Exercise & Fitness III

[Xray the Enforcer]

I hated running even when I could run outside (these days, the asthma would probably kill me). And cycling is out because the whole point of my workout regimen is to improve my shoulders -- hunching over a road bike is one of the ways I got into this little mess of mine. The dance thing might be an option -- depends on when the classes are at my gym. :)

[ztemhead]

nothing new today. weights, more weights. increased my bench slightly over last week. big deal.

I sweated out enough to single handedly increase the water level of the Roosevelt Lake resevoir outside of town. It was kinda gross. I think it's the big cup of coffee I drink before the gym that does it to me.

I have an interesting workout planned for tommorrow if I can get up early enough. :)

[Kat]

Unhappy being sick. This makes me not want to go biking in the fog. Unhappily, traditional SF summer has set in, which means it's sunny everywhere except for the half of the city where I live and work. Curse you, microclimates. :tantrum:

But I did stuff today anyway. Just, as I mentioned, this is going to be a low-key weekend.

I found out the Bikram yoga place down the street has $5 classes on Saturdays. I don't normally do yoga, but something about the idea of doing it in a sauna-like room and sweating a lot makes it seem appealing. Has anyone tried this? Worthwhile?

[ztemhead]

Unhappy being sick. This makes me not want to go biking in the fog. Unhappily, traditional SF summer has set in, which means it's sunny everywhere except for the half of the city where I live and work. Curse you, microclimates. :tantrum:

maybe it's you who brings the fog to that part of the city

[Kat]

Well fuck you too, Mikey. :P

How's the bicycle treating you?

[Red Sun]

I hated running even when I could run outside (these days, the asthma would probably kill me). And cycling is out because the whole point of my workout regimen is to improve my shoulders -- hunching over a road bike is one of the ways I got into this little mess of mine. The dance thing might be an option -- depends on when the classes are at my gym. :)

That's really a point, but I try to outbalance the hunching on the bicycle with the exercises for shoulders and lower back.

On Thursday, I was on the road for 2 hours. It was pretty awesome.

[kiko]

That's really a point, but I try to outbalance the hunching on the bicycle with the exercises for shoulders and lower back.

On Thursday, I was on the road for 2 hours. It was pretty awesome.

I found that pushups and holding the pushup position for some time helps to activate the shoulder muscles. I dont have any issues any more, even though I bike ans sit on the computer all day.

[Lany Freelove Cassandra]

I cut down a tree with an ax yesterday. That is pretty hard work (and I don't thing the ax was very shrap).

It really wasn't a big tree, just a baby really, but damn, I was feeling that in my arms and shoulders (I could have used a saw, but the ax looked like more fun)

[seastarr]

For shoulders on the bicycle, if your bike has good proportions for you, you can pull your shoulders down and press down into your palms on the handlebars and engage your lats and other shoulder stabilizing muscles. Helps with the hunchies.

This is one reason I ride a mountain bike, though, because so many road bikes push your body forward and low so it really is harder to get the shoulders down.

Kat, I've done Bikram yoga. It's not really my thing, but I know a lot of people who love it. The heat is nice (I'm a lizard, and if it's 85 degrees out, I'm pleased as punch) The sweat is a bit out of control, especially in a crowded class where it can just be a little gross. You literally walk out of class looking like you just walked out of a shower with your clothes on.

You must drink extra water to sustain the Bikram practice.

IMO, the teaching in the Bikram system largely sucks. In order to use Bikram's name, the teachers are required to follow his copyrighted script, so wherever you go, the classes are taught using the same words, and you will probably practice the same 26 postures every time. This makes it almost impossible for Bikram teachers to teach with creativity in their classes, and I did not feel they had the training to assist if students had a problem in the posture or had pain or needed to deviate at all from the program. I recall asking a question in Bikram once and the teacher actually told me I wasn't allowed to ask questions and I should just do the posture as she had told me. Not very helpful. So, the environment is rather military, and they actually do hold a stop watch and time your postures. They can also get militant about you needing to stop the postures and get some air if the heat gets to you, so beware. If you commit to entering the heat for 90 minutes, you are expected to remain in the heat for the full 90 minutes even if you think you are going to barf.

That said, I had a great Bikram teacher in Honolulu named Diane, who was one of Bikram's own students from long ago. She was a very inspiring teacher, and she knew how to lead a class. She also followed the Rolling Stones around the world taking pictures of them in concert and on the road, and her studio was full of Mick pictures. That rocked.

