Exercise and Fitness: Keep On Keepin' On

[aceluby]

13 hours ago, Triskjavikson said:

@aceluby

Peter Attia has talked about doing keto and one of his go-tos in order to get calories without coming out of ketosis was sour cream.

Thanks for the tip!  Unfortunately sour cream is probably my least favorite food on earth, so I think I'll keep supplementing with cheese and fatty meats.

[aceluby]

One week in, with 3 good exercise sessions, a couple of softball games, and a lot of physical activity remodeling my house and I'm already down over a pound.  I know it's probably water weight at this point, but so far things are looking good and it's pretty easy to stick to this diet.  I have no problems finding something within what I can eat at a restaurant either.  Yesterday I had a bacon cheeseburger w/ no bun and a side salad with cheese, olive oil, salt, and pepper while I was out bowling.  Tonight is barre and I think tomorrow I'll try to get a yoga class in before my softball game.

[Erik of Hazelfield]

Ordered a scale last week so I can keep track of my weight. I’m sort of dreading to step up on it after a summer with lots of beer and very little exercise. But it was definitely worth it after the shitty winter I had.

The plan is to... wait for it... lose weight and gain muscles! (Bet you never heard that one before.) And also regain some stamina, right now I feel horrible during the first few runs I’ve done.

I’m thinking I want to try an energy restriction diet for the first time, including weighing my food, counting calories and calculating how much to eat. I don’t know yet how much I want to lose but probably no more than 3-4 kg. It shouldn’t take that long in theory but we’ll see how I do. 

[lokisnow]

Started a boot camp Monday 6am boot camp.

FML.

[Iskaral Pust]

2 hours ago, Triskjavikson said:

On creatine, does anyone have much experience?  This page from examine.com suggests that it really is legit and maybe everyone should be taking it.  

The biochemistry is that it allows second stage fuel during exercise, so that you can work harder and sustain hypertrophy for longer. 

I have used it in the past but never noticed any difference with or without.  I do long, intense workouts without it.  Pre-workout food intake and prior sleep seem to be the main determinants of how long/hard I can exercise. 

Lots of bodybuilders swear by it as a foundational supplement. 

[Erik of Hazelfield]

From what I’ve read creatine is indeed the real deal. It doesn’t do much for long-distance running, but gives the muscles an extra store of energy during anaerobic exercise. This is mainly interesting for athletes who do short sprints, like football players, track and field athletes or swimmers, but can also be used to increase the effect of gym training if done right. This review study for example found an average 8% increase in maximum strength compared to the placebo control group:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/14636102/

Of course, like all such added nutrition it’s just a complement to a good exercise schedule and a good diet with lots of protein etc. If you don’t get the basics right, no amount of creatine will do you any good.

[aceluby]

16 hours ago, Iskaral Pust said:

The biochemistry is that it allows second stage fuel during exercise, so that you can work harder and sustain hypertrophy for longer. 

I have used it in the past but never noticed any difference with or without.  I do long, intense workouts without it.  Pre-workout food intake and prior sleep seem to be the main determinants of how long/hard I can exercise. 

Lots of bodybuilders swear by it as a foundational supplement. 

I've had the same experience.  Used it for years and didn't see any noticeable difference.  

[Iskaral Pust]

Exercise on vacation was definitely a mixed bag.  The hotel in downtown Madrid had a surprisingly good gym, including dumbbells up to 22kg/50lbs and a pulley machine for pull-downs and cable rows.  I was able to improvise a couple of good sessions.  But then the resort we went to had a disappointingly bad gym -- usually resorts have more weights because they have more space.  This place only had dumbbells up to 10kg/22lbs and had nothing else with heavy resistance.  So I just swam in the pool for a couple of days.

Overall it was nine days of delicious but unhealthy food and terrible sleep.  I'm just trying to recover now from exhaustion and I'll get to the gym this weekend.

