Official Workout/Fitness Thread (Re-born)

[nate33]

I need some new ideas. I'm about 5'8, 175. I'm 36 and i play ball a couple nights a week and my speed is still one of my biggest weapons. Problem is my legs feel great but something pulls on me every few weeks. One week its a calf strain, then a hamstring, now its my second about with plantar fasciitis. Ay ideas on keeping my legs in shape while cutting down on some of the wear and tear? I signed up for Bikram Yoga...

Oh, for plantar fasciitis, there's not much you can do but rest it. Once it has healed, I recommended trying to spend a lot more time barefoot to help strengthen your feet. Always take your shoes off when at home, and make an effort to walk some outside in bare feet as well. I mow the lawn barefoot to force me to walk a mile or two on nice, soft grass. You can also do exercises like trying to pick up a pencil with your toes.

[dobrojim]

Dobrojim, I assume you're talking about that 100 mile run that takes place on Vermont every year?

yes. that's what I was talking about. Sorry to be opaque.

[pancakes3]

Well I had assumed it wasn't the 65 miler, or even the 69 miler considering your finish. Good god. I'm still in awe that I know you Dobro. 4 finishes in hundo-milers AND you bike to work in Bethesda from Herndon. Nuts. Curious, how do you cross the river? I hope it's not Chain bridge.

[dobrojim]

I live in Reston (SW side)

so my bike route is

roads from my house to east side of Reston near Sunrise Valley ES (3 mi and riskiest traffic wise of the whole trip)
W&OD trail to West St in Falls Church (8 mi)
roads (mostly Williamsburg and Glebe) to Chain Bridge...not sure of mileage there; 6 miles perhaps.
Yes Chain Bridge is where I cross. The next closest alternative would be Key Bridge, an extra 6-8 miles.

Once I'm on the DC side of the river -
short hike up the embankment near traffic light at Canal Rd and Chain Bridge
CCT to just past River Rd 3-4 miles
Roads through very nice residential area of Bethesda (2-3 mi)
Short section (0.5 mi) of Old Georgetown to NIH entrance near Suburban Hosp

total distance one way is about 23 miles. I should mention that in a typical
week, I do this ride 1-2 times during the months from sometime in March to
sometime in Nov. 3x in the same week would be exceptional.

not finishing the hundred is weighing on me more heavily as time passes.
I need to go back and finish it one more time.

[Ruzious]

I've never seen anything that suggests that the unnatural sweeteners are harder to digest and therefore somehow add to obesity. What I've read is that the unnatural sweeteners trigger the same type of insulin response as sugar does, and that insulin response tends to make people hungry. So people who drink diet soda get the same hunger cravings as those who drink regular soda, making diet soda less than ideal as a weight loss strategy.

Nevertheless, if two identical people eat the exact same amount of food and exercise equally as much, only one drinks regular soda and the other drinks diet, the diet soda drinker will lose more weight. The key is to make sure he doesn't eat additional food.

To me, diet soda and decafeinated coffee serve no purpose. They're unnatural, don't taste good, and aren't good for you. Why not drink water, instead? Water is easier to get used to than diet soda, and you can have as much of it as you want - though waking up in the middle of the night having to p is annoying. If you want something hot - green tea does the trick.

[nate33]

I've never seen anything that suggests that the unnatural sweeteners are harder to digest and therefore somehow add to obesity. What I've read is that the unnatural sweeteners trigger the same type of insulin response as sugar does, and that insulin response tends to make people hungry. So people who drink diet soda get the same hunger cravings as those who drink regular soda, making diet soda less than ideal as a weight loss strategy.

Nevertheless, if two identical people eat the exact same amount of food and exercise equally as much, only one drinks regular soda and the other drinks diet, the diet soda drinker will lose more weight. The key is to make sure he doesn't eat additional food.

To me, diet soda and decafeinated coffee serve no purpose. They're unnatural, don't taste good, and aren't good for you. Why not drink water, instead? Water is easier to get used to than diet soda, and you can have as much of it as you want - though waking up in the middle of the night having to p is annoying. If you want something hot - green tea does the trick.

