2020 Health & Fitness Thread

I`ve been intermittent fasting for the past 5 years and it has built up my disipline towards what I eat big time.
Normal days consisting of eating at 6am (last night`s dinner--I LOVE dinner and cook for 6+ days out of the week), and again in the evening around 6-8pm. Not a hardcore 18+ hour fast which is more effective, but the simple 12 hour fast has helped me understand how much I need to eat to maintain, lose, gain weight with respect to the activity level that I`m forecasting that week.

No need to count calories, no need to totally deprive myself of "junk" foods either.
At this point, if I want to go nuts during holidays or go to a buffet for lunch, with enough notice, I`ll adjust my food intake or exercise intensity accordingly. My "benchmark" for weight and physique are my dress shirts. (I hate clothes shopping, and I have a few custom tailored shirts that I`m trying to never need replacing)

After scanning the previous posts, I can wholeheartedly recommend intermittent fasting, hot yoga and sauna (please inquire with your own doctor).
I have a lot of historical issues from soccer in elementary school, detailing and residential painting in my teens, and freak accidents as a young adult (full acl tear and surgery, fractured c6/c7/t1) and through the past 8 or so years, I`m in better physical condition than I ever was.

RE: DOMS, that`s all inflammation. There are a tonne of things you can do to reduce the duration of DOMS, I`ll let you do your own reading from much more researched people. I love skimming new research and the successes of others on podcastnotes. Sauna/cold showers, what you eat, going to failure all attribute to inflammation. I myself am not a bodybuilder/athlete/powerlifter, I use the gym as a tool for mental/physical wellness. Ex. If I`m having a tough week, feeling under the weather, and just flat out exhausted from the office work that week, instead of grabbing weights I`ll swim a few laps or take a few hot yoga classes and/or simply just sit in the sauna and sweat buckets for an hour. Since I`m not in competition or striving for a specific number, I can afford to take the week off and ensure I`m sleeping and not getting sick which would be detrimental to overall progress in the long run. As always, listen to your body.

Some may need the competition and goal-oriented training to get on the wagon in the first place, but once you`re on, you really have unlimited options to take your physical/mental training.
 
BMWWW- While it`s not right for me, Intermittent Fasting does indeed work well for some people, as you`ve learned first-hand.

I`m in the exact same boat as you are with your custom shirts (I get mine from Moda Georgio in Phoenix), I have zero intention of replacing any of my wardrobe unless something wears out. When I got my workout regimen better sorted a few years ago I did outgrow all my dress shirts (in the right way), and, besides the cost, that was a real drag as many of the materials are no longer available. But I`m confident that won`t happen again as I`m pretty much maxed out at this point. At least I didn`t outgrow my suits/etc., that would`ve been a financial tragedy!

And like you, I can basically eat whatever I want..fortunately I don`t want to eat many empty calories. But an few thousand extra calories or so is gone like magic when I do indulge.

I see the DOMS as being a bit more than just inflammation in that I think it`s actual (small-scale) damage to the muscle fibers and that the subsequent repair is what results in improvement (or at least maintenance). Yeah, I subscribe to the "wound" or "callous" theory.

With my diet and supplement regimen (megadoses of fishoil and polyphenols), I`ve been able to get inflammation under control (I`m basically hangover-proof :D ) in the general sense, and the DOMS does indeed dissipate quicker now. But the whole Need for Adequate Recovery turned out to be a bigger factor than I`d thought. Even after I *feel* recovered, it takes extra days before I can perform at my (hopefully new) peak.

While it might sound like I`m into "bodybuilding" or somesuch, like you I`m just trying to stay the way I want to be as I age. I have zero intention of suffering some kind of age-related decline.

Oh, and like you I love researching this stuff. IMO if everybody switched from Bodybuilding magazines/etc. to Medical Journals they`d be better off.
 
This might sound lackadaisical, but I don`t put much thought into my meals. I eat whenever I`m hungry, generally stopping a little before I really feel full. I take Fish Oil every time I eat anything to help spread my intake out over the day. It sometimes seems that I`m eating all the time, more often than 3 meals/day, that`s for sure.

I do all my Cardio pre-breakfast, and those admittedly unhealthy Denny`s bfasts that I have at least once/week are still fueling my best RT workouts (I`ve *never* had a sub-optimal workout after one of those, not once). I simply cannot perform well unless I`m well-fed.
 
