2019 Health & Fitness Thread

[Accumulator]

I`m gonna start this H & F thread right away with the start of the New Year

I`m still trying to get all dialed-in by my 59th bday in March. Then I`ll just keep that up for a year and hit 60 in great shape. I`d expected to have things pretty well figured out by now, but it seems that I keep finding more new stuff to consider.

With advancing age, IMO innate athleticism/genetics become less of a factor and things that are more under my control become increasingly significant.

Note that I`m *NOT* gonna do anything extreme or out of the ordinary. No special dieting, nothing I can`t keep up indefinitely without making daily life weird. For me it`s all about my condition 24/7/52 in Normal Daily Life, which includes bfasts at Denny`s and, well... whatever I want to eat/drink whenever I want it. Fortunately, I don`t ingest much [crap] anyhow.

 

[jrock645]

I’m in.

This is a lifestyle thing for me too, but I’m also super motivated to be in awesome shape for my destination wedding in July. Want a picture shredded to show my kids when they think I’m old fat and lame. Then I can show them it’s all their fault!

 

[Accumulator]

jrock645- That July finish line sounds good, plenty of time for incremental progress.

What`ll it take to get you were you want to be?

And IMO it`d be great for your kids to see that. Easy for young people to say somebody with a few years is "old, fat, and lame", let`s see *their* abs when they`re your age

The last person who told me "oh, I`m so old..." turned out to be considerably younger than I am.

 

[jrock645]

jrock645- That July finish line sounds good, plenty of time for incremental progress.

What`ll it take to get you were you want to be?

And IMO it`d be great for your kids to see that. Easy for young people to say somebody with a few years is "old, fat, and lame", let`s see *their* abs when they`re your age

The last person who told me "oh, I`m so old..." turned out to be considerably younger than I am.

My guess is to be around 10% bf, I’ll be there. I’d love to get down to 7 or 8 but I don’t know if that’s realistic. I’m a bit over 15 now, so I think I can get to 10. Current meal plan is ripping fat off of me so I feel good about it. Ultimately, trying to look like an underwear model. Not big, but some visible muscle and very lean. My build lends itself to that pretty well, not so much to what fitness models tend to look like these days and certainly not for a bodybuilder.

Goal is to keep leaning down these next few weeks, bring back the weekly carb up which helps progress as you get leaner, and hopefully by May/June be able to raise my calories back to maintenance and introduce a few carbs around workout time. Should give a sorta rebound effect to visible muscle gain. Right now I look really flat, but I really don’t think I’ve lost actual muscle mass- just muscle volume because I’m light on glycogen and therefore intramuscular water.

We’ll see.

 

[Accumulator]

jrock645- The BF% thing sorta surprised me. As I`m sure I`ve posted before, I had mine tested regularly for years, and the first time I had it done I figured I was a bit under 10%; hey, I could clearly see my abs and sure didn`t *look* like somebody with "much bodyfat at all". Surprise surprise...I was right around 11%

Lowest I ever got was just under 5% and I looked terrible (and didn`t feel too great either). I was injury-prone at that level too, deliberately upped my BF when I was doing CQB training to avoid getting (too) hurt.

I haven`t had mine tested for ages, so I can`t really say what it is now. The whole "age factor" thing kinda bugged me, one day the readings equaled one thing and the next week the same reading meant something else because I was "older" (presumably the diff is based on bone density).

These days I just go by looks. As long as I can clearly see my abs and there`s visible vascularity in that area I`m satisfied. Seeing veins and striations always meant <9% back when I was tested, but who knows what the tests would say now.

My actual waistline hasn`t changed significantly for decades, although I used to gain maybe a 1/2" during the Holidays that was all fat (always lost it by early Feb.).

Those pics in magazines/on the `net where [some personality] supposedly has "5% BF" absolutely deserve those scare-quotes based on my experiences.

How did you determine yours to be around 15%?

 

[someidiot]

Hoping to start a lifestyle change this year. Weighing the most I ever have (255) and feel awful. I drink a ton of my calories and don`t exercise.

