2017 Health and Fitness Thread

[jrock645]

I actually do somewhat enjoy salads. I`ve gotten to where that`s what I pack in my lunch most days at work. it`s just too easy to toss in some grilled chicken, veggies, cheese, and some sunflower seeds or almonds/cashews

Can make for a healthy meal if you get enough of he right stuff in it. As said, one needs a lot more than just some lettuce to make it "healthy."

[Accumulator]

Yeah, variations on Chef`s Salads can indeed be good! Awfully time-consuming to whip up though (gee...so says the guy who takes all those hours for a quick maintenance wash ).

[Accumulator]

Anybody doing Grip Work?

I don`t have the greatest grip-strength in the world, but OTOH I don`t need lifting straps nor have problems doing (pretty heavily) weighted chins either.

I had been slacking off on the grip work, but have recently reintroduced it at the end of my forearm workouts, just a set or two and if two they`re different.

I alternate between work with an old-school Ironman gripper (the kind with two coil springs and that *COOL* hammertone green paint) and IronMind`s Captains of Crush grippers (even some of their "easy" ones can be pretty challenging), both the regular ones and the newer Zenith style.

As with my other resistance work, I don`t go for max singles but rather somewhat slow, controlled motions. Though I might add some explosive efforts at some point since being able to abruptly grab hold of something in a serious way can come in handy IRL (I literally owe my life, or at least my ability to lead a normal one, to my ability to do that instantly when it was required...and then hold on for a while and/or do a very awkward chinup..yeah, happened more than once ).

Doing my barbell wrist curls (regular ones, not the reverse-grip style) with an Apollon`s Axle probably helps a bit with hand-strength, and I sometimes do parallel-grip chins while holding onto IronMind`s Rolling Thunder handles, but overall the large-diameter handle and dumb/barbell type stuff just never paid off the way I`d hoped it would. Eh, maybe it paid off more than I think since for a guy with "weak-to-moderate" grip-strength I *can* hold on just fine during those chins/etc.

With the addition of one/two sets for grip, and the Finger Extension set I do with Ironmind`s Expand Your Hands Bands as my cool-down/rehab, my lower-arm workouts are getting awfully lengthy by my standards...10-11 worksets on some days! Takes me that many different movements (one set each) to hit everything, from my elbow to the fingers, effectively. Same ol` same ol`...I do this once every 11-16 days (thought 16 would be way too long but smashed my previous numbers after all) and I rotate through a few subtly different workouts. Probably do each specific workout once a month or so.

So, anybody else working Grip?

[Accumulator]

Dead Thread Bump....

The Finger Extension work has been a career-saver for the guy who cuts my hair. The combo of that and his other job had him in serious pain and just holding a coffee mug was getting tough, but he`s infinitely better after just a few weeks of the Extensions.

After my BFF trashed her knee in a "minor household fall" I started thinking about Balance Work, which I`ve never paid much attention to. "Heh, I`m not doing circus tricks, who cares...", etc. etc. Then she fell, and I read how people my age (late 50s) are usually unable to stand on one leg for even a minute; people a bit older are down to a few seconds, so gee, no wonder Falls are the big life-changer that they are. Started standing on one leg, then the other, a few times/day.

Doing it for a minute was no big deal, but stretching that to two required some effort (at least to do it without having to do much correcting). Trying it eyes-CLOSED revealed that I`m (IMO) overly reliant on the visual aspect of balance, so I`m working on that and making (very) gradual, (very) incremental, progress.

I`ve made the 2 minutes my benchmark max as I`m only interested in training the Type II muscle fibers that`re involved, and since my goal is immediate control in minimal time (to prevent falls), that seems appropriate. I find it interesting how improving my ability to stand on one leg translates into various daily tasks being easier.

Otherwise, still doing very little, but very hard, exercise. Cardio is now only every 4-5 days and still just 6-18 minutes including warm up/cool down. Resistance work is still one set per exercise and 1-8 exercises per muscle group, with most muscle groups getting trained every 12-21 days (no, that "21 days" isn`t a typo..upper legs can require that much recovery even after just 3-7 sets). I can work my grip/finger extension a bit more frequently, and I`m deliberately overtraining my abs and obliques (which seems to be working OK).

Cut Accumulatorette`s workouts back to every ~14 days per muscle group and *her* progress improved too. Even less volume for her, around 3 sets total per muscle group if that many.

SO...what`re *you* guys doing these days?

[The Guz]

Figured I would update this as well.

So it`s been 8 months and 1 week and I am still doing the DDP Yoga thing. I am now doing the advanced workouts with 2.5 months left to go as I have progressed through the program. I am currently 35 lbs lighter since I started. About to hit the 36 lbs weight loss this week and maybe a tad more. After this week I will be about 17 lbs or so away from hitting my goal weight.

