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5 hours ago, El Gran Gordi said:

Made it to the gym today. Did a thing where you shoulder the sandbag, do a squat, then at the top of the squat press the sandbag and move it to the other shoulder and do a squat and that whole thing counts as one rep. 5x5, so 50 squats and 50 presses. Then a couple of sets of kettlebell pullovers and swings. 

Hopefully I've set myself up to spend 2021 squatting and pressing! 

If I hadn't posted here yesterday I probably would have made excuses and stayed home. So this thread is helping me.

Edit: I also made a new folder on my mp3 player for workout music, based around Judas, Cody's AEW theme, Kuuga's Osaka Pro theme (Joker by Shonan no Kaze) and a few other songs to play on a loop. Judas really fires me up.

This sounds very good! Unlike many a new years' day, no hangover, but only exercise today was dragging my 9-year old god daughter (wife's niece) in a sled through the snow, running up the hill a few times.

Felt like a damn husky, but my thighs are definitely feeling it, because they were still sore from the day before, when I did some running up and down a flight of stairs and doing squats (no extra weight) while my wife did some ice skating.

We'll head home tomorrow , so let's see if I can get some more home workouts in?

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Yesterday as well as today I did a bunch of push ups and some pumping up with the resistance band. Today I did 5 sets of 40 push-ups (second to the last actually went 50). Before lunch I also did some stretching and foam rolling as well as lying on top of a hard rubber ball  (the size of a tennis ball, I guess). That is quite painful, but it gets the circulation going again in tense and tightened-up muscles. I found some rather jammed up spots in my upper back. You (well, I) can really tell that I haven't been to a sports massage in about 10 months.

Weight keeps hovering around the 200 lb mark, but I guess with only 2 more days to go before work and gym begins again, I seriously doubt the 205 shall be passed at this point. Also, I seem to be gearing up for return to work, since I had trouble sleeping last night, which hasn't really been the case for the past couple of weeks. That's pretty unfortunate.

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Ok, before reading up on current happenings during my night shift and being shocked and saddened, I actually had my gym workout in more than 2 weeks. Light, but intense, as if to ease back into the thick of things. Deadlift with the pair of 70lbs kettlebells, shrugs with the same, reverse shrugs, pushdowns and lat pulldowns using the strong resistance band(s), some light curls and 6 sets of 20 with 133lbs on the bench. I wasn't supposed to do bench, but since the previous user had left 133lbs on the bar, I thought what the hell, it's already there, so let's pump the chest up with that, then.

The past 3 weeks surely did a number on my six-pack, exactly as I predicted (knew from past experience, more like) and I'm looking pretty soft and fluffy on the midsection right about now, but I'd say 5-6 weeks of normal routine and I'll be back in the game and gearing for spring. 200lbs was as high as the weight went. Once the work starts full-on, I don't think I will be able to maintain it at anything close to that. Luckily, this week is just two nightshifts before the weekend, so I can ease back into working the same way as working out.

...And tonight it was a light full-body workout, but apparently it kept my heart-rate up throughout. I'm looking forward to the weekend. Let's see if I can really get going with this next week ? 

Edited by Shartnado
Just added tonight's update
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So I ditched doing two cardio machines at the gym and just stuck with stationary bike for the past month or two.  While I noticed some results before I could tell already that just doing the bike is making a difference.  I feel a bit more slimmer than before and overall just feel good.  Maybe it's because I tend to up the resistance over time and my legs are getting the hang of it now.  But between that and the mix of metal music and wrestling I feel pretty satisfied with everything.  And a woman nearby that I see doing treadmill sometimes told me today I was an inspiration.  Which feels really odd to hear but it's appreciated nonetheless.  So I might not be crushing weights yet like you folks are.  But over here I'm doing rather well for myself.

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I hadn't done a press up in years (I used to do a lot of them, but stopped when I bought the Multigym with the Bench Press built in... in 2002), but I thought I might as well try it, seeing as I'm still easing myself back in.

2 sets of 50. Not bad.

I used to do like 10 sets of fifty a day, interspersed with squats and sit-ups, when I was in my mid 20s. I looked like a boxer then. That whole 'look bigger with shirt off than with shirt on' thing you get when you're really ripped but have no real bulk.

