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  1. #1

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    2020 Health & Fitness Thread

    It`s that time of year again (already)!

    These H&F threads generally turn into exchanges between just jrock645 and me, but Bill D has been chiming in and he`s one seriously dedicated walker. Maybe this will be the year when more Autopians start prioritizing fitness. (Heh heh, yeah...JustJesus, I`m talkin` to you ).

    More and more people I know IRL are now using *walkers*...they`re otherwise healthy (with regard to the Big Game Changers that commonly kill people off) but their latter years are utterly compromised by physical weakness that could`ve been completely avoided. A few years ago they would`ve scoffed at the suggestion that they`d be unable to walk around normally, but there you have it

    I`m still a bit behind schedule on my "Best Shape at 60" goal, but I did set the bar awfully high considering I`m doing a "just normal daily life" approach as opposed to a version of Serious Contest Prep (which doesn`t appeal to me, and I don`t consider it sustainable long-term anyhow). We`ll see how I do this year..."behind" or not, 2019 went well (another eye rebuild not withstanding ).

    I`m definitely *NOT* pleased that replacing the StairMaster`s Pedal Return Springs has made it easier! As they wore out over the last few decades I had to work harder and I`d wondered whether it was age catching up to me after all, but now that I`ve fitted the new ones...nah, the machine had simply gotten more demanding as it wore out, wasn`t "helping" as much on the upward part of the movement (which made it easy to get a good effective workout in with just a few minutes of effort; I loved the efficiency of that).

    Wish I could wave a Magic Wand and create some pieces of exercise equipment I`d like to be using rather than improvising the way I am now, but at least I`m on the right track with regard to exploiting the Lengthening Principle whereby most, but not all (sorry Arthur Jones..), muscles are weaker when they`re stretched/"long" and get stronger as they contract/"get shorter". Heh heh, there might be a potential Shark Tank Project there!

  2. #2

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    Re: 2020 Health & Fitness Thread

    I am also a Stairmaster user (well actually a Matrix machine, which has horrible programming, if you use any of the preset programs). I am back to 30 mins 3 days a week. For me that is about 500-550 calories, and gets my heart rate up to 150 bpm. Comparing different cardio machines (stationary bike and treadmill) with my HR monitor, the Stairmaster is the most efficient one by far.
    Next up for me is adding a plate workout - one plate, pick it up and do multiple movements (the workouts I have contain 9 exercises), then put the plate down. Rest and repeat.

    Good luck with your health journeys!

  3. #3
    yamabob's Avatar
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    Re: 2020 Health & Fitness Thread

    I walk a serious during the course of a day. I`m not one known for a slow pace either. I travel down to my home in Tulum 4 times a year and the lifestyle is very outdoorsy. When there I will usually bike 25 miles a day and walk another 5-6. At almost sixty I can walk a lot. Sadly it`s the only exercise I do ( however I do have a pool here and there and swim a decent amount as well.
    Now I need to throw some weight training in as well
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  4. #4

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    Re: 2020 Health & Fitness Thread

    mc2hill- Hey, great to see another Stair/Matrix user posting!

    Your 30 min./3x week is very similar to what I did for a long, LONG, time. FWIW, I`ve gone from those longer workouts to brief "Sprint Intervals", and yeah..I too have to put it on Manual to get what I want. Eh, I have to do that for all such machines, the Programs are never quite what I want.

    Glad you`re able to get good readings on your HR Monitor! I haven`t had a reliable one yet, and finally just gave up on `em The ones I used at least got me, uhm...informed; I know what (truly) maxing out for me feels like and I just aim for that. If I could be OK with a chest-strap that`d probably be different, but they distract me so much I can`t deal with `em.

    Stationary bikes- I have an AirDyne, which is borderline torture! After warming up (first with the Stair, then a few minutes on the Air) I do Tabata-style intervals (20/10) and am utterly gassed after three, maybe four...as in, sometimes end up on the floor. I try to go as hard as I can during the Work Intervals, aiming to hit at least 100rpms, and when I can`t maintain 80rpms after that I know I`m done. I can only do those every three weeks or so (!)...incredible how demanding it is.

    Treadmills- I jog/run like a spastic robot and thus only use the Tread for brisk hikes, running it up/down its incline range while progressively upping the speed to (currently) 4.2mph. Not really *demanding*, and I don`t consider it "real cardio", but very enjoyable and presumably sufficient for maintaining arterial flexibility.