I personally enjoy the taste of diet coke and somehow find it more satisfying than water. I also like the caffeine (since I don't drink coffee). But you are right that I should be drinking water. I'm trying to get better about drinking a large glass of water in the morning so that at least I'm not thirsty when I open my first diet coke and I end up drinking less over the course of the day.

[pancakes3]

The bubbly sugary goodness of a coke goes better with a meal than bland, palate cleansing water. I don't "snack" on soda but when I've got a sandwich or something for lunch, I really prefer that coke zero to my water bottle. During the day when I'm mindlessly taking swigs if for no other reason than to have something to do, I never crack open a can.

[dobrojim]

seltzer water!

[Ruzious]

seltzer water!

Good compromize.

Most diet sodas taste awful.

[theboomking]

Oh, for plantar fasciitis, there's not much you can do but rest it. Once it has healed, I recommended trying to spend a lot more time barefoot to help strengthen your feet. Always take your shoes off when at home, and make an effort to walk some outside in bare feet as well. I mow the lawn barefoot to force me to walk a mile or two on nice, soft grass. You can also do exercises like trying to pick up a pencil with your toes.

There is actually a lot that you can do for plantar fasciitis. Intrinsic foot muscle and posterior tibialis strengthening, stretching the plantar fascia itself and the achilles, weight loss, a rigid soled shoe with a semi-rigid arch support, night splints, weight loss, avoiding bare feet, flexible shoes and heels. The strengthening bit is underemphasized. I would avoid injection as there is cumulative risk of plantar fascia rupture and midfoot pain with injection.

I agree with you about diet soda It is good for caffeine. It is also great for diluting rum or vodka!

[Kanyewest]

I need some new ideas. I'm about 5'8, 175. I'm 36 and i play ball a couple nights a week and my speed is still one of my biggest weapons. Problem is my legs feel great but something pulls on me every few weeks. One week its a calf strain, then a hamstring, now its my second about with plantar fasciitis. Ay ideas on keeping my legs in shape while cutting down on some of the wear and tear? I signed up for Bikram Yoga...

I've been having sore legs too. I usually been running 2 1/2 miles about 3 times a week for the past few months. On the other half days I was doing 20 minutes of elipticals. First, I got a sore back, and then my hamstrings became sore and then I took a week off. Started picking up the running again, and now my calves are sore. I'm thinking of getting some rest in and lowering the distance that I run and then building it back up- and taking rest days (ie no eliptical in between running days).

[Kanyewest]

The bubbly sugary goodness of a coke goes better with a meal than bland, palate cleansing water. I don't "snack" on soda but when I've got a sandwich or something for lunch, I really prefer that coke zero to my water bottle. During the day when I'm mindlessly taking swigs if for no other reason than to have something to do, I never crack open a can.

I found that I ate less when I gave up soda which for me was a good thing because I ended up losing some weight.

[Ruzious]

Oh, for plantar fasciitis, there's not much you can do but rest it. Once it has healed, I recommended trying to spend a lot more time barefoot to help strengthen your feet. Always take your shoes off when at home, and make an effort to walk some outside in bare feet as well. I mow the lawn barefoot to force me to walk a mile or two on nice, soft grass. You can also do exercises like trying to pick up a pencil with your toes.

There is actually a lot that you can do for plantar fasciitis. Intrinsic foot muscle and posterior tibialis strengthening, stretching the plantar fascia itself and the achilles, weight loss, a rigid soled shoe with a semi-rigid arch support, night splints, weight loss, avoiding bare feet, flexible shoes and heels. The strengthening bit is underemphasized. I would avoid injection as there is cumulative risk of plantar fascia rupture and midfoot pain with injection.

I agree with you about diet soda It is good for caffeine. It is also great for diluting rum or vodka!

And the alcohol helps dilute the taste of the diet soda.

[pancakes3]

Greyhounds (vodka grapefruit) are my go-to now. I love it.

[dobrojim]

I wish IPAs weren't so calorie dense.

