All-Purpose Health and Fitness Thread

[Technico Support]

14 hours ago, The Natural said:

Please keep the following to here and away from Facebook for now:

I had a great first half of today doing Pilates for the first time and the second half really went downhill. An emergency doctor's appointment led to me getting sent straight to hospital and an emergency operation tomorrow. Gym, swimming, pilates and yoga's going to be out. Bugger.

Holy shit, Paul!  Sorry to hear that!  Hang in there, bro.

[Log]

14 hours ago, The Natural said:

Please keep the following to here and away from Facebook for now:

I had a great first half of today doing Pilates for the first time and the second half really went downhill. An emergency doctor's appointment led to me getting sent straight to hospital and an emergency operation tomorrow. Gym, swimming, pilates and yoga's going to be out. Bugger.

Aw, fuck man. Hope everything goes well. We'll be thinking of you. Keep us updated!

[Log]

Dammit! Double post.

Well, I'll just use it to double-wish Natural a speedy recovery.

Edited May 5, 2023 by Log

[The Natural]

9 hours ago, Shartnado said:

Well, that's just terrible! I hope you will be OK and everything will go as planned with the surgery. Man, that just plain sucks! Dammit.

 

3 hours ago, Technico Support said:

Holy shit, Paul!  Sorry to hear that!  Hang in there, bro.

 

2 hours ago, Log said:

Aw, fuck man. Hope everything goes well. We'll be thinking of you. Keep us updated!

 

2 hours ago, Log said:

Dammit! Double post.

Well, I'll just use it to double-wish Natural a speedy recovery.

Thanks, lads. Of like to apologise for my initial post made before I found out about DEAN. Back on warddd away with fairiesssss after having it done xxx 

[Zimbra]

Get some rest, heal up, and enjoy the good drugs, Paul!

[Technico Support]

Hell yeah good drugs.  I still have oxy in the closet, saving it for a rainy day after spinal surgery two years ago!!  
 

I’ll never forget my ortho doc telling me that opioids don’t help with nerve pain…they just make you care about it less.

Edited May 6, 2023 by Technico Support

[BrianS81177]

14 hours ago, The Natural said:

Thanks, lads. Of like to apologise for my initial post made before I found out about DEAN.

I don't think an apology is necessary dude. Pretty sure DEAN would have wished you well had he seen your post. Hope you're doing better.

[StretchMediatedHypertrophy]

Hope you get better soon Natural.

I've been stepping on the training pretty hard last couple of weeks, and stumbling around like a geriatric afterwards. Bench continues to progress slowly, I did 90kg x 6 on Tuesday. That is still (I think) a PR of sorts as I have not been using wrist wraps at all. I think that's definitely a limitation, but a limitation I like as it stops me over-reaching. The wraps will go back on at some point, but not yet.

Training around work colleagues is interesting, and whilst I don't really train with anyone per se, on Thursday I did show a young colleague (more of a cyclist than a lifter) how to use the SSB for squats on Thursday. Because we only put 2 x 10kg on the (21kg) bar, I was doing pause olympic style ATG squats for sets of 12 with short breaks. And lol, the third set crushed me.

I stopped doing GMs unless on pins for a good while. I've gone back to doing them without pins..but only with 1 plate a side....and these are murdering me too. I think it's a case of doing them with better form than I did previously, but I am not entirely sure. Those squats, 5 sets of 8-10 on the GMs and I was shaking. I managed 3 sets of banded reverse hypers (and 12 minutes of medium-intensity cardio)..but I was done.

Yesterday was upper day, and I don't really like benching twice a week at the moment - I will change that eventually, but probably not until Autumn at the earliest. Just to give you some idea of what a typical Friday Upper Volume Day looks like rn:

 

1. Seated (80 degree) DB Press: 20kg, 2 x 15-16 (I struggled to get them in place, need practice lol), superset with:

2. Seated (80 degree) DB Curl: 12kg, 2 x 12 (these were pretty close to tech failure, RPE 9.5)

---

3 Low-to-high Cable Fly: 7.5kg per arm, 4 x 12, with dropset at 5kg after 4th set (weight seems really low, but technique over weight is the rule here as I understand it), superset with:

4. Unilateral Lateral Raises: 5kg, 3x12, with 1 sets of 20, both arms, 2 x 5kg dumbells once these were complete

---

5. Cable Seated Leg Press Calf Raises: 60kg, 3 x 20 (ppl usually say not to train calves on leg day), supersetted with:

6. Plate-Loaded Machine Row: 2 x 30g, 3 x 15

---

7. Close Neutral Grip Lat Pulldowns: 55kg, 2 x 15, and 8. Reverse 90deg Barbell Curls: 20kg, 2 x 20, superset with

9. Tricep Pushdowns: 25kg, 2 x 15, 20kg 1 x20

10. Leg Raises: bodyweight, 2 x 20 (tbh core work has been rare recently, didn't want ab cramps)


Back in gym tomorrow probably, and then Tuesday - but likely no workout until Sunday and then next Thursday. Will need the recovery tbh.

