2017 Health and Fitness Thread

jrock645- Ah, glad you posted an update! That *is* good progress, and I`m not surprised that your weight loss/fat loss aren`t equaling out; that "muscle weighs more" isn`t BS. As I keep saying, the only time I step on a scale is at my annual physical; I simply don`t care what I weigh, only how my bodyfat% and fitness level are.

Interesting about your energy level while in Ketosis! Absent plenty of (the proper) carbs I have zero energy and even experience cognitive issues, enough so that it was kinda scary. !YMMV! just keeps on applying :D

What`s the rationale behind not ingesting fats right after a workout? I take fish oil immediately afterwards even though it might slow down the adsorption rate of my cabs/protein a bit.

Sorry to hear about the ear infection, but *really* glad that you`re enjoying not only the results, but also the process itself. Today was my "long cardio" day (well, long for me at 18 minutes on the Stairmaster: 5 warm up; 8 of 2:1 intervals; 5 cool down) and... heh heh...I absolutely do NOT enjoy it by any means! Loads easier than AirDyne Day though :D
 
Wow I can not believe its already November 2017, this year has flown by. To be honest I have had set back after set back of getting back into shape (plus just being lazy at times). My horrible eating habbits continued for most of the year though I had moments where I was good but I was not sustaining. I was barely able to get back into training more than once or twice a week and at times went 30 -45 days without training. Luckily my body has not changed for the worse since my real downhill spiral at the least but I have been depressed about it and I have never been this person in all my years so its been incredibly difficult to go from 170lbs and 12% body fat to 210lbs and like 26% body fat and just not kick this.

We started a new business this year, I am helping my wife get her start up off the ground and between my full time job, part time detailing, the kid, and now her start up its been crazy but I made a deal with myself last week that this has to change or I am going down hill health wise. I am going to train 3 times a week and just work on consistency even if they are not the greatest work outs or greatest days even if it is just taking my dog for a longer walk/ run.

Last week, for the first time in over a year I trained jiu jitsu 3 times in one week, went for a 3 mile run with my dog, and did 2 days of Kettle Bells in the garage.

The struggle is real but I am determined to get back down to my 170lbs weight again so I can get back to competing at Middle Weight next year.

Oh yah and Accumulator I am (used to be) big on the grip training especially because they are so important for BJJ, which naturally helps with the grip strength as well but nothing wrong with supplementing additional grip training. I really enjoy farmers walks (used to do them all the time previously) and I have a Captain Crush and Grip Master that I started back up using slowly. I also like to just take plates and pinch them between my fingers while doing farmer walks. Oh and another great thing when doing Deadlifts or Pull Ups/ Chin Ups etc. is to wrap a towel around the bar which really forces you to utilize your grips/ forearms. The burn is unreal.

Edit: That 3 mile run was more 80% walking and 20% slow job lol
 
I`m out! Umbilical hernia is acting up. Been going on for a few months. I`m meeting with a surgeon in a few days. Finally going to get this present from birth taken care of.

On a positive note I am down 13 pounds from February.
 
RaydiantDetail- Heh heh, I appreciate your admission regarding your eating habits! I bet that my general disinterest in food/beverages helps me immeasurably- to me it`s pretty much just fuel and I either like it enough to eat/drink it or I don`t (says the guy who had a Denny`s bfast this morning :o ).

You`re spot-on with that decision to work on consistency! Just Do Something (well, and do it right) can take you a long ways. Eh...I have zero excuses, being retired with all the equipment I need right down in the basement and having finally got things all sorted out.

Heh heh, I kinda have to do grip-centric Farmer`s Walks as I have to carry plates from one end of my weight room to the other due to the questionable way I`ve set the room up :o

For some reason I never got any forearm benefits from thick-bar-type training! Surprised me, but that`s how it worked out. No burn in my fores, no development, just a bit of additional grip-strength. And the downside was that I couldn`t get anything out of it for the major muscle groups as my grip would fail if I had enough weight for that. But I`ll say that it *was* good in the sense of gripping something similar to a human wrist ;) So I can appreciate its benefits given your BJJ/etc.

And hey, walking is good! If I`m not maxing out my heart rate I`m just walking, with nothing much in-between.

OK, enough posting...gotta go put that Denny`s to work; it`s back/rear delt/biceps day.
 
Tc99m- Ah, glad you`re getting that taken care of. Hope it goes as smoothly as my (inguinal) hernias did. IMO it`s good to just, uhm... open up the hood and fix it.
 
IMO it`s good to just, uhm... open up the hood and fix it.

:lol: I have been putting this off for years. Didn`t want to open "the hood" to a potential site of infection. Present day and I am typing this with a back brace on backwards to keep my insides from popping out my navel.
TMI.:o
 
jrock645- Ah, glad you posted an update! That *is* good progress, and I`m not surprised that your weight loss/fat loss aren`t equaling out; that "muscle weighs more" isn`t BS. As I keep saying, the only time I step on a scale is at my annual physical; I simply don`t care what I weigh, only how my bodyfat% and fitness level are.

