All-Purpose Health and Fitness Thread

[Super Ape]

3 hours ago, Control said:

Have you tried using resistance loops/bands? I’ve found them incredibly helpful for strengthening my shoulders, and surprisingly effective in general. Plus they’re cheap because they’re just glorified rubber bands.

I'm pushing 400 pounds. I'm sure any resistance band I get will end up snapping with ease. I'm distrustful of them.

15-pound KB's on the way. Gonna fuck around with it when it comes, but I saw Amazon has a Bowflex adjustable KB available now too. Might just return the two KBs I have and use the refund to pay for the adjustable, even if I like the design of the KBs I already bought.

Ring Fit Adventure comes next Tuesday.

[Control]

35 minutes ago, Super Ape said:

I'm pushing 400 pounds. I'm sure any resistance band I get will end up snapping with ease. I'm distrustful of them.

Your weight shouldn’t matter. There’s no exercise I’ve done in which my weight has anything to do with the resistance.

Imagine putting a large rubber band around both of your wrists, and then widening out your arms in pulses. Just as an example. Or gripping the band at your waist with both hands, and then lifting one arm straight up.

[NikoBaltimore]

I'm surprised to see Ring Fit Adventure apparently available on target.com. I may consider it though I'll have to see if it's worth the $80.  If it lets me bypass the story mode and just use the workouts I think that would be good.

I had a couple paragraphs typed but will say that for me I just need to get off my ass and stop making excuses.  I have dumbbells, DDP Yoga and a bike that just needs the seat to be fixed.  I also appreciate healthy stuff but tend to like junk food and beers.  That plus not wanting to do workouts since the A/C broke I had all kinds of reasons for not getting things in gear while at home.  So with the A/C being fixed today I'm hoping I can cut out the excuses and just start doing stuff.  And considering I've been pushing 300 it's something I've needed to take care of for the longest time.  So maybe I'm best off holding off on Ring Fit and just make good use of what I have.  That and maybe a resistance band as my shoulders are messed up as well.

[Control]

The first time I seriously committed to losing weight, it was because I couldn't sleep on my side anymore without my shoulder giving out. If my shoulders were stronger, I'd have probably stayed around 240 my whole life.

[Super Ape]

I got some Indian clubs because I heard they're supposed to help strengthen shoulders, which are a problem area for me (making OHPs a real pain in the ass). Added bonus; I roll them by the handle in my hands sometimes, and I feel like it's helped my grip strength.

[Control]

So I’ve taken my resting heart rate a few times today, and it’s 49 bpm. Not sure if this means I am healthy like an athlete or if I have bradycardia.

[Super Ape]

Sending those KBs back was a good idea. I took up lifting my 5lb DBs today and my right shoulder, which has always been kind of stiff, started hurting after my third OHP. This sucks. The pain's gone now since I stopped, but I'm worried it's something I'll need surgery and PT for, and with the outbreak being what it is I'm afraid to go to my doctor. Dammit.

It better not give me a hard time doing Ring Fit or Fitness Boxing.

[AxB]

Probably just a pulled muscle. An actual tear (or partial tear) would still hurt after you'd stopped pushing it.

Although torn rotator cuffs usually take care of themselves without surgery anyway. Mine did. Took about a year and a half, but it's stronger than it ever was now.

[Shartnado]

Seeing as this is only messageboard I participate in, I'd like to chat about general fitness as well! I have been a so called "body guy" ever since I've been 13 years old. Conversly, I've only been anything actually resembling a "body guy" since I've been 35 years old. I just peaked physically somewhere from 1-3 years ago (turning 43 in a month, as advertised on several threads as well) and still getting questions about steroids while being militant natural.

Aside from this (not so)#humblebrag, I want to let you guys know this: It's not too late to start, until it's literally too late to start! I thought I was washed up at 29, or something, let alone later. Then I just started again at 34+ and stuck with it and broke every record I ever made as a 20-something. I started working out again at home with one 25lb cattlebell in 2012 and was trapbar deadlifting 550 lbs by 2018, still regularly lifting 450lbs on occasion these days, so it can be done!

So, the point being, find a time to work out, like Dolfan does, and make it a part of your daily routine. After a  (rather long) while, it will not feel like a chore! Trust me, I've been there!

[Shartnado]

So yeah,  apparently this topic doesn't seem to take. No matter,  I'll just chatter by myself, then.

