Exercise & Fitness

[Xray the Enforcer]

Had one of those days at the gym where I was bored and simply didn't want to be there. I forced myself to do the exercises, but I would have much rather have slothed it up at home.

[Liffguard]

Does there need to be any other reason? ;)

I've been doing well with my workouts, lately, but struggling with diet. Chocolate cravings have been severe. I have been trying to remember N.O.P.E. (not one piece, ever), filling up on veggies, etc, but I need to put some more willpower into it, because I've been slipping.

Have you considered raw cacao nibs? You can mix them up with nuts and dried fruit for a pretty mean trail mix. Depending on how you feel about dark chocolate (it's basically as dark as you can go, the fruit provides the sweetness) it could help with chocolate cravings.

[Vethnar]

I'm wondering what good those are, except to make your calves look good in shorts

I couldn't care less how I look in shorts (I'm a guy, and will therefore by definition always look ugly no matter what I wear), but I still do calf raises occasionally. It's not among the most important of exercises, but it's not entirely useless. Strength and explosiveness in the calves help a little (although it's nowhere near as important as strength in the bigger muscle groups in the legs and hips) in all athletic activities that involve sprinting or jumping.

The best argument against calf raises is that sprinting (especially with spikes) is a much more effective way of training the calves. I use them mainly as an assistance exercise to maintain calf strength in periods when some injury prevents me from sprinting.

Speaking of calves and injuries, it seems that one of my old, recurring problems is returning: Achilles tendinitis.

:(

[lokisnow]

I've always liked calf raises, calves really respond to training quickly, especially if you throw in a calf flex at the top of the raise and at the very bottom of the raise. Nothing wrong with legs looking good in shorts. still I pulled calf raises from my workouts until my heel is feeling normal for a couple weeks.

The other thing it might be is a couple weeks ago I started wearing cleats to saturday football. the day after the first day I wore them my calves were killing me. I didn't notice the soreness in my heel/achilles until the day after my last football game about a week and a half ago, so maybe the cleats have something to do with it as well.

did about 7 miles on the bike yesterday and three circuits. I sweat a disgusting amount on these circuit routines.

[cjfshaw]

I've always liked calf raises, calves really respond to training quickly, especially if you throw in a calf flex at the top of the raise and at the very bottom of the raise. Nothing wrong with legs looking good in shorts. still I pulled calf raises from my workouts until my heel is feeling normal for a couple weeks.

The other thing it might be is a couple weeks ago I started wearing cleats to saturday football. the day after the first day I wore them my calves were killing me. I didn't notice the soreness in my heel/achilles until the day after my last football game about a week and a half ago, so maybe the cleats have something to do with it as well.

did about 7 miles on the bike yesterday and three circuits. I sweat a disgusting amount on these circuit routines.

What you're describing sounds very similar to what a lot of people describe feeling like when they start minimalist/barefoot running. It seems, based upon the threads from the barefoot running forums on runner's world, that if you keep doing what is causing that feeling (for them running barefoot or in flats [same as your cleats essentially] or in your case running in cleats) will result in acchilles tendonitis, especially if you don't take time to stretch the calf and if you don't warm up beforehand. So I would guess that it's a combination of the cleat running and the calf raises, but moreso due to the cleats.

Looks like I won't be able to run tonight, I'm going to be getting home late from work and heading immediately into a team meeting for my computer science class. It'll be dark(er) by then and it is not safe to run around at night where I live. Looks like I'll be doing a core workout instead.

Doc next week for my shoulder, can't wait to find out what is wrong and fix it so I can start back up on stuff besides legs and core.

[Lightning Lord]

Got my bike time to work down to 18 minutes. Bus takes 25-30 minutes. Haven't yet hit the 60 KPH mark in the tunnel, the cars are still passing me :rolleyes:

[ztemhead]

ow. shooting pain in my left wrist preventing me from finishing my chest/ back day today. it hurts like fuck all when I push heavy on it, but not when I pull, which is why deadlift day was no sweat, but bench/ rows day was a killer. More specifically, compressing on it isn't too bad, but releasing the compression hurts bad, and makes me want to ease up on what I'm doing.

Guess it's more squats, deadlifts, and core for a while.

[Week]

Had a very successful 3 mile run that has a wicked hill right in the middle. Even had enough gas for a short 75-80% sprint at the end, which is really awesome. I wanted to make sure I finished the run, so I guess I held back earlier in the run from going too hard. Probably was just under 30 minutes, so definitely not blazing but a real good run for me. Running is so much more fun when, uh, you can do it. Not fun when you get gassed and crampy before the 1 mile mark.

[lokisnow]

acchilles tendonitis,

I read a lot about this today, and the description of symptoms matches mine exactly. guess cardio is restricted to biking for a while. I've been stretching and massaging the area a lot over the past few days and 'resting' it as well as I can and it's definitely getting better.

I measured myself for the first time since january 31st. waist down 2 inches, hips down 2 inches, neck down 1.25 inches. overall weight down 16 lbs from then.

[Vethnar]

I read a lot about this today, and the description of symptoms matches mine exactly.

That makes two of us. It's a very annoying and potentially long-lasting injury. I've had it on and off four the last 15 years.

guess cardio is restricted to biking for a while.

I don't do cardio, so it looks like I won't be able to do any training at all for a while.

