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Super Ape

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Going back to 7,5 miles on bike is a leg day, I'll share with you the dialogue me and my body seem to be having :

Me: I ride the bike to work 5 days a week, my thighs should be growing based on that alone!

Body: Yeah, but you've been doing that for more than a decade now, I'm used to it, Bro!

Me: But volume training. ..

Body: You are doing Cardio! That's what you do before and after the actual work out,  you're not fooling me! I have NO intention of giving any signals for your legs to grow, in fact, I feel like doing the exact opposite!

Me: No, you can't just. ..

Body: What? The legs are the first to go when you get to a certain age, you know!

Me: But the dangers of over training. ..

Body: C'mon! You haven't done a heavy squat since I don't remember when and heavy front squats like never! Do a bunch of heavy front squats and get back to me!

Me: You should very well know that I don't have the core strength to do that!

Body: Well, boo-hoo, then! Have fun with your old-man legs, then! In stone age and up to like 19th century, your ass would be dead from natural causes by now, so you're welcome!

Me: Fuck you! I hate you!

Body: Shut up and squat you wimp! Do yoga, if you need more core strength! Do I have to think of everything?

And so on. .. leg day tomorrow, can't wait!

 

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Man, my body doesn't seem to have much of a sense of humor. Leg day yesterday went awry, with a bunch of back spasms during and after trapbar deadlift and I'm still feeling it now. Well, didn't stop me from going nuts on the squat machine, however.

Loading it up to 240lbs and two sets of resistance bands and went to town on my thighs and calves. Plenty of stretching during the work day afterwards helped the legs quite a bit, but the back (not lower back, more like the middle) is still bothering me. Well, upper body work out today, with Cobra Kai soundtrack blasting, back pain ( well, pain is a bit strong word to describe this) or not!

Edited by Shartnado
...typos and stuff
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Ok, it's been pretty good workout week so far. This has been the first night shift week since the summer vacation that I have been arsed to get to the gym before work and it has been good so far. The back pain went away in a few days on its own, but I haven't done deadlift yet this week. 

The Cobra Kai soundtrack spiced up with some of my own similar favorites has lent itself very well to the work outs, but granted the music is more suited to high volume, high rep, high intensity stuff, rather than any heavy duty stuff, so that's where I've been.

I'll try to get two more workouts in this week, but I'm kinda running out of stuff to do without over training certain body parts, but since I've been getting my carbs on big time, I don't think that's going to be a big problem.

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Yeah, so I said I had trouble figuring out which body parts to train, since I had already pretty much gone through all of them this week. I know the answer is supposed to be "when in doubt, squat", but I'm lame like that so my answer is "I guess I'll do a bunch of bench press, then".

Because there are no safety bars on the bench and I'm basically always alone there when I go, I hardly ever go higher than 220lbs and can never do sets to failure. So I opt for a whole bunch of sets with light enough weight to avoid injury if something goes wrong.

So I ended up doing a 13 set pyramid from 132lbs -->220lbs-->132lbs, with 10 reps per set and adding 20lbs after each until I got to 220, then did 4 sets with that, getting 8, 6, 5, 5 and then going back down, now getting under 10 reps with each set until I got back down to 132 and did 20, 13, and 7 with that to finish off what was left of my pecs and triceps at that point.

Between sets I tend to do something light to other muscle groups to minimize down time, so I did flyes, curls, pull-ups and some stiff-legged deadlifts with two kettle bells.

Tonight, it has to be the Trapbar Deadlift, since that is the one thing I've avoided since last week. Overall, easily the best week of training since the summer. It seems like I've found my groove again. Ten weeks to bounce back, like I said.

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Trapbar deadlift went swimmingly, with no back pain this time around. Did 7 sets overall starting with 165lbs and ending with 4x430lbs and 4x450 lbs,  shruggs to end the workout week for good measure, although my trapps have already taken a beating this week. Now 6,5h left of the night shift and it's weekend!

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Much lighter workout week this time around with only two actual workouts and plenty of rest. So yeah, I officially turned 43 and I suppose I should try to go for some sort of personal bests while I still can, but as far as strength goes, I probably maxed out a while back.

So, the best I can hope for is to break some max rep records with lighter weights. I do notice some things getting harder to do. For example pull-ups, it feels like I can do less and less of them, despite plenty of arm and upper back training. Push ups on the other hand seem to be staying on course. I was able to do more than 60 in high school at something like 130lbs (it took me longer than the 60 second time limit, so it wasn't official, but I did do it) and can still do it now at 180lbs (as of this morning as a matter of fact), so maybe I could try to go for 100 straight or something? Just so I can say I still broke some of my own records this "late" in the game.