Accumulator said:
I have zero intention of suffering some kind of age-related decline.

Oh, and like you I love researching this stuff. IMO if everybody switched from Bodybuilding magazines/etc. to Medical Journals they`d be better off.
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Sauna! Dr Rhonda Patrick:
https://www.foundmyfitness.com/episodes/sauna-longevity
frequency of sauna use was associated with increased decreased risk of death. Using the sauna 2-3 times per week was associated with 24% lower all-cause mortality and 4-7 times per week decreased all-cause mortality by 40%.Apr 28, 2015
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First off, thanks for all the information you are supplying!

Accumulator said:
I`m gonna play Devil`s Advocate..so please don`t misinterpret this as some kind of criticism or argument, OK?

Why (specifically) do you think 5 minutes of running would be beneficial for your Hamstrings?

Why would stair climbing involve a "restricted leg movement"? Maybe the unit you`re using is very different from mine (StairMaster PT4000), but I get a good range of motion and credit decades of regular use with my complete lack of Hamstring/knee issues. (I was told, back in the `90s, to expect knee replacements by now, especially on the right, and the x rays were scary..but nope, building up my Hams and not driving a stick coincided with all my issues going away.)
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The action of the Matrix is just like the Stairmaster, but the steps may be slightly taller or shorter (my gym used to have them both). What I mean by "restricted leg movement" is more like `less range of motion`. With the stairs (real or a machine) you just lift your leg at about 90 degrees - not like the full motion you get when running - extending your leg forward and back. I was getting hamstring pulls when sprinting around the bases, so my theory is the lack `full range of motion` was contributing to to the muscle pulls.
 
mc2hill- I bet my atrociously bad Running Technique might factor in here, I probably just don`t know from running the way you`re supposed to (and the way you probably do it). Guess I`ll count my lucky stars again and see the brightside in my deficiency.

BMWWW- Truth is (and again, I`m sure not saying it`s a feature!) I`d simply never do the sauna unless it was an utterly essential medical intervention. I probably wouldn`t even exercise properly if I couldn`t just go downstairs whenever it`s convenient :o Even if I had a sauna here at the house, I just know I`d no more use that than take a bath or spend extra time in the shower. If nothing else, the only time I really sit still is when I`m reading/studying, I hardly even watch TV any more unless it`s something I really care about.

Others here have posted about how beneficial they find the saunas, and I`m not doubting it in the least, so props to you for having it in your arsenal.

I`ll put this in the same category as other stuff I do/don`t that`s, uhm...sub-optimal. I oughta quit eating some of the stuff that I do; I shouldn`t drink to the point of inebriation; I shouldn`t vape (even though I now use zero-nicotine stuff). There are battles I`m just not gonna fight and I`ve decided to not beat myself up over them.
 
Mc2hill- IMO you`d better plan on more than 5 minutes of that running. I`d probably want to warm up with that much jogging first, especially since you`ve had those Ham issues in the past. I really sympathize with this one; knowing how something like that might bite you could take some of the fun out of those ballgames.

I`ve also been thinking about the DOMS that I experience..and actually, I *like* it. Again, it`s not debilitating, and I like feeling aftereffects like that. Real positive feedback for me. Note that I strive to have the DOMS in the Muscle Bellies, *not* at the Insertion Points; e.g., soreness in the middle of my biceps = good/soreness where they attach to my shoulders = bad. I think of that Insertion Point Soreness as probably being more inflammation than, say... microtrauma.

Not that I can get my Bis sore very often...I guess that 40-some years of working them has rendered them immune from that :(
 
Accumulator said:
Mc2hill- IMO you`d better plan on more than 5 minutes of that running. I`d probably want to warm up with that much jogging first, especially since you`ve had those Ham issues in the past. I really sympathize with this one; knowing how something like that might bite you could take some of the fun out of those ballgames.
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That sounds true, I just HATE running! And I am no longer playing softball, so the only reason to run that fast anymore is from coyotes, and then I just need to be a hair faster than the person I am with....
 
mc2hill- Heh heh heh regarding the coyotes :D

IMO it`s akin to swimming- everybody oughta be able to do it well enough to stay alive, which is setting the bar pretty low.

And with running, the danger of overuse injury can be a huge concern. As I`ve posted countless times, *NOBODY* I`ve ever known IRL has stuck with it forever. It`s one of those "oh yeah, I used to [do that]! All the time, for years! But now...", invariable spoken by somebody who`s now completely out-of-shape.