Because she was such a long time student and teacher, she felt comfortable actually teaching this method instead of parroting a script and getting freaked if there were any deviations from the script. I think the newer generations of Bikram teachers do not have such good training as they are taught pretty much to just follow the script, so I would recommend that you find someone who has been teaching for a long time of you decide to do it! There is a place in San Fran that has teachers I've heard good things about. I'll find out which studio it is if you like.

Hope you feel better. (Essential oil of rosemary and eucalyptus--five drops in boiling water, towel over head, inhale steam. Short term relief for stuffy head.)

ETA: Global Yoga on Chestnut is the studio I have heard good things about. I haven't been there myself, but I checked out the website just now and the owner/teacher sounds similar to the lady I was working with in Hawaii. But be warned they are probably very strict.

[ztemhead]

Well fuck you too, Mikey. :P

How's the bicycle treating you?

*hugs*

funny you should ask...

I was feeling a little bored with my workouts lately, so I thought I'd spice things up with a little variety, and also add in the incentive of my other love, eating at a new restaurant.

so a few hours ago I hopped on Fezzik, cued up my 90s hip hop playlist on my Ipod, and started spinning south a bit, towards Scramble, this new breakfast place I read about in the free weekly paper, the Phoenix New Times.. The review said the dishes were delightful, if a little rich, but I figured what the heck, biking a distance to get there, I've earned it. Kat you'd have liked it for the abundance of Phoenix hipsters present. In that neighborhood, people are evenly divided between them and the meth heads, and it's too early for meth heads to be prowling.

I back up a bit. The ride out was lovely, though it took a little bit to get used to riding again, especially getting my feet in and out of the pedals without falling over. (I use bike shoes that clip right into the pedals) Luckily, I didn't even fall once, mommy, yay! Traffic wasn't pleasant, and I can't say I'll ever go any major distance in the metro area on a weekday. Having to stop every mile for a red light sucks, as does the constant fear I'll be run over by some teenager driving daddy's Escalade. At least on the motorcycle I have the juice to get away from inattentive drivers.

The wait was atrocious due in part to it being Sunday, and in part to the newspaper review which just came out on Thursday. The food was good and filling, and definitely a good value. The paper, however, built it up a little more than they needed to. Whereas at some places I've eaten recently I was completely blown away and basking in afterglow for half a day, here I was just full, satisfied, and ready to ride home. And for my jalapeno corn muffin, they didn't give me their special homemade butter that the paper talked about. Instead I got Land O' Lakes. *grumbles*

Here's the route I took. about 18 miles total, not bad for my first bike ride in five years. :)

ETA I just reread that post, and I sound a lot crabbier than I feel. Overall it was great to get on the bike again, and I'm delighted to see that everything is working the way it should.

[seastarr]

What better way to procrastinate from cleaning the house than to post another stretch for the stretching people on this thread?

So today, try baddha konasana. That means bound-angle posture, Triskele.

It is probably familiar to many of you as the butterfly stretch thingy you had to do in gym class back in the day.

Do it well:

1) Begin as in the first picture on the left, sitting tall and upright holding on to the feet (traditionally you'd hold your big toes with index, middle fingers and thumbs). If this is impossible, sit on a pillow or something to make your seat higher than where your legs rest. If you aren't sure if you are upright, sit with your back against a wall for feedback. The back of your hips need to get snug against the wall. Do not worry about the height of your knees at this time.

2) Once you can sit upright with your back in its natural upright alignment, you can begin to fold yourself forward. Try to keep the spine long as you bend forward, as if your breastbone was reaching forwards as much as down. See picture #2.

3) If you can bend partway forwards with a long spine, you can gently encourage the knees towards the floor with your elbows. Feel as if the knees descend because the thighs lengthen away from the hips. Then continue folding forwards as you are able, walking hands out along the floor. (pic #3)

4) Fold all the way down until your chest/ribs nestle against the feet. Arms can reach out to the sides here. (pic #4)

Enjoy! Let me know how it goes.

[ljkeane]

So today, try baddha konasana. That means bound-angle posture, Triskele.

It is probably familiar to many of you as the butterfly stretch thingy you had to do in gym class back in the day.

I don't think that will be happening anytime soon :o , I think there would be a good chance of doing myself a serious injury if I tried that :P

[Kat]

so a few hours ago I hopped on Fezzik, cued up my 90s hip hop playlist on my Ipod, and started spinning south a bit, towards Scramble, this new breakfast place I read about in the free weekly paper, the Phoenix New Times.. The review said the dishes were delightful, if a little rich, but I figured what the heck, biking a distance to get there, I've earned it. Kat you'd have liked it for the abundance of Phoenix hipsters present. In that neighborhood, people are evenly divided between them and the meth heads, and it's too early for meth heads to be prowling.