Interesting about your energy level while in Ketosis! Absent plenty of (the proper) carbs I have zero energy and even experience cognitive issues, enough so that it was kinda scary. !YMMV! just keeps on applying :D

What`s the rationale behind not ingesting fats right after a workout? I take fish oil immediately afterwards even though it might slow down the adsorption rate of my cabs/protein a bit.

Sorry to hear about the ear infection, but *really* glad that you`re enjoying not only the results, but also the process itself. Today was my "long cardio" day (well, long for me at 18 minutes on the Stairmaster: 5 warm up; 8 of 2:1 intervals; 5 cool down) and... heh heh...I absolutely do NOT enjoy it by any means! Loads easier than AirDyne Day though :D


Idea behind the no fat fat after workouts is... Between the exercise itself and having a protein shake(which is about the most insulinogenic thing you can put in your body) right after, insulin activity is up which puts your body into storage mode. Insulin IS a storage hormone, after all. So with that in mind, it seems fairly logical to gravitate toward protein and avoid fat, though that doesn’t mean zero fat, as that’s difficult. What I read suggested a 2 hour post workout window for this.

I read a book called Nutrient Timing a few years ago and I vividly remember carbs and protein being recommended at certain intervals during a 2/4 hour post workout window, but not so much about fat. Either way, the emphasis seems to confirm what I read recently, within the context of a ketogenic diet. Nutrient Timing is geared toward athletes to maximize potential for glycogen replenishment and shuttling aminos I to muscle post workout, going with studied insulin patterns after workout. Good read.
 
:lol: I have been putting this off for years. Didn`t want to open "the hood" to a potential site of infection. Present day and I am typing this with a back brace on backwards to keep my insides from popping out my navel.
TMI.:o

I`ll spare you additional lecturing, other than to say a guy I know put off his hernia for a long time and now that it`s fixed he`s still gonna be, uhm...compromised...apparently forever. I know all about the superbugs (almost killed another pal of mine from the Jag Club), but eh...I still say to just get simple stuff like that done ASAP. My second one was so minor the doc asked if I wanted to wait, but nah..."want it fixed yesterday..how`s your schedule looking".
 
jrock645- Ah, thanks for explaining. And yes indeed, the role of insulin/the insulin response can be vitally important.

(Before I forget- I never got any discernible benefit from adding significant carbs to my Creatine, despite how good the insulin response arguments sounded. I do still mix it with some grape juice just to make it palatable, but the hi-carb creatine mixes didn`t work any better than the regular/straight stuff. Go figure..)

I deliberately take fish oil/fat along with my post-workout shake (which contains plenty of carbs and some fat of its own, including whole milk) as that`s what demonstrably works *for me*. As I`ve posted before, adding considerable additional (good) fats to my diet, right across the board/at every feeding, has been like a miracle drug for me both with regard to building muscle and staying lean.

Other than whey protein right after a (resistance) workout, I`ve found that dietary timing confers zero discernible benefits *to me*. I do best by just eating small, balanced meals quite frequently and making sure I never go so long as to feel hungry. And, heh heh..yeah I do recongnize that the "series of small meals vs. fewer larger ones" has supposedly been disproven by that recent study...still works best IME though.

I`ll never cease to wonder at how my results agree/don`t with many supposedly/seemingly decent studies, let alone the often differing experiences of others!
 
Tuesday I did a very quick/?easy? Lower Leg workout. Quick warm-up then one drop set each of first Seated Calf Raises and then Standing Calf Raises. Twenty-some reps before dropping the weight ~20lbs and then a few with the lower weight, but all totaling under 30. Then one drop set the same way with the DARD for my tibialis anterior. All good, a bit of progress on each exercise.

Now it`s Friday.. and my calves are still so sore that I debated skipping the StairMaster (did it anyhow)! Gee, so little work, and so few reps for calves..but so much soreness! Adding the drop set made all the difference, or so it seems (we`ll see in a couple weeks when I work `em again).
 
Marathon work out today. Hate swi:first and do the rest after, but the pool was full when I arrived, so had to change it up a bit. Here’s how it went:

22 minutes of intervals on the elliptical-not quite as intense as accumulator’s but was getting the HR up to 160
some core work
leg extension, leg curl, assisted pull-ups and dips- all in drop set format, and no rest other than moving from each machine
swam 20laps
28 minutes on the elliptical ad moderate pace
another core circuit

I try to put a good one in on my day off when I have some extra time. Got it done today.
 
jrock645- I somehow missed that last post of yours...gee, that *was* a marathon workout!

I bet that 160bpm is a lot harder than most people do. I really enjoy a good elliptical, but it just doesn`t challenge me enough to be worthwhile :(

How do you like the "no rest" approach? I`ve done a complete 180 from hardly resting at all to now resting up to 10 minutes (!) between sets.

What kind of assisted PUs? I`ve seen the Nautilus one (Accumulatorette uses that when one is available and I wish we had one for her to use at home)... I think such machines are great, without one, it can be *VERY* hard for people to go from "can`t do any" to "doing them unassisted now". I`m still really doing well with the elastic bands in addition to the weights on my Dipping Belt; easier on my shoulders at the bottom, better for my lats at the top = all good.