Part of the program is taking photos as one progresses to see the transformation. I could not believe it myself as to what a drastic change it has been these past 8 months. Not just physically but mentally. Physically I am stronger, leaner, more energetic and more flexible. These are the three things I was looking for. The flexibility part is a big difference. My back, legs, arms, shoulders and core are stronger which has changed my posture for the best. Two things I have also noticed is one that I have cartilage issues in my knees from many years of playing basketball back in the day. So a non-impact type workout was important to me. Being heavy did not help. My knees feel much better without all the weight on them. The other thing is that I was suffering from acid reflux which resulted in a diet change anyway. It has since gone away with losing all this weight and I can enjoy some of those foods a little more. I still stay away from them. The doctor was right about that. Who knew lol.

The doctor had put me on 3 month check ups to make sure my weight had been dropping and he was amazed out how much weight I have lost in this amount of time. He had gone through my records and told me that my highest weight was 256 lbs. When I used to get my height checked it was always 5`11 3/4. Well at my last physical a couple weeks ago I measure in at 6`1 and change. No I did not grow two inches lol. With my core being stronger helping me with my posture and all this stretching, I have taken maximum performance of my skeletal frame. 6`1 is my actual height.

I just got my blood work results and compared them side by side with the year before. The numbers show it. Diabetes runs on both sides of my family so trying to avoid this as long as possible. The A1C has dropped some points from the year before 5.4 to 5.1. Both numbers still within the normal range. Cholesterol numbers are also way down. They were not bad to begin with but are even better now. Wohoo.

So things are going well and I am on my way to meeting my goal. Diet has played a big part as well and removing certain foods from my diet. It was hard at first but with time I have gotten used to it. It`s been quite a journey thus far an I am just pushing forward. Trusting the program and letting the results speak for themselves at the end. As DDP says "owning my life". Living a healthier life style.

Losing weight is not easy, but gaining is sure easy lol. It is much harder at a later age that`s for sure.

Starting stats:

6`1, 253 lbs

Current stats

6`1, 218 lbs

Goal:

6`1, 200 lbs

I have not been at this weight since like high school/early college. Not bad for 38 years old. Hoping to meet my goal and surpassing it by the time 1 year comes around next March when I started all this.

[Accumulator]

The Guz- Hey, that`s impressive, congrats! Sounds like a just-right amount of weight loss for the timeframe. That`s great about the apparent-height benefits, shows just what a good idea it was to strengthen your core. And yeah, the mental/psychological aspects of it are pretty amazing, huh?

Oh, and...[INSERT usual snicker about being age 38 factoring in...] Sorry, couldn`t resist

[The Guz]

Thanks. I forgot to mention that all of this has helped in any detailing. I don`t get sore doing any paint correction. I have more energy to keep going.

I am going off the top of my head but I have it on my PC at home but I am 98% the breakdown is as follows. After the 13 week beginner program I was down 22 lbs and after the 13 week intermediate program I was down another 10. I am 7 weeks into the advanced program with 6 more left. I reached that plateau point where it is going to take more work to drop more weight. Props to all those folks on DDP who lose 100+ lbs. We will see where I am at after these 13 weeks. After that I will be modifying the program a bit.

I should have done this when I was in my 20`s lol. Better late than never.

[jrock645]

I took up swimming back in August. Haven’t mentioned it here, just quietly putting the work in. Great exercise in general but perfect for me considering my back injury and limitations. Starting out, 6-8 laps took about all I had.

In the past couple of weeks, I’ve been finding my rhythm. Getting a kickboard and leg buoy has helped tremendously. Did 30laps Sunday, 25 Monday, 22yezterday and 23 tonight. Starting to feel good and able to push myself in the water- controlling the tempo, shorter rest between laps, etc. Doing a mix of front and back stroke, kicks and pulls over the course of those laps.

Was doing a mix of swimming, weights and different cardio but really focused on just swimming the past couple weeks. Progress is showing from it. Gonna take the next two days off to recover after 4 straight days in the pool but I look forward to jumping into the pool every time.

[Accumulator]

The Guz- Yeah, I *bet* that activities like Detailing are easier now!

On the weight goal/etc., keep in mind that muscle weighs a lot more than fat and thus one`s weight isn`t always the whole story (and is why the BMI is [bunk] ).

How much time does each Yoga session take and how often do you do them?

jrock645- Glad you`ve found what works for you! Also glad to hear you`re taking time off for recovery. How demanding can you get it cardio-vascular-wise? Are you able to train your fast-twitch muscle fibers with (only) swimming? Different people respond to swimming differently, hence my Qs.