Working on waking up earlier, getting in a workout before work, and watching the alcohol intake. Ideally I`d like to see 30lb weight loss this year, but overall just having a more active lifestyle.

 

[jrock645]

jrock645- The BF% thing sorta surprised me. As I`m sure I`ve posted before, I had mine tested regularly for years, and the first time I had it done I figured I was a bit under 10%; hey, I could clearly see my abs and sure didn`t *look* like somebody with "much bodyfat at all". Surprise surprise...I was right around 11%

Lowest I ever got was just under 5% and I looked terrible (and didn`t feel too great either). I was injury-prone at that level too, deliberately upped my BF when I was doing CQB training to avoid getting (too) hurt.

I haven`t had mine tested for ages, so I can`t really say what it is now. The whole "age factor" thing kinda bugged me, one day the readings equaled one thing and the next week the same reading meant something else because I was "older" (presumably the diff is based on bone density).

These days I just go by looks. As long as I can clearly see my abs and there`s visible vascularity in that area I`m satisfied. Seeing veins and striations always meant <9% back when I was tested, but who knows what the tests would say now.

My actual waistline hasn`t changed significantly for decades, although I used to gain maybe a 1/2" during the Holidays that was all fat (always lost it by early Feb.).

Those pics in magazines/on the `net where [some personality] supposedly has "5% BF" absolutely deserve those scare-quotes based on my experiences.

How did you determine yours to be around 15%?

7-8% would be ideal, but again I don’t know if time will allow for that. % is one thing, but combining it with varying levels of muscle mass changes everything imo. I was 10% in hs when I ran and wrestled. 152lbs at 6ft. Lean as could be but not enough mass for abs to be so visible.

And it’s purely an educated guess, I’d say I’m at more like 17%. Just going off of comparative pics I’ve seen. My bf scale tells me 18%.

 

[RaskyR1]

I started getting back into it a couple weeks ago. I`ve been so busy since I started doing PPF last March on top of my FT job and detailing PT that I always made the excuse that I was too tired to work out or didn`t have time. No more excuses! I get up an hour earlier now and make time!

I`m not too out of shape but my gut has definitely gotting bigger so I`m focusing on that. I quite drinking Rockstars 9 days ago too (was drinking 2 a day) and the headaches are finally going away. I`m also eating a little better since the wife is on a more strict diet now and has been making healthier meals. We do still go out to dinner maybe once a week and have a few drinks but we`re a lot better then we`ve been this past year or so.

I have chondromalacia patellae so I can`t run or do a lot of leg lifting but I may make an appointment with a physical therapist to see what they suggest. The elliptical machines usually don`t bother me so I`ve been using those for cardio. I ordered so fish oil to try out too for joint pain.

No idea what my BF% is but I can still see the upper part of my abs I guess...

 

[Accumulator]

Really glad to see this year`s H & F thread getting some traction!

Sooner or later, such stuff really does become downright critical with regard to Quality of Life issues.

someidiot- Yeah, it`s easy for alcohol to sneak up on ya calorie-wise. Hey, I`m not preachin` here, I thoroughly enjoy recreational drinking, I just don`t let it get out of hand (and what qualifies as that will sure differ for each of us).

Just being more physically active can maker a world of difference, even if it`s not some regimented workout routine.

Getting past that "feeling awful" will, IMO, help make the whole thing self-perpetuating. Once you start really feeling better you won`t want to backslide.

IME it`s not like "healthy living" precludes eating out or otherwise enjoying meals. I have a huge Denny`s bfast every Friday and it fuels that afternoon`s workout great (today is back/biceps/core as soon as I finish posting here).

To lose 30# in a permanent way, I`d sure take my time. It took a while to accumulate that bodyfat so it`ll take a while to get it off. Too often, people expect a quick fix and/but that seldom works out long-term. Back when I gained ~5# during the Holidays, I gave myself a couple months to get it off.

Someidiot & RaskyR1- Yeah, getting the workout in *first* is a great idea. Heh heh, if I don`t do my cardio first thing in the morning I just won`t do it. I gotta lift later in the day, but that`s just me and I`m lucky my lifestyle allows for that.

