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Exercise and Fitness II


lessthanluke

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ah cool thing with the deadlifts. this makes them easier for me. :thumbsup:

yeah, as for the running, I'm just getting back into it, so I expect my progress will be good for the first couple weeks, so long as I can keep my weight under control.

regarding the trainer at $50 an hour, that is pretty cheap, so long as he/ she knows the basics. even my McGym charges more than that, and I don't find the trainers there to be any good.

ETA that I've gone 9/9 days this month in the gym or on the road, though some sessions have been harder than others no doubt. I'm not that sore either, except for a little bit of tendonitis in my right elbow. I'll put in a good couple hours tommorrow before taking Tuesday off. :)

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Oh and earlier I wasn't trying to question chats decision to get a personal trainer I was just surprised that $50 was considered cheap.

:)

That's cool. For the record, it really depends on the market. I can't speak for Chataya's city, but here, $50 would be considered really cheap.

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ETA that I've gone 9/9 days this month in the gym or on the road, though some sessions have been harder than others no doubt. I'm not that sore either, except for a little bit of tendonitis in my right elbow. I'll put in a good couple hours tommorrow before taking Tuesday off. :)

Be careful with that elbow! Mine was mild, and I ignored it. Now it's a riled up bitch, and it requires daily care and maintenance. I posted what's working for it a few pages back. Good luck.

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I'm getting back on the wagon with exercise. Last week was bad--I left home at 7 am every day and never got home before 7:30 pm, three nights not home until after 10. "Working out" consisted of a half hour of martial arts and a half hour of (weak) gymnastics. So today I did a half hour of circuit training (deck of cards workout using push-ups, v-ups, supermen, and hindu squats), an intense half hour of DDR, and about half hour of stretching--a full body stretch.

It went surprisingly well, especially since I wasn't that good week before last either. I feel absolutely great. I know I will do another intense cardio session tomorrow, a full gymnastics practice Tuesday, and hard martial arts classes Thursday and Saturday. I'll try to do cardio and circuit training on Friday, as well. Wednesday's almost always my rest day. I was especially happy with my stretching today. I haven't done much at all in two weeks, so getting my pancake flat with a 175 degree leg separation was a welcome surprise. It's not perfect yet, but getting there! My shoulder flexibility's slowly getting better too.

Does anyone have any thoughts on preventing charley horses? I've had five in the last two weeks--two waking me up at about 4 am, two just randomly in the evening, and one after working out. All in my left leg, all lasting several minutes, and all leaving my leg very sore for hours afterwards. It's starting to get old, but I can't find much consensus on what causes them. I've had them semi-regularly for a couple of years, but this is starting to get beyond just annoying.

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Does anyone have any thoughts on preventing charley horses? I've had five in the last two weeks--two waking me up at about 4 am, two just randomly in the evening, and one after working out. All in my left leg, all lasting several minutes, and all leaving my leg very sore for hours afterwards. It's starting to get old, but I can't find much consensus on what causes them. I've had them semi-regularly for a couple of years, but this is starting to get beyond just annoying.

I remember reading once that charlie horses were caused by a deficiency of sodium in your diet. (or was it potassium?) might want to double check that though.

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Probably one of the biggest problems with PTs is that they have exactly the kind of macho paternalisitc attitude that Xray was talking about above. "Oh no, you don't want to do heavy weights, you might get unsightly muscle (gasp, horror). Just do twenty minutes on the treadmill and then 1000 reps with these pleasantly-coloured stretchy bands." Avoid like the plague. If they're not showing you squats, deadlifts, bench press and other basic lifts then they're probabkly not worth using.

Xray and Chataya, I wish you could meet a fitness instructor friend of mine: she has no macho paternalistic attitudes at all, she really knows her stuff and takes no crap off anyone. :) She has a wonderful story about an older couple who took her weightlifting classes and how they got to be strong enough again to pick up their grandbabies.

One thing I did discuss with her was how calling classes "weightlifting" might carry a Schwarzenegger-ish vibe to it; I wondered if calling them "strength training" classes might be less offputting to women who didn't want to imagine themselves as ripped orange bodybuilders. What do you think?