[jivelikenice]

I need some new ideas. I'm about 5'8, 175. I'm 36 and i play ball a couple nights a week and my speed is still one of my biggest weapons. Problem is my legs feel great but something pulls on me every few weeks. One week its a calf strain, then a hamstring, now its my second about with plantar fasciitis. Ay ideas on keeping my legs in shape while cutting down on some of the wear and tear? I signed up for Bikram Yoga...

Lift weights. Squats, deadlifts, hamstring curl, calf raises, and core work. At least once a week and preferably twice.

Should I do less running and more weight work on my legs? Whats a good cardio routine to go along with that (outside of basketball 1-2 times per week)

[nate33]

Cardio is highly overrated - at least if it's in the form of sustained, intermediate speed running/biking for half an hour or more.

You will get much more bang for your buck if you do HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training). Try sprinting for a minute and then walking for a minute to catch your breath. Repeat 4 times (or 8 times if your real hard core). Do a 5 minute warm up beforehand a 2-minute warm down afterward. You can even do it right after your weightlifting workout.

You can also do burpees after your workout in the same general time format. (Do 15-20 burpees, rest a minute and repeat 4 times.) Burpees would probably help you more with your basketball explosion and core strength. Really, any form of cardio can be done this way. The goal is to push your heart to a near max rate for a short period of time, recover, then repeat. It's a much more efficient and effective method of achieving good conditioning without all the unnecessary wear and tear on your joints.

One word of caution, start slowly on the HIIT workouts. Maybe to the first few sessions at 75% intensity so you don't pull any more muscles. Always warm up. Stretching isn't really all that necessary, but if you must stretch, do so either after your warm up or after your workout. Never stretch cold. Also, when you stretch, don't hold it for 10-15 seconds. Hold it for just 2 or so seconds, then relax, then repeat.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

I tried to play basketball with a 14 year old while on vacation and nearly killed myself. Tweaked my sciatica. Have about five minutes of stamina. Can't guard. Can't jump. Can't shoot.

Sigh.

Eight days after running hills with my 13-yr old's football team, as part of preseason conditioning, today is the first day my hamstring is not sore or tight.

Because I was being dumb and running barefoot ( on thistles and really hard ground) both feet are still bruised. I am pretty tough but at times I am darned stupid.

I ran no more than ten minutes at what was the end of their practice.

The good news is son and teammates are going to be real fit. Full pads start in a week or so.

[pancakes3]

Eight days after running hills with my 13-yr old's football team, as part of preseason conditioning, today is the first day my hamstring is not sore or tight.

My friend and I have spent a significant amount of time (albeit mostly drunk) contemplating putting all of our meager savings into a fitness camp molded after football 2-a-days. If crossfit training, spartan training, and bootcamp training centers can make money, football training camps can too right? Bear crawls, indian miles, and 2 man sleds.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Eight days after running hills with my 13-yr old's football team, as part of preseason conditioning, today is the first day my hamstring is not sore or tight.

My friend and I have spent a significant amount of time (albeit mostly drunk) contemplating putting all of our meager savings into a fitness camp molded after football 2-a-days. If crossfit training, spartan training, and bootcamp training centers can make money, football training camps can too right? Bear crawls, indian miles, and 2 man sleds.

I think anything to do with fitness can be a money maker.

To protect your friendship, I'd be sure to have a good business plan, an LLC, and a lot of communication up front about worst-case scenarios. My sister fell out with her best friend for over 30 years over a failed business they launched together.

Yes, pancakes, football training camp sounds like a good idea, except the business and friends part. But what do I know, man? Just depends. There are other friends who get rich together and they stay tight.

Here in Hawaii, there's a training outfit known as Hawaii Speed and Quickness. They deal with primarily football players. Many of their clients go on to NCAA D-1 and even the NFL. However, they also have a lot a youth sports clients, like girls track and field, soccer, volleyball etc.

If you guys just cater to football, that will limit your clientele somewhat.

EDITED TO ADD: Turns out HSQ is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. http://www.hawaiispeedandquickness.com/about.html