RaskyR1- That`s a real challenge, working around the chondromalacia patellae, huh? How can you maintain leg strength with that? Gee, hope your PT knows his/her stuff and can offer some advice.

I always enjoyed the Ellipticals, but I just couldn`t get a real workout in on them so they were kinda a variation on the "brisk walk" theme for me.

If you haven`t seen me posting about it before, I`m a *HUGE* fan of Fish Oil! The trick is to take a genuinely therapeutic dosage rather than the "two or three capsule" doses that people try to get by with.

Sufficiently high doses of Fish Oil render me hangover-proof, and I don`t mean after just 6-8 whiskeys either. That`s what initially clued me in that I was onto something, although it sure was an eye-opener with regard to how many of those capsules I needed to take (my wife uses the liquid Fish Oil but I prefer the capsules) and I`ll note that it took a few months of that to notice anything. My TG/Chol. numbers got great, my joints never hurt any more...between the Fish Oil and Polyphenol supplements I simply can`t believe the difference! Yeah, I`m a real fanatic about such stuff but I`m a [freakin`] poster child for how it can work for somebody. And to think I initially thought it was all BS It took a fair bit of reading before I figured out stuff like the Therapeutic Dosage and you sure can`t go by the mainstream studies on it (which are almost entirely all BS once you know enough to understand them, incredible that they even make it through Review).

 

[Accumulator]

7-8% would be ideal, but again I don’t know if time will allow for that. % is one thing, but combining it with varying levels of muscle mass changes everything imo. I was 10% in hs when I ran and wrestled. 152lbs at 6ft. Lean as could be but not enough mass for abs to be so visible.

Hey, that`s interesting! Very different from how it goes with me...when I`m *really* lean I`ve always looked shrink-wrapped whether I was very muscular or not. Also interesting that you were 152#/6`/10%...that combination is so different from how it goes for me (well, as best I can extrapolate, I`m 5`9"). OR, maybe the Age Factor is in play, your numbers being from your HS days and all of mine being from my 30s-40s. OR, maybe the way (many? most?) HS wrestlers "make weight" factors in; the guys who wrestled at my HS were doing goofy/unhealthy stuff to achieve the desired numbers and they were training all wrong (hey, it was the `70s and nobody knew much then..well, virtually nobody).

Is your BF Scale the Tanita one? My wife has one of those...it`s pretty close for her but utterly out-of-whack for me, like...crazy-wrong. That`s another of those "just me" things since they seem to work well for a lot of people.

 

[jrock645]

Hey, that`s interesting! Very different from how it goes with me...when I`m *really* lean I`ve always looked shrink-wrapped whether I was very muscular or not. Also interesting that you were 152#/6`/10%...that combination is so different from how it goes for me (well, as best I can extrapolate, I`m 5`9"). OR, maybe the Age Factor is in play, your numbers being from your HS days and all of mine being from my 30s-40s. OR, maybe the way (many? most?) HS wrestlers "make weight" factors in; the guys who wrestled at my HS were doing goofy/unhealthy stuff to achieve the desired numbers and they were training all wrong (hey, it was the `70s and nobody knew much then..well, virtually nobody).

Is your BF Scale the Tanita one? My wife has one of those...it`s pretty close for her but utterly out-of-whack for me, like...crazy-wrong. That`s another of those "just me" things since they seem to work well for a lot of people.

I wrestled just to stay in shape over the winter, so I didn’t do anything to “make weight.” My weight was my weight. I was obviously already very thin, wasn’t much I coulda done to go lower, anyway.

Edit: and yes, it’s a tanita scale. I’ve always heard there’s about a 3% margin for error either way on the number it gives. I figure what it tells me is in the ballpark but I never assume it 100% accurate, either.

 

[Accumulator]

I wrestled just to stay in shape over the winter, so I didn’t do anything to “make weight.” My weight was my weight...

Oh, OK...now I follow

And your "very thin" is a big part of what intrigues me about your fitness I was absolutely in that "extreme ectomorph" range (125# at 5`9" at age 25 despite eating thousands of calories daily). My wrist diameters and other such measurements are pretty at odds with my overall build these days, doubt anybody even notices `em though, or my insertion points or any of those other indicators of my morphology.