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If I were going to design a weightlifting class for everyone of any age, I would call it "Getting Stronger". I'm sick of gym class names that totally skirt the issue. "Body Sculpting" sounds like they are remolding you out of clay. "Strength Training" has the word 'training' in it, which to me connotes something you have to be an athlete already for.

I think I'm just becoming cynical about gyms. Another descriptive phrase I dislike is "building long and lean muscle", which seems to be code for, "Ladies, this class will make you skinny (cause that's the only reason you could ever want to go to the gym) and you won't have any of those unsightly muscles. Teehee." I don't mind what you actually DO in classes, but I hate the attitude that gyms pick up that the only reason you are there is to LOOK better. :thumbsdown:

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If I were going to design a weightlifting class for everyone of any age, I would call it "Getting Stronger". I'm sick of gym class names that totally skirt the issue. "Body Sculpting" sounds like they are remolding you out of clay. "Strength Training" has the word 'training' in it, which to me connotes something you have to be an athlete already for.

I think I'm just becoming cynical about gyms. Another descriptive phrase I dislike is "building long and lean muscle", which seems to be code for, "Ladies, this class will make you skinny (cause that's the only reason you could ever want to go to the gym) and you won't have any of those unsightly muscles. Teehee." I don't mind what you actually DO in classes, but I hate the attitude that gyms pick up that the only reason you are there is to LOOK better. :thumbsdown:

I've heard people in the medical industry call it "resistance training". Whatever it is, it's getting stronger using weights to destroy muscle. But I agree with you about the gym thing, except I've never heard it in a gym, it was in a Pilates studio. Pilates was hawked as a workout without it feeling like a workout - and I told her I don't care about sweat, I want to WORK.

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If I were going to design a weightlifting class for everyone of any age, I would call it "Getting Stronger". I'm sick of gym class names that totally skirt the issue. "Body Sculpting" sounds like they are remolding you out of clay. "Strength Training" has the word 'training' in it, which to me connotes something you have to be an athlete already for.

Unfortunately the class name has to be approved by a number of people, so my friend can't just go ahead and rename it to whatever she likes.

Pilates was hawked as a workout without it feeling like a workout - and I told her I don't care about sweat, I want to WORK.

Ha! Some people must have had a surprise afterward. ;)

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Unfortunately the class name has to be approved by a number of people, so my friend can't just go ahead and rename it to whatever she likes.

Ha! Some people must have had a surprise afterward. ;)

What was it my Pilates instructor told me? Something about how if you're leaving Pilates without being covered in sweat, you didn't get a Pilates workout. No matter how long I do Pilates, doing a 100 on the reformer kills me every time. It's the only thing I hate. I would rather get on the chair and do swans or a hip raise, or even do the teaser on the reformer than do the 100. al;sdfkja. I left every single non-mat Pilates session drenched in sweat. It was a good feeling.

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So after my disastrous eating habits this past weekend, I decided to move to the intermediate workout plan from beginner. So starting today I'll be doing a 5 day split:

Monday Chest

Tuesday Back

Wednesday Legs

Thursday Shoulders, traps

Friday Arms

I'm also using the elliptical for warm up and stretching after...

I've slowly inched up to .6 over the top of where my weight should be - and it's not from muscle :rolleyes:

:)

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Xray and Chataya, I wish you could meet a fitness instructor friend of mine: she has no macho paternalistic attitudes at all, she really knows her stuff and takes no crap off anyone. :) She has a wonderful story about an older couple who took her weightlifting classes and how they got to be strong enough again to pick up their grandbabies.

One thing I did discuss with her was how calling classes "weightlifting" might carry a Schwarzenegger-ish vibe to it; I wondered if calling them "strength training" classes might be less offputting to women who didn't want to imagine themselves as ripped orange bodybuilders. What do you think?

