The Workout/Weight Loss Thread

Accumulator said:
OK, roger that. The light cardio probably helps your legs recover quicker. I often take the dogs out for an hour or so of hiking after I lift and I guess that's kinda similar.







Yeah, I have to watch that too. Gotta use proper form too, I can't afford to get sloppy.



I found that by really developing my hamstrings and my vastus medialis I was able to almost completely solve my knee issues! This was after they'd been so bad I had to quit driving a clutch and my Dr. was talking about knee replacement when I was still quite young. Now they just don't bother me.





That's a good assortment of movements. Glad you're doing different calf stuff, I do my calf raises both straight-leg standing and bent-leg sitting (the latter are challenging at home with just freeweights).



I also started working the *front* of my lower legs last year, something I'd never done before. I use a gizmo called the Dynamic Axial Resistance Device and it seems to have *really* helped with shin-splints when I run.







I think you have to find what's right *for you*; nobody else can really tell you what's right.



I've figured out what works for me by tracking my progress (or lack thereof) over time; by studying my training log. If I'm not making some kind of progress then I change something. I tend to overtrain, and it was a big challenge, and surprise, to find that I generally need *TEN* days between heavy leg workouts for the best results :eek:



On the soreness, I try to get very sore from each workout. In my case, that works out to be a good indicator of whether I did things intensely enough. How fast the soreness dissipates seems to be mainly a matter of how well I'm managing my recovery processes.



It's kinda funny, but I can't really overdo my workouts as long as I stop as soon as my performance drops off. It's not like I can do a zillion sets because after three-five of *any* movement I'm shot, have to drop the weight so much that I know it's time to quit.







Yeah, being able to do all my exercise at home makes all the difference for me; I just have to do it that way for a lot of reasons. But just look at all the variety you have at your disposal! Ellipticals, different leg press/calf raise machines/etc. I have to go "low-tech/high-concept" to get by with what I have at home.



Speaking of low-tech...







iPhone? Apps? Heh heh, my friends call me "urban Amish" because I'm barely up to speed with my bare-bones cell!
Click to expand...



LOL! Time to upgrade! :D



It works out great for me because I have my music, phone, and I can log my sets while I rest in a matter of seconds all with one small device. It tracks everything for you and shows graphs of your progress. :2thumbs:







I think I may have to try and give it more time between muscle groups and see if that helps. I do seem to be struggling on increasing my weights...especially with biceps.





Cheers,

Rasky
 
I am doing cardio before and after my workouts. Trying to do a little more each time. Doing 15 and 15 now. it's easier to break it up this way for me. I was at 137-141 HR the other day, should I go higher if my max is 170?
 
pgp said:
I am doing cardio before and after my workouts. Trying to do a little more each time. Doing 15 and 15 now. it's easier to break it up this way for me.
Click to expand...



As I'm always saying, what's right for me might be 100% wrong for somebody else. But my pals who have "professional trainers" (scare-quotes intentional :rolleyes: ) get such crappy advice that I don't mind tossing out my $0.02, just don't want to give anybody a heart attack though :o



If I were to do my cardio right before the weights, I wouldn't have the energy to do the weights properly. And doing the weights might leave me too pooped for effective cardio. I always recuperate a little bit (and have a post-workout meal-replacement drink) before I take the dogs out.



I dunno...it's tough to say what I'd do in your situation :think: I think I'd look into adding some "not at the gym" cardio/conditioning work to do in-between your weight workouts. Something like "pyramids" (AKA "ladders") of Burpees. Something that'd get your heart rate up there, allow you to recover, and then get it up there/recover again. And do this in a short period of time.



I was at 137-141 HR the other day, should I go higher if my max is 170?
Click to expand...



I hesitate to recommend you spike your heartrate higher than that. If 170 is your theoretical age-related max (it's mine too, we must both be around 50), then a whole lotta experts would say you're maxing out just right. The idea being that you get it up there, then back off so it drops down lower than that, then you get it up there again...and repeat this (i.e., do interval training) to train your body to be able to handle exertion without, uhm...blowing a gasket and also train it to recover from that exertion.