    I`ve always found the whole Heart Rate topic interesting! I put zero credibility in the "age minus 220" formula as it simply doesn`t apply to me (and the guy who developed it says it`s just something he came up with as a plug-in value; he doesn`t consider it legit either). IMO, different people are just *DIFFERENT* when it comes to HR, and as best I can tell from the studies it`s all about working at both near-max (briefly) and at about 2/3 that (for longer).

    Your work with the plate sounds like a good way to incorporate some Resistance Training. My RT regimen has become kinda, uhm....involved, but basically revolves around only doing one set of a given movement and then doing something else. I need between 12-21 days to recover from what I`m doing (different muscle groups recover at different rates for me) even though I do so little compared to what I used to do.
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  5. #5
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    Re: 2020 Health & Fitness Thread

    Quote Originally Posted by Accumulator View Post
    Maybe this will be the year when more Autopians start prioritizing fitness. (Heh heh, yeah...JustJesus, I`m talkin` to you ).
    Somehow.....hehe....I suspected my name would be mentioned here.

    I was looking the other day, for my post from last year. Wanted to see where I was last year, to compare. (duh. I should have just looked at my notes).

    Jan 03, 2019 - 186.5 lbs
    Jan 03, 2020 - 172.5 lbs

    Not quite the six pack yet, but improved. Somewhere last year, I bought a new belt due to my slimming stomach/waist. I *am* starting to see a slightly more flat stomach, but still a ways away.

    I`ve gone to the gym 2 or 3 times in the passed 6 months. I`ll beat that easy this year.

    Honestly, though, I`m worried to go below 165 lbs. Will I look sickly at weight lower than that?

    I also did a bit of a baseline last time I was at the gym, with at least three exercises and their respective weight amounts.



    Thanks for the push, Accumulator!!
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  6. #6
    dansautodetailing.com Stokdgs's Avatar
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    Re: 2020 Health & Fitness Thread

    Quote Originally Posted by JustJesus View Post
    Somehow.....hehe....I suspected my name would be mentioned here.

    I was looking the other day, for my post from last year. Wanted to see where I was last year, to compare. (duh. I should have just looked at my notes).

    Jan 03, 2019 - 186.5 lbs
    Jan 03, 2020 - 172.5 lbs

    Not quite the six pack yet, but improved. Somewhere last year, I bought a new belt due to my slimming stomach/waist. I *am* starting to see a slightly more flat stomach, but still a ways away.

    I`ve gone to the gym 2 or 3 times in the passed 6 months. I`ll beat that easy this year.

    Honestly, though, I`m worried to go below 165 lbs. Will I look sickly at weight lower than that?

    I also did a bit of a baseline last time I was at the gym, with at least three exercises and their respective weight amounts.



    Thanks for the push, Accumulator!!
    Congrats, Jesus on your results !!! You did great !!! I am proud of you !!
    Dan F

  7. #7

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    Re: 2020 Health & Fitness Thread

    Ages ago I did the GSP Rushfit DVD workout program. I have a stupidly long review of it on Amazon, anywho it was awesome. When I started I was super super out of shape and could barely get thru the damn warm up portions lol. But by the end of the 90 days I was a totally different man. It`s 8 years? later, and I`m way way way out of shape again. Looks like I need to dig in my closet and find the DVD`s. I also bought the DDP Yoga DVDs, it`s suppose to be a killer program, and it`s zero impact. Back then I went from 240 to 170 in about a year. And my diet wasn`t super great, I did weigh out my food and cut some things out, but I just kept strict to my calories and did my work outs 5-6 times a week. I also started the couch to 5k back then. When I started I was 240 and the 60 second warm up job had me winded and I had shin splints after the 3rd workout to the point I stopped for a week. 12 weeks later I could run for 30 minutes. Today I bet I couldn`t run 1 block again. I HATE how when you stop working out all your progress just vanishes before your eyes, and so fast lol.

  8. #8
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    Re: 2020 Health & Fitness Thread

    Pleased to report that my wife has been joining me at the gym the past few days and doing the workout with me. Same mountaindogdiet workout I do, just adjusted slightly without the intensity techniques because she’s a newb to weights. She’s liking it so far.

    Ready to continue this ride on trt and keep building muscle and losing fat at the same time. Hoping to get to about 10% bf, maybe single digits in time. Had a body scan in October that put me at 19%. Id be willing to bet I’m probably at about 14 now with no change in weight and down about 3” on my waist.

    Lets keep this crazy train rolling.
    2018 Acura TLX ASpec
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  9. #9

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    Re: 2020 Health & Fitness Thread

    this thread has inspired me to get my a$$ back in gear and start working out. A few weeks ago I found my Burn Machine when I was cleaning. One of my favorite workout machines.

