2018 Health and Fitness Thread

jrock645- While I still think "gee, that`s a *LOT* of work!", I`m glad you got your HR spiked on the short intervals. Wonder if the layoff was of benefit. Heh heh, I sure have that idea on the brain, huh?!?

12 months sounds like a long time for nerve block to remain effective! A guy I know only gets a short respite out of his.

512Detail- I eat my Red Cabbage raw, sharing a little of it with the dogs. They get so revved up about it that I call it their "Cabbage of Contention", gotta give it too `em right or they`ll tussle over it a little. That stuff stays good for a long, long time.

Remember to check those beverages for artificial sweeteners too (I can`t read the labels in the pics), since the body does all the same (undesirable) stuff processing those as it does with real sugars. Lucky me, I`m fine with just plain water at basement-room temperature (from the RO unit). Oddly, I don`t know *ANYBODY* else IRL whose water tastes OK to me..but then nobody else I know uses a RO either.

Glad to see those Blueberries! And to hear you`re finding healthier stuff palatable :bigups
 
I gather the injection wore off months ago but the pain/stiffness level has gradually increased. Got another injection scheduled today for a couple weeks from now. Best part is i dont have to pay for another mri.
 
Not sure about that. This is only the 2nd of this type of injection. Had two epidurals before- first one worked great, second not so much. I imagine at aome point theyll have to surgically decompress the disc/nerve. Anything but fusion surgery is fine by me.
 
jrock645- Ah, now OTOH, my wife is a big fan of the Fusion, thinks it was one of the best things ever. Heap Big Deal though, no question about that!

You gonna put off surgery as long as possible or get it done sooner rather than later? At *some* point I`d start to think about how some healing doesn`t go as fast when we`re older.
 
The longer one waits when nerves are being damaged. The outcome isn`t as good. Once the myelin sheath on the nerve is damaged, and the bigger the area that`s damaged. It grows back, but the speed of the signal is reduced. It is that myelin sheath that speeds the signal up. The worse the damage is, the more that speed is reduced. I use the analogy, it`s like going from high speed internet back to dialup. From a medical standpoint I see no benefit from waiting for surgery.
 
True about the healing, but the downside to having fusion surgery young is it causes extra degradation of the disc above it. Meaning id be practically guaranteed to need another fusion 10-20 years after the first. Thats the biggeat reason im trying to delay it.

And its a major surgery. Its at the baseof my spine so they have to go through my stomach. 3 days in the hospital on a morphine drip, a month off work, 3 months light duty, 6 months full recovery. Scary.

Most of the time i feel fine. Some stiffness in the morning that this injection should fix and some soreness when i do too much. Thats worlds better from where i was a couple years ago. I dont feel like its anywhere bad enough after all the rehab that i NEED the surgery. Ive been at that point, Ill know its time if and when that day comes.
 
jrock845- Ah, interesting! I didn`t factor in your age, guess I`m just used to everybody being old!

My wife hasn`t required any redos since having it done in the `80s, but maybe that`s because she had it done later in life.

And yeah, it *is* a big deal..she was in the hospital/limited duty for quite a while. She still thinks it was the greatest thing ever though.
 
Really trying to make some big changes. Over the past month I have focused on intermittent fasting. I eat around Noon and stop eating around 4pm. I try to get all my 1800 calories in during this time period. Ofcourse I am eating healthy salads, lean proteins, good fats during this time. I have find I actually eat and crave less.

Started adding in Calisthenic HIIT type work outs in the mornings prior to breaking my fast to my training regiment last week. Holy cow now I realize how out of shape I truly am. Basically, active work for 45s, rest 15s, and 3 total rounds. I do about 9-10 exercises.

1. Jump rope/ Star Jumps/ Jumping Jacks
2. Regular Burpees. As I get more advanced I will add in High Knee Burpees (Right now I cant even get through regular burpees)
3. Jump Squats or Jumping Lunges (usually alternate these daily)
4. In and Outs
5. Scissors
6. Bicycles
7. Front to Backs
8. Mountain Climbers
9. Planks
10. Push Ups

Also, started stretching every day for 20 minutes post work out which I really need as my entire body is always so tight. Even doing this for an entire week I feel a difference in my body.
I still do my strong lifts 5x5 3x per week and BJJ 3x per week.

My main thing that is lacking is sleep. Trying to get 6-8 hours a night is really the challenge and I know is so important but hard with the two young kids.

I hope everyone is doing great with their goals so far!
 