:(

I've been stretching and massaging the area a lot over the past few days and 'resting' it as well as I can and it's definitely getting better.

It's not universally agreed that stretching helps -- some experts even claim that it can aggravate the condition. I'm not sure what to believe, but I do some careful stretching myself.

Good luck, and congratulations on the weight loss!

:thumbsup:

[Happy Ent]

Ran 10 km in 51.59. This is the first time ever I’m below 52 something, and it wasn’t even a race! Just normal workout.

Half marathon coming up in two weeks.

[Lightning Lord]

Ran 10 km in 51.59. This is the first time ever I’m below 52 something, and it wasn’t even a race! Just normal workout.

Half marathon coming up in two weeks.

That's awesome! Keep it up, one more week to really build up the endurance!

[cjfshaw]

So...does anyone have experience with rotator cuff injuries? It appears as though that may be my problem.

[VarysTheSpider]

Ran 10 km in 51.59. This is the first time ever I'm below 52 something, and it wasn't even a race! Just normal workout.

Half marathon coming up in two weeks.

Good luck. I've signed up to the Amsterdam Half Marathon in October. I'm going to go with a few people (who aren't running) and make a little holiday of it. Lets hope I behave the night before and manage to wake up on time. :lol: Really looking forward to starting my training programme and upping the mileage.

Also doing a 10k on Sunday in South West London. I'm confident about this one. The course is almost completely flat, half of it is spent running beside the Thames with apparantly good views, and it looks like the current hot weather will be flagging by then. Official goal time is 55 minutes, but I'm quietly confident of beating that - did four miles of hill training last night in 34 minutes.

[ztemhead]

So...does anyone have experience with rotator cuff injuries? It appears as though that may be my problem.

yeah. they hurt like fuck and take forever to heal. My right shoulder is permanently weaker than my left one because of an old rotator cuff injury that didn't heal right. is it just inflammation or is something torn?

[cjfshaw]

yeah. they hurt like fuck and take forever to heal. My right shoulder is permanently weaker than my left one because of an old rotator cuff injury that didn't heal right. is it just inflammation or is something torn?

Well I'm not exactly sure if it's a rotator cuff injury but after reading about them I suspect it may be. I can't raise my arm (while it is fully extended) to shoulder level (in front or to the side) without a sharp pain that feels like it is coming from the center of my shoulder. The pain comes up when I try to do pull ups, push ups. It even hurts if I am leaning against a wall and I just try to push off the wall with my elbow, as opposed to my hand. That might actually be when the pain is the worst. I've stopped doing any workouts that involve the shoulders for around a month now and it still kills. I've even modified my every day life to account for it by not leaning on my left arm, and by resting it on a table when I type now. This son of a bitch still hurts though. Going to the doctor on the 12th to see what he has to say. As for your mention of inflammation, one shoulder does look bigger than the other to me when I look in the mirror but I don't know if that's due to this or not.

Also, Varys, that's a pretty awesome time for 4 miles of hills.

[VarysTheSpider]

Also, Varys, that's a pretty awesome time for 4 miles of hills.

Thanks, but they aren't too steep or anything, it's just a good mile circuit near where I live which goes up about half a mile and then down again. Doing it four times is definitely challenging though.

[Lightning Lord]

22 degrees at 8:00 AM! How do people run in this? I saw a guy wearing long sleeves and he looked perfectly comfortable. I had sweat dripping from the brim of my hat.

Anyway. Had a good run this morning. A little over 13K in 1:01:12. Three more weeks of training, four more weeks until the next half marathon. I think beating 1:37 might be a pipe dream, but getting in around 1:43 might be doable.

[kairparavel]

So now that the semester is over I have nothing but time to laze around and daydream about what drawing a paycheque used to be like. I've also come up with a starter month-long exercise plan to get me off my tuckus. So far, week one is done. Six days of walking, alternating leg strengthening and free weights for my arms. I started off walking outside but I don't suffer humidity well (what on earth am I doing living here?) so I've moved it indoors to the apartment workout room and the treadmill.

I actually prefer the treadmill - I set the incline to 1% and alternate speeds up and down for the thirty minutes I've allotted myself. I don't have to worry about anything except not flying off the treadmill (had that happen once upon a time, embarrassing and painful) and focusing on my form. I'm happy with my stride, and keeping my back straight/good posture but man, my arms, they just don't feel right. I've really focused on bending them and pumping them front to back instead of having them swing at my side. But the timing of my arm pumps to my stride feels way out of sync. Are they supposed to be in sync? Do I look like a moron?

I suppose I shouldn't care about looking ridiculous, but also, I do want to gain the benefit of proper form and extra burning power.

[AutumnEvenings]

I have managed to lose the honeymoon weight. I've been somewhat neglectful about the gym though. I've been getting cardio in outside, which is lovely, but I still need to lift. I don't want to lose any muscle mass and I'm interested in developing more. We're trying for a baby, so if things go well, I'll need to modify my routine down the line. So I'm interested in any lifts/exercises that don't involve laying on your back or invoke balance issues (but a little is ok--I've always been really good when it comes to balance and while you never know, I don't see it being a huge deal until I'm like 35 weeks). I'd like to master them now, before it becomes an issue. So any bench press alternatives, abs/psoas work (this one I think will be the trickiest), and probably some deadlift alternatives as well.

Thanks thread. :)