    2020 Health & Fitness Thread-burn-machine-8lb-speed-bag-1.jpg

    This thing looks like it`s some gimmicky toy but wooooooooooo it`s no joke the way it makes your whole upper body BURN. They have an 8 and a 12lb version, I initially thought I was gonna need the 12lb one. I ended up ordering the 8, and it destroy`s me quick lol.

    Now I just need to get a scale so I can figure out how much I weight, I figure I`m back around 225 if I had to guess. Wanna hit 175.
    Attached Images Attached Images

  10. #10

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    Re: 2020 Health & Fitness Thread

    I walk about 9 miles per day. Mainly in circles trying to figure out where I laid a tool or product.
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  11. #11

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    Re: 2020 Health & Fitness Thread

    One of the things I find most interesting about there H&F threads is how differently people go about this stuff! So glad to see people posting!

    bad penny- Heh heh, that was good (At least I *hope* you were being facetious )

    yamabob- It sounds like you and I are about the same age. This is a good time to get on the Resistance Training as guys our age really lose (fast-twitch) muscle fibers without it.

    JustJesus- Hey, that`s progress all right!

    IMO there`s *ZERO* chance that you`re gonna end up looking sickly, especially if you focus on losing *bodyfat* (as opposed to "weight") while also working on building muscle.

    When I got my BF% really low...lower than you ever will, trust me on that...I did indeed look gaunt with that "he needs a few burgers" look. I was prone to injuries, and I was always cold..no thanks! But I simply cannot *imagine* that`ll happen with you as you`d have to go off the deep end to get that lean..just not gonna happen with a normal life.

    I forget..how tall are you? IIRC you`re a little shorter than I am at 5` 9", and at 165 I look lean and muscular (that`s right around the weight I always gravitate to, not that I ever step on a scale outside the Dr. office).

    quebert- Glad to see you`re motivated to get back at it!

    Food for thought: I`d try to figure out why you quit all those years ago. It often seems (well, at least to me..) that people set themselves up for a long-term FAIL by having regimens that just aren`t sustainable over time. If I had to [do all the stuff that many people do/recommend] I just know I wouldn`t stick with it. It`s that "Know Thyself" thing.. Figure out what *YOU* are really gonna do when Real Life resumes control of your resources, especially your time.

    jrock645- With all you put into this stuff, that 19% was an eye-opener, no wonder you kept looking for answers until you came up with the TRT! Losing so much fat so fast just verifies that you`re on the right track now, huh?!?

    That`s great that your wife is joining you! Accumulatorette only seems to do her RT when I coach her, but she does cardio OK on her own.

    Stokdgs- Hey, where do *you* stand with regard to fitness?
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  12. #12

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    Re: 2020 Health & Fitness Thread

    Bad penny
    you just described me to a T Lol!

  13. #13

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    Re: 2020 Health & Fitness Thread

    Again, I`m assuming that bad penny and Fishroes are joking...but that`s another topic I find interesting- Tidiness. Knowing that everything`s in its proper place at all times, never spending a *MOMENT* looking for some misplaced item. I`m pretty fanatical about it as unnecessarily wasting time is one of my pet peeves. IMO, Time is the Ultimate Non-renewable Resource.

    My wife and I call it "the Machine-shop Approach", based on how machinists (at least the ones I`ve known) always put *everything* away at the end of the workday, even if they`re gonna get the exact same things right back out again first thing next shift.

    It`s another of those lifelong works-in-progress.

  14. #14
    Hooked For Life Bill D's Avatar
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    2020 Health & Fitness Thread

    Oops,that describes me : always putting things away. My father still scolds me for it sometimes lol It’s very rare that I misplace something but I usually find it right away by backtracking my steps. Had to do this around Christmas when I lost a cigar for about an hour.
    Treat it like it`s the only one in the world.
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  15. #15

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    Re: 2020 Health & Fitness Thread

    Bill D- I`ll admit it`s a little silly sometimes, and also that I`m not as fanatical about it as I could (should?) be. But I suppose it`s that "Time`s winged chariot hurrying near.." thing; I just don`t want to feel that I`ve wasted (my definition ) time and looking for misplaced stuff seems 100% wasteful whereas unnecessary tidying is, *IMO*, worthwhile in-and-of itself as it reinforces my sense of efficacy and control (which no, I do not consider an illusion).

    Heh heh, OK...I gotta ask: How does one misplace a *cigar*?

 

 
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