The "I sometimes break a sweat" thread

[JJFIVEOH]

I had to look those up, pretty nice trails outside Philly. 

 

Any of those trails have to be a blast around fall time. Great scenery, nice weather. 

[josie]

Got back up in the hoop with my partner for the first time today since the night I broke my leg. And damn, it feels awesome- I can still hold her up completely with just my feet! I'll be doubling up on aerials since I can't play hockey anytime soon. I've lost a lot of strength and polish, but it's coming back quickly. Pretty good for spending 3+ months motionless on a couch. 

 

[JJFIVEOH]

Once somebody is Polish, I don't think they really lose it.  ;)

 

Good for you on progress, those pictures don't look easy for somebody that hasn't been injured for months much less just getting back to it. 

 

By the way, you're not supposed to post pictures with bridges. 

[PASabreFan]

Anybody ever tweak an arm like this? Tenderness from the armpit where the arm attaches running all the way down the inside of the arm to the wrist, with the biceps area adjacent to the armpit bruised and the bruise running down the inside of the arm. There's no pain unless I try to straighten my arm (pain is in the forearm and around the inside of the elbow) or lift my arm while bent (pain is in the biceps). The funny thing is, I'm not entirely sure when the injury happened. I slipped rounding a base while playing kickball and went down. I must have put my arm down. There was no pain though. Nothing until the next day, and it got worse the day after that. Now almost a week later it's not really getting better (maybe a tiny bit better today).

[Doohickie]

Got back up in the hoop with my partner for the first time today since the night I broke my leg. And damn, it feels awesome- I can still hold her up completely with just my feet! I'll be doubling up on aerials since I can't play hockey anytime soon. I've lost a lot of strength and polish, but it's coming back quickly. Pretty good for spending 3+ months motionless on a couch.

OK you win the thread.

Anybody ever tweak an arm like this? Tenderness from the armpit where the arm attaches running all the way down the inside of the arm to the wrist, with the biceps area adjacent to the armpit bruised and the bruise running down the inside of the arm. There's no pain unless I try to straighten my arm (pain is in the forearm and around the inside of the elbow) or lift my arm while bent (pain is in the biceps). The funny thing is, I'm not entirely sure when the injury happened. I slipped rounding a base while playing kickball and went down. I must have put my arm down. There was no pain though. Nothing until the next day, and it got worse the day after that. Now almost a week later it's not really getting better (maybe a tiny bit better today).

I've done similar things. I think the medical diagnosis is "getting old."

[JJFIVEOH]

Anybody ever tweak an arm like this? Tenderness from the armpit where the arm attaches running all the way down the inside of the arm to the wrist, with the biceps area adjacent to the armpit bruised and the bruise running down the inside of the arm. There's no pain unless I try to straighten my arm (pain is in the forearm and around the inside of the elbow) or lift my arm while bent (pain is in the biceps). The funny thing is, I'm not entirely sure when the injury happened. I slipped rounding a base while playing kickball and went down. I must have put my arm down. There was no pain though. Nothing until the next day, and it got worse the day after that. Now almost a week later it's not really getting better (maybe a tiny bit better today).

Arm hamstring?

[josie]

Anybody ever tweak an arm like this? Tenderness from the armpit where the arm attaches running all the way down the inside of the arm to the wrist, with the biceps area adjacent to the armpit bruised and the bruise running down the inside of the arm. There's no pain unless I try to straighten my arm (pain is in the forearm and around the inside of the elbow) or lift my arm while bent (pain is in the biceps). The funny thing is, I'm not entirely sure when the injury happened. I slipped rounding a base while playing kickball and went down. I must have put my arm down. There was no pain though. Nothing until the next day, and it got worse the day after that. Now almost a week later it's not really getting better (maybe a tiny bit better today).

I've had similar- I usually blame it on the contrast between sitting at a computer for 18 hours a day, typing/drawing and then suddenly doing something athletic. Microtears, angry nerves.. If you're similarly somewhat sedentary, I guess keep trying to stretch it lightly, massage it gently (squeeze with your other hand and run your hand down the arm, like taking a sleeve off) and if it really doesn't get better, get an opinion from someone not on the internet  :P

[PASabreFan]

I think the massage is actually helping. Thanks Jo.

