The General Fitness Thread ( Part 2 )

BruceVC · January 4, 2015

So its NY and many of us are embarking on new and exciting fitness programs. I am interested in what training programs people are doing and what is the objective, is it because of goals like weight loss or just a desire to improve your cardio fitness?

I use to do an hour of cardio 4-5 week but 6 weeks ago I injured my ankle and that impacted my running on the treadmill. But my ankle is 100 % now so I'm back to my regular training which is cycling, rowing and running at the gym

My goals are to improve my fitness and keep my weight at the level its on

Lets hear about your training

Fighter · January 4, 2015

I want to better my flexibility. There seems to be little easily available information compared to weight-loss and muscle-building science.

Cultist · January 4, 2015

New thread, new year:

Blarghagh · January 4, 2015

That was hilarious and very true. Anyway, I've started doing DDP Yoga and it's been great so far. If the weather would clear, I'm going to start running. Not as new years resolutions, by the way, since a number changing is a terrible reason to do something. I want to do these things.

BruceVC · January 4, 2015

That was hilarious and very true. Anyway, I've started doing DDP Yoga and it's been great so far. If the weather would clear, I'm going to start running. Not as new years resolutions, by the way, since a number changing is a terrible reason to do something. I want to do these things.

How is Yoga? I am very interested in doing that, do you think its a good cardio workout? I wouldn't think so but I never seem to see overweight Yoga people o:)

What would you say are the benefits?

Blarghagh · January 4, 2015

Well, DDP Yoga isn't exactly regular yoga - it seems to be designed to add some cardio and muscle to yoga. It gets MY heartrate up, but I'm not sure how it affects people who aren't sedentary and unhealthy most of the time. It seems to be helping a lot of people (I subscribed to them on Twitter and I saw a stroke victim saying it was helping him regain mobility in his affected side). I haven't been doing it long enough to say what the long term benefits are, but I feel better (energized and more flexible) and my physical problems, mainly my back and my wrist, are improving. In fact, I get the idea that my wrist is regaining mobility. So there's that.

Honestly, that's all I can give you. I've been at it for a couple of weeks. I really enjoy doing it, though, which is more than I can say for weightlifting and treadmills which bore the motivation and drive out of me, personally.

Woldan · January 4, 2015

My fitness resolution this year is to get better at deadlifts, I want to do 5 reps of 250kg (2.5x bodyweight) without belt or straps. Also shoulder presses, I want to be able to do shoulder presses with 100kg (1x bodyweight), standing unsupported without leg drive. I'm already working on an improved schedule with more power lifts and Olympic lifts replacing the few remaining isolations.

Thats pretty much it for this year, if I can make it to 250kg DL's maybe I can set my goal to 300kg next year.

BruceVC · January 4, 2015

My fitness resolution this year is to get better at deadlifts, I want to do 5 reps of 250kg (2.5x bodyweight) without belt or straps. Also shoulder presses, I want to be able to do shoulder presses with 100kg (1x bodyweight), standing unsupported without leg drive. I'm already working on an improved schedule with more power lifts and Olympic lifts replacing the few remaining isolations.

Thats pretty much it for this year, if I can make it to 250kg DL's maybe I can set my goal to 300kg next year.

Sounds intense, good luck and keep us updated around your progress

LadyCrimson · January 4, 2015

A while back I did end up buying one of those pedal-only thingies (where you can use it sitting in a chair or on a couch...). I was pretty doubtful about such, but it actually works really well, kind of like a recumbent bike position, and takes up hardly any space (important). It's not for intense workouts, haha, but it's been good for my arthritic knees, which were getting really bad a year ago. Was having a hard time going down stairs/downhill etc. and were often swollen to a point it was gimpy going to even walk across the living room at times.

Anyway, I've been using for 30-60min. every other day and while at first it hurt like a mofo, over time it really helped - they don't flare up as often and I can go for walks again and downhill/stairs aren't quite so frightening. So I'm pretty happy about that. I won't ever be doing any high-impact/stress stuff again probably, but for the moment it'll do. This year I'm hoping to increase length/time of hiking and maybe, if I'm lucky, get back on a real bicycle again this summer.

