Jump to content

Exercise and Fitness: Keep On Keepin' On


Xray the Enforcer

Recommended Posts

Legs session today directly after work.  I was very low on fuel after only a snack for lunch, but still did pretty well.  I got all my usual sets, dropped one rep on heaviest squat set, and was much stronger on deadlifts.  But the squats overall felt much more of a challenge than recently.

This is why I like to do my heaviest weightlifting forms on weekends.  Weights are best two hours after a solid meal, not five hours after a snack or, worse, before breakfast.  When my glycogen is depleted I just feel drained.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I couldn't say if 4.30 is early in general, but for me personally, damn right it's early! :lol: 

On a more serious note, if getting up that early is no problem for you I don't see why lifting weights would be. If you warm up properly and are focused while lifting, it stands to reason that you should be fine.

Luke will probably (who am I kidding, he'll definitely :D ) know more about it than I do.

On my workout update, I'm still on the fence whether I should run the half-marathon in my hometown or not. It takes place mid-April, so I guess I still have time to make up my mind about that.

Before that, I'm off to Schladming, Austria in March for a week of snowboarding/skiing with three out of for of my best friends. I'm pretty confident in my fitness and that my whole body will not be sore and aching. It will be interesting to see if that will be the case with my friends, though. All three of them are pretty unfit and overweight.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 minutes ago, Arch-MaesterPhilip said:

I went to the gym at 4:30 this morning for some cardio and am now wasted. Does it get easier? Also is lifting weights early good? Or should I avoid that?

There are people on the board more qualified to answer than me, but I'm still pretty confident in saying that it doesn't really matter. For elite world-class athletes trying to eke out the tiniest sliver of advantage then timing their training to particular times of day might have merit, but for average people trying to stay fit I'd say don't overthink it. Pick up heavy (for you) stuff as and when you're able to do so given your schedule. Move over distance using whatever method you prefer at a pace you find challenging but not debilitating, again as and when you can. Eat food, not too much, mostly plants.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Really been in the groove lately.  Averaging ~10 hours of vigorous exercise a week while sticking to my intermittent fasting and keeping to under 1900 calories a day.  Have stopped worrying about the number on the scale since I have definitely put on muscle during this period and have visibly lost fat around my butt and (ex) love handles.  It was bumming me out to not see much movement on the scale even though I look and feel great.

Gonna sign up for barre training class in May and work towards my certification and start subbing in exchange for free memberships.  Pretty excited about that.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, Tywin et al. said:

Anyone have some good stretching techniques? I've had some terrible pain from my left bicep up through the left side of my neck. Off to get a massage in a few days, but any advice would be greatly appreciated. 

One that might help that in particular is to do this:

Put your arm up against an end of a wall (so like where two walls meet) like you're doing chest flys (so up and bent). Then rotate your body while keeping your arm against it so that as you rotate, you're putting more pressure on your arm/shoulder area. Continue rotating until you feel a good stretch. This should help your pec, back and shoulder some. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We’re on vacation this week but thankfully the resort has a decent gym. 

Last Friday I did shoulder press, pull-ups, etc at home after work so I would have a workout before the long day of travel.  Good workout but I lost a rep on the heaviest sets, probably due to a week of bad sleep. 

Saturday was lost to a nine hour flight, plus a couple of hours either end futzing about with airports and rental cars. 

Sunday was bench press, cable rows, etc and went really well.  Pleasantly surprised to lift at full strength despite jet lag and post-flight stiffness.

Tuesday was squats, deadlifts, leg curl and calf-press.  I did really well despite the finicky Smith machine here: the bar rotates too easily, almost frictionless, and even a tiny rotation makes the latch catch on the notches. 

Wednesday was shoulder press, pull-ups, etc.  Another good workout. 

I’m tempted to do another legs day today before we fly home overnight Friday/Saturday but that might be too soon — only 48 hours since last legs session — plus I’d have the DOMS stiffness on a long overnight flight.  

I’ve also been swimming lightly each day, just hanging out with my son in the pool, but making sure not to over-extend and incur the familiar shoulder strain. 

Unfortunately, vacation also means a week of eating restaurant food for every meal.  I am eating a lot of fruit and fish (Hawaii always has amazing fish) but still feeling pretty unhealthy from the amount of salt, oil and sweeteners that restaurants stuff into their dishes. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 2/15/2018 at 0:49 AM, Kalbear said:

One that might help that in particular is to do this:

Put your arm up against an end of a wall (so like where two walls meet) like you're doing chest flys (so up and bent). Then rotate your body while keeping your arm against it so that as you rotate, you're putting more pressure on your arm/shoulder area. Continue rotating until you feel a good stretch. This should help your pec, back and shoulder some. 

Yeah I've been doing that and it helps a bit. I read online that you should actually do it for 30 seconds 5 times in a row on each side at least once a day. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Not 100% exercise and fitness, but I went skiing for the first time this past Saturday since my nasty snowboarding accident a few years ago. I was pretty proud of myself because I was able to go for 6 hours and only fell once, on my last run, after I had hurt my foot 15 minutes earlier. I'm hoping to go again in a week or two, and I'm trying to will myself into getting back into it full time next season like I used to. It took me about an hour to get over my nerves, which is better than I expected. I figured I'd be terrified all day. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Guest
This topic is now closed to further replies.
×
×
  • Create New...