[Doohickie]

Okay, so...

Last week sucked from an exercise perspective.  I traveled up to Buffalo with my son for my mom's 80th birthday party.  Then after we got back I got sick for 3+ days (cough, fever, body aches, etc.)  I was feeling better Friday and was going to ride, but after pumping up my tires I realized I was bushed.  I took my temp and found I still had a fever.  Blargh.

 

Finally on Saturday I was up for a ride.  I probably overdid it a bit considering I've been sick, but I got in 34 miles.  Then last night I did my weekly pub crawl which for the first time since Lent started included beer for me.  :)  That was 27 miles.

 

That bike in the foreground is my pub crawler.

 

Regroup on the edge of downtown

 

And then tonight after the Sabres game I got in 20 miles on my fixed gear bike.

 

Crossing over the tollway.

 

A little waterfall along the trail

And I'm down 29 lb for the year, to 214.

[Buffalo Wings]

I'm on this board every other day and I missed this thread somehow... :blink:

 

I've always tried to be active - did some form of exercising 4-5 days per week, golf in the summer (and when the weather allows it), bowling league in the winter. But about three years ago, my company issued a challenge to all employees to "lose a ton" of weight. The idea is that everyone who signed up would collectively lose over 2,000 pounds within 6 months. At the time, we had about 800 employees, so the challenge was do-able.

 

I decided to join the challenge and this changed my lifestyle. Using the MyFitnessPal app, I kept track of my calories every day and ended up losing 23 pounds in three months. The wife & I joined a gym and that significantly helped my goal. I did some work with a personal trainer and she was able to give me the types of workouts I could use on a weekly basis. On top of that, I do a boot camp class 2-3 days per week, which really kicks my a$$. I've actually been arranging my schedule around this class - the instructor is excellent, especially how he changes up the format every 1-2 weeks so we don't get into a rut.

 

When I'm not doing boot camp or when I'm home and can't make it to the gym, I have my own elliptical or if the weather is nice, I have a pair of inline skates that I'll roll around the neighborhood with. We have enough inclines (some scary downhill streets) that make it quite challenging, so it's worth it to me.

 

[Doohickie]

Sounds like a great plan.

 

I use MFP too.  All the bike riding gives me extra calories to eat.

 

Tonight I did another 24 miles on the fixed gear bike.  Rode out to Lance Armstrong's bike shop and back.

 

[darksabre]

Trying to figure out my workout/exercise schedule for the summer is taking some work. My last Sunday night hockey game is April 10th and then I'm free to switch gears from hockey-centric workouts. Plus the days getting longer and the weather getting nicer means I want to get some of my evenings back to be social. Hoping to work in one bike ride on a weekend morning and fishing the other morning. I've been doing so good with weight training during the weeks but I know I won't be able to keep dragging myself to the gym for 2-3 hours every night when the sun is shining and the air is warm. Probably going to cut back weight training to one night a week. Might have to start running again to get my bang for my buck from an hour block of workout time the other nights. Stupid summer making it hard to spend all of my free time indoors working out.  :rolleyes:

[PASabreFan]

I have joined a traveling troupe of middle-aged male yoga performers. I will be sure to post photos at every stop.

[BarDown]

Trying to figure out my workout/exercise schedule for the summer is taking some work. My last Sunday night hockey game is April 10th and then I'm free to switch gears from hockey-centric workouts. Plus the days getting longer and the weather getting nicer means I want to get some of my evenings back to be social. Hoping to work in one bike ride on a weekend morning and fishing the other morning. I've been doing so good with weight training during the weeks but I know I won't be able to keep dragging myself to the gym for 2-3 hours every night when the sun is shining and the air is warm. Probably going to cut back weight training to one night a week. Might have to start running again to get my bang for my buck from an hour block of workout time the other nights. Stupid summer making it hard to spend all of my free time indoors working out.  :rolleyes:

Pretty interesting reading what everyone does to keep in/or try to keep in shape.  I read a lot of the posts on here, but rarely post myself...but I wanted to share some stuff I recently stumbled across.  I have a little background in working out.  I was a two sport athlete in college (hockey and lacrosse) and have worked out in many different ways over the years.  Been weight training since high school (get back to that in a minute), play beer league hockey twice a week year round,  and bike three times a week.  I am a physical education teacher and coach high school lacrosse and hockey, and have coached hockey at the junior level.  My three kids (triplets) all play sports in college and work out all the time...and we talk about this all the time (best ways to work out).

