All-Purpose Health and Fitness Thread

[Contentious C]

3 hours ago, Technico Support said:

Gym annoyance of the week: people who don't rack weights symmetrically.  What kind of monster puts a 35 in front of two 2.5s???

This is every motherfucking goddamn day at my gym.  People are so lazy.

Yesterday's PITA for me was this woman tying up the goddamned preacher curl for the better part of 20 minutes when she wasn't even using it except as a rack.  It's positioned next to a load-bearing stud running to the basement ceiling, and she was curling against that wall, then taking her rest on the bench.  Like, Jesus fuck, lady, you could do curls against *any* wall in the entire place, and I'm pretty sure if you have your OWN goddamn EZ curl bar, you probably are strong enough to, I dunno, lift the fucking thing off the ground rather than tying up a typically-busy piece of equipment that you *aren't even using*.  What a fucking dunce.  Can she go on the next SpaceX trip, one-way?

[Technico Support]

42 minutes ago, Contentious C said:

This is every motherfucking goddamn day at my gym.  People are so lazy.

Yesterday's PITA for me was this woman tying up the goddamned preacher curl for the better part of 20 minutes when she wasn't even using it except as a rack.  It's positioned next to a load-bearing stud running to the basement ceiling, and she was curling against that wall, then taking her rest on the bench.  Like, Jesus fuck, lady, you could do curls against *any* wall in the entire place, and I'm pretty sure if you have your OWN goddamn EZ curl bar, you probably are strong enough to, I dunno, lift the fucking thing off the ground rather than tying up a typically-busy piece of equipment that you *aren't even using*.  What a fucking dunce.  Can she go on the next SpaceX trip, one-way?

Christ.  That reminds me of the guy I saw doing incline dumbbell presses on my gym's only incline barbell bench.  There are 3-4 adjustable standalone benches that he could have been using.   Every damn day it's something like this.  I go to a really good gym but the equipment that they only have one of (incline barbell, preacher, Smith) draw the dumbest, most inconsiderate people like moths to a flame.

[Shartnado]

Did go for another jog/ walk this afternoon and went to the stairs as well. Added another 2,2lbs to the vest. Did a set of hanging knee/leg raises before and after the jog as well as one during, as I passed the pull-up bars. 3 times up and down the big stairs and 5 times up down the small ones at the top. Some 6km in total.

At the gym, the biggest deal was the shrug drop-sets with dumbells. I started with a pair of 88's and moved to smaller ones once I couldn't hold the current ones anymore. Every time I took a longer break, I went back to the 88's. So 14 sets in total, the lowest I got with dumbells was the 70,5's.

More lat pull downs, push downs, dumbell curls on the incline bench and grippers before the pretty extensive ab work at the end.

 

[Shartnado]

Another 6km jog/walk to the stairs and another 2,2lbs added to the vest. The stairs were super crowded, so I didn't stay for too long, though.

It was certainly enough to make the leg day pretty challenging, though. A few sets of squats on the machine and a bunch of calf raises. Didn't go higher than 320, that was to enough to mess me up for the night and I'm still feeling it, in my quads mostly, not so much calves.

Still was able to get some decent ab work in the end, in addition  to a set of hanging knee and leg raises before and after the jog.

The weight has gone down pretty quickly. If I was slightly above the usual weight I start the diet at, I sure as hell am at the standard level now. The lowest number I saw this week so far was 184, but I had skipped a meal at work and was probably dehydrated as well, so it was a bit of an outlier. Either way, no more worries about if I can make it work this time around?

So, now there's a couple of extra days off, so I need to find ways to stay active, but also recover enough to go hard next week as well.

Started yet another motivational playlist on Spotify and it seemed to work very well last night, but I need another half an hour of bangers to complete it.

[Shartnado]

Holy crap! The weight is down to 183 lbs so I guess it wasn't an anomaly! I guess I should eat something?

[Shartnado]

So two days ago I took the bike to the shop for maintenance after waking up and then walked back home from there.

Yesterday was definitely a day off, but I tried to restrict calories, so it was salad, eggs, rice cakes with turkey and lower fat cheese (not LOW fat, however) and a carrot, plus plenty of water.

Today, it was back on. Unfortunately, my scheduled sports massage was once again cancelled, this time due to pet troubles. So, I just came back from a 90 minute+ walk/jog that included at least 30 minutes of of stairs. I did the big stairs only 3 times up and down, but the small,  16-step stairs more than 30 times up and down. The vest was loaded with 7 bars, so 17,5 lbs overall. This gig also included 3 sets of 25 hanging knee/leg raises one at the beginning, one during and one at the very end.