Hey, speaking of which (got me thinking "shinsplints")...I wonder whether anybody else on this thread works their Tibialis Anterior, the muscle on the front of the lower leg. I do it with something called a "Dynamic Axial Resistance Device" ("DARD"), but I`ve never known anybody else IRL who uses one.

Much as I dislike running, various things, especially Life With Dogs, can require me to really RUN now and then, usually when I least expect it. I don`t incur injury doing so, which is more than I can say for a lot of folks I know. Used to be, running simply killed my shins and sometimes my ankles (that poor running technique again :o ), but that stopped once I started using the DARD on Lower Leg Day...just one set, every few weeks, not a big deal. Having a little extra meat in that area offers a bit of protection against bumps/bruises too.
 
Accumulator said:
mc2hill- Heh heh heh regarding the coyotes :D

IMO it`s akin to swimming- everybody oughta be able to do it well enough to stay alive, which is setting the bar pretty low.

And with running, the danger of overuse injury can be a huge concern. As I`ve posted countless times, *NOBODY* I`ve ever known IRL has stuck with it forever. It`s one of those "oh yeah, I used to [do that]! All the time, for years! But now...", invariable spoken by somebody who`s now completely out-of-shape.

Hey, speaking of which (got me thinking "shinsplints")...I wonder whether anybody else on this thread works their Tibialis Anterior, the muscle on the front of the lower leg. I do it with something called a "Dynamic Axial Resistance Device" ("DARD"), but I`ve never known anybody else IRL who uses one.

Much as I dislike running, various things, especially Life With Dogs, can require me to really RUN now and then, usually when I least expect it. I don`t incur injury doing so, which is more than I can say for a lot of folks I know. Used to be, running simply killed my shins and sometimes my ankles (that poor running technique again :o ), but that stopped once I started using the DARD on Lower Leg Day...just one set, every few weeks, not a big deal. Having a little extra meat in that area offers a bit of protection against bumps/bruises too.
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I have several co-workers that run several times a week, not sure what from, but they are consistent.

That DARD is an interesting device, not sure if I have seen one. I like the one someone made themselves from galvanized pipe for about $20.
 
Been out of the game a while and trying to get back into it. It became easy making excuses for being too busy. :/

Wife and I picked up a Peloton Bike this week and we really like it so far. It`s a LOT more motivating with the classes, music, and big screen! Works out good as the wife wakes up at 6:00 and does her session and I wake up around 7:00 and do mine.

Now I just need to get back to the gym a few days a week and hit weights.
 
mc2hill said:
I have several co-workers that run several times a week, not sure what from, but they are consistent.//
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Heh heh..."not sure what from"...that was good :lol: That`s kinda the way I look at such stuff ;)

Given the research, I question ?why? people spend so much time running/biking/etc., but hey, to each his own.

Some people do indeed apparently stick with running, but I`ve never actually *known* anybody who has (are any of the runners you know in their 60s-up?). Not that I think extended endurance work is a good idea anyhow...but then I apparently only do (properly) one-half of what I believe I really *oughta* be doing :o

Supposedly, proper Cardio for health has two components; neither component will provide the benefit of the other, gotta do both:

-Extremely hard, brief Intervals, done for overall cardiovascular health and especially benefiting the heart
-Endurance work at (IIRC) ~60-66% max to maintain arterial flexibility. Note that *only the bodyparts that are working* get the arterial benefit. That`s where I fall short...I like to *walk* for my endurance work, but doing it on the AirDyne or swimming/rowing/x-country skiing/etc. would be *much* better since it would involve my upper body

That DARD is an interesting device, not sure if I have seen one. I like the one someone made themselves from galvanized pipe for about $20.
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I`d never seen/heard of `em either until I read Coach Poliquin`s book (the Poliquin Principles, no I don`t think people need to run out and buy it but that was a nugget).

I wonder how much the factory-made one costs...mine must`ve been pretty cheap as I have zero idea. The pipe would sure be sturdy! I use pretty light weights on mine so IMO it doesn`t have to be super heavy-duty. If you go that route, be sure to pad the part that the top of your feet press against. Maybe you can make it fit you even better than a ready-made one!