FWIW, I got mine up to 178 this morning on the StairMaster and kept it there for a few minutes. I keep it up around at least 150 during the "easy" intervals too. But that's just me and I've been doing that forever, so it *seems* OK and I can sure tell that I got a cardiovascular workout.



That was several hours ago, and I'll be working legs this afternoon. No way I coulda done them right after the StairMaster though.
 
The past month or so there were a few snow storms here, so I went to the gym much less frequently. I was back at it yesterday; I did a light whole body w/o. I am going back again today.
 
The past month or so there were a few snow storms here, so I went to the gym much less frequently. I was back at it yesterday; I did a light whole body w/o. I am going back again today.
 
I've been working on "pistols", one-leg squats with just bodyweight + a light kettlebell for balance. I've been doing them as part of an "active rest" leg day, in-between my usual leg workouts.



Also, I've been doing my pull-ups/chins with a somewhat more narrow grip. For ages, I'd been doing them with a very wide grip, but I've decided that worked the rhomboids a lot, at the expense of my lats. Been using stricter form too; dead-hang at the bottom, and a good pause with chin-over-bar at the top. And I've been doing a few sets with a parallel grip using Ironmind Rolling Thunder handles (large diameter/rotating).



pgp said:
The past month or so there were a few snow storms here, so I went to the gym much less frequently. I was back at it yesterday; I did a light whole body w/o. I am going back again today.
Click to expand...



I guess that's one upside of doing my workouts at home. You might oughta give some thought to what you can do when going to the gym isn't feasible. Even just burpies/etc. would be something....



I dunno about doing another w/o today after a full-body one yesterday :think:
 
I missed a few days so I am doing two light ones in a row. I am sure your routines are much more taxing. Something I have to work on. My downstairs neighbors would not like me jumping around. I do have a indoor bike I ride and a few DB's to lift.
 
pgp- OK, roger that. Just don't go from detrained to overtrained in one big jump :D And heh heh, yeah...the neighbors *might* not be thrilled by certain workouts!
 
I have a B.S. in exercise physiology and Im a certified strength and conditioning specialist. Im applying to grad school right now for my masters. Feel free to PM me for some tips.
 
Hmm I just saw this thread. For the last 2 weeks I have been going to the gym in the morning 6 days a week and doing some running/walking mix for about an hour before work. I try to get there after work to lift some weights or work on abs, but that doesnt happen too often. My goal is lose some weight and tone up some.
 
GeorgesBlazah said:
Hmm I just saw this thread. For the last 2 weeks I have been going to the gym in the morning 6 days a week and doing some running/walking mix for about an hour before work. I try to get there after work to lift some weights or work on abs, but that doesnt happen too often. My goal is lose some weight and tone up some.
Click to expand...



Yeah, this thread doesn't seem to get bumped all that often so it's easy to overlook it.



How's that working, exercising so often? If you weren't doing much before, it probably seems like a big change.
 
edit: I should add that I am not a licensed professional in this area. Feel free to disregard anything I have posted if you do not agree with it. And you should always get checked out by a doctor before starting any exercise routine.



For you guys that get snowed in and cant make it to the gym for a few days, ask around, you probably know someone with the P90X workout. You can just write down the exercises(or borrow a video) for a few routines and do them at home if you cant make it to the gym. Get creative for ones that require weights or just skip it. You can do the chest workouts for sure w/o weights, or try the plyometrics for something new (and difficult).

Secondly, people that do the bulk of their cardio before weight training (legs included) might want to think about reversing that order. A light warm up is fine but save the aerobic exercises for the end of a workout.

Heres why:

2 basic types of exercises

aerobic- meeting momentary oxygen demand, im sure everyone knows what an aerobic exercise would be.



anaerobic- short all out burst of energy (ex: each set of a weight training routine)



When your body is in an aerobic state, it has 2 options for fuel, it can burn fat or it can burn glucose stored in your muscles and liver as glycogen. However, in anaerobic exercises, your body uses exclusively glycogen stores for fuel. So, if you do a hard cardio routine before lifting, you deplete your glycogen stores limiting the fuel you have for your anaerobic exercise. To supply fuel your body might opt to break down muscle tissue (cannabalize itself) to convert amino acids into glucose. If you lift first, you use the glycogen stores up for your anaerobic routine and then your body has the option of tapping into fat stores during your aerobic exercise.