I back up a bit. The ride out was lovely, though it took a little bit to get used to riding again, especially getting my feet in and out of the pedals without falling over. (I use bike shoes that clip right into the pedals) Luckily, I didn't even fall once, mommy, yay! Traffic wasn't pleasant, and I can't say I'll ever go any major distance in the metro area on a weekday. Having to stop every mile for a red light sucks, as does the constant fear I'll be run over by some teenager driving daddy's Escalade. At least on the motorcycle I have the juice to get away from inattentive drivers.

The wait was atrocious due in part to it being Sunday, and in part to the newspaper review which just came out on Thursday. The food was good and filling, and definitely a good value. The paper, however, built it up a little more than they needed to. Whereas at some places I've eaten recently I was completely blown away and basking in afterglow for half a day, here I was just full, satisfied, and ready to ride home. And for my jalapeno corn muffin, they didn't give me their special homemade butter that the paper talked about. Instead I got Land O' Lakes. *grumbles*

Did I just get called a hipster? :dunce:

Jalapeno corn bread sounds delicious right now. And I love breakfast food.

Congrats on getting back on the bike. 18 miles is longer than I usually ride for, because I just commute, and Margaery's not fast enough for road riding. Riding in the city is stupendously slow; if you think stopping every mile is annoying, try riding through my neighborhood where every corner is a 4-way stop, except the ones (even on a 'designated' bike route) which are 2-way stops not in my favor. :thumbsdown: This is my typical commute; the way there is short and boring and the way back is long and scenic. I'm kind of afraid of clipping my feet to my pedals. Is it easy to disengage them?

Seastarr- Thanks for the info. The reviews on Yelp for this studio are pretty good, and mentions that the studio is not carpeted, which is nice. (Carpeting in a hot room full of sweaty people? Ew.) I'll probably try it one time. Kind of unfortunate that it's scripted...that can't be fun to teach. (I used to teach at Kaplan, and that had a script. Total pain in the ass.) But the reviews also said that they have water breaks, and that if the heat gets to you, you can just sit on your mat.

[Kat]

I'm not an expert, but I've generally found it more helpful to stretch after a workout, or between sets in lifting weights. That is, after my muscles are warmed up. I've never found that stretching beforehand makes any difference for me in terms of next-day soreness. But if I don't do it at all, then I do get sore. (Probably more inflexible too, but I find it hard to believe that I can get more inflexible than I already am.) YMMV.

[Liffguard]

Static stretching before a workout will actually decrease your performance and increase your recovery time. The generally accepted progression is:

cardiovascular warmup --> general active stretching --> specific active stretching --> work-out --> cardiovascular cooldown --> isometric stretching --> passive static stretching

[seastarr]

I don't think that will be happening anytime soon :o , I think there would be a good chance of doing myself a serious injury if I tried that :P

Well, here's the beginner's version that I tried to explain. You obviously don't have to go all the way to stage 4. Just ease into it carefully and use support where you need it. You can use even a larger pillow than what I've got in the picture if it still seems hard. The knees don't have to bend as deeply as mine, either, although the deeper the bend, the easier it's going to be on your knee structures as you widen them out. At first the knees might not be very wide. Your back might not get flat into the wall. Don't worry and don't force.I know you were probably just being funny but there are certainly ways to modify the shape if it seems impossible.

[ztemhead]

Did I just get called a hipster? :dunce:

Jalapeno corn bread sounds delicious right now. And I love breakfast food.

Congrats on getting back on the bike. 18 miles is longer than I usually ride for, because I just commute, and Margaery's not fast enough for road riding. Riding in the city is stupendously slow; if you think stopping every mile is annoying, try riding through my neighborhood where every corner is a 4-way stop, except the ones (even on a 'designated' bike route) which are 2-way stops not in my favor. :thumbsdown: This is my typical commute; the way there is short and boring and the way back is long and scenic. I'm kind of afraid of clipping my feet to my pedals. Is it easy to disengage them?

nah yer not a hipster. I was just thinking you'd enjoy a breakfast spent making fun of them. ;)

as for the pedals with shoes, I have no problems except every now and then when I'm feeling totally stupid and forget my feet are in them. that split second of hesitation when I"m at a complete stop is enough to start me tipping over. The fall doesn't hurt as much as the embarassment does. I compare it to bonking your hip on the same desk at work every now and then. You know it's there, but clumsiness still happens.