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5 hours ago, NikoBaltimore said:

So I ditched doing two cardio machines at the gym and just stuck with stationary bike for the past month or two.  While I noticed some results before I could tell already that just doing the bike is making a difference.  I feel a bit more slimmer than before and overall just feel good.  Maybe it's because I tend to up the resistance over time and my legs are getting the hang of it now.  But between that and the mix of metal music and wrestling I feel pretty satisfied with everything.  And a woman nearby that I see doing treadmill sometimes told me today I was an inspiration.  Which feels really odd to hear but it's appreciated nonetheless.  So I might not be crushing weights yet like you folks are.  But over here I'm doing rather well for myself.

You do you, Nick! This sounds really good! When someone calls you an inspiration, you take it and feel proud! One good friend has called me that, but coming from someone who doesn't actually know you, I think it means more! I really like the fact that you found the thing that works for you! Especially with the metal music! I just really like when people find the kind of exercise that works for them! Glad you found yours! Great stuff!

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Thanks.  Considering I get my tired ass up at about 4:45 (and earlier if my wife wakes me while getting ready for work) I need all the help I can get.  But oddly enough I do worlds better in that situation compared to on weekend morning/afternoons.  Same setup and everything yet I somehow tire out faster.  So 4:45 it is.

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5 hours ago, AxB said:

I hadn't done a press up in years (I used to do a lot of them, but stopped when I bought the Multigym with the Bench Press built in... in 2002), but I thought I might as well try it, seeing as I'm still easing myself back in.

2 sets of 50. Not bad.

I used to do like 10 sets of fifty a day, interspersed with squats and sit-ups, when I was in my mid 20s. I looked like a boxer then. That whole 'look bigger with shirt off than with shirt on' thing you get when you're really ripped but have no real bulk.

Hey, I have some bulk now and still probably look bigger without a shirt than with one, so yeah it's a thing. Anyway, is a Multigym much different from a Chuck Norris hyped Total Gym? I got one of those back in '98 and got back into good shape with it twice! Gave it to Goodwill in 2010, since we had no room for it in our new apartment. Then, two years later I started working out seriously again, so I may have needed that anyway, but I got kettlebells and made due! Nonetheless, 2 sets of 50 of anything sounds good! Keep at it!

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33 minutes ago, NikoBaltimore said:

Thanks.  Considering I get my tired ass up at about 4:45 (and earlier if my wife wakes me while getting ready for work) I need all the help I can get.  But oddly enough I do worlds better in that situation compared to on weekend morning/afternoons.  Same setup and everything yet I somehow tire out faster.  So 4:45 it is.

I'm not a morning workout guy, I tell you that right now! When I have a morning shift, I wake up around 4:50-5:10. At 5:30ish I jump on my bike and ride to work the 6,8 miles (I know I said 7,5 miles but that was incorrect) each day. On morning shifts, I work out after the day is done. I know people who arrive at work like 04:30 to have a workout before 06:30, but I could not do that! I feel I get my best shit in after a morning shift when I'm properly warmed up by work and then I crank up Hair Metal, SynthWave, Italo Disco or general 80's and go fucking heavy! But I digress! If you can get up at that time for a ride, good for you. I can't pull it off consistently. No, wait, I don't HAVE to! One of the few perks of working three shifts.

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I started putting together a home gym in April.  Got a squat rack and a barbell pretty quickly.  I had a lot of trouble finding weight plates.  Ordered some in May, and finally got them in late November!  

So, now I've got a pretty sweet setup.  I've got the rack, bar, 455 lbs in plates, an adjustable kettlebell that goes from 12kg up to 32kg, a set of resistance bands, and a flat bench.  I've got it all set up on some horse stall mats in my basement.

I used to do early morning workouts because of work and not wanting to be away from my family in the evenings.  Now, I can pretty much work out whenever I want. I go into the office two days a week, and on those days, I work out after.  On days that I work from home, I can usually get a workout in on my lunch.

Before the gyms closed last spring, I'd been doing Jim Wendler's 5/3/1 for a few months.  I'd got up to a 405 max on my dealift, over 300 on my squat, 250 on bench and around 150 for my press.  I was improving a lot.  I'm having to start quite a bit lower, but I'm feeling good.  Weight is starting to move really well.

We also got a free exercise bike from my brother-in-law.  I really need to start a little cardio, but I hate cardio, so there's that.

Anyway, I had no idea how much I'd miss weight training.  I'm so happy that I won't have that happen to me again.

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Way to go, Log! A proper home gym is quite the luxury! You'd think that the improvement you made earlier should make its way back, once you get back to the routine! Plenty of people who start working out again have said to me that they didn't know how much they missed it, until they started it again! That's cool !

