All-Purpose Health and Fitness Thread

[Shartnado]

Last night I did a bunch of shoulder, lat and chest stuff. Single arm overhead dumbell press once again. The right arm rehab progressed from last week, as I did more than 5 reps with 44 and about 5 with 48,5, so much better than last week. Opted not to go higher, so I won't hurt the shoulder further. Left arm went up to 75 and 4 reps with 70,5 before that. Dumbell chest flies, one set of hammer curls with 88's, a set of shrugs with 132, two sets of resistance band lat pull-downs (with 3 bands) and a whole bunch of push down drop sets and chest flies with resistance bands as well. Full ab work at the end.

During the night shift I started to feel my throat getting sore. I'm probably coming down with a flu, as my wife is currently recovering from one herself. So, that was apparently it for this week, except for the shoulder flexiband rehab, which I will not skip due to this.

[Technico Support]

Good back, biceps, and core workout at the office gym yesterday.  5 mile run (I said I'd only do 4 but the weather was nice) today.  Halfway through my Sunday - Friday workout week.

[Technico Support]

Gotta rush in a chest, shoulders, tris workout (and hopefully the fastest shower known to man) at the office between meetings, hoping the pre-workout meeting runs short.

EDIT: aaaaaaand the pre-workout meeting just got moved.  Sweet.

Edited October 23, 2024 by Technico Support

[Shartnado]

Back in the gym today. The single arm dumbell press didn't improve in weight this week, but I did ten reps with 44 and 8 reps with 48,5, but 53 felt dangerous so I only got it into the position but decided not to force it up. Started the presses from 22, did 15 reps and moved on to the next weight. The left arm starts with 15x53 and ends with 3x70,5.

Then, a Meadows Row pyramid from 55 to 216 and back down to 55.

Push down drop set, one set of hammer curls with 88's, several sets of resistance band chest flies and one combo set of lying chest flies and floor dumbell bench with a pair of 31's.

A normal ab work at the end. Oh, and did a set of pull ups with narrow grip during warm up, so there's another move that hasn't been affected.

[Shartnado]

Leg day today. Didn't go crazy but did 5 squat sets overall, 10x110, 10x205, 10x300, 7x394 and 7x438, then did 3 sets of calf raises with 438 and one set of each lower weight listed above.

One set of pull ups and a set of hammer curls with 88's as well. Only hanging knee and leg raises for ab work today and some upside down hanging and foam rolling afterwards.

Oh, and in case you remember the last time Christopher Daniels was in the ring, he was wearing this shoulder guard-thingy. I just ordered something similar along with 3 rolls of kinesio tape to further support my right shoulder during workouts.

Edited October 29, 2024 by Shartnado
Ordered stuff for the shoulder...

[Shartnado]

Short workout today due to time constraints, chest, arms, forearms, some shoulders and a little bit of lats and traps, nothing heavy, aside from the one set of hammer curls with 88's.

Tomorrow should be Trapbar since Friday is off. We'll see.

[Technico Support]

1 hour ago, Shartnado said:

Short workout today due to time constraints, chest, arms, forearms, some shoulders and a little bit of lats and traps, nothing heavy, aside from the one set of hammer curls with 88's.

Tomorrow should be Trapbar since Friday is off. We'll see.

I'm afraid to ask how long your "short workouts" are

Catchup for me:

Took Sunday off for family stuff, so I needed to adjust the schedule.  Upper body workouts Monday and today, ran 4 miles and change today.  Running tomorrow, lifting Friday. 

[Contentious C]

In the Further Adventures of Trying Every Brand of Whey Protein, Costco has now entered the fray with their own chocolate flavor.

It is...pretty damn bad.

Its biggest issue is that it uses sunflower oil to help emulsify some of the ingredients, and you can tell that's not a good choice.  It's not the worst I've had - I'd still say the Dymatize Vanilla & Chocolate flavors were worse, to the point that they couldn't even be redeemed by making them with whole milk.  This stuff...becomes tolerable that way, but the best shakes go from "what you have to do" when made with water to "you could convince your relatives to drink these" when made with milk.  It's cheaper - both per bag and per serving - than the Ascent I had been buying and that Costco carries, but I will go back to paying more to get something more palatable.

Edited October 30, 2024 by Contentious C

[Death From Above]

I'm doing well so far. I've been a very good boy when it comes to not snacking between meals, and I'd say it's actually been easier than I thought it would be. I'm down 12 pounds so far, doing light work outs in some form 6 days a week, watching my calories. 

I know this isn't news to anyone but my God trying to eat out is a fucking sodium minefield when you actually start crunching the numbers. There's got to be a better way to make preservatives for restaraunts without trying to give us all heart disease.  I've only eaten out the once as well.

I did buy a suppliment but it has that fucking garbage stevia fake sugar taste that sucks complete ass in everything it's ever touched so I consider it money wasted.

