Lifestyle physical health/fitness thread

[yee]

Finished my turkey trot 10k in 45:49, not quite under 45 like I set out to do but I don't feel down or anything, just feel dopamine and going for longer jogs later to keep getting better. Most grueling run of my life btw, I did not miss out because I wasn't trying! Gonna try to bump up to 90 min runs more often now, I had constrained it to 60 for safety but a couple days ago when I aired it out it felt pretty good.

Also good luck Lee!

 

[Venom]

fuck turkey, we eat tamales and fajitas

happy thanksgiving, make sure yall lift before consuming

 

[SqueakyGuy]

URGH I had a long message typed up, and I slid my two fingers right on my dad's macbook, and poof! No more reply.

It has been three weeks of lifting and increased calorie intake so far. My weight went from 186 lbs. to 192 lbs. (or slightly less than 3 kilos), most of which I attribute to increased water weight from my milk intake (Probably averaging 1/2 GOMAD, but not since I've been home at my folks' house for Thanksgiving). I don't know if it's possible to expect any significant muscle gain in such a short time, but I'm gonna borrow my dad's body fat caliper and regulate my weight gains closely. Even if I've only gained 1lb. of muscle, I'm feeling better, enjoying planning the workouts, and enjoying the motion of taking more control in my life. Eating with a purpose, waking up for a reason, visualizing my goals, that sort of thing.

Those who have read my posts may remember I'm doing compound barbell movements with progressive loading. It is trying my patience to start with the empty bar and increase by 5 pounds only on each exercise. While I haven't done significant weight training other than fiddling around with curls and bench press and leg press machines before, if I followed the indications exactly, I would still be bench pressing like 65 lbs. I benched a 2RM of 185 lbs. last summer, so I've been adding 10lbs. per workout to my bench press only. I just did 85 lbs, so I think I'll do 90 on my next workout and increase by 5 from there, but still, I'm trying to calm my urge to increase my load dramatically. So I hear, once 2 months pass and I have to squat 3 times a week 25 reps @ 180+ pounds, I'll be exhausted, but for now, I just go in, do the lifts with only modest muscular effort, and go home. I can feel the deadlifts, though. They start at a higher weight because the bar needs to start several inches off the ground. I do notice that I've made many improvements in blocking, breathing, flexibility, and form, and I still need many more. I guess I'm just excited to start seeing more dramatic changes and I can't wait. I may post a form check video for my deadlifts if I can somehow muster the technology to incorporate one.

Anyways, nice to hear about all of your progress in the thread. Keep it coming.

Also, I found this video to be very motivational. I gobble up motivational talks, and this is a very significant time commitment (1 hour), but maybe some of you will enjoy it: "The Importance of What We Do".

 

[yee]

Keep motivational talks coming, taking a quick glance at one is helpful but reading an entire book or watching a long movie to really absorb has done more for me in the past.

 

[DM]

fuck motivational speeches, just watch this video

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10151007386498082

if that doesn't put your life and effort into perspective, nothing will

 

[Ninahaza]

ugh, DM, that video is truly something special. i saw it for the first time today and was all kinds of inspired, and also

f

if that doesn't put your life and effort into perspective, nothing will

 

[SqueakyGuy]

Just because I found the speech to be motivational (adj.), I would definitely not classify it as a "motivational speech." I'm a geek who loves to learn as much as I can, and this man is an emergency room physician who happens to study strength science as a hobby. In this video, he's delivering an informational seminar to a room full of strength coaches, sharing the medical indications of strength training for the overall population. More than becoming motivated though, I learned a few things that I'll etch into my brain for future use. Your mileage will vary.

That motivational video will be shown to my dad immediately. He is fat, has worn out his knees and back, can't stand for more than a minute without pain, etc etc etc. He has coat-tailed off some of my enthusiasm for strength training, asked me for some resources where he can do some more research, but I think he needs to believe he can do it, rather than read about how he could do it.

 

[Stallion]

fuck motivational speeches, just watch this video

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10151007386498082

if that doesn't put your life and effort into perspective, nothing will

This video almost brought me to tears, probably the best thing I've seen on the internet in a long time - added to my favourites.