Edit: and yes, it’s a tanita scale. I’ve always heard there’s about a 3% margin for error either way on the number it gives. I figure what it tells me is in the ballpark but I never assume it 100% accurate, either.

Hey, they work fine for a lot of people, don`t know what my problem is.

 

[someidiot]

Went to the doctor today for a routine exam. Ended up spending a lot of time talking about intermittent fasting and a ketogenic diet. Might give it a shot.

 

[Accumulator]

someidiot- Hey, sounds like your Doc is more open-minded than many.

You like the idea of intermittent fasting? I`d go nuts, but there are some interesting studies on it and, like the Ketogenic stuff, it can sure work great for some people.

Just out of curiosity, is your Doc in shape? Most of the medical professionals I know need the "Doctor, heal thyself" lecture.

 

[Accumulator]

someidiot- Maybe just getting the drinking squared-away to where it doesn`t have a noticeable effect on your daily life will do the trick.

Again, I do enjoy recreational drinking, don`t want to come across as a killjoy, but I think back to where it was having detrimental effects on my life and, well...I`m glad that`s not the case any more. Same with smoking, absolutely *LOVED* that [crap], but a few packs of nonfilters were something I`d notice the next morning..never mind the long-term potential for trouble.

Even back when I was still drinking a lot more than I am now, just not having any hangovers (thanks to the Fish Oil) was a great improvement. Heh heh, doing (very) hard cardio with a hangover is no picnic, and lifting in that condition can be downright dangerous. When I recognized it as an either/or I couldn`t just carry on the way I had been.

Just switching from whiskey to vodka made a diff, and I can`t imagine how anybody enjoys getting inebriated on beer.

 

[Oneheadlite]

Someidiot - I was going to ask what the benefits would be from fasting. I`ve heard of people that make a habit to do it every so often, just never heard the science behind it.

Accumulator - like you, I don`t know if I could do it. Here at the shop there`s already a running joke to watch out if I haven`t had lunch by 11 (1130 at the latest) otherwise I`ll turn into a pumpkin... I`d probably have to be sure to not be at work when trying it.

Sounds like my metabolism must be similar to yours - even without exercising my weight/body shape have stayed the same since high school regardless of calorie count. I do frequently refuel though; my body just doesn`t appreciate big meals far apart. Part of why I`ve never considered trying to bulk up muscle wise; I don`t have the dedication to ingest the calories to add-on.

On my health/fitness front - Glad to report that I`m a few weeks in now of feeling like a normal human being back/body-wise. Tomorrow is my last scheduled chiropractic adjustment paired with on-site PT; after this it`s exercises at home and maintenance adjustments.

Been meaning to share the PT stuff they`ve had me doing; figure I could get some input on what you folks think would be good to add. So far, the regimen has been:
- "Dead Bugs" on a stability ball where you`re seated, lean back to engage your core, then essentially march with your opposite hand/foot.
- Stability ball crunches + Stability ball oblique crunches
- Stability ball "shoulder w`s" with weights (google for best results)
- Stability ball rollouts (kneel with your fists in front of you on the ball, then roll out until your forearms are on the ball)
- Stability ball "stir the pots" (forearm plank on the ball, then stir like the name implies)
- Stability ball hip bridges (arms crossed - no stability from having your arms out)
- Single leg stability ball hip bridges - half set with elbows down, other half with arms crossed
- Stability ball planks

Plus stretches beforehand. Did my re-examination last week, I was nearly giddy to be able to run through all the range of motion checks without having pain. Funny how you take not hurting for granted until you`re injured. I realized every morning I was basically "bracing for impact" both before trying to roll out of bed and then when taking my first few steps. The first morning I did both without the shots of pain was an eye opener for how used to being broken I had gotten.

Still need to dig into the You Are Your Own gym app and see what I might do with it. Thus far I`ve just been sticking to the PT regimen to let it work it`s course. I`ll probably start with the app just because I already have it, and financially I need to budget for whatever`s next.

 

[someidiot]

someidiot- Hey, sounds like your Doc is more open-minded than many.