I'm tentatively planning to hit a 140kg SSB squat in 3 weeks, but I will see how things go.

 

 

[Contentious C]

Good and bad for me.

Bad because I have next to no impulse control.  Why yes, I am the type-1 diabetic who goes to Trader Joe's and buys the 6-pack of maple-glazed donuts and then slams them in about 36 hours.  Brownies, cookies, ice cream: since getting well from my other issues, I've been, well, not good about my choices, because FML.  Plus I've had a ton of work stress, but it's no excuse. 

The only plus side to any of this is that it doesn't matter what I eat (mostly), I stay 170-190 and the higher range of that is 100% a by-product of "how hard am I going at the gym?"  But, I think I finally have hit a bit of a tipping point of having doctors tell me how panicked they are, when mostly I want to tell them to fuck all the way off.  So, maybe I can turn the corner and knock off being this fucking stupid.  Evidently, going to literally years of classes that told me exactly what insulin does wasn't enough to get me to listen, but spite?  Yeah, I can roll with spite.

The Good is blowing up my back again with a really good Pull day last night and then going up in weight on every exercise on Leg day today.  I didn't do Nordics today, and I'm not sure what to do about them.  I wish my gym had a better set-up, but all I can really do is wedge a bench next to one of the wooden gladiator walls and then try them there (with a band, lately).  But they got a lot better than this about a year ago, although I never *quite* got to the point of being able to do more than 1 rep of completely down and back up again with bodyweight.  I'm not sure what's holding me back these days; maybe my inconsistency with doing them, but maybe also my core strength, which feels like it's fucking up everything.

[Shartnado]

Alright, so the first proper week of the diet got off to a decent start. I had two half an hour runs (with the stairs also involved) and two 45-minute walks this week. 5 workouts Mon-Wed was different combos of upper body stuff. Proper bench on Wednesday wasn't anything special, but I did some pretty rough sets with incline press with dumbells and sitting dumbell overhead press.

I read here recently that one shouldn't do calves on a leg day, but nobody said anything about doing a bit of squats on your calf day. Thursday in the middle of a calf onslaught, I did 3 heavy sets of squats on the machine. The rack and resistance bands count for something, but if I only count the actual plates, I did 4x379, 3x423 and 3x473,5, reasonably deep, too! Never done anything like that before. Even a very conservative estimate for the rack and the bands puts the load of the last set close to 500lbs.

Today, it was trapbar. Doing the light sets off the floor and standing on a platform. Then, using the usual (as of recently) high platforms I did two singles with 493 without Versas. Then moving on with Versas on and moving towards the less demanding heights, I did singles with 589, 684, 696 and two separate singles with 749,5 (damn you, half a pound!!!), then 697, 674, 5x589, 10 and 15x493 (with the 15 reps from a better distance than the first set) then some shrugs with lighter weights. I'll clear the 750 before I'm done with this. But not this week. Anyway, that was more than 4 times my own bodyweight, so YAY!!!

[Log]

9 hours ago, Contentious C said:

Good and bad for me.

Bad because I have next to no impulse control.  Why yes, I am the type-1 diabetic who goes to Trader Joe's and buys the 6-pack of maple-glazed donuts and then slams them in about 36 hours.  Brownies, cookies, ice cream: since getting well from my other issues, I've been, well, not good about my choices, because FML.  Plus I've had a ton of work stress, but it's no excuse. 

The only plus side to any of this is that it doesn't matter what I eat (mostly), I stay 170-190 and the higher range of that is 100% a by-product of "how hard am I going at the gym?"  But, I think I finally have hit a bit of a tipping point of having doctors tell me how panicked they are, when mostly I want to tell them to fuck all the way off.  So, maybe I can turn the corner and knock off being this fucking stupid.  Evidently, going to literally years of classes that told me exactly what insulin does wasn't enough to get me to listen, but spite?  Yeah, I can roll with spite.

The Good is blowing up my back again with a really good Pull day last night and then going up in weight on every exercise on Leg day today.  I didn't do Nordics today, and I'm not sure what to do about them.  I wish my gym had a better set-up, but all I can really do is wedge a bench next to one of the wooden gladiator walls and then try them there (with a band, lately).  But they got a lot better than this about a year ago, although I never *quite* got to the point of being able to do more than 1 rep of completely down and back up again with bodyweight.  I'm not sure what's holding me back these days; maybe my inconsistency with doing them, but maybe also my core strength, which feels like it's fucking up everything.