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Wow, only got to the gym today for the first time this week. I underestimated the difference a bit of snow makes as far as biking is concerned.

Last winter was pretty much snowless, so I kinda forgot how much it sucked! Anyway, it took me 3 days to get used to the new situation and today I felt like working out again.

A whole lot of stuff with resistance bands and kettlebells and I got a pretty freaky upper body pump going and my pumped arms were 43,5/44cm around (which is about as big as they have ever been, it translates to around 17 inches) , so my bulking up has been a success. Of course, my waist has expanded way more than my arms!

I'll edit this further tomorrow .

...It was a good day at work, decent weather to ride a bike, too! So, I went for bench and trapbar combo, to make sure my day wasn't TOO easy. Trapbar, I went straight to 451 lbs, after three warm-up sets, and did 5, 5, 5, 3, 4, 4. With bench, I went up to 220 after only two warm-up sets, since it seems I shouldn't be wasting time with less than that. Did 5x220, 5x231, then 7 sets of 5 with 242, then one more 5 with 220, plus 20x176 and 27x110 for pump. Some shrugs and curls inbetween bench sets, after I was done with trapbar.

The week was a bit of a let-down overall, but this last workout made me confident that I'll be back in form by winter break, just in time to Jericho my gut all over again!

Edited by Shartnado
Friday update
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With the new 'British strain' of Covid having a R of circa 4.5 if left unchecked, I am beginning to think I won't see a gym until maybe May/June. I am slightly depressed about this. Realistically though, I can't justify getting a home setup where I am right now.

I set up a 'deadlift' the other day, where I had two 45kg bands around my neck and underneath my feet, stood on some rolled up yoga mats with a 35kg band underneath that to pull on bands. It mimmicks the pattern to a point - but it's a bit desperate.

I have a calisthenics outdoor area about 10 minutes away, and I purchased a cheap TRX style thingy so I have fitness equipment, ffs I have wrist weights and a booty band - but it's not the same as lunking iron around.

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7 hours ago, RunningFromAmerica said:

With the new 'British strain' of Covid having a R of circa 4.5 if left unchecked, I am beginning to think I won't see a gym until maybe May/June. I am slightly depressed about this. Realistically though, I can't justify getting a home setup where I am right now.

I set up a 'deadlift' the other day, where I had two 45kg bands around my neck and underneath my feet, stood on some rolled up yoga mats with a 35kg band underneath that to pull on bands. It mimmicks the pattern to a point - but it's a bit desperate.

I have a calisthenics outdoor area about 10 minutes away, and I purchased a cheap TRX style thingy so I have fitness equipment, ffs I have wrist weights and a booty band - but it's not the same as lunking iron around.

Necessity is the mother of all inventions, isn't that the saying? If nothing else , that sounds very innovative! I hope you get to a gym some how before summer! For me, this is the first "normal" week for me since the start of the year, if I get a workout in tomorrow! Either way, I'll update the week after the last workout , as usual.

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Ok, so I did get a first "normal" workout week in this year. Wednesday off due to work related stuff. Monday was the usual whole upperbody deal with pull-ups, dips and reverse shrugs with extra weights. Also chest flyes, push downs and lat pull downs with resistance bands as well as shrugs and deadlifts with the pair of kettlebells.

Tuesday was a light leg day. I put some 220-ish lbs on the squat machine and did a whole bunch of sets for thighs and calves. Once that was done, I did some light curls to pump up the arms as well.

Thursday was bench day and I went to 220 and more after only two warm-up sets of 5 (with 132 and 198). So sets of 5 220, 231, 242 and 253. Did 5 clean reps and 2 partials with 264, then 5 more with 253, 5 with 242, 7 with 220, 10 with 198 and 20 with 132. Between each set I did barbell curls, lateral raises or shrugs.

Friday was the Trapbar deadlift day. Started heavier than last time, 7 with 242, 7 with 286, 5 with 352, 5 with 374, 5 with 430, then 5, 5 and 3 with 451. Shrugs and lat pulldowns between sets and more after the deadlift was done. The weather got worse in the evening so, I rode the bike home in a slight blizzard and my legs were telling me it was not a good idea.

Weight seems to be going down despite my best efforts (191 at the moment), but there's no question I need to get the extra fluff the fuck away from my midsection, so I guess it needs to go down at least another 5 lbs at least.

Anyway, good week. I hope next week is similar.