 

All that said, I recently found a great way to lift weights (and i've done everything). It's called "slow burn" or sometimes "serious strength".  I've been doing it the past year and a half, and the results are really awesome.  I do it twice a week, but some others i know only do it once per week and are fine.  It only takes about 20 minutes.  I use it with the athletes I coach,  they love it, and have had great results.

 

Basically, you can do any exercise you want...machines are better than free weights...you just do super slow repetitions.  10 seconds up/10 seconds down...until failure...so, just one set.  Then go to another body part.  If you can get to 60 seconds or so for the exercise, next time go up in weight.  I use the stop watch on my cell phone to keep track.  8 exercises and i'm done...20 minutes...it really works. Getting to muscular failure is the key.

 

You can research it, there's info out there.  The super slow reps make it hard to get injured as well.  Hope the info was helpful.

[darksabre]

Pretty interesting reading what everyone does to keep in/or try to keep in shape. I read a lot of the posts on here, but rarely post myself...but I wanted to share some stuff I recently stumbled across. I have a little background in working out. I was a two sport athlete in college (hockey and lacrosse) and have worked out in many different ways over the years. Been weight training since high school (get back to that in a minute), play beer league hockey twice a week year round, and bike three times a week. I am a physical education teacher and coach high school lacrosse and hockey, and have coached hockey at the junior level. My three kids (triplets) all play sports in college and work out all the time...and we talk about this all the time (best ways to work out).

 

All that said, I recently found a great way to lift weights (and i've done everything). It's called "slow burn" or sometimes "serious strength". I've been doing it the past year and a half, and the results are really awesome. I do it twice a week, but some others i know only do it once per week and are fine. It only takes about 20 minutes. I use it with the athletes I coach, they love it, and have had great results.

 

Basically, you can do any exercise you want...machines are better than free weights...you just do super slow repetitions. 10 seconds up/10 seconds down...until failure...so, just one set. Then go to another body part. If you can get to 60 seconds or so for the exercise, next time go up in weight. I use the stop watch on my cell phone to keep track. 8 exercises and i'm done...20 minutes...it really works. Getting to muscular failure is the key.

 

You can research it, there's info out there. The super slow reps make it hard to get injured as well. Hope the info was helpful.

Interesting. I might try that out. I'm constantly messing with the equipment and methods for my weight work and I have pretty good results with most of it. This could be fun to mix in on a day when I'm pressed for time.

[deluca67]

Sounds like a great plan.

 

I use MFP too.  All the bike riding gives me extra calories to eat.

 

Tonight I did another 24 miles on the fixed gear bike.  Rode out to Lance Armstrong's bike shop and back.

 

These posts are great, and inspiring. 

 

Any recommendations on a bike for an older guy looking to get back in shape?   

[JJFIVEOH]

How much do you want to spend?

[TrueBlueGED]

Pretty interesting reading what everyone does to keep in/or try to keep in shape.  I read a lot of the posts on here, but rarely post myself...but I wanted to share some stuff I recently stumbled across.  I have a little background in working out.  I was a two sport athlete in college (hockey and lacrosse) and have worked out in many different ways over the years.  Been weight training since high school (get back to that in a minute), play beer league hockey twice a week year round,  and bike three times a week.  I am a physical education teacher and coach high school lacrosse and hockey, and have coached hockey at the junior level.  My three kids (triplets) all play sports in college and work out all the time...and we talk about this all the time (best ways to work out).

 

All that said, I recently found a great way to lift weights (and i've done everything). It's called "slow burn" or sometimes "serious strength".  I've been doing it the past year and a half, and the results are really awesome.  I do it twice a week, but some others i know only do it once per week and are fine.  It only takes about 20 minutes.  I use it with the athletes I coach,  they love it, and have had great results.