BruceVC · January 4, 2015

A while back I did end up buying one of those pedal-only thingies (where you can use it sitting in a chair or on a couch...). I was pretty doubtful about such, but it actually works really well, kind of like a recumbent bike position, and takes up hardly any space (important). It's not for intense workouts, haha, but it's been good for my arthritic knees, which were getting really bad a year ago. Was having a hard time going down stairs/downhill etc. and were often swollen to a point it was gimpy going to even walk across the living room at times.

Anyway, I've been using for 30-60min. every other day and while at first it hurt like a mofo, over time it really helped - they don't flare up as often and I can go for walks again and downhill/stairs aren't quite so frightening. So I'm pretty happy about that. I won't ever be doing any high-impact/stress stuff again probably, but for the moment it'll do. This year I'm hoping to increase length/time of hiking and maybe, if I'm lucky, get back on a real bicycle again this summer.

That sounds like some prudent and reasonable fitness goals, I hope you succeed in them :thumbsup:

Drowsy Emperor · January 4, 2015

That comic is so true

Hurlshort · January 4, 2015

I've been running regularly for the last year and a half, and I've been really enjoying it. I started out just trying to do a mile 4 times a week, and now I'm doing about 2-3 miles 5 times a week. Plus I still have my weekly hockey game, so that really keeps my cardio up. I've even got a few different running outfits and bought a decent pair of shoes over the summer.

For awhile I was doing pushups and situps along with my run, but a few weeks ago I convinced my wife to start leading me in a yoga routine. She teaches it as part of her PE and dance classes, so she has some good stuff. We've also been using our tablets to try and find different routines. It is more of a mix of Pilates and Yoga that we do, less focus on the meditation and breathing. It is hilarious what she can do and I can't. My quads and my hips are terribly inflexible, all my skating over the years has made them strong but tight. I am starting to see a bit of an improvement.

She has been kicking my butt with her sit up series, too. We do 10 with knees bent and feet on ground, 10 with knees bent feet in air, 10 with legs straight, 10 with knees bent feet in the air, 10 with knees bent feet on the ground, 10 legs to the left, 10 with legs to the right, and then 30 seconds of scissor kicks. She thorws in some stuff to mix it up so that we don't get used to it, but I'm already starting to see my six pack come back.

We do yoga 4 times a week, and we have a schedule set up with a reward when we reach the end.

Edited January 4, 2015 by Hurlshot

Woldan · January 4, 2015

She has been kicking my butt with her sit up series, too. We do 10 with knees bent and feet on ground, 10 with knees bent feet in air, 10 with legs straight, 10 with knees bent feet in the air, 10 with knees bent feet on the ground, 10 legs to the left, 10 with legs to the right, and then 30 seconds of scissor kicks. She thorws in some stuff to mix it up so that we don't get used to it, but I'm already starting to see my six pack come back.

I love situps, I always do them with legs in the air, holding a 20kg barbell plate with arms straight, four sets of 20, really slow.

Edited January 4, 2015 by Woldan

ManifestedISO · January 4, 2015

I'm resolved to improve my skills in happiness. Face-training, mostly for now. Smiling comfortably has never been easy, so I'm re-training facial muscles ... cheeks, mouth, and especially eyebrows. The more repetitions I do, including full-on aerobic guffaws and hearty laughing, the better I will feel inside and look on the outside. Who knows, someone might even smile back.

Woldan · January 4, 2015

Just lift heavy enough or make really hard cardio, you'll make all kinds of faces and develop serious face muscle in the process. No need for something disgusting as smiling.

And I'm only half-joking.