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On 1/21/2021 at 6:09 PM, RunningFromAmerica said:

With the new 'British strain' of Covid having a R of circa 4.5 if left unchecked, I am beginning to think I won't see a gym until maybe May/June. I am slightly depressed about this. Realistically though, I can't justify getting a home setup where I am right now.

I set up a 'deadlift' the other day, where I had two 45kg bands around my neck and underneath my feet, stood on some rolled up yoga mats with a 35kg band underneath that to pull on bands. It mimmicks the pattern to a point - but it's a bit desperate.

I have a calisthenics outdoor area about 10 minutes away, and I purchased a cheap TRX style thingy so I have fitness equipment, ffs I have wrist weights and a booty band - but it's not the same as lunking iron around.

TRX is excellent. When my gym was closed down I used mine every other day and had a lot of fun with it. There are some great videos online showing so many ways to use it, but I generally just went with one push, one pull, and a lot of body-weight squats. 

 

 

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I don't really like bodyweight squats, or rather my knees don't like them - just too many reps, too much wear and tear. I generally use step-ups, and then somewhat lower-rep banded box squats - the bands do more for the back than the quads, but I have 'soccer legs' and it doesn't take too much to keep them reasonably swoll.

It just feels like it is going to be 6 months, and all the TRX in the world isn't going to preserve your squat max truth be told. But yeah, on the other hand, at this point I have a large amount of light-weight, light volume equipment that I can pretty much take anywhere and there is some comfort in not being as reliant on having access to the gym.

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Exactly.

When your gym shuts down and you don't have a massive home gym set up, your "big lifts" are gonna suffer. No getting around it. But, considering it is what it is, might as well use the time to work on other aspects of your training. 

Or, to look at it another way: Doing something generally beats the hell out of doing nothing.

Edited by El Gran Gordi
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The damn snow keeps messing with my workouts, as the biking is so slow that I end up with like 30 minutes for the actual workouts before the night shift starts (if you take away warm up and the stretching and rolling afterwards).

Well, I've gotten two short upperbody workouts in and plenty of stretching for the lower extremities during work. There is a chance I may take tonight off, but I'll update this one further, as the week moves along.

Ok, I'll just edit this here. Wednesday was a leg day. Calves and thighs worked over on the squat machine. After a light warm-up, I loaded some 350lbs on it and did a bunch of stuff.

I was able to stretch my legs out nicely during the nightshift, so they stayed functional quite well afterwards. I took the Thursday off, to rest for tonight's big workout, which was hampered by the lack of time once again.

But, I did manage 6,6 and 4 with 451 on Trapbar and 4x275, 4x264, 14x220, 15x176 and 32x110 on the bench. Two warm-up sets of 5 on Trapbar and 5,3,1 pyramid for warm-up on bench (with 176, 220 and 264, respectively). Shrugs to finish off the week and I'm done! I might actually go back to my old records on bench if this keeps up.

Edited by Shartnado
edited the rest of the week in.
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Did my first real post-corona workout today.  First time I've done anything significant since early December.  Nice to know things (kind of) work again.  Cut things short, but still did a fair amount and only feel a little more wiped out than normal afterwards - not much worse than I'd normally expect from a workout after 7 weeks off, really.  Looks like I'm finally beating the lingering crud.  First time I got back on a bike in late December, the two easy miles I did with my kindergarten age son wiped out my legs worse than 15 mile runs have done.  

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18 hours ago, Robert C said:

Did my first real post-corona workout today.  First time I've done anything significant since early December.  Nice to know things (kind of) work again.  Cut things short, but still did a fair amount and only feel a little more wiped out than normal afterwards - not much worse than I'd normally expect from a workout after 7 weeks off, really.  Looks like I'm finally beating the lingering crud.  First time I got back on a bike in late December, the two easy miles I did with my kindergarten age son wiped out my legs worse than 15 mile runs have done.  

This sounds really rough. I hope the cardiovascular conditioning will gradually go back to the level it was for you prior to corona. Baby steps, I guess? Anyway, cutting things short on your first time back in 7 weeks is more than understandable, even under normal circumstances. Good luck on your way back to feeling normal and good again!

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  • 2 weeks later...

The week started out well enough, with Monday and Tuesday being two different kinds of upper body work outs. Monday being the typical pull-up, dip, reverse shrug with extra weights and lat pulldowns, push downs and some shrugs and delt work.

Tuesday was a bunch of preacher curls with an EZ-curl bar (going as heavy as 105 lbs, which I haven't done in awhile). Used the same weight as well as lighter ones for behind the neck tricep presses. Did some deadlifts with the kettle bells as well as some ab work with the power wheel.