I read a that few people here are on keto or intermittent fasting, maybe you can bring that talk over here? I myself haven't intentionally been on keto, but I have slipped into one probably a few times.

I usually spend most of the year trying to bulk up, but from May to beginning of July I'm usually on a diet, cutting  (depending on the need) anywhere from 15 to 25lbs (I'm 5'8" , ranging from 170 to 195lbs).

This year was good and pretty easy as my starting weight was about 10lbs less than usual.

Ok,  so before the summer vacation, I'm usually in the best shape of the year and after, I'm usually in the worst. 4 weeks of heavy drinking and terrible diet will do that to you, in case you were wondering!

It will probably take me some 10 weeks to bounce back properly, but I am used to the grind by this point.

Also, I remember someone saying on Dolfan's Wrestlemania thread that even though one cannot out work a bad diet, it won't stop him from trying. I'd like to comment on that by saying you actually CAN outwork a BAD diet, but not a terrible one. The problem is that a bad diet slips into a terrible one relatively easily, so one needs to be careful with that!

That's all for now.

[Technico Support]

I'm on keto, though I slacked a bit for a few months (non keto days weekly between May and August)...back on the wagon now, just enjoyed a breakfast of bacon, eggs, and black coffee.  Lunch might be tuna or maybe a Quest protein bar.  I've dropped about 40 pounds since starting in January.  Could be doing better but it's life in the pandemic, ya know?  This shit really fucked up my routine.  Trying to get back into working out regularly.  The gym I used was the one at my office building but it's been closed and I've been working from home since March.  Just last week I started trying to recommit to working out regularly.  I've been running and eking out a basement free weight workout.  It's funny; I lifted for the first time in a while last week and had two running sessions and my weight actually went UP.  Googling, I found out that this is indeed a thing when you start a new workout regimen.  Something to do with inflammation, glycogen, and your body sending extra water to the muscles.  Eventually, you level off.  So anyway, that's my diet and exercise story so far.  It's going alright and I'm trying not to jinx it! 

Edited August 26, 2020 by Technico Support

[Shartnado]

Good to hear from you on this side of the board as well! Also, good luck on the keto, hope everything goes well. And once you are in it for the long haul, setbacks and such don't really matter, since you just get back on the horse and keep on keeping on.

I have been very fortunate this year since I also have a gym at work and that one hasn't been closed, since there very seldom is more than one person in there at once. Also, during the whole pandemic, I have still been going to work every day, so my cardio hasn't suffered  (I ride a bike, so it's like 13,5 miles a day, 5 days a week ).

The work itself is also pretty physical, so I'm on my feet for 8 hours and also push and pull heavy things around a few times per shift.

That is also part of the reason why any extended time off from work will absolutely start showing in my midsection very fast. You just can't substitute that kind of activity with anything  (nor would I want to ).

Anyway, what you were probably talking about is called super-compensation and don't worry, it's a good thing, very good, in fact!

So, yeah. Keep at it and never get discouraged by setbacks. They are temporary.

[Matt D]

We have a Treadmill now. Primarily for my wife who has struggled with other forms (exercise bikes/ellipticals) over the years. 

Unfortunately, in trying to figure out what I'm going to watch while on it, I realize that the youtube channel with all the Portland Wrestling was taken down recently. Big hit.

[Craig H]

I've done keto off and on for years, some intermittent fasting too, but never at the same time. Well, after a year of not doing anything to take care of myself and being horrified at my weight at the doctor's office, I started doing keto and 18/6 fasting for 4 days a week and 20/4 fasting for the other 3 days. I've been doing this for a little over a month and a half now and I'm already down close to 40 lbs.

There's very little working out in this time too, but I need to do more. Every week I probably get out to mow the lawn over the course of three days. That's about an hour and a half to two hours each time I'm out mowing to do just the front or just the back. Other than that, I'll go on walks with my wife when it's not really hot out.