Read that first paragraph and was all, "Oh yeah, I can relate. I eat like that."

Then I got to the second paragraph and was all, "190 pounds!??!! You lucky fucker!"

[The Natural]

8 minutes ago, Log said:

Read that first paragraph and was all, "Oh yeah, I can relate. I eat like that."

Then I got to the second paragraph and was all, "190 pounds!??!! You lucky fucker!"

Same!

[Shartnado]

13 minutes ago, Log said:

Read that first paragraph and was all, "Oh yeah, I can relate. I eat like that."

Then I got to the second paragraph and was all, "190 pounds!??!! You lucky fucker!"

Hey, I eat like that about 10 months out of a year and I don't usually even clear that 190. Of course, I'm 5'6", not 6'2" like Mr Contentious C.

[Log]

He's 6'2"!!?!?! I'm the same height. I was thinking he was at least shorter, so that was his excuse.

It's a good thing my wife likes (or at least claims to like) "beefy" guys.

[Contentious C]

Yep, I'm the rangy dude who struggles to gain weight.  But you'd probably rather have the ability to gain it than simply poisoning yourself with extra carbs like I'm doing - or was doing (or will do again eventually, let's face it, I'm a terrible person and I take terrible care of myself).

I got up to 195 twice: once when trying to be an alcoholic years ago (much like Susan Ross' attempt to be a lesbian, it didn't take), and last year before I broke myself on bench press.  But holy FUCK the heartburn from eating enough calories to keep gaining at the same pace? It just wasn't sustainable.  Waking up 2-3x a night to pop antacids...no thank you.

[NikoBaltimore]

Well, after your endorsement I checked out the thread and you're right.  It's not 100% intimidating, more like, I dunno, maybe 99.5% 

BUUUT since I'm in here I'm still fat but eating less.  I tend to skip either breakfast or lunch depending on what I have though need to do more working out like I used to.  Working from home can be a blessing and a curse as it has made me quite the sedentary mofo.  But walking the trail last Saturday reminded me how much I loved it so I'll be working that in some more.  That and also forcing myself to wake up a bit earlier to lift for a bit.

[Shartnado]

Hey now @NikoBaltimore, don't consider any of this indimitating! Everybody is just doing their own thing and reporting it as they see fit. Sometimes there are questions and they are answered in an informative and positive fashion. I for one am glad for any action that this thread is getting. Finding a form of exercise that you love (like walking the trail) is pretty much essential for anyone looking for better overall health. No one is going to stick with a routine for too long if they think it totally sucks! Picking healthier options as far as food is concerned and managing ones' portion sizes is a better long term strategy than skipping meals, but skipping meals every now and again isn't bad, unless it leads to eating a lot of excess calories during the next meal. Getting some lifting in is always good, if the waking up earlier doesn't lead to significantly less sleep.

[The Natural]

On 5/5/2023 at 5:58 PM, Zimbra said:

Get some rest, heal up, and enjoy the good drugs, Paul!

 

On 5/6/2023 at 1:16 AM, Technico Support said:

Hell yeah good drugs.  I still have oxy in the closet, saving it for a rainy day after spinal surgery two years ago!!  
 

I’ll never forget my ortho doc telling me that opioids don’t help with nerve pain…they just make you care about it less.

 

On 5/6/2023 at 8:07 AM, BrianS81177 said:

I don't think an apology is necessary dude. Pretty sure DEAN would have wished you well had he seen your post. Hope you're doing better.

 

On 5/6/2023 at 3:39 PM, SprintingFromAmerica said:

Hope you get better soon Natural.

I've been stepping on the training pretty hard last couple of weeks, and stumbling around like a geriatric afterwards. Bench continues to progress slowly, I did 90kg x 6 on Tuesday. That is still (I think) a PR of sorts as I have not been using wrist wraps at all. I think that's definitely a limitation, but a limitation I like as it stops me over-reaching. The wraps will go back on at some point, but not yet.

Training around work colleagues is interesting, and whilst I don't really train with anyone per se, on Thursday I did show a young colleague (more of a cyclist than a lifter) how to use the SSB for squats on Thursday. Because we only put 2 x 10kg on the (21kg) bar, I was doing pause olympic style ATG squats for sets of 12 with short breaks. And lol, the third set crushed me.

I stopped doing GMs unless on pins for a good while. I've gone back to doing them without pins..but only with 1 plate a side....and these are murdering me too. I think it's a case of doing them with better form than I did previously, but I am not entirely sure. Those squats, 5 sets of 8-10 on the GMs and I was shaking. I managed 3 sets of banded reverse hypers (and 12 minutes of medium-intensity cardio)..but I was done.