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A good workout week in process as today I did both trap bar deadlift  (along with shrugs) and bench press. Went all the way to 450lbs on the lift and got 4 and 3 as usual, but totally lost form on the way up on the last rep of the second heavy set.

So took away 90lbs and did one more set of 6 and moved on to the shrugs after that. It's weird that my back did not react negatively on that last rep as I did it basically 100% with my lower back. Luck,  proper warm up or both?

Bench was another volume workout with 5 sets with 210lbs (from 14 to 6 reps) being the top of the pyramid and then back down with something like 15 sets in total.

Tomorrow is an extra day off from work, so I'll work out at home, hopefully getting a decent picture I could upload out of it.

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Well, good enough workout to update my profile pic anyway! Jesus that resizing thing is a pain in the ass! First it's way too big and you end up shrinking it, until it's fuzzy. Oh well, 45 minutes basically non stop of all kinds of stuff you can do at home with 2 small dumbells, 2 25lb kettlebells and two different resistance bands and plenty of push ups.

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Well, this week has been a mixed bag. It's night shift week, so I've been tired save for one night in the middle there. On the other hand, I'm already 4 workouts deep into this week with one night to go. On yet another hand work has sucked the last two nights and I still have deadlift to do, despite already having an actual leg day on Tuesday(?).

Night shift has a way of messing up your weekdays, but yeah, it was Tuesday evening, so for me that was the start of Wednesday. Still definitely feeling that one. I have been eating way more than usual this week, so it has kept my energy levels up, but the idea of going heavy on the trapbar this evening does sound rather daunting. We'll see how that goes.

It went rather well, actually! 6x407 lbs and then 5, 4 and 5 with 450 lbs. So, that's like actual progress, on a night shift week! I'll be damned!

Edited by Shartnado
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  • 2 weeks later...

Hell of a workout week this time around! Took the Monday off to get some extra rest, so it was 4 workouts, two for upper body and two leg days. Today was the trapbar deadlift day and I totally kicked its ass! A couple of warm-ups with 240lbs and 308lbs. Then 7x385lbs, 5x430lbs and the real banger 6,5,6 and 5x450lbs. I was like holy shit where did this come from? I'll take it, though!

As usual shrugs and hanging leg raises to finish the week and of course the bike ride home. But I said earlier that it would take me 10 weeks to bounce back and boy, that sure seems true! I think I need to be smart about this and take it down a notch next week and keep stuffing my face with as much food as possible, as that seems to be doing the trick!

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After last week's big gains on my trapbar deadlift, it is time to scale back a bit.

Monday was the usual pull ups, dips and reverse shrugs with extra weight  (only 20lbs this time) ,followed by flies  (using resistance bands) for chest workout and lat pull downs,  using the same bands.

Some light shoulder workout to finish the day. Took Tuesday off because I had to be at work earlier than usual, so today I figured : Bench and deadlift. Very light workout on the trapbar side, more shrugs than deadlifts and no more than 220lbs on the bar.

Bench was a nice surprise though. I have gone volume over heavy lifting for a good while now, but I figured I do sets of 5 and add 20 or 10lbs until I get to something worthwhile.

So I go from 5x132lbs to 5x265lbs in 9 sets. As I've said before, I hardly ever go beyond 220lbs for safety reasons. I got a co-worker to spot me on the 265lbs, but ended up completing the set without assistance. Then I go straight back down to 132lbs and do a set of 45 reps to get an actual pump going. Some more shrugs and I'm done.

This may be it for the week, due to work stuff, but at least I'll try to keep my calorie intake as high as possible. Night shift again next week, so we'll see if that goes as well as last time, or not?

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Due to the changed work schedule for Thursday and Friday, I was able to squeeze in one more workout this morning before work.

I'm not used to training first thing in the morning  (cardio is not a problem, however ) , so I was a bit out of my comfort zone, but I did a 45 minute full-body workout with mostly light stuff. Going to the squat machine early in the morning is not fun, light weights or not! But hey, three workouts this week, so that was better than I initially thought!

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It's been a bit since posting here but compared to the stuff you're doing mine's rather tame.  But I'm still mainly doing crosstrainer/stationary bike a couple times a week at the gym.  I'd rather not do anything weight-related there because I'm paranoid enough as it is with what I'm doing (cleaning before and after, etc.)  So I just stick with them and if the mood suits me some dumbbells at home.  With the build to Halloween I've been taking in a good bit more Halloween candy and those themed beers aren't gonna drink themselves.

But despite that I try to not eat horrible and am actually parts of me getting a bit thinner.  Since I have no real deadline I figure even gradual changes are better than nothing at all.  At least I went from badly needing a Bro (curse you Seinfeld) to not needing one at all so that's nice.  And I still won't touch a scale as that will just drive me nuts.  I figure it's best to go off of how things look and how my clothes feel and so far so good.