This is my first post in this long running thread. I have been plagued with a bad back and gastrointestinal problems for about 13 years. The combination puts me in bed for weeks at a time. I had back fusion surgery about 5 years ago. I’ve been in some pretty bad pain for the last 4 months. Yesterday my pain hit 20 on a scale of 10 so I had my wife drive me to the VA outpatient care where they ran some tests. The CT showed that I had two kidney stones. This was my 8th CT over the years. They had been running CTs with contrast that hid the kidney stones. I always told all my doctors about pain in my left side along with with bad back pain. I have been put through colonoscopies and endoscopies, I have been told it was all in my head. I have been taking a ton of oxycodone for 12 years for the pain. I’ve put in hundreds of hours of physical therapy for back pain. I’ve been x-rayed and MRIed so many times I’ve lost count.

F—-ing misdiagnosis from maybe 20+ VA doctors and a couple of non-VA types. I’m more than a little pissed off right now. I’ve lost 12 years of my life and suffered more than anyone should have to suffer. Hours and hours in emergency rooms just to get shots of morphine just to be sent home. I always knew the VA doctors were the bottom of the barrel (a Physicians Assistant caught my kidney stones). To me this was a total lack of giving a crap. It’s normal for me to see a new doctor yearly. The turnover rate is super high and they never have time to read my old files so it’s a totally new start every time which translates to horrible care.

I called the VA today to schedule a urologists appointment. Who knows how long that will take but the norm is 30-45 days or longer. The VA has been getting more and more money from the government but then wastes it on bs. You probably didn’t know but the VA has a ton of “research facilities” where Vets are used a guinea pigs. I’m still pissed that Trump’s wife could get into Walter Reid and take up bed space for a deserving Vet. The Trumps are freaking billionaires and can pay their own medical bills why steal a space from a Vet?

Off my soap box, but to summarize, please get a second or third opinion before you have any procedure. Doctors are fallible human beings even if most like to think they are God.
 
rlmccarty2000 said:
This is my first post in this long running thread. I have been plagued with a bad back and gastrointestinal problems for about 13 years. The combination puts me in bed for weeks at a time. I had back fusion surgery about 5 years ago. I’ve been in some pretty bad pain for the last 4 months. Yesterday my pain hit 20 on a scale of 10 so I had my wife drive me to the VA outpatient care where they ran some tests. The CT showed that I had two kidney stones. This was my 8th CT over the years. They had been running CTs with contrast that hid the kidney stones. I always told all my doctors about pain in my left side along with with bad back pain. I have been put through colonoscopies and endoscopies, I have been told it was all in my head. I have been taking a ton of oxycodone for 12 years for the pain. I’ve put in hundreds of hours of physical therapy for back pain. I’ve been x-rayed and MRIed so many times I’ve lost count.

F—-ing misdiagnosis from maybe 20+ VA doctors and a couple of non-VA types. I’m more than a little pissed off right now. I’ve lost 12 years of my life and suffered more than anyone should have to suffer. Hours and hours in emergency rooms just to get shots of morphine just to be sent home. I always knew the VA doctors were the bottom of the barrel (a Physicians Assistant caught my kidney stones). To me this was a total lack of giving a crap. It’s normal for me to see a new doctor yearly. The turnover rate is super high and they never have time to read my old files so it’s a totally new start every time which translates to horrible care.

I called the VA today to schedule a urologists appointment. Who knows how long that will take but the norm is 30-45 days or longer. The VA has been getting more and more money from the government but then wastes it on bs. You probably didn’t know but the VA has a ton of “research facilities” where Vets are used a guinea pigs. I’m still pissed that Trump’s wife could get into Walter Reid and take up bed space for a deserving Vet. The Trumps are freaking billionaires and can pay their own medical bills why steal a space from a Vet?

Off my soap box, but to summarize, please get a second or third opinion before you have any procedure. Doctors are fallible human beings even if most like to think they are God.
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Sadly these kinds of stories can go on and on. Both the va system, and in the private sector. It`s all too common for doctors too tell you how you feel, and not listen. In my early twenties I took a ton of medical classes too arm myself with knowledge. Added a lot of time on classes that weren`t working towards my degree, but well worth it in the long run. Doctors wasted almost four years of my son getting resources for autism, because they just wanted to be boneheaded. That`s with me knowing and pushing hard, and going to different doctors. I was able to tell them the exact week when he was 9 months old that it kicked in for him. He completely changed that week. It was like a switch flipped. I hope they get things fixed for you sooner than later. Don`t ever stop pushing doctors to listen to you. No one knows you and your body better than you do.
 
Workout was a real struggle this morning. Aside from legs, didnt hit my targets on any of the upper body movements. Time for a couple rest days. Was trying to push through next week since i leave for vacation on the 13th.
 
rlmccarty2000- Hey, good to see you posting on this thread! Yikes, that`s something..what you went through...and I do appreciate what it took to post about it.

Yeah...MDs are indeed fallible, to put it mildly. Gotta watch who you trust/listen to when it comes to serious stuff.