One of the reasons I'm trying to get back into doing more exercise is the shame I'm feeling after having successfully got my parents to start going to the gym. My mother has lost a ton of weight and is so much better shape than she's been in twenty years, I would say. She looks great and feels great, and is so much stronger. My dad is going as well, and they make use of the personal trainers there a lot and everything.

So now I feel stupid for having been really encouraging and managing to get them into shape, and falling out of it myself. Also, yesterday's session failed to materialize because of a terrible headache that left me lying in bed for much of the day. Ugh.

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So after my disastrous eating habits this past weekend, I decided to move to the intermediate workout plan from beginner. So starting today I'll be doing a 5 day split:

Monday Chest

Tuesday Back

Wednesday Legs

Thursday Shoulders, traps

Friday Arms

I'm also using the elliptical for warm up and stretching after...

I've slowly inched up to .6 over the top of where my weight should be - and it's not from muscle :rolleyes:

:)

A 5 day split is just ridiculous, man. Give your body some recovery time.

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I agree with Stego. Do your opposing muscle groups two at a time. Monday, chest and back, Tuesday, cardio and core. Wednesday, legs, arms, shoulders, Thursday, cardio and core. Friday, you can either do another round of chest/back or legs/upper body, or do a circuit. Saturday, cardio and core. Rest Sunday.

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My first trip to gym ever. 35 minutes on the treadmill, intervals of running and speed walking/jogging. I am possibly the most unfit person on the planet. But, its a start. I had this weird anxiety about people looking at me, but I quickly got over it and realised everyone else looked just as bad as I felt (albiet from intense workouts) and in their own little world.

Also, I had to think of Stego with a chuckle. I think every single person in the gym today was wearing shorts and/or a tank top. I followed the advice I've learned here and was wearing long sweats and a t-shirt of appropriate fit.

Standing out the change room, drinking water, red faced, sweating, wanting to die, this guy came in fresh from the street. Well groomed, smelling of office, wearing a nice suit. He gave me the THUMBS UP and said it was worth it with a big grin. He still has all limbs attatched, but only because I was too tired to catch him.

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Also, I had to think of Stego with a chuckle. I think every single person in the gym today was wearing shorts and/or a tank top. I followed the advice I've learned here and was wearing long sweats and a t-shirt of appropriate fit.

Good for you, Ness! Now go back tomorrow and do the weights!

I always wear shorts! I just don't wear nuthuggers. But yeah, sleeves are good. Sleeves are very, very good.

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Yep, alternating weights and cardio is my plan for now, looking forward to putting your recommendations to the test. The weight room at my gym seems fairly female friendly, at least there were quite a few women in there today, and the BodyPump class that was going on was at least 50% female.

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I admit that I'm a bad, bad girl and prefer to exercise in a camisole top, as I feel less sticky that way. (Benches are always suitably protected from my perspiration.) The only time I do that, though, is when I know I'm the only person in the building. I always carry a tshirt with me too, just in case someone else pops in mid-workout. [if you're not saying to wear sleeves for demureness's (i.e., others' eyeballs') sake, well, tough. :P My bench towel soaks up more sweat than any of my shirts, so I don't think I ever leave the place smelling bad. I'm out of there before anybody else comes down to the weight room, so nobody knows who caused it anyway. :ninja:)

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I admit that I'm a bad, bad girl and prefer to exercise in a camisole top, as I feel less sticky that way. (Benches are always suitably protected from my perspiration.) The only time I do that, though, is when I know I'm the only person in the building. I always carry a tshirt with me too, just in case someone else pops in mid-workout. [if you're not saying to wear sleeves for demureness's (i.e., others' eyeballs') sake, well, tough. :P My bench towel soaks up more sweat than any of my shirts, so I don't think I ever leave the place smelling bad. I'm out of there before anybody else comes down to the weight room, so nobody knows who caused it anyway. :ninja:)

I work out in a sports bra and spandex shorts. :rofl:

but then, I have a home gym and no one else is awake at 5am. I would be mortified to be seen in public looking like that (but that is what I am wearing in my before pic, which I am saving until I have a good 'after' pic to compare it to)

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