[The Guz]

The Guz- Yeah, I *bet* that activities like Detailing are easier now!

On the weight goal/etc., keep in mind that muscle weighs a lot more than fat and thus one`s weight isn`t always the whole story (and is why the BMI is [bunk] ).

How much time does each Yoga session take and how often do you do them?

It depends on what level one is doing.

If one is starting with the beginner level, the work outs start at about 20 min and gradually increase to the intermediate level workouts which can range around 30-35 min. The intermediate level takes those same ~30 min work outs and gets to the point of reaching the advanced level which is 40-60 min. The advanced picks up from their and takes it to the 60 min work outs.

Number of days a weeks vary as well. Average for the beginner is 3 days, 4 days for the intermediate and then 5-6 days for the advanced.

Right now I am the 5-6 day mark.

[jrock645]

jrock645- Glad you`ve found what works for you! Also glad to hear you`re taking time off for recovery. How demanding can you get it cardio-vascular-wise? Are you able to train your fast-twitch muscle fibers with (only) swimming? Different people respond to swimming differently, hence my Qs.

I haven’t tried to really sprint, to push the HR high. My Apple Watch tells me my HR stays between 120-130 during my swimming. Right now I’m just trying to build a base before getting into paddles, fins, DragSox, etc. From what I understand, kickboarding with fins and DragSox will absolutely waste your legs, so I imagine it’d get the HR up pretty easy.

My real goal is to get to the point of being able to swim a mile 4-5x’s a week. Shouldn’t take me TOO long to get there, being that I’m already hitting the 1500yd mark as of Sunday, and been close to it thereafter.

[Accumulator]

The Guz- Ah, OK, thanks for the info. Interesting that there aren`t more "off days" for recovery.

That`s a bit of a time commitment, glad you`re able to make it work for you. I need to actually keep track of the time I spend, with all the resting between sets when lifting I bet it averages out to more than the ~20min/day I always *think* is right...more like ~25 or so.

Incredibly enough, my dentist (about my age) really injured his *hamstring* doing yoga! I mean, sheesh...I`ve never injured a ham in my life and I max out with the weights/cardio all the time! I gather you/your regimen are too sensible for such worries...it just sounded really odd to me that somebody could do so much damage with *yoga*.

jrock645- I`ll be interested to hear how it goes when you do start pushing the HR. I`m still spiking mine towards what feels like near-absolute maximum, but my HR monitor was unreliable during max exertion so I`m just going by feel these days. While I usually look askance at such intuitive measures, I`ve maxed out enough to have a pretty good feel for what`s >170 and that`s a bit over 90% for me (heh heh the words "good feel" don`t really belong together in a sentence on that topic!). Yeah...still trying to force adaptation at my age

Gee, come to think of it, I haven`t gone swimming for over 20 years! Used to do a fair bit of it, Lifeguard cert. and all that.

[Accumulator]

My real goal is to get to the point of being able to swim a mile 4-5x’s a week..

Ya know...that`s an admirable goal. Not nearly as easy as one might think, let alone to do it that regularly.

[jrock645]

Still pushing on he swimming, keeping the routine and momentum going. Had some water trapped in an ear, got infected and held me back a few days but otherwise all is good.

Im in rip roaring ketosis, so I have the unbridled energy of a 12 year old. Between that and the swimming, body is changing significantly here lately. Shoulders are broadening- having to squeeze into T-shirt’s at this point. Arms are a bit bigger, and gaining vascularity. Weight is holding at 200. Interestingly enough, I was down to 193 in June, but my waist is smaller now. Pretty soon, my jeans are going to be sliding off. Love handles are starting to disappear, which has always been my biggest problem area. Considerable difference in just the past week and a half after doing some ketosis related reading on post workout nutrition, advising one to avoid fat for two hours after workout.

Liking what I’m seeing, doing in the pool and how I’m feeling right now.

[jrock645]

Still pushing on he swimming, keeping the routine and momentum going. Had some water trapped in an ear, got infected and held me back a few days but otherwise all is good.

Im in rip roaring ketosis, so I have the unbridled energy of a 12 year old. Between that and the swimming, body is changing significantly here lately. Shoulders are broadening- having to squeeze into T-shirt’s at this point. Arms are a bit bigger, and gaining vascularity. Weight is holding at 200. Interestingly enough, I was down to 193 in June, but my waist is smaller now. Pretty soon, my jeans are going to be sliding off. Love handles are starting to disappear, which has always been my biggest problem area. Considerable difference in just the past week and a half after doing some ketosis related reading on post workout nutrition, advising one to avoid fat for two hours after workout.

Liking what I’m seeing, doing in the pool and how I’m feeling right now.