I'm also eating about 1200 to 1500 calories a day. I eat a big salad almost every day that consists of power greens (baby kale and baby spinach), grilled chicken skewers from Costco or leftover chicken (or leftover shrimp or steak), parm, Whisps, and Caesar dressing. Dinners I always stick to no carbs no matter what my wife and daughter eat. For example, we had a smoked pork shoulder. My daughter had a bbq pork sandwich, my wife used the shredded pork in an enchilada, and I made an enchilada/nacho skillet with the shredded pork, cheese, hot sauce, jalapenos, and pork rinds. I layer that all in a egg pan sized cast iron skillet and bake that in the oven. Sometimes the pork rinds stay crispy and other times they're soggy. Either way, it's filling and delicious.

Other things I've been doing for awhile now are taking in no caffeine and limiting my alcohol. I probably haven't had caffeine in a year or more now. It's just makes my anxiety worse. The alcohol wasn't a big thing for me, but when I would drink beer it was always some high calorie stuff from a local brewery. Saturday was actually the first time I even had a beer in months and after not drinking beer for that long, it was kinda weird, but also good because I was helping my brother and sister in law move. Other than that, I had a few White Claws a few weeks ago when I went out to see my cousins.

So yeah, basically no sugar at all for me. No sodas, only La Croix/Bubly/Kirkland sparkling water, no candy, no grains, and basically just protein and vegetables. I'm feeling great. The only scary thing with the intermittent fasting is that I see how easy it could be to slip into an eating disorder. I'll hit a huge hunger spike in the morning that usually wears away by the time I eat. The problem is, I'll go past my eating time and I'm not even bothered. I'll sometimes think about just continuing my fast to go 24+ hours, but then reason takes over and I wind up having one meal a day that's around 1000 to 1200 calories.

[Craig H]

I should also add that one of the main reasons I wanted to do both keto and IF at the same time was that I felt like I was very addicted to sugar. Incredibly addicted to sugar. And things like chips or crackers. It's shameful to admit it, but around Easter I was eating an entire bag of Sweettart jelly beans in one sitting. Or any other kind of jelly bean really. And I would eat maybe a bag of those a day...until my teeth hurt and I had to stop.

A whole box of Cheez-its? No problem. Done in one sitting. It would take me maybe 3 days to eat the huge box of Cheez-its from Costco. A can of pringles? No problem. Sneaking out to get chicken fingers every day? Yep, did that.

Anyway, everything was a fucking mess and I had to get control over my eating, end my night time eating, find a schedule for eating, and essentially detox from sugar. I think I'm close to being safe. When I did keto/South Beach before back in college and got really skinny, I basically went without any fries or pizza or soda for about a year or so. I just wound up having no urge or desire to eat those things. I also had the benefit of being single and basically just ate for myself. Then I got into a new relationship and started eating the bad shit. At first it didn't impact my weight, but then slowly my weight started going up. Then it started going up fast. That was 13 or 14 years ago.

Another thing that hit me hard was seeing Kevin Smith have a massive heart attack. I thought he was nearly 400 lbs at one point, but then the guy dropped a ton of weight because he cut out all sugar and he still had a massive heart attack. I'm not the fan of the guy I once was, but it scared the shit out of me. Then I learned that Kevin was never 400 lbs., but his highest was 310 or something and I was at 326. At the time of his heart attack he had gotten down to 230 lbs or something. Now he's under 200 or around 180 I think. I don't want to die young and leave my wife and daughter behind. I don't want to wind up getting cancer because of how I treat my body. I want to be able to back in the shape I was in in my mid 20s when I was muscular, flexible from pilates, and 195 lbs. Since I turn 40 in October, I feel like this is my last shot at losing weight before it becomes really hard to lose weight. 

There's less than 90 lbs for me to go to hit my ultimate goal and I think I can hit it by next summer if I'm lucky and don't fall too hard off the wagon over my birthday/Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter. 

And I don't think I'll do keto forever. I just don't think it's sustainable. At some point there will be meals or dinners with carbs and I have to learn to eat them without falling off the wagon. So I'll probably ween myself off of keto slowly, but my days of drinking soda and binging on candy and chips and crackers are over. If nothing else, I'll stick to that so I can eventually enjoy some wild rice here and there.

Oh yeah, and the next big hurdle health wise is getting a consistent 6 to 8 hours of sleep every day instead of trying to manage 4 hours or less of sleep.

[Technico Support]

So lazy/overwhelmed by shit today that my lunch was 2 tablespoons of Skippy Natural PB and an almond milk protein powder shake.  But the net carbs for lunch were 6g, so fuck it.  My daily net carbs are always below 20 and I keep my calories below 1700.  If anyone needs it, here's a really good keto calculator to determine daily intake targets.

