Exercise and Fitness: Keep On Keepin' On

[Starkess]

Oooh, pretty!!

[BigFatCoward]

It looks nice clean. 

[Iskaral Pust]

20 hours ago, Liffguard said:

Update on the bike front. Despite wanting to keep my costs down, I've kind of fallen in love with this bad boy from Temple Cycles. Yes it's hipster and pretentious as fuck, but that classic look really appeals to me. And every review of these bikes that I've read says they're bomb proof with really nice build quality. Seriously considering pulling the trigger tomorrow.

Looks really stylish and very much hipster as fuck.  How's the weight for a steel frame?

[Liffguard]

3 hours ago, Iskaral Pust said:

Looks really stylish and very much hipster as fuck.  How's the weight for a steel frame?

It's 11.5kg with mudguards and pannier rack. So not super-light like you'd get on a high-performance racing bike, but not notably heavy either.

[Squab]

On ‎8‎/‎16‎/‎2018 at 7:13 AM, Liffguard said:

Update on the bike front. Despite wanting to keep my costs down, I've kind of fallen in love with this bad boy from Temple Cycles. Yes it's hipster and pretentious as fuck, but that classic look really appeals to me. And every review of these bikes that I've read says they're bomb proof with really nice build quality. Seriously considering pulling the trigger tomorrow.

With a hub gear, changing a rear flat can range from just really irritating to almost impossible when you're out on the road. I would ask them to show you before you buy it. Schwalbe is a good brand of tyre so you are unlikely to have issues with flats regularly anyway. Also, white gets dirty. Especially the white walled tyres. I've got some on my oppy and although they give it a retro look, they spend a lot of time being brown rather than white.

Other than those two points (which may not be an issue), its a good looking bike with quality components. And the weights not too bad. Good choice.

[Jo498]

Grip strength might be a limiting factor when one does series like 3x10 slow pullups or more.

And I agree, that it is surprising that some people who seem fit and not too heavy can't do any. (For some reason I always was relatively better at pull-ups than push-ups, not that I could do more of the former but like being able to do 7 or more pull-ups while struggling with more than 20 push-ups.)

But it is not grip strength if one can do none or less than five. (Nevertheless training grip strength and merely hanging without any pulling is supposedly good for you regardless of pull-up ambitions. Many great complex exercises require good grip. So does other cool stuff like brachiating, climbing up poles and ropes, and of course any somewhat ambitious rock climbing or bouldering.)
I think the main problem in training is that before one can do one or better 4-5 (and then start with small series like 3x3 or so) it is difficult to train an easier version of the pull-up unless one has such a support-machine. With many other exercises one can easily start with easier version, like push-ups on the knees.

With many complex movements it is often hard to pinpoint the problems without a coach or experienced exercise person. They are often hugely effective and impressive once you can do them, but to get there, especially in rusty middle age is not easy.

I asked above about the "toes to bar" and now I can do a few but it still feels like a gymnastics stunt for me, not like an exercise I feel somewhat comfortable with and could do 8-10 repeats of. I thought my main limiting factor for them was hip/spine mobility but apparently it rather is shoulder/arm strength and mobility.

[Loge]

On 8/15/2018 at 11:13 PM, Liffguard said:

Update on the bike front. Despite wanting to keep my costs down, I've kind of fallen in love with this bad boy from Temple Cycles. Yes it's hipster and pretentious as fuck, but that classic look really appeals to me. And every review of these bikes that I've read says they're bomb proof with really nice build quality. Seriously considering pulling the trigger tomorrow.

That's a very nice bike. Not heavy at all either.

[Scott_N]

On 8/11/2018 at 7:28 PM, Impmk2 said:

I'm 36, and yeah I realize the mileage requirements are pretty steep, and 65k is just the average including lighter weeks and taper. I just raced a 30km (2:17:33 on a slight downhill course) a few weeks back, and have been putting in regular half marathon or greater distance runs for about the past 6 months. Todays was a 24k. Going to do a few more easy 30k runs in the lead up.