I put the sauna on right when I got back home. Now for some foam rolling, stretching and massage hammer/gun, then some heat in the sauna for my sore legs.

[Technico Support]

Alternating weights days and cardio days since Sunday, my normal schedule.  Pyramids for lifting each day…really loved those.  Ran 6 miles Monday, 7 Wednesday, 6 today.  Ready for a day off!

[Contentious C]

I actually jogged for the first time in probably 2+ years the other day.  Part of that is because it's a deload cycle right now anyway, but also because I wanted to see if I still could, given my hip situation.  I just did a couple of 3-minute 5 MPH bursts, if you can call them bursts, but given how my hips have felt, that feels like an achievement.

I kind of wonder, though, if I'm not potentially a bit faster now than I was when I was younger.  I know that sounds nuts.  But I never took weightlifting all that seriously until I was in my early 30s anyway, and I usually cycled rather than ever running.  But I get the impression that my hamstrings and glutes are in so much better functional condition now than they ever were that it may be helping with how this particular run felt.  I didn't expect it, because literally whenever I run I feel like I'm just dogging it - smack-smack-smack-smack, my feet are just pounding the surface all the time, like I run too flat-footed or something.  But that second stretch, I felt really...springy?  Like I wasn't even going all that hard, and keeping stride with that pace was more like a little jump with each step rather than having to labor through it.  So it makes me wonder if I should keep at it just to see if I can, I dunno, do something nuts like run an 8-minute mile by the end of the year (which I don't think I've ever done because I've never stuck with it enough).  But, the runners among you probably have better perspective on this than I do.

Edited May 10 by Contentious C

[Shartnado]

Went for a walk on two different times today, in total some 12km, but no weight vest today. Two sets of hanging knee/leg raises, 30 and 35.

Made pork tenderloin and vegetables in the oven for late lunch, probably have some more of it for supper.

[The Natural]

On 5/3/2024 at 7:50 PM, AxB said:

27 years of working standing up, moving around, and I never really get hurt. Three weeks of doing a "Sitting at a computer desk" type of job and I've probably got Carpal tunnel syndrome. My right hand, it's fine, there's a spot on the fingertip of my little finger that's numb, or sometimes merely dull.

Now my left hand, the index finger and middle finger are fine. But the ring finger is numb at the fingertip and tingly beneath that. But my left little finger has no sensation at all. I could dip it in boiling water and not feel anything. That side of the palm too. 

Oh, and I'm left handed. My handwriting has slowed down and gone clumsier. My grip strength in the hand has declined noticeably, because I can't control muscles I can't feel. I hope my forearms don't atrophy.

I've got a Doctor's appointment though, it's in three weeks because our government (and opposition) are in the pockets of Private Healthcare and are trying to kill the NHS.

Hope you get on okay. Said it before and will again, I'd be fucked without the NHS particularly with the Cerebral Palsy. After that the depression. We'd have been fucked without for my late great Mum too.

[Technico Support]

In yesterday's full body workout, I did pulldowns, pyramid style (5 up, 4 down), using a close grip pronate handle.  My lats are killing me today.  Niiiiiiiice.

Edited May 15 by Technico Support

[Shartnado]

Started the week by putting the weight vest on and walking to the city centre to pick up my bike and then rode it home before leaving for work and gym a bit later.

Monday was a bunch of standing double bicep curls with moderate and lighter weights a bunch of side delt work and 3 sets of dumbell chest flies lying on the floor. Bunch of ab work as well.

Tuesday I went for a walk/jog and added another 2,2lbs to the vest. The whole thing was more than an hour, the stairs took about half of that. I also jogged up the big (and a smaller) hill on my way there and back. Going back home, there was more walking than jogging. 3 sets of hanging knee and leg raises as well.

Didn't feel like taking the weights off the vest, so I let it dry out a bit and put it back on for the ride to work. Didn't feel much harder, so I might as well do that.

Gym was plenty of resistance band lat pull downs, 3 sets of 10 of Scott bench bicep curls with a 53, 57 and 61,5. Only put the wrist wraps on for the heaviest set. After each set I took the weight back to the rack and did 20, 25 and 30 reps of two handed behind the neck skullcrushers. Decent ab work at the end.