 

[CaptKirby]

Hey guys, I read page 1 that you all think running on treadmills is terrible, so I assume walking on treadmills is worse than walking outside too?

I hate walking at my apartments because there are no good paths and I have to do a ton of walking in the parking lots, but I can live with that if I have to. When I go to the gym I could live with walking around outside before going in too.

(I am starting as a major fatass, running is not going to be an option for a little while...planning to do walking, burpees, lunges 5 mornings a week and walking/stairstepping/weightlifting 3 nights a week)

Also do you guys think that given my lack of ability to sprint starting out I should do HIIT on bicycles or stair steppers? I do not have any preference at all, I could do it on either, or alternate from one workout to another.

 

[SqueakyGuy]

Welcome to the thread, Capt. My personal sentiment is that going from outdoor cardio to a treadmill is awful because I really got used to enjoying the scenery, and as a tall, long-limbed distance runner, the treadmill really cut my stride short. The staying in one place is demotivating, and I much prefer the alternative. That said, we live in a concrete jungle, so it can be harder on the joints if you don't live near outdoor paths. I've personally never had shin splints or hip, knee, and ankle problems, but since you're carrying a lot of weight, you may have to deal with little nagging pains and shit. In short, do whatever regimen that you think you're more likely to actually do.

All of those considerations pale in comparison to the fact that no matter how you choose to do your walking, you're strengthening your muscles and heart, and your body will respond in very beneficial ways. Again, the best workout plan is the one that you actually do.

If you want to incorporate HIIT, choose whatever machine you like the most. Your heart won't care. I believe that refining the details of workouts is so much less important than staying consistent and doing whatever workout program you choose. HIIT seems well-studied and proven to be a more efficient way to gain cardiovascular benefits than traditional aerobic exercise (more improvement in health indices per time unit of exercise), so I encourage you to do it. There are criticisms to its efficacy, not every study has shown the same results when comparing the two approaches, but if you do it, you will benefit.

How long have you been walking? Have you been at it long enough to start seeing progress? Have you done research on nutrition to make sure you decrease your caloric intake below maintenance level?

 

[shade]

i inexplicably slipped a little yesterday whilst doing a reasonably light deadlift (80kg) and now im in a bit of pain when i bend over. it didn't hurt much at the time, but does anyone have any recommendations on how i should proceed? i don't really fancy aggravating a potential back injury.

 

[Stallion]

i inexplicably slipped a little yesterday whilst doing a reasonably light deadlift (80kg) and now im in a bit of pain when i bend over. it didn't hurt much at the time, but does anyone have any recommendations on how i should proceed? i don't really fancy aggravating a potential back injury.

I know the feeling man, it's the worst when it happens when you're not even going that heavy. Had a similar thing happen to me a few months ago. Get a trainer at your gym to stretch it out, ask for their advice, alternate ice on and off and don't hit back for a couple of days. That did the trick for my little niggly thing!

 

[Bad Ass]

Hey guys, I read page 1 that you all think running on treadmills is terrible, so I assume walking on treadmills is worse than walking outside too?

I hate walking at my apartments because there are no good paths and I have to do a ton of walking in the parking lots, but I can live with that if I have to. When I go to the gym I could live with walking around outside before going in too.

(I am starting as a major fatass, running is not going to be an option for a little while...planning to do walking, burpees, lunges 5 mornings a week and walking/stairstepping/weightlifting 3 nights a week)

Also do you guys think that given my lack of ability to sprint starting out I should do HIIT on bicycles or stair steppers? I do not have any preference at all, I could do it on either, or alternate from one workout to another.

just know that weight loss is 80% made in your diet i.e. eating a caloric deficit. exercise is a good idea so your body runs better, more efficiently, but not totally necessary.

however, that's not what you asked. i generally abhor treadmills, elliptical machines, stair steppers, etc. if there is ANYWHERE in your city to run -- park, trail, apartment parking lot if you must. fuck cardio machines, they practically do all the work for you. just pick up your legs and you're golden. get out and see some sweet nature if you can and save yourself the $ on the gym membership.

maybe cool it with the hiit stuff until you get in a little better shape? after 3 months or so with a -400 to 500 caloric deficit and plenty of walking you will definitely be able to conquer whatever challenges you want. hell, i bet that it will be a lot less time than that before you are ready to move on to faster foot movement. i don't know how big you are to start (i assume not obese or anything), but usually learning to walk (getting your diet in order, not diving in too deep and losing motivation) is better than running to start. any further questions about my post and i will be glad to answer

 

[Ninahaza]

Hey guys, I read page 1 that you all think running on treadmills is terrible, so I assume walking on treadmills is worse than walking outside too?

