Official Workout/Fitness Thread (Re-born)

Post #841 » by **Zonkerbl** » Wed Sep 5, 2012 8:08 pm

Last time I bought a bike was in the eighties, so I don't know what's too much and so on.

I will say this -- bicyclists are really, really anal. If you sit down on a $500 bike and $1000 bike, you should be able to tell the difference. I bet you dollars over doughnuts you won't be able to tell the difference between a $1000 bike and a $1500 bike. Don't waste your money. Especially in DC -- the bike stealing racket is EXTREMELY advanced here. If you get a $1500 bike it will be stolen in days, I **** you not. I would be reluctant to get even a $1000 bike given how hard it is to keep it from getting stolen.

dandridge 10 · Post #842 » by **dandridge 10** » Wed Sep 5, 2012 8:20 pm

Thanks, but I won't be riding in D.C. much if at all. I live out in Haymarket, Va and most riding will be done on country roads or around nice neighborhoods.

DMVleGeND · Post #843 » by **DMVleGeND** » Wed Sep 5, 2012 9:51 pm

Trying out for my school's basketball team. The conditioning has been grueling and we've started earlier than most other schools. I should be in the best shape of my life by the time tryouts rool around. The problem is that I'm always getting these small injuries. One day, my back is sore, the next day, my knee is sore, and then my hip is sore. Might just be a result of not being a great shape though. Still gotta keep on truckin'. #NoDaysOff

dobrojim · Post #844 » by **dobrojim** » Thu Sep 6, 2012 7:14 pm

BobbyD,

I would keep an eye on Craigs List and be patient. You could wind up with a really nice
bike for a whole lot less than $1500. My sister recently got a really nice Trek that probably
retailed for that much but she paid $400. And no, I don't think it was stolen and re-sold.

The bike my daughter took on her 3 week tour and the subsequent century ride a couple
weeks ago is a Specialized Hybrid that I bought her for $100 off CL. It's nothing really
special but completely adequate.

And yes, while your ass may not know the difference between a moderate bike
and a really good one, the rest of you might. And it might also lead you to higher
levels of motivation to actually get out an ride.

Hawaii · Post #845 » by **Hawaii** » Fri Sep 7, 2012 8:47 am

Keep in mind, it's yard sale season. I've seen alot of fitness stuff/bikes. I left my weight bench at an ex-girlfriends house, and didn't want to deal with the BS involved in going over there, so I cut my losses. Found another one at a yard sale a few weeks back...got it, along with a few tools, for 10 bucks. If you don't have anything else to do Saturday mornings in between 7-10am, you should check them out. Perfect timing, too, I'm starting to work out again, mostly at home but I'll go to the gym to swim and play ball.

dandridge 10 · Post #846 » by **dandridge 10** » Fri Sep 7, 2012 1:35 pm

Thanks guys. I think I'll try to figure out what type of bike I would want to buy new and then keep an eye out for some bargains on CL and yard sales. I don't mind buying used as long as it is in good shape.

Induveca · Post #847 » by **Induveca** » Fri Sep 7, 2012 2:32 pm

Doing something interesting a bodybuilding showed me here in Dominican Republic. It's a high intensity version of German Volume training.

150 reps of an exercise, 5 sets of 30 reps. He can do this with 185 pounds which initially was mind boggling, I'm already up to 165.

I've done this once a week for the past 3 weeks and the results have been unbelievable. I started off at 145 and have increased 10 pounds each week.

3 weeks after doing this, one set of 245 at 10x feels like NOTHING. And I'm 6'4". Not an easy feat for someone this size/long arms.

Post #848 » by **Zonkerbl** » Fri Sep 7, 2012 3:06 pm

Me: Doctor, doctor, my shoulder hurts when I do this!
Doctor: So don't do that.

Ortho guy basically said I'm old and should avoid repetitive motions that stress my rotator cuff, like incline presses and lat pull downs and shoulder presses. He said just doing straight bench is fine. Gave me a cortisone shot to get the inflammation to go down, but basically I'm to avoid inclines from now on.