I have to do mine on a slight decline (feet lower than knees) or it hurts my one ankle. Yeah, I shortchange myself on the first part of the movement that way :o
 
RaskyR1- Hey, good on you and your wife!

People sure do like those Pelotons! Autopian someidiot (currently MIA here..) got one and loves it.

Your "too busy" is so common...but fortunately it doesn`t really take all *that* long to stay in great shape. Another of those quality/quantity things.

Q: are the Peloton workouts all endurance-oriented or do they have programs "so hard you can only go a few minutes" too?
 
Accumulator said:
RaskyR1- Hey, good on you and your wife!

People sure do like those Pelotons! Autopian someidiot (currently MIA here..) got one and loves it.

Your "too busy" is so common...but fortunately it doesn`t really take all *that* long to stay in great shape. Another of those quality/quantity things.

Q: are the Peloton workouts all endurance-oriented or do they have programs "so hard you can only go a few minutes" too?
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Thanks! :)

The classes are all different and they have a user difficulty rated rating on them (you can rate it when your done). I`m still learning as we just got it but you can search for classes based on several criteria (instructor, class type, length, genre, ect. Today I was looking for 30 minutes classes that had a rock genre and I ended up doing an 80`s rock one with a hot looking female instructor and I believe an Australian accent. You can read about the class too before starting. :)

The classes I`ve done were all prerecorded and first class I did was only 20 minutes but was noticeably more difficult then the one I did this morning. My wife likes the live classes but IMO it`s pretty much the same. The instructors will say verbally a target range for cadence and resistance and it updates on the screen real time during each interval. It also shows where you are in the range and lets you know if you fall out of it. The instructors do seem to talk a lot and in the live classes and will congratulate riders on milestones. Other riders can "high five" you too on screen, which is a little odd coming from a stranger but I can see how it could be motivational to some. One other thing I liked is you can see how many people are on and where you finished in the class compared to other riders. It`s all pretty cool though and much more motivating then just listening to your music and riding. However, if that`s your jam and you just want to ride you can do that too and you can also pick random scenic routes from around the world. They are in HD and with the wide screen it`s pretty nice and way better than our treadmill from a few years ago.

EDIT: Another thing I noticed this morning is that I can adjust the sound from the default to hear either more music or more instructor, which is pretty nice as I like to hear a little music more. I also bought a large Sony bluetooth speaker to use instead of using the speakers built into the display, which obviously lack bass. You can also project the screen to a larger smart TV if you wish.
 
RAskyR1- Ah, sounds like you`ve found a winner! People sure do, uhm...comment..on the cost of a Peloton, but IMO when you like it enough to *use* it it`s money well-spent. And it sounds like a very welcoming, supportive community of users.
 
Accumulator said:
RAskyR1- Ah, sounds like you`ve found a winner! People sure do, uhm...comment..on the cost of a Peloton, but IMO when you like it enough to *use* it it`s money well-spent. And it sounds like a very welcoming, supportive community of users.
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I guess it is expensive for a piece of exercise equipment but I just look at it as doing a full front PPF and coating job on a car....a weekends worth of work really. :)
 
RaskyR1- heh heh, you not-yet-retired guys can look at it a bit differently from us retirees :D

But yeah, I bet a good treadmill or even today`s version of the StairMaster would cost about as much (I don`t really recall what a Peloton costs, but it does come up a lot). And IMO any piece of exercise equipment that *gets used* is worth whatever it costs.

Heh heh..my late father once ripped me a new one over how "extravagant" a piece of equipment was, only to hve me buy/deliver/setup the exact same thing for him after he considered what I was getting out of it compared to his "affordable" alternative.
 
JSFM35X just posted about the close call his younger (48yo!) brother had due to blocked arteries...this Health & Fitness stuff is serious business.
 
2020 Health & Fitness Thread

My grandfather, whom I never knew,died of a similar situation at 58 so yeah, better get serious. The younger the better.
 
Bill D- I wish I had a pedometer, I bet that all the snowclearing on the driveway/deck has me walking almost as much as you do! Well, probably not... :o

I still can`t figure out how I`d do 4mi in the time I`m willing to spend...I`m doing 3.09-3.15mi in 50 minutes and that`s enough time already (OK, add some more on Cardio Days too, extra 15min today).

And the now-easier StairMaster is genuinely bugging me; those new Pedal Return Springs have made it impossible to max out as quickly as I did before :( I had the perfect-for-me regimen all figured out...
 
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