I made a really nice black bean soup that's been the staple of my lunches the last week or so. Listen I got fat the honest way, liking food, and I'll get unfat the same way. Ain't no need to eat anything that tastes like the package it came in. https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/286164/plant-based-black-bean-taco-soup/ This is pretty conservative on the spices but you know exactly how to fix that. Black beans were something I targeted right away as wanting to add more to my diet because I do like the things and they have some nutritional numbers that definitely are filling a hole I had, but usually don't get that much of them unless I eat out for Mexican, so this was a no brainer. One of the good things about this time in history is you can take any food you can name, google it, and find the 10 tastiest ways ever concieved to prepare it. There's really no excuse for any diet that subjects people to food that tastes bad unless we're talking extreme cases of "if you have any more salt your heart will literally explode tomorrow" levels.

Physically I feel the best I've felt in ages. When I started I was at 315 pounds and set a goal weight of 270 almost as a "lol yeah right, me losing 45 pounds" number but I'm starting to believe it's possible now. My fitness freak friend has been unbelievably valueable as both a source of encouragement as well as information. 

[Shartnado]

13 hours ago, Technico Support said:

I'm afraid to ask how long your "short workouts" are

Catchup for me:

Took Sunday off for family stuff, so I needed to adjust the schedule.  Upper body workouts Monday and today, ran 4 miles and change today.  Running tomorrow, lifting Friday. 

This one was 45ish minutes including warm up with no time left for abs or proper stretching. But when you just move from one body part to the next and then come back to it once it has gotten a bit of a rest, you can go through a lot of parts in relatively short time. This was me lifting light dumbells and using resistance bands in many different ways.

[Technico Support]

12 hours ago, Contentious C said:

In the Further Adventures of Trying Every Brand of Whey Protein, Costco has now entered the fray with their own chocolate flavor.

It is...pretty damn bad.

Its biggest issue is that it uses sunflower oil to help emulsify some of the ingredients, and you can tell that's not a good choice.  It's not the worst I've had - I'd still say the Dymatize Vanilla & Chocolate flavors were worse, to the point that they couldn't even be redeemed by making them with whole milk.  This stuff...becomes tolerable that way, but the best shakes go from "what you have to do" when made with water to "you could convince your relatives to drink these" when made with milk.  It's cheaper - both per bag and per serving - than the Ascent I had been buying and that Costco carries, but I will go back to paying more to get something more palatable.

I actually don’t mind Costco chocolate whey but years of protein powder and bars have probably killed my supplement objectivity.  That being said, Ghost has some good flavors (their coffee iced cream and Nutter Butter ones stand out) if you’re not a “make perfect the enemy of good enough” type like all the supplement commenters on Reddit w/r/t ingredients.

7 hours ago, Death From Above said:

I'm doing well so far. I've been a very good boy when it comes to not snacking between meals, and I'd say it's actually been easier than I thought it would be. I'm down 12 pounds so far, doing light work outs in some form 6 days a week, watching my calories. 

I know this isn't news to anyone but my God trying to eat out is a fucking sodium minefield when you actually start crunching the numbers. There's got to be a better way to make preservatives for restaraunts without trying to give us all heart disease.  I've only eaten out the once as well.

I did buy a suppliment but it has that fucking garbage stevia fake sugar taste that sucks complete ass in everything it's ever touched so I consider it money wasted.

I made a really nice black bean soup that's been the staple of my lunches the last week or so. Listen I got fat the honest way, liking food, and I'll get unfat the same way. Ain't no need to eat anything that tastes like the package it came in. https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/286164/plant-based-black-bean-taco-soup/ This is pretty conservative on the spices but you know exactly how to fix that. Black beans were something I targeted right away as wanting to add more to my diet because I do like the things and they have some nutritional numbers that definitely are filling a hole I had, but usually don't get that much of them unless I eat out for Mexican, so this was a no brainer. One of the good things about this time in history is you can take any food you can name, google it, and find the 10 tastiest ways ever concieved to prepare it. There's really no excuse for any diet that subjects people to food that tastes bad unless we're talking extreme cases of "if you have any more salt your heart will literally explode tomorrow" levels.

Physically I feel the best I've felt in ages. When I started I was at 315 pounds and set a goal weight of 270 almost as a "lol yeah right, me losing 45 pounds" number but I'm starting to believe it's possible now. My fitness freak friend has been unbelievably valueable as both a source of encouragement as well as information. 

Man, I am so happy for you.  Keep it up.  You’re awesome.

[Shartnado]

Trapbar day. This was a weird mix of volume and heavy lifts. The volume part was 25 reps of 563 within 3 sets and 25 reps of 660 within 5 sets. There was also a 3x665 and 3x749 and a couple of deficit sets in the beginning and 2 sets of shrugs with 375,5 and 265 as well as one extra long set of hammer curls with 88's using Versas for extended grip time. The lifts, aside from the deficit sets, were mostly off the full blocks, with a few reps off 3/4 blocks.

That's it for this week. Tomorrow I will have to take the bike to the shop to get ready for winter, so there will be some cardio at least. And plenty of carb reloading later on.

Edited October 31, 2024 by Shartnado
blocks used, as usual

[Shartnado]

I took the bike to the shop (the rear tire was flat so I had to walk it all the way to the centre) and picked up the shoulder support and kinesio tape package from the local store and walked back home (had the weight vest on). So about 14 kilometres and more than two hours. Went to sauna straight afterwards. I think both soles of my feet have blisters now. I should have worn the running shoes but opted for hiking boots for warmth, which ended up being a wrong move.