[Liffguard]

Sorry, when I said "active" I should have specified "dynamic active" to differentiate from "static active."

Okay, so:

General dynamic active stretching: stretching by moving e.g. leg raises, lunges etc. "General" because you're just doing big general movements to mobilise the joints.

Specific dynamic active stretching: The same as above but with movements specifically relevant to the workout you're about to do.

Isometric stretching: also sometimes called "resistance stretching" or "PNF stretching." Basically, you tense the muscle being stretched and try to shorten it whilst stretching it. E.g. if you were stretching your quads, you'd tense your quad muscles and try to extend your leg. Generally done for maybe 10 seconds and then when you relax the muscle you get much more range of motion out of it.

Static passive: what most people think of as "normal" stretching. "Passive" because you're not using your muscles as opposed to "static active" where you use your muscles to actively hold the stretch in place. E.g. leaning over and touching your toes is a static passive stretch, gravity is doing the work. Slowly raising your straight leg and holding it high would be a static active stretch.

The above info. comes pretty much straight from Stretching Scientifically by Thomas Kurz.

[Mudguard]

Went on a grueling hike a few days ago. Summited Mt. Baldy, Dawson Peak and Pine Mountain for a trip total of about 18 miles with 9000 feet elevation gain. Took me about 12.5 hours to complete. I'm definitely seeing an improvement on my performance during the hikes. The first time I hiked Mt. Baldy, maybe a month ago, I was hiking at about a pace of one mile/1000 feet elevation gain per hour. This time, I summited Baldy by a more difficult trail at a pace of 1.5 miles/1500 feet elevation gain per hour. I'll be happy when I can go at a pace of 2 miles/2000 feet elevation gain per hour.

I've been doing some research and found a couple hikes that are considered testpieces for Socal day hikers. One goes from the desert in Palm Springs to the peak of Mt. San Jacinto (elevation 10,804 feet) via the Skyline Trail, also known as the Cactus to Clouds Trail, which was once a Native American footpath. The hike is 23 miles with about 10,700 feet elevation gain. Easiest time to do it is late fall when the weather is cool and there is no snow or ice on the paths.

The second goes from Shorty's Well (-250 feet) in Death Valley to Telescope Peak (11,049 feet) for a total of about 24 miles and 11,500 feet elevation gain. This one involves a long car shuttle between the start and finish, so I'm going to have to join a hiking group if I want to do it as a day hike. Actually, this hike isn't in Socal, but it's pretty cool because it starts near the lowest point in the USA.

[QuietColours]

Really lousy night at the gym tonight. After doing back handsprings without a spot last night, I bailed every single attempt at backwards tumbling tonight if I didn't have a spot, and my right arm kept collapsing when I did. Beam and bars were fairly standard and the rest of my tumbling was pretty meh. I hate feeling like I wasted a practice, since I only get one a week and my time with the coaches even then is so limited. I did do conditioning on parallel bars and rings, which I should do more often. I'll probably hurt tomorrow.

I really, really need to work on my upper body strength, especially shoulders. Easily my least favorite kind of workout. Does anyone have any suggestions for exercises? I do not have access to any weights or pull up bars. I do have an exercise ball and resistance bands. Some stuff I do right now: standard push-ups, push-ups with elbows in, knuckle push-ups, spotted handstand push-ups, push-ups using stairs for an incline, handstand shoulder shrugs, tricep dips using a chair, tricep dips between the bed and the dresser with my feet at the same height as my shoulders, bicep and tricep curls with the bands, push-ups with hands on the ball. A couple other exercises are a little weird to describe--with my feet on the couch, I'll hold my body in a straight, flat line with my hands as close to under my hips as possible, and another where I hold a similiar position with my feet on the floor and try to kick to a handstand; both are bars specific and work the shoulders. I'll also do push-ups in a kind of downward dog position, working the shoulders more. And lots and lots of handstand holds. There really isn't a whole lot of organization to what I do when, which is probably part of the problem with my lack of progress. I'm definitely stronger then I was a couple of months ago, but I'm not progressing at near the same rate I have with leg or core strength.

Also have a question about pull-ups/chin-ups. When I try to do them--or at least hold in the chin-at-bar position--it hurts my elbows and I feel like I'm doing the entire thing with my forearm and my elbows hurt. Not surprisingly, I can't do very much. I've been told my form looks fine (no mirrors)--is this a purely a strength issue, and I'll start using the muscles I'm supposed to be using as I get stronger, or do I need to find someone who can help me figure out how to use the right muscles before I have too many bad habits?