Also for the person asking about his bpm on the treadmill or eliptical etc. General rule of thumb is 220 minus your age multiplied by 65% and 85%. This is your target heart rate zone (THZ). If you stay near the lower end of the zone, you burn porportionately more fat, near the upper end of the zone you burn greater volume of calories. Also give some thought to staggering the intensity of your aerobic exercises.



And dont forget about your diet, it takes more than just exercising a lot to get your body to do what you want it to.
 
Accumulator said:
Yeah, this thread doesn't seem to get bumped all that often so it's easy to overlook it.



How's that working, exercising so often? If you weren't doing much before, it probably seems like a big change.
Click to expand...



I was always kinda active doing stuff outside, but it is a slight change. I notice most of the change though in my sleeping, I still havent adjusted. Since I do it before work I gotta be there at 530 to get a good hour in before I hafto leave. I just cant goto sleep as early as I need to. lol
 
Tarpon87 said:
2 basic types of exercises

aerobic- meeting momentary oxygen demand, im sure everyone knows what an aerobic exercise would be.



anaerobic- short all out burst of energy (ex: each set of a weight training routine)



When your body is in an aerobic state, it has 2 options for fuel, it can burn fat or it can burn glucose stored in your muscles and liver as glycogen. However, in anaerobic exercises, your body uses exclusively glycogen stores for fuel. So, if you do a hard cardio routine before lifting, you deplete your glycogen stores limiting the fuel you have for your anaerobic exercise. To supply fuel your body might opt to break down muscle tissue (cannabalize itself) to convert amino acids into glucose. If you lift first, you use the glycogen stores up for your anaerobic routine and then your body has the option of tapping into fat stores during your aerobic exercise.



Also for the person asking about his bpm on the treadmill or eliptical etc. General rule of thumb is 220 minus your age multiplied by 65% and 85%. This is your target heart rate zone (THZ). If you stay near the lower end of the zone, you burn porportionately more fat, near the upper end of the zone you burn greater volume of calories. Also give some thought to staggering the intensity of your aerobic exercises.



And dont forget about your diet, it takes more than just exercising a lot to get your body to do what you want it to.
Click to expand...



Good info here, Ill hafto try switching up my stuff to see if this helps. Thanks
 
Heh heh, I gotta admit I pretty much have whatever I want for bfast :o One justification is that I do my cardio first thing in the morning and the breakfast refuels me for the weight work (doing legs a few hours after a cardio session can be demanding).



I've been backing off on the intensity of my cardio just a *little* bit. I'm still spending a fair amount of time over my age-related max (which is only 170), but I got the feeling I was overdoing it and I want to look at this from a long-term perspective.
 
Down 20 pounds since Christmas. Eating a bit better, a lot less snacking at night. I have a feeling the 2116 miles I've ridden so far this year have the most to do with the weight loss. 505 of that was last month, hoping for 600-700 this month.
 
Scottwax- Hey, that's good news :xyxthumbs



That *is* a lot of riding! Heh heh, you long-distance guys....I have other pals who are into that, and so I understand that when you like it, well...you *like* it. That ~600/month seems to be a popular goal.



How're your boys doing, fitness-wise?



I'd been thinking this thread needed a bump....



Accumulatorette has been really getting into kettlebell workouts for the last year or so. Good, IMO, but there are still some things that call for regular freeweights.



I'm still tweaking my StairMaster work following its rebuild, which *utterly* changed how it works (much faster but with considerably less resistance), and I've dialed things back just a little to where I don't hit my max (actual maximum, not that "age-related" number) heartrate much any more. Anything over 170BPM seems plenty demanding if maintained for a while.



I'm generally doing more reps on my weightwork, and considerably fewer sets. Sorta leaning towards the Arthur Jones-style approach, at least for the time being. GOOOD form, moderate weights taken to absolute failure, short rest intervals, longer intervals beteen workouts. LOTS of sleep, lots of calories, lots of water.



Seems like fine-tuning this stuff gets more important the older I get.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top