Making Caesar salads on the grill for dinner tonight!   

[Craig H]

Weighed in today outside of my Wednesday weigh in date. In now 41 lbs. down.

Did OMAD (One Meal A Day) today where I made chicken tenders crusted in crushed pork rinds. They were AWESOME. Honestly, some of best pork rinds I've ever had. Here's the recipe I followed to a T:

https://www.gnom-gnom.com/gluten-free-keto-chicken-tenders/

I just didn't do the waffles recipe and just ate about 4 chicken tenders and had a White Claw. I also forgot about Zevia, so I was able to have a Grape Zevia since I love grape soda.

[Technico Support]

I tried Zevia and just couldn't get into it.  Just weird tasting and not worth the price, to me.  Pork rinds, on the other hand, yes please.  Put them straight into my face. 

[Craig H]

I'm rationing the Zevia so it lasts. I actually hate the cherry cola version of it, but the grape soda one is good.

It's basically the same thing I'm doing with my case of Magic Spoon cereal. Before, I could destroy a box of fruity pebbles in two days. I still have 2 1/2 boxes out of 4 of Magic Spoon after almost 2 months. I basically treat it like a treat.

And I like pork rinds much more this time around, but the tear up my mouth like Cap'N Crunch. We actually found kimchi flavored pork rinds and they're awesome if you're into kimchi.

[NikoBaltimore]

All this lovely talk about keto and carbs and I'm just here trying to not eat like shit. 

EDIT:  Too many words for my liking so I'll put all that in spoiler tag.  But the long and short of it is I'm doing cardio either at the gym or at home.  That plus trying to eat things I like that won't kill me is not as hard as I thought it would be.  So while I don't use a scale I feel much better and am starting to see a physical difference.  Hoping to keep doing this for good since I'm not doing any specific plans and am doing what feels right to me.

 

For me it's been a constant struggle over the years and I've tried shit from diet pills to all kinds of planned diets and such.  But at the end of the day for me I just need to put the work in and keep at it.  I don't really stick to a schedule or have any kind of diet plan.  But I'm mainly doing cardio and try for a couple days at the gym plus a cardio thing on the Planet Fitness app.  Just give me the elliptical and stationary bike plus some good music and I'm good to go.  And following along with an attractive woman at home while she has me do shadow boxing and such doesn't hurt either.

As for food I've been trying not to eat like shit when I remember to.  So being Greek I adore things like olives, Greek yogurt and all kinds of Mediterranean fare.  And as long as I can afford it when shopping I'll go to town on that shit.  So for the most part during the week I'm solid.  Now on the weekend I still love my beer and while I do need to cut back I try not to go too crazy with it.  And if there's fattening stuff around I try to not go too crazy with it nor beat myself up over having it.  If it happens so be it, just need to get back in the gym.  For me by not having a plan it actually helps me to find things that feels right to me.  Heck, I went to a bar and had a tri-salad deal where it had shrimp, chicken and tuna salad with tons of veggies around it all.  I would never think to order that before but that shit was amazing.  So luckily finding good stuff isn't as I hard as I believed it to be before.

So by doing all this I actually feel worlds better than I did doing nothing and eating shit.  I had a quarantine beard of sorts and when I shaved it off I was shocked at how much thinner my face looked.  I actually noticed that my upper body's not as heavy as it used to be and doing all this makes me a much better person at work.  Considering I have anxiety and a short temper stuff like this makes me a surprisingly pleasant/patient person even when I deal with some idiots on the phones.  So whatever I'm doing seems to work but the key is that I can't put a deadline/timeframe on all this.  This has to be something I do for the rest of my life and while all this seems like common sense for me it took a bit of time to get to this point.  So far so good.

Oh, and as for scales I don't use them.  Not that they're not beneficial but they freak me out if I go and check that on a regular basis.  I figure as long as my clothes fit better and I'm able to do workouts with more resistance and intensity then I must be doing something right.  I'll see what I weigh when I go for my check-up anyway.  Also, to go back to what @Shartnado said earlier what tends to happen is people will go on and on about food or diets in other threads like the wrestling one even though there's stuff here.  I've been tempted to say "Hey, let's take this to the respective thread" but I didn't want to be THAT GUY.  I mean it would be nice if those posts were just moved to the appropriate topics but that's not for me to say.