Wednesday was a leg day. Kettle bell deadlifts and calf raises and squat machine sets going up to 400 lbs. Used the machine for calf raises as well, as usual.

Thursday ended up being a day off, as my F'n bike malfunctioned for the fifth time this fall/winter. So workout turned into a 90 minute walk to the bike shop after work. I'm really starting to lose my patience with this shit! So, there was walking.

Today, no bike rides or walking, as I got a ride to work and back home. So, I had time only for a short workout. So bench it is. Did a reverse pyramid as follows: 5x198, 3x242, 1x275, 3x286, 2x275, 3x264, 6x242, 10x220, 9x198 and 20x132. Some curls, shrugs and side delts inbetween the last 5 sets and I was done in half an hour. No trapbar this week, but the 286 bench is as good as I've ever done clean reps with, so that's very cool.

I learned this week that my winter break will not be in early March, but around Easter instead, so I'll have plenty of time to get really jacked or run myself into the ground, whichever comes first. Oh, and I got my bike back. The work was not expensive, as the guys at the shop are starting to get embarrassed that the bike they sold me, ended up being such a shit-show!

Edited by Shartnado
Typos and stuff
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Yeah, not a super good week. I took Monday and Wednesday off as far as gym went and it was very easy week at work, so more rest than usual. Tuesday and Thursday were both rather inconsequential, light and rather short upperbody workouts with all the lighter stuff I usually do.

Today was bench and trapbar. Did three sets of trapbar first: 5x220, 5x330 and 5x407. Then warm-up on the bench: 5×176, 3x231, 1x253. Then alternating sets with 451 on the trapbar, going 5, 5 and 4 and doing a bench set between each of them. Bench was 7x264, 10x242 and 10x220. I don't recall ever before doing a full ten reps wih 242.

Used the unloading of weights as an extended shrug session and did some ab work as is the norm.

Weight is trending downwards, albeit slowly. I was 191 today at noon, after lunch, but probably looking at 200 by Sunday afternoon.

I should be working the weekend following this one, so let's see how that will affect my workouts. It's been more than a couple of years since I last worked 12 days straight. So, that may very well take its toll.

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3 workouts this week, 2 of which were rather light. I seem to be having trouble with recovery at this point, as my stiff neck started giving me issues with pain between my shoulder blades (on the right side). That was mended with some serious stretching, but then the front side of my right leg started sort of cramping and whatever the muscle is called was swollen and sore. That went mostly away after sleeping but now my right arm is bothering me. Between the bicep and the tricep on the inside.

Obviously, I shouldn't be complaining about the snow, since this is hardly a chaos or a catastrophe over here, but it's really zapping my strength of late. It was really cold for a couple of weeks, but as soon as it wasn't, it has been snowing for two days now. Working through the weekend really sucks in these conditions, seven nights straight is apparently something I'm not equipped to handle at this point.

So yeah, obviously this was not the workout week I was hoping for, but that is to be expected and I don't get my hopes up as far as next week, either.

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Yeah, this winter is officially kicking my ass! It has taken everything I have in me to waddle with the bike through the half melted sludge that was snow just two days ago and before that the snow on the ground grinded my ride to a halt and slowed it to a damn crawl for a half a week now. What used to take me 45 minutes one way, now took me an hour and even 90 minutes at worst. So yeah, I'm SO skipping leg days for the time being.

My stiff neck has given me some trouble this week as well, but it seems like i's getting better. Really weird. The pain was first on the right shoulder blade, then moved on to the right arm and then the right trapezius. But all of those went away one after the other once I got some mobility and circulation back to neck area. Plenty of stretching and massaging. I have managed 2 semi-decent upperbody work outs this week, but nothing worth going into detail over. This morning, I arrived to work so early, due to surprisingly good riding conditions that I got a 30 minute stretch/warm-up session in before the shift started. After the shift I headed straight home, but the weather had warmed up so much that the conditions had changed to the aforementioned sludge.

So yeah, starting to look relatively jacked again, which is right on normal schedule, but the thing is it 4 more weeks before the winter break so I'll most likely be running myself into the ground before that. I haven't even bothered to weigh myself for more than a week. By the look of things I'd say between 185-190 lbs. If it's more I'll be surprised and somewhat impressed. I feel like I'm done with this winter, however!

... So I weigh 188 lbs, so pretty much smack dab in the middle of my estimation.

Edited by Shartnado
Just in case you were wondering...
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