Yesterday was upper day, and I don't really like benching twice a week at the moment - I will change that eventually, but probably not until Autumn at the earliest. Just to give you some idea of what a typical Friday Upper Volume Day looks like rn:

 

1. Seated (80 degree) DB Press: 20kg, 2 x 15-16 (I struggled to get them in place, need practice lol), superset with:

2. Seated (80 degree) DB Curl: 12kg, 2 x 12 (these were pretty close to tech failure, RPE 9.5)

---

3 Low-to-high Cable Fly: 7.5kg per arm, 4 x 12, with dropset at 5kg after 4th set (weight seems really low, but technique over weight is the rule here as I understand it), superset with:

4. Unilateral Lateral Raises: 5kg, 3x12, with 1 sets of 20, both arms, 2 x 5kg dumbells once these were complete

---

5. Cable Seated Leg Press Calf Raises: 60kg, 3 x 20 (ppl usually say not to train calves on leg day), supersetted with:

6. Plate-Loaded Machine Row: 2 x 30g, 3 x 15

---

7. Close Neutral Grip Lat Pulldowns: 55kg, 2 x 15, and 8. Reverse 90deg Barbell Curls: 20kg, 2 x 20, superset with

9. Tricep Pushdowns: 25kg, 2 x 15, 20kg 1 x20

10. Leg Raises: bodyweight, 2 x 20 (tbh core work has been rare recently, didn't want ab cramps)


Back in gym tomorrow probably, and then Tuesday - but likely no workout until Sunday and then next Thursday. Will need the recovery tbh.

I'm tentatively planning to hit a 140kg SSB squat in 3 weeks, but I will see how things go.

 

 

Thank you very much. Just seen these now. The good news is my wound is healing well. The wound requires in and out daily packing. The bad is that I went to the doctor's yesterday and I have a chest infection so on steroids and antibiotics. So it's been a rough fortnight.

[The Natural]

My weight gain is a mixture of eating too much, not moving to lose it which I have this year through gym/swimming/pilates, fizzy pop and my main antidepressant, Trazodone. In the past that was one of the reasons I wouldn't take them for that side effect but I'm better on Trazodone than without. I just wish that buzz the first week you're on it carries over every week. Only ever had it once after then.

[Technico Support]

4 hours ago, Shartnado said:

Finding a form of exercise that you love (like walking the trail) is pretty much essential for anyone looking for better overall health. No one is going to stick with a routine for too long if they think it totally sucks!

This!  The best exercise plan, and diet plan, is the one you can stick to!  

[Shartnado]

54 minutes ago, Technico Support said:

This!  The best exercise plan, and diet plan, is the one you can stick to!  

Yes, and the best workout is whatever you actually do. Everything counts.

[Shartnado]

The week isn't done yet, but the work week is, so I won't be getting more workouts in. Damn this Finnish weather, by the way! It has been cold and rainy for the past few days so running or walking has felt insurmountable. I did go on Monday and this morning, though.

Workouts topped out at 3 this week, with no trapbar, but I did do the heavy sets on the squat machine again. 6x379, 5x423 and 4x473,5. Some lighter sets before and after.

The upper body workouts were nothing out of the ordinary but I did do a set of 10 reps with a pair of 79 lb dumbells on the incline bench. The problem isn't the lifting part, but getting the weights INTO the position to start lifting. Those were the heaviest I have ever used.

For shrugs I also used the dumbells this week. Starting out with a pair of 88's and working my way down to a pair of 48,5's with no stopping other than the time it took to grab the next lightest pair.

The weight came down to 176 on Monday, but has crept back up to 179 this morning. Still, a bit ahead of schedule but I'm sure that the couple of extra days off from work will take care of that. I have noticed a positive change in the mirror. Not sure, but I don't think I have lost too much of muscle mass in the past year, despite starting the diet from a reasonably low weight. I mean I haven't gained any, either but at this point, I take what I can get!

[StretchMediatedHypertrophy]

Squat machine = Hack Squat?

[Shartnado]

10 hours ago, SprintingFromAmerica said:

Squat machine = Hack Squat?

It's not quite the same. With hack you usually have your back supported all the way and sort of leaning back facing outward. This one, the weights are supported by a rack that is on your shoulders on one end and on a hinge on the other side. Once you release the safety pin, it let's you go nice and deep but not deep enough to get squashed by the weights if you fail. I think the position you are in on this one lets you utilize hamstring and glutes during the move way more than hack does.

[StretchMediatedHypertrophy]

Okay, yeah I think I've used something similar. Tbh you can put your feet forward quite a bit on a hack squat to get more hamstring, though truth be told you're not getting that much of a squat in any position.