I hate walking at my apartments because there are no good paths and I have to do a ton of walking in the parking lots, but I can live with that if I have to. When I go to the gym I could live with walking around outside before going in too.

(I am starting as a major fatass, running is not going to be an option for a little while...planning to do walking, burpees, lunges 5 mornings a week and walking/stairstepping/weightlifting 3 nights a week)

Also do you guys think that given my lack of ability to sprint starting out I should do HIIT on bicycles or stair steppers? I do not have any preference at all, I could do it on either, or alternate from one workout to another.

Ck, there are a lot of arguments on the matter of machines vs outdoors when it comes to cardio, and really no one should be surprised that the majority advocate for outdoors. Yes nothing can really replace actual running with just your feet and the ground with no machine support what.so.ever, and the same logic can easily be put behind walking as well, but i'll tell you this, most of my cardio/weight loss came from working with machines (or rather, on them, hehe). i tried both, but ultimately settled with machines, mostly the elliptical machine and the treadmill. Do what you find is better and is more convenient for your situation.

The difference between working on a machine and running/walking outside shouldn't be something to put too much concern on anyways. eventually though, and this is when you are running, you want to start running outside. mix it up between the two to build your endurance for outdoor running. it isn't the same with running on a treadmill, trust me (unless you are going at a leisure pace, which of course there is nothing wrong with a leisure run every now and then).

 

[CaptKirby]

Guys I appreciate the helpful attitude but I know how to diet, I think you would have to be mentally challenged to have a problem with that. Fruits, veggies, whey, chicken, sandwiches, peanut butter, yogurt, whatever, and keeping a hard 1600-1800 calorie cap per day. Although chicken makes me sick a lot of the time, it kind of comes and goes, so when it comes I have to stop eating that for a few months and try again later.

Squeaky Guy I definitely agree that it looks like a legitimate argument, the criticisms seem to be from people who prefer a different way. I do know that it is obviously geared for running the most, so I was curious about which machines would be "probable" to replicate it close to properly. I mean bicycling leaves out my upper half, stair stepping leaves out my upper half. So neither is exactly a win there.

I am absolutely obese Bad Ass (270 pounds, down from a starting point of 277, some of that was bloat that was lost obviously). I know how to run, I know how to lift, I know how to power through pain, none of those are problems to begin with. Just never heard these arguments against treadmills before, and since I want to lose 80 pounds or more in a year figured I would ask some more about HIIT, since I am currently definitely too fat to run. The weight is definitely coming off, I am eating about 1500-1700 calories a day despite adding the whey protein to the diet...it is definitely not fun but I am sure it is quite the "first world problem"/actually my fault, so I hardly mind. Honestly I have not spent more than 1-2 hours hungry any day when I consume 1800-1900 calories in a day, so if I "have to" eat that much that is always fine.

As far as not starting HIIT right away, keep in mind that with how out of shape I am that basically entails doing it to exhaustion (all of like...7-9 minutes right now is the best I could even hope for). So it is hardly going to break my legs.

Ninahaza I loved ellipticals before, I did a ton of weight loss/whatever on them before, usually going for a good 40-50 minutes a grind. I just do not have patience now, I would rather do something that takes a shorter amount of time per day but that I can will myself to doing more days. That was why I was wondering about walking outside versus walking on a treadmill.

For running I definitely would never run on a treadmill except to pace a run exactly how I like. Used to I ran 5-7 miles a day 5 days straight a week then took two days off, I always ran that on a 1/7th of a mile per lap circular lap. It was so easy to be motivated there though (UT), there were hot girls on that track any time except after 9 at night or before 7 in the morning. Finding a park to run in like the other guys were talking about is definitely something that might be good for the future, I hate running surrounded by cars, it makes me feel so jittery.