You like the idea of intermittent fasting? I`d go nuts, but there are some interesting studies on it and, like the Ketogenic stuff, it can sure work great for some people.

Just out of curiosity, is your Doc in shape? Most of the medical professionals I know need the "Doctor, heal thyself" lecture.

She was in decent shape. She`s about my age and recently had a baby, so she`s trying to get some baby weight off. I`m actually also a doctor. Which is part of why I can`t run around looking like a fat slob.

I`ve read a lot in the last couple of days about intermittent fasting and the keto diet. Intermittent fasting so far has been easy. I usually eat dinner early (5-6pm) so basically I just skip breakfast and eat lunch. Right now it`s 630am and I drank a glass of water on the way to work. I don`t feel hungry at all. For me it`s a lot easier than I thought it would be. Sure, I get hungry by lunch but it hasn`t been bad.
I think intermittent fasting and the keto diet go really well together. I definitely won`t keep up the keto diet forever since it interferes with my life a bit too much, but I think skipping breakfast will be easy to do. I`ll go back on limited carbs after I drop some weight and establish an exercise routine.

I had a lipid profile drawn, which was terrible. My cholesterol is around 300. She started me on lipitor. Just another eye-opener.

My wife set me up a test/trial at Peloton next week. I think we would both use it and, although it`s expensive, if we will both get in shape then I think it`s worth it.

 

[someidiot]

Someidiot - I was going to ask what the benefits would be from fasting. I`ve heard of people that make a habit to do it every so often, just never heard the science behind it.

Apparently it has various effects on insulin production and such - https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/intermittent-fasting-guide

For me it`s just an easy meal to skip. I don`t wake up hungry. My breakfast is usually sugar-rich, which isn`t good. If I`m going keto it`s easier to skip breakfast, save the calories, and avoid the sugar I usually have in the morning. It really makes going keto that much easier.

 

[Accumulator]

Someidiot - I was going to ask what the benefits would be from fasting. I`ve heard of people that make a habit to do it every so often, just never heard the science behind it.

The studies I`ve seen do seem to support it (I`ve never really dug down into the data and parsed it myself, so that`s just from quick reads). As I understand it, it`s best done all the time rather than intermittently.

I`d just get too hungry and after spending decades getting dialed-in on what diet/activity mix works for me I`m not gonna change it. (OOOH I sound so close-minded, huh? ) I wonder how I could take in as many calories as I need if I had to squeeze them into a brief window..if I could deal with the hunger long enough.

Sounds like my metabolism must be similar to yours - even without exercising my weight/body shape have stayed the same since high school regardless of calorie count. I do frequently refuel though; my body just doesn`t appreciate big meals far apart. Part of why I`ve never considered trying to bulk up muscle wise; I don`t have the dedication to ingest the calories to add-on.

Note that at *some point* you`ll start to lose Type II Muscle Fibers if you don`t do resistance training, people are just designed that way. Then your metabolism/build/weight/BF%/etc. will change. No way around that, just how humans are.

On my health/fitness front - Glad to report that I`m a few weeks in now of feeling like a normal human being back/body-wise. Tomorrow is my last scheduled chiropractic adjustment paired with on-site PT; after this it`s exercises at home and maintenance adjustments.

Hey, that`s great! Seems like it didn`t take all that long (well, easy for me to say).

Been meaning to share the PT stuff they`ve had me doing; figure I could get some input on what you folks think would be good to add. So far, the regimen has been:
- "Dead Bugs" on a stability ball where you`re seated, lean back to engage your core, then essentially march with your opposite hand/foot.
- Stability ball crunches + Stability ball oblique crunches
- Stability ball "shoulder w`s" with weights (google for best results)
- Stability ball rollouts (kneel with your fists in front of you on the ball, then roll out until your forearms are on the ball)
- Stability ball "stir the pots" (forearm plank on the ball, then stir like the name implies)
- Stability ball hip bridges (arms crossed - no stability from having your arms out)
- Single leg stability ball hip bridges - half set with elbows down, other half with arms crossed
- Stability ball planks

Oh man, I couldn`t watch the "W Presses". Stability Balls are great for some stuff, but I`d *NEVER* do any kind of Resistance Training on one. Ever. Wouldn`t even be in the room when somebody did it lest I`d have to assist when it went sideways. Craziest thing... Sorry, but I really do feel that way, so I`d *ABSOLUTELY* quit the "W Presses" on the Ball. If you benefit from that movement (I never did), I`d do them the way the Russians do, sitting on the floor with your legs spread in a "V" while paying a *LOT* of attention to your posture.

