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Exercise and Fitness: Keep On Keepin' On


Xray the Enforcer

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10 hours ago, Triskele said:

In addition to getting back to lifting 2-3 times per week I've also been hitting a free yoga class my work offers once a week, and I think the latter is really helping to balance out the former.  And I've just been dreading that re-tweaking old sports injuries will derail the progress.  Trying to be extremely cautious with the few lifts that feel most dangerous and also feeling like the progress on the yoga front is really, hopefully, making me less susceptible to re-injury.  

Trisk, that is awesome, and also what I (and many others) have experienced after adding a yoga practice to our weekly workout routines.  My old injuries have gotten much better, but I've admittedly had other injuries due to yoga (over-stretched muscles, pain in the wrists from arm balances, etc...).  Overall it's definitely a net positive and has helped in basically every other sport I do.

Today I weighed myself and happily saw 189 for the first time in ~2 years.  Really feeling great and can't wait to get this vacation started!  Have been (mostly) keeping to whole30 even after finishing the program, just because it's so easy and the results have been remarkable.  I'll do a barre class followed by a yoga class tonight, pack, then take it easy for the next week.

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On 3/30/2018 at 1:18 PM, aceluby said:

You really shouldn't be disappointed when you ran a PB.  Progress, not perfection.  Perfect is boring anyway ;)

For me, today marks day 30 of the Whole30 diet.  Goal was to get to 195 lbs and today I weighed in at 190.8!  Lost 13 lbs, and since halloween have lost a total of 25 lbs!  Also took 34 workout classes during that period and was still able to build noticeable  strength and endurance during this period.

The 'diet' isn't actually all that bad, so I think I may stick to it for the most part.  There's nothing that I really miss and love the fact that I don't have to do any kind of tracking.  Might add back some sauces, beans, and allow myself the occasional burger; but overall I'm really liking the way I look and feel.  I thought this would be much more terrible than it actually was.  My wife and I have agreed that this might be a good twice a year activity.  Once before spring break and summer, and once before halloween.

That was my experience with Whole 30.  I still largely follow it, allowing some foods in sometimes, I feel really good.  I have been doing it since September.  I think I have lost around 70lbs, but I was pretty overweight.  (I have always been an active and oddly healthy fat man, it really throws my doctor).  Even when I was done and lightly following it, I kept losing.  I did it for the second time in January because some friends wanted to do it and it was nice to reset after the holidays.  (My wife is a professionally trained baker and we make a slew of cookies for the holidays, near impossible to get through that and not have any.)

I think my only real hard line is no processed sugar, the other stuff, in extreme, moderation, is off.  I also, let myself have little tastes of whatever I want, just to see what I think.  It lets me know what is dangerous because it tastes TOO good, so it can't be at home, but other times things that I used to like just tastes gross and makes me feel gross.  Pizza and Donuts just, are on the no fly list, they taste pretty crappy to me now and make me feel even worse.

I hit an exercise goal this year, I am weight lifting more before the weather turns, I usually did endurance lifting then I would get kinda board and actually drift off to other activities, this time I focused more on it and I am actually in a strength building part of the routine.  I am kinda curious to see how that goes.

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The big thing that continues to be a massive benefit to my health is meal tracking. I don't even need to necessarily watch what I'm eating or anything like that - simply the small barrier that anything I eat I will need to record and figure out what its macros are is enough to make me think twice, and the data I'm getting about my moods and energy levels and things like that is so good. From what I've read simply doing meal tracking results in weight loss without any actual specific change in diet, which is neat. 

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I think my only real hard line is no processed sugar, the other stuff, in extreme, moderation, is off.  I also, let myself have little tastes of whatever I want, just to see what I think.  It lets me know what is dangerous because it tastes TOO good, so it can't be at home, but other times things that I used to like just tastes gross and makes me feel gross.  Pizza and Donuts just, are on the no fly list, they taste pretty crappy to me now and make me feel even worse.

Yeah, this. Processed sugar - especially in large dosages - messes me up, and now I have data to show it. Another one for me surprisingly is large quantities of salt at one time. I can handle a good amount of salt over the day, but if I have too much of it in a serving I get really run down. 