I haven't recently raced a 10k, my current best is about 44mins. Aiming for a 3:30 marathon.

Hope the slow build back up works for you. Injuries really suck. I've had struggles with itbs, but thankfully it hasn't flared recently (touch wood).

If you expect to do a sub-24 6k, I think your marathon goal is quite conservative. You can realistically aim for a 3.15 race (unless your marathon course is a particularly hard one). You've proven this is within reach with a 2.17 30k.

I agree with Jo498, though. Your mileage sounds low. I'd add additional distance to your easy days to avoid any surprises on race day. 

[3CityApache]

On 8/11/2018 at 4:47 AM, Impmk2 said:

Want to try for a sub-24min 6k, which I think I have a shot at, as this week I did a 6x1000m interval session (only a 30sec recovery between) and managed to hold 3:55-4min kms. Bloody hurt though.

Your results are impressive and you're probably going to make it easily, though from my experience recovery times between strong intervals, even the short ones, make a huge difference comparing to no recovery times. I for one can manage for example 5x 800m intervals with a pace under 4:00 (haven't tried 1000m intervals with such a pace), with 40 seconds recovery time between them, but my 5k PB is still only around 22 minutes. 

[AncalagonTheBlack]

First time posting in this thread.I was wondering if anyone here has used IF (Intermittent fasting)/time-restricted feeding (TRF) along with working out? What has your experience been like?

I came across this study (link) that tested the effects of 16/8 protocol (16 hr. fast/8 hr. eating window) along with working out 3x a week for a total of 8 weeks.Some of the benefits sound really good,specifically the significant decrease in fat mass - −16.4% in IF group vs −2.8 % in ND group (normal diet),blood glucose and insulin levels decreased significantly too, and muscle mass was maintained.

Any medical science experts here care to weigh in too?

[Jo498]

I have not really combined fasting with working out. I have been on roughly 16/8 since last fall/winter but I don't like running (my main exercise) after a fast. I once ran before breakfast and it was o.k. and on another occasion ran in the later afternoon and got so hungry that I had to break the fasting schedule and eat something in the evening. Fortunately I am flexible enough so that I can usually run within my "feeding window", either between breakfast and lunch (I realize that this is probably impossible for people working normal jobs which I don't do atm) or between lunch and early dinner (around 4 p.m).

I would try out different things but not too many changes at once. After some bad experiences with exercise before breakfast as a teenager I thought for years I would not be able to do it but then did it several times on hiking trips with about two hours of walking in the mountains before breakfast (helps with getting started early) and it worked well.

[baxus]

12 hours ago, Triskjavikson said:

Does anyone have any experience buying eliptical machines online like from Amazon or something?  I'm amazed how expensive these things can be and really want an in-home machine but no way am I paying thousands for one.  Thinking about take a risk on a cheap $300 or so one from Amazon but no real idea what to expect with that.  

I had an elliptical years ago and wouldn't recommend it. You might be different but all the people I know who had one (myself included) have used it regularly for a while (I seem to hold the record with 6 months) and then used it to hang their clothes on and stuff like that.

Pretty soon it turns to nothing but waste of space.

[Kalbear]

13 hours ago, Triskjavikson said:

Does anyone have any experience buying eliptical machines online like from Amazon or something?  I'm amazed how expensive these things can be and really want an in-home machine but no way am I paying thousands for one.  Thinking about take a risk on a cheap $300 or so one from Amazon but no real idea what to expect with that.  

My experience is that you get what you pay for, sadly. I got one, and use it when I don't have other options, but it isn't that good and occasionally falls off the track. It's very frustrating. 

[Impmk2]

On 8/18/2018 at 2:45 PM, Scott_N said:

If you expect to do a sub-24 6k, I think your marathon goal is quite conservative. You can realistically aim for a 3.15 race (unless your marathon course is a particularly hard one). You've proven this is within reach with a 2.17 30k.