 

[Lee]

neat little article on the subject

it was the 'biomechanical differences' I was referring to when I criticised treadmills although the wind resistance and oxygen consumption makes sense. I don't think there'd be too many drawbacks if you're just walking though, I think if anything there might even be slightly more biomechanical engagement than the outside equivalent since you have to 'push off' a little and it's also useful that you can use the speed controls to maintain a higher intensity walk than you probably could outside. yeah, I'd stick to treadmills until you actually start running and even then, like Nina alluded to, it depends on your goals; you will burn a very similar amount of calories on a treadmill to what you would running outside so from a solely weight-loss perspective there's not much between them. but if one of your goals is to become as strong a runner as possible then you are gonna need to hit the road eventually.

as for bicycle vs stair steppers, it's a win-win really but I feel a rowing machine is perhaps worth consideration since it activates the upper body as well as the lower and is generally a bit more conducive to HIIT than the other two options imo

 

[khz]

Hey guys, considering starting to lift in the new year and will start working on my form from now, but I'm trying to work out whether stronglift or SS is better for me. I tried googling this but it only turned out to stronglift v SS cultism :/

Anyway I've never lifted before if thats relevant, but from some stuff I've read:

1. is it really that much harder to have a linear progression on 5x5 compared to 3x5? Since I want to get as strong as I reasonably can (I'm in this for the long haul, or so I say now lol) is it that much harder to lift more on 5x5?

2. Does 5x5 really make you more injury prone? This is probably my bigger concern since no matter how slow I progress, its still more than if I'm on the couch trying to recover from something going wrong. Also I've started to run a bit and would like to keep that up, how should I fit that in my week and still have enough recovery time?

I know I probably don't need to decide on an exact program for like a month from now since the exercises are very similar in both workouts, but I still like having an actual goal to look forward to. Thoughts please?

 

[SqueakyGuy]

Two thoughts: Don't wait till 1/1/2013 to start, start tonight. Seriously, after a month into it, I'm wishing I were 3 months into it, so don't put off your gains and success by an arbitrary 30 days just so it can be called a "New Years Resolution."

Pick whichever routine you like, they'll both work. SL 5x5 switches over to 3x5 after a few deloads anyways. I use both resources for information gathering.

I wouldn't recommend a serious cardio regimen in addition to either routine, but it's your choice.

 

[Eo Ut Mortus]

Hey, guys. I signed up for a 5k and only just realized it's on Saturday. I'm really out of shape, though; it's been two months since I was running regularly, and I was out of shape then. I'm a recreational runner and have run 5ks before, so I don't think I'm going to do too badly, but probably not too well, either. I'm definitely not expecting an overnight transformation, but I'm willing to do as much as possible within the next three days to improve my performance. Any suggestions?

I'd also like to use this as an opportunity to begin fostering good running habits. I used to just run a constant amount every day, but I don't think that's the most effective way of conditioning. Any suggestions for workout routines? I have access to a running track, a treadmill, and the great outdoors, and I'm looking to work on mid-to-long distance running rather than sprints.

Thanks in advance!

 

[DM]

My two tips between now and the 5k:

1. DO NOT RUN. Seriously, if you try to train for a 5k in 3 days you're going to wreck yourself and end up aching like crazy and unable to run on race day. It's like dentists telling you not to floss right before your checkup if you haven't been doing it all along, it will make things SO much worse.

2. Eat enough healthy calories the day before/of the race. The last thing you want to do is crash because you didn't eat enough, your body needs fuel.

 

[khz]

Two thoughts: Don't wait till 1/1/2013 to start, start tonight. Seriously, after a month into it, I'm wishing I were 3 months into it, so don't put off your gains and success by an arbitrary 30 days just so it can be called a "New Years Resolution."

Seriously tempted to, but I'm enjoying my noob running too much right now haha (week 4 c25k, yay!?)

 

[yee]

I'd say as long as you don't do too much the day before you should be fine for a race, it should be good time to recover any soreness from light running the first 2 days. IMO just 20 minute light jogs the first 2 days, see how you feel the 3rd day. If you're feeling optimistic air it out as you see fit the 2nd day. Get carbs the night before the race (spaghetti's good here).