Edited by NikoBaltimore
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Hey great, I'm not here all by myself! But hey, it's all about finding a training method that works for you. If at this time a crosstrainer or a stationary bike is the only place you feel isolated and safe enough in order to get a workout in, then so be it. Dumbells at home work very well also and if there is enough room to incorporate some bodyweight excercises, you can get a full body workout at home.

I'm in a comfortable place right now, as I've gotten back into the shape I need to be in, in order to actually try and get some decent slow-bulk going. I'm pretty damn efficient on fast bulk, but that always ends up on my midsection and pretty much nowhere else. I'd like to avoid that if possible, but still trying to get as close to 200lbs as possible by New Year's.

As far as Halloween candy and beer goes, while Halloween is sort of a thing here in Finland too, nowadays, trick or treating really isn't. So any candy in our house will be consumed by me and my wife. There's no beer-drinkers in our household, but I have feeling there is either Gin and Tonic or a Dirty Martini with my name on it (or both) waiting for Halloween!

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The last few months have been a real struggle when it comes to dedication, I'm finding.  Kind of fell off in terms of caloric intake, but the sheer exhaustion of shoveling 3500 calories' worth of reasonable food into your piehole - especially as a diabetic - will do that to you.  So I've probably dropped 5 pounds or so, down from my best of 193-194.  I've never cracked 200 in my life, and that was sort of the goal when I started back in February, but it doesn't look like it's happening this year.

On the plus side, I found a couple of different ab set-ups that I'm pretty happy with: one being a cross of Jeremy Ethier & Jeff Cavaliere videos, and the other being a simple ab wheel, which really hammers you if you use it correctly. 

But, I still basically loathe my home workouts.  I'm in a 2nd-floor apartment, so it's bodyweight-only for me, though I'm thinking that the next time Core sells their adjustable dumbbells, I'm going to drop the $350 and buy a set.  I doubt it would motivate me, but at least I can do a LOT more variety with that (especially with respect to isolation movements).  It usually takes watching more Youtube stuff (lately it's been Ryan Humiston, but why I'm taking fitness advice from a vegan, I can't fathom) to get me in the right mindset.  I miss the gym.

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I work out, but I don't take it seriously. Or, like, talk about it. 6'0" tall, weighed ten stone (140 lbs/ 63.5 kg) when I was 18. Very skinny. Now I weigh like Fourteen stone twelve pounds (208 lbs/ 94 kg) and people still call me skinny because I've got this big chest- small waist thing.

Here's Warhorse with some good training advice:

 

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Damn! I was a skinny kid myself and also about exactly the same weight at 18. The difference is that I'm 172 cm (5'6"). I've been to the gym since I was 12, but I never had the perseverence to stick with it until I was 35 years old. I always got the quick gains but didn't stick around when things stalled. Now I'm 43 and some 185lbs and I've heard people say "what do you weigh? Close to 220lbs?" Ok, that was one dude, but I've heard it!

Edited by Shartnado
Typo
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On 11/3/2020 at 9:32 PM, RunningFromAmerica said:

I'll put this here.....

 

Wow, so they sure didn't like it. Macho Man looked damned impressive, though! And flexible! The people who bought the DVD seemed to like it even less!

For obvious reasons due to stuff going on across the Atlantic this week was not a particularly good workout week, with only 2 actual workouts and a stretching and foam-rolling session. Bodyweight is trending downwards despite trying to eat enough (not actually happening, apparently). Well, the week-end's here, so that's about to change. Also, for the first time since the summer, I measured my arms and thighs. So, the legs are doing fine, both rebounding an inch since the summer cut, both arms had lost a half an inch. That's what I was afraid of, but hey the slow bulk is about to kick in, maybe I'll be able to recover.

I won't be buying workout DVD's, but I did recently purchase a massage hammer and I'm liking it so far. If you haven't come across one of these things before, they look like a blow-dryer with a massage ball (or other interchangeable heads of different shapes) attached to it. It an electric appliance and it actually had more power to it than I originally thought. When I first saw these, maybe 8 months ago, they were priced at something ridiculous like 399e, but I got mine for 60e and for now, it's been as good as I'll ever need. This comes in very handy, as I have not been to a massage (therapist? Are they called that?) since January. For the past few years, I've had a sports massage (are they called that?) every three weeks, in order to keep my back pain-free. My back is seemingly doing just fine without them, but I haven't done things like free squats in what seems like ages. Thank goodness for the squat-machine, however!

...I'll be damned, the half an inch reduction in my arms was just due to dehydration, as both were back to 41cm (flexed, not pumped) after plenty of water, coffee and fried eggs and pasta for "breakfast" consumed well into the afternoon, due to the nightshift.

Edited by Shartnado
The guns are back!
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