Kind of the same advice when I went in to get my knees looked at when I was 25 or so. Doctor, doctor, my knees hurt when I play basketball! Doctor: So stop playing basketball...

Induveca · Post #849 » by **Induveca** » Fri Sep 7, 2012 4:49 pm

Zonk, how old are you? Just curious I've been told similar things in the past but with the right supplements that has proven to be BS.

If you're over 45 I'll agree to a point.

Post #850 » by **Zonkerbl** » Fri Sep 7, 2012 4:55 pm

I'm 41.

pancakes3 · Post #851 » by **pancakes3** » Fri Sep 7, 2012 5:17 pm

holy crap 5x30 of 185?! i wonder if i can do that with just 95.

likwitdesi · Post #852 » by **likwitdesi** » Fri Sep 7, 2012 5:46 pm

Indu, what type of rest are you taking between sets when you do that? If my max bench is 210 where do you recommend I start?

Induveca · Post #853 » by **Induveca** » Fri Sep 7, 2012 6:39 pm

Likwit. I don't take a ton of rest, maybe 3 minutes. That being said I've been lifting for years.

135 pounds doesn't even feel like anything for 15 reps. Like lifting a light suitcase. I'm pretty big.

I highly recommend anyone looking to get bigger to check out German Volume Training.

This guy got his shoulders/chest/triceps ridiculously big doing this once a week and consistenly going up 5-10 pounds a week. Your body is ALWAYS shocked with this sort of attack. It adapts quickly if you take in enough supplements/protein.

Also, I swore by muscle milk in NYC/Miami for years, but here in DR I found this one amazing lactose free/40g/110 calorie per serving scoop whey protein which is absolutely insane. 4 scoops a day and I get 160g of Protein with no real impact on my diet. Made by some company called Dymatize. Hate giving free publicity to any company but these guys impressed me enough to do so.

I'm looking to get to 100 reps of 225 at 10 sets of 10 reps within 5 weeks.

Also some random advice, I hurt my bicep about 4 months ago. A prominent doc who treats Kobe Bryant/Andrew Bynum/Alex Rodriguez and a bunch of others and his physical therapy staff gave me some great advice.

1. Never do "full extension" on exercises. In other words on bench press, NEVER extend your arms fully all the way up, or on the flip side never bring the bar ALL the way down to the chest. The logic is anytime you're at full extension the entire weight rests on ligaments, which is a recipe for disaster.

Another example is during rows/pulldowns/pullups always start with your arms already flexed, NEVER straight.

Last advice was basically to NEVER EVER EVER do preacher curls as they are guaranteed to wear down your bicep ligament to the point of a partial or full tear eventually.

Post #854 » by **Zonkerbl** » Fri Sep 7, 2012 6:50 pm

Huh. I grew up with the philosophy (I think it was Arnold's) that you should use the full range of motion when lifting.

dobrojim · Post #855 » by **dobrojim** » Mon Sep 10, 2012 3:58 pm

For the consecutive year, I competed and completed the Reston Triathlon
which was held on Sunday. Olympic distance, 1 mile swim, 22 mile bike, 10k run.

Chocolate City Jordanaire · Post #856 » by **Chocolate City Jordanaire** » Mon Sep 10, 2012 8:52 pm

Indu, that volume training approach seems like it woud produce big gains in a short amount of time.

I've gotten hooked on lifting a tire. The biggest at the facility I usually work out in is a 200 lb tire. I flip the tire for high reps. At first the thing felt heavy, but now I hardly feel it. I can only flip it over four times before I run out of floor space and have to turn around and flip in the other direction. I do this 20 times currently, as fast as I can, taking little rest. I make sure I don't get my heart rate up too high, because I am a bit paranoid about dying.

But I basically do it as fast and for as many reps as I can, not quite to the point of feeling the urge to throw up. I also slow down when I get concerned looks from gym staff. It's really better for me to pace myself and go for higher and higher reps any way.