Edited January 4, 2015 by Woldan

Blarghagh · January 5, 2015

I'm resolved to improve my skills in happiness. Face-training, mostly for now. Smiling comfortably has never been easy, so I'm re-training facial muscles ... cheeks, mouth, and especially eyebrows. The more repetitions I do, including full-on aerobic guffaws and hearty laughing, the better I will feel inside and look on the outside. Who knows, someone might even smile back.

If you haven't already, look up "Duchenne smiling". I think it's fascinating that a genuine smile will actually feedback to your brain. It's like your brain goes "oh ****, the face is doing the happy thing, did I miss a cue? Better put some happiness up in here!" - in fact, it's been theorized that people who put Botox in their faces actually become unhappier because it's harder to genuinely smile.

Woldan · January 5, 2015

Today I did a strength evaluation test with a friend of mine who wants to start lifting. Since his height and weight is extremely average we also tried to calculate the strength increase between average (him) and advanced (me) to see how much stronger exactly you get with semi-professional lifting for a couple of years.

The answer is about 3x (1 repetition max weight). What's interesting is that in some exercises like bench press and especially those that target mainly legs you won't get much more than 2x-2.5x strength increase compared to an average person, whereas in exercises that target the back/neck like bent over rows, stiff leg deadlifts and shrugs strength increase will be in excess of 4x or even 5x.

The biggest difference was bent forward rows with 5x, and the smallest deep squats with barely 2x.

And it seemed like compound vs isolation didn't matter as much as I expected, which surprised me. Just found that very interesting.

Edited January 5, 2015 by Woldan

Malcador · January 5, 2015

If you haven't already, look up "Duchenne smiling". I think it's fascinating that a genuine smile will actually feedback to your brain. It's like your brain goes "oh ****, the face is doing the happy thing, did I miss a cue? Better put some happiness up in here!" - in fact, it's been theorized that people who put Botox in their faces actually become unhappier because it's harder to genuinely smile.

Wait, if it has to be a genuine smile makes you feel happy, what on earth were you smiling for in the first place ?

I will try to do my usual plan of walking more, perhaps with these new shoes and an orthotic my left leg won't seize up after 30 minutes (nothing like an inherited skeletal defect)

Blarghagh · January 5, 2015

Well, I meant genuine as in using all the muscles an actual smile would rather than just lifting the corners of your mouth. My bad.

Malcador · January 5, 2015

Oh ok, well then I guess that makes sense. Must be what all these smiling people I see around doing, just trying to get a fake high

Gorgon · January 5, 2015

Maybe I should try something like this. I can't get myself to excercise just for it's own sake. I need to be actually doing something.

Not many 90 year olds look this cool.

ManifestedISO · January 7, 2015

I'm resolved to improve my skills in happiness. Face-training, mostly for now. Smiling comfortably has never been easy, so I'm re-training facial muscles ... cheeks, mouth, and especially eyebrows. The more repetitions I do, including full-on aerobic guffaws and hearty laughing, the better I will feel inside and look on the outside. Who knows, someone might even smile back.

If you haven't already, look up "Duchenne smiling". I think it's fascinating that a genuine smile will actually feedback to your brain. It's like your brain goes "oh ****, the face is doing the happy thing, did I miss a cue? Better put some happiness up in here!" - in fact, it's been theorized that people who put Botox in their faces actually become unhappier because it's harder to genuinely smile.

No, I haven't. That is kind of a revelation. Just today I was doing repetitions*, and I was like, this isn't, this is just moving muscles. So I went deeper. I said, no comments, just quiet confidence. Because I always retrace thoughts and conversations and evaluate and comment on them to myself. I'm pretty sure doing so actually blocks naturally confident feelings which lead to genuine Duchenne smiles.

Edit: *smiling repetitions, not general gym reps, I was born naturally perfect. *flips table*

Edited January 7, 2015 by ManifestedISO

ShadySands · January 7, 2015

Back to working out after about 3 weeks off

ManifestedISO · January 8, 2015

I don't swear much online but that is ****ing highlarious.

ShadySands · January 8, 2015

Nice sig!

The General Fitness Thread ( Part 2 )

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