[Technico Support]

Rough run yesterday…hot and sunny here and I was not prepared!  Put on my around-the-house tank top by accident (cotton) instead of the running tank, too.  Ran 2.5 miles and conked out.  Walked the last 1.5.  Finished the week strong, though, with an hour of full body work at the gym.  12 exercises, 5 sets each, short breaks.  On to a glorious day off!

Shout out to @Death From Above!  Keep on keeping on, brother!

Edited November 1, 2024 by Technico Support

[Shartnado]

5km jog this morning. We went to steps despite it snowing yesterday and everything was covered in a bit of half melted snow/ ice. We tried some stuff on the obstacle course, but yeah, that was challenging. We'll get back to that one next spring. No weight vest, as I was told not to put it on.

[Technico Support]

Halfway through my workout week!

Sunday: ran six miles and change, a 10K for my non-Murican bros.  Probably overdid it since couldn’t stop feeling hungry all night, but my watch imploring me to double my move goal twice this month triggered my OCD tendencies.

Monday: chest, shoulders, triceps.  Took longer than usual due to work and personal text and emails, but that’s the hybrid work environment for you.

Today: back, biceps, legs.  Great workout.  Two guys in the locker room complimented me on my weight loss and I confronted a dude in the gym about his anti-gay shirt.  He claimed it meant something else but not in the way an innocent person confronted with homophobia would; more like the way these cowards always back down with plausible deniability.  Fight hate wherever you see it, friends.

Edited November 6, 2024 by Technico Support

[Shartnado]

Skipped Monday as a workout day, so yesterday it was mostly shoulders and upper chest/triceps. Was able to do reps with 53 and 57 with the right arm this time by helping the arm up on the first rep with my left arm. Obviously those reps weren't too deep. With the left arm I started with 12x53 and 10×57, then 8x61,5, 8x66, 3x70,5, 3x75 and 1 and a partial with 79.

2 sets of incline dumbell bench with 44's and 48,5's both followed by a set of curls with those weights.

A set of hammer curls with 88's, a set of resistance band lat pull downs and 2 drop sets of push downs and I think that was about it, since I had to go get my bike from the shop.

Today, I'm skipping workout and go home to wonder what's the point of anything anymore?

[Technico Support]

Ran another 10k today even though I shouldn't because fuck it why not

[Shartnado]

Well, back to the grind today. Meadow's Row pyramid from 55 to 205 to 55. Also tried regular bench very carefully some 8 short, light sets, but it definitely didn't feel good. Didn't even go near my usual warm-up weight and it still sucked. The shoulder guard-thingy doesn't help any, with that move, I haven't tried the kinesio tape as of yet.

Co-worker was able to make us a pair of 110lb dumbells with 4 22 lb plates and a pair of 11's. They are very unpractical because the 22lb plates take much space, but I did do an ugly set of hammer curls with those and then one set of 8 of single arm dumbell rows with each arm. The set of hammer curls with 88's went really well after that.

Then some gripper work and a light concentration curl set for both arms with 26,5. No ab work until I got home and did a set of hanging knee and leg raises.

[Shartnado]

Trapbar day. Very little deficit lifts before moving onto blocks. I did do 2x469 off basically floor level without Versas. Then 4x564 off the half blocks, 2x659 off 3/4 blocks and 1x753 off the 4/5 blocks. Then 1x848 off the full blocks, 2x867, 1x848 and 1x837 off the full blocks (without shoes) and 4x753 and 6x659 off the full blocks with shoes on. I stopped there. No shrugs, no abs no stretching, hanging or rolling.

Not the greatest week (duuh) but 2x867 is definitely a record for me. At this rate, I should clear 881 once more by December.

[Technico Support]

Finished off the week with two lifting days, chest-shoulers-triceps yesterday and back-biceps-legs today.  Decided to switch it up and do all drop sets today (one light warmup, then six sets of decreasing weight with no breaks) and it went really well.  Tired and sore now, ready for a day off.

Edited November 8, 2024 by Technico Support

[Death From Above]

Down to 300 officially. 15 down, 30 to go.

Trying to start some ab excercises. Jesus christ, you ever want a wake up call about where you're at, that's the ticket. Found this little 8 minute routine designed for people over 40 so it puts minimal stress on the lower back. Figured how hard can it be. lmao

We gettin' there one day at a time.

[Shartnado]

5 hours ago, Death From Above said:

 Found this little 8 minute routine

Was it the "8 minute abs"? I heard there's a 7 minute version that is just as good, or you'll get the extra minute for free!

Also, great job! Keep at it, you are already one third of the way there!

Edited November 9, 2024 by Shartnado
yay for 300

[Death From Above]

https://youtu.be/0zqMNitc0c8?si=00oKJf_4FsodOK-b

[Shartnado]

3 hours ago, Death From Above said:

https://youtu.be/0zqMNitc0c8?si=00oKJf_4FsodOK-b

Yeah, that looks pretty rough indeed.