What I've found is that in addition to busting stress, it really works just about every muscle. The very high rep approach at a weight you can easily do makes a lot of sense.

dobrojim · Post #857 » by **dobrojim** » Thu Sep 13, 2012 4:52 pm

Gotta ramp up quickly with my running now with a marathon (Steamtown in Scranton PA)
coming up Oct 7. I've been very conservative with running since my hundred in July. Couple
little nagging things that have raised some doubts in my mind about being recovered
completely and allowed me to rationalize a relative paucity of running.

Did a track workout last night - relatively easy one, warm up, 2x200, 4x400, 2x200, cool down.
Need to get a long run or 2 in the next couple weeks. Doing our club 'airport run' this weekend,
national to Reston which will be my first run over 9 miles since July. Hope I don't break down.
I need to remember to run this long one sloooowly .

Post #858 » by **nate33** » Thu Sep 13, 2012 5:57 pm

dobrojim wrote:Gotta ramp up quickly with my running now with a marathon (Steamtown in Scranton PA)
coming up Oct 7. I've been very conservative with running since my hundred in July. Couple
little nagging things that have raised some doubts in my mind about being recovered
completely and allowed me to rationalize a relative paucity of running.

Did a track workout last night - relatively easy one, warm up, 2x200, 4x400, 2x200, cool down.
Need to get a long run or 2 in the next couple weeks. Doing our club 'airport run' this weekend,
national to Reston which will be my first run over 9 miles since July. Hope I don't break down.
I need to remember to run this long one sloooowly .

I've settled into a manageable weekly mileage workout routine that keeps me in good shape without overdoing it. I do one long run a week, usually about 10 miles, holding an 8:05 or so pace. I also do one short run a week, where I either do a 3-mile tempo run at at 6:50ish pace, or I do sprint work where I alternate 30-60 seconds of all out sprint with 30-60 seconds of walking. I play basketball once a week and usually lift once or twice a week. I also often get involved with soccer scrimmages at practice as I coach my 11-year-old daughter's team.

I'm staying in real good shape as my times show, and I'm only putting on about 13 miles of wear and tear per week on my surgically repaired knee (plus basketball). I'm contemplating entering a full marathon this year but I'm not sure I want to ramp up the mileage any more than I am right now. I've found a happy medium where I'm in better shape than 90% of the people out there, but I don't need to kill myself doing it. I'm also totally free of nagging injuries except for modest knee soreness for a few hours after basketball or my long run.

dobrojim · Post #859 » by **dobrojim** » Thu Sep 13, 2012 6:20 pm

That sounds like a really good regimen.

The last time I played hoop (in June), I really hurt myself. That's hard
for a old fart like me. I had delusionally believed I should play if I could
find an over-50 6' and under league (as if such a thing actually existed).
Just as well, I doubt my body would hold up to that.

Going to run 6 tonight. Probably tempo run or at least brisk pace.

Post #860 » by **nate33** » Thu Sep 13, 2012 7:26 pm

dobrojim wrote:That sounds like a really good regimen.

The last time I played hoop (in June), I really hurt myself. That's hard
for a old fart like me. I had delusionally believed I should play if I could
find an over-50 6' and under league (as if such a thing actually existed).
Just as well, I doubt my body would hold up to that.

Going to run 6 tonight. Probably tempo run or at least brisk pace.

I'm in the same boat as you. I'm under 6-feet and getting old. Unfortunately, I've found that only tall people stick to basketball long past their 40's. Short people drop out because they lose the ability to compensate for their lack of height as their quickness declines. Basically, the older the league, the taller the league.

I'm in an over 30 league and I'm usually the shortest guy on the court at 5-9. Among the guys over 40, I'm always the shortest. I'm still hanging in there because I get around well for a 40-year-old and can get around slow, tall guys, but I don't know how many years I have left before I become a liability. I'm definitely not as good as I was 5 years ago.