can lead to an actual physical dependency. I'm not talking about a "problem" here, but an actual physical addiction. If you'd been drinking a full bottle of wine to yourself everyday for an extended period of time you will possibly experience withdrawal symptoms, i.e the DTs if you stop suddenly. Untreated the mortality rate is anywhere from 15-40%. Not something you want to go through without seeking medical advice first.

Jawgap

Depending on my mood, energy levels and the weather......

• Cycling
• Golf
• Shooting (nothing a morning blazing away at a few clays to ease the stress a difficult week )

.......never all at the same time.

I'm also a reluctant gardener - but I've developed a certain sense of satisfaction from growing roses. If you're looking for light exercise - and occasionally not so light - it's a good option. Plus, you get to cook some of the stuff you grow - although my wife takes care of that part.

Edit: I should've also said swimming - the pool during the week and open water sea swimming on the odd weekend. An open water swim club might a good option - very social, and not drink centred.

joollyparo

I joined a chess club recently and it was not as bad as i thought it would be.

The J Stands for Jay

The Magnificent Falcowboys wrote: »

I actually have vast knowledge on how to get in great shape, its just a great shame I cant seem to quit doing the things I know are handicapping me and start doing the things that will give me success

Is there anyone here that used to be overweight and said goodbye the to drink and unhealthy food and fully embraced a lifestyle of fitness

I don't need advice on what to do, I already know this. Its doing what I know that's my problem

I am quite overweight and would like advice on how to go about quitting the booze because I want to lose the weight and get in great shape

My drink of choice is primarily Red wine, I have on average a bottle of night. I love coming home after a log day at work and cracking open a bottle with something very nice to eat with it like crackers and cheese or a rossitare chicken and fresh rolls or a nice pizza

This is relaxing for me and a comfort, I don't really drink to get drunk and I am not into spirits.

I know for a fact the above foods don't really appeal to me without the wine

I don't go out that much, when I do I drink pints with friends every month or do

I would love to just give it up and fully immerse myself into a life of weight-training and eating healthy

My problem is that I am living a fairly boring life , I am late 30's , single, work all week and basically do nothing at the weekend and drinking the wine at home gives me comfort

Of course I will get recommendations to join clubs and there are plenty of non drink related past-times , but all these things take place during the day. I still have to come home to my apartment at night which is when I feel just downright bored, so the wine is a release

I believe in my heart of hearts if I stopped drinking and started doing want I know , I could get a body like Chris Helmsworth , Chris Evans or Henry Cavil in those super hero movies

I guess its a case I don't want it badly enough or I truly have an addiction problem

This may sound like terrible advice for someone who wants to get fit, but gaming could be the way to go.

You've said all the clubs and activities are during the day and your problems are at night. After a stressful day at work, you could come home, fire up GTA Online and work off the stress by going on the rampage. There's often people from boards online, and if you get a headset you can chat to people.