Exercise and Fitness VI

[ztemhead]

it is amazing how good it feels to run in the morning before the sun comes up when I've gotten used to 105+ temps and sunshine that feels like a weight on my face and shoulders.

I know I wasn't all that fast, but I felt like Carl Friggin Lewis out there today.

[Happy Ent]

Sooooo hard.

After a year-long injury and aftereffects (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plantar_fasciitis), I’ll try to start running again. We just returned from a week-long bicycle holiday which has at least brought me into minimal shape.

Now I just ran 6 km and parts of me feel terribly weak. (For comparison, before me injury I would run 12 km three times a week, so it’s very demoralising. Let’s see how many trips it takes to be able to run for an hour again.)

[Lucky Pierre]

Noticed for the first time that my ass is now taking up more room in my swim suit. This is a very good thing since I had no ass before. Yippee! Squats really do work.

I've also got defined triceps and biceps now which is pretty cool too!

I'm also now about 7 pounds heavier than I was 2 months ago... I've only just started adding cardio back after about 4 months of none... and I have to admit that my eating habits did get a bit sloppy. I wasn't eating cheeseburgers and such-but I was eating out more as well as enjoying the almighty potato and the bliss that is cheese.

So I'm wondering... could the 7 pounds really belong in the 'muscle weighs more than fat' category? I 'feel' heavier if that makes any sense... I'm just trying to figure out if it is realistic to think this weight gain is related to muscle growth or not. I don't have a tape measure to measure my arms, legs and chest to see how much they have grown but visually there is noticeable growth... My belly seems to be about the same size though... I just hate being over 150 again (I'm 5'7"). My goal was 145...

Sooo what do you all think?

[Minaku]

I wanted to chime in on the clothing thing (since I have been doing 0 exercise, it's fucking hot out and I am not in the mood to leave the house unless I have to). Mass-market clothes are made to "fit" the lowest common denominator. You just have to be patient, know your measurements, dress your body type appropriately, and you will find clothes. My husband is thin and it's taken him forever to find clothes that will fit him, especially dress shirts. The average American man is rather chunky so everything billows out on him, and of course manufacturers will cut shirts like boxes and then add fucking pleats in the back (for the back and shoulder fat). You have to know what brands will cut in what way, and figure out the cuts that work for your body type.

I normally have an hourglass figure, which means clothes never, ever fit, especially jeans. Jeans shopping is extremely frustrating for me because I have hips, but short legs, which usually means that I have to buy a size that will fit me in the waist and hips but then take the jeans to a tailor to get them hemmed and re-fitted in the legs if need be.

Remember that the retailers are trying to sell as many clothes as possible, which means their clothes have to fit the most amount of body types. Most women are pear-shaped, which is hell for the women who are hourglass-shaped. Most men are a bit larger around the middle, which is no good for the men whose waists taper, or the ones who have a V-shape. The rarer your body type, the more research and time you'll have to put into your clothes.

Lastly, find yourself a good tailor and pay him/her generously.

[Lady Greywolf]

So I'm wondering... could the 7 pounds really belong in the 'muscle weighs more than fat' category? I 'feel' heavier if that makes any sense... I'm just trying to figure out if it is realistic to think this weight gain is related to muscle growth or not. I don't have a tape measure to measure my arms, legs and chest to see how much they have grown but visually there is noticeable growth... My belly seems to be about the same size though... I just hate being over 150 again (I'm 5'7"). My goal was 145...

Sooo what do you all think?

That happened to me. At my most fit I was 12-15 pounds heavier than I am now. My body fat was lower (teens) and clothes fit differently. If your clothes are fitting better it may indeed be that you are gaining muscle. try not to get stuck on a set number of pounds.

Best place to find a tape measure is a fabric store. Mine is even retractable.

Plan for the future and get someone to measure the circumference of the body parts you are concerned with. (varies with gender). Locate someone with a Tanita scale or another way to measure body fat (weigh and measure every 3-5 weeks to see real change). Record it all then put it away for comparison later. Be sure to use the same measuring devices and time of day when you measure. (There are better ways to measure body fat% than a Tanita scale, but a good one is ok and easier to locate than other methods)

And btw... this is a great thread. ty

[Lucky Pierre]

OK, I went out and got a new tape measure... I only have before measurments from when I was trying to loose weight last March-but it's a starting point.

So here we go:

Bicep went from 11.5 to 13

Chest went from 38 to 40

Waist went from 38.5 to 34 (funny how this has no bearing on actual pant sizes)

Neck, forearem, hips and calf all stayed the same.. but I can tell you for the calf that there is muscle there now where there was just a flabby bit before.

Anyway-now that I see there is more muscle I'm not going to fret about it much. But I am going to get back to eating better and keep up the cardio 2X a week on lower body days. I'm happy with 4X a week work outs so that has been 2UB and 2LB + Cardio for the last month. I'll keep that up for now (well except for next week ;) )

[Minaku]

Waist went from 38.5 to 34 (funny how this has no bearing on actual pant sizes)

How the hell does a drop of 4.5 inches have no impact on the pants you're wearing? Last I checked only women had to deal with arbitrary and retarded clothing sizes. At least you guys get measurements in inches.