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100% agree Kalbear, being aware of what goes in and how it affects me is huge. I will add that also being aware of why you are eating is just as important. When I started tracking, I never realized how much of a stress eater I was (not how stressed I was at work; it lead to some conversations with my boss. )

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1 hour ago, Guy Kilmore said:

100% agree Kalbear, being aware of what goes in and how it affects me is huge. I will add that also being aware of why you are eating is just as important. When I started tracking, I never realized how much of a stress eater I was (not how stressed I was at work; it lead to some conversations with my boss. )

Yeah, that's been a big help. I had thought I was a stress eater, but apparently not; instead, I'm a pain eater - whenever I hurt physically or emotionally I tend to eat a lot more, or want to. I had no idea at all until I started tracking food associated with moods and feelings. 

The ability of meal and fitness trackers to do these sorts of things is absolutely incredible. I wish we could do more with the data and find actual trends overall across major population groups, but it's good enough to arm oneself with the information and be able to do better. 

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I used to track everything, but I get tired of it really easily.  It's why I liked whole30 so much, just follow the rules and everything will naturally fall into place.  Though now that I've done it I am definitely more sensitive to how food impacts my body, which makes me more conscious of those decisions.  High amounts of sugar I can feel in my fingertips.  I am also much more sensitive to dehydration, and also realized with how much I work out and sweat that there is no top limit to my salt intake.  I can always use more salt and my body craves it.  My body also thinks bread is gross, which is new for me too.  I feel like it's the same end-game of understanding what you're eating, why, and how it impacts you; just a different way of going about it.

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So I'd appreciate a bit of advise from some of the more experienced lifters here:

I've been having on and off problems with my back. I decided to buy a belt, to give it a bit of support. So looked online and found one that seemed to have decent reviews. The brand was Bodymax, however when I got it out of the bag, two of the three rivets were snapped. My question is whether to get a refund and try a different brand (in which case who would you recommend,) or just get a replacement and see how that goes (it does come with a year warranty.) Are Bodymax generally a decent quality and this is just a fluke or are they generally pretty shit? It doesn't fill me with a world of confidence if this thing can't stand up to the rigours of the British Postal service.

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22 hours ago, Guy Kilmore said:

100% agree Kalbear, being aware of what goes in and how it affects me is huge. I will add that also being aware of why you are eating is just as important. When I started tracking, I never realized how much of a stress eater I was (not how stressed I was at work; it lead to some conversations with my boss. )

I fully agree.  I don’t need to do elaborate tracking to know that eating junk has a terrible effect on my body, and that I especially eat junk when I’m exhausted or very stressed.  Sugar and junk food are an addiction like anything else, and your discipline/resistance is lower sometimes. 

I find now that large portions of sugar or salt (Korean food, pizza, etc) leave me feeling poisoned with toxicity.  I still want them but the memory of that toxic feeling helps me steer clear until my discipline/resistance is really low. 

I don’t use Whole30 but it’s easy to focus my diet on home-cooked whole food and cut down the processed foods and restaurant food.  

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6 hours ago, The BlackBear said:

So I'd appreciate a bit of advise from some of the more experienced lifters here:

I've been having on and off problems with my back. I decided to buy a belt, to give it a bit of support. So looked online and found one that seemed to have decent reviews. The brand was Bodymax, however when I got it out of the bag, two of the three rivets were snapped. My question is whether to get a refund and try a different brand (in which case who would you recommend,) or just get a replacement and see how that goes (it does come with a year warranty.) Are Bodymax generally a decent quality and this is just a fluke or are they generally pretty shit? It doesn't fill me with a world of confidence if this thing can't stand up to the rigours of the British Postal service.

Casts summon @lessthanluke and @Stego. These two can probably help you out.

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@The BlackBear I saw your question but I wouldn’t consider myself a serious or experienced lifter.  My squat and deadlift are just 250lbs and 300lbs respectively. 

I don’t use a belt at all.  I did in my first era of weightlifting back in undergrad, just because I was told to.  I prefer to focus on good form so that I don’t need a belt at my level. 

Luke and Stego lift a lot more. 

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I have a question for those more knowledgeable. Every time I read about work out routines, they always end the article with the caveat that it's important to mix it up because the body will adapt to excercise A and it will no longer give the desired effect. What does mixing it up really entail? Is it using completely different excercises or is it varying the amount of reps/the weight?