Edited September 2, 2020 by NikoBaltimore

[Casey]

Anyone ever dealt with avascular necrosis in the hip? This shit is painful as fuck. I have to see a specialist on Thursday morning - hopefully I don't need surgery/a replacement, but my x-ray and MRI didn't look so hot.

[Technico Support]

On 8/30/2020 at 1:10 PM, Craig H said:

I'm rationing the Zevia so it lasts. I actually hate the cherry cola version of it, but the grape soda one is good.

It's basically the same thing I'm doing with my case of Magic Spoon cereal. Before, I could destroy a box of fruity pebbles in two days. I still have 2 1/2 boxes out of 4 of Magic Spoon after almost 2 months. I basically treat it like a treat.

And I like pork rinds much more this time around, but the tear up my mouth like Cap'N Crunch. We actually found kimchi flavored pork rinds and they're awesome if you're into kimchi.

I was looking into Magic Spoon after I'd heard them advertised on Marty & Sarah Love Wrestling (promo code: brad).  The price seemed pretty steep until I looked again, after you'd mentioned it, and noticed the price (duh) was for 4 boxes.  Going to pick some up next payday and have it with unsweetend vanilla almond milk like a fucking KING.

With Zevia, aside from the flavor being kinda off, somehow my brain can't get past clear sodas that are still flavored.  I mean I tried and loved Crystal Pepsi one time, years ago, but I was super high at the time.

I think I know the brand you're talking about but I don't like kimchi.  My wife got the spicy dill flavor of that same brand.  She loved it; it grossed me out.  I had the BBQ flavor from, I think, Bakenz (?) and that was really good.

Edited September 1, 2020 by Technico Support

[Craig H]

It's whatever my wife bought from Meijer and the flavors are different every time she goes. Even still, it's a hell of a late cheaper than buying the "boutique" pork rinds from something like Pork King Good, another podcast advertiser.

The only thing with Magic Spoon, at least with the fruity flavored one, is that the texture is unlike any cereal you've had before. There's also only 7 servings per box and a serving is the usual 3/4 of a cup. I'm trying to think of a good way to describe the texture and I can't think of a way to do it. When you chew it up, you'll get bits that stick to your teeth...It's weird. It stays mostly crunchy in unsweetened almond milk because I use that too. There's also never any crumbs at the bottom of the bag. I got used to it after a couple bowls and now it's a nice dessert when I still have time to eat in my fasting period or if I need to pad my calories and protein.

I think it's worth the $40 for a case if you can make it last. I know that comes out to $10 per box, but when I think of how much cereal I could put away before compared to how controlled I am now, I'm probably paying the same amount. It's just less cereal I'm getting. I know the Pod Save America guys like the peanut butter one a lot and I have a friend who swears by that one too.

[Craig H]

3 hours ago, NikoBaltimore said:

Oh, and as for scales I don't use them.  Not that they're not beneficial but they freak me out if I go and check that on a regular basis.  I figure as long as my clothes fit better and I'm able to do workouts with more resistance and intensity then I must be doing something right.  I'll see what I weigh when I go for my check-up anyway.  Also, to go back to what @Shartnado said earlier what tends to happen is people will go on and on about food or diets in other threads like the wrestling one even though there's stuff here.  I've been tempted to say "Hey, let's take this to the respective thread" but I didn't want to be THAT GUY.  I mean it would be nice if those posts were just moved to the appropriate topics but that's not for me to say.

I weigh myself every day. I know I shouldn't, but I like the numbers and seeing constant progress. It's helpful to me to keep me honest I guess.

3 hours ago, Casey said:

Anyone ever dealt with avascular necrosis in the hip? This shit is painful as fuck. I have to see a specialist on Thursday morning - hopefully I don't need surgery/a replacement, but my x-ray and MRI didn't look so hot.

God, no. Just from the words avascular necrosis it sounds terrible. Sorry brother.

[supremebve]

43 minutes ago, Craig H said:

I weigh myself every day. I know I shouldn't, but I like the numbers and seeing constant progress. It's helpful to me to keep me honest I guess.

 

If you weigh yourself every day, you should average the weight at the end of the week.  Your weight fluctuates a lot day to day, and taking an average is probably the most accurate way to measure how much progress you are making over time.