Eh, I just don`t get the idea behind those kind of presses unless there`s a specific need for `em.

Now that I`ve vented...the other stuff you`re doing on the Ball sounds great!

Plus stretches beforehand.

Ah, interesting that you stretch *beforehand*! No problems from that I gather?

Did my re-examination last week, I was nearly giddy to be able to run through all the range of motion checks without having pain. Funny how you take not hurting for granted until you`re injured. I realized every morning I was basically "bracing for impact" both before trying to roll out of bed and then when taking my first few steps. The first morning I did both without the shots of pain was an eye opener for how used to being broken I had gotten.

Yes indeed, know the "take [things] for granted" alright!

Do you think the morning roll-out could be further helped by tweaking something about your bed? I ask because I have a terrible time finding a decent mattress (let alone one that`ll stay that way) and finally found that just rolling up a towel to use as lumbar support solved *all* the related issues for me.

 

[Accumulator]

She was in decent shape. She`s about my age and recently had a baby, so she`s trying to get some baby weight off. I`m actually also a doctor. Which is part of why I can`t run around looking like a fat slob.

I`ll bear your being a Doc in mind, hope I haven`t been insulting your intelligence or otherwise sounding condescending I`ll try to bear in mind that you know from a lot of health-related topics.

But yeah, I do think it can factor into your perceived credibility.

I`ve read a lot in the last couple of days about intermittent fasting and the keto diet. Intermittent fasting so far has been easy. I usually eat dinner early (5-6pm) so basically I just skip breakfast and eat lunch. Right now it`s 630am and I drank a glass of water on the way to work. I don`t feel hungry at all. For me it`s a lot easier than I thought it would be. Sure, I get hungry by lunch but it hasn`t been bad.

Oh man, lucky you, that might be just the ticket for ya.

I think intermittent fasting and the keto diet go really well together. I definitely won`t keep up the keto diet forever since it interferes with my life a bit too much, but I think skipping breakfast will be easy to do...

That sustainability factor can be a biggie, lots of things that seem ideal can be hard to do long-term.

You do OK with no bfast, huh? With me, leaving aside that I wake up hungry, the size/composition of my bfast is a *huge* factor when it comes to that day`s workout. EVERY SINGLE TIME I have a big Denny`s bfast I have a great workout, zero exceptions.

I`ll go back on limited carbs after I drop some weight and establish an exercise routine.

If you just cut out the bad carbs like sugar it might do the trick, at least once you get closer to your target weight.

I had a lipid profile drawn, which was terrible. My cholesterol is around 300. She started me on lipitor. Just another eye-opener.

Yikes, I bet it was! Fish Oil man, fish oil... made a big diff in mine, which were good to begin with (now they sometimes look like typos compared to most people). See what your TG/HDL ratio is, target is >1.

My wife set me up a test/trial at Peloton next week. I think we would both use it and, although it`s expensive, if we will both get in shape then I think it`s worth it.

Ah, there`s one I`ve never heard of! [Quick google...OK..]

If it`s right for you, and you will stick with it, that could be good for your cardio. It can be hard to know what`s right (for *you*, like...my wife always ends up having knee problems from exercise bikes no matter how they`re adjusted), maybe that`ll be it. I`ll be interested to hear what kind of program they advocate; most such stuff seems to revolve around *much* longer workouts that I do (my longest cardio session is 18 minutes and I don`t do that one very often).

Don`t neglect the Resistance Training More muscle (in the form of TypeII fibers) means a faster and more efficient metabolism and the same process that builds muscle generates that Brain Derived Neurotropic Factor ("BDNF"), of which you can never have too much.