Do you guys lift every day?

[Meticulous]

M-D- I bet those interval sprints are good.  What about trying fewer intervals at a higher intensity?  I only suggest it (hey, why change what 's working for you!?!?  I don't mean to come across the wrong way here...) because when I made that exact same switch I reaped numerous benefits far beyond what I was expecting.  I do think my getting-advanced age factors in here though, so again, I'm not slamming your current routine.  Just some food for thought should your cardio gains come to a standstill.

 


Rgr. I always mix up my cardio and weight traning routines, thanx.


 

MD i only mentioned supplementing sprints with lifting... i never suggested to stop lifting and to focus on distance training â–º â–º â–º read the last line of my post it sums it all up


 


the rest before was just to explain what cardio really does and to illustrate a point of a common misconception

 


 

not to stir the pot but i completely disagree here. cardio does not directly make muscles smaller.


 

 


CB, I was responding to your first sentence which you quoted in post 16. You said you completely disagree with what I said and that is what prompted my repsonse and examples of where I have lost muscle size and strength from too much cardio. So maybe you somewhat disagree, instead of completely.

 

[RaskyR1]

Pics from the gym at my work.

[attachment=9926:ImageUploadedByTapatalk1390436465.832390.jpg][attachment=9927:ImageUploadedByTapatalk1390436475.816524.jpg]


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[Accumulator]

RaskyR1- Hey, that's nice.  What's the flooring material?  I suspect my dropping of 'bells would do a bit of damage   (Yeah, I know..."so don't drop 'em!" but when I finish a set of incline presses or flies I'm so spent I somply have to just open my hands and lose them, no way I can set them down gently.)


 


Speaking of those, I gotta say that for some reason I utterly despise the "ergonomic" handles like those.  I know everybody else likes them, but I greatly prefer a consistent diameter.  Probably just a matter of familiarity.

 

[RaskyR1]

RaskyR1- Hey, that's nice. What's the flooring material? I suspect my dropping of 'bells would do a bit of damage (Yeah, I know..."so don't drop 'em!" but when I finish a set of incline presses or flies I'm so spent I somply have to just open my hands and lose them, no way I can set them down gently.)



Speaking of those, I gotta say that for some reason I utterly despise the "ergonomic" handles like those. I know everybody else likes them, but I greatly prefer a consistent diameter. Probably just a matter of familiarity.

It does the job and it's free. I do wish we had more stuff for legs though. I was paying $160/month a the local Lifetime for the wife and I so it's a nice savings.



Lol! The Planet Fitness alarm goes off if you drop the dumbbells!



It is just carpet over a concrete floor so dropping them would be bad. Only a couple power lifters at my work and I've never seen them get dropped yet. I lift by myself and don't go to total failure where I have to drop them.



I definitely know what you mean about the handles but I get used to them.





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[Accumulator]

RaskyR1- Heh heh, yeah...I've heard that Planet Fitness isn't exactly geared towards guys like me!


 


My weightroom is just thin padding and (industrial) carpet over concrete.  I got some good rubber mats for the "drop zones" but it didn't completely prevent damage    At least the mats cover it up to some extent, but even with them in place it keeps getting incrementally worse.  Eh, one of the nice things about a home gym is not having to keep it up to anybody else's standards.

 

 

[Accumulator]

The recent "How Do You Pros Do This Every Day" thread had me thinking I oughta bump this thread; hope people prioritize their fitness a lot higher than they do the cosmetics of their vehicles, but anyhow...


 


Getting down onto the creeper to do the undercarriage/etc., I do a "negative pistol", that is, the lowering portion of a one-legged squat (stick one leg out in front of you, bend the knee of the "working" leg to lower yourself down).  Doing a scad of those every wash makes for good "active rest", or it can even be a bit of a workout if you're not used to doing them.

 

[Street5927]

Accum, I used to lift quite a bit, going to the gym 5 days a week, drinking protein twice a day. Where I fell short was with my diet. I ate like a garbage can. About 2 1/2 months ago after a doctor visit, I decided to make a change. I will be 40 next year and am 6'4". When I started, I was 220# and had a size 40 waist. Years ago, I bought the P90X workout and it was a good workout, but the meal plans were impossible to follow. I decided to pull the trigger on the P90X3. The workouts are killers and the meal plans are much easier to follow. With that said, I use the android app called myfitnesspal. My wife uses the iphone version. You set your goals and it tracks everything that you eat. In a nutshell, 2 1/2 months later, I lost 18 pounds, and 3 1/2 inches off of my belly. I feel much better, sleep better, etc....and for the first time since high school, I am actually getting rid of the "love handles" and beginning to see abs poking through. I would like to loose another 2 pounds and tone up my core to get those abs to really poke through. Although, I am not lifting heavy anymore, I see myself getting more and more definition in the arms, back, shoulders, legs, etc. 

 

[Accumulator]

Street5927- Sounds like you found something that works great for you, I love reading posts like that!  Yes indeed, you simply *MUST* find something that you can stick with long-term, and that might not be the same thing that somebody else does.  IMO that might be especially true with regard to diet. 


 


FWIW, I do still have two meal-replacement shakes on most of my lifting days, not straight protein though, only do that pre-breakfast/after cardio on the cardio days (I *always* have protein as the first course at breakfast, works well for me).


 


Yeah, besides cutting the bodyfat down, working the abs makes a world of difference, especially as you get older.  I can be very lean (bodyfat well into single digits) and still have a bit of a lower-ab "bulge" if I don't stick with the right exercises...wasn't like that when I was younger (I recently turned 54).