My Ins. won`t cover the ones I go to, but I pay out-of-pocket because I have confidence in them (based on experience). Sadly, your experiences with the VA aren`t all that uncommon :(

IMO our Veterans oughta have the finest care at taxpayers` expense, after all, you folks are why we have this free country.
 
Raydiant Detail- Wooh Hooh, those 3:1 intervals sound demanding :D

I`m *STILL* scratching my head about you guys who can do the heavy lifts so frequently...wonder if it`s some age-related thing.

Interesting that you`re tight after your workouts even with all that BJJ! Glad you`re able to do the stretching, I`m just *played* by the end of my workouts and even if I`ve told myself to stretch....it just doesn`t happen. Lucky if I can do Finger Extensions after days when I do a lot of gripping.

The Intermittent Fasting does work well for a lot of people! I`d just die going without food for so long :o

How did you come up with the 1800 calories? I see that specific number quite often..
 
jrock645- Sounds like it`s time for another of my "gee, you train until you`re overtrained and then..." lectures :D

It gets tricky when [the target event] is looming, huh?!? I`ve often been tempted to "just train more!" for a while towards the finish line too. I have my annual whole-body Dermatologist exam next week, that`s one of my regular yearly Targets (having an attractive female dermatologist can be motivating).

Interesting that your *Legs* were up to the task! I`m now going at least *three weeks* between Upper Leg workouts...and those are just maybe 4 sets quads/3 hams at the most. Had somebody predicted that I would`ve laughed in his face.
 
coleroad- Hey, good on you for taking those Medical classes! I had to, uhm..autodidact..the subject.

I`ve found that nicely, subtly, letting the MDs know that you`re up-to-speed and well-informed can, uhm...improve their attitudes, if not always their performance. Too many seem to assume complete ignorance (or worse) when speaking with those outside the profession.
 
Accumulator said:
Raydiant Detail- Wooh Hooh, those 3:1 intervals sound demanding :D

I`m *STILL* scratching my head about you guys who can do the heavy lifts so frequently...wonder if it`s some age-related thing.

Interesting that you`re tight after your workouts even with all that BJJ! Glad you`re able to do the stretching, I`m just *played* by the end of my workouts and even if I`ve told myself to stretch....it just doesn`t happen. Lucky if I can do Finger Extensions after days when I do a lot of gripping.

The Intermittent Fasting does work well for a lot of people! I`d just die going without food for so long :o

How did you come up with the 1800 calories? I see that specific number quite often..
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Hey Accumulator -

Yup extremely demanding and I can`t really even get through the full 45sec active cycle for a lot of those exercises without breaks during. I`m sure if I keep at it like anything else the body adapts and builds itself up.

In terms of intermittent fasting it was hard at first but I started it slowly. The first week I did the 1
6:8 fast. Fast 16 hours and eat 3 meals in 8 hour window then slowly made it to the now 20:4. 20 hours fast and 4 hour eating window with 2 meals. Trust me some days I do struggle but most days I am good.

This video helped explain it all and break it down for me:

https://youtu.be/lwCRjwDs1Ek

Tightness really comes from sitting at a desk job most of the day for me. My hips and thighs are usually always tight so I need to stretch daily to help loosen them up and after workouts seems to be the best times for static stretches/yoga like stretches. BJJ puts a lot of strain on your legs, lower back, hips, neck, well everywhere really lol. While it does help stretch you during training it`s no substitute for performing isolated stretches. A lot of BJJ practitioners do yoga as a compliment to their training.

I only do heavy lifts 2-3 times per week and "heavy" lifts is relative. I weigh 198lbs currently, down from 206lbs a few weeks ago. Right now I`m squatting 200lbs for 5x5, deadlifting about 310lbs 1x5 and the rest of my compound lifts are nowhere near those but I try to increase the weight by 5lbs after completing each successful 5x5 lift. I`ve definitely failed on some a few times. I.e. overhead press and bench are probably my two weakest lifts and areas for improvement.

In terms of the 1800 caloric intake. I just took my basal metabolic rate which is about 1960 calories and just rounded it down to 1800. That`s what I aim to eat to help create the deficit with the exercising. I aim for 2 meals within the 4 hour window at about 900 calories each. Its definitely not an exact science and I`m playing with the caloric intake to see how I feel and what works best for my body based on what activities I am doing that day. Some days I get a bit more some days I get less. Days I lift in the evenings my 2nd meal is my larger meal. Days I do bjj my 2nd meal is my smaller meal because it`s way more cardio intensive and I dont like eating a lot prior to training and feeling "heavy".



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RaydiantDetail- Ah, thanks for explaining. Sounds like the intermittent fasting suits you just fine. Heh heh, I hear you on not trying to do some things after a meal, I *must* do my cardio on an empty stomach or it`d be, uhm....bad.