I have three fairly small children so right now time to train is kind of hard to come by, except for when they are asleep, which have led me to buy a bunch of free weights and work out at home. That actually work fine, but the options of excercises are kind of limited, at least by my imagination.

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36 minutes ago, Mikael said:

I have a question for those more knowledgeable. Every time I read about work out routines, they always end the article with the caveat that it's important to mix it up because the body will adapt to excercise A and it will no longer give the desired effect..

This is one of those phrases that is repeatedley said by average gym goers but in reality is complete rubbish.

You can make gains forever doing the same basic exercises.

Lots of powerlifters for example literally only squat, bench press and deadlift and they continue to progress.

If what you are doing is working and you enjoy it there is no reason to change anything. Your body doesn't know the difference between exercise A and B.

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59 minutes ago, lessthanluke said:

This is one of those phrases that is repeatedley said by average gym goers but in reality is complete rubbish.

You can make gains forever doing the same basic exercises.

Lots of powerlifters for example literally only squat, bench press and deadlift and they continue to progress.

If what you are doing is working and you enjoy it there is no reason to change anything. Your body doesn't know the difference between exercise A and B.

Thanks! 

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One caveat to the above - you need to change the actual weights/reps as you make gains. That might be harder with free weights if you don't have a lot of options available to you in that specific exercise; you can't make a 25lb barbell heavier. In that case - say you have only 25lbs - doing different, more challenging exercises will help depending on what you want. 

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@Mikael I think Luke and Kalbear gave good advice here.  I’d definitely suggest focusing on a solid foundation of key exercises.  For me squats, deadlifts, bench press and pull-ups are the priority  in my exercise, then shoulder press, cable rows, shrugs and calf press are the complementary second tier mixed in.  The third tier are peripheral add-ons like arms, calves and core after they have already contributed to the foundational lifts. 

But within a set pattern of exercises you can vary your weights and sets somewhat to push for progress.  Add a rep or two, increase the weight slightly, throw in a drop set at the end, etc. 

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1 hour ago, Kalbear said:

One caveat to the above - you need to change the actual weights/reps as you make gains. That might be harder with free weights if you don't have a lot of options available to you in that specific exercise; you can't make a 25lb barbell heavier. In that case - say you have only 25lbs - doing different, more challenging exercises will help depending on what you want. 

Yeah of course weight or reps need to increase to make progress.

 

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I got no exercise at all midweek.  Just too much going on.  I expected to hit the gym on Thursday evening right after work but my wife bailed on bringing our son to TaeKwonDo that evening so I skipped the gym for family dinner and his bedtime routine.  Usually that’s my best chance of a guiltless trip to the gym in the early evening.

Saturday was shoulder press, pull-ups, etc but my strength and energy were below par.  I’m blaming it on a bad night of sleep.  I lost a rep on most of my heaviest sets and then only lasted for one set each of arms, lat raises and core (usually 2-3 sets each).  Very disappointing. 

But thankfully today was a glorious rebound.  I woke late after another bad night of sleep, ate a couple of bananas and a protein shake for a light breakfast, and then hit the gym for legs day.  I was back to full strength and did great sets on squats (250lbs) and dead lifts (300lbs).  Leg curl, leg extension and calf press all went well too.  I even threw in some core sets despite my abs feeling strained after pull-ups yesterday. 

I really want to establish a pattern of at least one exercise midweek, but I’ve stopped the late night workouts (they destroy my sleep) and I’m reluctant to ditch my family before my son’s bedtime in order to go to the gym in the early evening.  Once he’s a surly teenager who refuses to talk to me it’ll be less of a problem.  Right now his bedtime is 8:00-8:30, which is early enough that if I exercise after work then I’ve missed him for the evening, but too late to do a heavy workout afterward and still expect to sleep. 

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On 4/6/2018 at 4:36 AM, Triskele said:

Thanks!  It sure is a good feeling to be both about as strong as I've ever been but also about as loose as I've ever been, and I think the yoga is so huge for this.  I've been doing the yoga just once a week most weeks for about four months, so nothing too crazy yet.  But one of my bigger, admittedly just anecdotal, takeaways is that it is indeed a practice.  It's something that you do week after week for an extremely extended period of time where the results come slowly, but they come if you stick with it.  Maybe that's true of most exercise.  