[Lady Greywolf]

How the hell does a drop of 4.5 inches have no impact on the pants you're wearing? Last I checked only women had to deal with arbitrary and retarded clothing sizes. At least you guys get measurements in inches.

men's pant sizes are not in line with the actual measurement of their waist. idk why...

[Lucky Pierre]

How the hell does a drop of 4.5 inches have no impact on the pants you're wearing? Last I checked only women had to deal with arbitrary and retarded clothing sizes. At least you guys get measurements in inches.

Sorry-that's not what I mean.. I'm down to a 29-30 size in pants-but my waist measures at 34. I just meant the size isn't in inches... as I see Lady GW just pointed out.

:)

[Tempra]

men's pant sizes are not in line with the actual measurement of their waist. idk why...

Because (most) men don't wear their pants at their belly button, no matter how much their tailor may protest.

[Lucky Pierre]

Because (most) men don't wear their pants at their belly button, no matter how much their tailor may protest.

My grandpa did! ;)

[seastarr]

I so love how the exercise thread goes on a fashion bender every now and then.

For the ladies: I love clothes by donna m. Girly clothes for leisure, spa, and yoga. What I like about them is the shirts are long in the sleeve and long on the waist so when you are stretching into extreme yoga shapes your waist and hips are well covered by your shirt. No pant gap! Also, most of her edges are left raw so you can easily tailor your pant legs yourself with a pair of scissors. The fabrics she uses are great, soft, form-fitting and garment dyed. For skirts and apres cover up, everything can be worn in many ways, so one skirt can be worn as a dress or shirt, too. They are great clothes for travel, too.

Off to go work out. Maybe going to do a heavy duty reformer workout tonight.

[Lord of Oop North]

Had a date with a biatch named

today. The pullups went a lot better then I thought they would. But the pushups totally destroyed my time. Felt like something was bursting out of my wrists. Near the end it was painful to do more then a few at a time. Gotta find a way to work on that. Luckily, I managed to make up a lot of time with uninterrupted sets of situps and squats. Yeehaw!

Cashed out with double under practice. I'm going to master these motherfuckers if it kills me. Must. Not. Fail. Looking good so far, too. Very, very pleased with my progress.

[Kat]

Love the new avatar LooN. :lol:

I've had a relatively good week compared to last week of laziness, but the right side of my body seems to hate me all of a sudden. All of a sudden my shoulder, hip, and knee (all on the right side of my body) are unhappy. I know why the knee hates me but can't figure out the hip and shoulder.

I feel like an old woman. :(

Sorry to hear about your foot, Lady Whitestripe. I can't believe it was broken and you didn't notice. That's crazy!

[Lord of Oop North]

Sorry to hear about your foot, Lady Whitestripe. I can't believe it was broken and you didn't notice. That's crazy!

This kind of thing always amazes me. My foot is currently aching, but I know that if I go to check it out, it won't be broken. I'm surprised people can walk on broken bones like that for weeks and weeks.

[Lady Greywolf]

Thanks seastarr... I will check it out

[Eponine]

I normally have an hourglass figure, which means clothes never, ever fit, especially jeans. Jeans shopping is extremely frustrating for me because I have hips, but short legs, which usually means that I have to buy a size that will fit me in the waist and hips but then take the jeans to a tailor to get them hemmed and re-fitted in the legs if need be.

To be totally stereotypical, I always figured this was an Asian thing.

I guess it does make sense to have jeans start out on the long side though- because short people can hem, but not having enough material to cover your ankles isn't as easily fixed.

***

About the waist gap- I thought that was not the result of trying to make everything to fit only the super-thin, but catering to the larger waisted. But I guess it's the fashion now for women to flop their stomach out over the top of their pants.

[Eponine]

This kind of thing always amazes me. My foot is currently aching, but I know that if I go to check it out, it won't be broken. I'm surprised people can walk on broken bones like that for weeks and weeks.

If you're pretty sure it's not broken, roll it around on a tennis ball several times a day. It will massage out your plantar fascia.

[Greywolf2375]

Sooooo hard.

After a year-long injury and aftereffects (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plantar_fasciitis), I’ll try to start running again. We just returned from a week-long bicycle holiday which has at least brought me into minimal shape.

Now I just ran 6 km and parts of me feel terribly weak. (For comparison, before me injury I would run 12 km three times a week, so it’s very demoralising. Let’s see how many trips it takes to be able to run for an hour again.)

As someone who is finally over a lot of little, lingering injuries, I completely understand. I was definitely down when I was able to start lifting again - thing that kept me going was focusing on knowing that I could do it before, so I was damn well gonna do it again, and do it better. I kept that as a focus and it;s been working so far. Keep working at it HE and the multiple runs will be back.

Stood on a scale again yesterday. was at 188lbs, 12.1% bf. Weight went up, body fat went down...this is good. Now before October I want to get the BF down into single digits.

[Lucky Pierre]

This kind of thing always amazes me. My foot is currently aching, but I know that if I go to check it out, it won't be broken. I'm surprised people can walk on broken bones like that for weeks and weeks.

My nephew went thru the last 3 weeks of USMC boot camp with broken bones in both of his feet. They realized it 2 days before graduation and he graduated on crutches.