This morning I felt pretty beat, but went for another walk nonetheless. I did jog here and there but definitely more walking than previously. I did go to the stairs (same weights in the vest as yesterday, so 20ish lbs). My right ankle or calf started to bother me pretty quickly, so this was mostly walking up and down. Gave it a massage at home and it felt fine after that. Once again, 3 sets of hanging knee and leg raises.

Vest stayed on for the bike ride. Stopped to get a new batch of whey protein to work.

At the gym I was apprehensive of doing legs, so I did the dumbell shrug drop-sets again. I did 4 sets going from 88's to 66's with Versas on the whole time. I only started to count the reps when I was starting to get ready move on to the smaller dumbells. Usually 10-30 reps still, before actually changing. I did a set of resistance band face-pulls between each drop-set. Overall, hundreds of shrugs, I guess? *shrug*

Shorter ab work and some stretching moves with the resistance band at the end.

I really don't know about tomorrow, yet!

[Shartnado]

No jog, run or even walk today, so I could get a leg day in. I did do 2 sets of hanging knee and leg raises in the morning, though.

Biking to work with the vest on, then at the gym I did a moderate squat machine and lighter calf raises (with the same weights, but calves could take bigger weights than what I went with). Sets of 10 with 140, 234 and 277,5. Topped out at 372. First set was just partials at the bottom, second was 4 actual reps and partials up top. Calves were the same, but also the same weights in reverse going down.

Between each leg set I did a pump set on the regular bench with 164. Not sure about the sets, but close to 10 and definitely more than 100 clean reps, overall.

My weight is hovering around 181, I'd like to believe that I look juuuuuust a little bit more ripped at a slightly higher weight than before, but nothing major. Getting over the feeling of hunger has been relatively easy this year, but I still will look forward to "free eating weekends" in a week and a half (or so).

[Shartnado]

Ok, so the Trapbar power-season is officially over. Wow, that was not good. Also, I have breached the limits of my Versas. The velcro is just about done. Against the recommendation of @Contentious C , I might be tempted to get Versa Extremes next, but haven't seen any in Finnish webstores and fuck me if I'm ever ordering anything internationally.

I went for a wussed-out walk/jog with no stairs this morning, got 4 sets of hanging knee and leg raises in, but the actual Trapbar work seemed to be more than I had in me. Tapped out at 748 from full blocks but with shoes on, but that was so tough that I decided to go back downwards from there.

I'm  going to have to replenish my energy resources pretty soon, I suppose? Weight hasn't gone down from 181 in any significant manner.

Good week, overall, though! May have to take walks on the weekend, too.

[Contentious C]

Well, if you need them because nothing else will work, they're worth it. I'm not moving 800 lbs total on the Big 3 right now, so they're overkill for me.

Squats today were miserable. Up to 230 now, but let's just say they're a core and back exercise lately. But the bar's moving and so are the numbers.

[Technico Support]

Met up with a coworker, who I haven't seen in person since last Summer, for a project.  He said "man, you look FIT." 

That's pretty good.

 

[Shartnado]

Rough week. In a good way. 5 workouts, but since it was a morning shift week, it also meant that I didn't get any runs/jogs/walks in as of yet. Biking to work on an empty stomach has compensated that pretty well. I had two upper body days, a light leg/calf day, Seal-Row pyramid day and Trapbar volume day (today). After a very quick rise to 554, I did 9 sets overall (off the blocks, 3 different heights) with a 60 rep total followed by some light shrugs. Abs have taken some punishment throughout the week.

Weight went as low as 178 briefly, but has bounced back to 180,5 this morning and is likely only to go up during the weekend. I have the entire work week to get below 176 next week to make the half-way target.

It's nice to see that I can get ripped also without spamming the excess cardio, so I'll have that still in my arsenal, once I'll need it in a few weeks. The bad news is that it has led to the most short-sighted and the most unsustainable method being used: radical calorie restriction. It sure has worked and the fighting the feeling of hunger is very easy at work, not so much at home. Fortunately, my metabolism hasn't completely slowed down as of yet, despite this and weekends being more calorie-friendly from this point forward, should help to combat that.

Great work @Technico Support, it's always nice when people notice the work you have put in!

[Shartnado]

Finally a decent run this morning. An hour and 5 minutes, 40 of which was on the stairs. A jogged up and down the hill once, the big stairs 3 times up and down and the small stairs 40 times up and down. The weight vest is currently at 22lbs. No hanging knee and leg raises, since I left my gloves in the car yesterday and just left without them. I can do that later.

After the run, the weight was at 178 again, but considering the amount of sweat on my Project Rock hoodie, that's no surprise. Well, that means I can eat properly today!