The general fitness thread

[Sarex]

[Sarex]

[HoonDing]

Automatic stairs at the subway were out today.

[213374U]

 Finally, I have done compound exercises and isolation exercises. Both give strength gains. You talk as if compound exercises are a secret skill instead of the first thing a gym goer tries. I have since switched to bodyweight training, which at 95kgs are sufficiently difficult to give strength gains

Bodyweight training? Oh, you are one of those. If you are even moderately strong, and by no means a power lifter you should be able to do many exercises with FAR more weight than your own body weight. An average gym goer should be able to dead lift two times their own weight, bench press at least (1 rep max) 1.5 times their weight, barbell row (1 rep max) their own body weight. Not to mention chin ups with body weight should be doable for every average joe, a person with good overall fitness should be doing weighted chin ups. 

 

This is... an exaggeration.

 

Strength standards would put someone doing what you say in the advanced or elite levels. That's someone with multiple year strength training experience, with clear goals, periodization, and on point nutrition and rest. No, an average joe cannot perform chin ups, and the average gym goer cannot DL or squat twice their body weight. Not outside of Austria, anyway.

[Hurlshort]

I've started Yoga with my wife 4 times a week, and it's incredibly hard.  I don't know how she does some of these things, I shake like crazy in certain stances.  But I have noticed I'm getting to certain muscle groups I haven't worked hard before.  

[213374U]

I've started Yoga with my wife 4 times a week, and it's incredibly hard.  I don't know how she does some of these things, I shake like crazy in certain stances.  But I have noticed I'm getting to certain muscle groups I haven't worked hard before.  

 

Yep. Some of that stuff will work you in ways you aren't used to, especially your core stabilizers, and much shaking and panting will ensue.

 

I've stepped once or twice into a Pilates class, and I came out humbled. There I discovered that my hip flexors were weak and that caused my knee and hip extensors to be shortened, which decreased lower limb mobility. And yes, I can deadlift 2x my bodyweight. Funny how that works.

 

The problem with that sort of activity is that you will adapt relatively quickly, and as there is no increase in resistance or session length, progress stops, and it's hard to stay motivated.

[Woldan]

The past 3 months I've been experimenting with dumbbell shrug drop sets, one armed, twice a week. Most people don't really care about the upper trapezius muscles but that exercise has single handedly improved my dead lifts, overhead presses and bench presses. It definitely deserves being mentioned as one of the best and sadly most overlooked exercises ever. Most people underestimate its role as static stabilizer.

And as side effect it has given me big traps too.

 

So if you have troubles increasing your dead lift or bench press and you don't know why your ''neck'' might be your problem.

Edited February 12, 2015 by Woldan

[Hurlshort]

The wife and I are about two months into yoga, and we are definitely getting stronger.  Workouts that wiped us out are much easier now, and so we've continued to add and mix up new stuff.  We've done a mix of Denise Austin and this girl named Adriene.  Crazy fact: Adriene is the voice of a bunch of characters in DC Universe Online. 

[Woldan]

Yoga would be an excellent way to build a solid foundation for weight lifting. It ensures you have all the required flexibility, core strength, joint functionality and muscle control for lifting heavy objects without injuring yourself or building an unbalanced physique. 

[Woldan]

Today, after completing my deadlifts, I tried something really nasty, lunges with heavy weights. 85kg lunges feel like somebody cut off one of your legs and you do squats while your fat buddy is sitting on your shoulders. Builds leg, hip and pelvis strength like nothing else. Highly recommended as exercise to improve your deadlifts and squats. 

Edited March 1, 2015 by Woldan

[Cantousent]

When I walk on city streets, I wear a 40lbs weight vest.  I hate the thing because it's tough on my shoulders, but it's made a big difference with my shoulder definition.  It's not really weight training or aerobic.  More endurance I guess.  I have a friend who is a personal trainer, and we've worked out a routine where I do two days of heavy weight sets and two days of light weight sets.  I keep looking for something low impact on my foot to take some of the stress off of it because I have real problems with it, but as long as I can hang with the discomfort, I really enjoy the hiking.  When I hike, I wear a pack for water and whatnot, but I'm looking into getting a better way to carry more water.  Come summer, water will be a real bitch.  I'll need a lot more and I need to find a way to carry it without it getting as hot as it does.  In the triple digit heat of last summer, I literally took water from one of my bottles at the end of a walk and brewed tea with it, that's how hot is was.  Anyhow, I've always been big on trying new things, so if anyone has suggestions I'm listening.

[Woldan]

Oh my, I'm an expert in water carrying!  I often go mountain climbing, relying on natural springs can be dangerous so I always carry water with me, especially on routes I've never done before.  In 3500 meters altitude and above your body dehydrates much quicker like in a desert so I always carry at least 7 liters of water, that goes into my 28kg heavy backpack.  In the worst case scenario which is not finding or not having access to any natural water sources I carry 2-3 days worth of hydration with me. 

 

If you're planning on carrying lots of weight for several days you can do upper trapecius (the muscle between your shoulder and neck) exercises so the straps of your backpack sit on a muscle cushion and do not rub the skin on your clavicle away. For stabilization I recommend core exercises to keep your upper body straight, thats abs and spine extensors. Dumbbell dead lifts and fronts squats have totally increased my ability to carry heavy backpacks relatively comfortably. 

 

Also when it gets really hot, have you tried to loosen the straps so air can get between your backpack and your back to carry away some of the heat? If its not too heavy thats a comfortable option, just loosen the straps every 30 minutes or so, for a couple of minutes. 

Edited March 2, 2015 by Woldan

[Cantousent]

I'll look into that, Woldan.  I don't plan on carrying around 28kg of kit, but then again I never do anything other than day hikes right now.  I don't think I'll ever convince my wife to go camping at all or go anywhere without public restrooms.  She thinks I'm crazy schlepping around a roll of toilet paper.  I've discovered I truly love hiking in the hills (I'm a neophyte, so I pretty much stick to trails) but the purpose still remains to lose weight and get in better health.  Same for weights.  I don't do them to build muscles per se, but to lose weight and be healthier, although I do appreciate getting my muscle definition back.