As for a routine, I'd say the most important thing is that your cardio workouts are enough fun to do everyday. 20 minutes of light cardio every day is what the American Heart Association recommends for general health so I'd start out with that length of run for a few days to ease yourself into it. If it feels like a drag any day you could replace it with a sport, take a walk / bike ride somewhere, all that matters is that you do a little bit everyday. If you're immediately ready for harder stuff / when you get there 30-60 mins of jogging everyday should get you steady improvement. Again if you're not feeling up to it you or your legs have been getting tired, swimming, sports, a shorter distance faster run are fine replacements. Everyone's legs get tired at some point so don't worry if your cardio was not a run on any day.

For training and races I'd recommend taking an easy pace, going as slow as you have to as long as you're doing a jog. You should enjoy doing it every day so you don't want to get miserable too often and a slow steady pace is the best way to get a longer distance, which generally makes me feel good about runs once I've realized I've done a decent distance. Going to a walk would be the #1 killer of your distance / time so getting a jog you can maintain as long as you need to is important.

For treadmill vs track vs outdoors, I personally prefer outdoors because on the track I get caught up with timing myself, and the treadmill annoys me for a bunch of reasons. I worked primarily on one for about a month as a replacement for real running and I had a hard time re adjusting to real running. It's an excellent cardio workout but I've had problems with it wearing out my legs before I could get as far as I normally would, whenever I run more than about 10 mins (I've even stayed on for an hour sometimes) picking up my legs to keep going becomes noticeably more of a chore than normal and I've actually been unable to run the day after a couple of times because of weird things it's done to my inner thigh- I felt like whenever I needed to pick up my leg for any reason that I had a muscle the size of a paperclip to do it with, and I've even needed to just pick it up with my arms instead sometimes. The other big downside is that you can just turn it off at any time, in the outdoors once you get a certain distance away from home you need to return and run that same distance, which makes it easier to keep running the whole way. You also feel much better about yourself in the 2nd half of the run, and it stacks with the want to get back home to help you run faster and feel better still about your run. A treadmill is still a good tool to get a feel for exact paces as well as a track paired with a watch, so even if you feel the same way about which form of running is best you'll still get to use them.

In summary make sure its fun and make sure you do some cardio everyday for your routine. Hope this helps.

 

[BlakBlastoise]

GAINS

So today is the deadline I set about 8 months ago. My original goal was to go from 240 to 205 within the 8 months. I weighed in at 164 lbs this morning. I was able to achieve much more than I ever thought I could regarding my weight. I’m planning to maintain for the month of December before resuming my quest. I’m expecting to gain a good 7 or 8 pounds during the 31 days, but I really don’t mind at all. Also, does anyone know if there’s any truth behind the whole: Muscles get depleted of glycogen when you cut, so when you start maintaining you’re going to gain weight from restored glycogen stores? It sounds like broscience to me, but I’m not too sure.
Now I’m not sure what I should do… I’m getting very light, which is not exactly something I necessarily want. The obvious thing to do would be to start weight training and try to build some muscle if I want to be heavier, but I absolutely love the cardiovascular fitness that I’ve gained through my journey. In order to build muscle I’ll have to eat at a surplus (woot! I love to eat), but I’m afraid that eating more will affect my fitness. Eating more shouldn’t affect me all that much if I do it right, but monitoring every calorie I consume seems aggravating. Weight training and jogging seems to be considered counterproductive by a lot of people. What are your opinions on this? Will I be able to build muscle assuming I eat more calories than I burn lifting and running? If I must choose one or the other, I don’t mind, but I’d like to get the best of both worlds in order to become as healthy as possible.
Another thing I could do is continue to cut until I get to about 10-12% body fat (I’m guessing I’m at ~18% right now) before I start to eat at a surplus, but considering how slow/hard it’s been to lose weight recently, reaching such a low percentage of body fat might take me forever. Then again, the slow progress might have been due to me not exercising as much as I could have due to school.
If anyone cares, my knees are doing well. Left is at about 98% right now, and the other is perfectly fine.

Ninahaza, you're not the only one that can do THIS

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[Nosferalto]

^ strong poverty tv dude

jk, gj on the weightloss

 

[BlakBlastoise]

^ strong poverty tv dude

jk, gj on the weightloss

Everyone knows you can't play melee on one of those widescreen shits.
and thanks.