IMO the whole "heavy" thing is soooo subjective that the numbers don`t mean much to me, just so many variables. If it`s heavy for *you* then it`s heavy; if you get good results, it`s heavy enough. So it`s not like I ever scoff/etc. at the poundages somebody uses..hey, I do some cable-pulley movements with *zero* weight, just the unloaded plate carriage is plenty!

A friend`s son once asked why I had my wife`s Heavy Hands out in the weight room...I showed him what I was using those light things for and he couldn`t do *one* rep without really cheating and using momentum.

Huh, a 5 pound increase is more than I use for most "normal progressions". I have little 1/25 plates (and PlateMates, love those things) that I use to increase it just enough..I tell myself that the increase is so minor that it can`t possibly be too challenging and am often able to psyche myself that way (whether it really is all psychological or not I don`t really know).

That 45 seconds must indeed be challenging! The longest work intervals I use are 40 seconds on the StairMaster and I`m only doing five of them. NO WAY could I go all-out for that long on the AirDyne, not if my life depended on it :(

And yeah, the BJJ oughta be good in all sorts of ways! And zero surprise that many practitioners also do yoga. Heh heh, as an aside, my dentist somehow trashed a hamstring doing Yoga! Like, really messed himself up..I suspect there were, uhm..."form issues"..that he wasn`t taking seriously.
 
Last two cardio sessions on the AirDyne, I was unable to hit 100rpms on all four intervals :( Not sure what`s going on, but..of course...I suspect overtraining. Not from "exercise" but rather from other activities that challenge the involved muscles. Seems more muscular than cardiovascular, whatever`s compromising my performance as I`m still gassing out about the same as always. Not really concerned about it, but my Inner Drill Sergeant still doesn`t like it and I sure don`t need any more reasons to dread getting on that machine :o
 
Accumulator said:
RaydiantDetail- Ah, thanks for explaining. Sounds like the intermittent fasting suits you just fine. Heh heh, I hear you on not trying to do some things after a meal, I *must* do my cardio on an empty stomach or it`d be, uhm....bad.

IMO the whole "heavy" thing is soooo subjective that the numbers don`t mean much to me, just so many variables. If it`s heavy for *you* then it`s heavy; if you get good results, it`s heavy enough. So it`s not like I ever scoff/etc. at the poundages somebody uses..hey, I do some cable-pulley movements with *zero* weight, just the unloaded plate carriage is plenty!

A friend`s son once asked why I had my wife`s Heavy Hands out in the weight room...I showed him what I was using those light things for and he couldn`t do *one* rep without really cheating and using momentum.

Huh, a 5 pound increase is more than I use for most "normal progressions". I have little 1/25 plates (and PlateMates, love those things) that I use to increase it just enough..I tell myself that the increase is so minor that it can`t possibly be too challenging and am often able to psyche myself that way (whether it really is all psychological or not I don`t really know).

That 45 seconds must indeed be challenging! The longest work intervals I use are 40 seconds on the StairMaster and I`m only doing five of them. NO WAY could I go all-out for that long on the AirDyne, not if my life depended on it :(

And yeah, the BJJ oughta be good in all sorts of ways! And zero surprise that many practitioners also do yoga. Heh heh, as an aside, my dentist somehow trashed a hamstring doing Yoga! Like, really messed himself up..I suspect there were, uhm..."form issues"..that he wasn`t taking seriously.
Click to expand...

Oh yeah me putting out there what I lift was definitely not to pump my numbers or boast by any means. I just know people who weigh less than me and are 10x stronger and lift 2x body weight squats and 3x deadlifts. It`s as you said all subjective.

Trust me I get a huge burn just taking 5lbs dumb bells and doing straight arm raises, by about the 10th rep my shoulders are burning and I`m ready to stop. Lol

Adding 5lbs total only if I successfully complete the 5x5 set for the next work out, so 2.5lbs total a side. Only deadlifts I`ll add 5lbs per side if I successfully complete 1x5 on the last workout. I also have fractional plates if I need to micro load to help bust past a plateau similar to yours. Even adding a 1lbs total weight is still an increase and still putting weight on the bar :) and 100% right many times its mind over matter. Sometimes it`s just ego I see in people trying to lift way above their means. I literally started in January with 100lbs squats and increased it slowly. Same with all the other compound lifts I do. Some I started with the bar weight only and went from there. At the end of the day you gotta do what is safe for you and your body and what works for you will not work for everyone else or vice versa.

On the HIITs to be honest I`m not doing em right lol. More than likely I need to drop to a 25s active and 15s rest model because I really can only go all out 100% for about 25s before I need to stop and take a 5s to 10s break. Doesnt really make much sense now that I think about it. Got me thinking on this one!

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