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

37 minutes ago, Iskaral Pust said:

Exercise on vacation was definitely a mixed bag.  The hotel in downtown Madrid had a surprisingly good gym, including dumbbells up to 22kg/50lbs and a pulley machine for pull-downs and cable rows.  I was able to improvise a couple of good sessions.  But then the resort we went to had a disappointingly bad gym -- usually resorts have more weights because they have more space.  This place only had dumbbells up to 10kg/22lbs and had nothing else with heavy resistance.  So I just swam in the pool for a couple of days.

Overall it was nine days of delicious but unhealthy food and terrible sleep.  I'm just trying to recover now from exhaustion and I'll get to the gym this weekend.

Odd. Every resort I've ever stayed at has had an awesome gym. 

 

I've been bad lately and skipped too many workouts. That ends right now.

[Iskaral Pust]

1 minute ago, SpaceForce Tywin et al. said:

Odd. Every resort I've ever stayed at has had an awesome gym. 

Right!?  Resorts in North America always have great gyms.  They're usually not in heavy use but it's just expected that they should have one for the online photos.  But this resort in Spain -- which was otherwise top notch -- had very little available.  Lots of outdoor yoga classes but no heavy weights.

European hotels generally offer very little in their gyms, and I think generally Americans are more into weight lifting for exercise.  But this was a let down.

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

8 minutes ago, Iskaral Pust said:

Right!?  Resorts in North America always have great gyms.  They're usually not in heavy use but it's just expected that they should have one for the online photos.  But this resort in Spain -- which was otherwise top notch -- had very little available.  Lots of outdoor yoga classes but no heavy weights.

European hotels generally offer very little in their gyms, and I think generally Americans are more into weight lifting for exercise.  But this was a let down.

Perhaps it is related to North America and also places that cater to Americans. Because all one needs to do is look at the players in America's most popular sport and then the players in the world's most popular sport. The training regiments are completely different. Though OTOH rugby and rowing are popular in Europe, and you've got to be jacked to play those sports effectively.

Was the place by a beach? 

 

[Iskaral Pust]

2 hours ago, SpaceForce Tywin et al. said:

Perhaps it is related to North America and also places that cater to Americans. Because all one needs to do is look at the players in America's most popular sport and then the players in the world's most popular sport. The training regiments are completely different. Though OTOH rugby and rowing are popular in Europe, and you've got to be jacked to play those sports effectively.

Was the place by a beach? 

 

A few miles inland from the beach.  

[BigFatCoward]

The average American looks fuck all like the average American athlete. 

[Jo498]

9 hours ago, SpaceForce Tywin et al. said:

Perhaps it is related to North America and also places that cater to Americans. Because all one needs to do is look at the players in America's most popular sport and then the players in the world's most popular sport. The training regiments are completely different. Though OTOH rugby and rowing are popular in Europe, and you've got to be jacked to play those sports effectively

Rugby is irrelevant in continental Europe. Rowing is a small niche. You always have to distinguish between popular spectator sports and popular participation. As a simple rule, football (soccer) dominates both in Europe by a huge margin. After this it depends on the country, handball and basketball are fairly popular in most of continental Europe and there is also some participation, especially by teenagers. Professional rowing is the pride of some nations (UK and Germany, for instance) and it is also somewhat popular as a hobby, but not even close to running, cycling, swimming etc.

I don't know how close the connection between fitness goals in middle age and popular spectator or other sports is.

[baxus]

10 hours ago, SpaceForce Tywin et al. said:

Perhaps it is related to North America and also places that cater to Americans. Because all one needs to do is look at the players in America's most popular sport and then the players in the world's most popular sport. The training regiments are completely different. Though OTOH rugby and rowing are popular in Europe, and you've got to be jacked to play those sports effectively.

Was the place by a beach? 

Rowing is definitely not popular in Europe. I mean, pretty much every country in Europe has rowing clubs and national teams but, as @Jo498 said, it's a niche. For example, I've trained rowing for 8-9 years combined (purely for fun and recreational purposes, mind you) and am yet to meet a person who never rowed who likes it. Also, outside of the Olympics, World Championship and the Boat Race, rowing definitely does not get much attention.

