COVID fitness

[bigfoot]

Who is suffering from COVID 15?? You know that extra weight many have added the last few months. No gyms open for basketball. No workout facilities opened? What is everyone doing??

I've just hired a personal trainer three days per week trying to get back into some semblance of shape. I'm so far behind the curve with 1) being older, 2) a total knee replacement less than a year ago, 3) finished chemo treatment about 14 months ago, and 4) added too many extra pounds from crappy eating. What's nice is it is 1-1 training so it is just me and the trainer, no one else.

I was butt sore after the first CrossFit training session but have finished my third and muscles don't hurt as much. I'm going to commit to three hard months of workouts and then walking and hiking in the off days to see what I can do. The goal is to drop 30 pounds and add some strength back into my body.

It will put a dent in my wallet but heck I've been saving a decent amount during the pandemic and I would rather spend any more COVID relief checks with local businesses to help them stay afloat.

[bwgood77]

I have done badly. However, I still lost some weight early only because I knew I need to and changed my eating habits. And I mostly cut out alcohol...of course I say that while I am drinking, but have only drank twice in the last 3 months and used to drink daily. That helps a lot.

The bad thing is, I have a stationary bike...one of those ones with a back, where you can sit, lean back, and ride...and I can do it twice a day for over an hour each time with my laptop next to me or reading a magazine or watching a series...it's easy, and yet I haven't done it consistently...it's not hard core exercise but it burns calories..and then I have a bench and dumbbells...but I have been lazy, and the worst part is, I have gotten so busy at work I got out of the habit of working out/exercising at all, so it hasn't helped.

I do only eat low calorie stuff, and no bad carbs usually, though this week, due to our office moving and the long hours, I have not done well, ordering restaurant stuff.

I think people underestimate the calorie difference between eating at home with healthy stuff and eating out, even once a day. I was craving a burger the other day, and I was checking calories online, and a burger and fries had more calories than I try to limit myself to in a day.

I have gotten to where I can eat a lot of high protein, good fat, fiber, and low carbs daily....meals that keep you full...or just small meals that are not really meals...and even if I don't work out, I can maintain my weight or lose pounds, but of course if I am not working out I am losing muscle....and the exercise makes you feel better. I have had trainers in the past (provided for free at work) so I learned the best eating and workout habits.

I somewhat miss the gym for weights....I can do a good speed workout lifting weights to negative failure and taking no breaks (because I switch muscles) that keeps my heart beating at a high rate and wears out my muscles to an extent that I am sore and stay cut, but haven't done that for months...I can somewhat do chest at home...and to a much lesser extent, other muscles..but not much.

[Walt_Uoob]

I am lucky to have already been too cheap pre-Covid to pay for a gym, so I have a decent workout routine at home between jogging and indoor stuff that's kept me from dropping off much. Also as BWGood mentioned, I was apparently eating like 1200-calorie burgers a couple days a week, so staying at home has been good for my diet (though I too am undoing some of this progress with a beer in my hand as I type).

Anyway, my main indoor routine is basically circuit training through variations on jumproping, pushups, pullups, crunches, etc. that I randomize using a spreadsheet I could send anyone if they're interested.

I will put in a plug for two things I splurged on via Kickstarter that are kind of silly but I do really like: "Monkii Bars" and more recently the "Monkii 360." Monkii Bars is basically the same as TRX, and Monkii 360 is, as my brother put it, a "$200 tetherball on a bungee cord." But they have a good app that goes with them and the Bars gives you good bodyweight exercises while the 360 mixes in more cardio and HIIT type stuff. Kind of gimmicky but it's been huge to have the variety available amid all the Covid monotony.

[sunskerr]

My wrist is injured. Normally I keep myself in great shape for ninja warrior but I haven't been able to do anything specific for that because of the injury so I've lost a lot of grip and pulling strength. In the mean time I've been restricted to doing difficult plank variations, running, and lots of stretching.