I agree with Jo498, though. Your mileage sounds low. I'd add additional distance to your easy days to avoid any surprises on race day. 

So I'm building up to a 80-85km peak mileage week. Do I think I'd get more out of a few 100km+ weeks? Sure! But between training, working 2 jobs, family etc  Going well above any beyond most training plans I see, and basing it on whats worked for me building to half marathon and greater distances. So hopefully should make it.

Yeah how to pace it is something I've been struggling with. Online calculators give me time estimates between 3:15 (Riegel) and 3:30 (Vickers). So going to aim for the conservative end of things to avoid disappointment, and to make sure I don't bonk and have a fucking horrible run on my first marathon. Can always speed up over the last half of the race.

On 8/18/2018 at 7:04 PM, 3CityApache said:

Your results are impressive and you're probably going to make it easily, though from my experience recovery times between strong intervals, even the short ones, make a huge difference comparing to no recovery times. I for one can manage for example 5x 800m intervals with a pace under 4:00 (haven't tried 1000m intervals with such a pace), with 40 seconds recovery time between them, but my 5k PB is still only around 22 minutes. 

Thanks! Time trailed a 5k last week and PB'd with a 19:51. But yeah, not sure how I'll go with that last km. Going to push some really hard 400-800m intervals over the next couple weeks. Then just gotta hang on and hope the adrenaline carries me through.

 

[Iskaral Pust]

On 8/20/2018 at 4:17 AM, AncalagonTheBlack said:

First time posting in this thread.I was wondering if anyone here has used IF (Intermittent fasting)/time-restricted feeding (TRF) along with working out? What has your experience been like?

There’s another thread here call Oh-Oh For Paleo (started by Trisk, I think) that discusses various diet types with lots of good links to solid reference papers. 

I have lately adopted something close to IF, but not with explicit dedication because I expect it to be super effective.  I work from home for the first few hours of each morning, which allows me to have a large late breakfast around 11, a light lunch in the office around 3 or 4, then dinner at home around 7.  So all my food in an eight hour window.  But sometimes I’ll have a late snack if I feel hungry (or else I cannot sleep), and when I travel for work I cannot control my meal times like that. 

[Iskaral Pust]

Workouts are still going well.  Upper body weight lifting has been very good.  But two big frustrations:

First, that hamstring problem recurred in the very same specific spot as soon as I restarted just air squats.  So I’m still holding off squats and deadlifts and I’m going to consult a sports physician and probably get an MRI on this. 

Second, my weight has been stuck around 183lbs for the last few months.  After dropping the too-frequent desserts (stress eating), I haven’t actually seen my weight drop yet. I definitely have some more upper torso muscle than a year ago, but I could still stand to lose a few pounds of adipose tissue.  I know I’m already lean, and I don’t want to be one of the manorexic narcissists, but I don’t want to start on a slippery slope of accepting incremental weight gain. 

[baxus]

Still on my paternity leave from working out. Schedule is still a bit crazy but it's getting better.

Weird part though, I've lost weight over the last month. On average, my August weight is 2kgs below my July weight with peaks as far as 5kgs apart. Good thing is that significant part of that weight I lost is around my waist.  

Hopefully, I get back to training within the next month but it's still not something I can plan.

[lessthanluke]

Competed in the Czech Republic over the weekend and it was insaneee.

It seems they love their strongman out there. Didn't get the 400kg deadlift I wanted but loved the whole experience.

Still pulled 380kg which is the highest ever raw deadlift (without a deadlift suit) in an under 105kg strongman competition so positives to move on from. 

[baxus]

Congrats, Luke!

[lessthanluke]

3 minutes ago, baxus said:

Congrats, Luke!

Thanks man. I'll be going for the 400 again in 7 weeks in a competition a little closer to home! The travel, weight cutting, heat etc really took it out of me.