And yeah, for some reason I do great with Drop Sets too. Very hard to do as well without them even though I *DO* go to complete failure...never did figure that out but what works/doesn`t... works/doesn`t.

Ya know...other than the two-three movements I do for abs and obliques, I still don`t do *ANY* core work.. no planks, bridges, none of that. No no...absolutely not saying it isn`t beneficial!! Even encourage my wife/pals to do `em. Just another one of those things where people differ...since I`m prioritizing not doing a single thing that isn`t of discernible benefit, a lot of probably-good stuff gets left by the wayside :o

Today was Quick/Easy Cardio: StairMaster 5 minute warm up (Blast Off Program Level 7), 5 minutes of 2:1 Intervals (rate = 14, fast as it`ll go, for the work : way down to 5 for the rest), 5 minute cool down (Pike`s Peak Program Level 6).

NOW...shudder...gotta go do upper legs. Three sets Quads, two sets Hams, done. OK, maybe throw in some Grip or Ab work, but maybe not.
 
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Just came today - brand new. I’m no longer a fat slob - now I’m kinda a skinny slob... Guessing I’m down maybe 60lbs? - not sure - don’t own a scale.

Quite happy with this Nautilus treadmill. Was $1200 delivered from Amazon. Coulda spent more - but glad I didn’t cuz this one is smooth & solid. I figure if it lasts 10 years that is awesome.

Syncs with my phone & a Nautilus app. Burnt 1000 calories on its maiden voyage.

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My 10 year old Sole treadmill was dying a slow death of constant digital errors.
 
Swanicyouth- Heh heh, I like that you don`t even own a scale :D

That looks like a nice treadmill! Does it incline, and if so, how high does it go? Our 20-some YO Precor is holding up great, but it doesn`t really incline enough for me (I only walk on it, no running/jogging, so the more incline the better).

How accurate do you think the speed is? Ours UNDERstates it something awful...I *know* what Xmph is, and ours is way off.
 
...shudder...gotta go do upper legs. Three sets Quads, two sets Hams, done..

Sheesh, three days later and my upper legs are *still* really sore..hams borderline-painfully so! To think that I still get that after so many years, let alone from so few sets done so infrequently.. Not all good either as there`s no way I can do cardio until they recover a lot more.
 
Swanicyouth- Heh heh, I like that you don`t even own a scale :D

That looks like a nice treadmill! Does it incline, and if so, how high does it go? Our 20-some YO Precor is holding up great, but it doesn`t really incline enough for me (I only walk on it, no running/jogging, so the more incline the better).

How accurate do you think the speed is? Ours UNDERstates it something awful...I *know* what Xmph is, and ours is way off.

It inclines - 15 degrees or 15 %...Not sure which. Just know when it’s on full incline - it’s feels like waking up the steepest hill in San Francisco.

So funny - I had a Precore years ago. It’s was like a $4k treadmill some rich dude wanted to unload and gave it to me for $100. Somehow, I actually ended up breaking the frame on that where the incline mechanism connects.

Being brand new - the speed seems dead on. My old Sole treadmill was off though..The speed would slow down & pick up randomly on its own.
 
Swanicyouth- Ah, that sounds great.

Yeah, our Precor has that "what incline *IS* it?!?" thing too...degree of incline doesn`t equal number of that setting. Mine must not go up as high as yours though as I`ve never thought of that SF hill analogy...

And yeah, our Precor was pricey, glad it hasn`t busted like the one you got (for such a nice price). That low price is a good example of how cheapy one can often find unused exercise equipment too.
 
Anyone on hear have any experience with an air fryer? We had some extra Amazon dollars and decided to get one recently. The first thing we tried was chicken cutlets and potatos diced up, and it was REALLY GOOD. You hardly use any oil like you would for normal frying so it`s *supposed* to be much healthier for you. In the reviews it looked like people went as far as cooking steaks in them, but IDK if an air fryer could ever out do the grill.
 
Anyone on hear have any experience with an air fryer? We had some extra Amazon dollars and decided to get one recently. The first thing we tried was chicken cutlets and potatos diced up, and it was REALLY GOOD. You hardly use any oil like you would for normal frying so it`s *supposed* to be much healthier for you. In the reviews it looked like people went as far as cooking steaks in them, but IDK if an air fryer could ever out do the grill.


I was looking at them for for a while but the reviews were too iffy for me. Being a low carber, the low fat aspect wasn’t compelling but not having the oil tank would make for less mess.

Ultimately, seemed like you had to shell out some coin to get a decent air fryer and I just wasn’t up for it given the mixed reviews. They’re a neat idea, though.
 
I was looking at them for for a while but the reviews were too iffy for me. Being a low carber, the low fat aspect wasn’t compelling but not having the oil tank would make for less mess.

Ultimately, seemed like you had to shell out some coin to get a decent air fryer and I just wasn’t up for it given the mixed reviews. They’re a neat idea, though.


One of the biggest things for me was, I eat a lot of chicken wings. I love chicken wings so much, but every time I eat them I usually feel just sluggish afterward. So I`m hoping with a few test batches I can get a chicken wing recipe down, and have it be much lighter on the stomach.
 
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