For example, this past week I could really feel my lower back stretching out during downward dog in a way that just hadn't been happening in the first months.  Would think that this can only be attributed to attrition/perseverance.  I came in with monstrously tight hamstrings, and while they still are, it's a bit less so.  One does not simply un-tighten one's hamstrings in a few sessions, it would seem.

I did something similar a few years ago - 3 rowing practices a week and one yoga class/session. It helped me with flexibility and, much more importantly, made me feel great. It also made me feel very inadequate since it's been the first time that I flat out sucked at something. Not that I've been great at every sport/training I've tried of course, but in those cases I just wasn't strong enough or fast enough or whatever. Yoga was completely different from anything I'd ever tried before and it took some time to adapt.

Yoga does have a reputation for being the best second physical activity you can do. There just isn't a sport out there that you can't improve in by doing yoga. It just fits in great with everything.

On 4/7/2018 at 5:57 PM, lessthanluke said:

This is one of those phrases that is repeatedley said by average gym goers but in reality is complete rubbish.

You can make gains forever doing the same basic exercises.

Lots of powerlifters for example literally only squat, bench press and deadlift and they continue to progress.

If what you are doing is working and you enjoy it there is no reason to change anything. Your body doesn't know the difference between exercise A and B.

I'm sure squat, bench press and deadlift are a great way for powerlifters to improve, but that wouldn't do that much to improve some other athletes' performance. ;) It would definitely improve their strength, of course.

Also, it depends on the gym goer and their goals. Doing the same routine over and over again would drive me insane. I'd rather lose some of the gains (or take longer to reach them) but have as varied workout as possible.

Speaking of that, I must add some running/swimming to my routine and try to ride a bike to work every once in a while, for starters. Also, some of my colleagues started talking about some basketball after work so I'll definitely go for that if it happens.

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4 minutes ago, baxus said:

I'm sure squat, bench press and deadlift are a great way for powerlifters to improve, but that wouldn't do that much to improve some other athletes' performance. ;) It would definitely improve their strength, of course.

Also, it depends on the gym goer and their goals. Doing the same routine over and over again would drive me insane. I'd rather lose some of the gains (or take longer to reach them) but have as varied workout as possible.

Speaking of that, I must add some running/swimming to my routine and try to ride a bike to work every once in a while, for starters. Also, some of my colleagues started talking about some basketball after work so I'll definitely go for that if it happens.

Another aspect to this is as you alluded to - it's psychological. Whenever you start something new you tend to get more rapid gains in that exercise as your body adapts and learns how to do that exercise. That can make you feel better, as you're getting a whole bunch of improvements in that exercise quickly and leveling up fast. That doesn't mean you're making significantly faster improvements in your overall fitness or musculature or whatever your goal is, but it feels somewhat better.

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3 hours ago, baxus said:

I did something similar a few years ago - 3 rowing practices a week and one yoga class/session. It helped me with flexibility and, much more importantly, made me feel great. It also made me feel very inadequate since it's been the first time that I flat out sucked at something. Not that I've been great at every sport/training I've tried of course, but in those cases I just wasn't strong enough or fast enough or whatever. Yoga was completely different from anything I'd ever tried before and it took some time to adapt.

Yoga does have a reputation for being the best second physical activity you can do. There just isn't a sport out there that you can't improve in by doing yoga. It just fits in great with everything.

I'm sure squat, bench press and deadlift are a great way for powerlifters to improve, but that wouldn't do that much to improve some other athletes' performance. ;) It would definitely improve their strength, of course.

Also, it depends on the gym goer and their goals. Doing the same routine over and over again would drive me insane. I'd rather lose some of the gains (or take longer to reach them) but have as varied workout as possible.

Speaking of that, I must add some running/swimming to my routine and try to ride a bike to work every once in a while, for starters. Also, some of my colleagues started talking about some basketball after work so I'll definitely go for that if it happens.

No but other athletes would do the same things over and over to improve their performance.

Rugby players do the same drills repeatedly, sprinters do the same old exercises constantly just get better at them

etc etc

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