 

Basically, you can do any exercise you want...machines are better than free weights...you just do super slow repetitions.  10 seconds up/10 seconds down...until failure...so, just one set.  Then go to another body part.  If you can get to 60 seconds or so for the exercise, next time go up in weight.  I use the stop watch on my cell phone to keep track.  8 exercises and i'm done...20 minutes...it really works. Getting to muscular failure is the key.

 

You can research it, there's info out there.  The super slow reps make it hard to get injured as well.  Hope the info was helpful.

 

This is interesting. For the first time in like 15 years I've had a lengthy time away from weights (shoulder dislocation -> shoulder surgery) and in a couple of months I'm going to be able to get back to heavy lifting. I've been looking for a new routine and may give this a shot. What's the reasoning as to why machines are better than free weights? Everyone I've ever learned from about lifting has stressed the superiority of free weights to machines, so I'm curious why the slow burn is better with machines.

[deluca67]

How much do you want to spend?

$200 - $300 at most. 

[darksabre]

This is interesting. For the first time in like 15 years I've had a lengthy time away from weights (shoulder dislocation -> shoulder surgery) and in a couple of months I'm going to be able to get back to heavy lifting. I've been looking for a new routine and may give this a shot. What's the reasoning as to why machines are better than free weights? Everyone I've ever learned from about lifting has stressed the superiority of free weights to machines, so I'm curious why the slow burn is better with machines.

I would assume it has to do with controlling the motion. Free weights are simply harder to control. And I disagree that they're better. I think machines and free weights are good for different things. I use both and I wouldn't exclude either of them. 

[TrueBlueGED]

I would assume it has to do with controlling the motion. Free weights are simply harder to control. And I disagree that they're better. I think machines and free weights are good for different things. I use both and I wouldn't exclude either of them. 

 

The logic that's always been told to me is free weights are "better" in the sense that they lend themselves more to real world strength situations where things you lift/do aren't restricted to a single perfect motion by a machine, not necessarily that they're better for the isolated muscle.

[BarDown]

Machines are better for slow burn because you don't need a spotter. Doing super slow reps makes it harder to cheat or use momentum to move the weight.

[JJFIVEOH]

$200 - $300 at most. 

 

Look into a hybrid, something like this. A little bit of everything. Good for cruising around town. A place like Dick's might be the only place you'll find large selection of bikes under $500. Based on what they have, you can get something with a front suspension starting around $350. 

 

http://www.dickssportinggoods.com/product/index.jsp?productId=38225916&cp=4413993.4418012&categoryId=17393826&fg=Gender

[BarDown]

Also, I want to point out that you should keep track of how long it takes you to get to failure. For example, let's say your chest pressing 150lbs....if you reach failure in 55-60 seconds, move up in weight next time you lift. If you reach failure at 40 seconds, record it, and next time try to "beat" 40 seconds (there should be a minimum of 48-72 hours between lifts for the muscles to repair). If you increase your time, you got stronger.

 

When starting out, finding the right weight can take a few lifts...if you use a weight and you don't come to failure by 2 minutes...stop...the weight was too light...next time go up in weight.

 

When increasing weight (after you get to the 60 second barrier), it's important not to go up too much weight. I only increase 5 pounds for upper body lifts and maybe 10 for legs. When I started doing leg press last year, I started at 250...last week I was at 510 and have been going up 10 pounds every week. The friend who told me about slow burn, leg presses over 1000 pounds...he is not a big muscle head, and takes no supplements or steroids...and only lifts 3 times a month. This really works.

[darksabre]

The logic that's always been told to me is free weights are "better" in the sense that they lend themselves more to real world strength situations where things you lift/do aren't restricted to a single perfect motion by a machine, not necessarily that they're better for the isolated muscle.

 

Free weights are better if you want to work multiple muscle groups at once with lower weight. But for someone like me, I need to do high weight for low reps, so I need to use something where I can get more control over the motion. Free weights at high weight always seem to put too much strain on my joints. 

 

I like free weights at low weight for high reps. I use free weights the day after I do my high weight workout as a way of working out the kinks in all those muscles that I abused the day before. It seems to help my recovery. 

 

Machines are better for slow burn because you don't need a spotter. Doing super slow reps makes it harder to cheat or use momentum to move the weight.

I do this sometimes anyway, but I'd never thought of doing it as an actual workout. Looking forward to trying it. High weight and slowwwwww reps. I like it.