I wouldn't quite say that rugby is irrelevant in continental Europe since France and Italy are pretty good at it, but it is definitely on the margin in most of the continental Europe when it comes to popularity.

[aceluby]

Back to intermittent fasting after starting off with coconut oil every morning for the first week of Keto.  Body is definitely in full ketosis at this point, it has a kind of metallic taste in my mouth which I've read is completely normal.  These fat bomb recipes I got are amazing, one chocolate and one peanut butter.  No workout tonight, but will take yoga for the first time in a while tomorrow at noon.  Pretty excited to get my sweat on

[Kalbear]

Yesterday was the finale of the program I was doing. I won't know the official results for a bit, but the grand total appears to be about 103 lbs. 

The cool thing for me is that I hit a couple of benchmarks I wanted to hit - I did 315x10, 3 sets of deadlifts and 275 on squats. Even the resident bodybuilder gave me kudos for those (though he skips leg day, hah). 

[Erik of Hazelfield]

So I received the new scale I ordered. Set it up nicely (it’s got Bluetooth and an app and everything). Then I stepped up on it.

91.4 kg! Whaaaat? That’s a personal maximum by like a 3 kg margin.  

I’m actually in a kind of shock right now. One year ago I weighed 84. I mean, I knew I’ve gained some weight but I would never have guessed it was this bad. (The gym that I go to has this dumb policy of not providing scales in any of their gyms and I haven’t got around to buying one until now.)

Dieting it is then. Counting calories, calculating the right amount, sticking to it, checking my weight once a week. I simply refuse to be in such a bad shape. I want my good-looking, well-performing body back.  Most importantly, I want to stop this trend. Sure, no one but me may think I’m fat right now, but another year of this and there will be no denying it. I’d rather not go there. 

[aceluby]

32 minutes ago, Kalbear said:

Yesterday was the finale of the program I was doing. I won't know the official results for a bit, but the grand total appears to be about 103 lbs. 

The cool thing for me is that I hit a couple of benchmarks I wanted to hit - I did 315x10, 3 sets of deadlifts and 275 on squats. Even the resident bodybuilder gave me kudos for those (though he skips leg day, hah). 

Super impressive!!!  Nice work!

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

20 hours ago, Iskaral Pust said:

A few miles inland from the beach.  

Perhaps that played a role? The only resort I can recall that had a lame gym was the one that wasn't attached to the ocean or a giant water park.

14 hours ago, BigFatCoward said:

The average American looks fuck all like the average American athlete. 

True, but the one's who want to life probably want to look like a linebacker rather than a striker.

14 hours ago, Jo498 said:

Rugby is irrelevant in continental Europe. Rowing is a small niche. You always have to distinguish between popular spectator sports and popular participation. As a simple rule, football (soccer) dominates both in Europe by a huge margin. After this it depends on the country, handball and basketball are fairly popular in most of continental Europe and there is also some participation, especially by teenagers. Professional rowing is the pride of some nations (UK and Germany, for instance) and it is also somewhat popular as a hobby, but not even close to running, cycling, swimming etc.

I don't know how close the connection between fitness goals in middle age and popular spectator or other sports is.

 

12 hours ago, baxus said:

Rowing is definitely not popular in Europe. I mean, pretty much every country in Europe has rowing clubs and national teams but, as @Jo498 said, it's a niche. For example, I've trained rowing for 8-9 years combined (purely for fun and recreational purposes, mind you) and am yet to meet a person who never rowed who likes it. Also, outside of the Olympics, World Championship and the Boat Race, rowing definitely does not get much attention.

I wouldn't quite say that rugby is irrelevant in continental Europe since France and Italy are pretty good at it, but it is definitely on the margin in most of the continental Europe when it comes to popularity.

That's interesting to hear. I had always assumed that rugby was the second or third most popular sport in most European countries, and that rowing was just after that. Good to know.