 

[JoeSinc]

I do 5 days a week. Used to throw some cardio in there but recently stopped as I'm pretty sure it was reducing my gains. I now do a high intensity body weight workout to start, then high intensity low rest weights routine and finish with a short but unbelievably tough tabatta workout. In about 3 months I've gone from 217 to 177 pounds. Seeing a pretty satisfying increase in definition, I'm hoping cutting the cardio will help. 


 


As for diet I eat loads of fruit and veg during the day, have some muesli and low fat natural yoghurt for breakfast, BIG salad with either chicken or tuna for lunch and then pretty much anything for dinner. Eat a fair bit of jerky throughout the day for protein. 


 


I guess it's different for me though cutting back from fat in comparison to you trying to build from nothing. 

 

[BobD]

I haven't in about two months. I was lifting and doing a lot if pull ups and push-ups. I started lifting with cinder blocks and iron pipe. No joke. I sold all of my weights years ago and the cost if weights is nuts now so I went with $1.20 cinder blocks. Lol

 

[Scottwax]

Started lifting again a couple months ago, usually go 2-3 times a week, although not at all the last two weeks, been riding my bike a lot-465 miles in the last two weeks. Now that the Hot Rocks ride is done, I'll be back in the gym more. 

 

[Accumulator]

 I'm spending even less time exercising than I had been, but actually making *better* gains. and not having any joint/etc. issues.  Very happy to be making gains where the cardio is concerned, I'd been stuck, with no significant improvement for a while but now I'm making progress.  I'm still doing my cardio first thing in the morning on an empty stomach, with whey protein and fish oil immediately afterwards.


 


JoeSinc- How do you do your Tabata workout?  I'm especially interested as  you plan to drop your cardio.  I mean...to me Tabata = cardio, that was the whole point of his project.


 


 I do something sorta like Tabata but I don't always use the AirDyne the way his subjects did.  I do 2:1 work:recovery intervals (and I'm very close to the actual Tabata Protocol when  working on the AirDyne) but I have no real way of knowing whether I'm hitting 170% of my VOMax or not, which some purists consider that the criteria for a "real Tabata" workout.  My work intervals become as hard as I can manage by about the fourth one (I always do at least eight work intervals) and I do get at least close to my max HR (not age-related, which I consider BS), utterly spent to where I have to wait a moment before I do my cool-down.


 


BObD-  TWO MONTHS?!?  Goodness, get back at it! 


 


Tie one of those cinderblocks around your waist when doing the pull-ups, make 'em challenging. 


 


Scottwax- I always find your updates interesting, in part because you and I come at it from pretty much opposite ends of the spectrum; I bet you spend more time biking in one (summer) month than I spend exercising all year!

 

[Accumulator]

The actual title of this thread still makes me  :huh:


 


LIFT EVERY DAY?!?  I just can't imagine somebody doing that for long without either achieving zero progress or burning out or developing injuries.  I did it for quite a while, and OK... no I didn't burn out, and I even avoided injuries.  But I wasn't making optimal progress, not that you could've convinced me of that at the time!


 


IMO it's all about what you can do as a genuine lifestyle, like....indefinitely, well into old-age.  Think it's important to be in-shape when you're young? (Sure, what young guy doesn't want to be lean and muscular?!?)  Well, it's even *more* important when you're older.  As in, "able to live independently"-important. 

 

[silverfox]

Take it from an old guy who is in better shape than he was twenty years ago...its about eliminating as much sugars in your diet as possible, eating smart, and keeping a sharp mind...the gym stuff won't prolong your life but it might help you with the ladies...short term

 

[Accumulator]

UncleGrandpa- I disagree about "the gym stuff won't prolong your life..".  If the training is done properly it can add many active years, just that most people don't work hard enough at it to make much of a difference. Just look at the studies that compare elderly athletes with "normal" elderly people- no comparison, the athletes are simply healthier and have a lower morbidity rate.

 

[pwaug]

About 15 or so years ago Brigham & Womens Hospital in Boston did a study with approx 30 very elderly people who had to use wheel chairs and canes with no underlying cause or illness.  They were put through, if I remember correctly, a 12 week strength building program using weights and taught how to exercise.   At the end of the 12 weeks all participants no longer needed their canes or wheel chairs.    Five years later they did a follow up--those who continued the program still walked without assistance, those who did not were back in the chairs and using canes.  Doesn't speak to extending lifespan, but sure makes those later years more enjoyable if you stay strong.

 

[Scottwax]

 


Scottwax- I always find your updates interesting, in part because you and I come at it from pretty much opposite ends of the spectrum; I bet you spend more time biking in one (summer) month than I spend exercising all year!

 


If the weather cooperates, I'm on pace to ride about 1000 miles this month. Already at 544, would be about 580 but it rained Saturday. Sort of made up for it with 51 miles on Sunday. Only problem with a lot of cardio is its harder to build muscle mass. I'm looking to lose another 12-15 lbs of fat and adding 5-6 lbs of muscle between now and the end of the year. 

 

[Accumulator]

Scottwax- Yeah, I agree, with all that biking it *must* be hard to build mass if only because you're, well...doing a lot of demanding physical activity all the time (and add in all the detailing!).  Otherwise, I would figure that cardio mainly works slow-twitch fibers, as opposed to the prone-to-growth fast twitch ones.


 


For comparison- over the course of each ten-day cycle, I do a total of 48 minutes of cardio, and 26 minutes of that is spend on warm up/cool down so I'm only "working" for 22 minutes. (No, I don't count all the hiking with the dogs as it's just not demanding.)