I have plank variations for shoulders and triceps, as well as for the core. My running is mostly intense sprinting. I sprint for 30 seconds and rest for 30 seconds, and this continues for 5 minutes. I count that as 1 set. Then rest for 2-3 minutes. Repeat for 2-3 more sets. I do an upper/lower split, with each twice per week for total of 4 workouts each week.

My wrist is getting better however, so hopefully in the next few weeks I'll get back to doing grip and pulling strength. It's disappointing to have gone from like approaching elite to not being able to do anything. But I feel confident I can get it back with some good work and it's nice to work on the stuff that I was horrible at (endurance).

[spanishninja]

I ordered a set of resistance bands early on in the pandemic; very good decision. It's not the same as going to the gym but there's no monthly fee and I am less likely to be too lazy to exercise. I canceled my membership in fact.

[grumpysaddle]

I haven't drank since March 11th which was the last show my band got to play before all this crap. I don't trust anyone enough to even leave my house, but I have asthma and am worried that might be bad if I catch this. I'll take the lazy 15 lbs over catching this crap. Room is too small to move around in and don't want to bug my roommates. Oh well.

[Walt_Uoob]

I haven't drank since March 11th which was the last show my band got to play before all this crap. I don't trust anyone enough to even leave my house, but I have asthma and am worried that might be bad if I catch this. I'll take the lazy 15 lbs over catching this crap. Room is too small to move around in and don't want to bug my roommates. Oh well.

Maybe those plank variations sunskerr mentions would work for you?

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[sunskerr]

I haven't drank since March 11th which was the last show my band got to play before all this crap. I don't trust anyone enough to even leave my house, but I have asthma and am worried that might be bad if I catch this. I'll take the lazy 15 lbs over catching this crap. Room is too small to move around in and don't want to bug my roommates. Oh well.

Maybe those plank variations sunskerr mentions would work for you?

Sent from my moto x4 using RealGM mobile app

Totally recommend them! Just look up some variations on youtube. It's a very flexible exercise so you can target different muscle groups by changing the form, and you can increase their intensity by changing the leverage. I try to keep a base level of fitness so I keep the rest to a minimum of 1 minute and keep the plank hold in a range of 40-60 seconds, for 5 or so sets.

There are also lots of push up variations available to use. Id give those a try as well if my wrist were better.

[Qwigglez]

I think I weighed about 225 lbs pre-Covid. I got sick in March, still unsure if it was covid or the flu, but I'm still having difficulty breathing. The gym recently reopened here in Oregon, but I've been very inconsistent going. Partly because I'm nervous about getting sick again since my temperature reached I believe 104 degrees. I been eating out a lot since I haven't spent any money travelling, and have ballooned back up to 245 lbs. It's not hard to lose weight though, I just got to get back on a diet and hit the gym consistently again. It will happen, just not sure when.

[grumpysaddle]

I think I weighed about 225 lbs pre-Covid. I got sick in March, still unsure if it was covid or the flu, but I'm still having difficulty breathing. The gym recently reopened here in Oregon, but I've been very inconsistent going. Partly because I'm nervous about getting sick again since my temperature reached I believe 104 degrees. I been eating out a lot since I haven't spent any money travelling, and have ballooned back up to 245 lbs. It's not hard to lose weight though, I just got to get back on a diet and hit the gym consistently again. It will happen, just not sure when.

I know Oregon's doing better than Southern California, but I still wouldn't go to gyms even with them being open. Anywhere inside really seems like a bad idea other than huge open spaces, and even then I'm tentative on it. Very rarely go to the grocery store, and even then I bounce out if I start seeing too many people. I have to go to Rite-Aid tomorrow for some medication and I hate it. So frustrating that other countries are getting this under control and we're still on the 1-yard line on the opposite side of the field. My bed basically has a permanent indentation of myself in it now. Gonna need a new one after the pandemic is under control.